The Wayne Williams Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Wayne Williams - Case Study Example Early fiber evidence collected showed 2 types of fibers present at the crime scene; "a violet-colored acetate fiber and a coarse yellow-green nylon fiber with the type of tri-lobed qualities associated with carpets". The yellow-green carpet fiber that was found on the body of Cater was later compared and analyzed alongside a similar looking yellow-green carpet that was found at the home of Williams. He used the carpet to cover the floor of his home. The carpet, thanks to the cooperation of the manufacturer DuPont, was traced down to the company that manufactured the fiber known as Wellman 181B, a common carpet that was commercially sold by the manufacturer. Due to the high volume of carpet sales, connecting the yellow-green carpet to Williams and the murder became a game of odds. The importance of connecting the fiber to him became even more imperative when the dog that Williams owned showed up on the body of other murder victims as part of trace fibers (Ramsland, K., â€Å"Fibers a nd Probability Theory†). In an effort to create a convincing case, the prosecution decided to include a 2nd victim in the Williams murder trial. That of Jimmy Ray Payne who had trace fibers similar to those found in Williams' car, a single rayon fiber that was consistent with the carpeting in Williams' station wagon. Chevrolet, the car manufacturer informed investigators that there was a; â€Å"1 in 3,828 chance that Payne had acquired the fiber via random contact with a car that had this carpeting installed.†... The importance of connecting the fiber to him became even more imperative when the dog that Williams owned showed up on the body of other murder victims as part of trace fibers (Ramsland, K., â€Å"Fibers and Probability Theory†). In an effort to create a convincing case, the prosecution decided to include a 2nd victim in the Williams murder trial. That of Jimmy Ray Payne who had trace fibers similar to those found in Williams' car, a single rayon fiber that was consistent with the carpeting in Williams' station wagon. Chevrolet, the car manufacturer informed investigators that there was a; â€Å"1 in 3,828 chance that Payne had acquired the fiber via random contact with a car that had this carpeting installed.† (Ramsland, K., â€Å"Fibers and Probability Theory†). By introducing trace fibers from the 10 other murders that held similarities to the fiber collected from the home and car of Williams, the prosecution was effectively allowed to build its case by the G eorgia courts. The investigation of the Williams serial murders came down to a numbers game simply because of the trace evidence found at the scene of the crime for each victim. Every time a comparison was done, there was a similarity either with the car or home carpet fiber of Williams. During that era of early forensic investigation, these similarities were considered damning evidence that in theory, proved who committed the crime. When combined with the fact that the prosecution successfully connected 28 fiber types to Williams, along with testimony from witnesses who swore that they had actually seen him with each of the murder victims, the fact that Williams failed his polygraph test 3 times, and the suspicious injuries that were

Objectives And Responsibilities Of The Hilton Hotels Group Tourism Essay

Objectives And Responsibilities Of The Hilton Hotels Group Tourism Essay Chapter 1 Hilton Hotels in groups UK is known as one of the leading hotel group in the world. The Hilton Hotels group was found with its very first hotel established by Mr. Conrad in 1919 in Cisco, Texas. But, today the Hilton Hotels group has expanded geographically, produced original hotel and travel concepts, and developed modern technologies to enhance the experiences of the valuable guests. Today, it consists of more than 3600 hotels all over the world also with nearly 500,000 luxurious rooms in 81 countries with the continuously growing crew of over 135,000 members internationally (Hilton Hotels, 2011). Depending on that, it is clear and it was proven that the Hilton Hotels group has the capability of satisfying the interest of their customers as well as their stake holders. The Hilton Hotels consists of well reputed and highest quality popular brands with in their group such as, Hilton Conrad hotels and resorts, double tree by Hilton, Hampton inn by Hilton, Hilton garden inn, Hilton Grand vacations and home woods suites by Hilton and Waldorf Astoria collection. The whole Hilton Hotels group is running adherence to the Mr. Conrad Hiltons philosophy, the vision of the hotel Hilton Hotels group is To fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality (Hilton Hotels, 2011). Accordingly, the Hilton Hotels group believes it is their insight to convey the message of kindness and generosity all over the world, simply known as hospitability. According to the core values of the Hilton Hotels group, their brand name HILTON stands for, H HOSPITALITY   We are passionate about delivering exceptional guest experiences. I INTEGRITY   We do the right thing, all the time. L LEADERSHIP   We are leaders in our industry and in our communities. T TEAMWORK   We are team players in everything we do. O OWNERSHIP   We are the owners of our actions and decisions. N NOW   We operate with a sense of urgency and discipline (Hilton Hotels, 2011). At present, Hilton worldwide can be considered as one of the leading global hospitality company, crossing over the accommodation sector from luxurious full-service hotels and resorts to extended-stay suites and mid-priced hotels. The Hilton Hotels group is operated as an innovative and dynamic company which is mainly focused on administrating their business operations following the eco-friendly concepts and also with the services to the global community and enhancing the guest experience. Since the foundation formed by Mr. Conrad Hilton 90 years ago, Hiltons commitment to creating exceptional guest experiences still remains unaltered, and our more than 130,000 team members continue to bring the highest quality of service to the global visitors also achieving the interests of the stake holders with the mission of We will be the preeminent global hospitality company the first choice of guests, team members and owners alike (Hilton Hotels, 2011). 