Manage Risk final Essay

1 You must accurately complete the Student Assessment Pack. 2 Your Assessor may want to discuss written answers with you to get further evidence of your understanding and to check that it is your original work 3 You need to submit Assessment Cover Sheet for each assessment. 4 You are permitted to use dictionaries and to seek support, as required. 5 Where your work has been deemed as unsatisfactory, you will be permitted to resubmit the assessment. Refer to RGIT reassessment policy and procedure. 6 Unless the assessment task specifically allows pair work or group activities such as brainstorming, you must submit their own original work and are not permitted to copy the work of other students. Plagiarism is never acceptable. 7 Assessments must be submitted on their due dates. 8 Extensions are permitted in consultation with the trainer. Performance objective You must demonstrate knowledge of design requirements for workspaces that support innovation and work with a team to redesign a workspace. Assessor Instructions for Using This Assessment Workbook 1. Prepare for Assessment by reviewing support material for this unit/s. 2. Ensure that any pre-requisite units have been assessed as competent prior to the assessment of this unit/s 3. Trainees must complete all sections of the assessment. Be sure to reference the assessment context and proposed environment to ensure any mandatory assessment methods are used 4. Conduct the assessment using the documents provided, gaining participant agreement on each stage of the assessment process. Evidence must be gathered using the assessment tools provided 5. Each assessment tool must be fully completed. Where this is not possible, the appropriate response area should be marked NYC (Not Yet Competent) and notes made as to how competency will be  assessed. Final sign-off must not occur until the participant is assessed as competent in this item 6. Identify and gather any other relevant forms of evidence and attach to the participant Assessment Workbook, making note of the relevance of the evidence. Attach it to the participant Assessment Workbook prior to submission to administration. 7. Provide assessment outcome feedback to participant and complete all relevant details on the competency record sheet, ensuring the participants complete their verification sections. 8. Provide feedback on the competency record sheet section All questions must be answered. Projects must be completed including forms and documents required by the project(s). Completion of the Training Checklist must be included. Please attach any additional information that may be required to this document. Knowledge Based Questions 1. Define in detail, what is a risk? What 2 categories could you place risks in? Risk is a natural part of our physical, social, financial and competitive environments. It is defined as a chance of something happening that will have an impact on the achievement of objectives or goals in an organisation. Iti is measured in terms of likeliness and consequence. Extreme Risk – Forklift running over team member due to no high vis shirt being wear and spotters not doing their jobs properly. Forklift not staying in designated area. High Risk – Spillages, boxes in aisles, floods, Empty crates, Electrical cords across the floor. Medium Risk – Customer slipping on wet floor Low Risk – Liquid on Computers, falling down stairs, staple through finger. 2. When completing a Risk Assessment who might you need to talk to (e.g. Stakeholders)? Risk assessments are usually reported to Managers, duty managers, WHS Officers, Supervisors and stakeholders. 3. What legislative bodies could you communicate with to develop and implement a Risk Management Plan? The legislative bodies you report to are local Councils, Unions, ACCC, and your management Safety Team. 4. What is the purpose of the standard known as AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009 Risk Management? The purpose of this standard was to create guidelines and protocols for safe work environments and to give everyone in the work force a chance to know that they will be looked after and be able to go home safe no matter how dangerous their job is. This Standard was prepared by Joint Standards Australia/Standards New Zealand Committee OB-007, Risk Management to supersede AS/NZS 4360:2004, Risk management. When AS/NZS 4360:1999 was revised in 2004 (as part of a routine five yearly revision), it was decided by the Joint Australian/New Zealand Committee OB-007 that rather than undertake a similar revision in 2009, Standards Australia and Standards New Zealand would promote the development of an international standard on risk management which would then be adopted. 5. Detail what a SWOT analysis is, how you might use it in a business Risk Assessment? A SWOT analysis is a structured planning method used to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats involved in a project or in a business venture. A SWOT analysis can be carried out for a product, place, industry or person. It involves specifying the nature of the business venture or project and indentifying the internal and external factors that are favourable and unfavourable to achieve that objective. 6. When completing a Risk Analysis what 4 items must you include in your analysis? The 4 items you should include are Checklists, Brainstorming, Fish-bone Diagrams and Flowcharts 7. What 5 levels of impact or consequence are there to assess Risk? The 5 levels of impact or consequence – Insignificant, Minor, Moderate, Major and Catastrophic 8. Read: WFD Pty Ltd has employed you as a consultant to assist in the Risk Assessment of the business in all areas of its operation. As you go through the process you find that the business is grossly lacking in many areas of business operations and WHS. Using a consultative process outline 2 processes you would have undertaken to arrive at the above conclusion? What relevant parties do you need to communicate your findings with? The 2 processes I would use, would be a workplace Audit and the Administration Records. The relevant parties I would Report to would be – Insurance Broker involved in the company, Manager the WHS Officer 9. Read: During your normal days activities you come across a document that says the business you work for, has no need or requirement for a Risk Assessment, as the owner of the business has assessed that his business does not have any risks. Explain what is wrong with this thinking? List some ways you may improve this policy. What would you conduct and who may you consult? Every business has a degree of risk about it. You just have to determine what they are. I would conduct a risk assessment myself and I would then give it to the Owner/Manager of the company. Fair Trade Office, WHS Officer, Government and the Local Council are also the governing bodies you should give the report to. It is to show were such things like fire extinguishers and first aid kits should go for example. 10. The business you work for has 15 staff. All of them have according to the paperwork been inducted into the business WHS policy and guidelines. However you have realized that a Risk Assessment has not been completed on the new business operations including new machinery that has been introduced. What items would you include in an action plan to correct this situation? You must include what legislation and/or legislative bodies should you consult with. The things to be added into the Action plan would be uniform guidelines, safe  work procedures, mobile phone usage on the floor and guidelines for wearing jewellery on the floor. Legislative bodies to be informed would be Unions, Councils, Managers, Suppliers, added to user manuals, WHS Officers and most importantly would be the workers themselves. 11. After completing a Risk Assessment, how would you communicate your findings to relevant parties in your business and what would your run (2 items)? Monthly safety meeting – information nights, questionaries 12. Using a business you are familiar with, identify 3 of their business’ greatest risks. Using the hierarchy of control for the managing of risk, outline how you would manage those risks. The three greatest risks were I work are Lifting items that are two heavy i.e one person lifting an item that is described as a two person lift item Tripping over empty pallets and getting hit by a forklift.  Need to work out the risk, check to see what is on the box and lift according to the instructions, making sure that the pallet has something on the corners to minimise the danger of tripping, make sure there are spotters giving direction to staff members and customers to minimisethe dangers associated with the forklifts. 13. How and where might you store the Risk Assessment tools including Implementation Plans? Why would the storing of these documents be important to a business? Risk Assessment plans and Implementation plans are kept in the WHS Officers Office as well as near the designated equipment in which the risk assessment covers. It covers the misuse of the equipment, 14. Discuss why it is important to monitor an action plan regarding Risk Treatment once it has moved into its implementation phase. The reason you monitor the action plan is to make sure everyone is trained and using the equipment in the correct manner to reduce any safety issues. When an employee starts to shortcut on doing things that is when things happen. 15. Using the review scope and frequency triangle, give at least 2 examples of activities that could be performed at each level when reviewing the Risk Management Process. Slicing Meat – check equipment, using PPE, operation equipment properly, then when finished turn off machine, then clean with appropriate cleaning procedure. Standard operating procedures – review training Are our work procedures in line with WHS procedures? 16. Employees with a disability have the same rights as other employees to a safe and healthy workplace and they also have the right to workplace modifications or adjustments that ensure their safety. What Acts affords these rights to disabled workers? What types of adjustments might be required? The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 has as its major objectives to eliminate discrimination against people with disabilities promote community acceptance of the principle that people with disabilities have the same fundamental rights as all members of the community, and ensure as far as practicable that people with disabilities have the same rights to equality before the law as other people in the community. Toilets with disability access, ramps for wheelchair, work stations adapted for people in wheelchairs or vision impaired, etc. 17. Businesses can take out a variety of insurances that will indemnify them and/ or their employees, customers, members of the public in the case of an accident or other adverse occurrence. Provide 3 types of insurance a business can take out? Provide 3 companies that offer insurance for  businesses. Asset and Revenue Insurance, Personal and Workers Insurance, Public Liability Insurance

