Adolf Hitler Final

Adolf Hitler was born in 1889 on April 20th. He was a son to an Austrian customs official who was at the age of 52 at Hitler’s birth. His father was called Alois Schickelgruber Hitler and his mother who was a third wife of his father was called Klara Poelzi.Both were from lower Austria. Hitler was resentful and moody he was never contented with anything; he was argumentative and short tempered. In fact he was very hostile to his father who was an authoritarian but greatly attracted to his mother who was very hard working.His mother’s death of cancer was a very big blow to the adolescent Hitler whom he adored very much in fact he went with a photo of his mum wherever he went. His mother was loving, caring and she always sided with Hitler whenever his father’s bitterness got the better of him. Hitler and his father always crossed swords when his father insisted that Hitler should become a civil servant Hitler wanted to be an artist.In school (Ellis J., 1945, 198) H itler was unpopular and stayed aloof. He was an introvert and made very few friends.He was extremely lazy and performed dismally in school. In later years he claimed that history was his favorite subject and that he performed very well something that his teacher objected to. For example, the 1905’s Hitler’s final school report shown that in history results were rated only as ‘satisfactory’. Hitler was capable of performing well but never worked for it.When Hitler was only 13 years his father died and after that he dropped out of school as there was no strong influence to keep him in school. His mother supported him while he was in school though he performed poorly.Even after Hitler’s father died he never stopped his dream of becoming an artist and after he left school for Vienna he started to pursue his dream although his mother’s death shattered his life. He was affected psychologically by his mother’s death of cancer. Those who were close to Hitler said that he even spent hours gazing at the dead body of his mother and drawing the sketches of it.He had applied for a vacancy in Vienna so that he could pursue his goal of becoming an artist; his application to the Vienna academy of art was rejected. At that time he had no job and money. In the meantime, he used to sell post cards and clearing snow pathways in return for money. It is at this time that Hitler’s mind became warped.He developed very strong animosity towards Jews. This was because the Jewish professor at Vienna academy rejected his work, secondly he blamed the Jewish doctor for not preventing the death of his mother and third because he thought that it was only the Jews who were rich and stayed in those beautiful houses on whose snow bound paths he cleared. His hatred of the Jews was known as anti-Semitism.For the five years he stayed in Vienna he referred this time as â€Å"five year of hardship and misery† in his book â€Å"Mein Kampfà ¢â‚¬  he blamed his hardship and miseries to the Jews. In an attempt to run away from his trouble, he tried to join Austrian army but he failed medically because of eating poor food and lack of sleeping enough.According to the medical report he was too weak to carry weapons. This time he was leading a life of hand to mouth. He did occasionally odd jobs and hawking the sketches he drawn in the town.Hitler compensated for the frustrations of his bachelor life miseries by going to the cheap cafes where he made his political harangues on his dreams of a Greater Germany to anyone who would listen to him. (Ellis J., 1945, 220)While still in Vienna, he acquired his first education in politics by learning about the Christian social mayor’s demagogical techniques. It was at this time that he perfected his stereotyped obsessive ness in anti-Semitism. He accused the Jews of having a conspiracy to put down the German nation and the purity of the creative Aryan raceHitler left Vienna for Munich in May 1913 and when in the following year the war broke out he joined the 16th barbarian infantry regiment where he served as a dispatch runner. Here he proved to be an able and to brave soldier. He even won the iron cross title for bravely though he never rose beyond the rank of lance corporal.Before the end of the First World War he was wounded twice forcing him to a hospital bed in Pomerania where he spent three months recuperating.After the November 18th abortive German revolution, Hitler became furious with age after the Germany’s military was defeated, he strongly believed he was the fit one to rescue his ravaged and humiliated nations from the hell of troubles it inherited from the Versailles treaty from Jews and Bolsheviks.In 1924 Hitler said in a written document that he was fortunate to live at such a time. He was a regimental massager whose job was to convey messages to officers behind the front line and then back to the front line with new messages.This w as a dangerous job and proved beyond reasonable doubts that he was a brave solder. His fellow compatriots were not amused by how Hitler kept on bragging over the achievements of the trench warfare. They also hated him because he did not mix with them well. Later he was promoted to the rank of a corporal but this promotion was not fair to him taking in to consideration that after those four years he was given that simple promotion.His colleagues thought that his inability to socialize and mix with others well and his inability to sell his ideas well to the rest of the members comprised his promotion. They argued that why should you promote someone who was not popular to his people. Though his colleagues never liked him he was much recognized by the officers for his bravely which worn him the Germany’s highest award-Iron Cross. In total he received six medals which were due in his bravery.Up to 1918 (Gilbert M., The Second World War: p 72) Hitler was still convinced that German y was winning the war but the war cost Hitler a lot in fact.In the same year just one month before the war ended, he was gas attacked at type and this made him to be temporary blind though for a period of three months he as in hospital bed, when he received the news that Germany had lost out of the hospital and his eyesight restored. He felt deeply convinced that Germany was defeated simply because of the Jews.It never occurred to him that Germany would have surrendered he felt that the Jews back stabbed Germany and it was a perfect idea if they were eliminated in Germany. Hitler had been temporarily blind because of the mustard gas attack he received in October 1918 in Belgium.While Hitler was recovering from the injuries he sustained in the war, the communities with the help from the Jews were trying to establish themselves and sell their ideas to Germany but their moves were abortive. They wanted to revolutionize Germany from capitalism to communism and from 9th November 1918 the socialists took control of the government.After Germany had lost the war the monarchy system came to an end and it become a republic and a constitution was made a slot for a president with political and military might.An election was done and the Centrist government took over and it came to be called the Weimar Republic. The German government on June 28th 1919 ratified the treaty of Versailles. It stated that Germany was responsible for causing the first thus it was required to pay the reparations to the allied powers or the victorious powers like Britain, France and Italy.The treaty was also required Germany to demilitarize the Rhineland, limit its army to only 100,000 army men and to control its military strength. These terms of the treaty were humiliating the Germans and they undermined the proper performance of the Germany’s government. These oppressive terms were used against liberating Germany from the humiliations caused by the treaty.Hitler especially used these term s as his campaign tool. He echoed the paining terms of the treaty and condemned it. By doing this, he was able to rally behind a big mass of supporters. He believed that Germany was a great nation and was not a simple country that could be subjected to humiliations of such magnitudes.  In 1923, Hitler sensing that Weimar government was on the verge of collapsing, General Ludendorff himself and the local nationalists tried to overthrow the Bavarian government. Hitler stormed in a bar at Munich and fired a pistol in to the ceiling; he shouted out that he was the head of the new provisional government that would bring a revolution to the â€Å"Reed Berlin†Thinking he had already overthrown the government he marched with about three thousand men but met a very strong police fire that saw 16men dead. He was captured and arrested. In 1924, February 26 he was tried and he somehow succeeded in convincing his accusers that he was pursuing the right goal.He shouted pronounce us guilt y a thousand time over the goddess of the eternal court of history will smile and tear to pieces the state prosecutors submission and the court’s verdict for she acquits us†(Morrow J., 1663; 234)Hitler was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison in Landsbergis fortress and nine months later he was released. He advanced his stereotyped and prejudiced views against Jews. The experience he acquired from the abortive power overturn transformed him from being unskilled adventurer to a wise politician.He realized that it is not a wise idea to face gun nozzles of the army unless he was in command. He also comes to know that Germany was not to be revolutionized through unlawful and powerful seizure of the ruling government but by the alteration of the Weimer’s constitution. He began mobilizing the mass which had become disintegrated to push for changes in the government.He drafted the party’s manifesto which comprised of twenty five points and on 24th Febr uary read the content to his followers .Those who opposed him and his ideas were crushed with whips and rubber truncheons by his royal supporters.Hitler was eloquent and new how to manipulate the population by employing his propagandas or what can be referred to as the demagogical skills, in his draft he openly criticized the Versailles treaty and leveled his anger on Jews.When Hitler was released from prison having only served for only nine months, he resolved using diplomatic means to seize power. He called for Germany to stand up to the yoke of Jews and communists and support an empire that would rule them for a thousand years. In 1929, the wall stock exchange collapsed, all the external grants and loans dried up and all the industrial production flopped and many people were rendered jobless.After the elections that were held (Adreas H, 1982; 91) Hitler’s party scooped 18% of the votes in 1930 and after two years Hitler won 30% of the votes as a president. In 1932 July the Nazi party which was the biggest than others did not get the majority.Hitler wanted to be the chancellor but was given the post of a vice chancellor in the government which was formed by different parties but he rejected. After that a deal was reached which saw him becoming the chancellor in 1933. After Paul von Hindenburg who had beaten him in the election died (Beevor A., 2002; 137)Hitler was agreed through a consensus to succeed Hindenburg. After Hitler took over he suppressed all the other political parties and become a dictator. With the improving economy he was able to advance his ideas he even build an industrial machine as a preparation for war. By 1937, he was ready to execute his ever dreamt of plans as were outlined in his book Mein Kampf.Those who objected to his master plans were thrown out of the way. In 1935, he refused to stick to the terms of the Versailles treaty and started rearming by recruiting five times contrary to the agreement and he pushed Britain to let h im increase his naval base. A year later he marched on to Rhineland which was supposed to be demilitarized. He met no resistance from the allied powers. Afterward, Luftwaffe was build. This re-armament created jobs and economic growth.According to (Adreas H. 1982; 78) Hitler forced France and Britain to break the Munich agreement and led to the eventual Czechoslovakia dismantlement in 1939. He executed the Jews and political extremists who opposed his ideas. In 1939, September 1st he invaded Poland.He applied his new war strategy which was called blitzkrieg which involved short quick attacks, fast mobile armor and ground men to wipe anything that might have been left by the bombs. Poland was defeated in less than a month. In 1941, he dishonored the non-aggression pact which he had signed with the Soviet Union.This made him to have two front wars. In December the same year, USA joined the war against him to join hands with the allies. In 1944, the allies had greatly advanced. They bo mbed Germany cities and crushed Germany’s friend-Italy.The war turned sour on his side because his soldiers started disobeying him and even mutinied. Also when his chosen lieutenants saw that they were about to be defeated, they started going against Hitler’s wishes although his dream of wiping European Jews had been realized. He had already killed 2/3 of the total; Jewish population.When he sensed defeat, he killed himself on 1945 April 30th. Later, Eva Brawn his wife who was a long time mistress and by then newly married committed suicide to follow his husband. Hitler committed suicide by shooting himself in the mouth with a pistol. Their bodies were taken to the Reich Chancellery Gardens where they were cremated in petrol fire. His death marked the end of unrealized legacy of Germanic Reich.

