Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Arthur Conan Doyle Essay

Discuss Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s presentation of evil in the Hound of the Baskervilles  In some eyes, Doyle is the creator of Sherlock Holmes and the man who started the whole detective genre scene. However, my admiration for Doyle goes further than just enjoying Holmes’s latest escapade.  On a superficial level, Doyle uses powerful verbs and adjectives to create the evil atmosphere, and teamed up with the colourful writing of the background, he can simply and easily create a blanket of malice around the hound;  Ã¢â‚¬Å"There stood a foul thing, a great, black beast†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Ã‚  In my mind, the best way Doyle portrays evil is by adding a touch of verisimilitude to his novel. â€Å"Of course, I’ve heard of the hound ever since I was in the nursery. It’s the pet story of the family, though I never thought of taking it seriously before.†Ã‚  Here, by adding a history to the hound, Doyle gave an unbelievable beast a sense of authenticity.  Doyle can contribute to the ‘believability factor’ in other ways;  Ã¢â‚¬Å"From this point onwards I will follow the course of events by transcribing my own letters to Mr Sherlock Holmes which lie before me on the table.†Ã‚  This is an excellent example of how Doyle can make a fictional character recite a fictional event, and still have it sound as if it is a factual account.  The weather is another method employed by Doyle to give the novel realism. â€Å"October 16th – A dull and foggy day, with a drizzle of rain. The house is banked in with rolling clouds, which rise now and then to show the dreary curves of the moor, with thin, silver veins upon the sides of the hills, and the distant boulders gleaming where the light strikes upon their wet faces†Ã‚  Here, instead of going into the character’s actions, Doyle goes into great detail about the surroundings, to add to the authenticity of the proceeding actions. More specifically about the bleak weather, the malevolence of the hound is easier to comprehend because of the desolate backdrop of the Moors.  Moving away from the idea of the weather being used to create realism, I can see a more important part the weather plays in the novel. Doyle uses the weather so extensively throughout the narrative you could say that the weather is a character in its own right. Doyle’s use of patheticfallacy helps to convey the character’s feelings of terror towards the evil of the hound, which combined with points I mentioned previously, help to improve the impact of the, in comparison, small matter of a large dog.  Ã¢â‚¬ËœDiscuss the presentation of evil in the Hound of the Baskervilles’ is a difficult question to answer. That’s why I thought it best to go to the hound itself;  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Or a spectral hound, black, silent, and monstrous?†Ã‚  The hound is expressed as a satanic manifestation, a beast with no hope, no scruples. It symbolises the greed and evil harboured in men, and what could be unleashed if the thin veneer of morality, which protects us from our own desires, was breached. You could even go as far as to say that the beast is Doyle’s representation of the darker side of capitalism. The beast is also a symbol of how fear can be use against people, and how people can be led to believe the unbelievable;  Ã¢â‚¬Å"To do so would be to descend to the level of these poor peasants who are not content with a mere fiend dog, but must needs describe him with hell-fire shooting from his mouth and eyes.†Ã‚  As touched on previously, this story can be read simply by fans of the Sherlock Holmes trilogy and the simply put evil references on the surface of the novel can act in as good as a way as the deeper points. Also the pace of action is a simple writer’s trick to help boost the presentation of the subject. For example, Doyle uses fast snappy sentences, such as ‘gaunt, savage and as large as a small lioness’, to speed up the action, and he uses long and complex sentences to allow the reader to reflect on the previous action. They are also used to allow the reader to start to solve the mystery in their own head. Another point of interest for me is the idea of a tragedy, the main tragedy of course being Stapleton. The thought that Stapleton could have been a good and loyal friend to Sir Charles Baskerville, but then turned to the greed in his own heart of the possible inheritance, is what constitutes a real tragedy.  To conclude, there are many ways in which Doyle portrays evil through his writing, be they the beast, the realism developed or the simple good versus evil. However, I have also found that none of the methods can stand alone, and that they all compliment each other in the rich diversity that is the Hound of The Baskervilles. I’ve been James Cordingley, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Quality Audits for Improved Performance Essay

Auditing is simply the systematic examination and analysis of data through an independent procedure. Important to note is that auditing is not just about data, it also deals with statements, performances, records and operations. A myth that needs to be demystified is the misconception that auditing deals with financial issues or statements. This is not true. Auditing deals with overall performance, financial or otherwise. Any subject matter, in essence may be audited. Auditing therefore, aims at collecting data upon which is gathers evidence and makes judgment. The prevalence of organized systems of governments as well as businesses way back at around 4000BC necessitated the need for record keeping. These records were both financial and non-financial. These organized governments and businesses needed a way through which they could correctly account for their receipts as w3ell as their disbursements. Moreover, this was a period in which tax collection had just been unvented. There was a need therefore, to ensure that the taxes that were collected by the government could be accounted for to prevent any form of misappropriation of the limited government resources as well as public funds. The consequent need for audits as well as the indication of audits can be traced in Babylonia. This was specifically the public finance systems in Babylonia. The rise of this technique can as well be traced back to city states of Italy, Rome and Greece. Specifically the public finance systems of these areas. The governments in these particular areas had begun to question the authenticity of records that were kept in these areas. The accuracy and competency of officials was also being questioned. As a result, there was a need to come up with a system that could take care of these errors of misappropriation, accuracy and incompetence. In a couple of years, there was a need to come up with a way of making accurate records. The consequence of this is that the European systems of book keeping and auditing were introduced in the Non- European countries. CITATION Den07 l 1033 (Arter, 2007) This saw the introduction of auditing in the United States. During this time, businesses were constant increasing in terms of their sizes as well as their complexities. They also grew in terms of their scope. This growth created the need of the creation of a separate unit that would create assurance, internal assurance to be more specific that would verify the accounting information provided by the company. The verification of this information was very import ant in the sense that the accounting information provided was used in decision making processes. As a result, it was very vital to ensure that the financial information provided had to have high degrees of accuracy. This necessitated the need to come up with a procedure that would ensure the accuracy of such information. The best way to gauge this information provided was through the process of auditing. It therefore became a prerequisite for managers, reporting agents and accounting expertise to constantly review and summarize their reports in a way that it could be given meaning. The aim of this was to ensure sufficient objectivity in the records that were provided. It also instilled discipline in the procedures that were necessary in accounting. However, this proved not is enough as some of the stakeholders still revealed some degrees of incompetence. However, this process did not fail entirely. The process has a couple of successes that can be attributed to it. The process had o ne major success. It led to the creation of the auditing technique. One may ask how. Auditing came along as a way of ensuring that even these timely and accurate records and reports that had to be submitted were subjected to preview and analysis. The result of this was the creation of the Institute of Internal Audit in the United States of America. This was extremely important since it ensured that the organizations, whether governmental or non-governmental, came up with ways to ensure complete independence and objectivity. CITATION Der08 l 1033 (Derek Matthews, 2008)The process of auditing has its own historical journey. Initially, this technique existed with the sole aim of accounting for the government and specifically, it was concerned with record keeping. However, the industrial revolution saw auditing evolving from this level to the next. The industrial revolution, which took place between 1750 and 1850, saw the process of auditing having more serious functions. During this pe riod, auditing was given another meaning. The objectives of conducting auditing also change auditing became a necessary process with the aim of detecting fraud as well as ensuring financial accountability other than its initial function of keeping records. This is because the period of Industrial revolution was coupled with intense business growths. Businesses grew into very large enterprises. As a result, it became increasingly difficult for business owners to constantly keep watch over their businesses. This necessitated the creation of a technique that would help keep an eye on all the financial procedures. The functions of auditing were therefore given numerous branches. At this time, auditing was mainly aimed at ensuring accuracy and preventing fraud. CITATION San08 l 1033 (Sandy van Esch, 2008)In the early 20th century, there was a need to standardize the testing methods that were used by auditors as well as their reporting practices. The main reason behind this transition was to ensure uniformity in the auditing field. This period saw to it that the roles of auditors, their methods of auditing as well as their auditing practices were all comprehensive through a well-defined procedure. As a result, auditors came up with a system of examining a selected sample from a company in detail as opposed to analyzing each and every transaction made by the company in detail. This is because the role of auditors was becoming increasingly important and consequently, the demand for their services grew as well. They therefore had to come up with a system that would help greatly when it came to the issue of time consumption. This was the sampling system. However, it is important to note that the sample chosen had to be representative in the sense that the reasons for its choice needed to be justifiable. This system of sampling is still in use to date since it has been found to be less costly as well as time saving. However, it is not used all the time. Its use is subjec t to a couple of limitations. For instance, in the case of gross errors and serious fraudulent activities, sampling is used. Instead, the whole company is audited. This is because such issues require very high standards of precision. This is referred to as risk based auditing whereby it is first established whether an auditing is needed. Thereafter, a full scale audit, instead of a representative audit follows. CITATION Rob09 l 1033 (Moeller, 2009)The demand for auditing, and in this case, both internal and external auditing, has its source in the 19th century. During this time, there was the Industrial Revolution As discussed above and therefore there was a dire need of creating an accounting procedure. This was aimed at cutting down of errors that came with record keeping, checking finance misappropriation, asset misappropriation as well as cased of fraud within organizations that are not business conformed as well. The need and origin of auditing is traced to the period slightly after the evolution of accounting. In the case that someone did not trust the honesty of another man, there arose the issue of fidelity. As a result, this necessitated the need to come up with a process through which the honesty of this man could be tested. This gave rise to the process of auditing. CITATION Rob09 l 1033 (Moeller, 2009)Necessity is surely the mother of invention. It became necessary to come up with a system that could easily provide a way in which accounting was put into perspective. This led to the creation of the auditing technique. However, it is very important to note that even with the invention of auditing, there came a couple of challenges. For instance, the gap between management and action constantly increased. This made it extremely necessary to come up with a means through which businesses could be managed efficiently. The result of this was the diversification of the roles of auditing. Instead of counterchecking financial records and detecting frauds, au diting was given other functions. For instance, the technique was now using d to; ascertain the extent to which the assets of a company are held account for. This included the extent to which these assets were safeguarded from any form of losses.; checking the degree of quality of the performance with regard to the carrying out of certain responsibilities; review and appraisal of the levels of adequacy, soundness and generally the application of specific financial tools as well as tools of operation; the technique of auditing was also expected to establish the extent to which organizations, rather, the departments in organizations complied to the policies that had to set out. This was also to establish the level to which these departments complied with the set out plans and strategies of their institutions†¦ Finally, auditing was also assigned another major role. It was charged with the responsibility of ascertaining the level to which accounting and data provided by accounting could be relied on. Clearly, the functions of auditing had become diversified compared to the time when the technique was invented. CITATION Rob09 l 1033 (Moeller, 2009)With t5ime, auditing was divided into two major categories; internal auditing and external auditing. The former refers to the process by which the financial and organizational records of a company are checked by expertise within the organization. This is the reason as to why each and every organization ought to have an internal audit section. The latter, just like its name suggests involves the process of auditing by expertise from outside the organization. External auditing is extremely important in the sense that it allows non-partisan expertise to gauge the performance of the organization. As a result, external auditing is believed to give a clearer picture of what is happening in the organization. Internal auditing was charged with certain responsibilities; it was meant to assist in the process of communication within the organization in terms of the scope, the performance and the objectives of the organization. In other words, it helped to organization to establish the objectives that it had not meet so far through the gauging of the performance, it also helped to establish the successes as well as the failures of an organization. Consequently, this helped, or rather still helps organizations to come up with well laid out strategies that could ensure that they meet their objectives as well as reconcile their failures. CITATION Den07 l 1033 (Arter, 2007)The history of auditing can be said to be greatly connected to disciplines that are associated with communication of information that deals with economic events. This is regardless of whether the institution in question is part of the government or whether it is an institution is in the private sector. The development in the communication of economic activities therefore goes hand in hand with the developments in auditing. Writing for insta nce, led to the need to record the exchange or transfers of economic goods. The developments in accounting and auditing created the need for the establishment of accountability of the people in authority. The benefits that came with trading as well as the economic benefits of private sector investment came as a result of having accounts of transactions whether it was transactions with others or accounts of trading activities. The reasons for the measurement in one’s permanent income or rather one’s wealth led to the need for one to be able to account for and audit his or her own equity. There was also the need of chartering companies with limited liability. This limited liability was subjected to a series of certain specifications of reporting requirements. These reporting requirements are basically reports from auditing firms. All these were as a result of the rising demand for capital with the huge business projects in the Industrial Revolution. CITATION San08 l 1033 (Sandy van Esch, 2008)Today, the process of auditing has made great milestones ever since the time of its inception. To put this issue into perspective, we have seen the various stages that auditing has gone through. The functions of auditing have also been diversified. Currently, auditing is not only aimed at detection of frauds and financial accountability of the employees of a company .Auditing has also given a platform for companies to have an insight into their own activities. This is one of the reasons as to why internal audits are carried out. It is now described as a very labor intensive job, however, very important for the success of any organization. It offers correction to organization after detecting irregularities. It also gives the way forward for companies by providing ways through which the technical financial mishaps detected in the auditing process can be avoided in future. It is also very clear that the history of auditing made a great, actually the greatest mark in history in the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution saw massive growth of businesses which required constant checking and counterchecking of the financial records which were subject to various manipulations by incompetent officials. Today, auditing firms are one of the major profit making firms due to the high demand of their services. Auditing has become extremely important in today’s society and its importance can never be underestimated. CITATION Der08 l 1033 (Derek Matthews, 2008) References l 1033 Arter, D. R. (2007). Quality Audits for Improved Performance. ASQ Quality Press. Derek Matthews, ‎. P. (2008). The Auditors’ Talk;An Oral History on the Profession. New York: Psychology Press. Moeller, R. R. (2009). Brink’s Modern Internal Auditing. New York: Wiley and Sons. Sandy van Esch, ‎. P. (2008). The Principles and Practice of Auditing. Jutaonline Publishers. Source document

