Mainstream vs Underground free essay sample

Music has became evident In the culture throughout the world. Delved by the mind of the listener, mainstream music and underground music can be seen as two completely deferent sub groups of music. This can be seen by their popularity, messages that are portrayed, creativity, as well as in their sales and income. Hip hop music developed as a local, underground, alternative to the mainstream with a message which confronted urban poverty, racism, and a growing sense of economic abandonment in Black inner city neighborhoods.Mainstream music is popular commercialese music. If the media makes it popular and well known, it is mainstream. Underground music Is not advertised or represented by the media. However, no one Is better than the other In the sense that there are good music as well as bad music whether mainstream or underground. Mainstream and Underground music contrast in their popularity. Mainstream music can be seen as all about the glamour of the music Industry and portraying the Image that the target audiences would like to see. We will write a custom essay sample on Mainstream vs Underground or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This Image Involves Images and yards about money and its illegal origins, sex and the greed for women who degrade themselves for the limelight, as well as the glorification of the use of illegal drugs and the sales of It. The media has presented music, specifically rap, to be associated with negative connotations of blackness, letting commercialese hip hop become a nearly constant caricature of gangs, pimps, and hoes, weve come to equate black poverty with black street life.Mainstream music is still more censored and does not always focus on content rather than form. It Is another form of slavery In which artists are still forced to watch what Is being said and hold back on. On the other hand, underground music is about the quest for creativity and the artists expression to their fullest potential. Because of the lack of label representation, there is also a lack of restrictions. There is not any censorship. This allows underground artists to be more free with their lyrics and create their own Image rather than following a certain criteria. Underground music is kept real. In opposition, both sub groups of music share the common occupation consisting of artists who love their raft. Because of the different statuses In popularity, mainstream and underground music are also different In their revenue. Mainstream music sells! It Is what Is In the public eye of locals as well as tourists and what society invest their money in through the purchase of CDC, online music downloads, as well as attendance in concerts. Local promoters for the tourist Industry exploit the distinctive aspects of their citys music scene by often changing their artists Image to appeal to outsiders as well. Ratings also contribute to the income of mainstream music. Whether it sounds good r bad, money is continuously being made in the industry. It is promoted by a record I OFF sell at all depending on the artists promotion of their own self. Underground artists are barely advertised to the public for purchase or download.But, underground music artists also hold concerts to appeal to those that do give them recognition and are aware of their unpublished music. Creativity plays a major role in the presentation of music. How you make your music available and appealing to your target audience, has a lot to do with the influence it has on the listener. Underground music displays more creativity in contrast to mainstream music in which most underground artists uses beats that they may have produced and their own lyrics.It gives the artist a better sense of independence when they can put our their own music . There is more originality present because there are no rules to follow. Graffiti is now shunned in mainstream music as well as beat boxing or the making of beats. Underground artists use these mediums as a way to be heard and related to. Underground music also can be learnt from in which it has an impact on people. It may be a voice for the artist as well as the people to potentially make a change, while most mainstream music are so commercial that they tend to sell through their music.

English Language Education in Japan

English Language Education in Japan In Japan, eigo-kyouiku (English-language education) starts the first year of junior high school and continues at least until the third year of high school. Surprisingly, most students are still unable to speak or to comprehend English properly after this time. Reasons for Lack of Comprehension One of the reasons is the instruction focusing on the skill of reading and writing. In the past, Japan was a nation composed of a single ethnic group and had a very small number of foreign visitors, and there were few opportunities to converse in foreign languages, therefore the study of foreign languages were mainly considered to obtain the knowledge from the literature of other countries. Learning English became popular after World War II, but English was taught by teachers who were trained under the method that emphasized reading. There were no qualified teachers to teach hearing and speaking. In addition, Japanese and English belong to different families of languages. There are no commonalities either in structure or words. Another reason in the Ministry of Educations guidelines. The guideline limits the English vocabulary that is to be learned during the three years of junior high school to about 1,000 words. Textbooks must be screened first by the Ministry of Education and result for the most part in standardized textbooks making the English language learning too confining. Recent Years However, in recent years the necessity has increased to communicate in English as the ability to listen and speak English is in demand. The students and adults who study English conversation have increased rapidly and private English conversation schools have become prominent. Schools are now also putting strength into eigo-kyouiku by the installation of language laboratories and the hiring of foreign language teachers.

Business Policy

Produce a high quality products * Diversity and variety in products offered * Large market share (16% of global footwear market) * Major sponsor for a number of global sporting events * Purchasing of Reebok * Adidas has a Global Presence with over 2400 stores worldwide in a variety of regions. These alone account for nearly â‚ ¬2. 8bil. * Famous sports stars advertising products – Adidas has a series of football superstars who wear and advertise their products, including David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane, Stephen Gerrard etc. Weaknesses High prices in some products * Online customer service not helpful or easy to find * Not utilizing Reebok * Stiff competition and similar big brands means customers have high brand switching * The products can sometimes be costly due to innovative technology or production method * E-commerce is limited to USA Opportunities * Entering the Asian market, China is the fastest growing economy in the world. * Entering the female market * Social trend and popularity of social media sites such as Facebook, allowing Adidas to interact directly and build relationships with potential and current customers. Sponsorship of global sports events which improves the company’s global brand. These include an 11 year sponsorship on the NBA, the 2012 GB Olympic Games and the continued sponsorship of the FIFA WC. * Tie-up with emerging sports teams/clubs/players internationally * Collaborate with other online retailers to offer Adidas products Threats * Nike competition. Nike has strong reputation in the footwear and apparel industry * Global economic downturn. * Increase in the Price of Raw materials * Competition from designers such as Hugo Boss and Lacoste. * fake imitations affect brand image

