189062 †Prisons provide the ideal opportunity Essays

189062 – Prisons provide the ideal opportunity Essays 189062 – Prisons provide the ideal opportunity Essay 189062 – Prisons provide the ideal opportunity Essay 189062 – Prisons provide the ideal chance for handling drug users. Discuss. A comparatively high proportion of offense is committed by wrongdoers who misuse drugs. It is hence recognized that the condemnable justness system can play a cardinal function in undertaking single jobs of drug maltreatment, by supplying intervention to wrongdoers convicted of drug-related offenses. Prison offers a premier chance for promoting drug misusers to prosecute in intervention and support procedures. The Prison Service has in topographic point a model of intervention and support to turn to a broad scope of drug abuse jobs ( Home Office ) . [ 1 ] This essay will analyze the claims that prison provides the ideal chance for handling drug users. The strongest forecaster of offense among male childs and work forces is drug usage ( Home Office, 2000a ) . It has been calculated that wrongdoers feeding their drug wonts commit one in three burglaries and street robberies, together with a high sum of crack-related force and harlotry. The estimated cost of drug-driven offense is ?304 billion a twelvemonth. ( Nacro, 1999a ) . [ 2 ] These figures highlight the relationship between drug-use and offense. Through media coverage of statistics such as these the public identify drug usage as the predominant underlying cause of offense. Although, this perceptual experience is inaccurate, it is important in cut downing society’s fright of offense that the authorities are seen to penalize wrongdoers and tackle drug jobs head-on. Prisons are considered to be establishments for both punishing and rehabilitating wrongdoers. As grounds points to a relationship between drug abuse and offense, cut downing the abuse of drugs, should cut down offense Prisons can play a important function in rehabilitating drug users: †¦for at least the last 11 old ages at that place has been acknowledgment that intervention for drug dependence can take to decreases in offense behavior ( Barton, 2003:142 ) . Bean ( 2002:48-49 ) offers three chief grounds why intervention should be available in prisons: The first is to supply intervention for those who say they want it ; †¦Secondly, intervention programmes cut down the extent of drug usage in prisons by and large. Third, intervention in prison besides provides a agency by which drug users can be after for their release ( Bean, 2002:48-49 ) . The foundations of the prison drug intervention model are the Counselling, Assessment, Referral, Advice and Throughcare ( CARAT ) services. These run into the non-clinical demands of the great bulk of captives, supplying low threshold, low strength drug services. There are besides Intensive Treatment Programmes to run into the demands of captives with moderate to terrible drug abuse jobs and related piquing behavior. The quality of these intervention programmes is at least equal to anything provided in the community ( Home Office ) . [ 3 ] Much treatment has taken topographic point as to how successful these intervention programmes are. Are they readily available, good delivered, and do they really work? Many observers note that prisons are restricted in the scope of drug intervention programmes they can offer. This is chiefly due to the limited handiness of installations and staff and the length of clip that captives are in detention. For this ground many argue that these programmes are non specific to the jobs of single wrongdoers and are mostly uneffective. John Burrows et Al ( 2000:3 ) reported that the proviso of drug services throughout prison constitutions was uneven and captives reported that the intervention frequently depended on what was available instead than what was appropriate to their demands. [ 4 ] It is argued that handling drug users in prison is mostly unsuccessful as drugs are readily available within the prison walls. Burrows et Al ( 2000:3 ) study that drug pickings among prison populations prior to captivity is high, with usage in the 12 months before come ining prison runing from 40 % to approximately 70 % . Findingss from captive self-report surveies show that many continue to utilize drugs whilst in detention. [ 5 ] Hough produced a study for the Home Office ( 1996 ) analyzing drug abuse and the condemnable justness system. He highlighted the undermentioned issues: Illegal drugs are widely available in prisons, and the defeats of prison life may increase the attraction of drugs to captives. Inmate civilization in some establishments can put a positive value on drug usage, and drugs are of import in the captive economic system. Whatever prisons may accomplish, intervention is provided in an environment which is nil like the one into which inmates are released ( Hough, 1996:40 ) . There is small grounds to propose that handling drug-users in prison has had a important influence on the piquing behavior of those treated. Bean ( 2002: 49 ) argues that it is non yet possible to estimate the impact of the intervention of drug users in prison for a figure of grounds. †¦it is non clear what standards should be used to mensurate the impact of programmes or to find to what extent captivity itself was of greater importance than the intervention. Reconvictions, and possibly go oning drug usage, are the lone steps by and large available but these are non ever valid steps and are seldom dependable. In decision, there is much public and political involvement in the decrease of drug abuse and drug-related offense. Most observers agree that prison provides an ideal chance to undertake single drug jobs: In an ideal universe, prisons would†¦provide a alone chance for handling job drug users. Prisons have control over their inmates ; prisons have clip to consequence alteration ; and the fringy costs of supplying intervention are modest in comparing with the costs of imprisonment ( Hough, 1996:40 ) . However, there are a figure of issues that continue to blockade any important success. As South ( 2002:930 ) concludes: The small research available suggests that imprisonment may hold small consequence on drug or drug related offense behavior. Furthermore, prison is non by and large an effectual environment for cut downing committedness to a drug-using life style. Mentions Barton, A. ( 2003 )Illicit Drugs: Use and Control, London: Routledge. Bean, P. ( 2002 )Drugs and Crime, Cullompton: Willan Publishing. Hough, M. ( 1996 )Drugs Misuse and the Criminal Justice System: A reappraisal of the literature, Home Office. Joyce, P. ( 2001 )Crime and the Criminal Justice System, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. South, N. ( 2002 ) ‘Drugs, Alcohol, and Crime’ , in Maguire, M. Morgan, R. A ; Reiner, R. ( 2002 )The Oxford Handbook of Criminology ( Third Edition) , Oxford: Oxford University Press. www.drugs.gov.uk/drug-interventions-programme/strategy/prison/ Word Count: 1004 1

