Wal-Mart: Good for American Cities and Towns Essay -- Business Analysi

Wal-Mart has been a staple of America since July 2, 1962, when Sam Walton opened the first Wal-Mart Discount City store. Within a few years, Wal-Mart Discount City stores began to spread across the country. In 1968, it opened its first stores outside Arkansas, in Sikeston, Missouri and Claremore, Oklahoma. Sam Walton found success in offering consumers options and variety. Since that first store opened, Wal-Mart has now entered the grocery business and now the company controls about 20% of the retail grocery and consumables business. This says a lot about a man who began his retail career after working just 18 months at J.C Penny. Sam Walton found success early on with offering variety, and options when no one else was. Consumers want more for their dollar and Wal-Mart has centered their focus on this idea, and has not apologized for that fact. In fact, Wal-Mart’s sole existence relies on the consumers search for the lowest priced goods. Wal-Mart has transferred itself from a simple variety store into Wal-Mart Supercenter and has other chains which include Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market and Sam’s Club. Wal-Mart Inc. has found a way to offer options to the consumer not classically offered in grocery. By offering options such as an optical center, one-hour photo processing lab, Tire & Lube Express, and even in some cases hair and nail salons, pet shops, and pharmacies, Wal-Mart has taken steps to break the mold and offer consumers options that other stores cannot and has done a good job at that. With these types of options you could be in a Wal-Mart Superstore for hours and complete all of your afternoon shopping. This idea isn’t lost on Wal-Mart Inc., now offering the ability to get a money order from the ATM shows also why Wa... ...s prices gasoline cheaper then local competitors. Wal-Mart also has donated more than $1.5 million national BackPack Program, The Nation’s Food Bank Network will deliver backpacks filled with nutritious, protein-rich food to school children in need. With the money raised thousands of backpacks filled with much needed food for school children to take home. It has helped to rasie funds and build awarness it the problem of hunger, with a â€Å"Be A Part Of The Solution To End Hunger† campaign. Wal-Mart Inc has done a great job at bringing together what is local to the area and what isn’t and bringing to many small towns. So when a Wal-Mart stands up, it isn’t just Wal-Mart Inc who benefit, but the community. REFERENCES http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wal-Mart http://walmartwatch.com/ www.walmartfacts.com/ http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html

