Strategic Sourcing - Assignmet Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Strategic Sourcing - Assignmet - Case Study Example A quality analyst should have a high level of training and have exceptional analytical abilities along with broad knowledge. He should also be creative and be a quick learner in order to solve problems easily. The quality analyst is always supposed to work with other people as an analysis of the process of production entails an analysis of the people involved along with the technology. The applicant should demonstrate that he has an ability to cooperate and interrelate with other employees efficiently. Â  This question aims to understand whether the candidate has the necessary skills that are needed to report and make effective presentations that associated with the position through oral or written communication. The candidate should be able to demonstrate that he can make effective presentations of problems and proposed means of dealing with them. He should also show that he can freely interact with the rest of the employees and clients with exceptional oral and written skills The candidate should broadly explain how he would be able to efficiently use his skills and experience if he is selected for the job. He should demonstrate his motivation, abilities to deal with challenges and be flexible in handling challenging situations. The ideal candidate should possess a bachelor’s degree in quality control a related field so that he can demonstrate competency with essential skills that provide a wide range of knowledge for success as a professional. The candidate should be able to demonstrate that he possesses exceptional analytical skills that are needed to perform the tasks associated with the position efficiently. He must also show an ability to rely on his skills in the various responsibilities associated with the position. The ideal candidate should be one that is willing to learn from his mistakes and one who regularly seeks to get more knowledge on his field through seminars and workshops as well as other forms

Culture and Globalization Essay Example for Free

Culture and Globalization Essay INTRODUCTION Identity is a question that may be expressed by an anxiety and a hope at the same time. The anxiety lies in the sense of the existence of our Moroccan identity in all its dimensions, Arabo-berber, Muslim negro-African and modern. It also lies in our existence in the world in different parts of the planet where we have decided, voluntarily or not, to assert our existence; a planet that has become a finished space, a global village, surrounded by all kinds of flows, economic, human, electronic, and cultural, which are aspects of globalization; a globalization that could not only be a kind of interdependence among the national spaces which existence is still alive but also an internal phenomenon in these spaces. The advantages and disadvantages of this multiform process can diverge from one partisan to another. Some see in it the chance of a new world and others see in it the risk of an incomparable oppression. The problem of the Arabo Islamic identity or Arab identity occupies the front of the scene. The Islamic world has never been so active in the sense of the expression of identity, maybe because of the more and more enigmatic character of this identity because as Dryush Shayagan reminds, more than the ethnic and the religious identities, we find a third one in addition that emerges from modernity. He adds that the three identities fit one into the other, create more and more complex fields of interference, and exploit territories that remain most of the time incompatible with each other. He goes on declaring that today, these identical cultures are situated between the â€Å"not yet† and the â€Å"never ever†: not yet modern and never ever traditional. These identities that live henceforth, in â€Å"between the two† are totally burst according to Dryush.[1] At first glance, this triple identity raises obstacles to communication, but on the condition of succeeding in fitting out their respective spaces, it offers on the other hand, new possibilities of communication. The assertion of a reactive and massive Arabian Islamic identity was the adequate answer to the colonial dominion. Today, however, the reflection has to fit and adapt itself to the requirements of a situation namely, globalization, that orders that identity becomes seen as open, diverse and it has to be attentive to pluralism in the internal as well as the external places. We can think that the new network of information and communication will favour the emergence of new forms of citizenship susceptible to fill the current democratic deficit. Media permanently present information in the different parts of the world. With the means of information which the internet network prefigures today, the individual can have a more active role in the search for information. One can also contact a multitude of people of different nationalities, discuss problems of public interest, and express his/her opinions in public forums. GLOBALIZATION, CULTURE, AND THE MOROCCAN IDENTITY It is crucial to see globalization from an academic point of view as there is a strong link bounding globalization and culture. The global culture belongs to what Simon During calls â€Å"transnationalization.