Value Line Publishing Background Info Essays - Economy, Business

Value Line Publishing Background Info Essays - Economy, Business Value Line Publishing Background Info Carrie Galeotafiore: analyst for Value Line Publishing. Value Line Publishing is an investment-survey firm. EIU (Economist Intelligence Unit) estimated 2001 U.S. retail building-supply industry at $175 bil. Split btwn 3 retail formats: hardware stores(15% of sales), lumberyards(34%), and larger-format home centers(51%). Industry was dominated by Home Depot and Lowes They had more than a third of total industry sales. Within the past 5 years, 1136 new stores. Future growth opportunities: acquisition/consolidation, professional market, international expansion, alternative retail formats, alternative products, and head-to-head competition. Acquisition/consolidation: 1999: Lowe's acquired a warehouse-format chain named Eagle Hardware which had 38 stores. $1.3 bil transaction. Home Depot has acquired Apex Supply, Georgia Lighting, N-E Thing Supply Company, and Your "Other" Warehouse. Professional Market Both chains want to attract professional clienteles more efficiently. To do so, they are stocking merchandise in larger quantities, giving employees higher training, as well as carrying professional brands. Home Depot created Home Depot Supply and the "Pro Stores" to reach out to the small-professional market. International expansion Home Depot acquired a Canadian home-improvement retailer Aikenhead in 1994 which developed an international presence. Also targeted the $12.5 bil home-improvement market in Mexico by acquiring Mexican chains TotalHOME and Del Norte. In 2002, Lowe's didn't have an international presence. Alternative retail formats Both chains have online stores that offer design and decorating tips. Alternative Products Both chains were expanding into installation services. Home Depot was currently at $3 bil for their at-home business Head-to-head comp Traditionally, Home Depot focused on metropolitan areas while Lowe's focused on rural areas. So Lowe's is expanding to metro areas. Home Depot's new CEO, Bob Nardelli, wants to focus on enhancing turnover and store efficiency through ongoing system investments. Issue: Home Depot had come under criticism for declining customer service. Solution: Nardelli wants to help employees focus on their customers while the store is open and only restock the shelves while they are closed. Home Depot expected rev growth to be 15% to 18% through 2004. Lowe's management claimed they would maintain their sales growth of 18% to 19%. Lowe's planned to open 123 stores in 2002, 130 in 2003, and 140 in 2004. Issue: Donald Trott, analyst at Jeffries, downgraded Lowe's based on a forecast of a deflating housing-market bubble and a view regarding a company's stock price was richly priced relative to Home Depot's. Solution: Galeotafiore countered that Lowe's had now shown that it could compete effectively with Home Depot. She expected there to be ongoing improvement in sales and gross margins.

Developing Management Capability Speech or Presentation

Developing Management Capability - Speech or Presentation Example Your first lines, therefore, should be creative, exciting and interesting. b) 'These next lines are good, and they can be effective if said with passion that will show the listeners how significant a small percentage (like 2 per cent) can be when considered in context of the base amount which, in this case, is 1.2 billion in euro. Assuming that these figures are all well-researched and accurate, this part should serve to be when the you - the speaker - convince the listeners that what you are presenting is worth looking into. The presentation slides used to highlight these lines should show pictures of the market that the listeners would want to tap. Without such critical slides, the important point relayed by this part of the presentation - the market you want them to target - will just be missed by the listeners. c) These lines should never be said, "What sort of things do I mean by informational-educational This is not the best example, but it will help to illustrate the idea: Sotheby's has produced a video guide to eighteenth-century French furniture." They are ineffective points that will only ruin your presentation. These lines give your listeners the feeling that your presentation is not the best that you can give or do. Citing examples to make things clear would be effective only if the examples used for the purpose are the best and the most fitting. It is one big blunder to use second-best examples to illustrate a point; and it is another equally big blunder to actually tell the listeners that the example you are about to name is actually not the best. To be persuasive and convincing, your listeners should be made to feel that you took pains to put together for them a great presentation that contains accurate data and intelligent choices of words, examples, and lay-out of the slides. d) "Now I'd like to talk about where I see the opportunities in this market. I see them at the high end - the affluent - I think it's a defined target, it has a lot of discretionary income, and its interests lie in the areas I want to market into." These lines are ineffectively worded. There are better ways to put the points therein to words. Instead of those lines that rather sound dragging, you should instead use a slide or two to show the listeners a diagram of the entire DVD-renting population and then to specifically point out the specific part of it that represents the market niche that you want to capture. Attaining such goal should be doable if your listeners will be fired up and become enthusiastic and passionate believers of what you yourself believe in. e) "The project would investigate the viability of starting a production and distribution outfit in Europe; it would investigate the potential product portfolio in the market, and would essentially turn an idea into a business proposition that can be put to a bank to raise capital." These lines would dampen the excitement roused by your earlier lines. These are ineffective points, unless they are rephrased and discussed with more optimistic and energy. The financing concerns are to be dealt with by the finance people, and maybe the conservative and serious words are the ones to use when talking with them. But when talking to a group for the purpose of