Creveld’s transformation of war Essay

Martin van Creveld is regarded as one of the most influential contemporary military theorist and historians of modern times. Born in Netherlands, Creveld however has spent a life time in Israel studying and analyzing warfare from the vantage point of the faculty of the Hebrew University where he has been teaching since 1971. During these years he has published a number of works on contemporary military warfare. Supplying War, Command in War, The Transformation of War and The Rise and Decline of the State are some of his most important works amongst others. Highly respected amongst military academia, Creveld has been a regular on the teaching and lecture circuit in many parts of the World including the United States and Europe. His thoughts on warfare and the modern military are absorbed by most militaries including of course the country of his stay, Israel. Many military analysts consider, Creveld’s work, â€Å"The Transformation of War† as his most influential as he has brought out a new paradigm of warfare identified as non Trinitarian war, which is a seminal change in military thinking for the first time after Clausewitz in the 19th Century. (Creveld, 1991). This is now compulsory reading for US army officers. Transformation of War is essentially a critique of the Clausewitzian mode of war as highlighted in the 19th Century master’s seminal work on warfare, On War. (Clausewitz, 1976). Transformation of war breaks away from Clausewitzian model of wars determined by the relationship and resolution of the state or the government, the population and the military, a concept which Creveld has denoted as the Trinitarian model of war. Creveld on the other hand argues that warfare has changed considerably as war is fought today by states as well as non states, thus negating the first premise of Clausewitz. (1991). The population is an indeterminate factor in modern warfare and the modern military is incapable of coping with the changing nature of warfare unless it transforms its war fighting modes. The new war which Creveld talks about is not necessarily an engagement between two states and thus in some ways not winnable by modern armies without transforming themselves. Creveld explains war through a five fold prism of theories. The first is to denote those who fight war. As against the modern state centric militaries, Creveld attempts to indicate that throughout history it is not just states but also leagues, cities and religious orders amongst others who have fought war, thus states do not necessarily have a monopoly on war. In the contemporary spectrum also, states are losing their unique status as the makers of war, Hezbollah, Taliban, Tamil Tigers and the Al Qaeda represent the most significant examples. (Creveld, 1991) The second issue brought out by Von Creveld is the relationship between combatants and non combatants. This is no longer rational as indicated in wars of the old determined by internationally accepted legal instruments as the Geneva Conventions. In many cases today, the lines between war and crime have been blurred with prisoners being treated with utmost brutality. (Creveld, 1991). The third issue is conduct of wars wherein tactics and strategies too have undergone seminal change but which comprise of combat between the will of two protagonists where there is congruence of Creveld’s ideas with Clausewitz. The fourth significant issue addressed by Creveld is that war is not just continuation of politics by other means as indicated by Clausewitz but fought for varied purposes including religious, ethnic survival and so on. Creveld seems to suggest that the policy for making war will be as much determined by culture as by the will of states. (Creveld, 1991) A final issue which has been raised by Creveld is of the role of the individual in war fighting, the motivations, the fighting spirit and the factors that make a soldier fight. This should be clearly understood by the military leader as per Creveld. Seen in this perspective the motivations of the suicide bomber of today forming one of the main weapons of the terrorist organization would attain relevance. (Creveld, 1991) Creveld thus provides a broader perspective of warfare which may have greater relevance in today’s wars, than Clausewitz. This is so as he has covered a much wider period of warfare and thus is able to arrive at much broader conclusions on the changing nature of wars. Clausewitz on the other hand appears to have derived the principles from his more recent experiences which came after establishment of the Westphalian order. Viewed in the perspective of the types of conflicts being waged in the World today, Creveld’s views would seem quite relevant. A number of contemporary military writers as Carver have supported Creveld. (Carver, 1981). Moreover a survey of conflicts in which American forces were engaged even as the Gulf War 1991 was going on would indicate the possible simultaneity of conventional and guerrilla or asymmetric conflicts. (Bolger, 1991). On the other hand to view warfare completely as a state versus non state phenomenon may also be out of context. Some recent wars such as the Iraq War 1991, Operation Enduring Freedom 2003 or the Indo Pakistan conflict in 1999 in Kargil could possibly fall in the context of Trinitarian conflicts. Thus the state has not totally lost monopoly on wars. Another issue is of motivation of soldiers. The overwhelming importance given to motivation of soldiers by Creveld appears unjustified in that this may explain the use of say Kamikaze by the Japanese during the Second World War but such tactics despite high levels of motivation do not win wars. To that extent some of Creveld’s theories are not fully directed towards indicating strategies to win wars. Another argument is that of anarchy, if states lose their monopoly of making wars, the World would resemble chaos and disorder. This is seen in many parts of the globe even today. Thus states will continue to be a prime instrument of violence in the years ahead. Notwithstanding the above issues, Creveld has clearly indicated the changes that have come about in warfare and his theories have received considerable support in the military community. The need is to adopt recommendations made by Creveld rationally to political and military organizations by ensuring that societies adapt instruments of violence which are most appropriate to their environmental culture and needs of the times. Thus states should not only prepare for conventional wars but other types of warfare including guerrilla, information, political and cultural and develop their militaries as full spectrum forces. Government and militaries also need to take into account the possibilities of being confronted not just by uniformed soldiers but also by suicide bombers, grenade and gun toting vagabonds, information warriors and even biological warfare agents. The complexity of conflict has thus interminably increased over the years.

Turkey's Foreign Policy on Arab Spring Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Turkey's Foreign Policy on Arab Spring - Essay Example This has caused consternation to the West, who had hoped that Turkey would be an ally and would be able to help the West put pressure on these authoritarian Arab countries. In the meantime, Turkey has caused more problems for pro-Israeli countries, such as the United States, as the country has turned against Israel because of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians and an incident where Israel killed a number of Palestinians who were a part of a humanitarian convoy. This is all a part of the Turkish pragmatic foreign policy, as it has realized that it needs to appease its neighbors in order to have security within its borders, as well as have free and open trade with the region, therefore it has embraced the Arab world. However, this caused problems for Turkey when the Arab uprising began. This is because Turkey, in its policy of zero problems with neighbors, embraced dictators. One of these dictators was Qadaffi, so the Libyan uprising put the country into a difficult position . Moreover, the embrace of other dictators in other countries, such as Syria and Iran, signaled to the Western world and the rebels in these countries that Turkey is not entirely on the side of the democratizers. ...   According to Onis (2010), Turkey currently has an active foreign policy approach, and this approach has been the hallmark of the AKP government era. This approach has had continuity between the first and second terms of office, as Abdullah Gul and Ahmet Davutoglu has played a key role in Turkey’s foreign policy initiatives. This active foreign policy precedes the AKP government administration, however, as it was a part of the Turkish regime since the post-Cold War era in the 1990s (Onis, 2010, p. 3). The AKP era’s central focus on foreign policy is that they use their power softly, and strive to improve relations with its neighbors (using the motto â€Å"zero problems with neighbors†). Pursuing a more ambitious role in regional and global power is another benchmark for the AKP government, as well as the desire to Europeanize. Nevertheless, the Middle East and the Arab world was also a focal point of the Turkish foreign policy initiatives under the AKP (Onis, 2010, p. 4). That said, Onis (2010) also states that the second term of office has been marked by foreign policy differences from the first phase, and the most glaring of these difference is that Turkey has weakened commitment to the European Union (EU). This has been shown in the fact that Turkey has acted independently of its Western Allies with regard to the international and regional conflicts (Onis, 2010, p. 4).

Inaugural Address of Barack Obama Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Inaugural Address of Barack Obama - Essay Example The most successful use of addressing the emotional needs of the American audience was the clever interplay of words. The way he also appealed to the audience’s emotion and logic was a combination of arguments, evidence, and language. The use of such emotion-generating phrases like â€Å"gathering clouds and raging storms†, â€Å"noble ideas†, â€Å"the greatness of our nation†, and â€Å"bitter swill of civil war and segregation† (Obama, We Seek A New Way Forward) in his speech are consistent, effectively, and cleverly infused throughout the various subjects that he was discussing that his attempt to persuade his audience by tapping into their emotions was prevalent throughout the speech that it blended so well it sounded natural. Moreover, the prudent usages of such phrases are not abused in the sense that Obama relies solely on them. Rather he used it as a way to simplify the concepts he was trying to address in a manner that the average American could understand. Obama’s emotional appeal was an appeal for solidarity, acceptance, loyalty, and most of all patriotism in spite of the diversity of the American people by reiterating the commonalities and shared experiences. Shared social struggles throughout history of Americans as a people of migrants and how these struggles are continuing today for current migrants who â€Å"toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth† (Obama, We Seek A New Way Forward)   and shared economic burden that Americans are experiencing across all walks of life in almost all business sectors. These commonalities are highlighted in an attempt to forge cooperation through shared experiences, shared history, shared sentiments, shared values, and a common vision.  Ã‚  

DB 3 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

DB 3 - Research Paper Example There is a possibility of having a leader from different country go to work at a different state, thus calls for considerations on the way such leaders will navigate through their respective cultures and adopt the culture of the land. Senior leaders in any organization are most likely to determine the culture of which the organization follows since they are the ones with power to make decisions (Sinha, 2008). However, the United Nations has its own culture of which it expects any other leader to obey and follow the same standards. China has a very different culture from that of the USA, as well as India. For instance, USA is more of modernized with even a different approach in the dressing code. This implies that a leader from India working in the USA has at least to adopt the dressing standards of the USA. The same case will apply to a USA citizen working in China, since the culture of the land is subject to uphold. However, the organization requires to reach an agreement with the culture of the land to be a bit lenient on what they expect foreigners to perform so that it can give an apple ground for an individual to balance his/her culture with the culture of the land he/she is working at that moment. This is t he only way of ensuring that really an organization achieves its roles, as leaders from any country will have an ample time and environment of performing duties

Macroeconomics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Macroeconomics - Essay Example c. Inflation Rate (Current CPI - Last Year's CPI) / Last Year's CPI = ($95-$70)/$70 * 100% = 35.71% CRITICAL THINKING 1. c. I believe that the jobless recovery is most probably brought about by the weak confidence of the business sector on the economic recovery. They are hesitant of hiring new workers that they cannot sustain in the long run. In order to remedy this situation, they engaged in maximizing the production efficiency of individual workers to match the expected level of production. PROBLEM SOLVING 6. In the short run, prices and quantity supplied are stable. So, if demand changes, these factors will be unresponsive. It will just create an entirely different equilibrium. 10. a. Point B b. Improvements in technology and improvements in labor productivity c. Higher demand d. After the increase in aggregate supply, real GDP is greater than potential GDP. e. Increase in aggregate demand which is due to higher consumer expenditure, government expenditure, and investments will equate potential GDP with real GDP. PROBLEM SOLVING 10. a. Potential GDP will increase because of the higher labor force. b. Employment will be increase especially if all these immigrants secure new job opportunities. c. Real wage will go down because of the larger labor pool competing for jobs. CRITICAL THINKING 2. Memo Writing TO: MR PRESIDENT FROM: Student DATE: 7 SEPTEMBER 2007 TOPIC: INCREASING POTENTIAL GDP This is in response to your regarding the economic efforts which can increase the country's potential GDP. The following programs are recommended: 1. Training and development programs which can enhance the efficiency of human resource; 2. Higher wages that can motivate employees to work better; 3. Spending on research and development to improve...They are hesitant of hiring new workers that they cannot sustain in the long run. In order to remedy this situation, they engaged in maximizing the production efficiency of individual workers to match the expected level of production. b. China's GDP is growing because of capital increases in labor as well as other factors such as strong inflow of foreign investments. The effects of these factors can be separated by finding their individual dollar contribution. c. It should be noted that China has a higher population than the United States. However, it is forecasted that with the rapid increase in real GDP, the per capita real GDP will equal in the two countries in the mid-2040s. 2. I think baseball trading cards will be able to take the function of money in the economy. First, it is readily available to everyone, meaning everybody has an access to it as compared to tractor parts and impressionist paintings. As for store of value, it does not become stale like a loaf of bread. 8. Open market purchases operate in the economy by contracting demand causing a leftward shift in aggregate demand. This in turn, will lower the price level and GDP. This move decreases inflation in the long run while GDP is stabilized. b.

