School Administrators Essay Example for Free

School Administrators Essay The role of education does not solely revolve around creating opportunities for children to learn and acquire information. At the same time, the role of reaching out to the community and reaping its benefits have been becoming part of administrative practice. With this idea on mind, there is an increasing need for administrators and educators to create an active environment for participation to extract the needed skills and capabilities to adapt to the challenges and trends of the present environment. Looking at the survey provided, it tries to outline the relevance of such programs not only among administrators and educators but also to parents and students. This is essential because it can create transparency and accountability among the facilitators of the program. At the same time, it allows the educational institution to create new and renew relationships that are relevant to maintain strong partnerships. â€Å"The goal of school-community relations expands on the definition of public relations; the goal of school-community relations it to help develop and maintain relationships† (Hopkins, 2005, p. 1). Another significant component of this initiative is the presence of goals and objectives in every program. This is relevant because it can generate the needed results and actively promote the target audience and provide direction on specific outputs. Likewise, it is important that these outputs are clear and concise because it can increase the chances that the program can be successful and be implemented better on target audiences (Ley, 1999). Through this, it can necessitate effective outcomes and create opportunities for relationships to grow in the process. Communication and interaction is also another relevant element that contributes to community building. Actively coordinating programs towards intended and target audiences can help spread out the word and supplement the objectives by giving the chance for each one to cooperate and take part in the process. Seeing this, it does not only work for actors such as parents, students, and teachers. Rather, there are also significant members who can contribute in the field. â€Å"All of those community members might be interested in knowing how a schools test results and student work compare to other schools† (Hopkins, 2005, p. 1). Operating on this concept, it can be argued that having effective communication can create active environments for cooperation and collaboration. These community programs can serve as a bridge in increasing support mechanisms that are essential not only for students but also for the educational institution as well. At the same time, having a harmonious relationship with these individuals and groups can enhance public relations that can be beneficial for the school’s growth and continuous development (Ley, 1999). Seeing all of these, leadership is a vital component that can merge these concepts together and allow the interaction and change to occur. Organizers must actively realize that by promoting this initiative, they can actively achieve necessary outcomes that will cater student awareness of revolving issues in the community and help them adapt to the elements that continue to be manifested in society. To conclude, community relations have been growing as an important element of student education. By allowing each individual to be immersed to different programs it can reap benefits and experiences not taught in classrooms. At the same time, it can help further and sustain relationships that are also significant not only on creating a good image for the educational institution but also harness the ability of each actor to grasp diversity and complexity in society. References Hopkins, G. (2005) School-Community Relations is Great PR And Then Some in Education World. Retrieved April 23, 2009 from, http://www. education-world. com/a_issues/chat/chat143. shtml Ley, J. (1999) Charter Starters Leadership Training Workbook 5: Community Relations in Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. Retrieved April 23, 2009. 1-50.

Marriages In Frankenstein Jane Eyre English Literature Essay

Marriages In Frankenstein Jane Eyre English Literature Essay Though feminists have long questioned the institution  of marriage by claiming that it has been a fundamental site of womens oppression, it is not until the 19th century that organized feminist movements began to emerge and feminist voices grew louder and stronger. Meanwhile, in the 19th century British literature, both some women writers and men writers began to focus on the well-being of women, their social position, and women and men relationship in their literary works; one of the crucial issues they are concerned with is the issue of marriage. This paper is dedicated to the analysis of marriages in three 19th century British novels-Frankenstein, Jane Eyre and The Odd Women in order to offer a general idea of the feminist progress in the 19th century Women in the 19th Century First of all, a general picture is given to showcase womens status in the institution of marriage through the 19th century Briton. As a whole, feminists have long criticized that marriages cast women as inferior by degrading women or constraining their appropriate options and ambitions  [2]  . Marriages reinforce the gendered division of labor, positioning women as domestic and less independent than men. Women were largely described as mentally inferior, irrational, passionate and emotional. It was considered that only marriage justifies their existence, that is, to provide companionship for  men, a cure or moral outlet for lust, a renewal of species  [3]  . As the inferior in the family, women were confined in the domestic sphere to take care of babies and do chores in the house. Though later in the 19th century, some women began to work in factories or as governess, what they did was some low level jobs, and women were paid much less than men (even when they did the same job). In the eyes of the law, women were treated as the second class citizen in society. Women did not exist as legal beings in their own right; in a marriage, women did not possess any property (anything a woman earned or inherited became her mans property, and her earnings were paid directly to him), and even the children belonged only to the husband; husbands legally had rights to beat their wives, provided the stick was not thicker than his thumb; even under the husbands violence, a woman had no rights to sue for divorce  [4]  . Through the 19th century, womens virtue was to be the Angle in the House who was expected to be devoted and submissive to her husband  [5]  . This name seems to redefine a womans role in a marriage, giving her glory and dignity. However, the so-called angel is more a yoke than a crown, because the Angel must be passive and powerless, meek, charming, graceful, sympathetic, self-sacrificing, pious, and above all-pure  [6]  . Under the requirement of being pure, womens sexuality must be repressed. Even in a marriage, the woman was not permitted to enjoy sexual pleasure, or she would be considered by both her husband and others as a whore. Women in the 19th century did not share equal rights with men, and the truth was disclosed and the cure was explored by some 19th century writers. On one hand, many women writers like Marry Shelly and Bronte sisters began to emerge. On the other, some men as well began to speak for the better-off of women, for example, Gorge Gissing. In Mary Shellys Frankenstein, Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre, and Gorge Gissings The Odd Women,  women and marriages were important and meaningful themes informing of the 19th century feminist awareness. In Frankenstein, Elizabeth was killed on her wedding night with Victor. Is her death inescapable? In Jane Eyre, why must Rochester be made imperfect to be together with Jane? In The Odd Women, does Rhodas refusal to Everard have other layers of meaning? The answers are related to what the woman character is like. Frankenstein: the Death of Obedient Women in a Patriarchal Institution The marriage between Victor and Elizabeth  is short and bloody. Their wedding room became a tomb for Elizabeth, for on the wedding night, the bride was killed by the monster, Victors own creation. Shelly seems to make the death of Elizabeth, to some degree, quite unreasonable.   