Class Size And The Improvement Of Academic Performance Essay

Class Size And The Improvement Of Academic Performance - Essay Example Data availed from the National Assessment of Educational Progress proves that evidence is to the contrary. To illustrate, it was found that there was no significant improvement in the knowledge of students in reading, mathematics, and science through the class size fell by 27% between 1969 and 1997 (cited in The influence of class size on academic achievement). In addition, there was a decline in certain subject areas like science. However, it is not possible to totally believe these results. This is so because, in small classes, the dropout rate will be much lower as compared to big classes (ibid). In fact, dropout often results in higher class-average test scores as the dropouts are often the low-scoring pupils. When small classes are formed, teachers and school authorities take care to avoid student dropout. Thus, the low-scoring ones take the test along with other students and result in reduced class-average test scores. However, though rational, this claim is limited by the fact that there is no empirical evidence to prove the case. In fact, it becomes difficult to gather accurate data in this connection because the academic performance of students is influenced by a large number of factors other than class size. Some such factors are family background, language, and financial status. In order to make an effective analysis of the impact of class size on academic performance, all other factors need to be kept static. The only study that tried to do so was the STAR study (Ehrenberg, R.G. et al 2001). The study took efforts to keep other factors like the quality of teaching static throughout the study. Then, it was found that there was an improvement of 0.2 standard deviations or more (ibid). Other studies like the California study and the SAGE study too provided similar results.

Business strategy of the footwear company Essay

Business strategy of the footwear company - Essay Example The study will start with an insight into the company’s performance. In this case the data shows the performance of each of the eight companies under the footwear industry. The performance is rated against the investor’s expectation. Investor set the target for the performance of each company over a particular period, and in this case it is one year. From the information gathered most of the companies are quite scoring well on the scoreboard by exceeding the investor’s expectation and as such earning some bonus point. The company leading with the highest point is the bold footwear company which up to date is shown having 6 bonus points. Looking at some of the scoreboard performance over the few years, we see quite a fluctuation with companies showing a positive trend by increasing from the previous year’s while others going down the trench. Significant of this is the last year. That is year 20 where all the companies showed a significant reduction from the previous year. But something to note is that there is quite a good trend in the industry since the companies show quite good performance higher than the expectation of the investor. The earning per share shows quite a starling performance for three companies, company B, E, F. This is by the fact that these companies are scoring high above the investors’ expectation on the EPS. Greatly performed is company B with an average performance of above 15 while the other two have an average performance of between 2 and three. ... The other companies are performing quit below the expectation, with company H having the lowest weighted expectation. These results are replicated on the stock price per share and the return on shares. It is quite evident to mention that, there is a great correlation between these three because the company scoring high on the ROE similarly scores high on EPS. The credit rating shows a starling performance for three companies A, B, F, all of them scoring an A. That is high beyond the expectation of the investors. The other companies’ though not scoring that high, they are still within the range of the investors’ expectation. The image rating only gives three companies scoring beyond the expectation in the period of ten years. Page 4 of the report gives an insight on the company’s production and how they have been fairing in the market. The rate of production is compared against the consumption and rejected items. The rate of rejected production seems to be reduced and maintained below five percent in the last five years, but there appears to be a significant change in the year 20th year were the percentage moved up beyond 5 percent, on the footwear production. Page five of the report is a look at the financial performance that is the profit earning of each company. The records show quite a level performance at year 10. All the companies have a similar performance. At year 14, there is quite a very significant change with company B scoring a very high net profit while company H is scoring losses. The trend is replicated in the subsequent years with company B having the highest profit level while company F still scoring the great losses. It would be clear to mention that the decisions made by the companies H are the ones

