Nestle and the Global Issue of Water Supply Case Study

Nestle and the Global Issue of Water Supply - Case Study Example This paper will identify the feasibility of social responsibility programs and the ethical elements to be considered while entering a new market segment. 1. The case study indicates that the Nestle faces a series of challenges associated with corporate responsibility while planning its international business expansion. Nowadays, a number of international organizations are working toward the protection of various human rights and environmental sustainability. As part of their global operational strategies, some organizations strongly argue that access to water is not a matter of choice; on the other hand, it is a basic human right which insists that water should not be bought and sold. Hence, Nestle considers water supply as one of the most serious issues to be resolved in relation to its position in the global bottled market. In order to overcome such issues, the company has recently planned several social responsibility programs in its marketing strategy. By practicing social respon sibility programs as part of marketing strategy, a company can attain a number of potential advantages. Today, a company cannot continue its sustainably profitable operations unless it practices some sorts of corporate responsibility policies. In the opinion of DuBrin (2008), the most potential advantage of social responsibility is that it aids organizations to achieve a good market stature which sets them apart in the competitive business world (pp.100-101). In addition, such strategies may assist companies to comply with government regulations as well as the norms of other non-governmental public welfare organizations. Finally, the concept of corporate social responsibility would be helpful for a company to convince its clients that it has taken all initiatives to protect the environment and thereby to ensure public welfare. 2. Variances in ethical views among people are found to be a potential threat to multinational companies like Nestle as they need to serve a large number of d ifferent customer segments. In the view of Briscoe, Schuler, and Claus (2008), the extent of this ethical variance may be determined by a range of elements including family background, education level, economic status, and other cultural variables (pp.137-138). In countries like China and India, orthodox families would not be willing to change their conventional ideologies and hence they may not easily adapt to a â€Å"disposable culture†. It would be a cumbersome task for the Nestle to attract such customer segments because their consumerist perceptions have evolved over a long period of time. In addition, people’s education level may also be a crucial factor in defining their ethical views. The people who have attained a high level of education would be more concerned about health as well as environmental safety.

Hisory of Mexican Art Essay Example for Free

Hisory of Mexican Art Essay Mexico is known worldwide for its folk art traditions, mostly derived from the indigenous and Spanish crafts. The archeological setting in Teotihuacan is the largest in America and corresponds to a civilization that florished in the Valley of Mexico between the 200 B. C. and 250 A. D. The ruins show the remainders of a city built along the Alley of the Dead. Among its main buildings, the 5 levels 65 meters high Sun Pyramid and the smaller Moon Pyramid, with 4 levels. Ancient Aztec art was primarily a form of religious expression and a means for paying tribute to their gods. In addition, various forms of Aztec art were used to assist in communication. Pottery of all shapes and sizes depicted a variety of designs that were meaningful to the Aztec culture and religion. They typically were meant to depict or pay reverence to specific Aztec gods or to represent an Aztec tribe. In addition to the pottery made of clay, the Aztecs showed their deep religion through a variety of sculptures carved out of stone. In the 16th century, two cultures mixed: the native Mesoamerican cultures and the Spanish. This phenomenon lasted from the fall of the Aztec empire, in 1521, to the end of the Spanish domination, in 1821. Colorfully embroidered cotton garments, cotton or wool shawls and outer garments, and colorful baskets and rugs are seen everywhere. Between the Spanish conquest and the early Twentieth Century, Mexican fine arts were largely in imitation of European traditions. After the Mexican Revolution, a new generation of Mexican artists led a vibrant national movement that incorporated political, historic, and folk themes in their work. The painters Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros became world famous for their grand scale murals, often displaying clear social messages. Rufino Tamayo and Frida Kahlo produced more personal works with abstract elements. The literature of Mexico originated from the concepts of the American and Spanish settlements of Mesoamerica. Outstanding colonial writers and poets include Juan Ruiz de Alarcon and Juana Ines de la Cruz. Folk dances are regarded to be one of the most important features of Mexican culture.

George Orwells 1984 :: essays research papers

1984, George Orwell Winston is the unfortunate victim of a totalitarian society gone haywire. In Oceania 1984, the Party has complete control over every aspect of its citizens’ lives. Telescreens that monitor their movements are found in every house and apartment. If a member of the Thought Police catches you so much as gritting your teeth during one of Big Brother’s speeches, it’s off to the Missionary of Love to be interrogated about your partaking in a conspiracy against the Party. It’s a time of unknowing chaos where war is peace, ignorance is strength, and freedom is slavery. The Party avoids revolt by using an interesting technique--not giving its citizens a reason to revolt. If the Party promises, for example, that there will be no reduction of chocolate rations and there does happen to be a reduction, they simply go back and change their original statement. This meaning they rewrite any newspaper articles, etc. that give evidence that they said there would be a reduction, and destroy all of the old copies. In this way, the Party’s predictions are always true. So our good old friend Winston is sitting in his office one day when he starts to have--gasp!--negative thoughts about the Party and its leader, Big Brother. He buys a diary, a crime considered worthy of death by the Party, and begins to record these thoughts daily. By chance, Winston happens to meet a fellow Party-hater, Julia. They believe that the Brotherhood (an organization against the Party) exists and that their co-worker O’Brien is involved with it. They meet with O’Brien and confirm that yes, indeed, he is involved with the Brotherhood. O’Brien gives them a copy of “The Book'; written by the Brotherhood’s leader Emanuel Goldstein about his political ideas. Julia and Winston are secure in their involvement with the Brotherhood and

Movie †Psycho Essay

Psycho (1960) is a powerful complex psychological thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock. This horror movie is based on the novel written by Robert Bloch. Story-wise, though, I do not consider this movie to be an extraordinary but its brilliant excursion and its ingenious construction and above all its wonderful musical scores invented and innovated by Bernard Herrmann has made this movie all time great. Bernard Herrmann was born in New York in 1911. He studied music at Julliard School of Music and joined CBS radio in 1934. He quickly joined young Orson Welles to score his radio plays, including the notorious Wars of the World and within a very short span of time he established himself as a recognized film music scorer. Although remarkably versatile, Herrmann proved particularly adept at scoring dark psychological melodramas, such as Hangover Squire (1945) and On Dangerous Ground (1951), and it was perhaps inevitable that he would be teamed eventually with master of suspense and artist of â€Å"Psycho† Alfred Hitchcock. Their subsequent partnership resulted in a composer-director relationship unmatched in film history of creativity, flair and cinematic symbiosis. We find fantasy, romance, nostalgia, tenderness; all there in Herrmann but the unique scores of â€Å"Psycho†evidently suggest Herrmann’s departure from traditional compositional techniques. The most noticeable departure from film music custom is hat. Herrmann elected a daring and controversial orchestral combination: strings alone. Now such a combination imposes severe limitations on the range of available tone colors. This means a commensurate increase of composing problems, since generally important for composers to be able to call on the many resources of the symphonic ensemble- woodwinds, brass and percussion as well as strings- for variety and contrast in the treatment of musical material. But Herrmann’s selection of string alone deprived him of many tried-and-true musical formulas and effects normally employed in the scoring of horror and suspense films. Going by the established music theories, we find that music theory describes how sounds, which travel in waves, are notated, and how what is sounded, or played, is perceived by the listeners. Every object has a resonant frequency, which is determined by the object composition. Musical sounds are composed of pitch, duration and timbre. Pitch is determined by the sound’s frequency of vibration, whereas Rhythm is the arrangement of sound in time and Meter animates time in regular pulse groupings called measures. Melody is the unfolding in musical time of a principal single line of pitches. This line can be sounded alone, unaccompanied, known as monophony. It can also be accompanied by chords, known as homophony. Melody is often the most identifiable element in western music. Instrumentation is the study and practice of writing music for musical instruments. Writing for a specific instrument requires the ability to take into account the special properties of that instrument. Where as Diegetic Music, which is also called â€Å"source music† is produced by people or devices that are part of the story space of the film. Diegetic sounds are those pieces of sound that the characters in the movie should be able to hear, whether the sound source is visible or nor.   Coming back to â€Å"Psycho†, along with the strings, Herrmann has wonderfully used Diegetic Music also here. One does not have to be musician to notice a marked absence of tunes or melodies in the sense in which these terms are generally used. It is safe to say that in Psycho Herrmann was simply following his own customary practice in this respect but the result in this case is a special, disturbing quality, one which contributes greatly to the scores overall effectiveness. In an interview given in 1971, Herrmann explained that he had used only strings for Psycho because he felt that he could complement the black-and-white photography of the film by creating a black-and white sound. In most people mind the strings are associated first and foremost with romance. Nine times out of ten when a love a scene takes place on the screen the violins will soar in a big tune, the cellos throb in a passionate counter melody. But in Psycho, the level of score created by Herrmann with strings is mainly due to the fact that Strings span the longest effective gamut of notes; have an effective range of dynamics unmatched by the other group; and within the boundaries of their basic single tone colors they can command a great number and variety of special effects. And when the expressive range of string orchestra is compared to that of black-and-white photography, Herrmann analogy becomes perfectly clear. After watching the movie first scene that comes to my mind and the images that conjured are those of Janet Leigh being hacked to death in the shower and now I realize why even people who have not seen the movie are aware of it but Bernard Herrmann’s strident, discordant music, the â€Å"bird-shriek† and â€Å"distorted screaming bird-cries† appears to be one of the most horrifying cues ever composed, Herrmann brilliantly proved here that the view of the camera is very important aspect of film making but to enforce that view and to provide fluidity ,music is even more important. In conclusion this can be safely said that No film sound track library would be complete without â€Å"Psycho†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  References    Movie : –   Psycho U.S. Release date : – June 1960 Running Length  Ã‚   : – 1:48 MPAA Classification : –   R (Violence) Cast : – Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam, Janet Leigh Director and Producer   :- Alfred Hitchcock Screenplay : Joseph Stefano based on the novel by Robert Bloch Cinematography : John L Russell Music : Bernard Herrmann U.S. Distributer : Paramount Pictures.