The Broken Calabash of the North

The Jos crisis and its dimension have punctured the legal fiction often referred to as ‘One North’ in Nigeria. The idea that the North is one big united and indivisible family with a common identity, shared beliefs and single collective future is not only patently fallacious but is based on a dangerous hypocrisy and make-believe by only a few who are the benefactors of this myth. The one big family (the North) if it ever existed at all, is now a divided house; a broken calabash that cannot be repaired. It is a delusion that would not go away because it suits the interests of both the Muslim North and their deluded counterparts in the Middle Belt who are obsessed with enhancing their bargaining clout within Nigeria’s competitive ethno-regionalism. In reality, it is a dude cheque in political terms; a marriage of convenience that died a long time ago, even though the couple are still going through the motions and self belief that their marriage is still holding. It is crucially important that we come to terms with the honest truth; recognizing our differences and learning how we might live side-by-side in mutual respect and tolerance. The Muslim North has a heritage rooted in the traditions of Jihad and the Caliphate. The Christian Middle Belt has an identity anchored on Christianity and resistance. The peoples of the Middle Belt are what they are today because they were never conquered by Jihad and never subscribed to enslavement by the Caliphate and its feudal powers. The fact that we all speak the Hausa language is neither here nor there. According to the Muslim narrative, Northerners are the heirs to an illustrious heritage rooted in Jihad and the Caliphate. They belong to a global Muslim Ummah in which the Nigerian branch is one of the largest on the African continent. They have had a tradition of learning and rulership that is probably unequalled in the annals of the Western Sudan. The British colonialists subjugated the North in a manner that benefitted Christians and Western imperialist interests, blocking the southward march of Islam. In the light of the global Islamic resurgence, the traditions of Jihad have to be reinvented to meet the needs of the twenty-first century. Western secularism and materialism have shown themselves to be highly discredited. Muslims have had to be vigilant in defending their honour and their values from assault by Western imperialism as represented by the twin evils of Zionism and American neoconservative reaction. Muslims must assert their identity wherever they are. Believing themselves to constitute an overall numerical majority in Nigeria, they do not see why they should not have a free hand to remake the country in their own image after their own thoughts, ideology and way of life. Muslims in Nigeria have always use political power as the trump card that they have to sustain them in political leadership and once in power, they must use that opportunity to defend the Northern Islamic interest, however defined. They see nothing amiss in dominating all strategic government positions from local, state and national levels. Equal status is not accorded Christians with their Muslim counterpart in far Northern States. Churches are barely tolerated and are seen as a menace. Christian preaching is seen as a source of irritation or provocation. The Shari’a law is embraced by the Northern States as a counter to the growing missionary activity of the Church. The Almajiri system is nurtured as a potential army to be deployed when Christians need to be ‘taught a lesson’. And when the ‘lesson’ is being taught, the victim is expected to ‘turn the other cheek’ according to what their holy Book supposedly teaches. And if they choose to retaliate, it is ‘genocide’. In the Middle Belt, Christians see things differently. They believe they have always endeavoured to live in harmony with their Muslim neighbours, although it is doubtful if the Muslims feel the same goodwill towards them. The persecution of Christians and the torching of churches has become an annual ritual in most northern states since the 1980s. Many of these attacks are random in character, mostly unexplained and unprovoked. Even more ominous is the fact that they often occur with the tacit knowledge if not connivance, of some of the most influential elements within the North and in the corridors of power. The Global Jihad The Middle Belt has been at the receiving end of a long Global Jihad for years now. The Islamisation policies of Sardauna which were fiercely resisted by the Middle Belt States have continued to re-surface through various means and approaches employed by the Hausa/Fulani Jihadists. Even today, under the current democratic dispensation, army postings, police postings despite denials in certain quarters, are being reshaped in accordance with the whims and caprices of Northern hegemony. As I write this article, presently in Plateau State, 8 key police officers are Muslims i. ; Police Commissioner, Deputy Police Commissioner, ACP C. I. D, C. S. P. Admin, OC C. I. B, OC MOPOL, OC General Investigation, and STF Commander. One wonders why there will be such kind of postings in a predominantly Christian population and yet in Kano, Bauchi, Borno, Katsina, Sokoto etc such an opposite postings cannot take place. The questionable and controversial roles of people like the former Army Chief, Gene ral Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau and Major-General Saleh Maina, Commanding Officer, 3 Division, on the Jos crisis leaves much to be desired. When the outcry was loud, Major-General Saleh Maina had to be changed. While he served as the GOC of the 3rd Division Nigerian Army Jos, he was in full control of the Special Task Force whom was answerable to him on a daily basis. A new GOC who is a Christian was posted but he was short changed in his responsibilities by the outgoing GOC as the Special Task Force is removed from his desk and a Muslim Commander appointed to give them direction. This maneuvers show that something sinister is happening perpetrated by our so call big brothers from the North. These Northern brothers have certainly shown themselves to be untrustworthy as far as the people of the Plateau and indeed the Middle Belt are concerned. If we were together as a non-divisible North, they would have protected the calamities being witnessed in Jos, Tafawa Balewa and Benue where gross killings have been perpetrated by Muslims of recent. It