Economic midterm

SST. Charles Hospital, located in an upper-income neighborhood of a large city, recently received a restored mansion as a gift from an appreciative patient. The board of directors decided to remodel the mansion and use It as recuperative quarters for patients willing to pay a premium for luxurious accommodations. The cost to the hospital of using the mansion includes Selected Answer: d. Both b and c Question 2 O out of 0. 5 points Which of the following statements Is false? Selected Answer: c. D If economic profit is positive, accounting profit must also be positive. Question 3Economic profit is the best measure of a firm's performance because the opportunity cost of using ALL resources Is subtracted from total revenue. Question 4 Mallory decides to spend three hours working overtime rather than watching a video with her friends. She earns $8 an hour. Her opportunity cost of working is the enjoyment she would have received had she watched the video. Question 5 Russell spends an hour studying Instead of playing tennis. The opportunity cost to him of studying is Selected Answer: c. The enjoyment and exercise he would have received had he played tennis. OF 22 Economic profit Selected Answer: a. Al never exceed accounting profit. Question 7 Bee is opening her own court-reporting business. She financed the business by withdrawing money from her personal savings account. When she closed the account, the bank representative mentioned that she would have earned $300 in interest next year. If Bee hadn't opened her own business, she would have earned a salary of $25,000. In her first year, Bees revenues were $30,000. Which of the following statements is correct? Selected Answer: c. B Bees total explicit costs are $25,300. Question 8 Suppose that the firm's only variable input is labor.When 50 workers are used, the average product of labor is 50 and the marginal product of labor is 75. The wage rate is $80 and the total cost of the fixed input is $500. What is average var iable cost? Selected Answer: b. $1. 60 Question 9 Suppose that you run a house-painting company and currently have 2 workers painting a total of 4 houses per month. If you hire a third worker, 6 houses can be painted per month. If you hire a fourth worker, 9 houses can be painted, and a fifth and sixth worker will increase the number of houses painted to 13 and 15, respectively. Diminishing returns Selected Answer: set in when the sixth worker is hired.Question 10 When marginal cost is rising, average variable cost Selected Answer: a. D must be rising. Lorry's Lunchmeats is a small street vendor business. If Larry makes 15 pretzels in his first hour of business and incurs a total cost of $16. 50, his average total cost per pretzel is $1. 10. Question 12 At all levels of production higher than the point where the marginal cost curve crosses the average variable cost curve, average variable cost rises. Question 13 Teacher's Helper is a small company that has a subcontract to produce i nstructional materials for disabled children in public school districts.Then the Selected Answer: b. A Question 18 Consumer surplus all of the above Question 19 Suppose a frost destroys much of the Florida orange corp.. At the same time, suppose consumer tastes shift toward orange Juice. What would we expect to happen to the equilibrium price and quantity in the market for orange Juice? Price will increase, quantity is indeterminate (may increase or decrease). Question 20 You lose your Job and, as a result, you buy fewer romance novels. This shows that you consider romance novels to be a(n) Selected Answer: c. A luxury good.Question 21 Consumer surplus is the amount a buyer is willing to pay for a good minus the amount the buyer actually pays for it. Question 22 Which cell in the following table represents an increase in equilibrium quantity and an indeterminate change in equilibrium price? An Increase in Supply An Increase in Demand A A Decrease in Supply Selected Answer: b. D c Qu estion 23 An example off price floor is Selected Answer: a. B rent control. Question 24 Which of these statements best represents the law of demand? When the price of a good decreases, buyers purchase more of the good.Question 25 In the housing market, rent control causes quantity supplied to fall and quantity demanded to rise. Question 26 If the market price of eggs rises at the same time as the market quantity of eggs researches decreases, this could have been caused by a decrease in supply with no change in demand. Question 27 Question 28 Use the following demand and supply functions to answer the following question: Demand: Q = 50 – UP supply SQ = 20 + UP If the price is $10, there is a surplus of 30 units. Question 29 Which of the following will cause an increase in consumer surplus? Technological improvement in the production of the good Question 30 Suppose you are in charge of setting prices at a local sandwich shop. The business needs to increase its total revenue and your Job is on the line. If the demand for sandwiches is elastic, you Selected Answer: d. C should not change the price of sandwiches. Question 31 Merrill's income elasticity of demand for football tickets is 1. 50. All else equal, this means that if her income increases by 20 percent, she will buy 30 percent more football tickets.Question 32 Which of the following could be the cross-price elasticity of demand for two goods that are complements? Question 33 Selected Answer: d. B demand is inelastic and supply is elastic. Question 34 When we move upward and to the left along a linear, downward-sloping demand curve, price elasticity of demand Selected Answer: b. C always becomes smaller. Question 35 When the price of bubble gum is $0. 50, the quantity demanded is 400 packs per day. When the price falls to $0. 40, the quantity demanded increases to 600.Given this information and using the midpoint method, we know that the demand for bubble gum is elastic. Question 36 At age 40, Joe is considering quitting his Job and going back for a college degree. He needs two more years full-time. Tuition is $10,000 per year. He earns $30,000 per year. A college degree would raise his annual income by $10,000 per year. He will retire at age 70. From an investment standpoint, Joe will go back full-time if Selected Answer: a 10,000 x > 40,000 x Question 37 Martha and Sarah have the same preferences and incomes.Just as Martha arrived at the theater to see a play, she discovered that she had lost the $10 ticket she had purchased earlier. Sarah Just arrived at the theater planning to buy a ticket to see the same play when she discovered that she had lost a $10 bill from her wallet. If both Martha and Sarah are rational and both still have enough money to pay for a ticket, which one of the following statements is correct? Martha and Sarah will take the same action (either to pay for another ticket or not to ay) because the ticket lost or $10 lost is a sunk cost and it should not fa ctor into their decisions.Because bagels and cream cheese are often eaten together, they are complements. Suppose we observe that the equilibrium price of cream cheese has risen but the equilibrium quantity of bagels has fallen. Which of the following explanations is consistent with these changes in the bagels and cream cheese markets? Price of milk increased. Question 39 complements. Suppose we observe that both the equilibrium price of cream cheese and the equilibrium quantity of bagels have increased. Which of the following Price of flour decreased.

