Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 51

Discussion - Essay Example My knowledge of what to do in the organization and an understanding of the distinction between right and wrong helps me perform my duties in an ethical and virtuous manner. My strict self-control and conscience also help portray a high ethical standard at my workplace. My ability to avoid unethical temptations in the organization is key to my high virtuous behavior. Ethical characters reject individual gains if such benefits are not in line with organizational benefit and goodwill. I need to close any gap between knowledge about what I need to do and the actual actions, in order to improve my ethical behavior. According to John Maxwell (2007), there are diverse causes that lead to unethical behavior including the fact that individuals just legitimize their actions with relativism. Accountability and follow-up measures are important for the improvement of ethical behavior and instilling virtuous values into practice. The human resource personnel of the companyhas to p ut up systems and procedures that can remind me of the commitments to ethical behavior and help me connect my actions with virtuous deeds. The duty of a leader in an organization such as the human resource manager is the provision of opportunities and an enabling environment in which all employees of the organization can realize and develop their talents and potential. My organization encourages a culture of ethics among its leadership where their ethical role is not to satisfy self-interests but creating necessary conditions employees to achieve their full potential. It is a requirement and a standard of leadership in my organization that has enabled many employees to nurture their talents and realize their full potential. My organization is alive to the fact that the key to the growth of a firm is the identification and nurturing of the high potential and talent of

Courtship Of Mr Lyon and Wolf Alice Comparison Essay Essay Example for Free

Courtship Of Mr Lyon and Wolf Alice Comparison Essay Essay Extract: The Courtship of Mr Lyon from the voice that seemed to issue from a care full of echoes to he went on all fours. Using this extract as your starting point and this reference to one other story of your choice, you should: -Explore Carters manipulation of language to develop the voice of the lion and the reaction of the girl to it. -Examine how Carter exploits the voices of her characters in both stories to comment on attitudes towards characters that are different. The Courtship of Mr Lyon loosely refers to the main storyline presented with the fairytale; The Beauty and The Beast. It is heavily feminine and throughout strives for the equality between men and women, despite their potential othernesss. Combined with Wolf Alice, loosely based on Lewis Carrolls: Alice through the Looking Glass, Carter uses a variety of linguistics and literary techniques in order to communicate a strong sense of voice to the reader. Developing this, then enables Carter to manipulate language to suggest the reactions and relationships between characters within both stories. Throughout the extract, Carter uses a third person omniscient narrative in order to create a sense of separation from events, potentially mimicking the attitudes of society. In general those who tend to stick out are ignored, abandoned and shunned. The use of this narrative choice enables readers to be faced with the reality of their actions and encourage them to change their views. Beauty exists within days of pastel-coloured idleness, a sense of boredom reinforced by the use of soft sounding constanants and open vowels. The choice of these lexis help to suggest details regarding Beautys persona, a passive character, innocent and submissive, unable to make her own decisions, reflecting historical context, many women were considered to occupy this role within Carters writing time. With, a kind of halo the Beast appears almost saintly, providing a distraction from Beautys monotonous existence. This also suggests the Beast is the authoritative figure within the relationship, Beauty possesses somewhat of awe towards him. However, the distinct lexical choice kind suggests the Beast is not entirely what he seems, his sense of otherness never able to leave him totally. The Beast appears to hold the position of authority between himself and Beauty; he was irradiated foregrounding the anaphoric references he, highlighting the importance the Beast possesses. A strong sense of the voice of the lion is created through the Beast forc(ing) himself to master his shyness revealing feelings the Beast possesses, through a internal third person narration. However, unlike Beauty, who is unable to defeat the small talk (that) turned to dust in her mouth, the Beast overcomes his sense of fear, yet again suggesting he is stronger than Beauty, a strong sense of character and voice created through repeated reinforcing of the character of the Beast. He can relate to Beauty, (gazing) at her with green, inscrutable eyes, he is able to understand that she needs to see herself different, shake off the societal constraints she has become conditioned to obey. Beauty is submissive, no longer shying away from the Beast, she has come to accept the Beasts otherness much more, and realises her potential, of which he has created. Beauty sees her face as if it were a bud, suggesting her potential, she needs to grow and mature, with her stark realisation; all he is doing is kissing my hands, reinforcing how far Beauty has already progressed, as at the start, she is afraid to acknowledge the Beasts existence. Earlier in the story, when Beauty first enters the Beasts castle, her father is attacked by the Beast, who shook him until his teeth rattled and yapped distractedly after. Although