Literacy

?Kerala’s development experience: a search for a micro response to a macro process abstract The concept of development, in the sense of achieving ‘human good’ has always been there since the advent of human society, only with varying understanding, emphasis, and implications. It is seen as a process, requiring constant response and continuous solutions and also as a result of human action, only through which, reorientation of any development process becomes possible (Varma, 1989:34).

The past decades have seen a series of development paradigms, involving progressive modifications, towards achieving the ‘human good’, but the results have been highly disappointing and distressing, with naked manifestation and a stark reality of the extreme riches and the extreme poverty existing side by side. In fact, most of the development approaches in the post-colonial era have contributed not only to the creation and perpetuation of such a divide but also in widening it endlessly. India’s macro development experience is an apt illustration of such a scenario.

Kerala’s development experience has to be understood only in the context of the development experience of the country as a whole. Kerala’s development experience: search for a micro response to a macro process The concept of development, in the sense of achieving ‘human good’ has always been there since the advent of human society, only with varying understanding, emphasis, and implications. It is seen as a process, requiring constant response and continuous solutions and also as a result of human action, only through which, reorientation of any development process becomes possible (Varma, 1989:34).

The past decades have seen a series of development paradigms, involving progressive modifications, towards achieving the ‘human good’, but the results have been highly disappointing and distressing, with naked manifestation and a stark reality of the extreme riches and the extreme poverty existing side by side. In fact, most of the development approaches in the post-colonial era have contributed not only to the creation and perpetuation of such a divide but also in widening it endlessly. India’s macro development experience is an apt illustration of such a scenario.

Kerala’s development experience has to be understood only in the context of the development experience of the country as a whole. india’s development impact In the post-colonial Independent India, which envisaged an advanced, prosperous, democratic, egalitarian and just society as implied in its constitutional proclamation of a ‘socialist pattern of development’, eradication of poverty became one of the prime targets of most of the early development initiatives. However, even after five decades of India’s independence, in spite of intensive development efforts, the result has not been much different.

True, India has got an impeccable record of achievements to its credit. India has achieved a literacy rate of above fifty percent from a just 16 percent at the time of Independence. From a state of dependency for food, it has not only achieved a self-sufficiency but also has developed an export capacity in food production. The economic reforms in recent years and the process of globalisation have accelerated India’s economic capability in every direction including Industrial growth.

With its large technological and professional man-power, with regard to nuclear, space and computer capabilities, India is fast emerging as a global power. Though these are commendable achievements, the overall picture is nowhere near the targets and far from satisfaction. In spite of India being one of the highest food producing countries in the world, one out of every two children in India is said to be malnourished. In the land of many rivers, safe drinking water seems to be still a pipe-dream for many.

The health record is even more frightening as India is still the highest in the world, in the number of TB patients, malarial deaths, blind people, HIV positive cases, occupational casualties, Hepatitis ‘B’ patients and infant mortality rates. The constitutional injunction to provide free compulsory education to all children upto the age of 14 by 1960 is far from realisation. In fact, with the tripling of our population since Independence, the illiteracy rate being well above 40 percent, the number of illiterates has almost exceeded the total population of India at the time of Independence.

Moreover, even among the literates, for many, education means just identifying letters and in most of the villages, many ‘literate’ do not even seem to manage that. There is a vast child labour force of 44 million. Above 70 million children are outside schools. There is a housing shortage of over 30 million and the registered job seekers are inching towards 40 million. Those who are ‘below poverty line’ being anywhere between 25 and 40 percent, more than 300 million in absolute figures, India has the largest concentration of poor people in the world (Outlook, 19 Oct. 998). The human development indices are deplorably low, placing India at the 126th position, far below many countries in East, Southeast and West Asia and Africa that became Independence much later than India did. The continuing population explosion only indicates that the educational, health and social status of women is far from satisfaction. High fertility and mortality rates, illiteracy, and school dropouts especially of the girl child have also contributed to this state of affairs.

