Monday, September 30, 2019

Clinical Trial and Nucleon Assignment Notes

Nucleon Assignment Notes Porter’s 5 Forces Industry Analysis †¢Competition: Intense †¢Buyer Power: Moderate to High oBig pharma companies likely have a lot of power, although as a small firm, your power increases once you clear phases of drug trials. †¢Supplier Power: Unsure, Moderate? oThe case makes it sound like there’s not many manufacturers out there for contracting purposes. Not sure what power suppliers of raw materials have. †¢Threat of Substitutes: Moderate to High oLots of firms racing to create the next blockbuster drug or treatment for big money illnesses.However, most drugs fail, so the likelihood of a substitute is probably only moderate. †¢Threat of New Entrants: Moderate oRelatively easy to start a new small drug research firm. Just need some smart scientists. Funding is currently difficult to come by, however. Nucleon †¢Competition: Moderate to Low oThe case mentioned they were in a pretty niche area of biotech. †¢Buye r Power: Moderate to High oBig pharma companies likely have a lot of power. But if Nucleon clears phase II their power increases substantially. †¢Supplier Power: Unsure, Moderate? The case makes it sound like there’s not many manufacturers out there for contracting purposes. Not sure what power suppliers of raw materials have. †¢Threat of Substitutes: Moderate to Low oI don’t think there’s much out there in the way of burn treatments (need to check on that). †¢Threat of New Entrants: Moderate to Low oThe drug research process is slow, so any new entrant in this specific area is going to be significantly behind with little to no way to catch up. Resource Based View VRIO Value:There’s definitely value in a successful drug for burn treatment; it also presents itself as a possible cure for other ailments as well (i. . kidney failure) Rarity:Not many alternatives for burn victim treatment (assumption based on the case’s voice); large mole cule research is still new and rare, tough to get into. Imitability: Not very imitable, especially if Nucleon can gain strong patent protection. Also, the slow development time means that even if another firm could mimic a similar drug, it would take time. Organization:Nucleon is currently not organized to begin trials and manufacturing of this drug. They also don’t have a significant amount of financial backing at this point.Transaction Based Economics Hold-ups †¢Contract manufacturer could hold up Nucleon for more money if drug passes phases and becomes more likely to be successful. †¢Contract manufacturer could increase manufacturing costs, slow production, or create problems in quality in order to hold up Nucleon. Options Going Forward Option 1: Build Pilot Plant Pros †¢Nucleon keeps tighter control of IP †¢Can retain ownership of product rights through phase I and II †¢More flexibility †¢Can begin to develop staff for in-house manufacturing, making scaling later easier Cons Expensive (likely need more financial backing/don’t have enough as is) †¢Risky oDrug could fail in clinical trials (which statistically is likely) oProcess uncertainty; bacterial vs. mammalian cells †¢Distracts Nucleon’s financial and human capital away from their core, the drug R&D Option 2: Contract Manufacturing Pros †¢No major upfront capital investment †¢Access to experienced manufacturing facilities and staff immediately †¢Retain ownership of product rights through phase I and II Cons †¢Still not cheap; doesn’t save Nucleon much money over Option 1 †¢Risk of IP issues Contract specifics are very difficult to hash out due to the nature of biotech †¢No faster than building their own plant due to slow process of negotiating, knowledge transfer, then scale-up Option 3: Licensing Pros †¢No capital investment †¢Little to no risk †¢Simple; allows Nucleon to focus on the R&D à ¢â‚¬ ¢Immediate cash flow †¢Keep rights for CRP-1 for other uses (other than for burn treatment) Cons †¢Much less share in the profits if drug is successful (mortgage the company’s success) †¢Would likely lower employee morale, which could in turn decrease likelihood of success of drug †¢Risk of IP issues Clinical Trial and Nucleon Assignment Notes Nucleon Assignment Notes Porter’s 5 Forces Industry Analysis †¢Competition: Intense †¢Buyer Power: Moderate to High oBig pharma companies likely have a lot of power, although as a small firm, your power increases once you clear phases of drug trials. †¢Supplier Power: Unsure, Moderate? oThe case makes it sound like there’s not many manufacturers out there for contracting purposes. Not sure what power suppliers of raw materials have. †¢Threat of Substitutes: Moderate to High oLots of firms racing to create the next blockbuster drug or treatment for big money illnesses.However, most drugs fail, so the likelihood of a substitute is probably only moderate. †¢Threat of New Entrants: Moderate oRelatively easy to start a new small drug research firm. Just need some smart scientists. Funding is currently difficult to come by, however. Nucleon †¢Competition: Moderate to Low oThe case mentioned they were in a pretty niche area of biotech. †¢Buye r Power: Moderate to High oBig pharma companies likely have a lot of power. But if Nucleon clears phase II their power increases substantially. †¢Supplier Power: Unsure, Moderate? The case makes it sound like there’s not many manufacturers out there for contracting purposes. Not sure what power suppliers of raw materials have. †¢Threat of Substitutes: Moderate to Low oI don’t think there’s much out there in the way of burn treatments (need to check on that). †¢Threat of New Entrants: Moderate to Low oThe drug research process is slow, so any new entrant in this specific area is going to be significantly behind with little to no way to catch up. Resource Based View VRIO Value:There’s definitely value in a successful drug for burn treatment; it also presents itself as a possible cure for other ailments as well (i. . kidney failure) Rarity:Not many alternatives for burn victim treatment (assumption based on the case’s voice); large mole cule research is still new and rare, tough to get into. Imitability: Not very imitable, especially if Nucleon can gain strong patent protection. Also, the slow development time means that even if another firm could mimic a similar drug, it would take time. Organization:Nucleon is currently not organized to begin trials and manufacturing of this drug. They also don’t have a significant amount of financial backing at this point.Transaction Based Economics Hold-ups †¢Contract manufacturer could hold up Nucleon for more money if drug passes phases and becomes more likely to be successful. †¢Contract manufacturer could increase manufacturing costs, slow production, or create problems in quality in order to hold up Nucleon. Options Going Forward Option 1: Build Pilot Plant Pros †¢Nucleon keeps tighter control of IP †¢Can retain ownership of product rights through phase I and II †¢More flexibility †¢Can begin to develop staff for in-house manufacturing, making scaling later easier Cons Expensive (likely need more financial backing/don’t have enough as is) †¢Risky oDrug could fail in clinical trials (which statistically is likely) oProcess uncertainty; bacterial vs. mammalian cells †¢Distracts Nucleon’s financial and human capital away from their core, the drug R&D Option 2: Contract Manufacturing Pros †¢No major upfront capital investment †¢Access to experienced manufacturing facilities and staff immediately †¢Retain ownership of product rights through phase I and II Cons †¢Still not cheap; doesn’t save Nucleon much money over Option 1 †¢Risk of IP issues Contract specifics are very difficult to hash out due to the nature of biotech †¢No faster than building their own plant due to slow process of negotiating, knowledge transfer, then scale-up Option 3: Licensing Pros †¢No capital investment †¢Little to no risk †¢Simple; allows Nucleon to focus on the R&D à ¢â‚¬ ¢Immediate cash flow †¢Keep rights for CRP-1 for other uses (other than for burn treatment) Cons †¢Much less share in the profits if drug is successful (mortgage the company’s success) †¢Would likely lower employee morale, which could in turn decrease likelihood of success of drug †¢Risk of IP issues

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Language and vocabulary Essay

