Sunday, August 18, 2019
No Child Left Behind Act :: essays research papers
Proposal           The No Child Left Behind Act, a federal social program that tries to encourages after school programs should be eliminated and the extra funds given to schools to decide where it goes.           The NCLB Act, â€Å"was designed to improve education and achievement in America’s schools in four clearly defined ways: accountability for results, an emphasis on doing what works based on scientific research, expanded parental options and expanded local control flexibility.†Basically the Federal government funds schools for after-school programs to try to encourage school participation among students and reduce dropping out of school. Examples of after-school programs funded by the NCLB act are first and foremost tutoring, then extra-curricular activities such as sports, community service etc. Problems/need           The NCLB Act is not effective because of the current situation of state governments calling certain schools â€Å"failures†because of their low exam scores, thereby reducing funding to the school. If the federal government is funding the NCLB Act for after school programs, it would seem that it was funding a non-effective program. I have broken down the consequences as follows.           -Low test scores, school gets reduced funding and           put â€Å"under state review.†          -Teachers fired, less motive for students to stay           in school. School’s curriculum is ineffective.           -Meaning more money would have to be spent on the           NCLB Act for it to compensate the loss of the           school’s own after-school programs.           -So failing a school, based on government           standards, just to spend more on it? Digging           their own trap hole. Policy Proposals Based on my understanding of the education that I have received and the changes that I have witnessed, there are many alternatives to the NCLB Act, some of which I shall explain below. -Focus on strengthening the curriculum. Subjects should help student in the future. Introduction of GE courses in high school, instead of introducing GE courses in college.
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Psychology of Alcohol Essay
The word â€Å"impulsivity†means the inability for one to control his or her actions (the loss of choice). The impulsion to consume alcohol spans across all age groups and all sexes. This is caused by both physical and psychological conditions ranging from peer pressure to depression. It has since become a very serious problem contributing to a large number of deaths within the society. Psychology of Alcohol Theory Experimental Setup and Procedures Result and Discussions References Appendix Psychology of Alcohol Use 4 Introduction This report is prepared to prove the psychological relationship between impulsivity and alcohol use. Impulsivity is a type of behaviour where a person acts on reflex rather than on controlled thought . It is usually manifested as an unconscious action and usually the person is not aware that he/she is doing anything. Alcohol use is the act of consuming alcohol regardless of the amount taken or applied. When there is a high impulsivity level for alcohol in an individual it leads to a condition called alcoholism. Theory The relationship between impulsivity and alcohol use is correlational and is caused by numerous factors. Psychology of Alcohol Use 5 Physical Factors Gender Men drink more and have more alcohol consumption problem than women. (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2005) In 2000, the American Psychological Association (APA) did a representative survey of 42,862 adults to prove that men have a higher alcohol dependency than women. Biological factors Genetics A meta-analysis of 38 studies found that women are more likely than men to report health problems when they have a history of out-of-control drinking, alcoholism, or alcohol abuse (Fillmore et al. , 1997). Psychological Factors Peer Pressure In a national survey of 20,000 teenagers, 80% of them claimed they started drinking due to pressure from friends. Psychology of Alcohol Use 6 Results American Psychological Association [APA], 2000) criteria to diagnose alcohol dependence, found a lifetime prevalence for alcohol dependence of 18. 6% among men and 8. 4% among women (Grant, 1997). There is a clear relationship between the people’s impulsion and the use of alcohol. It has been noted that there is a correlational relationship between a person’s impulsivity towards alcohol and the amount of alcohol consumed (the higher one’s impulsivity rate the more alcohol is consumed). It has also been noticed that one’s compulsion to consume alcohol is dependent on various factors one of which is gender. This is because men drink more and have more alcohol- related problems than women (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2005) Conclusion There is a clear relationship between impulsivity and alcohol use. Judging from the experiments this relationship is caused by various factors. Psychology of Alcohol Use 7 References Grant, (1997). Possible Contributors to the Gender Differences in Alcohol Use and Problems
Friday, August 16, 2019
Planning Vacation
Krista Curtis Professor: Shelley St. Ange-Sheldon Essay: Problem Solving April 7th, 2013 Vacation time â€Å"A penny saved is a penny earned. †â€Å"A job worth doing is worth doing right. †We apply both of these sayings to the working world all of the time. Why not apply them to our vacationing world as well? Like most people, I look forward to a vacation, but planning it can become overwhelming if you’re not prepared. Planning a vacation should be fun and exciting.Vacationing is not always a priority to many families due to economic distress, but as little as a few hundred dollars you can plan a weekend getaway that’s inexpensive but a lot of fun! Figuring out what you’re interested in is a major factor in your planning. Not everyone is into car shows, bike rallies or the typical Disney vacation. Don't overlook major cities. Metropolitan areas like Jamestown, Norfolk, and Washington, D. C. offer families a variety of cultural and historical even ts that are child-friendly as well as interesting for adults.Look for destinations with sights, sounds, and adventures that match with your kids' interests like sports, theatre, art, history or architecture and choose a place that offers something for each one of your family member. First I would like to mention which states we would like to visit as a family, secondly I will discuss my finances and other requirements that best suit my family, and finally I would like discuss which state that I feel best meets those requirements.
