What Do You Think Makes a Good Manager?

Kuznetsova Ksenia What do you think makes a good manager? What are the main functions of a manager according to Peter Drucker? Manager is the person who organizes and coordinates the activities of the rest of the staff. The importance of a good manager can’t be overestimated. First of all, a good manager is a leader, a respected, professional and strong-willed person who can motivate inspire and lead people. Great managers accept blame that means that they are fully responsible for their team.They understand the importance of developing – both their subordinates and themselves. In that case I think that good managers make themselves redundant. They always learn something new and acquire useful information from the outside world so as to get the right experience. A good manager is competent: he knows the job perfectly as well as the work of subordinates. Most of the time manager works in a team, so it’s vital to be friendly and sociable and have good communication skills.They have to be persuasive and to convince people to do things like forming teams even those who are responsible for performing individual jobs. Moreover good managers have empathy – the ability to step in someone else’s shoes – because they are good listeners. They are open and always ready to discuss and solve problems. As the managers have to measure the performance of the staff they should give praise if the objectives set for the organization as a whole and for each individual member of it are being achieved. A good manager judges on merit..So managers who regularly give praise are in much stronger position to criticize or reprimand poor performance. In that case it won’t be taken as personal dislike. Good managers are not afraid of others people strengths. Furthermore, good managers encourage employees to use their own initiative, to take decisions on their own. This process is called empowerment. As the result decision making becomes more d ecentralized and less bureaucratic. However, managers should still keep the control of the operations, otherwise their authority could be undermined.As a good manager is a good leader, one should be visible and accusable, provide a clear mission and show what the company’s values are. According to Peter Drucker there are 5 main functions of a manager. First of all, managers set objectives and decide how the organization can achieve them Secondly, managers organize. This involves allocating resources especially human resources so that the overall objectives can be attained. Thirdly, managers communicate objectives to the people responsible for attaining them and motivate the staff.They coordinate and supervise the work of their subordinates. Fourthly, managers evaluate how well company’s objectives are being met. Lastly, managers develop people. Unfortunately not every manager can combine all these characteristics and skills. I consider that the management is more an ar t than a science. First of all a good manager have at least basic flair for leadership so that they can develop their skills. However, not all of them will be able to put management techniques into practice. Others will lack good ideas. Outstanding managers are rather rare.

Dialogue Between Plato and Nietzsche Essay

Plato and Nietzsche are sitting in a park enjoying a light picnic lunch. All of a sudden a man dressed in black, wearing a balaclava run’s past and steals Nietzsche’s Turkey sandwich. Nietzsche:This is preposterous! That immoral man has just stolen my last turkey sandwich! This is a horrible position to be in! Plato:What do you mean Nietzsche? Are you saying that you are in a worse position than the thief that stole your sandwich? Nietzsche:Yes that is exactly what I am saying. He isn’t the one who is going to starve to death now is he? Plato:Oh Nietzsche don’t be silly, you’re looking at this in the wrong way. You see, it is you who is in the better position since it is more shameful to inflict wrong than to suffer wrong. Evil derives from wrongful actions, those which by nature involve shame and/or pain. And theft is a very shameful act is it not? Nietzsche: Yes, being a thief is a very shameful way to live, as he is driven by his desires. He must have no self restraint what so ever. Without self restriction how could anyone lead a good life? For it is only through our will to power, strict obedience and restraint over a period of time can great thinking, art and virtue occur. Plato:I agree. The discipline to act justly, control and order one’s body and mind, not need anything and to live virtuously is the only way for true self-fulfilment. Those who repetitively satisfy their desires do not posses real power over one’s self because this gratification further stimulates, rather than eliminates, ones craving for desire. A person who is always fulfilling desire is in continuous need for further satisfaction, and thus acquires no true power over themselves as they are constantly controlled by their urges. Nietzsche:Not only does one need self discipline and obedience, like you said, but they also need to be freed from outer restrictions such as the â€Å"herd mentality† which constrains them from becoming a true leader. Who is to say that this thief does not have to qualities to rule? He has been trained that compliance and obedience toward his herd is best. This herd mentality forces its followers to repress their natural aspiration to become leaders, it unselfs gifted individuals and natural leaders. Qualities such as benevolence, modesty and pity are taught by the herd to be virtuous, when really it is the imaginative, daring, creative and courageous who are the virtuous ones, whom should rise above the herd because they are the natural leaders. Those who have to will to power (drive to do so) are able to live their lives the fullest and therefore ultimately become the ubermensch. Plato:Here is where we differ Nietzsche, the way I see it is that community or herd is not such a bad thing, leaders on the other hand are. Weaker people should not be subject to stronger people. Just like large countries should not attack the small ones, on the grounds of that they are stronger and therefore superior. Governments and communities help to restrain those who cannot restrain themselves and therefore guiding them into leading a more virtuous life. Leaders, such a politicians, on the other hand only seek to amuse and gratify rather than improve the soul. When morality is applied in the masses it is right and natural Nietzsche:But Plato, the theory of evolution has proved that God is dead and is no longer need to explain out existence meaning that conventional morality is irrelevant. Therefore we must create our own morality which is not transcendent or absolute. Plato:Wrong again Nietzsche. Just because there is proof that God may not exist, it doesn’t mean that man creates his own morality or anything else for that matter. You see, in this universe there are two different worlds, the material world and the metaphysical world. We experience the material world with our senses. We can see it, feel it, taste it and touch it. Whereas the Metaphysical world (world f the forms) exists beyond the senses. The Metaphysical world contains perfect examples of qualities and concepts that exist in the material world. We can recognise these concepts (beauty, justice, good etc) and qualities (colour, shape) because we have experienced them in the Metaphysical world. Our soul/mind experiences the Metaphysical world before birth, but the trauma of birth makes us forget this world and we must relearn it thorough philosophy. So, because there is a perfect examples of everything in the Metaphysical world that there is here in the Material world, there must be a perfect form of morality. This means that there is an absolute morality for mankind to live by.

People with Terminal Illnesses Should Have the Right to Doctor

People with terminal illnesses should have the right to doctor assisted suicide Assisted suicide should be allowed as a valid option for anyone who is suffering a terminal illness. People don’t want to live uncomfortably or without use of all the functions that they currently possess. Individuals should be allowed to make the decisions on what is right or wrong for them, and that includes living or dying.Thus, people should be given the right to assisted suicide in order to end their suffering, reduce the damaging financial effects of hospital care on their families, and preserve the individual right and dignity of people to determine their own fate. For many people who with terminal or chronic illnesses that cause them constant severe pain may want to die peacefully instead of suffering until they succumb to their illness. It not only calls on doctors to make an unreliable prediction, but prescribes a pointless time limit: The longer the life expectancy the greater the patien t's suffering.The essential elements for legislation are that the condition is irremediable by medical treatment and the suffering is intolerable to the patient (Eric Gargett). Actually, it should not be up to a doctor or other family members as to whether a person should be forced to continue living. No one wants to be in pain or see their loved ones in pain. This is a very real fear people may have. If someone is suffering so badly that there is no point to his / her life then he / she should be given the choice and ability to end it.It is certain circumstance where assisted suicide should be legalized in the case of LAU 2 someone no longer has any quality of life. Also, there are certain illnesses that are very horrible and painful to live through where even such strong drugs as morphine can do nothing. In this circumstance people should be given the freedom to doctor assisted suicide to ease their pains. It should be the choice of the individual first and foremost and then back ed by their family before carried out.In addition, personal right to a doctor assisted suicide is that we, as humans, should respect other people’s wishes and dignity. The Code of Health and Disability Consumers Rights 1996 Right, it states that every consumer has the right to refuse services and to withdraw consent to services. The right to refuse medical treatment under the Bill of Rights Act and the above Code is limited to people who are competent to refuse consent (James L. Werth and Debra C. Cobia). If someone feels their life is not worth living anymore and has thought carefully about ending their life then we should respect this decision.Everyone has an obligation to relieve the suffering of his / her fellow human beings and to respect his / her dignity. Lying in hospitals today are people afflicted with excruciatingly painful and terminal conditions and diseases that have left them permanently incapable of functioning in any dignified human fashion. They can only loo k forward to lives filled with yet more suffering and deterioration. When such people beg for a merciful end to their pain and indignity, it is cruel and inhumane to refuse their pleas.Besides this, people should have a moral right to choose freely what they will do with their lives as long as they inflict no harm on others. This right of free choice includes the right to end one's life when people choose. LAU 3 Furthermore, patients with terminal illnesses are not willing to be seen as a ‘burden' on their loved ones. In 1991, a survey, conducted by the Boston Globe, showed that the main reason people with an â€Å"incurable illness who suffered a great deal of physical pain† would consider ending their lives was because they â€Å"don't want to be a burden† to their families.They were not primarily concerned with the pain or even the restricted lifestyle (Knox, R. A). With today's rising health costs and the busy lifestyles, many people don't want to leave their families with the financial burden of long hospital stays and enormous medical bills that come with being ill for a long time. While patients realize the longer the life expectancy the greater theirs suffering, they prefer to choose ending their pains with a doctor assisted rather than alive, and that’s the way they want to show their loves of their families.Hence, this should be a decision made by individuals with the help of their doctors and families, and should definitely be a right of all people. Finally, people with terminal illnesses should have the right to doctor assisted suicide. It is one of the most basic personal freedoms of a human being whether to continue living, and it is no one else's right to decide if another person should be forced to live. As long as the person requesting the assisted suicide is well informed and in their right state of mind, there is no reason for someone to tell them they are forced to live.In many cases, the amount of excruciating pa in that a person may be enduring could make life miserable, and should not be forced upon any one. For most people, the right to end one's life is a right they can easily exercise, but there are many who want to die, but whose disease, handicap, or condition renders them unable to end their lives in a dignified manner. When such people ask for assistance in exercising their right to die, their wishes should be respected.

International finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

International finance - Essay Example In fact, the creation of International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) as well as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), had both been the consequences of the conference. The innate characteristics of the conference had been – Firstly, the conference stressed upon the fixation of upper and lower limits for the exchange rates of any domestic currency. Such a system would help in reducing possibilities of financial distress owing to fluctuations in the rate of exchange. The upper and lower limits of the rate of exchange are on the other hand, made the domain of the national government with regard to their respective current account positions. To be precise, the domestic governments were allowed to make adjustments to up to 10% below or above the pegged rates of exchange. The domestic currency of any nation was made completely convertible with any other currency to ease foreign trade. Lastly, all nations were made members to the International Monetary Fund so as to make the latter’s task easier to conduct at times when a financial crisis takes place. The system collapsed during 1970s, though that did not mean that the whole world converted itself into a system of floating exchange rates. For instance, the nations underlying European Union follow a fixed exchange rate regime where they maintain a fixed rate of exchange with the Euro as well as between themselves (Alderman, 2011, ‘Europe’s Challenge: Fostering Growth Amid Austerity’). Answer to Question 2 According to the concept of uncovered interest rate parity (UIP), the difference between the rates of returns on domestic and foreign bonds must be equal to the expected change in the rate of exchange

Political Climate in the 1950s Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Political Climate in the 1950s - Essay Example The political scenario suffered in the shape of the communist opposition party dwindling into insignificance. With their downfall, America lost the institutional network that had created a public space where alternatives to the current workings of the government could be presented and be challenged. By late 1950s, thousands of men and women had lost their jobs, hundreds had been deported or sent to prison, and two had been executed. Most, but not all, of these people had once been in or near the American Communist Party. [6] [7] Also the social policy reforms including national insurance policy supported by the leftist also fell apart. McCarthyism further contributed to the attenuation of the reform impulse by diverting the attention of the labor movement, the strongest institution within the left-liberal coalition, from external organizing to internal politicking. [5] [6] America's cultural and intellectual life in the 1950s also suffered from McCarthyism. TV and radio offered a bland menu of quiz shows and Westerns during late 1950s so that no relation could be made to communism and its views. Similarly the film industry cautiously restrained itself from indulging into controversial social or political issues. On the international political front, an opposition to the Cold War had been so thoroughly identified with communism that it was no longer possible to challenge the basic assumptions of American foreign policy without incurring suspicions of disloyalty. [5] [6] What Is Meant By The Term Politics Of Consensus Politics of consensus means common frameworks and policies agreed between all political parties that are adopted by the government. During the years 1945 to 1979, this practice was observed by the government of Britain. The Conservative Party and Labour Party, which were the two major political parties in Britain at that time, were in consensus over certain basic government policies. All the political scientists and media commentators agreed with the policies introduced in the decades after World War II. Changes in the government responsibility such as the welfare state, the National Health Service (NHS), and widespread nationalization of industry, were some of the policies that were agreed unconditionally by both parties. [2] During the late 1970s, the political consensus eventually started to break up. The Conservative Party and the Labour Party were getting at odds over each other. With the sudden rise in oil price in early 1970s, drew a new economic experience of 'stagflation', where high inflation was combined with high unemployment. The Conservative Party challenged the political consensus of the use Keynesian economics by the government. The increasing differences of economic opinion between the two parties finally ended the consensus that was agreed in previous decades. [2] Why Did The Civil Rights Movement Begin In The 1950s After the end of World War II, the blacks (Negro) became increasingly active socially. Discrimination in the military services and in the work force challenged them from getting any important positions. In the South, Blacks had been put to near slavery conditions with the Black Codes and the Jim Crow Laws. As a result many left southern farms for northern cities in search for better jobs. When they found crowded and discriminatory conditions

BG Group Plc Analysis Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

BG Group Plc Analysis - Coursework Example BG Group is one of the listed companies in the London stock Exchange (LSE). The British Gas plc divested Centrica and the company was created. BG Group marks its presents in 5 continents. Demand and Supply Factors First consider the demand side factors which include weather, demographics, economic growth, consumption of fuel, storage of the products and exports. The cyclical pattern seems to be the demand pattern for natural gas. The demand follows the step path in the coldest months while the opposite is the nature of demand in the hotter months (EIA, 2008). The demand tends to rise slightly in summer to meet the demand of natural gas for electric generators. Demand also increases when there is growth in the economy. Cyclical pattern is the nature of the demand curve. Storage of the produced is difficult for the companies in this sector and so excess supply cause a fall in the price level. The supply side factors are the capacity of the pipeline through which the transportation of n atural gas takes place, drilling of the gas and technological advancement. The price of electricity also has a major role to play in the demand and supply frameworks of natural gas. As several competitors compete in the market, the price is set at the equilibrium level. Recently there has been technological advancement in the demand for natural gas. The rising electricity prices are the main reason for this situation. The appliances operated through natural gas can now compete closely with the electrical appliances causing demand to shoot up. The short term barriers affecting the supply of natural gas are availability of skilled workers and equipment, permitting and well development, delivery disruptions. The barriers that affect in increasing the supply of natural gas are onshore and offshore access, the financial environment (Natural Gas, n.d.). Market Structure The consumers of natural gas are now exposed to choice and competition. The government does not regulate the price mecha nism. The price is set by the demand and supply conditions. Generally the price is set at the level where demand equals supply. (Soligo and Jaffe, p.2). The figure above shows the demand for gas over the past 30 years. The nature of international gas market is experiencing change. Bilateral contracts between the buyers and sellers are the characteristic of markets outside the U.S. The increased liquidity in the market has called for the emergence of non-contract LNG market. The producer owns the gas at wellhead and sells to the marketers, less developed countries and sometimes to the end users. The market for natural gas faces a significant setback. The market for other commodities can immediately react to the change in demand and supply conditions but this type of market takes time to react to such situations mainly because to increase the supply of natural gas it is required to lease land and acquire the permission of the government. Seismic work and drilling the path towards the pipeline needs a lot of time. The lifetime of the existing wells will come to an end at some point and the amount of production they are capable to produce involves uncertainty. Necessities to compete in the market The company should have access to non-competitive facilities at non-discriminatory terms and

Public Relations Campaigns Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Public Relations Campaigns - Essay Example Public relations are considered as a management function now. It focuses on public behavior or attitudes, and based on that it defines the policies and procedures of an organization. PR should act as a two way path for communication; from public to organization and from organization to public. Such mutual transfer of information will build up confidence between the organization and the public. Though the aim of PR activities doesn’t mean for publicity, most of the PR campaigns include provision for publicity as well. From the above discussion I think it is clear that a mere media release is not enough for recruiting talented graduates in our organization. Since media release is only a one way communication, we will never be able to analyze the public response towards it correctly. The public opinion towards a charity organization like us has to be studied carefully before going for the recruitment. The illusions about charity organizations among the public has to be corrected first. I accept that most of the potential graduates coming out from the colleges will look for other organizations to establish themselves. It is a fact that the youths always like big cities to start their careers. They will always like to have some challenging assignments to start their careers to cement their places in the corporate industry. It is correct that though we are offering competitive remuneration packages and job facilities, it is difficult for us to recruit potential talents to our organization. Considering all the above possible challenges in recruiting potential graduates, I believe that we have to change our conventional strategies of PR campaign. Our campaign should focus on the following things; avoid prejudices about the public opinion especially that of the graduating youths, about charity organizations like us. The results obtained through such researches will definitely help us in making successful

Global Business Environment Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Global Business Environment - Case Study Example P&G started as a small soap and candle company started by William Proctor and James Gamble in the year 1837 in the Cincinnati United States now has 138,000 employees working in over 80 countries worldwide. The company’s products and services are available to consumers over 180 countries. The company maintains one of the strongest and largest portfolios of trusted brands.  The company markets nearly 300 well-known brands in consumer goods and more than 50 percent of its revenues are derived from foreign countries. Being the market leader in the FMCG market P&G has proved to be one of the aggressive marketers and the largest advertiser in the world. Extensive market research and the novel brand-management system are the unique strengths of the company (Proctor & Gamble).  The success of P&G largely depended on its business technique called ‘brand management’ which implied that the company will focus its attention on a product rather than on a business function. The technique involves a decentralized decision making. The company began its global expansion during the early 1990s when the top management felt the need for streamlining the brand management system. For carrying out a planned expansion the company established a ‘Global Strategic Planning Group’ consisting of 3-20 individuals for each of the product categories. This group was made responsible for developing policies covering global and local brands. The group was also empowered to make decisions concerning ‘brand strategy’ which needs to be standardized across the world markets. It also involved customizing the products according to local markets and customer requirements.  While developing the branding strategies was made the responsibility of the Global Strategic Planning Group the implementation of the strategies was entrusted to the ‘Global Category Team’. The Global Category Team is headed by an executive vice president who handles eac h of the product categories.