How can victor fail to figure out the monsters intention to kill his lover after its numerous killings of his beloved ones- his bother, his sister, and his best friend? Isnt it obvious that the monster aims to make Victor suffer instead of kill him directly? Anyway, Shelly does not believe Elizabeth  can escape death. Elizabeth belongs to Victor since the day she was accepted in the family. She was a pretty present  [7]  that Victors mother gave him, and that, luckily, won Victors protection and love. As was said by Victor, since till death she was to be mine only  [8]  . However, Elizabeth brings hurt to Victor as well, for Victors most beloved mother died for nurturing the sick Elizabeth. Soon after his mothers death, Victor left for Ingolstadt. Though the death of Victors mother did not diminish his love for Elizabeth, it did lit dangerous fire in Victors heart-to make dead alive. The birth of Victors monster brings about the agony of Frankenstein family, including Elizabeth. During Victors struggle with the monster, Elizabeth became his sole soothe and comforts. Unfortunately, his final hope of happiness was destroyed due to Victors ignorance. Victor blamed the monster that had blinded him to his real intentions  [9]  . Anyway, it is Victor that had created the killer who finally d estroyed Elizabeth (does Victor unconsciously want Elizabeth dead?). The tragedy of Elizabeth and Victors marriage is doomed. Elizabeth is a perfect  lady of the day-pure, beautiful and willing to sacrifice for Victor. It is reasonable to believe that she would have been an Angel in the House if her  marriage with Victor had not been disturbed by the monster. Ironically, the monster is her mans creation.  In this sense, Elizabeths death embodies the womens sacrifice in a patriarchal marriage. As is known, Marry Shelly is the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft (author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman) who is considered to be one of the major figures of first wave feminism. Influenced by her mother, Shelly also highlights the inequalities between the sexes. In Frankenstein, as an embodiment of subservient women, Elizabeths death is inescapable. Jane Eyre: Pursuit of Gender Equality in a Marriage Jane and Rochester are from different classes. One is the master, while the other is a governess; one is rich,  while the other is poor. Rochester with his good blood and fortune is thought by the hierarchical system to deserve a beautiful and graceful lady like Ingram. Even though there is this huge gap between Jane and Rochester, Charlotte Bronte deliberately plotted a happy marriage between them which exhibits gender equality. To gain this gender equality, Jane must be subversive to social oppression on women, and meanwhile, Rochester has to reconcile himself to the demands of gender equality. Different from social and religious norms of women-to be obedient, Jane is a subversive woman. She is blessed by Charlotte Bronte with her wish of a woman, that is, to have minds and independence, and deserve a good man who cherishes a woman for her mind instead of outward beauty and material wealth and who regards her as an equal companion. All these blessings require Jane Eyre to be subversive against both class and gender inequalities in the contemporary society. Janes left from Rochester and her refusal to St John is her struggle to get away from being chained by gender inequalities. St John is a typical patriarchal man who also embodies the religious oppression on women. In his eyes, Janes virtue is to marry him and accompany him to fulfill his mission. He expects Jane to obey him, to satisfy him, and to please him, because he is in the name of Gods clergyman. However, this god refuses Jane to be like St John and to do the same things. What the god wants from Jane is to ask her to fulfill a wifes duty, and its church gives St John more power than Jane. Janes own identity is threatened in his realm. I felt daily more and more that I must disown half of my nature, stifle half my faculties, wrest my tastes from their original bent, force myself to the adoption of pursuit for which I had no natural vocation  [10]  . Janes refusal to St John is her struggle against outward oppression, while her left from Rochester is her struggle against her own weakness. Rochester and Jane see each other as soul mate. They determined to get married regardless of the gap between their statuses. However, Rochesters mad wife became an invincible obstacle that made their marriage impossible. Jane was confronted with two choices: to be Rochesters mistress, or to leave Rochester forever. Although Jane loves Rochester and would like to accompany him, she finally chose to leave Thornfield. Jane realized that there was still distance between Rochester and her. She is the paid subordinate who was less beautiful than Rochesters other mistresses. Moreover, she remembers Rochesters degradation of his other mistresses. Hiring a mistress is the next worse thing to buying a slave: both are often by nature, and always by position, inferior; to live familiarly with inferior is degrading  [11]  . Jane would prefer to earn thirty pounds a year as a governess than be hired as a mistress or brought as a slave. Jane rejected Rochester and left; this way , she could main mentally equal with Rochester. Charlotte believes Jane deserves to be together with Rochester, but their union can be possible only when Jane and Rochester are totally equal. To win this equality, the  stronger one shall be weakened, while the weaker one shall be made better. As it turned out, on their way to be together, Jane becomes stronger both in terms of her mind and economic power; while Rochester becomes less strong due to  the burn down of Thornfield and his loss of eyesight. The Odd Women: Willing to Be the Odd and New Women Rhoda in The Odd Women by Gorge Gissing is another subversive woman. Different from Jane, she finally refused marriage.  Rhodas refusal to marriage embodies a huge step that women take in protecting their rights. As was in the 19th century Briton, the unmarried women were considered odd which means abnormal, strange and eccentric  [12]  . Being odd is marked with radical and agony by the patriarchal society. In The Odd Women, Rhoda does not believe Everard (or any other man) can give her an independent and free life after marriage. Her determination to refuse marriage is made gradually. At first, Rhoda thought she had chosen the single life for a life time with conviction. She scorns marriage as well as those weak women who regard marriage and men as indispensable. However, Rhoda, in some part of her heart, still is weak. After she and Everard fell in love, she forced Everard to propose to her. Rhodas decision to refuse marriage is eventually consolidated after her witness of M onicas experience. Monica, afraid of being odd and poor, married Widdowson. Soon after their marriage, Widdowson was overwhelmed with jealousy and possessiveness which symbol the stifling patriarchal values, and Monica fell in love with another man which embodies womens failed flee. Their marriage ended in Monicas death for childbirth. After Monicas death, Rhoda eventually made her determination to refuse Everard. Rhoda, after her refusal of Everard, with Miss Barfoot belongs to the new women who are willing to be odd. They ignore the spell of being odd, and work to alleviate the social plight in which women find themselves by training them to be fit for positions  [13]  . Gorge Gissing, like Charlotte Bronte, also gives the feminism blessings. The end of marriages (Monica and Widdowson, Rhoda and Everard), the new born girl in Rhodas arm, and the flourishing of Miss Barfoots work (like a green bay-tree) promise the bright future of the new women like Rhoda and Miss Barfoot. To sum up the above mentioned marriages in the novels, through the death of Elizabeth in her marriage with Victor, Shelly highlights the sacrifice of the obedient women in the patriarchal institution of marriage; Jane Eyres marriage with Rochester shows her pursuit of gender equality; Rhoda Nunns refusal to marry Everard marks the emergence of the new women. Charlotte Bronte and Gorge Gissing conveyed their support of feminist awakening by describing subversive characters in their novels. Overall, the 19th century British literature exhibits the contemporary feminist voices, that is, women are awaking and asking for greater freedoms, more social opportunities, and equal status with men. Citations: Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. London: Thomas Nelson and Sons, Ltd. 1937. David, Deirdre. Ideologies of Patriarchy, Feminism, and Fiction in The Odd Women'. Feminist Studies, Vol. 10, No. 1 (Spring, 1984), p 117. Lesser, Wendy. Even-Handed Oddness: George Gissings The Odd Women . The Hudson Review. Vol. 37, No. 2 (Summer, 1984), pp. 211. Nadelhaft, Jerome. The English Womans Sexual Civil War: Feminisn Attitudes Towards Men, Women, and Marriage 1650-1740. Journal of the History of Ideas. Vol. 43, No 4 (Oct. Dec., 1982). Shelly, Mary. Frankenstein. London: Penguin Books. 1978.

