Saturday, August 31, 2019

Corporate and Business Law Assignment 2012

Table of Contents Introduction2 Proceedings2 The evidence3 Precedents set by tribunals6 Conclusion6 Corporate & Business Law Introduction An Employment Tribunal would hear claims regarding matters to do with employment. These could include unfair dismissal, discrimination and redundancy payments. An employment tribunal is similar to a court but it is not as formal and it must act independently. These are commonly open to the public. Employment tribunals are independent judicial bodies who help determine disputes between employees and employers about their employment rights.The tribunal I chose to view and write this report on is an employment tribunal, that involved the claimant putting forward a case of unfair dismissal and breach of contract that was based on the fact that she felt she was unfairly dismissed while carrying out her duties that were set to her by her employer (Dr Monoghon). * Less formal than other court proceedings. * Lower costs. * Benefit of tribunal is they can c hoose to represent themselves. * Lay members specialise in their area of expertise regarding the case.Below are details of the claimant, defendant, time, date and venue. The Case Unfair Dismissal and breach of contract Venue: Croydon Tribunals Date: 13th November 2012 Time: 10:00am – 16:00pm Defendant: Dr Hester Monoghan Claimant: Ms Davidson Evidence: 8 minutes Audio recording After Ms Davidson was dismissed from her job, she later received a call from the nanny agency that she was working for, stating that they had been informed by the police that of an allegation of child abuse by herself on the children.She was then refused to be represented by the agency as they did not want to put forward her name as it would reflect badly on the agency as she had a case on going against her. This prevented her from finding work and therefore was out of work for a period of five months. Ms Davidson opened this case up against the defendant as she feels she unfairly dismissed and had a b ad reputation in regards to her occupation. She therefore wanted to be reimbursed for the loss of the work she missed out on and also wanted to clear her name regarding this issue.Proceedings Upon entering the tribunal room, the judge was seated front centred facing both parties involved in the case, the parties involved were Miss Davidson the claimant, her representative Peter Mathews, seated next to her and parallel to her on the left hand side were the respondents Dr Monoghan and Mr Monoghan. Once entered the judge introduced her and then allowed the defendant and claimant a chance to introduce themselves, preceded by giving defendant an opportunity to provide a brief history of the events which had taken place.Dr Monoghan believed that the claimant had not been fulfilling her duties properly and was in breach of the employment contract as it had come to the Monoghans attention that she was using foul words in front of her children, which the children had picked up and started to use whilst in the home environment. Dr and Mr Monoghan did not approve of this and believed that the claimant had been lying about taking her kids to activities and used to say she did in the diary that had been prescribed to the claimant.For this reason she felt she had to take the situation in to her own hand and therefore had her husband put in place voice recording measures in an open plan kitchen/living/dining room. On 8th March 2012 they made an eight hour recording of Ms Davidson’s shift at her house. This was broken in to segments totalling a twenty minute recroding. After listening to the audio recording they felt that they had â€Å"reasonable grounds to believe that Miss Davidson was verbally abusive and showed a lack of empathy and lovingness towards her children.The evidence The judge then gave Dr Monoghan a chance to play the evidence that had been produced but Mr Monoghan then intervened and then asked the judge â€Å"Is it not against privacy right to play a recording in a public tribunal†. The judge then referred to a ruling book and then she made a judgment that it would be allowed as she felt it corresponded to the guidelines of the tribunal proceedings. Mr Monoghan then setup the audio to show the recording that was made on the 8th March 2012 whilst his children were in care of Ms Davidson.I felt this expression was used for the fact that it was a public viewing and Mr Monoghan felt it was a sensitive situation as it involved his children of a minor age which could be seen as a private matter to him and his family as he would not want his kids further involved in this situation. The audio recording was of snippets of dinner time while the children were in care of Ms Davidson. The children were not paying attention to what Ms Davidson was telling them to do and therefore this was frustrating her.Her mannerism towards the children then indicated that she was persistent for the children eating their food also indicating threate ning behaviour indicated the comment by â€Å"if you don’t eat your food the trolls are going get you†. There were words used such as; â€Å"Go away† â€Å"Shut up† â€Å"Can you just eat your food!! † â€Å"Stop it† There was a constant rudeness to the children throughout this recording. The male child was especially picked on by Ms Davidson as she would say to him â€Å"You, stop being bossy to your sister! During the recording there was a clear sharpness to Ms Davidson’s voice towards the children and there was a continuity of abusive behaviour towards the children. Questioning of Dr. Monoghan Once this audio recording was finished the judge then asked the defendant, Dr Monoghan, to come up on the witness stand. Dr Monoghan was then asked to read out the Oath of Truth in court. The judge then began to ask her questions to break it down and try and work out really what happened.Talking about the appraisal meeting in January defenda nt explained that she had raised the fact that the children had been using inappropriate language to her and her husband such has â€Å"shut up† and â€Å"that’s tough†. She then went on to say that she had highlighted this to Ms Davidson and asked her to restrain from using these words in front of them as felt it would have a negative impact on their upbringing. She also asked Ms Davidson to focus on the male child as she felt her relationship with the female child was a good one. To this Ms Davidson replied by saying that the male child was the most difficult child she has ever looked after.To this the defendant replied that this meeting had been set up simply to raise their concerns but were given no reassurance by Ms Davidson stating that these problems would be sorted. They informed her of the fact that they had a recording and asked her if she would like to hear it but Ms Davidson said she could not do this as she had a job interview to go to as she was go ing to become redundant within the next month and Mr Monoghan had been made redundant from his job and was therefore going to take control of the child care himself. Dr.Monoghan then stated they both left the room and decided between themselves that they were not happy for the claimant to continue her job and therefore dismissed her there and then. Questioning of Mr Monoghan Mr Monoghan stated that he raised concerns and for this reason he was not happy for Miss Davidson to continue looking after his children as he was concerned about the safety of his children. He then stated that he offered to play the recording to Ms Davidson but she refused as she had an interview to attend as she was coming to the end of a contract.This was due to Mr Monoghan becoming redundant from his job and therefore taking control of his children’s wellbeing. Questioning of Ms Davidson Ms Davidson confirmed that the transcript of the meeting was correct. She then went on to say that she felt that sh e was not prepared for the meeting and felt as if she had the right to have an independent witness with her. She then went on to say that she had only said â€Å"Shut up† to the children once and it was unfortunate that she had been caught out on that one instance.She did admit to wrongfully doing by using this phrase towards the children. She was angered with the fact that she was told it was a reference and holiday pay meeting but turned out to be her last day of work. The final verdict The judge felt that as Ms Davidson had been out of work for three months due to the allegations that were made to the police that she should be compensated three months wages. The judge then ordered the defendants to pay Ms Davidson for the two weeks’ notice that she should have had.She dismissed any allegations of MS Davidson physically abusing the children as there was no evidence found and advised the defendants to go through the police if they still felt this was a serious issue a nd also added that no further action would be taken within the tribunal system. Achievement of tribunal proceedings Speed Although the defendant arrived one hour late it still allowed the case to be completed within five hours.From the case I visited I soon realised there was a very productive speed throughout. The case I visited was scheduled for 1 day but was wrapped up within 5 hours and that included a 1 hour lunch, evidence, questioning and the judgment to take place. . There was not much waiting around and the whole case was to the point as through Expertise The judge who was appointed to the case for unfair dismissal was a specialist in this area she specialised in.Off the record the judge mentioned to us that this particular case was a difficult one as it involved one employee and one employer which meant she was dealing with a delicate situation. This was due to it involving children of a minor age and there had clearly been strong relationship between the family and Ms Dav idson as it was previously stated in the appraisal meeting which clearly documented Ms Davidson as having a â€Å"loving and caring relationship† with her children.The judge began by introducing herself and unfortunately she did not have anyone else along with her judging the case so. There was an instance when Mr Monoghan raised an issue of the audio recording being heard while we were present as it children of a minor age talking on it throughout and after consulting a book for a few minutes she then came to a decision that it would not be a problem for this to be played out load while the public was present. Accessibility There are different mediums in which the claimant can use to put forward a case.The most commonly one used is usually the ET1 form, requiring the claimant to state the details of the case which they wish to put forward outlining the circumstances and any other issues regarding the case. However there are other formalities that can be used such as contacti ng the authorities through email or telephone. The accessibility of the case falls upon the representative to send through the relevant forms in order for the case to be reviewed and considered for a tribunal hearing. Fairness From what I witnessed at the tribunal case I felt that Dr.Monoghan and Mr Monoghan were unfairly judged by the judge as by the evidence that was heard it was clear to see that Miss Davidson was clearly not exercising her job efficiently enough as she was clearly heard using foul language in front of the children and I do believe she should of controlled her temper as this is what she was trained to do. I felt she Miss Davidson won the case based technicality as she was able to say she wasn’t directing her language towards the children and as of this was able to bypass the system and win the case.The judge should have shown more compassion towards Dr. Monoghan and Mr Monoghan as it was a case that applied to their children and therefor was a sensitive on e for them as it could affect the children on the long term. Precedents set by tribunals The lower tribunals are not there to set binding precedents for any other court or even themselves. They are bound by the decisions of superior courts and appellate tribunals.Appellate and Employment appeal tribunals are bound by the decisions that are made by the Supreme Court but they would usually be required to being bound to the decisions that they made themselves (English legal systems, Richard Ward and Amanda Akhtar 11th edition). In regards to employment appeal tribunals, matters of law are binding on decisions of appeals and the House of Lords, although decisions of the high court in England and wales would usually have a great persuasiveness and the ribunals would similarly go with the principles that can be found in those decisions. There are certain precedents rules and guidelines that have been set out by previous legal cases and these have to be followed by tribunals. This allows t here to be more of efficiency throughout the case as the defendants can refer back to the case that is in conjunction with the case however within the judicial system of a tribunal court there is a leniency and flexibility based on the case this was as well as the evidence and information provided by both parties.Taking this information into consideration the laments will then deliberate and make their decisions. Similar cases may have different outcomes which will not be based on the same precedents. Tribunals such as an employment based cases are required to follow certain procedures and take in to consideration such as reasons for dismissal with the notice given for dismissal and other externalities that are relevant to the case for dismissal. Main issueThe main issue with tribunals setting binding precedents for other courts and themselves is that in tribunals there is a sense of flexibility in their operations and the judges and the courts use their interpretation of the situat ion to make a judgement and it would be optimistic to think that the doctrine of the binding precedents achieves the certainty and flexibility. Conclusion The judgement of the case went in favour of the claimant in the tribunal.I feel this is an unfair judgement as the parents had intrusted the claimant in taking care of their children in an appropriate manner but it was clear throughout the audio that was played that was not applied by the claimant and there was a constant rudeness and aggressiveness towards the children. I feel that as the claimant would have been a trained with the necessary skills to look after the children she should have still been able to detach her emotions from her actual duties towards the children as she is trained in this profession. Reference http://terryandco. hubpages. com/hub/Advantages-and-Disadvantages-of-Administration-Tribunals

