Women and Self-Esteem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Women and Self-Esteem - Essay Example Other researchers are in line with the current findings that the more affirmed women feel by their fathers, the greater their self-esteem. In addition, perceived affirmation by the father goes in hand with feeling less fearful of intimate relationships. The need to uphold the relationship between perceived fatherly affirmation and fear of intimacy as noted in the current study by partializing the effect of self-esteem on the variables is significant. Even though it contradicts Naus and Thesis, 1994 study on males, the finding is appropriate. In addition, feeling affirmed with one’s father and feeling comfortable with one’s sexuality cannot be separated. I will include the perception of father’s feeling towards and treatment of one’s mother as an exploratory variable. Such inclusion is significant as it showed a high correlation with some of the other variables in the studies. Especially, it correlated with the perceived fatherly affirmation and fear of intimacy and thus will culminate in women developing self-esteem during the counselling. Tanya S. Scheffler and Peter J. Naus, (1999). The Relationship Between Fatherly Affirmation And A Womans Self-Esteem, Fear Of Intimacy, Comfort With Womanhood And Comfort With Sexuality. University Of St. Jeromes College. Waterloo, Ontario. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, Vol. 8(1). Spring, P.

Operations Management assignment Essay Example for Free

Operations Management assignment Essay Supply chain management is the coordination of the processes and functions within a business, adopted by most companies in the UK in the late 1990’s. It deals with the internal and external factors that, when dealt with correctly and systematically, can determine a businesses success or failure. A supply chain is the network of activities that delivers a finished product service to the customer. By definition, supply chain management (SCM) is â€Å"the management of the flows of materials from suppliers to customers in order to reduce overall cost and increase responsiveness to the customers† (Reid Sanders). SCM entails the co-ordination of the movement of good through the supply chain from suppliers to manufacturers to distributors to the final customer. The main aim of SCM is to maximise the efficiency of any given process being carried out by a company; by doing this it is allowing them to try to cut their costs and hopefully keep satisfying their customers’ needs, while at the same time maintaining their competitive position within their market. Supply chain management is seen as more of an â€Å"open system† in contrast to the traditional system used by the majority of companies just 20 years ago. The new â€Å"open system† allows room for change which is greatly needed with the current financial instability of the economy. SCM has evolved over the years and has moulded to suit the ever changing economy. First adopted by the Japanese, in the form of Geba Kai (A meeting of the minds), the now commonly found process is used by a vast amount of companies in the UK. Nowadays, SCM within a business is responsible for a product from when it’s in its raw state to when it’s a finished product, ready for consumption by customers. The chain management that Comfort Company PLC currently uses is a very traditional system, otherwise known as a â€Å"closed system†. This type of management system isolates itself from the other components in the supply chain and therefore only has communication flowing through the companies own system, this is a negative attribute as it prevents the company from getting important and influential information about the state of the other links in their supply chain. When the dynamics of change happened, it forced the breakthrough of a new approach, the â€Å"open system†. The â€Å"open system† made companies a lot more open to operational change and as a result of this it made several managers, whose companies used the closed, more traditional system, view the new approach as a loss of power; this consequently made a lot of companies resist against the change. The new and more flexible â€Å"open system† was adopted firstly by the Japanese in the form of â€Å"Geba Kai†, they were closely flowed by the British who quickly followed them in adopting it. There are still some nations that, even now, rigidly stick to their old ways and use the â€Å"closed system†, two examples of these nations are the Americans and the Germans. Along with the list of positives the company will gain by changing from a traditional chain system to a more formal supply chain management (SCM) system, there are also a few strategic reasons why a company should change to the newer system, reasons that will help them to stay on par with the other business’ within their industry and within the whole business sector. One of these reasons is globalisation. As stated in â€Å"Operations management: Along the supply chain†, Two thirds of today’s businesses operate globally through global markets, global operations, global financing, and global supply chains†. Globalisation means that British companies, such as Comfort Company PLC are going to have to be prepared to compete in markets that are foreign to them and also have foreign competition within their own domestic markets. Companies that adopt, or have already adopted, a formal supply chain management system will have an advantage upon those who havenâ€⠄¢t and will be able to benefit from globalisation. There are many benefits a company would gain from introducing a formal supply chain management system, all