Grammar school Essay

From 1834, the year of emancipation of slaves in Dominica and the other British West Indian colonies to 1845, the popular education that was existent was really religious education. The concept of a state system of education in the West Indies emerged in Britain in 1833 as part of the act to emancipate slaves in British custody. Prior to that, the masses of the people had practically no formal education. In Dominica, from 1834 onwards, the British subsidized primary education through grants but basically, education was imported and promoted mainly by missionaries. The content of education was divorced from the interests and needs of the masses and the community. Emphasis was on the classics and the arts. There is little doubt that the churches original interest in education was the creation of influential educated elite. In practice, their interests were denominational, especially seen in the establishment of secondary schools. Proposed educational policies depended greatly on the availability of funds, which were always insufficient. Therefore, changes and reforms were minimal. The newly elected legislative councils and their leaders gave little support. In reality, education, in practice was for a privileged minority. The populace remained virtually ignorant and illiterate. The pre-emancipation society was therefore not in any sense an educated one. Where slaves received any instruction at all it was of a religious nature provided by the church at long intervals. The authorities had no aims or standards; hence there was no system of formal education. It was against this background that the British Imperial Government incorporated an education grant in the 1833 Act of Emancipation to assist in the educational development of the Negroes. Establishing schools for the masses was provided for by the Act, which included grant money from the imperial government to provide education in the ex-slave colonies. This grant money is known as the Negro Education Grant. It was regarded as an urgent matter. The total grant amounted to a mere ? 30,000 per annum for five years for all the BWI of almost one million people. The decision to allocate the grant was executed through the local legislatures and the religious bodies. The grant was decreased each year and ended in 1845. The denominations were offered financial help to build schools, and later to assist in the payment of teachers’ salaries as the best means of developing a system of education. Dominica’s share of the Grant amounted only to ? 600 to be spent on 14,000 ex-slaves. This amount was very insignificant and was spent mainly by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPCK). After two years it became apparent that the desired and intended results were not forthcoming because of the many difficulties faced. Some churches were unable to accept more grants because they could not bear the recurrent expenditure on their schools. In August 1837, the grant was switched to pay one-third of teachers’ salaries instead. This was insufficient, and the societies did not expand their operations further. As the expected expansion did not materialise the imperial government was disappointed. Hence, the union of the imperial government, local legislatures and the churches could not fulfil the early ambition to create a viable education system. Thus, in 1841, the imperial government started to withdraw the fund. The Mico trustees who had done the most protested, but to no avail. In 1845 it came to an end, and so the burden fell on the West Indian legislatures and workers to increasingly support the education of their own children. In Dominica, the drive towards education for the masses was assisted by the local legislature, thus complimenting the work done by charities and the churches so that by July 1840, Dominica had 20 schools, 10 teachers, 1,086 pupils and total average attendance was 750. The British Imperial Government gave two main reasons for ending the NEG: 1. English workers were said to be worse-off than West-Indian workers 2. The Baptists were said to be prospering – although they had refused all aid Both claims were false. The churches lacked both money and resources. The British felt in the case of Dominica that the Catholic Church could not and would not provide appropriate education. They therefore supported alternatives to church schools. They decided to provide secular schools and to withdraw grants to the church schools. This was strongly opposed until a compromise was reached. The main success of the period of the NEG was the idea of popular education. The Provision of Secondary Education in Dominica: Providers and Gender Issues From the foregoing, one can appreciate the fact that the provision of education was a task that involved the participation of several providers or stakeholders: The British Imperial Authority, the Local Legislature or Assembly, the Church (especially the Catholics) and the Charities (especially the Mico Trust). Prior to emancipation, the provision of education was the responsibility of the churches and the charities. Education was very limited and very few benefited. In reality, what ever was taught was basically religious education. With the passage of the Act of Emancipation, an attempt was made to establish popular education. The NEG thus provided the needed funds for this purpose but eventually ended in failure. These funds were channelled through the bodies mentioned above, especially through the charities and the churches. By 1868 the main providers were mainly the state (the Local Legislature) and the church. It must not be forgotten that the vast majority of the population were Catholics and therefore co-operation and compromise between the two bodies were of paramount importance. By that date, the majority of primary schools belonged to the state i. e. 18 out of 33 (54%). This was unique, for no other West Indian society had such participation by the state in educational provision. In the case of secondary education, the provision was by the Church (Catholic). The first establishment for the provision of secondary education was the Convent High School (CHS) in 1858. This was exclusively for the children of the local elite. The children of the rural peasantry and the working classes were excluded. The state provided some funds for the school. But there were no secondary education provided for the masses. It is again unique to Dominica in that early period that post-primary education was being provided only to girls when this gender was marginalized in the rest of the W. I and in Britain itself. Even today, in 2000, over 65% of secondary school students are girls. The figures for the Clifton Dupigny Community College, University of Technology (Jamaica) and University of the West Indies are roughly the same. In the case of Dominica, male marginalisation has had a long history, contrary to popular opinion. Due to mounting pressure and clamour for secondary education for boys and the children of the masses, the state established the Dominica Grammar School (DGS) on the 16th of January 1893, with a registration list of 25 boys under the headmastership of one tutor, Mr. W. Skinner (M. A – a graduate from Catherine’s College, Cambridge, England). It was to be run as a government school, with the aim to provide higher education for boys. The building being used was a personal gift from Mr. Dawbiney, a respectable Jamaican who had settled in the island. The DGS remained a boy’s school until 1972. This occurred at a time when the number of girls selected by the Common Entrance Examinations far surpassed that of boys. The first DGS girls came from the CHS and the WHS. The total number of girls on the roll for that year totalled 34 out of a total of 560 students. Thus a reluctant but necessary era commenced in that year – the DGS becoming a co-educational institution under the headship of Mr. J. K. Gough (B. Sc; Dip. Ed. from Scotland). In that same year there were 14 Dominican staff members who were university graduates. Not to be outdone by the Catholics, the Wesleyan Society (Methodists) following the tradition of their rivals, opened the second high school for girls in the island, the Wesley High School (WHS) in October 1927. By that year, 80% of the students accessing secondary education were girls. This again was a unique situation second to none in the W. I. This further marginalized the boys given the restrictive and limited nature of access at the time. At this juncture, it is necessary to appreciate the great effort expended by the churches in the provision of secondary education in the island of Dominica, albeit for denominational reasons. In 1932, the Christian Brothers (Catholics) opened the second educational establishment providing secondary education for boys, the Saint Mary’s Academy (SMA). By that year educational provision was roughly equal for both genders with boys now having the slight edge, notwithstanding the fact that the girls were doing better in entrance and scholarship exams. There were insufficient spaces available. An entrance examination would soon be rigorously applied to ration out, select and match the number of students to the available supply of places. This state of inequitable affairs became unbearable as the girls were now being marginalized in favour of boys who were securing less ‘passes’ than girls in the exams. In other words, the selection was a function of available places. The two boys’ schools had more places than the two girls’ schools. Therefore, fewer girls were selected although their average scores were higher than that of boys who secured places. In the1972/1973 school year, the Labour government of Mr. Edward Oliver Leblanc took the bold step to make the DGS co-educational. This occurred at a time when the number of girls who had succeeded at the Common Entrance Examinations far surpassed that of boys. Since then, girls have kept on increasing the education gap or divide to the extent that in Dominica and the West Indies this problem of ‘male marginalisation’ and ‘male underachievement’ and the like, have now become so serious that it threatens the whole concept of male patriarchy. The year 1972 has been regarded as a milestone in Dominica’s educational history as far as secondary education is concerned. From that year all new secondary schools have opted to become co-educational with the exception of the Saint Martin’s Secondary School in 1988. Another important milestone in our educational history is the year 1971. For the first time, secondary educational provision moved out of Roseau with the establishment of the co-educational Portsmouth Secondary School (PSS). This greatly reduced the cost burden to parents in the northwest, north and northeast of the island, who, hitherto had to make tremendous sacrifices to provide education for their children in the capital, Roseau. By 1974, the Common Entrance Examinations as a selector of educational life chances was psychologically so devastating to pupils that those who were not selected felt that they were ‘rejects’ and ‘failures’ with no hope or future. It was against this backdrop that a group of concerned persons headed by Ms. Jean Finucane-James decided to provide a ‘second chance’ to those pupils that was not based on a selective exam. This co-educational school was named the Dominica Community High School (DCHS). Apart from the PSS, the early 1970s were characterised for having secondary education concentrated in the capital city of Roseau. The ‘70s was a period of political upheaval. In August 1979, Hurricane David struck and the island was devastated: 43 deaths, massive destruction of crops and the forest, wildlife was decimated, schools and the social and economic infrastructure was destroyed. The economy came to a standstill. Educationally, the students suffered greatly. A large number of students from the northeast could not attend the Roseau schools. In the aftermath of the hurricane, two schools were opened in the northeast: St. Andrew’s High School (SAHS) in 1979, located in Londonderry which is run and operated by the Methodists and in 1980, the Marigot Foundation High School (MFHS) headed by Mr. Martin Roberts, a former Methodist minister. The last named school was eventually renamed the Marigot Secondary School (MSS) when in 1999 it passed over to the state. These two schools are co-educational institutions. In this catchment area the Common Entrance Exams consistently selects more girls than boys. In the 1980s four schools were established. In 1981, the Seventh-Day Adventists began to provide secondary education. The Seventh-day Adventist Secondary School (SASS) is located in the Portsmouth suburb of Granvillia. It is a co-ed school. In that very same year the co-ed St. Joseph Campus of the DGS was opened which later became a separate entity as the St. Joseph Secondary School. In 1996 it was renamed the Isaiah Thomas Secondary School. In 1988, two government co-ed secondary schools were established