Social Sciences And Race Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Social Sciences And Race - Essay Example Race was invented in the eighteenth century by anthropologists who were then referred to as â€Å"radiologists† to claim the superiority or inferiority of different races. Races are usually identified by skin color, hair texture; among other physical features possessed by different people (Reich, 1972). It is insufficient to use just one characteristic to explain race. It is usually a combination of two or three of these characteristics. Conventionally, there are five human races, including mongoloid- the Asian and American Indian, Caucasoid- European, Negroid- East African black, Australoid-Australian and Oceanic and Capoid- South African black. A mixture or races are referred to as â€Å"mongrels†. This theory has been rejected over time since there is almost a hundred percent similarity in genetic composition among all the races. This classification has, however, been accepted as a standard over time. The above theory of race has been used to promote racial profile and racism. The Caucasoid race is predominantly from Northern Europe and is characterized as tall, light skin(white), light colored eyes, thin lips and narrow noses. Their hair is straight or wavy and is usually blond. Mongoloids are said to have straight black hair, yellow skin, thin lips and almond eyes. Their faces are broad and flat. Negroid`s skin color varies from brown to black. They have kinky hair, brown or black eyes, broad noses, thick lips and they are mostly the Africans. Australoids are similar to Negroids, but their hair is a little different.

Ancient Greek Theatre Essay Example for Free

Ancient Greek Theatre Essay The Greek theatre history begins with festivals which honor gods. An example of such a festival was ‘City Dionysia’ festival which honored god Dionysus. During this festival, which was taking place in Athens men perform songs to welcome god Dionysus. Plays were also presented. Athens was the main city where these festivals and theatrical traditions were presented. At ancient Greek Festivals, the actors, directors and dramatists were all the same person. Later only three actors were allowed to perform in each play. And this was followed by adding few non-speaking roles to perform on-stage. Because of the limited number of actors, the chorus played a very active part of Greek theater. During the chorus’ delivery of its lines music was often played. The theatrical forms of the ancient Greek theater were tragedy, comedy and satyr. Athenian tragedy, comedy and satyr plays were some of the earliest theatrical forms to emerge in the world. Greek theater and plays have had a lasting impact on Western drama and culture. Satyr plays dealt with mythological subject in comic manner. Tragedy had as an originator, Thespis, who is considered to be the first Greek actor of tragedy plays. Aristotle’s Poetics say that tragedy originates from dithyrambs which were songs sung in praise of Dionysus at the Dionysia each year. Sophocles, Euripides and Aeschylus were three well-known Greek tragedy playwrights. The structure of Greek tragedy consisted of the following: 1. Late point of attack 2. Violence and death offstage 3. Frequent use of messengers to relate information 4. Usually continuous time of action 5. Usually single place 6. Stories based on myth or history 7. Focus on psychological and ethical attributes of characters Comedy plays were derived from imitation. Aristophanes wrote most of the comedy plays. The structure of the comedy consisted of two parts. Part one had the prolog, where chous gives debate or ‘agon’ and parabasis, a choral ode addressing the audience, in which a social or political problem is discussed. Part two consists of scenes which show the result of the happy idea. Theatre buildings were called a theatron. They were large, open-air structures constructed on the slopes of hills. Most of the Greek theatres were constructed in such a way so that the smallest sound could be transmitted to any seat of the audience. They consisted of four main parts: the orchestra, the skene and the audience (theatron) and the parodos. The orchestra was a large area at the center part of the theatre normally circular. It was there where play, dance and acting took place. The earliest orchestras were simply made of hard earth but later in the Classical period some orchestras began to be made of marble and other materials. The orchestra of the theater of Dionysus in Athens was about 60 feet in diameter. The skene was a large building behind the orchestra which was used as a backstage. It was the place where actors change their costumes and masks. It was usually decorated as a palace, temple or other building, depending on the needs of the play. The audience (theatron) was where people were sitting to enjoy the play and it was in the front of the orchestra. It was usually part of hillside overlooking the orchestra. People in the fifth century BC probably sat on cushions or boards but by the fourth century many Greek theaters had marble seats. The parodos were the passageways by which the chorus and some actors made their entrances and exits. The audience also used them to enter and exit the theater before and after the performance. The two masks of the picture represent the symbols for theater. They represent the comedy and tragedy masks which were worn in ancient Greece. They also represent duality. Actors were very far away from the audience that without the aid of costumes and masks they would be difficult to see. Actors wore thick boots to add to their height and gloves to exaggerate their hanks so that their movements would be easy to see by the audience. The masks were made of linen or cork, so none have survived. We however know that they looked like from statues and paintings of ancient Greek actors. Tragic masks carried mournful or pained expressions, while comic masks were smiling. The head of the actor was covered by his mask, which included hair. It is believed that the shape of the mask amplified the actor’s voice, making his words easier for the audience to hear. This mask is associated with the famous ancient

Report on PEP :: Business Objectives Management Essays

Report on PEP Task 1 Describe and explain PEP’s business objectives, using its mission statement and other information Evaluate and explain how successful PEP appear to be in meeting each of these objectives. A mission statement is a written statement setting out the general aims of a business. This is also known as a business objective. PEP is a business, which has been set up to produce good quality products and excellent customer service, as most businesses have aims and objectives. Examples below show some basic aims and objectives a business might have:  · Make a profit  · Provide goods and services for their customers  · Survive and expand the business  · Improve the quality of goods and services  · Compete against other businesses  · To be environmentally friendly PEP is a family business with a good history that provides good quality products to customers. PEP has issued a mission statement that shows what the business is aiming for. These are listed below,  · Preserve a good family atmosphere in keeping with our great tradition  · Achieve increasing profit to reward our shareholders and reinvest in our business  · Produce the best electrical appliances to the UK and export markets  · Provide excellent service to our customers PEP’s need to maintain a good family atmosphere to meet their objectives because†¦ if the business starts to disagree with their employees then the employee might decide to leave which could cause a disturbance in the business. If PEP begins to lose their employees, the business could risk failure. To prevent this from happening, the employees should communicate with each other either internally or externally and be friendly. People can communicate with each other in many ways e.g. internal or external meaning in or outside of the business, up, down and across the business hierarchy and formal or informal. Motivating the workforce can be a massive advantage for PEP because motivating by making them feel valued and part of a team means the employees the workforce can work better which means improved quality of product or service to customers and therefore improve results for PEP. All businesses need to make a profit or a surplus. Profit is the money left over after all the expenses has been paid. Profit provides money for further growth, investment and rewarding the owner(s) as well as their shareholders. PEP need to increase their sales and market shares in order to make a profit. Shareholders are people who have a share in the business, they have invested money into the business so if the business does not do well the shareholders lose out. Therefore, it is vital for the business to increase the profit.

Jollibee Foods Corporation Essay

What were the strategy and competitive advantages of Jollibee in the Philippines? JFC observed that the fast food market in Philippines had a high growth potential. They were the first movers in the market and therefore able to build up brand recognition. JFC’s success could be attributed to its differentiation strategy that created and sustained a competitive advantage especially against McDonalds. The McDonalds was a global giant strictly following the philosophy of standardization especially with its hamburger line. JFC realized that it could attract customers with superior tasting products for more affordable prices due to their tight control over operations management. JFC was also aware that the founders of Jollibee (Tan family) had a family tradition (a capability) of making delicious food tailored for the needs (local tastes) of Filipino customer. In conclusion, JFC offered a more tailored menu with a sweeter hamburger, an innovative chicken product, a kid-oriented chicken plate in line with the preferences of consumers whereas McDonalds did little or nothing to modify its products due to mainly its US based decision process. This might be, because the global operating competitor McDonalds would jeopardize its brand image and values, if they would adapt local needs – the contrary applies for JFC. The flatter organizational structure allowed JFC to respond to market changes more quickly. In addition being closer to the market as well as better connected (Many franchisees were friends of Tan family) helped JFC to establish themselves better. JFC’s managers knew that offering tasty hamburgers were not sufficient. They took the initiative to replicate and improve the McDonalds operating structure so that Jollibee became more competitive at store level. Lessons learned from the competitor at the early stages of the small food chain enabled it to reduce production time and ensure consistency and cleanliness of its products. The combination of being the first in the market, service with innovative products and opening new and efficient store at good locations allowed  Jollibee to expand the growing fast food market to new consumers. In addition, Jollibee’s organizational culture and philosophy summarized by ‘Five Fs’ (Friendliness, flavorful food, fun atmosphere, flexibility in catering customer needs and focus on families) sustained the competitive advantage against competitors by enhancing the customer experience and optimizing processes to keep costs low and quality high.

