Owens & Minor case for aligning supply chain incentives Essay

Executive Summary Statement of issues: Due to the changes of business environment, O&M suffered a continuous loss on business. Instead of acting individually, customers formed buying groups and combined buying power to gain advantages in negotiating gross margin with distributor. With the increased popularity of JIT and stockless idea, customers want to shift cost and risk associated with inventory to distributor, and they also want distributor to provide better services at its own expense. Moreover, competitions from private label distributors and manufacturing distributors further squeezed profit margin of our company. Owens and Minor play a very important role in the entire SC. They are in charge of providing information to manufacturers on product flow. Their services to the hospitals include storing the inventory in their warehouse and making constant shipments based on stockless and JIT strategy, thus taking all the financial risk in inventory handling and storage. They don’t add value to the product itself, but they do add a lot of value to the SC. The nature of distribution has changed over time. The bargaining power of hospital has increased due to mergers and alliances, pressuring the distributors to reduce their margins. Upstream members of the SC have also put some pressure on O&M to take additional cost in their operations. If the ABP strategy could be successfully implemented, both distributor’s and customers’ incentives could be allied. Customers would be willing to order expensive products via distributors’ channel instead of buying directly from manufacture. Generally, customers who could reduce or simplify the activities happened through the supply chain would adopt ABP faster. Also, customers who understood and were willing to develop a sustainable relationship with distributors would adopt the ABP first. ABP was a new concept and its value had not been proven. Aggressive  implementation of new idea such as ABP might drive customers away and fed competitors. There are internal obstacles exist in the ABP implementation. Hospitals have to restructure its organizational structures to fit in ABP system. Rearranging employees and reallocating facilities would increase the distrust to ABP system. Also, a substantial amount of investment is needed for establishing the EDI system. How to overcome these obstacles and make ABP implementation smooth is a big challenge. In order to illustrate the idea of ABP more clearly, we have come up a simple pricing matrix based on ABC method. We have identified two cost drivers and separated fixed and variable costs from general cost information. However, for simplicity we have not considered the cost difference of EDI and non-EDI ordering in this simple matrix. Owens and Minor should carefully deal with its customers’ resistance to the new pricing system by making them truly understand the new system and benefits they would get after the implementation. Owens and Minor also needed to launch a pilot program before full implementation and provide help and support to its customers to insure the success of the implementation. Statement of issues Historically O&M was doing very well in the industry, however, for recent years company suffered continuous loss on business. At the end of 1995 O&M had ended with an $11 million loss due to decrease in gross margin and an increase in expense. There are many reasons that caused this result, and we are going to identify the most important ones. Healthcare industry has changed a lot since 1980. Historically, hospitals purchased healthcare products individually. However, in order to achieve economies of scale and gain more control over supply costs, hospitals joined forces with other hospitals to form large buying groups. With such combined buying powers, hospitals are much more powerful in negotiating gross margins  and service levels with distributors. Distributors are forced to cut gross margins and increase service level. A quote from O&M manager can illustrate this situation very well: â€Å"whoever had the strongest will would win the price†. Apparently, in current supply chain, the relationship between distributors and customers is not harmonious. Moreover, with the increased popularity of Just-In-Time and stockless management ideas, hospitals are reluctant to hold large inventory because they wouldn’t benefit from JIT whose primary principle is to lower inventory carrying cost by ordering when needed. Instead, they want distributors provide Just-In-Time delivery service. Also customers require special handlings such as smaller package and different products batching and these services are at distributors own costs. Distributors also experienced margin pressure from the manufacturing side because manufactures do no compromise on the already low healthcare product price. Competitions in the industry also results profit decline of O&M, especially with distributors who also produce healthcare products entered the market. Those distributors are able to offer extremely low price to customers because they are the manufactures as well. Even though O&M commits to provide better service, it lost many customers because of this. Analysis of Data Services rendered by O&M and changes in Distribution. Owens & Minor play a tremendous role in this industry’s Supply-Chain. They are in charge of providing information to manufacturers on product flow such as: market trends, buying patterns and product penetration, so that their suppliers use this valuable information in order to manage their operations and production schedules. By doing so, manufacturers are able to produce the right quantity of supplies, which in turn reduces stockouts and/or excess stock costs, in other words O&M provide the necessary tools for the upstream members to have adequate inventory production planning. As for their customers, their role is to purchase the products from the manufacturers and ship those medical supplies to their warehouse where they will store them until delivery to the hospitals. So O&M owns and manage the inventory themselves, taking all the financial risk associated with product handling, shipment and storage. â€Å"O&M’s main operational functions included receiving, put-away, order picking and shipping†. O&M don’t add value to the product itself since they just act as an intermediary to pass the products from the manufacturer directly to the hospitals, however they do add value to the Supply-Chain. They enrich the SC with the necessary information needed to avoid phenomena such as the Bullwhip Effect and they bring expertise in stockless and JIT inventory management systems, consequently lowering costs along the chain. However, it is certain that the nature of distribution, that is, the role of O&M has changed through time and not for the greater good. This change has occurred mainly with its downstream partners the hospitals. They have shifted they costs to their distributors and demanded better and faster service without any additional rewards, this is why O&M relies heavily on its logistics department to make process more efficient. This was made possible for hospitals due to their increase in power by merging or joining forces with other hospitals. Voluntary Hospitals of America member hospitals represented $1.2 billion in annual revenue to the company, meaning that O&M’s switching cost is too high. They are able to minimize their own costs by forcing distributors to hold their inventory and transport in smaller units, sending it to the nursing and surgical units instead of leaving it at the loading dock as before. Margin pressures have also been present upstream with manufacturers, which were reducing discounts even as small as 0.5%, thus lowering significantly up to 31% distributors net profits before tax. A main issue taken from this case is that incentives along the Supply-Chain are not aligned. The risks and rewards of doing business are not fairly distributed across the network. Even if the manufacturers and hospitals are better off with the cost-plus strategy, the whole SC still does not have a win-win situation and they might lose against other Supply Chains. The truth  behind this issue lies in that there is no trust in the SC, this assumption is made given that nobody wants to share critical information, which enhances Impact of Cost-Plus Pricing on the members of the Supply-Chain. On the side of the distributors O&M, engaging in a cost-plus pricing strategy means charging a 7% markup, meaning that profits lie on expensive products, which they don’t have the change to deliver cause Hospitals bypass them and deal directly with manufacturers in order to avoid the 7% increase in prices. The most important aspect to consider about this strategy is that it does not take into account the services added. In addition, this method caused the effect of Distributor giving more and better service holding more inventories, which increases carrying costs and risk of damage during storage. Distributors enforce supply-chain speed without any additional profits. On the customer’s side, cost-plus pricing implies less risk on inventory carrying cost, creating more incentive for hospitals to order frequently due to flat rate. Nevertheless, there is some unethical activities in which they can participate. They can avoid paying high costs on expensive products to their distributors by jumping them through the SC and dealing with manufacturers instead, an activity called â€Å"cherry-picking†. Finally, the manufacturer engaging in cost-plus strategy needed to handle some shipment to deliver, mainly expensive products, to hospitals. This resulted in inefficiency for both parties due to the fact that manufacturers required hospitals to buy in bulk and they did not have the space or management systems as distributors did to handle the product. Mishandling, damaging and loosing expensive items often occurred in the â€Å"cherry-picking† process. Alternative Courses of Action for O&M. Based on our five quantitative and qualitative decision criteria: cost, time, ease of implementation, customer satisfaction and future benefit for the  company, we are able to compare the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative and help us make the best decision. 1)Status Quo: The easiest option for O&M is to keep operating as they are, which is not the best alternative for them for financial reasons. They currently have customers who are not profitable for the company, customers who keep asking for higher service at the same price that would keep profit margins low as personnel costs increase. For the year of 1995 they incurred a net loss of $11.3 million, which compared to last year’s profit of $7.92 million represents a dramatic and also unstable change. Based on this data, the assumption is that the upstream and downstream partners will not change their business habits and incentives will keep unaligned and that the company will not be able to reduce costs to an extent where they can offset service costs and generate profits. O&M will keep generating loses for the company and will ultimately yield to bankruptcy. The time to implement is inexistent, since no actions are made. The cost of implementation is also inexistent; nevertheless the company’s cost on the long run will be very high because cost-plus strategy is not profitable for them. There is no ease of implementation. The customer’s benefit is high, since they don’t have to pay additional service and inventory carrying cost. The future benefit for the company is very low, might loose contract with clients because of their lack of ability to fulfill all products and keep taking all the costs. 