from what were formerly Junior Secondary Programmes: the Goodwill Secondary School (GSS) and the Grand Bay Secondary School (GBSS). In that same year, the Catholic–run St. Martin’s School for girls upgraded its technical/vocational wing into a fully-fledged secondary school called the St. Martin’s Secondary School (SMSS). With the opening of these new schools and the continued use of the Common Entrance Exams the gender balance continue to be in favour of girls to the detriment of boys. In October 1994 the Nehemiah Christian Foundation headed by Mrs. Rhoda George opened the Nehemiah Comprehensive School with 60 boys and girls. The school is located in Jimmit, Mahaut. In the financial year 1995/96 the government entered into a loan agreement  with the World Bank to fund the Basic Education Reform Project (BERP). One of the three main objectives of the project was to expand access to secondary education. Under the project, this objective was fulfilled in the co-ed Castle Bruce Secondary School (CBSS) in 1998. TABLE I DOMINICA: Academic Secondary Schools, 2002/03 |School |Year Founded |Boys |Girls |Total |Status | |Convent High School | | | | | | | |1858 |0 |493 |493 |Assisted | |Dominica Grammar School |1893 |518 |281 |799 |State | |Wesley High School |1927 |0 |287 |287 |Assisted | |St. Mary’s Academy |1932 |420 |0 |420 |Assisted | |Portsmouth Secondary School |1971 |402 |435 |837 |State | |Dominica Community High School |1975 |79 |46 |125 |Assisted | |St. Andrew’s High School |1979 |233 |292 |525 |Assisted | |Marigot Secondary School |1980 |86 |59 |145 |Assisted | |Isaiah Thomas Secondary School |1981 |312 |393 |705 |State | |SDA Secondary School |1981 |108 |87 |195 |Private | |St. Martin’s Secondary School |1988 |0 |306 |306 |Assisted | |Goodwill Secondary School |1988 |380 |262 |642. |State | |Grand Bay Secondary School |1988 |334 |343 |677 |State | |Nehemiah Comprehensive School |1994 |64 |73 |137 |Assisted | |Castle Bruce Secondary School |1998 |266 |291 |557 |State | |Orion Academy |2003 | | | |Private | |Total | |3 202 |3 648 |6 850 | | Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth Affairs, 2002/03 The School Curriculum Several factors impinge on the development of the curriculum in Dominica: slavery, colonialism, politics, economics, religion, socio-cultural biases, parents, teachers and the learners themselves. In the pre-emancipation era the curriculum that existed was of a religious nature. The society was largely illiterate and ignorant. There existed no notion or idea of popular or mass education. With emancipation in 1834, the rudiments of a system of education began to take shape. The limited curriculum was non-scientific and bookishly academic based on rote and memory teaching and learning. By 1868, as the primary system took root the three r’s were taught namely reading, writing and arithmetic. The system that was taking shape was one that would provide labourers and servants and no more. At the secondary level, the curriculum catered for the children of the elite: Maths, Science, Geography, English, Greek, and Latin. The colonial powers and the local legislatures controlled the educational system. In other words, the ruling elites/classes decided who should be taught, what should be taught, when, how and where. The entire process from start to finish was decided for the learner. In 1899, Agriculture was being promoted as a subject to be taught so that the learner would become an agricultural labourer or worker on an estate or join the ranks of the impoverished peasantry. So agricultural schools were encouraged. In this way the islands would remain as sources of primary agricultural produce. When the British abolished the local legislatures and imposed direct crown colony rule the curriculum again was being used as a tool to keep the masses in their place. It limited them to learn the basics and agriculture. Attempts were made to improve education at the end of the First World War (1914-1918): salaries to teachers, payments by results and attempts at compulsory education. The West Indian Conference in Dominica in 1932 urged the region to struggle for compulsory education among other things. This failed. In 1957, the ministerial system was brought to Dominica with some exercise of authority by the house of assembly. But power still lied with the British parliament. Budgets could be passed, but had to be approved by Britain. In 1967, Dominica became an associate state with Gt. Britain. All internal matters were under local jurisdiction, but foreign affairs, trade and defence resided with Gt. Britain. Dominica could now influence and shape educational progress, but very little happened. The primary system continued to develop. The high schools became stagnant. The last one to be established was in 1936 (SMA). Thirty-seven years passed before the next one, the PSS was established. By 1978, the curriculum at the primary was now being driven by the Common Entrance Examinations to the detriment of all else. The same thing could be found at the secondary schools. The entire curriculum was driven by foreign external examinations. The foreign element was removed in 1985 when we switched from the Cambridge and London GCE ‘O’ Levels to the regionally based CXC examinations. But the GCE ‘A’ Levels still continue to dictate the curriculum at the post-secondary level. In 1998, CXC began to test pilot its own ‘A’ Levels known as CAPE, which will soon replace the English-based GCE ‘A’ Levels. The School Curriculum and Examinations The CXC and the GCE curriculum dictate the locus and focus of secondary education in Dominica. These exams cater for the 30-40% of the ability range of secondary students. The entire curriculum was driven by foreign external examinations. The foreign element was removed in 1985 when we switched from the Cambridge and London GCE ‘O’ Levels to the regionally based CXC examinations. But the GCE ‘A’ Levels still continue to dictate the curriculum at the post-secondary level. In 1998, CXC began to test pilot its own ‘A’ Levels known as CAPE, which will soon replace the English-based GCE ‘A’ Levels. The HSC, LSC and GCE dominated the curriculum of secondary schools since the 1880s. The failure rates were very high at both the ‘O’ and ‘A’ Levels. It was also a drain on the scarce resources of the region. The minimum of 5 ‘O’ Level subjects were required to move into the sixth form and five subjects were needed of which 2 must be at ‘A’ Level for university entry. The Caribbean was influenced by educational and curriculum developments in North America and Europe, especially Britain. Revolutionary curricular changes in maths and science were being undertaken in the USA as a result of the Russian success in Sputnik I. In the U. K, the Nuffield Foundation invested heavily in a science development project. In 1969-70, the West Indian Science Curriculum Innovation Project (WISCIP) began at St. Augustine, UWI, and Trinidad. It was a new approach with emphasis on enquiry and experimentation, understanding and constructive thinking. This was introduced in the DGS and the other high schools of the time. During that same period ‘New Mathematics’ was introduced in the schools’ curriculum. All five of the secondary schools in Dominica adopted it. The Convent High School had their first ‘O’ Level candidates in 1971, and the DGS in 1972. Results in all Caribbean schools were not so good at first because of the unfamiliarity with the new approaches and topics such as inverses, identities, algebra of sets and matrices, decimalisation and metrification, vectors, inequalities and topology. At first most of the schools used the School Mathematics Project (SMP) books, but these were replaced by the Joint Schools Project (Caribbean edition) series, as part of the CEDO/UNESCO/UWI Caribbean Mathematics Project. The CXC was established in 1972 to serve the Commonwealth Caribbean. The process took over 10 years. The CXC was to replace the GCE exams. It would develop syllabi, conduct exams and issue certificates. This was a form of asserting cultural and intellectual independence from our colonial past and from Britain. Politically, the Caribbean has eschewed integration. There was the West Indian Federation as colonies of Britain (1958-1962). It ended in failure due to insularity, nationalism and dependency. With independence, the nations can dictate their educational goals and match these to national needs. In Dominica, we have not had a long history of educational reforms established in law. In 1949 an Education Act was passed to regulate and govern the sector. This was changed in 1997 when the new Education Act was passed. This was part of an attempt to harmonise education legislation in the Eastern Caribbean. In 1995 the Basic Education Reform Project was launched (BERP). The Project had three main objectives: 1. to strengthen the management and planning capacity of the Ministry, 2. to enhance the quality of education, and 3. to expand and conserve school places. Economically, we live in an interdependent world, a global village. We are partners bargaining from a position of weakness. Unequal terms of trade, onerous foreign debts, trade deficits and balance of payment problems deplete our resources so that our educational budgets are severely constrained. In general (1999 – 2004), Dominica spends about 17% of its recurrent budget on education, 1-2% on materials and supplies and about 80% on personal emoluments. New Curriculum Developments. Primary schools follow a curriculum, which has recently been reviewed by the Curriculum Development Unit (CDU). Schools have been provided with curriculum guides for English Language, Mathematics and General Science for Grades K to 6. Curriculum guides for Social Studies, Mathematics, Science and English Language were to become available in September 1999 for grades K to 6. A curriculum guide for Social Studies has been prepared for Form 1 at the secondary level. Workbooks for Grades k to 3 for English were to have been made available from September 1999. In addition a curriculum guide for Health and Family Life covering primary and secondary age ranges is being monitored and supported in schools. A draft national policy for this was presented to Cabinet in August 1998 but has not yet been officially approved. The CDU has planned to review Music, PE, Art and Craft, and Agriculture in 2001 as well as to start writing and production of support materials for pupils and teachers. The revised primary schools curriculum appears to be appropriate at the national level. The main problem appears to be in its delivery. The main need at the primary level for curriculum development is in relation to adapting the teacher’s guides for multigrade teaching and provision of differentiated activities for all subjects and all classrooms. Dominica does not have a National Curriculum and therefore, the curriculum de facto is determined by each school and in practice is closely related to the requirements of the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) other external examinations and higher ability students. A balance needs to be struck between the academic and practical skills education in the secondary sector in any future national curriculum. The Ministry of Education has outlined the following process to arrive at the promulgation and implementation of the National Curriculum (NC): National Curriculum Committee (NCC) established in school year 1999/2000 NCC reviews existing curriculum: locally and regionally Under the NCC, Subject Teams and Subject Areas are established Development of Syllabi, and Curriculum Guides in Core Subject Areas Curriculum Training of Staff/Subject Team Members Resource Provision First Draft National Curriculum in Core Subject Areas Review of Draft Curriculum Development of Curricula in other subject areas. Establishment of National Norms and Standards for all subjects Piloting of National Curriculum in a cross-section of schools Promulgation of National Curriculum by Minister of Education Use by all schools of the National Curriculum as of September 2003 The Secondary Education Support Project (SESP) had been working with the Curriculum Development Unit (CDU) to write and pilot a revised curriculum for Forms 1 to 3 in the core subjects of English, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies, incorporating activities for average and below average ability pupils. Drafts of curriculum guides for Form 1 have been completed and were made available to schools in September 1999. All the guides for the four core subjects were made available in 2001. The CDU also has completed work in Music, Art, Craft, and Agriculture. However, the major curriculum need resides in the consideration of a curriculum which will meet the needs of all students – academic, technical/vocational, aesthetic, spiritual, moral and for citizenship and fulfill the ambitions set out in the 1997 Education Act. This would be especially so when Universal Secondary Education is achieved.

