The Nature of Evil in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet

Society has been preoccupied by the concept of good and evil since the emergence of civilization and, just as humankind has evolved over time, so has the definition of evil. Evil was first used to describe someone who placed themselves above others and it wasn't until the Old and Middle English period that evil became associated with wrong-doing. As time passed, the definition continued to become increasingly more specific until it reached its modern day definition: â€Å"extreme moral wickedness. (www. etymonline. com/index. php? term=evil) However, what one ultimately defines as evil depends on one's personal experiences, frame of reference, and culture. For instance, during World War II, the Americans believed that dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima was an act of good as it ended conflict with the Japanese. On the other hand, the Japanese viewed it as an act of evil as the bombings resulted in the deaths of thousands of people.This proves that good and evil cannot always be see n as simply black or white, but also as shades of grey making it difficult to label characters in various literary works, especially those of William Shakespeare. The ambiguity of evil in William Shakespeare's Hamlet forces spectators to interpret each character's thoughts, actions, and personality in order to place them properly on the gradient of evil. Regardless of one's personal idea of evil, Claudius can be seen as a villain from many standpoints.He constantly performs actions with malicious intent and expresses true love only for himself. The first and most important act that Claudius commits is the murder of his own brother, which he does to obtain the crown of Denmark, as described by King Hamlet's ghost: Now, Hamlet, hear. ‘Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard, A serpent stung me – so the whole ear of Denmark Is by a forged process of my death Rankly abus'd – but know, thou noble youth, The serpent that did sting thy father's life Now wears his cro wn. (I. v. 34-40)The ghost's speech shows the true nature of Claudius' evil as he allows himself to kill his own brother. However, this is not to say that Claudius does not understand the nature of his sins. Following ‘The Murder of Gonzago', a test of his conscience set up by Hamlet, Claudius feels overwhelmed with guilt and self disgust; he attempts to repent for his sins and expresses that he realizes the magnitude of what he has done: O, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven; It hath the primal eldest curse upon't– A brother's murder. (III. iii. 37-39)This is the first and only time that the readers or spectators see Claudius acting as a normal human being and showing or recognizing his emotions. This is very important as many people believe that repentance leads to mercy. However, Claudius finds himself unable to properly do so as he comes to realize that he does not feel remorse for what he has done since he continues to reap the rewards of his deed: Pray can I not, Though inclination be as sharp as will, My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent†¦ My fault is past – but O, what form of prayerCan serve my turn? ‘Forgive me my foul murder? ‘ That cannot be, since I am still possess'd Of those effects for which I did the murder– My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen. †¦ My words fly up, my thoughts remain below. Words without thoughts never to heaven go. (III. iii. 36-40, 51-55, 97-98) If Claudius had successfully repented for his sins, he would no longer be labelled as an evil character. He is, however, unable to do so. Despite Claudius' callousness, the fact that he even attempts to repent is honourable.However, by continuing to manipulate, destroy, and murder he voids any chance of forgiveness. He uses his â€Å"son† as a scapegoat by focusing all of the negative attention on him and thus avoids negative attention himself, marries his brother's widow, turns Hamlet's childhood friends against him, and ultimately causes the deaths of all the main characters in the play. He uses his charm and political power to unleash increasing amounts of chaos proving that, â€Å"One may smile, and smile, and be a villain! † (I. v. 07) In the end, it is Claudius who is responsible for trapping otherwise innocent characters in a chain of deception, deceit, and destruction which is escapable only by death. Hamlet is the primary victim of Claudius' malevolent deeds, causing a dramatic shift in his nature. He becomes a slave to misfortune and feels the need to right the wrongs in his life, specifically the murder of his father. Upon hearing the truth about the nature of his father's death, Hamlet becomes a vital part in the cyclical pattern of evil as he vows to take revenge on his uncle, Claudius: Haste me to know't, that I with wings as swiftAs meditation or the thoughts of love May sweep me to my revenge. (I. v. 29-31) Although Hamlet is â€Å"a victim† of Claudius' deeds, the reader is unable to sustain any feeling of heightened pathos once he seeks justice by exacting revenge. However, one must take into consideration the common thought processes of the time. It wasn't until recently that society began to view retributive justice as unacceptable and morally wrong. Therefore, Hamlet would have been justified in his attempts to get revenge for his father's murder.In addition, getting revenge gives Hamlet no personal gain except the redemption of his father's name, while Claudius kills with power in mind. Furthermore, Claudius is responsible for the death of an innocent while Hamlet is only concerned with killing those who are guilty, particularly his uncle. Hamlet even takes precautions, such as arranging the performance of ‘The Murder of Gonzago', to prove his suspicions and keep a clean conscience: I'll have groundsMore relative than this—the play's the thingWherein I'll catch the conscience of the King. II. ii. 603-605) By trying to f igure out whether or not Claudius is guilty, Hamlet shows that he is trying to cause the least damage possible and does not want to kill those who do not deserve it. A truly evil person would not care whether or not their victim was innocent, as is the case with Claudius. Unfortunately, Hamlet becomes tangled up in his thoughts and emotions and causes more problems than he intends to; primarly when Hamlet and his mother are talking and Hamlet attacks Polonius who is hiding behind an arras.The attack kills Polonius, who Hamlet initially thought was Claudius. While some may consider this to be evil, Hamlet recognizes the event as a tragic accident: A bloody deed. Almost as bad, good mother, As kill a king and marry with his brother†¦ Thou wretched, rash intruding fool, farewell. I took thee for thy better. Take thy fortune. (III. iv. 28-29, 31-32) By comparing the murder of Polonius to the murder of his father, Hamlet acknowledges that what he has done is wrong but unfortunately this does not allow him to escape the repercussions which follow.Killing Polonius is the biggest mistake that Hamlet makes in the play, turning Laertes against him and leading to the death of both himself and Ophelia. Although Hamlet can be seen as unnaturally cruel many times throughout the play, he is not evil. Hamlet is simply trying to play the cards he has been dealt in life. Throughout Hamlet, Laertes is described as a very loyal and noble gentleman. Unfortunately for Laertes, he suffers the same fate as poor Hamlet. He loses his father and his sister, just as Hamlet loses his father and mother.Following his father's death, Laertes feels the need to kill to uphold his family's name. At first Laertes believes the murderer to be Claudius but when Claudius convinces him otherwise, Laertes shifts his attention towards Hamlet. In order to get Laertes to do this, Claudius manipulates him into thinking that Hamlet is the root of all evil and must be taken care of. Laertes agrees to d o so and even contributes his own ideas: I will do't. And for that purpose, I'll anoint my sword. I bought an unction of mountebank So mortal but dip a knife in it, Where it draws blood, no cataplasm so rare,Collected from all simples that have virtue Under the moon, can save the thing from death That is but scratch'd withal. I'll touch my point With this contagion, that if I gall him slightly, It may be death. (IV. vii. 139-148) Similarly to Hamlet, it is not evil that gets the best of Laertes, but his emotions. His anger and sadness cause him to react drastically and he makes decisions at a time where he is unable to think straight. Laertes later comes to realize this as he reflects upon his plan to kill Hamlet: And yet it is almost against my conscience. V. ii. 288) At this point in the play, it becomes evident that Laertes' â€Å"evil† is not of his own creation but of Claudius'. It is not only Laertes who realizes this but Hamlet as well, allowing the men to see the simi larities in their situations and apologize to one another: He is just serv'd. It is a poison temper'd by himself. Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet. Mine and my father's death come not upon thee, Nor thine on me. (V. ii. 321-325) Unlike Claudius, the men are forgiven for their sins and are able to die as heroes rather than villains.This final act of nobility is what truly defines the characters of Hamlet and Laertes, not their mishaps. William Shakespeare's Hamlet exemplifies how it is not what a character does but who a character is that determines whether they are truly evil or not. Nevertheless, that is not to say that the character's do not fall victim to temptation or evil. It is the way that they handle themselves once they have done so that allows spectators an insight into their true nature. As Hamlet says, â€Å"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking it makes it so. † (II. ii. 245-246)

Management Information System Thesis Essay

Resto Bar,† unlike a typical restaurant, will provide a unique combination of excellent food at value pricing with a fun and entertaining atmosphere. DJIM is the answer to an increasing demand. The public (1) wants value for everything that  it purchases, (2) is not willing to accept anything that does not meet  its expectations, and (3) wants entertainment with its dining experience. Entering into this market will not be easy; the industry is highly competitive, with periodic overcapacity, low margins, and low entry/exit barriers. In addition, there is a large number of substitutes, and the suppliers to this market have a great deal of power. In order to overcome these issues, the company has acquired an excellent locality in the downtown area and intends to provide a suitably upscale environment to draw in the company’s main target market segment, the business professionals. The company will seek to provide these customers with the maximum number of services to create the greatest sales volume during the company’s peak hours of operation. The company will have a comprehensive marketing, advertising, and promotion campaign that will maximize word-of-mouth marketing and will consist of radio, printed material, billboards and discounts. In today’s highly competitive environment, it is becoming increasingly  more difficult to differentiate one restaurant concept from another. DJIM will provide customers with the option of eating less fattening and healthier food. The place will also provide the customers with perfect setting for different occasions like Romantic Dates, Business Meetings, and Intimate Birthday Parties.