Language can be defined as a means of communication through spoken sounds, written symbols, or hand and body gestures. Subject to this simple definition language is neither human nor animal exclusive, meaning that all living creatures use some form of language to communicate. Humans have created the most advanced system of language. Human language has advanced to include listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing and visual representation. These components are known as the six language arts and while they are individual components they are as well interdependent. What you learn about one affects what and how you learn about the others. Listening is the foundation for speaking, reading and writing. Listening is how we interpret sounds that we hear and what those sounds mean. In the beginning listening is merely receptive. Our brain receives sounds and begins to catalog those sounds. Listening is both an auditory and a visual skill and begins at birth. Children of normal hearing begin by creating mimicking sounds those sounds then become words. Visual listening is often most specifically noted in young children with a hearing impairment and is referred to as sign language. Sign language is not just for the hearing impaired. Parents/caregivers use hand gestures to increase the meaning of a word or to add value or impact to a word. An example of this is seen when a mother shakes her head or finger at a child as she says â€Å"no†. In the classroom children will generally begin a regular routine of listening. Students learn by example and repetition. Teachers explain what is needed, demonstrate the desired task or skill, and repeat. Students will gain good listening skills as they learn their class routine, listen to stories and instruction. Students gain an understanding of the task, and interpret what they have heard. As an understanding has been obtained they evaluate for an appropriate response. Speaking or the act of making a meaningful word comes later than does listening. Speaking is commonly referred to as an expressive skill and must be learned. A child begins to form words somewhere between ten and eighteen months of age. The first word of a child is often momma or dada. The child repeats the sounds or utterances heard from the adults around him. Speech does not actually occur until the spoken word is deliberate and meant to communicate. By the time a child reaches  kindergarten he has likely gained a 2000 – 3000 word vocabulary. While this number may seem excessive Dr. Mary E. Dahlgren states that a beginning kindergartener should have a 6000 word vocabulary for optimum grade and class performance (Dahlgren, 2008). In the classroom a student’s vocabulary size was an effective predictor of reading comprehension. Children with a restricted or limited vocabulary also had declining comprehension scores in the third grade. The elementary teacher can promote speaking by allowing the student the opportunity to speak and by listening to the student completely. Discussing a recently read book, or open discussions are ways in which a teacher can aid a student’s speech development. Reading is the interpretation of written symbols and involves the visual perception of those symbols. Reading connects the meaning of symbols with the words that has been spoken or heard. Kindergarten students build reading skills as they progress from letter recognition to early phonics. They begin to learn the beginning and ending sounds of common or high frequency words. As their vocabulary increases students begin to use words in context. In the classroom reading should be encouraged, should be intentional, and should be fun. Students who learn to read well achieve more and enjoy the learning process more fully. Active readers make for active listeners and intentional speakers and this is when comprehension of the text is experienced. During early reading development children learn by lessons designed around phonemic awareness. Usually this can be seen as student interaction with rhyming games, sing-a-longs, and listening games. As these games become familiar the teacher will integrate visual aids such as letter cards, word flash cards, independent reading time, and writing assignments. All of these early reading techniques aid in the development of early reading skills. Writing like speaking is expressive. This is where the students begin to place their own thoughts into print. This is the most magical of all six language arts experiences. Writing incorporates prior knowledge of reading, speaking and listening. Children begin to exhibit early writing as they experiment with crayons, chalk, and markers. They make scribbles and later form letter-like forms as toddlers. As the child is building his early listening and reading skill they are as well building the early writing skills through pre-phonemic spelling and copying techniques. Some children utilize invented spelling and finally conventional spelling techniques. Writing as it evolves  over time allows for communication on a broad level through time and space that may not have been possible otherwise. In the classroom writing is a means to relay a lesson, message, or concept. Students should be encouraged to write or draw in the best way they know how to. Students should be comfortable making mistakes as this leads to new discoveries and personal satisfaction. Viewing is an important component of literacy and language development. Viewing is extremely broad and is not limited to children’s books. In fact viewing should be stated as any visual content including TV, print ads, multi-media, and even computer software. Students must learn how to comprehend and integrate visual knowledge in the same way that they must learn to comprehend written, spoken, heard and read information (Roe & Ross, 2013). As students begin to build on their foundation skills in reading and writing, they are also beginning to use critical thinking skills. This is where children begin to understand that people view things differently. It is important that students learn how to gain important and relevant content from what they see. Students learn to comprehend the message, evaluate the message, and determine the validity of the message. This is an on-going process that follows from infancy through adulthood. Students in the classroom should be taught how to use specific comprehension strategies and to critically analyze the content in everything that they view. Visually Representing is a way of communicating through visual images. It was common practice for the art teacher to have us cut up a magazine and to create a collage of our favorite things. We never thought of this as visual representation, it was just art class. In fact while not always part of the language arts standards it has been used and in practice for many years. In the classroom we make dioramas, models, graphs and maps all of which are visual representations of an idea or concept. Visual representation requires a unique set of strategies such as organization, data collection, and audience identification in order to convey a message. It appears to be impossible at this point to separate the six components of language arts thus far; as one builds on the other, knowledge or insight is gained, it is clear we must have each in order to process the other. Works Cited Dahlgren, D. M. (2008). Oral Language and vocabulary development Kindergarten & First Grade. Nashville: Reading First National Conference. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/programs/readingfirst/2008conferences/language.pdf Roe, B., & Ross, E. (2013). The Language Arts. Education.com.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Race, Ethnicity, & Prejudice

Race, Ethnicity, and Prejudice-Online Project At one point in time the U. S. Census defined someone as a â€Å"negro† if they were one-sixteenth black. That is, if one of your sixteen great-great grandparents was of African descent (and the other fifteen were of â€Å"white† European descent), you were defined as â€Å"negro†. In Jamaica, people believed to be of â€Å"pure† African descent are described as black. People who are bi-racial are usually described as â€Å"colored†. In Brazil, there are even more differentiations of those believed to be of African descent.The point of all this is that our definitions are culture-bound and socially constructed. They are, therefore, not particularly scientific and change over time. This does not mean that race and ethnicity have no real meaning. They have meaning because we give them meaning. 1. What method do census enumerators use to classify people according to race? A census enumerator is a person who collects census data. Before 1960, census enumerators were themselves responsible for classifying people according to race. However, in 1960 there was a switch to self-reporting.From this point on, individuals were in control of classifying themselves. It was no longer the census enumerators who classified individuals, but individuals who classified themselves. Census enumerators would just compile the results. 2. Which categories of ethnicity are used by the census bureau? The categories of ethnicity and race used by the census bureau have undergone numerous changes over the years. At first, from 1790 to 1880, the census recorded only â€Å"color. † During this time period it was a person’s skin color that was of importance and there were three categories: White, Black, and Mulatto.The categories expanded in 1890 and consisted of five gradations: Black, Mulatto, Quadroon, Octoroon, and White. It was in 1900 that the word â€Å"race† actually appeared in the ce nsus. The question now asked for each person’s â€Å"color or race. † At this time the census used only two categories: White and Black. It wasn’t until 1950 that the word â€Å"color† was completely dropped and the census only asked for the person’s race. In 1960 people were able to classify themselves. Shortly following the census added the category â€Å"other. In 1977 there were four racial categories established: American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian or Pacific Islander, Black, and White. Plus there was the â€Å"Other† category. Also, the census added two ethnicity categories: Hispanic origin and Not of Hispanic origin. 3. How have categories changed for the 2000 Census? Since 1977, the racial and ethnic makeup of the country changed significantly. There were no questions as to whether the previous standards still reflected the diversity that was present in the United States. So, with that, the categories for the 2000 census were r evised.The categories now consisted of: American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian; Black or African American; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; and White. The category of â€Å"Some Other Race† is also included. In regards to ethnicity, there are two categories: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino. Aside from changes in the categories, another significant change for the 2000 census is that respondents are allowed to check off multiple â€Å"race† boxes. 4. What problems do you see with the Census definitions? The diversity in our society is increasing.Putting people in categories is becoming more problematic because the categories are arbitrary; none of the groups have clear or unambiguous boundaries. Classifying people into a certain category is restrictive and doesn’t take into account that â€Å"people classified as â€Å"Asian and Pacific Islander† represent scores of different national and linguistic backgrounds, and â€Å"America n Indian or Alaska Native† includes people from hundreds of different tribal groups† (Healey 13). The census definitions are very limiting and they don’t do diversity justice. Also, there is still no place for a number of groups among the categories listed. For example, where should we place Arab Americans and recent immigrants from Africa? † (Healey 13). I understand that it is unrealistic to have a category for every single group, but we should realize that the definitions used by the census, the classification schemes, have limited utility and application. In addition, there is a growing number of mixed-race individuals for whom there are no categories. Although currently that number is relatively small, it is projected to increase rapidly due to a growing number of marriages across group lines.How should those individuals be classified? Sources: Healey, Joseph F. (2010). Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class: The Sociology of Group Conflict and Change. (5th Ed. ). Pine Forge Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc. Sweet, Frank W. (2011, Feb. 25). A Brief History of Census â€Å"Race†. Retrieved from http://knol. google. com/k/a-brief-history-of-census-race U. S. Census Bureau, Population Division. Racial and Ethnic Classifications Used in Census 2000 and Beyond. Retrieved from http://www. census. gov/population/www/socdemo/race/racefactcb. html

Friday, September 27, 2019

Common Aspects in the Articles The Effect of Television Viewing on Term Paper

Common Aspects in the Articles The Effect of Television Viewing on Adolescents Civic Participation and Not Necessarily Not the News - Term Paper Example In The Effect of Television Viewing on Adolescents’ Civic Participation, Hoffman and Thomson have vividly analyzed how the trend of political activeness among the younger generation has been twisted by media in the recent past. Aaron McKain, in Not Necessarily Not the News, has also been able to distinguish between the parody news and the conventional counterpart. These two articles have shared various ideas concerning the parody of The Daily Show to a great extent. However, the two also display some disparities in their findings on the youth and political participation.   An overview of both the Effect of Television Viewing on Adolescents’ Civic Participation and Not Necessarily Not the News reveals the two share some common grounds. On clear agreement between the two is that the late-night comedy news has gradually increased political participation, including the voter turnout among the youth. For example, with the relentless effort of Stewart, the host of The Daily Show, about 75% of the young adults volunteered for civic participation in the year 2001 (Hoffman, 3). However, the Effect of Television Viewing on Adolescents’ Civic Participation does not only focus on Stewart’s show; it attributes the increase to other similar late shows and comedies that portray the political situations in the nation. McKain seems to go in the same direction as Hoffman and Thomson. He states that in 2004, there was a significant increase in the number of politically active young Americans. The increase was estimated at 23% (McKain, 1). A similar instance was noticed in 2000 when over 39% of the young people aged between 18 and 29 claimed that they had received the news of campaign from the late night comedy shows such as The Daily Show.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Renaissance Art Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Renaissance Art - Research Paper Example The other monumental form of Gothic architectural style is the Bourges Cathedral in Bourges, France. The two works of art exhibits unique style and details, though similar in most ways, they also differ in many aspects, which forms the main basis and argument of this paper. Gothic style came into existence at around 1145 BC, a time when cathedral stylists were transforming from circular arches. The style was an expression and symbol of new faith growing out of medieval Christianity and mysticism (Monteith, nd) .Abbot Suger being the father of Gothic architecture had an intention of creating a church in honor of God by use of light to illuminate the building through tinted glasses. Suger knew that the beauty of the structure could in the mind of a viewer be viewed as symbolizing heaven. The tinted or colored glasses were considered to stand for precious gems. The two Cathedrals that depict Suger’s ideas are the Notre Dame de Chartres and Bourges Cathedrals. The Notre Dame de Ch artres Cathedral was build between 1146 and 1512 BC in France by Guy Nicot. Since the architectural style of the building is considered three dimensional, it was built with bearing stone and masonry. In the construction of Chartres Cathedral the masons used butters and vault style design. ... The Cathedral too had all its one hundred and seventy windows tinted. The tinted windows created a dark and rich colored interior with the balance between the light and the darkness giving a unique style illuminating the building. Other details of the Chartres Cathedral are Christ sculpture and pointed spires which were new design to Gothic architecture, with Chartres Cathedral mainly exhibiting this style. Like the Chartres Cathedral, the Bourges Cathedral portrayed most of the same designs and techniques. Being build between 1196 and 1250, Bourges Cathedral is a three dimensional building made from masonry and stone. Advanced techniques were employed through construction of sexpartite designs. The cathedral had two dimensional ribs and six bays for support, this contrasted with Chartres cathedral that had only four bays for support. The builders of Bourges Cathedral also used arcades and flying buttresses acting as arches in an innovative way to support the wall structures. Compari son of Bourges to Chartres Cathedral reveals that both structures had tinted windows with the Bourges’s windows having a design of hagiographic circles and stories of last judgment and the Old Testament (Ma?le, 1958). Both Cathedrals portrayed an expression of new faith growing out of medieval Christian mysticism and theology. Chartres cathedral was used for concerts, meetings and religious plays. It was the sole building that could hold large crowds and most importantly, it was a place of worship. Bourges Cathedral also was used as a place of worship and was dedicated to Saint Stephen. In the construction of both cathedrals, sculptures were used to symbolize mysticism and theology. Architects of the structures had a sole