Bilingual Education :: Politics

The issue of bilingual education is a much debated topic in this country and especially in this state. The Spanish-speaking populace has grown tremendously in these past decades, much of which has immigrated with Spanish as their only language. This has left the public school system with an interesting problem; how to successfully transition Spanish speaking students into an English environment. Public school systems have generally adopted one of two approaches to this problem. One is to allow students several years to develop their English with lessons taught in both languages. The other is a total immersion program where students are thrust into English-only lessons with little time develop their second language. Both approaches have ardent followers with valid arguments for each approach. In immersion programs children are allowed at most one year of English study before being placed in main-stream English-only classes. Proponents of this sink-or-swim approach often site the success of their forbearers who learned English without schools trying to accommodate them with native-language classes. Immersion proponents also cite the fact that the bilingual approach creates a cultural segregation of students. The English language is a tool of national unity, they point out. Supporters of immersion also question the success of students in bilingual education programs. They argue that students never really learn English and instead fall into using the native language all through school. They also site studies that show test scores higher in schools with immersion programs than in school that favor a bilingual approach. The approach of bilingual education is to allow students to study and learn in their native language while they master their understanding of the English language over three to six years. The argument is that it makes sense that a teacher would want to teach a child in a language they understand until they have fully mastered their second language. Supporters also have their studies to quote. In 1998-1999, for the third year in a row, students learning in a bilingual education program scored higher in English reading and comprehension than students enrolled in immersion programs according to the Arizona Department of Education. Opponents to English immersion cite the massive increase of high school dropouts since California passed statewide initiative for all public schools to adopt immersion only programs. Bilingual supporters also note that most students are mainstreamed after just three years of bilingual education while immersion students are often held in immersion program s two to three years longer than the one year term.

Forever and Always Essay -- Descriptive Essay, Descriptive Writing

Forever and Always Some people believe in miracles. Other people argue that fate is what makes day turn into night and the waves rise high and low crashing over a ship at sea or carrying it to the shore safely. A person of faith will say that ones’ life is controlled by a higher power greater than fate itself. Shannon has heard every excuse, rhyme or reason as to what exactly wills each life changing event. She occasionally agrees, yet never disagrees for reasons that would just be impolite. It is what only she knows in her heart, and in a place that even her heart cannot reach, that wills her to live through each day and keeps her anticipating the comfort of her empty bed at night. It is here, in the glow from a single lit candle holding the scent of the ocean breeze, that Shannon separates herself from the world around her and is brought into the only place she longs to be. To begin the evening ritual, Shannon sits at her vanity, combing each section of her long blonde locks and staring into her reflection. She reminds herself of how her eyes used to sparkle. She attempts to recreate the shimmer in her hazel eyes by recalling a humorous event, or practicing her most infectious grin. Suprised that this doesn’t work (although it has never worked before) she eagerly reaches under her mattress for the photograph that will begin the second step of what will soon ease her into a soundslumber. Shannon immediately finds the grin that she has been searching for. First, on the glossy print that she holds in her hand, and soon after, appearing on her own rose colored lips. One would think that night after night of seeing the same picture would make it turn into only that, a picture. Every time Shannon gazes into this square paper world of hers she is drawn into it as if it were happening all over again. She falls into the time the picture was taken. It was a beautiful summer day, and the sky was painted blue with traces of clouds only to remind the town that it was not, in fact, a canvas, but a true day. The birds flew blissfully, calling to each other. The ocean breeze was just enough to send the smell of the fish from the dock towards the inner part of town. The town itself was quiet. Families gathered today in their homes to share the day with each other. Many of the fishermen had the day off, and although the town should be bust... ...eping over her face, grazing her lips with his smooth fingertips and moving them from there to the tip of her ear where he brings his lips gently to whisper. The feeling of his breath on her is warm and makes Shannon’s body tingle as she begins to believe that he really is in the room with her. She smells the distinct flavor of his cologne in the air and on her pillow and longs for him to wrap her in his arms. â€Å"Jay, I need you here with me.† she proclaims as if he can hear her. â€Å"I’m here. Forever and always.† He speaks and she is calmed by his tender voice. Shannon feels the embrace of his arms around her, and the whispered phrase that accompanies every nightly dream she encounters, declaring his love for her. Finally ready to be disappointed by reality, she opens her eyes only to find that he is real. As she looks at him, he slides the gold sparkling ring onto her finger and their lips find each other. The remainder of the night had come to life with passion. At dawn, when she finally fell asleep with his arms around her, she felt the grin on her face form and the comfort in her heart, knowing that he meant what he said. He would never leave again.