Thursday, August 15, 2019
Outline the Level of Engery Security in the Uk
Assess the level of energy security in the UK Energy security is defined as the extent to which an affordable, reliable and stable energy supply can be achieved. Over the last few decades, the energy situation in the UK has constantly been changing, from producing enough oil and natural gas to be a net exporter of both fuels to now being on the brink of not importing and producing enough energy to meet the nations’ demands.The past decades of the UK’s energy were probably brighter days than what we can look forward to in the future, with one researcher from Cambridge University, Professor David MacKay, suggesting the UK could face severe blackouts by 2016 (UK ‘could face blackouts by 2016’ – BBC News Sept 2009). Although the general use of energy in the UK has not increased huge amounts, with per capita usage in 1965 at 3. 6 tonnes oil equivalent per year and in 2005 at 3. 8 tonnes oil equivalent, the energy security of the UK has worsened considerab ly.As global population increases and more countries are using larger amounts of fossil fuels to meet their energy demands, the UK is limited to the amount it can import and is put under pressure to use more renewable sources of energy. Problems within geopolitics has also caused problems for the UK’s energy security as prices fluctuate, changing the amount of oil we can export and how much we have to pay for our imported energy. Past When BP records began, the UK was getting 98% of its primary energy from burning fossil fuels like oil, natural gas and coal mainly due to the increasing transportation and power generation sectors.Pre-1976, the UK was a large importer of oil due to the fact there were very few known oil sources that could be used domestically. In the following years North Sea oil was discovered and production got underway, meaning the UK could gradually reduce their imports and rely more on domestic oil. Within a few years, in 1981 the UK had become a net expor ter of oil showing that at this time there was no major issue with energy security but instead that there was a surplus and a chance to make some money. The use of natural gas in the UK did not get started until 1968 and production was thriving for 30 years ntil its peak in 2000 and then saw a gradual decline. The UK imported very little gas, and most of the gas produced from the North Sea was consumed in the UK and only for a brief period did the UK actually export natural gas. During the peak times of natural gas production, it was introduced as a replacement for coal for home heating and power generation as it’s a much cleaner source of energy and could help to reduce the air pollution in cities. Up until 1995 the UK imported some natural gas from Holland and Norway which could also be an important connection for the future.In the 60s, coal was the UKs main source of primary energy, accounting for around 60% of the daily consumption, but by 1999 this number had declined to just 16%, showing how the UK had found other sources of energy giving a much larger diversity to their energy consumption. If you were to give the UK a score for the energy security index for this period, it would probably be a similar score to today but for different reasons. The diversity score would be much lower as it is clear that the UK relied on coal, oil and gas and got very little energy from any other sources.However, the availability score would be much higher because we relied much less on imports and the majority of energy consumed was produced domestically. Present In 2006, the percentage of primary energy that comes from oil, coal and gas had reduced from 98% to 92%, showing that UK had introduced new renewable schemes and were increasing their diversity. Over the past 4 decades, population has increased from 54,350,000 to 60,245,000 but the per capita consumption has remained fairly constant with a slight increase to 3. 8 tonnes oil equivalent.Although the UK was re lying less on oil and gas consumption, we had once become a net importer of oil in 2006, when North Sea Oil production had started to decline. The falling production and rising prices of oil are predicted to have a huge negative effect on the UK’s economy. We could see a ? 5 billion profit in 2000 to a deficit of over ? 