On the Film Zero Dark Thirty and Torture Essay

Zero Dark Thirty is a 2013 film directed by award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow, and is a narration about the multiple time-skips of how Maya (Jessica Chastain), a new CIA recruit, beat the odds which led to Osama Bin Laden’s ultimate death. â€Å"Our plane’s been hijacked. I hope I can be able to see your face again, baby. I love you! Goodbye!† were lines from the actual 9/11 audio footage at the beginning of the film and from that, I thought that Zero Dark Thirty would be an emotionally-touching action-packed movie. Because of an exciting plot, I expected it to be a thrilling film but it turned out to be despicably monotonous. Set in the bustling streets and the danger-prone areas of the Middle East, the set design became largely influential to the film, and it added to the viewer’s experience. However, if I hadn’t known that the movie was directed by Academy-Award winner, Kathryn Bigelow, I would have thought that this was directed by an unkno wn director. The chapter-by-chapter time skip actually took the plot away from the movie — it became choppy and incomprehensible. One moment we see Ammar (Reda Kateb) being tortured, and then in the next screen, it’s suddenly two years later. The only commendable action scene in the movie being Osama Bin Laden’s ambush, the plot seemed to drag as we see more conversations and less action than what we expected to see. The movie poster also said that the writer, Mark Boal, is an Academy award-winning screenwriter but it puzzles me how he actually got the information about the happenings when CIA operations are supposed to be undisclosed. Why would the scriptwriter just name-drop sites that were supposedly top-secret, like the existence of Area 51? Thus, the credibility of the events and places seem questionable. Moreover, the flood of names of terrorists in conversations was actually confusing and the discussions about situations in ISI were unnecessary. I wanted to see scenes related to finding Abu Ahmed and ultimately, Bin Laden. I wanted action, not conversations. Though the pacing was unbelievab ly slow, the cinematography during the bombing in the restaurant Maya and Jennifer were eating at was brilliant. The transition was truly surprising — one moment Jennifer was talking to someone over the phone, and then the next, the restaurant was already in pieces and people were dying. Maya’s expression of pure shock and terror was perfectly captured the camera. The editing of the movie headed by William Goldenberg was realistic, and the bombings were so unpredictable, I was surprised and scared out of my seat. Mostly, the ambush operation in the last 30 minutes of the film was so professionally shot it could pass up as an actual footage. It’s the little moments that make this film alive. After the phone call from Maya’s supervisor, stating that tonight will be the ambush, we witness the bonds of the â€Å"canaries† – the way they goofed around and gambled, yet still looked out for each other. Viewers always have the impression that soldiers are brute men who would sacrifice anything and anyone for their purpose, but this scene actually gives the impr ession that they’re men too who treasure the bonds they have. The only comical relief during the movie was provided by Dan’s sarcasm and personality. Ironically, this attitude always comes up during the supposedly-heartbreaking torture scenes which made it particularly hard for me to sympathize with Ammar (Reda Kateb). Another highlight of his role was when Dan fed the monkeys in a CIA site. I remembered the previous scene when Ammar said that Dan was an animal, and as the monkeys stole the ice cream from Dan, I saw how it was similar to their situation. Dan takes and takes from Ammar, but eventually, Ammar gets the best of him when he doesn’t provide information. As I contemplated about the film after watching it, I think the reason why it seemed so bland and dry is because it lacked the action that viewers are used to see in fictional CIA films. The super cool CIA combat and the shooting scenes where the CIA agent never gets shot weren’t present in the movie. Instead, the movie consisted of CIA operatives who commit mistakes and ultimately get killed, like Jennifer (Jennifer Ehle); we meet heartless CIA agents like Dan (Jason Clarke) who would torture a man endlessly to get the information he needs. We see unsexy Maya, an ordinary-looking woman who wears identical suits every day, who got carried away by emotions after Jennifer’s death and during her confrontation with Joseph Bradley (Kyle Chandler), and who was almost killed once in an attempt at her life. The film was made up of one-dimensional characters who got frustrated when they can’t do anything. I wanted to know the characters more but there was zero character development. There weren’t even any scenes about Maya’s past, like why and how was she recruited out of high school? Did she ever get in touch with Jennifer’s family after her death? This lack of character personality development and the blankness of her facial expressions in most of her screen time made me wonder why Jessica Chastain is praised for her role in Zero Dark Thirty. I’ve recently watched Les Miserables and if Jessica Chastain were to be nominated in the same category as Anne Hathaway for an Oscar, then Chastain could just say that she dreamed a dream of winning an Oscar. I won’t say that she did not deserve her Golden Globe award, but I never thought she’d be nominated for it either. Her portrayal as the angry young Bin Laden-obsessed CIA agent was so stereotyp ical — she started as the nervous, awkward new CIA operative and then ultimately became the â€Å"motherfucker,† as she puts it, who found Bin Laden’s location. Maya always had this expressionless face, as if trying very hard to capture a CIA agent’s demeanor. In fact, I only began to sympathize with Maya upon the death of Jennifer. Her endless pursuit of Bin Laden became more personal from this point, proving that nothing motivates like revenge. I think that the scene where Maya shook her head and then cried actually concludes the plot well because it showed her human side and the drive that has been pushing her all along. She quotes in one scene that her friends got killed because of the hunt and she believes that she has been spared for a reason. This gives justice to her emotions in the end, where she finally breaks down as the realization that she has reached her goal after almost a decade — yet the friends she had made along the way were already gone. She is no longer the new, awkward CIA recruit, rather, Maya has become the CIA operative who resorted to all means possible to take down Osama Bin Laden. With the methods th at the movie’s characters practiced, there has been much speculation whether the film is pro-torture or not. The director and the writer of the film presented these â€Å"enhanced interrogation techniques† as a part of the pursuit. So for me, it’s not a pro-torture movie but at the same time, it’s not anti-torture either. If Zero Dark Thirty were pro-torture, then the viewers should have seen how Ammar gave information after being tortured, but he did not. Instead we see that the key piece to the puzzle for finding Bin Laden was actually served to Dan and Maya over lunch, not during torture time. And if the movie were anti-torture, then there shouldn’t have been any torture scenes in the movie — leaving Reda Kateb, who played Ammar, with zero talent fee. The film showed that Maya was convinced that the location of Bin Laden’s courier, Abu Ahmed, is crucial to the pursuit not because there was information revealed during the torture sessions, rather, it’s the detainees’ refusal to give up any information about the courier that connects the dots for Maya. Therefore, the film depicts numerous, albeit controversial, practices used in America’s pursuit for Osama Bin Laden. It shows that torturing Jihad-driven detainees or buying a man a Lamborghini as bribery weren’t the ultimate keys for solving the puzzle that led to Bin Laden. No single method can perfectly encapsulate the sum of the efforts of the people behind the manhunt for Bin Laden. The totality of their hard work and passion was what the filmmakers strived to partake, so for me, the movie isn’t raising any notions on being pro or against these methods. Zero Dark Thirty relays the fact that we tread different paths in life with a great number of sacrifices along the way. Though this movie doesn’t live up to its tagline â€Å"The Greatest Manhunt in History,† is still a perfect example of humanity’s journey towards his goals. Americans would continue to preserve their seat of power, while the Muslims would continue to do anything to reach Jihad. I wanted to be awed by this film and I wanted to feel the characters’ emotions, but the film gave me neither. The lack of emotion in Zero Dark Thirty makes me think that the budget for this should have been allocated to a film with a different perspective, like a documentary, and not as a film with actors and actresses playing roles they fail to give color to.

Social implications of IT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 2

Social implications of IT - Essay Example It is the fastest growing branch of electronics and computer technology. The distinguishing feature of VR is that its users feel that they are living in the computer – generated scene. VR games and other accessories are generally available with Incredible Universe and CompUSA chain stores. The present estimation regarding sales in the virtual reality market is approximately ninety million dollars per annum; and this is expected to increase to nearly six billion dollars in the future1. Virtual reality can be attributed to Sutherland who performed several pioneering works to develop the concept of virtual reality in the 1960’s. However the phrase virtual reality was coined for the first time in the late 1980’s. Some historians claim that the VR industry emerged during the 1990’s. VR gained popularity due to the extraordinary efforts of the early pioneers in this field2. Virtual reality is a computer – simulated world with which users can interact. These simulations, generally have some common characteristics, such as shared workspaces for the interaction of people with the programme, graphical user interface, real – time action, interactivity and persistence. Almost all simulations can be accessed over the internet. In those simulated worlds, there will be changes to the themes and landscapes, irrespective of the users who access the site. Online real time games come under this category of VR. For instance, Massively – multiplayer online role – playing games or MMORPGS are played in the virtual worlds. These are video games, which allow players to choose the persona of the characters in the play, and these persona are termed as avatars. MMORPGs and other virtual worlds are considered to be social networking programmes. Moreover, players can interact, form clubs, groups and chat with each other3. The availability of personal computers increased in the

TELENURSING Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

TELENURSING - Research Paper Example In the field of nursing, there have been such kinds of technological development that target to address the problems of long distance between the caregivers and the receivers of the care. This has led to the development of a telecommunication system in nursing that enhances communication and ensures that many people from distant places can receive care according to the plan. Tele-nursing is a technology that ensures that communication in the field of nursing is easier than when the nurses have to travel to the places where patients are situated. This technology has come to ensure that the services like consultation, patient education, examination of test results and, therefore, assisting the physicians to administer treatment and the technology are used in transmission of medical record from one place to another. This technology in nursing has a lot of benefits that can ensure that nurses are able to provide care to as many patients as they could at a low cost and within a short time (MEDINFO, Kuhn, Warren & Leong, 2007). Discussion Background Nursing practitioners offer a variety of services to their clients and in different places in the world. This means that these nurses are required to travel to different places to meet their clients and provide the services that they need and carry out a follow up to the things that they need to ensure that those clients recover from their ailments. At one time, a nurse may have more than five patients whose health statuses he or she needs to track and afterwards prepare a report that shows the history of the services they have offered. When patients are not located within the same locality, the nurse may have to travel too much, and therefore, he or she will spend a lot of money on transport to achieve his or her goals. This means that the development of a system that would reduce frequent movement to patients is good to ensure that they can receive nursing care at their convenient time. The development of tele-nursing i s a technological development that will ensure that many patients can access the required services from anywhere in the world (Briggs, 2007). Services offered through Tele-nursing Tele-nurses offer similar services as other nurses who use travelling mode to avail information to and acquire it from patients in a particular place in the world. This means that all people who need care from the nurses link up through telecommunication systems to get the information they need in their different situations. The services that these patients receive may vary according to the problem from which they are suffering and which may need immediate or delayed care. Briggs (2007) notes that the services that tele-nurses offer include professional consultancy in which a patient seeks information about a particular condition. The tele-nurse involved in a situation may choose from various media through which he or she can provide the information that his or her client needs. This could be through calli ng, sending text message, faxing, emailing or any other electronic method that conveniently transmit information from one place to another. Tele-nurses transmit medical records that physicians may need to enable them to administer treatment to a patient who seeks care from them. This will mean that they will not need to transport through physical means the records that they have collected about the patient for whom they are caring. Tele-nurses may transmit this information

Legal Studies Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Legal Studies - Term Paper Example ose living in Hong Kong continuously for seven years, shall be deemed as permanent residents of HKSAR; as per Article 24(2) category (3) of the basic law. As per the provisions of basic law, many parents qualifying for permanent resident status in HKSAR had children born in Mainland China, who have then moved to Hong Kong and overstayed there illegally. However, they approached the Immigration department for getting recognition of their status as permanent residents of HKSAR, as well as, for issuing them the necessary identity cards for this purpose. On 11 July 1997, Provisional Legislative Council of Hong Kong enacted the Immigration Amendment #3 ordinance of 1997, while specifying the formation of a certificate entitlement scheme, which required compliance from all permanent residents of HKSAR. Accordingly, Bureau of Exit-Entry was set up for this purpose at Mainland china, for applying under this scheme at Mainland China. However, acting as per this ordinance #3, the Director of Immigration refused permission to those, who applied after 1 July 1997, while ordering them to return to Mainland China. Hence, certain test cases were sel ected, which approached the Director of Legal Aid for challenging this ordinance. The Na Ka Ling Vs. Director of Immigration is one such test case. The child was able to prove being natural resident of Hong Kong, as also being lawful child of permanent Hong Kong residents. (Hong Kong Cases, pages 296-301) While all the four test cases were consolidated for hearing before Keith J, the judge dismissed all cases, including the Na Ka Ling case, with the exception of case involving Cheung Lai Wah, on 9th Oct 1997. The test applicants appealed against the order of dismissal, in the Court of Appeal. Hence, the court was requested to address the issue of constitutionality of Ordinance #3 and validity of wedlock requirement for defining the parent-child relationship, as per the ordinance #2. However, on 2nd April, 1998, this court upheld

Evaluating the success of the tutoring program Case Study

Evaluating the success of the tutoring program - Case Study Example Unlike other programs that are assessed only on the basis of their outcomes, the success of this program will be assessed right from the way it aims to identify the need to its design and finally to the way its objectives and goals defined. According to Richards and Lassonde (2009) a successful tutoring program can be evaluated right from goal setting to curriculum development. The need The success of tutoring program is one that begins by identifying the need for which the program is being designed. For instance, the targeted person may already have some assessment information like retention rates, test scores, and even anecdotal reports from teachers and family. In such a case, the assessment is likely to entail a clear inventory of up-to-date reading aspects, with a clear indication or identification of their scope and nature, in order to effectively measure the need against existing services, as well as to identify the gaps that the new program is intended to fill. This process h elps at minimizing duplication, mobilize resources, build on experience, and avert the tensions that are likely to arise when the new program is rolled out. Most importantly, this information is aimed at helping the planners to concentrate on the kids whose needs are very high. Research shows that, on average, four out of ten kids are at a high risk particularly in terms of developing their level of literacy (Fashola, 2002). The tutoring program in this case was a success as it captured all the aspects mentioned. For instance, picking a child and administering an informal reading inventory. Analyzing and synthesize the results to know the need of the child. Interviewing the student by asking information about her and her family background such as age and language they speak at home. This initial stage was a big success as it helped the teacher to know the need and also to effectively measure the need against available services. Defines the mission A successful tutoring program must have a well-defined overall mission. According to Morrow and Woo (2001) when developing the mission of the program, planners are supposed to take into consideration significant contributions to supporting the child’s literacy development made by institutions such as child care centers, as well as other out-of-school community programs. Therefore, the mission statement must describe what the tutoring program intends to do in order to effectively address the needs identified. In this case, the tutoring program will be successful if its mission is based around the identified needs. In this case, the assessment will want to establish if the need is well identified: the student is female and bilingual. She does not do much reading at home, she like basketball, like Latin music just to mention but a few. In spite of all these, she wants to learn. When some words list and reading stories, started from 3rd grade word lists to 12th grade to read were administered to test her reading s kills, She did well until 6th grade word lists. The instructor was able to notice that she needed instructions and have comprehension problems. Generally, the need for the tutoring program was about reading. Therefore, the mission would read like: The mission of this Tutoring Program is to encourage the student to develop an attitude for reading, to learn, to help the student become an engaged reader, as well as to ensuring that the student has access to high quality reading materials. If the instructor developed a mission statement like this, he could easily proceed as it sets objectives and goals that the tutoring program is expected to deliver. Therefore, a successful tutoring program is assessed on whether or not it has a well-defined mission statement.