A study of the performance of the lucky plush dance in the product cinderbox 2.0

A study of the performance of the lucky plush dance in the product cinderbox 2.0 The Lucky Plush dance company graced the stage with their innovative and abstract performance of Cinderbox 2.0, a work that â€Å"explores reality television and the anxiety of hyper-networked America.† Although the term dance theatre has been mentioned in readings and lectures, never before has the literal combination of dance and theatre through choreography and text been seen on a live stage.The performance was rather complex, with several sensory media present at once to appeal to the audience. This essay will discuss the union of text, choreography, and multimedia in the piece, as well as the social commentary it attempts to make. Text and choreography creatively come together in Cinderbox 2.0 through the company’s twofold role of dancing and story telling. Throughout the work the performers switch off from dance to speech delivery; without one, the other would neither make sense nor be as effective to the audience. At the very beginning a female member delays the program by talking on her cell phone longer than expected, for example. After her monologue with the phone, she jumped right into her position (pushing someone out of the way in the process) and the dancing commenced. Near the end of the performance the company came together to lift one member at a time while that person spoke about a social issue in a lifted dancer’s position; this combination demonstrates another combination of text and choreography. The aesthetics of the movements complemented by the short monologues in succession augment the purpose of Lucky Plush’s performance. The structures of the text and choreography are both similar and different in the way that they were usually presented in a way in which they took turns dominating the stage at any particular moment in the piece; however they varied by length throughout and sometimes had no relation with one another. The ridiculous discussion of Fiji brand water, for example, would be separated from the dance and intertwined between the movements. Also, the moment in which the woman who always stops while attempting to sing a song (and asks to try again) occurred many times, but between dance breaks. Finally, a similarity in structure between text and choreography was that two or groups of two people usually performed both. The frequent pair work in the production further defines how it is indeed dance theatre. In addition, there were some moments in which dance and text were being performed at the same time on stage. An example of this is the illusion of the male and female dancer watching some sort of media(likely the television). Another male dancer was dancing in front of them, as if they were watching him; however the movements sometimes did not match up with what they were watching (although in the beginning there was a mention of fishing while the dancer was insinuating the activity). But every once in a while, when the female performer became excited at the sight of her favorite part of whatever she was watching, the dancer would correspond with her by shaking his head rapidly in front of her. There definitely was some abstract connection between the text and choreography here as well. All of these examples of the combination and connection of text and choreography compile into one thing: dance theatre. One cannot call Cinderbox 2.0 simply dance or theatre because aspects of each are seen within the performance; they function together to create modern dance with a purpose: in this case, a social commentary. At some points the dance and the theatrical pieces of the work do not appear to relate to one another, but at other points they would not be regarded by the audience as highly and mentally if they were not together. What is certain, however, is that dance and theatre are both used to entertain; therefore their combination into dance theatre augments the entertainment factor even further. This assists in conveying more prominently the ideas of the piece as a whole. Lucky Plush’s effort in displaying a seemingly chaotic performance does not go without purpose. The spectacle was a social commentary of a hyper-networked America, and how various media, especially television, plays a vital role. It all began with the woman on her phone, delaying the commencement of the dance. Later the pair watching ‘television’ becomes completely enthralled in the program by coming face to face with the dancer personifying said program. The Fiji water discussions and satirical individual interviews/commentaries (which were delivered while being lifted in a dancer’s position) expressed the characters’ self-appointed authority over the featured discussion of topics; they were only known as a result of the superficial information given by the various media to which they have been exposed. This moment in the performance was further highlighted with the singing of â€Å"We are the Champions† by Queen, increasing the idea that pe ople, as a result of media, develop a sense of false and undeserving pride. The performance ends with a fight in dance form: the result of empowerment by the media that leads to competition. Cinderbox 2.0 was a very difficult piece to decipher; it was filled with abstract and (at times) confusing details. Lucky Plush really succeeded in involving the audience by looking right at them and at one point in the production calling someone seated off stage amidst the crowd. They brought the spectators in to realize the consequences of being hyper-networked and excessively influenced by the media. It seems like the theatre-half of this work of dance theatre was more effective in conveying the underlying message. This performance demonstrates that any aspects of art can be combined to deliver something entertaining and insightful to an interested audience.

Marketing Myopia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing Myopia - Essay Example A growth industry builds its success by replacing a previous utility or product and it is at risk of such same risk of replacement by future innovations. Thinking outside the box is not some initiative to make a difference or of being creative. Rather, it is a crucial component of every organization’s attempt for competitive advantage and survival. Levitt argued that there is really no such thing as a growth industry because everything works within a cyclical process. Here, an industry or a business may assume its strength because of the unchallenged superiority of the product, which displaced another that it has substituted. His evidences are legitimate and numerous. He cited the experiences of many industries that were considered boom sectors but eventually declined after several years. The cycle features organizations and products constantly replacing another because of wrong management perspective. The examples provided were the dry cleaning industry, the railroad industry and the grocery stores. Levitt also predicted that the electric utilities and gadgetry is in danger of the same trouble because technologies will then be discovered to offer newer and more efficient products. The idea is that when managers fail to think outside the box – beyond the periphery of their visions, their products tend to be swallowed by the cycle. On the other hand, once management think about the future and the decline of their product so that they are able to provide solutions and new innovations that will replace their own, competitors will have less opportunities for competitive advantage. Much of Levitt’s arguments are anchored on one simple principle – that survival for industries rests on perspectives. There are industries that are focused on their products and, hence, myopic in their management models. For example, the railroad company was focused on their product, which is the railroad. Had they opted to adopt a perspective that went beyond it, they would have thought about their business as that of transportation and, hence, was able to prevent the decline of their profits. Personally, I have experienced this myopia on account of my work experiences with three industries. For example, I worked for an Auto dealership several years ago. Now the management of this organization has been focused much on automobiles. For several months of my stay, I saw how such singularity in objective has hurt the sales of the organization. Clients are not only interested in cars but they look for things and services that go with it. For example, when sales people have everything there is to know about cars, we cannot answer questions about technology like how their mobile phones can be integrated with car accessories, for example. This is because we did not have them – no products offered beyond cars and, hence, we cannot offer services, much less the know-how. So fewer clients came to visit because we cannot offer more. The clien ts did not come because they did not want to. There was no reason to. This was also the same with some companies in the moving and storage company, which I was connected with for a time. There was a lot of opportunities either as additional services within moving and storage and related and new products and services that could have been served and provided customers the value and convenience of having many services at one outlet or in a single transaction. I can see many other industries not cited in the article that display marketing myopia. For example, there is the