Friday, August 30, 2019

Fitzgerald’s use of diction in The Great Gatsby Essay

The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, uses a specific choice of words along with selection of detail to develop the characters of Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson. This essay will cite specific examples that correspond to Fitzgerald’s use of diction and details. Although this passage does not emphasize on Tom Buchanan, his character is developed through the use of literary techniques. Tom’s character speaks three times during the course of this scene, and all three times his words make him sound as if he is superior to everyone. † ‘It’s a bitch,’ said Tom decisively. ‘Here’s your money. Go and buy ten more dogs with it.’ â€Å"(Page 28) In this quote, diction and a specific choice of words is apparent through the use of the word ‘decisively.’ Using this word creates the feeling that Tom is authoritative and commanding. This citation also serves as an example of Tom’s mannerisms throughout the novel. He speaks to an elderly person with contempt by telling him that he is wrong and that he should buy ten more dogs with the money he gives him. A parallel can also be drawn between Myrtle and the dog in that he looks at the dog in the same degree of importance as Myrtle. Tom’s lack of patience can also be seen in his retort to the old man’s answer. Another citation, which serves to magnify Tom’s superiority over others in the novel, is when Nick tries to leave Tom and Myrtle. â€Å"No you don’t,† Tom interposed quickly. â€Å"Myrtle’ll be hurt if you don’t come up to the apartment. Won’t you, Myrtle?† (Page 28) Yet again, this citation serves to demonstrate Tom’s commanding personality. More specifically, he answers for Myrtle as if she couldn’t have answered herself. As a result of Fitzgerald’s effectual use of diction and word choice, the passage is able to effectively develop Tom’s character. Tom’s domineering and forceful persona is further enhanced in this passage through the demonstration of his gestures and dialogue. Although Tom does not play a major role in the selected passage, his persona is greatly shaped through the author’s use of language. Much of this chapter is dedicated to the augmentation of Myrtle’s character. The author uses imagery, dialogue, and diction to create her personality. The use of imagery is seen in the beginning of the passage: â€Å"She had changed her dress to a brown figured muslin, which stretched tight over her rather wide hips†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Page 26) Myrtle’s actions also have a lot to say about her character. An example was when she â€Å"let four taxicabs drive away before she selected a new one.† (Page 27) This type of behavior serves to contrast her true lifestyle of being married to a poor and hard working garage man. â€Å"Is it a boy or a girl?† she asked delicately. (Page 28) This citation from the passage builds onto Myrtle’s sensitive side. It also shows that she cares about the unimportant sides to life and is very materialistic. â€Å"Mrs. Wilson gathered up her dog and other purchases, and went haughtily in.† (Page 28) This quote, along with many others made in this selection make great use of adverbs to create the character of Mrs. Wilson. The use of the word ‘haughtily’ adds to the arrogant character that she displays. This again contrasts her true lifestyle and emphasizes her dual personality. Other adverbs that were used in this passage to characterize Myrtle were: eagerly, enthusiastically, delicately, and earnestly. All of these adverbs in one sense or another characterize Mrs. Wilson’s actions and character. Accordingly, the author’s language uses imagery, adverbs, and actions that create her arrogant and contrasting personality. In conclusion, F. Scott Fitzgerald effectively employed diction and selection of detail to develop the characters of Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson. He did this by using various literary techniques and parts of speech to emphasize the character’s personality. For example, he uses imagery, irony, adverbs, dialogue, actions, adjectives, and mannerisms to bring out the arrogance of Myrtle and indifference of Tom Buchanan. Thus, the author properly uses diction and selection of detail to serve the purpose of developing the characters of Mrs. Wilson and Tom Buchanan.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Theodore De Bry and John White Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Theodore De Bry and John White - Essay Example In many of De Bry’s engravings, the facial structure of most of the characters were altered where they ended up looking more like Europeans rather than Native Americans. For instance, in the Indian Woman and Young Girl painting, there is a striking difference between White’s and De Bry’s art works. The girl in De Bry’s engraving is far from the woman and seems to be holding something in the air, which is not similar to White’s painting. The girl also appears to be older in De Bry’s engraving as compared to the girl in White’s painting, which is an obvious difference. Audiences might view this as a subtle change that is not quite noticeable, but it was a significant change that distinguished the engravings from the White’s original paintings. Another element that De Bry applied to the engravings was color in which he was successful at distorting the original images through the introduction of a pale color pigment. De Bry also dis torted the vegetation by coloring them in his engravings, which was quite contrary to what the actual surroundings were during that time. He also gave blonde hair to some of the people in his engravings, which was quite different from the hair color that White had used on his paintings. The important aspect that De Bry failed to capture in his engravings was the difference between Europeans and Native Americans, which was a distinctive feature that should have come out clearly as White intended. De Bry also illustrated his failure to acknowledge, appreciate, and understand.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

The Cask of the Amontillado, by Edgar Allen Poe Term Paper

The Cask of the Amontillado, by Edgar Allen Poe - Term Paper Example Some literary experts suggested Poe got his idea for this story from being a former mason. The Cask of Amontillado fascinated its readers for the gruesome death of its victim. The manner of death was being entombed or buried alive by enclosure within a concrete wall. The technical term for this manner of execution is immurement, but there is a big difference in this death from being merely buried alive, such as being put into the ground. Immurement is a particularly painful and slow death due to dehydration and starvation, a manner of torture. A person buried alive dies from asphyxiation and death is much quicker, while being entombed through immurement signifies a lingering death which could take days or weeks. A lot of myths, stories and legends surround this manner of execution by immurement among a lot of people, especially in southeastern Europe due to superstitious beliefs arising from cases of bad luck in which buildings and bridges collapse inexplicably for no apparent reason at all. This short story can be better understood if viewed within the times it was written. It was a time of frenetic construction activities since this period coincided with rise of Industrial Revolution in which men and machines were able to build at a much greater pace. However, a superstition prevails in which a human sacrifice is sometimes needed to make the construction a success, and this gave rise to the various urban legends about immurement. This may partly explain the popularity of The Cask of Amontillado when it was published in 1846. Personal conflict – the protagonist and the antagonist in this short story engaged in a conflict that was personal in nature. In Montresor, as the storys narrator and also its criminal, author Poe implied some motive to his crime but it was not stated clearly what the reason was. The motive was vague and Poe merely left it to the readers to

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Online consumer behaviors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Online consumer behaviors - Essay Example Addictive, compulsive, and impulsive buying are types of uncontrolled consumer behavior that have drew interest in actual shopping settings. Personally, uncontrolled buying can lead to serious life problems and consumer impoverishments. Generally, it could raise consumer prices and sustain the social problems of extreme poverty (LaRose & Eastin, 2002). Now that buying and selling have reached the Internet, has uncontrolled buying behavior become more intense?LaRose (2001) reported that major e-commerce sites possess attributes that could encourage uncontrolled buying behavior. Studies show that online buyers were more impulsive than traditional ones and that that impulsive consumers comprised a significant portion of the general population of e-commerce buyers. There was sketchy proof of addiction in statements of ‘eBay addicts’, a study on compulsive online buying (Chen, 2009). With vast numbers of online shoppers today, uncontrolled online buying emerges as a major con sumer problem. Examining Online Consumer Behaviors Teenagers and young adults are the target market of online shopping because they are the first online generation of buyers. This social group spends roughly 12 percent of their whole earnings online, and these purchases are mostly books, music, and clothes commonly linked to compulsive buying (LaRose & Eastin, 2002, 549). Young people are particularly predisposed to unreasonable buying habits because of their tendency toward ‘excessive’ online activities and uncontrolled traditional buying as well as easily accessible credit cards. According to Milne and colleagues (2009), research on compulsive buying shows that these tendencies are developed in late adolescence. According to developmental studies, Milne and colleagues (2009) added, depression negatively affects adolescents and young adults more often than other age groups, and depression has been discovered to significantly influence the emergence and growth of extrem e buying habits. Undoubtedly, the buying habits of people have changed. As stated in the 2010 report of Forrester Research, online revenues will be at $331 billion in the United States alone. The enlarging population of online buying households along with website upgrading and retailer improvements will push e-commerce to form 13 percent of overall retail earnings in 2010 (Chih-Chung & Chang, 2005, 41). Online revenues will increase at a 15 percent compound annual growth rate between 2004 and 2010. Therefore, as the Internet continuously becomes a widespread channel for consumer activities across the globe, it becomes ever more crucial to determine the aspects influencing consumer use of e-commerce. A number of studies examine the aspects influencing consumer online buying. However, Goldsmith (2010 as cited in Chih-Chung & Chang, 2005, 41) states that most studies on online buying habits is quite explanatory and not derived from consumer theory. Therefore, this paper uses the social cognitive theory of Albert Bandura to examine online consumer behavior. According to Faber and O’Guinn (1992), media were given an insignificant role in uncontrolled buying behavior in the past: encouraging consumer impulses with marketing or advertising. With the intervention of the whole retail industry thru e-commerce, a more inclusive theoretical perspective is needed. LaRose (2001) consolidated addictive, compulsive, and impulsive buying within the paradigm of Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theory, asserting that they created a range of behavior characterizing different levels of poor self-control. Nearly all consumers have a tendency to buy impulsively, which is to purchase rashly, irrationally, and spontaneously (LaRose & Eastin, 2002, 549). For several consumers, the yearning for particular products or services changes to a common yearning for compulsive buying, which is repeated, persistent buying that becomes a main reaction to

Monday, August 26, 2019

Students with Vision Impairments, another for Physical and Health Research Paper

Students with Vision Impairments, another for Physical and Health Disabilities & Severe Disabilities - Research Paper Example This is also agreed upon by Support Services Office of Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas mentions that it is important to provide accommodations for students with disabilities since it is a part of providing equal opportunities for education without being held back by disabilities (Support Services Office, 2010). In reading the rationale for giving accommodations for students with disabilities, I have learned that they are also capable of learning just like normal people, and as such it is of utmost importance that their conditions be understood so that they can show others that they can learn and be productive despite their disabilities. There are different classroom accommodations suitable for the students’ needs and depending on the kind of disability that they have. In Texas A&M University, students with visual impairments are allowed accommodations such as recorded lectures either by the instructor or by the students since they could repeat the lessons as needed and not have to rely on their limited sight. Another of the school’s accommodation but for students with physical and health disabilities is allowing assignments to be submitted in electronic formats. This can greatly assist students unable to make handwritten assignments (physical disability) or are frequently absent due to chronic medical conditions. Meanwhile, Tyler Junior college allows students with severe disabilities extended time accommodations, especially during exams since these students usually take longer time to finish activities compared to other students. Such procedures are given to measure a student’s knowledge objec tively without being hindered by the disability (Support Services Office, Tyler Junior College, 2010). Having facilities and other forms of assistance available for students with different kinds of disabilities as well as listing other additional strategies to support their education while on campus makes both the Department of Disability Services of the

Sunday, August 25, 2019

American History after World War II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

