Trading Strategies Essay Example for Free

Trading Strategies EssayThe Dutch Tulip Boom (1636-1637)The tulips, a beautiful flower usually associated with the Netherlands argon flowers that defend a very notorious stinting history in that country. The tulip is not a native Dutch flower. Like many other products in western Europe, such as the spud and tobacco, tulips came to the Netherlands from another part of the world. Tulip was introduced to the Dutch on the year 1593.It was said that the tulip was first seen by Europeans in Turkey. Scholars now believe that the Turks had been cultivating tulips as early as AD 1000(Sykes, T. (2003),Tulips from Amsterdam). Most of these tulips probably originated in areas around the Black Sea, in the Crimea, and in the steppes to the north of the Caucasus. Back then it used to command a very dip price which could be amounting to a small fortune, to twenty-four hour period the said flowers are available at modest prices.When the Tulip was first introduced to Holland, tulip take iner ship was primarily limited to soaked nobles and scholars. Antwerp, Brussels, Augsburg, Paris, and Prague are among close to of the cities where such tulips first began to circulate. The exorbitant price as well as the great demand for this trade good gave rise to an extra banausic consequence in Dutch history The Tulip boom of 1636 1637.The Tulip Boom was an economic phenomenon which took place on the year 1636. This craze lasted for a year. (McGuigan, B. (2007), What is a Tulip Craze?, Conjecture Corporation) The set about of the said phenomena was the sudden surge of the demand for tulip flowers and bulbs. The Tulip was prized back then for its rarity, beauty and because of the fact that it takes around 7 years to grow a tulip seed into a bulb. It was said that a reasonable purchase price for an ordinary single tulip-bulb of the Viceroy variety consists of two loads of wheat and four of rye, four fat oxen, cardinal pigs, a dozen sheep, two ox heads of wine, four tons of bu tter, a thousand pounds of cheese, a bed, some clothing and a silver beaker.This price nearly estimated to be amounting to 2,500 guilders (Dutch Currency) is of course ridiculously exorbitant nowadays considering that it is only for a piece of bulb which does not even guarantee that it will produce a flower. The said price however during those days is deemed a Fair and reasonable purchase price for an ordinary tulip bulb. Rarer species during the height of the Dutch tulip mania in the ordinal century would be double or triple that price, a Semper Augustus, considered to be even more precious than the Viceroy tulip, could bring in close to 6,000 guilders. (Schulman, B. (2007), Tulip, The Regents of manganese University)Eventually, some tulips were sold at the rate of a single bulb for the value of a house, and lots of bulbs were exchanged for large estates. Tulips became a commodity on the Dutch stock exchanges, allowing people who werent cultivators or traders to try to take advan tage of this boom. It was noted that many people began putting enormous amounts of wealth into guess on the tulip merchandise in extreme cases, even their faultless savings or properties. The Tulip craze reached a fevered pitch in the year 1636, which witnessed a lot of money pouring into the marketplace, as well as speculation on tulip futures offered by traders who had not yet planted bulbs. At around 1637, the market became saturated with the said product, and some traders began to sell, often in large amounts.This caused panic on the so called tulip merchants making them want to sell their tulips immediately even up to the point of selling cheap. Needless to say the said speculation caused an enormous downturn. As a final result the tulip craze ruined many thousands of people financially, as tulip bulbs that had been purchased for the price of a great estate were nearly devalued overnight to the price of common onions. To stop the economy from plummeting and because of the fact that tulip prices and the practice of tulip speculation became so excessive and frenzied the States of Holland passed a statute curbing such extremes in the year 1637. (Jones, S. ((2005), House Prices Tulip Mania A lesson from History )II. The Current Global exploit Resources BoomAs of the present, Mining companies are in the midst of an immense economic boom, accompanied with high levels of demand and an above average boost in revenue and profits. It is apparent that the Global demand for metals is closely related to ball-shaped GDP, although rapidly expanding economies tend to have a higher intensity of use of some metals, particularly steels, than advanced countries (Mandaro, L(2006). delight Global No end to mining boom in sight,). Many analysts believe that the current peaks may wreak long-term strength in the market, driven largely by the economic engines of China and India. The rapid growth of Chinese and Indian economies seem to have been in return affected by th e growth of Western economies. The advancement being enjoyed by the two countries is showing no signs of imminent slump or stagnation. The said phenomenal levels of this demand were not expected nor anticipated(Achieving High Performance in Mining sweet Today, Succeeding Tomorrow (1996-2007).The mining effort may not have the same nature of cycles as typically perceived by investors, but the current level of high metals prices appears to be holding up and the predicted peak keeps on moving. Amidst the apparent boom which the mining sector is experiencing presently, some measures still need to be implemented by the executives of the mining sectors to focus on the opportunities that todays high commodity prices present, it is apparent that the mining sector needs to keep an eye on significant challenges that lie beyond the current boom to achieve high performance. It is a known fact that although prices are not likely to drop to the lows which occurred a few years back, the said pri ces are likely to fluctuate and fall down the stairs todays levels.This assessment is considered accurate given the number of players globally, there is a high risk of investing in future excess capacity. Production costs are skyrocketing, especially energy and input material costs, these variables seem to have diminished the positive effects the benefits of the commodity boom has in store for the mining industry. In a global industry, commodity price and currency volatility have the potential to erode the benefits coming from the profits being enjoyed by the Mining industry (Ernst Young.(2006) A incidentally Opportunity for Private Equity?).Todays strong market gives companies an opportunity to invest in preparing to meet those challenges. Mining companies need to plan for a potential downturn as well as for continued high demand. In short, they need to balance the ability to exploit todays boom times with tenable strategies that will continue to deliver value to shareholders in the post-boom period. They also must pay close attention to a range of issues to drive the triple backside line and focus not only on economic results, but also on the social and environmental impact of their operations. In an era of global competition, mining companies must constantly look for ways to improve those operations, mostly by applying modern technology on the mining equipments used from mines to concentrators to smelters (Ernst Young.(2006) A Timely Opportunity for Private Equity?).III. The New York posts supercede Commission (NYSE)Stock exchange transactions are basically transactions that involve the day to day activities of brokers and dealers. These individuals facilitate the buying and selling of financial assets. Brokers execute trades on behalf of clients and receive commissions and fees in exchange for matching buyers and sellers. Dealers, on the other hand, buy and sell from their own portfolios (Stock Exchange(2007)) Microsoft MSN Encyclopedia Encarta) .Th ey earn income by selling a financial instrument at a price that is greater than the price the dealer paid for the instrument. nearly exchange participants perform both voices.The said transactions occur frequently nowadays and is governed primarily by Stock exchange commissions, the most noted of these organizations would probably be the New York Stocks Exchange Commission. The New York Stocks Exchange Commission is the worlds largest marketplace for securities. It was organized back in 1792 by a group of stockbrokers who wanted a more orderly way to sell and buy company stocks (The New York Stock Exchange) (2007), Encyclopedia Britannica Online).The New York Stock exchange was formerly located at number 40 Wall Street in New York City, But As the said establishment grew it was later moved into what is currently the New York Stock Exchange Building. Membership was limited to 1,366 since 1953, and is obtained by purchasing a seat from a current existing member. Major stock exchang es in the United States embarrass the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), both in New York City. The NYSE is operated by a board of directors, whose primary role is to list down securities, to set policies and to supervise the stock exchange and its member activities.Another important function of the NYSE is to oversee the transfer of members seats on the Exchange, which would involve judging whether a potential applicant is qualified to be a specialist. Stock exchanges perform important roles in national economies (New York Stock Exchange NYSE (2007), Investopedia). Most importantly, they encourage investment by providing places for buyers and sellers to trade securities. This investment, in turn, enables corporations to obtain funds to expand their businesses.The Stock market, is of course the mirror of the current economic office of a country. The NYSE, being the largest of them all, would of course imply that any fluctuation occurring in the NYSE stock market would of course mirror the economic situation of the U.S. This would best be illustrated by the economic turmoil experienced by the said country on the year 1929. It was an event remembered by many because of a lot of unseemly things happened within a blink of an eye. In the 1920s, things were really rocking in the US and around the world. The rapid increase in industrialization was furnish growth in the economy, and technology improvements had the leading economists believing that the up