Business - Affirmative Action Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Business - Affirmative Action - Research Paper Example It is an act to increase the representation of minority by giving them preference on the basis of gender, color, origin, sexual orientation etc. Moreover, this act is also done to increase the participation of the under representative part of the society to showcase what they are capable of. Historical Background: General Background History The term ‘affirmative action’ was first used in 1935 in a National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C.  §Ã‚ §151–169). The usage for it was not for race but to provide remedy for employers to avoid discrimination of union members. However, in books the origin of this term was mentioned to root from the United States. During the presidency of John F. Kennedy, it first appeared in Executive Order 10925 and it was signed by the President on March 6th 1961 (Jain and Ratnam). It was used to refer to methods used to achieve non-discrimination policy implementation. In 1965, Executive Order 11246 was issued by the President Lyndon Johnso n which stated that federal contractors should use affirmative action to avoid discrimination while employing a person. Hiring should be made irrespective of race, religion and national origin. The 1964 Civil Rights Act implemented this clause that no race discrimination by statute should be carried at the workplace. Title II of 1964 act stopped places which were public, such as restaurants or hotels from discriminating on the basis of race. Gradually in 1968, gender was also added to the list. Purpose of Affirmative Action Since the Civil Rights Movement, much has been changed in a positive manner and a great contribution to it was the introduction of Affirmative action. This attempt was to achieve a better and more equal society. It was started as a ‘Corrective measure for societal and governmental discriminations against groups that have been at a disadvantage and subject to prejudices’. However, much has changed since its inception. Supporters of Affirmative Actionà ‚   There are many people, organizations and societies supporting the inherent goodness of affirmative action. Some of them are given below: According to a report published in 2007 by Pew Research Center, support for affirmative action in the American public has increased to 70% in 2007 compared to 58% in 1995. The US Military is another endorser of affirmative action. In 2003, many high ranking officers of Army, Navy, Air force and Marine Corps planned a rally in support of affirmative action for a Supreme Court case Grutter v. Bollinger. The fortune 500 companies have been a popular endorser of affirmative action. More than 60 leading companies in fortune 500 which encompasses 3M, GE, HP, Kraft Foods, Coca-Cola came out for the support of affirmative action in 2003. Universities have been a popular supporter of affirmative action. Harvard University, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, Yale University and Dartmouth College provided their support for race-conscious a dmission programs. They wanted to promote diversity in all forms and, therefore, in 2003 they showed their popular support for it. Popular athletes are endorsers of affirmative action. Many of the Michigan’s leading sports athlete including Tom Izzo (Michigan State University), Joanne P. McCallie (Michigan State University), Tommy Amaker (University of Michigan) and Ernie Zeigler (Central Michigan University) spoke about the importance of affirmative ac

US and Vietnam War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

US and Vietnam War - Essay Example The final contingent of the U.S. commitment departed Vietnam 60 days after the signing, but the level of violence between Vietnamese adversaries did not significantly decline; no peace came to Vietnam. In the United States, Watergate was changing from amber to red, and as his presidency unraveled in 1973, President Richard Nixon's secret commitments to South Vietnam's President Nguyen Van Thieu were rendered meaningless. Less than two years later, faced with funding a $722 million budget supplement, the U.S. Congress showed little interest in providing military equipment or financial support to America's longtime ally, South Vietnam. On April 30, 1975, South Vietnam ceased to exist. For most Americans, the last images of the war were of the dazed U.S. Ambassador Graham Martin carrying a folded American flag under his arm during the final evacuation from the U.S. Embassy; or perhaps the chaos surrounding the evacuation of U.S. personnel and Vietnamese families from the Embassy rooftop. No one seemed interested in such critical questions as the nature of the war, why the United States chose to fight the way it did, how North Vietnam had prevailed, the relationship of political objectives to military strategy, or the lessons that could be derived from the public diplomacy and secret negotiations that had characterized so much of the conflict. The dire situation would change as scholars gained access to a series of significant declassifications of primary source documents located in archival depositories in the United States, Vietnam, China, and Russia, and as principal architects of policy-the so-called "best and brightest"-began to reflect and write on their roles during the period. In 1995, former Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara broke his own long silence on the subject with the admission that "we were wrong, terribly wrong" (McNamara & Van De Mark 1995). Another principal architect of Vietnam policy, political scientist Henry Kissinger, has generated several books that address why the United States fought in Vietnam (Kissinger 1999). We approach our topic chronologically by examining 30 years of war from 1945 to 1975-beginning with the historic Vietnamese proclamation of independence and ending with the fall of South Vietnam in April 1975. We have identified what we believe are important components of this unfolding saga, and we begin from the intellectual premise that truly understanding why the United States fought in Vietnam requires that we comprehend the roots of the conflict (before it became America's war in Vietnam) from the perspective of countries other than the United States- specifically, Vietnam, China, and the Soviet Union. After all, it was the United States that chose to fight in Vietnam's war (Young 1991). Research The disciplines of history and political science have illuminated many important aspects of the war, including presidential personality and leadership, war powers, public opinion, the role of the media, advisory processes and interactions, political dissent, and congressional-executive relations. Political science has also contributed significant theoretical advances on

Civil War Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Civil War - Research Paper Example Revolution is actually a change whereby legitimacy of one system is terminated and another originated within the same society, however, this change may not necessarily brought about by force or violence. History narrates the stories of several important revolutions e.g. revolutions in England and France of 1688 and 1848 respectively had not observed any military conflict. Scope of civil war is broad and it may accompany revolution, but in the great French Revolution, it only played a secondary part. Like revolution, civil war can also be distinguished from insurrection, which is a struggle from the bottom up, an uprising of a more or less politically unorganized group against an established authority. Civil war is horizontal, insurrection vertical, conflict which may result in huge numbers of fatalities and ineffective use of valuable resources (Hironaka, 2005, p.3). Classifications of Civil Wars The concept of war is as old as the human being is attached to religion, politics, and s ocial reforms. Likewise, civil wars may also be classified in terms of these three aspects i.e. religion, political or strategic objectives, and social reforms. The rise of Protestantism caused a whole series of religious civil wars between 1550 and 1648. The civil wars in England between during the years 1641 to 1651, in the United States from 1861 to 1865, and in China from 1921 to1928, were political. The history of ancient Greece and Rome shows a whole series of social civil wars between rich and poor, aristocrats and plebians. The Russian civil war from 1918 to1921was primarily a social war between the upper class on the one hand and the city proletariat aided by the peasants on the other. Religious civil wars have usually been very bloody and ruthless. Social civil wars tend to resemble them in this respect; while political civil wars are commonly humane, as years ago. The Thirty Years War (1618-1648) primarily fought in Germany was indescribably ferocious; the recent civil wa r in Russia was marked by much cruelty; while the American Civil War was comparatively well controlled (Hironaka, 2005). Characteristics of Different Civil Wars The character of civil war varies considerably according to the type of political organization in the country in which it occurs. In unitary states civil war is likely to be amateurish and bungling in its early stages. The old government is weakened by the withdrawal of large numbers of its trained personnel, who then proceed to improvise an opposition government which does not at first function very efficiently. The English civil war of 1641 to 1651 and the American Civil War are cases in point (Keegan, 2009). In federated states, civil war closely resembles international war. Here organized functional governments already exist and the task of generating a civil war between them is relatively simple, especially when the nature of the federal bond approximates a league rather than a closer union. The Thirty Years War, the Wa r of the Sonderbund in Switzerland in 1848, and the American Civil War afford varying instructions of the nature of the civil conflict in federated states. In his second inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln said â€Å"slavery was some how cause of the war† (Brook and Nurphy, 2009). Civil wars in colonial states are in general much like civil