Disposal of Industrial Wastewater and Alternatives Essay

Disposal of Industrial Wastewater and Alternatives - Essay Example It is not surprising to meet industrial sewer water spilling on the surface. Notably, no one seems to see the impact that the industrial sewer water has to the society. Water serves the society in almost all aspects. Arguably, industrial functions, domestic functions, and environmental functions require water. This certainly means that all process in both environmental setup and industrial set up require water. It is right, therefore, to argue that water is the source of human livelihood. That well said, environmentalists argue in favor of processes or activities that preserve sources of water. Constant awareness creation has acted in the recent past as a tool that used by the environmentalists to enlighten the society about the consciousness in preserving nature. On the other hand, development conscious think tanks work proposals that aim at creating more opportunity that would lead to development.   Industrialization and activities relating to it have often featured in their-ever-changing- development agenda. Industrialists site a number of reasons that support their course in the society. First, industrialization creates opportunities for the society such as employment. These opportunities promote the well-being of the society. Second, promoting industrialization ideology creates an opportunity for trade among countries or states. Trade brings products to the proximity of the consumers. What would happen when there is no trade? Would people be able to get products they need in the society? Holding social fabrics together entails a number of factors, which must promote the existence of people. Do we argue that environment has limited opportunities to offer to humankind? Probably not, but exhausting the opportunities in the environment would create a detrimental outcome to the society.

Homosexuals in the Military Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Homosexuals in the Military - Term Paper Example These freedoms and rights are entitled to all American citizens, including homosexuals. However, behind the displayed screen of an apparently free and equal society, homosexuals cannot openly exercise some of the rights that other American citizens are allowed to. Military service is the example discussed here. Homosexuals often have two parallel lives or sides to them. In one they live openly as they please, associating themselves with whomever they please, dressing the way they want, speaking the way they want to speak and plainly living as they please just like everyone else in society. In the other, they must hide their real selves and conform to the masses in order to enjoy the rights and privileges of the average citizen or, more disturbingly, to avoid discrimination and overt hostility from others. It is the general state of things that the rights of a person end where the rights of another begin. As such, just as the right of free speech is subject to the limitation of not defaming or slandering others, the right of homosexuals to simply be their true selves and embrace their sexuality seems to be subject to the right of the masses to be shielded from behavioral aspects that they subjectively feel are immoral or unnatural. As such there are many instances where homosexuals who openl y display and even advertise their sexuality in the streets through the use of banners and advertisements are seen as offensive and many people act hostile against this, leading to discrimination. This same situation is the problem homosexuals experience while serving in the military.

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Research Paper - 3

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace - Research Paper Example To most victims, sexual harassment may prompt them to change their jobs or even feel that people around them do not care about them. There are more other challenges affecting the victims such as depression, anxiety, nightmares, anger, powerlessness, increased blood pressure, withdrawal, traumatic stress and isolation. Strong policies should be instituted both nationally and within organizations to address gender-based violence as well as conducting self-awareness campaigns to combat the challenge (Abdel-hameid & AbdelRhman, 2009). Sexual harassment has turned out to be a common issue due to its higher increase in different organizations begging from schools where teachers have fallen victims to bigger corporations. Sexual harassment occurs when any worker associated with an institution is found liable for sexually harassing a fellow staff or worker at the institution-sponsored events. Sexual harassment further involves a situation where a senior employee causes a junior worker to believe that unless the junior worker gives in for sexual favors, the employee cannot be allowed to enjoy some school programs or activities. There are also principles laid down by the individual businesses to deal with the sexual harassment matters. Sexual Harassment against Nurses in Turkey Çelik and Çelik (2007), identifies the prevalence and sources of sexual harassment against nurses in Turkey. According to their article, it was apparent that physicians were actually the main instigators of sexual harassment and that anger and fear was the reaction against the harassers. According to Çelik and Çelik (2007), most of the sexually harassed nurses do not report the incident to the hospital administration. Sexual harassment is very common in the nursing profession compared to other professions. Also, women are more subjected to sexual harassment compared to men. Nurses with bachelor’s degree in nursing are likely to report sexual incidents and that they are also the dominant group being harassed. Women holding subordinate positions especially in nursing are at risk of being sexually harassed by people in the higher ranks such as physicians. Because of serious effects of sexual harassment, nurses should know their rights and even procedures to follow when sexually harassed. Sexual harassment is prone in professions with more women than men such as nursing. Nursing profession subjects more women to sexual harassment than men. It is also apparent that less educated individuals are likely to be sexually harassed than the more educated individuals. The more educated employees holding superior positions mostly manipulate the less educated employees because of their financial status as well as the seniority of the positions they hold (Celik and Celik, 2007). Moreover, there is a big challenge amongst the sexually harassed individuals of reporting the incidences due to the fear of losing their jobs. Even though they may know the right channel to follow in order to seek justice, they may not make prompt decisions and this largely delays justice and encourages sexual harassment in workplaces. Naming and Claiming Workplace Sexual Harassment in Australia According to Charlesworth, McDonald & Cerise (2011), Australia is another country exp eriencing a high number of sexual harassment yet the legal aspect of it is never fully understood resulting into few cases being reported. Increase in sexual harassment

Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Reflection - Essay Example Furthermore, I recognize that while text represents one form of literacy, literacy may also represent visual elements; in these regards, being literate in terms of the media or film is also possible. With the advent of the internet and the recent explosion of social networking platforms, it’s clear that literacy represents far more than mere literature or textual storytelling. Today it’s necessary for students to grasp literacy in terms of the complex array of contemporary modes of expression. I believe that multiliteracies will be about exploring the different forms of literacy that predominant the contemporary world. In these regards, I believe it will go beyond simply exploring textual literacy, but also consider the nature of media literacy. In these regards, literacy will come to encompass a much broader or – multiple – understanding. In the contemporary world literacy encapsulates a much broader spectrum of understanding than in the past. For instance, computer games and card games have come to be examined for their educational value. While individuals generally consider literacy in terms of a text or visual based item, one must also consider that within deciphering these text/visual elements is the necessity of deeper cultural understanding. The week two readings, while most importantly considering the necessity of school and home partnership, also demonstrated the necessity of deeper cultural understanding to achieve higher literacy. Keeping with this relation of culture and literacy, week 3’s readings considered the nature of multiple-literacies not in terms of multiple mediums (textual, visual) but also in terms of multiple forms of cultural expression. The primary argument is that in the 21st century there has been a notable shift in the means of cultural expression away from predominantly text-based forms of expression. Furthermore, research has indicated