Improving Math and Science Scores in Middle School

Program Evaluation Improving Math and Science scores in Middle School TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Needs Assessment 3 Program Theory 10 Logic Model 20 Conceptualization & Operationalization of Program Outcomes 24 Assessment of Program Impact 25 References 28 NEEDS ASSESSMENT Math and Science are two subjects which most students at any level approach with trepidation and intense dislike, however, both subjects are integral to cognitive thinking. Not only will these subjects provide skills that will help students think more clearly, but students will be academically successful throughout their school career, enjoy wider career choices and earn more money after graduation. Therefore, establishing a strong foundation in these subjects is integral to future academic and career success. However, studying these subjects in middle school is even more difficult. Studies have shown that the transition for a student from elementary school to middle school is academically and psychologically difficult. According to Maurice Elias in an article entitled, â€Å"Middle School Transition: It’s Harder Than You Think†, many former elementary school students are not well prepared for the demands of middle school. They need explicit instruction, coaching, and support with regard to organizing time and resources for homework; responding to work that is more challenging and requires more effort; understanding and addressing the varying expectations of teachers in different subject areas; and accomplishing such basic tasks as taking notes and taking tests (Elias, 2001). Unfortunately, this same sentiment resonates today with the New York City Public School system, specifically, middle schools located in low income areas. The New York City Public School System is struggling with mathematics achievement in the grades beyond elementary school. Over 30% of the city’s elementary and middle school students score at the lowest level of the state mathematics test and only 34% of all students pass that test. The mathematics â€Å"problem† seems connected to the third major trend in the data, the low performance of middle and junior high schools in the city. In both Mathematics and English Language Arts, the city’s middle and junior high schools seem to be the weakest link in the system (Domanico, 2002). Recently, the math state scores were released further underscoring the middle school â€Å"math problem† that exists. Results showed that while 75. 3% of students at the elementary level passed successfully only 38. 9% of grade eight students passed (Andreatta, 2006, 11). As such, the intent of this study, based on the aforementioned information, is to evaluate and make recommendations with regard to middle school students in a particular school who have been struggling with both subjects. This study will focus on a middle school, IS 166- George Gershwin School—located in East New York. The decision to choose IS 166 was dependent on a few factors among which included the fact that the district within which it is located is considered a â€Å"virtual educational dead zone† by a Civic Report drafted by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research (Domanico, 2002). Additionally, after reviewing the New York City Department of Education’s website—which provides an overwhelming amount of information on every public school in the city as well as their progress over recent years in the core subjects—it was found that of the schools within the 19th School District—primarily East New York, IS 166 is one of the worst performing schools. The school’s poor academic performance is further exacerbated by the outstanding grades displayed by another school in the 19th School District such as IS 409—East New York Family Academy and outside of the district another school MS 114, located in District 2 (Manhattan), whose grades superseded the city’s level as well as the state’s level. The graphs below illustrate how IS 166 performed poorly in the last 2 years on the state Math and Science exams comparatively to other schools, specifically IS 409 in the same district as well other schools in other districts. The last two graphs will show the difference with a higher performing school such as IS 409 and therefore will confirm why this study is going to be conducted. IS 166- George Gershwin School Math and Science Grades Source: New York Department of Education (Division of Assessment and Accountability—School Report Cards 2005). Definition of the Levels on which the scores for both subjects are based: Level 4—These students exceed the standards and are moving toward high performance on the Regents examination. Level 3—These students meet the standards and, with continued steady growth, should pass the Regents examination. Level 2—These students need extra help to meet the standards and pass the Regents examination. Level 1—These students have serious academic deficiencies. Source: New York Department of Education (Division of Assessment and Accountability—School Report Cards 2005). The aforementioned graphs showed how poorly IS 166 has performed in the last two years in both Math and Science. In Math, the number of students performing at Levels 3 and 4 has decreased from 22. % in 2004 and 17. 5% in 2005. The number of students tested for Level 3 was only 60 and for Level 4 only 3 of 361 total students. The remaining students, as displayed on the right hand side of the graph, are still at a Level 1 which as noted by the above definition means that they are in grave need of assistance. Therefore, for the purposes of the study, the target population will be defined as â€Å"in need† students. Although there has been a slight increase in Science, the results are still less than desirable when compared with other schools in the district and the City. As seen in the graph, only 14% of the students passed at Levels 3 and 4 in 2004 and by 2005, only 18% were able to pass at the same levels. Therefore, if IS 166 continues on this trajectory, it will continue to be labeled an underperforming school that graduates below average students incapable of performing the basic tasks in both subjects. The goal of the evaluation study is to thoroughly review the problems that exist and hopefully get the school to achieve grades similar to IS 409-East New York Family Academy sometime in the near future as is reflected in the following graphs. IS 409- East New York Family Academy Math and Science Grades Source: New York Department of Education (Division of Assessment and Accountability—School Report Cards 2005). As noted in the above graphs, IS 409 is performing extremely well at Levels 3 and 4 and has outperformed schools in both math and science in the district (which is truly exceptional given the neighborhood and its history) as well as other City schools. Very few students if any are far below the standard in both subjects. Moreover, as noted before, other schools such as MS 114 and IS 289 located in District 2 have maintained exceptional scores over the two year period. For 2004 and 2005, MS 114 scored 88% and 81% consecutively in Math and 97% and 91% in Science. IS 289 also scored high grades-for both years in Math, the school displayed 83% and 73% when compared to other schools in the district and city and in Science, they scored 87% and 82%. Other schools in other districts from Queens and Staten Island have also demonstrated solid scores. This makes designing a program even more of a priority in light of the above referenced comparisons. The study will not focus on the students at all levels in the middle schools but specifically, the eighth grade students destined for high school who have yet to grasp the necessary skills needed to succeed and have been the center of test score analysis over the years. These eighth grade students will be approximately 14 years old but depending on factors such as repeating a grade or special needs, the age may vary from 14-16 years old. As noted before, they will be identified as â€Å"in need† students and the study will attempt to identify the worst performing students by looking not only at grades but possibly contributing factors such as income, special needs, and possible crime involvement. The improvement of Math and Science scores is a gargantuan task which requires a major overall of the school at all levels, however, to begin the following services are needed and they are but not limited to: ?Offering training sessions for the math and science teachers. The difference between not only IS 409 and other schools in District 2 is that the teachers have more experience, education, and are less likely to be absent more than average. The training sessions will be implemented on weekends or after-school whichever is more convenient for the teachers and will be done prior to establishing an after-school program for the students. The training sessions will allow teachers from higher performing schools an opportunity to impart their techniques for achieving higher grades. Offering a separate informative session for the Principal, Maria Ortega, so that she is more knowledgeable on what is needed to succeed in both areas. In most cases, the principal of a school has a general idea of what is needed in most subject areas, however, if the principal is more involved, informed, and fully comprehends the nuances of the subject matter, then she will be able to make better choices in hiring and understanding the teaching of the curriculum. This is an i dea which originated out of reading the case of MS 114 in District 2 which showcases a principal that has not only taught but has written Math books for children. Also, in IS 289, the principal knows each student individually and is fully acquainted with their needs. ?Offering additional services for children that may range from an after-school program to extending class hours to offering classes on the weekend. One of the schools in District 2 actually has classes that last at least 50 minutes giving students a better opportunity to absorb the material thereby performing better in exams. ?Offering programs that will incorporate the parents as well. Perhaps this will be in conjunction with the after-school program. As noted, most of the students in this district are from low income families and perhaps some of the parents are in low paying jobs or living on welfare. The parents can take advantage of the program by refreshing themselves with the basic concepts of each subject so that they may assist their children and perhaps help themselves. PROGRAM THEORY In order to address the dire academic situation at IS 166-George Gershwin School, and before implementing an after-school program, it is important to address the issue at the higher levels which means analyzing teaching techniques and more importantly, principal participation. At the Center for Civic Innovation Luncheon featuring Chancellor Joel Klein held on Thursday, October 5th at the Harvard Club, Chancellor Klein began his speech with an analogy of the leaky roof and the squeaky floor. He stated that there was a school located in uptown Harlem that had a leaky roof and a squeaky floor. One day a repair man came to repair the floor and the custodian stated that the floor cannot be fixed prior to the roof being fixed to which the repairman replied â€Å"That’s not my concern, I am just here for the floor†. The Chancellor began his speech with that story to underscore the problems with the NYC Education system. He believes that everyone wants to fix the underlying problems without addressing the issues at the surface. The Chancellor’s story may be applied to the case of IS 166 and any other school in need of improvement. Many observers and parents are often led to believe that their children are primarily the problem in achieving higher scores and possibly that their children lack the intellect to truly analyze or process the information given to them. However, it is just as important for the heads of the respective schools to be cognizant of what is needed to improve these scores and the principal is just the person to ensure this. Therefore, before implementing a program, we have recommended that Principal Maria Ortega participate in a briefing session lasting approximately one month in the summer—right after the end of the school year and before the hiring season begins—for at least 4 hours a day, three days a week. According to reports of comprehensive school reforms in Chicago and Louisiana, the schools’ academic success was primarily attributed to the principals in charge and the contributions they made throughout the reforms. In one report, it stated that â€Å"highly effective schools communicated expectations for teachers. The principal was active in working to improve teacher skills; ineffective teachers were let go. † Moreover, the principals played an important role in four areas a) selection and replacement of teachers; b) classroom monitoring and feedback; c) support for improvement of individual teachers; and d) allocating and protecting academic time (Good et al, 2005, 2207). Therefore, implementing a program or briefing session solely for Principal Ortega would help her improve in all these areas. Principals, under Chancellor Klein’s tenure, have been given more empowerment opportunities and have more responsibilities to ensure the success of their schools. IS 166 has been categorized as a Title I School In Need of Improvement (SINI) under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and as such, Principal Ortega has to work harder than ever to improve the english, math, and science scores—subjects that are integral to a student’s academic success. The program we have suggested will illustrate to Principal Ortega that math, in particular, cannot be taught in the traditional manner, that is, using rote. In fact, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) advocates the development of an inquiry-based mathematics tradition. Students taught using this tradition are encouraged to explore, develop conjectures, prove, and problem solve (Manswell Butty, 2001, 20). Students are best able to absorb the material in not only math and science but other subjects if the teachers are able to present it in an interesting manner that entails connections to the outside world. Principal Ortega should also be familiarized with the requirements for the exams and then know exactly how the staff should approach student preparation. She should also ensure that with respect to math, she adheres to the recommendations Lyle V. Jones reiterated in his article entitled â€Å"Achievement Trends in Math and Science† in which it was stated: ? Only teachers who like mathematics should teach mathematics ? The chief objective of school mathematics should be to instill confidence ? Mathematics teaching must be based on both contemporary mathematics and modern pedagogy (Jones, 1988, 333). After completion of this program, and hopefully with a better understanding of what is needed to improve the scores at IS 166, the next step would be to address the teaching staff. As noted, the methodology used is integral to ensuring that the students comprehend, absorb, and analyze the information being disseminated. If they fail to process the information then they will ultimately perform poorly in the state exams and possibly continue to do so throughout high school. We recommend prior to the beginning of the academic year, and the implementation of the after-school program, that teachers, specifically, the math teachers enroll in a summer institute similar to one reported in an article entitled, â€Å"Toward a Constructivist Perspective: The Impact of a Math Teacher InService Program on Students†. The reason being is that the teaching of math more so than science requires certain techniques that are far from the traditional methods that most teachers employ. The summer institute in the report offered participating teachers intensive two-week summer institutes and weekly classroom follow-up during one academic year. Moreover, they received an opportunity to reexamine their ideas about the teaching and learning of mathematics. During the summer institutes, these teachers experienced mathematics classes in which they were encouraged to construct solutions and ideas and to communicate them to a group. They analyzed student understandings as revealed in interviews and they planned lessons which reflected their evolving ideas about mathematics learning and teaching (Simon and Schifter, 1993, 331). Teachers need to plan their lessons in such a manner as to engage the students so that they may effectively communicate their thoughts or problems with a particular issue. In fact, after completion of the summer institute, and after the teachers began using their newfound techniques, the results were noteworthy and ranged from students stating that â€Å"it’s fun to work math problems† to â€Å"I’d rather do math than any other kind of homework† to â€Å"I like to explain how I solved a problem†(Simon and Schifter, 1993, 333). Therefore, using the above referenced example, the summer institute that we propose for the math teachers will last approximately three weeks in the summer and it would begin approximately mid-August prior to the beginning of the academic year. This program would be mandated by the principal and would include veteran staff members as well new ones brought on board. Another factor that teachers have to take into consideration is the population they cater to during the academic year. IS 166 consists of predominantly black and Hispanic students residing in East New York and its surrounding environs, thereby, making them not only an â€Å"in need† group in terms of grades but an â€Å"at risk† group in terms of their backgrounds and predisposition to engage in illicit activities. Many believe teaching techniques are generic and if they are employed in one school then they may be applicable in another. However, studies have shown that minority children in low income neighborhoods require a different set of techniques employed. According to Manswell Butty, African-American children have further been identified as favoring four learning styles a) person-centered, b) affective, c) expressive, and movement oriented (Butty, 2001, 23). Therefore, teachers need to use laboratory or group exercises, discussion sessions, or instructional uses of music and the visual and dramatic arts, especially when those pedagogical techniques promote Black students’ greater academic involvement, interest, and performances (Butty, 2001, 23). However, this is not a generalization implying that all minority children respond to this technique but most will probably respond positively. Therefore, teachers must be made aware of the group of children that they are dealing with and ensure that they employ the above referenced techniques to garner success. In fact, there are Learning through Teaching in an After-School Pedagogical Laboratories (L-TAPL) in California and New Jersey, which not only offer a program for elementary students but also serves as a practice-rich professional development for urban teachers. The program aims to improve the achievement of urban students and the competence of their teachers (Foster et al, 2005, 28). According to the Foster article, numerous studies, policies, and programs have addressed the persistent problem of underachievement among poor urban students and its array of possible causes. The NCLB links teacher quality to improved student achievement, especially among low-income urban children of color. Consequently, improving teacher quality has become one of the hallmarks of current reform efforts (Foster et al, 2005, 28). These laboratories groom future urban teachers to deal with students similar to the target population at IS 166. And as such, as an alternative to our summer institute, the teachers are free to enroll in the program offered by this lab in New Jersey. Therefore, taking into account the above referenced studies, improving teacher quality is of utmost importance when taking into consideration the improvement of math and science scores. All of the above has brought us to the most important element of the study establishing an after-school program. Establishing an After-school Program-Resources Funding Under the NCLB Act, Title I schools, such as IS 166 that are listed as Schools In Need of Improvement, have failed to reach student achievement targets that have been set for every school. This means the school has failed to meet state proficiency level for all students in English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and/or high schools graduation rate. Schools falling in the above referenced category may be eligible for Supplemental Educational Services (SES). SES include free after-school/weekend remedial help or tutoring services. The SES provision offers providers an opportunity to offer low-income children, who may be struggling in school, extra academic help and individual instruction. Through SES, innovative leaders and educators can start a new tutoring program or expand an existing one to serve more students (New York City Department of Education). However, instead of using an SES provider—which in some cases the DOE will offer contracts of over a million dollars to provide services to various schools—we will request additional funding that would have been used to acquire an SES provider to establish the after-school program by ourselves with the assistance of The After-school Corporation (TASC). TASC is renowned for establishing successful after-school programs and have no contract with the DOE and thus, are not labeled SES Providers. In addition to wanting to establish a program using solely school staff, it is important to note, that there have been several complaints about SES providers and most are being investigated either by the Special Commissioner of Investigation for the New York City School District or the Office of Special Investigation and in the best interest of the target population, we have decided to forego those providers. Therefore, the funding used from SES will be used to offer per session rates for the teachers participating in the program as well as pay for the consultant from TASC. The funding will also be used to acquire additional supplies such as the KidzMath program which is highly popular and is used around the country to get students interested in math and to improve scores. Funding will also be used to secure additional bus transportation from the Office of Pupil Transportation as well as food and refreshments for the children. Staffing and Facilities The program will be housed in the school recreation room and so there will be no need to rent a facility to do so. The program will be supervised by the TASC consultant who will preferably be someone from the community who is familiar with the target population and can easily relate to their situation. The principal and assistant principal will take turns observing the classes and ensuring that the teachers and participants are abiding by the rules. The teachers will be eighth grade math and science teachers who deal with the target population on a daily basis and who are familiar with the problems they are experiencing. Additionally, the teachers will be assisted by high school students who are well versed in the subject areas, who have been recruited from neighboring high schools and would like to add an after-school tutoring activity to their resume. Therefore, these students will not be paid but will use the after-school program as a learning experience. Participants The students participating in the program will be chosen based on their past academic performance in grades six and seven and failure to show any signs of improvement. To reiterate, this program is geared specifically for eighth grade students, ages 14-16 years old, and will begin a month into the beginning of the academic year towards the end of September early October after the students and teachers have settled in the new semester. Letters will be sent to the parents at the beginning of the academic year notifying them of their child’s progress and advising them that the program is mandatory if they are to improve and move on to high school (the letters will be followed up by phone calls). While the school has no recourse if a student fails to attend even though it has been marked mandatory, offering a voluntary program usually encourages those that are really not in need of it to participate and those that do need it usually don’t. The parents will be informed of the structure of the program and the fact that transportation will be provided so that their children will be taken home safely after the program. In fact, parents who may not be working full time or at all will be encouraged to observe or participate in another session that will help them to understand what their child needs to improve. The session, which will last as long as the tutoring session, will more than likely be conducted by the assistant principal or a math/science staff member and will give the parent an opportunity to be truly acquainted with the activities being conducted. This program may also be helpful to them as well as some of these parents lack the basic educational skills that are necessary to obtain a job. Activities and Schedule Based on successful programs in Arkansas, the after-school program we will establish will mirror these successful programs and therefore, the program will entail classes of one and a half hours each day, Monday through Thursday between the hours of 3pm and 4:30pm. Mondays and Wednesdays will be dedicated to math and Tuesdays and Thursdays will be dedicated to science. The sessions will be divided into 40 minute periods during which the first period will be dedicated to the teacher illustrating the subject material and the second period will be dedicated to the students participating in groups and working together to complete the work presented in the first period. The students will get a ten-minute break during which they will receive refreshments. In the Camden School District in Arkansas, school officials credited the success of the after-school programs to the schools being released from the â€Å"Adequate Yearly Progress† (AYP) status under the NCLB Act (Arkansas Advocates for Children & Families, 2006). Throughout the course of the program, teachers will be encouraged not to utilize the same material or techniques used on a daily basis. The teachers will be reminded that the program is geared towards individuals who have a negative attitude toward the subjects which may be as a result of not only failure to comprehend the material but also the teacher’s emphasis on traditional methods. Therefore, the program will forego any emphasis on memorization, computation, and equation and will focus on modeling and real world problem solving. Engaging in group work, especially in math, has proven to be successful and will be the focus of the program. According to Jones, group work differs from cooperative learning in its lesser emphasis on the teacher as instructor and its greater dependence on students teaching other students. Moreover, cooperative learning procedures as dependent first on instruction by the teacher, then on practice engaged in actively by members of an established student team (often of four team members), has evidence that supports the efficacy of the approach to elevate not only achievement but also self-esteem, interpersonal effectiveness and interracial harmony (Jones, 1988, 328). Therefore, the students will work together in groups over the period of the academic year and will be exposed to hands-on experiences, games, and projects. KidzMath should really be a good stimulant and with the assistance of the teachers, the students should be motivated. Teachers will also be encouraged to maintain a weekly progress report which will ultimately be used to assess the program’s progress. Another aspect of the program would entail having the Principal establishing stronger ties with the community and getting more community leaders involved by dropping by the after-school program to give advice and encouragement to the students. Students are not only stimulated by various activities that are outside of the norm of the regular classroom but are also stimulated by role models or individuals they deem to be successful from their part of the neighborhood. According to a report done on the Chicago School Reform, the schools that experienced major changes and improvements were led by principals who were strong veteran leaders with good relationships with their local school councils and the community (Hess, Jr. , 1999, 79). Additionally, incentives can also be offered for the students in the program which will encourage their continued participation and potential success and can range from visits to museums or amusement parks if they have showed slight improvements. While these children who performed poorly are from low income families, and a reduction in poverty rates might have a salutary effect on measured school achievement, according to Lyle V. Jones, the influence of poverty on educational achievement may be ameliorated by introducing school-parent programs to improve academic conditions in the home. After reviewing nearly 3,000 investigations of productive factors in learning concludes that such programs have an outstanding record of success in promoting achievement (Jones, 1988, 327). Explanation of Logic Model Inputs: consist of the fundamental resources—human and capital—that the program needs in order for it to achieve its goals. These resources consist of funding for per session rates for the teachers, payment for the TASC Consultant, supplies such as KidzMath, transportation, and refreshments. The most important resources needed are the children to whom the program is directed. Activities: Once the fundamental resources are in place, the schedule has been established and the techniques for teaching have been agreed upon, then the after-school program will proceed as planned throughout the academic year. The sessions will be conducted four days a week, Mondays and Wednesdays, for math and Tuesdays and Thursdays for science lasting 1. 