Free Essays on Cheapskate

How To Be A Great Cheapskate! What a cheapskate! Face it; in modern society money doesn’t grow on trees. With the economy at low every penny saved is a penny earned! Being cheap is a way of life and can save money for those who are knowledgeable. Although the life of a cheapskate is not a glamorous one, it can still be considered a rewarding one. Clipping and saving coupons are easy and a great place to start saving money. Coupons can be found for practically anything. The best place to find them is in the Sunday paper. It is filled with savings and coupons can be found on nearly every page. Another place to find coupons is in the daily mail. Often thought of as junk mail and thrown away, mail coupons can add up to big savings. Another way to find coupons is to simply buy them. Coupon books such as the Entertainment Book offer savings on restaurants, travel, sporting events and movies with savings of up to fifty percent. Everyone loves a sale and stores love to have them. Back to school sales, end of school sales, holiday sales, seasonal sales, these are just a few examples. There are sales for every occasion. It is nice having the latest fashions or the newest electronics, but why pay full price when that item will eventually be on sale for a discounted one? Finding out when an item will be on sale is as simple as asking an employee. Most store employees are knowledgeable of upcoming sales and are more than willing to help the consumer in saving money. Checking the newspaper is another way to find sale items and upcoming sales. Scratch and dent or open items are yet another way to save big. In shipping, items can be damaged or scratched. Rather than returning these items to the manufacturer, stores offer savings as high as seventy percent on scratch and dent merchandise. Scratch and dent items can be found at almost all retail stores and food markets. It pays to look at a product carefully before purchas... Free Essays on Cheapskate Free Essays on Cheapskate How To Be A Great Cheapskate! What a cheapskate! Face it; in modern society money doesn’t grow on trees. With the economy at low every penny saved is a penny earned! Being cheap is a way of life and can save money for those who are knowledgeable. Although the life of a cheapskate is not a glamorous one, it can still be considered a rewarding one. Clipping and saving coupons are easy and a great place to start saving money. Coupons can be found for practically anything. The best place to find them is in the Sunday paper. It is filled with savings and coupons can be found on nearly every page. Another place to find coupons is in the daily mail. Often thought of as junk mail and thrown away, mail coupons can add up to big savings. Another way to find coupons is to simply buy them. Coupon books such as the Entertainment Book offer savings on restaurants, travel, sporting events and movies with savings of up to fifty percent. Everyone loves a sale and stores love to have them. Back to school sales, end of school sales, holiday sales, seasonal sales, these are just a few examples. There are sales for every occasion. It is nice having the latest fashions or the newest electronics, but why pay full price when that item will eventually be on sale for a discounted one? Finding out when an item will be on sale is as simple as asking an employee. Most store employees are knowledgeable of upcoming sales and are more than willing to help the consumer in saving money. Checking the newspaper is another way to find sale items and upcoming sales. Scratch and dent or open items are yet another way to save big. In shipping, items can be damaged or scratched. Rather than returning these items to the manufacturer, stores offer savings as high as seventy percent on scratch and dent merchandise. Scratch and dent items can be found at almost all retail stores and food markets. It pays to look at a product carefully before purchas...