Extra Classes

Extra classes a waste of time and resources SOME schools extend schooling time to hold extra classes. The schools think that this will guarantee straight A’s students. I do not think so. After-school hours are for students to play games, join some social events or other beneficial activities. And the school holiday is a very crucial time for students because they can rest and indulge in their favourite pastimes like reading, playing outdoor games, travelling, etc, which they would not otherwise have the time for. All these activities are beneficial to them as they are in their growing years.Malaysia is a tropical country with a hot and humid climate and it is not conducive for students and teachers alike to study and teach in the hot afternoon. Extra classes are normally an extension of school hours, which make it very uncomfortable, and coupled with their tiredness make these lessons a waste of time and resources for both teachers and students. One thing about extra classes i s that control and supervision by the school authorities tend to be lax. And because of this, students often flout school rules by playing truant and bringing mobile phones to class.This then defeats the whole purpose of having tuition classes! So why have tuition classes? It is a waste of time and resources to parents and the school authorities, not to mention the desired end-results. Students should be committed to their studies when in school. Schools should develop each student’s talents according to his or her potential. That will effectively nurture students. Extra classes burdening and unnecessary? EF International Academy www. ef. com/academy More parents are sending their children, aged between 7 and 10, for private tuition.They cite competitive school environment, crowded classrooms and changing standards of language as reasons. But there are also perceptions that extra tuition places unnecessary stress on the child, writes Rozanna Latiff SHARON Lieu, a 36-year-old mother of three, sends her eldest daughter, aged 8, for Mathematics and English tuition twice a week. Even though Lieu does not believe that primary school children should be attending tuition classes, her daughter's struggle to catch up with her classmates had forced the matter. â€Å"In school, her class is so big that the teachers don't have time to help the few who cannot follow the lessons. Some have even told the students, ‘Ask your tuition teacher' when the child says they can't understand. † Lieu said she had little time to teach her daughter on her own as she was often busy with work and taking care of her younger children. â€Å"I wish that I did not have to send her for tuition, but it is the only way she will be able to keep up. â€Å"I think many parents feel the same way, especially as schools have become more competitive. † School authorities and parent groups generally agree that sending children under 10 years old for private tuition was unneces sary.Some, such as the National Collaborative Parent-Teacher Associations of Malaysia president Associate Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Ali Hasan, believe that sending pupils for tuition too early could even be detrimental to their social development. â€Å"Children should be allowed time to play and learn at their own pace. â€Å"Putting too much pressure on them to succeed academically at an early age means that there will be less time for them to learn to socialise or communicate effectively with others. â€Å"Stress can also affect them emotionally. â€Å"Ali said the most important part of early education was learning the basic skills of reading, writing and counting, which weaker students can master under the education ministry's learning and numeracy (Linus) remedial programme. He said tuition should be a measure of last resort when the student is truly struggling with schoolwork. â€Å"It is crucial that they learn to read and count by Year Three. â€Å"But apart from that, paren ts should just let children be children. † Nevertheless, the Education Ministry believes that there is little to stop parents from sending their children to tuition outside school hours. Ultimately, it is the parents choice. â€Å"I'm not saying it is healthy, but parents just want the best for their children. â€Å"If they believe tuition is the way to go, then there is nothing to stop them,† deputy education minister Dr Puad Zarkashi said. Puad, however, remained sceptical on whether private tuition centres offered the best education for children. â€Å"The best kind of tuition allows the child to study one-on-one with the teacher. â€Å"But most centres usually have several students to one teacher. Some centres even crowd up to 40 students in one class. So, I don't believe they make much of a difference.Read more: Extra classes burdening and unnecessary? – Top News – New Straits Times http://www. nst. com. my/top-news/extra-classes-burdening-and-unne cessary-1. 52841#ixzz2IFQypuPW [pic]About EF Founded in 1965, EF Education First is the world's largest private education company. We offer language education for students and professionals in more than 50 countries. [pic]EF Research Unit at University of Cambridge EF has established a Research Unit at the University of Cambridge Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics to collaborate on fundamentally improving the way students learn English. EF International AcademyAdmissions Office Haldenstrasse 4 Luzern 6006 Switzerland Tel: +41 41 417 46 31 [pic]EF International Academy in New York, Oxford and Torbay are IB world schools. [pic]The EF schools in London, Cambridge, Oxford, Manchester, Brighton and Bournemouth are accredited by the British Council. [pic]The EF school in Torbay is accredited by the British Accreditation Council for Independent Further and Higher Education [pic]The EF school in New York is a member of the American Association of Intensive English Programs. [ pic]EF International Academy schools are accredited by the University of Cambridge International Examinations Centre.

Bullet-Trains

Also they are designed for long distance traveling, and have not been implemented in the United States. They have many competitive advantages such as higher speeds, which leads to a quicker means of transportation. This is a huge advantage because in todays society time is one the most important sources for competitive advantage. They have a much more modern look which includes comfortable seating, and high end dining, which these are also core competencies. This leads to quality, consumers are willing to spend the extra money for quality, which they will receive on the bullet trains. Also the technology is so advanced there wouldn’t be competition directly to Siemens if they were to start in the US market. will be competing against.Customers want to be able to have a relaxed experience when traveling, since traveling is hectic as it is. Bullet trains will fill those needs of the consumer, and with all of the surveys that have been done more than 60% of people do not enjoy the chaos that comes with traveling. Whether they are traveling through the air or in a car it is not very comfortable, this is a huge competitive advantage for bullet trains which also makes them â€Å"order winners†. Order Winners are features that basically win a customer over to your product or service they have made these trains based on consumer needs and wants, because of these trains being produced for such a long period of time. â€Å"The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) established a process for designating U.S. high-speed rail (HSR) corridors.† This started the testing of high speed trains which can go up to 90-120 mph.Bullet trains are almost twice as fast as these. This technology is very advanced though and the US government does not believe in funding at the moment. This is because the cost of production is very high, which is very important. If the government were to help with the funding this be a huge importance for Siemen s. Although they are a huge corporation without government funding, it is very expensive to produce the bullet trains. So at the moment they are coming up with different strategic methods on how to lower production costs, as well as how to relate the trains to a more specific market segment.The importance of the research that is being done will either make or break the opportunity for the trains to come to the  states. They need the governments support and the abilitity to come up with a new strategy on how to present the idea to Government. The contributions these trains will make are un-imaginable. They not only make the US a more innovative country, but it could help in increasing the US economy, which could very much use this boost. It will give citizens a lot quicker mean of transportation, while also lowering the costs of different industries such as: air travel, car travel, and slower and less convenient train travel. This could contribute to lowering gas prices, plane tick et prices, and push the US in a new direction for the future.This leads to the Value chain effect, Siemens is already way ahead of society’s technology today. They are a very futuristic organization and they already have on site research testing. They also produce a lot of their parts that would be needed for the trains which is a benefit of the value chain process. I would advise for the trains to come to the us because it would be a huge advancement for our society.