20 billion by 2012. It is estimated that there are still 20 billion barrels of oil available to exploit, but there is a worry that in the competitive market, investment is likely to go to other places in the world and this oil could go to waste. There are also worries that with the declining production nd increased reliance on imports that our oil supply could be limited. There is hope that drilling in the Falkland Islands will produce enough oil to pay-off the billion pound deficit. The UK is also having serious problems with coal and gas production which is leading to even more imports. We have once again become a net importer of both fuels, and as the marke t becomes more competitive these fuels will sell themselves to the highest bidders meaning that everyone in the UK will have to start paying more for their energy. Many people are starting to question why we do not use more renewable energy sources like wind, solar or nuclear energy.Critics say that we shouldn’t rely on wind energy because of its intermittent nature and it would make more sense to spend the money on improving nuclear technologies. The argument for nuclear energy is a controversial one however as people have heard worrying things about nuclear power plants. ‘As long as you don’t mention the words Chernobyl, or nuclear waste, or planning permission’ (Association of Commercial Energy Assessors (ACEA) 2011) nobody would have major problems with nuclear energy but would instead see an opportunity to produce lots of cost-effective, clean energy.A report from the Lords economic affairs committee has also suggested it would be worth while spending money on new power plants that are ‘connected to carbon capture and storage schemes’. This report also attacked the government’s plans of relying more on clean energy sources, saying that it is a way of ignoring the UK’s energy crisis and could also start costing households and extra ? 80 per year. It is clear that at this moment in time, the UK is fairly energy insecure as it has a massive reliance on foreign imports and the diversity of energy sources is fairly limited.Energy security has become a key issue for the government and there are plans in place to try and sort the problem. Future/Key Concerns Perhaps the biggest worry for the UK’s energy future is highlighted in the book ‘Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air’ by Professor David MacKay, where MacKay says the UK ‘could face blackouts by 2016’. The book concluded with the fact that the projections for power stations and new technologies does not add up and ‘not enough power capacity is being built’. He told BBCNews this could happen while coal and nuclear power stations come to the end of their productive lives and are phased out. Professor MacKay believes we need to invest more money into renewable and blames the public, for rejecting proposals of wind farms and nuclear power plants while demanding a unchanged lifestyle, for the possible energy problems. He also says how he thinks the blackouts could be the only way to get people to realise that we need to invest in modern nuclear technology and other clean sources of energy, rather than relying on the limited supplies of coal, oil and gas.In another report, written by Ian Fells (a professor at the University of Newcastle), the point about the blackouts was reinforced and the extent to which it could cause huge problems for the UK was made evident when he said ‘We had a power cut in 2003 for about 12 hours in the City of London – the consequential loss w as about ? 700m because everything stops. All you IT stops, the stock market doesn’t work. ’ This shows the economic losses of 12 hours of blackouts in just the City of London, so the threat of national blackouts for days would cost the UK economy billions of pounds.Fells’ report shows the same gloomy future as Professor MacKay’s book, with worries that over the next decade the UK will lose one third of its electricity producing capacity as we won’t have the renewable energy to cope and nuclear power stations won’t be ready. Fells also makes a point about how we will have to keep many nuclear and coal-fired power stations open long past their ‘sell-by-date’ which would not be good for the environment. Fells believes the controversial Kings North power station in Kent could also be needed, but it would need to be fitted with carbon capture and storage technology before it was brought into use.Ofgem have produced a major report on Britain’s energy supplies, to which it was concluded that by 2015 we will be hit by a ‘perfect storm’ that could cost the UK at least ? 200 billion to secure our energy supplies but to also meet carbon emissions targets set by the Kyoto Protocol. Conclusion Over the past 5 decades, the UKs energy situation has never been great, we have always relied on some foreign imports and we have never really introduced any major renewable energy schemes.However, our energy security has become progressively worse and is predicted to get worse still. If we do not start to introduce some more nuclear plants or renewable energy schemes then we will have very little energy available to us as oil prices rise and supplies run low. Power is soon to become a very expensive commodity as we try to cope with the challenge of rapid growth and so it is certain that very soon everyone in the UK will have to start paying more for their power.