is also instructive that just before the outbreak of violence in Jos, a mysterious order came from Abuja transferring all Plateau State indigenes serving in the Nigerian Police Force out of the State. With the benefit of hindsight, it has been gathered this was a malicious move to unleash terror on the Plateau people. The attempt to subjugate and humiliate the peoples of the Middle Belt is nothing new. Our northern Pharaohs had always ensured that the region was always marginalised in terms of location of industries, political appointments and development projects. When it comes to representation at the Federal centre, the Middle Belt region always plays second fiddle to the Muslim North in the scheme of things. Today, you are unlikely to find anyone from the Middle Belt holding a senior cabinet position in any important department of government. Even when you find it, these are mere errand officers for the Pharoahs. This is in keeping faith with the clarion call by Sir Ahmadu Bello (The Sardauna of Sokoto) at Nigeria’s independence as quoted In the Parot Newspaper of 12 October 1960 when he said: â€Å"The new nation called Nigeria should be an Estate of our great grandfather Othman Dan Fodio. We must ruthlessly prevent a change of power. We use the Minorities in North as willing tools and the south as a conquered territory and never allow them to rule over us and never allow them to have control over their future†. Northern leaders continue to pay lip-service to the ‘One North’ myth, but we know that their definition does not include us in the Middle Belt. Middle Belt leaders are largely to blame for pandering to this empty, nauseating charade. They have lost the vision bequeathed to us by such heroes as Joseph Sarwuan Tarka, Jolly Tanko Yusuf, Rev. David Lot and Patrick Dokotri. And we have all but forgotten the arduous sacrifices they made so that our people would have a more dignified future. The Broken Calabash Looking at these events, clearly, the so called â€Å"one North† calabash is broken. Instead of trying to mend it, now is the time for the Middle Belt to look toward forging new and alternative strategic alliances that will respect and recognize our identity, strength and abilities. It is an act of foolishness, cowardice and immaturity to continue to persist in the illusion of ‘One North’ when we are getting absolutely nothing out of it. The Middle Belt has enough manpower, land and natural resources to stand the test of time. With our rich and fertile soils, credible leaders and a persistent people, we have all it takes to have a separate identity other than the Northern mythology. What all this boils down to is that we must look elsewhere in seeking the explanatory variables for the persistence of violence and instability in the Middle Belt. We are led, inevitably, to the question of religion and Jihad. The Middle Belt people have borne more than their fair share of sacrifice to keep Nigeria together. In peace as in war, there are few to equal the likes of Yakubu Gowon, Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, Domkat Bali, Gibson Sanda Jallo and several others who fought to keep this nation together. Our people are known to be God-fearing, chivalrous, accommodating and patriotic. Those who have married our women have found them to be virtuous and hardworking. We are the heart of Nigeria. This country would not have continued to exist as a corporate entity were it not for the sacrifices made by the Middle Belt people. The antics of the Jihadists have been familiar to us since the days of the Sardauna. Their trademark is deceit. Through the abuse of ‘geopolitical zoning’, they have ensured that whenever any opportunity arises for the North, it will always go to a Northern Muslim. Their definition of the North does not include us. While Christians are the majority in Nasarawa, Kaduna, Niger and Adamawa, they have never ruled those states except for fate that made Kaduna to be governed presently by a Christian. Because of their ‘success’ in subjugating our people, the Jihadists are frustrated that they cannot take over the Plateau or other Middle Belt States through their subtle plans, hence the resort to violence. We are told in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart by Okonkwo that if a man defecates in your compound, the manly thing to do is to take a stick and break his head. If the Jihadists expect people to lie back and relax while they kill rape and maim our women and children, then they must think again. It’s over and cannot be tolerated. One thing that is clear from the continued scenario and hooliganism of the Hausa North is that the Islamic fascists do not cherish human life the way normal people do. While the Christian cherished love, they believe in violence and the rule of fear. Force being the sole language they understand, we must be prepared to give as much as we receive. While the Federal Government which controls the police and the army seems compromised and a lackluster to defend our people in the Middle Belt, we are left with no option than to defend ourselves. And if disproportionate force is what is needed to dissuade the Jihadists, then disproportionate force it must be. We are no longer in doubt about how well we have read the enemy and understood his antics. By now, we know how his mind works and how he operates – his terror antics, the mischief, the surprise nature of his life and tricks are all but clear to us. Of course, violence cannot be said to be the ultimate. The Bible urges us to seek peace and to pursue it. Muslims, too, are children of God. None of us enjoys taking the life of any child of God. But there is a time for war and a time for peace (Eccl. 3: 3, 5, 8). God the Son is a God of love; but the God of Joshua and Aaron is also a flaming fire. There comes a time when you must stop praying and act; when you must defend your family, your children, and your land. Such, alas, are the times in which we live. The Jihadists always have somewhere else to go to; we have nowhere to go, hemmed in as we are in the geometrical centre of the Nigerian Federation. With all manner of imported arms and mercenaries arrayed against us, and with military chieftains who leave us in no doubt as to where they stand, it is Jehovah nissi alone that will defend us. And if some of us should fall, the Angel of the Lord will fight for us. Our children will rush forth to meet the enemy at the gates with horns and trumpets of victory.