Words Ending in -aire

Words Ending in -aire Words Ending in -aire Words Ending in -aire By Mark Nichol A small class of English words derived from the Latin suffixes -arius/-aria/-arium, meaning â€Å"connected with† or â€Å"pertaining to,† can be identified by the French descendant -aire. Here is a summary of those terms as used in English. The primarily British English term commissionaire refers to someone who performs commissions. (That word is used in the sense of â€Å"tasks.†) Debonair was originally the French phrase de bon aire, meaning â€Å"of good family, nature, or race†; it was applied originally to well-trained hawks, later pertained to people of a courteous nature, and was then revived (after that sense became obsolete) to refer to a confident, sophisticated man. Doctrinaire describes a dogmatic, headstrong person (the root word is descended from the Latin word doctor in its original sense of â€Å"teacher†). Extraordinaire is an adjective that, in deference to its French origins, is often located after the noun it modifies; its root word, meaning â€Å"regular† or â€Å"usual,† ultimately stems from ordo, the Latin word from which order is derived. Millionaire is based on million, from the Italian term millione, meaning â€Å"a great thousand† (a thousand thousands); it refers to someone whose wealth amounts to at least a million dollars. By extension, a billionaire is someone who has a billion dollars or more; inevitably, there will eventually be trillionaires. Legionnaire derives from the Latin legion, which stems from legere, a verb meaning â€Å"gather† or â€Å"select.† A legion was the basic military unit in ancient Rome, and the French adopted the term and formed legionnaire to refer to a soldier. In English it is associated with the personnel of France’s Foreign Legion, and in the United States it is known as part of the name of Legionnaire’s disease, so named because the first outbreak occurred at a convention of the patriotic organization known as the American Legion. Solitaire, from the Latin word solitarius, meaning â€Å"alone† or â€Å"isolated,† came to refer to a recluse or a widow and then later a single gem, but now it is mostly associated with a card game one plays by oneself. The French word affaire, adopted into English in the diplomatic title â€Å"charge d’affaires† (which refers to a deputy ambassador or minister) is unrelated, as is the English form affair; they are descended from the French phrase faire, meaning â€Å"to do,† and are related to facile and fact. Luminaire, from the French word for â€Å"lamp† or â€Å"lighting† and referring to a lighting unit, also has no connection; it’s from the Latin word lumen, meaning â€Å"light.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:"Because Of" and "Due To" Does "Mr" Take a Period?How Do You Fare?

Compare and contrast Austrian and Post-Keynesian criticisms of the Essay

Compare and contrast Austrian and Post-Keynesian criticisms of the standard neoclassical view of the competitive process - Essay Example Essentially, this paper would tackle about the problematic assumptions of the neoclassical model. Specifically, there will be a discussion on the different competitive processes described under the Neoclassical, Austrian, and Post-Keynesian approaches. There will also be a brief comparison between the Austrian and Post-Keynesian critics towards the neoclassical model, based on the different elements scrutinised by both Kirzner and Lavoie. Lastly, this paper will present the proposed alternative lines of thought of Kirzner and Lavoie, in their attempt to correct the mishaps created by the neoclassical model. II. Brief Overview of the Neoclassical Perspective The Neoclassical approach views the real world of market economies to be exactly representative of markets at equilibrium state. It assumes that the world mirrors the interrelationships present in equilibrium condition of the market. It also contends that the market is composed of agents whose maximisation desires fit each otherâ €™s wants (Kirzner, 1997, p.63). ... As long as the price lets demand and supply to intersect, the market will work efficiently. An additional assumption of the Neoclassical approach states that individuals and firms are expected to make rational decisions for their own benefit, so that individuals are expected to make decisions geared towards utility maximisation while firms are assumed to be always aiming for profit maximisation. Lastly, the Neoclassical model assumes that individuals and firms are given full relevant information about the market (Kirzner, 1997, p.63). With all these assumptions, it is not surprising to see economists who perceive the Neoclassical view as some kind of a classic utopia in economics. For some, it failed to account several important characteristics of a market economy. Economists also began to contest the utmost motive of both individuals and firms in the buy, sell, and trade of goods and services. Some of them proposed that firms and individuals are not inherently maximisation-seekers b ecause they also have other ulterior motives in interacting with the market. Last and most importantly, economists start to go back to the question of equilibrium theory set in the neoclassical model. They continue to examine the elements built under this equilibrium model and attempts to invalidate the realism of the theoretical framework set in this assumption. III. Similarities between the Fundamental Characteristics of Austrian and Post-Keynesian Approaches The Fundamental Question on Neoclassical Theory on Markets’ State of Equilibrium Among this multitude of converging economists are Israel Kirzner and Marc Lavoie. Although each of them belongs to different schools of thought, both economists challenge the neoclassical perspective and its critical elements.

Foodborne illness Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Foodborne illness - Thesis Example In this specific case, experts presumed the hen houses in which the eggs are produced were also home to rodents, which can taint food products with salmonella bacteria. There is no indication from these sources that a violation of HACCP procedures occurred, or that the cause of the salmonella was the result of an accident. In many cases of outbreak, it is best to treat the effects of the problem immediately before addressing its cause (Anders & Caswell, 2009). Although macrotrends of increasing foodborne illnesses are apparent, there has not been any significant increase in the number outbreak cases within the period from 2005 to 2008 (Nyachuba, 2010). Such outbreaks are preventable during the different stages of food consumption: namely, by the use of good agricultural practices at the first stage, which includes rigorous use of the HACCP program, good manufacturing practices, and standard operating procedures for sanitation. Part of this commitment to food safety might include trai ning employees to avoid food contamination by properly sanitizing equipment and food-contact surfaces and preventing cross-contamination.