2) Vertical Integration: Our second proposed alternative is vertical integration, which means to acquire a manufacturing plant. By using this strategy, O&M would be able to create its own healthcare product brand and reduce the purchasing price on that. Thus, O&M could offer a more competitive price to its customers and might get some recovers from the high operating costs. However, there are some problems associated with this alternative. O&M had to spend time on finding suitable acquiring target, understanding manufacturing process and integrate the manufacturing plant into the company system. Therefore, this strategy requires a relatively longer time period to get things work. On the other hand, in order to do vertical integration, O&M had to prepare a huge amount of cash. Based on the fact that O&M’s current cash flow was very tight, acquiring a manufacture  would have a big impact on company’s financial health. Implementation of this strategy would be quite diffi cult as well. Since O&M had no experience on healthcare manufacturing, it has to get familiar with the process from very beginning. Also, how to control manufacturing cost at a competitive level is a new challenge to O&M. Because O&M can create its low-cost private label products under this strategy, it has the incentive to promote private label products to hospitals. However, hospitals do not like private label products since it limits the scope of choice so under this strategy customer satisfaction level is low. In general, vertical integration is effective in reducing company’s cost on healthcare products purchasing but requires a substantial investment and long implementation period. Customer satisfaction is also low in this case. 3)Selected ABP: Another alternative that O&M could use is to use ABP system only on certain type of customers. More specifically, O&M could choose unprofitable customers to implement ABP and keep its profitable customers status quo. The time required for this alternative will not take too long, less than 6 months would be a reasonable estimation. The majority of time would be spent on the analysis of profitability of customers. The challenge of implantation this alternative is to make sure the customer profitability analysis would be done under a proper and correct result would be produced. To estimate customer satisfaction after the implementation, we needed to split our customers into two groups. Those customers determined as â€Å"profitable† to us under current cost-plus system would likely to maintain the current satisfaction level, but customers viewed as â€Å"unprofitable† would feel less satisfied since they would have to pay more after ABP implemented. The downsides of this alternative are the risk to drive some customers away and the increased complexity of our pricing system which might lead increased error rate. The good side is that O&M would benefit in the long run because of the elimination of unprofitable customers. If O&M would have all the information and could develop correct ways to conduct the analysis, this alternative would be a possible choice to lead O&M succeed. 4)ABP for all Customers: this final alternative considers implanting ABP to all customers, both profitable and non profitable. The cost of this option  is higher than â€Å"Selective ABP† previously mentioned, due to the fact that all customer base will be subject to EDI technology and connecting to all of them takes organization within the company and thus training cost by employees for both O&M and hospitals. The time to implement will be longer compared to Selective ABP; however based on our assumption that O&M will be located higher on the learning curve, their time per implementation per customer will be less the more customers they have previously served. The easiness of implementation therefore is not easy due to the large customer base dealt and new systems and training needed. However, the future benefits, not only for O&M, but also for the entire SC will be substantially improved in the sense that incentives would be aligned. Based on previous analysis on alternatives, we conclude that â€Å"ABP for all customers† is the most feasible solution that can maximise company’s profits, as well as aligning the incentives along the SC. This is important not only for the short term, but also for the long term of the entire chain. Impact of ABP on Customer Behavior. Before the implementation of ABP (activity based pricing), the current dominant form of pricing in the medical/ surgical industry was cost-plus pricing. If the ABP strategy could be successfully implemented, both distributor’s and customers’ incentives could be allied. Under ABP, the distribution fee was no longer based on the value of item but the value of service. In that way, Owen & Minor’s customers would begin to think about the real cost of various activities through the supply chain. Instead of wanting to order as less as possible per time and increasing order frequency, customers would begin to seek a way to reduce the order frequency to reduce the distribution fee charged by Owen & Minor. Also, since now the fee was not determined by product value, customers would be willing to order expensive products via distributors’ channel instead of buying in bulk directly from manufacture. So the possibility of mishandling, damaging and lost of expensive items would be reduced. From the distributor’s side, it would be more happy to provide good service because it would be paid based on the service it provided not the value of item. Of course, it’s unlikely to ask all Owen & Minor’s customer to turn to the new pricing system at the same time. Depends on the type of customers, some of them might be adopt the ABP quicker and with less resistance. Generally, customers who could reduce or simplify the activities happened through the supply chain would adopt ABP faster. First, customers willing to simplify or reduce the order frequency would be more likely to adopt the ABP. By doing that, the fee charged by distributor would be decreased. Also, those customers often ordering large amount of expensive items would adopt the ABP first. By doing that, it shits the risk of mishandling, damage and lost to the distributor. Compared with previous fee charged by item value, now they would more likely to pay less but get better service. Furthermore, those customers who understood and were willing to develop a sustainable relationship with distributors would adopt the ABP first. They understood that if distributor was losing money because of the improper pricing system, the entire supply chain would collapse someday and both of them would be hurt finally. There were also risks associated with ABP for Owens and Minor. ABP was a new concept and cost-plus pricing system was still a dominant form in the medical/ surgical industry. It was hard to convince customers adopt the new and even unproven concept. Some customers might turn to other competitors and the relationship that needs built over long time might get hurt. Proposed ABC pricing matrix In order to have a better demonstration, O&M designed a simple pricing scheme using activities-based costing. The pricing scheme is based on two major cost drivers–number of purchase orders per month and number of lines per purchase order. The number of orders was tied up to O&W’s fixed administrative costs and number of lines was tied to variable costs such as the labour handling cost of different products. This is a very primitive matrix because it only listed two cost drives and priced based on them. In reality, there should be a price for every value-adding service provided by distributor and the number of cost drives is huge. However, this simple  pricing matrix could effectively show our clients that their operating cost is associated with level of service they demand, and lower cost is achievable if they can optimize their behaviors. Because we designed this pricing matrix based on two cost drivers, costs included in matrix are directly related to number of ord ers and lines. For example, fixed order costs such as procurement, labeling, account management fees and variable costs like shipping & handling, delivery, interest cost are all included. However, some costs are not comprised in the matrix. O&M believes all costs associate with number of orders are fixed but there are variable costs incur in placing orders. Activities such as taking orders, processing and staging & processing are not free so in the future we need to include these costs in more sophisticated pricing matrix. Moreover, operating cost of an EDI system and a non-EDI system are very different. For simplicity reason we just ignore the difference and assume identical prices for both systems but actually using non-EDI system would incur more cost due to high level of manual works. We have worked out some simple examples on ABP and it shows that company’s profitability increased dramatically under ABP system. Please refer to exhibit #1 fro more details. Risks & Challenges. Although this selected alternative presents many future benefits for the company and the Supply-Chain, certain risks are involved. Risk associated with ABP for Owens and Minor. ABP was a new concept and cost-plus pricing system was still a dominant form in the medical/ surgical industry. It was hard to convince customers adopt the new and even unproven concept. Some customers might turn to other competitors and the relationship that needs built over long time might get hurt. Customer’s entire internal system such as budgeting and incentive programs are formed based on old cost-plus system, and a change in pricing structure is very time consuming. Restructure of pricing system will also affect customer’s buying personnel because their compensation was related to the percentage they negotiate with distributor, and under ABP structure that percentage disappeared Employees on the customer side might have problems understanding the system and change their behaviors to reap maximum savings. Organizational structure will be adjusted to fit ABP which means some employees will be reassigned or resigned, but this decision will have negative impact on morale and productivity. EDI system implementation requires a substantial commitment in resources. Sharing valuable information with customers can be misused at their advantage with O&M’s competitors. The main challenge will be to build mutual trust among the parties involved. Implementation Plan. The successfully have a fully implemented ABP system; we suggest the following action steps: 1.Establish ABP System within the company first and find out cost drivers (services which incur costs). Upgrade IT infrastructure to facilitate further implementation steps. 2.Analyze the benefits of SC based on ABP, benefits such as: improvement on inventory management, aligned incentives to efficiently compete with other Supply Chains, reveal hidden costs on activities, and build long-time relationships, among others. 3.Communicate to selected customers with the previous benefit analysis. 4.Initiate ABP pilot program. 5.Setting up EDI and give continuous support. 6.Adjust and upgrade ABP system based on feedbacks from pilot program 7.communicate to all customers with the success of pilot ABP system 8.Full ABP implementation. (For suggested time-line refer to exhibits.). Conclusion In general, we do see huge potential benefits on the implementation of ABP system. However, risks and challenges will emerge from this alternative and opposition will be strong on the customer side. The implementation steps provide an easy guideline to have a successful ABP system in the SC.