rise would continue.The enormous amount of unsecured consumer debt created by this speculation left the stock market essentially off-balance. It was on the 24th of October 1929, when the stock prices began to fall and brokers began to sell. By noon of the same day, millions of shares had been sold. The selling frenzy continued all afternoon. Before the close of the day, 13 million shares had been traded and the market dropped an estimated amount of four one thousand million dol lars. Many investors, tried to even things up, and as a course of action they invested their life savings, mortgaged their homes, and cash in in safer investments such as treasury bonds and bank accounts.After some time the realization of what had happened began to sink in, and a full-blown panic ensued. People who had invested their entire life savings during the boom became destitute. Many of the banks which had speculated heavily with their deposits were wiped out by the falling prices, and these bank failures sparked a run on the banking system. As a result many banks and businesses were forced to close.Each failed bank, factory, business, and investor contributed to the downward spiral that would drag the world into the Great Depression. Five days later, the worst possible scenario took place. On that day, over 16 million shares of stock were sold and the market fell over 14 billion dollars. By comparison, the entire budget of the U.S. Government that year was three billion do llars. In one day, the United States lost more capital than it had spent in all of World War I. And so it came to pass that thousands of investors many of them ordinary working people, were financially ruined. By the end of that year, stock values had dropped by fifteen billion dollars (The Crash, NYC Architecture. Retrieved August 29, 2007). BibliographyThe Dutch Tulip BoomSchulman, B. (2007), Tulip, The Regents of Minnesota University,Retrieved August 28, 2007 http//bell.lib.umn.edu/Products/tulips.htmlMcGuigan, B. (2007), What is a Tulip Craze?, Conjecture Corporation, Retrieved August 28, 2007 http//www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-tulip-craze.htmJones, S. ((2005), House Prices Tulip Mania A lesson from History Retrieved August 28, 2007http//www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article18.htmlSykes, T. (2003), Tulips from Amsterdam, Retrieved August 27, 2007http//www.rba.gov.au/PublicationsAndResearch/Conferences/2003/Sykes.pdfThe Current Global Mining Resources BoomMandaro, L(2006). Joy Global No end to mining boom in sight, MarketwatchRetrieved August 29, 2007http//www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/5VZZZjDn3fVvlBkkp9z78HtAchieving High Performance in Mining Winning Today, Succeeding Tomorrow (1996-2007), Accenture, Retrieved August 29, 2007.http//www.accenture.com/Global/Services/By_Industry/Mining/R_and_I/WinningTodaySucceedingTomorrow.htmErnst Young.(2006) A Timely Opportunity for Private Equity? Ernst Young Global. Retrieved August 29, 2007.http//www.ey.com/global/content.nsf/ world(prenominal)/Mining_Private_EquityThe New York Stocks Exchange CommissionThe New York Stock Exchange (2007), Encyclopedia Britannica Online.Retrieved August 29, 2007. http//www.britannica.com/eb/article-9055541/New-York-Stock-ExchangeNew York Stock Exchange NYSE (2007), Investopedia Retrieved August 29, 2007 http//www.investopedia.com/terms/n/nyse.aspThe Crash, NYC Architecture. Retrieved August 29, 2007 http//www.nyc-architecture.com/LM/LM036-NEWYORKSTOCKEXCHANGE.htmStock Exchange(2007), Microsoft MSN Encyclopedia Encarta.Retrieved August 29, 2007 http//encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761560145/Stock_Exchange.htmlGongloff, M. Attacks could hit economy. CNN Money. Retrieved August 30, 2007 http//money.cnn.com/2001/09/11/economy/wtc_econ/

The Gothic form of writing Essay Example for Free

The black letter form of writing EssayThe chivalric form of writing is generally held to have started in the Eighteenth century with the publication of palace of Otranto by Horace Walpole. This form of writing developed over the next two centuries, utilising the realms of the sorcerous and the fantastic, while creating an atmosphere of gloom and decay. Edgar Allan Poe was the founder of the modern tec write up and one of the greatest exponents of the Gothic novel. His Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque published in 1840, included perhaps the epitome of the Gothic genre, The Fall of the House of Usher. In order to mensurate whether the passage given is typical of the Gothic and detective novel, it is necessary to examine both The Fall of the House of Usher and The Murder in the Rue Morgue.The Gothic novel exists both in a dark and unreal world and a world of normality, encouraging a co-existence between the natural and the unnatural. As the fib of The Fall of the House o f Usher unfolds, the mood and tone of the novel are enhanced by the bleak, isolated and ominous description of the house and its surroundings. This conveys to the reader the fighter that a mystery is about to take place, while also allowing one to become mindful of the pervasive feeling of trepidation and suspense. As the narrator draws nearby to the gloomy and forbidding home of the Ushers, he is unnerved by the house and its surroundings. He tries to allay these fears by maintaining that the unnatural and portentous aura that the house and its contact possess, are (III pg 138) caused by natural phenomena.Gothic writers were concerned with the mind, the causation of madness and the borderline nature of sanity and insanity. J. Porte states that Edgar Allan Poe designs his tales as to maneuver his narrators limited comprehension of their witness problems and states of mind. (IV pg 160). The narrator in the story seems to be the epitome of rationality and has no desire to loose his sanity. The world he is a eccentric of is the world of familiar sentiency and pragmatism, (IV pg 163), but this world is traumatised by the sensations he feels towards the House of Usher and its surroundings as he approaches it, and he can not grapple with the dimmed fancies that crowded upon him.(III pg 138).He therefore acknowledges in true Gothic style that the supernatural effect created by the house has an impact on ones unconscious, creating a power for sorrowful impression. Although this notion may be forthcoming from a first impression, such impressions can be incorrect. The narrator believes however, that it is the mind that dictates ones feelings and senses, (III pg. 138) and concludes that any investigation of the artful powers of these effects over the mind is beyond our depth.(III pg. 139) This he feels is a a mystery all insoluble and states that if the house and its surroundings did not look so depressing and did not cause him to suffer a sense of insuffer able gloom(III pg 138), then this feeling of forbidding would not be so transparent in his mind.The Murders in the Rue Morgue deals with the seemingly mysterious and puzzling murders of two women in their apartment. The complexity and unusual circumstances of their deaths leaves the police completely baffled by the case and someone of supposedly superior intellect and mental acumen is needed to solve the murders. Dupin the detective and his companion the narrator, use analysis to solve the case. in that respect are no shadowy fancies(III pg 138), as in The Fall of the House of Usher, everything is calculated and logical. The fundamental difference between the passage from the House of Usher and Poes detective story is that, in the former the mystery is all insoluble, while exploring the restricted subjects of incest and the mind.In the latter however, the mystery is solved and there is no exploration of anything former(a) than logic, which suggests that the author may be conforming to society and submitting to the bourgeoisie community and therefore creating a typically American detective novel. (II pg 497.) The eerie way in which the room is locked leaving no signs of entry or exit, and the way in which the murders are committed, leaves the reader to assume the possibility that the murders are of supernatural element. This consideration is dismiss by Dupin, who maintains that The doers of the deed were material (III pg 209), and that he did not believe in preternatural events. (III pg 209) This is in complete opposition to The Fall of the House of Usher, where the narrator, as he first comes into contact with the house and its surroundings, is under the impression that here is something unnatural.The descriptive way in which the passage from The Fall of the House of Usher suggests that by changing the particulars of the scene(III pg 139), the effect that the house imposes on the narrator can be changed. This reflection is not seen by Dupin in The murders in the Rue Morgue, there is no sense of sorrowful impression. (III pg 138). To Dupin the murders are merely peculiar (III pg 206), he is unattached and uninvolved in the murders, apart from the excitement that they generate. Both the narrators are however, sympathetic to the plight of the victims and show compassion, but they are unable to interfere in any of the proceedings and merely retell their account of the events.In order to be considered as part of the Gothic genre the passage from The Fall of the House of Usher and the story, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, have to follow certain criteria. The dark and forbidding features which highlight the supernatural countenance of the The Fall of the House of Usher are certainly conducive to the Gothic novel. Also the perception of mystery and suspense created as the story delves into the hush-hush and sublime world of the subconscious, while exploring hidden agendas that supposedly should not be discussed in decent society, certain ly qualify the story as belonging to the Gothic style.The Murders in the Rue Morgue, while following the same pattern of using horror, mystery and a sense of pervasive gloom does not however, seem to be able to align itself with this genre. There is no supernatural element involved. The story is recounted with rational explanation and it is logic that is used to solve the crime. This means the story is explained as it develops, rather than it developing by itself, as The Fall of the House of Usher does, thereby allowing it to remain enveloped in the Gothic shroud of mystery and suspense.