Reading and Books Essay Example for Free

Reading and Books Essay Despite the vast, growing and active educational reforms continuously being modified and implemented in today’s Philippine Educational System such as MTB – MLE and K+12 education curriculum, there are still 6. 2 million Filipino youth who does not receive proper and formal education in the classroom, which includes the Out – of – school children and youth. Specifically, according to the 2010 Annual Poverty Indicators Survey (APIS) of the National Statistics Office (NSO) released November 2011, one out of eight Filipinos aged between 6 and 24 is an out- of- school youth(OSY). Current estimates further indicate that 7. 8 million Filipinos or 16. 2% of the population are not functionally literate. About 3. 9 million of them are out of school youth. The Philippine government defines an out –of- school youth (OSY) as someone who is not attending formal education and/or not gainfully employed in the case of youth 18 to 24 years old who have not finished college or even a technical vocational course. The government further explains that the primary reasons for these out of school youth for not attending school is poverty and lack of personal interest. On the other hand, out- of- school youth are vulnerable people who have special needs too. Nobody can deny the hard fact that education is still an extremely important factor for bringing change in the lives of these individuals. It has universally been recognized as the most powerful instrument and pre – requisite for gearing up the socio – economic development of a nation. This is why investment in education is considered to be so vital for human resource development and enhancement of the quality of manpower. In the history of humankind, there is an established fact that a certain level of literacy in population is an essential pre – requisite for precipitating the process of development in a country. It is emphasized therefore that the most active part in the socio – economic development of any country or region always consists of the adolescents. Moreover, many people have a misleading impression of the abilities and capacities of â€Å"out – of – school youth†. It is generally assumed that this group needs to re – do and re – learn the most basic literacy skills. Hence, they are marginalized and ostracized. In fact, out – of- school youths do have some experience of learning within the formal system. In addition, many of them have gained rich learning experiences from their environment and culture. Thus, basic literacy does not necessarily mean teaching literacy in its most basic forms. However, the acquired skills and knowledge need to be recognized, tapped into and enhanced. Out- of- school youths may have failed to complete their education in the formal system due to various reasons, such as socio – economic or health issues, urbanization, teacher – teaching factors or curriculum problems but UNESCO still has enumerated and emphasized the basic literacy for out – of- school youth development which involves the acquisition of the basic skills needed to cope with the complex and technological world, including IT and computer skills, communication skills listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing, critical thinking and many others. Moreover, developing the literacy of OSY’s is a complex process, which involves enhancing the knowledge and capacities that they have gained over the years and providing them with access to challenging learning opportunities. The Philippines through the initiative of the Bureau of Alternative Learning System formerly called the Bureau of Non – formal Education (BNFE) is responsible for contributing to the improvement of the poor including the out – of school youth and drop outs through literacy and continuing education programs. Its aim is to focused basic services to the more disadvantaged sections of the population to improve their welfare and contribute to human resource development. This was done to respond to the need of a more systematic and flexible approach in reaching all types of learners outside the formal school system. The Alternative Learning System (ALS) is a parallel learning system that provides a viable alternative to existing formal education instruction. It encompasses both non – formal and informal sources of knowledge and skills. Certification of learning for out – of –school youth and adults , aged 15 years and over, who are unable to gain from the formal school system and who have dropped out of formal elementary and secondary education , is ensured through the Alternative Learning System Accreditation and the Equivalency (ALS A E) System. The system of certification is done through successful completion of the ALS and A E test at two learning levels – elementary and secondary. Those who pass the test have to undergo counseling to explore their oppurtunities, be it a return to the formal school system or the option to enter the world of work. (UNESCO Bangkok, 2009). The ALS eSkwela program has five main learning strands: Communication skills, critical thinking and problem solving, sustainable use of resources and productivity, development of self and a sense of community, and expanding one’s world vision. Since ALS is a module-based learning system, students come in on a set time and choose a module to read. A quiz is given after each module to test their learning. Instead of teachers, facilitators are always present to answer any questions and sometimes lecturers would discuss a certain module. Apart from the major aim and objective of the system, the ALS Project was conceived to respond to many grassroots learning needs and at the same time fulfill the following key social development objectives of EFA: †¢Functional Literacy: Current estimates indicate that there are 7. 8 million Filipinos or 16. 2% of the population who are not functionally literate. About 3. 9 million of them are out of school youth. †¢Family Literacy: Many parents want to develop functional reading, writing and numeracy skills and knowledge so that they can help their children do their homework. †¢Community Participation: †¢ Continuing Education: Many people who have obtained literacy skills and want to continue learning should be given the means and tools to return to formal schooling or go on learning on their own. †¢Empowerment: Out-of-school youth and adults living in economically depressed communities need to develop communication, problem solving, critical thinking, and learning-to-learn skills and competencies which will directly help them raise their standard of living and improve their quality of life. Functional basic education should empower them with better health practices, better food, increased income, improved family life, more direct civic and community participation and more opportunities for wider life choices. It is noted that the ALS learning modules constructed by SEAMEO Innotech experts are freely chosen, used and read by the students. It is true therefore that through the skill called reading, any idea or module given to them are enlightened. On the other hand, observations show that are still many problems and issues encountered along the Reading performance and proficiency of the out – of – School Youth which includes vocabulary, comprehension, study skills and others. Even the (UIS, 2011) stated a very alarming issue that seven hundred and seventy-five million adults all over the world cannot read. Many of these OSY’s too are unemployed, underemployed adn lacks basic English language literacy skills specially reading and writing. In addition, UNESCO also emphasized that the basic English literacy skills development is too considered as a means of widening the experiences of learners and allowing them to communicate effectively in their everyday life as well as in their future lives as responsible citizens and professionals. Accordingly, woven into the framework of the basic English Literacy skills is also the development of critical thinking skills. Thinking critically would mean grasping the complexity of the world and questioning how others think in order to clarify and improve one’s own understanding. Although, schools and learning institutions clearly neglect the development of critical thinking, there is much evidence to show that students’ reading and writing abilities are linked to their ability to question facts and information. Literacy is briefly defined as the â€Å"ability to read and write†. When we think of literacy, we think of reading. But being able to read does not mean someone is necessarily a literate person. In the 21st century, literacy encompasses the skills youth and adults need to be functional in the society, including numeracy and reading and writing skills. Most learning is dependent to reading. As the learner advances in the educational ladder, more complex reading skills are required of him. Effective reading requires from an individual the ability to locate keywords in a sentence, locate the topic sentence in a paragraph and understand and interpret what is read. Reading, therefore is an important skill a child must developed in order to cope to the very fast, changing and difficulties the world offers. Of many skills it is cited that it is one of the first skill a literate person must acquire. Likewise, there were many studies and projects that responded to the many goals of ALS and UNESCO in general, specifically along the communication skills strands. One of which is the Project EASE. This study made use of a Reading Comprehension and writing composition test to assess the basic communication skills of the students. Unfortunately, there were only few qualifiers for the said program the rest did not qualify. Most of the non – qualifiers came from the lower sections where the pressure to earn was much stronger. The non – qualifier was given another chance. They were administered with an alternative cloze type of comprehension test carefully made by the SEAMEO Innotech experts. The program such as EASE was pronounced. (add facts) Another is a study on the Attributes of High School Student – qualifiers in the Accreditation and Equivalency Program (AEP) which was done as Basis for a proposed Action Program by Rarang in (1999). The study made use of the public high school students in the fourth congressional district of Pangasinan during the school year 1997 – 1998. The study was done for the purpose of creating appropriate action programs that could increase the probability of prospective PEPT examinees to qualify for promotion or year level acceleration. The result of the study revealed that out of the 86 respondents who took the 1997 PEPT only four qualified for the acceleration or promotion to the next higher level in high school. Furthermore, the research made use of the Descriptive Method with a pre and post enrollment attributes of the student – qualifier in the AEP as data gathering instrument. It was found out that there was more male drop – outs that females and their dropping age ranged from 13 to 17 years old and that before the respondents dropped out from school, the last level they completed was Grade VI. The findings of the study also revealed that the main reason for the learners dropping out is due to financial difficulty. They also vary in their performance in the last year level they attended with 89. 13% as the highest average grade and the lowest grade at 68. 25%. More so, the study discovered that the contributory factor in the acceleration and promotion of the students to the next level are their reading activities done during their free time like reading magazines, newspapers, books, pocketbooks and even their old notes. Accordingly, reading is the most important factor in achieving promotion and acceleration. Many reading researches have shown that learners and OSY’s reading skills literacy performance is always at risks. Firstly, in the second Readership Survey made by SWS survey commissioned by NBDB floated all over the Philippines revealed that reading has slightly declined in our country. Only 92 percent of the 1,200 respondents say that they read, down to two percent from the first Readership survey done in 2003. In the literacy field, comprehension is primarily identified as the goal of (Duke Pearson, 2002; Duke, Pearson, Strachan, Billman, 2011). While many agrees comprehension is of utmost importance, many still argue that in this many classroom context, focusing on students’ fluency did not limit students’ development as readers, particularly for those who were asked to read aloud. The findings of this study also pointed out the importance of teachers examining the learners own perceptions about reading and reading instruction (Edwards, Martin, Protacio, Razali,2010). Furthermore, (Biancarosa Snow, 2006; Joftus, 2002) exclaimed that even among students who do graduate from highschool, inadequate reading skills are a key impediment to success in postsecondary education (American Diploma Project, 2004). Students who struggle with reading of ten lack the prerequisites to take academically challenging coursework that could lead to more wide reading and thus exposure to advanced vocabulary and content ideas (Au, 2000). The 2006 report by ACT, Inc. , Reading Between the Lines: What the ACT Reveals About College Readiness in Reading, describes even more troubling trends. Only 51% of students who took the ACT test in 2004 were ready for college-level reading demands (ACT, Inc. , 2006). The reading skill levels of the out-of-school youth population have remained  low, especially in comparison to the rising skill demands of employers. Although this report cannot summarize the changing qualifications, a number of indicators suggest a serious shortfall between the skills of out-of-school youth and job requirements. Dropouts and other out-of-school youth are reported to be unable to attain basic levels of math and reading proficiency are certainly much higher. White Paper further explains that young people leaving the educational system at 16, or more likely 19, must at least have the requisite literacy and communication skills to be employable and to be effective in life. Since reading is linked to writing, students write about what they read. Young and adults who are behind in reading and writing simply have not had as much experience reading and writing as young adults who are proficient readers and writers. Moreover, out – of- school youth who are behind have also not leaned the strategies that proficient readers and writers use to understand text and communicate their ideas in writing. This means that explicitly the strategies that proficient readers and writers use and providing guided practice are the keys to improving these skills. It has been proven that Out – of- school youth possess a broad repertoire of knowledge and skills that simply needs to be recognized, tapped into and enhanced in order for their abilities to improve. Indeed, there is a need to place a greater emphasis on developing and enhancing quality English language literacy skills training, programs and instructional materials for Out – of – School youth development. The conception of the ALS program or the Alternative Learning System is a great endeavor that caters to the needs and improvement of Out –of-School youth in the City Schools Division of Dagupan City. The ALS DEpED Dagupan City Division is one with the government in the active fulfillment of its task to reach and educate the OSY’s in the City. In fact, there have been many OSY’s who benefited from the program. Latest report says that ALS students in Region I show positive interest in this endeavor. Dagupan City Schools Division is composed of five Districts. From all over the city, there have been many Out – of –school youth coming from the 31 barangays of the city who enrolled in the said program. With the initiative of teachers and volunteers who facilitates the program, the actual teaching and learning is collectively done with the help of the module based learning materials. Furthermore, in the case study conducted by the Accreditation and Equivalency System of the Non – Formal Education Project clearly encourages service providers like educational institutions to identify and make use of variety of enriching materials both print and non – print in addition to the prescribed NFE and A E Learning modules provided by the SEAMEO – INNOTECH. With the encouragement of the BNFE or the ALS calling to different service providers to respond and create instructional materials that the OSY’s can benefit, the researcher will study on the present Reading Comprehension Skills Levels of the Dagupeno OSY’s particularly on the Reading Comprehensions Skills Level of the ALS students presently registered and attending the regular Eskwela ALS program in the City schools division of Dagupan during the calendar year 2013– 2014 and envisions to create a Self – Learning Reading Material that will better improve and enhance the Reading Comprehension and in general proficiency of the ALS learners. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM This study aims to analyze the Reading Comprehension Skills Level of ALS students in the city schools division of Dagupan. Specifically, it will answer the following questions: 1. What is the performance of the ALS students in the reading Comprehension Test in terms of the: a. Total scores they will obtain from the Reading Comprehension Test? b. Specific scores they will obtained in the following reading Comprehension levels: Literal Reorganizational Inferential Evaluational Appreciational? 2. What is the extent of performance of the ALS students in the reading Comprehension test in terms of: a. Total scores they will obtain from the Reading Comprehension Test? scores they will obtained in the following reading Comprehension levels: Literal Reorganizational Inferential Evaluational Appreciational? 3. What instructional material will be proposed to address the reading comprehension inadequacies of the ALS students? SUBJECTS The subjects of the study will be the ALS students of the city schools division of Dagupan enrolled in the five districts of the division. There is a total of 447 ALS students in the division and they will be randomly selected from among the districts of the division. The respondents of the study will be elementary drop – outs, secondary drop – outs, non- passer of previous ALS AE Test/s, Learners/Completers of the ALS programs and Youth and adult drop – outs. RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS/ Assumptions The study will be anchored on the following assumptions: 1. The total test scores and the scores in the specific skills areas of the ALS students will reflect their reading comprehension performance. 2. The ALS students’ responses to the items in the test must truthful and accurate SCOPE AND DELIMITATION The study will be conducted to determine the reading comprehension performance and skills of the ALS students of the city schools division of Dagupan during the S. Y. 2013 – 2014. The respondents of the study will be elementary drop – outs, secondary drop – outs, non- passer of previous ALS AE Test/s, Learners/Completers of the ALS programs and Youth and adult drop – outs in general. A constructed Reading Comprehension Test will be used as instrument in gathering data pertinent to the study. The Reading Comprehension test will be carefully validated, tabulated and interpreted to arrive at accurate and precise results that will help as basis for the creation of a self- learning reading material for ALS students. Definition of Terms The following terms are carefully defined in the context of the study to provide a common understanding and frame of reference between the researcher and the readers: Reading both a process and a product and it involves bringing the individual’s entire life experiences and thinking patterns to understand what the writer has written (Aukerman, 1981). Reading Comprehension refers to the ability to understand text read by means of constructing meaning with the use of some clues in the text and the schema or background knowledge of the reader about the text. Reading Comprehension Abilities, also referred to as reading comprehension skills, refer to the five(5) reading levels (Toffelson, as cited by Tuvera, 1993) of reading comprehension, which include (1) Literal Level;(2) Reorganizational Level; (3) Inferential Level; (4) Evaluational Level; and (5) Appreciational Level. Specific Comprehension Skills refers to the specific skills that make up the different reading levels. Literal level of reading refers to the reading level that enables the students to recognized and/or recall details, main ideas, sequences, comparison, cause and effect relationships, character traits and recall author’s organization and explicitly stated information in the reading selection (Toffelson, as cited by Tuvera, 1993). Reorganizational level of reading refers to the reading level that enables the student to classify or group, outline or specify, summarize and synthesize text that has been read (Toffelson, as cited by Tuvera, 1993). Inferential Level of reading refers to the reading level that enables the student to infer supporting details which require the making of a hypothesis on an information that might have been included in the text; infer the main idea; infer a sequence which requires the student to make a hypothesis about what might have occurred in addition to the already explicitly stated events and making a hypothesis in events beyond completion of the text. Other skills also included are inferring, comparison, cause and effect relationships, charater traits,  author’s organization, figurative language and predicting outcomes (Toffelson, as cited by Tuvera, 1993). Evaluational level of reading refers to the reading level that enables the student to make a judgment of reality and fantasy and judgment between fact and opinion (Toffelson, as cited by Tuvera, 1993). Appreciational level of Reading refers to the reading level that enables the student to have emotional response to the text and determine an author’s purpose, mood, tone and point of vies (Toffelson, as cited by Tuvera, 1993). Performance is defined as a manner of functioning: the manner in which something or someone or somebody functions, operates, or behaves (Microsoft Encarta 2006. 1993 – 2005 Microsoft Corporation). In this study, it refers to the number of correct answers of the ALS students an all the specific levels of the reading comprehension test to reflect the students’ reading comprehension abilities. Extent of Performance refers to the reading comprehension abilities of the students based on a scale of scores to describe the level of reading comprehension of the ALS students. The scale will consists of three (3) levels: High , for scores equivalent to 75 percent – 100 percent; Moderate, for scores equivalent to 50 percent – 74 percent; and Low, for scores equivalent to at most 49 percent of the total point and of their points in the different specific reading comprehension skills areas. Total Scores obtained refers to the raw scores of the students which will correspond to the number of the correct answers of the ALS students in the reading comprehension test. Specific scores obtained refers to the raw scores of the learners in the different specific skill areas which correspond to the number of correct answers of the students in the specific skill areas. Self – Learning Reading Activities are activities involving processes which will enhance the reading performance and improve the five levels of reading comprehension of the ALS students . It also encourages students to gain more interest in reading with the aid of the designated activities. Analysis refers to the process of categorizing the performance of the students in the reading comprehension test in its totality and in the specific reading skills according to the extent of their performance. Out – of School Youth ALS ALS Learners ALS Implementers Conceptual Framework The objective of all readers should be comprehension of what they read. Comprehension is understanding. Understanding involves abilities to explain, interpret, apply, have perspective, empathize, and have self – knowledge (Wiggins and Mctighe,1998). Reading is both a process and a product ant it involves bringing the individual’s entire life experiences and thinking patterns to understand what the writer has written (Aukerman, 1981). When good decoders have problems with comprehension, they need help in developing language proficiency and listening comprehension. Teachers can help them develop the corresponding skills by combining vocabulary and comprehension strategy instruction with encouragement to enhance their reading of different materials Dymock, 1993). Reading comprehension can be effected by background knowledge. This concept is proved that when readers possess rich prior knowledge about the topic of a reading material, they often understand the reading material better than readers with low prior knowledge. That said, readers couldn’t always relate their world knowledge to the content of a text because they are not able to, even when they possess knowledge relevant to the information it presents. Often, they do not make inferences based on prior knowledge unless the inference are absolutely demanded to make sense of the text (Mckoon % Ratcliff, 1992). The study is anchored on the core concept that reading difficulties encountered by learners can be addressed by an appropriate learning material in the form of a self – learning reading material which will address their difficulties to be assessed using the reading comprehension test. Research Paradigm Figure 1. Paradigm of the study Figure 1 above illustrates the prerequisites in the development of a Self – Learning Reading Materail to improve the reading comprehension ability of ALS learners in the city schools division of Dagupan. CHAPTER II Review of Related Literature and Studies This chapter presents studies and literature which are seen to be significant that can give light to the completion and conduct of the research. FOREIGN Educational research has become a global enterprise, with researchers recognizing the need to be aware of educational practices in other countries. Burbules (2002) notes that this international context makes possible the sharing of knowledge and experience gained in relation to reform and evaluation in different countries. Recent studies show that seven hundred and seventy-five million adults cannot read (UIS, 2011). According to the study conducted by Glewwe and Kremer, (2006 ) a major factor in the poor reading problem is the poor quality of public schools in developing countries. Many peoples understanding of the educational production function, however, is still limited. Providing resources to schools with no other inputs rarely improves overall student performance and that if resources are paired with a larger array of inputs, students’ test scores do improve, he exclaimed. Unfortunately, the exact kind of additional support is necessary to make additional resources effective. For reading in particular, a number of studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of large comprehensive changes. Banerjee et al. (2007) studies an Indian remedial education program. The intervention itself causes students’ reading skills to improve, but because the intervention changes the educational environment along multiple dimensions – additional teachers, new pedagogical methods, new curriculum, changes to organization of the classroom, and additional resources – it is impossible to identify which components are necessary. In addition, a Case Study of Reading Instruction in a Philippine Classroom was also conducted by Protacio and Sarroub, (2013) where the reading practices in a public and high-achieving 6th grade English classroom in the Philippines were used as subjects of the study. The study utilized a four resources model, the different roles that students assume in this classroom was also clearly discussed. The students in the class are describe mainly as code breakers and text users and have limited opportunities to assume the other two roles of the four resources model. The study also provides a different view of reading, specifically a view of a culture of reading wherein higher status is given to oral reading performance rather than comprehension. The results of the study further revealed that reading is perceived as an oral performance activity by Filipino students because reading aloud is used frequently to negotiate the lack of resources in Philippine public schools. Comprehension does not matter as much to these students; rather, they are concerned with how they are perceived as oral readers in English, which is their second language. The case study findings provide a different view of reading, specifically a view of a culture of reading wherein higher status is given to oral performance rather than comprehension or fluency. The data also reveals that the predominant emphasis on oral performance satisfies only two roles or family of practices in the â€Å"four resources model of reading†: code breakers and text users. All of the students in the pilot section were not afforded opportunities by the teacher to fully engage with the four resources, as the class focused mostly on oral recitation as the main indicator for reading well. Students in this class infrequently assumed the role of meaning-makers and text analysts (Luke Freebody, 1999; Underwood, Yoo, Pearson, 2007). Instead, both students and teacher privileged correct pronunciation and reading correctly aloud—getting the accent right determined who the best students were in the class. Though, Philippine literacy scholars have commented on the emphasis on performance and reading aloud. Maminta (1982) discusses how reading as a subject was relegated to the background as the curriculum emphasized speech improvement with most of the class time being spent on pattern drills, mimicry, and memorization. Even though Maminta’s article focuses on speech improvement as being the emphasis three decades ago, it seems that it still characterizes classroom practice in the Philippines today. In the pilot section, the students themselves seemed to be the ones placing the emphasis on speech improvement. In the literacy field, comprehension is primarily identified as the goal of reading (Duke Pearson, 2002; Duke, Pearson, Strachan, Billman, 2011). While many agrees that comprehension is of utmost importance, many still argues that in this classroom context, focusing on students’ fluency did not limit students’ development as  readers, particularly for those who were asked to read aloud. What we do feel strongly about is the importance of providing all students opportunities to assume the role of readers in this classroom by giving all students a chance to read aloud in class. However, we noticed that, sadly, this was not the case. The findings of this study also point to the importance of teachers examining their own perceptions about reading and reading instruction (Edwards, Martin, Protacio, Razali,2010). Moreover, Reading fluency is the point at which beginning readers rely less on the phonemic decoding to recognize individual words and begin to recognize whole words, allowing for an increase in reading speed and comprehension. Meyer and Felton (1999), for example, define fluency as â€Å"the ability to read connected text rapidly, smoothly, effortlessly, and automatically with little conscious attention to the mechanics of reading, such as decoding. † Also, a study on the Effective Reading Programs for Middle and High School synthesized by Slavin, Cheung, Groff and Lake was published in 2009. This is a collection of many reading programs that systematically reviewed research on the achievement outcomes of four types of approaches to improving the reading of middle and high school students: specifically on the (1 ) reading curricula, (2) mixed-method models (methods that combine large and small-group instruction with computer activities), (3) computer-assisted instruction, and (4) instructional-process programs (methods that focus on providing teachers with extensive professional development to implement specific instructional methods). The collective synthesized study found out that students who enter high school with poor literacy skills face long odds against graduating and going on to postsecondary education or satisfying careers.