Mark strand

So the poet I decided to do this on is Mark Strand. He was born in Canada in 1934 and grew up in different places in the United States. He studied at several universities including Antioch Ohio college, Yale, also the University of Florence on a Fulbright fellowship where he studied 19th century Italian poetry. When he was a child, he actually wasn't considered bright. He was a painter while studying at Yale, and a lot of people say that he creates a â€Å"painterly' image in his poetry because of the way he closely examines things.I found it really interesting that in an interview he said that he wasn't good with language as a child, and so the idea that he would one day become a poet would come as a huge shock for his family growing up. Strand felt deeply connected with the painter Edward Hopper. He wrote a book about his works, explaining the paintings in very expressive details. Strand definitely has a way of showing his passion for both art and poetry and combining the two.Hopp er was considered a very misunderstood, realist painter and Strand said that he eally connected with his â€Å"strangeness† and feels influenced by it. Strand's poetry has a very simple language to it. It sometimes borders on something beyond reality, in the way that he perceives the world. He wrote a lot of poems about dreams and disassociation from the world. He's written 14 books of poetry. He also writes a lot of life and death. Death, being what he considers the main point in lyrical poetry. What I really connect with Is the rhythm of this poem first of all.I actually enjoyed a ot of other poems by Strand but after we looked at Fishing on the susehanna river by Billy Collins, this intrigued me because it reminded me of that similar rhythm. I enjoy the repetition that things will always end but then continue to go on and return again. Theres this sadness in the earlier stanzas about how things Just stay the same, leave and come back again. The hopelessness of a mundane wo rld. In the end theres kind of a positive hopefulness where the people at the party don't think the night will end. They don't let it though the music stops. mark strand By Idramaqueenl

