United Nations and World Peace

Representations of the Mixed Race Essays

Representations of the Mixed Race Essays Representations of the Mixed Race Essay Representations of the Mixed Race Essay Name: Course: Tutor: Date: Representations of the Mixed Race The issue of race has been reviewed by many as far as the society is concerned. This is more so where more than one race is in existence especially in the American (United States), Asian and the European countries. Mulattos, who are an outcome of mixed races, have been a point of interest for many decades. The book American Son by Brian Roley and the essay How to Rehabilitate a Mulatto: the Iconography of Tiger Woods by Hiram Perez have depicted the mixed race issue from the offspring born in the United States. From the literal works, the Asian American regional/historical context matters, contentious, and race as a social construct have been depicted. In the novel American Son, Brian Roley tells the story of two brothers who are half Filipino and half American, the mother being from Philippines and the father being from America. Gabe, the narrator in the novel, is an adolescent and the younger of the two brothers who is timid, observant, shy and obedient, suffocating under his older brother’s indifference towards him and his mother’s high expectations of him even though he is going through an identity crisis. On the other hand, Tomas, the elder of the two brothers is arrogant, indifferent to his brothers, disobedient to his mother, a high school drop out, likes to wear Mexican clothes although he runs a legal business of rearing dogs and selling them to the Hollywood celebrities. The novel, divided into three sections, takes the reader through the many challenges the narrator goes through before accepting his identity as a Mulatto. Hiram Perez’s essay is more focused on Tiger Woods who is referred to as a Cablinasia since he as the origin of a Caucasian, African American (black), American India (native) and an Asia (Thai and Chinese). The author argues that, â€Å"the celebrity of a figure such as Tiger Woods functions to rehabilitate the mulatto in order to announce the arrival of a new color-blind era in the U.S history,† (Dave 223). In the essay, Perez, analyses the ways in which the celebrity has been used to advocate a color-blind America. One example given is his advertisement on the Nike products. Since Woods has conquered a sport that was considered to belong to the Caucasians, many children from diverse races are spotted saying that they are Tiger Woods in one particular advertisement. The controversies associated with the existence of the racial mixture of American Asians have taken a different turn. The two works bring forth diversity in the perception of these group people. In most cases, the Asians come to the United States in order to experience the American Dream. They come to the United States to get a better life for themselves. While others view them as intruders waiting to take away the small opportunities available, others view them as disadvantaged who have come to seek refuge in America. These controversies have led to the various depictions of this race. For example, Ika, Tomas and Gabe’s mother, works two jobs that are not well paying in a district (Venice) in California that was once neglected in the 1950s. On the other hand, Perez shows that the children from the diverse races, which include Asia, have backgrounds that look like they are urban poor backgrounds. In most cases, one is not considered as a true American even though he/she might be legally so, as long as he has an origin of one of the other races apart from being a Caucasian. This has led to the mulattos’s own hate of themselves and families. In the novel, Gabe admits that he did not like her mother picking him from schools. He further gives a description of how short and dark she was especially when she wore the giant purple glasses that seemed trendy on everybody else apart from her mother since the glasses did not go well with her brown skin (Roley 30). As earlier noted the poor jobs and the slums seemed to belong to the African Americans, the Mexican Americans, the Asian Americans and every other race considered not American. This regional/historical perception is also depicted by Tomas rebellion of his race. He chose to dress like a Mexican yet he was not one. This part of the novel depicts that he was ashamed of who he was. Similarly, Roley depicts Gabe as one who is afraid to glance at the rear mirror during his encounter with the truck driver. This shows that he was ashamed of looking at his reflection, which was a reflection of an Asian identity. In both cases, historical and regional perceptions of the Asian Americans brought social trauma on these boys thus their rejection of their own identity. Tomas has a dog selling business even though he is a high-school dropout. He rears ordinary dogs, trains them to attack and then sells them Hollywood celebrities. Even though their only evidence of their ability to attack was the fact that they attacked some children, they are sold for thousand of dollars, which is overrated. Tomas gives them German names such as Heinrich and Greta so that they are perceived to be from Germany, yet they are as ordinary as they can be. Naming the dogs German names instead of giving them Asian names shows the power of a race. The dogs are more marketable when given German names than when given Asian names. The Asian were not highly regarded. Perez’s essay brings forth another concept of the American Asia perception, this being in the race context. Perez states that Oprah Winfrey called Tiger Woods â€Å"America’s son† (226). This showed that Tiger Woods is a representation of the diverse races in the United States. He represents the color-blindness in the United States today. He cannot be called an Asian, Native American or an African American, but rather he is a representation of all and he has won a place in a sport that was dominated by one race. Gabe’s encounter with the truck driver also acts as a revelation to the reader and the society in general. The truck driver was not conscious of Gabe’s Filipino origin. He further states that he might have not been an Asian at all. This made Gabe find a place and comfort in the driver’s presence. In other words, the driver showed that there was no major significance in someone’s race. It aided Gabe in his final path of accepting his identity during the last section of the book. Both literal works have brought forth similarities and diversity in the characters. Gabe’s family struggles with self-identity. Ika’s brother is angry with Ika because she refused to go back to her country. She chose to suffer the life imposed by the Americans on the Asians, yet there is a shinier easier life in Philippines. Gabe is avoids looking at the rear mirror in order to avoid looking at his reflection and he is ashamed of his own mother even though she is obedient and respectful to her. Tomas reactions to his brother and his family are an outward depiction of his internal conflicts. He dresses like a Mexican even though there are American and Asian clothing available. Perez’s essay is a contrast of the novel. It shows hopes for the American Asians. The color-blindness adopted by the Americans shows that they are interested in the character rather than the color. The author shows that Wood’s dominance in the golf sport depicts hopes for all races thus the children’s advertisement. His (Woods) mother’s interest in education and his father’s interest in sport shaped Woods greatly. The mulatto’s will acquire their own identity if they choose to look themselves deeper than being American Asians. Works cited Perez, Hiram. â€Å"How to rehabilitate a Mulatto: The Iconography of Tiger Woods†. East Main Street: Asian American Popular Culture, Ed. By Shilpa Dave, Leilani Nishime Tasha G. Oren. New York, NY: New York University Press, 2005. Print. Roley, Brian Ascalon. American Son. New York, NY: WW Norton, 2002. Print.

Impact of Recession on the UK Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Impact of Recession on the UK Economy - Essay Example It was around that time when the government realized the seriousness of the issue. There are indications that things might be looking up, as we move along with the range of stimulus packages. The unemployment rate in the UK experienced a dip of 0.1 percent and it stood at 7.8 percent in January 2010. But this figure is still 1.6 percent higher than that of last year, which makes thinks worrisome for the government (HRM Guide, 2010). Official figures indicate that the average earnings in the UK have certainly bounced back in the recent past.1 Fig-1 indicates that there are indeed some recovery signals in the economy, as the earning potential of an average Briton is coming back to the comfort zone. What could be of some concern however is, the falling graph of earnings in the latter part of 2009. Monk (2009) also cites the October 2009 figures from the Office for National Statistics to highlight the higher number of borrowings in the UK. The figure stood at 11.4bn in October, far higher than the forecast figure of 7.1bn. The consistent increase of net debt as a percentage of the GDP over the last couple of years has made UK economy more of a debt economy. OCED has also issued warnings to the effect that the UK needs to put in place its fiscal measures to unburden itself from the pile of debt. It was predicted by some analysts in 2008 when the initial signals of the recession started emerging that during the coming two years UK economy would be experiencing its weakest patch of the last 15 years (BBC, 2008). Well, if trace the journey of the recession, these concerns seem to have come true. Taking a historical perspective UK had a population of 38 million with GDP of just under 125 billion at constant 1995 market prices. By the end of the century, the population stood at 59 million with an increase of more than 50 percent while the GDP stood at 800 billion, registering a fivefold increase (Lindsay, 2003). The benefits of globalization seem to have percolated down to all sections of the society in good measure.