Barriers to Communication Essay Example for Free

Barriers to Communication Essay Organisational communication relates to the way organisations adapt themselves to changing environments, externally and internally. The focus is on interaction with stakeholders and within the organisation and with co-workers. In these interactions different perceptions (in meanings and interests) must be dealt with to create common ground. Barriers to communication refers to any kind or form of communication impediment within an organization such as noise, bureaucracy and semantic differences. The organisation that I used to work for is SIRDC and it is primarily involved in scientific research and innovation. It is located around 15kilometres away from town in the Hatcliffe Extension area. The barriers to communication in the organisation include the following: Semantic barriers Did you hear what I meant for you to hear? This has been a frequent statement in the boardrooms! With todays increasingly diverse workforce, it is easy to believe you have conveyed information to someone, but you are not aware that they interpreted you differently than you intended. Unfortunately, you wont be aware of this problem until a major problem or issue arises out of the confusion. This usually arises due to the interpretation of different words. Due to the diverse educational and cultural backgrounds [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=backgrounds%3Bv=56] in my organisation, semantics acts as a hindrance to effective communication as people [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=people%3Bv=56] would argue that we agreed to pursue another option in the last meeting when it was not the case. This is usually prevalent when the business [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=business%3Bv=56] people [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=people%3Bv=56] in the organisation are discussing issues with the scientists on the viability of their innovations. The organisation has chemists, engineers, marketing [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=marketing%3Bv=56] personnel, financial analysts, nutritionists, electricians, biotechnologists among many  others. Bureaucracy When organizations are just getting started, their leaders can often prize themselves on not being burdened with what seems as bureaucratic overhead, that is, as extensive written policies and procedures. Writing [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=Writing%3Bv=56] something down can be seen as a sign of bureaucracy and to be avoided. As the organization grows, it needs more communications and feedback to remain healthy, but this communication is not valued. As a result, increasing confusion ensues unless management [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=management%3Bv=56] matures and realizes the need for increased, reliable communications. This was the case when the department that I was under was at its infancy level and this was done to have confidence of other institutes within the organisation, since our department was mainly support in nature. Organisational Structure However, at the organizational level, authority tends to be centralised at the top and this usually results in information taking too long to reach all the employees. The Director-General has the final say in the all the organizational decision making process. The Public relations department is responsible for all the organizational communication even on technical aspects unless the technical people [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=people%3Bv=56] are given the authority to talk to the media. Assumed Knowledge If I know it, then everyone must know it. Perhaps the most common communications problem is managements (leaders and managers) assumption that because they are aware of some piece of information, than everyone else is, too. Usually staff are not aware unless management  [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=management%3Bv=56] makes a deliberate attempt to carefully convey information. This has been the case especially on the technical fields where the managers think that every employee is aware of the basics in the related field. Sometimes, employees will be scared to ask because the boss has already assumed that everyone knows the principles. The result is that the job [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=job%3Bv=56] is not done properly and incompetence is labeled to the subordinates. Information Ownership Some people [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=people%3Bv=56] within the organisation would not want to share information with others and this has been termed HITES Holding Information To Enhance Status. This is usually the case in fields such as information technology (IT) where a person is solely employed because of the knowledge of a particular program. If he is to teach others the he loses his expert power and negotiating power within the organisation. Such group of people [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=people%3Bv=56] can make the organisation be at ransom if their demands are not met. Ethnocentricity This is mainly to do with judging people [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=people%3Bv=56] according to ones culture and thinking. This is a result of diverse cultures and different levels of education [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=education%3Bv=56] within the organisation. Camps within an organization Camps are usually created based on political persuasion, religious beliefs, as well as on tribal grounds. Since my organization is a parastatal and it is in the Presidents Office  [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=Office%3Bv=56], it is expected that within the organization we should be pro-government. However, some people [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=people%3Bv=56] are known to support other parties, so communication tends to be hindered as one is not so sure how to respond to certain issues raised. Tribal issues tend to hinder communication in my organization as some people [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=people%3Bv=56] feel one tribe is getting the attention of the senior executive in the organization. This has been further worsened in the recruitment exercise for senior posts. Managers failure to recognize the efforts of subordinates If I need your opinion, I will tell it to you. Communications problems can arise when management [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=management%3Bv=56] simply sees no value whatsoever in communicating with subordinates, believing subordinates should shut up and do their jobs [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=jobs%3Bv=56] as assigned. This kind of attitude discourages the subordinates and might force them to just leave the mistakes that their superior has done which might be detrimental to the organizational objectives and goals. The attitude of I know everything has retarded the learning [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=learning%3Bv=56] process in the organization. Inexperienced managers are usually the culprits in this regard as they find no need to communicate with subordinates. So whats to talk about? Communications problems can arise when inexperienced management [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=management%3Bv=56] interprets its job [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=job%3Bv=56] to be solving problems and if they are no problems/crises, then there is nothing that needs to be communicated. Conclusion Effective internal communications start with effective skills in communications, including basic skills in listening, speaking, questioning  and sharing feedback These can developed with some concerted review and practice. Perhaps the most important outcome from these skills is conveying that you value hearing from others and their hearing from you. Sound meeting management [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=management%3Bv=56] skills go a long way toward ensuring effective communications, too. A key ingredient to developing effective communications in any organization is each person taking responsibility to assert when they dont understand a communication or to suggest when and how someone could communicate more effectively.