The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Twenty-Four

Giggling, Bonnie tripped on her way down the stairs, her foot coming right out of her high-heeled shoe. â€Å"Here you go, Cinderel a,† Zander said, picking up the shoe and kneeling in front of her. He helped slip her foot back into it, his fingers warm and steady against her instep. Bonnie gave a mock curtsy, muffling her laughter. â€Å"Thank you, m'lord,† she said flirtatiously. She felt fabulous, so sil y and happy. It was almost as if she was drunk, but she'd only had a few sips of beer. No, she was drunk. Drunk on Zander, on his kisses, his gentle hands, and his big blue eyes. She took his hand, and he smiled down at her, that long slow smile, and Bonnie just absolutely quivered. â€Å"Seems like the party's wrapping up,† she said, as they hit the first floor. It was real y getting late, almost two o'clock. There were only a few groups of hard-core partiers left: a bunch of frat boys by the keg, some theater-department girls dancing with great wide swoops of their arms, a couple sitting hand in hand at the bottom of the stairs in deep conversation. Meredith, Stefan, Samantha, and Matt had disappeared, and if Elena had ever shown up, she had left, too. Zander's friends had gone, or been kicked out. â€Å"Good-bye, good-bye,† Bonnie caroled to the few people who remained. She hadn't real y gotten a chance to talk to any of them, but they al looked perfectly nice. Maybe next time she went to a party, she'd stay longer and real y bond with people she hadn't met before. Look at al the new friends her friends had made on campus. Bonnie gave a special wave to a couple of people she'd seen Matt with lately – a shortish guy whose name she thought was Ethan and that girl with the dark curls and dimples. Not freshmen. She loved everyone tonight, but they deserved it most, because they had seen what a wonderful guy Matt was. They waved back at her, a little hesitantly, and the girl smiled, her dimples deepening. â€Å"They seem real y nice,† Bonnie told Zander, and he glanced back at them as he opened the door. â€Å"Hmmm,† he said noncommittal y, and the look in his eyes, just for a minute, made Bonnie shiver. â€Å"Aren't they?† she said nervously. Zander looked away from them, back toward her, and his warm bril iant smile spread across his face. Bonnie relaxed; the coldness she'd seen in Zander's eyes must have been just a trick of the light. â€Å"Of course they are, Bonnie,† he said. â€Å"I just got distracted for a sec.† He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pul ing her close, and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. She sighed contentedly, cuddling up against his side. They walked together companionably for a while. â€Å"Look at the stars,† Bonnie said softly. The night was clear and the stars hung bright in the sky. â€Å"It's because it's starting to get colder at night that we can see them so Well.† Zander didn't answer, only made a hmming sound deep in his throat again, and Bonnie glanced up at him through her eyelashes. â€Å"Do you want to get breakfast with me in the morning?† she asked. â€Å"On Sundays, the cafeteria does make-your-own waffles, with lots of different toppings. Delicious.† Zander was staring off into the distance with that same half-listening expression he had the last time they walked across campus together. â€Å"Zander?† Bonnie asked cautiously, and he frowned down at her, biting his lip thoughtful y. â€Å"Sorry,† he said. He took his arm off of Bonnie's shoulders and backed away a few steps, smiling stiffly. His whole body was tense, as if he was about to take off running. â€Å"Zander?† she asked again, confused. â€Å"I forgot something,† Zander said, avoiding her eyes. â€Å"I have to go back to the party.† â€Å"Oh. I'l come with you,† Bonnie offered. â€Å"No, that's okay.† Zander was shifting from foot to foot, glancing over Bonnie's shoulders as if, suddenly, he'd rather be anywhere than with her. Abruptly, he surged forward and kissed her awkwardly, their teeth knocking together, and then he stepped backward and turned, walking in the other direction. His strides lengthened, and soon he was running away from her, disappearing into the night. Again. He didn't look back. Bonnie, suddenly alone, shivered and looked around, peering into the darkness on al sides. She had been so happy a minute ago, and now she felt cold and dismayed, as if she had been hit with a splash of freezing cold water. â€Å"You have got to be kidding me,† she said aloud. Elena was shaking so hard that Damon was afraid she might just shake herself apart. He wrapped his arms around her comfortingly, and she glanced up at him without real y seeming to see him, her eyes glassy. â€Å"Stefan†¦Ã¢â‚¬  she moaned softly, and Damon had to fight down a sharp stab of irritation. So Stefan was overreacting. What else was new? Damon was here, Damon was with her and supporting her, and Elena needed to realize that. He was tempted to grab Elena firmly by the chin and make her real y look at him. In the old days, he would have done just that. Hel , in the old days, he would have sent a blast of Power at Elena until she was docile in his hands, until she didn't even remember Stefan's name. His canines prickled longingly just thinking of it. Her blood was like wine. Not that expecting Elena to give in to his Power meekly had ever worked particularly Well, he admitted to himself, his mouth curling into a smile. But he wasn't like that anymore. And he didn't want her that way. He was trying so hard, although he hated to admit it even to himself, to be worthy of Elena. To be worthy of Stefan, even, if it came right down to it. It had been comforting to final y have his baby brother looking at him with something other than hatred and disgust. Well, that was over. The tentative truce, the beginnings of friendship, the brotherhood, whatever it had been between him and Stefan, was gone. â€Å"Come on, princess,† he murmured to Elena, helping her up the stairs toward her door. â€Å"Just a little farther.† He couldn't be sorry they kissed. She was so beautiful, so alive and vibrant in his arms. And she tasted so good. And he loved her, he did, as far as his hard heart was capable of it. His mouth curled again, and he could taste his own bitterness. Elena was never going to be his, was she? Even when Stefan turned his back on her, the self-righteous idiot, he was al she thought about. Damon's free hand, the one that wasn't cupping Elena's shoulder protectively, tightened into a fist. They'd reached Elena's room, and Damon fished in her purse for her keys, unlocking the door for her. â€Å"Damon,† she said, turning in the doorway to look him straight in the eyes for the first time since before Stefan caught them kissing. She looked pale stil , but resolute, her mouth a straight line. â€Å"Damon, it was a mistake.† Damon's heart dropped like a stone, but he held her gaze. â€Å"I know,† he said, his voice steady. â€Å"Everything wil work out in the end, princess, you'l see.† He forced his lips to turn up in a reassuring, supportive smile. The smile of a friend. Then Elena was gone, the door to her room shutting firmly behind her. Damon spun in his tracks, cursing, and kicked at the wal behind him. It cracked, and he kicked it again with a sour satisfaction at the feeling of the plaster splitting. There was a muted grumbling coming from behind the other doors on the floor, and Damon could hear footsteps approaching, someone coming to investigate the noise. If he had to deal with anyone now, he'd probably kil him. That wouldn't be a good idea, no matter how much he might enjoy it for the moment, not with Elena right here. Launching himself toward an open hal window, Damon smoothly transitioned to a crow in midair. It was a relief to stretch his wings, to pick up the rhythm of flying and feel the breeze against his feathers, lifting and supporting him. He flew through the window with a few strong beats of his wings and flung himself out into the night. Catching the wind, he soared recklessly high despite the darkness of the night. He needed the rush of the wind against his body, needed the distraction.

Hazard & Vulnerability Analysis and Mitigation & Prevention Essay

Hazard & Vulnerability Analysis and Mitigation & Prevention - Essay Example On account of their interconnectedness, it can be stated that EMP is a holistic approach which links a disaster with development. As these different aspects of emergency management plan are robustly interlaced, mitigation as an isolated strategy, to deal with an emergency, is not comprehensible. It refers to plan strategies and programs to eliminate or reduce the effects of a disaster, and consequently to prevent the loss of property, personal injury or death. Hence, any effort to minimize the impact of a disaster can be termed as mitigation. Mitigation phase necessarily involves hazard identification and vulnerability analysis. Alternatively, it can be stated that without hazard identification and vulnerability analysis, it is not possible to mitigate an impending disaster. Moreover, mitigation includes a response with a plan of action for disaster preparedness, and the consequent prevention and risk reduction. Hazard identification requires preparation of a database of historical and archival information, analysis of the data, computer based simulations, preparation of a hazard map, and listing of all habitations and vital installations within a specific radius of the epicenter (Government of India 16). Some of the hazards include floods, storm, cyclone, earthquake, tsunami, volcanoes, fire, etc.