†[2] This latter is the process by which cultural products extend their actual space to emerge in a global area. Cultural studies are a kind of reaction to this process. Going deeper in this perspective, we come across many points that may link globalization to culture if we consider that culture is a local issue that may be influenced by the global market, the global sight, or may itself influence the global sphere if it is considered as a tradition or a way of life. Culture, from another view, maybe considered as the basis of the construction of one’s identity but once influences by globalization, the identity may change and we may adopt some practices and beliefs that may be no more appropriate to the local culture. Education is another point where globalization and culture meet. Students nowaydays, are no more interested by some issues tackling family or social events, but rather opt to get aware of the global economic and capitalistic changes that the actual world witnesses. Culture is a part of our identity. If we change culture, we change our identity. Stewart Hall argues that in a changing history, identity should remain the same though it is far from being the case of the modern world we’re living in and where identities are in a permanent process of change and transformation and this is the result of globalization. Always according to Hall, the construction of identity is made by the sight of the other. In other words, the negative view on the other makes of our identity a positive one. The process of constructing identity then is based on opposition. If the sight of the other makes of us who we really are, we are then no more free to chose according to our own tastes but rather chose according to others’ reactions[3]. This may seem ambiguous in a sense and annoying in another. How can globalization affect our own sense of belonging? Belonging to a particular nation and adopting a specific culture is not a matter of choice, it is because we belong to a certain ethnic group that has its own tradition, culture and religion. Once we find ourselves involved in a pre-created world, the acceptance becomes an automatic reaction, but when our sense of belonging to a cultural space or another becomes guided by the global pressures, our identity gets hurt and our mind fragmented and confused between what is ours and what is theirs (what is local and what is global). â€Å"The global popular† is the means of communication that occupies an important place in the projection of visual images to spread information (TV, satellite, internet†¦). If I insist on citing the global popular as one of the links between globalization and culture, it is because I judge it of a high importance and necessity to remind the idea that Simon During came with and which expresses the impossibility to separate the global popular from the global culture. He kept arguing that the reason was not only that both of them belong to a single globalizing system but also because the relation between various forms of cultural products are changing and transacting.[4] Similarly, Arjun Appadurai cited in his essay â€Å"Modernity at Large† one of the most important means of the circulating forms which is the â€Å"mediascape†. Like the global popular, mediascapes allow any information to become local through all kinds of the modern media. By this way the local culture may be adopted by different societies and consequently be global.[5] GLOBALIZATION AND MEDIA Today globalization arouses number of controversies. The term by itself condenses anxieties: it evokes, quite at the same time, the shrinkage of the planet bound to technological innovations and the massive impact of the triumphant capitalism that imposes its extreme dominance. Appadurai approaches, in a frontal way, the question of globalization. He put in the centre of his analysis the notion of flows. For him, what defines the contemporary world is much more circulation than structures and stable organizations. The proof is quite clear when we see people constantly moving from one place to another and the extraordinary development of mass communication with images transited throughout the planet. Until then, the individual lived and conceived himself in certain limits. From a simple geopolitical point of view, the nation state was considered as a stable referent: within it, the dimension of the local used to have a great importance conferring to each individual in a given society their privileged points of anchoring. In this context, the identical constructions occur in a permanent game of opposition between the self and the other, between the inside and the outside. But migrations on the one hand, and the media flows on the other hand, disrupted the spreading order until then. What interests Appadurai is the way this situation not only alters the material life of people but also tends to give an incomparable role to imagination. This does not mean that previously societies have not abundantly, neither in their mythological, literary nor artistic productions, appealed to this faculty. Henceforth, imagination is no more limited in some specific domains of expression, but it changes the daily practices, notably the migratory situations where migrants find themselves obliged to create in their exile a world of them by using all the images that media allow them to receive.