Development Administration

INTRODUCTION This paper seeks to identify and discuss the predicament of Development Administration as it relates to public administration in the Commonwealth Caribbean. It will seek to elucidate thought and provoke discussion on the topic by first of all taking a journey back to the period of colonial rule and the historical antecedents that impacted administration during that period.It will take a cursory glance at the independence period and the course of development taken by some of the Commonwealth Caribbean, utilizing mainly the Trinidad and Tobago experience (because of the exigencies of time and space). The exercise will attempt to look briefly at the origin of Development Administration and examine the thinking and writings of some of the leading theorists on subject. Additionally, it will focus on some of the reasons for the seeming failure of development administration in addressing some of the key problems and challenges of administration in the Commonwealth Caribbean.Further, it will look at some of the new approaches to public administration and finally it will attempt to provide some solutions and recommendations on the way forward. iBACKGROUNDIn looking at the predicament of development administration in the Commonwealth Caribbean, this paper will examine the topic under two (2) broad themes. These are: 1. The theoretical inadequacy of Development Administration; and 2. The inability of development bureaucracies to realise development goals, particularly the region under review i. . the Commonwealth Caribbean. Jamal Khan writing in 1982 probably encapsulates it best. He said â€Å"the Caribbean region with a visage all its own and located at the gateway the American continents, is a grouping of thirty-three (33) English, Dutch, French and Spanish speaking countries, all islands except the four (4) mainland countries Guyana and Suriname in the South America, Cayenne and Belize in Central America.The region is divided into three (3) main geographic groups: th e Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles consisting of the largest islands lying between Puerto Rico and the South American mainland and the Bahamas off the Florida coast is a string of islands, small cays and rocks of which a greater many are barren and uninhabited. † In looking at the region in its historical context, Khan notes that â€Å"the region born out of the conquest, settlement and colonisation had sustained numerous racial migrations, protracted imperial subjugations and enormous human tragedies.Historical forces have created a diversity of ethnicities, cultures, religions, traditions and loyalties. While parts of the region have moved through the process of de-colonisation other segments still retain ii dependency status. The Eastern Caribbean in particular is facing not only the usually problems of post-independence national development and transition from colonial status to independence but also the special problems created by geographic, political and economic fragmentation†.The paper attempts to look at this region and its unique history and examines some of the approaches that have been employed to treat with the thrust towards development. It reviews the work and pronouncements of the some of the leading thinkers and authors in areas of public administration and development administration and the effectiveness or lack thereof of these systems of governance. Development Administration emerged in the 1960s with the field of comparative public administration. It is a general theory of development and was esigned as a possible agent of change. The term represented those aspects of public administration that were needed to execute politics, programs and projects to improve social and economic conditions. Some countries of the Commonwealth Caribbean sought to adopt the model as a point of departure from the rigid, hierarchical and bureaucratic forms of public administration that existed after Independence. It was viewed as a â€Å"bes t fit† for the efficient running and functioning of the public service. iiiBut, as will be developed later in the paper, it was the history and culture of the public administration environment that made the adaptation to the model of development administration difficult, and contributed to the factors that accounted for the predicaments it faced. The analysis part of the paper will look at what attempts have been taken and the approaches to development administration in the Commonwealth Caribbean and the factors that accounted for the predicament and the eventual failure of the process in the region.In this context, it will cite briefly the experience of successive administrations in the case of Trinidad and Tobago and their approaches to development administration in the country. iv CASE A cursory glance at some of the definitions proffered by some of the leading thinkers and writers in the field of public administration may prove instructive and useful in placing the discuss ion on the predicament of development administration in its proper perspective as repeated reference will be made to the work of these during the course of the paper.Fred Riggs (1970) described development administration as â€Å"the methods used by large scale organisations, particularly government, to implement policies and plans designed to meet development objectives†. In his â€Å"Frontiers of Development Administration†, Riggs identified two (2) areas of focus in his approach to the subject: a. The development of administration and b. The administration of development Hope (1987) and Jean Claude Zamor (1973:422) examined development administration both from a conceptual and an operational point of view.They wrote that â€Å"development administration in this context is the bureaucratic process that facilitates or stimulates the achievement of socio-economic progress through the utilisation of the talents and expertise of bureaucrats. It involves the mobilisation of bureaucratic skills for speeding up the development process†. Hope (1987) also added that â€Å"development administration or the public administration of economic development applies to the activities of governments to achieve development or 1 modernisation.The administration of development in developing countries is effected primarily through politicians and the civil service operating within a ministerial system or government agency and is characterised by its purpose, its loyalties and its attitudes†. In his definition of development administration, Gant (1979) said that â€Å"the term development administration came into use in the 1950s to represent those aspects of public administration which are needed to carry out the policies, projects and programs to improve economic conditions†.In 1887, in his famous essay â€Å"The Study of Administration†, Woodrow Wilson states that â€Å"public administration is the detailed and systematic execution of the public law†. Wilson looked at public administration in one specific perspective and that is the ability of the bureaucracy to implement the policies of the legislator without political interference. Waldo proffered two (2) definitions. He saw public administration as â€Å"the organisation and management of men and materials to achieve the purposes of the state† and public administration as â€Å"the art and science of administration as applied to the affairs of the state†.Schaffer, in defining the concept, noted that â€Å"development administration is about programs, policies and projects in which there are unusually wide and new demands and in which there are peculiarly low capacities and severe obstacles in meeting them†. Schaffer’s specification of a â€Å"particular set of conditions and the particular task of development† 2 distinguished development administration from administration’s other forms, particularly generic admin istration.Edwin Jones defined administration as the model that places strong accent on change and opines that is primarily concerned with action oriented administration and places such administration at the centre of the attainments of development objectives. For Jones, development administration constitutes a progression of guiding public organisations towards the achievement of such objectives. It is a concept, he says, that places a strong emphasis on carrying out planned changes in the total system.He also outlined that a central concern of development administration aims at improving the capability of the public administration sector to manage change processes and innovation. The model, Jones add, places high value on the injection of relevant new ideas, procedures and structures and as such development administration as an activity must always challenge control centred management and centralised decision making. F. A. Nigro and L. G.Nigro in their book â€Å"Modern Public Adm