Domestic Violence and A Mandatory Arrest

Domestic Violence and A Mandatory Arrest Domestic violence is a serious problem in todays society. According to FBI statistics, about 4 million incidents of domestic violence occur throughout each year in the United States. The FBI states, In the United States of America, a man beats a woman every 12 seconds (Mordini, 2004). Mordini, an associate at the Davis Brown Law Firm, conducted a study that found approximately 3.3 million children witness acts of domestic violence each year and that 70% of men who beat their wives also abuse their children. Domestic violence costs American businesses $4 billion dollars each year in the low productivity, staff turnover, absenteeism, and excessive use of medical benefits (Mordini, 2004). During the early 1970s and 1980s, research and studies on domestic violence drew national attention to the issue. Since the middle of the 1980s, recognition of domestic violence has resulted in the problem of shifting from a minor public concern to a major policy issue. Since 1994 alone, the number of new laws enacted across the country that deal with domestic violence is well over 1,500 and the number of bills introduced during this same time is estimated to be around 10 to 20,000 (Miller 2005). In order for mandatory arrest laws on domestic violence to be put into action there were serious debates occurring on how police officers can make an arrest if they have probable cause that domestic violence has in fact occurred. During the mid to late 1980s, a number of states adopted such laws as an effort to combat domestic violence and to control police behavior. However, there is no clear consensus among politicians, law enforcement officials and researchers on the effects that mandatory arrest policies have for victims of domestic violence (Miller, 2005). Thus, the verdict remains unclear on whether these laws provide the intended protection and relief to victims they were designed to, or whether they are the cause of unintended consequences such as increased violence. The domestic violence law slowly evolved throughout the years. Under early common law, women were seen as the property of their fathers or their husbands, and they consequently lacked any kind of identity of their own. This principle was embodied by common law because, when a man and a woman marry, they were seen as a legal entity. A husband had inter-spousal immunity from torts from his wife, but he would be held responsible for torts of his wife, prior to and after marriage (Mordini, 2004). Due to this principle, a husband is able to discipline his wife if she misbehaved. This introduces the Rule of Thumb concept. This concept encouraged violence against women and came from a time that allowed a man to beat his wife as long as he didnt use a stick that was thicker than his thumb (Rizer III, 2005). This concept regulated the use of violence and allowed acceptance within society. Under the 1974 North Carolina court ruling, the law provides that, absent a showing of permanent injury or malice, the preferred treatment of domestic violence cases was to draw a curtain, shut out the public gaze, and leave the parties to forgive and forget (Mordini, 2004). The beating of a wife became a big social issue and it took awhile for the court to deem it unlawful. In 1920, violence against women finally became illegal in all fifty states, including the District of Columbia. However, the legal prohibition of domestic violence still did not protect domestic violence victims because the predominant opinion was that the law should stay out of the private matters of the home (Mordini 2004). Finally, until the 1960s and 1970s, did women start taking a stand and domestic violence womens shelters were created. Another development over history was the Battered Women Movement. Rather than taking on an overwhelmingly political front, shelters looked at the psychological aspects of battery. Instead of having marches and protests on the streets, coordinators and volunteers at these shelters worked individually with each victim and gave the movement a very personal and individual voice. Hotlines and crisis centers were created for victims. The motto of this movement was we will not be beaten. This movement led to more victims speaking out about how they are being abused behind closed doors by their husbands. Some believe that the Battered Womens Movement is often overlooked because of the perceived lack of impact it had during the second wave of feminism. Because there were no dramatic rallies or events to draw large-scale attention to the movement, people have often disregarded it as nothing more than moderately influential. However, what they dont realize is that it had a different type of power that didnt draw too much of attention as how other feminist acts did (Lutz, 2004). Police response to domestic violence became an issue when efforts were criticized for putting too much attention on victims and not on legal remedies. These complaints were mostly about the inadequate police response to domestic violence calls, and the failure of the criminal justice system to treat these incidents as crimes. In the criminal justice system, police officers are considered to be mediators and peacemakers within the community when it comes to enforcing the law on domestic violence. Research was done and found that police officers followed what is known as the stitch rules. These rules justified a wife who claims to be abused by her spouse must acquire a number of surgical stitches before an arrest could be made. Another research found that the police response time was slightly longer when it came to responding to domestic