Interpreting Financial Results Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Interpreting Financial Results - Essay Example l turnover reduced in the year 2011 and 2012 .The working capital ratio also reduced in the year 2013.This ratio indicates the extent to which, the working capital has been utilized in the creation of sales revenue. This is computed by dividing the total number of the days by the inventory turnover. ITT Co.s average inventory processing period increased in the year 2011 and 2012.However, the ratio slightly reduced in the year 2013. This is the sum of the inventory-processing period plus the average revenue collection period. Boeing Co.s operating cycle improved from 2011 to 2012 but then deteriorated significantly from 2012 to 2013. Average Payables Payment Period is the period the company takes to pay its creditors. The payment period is computed by dividing the total number of payables by payable turnover ratio. ITT Co.s average payables payment period reduced in the year 2011 and 2012 (Bruce, 2009).Additionally, the ratio also reduced in the year

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Introduction to Law and Contracts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Introduction to Law and Contracts - Essay Example An agreement that is binding to one party and at the option of the other party is a voidable contract. For a contract to be valid, the objective must be legal. An objective can be unlawful if the law forbids it, it is fraudulent, and the court considers it to be immoral or against public policy. Agreements opposed to public policy can be banned by law to protect the public interests (Walston-Dunham, 2009). Acts that are contrary to public policy are void. Some of the acts considered to be against public policy include transacting with an enemy country and interfering with the administration of justice. The law of the contract is based on the doctrine of equity and substance of common law. Among its main elements are offer, acceptance, lawful consideration, capacity to contract, intention to create a legal relationship, capacity to contract, legal formalities, lawful objects possibility of performance, and, not expressly, the declared void. In this scenario, Chappelle is the defendant while on the other hand; Mustafa, who is his former manager, is the plaintiff. Chappell who is an actor and a comedian is sued for breach of contract. Chappelle and Mustafa entered into a management agreement on September 2005. Moreover, the two parties did not reduce their contract in writings, and for this, it is an oral agreement. By this, the defendant can deny the allegations charged against him because there is no evidence of the agreement passed. Mustafa is now suing Chappelle for stiffing him over $864,500, and is therefore, seeking monetary compensation. On the other hand, Chappelle claims that Mustafa’s incompetency made him lose millions of dollar (Abramovitch, 2005). In this case, the presence of witnesses may be assistive in proving the legality of the contract. However, every contract has its terms and condition, and if one party breaches this, then they should face the consequences. In Chappelle’s case, terminating Mustafa’s

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Reflection Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Reflection - Assignment Example Ideally, holographic evidence enhances the decentralization of understanding, which has no center of control (Morgan, 2006). However, the author notes that the brain is holographic and specialized. For instance, according to split-brain research, the right and left-brain hemispheres specialize on certain aspects but also participate in any given activity (Morgan, 2006). This manifests in our organization where I specialize on advanced nursing but also offer healthcare to all women and infants under 1 year old. Indeed, it is through understanding that patterns and order emerge in an organization just as in brains. More so, organizations just like brains, involve information processing and understanding. Indeed, organizations are information-processing brains (Morgan, 2006). Additionally, we can also translate the results of the modern brain into established learning organizations, which defines understanding of ideas. We can also see how modern technology develops advanced understanding in global and local organizations. Indeed, modern technology affects understanding by offering powerful images to create organizations that suit the digital age. At the same time, organizations and brains require the freedom to evolve for them to gain autonomy and derive advanced understanding (Morgan, 2006). The author equally reckons that for any organization to self-organize, it must have valuable capacity/ free space to support innovation. As such, an understanding of the brain would help us to understa nd our organization. This leads us to the discussion question, which seeks to establish how organizations self-organize and regenerate themselves without losing their effectiveness. More so, we can derive another discussion question, which will address how a holographic organization distributes its capabilities, control, and intelligence for purposes of ensuring that every single unit is significant to the overall operations of an

Monday, September 23, 2019

Impact of capital structure on financial performance of real estate Essay - 1

Impact of capital structure on financial performance of real estate firms listed in Chinese - Essay Example n considered as a prominent industrial pillar of the national economy of China as it has fully impacted the employment, labour productivity, savings and total investment. The industry has a huge multiplier and hence it has the potential of being an important economic stimulus. Through employment, many households can afford a considerable high quality of life and in addition, pay tax for the government programs. Saving and investment has realized a lot of wealth creation and increased per capita income (Marketline, 2014). The real estate industry is essentially related to leasing and renting of residential and commercial properties. The paper is aimed at assessing the real estate companies that are listed on the Chinese stock exchange; correspondingly, background research has effectively focused on real estate development in Asia-Pacific region. Market analysis suggest that on average the Asia-Pacific real estate industry has witnessed growth of 13 percent between 2009 and 2013 while China alone witnessed growth as high as 16.8 percent. Moreover, the paper conducts a tour that is intended to find out the relationship between the capital structure and financial performance of the listed companies. Guo and Huang (2010) monitored that the growth rate of Chinese economy has been moderately high and consequently, it has become an important choice of foreign direct investors. Foreign capital has been a great source of Chinese economy and since real estate is an essential pillar of the national economy, large scale foreign investment flows therein. Guo and Huang (2010) observed that in most Asian economies, the stock market and real estate market are interdependent and integrated. Guo and Huang (2010) scrutinized the association between stock market and real estate market in China and recognized unidirectional relationship thereof. Studies suggest that since 2003, China witnessed heavy capital inflow as a result of liberalisation and the inflow was too huge to be

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Ralph Waldo Emerson Essay Example for Free

Ralph Waldo Emerson Essay Learning is a natural ability that is wired into many animals DNA; the way that humans should learn has been debated by the various educators because of the endless ways to teach. Teachers and parents take this matter seriously like Ralph Waldo Emerson in â€Å"From Education† and Todd Gitlin in â€Å"The Liberal Arts in an Age of Info-Glut† who created essays on education; and Billy Collins in â€Å"The History Teacher† entail for then and who wrote a poem concerned with the status of education. These people show what the importance of education is entailing what learning should and should not involve; a teacher should respect and have patience for children; a teacher should also let a child have creativity and lessons of the past. Many teens do not respect their teacher which might be because the teacher does not respect them; as the golden rule goes, â€Å"treat others the way you would treat yourself†; Ralph Waldo Emerson in â€Å"From Education† would probably agree with this quote because he strongly believes that, â€Å"the secret of [e]ducation lies in respecting the pupil,† (page 102). Shows that Emerson understood what children are thinking then did something to help them by simply respecting them. Another big issue with education is patience; some people do not have enough patience to guide children to what they are supposed to learn. Emerson also believes that patience is an important part in education, â€Å"to regard the young [children, they require] no doubt, rare patience: a patience that nothing but faith in medial forces of the soul can give,† Emerson was trying to say that someone has to really care in order to teach information to children (page 105). Some people do not see the point in having art classes or history classes; the reason why is because art assists students to express themselves in a way that words cannot along with helping them find out what kind of person they truly are; and history is needed to teach children where they originated from; and to show them mistakes that other people in the past made so they will not make them again. Todd Gitlin in â€Å"The Liberal Arts in an Age of Info-Glut† agrees with this â€Å"[students] need some orientation to philosophy, history, language, literature, music, and arts that have lasted more than 15 minutes,† (page 156) because students need the outlet to express themselves; or if they do not they would not learn morals then they would become exactly what people were trying to stop; as shown in â€Å"The History Teacher† by Billy Collins who stated, â€Å"the children would leave his classroom for the playground to torment the weak and the smart,† all because â€Å"[the teacher tries] to protect his students’ innocence he told them the Ice Age was really just the Chilly Age, a period of a million years when everyone had to wear sweaters. And the Stone Age became the Gravel Age, named after the long driveways of time,† this demonstrates how not teaching children lessons of the past which are the brood violence’ that others committed in history; by not teaching this history it affects children’s behavior in real life (page 143). Morals are right and wrong many people’s morals will differ; this is why teaching them is tricky because the teacher’s morals might not be the same as the parent’s morals. This is why some of the history in textbooks is sometimes just the summary of what really happened but not enough for the main point to be set across unlike in â€Å"The History Teacher† where, â€Å"the Spanish Inquisition [is] nothing more than an outbreak of questions such as â€Å"How far is it from here to Madrid? †,† and â€Å"the War of the Roses took place in a garden, and the Enola Gay dropped one tiny atom on Japan,† explains when a teacher goes too far in trying to protect student’s mind from bad; when only good is taught and everything else is censored then the students become the opposite; because they do not know the consequences of doing bad, which is why history is taught. As teachers and parents they have to let their students make their own choices as shown in â€Å"From Education† Emerson says, â€Å"it is not for you to choose what he shall know, [or] what he shall do,† shows that sometimes a student needs to find out the consequences the hard way, and let them choose what they want to learn (page 143). Education is needed in modern day society to help students and children grow and help the nation; by giving students proper education the teacher are not really helping the students but they are helping themselves. Teaching creativity helps a student express themselves; respect should be given so the student can give it back; patience is needed to help them understand; morals need to be taught through history so the student will make fewer mistakes; these are essential to a good education and an even better future: as shown by the writings of Billy Collins, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Todd Gitlin.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Teaching English to Primary School Children in Sri Lanka