1.2 Groups of stakeholder and achieving their objectives Stakeholder can be considered as a person or people who have a stake also known as share in a particular organization or system. Stakeholders can be groups of people, organisations, institutions and sometimes even individuals. Sometimes the terms either actors or interest groups are used to describe the term stake holders. Accordingly, the word actor emphasizes that stakeholders are active in order to make interactions with each other. The use of the words interest group suggests that people can be grouped to achieve common goal. In some occasions, stake holder can be identified as a corporate  stakeholder, a party that may have the potential to affect or be affected by the actions of the business as a whole. This concept was first used in a 1963 internal memorandum at the Stanford Research institute. It defined stakeholders as those groups without whose support the organization would cease to exist (Grimble and Wellard, 1997). The theory was presently developed by  R. Edward Freeman  in the 1980s. Since then it has gained wide acceptance in business practice and in theorizing relating to  strategic management,  corporate governance,  business purpose  and  CSR together. Stakeholders can be found at any level or position in society, from the international to the national, regional, household or intra-household level. It is clear that, stakeholders may include all the people who affect and may get affected by the policies, decisions or actions within a particular system or an organization. Referring to the Hilton Hotels group, the stake holders can be identified at three major levels depending on their institutional levels. Local National Global or International Locally, the Hilton Hotel group is a business which is based on the ancient cultural environments as well as the aesthetic beauty in the country encouraging their customers as well as their stakeholders to incorporate those things to their beings. Therefore, it is clear that Hilton Hotel is being achieved the objectives of their local stakeholders objectives at a satisfactory level. Nationally, the Hilton hotels group is known as a business which is mainly focussed on the development of tourism in UK. By providing the lodging facilities by enhancing the customer experiences on travelling through their branded partners such as Hilton Conrad hotels and resorts, double tree by Hilton, Hampton inn by Hilton they have achieved their objective of development of tourism commercially in order to achieve their national stake holders objectives. Statistically it is proven that, the Hilton Hotels group consists of more than three hundred hotels all over the world also with nearly 500,000 luxurious rooms in 80 countries with the crew of over 135,000 members internationally (Hilton Hotels, 2011) and the group is still expanding all over the world. Therefore, the contribution of the international investors may lie at a higher level referring to that statistics. Because of that, it can be concluded that the Hilton Hotel group is being achieving their International Stake holders objectives. 1.3 The key responsibilities of the hotel group and the strategies The key responsibilities that should be possessed by the Hilton Hotel group can be divided in to three major dimensions. The Customer Dimension The Employee Dimension Internal process and financial dimensions The Customer Dimension consists of increment of the market shares, guest satisfaction, improve the customers profitability, increased the awareness of brand name and the increment of the MICE conversion rate. At present, Hilton Hotels group is incorporated with several partners all over the world such as double tree by Hilton, Hampton inn by Hilton. Therefore, the Hilton Hotel has got the potential to establish as the market leader. At past few decades, Hilton Hotels market revenue index increased from 104% to 106% and customer retention has increased Customer retention increased 6% to 56% (Balanced Scorecard Collaborative Hall of Fame Case Study on Hilton Hotels Corporation, 2003). The employee dimension may include, adherence to recruitment procedures, conducting training and development programs completion of the performance appraisals, control of the staff turnover and control the payroll as % of turnover. Proper management of human resources with the incorporation of employees are may be the strategy behind the achievement of these targets. Reservations efficiency, improved check-in efficiency, time and motion cleaning of rooms, food beverage cost efficiency, and control property maintenance may be the responsibilities that can be taken under the internal process dimensions. Increment of average room rate and revenue per available room, increment of non-room revenue, proper management of variable cost and reduction of fixed cost can be considered under financial dimension of responsibilities. At past few decades, RevPAR of Hilton Hotels has been increased by 2.7% (Balanced Scorecard Collaborative Hall of Fame Case Study on Hilton Hotels Corporation, 2003). Chapter 2 Economic, Social and Global Environment 2.1 Planned and mixed economic systems and impacts Planned economy is an  economic system  in which the  government  directs the whole  economy of a country.  This economic system is driven by the central government and it may control and makes critical decisions regarding the production and supply of goods and services. The planners may decide what should be done regarding the production process and hoe to direct lower-level enterprises to produce those goods in collaboration with national and social objectives. Under the planned economy, state sector may involve in the environmental protection, maintenance of the standards of the employments and maintenance of competition and also the economic planning. Beginning in the 1980s and 1990s, many governments of different countries, commanding over planned economies began deregulating. For an example, after fragmentation of the Soviet Union the economy is being moving towards the market-based economies by allowing the private sector to make the pricing for goods and services, production, and distribution decisions. Although most economies today are  market economies  or  mixed economies. Examples for the countries for the existence of planned economies are as  Cuba,  Libya,  North Korea,  Saudi Arabia, and  Myanmar ( Brabant and Jozef , 1991). Considering the impacts of the planned economy on Hilton Hotels group, there may be a regulation of the production and services according to the decision which are made from the government. Accordingly, there may be economic barriers for the foreign investors and stake holders to invest their properties in relation to the hotel industry. This may negatively affect on the Hilton Hotels group also. In contrast the mixed economy reflecting the features of both socialism and capitalism. In some occasions, it is also known as balanced economy. It is described as market economies with strong lapses, in addition to containing various government sponsored aspects. It is believed the term mixed economy should include the degree of private economic freedom mixed with a degree of government regulation process of markets. Countries may differ in relation to the relative weakness of each component. For an example, economies which are ranging from US to Cuba have been identified as mixed economies. The economic freedom may include individual freedom, economic efficiency and also the incentives to innovation provided by competition. When considering the Hilton Hotels group, individual competition may be very important between the partners to improve their capabilities in marketing. For an example, if there is a competition between