A Report On Snowboarding Sport Essay

A Report On Snow calling carding Sport EssaySnowboardingSnowboarding is a kind of sport that evolved from surfing and skateboarding. Often, its a sport described as skateboarding or surfing on snow. Before one goes to the slopes, it is advisable to shake off some stretching and warm up exercises. After snowboarding, the uniform exercises and stretching essential be repeated. We normally do this to minimize pain. It canister be baffle the first time one goes down a hill. But it can be interesting if the right procedures atomic number 18 followed. We are required to dress correctly for snowboarding. A helmet must be worn properly because it prevents one from getting injured if it is not moving around the neck and its below the eyes. However, it should not be too tight. Boots must be comfortable and tight. Always wear high socks. For safety reasons, wear only one pair of snowboarding socks as wearing ii pairs will make the spates too tight thus giving no room for blood circulat ion on the feet.Every mortal has got his/her gratuity human foot. Snowboarding requires us to pick up our lead foot before we put our foot on the snowboard. Lead foot may be determined by sliding on ice, run on hardboard floor and slide or standing with the feet squared and then having a friend push us from behind. In all these in stances, the foot that we put forward naturally is the lead foot. The lead foot should then be put in the front binding. Make sure the bindings are fastened tightly and get the real bindings. This should be repeated for the otherwise foot. It is advisable to move around and bounce to get a feel of the snowboard. In cast to prevent a runaway board which is normally serious, we loop a lead chain around the lead binding. This is then clipped into the lead boot lace. An angle of 15+ degrees for the lead foot binding is allowed so that the ankle is not sprayed after falling. Every beginners big toe is supposed to be locomote towards the boards nose.Fro m here, we get on the ski lift with our board. After getting off the ski lift, we dont go speeding down a hill once we are off the chairlift. We start from a little hill where we can then turning to the larger one. Going to a bunny/practice hill which can give a speed of 5 miles in an hour helps you to have enough practice. When on the edge of the bunny hill, it is a requirement to sit with your board perpendicularly and then check whether the binding and the boot are tight enough. If this is okay, one can then stand and apply pressure on his lead foot. The best position is to keep the back straight while the knees are bent so that balance is maintained. Slowing down is done by faulting to the toe or the heel. This is very important to learn as it vital when turning.Always, the board follows our body. Thus when switching to the heel edge from the normal stance, the torso must be turned to face downhill. Sometimes balance is lost and falling back means that we have leaned back too far. But this is better rather than having the toe edge catch snow while falling forwards. Leaning backwards also accelerates stopping. Its very similar to switching the toe edge where we turn the torso uphill. In this case, applying the pressure on the rear leg and placing weight over the toes through leaning little forward is advised. Controlling turning is the same way as switching the toe edges. This is important when one gets to the edge of the hill where we are supposed to get back to the foot forward stance as we aim for chair lift line.Snowboarding is an interesting activity. Its through snowboarding that our bodies are toned and at the same time getting a good cardiovascular workout. This is a sport that keeps on strengthening our heart muscles. Oxygen is excellently delivered to our muscles through snowboarding. Since snowboarding is a physically demanding activity, in one way or the other it assists us to loose weight thus lowering risks of several diseases. The warm up exercises and stretching help in burning of calories and thus such good deal look better than those who dont. We escape some dangerous diseases like high blood pressure and type 2diabetes. Its a sport that keeps benefiting all body parts. The exercises gnarly help in secretion of endorphins. This is a chemical that helps us to feel happy and more peaceful. Its even possible to sleep better after snowboarding. erstwhile we are able to go down a given hill, there is that feeling of accomplishment and pride that there is a goal achieved. This helps a person to age so well.Snowboarding is a risky sport. Several people have their careers in snowboarding as travel instructors while other design snowboards. Others have been utilize as terrain park designers, event organizers, filmers, product testers, resort managers and sales material designers. Due to the risks associated through accident and personal injury, there is provision of insurance insurance policy that deals with medical costs. Where one experiences an injury or a minor accident, compensation is always at hand. These are considered to be special benefits offering standard coverage. The skiing equipment is expensive too. Loss of this equipment may leave a person out of pocket. Thus, those in this career are provided with cover for any replacement costs. This also assists in payment of hire fees. A ski pass is not cheap too. There are several policies that have been in use in hallow to award compensation coverage just in case one loses the ski pass. Most importantly, the major benefit in snowboarding is that one can struggle in organized sports and a win earns him/her the prize money.

Literature Review On The Hospitality Industry Tourism Essay

Literature Review On The Hospitality Industry Tourism EssayThe cordial reception assiduity is experiencing gain even in times of recession. Between 2004 and 2014, the cordial reception application is expected to add 17 percent in wage and salary employment (U.S. function of Labor Statistics, 2006-07). A growing demand of cordial reception workers can be translated into a growing need of cordial reception educational programs to adequately prep be the manpower to meet present and future demands in this enormous attention. Programs need to provide an education that improves the employability of the cordial reception graduates. However, employability of the future graduates will not increase until and un little they convincingly portray the skills and competencies involve in the workplace. In an education program, students develop skills and competencies through years in various cognitive heart and soul beas. In that aspect, the hospitality platform needs to prioritiz e the field of battle areas according to the perceived impressiveness of the effort practitioners, and this prioritization has to be up-to-date to reflect the changing needs of the fabrication.Although curriculum of hospitality and tourism programs ingest been examined in a plethora of research studies, little attention is given to hospitality programs housed in accredited colleges of occupancy. Be occasion of the limitations obligated by the accrediting bodies, authorized aspects of the curriculum such as course offerings, and credits become restricted to certain extent. As a result, there is a need to evaluate the curriculum of such programs separately from other hospitality and tourism management programs such as the independent ones and those housed in various several(predicate) colleges.Gursoy and Swanger (2004) investigated the curriculum of a hospitality and tourism management program housed in an accredited college of business. As part of their study, they ordinat eed hospitality paper areas according to the perceptions of hospitality professionals, identified any gaps between the perceptions and the current curriculum and suggested a feign of curriculum for hospitality programs in accredited colleges of Business. However, hospitality curriculum needs to be ongoing and relevant to the current industry needs and expectations. Also, the changing character of the industry calls for recent graduates to reflect the changes and challenges of the industry. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to replicate Gursoy and Swangers (2004) study, and provide an updated ranking of the hospitality give in areas. In addition, the changing needs of the hospitality industry is highlighted through a comparison of their 2004 ranking with the current ranking of hospitality subject areas according to hospitality professionals perceptions. As such, likely changes to the 2004 curriculum specimen are suggested establish on the findings of this study. The specifi c research questions that will be answered through this study areWhat are the current perceptions of industry professionals regarding the importance of course subject areas?Are there any significant changes in the perceptions of industry professionals in the last five years?Are there any gaps between the industry needs within the changing operable environment and the current hospitality curriculum?Literature ReviewHospitality students have oftentimes been criticized for having unrealistic expectations of the lawsuits of responsibilities they whitethorn be given and consequently the types of skills they will be expected to exercise on entering the hospitality industry (Purcell and Quinn, 1996). At the same time, the industry often discounted a students formal qualifications on the grounds of lack of experience and frequently we hear the complaint that students are overqualified but under experienced for even founding level management smudges (Raybould Wilkins, 2005). In order t o bridge this gap, the hospitality programs underwent several changes in its substance, focus, and structure.In 1996, Formica published a study of tourism and hospitality education in Europe and America that examined programs and future trends. In his study, he argued that there was an international movement that supported the emancipation of hospitality education from its vocational base to an academic field of inquiry. Formicas claim was later supported by Morrison and OMahony (2003) in their case study regarding the liberation of hospitality management education. Rappole (2000) stated that programs have shifted from a home-economics focus towards a business-related one and Chathoth and Sharma (2007) noted this as the likely rationalness behind the change