General Electric Essays

General Electric Essays General Electric Essay General Electric Essay The firm operates In four primary business segments; Energy, Technology Infrastructure, Capital Finance and Consumer / Industrial. Headquartered In Fairfield, CT, General Electric has grown over the past 122 years into a financial behemoth realizing revenue in excess of $146 billion in 2013. Throughout its existence, General Electric has demonstrated an inconsistent record in terms of ethical governance and responsible business practices. Leek many of its peers, the firm endured a number of scandals, particularly in the late uses and Into the sasss. In response to these Issues and In accordance with the Serbians-Solely Act passed In 2002, General Electric has transformed Its business practices and Is now recognized as one of the more respected players in the world of corporate governance and honorable business practices. Contemporary business practices exercised by the firm have earned numerous accolades including: #6 Best Global Brand (Interbrain) #10 Most Admired Company (Fortune) #180 Greenest Company (Newsweek) To understand how this corporate evolution occurred, we need to understand the organizational structure and managerial best practices utilized by General Electric and the nature of the legislation that necessitated this institutional change. What is Serbians-Solely? The Serbians-Solely Act of 2002 (SOX) is a federal law that mandated new or enhanced standards for all U. S. Public company boards, management and public accounting firms. Drafted In response too number of high-profile corporate scandals that occurred In the late SASS and early sasss by LLC_S_ Senator Paul Serbians and U. S. Representative Michael Solely: the legislation imposed several powerful exchanges designed to curb corporate malfeasance and to protect investors. The most significant of these mechanisms included indivi dual certification of corporate financial statements by top management, increased penalties for fraudulent activity and the separation of auditing and consulting functions in outside business agencies. Mum. Sallow. Com) The overarching effect of this legislation was the increased scrutiny of flannel statements submitted by publicly traded companies and growing corporate auditing expenditures. (Sadism,2007) Board Composition: structure and governance General Electric has been a progressive company in terms of Board composition and governance. (see composition matrix- attached)For decades, the company has demonstrated a desire to promote diversity In governance from three primary perspectives: gender, race and age. : In Dalton, General Electric had historically satisfied many of the obligations outlined in the Serbians Solely legislation well in advance of its passage including listing the definition of individual committees and the number of committee meetings. (General Electric Annual Report 2000) One potential conflict that exists with the General Electric governance strategy is the ambition of President / CEO and Chairman roles. This is a practice that the company has exercised since Ralph Cordoned combined these responsibilities In 1958 challenge that exists within the Board structure of General Electric is the lack of term limits. Nominated individuals are approved annually through a majority of votes present and may continue to serve indefinitely. This issue was debated recently when shareholders proposed a 15 year term limit of Board service along with separation of the CEO / Board Chair role. The measure was defeated in a lopsided vote held during the companys April 2013 Board meeting. (Casts, 2013) re-sox (2000) * no mission or governance statement listed post-sox (2003) The role of Gees Board of Directors is clear: to oversee how management serves the long-term interests or shareholders and other stakeholders. Today (2013) The primary role of Gees Board of Directors is to oversee how management serves the interests of shareholders and other stakeholders. Board Size 19 15 17 Inside vs.. Outside # of Committees 7 5 # of Meetings 10 13 14 Audit Committee Consisted of outside directors. Held 5 meetings in 2000. Reviewed the activities and independence of Gees independent auditors as well as the firms financial reporting recesses. Composed of independent directors. Held 11 meetings in 2003. To review the activities and independence of Gees external auditors the activities of Gees internal audit staff Also reviewed Gees system of disclosure controls and procedures. Composed of independent directors. Held 12 meetings in 2013. Primary responsibilities include: selection of independent auditor, review the independent audit, oversee the firms financial reporting activities and accounting standards. Tenure unlimited Compensation Combination of cash stock. $75,000 annual base plus $2,000 per meeting . Compensation committee. Removed contingent service reward of 5,000 shares. Combination of cash, stock other. 250,000 base. Average compensation = $302,457 The moral of the story as it relates to Board structure and Governance within General Electric is that while the firm did work to shore up its regulatory and oversight positions post SOX; the company had exercised the basic principles outlined in the legislation for some time. Performance Metrics Executive General Electric has functioned for decades under the philosophy of hiring, motivating, rewarding and retaining its executive leaders through compensation. The many has maintained an executive compensation model that includes salary, bonuses and stock options as the vehicle to achieve this goal for decades. While the total compensation packages at the highest levels of leadership are not as lucrative as they once were General Electric has adapted its compensation policies in order to remain competitive and compliant in an evolving business environment. 2000- Jack Welch In the year 2000, Jack Welch stood without peer in the world of American business. Recently named Manager of the Century by Fortune Magazine, (Calvin, 1999) General Electric increased revenues to nearly $130 billion. During this year Mr.. Welch earned $16,700,000 in salary and bonus. In addition, Mr.. Welch was granted 3,000,000 stock options which became exercisable upon retirement as well as 850,000 restricted stock options. The later options were granted by the board in appreciation of 20 years of service to GE. Furthermore, Mr.. Welch was granted a split-dollar life insurance policy contingent upon execution of a personal consulting contract (up to 30 days annually) at the discretion of the acting CEO. Final terms of the consulting contract and retirement package are not listed, but the value is estimated to be north f $420 million. 2003 Jeffrey Melt Jeffrey Melt emerged as the new CEO of General Electric following a highly publicized succession process in 2001. Perhaps due to his relatively short tenure to this point, but more likely due to the passage of the Serbians-Solely Act; overall executive compensation was revised at General Electric in 2003. In addition to a more responsible base salary, executive bonuses and stock options were much more clearly outlined and defined in the 2003 proxy statement. While the Board Compensation Committee does state: We rely upon Judgment and not rigid deadlines or formulas or short-term changes in our stock price in determining the amount and mix of compensation elements for each executive officer official documents include an element of specificity not previously available to investors. Mr.. Melt was paid a $3,000,000 base salary and bonuses totaling $4,325,000 a 10% increase from the previous year. In addition, Mr.. Melt was granted 250,000 performance share units in lieu of stock options. This is the most significant change related to executive compensation policies that occurred at General Electric post SOX. Recognize the unique position of the GE CEO. The committee believes that the CEO of GE needs no retention compensation, and that his equity compensation should be focused entirely on performance and alignment with investors. This change in policy effectively linked 50% of the Coos equity compensation directly to the companys cash generation performance; the remaining 50% would only convert to shares if specific shareholder return metrics were met. In short; the better the performance of the firm the better the compensation for Mr.. Melt. Finally, select executives at GE (including Mr.. Melt) were granted 3-year performance incentive awards. These awards would be paid only upon achievement of unlisted specified goals related to: earnings per share, revenue growth, return on total capital and cumulative cash generated. 2013 Jeffrey Melt Today, the evolution of executive compensation continues at General Electric. The 2013 Proxy Report provides a thorough and defined description of all elements and metrics used to determine final executive compensation. Following essentially the same compensation model initiated in 2003, Jeffrey Melt realized total compensation (including projected pension value) of $20,592,769. Leadership, Ethics Firm Values General Electric is a perfect case study in the evolution of an American business. Formed in 1892 primarily as an electric company, the firm has grown into a global dynamo. Today the company operates in several areas including finance, appliances and power systems. This type of evolution and growth does not happen by accident, it is the result of visionary leadership a quality that has existed within GE for a century. Founded by one of this countrys greatest innovators, General Electric has embodied the vision of Thomas Edison since its inception. The company has dabbled, innovated and revolutionized a number of industries throughout its existence. This truth is a testament to the men that have lead the organization throughout the years. (see past leaders attached) More recently, present-day General Electric has been molded primarily by two individuals who utilized their personal skill to direct the company through a challenging time. Jack Welch (1980 2001) Jack Welch Joined GE in 1960 as a Junior chemical engineer. Early in his tenure, Welch considered leaving the organization citing a frustration with an overwhelming bureaucracy that existed within the firm. Welch was convinced to stay and worked his ay up the ranks becoming Chairman and CEO in 1980. Welch became one of the most successful executives in the history of the United States during his tenure, growing the value of the company by 4000%. He accomplished this by imposing leadership efficiency practices throughout the company. Welch promoted strong businesses by limiting bureaucratic inefficiencies, trimming inventory and closing factories. His governing philosophy at GE was that a company should either be number 1 or number 2 in a particular industry or it should get out of that business. Welch adopted Motorolas Six Sigma quality program in 1995 to further streamline operating efficiencies. In addition, Welch instituted a rigorous method of assessing organizational performance and leadership termed Session C. The goal of this organization. During Jack Wheels tenure, General Electric became wildly profitable and became recognized as the preeminent organization in terms of operating efficiency and profitability. Mr.. Wheels methods, while successful were generally autocratic and focused on two specific issues: profitability and legal compliance. Jeffrey Melt (2001 present) Jeff Melt was groomed to lead General Electric from a young age. Millets father worked for GE in the Aircraft Engines Division. After receiving his A. B. In Applied Mathematics from Dartmouth College, Melt earned an M. B. A. From Harvard. Jeffrey Melt formally Joined General Electric in 1982 and began his professional ascent. Following a public and high-profile transition; Melt was challenged with the difficult task of replacing legendary GE CEO Jack Welch in 2001. Melt was immediately dealt two unparalleled challenges upon assuming the position the terrorist attacks of September 1 1, 2001 and to a lesser extent the public backlash attached to the prominent accounting scandals that occurred at the turn of the century. Melt began to create an impact immediately, adopting a more people- oriented approach to management than the efficiency-minded approach that had governed GE for the preceding two decades. Melt launched a series of effectiveness-oriented measures that encouraged innovation and risk-taking. Melt also began to look to developing markets in search of opportunity. Finally, Jeffrey Melt moved Gees operational focus to areas not previously considered: concentration on long-term growth over short-term gains, infrastructure development with an emphasis on green energy and increased marketing efforts focused on social responsibility. The contrast between these two vastly different yet extremely effective leaders provides an interesting snapshot of the effects of the evolution in American business following the corporate scandals of the late sasss and early sasss. While General Electric was not directly attached to a major scandal during that era, the timing of Gees leadership transition was fortuitous. While there is certainly room for a chicken vs.. Egg debate regarding the change in managerial philosophy at GE; the change in leadership at the top of the company definitely provided an opportunity to shift course in the post-SOX business world. Corporate Sustainability Social Responsibility Similar to many traditional American manufacturing powers, General Electric did not exercise sustainable business practices for the bulk of its existence. This, of course, was not uncommon in American industry. However, at the turn of the century, the first mention of social responsibility appeared in a GE company document. Integrity: the Spirit and the Letter of Our Commitment was a comprehensive document outlining the companys policies related to privacy, supplier relationships, working with governments, environment, health and safety. The initial draft of this document was essentially a rule book seeking to achieve legal compliance in the various nations where General Electric conducted business. The following year, (2001) two share owner proposals sought to amend and bolster the Integrity statement Share Owner Proposal No. 2; which attempted to improve the quality of life for employees and their communities by allowing collective bargaining, eliminating discrimination intimidation and promoting free labor, as well as Share campaign initiated by the General Electric Company that downplayed the dangerous effects of PCs dumped in the Hudson river by the company. The GE Board of Directors voted against both proposals. The reality of the Boards actions demonstrates that the early years of General Electrics sustainability and social responsibility programs were based in superficial statements only. In 2003, General Electric launched an interactive, electronic version of its Annual Report. This new medium included a section devoted to the Citizenship initiatives active within the company. The two paragraph overview acknowledged the need for a modern corporation to practice environmental compliance, leadership in corporate provenance and high ethical standards. The document lists various social programs supported by the organization and its employees including nebulous philanthropic and volunteer efforts. While a step in the right direction, an outside observer may still question the level of commitment GE expressed to its sustainable programming. The strategy did not contain the measurable, quantifiable objectives required to effectively execute a large-scale sustainability program. (Epstein, 2003) Today, General Electric has created and maintains a robust, independent website dedicated to corporate sustainability. Www. Sustainability. Mom outlines Gees commitment to long-term sustainable business practices including: internal processes, (people, governance, compliance and health safety) sustainability initiatives (health, energy climate, water and natural resources) and progress (public policy, grassroots activism, lobbying, human rights and research). Most importantly, the site lists and outlines performance metrics used to govern thei r processes including the GRIP 63 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. The end result of the GE sustainability program has been a complete remake of the GE brand identity.