The international monetary and finance structure Essay - 2

The international monetary and finance structure - Essay Example It was with the end of the war that developed nations came up with a new system, which sought a free flow of capital, stable exchange rates, and open trade. These three principles were fundamental in globalization and liberalization of the global economy. There were a number of concepts, which underpinned this new liberal economy. Liberal economics were premised on the recognition that there were inherent differences in the endowment of resources for different countries (Balaam & Veseth 127). Therefore, international wealth could only be maximized if countries participated in global trade. In addition, national currencies were to be sold and bought in a system of free markets, in which floating exchange rates enabled the markets to determine a currency’s value in relation to another. This system would ensure market equilibrium and the IMF was tasked with stabilizing rates of exchange with the IMF originally founded on the fixed rate system. However, this financial system faile d to keep up with the dynamism of various national economies, which meant the fixed exchange-rate system changed to a more flexible system and less capital transfer control. Under these conditions, the value of national currency was determined by interactions between supply and demand present in foreign exchange markets (Balaam & Veseth 127). ... These include the Gold Standard until WWI, the Bretton Woods system for fixed-exchange rates, prior to the end of WWII, and the floating or flexible regime of exchange rates (Balaam & Veseth 132). Economic liberalism that characterizes today’s international monetary and financial structures has been supported by; the WTO, the IMF, and the World Bank. The World Bank was created with the aim of stimulating economies following the destruction of WWII on Europe (Balaam & Veseth 133). However, the institution’s emphasis shifted to development away from reconstruction as it began to generate capital funds from contributions made by its member states, as well as that made from financial market borrowing. Currently, most of the funding from this institution is used in the development of infrastructure. On the other hand, the IMF was formed in order to stabilize economies and exchange rates. Initially, the IMF was established as a fixed exchange-rates system. However, the system went out of use after an announcement by the US that they would stop guaranteeing the system. Finally, it formalized the currently in use floating exchange-rates system. Finally, the WTO, formerly the GATT, was instituted for the management of trade. The initial GATT was formed based on support for liberalization of trade, protection of home markets exclusively through tariffs, national treatment for MNCs, and non-discrimination in trade (Balaam & Veseth 134). It established multi-lateral negotiations among nations that had similar interests at hand, before being extended to all participants of the GATT. Much of its work was done over 8 rounds of negotiations, which progressively cut back on tariffs and addressed arising issues like copyrights and

New Management Team causes delay in HR and pressures current staff Essay

New Management Team causes delay in HR and pressures current staff - Essay Example This article is related to my issue because it highlights the variety of ways in which the insufficiency of human resources caused by downsizing affects an organization. Particularly, it emphasizes how such management strategies as downsizing or delayed recruitment disturb the employees psychologically, emotionally, and physically, and how the effects go beyond them to reach the customers also. In my case, the employees are the teachers and the customers are the students. Article 2: Summary (Cameron) conducted a research upon 30 organizations to study their downsizing strategies with a view to identifying successful downsizing strategies and the implications of downsizing upon the workers’ performance. Successful downsizing requires successful management of the system of human resource that includes such aspects as employee training, reward, and performance evaluation. HR assumes the responsibility to help make this system effective by avoiding the typical top-down approach th at considers workers as a liability for the organization. HR professionals assume the main role in successful downsizing. ... Poor decisions of the management with respect to recruitment can cost an organization a lot of direct and indirect cost. BHEL’s recruitment policies were found to be good and effective since the organization conducts recruitment through big selection boards. Delay in recruitment is one of the main areas of focus of my study. This reference is particularly useful when I am evaluating the best strategies of recruitment in my research while proposing that instead of delaying the recruitment and increasing the work burden for the teachers, the new management should design effective recruitment strategies to hire the best team of teachers to take the school to the next level. Article 4: Summary (Gabdolfi) conducted a research to identify the organizational, financial, and workforce related effects of downsizing. Downsizing affects the workers psychologically and emotionally and disrupts their relations with the family. Four lessons of downsizing are preparation, specific training, management of the survivor syndrome, and counting of the costs. This paper relates to my issue because along with identifying the ways in which the teachers come under increased load and pressure of work in the absence of more teachers that need to be recruited, Gabdolfi has also highlighted the implications for the new management and proposed four lessons of downsizing that help the management make informed decisions. Article 5: Summary (Dahar et al.) conducted a quantitative study to identify the effect of quality of teacher on the students’ achievement. They found that the quality of teachers did not significantly affect the level of achievement of the students in the schools with