Classical Music Essay

Introduction Music is found in every known culture, past and present, varying wildly between times and places. Since all people of the world, including the most isolated tribal groups, have a form of music, it may be concluded that music is likely to have been present in the ancestral population prior to the dispersal of humans around the world. Consequently music may have been in existence for at least 50,000 years and the first music may have been invented in Africa and then evolved to become a fundamental constituent of human life. The music of the Classical period is characterized by homophonic texture, or an obvious melody with accompaniment. These new melodies tended to be almost voice-like and singable, allowing composers to actually replace singers as the focus of the music. Instrumental music therefore quickly replaced opera and other sung forms (such asoratorio) as the favorite of the musical audience and the epitome of great composition. However, opera did not disappear: during the cla ssical period, several composers began producing operas for the general public in their native languages (previous operas were generally in Italian). Along with the gradual displacement of the voice in favor of stronger, clearer melodies, counterpoint also typically became a decorative flourish, often used near the end of a work or for a single movement. In its stead, simple patterns, such as arpeggios and, in piano music, Alberti bass (an accompaniment with a repeated pattern typically in the left hand), were used to liven the movement of the piece without creating a confusing additional voice. The now-popular instrumental music was dominated by several well-defined forms: the sonata, the symphony, and the concerto, though none of these were specifically defined or taught at the time as they are now in music theory. All three derive from sonata form, which is both the overlying form of an entire work and the structure of a single movement. Sonata form matured during the Classical era to become the primary form of instrumental compositions throughout the 19th century. The early Classical period was ushered in by the Mannheim School, which included such composers as Johann Stamitz, Franz Xaver Richter, Carl Stamitz, andChristian Cannabich. It exerted a profound influence on Joseph Haydn and, through him, on all subsequent European music. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was the central figure of the Classical period, and his phenomenal and varied output in all genres defines our perception of the period. Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert were transitional composers, leading into the Romantic period, with their expansion of existing genres, forms, and even functions of music. PERIODS Medieval †¢When we explore Medieval music, we are dealing with the longest and most distant period of musical history. It includes the Gregorian chant. Gregorian chant is monophonic, meaning music that consists of only one melodic line without accompaniment. Polyphony, music where two or more melodic lines are heard simultaneously, did not exist (or was not knotted) until the 11th century. Unlike chant, polyphony required the participation of a composer to combine the melodic lines in a pleasing manner. Renaissance †¢In the mid-1500s, a prominent bishop commented that music composed for the church should reflect the meaning of the words so that the listeners would be moved to piety. This concept seems like a no-brainer today, but it was a fairly new idea at the time. To suggest that Medieval composers had no desire to write â€Å"expressive† music would be unfair. But, it was the rediscovery of ancient Greek ideals in the Renaissance that inspired many musicians to explore the eloquent possibilities of their art. †¢The increased value of individualism in the Renaissance is reflected by the changing role of the composer in society. Unlike most of their Medieval predecessors, the great masters of the Renaissance were revered in their own lifetimes. †¢Sacred music was still predominant, though secular music became more prevalent and more sophisticated. The repertory of instrumental music also began to expand significantly. New instruments were invented, including the clavicho rd and virginal (both keyboard instruments) and many existing instruments were improved. Baroque (1600-1750) †¢Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Johann Pachelbel, Antonio Vivaldi †¢Baroque music is often highly ornate, colorful and richly textured when compared with its predecessors. Opera was born at what is considered to be the very beginning of the Baroque era, around 1600. †¢Music’s ability to express human emotions and depict natural phenomenon was explored throughout the Baroque period. †¢Although imitative polyphony remained fundamental to musical composition, homophonic writing became increasingly important. Homophonic music features a clear distinction between the melody line and an subsidiary accompaniment part. †¢The orchestra evolved during the early Baroque, starting as an â€Å"accompanist† for operatic and vocal music. By the mid-1600s the orchestra had a life of its own. The concerto was a favorite Baroque form that featured a solo instrumentalist (or small ensemble of soloists) playing â€Å"against† the orchestra, creating interesting contrasts of volume and texture. †¢Many Baroque composers were also virtuoso performers. For example, Archangelo Corelli was famous for his violin playing and Johann Sebastian Bach was famous for his keyboard skills. The highly ornamented quality of Baroque melody lent itself perfectly to such displays of musical dexterity. Classical (1750-1820) †¢Johann Christian Bach, Ledwig van Beethoven, Franz Joseph haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus †¢The word Classical has strong connotations, conjuring up the art and philosophy of Ancient Greece and Rome along with their ideals of balance, proportion and disciplined expression. The late Baroque style was polyphonically complex and melodically ornate. The composers of the early Classical period changed direction, writing music that was much simpler in texture. †¢Homophony–music in which melody and accompaniment are distinct–dominated the Classical style, and new forms of composition were developed to accommodate the transformation. Sonata form is by far the most important of these forms, and one that continued to evolve throughout the Classical period. Although Baroque composers also wrote pieces called sonatas, the Classical sonata was quite different. †¢One of the most important developments of the Classical period is the growth of the public concert. Although the aristocracy would continue to play a significant role in musical life, it was now possible for composers to survive without being the employee of one person or family. This also meant that concerts were no longer limited to palace drawing rooms. Composers started organizing concerts featuring their own music, and often attracted large audiences. The increasing popularity of the public concert had a strong impact on the growth of the orchestra. Although chamber music and solo works were played in the home or other intimate settings, orchestral concerts seemed to be naturally designed for big public spaces. As a result, symphonic music (including opera and oratorio) became more extroverted in character. Composers gradually expanded the size of the orchestra to accommodate this expanded musical vision. Romantic (1820-1915) Johannes Brahms, Claude Debussy, Frederic Chopin, Felix Mendelssohn, Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky †¢Romanticism implies fantasy, spontaneity and sensuality. †¢The Classical period focused on structural clarity and emotional restraint. Classical music was expressive, but not so passionate that it could overwhelm a work’s equilibrium. Beethoven who was in some ways responsible for igniting the flame of romanticism, always struggled (sometimes unsuccessfully) to maintain that balance. Many composers of the Romantic period followed Beethoven’s model and found their own balance between emotional intensity and Classical form. Others reveled in the new atmosphere of artistic freedom and created music whose structure was designed to support its emotional surges. Musical story-telling became important, and not just in opera, but in â€Å"pure† instrumental music as well. The tone-poem is a particularly Romantic invention, as it was an orchestral work whose structure was entirely dependent on the scene being depicted or the story being told. †¢Color was another important feature of Romantic music. New instruments were added to the orchestra and composers experimented with ways to get new sounds from existing instruments. A large palette of musical colors was necessary to depict the exotic scenes that became so popular. †¢In addition to seeking out the sights and sounds of other places, composers began exploring the music of their native countries. Nationalism became a driving force in the late Romantic period and composers wanted their music to express their cultural identity. This desire was particularly intense in Russia and Eastern Europe, where elements of folk music were incorporated into symphonies, tone-poems and other â€Å"Classical† forms. †¢The Romantic period was the heyday of the virtuoso. Exceptionally gifted performers–and particularly pianists, violinists, and singers–became enormously popular. Liszt, the great Hungarian pianist/composer, reportedly played with such passion and intensity that women in the audience would faint. Since, like Liszt, most composers were also virtuoso performers, it was inevitable that the music they wrote would be extremely challenging to play. †¢The Romantic period witnessed an unprecedented glorification of the artist–whether musician, poet or painter–that has had a powerful impact on our own culture. Modern (ca, 1915-Present) Aaron Copland, George Gershwin †¢The late Romantic period featured its own extremes: sprawling symphonies and tone-poems overflowing with music that seemed to stretch harmony and melody to their limits. It is certainly possible to view some early 20th century music as an extension of the late Romantic style, but a great deal of it can also be interpreted as a reaction against that style. †¢20th century music is a series of â€Å"isms† and â€Å"neo-isms.† The primal energy of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring has been called neo-Primitivism. The intensely emotional tone of Schà ¶nberg’s early music has been labeled Expressionism. The return to clearly structured forms and textures has been dubbed neo-Classicism. These terms have been employed in an attempt to organize the diversity of styles running through the 20th century. †¢Nationalism continued to be a strong musical influence in the first half of the century. The study of folk songs enriched the music of numerous composers, such as Ralph Vaughan Williams (England), Bela Bartok (Hungary), Heitor Villa Lobos (Brazil) and Aaron Copland (USA). Jazz and popular musical styles have also been tremendously influential on â€Å"classical† composers from both the United States and Europe. †¢Technology has played a increasingly important role in the development of 20th century music. Composers have used recording tape as a compositional tool (such as Steve Reich’s Violin Phase). Electronically generated sounds have been used both on their own and in combination with traditional †¢instruments. More recently, computer technology has been used in a variety of ways, including manipulating the performance of instruments in real time. Characteristics Given the extremely broad variety of forms, styles, genres, and historical periods generally perceived as being described by the term â€Å"classical music,† it is difficult to list characteristics that can be attributed to all works of that type. Vague descriptions are plentiful, such as describing classical music as anything that â€Å"lasts a long time,† a statement made rather moot when one considers contemporary composers who are described as classical; or music that has certain instruments like violins, which are also found in other genres. However, there are characteristics that classical music contains that few or no other genres of music contain. Literature The most outstanding characteristic of classical music is that the repertoire tends to be written down in musical notation, creating a musical part or score. This score typically determines details of rhythm, pitch, and, where two or more musicians (whether singers or instrumentalists) are involved, how the various parts are coordinated. The written quality of the music has, in addition to preserving the works, enabled a high level of complexity within them: Bach’s fugues, for instance, achieve a remarkable marriage of boldly distinctive melodic lines weaving in counterpoint yet creating a coherent harmonic logic that would be impossible in the heat of live improvisation. Instrumentation The instruments used in most classical music were largely invented before the mid-19th century (often much earlier), and codified in the 18th and 19th centuries. They consist of the instruments found in an orchestra, together with a few other solo instruments (such as thepiano, harpsichord, and organ). The symphony orchestra is the most widely known medium for classical music. The orchestra includes members of the string, woodwind, brass, and percussion families. Electric instruments such as the electric guitar appear occasionally in the classical music of the 20th and 21st centuries. Both classical and popular musicians have experimented in recent decades with electronic instruments such as the synthesizer, electric and digital techniques such as the use of sampled or computer-generated sounds, and the sounds of instruments from other cultures such as thegamelan. None of the bass instruments existed until the Renaissance. In Medieval music, instruments are divided in two categories: loud instruments for use outdoors or in church, and quieter instruments for indoor use. The Baroque orchestra consisted of flutes, oboes, horns and violins, occasionally with trumpets and timpani. Many instruments today associated with popular music filled important roles in early classical music, such as bagpipes, vihuelas, hurdy-gurdies, and some woodwind instruments. On the other hand, instruments such as the acoustic guitar, once associated mainly with popular music, gained prominence in classical music in the 19th and 20th centuries. While equal temperament became gradually accepted as the dominant musical temperament during the 18th century, different historical temperaments are often used for music from earlier periods. For instance, music of the English Renaissance is often performed in meantone temperament. Keyboards almost all share a common layout (often called the piano keyboard). Form Whereas most popular styles lend themselves to the song form, classical music has been noted for its development of highly sophisticated forms of instrumental music:[11] these include the concerto, symphony, sonata, suite, à ©tude, symphonic poem, and others. Classical composers often aspire to imbue their music with a very complex relationship between its affective (emotional) content and the intellectual means by which it is achieved. Many of the most esteemed works of classical music make use of musical development, the process by which a musical idea or motif is repeated in different contexts or in altered form. The sonata form andfugue employ rigorous forms of musical development. The other notable form in classical music is opera. Technical execution Along with a desire for composers to attain high technical achievement in writing their music, performers of classical music are faced with similar goals of technical mastery, as demonstrated by the proportionately high amount of schooling and private study most successful classical musicians have had when compared to â€Å"popular† genre musicians, and the large number of secondary schools, including conservatories, dedicated to the study of classical music. The only other genre in the Western world with comparable secondary education opportunities is jazz. Complexity Professional performance of classical music repertoire demands a significant level of proficiency in sight-reading and ensemble playing, thorough understanding of tonal and harmonic principles, knowledge of performance practice, and a familiarity with the style/musical idiom inherent to a given period, composer or musical work are among the most essential of skills for the classically trained musician. Works of classical repertoire often exhibit artistic complexity through the use of counterpoint, thematic development, phrasing, harmonization, modulation (change of key), texture, and, of course,musical form itself. Larger-scale compositional forms (such as that of the symphony, concerto, opera or oratorio, for example) usually represent a hierarchy of smaller units consisting of phrases,periods, sections, and movements. Musical analysis of a composition aims at achieving greater understanding of it, leading to more meaningful hearing and a greater appreciation of the composer’s style. Society Classical music regularly features as background music for movies, television programmes, advertisements and events. Nessun dorma from Giacomo Puccini’s opera Turandot for example was the theme tune for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Relation to Education Throughout history, parents have often made sure that their children receive classical music training from a young age.Some parents pursue music lessons for their children for social reasons or in an effort to instill a sense of self-discipline. Some believe that knowledge of important works of classical music is part of a good general education. During the 1990s, several research papers and popular books wrote on what came to be called the â€Å"Mozart effect†: an observed temporary, small elevation of scores on certain tests as a result of listening to Mozart’s works. The approach has been popularized in a book by Don Campbell, and is based on an experiment published in Nature suggesting that listening to Mozart temporarily boosted students’ IQ by 8 to 9 points This popularized version of the theory was expressed succinctly by a New York Times music columnist: â€Å"researchers†¦ have determined that listening to Mozart actually makes you smarter. â€Å"Promoters marketed CDs claimed to induce the effect. Florida passed a law requiring toddlers in state-run schools to listen to classical music every day, and in 1998 the governor of Georgia budgeted $105,000 per year to provide every child born in Georgia with a tape or CD of classical music. In 1996–1997, a research study was conducted on a large population of middle age students in the Cherry Creek School District in Denver, Colorado, USA. The study showed that students who actively listen to classical music before studying had higher academic scores. The research further indicated that students who listened to the music prior to an examination also had positively elevated achievement scores. Students who listened to rock-and-roll or country had moderately lower scores. The study further indicated that students who used classical during the course of study had a significant leap in their academic performance; whereas, those who listened to other types of music had significantly lowered academic scores. The research was conducted over several schools within the Cherry Creek School District and was conducted through University of Colorado. This study is reflective of several recent studies (i.e. Mike Manthei and Steve N. Kelly of the University of Nebraska at Omaha; Donald A. Hodges and Debra S. O’Connell of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro; etc.) and others who has significant results through the discourse of their work. SUMMARY Personally, I listen to classical music and this is my topic for my ongoing thesis, listening to classical music somehow brings you back to old times, helps me to appreciate art and improves my cognition. Classical music is a music that never gets old, a gift that we, the new generation must take care of.