Hilton Conrad hotels and resorts and Hampton inn Hilton, the separate partners may tend to improve their marketing capabilities in order to increase their market shares. This may be beneficial for the Hilton Hotels as the mother company. On the other hand, some times the whole marketing process can be negatively affected by the individual competition. Referring the government side of the mixed economy, it may consists of several processes such as environmental protection, maintenance of the standards of the employments and maintenance of competition and also the centralized economic planning some situations. Those are the things that the private sector may not capable to address. Referring to the Hilton Hotels group, due to the environment protection policies implemented by the government, the marketing process can be affected. For an example, if the government is implementing an environmental policy restricting the private access to the places with an aesthetic beauty such as beaches and forests, if the hotel group rely on that places whole marketing process can be negatively affected. In contrast, the establishment of the centralized economic planning may generate positive results in the relation of Hilton Hotels, at marketing process. 2.2 Social welfare policy and industrial policy measures in the UK The United Kingdom can be considered as a unitary state in which central government considerably lead the most of the state activities. But, when considering the structure of some regions such as Scotland, Wales it differs in certain degrees. Each region occupies a secretary of state and administrative department located in central government, and its own congress and executive, which participate in the region of certain central state ministries. Accordingly, the laws which apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland may differ from those in England and Wales. This framework has been subjected to the frequent changes. The most critical changes in recent years have been the renovation of the department of social security into the department of work and pensions, the significant transfer of income maintenance to the HMRC and the flattening of the department of transport, the regions and local government, whose key social policy responsibilities were positioned in the office of the deputy prime minister and have now been resettled mainly into communities and local government. There are some main government departments which are dealing with social policy in the UK are, the ministry of justice, the department for education, the department of health and the Department for Communities and Local Government. Referring to the administration of the welfare, UK has undergone two major phases of modifications. The first phase was applied in for 1960s and 1970s, saw central government transformed in order to allow the planning and control of public expenditure by the treasury. The objectives of these changes were to improve the managerial efficiency and economic planning. The effect was the generation of a system in which the treasury allocated resources to departments, and departments to services. The second phase was taken place in has led in 1980s and 1990s to modify the structure of the civil service and the administration of welfare. It consists of three major elements viz., the change of administration  into agencies, the introduction of management and the formation of quasi markets. Due to that implementation of social welfare policies, the hotel field can be affected in several ways. Formation of new laws regarding to the economy and welfare, management there were some barriers against the growing of the company. That may negatively affect on the Hilton Hotels group. Referring to the industrial policies in UK, multi- sector industrial policy is critical. Current mainstream economic thinking believes that industrial policy is ineffective, and that market forces should determine the fortunes of companies and industries. In the credit crisis, however, the UK state and most other governments felt obliged to step in. They established a  de facto  industrial policy strongly favouring the financial sector, at the expense of the rest of the economy. Consequently, the part of the economy that did not fail, was left playing by the old free-market rules, heavily penalised by austerity measures implemented to reduce the budget deficit. For the UK, there are a number of problems with the theory and practice of this approach. First, SMEs which provide majority of UK private sector employment are starved of credit despite Government entreaties for banks to lend more. This may be acts as a negative impact on the growth of the hotel industry, with no end in sight. Similar way, the private capital concentration in the shadow-banking sector remains surprisingly high, and may lead to volatility and crises in the non-banking sector. Finally, some of the UKs competitors, such as China and Korea, already have successful, multi-sector industrial strategies. 2.3 Impact of macroeconomic policy measures in the UK and US The belief that economic growth requires sound macroeconomic policy is a central element of in relation to the development. Even those questioning about that it may be possible to believe that macroeconomic stability is a precondition for successful economic development. At the broadest level, the macroeconomic stability of East Asian countries between the early 1960s and the late 1990s could help to explain why East Asian countries have sustained high growth rates. In contrast, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America have endured a painful combination of macroeconomic disarray and slow growth. As most economists would expect, improper management of macro economy could explain not only slow growth, but also why some developing countries have become heavily in obligated. Even if slow growth is attributed to problems with external arrears, the origins of a debt crisis can typically be traced back to policy decisions. Easterly (2002) finds that the group of the HIPCs had worse macroeconomic policies over 1980-97 than other developing countries, even after controlling for income levels. At present, the global economy has deteriorated rapidly and faced with a synchronised recession in most of the worlds major economies. These developments will have a reflective impact on the UK economy and raise the prospects of an especially severe downturn. The source of the current recession can be traced to the unsustainable rises in lending, bond, equity and house prices and compression of risk that have been evident since the start of decade across many developed economies also common for both US and UK. As poor as economic prospects currently are the situation is being getting worse without the various policy initiatives that have been adopted. For example, the Bank recapitalization scheme has clearly helped to avoid a collapse of the UK financial sector. Therefore, those factors can be generating adverse effects on many industries especially in the hotel industry. Chapter 