fulfilling the wish to supply the customer with good quality products that â€Å"Comfort Company plc† posses, while at the same time giving them an opportunity to maximise their customer satisfaction, manage their supply chain effectively and allow flexibility to their supply chain. By maximising customer satisfaction, â€Å"Comfort Company plc† could asses how well they are meeting their customers needs, while at the same receiving an indication of how well the business is doing in comparison with their competition; both in their market and foreign markets. Having a flexible supply chain would mean that the company would be able to react to change in demand quickly to ensure that they level the demand to their output, this would save them a lot of time, waste and resources if a freak change in demand was to happen. If â€Å"Comfort company plc† did not adopt the formal supply chain management system they would be at risk of loosing a lot of money if an unforeseeable change was to happen, this would give them a disadvantage upon the competition and would lower their competitive advantage. Effective management of a supply chain could open up opportunities for â€Å"Comfort Company plc† to improve many aspects of their production, and potentially save themselves a lot of money. By identifying the unnecessary waste along the supply chain, â€Å"Comfort Company plc† could make the process an easier, cheaper and quicker one for themselves and other links in their supply chain; this would make the chain more productive, co nsequently making the finished product â€Å"better value†. One of the main advantages of a formal supply chain management system, and an excellent attribute a company can have, is an advantage upon your competitors. Defined, competitive advantage is â€Å"an advantage over competition gained by offering consumers greater value, either by means of lower prices or by providing greater benefits and service that justifies higher prices†(Tutor2u.net, 2011). The type of competitive advantages a company such as â€Å"Comfort Company plc† would achieve from a formal SCM system are advantages such as lower costs and operational flexibility. As there are numerous ways of gaining a competitive advantage, the company in question needs to do some research into their market to see how it could be done, they could research the ways in which their successful competition operate and try to adopt some of their approaches. A good example of a company using its formal SCM system to achieve a good competitive advantage is Dell Computer Corporation. â€Å"Quick delivery of customised computers at prices 10-15 percent lower than the industry standard is Dell’s competitive advantage. A customised Dell computer can be en route to the customer within thirty-six hours. This quick response allows Dell to reduce its inventory level to approximately thirteen days of supply. Dell achieves this in part through its warehousing plan. Most of the components Dell uses are warehoused within fifteen minute travel time to an assembly point. Dell does not order components at its Austin, Texas, facility; instead, suppliers restock warehouses as needed, and Dell is only billed for items only after they are shipped. The result is better value for the customer† (Reid Sanders). There are a few ways â€Å"Comfort Company plc† can gain competitive advantage within their market, such as using tools like business to business (B2B) e-commerce, or adopting one of Dells results gaining approaches and making sure that there components and raw materials for making the products are located a short travel time away from the place of assembly. Being situated on the Crewe Gates industrial park, where many other businesses, some similar to â€Å"Comfort Company plc† no doubt, are situated, there’s sure to be some way that they could find a supplier closer. If this was to succeed they could create a good, strong relationship with the suppliers and build a barrier of trust and communication, this would be a perfect scenario to ensure the links in the supply chain are strong, as the supply chain is â€Å"only as weak and its weakest link† and vice versa. A business to business (B2B) e-commerce is when companies sell to other business, it is the largest segment of e-commerce. If â€Å"Comfort Company plc† were to use business to business (B2B) e-commerce, they could gain potential benefits such as: †¢Lower procurement administrative costs, †¢Better quality because if increased cooperation of between buyers and sellers, especially during the product design and development, †¢Low-cost access to global suppliers, †¢Lower inventory investment due to price transparency and reduced response times (R. Dan Reid, Nada R. Sanders) The reasons/advantages stated above for changing from a traditional chain system to a formal supply chain management system are in fact more than just small advantages â€Å"Comfort Company plc† could gain, but necessary changed that need to be made if they want to survive the current economical crisis and still have customers/revenue at the end of it. With globalisation growing and the need to satisfy the customers becoming more apparent and diverse, the formal supply chain management system is a necessary system that every business, no matter how small or large, should put into place. The formal SCM system will allow â€Å"Comfort Company plc† to integrate their information systems with their suppliers and customers in an effort to meet their goals and objective while still at the same time doing this in a cost-saving way. With every new system brought into a company, there is the risk of it creating a few problems within the company; this