This is an essay to get accepted to american university of paris

This is an to get accepted to american university of paris - Essay Example There are several reasons why I am passionate about studying at the American University of Paris. The American University of Paris is home to many successful individuals. The mission statement of American University of Paris depicts everything that I am looking for in an university. A university that focuses on hands on learning, history and being a responsible individual is a place I would enjoy being a part of (American University of Paris 2011). Ethnic backgrounds should be able to come together and learn with one another. This is what sets American University of Paris apart from other universities. The universities focus on students from different nationalities makes American University of Paris a leader in education. In a world that is becoming more ethnically diverse, this is important. Learning in a national setting can help explore national issues. Learning in a national atmosphere will help to further explore national concerns. Some national concerns are war and the environment. Both concerns are concerns that affect all people. War is not the answer for anything. Human beings should be able to talk issues out with one another until an agreement is made. Killing innocent individuals over mindless problems seems like a waste of time. Obtaining a diverse education can help address national concerns. The environment is something that every individual from every type of background has to deal with. We as a human race are on this earth together and all affected by natural disasters and global warming issues. Natural disasters can happen at any time and affect anyone. It is important for those affected to be able to seek help from all over the world. This is why it is so important for me to study and learn discipline with individuals of different education and geographical backgrounds. Global warming issues are a national concern for me and should be a national concern

Response to The Omnivore's Dilemma Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Response to The Omnivore's Dilemma - Essay Example Because of these extensive choices, dilemmas are arising in the human’s minds regarding how food items are produced, whether naturally or artificially, whether unethical practices are followed, in total dilemma of what food to eat. â€Å"When you can eat just about anything nature has to offer, deciding what you should eat will inevitably stir anxiety† (Pollan 3). So, the main intent of the author, Michael Pollan is to provide the readers with an overview of the production process of various food choices, so the readers can select the apt foods, they want to consume. To learn for himself, and also to inform the readers about the production processes and thereby about food choices, Pollan follows the food chains of the three major food categories, which provide us the food– industrial food, organic food, and foraging food. That is, he examines the food chains of these three food categories from the initial till it reaches the humans stage (factory production and s upermarkets in the case of Industrial food, agricultural farms, small scale producers and vendors in the case of organic food and finally hunting expedition in case of foraging). â€Å"To this end, he embarks on four separate eating adventures, each of which starts at the very beginning — in the soil from which the raw materials of his dinners will emerge — and ends with a cooked, finished meal.† (Kamp 2006). The other main intent of Pollan is bring into focus how corn plant has came to dominate majority of the food choices in the American diet, and so allocates sizable portion of the book (close to 7 chapters) discussing about it. Although, corn is a benign plant, which is grown in large numbers throughout America and consumed directly in minimal quantities, it is actively used in the production of various food items, food additives, preservatives, etc. That is, after corn is produced, it is milled or refined or recompounded, and then it could â€Å"become any number of things, from ethanol for the gas tank to dozens of edible, if not nutritious, products, like the thickener in a milkshake, the hydrogenated oil in margarine, the modified cornstarch,†¦the ubiquitous sweetener known as high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).† (Kamp 2006). With such extensive ‘applications’, Corn plant production is crucial to the survival and functioning of the various food industries. Because of which, the industrial food industry is implementing various dubious and unethical production practices to produce corn in a large scale manner. With heightened production, the corn has become cheap and plentiful, with Pollan even stating that it has become a â€Å"remarkably inexpensive industrial raw material.† (Kamp 2006). As a result, Pollan argues, food is much cheaper and more plentiful than it used to be, but unfortunately the health of the humans and that of the environment has deteriorated. Pollan also had the intent to bring out th e negatives of the organic food industry as well. Although, the organic industry mainly produces environment friendly and healthy foods for the people to consume, the production process in that industry also has started bordering on commercialization. That is, producers are adopting many of the methods of the industrial fo