Linking instruction Essay

Teaching is always perceived as a straightforward process whereby teachers provide instruction and students learn. With this perspective, teaching is seen as a simple instruction–learning process. In actual practice, it is more realistic to view assessment as an integral component of the teaching process. In fact, it has been estimated that teachers devote at least one-third of their professional time to assessment-related activities (Stiggins & Conklin, 1992). Assessment can and should provide relevant information that both enhances instruction and promotes learning. In other words, there should be a close alignment between theory, instruction and assessment. With this expanded conceptualization of teaching, instruction and assessment are integrally related, with assessment providing objective feedback about what the students have learned, how well they have learned it, how effective the instruction has been, and what information, concepts, and objectives require more attention. Instead of teaching being limited to an instruction–learning process, it is conceptualized more accurately as an instruction–learning–assessment process. For example, a misaligned curriculum, instruction, and assessment had been seen as one factor that led to poor student achievement. In the past, standardized norm-referenced tests, used traditionally for accountability, have only partially aligned with curricular materials and classroom instruction. These conditions obviously result in poor test scores (Burger, n. d. ). Using the standards-led alignment approach, this policy sought to align, integrate, and connect components of schools as systems (e. g. , assessments, curriculum, instruction, and accountability). According to Linn & Herman (1997), standards-led alignment should use local content standards as the focal point to: †¢ foster the use of multiple assessment sources and methods, †¢ describe how classroom and accountability assessment relate to each other, †¢ align accountability and classroom assessment with learner outcomes, and †¢ ensure that teachers and administrators use appropriate forms of assessment, are skilled in interpreting data, can plan for re-teaching activities using data, and can evaluate the impact of specific programs and instructional strategies. To begin the alignment process, Allington and Cunningham (2002) advocated a comprehensive policy review to determine where all system elements connect (e. g. , curriculum, instruction, and leadership). Stiggins and Conklin (1992) illustrated the important role that teachers play in the process of aligning instruction and assessment methods with theory: As a nation, we spend billions of dollars on educational assessment, including hundreds of millions for international and national assessments, and additional hundreds of millions for statewide testing programs. On top of these, the standardized tests that form the basis of district-wide testing programs represent a billion dollar industry. If we total all of these expensive, highly visible, politically important assessments, we still account for less than 1 percent of all the assessments conducted in America’s schools. The other 99 percent are conducted by teachers in their classrooms on a moment-to-moment, day-to-day, and week-to-week basis. In summary, if an educational institution wants to have effective teachers, they needs incorporate in their educational paradigm to link theory in the methods of instruction and assessment. Instruction and assessment are both instrumental parts of the teaching process, and assessment is a major component of a teacher’s day-to-day job. Knowing the connection of these, teachers can obtain information that promotes self-understanding and they will have more ability to help students plan for the future. For example, parents and students can use assessment information to make educational plans and select careers that best match a student’s abilities and interests. References Allington, R. L. , & Cunningham, P. M. (2002). Schools that work: Where All Children Read and Write.Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Linn, R. , & Herman, J. L. (1997, February). A Policy Maker’s Guide to Standards-Led Assessment. Denver, CO: Education Commission of the States. Burger, D. (n. d. ). Using Standards-Led Policy to Align Assessment and Accountability Systems. Honolulu: Pacific Resources for Education and Learning. Retrieved 2 November 2006 at http://www. prel. org/products/re_/standards-led. htm. Stiggins, R. & Conklin, N. (1992). In Teachers’ Hands: Investigating the Practice of Classroom Assessment. New York: SUNY Press.