5 hrs each period. The sessions will entail a great deal of group work and collaboration along with potential visits from community leaders and role models. Outputs: Upon implementation of the program, it is important to ascertain if the program is reaching its target population, if the services provided are being done in the manner discussed and if the population are benefiting or if they have any concerns those will be noted throughout the assessment. This will be done by conducting site visits, performing observations and conducting surveys. Outcomes: If the program is successful in achieving its goals, then the immediate goals will see the students passing their in-class tests and ultimately the state exams—which has been the focal issue with the school and the reason for the Title I status under the NCLB Act. The long-term goals include the participants of the program actually going on to high school and possibly even college. From that point onward, if students succeed in college, they may even pursue challenging careers thereby improving their socio-economic status. The reason the logic diagram is done in a cyclical manner is to demonstrate that if the program is successful and the students do improve significantly, then the school may be eligible for the same amount or a higher amount of funding which they can use to increase their resources for the input phase for the upcoming academic year. PROGRAM PROCESS Once the program has been implemented, it is important to ascertain if the services are in fact being delivered as planned and if the participants are learning with the teachers employing the new techniques as discussed. In order to do this, we will conduct an observational study as fashioned from the TASC’s site visit procedures in addition to teacher and parental surveys to see if they have noted any differences in the children participating in the program. This assessment will be done halfway throughout the semester at approximately the end of January which will also coincide with the first set of state exams (students also take these exams towards the end of the academic year-approximately June). The assessment will begin with a two-person team (my colleague and I) visiting the after-school’s program for two days a week, for a total of two weeks—one day for math and the other for science. The visit will include an interview with the principal and assistant principal (who, as noted before, would have taken turns monitoring the program). There will be 90 minute observations including the 10 minute break to see how the children are behaving and the teachers’ interaction with them accordingly. The assessment will look at three of the five primary factors as fashioned from TASC’s rating on project activities: Staff-directing relationship-building ?Staff use positive behavior management techniques ?Staff show positive affect toward youth ?Staff attentively listen to and/or observe youth ?Staff encourage youth to share their ideas, opinions, and concerns Staff strategies for skill-building and mastery ?Staff verbally recognize youth’s efforts and accomplishments ? Staff assist youth without taking control ?Staff ask youth to expand upon their answers and ideas ?Staff challenge youth to move beyond their current level of competency ? Staff plan for/ask youth to work together ?Staff employ two or more teaching strategies Activity content and structure ?The activity is well organized ?The activity challenges students intellectually, creatively, and/or physically ? The activity requires analytic thinking The observers will rate each indicator on a scale from 1 to 5 where 1 meant that the indicator was not evident during the observation period and a 5 meant that the indicator was highly evident and consistent. These ratings will provide a systematic method for the observation team to quantify its observations of the factors that contribute to the possible success of the program (TASC Catalog of Publication and Reports, 2005, 3). The assessment will also ask teachers to document any changes they have observed in their students’ behavior throughout the program. This will be extracted from a weekly progress report that they were encouraged to write at the commencement of the program. This will give us an idea if the students have made any progress in the eyes of the educators. The last assessment will be done with the parents who will be asked their views of the program. The questions will include but not be limited to: ?Is the program meeting your expectations? ?Do you see any noticeable changes in your child’s progress? Does your child show any more interest in math or science? ?Do you feel you have benefited from observing or partaking in the informative sessions conducted by the principal or staff? ?Are you satisfied with the transportation provided? These questions will receive ratings from 1-5 as noted above and will give us an overall idea of the process of the structure. We can use the res ults of the assessment to facilitate mid-term improvements before the conclusion of the program. The results can also be used for future improvements should the after-school program enter its second academic year. CONCEPTUALIZATION AND OPERATIONALIZATION OF PROGRAM OUTCOMES The goal of this study is to determine the impact of an after-school program on improving the scores of low performing eighth grade students in IS 166. Therefore, the hypothesis is eighth grade Math and Science students who have performed below average in state exams are more than likely to improve their grades in both subjects after enrolling and completing the year long after-school program. In this case, the independent variable would be the after-school program and the dependent variable would be the overall improvement in grades. Independent Variable: After-school Program The after-school program (in this project) may be conceptualized as any academic activity that takes place outside of the mandated school hours that is geared towards the improvement of a child’s academic achievement in a specific subject area. It may be operationalized by examining the responses from the observations conducted in the assessment phase which were based on five primary factors ranging from staff-directing relationship building to staff strategies for skill-building and mastery to activity content and structure. Under each category there are various indicators which will be rated on a scale from 1 to 5 where 1 is meant that the indicator was not evident during the observation period and a 5 meant that the indicator was highly evident and consistent. Dependent Variable: Overall Improvement in Grades Overall improvement in grades may be conceptualized as a notable or significant increase which may be anywhere from 15-20% in the in-class and state scores. The increase in scores would hopefully translate into passing grades. Improvement in grades can be operationalized by examining both the in-class and state test scores and comparing both to the previous year’s scores and as such, we can begin to measure some sort of success based on the increase in the scores. It should be noted that while the overall improvement in grades is the primary dependent variable on which the focus is placed, there are other variables that should be taken into account, however, due to the constraints of this paper, they will be mentioned briefly. They are but not limited to: improvement in student attitudes—that is the effect the after-school program has had on their approach to the subjects. Do the students now have a positive attitude towards the subject after improving their ability to process and analyze the new information provided? Also, there is the parental support aspect which must be taken into consideration. Did the after-school program increase parental awareness, that is, making parents aware of what students need to excel in both subjects? Do parents now know how to assist or provide support for their children in these subject areas? Assessing Program Impact—Strategy In order to determine if the after-school program had an effect on overall Math and Science scores, a randomized control-group pretest and posttest design will be conducted. (Please note that steps 1-3 would have been done prior to the implementation of the after-school program). The following steps will be followed in order to execute this test: 1) Students will be selected from the eighth grade roster by random methods, specifically, randomly choosing social security numbers from the database. ) The students with social security numbers ending in even numbers will be assigned to the treatment group (X)—the after-school program, while the students with social security numbers ending with odd numbers will be placed in the nontreatment group (Y). 3) An in-class test similar to that given at the state level will be administered to both groups to ascertain their scores—the dependent variable. The scores will be added for both the ex perimental and control group. 4) After totaling the scores, the experimental phase will begin. Both groups will be exposed to the same conditions with the exception of the experimental group (X) who will have the experimental treatment—the after-school program for the academic year. 5) After the experimental group has completed the after-school program, both groups will be evaluated again using an in-class test similar to the one given in the pre-testing period. Once again, the scores will be added for both the experimental and control group. 6) The scores between the pre-testing period and the post-testing period will be calculated to establish the difference. ) The difference in the scores will be compared to determine if the after-school program (the treatment) was associated with a change favoring the experimental group over the control group—who did not participate in the after-school program. 8) A statistical test will be used to determine whether the difference in the scores is truly significant—that is, if the difference is large enough to reject t he null hypothesis that the difference is simply a chance occurrence. According to Stephen Isaac in his book, â€Å"Handbook in Research and Evaluation† nternal validity gains strength with the randomized design because extraneous variables are controlled since they affect both groups equally (Isaac, 1971, 39). To elaborate, extraneous variables such as differential selection is controlled by random selection methods. Maturation and pre-testing effects occur equally for all groups, differential mortality can be assessed for nonrandom patterns, and statistical regression is controlled when extreme scorers from the same population are randomly assigned to groups (statistical regression will occur but it will occur equally with all groups) (Isaac, 1971, 39). The disadvantages to this design are to be found in the within-session variations during which time the experimental and control groups are tested and treated separately. There may be differences in room conditions, personalities of teachers, or wording of instructions. According to Isaac, the students should be tested individually or in small groups, randomly assigning subjects, times, and places to experimental and control conditions. The effects of any unwanted situational factors are thus randomly distributed among the subgroups, allowing them to be ignored (Isaac, 1971, 39). Isaac further states that to control for within-session instrument differences, it is necessary also to assign mechanical instruments, teachers, observers and raters to sessions—or preferably to a single session. Ideally, if observers or judges are involved, they should remain unaware of which groups are being used for control or experimental purposes, since they may have subtle biases that could influence their observations. REFERENCES Andreatta, Dave. â€Å"Math Concerns Are Adding Up† New York Post, October 12, 2006: 11 Arkansas Advocates for Children & Families (2006). After-school programs in Arkansas: A solution whose time has come. Little Rock, AR author Accessed on 10/29/2006 http://www. arkleg. state. ar. us/data/education/ Birmingham, Jennifer, Pechman, Ellen M. , Russell, Christina A. , and Monica Mielke. â€Å"Shared Features of High-Performing After-School Programs: A follow-up to the TASC Evaluation† TASC Catalog of Publications and Reports, November 2005. Accessed on 11/2/2006 Domanico, Raymond. State of the NYC Public Schools 2002† Civic Report-Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. March 2002, # 26. Accessed on 10/16/2006 Elias, Maurice. â€Å"Middle School Transition: It’s Harder Than You Think-Making The Transition to Middle School Successful† Middle Matters, Winter 2001: 1-2 Accessed on 10/19/2006 Foster, Michele, Lewis, Jeffrey and Laura Onafowora. â€Å"Grooming Great Urban Teachers† Educational Leadership, March 2005, (62) 6 : 28-32. Good, Thom as, L. , Legg Burross, Heidi, and Mary M. McCaslin. Comprehensive School Reform: A Longitudinal Study of School Improvement in One State† Teachers College Record, October 2005, (107) 10: 2205-2226. Hess, Jr. , G. Alfred. â€Å"Understanding Achievement (and other) changes under Chicago School Reform† Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Spring 1999, (21) 1: 67-83. Isaac, Stephen (1971). Handbook in Research and Evaluation. San Diego: EDITS Publishers Jones, Lyle V. â€Å"Schooling in Mathematics and Science and What Can Be Done to Improve Them† Review of Research in Education, 1988-1989, (15): 307-341. Manswell Butty, Jo-Anne L. â€Å"Teacher Instruction, Student Attitudes and Mathematics Performance among 10th and 12th grade Black and Hispanic Students† The Journal of Negro Education, Winter-Spring 2001, (70) ? : 19-37. New York City Department of Education 2004-2005 Annual School Reports (Provided by the Division of Assessment and Accountability) Accessed on 10/14/2006 Simon, Martin A. , and Deborah Schifter. â€Å"Toward a Constructivist Perspective: The Impact of a Mathematics Teacher InService Program on Students† Educational Studies in Mathematics, December 1993, (25) 4: 331-340.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Air Transport Management and Operations Dissertation