Class of 2017 Skip the new SAT and take the ACT

Class of 2017 Skip the new SAT and take the ACT SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The SAT is changing in March of 2016, so the class of 2017 is in a tough spot: how do you deal with the change? One strategy is to just skip the SAT and instead do the ACT. Is this strategy brilliant or brilliantly boneheaded? Here we find out. Early Studier? Take the Old SAT! Last year, I wrote an in-depth analysisarguing that you should take the old SAT on or before January 2016. This advice still holds if you're studying early enough say September 2015 or before. But what if the old SAT is simply not an option. If you can't or don't want to start preparing for the test until October 2015 or later read on... Advantages of the ACT If you're sure that the old SAT is out for you, then the advantages of the ACT versus the new SAT cannot be overstated for the class of 2017. Studying the ACT Works Better The current version of the ACT has been out for years now. This means there is a lot more institutional knowledge of what you must do to get a high score. Compared to the new SAT, the ACT is better understood by everyone: you have access to more practice tests, prep centers have more experience, publishers have come out with more training books even the test makers have more experience in making a better test! Every test has a method, and can be studied. With the ACT, the study method is clear, while for the SAT, the study method is not. But what if I like the SAT better? You might like the old SAT better than the ACT, but did you know that the new SAT will much more resemble the ACT? The new SAT is making writing optional, reducing emphasis on vocab, and generally copying the ACT because the ACT is growing faster than the SAT. What this means is that liking the current SAT is not a strong reason to take the new SAT it'll be different from the SAT you know now. Most of the guides you find online comparing the SAT to ACT use the old SAT as the baseline you cannot conclude from these guides that you'll like the new SAT better! Aren't SAT's more "legit" and "standard" than the ACT? Those of us who grew up on the coasts (me included, since I grew up in the NYC area) have heard about the SAT for decades. It may seem to you that the SAT is the standard test to take because you hear it a lot from teachers or classmates. But these days, more people take the ACT than the SAT. The ACT overtook the SAT as the USA college test of choice years ago. Almost all colleges that take the SAT also take the ACT and treat them equally. Besides psychological familarity to some people, the ACT is every bit as good, legit, and standard as the SAT. Who are the ACTs most advantageous for? Like I mentioned before, if you're in the class of 2017, and starting to study September 2015 or before, do the old SAT (unless you like the ACT to begin with). Thus, the ACT strategy is most benficial for students studying starting around October, and going all the way through the summer of 2016. If you're not studying until fall of 2016 (senior fall) the new SAT could work for you as there will be months of materials out but still not as much as the ACT. In short: if you're in the class of 2017 and won't start to study until October 2016 or later, seriously consider the advantages of the ACT! Other Articles to Read: Class of 2017: Guide on Old SAT vs new SAT (for those studying before September 2015) How long before the SAT should you study? Have friends who also need help with test prep? Share this article! Tweet Dr. Fred Zhang About the Author Fred is co-founder of PrepScholar. He scored a perfect score on the SAT and is passionate about sharing information with aspiring students. Fred graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor's in Mathematics and a PhD in Economics. 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6 Part Time Job Interview Strategies You Must Know

6 Part Time Job Interview Strategies You Must Know Not every job is going to be a lifelong career. If you’re applying for something seasonal, or you are seeking a part-time or freelance gig, the game is slightly different from the standard job interview. These strategies can help you sort out those differences and nail the interview. 1. Change up your mental timelineWith temporary (or contract) jobs, you don’t necessarily need to present yourself as the best long-term option for the company. So you’ll need to adjust your thinking. Instead of emphasizing your willingness to commit for a long time, make sure it’s clear that you’re in it to win it for the short term, or however long the employer is seeking.2. Understand what the employer is seekingIf the job description is at all vague, or you’re having trouble telling whether this is really a short-term position or a temp-to-hire thing, clarify the parameters with the interviewer. It’s better to be extra clear on expectations than to go down one interview path assuming one outcome when the company is hiring for another.3. Hit your skills hardIf you’re interviewing for a short-term position, it’s likely that the company is looking for someone with very specific skills rather than an overall package. Make sure your relevant hard skills are very clear on your resume, and that you play them up during the interview.4. Be flexibleMany contract or temporary roles require flexibility, so be sure to emphasize your ability to meet challenges with creative solutions on tough deadlines. Also, make sure to discuss with the interviewer whether there are specific scheduling issues that might fall outside of the normal 9-to-5 area, so that you’re prepared to schedule accordingly and let the interviewer know that you’re equipped to handle a nonstandard job.5. Be ready to move fastIt’s likely that a temporary or freelance position is opening up to meet a specific and immediate need. This is unlike full-time hiring, when the company often has the luxury of weeks to accept, review, and interview candidates. You should be ready to negotiate, evaluate, and accept or reject the job on a quick turnaround, if you receive an offer.6. Treat every job like a long-term opportunityYou may be interviewing for a position with a clear end date, but you never know what doors it might open (whether at the same company or in the same field). So while you’re emphasizing the short term, don’t dismiss the job as â€Å"one and done.† The interviewer will likely be able to tell if you’re not taking this seriously, and that could definitely affect your chances of getting the job. If nothing else, this will be a resume-booster and a chance to develop more skills and experience- so don’t underestimate it!If you’re looking for a short-term job to bolster your skills or just pay the bills while you pursue your passion career, you should do everything you can to make it happen. Whether it’s for six weeks, six months, or six decades, you want your qualifications to be front and center. One thing never changes, no matter what job you’re interviewing for: you’re there to make sure they know you’re the absolute best person to get this done.

Issues to consider when a neighborhood may be exposed to Hazardous Case Study - 1

Issues to consider when a neighborhood may be exposed to Hazardous Emissions - Case Study Example People are availing the best of its positive approaches like medical facilities, communications and traveling facilities that has improved the quality of life tremendously. But at the same time, several negative impacts have emerged which are affecting people and their surroundings to quite an extent. One of the main battles which are going on between people and nature is to restore mother earth from the destruction which is happening because of the rapid growth of population and energy shortage. To overcome the energy problem, several alternatives have been tried to fix the issue like Biomass which itself is not good for people and environment and it leads to the misbalancing of a natural equilibrium of earth. Testing and experiments is been done on daily basis and every day is a day of discovery. In regard to this assignment, I would like to discuss Phosphorus as a chemical used in different kinds of utilities like toothpaste, fireworks, pesticides, matches, explosives, detergent e tc. Elemental Phosphorus: One of the main elemental phosphorus which is made up of common allotrope of phosphorus is white phosphorus. It is highly reactive elements with air, water and with any other chemical and due to this reason this element is not freely found on earth. White Phosphorus is extremely flammable and is formed by four atoms which cause high ring strain and instability. It is self igniting and results in a luminous light when reacts with air and can produce thick smoke. It should be handled with high precautions as it can cause severe burns to the skin if contacted. It is a wax like substance with yellowish color or sometimes colorless and it smells like garlic and can produce thick smoke when ignites. Its flames are also hard to extinguish and can burn flesh to bone under its covering thick smoke. (Ref: Elemental Phosphorus by A.K Saxena , 1982) Human Exposure of White Phosphorus: Emission of white phosphorus is possible through a lot of conditions like while handl ing or transportation, accidental spillage, during production of arms and ammunition. It is estimated by EPA 1989 that during the production of white phosphorus, 0.58kg is emitted in air and while the military use for illuminating the air or for producing smoke, the density of smoke is 0.1mg/m3 and the concentration of white phosphorus in smoke was 21 ppb according to EPA 1991. The presence of white phosphorus in environment or air can be fatal as it is very poisonous. Any human exposure to White phosphorus can experience nausea, stomach ache and drowsiness. It is damaging for liver, kidneys or and it burns the flesh to bone if contacted with skin. (Reference: Potential for Human Exposure) Environmental Effects of Phosphorus: Industrial use of White Phosphorus in the production of ammunition, the excretion of wastewater containing a large amount of white phosphorus settles at the surface at the side. White phosphorus is not very reactive in water and but it accumulates in the organi sms which can be harmful for aquatic life. It stays in the soil for several days before it turns into less harmful substances but in deep soil it can stay for thousands of years and that is one of the main reason for desalination and

Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 32

Case Study Example KFC does not face any micro political risk, which arises from environmental and economic changes for outlets in foreign countries. Micro risks are inherent in United States KFC adaptation strategy involves adaptation of Chinese culture. This is observed in its involvement with Chinese governing bodies, and hiring of local staffs in it operation. Its goes further to incorporate Chinese food in its Menu, a rare feature and valuable strategy for business to thrive and survive. It strives to identify itself with locals in all processes, though it is an entity situated in a foreign land. Feeding of birds genetically to enhance their growth rate results to ailments Among them include extreme obesity, fatty livers and kidneys, heart attacks and other ailments. Overcrowding of birds to an extreme where some of them break wings, and hanging of chickens with conveyor belts while they are still alive are unethical practices observed in KFC business