Current Health Care Issues

Current Health Care Issues HCS/545 Camille Fuller University of Phoenix The health care industry exist to provide preventative measures, diagnose health conditions, repair, and provide services to improve the quality of life. The cost of health care continues to rise each year. Health care fraud is a factor that continues to plague the health care industry. The affect health care fraud has on hospitals, is the increasing cost of medical services. The following research will examine and evaluate how organizational structure and governance, culture and the lack of focus on social responsibility affects on health care fraud. The following research will also include recommendations for prevention of health care fraud, recommendations for change of structure, governance, and culture. The following research will include prevention measure for future situations involving health care fraud. Health care fraud is a preventable situation in hospitals across the nation. Hospitals spend thousands of dollars on quality assurance and patient safety and still health care fraud continues to occur. Individuals across the nation make a living through health care fraud. Honest, hard working citizens of this country are financing health care fraud recipients, not by choice. Insurance companies, Medicare, and Medicaid are being schemed by fraudulent businesses. Channel 11 news in Colorado a scheme called, â€Å"Medical Provider Identity Theft† has been uncovered. Perpetrators stol the identity of a physician in Pueblo, Colorado. The perpetrators set up an office in Denver, Colorado called, â€Å"A Plus Billing. † The office and address was used to receive mail and phone calls. The physician’s name and medical identification number was used to bill Medicare for test and procedures that were not preformed. This type of scheme is running rampant across the United States. Dr. Cabiling did not know that his identity had been stolen until he received a phone call from Medicare. Medicare asked Dr. Cabiling if he practiced in Denver and Dr. Cabiling said, â€Å"No. † Medicare then notified Dr. Cabililng that they had received bills from an office in Denver with his name and medical identification number for payment of services rendered. Dr. Cabiling only practices in Pueblo and not in Denver. Further investigation uncovered more than $1. 8 million dollars had been paid out to the A Plus Billing Company. â€Å"Court documents show the address A Plus Billing used was 600 17th Street in Denver, room 2800. The company submitted bills for numerous things including MRI’s and EKG testing, claiming they had medical offices at that address. But instead, 11 News discovered it was home to a company hired to receive mail and answer the phone for $150 a month. And, according to records, the lady who was suppose to pay that bill, Aliya Valeeva, is no longer in the country. Medicare sent the money to an account at a BBVA/Compass Bank in Denver, under the name of A Plus Billing. Now the FBI has moved to seize nearly $800,000 of it (Potter, 2011). † Dr. Cabiling inadvertently received checks from Cigna, leading the physician to believe that the ghost company had targeted other insurance companies other than Medicare. Prior to President Obama’s health care reform, insurance companies were required to submit payment for services rendered within 15 days of receipt of the claim. Since President Obama's health care reform act the timeline for payment of services rendered gives agencies more time to make payments, review and investigate claims. Fraudulent claims are easier to detect with the new health care reform in affect. Fraudulent claims are nothing new to insurance companies. Perpetrators have targeted insurance companies for a long time. Medicare and Medicaid are the two type of insurance companies targeted. Medicare and Medicaid staff is inundated with claims. There are more claims to be processed then there are staff and time. New timelines and guidances to follow, allow the staff to follow up on suspicious claims. Since the Affordable Health Care Act was passed and implemented â€Å"Medicare officials say with their new tools for fighting fraud, they have reclaimed $4 billion last year alone (Potter, 2011)†. The previous organizational structure for payment of services rendered did not allow officials enough time to investigate claims to ensure the claims were legitimate. Perpetrators study the law and use the knowledge to fraud insurance and government agencies. The governance of rules, regulations and laws was not stringent enough to stop perpetrators from frauding the system. New guidelines allow agencies more time to detect suspicious claims, investigate and save the insurance companies millions of dollars. Society does not concentrate on proactive actions to prevent fraud, instead society deals with the problem after the fact. Consumer watch groups do not have tools in place to prevent fraud. Perpetrators rely on the oversites of insurance companies in order to target and fraud insurance companies. Insurance companies and the federal government should pool resources using a percentage of profits to finance a task force to arrestively fight fraud. The penalty for fraud should be more stringent which will cause perpetrators to think twice before formulating a plan to commit fraud. The Affordable Health Care Act is the beginning of many programs established to fight against fraud. Health care fraud is a growing problem and should be taken more seriously by citizens of the United States. Physicians, health care workers, and patients are responsible for proactively protecting personal information to prevent identity theft. The case of Dr. Cabiling could not have occured if his medical identity had not been stolen. A closer watch of personal information to prevent identity theft is the beginning to prevent health care fraud. The federal government should have in place the ability to prosecute offenders to the fullest extent. Harsh punishment may deter offenders from comiting the offence. Ethical issues concerning medical fraud is as simple as knowing what is right and what is wrong. Society should take responsibility of his or her own personal information. Identity theft is no secret, therefore society should be more proactive. Do not leave an open door for offenders to walk in and take what does not belong them. The laws for offenders should be more stringent. The current structure of physicans medical information is too easy to obtain. The structure of physicains medical information should be in encripted messages making the degree of difficulty high enough to ward off offenders. There are some offenders that will stop at nothing until they have gotten the information he or she is wishes to obtain. Stricter rules and guidelines can ward off these offenders. Governance over the guidelines for payment for services rendered should include the following; varification of physician’s medical information making sure the physican is aware of the charges being submitted to insurance companies. The time line for payments to be released to physicians or billing companies are lenghtened to allow incurance companies time to investigate suspecious claims. The culture of one waiting for another to do what is right is an occurance needing change. The culture can be changed through leading by example. Educating society through public service announcement is a start. Public service announcements reach more people than emails, newspaper articles, and phoone calls. An aggressive campaign to stamp out medical fraud through prosecuting identity theft offenders is an additional way to combat medical fraud. Through public service announcements society is informed of his or her responsibility to protect personal information to prevent identity theft and medical fraud. Fighting identiy theft and medical fraud cost less than the billions of dollars paid out to offenders. Remind society they the communities in which he or she live in are the one that ultimately pay the price through higher health care premiums, higher prices for health care services, and through higher taxes. In conclusion health care fraud is now being done through identity theft. Identity theft can be combatted through public awareness and the public taking responsibility to protect his or her own persoanl information. Dr. Cabiling through no fault of his own was a victim of identity theft. Dr. Cabiling did not know that his medical identity had been stolen until he received a phone call from Medicare. Dr. Cabiling can now contact the different insurance companies to alert them of the fraudulant activities concerning his medical information. The insurance companies can contact Dr. Cabiling prior to making payments on calims. The insurance companies making phone calls to Dr. Cabiling may take more time, but will save the companies money in the long run. Combatting medical fraud and identity theft is everyone’s responsibility. References Cohen, G. (2010, March/April). Medical tourism: The view from ten thousand feet. Hastings Center Report, 40(2), 11. Health care reform to have impact on ethics. (2010, May). Medical Ethics Advisor, 26(5), 54. K. Potter, 2011. Medicare Fraud Scheme Takes Nearly $2 Million, Pueblo Doctor’s Identity Stolen; http://www. kktv. com/home/headlines/Medicare_Fraud_Scheme_Steals_Millions_131567818. html

Drug Trafficking in the United States Essay Example

Drug Trafficking in the United States Essay Example Drug Trafficking in the United States Essay Drug Trafficking in the United States Essay Treating People to Treat the Problem Ashley Hamm ENG122: English Composition II Prof. Richard Schnoll August 30, 2012 I have chosen to write about Drug Trafficking in the United States. I believe that the drug trafficking in our country has become and absolutely absurd market based on supply and demand. Drug trafficking is not only detrimental to our future due to its effects on society but to its effects on our economy as well. Since 2009, our government has spent $31 billion on drug control (whitehouse. gov). That’s right, thirty-one billion dollars. In this paper, I will talk about how drug treatment programs are the answer to this problem. â€Å"The logic is simple: if drug users can be systematically removed from the drug marketplace through participation in treatment, demand will be reduced. † (National Research Council, 2010) Just like any supply and demand market, if demand is reduced then there is less need to supply. Crime related to drug use and drug trafficking is out of control in the United States. Did you know that 17 % of state and 18% of federal prisoners committed their crime in order to obtain drug money? US Department of Justice) Justicepolicy. org states that, â€Å"treatment delivered in the community is one of the most cost-effective ways to prevent such crimes and costs approximately $20,000 less than incarceration per person per year. † The truth is in the facts. Treating the drug problem in the United States starts with treating the people. References: National Research Council (2010). Unders tanding Demand for Illegal Drugs [ebrary Reader version]. Retrieved from http://site. ebrary. com/lib/ashford/docDetail. action? docID=10425174p00=drug%20trafficking%20united%20states www. justicepolicy. org

USA vs Canada essays

USA vs Canada essays To an outsider America and Canada can almost appear to be one country. The residents of these two nations know that this is not true. Canada and the United States are close to each other geographically and have a number of similarities, but the differences that exist between them give each of these countries a powerful identity of their own. The similarities that do exist between the two countries are numerous. Both countries are democratic capitalist nations whose people believe in liberty and freedom above all else. Both countries are located on the same continent, North America. Both countries were once British colonies. English is the predominantly spoken language in both countries. Most Canadians and Americans have similar physical appearances. In fact, many Canadians live and work in the United States and are often mistaken by Americans to be citizens of the United States. Some famous Canadians are William Shatner, Michael J. Fox, Alexander Grahm Bell, Pamela Anderson, Alex Trebec, and Bret The Hitman Hart. Both Canadians and Americans enjoy luxuries that make their lives easier and more exciting. Like the inventions of Americans, Canadian inventions are numerous and can be found all over the world. Basketball, television, Trivial Pursuit, the zipper, the telephone, bagged milk, and the AM radio are all Canadian in origin. Canada is located to the North of the United States and is subsequently much colder. Canada receives much more snow than the United States which leads Canadians to play more winter sports such as hockey, which is their national pastime. Canadas climate is so much colder than the United States, that many Americans live under the impression that Canadians live in igloos and play hockey all year long. This is simply not true. While some Canadians in the far northern reaches of the country do live in igloos, most Canadians live in houses in cities like Americans. Als ...