Inventory Management of Nepalese Public Enterprises

Inventory Management of Nepalese Public Enterprises CHAPTER-2 Review of Literature There are many researches made in inventory Management of Nepalese Public enterprises and Private enterprises. Most of them has made on the manufacturing enterprises. In this chapter attempts has been made to present the review of literature regarding inventory management. 2.1 Conceptual Framework Inventory Management The writer (Saxena, 2009, p. 2) defines inventory as any kind of idol resource that has potential economic value considered as locked up capital. Inventory is a list of goods and materials which is available in stock by business (Saxena, 2009). Other write (Li, 2007, p. 175) defines inventory as the stock of any items or resources used in an organization. Stock consists of all goods and materials that are stored by an organization which is kept for future use (Waters, 2003). According to (Roy, 2005, p. 100) inventory is list of goods or items. Inventory management is the active control program which allows the management of sales, purchases and payments (Inventorymanagement). The author (Saxena, 2009, p. 2) refers inventory management as a process of managing raw materials, semi-finished products and finished-products by a firm. The inventory management is a set of the process and policies that determines what inventory level should be maintained, what stock should be replenished and how large order should be (Li, 2007, p. 175). According to (Toomey, 2003, p. 1) inventory management is a branch of business management which concerned in planning and controlling inventories. Effective stock management means providing the desired stock service level or maximizing your profit while at the same time keeping your total stock costs as low as possible by; Selecting products that initially sell, well and discontinuing those that stop selling. Purchasing the right quantity (how much to buy) Purchasing at the right time (when to buy) Keeping your total inventory investment in balance with the expected levels of sales To control costs and improve profit, it is necessary to actively manage every asset we own. And it is particularly true of the management of goods and material we buy and keep on land either far our own use or for resale. The goal of inventory management is to increase profit on inventory while increasing customer services (Frazelle, 2002, p. 91) The dictionary meaning of inventory is stock of goods or a list of goods. Various authors define the word inventory in their ways. In accounting language may mean stock of finished goods. In a manufacturing concern, it may include raw materials, work in process and stores. To understand the exact meaning of inventory the word inventory we may study it form the usage side and from the point of entry in the operation Among the different aspects of management, inventory management is also one of the major factors to play significant role in management of material , part supplies, expenses tools , working process, finished products and then record on the books and maintenance of store rooms, warehouses by an organization is known as inventory management . 2.2 Nature of Inventory The company holds different kinds of inventories to obtain their goals (Waters, 2003). Basically we can divide inventory into three parts which are following, Raw material Work in progress Finished goods (Toomey, 2003, pp. 20-21) Raw Material The stocks or inventories and purchase parts which is not part of manufacturing process is called raw material (Toomey, 2003). Raw materials are those basic inputs that have to be gone through the different process to convert into finished goods. Raw materials inventories are such kind of inventories which have been purchased and stored for future manufacturing process. Raw materials are hold in store by manufacturing company to smooth running of production process. The author defines raw material as those kinds of stocks which is imported from suppliers and are store until needed for manufacture (Waters, 2003, p. 9). Work in progress Work in progress refers to inventory units that are currently being worked on (Waters, 2003, p. 9). Work in progress inventories are neither a finished product nor raw materials. It is middle of raw materials and finished product. The author (Toomey, 2003, pp. 20-21) defines work in progress (WIP) inventories are those kinds of inventories which are in different phase of completion throughout the manufacturing process. It is very difficult to separate which materials are WIP and which are not. Because the same materials may be a raw material in one industry and same material may be a WIP as well as finished goods in other industry. It depends upon nature of production. Finished goods The finished goods inventory represents products that are ready for sale. According to (Toomey, 2003, pp. 20-21) finished goods are those items which are awaiting shipment to customers. Finished goods inventories includes all the completed products which going to be sold (Muller, 2003, pp. 19-20).These are goods fully manufactured inspected and ready for dispatch to a customer. In manufacturing firm, these are the final output of the production process. Stocks of finished goods are held by manufacturing and non-manufacturing company for market operation. 2.3 Purpose of inventory Inventory is the most important to all manufacturing organization in todays industrial world and it plays vital role to exist the company. So it is necessary to manage it properly because both situations of inventories either excessive or inadequate are not acceptable to the firm. There are two larger points within which the firm should operate. The objective of inventory management should be to determine and maintain optimum level of inventory investment. The optimum level of inventory will lie between two danger points of excessive and inadequate inventories. According to (Wild, 2002, p. 7) the propose of the inventory management function in supporting in the business activities is to optimize the three sectors customer services, inventory cost and operating cost. The author refers about purpose of inventory like this the inventory is created when supply excesses the demand. The main purpose of holding the inventory in the company is to prevent from shortage of raw materials, expected demand, to gain more profit (Li, 2007, p. 176). Firm should always aware from over investment or under-investment in the inventories. Over investment and under investment in inventory is unhealthy for the company. Due to over investment into inventory, makes unnecessary tie-up and the amount which we cant invest in other purpose, increasing carrying costs, risk of liquidity. Excessive carrying costs will directly effect in the company profit. Due to over inventories; it may not be possible to sell them in time and at full value. Similarity, WIP is far more difficult to sell because as we said before WIP is not finished goods. In the same way finished goods inventory should sold at low prices due to fall in the price in market and the seasonal factors. So, more investment in inventories is harmful to producer/company. It should be cut down. Similarly, under investment in inventories also not good for company. It carries some problems such as production hold-ups, frequent production interruptions. If finished goods are not sufficient, we do not meet the customers demand and our goodwill also loss. Thus, the objectives of inventory management should be neither excessive nor inadequate level of inventories but maintaining sufficient inventory level for the smooth production and sales operations. An optimum level of inventory should be determined on the basis of the trade-off between costs and benefits. The various importance of inventory management can be summarized up as follows: Predictability Unreliability of supply Price protection Lower ordering cost Anticipated demand 2.7 Procedure of Inventory Management These are lot of function have to be done For the achievement of its objectives business performs a wide variety of function, namely production, marketing, personnel, office research and development of these production and marketing are basic operating functions in a typical business enterprise. Marketing is concerned with the demand side of goods and services, while production is concerned with the supply side. One cannot exist without other; however, decisions about the production activities constitute one of the most important functions of the top management. Production is concerned with the provision of goods and services for the satisfaction of the customer wants. Therefore the consumer depends upon the good economical and efficient production system good inventory management there should be used different activities in ought procedure or manner. General activities such as purchasing, receiving, store-keeping and issuing and pricing are the procedure of inventory management. The y are described as follows: 2.7.1 Purchasing Purchasing is the fulcrum when it comes to meeting customer demands (Johnson, 2010) . Purchasing is the most important function of inventory management to select the suppliers, because it brings significant saving for the organization (Elanchezhian, et al 2010). All organization need various kinds of input like goods and services form external suppliers. The writers ( Baily, Farmer, Jessop, jones, 2005, pp. 3-4) define purchasing as to acquire right quantity of material, at the right time, in the right quantity, from the right source, at the right price. In simple words purchasing is relate to going the open market finding the require materials at the lowest price and selecting the supplier who offers it at that price having the quality of the materials in minds. In fact the process of inventory management begins with purchasing .The need for particular materials initiates purchasing in a firm. A good purchasing management has played important role in the manufacturing companies. We should pay more attention in the purchasing raw materials, supplies in the right quantity of the right quality from the right origin at the right time and cost. The production is hampered the scarcity of raw materials on time, purchasing department should take grater responsibilities and should analysis the existing procurement policy and should tune with the overall organizational objectives and policies. We can improve management of purchase by the help of standardization, value analysis, material substitution, transportation saving and cost reduction of packing modification. There are the following functions of a purchase department. How to purchase? Where to purchase? How much to purchase? At what price to purchase? To perform there function effectively, the purchase department follows the following procedures Receiving purchase requisition Exploring the sources of supply and choosing of suppliers Preparation and execution of purchase order. Receiving and inspecting materials. Checking and issuing of bills for payment.  [3]   The objectives of purchase department is to arrange the supply of materials, spare parts and services or semi-finished goods required for desired production .Walters observes purchasing functions as ‘The Procurement and Purchase of the proper materials, machinery, equipment and supplies for stores used in the manufacturing of a product adopted to marketing in the proper quality at the proper time and at the lowest price constant with desired. Purchasing now become a specialized function in many organization wasting expenses that Purchasing is a managerial activity that goes beyond the simple act of buying and includes the planning and policy, objectives covering wide range of related and complimentary included in such activities are the research and development required for the proper selection of materials and sources from which these materials may be brought.  [4]   In the words of matter industrial purchasing is The procurement by purchase of Alfred and Beauty .Principles of industrial the proper adopted to marketing in the proper quantity and quality at the proper time and at the lowest price consistently with the quality desired A Purchasing means a policy well planned, Procedures free from much formalities and development of up to date methods and techniques of higher standard to reveal efficiency and economy.  [5]   2.7.2 Receipt and Store Keeping After sometimes of placing the order, flow-up process starts to get quick delivery of the items. The items are received by the purchasing department at the time of delivery and received items are compared with purchase order and actual materials received should be entered in goods received note. Then all items received by the purchasing department should be passed into store for protection against deterioration and pilferage. They are stored in such a way that their location is easily identified at the time of issue The store function involves both keeping the store of materials and keeping the store records, the former being physical task and the later being accounting task depending upon the nature and requirements of the organizations the stores are classified as centralized and decentralized store.  [6]   In the words of Maynard, the duties of store keeping are to receive materials to protect than while in storage from damage and unauthorized removal to issue the materials in the right quantity at the right time , to the right place and to provide these services promptly and at least costs. Good store keeping should help achieve location identification, receipt and issue without delay. Storage space should be economically utilized and materials should be protected against deterioration, fine theft, details of quantities should be available on request. General code numbers are assigned to materials for easy identification. Materials may be stored in bin, rack, drawer, tray, boxes or floor area.  [7]   Store keeping in the activity of receiving or distributing stores or supplies, stores included direct raw materials, indirect materials (supplies) and finished goods  [8]   Generally the physical stock available in the store after counting, weighting , measuring , listing as the case may be is properly recorded by only of the following methods. 2.7.3 Issued and Pricing Materials are kept in stores so that the storekeeper may issue them whenever these are required by the production departments. Materials should be issued on receipt of materials requisition of Bill of materials under proper authority to avoid the misappropriation of materials.  [9]   Materials issued from the stores are debited to the jobs or work orders which received them and credited to the materials account. These jobs are debited with the value of material issued to them.  [10]   Each item inside the inventory has some value associated with it. This value depends on the price duration of the item inside the inventory, procurement cost, storage cost etc. Generally the time of purchase and time of issue of any items are different and the market prices of the items also vary with time. Thus, for costing purposes, the problems of pricing at the time of issue are great signification.  [11]   2.7.4 Cost Basis for Inventory Valuation The primary basis of accounting for inventory is cost which has been defined generally as the price paid to considerate given to acquire an asset. As applied to inventories, cost means in principal the sum of the applicable expenditure and changes directly or indirectly incurred in bringing an article to its existing condition and location.  [12]   Conceptually the process of valuation the inventory is simple. We can calculate inventory value that multiplying physical quantity of goods by cost per unit. But in practice, many organizations purchase different types of raw materials at different price and different time. Price of materials changes time to time. There are many types of raw materials remain in the stock. It is not always possible to identify the individual particular purchase group. At the solution firms have faced difficulties in valuation the inventories. In this situation there are many methods which are based on historical cost used in determining the value of inventory are: a. First In First Out Method Under the First In First Out method the units are assumed to have been disposed of in the order in which they were acquired and the units remaining are assumed to be those which were acquired last. This assumption is realistic in that good merchandising requires that older stock be moved to the front and new purchases placed in back of the bin. Consequently the oldest merchandise in sold first, because sales orders are filled from the front of the bins. The last merchandise purchased remains in the inventory.  [13]   b. Last In First Out Method Under this method, the cost of goods sold consists of the cost of the most recently acquired goods, and the ending inventory consists of the cost of the oldest goods which were available for sale during the period.  [14]   This method does not conform to the physical flow of the units of goods but is nevertheless widely used. In periods of steadily rising prices, the inventory value will be at the lower cost of the earliest units acquired. The value of the inventory on the statement of financial position is a conservative one. In the statement of income the cost of goods sold is higher, and when costs increase net income is lower resulting in lower income taxes of course, in periods of falling prices, the results will be opposite, the cost of good sold will be lower and net income will be higher. Under LIFO method, whether costs are rising or falling, the net income over a series of years shows less variation.  [15]  . c. Specific Price or Identification Method Under this method, materials issued to production are priced at their purchase prices. The basic assumption in following this method is that materials in the stores are capable of being identified as belonging to specific lots. Identification can be made by placing some distinguishing mark usually price tag on every lot. When materials are issued, price tags are removed and forwarded to the costing department for ascertaining the material cost of production. This method is simple in its mechanism and operation. This method does not create accounting complications as are associated with the working of FIFO, LIFO and average methods. But this method is useful where job costing is in operation and the actual material issued can be identified. It is also suited to the needs of a small business enterprise when a small number of items of materials are purchased and stored which can be easily identified.  [16]   d. Base Stock Method Each concern always maintains a minimum quantity of material in stock. This minimum quantity is known as safety or base stock and this should be used only when an emergency arises. The base stock is created out of the first lot the material purchased and, therefore, it is always valued at the cost price of the first lot and is carried forward as a fixed asset. This method works with some other method and is generally used with FIFO or LIFO method. Any quantity over and above the base stock is issued in accordance with the other method which is used in conjunction with this method. The objective of this method is to issue the material according to the current prices. This objective will be achieved only when the LIFO method is used together with the Base Stock method.  [17]   2.8 Cost Associated with Inventory There are many cost associated with the size of inventory directly either advocating to decrease the inventory size or suggesting an increase in the inventory size, for an effective inventory analysis and control of the system one should have clear picture about the behavior of cost associated with different factors. Different kinds of costs associated with inventory management are explained below. a. Carrying cost Carrying cost per period, c, represent the cost of inventory storage, handling and insurance, together with the required rate of return on the investment in inventory. These costs are assumed to be constant per unit of inventory per unit of time.  [18]  Cost incurred for maintaining a given level of inventory are called carrying cost. Carrying cost means storing cost. It starts when raw-materials are placed in warehouse and it continuous until finished goods have not produced except production cost. When we carry raw- materials to production spot and there make final product and that final product we carry into stock. In course of carrying to production spot and returned back to warehouse may labor, handling cost, this cost is also included in carrying costs. However the size of inventory increases, the carrying cost also increases. The carrying costs and the inventory size are positively related and move in the same direction. Carrying cost is the first category of inventory management cost which is generally associated proportionally with the average value of inventory.  [19]   Total carrying cost vary in proportion to the value of inventory usually they are computed from the following formula. Total carrying cost = Average inventory * carrying cost per unit Symbolically TCC = Q/2 *C Where, Q = Quantity order size b. Ordering cost Ordering cost represent all of the cost of placing and receiving an order. When a firm is ordering from an external source, these include the costs of preparing the purchase requisition, expediting the order (long-distance calls and follow-up letters), receiving and inspecting the shipment and handling charge. In practice, the cost per order generally contains both fixed and variable components, since a portion of the cost- such as that of receiving and inspecting the order- normally varies with the quantity ordered. Ordering cost may different in the sense of inventories nature. Such as for Raw-materials- ordering cost involves the clerical cost in placing an order as well as certain costs of receiving and checking the goods once they arrive. For finished goods- ordering cost involves scheduling a production run. And for work-in-progress- ordering costs are likely to involve nothing more than record keeping. Ordering cost : the fixed expense in the preparation and execution of an order for goods.  [20]   Ordering cost increase in proportion to the number of orders placed. Thus more frequently the inventor is acquired, higher the firms ordering costs. On the other hand ordering costs decrease with increasing size of inventory. Generally ordering costs involves: Cost of placing an order Requisitioning cost Transportation/shipping cost Receiving, inspecting and storing costs Sales tax, Customs, etc Clearing and forwarding costs Insurance of raw-materials Stationary cost Bank commission/ L.C. charges Telephone/Fax/Postage expense to follow up Cost incurred when raw-materials in transit Firms usually offer discount for purchase materials in large quantity. Such discount helps reduction in the unit price of the items purchases, such facilities encourage buyers to place a fewer orders rather than placing small once Ordering cost is calculated by following formula Ordering cost = Annual Requirement/Quantity order size *Ordering cost per unit Symbolically, TOC = A/Q x O 2.9 Inventory Systems The inventory accounting system can be Periodic System or continuous system. 2.10 Inventory Management Models Push and Pull Models: Inventory management models can be classified either push or pull models: a. Push Inventory Models Push models schedule orders for production or order good in advance or customer demand. Manufactures push the finished products through the distribution channel to intermediaries and the final consumer. Economic Order Quantity (EOQ), Material Requirement Planning (MRPI), Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRIP II) and distribution requirement planning (DRP) are all push models. i. Economic order quantity (EOQ) In an ideal environment, forecasting demand would be easy and straight forward. Simply look at past demand patterns to predict future consumption. Under these conditions, EOQ model can be used to calculate when to order the item and how much to order. The basic EOQ equation is as follows EOQ = √2PD/CV Where, P=Cost of placing one order in rupees D = Annual demand for the product C = Annual inventory carrying cost expresses as a percentage of products cost of value. V = Average cost or value of one unit of inventory ii. Material Requirement Planning (MRPI) MRPI is a computer- based management information system designed to manage dependent demand inventory items in the transformation process of operations management. This computerized inventory system was developed in the 1960s to deal primarily with the timing the tedious record keeping of dependent demand inventory transactions. Many researchers believe that MRP systems historically have made a fundamental software development contribution that has helped cause computer-based system to integrate and therefore aid in the development of computer- integrated manufacturing (CIM) systems.  [21]   One of the most common dependent demand inventory system used in the United States is the managerial requirement planning (MRP) system.  [22]  It supports the planning and control of dependent demand inventory and is most popular in U.S organizations that have substantial dependent demand inventory to manage. It includes any products that are made from dependent demand inventory items such has components or raw materials. MRP processes information for production scheduling and capacity planning as well. As an inventory management system, MRP can be used to plan inventory needs over a fixed planning horizon. Although MRP can plan inventory requirement for a period of from a single day to several years, the information the program generator is usually based on weekly intervals. In MRP terminology, the weekly (or other time period chosen) are referred to as time buckets. One of the primary objectives of an MRP system is provide an adequate supply of dependent demand inventory when required fro production. MRP also seeks to provide useful inventory, production scheduling, and capacity planning information for inventory control proposes. There are two types of MRP systems: Regenerative System: This is a periodic data input system. Under this system, changes in input data are saved until a specific time, such as the end of a week or end of a month. Changes are then run on a group of batch basis. Net-change System This is a continuous data input system. Under this system, changes are immediately entered into the computer. New MRP planning information is then recomputed for all of the elements in the inventory system that are affected by the changes. iii. Manufacturing Resources Planning (MRP II) System The basis MRP system simply handles the materials aspects of production/ operations control. No real account is taken of capacity implications Therefore one more sophisticated system developed in Manufacturing resources planning (MRPII) system  [24]  In addition to producing the detailed material plan, the system can produce detailed capacity plans provided it has the necessary job-routing data and so on. The implementation of these plans allows shop-floor and purchase control to be carried out. MRP II is essentially a computer system. It has been suggested by Oliver Wight that MRP/ MRP II implementations can be classified on a four- point scale, from A to D. Table no . Briefly describes these states. Class Characteristics D MRP working in data-processing department only Poor inventory records Master schedule mismanaged Reliance on shortage lists for progressing C Used for inventory ordering, not scheduling Scheduling by shortage lists Overloaded master schedule B System includes capacity planning, shop-floor control Used to plan production, not manage the business Helps still needed from shortage lists Inventory higher than necessary A Uses closed-loop MRP Integrates capacity planning, shop-floor control, vendor scheduling Used to plan sales, engineering, purchasing No shortage lists to over-ride schedules Most organization implementing MRP/ MRP II are on the path from class D status to class A status. A difficult faced is knowing, in a quantitative sense, where on the path the organization is, and what steps to take to effect improvements. iv. Distribution Requirement Planning (DRP) DRP applies MRP II principles to the flow of finished goods to field warehouses and customers. Although MRP II improved MRP by taking into account both material management and production scheduling. It failed to account for this out bound movement. DRP adjusts ordering patterns of inventory needs vary, responds more readily to system wide inventory needs and better deals with product availability and receipt timing. b. Pull Inventory Model Pull inventory models are based on making goods once customer demand is known . The product is pulled through the channel of distribution by the order. Recent trends suggest a movement to use pull inventory models to reduce inventory throughout the channels. JIT and KanBan are the must widely used pull inventory models. i. KanBan Pull Model The KanBan Mean visual record and is the production control system the uses JIT production system, allowing production with smaller inventories, KanBan is also referred to as card system, a single card KanBan and two card KanBan system. ii. Single Card KanBan The single card kanban system uses only a conveyance (move) kanban and no production kanban. The single card kanban is must common used in Japan.  [25]   iii. Two card KanBan Inventroy is usually controlled at low levels by using a manual two card KanBan system. One card is conveyance KanBan, the requisition and authorization of transferenceof materials form supply center to work center. A second card the production KanBan, authorizes the production of materials. 2