Affirmative action- Trials within human resource management Term Paper

Affirmative action- Trials within human resource management - Term Paper Example The term â€Å"affirmative action† was first mentioned in the United States when President John F. Kennedy signed the Executive Order 10925 on March 6, 1961; this was then used to refer to initiatives that aimed to attain equality and prevent discrimination By 1965, the Executive Order 11246 was implemented, requiring all national contractors to make use of affirmative action when hiring employees, regardless of national origin, culture, and religion; in 1968, gender was then included in the anti-discrimination list. Aside from the US, other countries have taken similar approaches to promote equality in the society, such as Canada’s employment equity or the United Kingdom’s positive discrimination. Affirmative action is known to be a set of policies that consider gender, race, culture, religion, and national origin for an underprivileged or underrepresented population to obtain equal rights and benefits, thereby contradicting the outcomes of discrimination that h ave been passed down from every generation . Such policies emphasize a wide range of aspects, from health programs and social services to education and employment opportunities. Because affirmative action aims to encourage equal opportunities, it is typically applied in government actions and educational settings to make sure that all groups in the society are involved in such programs. Affirmative action can be exemplified through different forms, such as rigid quotas or encouragement of members of minority groups to apply for employment. Similarly, each intends to increase the number of underrepresented groups in the workplace, educational settings, or in any societal context. Programs that demonstrate affirmative action vary in terms of the extent to which they consider race as an important factor in making decisions and obtaining results. In 2001, representatives from the Americas gathered together to establish policies and implement strategies to combat racial discrimination. I n order to adopt affirmative and positive actions, paramount importance was attached to the creation of conditions for every individual to become involved both in decision making and realizing civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights with regards to all aspects of life on a foundation of non-discrimination (Global Rights, 2005). Such ideas acquired considerable support in the World Conference against Racism with which the Declaration and Programme of Action points out affirmative action as fundamental factor for the global struggle against discrimination. Due to the fact that international law promotes affirmative action, national and international treaties along with regional and global institutions have attempted to integrate countless norms that support equality and non-discrimination; more states are also being required to take on active roles in guaranteeing such rights. While a number of norms state that affirmative action is permissible, this form of positive a ction can be made mandatory by others. While the form and outline of such norms may slightly vary, nonetheless, international law requires that all states be involved in promoting affirmative action. Guidelines for Affirmative Action Plans and Programs Affirmative action should be supported in all contexts, such as in educational and workplace settings; therefore, educational institutions and organizations have proposed guidelines to promote equality among all individuals (Kravitz, Bludau, and Klineberg, 2008). For instance, American universities, in their intentions of seeking employees, have established guidelines for their affirmative action programs, directed towards women, minority groups, people with disabilities, and veterans, to which academic and staff members should comply. For instance, university policies that affect staff members should be reviewed to ensure the provision of equitable treatment for every employee, compliance with the legal requirements for avoidance of discrimination and equal employment opportunity, as well

Chinese and Comparative Company Law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Chinese and Comparative Company Law - Case Study Example Nowadays, globalization has become a trend. If we want to develop our economy, we'd better cooperate with others and adjust ourselves to the environment. In such a situation, more and more foreign companies have swarmed into China and become one of the strong strength to support the development of the economy. In our country, there are also many aspects of company law in order to protect people's legal profit. For instance, there is an established system of the company, the capital system of the company and the restructuring system of the company. Company law is concentrated on the management of the companies. It is helpful for all of the stuff to get equal chances and gain equal treatment. For the head of the companies, it is good for them to organize and manage the whole company much better. "The company law is just like a pair of glasses for the shortsighted. Putting on it, you can see much clearer and strengthen your judgment. Without it, you shall not have sharp insight. "2 It is a good metaphor. If there is no law for a company, we have no way to protect people's legal right and the equal computation will get nowhere. Besides, it also can limit some people's right who are in high position. "If a member of a liquidation group is found to have abused his or her power to seek personal g ains by resorting to deception, or speculated the company's property, he or her shall be ordered to return the property to the company, have the illegal proceeds confiscated and be imposed a fine one time to five times the amount of the illegal proceeds. If the case is serious enough to constitute a crime, criminal responsibility shall be affixed according to law."3 Aim at not abusing the right, the law has made out the punishment. If anyone confirms it, they will be punished undoubtedly. Although the company law is just one part of Chinese law, it also promotes Chinese law's development. In worldwide, merger&acquisition companies have become one of the most popular forms. However, the complicated work model must be under the control of sound law. Merger&Acquisition Company is considered as a kind of system to welcome winners and eliminate losers in nowadays economical condition.  

Team Building Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Team Building - Term Paper Example A community of people sharing common norms, values and interests would always remain a group and would never become a team unless individual members forming the group start to respect one another’s feelings. A team essentially works for the attainment of organizational goals by sidelining the personal interests of individual team members. â€Å"A major advantage a team has over an individual is its diversity of resources, knowledge, and ideas.† (Townsley, 2008). A sound strategy to build the effect of a team in an otherwise group of workers should be based on certain exercises that would serve to enhance the interaction among the members of opposing views. Team members should be given enough time to socialize frequently and work jointly to accomplish predefined tasks. Managers should organize task based workforces in which specified teams should address particular tasks. The idea is to achieve the effect of contact hypothesis in the task force. One member should be selected from each department as a representative of the department. In this way, a holistic approach can be adopted in which the finance, human resource, administration, operation and various other departments as required should work together in close cooperation and collaboration with one another to achieve the objective of organizational significance. The task force should be strategically designed and every individual member should be fully educated on his boundaries and limitations prior to the commencement of the task. All foreseeable antecedents of conflict should be clearly addressed to the maximum extent to minimize the chances of conflict. Tasks should be designed to allow maximum communication among the members. This can be achieved by formulating interdependent activities w ithin the task. The services of individual departments should be integrated into the work elements. In the course of working together, healthy debates should always be encouraged. Managers should

Starbucks has not paid UK corporation tax Case Study

Starbucks has not paid UK corporation tax - Case Study Example The legitimacy theory is also associated with social perceptions directed towards organizations in regard to their responsibility to meet societal expectations and social rules. In some instances, when these institutions do not meet social, legal as well as environmental benchmarks of operations, they may be exposed to sanctions and or even being barred from operations. Starbucks is one of the current companies that have shown a violation of the requirements of the Legitimacy theory. The Company is currently facing a court case in London. Starbucks is a major restaurant in Britain, the Company has been facing a serious allegations in regard to tax avoidance. Additionally, the Company has been controversies in regard to the information that it has been providing to the Investors. Apparently, a recent publication by a local newspaper in Britain indicated that the Company has been informing investors that it is making profits while in the real sense it has been experiencing losses. This has been perceived as controversial owing to the fact that the company has been providing different sets of information to its investors and taxmen. Research has indicated that over the last three years, the company has not made any profit and has also been avoiding taxes. This has created a negative image on the company, especially among the local British populace. The Company’s problem emerged from the issue of tax avoidance coupled with provision of controversial information to its investors as well as the taxman. From the year 2008, the company is reported to have made losses amounting to 26 million Britain Pounds. On the other hand, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer was providing controversial information to its investors as well as other members of the public. The research also indicated that the Company had not paid any taxes for a period

Surviving A Nuclear Attack Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Surviving A Nuclear Attack - Essay Example The very first assumption to take is that the individuals concerned are at least five miles away from the point of attack or explosion. This is because there is just no possible survival possible for anyone who is closer than the above mentioned distance. The second assumption is that the people are aware of the political scenario of the world including the current affairs. This is because, if the people are not updated regarding their surroundings, chances are that they will not following most of the steps shown below. The second assumption will be catered to afterwards. However unlikely this may sound, but people must make some prior arrangements for a nuclear attack (Bruno, 2010). This rational may not sound logical without the above mentioned assumption. This step is only possible if the government takes strong initiatives when the international environment is viable for a nuclear attack (Evans, 1980).The government must educate the people about the effects of the nuclear reactions and the radioactivity, thus ensuring that the people are planning ahead about a possible attack. The logic is that when the people will be warned and informed about the danger and the level of threat, then only the people can and will think about planning for their survival. Once it is clear that the people are planning for the survival techniques then the next step originates, which is, what are the measures? The answer to this question will give the details about the primary topic. The first part of the planning requires the people to make some basic changes to the structure of their houses. It should be clear that the surviving techniques apply only to those who have survived the initial explosion as mentioned earlier. The best advice for anyone is to stay in his or her house because an open space is the last place to be in a nuclear attack (Roberts). Now, when it is clear that people do need to make changes to their buildings, the

The concept of having a conceptual framework in accounting is useless Essay

The concept of having a conceptual framework in accounting is useless - Essay Example However, there many critics who argue that the use of the conceptual framework in accounting is useless. The aim of this paper is to critically explain why many people think that the use of the conceptual framework in accounting is useless. Conceptual framework in accounting has received a lot of criticism whereby most of its critics claim that the framework does not provide adequate basis for setting standards. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has proved this inadequacy, which is becoming a more rule-based approach. Nevertheless, there is empirical prove that has been collected to support this argument against accounting conceptual framework (Hines 2011, p. 45). Out of the five characteristics of accounting conceptual framework, most people only rely on one characteristics, reliability, on accounting statements to make financial decisions. In addition, accounting familiarity influences many people to rely on or use financial statements instead of finding other accurate ways for finding this information. Therefore, it is not only that accounting conceptual framework needs alterations, but also changes to help come up with accounting standards that are principles-based. Implementing principles-based stand ards means that many users will be able to use irrespective of their backgrounds. Many people have been criticized FASB for not advising organizations to give out information that is useful and interpretable to the users of financial statements. Its conceptual framework is the main source of all accounting standards (Hines 2011, p. 78). Therefore, the conceptual framework for accounting must exemplify several qualitative characteristics in order to ensure that the financial reporting is able to provide financial statement users with information that is adequate for decision making. The accounting conceptual framework of the United States was founded in the year 1980. There are five key characteristics of accounting information, which