Likewise, the situation concerning preventive, public and primary health, drinking water, sewage, and sanitation and housing is far from satisfactory. Unemployment continues to be a nagging problem obscuring a clear solution. Growing urbanisation is also contributing to innumerable problems for want of clear perspective and planning. Environmental degradation, deforestation, and land appropriation continue to pose serious threats to the healthy development scenario and harshly affect the weaker sections, the most.

India’s development impact only prove that the development initiatives of the past decades, meant for the uplift of the deprived sections have miserably failed, with the result of increasing poverty, inequality and ecological imbalance. Whatever efforts that have been adopted in bringing about a desirable development paradigm, a relatively contended human existence with fulfilment of basic human needs and protection of basic human rights have also proved to be still a far-flung reality.

All these have only underlined the lopsided orientation and misplaced priorities of the past development paradigms and also the necessity for rethinking development. Today, development as ‘human good’ has come to imply equality and a dignified human existence for every individual, irrespective of caste, religion, race, or culture. Haq (1996:16) identifies equity, sustainability, productivity, and empowerment as four essential components in the human development paradigm.

It involves searching for the roots, giving due recognition to every people’s dignity and existence, and evolving a genuine and collective participation of the people at the micro level development planning and implementation without neglecting the the macro-level development process. Such a development perspective necessitates a thorough revamping of the past development orientations and initiation of a fresh thrust from bottom upwards in every sense, by decentralising the development planning and democratic institutions. It would be a process of real democratisation and a return to nature, to the people, and to the grassroots.

In short, there should be a right identification of what is the core and what is the periphery (Gregory, 2000:7). Kerala’s development experience It is in this context that Kerala’s development experience assumes significance. Kerala has been a pioneering state in many revolutionary social transformations and successful development initiatives, whether it be in implementing the land reforms or in achieving the development parameters of the WHO, or in the total literacy campaign that brought the credit of becoming the first totally literate state in the country.

In the quality of life indicators, Kerala’s achievement is comparable only to the highly developed nations but within a limited economic development that is far below that of the nation’s average. Thus, in terms of 1993 figures, in spite of having a low per capita GNP of just about $180, far below than even the all India average of $300, Kerala could achieve and maintain an adult literacy rate of 91 per cent as against 51 per cent for all India; life expectancy of 73 years for males and 79 years for females as against 55 and 54 years respectively for all India; infant mortality rate at 13 as against 24 for all India; nd the birth rate at 17 as against 25 for all India; all comparable to the advanced nations. Such a high material quality of life indicators coinciding with low per capita income, both distributed across nearly the entire population of Kerala, with a set of wealth and resources redistribution programmes and high levels of political participation and activism among the ordinary people, have earned for the state a unique place in the development thinking.

This has also led to the emergence of a ‘Kerala Model’ of development that has been widely appreciated and recommended by the economists and other social scientists to be worthy of emulation by the developing world, before questions arose and criticisms unleashed over the sustainable nature of the model. ‘The Crisis of the Kerala model’ had become more apparent with the Model’s failures and shortcomings that were threatening its sustainability.

Some of these included the following: The slow growth of Kerala’s SDP Increasing stagnancy of agricultural production and the dependency on and the vulnerability to outside sources for the major food items including rice Down-sliding of the traditional industries such as coir, cashew and handloom mainly due to the price escalation for raw materials and cut-throat competitions Sluggish and even negative industrial growth

Alarming situation of unemployment Series of fiscal crisis threatening to undermine many of the Kerala Model redistribution programmes More than 15 per cent of the state’s population being the ‘outliers’ of the Model Acute environmental crisis, involving serious repercussions, especially in the context of stagnant economy, high population density and intense land-use.

All the above failures and shortcomings of the Kerala model had become vastly identified and highly intensified in the context of globalisation, a macro process that has swept the whole world, including the developed and the developing nations alike, in the nineties and continue to change the developing face of the world economy and life People’s Palnning: Kerala’s Answer to a failed model and the process of Glabalisation The idea of development from bottom upwards with a decentralised system of planning is not something totally new.