What Drives Someone to Complete the Devastating Acts of Terrorism? Essa

Since the darkest day, September 11, 2001, the citizens of The United States of America are on alert and are weary of acts of terrorism. One can turn on the television and can easily find an act of terrorism. Most recent acts are the Boston bombings or the bombings in Volgograd, and most recently the two bombings in Sochi. What drives someone to complete the devastating acts of terrorism? How can on predict, based off of antisocial behaviors, who is more likely to become a terrorist? Regardless of ethnicity, nationality, or racial background, experts agree terrorists share one common link: their childhood. One tends to be more susceptible to becoming a terrorist because of a traumatic event in their childhood to cause antisocial behavior. In fact one traumatic event, whether real or imagined, during childhood increases the likelihood of a person exhibiting anti-social behavior. Terrorist typically have a path they follow which leads them to a life of violence and antisocial behavior. According to a New York Times’ article on the terrorist mind, terrorist have â€Å"extremist beliefs, which begins early in life; a strong sense of victimization and alienation† (Kershaw). Sarah Kershaw believes, a terrorist fears becoming alienated from society; therefore to prevent this alienation, they draw attention to themselves through acts of terrorism. However, a major trigger that pushes a person beyond the breaking point of a â€Å"normal† person to a terrorist is their own individual past. One can define a â€Å"normal† person as one who goes with the flow of society and does not act out in violence to voice their opinion. Rex Hudson also believes, â€Å"Terrorists are generally people who feel alienated† The event in the person’s past could range from a num... ...ons." American Psychological Association. N.p., Nov. 2009. Web. 20 Dec. 2013. DeAngelis, Tori. "Understanding Terrorism." American Psychological Association. N.p., Nov. 2009. Web. 19 Dec. 2013. Hudson, Rex A. The Sociology and Psychology of Terrorism: Who Becomes a Terrorist and Why? Washington, D.C.: The Library of Congress, Sept. 1999. PDF. Kershaw, Sarah. "The Terrorist Mind: An Update." Nytimes.com. The New York Times, 9 Jan. 2010. Web. 18 Dec. 2013. "Narcissistic." Dictionary.com. Random House, 2013. Web. 09 Jan. 2014. "Osama Bin Laden Fast Facts." CNN.com. Cable News Network, 24 Dec. 2013. Web. 09 Jan. 2014. Rosenberg, Jennifer. "Adolf Hitler." 20th Century HIstory. About.com, n.d. Web. 09 Jan. 2014. Speaking of Psychology: Getting into a Terrorist's Mind. American Psychological Association, n.d. American Psychological Association. Web. 28 Dec. 2013.