Teaching English to Primary School Children in Sri Lanka INTRODUCTION United Nations who has ensured the peace and harmony in global arena has formulated International covenant on economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Article 13 in the covenant has mentioned that  [1]  . The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to education. They agree that education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and the sense of its dignity, and shall strengthen the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. They further agree that education shall enable all persons to participate effectively in a free society, promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations and all racial, ethnic or religious groups, and further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize that, with a view to achieving the full realization of this right Primary education shall be compulsory and available free to all Secondary education in its different forms, including technical and vocational secondary education, shall be made generally available and accessible to all by every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education Fundamental education shall be encouraged or intensified as far as possible for those persons who have not received or completed the whole period of their primary education. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have respect for the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to choose for their children schools, For instance in Sri Lanka since 1950s the state has interfered for supporting the poorest to enter the chain of education while offering bursar, scholarship, and from 1980 the text books has distributed freely. In Norway, from primary to secondary education is free. These all instance depicted that, education is the one of the best channel for mobilizing the society and disclosed the grass roots for climbing the mount in economics and social. Any way in Sri Lankan context the literacy rates exist as following; Female Literacy Rate 93 % Male Literacy Rate 94 % Figure 1: Gender wise literacy rate in Sri Lanka The Structure for Education has composed in order to Primary and Secondary level. Primary Secondary Kinder Garden 4-5 Years Old Junior Secondary Grade 6-9 : 10-14 years Old Grade 1- 5 :5- 10 years Old Senior Secondary Grade 10-11 : 14- 16 years Old Collegiate Grade 12-13 : 16-18 Years Old Table 1: Primary and secondary divisions In Portuguese and Dutch period, none had purpose to teach their language. In British era, they origin the school system with teaching English. Because English had moderated as the administrative language and Britain wanted to suggest the crown friendly class through the English language. The students from rural region had backward in using of English because they didnt become skilled at English due to absent of its teaching. Thereby the opportunity afforded in government high rank job solitary for student from urban rather from rural. The central school concept has molded privileged situation while opening the education studies for rural people on certain extent. The history has transformed in today for giving prospect for studding in Sinhala, Tamil and English in order to choice and capacity of the student. Despite the fact that the national school has benefited of the selecting of medium for learning, the rural student rearward not only in studding through English medium, but the lack of ability for getting the knowledge on English as the subject. The research has focused on why the school children in primary section, towards the back in learning English. Deficient of skills and competency on English how youth are potential fill the demands in job market. CHAPTER II:  METHODOLOGY STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The cognitive qualified workers appeared in the environment of diverse language talents. Thus single language ability is a poor help for searching and linking to dynamic international scenario. Where eligible from number of degrees, not be assist climb the ladder of carrier for the reason that missing the adroitness of English. Mostly the second languages has not utilized in tongue of rural studies. It directly affects the further of their education, attitudes and the personality. The research will be analysis and identified issue on primary school children who put forward the less weight on English. It had been recognized contradictory ends as following: From primary sector, English away from using Looking for White colure jobs Why the primary school children hard to fluent in English? Usually the time table of the school has allocated least one period (time wise 45 minutes) for English. In grade 1 the student commenced English with alphabet. Step by step switch on grammar. After the grade five, do they speak in English? RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS The Hypothesis is mentioned below. Paying more emphasis to providing foundation skills to primary school children in rural areas will contribute to greater productivity in Sri Lanka. OBJECTIVES General Objective: Elevate the foundation dexterity of primary school children in rural area Spot out the predicament for channeling the fruitful English teaching system for rural primary schools. Diagnose the non educational factors impacts for sharing the foundation skills. Describe the mingling of education with contemporary demands for high ranking occupations in market and why the link between job and education has failed. Discuses on what paths can be improved the English for rural primary students. METHORD OF DATA COLLECTION The above denote hypothesis will be tested in this research utilizing simply framed methods. The data will be collected in order to source of Primary sources Primary data refers information and evidence gathered by the researcher from primary sources. Field research, interviews, discussions, observations and group discussions are the key fountains for gathering the primary data. English Education in primary school children in rural area will be examined in the location of rural areas in Kandy, Matale, Rathnapura,Monarahala districts in Sri Lanka. Secondary source Secondary data collection of information was based on documentary sources including publications, News paper articles and information were taken by surfing through the Internet. CHAPTER III:  POVERTY IN SRI LANKAN RURAL SECTOR DEFINE POVERTY In my words poverty is a complex phenomenon, which hardly defined. There are extreme poverty and relative poverty. The poverty occurs in the arena of economy and social stratus mainly. The poverty relevant to simply ideology of lack recourse and inequality of their distributions and high rank of needs, poverty in Sri Lanka is still largely rural phenomenon. Poor house hold tends to have higher dependency of ratios ion in labour force, and higher unemployment. As a developing state poverty is not new comer. It emerges won the sake of unemployment, the gap between the demand of the job in market and the supply of the qualified person for it Those who are unable to afford basic necessities will certainly be regarded as poor. Individuals who lack access to essential collective goods and services will also normally be regarded as poor. Poverty means the impoverishment for accessing least of the basic needs. There are key Determents of poverty in Sri Lanka Inadequacy growth and unequal opportunity Armed conflict Isolation and lack of economic integration Limited access to high quality education Limited access to basic social servers Slow growth in agriculture Lack of clear land tenure Environmental degradation Social exclusion and poverty lessens POVERTY IN RURAL AREA The poor population in Sri Lanka consists mainly of the following, Those living in remote isolated areas Landless works in low wage occupations Farmers cultivating low value crops Fishes and lives stock Poverty is predominately a rural phenomenon with near 90 percent of the poor residing in rural areas. Why does it spread in rural arena mainly? The argument behind it that, most of the rural areas still remain in the structure of Sri Lankan traditional feudal system whether absent of the compulsory labour and self sufficient, the rural areas are in the level of low income and inequality of the distribution and lack of knowledge. Their main revenue relies upon the cultivation and most of them are share plots cultivation. The scarcity for nutrition, health and sanitation, water and education are the common surrounds which available with rural poverty. In 1996 the provincial poverty level ranged from 37 percent of the households in Uva province and 14 percent are in western province. The high ranges of the poverty remain in the province of western. In urban as well in rural region in Colombo has the poverty in order to lack of the better income employment opportunities. poverty in Sri Lanka is predominantly a rural phenomenon. Close to 90 % of the poor are reported to live in rural areas. But estimates of rural and urban poverty should be interpreted with a great deal of caution because of the way in which urban and rural are defined. Until the late 1980s, the areas under mincipal councils, urban councils and town councils were all classified as urban areas. In the early 1990s, the area under town councils was reclassified as rural.. According to consumption poverty estimates for 1995|1996, the extent poverty in urban, rural and estate sectors is 15%, 27% and 25% respectively, using the lower poverty line, and 25%,41% and 45% respectively, using the higher poverty line. According to the lower poverty line the estate sector has fared marginally better than the rural sector, and according to the higher poverty line the reverse is the case. In terms of social indicators, such as housing facilities, access to education and health services, access to safe drinking water, safe sanitation and electricity, infant mortality rate, and malnutrition, the estate sector, may be worse off than the rural sector. Poverty in rural areas is the result of the less income and in equality of the distribution of the income way. For instance Monaragala is one of the poorest districts in Sri Lanka which depends on large amount of agriculture in come. The crops of agriculture base on the cornflakes and the vegetables chiefly. The value for the market in those crops is considerably less. Thus the poverty becomes a burning issue for the peasants in Monaragala. The urban sector has encompassed with poverty and its relate impacts as illiteracy, teenage prostitutes, and the drugs. The main shadow of the poverty in urban area is that cheap labour participation and cheap wages. the poverty is one of the outcome of the usage of illicit liquored. However poverty has inflicted comparatively more for the lives in rural areas. ITS IMPACT ON THE PRIMARY EDUCATION IN RURAL AREA Poverty is the giant feature for determining the fate and the nature of the society. In Buddhism, the load Buddha has preached that, before attain to listen to the Dharama, man should be filled their hunger. As a consequent except for removing the poverty, it is unable to prepare the mass mobilization through the education. Anyway, C.W.W.Kannagara had facilitated the opportunity to study for the rural mass. Frequently Maha Vidyala concept had made the social mobilisation. Any way most of the production of the free education is the experts in the native language. Not only in senor schools even in the primary sector there was a back word for studding of the English education in rural areas. In the primary area, the English education had the shortage value. The rooted fact is that poverty. Due to the poverty the family does not have the ability on education in English. The family background and rare possibility of reaching to English education, and inequality on distributing of the human and physical resources urge to put in down turn for the English education in rural area. Accorded to basic education in labour market, about 2000 schools most of which are in poor rural areas, lack basic facilities such as desks, chairs and black boards. There is a key short age of quality inputs, particularly teaching materials in subjects such as science, mathematics, environmental science and English. Teacher short ages, and teacher absenteeism are serious problems in poor rural communities. teachers close to 27 % of the totals carder are untrained, and it is the untrained teachers who are primarily assigned to their poor, rural schools. Theirs lack training in instructing children with special needs .  [2]   The text books or the availability of the teachers are not only enough for the improving of the English education. The existed pattern of the primary school teaching method that starts with the alphabet and try to teach the grammar. The writing of the sentences in the black board is not enough because the language hardly learn through merely recitation. It should be learn from the usage. But the rural student has the disparity on attaining the school in daily. During the harvest gathering period, is being as the unpaid helper for his home. English is not their mother tongue. It is the new comer for them. The methodology of teaching the language also contributed for shaping of the learning of the language. Vast numerical students unable to apply the English as the communication chancel at their house hold. Their parents and adults are away from the fluent in English. Thereby it is hard tasking them to learn the langue merely writing the black board. The state has followed up the strategically way for improving the education but there are doubt on those procedure, because the English teacher still not be able to fill the gap of learning and transforming to the fluently of the students from rural area. The poverty causes to confine the upgrading of the studies. For instance, the basic elements for schooling as the stationeries stiff for the taking to the students in rural area. The price of the current exercise book is more that 50 rupees and it is a grim chore for the parents who live with daily income. Poverty alters the attitudes of the people. Most of the people, who are under the poverty line, do not want to or are powerlessness to send their children for the schools at least for the primary level. On the one hand it is expenses for them and the other child can be utilised as the labour for the house hold income. CHAPTER IV:  AVAILABILITY OF RESOURCES IN SCHOOLS AVAILABILITY OF RESOURCES The theory behind this is chapter that relative deprivation and modernization. Both theory are not only for the seeds for creating the conflict but got the unequal distribution of the resources. The distribution of resources has affected from the infrastructure and facilities. In usually pattern the periphery is nil with flourished infrastructure. There by the skill sharpen human resources not be easy to find in the periphery. All the fulfill segment of the human resources encompassed upon the core. For instance all the time, there are inadequate teachers are in the schools which locates in micro urban cities or categorized as the national schools. For the one subject there are more teachers available. This blessing situation is not much familiar with the rural structure, in rural area there are less human resources for the teaching. For instance, in