these actions are not that expected from a normal member of society, and suggest the Beast possesses very little humanity at that moment, the humorous nature of the phrases suggest that the Beast may not be as frightening as initially thought, hinting to the reader foreshadowing, already actions of the Beast are not all as they appear. The Beast sees the absolute sweetness of Beauty, an ambiguous syntactic parallel, suggesting to the reader that not only the Beast, but Beauty too possesses otherness, as her beauty, who looked as if she had been carved out of a single pearl hinders her development, she is treated as a possession, and has very little idea how to interact with humans alongside her in society. Within Wolf Alice, a third person restricted narrative is used to emphasise the central characters sense of otherness within the story. Described as a ragged girl, with a panting tongue that runs on all fours, Wolf Alice is introduced as different from the rest of the society. The voice of the narrator stating her pace is not our pace. The inclusive audience address of our perhaps suggesting, similar to within The Courtship Of Mr Lyon, that society wishes to separate themselves from people that appear different, or unique, a belief that Carter wishes to challenge, emphasised by the phrase; she was lonely enough. However, the repetition of the lexis pace may suggest similarities between Wolf Alice and the rest of society, even though different, there are similarities also, Wolf Alice is not entirely different. The Nuns, supposedly religious and accepting, poured water over her, poked her with sticks to rouse her. Evidently, these are against Wolf Alices otherness, containing within them the views of the entire society. However, Carter may also be using the Nuns as an alternative, additional message, that religion too is deteriorating. Throughout The Courtship of Mr Lyon, the idea of eyes is repeated frequently. A symbol of understanding and potential, as if her eyes the Beast is able to see the possibilities Beauty contains and wishes her to encourage her character to blossom. Earlier in the story, Beauty finds the Beasts bewildering difference from herself almost intolerable, she focuses only on the differences between themselves, and has a lack of understanding and appreciation. The progression Beauty has made in accepting others differences is highlighted as the stiff bristle of (the Beasts) muzzle graze on her lap, and Beauty does not retreat. Within the Beasts eyes, she saw herself repeated twice possibly showing Beautys realisation. She is now able to see how she is viewed by society, as well as the changes she has made herself. She is no longer shallow or possesses appearance-dominated beliefs. Beauty is amazed at how is was that she had never noticed before that his agate eyes were equipped with lids like those of a man, she has finally come to accept both her own and the Beasts otherness, and is content and comfortable with herself. It was no longer a lion in her arms but a man, concludes the main idea of the story, both Beauty and the Beast have found themselves and are comfortable, despite the reactions and isolation they experience from society. They are happy together and become one, the idea highlighted with the tense change of the last syntax, the present tense suggesting a continuation, suggesting this occurs in the present, and should continue, an idea which resonates within the readers mind. Finally, the Duke too, within Wolf Alice has differences and repulses society; his thin legs scabbed with old scars where thorns scored his pelt. Society too has hate for him, he is an outcast, much like Wolf Alice. Old scars suggest previous encounters with society, their macabre actions, wounding the Duke. Carter is challenging the reader, just because actions are completed by the masses, does it make them right? The Duke sees, nowhere a reflection of himself. He has retreated from society, he does not accept his character, further emphasised by his separation from society, living on his own in a gloomy mansion. Potential fear the villagers have towards the Duke is highlighted within the humorous euphemism lupine fiestas, perhaps suggesting that the readers do not want to accept responsibility for the actions they have performed which have driven the Duke to be so un-human. The repeated capitalisation of Duke also suggesting respect, if not fear, towards the strong, seemingly soulless character. If they had been accepting and nurturing, the Duke may have been able to blossom and progress, yet their harsh, judgemental actions have secluded the Duke, leading him to live a primal life, no conscious present. However, throughout the story, Wolf Alice grows and matures from a child to a woman, gradually developing human-like characteristics, such as the need for hygiene, looking for rags to sop the blood up. After meeting the Duke, Wolf Alice continues to progress and encourages the Duke to do so too. Finally, as if brought into being by her soft, moist, gentle tongue the face of the Duke appears in the mirror. The ideas of the story concluded, similar to The Courtship Of Mr Lyon, Wolf Alice and the Duke both accept their otherness, and encourage the other to do so. All are able to find happiness and live contently despite the views society may possess. Carter is suggesting that feminism does not mean a dominating sex, but equality between them, as each is equal within creation. In conclusion Carters use of literary and linguistic techniques successfully portray the sense of voice and the reactions of characters within both stories to the idea of otherness. Her final ideas are concluded well within both stories, creating a clear message which resonates and questions the reader, encouraging them to consider their actions within a modern-day society.