Complete Plan When Should I Start Studying for the SAT

Complete Plan When Should I Start Studying for the SAT SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Before you start thinking about which colleges to apply to or what you want to study in college, you need to take the right steps to get there. For many students, this means taking the SAT. You may be wondering when to start studying for the SAT. If you start too late, you won't get the highest score you're capable of. But if you start too early, you might struggle because you haven’t learned all the necessary content yet, plus you could forget things by the time the test rolls around. So what’s the perfect time to start studying? We will briefly explain the content you need to know for the SAT, and then give you a recommended plan based on your college goals. When Should You Take the SAT? Before you decide when to start studying for the SAT, first you need to figure out when you'll take the SAT. Given the content on the SAT and the college application timeline,you should aim to take your first SAT in the fall of junior year.This gives you time to retake the SAT in spring if you want a higher score. Then if you score well, senior year will be freed up for your college applications. Also,aiming for junior fall means your SAT studying won’t compete with AP or IB exams. You'll have to decide between a more intense study schedule (like ten hours a week for two months) or a more gradual one (four hours a week for five months). Either method can work and help you make huge score increases, so choosing a plan will just depend on your schedule and study style. When Should You Start Studying for the SAT? Working backwards from junior fall, it’s good tostart studying at some point during sophomore yearfor a longer, less intense plan or the summer after sophomore year for a more intense plan. Taking the PSAT (Practice SAT) orPSAT 10as a sophomore is a great way to get introduced to the test in a completely no-pressure situation –you aren’t qualified for the National Merit competitionuntil junior year, so you can just get an introduction to the test and get a sense of where you stand with your current skills. If your school doesn’t offer the PSAT or it's too late to sign up, you can also takea free SAT practice test online. Just remember to time yourself carefully to simulate actual test conditions! By taking a practice SAT or a PSAT, you'll have a baseline score which you'll use to determine how many hours you need to study for the SAT further on in this article. Where Do You Want to Go to College? The length and intensity of your study plan will strongly depend on your college goals. If you’re looking to go a decent in-state school, there is less pressure riding on your score than if you are set on the likes of Harvard, Stanford, or MIT. Use the three plans below to help you come up with your SAT target score. Ivy League/Highly Selective School SAT Study Plan If you’re aiming for highly selective colleges like the Ivy Leagues, Stanford, and MIT,getting a high SAT score is extremely important.Definitely plan to take the PSAT as a sophomore to see how you are shaping up to do on the SAT. You should consider taking a full SAT practice test as well, since the PSAT doesn’t include all of the content tested on the real SAT. You'll need an excellent SAT score to get into MIT! Once you have a starting score, decide whether you want to study during sophomore year at a more gradual pace or use the summer before junior year for a more intensive study schedule. Keep in mindyour target SAT score should be1500 or higher if you are aiming for top schools.This puts you in the higher end of admitted student score ranges for these schools, and thus improves your odds of admission. Next, take the SAT for the first time during junior fall. If you fall short of a 1500 (or whatever you set your target score at), plan to retake the SAT in junior spring and continue to study. (Learn more aboutwhy getting above 1500 is so important for top schools.) Selective School SAT Study Plan We are defining selective schools as schools that take less than half of admitted applicants (in other words, their admissions rate is below 50%). These schools are tough to get into, but not as competitive as the Ivy Leagues, Stanford, and MIT. For selective schools, we also recommend either taking the PSAT as a sophomore to gauge your base score or taking a practice SAT. Next,look up the SAT score ranges for your target colleges.You can find any college’s SAT score ranges by searching for â€Å"[Name of College/University] SAT scores PrepScholar†. Set your target SAT score based on the most selective school you are applying to.This way, if you make your score goal, you can comfortably apply to every school on your list. For example, if the most competitive school you’re applying to is New York University, you shouldset your SAT target score at 1350– the average score of admitted students. Take the SAT junior fall. If you are short of your goal, you can retake it in junior spring. Less Selective School SAT Study Plan Less selective schools are schools that admit more than half of their applicants. This is often the case with large public universities or lesser-known small colleges. Your SAT score here is important, but it likely won’t need to be sky high. Take the PSAT as a sophomore to gauge your starting point. If you seriously struggle – get any score below a 1000 – start doing some prep sophomore year so you can get at least an above-average SAT score. Otherwise, you can wait until after sophomore year is over and prep during the summer.Look up the SAT score ranges at your target schoolsand set your target score based on those ranges. For example, if you’re hoping to get into the University of Kentucky,you should set your target SAT score at 30for the new SAT, which is their average SAT score for admission. Take the SAT junior fall.If your score is way lower than your state school’s ranges, you can retake the test in junior spring. Otherwise, focus on keeping your grades up and devoting time to your extracurriculars. Want to learn more about the SAT but tired of reading blog articles? Then you'll love our free, SAT prep livestreams. Designed and led by PrepScholar SAT experts, these live video events are a great resource for students and parents looking to learn more about the SAT and SAT prep. Click on the button below to register for one of our livestreams today! How Much Do You Need to Study for the SAT? How many hours you need to study for the SAT depends onhow large a point improvement you want to make.You'll determine this by figuring out the difference between the baseline score you got from your practice test and your target score for the schools you want to get accepted to. You can use the following hours per point improvement recommendations as a starting point. 0-50 SAT Composite Point Improvement: 10 hours50-100 Point Improvement: 20 hours100-200 Point Improvement: 40 hours200-300 Point Improvement: 80 hours300-500 Point Improvement: 150 hours+ (For more on scoring, see our post on how the SAT is scored.) As an example,if you get a 1200 on your practice test, and your target score is 1500, then you have 300 points to improve, meaning you should put in about 80 hours.You could space this out (say, three hours per week for six months) or study intensely over the summer (16 hours per week for five weeks). This guideline is just a starting point and exactly how much time you'll need to spend studying heavily depends on how much you've prepped before, your starting skill level, and your ability to learn new concepts quickly. If you're looking for a small improvement, like 50 points,you can do this by optimizing your testing strategy and possibly even just byretaking the test.But for serious improvements, 200 points and above, you likely still need to learn a lot of fundamental content. Little tricks and strategies won't be enough to raise your score - you will need to learn actual material and attack your test-taking weaknesses. Think about it this way: the SAT tests academic skills that you've been learning your entire life, like how numbers work and how to read.As a high school junior, you've completed over 20,000 hours of schooling and homework.An improvement of 200 or more points requires a serious retooling of your knowledge and skills. If you can't devote at least 80 hours to prepping, you will find it very difficult to make huge score improvements. What’s Tested on the SAT? In this section we go over the major topics you'll be tested on in each of three main sections of the SAT. You can use this information to figure out what material you already know and what you still need to learn for the SAT. Reading All questions on the SAT Reading section are based on passages with set topics. There will be one US or world literature passage, two history/social science passages, and two science passages. You will need to be able to read and understand the passages and then answer multiple-choice questions about them. The literature passage can use especially complex language, so you have to be able to break down complex language in a short amount of time five passages (and 52 questions) in 65 minutes, to be precise. The questions require you to define vocabulary based on context, use evidence, understand logical arguments, and even understand some basic scientific concepts. There are even a few questions about data analysis basically, you'll have to break down a graph or table. Finally, there are two-part "evidence support" questions: the first question asks you something about the passage, and the second question asks you where exactly in the passage you find your evidence. Check out this example to see what an evidence support question looks like: Via College Board's Test Specifications for the Redesigned SAT. Doing well on SAT Reading will require you to read difficult passages from different subjects quickly and break down their meaning. Essentially, the more advanced of a reader you are, and the more English, science, and social science classes you have taken, the better prepared you will be for this section. Having two years of high school English completed by the time you take the test junior fall will give you a sufficient base to study with. High school English classes both broaden your vocabulary and teach you to approach increasingly difficult texts. In addition, social science or science classes you take will further prepare you to tackle the social science and science passages. Any advanced reading you can do outside of class – either in terms of books or magazines like The New Yorker or Wired – will also be helpful. Read a detailed breakdown of the Reading section here. Math SAT Math tests the following math concepts: Numbers and Operations Algebra and Functions Geometry and Measurement Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability Trigonometry (You can read a full breakdown of how these concepts are tested here.) This means that once you have taken Geometry and Algebra II, you will have learned all the content you need for the SAT Math section. You don’t need to worry about pre-calculus or calculus concepts on the SAT. However, SAT Math will require you to work through story problems and real-life scenarios, with some science and social science concepts thrown in as well. This is why extra studying for the SAT Math section is very important. Definitely don’t attempt the SAT or a serious study regimen before you’ve completed geometry. But most students should be ready to tackle the SAT with the math they have learned before junior year. (If you want to read more about what it would be like to take the SAT without geometry, see our post on the subject.) Writing and Language The writing section of the SAT tests your ability to understand and apply grammar rules and English language conventions to both sentences and paragraphs. For this section, you will be asked to improve sentences (in terms of grammar and structure), identify errors in sentences (grammar and usage) and to improve paragraphs (organization and revision), all in the context of long passages. You can read a complete breakdown of this section here. The more familiar you are with English grammar rules, the easier this section will be for you. Additionally, the more experience you have writing and revising, the easier it will be for you to tackle these questions quickly. Again, two years of high school English should be sufficient preparation for most students, but reading and writing outside of class will help you get ahead. Also, you should definitely take the time to study the grammar rules that will be tested on SAT Writing. The Bottom Line: When to Start Studying for the SAT We recommend you take the PSAT (or an SAT practice test) sophomore year to get your base SAT score. Then, figure out your target SAT score based on the most competitive school you’re applying to. Finally, begin to study either during sophomore year or the following summer, and take the SAT junior fall. The intensity of your studying will vary by how selective the schools you want to get into are, your starting score, and how much you need to improve. But if you start during sophomore year by taking the PSAT or an SAT practice test, you will be on track to get your best possible score during junior year. This will free up your senior year for college applications. What’s Next? Are you aiming for a perfect or close-to-perfect score? Get tips from our resident full-scorer about how to get there. Learn what a good/bad/excellent SAT score is, and read about good scores for the Ivy League. Curious about how the PSAT qualifies you for the National Merit Competition? Learn how to qualify here. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points?We have the industry's leading SAT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and SAT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. Check out our 5-day free trial today:

HOW DO ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKS AFFECT COMMUNICATION Assignment

HOW DO ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKS AFFECT COMMUNICATION - Assignment Example Most of the users are teenagers to young adults who spend several minutes to hours of online networking with relatives, friends, and even complete strangers. Still, no matter how or whom these users interact with in this OSN world, the main reason is to interact and communicate. 1 For those who lived in a world prior to the advent of the internet and social networks, socializing mostly involves face-to-face communication. Release of private and personal information was limited to close friends or relatives, and never given to strangers. Now, people see information such as family trees, sexual preferences, mobile phone numbers, and even addresses, posted online. Despite the so-called control given by these OSN sites to keep the account private or viewable only to a limited group of people, it does not guarantee the safety of such information. Private thoughts and personal activities are posted as status messages, creating an image and feeling of closeness, openness, and reaching out a mong members of these OSN sites. Before, individuals share thoughts among close friends, limiting the responses within their circle.