Air Transport Management and Operations - Dissertation Example Airline industry profitability leans towards the elusive, and a need exists for rapid restructuring to retain the competitive advantage. Operational management of air transport operations now confronts new challenges because competition, increased fuel prices, security threats, recessionary and inflationary pressures, requirements for integrating well in the global transport system and employee union expectations present substantial pressures to deliver service excellence economically without compromising on safety or security. This dissertation presents a discussion about air transport management and operations in the new age. Declaration I certify that, except where cited in the text, this work is the result of research carried out by the author of this study. _____________________________________________ Name and Signature of Author January 2011 This write - up is for a dissertation on Air Transport Management and Operations. ... table accidents by phase of flight 21 Figure 6: Worldwide reportable accidents by occurrence category 21 Figure 7: Worldwide fatal accidents by occurrence category 22 Figure 8: Worldwide fatal accidents by operator region 22 Figure 9: Worldwide jet and turboprop fatal accident rate by type of service 23 Figure 10: Primary causal factor categories for accidents 24 Figure 11: Impact of relational coordination on airline performance 25 Figure 12: Percentage of employees represented by unions at major US airlines 26 Figure 13: Labour conflict at the major US airlines: number of strikes and arbitrations, mediations and releases since 1985 27 Figure 14: Average months required to reach contract agreement at major airlines 28 (This page intentionally left blank) Chapter 1 – Introduction In the present day and age, the most complex transportation systems and the most complex manufactured systems in the world support commercial aviation (Barnhart, 2007, Pp. 1 – 2). The worldâ₠¬â„¢s airlines and air cargo movers are the largest players in national and global air transportation systems, with the aerospace industry providing the planes and aerospace systems that make things happen (Wensveen, 2007, Chapters 1 and 4). Although the military aviation sector presents substantial statistics, general aviation is by far the largest segment of aviation based on the number of aircraft, the number of pilots and the number of airports and communities served (Wensveen, 2007, Pp. 111 – 112). According to Wensveen (2007, Pp. 112), in the year 2007 general aviation presented an industry worth US$ 40 billion, which generated more than US$100 billion in annually. This discussion focuses on the management aspects of air transport operations, with an emphasis on general management, human resource

