King Lear and the Analysis of the Family Concept Essay

The issue regarding which is more important, love and family ties or fame and political power are issues that are always present in every generation. Well, which is really more important that we should devote our lives in search for the more important thing? Is blood really thicker than water? It is a subjective topic in which persons have different experiences and stand about the subject matter. This paper aims to answer this question by referring to the epic play of William Shakespeare: King Lear. It is also important to look at the values and actions displayed by the characters of the stories and to analyze whether they are still applicable in our contemporary time. â€Å"King Lear† is regarded by many critics as one of the best works of the arguably greatest writer that has ever lived, the immortal William But despite being on of the author’s last works, â€Å"King Lear† had echoed throughout literary history as one of the best read and staged play. It has also become a staple material for those who endeavor in literature studies. The success of the text owes much to the themes that the text generates. One of those themes is an issue that the whole world can relate to about a family. The socio -cultural nature of the family had amplified significantly the readership of the text as it is being used as a study text by those in the social sciences. Family and Society Family is an essential part of the society. It is a major component in the aspect of social health in the world we live in. The family which includes the parents and children, all play a big role in shaping the society, in maintaining the social health of the place we call home. The family is a means of the propagation of life, wherein because of the family, societies continue to exist. It is because of the parent’s capability to bear children and raise them to become better people, thus accounting for a better society. Comparison and Contrast between Modern and Shakespearean King Lear Family The modern American family has more diverse components not just the typical family members. Often times, the structure of a modern family is greatly influenced with the modern influence brought about by the changing times and ideas. Modern societies are not only characterized with the great influence of technological advances and dependency, but rather in more complex terms, the modern family is subjected to changes in the ideals behind the essence of a modern family image. (Woloch 1997) But unlike in modern families, the aristocratic family of King Lear in Shakespeare’s work typifies the basic notion of family struggles at that time. The character of King Lear is portrayed as a struggling human being eager to win the favour of his children in the most drastic ways he knows best. The intention of the character of King Lear is to do what he thinks is best for his sons and daughters. However, he became so obsessed in power and blinded by his intention to protect his daughters at all costs in the expense of Cordelia. In discerning the true identity of a modern family, we realize the need to evaluate the changes in the basic unit of structure in the society from Shakespeare’s time until now. During the early centuries, the family is characterized by only one true virtue: it is composed of the father, the mother and their children. The history behind the family as a concept, involves the idea of each roles portrayed by each entity. The father is the sole provider of the family; the mother is the one who takes care of the children and the household; and the children are there to be nurtured, loved and provided for. But generally these concepts have become the main stereotypes brought into the modern societies. The play has those stereotypes. King Lear is portrayed as a noble aristocrat obsessed with his power. Cordelia is also a pivotal character in King Lear wherein she is seen as a typical good daughter who always follows her father. However, the fool can be put as an allegory of Shakespearean society wherein truth is at its essence of being true. Times change and almost everything in the society changes and has changed. Not just from infrastructure, but also the amount of knowledge shared and experienced by everyone. The concept of family has also changed dramatically. Brought by the women revolution and the emergence of the feminist concept, the country has experienced the women greatly influence the manner in which concepts in the society is changed.(Woloch 1997) The role of women in the society has greatly changed from the stereotyped domesticated females, to the working and productive women of the future.(Kemp & Squires 1997) This is an important phenomenon in history that must be addressed in order to define the concept of changing family image. One notable contribution came from the â€Å"changed† status of women and the achievement of gender equality in the country. Another contributing factor to the changing views in family image made by the play King Lear is the role portrayed by men in the society. From a patriarchal type of society, King Lear for instance, experience a dramatic change brought about by the change in the status of women.(Woloch 1997) Men in modern times have to compete more and more with women in context of career and including family life. There is a great paradigm shift of roles from the earlier centuries wherein men have the sole right to work for their family. In modern societies, women share equal roles in bringing and managing resources within the household. These events are clearly depicted in both stories of King Lear and Cordelia. Placed in both different contexts, the two characters in the play depicted the changes within the modern family. In the King’s character, the life of a domesticated father is shown albeit part of the aristocracy. The concept of tough love towards Cordelia is present in all acts. Having experience what probably most modern fathers are experiencing, Shakespeare realized is that being a domesticated father entails the kind sympathy for mothers who spends most of the time taking care of the kids. While men busily work to earn their monthly income, mothers are entailed with a much greater responsibility in terms of taking care of the children. There is a conflict shown in the essay in which the author questions his capacity, as a male figure in the society, to handle such responsibility in the home. While his wife is away, he maintains to struggle between his job as a writer and as an on-hands father. Every domesticated father will realize that it is somehow degrading to realize that he can not do his job or fulfill his professional aspirations in life if he exchanges his role with the wife. There is the internal conflict that lies within the men to question their respective roles in the society and specifically in their own family. Osborne explains the struggles experienced by men in accepting that hard roles that women portray in the society. Once they too have experienced being domesticated, this eventually changes their own perception of their role in the family. Sexual identity and social identity is another main idea in the play’s depiction of courtship. In the story, social acceptance has a main role in considering this kind of modern family. This can be seen over the courting of the Duke of Cornwall towards Cordelia. Over the years, society has witness the growing number of social class relationships that includes a child or the wanting of a child. Many states still is irreconcilable with the issues behind aristocracy. But it is of practice to respect and tolerate the decision by the protagonist in handling his family. Obstetrics, Family, and Social Health on King Lear   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Obstetrics is a key in maintaining social health because it deals with a big part in the society – the family. A particular concept which can be adapted in thes paper, Obstetrics makes sure that life propagates, because it takes care of the women’s concerns during pregnancy, the formation of a new life, a life that would play a big role in the society. Obstetrics takes care of being able to have children of your own, which is another important factor in the family. A child, the product of the parent’s love and efforts, completes the society’s building block, the family (Nesbitt, 2002). As in the case of the main protagonist in the play, the same concept can be applied since King Lear had a difficult time in handling his children effectively. Comparison of the Concept of Family in other Shakespearean Plays In the story of Antigone, Haemon must choose between her love for Antigone and the fame and political power that await him if he obeys his father. In both Antigone and King Lear, the concept of patriarchal obedience is evident. Now Haemon is facing a dilemma because of the conflict between his love and his father. The same choice goes for Antigone for she wants to give her brother the honor of being buried in the right way. Both cases can be traced back to the struggles of Cordelia under his father. However, doing so would mean that she must disobey King Lear’s order. Disobeying the king does not only take the opportunity to be the princess by marrying the king’s son, Haemon, but her own life as well. But Antigone and Haemon decided to follow their hearts. In the end, Antigone killed herself. Knowing that his love is death, Haemon also decided to end his life. Thus, their value for their love ones cost them their own lives. However, they still gain the respect and sympathy of the people of Thebes. It can be said that the actions of Antigone and Haemon are not applicable in our present time. Although there are several movies that portray the same idea, this rarely happen in reality. It is a very rare case in which lovers decided to end their lives since it is impossible for them to be together. They can be considered as martyrs rather than heroes because of the act. Antigone also displays the kind of courage and determination that is greatly needed in our society today. Although she is a woman, she defies the odds and even the king for what she believes is right. Adding to the fact that she lives in the period when woman are considered inferior to man. This kind of courage is really needed by the present generation. Not only woman but men as well that have the courage to stand up and are willing to sacrifice their own lives in order to make a change. Today, although woman are accepted by our society and are ‘said’ to be equal to men, there are still some times that they are afraid to speak out and fight for their rights. Also both men and women are sometimes afraid to question some of the things that they find unjust in the society. They are afraid to face the consequences and are unwilling to make a change to improve social order. This characteristic is really needed in our society today, the courage to fight for what is right even if the whole society is against us. If only there are those like Antigone that are willing to give it all in order to make a change, I’m sure that our society will be a better place to live.   On the other hand, King Lear cannot consider himself victorious. His persistence and determination to exercise his power over the people of Thebes had a considerably great cost. Not only had he lost the sympathy of his people not to mention the approval of the gods but the life of his daughters and sons as well. His authority blinded him and the result is loosing the persons that he values the most. If our present leaders will demonstrate the same reason and behavior like that of King Lear, the people will surely revolt and take their powers and authority away and give it to someone more deserving and just. The people will surely not tolerate such actions. Whether to choose love and family over fame and political power is really a big decision. You cannot have the best of both worlds. To pursue love means to let go of powers and fame and vise versa. Also we cannot really determine which is important, whether to choose love and family ties over fame and power depends upon the situation. What is important is that we do not only consider our own benefit in making the right decision. Also the stories show that to pursue love and power is not wrong, however living your life to attain just one of them is sure to cost you a lot. In making a decision we should both consider the heart and as well as the mind in order to come up with the right decision. References: Ashbee, Edward. American Society Today. New York: Manchester University Press, 2002. Hertz, Rosanna, and Nancy L. Marshall. Working Families : The Transformation of the American Home. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001. Hutter, Mark. The Changing Family. 3rd ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1998. Kemp, Sandra, and Judith Squires. Feminisms. Oxford Readers. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. Woloch, Nancy. Early American Women : A Documentary History, 1600-1900. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997. Wakefield, Thaddeus, and NetLibrary Inc. The Family in Twentieth-Century American Drama. New York: P. Lang, 2004.