[6] The technological progress: Internet The cable and internet offer multiple means to reconstitute communities including migrants and those who stayed in their countries. When we come across globalization of communication we inevitably think of internet. Internet is considered to be the symbol of and at the same time, a vehicle for the development of the future mediatic landscape. As a polymorphic tool spread everywhere, internet is actually inescapable in the study of the actual communication processes. If we consider internet as a media, we automatically notice that it is a quite particular one. Among modern mass media, internet is characterized by a potentially or at least virtually wide broadcasting. It is one of the facets of the internet ideology: everybody can have access to messages, everywhere and so to speak with no constraints, and at the same time, internet presents specific characteristics that make of it an exceptional media. Unlike press or radio-television that necessitate material and financial means, licenses, and a diffusion and distribution network, by internet everything is easier. Everybody can be a transmitter and everybody is potentially provider of contents but not everybody can create his/her own television station contrary to internet by which each one –or almost– can create a web site with only an online computer. All this is almost free more than the accommodating of private individuals that is also, more or less, free. If we consider internet as a media, it is then the time in the history of mass communication when each citizen and each association has the ability to play in the same ground as that of the wide mediatic groups or the big companies. Yve Thiran states that from this point of view, internet is a means of communication par excellence and it is not surprising that the excluded traditional media were the first to use it.[7] What seems to be new in the case of internet is not really the fact that it facilitates the emergence of multiple forms of sites and more or less alternative means of information, but rather the fact that the local structuralizations have voluntarily or not, reached the world as a whole. The neighbouring radio station’s diffusion is limited in the neighbourhood, while the expression on the Net may give the impression to address the whole planet. A neighbouring radio station, once installed in the web, can be heard by the whole world. Contrary to the press of radio-television, internet still looks for its place in the media landscape[8] grouping sites together, contents, services and very (too) diverse possibilities to aspire to a real unit of speech (but it is not probably the purpose of internet neither), in a social gratitude other than the connotations that can be socially planed on the new technologies of information and communication in general. In other words, as we find everything on internet, it is still its strict technical dimension that allows an observer to apprehend it, to seize it mentally and conceptually and to succeed in defining it differently. What is internet then? It is a media, a commercial space, a means of information, a shop window, and a place for exchange and expression; that is to say, so many activities where the interlocutors position themselves differently. The telephone is not a newspaper; nevertheless, internet can be at the same time a telephone and a newspaper, an advertisement hoarding and a room of debate. CONCLUSION Born Jamaican, the English cultural theorist Stuart Hall argued that identity must be understood in terms of politics of localization, of location and statement –not as a process of discovery of lost roots but as the construction of a new or emergent shape of ourselves, linked at the same time to the actual social relations and to the contemporary power relations–. While most of us clearly wish to respect most of the aspects of our tradition and history, Hall suggests that we also need, for speaking, to understand languages which we were not taught. We need to understand and revalue the traditions and inheritances of cultural expressions in a new and creative way as the context in which they are produced evolves constantly.[9] [1] Shayagan Dryush,  « La Lumià ¨re vient de l’Occident,  » Paris : l’Aube, 2001, Entretiens du XXI Sià ¨cle,  « Oà ¹ Vont les Valeurs,  » UNESCO, Abbin Michel, Paris, 2004. [2] Simon During,  « Postcolonialism and Globalization,  » Culture, Globalization and the World System, ed., Anthony King, Dinghamton, 1991. [3] Stuart Hall,  « Old and New Identities, Old and New Ethnicities,  » Culture, Globalization and the World System, Current Debates in Art History 3, State of New York: Bihghamton, 1991, pp. 41-68. [4] Arif Dirlik,  « The Local in the Global,  » Global/Local: Cultural Production and the Transnational Imaginary, eds., Rob Wilson and William Dissanayake, Durham: Duke UP, 1996. [5] Arjun Appadurai,  « Modernity at Large,  » Cultural Dimensions of Globalization, Public Worlds, Vol. 1, London: University of Minnesota Press, 1996. [6] Arjun Appadurai, Aprà ¨s le Colonialisme, Paris : Payot, 2001. [7] Yve Thiran, Sexes, Monsenges et Internet, Bruxelles : Castells-Labor, Coll.  « quartier Libre,  » 2000, p. 42. [8] Yve Thiran shows that the internet needs traditional media such as television to be able to claim the impact that it had notably during the Clinton-Lewinsky affaire. (Thiran, p. 43) [9] Stuart Hall,  « Old and New Identities, Old and New Ethnicities,  » Culture, Globalization and the World System, Current Debates in Art History 3, State of New York: Bihghamton, 1991, pp. 41-68.