Drink †Coffee Essay

A. Overview of the Industry The beverage industry in the Philippines has increased its market volume in the recent years as the fruit of gaining popularity and support from majority of the Philippine population. According to Euromonitor. com, after reporting a total volume drop of 2% in the previous year, juice recovered to be among the most vibrant soft drinks categories in 2013. Total juice volume ballooned by 8% supported by the products’ popularity among schoolchildren and the increasing health-consciousness in the country. Manufacturers continue to cash in on the local perception that juice is healthier than other popular soft drinks products like carbonates. It should be noted that, in 2013, the Department of Education banned the selling of carbonated drinks in school premises. Juice benefits from this development as it is among the beverages geared at children. B. Market Profile The target market of Zest-O in general are the kids and moms. These consumers can afford consumption for such beverages and therefore, better chances of high sales volume. Simultaneously, they also have the tendency to be more aware of health and wellness needs basically due to unlimited access to the diverse forms of media for advertising and promotions as carriers of information. As mentioned earlier, the Philippines, having a warm climate, is not such a comfortable place to be in especially during the peak of heat waves. For the local consumer, it’s all natural to look for a thirst-quenching treat in compensation for the discomforts of the heat. In line with this, demand for refreshing beverages significantly boosts during the months of March, April and May, while the rest of the year, the demand lessens partially yet remains constant. C. Market Size Based on the preliminary results of the 2012 Census of Philippine and Industry (CPBI) conducted nationwide, the Philippines had a total of 173,900 Value of Production of Key Manufacturing Enterprises by Beverage Industry for the year 2012. Table 1 shows that Beverage Industry for the year 2009 garnered the lowest number of value of production of key manufacturing enterprises at 123,300 (71.9%) followed by the year 2010 with 141,700 value of production of key manufacturing enterprises. Table 1 Link: http://www. nscb. gov. ph/secstat/d_estab. asp Industry cost structure A value chain is a model used to disaggregate a firm into its strategically relevant value generating activities, in order to evaluate each activity’s contribution to the firm’s performance (Terms V 2006). Through the analysis of this model we can gain insight as to how a firm creates their competitive advantage and shareholder value. The value chain of the nonalcoholic beverage industry contains five main activities. These include inbound logistics (suppliers), operations, outbound logistics (buyers/ customers), marketing and sales, and service. Inbound Logistics (Suppliers) Zest-O’s suppliers provide them with materials such as ingredients, packaging and machinery. In order to ensure that these materials are in satisfactory condition, Zest-O has put certain standards in place which these suppliers must adhere to (The Supplier Guiding Principles). These include: compliance with laws and standards, laws and regulations, freedom of association and collective bargaining, forced and child labor, abuse of labor, discrimination, wages and benefits, work hours and overtime, health and safety, environment, and demonstration of compliance (Zest-O 2006). From time to time, Zest-O uses third parties to assess their suppliers by having interviews with employers and contract workers. If a supplier has issues about the supplier guiding principles, they are usually given a certain amount of time to take corrective measures; if not, Zest-O has the right to terminate their contract with these suppliers. Operations Zest-O’s core operations consist of Company-owned concentrate and syrup production. According to their website, some of the main environmental impacts of their business occur further along the value chain through system’s bottling operations, distribution networks, and sales and marketing activities. Management of these operations across the business value chain tends to be more challenging outside of the core operations. According to Zest-O, they continue to address this by working with their partners to reduce the effects at every level of the manufacturing process by enlarging their comprehension of the complete environmental impact of their business through the entire lifecycle of their products from ingredient procurement to production, delivery, sales and marketing, and post-consumer recycling. Outbound Logistics (Buyers/ Customers). The activities required to get finished products to customers include warehousing, order fulfillment, transportation, and distribution management. Zesto products are sometimes transported by four-legged power. Across much of provinces, bottlers deliver to thousands of family-run kiosks and home-based stores. Marketing and Sales The Company pioneered the first-ready-to-drink juice drink in flexible foil pouch (Doy Pack System). With its flair for innovation, Zest-O juice drinks won the consumers’ patronage and wide acceptance. Over the past 25 years, Zest-O has earned itself a place in the Filipino culture. Zest-O Corporation has posted enormous growth over the years. With total assets of only Php 10M when it started, it continued to grow reaching annual gross sales of 280M in 1987 after 6 ? years of operation. As the company continued to venture into different products, sales continued to MULTIPLY reaching a total annual gross sales of Php 2. 6 B for the year 2004 with a total asset of 450 M. Service Activities that maintain and enhance a product’s value include customer support, repair services, installation and training. Zest-o’s customers range from large international retailers to smaller independent businesses and vendors. As a result, they provide services tailored to meet their customer’s needs. Market Trends Zest-O’s target markets are increasingly growing towards recognizing the difference between poor quality brews and those of high quality. This development is an important trend for the company as it represent its target market. Zest-O now are having an increasing number of people who appreciate the traditional brews whilst living in the urban areas. With this in mind Zest-O intend to ensure that our packaging is respectable and attractive. Today’s extremely stressful work environment dictates that individuals consume healthy drinks especially in the summer season, this presents an opportunity that Zest-O may exploit, marketing the health aspect of its beverages. Market Growth Juice will continue to capitalize on its health positioning to sustain growth in the forecast period. The total volume CAGR from 2013 to 2018 in this category is 2% while constant value sales will reach Ps45. 6 billion in 2018. The demand for juice is supported by the health-consciousness of consumers in the Philippines, and will be stimulated further by the expected influx of new product developments by manufacturers in 2013-2018. Recognizing consumers’ increasing demand for products, which are positioned to improve the wellbeing of patrons, industry players will largely invest in the development of health and wellness juice products. Fortification will remain a key strategy employed by companies to differentiate themselves from competition and target specific consumers. Source: http://www. euromonitor. com/juice-in-the-philippines/report Market Needs Drinks in the Philippines are not only a necessary complement to meals, but also help beat the tropical heat. As with their food, Filipinos often incorporate local produce into beverages to create tasty and refreshing concoctions. A few examples include blended mango shakes, coconut juice and pandan leaf iced tea. Filipinos also enjoy the coconut-infused hard liquor known as lambing and gin cocktails mixed with pineapple juice or citrus fruit juice. Zest-o will set out to provide good quality products that will help instill a jovial environment. Zest-o intends to provide the customer with more than a drink to quench one’s thirst. The company intend to provide a quality beverage that not only quenches one’s thirst but enables one to enjoy themselves and be proud of it. The quality of raw materials and assembly technology evident in their products will serve to enhance the appearance of the customers, in turn adding to their status.