Rathnapura district, Imbulpe GN, the village known as usbim janapadaya. It has established during 1972, The school in that village consist of maximum 200 students and the staffs are 10. There is none access road. The five Kilometres from the Imbulpe junction has to travel by the foot. The road which constructed not is suitable for the vehicle. The deputy principle once states that the staff in the school had the difficult rural services. Even there in none of the electricity. Because the electricity polls complicated to take from that road. However in 2010 one of the student in primary capable enough to receive the 130 marks for the competitive scholarship exam. The deputy principle made more clear that if the school has the human resources, they can polish the students. The school has single English teacher. The human resources are not present due to failure of the development in infrastructure This situation directly involve with the education and its outcome. Thereby the gap available on the society between what expected and what received. Modernization theory links to motivation and inducement of the teachers for engaging their tasks. The modernization policy will be confined to the core and it rare to filter to the periphery. Thereby the policy put the line in better the regions of modernized and in modernized. Through the researcher observation has set up that students in Colombo seven has the every facilities as opportunity to study of the computer technology, English and they can make the difference for their appearance even. Though in rural area as above mentioned, Usbim janapadaya, the students fingers not be lucky to touch the key board of the computers. The English is one of the fairies for their lives. The renew of the syllabus, distribution of the equipment dependent on the urban rural divisions. The primary in rural areas still playing with the seeds. The way to the modern technology is long for them. Because of the availability of the resources. PHYSICAL RESOURCES Physical resources mainly contain of the material elements. the researcher prefer to classify the physical resources in two lines. Direct physical resources:- The direct physical resources mane the resources which affect directly to primary English education. They are text books, the quality of the school structure, and the opportunity for applying the audio and video visuals. Indirect physical resources:- It relevant to infrastructure as roads, accessibility for the water and sanitation with the area of school and the electricity. Text books has distributed by the government. The quality of the text books has changed now. They have composed in colour way. The pages are attracted for the eye. In fact the English text books have gone out of the conventional border of role play. The text books have included the details which relates to knowledge in other subjects. For instance the English text about the Sinharaja. It is not only way to improve the grammar but also way to improve the knowledge. The audio and video is one of the hands to make closer for the education. for example, children love to watch the cartoons and movies. They dont bother on the language. The experts in education have identified that, listing and watching capture the brain easier in the process of learning. Though in rural area, there are none of the audio and video visual rooms or the objects for the program. Urban national and popular schools, the primary students have obtained to read and watch the books and movies of the giant of the English literate, as William Shakespeare. In Sri Lankan rural primary students away from David Coffer filed Oliver Twists, Anna, and other famous stares in the childrens world. A questionnaire survey was conducted by distributing a questionnaire shown in Annex A to Primary English teachers those who are occupying at Rural ten Government schools in several rural areas in the Kandy, Matale, Rathnapura Districts and attention focused on availability of resources in the class rooms and the last years English Examinatiron results over the Grade four and five.  [3]   The quality of the structure indicates that not the two stairs building but hold the shelter which not get in rain and provide the assurance that walls not fallen down. For examples, in Kandy District, Lewalle GN Divison, Navodhaya primary school, has not even cleaned classes. Clean cites that the lack of dusty and the dirty and have the tidiness. Keeping of the class rooms in clean depends on the attitude of the teachers. Most of rural roads in Sri Lanka are badly in need to repair work. Most of them un under control of the local governmental institutions. In modern days, they have been repaired or reconstructed by the government under the program of maga naguma. As the examples the roads in Rathanpura who is the first ranking district as the highest number of non electicity in island has the problem on transport. The DS divison , Kalawane, GN divion, Waddagala, has scarcity of roads and the transports. Most of the roads are damaged. The other fact that access for the drinking water and the sanitation. Drinking water in rural areas has gained from the well, not by the pipe lines. The problem occurs during the draught time. In that period, the well get dried and it is a great difficult task to access for the water. Sanitation is one of the basic needs of the human lives. In Rural areas, there is deficient of cleaning services and the better sanitation facilities. For instance in Kandy District, Thalathoya Ds Divsion, Thalathuoya GN division, Tamil primary school, had not the sanitation facilities for the children. The above mentioned fact are the discourage features for the student to attain the school. They decide the education of the child. The primary children reminiscent of the colours mainly dark colours. The colour of the walls by those dark colours and decorate the walls by their creations in English and hold the completion, and teach the good habits in English, and let them to speak not only for the 45 minutes but also for as long as the teacher can, are the way for supporting to them in learning of the English. HUMAN RESOURCES Human resources mentions that the availability for the teachers. The teachers cannot facilities in order to the counting of the heads of the children. However, the human resource in rural area for the English education is less compare to the urban cities. The lack of infrastructure is fewer inspirers for appointing in rural areas. For instance the output from the college of education should be in rural area for certain period. But they rarely prefer to get the appointment in rural area because of the lack of facilities. In some area, even imperfection on basic human needs as neutralized food, health care and drinking water. The other point that, when reject and politicalised of appointments create the negative and aspect on the teacher. It also make the job dissatisfaction and because of it the teacher is not be able to work efficiently, effectively and creatively with the children. ENGLISH TEACHERS SHORTAGE PER PROVENCE Table 4: English teachers shortage per province Sources Pracidental Advisor Sunimal Fernando Speak English our way Observer News Paper Sunday 18 July 2010 CHAPTER IV:  UNEMPLOYMENT IN SRI LANKA DEMANDS IN JOB MARKET Sri Lanka is a liberalist state. There by the private sector, semi government and the state sector engages in the market. The decision in the market has taking while respecting the freedom of the private sector. The current trend that, implies the neo liberalist model with the combination of the private and public partnership in the market. As a result of it, number of the institutions has alter on the concept of privatization. For instance Sri Lanka telecom, the postal services, Sri jayawardhana pura hospital and the end of the conflict open more investment for the individual or the private sector in the stream of education, hotel and tourism. Nonetheless, the job market ahs based on the economic policy of the government and quality of the job seeker. The occupations are available in the sector of serve and productivity. Agriculture and readymade garments are the centralized point of the productivity. In the stripes of the services there are numbers in private and public sector. As the perspective of the researcher, if get a Sunday newspaper, there are quantity of the vacancies. Although the problem that unemployment. What is the different or space? The qualification for the most jobs not is able to qualified for the job seeker in Sri Lankan society. People have the documentary qualification but in practical they are not be more capable for doing a job. By the way there are unemployed or the people who look prolong the job for them. The matter that most of the unemployed are educated. Not merely pass the advanced level but graduated. Then why graduate exclude from the job market? SUPPLY AND FILLING OF THE DEMANDS Education gives people better understanding of themselves and the surrounding and thereby improves the quality of their lives and leads to benefits both for the individual and the society. Italsoraisespeoplescreativityandproductivityandpromotestechnological achievements d entrepreneurship, which has been demonstrated in several countries throughout the world. Even though no country has ever achieved sustained economic development without substantial investments in human capital, it is important to note that education by itself does not guarantee successful development Therefore the fruitful human capital determined by the factor of health and education mainly. Sri Lanka has the universal education system. In logically the human capital should be fertilized from the free education. Though the free educated benefited rare receive the higher pay so called good jobs. The main reason is behind that English. THE GAP DUE TO ABSENT OF ENGLISH SKILLS Unemployment has been a sensitive issue in Sri Lanka. This is mainly due to that the high levels of unemployment have predominantly been concentrated among educated youth. An even more serious aspect of the problem is that unemployment rate increases with the level of education  [4]   The above table indicates that unemployment in order to the education. According to the data below grade 5, there are less numeric comparatively to GCE Advanced level. The climbing of the education ladder allege for the good jobs, mainly in government with better payment. Though the current economic policy crates the situation for forming up the private sector rather state sector. As a result of it, the employment opportunity remains in largly in private sector not in state sector. Holding of the degree from national university is not enough for entering the soil of private sector. Because the transactions in the modern world have run through the English. The recognition for the English language is in first rank. The inability to mange with the English linguistic paradigm, cause to close the doors for getting jobs in private sectors. The universal education system in Sri Lanka helps to improve the knowledge, attitudes and personality. Thereby why fundamental requirements for the English in job market is not succulently polish in the trough of the graduates. Particularly the graduates who have the roods in rural areas, have the difficulties on handling the English? The derivation of this insufficiently that failed of the English education in primary school sector. Usual acceptance that, the language is learning during the age of 5-10 because at that period, whether making the faults not be considered. The age in primary schools are enough to learn the English but the deficit on the foundation skills reason to pulling back the students in learning of the English. In modern Sri Lanka, there are number of institutions who offer the languages courses. These institutions conduct by the state or the private sector. The duration for the course is minimum a week or maximum a year. After the duration, the followed will be received the certificate under the words of successfully participation for the course or completed the course. Though in the interview panel, the in print grammar is not merely assist to raise the word as the answers in English. The interviewee confidents be declining and it adds the negative marks. The answer for it that why it happen in Sri Lanka, because the Sri Lankan primary education does not reach its end productively. In the primary section, parents and teachers connect to the competition of pass the grade five scholarships not the fluent in English. Not as in early in modern time, there is none gab in rural or in urban schools to pass the grade 5 scholarship. All the students are in chain of the scholarship process. Thereby the valuable for the English education in primary level has reduced. CHAPTER VI:  ANALYSIS Present Sri Lankan education system has planned by the concept of universal education pattern. Therefore up the primary education least is compulsory for all and there is not the difference of the gender for accessing the education institutions. The Quality of the education has determined by one of the essential fact called poverty. The poverty is the major impact of the less developing county and it spreads in all the vain of the state. The poverty decides accessibility of the education. Even it affects to distribute of the resources. The infrastructure, health, physical resources as desks, the textbooks, sanitation and drinking water are the points indomitable the quality of the education. The scrutinized analysis has mentioned that, the poverty in rural area directly impinge on education. The main income of the rural area base on the agriculture. As the country who ahs the less organized agriculture sector with few dominated groups in distribution of agricultural production, expand the poverty. The poverty has linked to the house hold consumption and shape the opportunity for the students to attain the schools. The child- labour is one of the income for the people in rural area who ahs in poverty. There by among the stream of education or the employment, the children in rural area have chosen the employment not the education. The resources distribution and allocation also manipulates the English education inn primary sector. The physical as well as the human resource influence for the way of learning the language in rural primary schools in Sri Lanka. The distribution of the text books is not singularly hep for developing the linguistic capacity. There are extra ways to sharpen the skills on language. The rural schools do not have resources for applying those extra ways to achieving the goal of English education in Sri Lanka. English is an international language. It is the path for communication with diversity. The global village has depended on the computer. The language in computer is English. The world link wire named internet operates with English. Therefore without talent in English it is in convenient to find a better paid job in existing Sri Lankan structure CHAPTER VI:  CONCLUSION The human capital in modern world has gained the worth. The human capital has flourished form the dual task mainly, English and technological knowledge. The less of the skills in both causes to reduce the value of the human capital. As country of developing, human capital in Sri Lankan, market has the greatest posit