Comparing the revengers Fortinbras Essay

For this essay I will be comparing the revengers Fortinbras, Laertes and Hamlet. They each have their own roles as separate characters in the play and each have similarities and differences. All have strong reasons for wanting revenge. Fortinbras’ being a combination of political reasons and vengeance for his fathers’ death, whist Laertes and Hamlet are both avenging their fathers’ deaths. Nevertheless, the way in which each character goes about each of their revenge strategies is completely different. To show this I will be analysing how each react to various events within the play, starting with Hamlet himself. Revenge tragedies became very popular during 1600 at a time when theatre was of an unstable popularity and required the backing of men of influence to ensure it would continue. The theme of earlier revenge tragedies was the punishment of an evildoer through someone who had suffered because of him. The story source on which Hamlet was based had a dominating revenge theme. One of the basic elements of the revenge situation came to be the ghost: ‘A clear image of a spirit left restless through waiting for vengeance against the person who had inflicted suffering’. Its role being to urge the avenger to action and vengeance then to be sought and carried out in a series of dramatic episodes. Hamlet has clear links with this type of revenge tragedy. Other plays relating to the revenge tragedy such as Kyd’s ‘The Spanish Tragedy’ 91587) and the anonymous ‘Locrine’ (1595) have characters avenging deaths of close relatives. But in both these plays material considerations prevent fulfilment whereas in Hamlet, conscience is what stops the vengeance taking place. Shakespeare chose a theme, which deals wit a duty higher than the others, a son’s revenge for the murder of his father. Shakespeare humanizes the play, gives the audience something to relate to – loyalty between father and son. This is perhaps a component, which contributes to the success of Hamlet. Hamlet first learns of the real situation behind his fathers’ death when the ghost of his father visits him in Act 1, Scene V. He is told that his father was murdered. This confirms the suspicion Hamlet had before, and spurs him into thoughts of revenge straight away. ‘Haste me to know’t, that I, with wings as swift As meditation or the thoughts of love, May sweep to my revenge. ‘ (Lines 29-31). This statement from Hamlet quite early on is a complete contrast to what action Hamlet does actually take and the time it takes him to act. He speaks here of wanting to take quick revenge but in fact Hamlet waits and seeks evidence to prove that Claudius was responsible for his father’s death. He spends the next four and a half acts deliberating over how and when he should take revenge, and seeks confirmation for himself of Claudius’ guilt by the use of the ‘Mouse-Trap’. This takes place in Act 3, Scene 2, when Claudius asks for light during the play at the point where, Gonzago pours poison into the King’s ear. As Hamlet knows, this is very similar to the situation in which his father died. Claudius realises this as well and rises dramatically. This is confirmation enough for Hamlet and brings him to true recognition of his fathers’ death, yet Hamlet still hesitates to kill him. Hamlets’ revenge plan is hidden from the rest of the court. It is very much behind closed doors and it is only Horatio to whom Hamlet tells the whole story. The other two main revengers – Fortinbras and Laertes are a great contrast to Hamlet in this way. Laertes and Fortinbras’ vengeance is discussed throughout the play, and both are very open compared to Hamlet, although Fortinbras does hide his motives from his uncle. Both these characters have similarities in their situation to Hamlet but both go about their revenge in very different ways. Even after Hamlet is sure beyond any doubts that Claudius is the murderer, he hesitates to kill him. Fortinbras, on the other hand, has been taking action even before the play begins. When the play does begin we learn that Demark is in a state of alert. The audience learn that the country has been preparing for a war, and from Horatio, the audience also learns that the young Fortinbras is getting ready for action against Denmark for the killing of his father and for the return of lands previously owned by Norway. This provides the audience with a lot of the background for the revenge theme and also suggests later events in the plot. From this introduction to Fortinbras we already get the impression that he is a soldier, a man of action, he doesn’t delay his revenge but plots it and takes his opportunities whenever they arrive. His character is a contrast to Hamlet and Hamlet realises this. In Hamlet’s Soliloquy in Act IV Scene IV, Hamlet is thinking about all the time he has wasted in not taking action. He sees how everything around him is taking shape, all except his own actions. The sight of Fortinbras’ determination to go against the Polish army for the honour of gaining such a small and trivial piece of land makes Hamlet annoyed with himself. After all, he is avenging the murder of his father and the disgracing of his mothers’ name, something much more important than a piece of land, yet he has not carried out his revenge, and has in fact, it seems, been putting it off. ‘How stand I, then, That have a father killed, a mother stained, Excitements of my reason and my blood, And let all sleep? ‘ (Lines 56-59). Hamlet is questioning himself and most importantly his actions, why has he just let things go? He knows he has had the opportunities, especially in Act III Scene III where he is in the position to kill Claudius. Hamlet finds the King kneeling-praying, and so has him at his mercy; but he does not kill him. Now might I do it pat, now he is praying; And now I’ll do’t – and so he goes to heaven; And so am I revenged – that would be scanned. A villain kills my father, and, for that, I, his sole son, do this same villain send To heaven. ‘ (Lines 73-78). At the beginning of his speech Hamlet is very dramatic, he has the confidence to kill Claudius on the spur of the moment. But as soon as there is time for him to think about what he is doing, like in this situation, his resolution fails and he makes excuses for himself. Hamlet feels his revenge will not be fulfilled if, murdering the King while he is praying sends his soul straight to heaven. However, we can see this as just another reason for Hamlet to put off taking his revenge. It is the event taking place that turns Hamlet’s thoughts. He is ashamed, before his eyes are twenty-thousand men willing to fight and die for a piece of land virtually worthless, when he himself is unable to kill his fathers murderer even when presented with the perfect opportunity. It is this event that turns Hamlet, makes him form decisions and turns his thought into revenge. ‘O, from this time forth My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth! ‘ (Lines 65-66). At the end of this soliloquy Hamlet decides that all he will think about is his revenge against anyone that has done injustice towards him, it is time to act. Though we as the audience perhaps see this as ironic as Hamlet’s actions often contradict his words, we perhaps still wonder whether he will actually take his revenge. This scene makes Hamlet’s personality clear to the reader. He is shown against another Prince who is the exact opposite of him in the same situation. Hamlet is not an impulsive character, if he had been he would have committed murder straight away, but this would have meant there would have been no play to speak of. Hamlet cannot bring himself to do it, until now. Fortinbras’ pursuit of his goal has given Hamlet the example on how to act if an opportunity presents itself. Hamlet is so determined to do something he doesn’t want to think about the consequences anymore. This eventual attitude of Hamlet is similar to how Laertes has been throughout the play, he acts almost immediately when finding out that his father has been killed, he is almost irrational, he is passionate with his accusations and threats, and like Hamlet a menace to Claudius at this stage in the play. Unlike Hamlet, much like Fortinbras, Laertes is a man of action; he has no scruples and needs no corroborative evidence to support his courses of action. On his return to Denmark he is quickly standing before the King, accusing him of the death of Polonius. He wants immediate action and is determined to take revenge. ‘How came he dead? I’ll not be juggled with. To hell, allegiance! Vows, to the blackest devil! ‘ (Lines 127-128). Here Laertes speaks boldly and passionately – he will revenge! He uses curses – ‘To hell, allegiance! ‘ that would have appeared very evil to Shakespeare’s audiences. Laertes goes on to say that as long as he avenges his father’s death he doesn’t care what happens to him in life – or death. This emphasis the strength in Laertes’ character, he is determined to take revenge straight away and speaks of it in a similar way to Hamlet when Hamlet learnt of how his father was killed in Act I, Scene V. ‘O most pernicious woman! O villain, villain; smiling, damned villain! (Lines 105-106).