Comparison of IFRS and U.S GAAP in relation to intangible assets

Comparison of IFRS and U.S GAAP in relation to intangible assets 1. Introduction Businesses have never been as globalised as they are today. Numerous corporations from developed, newly industrialised and developing countries operate on a global basis and need to create financial statements using the accounting practices of their home country, as well as those existing in their areas of operations. The divergence in accounting practices of different countries creates the need for the preparation of separate financial and accounting statements and subsequent reconciliation of differences. The international accounting fraternity is now steadily moving towards global commonality in accounting practices and procedural reporting. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has been working towards convergence of global accounting standards. Its mission is to develop and enforce a single set of global accounting standards, based on preparation of high quality, transparent and comparable financial statements for local and global users. The IASB has been working on compiling a stable set of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for first time users. The IFRS was mandated for all publicly listed companies in the European Union in 2005 and has also been adopted by other countries like Australia. The IASB has also been working very closely with the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), since 2002, to bring about convergence between US GAAP and the IFRS. However, while significant work has been done on harmonising IFRS with US GAAP and many pending issues are being currently addressed, a number of accounting topics are still treated differently by these two systems. A number of differences continue to remain in the accounting treatment of intangible assets. Intangibles have been defined in various ways. Essentially they comprise of assets that do not have physical presence and are represented by items like goodwill, brands and patents. These assets do not have shape but do have values; which again are sometimes indeterminate but often capable of estimation. They need to be under the direct control of the organization and capable of yielding future financial gain to be termed as intangible assets belonging to the company. A strong legal right that can lead to future financial gain is a good example of an intangible asset whose valuation is quite indeterminate but nevertheless provides security and the potential for financial gain to an organisation. The treatment of intangible assets has always been contentious and open to different interpretations. Even today, while IFRS and US GAAP have moved towards convergence in a number of accounting areas, significant differences still remain in their treatment of intangibles. These differences are specific in the treatment of goodwill and research and development costs, and lead to specific differences in the final preparation of financial statements. It is the purpose of this assignment to examine the differences and similarities between US GAAP and IFRS for the treatment of Goodwill, Research and Development costs, Brands, Patents and Trademarks. A number of texts have been referred for this assignment, especially International Accounting and Multinational Enterprises 6th edition by Radebaugh, Gray and Black, International Financial Reporting: A Comparative Approach by Roberts, Weetman and Gordon, the US GAAP and IFRS websites, a number of specialised publications by PWC andand the published accounts of many multinational corporations. Accounting statements and established practices are often subject to individual interpretation and the perusal of a number of texts has enabled the researcher to prepare a holistic and critical assessment of the selected topics. Inputs from all these texts and publications have been used in the preparation of this paper. 2. Goodwill Goodwill arises as an intangible asset and comprises of the difference between the cost of an acquisition and the fair value of its identifiable assets, liabilities and contingent liabilities. A recent analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) estimates that intangible assets accounted for approximately 75 % of the purchased price of acquired companies in recent years. Increasing attention is now being paid on the management of intangible assets and the IFRS3 has responded to this need by detailing accounting procedures for intangible assets. Goodwill makes up approximately two thirds of the value of intangible assets of US companies and the figure for companies registered in the EU would presumably be similar. Accounting of Goodwill arises in the case of acquisitions where the purchase price exceeds the net cost of purchased tangible assets, the monetary difference being attributed to goodwill and other intangible assets. IFRS procedures, unlike US GAAP, previously required the amortisation of goodwill over a specific number of years, thus establishing an artificial life for this asset. This procedure has since been changed and with the IFRS position converging with that of GAAP, goodwill is not considered to be a wasting asset anymore. It however needs to be emphasised that this refers only to