Analysis Of RSA Algorithm Communications Essay

Analysis Of RSA Algorithm Communications Essay To protect and hide data from malicious attacker and irrelevant public is the fundamental necessity of a security system. So for this reason for hiding data many cryptographic primitives like symmetric and asymmetric cryptography, digital signatures, hash functions etc. The symmetric cryptography consists of same key for encrypting and also for decrypting the data. Where as asymmetric cryptography takes advantage of a pair of keys to encrypt and decrypt the message. These keys are public key and a private key. The key which is distributed to other and which is publicly known is known as a public key and the key which is kept secret is known as private key. These two keys are needed simultaneously both for encrypting and decrypting the data. Public key will encrypt the data where as private key is used to decrypt the data. Asymmetric cryptographic should satisfy following properties. They are: Key generation process must be computationally efficient. By using the public key of the receiver the sender must be able to process the cipher text for any given message. By using the private key the decryption of cipher text into plain text should be done by the receiver. It will be impossible to compute like encrypt or decrypt the data without either of the key. RSA was designed by Ronald Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Len Adleman. It is an asymmetric cryptographic technology. As in asymmetric cryptographic encryption the public key is known by everyone where as the private key is kept undisclosed. For decryption of data which is encrypted with the public key, private key must only be used. Integers between 0 to n-1 where n is the modulus are taken as cipher and plain text. This n is generally 1024 bits. But the suggested length of n is 2048 bits instead of 1024 bits because it is no longer secure. Algorithm of Key generation: The following steps describe how a set of keys are generated. Two different prime numbers are selected which are not equal. Say p and q. this numbers are of same bit length. Determine modulus n where n=p.q Process or calculate à Ã¢â‚¬  (pq) =(pà ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢1)(qà ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢1). Here à Ã¢â‚¬   is totient. Select an integer which is public exponent e, such that 1 Calculate d. This can be calculated by using modular arithmetic. This should satisfy de=1. Now this ed-1 should be evenly divided by (p-1)(q-1) . Here (n,e) is the public key which is used for encryption and (n,d) is a private key which is used for decryption. Encryption: The following steps describe the how encryption is done in RSA algorithm. It is illustrated with an example where in two imaginary characters are described Alice and Bob. As we know that public key is (n,e) this is transmitted by Alice to Bob by keeping her private key secret. A message say M is wished by Bob to send to Alice. Before sending the message M it is converted into an integer 0 Get the public key which is (n,e) Plain text integer is represented by m. Calculate cipher text as shown c=me Cipher text c is send to the receiver. Decryption: Now when Alice receives the message sent by Bob, she regains the original message m from cipher text c by utilizing her private key exponent d. this can be done by cd=m (mod n). Now she can recover M once she regains m by using Padding scheme. This is shown as cd = (me)d = med (mod n). Since , med = m1+kq(n) =m(mq(n))k =m (mod n) . By this we get the original message back. This can be shown in following steps. Private key (n,d) is used by receiver to calculate m=cd mod n. The plaintext m is extracted. Computational issues of RSA: Selection of the two prime numbers p q: In the very first step p is selected from a set of random number. After this it is ensured that p is odd by setting its highest and lowest bit. Finally p is made prime by applying a Miller Rabin algorithm. Choosing the value of e: By choosing a prime number for e, the mathematical equation can be satisfied. That is gcd(e,p-1) = q. Among these three numbers which are 3, 17 and 65537 e is chosen for fast modular exponentiation. Calculating the value d: It is determined by Extended Euclidean Algorithm which is equivalent to d = e-1 (mod q(n)). Modular exponentiation algorithm: This step of RSA is calculated by following mathematical equation: AB mod n = ( Security of RSA: RSA cryptosystems security system is not so perfect. Many attacks are present like Brute Force attack, Timing Attack, chosen Ciphertext attack and Mathematical attack are some prominent attack. Brute Force Attack: In this attack the attacker finds all possible way of combinations to break the private key. If the length of the key is long then it will be difficult for Brute force attackers to break the key as the possible combinations will exponentially increases rather then linearly. RSA uses a short secret key to avoid the long computations for encrypting and decrypting the data. If the key is long the process will become little slow because of these computations. Since RSA uses a short secret key Bute Force attack can easily break the key and hence make the system insecure. Mathematical Attacks: Since RSA algorithm is mathematical, the most prominent attack against RSA is Mathematical Attack. In the following way an attacker can attack the mathematical properties of RSA algorithm. * By finding out the values of p and q which are prime factors of modulus n, the à Ã¢â‚¬  (n)= (p-1)(q-1) can be found out. By finding out this it will be easy to find d = e-1(mod à Ã¢â‚¬   (n)). d = e-1(mod à Ã¢â‚¬   (n)). Can be directly calculated by determining the value of totient à Ã¢â‚¬  (n) without figuring the values of p and q. d can be figured out directly without first calculating the à Ã¢â‚¬  (n). This attack can be circumvented by using long length of key. By doing this it would be difficult to find out prime factors. That is the reason why it was recommended to use size of modulus as 2048 bits. Timing Attack: one of the side channel attack is timing attack in which attackers calculate the time variation for implementation. Attackers can easily determine d by calculating the time variations that take place for computation of Cd (mod n) for a given cipher text C. Many countermeasures are developed against such timing attacks. Following explains the way which this attack can be counteracted: If the time for all computations is made constant this attack can be counteracted but the problem in doing this is it can degrade the computational efficiency. By artificially showing noise to the attacker which can be produced by including a random delay to the exponentiation algorithm. This noise is virtual but appears real to the attacker. If we multiply a random number to the cipher text it will prevent the attacker from bit by bit scrutiny. Chosen Ciphertext Attack: RSA is susceptible to chosen cipher text attack due to mathematical property me1me2 = (m1m2)e (mod n) product of two plain text which is resultant of product of two cipher text. For example c = me (mod n) which is cipher text is decrypted in following steps: Calculate x = (c x 2e) mod n. Receive y = xd (mod n) by submitting x as a chosen cipher text. Multiplicative property is then applied which is: x = (c mod n) x (2c mod n) = (mc mod n ) x (2c mod n) = (2m)c mod n. By this attacker can calculate m by using y = (2m). By padding the plain text at the implementation level this restraint can be easily solved. Several versions of RSA cryptography standard are been implemented. PKCS Public Key Cryptography standards are latest version. The previous version was proven to be porn to Adaptive Chosen Ciphertext attack (CCA2). This adaptive chosen cipher text can be prevented by latest version which is Optimal Asymmetric Encryption Padding (OAEP). Bellare and Rogway introduced this OAEP. To process the plain text before encryption the OAEP uses a pair of casual oracles G and H which is Feistel network. Following two goals are satisfied by OAEP. OAEP PADDING PROCEDURE Due to addition of random numbers the probabilistic scheme are being replaced instead of the deterministic encryption scheme. If the attacker is unable to invert the trapdoor one way permutation then the partial decryption of the cipher text is prevented.

Teaching Philosophy :: Education Teaching Teachers Essays

Teaching Philosophy Throughout life I think everyone has a certain calling. God creates special gifts in people to be used to help others. Some people know right away what their calling is. I am sorry to say that it has taken me a few more years to figure out my love for teaching. I was a dance instructor for over fourteen years. During that time I attended College of West Virginia earning an Associates Degree in Business Administration. What was I going to do with that? I really did not like business, but my thinking was it would help in running my own dance studio one day. My real love was the involvement, interaction, and teaching of all my dancers. It was so rewarding to see the children learn the different movements I was teaching that day. The scaffolding method used in constructivism is very similar to how I taught dancing. Each week we would review the dance steps from previous weeks and then add on new dance steps. The children were learning dances that I had choreographed. Being a happy wife and a proud mother of a beautiful boy, I wanted to contribute more to the family financially. Although teaching dance is what I loved, it was not a job that paid well. How could I still do what I love, teaching, and bring in a little more money? That is when my husband encouraged me to go back to Concord College and get my Bachelor of Science Degree in Teaching Physical Education and Health Education. Physical Education and Health Education are two fields I feel very passionate about. Always being active throughout my life, I did not realize how sedentary and unfit our nation is. West Virginia ranks one of the highest states in the nation when it comes to being unfit and obese. I think education could place a more positive influence on this growing epidemic. The purpose of education is to help students gain knowledge to be used in their career, social, and personal lives. Education is important in teaching students the past and helping them make knowledgeable decisions for the future. As a teacher, I hope to be able to touch student’s lives in a way that when it comes to making a choice, they think of what I have taught them, and make a positive decision.