Paradigm of Cold Chain Management Systems

Paradigm of Cold Chain Management Systems The New Paradigm Of Cold Chain Management Systems And It’s Logistics On Tuna Fishery Sector In Indonesia Grasiano Warakano Lailossa Abstract. The Cold chain management is an important element in ensuring standards of quality and safety of fishery products. Trend Quality standard requirements quality ,safety and traceability of fishery products are getting higher and the global effect, this causes to the need for a new paradigm of the cold chain management application as appropriate the trend. The results of the review previous studys show, the application of cold chain management are still partial and not yet fully integrated in the whole process (Post harvest handling, processing and packaging, cold storage and distribution, refrigerated transportation, marketing of fishery products). This paper provides a new paradigm offers cold chain management by systems integration approach. The output of this integration model will be expected to improve the competitiveness exports of Indonesian fishery products(Tuna`s) Key Words: Cold chain management,Indonesian Fishery Poduct,Tuna Introduction. Cold chain system application is one way to preserve quality standard and safety of food products. Cold chain system or usually named with cold chain management is one of cold chain system which designed to guarantee whole process, starting from capture process/harvest, cultivation until product distribution less until it consumed, it will be continuously intact and according to desired functional standard. there are three basic standard: Quality, Safety and Traceability. One of the most significant constraints is the high level of post harvest losses. Post harvest losses as a result of a poor cold chain implementation in the industry are cited fifteen to twenty percent from the primary producer to retail outlet. See Figure 1 Figure 1 : Cold Chain Management (source: : http://www.iaph.uni-bonn.de/Coldchain/) Cold chain Specifically, a supply chain or logistics network is the system of organizations, people, technology, activities, information, and resources involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer. Supply chain activities transform natural resources,raw materials, and components into finished products that are delivered to the end user. In sophisticated supply chain systems,used products may re-enter the supply chain at any point where residual value is recyclable A cold chain is a temperature-controlled supply chain; it is a concept resulting from specific needs related to the transformation and distribution of temperature-sensitive products(] J.P. Emond,2008) To manage the cold chain effectively we need to beware of what the drivers for change are along the food supply chain and be able to adapt to them(W Paul Davies,2003), Professor Davies lists the drivers of change as: Consumer Tastes and behaviour Competition and production efficiency Advances in technology Institutional pressures and regulatory requirements Environmental considerations International and globalisation influences Political influences We see this occurring globally as food supply chains compete aggressively with each other and buyers source products whenever and wherever it gives them advantage. Indonesian Fishery Sector. Indonesia is the biggest tuna-producing country in the world, contributing 15 percent of global tuna production in 2009, followed by the Philippines, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Spain. The main commercially caught tuna species in Indonesia are skipjack (62% of total tuna landings), yellowfin (29%),bigeye (7%), albacore (1%), and Southern bluefin (1%). The fishing grounds for Indonesian tuna fall under two convention areas, Indian Ocean and Western Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO). The Western Central Pacific Ocean currently supports the largest industrial tuna fishery in Indonesia, contributing almost 80 percent of total Indonesian commercial tuna production, while Eastern Indian Ocean contributes 20 percent (FAO 2010). Tuna products are the second biggest Indonesian fishery product export, after shrimp, contributing 14 percent of total export value, about USD 352 million, in 2009. The main markets for tuna exported from Indonesia are Japan (35%), the United States (20%), Thailand (12%), European Union countries (9%),and Saudi Arabia (6%) (MMAF 2010). Indonesia is also one of the major suppliers to markets in the United States and Japan. As the biggest fresh and frozen tuna supplier to the US, Indonesia contributes about 27 percent (or about 13 thousand tonnes) of the total US fresh and frozen tuna import in 2010, valued at USD 112 million (NMFS 2011). According to data from MMAF and JICA (2009), yellowfin tuna catches has showed downward trend, in 2000, total catch of yellowfin tuna reached 163,241 tonnes, but since then it tend to decrease and dropped to 94,406 tonnes in 2006, though in 2007 it started to recover again with 103,655 tonnes catch. Indian Ocean (Indian Ocean, Western Timor Sea, Bali Strait and Sawu Sea) used to be the main catching areas for yellowfin tuna. Almost 54% of total yellowfin tuna in Indonesia was caught from this area. In the eastern part, Sulawesi Sea and Pacific Ocean was the important catching areas for yellowfin tuna, covering 33.7% of total yellowfin tuna landings,followed by Flores and Makassar Strait (18.2%) and Moluccas Sea, Tomini Bay, and Seram Sea (12.4%) ,see Figure 2 Figure. 2. Yellowfin Tuna Landing Distributin per Fishery Management Areas (WPP) in 2004 (source: Indonesian Tuna Supply Chain Analysis, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership,2010) In general, Maluku-Papua contributes the biggest landings of albacore, bigeye tuna, and yellowfin tuna,with 26 percent of total Indonesian tuna landings, followed by North Sulawesi (24%), Bali-Nusa Tenggara (16%), South Sulawesi (12%), North Java (10%), and West Sumatra (8%) (Note: for Bali-Nusa Tenggara, North Java, and West Sumatra, the landings also include Southern bluefin tuna). Since tuna resources are abundant and scattered around Indonesian waters, fishing grounds and landing areas of tuna in Indonesia are dispersed. A significant volume of tuna is unloaded in Muara Baru (Jakarta) and Benoa (Bali); three other fishing ports that carry tuna are Bitung, Ambon, and Sorong, see Figure 3. Figure 3. Major Ports of Tuna Fisheries in Indonesia (source: : Sustainable Indonesian Tuna Initiative,White paper, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership,2011) Indonesian Tuna Supply Chain. Supply chains for most of the fish species start from oceans and end up with consumer markets far from thousands of miles. Asupplychainis a network of retailers, distributors, transporters, storage facilities andsuppliersthat participate in the production, delivery and sale of a product to the consumer (Harland, 1996), In the Indonesian tuna value chain, four main categories of operators can be distinguished: Fishermen Fish landing sites and ports Middlemen Processors/exporters , See Figure 4 Figure 4. Indonesian Tuna Supply Chain, (source : Indonesian Tuna Supply Chain Analysis, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership,2010) According LEI Wageningen UR (Arie Pieter van Duijn, Rik Beukers and Willem van der Pijl) in CBI Report The Indonesian seafood sector,2012, The bottlenecks for the Indonesian tuna industry occur at several stages of the value chain. Because pro-cessors and exporters mainly depend on the catches of the Indonesian tuna fleet, it is essential to opti-mise the potential of the fishing fleet. Better handling and storage of tuna can produce more high-quality tuna for export, benefitting processors and exporters too and preventing the need to further exploit tuna stocks. As there are many small landing sites, it is also crucial that tuna landed at these sites can be transported efficiently. Although several exporters of frozen and canned tuna are already EU certified, there is still potential to help small exporters meet EU requirements. Furthermore, there is a growing de-mand for sustainable and eco-labelled tuna in the EU market, which could have potential for Indonesian ex-porters. Also the lack of traceability throughout the entire value chain implies that support for fishermen, middlemen and processors/exporters is required.(CBI Report The Indonesian seafood sector, A value chain analysis, LEI Wageningen UR ,2012) Indonesia contributes about 4 percent of total global fresh and frozen tuna exports, exporting about 65.5thousand tonnes in 2007, valued at USD 150 million. Indonesia also contributes more than 4 percent of total global canned tuna exports, exporting about 52.4 thousands tonnes in 2007, valued at USD 151.9 million (Globefish, 2010). Indonesia was the leader of countries supplying tuna to Japan (mainly yellowfin and bigeye), sending about 20 thousand tonnes per year to Japan’s market. Indonesia only contributes about 2 percent (9,800 tonnes in 2008) of total canned tuna imported to the EU market. Exports of frozen Yellow fin tuna (in various product types) from Indonesia have increased in the last five years. In 2006 USD 13m was exported, while in 2010 the export value has more than doubled to USD 31m. Most of the frozen Yellow fin tuna is exported to the US. However, MMAF export statistics show that for the total export of frozen tuna (Yellow fin tuna as well as other species), export values were significant-ly higher. In 2010 the export value of frozen tuna to Japan was USD 22m, while exports to the US amounted to USD 18m. Other species that are exported as tuna will most likely concern Bigeye tuna. Methods. This paper based on paper review and some flelds study, This paper is a continuation of the first paper that presented at an international seminar on december 2nd APTECS 2010 Result And Discussion Integrity Cold Chain Systems. According to Jean-Paul Rodrigue,et all,2009, functionally, there are three elements that integrate within the cold chain system: Product. a product is characterized by physical attributes requiring specific temperature and humidity conditions. These conditions dictate its transport, which takes place in a manner that does not undermine its physical attributes to an extent that is judged acceptable. Otherwise, the product loses a share or the entirety of its commercial value. It mostly relates to how perishable and fragile a product can be; how it handles the cold chain process. Origin / Destination. a function of the respective locations where a temperature-sensitive product is produced and consumed. It is indicative of the potential difficulty of making a product available at a market, which for a long time was an important constraint. Because of advances in cold chain logistics, it became possible to use increasingly distant sourcing strategies spanning the world. Distribution. The methods and infrastructures available to transport a product in a temperature-controlled environment. It can involve temperature controlled containers (reefers), trucks and warehousing facilities.See Figure 5 Conditional demand. The demand of a product at a market (or place of consumption) is conditional to its qualitative attributes. Load integrity. Relates to the load conditions that must be provided to insure that a product keeps its value during transport and accounting its perishability. Transport integrity. The series of tasks and safeguards that must be performed to insure that the temperature controlled environment remains constant (Jean-Paul Rodrigue,et all,2009) Figure 5. cold chain system element`s (source: Jean Paul Rodrigue, Claude Comtois and Brian Slack,†The Geography of Transport Systems,† Second Edition,New York,2009) Bootlenecks for the export Indonesian Tuna Globalization makes no more will limit both in regional and international, but on the other hand the application of and determination standart food safety is tight.More stringent standart of food safety applied making no other choice for business community fisheries and the whole stack holder, to try to fulfill standart who need, if they want to keep survive,The cases of rejection of fishery on the destination country exports can be seen on a table 1 Table 1 Totality of the rejection cases on fishery product (source, Ababouch 2006) In CBI Report The Indonesian seafood sector,a value chain analysis, by LEI Wageningen UR (Arie Pieter van Duijn, Rik Beukers and Willem van der Pijl).2012, there was some weakness logistics system and value chain, especially of Tuna of fishery sector in Indonesia, four different categories of influencers and supporters can be distinguished: Government authorities (MMAF, Ministry of Trade) Research institutes (Agency for Marine and Fishery Research and Development, SFP) Producer and exporter associations (ATLI, ASTUIN, Indonesian fish cannery association, AP5I) Other supporters and influencers (LPMHP, Ice factories, WCPFC and IOTC) Six bottlenecks have been identified as a result of the desk study, the field work and the discussions at the strategic conference: Handling and cold storage of tuna after catching Traceability (EU-catch certificates/E-logbook) Eco-labelling Trade barriers of exporting tuna to the EU Lack of capacity for small/medium processors to do market intelligence Fluctuating tuna catches To more clearly can be seen from figure 6 below: Figure 6. The Indonesian tuna value chain and its bottleneck (source : Sustainable Indonesian Tuna Initiative, White paper, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership,2011) Risk Analysis and HACCP. The following factors which influential are Risk Analysis process (Risk Assessment, Risk Management and Risk Communication) and Hazard Analysis Critical Crisis Point (HACCP) is doing assessment and identification to against threat of potential danger that will arise to every cycle stage((Grasiano.W.Lailossa., 2010) The new paradigm changes in the application of Risk Analysis and HACCP should also be an important thing in the application of cold chain systems integration., on the other side of synergism and interaction between government and business must go well in the entire cycle from harvest until arriving at the consumer. Figure 7 bellow is the one form of interaction between the government and food company Figure 7. Interaction between the governments and industrys food safety activities ,modified from Jouve et al., 1998.(Source : H. H. Husset et al,† Assessment and Management of Seafood Safety and Quality,2003) Conclusion. Research on modeling of cold chain system, tend to make emphasis on cases which partial, means more focus on case model with every partial approach on four primary domain that already says above (standard and regulation, risk analysis modeling and cold chain management modeling/ refrigerated transport modeling), in other side, cold chain system is one cycle which systemic, so that optimization problem from cold chain system cannot be observed as partial from every domain, but it must be holistic and systematic (Grasiano.W.Lailossa., 2010) The study and review show that New Paradigm to Developed Cold Chain System,must be based on Change the paradigm that integrated and synergism of the whole stack holder who later applied continuously and consequent in the whole process starting from harvest to consumption The new paradigm of integrated cold chain systems is how to create : Integated model of cold chain systems that have the ability of refrigeration optimally during the process of transport of frozen fish from catching on the sea to arrive at destination exports country. Refrigeration system that has capabilities with the flexibility to continue to maintain the temperature of the products according to standards in charge, able to adapt to external variables that continue to influence will change sometimes even ekstirm due to the path or track that will be going through during the process of refrigerated transport. The Cold chain systems variabel should have the ability to affect of refrigeration during transport due to a temperature difference, optimization of variables that affected the refrigeration systems due to transport processes that can reduce cooling capabilities so it can not maintain the desired temperature References C. M. Harland, â€Å"Supply Chain Management, Purchasing and Supply Management, Logistics, Vertical Integration, MaterialsManagement and Supply Chain Dynamics†. In: Slack, N (ed.) Blackwell Encyclopedic Dictionary of Operations Management UK: Blackwell,1996 Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), FishStat-Capture Production 2010, Fishery Statistics.2010 Grasiano.W.. Lailossa,â€Å"Cold Chain System (Future Research Prespective),† proceeding the 2nd.International Seminar On Applied Technology, Science, and Arts(APTECS), ITS, Indonesia,2010 H. H. Huss, L. Ababouch and L. Gram,† Assessment and Management of Seafood Safety and Quality,†, FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 444,FAO,Rome,2003 Indonesian Tuna Supply Chain Analysis, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership,2010 Jean Paul Rodrigue, Claude Comtois and Brian Slack,†The Geography of Transport Systems,† Second Edition,New York,Routledge,2009 J.P. Emond, The cold chain, in: S.B. Miles, S.E. Sarma, J.R. Williams (Eds.),Chapter 11 of RFID Technology and Applications, Cambridge University Press,2008, pp. 1–2.) L. Ababouch, â€Å"Detension and Rejection of Fish and Seafood at Borders of Mayor Importng Countries,†Food and Agriculture Organization, Italy,2006 LEI Wageningen UR, (Arie Pieter van Duijn, Rik Beukers and Willem van der Pijl),†The Indonesian seafood sector A value chain analysis†, Compiled for CBI by Ministry of foreign affairs of Netherlands,CBI Report,2012 Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF).. Indonesia Fishery Statistics, 2010 R. Schuurhuizen, â€Å"The domestic chain is still characterized by small-scale fishermen and it has been marginalized by the export supply chain† , 2006. R. Schuurhurizen, A. A. D Van Tilburg, and E. Kambewa, â€Å"Fish in Kenya: The Nile-Perch Chain† Wageningen University, Department of Social Sciences, Marketing and Consumer Sciences Group, Wageningen, The Netherland, 2006. Sustainable Indonesian Tuna Initiative, White paper, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership,2011 Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC). 2009. Stock assessment of yellowfin tuna in the western and central Pacific Ocean. Scientific Committee Fifth Regular Session, PortVila,Vanuatu,Aug.10-21,2009.