U.S. Navy WWII Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

U.S. Navy WWII - Essay Example against the American Navy after their failure at the Battle of Coral Sea.1 Nimitz already knew that the Japanese were planning to capture Midway Island as a way of extending their control of the Pacific. Yamamoto, the Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet believed that his troop could gain control of the Pacific only after an all-out naval battle with the American. In his plan, America would suffer defeat thereby making Japan free to conquer. Similarly, Yamamoto believed that Nimitz would not escape any major naval battle with the Japanese but the US Commander-in-Chief was not ready to evade any naval battle within the Pacific region. Yamamoto had planned on luring some of the American naval forces away from his main battlefield.2 Besides, he ensured that four of the eight Japanese aircraft carriers would be in the vicinity. Notably, the Japanese fleet consisted of some of the biggest battleships in the world known as Yamato the smaller battleships as well as other numero us cruisers and destroyers. Unfortunately, Yamamoto’s plan had two major defects. First, he believed in the supremacy of his battleship. This made him fail to realize that aircraft carriers could give a massive blow to them while at a far distance. Hence, Yamamoto believed that the aircraft carrier was the supporting machine in the battleship and not the other way round. Also, his battleships were much slower than all other warships that he initially had, and this caused the entire fleet to move at a pace that could only suit the slower battleships. The second defect was that the Americans knew the course of Yamamoto’s plan. Therefore, Admirals Spruance and Fletcher prepared their ships for an attack.3 As a result, Yamamoto’s plan of luring the American forces away from the main battlefield was not going to work. On June 2, Fletcher and Spruance took control of two task forces. Notably, Yamamoto had no idea that his fleet was sailing toward a large enemy force and his plans to

Time Managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Time Managment - Essay Example I definitely hoped that I would pick up some learning from this as I definitely did not want to waste time (that would have been truly ironic if that had happened. I was a tad bit skeptical as the seminar started, but the binder with the learning material caught my eye immediately. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything is itself to succumb to the violence of our times. Frenzy destroys our inner capacity for peace. It destroys the fruitfulness of our work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.1 I was slightly taken aback because this seemed highly philosophical. And more importantly, what if I took on too many projects, all of them were properly scheduled and I made sure every hour of my working day counted. As the day went on I realized that this was not just about day planners and to do lists, this was about more than that. Indeed, both day planners and task lists play an important role in time management, but it was important to find out why we wanted to use time efficiently. Indeed if we were saving time what we were saving it for. We certainly could not bank time, so what was the end result there Both managing appointments and keeping to do lists were low hanging fruits. These had to be done anyway. But the purpose of this seminar was to show that there is a lot more to time management. All activities in our life could be put in one of four quadrants. They had to be either urgent and important, urgent and not important, not urgent and important, not urgent and not important. It was not about just getting things done it was getting the things which mattered done. Things which were urgent and important , are emergencies. A good time manager would avoid having too many items in this q uadrant. Plan out the important things so that they never become emergencies. Urgent and not important, these are time consuming non critical activities , they either should be ignored or atleast be moved to the back burner. A Ringing phone for example cries for your attention but you are in the middle of an important project. Let the voicemail get it. You can pick up and call all your voicemails at one time later on. Important and not urgent is the quadrant you want all your entire to do list. No emergencies and you are working only important things. Not important and not urgent. These are items which have to be tossed. They serve no purpose at all. After this we briefly went over the POSEC method. POSEC is an acronym. PRIORITIZE-Your time and define your life by goals. ORGANIZING-Things you have to accomplish regularly to be successful. (Family and Finances) STREAMLINING-Things you may not like to do, but must do. (Work and Chores) ECONOMIZING-Things you should do or may even like to do, but they're not pressingly urgent. (Past-times and Socializing) CONTRIBUTING-By paying attention to the few remaining things that make a difference. (Social Obligations)2. It was important to learn that managing was not just about managing individual minutes or hours. It was a big picture which was trying to be put together here consisting of numerous small elements. The numerous small elements in themselves meant nothing unless an overall big picture came into place. Continuing on the philosophy of time management , we made a small detour into

Macro Economic's questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Macro Economic's questions - Assignment Example Canada has experienced a decreasing interest rates and a relative increase in the GDP over the last decades. This has led to increase in the consumption expenditure and a rise in the investments as shown by the statistics by growth in the economy (Roberts, 2005).The adjustments have contributed positively to the economy as it resulted in the expansion of various sectors hence high GDP. Introducing insurance will reduce the employees’ salaries that will eventually lower their income. This will reduce the level of consumption and investments in the economy under the business cycle leading to a recession. As a result, there is decrease in the production of goods and services in the economy reducing the GDP (Roberts, 2005). This will affects the economy in the long run as majority of the population may be rendered jobless leading to a rise in the unemployment’s rates due to the decreased output levels of the industries. Low interest rates have been maintained over the past but have only resulted in low economic growths. This has been attributed by the decrease in the domestic demands by individual countries as a result of the low activities by the private sectors as low rates discourages investments (Roberts, 2005).Various countries also experience high depts. hence despite the expansionary measures most of their resources are allocated to settling deficits as a result of the world economic recession leading to low growths. Free trade is opposed since it results into the collapse of the local industries and less producing nations becoming dumpsites resulting in increase in the unemployment rate. However free trade leads to competition that results into quality and relatively cheaper commodities for the population, corporation of the countries, removes trade barriers that leads to more disposable income for the consumers while

Time Managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Time Managment - Essay Example I definitely hoped that I would pick up some learning from this as I definitely did not want to waste time (that would have been truly ironic if that had happened. I was a tad bit skeptical as the seminar started, but the binder with the learning material caught my eye immediately. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything is itself to succumb to the violence of our times. Frenzy destroys our inner capacity for peace. It destroys the fruitfulness of our work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.1 I was slightly taken aback because this seemed highly philosophical. And more importantly, what if I took on too many projects, all of them were properly scheduled and I made sure every hour of my working day counted. As the day went on I realized that this was not just about day planners and to do lists, this was about more than that. Indeed, both day planners and task lists play an important role in time management, but it was important to find out why we wanted to use time efficiently. Indeed if we were saving time what we were saving it for. We certainly could not bank time, so what was the end result there Both managing appointments and keeping to do lists were low hanging fruits. These had to be done anyway. But the purpose of this seminar was to show that there is a lot more to time management. All activities in our life could be put in one of four quadrants. They had to be either urgent and important, urgent and not important, not urgent and important, not urgent and not important. It was not about just getting things done it was getting the things which mattered done. Things which were urgent and important , are emergencies. A good time manager would avoid having too many items in this q uadrant. Plan out the important things so that they never become emergencies. Urgent and not important, these are time consuming non critical activities , they either should be ignored or atleast be moved to the back burner. A Ringing phone for example cries for your attention but you are in the middle of an important project. Let the voicemail get it. You can pick up and call all your voicemails at one time later on. Important and not urgent is the quadrant you want all your entire to do list. No emergencies and you are working only important things. Not important and not urgent. These are items which have to be tossed. They serve no purpose at all. After this we briefly went over the POSEC method. POSEC is an acronym. PRIORITIZE-Your time and define your life by goals. ORGANIZING-Things you have to accomplish regularly to be successful. (Family and Finances) STREAMLINING-Things you may not like to do, but must do. (Work and Chores) ECONOMIZING-Things you should do or may even like to do, but they're not pressingly urgent. (Past-times and Socializing) CONTRIBUTING-By paying attention to the few remaining things that make a difference. (Social Obligations)2. It was important to learn that managing was not just about managing individual minutes or hours. It was a big picture which was trying to be put together here consisting of numerous small elements. The numerous small elements in themselves meant nothing unless an overall big picture came into place. Continuing on the philosophy of time management , we made a small detour into

Personal statement for applying master program in Finance

For applying master program in Finance - Personal Statement Example Finance is a vast subject. Just as it is revealed that human being is the crown of creation, the subject of foreign exchange is the crown of finance. Without the thorough knowledge of foreign exchange, its mercurial style of functioning, knowledge of finance, management and business world as a whole is incomplete. If we can compare the business world to an orchestra, foreign exchange is the conductor of the orchestra. All other musical instruments work in tandem as per the swing of the baton of the conductor. One who knows the subject of foreign exchange, knows how important the words like moods and swing in relation to this subject are! I like the subject of foreign exchange because I am aware of the significance of the subject in the context of global business. My interest in stock and investment goes in tandem with my fascination about the working of the foreign markets. Investments are about timing, opportunity and choices, especially for buying and selling stocks in the national as well as the international markets, one has to take split-second decisions. Often I marvel at those stock and finance wizards like Warren Buffet who take to the stock market just like fish takes to the ocean waters. They seem to function with ease, remain calm and collected, but they have a steely will and their well-versed calculations for investments, either to buy or sell stocks, are the outcome of their profound d study of the stock market and its behavior of the foreign exchange domain. This is not to say I want to follow their methods of responding to the share market and I certainly do not wish to become the second Warren Buffe t, but the first Chang Tu. That is to say, I do not like to be the follower, but the leader and prove my credentials. I have the will to grow, with the theory knowledge that I am going to acquire in university, under the able guidance of the members of the faculty. I realize that one of the