American History after World War II - Essay Example In 1960s, this paper highlights the ways in which the American populations were affected by the Vietnam war despite of fact that the war was not fought on their land. In 1970s, this paper discusses on Nixon's Watergate scandal which was the biggest scandal exposed in the history of America and how it leads to awareness of regulating authorities, mass media and citizens. In 1980s, this paper discusses the economic boom led by the economics of President Reagan and provides brief literature on its effects on American industries and financial system. In 1990s, this paper displays the ways in which the America emerged as a super power in the world after end of cold war and its effect on the foreign policies of America. In 1950s, the impact of the "McCarthy" on American people was uniformly evident in the area of international affairs. (Schrecker, 2002) Antagonism to the "Cold War" had been so methodically acknowledged with socialism that it was no longer feasible to defy the fundamental postulations of American foreign policy devoid of gaining doubts of treachery. The uncertainty raised by "Joseph McCarthy" distressed the State Department for very long tenure, particularly with reference to East Asia. (Schrecker, 2002) "Joseph McCarthy's" association with the unremitting intellectual experience that bearded his name in history of America commenced with a speech on "Lincoln Day, February 9, 1950," to the Republican Women's Club of Wheeling by demonstrating an alleged list of identified Communists functioning for the State Department. (Schrecker, 2002) Whilst there were added reasons why television presented a featureless menu of quiz shows and Westerns in late 1950s, apprehensions in the period of McCarthy undoubtedly played a key role. Correspondingly, the blacklist contributed towards the disinclination of the silver screen industry to struggle with contentious social or biased issues. (Fried, 1991) The political inhibition of the McCarthy phase encouraged the growth of the national security state and assisted its growth into the rest of communal society. For the sake of shielding the country from communist penetration, federal agents harassed individual privileges and extended state influence into film studios, academies, work unions and many other seemingly self-regulating institutions. (Fried, 1991) Countless Americans lives and jobs were gone astray owing to McCarthy and his allegations. Hollywood's cream of the crop opposed politician's consent to control their employing practices but subsequent to the "HUAC" hearings the "blacklists" embarked on in Hollywood restricting employers to hire people who were acknowledged as communist in the blacklist. (Fried, 1991) The blacklists stayed in Hollywood while in the Government agencies over 2,000,000 employees were subjected to loyalty investigations no matter what their status was. Businesses akin to "General Electric, General Motors, CBS, the New York Times, New York City Board of Education and the United Auto Workers" (Fried, 1991) were forced to pursue Hollywood's

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Late Roman, Early Christian and Byzantine Art Essay - 2

Late Roman, Early Christian and Byzantine Art - Essay Example On looking at its interior central upper walls, decorations denoting four pairs of apostles are well placed (Ricci 22). On careful scrutiny, one could not fail to recognize the St. Paul and St. Paul. In addition, this central upper walls in the bay have the apostles acclaiming a given giant cross right at the dome center against the sky blue appearance of the stars (Ricci 23). These apostles appear to be placed floating among clouds. The other bunch of apostles exists in the barrel vaults in the interior of that building (Ricci 24). A careful scrutiny of the lunette existing in the north entrance depicts Christ mosaic depicting a good shepherd taking care of his flock. In his arms, an imperial staff appears to be joined to the given Christian cross, supposing symbolizing a combination of heavenly and earthly domains (Ricci 25). Over the South wall, another lunette can be view, but this one depicting St. Lawrence standing close to a given flaming gridiron (Ricci 27). The gridiron has on its opposite side a bookcase which appears to contain four books. These books have inscribed names of evangelists (Ricci 28). The interior provides a serene atmosphere for Christians as they are made to have their hearts

Human computer interaction Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human computer interaction - Assignment Example This made me to access outdated and irrelevant source of ideas that lowered my knowledge and competence levels. Equally, there were cases in which hackers and introduction of malware made accessing the sites impossible hence completely blocking my access to the sites. The major contributing factors to the problems were unprofessional management of the sites plus poor site designs. The site hosts assumed that the sites operated perfectly despite the poor maintenance approaches provided. Progress is achievable through improved maintenance and constant updating of the sites ensuring stable site access throughout the year. Future designs of these sites need to factor in issues of proper site maintenance with regular upgrades to avoid inconvenience to all the users. Question 2 HCL is supposed to offer quick solutions in an effective and comprehensive way without compromising the quality of products and services in question. The use of mobile technology to get solutions for common problems is one of the great samples. Many present day scanners use heuristic signatures for virus and malware detection in an efficient and faster means. This is sustainable model for handling the problems with a properly designed tool and framework without compromising of the status of data under threat. ... Therefore, it offers a sustainable and manageable solution to lives and property. The essence of Berkun apply to HCL since the algorithms in HCL are quite compressive and user friendly that they are able to offer solutions to most common problems in technology use and academic endeavours of people presently. In gaming and social media application of this technology has enriched and fastened the use of this services.HCL applies the search of task through search trees accomplishing it effectively .The amount of information and games in the internet is quite high therefore it offers efficiency due to its selectiveness and specialization. Instead of giving all the possible solution branches, it provides the branch most likely possible to the necessary outcomes in relation to other branches and options. From experiences in using this technology its specific in selection of information and materials at the points of need. Question 3 Connection with technology challenges the status quo thro ugh offering various opportunities and possibilities to human connection rather than the physical communication. The examples and real applications presented by Sherry Turckle represent an illustration of what is going on in the world of technology today. The society expects much from technology in relation to what we receive and expect from humans. It has provided an opportunity and illusion of companionship without friendship hence no cost and incurred within the companionship model provided by technology. Parents and the children fail to provide one another with companionship and attention as witnessed in cases where parents get busy with emailing and texting to colleagues during meals instead of

Friday, August 23, 2019

Trends in HR Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Trends in HR - Coursework Example This cultural differences between two merging organization creates significant complexity for the HR people. It is very important for the HR people to maintain a sense of unity among the workers of the two merging companies. This trends influences lots of changes related with organizational structure and leadership in the organizations. All those changes are dealt with by the HR department only. According to the study of KPMG, mergers and acquisition presents considerable hazards (Napier, 2009, pp. 371-372). All those hazards influence HRM in the organizations. There are several ways through which HR professional can deal with it. HR people can help the leaders of the two companies to agree upon a common set of goals. The HR people can offer rewards to the employees of two merging organizations for successfully finishing their jobs together. HR people can come up with different team building activities between the employees of two different organizations. It creates a sense of unity among

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Reading Level of Grade Three Pupils at Luis Mirasol Memorial School Essay Example for Free