Assessment for Learning Essay Example for Free

Assessment for Learning Essay The Assessment Reform Group (2002) identifies ten principles to guide classroom practice in assessment for learning . Choose five of particular relevance to your practice and evaluate them in relation to the pupil experience in your school. Assessment for learning (AFL) is the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to be and how to achieve their goal. Black and William (1998) in their research on the use of formative assessment in the classroom found ten principles of assessment which guide classroom practice in AFL. (Assessment Reform Group, 2003) The school I work in is a city based multi cultural school. UIS caters for children from all backgrounds and inclusion is of importance to our setting. I work in key stage 1 as a HLTA. I do PPA cover throughout the year 1 classes and I cover when a teacher is away wherever possible. The subjects I teach are the foundation subjects which are History, Geography, R. S and Music. I plan, implement and assess these subjects. In UIS, we believe that effective assessment provides information to improve teaching and learning. To do this in our school, we undertake two different but complementary types of assessment: assessment for learning and assessment of learning Assessment for learning (formative assessment) involves the use of assessment in the classroom to raise pupil achievements. It is based on the idea that pupils will improve most, if they understand the aim of their learning, where they are in relation to this aim, and how they can achieve this aim i.e. to close the gap in their knowledge. Assessment of learning (summative assessment) involves judging pupils’ performance against national standards. Teachers may make this judgement at the end of a unit of work, a term, a year, or if a key stage. We give our children regular feedback on their learning so they understand what it is that they need to do better. Research has shown that their involvement in the review process raises standards, and that it empowers pupils to take action towards improving their performance. The objectives of this assessment are: to enable our children to demonstrate what they know, understand and can do their work; to help our children recognise the standards to aim for, and to understand what they need to do next to improve their work; to allow teachers to plan work that accurately reflects the needs of each child; to provide regular information for the parents and carers that enables them to support their child’s learning; to provide the head teacher and governors with information that allows them to make a judgement about the effectiveness of the school. To support our teaching, we use the Early Years Foundation Stage guidance, the Primary Framework literacy and mathematics schemes of work based on National Curriculum objectives. We assess children at the end of each unit of work to help us identify each child’s level of attainment. The first principle that I will be discussing is that assessment for learning should be part of effective planning of teaching and learning. The teachers plan their lessons with clear learning objectives. We base these upon the teacher’s detailed knowledge of each child. UIS strive to ensure that all tasks set are appropriate to each child’s ability. Our lesson plans make clear the expected outcomes of each lesson. (Appendix 1) Teachers always share the lessons learning objectives with the children as the lesson begins. They also indicate the way in which the activity is linked to the learning objective, and the criteria against which the work will be judged which is the success criteria. Teachers ask well phrased questions and analyse pupils’ responses to find out what they know, understand and can do, and to reveal their misconceptions. We identify those individual children who do not achieve, or exceed, the expected level for the lesson, and we use this information when planning for the next lesson. Targets are set for end of Key Sage 1 and approved by Governors and the local Authority. UIS set year group targets in Mathematics, Reading and Writing for all our classes, during each academic year. These are expected levels of achievement reached by the end of the year for the majority of children and the more able in class. In Foundation1, staffs know that the next step children need to take is through systematic observation. These are shared with parents and talked through with children where appropriate. In Foundation 2 children have individual reading targets and group writing targets. In Key Stage 1 all children have individual and group targets in reading, writing and maths. Children’s targets are passed over to parents and carers, the progress of each child at the end of each term is reviewed, and revised targets are set. UIS recognise various methods of assessing a child’s learning. The type of assessment that our school make varies from subject to subject. We assess informally throughout the term, based on observations made by teachers or support staff. Every week I annotate assessment of the class I teach on my plan(appendix 2) and at the end of term fill out the assessment sheet. (Appendix 3) These observations are recorded in a variety of temporary formats, such as post-it notes, and are used to inform the Foundation Stage Profile or National Curriculum levels. We take the objectives for individual lessons from the board learning objectives within the school’s curriculum plan. These in turn reflect the demands of the National Curriculum / EYFS. The teachers record the progress of each child against these board objectives. This enables them to make a  judgement about the work each child in relation to national standards and allows them to monitor the progress of each child. Each teacher passes this information on to the next teacher at the end of each year. ` Teachers can review the rate of progress by looking at work in pupils’ folders or exercise books and by the marks in the record books. They can then use this to adjust day to day teaching and plan further work. One way to improve manageability would be to make a note only of those pupils who achieve significantly above or below the expected outcomes of a task’ (QCA, p. 3). The second principle that I will be discussing is how assessment for learning focuses on how students learn. ` If children don’t learn the way we teach perhaps we should teach the way they learn (Eppig, 1981). ’ The process of learning has to be in the minds of both the learner and the teacher. Assessment for learning helps those pupils, who do not always find learning easy, to make progress. ‘Planning for personalised learning focuses on what teachers need to do ,individually and collaboratively ,to develop assessment for learning and personalise learning by establishing supportive conditions for learning’(AFL,Primary Framework). When we do our assessment of a lesson we have to consider the different styles in which pupils learn. Day to day assessments is an on going and essential part of teaching and learning. Teachers and children continually reflect on how learning is progressing, see where improvements can be made and identify the next steps to take (national strategies standard) . When undertaking assessment of pupils, teachers use their knowledge of individual children in deciding on how to go about assessing the pupil. `Research on grading pupils, shows that children are less motivated and often demoralised when they are continually compared to each other. They need to know the criteria for the next level above ,but they do not need to know what that level is called. (Clarke,2001,p. 74)’ We have to consider the nature and level of support that the pupil receives as part of a normal classroom routine. The tasks and assessments are intended to assess a child’s ability in fair and a comparable way. If a child is a visual learner and for the assessment to be fair to him we adapt the test by having pictures inserted as well as questions. For those children that are auditory learners we read out the questions to the whole class and this enables them to fulfil their learning style. In our setting we have a working wall where the children are able to see what the objective and the success criteria of the lesson are. Appendix 4 On the working wall for the visual learner, we have two eyes to show what the teacher is looking for and ears to show the children to listen. For those children where English is an additional language we have support staff that are available while the test is taking place, so the staff can help where appropriate. Our school aims to be an inclusive school. We actively seek to remove the barriers to learning and participation that can hinder or exclude individual pupils, or groups of pupils. We achieve educational inclusion by continually reviewing what we do, by monitoring data, and through asking ourselves questions about the performance of these individuals and groups of pupils. In our setting there is a boy that is very able but his writing skills are very poor. His fine and gross motor skill are underdeveloped so to get the best out of him, he does all his work on the computer which is then assessed. Children that are on the S. E. N . register have their own I. E. P. ’s to work from with their allocated support staff, once their target is achieved they move on to the next target from their P-scales. The third principle that I would like to discuss is that assessment for learning should be recognised as central to classroom practice. Tasks and questions should prompt learners to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and skills. In our setting assessment for learning is recognised as central to classroom practice. In the Foundation unit the teachers usually plan the lesson with the ideas given by children. On a Friday afternoon the teacher has circle time with her class where she starts off with a basic topic and the children then give ideas on what they would like to do around the topic. In considering the ideas of the children it prompts the learners to learn and helps with the ongoing of assessments. I did a lesson on electricity in a year2 class which I was covering . In order for me to assess the children I asked a lot of open questions which prompted them to answer. The open questions gave the children the opportunity and encouraged them to think beyond the literal. ‘Research on wait-time showed that teachers need to leave five seconds after asking children a question, to allow them to respond. This is the optimum time it takes to process the question to formulate the answer (Clarke, 2001. p. 87). After having watched the classroom experiment I was able to take on board the idea of waiting time which I now religiously apply. ` Increasing waiting time after asking questions proved difficult to start with due to my habitual desire to â€Å"add† something almost immediately after asking the original question. The pause after asking the question was sometimes â€Å"painful. † It felt unnatural to have such a seemingly â€Å"dead† period, but I persevered. Given more thinking time, students seemed to realize that a more thoughtful answer was required ‘(D e r e k, Century Island School). The negative side to the waiting time is that some teachers wait for two seconds before they either ask another child or answer the question themselves . Children often then do not try to think of a response, because they know that the answer would be given or another child would be asked to answer. The lesson was very inter-active I was able to assess whether my success criteria was achieved. When I handed the worksheets to the children I had asked them to write the learning objective below the date and to refer to it when they