Youth Gang Members Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Youth Gang Members - Essay Example The question whether convicted youth gang members should be treated like other juvenile delinquents including status offenders is very crucial in very many states. This resource manual strives to address this question. As a starting point, this paper will look at the evolvement of gangs and the background of juvenile justice system. There is no one accepted or straightforward definition of a gang. The public and media use the term ‘gang’ more loosely than those in the criminal justice system. A youth gang is commonly thought of as a self-formed association of peers having a gang name and recognizable symbols, identifiable leadership, a geographic territory, a regular meeting pattern, and collective actions to carry out illegal activities. Most gang members define their gang along one or two basic definitional lines which are involvement in crime and the affiliation and cultural aspects of gang membership that make it like a family in the eyes of many members. The youth g ang problem in many states has become an important policy issue largely because of the increasing youth gang violence and the apparent proliferation of youth gangs throughout all sectors of the nations. Youth gangs pose a significant challenge in juvenile justice. There seems to be little evidence that the influence of these gangs is diminishing or that it will become less of a problem in the future. Therefore, it is important that practitioners in juvenile confinement facilities have good information about ways to address the nature and extent of youth gang problems. There are many reasons why youths join gangs and sometimes the adolescent doesn't exactly know why. However, some of the more common reasons include: To experience a sense of family, belonging or fellowship. To gain respect, a positive self-image, status. To experience power and control in their lives. To realize financial gain. For excitement and fun; and other social gains. For protection from neighborhood or rival gang violence. Because of recruitment intimidation. Because it is a family tradition. Due to peer pressure. Because the dangers of gang involvement are not understood. In the late 1800's, juvenile courts were established as an alternative to the adult criminal justice system. The juvenile justice system was designed specifically to meet the needs of non-violent, juvenile offenders and children at risk of becoming juvenile delinquents. Historically, juvenile crimes were considered "youthful indiscretions," warranting lenient treatment and rehabilitative responses. Unlike the offense-based adult system, the juvenile justice system is offender based, focusing on rehabilitation rather than punishment. Recently, many states have attempted to strike a balance among system and offender accountability, offender competency development and community protection. According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child ("U.N. Child Convention"), which the General Assembly adopted and formally ratified in 1998, Children and adults should not be treated equally under the international human rights regime. Before proceeding, it is necessary to examine the special rights of children enumerated in the same. Anti-gang legislation was a sudden shift in the legal trajectory that could be traced for the treatment of juvenile delinquents. Previously, implementation of significant reforms including specialized procedures and legal norms for the treatment of juveniles in conflict with the law was encouraged. This exceptional process, however, was revoked under anti-gang legislation resulting in recognition and treatment of juve

Summary of 2008 Vice Presidential Debate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summary of 2008 Vice Presidential Debate - Essay Example However, Joe Biden believed that the crisis affecting the US financial system was the result of poor politics of the former president George Bush and his fellow Republicans in his term. In the debate, Joe Biden claimed that the then oncoming election was the most vital in many previous years since the economy was deteriorating and that the US needed substantial changes to its politics system. He also mentioned that approval of fundamental factors of economic policies of George Bush by John McCain contributed to the financial crisis facing the US. Palin disagreed with the claim by arguing lowering taxes would bring back the economy to its prosperous track. She continued to question Barack Obama for intending to hick taxes for wealthy Americans and corporations. In return, Joe Biden said that the increase in taxes would affect only 5% of the citizen with the highest wealth and in return lower the amount of taxes paid by the rest of Americans (C-SPAN). Joe Biden proceeded to criticized Palin and McCain as supporters of pro-corporate politics propagated by George W. Bush. Biden said that McCain once claimed the economy of America was stable and strong even with the continued bankruptcy of American banks. In response, Palin’s argued against Democrats who opposed off shore oil drilling. She explained how off shore oil drilling was capable of reducing Americans dependence on foreign oil (C-SPAN). The debate also dwelt on foreign policy issues. The host Gwen Ifill enquired about the ongoing war in Afghanistan and Iraq. He also asked question regarding US policies towards Iran, Russia, Europe and China. Palin believed that the surge strategy founded upon an increase of military numbers as was the case in Iraq should be employed in Afghanistan. Hastily, Biden countered this thought by saying that that method would not be effective in Afghanistan as it would be wiser to increase

Police Recruit Applicants Report Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Police Recruit Applicants Report - Term Paper Example All the interviewers gave a varied assessment of the integrity, emotional stability and professionalism. Interviewer A rated her as very good on this aspect, interviewer B concluded that she is good while interviewer C felt convinced that Summerton can only be rated as average on the three aspects. This demonstrates that the applicant can be correctly described as good in terms of professionalism, integrity and emotional stability. Summerton has a good knowledge of laws, regulations, policies and procedures according to the three interviewers. Furthermore, her analytical and reasoning skills are good as rated by two of the three assessors with the other rating her as very good. Summerton is good in community and team relationships except for one assessor who rated her as average. Given the opinion of the majority, Summerton can be described as being a good team player and having good community relationships. The interview also assessed one’s oral and written communication skil ls. On this aspect, Summerton was rated as good by two out of the three interviewers while the other rating her as average. Given the opinion of the interviewers, Summerton can be rightly described as having good communication skills. ... She can also be described as of average personality when it comes to being helpful, sympathetic towards others and cooperation. Despite the above admirable personality traits, Summerton has a low degree of sociability, talkativeness and assertiveness. The information provided by Summerton was authenticated by the referees and employers checks as true. Moreover, she was cleared by the ethical standards division. The second applicant for police recruitment post was a male named Thomas Garrigan. He is aged 27 and has previously worked as a retail assistant for two years and as a nurse for a year. Upon completing his high school, Thomas pursed a degree in Science and a Bachelor in Nursing. He is rated as good in terms of integrity, emotional stability and professionalism. He is also very good in terms of knowledge of laws, regulations, policies and procedures. He has good analytical and reasoning skills according to the majority of interviewers. His written and oral communication skill i s also good and is a good team player. Thomas is physical fit and had high achievement on the beep test. When it comes to major personality traits; Thomas is highly disciplined, result oriented and organized. Thomas is averagely a helpful person, sympathetic to others and cooperative. He also has an average ability of controlling his impulse, anxiety and emotional stability. Furthermore, he can be described as having average socialization skills. He is also averagely an assertive and talkative person. Thomas is not curious to learn new ideas and try new things. He has been influenced by his father who is presently a Senior Sergeant in charge of Morryvale Station. Thomas is a sincere gentleman with all the

Reflective paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Reflective paper - Essay Example Moreover, the nurse’s functions include the various challenges in the provision of care, including the ethical considerations, the various issues in the expansion of roles and the need to secure adequate communication tools with the clients (Johns and Freshwater, 2005). Communication barriers are some of the issues which can make the health care delivery process particularly challenging for nurses and other health professionals. This paper aims to evaluate the management of challenging communication interactions in association with cultural issues. It shall focus on my encounter with a Chinese client who spoke little English. This assessment shall use Johns structured reflective framework model by considering critical reflection based on the main issues of the incident and the possible improvements which could have been implemented to ensure better patient outcomes (Johns, 2009). During my placement in the mental health unit, I was assigned various patients and was subsequently informed that one of my patients spoke little English and was suffering from major depressive disorder. She was under antidepressants and was also under suicide watch because she recently attempted suicide. She is 65 years old and recently lost her home and her business in China to a fire. She was brought to Australia by one of her children and was now living with them, but was having a hard time adjusting to life in Australia. In one of the encounters with her, I went in to her room to keep her company as she was on suicide watch and she turned aggressive, she wanted to push me out of the door because she wanted to be alone. I managed to convince her that I would just be sitting with her, but even with my attempts to speak to her, she refused to communicate with me. Our language barrier failed to reassure her or provide her any comfort. She had a

Health and Wellness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Health and Wellness - Essay Example My recognition and awareness of maintaining good health has been shaped, to a great extent, by my teachers at school and parents at home. They have influenced my perceptions of health along with inculcating in me the seriousness required in maintaining personal hygiene and a healthy diet. In addition, my experience of the Irritable Bowel Syndrome has also helped in shaping my perceptions of health and wellness. After being diagnosed with this disease, I started caring more about myself, thinking less about issues in life that worried me, controlling my anger and sharing my feelings with others. Indeed, I started focusing more on the kind and amount of food I ate after being diagnosed with this disease. For example, I used to eat a lot of fast food prior to this disease which could have contributed to my ill health. However, soon I became proactively involved in developing healthy habits, including giving up on fast food, with the help of my support network. Moreover, one of the major individuals who have influenced me a lot when it comes to maintaining good health is my father. Despite being diagnosed with diabetes and high cholesterol and having suffered a heart attack, my father was sustain himself through these times and, in the process, learnt how to control his ill health rather than being control by it. He has started to exercise on a daily basis and play different kind of sports such as tennis, horse riding and volley ball. He also eats whatever food he feels like eating.