Reading Level of Grade Three Pupils at Luis Mirasol Memorial School Essay The current issue being faced today by most educators is that during enrolment, some pupils who are promoted in Grade Three are still considered as non-readers. According to Arnold Peralta (2006), enabling the child to read in Grade 1 and 2, the primary grade is very necessary. It is in this stage that the habit of reading should be developed. If a child will not be able to read, understand what he reads and developed the habit of reading, he/she can hardly make it in the higher grades. According to Businessdictionary. com, reading grade level means number assigned to the level of complexity of a reading material, it equates to a given level of schooling, For example, a reading grade level of seven means the reading material is intended for a seventh grade student. In the field of education, this concept is very important in determining pupils’ progress in reading. According to Juan Miguel Luz (2007), Grade Three (10 years old) is a critical year in terms of formal schooling. Before School Year 2012-2023 preschooling is neither compulsory nor part of the package of free public education guaranteed by the Constitution, Grade Three marks the third full year of basic education for children who attend public elementary school and the year when the facility to read, write, and do the four operations of arithmetic with competence is expected. (Less than 20 percent of those who go to public elementary school actually attend a full year of preschool education). Dropping out before this grade level thus becomes a major contributor to the lack of functional literacy, which in turn has a negative impact on adults and their eventual work productivity. This is assuming, of course, that by the end of Grade 3 (or the third year of formal full-time schooling), the children’s competence in the three ‘Rs are being honed fully. But seeing it, that may not be happening in far too many schools. Furthermore, since they learned the basic skills in reading during their previous grades, they are expected to be a good reader when they reach Grade Three. However, there are many pupils who are still considered as non-readers. Stothard Hulme (1996) described reading as the interaction of two distinct processes, decoding and comprehension. For skilled readers decoding is a highly automated task. Skilled readers can focus their attention on comprehension of the novel material. Low ability readers typically have difficulties studying and learning from expository textual material (Helwig, Almond, Rozek-Tedesco, Tindal, Heath, 1999). Readers with robust verbal ability skills are more likely to analyze new information and draw inferences than their peers with low verbal ability. DepEd intensifies reading literacy in schools by enforcing the policy called â€Å"Every Child A Reader† (the Education Post Vol. 21, No. 1). Undersecretary Bacani said the new policy aims to make every Filipino child a successful reader at the end of Grade 3. The undersecretary is expecting that no pupil will be promoted to higher grades unless he or she manifests mastery of the basic literacy skills in a particular grade (Arnold Peralta,2006). The researchers presupposed factors to consider in eradicating or minimizing non- readers in every school. Among this are children who have spent less time in reading, their father and mother educational attainment, type of pre-school attended whether in public or private, and monthly family income. This is caused by the influence of the modern world, and parents’ inability to monitor the child’s progress because they are preoccupied with their chosen job. Some children choose to hang around malls, play computer or video games, or watch cartoons and consider reading as part of school activities that need to be forgotten during their spare time. (Arnold Peralta,2006) On the other hand, this is maybe caused by parent’s low educational attainment, and the absence of any reading and educational materials in their homes. According to Arnold Peralta (2006), the parents’ role is very important in helping increase their children’s habits. They must be involved in any activity to improve their children’s reading ability. That is why, in relation to this, the researchers aim to conduct a study that shall determine if such factors have indeed some kind of influence with the Reading Level of Grade Three pupils of Luis Mirasol Memorial School. Statement of the Problem This study will be conducted to determine the Reading Level of Grade Three Pupils at Luis Mirasol Memorial School. Specifically, this study aims to: 1. Describe the respondent’s socio-economic characteristics in terms of educational attainment of the father , educational attainment of the mother, and the monthly family income,type of pre-school attended, and number of hours spent in reading; 2. Determine the reading level of the respondents; 3. Determine if there is a relationship between the respondents’ socio-economic characteristics such as: educational attainment of a father, educational attainment of mother, monthly family income, and type of pre-school attended and number of hours spent in reading of the respondents. Research Hypotheses 1. There is no significant relationship between the respondents’ socio-economic characteristics such as: educational attainment of a father, educational attainment of mother, monthly family income, and type of pre-school attended, time spent in reading and the reading level. Theoretical Framework This study is based on various theories on reading level: According to the theory of reading as defined by (Henry,1986) that it must deal with wide range of issues and account for a wide range of behaviors and capabilities. Reading occurs when a child has developed sufficient decoding skills. Decoding is the ability to decipher printed words into meaningful spoken language. More specifically, decoding refers to the skill at which one is able to recognize sound, individual phonemes in a printed or written word and then length and those phonemes to form the sound of the word by (Adams 1990)NRP,2000;National Researcher Council,1998) Philip Gough and Wesley Hoover (1990) describe a theory called simple review of reading, a theory that supported that decoding is necessary for reading level success. This view asserts that weaknesses in reading decoding will result in weak reading. According to (Moats 1999, p5). Reading is the fundamental skill upon which all formal education depends. Research now shows that a child who does [not] learn the basics early is unlikely to learn them at all. Any child who does learn [not] to learn to read-early and will not easily master other skills  and knowledge and unlikely to ever flourish in schools or in life. According to (Kantawala, 1980) states that, the higher the socioeconomic status the better the reading attitude, according to him students of small size family had a more favourable reading attitude than those of large families. Due to the lack of independent reading student may not have developed the positive attitude towards reading. Conceptual Framework Reading level is one of the problems of teachers and parents with regards to their pupils and children. As parents become worried on the reading level of their sons and daughters many of them are unaware of the factors which may significantly affect such occurrence. These pupils on the other hand, who have delayed reading level, frequently, consider reading a task for them to study. In this study, Monthly family income, Preschool last attended, Time spent in reading serves as the Independent Variables while Reading level serve as the Dependent Variable. In terms of Monthly Family Income the researcher believe that those respondents with a higher monthly family income are expected to have a high reading level. In terms of Pre-school last attended, researchers believe that those pupils who obtain schooling in private pre-school than in public are expected to a have high reading level. In terms of Time spent in reading, the researchers believe that those who spent much time in reading are expected to have high reading level. Independent variable 1. Socio-economic characteristics * Educational attainment the father * Educational attainment the mother * Monthly family income 2. Type of school where pre-school education was obtained * Public * Private 3. Time spent in reading Dependent variable Reading Level Figure 1. A Schematic diagram showing the relationship between the Independent and Dependent Variables. Definition of Terms To establish a frame of understanding for both the researchers and readers to facilitate correct interpretation of the results of the study, the following term were defined: Educational Attainment of Father this pertains to the highest level of instruction, obtained in an institution of learning by the father. It is classified as elementary, high school or college. Educational Attainment of Mother this pertains to the highest level of instruction, obtained in an institution of learning by the mother. It is classified as elementary, high school or college. Monthly Family Income. This refers to the total gross income of the pupils family per month and is further classified into High (Php 5000 and above), Average (Php2500 and above), Low (1500 and below). Pre-school last attended. Type of school where pre-school education was obtained whether it is in Day Care Center or Pre-Elementary Public School. Time Spent in Reading. This refers to average time not less than 80 to 100 minutes of independent or shared reading per week by the pupils. Reading Level- reading will be measured by using the IRI assessment and the respondents will be ranked through Frustration level, Instructional Level, Independent Level. Scope and Limitation of the Study This study aims to determine the factors related to the Reading Level of Grade 3 pupils at Luis Mirasol Memorial School during the School Year 2012-2013. This study will be conducted at Luis Mirasol Memorial School for convenience of both the researchers and the respondents. The Grade 3 pupils were selected as respondents of this study. The information needed in this study will be gathered using a self-administered questionnaire structured by the researchers. Furthermore, the interview and questionnaire will use to test the reliability of the research instrument. This study would be more reliable if it covers a larger scope and if more respondents will be involved. But this will also mean more effort, time and money that the researchers despondently lack. Significance of the study. The results of this investigation are expected to be highly beneficial to the following: Central Philippine University—College of Education. As an educational institution that hones every individual to become successful professionals in the future, the problem would be beneficial to the College of Education for the outreach center in the field study, to plan out certain programs, and strategies for the Luis Mirasol Memorial School as a partnership of Central Philippine University. Luis Mirasol Memorial School. If this study proves to be beneficial as a means of basis and standards, teachers will be able to find new ways and strategies on how to improve the reading level of their pupils. Parents. As the legal guardians of the children, the results of this investigation would serve as a stimuli towards their awareness on the factors that affect the reading level of their children. Furthermore, this study would initiate them to be more involved to follow up their children at home with partnership to the teacher and open line communication for the development of their children. Elementary Pupils. Whenever proven that the mentioned factors have something to do with the Reading Level of the pupils, the pupils themselves can learn and even do something to counteract negative impact caused by such factors as to their reading skills. Researchers. The outcome and conclusions drawn from this study will be beneficial to other researchers as a guideline for future studies. Chapter II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Educational Attainment of both Parents and Reading Level Research on parenting also has shown that parent education is related to a warm, social climate in the home. Klebanov et al. (1994) found that both mothers’ education and family income were important predictors of the physical environment and learning experiences in the home but that mothers’ education alone was predictive of parental warmth. Likewise, Smith et al. (1997) found that the association of family income and parents’ education with children’s academic achievement was mediated by the home environment. The mediation effect was stronger for maternal education than for family income. Thus, these authors posited that education might be linked to specific achievement behaviors in the home (e. g. , reading, playing). Preschool Attended and Reading Level Preschool helps children to use their minds by knowing where the child means also knowing how his mind deals with the activities of the curriculum and other experiences in the early years. Mental operation most relevant for early education can be grouped into 3 major areas: perception, memory and problem solving. According to Maria Montessori, early education has an indispensable role in the whole personality of the child. The stage of human development from 0-6 years is the stage of the most absorbent mind and the critical period of a child. This stage is the most sensitive period in the life of the child that needed a wholesome, healthful and rich background. If a child fails in reading during the primary grades, his chances for success in any other academic area are greatly reduced. It is therefore essential that a pre-school program for children do all it can to ensure that the children will succeed in reading when they enter school. (http://onlineacademics. org/ReadingDiagnosis. html) Preschool improves childrens problem solving abilities for elementary school. Educational advocates recognize early childhood education, during the preschool years, as among the most enduring and beneficial services a community can provide for its children. Some parents choose to delay formal education until kindergarten, instead instructing their children in reading readiness tasks and offering enrichment classes at home. Children who arent offered these opportunities, whether at home or in a formal school setting, perform below their kindergarten classmates in reading and social readiness. (W. Steven Barnett; January 2006). According to a study by Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, children who attended preschool scored at a higher reading level than children who did not attend preschool. Even if they couldnt read, exposure to reading, books and listening to stories resulted in higher levels of letter and number recognition. When introduced to numbers and letters during kindergarten, children who attended preschool already had conceptual and visual familiarity, making it easier for them to make sense of written words. This advantage in reading comprehension and ability continued