The Purpose of Education Essay -- Philosophy of Education Teaching Tea

The Purpose of Education Education has existed throughout history in one form or another. The process of passing down accumulated information from one generation to the next has been present in every human society, past and present. From the young listening to the stories of the elders around the hearths of the ancient world, to pupils being instructed in the alphabet in a one room schoolhouse on the American frontier, to the present day online teaching sessions; the tradition of teaching and learning has been a constant in the ever changing world. Education has been and continues to be used for many purposes, chief among them being the creation of an educated citizenry, the empowerment of that citizenry, and improvement of the individual, and the nation as a whole. Some of the first proponents of an intensive education were the ancient Greeks and Romans who sought to create stronger and smarter societies. The Greeks in particular sought to educate their youths to create the next generation of leaders in their city state. Systems of education ensured that those elected to office will be equipped with the necessary skills for work in government. These concerns are still tantamount today as educators teach the next senators, congressmen, and presidents of our nation. Due to their future importance our citizens need to learn about how our government works as well as become versed in many other subjects. This educational process creates a well rounded citizen who is...

Organization Knowledge Essay

Managing information in today’s growing world is a tedious task. With excessive amount of data coming into systems daily, it has become imperative for knowledge organizers to follow certain guidelines if they are to ensure quick and easy retrievals later on. The purpose of this paper is to explore the different techniques using which knowledge in a public library can be organized. For this purpose, I m assuming that I have been employed by a public library and have been designated the task of organizing their knowledge. Organization of knowledge in a public library is a more delicate task than organization of knowledge at any other school or college library. Fact is that there are a greater number of users in a public library with all sorts of personalities. (ALA/PLA) Students, teachers, retirees, civilians, knowledge-seekers, tourists, etc are some of the different categories of users of a public library. Since all of these categories hold different perceptions as to the organization of knowledge and would expect a different kind of classification, it is important to use standardized organization techniques to address a maximum number of users in an appealing way. Classification of knowledge is a very ambiguous job. There are no pre-defined rules or any set criteria that govern the classification of knowledge. It is to the discretion of the librarian or the manager operating in the situation to decide by them the way of organizing their knowledge. Given the task of organizing knowledge at the public library I would begin by classifying and sorting out the different books according to the subject material they deal with. For example, books on art, literature, politics, religion, music and science can all be identified into separate groups and thus can easily be sorted. This would be the preliminary and perhaps one of the most critical steps in the entire process. Having effectively carried out a thorough classification during the first process would mean simplification and reduced errors in the oncoming steps. Organization of Knowledge) The next step is to assign labels or bar tags to these bags in an intelligent manner. Books in a library need a unique identification number that comes in hand at the time of borrowing and return. These identification numbers would be distributed on the basis of their category with no discretion within each category. Since new books would be coming into the library every now and then, the identification numbers cannot follow a rule. This is because every time new book comes in, it would require other books’ labels to be re-assigned. This would not only be an impossible task, it would also negate the integrity of the data contained in the library. Therefore, it is far more important to ensure that these books are given intelligent tags identifying their category and a corresponding number so that the identification number is a composite field made up of characters and numbers. After successful grouping or rather preliminary classification of the books in the library, I would no focus on ordering the books within each subset using the alphabetical order. Alphabetical order is a very tricky pattern to follow. There is no way a strict alphabetical order can be followed. Instead the name of the book and the author’s name are both used for alphabetical ordering. For example, a book written by P. Gerrard titled â€Å"On the Economics of War† can be classified under the â€Å"P† category or the â€Å"O† category. However, it depends on the librarian as to what is considered more important for him. I, being employed in a public library, would list this book under the â€Å"P† section due to the fact that the title of the book starts with an insignificant word, in terms of a title. The word â€Å"on† has no significant literary value when expressing a book title. Thus, listing this book under the â€Å"P† category would make life easier when it comes for searching. Similarly, placing the book titled â€Å"In the Eye of the Mist† by Pete K. Moss under the â€Å"I† category would have no intelligence associated with it. Intelligent categorization calls upon this book to be placed under the â€Å"P† category owing to the first name of the author starting with this alphabet making it easier to trace this book around the library. The discretion with which similar groupings will be done depends to a great extent upon the title of the book. Unless the title of the book opens with a relatively rare word or with a noun, the categorization will be done using the name of the author. Although, this may look to b a relatively easy task to perform, it should be noted that often there are several authors of a book or either their name does not start with a single initial. Such cases are often perplexing and it creates the problem of a uniformed strategy to follow. Ensuring uniformity in the organization of knowledge means that there would be fewer chances of not finding a book in the place it was thought to be in. (Organization of Knowledge)It also makes life easy for regular users of a library. Since public libraries serve the general public, there re several reads bound to be using the library on a routine basis. Such users get accustomed to the organization technique used within a library and after a considerable amount of time spent using the library, they themselves become equipped with the knowledge of finding a book easily. Often it has been seen that such people are there helping other naive users around the library when the librarian is not around or perhaps busy with another user. Moving on, since all of the books would by now be organized in their respective categories, it would be no longer confusing as to where a particular book should be placed. (What is Knowledge Organization? ) The next step would be to ensure that these books are all fed into a centralized system along with their shelf numbers. Inputting the identification numbers would be a time-consuming task. Normally libraries have added information about books contained in a database. Inputting such information along with the identification number would mean several days’ hard work. Thus, the general recommendation is to scan the identification numbers on the book along with their location tag. The location tag is like the identification number. It informs the reader as to which shelf this book will probably be placed on. Logically numbering the shelves and then placing the correct shelf tag on the book according to its position would eliminate a great deal of manual input. Scanned data will contain the label of the book and the location. Librarians in their free time can then update their database with additional information about these books. Thus, the final step would be to correctly place these books in the shelves that have been labeled onto them. Incorrect placement of these books will result in wasted activity during the organization of knowledge steps. Thus, it is imperative to ensure that these books are placed back in their respective shelves even after they are returned by an issuer. In conclusion, I would like to assert the fact that knowledge organization is a hefty, yet significant task when it comes to using a library. The books in a library are pretty much arranged in a very logical and orderly manner. It is this fact which makes a library usable and books accessible. Online entries of the locations of books into computers also assist librarians only because they know that the proper place of that book is the one pointed out by the computer. Librarians face a tough task ahead of them when they join public libraries and attempt to organize the knowledge there.