Keeping the Family Tradition Alive Essay

I started keeping my family tradition of canning alive last summer. My family has canned for years and there is nothing better than opening up something I have canned on my own and thinking of the people who shared this tradition with me. Traditions are very important to keep going in families around the world. Traditions are very broad anything from what people do on holidays to cooking. My family tradition is very important to me. I knew last year that if I didn’t learn some of my family’s secret recipes while my grandmother and mom are still with us than there would be a chance that my family would never be able to taste the wonderful flavors my family has put together over the years and my family has looked so forward to the taste that we have grown to love. Before I begin canning, I must gather all the materials that I need to get started. The first step is the selection of the tomatoes. I pick all of my tomatoes from my own garden they are so much better than anything from the grocery store. Last year I used better boy tomatoes and roma tomatoes. The roma tomatoes are great to use because they have fewer seeds, thicker, meatier walls and less water. And that means thicker sauce in less cooking time! Also, I don’t want mushy, bruised or rotten tomatoes. Next I remove the tomato skins this is very important. Nothing worse than eating spaghetti and having to chew on a piece of skin left behind. Here’s a trick my grandma taught me: put the tomatoes, a few at a time in a large pot of boiling water for no more than 1 minute. Then I plunge them into a waiting bowl of ice water. This makes the skins slide right off of the tomatoes. If the skins are left on then they become tough and chewy in the sauce, not very pleasant. Now I must remove the seeds and water. After peeling the skins off the tomatoes, I cut the tomatoes in half. I remove the seeds and excess water. I call it the squeeze of the seeds. It is just like it sounds: wash hands then squeeze each tomato and I use my thumb or a spoon to scoop and shake out most of the seeds. I do leave some of the seeds because that is my preference. I toss the squeezed tomatoes into a colander or drainer while I work on the others. By draining the water off now, I end up with a thicker spaghetti sauce in less cooking time. The next step I must do is to get the lids and jars sanitized. The dishwasher is fine for the jars, especially if it has a â€Å"sanitize† cycle. I get that going while I’m preparing everything else, so it’s done by the time I’m ready to fill the jars. While the jars and lids are being sanitized I begin getting that spaghetti sauce going. I take my onions, garlic, basil, oregano, bay leaves, green peppers, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and my burgundy and place them all in the pot first. After I get the onions and pepper a little tender I add all the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Cook down the tomatoes until the sauce is my desired thickness. I usually let my sauce cook for about two hours. The last step I call canning time. While my sauce is simmering I get my water bath canner ready. I go ahead and feel the water up and get it boiling. I start a small pot of water boiling to put the lids in so that the lids can sanitize and helps the lids seal. When the sauce is ready I place the jar funnel on the jar and I fill them to within ? inch of the top and set the lid and hand ’tighten the ring on. I place the jars in the water bath and cook for about 20mins. I then use the jar grabber and pull the jars out one at a time and let them cool draft-free place. Once the jars are cool, I check that they are sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. I press down in the center gently with my finger. If it pops up and down then it is not sealed. If it don’t seal than I just replace the lid and do the canning time again. Now that all the steps are complete, I listen to all the little pings going on telling me that my hard work has paid off. I am so glad that I have learned the family tradition of canning. My grandmother has gotten older and doesn’t can anymore. Out of all my family it is just my mom, Aunt Susan, and myself left doing the canning. It was a nice reward to my sole a few weeks ago when I had my grandmother over for dinner. I had canned some beets and decided that was the day to open them. When my grandmother tried them she said, â€Å"These taste just like mine. † To hear her say that meant so much to me. I couldn’t image not having the taste of what I grew up with because they don’t sell it in the grocery store. This is why I am keeping my family tradition going and teaching my girls. We never know when our love ones are not going to be here anymore. If I can’t have my family with me I at least want to be able to remember them by creating what they have thought me. If people have something in their family that is done by others and would not want to miss it after that person is gone than learn how that special someone does it. I did that’s why I will always have that special connection with canning and my family.