through age 15. Time Spent in Reading and Reading Level. (U. S. Department of Education, 1986) have recently reiterated the assertion that time spent reading at school and at home is an important facet of a reading program. Despite the perceived importance of time spent reading, a number of studies have found that intermediate grade students spend relatively little time reading at school or at home. It has been well documented that, in general, the amount of time that students are engaged in academic tasks during the reading period at school is positively correlated with gains in reading achievement (Brophy Good,1986; Fisher et al. , 1980; Stallings Kaskowitz, 1974). At the same time, however, many activities besides silent reading occur during the reading period (Anderson et al. , 1985). Consequently, studies on general student engagement during the reading period do not provide direct evidence of a meaningful relationship between time spent on silent reading and reading achievement. A few studies have supported the assertion that time engaged in silent reading is an important determinant of elementary students reading achievement. Greaney (1980) found a positive relationship between the amount of time spent reading at home and the reading achievement of elementary-age children. In effect, the assertion that time engaged in silent reading at school and at home is important for childrens reading growth has little empirical support; the literature contains surprisingly few studies that have actually found significant relations between time engaged in silent reading and gains in reading achievement for intermediate grade students. In fact, Wilkinson et al. (1988) and Anderson et al. (1988) have recently bemoaned the paucity of evidence. Thus, in the present study we focus on the relationship between reading and achievement gains. We attempt to provide data directly relevant to the policy question of whether or not elementary teachers and administrators should advocate students devoting more time to silent reading at school and at home. Synthesis of Review of Related Literature The Related Literature presented above revealed that there are certain existing factors related to the Reading Level of the pupils in an educational institution. It was mentioned by Klebanov et al. (1994) that education of parents and family income were important predictors of the physical environment and learning experiences in the home. Likewise, Smith et al. (1997) found that the association of family income and parents’ education with children’s academic achievement was mediated by the home environment. The pre-school program for children do all it can to ensure that the children will succeed in reading when they enter school (Maria Montessori). This serve as a foundation to their basic learning during their elementary grades. The time spent on reading has been beneficial to children who read during their free time. It has been well documented that, in general, the amount of time that students are engaged in academic tasks during the  reading period at school is positively correlated with gains in reading achievement (Brophy Good,1986; Fisher et al. , 1980; Stallings Kaskowitz, 1974). Chapter III METHODOLOGY This chapter presents a description of the Research Design, locale of Study, Sampling Population, Research Instrument, Data Gathering Procedure and Data Analysis. Research Design The non –experimental Design, Specifically the One shot survey was used in this study since it is the most appropriate approach in collecting the prescribed data. This design is suitable for the collection of descriptive information about the population or subjects of the study. Moreover, the design requires data to be collected once and it also utilized when the objective is describe a situation or condition of a study population as it exist. Locale of the Study The data and information needed in this study was obtained at Luis Mirasol Memorial School, for the convenience of both the respondents and the researchers. The locale is also appropriate, as it can accommodate all the respondents of the study. Respondents of the Study. All of the Grade III pupils from Luis Mirasol Memorial School will be taken as respondents of this study. Census of the total population from the mention institution will be formally obtained with proper permission from the School’s Principal with the total 70 respondents. Data Gathering Instrument The information needed in this study will be gathered using self-administered questionnaire and to be structured by the researchers. It consists of four parts: The first part of the instrument will asks about the Educational Attainment of both Parents, the second part pertains to the  Family Income of the respondents, the third part will asks about the Type of Pre-school the respondent attended, and the fourth part is the number of hours that the respondents spent in reading. Data Processing and Analysis The data in this study will be subjected to computer processed statistics using the SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) Program. A coding manual was prepared for easy facilitation of the data. In order to achieve the goals of the study, Descriptive Statistics which included the mean and Inferential Statistics which included the frequency count and percentage of the results was used. CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION The following are the results of our study conducted during the summer of 2012. We interviewed 53 students and the results show that when the respondents are grouped according to educational attainment of the father, the results are: Table 1. Distribution of Respondents According To Educational Attainment of the Father EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF THE FATHER| | Frequency (F)| Percent %| Valid Percent| Cumulative Percent| | Elementary| 4| 7. 5| 7. 5| 7. 5| | High School| 15| 28. 3| 28. 3| 35. 8| | College Level| 6| 11. 3| 11. 3| 47. 2| | College Graduate| 28| 52. 8| 52. 8| 100. 0| | Total| 53| 100.0| 100. 0| | In table 1, out of the 53 respondents, majority of their fathers are college graduate, 28 in total which comprise 52. 8% of the total population, followed by fathers who are high school graduates 15 in total, which comprise 28% of the total population. College level fathers and Elementary graduate are the bottom two, 6 and 4 in total respectively and comprise 11. 3% and 7. 5% of the total population. The data shows that the degree of educational attainment of mother does not affect the reading level of the pupils. Table 2. Distribution of Respondents According To Educational Attainment of the Mother  EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF THE MOTHER| | Frequency (F)| Percent %| Valid Percent %| Cumulative Percent %| | Elementary| 6| 11. 3| 11. 3| 11. 3| | High school| 15| 28. 3| 28. 3| 39. 6| | College level| 11| 20. 8| 20. 8| 60. 4| | College graduate| 21| 39. 6| 39. 6| 100. 0| | Total| 53| 100. 0| 100. 0| | In table 2, the data shows that out of the 53 respondents, majority of their mothers are college graduate, 21 in total which comprise 39. 6% of the total population, followed by mothers who are high school graduates 15 in total, which comprise 28. 3% of the total population. College level mothers and Elementary graduate are the bottom two, 11 and 6 in total respectively and comprise 20. 8% and 11. 3% of the total population. The data shows that the degree of educational attainment of mother does not affect the reading level of the pupils. According to____________________________________________? Table 3. Distribution of Respondents According to Monthly Income MONTHLY INCOME| | Frequency (F)| Percent %| Valid Percent %| Cumulative Percent %| | 5000 and above| 23| 43. 4| 43. 4| 43. 4| | 1501-4999| 20| 37. 7| 37. 7| 81. 1| | 1500 and below| 10| 18. 9| 18. 9| 100. 0| | Total| 53| 100. 0| 100. 0| | Out of the 53 respondents, majority of them have monthly net income above 5000, 23 in total which comprise 43. 4% of the total population, followed by those who have monthly income ranging from 1501 to 4999, 20 in total, which comprise 37. 7% of the total population, and lastly those who have monthly net income higher than 15000 comprised 18. 9% of the population, or 10 respondents. This data shows that According to Table 4. Distribution of Respondents According Type of Preschool Attended PRESCHOOL ATTENDED| | Frequency (F)| Percent %| Valid Percent %| Cumulative Percent %| | Public| 51| 96. 2| 96. 2| 96. 2| | Private| 2| 3. 8| 3. 8| 100. 0| | Total| 53| 100. 0| 100. 0| | Out of the 53 respondents, majority of them have finished their preschool in public schools, which comprise 51 respondents or 96. 2% of the entire population. The remaining 2 or 3. 8% went to private schools. This data shows that? __________________________ According to_______________________? Table 5. Distribution of Respondents According Time Spent in Reading TIME SPENT IN READING| | Frequency (F)| Percent %| Valid Percent %| Cumulative Percent %| | one hour a day| 26| 49. 1| 49. 1| 49. 1| | two hours a day| 5| 9. 4| 9. 4| 58. 5| | three hours a day| 2| 3. 8| 3. 8| 62. 3| | one hour in a week| 5| 9. 4| 9. 4| 71. 7| | three hours in a week| 2| 3. 8| 3. 8| 75. 5| | Less than one hour a week| 13| 24. 5| 24. 5| 100. 0| | Total| 53| 100. 0| 100. 0| | Out of the 53 respondents, majority of them spent one hour a day in reading, 26 in all or 49. 1%, followed by those who read less than an hour a week, 13 in all or 24. 5%. Those who read two hours a day and one hour a week are both tied which comprise 9. 4% of the population or 5 respondents in all. Same is in those who read three hours a day and three hours a week, both 2  respondents’ responds positively comprising 3. 8% of the population. This data shows that? __________________According to_______________? When grouped according to the raw scores in Filipino reading comprehension test we get the following results: SCORES IN FILIPINO| | Valid| 53| | Missing| 0| Mean| 78. 58| Median| 80. 00| Mode| 80| Std. Deviation| 4. 050| Minimum| 59| Maximum| 83| The range of the scores in Filipino exam is from 59 to 83, 59 being the lowest and 83 the highest, with a mean score of 78. 58, mode and median at 80 and with a standard deviation of 4. 050. (Complete table is shown in Appendix A Table 1) When grouped according to the raw scores in English reading comprehension test we get the following results: SCORES IN ENGLISH| | Valid| 53| | Missing| 0| Mean| 42. 21| Median| 44. 00| Mode| 43| Std. Deviation| 5. 749| Minimum| 17| Maximum| 49| The range of the scores in English exam is from 17 to 49, 17 being the lowest and 49 the highest, with a mean score of 42. 21, mode at 43 and median at 44 and with a standard deviation of 5. 749. (Complete table is shown in Appendix A Table 2) To test for correlation for father’s educational attainment in correlation to the respondents core in Filipino we get, the Spearman’s Rho to be . 093 with the significance of 0. 508. In terms for correlation between the mother’s educational attainments in correlation to the respondents score in Filipino we get the Spearman’s Rho to be -0. 21, with the significance of . 440. In terms of parents net monthly income in correlation to the respondents score in Filipino we get Spearman’s Rho of -. 013 with significance of . 464. In terms preschool attended in correlation to the respondents score in Filipino we get the Spearman’s Rho to be . 066, with the significance of . 321. In terms of time spent in reading in correlation to the respondents score in Filipino we get the Spearman’s Rho to be -0. 131, with the significance of . 176. To test for correlation for father’s educational attainment in correlation to the respondents score in English we get, the Spearman’s Rho to be . 086 with the significance of 0. 269. In terms of mother’s educational attainment in correlation to the respondents core in English we get, the Spearman’s Rho to be . 030 with the significance of 0. 415. In terms of monthly income in correlation to the respondents core in English we get, the Spearman’s Rho to be .015 with the significance of 0. 456. In terms of preschool attended in correlation to the respondent’s core in English we get, the Spearman’s Rho to be . 088 with the significance of 0. 265. In terms of time spent in reading in correlation to the respondent’s core in English we get, the Spearman’s Rho to be -. 114 with the significance of 0. 209. (complete table of correlation see Appendix A table 3. ) CHAPTER V CONCLUSION Based on the findings of the study the following conclusion was drawn: 1. Parent’s educational attainment, both mother and the father have no significant relationship with the scores both in English and Filipino. This means that the level educational attainment of the parents does not affects the scores in reading evaluation of the pupil. 2. Parent’s net monthly income has no significant relationship with the scores both in English and Filipino. This means that the net monthly income of the parents does not affect the scores in reading evaluation of the pupil. 3. The pre-school attended by the pupil has no significant relationship with the scores both in English and Filipino. This means that the preschool attended by the pupil does not affect the scores in reading evaluation of the pupil. 4. The pre-school attended by the pupil has no significant relationship with the scores both in English and Filipino. This means that the preschool attended by the pupil does not affect the scores in reading evaluation of the pupil. 5. The time spent by the pupil reading has no significant relationship with the scores both in English and Filipino. This means that the time spent by the pupil reading does not affect the scores in reading evaluation of the pupil. RECOMMENDATIONS Based on the foregoing findings and conclusions, the following recommendations are generalized: 1. Central Philippine University must take action and do more research as of what is the cause of the low reading level among Luis Mirasol Memorial School’s Grade III pupils. 2. Since there are no significant relationship between parent’s educational attainment, net monthly income and the reading level of a pupil, the parent’s must get involve in other ways in the pupil’s academe aside from the given two. 3. Researchers are recommended to find other factors that have probable relationship to reading level aside the factors given in this research. REFERENCES http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/reading-grade-level-RGL. html , Date retrieved: April 28, 2012 http:// indigo. ie/-sdblang/personal/papers. htm, Date retrieved: May 8, 2012 http://www. buzzle. com/articles/private-achools-vspublic-schools. html, Effects of Low Family Income on Children I eHow. com http:www. Ehow. com. /list _6195251-effects-low-family income children. html #ixzzluWkeyqBZ, Date retrieved: May 9, 2012 http://onlineacamemics. org/ReadingDiagnostisis. html, Date retrieved: May 11, 2012 The Philippine Journal of Education, Arnold Peralta (2006), Volume No. LXXXV, p. 243. Christian perspectives in education, Vol. 2, No. 2 Spring 2009.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