makes the need of a contingency plan much higher. There are a few risks that come along with implementing such a big change to a business so set in its ways like â€Å"Comfort Company plc†, a main one being the possible lack of cooperation from the workforce or managers. When change happens in a workplace the employees can feel threatened and scared and will sometimes rebel against the new change, this could be avoided if the company took a few simple procedures to ensure the workforce are happy with the new system. They should tell the workforce about the new operational plan and get their feedback on it, this will make them feel involved in the change and will hopefully make them feel less alienated. Also, they should sit them down and explain the needs of introducing a formal supply chain management system into the company, and the benefits it would gain by doing so, if they feel it would be benefiting the company, they should feel happier about the change going on. Furthermore, if both of the steps are carried out correctly, it could make them more motivated towards their job as they will feel involved in the company and will hopefully want it to succeed. Another risk of the formal supply chain management system is the potential loss of jobs within the company; this will be because some members of staff will not be needed as a go between for information between suppliers and so on. The redundancies in the company could possibly cause bad feeling between the workforce and the new system and could de-motivate them, possibly leading to a decrease in the effort put in by the workforce; this could potentially lead to a product being of a lower quality. Also, the possible redundancies made will be a negative factor for the economy as there will be a few more unemployed people in the country; this is one of the only major downfalls of the introduction of the formal SCM system. However, there may be members of staff who are close to retirement and could benefit from voluntary redundancy and the benefits that go with it. A negative of that would be that â€Å"Comfort Company plc† may loose some of their staff with the most experience and expertise, potentially making them train up current members of staff to the same quality as the members of staff who left. However, the operations management team at â€Å"Comfort Company plc† will have to put contingency plans in place that cover all of the possible risks, and ways to reduce the risks from happening. There are many needs of introducing a formal supply chain management system into â€Å"Comfort Company plc†, and many advantages it would gain by doing so. While there are also some risks involved, the advantages and needs outweigh them massively as they could potentially provide â€Å"Comfort Company plc† with a competitive advantage, while at the same time reducing their costs and use of resources. Like the traditional chain system currently adopted by â€Å"Comfort Company plc†, the new, more up to date formal supply chain management system will fulfil their wish to supply the customer with good quality products while at the same time saving them resources and money, making them more profitable. The introduction of a formal supply chain management (SCM) system is necessary and â€Å"Comfort Company plc† should definitely strongly consider it. References: †¢Operations Management: An integrated approach (2007) (3rd edition) R. Dan Reid, Nada R. Sanders. Pages 16, 98-105 †¢Operations Management: Along the supply chain (6h edition) Russell Taylor. Page 9. †¢Tutur2u.net (2011) Competitive advantage (WWW) Available from: http://tutor2u.net/business/strategy/competitive_advantage.htm

Case Study Eastman Sports Cars Management Essay

Case Study Eastman Sports Cars Management Essay First, to answer the case study about Eastman Cars Sports Ltd. This will be done by identifying issues relating to LD within this company. Secondly, to propose solution in connection to LD aiming at improving both the performance and the workplace at Eastman cars Finally, this report will try as much as possible to predict potentials barriers to face in the process of introducing LD strategies. 2.0 Issues identified with proposition regarding LD After readiing the case study, I discovered that the company is so antiquated that they are not worth functionable. According to the case study staff have lack of limited resources. This means that the leaders in the company have rigid culture and negative mindset of managers. I therefore encountered numerous problems that the organisation is facing, these were: The company was sort of having a unilateral decision making managing director Lack of communication Lack of Management system and style of leadership Lack of technology and training Lack of human resource management Health and safety system wasnt put in place Low staff morale All these had an extremely negative effect on the company performance and infastructure. And I consider this as a bad aspect of a stituaton where the leaders should guide and inspire the team, but the issues I would like to discuss is the following: 2.1 Communication within the organization Problems occurring within business can easily be solved through teamwork discussions. Teamwork discussions refer to internal meeting held within organizations comprising of staff from various organizational departments. According to business professionals, effective communication within company acts as a major factor that leads to its development (Thetimes100, 1995-2009). Eastman requires having effective internal communication for it to succeed. This is as it will help in effective flow of information within the