In Gandhiji’s vision of Poorna Swaraj, every village has to become a republic in which every individual enjoys total freedom. In his social paradigm, every individual should become the core, whereby the society is constructed as a vast oceanic circle, progressing from the individual to the family, from the family to the village, from the village to the state and from the state to the nation and so on. This is possible only when the villages are reinvented to become a republic of its own, recreating the sense of village solidarity, and making every member of the village a partner in the development mission.

Only such an approach, which enables every human being to realise that they are only a part of nature, would be meaningful and sustainable. Though the slogan of ‘Gram Raj’ and the desirability of a decentralised system of planning has been as old as the freedom movement, the country had to wait till 1993, when the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments were enacted, for a determined effort towards a genuine process f decentralisation. In line with these amendments, The Kerala Panchayat Act had been passed and came into effect since 23 April 1994. Nevertheless, the provision of a constitutional and legislative framework alone need not ensure its adaptation unless there is a political will and commitment on the part of the state governments, to such a system of administration and planning as it requires a total restructuring of the system.

The democratisation of the planning process involved certain necessary conditions such as the devolution of powers, responsibilities and resources as well as the complementary measures on the part of the government, but not sufficient to ensure its success unless accompanied by an intensive people’s campaign in order to motivate and empower the local self governments to take up the new challenges.

Being conscious of such conditions, the state of Kerala, in August 1996, started the new experiment of People’s Planning through People’s Campaign not only to ensure an ‘informed participation’ of the people, going beyond their nominal participation (Isaac and Harilal, 1999:492-5) but also to help them make ‘informed choices’ (Franke and Chasin, 1999: 139). In a world of globalisation and economic liberalisation, there emerges a political and economic structure that only favours models based on private accumulation and growing inequality over Kerala’s emphasis on public services and egalitarian ideals.

Only in such a context, emerges Kerala’s answer to the search for a New Model in the form of a micro planning called People’s Planning through People’s Campaign, based on decentralisation and high levels of local participation, both as a response to the failure of the old model and as a challenge to the hostile world of international capitalism, vowing to bring a meaningful environmental preservation and empower the grassroots (Franke and Chasin, 1999:118-133).

Today, Kerala is leading the nation through ‘People’s Planning”, which essentially dwells on the devolution of power to the grass roots, thereby initiating another social revolution of the sorts, in the development paradigm. It is believed that a success in this unique experiment would definitely make development to be truly sustainable and meaningful to the people and would redefine the entire life and polity. According to Mencher, the Indian villages are still populated with most weaker sections who hardly gain anything from most of the development programmes (1978: 10).

The people’s planning being different in its orientation and approach, is naturally expected to reach out to the least of the grass-roots at the micro-level governance and empower them to plan out the basic livelihood systems by themselves and gain the capacity to ensure its sustainability and climb up the ladder of dignified social existence together with other fellow citizens. conclusion: Towareds a Sustainable Model of Developmet As the world is under the sweep of globalisation, no nation or state can keep away from its grip or sway.

Living in an age of information that has created an image of a global village, the individual, regional and national identities are at stake, crying for independence and freedom. The very survival itself is at stake, which can be overcome only if there are proper ways and means to identify one’s strengths, potentials and indigenous resources and utilise the same for asserting one’s identity at different levels as well as for their respective survival and also contribute to the benefit of the mankind beyond their respective boundaries.

It is here that the micro-level people’s planning could combat the negative forces in the macro process of globalisation. In this context, people’s planning of Kerala’s development experience provides an alternative model of a sorts in development. The success of the emerging model, however, depends on the extent of its independent approach, free from all sorts of political overtones and identities, a genuine sense of belongingness and solidarity and collective search for strengths and a common commitment for the greater cause of a genuine development. References Franke R. W. nd B. H. Chasin. 1999. ‘Is the Kerala Model Sustainable’. In M. A. Oommen. (Ed. ). Rethinking Development: Kerala’s Development Experience. Vol. 2. New Delhi: Institute of Social Sciences & Concept. Gregory S. 2000. Rural Social Change, Social Equity, and Sustainable Development. In Mukhopadyay, S D and S Choudhury. (Ed. ). Social Transformation and Rural Sector. Visva-Bharathi: Department of Agricultural Extension, Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Statistics Haq, Mahbub ul. 1996. Reflections on Human Development. Delhi: Oxford University Press. Isaac, T. M. Thomas. and K.