The Mathematical Mystery Behind Sudoku Mathematics Essay

The Mathematical Mystery Behind Sudoku Mathematics Essay Puzzle games can be very enjoyable and is popular amongst kids as well as adults. Many of you may know the game Sudoku; where by the goal of the game is to fill in the remaining empty cells with each number from 1-9 appearing no more than once from each column, each row and each of the nine sub-grids. Sudoku is a type of logic-based numerical puzzle game that has a unique solution once completed. The most common form of a Sudoku is constructed as a 99 grid with nine 33 sub-grids and is primarily partially completed. Sudoku has become appealing among puzzle enthusiasts and involves complex thinking and practice. Available daily in newspapers, mobiles and many more, this addictive and brain-teasing puzzle game has become one of the most popular games to play since the time of the Rubiks cube. This dissertation discusses the mathematical side involved in Sudoku. There is no mathematics in actually solving a Sudoku but more of how it is used from a creators side. The 99 grid will be considered in the majority of the report; however a glimpse into other size grids will be discussed briefly also known as variants. Mathematicians have been questioning How many unique solutions are there in a Sudoku? Essentially meaning what are the possible ways of filling in an empty Sudoku grid so that each row, column and sub-grid contains the numbers 1 through 9. Your first thought of an answer may be a couple of thousands, but as you understand the concepts behind a Sudoku, you begin to grasp a whole new aspect. Combinatorics and permutation group theory are largely interwoven with analysing Sudoku. For that reason, I aim to explore these theories and understand how it applies to the methods of enumerating Sudoku grids. In particular I will be looking at Felgenhauer and Jarviss approach to enumerating all possible Sudoku grids where they employ several mathematical concepts. Furthermore I will uncover the importance of Latin squares and its use of constructing Sudokus. There are many constraints in regards to when are similar solutions considered different such as solutions of similar structure, symmetry etc. Preserving symmetries are known as relabeling symbols, band permutations, reflection, transposition and rotation. Burnsides Lemma theorem is one of their techniques in computing the number of essentially different solutions. Many difficult problems are of the type called nondeterministic-polynomial known as an NP-complete problem. This will direct me onto the debate on whether Sudoku is an NP-complete problem. Sudokus can take many forms and shapes. These are called Sudoku variants and consist of rectangular regions, Sudokus with a large region having no clues (numbers), an empty row, column or sub-grid and many more! Here I will research the logic behind irregular Sudokus as well as examining any occurring patterns or whether it has occurred by chance. 1.2 Latin squares and Sudoku Sudoku is also a special case of Latin squares. The Swiss mathematician, Leonhard Euler made many fundamental discoveries during 1782 including Latin squares. A Latin square is an N x N matrix where by a set of N characters are arranged such that each row and column contains one of each character. This is also in the case of a Sudoku, when complete, with an additional constraint that the nine sub-grids must hold the numbers 1-9. A reduction can be made to any Latin square by permuting the rows and columns. This arrangement is an aspect of combinatorics and is most commonly referred to as enumeration. Enumerative combinatorics is a classic area of Combinatorics and involves counting the number of infinite class of finite sets. Counting combinations and counting permutations are two of the most common forms. The number of valid Latin squares is known to be approximately 5.525 x 10 ²Ãƒ ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ·. Write about Colbourns proof 1.3 Combinatorics and Permutation group theory Combinations and permutations have slightly different meaning. Combinations are the number of different ways of selecting n objects from a set but the order of events is not important. From a set of 3 objects, lets call these 1, 2 and 3. If for example I was asked to pick the number of ways of selecting 2 objects out of the 3, there would be three combinations 12, 23 and 13. 12 = 21 since the order of each pair is not important. A permutation on the other hand does consider the position. Therefore if I was to use the above example, there would be six permutations. A simpler way to calculate a larger set would be to use formula 1: Formula 1. = = Where is the combination formula, is the permutation formula, n is the total number of objects and r is the number to be arranged Both methods are one way of computing the number of possible Sudoku solutions and this will be looked at later in the report. Chapter 2 Enumerating possible Sudoku solutions 2.1 Distinct Sudoku solutions There are many approaches to enumerating possible Sudoku solutions. To enumerate every possible Sudoku solution, a Sudoku differs from another if they are not identical. Thus all solutions will be consider unless they are like for like. Felgenhauer and Jarvis was the first to enumerate the Sudoku grid solutions directly in 2005. There approach was to analyze the permutations of the top row used in valid solutions. Their knowledge of the complexity in computing the number of Latin squares has made them aware of how they should go about getting an answer with fewer computations. Hence by using relabeling this could shorten the number of counts. To make it easier, each sub-grid is given an abbreviation seen in figure 3. B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 B9 Figure 1. Abbreviated sub-grid with top band (Felgenhauer and Jarvis, 2006) Firstly they consider every solution to filling in blocks B2, B3, given that B1 is in standard form. To work out every possible way of arranging B1 on its own would essentially be computing the number of permutations of 9 symbols. There are 9! of filling in B1. The main operation they use is called relabeling. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Figure 2. B1 in standard form (Felgenhauer and Jarvis, 2006) Felgenhauer and Jarvis have found that B2 and B3 is the same as the transpose of B2 and B3. Therefore the number of ways of arranging B1, B2 and B3 and B1, B2 and B3 to a complete grid is equally the same. This means that computing one set of possibilities will cut down the number of solutions. Inevitably, there are few pairs of B2 and B3 that needs to be worked out and as well as using reduction the number of possibilities for the top band of a Sudoku grid is 9! x 2612736 = 948109639680. The next section involves brute force computation. As running through all 2612736 possibilities would be exceedingly tedious for B2 and B3, Felgenhauer and Jarvis attempts to identify configurations of the numbers in these blocks which give the same number of ways of completing to a full grid. This in return, will cut down the number possibilities. Permuting B2 and B3 in every way such that the result gives a unique solution will preserve the number of complete grids. This is the same for B5 and B6, and B8 and B9. However this changes B1 from its standard form, so an additional relabeling of B1 needs to be performed. Another approach to reducing the number of possibilities is to permute the columns in each block and permute the rows of any block. Reducing the number of possible ways by permuting. Lexicographical reduction Permutation reduction Column reduction As a result of these methods, Felgenhauer and Jarvis have found that there are approximately 6670903752021072936960 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‹â€  6.671 x 10 ²Ã‚ ¹ Sudoku solutions. In light of this result, there are fewer solutions than Latin squares due to the fact that there is that extra restriction of 9 sub-grids. That being said, there will be no shortage of Sudoku puzzles any time soon. Verification of this result has been confirmed by several other mathematicians Ed Russell to be more precise. 2.2 Essentially different Sudoku grids Whether symmetrical Sudoku grids are considered as two separate solutions is another method of enumerating the possible solutions. In this case, the only solutions are ones that are essentially different. Lets say two Sudoku grids are equivalent if one is a transformation of the other by applying any number of symmetries. If however, no such chain of symmetries can occur between two grids, it is essentially different. Two Sudoku grids are the same provided the first grid can be converted to the second by applying some sort of symmetry. For instance, take figure 3 4 below; the set of 3s in the first grid can be interchanged by the placements of the set of 1s, effectively producing the second grid. 1 7 2 8 6 4 9 3 5 4 9 3 5 1 7 2 8 6 6 5 8 2 9 3 1 7 4 2 4 7 3 5 9 6 1 8 8 6 5 1 7 2 3 4 9 3 1 9 4 8 6 5 2 7 5 8 6 7 2 1 4 9 3 9 2 4 6 3 8 7 5 1 7 3 1 9 4 5 8 6 2 Figure 3. Valid Sudoku grid 3 7 2 8 6 4 9 1 5 4 9 1 5 3 7 2 8 6 6 5 8 2 9 1 3 7 4 2 4 7 1 5 9 6 3 8 8 6 5 3 7 2 1 4 9 1 3 9 4 8 6 5 2 7 5 8 6 7 2 3 4 9 1 9 2 4 6 1 8 7 5 3 7 1 3 9 4 5 8 6 2 Figure 4. Another valid Sudoku grid from Figure 1 As well as this, a solution is said to be the same as another if any two columns or rows are swapped. The first column and second column in figure 3 can be exchanged to give figure 5. The two solutions are said to be symmetrical because the transformation still produces a valid Sudoku grid. 7 3 2 8 6 4 9 1 5 9 4 1 5 3 7 2 8 6 5 6 8 2 9 1 3 7 4 4 2 7 1 5 9 6 3 8 6 8 5 3 7 2 1 4 9 3 1 9 4 8 6 5 2 7 8 5 6 7 2 3 4 9 1 2 9 4 6 1 8 7 5 3 1 7 3 9 4 5 8 6 2 Figure 5. First and second column swapped from Figure 1. Another form of symmetries includes rotational grids. A rotation of Figure 3 by 90 degrees generates a new valid Sudoku grid shown in Figure 6. 7 9 5 3 8 2 6 4 1 3 2 8 1 6 4 5 9 7 1 4 6 9 5 7 8 3 2 9 6 7 4 1 3 2 5 8 4 3 2 8 7 5 9 1 6 5 8 1 6 2 9 3 7 4 8 7 4 5 3 6 1 2 9 6 5 9 2 4 1 7 8 3 2 1 3 7 9 8 4 6 5 Figure 6. Rotational of 90 degrees from figure 1 These operations performed above maintain the property of it being valid and this is known as symmetries of a grid. When an object is subject to these operations, certain properties are preserved. An example would be if one performs symmetry on to a Sudoku grid and repeats this operation once more, the final transformation is itself symmetric. In addition a symmetrical object can be transformed back to its original state by another form of symmetry. Performing several symmetries on a Sudoku grid can also be achieved by grouping its neighbouring pair. So the first symmetry can be paired with the second or the second can be paired with the third and so on. The resulting transformation is nevertheless the same either way. From these properties, it is inevitable to say that the set of symmetries form a group of any Sudoku grid. A group is a set G if it satisfies the following properties: CLOSURE If f and g are elements of G, then f ·g is also an element of G. ASSOCIATIVITY If f, g, and h are elements of G, then f ·(g ·h)=(f ·g) ·h must satisfy. IDENTITY ELEMENT There is an element e in G such that g ·e=e ·g=g for all g in G. INVERSE For any element g of G, there is another element d of G such that g ·d=d ·g=e, where e is the identity element. (The element d = g-1.) The symmetry group is thus generated by the transformations of: re-labelling the nine digits, permuting the three stacks (3 vertical blocks of a Sudoku), permuting the three bands (3 horizontal blocks of a Sudoku), permuting the three columns within a stack, permuting the three rows within a band, and any reflection or rotation. Any two transformations can be merged to shape other elements and together they comprise of the symmetry group G. Given that any element of G can be mapped so that it takes one grid to another, we can say that the set of valid Sudoku grids has a finite number of elements. Thus G has finitely many symmetries. The association between symmetrical Sudoku grids are in fact an equivalence relation and satisfies the following three properties: for grids A, B and C in set G Reflexivity A = A Symmetry If A = B then B = A Transitivity If A = B and B = C then A = C Let A be any valid Sudoku grid, we must consider all the grids that are equivalent to a valid Sudoku grid A. To do this, we firstly have to group together grids that are essentially the same so that we can partition the set of grids. This will break the set of Sudoku grids into subsets, with groups that contain no relating elements within each other. The term subset can be called equivalence classes. This can also be referred to as X/G. In any equivalence class, there are elements that are equivalent to each other by symmetry. The total number of elements in X/G is equal to the number of essential Sudoku grids. To enumerate all essential Sudoku grids, we shall look at all the symmetries neglecting the re-labelling of the nine digits for the time being. The number of distinct symmetries founded by Russell and Jarvis (2006) is said to contain 3359232 (pg 4). In this finite group H, we need to find the average number of grids fixed by an element of H, up to re-labelling. Next we need to verify the number of fixed points of all elements in H. Russell and Jarvis have found that there are 275 classes of symmetries using a software package called GAP. It is interesting to note that some of the elements in H contain equivalent fixed grids. In other words, it is now easier to work out as each of the classes contains one symmetry. However a number of symmetries in H have no fixed points. Subsequently, it is not necessary to calculate the number of fixed grids for those that have no fixed points. That being said, there are only 27 out of 275 classes that contain fixed points, meaning fewer computation s. Rotman. J. J (1995) demonstrate that if X is a finite G-set and |X/G| is the number of G-orbits of X, then Formula 2 holds where, for gцG, X is the number of xцX fixed by g (pg 58-61). Using this notion, we have established that the number of valid Sudoku grids is of a finite set and X/G is the number of essentially different Sudoku grids, so we can obtain the number of essentially different Sudoku grids by using the Burnside Lemma Theorem. Formula 2. Burnside Lemma Theorem (Rotman, 1995) Burnside Lemma Theorem is a useful tool when dealing with symmetry with a set of countable objects. When used to enumerate the essentially different Sudoku grid, the set of equivalent grids form an orbit of the symmetric group. The number orbits are essentially the number of different grid solutions. This may sound slightly (ALOT) trickier to compute, nonetheless Russell and Jarvis have shown that the number of essentially different Sudoku grids is 5,472,730,538 with the implementation of Burnsides Lemma Theorem. Chapter 3 Nondeterministic polynomials 3.1 NP-complete and Sudoku Sudokus may relate to a variety of problems, in particularly, whether Sudoku is an NP-complete problem. It is known that NP-complete problems are one of the most complicated cases in NP, also referred to as nondeterministic-polynomial. Its rival, P problems relates to NP as both being in the same complexity class. Mathematicians have yet to solve whether NP-complete problems can be solved in polynomial time or more commonly whether P = NP. Consequently being one of the greatest unsolved mathematical problems. The majority of computer scientists believe that P à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   NP, as a result would mean that NP-complete problems are significantly trickier to compute than to verify. Unfortunately, nobody has yet found an efficient algorithm, not even with the use of computers available today. A problem is said to be NP-complete when its solution can be proved in polynomial time. And if that problem can be solved in polynomial time, all problems in NP can be solved too. An interesting characteristic of NP-complete problems is that the time frame to solve the problem increases rapidly as the size of the problem gets larger. If that is the case and Sudokus are NP-complete, solving a Sudoku of higher order (say 17 ² x 17 ²) will become increasingly challenging algorithmically then the standard 3 ² x 3 ² version were talking trillions of years. It has been shown that Sudoku does belong to the category of NPC problems by Takayuki Yato of the Univeristy of Tokyo (2003). An exchange for the notation ASP-completeness (shorthand for Another solution problem), led the proof of NP-completeness of ASP. Their proof uses reduction in order to obtain the required polynomial-time ASP from the problem of Latin squares by Colbourn (1984) who has verified, the NP-completeness of ASP of Latin square completion Another accountable source by Provan states that, It is known that solving general-sized Sudoku puzzles is NP-hard, even for square grids with blocks consisting of the sets of rows and columns (Latin Squares) or for p2 x p2 grids with blocks consisting of rows, columns, and the p2 partitioned p x p subsquares. Mathematical programmes such as the 0-1 linear programming and the knapsack problems are also cases of NP-complete problems. A full list of other problems that are NP-complete can be found in Garey and Johnson (1979). Chapter 4 Sudoku Variants 4.1 Variation The classic form of a 99 Sudoku are polyominoes. There are other variations of Sudokus that can be applied to the rules of Sudoku. There are puzzles of the size 66 with 23 regions or a 1212 grid of 43 regions. More so, there are other fascinating Sudoku variants such as Greater than Sudoku. Chapter 5 Personal Critical Review The progress I have made during the duration of this project, have been fairly slow but surely getting there. Having said this on many occasions, I have still not conquered my time management skills! The project started very slow which meant I was behind schedule. Nevertheless my organisational skills have kept me on balance. The GANT chart has been of great help in doing so. What has kept me going throughout this project in particular would be self discipline and motivation. This project has proven that I am capable of working to my own initiative, but also well within a group; my time during the group project. Furthermore, my time on this project has definitely promoted a better mentality of my future ambitions. I have learnt that it is crucial to read a lot, as well as reading as broadly as I can. This in turn have aided in the running of my project. With other coursework deadlines, I made that a priority and had no time to meet with my supervisor. I understand that meeting with my supervisor is equally important because a supervisor is there to encourage and to advice on any difficult obstacles I may encounter. An area of interest to proof whether NP-complete problems can be solved in polynomial time, was left open as future work. This could be the next step of extending this report that little bit further. Chapter 6 Conclusion A challenging problem for further research is to proof whether NP-complete problems can be solved in polynomial time. This has yet to be solved and anyone who has a formal proof will be rewarded $1 million dollars by The Clay Mathematics Institute.