Howard County High School Students Have Their Say Essay

Lunch menus in public schools have changed significantly over the past several years. There is an increased national concern about the alarming number of school age children who suffer from obesity. Federal and state requirements have been difficult to achieve due to the complexity in satisfying the palette as well as public health concerns. Howard County, Maryland has joined with other areas to find a compromise between public policies and student satisfaction. John-John Williams, IV in his article, â€Å"Having a Say on What They Eat,† examines the efforts of the Howard County Public Schools in Ellicott City, Maryland. In response to a 2006 â€Å"wellness† policy, high school administrators were required to reduce the amount of high fat foods offered to students. Items such as french fries or anything resembling fast foods were excluded as suitable choices. In response, students protested with their pocketbooks by refusing to purchase certain cafeteria items. Howard County high schools lost thousands of dollars in much needed revenue and were forced to include student-consumers in the decision making process. Students enrolled in the Culinary Arts Program are making their voices heard at Oakland Mills, a high school in Howard County. The young male and female chefs hope to create dishes suitable for next fall’s menu. Students enrolled in the cooking class, much like many restaurant owners and professional chefs, are faced with the challenges of providing foods that meet national nutritional guidelines and at the same time manage cost and taste appeal. Students participating in the taste-test were required to prepare dishes that would meet the national guidelines of 750 total calories (110 of which could derive from fat), and150 grams of sodium at the cost of $1. 22. On April1, just a few days away, judges will select recipes from twelve high schools in five counties including Howard. One of the major problems for high school administrators has been student awareness regarding food preparation and nutrition. They explain the students’ culinary wisdom in terms of cable food networks and celebrity chefs. High school students’ tastes in foods have clashed with administrative obligations yet culinary program participants have found a productive means of influencing systemic and institutional change. There are a variety of sociological issues imbedded in the Howard County challenge. The context of the struggle is the public high school, a social and political institutional space that operates under certain federal guidelines and state budgets. The question of community and culture is a dominant theme as Howard County explores how best to address the concerns of multiple and diverse constituents. While the primary goal is to meet public health and nutritional guidelines, the underlying impediments to meeting these objectives have been both economic and cultural. In order for Howard County to be in compliance they must not only answer the question of health but must also find a way to establish a form of nutritional wellness that is both affordable and acceptable to students. For example, Erika Henderson, a senior from Oakland Mills High enrolled in the Culinary Arts class, stated that the food was distasteful because it was â€Å"cheap food with no seasoning† (Williams, IV 10). As a result, Erika decided to bring her lunch each day. Erika’s choice to pass on the cafeteria foods raises issues about class. Students from lower incomes may not have items to bring from home and, in many instances, rely on the cafeteria cuisine. At the same time, Erika appears to have been quite comfortable with preparing her own food. She had a particular notion about ingredients suggesting that the culture of her home allowed and encouraged food preparation and experimentation. In addition, the Culinary Arts Program created a subculture; a cohort of students who, perhaps, were more aware of the nuances of food preparation and trends than their peers. The culinary arts students were the most vocal in demanding that their recipes be taste-tested and, if successful, placed on the menu. Laurie Collins, Instructional Facilitator at Oakland Mills, insisted that â€Å"they will try something that [has been] prepared by their peers† (Williams, IV 10). With just days away from a decision, over seventeen-thousand students at Oakland may have a chance to have their way in terms of affordable, healthy, appetizing, and appealing choices for lunch whether it is the baked onion rings or apple slices. Realizing that it will be difficult to please everyone, all parties are optimistic about the fall menu. Howard County and the Oakland students have taken matters into their own hands by offering a realistic solution to what is a national and institutional problem. The students, through hard work and creativity, are cooking up their own taste of â€Å"wellness. † Works Cited Williams IV, John-John. â€Å"Having A Say On What They Eat: Howard Students Taste- Test, Prepare Own Candidate for Cafeteria Menu† The Baltimore Sun 22 March 2009: 1, 10.