N. Harilal. 1999. ‘Democratisation of the Planning Process – Experience of People’s Campaign in Kerala’. In M. A. Oommen. (Ed. ). Rethinking Development: Kerala’s Development Experience. Vol. 2. New Delhi: Institute of Social Sciences & Concept. Mencher, J. P. Agriculture and Social Structure in Tamil Nadu: Past Origin, Present Transformation and Future Prospects. New Delhi: Allied. Varma, S. P. 1989. ‘Models of Development: Search for Alternatives’. In Iqbal Narain. (Ed. ). Development, Politics and Social Theory. New Delhi: Sterling. ****************************************

The importance of college education has a direct and profound impact on the world but more importantly on me. As Nelson Mandela stated “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. ” By gaining knowledge through college education I am ensuring a better future for myself and in turn I am ensuring a better future for those around me thus changing the world one small step at a it me. College education provides tools, knowledge and preparation necessary to compete in today’s tough job markets.

As a current fourth year medical student, I am supplementing my deiced education with an associates degree in health administration so that I can gain an advantage and also to prepare myself for future leadership roles within the medical profession. Medical field is a field in which constant advances and progresses are made and to stay current and to progress with the times, one must constantly further himself through education. An article in the Heritage Foundation suggest that the base foundation of the U. S. Healthcare is the ability to provide the best healthcare.

Having said this, we must understand that having the best healthcare means training our medical refashions and investing into new technologies and education so that they are able to provide the best healthcare. The article suggests that there is a shortfall in followed education that is provided to medical professionals in their quest for professional excellence. To me, this places and emphasis on the importance of college education and continuing education so that we can continue to strive to be the best not just in the field of healthcare but also in other fields.

In a recent article in Forbes Magazine comparing college versus high school education, we can clearly see that earning a college degree doesn’t only give you a competitive advantage and a solid base for the future but it also gives you an additional $830,000 during your lifetime according to Forbes. This should also be a major inspiration for wanting to obtain a college diploma. Financial future and stability of my family directly correlates to the amount of education I have received though my lifetime. Although our economy has turned a new leaf and is on a recent upswing, we are still reeling from the economic collapse of the late sass’s.

According to Bellevue university research, those with little to no higher education are finding the most difficult to find jobs and secure their family futures. The study confirms that more and more people are looking for “recession proof’ jobs that are mostly attainable through college education rather than trades. In today’s society finding a job is much harder because of all the competition, people with similar qualifications vying and competing for the same jobs. What will set me apart? College can give me the training I need to get ahead and Stay head of my competition.

Social development is a very important aspect of college education. Higher education is generally lauded for developing academic knowledge in their students, its leaders are routinely criticized for not adequately preparing students for the types of roles and leaders that organizations need (Jaeger, 2003; Tucker, Osaka, Barron, & Mccarthy, 2000; Coleman, 1 995; 1998; Williams & Sternberg, 1988). Our future leaders, although highly educated, lack social ability to to present themselves as leaders and to serve as leaders.

One of the reasons I chose the degree program at Seaworthy university is just that, social development as well as educational, that is scholastic. Through the discussion boards, chats, and other interactive socially interactive media; I will not only be able to learn from students that are in my immediate vicinity but I will gain a broader perspective that an online university gives. This perspective is global and invaluable to those who seek to not only further their textbook knowledge, but would also like to share experiences with efferent cultures and races to gain a better social understanding and the impact education has globally.

There are ample reasons for a college education and I have only listed a few Of the ones dearest to me above. In the ever changing world, it has become more important now than ever before to obtain a college education. Its not just the economic reasons that push us to learn further and achieve greater, as I have mentioned above, it is also a great social development outlet that sometimes we don’t use as much as we should.