Confucianism Vs Taoism Politics Philosophy Essay

Confucianism Vs Taoism Politics Philosophy Essay Government has such an important impact on societal issues and duties. The United States was constructed from a written constitution thus the formation of our federal government establishment. I look at the constitution as our means for living in a well established society. Many individuals have different beliefs in how a society should be run. Take a look at the ancient Chinese philosophies of Confucianism and Taoism. Each has a different set of standards in their philosophy of life. It is difficult to understand the ethics and politics of Confucianism and Taoism without understanding its philosophy. What if the United States were to take on one of these philosophies? I believe Confucianism would be more widely accepted in our society. We are a nation based more on the concerns dealing with rule and work which is relevant for Confucianisms essence of a structured civilization. The official doctrine in China by the second century B.C.E. was Confucianism. Confucius taught much about political inconstancy as he endured through the downfall of the Zhou dynasty. He had begun teaching at twenty-three years old and we get insightful information about some of his teachings through The Analects. Much of his writing is centered on issues the world with the focal points on family, politics, and modern humanity. Many ideals can be reach as being disciplined leading to virtuous accordance and communal efficiency. The Master said, He who learns but does not think, is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger. (1595) The first sentence is the true core of knowledge. To fully understand what you have learned, it must be applied thus you are acquiring information. One who does not think may act on impulse. Thinking before you act can lead to gratifying decisions. In a government you need a leader that can focus on a problem and figure out all possible choices that will be beneficial to the society. After the decision is made then it is necessary to take action. We need these ideals for the foundation of a good leader and the individuals as well. If someone just acts on impulse or does nothing, problems will arise either way. If you cannot be evaluating a certain thought, then nothing is gained in retrospect. Our Masters Way is simply this: Loyalty, consideration. (1596) Confucius wanted to convey moral principles to establish a structured society. You yourself desire rank and standing; then help others to get rank and standing. You want to turn your own merits to account; then help others to turn theirs to account- in fact, the ability to take ones own feelings as a guide- that is the sort of thing that lies in direction of Goodness. (1596) A strong leader should be able to take care of his people. In return the people will abide by the rules which will result in a well developed society. Never do to others what you would not like them to do to you. (1597) If we commence this morale rule than it would make sense for people to get along cohesively. No one is ever beneath you so selfishness should be nonexistent. The Master said, A country of a thousand war-chariots cannot be administered unless the ruler attends strictly to business, punctually observes his promises, is economical in expenditure, shows affection towards his subjects in general. (1600) The Master said, Govern the people by regulations, keep order among them by chastisements, and they will flee from you, and lose all self-respect. Govern them by mental force, keep order among them by ritual, and they will keep their self-respect and come to you of their own accord. (1601) A set of laws are instituted and should be followed, but the means of ethics would be followed if they saw their leader to be commendable. There would be an understanding for the governing embodiment concerning stability of virtue between individual and ruler. At the same time the ruler must be applying the example of good virtue. You will get the same respect back in return. Laozi wrote a collection of poems entitled, Dao De Jing. The ideology of Laozi was polar opposite of what we saw from Confucius. Lao Tzu illustrates the meaning of life through Dao which literally means the way. It is based on the individual to move connectively in the eternal flow of life that define the basis of Taoism. Taoism is believed that everything happens naturally in the world, thus human behavior is in correspondence of its nature. The way to improve morality is doing nothing so that nothing is forced. Additionally it is about reaching beyond the sector of the traditional society. A true follower will not be attached to the power and politics of ordinary societal standards. Give up learning and put an end to your troubles. (1607) Hence I know that value of nonaction. Teaching without words and work without doing Are understood by very few. (1609) The farther you go, the less you know. Thus the sage knows without traveling; He sees without looking; He works without doing. (1610) Laozi says that inaction is the way to live in a state of natural harmonious bliss. The Dao states that no one should be conformed to society because we are just free spirits in the universe. We are not tied down to standard living and all expectations should be thrown away. You learn from your sense of self by the force of Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang is the approach of two of something forming to coherence. It is more important To see the simplicity, To realize ones true nature, To cast off selfishness And temper desire. (1607) Laozi wants society to give up materialistic possessions. We are endlessly learning and building upon expectations. The expectations are from our society which creates distress hiding from the greater good of humanity. The American Dream is the success of power and money which many of us chase after. Americans would never be able to give up material possessions. Going with the flow isnt always the best way to lead your life. At some point there will be important decisions that will alter your journey in life. Taoism wants you to sit back and relax, but inactivity can lead to destruction. It is hard to picture a leader in society to just go with the flow in directing his country. Productivity is vital to success. If a war breaks out we need to act quickly for the sake of protecting our people and our future endeavors. Americans are too selfish for Taoism because we have the conception of want embedded in our brain. I think in the sense of traditional American values and being in line with the American Dream, Confucianism would be the more popular philosophy. Â  It stresses themes of dedication to ones duty in life, dedication to ones family, social responsibility, and almost Christian-like themes of helping others and benevolence. Many Americans can learn from the Confucianism philosophy. The ideas we are given from The Analects are structural enough for the foundation of political authority in establishing a society. On the contrary I do believe Taoism offers a counterbalance to the political ideals of Confucianism. Sometimes we get too involved with power which sometimes can lead to destruction when you are not looking out for the people. At the same time Confucianism has a means of higher authority through a set of moral principles. Furthermore our country needs a set of laws that everyone is subject to. Without order chaos will break out with pure insanity. No society will ever be perfect, but we can always be willing to improve our standards of living a better life.