The education of looked after children within the UK Essay

The education of looked after children within the UK - Essay Example As a result of this, most schools and educators are not aware that they have looked after children, let alone have implemented programs to help these children. Therefore, the literature suggests that this is an area that needs considerable work on both the part of social workers and educators, as there needs to be more coordination between these entities, so that schools may become aware of the children and their needs and may be able to implement specialized programs to address these needs. The topic of this paper is the education of looked after children. To this end, the research centered around this issue, and did not focus upon other issues which affect looked after children, such as mental health, etc. What the literature revealed in this area is that the local authorities and the social workers need to make a coordinated effort with the schools to identify looked after children, and to personalize an educational plan to meet their individual needs. This is important for the educational achievement of the children, and the literature reveals that, when this properly occurs, children do much better with their cognitive functioning and IQ levels (Tideman et al. 2011 ). What the literature also reveals, however, is that this is, by and large, not occurring, as most schools not only are not aware of how many looked after children they have, but are unaware that they have any looked after children at all (Connelly et al., 2008). There is a real disconnect between what should be happening and what actually is happening, and the children are falling through the cracks. The looked after children should have specialized programs for them, as well as specialized educational plans, but this cannot occur unless schools are made aware of their presence and needs. Because of this, the literature also reveals that many looked after children end up being excluded altogether from school (McClung, 2008), and this is the logical extension of what is

Critically examine the role of the mainstream school in the light of Essay

Critically examine the role of the mainstream school in the light of the concers and challenges for hearing impaired pupils - Essay Example ilities but to also serve their social needs through inclusive education, particularly those having ‘social, emotional and behavioural difficulties’ (St. Bartholomew’s, 2006, p. 3). Analysts argue that with the performance of the deaf children falls below the national average, as children with hearing impairments are most likely suffering from social adjustments deficiencies that are further aggravated by inadequate support facilities (Burns, 2006); (Cline and Frederickson, 2002); (Greville, 2009); (Stillman, 2002); Nunes et al, 2005; (Rustemier, 2003). According to a National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) report 2008, only 33 percent of deaf students achieved a GCSE grade of between A and C as compared to the national average of 57 percent. This translated to a 42 percent less likelihood of hitting the benchmark. The provision for inclusion of SENs in the mainstream schools is therefore a noble ideal that will incorporate the UN objectives of equal rights for all children (UNICEF, 2006) and (NDCS, 2008). Wells (1937) categorised school going children with defective hearing into three major segments. Grade I are those with partial hearing problems and can lip-read hence are more easily assimilated into normal classroom settings. Grade II, are children who need some sort of assistance due to slightly poorer hearing loss thus may require special educational aids but not necessary with the severely impaired. Grade III are those with advanced hearing problems that require ample special education needs [See Table: 1]. According to the definition of the Deaf Persons Act, Grade I does not fall in the category of hearing defects although this are children who must be carefully scrutinised to avoid falling into neglect due to their partial hearing problems (WELLS, 1937). The British Association of Teachers of the Deaf (BATOD) and the National Autistic Society (NAS) assert that due to the lack of adequate special schools for autistic children, there was no

Art history research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Art history - Research Paper Example Various artworks came up as a result of colonization, particularly right about the time when Europe took interest in colonization. One particular artwork that peaked my interest is that of ‘The Women of Algiers in their Apartment’ by a French artist called Eugene Delacroix. Laurel Ma wrote an article about this painting. Eugene Delacroix was a popular French artist whose artwork was hailed all over Europe. Therefore it didn’t come as a surprise when the state of France decided to tag him along on a diplomatic mission to North Africa just two years since Algiers was invaded. This was around the time Delacroix drew the painting of The Women of Algiers in their Apartment in 1834. The timing that the painting came out, which is also the time the French went to Algiers, is suspicious and rightfully so. It tends to shed some light on the imperialist intentions that the French had towards Algiers. Most paintings by the Orientalists were prejudiced against the Orients in such a way as to incite the Westerners to colonize them in the name of doing them a favor. Most of it revolved around sex in particular. The Orientalists would draw paintings with naked women in them as if waiting for the European men to come and save them from the supposed tyranny of their husbands. Of course, a great deal of this work was more of imagination than reality. All the more reason why Delacroix’s work received major applause as it was seen to be more authentic and the fact that it contains aspects that make it seem both imaginative and real caught a lot of people’s attention. The Women of Algiers in their Apartment clearly shows the lifestyle of the people of North Africa. The women often stayed in their harem, which is a sacred place restricted only to the women and their husband. No other person other than the servants was allowed in the harem. Delacroix draws a harem with three women in it along with one black servant woman holding the curtain. Contrary to popular belief as depicted by the works of other Orientalists, the women in this painting do not in any way suggest any sexual intentions. This came as a confusion to many as people were used to paintings with naked women obviously arousing and inviting the sexual desires off those who saw it. In other words, the regular paintings were demeaning to the cultures and values of the people in the East. In Delacroix’s painting the women are fully clothed, almost in a way to suggest that they are overdressed. This could be seen as the painter’s way of proving a point, trying to atone for the mistakes off his fellow artists by clearly stating that the women in the Orients were respectable and were not to e objectified sexually. The painting doesn’t show women yearning or the presence of a man, rather they are comfortable and content with the current situation where they have time to themselves. The room in the painting is lavished with oriental objects such as glas s vases and various patterns on the furniture that relate to the style associated with Orients. There is a servant drawing a curtain. This is to depict the dramatic way in which the harem is unveiled for the authorized Muslim male but now in the painting, the colonizer gets a glance of what he shouldn’t see. The women in the painting are covered in blankets to confirm the stereotype that suggests

Is Online Education Good or Bad Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Is Online Education Good or Bad - Essay Example As the essay stresses learning is a basic constituent in a person’s general personal as well as working life. In the past, students would attend ‘bricks and mortar’ classes to attain an education before entering the workforce. While this is still the main trend in the acquisition of education, the latter part of the 20th century has seen more students take advantage of courses that are offered online. There are many universities today that offer lectures online for students who may be unable to attend classes for one reason or another. There are also online based colleges that promise degrees for a much less price than traditional bricks-and-mortar institutions.  This discussion highlights that  the online courses offered by bricks-and-mortar institutions are, for the most part, genuine because they identify with the recognized universities that offer them. Moreover, there are the online-based universities that offer all their lectures online. Many of such ins titutions are not usually accredited. The online environment provides numerous opportunities for people situated in different parts of the world to be able to benefit from various educational courses. Indeed, its original objective was to provide a more cost-effective way for people without the financial resources required by traditional colleges to be able to benefit from a college education. Moreover, there are people who have established universities online that claim to offer courses to all people at cheaper prices than those of bricks-and-mortar universities. For most such institutions, the delivery of high quality education is not an important objective. There are different factors that illustrate concerns about such institutions. Some of these include: The Role of Commercialization in Online Education. Lectures from online-based institutions are not appropriate for students because these institutions are mainly concerned with benefiting from commercialization, and are, thus, quite self-serving (Anderson, 45). Even though it is not a fact that is admitted often by the chief academic officers of online-based universities, most officials of such institutions are mainly concerned with the bottom line. This is because they get rewarded for creating policies that result in higher enrollments, greater retention of registered students, and higher levels of success. According to Noble, â€Å"universities are aware that they can get and keep more students by offering online courses which are cheap in comparison to traditional classes†, (Noble, 26). This is why they charge more for the introduction of newer courses which they then add to the curriculum. So far, online education from online-based institutions is the fastest growing industry in the for-profit sector (Donaldson, Agra, Alshammari, Bailey, Bowdoin, Kendle, Nixon, and Wressell, 49). It has also been aggressively promoted by for-profit universities and colleges. It is marketed because it saves cos ts by delivering lessons to thousands of students simultaneously, thus decreasing instructional costs.

Can an eye for an eye be morally justified Essay - 2

Can an eye for an eye be morally justified - Essay Example Beginning with the premise that killing someone is a barbaric act solves nearly half the problems. But then again, this has to be comprehended in due course of time and through different events. An eye for an eye will actually make the entire world blind and this globe would be filled with disabled people all around. Hence an eye for an eye concept simply nosedives for obvious reasons. When people start killing each other, the entire society comes to a standstill. There are families which lose out on their loved ones and then there are individuals who suffer because they have started missing a near and dear one within their lives. There is so much trouble happening within the world of today that it is next to impossible to fathom what exactly is going about. The people are fighting amongst themselves and thus killing each other because they feel this is the best way to find solace. I am vehemently against this dictum because it spells out negativity from the very outset of these nuan ces. There are individuals who will go all out in even a small dispute or moment of disparity. They will do everything to get their message heard and make their own selves the much-cherished winners. This, according to them, can only be done through killing the opponent – an act that is not only unacceptable but also barbaric in the sheerest sense. It makes life miserable for just about everyone within the society and gives a whole new meaning to the philosophy of living and letting others live as well.

My life in Alaska Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

My life in Alaska - Essay Example These differences are brought about by numerous factors, such as, background, place, and condition of birth and life, cultural milieu, and most importantly the country in which one spends most of one’s life. As an Alaskan, I have certain unique experiences to share and have been brought up in a characterized manner. This is what characterizes my life in a manner that it is present. It makes me feel bound to my roots and proud of my background.  Alaska is a country that lies north of the United States of America. It is located on the continent of North America, and is not very linked with the outside world, owing to freezing temperatures and a completely different lifestyle. The climate at Alaska is mostly foggy, with rainfall every now and then. It is mountainous and the living areas are surrounded by mountains, mostly. The food available at Alaska is basically seafood, owing to the high availability of sea-creatures. In addition to this, the transport system at Alaska is qu ite different. It is tough to make one’s way through the snow-covered passageways and the water that lies beneath the ice! There exists a ferry system sometimes, wherein people need to use them to cross over since there are a number of small island-like masses of lands.  In fact, the indigenous people of Alaska follow their own system of traditions and culture. Food is prepared through a smoke house, wherein sea food is prepared. The animals are used in every possible manner, to better the living of man in these regions.