company thus helping each department carry out its respective responsibilities smoothly. However, communication may prove to be complicated for the company due to each department having its own mannerism, biases and capabilities. On the other hand most of the information to be conveyed to the departments will be intended for particular groups. Therefore the company need to take great attention on information intended for particular groups. Eastman Company has various groups ranging from formal to informal. Formal groups are those that have been assigned vital roles by Eastman Company and are established by the management which includes sales department, managers, administrators and accounting staffs. As these departments are allocated in different sites within the company, there is great need for information flow within them to be ensured for Eastman to attain its goals and objectives (Susan, 2009, p 1-3). Employee relation with their supervisors can go far in helping or hampering the attainment of organizational goals. Workforce, being the ones involved in day to day operation of the company, may identify various areas within the company that requires to be improved. If supervisors within Eastman prove hard to deal with, employees might opt to continue operating the company without reporting any hitch that occurs within the company. This would lead to the company not attaining its goals. In most cases, companies crumble due to poor relationship between managers and employees (David, 2009, p. 5). With some employees in Eastman admitting that some equipment are poorly managed within the company but they cannot help it as their supervisor is not willing to listen to their suggestions, it implies that the company is likely to collapse. Good relationship between employees and their managers would improve employee motivation leading to increase in their productivity. There is great need for Eastman supervisors to ensure that they are always ready to listen to employees opinions and work on them accordingly. Commending employees whenever they have done well will also help in improving their morale. In most cases, supervisors try to look for the negative deeds that their subjects commit forgetting about the many good things they do (Andrew, 2009, p. 2-4). It is the duty of supervisors to listen to what their subordinates tell them. This does not mean that they agree with all that is said by their subordinates. Sometimes, employees being the ones carrying out the daily operations of the company may have ideas on how to improve some of the processes within the company such as development of the cars bodies. Failure to listen to employees opinion is what is leading to the growth of dont care attitude among staffs within Eastman company. If not dealt with urgently, it would lead to the company incurring a lot of expenses in purchasing and repairing damaged equipments. In practice therefore Eastman should arrange and encourage the departments in looking after employees interest. From this mayo (1980-1949) suggest that employees are motivated when there is a better communication between managers and workers. He also concluded there should be a greater management involvement. It is manager requirement to educate, influence, motivate and lear n to approach his employees. 2.2 Lack of technology / Training With increased development in technology, business organizations need to regularly conduct training to their staffs to improve their productivity. Bearing in mind that Eastman only conducts only technical training to its staff when they are employed, the company requires to conduct training to it staffs. To conduct effective employee training and development, Eastman requires being aware of all changes that will result from the training. For it to maintain its competitive power in the market, it needs to impart new knowledge within its employees and not rely on what employees already know. Continuous employee training and education has proved to be a key factor in improving organization performance. In conducting the training, Eastman need to encourage creativeness among the staffs as it is the major element that will lead to the company gaining competitive advantage in the market. Training will help in introducing new inventions within the company making it more unique from its comp etitors (James, 2009, p.2-4). In todays business environment, the only way for a company to survive is to be innovative. This depends entirely on the level of training being conducted within a company. It does not imply that Eastman has to go out looking for means to impart knowledge on its staffs. If knowledge does not bring positive changes to the company it is as good as when the staffs are not trained as the company will incur unnecessary expenses. Eastman needs to ensure that it has harmonized its training with its needs, goals and the goals of its staffs. Business training has been faced with opposition from managers who perceive it as expensive and time wasting. Some claims that training is not fruitful while others term it as for young people who get in companies without knowledge. Eastman managing director may see as if conducting staff training is expensive but failure to conduct the training would prove even more expensive. Studies have shown that empowering employees through training and development h as great impact than investing in machineries and other physical resources (Patrick and Bruce, 2000, p.225). Its essential that Eastman supervisor ensure all employees are not exposed to exploitation in case they fail to undergo the training. Some companies use training to scare employees by threatening to