Development or environmental injustice Essay Example for Free

Development or environmental injustice Essay What does it really take to experience development? What are the defining criteria for development? Is development quantitatively measured or qualitatively evaluated? What are the key indicators of a developing or developed country? The answers depend on the person’s priority and preference. The expansion of metropolitan areas has been referred to as urban development by those who are after the material indicators of development- high rise buildings, wider highways, more cars and more parks. For those who are concerned with the long-term environmental and health effects of urbanization, they call it urban sprawl. For the purpose of having a common point of reference, let me use 1Dr. Howard Frumkin’s definition of urban sprawl: â€Å"the complex pattern of land use, transportation and social and economic development. † This complex pattern requires the extension of urban areas to rural areas, and thus converting the latter to urbanized locality. Urbanization implies vast forest and agricultural lands to be converted to different land uses. Sad to say, the list includes recreational facilities and parks which, for investment and environmental considerations are to be of least priority. Extensive roads construction which provides spaces for suburban dwellers to drive a car just to buy a pack of cigarette in the next block, is not suppose to be of immediate consideration. Besides this qualitative indicators of poor urban sprawl considerations, there are environmental threats of urban sprawl that are needed to be evaluated and be given high priority by the development advocates, as it concerns life of the present and future generations. 2â€Å"Automobile has been a prerequisite to urban sprawl. † (J. E. Anderson) The most adverse effect of heavy reliance to automobiles is obviously air pollution. In the United States, 3about 25% of all trips are shorter than one mile of these, 75% are by car. Another related 4study revealed that only 1% of trips in the US are on bicycle and 9% by foot. Do these figures present impressive urban development rates for the US? I am afraid not because the Netherlands has 30% accounting for transportation on bicycle. These facts rather provide proofs that vehicles are the leading source of air pollution. Despite modern environmental standards, urban air quality remains to be greatly affected by the emission of air pollutants from transport. In the 5US alone, 30% of nitrogen oxide and 30% of hydrocarbon emissions are brought about by mobile sources. In addition, 5carbon dioxide emission, which is the end product of burning fuel such as gas, accounts for 80% emissions. Carbon dioxide is the major greenhouse gas, with global warming potential. Needless to explain, development should no be measured quantitatively, that is by the number of cars that are going to and fro the streets of the cities. Rather, development should be measured qualitatively, that how much does it contribute to the quality of life the residents are to experience when programs relative to urban sprawl are push through. Housing development is a part of urban sprawl, which requires forest fragmentation. 6Chet Arnold of the Center for Land-use and Research at the University of Connecticut said forest fragmentation occurs when â€Å"large, continuous forests are divided into smaller blocks, either by roads, clearing for agriculture, urbanization, or other human development. † This means that housing development requires animal populations in the cleared forests to be thrown out of their natural habitats. Destruction of natural habitats accounts for great loss of biodiversity, which results to ecological imbalance. I agree that man deserve to have decent life and part of it is having a more comfortable living. But humans are not the only residents of the earth. We also have to take into consideration the floras and faunas as part of biodiversity. Let us remember that earth creatures are dependent on each other. Humans, being given the capacity to think and understand over the lower forms of life should see things beyond material and short-term comforts that development brings. Urban sprawl in this context alone is clearly an environmental injustice. Water resources are not exempted from the list of natural resources that are directly affected by urban sprawl. As requisite of urban sprawl deforestation brings forth water pollution. This is besides the effects of pollutants that directly come from factories, sewage treatment plants and local wastes, which are typical to urbanized cities. Rainwater that runs through the deforested lands are not effectively absorbed and thus flows downstream. This process results to lesser groundwater recharge, then water supply shortage follows. Added to the list of negative effects of urban sprawl to natural resources are noise pollution, the heat island effect, soil erosion and the declining fertility rates of soils. The main point of all these is that urban sprawl is the root of many environmental injustices. Air pollution, deforestation, water pollution, soil degradation and the destruction of biodiversity are results of a chain reaction from a single step to what others refer to as urban development. What humans failed to do and still refuse to consider is the future. Development projects, of which urban sprawl is a major player, are focused on comforts and pleasures of today and shortly after tomorrow. The next generation should be taken into serious consideration. There are things that still can be undone, but there are things that cannot. Natural resources that were destroyed can still be replaced, but it takes a century to bring them back to where they used to be. By itself, there’s nothing wrong with development. What makes it undesirable is its planner to consider the future. REFERENCES 1. Frumkin, Howard. Urban Sprawl and Public Health. Public Health Reports. May-June 2002 issue. Volume 117. page 201 2. Anderson, J. Edward. Personal Rapid Transit and Urban Development. Retrieved from http://faculty. washington. edu/jbs/itrans/sprawl. htm on December 19, 2006 3. Koplan, JP, Dietz. Caloric Imbalance and Public Health Policy. JAMA 1999. 282. pages 1579-81 4. Pucher, J. Bicycling Boom in Germany: A Revival Engineered by Public Policy. Transportation Q 1997:51. pages 31-46 5. US Environmental Agency. National Emission Inventory. Air Pollutant Emission Trends. Current Emission Trend Summaries. Retrieved from http://www. epa. gov/ttn/chief/trends/index. html on December 19, 2006 6. NASA. Urban Sprawl: The Big Picture. Retrieved from http://science. nasa. gov/headlines/y2002/11oct_sprawl. htm on December 19, 2006