Uk Taxation System

1. 1 Introduction of the UK tax system There is a very long time before British tax becomes what it is now, which can be traced back to Ancient times when UK was a part of the Roman Empire. The uniform land tax in 1692 is the basis to the current British tax system; at that time, the land tax is a kind of direct tax and is the main source of government revenue. Before the end of 18th century in British, William Pitt announced income tax to cover the expenses on weapons in the preparation for the Napoleonic Wars. Initially, the tax rate was around 1/120 of the income above ? 60 and the rate increased to 1/10 of income above ? 200.In the 20th century, income tax is the main resource for UK government; in the mean time, indirect taxes also became more important through the century. In 1965, the corporation tax and the capital gains tax were introduced, and in 1984 the capital transfer tax was replaced by inheritance tax. Currently, the taxation system in the UK can be mainly categorized as personal tax, including income tax, inheritance tax and council tax, sales taxes and duties, including value added tax, excise duties, stamp duty and motoring taxation, business and personal taxes, including national insurance contributions and capital gains tax and business taxes.As a constitutional monarchy, the power of legislation is highly concentrated. All tax laws are from proposals from the Treasury Department and after approved by parliament and the royal, these proposals can come into effect and become laws. In the UK, nearly 90% of tax income is collected by central government. The HM Revenue & Customs takes charges of tax administration related affairs, including value added tax, sales revenue and tariff. 1. 2 Discussion of the UK taxation bases In computing the tax, we have to consider two parts: tax base and tax rate.Tax base is the economic basis of a certain tax and it is the base amount to compute the tax liabilities. Tax base is different from tax object, for e xample, the total income is the object of income tax, while only the taxable income can be regarded tax base. On the whole, tax base has two categories: economical tax base and non-economical tax base. Economical tax base means the objects of tax that are related to economical actions, such as revenue, capital and sales; non-economical tax base has nothing to do with people’s economical actions, such as the poll tax that is taxed on every individual person without their actions.In the UK, there are three kinds of tax bases: income base, capital base and consumption base. The income base is mainly used in individual income tax and corporate income tax. In most countries, revenue from income tax is the main source of government, so income tax base certainly has many advantages. Firstly, income tax base is much larger than other tax bases, because people with income above taxable allowance are the subjects to income tax. Furthermore, for most people, tax based on income is easy to calculate and manage for governmental officers. On the other hand, income tax base also has several disadvantages.Firstly, income tax base is only available for cash income; for income as goods, income tax base would not work. Obviously, it is unfair to not tax on goods income. Secondly, income has many sources; some are easy to track, such as wages and bonus, while some are not easy to detect, such as illegal sales commissions. At last, different people have different ability to pay the tax and income is not a good indictor to measure their tax abilities. So it is very hard to make a rule or rate to keep fair among every taxpayer. Capital can be used to make income and can reflect individuals’ paying ability, so it seems to be a good base for tax.However, the amount of capital would not generate the same amount of income, so it is not very accurate to use capital as a tax base. Furthermore, there are many kinds of capitals, which are hard to calculate and manage, and taxp ayers’ economic conditions are not the same, for example a house with mortgages and without mortgage should not be regarded same, so capital tax base also has some drawbacks. At last, consumption is also a measurement of ability to pay tax; more consumption means more ability to pay tax and less consumption means less ability to pay tax.According to Nicholas Kaldor’s theory, revenue should be the base of tax, not income. But here comes a confusing question: what if a person saves most of his/her income in the bank, rather than for consumption? Moreover, revenue tax base would affect the money supply on the capital market, because most people would tend to shorten their consumption and save money in banks. In a nut shell, all of these three tax bases have advantages and disadvantages, and there is no perfect tax base that can very fairly measure all taxpayers’ ability. So when considering the tax system, we should keep a balance between these three tax bases. . 3 Evaluation of a good taxation system What are the qualities of a good taxation system? Of course, nobody likes paying tax; however, tax is the main source for government revenue, which is used for providing public services. So we can also say taxpayers pay for the services they received, such as high ways and public schools. A good tax system should be both simple and equitable and simple. Equity has two directions: one is horizontal and the other is vertical. Horizontal equity means taxpayers with similar income should the same level of tax; vertical equity means taxpayers with higher income should pay a high level tax.Even though companies have to pay corporate tax, all taxes are ultimately paid by individual taxpayers. So it is extremely important to keep tax system to be equitable. Besides, simple is also an important quality to a good tax system. The rules and laws should be easy to understand; the tax liability should be easy to calculate and the tax system should be easy to administer. If the cost to administer the tax is more than tax revenue received, this kind of tax system is inefficient to both taxpayers and government.Complicated tax laws are costly to both taxpayers and the government; such laws are hard to administer and inefficient to collect. In addition, a good tax system should also be certainty, which means that the tax policy should keep being stable year to year, because this can make taxpayers to know the difficulty to evade tax payable and make a reasonable tax plan on the long run. On the whole, equity and efficient principles are two main principles to measure a tax system. A pie cannot be made both bigger and divided fairly. The same situation happens here.We cannot expect a tax system to be both equity and efficient, for example, when cut down the marginal income tax rate for those high income taxpayers, their productivity would increase accordingly, while the tax equity would decrease. However, there is always a comparably good po int between them, which we often call tradeoff. 1. 4 Evaluation of the UK taxation system In the UK tax system, income tax, national insurance, value added tax and corporation tax are the four main source of governmental revenue; the percentages are respectively 29%, 19%, 15% and 9%. On the whole, the UK tax system is quite stable.According to Huijun Yang (2012), from mid 90s 20th century, the ratio of total tax on GDP is between 36% and 39%, so it would be easy for taxpayers to make a tax plan. In addition, the UK tax system is quite equity for its income tax rate ranges from 10% to 50% and low income taxpayers can deduct allowances too. In 2012, the income tax personal allowance increases from 7,475 to 9,000 and the highest income tax rate decreases from 50% to 45%. This new rule will benefit 23,000,000 basic income tax rate taxpayers. The UK tax system also operates efficiently and the cost to administer tax is comparatively low.So overall, the UK tax system is well designed and works both efficiently and equity. However, there are still some drawbacks of the UK tax system. Firstly, the highest tax rate will be 45% in 2013, so the income gap between the rich and the poor will get bigger and bigger. Secondly, the tax takes less than 40% of the GDP, while, on average, government expenditure is 45% of the GDP, which means that the government need to increase their deficit to keep going on. Too much deficit will increase the governments’ financial pressure, because the borrowing must be paid by future years’ tax revenue.If the deficit always keeps on a high level, the governments’ authority among public would be weaken, and government function cannot be operated well. Thirdly, individual tax is prepared and paid by individuals; these tax preparation costs, including service fee of accountants and time cost, are also hidden costs for taxpayers. At last, the British government provides comprehensive social welfare to all citizens; among them, most taxpayers pay for the services, but some lower income taxpayers or unemployed people enjoy the services free of charge.So it is those high income taxpayers pay money for the low income taxpayers, and this would decrease those high income taxpayers’ work efficiency because some of their work are not rewarded. According to Holdford and Lovelace-Elmore (2001, p. 8), Vroom asserts, â€Å"Intensity of work effort depends on the perception that an individual’s effort will result in a desired outcome†. 1. 5 suggestions for the UK taxation system The following suggestions may be work to solve those drawbacks: * Creating more jobs for the poor and unemployed people * Increasing the highest rate of income tax Optimize the tax structure * Simplifying complex tax law clause * Decreasing the corporate tax rate for starting companies 2. 1 proposals for the UK taxation system In the UK, the main taxes are: income tax, inheritance tax, council tax, value added tax, motori ng taxation, corporate tax and capital gain tax. Even though all taxes have different tax bases, the ultimate taxpayers are every individual. As we know, a pie cannot both be big and evenly sliced. So for the UK government, it should find out a good point that can make the tax system be both efficient and equity.According to the 2012 Budget statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon George Osborne MP (2012), the main target for the UK government is to keep the economy in a stable increase trend. As mentioned in Osborne’s report, the UK’s economy is in a depressed time and the government has to both cut down expenditures and expand tax revenue. Therefore, we proposed three proposals on the tax system to improve the development of economy. Firstly, divide more the income tax rate levels between the higher rate and additional rate.According to the current UK income tax system, taxpayers with band between ? 34,371 and ? 150,000 are applicable to the higher ra te that is 40%, and taxpayers with band over ? 150,000 are applicable to 50% additional income tax rate. Apparently, the range from ? 34,371 and ? 150,000 are too wide that some mid-class families have to pay too much income tax for the high marginal tax rate. Taxpayers with income of ? 34,371 and ? 150,000 are totally different in tax payment ability, so it is not fair to let all of them pay tax on the same rate. From my point of view, taxpayers with band between ? 4,371 and ? 70,000 are applicable to tax rate of 25% because most mid-class taxpayers’ incomes are in this range and by doing so, there financial pressure will be reduced a lot; taxpayers with income ranges from ? 70,000 to ? 100,000 are subjects to 35% income tax rate and taxpayers with band from ? 100,000 to ? 150,000 pay income tax on 45% income tax rate. This proposal will greatly reduce the most mid-class taxpayers’ financial pressure and as the marginal tax rate increases for high income taxpayers, th e total tax revenue for government will not decrease.Secondly, impose property tax on people who own luxury houses or own more than three houses. In many countries, the property tax is imposed on individual house owners because real perporty is a remark of wealth. The property tax can help to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor. Moreover, as the tax is imposed on multiple house holders, the economic bubble in real estate investment or speculation will be greatly eliminated. Currently, the property tax is imposed on gains from capital, such as house rental not on capital itself. Even though taxpayers pay tax on their capital gain, the income gap still increases.At last, decrease the rate of stamp duty for bond or stock transactions. Currently, the stamp duty rate is 0. 5%. As mentioned in the UK’s budget statement, the main target in 2012 is to keep the economy to be stable not do slow down. The decrease of stamp duty is really a good method to stimulate the economy d evelopment. On the one hand, the decrease of stamp duty is a good remark for the stock market, which would encourage more stock transactions. On the other hand, even though the rate of stamp duty decreases, as more transactions there will be, the total revenue from stamp duty will still increase.As we know, UK is the center of worldwide stock market center. Stock market is the main capital source for public companies, so the boom of capital market will greatly promote the development of entity economy. In conclusion, the UK’s tax system is well organized and designed except for some drawbacks. I believe my proposals can effectively improve both equity and efficiency of the UK tax system and stimulate the economy development. Reference list Budget statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon George Osborne MP, 2010. HM TREASURY. online] Available at: < http://www. hm-treasury. gov. uk/junebudget_speech. htm> Finance Act 1965 (c. 25), from UK Statute Law Databaseâ⠂¬ . UK Statutory Publications Office,  Ministry of Justice. Retrieved 2007-05-09. â€Å"HM Revenue and Customs receipts†. hmrc. gov. uk. Retrieved 2011-11-11. Kay, Richard. â€Å"Palace fear over Queen's tax bill†. Daily Mail  (London). Peter Victor (30 July 1995). â€Å"A brief history of VAT†. The Independent(London). Retrieved 13 January 2011. Principles of a good tax system,2010, tutor2u, [online] Available at:

Article Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 9

Review - Article Example This paper will analyze the works of Piaget, Vygotsky and Erikson and what their theories which were aimed at explaining the growth of the human psychology. This theory was developed commencing from 1920 by Jean Piaget. The research was aimed at analyzing the behavior of children at different ages. Piaget realized that children acquired different traits and behavior when they are at new stages of developments. The theory was also aimed at understanding the psychological changes and developments through each stage of growth. The theory covered the life of a child from birth till adolescent. In the article by Crain (2011) the theory also determined the influence made on language, memory, moral development and scientific reasoning. The article by Van der Veer (2007) refers to the theory as the most conclusive article ever written on human psychology. The theory is by Lev Vygotsky and was aimed at explaining the psychological changes and development in children. The article explains the theories explanation on the psychology behavior in children. The theory relates the change in psychological behavior to the behavioral change children show as they grow. From the theory we are informed as the reason why maturity precedes learning. The theory by Vygotsky provides information to relate maturity to learning and understanding the concepts of life. The relation of language to maturity and psychological development is also analyzed (Van der Veer, 2007). The theory is an articulation by Erik Erikson. From the article by Slater (2003) the article is an explanation of the stages which humans go through from infancy to late adulthood. The article explains the growth sates in eight steps. From the eight stages humans go through constraints and master new challenges that present themselves throughout the stages. In these stages of development Erikson claims that the development of humans depends on their ability to pass through the forces

What do you think is the most significant change in correctional Essay - 4

What do you think is the most significant change in correctional policy in the last 100 years and why important - Essay Example These groups have been attributed for the major changes in the correctional facilities. Changes in the correctional institutions range from decongestion, improved security and increased human contact with relatives. In all the implemented changes in correctional facilities, the most significant change is the change regarding the mentally disabled or unfit. Prior to the past century, mentally disabled individuals were held in the same correctional facilities as the normal persons. This was a breach of human rights according to modern day states. There should be a distinction between normal individuals and mentally disabled individuals as far as convictions are concerned. In many instances, mentally disabled individuals commit crimes unknowingly. In past centuries this claim was insignificant an all convicts were treated to the same levels of punishment (Doris & Frieda, pp, 102). Mentally disabled persons unknowingly commit crimes without their consent. This claim has been used by human rights. According to Levinson (pp. 39) the insane individuals in society should be given exceptions as far as convictions are concerned. In the 21st century, the most significant change in correctional facilities is the exclusion of mentally disabled persons in normal correctional institutions. The sensitivity of human nature has definitely increased for cing people in society to advocate for proper and secluded correctional facilities for the mentally disabled. In 2007, there was the emergence of the mental health act. This act advocated for a compulsory test to all potential inmates. This enabled the mentally disabled persons to give logic reasons as to why they committed crimes. The importance of this act was very significant because many serious federal offenders tested positive to mental instability. According to Landsberg (pp. 117) mentally instability individuals stand in a high position to commit crimes without their knowledge.

Albert Einstein Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Albert Einstein - Essay Example This man is considered as the father of Science for the extensive research done by him in this field. An insight into his life would enlighten any human mind. Albert Einstein was born on the 14th of March 1879 to Hermann Einstein (Father), an Engineer and salesman and Pauline Einstein (mother) who was also well educated (Peter D 1-3). He was born at Ulm in Wurttemberg, Germany and after six weeks the family moved to Munich. He began his schooling at Catholic elementary school from the age of five and later at the age of eight he went to Luitpold Gymnasium for his primary and secondary schooling education for seven years and Einstein was a good student As Einstein grew up he developed interest for science and began brooding over the theories behind every mechanism. He was inquisitive to learn and would do anything to understand a theory. During his course of learning, his family faced financial crisis due to a loss in the business but Einstein continued his studies at Luitpold Gymnasi um for some time. Later he wrote his first scientific work "The Investigation of the State of Aether in Magnetic Fields"(â€Å"Einstein symposium 2005†). He finished his secondary schooling in Switzerland. ... Later Einstein struggle finding a job for himself and has finally done that as an Assistant examiner at the Federal office for intellectual property. His job at his work place influenced him to form a group with his friends and colleagues at Bern, who when met, discussed about science. He presented many papers of his work and â€Å"The Principle of Relativity†, â€Å"Sidelights of Relativity†, â€Å"Space and time in pre-relativity physics†, â€Å"Relativity Field† and â€Å"Quanta† are a few to name and on the 30th of April 1905 he received his doctor’s degree. One of his famous works was the â€Å"Theory of Relativity† in which he proved that energy contained in a particle of matter is equal to the mass of that matter multiplied by the speed of the light. This actually proved that energy is actually concentrated in a particle. This theory put forward by Einstein has earned him worldwide acclaim. â€Å"Who could have guessed that an article by an unknown patent clerk, appearing in the German scientific journal, Annalen der physik, volume 17, in the year 1905, would turn the of science topsy-turvy?†(William 26) .This was simply put into an equation E = mc2 and this is also called mass-energy equation. After these events, he had his recognition and held several positions like lecturer, professor and director at several Universities like University of Bern, Humboldt University of Bern etc. Einstein worked hard in trying to find the relations between â€Å"Time and Space† and â€Å"Mass and Energy†. His efforts finally paid and he was awarded the â€Å"Nobel Prize in physics† in 1921("Albert Einstein - Biography") for his photo-electric effect.

Change-oriented leadership trans formational and charismatic leaders Coursework

Change-oriented leadership trans formational and charismatic leaders - Coursework Example At the time of her appointment as Yahoo’s CEO, Marissa was five months pregnant. This did not deter her ability to deliver as a leader; in fact, it motivated her to work harder. She only took a two-week maternity leave and went on to build a nursery right next to her office, which meant no telecommuting and constant access to her new-born. Suffice it to say, Marissa gravitates towards a more situational management approach whereby she is more hands-on; a practice that is unorthodox for most CEOs. For example, she takes a more direct approach to hiring staff whereby she follows strict hiring policies, which entail conducting stringent achievement and educational background investigations (Weisberg, 2013). As evidenced by employee remarks and owners of the small companies that accepted mergers with Yahoo, Marissa Mayer is a charismatic leader. David Pogue, a former New York Times columnist cites Marissa’s charisma as one of the reasons why he accepted her offer to join the Yahoo editorial team. In addition, majority of owners of the companies acquired by Yahoo during Marissa’s tenure also cited her charisma as one of the major reasons for accepting acquisition offers. They agreed to sell their companies despite prior knowledge that their companies might face possible dissolution (Weisberg, 2013). Before Marissa took over as CEO, Yahoo had not released any noteworthy new products, which caused the company’s market share to plummet drastically. Since taking over, Marissa Mayer’s first year has been quite eventful. She commenced with the purchase of over twenty (20) small ICT based companies, a strategic decision driven by the need to diversify Yahoo’s product range. Her ability to recognize a problem, identify alternative solutions, and settling on the best alternative solution to the problem attests to Marissa’s exceptional transformational leadership traits. In addition, she did not let critical bystanders

Portfolio theory and invesntment analysis Assignment

Portfolio theory and invesntment analysis - Assignment Example In fact, it is required to estimate current investment strategy of the charity and then to propose actions for its improvement. Let us suppose that the portfolio has stocks. Structure of is determined by weights of stocks, . Per se, efficient portfolio allows the charity to obtain high expected values of return under tolerable value of risk. Efficient portfolio is determined by optimal weights of stocks, . In general, portfolios with high values of allow to achieve well optimized and efficient solutions but such portfolios are expensive to operate and difficult to analyze and manage. On the other hand, portfolios with small values of are cheap to operate and easy to manage but often such portfolios are too weakly diversified to be able to track the entire market or to beat the market index. Let us consider by examples how to determine optimal values of and weights and how to analyze structure of efficient portfolio . The present portfolio of the charity is concentrated in equity shares in leading U.K. companies. So, it is reasonable to suppose that each of them is in the top of the FTSE 100 Index, a capitalization-weighted index of the 100 most highly capitalized U.K. companies traded on the LSE. For instance, let us select1 the 7 largest constituents of the FTSE 100 Index. As of 9 December 2007, these ones were RDSA.L & RDSB.L, BP.L, HSBA.L, VOD.L, GSK.L, RIO.L, and RBS.L. Then, let us consider values of their market capitalization and also betas vs. UKX: Company Symbol Market Cap (millions ) Fraction (%) Beta vs. UKX Royal Dutch Shell PLC RDSA.L, RDSB.L 127,532.881 20.48 0.934, 0.983 BP PLC BP.L 117,355.224 18.85 1.056 HSBC Holdings PLC HSBA.L 101,548.136 16.31 0.723 Vodafone Group PLC VOD.L 98,199.053 15.77 1.068 GlaxoSmithKline PLC GSK.L 72,271.602 11.61 0.643 Rio Tinto PLC RIO.L 57,299.112 9.20 1.353 Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC RBS.L 48,380.050 7.77 1.083 It is known that around 40% of the charity's portfolio is invested in one of these stocks, say, BP.L; the investment in each of the others is around 10%. In case of passive investment strategy the charity uses tracking portfolio, in which each of 7 fractions must reflect (sic!) market capitalization of appropriate leading company; e.g. see Focardi & Fabozzi (2004). Inasmuch as real market fractions of top 7 U.K. companies are distributed quite otherwise than in the charity's portfolio, we may conclude that the charity uses rather active than passive investment strategy. It seems that such choice of the investment strategy is quite reasonable. In case of passive investing the charity attempts at least "track" the market which is characterized, say, by the FTSE All-Share Index. If the market is down in a given period, the charity with an indexing strategy will also find investment performance reflecting that decline. Of course, such investing is a low-cost strategy due to reduced security analysis and insignificant start portfolio management costs. However, there are certain tracking errors when the tracking portfolio can not follow