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Internet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Internet - Essay Example Colorful world, victories and defeats, interesting rivals - all this captures the child. Most games carry aggressive tendencies - murders and destruction. While playing, the child identifies himself with his character, and becomes aggressive. If in the virtual world it is possible to kill, destroy, then the same can be done in the real world - that is a conclusion which is formed in the childrens minds (Lee 2008). Information with erotic nature filled the Internet. Some photos and videos even for adults are somehow awkward to watch. But most of the children may have access to porn sites. Childhood and adolescence is the time of formation of sexuality. Porn sites may promote unhealthy sexuality, erotic relationships with all indiscriminately (Lee & Tamborini 2009). Taking into account the unformed childs conscious, the availability of such information may simply destroy sexuality of the child and break his whole life. Child often becomes an unwitting hostage of the lifestyle of own parents, behavior and habits of which he or she copies on a conscious and subconscious level (Mesch 2009). Long chat with a computer, which in the representation of the child begins to associate with a friend who is always ready to play and do not say "enough, Im tired!", can lead not only to the emergence of the computer dependency, but to a whole range of other negative effects. Communicative activities carried out through the Internet are various. Currently there are intensive experiments with anonymity, from the total self-discovery with elements of exhibitionism up to the hype and the inclination to manipulate and control the impression about oneself. Thus, problems with communicative activities appear in the form of low ability to perceive emotional state of a partner and reduction of the ability to recognize non-verbal aspects of communication Compulsive Internet use is linked to the inability to control, reduce or stop

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Money Management Final-1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Money Management Final-1 - Assignment Example Investing the entire sum of money in a single stock exposes the investor to the risk of that asset. So, in case when the price of that security falls in the market due to any reason, the investor will suffer huge losses. This, risk of concentration of money in a single stock is mitigated through diversification. Risk Profile Analysis Investments are subject to market risks and a rational investor always prefers to minimize risk over given investment return of maximize return over given risk. The risk profile of a portfolio is determined on the basis of risk appetite of investor. If the investor is risk prone then such investor would prefer investing larger portion of portfolio in risky assets such as common stocks or growth EFTs where as an investor with a lower risk appetite would prefer investing in safer assets to ensure protection of principal investment. The logic or procedure to determine the amount to be invested in risky assets is determined on the basis of time horizon, obje ctives, and diversification. Objectives and Asset Mix The main objective of the portfolio is to get adequate amount of long term growth in income. In order to achieve this objective, substantial amount of the investment corpus should be invested into equity class ETFs and fewer portions should be invested in debt instruments. This is because, while the equity will ensure long term capital growth for the investor through proper diversification, debt portion of portfolio will ensure fixed and stable income for the investor. Proper diversification will help reduce the overall portfolio risk by spreading stock specific risk into combination of securities. Determining Time Frame of Investment In order to evaluate the performance of the portfolio, sufficient time horizon should be chosen since the objective of portfolio is long term capital growth and not speculative trading. Keeping the objective of portfolio, a time horizon of minimum five years will be chosen to evaluate the performanc e of the securities. Money Management through ETF On the basis of the portfolio objectives, time frame of investment and risk profile analysis discussed earlier it can be said that Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) can be an effective money management tool. ETFs are investment funds that are often traded as commodity in the stock markets. Thus, ETF funds are traded similar to stocks in the stock exchanges but at the same time it is essential to know the process of buying and selling of ETFs in the stock exchanges. The process allows market players to determine ETF prices by analyzing the forces of demand and supply of ETFs in the market throughout the day. If appropriate strategy is not formulated then the investor might be adversely affected from price fluctuations throughout the day. Further the investment objective will determine whether the portfolio will be able to provide sufficient returns to the investors to attain such objectives

Friday, July 26, 2019

Business Intelligence Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business Intelligence - Research Paper Example mpares and contrasts IBM and Tableau business intelligence software while evaluating how large companies handle BI implementation; the role of BI in competitive advantage and organizational strategy; organizational management of change during new information system implementation; and a summary of a case study of a company that implemented BI Solution. Large enterprises using Cognos gain from using elements such as reports, analysis, scorecards, and dashboards for monitoring the performance of their businesses, analyzing trends, and measuring results. This way, businesses have the capability and information needed to make better decisions and approach their services with a service-oriented architecture that has both ease of management and deployment. Other benefits of Cognos business intelligence are mobile BI, collaborative BI, and real time monitoring. In terms of trend analysis and results measurement using Cognos BI, large businesses benefit from the software’s capability to be used with relational and multidimensional data sources from different vendors. For instance, Cognos BI products can integrate with NCR Teradata, Oracle, Microsoft, and SAP, to present web-based service oriented architecture (SOA). Though IBM Cognos is designed for large companies, Cognos Express is meant for mid-sized companies to allow companies to take advantage of features such as budgeting, forecasting, and planning functions. Furthermore, Cognos 10, integrates with Lotus Connect and SPSS predictive analysis, and mobile capability that allows users to access to full version of Cognos from their smartphones and tablets (Lodestar, 2013). However, IBM Cognos is known for very slow performance in preparing active reports with large datasets and one is required to only use small data sets, and apply query filters to return only the values of interest. Secondly, Cognos BI does not drill through functionality when applied in active reports viewed off line. Thirdly, active reports do not

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Psychology Articles Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Psychology Articles Critique - Essay Example In the 16th century, most of the women confined in asylums were unfortunates who were shut up by their husbands for what was perceived as mad behavior. A century later, those confined were victims of violence, prostitution, or bad luck, and most of them were women on the poor receiving end of a male-dominated patriarchal society. Chesler points out (p. 94) that by the end of the 19th and throughout the 20th centuries, madness became associated with being a woman by both psychiatrists and novelists, painting a skewed reality where the numbers of men confined for madness were equally increasing. What could account for these misguided perceptions is a mistake of masculine logic: just because male psychiatrists and novelists cannot understand women who as medical evidence has now revealed are anatomically and biologically different, does not mean that all women are mad and that all mad people are women. Chesler attempts to correct such monumental mistakes. Third, by mirroring within the walls of the asylum the inherent 'defects' of outside society - the patriarchal nature, the well-defined gender roles, and expected modes of repressed feminine behavior - the cure may have made the 'sickness' worse. Chesler provides details of her arguments by looking t... And fourth, given these mismatches between diagnoses and prescriptions, asylums did not offer asylum and need to be run differently if these are to cure women patients. Chesler provides details of her arguments by looking through the window of three psychopathological symptoms of how the female social role clashed in and with the outside world. Clinical depression (p. 102-104) is associated with women's emotional makeup and their propensity to search for meaning in daily reality and in everything. As scientific findings point out, most symptoms of depression may be the result of biochemical reactions taking place from hormonal changes that wreak havoc on the mind. What this leads to is frightening, because it is possible that several women were characterized as mad in the past and locked up in asylums because they were classified as mad and depressed, when it could be possible that a weekend walk in the park, a good conversation, or maybe even just a few more hours of rest or sleep would have been enough to cure them. Frigidity (p. 105-108) is a reaction to the masculine worldview of women as sex objects whose self-worth is determined by the presence or intensity of orgasmic experience. She reflects the feminist view that by giving women power over their bodies, birth control pills helped them overcome their insecurities by seemingly gaining the upper hand. Although it made casual sex more guilt-free and opened the door to excesses of irresponsibility by both the woman and her partner, sexual liberation may have even enhanced the male view of women as sex objects and piled up another layer of sex-centered insecurity on what already is a social burden. Suicide (p. 108-109) is the end result of

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Has building a fence along the US Mexico border help fight illegal Term Paper