Reflective paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Reflective paper - Essay Example Moreover, the nurse’s functions include the various challenges in the provision of care, including the ethical considerations, the various issues in the expansion of roles and the need to secure adequate communication tools with the clients (Johns and Freshwater, 2005). Communication barriers are some of the issues which can make the health care delivery process particularly challenging for nurses and other health professionals. This paper aims to evaluate the management of challenging communication interactions in association with cultural issues. It shall focus on my encounter with a Chinese client who spoke little English. This assessment shall use Johns structured reflective framework model by considering critical reflection based on the main issues of the incident and the possible improvements which could have been implemented to ensure better patient outcomes (Johns, 2009). During my placement in the mental health unit, I was assigned various patients and was subsequently informed that one of my patients spoke little English and was suffering from major depressive disorder. She was under antidepressants and was also under suicide watch because she recently attempted suicide. She is 65 years old and recently lost her home and her business in China to a fire. She was brought to Australia by one of her children and was now living with them, but was having a hard time adjusting to life in Australia. In one of the encounters with her, I went in to her room to keep her company as she was on suicide watch and she turned aggressive, she wanted to push me out of the door because she wanted to be alone. I managed to convince her that I would just be sitting with her, but even with my attempts to speak to her, she refused to communicate with me. Our language barrier failed to reassure her or provide her any comfort. She had a

Literacy Narrative Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Literacy Narrative - Essay Example At a moment, he had no prior role in my life while next moment he proved out to be a blessing in disguise, defining for me some purposefulness in life. I never had much regard for literacy and education but that event was pivotal in making me question my own ignorance and beliefs. A turning stone We were born and brought in Middle East, where Arabic was our primary native language while ability to speak English was an add-on. I never did much effort trying to learn other languages or seek education since Arabic sufficed all my needs to communicate on daily basis. I still can clearly visualize that day when I met Hashim for the first time at his home 6 years back when he invited Ali for lunch and Ali tagged me along. Hashim was only 11 years old then which makes him 5 years younger than me. After getting done with our meals, we rested in couch while Hashim connected his laptop to internet. After signing in to Windows Live Messenger, he called out to me, ‘Hey, give me your email address so I can add you to my friends’ list and we can chat online sometimes’. This came as a shock for me as I wasn’t expecting him to be so fluent at English, especially at such young age, that he was capable of chatting online in this language. I still had to hear it from him once so I confirmed and received his confident reply, ‘Yes, I can speak in English fluently’. ... Soon I was able to realize that he belongs to an extremely rich family who must have spent massive amounts of money on his education. Nevertheless, that moment I promised myself that I shall work on my English language and soon be a fluent at writing, speaking and understanding it. To enable this, the very next day I joined a language institute to improve my English and enhanced my fluency within few days. This was a turning stone for my life and career: I got accepted at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, one of the best reputable universities in gulf countries. Additionally, the first year was a probation year where we had to go through extensive testing, including two English courses where the mentors were native English speakers. This also gave me an edge to get a better grip on American as well as British English language, terminologies and accent and distinctions between them. Due to my strong skills in the language, I was easily able to survive the first year with excellent grades. Concluding remarks Owing to my embarrassing moment triggered by Hashim’s question, not only did I get an aim and direction in life to be determined about, I also became part of a prestigious educational institution, built a strong career and have excellent communication skills in English language as of today. This was a crucial milestone in my life which modified my beliefs and attitude towards literacy. I became more mature and responsible and developed respect for educational concerns. Moreover, I started helping people in my vicinity to overcome their communication problems so they do not have to face similar embarrassing situation

Critical Analysis of Quantitative Research Essay Example for Free

Critical Analysis of Quantitative Research Essay The researchers in this experiment aimed to â€Å"Investigate the quantitative differentiation of pulmonary dendritic cells in smoker with or without chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) to explore the possible role of dendritic cells in smokers suffering COPD† (Yan-wei, Yong-jiang, Xian-sheng, 2010). Dendritic cells (DCs) are inflammatory cells that are considered to be the promoter of immune responses; knowing this the researchers hypothesized that DCs may play an important role in the development of the disease. See more: how to write an analysis Subjects were broken into three groups based on an illness gradient: (control group, smokers without airflow obstruction, and COPD group as determined by the Chinese Society of Respiratory Disease). Samples of alveolar tissue were taken from these three groups and studied using immunohistochemical staining and immunofluorescence confocal laser scanning. The results from the experiment are portrayed using a one-way analysis of variance, Pearson’s r coefficient, graphs, and scatter plots. The conclusion of the data showed that â€Å"The quantity of the DCs significantly increased in smokers with COPD compared with non-smokers or smokers without COPD† (Yan-wei et al., 2010). A critical analysis of this article received a 31.5. The article was well put together and provided many up to date references as resources to give a better understanding of the research. The authors explained their methodologies in great detail and the production of their data was concise and easy to read. However, the study lacked when it came to representing a diverse population. The study also lacks in terms of providing evidence of the consent of the subjects and the evidence of the governing body of the experiment. The research that was done in this experiment allowed scientist to develop new hypotheses concerning dendritic cells and their role in chronic diseases such as COPD. The links that were made with this research between dendritic cells, lung capacity, and cigarette smoke could potentially be the forefront of new treatments and earlier diagnoses for COPD victims. References Yan-wei, S., Yong-jian, X., Xian-sheng, L. (2010). Quantitative differentiation of dendritic cells in lung tissues of smokers with and without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Chinese Medical Journal, 123(12). Retreived from http://www.cmj.org/Periodical/PDF/200481469383420.pdf