Find a classroom accommodation for students who are at risk, another Research Paper

Find a classroom accommodation for students who are at risk, another for those with ADHD and 1 more for individuals who are Gifted and Talented - Research Paper Example They can keep track of their students’ learning with this attempt. An example of a classroom accommodation for an ADHD student is seating them close to the teacher and away from windows and doors. This is a valid accommodation because such students need their assistance and exceptional care of their teachers at all times, and; therefore, their educators should be there (Friend & Bursuck, 2006). An improvement that could be made is for instance letting the ADHD the student run an occasional errand for his/her educator. This can assist the hyperactive child burn off the unwanted energy. Finally, a common classroom accommodation for gifted or talented students is through grouping them together or with higher-level learners (Friend & Bursuck, 2006). However, I think that teachers should never group gifted learners with lower-level learners for remediation because, if so, then the student might start questioning his gift or talent. This classroom accommodation can be improved throu gh encouraging learners thoroughly to study concepts and support independent investigations or studies (Friend & Bursuck, 2006). From this research, I learned that many students have unique needs, and it is the work of the educator to travel around these needs and learn how the educationally deal with such

Desertion of human resource management the topic it's management Dissertation

Desertion of human resource management the topic it's management performance - Dissertation Example Utilizing Mark and Spencer Company as model, researcher will undertake data analysis using information from purposive-respondents through structured survey questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Table of contents Chapter 1. Introduction and Background†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Chapter 2. Literature Reviews†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. a. Management Concepts†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. b. Human Resource Management†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ c. HRM and Theories of Motivation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ d. Managing Workers’ Performance†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ e. Competitive Advantage†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Chapter 3. Research Methodologies†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Chapter 4. Analysis of the Data found†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Chapter 5. Discussion/ Recommendation.............................................................. Chapter 6. Conclusion............................................................................................ ... Literature Review Management is a system or approaches that relates to the ability of leaders or managers to create a motivating environment for co-workers contextualized on situations. It is to lead that value on developing human resources, discipline, effective relations, transformation, strategizing and integrating situational leadership to effect desired change (Hersey, Blanchard, and Dewey, 1998). Applied to human resource, management is a strategy or approach where all workers systematically contribute to the achievement of a firm or company’s goals by employing persons, enhancing their skills, maximizing their capacities with due compensation to services rendered (Armstrong, (2006). To this end, managers evaluate worker’s performance based on corporate standards as part of career development and to employ feedback mechanism for the improvement of performance through coaching (Schneier and Beatty, 1979). This chapter will explicate the correlation of human resourc e management and managing workers performance as contributory factors in engendering competitive advantage. Management Concepts Nienaber. H (2010, pp. 5-6) explained that management relates to an organizational structure where â€Å"general manager† run a business and performed tasks to ensure success in production and marketing affairs. The tasks are often classified into five broad categories: planning, organizing, direction, coordination and control (Fayol, 1916, pp 145-152). These constitute as major managerial functions, with communication, motivation and decision- making as secondary management tasks. Management means â€Å"getting things done effectively through people†. This connotes the imperativeness of leadership’s pivotal role in managing people and their expertise to

Political Issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Political Issue - Essay Example Because of the Cold War period and the uncertainties it brought to the American citizens, the administrations supposed it was essential to stiffen down and take control (Hoffman, 2012). To do this, they called for more controls to the executive subdivision. The political ideology of the Americans vary on the classical liberalism; consequently, the ideas in most cases are alike. For instance, a bigger population of the United States believes in limited government, the perfect market, and individual freedom. On particular occasions, the two major political parties in the United States tend to have a controversial opinion from one another whereby one tend to lean to the right while the other lean to the left. There can also be a case in which the issues emanate in a particular party, for instance, the Democrat party having the problem amongst its members. In America, political scientist organizes the political ideologies with respect to how they affect the political government in the country. The liberalism and the conservatives always represent the two ends of the political situations in America. American liberalism posits that the state is supposed to act so as to bring the equality amongst the citizens. Traditionally, the liberal clust er has been working towards the civil rights of the Americans and the minority group. Conservatives have always come out stronger in defending the government than the liberalism. However, in the late twentieth-century liberalism and conservatism in strengthening the military status of American and more often than not, they got involved in the war. For instance in 1960s, the American president, John F. Kennedy increased the spending so as to strengthen the security while Lyndon Johnson on the other side of the ideology played a significant role in Vietnam War. The American conservatism contends that the primary duty of the

Industry analysis & competitor analysis Essay Example for Free

Industry analysis competitor analysis Essay At present, the U. S. market is dominated by several major companies marketing weight loss products, such as NutriSystem, Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers. All of these companies sell pre-packaged diet food and offer additional services, such as weigh loss advice and counseling. NutriSystem specializes in comprehensive monthly food packages with a 28-day supply of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and desserts. Its primary markets are the United States and Canada. A peculiar feature of NutriSystem is that the company does not distribute its products to the retail network but relies on direct sales instead: it sells its products through the Internet, telephone, and QVC, a television shopping network (Yahoo! Finance 2010). Jenny Craig mainly operates in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Puerto Rico and offers a range of entrees and snacks together with support in counseling at Jenny Craig Centers, over the phone, and online (Jenny Craig 2010). In 2006, it was acquired by Nestle, the largest food and drink company in the world. It also sells most of its product through direct sales. Weight Watchers is a global company that markets a wide variety of foods and snacks as well as online tools for weight loss. Its best known innovation is the point system: every food is assigned value in points, based on its calories, fat and fiber, which helps people to keep track of how what they eat (Weight Watcher 2010). Weight Watchers sells its products though a variety of channels, including retail. However, it is necessary to keep in mind that the segment in which all of the aforementioned companies compete is food and beverage market, the second largest segment of the market for weigh loss products which is projected to overtake the devices, accessories and services segment, the largest at present, by 2014 (MarketsandMarkets 2009). Lifewave belongs to the devices, accessories and services segment; here its direct competitors are Dermathol, Hoodia, Bell Lifestyle Products, The Pink Patch and a number of smaller companies.