Effects Of Parental Involvement In The Education

Effects Of Parental Involvement In The Education Parent involvement is a valuable component of any students education. It is a well-established fact that parental involvement is linked to childrens success at school. When parents are involved in their childrens education at home, they do better in school. (Henderson and Berla, 1994) The level of parent-school involvement is a better predictor of grades than are standardized test scores. (Desimone, 1999) The 12 years of 180 six-hour days spent in school add up to only 13% of a students waking, learning time during the first 18 years of life. The rest, 87% is spent out of school, primarily at home. (Walberg) What is important is not the type of school, or who goes there, but the quality of its relationship with the families. (Henderson and Map, 2002) Research indicates that there are positive academic outcomes stemming from parental involvement with benefits beginning in early childhood, throughout adolescence and beyond. (Henderson and Mapp, 2002; Patrikakou, Weisberg, Redding, and Walberg, 2005) Henderson and Berla (1994) in an article A New generation of Evidence, state that the family is critical to student achievement. When parents are involved in school, children go farther in school and the schools they go to are better. There is a strong correlation between parental involvement and increased academic achievement. 2.2 Conceptual Underpinnings of the study Parental involvement was defined as including several different forms of parent participation in education and with the schools. Parents can support their childrens schooling by attending school functions, responding to school obligations (parent-teacher conferences, for example), and becoming involved in their childrens schoolwork. They provide encouragement, arrange for appropriate study time and space, model desired behavior (such as reading for pleasure), monitor homework, and actively tutor their children. (Henderson and Berla, 1994) Parent is used in this study to include guardians, grand-parents, foster parents and anybody who takes care of the children. (Kathleen Karen, 1989) In the 1980s, the United States became particularly concerned with the quality of its educational system. Parental involvement in schools became a major issue. Communities also become more watchful of the expense of public education, while local schools became concerned with continuous provision of high-quality teaching and other services. All of this occurred in a time of dwindling resources. Additionally, parents wanted assurance that their children were receiving preparation adequate to lead rewarding adult lives (Kathleen Karen, 1989). Riley (as cited in Moles, 2000) explained that parents are the essential link in improving American education, and schools simply have to do a better job of reaching out to them (p. vii). Parental expectations regarding their children appear to be a constant in childrens academic achievement and social adjustment. Although many parents may not be certain how to help their children with assignments, with guidance and support they can become actively involved in home learning activities, have an opportunity to teach, be models, and guide their children (Michigan Department of Education, 2001). He became interested in how schools in the U.S. involve parents in the education of their children because of the situation in my home country, Cameroon. During his education in Africa, I observed that students whose parents were not involved in their education did not perform well. Many dropped out of school or failed to further their education. In the United States, parental involvement is discussed as a major focus. That is not the case in Cameroon. There, parents have little voice in pedagogy and content. According to Keane (2007), parental involvement improves the chances of childrens success at school, yet research suggests that parent participation may be on the decline. Keane further asserted that student achievement represents more than just grades. Attendance, students attitudes toward school, student behavior, and the drop-out rate all connect with student achievement. A report conducted by Desforges and Abouchaar (2003), showed that enhanced parental involvement leads to better academic performance, better attendance, and improved behavior at home and school (p. 44). 2.3 Context of Parental Involvement In the post-World War II Era (1945-1950s), parental involvement included participation in parent conferences, monitoring of homework, signing of report cards, attending PTA meetings, and fundraising events. In the 1960s educators and policy makers focused on parental involvement as a way to improve educational success for the poor and underachieving students. This led to the development of a variety of models and strategies to promote such parental involvement (Milbrey Shields, 1987). In 1965, Haiman began experimenting with parent involvement program strategies. He designed and wrote the Parental Involvement Performance Standards for the National Head Start and this was used as a consultant to Head Start throughout the nation (Haiman, 1965). In 1968 he spoke on the relevance of curriculum, administration and community involvement (Chicago Tribune, 1968). By 1979, many schools had started incorporating parental involvement into their school programs. Parental involvement in special education programs also increased (Los Angeles Times, 1979). By 1989, the National Education Organization had started incorporating parental involvement programs in their agendas. They provided training to school staff and parents on parental involvement. The School Board Association produced sample school policies on parental involvement which they believed would make schools more secure and more likely, academic development would take place. Best practices and models to support parental involvement were developed. Many reports were written to recommend the necessity of parental involvement in school improvement (USA Today, 1989). In the 1990s, studies demonstrated that parental involvement could predict academic achievement. Parental involvement was considered an integral part of the school curriculum. The level of parental involvement was increased in most of the school districts across the nation (USA Today, 1990). Today, laws have been created to enforce parental involvement in schools including provisions of NCLB and School Accountability Teams. Movements for community control of education such as the education of low-income children, special education students, and English Language Learners have been developed to meet the needs of students. Districts focus on implementing strategies to promote parent, family, and community involvement (National Center for School Engagement, 2004). The Family Strengthening Policy Center (2004) established that states can develop a state-wide network to support teachers preparation for parental involvement, and also provide technical assistance to local districts and schools on how to get parents involved. School districts must have a written policy for administrative support and training for staff, parents and community members on parent involvement programs. The community should be able to advocate with state education agencies and school districts to promot e widespread and effective parental involvement policies and practices. According to the U.S. Department of Education (1997) a sustained mutual collaboration, support, and participation of school staff and families are required for a successful school-family partnerships and childrens learning. Although the success of school family partnerships is difficult to reach, it is important to note that the benefits to children and their educational success depends on hard work required to sustain the school-family partnerships (Epstein, Coates, Salinas, Sanders, Simon, 1997). In line with the mandates of NCLB, the New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) has developed statewide standards which establish expectations for all New Mexico public school students. These standards require every district in New Mexico to develop an Education Plan for Student Success (EPSS) a long-range strategic plan to promote students success and continuous school improvement (Parents Searching Out, 2009). Parent involvement in learning activity is a strategy that was found by Epstein (1995) to increase the educational effectiveness of the time that parents and children spend together at home. Teachers and parents agree on the involvement of parents, seventy one percent of principals and fifty nine percent of teachers called it a priority based on research conducted by. Those schools whose parental involvement is strong provide a lot of benefit to the students. How Strong Communication Contributes to Student and School Success: Parent and Family Involvement shows that improved parental involvement not only leads to academic achievement, but to better attendance and improved behavior at home and school as well. When school and home work together collaboratively, and using a competent approach to education, it can make a huge difference in student achievement. (Padgett 2006) The National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) suggests that a formal policy be created. Lack of planni ng was seen as one of the most challenging aspects to more involvement. Walberg on Families in Educational Productivity states that there is no question that parent involvement represents an exceptionally powerful way of making schools more effective, and of dramatically enriching childrens experiences. Some research indicates that achievement among students in primary schools have identified theories and policies which play significant roles in parent involvement in education (Fan and Chen, 2001; Hill and Tyson, 2009). These theories and policies not only closed the education gap in terms of demographics they also maximize student potential. Parent involvement is so important that The No Child Left Behind Act (National PTA, 2006) is a Federal Policy that puts a mandate on parental involvement in education and family-school relations across primary school levels. However, despite the consensus about how important it is for family and school to work together across developmental stages, theories of parent involvement in education have been based on the pr imary school students in their context and do not focus on the changes that occur with middle school and early adolescent development (Hill and Taylor, 2004; Hill and Tyson, 2009). The Title 1 program is also a government mandated program developed to increase parent involvement and educational services for disadvantaged children. This program placed the emphasis on parental involvement as the primary means of improving the quality of education of low income children (Kim O. Yap and Enoki, 1995). One may ask the question why parents should become involved in their childrens literacy activities. The evidence about the benefits of parents being involved in their childrens education in general and literacy activities in particular is overwhelming. (Fan and Chen 2001) in their meta-analysis found that parental involvement positively affects academic performance. Feinstein Symons, 1999 point out in their research that parental involvement leads to academic achievement. Epsteins framework of six types of involvement are as follows: parenting which help all families establish home environments to support children as students; Communicating from home to school and school to home about school programs and student progress; Volunteering by organizing parent help and support. Learning at home by providing information and ideas from families about how to help students at home with homework and other curriculum-related activities; decisions and planning; Parents should be included in decision making; involve parent leaders and representatives; Collaborating with the community by identifying and integrating resources and services from the community to strengthen school programs, family practices, and student learning and development. Students value their education when they see the interest shown by their parents. Barge, Loges (2003), highlight the fact that government supports parental involvement. According to Moosa, Karabenick, Adam (2001), à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the alliance between home and school has dramatically changed throughout the history of formal education, as have the roles and functions that parents and teachers are expected to fulfill (p. 477). Throughout time, parents have been portrayed as both friend and foe in the course of educational reform (Callahan, Rademacher, Hildreth, 1998). Historically, parental involvement wasnt always a welcomed addition to the school community, and even today some view parent-school relations as a power struggle. Shaver and Walls, (1998) reported that some research found little to no effect of parental involvement on school achievement for middle age students. For the most part however, teachers and administrators welcome a helping hand in the overcrowded classrooms of the public schools and agree that parental involvement is one way to bridge reading comprehension gaps. Today, it is widely recognized that parents play an essential role in their childrens school life. Numerous types of parental involvement have been shown to develop cognitive growth and success in school (Shaver and Walls, 1998). Schools are working hand in hand with parents, Edwards, and Alldred (2000); describe parents and schools as policy makers with similar functions when it comes to children. Research indicates that there are positive academic outcomes stemming from parental involvement with benefits beginning in early childhood, throughout adolescence and beyond (Henderson and Mapp, 2002; Patrikakou, Weisberg, Redding, and Walberg, 2005). Shaver and Walls, (1998), are also in support, they point out that the connection between parents and school achievement is real. The Epstein case studies are another research that supports parent involvement. Epstein (2002), used the Comprehensive School Reform Model (CSR) demonstrates how collaborative work produces positive outcomes. These studies were conducted in certain states, in selected school within the school districts. Educators, parents and community partners worked collaboratively on action teams to plan the curriculum. The programs are evaluated before being implemented in order to assess how well the plans connected family and school-community involvement. Henderson and Berla (1994) in an article A New generation of Evidence, state that the family is critical to student achievement. When parents are involved in school, children go farther in school and the schools they go to are better. Regardless of socioeconomic status or race, studies show a direct correlation between parental involvement and a childs academic achievement (Williams 1992). 