Social Class and Class Conflict in Jane Austens Persuasion Essay

Social Class and Class Conflict in Jane Austens Persuasion - Essay Example The Elliots are a titled and landowning family, and so, in the conception of traditional, aristocratic society, they enjoyed a secure position. However, Austen highlights in Persuasion just how unstable this position was becoming by the 19th century, and the very real risks which could threaten the fundamental happiness of gentry women. Sir Walter, obsessed with his position as a baronet, overspends in order to maintain what he regards the traditional lifestyle of his class, and brings huge debts upon the family. This forces his daughters to move out of their childhood home – Kellynch Hall – and see strangers move in, who are members of the upwardly mobile middle class – people who, through prosperous trading ventures or, more respectably, through clerical, medical and naval careers, were gaining wealth and influence in the 19th century. At the same time as being forced from her home, Anne Elliot must live with the knowledge that she was persuaded, through the ad vice of the aristocratic Lady Russell, to give up marriage to the man she lived because of his lack of wealth and connections. A key point is that women at the time were unable to own wealth or property, and were therefore curtailed in any attempt to gain economic security. As the character of Mrs Smith shows, the consequences of a husband’s or father’s death could be severe, and could leave a woman destitute and excluded from society. In the novel, the naval career is presented as means by which wealth and a certain elevation of status can be achieved in life, although the traditional landed aristocracy might still descry the ambition of the lower sorts. However, Austen might be accused of a gentle subversion of the rigid class system of the time, in the favorable way she presents the upward social mobility of characters like the Crofts and Captain Wentworth. Of course, even a good start in the naval career is shown to rely on influential contacts, when Admiral Croft says of Captain Wentworth’s charge of the Asp: ‘lucky fellow to get anything so soon, with no more interest than his’ (Persuasion, 51), with ‘interest’ surely referring to influential people working on behalf of his interests. Nevertheless, once given a commission, a captain could make large profits, especially in a time of war as at the turn of the 19th century, when Britain was at war with France, and booty from captured ships supplemented pay. Captain Wentworth comments, ‘Ah! Those were the pleasant days when I had the Laconia! How fast I made money in her’ (Persuasion, 52), while the Admiral even says ‘if he have the good luck to live to another war’ (Persuasion, 55), clearly eyeing potential profits. Austen seems to favor the navy as a career most after the clergy, and not only in Persuasion. She uses it in this novel, however, as the model by which people can be promoted and achieve success and prosperity on the basis of their personal merit, rather than their ancestry. Indeed, such a meritocratic system is anathema to Sir Walter, who is obsessed with heredity. This obsession with his status as a baronet reaches a comic level when we see him repeatedly reading and re-reading the entry on him in the Baronetage, no doubt the famous Debrett’s Peerage and Baronetage, first published in 1802 (Ross, 196). Sir Walter is convinced that this status gives him some natural superiority, and yet, on comparison

Art Fund Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Art Fund Proposal - Essay Example Impressionists did not use color black but rather used dark greens, blues and purples to convey shadows and darkness. The impressionists included Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, August Renoir, and Edgar Degas. They painted en Plein air, meaning that the painting was outdoors and that it tried to capture those fleeting moments of beauty as well as the vivid colors that sunlight illuminated. They were less fascinated in symbolism and in a form. However the main characteristics include relatively thin, small but visible brush strokes, it involves open composition, emphasizes on accuracy in the depiction of lights in its changing qualities, ordinary subject matter, common, visual angles that are unusual and inclusion of movement. I chose to fund on impressionist mostly because of the artists in the group. I feel they were focused and dedicated to painting. For instance Claude, Monate prioritized on the mixing of colors and then afterwards he would think of which image to paint. I also like this category of artwork due to the fact that it was motivated by photography which had started to gain popularity by then and it went on to represent momentary action in the fleeting lights of landscape and day to day lives of people. Examples of artworks Some of the examples of impressionism artworks that would be amusing for acquisition by the fund include Port of Dieppe, evening, 1882, water lilies, 1916 both by Claude Monet, the visitor, about 1880 by Mary Cassatt, at the cafe, about 1879, still life, 1869 by Henry Fantin-Latour Market analysis In determining the marketability of impressionist art, the price indices must be computed. Impressionist art is not a homogeneous commodity and therefore not traded in well organized markets such as stocks and bonds. It has special features which include reputation and reliability which make it be characterized by a hierarchy of sub-markets. The primary market normally involves the artist taking the artwork for sale at local exhibitions, galleries and also taking directly to the customer. This normally serves to give artists an opportunity to signal their abilities mostly to the secondary market. Selling is normally by auctioning (Agnello, 1986, 446). However, auction does not capture the f luctuations in the prices of low demand and paintings that are out of fashion. Factors that may affect demand and supply include external factors such as those characteristics that surround the sale and end up affecting prices as well as returns, sale of out-of-fashion paintings, repeat sales, selling of works that have got a low public interest. The supply is affected by the demand factor and also the availability of funds (Agnello, 1986, 447). The relationship between demand and supply for the impressionism art is similar to that of luxury goods. There is a limited supply, making art have a higher value. Also, exclusivity associated with the art normally leads to higher prices thus affecting the demand curve. The indicators that may point towards the inelastic demand curve include change in taste, threat of substitutes, pricing and accessibility and changes in income (Mamarbachi & Favato, 2013, 4) Performance of the market The vogue to invest in the art has received a large boost from the availability of the art price data (Campbell, 2013, 2). However there are a number of inefficiencies in this market art as an investment has remained risky (Ralevski, 2008, 2)The art market has lead to much stronger economic expansion in some countries including brazil, India, China, Russia and South Africa. China particularly has modified profoundly the geographical structure of the global art market. In Beijing Hong Kong and Singapore their governments support strongly major cultural

Substance abuse in teenager Scholarship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Substance abuse in teenager - Scholarship Essay Example It has been seen that there are 2.5 million deaths each year due to alcohol consumption. There are a lot of people between the age group of 15 and 29 who are dying from ‘alcohol- related causes† and disorders due to intake of drugs is found in 15.3 million people (Substance Abuse, 2011). When the use of drugs goes beyond the realm of experiment into a â€Å"problematic involvement† then it is specified under different classification system. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM- IV), fourth edition is a one such primary system which has mentioned the major indicators of substance abuse. It includes â€Å"role impairment, physically hazardous use, recurrent substance related legal problems and drug related social and interpersonal difficulties (Mash & Barkley, 2009, pp.185). Substance abuse has now become very common in case of teenagers in United States and this necessitates proper treatment programs and preventive measures. Substance abuse is a phenomenon which has become very common among different sections of the population especially the teenagers or adolescence. Adolescence period is a very crucial time in a child’s life because it a time when changes are observed on â€Å"biological, cognitive and social levels.† They come across new scenarios in their lives and often many are involved in substance abuse. Teenagers often resort to drugs and alcohol as they think them to be the mediums to become stress free. At times in their quest to â€Å"fit in with peers† or in trying to model the behavior of some family member they take the help of drugs and alcohol (Berman, 1995). The use of alcohol and drugs among the teenagers has increased over the years across the world. In United States, the studies have shown that more than half of the students in 12th grade had consumed illicit drug. Almost 76.8% students had consumed alcohol. A number of students in the 8th grade were also found to have taken drugs and alcohol. Drug use does not