Construction Broker Inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Construction Broker Inc - Essay Example The tax rate is 25.42 percent for the first and third year and 25.00 percent for the second year. In the initial year the company is going to project conservatively in order to have enough cash in hand. Advertising costs will be reduced in the initial years because the company had already launched a manual or book and decided to distribute them through the agents to various construction companies. Now, let us come to the projected cash flow statement and the balance sheet. If we look at the projected cash flow, we come to know that the cash can be received by the company from various sources such as by borrowing money, sales of the current assets or new investment opportunities received. The expenditures may include the payment of tax, purchase of assets, payment of shareholders dividends if any or repaying loans to creditors. If we look at the balance sheet, we come to know that there will be a sufficient growth of net worth in consecutive years, which is a healthy sign for the company. Now, let us come to the conclusion. Construction Broker Inc. would be a consulting firm which will act as a bridge between the construction company and the customers, looking for repair or maintenance services. The company would receive commission from the Construction Company and service charges from the customers. A proper financial plan for the company has been developed in which the steps such as order procurement, forecasting the budget plan, receiving the order from the client and delivering the project is included. I believe that if the management of the company plans its actions properly, the company is going to reach the heights of success within a very short span of

Prosocial Behaviors and Fraternities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Prosocial Behaviors and Fraternities - Essay Example It was able to establish that there exist significant differences as to how members of social groups react and understand various social instances or situations as against non-members. An example is that fraternity or sorority members expect their fellow members to be indicating concern and cooperation in their situation as compared to non-member students who rely heavily on their own decisions and actions to handle the situations indicated in the survey questionnaire. Teenagers, in and out of campuses are considered in their reaching out stage where they crave for attention and acceptance. In the process of achieving and satisfying their craving, there are activities, opportunities and peers or peer groups that cater to their needs. These could be considered harmless, positive or negative depending on the effect on the subjects but most often, these have either influence or effect on the psychosocial behavior of the individuals involved. Although individual personality traits per se could be influential or factor for students to join or not to join Greek sounding social groups, positive relevance of these groups now seem to outweigh deviant behaviors so that new studies are being conducted every now and then. The purpose of this study is to find out if there is a difference between responses and behavior of students who are members of sorority or fraternity and those who are not with regards to social and altruism instances. This will be gauged through their responses to questions to be given them. Ten scenarios shall be presented to these students, ten who are members of fraternity or sorority for about two years, and ten who are plain students. The relevance of this study is to establish expectations of students as well as the larger community with regards to how members and non-members of social group sorority or fraternity react or handle various social situations. These responses may be indicative of levels of pro-social /altruism behaviors which could be treated as factors that can be influenced by educational institutions and social organizations or groups in order to arrive at more preferred learning and social environments. Background/Reviews: Since there had been considerable and observable activities participated in or involving members of fraternities or sororities that are not ordinarily undertaken by regular non-member students in and out of campuses, interest on membership and involvement on fraternity or sorority had been of interest by various sectors (CHE, 2006; SPLC, 2004). Moral reasoning and identity development of 209 female and 162 male college students indicated they did not seem to be affected by their affiliation to Greek social groups (Kilgannon and Dary, 1992) although moral reasoning and identity development. Langford (1995) nevertheless, imparted that moral reasoning rely on notions of moral rules and moral norms which are generally accepted in many societies. Likewise, in a study conducted on social group members of 153 males and 168 females at a Midwestern university indicated there was significant correlations between member's levels of involvement as well as their psychosocial development measured by the Student Development Task and Lifestyle Inventory. This has been related to establishing and clarifying purposes; develop mature

Deliberative Nursing Process Model Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Deliberative Nursing Process Model - Essay Example This theory is based on nurse-patient interaction and primarily emphasizes the fulfillment of immediate needs of the patients. Ida Jean Orlando is a significant contributor to the development of theoretical nursing knowledge. According to Fitzpatrick and Whall (1989) and Marriner-Tomey (1989), Orlando was born August 12, 1926. In 1947, she received a diploma in nursing from New York Medical College, Flower Fifth Avenue Hospital School of Nursing. She received a B. S. degree in Public Health Nursing from St. Johns University in Brooklyn, New York, in 1951, and an M. A. in Mental health Consultation from Columbia University Teacher's College, in New York in 1954. While pursuing her education Orlando was employed as a staff nurse in obstetrical, medical, surgical and emergency nursing. After receiving her master's degree in 1954, Orlando went to the Yale University School of Nursing in New Haven, Connecticut, for eight years. As an associate professor of mental health and psychiatric nursing at Yale, she was awarded a federal grant and became a research associate and the principal project investigator of a National Institute of Mental Health Institute of the United States Public Health Service's grant entitled "Integration of Mental Health Concepts in a Basic Curriculum". The project sought to identify those factors relevant to the integration of psychiatric-mental health principles into the nursing curriculum. The project consisted of an analysis of 2000 nurse-patient interactions. Her conceptual nursing model evolved from the analysis of this four-year NIMH project and appeared in her first book, The Dynamic Nurse-Patient Relationship: Function, Process and Principles, published in 1961. (Fitzpatrick and Whall, 1989) From 1972 to 1981, Orlando lectured, served as a consultant and conducted numerous workshops across the United States. In 1981, she accepted a position of nurse educator for Metropolitan State Hospital in Waltham, Massachusetts. In 1987, she became the assistant director for nursing education and research at Metropolitan State Hospital. (Morriner-Tomey, 1989) From 1962-72, Orlando served as a clinical nurse consultant at McClean Hospital in Elmont, Massachusetts and reported ten years of research at the hospital in her second book, The Discipline and Teaching of Nursing Process: An Evaluative Study. (George, 1990) As indicated previously, based on her psychiatric-mental health nursing education and practice, Orlando inductively proposed her conceptual nursing model in her first book The Dynamic Nurse-Patient Relationship: Function, Process and Principles, published in 1961. II. Analysis of Theory A. Theory Model-Deliberative Nursing Process This theory model is based upon immediate needs of the patients. Orlando assumes that nursing process initiates with the behavior of the patient. This patient behavior is further explained by her as an indication of the need of assistance from the patient and it may be verbal or non verbal. Such needs indication impacts nurse's response how she recognizes this need, employs her

How does the living wage relate to the labour movement and how does Essay

How does the living wage relate to the labour movement and how does the labour movement relate to the living wage (employment relationship) - Essay Example In addition to that, globalization has also led to a few number of state renounce the laws that govern the employees. Due to the mere ignorance and the globalization factor, majority of the states have cut of the wages of their employees to go down more than they deserve. This occurs mostly in the sector where skills are not needed and they are not counted as increasing the economy (McConnell & Brue, 1999). Due to all the reasons mentioned above, numerous organizations that claim to fight off low pay, or living wage or fair pay have been introduced in the last twenty years. This has happened in majority of the countries both the developed countries and the developing. They have acted a key part in the society since they gather, educate and air the views of unsatisfied employees to the government who for a very long time have been going on with a low pay, way down more than the standard one. The activities that these labor organizations do have yielded positive results for instance, one of the results they have yielded is that wage tribunals have been happening more than they used to. In addition to that, the labor work force has also been awarded for the good work they portray of campaigning for or fellow human rights. Some of the benefits that the employees have gained for is for instance having a weekend, which has two days, if they work on holidays they get paid and majority of the organizations that employ them have focused on the 8 hours of working each day and compensation for any extra minute spent working (Victor et al., 1998). In a lay mans’ dictionary if we try to look at the definition of the term labour movement, it is the movement of workers for enhanced management by employers, for the most part through the creation of labour unions. So how does it (the labour movement) relate to the living wage and how does the living wage relate to the labour movement? Living wage and the labour movements go hand in

Course Work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Course Work - Essay Example The principle of equity is one of the most important criterions for reward allocation in individualistic culture. This principle gives significant importance towards individual performance and contribution. Here in this theory there is very low scope of free rider. Here employees get their rewards for their individual contributions towards attaining goal (Cullen & Parboteeah, 2014, pp. 34-41). To measure the individual performance, managers across the world use individual performance appraisals. On the other hand the principle of equality talks about equal shares to all individuals. This principle is significantly preferred by collectivist culture. This principle fits in the collectivists values quite nicely. In this principle there is enough scope of free rider. It is being noticed that Chinese managers believe in collectivists’ values and that is why they follow the principle of equality in their reward allocation. On the other hands American managers give more focus towards individual contributions that is why they follow equity principle for their reward allocation. Dirty tricks are cross cultural negotiation strategies generally used to pressurize opponents for accepting undesirable or unfair concessions or agreements. There are several dirty tricks. Deliberate deception is an example of dirty tricks. It is significantly inappropriate for the international negotiation. With the help of deliberate deception profitability can be earned for the short time. The deception cannot be fruitful for the long term business perspective. It can be exposed at any point of time (Moore & Woodrow, 2010, pp. 90-93). Negotiator should clearly point out all the details to avoid this dirty trick. Stalling is also an example of dirty tricks. This trick is not at all suitable for the cross cultural negotiation. It delays the whole negotiation process. Timeliness is an important factor for any negotiation. That important factor is intentionally ignored with