Effectiveness of Dibels

Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) Validity and its Relationship with Reading Comprehension Introduction to Research Reading fluency is considered an integral component of the reading process and it has a big presence in the classroom. Its importance became evident since the National Reading Panel (2000) pronounced fluency instruction and assessment an essential and was thus incorporated into the reading First guidelines of No Child Left Behind in 2002 (Shelton, Altwerger, &Jordan, 2009).Reading fluency has been defined in many ways; an outcome of decoding and comprehension, a contributor to both decoding and comprehension, the ability to recognize words rapidly and accurately, the connections readers make between the natural phrasing when speaking and the phrasal segmentation when orally reading, among others (Abadiano &Turner, 2005).Nevertheless, Roehrig, Petscher, Nettles, Hudson and Torgesen (2008) state that perhaps fluency is best defined as having three main components, word recognition accuracy, automaticity, and prosody. Reading with accuracy is the student’s ability to read with few or no errors. Reading with automaticity is the students’ ability to recognize words quickly with little effort; quantifying the students’ reading rate. Prosody is the students’ ability to read with expression such as suing intonation, stress patterns, and phrasing.Due to No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Reading First program, which requires that validated standardized reading fluency assessments be used to progress monitor and identify any readers that might not be making sufficient progress to be at grade level, the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) is one of the few empirically validated assessments to progress monitor fluency (Roehring et al, 2008). The purpose of this literature review is to explore the validity of DIBELS and its relationship with reading comprehension.Students who demonstrate prer eading skill deficits often fall even further behind in later elementary years. Alternately, students who master essential reading skills in primary grades are able to maintain progress in later educational years. According to Goffreda, James, and Pedersen (2009) this is known as the Matthew Effect, in which the â€Å"rich get richer, while the poor get poorer†. They furthermore state that not only does illiteracy imit school success throughout the life span but that it is also associated with social problems such as school dropout, incarceration, and homelessness (Gofreda, James, & Pederson, 2009). It is this realization, along with the National Reading Panel’s recommendations, that led to the focus on early identification and precursors, such as DIBELS, in order to identify early literacy interventions. The National Institute for Literacy recommended DIBELS as a scientifically researched based assessment and thus DIBELS was adopted in many states (Shelton, Altwerger, & Jordan, 2009).Furthermore, early literacy individual growth and development indicators (EL-IGDIs) are also being put in place for pre-kindergarten children in some states (McCormick & Haack, 2011). Geofrada, James, and Pederson (2009) state that first grade has been identified as a particular critical period since the probability (88 percent) of poor readers remain so until fourth grade or higher grades. They found DIBELS indicators scores were predictive of district and state standardized exams.Gonzales, Vannest, and Reid (2008) conducted a study to discriminate the usefulness of first grade DIBELS to populations other than the general population, more specifically to students identified or at risk for emotional and behavior disorders. The researchers in this study found that DIBELS are efficient and effective for identification of at-risk students for populations other than general education students. In concurrence with these studies, Scheffel, Lefly, and Houser (2012) found t hat DIBELS is an effective tool in identifying English Language Learners (ELLs) who may be at risk for underachieving in reading.Combined, these studies affirm the validity of DIBELS for all students, including ELLs and students identified as having emotional and behavior disorders. However, In a more complex study, Yesil-Dagli (2009) found that on average, ELL students who are eligible for free or reduced price lunch compared to those not eligible for free or reduced lunch, Hispanic ELL students compared to White ELL students, and male ELL students compared to female ELL students, read fewer words at the beginning of first grade and demonstrate a slower growth rate.This directly impacts their fluency rate in DIBELS. Paleologos and Brabham (2011) found that DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency (DORF) is effective for predicting the performance of high-income students in overall reading standardized tests but not low-income students. According to their research, high-income students demonstra te higher abilities in reading fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension in comparison to low-income students although both groups had achieved â€Å"benchmark† proficient scores in DIBELS.Furthermore, Shelton, Altwerger, and Jardon (2009) analyzed the relationship between DIBELS (DORF) and authentic reading and found that students employ different reading approaches when reading for a DIBELS test and when reading for authentic literature. That is, when students read a passage in a DIBELS test, they do so in a quick manner to achieve a high rate, but when reading authentic literature the reader slows down to read for comprehension.They found that readers in their study read almost half as many words when reading literature than they did as they read for fluency assessments (Shelton, Altwerger, & Jardon, 2009). This in turn does not reflect the true reading rate when testing for DIBELS. To conclude their study, the authors of this study state that their data showed no con nection between DORF scores and student’s comprehension when reading authentic literature. There have been both strong positive and strong negative research studies regarding the validity of DIBELS and its relationship with reading comprehension.Furthermore, a study conducted by Martin and Shapiro (2011) found