How policies and procedures help children Essay Example for Free

How policies and procedures help children Essay Discuss how policies and procedures help children and young people and their families whilst the child is being looked after. In this essay I am going to discuss 6 policies and their procedures whist a child is being looked after. I am going to expand on why this is important for the child parent or legal guardian and also why they are put in place. Firstly I am going to discuss the Safeguarding Policy. Safeguarding Policy Safeguarding is the policy that describes the function of protecting adults and children from abuse or neglect. It is an important shared priority of many public services, and a key responsibility of local authorities.Safeguarding relates to the need to protect certain people who may be in vulnerable circumstances. These are people who may be at risk of abuse or neglect, due to the actions (or lack of action) of another person usually their parent or carer. In these cases, it is critical that services work together to identify people at risk, and put in place interventions to help prevent abuse or neglect, and to protect Safe guarding helps make sure the people whom are protecting the children are correctly checked for example a CRB is mandatory when looking after a vulnerable child. What is a DBS check and why is it needed? Since March 2002, the Criminal Records Bureau has enabled employers to check the criminal records of employees and potential employees, in order to ascertain whether or not they are suitable to work with vulnerable adults and children. For individuals working in certain positions, a valid DBS disclosure is a legislative requirement. The Disclosure and Barring Service also manage lists of individuals who are barred from working with children and adults. New safeguarding regulations introduced in October 2009 place an obligation on employers, social services and professional regulators to notify the DBS of relevant information. This obligation ensures that individuals who pose a threat to vulnerable groups can be barred from working with them. It also makes it a criminal offence for these individuals to apply to work with these groups and for employers to knowingly employ them. This makes sure the child is safe whilst being cared for by a  professional or a carer whom isnt their parent or legal guardian. It is also important so the parents or carers know the child is in safe hands whilst being cared for out of their control. Recording and Handling Information Policy Recording and handling data is important when looking after children for example whilst a child is in school all their documents must be kept confidential in case any of the other children or irrelevant staff members read or disclose any confidential information. The only time data or information about child should be revealed is if the child is at risk or in danger. Then the relevant person can inform the carer or relevant person to make sure the child is kept safe. Keeping childrens medical records safe is also important in case they ever need reviewed or used in case of emergency. Health and Safety Policy This policy promotes making sure the child is kept safe and in a safe environment for example there are a few policies put in place to make sure this is possible. They are RIDDOR  (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations) This is an assessment that must be put in place and a report filed upon if a child is injured in school or any other official place of work. For parents or carers this makes sure it is dealt with and supported correctly it also keeps children safe. COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) This is similar to the RIDDOR policy I have expanded on above. All people taking care of the child must make sure all harmful substances are kept away from the child to prevent serious or injury or death. Risk Assessments. Risk assessments are carried out everywhere a child is looked after to make sure the environment and building is safe for the child to live or be taught in. This is a mandatory legal document especially in a school or care environment. This could put a parent or carers mind at risk knowing there child is safe. Health Policy It is a legal requirement that all children must get free healthcare throughout their childhood and adolescent life if needed for example medical care, dentistry care and mental support if needed. This helps support the child so they can stay healthy and get the right support they need. It also helps the parent so they don’t need to worry about the financial side as all this support is free. Education Policy Education is mandatory until you are 18 as of 2012. This is so children don’t fall out of education at 16. You can go down many routes when leaving school for example college, sixth form, training or apprentiships. There is also a legal standard of education in the United Kingdom that must be followed, there are 224 policies within 1 policy itself for education ranging from Reducing violent and gun crime to Reforming qualifications and the curriculum to better prepare pupils for life after school. Having policies in place makes sure that children get the right standard of education and that parents and carers can go out to work whilst their children are at school to make sure they can give their children the best standard of life. It also sets the child up for a good standard of life with good qualifications and life skills. Play Policy When children are in education especially primary school it is a legal requirement that they get break time and toys and equipment to use during this time. The best way for a child to learn is using exploratory learning and learning by trial and error. This is how a child learns life and social skills from a young age. When a child starts school this also gets them well adjusted to letting go from spending all their time with there parent or carer. Every Child Matters 1 Be Healthy 2 Stay Safe 3 Enjoy and Achieve 4 Make a Positive Contribution 5 Achieve Economic Wellbeing I believe that all they above policies shape a childs life and with the right guidance from parents, carers and education you can shape a decent outcome and setup for a childs life and development. Refrences. http://www.every-child-matters.org.uk/Framework_5_key_outcomes http://www.theguardian.com/politics/education http://www.playengland.org.uk/resources/national-play-policy.aspx https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-and-safety-advice-for-school https://www.gov.uk/disclosure-barring-service-check/overview