Analysis of the Normative Data on Linguistic Profile Test

Analysis of the Normative Data on Linguistic Profile Test Normative Data of Linguistic Profile Test on the Elderly Population: a Comparison of Literates and Illiterates INTRODUCTION Literacy is a basic human right and keystone for lifelong learning. It is fully vital to human development in its ability to alter lives. In 1951, UNESCO defined literacy as the aptitude of a person who can read and write, and has the ability to write about their daily life. UNESCO later revised this definition in 1978, now referring to the literate person as one who has the capability to participate in all activities in which literacy is necessary for â€Å"effective functioning in his group and community and also for enabling him to continue to use reading, writing, and calculation for his own and community’s development† (Soares, 1992). The change in UNESCO’s definition reflects modification from a narrow set of behaviors in reading and writing to a broader sense of skills including mathematics. In UNESCO’s publication, literacy is viewed from a social-psycholinguistic viewpoint, one in which literacy constitutes more than the ability to read and write, extending also to the use of oral and written language as well as other sign systems, such as arithmetic and art, to make sense of the world and communicate with others (Berghoff 1998, Harste, Woodward, Burke 1986, Heath 1984, Halliday 1975). Other definitions of literacy emerged in 1992 when the National Institute for Literacy Council defined the term as involving the ability to write and read, to make use of oral and written language in all respects, and to critically and successfully use oral and written language for all purposes. The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 defines literacy as competence in the ability to read, write, and speak, to compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job, and to do so in personal and professional situations. This interpretation denotes a broader view of literacy, instead of the more simplified determination of an individuals ability to read, which the more conventional concept of literacy is. India does not have any reliable indicator of who is a literate person. Indian government defines literacy as the capability of a person to read and write. A person who can only read but cannot write is not considered as a literate. Illiteracy in India is characterized by ample proportions between the urban and rural populations. The rural population depends on agriculture mainly and high illiteracy rate can be noticed here, while the urban population is more of the ‘employee class’ and also more educated. Even between the male and female population, there is a wide discrepancy in literacy. The literacy rate of male is 82.14% and female 65.46% according to census in 2011. Language is the most important aspect in life of all beings. We use language to convey our inner thoughts and emotions make sense of complex and abstract thoughts, to fulfill our wants and demands, as well as to uphold our culture. Language is divided into major 3 components- Form, Content and Use (Bloom Lahey, 1978). Form consist syntax, morphology and phonology- the components that connect sounds or symbols with meaning. Conventionally, the study of language has been equated with Form only. Content includes meaning or semantics and Use includes pragmatics. Phonology is the study of sound systems in language. It includes how speech sounds are classified and structured and how they are used in a particular language. Syntax is the basic structure of language. It is the way in which humans form meaningful sentences and understand it. Sentences have to follow certain structural rulesin order to make sense. We cannot use any words together to make a sentence. Studying syntax helps to understand how children acquire their language, how they start constructing sentences and what stage do they learn the syntactic rules of the language. Syntax can also be learnt to understand how adults construct sentences and also the changes that has been seen after a brain injury. Semantics is the study of meaning. Meaning is the set of associations that a word evokes. The growth of vocabulary continues throughout a person’s lifetime. Through the school years, words are added to the speaker’s vocabulary. This acquisition of vocabulary involves m ore than adding items to one’s lexical list. Semantics also involves the sorting of words into categories. Assessment is one of the major tools that are used by a speech-language pathologist. A thorough assessment leads to accurate diagnosis, identification of etiology and also provides a foundation for treatment. Chaotic assessment leads to wasted time and energy, and eventually to inaccurate conclusions and incompetent planning. A test is basically a device used for objective measurements and helps the clinician in arriving at a truthful diagnosis and in successful rehabilitation of the clients. Some tests are carried out only for adults and some only for children. There are even tests are efficient in testing all the age groups. The information obtained from an appropriate tests, reveal the childs or adults positives and negatives within his language system. Tests also help us to know how language processing might be disturbed in an individual after brain injury which there by helps us in intervention. Linguistic Profile Test (Prathiba Karanth, 1984) was designed with the objective of evaluating the linguistic competence of children by obtaining and analyzing adequate linguistic samples at the phonemic, syntactic and semantic levels. The test was designed originally in Kannada. The framework of the test is such that, it can be easily constructed in any language. Over the last few years, the test has been extensively used with clinical populations (both adults and children) and has been found clinically useful, both for evaluation and as a basis for rehabilitation and linguistic retraining of communicatively disabled (Prathiba Karanth, 1980). Need for the study Acquisition of reading and writing skills influences the functional status of the brain, and accordingly alters the performance on language tests. Thus, it is important to identify the degree of the impact of levels of both illiteracy and education as potential confounders on test performance in people with neurological communication disorders. Malayalam is a language which is considered as the mother tongue of Keralites where there are no standardized tests available for assessing language in literate and illiterate adults with norms. Language skills in literates and illiterates are different. Education-adjusted norms are necessary for an adequate interpretation of test results. Impaired language seen in an individual may be due to the impact of illiteracy rather than a brain damage. So it is important to distinguish the cause of language impairment observed in the patient is due to the impact of illiteracy or the actual cause is brain damage. There are only limited studies which address the performance of participants who are illiterates or participants with low education. So this study is an attempt to establish normative data on Linguistic Profile Test – Malayalam (Asha M.M, 1997) for adults who are literates and illiterates. This study is thought to yield a better understanding of differences in the performance of literates and illiterates, thereby aiding us in identifying the adults with language deficits and also the area of deficits. Aims of the Study To standardize LPT for adults who are literates and illiterates. To find out the differences in performance between literates and illiterates. To understand the impact of literacy in language.

Does Intercollegiate Athletics Equal Knowledge? :: Argumentative Persuasive College sports Essays

Does Intercollegiate Athletics Equal Knowledge? We live in an age where economic gain at the easiest means possible is desired. For many this want of economic status depends heavily on their completion of college. A degree can lead to higher wages and greater job opportunities. But, there is another class that is in a boat all their own: student-athletes, males in particular. Many male athletes leave college in hopes of joining the professional field. But, many times leaving school before graduation can have negative effects. Ironically, many athletes that complete their education do not come out with the knowledge necessary. Thus, we need to ask the question, can collegiate athletes benefit from finishing their education before pursuing professional careers. For college athletes, the opportunity for a university education is as important as playing intercollegiate sports. False. According to Murray Sperver, author of College Sports Inc., â€Å"formal and informal studies indicate that most college athletes in big-time programs hope to play their sport at the professional or Olympic level, and they regard college as their path to the pros or the national team.† Many athletes devote countless hours to their sports, thus resulting in an inability to obtain a serious means for academics. For many high school athletes the academic quality of a university does not hold near as much precedence over the quality of a universities athletic program. Although professional athletes make up only three percent of the entire population, this seems to be irrelevant to those athletes choosing colleges. A dream may have more power than reality. The NCAA stands behind there motto that athletics are also students and that their primary purpose in education is to receive an education, which results in obtaining a degree. Yet, according to College Sports Inc., â€Å"at a third of American colleges and universities with major men’s basketball programs, fewer than one in five players ever graduate.† The NCAA blames these low graduation rates as the result of athletes dropping out of school because of professional contracts. Many institutions, like UNLV have been accused of giving their athletes questionable degrees. In other words, many institutions â€Å"graduate† these athletes before they actually earn their degrees. As stated in The Los Angeles Times, â€Å"UNLV graduation ceremonies showed [men’s basketball coach] Tarkanian with all five of the six seniors from this years team, all in caps and gowns.

The Powerful Message of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged Essay -- Atlas Shrug

The Powerful Message of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged       Capitalism, according to John Galt, is "mutual trade to mutual advantage," (Rand Atlas Shrugged 989) or as Adam Smith put it: "[trade] by mutual consent and to mutual advantage." In true capitalism, the economy is strictly separated from the state, just as there is a separation between church and state in the USA. This basic tenet of capitalism describes the only economic system that can be morally justifiable. Communism, fascism, socialism, dictatorships and "regulated capitalism" are all systems that breach upon an individual's basic rights, while capitalism respects and recognizes a man's right to control the product of his mind. In her philosophical treatise Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand uses fictional characters and events to dramatize the only economy that is consistent with man's rights and virtues.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Before Ayn Rand, no one had ever seriously attempted to justify capitalism on moral grounds. It was a given that capitalism was immoral; the proponents of capitalism merely tried to exhibit the efficiency of the system (i.e., it is a "necessary evil"). Economists did this because they focused only on the people who would be helped by an anti-capitalist society: the "needy." What Ayn Rand presents so masterfully through Atlas Shrugged is the objective perspective of what is occurring in societies where people may take from others for the "public good"; in the novel, she repeatedly begs the question: "At whose expense?" When the People's State of Mexico nationalizes the San Sebastià ¡n mines, Ayn Rand clearly presents what is really happening: a gang of looters is robbing an honest business for their own benefit. In any other case, this wo... ...and certainly undeserving Orren Boyle can use it without compensation. Is that justice? It is clear that capitalism is the only economic system that gives people what they deserve; capitalism is economic justice.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Capitalism has been proven time and time again to be the most "effective" (in terms of production) economic system in existence, but this is only secondary to the primary fact that it is the only moral economy. In Atlas Shrugged Ayn Rand shows that, by its very nature, capitalism is freedom: the freedom for a man to do what he wants to do with the product of his own mind and effort and, the corollary to that, the freedom to live.    Works Cited Rand, Ayn. Atlas Shrugged. New York: Random House, Inc., 1957. ---. "Man's Rights." Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal. New York: The New American Library, 1967. 286-94.      