Comparing George Orwell’s 1984 and Our World Today Essay -- airstrip on

George Orwell’s dystopian novel, 1984, set in Airstrip One, originally named Great Britain, is a fictional story that describes a time where England is overruled by English Socialism. The story’s point of view is through the main character, Winston Smith, who is an intelligent member of the middle class. The audience is walked through the later stages of his life, where his intellectual thought is most prominent. Throughout the book, Winston goes through everyday life, as well as visits many places that are described in great detail. Every place he goes has varying effects on him and other individuals surrounding him. The place that has them most effect on Winston is his home in the Victory Mansions, which ironically, are just apartments. This particular space affects how he walks, talks, and even thinks. Fortunately, in comparison to our world today, we don’t have to be as precautious about our every move. In Winston’s home, there is a â€Å"telescreen†, which is actually in every resident’s home. This device is embedded with a surveillance camera that watches every move made, and can hear every sound made. This is how â€Å"Big Brother† (BB) is always watching, and if someone does something that BB doesn’t approve of, they have the ability to arrest and completely erase their existence. Winston has to be careful in his own home and can’t make any sudden movements that may attract negative attention. Therefore Winston is very delicate in his movements just so he can avoid any trouble. In a particular scene, all the citizens had to participate in morning exercises, while the instructor watched from the screen. All of a sudden, â€Å"Smith! 6079 Smith W! Yes, you! Bend lower please! You can do better than that. You’re not trying. Lowe... ...hough we have the freedom of speech, we should still be wary of how we say or write things to avoid any unnecessary trouble. In conclusion, Winston’s home made him a very cautious and careful person, who felt the need to sneak to do anything. This is a very scary feeling to have in one’s own home, because a home is normally where someone has the right to relax, sit back, and enjoy their freedom. In Winston’s situation, it is the complete opposite circumstance; he is nervous, peace less, and has feelings of entrapment, except for the little area that provides him with some form of liberation. Luckily this isn’t the circumstance for our society and hopefully it will never be the circumstance. We gratefully have been granted amendments that give us many rights to live and thrive freely amongst the world. Works Cited http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Orwell/1984

An Analysis of Hammurabi’s Code of Law Essay

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind†. This was said by Gandhi many years after the fall of the Babylonian empire. Judging by the laws of the Babylonian people, there was no insightful Mahatma Gandhi to spread his thoughts on equality and forgiveness. Though they were an advanced and organized society, the Babylonians were also extremely strict, almost cruel, when it came to law making. Revenge, faith in the gods’ sense of justice, and inequality all made up a portion of the eight foot tall stone tablet that we now know as Hammurabi’s Code of Law (Horne). Hammurabi’s reign lasted from 1795 until 1750 BC (Horne). Up until Hammurabi took control, there had been no ruler to publicly establish an entire set of laws. Written in order to regulate the organization of the Babylonian society, this code, consisting of two hundred laws, begins and ends by addressing the gods. Revenge played a large role in the laws, as it was seen as the only way to truly be compensated. Almost all of the laws lack a true explanation; they were simply accepted as fair justice by the people. However, one law in particular does have a reason behind it. â€Å"If an accused man claims to be innocent, he will be thrown into the river. If the man drowns, he is proven to be guilty. However, if he makes it to the opposite bank safely, the accused man is indeed innocent (Hammurabi).† This law gives us an important insight into the lives of ancient Babylonian society. Obviously, the people had a strong sense of faith in their gods. By tossing the man into the raging river, the people are putting the accused man’s life into the hands of the gods. If the man was guilty and lying, the gods would see that tribute was paid to them, as well as to the village, in the form of death. However, if the accused was indeed innocent, the Babylonians would allow the man to safely leave the river, hence living. Not so unlike our court systems (with which you must swear on a bible before testifying), the Babylonian people had strong religious convictions that were reflected in their code of laws. Another aspect reflected in Hammurabi’s Code of Laws was the belief in revenge. To the ancient Babylonians, revenge wasn’t seen as revenge: it was seen as fair and just compensation for a committed crime. To Hammurabi’s  people, â€Å"an eye for an eye† was not just a say: it was a way of life. â€Å"If he break another man’s bone, his bone shall be broken (Hammurabi).