were doing there work. The fourth principle that I would be discussing is that learners should receive constructive guidance about how to improve their learning. `An assessment activity can help learning if it provides information that teachers and their students can use as feedback in assessing themselves and one another and in modifying the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged. Such assessment becomes â€Å"formative assessment† when the evidence is actually used to adapt the teaching work to meet learning needs (Black and William, 1989). Most learners are curious to know how they have done in a task . `Feedback is sometimes seen as part of a behaviourist approach to learning ,where it is part of the sequence stimulus-response –reinforcement (Wragg,2001,p. 27). The aim of marking in our setting is to improve the quality of teaching and learning in the classroom. Whilst doing my researchÃ'Ž I found out that Nancy from Riverside school says that her marking has developed from comments with targets and grades, which is the school policy, to comments and targets only. Pupils do work on targets and corrections more productively if no grades are given. Marking is an integral part of assessment and target setting and the outcomes inform short, medium and long term planning. Its rationale is to enable every child to achieve their full potential. It is recognised that one to one oral feedback is most valuable for young children. It should remind the child of the learning intention and emphasise the positive aspects of the child’s practical or recorded work. ` Various research studies have concluded that feedback is most useful when it focuses on the learning intention of the task rather than other features of the work’(Clarke,2001,p. 50). In our setting the minimal response for all written work is that it should be initialled and dated to acknowledge that it has been seen. Maths work is usually ticked if correct and marked with a bullet point to signify that the answer needs to be checked. In UIS traffic lights are used to indicate whether the child has achieved the success criteria for the task. Green-learning objective met, orange-a few examples of learning objective having been met, red-learning objective not met, need to see the teacher. (Appendix 5). When a child meets the learning objective the work may be underlined or highlighted in some way to acknowledge the child’s success. Smiley faces are used to indicate good effort. Whilst doing my research and talking to other teachers in school I found out that each child gets a detailed feedback of their work at regular intervals. This detailed feedback could be oral or written and should be specific and related to the learning intention set for the particular piece of work. Feedback needs to indicate areas where improvements or next step targets are to focus. It is important to allow children the time to reflect on the feedback and make improvements to a specific piece of work. The fifth principle that I would like to discuss is assessment for learning develop learners’ capacity for self-assessment so that they can become reflective and self managing. `In practice, peer assessment turns out to be an important complement to self-assessment. Peer assessment is uniquely valuable because students may accept criticisms of their work from one another that they would not take seriously if the remarks were offered by a teacher’(Black and William. p. 6). Peer assessment and self-assessment is much more than children marking their own or each other’s work. To improve learning, it must be an activity that engages children with the quality of their work and helps them reflect on how to improve it. Peer assessment enables children to give each other valuable feedback so they learn from and support each other. It adds a valuable dimension to learning: the opportunity to talk, discuss, explain and challenge each other enables children to achieve beyond what they can learn unaided. Peer assessment helps develop self-assessment, which promotes independent learning, helping children to take increasing responsibility for their own progress. `Research shows that if self-evaluation is linked with the learning intention of a task, children’s progress, persistence and self-esteem is improved(Black and William,1998). The development of peer assessment and self-assessment takes planning, time, patience and commitment. When children don’t understand the intended learning outcomes they find it difficult to move beyond superficial criteria related to neatness and spelling. By using a range of strategies and by dedicating time to allow children to reflect on and discuss their learning teachers can develop children’s peer assessment and self-assessment skills. ` Independent learners have the ability to seek out and gain new skills, new knowledge and new understandings. They are able to engage in self-reflection and to identify the next steps in their learning. Teachers should equip learners with desire and the capacity to take charge of their learning through developing the skills of self-assessment (Assessment Reform Group, 2002)’. UIS trains children to use the traffic light system to indicate directly on their work to what extent they feel they have achieved the learning objective of their given task and how secure they feel they are in their learning. This helps the teacher to identify if a child is having any difficulty and this also give the children confidence in seeking help. The negative aspects of using the traffic light system at right at the end of the lesson is that some children who are over confident tend to rank their achievement very high and those children that have low confidence tend to under estimate themselves. Teachers in our setting also encourage children use the thumbs up that is when a child is confident they have achieved what was expected of them, thumbs sideways which indicates that they are half way there in understanding the objective ,but could achieve more and thumbs down which indicates that the child does not really understand and needs a bit more help. In order to develop pupil’s skills with self assessing their work we use prompt questions which the children can think about when reviewing their work. Pupils need to be able to assess their own progress to become more independent learners. ` One of the reasons peer assessment is so valuable is because children often give and receive criticisms of their work more freely than in the traditional teacher/child interchange. Another advantage is that the language used by children to each other is the language they would naturally use, rather than school language’ (Black et al, 2003). We regularly do peer marking which I find very helpful indeed. A lot of misconceptions come to the fore, and we then discuss these as we are going over the work. I then go over the peer marking and talk to pupils individually as I go round the room. Peer evaluation works really well because children learn from each other where they have gone wrong and how to put it right. The advantage of peer assessment is that children get to work with different children and they get a wide idea on how the pupil has achieved their success criteria. Some children assume that the more able children never find anything difficult, but this process makes them aware that all learners find some aspects difficult. After having done all my research I have found that the most important aspect of assessment is to have the learning intention and success criteria in focus. In UIS, with the self –evaluation strategies that we use it develops children’s awareness of their learning needs as well as open doors for teachers to get a better understanding of the pupil. Some teachers tend to give feedback to pupils on areas that are not of much relevance to the objective. It takes a while to get into the habit of giving appropriate and relevant feedback but the strategy is simple, make sure that the learning intention is mentioned first and then talk about the secondary features. If it is necessary to mention the secondary features, then say it in a very low tone to the pupil concerned. `As the research demonstrates, formative assessment makes a significant difference to children’s progress –in their ability to be confident, critical learners, to achieve more than ever before and in raising their self-esteem. In a world of continuing pressure, it is good to know that we are making a real difference to children’s lives. (Clarke, 2001, p139). ’Pupils enjoy finding that other children often have the same thoughts, share similar feelings on a particular subject, and have similar problems or successes whilst doing self-evaluation assessment. Ofsted had done a survey on 43 schools and found that 7 of these schools were inadequate in their assessment for learning. `Where assessment for learning had had less impact, the teachers had not understood how the approaches were supposed to improve pupils’ achievement. In particular, they used key aspects of assessment for learning, such as identifying and explaining objectives, questioning, reviewing pupils’ progress and providing feedback without enough precision and skill. As a result, pupils did not understand enough about what they needed to do to improve and how they would achieve their targets. Teachers did not review learning effectively during lessons; opportunities for pupils to assess their own work or that of their peers were infrequent and not always effective’(Ofsted). Michael Fullan also suggests that many educational innovations have been frustrated by the inherent but understandable ‘conservatism’ of teachers. He suggests that real change will only occur where teacher beliefs about teaching and learning have been significantly altered. Education is littered with examples of innovations that have either failed or only been partially implemented because teachers weren’t convinced the change was necessary and would result in real improvement. The result has been that they merely modify their practice at the edges and then abandon the change after a while because it ‘didn’t work for them’. More effective use of assessment, particularly formative assessment, will require many teachers to reconsider their approach to teaching and learning and to re-evaluate their working practices’(Weeden,2002,p. 127). Therefore if schools and teachers want to make changes they have to have the subject knowledge, be committed and dedicated to continually re-examine their teaching styles. Reference Assessment Reform Group (2002) Assessment for Learning: Ten Principles [online] Available from:www. assessment-reform-group. org. uk [Accessed 19th December 2010]Ã'Ž Black, P. ,and Wiliam,D. (1998). Inside the black box: Raising standards through classroom assessment. Phi Delta Kappan Vol 80, 139-149. [Accessed: 19th December 2010] Clarke,S. (2001). Unlocking formative Assessment . London: Hodder and Stoughton Clarke,S. (2005)Formative Assessment in Action London:Hodder and Stoughton Eppig, P. (1981) Education by design –used in the UK as Critical Skills program by [emailprotected] (Bristol Education Action Zone) Weeden,P. Winter,J. Broadfoot,P. (2002). Assessment-Whats in it for Schools. [online] London: Routledge Falmer. p. 127. Available from: http://northampton. np. eblib. com [Accessed:27th December 2010] Wragg,E. C (2001). Assessment and Learning in the Primary School [online]. London: Routledge Falmer. p. 27. Available from: http://northampton. np. eblib. com [Accessed:27th December 2010] QCA (1999) Keeping Track,Qualification and Curriculum Authority. http://nationalstrategies. standards. dcsf. gov. uk/primary/primaryframework Appendices 1. Lesson plan 2. Annotated Lesson Plan 3. Assessment sheets 4. working wall 5. Traffic lights.