disputes. The average response time was 4.65 minutes compared to 3.86 minutes for non-domestic disturbance calls (Mordini, 2004). However, in the mid 1980s there was a great shift in expanded change within the legal approach to consider domestic violence as a criminal act. The expansion of law enforcement to make warrant less arrests assisted the introduction of domestic violence as a criminal act. This new change demolished the common law and changed the views of law enforcement. Instead of following the common law approach, law enforcement based their arrests on discretion and probable cause. However, some police officers still believed that their role was to mediate the issue and not use probable cause in certain cases involving domestic violence. In 1984 an experiment called the Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment (MDVE) was conducted by two individuals, Sherman and Berk. These two individuals were the first to study mandatory arrest. The reason for this study was to address and figure out how police should respond to misdemeanor cases of domestic violence. In this study, they found that arrest reduces and deters future violence acts from occurring (Sherman and Berk, 1984). With the continued reluctance of police officers willing to respond properly to domestic disturbance calls, new issues arose. The case of Tracy Thurman vs. City of Torrington made an impact on law enforcement response time and grabbed the attention of the criminal justice system. In this case, Tracy Thurman, a domestic violence victim, was repeatedly assaulted by her estranged spouse. In June of 1983, she was stabbed and left permanently disabled. The problem that occurred with this case was that police officers knew her husband as a counter worker at the community diner. Knowing about previous calls to the police and his one prior arrest which led Mrs. Thurman to put a restraining order on her husband, the police overlooked the situation. The outcome of this case led the city of Torrington to pay Tracy Thurman $2.3 million and the court ruled that, If officials have notice of the possibility of attacks on women in domestic relationships or other persons, they are under an affirmative duty to take reasonable measures to protect personal safety of such persons in the community. Failure to perform this duty would constitute a denial of equal protection of the laws (Miller, 2004). This case, as well as other cases involving domestic violence victims, played an important role in reminding law enforcement that assault against a partner is considered a crime and that victims have constitutional rights to police protection (Miller, 2004). Mandatory arrest is the mechanism that controls police behavior and helps to clarify the role of the police in domestic violence situations (Rizer III, 2005). Between the years 1984 to 1989, the most support for mandatory policies was generated and arrests increased by 70%. This may not necessarily be a good thing because more arrests means more police time, and it is estimated that it takes around three to four hours of an officers time to process a domestic arrest (Rizer III 2005). The main accomplishment of mandatory arrest is that it protects the victim from immediate violence by separating the batterer and the victim. Mandatory arrest also sends a message to the batterer that his or her behavior is criminal and will not be tolerated by the community. It also sends a message to the victim, who has been assaulted, that domestic violence is a social problem and it is not the victims responsibility to stop it. Even though there are accomplishments of mandatory arrest, there are also concerns. One of the concerns is known as the Blanket Approach. This approach states that mandatory arrest fails to take into account the fact that not all victims are the same and how it affects a victims desire to have their batterer arrested. Victims may not want their batterer arrested because they are either dependent on them, dont want the arrest to occur in front of their children, the arrest might jeopardize their immigration status, or the arrest may put the batterers job at risk. Another concern about mandatory arrest is that it may be too harsh in certain circumstances. This is where the no-drop prosecution policies are introduced. The no-drop prosecution policies occur when a victim drops the charges as part of the cycle of the abuse (Simon, 2007). These policies also allow police reports to be used by prosecutors in court to convict an individual for domestic violence. Mandatory arrest has its positives and negatives. One problem that falls under mandatory arrest is the process of dual arrest. Dual arrest is when both parties allege that the other was the aggressor, leading the police to arrest both parties, including the innocent victim who may have been acting in self-defense (Miller, 2005). A 1988 study was conducted in Los Angeles, California to show significance of the dual arrest policy. In this study, with the use of mandatory arrest policies, three times as many women were arrested compared to less than twice as many men. This study showed that dual arrest has consequences for victims of domestic violence which include, the loss of victim status, transportation to a safe location, issuance of a restraining order, participation in victim assistance programs, loss of employment, and loss of child custody (Miller, 2005). Due to the dual arrest policies, victims may feel that seeking police help or intervention leads to these negative outcomes. In order to deal with this problem of dual arrest, the criminal justice system introduced disproportionate outcomes that address the concern of innocent