An Overview Of The Date Palm Environmental Sciences Essay

An Overview Of The Date Palm Environmental Sciences Essay Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is known as tree of life plays an imperative role in the life of the people living in scorched regions of the world. It is an ancient and valuable fruit, as the dates name has been and is mentioned in holy books like the Quran, Torah and Buddha (Belarbi et al., 2000; Falade and Abbo, 2007). Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is reported to have said that the best assets is the date palm, that it is used for curing many disorders, and He (PBUH) urged Muslims to consume dates (Zaid and de Wet, 1999). Muslims deem it as a virtue to eat dates at Iftar in the month of Ramadan. It has been cultivated in the Middle East since at least 6000 BC (Al-Qarawi et al., 2003). At least 2000 or more different cultivars of date palm exist all over the world (Ali-Mohamed and Khamis, 2004). The Date fruit provides a good source of carbohydrates, fibre, minerals, and vitamins, but it contains a minute amount of fat and protein (Baloch et al., 2006; Al-Farsi et al., 2005; Mohamed, 2000). Date fruit is also suitable for hypertensive persons because of its high amount of potassium and low content of sodium (Al-Hooti et al., 2002). New studies have reported that date fruit has antimutagenic and anticancer action (Ishurd and Kennedy, 2005; Vayalill, 2002). The ripening of the date fruit is considered by four different stages/phases based on color, softness, moisture, and sugar content. (1) Kimri stage: at this phase the fruit is quite hard, the color is green and it is not fit for edible purpose. At this phase the fruit attains a rapid increase in weight, volume and build up of reducing sugars that will weaken at the end of this stage. (2) Khalal stage: at this stage, date fruit gains its maximum weight and size. The dates total sugar and acidity will boost as its water content decreases. At the end of Khalal stage, the fruit is physiologically mature and hard. (3) Rutab stage: ripening of date fruit starts at this stage. Its colour changes and its texture become soft. It begins to lose astringency and starts acquiring a darker and less attractive colour than the previous stage. (4) Tamar stage: the date fruits are fully ripe at Tamar stage and texture of the flesh is soft. At this stage, date fruit contains its maximum total solids an d it is in the best condition for storage. Some references have mentioned another a very early stage named called Hababauk. This term is used for the female flower and also used for the period after pollination, in which the young fruit is still creamy before gradually turning green at the Kimri stage. Generally, date fruit is harvestable and marketable at three stages including Khalal, Rutab and Tamar that depend on cultivar characteristics, especially soluble tannins levels (Ismail et al., 2001; Hong et al., 2006; Awad, 2007). Although there are many cultivars of dates, some have become pre eminent in the world market (Krueger, 2001; Nixon, 1950). Deglet Noor, meaning date of the light in Arabic, comes from the Algerian Sahara and is one of the leading cultivars grown in North Africa and California. Halawy, meaning sweet in Arabic, is a soft, high-quality date with rich flavour from Iraq. Khadrawy, meaning green in Arabic, is a short and moderately productive tree with soft fruit from Southern Iraq. Climate is one of the major factors that affect all aspects of life and realistic crops cultivation depends on proper understanding of climatic condition. Proper understanding of climatic condition can help farmers in doing cultivation at an opportune time and supplying plants needs during growth period. The ripening season of date palm starts with the rise in summer temperature with July and August, which is the peak production period. Unfortunately, the monsoon rains also falls within these months of the year, which is a real bottleneck for this crop. Hillawi and Khadrawi are the major varieties cultivated in Punjab. These varieties are semi dry and ripened early in July and face a huge problem of monsoon rains. The coincidence of date ripening period with the monsoon season means the crop receives heavy damage by rain and a few minutes of rain can destroy upto 80% of the date crop (ASF, 2010) The fruit during this period is at eatable (Khalal/Rutab) stage and prone to infestation by insects/birds and diseases that invade at a rapid rate under the favourable climate of relatively reduced temperature with high humidity. This adverse situation persists for several weeks. The extent of the losses contributes to accumulate so long as the fruits stay on the trees for want of Dong formation until the end of July (Saleem et al., 2005). Rain and high humidity may cause physical damage to the fruit in period preceding the ripening. When this happens, cracks appear on the fruit surface through fungi and bacteria may enter causing fermentation and souring of the fruit rapidly (Olin, 2002). It is worth mentioning that the amount of any particular rain is of less importance than the conditions under which it occurs (Nixon and Carpenter, 1978). Traditional methods of date fruit ripening/curing are popular in many areas of the country, in which fruit at the Dong stage are spread on the mats or plastic sheets and exposed to sun in an open air. The quality of sun dried product under dusty condition becomes very poor and non-uniform with a low yield. Due to persistent rain and stormy conditions a large amount of the harvested dates become mouldy, fermented, and dusty, damaged by the birds and insects. The present study will be therefore conducted on the ripening aspects and fruit quality of date palm with respect to monsoon rains, by evaluating the potential of preharvest ethephon application on ripening enhancement and fruit quality of date palm at Kimri and Khalal stages, studying the role of different chemicals on the ripening behaviour and fruit quality and ripening and quality assessment of date fruit will also investigated by the influence of hot water treatment by harvesting the fruit at the physiological maturity (Doka/Khalal) stage. V) REVIEW OF LITERATURE: Fruits should be harvested at the correct physiological maturity and state of ripeness (Harman and Patterson, 1984). They are self sufficient with their own catalytic machinery to maintain an independent life, even when detached from the parent plant. Based on their respiratory pattern and ethylene biosynthesis during ripening, harvested fruits have been classified as climacteric and non-climacteric based on the respiration pattern and ethylene production during ripening. Climacteric fruits, harvested at physiological maturity, can be ripened off the parent plant. The respiration rate and ethylene formation though minimal at maturity, raise dramatically to a climacteric peak, at the onset of ripening, after which it declines (Gamage and Rehman, 1999). In climacteric fruit, onset of ripening is accompanied by a sharp increase in respiration and ethylene production. The climacteric ethylene is thought to regulate fruit ripening by inducing the expression of many ripening-related genes responsible for autocatalytic ethylene production, cellwall metabolism, chlorophyll degradation, synthesis of carotenoids and volatiles, and conversion of starch to sugar (Gray et al., 1992; Theologis, 1993; Alexander and Grierson, 2002). Non-climacteric fruits are not capable of continuing their ripening process, once they are detached from the parent plant. Also, these fruits produce a very small quantity of endogenous ethylene, and do not respond to external ethylene treatment. Such fruits show comparatively low profile and a gradual decline in their respiration pattern and ethylene production, throughout the ripening process (Gamage and Rehman, 1999). In non-climacteric fruit, there is no dramatic change in the rate of respiration, and ethylene production remains at a very low level. However, in some plant species, some aspects of ripening, such as chlorophyll degradation and fruit softening, are controlled or at least partially controlled by ethylene (Goldschmidt et al., 1993; Wills and Kim, 1995). Ethylene is biosynthesized from methionine via a welldefined pathway in which 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) synthase (ACS) and ACC oxidase (ACO) function as key enzymes. Fruit ripening: Ripening is defined as changes that occur from the latter stages of growth and development through the early stages of senescence and result in characteristic aesthetic and/or food quality (Watada et al., 1984). It is a highly co-ordinated, genetically programmed, and an irreversible phenomenon involving a series of physiological, biochemical, and organoleptic changes that lead to the development of a soft and edible ripe fruit with desirable quality attributes. A wide spectrum of biochemical changes such as increased respiration, chlorophyll degradation, biosynthesis of carotenoids, anthocyanins, essential oils, and flavor and aroma components, increased activity of cell wall-degrading enzymes, and a transient increase in ethylene production are some of the major changes involved during fruit ripening (Brady, 1987). The color change during fruit ripening is due to the unmasking of previously present pigments by degradation of chlorophyll and dismantling of the photosynthetic apparatus and synthesis of different types of anthocyanins and their accumulation in vacuoles, and accumulation of carotenoids such as ÃŽÂ ²-carotene, xanthophyll esters, xanthophylls, and lycopene (Tucker and Grierson, 1987; Lizada, 1993). The increase in flavor and aroma during fruit ripening is attributed to the production of a complex mixture of volatile compounds such as ocimene and myrcene (Lizada, 1993), and degradation of bitter principles, flavanoids, tannins, and related compounds (Tucker and Grierson, 1987). The taste development is due to a general increase in sweetness, which is the result of increased gluconeogenesis, hydrolysis of polysaccharides, especially starch, decreased acid-ity, and accumulation of sugars and organic acids resulting in an excellent sugar/acid blend (Lizada, 1993; Grierson, Tucker, and Robertson, 1981; Selvaraj, Kumar, and Pal, 1989). The metabolic changes during fruit ripening include increase in biosynthesis and evolution of the ripening hormone, ethylene (Yang and Hoffman, 1984), increase in respiration mediated by mitochondrial enzymes, especially oxidases and de novo synthesis of enzymes catalyzing ripening specific changes (Tucker and Grierson, 1987). Alteration of cell structure involves changes in cell wall thickness, permeability of plasma membrane, hydration of cell wall, decrease in the structural integrity, and increase in intracellular spaces (Redgwell, MacRae, Hallet, Fischer, Perry, and Harker, 1997). Fruit softening is associated with cell wall disassembly (Seymour and Gross, 1996) and modifications to the pectin fraction are some of the most apparent changes that take place in the cell wall during ripening (Marin-Rodriguez, Orchard, and Seymour, 2002). The general observation is that softening is accompanied by solubilization of pectin, involving the action of enzymes pectinesterase (PE), polygalacturonase (PG) and pectate lyases (PL) (White, 2002) and hydrolysis of starch and other storage polysaccharides (Selvaraj et al., 1989; Fuchs, Pesis and Zauberman, 1980). This notion was supported by reports of changes in cell wall pectic material in ripening mango (Roe and Bruemmer, 1981), tomato (Besford and Hobson, 1972) and pear (Ahmed and Labavitch, 1980). Fruit ripening and ethylene: The gaseous hormone ethylene regulates a number of plant growth and developmental processes, including fruit ripening. Ethylene plays a major role in fruit ripening in a wide range of plant species (Abeles et al., 1992; Lelievre et al., 1997; Giovannoni, 2004). It is a fruit ripening phytohormone, in minute amounts can trigger many events of cell metabolism including initiation of ripening and senescence, particularly in a climacteric fruit. A number of reviews have been published on the role of ethylene in fruit ripening, particularly in mangoes as well as its biogenesis (Adams and Yang, 1979; Kende, 1993). The pathway for ethylene biosynthesis has been elucidated in apple, and other fruits such as avocado, banana, and tomato (Kende, 1993; Yang and Hoffman, 1984). The first step is the conversion of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) to 1- aminocyclopropane carboxylic acid (ACC) by the enzyme ACC synthase. At the onset of fruit ripening, expression of multiple ACC synthase genes are activat ed, resulting in increased production of ACC. In most cases, it is the ACC synthase activity, which determines the rate of ethylene biosynthesis. ACC is then oxidized to ethylene by ACC oxidase. Potential of ethephon in fruit ripening: Fruit ripening has been described as an oxidative phenomenon that requires a turnover of active oxygen species, such as H2O2 and superoxide anion (Jimenez et al, 2002). Ethephon (2-chloroethylphosphonic acid), releases ethylene in plant tissues, has aroused interest because of its physiological effects in many fruit species (Cooke and Randall, 1968; Warner and Leopold, 1967). The responses to ethephon appear to be mainly caused by the action of ethylene (Anderson, 1968). Now ethephon is widely used in agriculture for promotion of flowering, fruit ripening, defoliation and so on. Orange, grapefruit, tangerine and green lemon fruits dipped in ethephon solutions for a few seconds to several minutes developed satisfactory marketable color in seven to ten days after treatment. (Fuch and Cohen, 1969; Yong et al., 1970). In pomegranates, however pre-harvest application of ethephon decreased the soluble solids, pH and vitamin C content of the fruit juice (Shaybany and Sharifi, 1973). Rouhani and Bassiri (1977) reported that when date fruits were treated with 0, 125, 250, 500, 1000 or 2000 ppm ethephon and stored in sealed bags or bags with 10 holes. The percentage dry weights of pulp and seed, titratable acidity, soluble solids and respiration rates increased, whereas pH, firmness and astringency decreased with greater maturity. The application of ethephon increased respiration and titratable acidity significantly. Although ethephon concentration and bag type affected ripening, their effects were relatively small; endogenous factors controlling ripening were more important. Ethephon application at 1500 ppm shortly after full bloom on Zaghloul and Samani date palms grown in Egypt advanced fruit ripening by about one month (Kamal, 1995). Musa (2001) reported that effectiveness of ethrel in enhancing the fruit ripening of Mishrigi Wad Khatib and Mishrigi Wad Lagi dates grown in Khartoum, Sudan, was 2-3 fold higher by injecting 2ml of ethrel (480 g/l a.v.) into a pit made in the peduncle compared with 1000 ppm of ethrel spraying over the fruit. Preharvest ethrel application significantly increased the Rutab fruit yield per bunch (7 kg) as compared to the control (4.5 kg) and postharvest dipping of fruit at khalal stage in ethrel at 4.2ml/l and abscisic acid at 1.0 mM significantly enhanced the ripening, compared to the control (Awad, 2007). Ethephon accelerates ripening and improves the peel color of the mangoes (Lakshminarayana et al., 1975). Mixture of ethephon, sodium hydro oxide and water, kept in the vicinity of mango fruit, facilitate the ripening in natural way (Sudhakar, 2006). Nair and Singh (2003) reported that fruit quality in terms of TSS, TSS/acid ratio, sugars and eating quality of mango cv. Bocado was found to improve with ethrel at 2000 ppm. Increase in salt concentration progressively increased the Dong/Rutab formation of khadrawi and shamran date cultivars, and addition of acetic acid enhanced the effect, but acetic acid alone was ineffective (Kalra et al., 1977). Ethephon treatment stimulated the decrement of titratable acidity, anthocyanin accumulation and fruit softening four days after treatment in rabbiteye blueberry. The ripening promotion effect of ethephon on total soluble solids content was observed only eight days after treatment. Ethephon treatment did not affect the fruit enlargement during the investigation period. They concluded that ethephon application for rabbiteye blueberry promote the fruit ripening, but the stimulatory effects of ethephon on fruit ripening were different in degree on each ripening characters (Ban et al., 2007). The stimulatory effect of ethephon on blueberry fruit ripening has been reported by some researchers (Eck, 1970; Forsyth et al., 1977; Lewis and Ju, 1993; Warren et al., 1973). The skin color enhancement effect of ethephon has been noted for apple and cranberry (Eck, 1972; Murphey and Dilley, 1988). In Jonagold apple, ethephon application stimulated the anthocyanin accumulation in the skin, but did n ot affect the total soluble solids content, acidity and fruit firmness (Awad and Jager, 2002). From these results, it is concluded that ethephon application for fruit promotes ripening, but the stimulatory effect of ethephon on fruit ripening differs in degree for each fruit ripening character. Ethylene released by the breakdown of Ethrel ® is the cause of softening of fruit and hastens the onset of ripening of several fruits, including mango, as reported by researchers (Rupinder, Poorinima, Pathak, Singh and Dwivedi, 2007). Role of hot water, sodium chloride and acetic acid in fruit ripening: Recently, wide international interest in heat treatment for quality maintenance and disease control has reflected in a range of literatures. With exposure of fresh agricultural commodities to high temperature, heat shock proteins transcripts and protein levels in such commodities have been shown to increase (Lurie, 1998). Further more, a wide range of fruit ripening processes are affected by heat, such as color (Cheng et al, 1988; Tian et al., 1996), ethylene synthesis (Ketsa et al., 1999), respiration (Inaba and Chachin, 1988), fruit softening and cell wall metabolism (Lurie and Nussinovich, 1996), volatile production. Postharvest heat treatment also can reduce chilling injury in many kinds of fruits during subsequent low temperature storage as well as reduce pathogen level and disease development. Agricultural commodities are large and respond differently by applied heat treatment. Inappropriate heat treatment can also lead to ripening acceleration or heat damage (McDonald et al., 1999; Lurie, 1997). The influence of hot water treatment on the ripening/curing of Dhakki dates with 70 oC performed better than 35 and 93 oC furnishing with 55% product yield of acceptable quality. The yield of improved quality product is further increased to 70% on the optimization of treatment time to 3 minutes. They concluded that Dhakki dates does not require to stay on tree beyond fully mature doka stage for want of dong formation and hence saves at least two weeks hang-on period Saleem et al. (2004). When fruits of Khadrawi and Shamran treated with 2% NaCl alone achieved 72 and 75% ripening by weight, similar studies were also conducted on Khadrawi, Shamran, Zaidi and Thoory date varieties at the doka stage. Sodium chloride (0.5-3.0%), actic acid (0.5-2.0%), or sodium chloride at 1.0% + acetic acid. With Khadrawi and Shamran increased concentration of NaCl resulted in a progressive increase in the ripening percentage of fruits (Kalra and Jawand, 1974; Kalra et al., 1977). Shamshiri and Rahemi (19 99) reported that sodium chloride and acetic acid either separately or combined, significantly increased the TSS and reduced fruit firmness and moisture content. Acetic acid at 2% had a better effect on fruit ripening and sodium chloride, but the fruits with sodium chloride were better in appearance. Mirza and Meraj-ud-Din (1988) treated the fruits of Dhakki and Basra cultivars in doka stage with 3% brine solution, 0.25% acetic acid solution and 0.25% citric acid solution for five minutes and sulfuring them for five hours. Different chemical treatments significantly enhanced the ripening percentage of fruits, brine solution was found to be superior ripening agent.