History of Black Nurses Essay Example for Free

History of Black Nurses Essay Trained schools for students who wanted to pursue a career in nursing came about in the 1800s when Florence Nightingale advocated the idea. The only students that were accepted into these programs where white students, blacks were not allowed any education during this time. Blacks were not given equal rights as the white people, and were denied the right to have an education. There were many black young women who were very interested in nursing, and were dedicated to pursue their dream, and wouldnt stop trying until they were given equal rights and accepted into these nursing programs. Some black women would follow along with the black soldiers in the Civil War and provide care to these wounded soldiers, as well as provide food, and also teach them to read and right. The first school of nursing was formed after two black men in Chicago, Illinois won the support of their community, and made a hospital out of a small brick building. The black people also came together to form the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses, an organization formed to protect the black nursing profession, and to stop discrimination towards them. History of Black Nurses During the early 1800s nursing was mainly caring for the sick by family members or slaves. Nurses provided care in homes, and when World War I and II came about, nurses were sent off to provide care to the wounded soldiers. There was not a trained system for nurses to learn and gain experience in the profession, so all of the care that the sick were provided was by untrained nurses. It wasn’t until Florence Nightingale recognized the idea of providing a trained, organized system for nurses to learn before they worked as a professional nurse. Many schools arose out of her idea, however white students were only accepted into these nursing schools, blacks were not accepted. Black people were not given equal rights as the whites, and were denied the right for education and were therefore, denied acceptance into these nursing programs. Mary Eliza Mahoney was born to Charles and Mary Jane Mahoney in 1845, in Boston, Massachusetts. She began to show an interest in nursing when she was a teenager, and worked at the New England Hospital for Women and Children as an unofficial nurse aid, a cook, janitor, and washerwoman. When she was thirty-three years old, she was accepted to a nursing program. as one of forty-two, being the only black student, (Hines, 2004). Although she had to deal with racial discrimination and long hours of lectures and patient care, she made it to the end of the program as one of four. In 1879, she graduated from the New England Hospital for Women and Children in Boston, making her the first black professional nurse in the United States. After Mary Mahoney graduated from nursing school, she worked mainly as a private duty nurse for the next thirty years. Her work became widespread as a private duty nurse. Her patient’s loved her calmness, and professionalism, and she began receiving requests from different states, (Haltey, 2010). After working for private duty for thirty years, Mahoney opened a director of an orphanage in Long Island, New York, and remained there for the next ten years. In 1908, she became a cofounder to the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses, (Hines, 2004). Mary Mahoney became an inspiration to many black women wanting to pursue a career in nursing. She fought through discrimination, as well as the pressures of nursing school, and graduated with a nursing degree. She helped to open the door for the black population that wanted to become a professional nurse and put an end to the discrimination. Susie King Taylor was born a slave in 1848 on the Grest family farm in Georgia. When Susie was seven years old her owner, Mr. Grest, allowed her to move to Savannah with her Grandmother who had been previously freed by him, (MacLean, 2007). Susie was denied education because she was black , however, her Grandmother would not let this stop her from becoming educated. Susie was sent next door to the neighbor who taught her how to read and write for the next two years, and after she learned this, she was sent to a few other people to become educated. At 14 years old, Susie was taken by boat by Union Soldiers to St. Simon’s Island. Here she met her future husband, Edward King, an army sergeant. She worked with the First Regiment of South Carolina Volunteers, which was made up of slaves, who had been freed by the Union Army. Susie was asked to start a school for children on St. Simon’s Island, and she willingly agreed. Susie taught about forty children, and she also taught adults at night. (MacLean, 2007). In 1863, Susie traveled with her husband’s regiment. She became the first black nurse during the Civil War, and helped to care for wounded soldiers. During her off hours she taught the soldiers how to read and write, and also cooked and laundered for them. She wrote in her diary about the nursing shortages during the war, and was happy to provide nursing care to the sick soldiers. She continued to serve as a nurse until the war ended in 1865. (MacLean, 2007). When the war was over, her and her husband moved to Savannah, Georgie. In 1866 she opened a school for freed black children. Shortly after the school opened, and Susie gave birth to her son, her husband Edward King passed away. In the 1870s, Susie moved to Boston and remarried nine years later. She also joined and became president of the Women’s Relief Corps, which was an association for the Veterans of the Civil War. After being asked by the Women’s Relief Corps, as well as the Army, she agreed to write an autobiography about her experiences during the war. In 1902, Susie King Taylor published her autobiography, Reminiscneces of my Life in Camp: A Black Woman’s Civil War Memoirs, (MacLean, 2007). In 1902, Susie received a letter from the commanding officer in the First South Carolina volunteers stating, â€Å"I most sincerely regret that through a technicality you are barred from having your name placed on the roll of pensioners, as an Army nurse; for among all the number of heroic women whom the government is now rewarding, I know of no one more deserving than yourself,† (MacLean, 2007). Adah Thoms was born in 1870 in Richmond, Virginia. Before she pursued a nursing career, she attended school studying elocution and speech at Cooper Union. Shorty after, she attended the Women’s Infirmary and School of Therapeutic Massage and graduated in 1900. She was the only black woman of thirty students, (White, 2010). She also attended the Lincoln Hospital and Home School of Nursing. After graduating she became assistant superintendent of nurses at the Lincoln Hospital and Home School of Nursing for eighteen years. During her years there, she added another course to the nursing curriculum, public health, and made public health a recognized field of nursing, (White, 2010). Adah Thoms helped with Martha Franklin, and Mary Mahoney to organize the National Association for Colored Graduate Nurses, and was appointed as its first treasurer, and was later president of the organization for seven years. She was also very dedicated to ensuring equal opportunities for black nurses, and worked hard to try and achieve these rights. Thoms worked with the chairmen of the American Red Cross to convince the Surgeon General to allow black nurses to enroll in the Army Nurse Corps, (White, 2010). Black women would enlist to try and serve as nurses during World War I, however the Surgeon General refused to let any black nurses serve. Eighteen black women were eventually accepted to serve as nurses during WWI due to the nursing shortages, and were only allowed to provide care to black soldiers. (White, 2010). Thoms was recognized for her dedication to obtaining equal rights for black nurses. She added to the nursing curriculum, served in the NAGCN as treasurer and president, worked with the Red Cross to campaign for equal rights of black nurses, and opened the door for nurses to serve in the military. For her bravery and commitment, she was the first to receive the Mary Mahoney award when it was established in 1936, and was also inducted into the American Nursing Hall of Fame in 1976, (White, 2010) Mabel Keaton Staupers was born in 1890, in Barbados. In 1903 she moved with her family to the United States, and made a home in Harlem. She graduated from Freedman’s Hospital School of Nursing in Washington, DC in 1917, and began her nursing career as a private duty nurse. In 1920, she collaborated with Dr. Louis T. Wright, and Dr. James Wilson, to organize the Booker T. Washington Sanatorium, which was the first facility in Harlem where black doctors could treat black patients, (American Nurses Association, 2010). In 1922 she was assigned to create a survey for the Harlem area for the health needs of the community. With the results of this survey, the New York Tuberculosis and Health Association was organized, and Mabel Staupers was the first Executive Secretary, and kept this position for the next twelve years, (American Nurses Association, 2010). In 1934, Mabel was appointed as the first nurse executive of the NACGN. During this time she began a campaign for nurses to gain integration into the Armed Forces Nurses Corps, and by 1941 black nurses were allowed into the Army, but not with full integration, and the US navy continued to prevent black nurses from enrolling. Staupers gained the help of Eleanor Roosevelt, who was first lady at the time, and wrote a letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt to recognize black nurses. With support from the public, the Army and Navy both accepted black nurses by January, 1945, (American Nurses Association, 2010). Mabel Staupers is recognized for ending the discrimination of colored nurses, and allowing the colored nurses full integration into the Armed Forces Nurses Corps. She was appointed president of the NACGN in 1949, and the association voted itself out in 1951, and merged with the American Nurses Association after their goal of full professional integration had been met. In 1951, Staupers was given the award for the Spingarn Medal from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and published an autobiography in 1961 called, No Time for Prejudice: A Story of the Integration of Negroes in Nursing in the United States, (American Nurses Association, 2010). The first school of nursing for blacks was formed in 1891 in Chicago Illinois, (Provident Hospital History, 2010). Emma Reynolds was a young black women trying to gain an education to pursue a career in nursing. She applied to nursing schools in Chicago, and had been denied by everyone, for the simple fact that she was a black woman. Her brother was Reverend Louis Reynolds, who felt that something should be done so that black women could be educated in nursing. He sought help from a respected black surgeon in Chicago, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams. The two of them gained support from their community, many blacks, and a few white citizens. They were given donations of supplies, equipment, and financial support. The Armour Meat Packing Company had secured a down payment on a three story brick house with twelve beds, that they turned into the first school of nursing for blacks, Provident Hospital, (Provident Hospital History, 2010). Many black nurses have made history as they were struggling for equal rights for their profession. During this struggle, the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses was formed in 1908, (Massey, 1993). The founder of this association was Martha Franklin, with cofounders Mary Eliza Mahoney, and Adah Thoms. This association was founded to fight discrimination towards black people who wanted an education in nursing, as well as being a part of the American Nurses Association. The association fought long and hard for their rights as equals, and led campaigns across the United States. One of its biggest achievements was successfully fighting for full integration of black nurses into the Armed Forces Nurses Corps. After black nurses were allowed to serve in the US Army and Navy, they were also allowed full integration into the ANA. After this association gained their right to become educated in nursing, be a part of the nurses in the US Army and Navy, and join the ANA, they voted their selves out and merged with the American Nurses Association in 1951, (Massey, 1993). The black population in the 1800s were not given equal rights as the white population. They were denied many rights, and education was one of them. Many brave women struggled to fight to put an end to discrimination, and to be able to pursue a career in the field that they loved, nursing. It took a lot of hard work and dedication, however they made it happened. These women opened the doors for other black people who wanted to become a professional nurse, and because of them all minorities are now welcome into the field of nursing.