The United States Of Africa Or Pan Africanism Politics Essay

The United States Of Africa Or Pan Africanism Politics Essay One of the introductory sources used to introduce the Life Orientation Research Task Umbrella Topic uses the idea that all human beings originated from Africa, due to anthropological DNA profiling proof, and the idea that we are all originally African. While it is all very well that Americans and Europeans etc. want to dig into their roots finding linkages to being African, and in turn, establishing a sense of unanimity amongst all Human Beings since we all come from one place, my research project explores the topic from an African perspective, investigating whether or not Africans from different parts of the continent actually feel united themselves. An idea for a United States of Africa was first vaguely suggested back when Africa was ruled by Colonialists. However, in recent years, the African Union looked into actually making this idea a reality. My motivation behind this research topic is that as a Ghanaian by roots, but a born and bred South African, I have dealt with a bit of an identity crisis, not really feeling like I truly belong in either country. I have experienced and have been emotionally affected by situations in which Africans look down on other Africans, and see themselves as different to, or separate from other Africans of different countries and even different ethnical groups. For so many years, all African countries have had to face a range of problems, from the issue of African independence, to the continuous problem of poverty. As a continent that is perceived as primitive and underdeveloped in comparison to the rest of the world, the concept that becoming united could help us rise above the problems of Africa and possibly make us the most powerful and influential country/continent is a very attractive idea. The amount of general natural resources found all across this continent could be very beneficial for us, and as one big country, there might be more control over the resources, as opposed to foreign forces coming in and taking advantage of these resources in the possession of minor, defenceless countries. There is the potential to create a very strong force of the 54 states that could be very intimidating when it comes to foreign affairs. My aim for this project is to explore the likelihood of this idea. I aim to investigate the opinions and perspective of citizens from various African nations, investigating the way in which they perceive Africa at this current moment. I aim to compare the way in which South Africans view this issue, and the way that other Africans view this issue, to see whether the final result is a united view, or whether it is more of a South African point of view due to different cultural environments. With this information, I am going to analyse whether this could be a good idea, obviously not from a professional point of view, but from a common citizen point of view, seeing as most of my interviewees will be everyday people. Would it be practical or even realistic to form a United States of Africa as an effective solution to our problems? Would Africans be comfortable relinquishing their countrys names, flags, and proud nationality to become one and the same as people they once referred to as the other Africans? My theory is that most Africans do not see themselves as equals to Africans of other nations, and my research project will hopefully determine whether this is true or not. Literature Review The United States of Africa or Pan-Africanism The African Union, an organisation made up of members of 54 countries of Africa (all excluding Morocco due to conflicts with the Sahara Arab Democratic Republic, another member of the AU) was an organisation officially launched by Thabo Mbeki in 2002. The idea stemmed from the original Union of African States project, an alliance of three African countries (Ghana, Guinea and Mali) founded by Kwame Nkrumah, in the 1960s (McKown, 1973). He planned to start the Pan-Africanism movement, and founded the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). However, the organisation as critics said did not do much in the favour of actual African citizens, but rather benefited the leaders of the countries more. The organisation was a gathering of all leaders across the continent to discuss and try to solve Africas issues, ironic since most of Africas problems were caused by dictator-like leaders. (African Union, 2012). Critics described it as a Dictators club. In 2002, as the last chairman of the organisa tion, Thabo Mbeki disbanded the OAU and established the new African Union. (African Union, 2012) Around 2006, new talk started concerning overthrowing the African Union, and replacing it with a single African government for the new United States of Africa. An AU Summit hosted in Accra, Ghana in 2007 was organised for various African leaders to come together and discuss forming a union that would help Africa flourish in this world of increasing globalisation (Soares, 2007). The government would control a 2-million man army, have stronger, combined forces in the fight against AIDS, and be represented as one voice when it came to intercontinental matters. The movement was lead for many years by the very eager Maummar Gaddafi. Some African leaders were all for the idea, some were against it, believing his motives to be questionable. Those opposed felt that more of Africas countries need to be strengthened within themselves, both economically and politically before this could become a reality. Before you put a roof on a house, you need to build the foundation, Thabo Mbeki expressed on the matter (Soares, 2007). At the 2007 AU Summit in Accra Ghana, Ugandas Yoweri Museveni expressed that he believed it would do more harm than good, and would create tension rather than cohesionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Ross, 2007). He further explained how he believed that some groups would force their identities upon others, whereas not everyone will be willing to give up their identity. He suggested that we first focus on uniting similar nations before we try and unite everyone all at once, especially considering the traditional differences such as languages and culture. He even mentioned other aspects that we should rather focus on as a continent, such as the environment, trade negotiations and managing a defence pact etc. (Ross, 2007) Baby steps is the general idea. Many people consider the goal to achieve this United States of Africa by 2015 as too hurried, and not thoroughly thought out. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigerias previous finance minister, makes reference to the EU on her opinion on the matter, describing how it took them long to form a Union; some nations like Bulgaria and Romania were not easily accepted due to their gang problems and disorder. She highlights goals that we should focus on such as political and economical stability and regional infrastructure. (Soares, 2007) Advocates of Pan-Africanism Kwame Nkrumah, the chief founder of the idea of a united Africa, was Ghanas first president after they gained independence. As president of the first country to have gained independence, Kwame Nkrumah immediately launched and started promoting his idea of one African country (McKown, 1973). His vision of this included the Northern Arabic African countries, since he was well acquainted with their leader Gamal Abdel Nasser. At that time they were seen as more of an excluded part of Africa, and this was the first step to bridging the gap (Nkrumah, 2007). Much scepticism was held against Nkrumah, since he was able to build a big palace, with a 2  200-seater hall, for the Annual OAU summit to be held, all in his quest to supposedly find ways to provide for poor Africa (Soares, 2007). Maummar Gaddafi was another huge advocate of the united Africa idea. When Thabo Mbeki started the AU, Gaddafi publically branded the organisation as a failure and swore to keep pushing the idea of a United States of Africa. He simply saw no future for singular African nations (Gaddafi urges pan-African state , 2007). As a man with a strong personality and strong opinions, Gaddafi had his fair amount of enemies; people against him and the idea of a pan-African State. After his death, members of the AU commented that everything was better without the pressure that Gaddafi placed on many leaders to be pro- Pan-African movement (AU better without intimidating Gaddafi Zuma, 2011). Gaddafis urgency put a lot of strain in the matter even when so many people were sceptic about it, making his motives highly questionable. Having been in power for 42 years in Libya, many imagined that he saw himself as the president of this new country, in order to claim authority and power. Civil wars and conflict between Africans For the longest time Africa, the second largest continent in the world, consisting of 54 countries and home to about 1 billion people with almost 2000 languages (Africa, 2012) has been a relatively troubled continent. Originally consisting of different tribes and a few kingdoms even, it was seen as very primitive, especially since it hadnt yet been explored. However, as soon as it was, colonialists from other continents began taking over Africa, territory by territory. Colonialists were mostly the Arabs from the Middle East and Europeans. Years and even centuries passed before Ghana gained independence as the first country to do so. The rest of the countries soon followed, however it was from this point that a lot of Africas problems started to develop. The book Africa: Postcolonial Conflict summarises and pin points a general source to Africas problems after the colonial period. All across Africa, the main goal was the same: to successfully take back Africa and to make it thrive under the African rule. They aimed to take full advantages of the abundant resources across the continent, and use the money made to create businesses, and improve education, health care, housing and economic communications. (Downing, 2003). They aimed to spread out the wealth, using the richer countries wealth to support the poorer ones. All these aims are still the goals of the AU, and part of the USA II project (Downing, 2003). In truth, many new leaders of many of the newly independent nations of Africa had been educated outside of Africa, like Nkrumah and Liberias Charles Taylor, raised with a different lifestyle to the common people of the country, causing a divide and possible barrier of understanding between the leaders and the people (Downing, 2003). The fight for independence in the countries had been so unanimous, that the new governments did not have any opposing parties wanting power in the country. This meant that even with systems of democracy, the people did not have a choice in the leadership of the country. It also meant that the single-ruling parties began dictator-like behaviours that corrupted the countries (Downing, 2003). Under colonial rule, different ethnic groups were generally separated by European boundaries and during postcolonial times, the tension between these groups grew. The single-ruling parties of the countries usually came from one tribe, which created even more tension and bitterness, and during times of famine and financial difficulties, the tribes would point a finger of blame on each other (Downing, 2003) . War between different groups, mainly Muslims and non-Muslims, based on religious differences broke out in countries such as Sudan, Nigeria and Chad (Downing, 2003). During Colonisation, the British ruled Sudan in two parts; the Arab Muslims who lived in the North, and the black, mostly Christians who lived in the South. When they gained independence, military Muslim leaders took over, enforcing Muslim laws upon the entire country, igniting a 28-year civil war with the Southerners who formed an armed resistance. The civil war completely destroyed the country, and only came to an end in 2002 (Downing, 2003). Some African countries like Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Djibouti were caught in the middle of the Cold War. The USA and the Soviet Union supported different 3rd world neighbouring African countries, providing them with economical and with military support and eventually set the countries up against each other. This lead to civil wars that severely impacting their economies, leaving them in ruin. Poverty and famines that spread over this area during this time also had a huge impact of the people (Downing, 2003). In Liberia, when the government tried to raise the price of rice, riots and protests began, and eventually a group of soldiers the Krahns, led by Master-Sergeant Samuel Doe overthrew the ruling government. They promised the people democracy and justice, but instead used violence and corruption to rule the country, and the people of the country got poorer. Soon other armies sprung up in objection, and the country went into civil war with up to 6 different tribes fighting each other, not necessarily for power, but more out of ethnic hatred. Western Africa got involved to restore the peace and Liberia had elections in 1997. Charles Taylor won these elections, but in 1999 uprisings began again, and the country sunk back into an ungovernable, unstable war zone (Downing, 2003). The double genocide of two the ethnic groups, the Tutsis and Hutus of Rwanda is probably one of the most renowned African civil wars. With a 90% population of Hutus, the Tutsis were favoured by the colonial government and this stirred hostility. When independence was gained, the Hutus took charge, leading to a number of Tutsis that fled the country. The assassination of the Hutu leader made his protective squads (Interahamwe) fight back and they began killing the suspects of the murder, i.e. the Tutsis. The Hutus were made to believe that these attacks were performed by the Tutsis, and orders went out for all Hutus to defend themselves and kill all Tutsis that were still in Rwanda. The original exiled Tutsis came back to invade Uganda for revenge but eventually, a government that contained both Tutsis and Hutus came to be, and some sort of peace was restored to the country, with a safety zone refugee camps created by the French in Zaire (DRC) for the exiled Hutus to return to (Downin g, 2003). These are all mere examples of only a few conflicts in Africa over the years, and even today, problems of power-possession, oppression, racism, and dictatorships sweep the continent. Not to mention other factors that have a serious impact on Africans such as poverty, hunger and AIDS. Africa does not seem to be in a position to be able to unite just yet, as there is so much more potential for more civil wars. Despite all of this, we must not lose sight of the benefits of a USA II, one being that problems are always better resolved with combined forces. The main factor that would allow this idea to be successful is how the people of Africa would feel about it, and their sense of unity. Methodology To carry out this project, I decided to use both quantitative and qualitative research. Secondary Research: For my literature review, I did some secondary qualitative research using the internet, books, articles and other resources in order to research previous information and matters pertaining to the focus question, specifically the history of Africa and the idea of Pan-Africanism. Primary Research: To further my research, I formulated a questionnaire of 4 questions that are relevant to the topic; questions that will investigate what people would think of a United States of Africa. The questionnaire contains multiple choice questions with space for extra comments, if anyone wished to express an opinion. This would ensure that I had both quantitative and qualitative data. The questionnaire was used to interview people both from Africa and a few from other continents. I compiled a list of 30 potential participants of the ages 16 and older. The participants were from Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, DRC, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia and Zimbabwe. (It was initially planned to include participants form other continents, but it was decided against, and so question number 5 on the questionnaire was cancelled.) Once I had completed the list, I went about to hand out the questionnaires to the participants. Due to my demand for very specific participants from various countries, some questionnaires were completed over social networks. After all the questionnaires had been completed, I assessed the multiple choice questions and generated bar graphs from them to illustrate the trend of the answers. I separated South African answers from other African countries answers so that I could examine whether the trends were affected by different cultural environments. I used the added comments that some participants gave on their questionnaires to write up a summary of their general view of Pan-Africanism. I also used the visible trends from my graphs to support the information. I then linked the information from the questionnaires to the information that I researched in my literature review. Finally, I drew up a conclusion based on my literature review, results and summary. I linked all my information to whether or not Africa would be able to form a single country, from the perception of my African participants. Possible Questionnaire Age: _____________________________________ Nationality: _______________________________ Citizenship: _______________________________ Gender: __________________________________ How would you describe the state of Africa with regards to political stability and issues of Xenophobia? You may motivate your answer. à ¢- ¡ Good à ¢- ¡ Reasonable à ¢- ¡Bad à ¢- ¡Horrible _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Do you think Africa would be able to form a United States of Africa at this point in time, considering the political, economic and racial issues that we face in the different parts of the continent? You may motivate your answer. à ¢- ¡ Yes à ¢- ¡No _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Do you think it would benefit Africa, or do more harm than good? You may motivate your answer. à ¢- ¡It would benefit Africa à ¢- ¡It would not benefit Africa _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Do you think of yourself as equal to and similar to any other African from another African country? You may motivate your answer. à ¢- ¡We are all equal à ¢- ¡We are not equal à ¢- ¡I dont look down on them, but there is a difference _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ I hereby give Cordelle Annor permission to use these answers in her IEB Life Orientation Research Project. Signed: _______________ Processed Findings Tables and Graphs of Results Question 1: Majority of the participants feel that the state of Africa is bad with regards to its political state and problems of Xenophobia. Questionnaires 7 and 9 state that foreigners are still referred to in derogatory terms and that Africans dont yet see each other as fellow Africans. Participant number 24 says that Africa is very far from getting a good state of stability right, whereas, the one participant (12) who actually referred to the state of Africa as good, justified it by saying that, Overall, the continent is stable, in spite of some pockets of instability. Xenophobia is a world-wide phenomenon and not limited to Africa. This is a valid point, but most of the participants dont seem to view Africa in this way, which possibly means that most Africans would feel that the continent is not stable enough to join to form a country. All the examples in my literature review of conflicts and wars between Africans, supports what most of the participants believe. Most wars and conflicts, like in Rwanda and Libya for example, have only recently kind of sorted out their conflicts, and yet, there is still a lot of conflict in those countries, as in many countries all over the continent. Even in a country that is relatively politically stable, there are still huge problems of xenophobia, like in South Africa for example. Both my literature and the questionnaire results clearly show that Africa is not very stable. Question 2: When asked if Africa would be able to form a United States of Africa, most participants felt that it wouldnt be ready for such. Some said that there was just too much diversity between the African countries, and that countries that are less stable would bring the well-being of other countries down. The well-off countries would not want to combine with the less stable countries being aware of the problems that they are facing. Questionnaire 20 even states that it might be unfair to join the countries. Some of the participants blamed the leaders of the African countries, saying that they are too selfish, and that there is too much dictatorship in Africa. Africa would not be able to unite unless there was a deep sense of kinship, belonging and unity, questionnaire 8 declares. However, one participant (3) thinks that Africa would be able to form a country, since most of the political issues are triggered by external factors such as the colonialists. The information in my literature review reflected opinions much like the general response to this question. Most of the African leaders that were at the AU summit in Ghana in 2007 were opposed to the idea because they felt that most countries had to strengthen themselves before Africa could possibly unite (Soares, 2007). Yoweri Museveni from Uganda believed that some African groups would force their identity on others, and not everyone would want to give up their identity (Ross, 2007). Question 3: Despite the obviously negative response to the possibility of forming a USAII at this point in time, a lot more participants believed that it would eventually be a good thing for Africa. Those for it believe that uniting will be good for tackling the problems that the various countries face. Participant 16 believes that if unity works positively in smaller communities then it should work for a continent. However, those against it believe that there are simply too many differences between the countries, politically, economically, and socially. Becoming united might lead to a continental war, as well as distract Africa from the serious issues at hand as everyone, including leaders will focus on petty things such as who will lead the country. In the literature review, I found that a few people thought that the way to approach this topic was with baby steps, and that Africa needs to focus on individual countries and smaller countries before it attempts such a big project. Thabo Mbeki motivated this opinion by saying that we need to build the foundation before we try to put a roof on a house (Soares, 2007). Museveni believes that it would do more harm than good; just as most of the participants expressed as well, and he motivated this by saying it would cause tension rather that cohesion. Question 4: Through all of this, most of the participants still felt that all Africans are equal; that there is no one nation that is better than the other, as we are all Africans at the end of the day. There were very few participants that opposed this opinion, and a lot of them felt that while there is no one better than the other, there are very distinct differences between the different religions and cultural differences. One participant (15), although she ticked that she believes that all Africans are equal, she stated that other Africans possibly still dislike one another, and do not believe that they do not believe that we are all equal. Some participants pointed out that due to the vast differences between economical classes, some Africans being rich and educated, others not, one cannot exactly say that we are equal because of this difference (Questionnaire 25). This response shows that even though majority of the participants dont believe that Africa should unite, they dont feel and particular hatred of dislike for other Africans. Although this sample cannot represent the feelings of the rest of Africa, as other Africans in different parts of Africa, or even different parts of the country may have stronger feelings on this matter. However, it shows that there has been some sort of improvement in the attitude of Africa, in that civil wars are less likely if Africans believe that they are equal. That was the problem in the conflicts and wars mentioned in the literature review; the different cultural groups believed that there was a difference between them and others, and that they were more superior to the other cultural groups. Female 15 Male 15 South African 15 Other Countries 15 Ages younger than 20 15 Ages older than 20 15 Who the participants were: Fortunately, I was able to get a good balance in the different kinds of people that I questioned, and to truly evaluate my results, I feel its best to compare South African opinions to opinions of people from other countries. Although all of my participants are currently staying in South Africa, and therefore are all influenced by the South African society in a way, this comparison will analyse whether there is more of a trend in the answers of people who come from and have lived in other parts of Africa as opposed participants who most likely only know South Africa, as it is their home. The State of Africa In describing the state of Africa, majority of the South Africans and other African nations feel that the state of Africa is bad. Wherein the foreigners show a more diverse trend in answers, having had two participants describe the state of Africa as the two extremes, Good and Horrible, the South Africans stuck mostly to the Reasonable and Bad options, and two South African participants that said it was Horrible. Would Africa be able to form a United States? Once Again, majority of South Africans and the people from other African nations feel that Africa would not be able to form a United States of Africa at this moment, but absolutely no South Africans believed that it was possible, whereas some Africans from other nations believe that it might be possible. Would it benefit Africa to form a United States of Africa? A very clear majority of South Africans believe that forming a united country would not benefit Africa, and they were a bit more negative about this question, whereas the foreigners showed a trend of going both ways. More of the foreigners are optimistic about a single African country. Are Africans equal? An equal amount of South Africans and foreigners believe that all Africans are equal and there is no one Nation better that the other, however there are 2 foreigners that believe that we are not equal, and only one South African. Quite a number of both groups believe that we are equal but there is a difference between each country, and although not the majority, both are very close to the majority. The results for each question for both categories of Africans are relatively similar, but this may be because, as mentioned before, all the participants have some sort of South African society influence. In some questions, however, South Africans seem to have answered more negatively, for example, in describing the state of Africa, as well as in question 2, in which the participants were asked if Africa could form one country now and no South Africans thought that we could. A reason for this may be that since South Africa is a country that is considered to be one of the richer, more developed countries of Africa, it would get affected by a union, as some of the participants mentioned, joining countries would make the poorer, worse off countries being down the developed countries as money would be more distributed etc. This information confirms the facts in the literature review; that the joining of African countries is in fact influenced by different cultural environments. The South African participants are like South African leaders like Mbeki and Zuma, who were also opposed to the idea of a single African country. Evidence of completing questionnaires online C:UsersCorbbieDownloadsScreen_20120608_010747.jpg C:UsersCorbbieDownloadsScreen_20120608_01098.jpgC:UsersCorbbieDownloadsScreen_20120608_011129.jpgC:UsersCorbbieDownloadsScreen_20120608_010813.jpgC:UsersCorbbieDownloadsScreen_20120608_010725.jpgC:UsersCorbbieDownloadsScreen_20120608_010842.jpg Conclusion After doing the research that I presented in the Literature Review, I saw that Africa seemed very unstable, what with its history being full of so many wars and conflicts. The information on the African Union illustrated how not even the leaders of the African countries are unanimous on the decision to form a single country. From the literature review, you can understand that potentially could be a need for uniting the continent, so help each other deal with issues that we are faced with. It could benefit a lot of countries, and the continent as a whole, but the literature review also provided clear evidence that countries are not stable enough, and there is too much corruption going on for this plan to be successful. The questionnaire results showed that the participants are quite negative about the idea; they do not feel that Africa can or should form a United States of Africa. They feel that the continent is unstable and too corrupted, and that there are far too many reasons that would get in the way of successfully, and peacefully uniting. Not only that, but that it would cause more problems than it would solve, and actually turn out to be harmful to the state of Africans. Their response was much like the African leaders: they were not unanimous. If we do consider this sample to be a true representative of the continent, then Africans do not feel united within themselves, whether they are South African or from another country. South Africans tend to have a more negative response, but the general trend of both groups is opposed to the idea. So while there is a movement overseas to support the idea that every individual of the human race is tied together by our African origin, being African does not necessarily mean unison. There will forever be cultural, political and a variety of difference that separate each different groups of human beings. However, as mentioned before, the results of this project can be greatly refined. 30 participants is a very small sample for dealing with such a huge topic that deals with the whole of Africa, and if this research topic could be carried out on a more professional level, many more participants should be included. The sample could expand to involve Africans who have only ever known their own countries. It should include Africans of different economic classes, as the questionnaires also suggested that this is another barrier that makes people unequal. There are a lot of different categories that need to be included, and interviews with profes