Teen Alcohol Addiction Essay -- Alcoholism

Teen alcohol addiction - Is there any hope for a teenager who wants to get his or her life straightened out? It's very interesting that I find myself writing about something that not only is commonsense, but what is more, something that every one knows about in general but may not in particular. Alcohol use among teenagers is a serious problem and is responsible for death and injury in automobile accidents, physical and emotional disability, deterioration of academic performances, aggressive behavior that causes a number of other sociological problems in families and among friends. It is also the primary cause of criminal behavior and a leading cause of broken marriages. As we know it's a broad topic therefore I'll look at the role that alcohol plays in the society and its impact on teenage addiction. The teen years are a rough time in life in the normal way of human development. If the problem of constant drinking is added to this, there are very serious dangers and pitfalls ahead for these teenagers. Often, they will develop psychiatric problems such as depression, anxiety, or an antisocial personality that goes much further than the usual period of rebellious behavior that most teenagers go through. Uncontrollable anger can be another result of an addiction to alcohol and there are many instances where teenagers create crimes. The most recent studies of the problem show that the two main causes for the deaths of those between fifteen and twenty four years old are road accidents and suicide. There are also a high proportion of teenagers whose addiction to alcohol has led them into taking drugs. The problem of teen addiction to alcohol can bring only disaster to the young people concerned and misery to their families an... ...inking is against the law, teenagers do not perceive it as a bad thing as long as they are responsible and designate drivers. The good news is they do designate drivers. Nearly two thirds of drinking teenagers always establish a designated driver when drinking with friends. The age when young people are taking their first drink is becoming lower each year. Many studies show that preteens are experimenting with alcohol and many are already heavy drinkers. It may be difficult for parents and teachers to believe that a seventh grade student can have an alcohol problem, but a study of student drinking practices shows that 5% of seventh-grade boys and 4.4% of seventh-grade girls are seriously abusing alcohol. That's why we see the consequences in terms of antisocial behavior, school failure, attention deficit, learning disabilities and road accidents among the teenagers. Teen Alcohol Addiction Essay -- Alcoholism Teen alcohol addiction - Is there any hope for a teenager who wants to get his or her life straightened out? It's very interesting that I find myself writing about something that not only is commonsense, but what is more, something that every one knows about in general but may not in particular. Alcohol use among teenagers is a serious problem and is responsible for death and injury in automobile accidents, physical and emotional disability, deterioration of academic performances, aggressive behavior that causes a number of other sociological problems in families and among friends. It is also the primary cause of criminal behavior and a leading cause of broken marriages. As we know it's a broad topic therefore I'll look at the role that alcohol plays in the society and its impact on teenage addiction. The teen years are a rough time in life in the normal way of human development. If the problem of constant drinking is added to this, there are very serious dangers and pitfalls ahead for these teenagers. Often, they will develop psychiatric problems such as depression, anxiety, or an antisocial personality that goes much further than the usual period of rebellious behavior that most teenagers go through. Uncontrollable anger can be another result of an addiction to alcohol and there are many instances where teenagers create crimes. The most recent studies of the problem show that the two main causes for the deaths of those between fifteen and twenty four years old are road accidents and suicide. There are also a high proportion of teenagers whose addiction to alcohol has led them into taking drugs. The problem of teen addiction to alcohol can bring only disaster to the young people concerned and misery to their families an... ...inking is against the law, teenagers do not perceive it as a bad thing as long as they are responsible and designate drivers. The good news is they do designate drivers. Nearly two thirds of drinking teenagers always establish a designated driver when drinking with friends. The age when young people are taking their first drink is becoming lower each year. Many studies show that preteens are experimenting with alcohol and many are already heavy drinkers. It may be difficult for parents and teachers to believe that a seventh grade student can have an alcohol problem, but a study of student drinking practices shows that 5% of seventh-grade boys and 4.4% of seventh-grade girls are seriously abusing alcohol. That's why we see the consequences in terms of antisocial behavior, school failure, attention deficit, learning disabilities and road accidents among the teenagers.