victims being falsely accused and arrested for domestic violence. States adopted new policies that mandated that officers receive training to develop their abilities in handling domestic complaints effectively and adopted primary aggressors to mandate dual arrests (Rizer III, 2005). However, there is concern that these policies are discriminatory. Some researchers claim that the policies are bias against males and police will usually arrest the male even if there isnt substantial evidence to support the arrest being made. Another problem is that mandatory arrest policies could also provoke the batterer into becoming more violent towards their partner (Iyengar, 2006). Comparing states with the mandatory arrest law show that they have about a 50% higher homicide rate than states without such laws. Radha Iyengar assumes that arrest doesnt deter violence, but it may in some cases cause revenge towards the victim when the batterer is released. As mentioned earlier, the Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment was the most influential research conducted on mandatory arrest laws and domestic violence. This study was random and scientifically controlled. The goal of the research was to test the effects of arrest on misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence within different police interventions. The findings of this experiment found that the arrest group maintained the lowest rates of future assaults, threats, and property damage (Sherman and Berk, 1984). Sherman and Berk introduce the specific deterrence doctrine and labeling theory as the literature of how punishment affects behavior. The specific deterrence doctrine claims that legal sanctions suppress crime by making punished persons more sensitive to legal threats in the future and human behavior is considered to be rational when influenced by incentives (Sherman and Berk, 1984). The labeling theory states that punishment makes individuals more likely to commit crime and legal sanctions increase crime by assigning the role or label of criminal to offenders. This primary deviance results in secondary deviance (Sherman and Berk, 1984). The subsequent research and intimate partner homicides were conducted by Radha Iyengar, a professor at the London school of economics. In her study, she wanted to find out if the certainty of arrest actually reduces domestic violence. Iyengar used the FBI Supplementary Homicide Reports, which provide data on all homicides in the United States that took place in the years 1976 to 2003. The results of her analyses showed that although overall homicide rates have been on the decline, states with mandatory arrest policies had a significant increased amount of intimate partner homicides (Iyengar 2006). She further reinforced her findings by looking at a number of covariates for demographics, economic conditions, and social policies such as provisions of divorce laws and welfare assistance, which she found no significant effect (Iyengar 2006). As a result in her findings, Iyengar found that there was conflict with the Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment findings. Her study estimates the effect of knowing that arrest is a definite consequence of contacting the police and that the threat of arrest is inadequate in deterring abusers from killing their victims (Iyengar, 2006). In the Rural and Urban Homicide studies, researchers found that the norms of society and tradition govern behavior that lead to violence among certain groups. For instance, family and intimate partner homicides are usually a result of a history of abuse, where other homicides involving strangers are not. In stranger-acquaintance homicides, males are more likely to be the victims and account for over 90% of the perpetrators. In comparison, women are at greater risk of being the victims of intimate-partner homicides and when they are perpetrators in a homicide, they are more likely to kill within a family context (Gallup-Black, 2005). There are differences between rural and urban areas considering the layout of geography, the community dynamics, crime control, and family-intimate partner abuse patterns. The nature of interpersonal relationships may be more or less likely to involve individuals to know one another based on these differences in communities in the different areas. Lack of state in rural communities may exert a chilling effect on those seeking assistance for intimate-partner or family abuse. This problem could lead to an increase in homicide rates (Gallup-Black, 2005). After discussing about domestic violence and mandatory arrest laws, many questions have erupted about this issue. What else should be considered? Gender stereotypes have an importance due to the different definitions of gender and sex. This can propose obstacles for victims who are trying to get protection and also for the criminal justice system that has to deal with these cases. Research has also shown that sex of the perpetrator influences the criminal justice response to domestic violence (Schmesser 2007). This suggests that not only do definitions of domestic violence need to be considered, but also how these laws are carried out in practice, and the social context and biases that may impact their effectiveness and or application. Same-sex relationships are not addressed in statutes, which deny them equal protection under the law. The way states depart from each other is by whether their domestic violence law covers couples who live together, who lived together previously, who are dating or who dated prior and same-sex couples. Future research may aim to look more specifically at the definitions and protections within each state statute