Comparison between the Japanese and the American Culture in the Gung Ho Film - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 1996 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2018/12/26 Category Sociology Essay Type Compare and contrast essay Level High school Tags: Japan Essay Movie Essay Did you like this example? Gung Ho is a movie that gives a candid parallelism that exists between the Japanese and the American culture. A movie explores the experiences of a Japanese company that has relocated to the America in search of perhaps better opportunity. The film through the experiences of the Japanese protagonist explores the challenges that they face as they are presented with a completely different culture from what they are accustomed (Howard et al). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Comparison between the Japanese and the American Culture in the Gung Ho Film" essay for you Create order Hunt who is an American but working in the Japanese company at times get in conflict such that thy even once engage in a physical fight in front of everyone. Ultimately, the two main characters learn the only way to survive in their diverse environment, is to cooperate and accept the cultural differences instead of being rigid. One factor that stands out between the culture of Japanese and the culture of the Americans is their perception about work and teamwork. The movie is marked by the differences in their working ethics such hat Kazihiro who represents the Japanese culture is of the school of thought about the need to have the collectivism concept; The concept of working together to achieve a common goal. Duties are not taken as a particular persons responsibility but as a collective duty for everyone to participate in. the Americans on the other hand are all about individualism. It is in their culture to value accountability for ones action and everyone is expected to bare their own cross. They work best when the jobs are assigned and then they all work separately to achieve the miniature objectives that are thereafter combined to form the ultimate mission of the company. The Americans resist the concepts that Kazihiro presents to them, until Hunt, their fellow American compromises on adapting some of the ideologies as they proved to be productive and the company improved their sales (Howard et al.). The clash and the disagreement are however brought out by the fact that the people do not have the same culture and the difference brings about the differences. The Americans believe in the need for individualism and it is hence their culture. The Japanese on the other hand, believe in the need for collectivity as in working as a team, to achieve the set target. The movie however elaborates to the user the need for one to have the knack for accommodating other cultures albeit they may seem a tad inferior to theirs since they might have an answer to a problem that one has. The clash between the two cultures also become clear when the workers differ on how some work should be done as in this case painting a car. The American and the Japanese culture have different way of doing things such that they go through a different method but they deliver the same work as they would done had they done the alternate way. Painting cars in this context is an important event as the people deal with the cars and something as one might perceive, as being inconsequential such as painting cars is an important venture. By Shimono offering to teach, the American Wendt how to paint cars it once again demonstrates the willingness of the Japanese to share their knowledge. The conflict that ensues portrays on the one need of the Americans to feel as if they are on the Lead as Hunt explains to Shimono (Howard et al.). The fact that the Americans are taught that their style of doing things is a superior move that should be honored makes one to see the difference in the cultures o f the two parties. The people learn the impact that the Americans feel they give to the result of the world. The Americans feel that they have the best skills and Wendt even feels insulted that the Japanese worker would even suggest that they would even give their method a chance to be tried out(Howard et al). He feels given that the company has relocated to America then the Japanese should have no qualms in adapting to the way the Americans do their thing (Howard et al). When the workers resume their jobs once the two masters have resumed their jobs, Hunt wants the American workers to be reassigned their former jobs since they are familiar with the job descriptions (Howard et al). The episode in this case, elaborates to the viewer the need for the cultures to accommodate others given that at the end of it all they all need each other. The people do not need to learn to stick to their ways and instead should be open to chances as the culture of japan is. The American culture in his case is a rigid one that does not value the beliefs and the norms of the other people. The familial values of the two people are also demonstrated as the people struggle to find a niche between the two cultures. For instance when the child of Willy is diagnosed as being sick, William sees the importance of taking the day off to keep the child company and to access the effects that the medication will have on the kid (Howard et al.). Soito on the other hand feels that it would be a loss of the input that the people so much need, as they would affect the work (Howard et al.). The Japanese culture in this movie implies that as long as a person is given the right medication hen that is what would eventually matter. it is therefore important to the viewer to learn about the importance of having a kid who the person sees the need to support them in all spheres. Just as Hunt explains to Soito, sometimes it is not the work that drives a person to do the work rather the reminder that they have dependants who need them for everything that they need to survive (Howard