Personal Experience Gained From Team Working English Language Essay

Personal Experience Gained From Team Working English Language Essay Personal reflection is vital to learning, teaching, personal identity and ones research. I have learnt and explored my experience on this group project which includes a number of elements such as analysing articles and writing annotated bibliography of different articles. I also had access to learning tools like online resources, textbook material and library resources which helped me improve my writing skills as well as my ability to understand materials effectively. Sharing and discussing different ideas and amount of knowledge amongst the group also gave me a brief insight on how to deal with problems and come up with an applicable solution. I also experienced how to confront difficulties in a team work and how to resolve any sort of argument or problem and come up with something which is agreeable by everyone. While working on assignment such as this, I exercised a great opportunity of developing and enhancing my writing skills effectively and efficiently with the help of other p eoples ideas which was an advantage to me. In conclusion, Ive learnt a lot of things about myself while working with my group members in undertaking this project and also found that I am capable of achieving almost anything if I put my soul and heart into it. Has the project given you any new insights about group work? Offcourse it has. This project has given me many benefits from using group work as part of teaching and learning activities in this project. Working in teams can make work a lot more easier leading to an involving and satisfying experience for students. By engaging myself into a group, I increased my involvement in the project, put in more effort, gained greater satisfaction and became more oriented in completing the groups task. Also, working in groups can be challenging at times and it demands a set of skills. With this project, gained fair knowledge about the way task-oriented groups work and what complexity it involves. At first, it was hard for me to understand the whole process of team work and the amount of communication skills it involved but by undertaking this project in groups, I have certainly developed a stronger sense of obligation amongst the members and increased pressure towards the completion of the task. In conclusion, this project has given me a new insight about group work with an opportunity of learning group skills. These skills promoted my self-independence and less dependence on teachers. What was the thing you liked BEST about working in a group? The best thing which Ive always liked about working in a group is talking and getting to know people at first. Working in a group is a great way to practice skills youre not sure of. Some of the most important things I like when working in a group is staying organized, finishing off tasks before the deadline, enjoy working with others and rising up concerned issues if theres any. Working in groups also makes a project interesting and big as compared to doing it individually. With group work, Ive been learning more in less amount of time and also enabling myself to check on everybodys progress to see if anybody needs help. Last, but not the least, I like the fact that the amount of work in a group is divided fairly and evenly for each members so that the work is done in a timely manner and efficiently as opposed to doing it individually. What was the thing you liked LEAST about working in a group? The thing which I liked the least about working in a group is the way at times a group member would talk over other members or when a member is being a non active participant. I strongly believe that a group requires everyones participation and sincerity on a same level. Another thing I like least about working in groups is that it can become harder at times to meet up as many members are busy when others are free or vice versa. Its not like doing an assignment individually where you can work at your own pace without having to consult anyone else. Finally, the last thing I like least about working in a group is that a lot of members rely on others to do their work instead of them doing it themselves. This is not fair on other members as they have their own work to do and complete it before its deadline. What would you do differently in a group project next time? I would like to FOCUS ON THE ASSIGNMENT ITSELF What were the challenges of completing the assignment? One of the major challenges of completing the assignment was finding the right type of articles in terms of clear context and topic. Many research methods and resources were used to locate the appropriate articles and it was something which wasnt easy at all. The second major challenge was to create a proper annotated bibliography of each article which was equally as difficult as finding an article. However, the given useful websites and online resources helped me overcome this problem and made me understand the key important points involved in the process of writing annotated bibliography. Through the use of this knowledge, I was able to summarise the articles in correct format and also reference it in a proper manner. Finally, another factor that challenged me in completing the assignment was time. As I was writing out the bibliography carefully and spending more time in researching and reading the articles thoroughly, I realized that I was running short of time before the due date so I had to sharpen up my speed. What were the benefits of completing the assignment? One main benefit of completing the assignment was that it was a short summary/analysis of appropriate articles and the amount of work involved was easily distributed amongst the group members. This assignment was completed much quickly and in effective time manner as it didnt engage any sort of complexity in understanding the context and topic. Another benefit of this assignment was that it was a group one thus, giving me an experience of working closely in groups with each other and discussing the important aspects of the articles and the amount of work allocated to each members. Working in groups made this assignment easy to finish and meeting up its deadline just in time. Finally, the last benefit was that after completing this assignment, I nicely understood the concept of writing annotated bibliography in a proper manner without having any difficulties. This is a great achievement and it also helped other group members as well. Reflect on the various stages of the assignment. Stage one was about writing critical review of a chosen article. While doing this assignment, I went through prewriting, composing, revising and publishing stages of successful critical writing in terms of its context and topic. I began to realize how the process of reviewing an article is divided between positive and negative elements. A few of my writing processes reflected on Sequencing, organizing, arranging and identifying beginning, middle and end key points with topic sentences and supporting ideas. I also revised my review by adding extra information and deleting or changing unnecessary text and also corrected grammar and spelling punctuation. In the final step of this assignment, I presented the best effort by generally presenting my review and ensuring that it meets the marking criteria. The four steps which I followed lead me to decent writing skills which I developed. Stage two was about working in group and writing annotated bibliography of articles. While doing this assignment, I felt like I had a second chance of improving and getting better at writing skills and content. More over, it also made me communicate widely and broadly with my group members discussing and organising the amount of task we had to conduct as a team. This also tested my inner knowledge and made it easier for all of us to start on the assignment and call for help if difficulty arises. With the help of resources, I wrote the whole bibliography of articles effectively considering that my sentences and paragraphs cover main ideas and supporting sentences corrected in grammar, spelling and punctuation errors. The thing that I learned the most from this assignment was that time is an important factor and one must always manage it wisely. Stage three is about reflecting back on group assignment with more focus on group experience and assignment. It is more like a survey on all the experience gained throughout the various stages. These personal reflections have changed and improved my writing skills in a variety of ways. I think more broadly and wider now in terms of context and structure. In writing a review and working in group, I found that I had to push myself a little harder to succeed. In the end, I was pleased with my work. I can Comment on ideas, in terms of how they are meaningful to me and also link my observation skills to my own ideas, experience and develop a future practice. How could this assessment task be improved? This assessment task needs little bit of improvement which can be done in a number of ways. Firstly, all the appropriate inter-related assignment information and templates should be up on the website on time and all parts of it should be complete and available e.g. stage three of the assignment had a template uploaded later on along with marking guide which I think it shouldnt be like that. All the assignment details and its related parts should be uploaded at once together. Failure to do this can lead to confusion and at times, can be a problem for those students who want to get the assignment over and done with. Secondly, the amount of workload required from an assignment should be decreased as according to the weight of the assessment. For .e.g. this assignment weights approximately 6.5% of the total 20% and also requires a lot of writing and experience to answer it thus, the content and the amount of work should be reduced as its not that much worth.