Friday, September 20, 2019

Importance of Corporate Governance

Importance of Corporate Governance 1. INTRODUCTION This chapter provides a definition of corporate governance and examines importance of, and the principles underpinning corporate governance. It also reviews prior research examining corporate governance disclosures and in particular, those which have investigated corporate governance disclosure in ECMs. 2. DEFINITIONS OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE Modern corporations have dispersed ownership structure (Jenkinson and Mayer, 1994). Due to this, these corporate entities are characterised by contractual relationships between (shareholders) owners and managers (agents). Management is hired by owners (i.e. investors) to run the business on their behalf (Sarpong, 1999). Within the agency theory framework, it is theorised that managers may seek to maximise their wealth to the detriment of shareholders and bondholders through the consumption of perquisites (Jensen and Meckling, 1976). Decisions of agents have the tendency of unfavourably transferring wealth from one principal to another i.e. from bondholders to shareholders (Watts and Zimmerman, 1978). John and Senbet, (1998 p. 372) define corporate governance â€Å"as a means by which stakeholders of a corporation exercise control over corporate insiders and management such that their interest will be well protected†. Similarly, it is proposed that â€Å"corporate governance i ssues arise in an organization whenever two conditions are present. First, there is an agency problem, or conflict of interest, involving members of the organization these might be owners, managers, workers or consumers. Second, transaction costs are such that this agency problem cannot be dealt with through a contract† (Hart, 1995, p. 678) To avert the agency problem, there is the need to ensure that adequate and effective corporate governance structures are put in place to prevent abuse of power by managers (Cadbury, 1992). Corporate disclosure through annual reports is one of the essential instruments for the monitoring of managerial behaviour (Watts, 1977; Watts and Zimmerman, 1978). This requires frequent evaluation of managerial activities and performances particularly, through independent non-executive directors (Roberts et al 2005). Berle and Means (2003) view corporate governance as a relatively new concept in both the public and academic domains, although the central issues the concept seeks to address have been in existence for a longer period. The most common definition of the concept has been provided by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OCED). It defines Corporate governance as: ‘ a system by which business corporations are directed and controlled. Corporate governance structures specify the distribution of rights and responsibilities among different participants in the corporation, such as, the board, managers, shareholders and other stakeholders and spells out the rules and procedures for making decisions on corporate affairs. By doing this, it also provides the structure through which the companys objectives are set and the means of attaining those objectives and monitoring performance (OECD, 1999 p. 11). The influential Cadbury report defines corporate governance fundamentals and somewhat simplistically as ‘ the systems by which companies are directed and controlled (Cadbury 1992). This will require putting in place appropriate mechanisms which will ensure that corporate resources are safeguarded. Johnson and Scholes (1998) explained that corporate governance is concerned with both the functioning of organizations and the distribution of powers between different stakeholders. They argue that corporate governance determines whom the organization is there to serve and how the purpose and priorities of the organization should be decided. Thus, among other things, corporate governance is concerned with structures and processes for decision making, ensures accountability and controls managerial behaviour. It therefore, seeks to address issues facing board of directors, such as the interaction with top management and relationship with owners and others interested in the affairs of a company. The definitions outlined, directly or indirectly, share common elements. They all acknowledge the existence of conflict of interest between managers and shareholders as a result of the existence of separation of ownership and control in corporate activities. They further recognize the need to put in place effective corporate governance mechanisms to ensure that shareholders and investors interest are well protected. 1. IMPORTANCE OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE As a result of globalization and the increasing complexity of business there is a greater reliance on the private sector as the engine of growth in both developed and developing countries. Organizations do not exist in a vacuum; they rather interrelate with a number of interest groups, known as stakeholders (Freeman, 1984). These stakeholders include shareholders, governments, regulatory bodies, creditors and the general public (Pease and Macmillan, 1993). Stakeholders are impacted by the activities of companies. In this regard, and in the context of this study, adequate and effective corporate governance disclosure becomes relevant to investors and other stakeholders from a number of standpoints. Effective corporate governance disclosure promotes transparency in corporate structures and operations. It strengthens accountability and oversight among managers and board members to shareholders (Bosch, 2002). This oversight and accountability combined with the efficient use of resources, improved access to lower-cost capital and increased responsiveness to societal needs and expectations leads to improved corporate performance. Many studies exist linking good corporate governance with better Performance. Fianna and Grant (2005) explains that good corporate governance helps to bridge the gap between the interests of those that a company, by increasing investor confidence and lowering the cost of capital for the company. Furthermore, they also add that it also helps in ensuring company honours, its legal commitments and forms value-creating relations with stakeholders. Coles et al. (2001) and Durnev and Han (2002, also found that companies with better corporate governance enjoy high er valuation. These studies results, helps in confirming the idea of good corporate governance, result in better decisions at all levels of the organization, not at top-management and board levels, but also in the better performance of the organization Again adequate and effective corporate governance disclosure ensures that corporate activities are run in an open and transparent manner (Brain 2005). Last, corporate governance practices boost market confidence and ensure effective allocation of capital in the market (Greenspan, 2002). From the forgoing discussions, the realization of the importance of good corporate governance practices is largely dependent on a number of internal factors. As a way of achieving this, a number of principles have been established. 3. PRINCIPLES UNDERPINNING CORPORATE GOVERNANCE DISCLOSURE A number of principles underpin effective corporate governance. These principles are business probity, responsibility and fairness or equal opportunity. Corporate entities are expected to exhibit these qualities to ensure good governance. Embracing the outlined principles will improve relationships between companies, their shareholders and the overall welfare of every economy. These principles are briefly discussed. Business probity requires individuals in charge of companies to be open and honest in the discharge of their activities. According to Brain (2005) openness implies a willingness to provide information to individuals and groups about the activities of a company. In this regard, it is important to recognize that shareholders and investors need to know the position of a company in order to evaluate their performance. Timely delivery of information will enable them achieve this purpose. Good corporate governance disclosure requires handlers of companies to be honest in the discharge of their activities. Honesty requires managers to deliver factual information. A sign of honesty is that statements of companies are believed. However, Brain (2005 p. 26) contends that â€Å"honesty might seem an obvious quality for companies, but, in an age of spin, and the manipulation of facts, honest information is perhaps by no means as prevalent as it should be.† Corporate governance requires handlers of corporate entities to be responsible in the discharge of their duties. Investors require confidence that companys financial systems are secured and credible. Managers are therefore expected to work in this direction to meet investors expectation. Responsibility in the context of corporate governance includes other issues such as transparency and accountability. These principles are vital to the survival and welfare of every company. Thus, managers have a duty to explain their actions to shareholders as well as investors so as to enhance their understanding of the direction of the companys activities. The principle of fairness requires impartiality and a lack of bias in corporate activities. In the context of corporate governance, the quality of fairness is achieved when managers behave in reasonable and unbiased manner. In this sense, to ensure good governance shareholders are expected to receive equal consideration. This means minority shareholders should be treated the same way as majority shareholders. References Berle, A.A. and G.C. Means (2003). The Modern Corporation and private property, New York, Macmillan Company. Bosch, H. (2002), The changing face of corporate governance, UNSW Law Journal, Vol. 25 No.2, pp.270-93. Brain, C. (2005) Corporate Governance, ICSA text Cadbury A. (1992) Financial Aspect of corporate governance Coles JW, Mcwilliams VB, Sen N. An examination of the relationship of governance mechanisms to performance. Journal of Management 2001; 29 (1):23-50. Durnev A, Han KE. The interplay of firm-specific factors and legal regimes in corporate governance and firm valuation. In: Paper Presented at Dartmouths Center for Corporate Governance Conference: Contemporate Governance; 2002. p. 12-3. Fianna J, Grant K. The revised OECD principles of corporate governance and their relevance to non-OECD countries, vol. 13. Blackwell Publishing Ltd; 2005. p. 2. Freeman, R.E (1994). The Stakeholder Theory of Modern Corporations. Concepts, evidence and implications, Academy of Management Review Vol. 20, 65-91 Greenspan, A. (2002) Corporate Governance in Emerging Markets Hart, O. (1995), â€Å"Corporate Governance, Some Theory and Applications, The Economic Journal 105: 687-689 Jenkinson T. and Mayer C.P. (1994). Hostile takeovers defense attack and corporate performance. McGraw Hill. Jensen, M. C. and Meckling, W. H (1976). Theory of the Firm: Managerial Behaviour, Agency Costs and Ownership Structure. Journal of Financial economics 3(3): 305-60 John, K., and L. Senbet (1998), â€Å"Corporate Governance and Board Effectiveness†, Journal of Banking and Finance 22: 371-403. OECD (2005), Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State Owned Enterprises Roberts, J. T. McNulty, et al (2005). â€Å"Beyond agency conceptions of the work of the non-executive director: creating accountability in the boardroom†. Special Edition. British Journal of Management 16:S5-S26 Sarpong, K.K. (1999) Financial Reporting in Emerging Capital Markets: A Case Study of Ghana, PHD Thesis, The University of Warwick Watts, R. L. 1977. Corporate Financial Statements, a Product of the Market and Political Processes. Australian journal of Management: 53-75. Watts, R. L. and J. L. Zimmerman. 1978. Towards a Positive Theory of the determination of Accounting Standards. Accounting review: 112-34