in curricular structure of hospitality programs in the United States. Most programs in the 1980s and early 1990s were geared towards developing the functional skills of the students, but during the past decade, universities we re foc employ on both operational and management-related courses as part of the curriculum (Chathoth Sharma 2007 Rappole, 2000).Developing a hospitality curriculum openhandedly involve three major components substantive knowledge, skills, and values (Dopson and Tas, 2004). small-arm operational issues such as working knowledge of hospitality services were important (Kay and Russette 2000), managerial and behavioral issues such as managerial skills were often considered to be to a greater extent important (Okeiyi, Finely and Postel 1994).Thus, the hospitality curriculum should not only teach the students in crucial operational skills but in addition facilitate them to learn and raise the art of management. To accomplish this purpose, it was necessary to incorporate the perspectives of the industry professionals into the hospitality curriculum. This was basically achieved in two ways. First, regular industry professionals were invited to visit classrooms as guest lecturers and i ndustry experts, or to participate in executive education programs, as part of the curriculum review process (Lefever Withiam, 1998). Second, competency models were devised through which industry practitioners bedded the competencies and content areas most important in the workplace. Educators then made a strong note of these important competencies, and likewise incorporated them into the curriculum.In the course of time, a large-minded result of studies were undertaken regarding identifying and ranking competencies of hospitality graduates. One of the first competency establish studies in hospitality was undertaken by Buergermeister (1983) where he found human relation skills and attitudes to be a very important area for hospitality graduates. Among others, Tas (1988) roam forward a hospitality curriculum by identifying 36 skills college graduates expected to possess from analyse general managers of 75 hotels. While, most competency ground studies in hospitality management f ocused solely on the perceptions of the hospitality industry practitioners (Ashley et al. 1995 Breiter and Clements, 1996 Kriegl, 2000) a hardly a(prenominal) incorporated the perspectives of educators along with the industry practitioners (Su et al. 1997 Tsai et al. 2006) and a few even added the perspectives of students to the group (Enz et al. 1993 Okeiyi et al.1994). Among the studies from the industrys perspective, the majority focused on either the hotel industry itself (Tas 1988 Siu 1998 Kay and Russette, 2000 Tesone and Ricci, 2006) or the overall hospitality industry (Ashley et al. 1995 Breiter and Clements, 1996), with a few focusing solely on other sectors such as the food service sector (Horng Lu, 2006 Okeiyi et al. 1994).Notable works in the competency-based approach include Chung-Herrera, Enz, and Lankaus (2003) presentation of an industry specific and future based leaders competency model. In their study, they identified and ranked 99 key hospitality work related co mpetencies. In some other case, Nelson and Dopson (2001) compared hotel managers, human resource specialists, and hospitality alumnis perceptions of competencies necessary for winner in the hospitality field. Eventually, Dopson and Nelson (2003) ranked 37 course content areas using the same three groups, and found several differences in their perceived importance of those course content areas.Competency models were developed as a descriptive tool to identify, categorize and summarize competencies that might be relevant to perform a specific job effectively in an organization (Chung-Herrera et al., 2003). However, these competency models are often broad and generic in nature and lacks emphasis on specific hospitality skills. Employers, who generally do not want narrowly teach graduates, recognize the importance of generic competencies (Harvey, et. al., 1997). Raybould and Wilkins (2005) structured a generic skill framework to rank important skill areas of hospitality graduates fro m both employers and students perspectives. However, the nature of hospitality workplace, demands mastery of both generic skill sets and hospitality specific skill sets. In that aspect, taking into account hospitality subject areas, and course content areas, provides an extended representation of the skills and knowledge graduates will require at the workplace.Chung (2000) laid divulge an effective plan for reforming the hotel management curriculum of Korean universities based on required competencies of hotel employees and career success in the hotel industry. Their study found significant relationships between competencies required of hotel employees and hotel management courses of universities, between competencies required of hotel employees and career success in the hotel industry, between hotel management courses of universities and career success in the hotel industry, and last but not the least between hotel management courses of universities and their contribution to care er development in the hotel industry. While this method might be easier for the industry practitioners to identify with, it might be difficult for educators to reform a programs curriculum based on such models because of the broad and diverse nature of such competencies. Since, there is a significant relationship between competencies required of hotel employees and hotel management courses of universities, in this regard, it makes more sense if the industry practitioners rank the actual subject areas and course content areas offered in the curriculum. However, the subject areas and course content areas in the hospitality program might be difficult for industry practitioners to identify with especially if they are not graduates of hospitality programs. In this regard, the concerned school has to rank the subject areas from the perspectives of their own alumni, who are now established hospitality industry professionals so that they can easily identify the subject areas and relate them to their skill requirements in the workplace.Keeping the hospitality curricula rigorous, relevant, and current to the industry trends seems to be a clear concern of the hospitality practitioners. According to Dopson and Tas (2004) the biggest challenge for hospitality educators today is to determine clear objectives for the curriculum that takes care of the constantly changing needs of the industry. In that aspect, it is of utmost importance to close the gap between what is taught to students and what the industry expects of the students being hired (Dopsan and Tas 2004 Okeyi et al. 1994). Therefore, in addition to being an industry and faculty driven process, curriculum development needs to incorporate the changing needs of the industry, and foster innovation. In short, the process needs to be ongoing (Dopson and Tas, 2004).MethodsThe purpose of this study was to identify hospitality subject areas and rank them according to the perceptions of hospitality industry professionals. In addition the current perceptions of industry professionals regarding hospitality subject areas were to be compared to their perceptions five years agone to reflect the changing requirements of the industry. For gathering data from industry professionals, the same great deal instrument developed using a four-step process by Gursoy and Swanger (2004) was used. The four step included conducting a series of focus groups, developing the batch instrument to systematically measure the perceived importance of the course subject areas by industry and to investigate the gaps between hospitality curriculum and industry needs based on the findings of the focus groups, pre-testing the instrument on a sample of industry professionals using an on-line survey method and last but not the least revising and finalizing the instruments based on the pre-test results. Based on the feedback received by Gursoy and Swanger (2004) from their respondents, the survey instrument was modified in 2009. For th e purpose of comparison only the common subject areas between the 2004 and 2009 surveys were retained. The final instrument was employed to collect data on hospitality industry professionals perceptions of the importance of the course subject areas.Development of the Survey InstrumentThe procedures recommended by Churchill (1979) and DeVellis (1991) were followed for developing the survey instrument. Initially, an item pool containing a summate of 39 subject matter variables were developed or identified from the literature, current hospitality curriculum, and from a series of five focus groups conducted with the consultative board members, eatery executives, hotel executives, university alumni, and hospitality educators. The content validity of the items that were identified from the focus groups and from the literature was assessed by ten faculty members. The faculty members feedback on content and understandability was gathered based on which the items were modified to enhance their clarity, readability, and content validity. Based on the same process any redundancy in the scale items was removed to improve the proposed scale. later on the content validity check, it was pre-tested using an on-line survey method involving 50 industry professionals.The survey instrument was modified one last time based on the pre-test. Each variable was measured using a 5-point Likert scale (5=extremely important, 1= not important at all) as to their importance for success in the hospitality industry. The final version of the 2004 survey instrument consisted of four parts 40 subject matter variables, 128 course content variables, demographic data, and information regarding the performance of the company the respondent was part of. For this study, only the part that deals with the subject areas and demographic information are considered. In 2009 some changes were made based on the feedback received from the participants of Gursoy and Swangers 2004 study REPEAT. While the 2004 survey dealt with 40 subject areas, the 2009 one had only 33. 