3 Behaviour of organisations and the market environment 3.1 Shortcomings of market models relevant to the hotel group Market model can be identified as a mathematical representation of the interactions among various participants in the market, variety of economic forces, and variety of choices made during the process of marketing. There are number of market models are used to explain or predict the behaviour of one or more aspects of a market. In the framework of the securities market, for example, one model may used to express the outcome on a particular portfolio and how it can be maximized. When considering the hotel industry, there are several types of market models can be identified such as future orientation model, results managing model , proactive approach and the on going process model. Referring to the future orientation model, strategic management implies a future-oriented decision-making process. The objective of this model is to act now in order to survive and improve performance in the future. This can be implemented as 5-10 years year plans. As a fundamental, this model can be identified as an attempt to set future-oriented objectives, to predict and assess future trends in the organisations environment and to devise means to ensure meeting the objectives. According to this model, it may be difficult to predict some market trends due to the unexpected situations. For an example natural disasters may create different market trends. This may be the major draw back of this model. Considering the on going process, the responsibility of the marketing process lies clearly with top management. Their support and commitment is a requirement for both the design and application of any strategic plan. Furthermore, managing strategically implies a distinct way of managing organisations, i.e. not sporadic efforts to solve problems, but rather a logical framework for perceiving and managing organisations and their environments. The major draw back of this method is it may be difficult to pre identify the failures of the marketing system and trends before it happens. 3.2 Impact by the different factors Supply and demand play an important role in the marketing process. There should be a balance between demand and supply in terms of achieving the goals of marketing. When considering those factors such as income, price, weather and substitutes can create both positive and negative impacts on the hotel industry. For an example, status of the personal income can be directly affected on the demand. Because, low income people may prefer to use facilities at low level hotel industry, while high income group prefer higher standards. Price of the good and services can be generated by the costs plus profit margin of an organization. Therefore, if the industry is not going to use proper cross cutting methods and value addition techniques, the prices may increase. It may affect on the accessibility of that goods or service. Especially in the hotel industry this can be a great issue. Weather also can be generated both positive and negative effects on the demand. If the customers are well interested in travelling and they are willing to enjoy the aesthetic beauty bad weather may lead to problems. This also can be affected on demand. Substitution may lead the customers away from the loyalty. If the service is available at higher quality at cheaper price they may tend to purchase that one instead of earlier service. Considering the above facts, it can be concluded that, managing those factors is critical for the hotel industry. 3.3 Competitive strategies in the UK Competitiveness is defined as the only complete indicator that defines the concept of competitiveness at a national level is national productivity (Porter, 1990). The current situation manifested by globalization and the increasing recognition of interrelations has imposed new rules of conduct: the prosperity of nations is based on competitiveness on international markets, and that of enterprises, on the integration in the worldwide value chains. Because of that, the competitiveness has become a major issue for all the actors in economy, from the regional level to the organizational level. Therefore, it is clear that importance of implementation of competitive strategies in relation to the marketing process. Considering the tourism as a business it is a sector in which the structure of supply is extremely volatile and the solid and reliable part is the demand. Tourism can be exists for various reasons such as pleasure, business etc. People may want to travel and are willing to spend money; consequently, they may generate demand for tourism products and services. Thus, the decision to travel precedes the acts of consumption (Keller, 2005). The key to attracting and making clients loyal is offering a remarkable experience and not just lodgings; hotel chains innovate to create a unique environment, from hotel rooms to lobbies and the restaurant. Thus, changes in the design of Marriott restaurants and in the menus so as to reflect the particularities of different regions have lead to up to 50% increases in sales recorded in rapport to the number of rooms occupied (Hotels, 2004). In company with innovation, technology also can be considered as an important strategic asset that allows hotel chains to improve their performance and competitiveness. On a global scale, the role of technology in strengthening the competitive advantage of a hotel is recognized, hence its contribution to the hotels success (Nyheim, 2004). Since the hospitality industry, as any other branch of services, is capital intensive, human resources may represent a source of competitive advantage for a company. Failite Ireland (2005) , in the research conducted among 3, 4 and 5 star hotels in Dublin to analyze successful practices in hotels underline the fact that the industry depends on the know-how of personnel, of the knowledge and understanding of the clients requirements that would make the client feel at home. By considering the above facts, it is clear that hotel industry should follow competitive strategies to survive in the market. Chapter 4 International trade and the European dimension 4.1 Pros and cons of trade between the UK and other countries Because of the rapid development of the international relationship between countries, Globalization process can be considered as critical in the marketing process. Therefore, globalization process may have the capabilities of generating both positive and negative effects on trade referring to the hotel industry. Considering the positive effects, the hotel groups can trade in the working force from the countries at a cheaper price where the working force is available at lower cost. This may lead to cutting their additional cost in relation to human resources and beneficial for the hospitality industry. Through the strong international relationship, the hotel groups reputation can be published and marketed. This may lead to bring in foreign investors to the country who may have the capabilities of investment for hotel industry as well as for the other industries. Referring to the negative points of international trade, increased job insecurity of workers may play a critical role. When the industry is demanding the working force at a lower price, the workers may not survive unless they provide their services at that lower price. Except that, the uniqueness of the culture of the country can be affected through the globalization referring to the international trade. Especially, through the development of the hospitality industry there may be a tendency to develop a globalized sub culture based on the tourism. This may lead to interfere with the uniqueness of the original culture in the country. 