goodwill obtained from acquisitions. Internally generated goodwill is not reflected as an asset either under IFRS or under US GAAP. The IFRS enjoins companies to distinguish between goodwill and other identifiable intangible assets. As such the value of other intangible assets like Research and Development, Patents, Trademarks, Brands and others need to be removed from the goodwill basket to arrive at the residual goodwill value. The treatment of goodwill is different from other intangibles as, subject to periodic assessments for impairment, it is expected to maintain its value indefinitely. While both IFRS and US GAAP require goodwill to be valued, reconciled, detailed by way of factors and reflected in financial statements, they have dissimilar modes for its accounting treatment. In most acquisitions the amount of goodwill is significant because of the considerable difference between the purchase price and cost of net assets of the acquired company. The difference in accounting treatment between IFRS and US GAAP thus causes the results of the financial statements prepared under the two methods to vary considera bly and calls for a detailed reconciliation. There is no immediate plan to bring about a convergence between these two modes of treatment, which is a matter of regret. a) Goodwill under IFRS Goodwill is not amortised any longer under IFRS procedures and is considered to be an asset with indefinite life. It however has to be subjected to a stringent impairment test, either annually, or at shorter notice if the need arises, to assess for erosion in value. In the event of impairment, the Profit and Loss Account is charged with the computed impairment amount to ensure the immediate highlighting of poorly performing acquisitions. Goodwill is thus not seen as a steadily wasting asset but one with indefinite life; and with a value linked to the performance of the unit. Another significant change in the treatment of goodwill has arisen out of the requirement for treating all business combinations as purchases. This will eliminate the possibility of companiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ not recording goodwill by pooling the assets and liabilities of various companies together for preparation of financial statements. The test for impairment of goodwill under the IFRS is carried out at the level of the Cash Generating Unit or a group of CGUs representing the lowest level at which internal managements monitor goodwill. The IFRS also stipulates that the level for assessing impairment must never be more than a business or a geographical segment. The test is a one stage process wherein the recoverable amount of the CGU is calculated on the basis of the higher of (a) the fair value less costs to sell or (b) the value in use, and then compared to the carrying amount. In case the assessed value is lesser than the carrying cost, an appropriate charge is made to the profit and loss account. The goodwill appropriated to the CGU is reduced pro rata. The IFRS requires detailed disclosures to be published regarding the annual impairment tests. These include the assumptions made for these tests, and the sensitivity of the results of the impairment tests to changes in these assumptions. M/s Radebaugh, Gray and Black, in their book International Accounting and Multinational Enterprises stress that these disclosures are intended to give shareholders and financial analysts more information about acquisitions, their benefits to the acquiring company and the efficacy and reasonableness of impairment reviews. Negative goodwill arises when the cost of acquisition is less than the fair value of the identifiable assets, liabilities and contingent liabilities of the company. While its occurrence is rare, negative goodwill can well arise when loss making units are acquired or a distress sale gives a company the opportunity to acquire a bargain. In such cases IFRS procedures stipulate that the acquirer should reassess the identification and measurement of the acquireeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s identifiable assets, liabilities and contingent liabilities and the measurement of the cost of the combination. The excess of net assets over the cost should be recognized and taken to the profit and loss account. Goodwill under US GAAP Goodwill was treated as an asset with indefinite life by US GAAP even when IFRS procedures allowed for its amortisation. The change in IFRS procedures is a thus a desirable step towards convergence. In US GAAP, goodwill is reviewed for impairment at the operating level, which specifically indicates a business segment, or at a lower organisational level. In no case can an impairment assessment be made for a level higher than a business segment. Impairment must be carried out annually or even at shorter intervals, if events indicate that the recoverability of the carrying amount needs to be reassessed. While these requirements are similar to those stipulated by IFRS, the procedure for assessment of impairment is significantly different and comprises of two steps. In the first step the fair value is computed and compared with the carrying amount of the concerned unit including goodwill. If the book value is higher than the fair value, no further exercise is suggested