inistration† identified public administration as â€Å"a cooperative group effort in a public setting† and â€Å"covers all three (3) branches: executive, legislative and judicial† and identifies the inter relationships as having a critical and significant role in formulating public policy and as such is part of the political process. For his part, Nicholas Henry, another writer on the subject offered his view of public administration by noting that â€Å"it is a broad ranging and amorphous combination of theory and practice, with its purpose to promote a superior understanding of government and its 3 elationship with the society. It governs as well as facilitates the creation of public policies more responsive to the social needs and to institute managerial practices attuned to effectiveness, efficiency and the deeper requisites of the citizenry†. Turner and Hulme said that â€Å"bureaucracy is another way of saying public administration†. They sai d whether one looks at the OECD countries, former and present communist countries of the nations of the third world, bureaucratisation is ubiquitous. They noted â€Å"that in many cases, the public service is blamed for poor developmental performance†.They concluded that despite this, â€Å"bureaucracy is an essential and vitally important instrument of development†. Their perspective on the particular problems of the colonial legacy of administration which was largely adopted by the Commonwealth Caribbean was probably summed up best in their observation that the colonial state is best characterised as â€Å"an administration unit, a bureaucratic state† and that bureaucracy has often been the strongest institutional inheritance of the post-colonial state.They noted however that â€Å"in the ideal Weberian model, bureaucracy is an efficient instrument of policy implementation, but in many developing countries the practice of implementation had been disappointing †. This they attributed to poor administrative capacity. Looking at the colony legacy, Mills had his take when he noted that â€Å"the Crown Colony systems which existed in the Caribbean before the fourth decade of this century, governors exercised executive powers with advice from councils of committees consisting entirely of officials and nominated embers (only in Barbados which retained elements of the old 4 representative system, did elected members of the legislative to sit in the executive committees). There were no well organised political parties and although labour organisations had existed for a number of years, trade unions had not yet become the important pressure groups†. Mills showed that the colonial overloads were primarily concerned with the maintenance of law and order and with tax collections. He noted that the colonial secretaries/governors were esponsible for the overall administration functions and were accountable only to the imperial governments or monarchies and were primarily concerned with their future careers than with the business of administration for development. Mills continues, following the social and political disturbances throughout the British Caribbean during the latter part of the 1930s and the report of the Moyne Commission, far reaching social, economical and constitutional reforms were introduced.He said the Commission recommended the institution of a semi ministerial form of government which would bring elected members into direct association with the work of departments, the old colonial secretariat to be divided into sections or departments with responsibility for areas such as health and education. Mills said the public now looked to the elected members as persons responsible for providing and maintaining services. But these members had no real power and authority as executive power continued to reside in the governor and senior civil servants.Mills showed that the sub dividing of the colonial secretar iat did not effect any real de-centralisation of decision making. He said the structures remained un-wielding and cumbersome centralised agencies. 5 Mills observed that after a while, West Indian governments began to adopt a different posture as they began expressing increasing concern of the need to modernise their societies and to undertake social economic programmes for providing employment and raising the living standards of their peoples.He noted that during the 1940s, the emphasis shifted with a tendency towards greater stress on economic development and the provision of facilities such as income tax and customs duty concession for creating a climate conducive to private enterprise development. He showed that all these activities resulted in a considerable growth of the public sector, a dramatic rise in public expenditure, the expansion of existing departments and creation of new public agencies, including public corporations and regulatory commissions.Mills noted that since t he introduction of ministerial systems, administrative and organisational evolution has continued with the process of what he termed â€Å"integration† of departments with ministries. He informed that both the larger and smallest countries have their own peculiar difficulties with respect to this. Mills identified three (3) broad inter related strands that have influenced the development of public administration and the operations of administrative systems in the region. 1. Westminster / Whitehall Heritage. 2.Political and constitutional changes during the past three (3) to four (4) decades with the transition from Crown Colony status through the internal self-government stage towards independence, coupled with the introduction of universal adult suffrage and the subsequent development of strong political parties and trade unions. 6 3. The current concern with programmes for social and economic development. Mills points out that these changes have stimulated or accentuated co nflict in a number of important areas and the public services are currently faced with challenges and demands which emphasises the need for reform and re-organisation.He identified the three (3) areas of conflict as: 1. Relations between ministries and officials, noting that this atmosphere of conflict has seriously hampered the effective functioning of governments; 2. Relations between administrators and technical personnel. He notes that this rational dichotomy engenders resentment, friction and frustration leading to a lowering of staff morale and 3. The relations between Central Government and Statutory Corporations.These are some of the key factors that have accounted for the predicament of Development Administration in the countries of the Commonwealth Caribbean and will be further discussed in the analysis. 7 ANALYSIS After the attainment of Independence by most countries during the 1960s and the early 1970s, the new administrations comprised inexperienced government official s and ill equipped bureaucracies. With Independence came responsibilities of charting one’s own course of development through elected executive authority which now were the primary decision making bodies in most instances.All these responsibilities were previously the purview of the colonial administrators. These â€Å"new† governments were expected to give life and meaning to the demands of the new â€Å"free† societies. Such expectations were supposed to manifest themselves in policies, plans and programs designed to meet the needs of the people of the newly independent territories and raise their standards of living. With the attainment of Independence and a say in electing their own governments, the peoples of the Commonwealth Caribbean began to legitimately look forward to high levels of social and economic transformation.In the case of Trinidad and Tobago, for example, such lofty ideals were expressed through the People’s Charter developed in the 19 50s by the Williams’ administration and then through a series of five (5) year development plans conceived thereafter. One also recalls the process of nationalisation of several industries by the Burnham regime in Guyana during the 1970s and 1980s and Manley’s own experimentation with a form of democratic socialism in Jamaica. These may be viewed as the political directorate’s approach to effecting the process of development through attempts at economic reform. In most of the countries, development administration was seen to be viewed as the â€Å"ideal† model to achieve the expected outcomes and satisfy the demands of the newly independent nations. However, they were still steeped in the old systems and establishments of public administration which they inherited, systems that were not designed to be responsive to such demands for economic and social transformation now being demanded by the newly independent countries.The major predicaments that came alo ng with the inherited systems were a high degree of centralisations, a lack of high level manpower and planning, the sheer size of the countries themselves, economic growth or the lack of it within the societies themselves and the inability of government officials to successfully conduct the administration of development. Hope noted that â€Å"the lack of trained administrators in the less developed countries was a direct result of three (3) factors: 1.Chronic brain drain 2. Poor government recruitment policies and 3. A lack of proper manpower planning and assessment. The last factor Hope notes produced haphazard recruitment policies, under employment and unemployment and inevitably frustration on the part of the dew skilled administrators present that forced them to emigrate†. The top-down bureaucratic public administration model is one major predicament for development administration process to be successfully implemented. 