Abstract

Preschool students who are entering kindergarten are often expected to attend a screening session. My research focused on the qualities of a successful screening tool and how the tool is used to assist educators. I was curious to know if a screening tool provided enough information for educators to adequately balance classes during the process of placing incoming kindergarteners.

Placing students based on their academic and social needs gives teachers more time and opportunities to successfully teach to their students’ strengths, challenges, and personalities. Finally, I was interested in researching which screening tools educators chose to use.

Throughout my research I wanted to determine which areas of development were typically part of the preferred screening tools and to determine which areas were better predictors of academic achievement.

Running head: BENEFITS OF SCREENING INCOMING KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS

3Statement of IssueKindergarten screening is used to determine which students are at risk for developmental, behavioral, or academic difficulties. A kindergarten screening tool is designed to identify potential learning or behavioral difficulties before they increase in frequency, intensity, or duration after the student enters school.

Students who are identified can receive support from their school and families in a more timely and effective manner. The screening data also provides information that assists in the process of student placement into kindergarten classrooms.Literature ReviewSchool readiness, defined as social, emotional, and behavioral readiness to learn is a fundamental aspect of school success.

Screening students who are entering kindergarten can be beneficial in identifying which students are demonstrating school readiness and which students would benefit from additional support once they begin kindergarten. Determining whether or not to require incoming kindergarteners to participate in a screening session is a discussion between the kindergarten teachers, administration of the elementary school, guidance counselor, and curriculum coordinator.

The purpose may extend beyond the placement of students to include comparative data gathered to use in future discussions related to the students’ progress.It is necessary to recognize the difference between the terms assessment and screening. While many people use these terms interchangeably, they have different purposes.

Given the growth in the use of screening and assessment practices to identify students at increased levels of risk, it is important to emphasize important distinctions between screening and assessment.

Running head: BENEFITS OF SCREENING INCOMING KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS

4Specifically, screening and assessment procedures differ in their purposes, features, and the types of tools used. School readiness screening measures would be administered to every child entering kindergarten. Stormant (2016) suggests that a true screening system should be brief, simple, and rely on easy to administer tools.

The purpose of assessment is to conduct a lengthy, in-depth, and thorough investigation. Invernizzi (2010) discusses the criteria for early literacy assessment in preschoolers assessment decisions. They must be broad-based, easy and efficient to administer and interpret, and provide immediate instructional benefits to teachers.

Along with deciding whether or not to participate, educators must choose which tool to use and what developmental areas to focus on. Educators can then create balanced classrooms and prepare supports for the students who showed a lack of school readiness based on the outcomes.

Steps can be taken to prepare these students for their entrance into kindergarten by providing summer programs and planning for ways of implementing instruction that offers extra support at the start of the school year for students who need it. RTI is a method of providing Tiered support for struggling students.

Kindergarten screening results can provide educators with a starting point of data. Interestingly, Seethaler (2010) advises that screening students who haven’t been exposed to math concepts prior to attending school may give false information. She questioned that waiting until students have more time to be exposed to common math experiences might allow the students without prior exposure to number concepts time to ‘catch up’ to their peers.

In her research she also examined the single skill screener versus multiple skills screeners to determine potential mathematics difficulty in kindergarten students. Phonological Awareness is known to be a predictor of academic success in Literacy where Number Sense is a predictor of math success.  Bridges and Catts (2011) report that specifically,

Running head: BENEFITS OF SCREENING INCOMING KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS

5dynamic screening may be able to reduce the false positives associated with universal screening in the early school grades. Although preschool opportunities provide many children with literacy experience and instruction, a large number of children continue to enter kindergarten with limited literacy knowledge.

A lack of literacy knowledge at the beginning of kindergarten can affect performance on measures of phonological awareness and lead to children being identified as at risk for reading difficulties.The kindergarten screening process is a way to gauge a child’s current functioning and growth.