Has building a fence along the US Mexico border help fight illegal immigration - Term Paper Example Since centuries, immigration has remained one of the most important issues legally, as well as politically due to the division of globe into developed and developing countries that inclines huge waves of people to emigrate from one place to another for their brighter future. However, in this process, it has been an observation that besides emigrating legally, documented evidence has indicated numerous occasions when huge number of people has crossed borders illegally due to various reasons, which has resulted in the notion of illegal immigration. In particular, every country confronts the issue of illegal immigration; however, statistics have indicated that USA-Mexico border is the platform that witnesses highest number of illegal crossings of the border in comparison to other parts of the globe, which results in various adverse outcomes. For instance, experts have indicated that illegal immigration causes many unfavorable effects on USA, and although many individuals and families cr oss US-Mexico border with no intention of carrying out criminal activities and purely for their brighter future, still, their illegal crossing causes impact on economy and social order of the USA . Since many years, USA has been putting efforts to reduce and eliminate activities of the illegal immigration on the US-Mexico border, and that has been putting a huge burden on the US government’s spending, still, thousands of people cross this border annually.In the result, US Congress and immigration experts came up with the idea of building a high-tech fence along the US-Mexico border, which has already resulted in huge debate and the idea has received mixed responses. The basic plan is to build â€Å"a 2,000-mile fence along the US-Mexico border and this has been the proposal of Duncan Hunter, the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee†3. In order to understand whether this fence will be helpful in fighting illegal immigration, it is very imperative to understand what it will look like. In this regard, reports have indicated that it will be a combination of â€Å"barbed wire, powerful wire fences, high-technological sensors, and a path for border patrol veh icles, CCTV cameras, and movement detectors†4. As of the year 2010, the US government was successful in building approximately 640 miles of this 2,000-miles fence, and the construction is still in process. Building of such a high-tech complicated wall/fence seems very effective in curbing illegal immigration; however, this is not as simple as it looks, and various factors play a crucial role that will allow us to understand the different effects of US-Mexico border fence. In brief, analysis has shown that construction of this fence has resulted in significant reduction in the rate of illegal immigrants. For instance, San Diego was first location for construction of pilot project of this fence, and it was a 14-mile fence in the California district5. Reports indicate that the project showed successful results as the number of illegal immigrants dropped from â€Å"202,000 in the year 1992 to only nine thousand in the year 2004†6 that indicates the effective outcomes of thi s fence. On the other hand, experts have indicated that although location of the fences has reduced the activities of illegal immigration; however, locations at the end of fence has become a platform for individuals and cartels to carry out the activities of illegal immigration in more organized manner that has been a new problem due to this fence. Furthermore, in order to respond to this construction of fence, there seem two major arguments. Firstly, it has been an understanding that although the fences have been successful in restricting the illegal immigrants; however, the construction of fence has caused uneasiness and apprehension on both sides of

Government's role in healthcare markets Research Paper

Government's role in healthcare markets - Research Paper Example And today developed nations are striving to establish comprehensive plans to serve people in various aspects. In recent times, health care concerns are increasing due to ever increasing complexity of ambiance people live in. Pollutants, Genetic Modification, Environmental degradation and Global warming are making things a mesh of problems. In spite of galloping advancements in bioinformatics and medicine, deaths are becoming increasingly terminal. This statement can be supported by discussing various types of cancers, increasing obesity and even more complex psychological problems in highly urbanized areas. Keeping in view these concerns United States government has been in the phase of transition which has Health care services as one of the major moot points. Investments in the development of effective medicine, attempts to promulgate health care schemes and finding cost effective all inclusive health care facilities are apparently important for the government. This research is an attempt to delve into the details of US health care industry. It is aimed at finding comprehensive facts and figures about the health care services and the econometrics that are proving to be the driving force of this sector. Distinct organizations have emerged during recent times in order to serve and do business related to health care. The cost and access to health care facilities is the bottom line of this research. As a big picture the health care facilities in US are largely private sector business, whereas government facilities come next to the private sector. These statistics are one of the major concerns for health care policy makers and operators who reside in the echelons of power. About 65% of the health care spending for people below 67 years comes from programs like Medicare, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHCP) and Tricare. Average US life expectancy is 78 years which ranks her 27th among 34 highly industrialized countries

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

MHE503 Survey of Emergency and Disaster Mgt Module 1 Case Essay

MHE503 Survey of Emergency and Disaster Mgt Module 1 Case - Essay Example Tsunamis are undersea-bed earthquakes that create a great effect on the water above the surface. However, in the case of the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, there were no specific indications that something was already happening in the seabed. This is the reason why it was not that easy for the resort goers to immediately flee from the area towards a safer place. They were all caught in surprise when the water waves began splashing huge amounts of water to the sea shore killing hundreds of people who were just sitting and resting around the area. The waves were big and disastrous along with the mixed heavy winds that it comes along with. The complete disaster was even forcefully controlled by the unwillingness of some to flee away from their houses near the sea area believing that this was just a simple sea wave change. Little did these people know that this was a huge tragedy that waits to devastate their lives. Besides the natural reaction of the earth from heating up, the human works of denuding the forests made it harder for nature to control the situation itself. Apparently, the reduction of such trees limited the possibility and the capability of the warmed up earth to cool itself down. Besides this, the lack of signs from the actual behaviour of the sea from where the tsunamis are already happening below its sea bed made it hard for the people to tell that something wrong was going to happen. The bubbling or frothing of the sea at the top portion which is seen by the people has not happened and was not able to signal the people around. Basically, caused by the imbalance in nature, even this warning was not undergone properly by the process that was supposed to give a cue as to what was going to happen next. The incapability of the people to tell made the disaster even more tragic for the human population living within the areas affected. As seen from the television news, some of the tourists were even enjoying the cool breeze of the air when the waves suddenly turned gigantic eating them out from the seashore towards the sea's center turbulent area. Without the capability of the earth to support the need of limiting such disasters from happening, the earthquake lasted for at least several minutes that were enough to kill thousands within Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. This disaster reminds people at present that apparently, too much development may cause devastation on the capability of the earth to heal itself. No matter how prepared people could be, no matter how knowledgeable they may seem about the occurrence of such devastating events in the natural environment, it could not be denied that the imbalance of the earth's temperature and composition makes all these efforts of being prepared worthless. This is the reason why the Hokkaido incident was less damaging compared to the properties lost and the lives that were taken from that of the occurrence of the Indian Ocean earthquake of 2004. What mitigation and/or

Monday, July 22, 2019

Chaucers Canterbury Tales Essay Example for Free

Chaucers Canterbury Tales Essay The term character can be applied in several ways. It can mean either a physical being, or to their total pattern of behavior. In Chaucers Canterbury Tales, one is used to complement the other. He often uses certain physical characteristics to dictate exactly how the person is going to act*. This is most evident in the Summoners Tale. The Summoner is ugly, with a scary face, but also turns out to have a very ugly personality, between his job, attitudes, and values, which come out through his physical descriptions. **.Chaucers use of physical characteristics is most obvious in the Summoners Tale. The Summoner is a scary sight, but not only because he looks so hideous. He also has a hideous job- a summoner is a kind of religious bounty hunter. He seeks down people that need to do their penances and make sure they do them. He is described as having acne so bad no quicksilver, lead ointment, tartar creams,/ no brimstone, no boracic, so it seems,/ could make a salve to cure his whelks of knobby white. So, when people saw him coming, they would already be repulsed simply by his physical image. However, if they knew who he was, they would also be afraid that he was coming to get them. So, he is scary in more than one way. His behavior is as ugly as his face. Questio quid juris was his tag. The Latin phrase questio quid juris means the question is, what is the point in law? He is supposed to be upholding the Churchs law, but was known to turn his back (for a fee). Finally, he was an extortionist, with a heart as black as his beard. He would learn peoples secrets and then tell them he would tell the Church. They would pay him to keep his mouth shut. Sometimes he even set them up with a girl for wine. Chaucers image of the Summoner with his face on fire helps describe his fiery attitudes, even though it directly refers to his facial features. He is prone to drunken rages, often spouting Latin phrases and arguing with people. In fact, his whole tale is told because he was mad at the Friar for insulting him. He is very argumentative, and vulgar. He tells a crude story about the afterlife of Friars, in revenge for the Friars Tale, as way of prologue into his tale. Even his tale is about a greedy Friar, who is so desperate he looks beneath a sick mans buttocks for something hidden there for secrecy. Upon receiving a loud fart, he is shocked, but what else can  he have expected? According to the Summoner, Friars are greedy and stupid, a very immature attempt to gain revenge on the Friar, demonstrating how vindictive he is. Finally, he does not believe in the traditional values of medieval Christianity, although he is supposed to be one of its proponents. He is described as having a garland set upon his head, leading the reader into believing he is a homosexual. He allows men to commit sins, like adultery, without punishment as long as they paid him. Usually he took his payments in the form of wine, but also accepted cash. Why hed allow -just for a quart of wine- / any good lad to keep a concubine/ a twelvemonth! He was very corrupt, a common theme in Chaucers clergy. By accepting bribes to keep his mouth shut, he was essentially blackmailing the men of the community, instead of telling someone like he was supposed to. As his description says he Sang deep seconds to [the Pardoners] song, a love song. He has a deep voice, and is singing harmony to the Pardoner, suggesting their relationship is more than business related. Homosexuality was almost a sin in the Middle Ages, but for one who was supposed to make other pay for their sins he had a propensity for disregarding them. As he pleased the man could bring duress/ on any young fellow in the diocese/ he knew their secrets, they did what he said. He held them in fear of being cursed, and leave them no hope for salvation, by dangling their sins over their heads. So they must do as he says. A Medieval man is not supposed to cause others harm, but try to help them. In fact, his job was to try to save them by making sure they atoned for their sins and gained entry into heaven. So even by the nature of his job, he isnt holding to traditional values. In conclusion, Chaucer effectively sketched the character of the Summoner, using physical traits to attempt to analyze the underlying traits of the character. The reader can become very familiar with who he is (liar, drinker, extortionist) simply by the way Chaucer describes him physically (ugly, large pimples and boils on his face), even though the image is backed up by the characters own actions (drinking, letting young men commit adultery and other sins).