sack them in case they fail to complete the training successfully. Instead, LD should be used to add value to the organisation and not the reverse. Clear goals are necessary for an organisation before it embarks on training of workers. If the company goes into training without clear goals of the values that need to be added to the company, such an organisation is courting failure. Eastman Sports Cars needs clear objectives for training the workers. Learning and development requires resources. An organisation must set aside resources to be used in training workers. The amount will depend on the kind of training they need. The learning resources must be easily accessible to the workers. They should be of high quality and cost effective. The cost of training should not be very high such that it hinders the smooth running of the organisation. Eastman Sports Car has not been doing very well lately and cost of training workers needs careful consideration. In addition, be timely and relevant to the learning needs of the workers. More importantly, training intervention should provide value for money (Thomas and Ploman, 1986, p. 64). The barriers that are likely to be encountered are lack of enough funds to finance the training. Time is also a barrier to training this is because some workers may have little spare time on their hands to attend classes. They may also be free at unusual hours (Thorne and Mackey, 2007,p.39). Accessibility is another challenge some sources may not be accessible to workers and the quality may not be satisfactory such that at the end of training the individuals gain very little to help them improve their skills. Lack of proper communication also leads to inadequate information and advice. (Sandler, 2007, p. 93). Lack of management support is another barrier to LD due to Mr Eastmans lack of interest for training. 3.0 Conclusion Whereas every employee in Eastman performs a specific task, the company can initiate cross training. This is where employees are trained on various jobs to ensure regular operations within the company. If an employees job cease to exist in the company or one department happen to require more staffs, staffs can be transferred to this department without the need for Eastman to employ new staff. This can also assist in expanding companys capacities without having to recruit new staffs. For instance, cross training has been said to be secrete behind the success of Toyota automaker in Japan. Another type of training that can be productive in Eastman is the just-in-time training. This is where employees are trained when need arise to meet the required skills. These training can be conducted at work place and requires short time hence not expensive for the company (VemiĆ¡, 2007, p. 209-216). There are many issues in learning and development such as strategies, intervention and res ources. In addition, during learning and development the barriers may arise. However, the barriers can be overcome. Thus, the company achieves its objectives in learning and development. 4.0 Recommendations I recommend that the managers in Eastman should identify and promote learning and development. The company can do this through personal interviews of the workers. The company can also look at its priorities and match them against the individual needs (Thorne and Mackey 2007, p. 16). Once the needs identification is through the company should provide a solution to the needs. The solution comes in for of training or learning. The company develops and delivers the most appropriate learning to meet the need. During this stage, the company works with external experts on the subject matter to design learning packages. The learning can take various forms for instance the course can be computer-based, paper-based, work experience, structured activities or self-paced activities. The learning resources must be easily accessible to the workers. They should be of high quality and cost effective. Further recommendations include the following: The company should avail funds to train workers. Incentives can also be given to the workers who commit to training. The employer can give them subsidies. The leaders should consider In determining the most appropriate style of leadership in the work place which includes: the characteristics of the manager, personality, attitude, abilities, value system and the personal credibility of managers( mullins, 2007, p 390) The type and nature of the organisation, organisation culture, and different stages in innovation and development. I completely recommend the managing director (Kayleigh) to act as a coach and a mentor to the organisation. Employers have the right skills to support the success of their businessess, and individuals have the skills they need to be both employable and personally fulfilled (Harrison, 2005, p.26). The learning and development plan should be meaningful to the workers by linking skills to be learnt with the company objectives. The company should allow worker time flexibility during the course period. The company can assist in developing part-time learning as well as distance learning. The trainers should also train the workers at the workplace to save on time spent on travel. The company should conduct background check on the trainers to ensure that the relevant authority accredits them. The company should stick to high quality training standards to give the workers high quality learning. Communication between the workers and leaders should be improved so that information is passed upwards or downwards effectively. Evaluation should be on learning and development after training to see the value of the training packages.