† The same was true for putting out another man’s eye, knocking out someone’s teeth, and many other bodily injuries between two man (or woman) or the same class. Though these laws seem cruel and inhuman, they were meant to keep crime and violence at a minimum. Getting your arm hacked off was probably much more intimidating than a prison sentence to the people of Babylonia, hence the laws successfully fulfilled their duties the majority of the time. Though the laws were more often than not effective, they were by no means fair. Women were dignified and treated as equals, but all social classes were not. Ancient Babylonia had a hierarchy consisting of three main social classes: the amelu, high ranking, rich court officials, patricians, and kings, the muskinu, landless and poor, though free, and the ardu, who were the lowest class (Johns). The ardu could marry and hold property, but nonetheless they were low-ranking slaves. The laws clearly reflected these social classes. Punishments were not the same for different social classes, even if the same crime was committed. For example, if a free-born man strike the body of another free-born man or equal rank, he shall pay one gold mina. However, if a slave were to strike the body of a freed man, his ear shall be cut off. Even though the exact same crime was committed, the slave would get a harsher punishment than the free, higher-ranking man. Even in ancient Babylonia, power and money seem to have the same value as they do in the present day. Not every aspect of the Babylonian culture was perfect. The social classes were strictly divided and people were treated as fairly as their birth allowed them to be. Vengefulness was accepted and expected, as was the belief in owning slaves. However, the Babylonians, under Hammurabi’s reign, were also a very admirable culture. Women were treated as equals: they were dignified, respected, and allowed to own land and property. The most important, positive aspect of the Babylonians was certainly Hammurabi’s Code of Law. As an unchangeable, fairly indestructible written code, it not only influenced other cultures (such as the Syro-Roman and Mahommedan) later in history, but it also gave us a first hand account of what life was like in a  culture that was lost so many centuries ago. BIBLIOGRAPHY â€Å"The Code of Hammurabi† by Richard Hineshttp://www.wsu.edu/~dee/MESO/CODE.HTMBryant, Tamera (2005). The Life & Times of Hammurabi. Bear: Mitchell Lane Publishers. Mieroop, Marc (2004). King Hammurabi of Babylon: a Biography. Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers.

Coming of Age in Samoa essays

Coming of Age in Samoa essays Margaret Mead went to Samoa for nine months to study the differences between American culture and other societies. Through her studies, she concluded that Samoan life was not filled with as much stress due to the down play of sex and marriage. In the book Coming of Age in Samoa, she shares her experiences which act as evidence that the causes of adolescent stress is a result of our culture. The Samoan culture is more accepting of the idea of premarital sex, which reduces the societal pressures after the phase of puberty. The similarities between Samoan and American culture begin during childhood. In both cultures, this time is important in learning basic skills that will be needed in life. In Samoa, the stress is put heavily upon the older siblings to teach the younger children these skills. Mead observed, Just as a child is getting old enough so that its willfulness is becoming unbearable, a younger one is saddled upon it, and the whole process is repeated again, each child being disciplined and socialized through the responsibility for a still younger one. (Mead 1928:19). The young girls will be trusted as baby tenders around the age of six or seven until they are old enough to begin work on the plantations. During this period, the girls are at the beck and call of their elders and the children they watch. Mead wrote, These haunt them from morning until night.....It may be said with some justice that the worst period of their lives is over. (Mead 1928: 21). However, the boys will be reli eved of the younger children around the ages of eight and nine because they can help the older boys with their work. Much like in the American culture, children are often given the responsibility to look after their younger siblings and to teach them skills that they will need. When I was young, I remember spending hours playing school in my basement with my younger sister, while my parents relaxed upstairs. ...