2.4 Parental Involvement and Achievement It is well established that parental involvement is correlated with school achievement of both children and adolescents (Long, 2007). Primary school children gain greater academic, language, and social skills (Grolnick Slowiaczek, 1994), primary school students have greater achievement and future aspirations (Eccles Harold, 1993) and spend more time doing and completing homework (Epstein Sanders, 2002). Research shows that parental involvement is more important to childrens academic success than their familys socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, or educational background (Amatea West, 2007). Parental involvement can encourage childrens and adolescents achievement in many ways. One way that parents can contribute positively to their childrens education is to assist them with their academic work at home. Parents who read to their children, assist them with their homework, and provide tutoring using resources provided by teachers tend to do better in school than children whose parents do not assist their children (Izzo et al., 1999). Additionally, in a study conducted by Callahan, Rademacher and Hildreth (1998) on twenty-six lower to middle-class at risk sixth and seventh grade white students, students mathematics scores increased when parents became involved with assisting them at home. In the Callahan et al. study, parents were trained for duration of ten weeks on how to implement home-based self management and reinforcement strategies. Shaver and Walls (1998) conducted a similar parent training with seventy-four Title I students in second to eighth grade. Their study sho wed that regardless of gender or socioeconomic status of the child, parent involvement increased the scores of both mathematics and reading. Other parental involvement strategies that are said to assist children academically are for parents to have books, newspapers, and computers in their homes (Suizzo, 2007). This is not to say that just because there are books and newspapers in the home that children will read them; children do, however, fare better with their reading when there are books and computers in the home. Research shows that the level of parental involvement is associated with academic success. Children whose parents are actively involved in their schooling benefit better than children whose parents are passively involved. Specifically, if parents attend teacher conferences, accept phone calls from the school, and read and sign communications from the school, their children will benefit academically more than children whose parents do none of the above. Furthermore, children excel even more when their parents assist them at home with their homework, attend school sponsored events, and volunteer at their childrens schools (Suizzo, 2007). Childrens academic success also may be related to school-level parental involvement. Parental involvement can be defined as participation by a childs mother and/or father, or legal guardian in a childs education. Children who attend schools where there is a high level of parental involvement evidence greater achievement. School-level parental involvement seems to benefit children and adolescents academically and behaviorally by promoting information sharing and control over childrens behavior. Coleman (1990) asserted that children whose parents know each other promote school identification and success for their children. Broh (2000) also mentioned that students at school-level parental involvement schools were more likely to do their homework because completing their homework was considered the norm at these schools. 2.5 What is Parental Involvement? Parental involvement means different things to different people. A recent newsletter published by The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement (2006) explained that some people equate involvement to chaperoning field trips or volunteering for PTA committees while others define it as attending an open house or signing off on homework folders. National PTA (2006) described parental involvement as regular participation of parents, a two-way process, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities. National PTA pays particular attentions to parents, who are economically disadvantaged, disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background. Under National PTA, schools are required to do evaluation and design strategies for more effective parental involvement, and also to revise, if necessary, the parental involvement policies. It also places the responsibility for scho ols to be certain that parent involvement initiatives are properly developed and evaluated. National PTA reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, 1965) with four principles to frame ways in which families, educators, and communities can work together to improve teaching and learning. These principles include: accountability for results, local control and flexibility, expanded parental choice, and effective and successful programs that reflect scientifically based research. Enhancing connections within families, between families, and with their communities and the institutions that affect them should result in better outcomes for children and their families. These principles stress that parents and schools should be accountable for students achievement. In addition, plans for parental involvement should be flexible to address the local needs and build parents capacity to improve on their childrens achievement (U.S Department of Education, 2004; Family Strengthening Policy Center, FSPC, 2004). The Family Strengthening Policy Center, FSPC (2004), observed that there is no universal definition of what parental involvement in education entails. Some definitions include greater participation in the life of a school, while others are focused on the increased contributions to an individual childs learning process. Still others incorporate the family into the learning process through adult education, parenting, and after school activities. Reenay et al., (2007) defined parental involvement as encompassing three areas: a) direct contact with teachers, b) parental actions at school, and c) parental actions at home. In many schools, parents are engaged in the governance and planning processes in building students achievement goals (FSPC, 2004). Nonetheless, parental involvement takes place when parents actively, resourcefully and responsibly contribute to promote and develop the well being of their communities (Northwest Regional Education, 2001; Jesse, 2009) Davies (1991) defined parental involvement from a shifting perspective. Restructuring the society, communities, and schools leads to the transformation of parental involvement. The following evolving definition illustrates this paradigm shift. 2.5.1 Evolving Definition Parental involvement shifts from parent focus to family focus, family to community agencies, school to home/neighborhood setting, eager parents to hard-to reach families, teachers/administrators agendas to family priorities, and deficit view of urban families to emphasis on inherent strengths of families (Davies, 1991). He further explained that even though non-traditional families are much more common nowadays than they were in the 1950s, alternative family structures are effective and should be recognized by the school. Liontos (1992) mentioned recent beliefs about parents and families that schools should consider when involving them in their childrens education: 1) All families have strengths, 2) parents can learn new techniques, 3) parents have important perspectives about their children, 4) most parents really care about their children, 5) cultural differences are both valid and valuable, and 6) many family forms exist and are legitimate (pp. 30-31). Jesse (2009) noted that parental involvement has two independent components: parents as supporters and parents as active partners. This approach of parental involvement would be insufficient if schools make use of only one of these components. Parents can be active, yet not supportive of the education process and vice versa. He further indicated that parental involvement should take many forms. For example, parental involvement can be reading to children, volunteering at the school, collaborating on decision making committees, and advocating for children. Hewison and Tizard (1980) explained that parental involvement can be focused if the school addresses the following issues: a) define what is meant by parent involvement, b) define what the school means by parental involvement, c) provide examples of parents decision making roles, d) remove structural barriers, and e) identify who else has an interest in increasing the parents role in the school. 2.6 Why parents help? Parents, teachers, and administrators should be equally responsible for the education of children. If schools want to truly ensure academic success of children, schools need to make sure that all educational planning passes through parents first (Patrikakou et al., Weissberg, 2005). According to the National Parent Teacher Association (NPTA), although parents often state that they would like to be more involved in their childrens education, they complain that they feel left out of decision-making at their childrens school. Frankly, some school personnel are not comfortable with the idea of having parents involved in more than the traditional fundraisers. These personnel feel that as long as parents stick to traditional fundraiser events, everything else will be okay. Shatkin Gershberg (2007) and Seeley (1992) found that parental involvement at some schools is seen as a power struggle. When teachers believe that they are the primary person to handle a childs education, then they crea te an unbalanced and unequal partnership. Nevertheless, at least theoretically, most teachers welcome the idea of parent involvement. According to a teachers perceptions study published by the National Parent Involvement Network, 83% of teachers wanted an increase in parental involvement at their schools, and 95% of inner city teachers felt that parental involvement was lacking (Funkhouser, Gonzales, Moles, 1997). Many parental involvement strategies have been used in the past, but schools are still baffled by the lack of parental involvement at the secondary level (Christenson Sheridan, 2001; Drake, 2000). Antiquated parental and family involvement strategies are often cited as a major problem in research. Schools that update their strategies to accommodate the characteristics of their community benefit more than those schools that only use a standard program (Drake, 2000). Other problems may be that most parental involvement strategies are aimed at helping middle class families (Crozier, 2001), focus mostly on primary schools, and do not place much emphasis on minority families. The increased diversity of students and their families presents an even greater challenge to schools and teachers (Lewis, 1992; Wanders et al., 2007). Teachers recognize the benefits of including parents, but consistently complain that parents do not assist in their childrens education (Lewis, 1992). Administrators and educators should not assume that parents automatically know how to involve themselves at school or home. Parents need to be taught how to effectively involve themselves in their childrens schooling. The assumption that every parent knows how to teach their children should be admonished. Parents are not teachers and need to be instructed on how to teach, assist, and encourage their children at home (Quigley, 2000). Ineffective instruction at home by a parent could hinder the academic progress of their children. The National PTA (2006) gave the following suggestions on how to involve parents: a) schools should host orientation sessions for parents on how to be involved, b) have an onsite family resource center, which will give parents access to materials on parenting, c) give parents handouts on curriculum information and teaching methods, d) encourage parents to volunteer in school and at school events, and e) invite parents to sit on committees to participate in school-decision making. Likewise, it should not be assumed that teachers automatically know how to effectively involve parents in the classroom and at home. Epstein (1985) pointed out that the majority of teachers have little to no training on how to involve parents in the classroom. Therefore, most teachers lack necessary skills and knowledge on how to effectively work with parents. Kesslar-Sklar and Baker (2000) found that teachers need guidance from school administrators and consultants such as school psychologists to communicate with parents. In-services and workshops could provide guidance on how to effectively engage parents. Parent engagement is important on all levels of school involvement; however, sometimes schools are confused on what is considered parent engagement or involvement. School administrators and teachers feel that parental involvement is important for the academic success of children, but sometimes the definition of what constitutes parent involvement is often misconstrued between par ents and teachers. According to Epstein and Sanders (2002), there are six types of involvement: a) parenting- assist families with parenting and child-rearing skills, understanding child and adolescent development, and setting home conditions that support children as students at each age and grade level; b) communicating- communicate with families about school programs and student progress through effective school-to-home and home-to-school communications; c) volunteering improve recruitment, training, work, and schedules to involve families as volunteers and audiences at the school or in other locations to support students and school programs; d) learning at home- involve families with their children in learning activities at home, including homework and other curriculum-linked activities and decisions; e) decision making-include families as participants in school decisions, governance, and advocacy through PTA/PTO, school councils, committees, and other parent organizations; and f ) collaborating with the community- coordinate resources and services for families, students, and the school with businesses, agencies, and other groups, and provide services to the community. Schools play an important role in assisting parents with the aforementioned strategies. When these strategies along with parents feeling welcome are in effect, children thrive academically and socially. If parents do not feel welcome at their childs school, they are less likely to be involved (Constantino, 2003). 2.7 How do Schools Engage Parents? Hanke (2006) pointed out that lack of parental involvement is due to lack of helpful information to parents. Emails, phone, letters, newsletters and personal contacts can be made by schools to reach out to parents. If schools communicate with parents regularly and consistently using the various means, the gap between school and parental involvement will be reduced. Students expectations and achievement will increase if families show high levels of interest (National PTA, 1998). Six different areas of parental involvement are identified by Epstein et al., (1997): parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision making, and collaborating with the community. Two types of communication exist (The Pacific Resources for Education and Learning, 2006). These two types include one-way (transmittal) and two-way communication. In one-way communication, the school disseminates information to parents on how they can help their children at home. Examples of this type of communica tion are newsletters and informational fliers. The two-way communication is considered much more interactive and perceived as a partnership between the school and families. Examples include surveys and questionnaires structured to collect informational data pertaining to students (The Pacific Resources for Education and Learning, 2006). Reenay and Vivian (2007) explained that even though the invention of new technologies has made it easier for schools to reach out to parents (through emails, cell phones and internet websites), the use of traditional methods in communication has been found to be an effective way for schools to communicate with parents, but this has been limited in use by schools because of time constraints. In addition, it has been assessed that the frequent use of mass communications (newsletters, calendars, letters and handbooks) by school educators has not been effective in changing student behaviors. However, as Jonson (1999) reported, many parents do not communicate with their childrens schools due to a vast number of reasons. For example, their concerns might not be heard or responded to promptly, or they are busy at work. Despite t