Preventing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Essay examples -- Preven

The Los Angeles Times recently ran survey results that found that four out of five teenagers suffer sex harassment at school. One in ten students said that he/she had been forced to commit a sexual act during school hours. The surveyors state that the findings provide evidence that sexual harassment in schools has reached â€Å"epidemic† proportions. Employment training programs now ten years after the sexual harassment prohibition and the well-publicized Thomas hearings begin with myths and facts about sexual harassment or pre-tests on knowledge of the prohibitions against the activity. These tests still come up with â€Å"true† for the answers to myths like, â€Å"Women working in a predominantly male job should expect to live with rough language and dirty jokes† or â€Å"Only certain kinds of men harass women workers.† Sexual harassment, a form of sex discrimination violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and in the employment context Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended in 1991. Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment when submission to or rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment or education, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work or educational performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work or educational environment. Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances. The victim as well as the harasser may be a woman or a man. The victim does not have to be of the opposite sex. The victim could be anyone affected by the offensive conduct. ... ...vention and claims defense. A program to eliminate sexual harassment from the workplace is not only required by law, but it is the most practical way to avoid or limit damages if harassment should occur despite all preventative efforts. Unfortunately, â€Å"Boys will† still â€Å"be boys† and †girls too. Bibliography http://www.dfeh.ca.gov/sexualHarTypical.htm http://www.dfeh.ca.gov/employerObligations.htm www.eeoc.gov/laws/vii.html www.dfeh.ca.gov King & Barlow, Sexual Harassment: When a Quick Response May Not Be Prevention Enough, 1999 Brower & Associates, Sexual Harassment Prevention Training, 1999 Parham & Rajcic, Sex and Power in the Schools, 1996 Liebert, Cassidy & Frierson, Finding the Facts: Harassment Investigations School Policy Legal Insider, April 1999 Equal Opportunity Commission: Policy Guidance on Sexual Harassment, 1990