Tilting Trains Essay Example for Free

Tilting Trains Essay The technology involved in TILTING TRAIN is that when ever the trains pass over the curves and turnings of the railway tracks the compartments of the train is tilted to a certain angle by which the trains can travel with no reduction in speed. By adopting this technology of TILTING TRAINS the fuel consumed by the trains can be saved ,the passengers can feel comfort and also time can be saved. CONTENTS 1. Introduction 2. Problem with corners 3. What is tilting train? 4. Why tilting helps? 5. How do trains tilt? 6. Problems associated in tilting the track 7. Passenger comfort ness 8. Countries who developed the tilting technology 9. Advantages and Disadvantages of tilting trains 10. Summary 11. Bibliography INTRODUCTION Train is a mass transporter, which transports humans and goods from one place to another place. We have trains, which run by diesel and electricity. Among goods and passenger trains the most concerned one is passenger trains. The passenger train should move quickly with high speeds. The rail road will not be always straight it should pass through curves and turns. We all know that if you are driving in your car and you take a turning at speed you feel centrifugal forces. Well it is no different from trains, if a train takes a turning at speeds centrifugal forces will be experienced. The major problem for any trains is to pass over the curves and turns of the railroads. If the train moves with the same speed at the curves and turns the train may slip from the track, so the speed of the train will be slowdown drastically to avoid slip. This results in wastage of fuel and in turn reduces the speed of the train, which is main consideration for the passenger trains. One of the solution found to avoid this situation is the tilting trains. PROBLEMS WITH CORNERS We all know that if your driving in your car and you take a corner at speed you feel centrifugal forces. Well it is no different from trains; if a train takes a corner at speed then centrifugal forces come in. Often train operating companies face a decision for building a high speed railway transport system hey can either invest money in the train to make it tilt but use existing railway lines, or they invest money in a new railway but dont need to spend money on expensive tilting mechanisms. This is why TGV, and ICE and bullet trains do not tilt, because they have their own dedicated high speed railway lines where curves are built with very high radii. It is worth pointing out that the centrifugal force is a function of v2/r where v is the velocity and r is the radius. This means if you double the velocity, you quadruple the centrifugal force. Similarly, if you want to triple the velocity but keep the centrifugal force the same, you must increase the radius by a factor of nine! Something not always possible. This is why even apparently gentle curves can be much more of a problem with high speeds than one might thing, because the force rises with the square of velocity. WHAT IS TILTING TRAIN ? Tilting train consists of a tilting mechanism that enables increased speed on regular tracks. In the upper part of the tilting trains that is in which the passengers are seated can be tilted sideways. During the motion of the train if the train has to steer to left in a left turning the coaches of the train will be tilted to the left in order to compensate the centrifugal push to the right and conversely during the right turn. These trains are constructed such that inertial forces which cause the tilting can be controlled by a computer. If the trains travel at speeds more than the specified speeds at the turnings of the railway tracks their will be centrifugal forces acting on the train. Due to these centrifugal forces the train may slip and push out of the tracks. But in case of tilting trains which will not happen, because of the reason that centrifugal forces will be compensated by tilting mechanism. WHY TILTING HELPS? When sitting on a corner going at speed there are two forces acting on you, gravitational force and the centrifugal force which is accelerating you into the corner. In physics when two forces act, then this causes a resultant force. The resultant force will push you into your seat and to the side. However if the train is tilting, then the normal contact force of you on your seat will be the same as the resultant force you are experiencing. This means as far as the passenger is concerned he or she is just being pulled into his or her seat, and he or she is used to that so no discomfort is felt. This is true also of aero planes, commercial planes tilt a large amount, up to 30 degrees when going around corners in some cases to cater for passenger comfort. As the tilting of the aero plane is to get rid of the problem of centrifugal forces, or more accurately to disguised the centrifugal forces as a part of gravity as far as the passengers are concerned. The only way you know if the aero plane is tilting is to look out of the window. Trains that tilt can go up to 25% to 40% faster around curves than conventional trains without upsetting the passengers, and as mentioned before this can significantly increase average speeds and cut journey times. HOW DO TRAINS TILT? Carriages have tilting mechanisms. Obviously the bogies cannot tilt because they ride on the track and must follow the path of the track. So the coaches have to tilt on the bogies. The way they do this is simple, the bogie acts a fulcrum in the center and it is free to tilt either side. Then pistons control how much the coach tilts. The pistons are controlled by a small computer, which uses a spirit level. The spirit level is used to check if things are horizontal remember, i. e. at right angles to the resultant force acting. Normally this force is gravity, but when going round a corner the resultant is a combination of gravity and centrifugal forces. This means the spirit level indicates it is no longer horizontal, so the computer adjusts the pistons until horizontal is read. Again this will not be horizontal to the ground, but as far as anyone on the train is concerned it will be horizontal, keeping the passengers happy. In the early days they tried to use inertial force to let the trains tilt†¦ i. e. hey would have no mechanism to make them tilt but the carriages would have a low center of gravity so centrifugal forces on the carriage would cause them to tilt. This proved unsuccessful. PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED IN TILTING THE TRACK Well on high speed lines the track in the UK is heavily banked up on corners, although going in a high speed train you dont notice it at all. Occasionally when a high speed train in the UK comes to a stop because of a red signal or something on a curve you can really notice how much its slanted, on a stop on a curve put a bottle on the floor and will slide across to the other side. However there are limitations with tilting tracks, first of all the banking has to be designed with a specific speed in mind. A banked up track meant for 125mph trains is going to cause discomfort to passengers in a local 75mph train, as when a slower train goes round a banked corner it will make passengers feel like they are falling to a side. Of course you could build dedicated high speed lines, but then you would engineer them without tight curves. This limits the extent to which tracks can be banked up. If the rack is banked too much for really fast trains, then if any train comes to a stop on the curve due to a red signal the slant will cause discomfort to passengers. Also arranging for the overhead pantrograph to make proper contact with a wire above a banked curve is a little tricky. Clearly trains themselves need to tilt, then you get the double benefit of tilted track and tilting train, and the train can tilt to exactly suit the speed it is going at. PASSENGER COMFORTNESS On e might think it is not safe to push a train round a corner at high speed. Indeed that is true. However the crucial thing is that the speed at which it becomes unsafe, i. . the speed at which there is enough force to push the train off the track is incredibly high. In fact the force needed would be enough so that all passengers on the train couldnt move and would be stuck to the sides of the train. This implies that there is scope for increasing the speed of a train round corners a great deal without it becoming unsafe, however passengers will object. There are two reasons why it is bad for passengers. I have been on a late running Inter City 125 and it took a corner at some speed although only about 90mph and the corner wasnt tight enough to say see the train at the other end by looking out of the window. The corner wasnt tight enough to notice turning either. However you could feel the forces definitely, and empty cups rolled across tables, bags creaked and I felt pushed against the wall. Any faster and it would be extremely uncomfortable for passengers and they would rather the train slowed down and take a little longer. Also companies dont like to run trains at speed round corners because it upsets passengers, as when exposed to turning forces they may become worried the train is going to fly off the tracks (which incidentally has never happened). This might make people nervous about traveling on high speed trains. The reason no one is ever nervous about traveling at nearly 200mph on a train is because it is smooth and constant. If it was doing corners at these speeds people wouldnt like it. People get freaked out doing 50mph on a roller coaster which involves tight curves, imagine how they feel when serious speed is involved! Its all down to the forces a passenger feels, if a passenger feels a lot of strong forces then he or she is going to be nervous, and may avoid traveling on the train, or just choose a slow train. COUNTRIES WHO DEVELOPED THE TILTING TECHNOLOGY Britain The UK was interested in developing the advanced passenger train for quite a while France The development of the tilting train in France began in 1956 when eng. Mauzin built and experimented a single car unit that used inertial (non-assisted) tilting. This experiment were suspended because a natural tilting proved too difficult to accomplish. France preferred to built a vast network of high speed lines and the development of TGV started in the early seventies with a two-car modified turbo train. Today GEC-Alsthom has decided to start the development of a tilting TGV that has been delivered few weeks ago for testing and trials. Spain With the ETR-401 Fiat delivered in 1976 a wide-gauge version to Spain that was designated Tren Basculante (RENFE Type 443). However like its Italian sibling it remained a single vehicle. Later Spain developed a tilting version of its own Talgo train (talgo pendular) that so far has proved itself the only successful example of natural tilting and has met with a huge success. USA/Canada The first experiments were carried over in the thirties with non-powered cars (called pendulum), but the first successful tilting train in the USA was the Sikorsky Turbo Train which incorporated an inertial tilting mechanism. Later, in 1973 Amtrak tested an active tilting train called LRC (Light Rapid Comfortable) made of ten cars, that unfortunately had no success. Today Amtrak is trying again with the American Flyer built by Bombardier using some TGV-derived technologies. Sweden ABB developed in the early seventies an active tilting mechanism that was alternative to the Italian and British ones. This was tested in the X15 vehicle and implemented in the X2000 series train that so far has had a good success. One curious feature of this trains is that the tilting mechanism is applied only to the passengers cars and not to the driving motor units. Switzerland As a part of the IC-2000 project the Swiss railways are developing a tilting train that has the provisional designation ICN-2000 and will be built by SIG. Germany Germany has adopted tilting technology on its 610 and 611 class series EMU and will built the ICT for long-range intercity services ADVANTAGES 1. Fuel consumed by the trains can be minimized. 2. Speed of the trains can be maintained constant and hence time to reach the destination is minimized 3. Their will be Comfort ness for the passengers. DISADVANTAGES 1. Very costly to manufacture these kind of trains. . If the coaches do not tilt then it is dangerous. SUMMARY While the Very high speed trains like the TGV could be regarded as the Rolls Royce of trains, tilting trains could be thought of as the cheep and cheerful mini metro. The price differential is fairly similar too, it costs about 20 times more per unit distance to build a dedicated high speed line than it does to upgrade existing lines for tilting train s. This is what makes tilting trains extremely attractive. However there are disadvantages. 140mph or 230km/h is about as fast as trains go when not on dedicated lines. And then they have to be fitted in with slower moving traffic. With rail travel growing all over Europe, the problems of railways reaching saturation point has forced new lines to be build. This is why despite the success of the Italian Pendolini a new high speed line with 300 km/h trains is being built, because existing lines are at saturation. BIBILOGRAPHY Theory of machines KHURMI . R. S Railway Engineering PROFILLDIS . V. A www. goggle search. com TILTING TRAINS [pic] TILTING OF TRAINS WHILE TAKING RIGHT TURN IN THE TRACKS [pic] TILTING OF TRAINS WHILE TAKING RIGHT TURN IN THE TRACKS