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Legal Frameworks for Child with Disabilities

Legal Frameworks for Child with Disabilities Outline the legal and regulatory requirements in place for children with disabilities or specific requirements. Every child has the right to be treated fairly no matter what their disabilities/circumstances are. It is against the law for Schools to treat a child discouragingly because of discrimination. Direct discrimination is when you actively discriminate against a child ie refusing a chid into the setting because of a disability/condition. Indirect discrimination occurs when practises are in place but they dont take into account the needs of the child ie signs/labels in a different language so the child can read them. There is also discrimination due to disabilities ie a Teacher may stop a child from doing an activity because of time (it will take the child too long to complete the task). This results in fewer opportunities being offered to them to experience and very unfair. There are legal and regulatory requirements that the School must adhere to protect disability and SEN children from discrimination and promote their inclusion: The Equality Act 2010 Provides addition protection from discrimination for children with disabilities. The Act requires children with disabilities receive the same access to public/private services as any other child and for these facilities to make changes to ensure access for all. It promotes equal opportunities/inclusion for all children. The Special Educational Needs (SEN) Code of Practice 2001 Developed to promote practices that value individual needs of children with disabilities and to offer guidance to Schools regarding equality and inclusion. Main purpose is to provide early invention support for children with SEN, to identify their individual needs and provide appropriate support. Main principles of the code are: *Children with SEN should have needs met and normally in mainstream Schools. *Views of the child must be taken into account and Parents must be involved. *SEN children should be offered full access to a broad, balanced and relevant education. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity. Article 1 Respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and respect for the rights of children with disabilities to preserve their identities. Article 3 Details rights/entitlements to all children regardless of their individual needs/circumstances. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Human rights treaty that confirms the rights of disabled people. Stresses the importance of disabled people being able to enjoy their human rights equally with non-disabled people. It recognises that people with disabilities do face barriers and outlines strategies to reduce barriers and promote their rights. Warnock Report (1978) Introduces term SEN into UK legislation and emphasises the 2 categories of children with SEN 1) children who experience difficulties at School but needs can be met at mainstream level 2)children whose needs are more complex and need specialised educational environments. The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 Makes further provisions against the discrimination of disabilities in Schools. Strengthens the rights of SEN children to be educated in mainstream Schools. Importance of working inclusively with children with disabilities or specific requirements. It is essential that people working with children promote equal opportunities by providing an environment free from discrimination. Inclusion is focusing on the needs of every child and ensuring the right conditions are in place for all to achieve their full potential. Children with SEN should be given the same opportunities as children without SEN/disabilities and feel valued, respected and supported. Our School has created a child focused approach where we focus on and build on their support using each childs strengths, needs and interests. Each child is an individual and must be listened to. This shows respect and they will feel safe and secure in the setting. This ensures that every child is valued as an individual. When planning activities we take into consideration their interests and abilities. We empathy to SEN children by the way we try and understand their feelings and point of view. We try and adapt the activity according to their needs and abilities so they are able to ta ke part with everyone and not be singled out. We involve the children in decision making and actively encourage them in planning their IEPs. We listen to what they need and want so then this helps us provide opportunities for them to be more independent this helps their confidence and self esteem. We believe children who grow up in Schools where all students are valued and seen as equal members will learn to respect and advocate for diversity in the larger community. Disability, Literacy and Inclusive Education for Young Children. Personally I think it is so important for all children to learn and play together and to be treated the same. It builds an understanding and acceptance for all and highlights the fact that children develop skills which enable them to teach one another. Children with disabilities will often make huge improvements in their communication, socialising and functioning skills while developing children will have better attitudes towards others, greater patience, tolerance and self esteem. One of our school mottos is We all belong where we expect all children to work together, making everyone feel welcome and involved and have a positive attitude. This really helps the SEN children feel a sense of belonging and a reduces feeling of isolation. We constantly run weekly sessions reminding the children to look at their attitudes and beliefs and if necessary help them make changes. It does help that all staff members are very positive about inclusion and diversity and are visually pro active in the activities we undertake, displays that we use and resources/materials we offer in the classroom. Benefits of working in partnership with Parents and other professionals. The Childrens Plan published by DCSF in 2007 highlighted the importance of the partnership between Parents and Schools to support children in their learning. It has been proven that Parental involvement has a positive effect on childrens achievement at School. They are able to reinforce learning from School by using play and extra curriculum activities ie practising times tables, listening to their child read, drawing, painting and visiting libraries and places of interest. They also help improve the childs gross/fine motor skills, communication/listening and social skills. Parental involvement in childrens education from an early age has a significant effect on educational achievement and continues to do so into adolescence and adulthood. The Impact of Parental Involvement on Childrens Education. Parents must always be consulted and involved in the care and support of their child. Schools need to show respect when discussing these delicate matters and always valuing the opinion of the Parents. Schools need to be demonstrating inclusion of all children and a way they can show this is by seeking the advice and resources of external agencies when it may benefit the child. The SEN Code of Practice recognises the value of the partnership with Parents. It is a well known fact that Parents knowledge of their child is exemplary and must be taken into account when deciding on support/education. The child and their needs must be at the centre of all discussions. Parents will have more of an idea of the childs strengths and the support can be tailored to take these into account ie if the child likes singing then perhaps learning can be adapted to singing times tables and alphabet songs. Some SEN like dyslexia may run in the family so family members may have developed specialised knowledge of the condition this may aid in the planning of support for their child. Some Parents find the whole process of having a SEN child very complex, difficult and emotional. Schools need to respect these feelings and emotions of the Parents and value their support. Full discussions and advise must be given to instil trust and confidence that the best is being done for their child at that School. Parents must be aware of all the policies/procedures of the School, support available for their child and any relevant documentation regarding their child. Trust will then be given as the Parents will respect the School and all involved in the care of their child. Schools must remain professional at all times. They should provide time and opportunity to discuss the childs progress. The Parent will feel involved and empowered that their opinions are listened to. Each party should acknowledge each others views and opinions but be able to agree amicably on a plan to support the child. Schools must be flexible when planning meetings with dates/times as they may be dealing with working families or families with siblings. It is a requirement that all Schools have a SENCO a designated person who is responsible for co-ordinating the care and support needed for the SEN children. This is helpful for the Parents as they only need to liaise with one member of staff. Other professionals that the SEN children may come into contact whilst at School are: Physiotherapists, Speech and Language, OutReach (Autistic), Hearing Impaired and Educational Psychologists. How practitioners can adapt their existing practice to support children with disabilities or specific requirements. Care must be taken to make the environment of the setting to be accessible for all children to use regardless of their needs. This may require ramps to be installed or disabled toilets to be fitted. The environment must be well lit, visually attractive, tactile and attractive. Space in the classrooms should be maximised to allow all children to have a sense of freedom. Grounds of the setting should be well maintained and be clear from any hazards which may endanger the children. Resources and activities should be adapted so all children are able to access them ie sand trays at waist height instead of being situated at floor level. SEN childrens needs should be thought of at the planning process with differentiation of activities not to challenging as they will loose interest and not too easy as they will not be fully engaged. They need to be planned to meet the individual needs of the child and age/stage appropriate. All children should have accessibility to the same resources. Some children may require specialist resources ie colour overlays for dyslexic children, flashcards, ICT programs designed to support phonics ie word shark, specialist interventions and 1-1 support. Attitudes of the adults working with SEN children need to be of a positive and understanding nature. Full training should be offered to these members of staff in new policies and procedures. Regular training in specialised areas should take place and involvement of all staff on the needs of certain SEN children. The SENCO must keep up to date with equal opportunities and inclusion policies and hold briefing sessions. Staff need to be available to support children who need assistance in simple personal issues ie dressing/undressing and medical conditions ie diabetics. Consideration needs to take place to help the children become more independent and to try things by themselves ie putting Velcro on dressing up costumes so all children can access the activity. Some children find it challenging to express their feelings, needs and preferences. Our staff who work with SEN children wear feeling flashcards on our lanyards so children can point to a picture to tell us how they are feeling. In Reception we use visual aids to help children decide what activity they would like to do/ show their preferences. We try and encourage independency through the use of computers word processing and dictaphones record their thoughts for the Big Write to help support them in their activities. Teachers try and keep their classroom setup the same so children learn where to find things and helps the SEN children establish routine and a safe/comfortable environment. Resources are clearly labelled with words/pictures and stored in the same location. Schools must be in regular contact with Parents at home supplying them with updates on process and new polices/procedures that affect their child. They must always liaise with outside agencies drawing on their expertise and advise in their particular areas. References The Impact of Parental Involvement on Childrens Education www.education.gov.uk/publications. Article 1 and Article 3 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Disability, Literacy and Inclusive Education for Young Children www.uni.edu/inclusion/benefits_of_inclusion.htm. Abbreviations SENSpecial Educational Needs IEPIndividual Education Plan