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Importance of Staffing in Organizations Essay -- Business Management S

Importance of Staffing in Organizations Staffing has been an important aspect in all types of organizations’ development. More and more companies have noticed a good staffing plan could increase productivity and reduce operation costs in terms of lower turnover rate and transition costs. Good staffing could be able to minimize cost in order to maximize profit, because it could assist the company to stay more competitive within the industry. According to the definition by Dr. Green, â€Å"staff is the process of identifying work requirements within an organization; determining the number of people and the skills necessary to do the work; and recruiting, selecting and promoting the qualified candidates. It is the selection process of screening and hiring new employees, which includes functions like resume reviewing, interview, drug testing, assessment testing, and background check† (Green, 2003). Different companies have different strategies in how to select their candidates. Depending on the size, geographic and industry etc, so that their strategies could be very different. Therefore, one specific staffing plan might work for one company, but it might not work for another. â€Å"In staffing an organization or an organizational unit, it is important to consider its developmental stage-embryonic, high growth, mature, or aging-in order to align staffing decisions with business strategy† (Cascio, p.268). In the 21st century, due to the reason that new technologies have been invented and improved. That had lead to many organizations change its behavior in terms of the way they deal with customers, suppliers, business partners and employees. Without a careful selection, organizations often hire people that do not fit the job or it is just not the type of work the employee wants to do. There are people who could not keep up with the technology trend working in a place where new technologies always come into place. There are people who could not deal with other people, or with no patient working as a teller in the bank, or going into the teaching field. There are so many different examples in today’s world where people apply for jobs that they co uld not be successful, or in many cases that organizations hire people who do not have the qualifications for the job. Organizations have encountered some problems that associated with which method to use in the selectio... ...ng Decisions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83(4), 634-644. Van der Zee, K.I., Bakker, A.B. & Bakker, P. (2002). Why are Structured Interviews so Rarely Used in Personnel Selection? Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(1), 176-184. Brket, M.D., & Motowidlo, S.J. (2002). Effects of Procedure and Outcome Accountability on Interview Validity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(1), 185-191. Roth, P.L., & Bobko, P. (2000). College Grade Point Average as a Personnel Selection Device: Ethnic Group Differences and Potential Adverse Impact. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(3), 399-406. Gardner, R. (1998). How well do you really know whom you hire? The CPA Journal, 68(3), 62-65. Brown, B., & Campion, M.A. (1994). Biodata phenomenology; Recrutiers’ perceptions and use of biographical information in resume screening. Journal of Applied Psychology, 79, 897-908. Roth, P.L., BeVier, C.A., Switzer, F.S., & Schippmann, J.S. (1996). Meta-analyzing the relationship between grades and job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81, 548-556. Roth, P.L., & Clarke, R.L. (1998). Meta-analyzing the relationship between grades and salary. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 53, 386-400.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Robert Boyle Essay -- essays research papers

Robert Boyle (1627-1691) Robert Boyle was born at Lismore Castle, Munster on 25 January 1627, the fourteenth child and seventh son of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork. Robert Boyle was educated mainly by tutors and himself. He had no formal university education but read widely and made contact with many of the most important natural philosophers of his day, both at home and abroad. He had independent means which enabled him to have his own laboratory and to support religious charities. He was active in the ‘Invisible College’, an informal body devoted to the ‘new philosophy’ which in 1663 became the Royal Society, of which he was a Council member. He moved to Oxford in 1654, where he set up a laboratory with Robert Hooke as his assistant There he did most of his experimental work until 1668 when he went to live in London with his sister Lady Ranelagh. He was made an honorary Doctor of Medicine of Oxford in 1688. In his autobiographical account (Works, vol. 1, pp. xxi–xxvi) he reflects on his noble birth that ‘being born heir to a great family is but a glittering kind of slavery’ and ‘is ever an impediment to the knowledge of many retired truths, that cannot be attained without familiarity with meaner persons’. He indeed developed a keen interest in the work of artisans because they tend to know more than anyone else about the materials of their trades. He makes a general remark about religious beliefs that ‘though we cannot always give a reason for what we believe, we should ever be able to give a reason why we believe it’, which is surely a precept that guided his attitude to natural philosophy as well. Boyle was a prolific writer and experimenter on most scientific subjects that were attracting interest at the time. He investigated some alchemical claims about which he was largely skeptical in his published works. He was a devoutly religious man but wrote mainly about practical and ethical religious matters rather than engaging in theological controversy. He argued for the tolerance of different religious beliefs, and spent a good deal of money on propagating the gospel in New England and the Orient, sponsoring translations of the Bible into foreign languages. He published many experimental reports and did original work on chemical indicators, human blood, color, fire, medicine, and hydrostatics. With Hooke he developed Guericke’s air pump, which he need... ...paratus. He never claimed to have got very far in providing firm empirical evidence for complex corpuscular explanations but he remained optimistic. It has recently been argued, partly on the basis of Boyle’s unpublished notes, that his interest in alchemy has been greatly underestimated by earlier scholars. It is well known that he attempted to confirm many of the alchemists’ experimental claims but he is also said to have believed in the existence of the Philosopher’s Stone and to have accepted some alchemical explanations. It has even been suggested, rather obscurely, that he saw alchemy as connecting the material world with the spiritual world. (Principe, 1994). In his published work he clearly accepts the possibility of the transmutation of metals but that is because a corpuscular explanation would be readily available. He respects the alchemists’ experimental work because he strongly approves of the experimental investigation of the natural world and he thinks that the ‘nobler’ of the alchemists have made important empirical discoveries. His published comments on their theories, their search for the Philosopher’s Stone, and their penchant for secrecy are usually critical.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Learning via observation