because the protection levels provided are not uniform across all fifty states. Another issue that should be considered is race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. This is significant because it suggests that the implementation of mandatory arrest policies may have unintended consequences for minority groups. Race is an important variable to consider when looking at the effectiveness of these laws, because race impacts domestic violence. In order to understand this impact, race needs to be understood in context of our societys long history of oppression and subordination of different minority groups, most notable African Americans (Buzawa Buzawa 2003). This may cause these groups to be less likely involved in calling for police assistance if it means an arrest will occur. Socioeconomic status and race are also significant together because studies have found that environmental stress and family pathologies-including poverty, social dislocation, unemployment, and population density. Future research may consider the importance of place, socioeconomic distress fa ctors, and race when looking at the effectiveness of mandatory arrest laws on domestic violence. In conclusion of this policy, the studies and researches conducted to justify the mandatory arrest policy on domestic violence proved that this policy will undergo further debate. This is a strong topic and a difficult issue to have a similar opinion on but with further research and studies, the criminal justice system can come to an agreement on how to handle this policy. Domestic violence is a huge problem within the United States and hopefully the criminal justice system can figure out a policy that can help decrease the amount of cases involving domestic disputes and disturbances. Law enforcement also plays an important role with this policy. Police officers must realize that community policing, as well as traditional policing can lead to the reduction of domestic violence. Each state has its own way of dealing with domestic violence. The state of Hawaii is in the learning process on creating laws to protect victims on domestic violence due to the recent amount of homicide cases involving domestic assaults. As each day passes, there is a new victim to domestic violence. It is up to the government to find a policy that can help victims and their families cope with domestic violence and law enforcement needs to stay involved with the mixture of community and traditional policing.

Mandating School Uniforms Essay

The controversy on school uniforms has continued from the early 1990’s and its worth was reiterated by President Bill Clinton in his State of the Union Address in 1996. In attending a school which incorporates the school uniforms parents need to know what school uniforms represent, the goal of the schools for their children, and what should be taught to their children. School uniforms create unity and pride. School uniforms are also encouraged as a means to help ensure students safety and assist them in achieving academic success. Although it is argued that  school uniforms is a breach of a student’s freewill for self- expression, all public schools should incorporate uniforms because it creates and symbolizes unity and pride, heightens discipline, but most importantly it is believed that the reinforcement of school uniforms decrease bullying, disciplinary actions ,and violence. School uniforms create unity with uniforms being the same across the whole campus. Teachers are able to identify students and separate them from outsiders or those who are on campus without permission. Parents also play a big role in educating students with what uniforms represent for them and the schools they attend. Students will become more confident in engaging with their peers and teachers because they will not feel any different but rather have a sense of belonging. Huss’s (2007) article â€Å"Do uniforms influence teacher expectations† reports that teachers perceived an elevation in the overall morale at the school after the implementation of the school uniform policy. School uniforms boost confidence in students and makes it easier to interact with one another without being self-conscious about the attire he and/or she has on. It is an acknowledgement of the schools they attend but most importantly who they represent as  individuals. Students with low socioeconomic statuses are unable to express themselves if they are unable to afford the new and latest trends which may cause them to feel out of place. Should Public Schools Reinforce Uniforms? 3 Would a parent ever want his and/or her child singled out because of clothing? Parents need to think about all students who are currently affected and not only for their own child’s sake or unnecessary want. Other students who wish for brand name clothing and cannot have them tend to shy away from others and eventually shy away from school. With school uniforms  implemented students will learn to appreciate themselves as students, and without distractions from clothes they will be able to see one another for who and what they represent which is the act of unity and the start of discipline. Anderson (2002) states that when students dress alike, a â€Å"team-like† culture develops, and this promotes school spirit and positive self-images. Uniform is in fact a representation of one, and students will grow to understand the value of wearing a uniform. Because all students look alike, differences are pushed aside thus allowing more time to focus on academics. School uniforms decrease disciplinary actions because students have more self-respect, respect for their peers and for their teachers. Some school personnel