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Mail-Room Policy Recommendations
Park University Mail service Department is situated in the underground of Parkville Campus. It is a body that is responsible for providing students and faculties with mail boxes. At Park University, it is required of both students and faculties to have a mail box on campus so as to know the recipient of incoming packages. They also offer work opportunities for students who are looking for a job on campus. My focus for this report will be on the employees. As an employee, mail-room is known for its diligence and hard work among the employees. Each employee tends to provide students, staff and faculties the best services and however, they make sure that their needs are met. Complaints was received from the University concerning the poor and ineffective services provided by this department but I find this disgruntling because each mailroom employees put in their effort in doing what was taught to them by their supervisors and doing their job accurately and effectively. I conducted a research using articles from other resources on mail rooms and my major focus will be on the mail-room employees and the importance of complaint avoidance from the University. I also interviewed one of my co-workers about the problems mail-room encounter and what should be done in order to elude them in the future. As a result, I found out that separation of duties among the employees, Effective communication, Effective supervisions, Punctuality and Employee training are the key components of avoiding mistakes, and complaints. The above mentioned are the alternate solutions that should be applied by the employees. There are several Departments at Park University and one of the departments that I conducted my research on was Park University Mail Services. Park University mail services aim at providing the highest quality and most efficient services to their customers. In my report, my main focus was on the employees. Employees at mail-room are responsible for performing a variety of generally routine tasks, such as receiving packages from different courier services, Entering data into the system, Forwarding student's mail, sorting mail, preparing mail for distribution and preparing mail for machine processing. The objective of these employees is to meet ensure that excellence services are provided to the students, faculty and staff and as well to make sure that they perform their tasks as employees accurately. There are numerous amounts of employees who work at the mail services and yet complaints have been made regarding the poor efficiency and lower productivity by these employees. As an employee, this department is the most hardworking department but there are some problems that need to be addressed and this will help increase productivity in the department. My duty as an employee is to put in my best and make sure that I assist in processing mail, entering data into the system and make sure that metered mails are taken out on time. In my findings concerning the poor efficiency and low productivity, the problem they encounter embroils non separation of duties which makes the employees reluctant to work because everyone does a little or no work at all and this has been an issue that Park U mail room faces and reversing these issues needs to be put into consideration by the supervisor. Moreover, ineffective communication, non-punctuality at work and inadequate supervision contributed to the problems they face as well. No amount of work could be achieved with all these issues and these issues could also ruin the reputation of the department. After considering these issues, I looked at ways that will help resolve the problems which would be further discussed. The purpose of my research is to provide subsequent solutions to the problems we experience at work and the importance of mistake avoidance in the future. The following illustrates my conducted research: 1. To determine the solution to our problems, we need to change how we communicate at work because communication is very important at the work. †¢ I used an article from 2012 which talks about effective communication at workplace. †¢ I also referenced a textbook from my management class that discusses on the importance of communication among the employee members. 2. Again, I research on the importance of separation of duties among employee members. †¢ I used an article from 2012 about separation of duties among the employees. 