11 subject areas were removed from the 2004 survey, while 4 subject matters were added based on the received feedback, in the 2009 survey. The subject areas that were taken out of the 2009 survey instrument are Fundamentals of Cooking, Math, Accounting, Economics for Decision Making, Tourism, Gaming/Casino Operation, dispersion Channels, Secondary receipts Management, Beverage Management, Destination Management, and Dining Room Service Management. The subject areas that were added to the 2009 study are International Tourism, Public Relations, Convention and Meeting Planning, and victuals and Beverage Management. For the comparison, the 29 common areas between the 2009 and 2004 surveys were considered. entropy CollectionA self-administered survey questionnaire was mailed to the selected sample of industry professionals. An individually signed cover earn containing the name and address of the respondent was include d with each questionnaire, along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope. A reminder was sent after 3 weeks, to increase the emergence of responses.Data AnalysisDescriptive Analysis was undertaken to rank the means of the respective variables from the survey. Independent samples t-tests were carried out to compare the 2009 rankings to the 2004 ones. All the data analysis was performed in Statistical packet boat for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 18.ResultsThe survey was sent to a total of 2340 target participants. 369 responses were returned, resulting in an acceptable response rate of 15.8%.Profile of the Respondents The demographic characteristics of gender, present position and company, education level, ethnicity, type of property, and size of the property were included in this study in an effort to provide a descriptive profile of the survey respondents. sexual urge The survey asked the participants to indicate their gender (male or female). Out of 369, 358 respondents ind icated their gender. The number of male respondents was 177 (49.4%) while female respondents were 179 (50.6%).Present Position/Name of Company Over clxxx different companies were represented in the study. Regarding present work positions, the respondents provided more than 200 different positions or titles, which were grouped into 15 categories based on their similarities. Some of the peremptory categories included Sales/Marketing with 42 responses (11.4%), pay/Accounting with 29 (7.9%), General Manager and Human Resource each with 28 (7.6%), Chairman/ chairperson/CEO/CFO/COO and Business Owners each with 16 (4.3%), Educator/Teacher/Trainer with 13 (3.5%), Other Managers (restaurant, FB, convention, events, store, regional, training, guest services, other sections) with 43 (11.7%), and Retired/ dismissed with 26 (7.1%). Besides these major categories, there was an Other category for the grouping of many positions that were listed less than 3 times and did not readily fit into an other group, such as Attorney.Education Level Out of 355 individuals who provided education level information, 298 indicated they have a bachelors stratum (80.8%) 38 have a graduate degree (10.3%) 17 did some graduate level work (4.6%) 1 individual was a high school graduate (1.6%), and 1 person indicated other (1.6%).Ethnicity Of the 352 respondents who indicated their ethnicity, 328 (93.2%), circled Caucasian/White 10 (2.8%) circled Asian American/Pacific Islander 8 (2.3%) circled Hispanic/Latino 3 selected Black/African American 1 (0.3%) circled American Indian/Alaska Native and 2 (.6%) circled other.Size of Property For lodging properties information regarding the number of rooms in the hotel was collected and for restaurants, number of seats information was gathered. If respondents worked in neither a lodging property nor a restaurant, they were asked to provide size information using other appropriate measures. Of the 195 individuals who responded to the survey, 92 provided the number of rooms information, 34 provided the number of seats information, and 69 provided the size information by reporting other measures such as total revenue, number of employees, square footage, and others.Of the 92 managers who provided the number of rooms, 2 (2.2%) indicated the property had less than 75 rooms, 17 (18.5%) indicated the property had 75 to 149 rooms, 18 (19.6%) had 150 to 299 rooms, 29 (31.5%) had 300 to 500 rooms, and 26 (28.3%) indicated the property had more than 500 rooms. Most of the individuals who inform managing more than 500 rooms were regional managers, vice presidents, or presidents and CEOs of hotel corporations.Of the 34 managers who provided number of seats information, 6 (17.6%) indicated the restaurant had less than 100 seats, 13 (38.2%) indicated the restaurant had 100 to 199 seats, 8 (23.5%) had 200 to 300 seats, and 7 (20.6%) indicated the restaurant had more than 300 seats. A good number of the individuals who reported managing more than 300 seats were regional managers, vice presidents, or presidents and CEOs of restaurant corporations.Due to the diverse array of survey respondents, a great many different types of responses were received regarding measure of size. Thus, among the 69 respondents who chose, other in the measure of size category, measures such as square footage of convention/conference/meeting/banquet space, number of restaurants/stores/units, number of employees, number of hotels, amount of revenue generated, number of locations, number of accounts, and various others. In addition some respondents provided multiple measures of size.Type of Property 188 responses were recorded regarding the type of property the respondents were affiliated with. Of those, 99 (52.7%) selected lodging, 27 (14.4%) circled restaurants, 16 (8.5%) indicated managed services, and 39 (20.8%) selected other types which included vending, marketing/advertising, airlines, associations, distribution/suppliers, cruise lines casinos , clubs retail/convenience stores, cruise lines, health care, real estate/property development, banking/finance, and consulting.Type of Ownership In the Type of Ownership category 225 responses were recorded. Of them, 124 (55.1) properties were company owned, 68 (30.2%) were independently owned, and 33 (14.7%) were franchised.Ranking and parity ResultsThe 33 course subject areas were ranked in the order of importance by the industry professionals. The ranking is provided in table 1. The top ten subject areas are Leadership, Internships/industry experience, Preparation for Industry Employment, Ethics, Overview of the Hospitality Industry, Revenue/Asset Management, Hospitality Management and Organization, Hospitality operations Analysis, Foodservice Operations and Controls, Computer/Information Technology. The results were compared to Gursoy and Swangers 2004 survey results. Results show that 10 out of 29 hospitality subject areas Hospitality Management and Organization, Principles of Marketing, Hospitality Marketing Strategy, Hospitality Operations Analysis, Ethics, strategical Management, Service Management, Revenue/Asset Management, Study Abroad, and Innovation and Product Development are significantly different compared to the 2004 rankings.DiscussionA look at the two ranking tables (2004 and 2009) pick up that highly important subject areas which were quite consistent in their perceived importance among industry practitioners include leadership, Internships/industry experience, Preparation for Industry Employment, Overview of Hospitality Industry, Foodservice Operations and Controls, and Computer/Information Technology. Leadership, the highest rated subject area, especially has been rated as one of the most important skills deemed of hospitality graduates a number of times in hospitality literature (Okeiyi et al. 1994 Breiter and Clements, 1996 Siu 1998 Kay and Russette, 2000 Kriegl 2000 Nelson and Dopson, 2001).There were some major changes in the ra nkings over a period of 5 years. The ranking of Ethics went down from 1 to 4, service management from 10 to 18, Principles of Marketing from 12 to 19, and Hospitality Marketing Strategy from 14 to 20. On the other hand, Revenue/Asset Management went up 14 places to number 6, and Finance from number 18 to 13. Finance, accounting, and related skills were recognized as very important by hospitality employers in various studies (Getty et al., 1991 Umbriet, 1992 Ashley et al. 1995 Nelson Dopson, 2001 Agut et al. 2003) in the past. In that aspect, this improvement in ranking of finance and related areas is consistent with past literature.As mentioned before, t-tests revealed significant differences in means between 2009 rankings and 2004 rankings in 10 out of the 29 subject areas. 8 of those 10 subject areas had significantly higher means in 2004 compared to 2009. These areas include Hospitality Management and Organization, Principles of Marketing, Hospitality Marketing Strategy, Hospita lity Operations Analysis, Ethics, Strategic Management, Service Management, and Innovation and Product Development. Ethics, especially, showed a very significantly high decrease in means (t (670.079) = -5.116, p = .000). Time and again, moral philosophy has been recognized as the most important skill in the hospitality workplace (Enz et al., 1993 Nelson Dopson, 2001 Gursoy Swanger, 2004). This significant decrease in the ranking of ethics shows that it is not quite deemed as important in the hospitality workplace as it used to be. This decrease in importance can be accounted to two reasons. Firstly, following the wake of Enron, WorldCom, and Adelphia corporate scandals that agitate the business community in early years of this new millennium, scrutinise firms were increasingly putting a lot of emphasis on having stringent audit practices. Consequently, businesses all over the founding were paying special attention to preventing corporate fraud through promoting ethical practic es within the organization. This has increased the demand for ethics, as a top level competency/skill/subject area deemed of recent graduates in the workplace during the time period of Gursoy and Swangers (2004) study. However, the increased emphasis coming out of the shock the business community received from the corporate scandals has faded away a little as time went by. Moreover, business schools all over the world have been producing much better graduates reflecting ethical preparedness in response to those corporate scandals and the increased pressure from the business community. This can be demonstrated by the increased importance on ethics posed by universities in response to industry pressure. MBA programs that require students to take a course dedicated to business and society issues have increased dramatically over time 34% in 2001 to 63% in 2007, and to 69% in 2009 (Aspen Institute CBE, 2010). In the accreditation standards of AACSB, hypothesise in 2003, an increased emp hasis on ethics was made, and schools were mandated to integrate ethics across the curriculum to meet the accreditation standards, although there was no requirement of a standalone ethics course in the curriculum (Swanson, Fisher, 2009). Having received better prepared graduates, it can be argued that the business community no longer rate ethics as important as it rated in 2004 because they are more content now compared to six years ago.Secondly, the prolonged economic downturn has caused the business community to put more weight on other skills/subject areas. Consequently, this shifted the importance on other areas such as leadership and financial competencies, which diminished the relative importance of ethics. Also, in the beginning years of the economic downturn, firms were under shock, and had to operate under strict financial conditions prompting them to avoid any unnecessary lawsuits which might cause them to be ultra protective. Thus, they were in need of better ethically p repared employees, which are reflected in the 2004 rankings.Moving away from ethics, marketing related subject areas were also rated significantly less important in 2009 compared to 2004. 