English Coursework: Macbeth Essay -- English Literature

English Coursework: Macbeth In this essay I will be discussing who is responsible for the death of King Duncan In Shakespeare’s play ‘Macbeth’. The main character in the play, Macbeth, murders King Duncan. However, I feel that he was not totally to blame. I believe that both Lady Macbeth and the three witches played a part in his death and this should not be overlooked. The three witches are all sisters. We first meet the witches in the very first scene of the play when they are on the heath casting a spell. Shakespeare sets the mood of the play by having them on the moor in the thunder and lightening. This creates a feeling of evil. This is where the witches first mention Macbeth. Where the place? Upon the heath. There to meet Macbeth. The witches first meet Macbeth in scene three of act one when he is riding home after being one of the heroes in the war. He is with Banquo when he bumps in to the three ugly sisters. Macbeth is amazed to hear the witches’ prophecy. They foretell that he will be the Thane of Cawdor and will go on to be King. All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth! That shalt be King hereafter. This stuns Macbeth because he knows that the Thane of Cawdor is still alive. He doesn’t understand how he will become King of Scotland either. He wants to know more from the witches. Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more: By Sinel’s death I know I am Thane of Glamis; But how of Cawdor? the Thane of Cawdor still lives, A prosperous gentleman; and to be king, Stands not within the prospect of belief, The witches’ prophecy has put the idea of becoming king into Macbeths mind. He starts to think about it and how it can become true. By th... ... Act 1 Scene 7. But his wife forces him to do the deed by saying that she will leave him if he does not kill him. So that shows that he would not have done it unless his wife (Lady Macbeth) had threatened to leave him. He then kills the king but it is all thought out by his wife so that he will not get caught. Showing that it is that wife that wants it to happen more than Macbeth does. In conclusion I would like to say that I think that lady Macbeth is at most fault because Macbeth would not have done it if Lady Macbeth had not of forced him. But it is true that she would not have got the idea unless Macbeth had heard it from the witches. I don’t feel that Macbeth is at any blame because as I have said he would not have done it unless his wife had forced him. I also feel that the death of King Duncan was half Lady Macbeth’s fault and half the witches.

Persuasive Speech Outline Essay

Topic: To Inform People on what they need to do to help this situation. Introduction †¢ What is one of the world’s largest animals that is going endangered at a fast pace? †¢One of the world’s largest breeds of Elephants, which are the African Elephants are going Extinct. †¢There are several animal rescue organizations, such as Green Peace, The WCS, State Zoos just to name a few. Along with scientist that explain what this means for the world as we have grown up to know it. As a Huge volunteer at shelters and the zoo this topic is near and close to me. If you look at the reproduction time of an elephant and the amount of times the elephant will mate in its life. I.The African Elephant is quickly becoming extinct due to several main reasons. A. If You look at how many times an African Female Elephants mates in its entire life time and add that to how long it takes her to half the baby that will show you why we as the human race must do everything in our power to help animals survive along with us. 1. The African Elephant lives up to eighty years and will have 1-3 partners during their life span. 2. African Elephants are known to have 4-12 baby elephants throughout its life time depending on how old the elephant is when it first mates. B. When an Elephant mates it will depend on her age that determines how many babies she will have. 1. It takes nearly two years for an Elephant to have one baby that is called a calf. And although it is rare sometimes the Mother Elephant will have the baby calf under the 24 mo. period. 2. Another rare, but not impossible in Elephants is having Twin Calf’s. It is extremely rare in African Elephants but a little more common  in Asian Elephants since there are a smaller breed. . Elephants have a hard enough time producing so when we talk about survival it makes it impossible when they are being illegally captured and killed for their beautiful tusk. . II.Beautiful Creatures that are descendants of the extinct Woolly mammoth are finding themselves becoming extinct. A. Reproduction is not the only challenge the African elephant is facing. 1. Elephants numbers declining because of illegal poaching of their beautiful white teeth known as Ivory. 2. The Elephants are not sedated for the tusk to be cut off, but they are killed. Which is declining their numbers quickly. B. It may surprise you but the demand for Ivory Tusk is not just overseas. 1. China along with other Asian countries are big traffickers of Ivory. But what will surprise you is that there are not the only countries. 