The use of progress monitoring can help provide educators with a Essay

The use of progress monitoring can help provide educators with a valuable tool to improve their own teaching - Essay Example According to Thomas (2010), the several types of assessments used in progress monitoring can provide a substantial amount of information regarding the status of the students’ knowledge, skills and abilities. In the TRI model, progress monitoring serves different functions at each tier as described in the following section. Tier 1 of progress Monitoring: In this tier, progress monitoring procedures serve critical functions. According to Thompson and Morse (2004), proactive assessment is, usually, done at least three times annually and is used as a general screening procedure for all students. In this tier, screening helps to identify vulnerable students by making a comparison of their performance relative to a measure criterion. According to Shane and Mathew (2007), progress monitoring helps to show a student’s performance trend over time and to determine whether the student’s performance is appropriate in the effective curriculum. Tier 2 of Progress Monitoring: Thompson and Morse (2004) posited that the objective of progress monitoring is to gauge the extent to which intervention is effective in assisting learners at an optimum rate. In this tier, timely decisions about student progress are essential for long-term achievement (BEESS, 2008). Progress Monitoring in Special Education: According to Fuchs and Hintze (2006), progress monitoring is also crucial in special education. In the first place, it provides systematic and reliable information which can be used to meet the student’s individual needs (Fuchs and Hintze, 2006). In addition, progress monitoring is a requirement of the individualized education program and provides information about student progress toward short-term objectives and annual goals. There are diverse procedures to progress monitoring employed by teachers for student evaluation. According to BEESS (2008), the two main methods of progress monitoring used are mastery monitoring and general outcome

Response papers Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Response papers - Movie Review Example Rain Man is an American drama movie produced in 1988. It narrates the tale of two brothers, one a selfish, abrasive young man (Charlie Babbitt), and the other an autistic savant (Raymond Babbitt). As the tagline states, it is â€Å"a journey through understanding and fellowship† (Internet Movie Database, 2015). Charlie is in the middle of a financial crisis and finds out that his father has died and handed down the multimillion-dollar family estate to his other son. He is only left with his late father’s car and rose bushes. He investigates where the money is directed and discovers it is sent to a mental institution where his brother (whom he never knew) lives. Charlie wants to get control of the money by attempting to become his brother’s legal guardian. They commence on a long trip back to Los Angeles by road and on the way they discover they actually enjoy each other’s company. By the end of the movie, it is evident that Charlie has changed his attitude towards life and love, in general. The main theme expressed by the movie is that people can change to accept the disabled in our society. It also shows that the disabled possess rare abilities, apart from the shortcomings that other people impose on them. For instance, Charlie discovers that Raymond is an autistic savant; he has an excellent memory and amazing mathematical capabilities. The movie is about change. Unlike his elder brother, Raymond, who remains the same throughout the movie, Charlie transforms from the self-centered young man to one who loves those close to him and sees things from their perspective. The plot shows that the problem lies not in the disabled but the society. The movie is very similar to the article Confronting Ableism by Thomas Hehir. He claims that changing our attitude and approach in dealing with the handicapped is the solution to end stigmatization. Potok (2002) is of the same idea. We need to change how we label people with disabilities and accept

Effective and Ineffective adds Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Effective and Ineffective adds - Essay Example Secondly, the interest carries the consumer towards the body of the ad. The above ad has an interesting story to go along with it. It has an excellent visual and catches attention at the first glance. The droplet in the ad is the focal point, and it leads to the body copy, presumed to be what the advertiser wants the consumer to read. The logo and the headline, Estee Lauder, are at the bottom, as it puts more focus on the product (Kelley, Sheehan, & Jugenheimer, 2015). Third, the credibility is essential in the creative pyramid. The reader always wants the claims in an ad supported by tangible facts. The claims have to be relevant to the need of the audience. Credibility in the above ad differentiated it from other ads. It communicates information about the product and on where the product sold. Therefore, the ad builds loyalty, brand preference, and value to its consumers (Kelley, Sheehan, & Jugenheimer, 2015). Fourth, the desired step is where the ad puts the audience or the consumer imagines a situation of enjoying its consumption. The desire gives the customer a feeling that once they use the product, they will be happier. The above ad provides a solution to the aging skin due to lack of sleep. Thereby, the clients get a feeling that their aging skin got a solution finally (Kelley, Sheehan, & Jugenheimer, 2015). Lastly, the action comes as the last step in the creative pyramid. It gives the buyer the motivation of doing something. The motivation for using the product above is by the call for action in using it. Use of the above product means that the consumer wakes up with a more beautiful skin each morning. Therefore, the ad gives hope to the consumer through action (Kelley, Sheehan, & Jugenheimer, 2015). The above add is an example of an ineffective ad. The ad creates an awareness but in an inefficient manner. Not every man wears jeans. Therefore, it is limited to those who wear jeans. One may think that the cancer is only for