Critique of Weltys A Worn Path Essay -- Eudora Welty, Essays on A Wor

â€Å"A Worn Path† by Eudora Welty, is the tale of an elderly black woman who shows an enormous amount of determination when it comes to helping her unceasingly ill grandson. Phoenix Jackson is the main character in Welty’s â€Å"A Worn Path.† Throughout the story, Miss Phoenix Jackson travels the same path every day overcoming whatever obstacles she encounters as she strives along the path in the contribution of her grandson’s health, for he is whom Phoenix habitually travels this â€Å"worn path.† Furthermore, the story must be noted for its simplicity, and vast metaphoric symbolism. Welty uses the path and its obstacles as a form of inspirational aura, one could even say the path is a mirrored image of the difficulties one endures throughout life’s frightening journey. The obstacles are intended to portray the barriers, the risks, and the setbacks one may encounter from day to day life. Moving onward, one could easily compare â€Å"A Worn Path† to the life of the average person, and in-turn, the obstacles that individual must overcome in order to provide for his or her loved ones. For example, every individual follows the same routine daily in the conquest of life’s necessities and in the pursuit of happiness, just as Phoenix follows her ritual path day after day. Still, despite the prior verity that everyone travels down a habitual path nearly every day, this however, does not constitute the notion that the individual will encounter the exact same c ircumstances and obstacles daily. While some obstacles are there to stay, others may come and go allowing the individual to learn from his or her past experiences. What’s more is that one never knows what to expect from day to day life. Despite the element of surprise, on the other hand ... ...s, Phoenix isn’t a charity case at all, for she is far from this epitome. Phoenix accomplishes more in one day than most individuals could ever even dream of. â€Å"A Worn Path,† is an inspirational tale of the journey of an elderly woman who goes by the name of Phoenix Jackson. Miss Phoenix Jackson inspires all of us that we can endure and overcome life’s difficulties. In the story, Phoenix shows that with an immense amount of hope, sheer determination, and inexhaustible exertion, that anyone despite their physical and mental attributes can overcome and endure whatever obstacles are positioned in their way. Work Cited Welty, Eudora. â€Å"A Worn Path.† 1941. Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts, Ed. Henry E. Jacobs. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc., 2006. 110-15.

The American School System: A Rough Road Ahead :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

The American School System: A Rough Road Ahead There are many similarities and few differences between E.D. Hirsch’s â€Å"Why America’s Universities Are Better than Its Schools,† and Benjamin Barber’s â€Å"America Skips School.† The main purpose of both articles is to address the fact that Americans fall far behind in the scholastic accomplishment of their young students. Mutually, the two authors agree that American K-12 students learn more each day outside of the classroom than they do inside the classroom, and that the schools need serious reform. Barber focuses his attention on the financial situation of the schools, as well as the political standpoint that the government just does not care, and the American government has simply given up on its children. Hirsch tackles the idea that if our K-12 schools stay with their current level of teaching, it is only a matter of time before the institutions of higher learning will no longer be considered among the best in the world. At the present time, it seems as though America’s youth have been placed into a category for which they are no longer looked upon as a bright future for our nation as was considered in the past, as Barber has commented, â€Å"Jefferson thought schools would produce free men: we prove him right by putting dropouts in jail† (159). Children today are becoming more street-smart, and feel that there is no need for true knowledge. For example, â€Å"Knowledge is considered less desirable than more ‘practical’ all-purpose goals such as ‘higher order skills,’ ‘self-esteem,’ ‘metacognitive skills,’ and ‘critical-thinking skills† (Hirsch 144). They see it as much more important to look at what society rewards its people with, and that seems to be anything but a good academic background. In today’s culture, the people who are praised in America are the people who are able to make millions of dollars by performing music, acting in front of the camera, playing a sport, and unfortunately in some neighborhoods, selling drugs. Barber concurs that â€Å"When the society undoes each workday what the school tries to do each school day, schooling can’t make much of a difference† (157). Our students think in terms of what is going t o bring them to the peak of the success mountain in this great motherland where everyone has equal opportunity.