munchausen :: essays research papers

The Analysis of Baron Munchausen   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the book Signs of Life, the author Linda Seger writes about heroes, and their typical characteristics, that for the most part have always been the same throughout history. Even the word hero is already put in the male tense, suggesting there that most heroes have been and will be males. For the most part Seger’s points are well taken and are backed up mostly by every heroic story I’ve ever read or seen before in my life. The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen definitely pushes the typical hero envelope, but even still, Seger’s idea of typical hero characteristics shown through in most of this crazy Monty Python type film. Seger explains from the beginning of her article that the hero usually, â€Å"begins as a nonhero; innocent, young, simple or humble† (Signs of Life; 318). This observation one finds to be false when it comes to the Baron. She goes on to write in her second point that something happens to heroes â€Å"that sets the story in motion† (Signs of Life; 319). Well how can this point be proven wrong if something didn’t get the hero started he would then cease to be hero wouldn’t they. In her third point Seger reports that the hero doesn’t really want to leave where they are, even when they’ve already been asked once. She states that the hero usually, â€Å"receives a double call to adventure† (Signs of Life; 319). Asking the hero once for the sake of 2 others isn’t enough, it’s only when it becomes personal the hero takes action. In most journeys the hero â€Å"usually receives help† (Signs of Life; 319) and typically gets it mostly from â€Å"unusual sources† (Signs of Life; 319). You’ll find that most everything the entire movie of Baron Munchausen is unusual and that the hero himself is just as unusual as the person or moon he is talking to. The final point that I have chosen to analyze from Seger’s writing in Signs of Life, comes from her fifth point. She explains that once the hero is ready to begin the hero â€Å"moves into a special world where he or she will change from the ordinary to the extraordinary† (Signs of Life; 319). This is usually the first plot point that sets the story in motion or in our case the Baron on his way.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The idea from Seger that the hero â€Å"usually begins as a nonhero† (Signs of Life; 318) doesn’t hold true to this story at all.