4.2 The impact of European Union policies on UK organisations and the hotel group The  EU can be identified as is  economic  and  political union  of 27  member states  which are located primarily in Europe. The EU was originated from the  European Coal and Steel Community  and the  European Economic formed by  six countries  in the 1950s. At present, the EU has grown in size by  the appointment of new member states, and in power by the addition of policy areas to its responsibilities. The Maastricht Treaty  established the European Union under its current name in 1993. The last modification to the constitution of the EU, the  Treaty of Lisbon, joined with the EU in 2009. EU member states keep all powers not openly handed to the Union. In some areas the EU enjoys exclusive competence. These are areas in which member states have renounced any capacity to endorse legislation. In other areas the EU and its member states share the competence to legislate. While both can legislate, member states can only legislate to the extent to which the EU has not. In other policy areas the EU can only co-ordinate, support and supplement member state action but cannot endorse legislation with the aim of incorporating national laws. Under the exclusive competence it states that The Union has exclusive competence to make directives and conclude international agreements when provided for in a Union legislative act. Accordingly the monetary policy for the member is established as Euro. Not only that, the establishment of the competition rules for the internal market has been adopted. Those things can generate both positive and negative impacts on the hotel groups. Considering the supporting competence it states that The Union can carry out actions to support, coordinate or supplement Member States actions in. Referring to that, industries, culture as well as the tourism are being regulated. This also can create positive and negative impacts on hotel group. 4.3 EMU and the economy of UK The  term Economic and Monetary Union  is used as a  collective term  for the group of policies aimed at meet the economies of members of the  European Union  in three stages so as to allow them to adopt a single currency, the  euro. All members of the  EU are expected to participate in the EMU. The implication of UK becoming a member of EMU can be explained as both positive and negative impacts. For an example it is clear that, Exchange rate on locking with the Euro regarding the members as well as for UK. It may improve the stability of the value of the money against the inflation. On the other way, it may negatively affect on foreign investors. Similarly, some policies implemented by the EMU may also affect both negatively and positively on the industries. Chapter 5 Conclusion Referring to the mission, core values and key objectives of the Hilton Hotels group as a worldwide business it is clear that the objectives are being achieved up to the satisfactory level. Though the impacts of the sudden changes in the business environment, still the Hilton Hotels group has been survived in their business of hospitality with the proven capabilities in successful marketing. But, when considering the market modelling marketing mix modelling is being a developing trend at innovative marketing strategies.MMM means the use of statistical analysis such as  multivariate  regressions  on sales and marketing  time series  data to estimate the impact of various marketing  tactics on sales and then predict the impact of future sets of strategies. It is often used to optimize advertising mix and promotional tactics with respect to sales revenue or profit. Therefore, implementation of MMM on Hilton Hotels group may improve the trustworthiness as a marketing tool among its major rival companies.

Andragogy: All about Learning? Essay -- Andragogy Knowles Education Es

Andragogy: All about Learning? Since the language of andragogy was introduced to North American adult educators by Malcolm Knowles, there have been continual debates about whether it is an adult learning theory, a teaching method, a philosophical statement, or all of the above. It is useful to take the development of andragogy into account when considering this question. When Knowles began writing about andragogy, he was already a well-respected figure in the adult education establishment. He had participated in the creation of the Black Book (Jensen, Liveright, and Hallenbeck 1964), a collection of writing setting out to define adult education as a discipline. Establishing adult education as a discrete area of academic study was an important aim for Knowles and many of his contemporaries (Damer 2000). As early as 1962, Knowles wrote that "the adult educational field is in the process of developing a distinctive curriculum and methodology" (Knowles 1962, p. 255)—a process in which he played a central role. The development of andragogy was an important component of broader efforts to position adult education as a profession and academic field. Knowles (1980) claimed that andragogy was "the art and science of teaching adults," and set out four key assumptions: 1. Teachers have a responsibility to help adults in the normal movement from dependency toward increasing self-directedness. 2. Adults have an ever-increasing reservoir of experience that is a rich resource for learning. 3. People are ready to learn something when it will help them to cope with real-life tasks or problems. 4. Learners see education as a means to develop increased competence. Two additional assumptions were later added (Knowles,... ...itique of the Present and a Proposal for the Future." Adult Education Quarterly 52, no. 3 (Spring 2002): 210-227. Robles, H. J. "Andragogy, the Adult Learner and Faculty as Learners." 1998. (ED 426 740) Tisdell, E. J. "Poststructural Feminist Pedagogies: The Possibilities and Limitations of Feminist Emancipatory Adult Learning Theory and Practice." Adult Education Quarterly 48, no. 3 (Spring 1998): 139-156. Usher, R.; Bryant, I.; and Johnston, R. "Self and Experience in Adult Learning." In Supporting Lifelong Learning, edited by R. Harrison, F. Reeve, A. Hanson, and J. Clarke, pp. 78-90. London: Routledge-Falmer/Open University, 2002. Wenger, E. Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998. Ralf St. Clair is Director of the Texas Center for Adult Literacy and Learning, Texas A&M University.