Parental Involvement and Students Success

Parental Involvement and Students Success Free Online Research Papers Parental Involvement and Student’s Success:The effects and lack thereof in lower-socioeconomic schools The action research paper presented will explore the effects of parental involvement in lower-socioeconomic schools on student achievement and reinforcement. Research currently defines socioeconomic status as a combination of variables, including occupation, education, income, wealth, and place of residence. Sociologists often use socioeconomic status as a means of predicting behavior. A familys socioeconomic status is based on family income, parental education level, parental occupation, and social status in the community. Families with high socioeconomic status often have more success in preparing their young children for school because they typically have access to a wide range of resources to promote and support young childrens development. They are able to provide their young children with high-quality child care, books, and toys to encourage children in various learning activities at home. Also, they have easy access to information regarding their childrens health, as well as social, emotional, and cognitive development. In addition, families with high socioeconomic status often seek out information to help them better prepare their young children for school. McNeal (1999) states, tha t parental involvement is generally a salient factor in explaining behavior, but not cognitive outcomes. Findings indicate that specific dimensions of involvement have greater effects for more affluent and white students, providing empirical evidence to support Lareau’s (1989) contention that the greater levels of cultural capital possessed by members of the upper class magnify the parental involvement’s effect for advantaged students. In this action research the teacher will focus on non- parental involvement for a specified period of time to see the adverse effect on student achievement. The teacher will keep a log of parental communication, signed agenda, and returned-homework. Chapter 1: Purpose Setting The school in research is a public school in Southwest Atlanta, Georgia. The school is part of the Fulton County School System. The school is centered in an urban setting occupied by lower to middle class families. The school is surrounded by homes that were built over 15 to 20 years ago. The community is growing daily as individuals affected by natural disasters, hurricane Katrina, move and settle in the city. Many of the students are displaced students who are enrolled for a limited time before withdrawing from the school. As the community continues to grow developers continue to purchase land and develop the massive amount of undeveloped land. The demographics of the school are consistent with your typical lower socioeconomic setting. The current enrollment count is 719 students. The ethnicity breakdown of students is as follows: 95% African American, 1% Hispanic, and 1% Asian, and 3% race identified as other. The school has increased its enrollment in two years by more than 150 students. A school that was built in the early 1900s and served a small number of students now serves more than 700 students. The school is a historical site; it represents one of the oldest schools in the area. However, the school was not built to accommodate students of the twentieth century. Many of the classrooms are not equipped with windows, the halls are extremely small, and the gym does not provide adequate space for the students. Consequently, there are requests for additional remodeling to bring the school to a current state. Minor remodeling projects have been done, but there are key areas that need immediate attention. The classrooms ha ve chalk-boards and there are limited outlets to accommodate the technology powering source needed to integrate technology into the classrooms. Each classroom has three computers and there is one lab with thirty computers for all grade levels to share. The student-teacher ration was 12:1 in 2005 as stated on the school based website. Currently, the teacher-student ration is 20:1. The student-teacher ratio has grown to eight students per class. The increase in student population is increasing at a rapid rate. The turn-over rate for teachers has increased from three per year to 10 to12 per year. This year the school replaced 13 new teachers in grade K-5. The school has a Pre-kindergarten; (Pre-K) program that serves 60 students. The ratio for Pre-K is 10:1. Each Pre-K teacher has an assistant. The Pre-K students are enrolled on a first come, first serve basis, and students are accepted regardless of district. Administratively, the school has retained the same principal for six years. The principal is very distant from the employees and the assistant principal is the exact opposite. The Assistant Principal is extremely friendly and embraces the staff. This mixture of leadership styles tends to divide the staff. The turn-over rate is extremely high and the micromanagement style tends to form cliques in the workplace. The school currently is meeting adequate yearly progress on the CRCT- Criterion Referenced Competency Test with additional hours added to the school day, Saturday school, and efforts from the school. The school promotes parental involvement; however, the parents rarely support the efforts of the school. The school meets monthly for the Parent-Teacher-Association meeting; the average parent attendance is thirty attendees out of a student enrollment count of 740. Administrators require that teachers and staff attend PTA meetings. This increases the enrollment count, but the majority of attendees are employees. The school provides extended day tutoring three days a week to assist students with preparing for the CRCT assessment administered in mid-April. The PTA meetings include student performances, valuable information for preparing students for the CRCT, school finances, and upcoming events. The Writer’s Role The researcher for this study is a third to fifth Curriculum Support Teacher (CST). As the curriculum support teacher it is the role of the support teacher to support classroom teachers in their quest to educate all students. The CST provides assistance with curriculum issues, materials needed to complete a specified lesson, and support with low to average students. The CST can assist with pulling small groups within the classroom to assist with teaching a standard. The CST also analyzes data after testing to see weak areas of achievement, after analyzing the data; the CST will host a mini-workshop on re-teaching standards that are weak across the spectrum of all grade levels (3-5). The researcher also participates in the extended day tutoring program by tutoring a group of 12 students in math. These students have been identified as working two grade levels below and are in need of assistance in preparing for the CRCT. The researcher works directly with students by serving as Chairpe rson for the School’s Safety Patrol Team, with assistance from members of the Safety Patrol Committee, the safety patrols are very successful. The researcher also is a member of the Math Committee, and participates in various math forums, workshops, and conventions to assist with bridging the gap between what is and what should be. Target Population The target population for this study is third grade students. There are a total of 83 third grade students. The researcher will utilize two of the four classes and work directly with two classroom teachers to collect data on the effects of lack of parental involvement. Discrepancy Statement Currently, two out of every five parents sign and return daily agendas, communicate with the teacher, attend conferences, and attend parent meetings. The discrepancy between the two of every five students who participate is three. Research states that schools should have typically 80-90% parental involvement in order to see higher success rates. Currently, if 2 out of every 5 students have parent participation in a class of 20, the participation rate is 40%, at least 40% more participation is needed to see adequate success from students. There is a need to double the level of participation from parents to at least four students out of every five. There is a need to increase the level of participation from parents by four students out of every five. Therefore, the school needs to see more participation from four out of five, instead of the current state, two out of five. Statement of Purpose The purpose of this action research is to increase the level of parental involvement and participation to achieve higher success rates from students. Possible Casual Factors Crnic and Lamberty discussed the impact of socioeconomic status on childrens readiness for school: The segregating nature of social class, ethnicity, and race may well reduce the variety of enriching experiences thought to be prerequisite for creating readiness to learn among children. Social class, ethnicity, and race entail a set of contextual givens that dictate neighborhood, housing, and access to resources that affect enrichment or deprivation as well as the acquisition of specific value systems†, (Crnic and Lamberty 1994). There are many casual factors that contribute to lack of parental involvement as stated above. Across all socioeconomic groups, parents face major challenges when it comes to providing optimal care and education for their children. Families in poverty struggle to meet basic needs, when basic needs are lacking, parents must place priority on housing, food, clothing, and health. In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs basic need must be met before any other need can be built upon. Educational games, books, may appear as luxuries, parents may not have the knowledge to find innovative ways to teach skills at home. Parents quite often lack the time and energy to participate in their child’s school events. Nonetheless many children in lower income families are raised by grandparents who are raising children for the second time in their life and struggle to participate like they did when they were younger. Many times this presents a challenge, especially if the guardian lacks education . In multiple sibling homes, the siblings are responsible for helping to raise the child and quite often the sibling finds interest outside of helping a younger sibling. Even in families with above-average income, parents often lack time and energy, and therefore invest in high-quality childcare where students learn skills outside of the home. A survey completed by kindergarten teachers throughout the country reported that children are increasingly arriving at school inadequately prepared (Campbell and Ramey 1994). Rationale Families with low socioeconomic status often lack the financial, social, and educational supports that characterize families with high socioeconomic status. Poor families also may have inadequate or limited access to community resources that promote and support childrens development and school readiness. Parents may have inadequate skills for such activities as reading to and with their children, and they may lack information about childhood immunizations and nutrition. Research states that low maternal education and minority-language status are most consistently associated with fewer signs of emerging literacy and a greater number of difficulties in preschoolers (Zill, Collins, West, and Hausken, 1995). Having inadequate resources and limited access to available resources can negatively affect families decisions regarding their young childrens development and learning. As a result, children from families with low socioeconomic status are at greater risk of entering kindergarten unp repared than their peers from families with median or high socioeconomic status. Goal and Outcome Objectives The ultimate goal is to increase parental involvement utilizing simple means of communication such as agenda, daily communication, and parent-teacher meetings. The result should increase student achievement which is the ultimate goal of educators and educational systems throughout the world. Over a 3-month period, ten students will receive parent communication; parents will sign and respond with comments 90% of time, as measured by the communication log completed by the teacher. During the 3-month period, a conference will be held once every four weeks and the parent will attend 100% of time, as measured by the parent-conference form. Over a 3-month period, 8 out of 10 parents will attend 80% of the time, as measured by the PTA Sign in Sheet. Chapter II Research has repeatedly proven that students who have more parental involvement or a support system in place are more successful than students whom do not. Research found in various forms support the theory that education in the United States is dependant upon parental involvement. Society has a great effect on many of the school-aged children. As a result, parents must monitor very closely the connection and dedication to achieving success in school. The idea that parental involvement has an affirmative influence on student’s academic achievement is so instinctively appealing that society in general have considered parental involvement an important element to solve many problems in education. Fan and Chen (2001), states the vast portion of the literature in this area is qualitative and non- empirical. A meta-analysis was conducted to synthesize the quantitative literature about the relationship between parental involvement and student’s academic ability. It was revealed that parental aspiration for their off-spring’s education has the strongest relationship, whereas parental home supervision has the weakest relationship, with student’s academic achievement. Fan and Chen (2001) continue to state that the affiliation is stronger when academic achievement is represented by a global indicator (GPA) than by a subject-specific indicator (Math). Fan and Chen based on current writings do not argue that parent al involvement does not play an important factor on children’s academic achievement, instead their findings reveal a small to moderate, and practically meaningful, relationship between parental involvement and student’s achievement. Hashima and Amato (2004) documented that economic hardships influence how parents interact with their children. Many studies have revealed that as economic hardships deteriorate, parents exhibit less nurturance and more inconsistent discipline. The researcher finds a connection between the study that Hashima and Amato completed and the current state of several lower socio-economic schools. Extremely high levels of discipline and administrator referrals are written, but low levels of participation in Parent-Teacher-Associations or school related activities. Annette Lareau (2001) in Social Class Differences in Family-School Relationships explores the many significant ways economic inequality and social class has impacts on education. Lareau (2001) reviews theories of poverty effects on education, analyzes the research base for those theories, and offers suggestions for change that would reverse those effects. Lareau suggests elimination of child poverty as a preliminary point. In addition, he discusses increased funding and different programming for schools with populations of students’ disadvantaged backgrounds. Lareau poses numerous contradictions and paradoxes (e.g., between rhetoric and reality, private and public, democracy and capitalism) in society and education that marks the production and reproduction of inequality. Research documented in Social Class, Poverty, and Education, states that poverty does affect ability and achievement, but large effects on behavior, mental, and physical health have not been found. Research continues to support the need for parental involvement in American schools. Parental