Koalas Essay

Obamacare, or what is formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, is federal legislation that was signed into law on March 23, 2010 by present Barak Obama. The act aims to reform national healthcare and give more people than before access to affordable healthcare. The overall goal of the act is to cover all persons regardless of their conditions or other factors. The passing of Obamacare has led to much conflict in the government and throughout the nation. In particular, recently the act has been the root of heated disagreements and government unrest among the Democrats and Republicans. Obamacare, or the concept of a nation or statewide healthcare program, is not the first of its kind. The idea dates as far back as 1989 when it was proposed to Congress. Bill and Hillary Clinton had a similar objective in the 1990’s and Mitt Romney made similar reforms in 2006 while the governor of Massachusetts. The Clinton’s health care plan was similar to Obamaâ €™s in that they were national campaigns to provide universal healthcare. Also similar was the amount of controversy both drew up in the House as well as with the American people. The newly imposed ACA has many areas in which it aims to help those who cannot afford healthcare as well as better the healthcare system in the country as a whole. The main point of Obamacare is guaranteed issue of healthcare to all people and prohibits the denial of healthcare based on prior conditions. One benefit of Obamacare is allowing children to stay on their parents’ healthcare plan until age 26. Along with guaranteed coverage, Obamacare will institute an exchange so individuals can compare prices of private insurances and purchase insurance. It is estimated that over 15 million men and women will be eligible for purchase of healthcare. Families that fall within a certain distance to the poverty line will be compensated for choosing a policy using this exchange. This is an incentive for people to utilize this plan and purchase healthcare. On the business side of things, Obamacare also pushes towards the nationalizing of healthcare. There are penalties for businesses who employ over 5o employees and do not provide healthcare. Overall there are several efforts made in many areas of the country to push for healthcare for everyone in the United States. There are many areas in which families and individuals can benefit from the Affordable Care Act. According to ObamacareFacts, Americans making less than $45,960 or families making under $94,200 are eligible for free or low-cost insurance. Also, as a result of  Obamacare 24 million people will be exempt from the Individual Mandate which requires the purchase of health insurance. It is noted that anyone who feels they cannot afford healthcare will be covered under Obamacare and granted low-cost or free insurance. Dating back to 2008 the Democrats and Republicans had been on different sides of the national healthcare debate. The senate was close to passing the bill to reform healthcare in 2009. The Democrats needed 60 votes to pass, but due to a series of events leading to some members not supporting the bill or not voting, the act was not passed. After further delegation, what previously was a disagreement of terms and conditions had Republicans and Democrats in stark opposition to one another. All Democrats were strong supports of the bill and Republicans adamantly opposed. Now, it is clear the side the Democrats take on the Affordable Care Act. The real question is, why do Republicans oppose what appears to be such a proactive and achievable goal? The topic is an intriguing one, and one that does not have one definite answer. The Republicans themselves say nothing more than that Obamacare will destroy the country. Such a powerful accusation yet no real explanation or further comments lead only to more questions than answers on their true position. There are arguments that say the ACA is detrimental to the economy, and that businesses cannot afford to spend any more money on healthcare. Another claim was that Obamacare was unconstitutional, although the Supreme Court overruled this idea. Sources outside the Republican Party see the Republicans’ dislike of Obamacare solely because they dislike Obama himself. They appear to be against Obamacare simply just to be again st Obama. Another theory is the tax increases that would come along with Obamacare. One New York Times article highlights the â€Å"real reason† as to why Republicans are opposed to the Affordable Care Act. Eduardo Porter claims that Republicans are actually afraid that the American people will like Obamacare. They do not want the US population to realize that it will not actually destroy the economy and it can actually improve the lives of many people, many Republicans to be more specific. They are fearful of the positive impacts it could have on supporters of the Republican Party. One common problem many Americans admit to having with Obamacare. The nickname Obamacare is a point many people cannot get past, and when asked if they support it or not many say they do not. But the overwhelming majority of Americans agree with the actual terms  of the ACA and the steps it takes to better healthcare in the US. It could be that the simple concept of a nickname could be the main problem people have with an overall positive proposal. Although Obamacare itself has been spread out to institute new laws and regulations over the next 5-10 years, the effects of some of the early plans have already been present. ACA has already impacted the number of insured Americans and that amount is expected to continue to rise. Another change that has already been made is regarding dropping policy holders. No longer are insurance firms allowed to drop policy holders due to sickness or injury. Perhaps the most noticed and controversial part to date is the increase in healthcare costs and its effects on the national budget. The national debt limit has been a very sensitive topic and the affect Obamacare will have on it is not helping the problem. It needs to be determine the lengths necessary to go in order to make healthcare nationally available yet not impact the national debt in a way as to cause economic unrest. With a plan that has stirred up so much unrest in its early days, the future does not bode well for Obamacare. Johnathan Oberlander of the New England Journal of Medicine argues that many of the problems that the Affordable care act faces today will not be present once the act is more establis hed in several years. Once the disagreements on the actual passing of the bill fade, in come the disputes about what the act does and does not do and the boundaries of the laws. â€Å"Perhaps the most difficult long-term challenge facing Obamacare is cost control† (Oberlander, New England Journal of Medicine). Cost control is a serious issue that is seen to be a point of major contention in the future due to the lack of limits on spending. Another negative aspect of Obamacare is the affect it will have on our country in the global scheme of things. The spending on healthcare in the United States makes up 35% of the national spending, a whopping $1.38 trillion (Boot, Wall Street Journal). Much different than a time when the majority of spending was allocated to war or national security, many Americans now worry about the extent of healthcare costs in relation to other costs. Globally we are seen as a significant power, but with so much of our money dedicated to healthcare people are concerned for th e safety and protection of our nation. Along with the healthcare protection of Obamacare comes the increase in government spending, and with that comes the alarming reality of less and less spending on our national  security. In my opinion Obamacare is a very beneficial planned instituted by the government that receives an unnecessary and unfair amount of criticism. The Kaiser Health Tracker poll asked Americans whether or not they supported Obamacare and the majority were against it. However, the poll also showed that 88% were in support of tax credits, 76% in favor of expanding the coverage age of children to 26, and 71% and 66% in favor of expanding Medicaid and banning exclusions for preexisting conditions respectively. This shows that people are unfairly judging Obamacare, whether that be because of the nickname given to it or because it is President Obama’s plan. I feel that the overall objective of the plan is one that should not be so vehemently disputed and put down by Americans and other political parties. The goal of achieving a nationally supported healthcare is a very positive one that should be supported by anyone who is in favor of the well-being of our country.