that teacher’s judgments, although having strong correlations to student performance, was consistently and significantly overestimated when compared to students actual DIBELS performance. Not only that, but another study conducted by Hoffman, Jenkins, and Dunlap (2009) found that educators were not clear about how DIBELS data should inform and guide their instruction or were not even sure that DIBELS aligned with state-mandated testing.Future research is needed in this area. Nevertheless, in states that have DIBELS in place as an assessment to comply with the No Child Left Behind stipulations, DIBELS is present for teachers and their students. It is important the n, that teachers recognize the vast variables in research regarding the validity and relationship to reading comprehension, and as with any assessment, not use DIBELS as the sole criterion when determining student achievement.It should be kept in mind that fluency is only a part of the reading process. However, due to the fact that DIBELS is in place in many states, perhaps an area of concern that arises in the literature is how DIBELS data-drives instruction. That is, how do schools use DIBELS data to drive instruction? This is especially important since this literature review discussed the study by Hoffman, Jenkins, and Dunlap (2009) who found that teachers are not clear as to how DIBELS data should guide their instruction.If this writer were to draft a tentative research design pertaining to this literature review, the research question would be: In terms of qualitative data, how do teachers in Crane School District#13 and Yuma District #1 use their DIBELS data to drive teacher i nstruction? The purpose of the research would be to find effective ways schools use DIBELS data to drive teacher instruction. The data would be collected through interviews, questionnaires and observations methods.This type of analysis in known as qualitative study however, quantitative data will also be used when analyzing and reporting information from the surveys and questionnaires. This is also known as a multiple or mixed method. According to the learning in introduction to research, the best studies include both qualitative and quantitative data. The participants in the study would be administrators, coaches, and teachers. The responses they give will provide triangulation to the study, that is, validate that all participants know exactly how the data is driving the instruction taking place in the classroom.The exact amount of participants is not known since the study is not being conducted yet and forms have not been signed. However, it would be random sampling at each school to ensure that survey results can be statistically representative of the schools. The instrumentation that would be used for the study would be DIBELS data, surveys, and questionnaires. Observations would also be used to triangulate the information from the surveys and questionnaires. The research time line would be approximately two to three months.One month to gather participants and administer the questionnaires and surveys, another month to observe the actual data driven instruction in the classroom, and another month to analyze the data. The survey would include the following tentative questions: 1. What steps are taken to analyze DIBELS data? 2. Once the data is analyzed, how are the results used to drive teacher’s instruction for students classified as â€Å"at-risk†? 3. Once the data is analyzed, how are the results used to drive teacher’s instruction for students classified as â€Å"some-risk†? 4.Once the data is analyzed, how are the results us ed to drive teacher’s instruction for students classified as â€Å"low risk†? References Abadiano, H. R. (2005). Reading fluency: The road to developing efficient and effective readers. The New England Reading Association Journal, 41(1), 50-56. Goffreda C. T, Diperna J. C. , & Pedersen, J. A. (2009). Preventive screening of early readers: Predictive validity of the dynamic indicators of basic early literacy skills (DIBELS). Psychology in the Schools, 46(6), 539-552. doi: 10. 1002/pits. 20396 Gonzales, J.E. , Vannest K. J. , & Reid, R. (2008). Early classification of reading performance in children identified or at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders: A discriminant analysis using the dynamic indicators of basic early literacy skills (DIBELS). Journal of At-Risk Issues, 14(1), 33-40. Hoffman A. R. , Jenkins J. E. , & Dunlap S. K. (2009). Using DIBELS: A survey of purposes and practices. Reading Psychology, 30, 1-16. Martin S. D. , & Shapiro E. S. (2011). Examini ng the accuracy of teachers’ judgments of DIBELS performance.Psychology in the Schools, 48(4), 343-356. McCormick, C. E. , & Haack R. (2011). Early literacy individual growth and development indicators (EL-IGDIS) as predictors of reading skills in kindergarten through second grade. International Journal of Psychology: A Biopsychosocial Approach / Tarptautinis psichologijos zurnalas: Biopsichosocialinis poziuris, 7, 29-40. National Reading Panel. (2000). Teaching children to read, an evidence-based assessmnet of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction.Washington, DC: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Paleologos T. M. , & Brabham E. G. (2011). The effectiveness of DIBELS oral reading fluency for predicting reading comprehension of high-and-low income students. Reading Psychology, 32, 54-74. Roehrig A. D. , Petscher, Y. , Nettles S. M. , Hudson, R. , & Torgesen J. K. (2008). Accuracy of the DIBELS oral re ading fluency measure for predicting third grade reading comprehension outcomes. Journal of School Psychology, 46, 343-366. Scheffel, D. , Lefly D. , & Houser, J. (2012).The predictive utility of DIBELS reading assessment of reading comprehension among third grade English language learners and English speaking children. Reading Improvement, 49(3), 75-95. Shelton, N. R. , Altwerger, B. , & Jordan, N. (2009). Does DIBELS put reading first? Literacy Research and Instruction, 49(2), 137-148. Yesil-Dagli, U. (2009). Predicting ELL students’ beginning first grade English oral reading fluency from initial kindergarten vocabulary, letter naming, and phonological awareness skills. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 26, 15-29.