involvement in schools in a national priority for both educators and researchers to promote the successful schooling of inner-city youth; Research has produced some promising findings, but parental involvement efforts with inner-city youth are currently limited by problems of research methodology and programs. Certain research studies do, however, demonstrate that children living in poverty have responded positively to parental involvement programs, empowerment, outreach, and indigenous resources (Abdul-Adil and Farmer, 2006). Additional research by Scott and Nufeld (2002), discusses why parent involvement is important for student achievement. Scott and Nufeld provide several recommendations for the implementation of an effective parent involvement program in schools, including early and ongoing assessment for effectiveness. Trevett and McMillian (1998), discuss the three sections of parental involvement in urban schools. First, the types of parental involvement, secondly, practical involvement activities found in successful urban school programs, and third characteristics of successful urban school parental involvement programs. The research reports and surveys reviewed clearly indicate that the majority of parents do want to be involved in their children’s education, but many do not know they can help. Most teachers desire to have involved parents; it makes the process of educating a reachable task. Several examples from the research indicate that problems in promoting parent involvement are not insurmountable. Jeynes (2007) completed a meta-analysis that consisted of 52 studies to determine the influence of parental involvement on the educational outcomes of urban secondary school children. Statistical analyses are done to determine the overall impact of parental involvement as well as specific components of parental involvement. The possible differing effects of parental involvement by race and socioeconomic status are also examined. The results indicate that the influence of parental involvement overall is significant for secondary school children. Parental involvement as a whole affects all the academic variables under study. The positive effects of parental involvement hold for both white and minority children. Solution Strategy Research supports the theory that parental involvements play a significant part in academic success. Hashima and Amato (2004) documented that economic hardships influence how parents interact with their children. Many studies have revealed that as economic hardships deteriorate, parents exhibit less nurturance and more inconsistent discipline. In the current action research, the researcher would provide a questionnaire to evaluate the economic hardship. In poverty stricken schools, typically the rate of single parents are extremely high; on average the number of students receiving free or reduced lunch are above 90%. The total household income usually falls well within the poverty or below-income level. An economic hardship questionnaire would help to disaggregate data to determine the cause of low-parental involvement or lack of. In addition, Statistical analyses are done to determine the overall impact of parental involvement as well as specific components of parental involvemen t. Certain research studies demonstrate that children living in poverty have responded positively to parental involvement programs, empowerment, outreach, and indigenous resources (Abdul-Adil and Farmer, 2006). The researcher would have an opportunity to evaluate outreach programs to assist the parents in the community; consequently, parental involvement would increase. Chapter III Schools today are expected to be more tech-savvy, computer literate, advanced in curriculum, and achieving standards that are well above expectations. However, in many schools this is simply just not the case. In many of our inner city schools, there is a struggle to achieve the same as schools with rarely similar resources. The question that prevails in the minds of many, including educators, is simply why? How is possible to have a school with equivalent resources, educators with similar rankings, and equal student-teacher ratio achieving at such different levels? Research provides many possibilities to this dilemma; environmental causes, background education, etc. The problem that seems apparent is the issue of parental involvement or lack thereof. Permissions Preceding the initiation of this research, permissions will be acquired from all subjects. Approval will be requested from the district office, Research and Evaluation’s Department. Next, consent from the building administrator, the Principal, will be required. Finally, the stakeholders, parents and students’ approval will be acquired. The consent of the parents and students is extremely valuable, due to the fact that they are the subjects in the research study. This consent will be in written form and will include an explanation of the actions that are required to successfully complete the research with minimum error. Required Resources The action research in development will require resources that will be provided by the school where the study is completed. These resources are minuscule and are part of daily materials required or instructional educators. The required resources needed are as follows: First, two classrooms consisting of an equal amount of students, which will also be used to enter in daily data and file necessary documents for the study. Second, a personal computer to enter date, create flyers, surveys, etc; the lap-top provided individually to instructional educators will be used for the study. Third, pre-printed school envelopes will be used to send home notifications and flyers. Fourth, a personal telephone with an individualized extension for parental involvement will be required to maintain open lines of communication with parents. Lastly, office supplies in generous amounts will be requested. The office supplies include, but are not limited to, a stapler, staples, paper-clips, copy paper, ink, thumb tacks, post-it’s, etc. Procedures The study will be set in motion through obtaining consent from all subjects. After verification of consent two classes will be selected to participate in the study. The classes will be chosen by lowest level of parental participation. This information will be collected through a random Parent Teacher Association meeting sign in sheet. In the classes chosen the instructor will select five students who have the least amount of parental participation. The instructor will be very specific when recommending the student for this study. Recommendations must include students who are unlikely to return parent documentation, parents are unlikely respond to request for conferences, or it is difficult to obtain parent communication via telephone or mail. The grade level chosen will receive reading material on Parental Involvement. All readings selected by the researcher will be research based. A pre-survey will be administered on level of knowledge on the effect that parental involvement has o n school age children. The study will last three months and the data collected will include agenda booklets, signed forms, and sign-in sheets for conferences and meetings. Each week the subjects will receive information that is expected to be returned. Each subject (student) will have an individualized folder where all documentation will be kept. The parents will receive a copy of the final outcome of the study. Week One-Student will begin the first day of their study with an agenda booklet. The agenda booklet will contain homework, parents are expected to sign and return this agenda booklet daily with comments. If the agenda booklet is signed, returned, and include comments, the subjects will receive a three points for Monday. Each action is worth one point. If, for any reason the agenda is not signed, returned, and includes comments the participants will receive zero points. The pattern will continue for five days, Monday through Friday. The subjects can earn fifteen points each week, which will represent one-hundred percent participation. Once a month each parent will participate in Parent Conference Night. Parent Conference Night will be held on Thursday evening for two hours. Each study will receive a twenty minute conference. The conference will include details of grades, overall performance, and future activities. Each study that participates in the conference with the researcher and instructor will receive twenty points. Twenty points will indicate one-hundred percent participation. Finally, the most informative meeting parents can attend is the Parent-Teacher-Association meeting held once monthly. Parents can receive information on student performance, school based budget, district based budget, standardized testing, principal’s expectations, etc. Each subject will be expected to attend the monthly meetings. At the conclusion of each meeting, the parent log will be checked. Each subject that attends will receive twenty points. Twenty points will indicate one-hundred percent participation for this action. All information relating to school related activities will be sent home with the student and an additional copy will be mailed. The subjects will also receive a courtesy phone call to remind parents of events. Parents will have an opportunity to volunteer for additional events during Parent-Teacher-Association meetings, and conferences. At the end of the third month, all points will be added together. Each subject has an opportunity to earn three-hundred points. Daily agendas are worth fifteen points a week, sixty points a month. Monthly meetings are worth twenty points each, a total of forty a month. The ultimate goal is for parents to earn over two-hundred fifty points. This point mark is over eighty percent which is the overall goal of this study. Research indicates that when parents are more involved in their child’s education, there is a genuine interest to satisfy the parents, as a result motivation increases. At the conclusion of the research, the researcher will analyze all data. The researcher will hold a conference with the instructor to discuss the student’s performance. Students and parents will have exhibited a level of participation that is well beyond the average. Parents will complete a post survey; the researcher will compare the results of the pre-survey and the post survey. Matrix of Activities Week Objective Activity Materials Person(s) Responsible 1 1 Returned Agenda, Signed Agenda, Comments Attached Agenda Booklet, Log Sheet Instructor, Researcher 2 1 Returned Agenda, Signed Agenda, Comments Attached Agenda Booklet, Log Sheet Instructor, Researcher 3 1 Returned Agenda, Signed Agenda, Comments Attached Agenda Booklet, Log Sheet Instructor, Researcher 4 1,2,3 Returned Agenda, Signed Agenda, Comments Attached, Parent-Teacher-Association, Parent Conference Agenda Booklet, Log Sheet Instructor, Researcher Matrix repeats weekly for three months. Chapter IV: Evaluation Plan The overall goal of the action research is to increase parental involvement in effort to increase student achievement. If, over a three month period, 5 students sign and respond with comments 90% of time, as measured by the communication log completed by the teacher, then the objective will be met. Parents will increase level of communication and involvement in the area of academics. If, during a three month period, the parent attends 100% of time, as measured by the parent-conference form, then the objective will be met. Parents will become more aware of their child’s academic ability. The parent will then be more responsive in providing assistance, if needed. The parent will be able to seek adequate resources to assist or provide enrichment for the child. If, during a three month period, 4 out of 5 parents participate through attendance 80% of the time, as measured by the PTA Sign in Sheet, then the objective will be met. Parents will become aware of the resources the school has to offer the student as well as the family. The link between home and school will connect. The measurement tools in this evaluation plan are experimental and reliability and validity have not yet been established. Chapter V: Conclusion Conclusively, the importance of parental involvement can not be denied. It is a key factor in the success of a child. The metaphor, it takes a village to raise a child, is one that is well known and holds true in the world of education. Research states the relationship between parental involvement and urban schools is necessary for the majority to achieve success (Jeynes, 2007). It is the researcher’s heartfelt opinion, that parental support reinforces the importance of education, without this missing element, the project remains incomplete. The researcher hopes to increase awareness of the issue that heavily weighs on our urban schools. Attention is often directed toward lower socioeconomic schools for their lack of success. Research indicates that the number of students receiving additional services and individualized education plans are immensely large at urban schools (Jeynes, 2007). Students are students; the environment should not play a major part on their academic ability, should it? As this question repeats in various forms and word usage, the fact remains, the question remains unanswered. The researcher believes this may be one solution to the problem; parental support plays a major role in the life of any child. References Abdul-Adil, J. K., Farmer, A. D. (2006). Inner-City African American Parental Involvement in Elementary Schools: Getting Beyond Urban Legends of Apathy: School Psychology Quarterly, 21(1), 1-12. Retrieved April 04, 2007 from ERIC database. Cambell, F.A. Ramey C. T. (1994). Effects of Early Intervention on Intellectual and Academic Achievement: A Follow-Up Study of Children from Low-Income Families. Child Development, 65(2), 684-698. Retrieved April 02, 2007 from http://links.jstor.org. Farmer, A.D. (2006) Inner City African American Parental Involvement in Elementary Schools: Getting Beyond Urban legends of Apathy. Educational Review, V21, 1-12. Retrieved April 04, 2007 from the Wilson Education Database Hashima and Amato (2004). Poverty, Social Support, and Potential Behavior. Family Relations, 56(1), Page 80. Retrieved April 05, 2007, from the Wilson Education Database. Huebner, Colleen. E. (2000). Communities Based Support for Readiness Among Children in Poverty. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 5(3) 291-314. Retrieved April 21, 2007 from www.leaonline.com. Jeynes, William. The Relationship between Parental Involvement and Urban Secondary School: Student Academic Achievement. Urban Education, V42. Retrieved April 09, 2007 from the Eric database. Lareau, Annette. (2001) Social Class Differences in Family-School Relationships: The Importance of Cultural Capital. Sociology of Education, 60(2) 73-85. Retrieved April 01, 2007 from http://links.jstor.org. McNeal. R. B., (1999). Parental Involvement as Social Capital: Differential Effectiveness on Science Achievement, Truancy, and Dropping out. Social Forces, 78(1) 117-144. Retrieved April 12, 2007, from http://links.jstor.org. Trevett, S. McMillan, J. (2001). Enhancing Parental Involvement in Urban Schools: Types of Programs and Characteristics of Successful Programs. Retrieved April 04, 2007 from www.google.com Fan, X. Chen, M. (March 2001). Parental Involvement and Support: Educational Psychological Review, 13(1), 1-22. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from JSTOR Research Papers on Parental Involvement and Student’s SuccessStandardized TestingInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesHip-Hop is ArtPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenResearch Process Part OneGenetic Engineering19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraRelationship between Media Coverage and Social and