Historical Perspectives of Abnormal Psychology Essay

There is no definition of abnormal psychological which has approval by the psychological social groups. Although, knowing of ones abnormal mindset is essential in assessing personal behaviors in determining what is intended (Hansell & Damour, 2008). Abnormal social content is often looked upon as personal behavior opposing to social normality. This structure is essential in analizing the abnormal mindset and focus to accurately filter conduct presented whether unusual or usual. This paper will determine the start of what presents abnormal mindset and how the developement is originated for use scientifically. Lastly, the paper will inspect the psychodynamic, humanistic and existential, behavioral, cognitive, sociocultural, family support and biological theoretical areas important to the strength of abnormal psychology. Origins of Abnormal Psychology The development of abnormal mindset can be transcribed for thousands of years. To this date, people have evolved in specified cases of undesired conduct. Historically, unusual conduct is seen as biological, psychological outcomes seen also as supernatural factors (Hansell & Damour, 2008). The observation of unusual conduct is often believed individuals acknowledge the idea of depletion of bad spirits, devils, and intities (Hansell & Damour, 2008). As far back as the Mesolithic period, normal practices of torture would be practiced to those who displayed unusual conduct to be pardoned. Additionally, the use of exorcisms was performed to extinguish the existance of paranormal activities. Additionally, in the Roman era the chemicals in an individuals head would be released to extinguish the individuals from unusual conduct. This tyoe of consequence was passed on into the Dark Ages; Europeans viewed this conduct as psychological disease which drew evil spirits to such individuals for pos session. Torture was practiced on individuals who presented unusual behaviors, and was common to relinquish an evil spirt for centuries. Challenges to Defining and Classifying Normal and Abnormal Behavior Though an individual can present unusual conduct, he or she is viewed as one who violates expectations or rules in a society or culture (Hansell & Damour, 2008). A lack of understanding is particularly notable because of various traditions and culture is viewed differently in consideration of the beliefs of certain traditions. An example is, a typical American will eat at a fast food chain for a quick bite at the work place, whereas many cultures from euopean all the way to middle eastern will bring his or her ethnic food to ingest, but do not condone this type of conduct. On the flip side, woman in the Middle East receive harsh abuse and it is not against the law for men to treat woman this way, but in the United States it is against the law for men to abuse their woman and he will receive a criminal offense for such behavior. In other words, it depends on the culture to consider if the unusual conduct violates law or social acknowledgement, decisions are relatively complex from are a to area. Unusual conduct can affect people negatively presently, but may be viewed as usual conduct in the future. How Abnormal Psychology has evolved into a Scientific Discipline The scientific element concept within the unusuwl aspects of psychology was developed by Hippocrates, a greek doctor. Hippocrates believed biological patterns are responsible for such unusual conduct. Hippocrates believed through biological cause an individual will be more likely to be cured from such illness. Also, Hippocrates referred the brain as a componant being responsible for an individual’s intelligence, awareness and cleverness. With such reference, these components play a significant role in how an individual displays his or her conduct (Hansell & Damour, 2008). Historically, thousands of years ago, individuals who displayed unusual conduct were labled as witches, or unusual conduct would draw in devils. The frequent attendance of church would increase because of the severity of such fear of evil. Following, the enligtenment era develoloped where unusual conduct was analysed throughly before considered a consequence for various discrepancies of an individuals brain f unctions, an acceptance was generally regarded as a psychological disease that accounted for the use of various remedies that were implemented (Hansell & Damour, 2008). Development of Abnormal Psychology: Biological and Theoretical Perspectives Unusual psychology on a biological viewpoint invests with the unusual acts that rooy from an inbalance within the brain. The use of psychotropic medications are used on a theraputic regimen to help elliviate symptoms; additionally, treatments used such as electro- convolsive therapy , and psychdynamic hypothisis to aid human contact on influences psychological through the unconscious mind (Hansell & Damour, 2008). For most part, an individual’s conduct is essential and is charactorized from a previous experience. Psychoanalysis is used as an approach in the theraputic needs. The use of the behavioral model is essential when conditioning is relevent. Depending on the situation, the use of operant and classical conditioning are considered (Hansell & Damour, 2008). Therefore, unusual conduct, and its reactives are performed to elleviate psychological disorders through the conditiining process and behavioral therapy to cure such disorder. In the 1960s, Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck implemented the cognitive approach to establish cognitive function using procedures to open conduct, stimulate ideas, feelings which establish personality and individual attitudes (Hansell & Damour, 2008).

The Theme of Attachment in the Shawshank Redemption Society Essays

The Theme of Attachment in the Shawshank Redemption Society Essays The Theme of Attachment in the Shawshank Redemption Society Paper The Theme of Attachment in the Shawshank Redemption Society Paper Essay Topic: The Shawshank Redemption Formal Writing-What organizations face a lack of attachment to wider society? What is lacking attachment? Lacking attachment is not having a link to something. Be it a material object or objects, or human life. In my opinion, one of the most severe issues illustrated in the Shawshank Redemption, a film directed by Frank Darabont, is the lack of attachment that the prisoners have to the outside world. I will be addressing the issue that this theme presents in The Shaw shank Redemption, as well as in a New Zealand and global setting. The New Zealand setting I will be addressing are rest homes, and the global setting are prisons housing prisoners of war. During the course of the film, ‘The Shawshank Redemption’, there are no references of any kind of visitors or parcels for the prisoners from the ‘outside’. This proves that the prisoners have little knowledge of what is going on outside the prison walls. Although the prisoners have little luxuries from the outside on the count of Red’s ability to â€Å"locate certain things from time to time†, it is evident that they have very little. An example is the theater room. Andy has already seen the movie showing four times, which might show the fact that they have little variance? Brooks shows this theme powerfully after he leaves on parole. Brooks walks out the prison gates staring out at the world outside the grey walls he has seen for the last 40 years of his life. Brooks sits in the bus holding on for what seems like dear life on the railing on the seat in front of him, probably indicating his need to hold on to something solid now that he is on his own. In his letter to the â€Å"fellas†, Brooks talks about how he saw an â€Å"automobile once†, when he â€Å"was a kid†, but now, he remarks, â€Å"they’re everywhere†. This quote shows his obvious ignorance to the progress of the world. Brooks sums up the issue cleanly with the quote â€Å"the world went and got itself in a big hurry†. This aspect of Brooks’ journey shows that he recognizes the fact that everything has surpassed him; he can’t keep up alone on the outside. There are several moments in the film when the severity of this issue is revealed beneath the surface. For example, he is surprised when Andy speculates on what is possible through mail; setting up a social security number and license card amongst other things. The evident lack of connection to the outside world is obviously present. Brooks is the most obvious character who illustrates this. I also believe that although Red does know a lot, there are still things on the outside that surpass him. I personally doubt that prisoners of our day and time experience the same issues that the men of Shawshank Prison. Today, prisoners have visiting hours, packages from family and friends, and are lightly given parole and/or home detention. As well as this, the media has published several times information on ‘luxuries’ that men inside prison now have; widescreen televisions, heated flooring, and the ability to earn money while on the ‘inside’. This is a strong opposite of Shawshank Prison. Of all atrocities shown in the film, one of the most appalling is the maggot the Andy finds in his first breakfast. This is denying a man of his most basic need; edible food. Prisoners today have three meals a day. As well as this, they can receive food parcels from home, which reinforces the theme of attachment to society. In my opinion, the people in New Zealand today who probably face the issue of disattachment most are those who live in rest homes. Although rest homes are a stark difference to prisons, they face a similar disattachment. Patients of rest homes live in partial isolation in rooms or apartments. They have the right to feel ‘abandoned’ as those who cared for them now have no time for them, and have left them alone. The existence of rest homes may not be so harsh, but the inhabitants most probably feel this way. However, an example that shows off the ‘harshness’ of rest homes is the case of the ‘Gagging Rest home’ where a resident of a rest home was gagged by an employee for ‘making too much noise’. I do not personally know anyone who lives in a rest home, but those who have parents in rest homes speak of how their mothers or fathers despise being there. On a global scale, I support prisoners once again. But this time, prisoners of war, who are detained as a result of a war. Prisoners are obvious advocates for those who have no attachment to society. Prisoners of war however, are more extreme. They are imprisoned in a country that they are not originally from, because they were fighting in a war most probably for their nation’s freedom. There are obvious hardships for prisoners of war; language barriers, and clashes of cultures and traditions. There are even rumors of torture, mistreatment and execution. A prime example of a P. O. W amp is Guantanomo Bay the USA’s controversial prison for prisoners of war and suspected terrorists. There have been numerous reports over the abuse and beatings of inmates in the prison. The theme, a lack of attachment, is evident with prisoners of war because they are isolated from their countries; their families, friends, homes, jobs, just about everything. And while they are imprisoned fo r years and often traded as items used in discussing treaties, they are held in places completely alien to them, where they can’t connect with anything. When nations decide to end their wars, prisoners of war are exchanged in accordance to treaties. This is regularly done in conflict hotspots like in Lebanon and Israel. Most, if not all people, have a distinguished connection or attachment to society and people. Humans need social connection in order to progress, to live. When they are denied of this, they lose their sense of life; they grow alone, until they can’t live within society anymore. Brooks showed this very well. I believe that The Shawshank Redemption projected this theme extremely well. Red’s quotes about ‘institutionalism’ and ‘relying on these walls† are even better indicators of the severed connections with society. Those living in rest homes should also feel that sense of dies attachment. Having lived over 50 years of their lives integrated in society, living alone within a schedule of strict timetables is basically taking the life they had before. The same principles are present in prisons housing prisoners of war. In some sense, they can feel like Andy did, imprisoned for unjustified means. In my opinion, I believe that being separated from society can be damaging to a person’s psyche. I am not supporting criminals or prisoners, but I think the standards presented in The Shawshank Redemption aim to make the audience feel empathetic. The director, Frank Darabont, said himself that â€Å"if you don’t feel fro Brooks, then you don’t have a heart†. What if you were to be kept in a room, to be let out only to eat, or to use the bathroom? Imagine living in a world where your every move is timetabled. How would you survive? Living this way leads to changes in people, they do things that they would not do on the ‘outside’. There are people such as Bogs Diamond, who become savage, and turn to homosexuality, or gentler souls, like the ‘gagging rest home’ victim who complained. No human should be denied regular connection with the world.