Cottle

Cottle From the case presented, it is apparent that there are numerous factors influencing demand for toothbrushes in India. Demand is a function of various factors including social, economic, and environmental factors.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Cottle-Taylor: Expanding the oral care group in India specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Oral hygiene awareness is among the factors influencing the demand for toothbrushes in India. The demand for toothbrushes depends highly on the extent of awareness and understanding that consumers have pertaining to the importance of oral hygiene. From the case, it is evident that approximately half of all Indians are not concerned with preventing and curing dental problems (Quelch, Zalosh, 2012). Accordingly, this lowers the demand for toothbrushes within the country. However, the demand can be enhanced by educating and enlightening the populace on the importance of good oral hygiene. Similarly, awareness can be increased through effectual advertisements and promotions of toothbrushes. Affordability is a chief factor influencing demand Affordability is based on the economic conditions prevailing within the markets. It focuses on the quantity of disposable income as well as the earnings of the consumers, which determine whether they can afford to purchase a toothbrush or not. From the case study, a majority of the consumers in the developing countries does not perceive a need for sophisticated products that are quite costly. For instance, in her research, Patel found that merely a small number of the wealth consumers could afford the battery-operated toothbrush. In this context, it is manifest that high cost is likely to decrease the demand for toothbrushes. Hence, it is recommendable that companies manufacture toothbrushes that are cost-friendly if they have to increase demand (Quelch Zalosh, 2012). People’s attitudes and habits are likely to influence d emand for toothbrushes in India. Indians are popularly known for chewing Neem tree twigs. This is remedy used by most people in India to keep their teeth healthy. From this perspective, it occurs that these Indian traditions hinder them from purchasing toothbrushes. However, demand can be increased by educating and empowering the populace on the benefits of using contemporary toothbrushes. For instance, the countrywide campaigns conducted by the Indian Dental Association in collaboration with Cottle raised awareness of dental health benefits along with the influence of Western habits, propelling oral care growth in India (Boone Kurtz, 2009).Advertising Looking for assessment on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Dental professionalism is likely to influence the demand for toothbrushes in India. Consumers have a high likelihood of being influenced by people they deem knowledgeable and credible. Howe ver, with low dental professionalism in India, residents hardly acquire the necessary information pertaining to the use of toothbrushes. Hence, the demand for toothbrushes remains low within the country. Nevertheless, demand can be increased by curtailing the scarcity of dental professionals within the country. An increase in the number of dentists is likely to reflect in an increase in dental visits and increased awareness on the use of toothbrushes (Quelch Zalosh, 2012). The frequency of brushing teeth and replacing toothbrushes will automatically influence the demand for toothbrushes. The more a consumer brushes his teeth, the more quickly the toothbrush is likely to wear away. Consequently, this calls for replacement with a new toothbrush. However, in India, only a negligible population of toothbrush users replaces their toothbrushes within three months, thus decreasing the demand for toothbrushes. In this context, it is vital to encourage consumers to brush their teeth twice a day and replace their toothbrushes after three months as recommended by dental practitioners (Johnson, Carr, Canavan, 2012). Cottle-Taylor’s performance in the Indian market A company’s marketing mix strategy remains chief to its success (Boone, Kurtz, 2009). Cottle employed an effective marketing mix to ensure that its product attributes, communication strategy, pricing strategy, and distribution strategy are in alignment with the company’s strategic goal. Cottle is enjoying an advantage within the toothbrush market because it has a competitive advantage in the manufacture of advanced technology toothbrushes. To reach its market segments, Cottle devised three product attributes namely low-end manual, mid-range manual, and battery-operated, which came in a variety of styles and colors. Moreover, Cottle established an effective distribution strategy that enabled the company to penetrate the highly disperse retail location within India.Advertising We wi ll write a custom assessment sample on Cottle-Taylor: Expanding the oral care group in India specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The three categories of distributor included high-volume retail outlets, medium-sized distributors, and seed distributors. These distributors focused on urban locations, semi-urban regions, and small villages respectively. Hence, the distribution tactic would enable reaching consumers within all sectors of the country (Quelch Zalosh, 2012). To attain a competitive edge, Cottle did place its toothbrushes within retail outlets nationwide. To do this, the company employed multiple distribution strategies as well as relies on a broad network of partner distributors. Equally, the company made efforts to perfect its retail distribution operation, attaining a competitive advantage. Besides, with the aim of reaching the urban and high-income populace, Cottle supplied and displayed its products in India’s largest super markets (Boone Kurtz, 2009). Competition remained a major challenge for Cottle. The two prime competitors in India were Hinda-Daltan, with approximately 21 percent market share, and SarIndia that held 11 percent market share. The rest 21 percent of the market share comprised of low-priced and low-quality oral products emerging from Vietnam and China. Given that most of the consumers are from low-income backgrounds, the low-priced oral products proved a challenge to Cottle (Boone Kurtz, 2009). To accelerate the development of the toothbrush market in India, Cottle should target the mid-range manual and low-end manual toothbrushes as opposed to targeting the battery-operated toothbrushes. This is because the sale of battery-operated toothbrushes is low owing to its high price. Considering the potential markets of the company, which are semi-urban and massive rural markets. Moreover, low-end manual and mid-range manual among others due to the low costs. Equally, Cottle should place g reater focus on semi-urban population where the majority of the persons do not use the toothbrush at all (Johnson, Carr, Canavan, 2012).Advertising Looking for assessment on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Analyzing the cultural context of India will assist Cottle-Taylor in addressing the demand of its products. Culture plays an important role in the sale of products. Organizations or companies must consider the cultures of consumers and target group to meet the demand and expectations. This leads in the increased satisfaction of customer needs. India is a country deeply ingrained in its cultures. For instance, people in India use Neem twigs, tobacco, ash, charcoal, and black salt for brushing their teeth. The company should focus on areas that uphold these cultures to enhance their performance on sales. This is attainable via creating awareness on the benefits of oral hygiene, and in this context enlightening the people on the benefits of oral hygiene allied to Cottle’s products. The rural-urban consumers’ challenges should be considered to address the oral hygiene issue appropriately. These approaches will increase the growth rate in the oral sector, thus accelerating the development of the toothbrush market within India (Quelch Zalosh, 2012). A suitable tactic to accelerate the development of the toothbrush market in India is creating awareness and understanding of Cottle’s products benefits. Lang had felt that this approach contributed to consumer inertia in Thailand. Indeed, it is evident that people within India are not aware of the benefits of oral hygiene. Hence, they are not concerned with preventing or curing dental problems. Not only do they not seek proper dental health care, but they also do not brush their teeth frequently or change their toothbrushes after three months. Thus, increased awareness is likely to modify people’s habits and behaviors, making them adopt the habit of using toothbrushes (Boone Kurtz, 2009). The company has a strategy of increasing its sales. In order to achieve the goal within the stated deadline, the company must develop effective plans that may enhance effective advertising budgeting. The co mpany has divided its marketing or advertising in three units referred to as messages. Solving the problem in advertising, it appears appropriate to abide by what Patel suggests, that is, allocate more advertising dollars to messages one and two (Quelch Zalosh, 2012). Projected income statements for toothbrushes Advertisements: Print ad-50% Radio-5% Billboards-15% Television ad-50% Patel projected 20% increase in sales Lang projected 25-30% increase in sales Income statement 2009 Patel 2010 Lang 2010 Gross revenue 100 70.1 100.95 117.59 Less trade discount 10 7.01 10.095 11.759 Net revenue 90 63.09 90.85572 105.83 Manufacturing costs, selling costs 46 32.25 46.43 54.091 Gross margin 44 30.85 44.418 51.74 Ad 9 6.3 9.09 14.11 Consumer promotion 3 2.1 3.0285 3.528 Selling, administration costs 14 9.81 14.133 16.463 Profit from operations 18 12.62 18.1714 17.639 References Boone, L. E., Kurtz, D. L. (2009). Contemporary business 2010 update. New York: John Wi ley Sons. Johnson, C., Carr, R., Canavan, T. H. (2012). Factors affecting U.S trade and shipments of information technology products computer equipment, telecommunications equipment, and semi-conductors. Washington, DC: DIANE Publishing. Quelch, J. A., Zalosh, A. (2012). Cottle-Taylor: Expanding the oral care group in India. Harvard: Harvard Business Publishing.