Henry VIII as a King, Evaluation Essay Example for Free

Henry VIII as a King, Evaluation Essay To an extent Henry VIII achieved his aims as King between 1509-1515. Whilst he achieved aims such as to have glory in battle such as with France to earn prestige and therefore establish greater power within the European countries, he did fail in some aspects with most set aim as king. An example of this is his inability to produce a male heir to the throne which arguably was one of his prime aims as king. One of Henry’s main aims as king was to be a different leader in terms of his style from that of his father; he wanted to be a more warlike leader who was more dominant across Europe and also to be a generally more popular king. We know that this would have been one of Henry’s main aims as in the first year of his reign he executed Empson and Dudley. These two people were corrupt and unfair leaders and were very unpopular within England; they were very much associated with Henry’s father. By Henry executing them publically in 1510, by way of a big public ceremony illustrated two things to the people; firstly that he is a perhaps fairer king and that their desires were what were to shape his decisions and secondly that he would be a completely different, more popular and significant leader on a larger scale, so within Europe, by having more of a dominant presence, this is shown through the bold and trademarking execution. Henry succeeded in this aim, he indeed did become a more popular leader by taking the interests of his people very seriously, and he even built a strong army to protect everyone from frequent civil wars so making England more of a unity in itself and therefore a stronger nation. Also Henry, in an attempt of gaining the popularity from the nobility, cuts back on bonds and recognizes to please them as well as letting the nobles into his private life more and inviting them to private events of his, this in turn would’ve made them feel more important and involved with the king’s affairs, and so again has a stronger force which is more connected and contrasts to his fathers. On the other hand, it could be said that Henry didn’t need to be as precise and organised as his Father was, because Henry was left with all the money and financial stability his Father had spent his career accumulating and so he had the time and money to go to war or spend leniently rather than s aving and building up money. Henry VIII aims appear to emulate more his forefather Henry V’s aims instead by being a great warrior king and so achieving honour through War. Through conquest he intends to extend his supremacy over the lands of rivals. Henry V owned more French land in his reign than the king of France did himself, this could have been the ownership Henry VIII also desired, this brought about Henry VIII first War with France. In credit to Henry, I think he was very brave in choosing to go to war With France in 1513, because despite his father’s council being very experienced people who he should listen to, he chooses not to, following their titles as ‘ministers of peace’ they tried very hard to persuade Henry to keep peace with France. Given that he was newly king at this point I think it shows a lot of courage to foresee the opinions of the experienced council to pursue your own ambition even if faced with potential big consequences if he were to lose battle. Henry was victorious in his first battle and so he would’ve appeared a bold leader. Henry did earn a great deal of prestige in not only going to War with France and winning it, but actually leading his troops in 1513 into the battle of the spurs personally which in itself brings about great honour. Impressively at the same time, the French allies, the Scottish, invaded England and so came about the battle of Flodden, again England won this too and although Henry had little personally to do with this war because it was Surrey who won it, Henry as king still took credit and so as the unity of England, it had won its first 2 wars. As well as this he achieved his aim in cementing a good relationship with the Nobles by using their armies. However in 1514 he was almost forced to sign a peace treaty because financially England was desperate for money as henry in only one year had spent all his inherited money (estimated at about  £960000). This shows his somewhat lack of organisation as a king and more his ruthlessness and desperation for war. Another factor detracting from the prestige of this war is that Henry was used by Ferdinand and left by him at the last stage before the battle, so showing dishonour by Ferdinand towards him. In aims such as securing the Tudor dynasty Henry didn’t really succeed. Although he did make attempts such as marrying Catherine of Aragon in order for her to give Birth to a male Heir it didn’t work. Unfortunately as king this was one of his most important aims, we know this because he married Catherine the same year he was king and so it was obviously of key importance to produce an heir. This having failed, as it did, Henry did still try and secure the dynasty, by taking actions such as marrying his sister to the French King, Louis, he was creating the possibility of a Tudor dynasty on the French throne. Henry even wanted an annulment from Catherine because he believed it was her who couldn’t give him a son, he went to great lengths and disrupted his very important relationship with the Pope just to get an annulment and I think this shows how important it was to him to have a male heir as king. However, as far as fulfilling this aim early on in his reign goes he didn’t manage to do this, still he was dedicated in trying to do it. Henry knew that it was very important to have a secure and good relationship with the Pope; he understood that he was a very influential figure with a lot of power over the people and so for unity within his country, he would have aimed to have an important relationship with the Pope. Examples of Henry’s efforts to appease the Pope would be after the Battle of the Spurs, the pope wants Henry to make peace with France, even though Henry is reluctant to do so, he does because he understands the importance of having a good relationship with the Pope. It is only when Henry starts to have problems with the notion of shared power between himself and the king, tension starts as a lot of their roles cross over causing friction by occasional conflicting views. As a result Henry achieves senior power which is what he wants but he then compromises his relationship with the Pope for this. So only for a short while Henry did succeed in his aim of having a strong relationship with the Pope. Clearly in the way Henry behaved and ruled as a king, it is evident that Henry wanted to be different, rule in a different way and allocate his time differently than to how other kings before him may have. Presented with being king at the age of 18 he chose to be a king known for doing everything in excess, living lavishly, playing sport for example tilting and generally enjoying himself seemingly far more than his worn down father had done. Henry wanted to be the ‘renaissance king’ and in terms of this aim, it is one Henry definitely achiev ed by his new ideas and new style of kingship, he had a huge interest in the arts and music too which shows him to be a more cultural king. Historians say that he didn’t want to worry himself with the daily burdens of government and administration instead he would put others in charge to do this for him. Whether this style of leadership is right or effective it is still a new approach and perhaps a refreshing one to England at this time as when he came to throne he was very much liked by England and most importantly the nobles. As much as Henry spent a lot of his money in warfare, he too seemingly had interest in the wealth of the English crown in order for it to have dominance over Europe, at the beginning of his reign England was not as powerful as Spain and France and this was a lot down to the lesser financial position England were in. By taking actions such as selling land acquired in war to the nobles he not only is making money but is also becoming more ‘liked’ with the nobles. On the other hand it is decisions like this which I think weren’t very strategic, if Henry was so determined on going to war and making an impact on Europe, it would’ve seemed more proper to devote new land for the army or war related things such as weaponry manufacturing or housing for the army, this would’ve strengthened the English army and therefore brought about more global respect. I think Henry to a greater degree achieved most of his aims as king well given his young age and personal interests that he had. He did become a renaissance king and in doing this he also gained popularity, he was a very different King to his father as he was more warlike which was his intention as well as securing personal relationships with the nobles, however he didn’t produce a male heir and his control with the money his father spent a career building up I think wasn’t spent very efficiently for the benefit of the whole country.