Study on the Historical Background of Parental Involvement

Although parents and instructors have interacted since schools were foremost formed in the United States, the construct of parental engagement has changed over clip ( Cutler, 2000 ) . In the early 19th century, parents and the community greatly controlled the actions of the schools. The place, church, and school supported the same ends for acquisition and for the integrating of the pupil into the grownup community ( Prentice and Houston, 1975 ) . The community, including the parents and church, were in control of the educational system by engaging instructors, developing the course of study, and turn toing maturity accomplishments necessary for their environment. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a different form of partnerships began. Parental authorization began to decrease and local school control could be seen in the increased authorization of province, county, and territory educational systems. During this clip period the school began to draw off from the community cognition and towards the educational expertness of the instructors. Up to this clip, it was thought that anyone could learn ( DeMoss, 1998 ) . Rearing was supplemented by direction and course of study in schools ( Berger, 1991 ) . Throughout this displacement, pupil coursework became enhanced in countries that the parents and community members did non hold cognition of or a background in. As a consequence, Epstein ( 2001 ) suggested that parents were expected to take on a different role-that of fixing their kids for school by leaving values, duty, and other normally held work moralss. During the 1960s, educational theoreticians and the federal authorities began to back the transition of statute law back uping such plans as Head Start, Home Start, and Follow Through ( Berger, 1991 ) . As schools became larger and more impersonal, beds of school bureaucratism were added. This made it hard for parents to go involved. The importance of enlisting parents and community members as spouses in instruction has been on the head since 1965. In the 1990 ‘s, the U.S. Department of Education and Secretary of Education Richard Riley shined a limelight on school, household, and community partnerships ( Epstein, 2001 ) . Currently, federal Torahs have required school territories to include parents to help in educating the young person of America. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act ( ESEA ) is a United States federal legislative act enacted on April 11, 1965 as an built-in portion of Lyndon B. Johnson ‘s â€Å" War on Poverty † . The passage of the ESEA revolutionized the federal authorities ‘s function in instruction. Prior to the jurisprudence ‘s transition, educational policy-making had been the close sole sphere of province and local authoritiess. The ESEA is the largest individual beginning of federal support for kindergarten through 12th grade instruction. It was the first federal act to apportion money straight to hapless schools, communities, and kids. Although it did non hold a direct connexion with parent and community engagement, this federal act led the manner to turn toing the demand for partnerships outside of the local school system. The Coleman Report, besides known as Equality of Educational Opportunity, was a research survey commissioned by the U. S. Department of Education in conformity with the freshly passed Civil Rights Act of 1964. Coleman ‘s study uncovered the cause of disparity between Black and White schools in America. The paper stated that public instruction did significantly impact the ability of pupils to make their full potency. The Coleman Report besides cited household environment as the significant factor for the successful academic accomplishment among those kids. James Coleman concluded that kids who lacked support or a value of instruction in their place were at a disadvantage and could non larn at the same rate as those pupils emerging from wealthier households valuing educational direction ( Coleman, 1966 ) . In 1975, Congress passed Public Law 94-142 ( Education of All Handicapped Children Act ) . In order to have federal financess, provinces must develop and implement policies that assure a free appropriate public instruction to all kids with disablements. In 1990, Public Law 94-142 was renamed to Persons with Disabilities Education Act ( IDEA ) . IDEA was reauthorized in 1997. IDEA includes cardinal rules to steer households and professionals to work together to heighten the educational chances for their kids. IDEA requires active parent engagement throughout the educational procedure, including the development of the kid ‘s Individualized Educational Program ( IEP ) . The overall end of this jurisprudence is to keep an equal and respectful partnership between schools and households ( The History of IDEA, 2004 ) . A noteworthy impact on parental engagement is a consequence of IDEA by promoting parents to recommend for their kid and to supply input for the class of their kid †˜s instruction. In the 1980s, the U.S. Department of Education every bit good as the National Association of State Boards of Education, along with assorted professional forte associations, took leading functions in developing theoretical accounts of successful parent-school coaction plans ( Berger, 1991 ) . By the 1990s, politicians every bit good as parents were progressively demanding answerability from public instruction and both entities encouraged federal statute law to mandate such answerability. Grolnick and Slowiaczek ( 1994 ) maintained that there was an increasing acknowledgment within development, sociological, and educational theories that both the school and place were critical establishments responsible for the socialisation and instruction of kids. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 was reauthorized with the Improving America ‘s Schools Act ( IASA ) of 1994. The focal point of reauthorizing the ESEA was to alter the manner pedagogues deliver direction, promote comprehensive systemic school reform, strengthen answerability, and advance the coordination of resources to better instruction for all kids. The comprehensive school reform in this act was predicated on four cardinal rules: ( a ) high criterions for all pupils, ( B ) better trained instructors to learn to high criterions, ( degree Celsius ) flexibleness to excite local enterprise along with duty for consequences, and ( vitamin D ) advancing partnerships among households, communities, and schools ( National Education Goals Panel, 1995 ) . Although advancing partnerships among households, communities, and schools was a founding rule of the reauthorization of ESEA, Congress did non include a formal end focused on parental engagement until it reauthorization in 1994, when President Bill Clinton signed into jurisprudence the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. This act consisted of eight National Education Goals for the twelvemonth 2000. Goal 8 provinces: â€Å" By the twelvemonth 2000, every school will advance partnerships that will increase parental engagement and engagement in advancing the societal, emotional, and academic growing of kids † ( National Education Goals Panel, 1995 ) . Thus the end of parental engagement had changed from the proviso of inactive functions for parents in the 1980s to one of coaction and partnerships between schools and parents in the 1990s. The 2001 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, entitled the No Child Left Behind Act ( NCLB ) , continues a legislative committedness to parental engagement begun in 1965. Cardinal characteristics of the 1988 and 1994 reauthorizations, such as school-parent compacts, parental engagement policies, and the parental engagement support expression, remain predominately unchanged. However, the 2001 reauthorization represents a noteworthy displacement in the expected function of parental engagement in the schools. It includes new commissariats increasing parental presentment demands, parental choice of educational options, and parental engagement in administration. The new jurisprudence envisions parents non merely as participants, but besides as informed and empowered determination shapers in their kids ‘s instruction ( Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, 2002 ) . Title I, Section 1118 is entirely devoted to rear engagement. Title I provides the nucleus elements that include many of the other parental engagement commissariats of NCLB. Epstein outlined the four rules characterized by Section 1118: ( 1 ) parental engagement requires multilevel leading, ( 2 ) parental engagement is a constituent of school and schoolroom organisation, ( 3 ) parental engagement recognizes the shared duties of pedagogues and households for kids ‘s acquisition and success in school, and ( 4 ) parent engagement plans must include all households, even those who are non presently involved, non merely the easiest to make ( 2005 ) . The first clip in history of the ESEA, federal jurisprudence contained a definition of parental engagement, which is: the engagement of parents in regular, bipartisan, and meaningful communicating affecting pupil academic acquisition and other school activities including: helping their kid ‘s acquisition ; being actively involved in their kid ‘s instruction at school ; functioning as full spouses in their kid ‘s instruction and being included, as appropriate, in decision-making and on consultative commissions to help in the instruction of their kid ( NCLB, Section 9101.32, 2002 ) . The NCLB confirms the importance of parent engagement. The declared intent of the NCLB legislative act is to â€Å" guarantee that all kids have a just, equal, and important chance to obtain a high-quality instruction and range, at a lower limit, proficiency on disputing State academic accomplishment criterions and province academic appraisals † ( U.S. Department of Education, 2001 ) . In a 2006, Appleseed Foundation study entitled â€Å" It Takes a Parent, † parental involvement elements of the NCLB were examined by a pool of 16 province and local organisations, in 18 school territories in six provinces. There were three decisions which emerged from the survey. First, despite federal authorizations and parental engagement research, school territories, and single schools had non wholly encompassed parental engagement as a primary pupil accomplishment scheme. The Appleseed Foundation ( 2006 ) suggested that this deficiency of widespread parental engagement in schools had been the consequence of several causes: The deficiency of clear and meaningful appraisals by which effectual parental engagement policies and plans could be measured. Limited consciousness and preparation on how to affect parents. A conjunct attempt to run into the answerability constituents of NCLB, such as proving and teacher quality, instead than parental engagement ( Appleseed Foundation, 2006 ) . Second, there was still a demand for bing parental engagement authorizations to be to the full understood, supported, and implemented. The Appleseed study ( 2006 ) recommended that province, territory, and school leaders work to implement the Torahs that soon exist. Third, a figure of promising parental engagement patterns and theoretical accounts emerged during the survey. The Appleseed study ( 2006 ) concluded that many parents did non have clear and timely information about their kids and their schools ; that poorness, linguistic communication, and cultural differences are barriers to parental engagement ; and school leaders do non uniformly value that parental engagement as an answerability scheme. Parental engagement continues to be studied by research workers, pedagogues, and parents who understand that parental engagement is an indispensable component in the success of pupils and schools. High accomplishing schools recognize that parents are a necessary constituent of the educational procedure. Schools and instructors are still being encouraged to travel parental engagement policies, plans, and patterns from the side to the head of their accomplishment scheme ( Appleseed, 2006 ) . Twenty-five old ages ago, Missouri pioneered the construct of assisting parents embrace their of import function as their kid ‘s first and best instructor. Today, Parents as Teachers continues to fit early childhood organisations and professionals with information and tools that are relevant-and widely applicable-to today ‘s parents, households and kids. The Parents as Teachers leading squad and Board of Directors is engaged in a three-year strategic program, which places the organisation as a valued spouse to back up the organisations and professionals who serve households and kids, particularly those most vulnerable. The construct for Parents as Teachers was developed in the 1970s when Missouri pedagogues noted that kids were get downing kindergarten with changing degrees of school preparedness. Research showed that greater parent engagement is a critical nexus in the kid ‘s development of larning accomplishments, including reading and authorship. Early on childhood professionals suggested that a plan to supply early sensing of developmental holds and wellness issues, and parent instruction to assist parents understand their function in promoting their kid ‘s development from the beginning could assist better school preparedness and parent engagement. With support from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and The Danforth Foundation, Parents as Teachers began in 1981 in Missouri as a pilot undertaking for first-time parents of neonates. Acknowledging the plan ‘s benefits and cost effectivity, the Missouri legislative assembly provided province support in 1985 to implement Parents as Teachers plans in all Missouri school territories. Since 1985, Parents as Teachers has expanded to all 50 provinces and seven other states ( Parents as Teachers, 2010 ) . The Parent/Family Involvement Resolution was adopted on November 14, 2005, by the Missouri State Board of Education. Within the declaration the Missouri State Board of Education believes that schools must make an environment that is contributing to larning and that strong, comprehensive parent/family engagement is an of import constituent. Parent/family engagement in instruction requires a concerted attempt with functions for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, school territories, parents/families, and communities ( Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2005 ) .Parental Involvement ResearchThe common wisdom is that parental engagement and strong schools are inseparable-that you can non hold on without the other. Research indicates a strong nexus between parental engagement and pupil accomplishment ( Hester, 1989 ) . Harmonizing to Vandergrift and Greene ( 1992 ) , parent engagement has two independent constituents: parents as protagonists and pa rents as active spouses. Concentrating on one of these constituents entirely is non a sufficient attack to parental engagement. The ideal is the parent who is both supportive and active. Hester ( 1989 ) discusses parental engagement from the following position: parents as instructors, parents as protagonists of activities, parents as scholars and parents as advocators. Hester besides emphasizes the importance of communicating with parents as an of import portion of engagement. The research on parental engagement in the field of instruction references parents ‘ activities in support of larning at place, in school, and in the community. Joyce Epstein, a taking research worker in the field of parental engagement, identified and studied multiple steps of parental engagement ( Epstein, 1995 ) . As a consequence of this research, Epstein and her co-workers developed a model of six types of engagement with associated activities, challenges, and expected consequences. Rearing: Help all households set up place environments to back up kids as pupils. Communication: Design effectual signifiers of school-to-home and home-to-school communications about school plans and kids ‘s advancement. Volunteering: Recruit and form parent aid and support. Learning At Home: Provide information and thoughts to households about how to assist pupils at place with prep and other curriculum-related activities, determinations, and planning. Decision Devising: Include parents in school determinations, developing parent leaders and representatives. Collaborating With Community: Identify and integrate resources and services from the community to beef up school plans, household patterns, and pupil acquisition and development. There are many grounds for developing school, household and community partnerships. They can better school plans and school clime, provide household services and support and increase parent ‘s accomplishments and leading, connect households with others in the school and in the community and aid instructors with their work. However, the chief ground to make such partnerships is to assist childs win in school and in ulterior life ( Epstein, 1995 ) . The National Parent Teacher Association ( PTA ) Board of Directors ( 1993 ) has endorsed three types of parental engagement: Parents as the first pedagogues in the place, Parents as spouses with the schools, and Parents as advocators for all kids and young person in society. In 1997, the National PTA created and adopted the National Standards for Parent/Family Involvement Programs in support of set uping quality parental engagement plans that enhance pupil acquisition and accomplishment. These criterions were based on Epstein ‘s ( 1987, 1992, 1995 ) theoretical account of parental engagement. As Fan and Chen ( 2001 ) found in their research, rearing manners, as a critical step of parent engagement, have been linked to student public presentation. Fan and Chen examined multiple steps of parent engagement. The research workers identified three concepts of parent engagement: communicating, supervising, and parental outlooks. Communication refers to parents ‘ frequent and systematic treatments with their kids about school assignment. Supervision includes monitoring when pupils return place from school and what they do after school, supervising clip spent on prep. Parental outlooks were found to be the most critical of the three. These include the mode and extent to which parents communicate their academic aspirations to their kids. Fan and Chen found that high outlooks of parents and pupil perceptual experiences of those outlooks are associated with enhanced accomplishment. The research grounds is now beyond difference. When schools work together with households to back up acquisition, kids tend to win non merely in school, but throughout life. In fact, the most accurate forecaster of a pupil ‘s accomplishment in school is non income or societal position, but the extent to which that pupil ‘s household is able to: Make a place environment that encourages larning Express high ( but non unrealistic ) outlooks for their kids ‘s accomplishment and future callings Become involved in their kids ‘s instruction at school and in the community ( Henderson, 1994 ) .Impact of Parental Involvement on Student AchievementParental engagement is perfectly indispensable to student accomplishment in school and in life. The overpowering surveies and research indicate that there are positive academic results stemming from parental engagement with benefits get downing in early childhood throughout adolescence and beyond ( Henderson & A ; Mapp, 2002 ; Patrikakou, Weisberg, Redding & A ; Walberg, 2005 ) . A kid ‘s acquisition is enhanced when schools encourage parents to excite their kids ‘s rational development. Numerous surveies have shown that the place environment has a powerful consequence on what kids and young person learn, non merely in school but outside of school as good. This environment is well more powerful than the parents ‘ income and instruction in act uponing what kids learn in the first six old ages of life and during the twelve old ages of primary and secondary instruction. One major ground that parental influence is so strong, is because the kids spend more than ninety per centum of their clip from babyhood throughout their childhood outside school under the influence of their parents. Therefore, finally the parents are their first and most of import instructor ( Weinstein & A ; Walberg, 1983 ; Peng & A ; Wright, 1994 ) . Epstein ( 1987 ) found that schools besides affect parent engagement degrees and grounds shows that parents want to go involved but are non allowed to hold unfastened communicating with the school. Conventional avenues for affecting parents in school can be closed to parents due to specific cultural cognition. Parents have a batch of trouble accommodating to the school civilization particularly in non English speech production communities, but cultural cognition is power and it can forestall parents from take parting to the full. Sheldon ( 2002 ) highlighted minimum resources parents get through societal webs as one ground parents are less involved in their kids ‘s instruction. Eccles and Harold ( 1993 ) found that less educated parents switch their attending off from school because they feel unequal to assist their kids with their prep. Henderson has examined the effects of parental engagement and pupil success since 1981. Her initial study, â€Å" The Evidence Grows † documented 35 surveies that showed important, measureable benefits for kids as a consequence of parental engagement. ‘When parents become involved in the kids ‘s schooling, they promote the development of attitudes that are a cardinal to academic accomplishment, attitudes that promote household interaction instead that its societal category or income. If schools treat parents as powerless or unimportant, or if they discourage parents from going involved, they promote the development of attitudes in parents, and accordingly their kids, that inhibit accomplishment ( Henderson, 1981 ) ‘ .