and goodwill carried forward at the same value. If however the fair value of the reporting unit is lesser than its carrying amount, goodwill is considered to be impaired and the second step is applied. Goodwill impairment, under US GAAP, is measured by computing the excess of the carrying amount of goodwill over its fair value. The computation for this is fairly simple and constitutes of determining the fair value of goodwill by allocating fair value to the various assets and liabilities of the reporting unit, similar to the procedure used for the determination of goodwill in a business combination. The calculated erosion in goodwill needs to be shown specifically as an impairment charge in the computation of income. The assessment and treatment of negative goodwill is also somewhat different in US GAAP, even though the basic accounting principles are similar to that followed by IFRS. In this case the excess of fair value over the purchase price is allocated on a pro rata basis to all assets other than current assets, financial assets, assets that have been chosen for sale, prepaid pension investments and deferred taxes. Any negative goodwill remaining after this exercise is recognised as an extraordinary gain. 3. Intangible Assets other than Goodwill Intangible assets other than goodwill are identifiable non-monetary assets without physical substance. M/s Radebaugh, Gray and Black state that intangible assets need to be identifiable, under the control of the company and capable of providing future economic benefits. While formulation of appropriate modes of accounting for these assets pose challenges to accounting theory and concepts, their importance in business is significant enough to warrant the application of detailed accounting thought. All the texts consulted have devoted significant attention to the treatment of intangible assets. A July 2006 paper on Accounting Standards regarding Intellectual and other Intangible Assets by Halsey Bullen and Regenia Cafini of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs is also very explanatory and deals with the subject both in depth and with comprehensiveness. This section deals with the similarities and dissimilarities under US GAAP and IFRS for specific intangible assets e.g. Research and Development Costs, Brands, Trademarks and Patents. While the growing importance of intangible assets call for their inclusion in financial statements, their intrinsic nature makes it difficult to do so. First, there is little connection between the costs incurred for creation of intangibles and their value. Second, it is also difficult to predict the extent of benefits that intangibles will be able to deliver. Both the IFRS and US GAAP have certain commonalities in the accounting treatment of intangible assets. In case of acquisitions, managements are enjoined to isolate specific intangible assets and value them separately from goodwill. All these assets have to be identified, valued and indicated separately in the balance sheet. The list of intangible assets that need to be recognised separately, as a result of IFRS 3 is extensive and includes a host of things like patents, brands, trademarks and computer software. IFRS 3 demands that the identification and valuation of intangible assets should be a rigorous process. Experts however feel that while valuing intangibles is essentially associated with subjectivity, logical mental application and the use of working sheets should be able to satisfy the demands of regulators. IFRS and US GAAP classify intangible assets, other than goodwill, into assets with limited useful life and assets with indefinite useful life. Assets with finite life are amortised over their useful life. While arbitrary ceilings are not specified on the useful life of those assets, they still need to be tested for impairment every year. An asset is classified as an asset with indefinite useful life if there is no probable limit to the period over which it will benefit the firm. It is however rare for intangible assets other than goodwill to have indefinite useful lives and most intangibles are amortised over their expected useful lives. Assets with indefinite lives have to be subjected to rigorous annual impairment tests. The fact that most intangible assets (other than goodwill) are amortised over their expected useful lives requires the determination of the expected useful life of each of the assets acquired. The general principles detailed above are common to both IFRS and US GAAP and are useful in determining the broad procedures for accounting and disclosure of intangible assets. As previously elaborated, accounting treatment primarily depends upon the determination of the life of an intangible asset, more specifically whether it has an indefinite or finite measurable life. All intangibles are governed by the same sets of disclosure requirements. Accordingly, financial statements should indicate the useful life or amortisation rate, amortisation method, gross carrying amount, accumulated amortisation and impairment losses, reconciliation of the carrying amount at the beginning and the end of the period, and the basis for determining that an intangible has an indefinite life. Apart from these requirements, the differences, detailed below, between