It is a brief evaluation of several developmental domains of functioning in young children that typically takes place prior to the beginning of kindergarten. It can be an important prevention or early intervention tool to determine which young children are at risk for developmental, behavioral, or academic difficulties.

The areas of development that are most commonly evaluated during a screening are; Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Language, Concepts (Math, Phonological Awareness), Self-help Development, Social/Emotional Development, and Behavior.Conoyer (2016) advises when selecting screening tools, educational professionals must balance efficiency relative to predictive utility and diagnostic feedback.

While some may opt for a multi-skill measure with a longer administration time, others may prefer a brief screener that has sufficient predictive utility, and then administer diagnostic assessments to the smaller group of students identified in the initial screen.PALS-PreK is a scientifically-based phonological awareness and literacy screening that measures preschoolers’ developing knowledge of important literacy fundamentals. The assessment reflects skills that are predictive of future reading success. It measures name writing,

Running head: BENEFITS OF SCREENING INCOMING KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS

6beginning sound awareness, print and word awareness, rhyme and nursery rhyme awareness, and alphabet knowledge. Phonological awareness refers to the ability to pay attention to, identify, and manipulate sound units within spoken words.As stated by McWayne (2011), the K-ABR is a teacher rating screener that includes three items to screen children in need of academic and/or behavior support.

The specific items comprising the K-ABR include (1) “Compared to other students in this school, how was this child’s readiness for the behavioral expectations of kindergarten,” (2) “Compared to other students in this school, how was this child’s academic readiness for kindergarten,” and (3) “Compared to other students in this school, how was this child’s overall readiness for kindergarten.

“Kokkalia (2017) explains that the DIAL–4 is an appropriate screening tool for children ages 2.6 years to 5.11 years. The tool is individually administered but is appropriate for use in environments where large kindergarten screenings occur, taking approximately 25-35 minutes per child to administer.

Each of five performance areas is scored on a behavior (psychological and social) rating scale. Behaviors are observed during the screening process to help determine if further assessment is needed. This tool offers comprehensive information in five performance areas; Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Language, Concepts, Self-help Development, Social Development.

This is the tool that my school district has chosen to implement this year for the first time.Hamm (2014) describes a program called KidSkills whose goal is to meet the principles of RTI and illustrate the effectiveness of elementary teachers and specialists teaming up to systematically examine student needs. Collaborative models such as this one aim to support

Running head: BENEFITS OF SCREENING INCOMING KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS

7student achievement. Multiple perspectives from various areas of expertise offer strategies that collectively support the whole child. Early screening, systematic data collection, collaboration, and a strong home- school partnership are key components of this program that can be replicated in a variety of settings and possibly generalized to other academic areas.

The program provides kindergarten students with targeted small-group instruction once a week focusing on phonemic awareness, language and vocabulary development, literacy skills, and fine motor and perceptual skills.ConclusionThe methods used to perform kindergarten screenings are often in question.

Educators discuss if preschool students are capable of accurately sharing what they know with individuals they have just met in a school setting that may cause anxiety in some children. Early Childhood educators may disagree with some of the developmental areas on the screening tools.

Teachers may assume that children come to kindergarten with the prerequisite fine motor and perceptual skills to practice letter formation. Kindergarten screening tools may not pick up on the subtle needs experienced by some children that will make letter formation difficult. Assessing and addressing visual–motor skills is an essential predictor of academic achievement.

As stated by Conoyer (2016), early identification of students at risk in mathematics is limited in value if educators are unable to evaluate and adjust their instructional programs to effect improved mathematics achievement.Further research to explore how the information gathered during kindergarten screeners should be examined and compared to future student assessments. Academic predictors could be evaluated in more detail and more data should be gathered in order to follow student progress

Running head: BENEFITS OF SCREENING INCOMING KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS 8throughout the elementary years. Continuing to check in with classroom teachers to find out if the classes ended up being successfully ‘balanced’ would be of interest to my research of kindergarten screening usefulness.

Each year students enter kindergarten with varying levels of maturity, attention, and exposure to academic concepts. Acknowledging this and proceeding without biases when examining the data collected is essential to the child’s future school career.