HR Practices in Reliance Industries

HR Practices in Reliance Industries Reliance telecommunications LTD is an Indian telecommunication company founded by Anil Ambani in 2004.The headquarters of the company is in Navi Mumbai India. Reliance telecommunication is the 15th largest telecommunication provider in the world with 150 million subscribers and the second largest telecommunication provider in India. The company has segments like wireless and broadband in telecommunication industry. The company achieved a high growth in telecommunication industry from the beginning stage itself. Customer satisfaction and good company policies made them to competitive with other companies. Reliance communications follows good human resource policies and procedures even though it has some draw backs. Vision of the company- Providing information, communication, entertainment services and being the benchmark in customer experience, employee centricity and innovation is the main vision of the company. Mission of the company- meeting beyond customer needs and wants with a segmented approach, relentless offering of services and products that are value for cash and stimulate customers, offer a network experience that is best in the communication industry, make reliance in to an international brand which is a iconic brand  by others and lead industry in target to purchase and faithfulness. INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Human resource management refers to an assortment of policies used to systematize work in the employment relationship and centres on the management of work and the management of people who undertakes this work. Therefore HRM is concerned with recruitment, selection, learning and development, reward, communication, teamwork and routine management. While it is relatively easy to list activities that make up HRM, It is a subject that stimulates much debate and disagreement. The hr process is considered as important for the management of the consumer pleasure with human recourses. The clients find comfortable and will be satisfied when they understand the hr processes and how they are connected and the hr processes interact. Modern hr processes are measured and frequently analysed and identifies the irregularities in the activities and it brings the improvements for the benefits of the organisation. The success of Human Resources Management is in the connection of all HR processes as they provide the adequate supports to workers and the managers. So the main aim of Human Resource Management is to keep the human capital ready for action on the market and the rational grouping of HR Processes helps to interact and manage the individual processes. Every organisation has their own HR processes, but the main HR Processes are always same in all companies as it is the market HR Best Practices. Human Resource Management is considered as a comparatively new approach to Personnel Management. HRM emphasizes primarily on its strategic contributions and its closer alignment to business, HRM is a vital component of any organization, its involvement among other components of line management is notable (Paauwe. J, Jan 2009). Paauwe further suggests that HRM aims on its ultimate goals such as High job performance, low absence and high cost effectiveness through the efficient utilization of the man power of the company. Human resource is really the major component of any organization, the success or failure of an organization heavily relies on its Man power management. Maslows need Hierarchy theory is considered as guiding principle for HR Management across the globe. Maslow identified the very basics of human motivation factors. Following this principle it can be assumed that to motivate an employee HR manager should understand his level of expectations, potential of the employee, a nd should evaluate the performance before and after certain motivational measures implemented. KEY HUMAN RESOURCE ACTIVITIES OF RELIANCE TELECOMMUNICATIONS Main HR process areas Manpower planning Recruitment and staffing Human resource development Compensation and benefits Leadership development MANPOWER PLANNING Human Resource Planning is the integral part of Human Resource Management Human Resource Planning estimates the optimal level of Man power requirement on the basis of quality and quantity. Thus HRP can be considered as the foundation of Human Resource management. Although HR planning is very important it cannot be executed faultlessly in all cases, as HR is dependent on various factors such as employment situation of the country, influence of technological advancement, changes in the organization structures, Demographic factors such as age, population, composition of workforce, lack of skill, multicultural workforce etc. Certain pressure groups will also affect the precision of the HRP. Understanding of competencies of the Human resource is vital in forming a successful HR frame work. Lengnic-Hall, 1988, Milliman et al., 1991, describes the terms Internal and External fit, Internal fit refers to the extent to which the manpower constituents are linked in a logical way and how effecti vely they support themselves, on the other hand external fit primarily focus on the strategy of the organization, external fit reveals to what extent human resources systems are integrated. Manpower Planning or Human Resource Planning includes putting exact number of people, exact kind of people at the exact place, exact time at a low cost. Personnel Planning hold an important place in the world of industrialization. Personnel Planning has to be a systematic approach and is managed in a set of model operations. The procedure is as follows: Assessing the present manpower in the company Forecasting the future needs budding employment programmes Organising training programmes BENEFITS OF MAN POWER PLANNING Manpower planning is very important part of human resource management. A few importance of man power planning are: Concentrated labour cost: with the help of manpower planning there is most favourable operation of labour force in the organisation workers are given those jobs to implement for which they are skilled (right person for the right job).it leads to overall progress of the man power in the organisation. Optimum utilisation of manpower: it helps to utilise the labour force in the company which helps in the growth of manpower in the organisation. Develops business plan- Man power planning is an important part of overall business planning. No business can survive without having the right type and number of people doing the right work at the right time. Helps in career succession planning-with the help of better manpower planning it helps to produce a good career succession of employees which provides much lead time for internal succession of workers through higher position through encouragement. Development of the organisation- The man power planning helps in the expansion of an organisation. Growth in overall business planning- Manpower planning is a main part of overall business planning. Efficient manpower planning will help to improve the business. RECRUITMENT AND STAFFING Recruitment and staffing is the process of selecting the right labours in to the organisation. The main aim of recruitment is to look for and be a magnet for persons with skilled to fill the vacancies. This process includes job analysis preparing personnel requirement sources of skilled employees. Job analysis Job analysis is a process of analysing the job in detail and providing the details of job needs to the HR planning department they present details as job specification and job analysis. Job analysis is important in the whole organisation. And they will provide the details of manpower requirements. The main sources of recruitment are Reliance communications have two main sources of recruitment internal and external internal external sources of recruitment(figure.2) Internal sources of recruitment are. Promotion-This is a normal source of recruitment, which means providing higher position, salary and responsibilities to the employee. So the position of the job vacancy is filled by promoting the suitable employee within the organisation. Transfers-It means transferring one employee to the other organisation without change in salary and position, so the vacancy can be filled by transfer. Advertising internally-Here the job vacancy is advertised within the organisation so the existing employees in the organisation can apply for the post. So the recruitment is take place inside the organisation. External sources of recruitment are. Selective recruitment through job boards-This is a major source of recruitment .To ensure most appropriate qualified candidates are being applied for the major position. The agency considers the following details for every positions junior, intermediate, senior, Level of education degree, diploma etc. Using these details the company determines which job boards, communication channels, and advertisement strategies are suitable for attract the right skilled candidates to apply for the job positions. Management consultants-For the vacancies in the higher positions in the company, management consultants are used to find the qualified and skilled employees. They act as a recruiter on the behalf of the company. Advertisement for public-The Company advertises the vacancy in internet, newspapers, Television etc. And this will provide the details of the company, job and the qualification required for the position. NEED AND IMPORTANCE OF STAFFING Keep space with new development-New developments are happening every day. A business will have to keep phase with new changes. This will be possible only if competent persons are employed who can adjust as per the new situation. Manpower Development-man power planning will have to be done in advance. The future requirements of personnel will be estimated quite in advance. The new staff will be recruited, people will be prepared for talking up higher responsibility jobs, and all this will be possible with a well planned staffing function. HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPEMENT This function helps the employees to develop their skills and knowledge for increasing their output. This process is not only done for the freshers but also to the existing employees in the firm to develop their skills and responsibilities. Human resource development helps to increase the total knowledge, abilities, skills, talents, and aptitudes of an organisations work force. Human resource development includes function such as training, career development. Training-Training is providing to improve the knowledge and skills of the employees there are mainly two types of training they are on the job training and off the job training. On the job training is a process of giving training in normal working situations using actual materials or documents, equipment, actual tools trainees will make use when completely moulded. Off the job training is usually provided away from the usual working environment, it may include more general skills and knowledge which is useful for the job. This type of training is given by the specialised trainers or from an outside company who outsource the trainers. METHODS OF TRAINING A.Programmed learning- It is a step by step process of self learning method,providing questions, facts, and problems to the learner then allowing the person to respond and providing feed back on the accuracy of the answer. B. Apprentiship training- It is a method of process that the employees will become efficient workers through grouping of classroom coaching and also through on job training. C. Audio visual based training- This method of training includes tools like power point presentation, online video conferencing, audiotapes and video tapes. D. Computer based trining- This training method is widely used to provide good training to employees, it is time consuming and easy way to provide training. It is cost effective while comparing to other training methods. E. Simulated training- In this method trainess will learn from the actual or simulated equipement they will use on the job, but actually trained off the job. F. Lectures- When their is a large number of trainees, this method is used it is the immideate way to give instruction of job related activities within a specified period of time. H. Internet and distance Training Internet training includes video conferencing and web based training, distance training means traditional training paper and pencil correspondence course. 1. Tele training where a trainer in a central location teaches groups of employees at remote locations via television hookups. 2. Videoconferencing allows people in one location to communicate live via a combination of audio and visual equipment with people in different locations-another city or country or with groups in several cities. 3. Training via the Internet the Internet based learning programs are very popular. Several companies simply let their employees to take online courses provided by online course providers while others use their intranets to facilitate computer-based training. CAREER DEVELOPEMENT Diagram demonstrating your personal development Career developement of employees is a crucial part of the organisation, It helps to identifies the overall acheivement of the employees .Career developement is becoming an essential part of HR departement due to todays everchanging organisaton enviornment and work place. Reliance communications helps the employees to attain a good carrer graph based on the company HR policies and procedures. First of all the company gather the strength and weakness of every individual, then they provide different opportunities to develop their carrer based on the strength and weakness. The basic formula for the career developement is self awareness every individual asses their own problems and issues and then the company will help to over come this issues .Now days people are changing their jobs to attain a good carrer success .Reliance communication identifies this problem and they had a good career sucession plan for every individual employee in the organisation. COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS Compensation and benefits is a basic motivational factor to the employees. Every employee will search for high paid jobs,benefits is also another important factor if the company provides good benifits the employees will get good attachment to the company. Benefits include bonus, medical insurance,retierment policies, life insurace, vacation etc.Reliance communicatons provide basic pay which is satisfiable for every employee to motivate the employees and to attract to qualified employees to the organisation. LEADERSHIP DEVELOPEMENT Leadership developement helps the organisation to achieve the goals, through the developement of good leadership in each employee reliance aims at the overall developement of the organisation as well as the growth in employees functioning.Every employee in the organisation is gaining a better leadership quality through the leadership developement function.Each emloyees in the company are closely monitored by the management and if they are weak in the work the company will encourage them.And the workers are councelled by the management to increase work efficiency.And their will be a structured plan to create a positive working enviornment.The main aim of leadership developement is to leading self,leading others and leading the organisation. MAJOR HR ISSUES FACED BY RELIANCE COMMUNICATION ISSUES IN RELIANCE COMMUNICATIONS EMPLOYEE RETENTION POOR HR POLICIES CASH AND COMPENSATION ISSUES 1.CASH AND COMPENSATION ISSUES: Cash and compensation issues is a major problem faced by HR managers in reliance communications. There is more pressure on HR function to pay more incentives and basic pay for the employees.However reliance paying basic salary to each individual employees the company faces more pressure to meet the employee beniefits . 2.EMPLOYEE RETENTION ISSUES: Most of the companies face the same problem of employee lay-offs. So the organisation have to prevent the issue by retaining the employee by providing good working condition and benefits whichever the employees need. In reliance industries there are so many employees leave the company due to lack of co-ordination between workers. The organisation tries to check the issue but fails sometimes. 3. POOR HR POLICIES : The plocies and practices adopted by the HR managers regarding their networking sector is an important example. They brought some new plans in mobile networking sector like low call rate for mobile users, low internet browsing charge.etc., but the competitors like AIRTEL communications, BSNL network, VODAFONE facilitated some more exciting offers than the reliance. In that situation the Reliance communication hesitated to change their HR policies and techniques. From the graphical representation of reliances communications profit from 2007 to 2012, we can easily determine that the profit is coming down in last two years comparing to the past this is due to the poor HR issues as mentioned above.The company is earning a high growth in 2008 and 2009 which is around 55000 million and it is dramatically falling down in the upcoming years.That means the company is facing some major HR issues and also high competition from other companies, so the organisation must change their HR policies eventually. SUGGESTIONS TO OVERCOME THE HR ISSUES Nowdays telecommunication industry is facing high competition from other telecommunication companies, If the company has no good HR stratergies the company cannot exist in the high competative world.Reliance communication is facing some HR issues as mentioned above, to overcome this problems company must do some good HR restructuring process in the company .The first main issue is ; Cash and compensation issues- As it is a major problem the company must find a good solution to overcome this issue, the suggestion to solve this problem is to pay cash and compensation based on the experience of the employees.As mentioned above the company is paying a basic salary to each individual, first of all the company must change this basic payment method,and the compensation and benifits must be paid according to the experience and skills of each individual. So the company can reduce the cost of labour so the company can meet the compensation and benifits of each individual according to the profit earned by the company. Employee retention issues Retention of employees is another HR issue faced by the company, nowadays a lot of employees are leaving the company due to high pressure of work and lack of co-ordination between employees are the main employee retention issues faced by reliance communication, to reduce this problems reliance must provide good working enviornment to reduce the pressure of work, communication is another way to over come this problem good communication between the management and staff will make a good understanding between the employees and management, this will increase employees confidents and reduce the work pressure.A high rate of employees resigning their job and going to another companies who offer better working enviornment. Better co-ordination is the another way to improve employee retention,co-ordination will improve better relationship between employees and management.And this will result increase employees confidence and work efficiency. Poor HR policies- Due to high competition in communication industry lots of companies introducing new HR techniques to improve their company goodwill .Reliance communication is following the traditional HR policies and plans so the company is facing high market competition from other companies, to exists in the competative market company must improve their HR stratergies and policies.Nowadays companies are providing good offers to the employees so the company must realise the problems and try to overcome such issues.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Possible Factors In Underachievement Of Males Within Education Education Essay