US GAAP and IFRS in the treatment of Research and Development costs, Brands, Trade Marks and Patents, also need consideration. Treatment of Research and Development Costs and Brands Development costs are however assessed for valuation of long term benefits and, amortised over their determined benefit period. Capitalisation of development costs is allowed only when development efforts result in the creation of an identifiable asset, e.g. software or processes, whose beneficial life and costs can be measured reliably. If however a Research and Development project is purchased, IFRS provides for the treatment of the whole amount as an asset, even though part of the cost reflects research expenses. In the case of further costs being incurred on the project after its purchase, research costs will need to be expensed out while development costs will be eligible for capitalisation, subject to their meeting the required criteria. US GAAP however stipulates that all Research and Development costs be immediately charged to expenses. Certain development costs pertaining to website and software development are however allowed to be capitalised. Research and Development assets, if acquired are valued at fair value under the purchase method. However if the assets do not have any alternate use they are immediately charged to expense. Both PWC and publications opine that US GAAP will most probably move towards the IFRS position on Research and Development as part of the short term convergence exercise. Brands The treatment of Brands is similar under both US GAAP and IFRS norms. It has been specifically clarified that the value of brands generated internally should not be reflected in financial statements. In case of brands obtained through purchase or acquisition the value of the brand will have to be computed at cost or fair value and it will need to be determined whether the life of the brand is indefinite or finite. Brands with indefinite lives will need to be subjected to rigorous impairment tests every year, and treated like goodwill. Brands with finite lives, while subject to yearly impairment tests, will need to be amortised like other intangible assets. It needs to be noted that the mode of assessment of impairment in US GAAP is different from IFRS and this factor will accordingly come into play for assessment of impairment. Trademarks and Patents The costs of Patents and Trademarks, when developed and obtained internally comprise, mostly of legal and administrative costs incurred with their filing and registration and are expensed out as regular legal or administrative costs. The IFRS specifies that no revaluation is possible for Trademarks and Patents in accordance with IAS 38. This is because an active market cannot exist for brands, newspaper mastheads, music and film publishing rights, patents, or trademarks, as each such asset is unique. In the case of patents and trademarks obtained through acquisition, the treatment is similar to the broad category of intangible assets, for identification, valuation, measurement and recognition for purposes of separate disclosure. Acquired patents and trademarks are measured initially at purchase cost and are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives. Bibliography Bullen, H, and Cafini, R, 2006, Accounting Standards Regarding Intellectual Assets, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Retrieved November 14, 2006 from unstats.un.org/unsd/nationalaccount/ia10.pdf FASB: Financial Accounting Standard Board, 2006, Retrieved November 14, 2006 from www.fasb.org IFRS and US GAAP, 2005, IAS Plus , Retrieved November 14, 2005 from .net/dtt/cda/doc/content/dtt_audit_iasplusgl_073106.pdf Intangible assets: brand valuation, 2004, IFRS News Brand Valuation, Retrieved November 14, 2006 from www.pwc.com/gx/eng/about/svcs/corporatereporting/IFRSNewsCatalogue.pdf Radebaugh, L.H., Gray, S.J., Black, E.L., 2006, International Accounting and Multinational Enterprises, 6th edition, John Wiley and Sons, inc., USA Roberts, C, Westman, P, and Gordon, P, 2005, International Financial Reporting: A Comparative Approach, 3rd edition, FT Prentice Hall, USA

Emily Dickinsons Use of Nature Essay -- essays papers

Emily Dickinsons Use of Nature Dickinson’s Use of Nature Emily Dickinson uses nature as a major theme in a lot of her poetry. Quite often, Dickinson overlaps the theme of nature with the theme of death as well as love and sexuality, which were the other major themes in her work. Dickinson describes nature in many different ways. She uses is to describe her surroundings and what she sees as well as a metaphor for other themes. In Dickinson’s poem, â€Å"A narrow Fellow in the Grass†, she describes a snake moving through the grass. Dickinson writes, â€Å"A narrow Fellow in the Grass/ Occasionally rides-/ You may have met him- did you not/ His notice sudden is-/ The Grass divides as with a Comb-†. She describes the shape of the snake, narrow, and how it would be a familiar animal to most people. She goes on to explain what it looks like to see the snake sliding its way through the grass. Dickinson also describes how the snake sneaks up on her. They go almost unnoticed until they are right in front of you because they are so sneaky, low to the ground and so quiet. Dicki...