9 While public dministration requires a high degree of centralisation on the one hand, the concept of development administration boosts modernization and transformation where desirable or necessary to achieve development goals and discourages adherence to the old norms that constitute a more rigid bureaucratic system. The purposes of development administration are to encourage and enable defined programmes of economic and social progress. The model lends itself to the ideals of change modernization and movement as contrasted with a desire to maintain the status quo.Additionally, development administration is designed to make the process of change desirable, attractive and possible through the application of policies and programs that evolve from creative, participative and democratic forms of decision making. It is also a process where at all levels, those involved feel a sense of belonging and ownership of the plans, policies and programs of the organisation and therefore are more highly motivated to work towards their achievement. The altitudes of those involved in a process of development administration tend to be more positive than negative. In emphasising this point, Gant further expresses the view that the â€Å"manifestations of development administration, its unique purposes, loyalties and attitudes are found in new and reoriented agencies and in new management systems and processes†. He adds that â€Å"these agencies include planning Boards to facilitate decisions about development policies and the allocation of resources towards the accomplishment of those policies. These new 10 inds of agencies are often needed for development and stronger public and private enterprise management systems as called for†. Gant further stated that â€Å"development administration encompasses the innovations which strengthen the capacity of the bureaucracy to stimulate and facilitate development and for these purposes the process requires its own supporting institutions, chiefly in the forms of training, r esearch and consulting agencies, but also in the form of an articulate and public expectation of good administrative behaviour and performance†.One of the major predicaments that continue to affect the growth of development administration in the Commonwealth Caribbean is the bureaucratic structure of the civil service and the excessive centralisation of authority and control reflected in the exercise of power by government ministers. The government ministers in most Commonwealth Caribbean countries assume total control of their respective ministries and departments in terms of decision making and pay little attention or mere lip service and provide very little opportunity for lower level public servants to participate in the process.This centralisation of decision strikes at the very heart of the purposes and ideas of development administration alluded to earlier in the discourse. This excessive centralisation also contributes to the destruction of the channels of communicatio n in the organisation. It also creates an environment in which there is a lack of coordination of policies among departments, as well as a lack of effective dissemination of information required for effective decision making. A perfect example is the coordination of works between the Water and Sewerage Authority and the Ministry of Works on road improvement initiatives and pipeline installations.There is absolutely no coordination between 11 the parties and this leads to road being paved today, and then pipelines being laid on the same road at a later date. This leads to wastage of time and resources and ineffective decisions resulting in an inconvenienced public. Hope notes that the â€Å"centralised nature of the civil service in most of the lesser developed countries has become an institution in which personal survival in terms of longevity of service sometimes depends on political affiliation, a situation that does not conform to the regulations governing the non-political natu re of the civil service†.Hope further analyses this phenomenon when he notes that â€Å"there exists a great deal of friction and mutual suspicion between government ministers and career officials. Both the ministers and the career officials have adopted an attitude towards the implementation of policy that has alienated the public and hampered the effective functioning of government. Career civil servants are in a position of great insecurity due to the erroneous powers of government ministers.Most of the career civil servants, if not all of them are usually better educated than the ministers (who are appointed primarily on their politics), and find it difficult to abide by the decisions of the ministers, whom they regard as inadequately educated and not competent enough to make decisions pertaining to the administration of development. The ministers on the other hand, conscious of their newly acquired powers determined to dispel any suggestion of inferiority, are anxious to assert their authority and to make it clear beyond doubt who are the masters (United Nations 1982:49-40).Inevitably then, for reasons of survival within the civil service, career civil servants have adopted a sycophantic and financial attitude toward their ministers; offering technical and administrative advice to these ministers and not in a firm and objective manner but by attempting to anticipate 12 what the minister want. The ultimate result of all these manifestations is a lack of coordination of policies among departments and a lack of dissemination of information for effective decision making.Invariably then, the few individuals at the decision making pyramid, namely the ministers are hard pressed to cope with the range of decisions they have to make. The effect then is either procrastination and long delays or one of After Independence, the bureaucratic, colonial oriented inadequate of inept policies. administration was transformed into a bureaucratic organisation that emph asised the sovereignty of politics rather than the supremacy of administration.Politics became the most important activity and the politicians came to occupy a position of supremacy in matters of decision making. (Duke 1964:233; United Nations 1982:49-50). Development Administration, therefore, put into a highly centralised environment will not work. This factor have accounted also for part of the model’s predicament in Commonwealth Caribbean countries, in that, after the attainment of Independence, the model was introduced holistically without consideration for other factors within the public environment which directly impact the development process.Development Administration as noted previously encourages and acknowledges decision making from middle and lower level subordinates, and by its nature, command high levels of innovativeness and flexibility. However, public administration, after Independence, did not allow for such changes to be effected as it met with a most unre sponsive public service. 