Abravanel and Gingold (1985) conducted a study on learning specifically on deferred imitation and immediate imitation. Its review of previous studies conducted on learning revealed that a child at the second year of life shows evidence of deferred imitation, which is imitation of modeled behavior after an interval where other events have intervened between modeling and reproduction of behavior. Classes of object/action combinations used in the current study were taken from the study by McCall, Parke and Kavanaugh (as qtd by Abravanel & Gingold, 1985). The current study however further classified these classes of actions with objects into three: simple/single actions, reiterative actions and sequentially coordinated actions.Simple/single actions required demonstration of one behavior. Tasks measuring this were the Barrels where the child had to reveal contents of the large barrel by separating it into halves, and the Doll and crown, where the child has to put the crown on the bald-hea ded wooden doll. Reiterative actions were simple actions that had to be repeated several times. Tasks for this include the Spacemen, where the child is expected to produce vertical column of five spacemen toys in a feet-to-head order, the Blocks, where the child had to stack the cube block, disc block and pyramid block in that order, and Screwtoy, where the child had to turn the screwnut counterclockwise until it is free of the screw. Sequentially coordinated action tasks require two or more actions that differ from each other but have to be performed in some specific order.Tasks for this include the Cylinder and doll, where the child has to insert a drumstick into a cylinder and push the doll out to let it fall into the table, and the Xylophone, where the child was expected to lose one tube from the base of the xylophone and strike each of the other two metallic pieces.The study was conducted to children aged 12 months (12 ~ 13 months), and 18 months (18 ~ 19 months). There were 42 girls and 40 boys aged 12 months and 45 girls and 40 boys aged 18 months. These children were randomly grouped into two: the treatment group, where children were able to see a model perform a task, and the control group, where the children did not have models to imitate from. Having a control group was hoped to take into account the children’s familiarity to the materials, task and examiner.Both groups follow four phases in every task: 1) Pre-test, where the child was presented with all of the materials for the task and allowed to handle them for 60 seconds. 2) Modeling followed where the treatment groups saw the target actions modeled twice, while the control group did not see any models but allowed to handle the materials for another 10 seconds. Each child had to accumulate four tasks from the seven possible tasks. The child then had an interpolated interval of 10 minutes, where he/she was free to do anything. This time gap was necessary to emphasize on the deferred imitat ion. 3) Post-test followed, where the child was presented with the materials of a task he/she had taken previously and targeted or expected actions had to be demonstrated within 60 seconds.Responses were recorded and the next materials of second, third and fourth tasks were presented separately. 4) Immediate imitation follows right after post-test when it is clear that the child have not achieved the targeted actions of a particular task. The experimenter models again the targeted action and the child was given 60 seconds to reproduce the action. The third step looked into the deferred imitation while the fourth step looked into immediate imitation.Scores were ranged from zero, where the child did nothing but look at the materials, to six, where the child successfully reproduced the targeted actions. However, scoring was reclassified were score zero to four was rescored as zero and score five to six were rescored as one. Data was analyzed using three-factor analyses of variance (Age X Sex X Treatment Condition). The study seeks to answer whether performance of the three classes of actions (i.e., simple/singe, reiterative and sequential coordinated) in deferential imitation and immediate imitation were the same for 12-month old and 18-month old children and treatment and control groups. The researcher hypothesizes that the 12-months old children would succeed in deferred imitation of simple/single actions and the 18-months old children would succeed in both reiterative and sequentially coordinated tasks.Analysis on the deferred imitation found that in performing simple/single action and reiterative action tasks, the 18-months old produced the targeted actions significantly higher than the 12-month olds. In performing sequentially coordinated tasks, the 18-months old had greater number of targeted actions over the 12-months old on Cylinder and doll task, but equally on the Xylophone task. The treatment group had greater number of targeted actions over the contro l group in performing simple/single action tasks, in performing the two of the reiterative action tasks: Spacemen and Screwtoy   (but not the Blocks), as well as the Cylinder and doll tasks (but not the xylophone task) of the sequentially coordinated tasks. Interaction effect of age and treatment condition in performing the three classes of action tasks showed that the 18-months old had greater modeling effect. Further, there was no difference between girls and boys in the number of actions tasks successfully performed.Immediate imitation was done for children who have not successfully accomplished the tasks on the third phase. More children from the control group were subjected to this analysis understandably because they had no models to imitate and learn from on how to achieve successfully the tasks subjected to them. Immediate imitation and deferred imitation were not analyzed as scoring for both sets were different. Analysis of immediate imitation data revealed that 18-year o ld had greater number of targeted actions over the 12-months old children. Less than 50% of the 12-month old children passed the tasks compared to more than 50% of the 18-month olds passed the tasks. More than 50% of the 18-month olds however find Spacemen and screwtoy tasks difficult to perform in immediate imitation.Approximate deferred imitation was further done where the reiterative and sequentially coordinated actions considered lower forms of imitations and where such forms somehow were equivalent to simple/single action level. The 18-month old children significantly had higher performance in post-tests reiterative tasks and Cylinder and doll task of the sequentially coordinated actions. Interaction between age and treatment conditions showed that at 18-months, treatment group achieved the Spaceman task, screwtoy task, Cylinder and doll task, but not on block task and xylophone tasks. At 12 months, treatment group achieved Spacemen task and Xylophone task but not the Screwtoy, Blocks, Cylinder and doll tasks.The study concluded that there are developmental differences achieved in learning between ages 12-months and 18-months, through imitation, whether through immediate or delayed information. The hypotheses of the research were not supported by the results as only few of the 12-month olds demonstrated complete deferred imitation on simple/single actions and less than 50% of the 18-month olds were fully successful with the three action tasks. It further concluded that the children’s performance in both deferred imitation and immediate imitation were the same by comparing treatment and control groups for immediate imitation analysis. The research further confirmed the study conducted by McCall et all. that 18-months old have internalized action sequences and means-ends relations although the current research acknowledged that spatial and serial properties of actions were difficult for these children. The researcher explained about the children†™s possible difficulty of recalling order for the Blocks task. It finally concludes that imitative ability is a developmental phase by the start of the second year of a child and fluency to make observational learning and deferred imitation during the second year.Analysis on the ArticleThe use of a control group in the study was not necessary. McCall et al, whom the researchers referred to in their study, did not employ control group. The researchers themselves have recognized that imitation and observation learning were facts of human functioning. Thus, learning the tasks as demonstrated by reproducing the targeted actions were better when somebody models how the task was to be accomplished than when children were left to find out for themselves how to accomplish the task.The analysis done on deferred imitation for the control group was subjecting the children in a problem-solving task by their own rather than learning via observation. The employ of control group sidetracked the researcher from the objective of establishing learning through observation in this group, precisely because the subjects in this group did not use observation in learning the tasks. All the control group did was to establish that indeed the use of models significantly facilitated accomplishment of the tasks. This was rather not necessary as previous researches have already established this.The use of control group in the analysis has rather made confusing interpretations and conclusions on the study. Such was done when the researcher made a conclusion on the immediate imitation by comparing the control and the treatment group that deferred imitation had no particular advantage over immediate imitation (p. 621, paragraph 2). This was rather an erroneous conclusion since control group cannot represent immediate imitation nor deferred imitation in any way. The researchers themselves have acknowledged that immediate imitation and deferred imitation cannot be analyzed because of the diff erential scoring used by the two sets of data but a conclusions made was to infer on this.The representational materials used in this study were carefully selected so that the objects give the platform by which actions (i.e, simple/single, reiterative, sequential coordinated) can be elicited. When disparity in the results existed for reiterative tasks (i.e., Spacemen, blocks and screwtoy) and sequential coordinated tasks (Cylinder and doll, and xylophone), the researchers have attributed this to difficulty in recall (p. 621, paragraph 1) for the Block task and spontaneous performance (p. 620, paragraph 1) for Xylophone task.The Block task was a measure for reiterative action and which was to be accomplished by the child by stacking the cube block, disc block and pyramid block on each other on that specific order. The child, in this task, was not however required only to do a simple action repeated more than once (i.e., reiterative) but also required to demonstrate memory recall on h ow the order of the blocks should be. This requirement was different from the other reiterative tasks (i.e., Spacemen and Screwtoy) where the targeted action was essentially repetitive ones and did not require some recall of order of how things should be arranged, which was the case for the Block task.This additional requirement for Block task made it in disparity of results with the other reiterative tasks. Block task, in order to elicit only one requirement, which is to demonstrate singular repetitive action, should have used same-shaped blocks. This takes away the requirement for a recall of certain order of blocks, which was rather not a concern of this particular study. It is therefore suggested that the Block task be modified by using the same-shaped blocks or this is taken out all together as there were already two reiterative actions tasks, which were Spacemen and Screwtoy tasks.The disparity in the results of sequential coordinated action tasks, which are the Cylinder and d oll task and Xylophone task, was attributed to spontaneous performance. The Xylophone task involved removing one tube loosely attached to the base of the xylophone and striking each of the other two metallic pieces. The researcher’s explanation on spontaneous performance of the Xylophone task implies on the novelty of the task. Making the task as novel as possible was necessary in order to seclude memory recall on possible actions done outside the experiment. If the child have already played xylophone, his/her demonstration of the task may have been a direct recall of how he played a similar toy.A recall on actions outside the experiment would mean lack of control of extraneous variable. To keep extraneous variable to enter into the experiment, the tasks formulated should be novel as possible for the children. Spontaneous performance on Xylophone task as demonstrated by the control group was evidence to this (p. 620, paragraph 1). This explanation by the researcher was rather acceptable, but it should have been suggested that Xylophone task was removed as a measure for sequential coordinated action task in the future study, and suggested to be replaced by another task.Analysis on approximate deferred imitation was not necessary nor called for in the study. The study implied only on differential imitation and immediate imitation to answer the research question. Analysis done on this only confused interpretations and results relative to this were not incorporated nor integrated in the discussions or in the conclusions. The results derived from this analysis were like a free agent that was left to float, without particular beginning, that is, it was not part of the research question, or an end, since it was not integrated in the conclusions. Such kind of analysis should have been left out.Essentially, the research has done well in proving that the children in the second year of their life were advancing in their learning through imitation, whether deferred or immediate. It contributed to the theoretical base for developmental psychology by establishing that imitative ability starts at the second year of a child’s life and continues to develop as the child advances in age towards the end of its second year. The finding that modeling contributes to learning was not novel but was rather reiteratively established from previous studies and researches (p. 614, paragraph 1).If a replicate of the study has to be done, the use of control group, which is not to employ models, is suggested to be deleted. The use of Block task should utilize same-shaped blocks (i.e., three cubes or three discs or three pyramids). The Xylophone task should also be replaced by another sequential coordinated action that requires a novel task or introduces a novel material. Suggested tasks would be: Doll and little umbrella, where the targeted action is for the child to place the plastic doll in a sitting position on a table, to open a little umbrella and to place the umbrella beside the doll.This task required three sequential actions: placing doll  ® opening umbrella  ® placing umbrella. Doll on bucket, where the targeted action is for the child to position the bucket upside down and to put a plastic doll on a sitting position on the bucket. This task required three sequential actions: positioning the bucket  ® placing the doll. The principle is therefore clear, that the task should be novel as possible and requiring at least two different actions done in some particular order.ReferencesAbravanel, E. & Gingold, H. (1985). Learning via observation during the second year of life. Developmental Psychology, 21 (4), 614-623.