Gender Differences in Classroom Behaviour

Gender Differences in Classroom Behaviour Investigating the differences in classroom behaviour across the genders Introduction: In recent decades there has been an increasing focus on gender differences in an educational context. During the 1970s and 1980s, feminist research on gender and education was motivated by concern at the underachievement, and marginalization, of girls (Francis and Skelton, 2001, p.1). This had been largely due to the different subjects that boys and girls studied, and it was not until the introduction of the National Curriculum which saw boys and girls studying the same subjects for the first time, that the extent of girls’ relative success was revealed (Arnot et al., 1999). Recent years have seen something of a pendulum swing with boys now being a focus for concern. Younger et al. observed in key stage two children a ‘marked disparity between the attainment of boys and girls in English’ with 83 % of girls attaining level 4 in 2004 compared with 72% of boys (Younger et al., 2005, p.20). There is, however inconsistency in the research with Myhill suggesting that not all boys are underachieving and neither are all girls academic success stories (Myhill, 2002). The nature of gender in the education is a difficult effect to isolate since class, race and gender are inevitably interrelated and it is difficult to disentangle the individual effect (MacGilchrist, et al., 2006, p.62) and therefore say conclusively that differences in attainment levels are due to gender alone. The aim of this paper is to investigate the differences in behaviour in respect of gender in the school setting, by looking at the nature of the differences, possible explanations and strategies which teachers can use in the classroom to address these problems, particularly in respect of boys’ underachievement. Theories of Gender Development: That there are patterns of behaviour and social organisation that differ according to sex/gender is not in doubt (Francis, 2006, p.8). There are many theories as to why this is the case, some regarding differences as due to the different biological nature of men and women while others argue that there are environmental reasons for the differences, the dichotomy of nature versus nurture (Rose, 2001, p.256). The idea of gender differences has been taken up by feminist theorists who have argued that that femininity is culturally constructed (Weiner, 1994), as is masculinity (Mac an Ghaill, 1994). Innate Differences: This is the belief that the sexes are inherently different. Evolutionary biologists see differences in gender as having their roots in our genetic make up, stretching back for many generations. Findings from research by Professor John Stein in connection with his work in the context of dyslexia, indicates that boys brains are generally slower to develop. It is therefore not logical to have the same expectations from boys and girls when they come to school for the first time (Scott, 2003, p.84). In recent years many biologists and neuroscientist have been critical of the evolutionary approach (Francis, 2006, p.9), leading to the idea that gender specific behaviour is socially constructed, shaped by a number of factors including culture and the environment. Role Theories: Role theories suggest that gender characteristics are constructed by observing the ways in which other people adopt typical gender roles, being rewarded for engaging in appropriate behaviour and punished in some way when they do not (Gregory, 1969). Proponents of these theories suggest that girls learn how to be girls by watching demure, feminine behaviour, characteristic of girls, while boys learn to be boisterous and tough. These are images that are portrayed to children by a variety of people in their lives, their parents and carers, their teachers, their siblings and reinforced through the media. School is an important arena for the observation of roles and a school policy concerning equal opportunities must reflect an awareness of this. Views on Children’s Acquisition of Gender Knowledge: Skelton and Francis have identified two views on how children acquire their knowledge about gender: Social learning theories which propose that gender identity is learned by children modelling their behaviour on same sex members of their family, peer group, local community as well as the gender stereotypes seen on books and on television; Cognitive development theorists, such as Lawrence Kohlberg, who suggest that a child’s understanding of their gender identity as opposed to their biological sex depends on their stage of cognitive development, their intellectual age. (Skelton and Francis, 2003, p.12). Environmental Factors: It has been suggested that boys and girls are shaped differently by their environment because of the different ways in which they respond to it. Gilligan proposes that girls tend to analyse situations before coming to decisions whereas boys are more likely to stick to rules that they have applied in previous situations. Gilligan suggests that these differences in reaction are as a result of differences in cognitive styles rather than abilities (Gilligan, 1982), but can impact on outcomes in respect of attainment. Environmental factors have been shown to have an effect on children’s attitudes to and performance at school. Home background and parental levels of educational attainment and expectation have been shown to be factors in the different levels of attainment of boys and girls in school. Research presented by Brooker showed that, while boys and girls did not have any marked differences in ability levels on entry to school, over the course of a year girls made more progress than boys. She found that the most successful group were those who came from large families where they had a lot of home support from their siblings (Brooker, 2002, p. 159). Girls typically work more collaboratively, engaging in more socially constructed activities, enhancing learning in the process. Boys from some ethnic minorities have been shown to be under performing against all other educational groups. This has been attributed to peer group pressure, with an anti achievement culture believed to be operating among some black teenage boys. This manifests itself in their disrupting schoolwork and generating a low level of expectation among themselves (Aslop and Hicks, 2001, p.148). The school environment plays an important part in the development of gender attitudes. While it was thought that gender stereotypes would be reinforced by single sex schools, research has shown this not to be the case. When brought together in co educational settings, both boys and girls made more sex stereotypical choices despite a greater variety of facilities. It would therefore appear that co education increases differentiation between the sexes (Leonard, 2006, p.194). Gender Differences in School: With an increasing belief that gender is socially constructed, has come an awareness that school is one of the social contexts in which gender appropriate behaviour is defined and constructed (Myhill and Jones, 2006, p.100). The most prominent area for concern has been the development of gendered behaviour leading to the disengaged or alienated male in school. His behaviour, general unruliness and lack of interest are seen as dominating classroom life (Gray and McLellan, 2006, p.652). Many teachers show a strong belief in gender differences, believing them to influence attitudes to school, motivation, maturity, responsibility, behaviour and identification with the school ethos (Arnot and Gubb, 2001). It has been shown that because so many primary school teachers are female, they have not been trained in how boys and girls learn differently (Gurian, 2002, p.126) and traditional teaching styles adopted may favour the learning dispositions of girls. Expectations: Teacher expectations are an important factor in achievement. If teachers have high expectations, pupils will be highly motivated to learn and succeed (Aslop and Hicks, 2001, p.148). In respect of boys’ underachievement, evidence has tended to note that teachers have low expectations about boys’ levels of academic achievement (Myhill and Jones, 2006, p.101), research supported in a study by Younger and Warrington that demonstrated that teachers tended to underestimate boys’ achievement at GCSE level, while girls’ achievement tended to be overestimated (Younger and Warrington, 1996). Teachers have been shown, in addition to having low expectations of boys, to take advantage of girls, enlisting them as allies in the battle to â€Å"police, teach, control and civilise boys† (Epstein et al., 1998). It is incumbent on schools therefore to have high expectations for boys and to have mechanisms for transmitting this information to the students and developing high expectations. They must also have a focus on not using girls a pseudo teachers, allowing them to develop an appropriate role in the classroom in the context of their peers. Perceptions of Boys and Girls: In studies of primary schools differences have been shown in the ways in which teachers perceived boys and girls. Girls have traditionally been viewed as co operative and conscientious workers with boys being viewed as dominant, demanding but rewarding to teach. Boys have traditionally been viewed as requiring more effort to teach but at the same time having more ability (Skelton and Francis, 2003, p.8). Boys and Underachievement: Changes in educational policy in recent years can lead to boys feeling devalued because, in the early years, especially, they find themselves in a world of learning lacking in masculine figures. Research has also shown that girls have a lack of confidence, even when performing well in comparison with boys (Gray and McLellan, 2006, p.653). The challenge is therefore to re-engage boys in the learning process through appropriate activities and motivation and to develop greater degrees of self esteem in girls. The extraordinary academic progress of girls in recent years has been associated with two features; girls’ continuing advantage in English and their improvement in mathematics and science (Arnot et al., 1999, p.16). As noted above, Gilligan has presented evidence that boys and girls may react to their environment in different ways, but what causes concern for teachers and educators is that maths and science have traditionally been male domains, which now boys are not performing as well in as they have done in the past. Gipps and Murphy expand on this point by suggesting that this should be borne in mind by those who set and mark test papers in order to take into account the different approaches students may adopt when answering questions (Gipps and Murphy, 1994). Schools must give consideration to the strategies being employed to facilitate boys’ learning. Research carried out by Daniels et al. in the context of special education suggests that girls give each other a great deal of help and support, not something often seen in boys. They speculate that this may have at least three important consequences: It can help reduce the amount of extra support required by girls from their teachers as they are getting a lot of this from their peers; The support is likely to be appropriate because the peers know exactly what type of ‘scaffold’ is needed to facilitate learning; The person giving the support can consolidate their own learning by giving support and teaching someone else. (Daniels et al., 1996). Girls have also been shown to give considerable help and attention to boys, helping them by providing equipment and helping them with their homework (Thorne, 1993), reiterating the idea of girls acting as pseudo teachers in the class. Although there is a lot of individual variation amongst males and females, male students of all ages tend to dominate discussions, to make more direct and directive comments to their partners and generally to adopt more ‘executive’ roles in problem solving (Mercer, 2001, p.196). Working with Boys in the Classroom: While girls have been perceived as being hard working in the class, it has been argued that peer group pressure among boys makes it difficult for them to slot into this role. Popularity among ones peers and working hard at school can be seen as mutually incompatible and may result in boys being bullied or excluded from friendship groups (Frosh et al., 2002). The issue in respect of how boys behave in the classroom has been a further area of controversy with arguments ranging from boys being treated less favourably than girls through to boys causing disruption to a degree that hampers learning for other children, but there is evidence to suggest that, regardless of the nature of the interaction, whether positive or negative, teachers do engage more with boys than they do with girls (La France, 1991). Some of the reasoning behind boys underachievement has been questioned. Biddulph, (1998, cited in MacNaughton, 2006, p.140) has suggested that while boys are often accused of not listening in class, the reality is that they suffer from growing spurts that have an adverse affect on their ear canals. MacNaughton questions the fact that if this is the case for boys, then surely the same must be true for girls (MacNaughton, 2006, p.141), suggesting that the physiological explanations do not provide an adequate explanation. There has been a great deal of concern for many years about boys’ behaviour in schools, having been expressed as early as 1930 by Brerton who commented â€Å"Many girls will work at a subject they dislike. No healthy boy ever does!