Rationale And Background Of The Study English Language Essay

Rationale And Background Of The Study English Language Essay Reading is indispensable if a person wanted to live comfortably in the modern society. It is the golden path in going to the world of enlightenment and enjoyment (Monuz, 2000). Reading is the activity characterized by the translation of symbols or letters in the words and sentences that have meaning to the individuals. The ultimate goal of reading is to be able to understand written materials to evaluate it, and to used it for ones needs (Paculanan 1999). Reading is consider as the most important subject in the curriculum, because its mastery depends on the learning of nearly to all other subjects. On account of this reality, Filipino educators have in countless instruction channeled their effort towards developing strategies and approaches in the teaching of reading (Tamundong 1998) Reading requires more than mechanical skills. As a tool for learning in the content subjects, the learners has to demonstrate growing ability to handle information effectively. In this area of complex skills are efficient location, selection organization, and retention of information and the ability to gain knowledge from the printed page depending on the learners that equipped with the necessary skills in reading. A persons reading abilities has a help to read facts about the varied and rich factual information and verbal knowledge accumulated through the ages and that of maturity, organizes these actual information and verbal knowledge, process, and interprets them through experiences to form concepts and principles which are essential in solving problems and in developing creative thinking. Paterno (1985), enumerated various factors in the disabilities or weaknesses of reading. This may range from defective hearing or maladjustments in school, to brain damage. Paterno added that some of the specific causes of reading disability, how ever, may cause by a combinations of several factors. The most common: (1) Physical Factors like defective hearing, speech, vision, inadequate nutrition, neurological dysfunction: (2) Educational factors- children have unique learning patterns and: (3) Environmental factors- not all learning takes place in a classroom and their environmental determines to a great extend, the Childs success in learning to read. To minimize if not to solve permanently the problems on reading, two objectives of education as stated in the educational act of 1982 are word mentioning. This are: (1) To provide the knowledge and develop skills, attitudes and values essential to personal development and nece4ssary for living in and contributing to a developing and changing social milieu, and (2) To provide learning experiences which increase the childs awareness of the responsiveness to the changes in and just demands of society, and to prepare for constructive and effective involvement (MEC Journal, 1991), Educational Act of 1982. Conceptual Framework Reading is one of the most needed skills to be learned in school. Seemingly, read is a word that always heard, yet difficult to discern. Reading scholars have not really come out with on universal definition of it. They only describe the characteristics of reading. Munoz (2000) describes reading as a two-way complex active process, which uses a high level of thinking skills such as literal (reading the lines), inferential (reading the lines) and critical (reading beyond the lines). However, comprehension is preceded by recognition of words, thus one can not really comprehend if he can not recognize the words correctly. Therefore in this study, the researchers want to find out the level of reading performance of the pupils in terms of word recognition. INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT Descriptive research design using observation checklist. Oral reading performance of Grade II and Grade IV pupils. Determination of the reading performance of the Grade III and Grade IV pupils in terms of word recognition. Figure 1. Research Paradigm Table shows the input, process and the output variables used in this study. The input represents the oral reading performance of the respondents. The process is the tool used for data gathering and instrumentation in order to gather pertinent data needed for analyzing, tabulation and interpretation of the problem which includes the use of observation checklist arrive at the expected outputs which is the determination of the level of reading performance of the respondents in terms of word recognition. Statement of the problem The study seeks to find out the reading performance of the grade III and grade IV pupils of Bolosan Elementary School in terms of word recognition. It specifically sought to answer the following question: 1. What is the level of reading performance in terms of recognition of the: A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Grade III pupils B.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Grade IV pupils 2. Is there a significant difference between the level of reading performance of Grade III and Grade IV pupils in terms of word recognition. Hypothesis of the Study There is no significant difference between the level of reading performance of Grade III and Grade IV pupils in terms of word recognition. Significance of the Study Within the recent years, the demands for effective reading among pupils as an applicable instrument in development have become more prominent that always. Teachers and parents are in conformity on this scrupulous need. Conceptually, the study bring light to the student/pupils as a necessity in a more successful academic work. The result of the study are learned to benefit the following. Parents The results of the study serve as bases for the effective and efficient involvement of parents in the learning of their children especially with regards to reading. Pupils The pupils are the direct beneficiaries of the study. They will be benefited much from better school leading program, teachers guidance, parents assistance and other activities in the school, home, school administrators can offer them and also for them to know their reading abilities. Teacher The results of the study serve as an assessment and or diagnosis of reading ability of the pupil. From this the teacher would be able to designed effective reading classroom program for the pupil. School Administrators The result of the study may be used as reference guide for educational planning and policy formulation in the instruction level. Lastly, the result of this study may serve as a reference in determining the reading levels of the pupils which can serve as information in making more plans and programs by higher authorities based on the findings. It will also help in preparing reading materials based on needs and difficult5ies of the pupils. Scope and Delimitation of the Study The study is delimited to determine the level of reading performance of the respondents in terms of word recognition. The respondent of the study is composed of 41 grade III and 45 grade IV pupils. Reading comprehension is not included in the study. The study was started from July 2006. Definition of Terms Accuracy. Relates to the quality of a result and distinguished from processing, which relates to the quality of the operation by which the result is obtained. Effectiveness. Degree to which an activity or initiative is successful in achieving specified goal; Degree to which activities of a unit achieve the units mission or goal. Efficacy. Is the ability to produced an effect, usually a specifically desire defect Frustration. The pupils shows withdrawal from reading situations by crying or refusing to read. The pupils commit errors in reading such as reversal, repetition, substitution, insertion, mispronunciation and inability to interpret punctuation. Independent. The pupil is free from tension, finger pointing or lip movement. He reads with rhythm and with conversational tone and interprets punctuations correctly. Instructional. The pupils oral reading is rhythmical with conversational tone and correct interpretation. Non-reader. A pupil is unable to recognize and sound out letter sound connections for single consonants or unable to blend them. Phil IRI. Philippine Informal Reading Inventory which is a set of oral reading passages for the elementary grades in order to get the reading level og the public elementary school pupils. Reading ability. Is the awareness of print relationship to speech, text structure, phonological awareness and letter naming and writing and comprehension of reading material? It often measured by grade level. Word recognition. It refers to the ability of the pupils to recognize the words with correct pronunciation. Chapter II Review of Related Literature This chapter presents several studies concerning reading abilities and reading comprehension. However, such reviewed studies are related to the presents study in the sense that they all aimed to know about the study were the factors that affect the reading ability of grade 3 pupils. These related studies therefore, are discussed briefly in this chapter. Several program about reading as an active, meaningful, and constructive process. Before reading activities are used to build or activate relevant background knowledge, concepts, and vocabulary. Students are taught to monitor their reading to ensure that what they are reading makes sense. They are taught strategies for correcting word recognition errors that detract from meaning, and they are given opportunities for reacting and responding to selection they have read. The texts they are asked to read for enjoyment and for information. Other activities are developed within a framework of reading for meaning. Because reading for meaning is the constants point of reference and because students in these programs need substantial help in building word identification skills, the amount of time spent in discussing selection and in teacher questioning about the selection is kept to a minimum. All of the successful programs offer students special instruction on a daily basis for period ranging from 20 to 45 minutes. Daily contact with students ensures that progress is the steady and allows teachers to become very familiar with students and their strength and needs. Frequent contacts also allows teacher to reinforce and extend strategic behaviors that students are acquiring. An instructional period of at least 20 to 30 minutes allows time for instruction and practice along a number of dimension that provide students with the strategies they need to become effective readers. The prevailing philosophy in most of the other early interventions programs appears to be that first grade is the point where special help should be offered to prevent reading failure; that many, if not most, students will, by the end of first grade, be able to make sufficient progress in reading to function in a regular classroom setting without special help; but that some students will continue to need support through second grade. Though some of the programs began as just first grade programs, most now continue through second grade for students who need longer periods of special help. These programs use methods and materials that help students to recognize words accurately and rapidly, and to group words into meaningful phrases the three dimensions of fluency. The courage to reread a book several times once it has been introduced. There is evidence that the repeated reading of a texts leads to improved word identification skills and comprehension ( Adams, 1995). As children move through these programs, they become familiar with an increasing number of texts. They are encouraged to reread these texts to gain additional practice, to extend their fluency, and to build confidence in their growing reading competency. To avoid failure or frustration for students, each new book is introduced with as much as a teacher judges is needed. For example, a pictures walk is often used as a before reading activity. Students are asked to speculate about the texts contents, and unusual or difficult vocabulary is pointed out by the teacher and discussed. Thus, the student begins rea ding the book with prior knowledge and clear expectations about the selections contents. Another frequently used technique is shared reading, in which the texts is read first by the teacher as students follow along in the texts. Then as a group, students progress to reading the texts with the help as needed. Teacher support is gradually withdrawn, and students assume more responsibility. Finally, individual children practice reading the text. Instruction often moves from a shared reading model to guided reading in which students assume responsibility for the first reading of a selection after the teacher helps prepare them and supports them during their reading. In all the successful intervention programs there is a clear progression from much teacher support in the initial phases of the program to increase students independence. The types of texts most frequently used in early intervention program are predictable texts. The earliest books used in the programs tend to have a close match between pictures and texts, have recurring language patterns, and include repetition of language elements, which make them easy for students to read. Even children with very restricted word recognition capabilities quickly begin to think of themselves as readers because they are successful with these profitable texts. As students progress in the program, the degree of predictability decreases to ensure that the students attend to the printed texts in order to build a multifaceted word recognition strategy that will make them increasingly independent readers. In the initial phases of instruction, selections also tend to be short so that students can finish a text within an instructional period. As their reading capabilities grow, texts become longer and more challenging. While one of the successful program use traditional, narrow measures of readability, all sequence of the instructional materials, based on many factors including text predictability (reflected in factors such as recurring language patterns, close picture to text match, repetition of words), length of text, challenge of vocabulary, complexity of language, sophistication of concept so that students are challenged to apply the strategies and skills they are learning. Reading new text, and rereading familiar text insure that student in this programs engage in meaningful, connected reading. This program also includes activities that help students focus on and become familiar wit printed words. For example, the Winston-Salem Project uses a procedure called Making Words (Baker L. Brown A.L,1999). Students are presented with the letters that form a word from a selection they read. Words are selected because of their interest and because they contain words identification elements that will be useful for the students It has been recognized that asking students to write words (not copy) is a very effective approach in developing word recognition and reading skill (Adams, 1999;Clay, 1996). For example in the early intervention in reading program, the students select a student to write sentences. The teacher then encourages each students to think about the styling of each word and to write as much of the word as they can. Teacher support his offer only as needed in order to insure that the students write the word accurately. For example, for the children who are having difficulty with phonemic awareness, the teacher draws a box for each sound in the word. The children are guided to think about the number of sound in a word and the letters that represent those sound. For example, the teacher would draw 3 boxes for the word teach, grouping the EA and CH in separate boxes since that word EA and CH represents single sound. The following are regular pattern to he scheduled for better reading. Reading familiar texts. Reading or rereading a new book Working with words Writing words or sentences The researchers therefore want to find out what are the common factors affecting the reading performance of a child, thus, the study. Chapter III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This chapter presents the procedure utilized in the collection of data, the method employed in the presentation and interpretation to answer the problems presented in Chapter I. Research Design This study utilized the descriptive method of research. Descriptive because it seeks to investigate prevailing conditions about the level of reading performance of the respondents in terms of word recognition. (Adanza, 2002). Sources of Data Table 1 Frequency and Percentage Distribution of the Respondents in Terms of Grade Level and Section Grade Section Frequency Percentage Grade III-B 41 47.67% Grade IV-B 45 52.33% Table 1 presents the respondents of the study which is composed of 41 grade III pupils belonging to section B and 45 pupils in Grade IV also in section B. This so because Grade III and IV are the middle grades in elementary and both section B for it is on the average position thus, they are better representatives for the study. Instrumentation and Data Collection The researcher adopted the Phil IRI oral reading test of the Bureau of Elementary Education SY 2006-2007. After asking permission from the principal, the researchers administered testing with the help of the teachers. The researchers adopted the Phil IRI oral reading test formula for finding the level of reading performance in terms of word recognition. Tools for Data Analysis The researchers used frequency and percentage counts for the presentation of data and the chi-square to test the hypothesis of the study. The formula for finding the level of reading performance in terms of word recognition which is adopted from the Phil IRI oral reading test is: Percent of miscue= No. of major miscue x 100 No. of words WR = 100% percent of miscue Where: No. of major miscue number of words that are not recognized or pronounced right. WR Level of word recognition For the percentage distribution, the formula used is: P = f/N x 100 Where: P Percentage f frequency N total number of cases or respondents For sub problem number 2, the researchers used the chi-square-goodness-of-fit test, that is: X2 = à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ(O-E)2 E Where: X2 = Chi-Square O = Observed Frequency E = Expected Frequency Chapter IV RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS This chapter presents and discusses the results of the study to answer the problems in chapter I Table 2 Frequency and Percentage Distribution of the Grade III pupils in Terms of Level of Word Recognition Level Frequency Percentage Independent 0 0% Instructional 17 41.46% Frustration 19 46.34% Nonreader 5 12.2% Total 41 100% The table shows that nobody is considered as independent reader. There are 17 (41.46%) who are under instructional, 19 (46.34%) under frustration and 5 (12.2%) under none-reader. Table 3 Frequency and Percentage Distribution of the Grade IV pupils in Terms of Level of Word Recognition Level Frequency Percentage Independent 0 0% Instructional 8 17.78% Frustration 35 77.78% Nonreader 2 4.44% Total 45 100% It is visible in the table that nobody also from the grade IV pupils is under independent category. Also showed that 8 (17.78%) are under instructional, 35 (77.78%) are lined at frustration category and 2 (4.44%) under none-reader type. Table 4 Frequency Distribution of the Respondents according to the Level of Reading Performance in Terms of Word Recognition With their corresponding Grade Levels Level Grade level Independent and Instructional Frustration and Non-reader Total Grade III 17 24 41 Grade IV 8 37 45 Total 25 61 86 Table 4 shows variation of the level of word recognition among the respondents. Table 5 Computation of the ChiSquare O E O-E (O-E)2 (O-E)2/E 17 11.92 5.08 25.81 2.1653 8 13.08 -5.08 25.81 1.9732 24 29.08 5.08 25.81 0.8876 37 31.92 -5.08 25.81 0.8086 à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ (O-E)2/E 5.8347 Where: at df = 1, the level of O Observed frequency significance at „ƒ = 0.05 E Expected frequency is 3.841 (Walpole, 1982) df = 1 „ƒ = 0.05 From the table 4, at 1 degree of freedom, the tabular value of chi-square at „ƒ = 0.05 is 3.841. Since, the tabular value is lesser than the computed value which is 5.8347, the hypothesis is rejected. Thus, there is a significant difference between the level of reading performance of Grade III and Grade IV pupils in terms of word recognition Chapter V SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION This chapter presents the summary, conclusion and the recommendations of the researchers based on the study. Summary The study was pursued to find out the level of reading performance of the grade III and grade IV pupils of Bolosan Elementary School in terms of word recognition. It sought to determine also whether there is significant difference between the two grade levels in terms or reading performance with regards to word recognition. The study used the descriptive method using checklist for the actual reading performance. This research was conducted from June to December 2006. Findings The researchers found out that 17 or 41.46% grade III pupils are under instructional or are rhythmical reader with conversational tone and correct interpretation. There are also 19 or 46.34% who shows withdrawal from reading situations by crying or refusing to read and committing errors. On the other hand, 8 or 17.78% of the grade IV are under instructional type, 35 or 77.78% are considered under frustration type while 2 or 4.44% are non-readers and lastly, nobody also is under independent type of reader. The bottom line is, it was found out that there is significant difference between the grade III and grade IV pupils in terms of level of reading performance with regards to word recognition. Conclusion Based from the analyzed data presented, the researchers concluded that grade III and grade IV pupils level of reading performance in terms of word recognition is mostly on the bracket of frustration and instructional type of readers, that is they show withdrawal from reading situations by crying or refusing to read and committing errors in reading such as reversal, repetition, substitution, insertion, mispronunciation and inability to interpret punctuation but others are rhythmical with conversational tone and correct interpretation. Recommendation From the findings of the study, the researchers recommend the following: Having been revealed that the level of reading performance of the grade III and grade IV pupils in terms of word recognition falls under the frustration and instructional type, the researchers recommend teachers to use more intensified instruction for the betterment of the reading performance of the pupils. The researchers also wish that future researchers will focus also on reading performances of the pupils in other aspects such as comprehension, speed and others.