Much of Christina Rossetti’s poetry has a very depressing and rather :: English Literature

Much of Christina Rossetti’s poetry has a very depressing and rather sombre tone, which can be sometimes used to infer the way in which she viewed life and times, which she was living in. However, despite this sombre theme throughout her poetry it can ... Much of Christina Rossetti’s poetry has a very depressing and rather sombre tone, which can be sometimes used to infer the way in which she viewed life and times, which she was living in. However, despite this sombre theme throughout her poetry it can be argued that it was not only her life that influenced her poetry but also the time in which shewas living. Many historians have suggested that the era in which Rossetti lived was a rather ‘bad’ time, the second half of the nineteenth century was a rather strange period and the Pre-Raphaelite Movement made quite an artistic group. The Pre-Raphaelites, being young, talented, and having many ideas of their own, felt stifled by the rigidity of the Royal Academy's idea of what tasteful, beautiful art should be. The PRB held the haughty belief that the only true great art came from before the 16th century Italian painter, Raphael (hence the society's name). Raphael represented high renaissance, a time when painters, instead of letting their subjects dictate their qualities to the artist, would manipulate the subject into their own ideal of beauty. Thus, all realism was lost. The PRB, with full spirit, denounced this art of idealization, and led the way to produce works based on real landscapes and real models, and paid intense attention to accuracy of detail and color William Holman Hunt, D.G. Rossetti, John Everett Millais, William Michael Rossetti, James Collinson, Thomas Woolner and F.G. Stephens founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB) in 1849. In some ways it was an impulsive venture, the PRB aimed to produce works that were innovative in style and substance, and expressive of direct, sincere feeling. And behind this lay the persistent ambition to be noticed and ‘make a name’. As well as painting, they were also committed to the literary arts, and nearly all the PRBs wrote poetry. These painters had a specific agenda. Instead of painting the typical still-lifes, landscapes and seascapes, they drew their subject matters from medieval tales, bible stories, classical mythology, and nature. Using bright colors on a white background, the artists were able to achieve great depth and brilliance.Although some of Christina Rossetti’s earliest versese were published in The Germ, a magazine produced for a short time by the Pre-Raphaelites, and she sat as a model for several of Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s paintings, she was not

Poverty: Causes and Effects Essay

I. Introduction Most of us today experience the feeling of being poor. It might be in material things or in monetary matters. We can even see the people around begging just to live. It can somehow be the picture of our corrupt government. Officials don’t see the thirst and hunger these people are experiencing. They just think of themselves. Thus, worsening the increase of those people in the poverty line. Isn’t bad to look after our country full of beggars? Asking for pennies and food to eat. We might not be effective in terms of monetary problems, but at least we can give them the feeling of love and care. The supply of basic needs can be restricted by constraints on government services such as corruption, debt and loan conditionalities and by the brain drain of health care and educational professionals. Strategies of increasing income to make basic needs more affordable typically include welfare, accommodating business regulations and providing financial services. Today, poverty reduction is a major goal and issue for many international organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank. The English word â€Å"poverty† came from Latin pauper = â€Å"poor†, via Anglo-Norman povert. There are many definitions of poverty depending on the context of the situation and the views of the person giving the definition. Fundamentally, poverty is a denial of choices and opportunities, a violation of human dignity. It means lack of basic capacity to participate effectively in society. It means not having enough to feed and clothe a family, not having a school or clinic to go to, not having the land on which to grow one’s food or a job to earn one’s living, not having access to credit. It means insecurity, powerlessness and exclusion of individuals, households and communities. It means susceptibility to violence, and it often implies living in marginal or fragile environments, without access to clean water or sanitation. Poverty is pronounced deprivation in well-being, and comprises many dimensions. It includes low incomes and the inability to acquire the basic goods and services necessary for survival with dignity. Poverty also encompasses low levels of health and education, poor access to clean water and sanitation, inadequate physical security, lack of voice, and insufficient capacity and opportunity to better one’s life. II. Literature Review The individuals who are most at risk of developing problem drug use are those who are at the margins of society. They are individuals who are socially and economically marginalised and disaffected from school, family, work and standard forms of leisure. However the relationship between these factors and drug use is not linear. For example although the majority of problem drug users may have experienced a number of these problems the converse may not hold true; that is, individuals who are economically and politically/socially marginalised will not necessarily become problematic drug users. Neale suggests however that particular sub-groups of the population such as the homeless, those who have been in care and/or excluded from school and those in contact with the criminal justice system or mental health services are more susceptible to the various risk factors and that drug misuse is more prevalent among these particular groups (Neale 2002). According to Spooner (2005) the social environment is a powerful influence on health and social outcomes. In this context drug use and related problems result from the complex interplay of the individual and the environment whereby social institutions or structures can influence the environment in a manner that can influence drug use and related problems. Societal structures include government policies, taxation systems, 11 laws and service systems such as welfare, education, health and justice. As such increased attention to the ‘social’ determinants of drug use is required. People from all backgrounds and classes take drugs for many reasons: for pleasure, to treat physical or emotional pain, for stress or anxiety, or because their friends do. But the pattern of who develops a drug problem and encounters other problems shows a close link between drug misuse and social exclusion. The first signs of the link between problematic drug use and social exclusion became apparent in the US post-war period as some of the big cities encountered the first shocks of de-industrialisation. A series of studies by the Chicago School of Sociology showed clearly that poverty and decay in inner cities were the key causes of the heroin epidemics of the 1950s and 1960s in New York, Chicago and other US cities. In the 1980s those same factors helped to fuel the crack epidemics in the US. An influential study by Parker et al (1986) undertaken in the Wirral during the 1980s showed the average prevalence of heroin users across the peninsular was 18.2 per 1,000 among 16-24 year-olds. But the spread ranged in different districts from zero to 162 per 1,000. The variation in geographical prevalence was highly correlated with seven indicators of background deprivation levels in each area: unemployment rate, council tenancies, overcrowding, larger families, unskilled employment, single parent families and lack of access to a car. A study by Dr Laurence Gruer of some 3,715 drugrelated emergency hospital admissions in Greater Glasgow from 1991 to 1996 plotted them by postcode using a standard index of deprivation (cited ACMD 1998). The admission rate from the most deprived areas exceeded that from the least deprived areas by a factor of 30, so that if the admission rate for the least deprived area had applied across the city, the number of admissions would have been 92 per cent lower. It was noted that the relationship between deprivation and drug misuse is higher than any other health variable they had studied. III. Discussion Health One third of deaths – some 18 million people a year or 50,000 per day – are due to poverty-related causes: in total 270 million people, most of them women and children, have died as a result of poverty since 1990. Those living in poverty suffer disproportionately from hunger or even starvation and disease. Those living in poverty suffer lower life expectancy. According to the World Health Organization, hunger andmalnutrition are the single gravest threats to the world’s public health and malnutrition is by far the biggest contributor to child mortality, present in half of all case. Hunger Rises in the costs of living making poor people less able to afford items. Poor person spend agreater portion of their budgets on food than richer people. As a result, poor households and those near the poverty threshold can be particularly vulnerable to increases in food prices. For example, in late 2007 increases in the price of grains led to food riots in some countries. TheWorld Bank warned that 100 million people were at risk of sinking deeper into poverty. Threats to the supply of food may also be caused by drought and the water crisis. Intensive farmingoften leads to a vicious cycle of exhaustion of soil fertility and decline of agricultural yields. Approximately 40% of the world’s agricultural land is seriously degraded. In Africa, if current trends of soil degradation continue, the continent might be able to feed just 25% of its population by 2025, according to United Nations University’s Ghana-based Institute for Natural Resources in Africa. Every year nearly 11 million children living in poverty die before their fifth birthday. 1.02 billion people go to bed hungry every night. According to the Global Hunger Index, South Asia has the highest child malnutrition rate of the world’s regions. Nearly half of all Indianchildren are undernourished, one of the highest rates in the world and nearly double the rate of Sub-Saharan Africa. Every year, more than half a million women die in pregnancy or childbirth. Almost 90% of maternal deaths occur in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, compared to less than 1% in the developed world. Women who have born children into poverty may not be able to nourish the children efficiently and provide adequate care in infancy. The children may also suffer from disease that has been passed down to the child through birth. Asthma and rickets are common problems children acquire when born into poverty. Education Research has found that there is a high risk of educational underachievement for children who are from low-income housing circumstances. This often is a process that begins in primary school for some less fortunate children. Instruction in the US educational system, as well as in most other countries, tends to be geared towards those students who come from more advantaged backgrounds. As a result, these children are at a higher risk than other children for retention in their grade, special placements during the school’s hours and even not completing their high school education. There are indeed many explanations for why students tend to drop out of school. For children with low resources, the risk factors are similar to others such as juvenile delinquency rates, higher levels of teenage pregnancy, and the economic dependency upon their low income parent or parents. Families and society who submit low levels of investment in the education and development of less fortunate child ren end up with less favorable results for the children who see a life of parental employment reduction and low wages. Higher rates of early childbearing with all the connected risks to family, health and well-being are majorly important issues to address since education from preschool to high school are both identifiably meaningful in a life. Poverty often drastically affects children’s success in school. A child’s â€Å"home activities, preferences, mannerisms† must align with the world and in the cases that they do not these students are at a disadvantage in the school and most importantly the classroom. Therefore, it is safe to state that children who live at or below the poverty level will have far less success educationally than children who live above the poverty line. Poor children have a great deal less healthcare and this ultimately results in many absences from the academic year. Additionally, poor children are much more likely to suffer from hunger, fatigue, irritability, headaches, ear infections, flu, and colds. These illnesses could potentially restrict a child or student’s focus and concentration. Housing Poverty increases the risk of homelessness. Slum-dwellers, who make up a third of the world’s urban population, live in a poverty no better, if not worse, than rural people, who are the traditional focus of the poverty in the developing world, according to a report by the United Nations. There are over 100 million street children worldwide. Most of the children living in institutions around the world have a surviving parent or close relative, and they most commonly entered orphanages because of poverty. Experts and child advocates maintain that orphanages are expensive and often harm children’s development by separating them from their families. It is speculated that, flush with money, orphanages are increasing and push for children to join even though demographic data show that even the poorest extended families usually take in children whose parents have died. Violence According to experts, many women become victims of trafficking, the most common form of which is prostitution, as a means of survival and economic desperation.] Deterioration of living conditions can often compel children to abandon school in order to contribute to the family income, putting them at risk of being exploited, according to ECPAT International, an NGO designed to end the commercial sexual exploitation of children. For example, in Zimbabwe, a number of girls are turning to prostitution for foodto survive because of the increasing poverty. In one survey, 67% of children from disadvantaged inner cities said they had witnessed a serious assault, and 33% reported witnessing a homicide. 51% of fifth graders from New Orleans (median income for a household: $27,133) have been found to be victims of violence, compared to 3212% in Washington, DC(mean income for a household: $40,127) IV. Conclusion The main problem in our country nowadays is poverty. Many experts made a research on how to solve it. Most in the community of the Philippines are graving. But sad to say that until now it is still in the stage of calamity. Poverty happens everywhere. They think citiesmay offer them a better-off living. They think they’ll be much better off living in the cities than in their own villages, which only offer them natural resources. Being rich and having a great sum of money instantly are often the cause of massive exodus. What happens later is beyond their expectations; they become jobless, homeless, and the worse impact is that they are unable to return to their villages for they don’t even have money to return. Most poor people who battle hunger deal with chronic undernourishment and vitamin or mineral deficiencies, which result in stunted growth, weakness and heightened susceptibility to illness. Poor children are the most prone to this and are often the victims to malnutrition, deficiencies, diseases and ultimately deaths caused by hunger. The persons who are in the position must have enough knowledge about the solutions on the problem. They should make a step by step process to ensure the proper on the global major problem.