Possible Factors In Underachievement Of Males Within Education Education Essay Sociological studies with regard the underachievement of males, throughout the British education system, appear to be dominated by the analysis of three central phenomena; the idea of bias and inequality which flaws the educational system, the prevalence of a modern day, laddish anti-learning culture (Byers, S. 1998, Never mind theories, under-achieving boys need practical help, _The Independent_, 5th January 1998.) and lastly, the psychology of the male mind. Each of these three interlinked themes will be reviewed within this document, which will focus solely upon the reasons which may held accountable for the identified underachievement of young men, most notably, at a General Certificate of Secondary Education Level (G.C.S.E) throughout the British education system, and internationally, around the world. The use of the term underachievement is widespread throughout educational discourse, and is predominately used in explaining a perceived failure to reach a given potential. Scott .J. Marshall .G. (2005:3). Sociologists, whose area of expertise lies within this particular field, tend to view low academic attainment in terms of factors such as prior attainment or socio-economic disadvantage, however in doing so, they acknowledge the danger of pathologising the underachiever, when in fact, responsibility may lie within the educational system itself. The term underachievement although widely used, appears to be problematic; masking ideological assumptions that concern socially constructed, subjective and relative matters, which concern the group understudy. The underachievement of young men within the education system is undoubtedly an immensely complex and contested field. Irrespective of these issues, the British education system has continued to make use of the term with a combinatio n of ubiquity and confidence. Gillies, D. (2010). Educational potential underachievement and cultural pluralism. Available: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/eitn/display.php?article_id=39. Last accessed 16th Feb 2011. Historical Background The underachievement of young men within the education system has appeared as a continual problem throughout the last decade. Dramatic illustrations from the media and speeches gave by the relevant government bodies have created in a sense a moral panic which has came to characterise many of the debates that surround the complex issue. Evidence from newspaper articles would suggest the underachievement of boys began in 1995. During this time the main professional newspaper, The Times Educational Supplement carried headlines declaring school work was Not for wimps Haigh, G. 1995, Not for wimps,_ The Times Educational Supplement_, 6th October 1995 and later asked Where did we go wrong? Bleach, K. 1997, Where did we go wrong?,_ The Times Educational Supplement_, 14th February 1997. Education correspondents for broadsheet newspapers similarly headlined articles which discussed The Failing Sex and called for schools to provide a Classroom rescue for Britains lost boys. Foster et al. (2001 ) What about the boys? An overview of the debates, in Martino .W. Meyenn .B. What About The Boys, Issues of Masculinity in Schools. Open University Press. Acknowledgement of the underachievement of boys within the education system can also be seen in Stephen Byers 1998 speech. The School Standards Minister, said: We should not simply accept with a shrug of our shoulders that boys will be boys. Speaking at the 11th International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement in Manchester, Mr Byers warned: Failure to raise the educational achievement of boys will mean that thousands of young men will face a bleak future in which a lack of qualifications and basic skills will mean unemployment and little hope of finding work. He disclosed new statistics on the standards of education at the time that had been reached by boys and girls. For example, in addition to girls far outperforming boys at a General Certificate Secondary Education level (G.C.S.E), National Curriculum assessments at seven, eleven and fourteen years of age also highlighted boys underperforming, within English Language in particular. Byers then went on to make an att ack on what he described as the prevailing laddish anti-learning culture. (Byers, S. 1998, Never mind theories, under-achieving boys need practical help, _The Independent_, 5th January 1998.) In response to Stephen Byers identification of male underachievement, Ted Wragg also published an article in the Times Educational Supplement, The Times Educational Supplement Editorial. 1997, Keeping Balance on the Gender Agenda, _ the Times Educational Supplement_, 23rd May 1997. Within this article Professor Ted Wragg warned unless the achievement of boys was improved significantly society would witness immense problems that would continue throughout the 21st century. The then Chief Inspector for Schools, Chris Woodhead too believed the failure of boys, in particular working class boys to be one of the most disturbing problems faced within the entire education system. As a result of such media hype education ministers called for all academic institutions to challenge the laddish anti-learning culture, (Byers, S. 1998, Never mind theories, under-achieving boys need practical help, _The Independent_, 5th January 1998.) which had been allowed to develop. Taking such media build up and government vocalizations into consideration, it would appear something significant entered public consciousness during this time. Despite media and government claims of boys underachievement being a recent phenomenon, problems concerning boys and academic schooling has, in fact, been a longstanding priority with regard to educational studies. In particular the English philosopher John Locke, among others expressed great concern with regard the problems boys faced in language and literacy, in the 17th century. Similarly literature on schooling throughout the 1960s and 1970s cautioned teachers against grouping boys according to their academic ability as it resulted in less academic boys developing negative attitudes towards education and schools. Foster et al. (2001) What about the boys? An overview of the debates, in Martino .W. Meyenn .B. What About The Boys, Issues of Masculinity in Schools. Open University Press. The introduction of the National Curriculum alongside the induction of complex assessment and reporting procedures, many believe, was what initially highlighted the problem of male underachievement in todays society. From 1991 onwards students have been made to complete Standard Assessment Tasks (S.A.T.s) at the ages of seven, eleven and fourteen. Responsibility lies with the educational institutions at this time to ensure pupils achieve the expected standards. Additionally schools undergo rigorous inspection; such inspections appear to be central to the Educational Schools Act 1992, which introduced the implementation of National League Tables. These tables rank schools according to their pupils performance in the Standard Assessment Tasks (S.A.T.s). Many believe such a procedure was what set the scene for the emergence of the boys underachievement debate. In order for schools to survive they had to attract clients in the form of parents, and they could only attract parents if they were able to demonstrate they provided and delivered a high standard of education. Schools were judged to be efficient by the national league tables according to their success in getting pupils to reach the required standards at the ages of seven, eleven and fourteen. In 1996 the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Office for Standards in Education produced a joint report on performance differences between boys and girls in school. Their findings included girls being more successful than boys or broadly as successful in almost all major subjects. They reported girls tended to be more reflective than boys and also better at planning and organising their work. Reactions to these findings that boys are doing less well in school and are also suffering in other respects, such as the disproportionate degree of unemployment, as mentioned previously have varied. Some have identified what they see to be a crucial social problem of the 21st century. Others see it as solely a symptom of a male backlash, creating a sense of moral panic, aimed at clawing back the gains made by women in recent years. In light of such diverse view points, when researching this area for myself it would appear necessary to mantain a sense of balance before finishing upon any su ch conclusion. Official statistics on the academic performance of pupils in Northern Ireland, England and Wales indicate girls have been performing increasingly well compared to boys in terms of their attainment at General Certificate of Secondary Education (G.C.S.E) level examinations in most subjects. As mentioned previously, this development has been the focus of considerable debate in both the popular media and the academic press, with regular pronouncements from politicians and government policy makers. The obvious heated debate over boys underachievement throughout the 1990s and into the 21st century is not solely connected to Britain, figures suggest male underachievement is a problematic issue in Australia, Canada, The United States of America, parts of Western Europe and Japan. Epstein. D. Et al. (1998) Educating Boys, Learning Gender. Open University Press. Focusing upon the underachievement of boys within the context of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland in particular, I plan to focus upon Symbolic Interactionism as the basis of my own theoretical research. I plan to consider Symbolic Interactionist debates over Britains Lost Boys and the undoubtable underachievement of boys compared to girls in certain subjects, predominately at General Certificate of Secondary Education level (G.C.S.E). Symbolic Interactionists, unlike functionalists and conflict theorists, tend to limit their analysis of education to what they directly observe happening within the classroom. Their main focus is on teacher, pupil relationships and the interaction processes that occur within the classroom. Symbolic Interactionists see the education system as playing a vital role in shaping the way students see reality and themselves. Interactionists such as Howard Becker see school settings as creating serious difficulties for students who are labelled as less academically able than their peers. He believed such students may never be able to see themselves as good students and move beyond such labels. Teacher expectations play a huge role in student achievement from an interactionists point of view and this is a point I would be interested in investigating further with regard to my own research. Labelling theory, was developed predominately by Howard Becker who in Outsiders 1963 argued underachievement to be created by society, in the sense social groups create underachievement by making the rules whose infraction constitutes low attainment and by applying those rules to particular persons and labelling them as such Scott .J. Marshall .G. (2005:341) Becker and Lermert initially developed Labelling Theory, Hargreaves et al showed how it could apply within school settings and Rosenthal and Jacobson suggested that it could create a Self Fulfilling Prophecy in school, such that children defined as bright would in fact live up to such expectations. In education, despite the Rosenthal and Jacobson study, labelling-based self-fulfilling prophecies usually operate to the disadvantage of students. Specific categories of students, based on gender, ethnicity or indeed social background, may be written off as incapable of achieving, setting up a frame of reference in which their failings are noticed and their achievements discounted. Individual students may also be labelled by being told they will never amount to anything, or for example they are no good at a particular subject. Internalised, these labels are carried into new situations, including further and higher education, as a result many believe the failure of the student to be inevitable. Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson conducted a land mark study for this approach in 1968. Firstly, they examined a group of students in accordance with standard IQ tests. The researchers then identified a number of students who they said would likely show a sharp increase in abilities over the coming year. They informed the teachers of these results, and asked them to watch and see if this increase did occur. When the researchers repeated the IQ tests at the end of the year, the students identified by the researchers did indeed show higher IQ scores. The significance of this study lies in the fact that the researchers had randomly selected a number of average students. The researchers found that when the teachers expected a particular performance or growth, it occurred. This phenomenon, where a false assumption actually occurs because someone predicted it, reinforces the notion of a self-fulfilling prophesy. Rosenthal .R. Jacobson .L. (1992) Pygmalion in the Classroom, Teachers Ex pectations and Pupils Intellectual Development. Crown House: Publishing Limited. Ray Rist conducted research similar to the Rosenthal and Jacobson study in 1970. In a kindergarten classroom where both students and teacher were of African American origin, the teacher assigned students to tables based on ability; the so called better students sat at a table closer to her, the average students sat at the next table, and the weakest students sat at the farthest table. Rist discovered that the teacher assigned the students to a table based on the teachers perception of the students skill levels on the eighth day of class, without any form of testing to verify such a placement. Rist also found that the students the teacher perceived as better learners came from higher social classes, while the weak students were from lower social classes. Monitoring the students through the year, Rist found that the students closer to the teacher received the most attention and performed better. The farther from the teacher a student sat, the weaker that student performed. Rist continu ed the study through the next several years and found that the labels assigned to the students on the eighth day of kindergarten followed them throughout their academic journey. Rist, Ray (1970). Student Social Class and Teacher Expectations: The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy in Ghetto Education. Harvard Educational Review 40, 3, 411-451. While Symbolic Interactionists have undoubtedly analysed this self fulfilling process, they have yet to find the exact way in which teachers form such expectations of students. Irrespective of such an issue I feel the Self Fulfilling Prophecy may be a crucial determining factor with regard to answering my own research question. The real importance of Rosenthal and Jacobsons findings at Oak School relates to the potential long-lasting effects of teachers expectations on the scholastic performance of students. It is of interest to explore some later research that examined the ways in which teachers unconsciously communicate their higher expectations to the students whom they believe possess greater potential. A study conducted by Chaiken, Sigler, and Derlega (1974) involved videotaping teacher-student interactions in a classroom situation in which the teachers had been informed that certain children were extremely bright (these bright students had been chosen at random from all the students in the class). Careful examination of the videos indicated that teachers favoured the identified brighter students in many subtle ways. They smiled at these students more often, made more eye contact, and had more favourable reactions to these students comments in