13 Another factor which impacts the success of development administration is institutional building.However, it must be noted that the sheer small size economy of some of the countries of the Commonwealth Caribbean means that they do not possess the resources to afford an adequate amount of specialists necessary for the effective and efficient operations of government organisations. Khan, in his work, pointed to some major problems that may occur due to small size. He says, â€Å"small size could indeed pose a problem for management system that is unwilling to keep abreast or is tardy in keeping pace with changing social conditions. Problems may accrue, inhibitory and unresponsive.Problems may also arise should the system continue to dispense favour and patronage and disregard achievement factors. Problems may also persist if decision making is timid, incident prone, marginal and incidental to the extent that the system proves unable to impact on the client , population and target group and to modify or alter the existing structure to the degree that it considered necessary to accelerate social change in a certain direction†. The latter part of Khan’s statement points to a factor that can impede the development administration process.Decisions made should reflect policies developed and as a result policies must be relevant to deal with the demands of a society. Development administration requires altering the existing structure to the degree that is considered necessary to accelerate social change in a certain direction and therefore decisions must be made to facilitate such change. It can be deduced that it is probably for this reason that administrations in the region are now looking outside the realm of the public service to seek alternative vehicles for the realisation of 14 evelopment goals and objectives. Case in point may cite the example of the move by the Trinidad and Tobago government over the last decade or so c reating several special purpose State Enterprises such as the Urban Development Corporation (UDECOTT, the National Infrastructure Development Company, the Education Facilities Company and more recent the establishment of Export TT in a bid to accelerate the rate of development to realise some of the ideals purported to exist in model of development administration.It could also account for the reason why the Trinidad and Tobago administration has also sought technical assistance through government to government arrangements, for example, that sought through a partnership with the Cuban, Filipino and Nigerian governments for doctors and nurses to provide effective and efficient health care services. Governments that seek to utilise such vehicles of development also hope that the ideal of greater accountability and transparency and a reduction in the levels of corruption that have beset other forms of development approaches in the Commonwealth Caribbean.Another of the predicaments that have beset the process to move towards development administration has been the sometimes half-hearted support from some of the political directorates in the countries of the Commonwealth Caribbean. Administrative change inevitably involves a challenge to accepted modes of action and traditional value and prerogatives (Chikulo, 1981:56:57). Projects of administrative, reform if they are other than routine and minor must be backed fully by the chief executive of the nation and his or her Cabinet.If political leaders are to inspire a population and to direct the bureaucracy to higher levels of performance and development, their words and action must carry 15 an aura of legitimacy. Historically, political leaders of the region have been primarily concerned with maintaining their own existence as politicians and this has resulted in much confusion between the administrative and political functions in the decision making process and in the creation of political elites who alone cannot ex ecute the achieve developmental goals.Functional reform of development administration can only be brought about through a derived effort and critical support of the political leadership. The foregoing have been some of the major problems and predicaments that have plagued the model of development administration and its implementation in the countries of the Commonwealth Caribbean. 16 Recommendations and Conclusions Although it was deemed at the time to be the â€Å"ideal† model for administrative reform, one can deduce from the study that this model of development encountered some major obstacles and problems which are still with us today.It was thought that development administration would be the panacea that will solve all problems of public administration as inherited from a colonial system of governance, these being the top-down bureaucratic structure and a deep centralisation of authority and decision making. And as we have garnered from the study, these problems are sti ll very much with the Commonwealth Caribbean today and very much a part of the system of public administration.Even though several reform methods have been tried and tested, including new public management, administrative reform and programmes associated with structural adjustments policies, there seems to remain some difficulty with achieving radical change and much of those problems stems from the colonial legacy which still persists in the cultures of the countries of the Commonwealth Caribbean. Hope (1987) had offered some of his recommendations for development administration to achieve some level of success.These were listed as: 1. Major administrative reforms minus the western concepts. 2. An urgent eradication of the remaining features and characteristics of the colonial civil service through processes and re-education and reorientation to bring civil servants in line with the current development thrust. 17 3. Manpower planning and training. 4. Decentralisation and communicat ion. 5. Support of the political leadership. 6. Economic development.Judith Walker writing in her book â€Å"Development Administration in the 21st Century† notes that â€Å"As Caribbean nations of the Commonwealth move into the 21st century, they do so in a context of economic restructuring, incorporation into the internalisation of criminality and considerably challenges to the nationhood project launched in the early 1960s. Given this context, it is imperative that the role and function of administration be re-examined and discussed†.In her work, Walker, looking critically at the UNC government’s goal in the 1990s to create a total quality nation notes that â€Å"It was envisioned that a new type of public administration would set an example for civil society by becoming a symbol of patriotism and national pride. In short a total quality public administration is expected to lead a total quality nation. It was further envisioned that the public service and ci vil society will demonstrate a work ethic and organisational behaviour based on competence, performance, productivity, quality and high standards of service to the public and consumers†.Bissessar in her book painted a somewhat bleak picture for reform of the public service in Trinidad and Tobago. In â€Å"the Forgotten Factor† she states that â€Å"if an evaluation of the entire reform effort was to be carried out, it would reveal that no one system of New Public 18 Management has been successfully implemented in the public service of Trinidad and Tobago†. She argues however that â€Å"for any reform to achieve success, one vital ingredient that must be included in the reform package is the attitudes, beliefs and perceptions of those who are required to introduce and implement such reforms, namely the public service themselves†.Any meaningful change to the process of development administration must by necessity find ways of deepening the consultative proce ss to make it more inclusive for those whose job it will be to eventually carry out such policies. That process must include ways to decentralise the process of decision making and public servants and other technocrats must be made to feel a sense of ownership of the plans, policies and programs of administration that they are called upon to discharge on behalf of their respective societies.The political support must also be forthcoming from the political directorates and there should be structures in place that will treat with de politicising programmes of development so that they do not become the exclusive domain of any one political grouping. Tighter mechanisms of control and accountability need to be implemented to curb the tendency to corruption that so often beset programs of development. Perhaps Walker sums it up best when she noted that â€Å"Development Administration is not dead.It may have had an un-expectant past, and it certainly has had a handicapped 19 present, but is maturity and future is to be found in a dynamic process of theory building around recurring themes spanning from Fred Riggs to the World Bank†. 20 BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Khan, Jamal. The Eastern Caribbean Experience. Leiden, Netherlands: Dept. of Caribbean Studies, Royal Institute of Linguistics an Anthropology; The Hague: Smits, 1982 (P. 3, 4, 5) 2. Kempe, Hope. The Dynamics of Development and Development Administration. London: Greenwood Press, 1987 (p. 7, 68, 69) 3. Wilson, Woodrow. The Study of Administration 4. Nigro, F. A and Nigro, L. A. Modern Public Administration 5. Nicholas, Henry. Public Administration and Public Affairs. USA: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004 6. Gant, George, F. Development Administration, Concepts, Goals Methods: University of Wisconsin Press, 1979 7. Bissessar, Ann Marie. The Forgotten Factor. Trinidad: School of Continuing Studies, 2002 (p. 5, 6) 8. Walker, Judith. Development Administration into the 21st Century. USA: Mc Millan Press, 2000 (p. 211 and 2 12).