believe students and teachers tend to behave the way they are allowed to dress (Stephens, 1996). When school uniforms are present in schools the goal is to make a distinction between teachers and students. Teachers are given the authority to teach and students are given an undivided attention from teachers which will allow them to learn. An observation of a United Kingdom school conducted by Amy Walmsley (2011) stated with school uniforms implemented students are more likely to  respect peers and teachers because they are reminded that their job is to be a student. Students will attend school in uniforms and cannot differentiate with one another as they are able to identify themselves and their peers as students are all in school for one common goal which is to learn and exceed in academics. Teachers can lead by example and support the integration of school uniforms by wearing similar colors to school consequently reminding the students that Should Public Schools Reinforce Uniforms? 4 they are all on the same page. Parents and guardians can lend a hand in educating their children  as well to ensure students understand the importance of school uniforms in creating discipline overall school campus. With discipline comes more control in the schools and school uniforms can definitely be one influential cause. Studies conducted with regards to student discipline has shown that schools which have incorporated school uniforms have noted that students behaved better, paid more attention in class, and interacted in a respectful manner than before the implementation took place (Huss, 2007). As Angela Walmsley (2011) reiterates in her article, â€Å"teachers appreciate the fact that the  presence of school uniforms brings a sense of duty to the students and respect for the school and teachers. Uniforms should be used to create a positive school climate in which students focus on learning and bring back a little bit more respect for teachers and students in the classroom†. Teachers perceived improvement in academic and achievement motivation, an increased sense of responsibility by students acknowledging a more effective use of instructional time, and greater participation in classroom activities (Huss,2007). Why else would parents not want to implement  school uniforms in public schools? Students are being bullied, violated, and threatened for their designer or brand name clothing. Others with low socioeconomic statuses are constantly being harassed and ridiculed because they do not fit in a social group due to what they wear. The implementation of school uniforms can minimize the act of bullying in schools. Nowadays fashion trends and designer clothes are aimed to a younger generation, and students are going out of their way to flaunt (show off new clothes with attitude) them. While some students are fortunate enough to receive  these with parents who are able to afford them, others are not able to because their parents have much more important things to worry about with regards to how money is being spent in their Should Public Schools Reinforce Uniforms? 5 households. Students cannot learn to appreciate the effort of the school for the integration of school uniforms if parents continue to condone this type of behavior. Parents need to be mindful of all other reasons that may affect students while they are in school and their cry for freedom of expression. In an attempt to help stop bullying The Federal Government has created a Stop  Bullying website and brings to light a certain group of students who may be at risk of being bullied. Some of the children who may be at risk of being bullied if it has not occurred yet are perceived as different from their peers because of different clothing or not wearing what other students consider cool (â€Å"Stop Bullying, † n. d) . Students especially those who are females are known to degrade one another if the clothes worn are not of the latest style. An editor, Vanessa O’Connell of The Wall Street Journal writes and reports on fashion bullies from a public school which has yet to incorporate a school uniform. Students without the latest cool brands have become a target for bullying because they are wearing the wrong brands. It is stated that the number of fashion bullies (or those related to clothing) and incidents have increased over the years, therefore calling for assistance in reduction of these types of incidents. Susan M. Swearer, associate professor of school psychology at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, surveyed a total of more than 1,000 students at five Midwestern middle schools from 1999 to 2004, with about 56% of the sample female, and more than one-third of the students admits to being bullied  because of their clothing (O’Connell, 2007). Students should not have to worry about clothing but it is happening and it needs to stop with the reinforcement of school uniforms. Furthermore, the Bullying Statistics from 2013 has stated that 77% of students are being bullied on a regular basis, and half of the percentage is made up of students who are harassed and fear returning to school. The effects of bullying are low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and some suicidal thoughts. Bullying due to clothing occurs when students are being teased or Should Public Schools Reinforce Uniforms? 