Concept of Compounding DQ2 Positive NPV Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Concept of Compounding DQ2 Positive NPV - Essay Example d amount of money or an expected cash flow; for instance if a person has $500 that money will be worth less in the future because money depreciates due to the effect of inflation. Based on the time value of money present value table $500 discounted at 3% will be worth $431.30 five years from now (Besley & Brigham, 2000). The NPV value technique is often used by managers when making decisions regarding capital projects. A project should only be accepted if its NPV is above cero (Garrison & Noreen, 2003). A positive net present value is the desirable outcome. When the NPV is negative a project should be rejected because a company would lose money by accepting such a project. The process to calculate net present value involves the use of present value tables to find the factoring factor. Another way to calculate the present value of an amount of money is by using financial calculators. Graphic calculators such as the Ti-89 titanium have integrated financial calculators in its systems which are very easy to use. The discounting rate a company uses depends on the risk the company is willing to take. Some companies require a higher discounting rate than others due to the industry in which they

Blogging Digital Media And Society Series Essay Example for Free

Blogging Digital Media And Society Series Essay Jill Walker Rettberg new edition â€Å"Blogging: digital media and society series† can be described as a key book in an emerging field. Blogging has come to be associated as a landmark in the current social cyber studies and even more. Blogging is all about the way today’s popular culture has become an important element in large magnitude changes in how culture is produced. With her book, Jill digs into the deep and broad of blogging to give the reader the real meaning of what is involved in blogging as the evidence and driver of a shift in epochal culture (Rettberg, 2014). Jill’s capability in ensuring that she reaches out to the right audience and puts the points on blogging across is enhanced by experience. Being a prolific blogger herself, Jill uses her experience as a blogger in pointing out the various issues to her audience. Jill also utilizes examination which is enhanced by use of an expert’s eye of a communications researcher with experience to reveal the historical, psychological, social and political meaning of the blogging initiative. Borrowing from various disciplines, it is evident of her good understanding on the blogging issue and its impact. The other strong point in her writing is the fact that she brings and uses various disciplines such as media studies, marketing, ethnology, literary studies, sociology and journalism into an excellent exploratory framework (Rettberg, 2014). Jill’s book expands blogging into a wider context of the decline in print culture to the emerging trends. The updated and revised edition provides a good study of the now each and every day phenomenon placing it in a theoretical, contemporary and historical context. The use of the most recent of the researches and developments in the blogging world is taken care of with an analysis of the new tools for visual blogging and micro blogging (Rettberg, 2014). In the book, Jill discusses the changing trends where in the current times blogs are being integrated into the mainstream social media ecology. This helps to show the reader the direction the blogging element is taking in the formation and continuation of popular culture. Jill notes that the comments and the links from social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook have become more important than networks between blogs which was important five years ago. Jill also questions the new trend where there is a shift towards increased corporate control and commercialization of blogs (Rettberg, 2014). The cultural shift has also seen its share of influence from blogging as Jill illustrates using examples. Jill delves into the analysis of how the current smart phones equipped with cameras together with the social media has led to the shift towards more emphasis on the visual aspects in the blogs with the use of graphics and photographs being in the foreground. Jill puts in a convincing analysis of how blogging together with related genres have come to change the world of communication and media (Rettberg, 2014). The design of the book is in such a way that each of the chapters is a self-sufficient review of areas in blogging which makes the structure repetitive across the work. The book is more suitable for beginners or anyone with an interest in blogging as Jill puts the chapters in a loose connection to blogging. Though Jill has borrowed from many disciplines to help the reader in understanding the different aspects of blogging, there is some diversion, however when the discussion shifts from blogging as a phenomenon into the related and convergent forms like the social networking sites. There are lengthy discussions of the various sites such as MySpace and Facebook which though put with the right intention in mind, they do not achieve this as there is no clear elaboration to the reader how this relates to the overall topics (Rettberg, 2014). Walker’s work begins by tackling the question of what a blog is. She starts with an introduction to the history of online text based communication. She then moves on to the development of blogging tools such as Blogger. Walker develops a shred understanding of material aspects in blogging. An interesting section also discusses blogs as genre and medium which is a distinction that is not addressed directly most of the time. In â€Å"From Bards to Blogs†, Walter takes the discussion on the blogging place within media culture and the shift from one-to- many towards many-to- many. Walter positions the internet as a counterpoint to Plato’s complaint of a written text being unresponsive. Walker shares the view that there is potential for interactivity between authors of blog posts, the blog post itself and the reader in blog comments (Rettberg, 2014). Also of particular interest is the chapter â€Å"Citizen Journalist?’ where Walker puts her focus on the three ways in which blogging intersects with traditional journalism. There are bloggers acting as journalists, the bloggers who report on mainstream media and the bloggers giving first-hand reports on ongoing events. Walker goes ahead to discuss bloggers as the chance to witness big historical events. Her example of Kaye D. Trammell account on Hurricane Katrina is meant to show how blogs can be used as sources of information by both the public and mass media however understudied. This is an avenue that can be used for future works in blogging (Rettberg, 2014). Walker also discusses how blogs have expanded to various forms of narratives in â€Å"Blogs as narratives† She gives an account of the three forms of narratives namely the goal-oriented narrative, ongoing narration and fragmented narratives. In the same chapter she evaluates the ways in which blogs can be used as a means of self exploration with one discovering their strengths and what they can do best to contribute to the society (Rettberg, 2014). Walker finishes the book off with a review of the future of blogs and the future of social media. In the chapter, Walker also touches on the use of language, privacy government access and control each of which one gets the feeling that they could be well covered in a different book each on its own. An addition of some scholarly works using quantitative methods would have added some balance to the various discussions such as the one on protypical blog and blogger. Another limitation in Walker’s book is that there is a small number of scholarly works cited on bloggers and blogging (Rettberg, 2014). In general Walker provides a popular view on blogging culture and blogs and steers away from in-depth analysis and critical discussion. The text however is a good introductory resource for both non-academic and academic audiences (Rettberg, 2014). Reference Rettberg, J. W. (2014).  Blogging. Source document