About more than half (85%) of the total population of Papua New Guinea live in poverty. The article about the level of poverty in Papua New Guinea by a researcher -Dr Bourke was thrilling especially when only 15% of our population have access to quality living. Meaning good education,heath,infrastructures services and a healthy diet. Dr Bourke’s data’s were extracted from the various studies conducted between 1963 -1990 which is quite outdated . The report stressed mainly on the implications and level of poverty in the rural areas than urban areas.

According to the research, Papua New Guineans were categorized into three classes:

• Poorest
• Less Poor
• Least Poor

The poorest were 18. 4% ,less poor -42. 3% and the least poor was 39. 2% of the total population of P. N. G.. The latter, as stated in the article were from the rural villages. In my opinion i think those people are having some kind of access to basic developments may be because they were assisted by the government in terms of health ,education ,improved diet through subsidizing subsistence farming of home grown foods and other infrastructures.

However, on a bigger scale we are still categorized as one of the poverty stricken nation in the pacific. According to Dr Bourke,’The implications of poverty in PNG were as result of low cash income,inaccessibility to health facilities,and limited access to secondary or tertiary education and the limited access to market. I strongly support this because it is a reality for the most remotest parts of Papua New Guinea including rural areas where the location is a barrier for them to have access to the basic services such as employment, health, education and trade.

One of the classic example is where i come from,(chimbu province) a district called Karamuvi is living in extreme poverty even though they have the land to produce food crops they don’t have the markets to sell their surplus for money. They can not go to school or get proper health treatment because they don’t have money as well as isolated from the main health centres. Currently there is only one form of transport linking to this place, is through airplanes.

Therefore i define poverty as a situation in which people are not having access to the basic services. In addition ,Wikipedia,the free encyclopedia on line, defines Poverty as: the condition of not having the means to afford basic human needs such as clean water,health care,nutrition,clothing and shelter. Dr Bourke said; that “PNG has an overall life expectancy rate of 54 years while the worse provinces of Sandaun and Gulf provinces have an average of 46 years life expectancy rate”.

Generally speaking i think he is absolutely right because since 1963 when the research was first carried out to (21st )this century there wasn’t any great improvements in the life expectancy rates of the Papua New Guineans. The current life expectancy rate is still below (54-57 years )60 years:world development indicators-2009. However they are certain people living over the age of 70 years and above simply because of improved health services, healthy diet,and Physical fitness.

For example they were two particular colonial leaders in my district who lived up to the age of 101. They were interviewed and asked how they lived their lives and this is what they said,”Mitupla save kaikai fresh kaikai long garden na abuse bilong wara na bus tasol na save waswas olgeta de na wok na malolo gut na taim mitupla i sik mitupla save tokim ol pikinini blo mitupla kisim mitupla go long bikpla haus sik. ” Another obvious example is Sir Micheal Somare and Grand Chief Palius Matane ,they are over the age of 70 years.

The research further indicated that PNG has the highest infant mortality rate of 73/1000 births and has the highest maternal death rates of 930 every pregnancy,which means that every mother who is pregnant has about 1% chances of surviving due to birth complication. In comparison with the current situation ,i disagree with the above statement because statistics of economic indicators have shown that our population is growing rapidly which implies that more babies are born every year .

According to the report , “a lot of people from the poor areas migrate into towns and cities hoping for better services and conditions of life while very few students complete secondary and tertiary education”. This is very true especially for rural-urban migrants who are moving consistently into urban centres in search of what they call ”easy life”. For instance most people from the rural parts of highlands provinces and some rural parts of Morobe are settling in the vicinity of the city trying to earn their living.

They left their homes and are in Lae city because they want to enjoy a decent life meaning basic education(primary),heath services and a good diet. The research further indicated that PNG has one of the highest illiteracy rates among rural villages except for Mortlock island with the highest educated citizens while Pomio has the least and poorly educated population. In my opinion i think it is right to say that the highest illiteracy is among rural villages because most of the population are living in the rural areas where they don’t go to school.