3. I also researched on the importance of supervision at workplace and I found an article from Ebsco by Jenkinson & Hilary on the importance and benefits of supervision and this article explore the concept of supervision and its implementation within a 4. Finally, after analyzing the researched information, I conducted a recommendation 5. Punctuality is another way of resolving the issues we encounter at the mail-room. Effective communication is very important most especially at the workplace because it provides the employees abilities to work well and to avoid inaccuracies. From my work experience at the mailroom, I observed that ineffective communication has been a major problem and this has led to so many mistakes. At times, we find it difficult to ask questions about either what we don't understand that involves shipping international packages or questions of which department to put the letter mails which they sometimes end up in a wrong departmental mail box number. According to an article published in Sept 2012, Indian Stream Research journal, it illustrates the importance of effective communication at workplace. Effective workplace communication is essential to the organizations' success. â€Å"Our communication skills help us to understand not just words; we share meaning, emotion, feelings and attitude, in a fundamental drive to communicate. This emphasizes the process of coming to understand and share each other's point of view effectively (Satpathy, 2012). †Furthermore, communication is an act of exchanging information. It is used to inform command, instruct, influence and persuade people (Rue & Byars, 2009). Effective communication at the workplace creates a way to deal effectively with customers and co-workers. Thus, this needs to apply in the everyday life of the employees at the mail-room as this help avoid making further mistakes in mails handling and will also increase productivity. Separation of duties is another key component of getting mails done in a very fast manner. In Berkeley News article about separation of duties, it is a powerful internal control and its objective is to make sure that duties are assigned to individuals in a manner that no one individuals can control a process or work from the start to the finish (Webmaster, 2011). Every Tom, Dick, and Harry infrequently makes mistakes and no individual is perfect and thus Separation of duties provides a complementary check by another individual. By assigning each employee a task such as helping customers at the window, forwarding undergraduate student mails, processing incoming and outgoing mails, receiving packages and sending email to students, faculty and staff about the arrival of their packages will help in getting the work done on time and efficiently. Apart from Park U, other universities and organizations use separation of duties at their workplace and this allows an opportunity for someone to catch an error before a transaction is fully executed based on potentially erroneous data. In addition, having adequate separation of duties diminishes the ‘opportunity' factor that might encourage an employee to embezzle although there is no such at the mail-room. I strongly suggest that we apply this method at our workplace so as to lessen employees reluctant to work and expecting one person to do the job. Poor Supervision leads to massive mistakes and thus should be avoided by the supervisors. Rather, supervisors at the mail-room should supervise their employees constantly and ensure that they are performing their tasks perfectly. According to the authors of Youth and Services article, they article explores the concept of supervision and its implementation within a work environment. The article describes and explores a process of staff development facilitated which involved providing supervision training to a group of new work practitioners (Jenkinson, 2009). However, supervising employees on a regular basis is very crucial at the mail-room because of the amount of work the employees do and how they put in their effort to avoid making errors. For example, the new employees at the office should be monitored constantly by our supervisors and also assist them by answering questions asked by the new employees. Punctuality is one of the mail-room policies and nonetheless employees always fail to abide by this policy. Being punctual to work has not only being a major problem among Park U mail-room employees but also Rockefeller University struggles with the same issue of punctuality among their work study employees. Punctuality is one of the key basic of knowing a strong worker and how dedicated he or she is to job. Many at times, we tussle with waking up in the morning and making decisions of whether or not to report to work and by the time we make this decision, we found our ourselves 15 minutes to work. One of our obligations as employees is to be punctual at work and to assist our customers with their needs of either mailing or receiving packages and also to ensure that we assist them to their satisfaction. As complained by the university, it is required of every employee to report to their respective work at least 5 minutes early prior to their time of work. Therefore, employees at the mail-room should abide the rules. As a conclusion, it has been proven that the mentioned issues in the beginning are very important and therefore should be taken seriously by the employees to avoid errors and further complaints by the University. As an employee, mail-room is known for its diligence and hard work among the employees. Each employee tends to provide students, staff and faculties the best services and however, they make sure that their needs are met. Thus, we should consider these issues we encounter in the office and make reformation as this would help prevent further complaints by either our supervisor or by the university.