Primary Education and School Children Essay

The Government of India in 2001 launched the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), a nationwide programme to provide universal primary education, thereby encouraging secondary education also. The Center passed The Right to Education Act in 1 April 2010, which guarantees free and compulsory education to every child in the 6-14 age groups. But, the lack of awareness on the requirement of pre-school education & operational challenges including the availability of quality teachers are some of the issues that still limit the widespread benefits from the government act. Though the number of institutes has gone up significantly since then, but most of them provide an average education. Many state-funded schools in India lack even the basic infrastructure. In fact the quality of education, especially in remote villages, is very dismal. The quality of teaching in elementary schools is not up to the mark. Teacher absenteeism is widespread, teachers are not adequately trained and the quality of pedagogy is poor. One of the major challenges is the diminishing inclination of youth towards the teaching profession. The low salary base, lack of incentives and a lethargic job with less of dynamism have made the profession a last resort for the youth. Also, the profession has lost the level of respect that it deserved. Nowadays, it is only been seen as a supplementary income, and they keep trying to enhance their qualification, till they get into a better job. While there is immense shortage of primary and upper primary schools, there are some schools in many parts of the district where a single teacher is taking all classes from 1-5. As per RTE Act norms, the ratio of teacher and students should be 1:30 in primary schools and 1: 35 in upper primary schools. But, past 2 years since the enactment of the RTE act, there is a shortage of 1. 2 million teachers in India. This gap has led to lack of interest in the students too, which led to decline in the enrolment and also shift towards tuitions. Key national highlights by ASER report 2009 * The percentage of all rural children in Std 5 reading text at Std 2 level shows a decline from 56. 2 percent in 2008 to 52. 8 percent in 2009. This means around 40% of all rural children in Std 5 in India are at least three grade levels behind based on their level of learning * In math, for children in Std 5, the ability to do division problems has hardly increased. From 2007-09, for children in government schools the ability has actually declined from 41 percent to 36% * In Government Schools, 17. 1 percent students take private tuitions, and it rises to 30. 8 percent by the time they reach standard 8th * In private schools more than 25 percent students take private tuitions from standard 1 itself. Some of these challenges can be overcome by adopting Innovative teaching/ learning methods to achieve the desired quality: For high quality education throughout, India needs to focus on strengthening nation wide network, which would provide equal quality education to all students, including the students from the rural areas and villages, irrespective of the type of school. New methods of delivery would enable to augment access, quality and improve delivery at various levels of education and also to bridge the gap between the faculty requirements and their availability. Information, Communication and technology (ICT) tools such as videos, television and multimedia computer software that combine text, sound, and colourful, moving images can be used to provide challenging and authentic content that would engage the students in the learning process. ICTs can also be used to improve access to and the quality of teacher training. Some international examples in this regard are: * Cyber Teacher Training Center (CTTC) in South Korea is leveraging on Internet to provide better teacher professional development opportunities to in service teachers. The government-funded CTTC, offers self-directed, self-paced web-based courses for primary and secondary school teachers * In China, large-scale radio and television-based teacher education has for many years been conducted by the China Central Radio and TV, University, the Shanghai Radio and TV University (RTVU) and many other RTVUs in the country. Some progressive approaches the Indian education sector has adopted * Eight hundred and fifty schools in India use Tata Sky Active. Besides over a million Tata Sky homes spend more than INR 30 every month to buy services such as Active English, Active Learning and Active Wizkids. * Activity based learning – * Katha: A Initiative involving Amar Chitra Katha characters to impart education to school children * Hey Math: Content providers are selling different school fundamentals as a learning package to children. Initiatives are now in place to sell science packages * Campus-Connect Programs – Governments are having partnerships with training schools for vocational training, like Government of Delhi and IndiaCan have partnered to impart English education to bus drivers * Voucher Schools – * A school voucher or education voucher is a certificate issued by the government which parents can apply toward tuition at a school * The government of