An Applied Management Project Reflection report

An Applied Management Project Reflection report This reflection report is all about our experiences Applied Management project (AMP) and learning from the experience of the project. Reflection report helps us to improve ourselves. We also can learn from our mistakes which is also an important goal of the report. We work individually and in a group for our Applied Management project (AMP). We go through within good and bad experience when doing the report. We also learn some new things individually and in a group. The main target is to learn from experience throughout the project. Aims and Objective Aim of the report is to judge our work ourselves and improve our lacking. Through this report we can also have an idea about our own skills and abilities. The main objective of this report is to find out the errors that I made to do the Applied Management Project (AMP) and take lesson from the mistakes. What is Reflective Report? Reflection report is analysis of our work done before. In a reflection report a person or a student mention the experience of his or her work to prepare a project or report. In a reflection report one can include the process of using the skills and abilities he or she has. Greenwood (1993) said about reflection To think about what one is doing whilst one is doing it; it is typically stimulated by surprise, by something which puzzled the practitioner concerned. Kolb (1984) also said reflection is central to the process of turning experience into learning. So the way of learning through experience is reflection. Edgar Schon (1983) describe two way of reflection. One is reflection in action and another is reflection on action. Reflection in action is about looking during the event and reflection on action is looking back after the event. We are doing reflection on action because we are writing this reflection report after we finish our Applied Management Project (AMP). According to Boyd Fales (1983) reflection on action is The process of creating and clarifying the meanings of experiences in terms of self in relation to both self and world. The outcome of this process is changed conceptual perspectives. So from the reflection process we not only can learn but also can improve the lacking. Recollection of experiences We have to do the reflection report after we finish the Applied Management Project (AMP). The main aim to write the reflection report is to learn from our experiences. We got 11 weeks to write this Applied Management Project (AMP). Within these time period we had some good and bad experiences. Sometimes we got some times we got experience which is new to us. After completed the second semester we had a week of learning how to write the Applied Management Project (AMP) and the reflection report. First two days we have given the idea about the process of Applied Management Project (AMP). We got some information about the report writing, plagiarism, Harvard referencing and how to use the resources of the university. The first day we had three classes. The first class was for introduction of the Applied Management Project (AMP) a, the second one was all about report writing and the third one was for information sources and referencing. The second day was also a busy day for us. Three cla sses also held at that day. We had given information about plagiarism in our first class of day two. Then the next class is all about the reflection report and the relevance to write the report. At last we had given our topic in the last class of second they. We are divided into several groups and the group members had to do the report which is given for their group. We have made a group of nine people. We were excited about our topic. We were very happy when we were given the topic. Our topic was Market segmentation and effect of new technology on market segmentation. The reason we were happy because this topic was very important in marketing and also easy from other topics. The class was finished and we had to attend in the tutor support session which started the next day. In this session we had to sit in a group. As our group was made earlier we sat with our group members. At the first day of tutor support session we had given idea about how to use the online resources from the u niversity site. We could collect information from the open sources but all the open sources are not reliable sources. Thats why we are taught how to us the educational journals, magazines, e-books, articles etc. We had also give idea about how we can get useful information about our topic. Then tutors gave us their opinion about the topic. Tutor also told us that as a tutor what they are expecting in the Applied Management Project (AMP). There are five or six tutors who gave their opinion about the topic. We also got time to discuss the topic with our group members. In the session we prepared a format of the report. One of the tutors asked us to collect one article about our topic and bring the article at the next day. We got three days of tutor support session and after that session we could not get the support from the tutors so that three days was very important for us to prepare the report. After that session we set a meeting with our group members to get started the report. We meet three times and discuss about our topic and gave our opinion about the topic. Then we started to work individually. I start to collect data about my topic using university resources. At first I find books about segmentation. I found some books which is very helpful for my Applied Management Project (AMP). My plan was to collect the data about my topic and then start reading. First few days I use to find information about my topic. I search for article, journal, magazines which is related with my topic. I used university library and digital library to find the information. When I feel that the information is enough for my topic I started reading. Then I started to write the Applied Management Project (AMP). This is the first time I was writing a project and long report of 12000 words. Sometimes I get stuck about different topic. Then i take help of my friend and discuss with them about the problem. Personal feeling and learning from the experience The Applied Management Project (AMP) is developed to show our skills and ability learned from the Msc Marketing and Business management. To write the report I learn some new things and I use my skills and knowledge. Throughout the report writing process I also did some mistakes. According to Gibbs model of reflection (1998), we must go through a cycle to complete the report. Description The first one is description. In this part what is happened throughout the report writing must be described. This is my first time to write a project. So I was a little bit nervous. But when I started writing the report I get confidence to write the project. And I also learn process to write a project. The project is all about secondary research. We does not require the primary research process. Feeling In my mind there are some questions about the Applied Management project (AMP). Can I do the project? Can I complete the project in time? How will be the project? Will I get a good grade in the project? When I start writing the report I realized that the time is enough for the project because we do not need to do primary survey. Applied Management Project (AMP) was a huge report with 12000 words. I was confused about the timing of the project. When I completed the project my feeling also changed. I also get the answer of my questions time to time. Evaluation I started to write the report 20 days before. Sometimes I want to work in the university library for long time but the university made a short timetable for the summer time. But when I search information I get more knowledge about the searching of information and time management. I also developed my writing skills. I spent lots of time to searching and writing the report. But I did not spent enough time to read the books, articles, journals and magazines. So If I do any project or report in future I will use the proper use of time to search information, read them and writing. I also use references in the project which I think not enough for the research. I can include more references for my project which can make the project more effective. So I learn several things. Some are good, some are bad. I must improve my skills and take lesson from my mistakes. Analysis To write the Applied Management Project (AMP) I made a plan and work according to my plan. I set a time to study which is one of the important part of my plan. I also give myself some rest because if I work restless my work may be not as good as I want. I made a schedule for my project. I divided the topic into several parts. As example Segmentation methods, different types of segmentation, effect of new technology on market segmentation etc. I start to work part by part. At a time I concentrate only one part of the project which helps me to get read of workloads. So I can finish my project timely because of the planning. Conclusion During the project writing I developed my skills. I was slow in typing but because of the Applied Management Project (AMP) my typing speed increase. My writing quality also developed during this time. But I must improve my information search activities because sometimes I get confused about the information which is important for my project. I also use my time properly. But if I can spend more time in university library then my report might be better. Action Plan For next time I will complete my project before 15 days. Because if I can get time to revise the project then I believe the report will be more improved. But this time I get only one day to revise the report. When I revise the report some points which I can write more but because of the time I could not do this. Gibbs model of reflection (1988) So from the above discussion I can say that I improve some skills during the project writing. But I also have some lacking as well. If I get any opportunity in the future I will try to avoid the mistakes and make my plan properly for the report. Group dynamics and learning from the experience Working in a group or team is more effective than working alone. People usually can perform better when he or she work with a group or team. People who work in a group or team can share their feelings and experience about their work. Sometimes people learn and improve themselves from the advice of other people. We also get the opportunity to work in a team. For our Applied Management Project (AMP) we have to make a group. We made a group of nine people and start work in a group. Working in a group or team is a learning experience to me. According to Guirdham (2002) people within the group must have some characteristics. People must have good behaviour, norms and co-operation. Without co-operation a group could not become successful. There is a chance to conflict within the group. But people of group must have problem solving attitude. Crainer (1998) said that in a group different people perform different their skills and abilities. We are also working as a team when we have given the topic of Applied Management Project (AMP). Working in a group is effective for us. Within a group all group members must listen to each other. Without this listening behaviour one can not perform well in the group. In a group every one must give importance to each other. If someone neglect or underestimate anyone it may harm himself. Every one has different thoughts and different understanding. So within the group we start to listen each other. Everyone told to discuss their own view about the topic. We get some new and interesting idea about our topic after the discussion session. This discussion session take long time but it was really effective for everyone. Belbin (1993) introduced most effective analysis about individual role within a group or a team. According to Belbin (1993) a successful group must have different range of roles which is undertaking by different members of group. Mullins (2005, p.557) Belbin said for successful group or team member must have nine team roles. Which are- Plant Resource investigator Co-ordinator Shaper Monitor evaluator Team worker Implementer Completer Specialist So people within the team must have these nine characteristics team roles. In our team different members has different attitude. We have a team leader who actually co-ordinate the works between the team members. At the first meeting we are told to collect some articles and journals about our topic. One person of our team was given the responsibility to manage the meeting among us. In our second meeting all of us collect some articles and journals about our topic. Then we all asked to share own opinion about market segmentation. We all try to share what we know about the segmentation. We take note from the discussion. Some of them are really helpful for our project. We try to divide the work equally within the group members. Working in a group was very good experience for me. I dont know everything. Different people have different way of thinking. We share our opinion and learn from other people of group. Although the group work is time consuming, we can learn lots of new things from the group. Working in a group gives me more confident. But sometimes group work can frustrate us. In our group meeting two members always came late. We cant start our work in time for them. This thing makes a bad impact within the group members. Some group members want to start work without them. But one day when we start our work and they came, we have to discuss the matter again to them. So it kills our time and some members become angry. Our group was formed on the basic of friendship. Thats why we cant say anything to the members who come late. If our group was formed according to work, the group was more effective than this group. I also learn a lit about my individual performance and personality. Within a group I judge myself with the other group members who help me to know my ability and performance. I also learn one thin about the group work and that is people act differently when they work alone or in a group. Because when I use to talk to one person of my group I act diffe rent way and my talk within the group is also different. This is an interesting characteristic of human nature. So as a member of a team I learn so many things which will help me in my future when I work in a team or group. Belbins nine team role (Belbin, 1993) Lesson for future project We learn many things during the Applied Management project (AMP). I point out some important things which will help me in my future to do a project- Time management: Use my time properly to prepare the report. Do not delay: Sometimes when we get long time we slow down our work which really harms our work. So I will not delay my work in future. Revise my work: In future if I get an opportunity to do a project I will finish the project before 3 to 5 days of deadline. So that I can revise my work. Evaluate: If possible I will show my work to any tutor or senior who have the knowledge about project which will make my report more effective. Conclusion From above discussion it may be conclude that during the process of Applied Management project (AMP) I learn so many things. I also improve my writing skills and ability. I evaluate myself through the reflective report which will help me to do better and take lesson from my mistakes. Reflective report gives me an opportunity to know about my learning and experiences during the 11 week of my work.