Black and Decker International Case HRD Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Black and Decker International HRD - Case Study Example With an integrated approach involving the two companies, the proposal involved several processes but the main idea was to create a global company that took all the Black and Decker strategies as well as those of Emhart Corporation. With the processes and tasks all the way from market research to overcoming of the regional challenges and differences, the company had the idea of acquiring new personnel as well as more money which would be used for financing the acquisition of the new company. Mr. Grunewald was at tough challenge carrying out all tasks ahead but he has the required experience and with the momentum of the company, he was able to create a very formidable progress (Levitt, 2009). The last part of the case indicates a reflection back to the previous four years when the company was struggling but there is the four-part strategy that has seen it move up the performance ladder. There are several sources of the company’s recent performance improvements. The first strong factor is the acquisition of the other company Emhart Corporation. Emhart makes products that act as an addition to the product line of Black and Decker. The performance improved because of the large diversity of the products that it produces. The second important source is the integration of very qualified personnel in Fred Grunewald. He has been at the company for the past 18 months and yet the strategic plan he is setting is already bearing much. The image of the company in the eyes of the customer is at a very stable rate and therefore there is a positive increment to the customer base in terms of product purchase. He does market research, product design improvement and implementation, proposes laying off of some unproductive managers and hiring a new personnel in the company. This sees the company practically progress to higher levels in its operations (Levitt, 2009). The current performance at the company is being driven by a combination of factors. The
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
What Are The Concepts Upon Which Laissez Faire Is Based Essay
What Are The Concepts Upon Which Laissez Faire Is Based - Essay Example Established in the 18th century, the concept of laissez-faire was used in order to oppose any government intervention in business affairs. Vincent De Gournay further popularized the phrase as he was completely in favor of the removal of restrictions on trade and industry in the country as well as deregulation of industry; he gave rise to the phrase â€Å"laissez faire et laissez passer†referring to the commercial workers; it can be translated as â€Å"let do and let pass†. The French phrase even found place in England later in the 18th century with respect to protests for bringing about free trade and non-interference or non-intervention by the government. Later, James Mill and Jeremy Bentham were users of the term, bringing about a wider range of understandings among economists and students alike. It must be understood that the concept of laissez-faire applies not only to economics but also to lifestyle. People desired to lead their lives without governmental interven tion or social regulations, which led to restrictions in many situations. The policy thus applies to individual and governmental or industrial affairs and proposes capitalism, entrepreneurship, and competition among producers to satisfy consumer preferences in order to achieve maximum possible freedom. In Western Europe during the 18th century it was believed that the natural economic order brought maximum wellbeing for the majority of citizens when it was untouched by regulations or adjustments. At the time, there were pioneer economists in France who were known as the Physiocrats, and they led to the primary development of the theory of laissez-faire, which emphasized on non-interference with commercial ventures in order to protect the interests of those yearning to set up their own empires. â€Å"The most important and influential proponent of laissez-faire capitalism, however, was the 18th-century Scottish economist Adam Smith, who believed that individual welfare was more impo rtant than national power. In his book The Wealth of Nations (1776), he advocated a policy of free trade so that the â€Å"invisible hand†of competition could act as an economic regulator. Smith's advocacy of private enterprise as the best stimulus to equitable distribution of wealth gained increasing support in the early 19th century, partly because of the wave of libertarian revolution sweeping Europe and the U.S. His theories were further developed by the British economists David Ricardo and John Stuart Mill.†(â€Å"Laissez-faire versus Government Intervention†) Laissez-faire could be understood as being equivalent of a free market concept, where the government has little or no say in the matters of private owners. Such a market allows private ownership to flourish and leaves room for creativity. In countries where the concept is not followed, the government tends to regulate market affairs by either subsidizing local industries or imposing certain tariff s and restrictions on carrying out free trade. This is done mainly for the demand and the supply level to reach a particular point at which they are equivalent so as to meet the needs of individuals. The concept of laissez-faire thus may not be carried out in countries where the government is required in order to keep in check the needs of the consumers, for example in underdeveloped or certain developing nations around the world (Cunningham 213-214). In countries like China, for example, monopoly has been held by the government in terms of trade and commerce since the Song and Ming dynasties even though some control has been given to private owners. In
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