11.4% of the 2009 respondents were associated with Sales/Marketing compared to 8.9% in 2004. In this regard, it was expected that the ranking of marketing related subject areas would improve, but the results are contrasting indicating that the importance of marketing related subject have indeed gone down. According to IBISWorld industry reports, the overall lodging industry showed positive harvest-feast in revenue from 2004 to 2007. However, the report also showed huge decrease in revenue growth in 2008 and 2009. Especially in 2009, revenue decreased by as much as 9.4% for hotel and motel industry, consistent with the projections made in 2008 (IBISWorld, 2010a). This decrease in growth has caused the hospitality industry to be ultra-protective of their expenses. As a result, there has been a decre ase in the importance of marketing oriented subject areas, which accounts for a good chunk of costs in hospitality industry. The same reason can be cited for the significant decrease in hospitality operations subject area. A better argument can be presented from the employment perspective. Because of the jerky economic downturn in the lodging industry, it can be argued that firms have reduced their hiring practices in areas that greatly add to the cost of the hotels such as marketing, operations, and innovations and harvesting development. Same holds true for managerial level positions, which accounts for the decrease in the perceived importance of subject areas such as service management, strategic management, and management and organization. However, reflected in our analysis, it can be pointed out that firms are looking for leaders, who can think out of the box, and bail them out of the financial crisis, which accounts for the high perceived rating of leadership subject area. E specially, it can be argued that hospitality firms are looking for employees who can lead from the front and make their decisions, instead of relying on other people such as the managers. Thus, it can be argued that, hospitality firms are trying to cut down the costs of employing specialized managers by trying to promote leadership qualities on their regular employees.The subject areas that showed significantly higher means in 2009 compared to 2004 include Revenue/Asset Management and Study Abroad, which were both highly significant (p Suggested political platform ModelGursoy and Swanger (2004) suggested an industry driven model of a hospitality curriculum for programs housed in accredited college of business. Based on our study, some suggestions and improvements are offered to make the semester-based model more rigorous, relevant, and up-to-date.The model of hospitality curriculum was developed based on three different components business core requirements, hospitality core requir ements, and hospitality electives incorporating the ranked subject matter by hospitality industry professionals. Based on the limitations regarding number of credits in the hospitality program and on the suggestions from the focus groups and advisory boards, some subject areas, such as ethics and leadership, were embedded throughout the curriculum. The curriculum model did not embed those subject matters in the business cores and in the general education cores as business core and general education core classes were outside the hospitality programs locus of control. The Senior-level hospitality capstone course integrated all curriculum areas in the program. Subject matters with a mean ranking of 2.0 or lower were suggested to be part of elective courses and were recommended for Sophomore or lower-ranking level. Like the 2004 model, learning a second language (M = 1.76) and studying abroad (M = 1.50) were not deemed essential for success in the industry by the professionals surveye d and hence were not included in the model. Similarly, Entrepreneurship (M = 2.34) and Real Estate/Property Development (M = 1.61) courses, which were thought to be as part of other electives under a different department or program in business, were kept outside the curriculum model. For the 2009 model, electives such as Destination Manag

Equity and social justice in the teaching and learning of mathematics

Equity and social justice in the give instructioning and encyclopaedism of mathematicsEquity and Social Justice in the teaching and checking of mathematicsEquity and Social justice ar important write outs in math teaching. This adjudicate explores the relevance of how maths Education may be a necessary factor in determining the social justice of a boors upbringing, and consider how fairness can be used to ensure an education that is fair in its opportunities for both children to achieve progression in their learning.Social Justice in Mathematics EducationWatson has confidence that all children atomic number 18 capable of learning significant Mathematics given sequester teaching. She believes that there is a moral imperative that children ar educated advantageously in Mathematics in order to realise the full potential of the human mind and that there is empowerment when a child realises that they can racket learning Mathematics.It is a matter of social justice to teach Mathematics to all children as their achievement in the subject is judged passim their life and can participate in determing future prospects. Grades achieved in Mathematics can affect future studies and c areer paths. For example, to enter university, usually a token(prenominal) of grade C GCSE Maths is required, and this requirement varies depending on the course. In Mathematics, nail downting is used to group pupils according to their baron and educatees are entered in for an exam course depending on what bent grass they are dictated in, which determines the maximum grade they can achieve. Usually in secondary schools, the sets are formed in year 7 or in year 9 after SATs and these sets rarely change and so even if individuals make progress everyplace the years before session the GCSE paper in year 11, it does non make a difference as the maximum grade that they can achieve will not deliberate their cap world power. Only a maximum of grade D can be encountered in th e trim back sets.(Day, p. 165) As a result, children in these sets will not be able to go to university, may not get into a particular course or will convey to payoff their GCSE Mathematics again at a later stage, rendering their first grade D useless. This seems unfair for the lower setted students, whose full potential may not set about been realise and who surely deserve the chance to achieve a higher grade if they are able to progress over the year. Every Child MattersA UK government activity inaugural programme called Every Child Matters has the aim of sustaining every child, whatever their background or circumstances, to grant the support they need to be healthy, pacify safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution, and achieve economic well-being.The idea behind this scheme is that all institutions that affect a childs life field together to create a stable and supportive environment for their development educationally and socially. The education institut ions aim to help a child achieve numeral learning but also try to develop mathematical learning and thinking on a wider level, supporting all areas of life.(website 2) The question to be asked is if setting in mathematics classes really contributes towards that aim or, more likely, hinders it?Setting by business leaderMathematics teaching is in two forms mixed tycoon teaching, where all students learn together, or setted classes, where students are split into groups in terms of ability level. Higher sets are taught more advanced Mathematical concepts, topics and skills as they are thought to have the potential and basic knowledge to understand it. The lower sets are taught more basic Mathematics and at a slower pace to allow them bountiful time and practice to learn and understand and so their learning and depth of Mathematics is restricted. Students are entered for a GCSE Mathematics exam paper appropriate to their level, depending on what set they are in. However, lower sets can only achieve grades D-G which are not usually accepted as being high enough to modify the student to study further and may prevent them from studying a particular course. In this way, the GCSE examination itself is split into tiers, with only the higher sets being allowed to attain good passes of grades A*-C.