class. These researchers go on to report that students for whom these high expectations exist are more likely to enjoy school receive more constructive comments from teachers on their mistakes, and work harder to try to improve. What this and other studies indicate are those teacher expectancies, while their influence is not the only determinant of a childs performance in school, can affect more than just IQ scores. Due in large part to Rosenthal and Jacobsons research, the power of teachers expectations on students performance has become an integral part of our understanding of the educational process. Furthermore, Rosenthals theory of interpersonal expectancies has exerted its influence in numerous areas other than education. In 2002, Rosenthal himself reviewed the literature on expectancy effects using meta-analysis techniques. He demonstrated how the expectations of psychological researchers, classroom teachers, judges in the courtroom, business executives, and health care providers can unintentionally affect the responses of their research participants, pupils, jurors, employees, and patients (Rosenthal, 2002, p. 839). Martino .W. Meyenn .B. (2001) What about the Boys, Issues of Masculinity in Schools. Open University Press. What about the Boys, Issues of Masculinity in Schools is a book which attempts to develop further understandings about masculinity. Such a piece of literature is timely given the continued moral panic that persists about boys disadvantaged status in comparison to girls. Throughout this book the view boys are victims and are attributed with a disadvantaged status remains throughout. Research undertaken with boys spanning Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States is brought together in this collection. The focus for each of the contributors is addressing issues of what about the boys in relation to their own research and informed perspectives on boys and schooling. Many focus on what boys (and girls) themselves say about their experiences of schooling and sexuality and use their voices as a basis for drawing out what the implications might be for those working in schools. In this regard the chapters are written with a broader audience in mind particularly teachers and administrators in schools with the view to using research to illuminate the effects of masculinity in the lives of boys and girls at school. All of the contributors are concerned to highlight the impact and effect of certain forms of masculinity on the lives of boys at school, but locate their research and/or discussion within the context of the boys education debates outlined by Foster, Kimmell and Skelton in the introductory chapter. Many have also indicated what the implications of their research are for daily practice in schools and classrooms. In this sense, the research documented here has major implications for the professional development of teachers in schools and for st udent teachers in tertiary institutions. Sociologists like Bob Connell (1987, 1995) have been particularly influential in drawing attention to how social, cultural and historical factors have influenced the various ways in which masculinity comes to be defined and embodied by boys and men. We see the contributors of this book building on this work. They highlight that there are many forms of masculinity that are played out in the context of a complex set of power relations in which certain types of masculinity are valued over others. Many also draw attention to the role of a dominant form of masculinity, which comes to be defined in opposition to femininity, and highlight that association with the feminine for boys can often lead to other boys questioning their sexuality (see also Frank,1987, 1993). Other factors such as race, class, ethnicity and geographical location are also taken up to develop an understanding of the various ways in which boys learn to relate and behave in certain social situations and within particular educational institutions. In this sense feminist educators and theories also inform the perspectives on boys and schooling elaborated in this book. Such perspectives have contributed significantly to producing valuable insights into the links between gender and power (Davies 1993; Steinberg et al. 1997), specifically in terms of illuminating boys social practices and ways of relating at school. All contributors recognize that schools are important arenas of power where masculinities and femininities are acted out on a daily basis through the dynamic processes of negotiation, refusal and struggle (Giroux and McLaren 1994). In other words, these papers illustrate that there are indeed social constraints and power imbalances in educational sites, but that gender regimes are more shifting and contradictory than theorists supposed in the seventies and eighties (Jackson and Salisbury 1996; Kenway et al. 1997). In this sense, each chapter included in this collection builds on studies into boys at school which have been undertaken by Kessler et al. (1985), Walker (1988), Mac an Ghaill (1994) and Epstein (1994). The contributors also suggest ways forward and beyond the popular and simplistic views which stress the need for boys to reclaim lost territory. There is a powerful discourse of neglect informing many of the popularist debates about the boys which continue to assert that provision for the educational needs of girls has been at the expense of boys (Yates 1997). Moreover, the idea or assumption that boys are somehow victims or losers now competing with girls who have suddenly become the winners is also refuted strongly by the various positions that are taken up in this book. Compounding such a position is the view that biology needs to be given equal consideration in developing an understanding of boys behaviours and learning orientations. This argument continues to be promulgated within the context of these debates about the boys (see submissions to Australian inquiry into boys education at http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/eewr/Epfb/sublist.htm) as if appeals to biological sex differences and essentialism are somehow outside the effects of certain power relations (see Fausto-Sterling 2000). As Peterson (2000) has illuminated, appeals to biological determinism have been used historically to enforce a binary categorization of gendered behaviours always within the context of and in response to the perceived power gained by women. Moreover, as Lingard and Douglas (1999) have lucidly illustrated, the debates about the boys in the nineties have been characterized by a strong backlash against feminism and this continues to be the case as we enter the new millennium. If we are indeed to encourage diversity and citizenship in multicultural societies it is crucial that issues of opportunity, access and distributed success before grounded in debates about gendered educational outcomes. Collins et al. (2000) have addressed this in a recent governmental report on the factors influencing the educational performance of males and females in school and their post-school labour destinations. In line with the positions taken up in that report, we believe that policy formulation and curriculum development in schools must avoid the popularist tendency to assert a binary oppositional and competing victims perspective on the factors impacting on the social and educational experiences of boys and girls. This will only lead to homogenizing and normalizing boys and girls on the basis of biological sex differences and, hence, reinforce the very versions of masculinity which the research shows have detrimental consequences for both the former and the latter. This book, therefore, is offered as an attempt to provide a more informed perspective on the social practices of masculinity impacting on boys lives at school. We hope that it will have the effect of moving the debates beyond the feminist backlash rhetoric which persists in casting boys as the new victims. If anything, as the contributors of this book argue, the issue that needs to be addressed is the investment that many boys, men and schools have in promoting a particular version of masculinity which is to their detriment in the sense that it limits them from developing a wider repertoire of behaviours and ways of relating. Until a commitment is made, particularly by men and boys themselves, to addressing the role that sexuality, homophobia and misogyny continue to play in how many of them define and negotiate their Masculinities, we believe that very little will change. Connolly .P. (2004) Boys and Schooling in the Early Years. Routledge Falmer Press. Boys underachievement in education has now become a international concern, prioritised highly b government bodies around the world. Boys and Schooling in the early years represents the first study of its kind to focus solely upon young men and their achievement within the education system. Throughout this book this is a powerful argument for the need to begin tackling the problem of boss lower educational performance in the early years. This proved entirely beneficial as it includes one of the most detailed analyses of national statistics regarding gender differences in educational achievement from the early years right through until compulsory schooling. Together with original and in depth case studies which vividly capture the differing experiences and perspectives of 5-6 year old boys, this book sets out the nature of the problems facing young boys in education and highlights a number of practical ways in which they can begin to be addressed. This is entirely relevant as i am conc erned about boys lower levels of achievement. This book follows the sandwich model: for the filling, juicy case studies of two contrasting schools in Northern Ireland; and, around the outside, nourishing chapters of theorizing, a critical review of the rhetoric and reality of the problem, and a detailed discussion of the strategies needed to sort everything out. Of these, probably the most useful is the chapter that sets the factual record straight, dismissing some current explanations of boys under-achievement: its not their brains, neurons or testosterone that are to blame; it isnt a question of girls holding boys back, or the feminization of schools, or an epidemic of laddish behavior. Rather, Connolly argues, the key factor in boys poor educational performance relative to girls is masculinity itself or, rather, masculinities. This is the rationale for the case studies that follow: one school in an affluent, peaceful, middle-class area, and another in a seriously disadvantaged working-class area, riven by sectarian violence. It is also the starting point for the authors research questions: what are the dominant forms of masculinity in the early years, and how do they influence boys attitudes towards schooling? Between October 2001 and June 2002, Connolly spent a day a week in each of the two primary schools, observing five and six-year-old boys, and interviewing boys, teachers and parents. In the middle-class school, dinosaurs are cool but reading is rubbish, while, on the other side of the tracks, resistance to school reaches dizzy heights. Boys in this school are not without enthusiasms, but these appear to be football, fighting, wrestling, pulling down girls trousers and marching with the local loyalist flute band. The chapter on home-school relations in this school is even more depressing, as parents describe how the teachers discourage their children from even entering for the 11-plus. Bad news all round then, including the research process itself: in particular, there are some dodgy interview questions that virtually invite the boys, across the class divide, to assert their innate superiority: If you had a choice, would you want to be girls or boys?; Would either of you like to be a girl? The boys answers fall smoothly into the stereotyped trap prepared for them. Nevertheless, this book asks some serious questions, not least of which is: why do we worry so much about gender differences when social class has a much greater impact on achievement? Furthermore, why are so many teachers apparently so willing to accept their pupils low levels of achievement on entry as a sure and certain guide to the future? And, lastly, when are we going to learn what Bronwen Davies tried to teach us long ago (in Frogs and Snails and Feminist Tales) about the need to go beyond male-female dualism, so that we can position ourselves, and our pupils, as neither male, nor female, but human. Im yet to be convinced that studies such as Connollys are going to help us take this tremendous step forward. Head .J. (1999) Understanding the Boys, Issues of Behavior and Achievement. Falmer Press. Attention is given to general aspects of learning and assessment before examining the response of boys to specific subjects within the curriculum. Personal, social and health education concerns are addressed. http://www.dropshippers.co.za/ This text aims to increase understanding of the potential causes of underachievement, violence and even suicide amongst teenage boys. Suicide has dramatically increased among young males and academic underachievement is common. The author argues that it is therefore important to understand the young male psyche. The text addresses questions such as: has male behavior in school worsened, or has media hype inflated the proportions of a good story; what is at the root of male violence; and are biological or social explanations telling the whole story? The author shows that it is only by engaging boys in arenas of thought and feeling that we can understand and help overcome the difficulties faced by boys today. The issue of boys work and behavior in school has created considerable public interest and has undoubtedly polarized opinion, with some claiming it is the greatest social problem of our time, while other asserts it is merely an expression of male backlash intended to divert attention and resources from the need of girls and women. The first of the two sections within this book contains a review discussion of the various explanatory models biological, social and psychological. Emerging message is schools and teachers matter in academic performance can be made and we need not see the failing or difficult boys as inevitably trapped in their current position. Head believed the key to successful intervention was in understanding the boys and attempting to see things from their perspective. Martino .W. et al. (2003) so whats a boy, addressing the issues of masculinity and schooling. Open University Press. So whats a bay? is a timely volume. It comes at a critical point in the expanding debate regarding boys and schools. Juxtaposed against an increasingly strident and often times stark mass media, this book offers a sober and contemporary view of boys and their place in that confused environment called school. However, not content to simply cite data and/or repeat refrains found elsewhere, the authors have avoided the boy crisis trap and raised the debate by taking an appealing, narrative approach. One can hear and appreciate the voices of boys (all kinds of different boys) through this volume! More Articles of Interest MALE TEACHERS AND THE BOY PROBLEM: AN ISSUE OF RECUPERATIVE EDUCATING BOYS: TEMPERING RHETORIC WITH RESEARCH EDITORIAL WHATS TO FEAR: CALLING HOMOPHOBIA INTO QUESTION Real Men or Real Teachers: Contradictions in the lives of men elementary http://dw.com.com/redir?tag=rbxira.2.a.10destUrl=http://www.cnet.com/b.gif The book is divided into three, roughly equal sections. Part 1, Normalization and Schooling, sets the general scene and brings the reader into the lives of boys with discussions regarding body image, emerging masculinities, bullying/harassment, and friendships. The second part, Diverse Masculinities, delves into the central issue of how boys see themselves, their developing sexuality, cultural/home conditions, how they are seen by others, and how