Federal Govt. Vs. States :: essays research papers

Federal Sovereignty vs. Rights of the States Continued†¦. Federal Sovereignty versus States Rights was not a new problem to the United States. First appearing during the writing of the Constitution and continuing through Hamilton’s Bank and the Federalist Papers, this debate raged right into the 19th century, beginning with the Hartford Convention, where delegates proposed that a state had the right to â€Å"interpose authority† in a case of â€Å"dangerous and palpable infractions.† However, this was only the first in a series of arguments that would in the end, result in civil war. The next major step was the handling of cases for businesses. During the 1810’s and 20’s Chief Justice John Marshall passed made several rulings reducing state power. In Sturges v. Crownshield, he decided that a state could pass bankruptcy laws but could not be applied to debts incurred before the ratification of the law. During Dartmouth College v. Woodward, he ru led that a state (or any party) could not cancel a contract without the consent of the other side. He struck again, in 1815, this time at the New York ferry monopoly by saying that the state could not regulate commerce on borders. Finally, in 1819, he stated that the bank was constitutional and that the federal law was supreme over the states, who had no right to tax it. In doing this, he sharply defined the rights of the states as subordinate to those of the nation’s. However, Marshall’s rulings did not last long. During the term of Andrew Jackson, the Bank was destroyed by the president. Staring with vetoing the renewal of the Bank’s charter, he set out to eliminate what he though was a corrupt monopoly. By demolishing the Bank, he allowed smaller state banks to assume more power. Finally, during the early 1830’s, nullification came into question. In this situation, South Carolina had declared a government law, (tariff bill) void because a convention fo und it to be unconstitutional. While John Calhoun argued that the Constitution was based on false assumptions and that a minority of the nation could reassume its independence. However, Jackson saw the truth. He knew that if a state could ignore the laws then the Union would cease to exist. Because of Jackson’s strong will and the Force Bill (allowing more federal power with the president’s authority to execute revenue laws), South Carolina backed out and the Union was saved†¦. Federal Govt. Vs. States :: essays research papers Federal Sovereignty vs. Rights of the States Continued†¦. Federal Sovereignty versus States Rights was not a new problem to the United States. First appearing during the writing of the Constitution and continuing through Hamilton’s Bank and the Federalist Papers, this debate raged right into the 19th century, beginning with the Hartford Convention, where delegates proposed that a state had the right to â€Å"interpose authority† in a case of â€Å"dangerous and palpable infractions.† However, this was only the first in a series of arguments that would in the end, result in civil war. The next major step was the handling of cases for businesses. During the 1810’s and 20’s Chief Justice John Marshall passed made several rulings reducing state power. In Sturges v. Crownshield, he decided that a state could pass bankruptcy laws but could not be applied to debts incurred before the ratification of the law. During Dartmouth College v. Woodward, he ru led that a state (or any party) could not cancel a contract without the consent of the other side. He struck again, in 1815, this time at the New York ferry monopoly by saying that the state could not regulate commerce on borders. Finally, in 1819, he stated that the bank was constitutional and that the federal law was supreme over the states, who had no right to tax it. In doing this, he sharply defined the rights of the states as subordinate to those of the nation’s. However, Marshall’s rulings did not last long. During the term of Andrew Jackson, the Bank was destroyed by the president. Staring with vetoing the renewal of the Bank’s charter, he set out to eliminate what he though was a corrupt monopoly. By demolishing the Bank, he allowed smaller state banks to assume more power. Finally, during the early 1830’s, nullification came into question. In this situation, South Carolina had declared a government law, (tariff bill) void because a convention fo und it to be unconstitutional. While John Calhoun argued that the Constitution was based on false assumptions and that a minority of the nation could reassume its independence. However, Jackson saw the truth. He knew that if a state could ignore the laws then the Union would cease to exist. Because of Jackson’s strong will and the Force Bill (allowing more federal power with the president’s authority to execute revenue laws), South Carolina backed out and the Union was saved†¦.