Kate Controls Her Own Actions in William Shakespeares Taming of the Sh

Kate Controls Her Own Actions in William Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew Who is primarily in control of Kate's actions in William Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew? Is Kate primarily controlling her actions, or do other characters in the play control her? If you just read through the play, but don't study it in-depth, it appears that Kate is controlled by other characters' actions towards her, but is this actually the case? Isn't it very possible that Kate is actually in control of all her decisions, but is just strongly influenced by others? After studying the text in-depth, you can see for yourself that although Kate is strongly influenced by others, she is the one who actually makes the decisions to act in the manner in which she acts. As was stated, although Kate, in many instances, appears to be controlled by others, she is actually in control of her actions. She is the one who does everything, such as allowing herself to be married off to Petruchio. Some people may say that she was forced to marry Petruchio, but she could have just run away if she really hadn't wanted to marry him. In this instance, Kate's family, especially her father Baptista, and society were influencing Kate to make the choice to not run away and follow through with the marriage. In the end, though, this was Kate's decision - no one made it for her, she had to make it for herself. She had the ability to choose to run away or do something else about being forced to marry Petruchio. Kate was already considered a shrew and often did not let society's roles for men and women influence her: Why couldn't she have done the same in this instance? Another instance in which it may seem to some people reading the play that Kate is being controlled by... ...Petruchio mistreat his servants. After coming home from the wedding, Petruchio says, "Here, sir! here, sir! here, sir! here, sir!/You logger-headed and unpolish'd grooms!/What, no attendance? no regard? no duty?/Where is the foolish knave I sent before?" (4.1.115-118). He continues to mistreat his servants right in front of Kate; he even hits a few of them. Kate sees this and realizes how poorly she has treated others in the past and realizes that she doesn't want to be a shrew any longer. In class, when discussing the topic of control, everyone was pretty much able to agree on one point: Although there are many influences on our decisions, we are ultimately the ones who make our decisions and no one can do that for us. In Taming of the Shrew, there are numerous examples of times Kate is influenced greatly by others, and yet she makes the final decision herself.

MBA Admissions Essays - An Entrepreneurial Passion :: MBA College Admissions Essays

MBA Admissions Essays - An Entrepreneurial Passion    My love for business is not something I was born with. It took over a decade of experience and exploration to discover my passion. This discovery began ten years ago when I accepted a position at The Pitney Bowes Corporation. My job was to make unsolicited phone calls to prospective businesses in order to sell our base model postage meter. All that was required was reading a script, word for word, to potential buyers. Yet, after a week of working at Pitney Bowes, I still didn't know important details about the meter, like what it looked like, and how it actually operated. My manager acted a bit surprised when I asked to see the meter, but she agreed, and I took a walk to an adjacent building where I saw first hand what I was selling. It looked completely different from what I had expected, but by viewing and touching it first hand, my ability to convey to people what I was offering improved dramatically. Once I viewed the device, I felt more confident to adlib on the sales pitch. In a couple of weeks reading my hybrid pitch led to a higher rate of sales. People were more apt to buy from someone who sounded like a person and less like a robot. My sales steadily improved and in my third month I was the number one sales person out of over 200 employees. Management implemented some of my changes in the selling process and as a result, overall sales of the entry model postage meter increased significantly.    After my days of selling postage meters were long over, and I was in my senior year of college, I decided to start my own company. I wrote two books on college admission and college life and marketed them through the internet. After three month of diligent work, I sold over 500 books and expanded the company to five employees. Since selling only two books was proving so successful, I decided to branch out and try my hands at an affiliate driven superstore. I partnered with web sites like Amazon.com and Reel.com and became officially licensed to sell their merchandise. My time and effort resulted in many visitors to my on-line superstore, but sales were few and far between. The business needed a change of direction.

Essays --

†¢ The purpose is to generate and influence a sufficient number and types of applicants to apply for a specific job and then accurately determine which applicants possess the characteristics dictated by the job that are essential for high performance, whenever there is an inadequate supply of labor and skills inside the organization. †¢ There are four main stages of recruitment and selection process in any organizations which will be: †¢ Firstly, defining the vacant job requirements through grooming job descriptions and specification, settling terms and conditions of employment. †¢ Secondly, attracting and influencing of candidates, that done through review and develop of alternative sources for applicants (inside and outside the organization), advertising, possibly using agencies and consultants, employee referring and many others. †¢ Thirdly, selecting the best candidates that will fit for the job, and that will be handled through resumes and application forms screening, interviewing, testing, references and recommendation list checking, background investigations, physical testing and so on. †¢ Finally, the orientation procedure that will be performed during preparing an Introduction to the organization and its main objectives, terms of employment, the work nature and the colleagues. †¢ The aim of this paper is to discuss the ways in which recruitment and selection used to achieve the goals of success in every organizations by ensuring an effective and efficient approach to these processes. †¢ For any hiring efforts to gain success, picking the right method of recruitment will always be helpful to achieve this goal. †¢ Two of the best and most common recruitment processes that can be used in any organization are: the job posting along w... .... †¢ The advantage of using this kind of models is that; the issues of errors in hiring are very high, and this approach is very assistance to eliminate the defects. †¢ So now, after we finish all the steps and selecting the best candidate for the job, we need to provide him/her an offer letter contain all the information about the job, and waiting for the decision if he/she will accept it or not. †¢ When the candidate accepts the offer, then we need to held some sort of physical examination that may especially contain drug and alcohol abuse tests, to make sure there is no issues will affect his/her work performance. †¢ Then, after the candidate pass the physical examination, we need to guide him/her through holding a job orientation and provide them with the organization guideline and policy. Thus made the candidate feels comfortable and help him/her to do the job well.