Learning to read

Reading is one of the complex tasks accomplished by students. Paradoxically one can learn to read by reading. Reading is an interesting past time or hobby for those who like it. It broadens one’s knowledge. Letter’s in the books talk to the reader. Reading teaches a child many things. It may be good or it may be bad. It should be guided learning. Reading is a subtle and complex process that involves sensation, perception, comprehension, application, and integration. Reading is the magic key to the world of enlightenment and enjoyment. It is the basic tool for learning in all the subject areas. Reading is the process of making and getting from printed word symbols. Efficient reading is an active dialogue between author and reader. Reading can be one of man’s deepest pleasures. It enables man to ponder the mysteries of the world, explore accumulated knowledge, and contemplate the unknown. One significant point of learning to read is to understand how written language and oral language correspond. The English writing system is based on the alphabetic principle that written words are made up of letters that have approximate matches with the sounds heard in the words we speak. Therefore, to understand the alphabetic principle, one must recognize that spoken words consist of a sequence of sounds and this understanding is called phonemic awareness (McCormick, 1999). Phonemic awareness is not reading. It does not deal with alphabetical letters. It does not phonics. It does not replace the school’s reading program and it is not an all-out cure for reading problems (Kang, 19997). Phonemic awareness is recognizing sounds within words. It is the ability of the child to focus on sounds of words. It is an understanding that speech is composed of individual sounds called phonemes. Phoneme is the smallest unit of speech that carries a definite meaning when put together. The phonemic awareness task requires children to analyze, manipulate the units of speech rather than focus on meaning; and the reader’s task is to understand the relationship of the letter in the writing system to the phonemes in the language. Readers should also recognize that speech could be segmented into smaller units-the readers to become phonemically aware (Yopp, 1992). This gives children functional practice in phonemic segmentation or breaking a word down into component sounds. The four basic skills of Phonemic Awareness are rhyming sounds, blending sounds, matching sounds, and segmenting sounds. Such skills are the building blocks for reading. Therefore, in order to benefit from formal reading instruction, children must have a certain level of phonemic awareness.  Phonemic Awareness could be taught as early as kindergarten throughout kindergarten and into Grade I; to continue in Grades II and III and with those children who remain weak in reading. Kang (1997) suggests the following key points to keep in mind: 1. Skills should be taught in specific lessons. 2. Try to practice phonemic awareness about 10-15 minutes a day, three to four times a week. 3. The more consistent the lesson structure is, the more improvement you will observe in   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   your young learners. 4. Regroup children upon getting to know their skills. Place in one group those who are successful in phonemic awareness and sustain their skills with lessons once a week. Phonemic awareness is a possible reason why many children struggle in reading (Rasinski & Padak, 2000). It is a fact that when we speak we only rarely pay conscious attention to the sound we make, rather we are simply concerned with getting our messages across. Therefore, the concept that words are made up of sounds is not necessarily an easy one for students to grasp. Phonemic awareness is not really critical to our purposes in spoken language but rather central in learning to read. A large body of research conducted in the U.S. and other countries indicate that one of the most significant coordinators between good and poor readers is poor readers’ lack of phonemic awareness (McCormick, 1999). This holds true regardless of the intelligence level of socioeconomic status of the students. On the strength of this research, there is little doubt that lack of phonemic awareness is a cause of reading disabilities in a large portion of students whose difficulties lie with word recognition. Research studies indicate that one aid to the development of adequate phonemic awareness occurs when young children listen to storybooks read aloud by their parents, an advantage enjoyed by some children, but not all. Others suggest that good or poor phonemic awareness may have a genetic origin. Direct evidence indicates that lack of phonemic awareness is a major cause of word identification difficulties. Likewise, phonemic awareness permits students to use letter-sound correspondences, employ phonemic strategies and identify unknown words more quickly. It also may have a bearing on whole word learning. In addition, it is a prerequisite to spelling and writing, which also require hearing (McCormick, 1999). Further research has shown that phonemic awareness is a more powerful determiner than intelligence in predicting whether students will succeed in reading and also a stronger predictor of â€Å"general† language proficiency (McCormick, 1999) and a very powerful predictor of later reading achievement (Griffith, et al., 1992). Phonemic awareness is now viewed as a critical variable in emergent literacy and beginning reading acquisition (McCormick, 1999). Recognizing that, words can be broken down into phonemes and syllables, and being able to manipulate these, has a high correlation with reading achievement. Thus, it is a central factor in learning to read and a prerequisite in learning to read. Irregularities of English demand careful handling to avoid confusion. Regular spelling should be presented in the early stages before teaching words with semi-irregular patterns like cake, bread, etc. and those with complete irregularities forms such as cough, bough. This may be another complete lesson for the actual reading phase after learning the letter shapes and names. Eventually, with increasing speed, the child works through the page of the teaching materials. In the schools, reading as a subject should be given emphasis for it is the springboard in learning other areas. Learning reading is open to a lot of words for children. Early childhood cognitive development will not develop the building blocks of language for children, unless parents know the importance of good reading. Children, whose parents are not aware that reading plays a role in the child’s development, are not disposed to learn reading. Their opportunities in learning are limited. Reading to every citizen is a new civil right. A child should be ready to read and ready to get a clear understanding of what he sees and reads in order to provide him a good early experience. Early language and early pre-learning reading activities contribute to the development of feeling of a child. Absence of this development will stifle learning and understanding sounds, letters, and language. Language in reading is the building block of speech. Likewise, the child’s ability to grasp ideas and sounds has a linkage in learning to read letters. Knowing how to read is important in interactive learning. It affects the heart and soul of a child. A child should have a strong language and a good pre-reading education.  For children to learn to read is a challenge posed to parents and educators. No matter how busy parents are, they should have time left for their children. Parents should develop good relationships with their children at their early stage of learning. Education begins before birth. Thus, the most important word that should be learned and practiced by a child is credibility according to the First Lady of U.S. President Bush, who was once a teacher herself.  High quality teachers are needed in the classroom to guide and teach children to learn. One important aim in reading is to learn to choose, analyze, and read good materials. There are teachers who change a child’s life negatively or positively. Subsequently, teachers should teach a child to be a worthy citizen in thought, in word, and in deed. To make teaching more effective, it should be integrated with subjects like art and music education, character education, and all other subject areas in the school curriculum. Reading is the right key to spiritual, social, intellectual, esthetical, mental, moral, and academic success.  It is hoped that after a thorough understanding of the various conditions leading to reading readiness through study, the reading program will be better handled. References: Griffith, P., et al. (1992). â€Å"Phonemic awareness helps beginning readers break  Ã‚  the code†. The Reading Teacher. Vol. 56, No. 7, pp.517-523: March 1992. Kang, H. (1997). Phonemic awareness: Listening activities to develop  pre-reading skills: USA: Fearon Teachers Aid; Division of Frank Schaffer Publications, Inc. McCormick, S. (1999). Instructing students who have literacy problem. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc. Simon & Schuster, A Viacom Company. Rasinski, T., & Padak, N. (2000). Effective reading strategies: Teaching children who  find reading difficult. 2nd Ed. Prentice Hall, Inc. NJ. Yopp, H.K. (1992). â€Å"Developing phonemic awareness in young children†. The Reading  Teacher. Vol. 9: May 1992.