et al.). Th is means even the emotional support that the child needs to grow up in a supportive environment. The Japanese on the other hand as demonstrated by both Kazihiro and Soito is that the culture believes in the importance of sacrificing oneself to the fulfillment of the larger good. For instance, by William absconding work because of a sick child, he risks the company being bankrupt which would the affect a whole load of people and the families that they depend on the income that the jobs drew (((Howard et al.)), 2017). This episode once again shows the blatant difference that exists between the two cultures, the Americans believe in the need to protect what is theirs such as family and property even at the expense of the other people (((Howard et al.)), 2017). The Japanese on the other hand look at the impact that their decisions will have on the general public before indulging in the decision. The argument of Kazihiro is that since the disease is not a life threatening one, why should William risk the company being hurt by a trivial matter such as the tonsils of a kid being operated on (Howard et al.) 2017). The difference in their line of thinking, elaborates to the viewer the impact that the values and our culture can have on the people. the issue of individual responsibility and collective responsibility is candidly elaborated by the episode as everyone feels justified that their line of thinking is the right way of thinking. The style of communication among the cultures is also different as the two cultures are really different from each other. the American style is a low context mode of communication given that the people are more for saying what one receives about a certain situation instead of using a lot of words to say the same thing that would be said in just a few ones. Consider the incident that Hunt wants to go look for the Partnership of the Japans In the car business venture. He does the pr4sentation that is apparently meant to convince the investors on the rewards of being involved in the businesses. When he sees that he is not going anywhere with the challenges, he then explains to the investors on the benefits of being involved with them in a curt and a blatant manner. He then promises of full cooperation of the Americans should they be interested in the venture. Given that the Japanese culture is one that is high context, their silence is meant to communicate to Hunt his willingness to ven ture in the enterprise (Howard et al.). He however perceives the action as one that has meant that he has failed in convincing the company. The difference in the way different cultures interpret non-verbal cues such as silence shows that it is very different. In some settings, the silence could be perceived to mean their acceptance just like in the Japanese boardroom (Ho,n.p). Silence in some other cultures such as the American can be in interpreted to mean reluctance. The variance in different cultures, hence demonstrates to the user, the need first to understand the culture before coming into assumptions just like Hunt had. The high context culture of the Japanese, also insists on the importance of having cordial relationships instead of being right at the expense of the relationship (Ho,n.p). For instance, this incident is demonstrated when the American workers challenge the Japanese workers to playing a game. When the Buster, an American resorts to engaging in dishonest ways in order to beat them, the Japanese resorts to letting it slide instead of confronting them and ending up in an awkward situation. The issue of communication styles between the two cultures are sometimes in a constant clash as the people have different way of handling situations. When the men want to talk in confidence, they indirectly ask the women to leave by dropping hints that they would like to discuss business with Hunt, the Japanese women take cue, and leave but Audrey does not get it and even insists in being involved in the discussion. Kazihiro is not comfortable with the arrangement but he remains silent as he is reactin g to a high context communication as being one that needs direct talk instead of twisting the information to suit their comfort (Ho, n.p). The Americans also have a different perception on how power should be handled as they are the ones that are going to execute the decisions. It is hence important for one to look at the impact that the lack of involvement of the Americans in making decisions that they are expected to execute will have on the people. The Japanese on the other hand, feel that the people should only be informed of the process of the decision making if it only affects them. The Americans feel that their duty is to challenge the management on some decisions such as labor management decisions as they are decisions that will ultimately affect them, the Japanese sees it as a form of disrespect that they are questioning their bosses. The issue of ethnocentrism arises as each culture feels that their perception is the superior one and the other inferior (Ho,n.p). Such decisions are ones that are bound to affect the working relationship between the two parties. It is however a relief that despite the blatant difference in the cultures, the two manage to find a central ground and become successful in their enterprise. The movie becomes a relevant one to the world especially given the rate at which the world is globalizing. By the characters finding a middle ground, they illustrate to the viewer that it is important to compromise while in business by weighing the options. Work cited Howard, R., Blum, E., Ganz, L., Keaton, M., Watanabe, G., Wendt, G. (2017).? Gung Ho (1986).? IMDb. Retrieved 28 November 2017, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091159/ Ho, G. (2017).? Gung Ho (Movie) American versus Japanese Culture.? Hugh Fox III. Retrieved 28 November 2017, from https://foxhugh.com/tv-series-esl-discussion-questions/gung-ho-movie-american-versus-japanese-culture/