Porn Joins Pimp

Porn Joins Pimp Porn Joins Pimp Porn Joins Pimp By Maeve Maddox A reader has called my attention to a new use of the word porn: I would like to know, what do you think of the recent use of the word porn to mean anything pleasurable to view (i.e. Earth Porn or Word Porn)? Im interested in hearing your thoughts on this. A Web search showed me that the word porn is indeed being used as if it were an innocuous synonym for beauty (â€Å"Earth Porn†) or wisdom (â€Å"Word Porn†). Here are some of the examples I found: A collection of beautiful landscape photography and animals from all around the globe.- Tag line for a site called â€Å"earthporn.† EarthPorn Volume 1 is an immersive audible and visual experience that explores that landscapes of British Columbia, Canada. Beautiful EarthPorn Will Make You Feel Very, VERY Small- Headline, Huffington Post. EarthPorn: Mother Nature in all of her succulent [sic] beauty- Reddit. My search also showed me a blog devoted to â€Å"inspirational #wordporn quotes.† The quotations are of the kind found at sites like Brainy Quote; nothing pornographic. I found a thread on Yelp called â€Å"word porn.† It’s a forum for comments about words that are often used incorrectly, such pairs as affect/effect. Most repellent of all, I discovered a site called â€Å"FoodPornDaily† that publishes colorful photos of plates of prepared food. Porn is a clipping of the noun pornography, a combination of Greek porne, â€Å"prostitute,† and the element graphia, â€Å"depiction, drawing.† pornography noun: the explicit description or exhibition of sexual subjects or activity in literature, painting, films, etc., in a manner intended to stimulate erotic rather than aesthetic feelings; printed or visual material containing this. It’s a paradox to me that a culture that calls for the abolition of everyday words like blind, fat, and crippled for fear of offending someone who is blind, fat, or crippled feels no compunction whatever in turning words associated with the sexual exploitation and degradation of men, women and children into everyday words. What do I think of the recent use of the word porn to mean â€Å"anything pleasurable to view†? I think it’s an abuse of meaning and the reflection of a callous culture. Related post: When Did Pimp Become A Positive Term? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:10 Rules for Writing Numbers and Numerals30 Baseball IdiomsSentence Adverbs

Management Systems and Financial Information for Decision Making Assignment

Management Systems and Financial Information for Decision Making - Assignment Example It tends to reflect on the potential advantages and the benefits gained by Tesco Plc relating to the use of the MIS systems for managerial decision making functions. The paper also reflects the use of financial and costing information related to the use of MIS systems for helping in the generation of the right quality of business and strategic decisions. Finally the paper aims at hinting effective recommendations relating to the use of MIS systems in Tesco Plc. In overall the paper reflects on the strengths and weakness of the use of MIS systems in workplaces like the retail organization, Tesco. Management Information Systems (MIS) is widely used in different types of business organizations through the effective synchronization of its organizational, human resources, information technology and other operational resources to help in generating the right quality of decisions for generating competitive advantage to the business organization. Different types of MIS are used by the organizations relating to its different functions. It helps in the capturing, using and analysing of potential data sets for both present and future organizational decision making functions. The applicability and challenges for use of MIS in decision making functions would be discussed in the paper with effective focus on the aspect of a business organization like Tesco. This would contribute in analysing and discussing the utility of MIS from both the empirical and practical point of view to help in generating needed inferences for use in the future periods. Tesco Plc operates as a multinational grocery retailer with its head quarters based in United Kingdom. The company operates based along an integration of around 500,000 staffs spread along its different branches operating in around 12 different international markets. Tesco through the use of its global staff force operates to help in delivering services to a large number of customers

APPLIED MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS Research Questions Paper

APPLIED MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS Questions - Research Paper Example c) Mathematical formulae for production system of The Village Inn Y1 a11 a12 a13 a14 X1 Y2 = a21 a22 a23 a24 x X2 Y3 a31 a32 a33 a34 X3 X4 It could be assumed that, Y1 = buttermilk pancakes Y2 = Skillets Y3 = Crepes Thus, X1 = Milk, X2 = Butter, X3 = Wheat and X4 = Eggs Lastly, aij are the weights that are associated with each input for the production of each item and, their values range between 0 and 1; i, j = 1 ... 4 d) According to the Law of Diminishing Returns, the productivity of a factor with other factors remaining unchanged tends to diminish over time. In the above example, if any of the components are added in excess of the rest, they cannot help in producing an extra unit of output, so that increase in quantity only diminishes its productivity. Answer to Question 2 a) A department store generally deals with a large number of items under a single roof and simultaneously has to employ a large number of salespersons. In this case, productivity of each employee implies the add itional number of commodities that the person is able to sale over time. In order to calculate the average productivity per employee thus, it is necessary to calculate the gross sales that the company made and divide it with the total number of transactions. b) Technical efficiency implies the efficiency with which inputs could be converted into output. Normally, the greater the volume of output that could be created with a given volume of input, higher is the efficiency of the concerned firm. In retail stores, this could be implies by the speed with which the sales are taking place. An ideal method to measure the same could be through estimating the number of days that a commodity stays in the inventory shelf. If the number of days is found to be higher than the average, technical efficiency of the company might be regarded as falling and vice-versa. Moreover, greater the technical efficiency is, lower is the per unit production cost incurred and greater is the profit generated. c) Economic efficiency is the extent to which the retail store can compromise their shelf space occupied by one commodity with that of another. In order to optimise the same, it is very important for them to be informed about the commodities which are highly demanded compared to those which are not. In case that they are able to make the substitution successfully, i.e., there is Pareto Optimality, the average cost of the company falls and its profit rises. Answer to Question 3 In the present case, the retired couple have to capture a part of the market that is largely served by the nearby chain restaurant. However, the difference between the two is that while the couple plans to establish a lunch-only restaurant, the nearby chain is a full-fledged one. Thus, the strategy that they must be adopting should be that like an oligopolistic market, where their strategies should be highly dependent upon the ones being adopted by the existing players of the industry. Four economic factors that they need to consider while determining their pricing strategy are – Firstly, the market is characterised by another major player who is already experiencing the advantage of being a first mover. Generally, in an oligopolistic