Death Changes Everything

Imogen is a thirteen year old girl. Her family consists of two older brothers, a dad called George, and a step-mother called Jenny. Her grandparents died, when she was a little, except a grandmother on her dads' side of the family called Mary. Her mother also died. Now all she has is a picture which she looks at every morning when she wakes up and just before she goes to bed. Jenny is an evil step-mother. Like one of those from a fairy tale. She seems to love George but hates children and wants nothing to do with them. In front of George she acts kindly towards them and makes an effort to communicate but when he's not around she just ignored them. Jenny is considered completely useless to the three kids. She sits at home watching television all day, she doesn't bother to clean the house or cook and instead she hires a maid and pays her to do the job. This isn't the type of mother role model that Imogen needs. She needs someone who could show her new things like teaching her how to cook complicated dishes for special occasions. Even though Imogen is well-behaved, she still needs a mother to go shopping with, to gossip with and have some mother, daughter time with. All these things could be done with friends but it's different when it's your mother. A mother gives advice that friends might not have experienced yet. George, Imogens' father, plays a big role in her life. He's a successful lawyer and Imogen takes him as her role model. George is a loving father who's always there for Imogen, helping her to make the right choices in life, encouraging her to study just that little bit harder for exams. He's not that big a role model for the boys as he is for Imogen but that's because they have other things on their mind instead of working hard to get a good education. Perfect. That's what Imogen is. She is a bright teenager with high ambitions of following her fathers' footsteps in becoming a lawyer. She has big, blue eyes, long, wavy hair and is short but extremely mature for her age. She loves school as much as cats loves mice and her friends are reliable, trustworthy and support her through thick and thin no matter what happens. Tom and Adam were two charming boys who had a way with the ladies. They were good students right up to the point of puberty. Usually girls are the ones with mood swings, but not in this case. They started misbehaving in class, then skipping lessons and finally stopped going to school altogether. Now they, unlike their sister, hate school. When in school they do everything to get themselves out and when out drinking alcohol, taking drugs were only a few of the things they do. They never seemed to understand how their own blood could love school so much. Imogens grandmother Mary was, in Imogens opinion, the nicest grandmother that ever lived. She lives abroad in Spain but visits regularly. She's loves all three children very much, she respects them and treats them like grown-ups. She is very healthy and lives life to the maximum, goes on holidays a lot, and is not scared of anything. Every time Mary visit's the country and they go shopping, Mary buys Imogen anything she asks for. Every morning, Imogens house, starts off the same way. She wakes up to the sound of her annoying brothers arguing with Jenny about how she doesn't have to act nicely in front of George and make them breakfast but this Monday morning she woke up to the sound of rain tapping at her window. She jumped out of bed, kissed her mothers photo, got washed and put her school uniform on. Walking down the stairs she noticed Jenny trying to make breakfast, with no complaints from the twins. That was because she was making pancakes and George was there watching his sons every move. She sat down next to Adam and as he turned around to ask Jenny for more food, he knocked over the glass of orange juice that was beside him, making it spill all over Imogens' school skirt. Walking back up the stairs to her bedroom, she slipped and bumped her knee onto the hard flood. She got up slowly and crawled to her bedroom. Rummaging through her closet she tried to find her other skirt. Realising it was in the laundry basket she walked over, got it out and put the malodorous skirt on. â€Å"That's disgusting!† said her twin brothers as they walked past her bedroom â€Å"It's not that dirty!† she lied The skirt wasn't literally dirty it just smelled. To take the smell away she went into the bathroom and smothered herself with perfume. Running back down the stairs she slipped and landed onto the side of her foot, hurting her ankle. Sitting on the floor thinking of how much pain was caused to her this morning she realised it was the start of a bad day. Looking up at the clock in the living room, it read quarter past eight. She was late. Today was the day of her first GCSE exam and Imogen wanted to get to school earlier than usual so that she could have enough time to go over the topics she wasn't very confident with. Now, if she took the bus, it would be impossible. George had still not left for work. He was standing in the kitchen reading a newspaper and drinking coffee. Imogen ran up to him and kissed him on the cheek. â€Å"Good morning dad.† â€Å"Good morning honey,† he replied, â€Å"did you sleep well?† â€Å"Yes I did,† said Imogen, â€Å"can you take me to school by any chance?† â€Å"Of course I could† â€Å"Boys, get downstairs, I'm taking your sister to school and I might as well take you too!† he yelled upstairs â€Å"We'll take the bus coz it's too early for us to be leaving for school.† They shouted back â€Å"Fine, but don't be late.