6 humiliated constantly for not having the latest designer clothes, or for having a different type of style in attire such as Goth wear or those of a low socioeconomic status. Name-calling, dirty stares, elimination from social groups are some of the actions defined as bullying which students are involved in at school. With the integration of school uniforms there should be no bullying in school with respect to the types of clothing the students should wear. Students will not be intimidated by one another because they choose to express themselves differently, therefore  permitting them to the freedom they need to learn and exceed in academics. The most important reason school uniforms should be incorporated is to help decrease violence. Violence in schools has been marked by health professionals as a threat to overall health and academic success of students (Stephens, 1996). In addition, programs which were implemented in schools to assist with violence have noted a possible connection between school violence and the type of clothing students wear (King, 1998). Most cases are due to the fashion trends which is most attractive by students such as brand name clothing or urban wear which are  over-sized and can be mistakenly identified as gang-related clothing. This type of wear is the made popular by famous hip hop artists and rappers whom students look to imitate and idolize. Students have had violent encounters in school because some individuals envy them because they cannot afford to purchase these types of clothing. Furthermore, gang members are usually differentiated from one another through the colors they wear and there have been instances where students from local schools are unintentionally harmed or gunned down due to the colors they choose to wear to express themselves in school. Other students who become victim to these occurrences are able to hide weapons in their large clothing which is potentially placing all students in harm’s way. Should Public Schools Reinforce Uniforms? 7 Violence in schools has been an ongoing issue over the last decades and King notes in his article Should School Uniforms be Mandated in Elementary School how violence has negatively influenced students and have caused one of every 10 to 12 youths to stay away from school does so because of fear (Stephens, 1997; Everett & Price,1995). Students fear for their lives because of the common occurrence of violence. They are no longer motivated to attend nor learn from school as they do not feel safe in school. These feelings eventually cause isolation and causes students to drop out of school. With the implementation of school uniforms, fights over looks and styles will discontinue hence giving faculty, staff, teachers, and parents more time to focus on academic success of students. In support of decreasing violence through incorporating school uniforms research studies have shown that there has been an intense decrease of violence and disciplinary problems for Kindergarten through Grade Eight in schools which have incorporated  uniforms (King, 1998). Requiring school uniforms is one of the simplest ways to start teaching students about unity and pride as they start school and grow into learning individuals. It is important for parents and teachers to support the decision to implement school uniforms and allow the students to adapt to the changes which are designed to provide them a safe and secure learning environment. The reinforcement of school uniforms will lead to changes that are not only beneficial to students but the teachers and the school as a whole. It will help the students understand the importance of  school uniforms and how they symbolize unity and pride. In addition it encourages students to learn to appreciate and respect themselves, their peers, and teachers and remove distractions from which eventually lead to bullying, fighting, or some form of disciplinary or violent behavior. With full support from parents, the students will be on their way to academic success. Should Public Schools Reinforce Uniforms? 8 Students can lead themselves to a fit and well-disciplined environment where they will be able to learn at their full capacity, and their teachers can teach at their maximum potential (King, 1998). References Everett SA, Price JH. Students’ perceptions of violence in the public schools: the MetLife survey. J Adol Health. 1995; 17:345-352. Huss, J. A. (2007) The role of school uniforms in creating an academically motivating climate: Do uniforms influence teacher expectations. Journal of Ethnographic and Qualitative Research, 1, 31-39. Retrieved from: http://eds. b. ebscohost. com. proxy-library. ashford. edu/ Should Public Schools Reinforce Uniforms? 9 Kling, K. A. (1997) Should School Uniforms be Mandated in Elementary Schools? Journal of School Health, 68 (1), 32-37. Retrieved from: http://eds. b. ebscohost. com. proxy-library. ashford. edu/ O’Connell, V. (2007, October) Fashion Bullies Attack – In Middle School The Wall Street Journal Retrieved from: http://online. wsj. com/news/articles/SB119326834963770540 Portner J. Department to issue guidelines on school uniforms. Educ Week. 1996;15(24):27 (as cited in King, 1998, p. 32) Stephens RD. The art of safe school planning. Sch Admin. 1996;53(2): 14-21. (as cited in King, 1998, p. 32) The US Dept of Education. Manual on School Uniforms, online. Retrieved from: http://inet. ed. gov/updates/uniforms. html. Feb 29, 1996. The U. S Department of Health & Human Services Manual on Bullying, online Retrieved from: http://www. stopbullying. gov/at-risk/factors/#atrisk The White House Office of the Press Secretary. Memorandum for the Secretary of Education. Subject: Manual on School Uniforms, online. http://inet. ed. gov/PressReleases/02- 1996/whpr. 26. html. Feb 23, 1996. Walmsley, A. (2011) What the United Kingdom can teach the United States about school uniforms. Kappanmagazine. org. 92 (6), 63-66. Retrieved from: http://eds. b. ebscohost. com. proxy-library. ashford. edu/

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