Talibanisation Of Pakistan A Threat To Indias Security

Talibanisation Of Pakistan A Threat To Indias Security Terrorism is not new to India. It has been subjected to various attacks in the past with most of them aimed at destabilising India and forming a strong base for the spread of Islam. It is commonly believed that the dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir is the root cause of eruption of Jihadi terrorism in India. Jinnah and the Muslim league were responsible for giving shape to the inherent mindset of Jihad against India and the result of it was the state of Pakistan. However the core values of Pakistan were guided by separatist who followed the basic ideology of Islam. Hence Kashmir is not really the cause of Pakistans jihad against India but the result of it.  [1]   The Talibanisation of Pakistan is the blowback of their powerful military and intelligence establishments flawed policy of using Jihadi indoctrination to advance its geo strategic agenda in the region. Yet, with the so called strategic depth nowhere in sight, not only Indias but even Pakistans own security is at risk due to the threat from Taliban and Al Qaeda. As the menace of Islamic militancy spreads across their country like a jungle fire, the Taliban militia and the Al Qaeda network continues to thrive. Indias extreme tolerance for diverse religions and cultures has been its great weakness. Indians have never fought the invasions and Islamic assaults as defenders of Hinduism. The same approach continued even as India was heading for partition. Mr. Jinnahs change of track from nationalist to separatist path changed the course of history. His association with the Muslim League, dissociation from the Indian National congress and the call of the expected Hindu over-lordship over Muslims in case the British freed India, led to an instant appeal among the Muslims and fuelled his ambition for a separate state of Pakistan. The easy access to India is primarily assisted by the geographical design of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistans occupation of a part of Kashmir was due to Indias poor decision of going to the UN Security Council in Jan 1948 to resolve the Kashmir issue. This led to cease fire and Pakistan occupying a large amount of territory which otherwise could have been easily regained by India considering Indian armys ongoing success during the operation. Birth of the Taliban Taliban is derived from the Arabic word Talib which means one who is seeking or student. It is generally referred to in context of learning religion.  [2]  The birth of Taliban took place during the Afghan Jihad when the Pakistani government had openly supported the Hizb-e-Islami led by Pashtun leader Gulbaddin Hikmatiyar expecting him to gain power in Afghanistan and support their strategic interests. When Hikmatiyar could not attain power in Afghanistan, Pakistan created Taliban. This new band of soldiers who came from south Afghanistan and Northwest Pakistan were initially from the religious schools Darul Uloom in Peshawar and the chain of Binori madrassas in Karachi. They were the products of Maulana Fazlur Rehmans Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam run religious madrassas in NWFP and the Baloch province. By Sep 1996, the Taliban hardliners Sunnis of the Deobandi sect and Afghan young fighters had gained near full control in Afghanistan. This was possible by full co operation and funding b y the ISI.  [3]  Historically, after the Russian occupation of Aghanistan, The American Intelligence agency, the CIA had decide to use the Pakistan intelligence agency, the ISI to organize, finance and train Islamic resistance groups against the Russians. Thousands of them were trained under the supervision of the CIA and sent into Afghanistan to fight the Soviets.  [4]  When the Soviets withdrew, there was lawlessness and chaos in Afghanistan. Amidst the chaos, the Taliban emerged under the leadership of Mullah Muhammed Omar in Sep 94. They were linked to the political- religious parties like the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam and breakaway elements of JUI like the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, Harkatul Mujahedin, Tehrikul Jihad and Jaish-e-Muhammad. Sunnis to the core they were indoctrinated to the core with Sunni Wahabism and salafism. The relevance of this is seen in the fact that the grand aim of Mullah Omar was not so much to grab power but to cleanse the Afghan society. They adopted a rigid interpretation of Sharia and this fuelled Islamic extremism and non muslims. This became Talibans key defining feature and was seen as the hallmark of Talibanisation. This process is also in vogue in SE Asia and is making regions war on terror more difficult in the years to come. Resurgence of the Taliban Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were the only two major Muslim countries in the world which had given diplomatic recognition to the Taliban government in Afghanistan. The Saudis, in spite of their commitment to Islamic orthodoxy, were close allies of the U.S. with no particular stake in Taliban. In fact, the Saudi rulers were internally as much antagonistic to Osama, as a possible rallying point against the ruling dynasty itself, as America. That left Pakistan only as the sole diplomatic god father of Taliban in the world. For the US in the war in Afghanistan, attacking Taliban was as good as attacking Pakistan for the simple reason that Taliban was out and out a creation of Pakistan. Its hard core fundamentalist Islamists were the products of Pakistani madrassas in its North West Frontier Province. The area around Peshawar was once described by The New York Times as the University of Jihad. And the fundamentalist Islamic movement symbolized by Taliban had tremendous appeal among the peopl e of Pakistan. However under US pressure Pakistan publically ended its support for the Taliban in the aftermath of the Sep 11, 2001 attacks. According to Aryn Bakers 30th June 2008 TIME magazine report, the Taliban in Afghanistan had regrouped after their fall from power and coalesced into resilient rebellion outfits finding sanctuary in the largely lawless tribal areas of Pakistan along the border. The US and the coalition force officials in Afghanistan were always skeptical about the Pakistan Armys ability and the will of its political leadership to fight the Taliban and Al-Qaeda combine  [5]  . According to Stephen Cohen Pakistan had always maintained that Taliban with their men and material could add strategic depth against India and help them in waging the proxy war against India. The jehadi groups have been more of a tool of the state rather than a threat to Pakistans security. However due to crackdown on Taliban and Al Qaeda, these groups have turned against Pakistan and have started forming coalitions which were otherwise never expected.  [6]  The Taliban are pairing up with local militant groups in the Punjab and Sindh provinces to push deeper into the country in a bid to reduce Pakistan to a captive territory from where it can launch and sustain its worldwide Jihadi agenda.  [7]   Globalisation of Jihad. The globalization of Jihad territorially is a matter of record of Jehadi terror across the world since early 1990s. What is more significant is the ideological globalisation of Jihad. Jihad now encompasses the whole world, not only as the area of its terror operations but also as the ultimate goal of its mission of Islamisation. The non Muslim world is the prey to the Jehadis waiting to be conquered and Islamised. As US president George W Bush voiced the same feeling when he met the congressional leaders on the morrow of 9/11. He said that the Jehadis hated anything that is non Muslim. METHODOLOGY Statement of the Problem Talibanisation of Pakistan has assisted the terror groups in their attempts to achieve their larger goal of establishing a regional Islamic state. Our government has been addressing the problem only as militancy aimed primarily in JK and has failed to identify the larger motives of these terror groups. Justification of Study Post 9/11 and in the wake of Mumbai attacks, the world focus has shifted towards Pakistan as the breeding ground for the most deadly terror groups in the world which includes Al- Qaeda and Taliban. The main hub of terror has apparently shifted from Middle East to Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pakistan has been a main ally to the US in the war against terror, but flawed US policies and Pakistans double game of supporting the terror groups has not only failed to stop the growing influence of Taliban and Al Qaeda in the region but provided them a safe breeding ground. India is not a stranger to terrorism, but the growing influence of Taliban in Pakistan has posed a threat of formation of a hub centre of Islamic militancy in Pakistan, from where the ultimate goal of launching a global Jehadi agenda and formation of a regional Islamic state which includes India can be successfully achieved. Taliban sponsored terrorism has definitely increased the threat to our national security manifold, more so in the light of earlier support by Pakistan to Taliban, and the continued nexus between groups like Al Qaida and militant groups operating in Kashmir and Pakistan. Pakistan had created Taliban for selfish issues at the behest of supporting US in their interests in Afghanistan against the USSR. But now having lost control over the Taliban, what is of concern is the future scenario where in the present government in Pakistan may not be able to control its own fundamentalists who with the support of Al Qaeda and Taliban may attempt to take power in their own ha nds and make the already volatile region more explosive. But eventually, the Taliban became an embarrassment to succeeding regimes at Islamabad, leading General Musharraf to abandon the Taliban, at least publicly to satisfy the US and the world. However, President Obama has now announced that Washington could deal with the good Taliban while battling the bad Taliban. This is part of Americas exit strategy from Afghanistan, but is a clear strategic mistake.