Top 100 Most-Used German Words

Top 100 Most-Used German Words Have you ever wondered what the top 500, 1,000 or 10,000 German words were? If you need to learn German vocabulary, which words should you learn first? Which ones are most frequently used? The Projekt Deutscher Wortschatz at the Universitt Leipzig scanned texts and included variations of the same word, including capitalization versus lower case and other possible forms of any particular word. The definite article (the) appears in all of its German variations: der/Der, die/Die, den, etc. The verb to be appears in all of its conjugated forms: ist, sind, war, sei, etc. Even the new and old spellings of dass/daß are considered two different words. The Leipzig researchers noted that if one were to select different text sources for analysis, one would get different results. An analysis of the vocabulary found in a novel versus that in a comic book or a newspaper would not be similar. Obviously, an analysis of spoken German would also yield different results.   Here are charts showing the top 100 most-used German words, and one showing the top 30 most-spoken German words. Students of German 101 should get familiar with these words and their forms. Top 100 German Words  Edited and Ranked by Frequency of Use Rank German English 1 der (den, dem, des) the m. 2 die (der, den) the f. 3 und and 4 in (im) in, into (in the) 5 von (vom) of, from 6 zu (zum, zur) to; at; too 7 das (dem, des) the n. 8 mit with 9 sich himself, itself, yourself 10 auf on 11 fr for 12 ist (sein, sind, war, sei, etc.) is 13 nicht not 14 ein (eine, einen, einer, einem, eines) a, an 15 als as, than, when 16 auch also, too 17 es it 18 an (am/ans) to, at, by 19 werden (wurde, wird) become, get 20 aus from, out of 21 er he, it 22 hat (haben, hatte, habe) has/have 23 dass / da that 24 sie she, it; they 25 nach to, after 26 bei at, by 27 um around, at 28 noch still, yet 29 wie as, how 30 ber about, over, via 31 so so, such, thus 32 Sie you (formal) 33 nur only 34 oder or 35 aber but 36 vor (vorm, vors) before, in front of; of 37 bis by, until 38 mehr more 39 durch by, through 40 man one, they 41 Prozent (das) percent 42 kann (knnen, konnte, etc.) be able, can 43 gegen against; around 44 schon already 45 wenn if, when 46 sein (seine, seinen, etc.) his 47 Mark (Euro) Mark (Euro) currency 48 ihre/ihr her, their 49 dann then 50 unter under, among 51 wir we 52 soll (sollen, sollte, etc.) should, ought to 53 ich I (personal pronoun) 54 Jahr (das, Jahren, Jahres, etc.) year 55 zwei two 56 diese (dieser, dieses, etc.) this, these 57 wieder again 58 Uhr Most frequently used as oclock in telling time. 59 will (wollen, willst, etc.) wants 60 zwischen between 61 immer always 62 Millionen (eine Million) millions 63 was what 64 sagte (sagen, sagt) said (say, says) 65 gibt (es gibt; geben) gives 66 alle all, everyone 67 seit since 68 muss (mssen) must 69 doch but, nevertheless, after all 70 jetzt now 71 drei three 72 neue (neu, neuer, neuen, etc.) new 73 damit with it/that; by that; because of that; so that 74 bereits already 75 da since, because 76 ab off, away; exit 77 ohne without 78 sondern but rather 79 selbst myself, himself 80 ersten (erste, erstes, etc.) first 81 nun now; then; well? 82 etwa about, approximately; for instance 83 heute today, nowadays 84 weil because 85 ihm to/for him 86 Menschen (der Mensch) people 87 Deutschland (das) Germany 88 anderen (andere, anderes, etc.) other(s) 89 rund approximately, about 90 ihn him 91 Ende (das) end 92 jedoch nevertheless 93 Zeit (die) time 94 uns us 95 Stadt (die) city, town 96 geht (gehen, ging, etc.) goes 97 sehr very 98 hier here 99 ganz entire(ly), complete(ly), whole(ly) 100 Berlin (das) Berlin Top 30 Words in Spoken German Rank German English 1 ich I 2 das the; that (one) neuter 3 die the f. 4 ist is 5 nicht not 6 ja yes 7 du you 8 der the m. 9 und and 10 sie she, they 11 so so, thus 12 wir we 13 was what 14 noch still, yet 15 da there, here; since, because 16 mal times; once 17 mit with 18 auch also, too 19 in in, into 20 es it 21 zu to; at; too 22 aber but 23 habe / hab (I) have 24 den the 25 eine a, an fem. indefinite article 26 schon already 27 man one, they 28 doch but, nevertheless, after all 29 war was 30 dann the

Media Ethics in International Public Policy Essay

Media Ethics in International Public Policy - Essay Example The description of ‘linkage’ as presented above can be differentiated among researchers in political science. As an example, Luttbeg (1974, 3) describes ‘linkage’ as ‘any means by which political leaders act in accordance with the wants, needs, and demands of the public in making government policy’ (in Kennamer, 1994, 2). In accordance with the above, media can have their own way of influencing the development of social and political conditions around the world but their role can be limited in states where there are no wide borders for such activity – as par example in states governed by less democratic regimes. On the other hand, media can have a significant role in the presentation of political and social events around the world and in this way they can influence the international public policy as it is designed and applied by governments globally. Indeed, Spitzer (1993, 4) supported that ‘coverage of international crises may have a different policy consequence as well, in that media-supplied information may be useful, even vital in supplanting government-obtained information, and therefore in shaping decisionmaking’. The war in Iraq and the role of media in the presentation of the relevant events are used by the above researcher as an indicative example of the interaction between media ethics and international public policy. In the particular case, media around the world have been extensively criticized for their views regarding the reasons and the justification of the military intervention in the specific country. In a similar sector, this of the human rights, media have played a significant role in the identification and presentation of problems of citizens living in developing countries internationally. Regarding this issue, media ethics have been used in order to prevent the presentation of scenes that could possibly harm the human rights and indignity. On the other hand,

Compare and contrast the marketing strategies of two companies Essay - 1

Compare and contrast the marketing strategies of two companies - Essay Example Nike is a major sports brand in the United States that manufactures different types of sports gears and equipment. The name is the most popular brand in terms of sports shoes and apparels. Nike has created a major loyalty base around the world, especially due to its trend setting marketing and advertising campaigns, as well as the number of sports stars it occasionally ropes in to endorse its products. The company sells its products through various retailers – both online and offline – along with the exclusive brand stores of Nike. Apart from selling sports related products the company sponsors many high profile athletes and teams in various sports. Most of the time where Starbucks Coffee formulates its marketing strategy is in the Service phase of the product life cycle. However, their marketing strategy also targets the market during the Realize phase where they produce and deliver the best coffee possible to their customers. When looking into the marketing strategy of Nike they mostly formulate their marketing strategy during the Realize phase in which they manufacture the products and try to capture the market by selling their innovation in the market (Armstrong et al., 2012). The main method that Starbucks Coffee applies to its marketing strategy is to advertise their brand through their own products like t-shirts, coffee mugs that their regular customers purchase. On the other hand the advertising methodology of Nike is exclusively through print media and sometimes through electronic or digital media as well. The early advertising of Nike was mainly focused on the new shoes that it released and the message of the advertisement showed the benefits of various shoes like basketball, tennis and running shoes. While formulating the marketing strategy Nike made effective use of television as they believe it to be the most powerful medium of information and commercial. The TV commercials of Nike make a viewer feel the necessity of the product