Rajasthan has announced two schemes that use school vouchers- Gyanodaya for classes 6-12 and Shikshak ka Apna Vidyalaya for classes 1-5. Trends in Education Sector in Pre-school: Trends| Examples:| Entry of Big Corporate| * Many corporate houses have / are planning to set up their own chain of pre-schools – Pre schools are viewed as attractive investment opportunities due to the growth potential. * For e.g. Alphakids set up by Camlin group and Globe Tot’ers by Yash Birla Group, P&G’s flagship Corporate Social Responsibility Program Shiksha. | Joint Ventures with Builders| * Increasingly preschools are forming joint ventures with builders. Partnering with builders helps in imparting flexibility in the business against high lease rentals * AEZ group and Mothers Pride entered into a JV for a Preschool| Upgrade to K 12| * Preschool chains are moving up the value chain by upgrading to K-12 schools to ensure scalability  for preschool firms * Kidzee, Euro Kids and Kangaroo Kids are upgrading to K-12 school and a large majority of their preschool population is expected to be the potential customers for K-12| Expansion to Tier I & Tier II Cities| * Demand and affordability is increasing in small towns with the growing awareness among people about the need to send children to preschools. * Euro kids plans to add 1000 pre schools in medium term with Tier II and Tier III cities as growth drivers| Leveraging Infrastructure foreconomic viability| * In order to maximize space utilization, preschools are leveraging the existing infrastructure to generate additional revenues * Additional programmes are being offered in the same premise in order to allow higher utilization of the infrastructure|.

rhetoric essay

rhetoric essay rhetoric essay Margaret Sanger gave her Children’s era speech in Newyork, Newyork on March 30, 1925 to a group at a birth control conference. She began a lifelong research in efforts to birth control. She was excited to share her research with the people. Her speech contains all three rhetoric forms but it mainly deals with logos and pathos. Her speech deals with the results of over population and the lack of options women are faced with such as birth control. She begins her speech talking about a garden and how much work and affection goes into taking care of a garden. The opening part of her speech about this garden deals with logos because she is talking about how to properly take care of your garden. â€Å"You have got to give your seeds a proper soil in which to grow.† It is an analogy going what should have been done and what has been done. Looking at something beautiful is fun but there comes all the responsibilities as well. The logic behind this message is she is opting women a way out of unplanned pregnancies. A way for women to not commit and over fill their plates. Trying to lower the population of children who women are are not ready for motherhood, Margaret takes action at the convention for birth control, where she gave her speech. Margaret then goes on saying there are seven conditions in which would make a mother unfit. The seven she describes are â€Å"transmissible disease, temporary disease, subnormal children a lready in the family, space out between births, twenty-three

muckrakers essays

muckrakers essays Muckraking was a powerful journalistic force, whose supporters made it become so. Muckraking was the practice of writers and critics exposing corrupt politicians and business practices. President Theodore Roosevelt made the term "muck-raker" popular. He once said The man with the muck-rake, the man who could look no way but downward with the muck-rake in his hands; who was offered a celestial crown for his muckrake, but who would neither look up nor regard the crown he was offered, but continued to rake himself the filth of the floor. Some, like Roosevelt viewed methods of muckrakers such as Ida Tarbell, Ray S. Baker, Lincoln Steffens, and Upton Sinclair as these types of people. Others saw these muckraking methods as perfectly acceptable for fighting against the industrial powerhouses. Either way, these muckrakers worked hard to arouse sentiment in the hearts of the public (Reiger 1). Muckraking actually began long before the years of 1900-1902, when the muckraking movement is credited to have begun. Jesus was probably the first muckraker. Years later, Martin Luther exposed the corruptness of the Catholic Church. Also, early Abolitionist worksStowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin and Helper's The Impending Crisis used muckraking to get a point across. However, events during the 1890s most directly paved the way for the critiques and exposures of existing conditions. This period was able to reach a limited upper class and the muckrakers were able to expand appeal to the average middle class citizen (Reiger 49-50). One reason for the outspread of muckraking was the explosion of journalism. From 1870-1909 the number of daily newspapers circulated boomed from 574 to 2,600 and the number of subscribers from 2,800,000 to 24,800,000. With this increase, newspaper owners and editors needed new bait to reel in its subscribers. The newspaper editors wanted to replace ordinary town gossip with gossip about the latest events of the city. Therefor...