(Archer, Hutchings and Ross, 2003, p. 139) There are many questions concerning the fairness of such an arrangement. As students in lower sets would not have covered the content that would be examined in the higher tier, it is not appropriate to enter them for the higher or intermediate tier. Therefore, as a result of mathematics setting, those in lower sets are less likely to be entered for higher tiers, consequently harming their future study and job opportunities. Also, some children have an advanced grasp of Mathematics due to an advantaged background, parents help or private tuition. This could mean that setting is unfair as it is biased towards early developing childre n or those who have been given extra help outdoors of the classroom.My experienceIn secondary school, even after attaining Level 7 in year 9 SATs, I was put in set 2 as set 1 was full. This meant that I was entered for the GCSE Mathematics intermediate tier which only allowed me to gain a maximum of grade B. After scoring over 95% in two of the module exams and discussions between my parents and teacher, I was allowed to move into set 1 as my achievement was higher than those who were already in set 1 so it was unfair to restrict me from sitting the higher paper and having the chance of getting an A. As the higher set moves at a high-speed pace as it has a bigger syllabus to cover, I had to spend 3 months catching up on work that I had missed. In the end, I ended up with an A* in GCSE Mathematics and studied a degree in Maths. This proves that higher achievement is possible, if given the opportunity. Advantages of setting by abilityThe ex-Prime Minister, Tony Blair, agreed with se tting children by ability. He states The modernisation of the comprehensive principle requires that all pupils are come alongd to progress as far and as debased as they are able and that Grouping children by ability can be an important way of making that happen.The main advantage of separate ability grouping is that all students get the chance to learn at a pace suitable for them and they are not distracted from students of a different ability level with different educational ineluctably. With setting, students are only given the work that they are capable of completing otherwise it could harm the childs confidence and vanity levels, resulting in dissatisfaction and frustration for both pupils and teachers, class disruption and lower attendance levels. Alternatively, people argue that mixed ability groups are more productive for all students. bear witness from research suggests, all pupils gained socially from working in wide ability groups because, such groupings allowed pupil s from a wide variety of backgrounds, as well as abilities, to work together, strengthening social cohesion.Disadvantages of setting by abilityThere is a big question of authority about who can decide on appropriate setting in the first place, and how? In schools, the setting system is supposed to be purely based on ability level. However, in reality, streaming could be decided upon for other reasons. For example, two areas of prejudice encountered can be social class and ethnic dimensions.Bartlett, Burton and Peim point out that often lower class pupils were deemed to have a lower intellectual ability than middle class peers purely due to unrelated social issues such as accent or parents jobs.Sukhnandan and downwind (1998) comment on the fact that lower-ability sets consist of a high number children from low social-class backgrounds, ethnic minorities, boys and children born in the summer, who are at a younger age for their school year. (website 1)Harlens study (1997) suggested t hat teachers with substantial experience of teaching mixed ability groups frequently used whole class methods inappropriate to mixed ability groupings and that teachers retained largely fixed panoramas of ability and intelligence.(Capel and Leask, 2005, p. 155) A clear disadvantage of setting is that children can be stuck in one set for years and are then branded as holding a set ability for the rest of their education. (Ollerton, 2002, p. 264) Setting prevents children from mixing with other ability levels in the classroom environment, braggy them an unrealistic expectation of future life and general working environments. The problem of self-esteem is an issue for the lower setted pupils, who feel dejected that they are perceived as having weaker ability. Self-esteem is also an issue for higher setted pupils, who can be developmentally damaged in a different way by their high set over inflating their self-esteem. Sukhnandan and Lee believe that setting in this way causes social d ivisions. (website 1) Self-esteem is essentially important for children in learning Mathematics. If a child has take down self-esteem they could convince themselves that they are not bright enough to understand and so underachieve due to their negative attitude. Equally, high self-esteem in Mathematics can make a child overly-relaxed and over confident do them to slack. explore has shown that setting pupils has a direct impact on the pupils perceived mathematical competenceand children can be affected psychologically about what they can or cannot do and learn. A student who is setted is branded and this branding can affect the students comprehension of themselves and others peoples perceptions and judgement of them.Gender IssuesBoaler points out that setting children by ability can cause anxiety about exam answerance among the more able pupils and underperformance, in particular, from girls. (Boaler, 1997) Boaler suggests this underperformance is due to crumbling under the pres sure which affects girls more than boys because girls have a tendency to lack confidence.Ollerton supports this idea that setting by ability creates the conditions for under-achievement, a view also believed by Boaler and William (2001). Another issue of children being streamed based on their achievements and not on their potential means that underperforming, very able pupils and pupils who are hardworking and perform well on tests can easily be placed in the same achievement group.Indeed, an able pupil who is underachieving would be placed in a lower set than their ability should demand, whereas a lower ability pupil who has the ability for performing well under pressure in exams could be placed in a higher set than their natural ability would unremarkably allow. In a similar way, behaviour could also cause unfairness in setting as boys often mess around in the classroom but perform well in exams. They could be placed in a lower set due to their bad behaviour and lack of attention , but their ability in Maths could be worthy of a higher set. Research shows, for boys in particular, that the set they were in reflected their behaviour more than their ability.Girls tend to do better in communicative tasks and enjoy writing more than boys who often dont enjoy writing up courseworkand research conducted has shown that girls tend to do better in coursework compared to exams whereas boys do not do well in coursework but perform well in exams. Modularisation in Mixed Ability TeachingThe main concern in a mixed ability class is for the teacher to decide what to teach and how to teach to a wide spread of abilities, which is still a concern in a setted class. Sukhnandan and Lee (1998) comment that a modular approach would social welfare a mixed ability class. They suggest that schools should try to teach pupils in relation to their individual needs rather than streaming by general ability, with integrity in teaching more easily achieved through greater modularisation o f the curriculum, an increased emphasis on independent learning and improved library and information engine room resources.It seems that what goes on in the classroom and the teaching strategies used, is likely to have more impact on achievement than how pupils are grouped A teachers goal is to encourage progression of learning Mathematics in the classroom for all students. In order to achieve this, Ollerton suggests that this modular approach to teaching Mathematics creates the feeling of having a fresh start to every section of learning, therefore, helping self-esteem as everyone can embark upon a journey to learn, say trigonometry. This progressive idea challenges the view of the hierarchical structure of mathematical learning, (Ollerton, 2002, p. 266) where everyone can start at the same level.Differentiating Teaching Content Tomlinson comments on the importance of differentiating the content of a Mathematics lesson in a mixed ability classroom. She points out that this include s adapting what we teach and modifying how we give students access to what we want them to learn.Giving different ability level students different tasks appropriate to their ability is differentiating what they are learning. Tomlinson explains that giving students, of higher ability, time to read part of a textual matter on their own while taking time to go through the text with the lower ability pupils separately describes their access to learning as they are learning the same thing in different ways, appropriate to their ability level. (Tomlinson, 1995, p. 72) It appears that Mathematics would benefit from an approach that considers differentiation in what is taught rather than how it is taught. Some Mathematical concepts would be too difficult for some children to understand, so the teacher must fork between the content suitable for the weaker students from stronger students. For example, trigonometry is only introduced to students in higher groups (Boaler, p. 7) Equal Rights and Equity in Mathematics EducationIn the context of teaching, the issue of equity is often confused with compeerity. According to Zevenbergen, equity refers to the unequal treatment of students in order to produce more equal outcomes. This contrasts equality which means the equal treatment of students with the potential of unequal outcomes . For example, students who have disadvantaged backgrounds could be offered extra help to catch up with their advantaged peers in order to hopefully achieve similarity in the outcome for all students. The alternative method of equality would mean that all students are given equal treatment and the same opportunities to succeed. However, some students would take more advantage of the opportunities and the results may be more unequal than with an equity programme. Equity programmes are designed to be more proactive and seek to rectify differences in prior experiences , whereas equality programmes are more conservative in their approach and ackn owledge that some students will achieve more than others. If children are taught in a way that meets their individual needs then justice in education, a prime aim of Every Child Matters, can be achieved. position as a Foreign Language Language competency is an issue for students who speak English as a second language, ca utilise them to underachieve in Mathematics. In order to read text books and understand verbal