† (Brerton, 1930, p.95). A major factor that has come to light in a great deal of the research concerning boy’s disaffection with school is that fact that it is multifaceted in its nature, with gender being only one of a number of factors. Bob Connell is among a number of researchers who ahs pointed this out writing, â€Å"The making of masculinities in schools is far from the simple learning of norms. It is a process of multiple pathways, shaped by class and ethnicity, producing diverse outcomes.† (Connell, 2000, p.164). Research presented by Marland suggested that teachers treated boys and girls differently and in doing so amplified society’s stereotypes (Marland, 1983). Research in gender and education has highlighted the negative consequences of the construction of masculinity for many boys in education, with many boys coming into conflict with teachers and other authorities (Skelton, 2001). Some theorists have suggested that this could be addressed by having greater concentrations of male teachers in schools. Thornton and Bricheno have countered this, presenting evidence that greater concentrations of male teachers actually leads to poorer discipline in schools (Thornton and Bricheno, 2002, cited in Skelton and Francis, 2003, p.7). Assessing Children’s Perceptions: As with all other teaching and learning that goes on in the school setting, schools must begin the development of the equal opportunity policy in respect of gender by ascertaining the views that the children have, addressing misconceptions, planning what they want to achieve and developing a programme to facilitate this. Skelton suggests that in order to do this the school should begin by asking the following four questions: What images of masculinity and femininity are the children bringing with them into school and what types are they acting out in the classroom and playground? What are the dominant images of masculinity and femininity that the school itself reflects to the children and are these what the school wishes to present? What kinds of role model does the school want and expect of its teachers? What kinds of initiatives/strategies/projects should teachers be undertaking with children to question gender categories? (Skelton, 2001). A Europe wide study carried out by Smith and Gorard revealed that boys in several European countries in general felt that they were treated less favourably than girls but the feelings were strongest among boys in the United Kingdom (Smith and Gorard, 2002, cited in Myhill and Jones, 2006, p.102). This is a finding that is echoed throughout the research literature (Wing, 1999; Francis, 2000). Gender and Mathematics: Recent decades have seen a shift in emphasis from the focus on girls’ underachievement in mathematics, towards generic ideas concerning mathematics and gender. Research has been carried out by the Girls and Mathematics Unit (Lucey et al., 2003, p.55) has proposed that the characteristics of an ideal mathematics learner is a child who is active, keen to explore and investigate new challenges, ideas central to constructivist theories of learning where learners build on what they know already to assimilate new concepts. It has been argued that these are in fact characteristics more often associated with boys, rather then being gender neutral, suggesting that the ideal child is, in fact an ideal boy (Adams and Walderdine, 1986). Concerns in respect of a general decline in mathematics led to the adoption of a National Numeracy Strategy. Research has suggested that girls like to work in an investigative way, keen to learn about new things rather than just getting the correct answer, skills that are fostered by the move towards an approach which focuses on learning about learning and developing strategies for developing mathematical skills and explanations. Clark argues that boys and girls have different ways of exerting their power in the classroom, boys using direct methods such as dominating the classroom dynamics and interacting to a greater degree with the teacher, while girls employ more subtle methods for asserting themselves through working hard and being co operative (Clark 1990), which in turn helps their attainment (Walden and Walkerdine, 1986, p.125), a consequence of their spending more time directly on task. Lucey at al. suggest, that in the context of whole class teaching, in order for all children to experience success, teachers need to avoid lessons becoming an arena for confident children. They argue that a better use of lesson time is to allow children to work at their own pace, in group or pair contexts, where pupils are allowed to develop their own skills, explore a variety of strategies, and at the same time, develop confidence and self esteem. Gender and Literacy: As mentioned above, girls have been performing better than boys in respect of literacy, giving it a central role in the debate about gender and schooling in recent years. Boys’ underachievement in this area has been well documented. In her book Differently Literate, Millard proposed reasons for this, citing one of the main ones as the fact that bots and girls have interests in different aspects of literacy. She argued that boys were largely discriminated against in the school setting where many of the texts available are not related to boys’ interests. The National Literacy Strategy was introduced in 1998, one of the main ideas of which was critical literacy, an idea that texts do not stand alone, but that they are socially constructed making them useful in developing critical literacy skills in respect of gender roles (Marsh, 2003, p. 73). The fact that gender roles are embedded in many of these texts provides opportunities for the challenge of stereotypes by children. This is essential in developing the understanding necessary for overcoming them. Gender and Science: The 1990s saw science become one of the success stories in the primary curriculum, following a number of attempts to reduce sex specific behaviours in science and technology. The research concerning children’s perceptions in science has been mixed. Drawing a scientist has been employed as way of ascertaining children’s perceptions. Some studies have shown that children have developed less gendered ideas about scientists and therefore science while other research has suggested that children’s attitudes have not really changed very much (Reiss, 2003, p.82). The nature of science and its subject matter has been the subject of debate in the gender context. While single and mixed sex groupings have both been shown to be effective in teaching and learning in science in some respects, what has been identified as more important is the teacher’s attitudes in respect of gender equity, preferably in the context of a whole school approach to gender issues in science. It is important to facilitate the development of diverse ideas with respect to scientific concepts and to have assessment systems which are fair. Addressing the Issues: Head states the implication of gender research for teachers is that if girls and boys: â€Å"prefer different learning procedures then teachers should be flexible in their choice of teaching and assessment methods. But these gender differences are not absolute, there is considerable overlap between the two sexes and considerable variation within one group. A flexible approach to pedagogy should therefore be of general benefit to the school population.† (Head, 1996, p.68). It has been recognised that children work hard to demonstrate their gender identity, not being easily swayed by alternative images (Francis, 1998). Schools do have a responsibility to ensure that they have a policy on sex discrimination, and must ensure that it is being properly implemented. In the light of the evidence presented by Francis (above) and others, it is not sufficient for teachers to present alternative views for children. The approach must be more proactive with children being given opportunities to actively challenge stereotypical views that they may hold. The role of the teacher in facilitating gender awareness and equality in the classroom cannot be overestimated. Teachers should avoid using stereo typical language pertaining to gender, should use reading and teaching materials which can be interrogated in respect of gender, and should foster attitudes pertaining to equal opportunities and inclusion in the classroom. Skelton and Francis suggest that this can be achieved in the primary classroom through an active challenge of gender stereotypes, including the following activities: Teachers should ensure that they are involved in a full range of activities in the classroom, paying particular attention that they are not avoiding areas in the classroom traditionally associated with the opposite sex, such as male teachers avoiding the home corner and female teachers avoiding the construction toys; Children should be presented with a range of play and learning activities in which they can be encouraged to challenge gender stereotypes; Teachers should take opportunities, as and when they arise, to discuss issues pertaining to gender, through the use of appropriate materials; When boys or girls are dominating particular play areas or activities, that can be challenged through the use of circle time or class discussion. The teacher can play a role in challenging behaviour through the use of open ended questioning such as â€Å"can boys and girls play together with blocks, do you think that of you worked together you could make something better than you can on your own?† In this way the teacher can be encouraging children to be reflective about their roles in the class and in society generally; Teachers need to help children in the development of skills with which they may not normally associate themselves. (Skelton and Francis, 2003, p.17-18). Conclusion: The growing body of literature on masculinities and femininities in education has advanced our understandings of the complex ways in which boys and girls construct and negotiate their identities within schools (Jackson, 2006, p.xiv). Research supports the view that pupils take up various positions with respect to attitudes to schooling but, while identifying the existence of clearly gendered pupil types, it challenges the simplistic notions about how boys and girls may differ (Gray and McLellan, 2006, p.654). Many of the practices recommended in schools’ equal opportunities policies to redress gender inequalities have done little, if anything, to change the way in which boyhood and girlhood is perceived and judged by adults as well as acted out by children in the primary classroom (Francis and Skelton, 2003, p.13). Research has demonstrated that, despite their improved achievement, many facets of girls’ educational experience remain negatively affected by the masculine values and expectations reflected in educational institutions (Francis and Skelton, 2001, p.3). Evidence that has been presented in respect of girls outstripping boys in terms of school achievement has not gone unchallenged, with Gorard et al. suggesting that data presented masks the fact that exam performance has increased for both boys and girls on a yearly basis, and the statistical information has, in any case, been misinterpreted (Gorard et al., 1999). The boys’ underachievement debate has been cri ticised because of the narrow parameters of the argument where it has been suggested that all boys, irrespective of social class, ethnicity and so on are underachieving (Francis and Skelton, 2001, p.165). It is essential that schools develop policies which take a holistic view of inclusion and equal opportunities in respect of gender. These must be implemented and their success evaluated, and efforts made to re-engage boys in the education process. References: Adams, C. and Walkerdine, V. (1986) Investigating Gender in the Primary School. London: ILEA. Alsop, S. and Hicks, K. 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