Car Manufacturing Units of Australia and Japan Essay

Car Manufacturing Units of Australia and Japan - Essay Example During the time of federation, Australian states were symbolised as highly integrated economies, with only a few barriers to trade, except tariff. As Forster puts it, there were free flow of labor and capital as there were no barriers, and the economic institutions operated across a number of economies. Federation removed the barrier in between the states in Australia, namely, tariffs. With time, both political and economic union mitigated the influence of other policies, which might have acted as the non tariff barriers in between the Australian states. Thus, the combined effect of reduced tariffs as well as the harmonised inter state standards drew the Australian state economies closer to one another. (Irwin D. A., December 2005) Holden was a popular name in the car manufacturing industry in Australia in the 1950s and in the early 1960s. By the middle of 1950, Holden cars were exported into Middle Asian territories and Asia-Pacific. With the expansion in the overseas, this 'all-Australian car' was the nation's pride; therefore, it dominated the car market in Australia. (General Motors Holden, (1948 - 1976). Along with Holden, Valiant was also an important car manufacturing company in Australia during 1950 - 1980. Much of their popularity can be attributed to their unique models, engines, pacer, utility and drifter that made it a truly Australian car. (Valiant, n.d.) In the year 1980, the protectionist policies were discarded and the government of Australia opened up trade and market in between Australian and Japan. DFAT or Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade declared that Australia and Japan would be partners in multinational cooperation. The new government also intensified microeconomic reforms to coastal shipping and port in Australia along with reforms in the labor market, transport, energy and communications. Australian Government also aimed at strengthening the key bilateral economic relationships with other countries, with Japan being the most important one. At that time, Japan was also undergoing major economic reforms, and Australia encouraged Japanese Government to accelerate the reforms. Right at that time, Australian exports were also shifting to manufactures and services from commodities. (Downer A, June 1996) Japan also got the contract for manufacturing the popular car - Holden, and therefore, Japan started manufacturing Holden for Australia. In the year 1987, United Australian Automotive Industries was created to control the Holden-Toyota joint venture; the GM arm of it was named as General Motors Holden's Automotive or simply, GMHA. In the year 1988, Holden continued to demonstrate its leadership with the introduction of exciting car models incorporating engineering techniques, significant design and safety innovations. However, the joint venture was dissolved in the year 1995. (Holden History, n.d.) However, the market shares of Holden reversed after the year 2000. The shares dropped significantly in the year 2006 and General Motors announced job slash along with cut back production in the South Australian Plant. Holden also

Evaluating an International Human Resource Strategy (Obb) Essay

Evaluating an International Human Resource Strategy (Obb) - Essay Example The report has been concluded along with certain recommendations that might prove to be effective for the company in the future context. The face of business has changed considerably over the last few decades owing to the advancement of technology and the aspect of globalisation that has shortened national and international barriers of business. Furthermore, the rise of competition in the global business scenario also worked towards the changing the nature of the business world altogether. These aspects further give rise to the need for companies to develop strategies to make a mark for themselves amid the potential customers and gain a competitive edge over the major competitors (Ivanko, 2013). There are various functions of any business that integrate together and form the foundation for conducting business in an effective and efficient manner altogether. Among the various functions that are associated with the operations of any business, the functions of human resource management are deemed to be quite vital. The human resource department of any business is directly responsible to deal with the various issues as w ell as operations that are relevant to human resource of the business. The role of an HR manager is deemed to be quite prominent with regard to modern day business operations and it is prevalent in every domain of the business (Martin, 2008). This particular report will mainly focus on evaluating a human resource strategy of an international organisation i.e. H&M. The report will primarily highlight the strategy of the company with regard to entering a new market through conducting joint venture with a particular company. The company that will be considered for joint venture in this report will be Cia Hering of Brazil. H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB is one of the foremost companies, which is operating in the retail clothing sector