Problems in American Education

The American system of education has often been criticized in many circles. By objective measures, such as standardized test scores, the United States lags behind other industrialized nations in scores on subjects such as math and science. The most recent comparisons have the United States ranked sixteenth in a field of the thirty wealthiest nations in science. (Glod, A07) They ranked twenty-third in the same field with respect to math scores. (Glod, A07) The regions with which these students were compared were, for the most part in Western Europe and East Asia.(Glod, A07) The popular American culture makes light of how uneducated the general population is. Shows like the Late Show with Jay Leno take to the streets and ask people relatively simple questions, which they cannot answer. Game shows such as â€Å"Are you Smarter than A Fifth Grader† make light of adult ignorance, and news organizations emphasize the problems in America’s schools. A close examination of the m otives, methods and goals of public education in the United States along with a review of public attitudes toward learning shed light upon some of the reasons for the substandard reputation of America’s schools.It can be argued that in terms of economic benefits, our schools are adequately successful, but in terms of a social and cultural tool, American schools fall well short of their foreign counterparts, as well as their own stated goals. (Rebell, 37)The reasons for this are lack of proper funding, the treatment of teachers, and the localized control of schools attempting to achieve unrealistic Federal mandates. Schools in America across the board are under-funded. Many studies have demonstrated that the quality of education is greatly enhanced by low teacher-to-student ratios.The National Education Agency recommends a ratio of no more than 15 students per teacher in Elementary schools. (Roza, Miller & Hill) Across the nation, the average class size for elementary school i s 22-25 students per teacher. (Roza, Miller & Hill) Given numerous studies that prove that the smaller ratio yields real, tangible improvements in math and science scores, it is clear that more qualified teachers and more facilities wherein they might teach are needed. (Roza, Miller & Hill) These assets, however, cost money.(Roza, Miller & Hill) The states and localities are expected to find money for schools, and the method of choice for funding schools has been the property tax. (Roza, Miller & Hill) Coupled with the fact that schools generally serve the neighborhoods in which they are located, and the endemic problem becomes clear: Schools from poorer neighborhoods will have less money because property values are lower. (Roza, Miller & Hill) Both the States and the Federal government have attempted, with limited success to solve these inadequacies.(Roza, Miller & Hill) The federal government, through the Title I program, has allocated $18 billion to â€Å"fill the economic holes † in funding for impoverished districts, but these programs have failed, as the money is often either diverted, or never moved owing to loopholes in the existing laws. (Roza, Miller & Hill) Federal studies have shown that school districts generally favor financially those schools who have the fewest challenges, and that Title I money is frequently funneled to schools with little or no financial need.(Roza, Miller & Hill) Teacher pay is another area in which the lack of funds has hurt educational outcomes in America. Thirty-six states have a funding gap, with a nationwide dispar ¬ity between high-poverty and low-poverty districts of $1,348 per student. Funding gaps and the lack of progress in eliminating them continue to contribute to the overall lack of relative success in America’s public Schools. (Carey, K. ) In twenty-five of a forty-nine state study, the highest-poverty school districts get fewer re ¬sources than the lowest-poverty districts. (Carey, K. ) Even m ore states have a gap for high-minority districts, thirty-one in all.Those thirty-one states educate six out of every ten poor and minority children in America. The shortfalls, some exceeding $1,000 or even $2,000 per student, are greatly at odds with national goals for closing the achieve ¬ment gap. (Carey, K. ) They fly in the face of any reasonable, rational notion of how to support our public schools. (Carey, K. ) Until state policymakers get serious about fixing these problems, they can ¬not in good conscience pretend to have fulfilled their basic obligations to those students who are most in need of a high-quality public education. (Carey, K.) Moreover, these numbers ac ¬tually understate the true extent of the problem because they don’t reflect the added cost of educating children in poverty. (Carey, K. ) School funding experts gener ¬ally agree that high-poverty schools need more resources to meet the same standards. (Carey, K. ) School funding comparisons tha t reflect this fact have been a mainstay of academic research and various technical analyses of school finance for a number of years. (Carey, K. ) Recent examples of such analyses include publi ¬cations from both the U. S. Department of Education and the U. S. Government Ac ¬countability Office.(Carey, K. ) The average teacher salary in the United States is between $39 and $43 thousand dollars a year, depending on location. (Average Salaries)It typically takes a four-year degree and additional study of content to qualify to be a teacher. (Porter, C) In contrast, other professionals with four-year degrees earn over twice that amount, particularly if their area of study is math or science –related. (Cowan, K. ) It shouldn’t be surprising, then, that qualified math and science teachers are in high demand. The money necessary to lure these types of people into education simply does not exist in the current budgets.Critics of this analysis argue that substantial raises in teacher pay would be â€Å"throwing money† at the problem, and over-compensating a population of underperforming teachers. (Porter, C) This argument is precious. The current population of teachers do not represent the best available, largely because of low salary; as better quality educators become available, the job market will become competitive, and with a very short time, the overall quality of those teachers would rise to the level appropriate to the pay. Related to the low salaries of the teachers are the cultural attitudes that America has toward schools, teachers and education.It is these attitudes that contribute to the problems that Educators in this country face when trying to compete with other nations. (Porter, C) Americans have long been used to the notion that a â€Å"free and appropriate† education for their children was a fundamental right. (Porter, C) As a result, many schools have devolved into nothing more than quasi-educational daycares for all American children. (Porter, C) The fact that American parents express more satisfaction with the schools than do their European and Asian counterparts illustrates the US cultural complacency with respect to education.(Porter, C) Students in these foreign schools work harder for a number of reasons. First, they are under more parental scrutiny, second, their cultures do not denigrate learning and academic achievement, and third, admission to favorable careers and higher education is based on close assessment of learning achievement in high school. (Bishop, J. ) In contrast, students in US schools do not recognize the benefits of education for a number of reasons. (Bishop, J. ) First, the U. S. labor market does not reward high school achievement. (Bishop, J.) Statistics indicate that for the first eight years after high school, achievement does not correlate to increase in wages for the high school educated. (Bishop, J. ) Most employers do not look deeply at grades of high school gra duates, and many schools do not send transcripts to prospective employers, even when requested to do so. (Bishop, J. ) Another key contributing factor to the lower expectations of benefit for American students in high school is the fact that college admissions are not based on high school performance as much as on aptitude tests. (Bishop, J.) The result is that neither students nor parents are motivated to push for higher academic standards, since they would jeopardize GPA, SAT scores and class rank, the three key statistics examined for university admission (Bishop, J. ). The fact that parents and students to not regard the field of education as important in its own right is caused by several factors. The first is the sense of entitlement that parents have about education. (Bishop, J. ) They feel that students have a â€Å"right† not to learn, but to get a Diploma, go to college, and achieve the financial success associated with college education.(Porter, C. ) Parents and st udents across the board assume that this is an entitlement, rather than something to be earned through effort and ability. (Porter, C. ) The basic notion is that education is something â€Å"done to† a child, rather than something the child â€Å"does†. (Porter, C. ) This attitude, shared by parents, students and even some administrators dovetails into the lack of respect for educators that is reflected by poor pay. In no other profession, are professionals questioned, criticized and scrutinized by their clients than in education. (Porter, C.) Despite teachers having obtained a four-year degree, additional training for teaching, and how ever many years of experience they might have, their clients (parents) are still convinced that they know more than the professionals as to how their student might learn. (Porter, C. ) The notion that â€Å"those who can’t do, teach† and the underlying notion that teachers have that job because they cannot do anything else contributes to this lack of professional respect. (Porter, C. ) Low salary validates this viewpoint. The underlying assumption is that if a teacher were competent, they would be doing something else that yields better pay.Often, this attitude is displayed by school administrators, who often treat teachers as fungible units of work, with little or no consideration for their abilities, expertise, experience or suggestions. (Porter, C. ) The fact that administrators are often acting according to governmental or budgetary guidelines does not detract from the perception created by their conduct. (Porter, C. ) In European cultures, as well as many Asian ones, the opposite assumption is held. Parents expect very high output from not only teachers, but students as well. (Bishop, J.) The question is not â€Å"can you teach my child,† but rather, â€Å"can my child learn from you what he or she needs†. (Bishop, J. ) While salaries for European or Asian teachers may not be as hi gh comparatively, the level of respect afforded to the profession is much higher. (Bishop, J. ) This begins with students believing and understanding that education is their responsibility, not that of their teachers. (Bishop, J. ) This causes the students to put in maximum effort to learn, which in turn solves a vast majority of the problems experienced in the American system. (Bishop, J.) A teacher who is unable to perform in an environment of students who are highly motivated to learn is not competent, and would need to be retrained or replaced. (Bishop, J. ) The recognition of the real value of education by the public makes the raising of funds to pay for quality teachers and facilities much easier as well. Since all of the community and the government recognize the economic need for quality education, it is given budgetary priority. (Bishop, J. ) Despite these deficiencies, the political will to spend the money needed to improve schools is not present.When a study is done which ranks US education as below international standards, there is often an outcry, and much talk about improvement, but very little actually happens. The Federal government has issued edicts such as â€Å"No Child Left Behind† which articulates goals without a roadmap or funding to achieve them. (Neill, M. ) This mandate has contributed significantly to the inability of schools to meet their educational goals. It is taken as a given, even by proponents of the â€Å"No Child Left Behind† program that it is under funded, but that is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of this issue.(Neill, M. ) The federal government has, in this law, issued what is known as an â€Å"unfunded mandate† by insisting the States meet certain standards without providing the means to do so(Neill, M. ). This is merely one of numerous problems with the â€Å"No Child Left Behind† concept. (Neill, M. ) Modeling the concept after an initiative in Houston, the â€Å"No Child Left Behin d† program has been unable to reproduce that success in other places. (Neill, M. ) Studies of the Houston plan show that the success illustrated there was never really present to begin with (Neill, M. ).Results were manipulated by excluding non-performing students from counts, and even with that provision, the race-gap was not addressed in Houston. (Neill, M. ) By dividing student groups up by race and other demographics, studies have also shown that the more diverse the culture of a school district, the less likely they are to meet the â€Å"No Child Left Behind† standards of achievement. (Neill, M. ) In fact, some studies have shown that given current demographic shifts, virtually all schools will eventually fall short of the improvement standards set by the initiative. (Neill, M.) Since the sole measure in the â€Å"No Child Left Behind† initiative is standardized tests, the entire focus of education has become test preparation. (Neill, M. ) This narrows curri culum, and puts undue pressure on students, teachers and administrators. (Neill, M. ) It also forces curriculum away from higher level thinking skills which are far more useful assets for future academic, financial and social success. (Neill, M. ) â€Å"No Child Left Behind† demands that English-language-impaired and special-needs students meet proficiency standards without any means of making this happen.(Neill, M. ) The theory is that the mere institution of the requirement, coupled with the threat of punishment for failure, will force the schools to improve in this area. (Neill, M. ) By privatizing tutoring and support funding, â€Å"No Child Left Behind† not only takes money away from public schools, but also promotes the perception that failures of student performance are based on incompetent or lazy teaching, rather than anything associated with student efforts, or any other factor. (Neill, M.) â€Å"No Child Left Behind† labels certain schools as failures , which causes the quality teachers within such schools to transfer out, and creates a difficult climate for the schools to recruit quality teachers. (Neill, M. ) The initiative in no way addresses socio-economic causes of academic struggles, making no effort to feed, clothe or house underachieving students in order to make them able to focus on academics. (Neill, M. ) Finally, the remedies offered by â€Å"No Child Left Behind† have failed to â€Å"fix† schools which prove to be â€Å"in need of improvement† according to their own standards.(Neill, M. ) In fact, the initiative actively prevents measures which have proven to offer improvement for schools with poor performance records. (Neill, M. ) Portfolio assessment, teacher training, proactive parent involvement, and other proven methods of improvement are shoved aside in favor of artificial standards based on tests that fail to address the actual goals of education, and whose contents are ridiculously unrepr esentative of competent content. (Neill, M. )Lack of proper funding, the treatment of teachers, and the localized control of schools attempting to achieve unrealistic Federal mandates have caused United States Schools to under perform in comparison to their European and Asian counterparts. The culture of contempt for education professionals and disengaged parents have created a system which is deeply flawed. Resolution of these problems would involve wholesale restructuring, massive rebuilding and huge amounts of money.Given the continued economic strength of the United States despite perennial failures in education, it is likely that the government will allow the â€Å"top ten percent† to gain benefits from public education, while everyone else, including parents, teachers, administrators and most students are left mired in a tangle of misguided regulation, spurious funding, unrealistic expectations and public contempt for their efforts. Bibliography â€Å"Average Salaries of Public School Teachers† The National Education Agency Website 2004-5 The National Education Agency 2002. http://www. nea. org/edstats/RankFull06b.htm Bishop, J. â€Å"Incentives for Learning: Why American High School Students Compare so Poorly to Their Counterparts Overseas† Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies (CAHRS) CAHRS Working Paper Series 1989. Accessed November 14, 2008. http://digitalcommons. ilr. cornell. edu/cgi/viewcontent. cgi? article=1399&context=cahrswp Carey, C. â€Å"The Funding Gap 2004: Many States Still Shortchange Low-Income and Minority Students† The Education Trust Website 2004. The Education Trust. 2007. http://www2. edtrust. org/NR/rdonlyres/30B3C1B3-3DA6-4809-AFB9-2DAACF11CF88/0/funding2004. pdf Cowan, K.â€Å"List of Best Degrees by Salary† PayScale Website 2008 PayScale, Inc. 2000. http://blogs. payscale. com/salary_report_kris_cowan/2008/07/list-of-best-co. html Glod, M. â€Å"U. S. Teens Trail Peers Around World on Math-Science Test† The Washington Post Wednesday, December 5, 2007; Page A07 http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/04/AR2007120400730. html Neill, M. â€Å"No Child Left Behind†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ After Two Years: A Track Record Of Failure† Time Out from Testing Website. 2008 Performance Assessment 2001 http://www. timeoutfromtesting. org/pr/PR_Neil_NoChildLeftBehind.pdf Porter, C. Interview (personal) 12 November, 2008. Rebell, M. â€Å"Professional Rigor, Public Engagement and Judicial Review: A Proposal for Enhancing the Validity of Education Adequacy Studies. † Teacher College Record Volume 109, Number 6, 2007 Pg. 1-73. http://www. schoolfunding. info/resource_center/research/professional_rigor. pdf Roza, M, Miller L. & Hill, P. â€Å"Strengthening Title 1 to Help High-Poverty Schools† The University of Washington website 2005 The university of Washington,2008 http://uwnews. org/relatedcontent/2005/August/rc_parentID11695_thisID11712 . pdf