Emmett Till

Makayla Richards Mrs. Bonham Literature 101 5 March 2013 Emmett Till Research Paper Three Major Points: Lynching, Mississippi Trial, 1955 Thesis Statement: The murder of Emmitt Till was a murder that changed America The Emmett Till Case, 1955 Chilling Circumstances The story surrounding the death of Emmett Till provides chilling insight into the racism that dominated the South in the 1950s. Emmett was a fourteen-year-old Chicago native visiting his relatives in Mississippi.While out with his cousins and friends on the night of August 24, 1955 he allegedly whistled at a white woman in the grocery store owned by her husband. Stories vary as to what Till actually said or did. According to the woman Till grabbed her and made rude remarks. Some witnesses claimed that he only whistled at her. Still others assured that he made no problems at all, that he whistled continuously to control a speech defect. A Brutal Murder Roy Bryant considered his wife's life ruined by the incident. Several ni ghts after the episode, Bryant, his half brother J. W.Milam, and possibly others kidnapped Emmett from his relatives' house in the middle of the night. The two men beat him severely and, apparently saw that he had a picture of a white woman in his wallet, they shot Emmett and threw him in a nearby river. Several days later the body was found, and Bryant and Milam were charged with murder. A Surprise Verdict Mississippi politicians and newspapers condemned the murderers and promised justice. However, Mississippians became more defensive as the weeks passed. The Press attacked them with harsh judgment of racial violence in the South.The highly publicized trial of the two men was charged with racial tension. African-American politicians and reporters from the North were treated horribly and were segregated in the courtroom. The prosecution was poorly prepared, and the substance of the defense was the shocking claim that Till was not actually dead. The Killers Tell the Truth The truth o f what happened that night became public knowledge several months after the trial. William Bradford Huie, an Alabama journalist in Mississippi to report on the aftermath of the case, offered Bryant and Milam money to tell their story.Since the two could no longer be prosecuted for a crime of which they had already been accused of, they gladly told for a fee of how they had beaten and killed young Emmett Till. Huie reported what the killers told him in the January 24, 1956 issue of  Look magazine. Now publicly exposed as murderers, Bryant and Milam were shunned by the community, and both moved elsewhere within a year. Emmett Till in death became a saint for the civil rights movement, a symbol of the racial hatred African-Americans who had yet to overcome the situation.Citations: MLA Citation â€Å"Emmett Till†. Anti Essays. 23 Mar. 2013 APA Citation Emmett Till. Anti Essays. Retrieved March 23, 2013, from the World Wide Web: Source Citation:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Emmitt Till Case, 1 955. †Ã‚  Discovering U. S. History. Gale Research, 1997. Reproduced in Discovering Collection. Farmington Hills, Mich. : Gale Group. October, 2001. Stephen J. Whitfield,  A Death in the Delta: The Story of Emmett Till  (New York: Free Press, 1988). Source Database:  Discovering U. S. History

The Theme of Death in Edgar Allan Poe’s Poems

The Fall of the House of usher† is presented through the narrator's lens as he helps out a friend whose whole life has been permeated with death. Lastly, â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† is a story of death with a motive. The leading character commits the murder of a prideful man who is hooked to the pleasure of drinking wine. â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† is a story that revolves around the terror and death of both Redbrick and his sister, Madeline Usher.As Redbrick Usher becomes mentally unstable and falls into a state of depression, he sends a letter to his long lost friend, asking him to come for a stay. The mood of the story is full of unrelieved gloom as Redbrick Usher undergoes a struggle between the will to live and the will to die. Usher has no will to live and tells the narrator/his friend â€Å"l shall perish, I must perish in this deplorable folly† (Poe 5). This suggests his fixation on the horror of death, as Usher fears not death, Itself , or the end of life, but rather death while still oppressed by his â€Å"phantasmagoria† fears (Goodwin 174). Sheer â€Å"†¦. Dreads the events of the future, not in themselves, but in their results†; he continues to say, â€Å"l feel that he period will arrive when I must abandon life and reason together in some struggle with the grim phantasm, FEAR† (Poe 5). Usher is overwhelmed by the despair and darkness of death – he is convinced of the inevitability of his fast approaching death. He has such a morbid attitude, as things that would normally bring others happiness do not please him.The narrator, says early on that usher's mental condition â€Å"displayed Itself In a host of unnatural sensations†; he then goes on to add that â€Å"he suffered much from a morbid acuteness of the senses; the most insipid food was lone endurable; he could wear only garments of certain texture; the doors of all flowers were oppressive; his eyes were tortured by even a faint light; and there were but peculiar sounds, and these from stringed instruments, which did not inspire him with horror† (Poe 3).Because Usher is surrounded by a characteristically gothic environment, Isolated and depressing, this contributes to his fascination and obsession with death. Throughout the story, usher's friend tries to keep his distance from this dread and misery, but he cannot seem to break away since he is staying in the dull and gloomy house. Gradually, Usher's troubled mental condition worsens and he becomes so hysterical that he is not accurately perceiving his surroundings. He seems almost ghost-like because he is removed so much from life and reality; he Is unstable and his mind Is warped by his morbid attitudes and disposition.Redbrick Usher† shows readers a portrait of a man whose morbid fascinations ultimately prompt dangerous and self-destructive actions. As Usher's sister decays, he realizes he will be the last Usher. While many mig ht despair in facing this reality, Usher takes pride in being the last of his family and glossaries his death. Usher says that â€Å"her decease would leave him the last of the ancient race of the Ushers†- which explains the worsening of his mental condition because he will have no family left and will feel more lonely and isolated (Poe 5).Because Usher tends to exacerbate things that are not as bad as they are, he becomes so wrapped up in death that he responds to a death that has not happened yet. The fact that Usher entombs his own sister alive and is not immediately aware of it, confirms his obsession with the gloom of death. Usher is either preparing for, worrying about, or becoming excited with death- his orbit fascinations are so disturbing. (Walker 586). Redbrick's friend attempts to try to preserve himself from the doom of Usher, but finds it hard to not become trapped in this terror. The Fall of the House of Usher† concerns the total disintegration of Redbrick Usher as he willingly enters into a gloomy world by remaining in such a miserable environment. Usher experiences a mental disorder that oppresses him, leaves him deranged, and causes his frequent moods of ‘mad hilarity (Walker 590). Redbrick is not killed by his sister, but is literally terrified to death by his environment and his distorted imagination. He is beyond saving, as the narrator quickly discovers.He collapses into the melancholy which ultimately causes his destruction. â€Å"William Wilson† is a challenging read. In this work Poe confronts death, but not in the literal sense, as in some of his other works. â€Å"William Wilson† is a story where a self-willed, intelligent, and bold man comes across another man who seems to embody the exact form of himself. Through this short story, the audience questions whether the other William Wilson is only a conscience and does not tangibly exist, or whether he is a real human that knows too much.William Willow's â€Å"follower† has a disposition dissimilar to Wilson- he is quiet, has no flaws, and only communicates through whispers, and unlike the other boys at the school he is not charmed by William Willow's intelligence and wealth. Although Wilson is scared of and threatened by his follower (because of his omnipresence and unlimited knowledge), he is also awed and fascinated by him. Death in â€Å"William Wilson† is not necessarily literal; rather, it takes place throughout the entire story.Willow's doppelgà ¤nger is constantly trying to kill the side of William Wilson that has no concern for anyone else- the boastful and elfish side. William Wilson is, in a way, killing off his own goodness by refusing to listen to the wisdom of his doppelgà ¤nger; by the end of the story, Wilson is beyond salvation and has become dead to others around him. Many readers and critics question the true existence of the doppelgà ¤nger due to the fact that his mockery and sarcastic comments are only made in private through whispers. William Wilson is disgusted by these comments because he does not want his reputation to be tarnished.Willow's doppelgà ¤nger seems to be satisfied with the sting he inflicts, but William Wilson is hurting on the inside while trying not to question his own actions. He despises his doppelgà ¤nger because he knows he is doing something wrong but does not want to acknowledge it- he wants to pretend that everything he does is right and true. William Willow's doppelgà ¤nger, through his insights, gradually makes him tells Wilson, his avowed antagonist, â€Å"†¦ And in my death, see by this image, which is thing own, how utterly thou hast murdered thyself† (Poe 10).Here, Willow's doppelgà ¤nger tells Wilson that he has left the better part of himself and that, essentially, he is now dead also. Willow's doppelgà ¤nger is saying that if Wilson had listened to him, he might have been a better person. All along Wilson has been both t hreatened and fascinated by this doppelgà ¤nger because his wisdom is far keener and better than his own. His doppelgà ¤nger kills Willow's name, schemes, and pride- he has made Wilson feel horrible because he is the first â€Å"person† to really expose his substantial character flaws.In one of the last scenes, where Wilson is gambling with a very rich man and swindles him, his reputation is destroyed and his deceiving tricks are revealed. This scene is where Willow's doppelgà ¤nger finally takes action instead of merely whispering. He makes it known that William is a â€Å"cheat. † The doppelgà ¤ngers exposure of Willow's trickery is the pinnacle of what he has been trying to do all along. Willow's doppelgà ¤nger represents the happier and better part of William Wilson, and in the end out of fear and paranoia, Wilson kills off this â€Å"side† of himself, or his conscience.William Wilson, like all people, has to constantly choose between right and wrong. E ven with the lingering specter of his doppelgà ¤nger urging him to do right, Wilson manages to triumph over the forces of good acting on him. When Wilson kills his doppelgà ¤nger, he dooms himself to a life of â€Å"turpitude† (Sullivan 254). The theme of death in â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado†, by contrast, is literal. The story is a confession of a man, Mentors, who has committed the horrible crime of murder. Mentors lures his â€Å"friend,† Fortunate, into his family vaults, where he then fetters him to the wall and bricks him in.In this short story, the reader is perplexed by the seeming absence of a motive for this crime. It seems obvious that Mentors is insane, and his reasons for killing Fortunate are questionable. Mentors elaborates on his sophisticated philosophy of revenge: â€Å"l must not only punish, but punish with impunity. A wrong is undressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unrepressed when the avenger fails to make hi mself felt as such to him who has done the wrong† (Poe 1).While many would suspect Mentors feels guilty about his killing after he says â€Å"my heart grew sick†, he is actually stating his satisfaction over his monstrous deed: â€Å"†¦. On account of the dampness of the catacombs† (Poe 7). Mentors is fully capable of going through with all this violence and neither expressing nor experiencing any remorse. Not only does Mentors feel no guilt about his murder, but he perceives his murder of Fortunate as a successful and Justified act of vengeance and punishment rather than a crime (Barbara 49).The death in â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† is clearly murder, as Mentors expertly plans his devious actions of capturing Fortunate and killing him in his family vaults. Mentors presents himself as a person with the right to condemn Fortunate to death- he plans his murder as an act of retribution. Although Mentors claims Fortunate death is sought from revenge, th e insults Fortunate causes are never revealed to the audience. Clearly, Mentor's actions are irrational, extreme, and therefore he is mad.He is an extremely violent and insane person who is looking forward to the murder of his â€Å"friend. † Mentors is not an active participant in the life of local aristocracy- he seemed to be a recluse. The fact that was more powerful than Mentors (Poe 1). Fortunate death had to come from feelings of Jealously and inferiority. But Mentors felt, being a descendant of a powerful aristocratic family, he could not possibly let Fortunate insult him with impunity (Barbara 52). The murder of Fortunate is looked forward to and is deliberate and calculated, as Mentors wants to kill him.He is able to easily face the toll, of committing the gruesome act that comes upon him. The death in â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† is eagerly sought as Fortunate murder is premeditated and arranged and is later felt with no pity. The fact that Mentors feels no remorse after the death proves that he is an insane man and was fully capable of pursuing his plan. From losing his parents; becoming orphaned and adopted; and going through periods of fife where he struggled to both find and deal with losing love, it is obvious that Edgar Allan Poe experienced much suffering.Death was a common reality for him. Pope's three works, â€Å"William Wilson,† â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher,† and â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† all express different aspects of death. The tale of Redbrick Usher is one of â€Å"dramatic intensity, psychological subtlety, and symbolic complexity' (Kennedy 42). The deaths in the story are due to unrelieved gloom and morbid attitudes. In â€Å"William Wilson,† death is a mystery, as readers will never know whether William Wilson kills is actual self or a grim conscience who forces Wilson to question his immoral actions.Lastly, death in â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† is a plotted manslau ghter where the murderer is violent and vengeful. Although the treatments of death are diverse among these short stories, they all share characters, including Redbrick Usher, William Wilson, and Mentors, that are mentally unstable. These three stories deal with mental instability, self-destruction, and murder which all lead to death, inevitably. In conclusion, we can stem these forms of death from Edgar Allan Pope's life and experiences, as he lived through much loss.