2. The United States last year alone traded with countries such as Africa for Ivory worth 60 million dollars on the black Market. . With the Trade of Ivory being a hot commodity for the wealthy Countries are killing Elephants up to 60 a day out of a population of an estimated 500,000 African Elephants. With this number and the length in which it takes a mature Female and male to reproduce African Elephants are being placed on the endangered list. III.Elephants will continue to become extinct and one day will be all gone for the future generation of our children and descendants if we don’t take a stand and take measures to make sure that law makers in our country as well as others put a stop to illegal poaching. 1.Zimbabwe is one of the fastest growing places for illegal poaching of tusk from the Elephant in Africa. 2.This year on February 11th President Obama designed to create â€Å"a near  complete ban† on the commercial sale of African elephant ivory in the U.S. 3. The United States destroyed over 6 tons of illegal Ivory in November. 1. This was the start of a global message to other countries to stop the illegal killing, sale, and trade of ivory. a. With our country being at the top of this demand it was only fitting that we were the first to place a global stop to this senseless killing of these animals. b. Asia and Tanzania are just a few counties that have there name of the poaching of shame list. The Philippine government destroyed 5 tons of confiscated ivory just last month. c. Countries that have corrupt law enforcements are not helping the situation of illegal poaching it allows the people that are getting caught to go free and continue there actions with out punishment for their crime. 2. With several countries still practicing this illegal and brutal method of making money. I am afraid that Elephants will remain on the endangered list unless change takes place. As I have shown you the length and time that it takes this huge, but beautiful animal to reproduce and the fast and cruel way that the Biggest Animal in Africa is surely and quickly going extinct. We have to be aware and caring about the things that go on in our country, and help educate the other countries that don’t realize this long term effect that there actions will have on the rest of the world. Bibliography Delegation, P., & Michael, A. (2009, July 30). Dicovery of Elephant’s oldest known relative. Science Daily, p. 3. Dell’Amore, C. (2012). Elephant, Ranger Protections Endorsed—But Do They Have Teeth? National Geographic News. Douglas-Hamiltion, O. (1980). Africa’s Elephants: Can they survive? National Geographic Magazine. Douglas-Hamilton, I. (2011). African Elephant Data. Africa: National Geographics. Trinidad, E. (2012). Baby Elephants. 1. http://news.yahoo.com/apnewsbreak-elephants-endangered-land-grabs-120512322.h

Special Education Assessments of Functional Abilities

Special Education Assessments of Functional Abilities Functional Tests For children with significantly disabling conditions, they need to have their functional abilities addressed before addressing other skills, such as language, literacy and math.   In order to master these subjects, students need to be able first to independently take care of their own needs: feeding, dressing, toileting and bathing or showering themselves (all known as self care.)   These skills are of great importance for the future independence and quality of life for these students with disabilities.   In order to decide which skills need to be addressed, a special educator needs to assess their skills. There are several tests of life and functional skills. One of the best known is the ABLLS (pronounced A-bels) or Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills. Designed as an instrument for assessing students specifically for Applied Behavioral Analysis and discrete trial training, it is an observational instrument that can be completed through interview, indirect observation or direct observation. You can purchase a kit with many of the items required for certain items, such as naming 3 of 4 letters on letter cards. A time consuming instrument, it is also meant to be cumulative, so a test book goes with a child from year to year as they acquire skills.   Some teachers of children with significantly disabling conditions will design programs, especially in early intervention programs, to specifically address deficits in their assessment. Another well known and reputable assessment is the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition. The Vineland is normed against a large population across ages. Its weakness is that it is comprised of parents and teachers surveys. These are indirect observations, which are really susceptible to subjective judgement (Mommys little boy can do no wrong.) Still, when comparing language, social interaction and function at home with typically developing same aged peers, the Vineland provides the special educator with a view of the students social, functional and pre-academic needs.   In the end the parent or caregiver is the expert in that childs strengths and needs.   The Callier Asuza Scale was designed to assess the function of blind-deaf students, but is also a good tool for assessing the function of children with multiple handicaps, or children on the Autistic Spectrum with lower function. The G Scale is the best for this cohort, and is easy to use based on a teachers observation of a childs function. A much quicker tool than the ABBLs or Vineland, it provides a quick snapshot of a childs function, but doesnt provide as much descriptive or diagnostic information.   Still, in the present levels of an IEP, your purpose is to describe the students abilities in order to assess what needs to be mastered.