† â€Å"We won't be,† they replied with huge grins on their faces Imogens dad loves old cars and he himself had a 1986 BMW 635CSi. The car was safe but had a few flaws. The airbags didn't work on the front passenger side and the seatbelts easily became unbuckled. George was never worried because he was a very safe driver and he could never give his car away. As soon as Imogen got in the car she put a book on her fathers lap and asked him to ask her some questions but he couldn't because he was about to drive, instead he told her that he would when they stopped at a red traffic light. When they did he took the old book into his hands and started asking questions. Imogen gave a perfect answer to each and every question. Meanwhile, on the road opposite to theirs were a couple of drunken teenagers, joy riding. They didn't notice that the red light was on and carried on driving. The driver lost control and the car started to skid on the wet ground and so ended up hitting Imogens' car. The out of control car hit the BMW head on causing George's seatbelt to unbuckle and he flew out the front window. Imogens airbag was broken but luckily her seatbelt didn't unbuckle. An ambulance arrived and took them to the busy hospital. Imogen and George were rushed straight into surgery for they had suffered serious head injuries. Unfortunately none of the drunk teens were wearing a seatbelt and received serious injuries. They died before the ambulance got to the scene. Three weeks later, slowly opening her eyes, Imogen found herself in a hospital bed surrounded by family and friends. â€Å"What happened to me? Why am I in a hospital? Asked Imogen â€Å"Imogen, this is really important, what's the last thing you remember? Asked the nurse â€Å"I remember my dad was taking me to school. Then we stopped at a traffic light and he was asking – where is my dad?† When the doctors operated on Imogen, they did the best they could, her injuries where bad and the doctors were not sure whether or not she would be able to remember everything when she awoke from the coma. â€Å"I don't know how to tell you this, but your father-† said the nurse â€Å"I'll tell her,† interrupted Mary, Imogens grandmother, â€Å"your father died the day you were rushed into hospital. The surgeons did everything they could but they just weren't able to stop the bleeding† By the time she finished the sentence both of them were in tears. Mary went up to her favourite grandchild and put her arms around her. â€Å"It's my entire fault, grandma, it's my entire fault!† Imogen repeated, â€Å"I know it is, I asked him to drive me to school, if he hadn't got in the car to take me to school, he would still be here! It's my entire fault! Now we have no one to look after us, and I've missed my GCSE exams. It's my entire fault!† â€Å"You still have Jenny to look after you and I called the school to explain the situation, they said you can retake them when you get back† Imogen stayed in the hospital for another week under monitoring. Her friends visited and so did her brothers. The week went past very slowly. Everyday, all she did was lay in bed, watch television, walk around a bit and then go back to bed. There were no children there her age and she didn't want to talk to elderly people. Imogen received beautiful bouquets of flowers and tasty chocolates from family but she didn't want any of it, she just wanted her caring dad by her side, helping her through this. When Imogen got out of the hospital her brothers took her home. Jenny was in the living room watching television. â€Å"Welcome home!† exclaimed Jenny Imogen just ignored her and went straight up to her bedroom. The next few days were a blur. Imogen stayed in bed most days mourning and crying over all the memories she had with her father. Every time she saw a picture of him she burst out into tears. The words: ‘It's my fault, why did it have to happen, what did he do to deserve this, it was my bad day!' kept running though her mind. Even when she slept, she had horrifying nightmares about the crash; she pictured her dad on the operating table, while she was behind glass unable to help him. She needed help, support, encouragement to get her back to normal, but with a step-mother like Jenny, that would be impossible. The first day she went to school her brothers left her at the gate. Looking at the school from a distance she realised that she wasn't ready to go in. Instead she followed her brothers to where they went. Tom led the way while Adam followed behind like a dog on a leash. During the journey, Tom and Adam went into, what looked like an abandoned house, when they came out Tom carried a small, plastic bag full of white pills. He put them in his pocket and walked on. They came to a lighthouse looking building which was surrounded by a high fence. On the fence was a warning sign which read ‘No unauthorised person'. The light house was covered with horizontal red and white stripes and a long, unstable, wooden ladder reached the ground from the top. The two brothers approached the lighthouse. Imogen stared at the building. It was very unusual for a lighthouse not to be near the ocean. While staring she carried on walking and stepped on a piece of loose metal lying on the floor. â€Å"What are you doing here? Asked Adam â€Å"I wanted to know were you were going. I could go back if you want.† â€Å"Yes, go back!† he shouted â€Å"No,† insisted Tom, â€Å"she doesn't know the way back and what if she gets lost. Just let her come up with us, what's the worst that could happen?