Girl Interrupted

Girl, Interrupted was the movie I chose to watch for my experiential paper. This 1999 movie, directed by James Mangold, tells a true tale of a woman’s eighteen-month stay at a psychiatric hospital. This woman, Susanne Kaysen, appears to be depressed and aimless as she finishes her high school career. After a suicide attempt, she finds herself trapped in a mental institution called Claymore Hospital. Although I’ve seen this movie many of times, it always makes an impact on me. Now that I know more about psychology, I feel as though I watched the movie from a different perspective. This new perspective allowed me to analyze and critique the film from through the lens of psychology. The movie ‘Girl Interrupted' is a story of a nineteen year old girl Susanne in the 1960's who, after being suspected of trying to commit suicide, gets sent away to the Mental Institution for a short ‘resting period. Her psychiatrist had suggested to her that the affair with one of her parents' friends, along with her misconception that chasing a bottle of aspirin with a bottle of vodka is anything other than a suicide attempt, could be signs that she may be suffering from ‘borderline personality disorder. ‘ Now she must struggle to remain as sane as possible while being immersed in the hospital with many unstable patients. At the Claymoore Hospital, Susanne quickly becomes friendly with a number of the institution's residents. These residents include Georgina, a pathological liar, Polly a terminally fearful burn victim, Daisy an incest victim and extremely withdrawn agoraphobic, and Lisa, a charming, but manipulating sociopath. The only character to really portray the characteristics of their disorder accurately was Lisa, the sociopath. Antisocial personality disorder is a psychiatric condition characterized by chronic behavior that manipulates, exploits, or violates the rights of others. Individuals with antisocial personality disorder are often angry and arrogant but may be capable of superficial wit and charm. They may be adept at flattery and are very skilled at manipulating the emotions for their own personal gain as we discussed in class. I thought Lisa’s disorder was accurately portrayed because even with her total disregard for the concerns and even the lives of others, she still manages to some how charm the audience with her blunt brutal honesty and her ‘I don't care what people think of me' attitude. People diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder seem to have no emotional connection to any one or anything, and seldom show any signs of emorse for their intrusions on the rights of others like we talked about in class.. Lisa's power of observations gave her the uncanny ability to sense the weakness in other people, which as most sociopaths do, used them for her own personal gain. Another character in the film was Daisy, an obsessive-compulsive agoraphobic whose ongoing affair with her father had left her with a number of various personality disorders to choose from there weren't many disorders that she didn't show symptoms of. Her character did a wonderful job portraying a neurotic recluse whose various disorders took over her life to the point she felt she no longer had any hope for living independently of her sexually abusive father. Other characters include Polly, with her self-inflicted burns that have kept her forever childlike, and Georgina the pathological liar and roommate of the borderline Susanna. It was amongst these characters that Susanna found the strength to confront her own turbulent mentality. Susanna's character did a good job with allowing the narrative to paint a picture of the thought processes of someone who suffers from depression or other personality disorders. Even though she did show signs of having a borderline personality, I personally felt that she showed more signs of depression than anything else. A person with depression or bipolar disorder typically endures the same mood for weeks; a person with BPD may experience intense bouts of anger, depression, and anxiety that may last only hours, or at most a day as we learned about in class.

Improving Math and Science Scores in Middle School

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