Analysis of School Policies

Analysis of School Policies Introduction Assignment one is to review several policies in an existing school policy manual and to analyze each evaluating its efficacy. The school chosen for this assignment is Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School (MSPCS) located in Miami Shores, Florida. MSPCS is a small religious based school for students age eight weeks to fifth grade and provides families an affordable option for an outstanding academic and social-emotional program. Created in 1966 as a parents morning out program, MSPCS was, and is, well known for its small community and loving environment. The parents morning out program transitioned into a preschool program during the 1970s. In 1999 the church added a kindergarten class to their preschool program. Beginning in 2003 the school began to add one grade each year until finishing with the 5th-grade. In 2008 MSPCS had its first 5th-grade commencement. In July 2013 the school hired a new Headmaster, and a year later he hired a new preschool director. The school began developing a rigorous academic program. With an increased effort on providing students with a quality school experience and the hiring of new teachers with proper certification/credentials, the school is now seeing the benefits of the transformation. Policy Making Procedures The Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School Commission, appointed by the Miami Shores Presbyterian Church Session members, governs MSPCS. The School Commission has a set of specific by-laws, which clearly outline the role of the commission versus the school (Wirth). The policy manual is intended to provide guidelines and directives from the School Commission to the Headmaster regarding general policies, processes, and guiding beliefs of the School. As such, the document contains critical information for executing management plans and processes necessary to meeting and maintaining the school purposes stated in the Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School Bylaws. Policies outlined in the MSPCS Policy Manual may be altered, amended, newly established, or repealed by a two-thirds majority vote of the Commission at any regular or special meeting, providing that such changes be proposed and presented to the Commission in writing at a previously scheduled commission meeting at least two weeks prior. The Headmaster may create interim policies when necessary, and the policy will remain in effect until which time the Commission acts to establish permanent policy on the given matter. There are six overarching sections in the MSPCS Policy Manual. They are academic and educational, finance, health and safety, parents, personal and School Commission, and students. For the purpose of this assignment, analyzing one policy in each section would prove to be beneficial to gathering full insight into the creation, purpose, and efficacy of the schools manual. Challenge of Materials Policy Academic and Education Section Objectives: To establish a policy that helps Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School to respect the convictions of parents and teachers in various academic subject areas, while at the same time maintaining our goal of teaching all subjects in the light of a comprehensive Christian worldview. Scope: This policy applies to all literary materials used at Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School. Definitions: Objective Materials: A subject which Christian families and churches commonly consider divisive, whether or not the introduction of the topic was planned by the teacher or brought up by a student. Examples include: Environmentalism, the War Between the States, old earth/young earth, partisan politics, etc. Guidelines: The MSPC School Commission has the final authority in retaining or excluding a book from the collection. Any definition of objectionable material needs to keep our target readers in mind. The library exists to meet the needs of Elementary students. Materials that might be deemed inappropriate for younger readers will not be omitted on that basis. Parents/Guardians that feel a book contains offensive material should follow the following steps to address the issue: Bring the book in question to a Teacher, Media Specialist or Administrator. The Administrator or Media Specialist will review the book and determine if the offensive material is egregiously and indefensibly objectionable. If the material is not found to be egregiously and indefensibly objectionable, the book shall be returned to the collection. If the material is found to be objectionable, the book will be taken out of circulation. The Challenge of Materials Policy is an original policy from the prior administration, there is no reference number, and the creation date and author are unknown. The policy is designed to address a parent who questions a book or material that the school and the Commission deem to be appropriate. In 1986, in reply to questions from librarians facing book or material challenges, the Intellectual Freedom Committee (IFC) established a list of definitions to explain vocabulary related to challenges (Merola). The charge for the IFC was to recommend such steps as may be necessary to safeguard the rights of library users, libraries, and librarians, in accordance with the first amendment to the United States Constitution and the Library Bill of Rights as adopted by the ALA Council (Klipsch). The significant step of defining terms that are universal provides library staff with an appropriate and consistent terminology when responding to a complaint. With this understanding, to date, the MSPCS Challenge Material Policy has not been confronted or questioned. Therefore, no revision is necessary to this policy. Although the policy addresses adult concerns, it ultimately affects the students due to the potential of removing reading material and media from their library choices. Volunteer Hours Policy Finance Section Objective: To set guidelines for volunteering requirements of families with children who attend the elementary school of Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School. Scope: This policy applies to all families with children who participate in the elementary school of Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School. Guidelines: Parents or guardians of elementary school students must complete a minimum of 20 family hours of volunteer service per year. It is the sole responsibility of parents to sign-in and out on the volunteer card/sheet and to verify the card/sheet is validated by an MSPC or MSPCS staff representative. Volunteer hours that are not completed by April 30th will be charged the rate of $25.00 per hour to the familys account. The Volunteer Hours Policy is an original policy from the prior administration, there is no reference number, and the creation date and author are unknown. Establishing a policy for mandatory volunteerism theoretically helps support the school and their initiatives to meet the mission. This policy addresses apparent shortcomings or lack of desire for families to become involved with their childs education and other school matters. There is currently legislation in California and Pennsylvania in regards to parent volunteerism. In both instances, the legislation protects families that are required to volunteer at their childs school from their employer who may not allow the time off. As recently as January 01, 2016, California expanded upon the Family School Partnership Act allowing, employees to take job-protected time off to find, enroll, or re-enroll their children in a school or with a licensed child care provider (Corcoran, 2017). The volunteer policy at MSPCS requires families to serve a minimum of twenty volunteer hours per year or pay $25 for each hour under the required minimum. A volunteer is defined by Merriam-Webster (1960) as, a person who voluntarily (proceeding from the will or from ones own choice or consent) undertakes or expresses a willingness to undertake a service. By definition, requiring volunteer hours is an oxymoron and furthermore, charging individuals for not completing the requirement could be justification for litigation. The policy is in need of elimination more than a revision. When parents understand and appreciate the significance of their support, a punitive Ifà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ then policy is not necessary. When prospective parents come to school, they receive the mission statement and discuss its importance with an administrator.   The first part of the schools mission statement is A Christ-inspired experience. Being Christ-inspired means for an individual to broaden their se nse of giving to others. As long as parents understand the importance of their participation in their childs education, there is no need of a policy requiring their presence. Evacuation, Reverse Evacuation, and Safety Drills Policy Health and Safety Section Objective: To set guidelines for Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School stakeholders in being prepared for an event when they may be in potential danger. Scope: This policy applies to all Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School stakeholders. Definitions: Evacuation: The immediate and urgent movement of people out of a building from the threat or actual occurrence of a hazard. Reverse Evacuation: The immediate and urgent movement of people inside the building from the threat or actual occurrence of a hazard. Lockdown: A confinement of all individuals to a secure location due to a perceived or real threat. Guidelines: All drills (evacuation, reverse evacuation, and lockdown) will be held on a monthly basis. During the first week of school, staff members shall take their class for a practice fire drill. Follow the evacuation map in the room using the primary route. The secondary route is also noted, and there will be one fire drill a year when the secondary route will be utilized. The school is equipped with an intercom, fire alarm system and sprinkler system. The Evacuation, Reverse Evacuation, and Safety Drills Policy is an original policy from the prior administration with two key additions from the current administration in 2013. There is no reference number, and the creation date and author are unknown. Before 2013, the policy only addressed evacuation drills. The drill is typical in all United States schools and is mandated by federal law. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act), which oversees Floridas business safety and health structure, requires that companies with ten or more employees have written fire prevention and emergency exit plans, as well as practices for such an emergency for each workplace. During 2013, the new MSPCS administration included the reverse evacuation and lockdown safety drills to the policy in reaction to the climate of todays society of schools under attack by unstable or angry people. The first known instance of a reverse evacuation drill policy was after the state of Kentucky put out a school crisis planning guide, and then FEMA included the policy in their guide (Dorn). Additionally, in 2013, a lockdown drill was instituted at MSPCS. On December 14, 2012, a tragedy occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, when a disturbed man went into the school and shot many students and several teachers. The administration recognized the potential of this occurring anywhere and why it is important to establish a policy for children and educators to understand and know what to do in this type of emergency. The Federal Government does not mandate lockdown drills. However, several states have legislation in place requiring schools practice lockd owns as frequently as they practice evacuation drills. Each of the safety drills and their continued practices is essential to keeping students and educators prepared for an emergency situation. No one can tell how someone may react in an actual emergency, but having the knowledge of what to do, may decrease further stresses or even casualties. There are no plans to revise this policy, because of the eminent danger that society faces. Parental Non-Compliance Policy Parent Section Objective: To establish a set procedure for Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School administrators when parents are not in compliance with school policy or procedures. Scope: This policy applies to any time administration believes parents are not in compliance with school policy or procedures. Definitions: Non-Compliance: Failure to act in accordance with a wish or command or inability to conform to rules or standards. Guidelines: When an incident is considered serious enough according to the schools parameters, all family members will be asked to withdraw from the school regardless of previous incidents. In most instances, the following will take place: FIRST INCIDENT: Written notification regarding the incident or offense will be sent to the family and placed in the families file. A parent or guardian may be required to attend a meeting, at school, with the Administration. SECOND INCIDENT: Written notification regarding the incident or offense will be sent to the family and placed in the families file. The parent, parents, or guardian will be required to attend a meeting with the Administration. The family will be put on probation for the remainder of the school year. THIRD INCIDENT: All family members will be asked to withdraw from school the following year, or if deemed appropriate, immediately. The administration has an obligation to inform the School Commission of any incident that reaches non-compliance status. In the event of family withdrawal, the School Commission has final authority to accept or reject the administrations recommendation. The Parental Non-Compliance Policy is an original policy from the prior administration along with a recent 2015 revision by the new administration. Included in the revised version are the three step process and the paragraph giving final authority to the School Commission. Adding both parts to the policy ensures and protects the family and the administration from emotional decision making. There is no federal or state legislation on parental non-compliance at school, but many private schools do have some policy written to safeguard all parties. All members of a school community, including families, educators, students, visitors, and the administration, have the intention to work in partnership to provide the children the best experiences in their education and care. From the onset, families and staff agree at the time of acceptance or employment to acquaint themselves with and meet the terms of the schools philosophy and Code of Ethics. There are times when behaviors or actions go against the philosophy or code. Therefore, it is essential to have a policy and process for dealing with such occurrences. If the administration selects families into the school community that are mission appropriate and who can abide by the schools philosophy, then this policy, in theory, would not be necessary. Unfortunately, circumstance can arise, and each party needs to be protected and valued during trying times. In the next revision, an initial step of a verbal warning may be beneficial in providing due process to the policy and may mitigate any further escalation. Currently, the first step is to write up a warning of the incident, and this does not comply with the schools Caring Community philosophy. Within the Caring School philosophy, one of the schools goals is to empower and listen to others to further understand their perspective. A conversation to express the school displeasure with a parents behavior or action allows the parent to provide their point of view. Through respectful and honest conversation, the school and parents may agree on a solution without further incident or create hard feelings. Evaluations/Personnel File Policy Staff, Personnel, and School Commission Section Objectives: To ensure consistency of procedure and standards in all performance assessments of the staff of MSPCS. Scope: This policy applies to commission evaluations of the Headmaster, the Headmasters evaluation of administrative staff, and the Directors assessments of the teaching staff. Definitions: Evaluation: A procedure for measuring a staff members performance in helping to achieve the goals and policies of MSPCS, the curriculum objectives of the school, and the observation of the guidelines and handbooks. Personnel File: A file maintained by the Headmaster in the administrative office of MSPCS for all faculty and staff members of the school. General Statement: Several fundamental principles underlie the MSPCS approach to supervision and evaluation. These principles are grounded in current research that identifies effective instructional practices that maximize student learning and achievement. The MSPCS model for supervision and evaluation recognizes the importance of linking teacher evaluation to professional development and student learning. It also acknowledges the value of a differentiated structure that supports teachers at varying stages of their career and experience and promotes greater teacher involvement in the evaluation process. At MSPCS we recognize the importance of the supervision, evaluation, and Professional Growth process. The MSPCS Supervision, Evaluation, PGP program incorporates supervisory options connected to personal growth in a collaborative environment. MSPCS is a professional community, which encourages feedback and reflection as a means of promoting continuous teacher growth and improved student achievement. Meaningful feedback comes from multiple and diverse sources and provides an opportunity for reflection which sharpens our teachers skills of self-assessment. Supervision, Evaluation, and Professional Growth is an interactive process perceived as valuable by all involved. The MSPCS program involves assessment structures that promote an array of reflective, creative and analytic skills. In the MSPCS program, outstanding teaching is studied, sought, recognized and supported. By promoting structures that encourage professional development, a reflective school culture and research-based practices; MSPCS ensures that it will remain focused on its mission, vision, and continued goal to improve student achievement. The objective of teacher supervision, evaluation, and professional learning is to increase student achievement by encouraging and supporting the professional growth of all teachers. Administrators Assurance The MSPCS Supervision, Evaluation, and Professional Growth Plan will: Provide clear, concise, comprehensive teaching standards based on current research of best teaching practice. Provide a fair, clear system for teacher evaluation used on current research. Provide useful, timely feedback related to MSPCS teaching standards to guide professional development goals. Foster a culture of trust, mutual respect, and constructive professional dialogue, which encourages risk taking in a learning community. Refine the craft of teaching through reflection and risk-taking. Utilize data from student assessment to guide teaching practice as related to MSPCS teaching standards. Encourage teachers to chart their course for professional development. Value the diversity of teachers perspective, skills, knowledge, and practice. All MSPCS educators will have: Support and encouragement from the Preschool Director, Headmaster and other staff members. Reviewed procedures and be informed on the supervision and evaluation format and forms. Professional development goals that incorporate one or more of the MSPCS Teaching Standards. Numerous opportunities to be observed through walkthroughs. An annual formal written observation grounded on teacher reflection and growth. Opportunities to discuss their growth with the Preschool Director or Headmaster. Guidelines: All employees will be formally evaluated at least once a year. Each director will be responsible for assessing the teachers and staff members immediately under his/her supervision. The Headmaster will be responsible for the evaluations of the directors, the accounting staff, and other support staff, and the commission will be responsible for the assessment of the Headmaster. The evaluations will be based principally on formal observations of the staff member and interviews with the staff member. Observations and opinions of third parties (parents, other staff members, individual commission members, etc.) may only be taken into account if the staff member being evaluated is given an opportunity to respond to the third partys questions/concerns raised before the finalization of the evaluation. The evaluation will be considered finalized when the staff member being evaluated and the one responsible for the evaluation both acknowledge by signature that the assessment has been discussed in detail. When the evaluation is finalized, the Headmaster will place it in that staff members personnel file. Other appropriate inclusions in the archive of staff would include letters of commendation or reprimand, as well as any responses, comments, or relevant data the staff member may wish to add. Under no conditions will a staff members personnel file be made public to other staff members, parents, or anyone outside MSPCS line of authority. The file of staff may be used by an authorized representative of MSPCS to draft a letter of recommendation to a prospective employer. The file is only to be used for purposes of refreshing the memory and is not to be reproduced for the prospective employer. The Evaluations/Personnel File Policy, entirely rewritten in 2016, from the original policy that was not a policy but more of an outline of procedures. In the original policy, there was no mention of school beliefs or the purposes of the assessment. Also, the wording in the original policy was punitive and full of if-than statements as opposed to helping an educator grow and develop their skills. Often formal evaluations cause stress to an educator, because of the judgment or perception of another persons point of view placed on the individual. At MSPCS, the elimination of judgment and the focus on individual improvement and self-reflection help create a positive experience for all parties during evaluations. Marzanos model of instructional evaluation focuses on specific strategies and how well they are working. Taken one step further, MSPCS adds a component where the teacher generates the level of specificity during a self-reflection period and a pre-observation meeting with the administrator. During the pre-observation meeting, the teacher shares the learning targets for the students and how they plan to prepare the students for the lesson. The teacher provides a brief overview of the sequencing and strategies of the content of the lesson, how the students will practice or demonstrate the new content, and how students will summarize the lesson. During the meeting, the teach er selects an area they would like to improve upon and asks the administrator to assess him/her on a specific task or technique. Additionally, the teacher prescribes two or three questions that he/she would like the administrator to ask the students. During the observation, the administrator documents what is heard or seen, without opinion or judgment. He/She then moves around the room asking the prescribed questions the teacher presented to him/her during the pre-observation meeting and documents the answers the students gave to him/her. A post-observation meeting is held within a day or two to capture the momentum and to provide effective feedback. The meeting always begins with the question, On a scale of one to ten, ten being the best, what would you rate your lesson? Not one person in seven years of asking the question has rated themselves a ten, which means the conversation begins with the understanding that everyone has room to improve. Much of the conversation revolves around the administrator continually asking what do you think and why do you think type questions, because the process is a self-reflection, not a judgment of being good or poor. After analyzing the data, we set goals to work on for the next observation, which may not be a formal one. The idea of the evaluation as a growth process instead of a judgment allows teachers to step back and truly look inward at their practice in a non-threatening way. There are no plans to change this policy as it has proven to be very effective. Discipline Policy Student Section Objectives: To ensure consistent biblical discipline at Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School. Scope: This policy applies to all elementary students at Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School. Definitions: Discipline: The practice of instructing and training people to understand and adhere to rules or a code of behavior. Guidelines: Each class develops their student appropriate discipline guidelines. Under no circumstances is corporal punishment allowed. Staff members may not withhold the bathroom, withhold food or belittle the student. MSPCS believes that everyone has the right to experience a safe and friendly school environment. Therefore, we have expectations that students will: Keep hands, feet and all objects to themselves. Show respect for adults and other students. Cooperate and show self-control at all times. Follow directions the first time without questioning. Be prepared for class each day. Be punctual and attend class each day. The school will not tolerate any of the following behaviors and may be cause for expulsion: Verbal and physical fighting. Defacing or damaging school property. Theft of school or personal property. The use of profanity or name-calling. Procedures: When a student violates classroom/school rules for the first time, teachers will discuss the infraction with the student and document the incident. In the event a student commits a second infraction, the teacher will contact the parent to discuss the issue and document the parent/teacher conference as a Step Two Referral. A parent must be contacted for a StepTwo Referral to be completed. If a third infraction occurs, the StepThree Referral must be documented on the referral form. If the student is disrupting the class to the point where learning cannot take place in the classroom, they may be sent to speak with the Preschool Director or Headmaster. If infractions continue to occur and are impeding upon the learning process for the student and others, the student may be sent home. A follow-up meeting will happen with the Preschool Director or Headmaster when the student returns to school. This session will be reflective in nature and to set guidelines and goals for the student to meet. All missed class work due to an infraction of a rule must be completed at home and returned to the teacher when the student arrives back to school. Transgressions, including but not limited to fighting, weapons, severe disrespect, bullying, etc. will result in disciplinary action which may include dismissal from school, even for a first offense. Also, if the MSPCS staff identify, through the course of observation and discussion with parents, that a students particular behavioral issues are beyond the capacity of the program to serve them, the school reserves the right to terminate enrollment at any time. The Discipline Policy is an original policy from the prior administration, there is no reference number, and the creation date and author are unknown. All schools have a discipline policy because it is a critical element in maintaining a safe environment for students and staff. In many schools, a discipline policy states all of the things a student cannot do and what will happen if they do it. At MSPCS, the student discipline policy is more of a threat of words on paper, because the current administration does not believe in sending students home as a punishment. Skiba, Shure, Middelberg, Baker (2011) offer there is no evidence proving that discipline practices that eliminate students from classes by the punitive acts of suspensions and expulsions help to improve either student behavior or school climate. Instead of sending a student home, where they will often be unsupervised, developing an effective intervention at school is more in line with the schools Caring Community philosophy. Another part of this policy that is inaccurate is in the first line that states consistent biblical discipline. The Bibles view on discipline clearly demands that parents be responsible and diligent in spanking, but strongly prohibits physical abuse of any kind (Ingram, 2006). Further, in the MSPCS student discipline policy, it states under no circumstances is corporal punishment allowed. At MSPCS, the administration is not reinforcing the written policy properly, and the language in the policy is sending mixed messages to our families. An easy fix to the discrepancy is to eliminate the word biblical from the policy. However, a complete rewrite of the policy is necessary to match the schools philosophy of a Caring Community and preserving dignity for all. The Caring Community requires a positive-based discipline program where students are self-reflective and empowered while maintaining their dignity. The goal is for students to take responsibility for their actions and learn from each of their experiences. At MSPCS, the school teaches students to look inward to work towards developing intrinsic motivation, while at the same time reducing teacher-centric external motivation. The objective is to influence change in a students undesirable behavior through conversation, demonstration, and sending a consistent message. At MSPCS teachers receive training in the art of being an authoritative classroom leader. Bear (2010) states, An authoritative teacher set high standards and hold high expectations; enforce rules and standards in a firm, fair, and consistent manner; and promote autonomy by encouraging students active participatio