† Tom went up the unstable ladder first, then went Imogen and last of all came Adam. Climbing up the ladder Imogen tried not to look down. As they neared the top of the lighthouse, strange voices could be heard. At first it sounded like there were only few people talking but as Imogen went higher up the ladder she started to hear more and more voices. â€Å"We're here† announced Tom as they reached the top. â€Å"Finally,† one boy said, â€Å"what took you so long?† â€Å"It's a long story;† answered Adam â€Å"but our little sister is here with us,† All the people sitting on the dirty lighthouse floor turned and looked at Imogen. â€Å"How old is she?† a girl asked Tom â€Å"I'm nearly 14† she answered her. â€Å"Isn't that a bit young?† she asked Tom again This time he answered her: â€Å"Well how old were we when all of this started?† â€Å"True, true. Good point.† Tom and Adam went around the lighthouse giving each person a couple of the white pills. Imogen went around to all the people, looking at what they were doing. To her it looked like they were drinking alcohol, swallowing the white pills and smoking weed. â€Å"What are the white pills and what do they do?† Imogen asked a little girl sitting in the corner sticking a white tablet in her mouth. â€Å"They're called ecstasy and they make me feel a whole lot better then I did this morning† answered the girl â€Å"I want some† requested Imogen â€Å"Sure,† said the girl, â€Å"but tell your brothers to get me an extra one, for next week.† The little girl was younger then Imogen but she looked worn-out and like she hadn't eaten in weeks. For a few short seconds after swallowing the tablet Imogen felt nothing, then minutes later the action kicked in. She felt ecstatic. Like nothing could ever go wrong. Then taking a sip of a transparent drink, she felt dizzy but relaxed. Finally, when she inhaled the weed she felt like all her problems and worries vanished and she was in a completely different world. School or education didn't matter. In this world she felt like she could do anything, even fly. Everyday, instead of taking Imogen to school, her brothers took her with them to the lighthouse. This carried on for weeks until Stephanie, the little girl that gave Imogen the weed, ecstasy and alcohol, had a heart attack. Lucky for everyone there, she had no family, so all they had to do was bury her in the cemetery at night. This was too much for Imogen. The death of the little girl made her remember the death of her dad. She realised that taking drugs, smoking and drinking alcohol wasn't the way to deal with death. She had to face death and just get over it. â€Å"I'm not going to come here with you any more,† Announced Imogen. â€Å"Why not?† asked her brothers â€Å"Because what your doing is bad for your health and what point are you trying to prove by drinking, drugs and smoking?† There is no point to prove, it makes us feel good and you should know, you've tried it for yourself and you know the pleasure it gives you.† â€Å"There's no pleasure in this if there is a risk of dying. I will give up.† â€Å"It's not as simple as it sounds. You go through a lot of pain when you try to give up. Are you sure you're ready?† asked her brothers â€Å"I will give up, I don't want to die like little Stephanie did. The only reason I started this was because I couldn't get over dads death and I didn't get any support from anyone, but me dying isn't going to make anything better either.† â€Å"Tomorrow you're going to end up coming back with us,† warned Adam â€Å"No,† Imogen said, â€Å"Tomorrow will be another day.† Stopping wasn't difficult. Imogen went through the normal process of withdrawal symptoms; aches and pains, sweating, shaking, headaches and cravings for the drug, but thinking about her father's and Stephanie's death helped her to pull through.

My Favourite Character

This Essay is about my favourite character in â€Å"To Kill a Mocking Bird. † She is one of the biggest, most important characters; she is considered the main character. She is very important for she helps narrate this story. She helps with the story by describing her thoughts and feelings that is one of the main reasons why I like her. She also helps to develop the plot, themes, and helps to emphasize some of the symbolism. Her name is Jean-Louis, but we all know her as Scout. Scout is a daughter, a sister and a friend.She is a huge tomboy; and she likes to prove it to every one. She prefers to hang out boys rather than girls, and so she does, she spends most of her time with her brother Jem, and in the summers, her cousin; Dill. In the beginning of the book Scout is only a young age of 9, throughout the novel she gets older just like the rest of the characters, and also matures along with her older brother Jem. Although Scout isn’t going through the same stages as Jem she matures just as much.Jem’s turning into a teenager, while Scout is getting older, and is discovering how the world works. The era of this book is set back to around the years 1861 to 1865; this was when the civil war was happening, along with the discrimination of African Americans. Racism is a huge theme in â€Å"To Kill a Mocking Bird. † Scout doesn’t really under stand that racism isn’t good, but it’s not her fault, because she has lived with it and doesn’t know any different.In that time â€Å"blacks† were known as lesser human beings. The â€Å"whites† were known to be greater than any other race; Scout didn’t know that this was wrong, so she went with it. During the trail, one of the biggest parts of this novel, Scout discovers a little bit about racism. The trial is about how an African American is being accused for the rape of a Caucasian woman, during the trial a lot of discrimination happens to the defenda nt, this is when Scout discovers racism.