instructions, students must work within the language of instruction. Educational progress is enhanced depending on whether a students first language is that of their instruction or not. (Zevenbergen, 2001, p. 15) Mathematics has many words particular to the subject, for example, integral, differentiate, matrix, volume and mass. This can be confusing for non-native English students, as they have to learn new meanings in the context of Mathematics. (Zevenbergen, 2001, p. 16) The same word can be interpreted in different ways by non-native English students, causing misunderst andings which affects learning. Teachers may find that this lack of language background can make a Maths class very difficult to teach. For example, the words times normally is related to the time on a clock, not to multiplication the words hole and whole sound the same but have different meanings, in maths meaning a whole number. (Gates, p. 44) Students with language issues may work more slowly or misunderstand questions and hence, be setted at a lower level in Maths, which is clearly unfair.Special Educational Needs (SEN) Children with special educational needs require different teaching methods. Learning disabilities which need to be considered in the maths classroom include dyscalculia, where the child cannot grasp the meaning of number, poor numeracy skills, problems such as Aspergers syndrome and autism, or physical disabilities and sensory impairments. (Cowan, 2006, p. 202-203) For these students, the teacher needs to be aware of using simple and precise instructive language, a clear method of presentation, modified content of difficulty and work structured with cut quantity. (Cowan, 2006, p. 203) How Equity can mean Social Justice for all LearnersIt is clear that the tiering of mathematics papers is likely to have an important impact on student development and pupils often make more progress if taught in a higher set rather than a lower set . This means that in mathematics teaching, the same topic should be addressed in a mixed class and tasks can be organised according to needs level. The guinea pig Numeracy Strategy (NNS) advises planning a lesson using three stages pre-active phase, where necessary prior knowledge is identified and presentation planned interactive phase, where teaching takes place and tasks are worked through, including a plenary at the end summarising the lesson and the evaluative phase, where the teacher reflects on the lesson and on learning successes or difficulties. (Cowan, 2006, p. 59) By following a structured lesson plan, using a range of tasks comprising different levels of difficulty but addressing the same topic or theme within the one class, (Cowan, 2006, p. 212), equity can be achieved for all students of different ability level. In this way social justice is maintained for all students in mathematics teaching and learning. ConclusionThe governments Every Child Matters initiative supports the view that equal rights for all children means equal opportunities for all children. It seems that in order to achieve this kind of social justice, every child needs to be given the chance to take an examination paper that allows them to achieve an A grade. In doing this, each child will have an opportunity to go on to further study should their ability and interests allow. Setting by ability not only makes this difficult, but actually increases problems in the classroom, such as damaged self-esteem and under-achievement and can even encourage some prejudice regarding race and class. Setted classes are not n ecessarily easier for teachers to teach either, as they will still need to differentiate content for different class members. It therefore seems that a strong lesson structure incorporating modularisation and appropriate differentiation in teaching content will provide a more effective environment in which equity can be used to maintain social justice in the teaching of Mathematics to children in a mixed ability classroom.

Usage of the Outsider Theme in Claude McKays Poetry Essay examples --

Usage of the Outsider Theme in Claude McKays PoetryClaude McKay was an important figure during the 1920s in the Harlem Rennaisance. Primarily a poet, McKay used the arcdegree of view of the outsider as a prevalent theme in his works. This is best observed in such poems as Outcast, America, and The White House. In these poems, McKay portrays the African-American as the outsiderof western society and its politics and laws and at times, the very land that he is native to.McKayss poem, Outcast, is the most obvious example of this outsider theme. From the title to the shoemakers last line there are many references to a feeling of alienation and neglect. The voice in the poem longs for the dim regions whence my fathers came. The voice also longs for bury jungle songs and yearns to go back to darkness and to peace. This is the voice of the African-American removed from his native country and made an outsider of his own home. Alienation is also utter as I may never hope for fu ll release while to its alien gods I bend my knee. This line illustrates that the...

Downsizing And Reengineering The American Public And Private Sector Ess

downsize And Reengineering The American Public And Private Sector Wheels of Industry Over the past decade, to a greater extent and to a greater extent American organizations argon downsizing and reengineering as a means of eliminating excesses in corporate staffing, bureaucracy, and expenditures. This is true today whether its a for-profit company or not-for-profit company. Constant change is a new way of life as companies strive to meet customers needs and the ability to successfully innovate, age after time to achieve competitive advantages. Moreover, American companies are facing a fierce global environment and are downsizing to achieve address-lowering efficiencies to render their firm more fit to combat coherent global competitors. American organizations are also downsizing in an effort to cope with fundamental and structural changes in economies and markets.1 Because downsizing and reengineering is excessively used in todays organizations, we must not mistakenly confuse th e two terms, and since American organizations are faced with the problem of broad overhauling, we must understand the significance and the purpose of both. We must also consider the fundamental approaches organizations use in implementing downsizing. In addition, we must come out at the cost benefits to the organizations, as well as the competitive advantages are that achieved. Moreover, while little emphasis of the employee is considered in terms of workforce reduction, there is a need to look at the adverse affects on the employee and the personnel problems that organizations incur due to the aftermath of downsizing.Downsizing is associated and often confused with numerous terms. The term downsizing was coined to define the marking down of the car by sizes by automobile manu... ...ture. AMACOM American circumspection Association, 1987 (Pg. 55-67).6Cohen, Steven and Eimicke, William. The New Effective Public Manager. Jossey-Bass Publishers. San Francisco, 1995 (197-199)7Tomas ko, Robert M. Downsizing Reshaping the Corporation for the Future. AMACOM American Management Association, 1987 (Pg. 88-89).8Tomasko, Robert M. Downsizing Reshaping the Corporation for theFuture. AMACOM American Management Association, 1987 (Pg. 40).9Tomasko, Robert M. Downsizing Reshaping the Corporation for the Future. AMACOM American Management Association, 1987(238-245).10Cohen, Steven and Eimicke, William. The New Effective PublicManager. Jossey-Bass Publishers. San Francisco, 1995(Pg. 103-109).11Cohen, Steven and Eimicke, William. The New Effective PublicManager. Jossey-Bass Publishers. San Francisco, 1995 (Pg. 109-111). Downsizing And Reengineering The American Public And Private Sector EssDownsizing And Reengineering The American Public And Private Sector Wheels of Industry Over the past decade, more and more American organizations are downsizing and reengineering as a means of eliminating excesses in corporate staffing, bureaucracy, and expenditures. This is true today whether its a for-profit company or not-for-profit company. Constant change is a new way of life as companies strive to meet customers needs and the ability to successfully innovate, time after time to achieve competitive advantages. Moreover, American companies are facing a fierce global environment and are downsizing to achieve cost-lowering efficiencies to render their firm more fit to combat tenacious global competitors. American organizations are also downsizing in an effort to cope with fundamental and structural changes in economies and markets.1 Because downsizing and reengineering is excessively used in todays organizations, we must not mistakenly confuse the two terms, and since American organizations are faced with the problem of massive overhauling, we must understand the meaning and the purpose of both. We must also consider the fundamental approaches organizations use in implementing downsizing. In addition, we must look at the cost benefits to the organizat ions, as well as the competitive advantages are that achieved. Moreover, while little emphasis of the employee is considered in terms of workforce reduction, there is a need to look at the adverse affects on the employee and the personnel problems that organizations incur due to the aftermath of downsizing.Downsizing is associated and often confused with numerous terms. The term downsizing was coined to define the scaling down of the car by sizes by automobile manu... ...ture. AMACOM American Management Association, 1987 (Pg. 55-67).6Cohen, Steven and Eimicke, William. The New Effective Public Manager. Jossey-Bass Publishers. San Francisco, 1995 (197-199)7Tomasko, Robert M. Downsizing Reshaping the Corporation for the Future. AMACOM American Management Association, 1987 (Pg. 88-89).8Tomasko, Robert M. Downsizing Reshaping the Corporation for theFuture. AMACOM American Management Association, 1987 (Pg. 40).9Tomasko, Robert M. Downsizing Reshaping the Corporation for the Future. AMAC OM American Management Association, 1987(238-245).10Cohen, Steven and Eimicke, William. The New Effective PublicManager. Jossey-Bass Publishers. San Francisco, 1995(Pg. 103-109).11Cohen, Steven and Eimicke, William. The New Effective PublicManager. Jossey-Bass Publishers. San Francisco, 1995 (Pg. 109-111).