SARS: Modern Pandemic Episode Essay -- Disease, Disorders

Throughout the ages pandemic episodes have plagued mankind. Severe acute respiratory syndrome or SARS is an example of a modern pandemic that recently affected the world. The SARS pandemic challenged world health care organizations and governments on how to confront a modern day pandemic episode. This paper will explore the origin of SARS and the steps taken to contain and treat the pandemic episode. SARS emerged mid-November 2002 in southern China, in the province of Guangdong, but was not officially reported until February 2003 to the governmental health care organization of Guangdong (Ahmad, Krumkamp, & Reintjes, 2009). The first case of SARS outside of China that was reported was on March 3, 2003 in Vietnam, with more cases reported from Hong Kong, Canada, Singapore, and Taiwan shortly afterward (Ahmad, Krumkamp, & Reintjes, 2009). By mid-summer of 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) had been notified of 8437 cases worldwide, with 813 deaths (Zhong et al., 2003). The disease spread quickly from China to Europe, North America, and southeast Asia because of travel from where SARS first started. Patients that were infected by SARS were noted to have atypical pneumonia. They presented with high fevers and respiratory issues that quickly developed into pneumonia within a few days (Zhong et al., 2003). Through serological and nasopharyngeal aspirate testing, the coronavirus (CoV) was determined to be the cause of SARS (Zhong et al., 2003). It was also determined that the persons that were originally exposed to the virus had contact with animals, most likely to prepare food, at a produce market in the province of Guangdong (Zhong et al., 2003). The virus had started with the animals, crossed over to humans, and mutated. ... ...?. BMC Public Health, 91-8. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-9-81 N. S. Zhong, A. C., B. J. Zheng, A. C., Y. M. Li, A. C., L. L. M., A. C., Poon, Z., H. H., & ... Xu. (2003). Epidemiology and cause of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Guangdong, People's Republic of China, in February, 2003. Lancet, 362(9393), 1353-1358. Timen, A. A., van Doornum, G. J., Schutten, M. M., Conyn-van Spaendonck, M. E., van der Meer, J. M., Osterhaus, A. E., & van Steenbergen, J. E. (2006). Public health implications of using various case definitions in The Netherlands during the worldwide SARS outbreak. Clinical Microbiology & Infection, 12(12), 1214-1220. World Health Organization (WHO). (2004, October). WHO guidelines for the global surveillance of SARS Updated recommendations, October 2004. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/csr/resources/publications/WHO_CDS_CSR_ARO_2004_1.pdf