One reason of them not going to school are inaccessibility and unavailability of schools and school fees which resulted in them being illiterate. Dr Bourke has mentioned that the high poverty rate among the rural villages can be addressed through the following : Better quality of primary education,Improved access to secondary education;High cash income especially from agriculture and livestock; Better food security; Repair infrastructure and better communication.

I strongly believe that the above remedies will help address the issue of poverty in rural villages because other developing nations like East Asia and Sub -Sharan Africa have taken a similar approach and have at least achieved some changes. For instance as cited in the BA 367 lecture Notes,” these two regions have been the homes to three quarters of the worlds poor,despite this East Asia has experienced the most rapid poverty reduction due to sustained economic growth.

The latter will be achieved by us if the government and elite citizens of PNG unite and look into the rural areas of PNG and try to develop it by using the available resources efficient reference to Dr Bourke’s mention about reducing poverty in rural areas i seriously think that the PNG government really need to take serious initiatives in addressing this issue because Majority of the population are affected and PNG is heading for the worse . Though we say PNG is rich we are still ranked as the lower income earning countries at the global scale as well as one of the poor countries in the Pacific.

We are in fact rich in natural resources like gas,minerals ,timber ,coffee,cocoa and oil palm but we don’t have the appropriate technology to process and manufacture them into useful finish products. Therefore i suggest that the government should implement long-term development goals and other positive options such as improve education,health,subsidizing agriculture and livestock,improve infrastructure services by maximizing the available resources that we have. In conclusion ,the report has stressed a lot on rural areas because this is where most of PNGs population are and they are the main victims of poverty.

The main causes of poverty were:inaccessibility to improve health,education and unavailability of markets. To reduce poverty rate i seriously would recommend both the government and the citizens of PNG to think and act positively by using the free natural resources with other given resources such as human resource and capital to be integrated and share the benefits equally among the various parts of the country including the remotest location.

About more than half (85%) of the total population of Papua New Guinea live in poverty. The article about the level of poverty in Papua New Guinea by a researcher -Dr Bourke was thrilling especially when only 15% of our population have access to quality living. Meaning good education,heath,infrastructures services and a healthy diet.

Dr Bourke’s data’s were extracted from the various studies conducted between 1963 -1990 which is quite outdated . The report stressed mainly on the implications and level of poverty in the rural areas than urban areas. According to the research, Papua New Guineans were categorized into three classes: 1)Poorest 2)Less Poor 3)Least Poor The poorest were 18. 4% ,less poor -42. 3% and the least poor was 39. 2% of the total population of P. N. G.. The latter, as stated in the article were from the rural villages.

In my opinion i think those people are having some kind of access to basic developments may be because they were assisted by the government in terms of health ,education ,improved diet through subsidizing subsistence farming of home grown foods and other infrastructures. However on a bigger scale we are still categorized as one of the poverty stricken nation in the pacific. According to Dr Bourke,’The implications of poverty in PNG were as result of low cash income,inaccessibility to health facilities,and limited access to secondary or tertiary education and the limited access to market.

I strongly support this because it is a reality for the most remotest parts of Papua New Guinea including rural areas where the location is a barrier for them to have access to the basic services such as employment, health, education and trade. One of the classic example is where i come from,(chimbu province) a district called Karamuvi is living in extreme poverty even though they have the land to produce food crops they don’t have the markets to sell their surplus for money.

They can not go to school or get proper health treatment because they don’t have money as well as isolated from the main health centres. Currently there is only one form of transport linking to this place, is through airplanes. Therefore i define poverty as a situation in which people are not having access to the basic services. In addition ,Wikipedia,the free encyclopedia on line, defines Poverty as: the condition of not having the means to afford basic human needs such as clean water,health care,nutrition,clothing and shelter.

Dr Bourke said; that “PNG has an overall life expectancy rate of 54 years while the worse provinces of Sandaun and Gulf provinces have an average of 46 years life expectancy rate”. Generally speaking i think he is absolutely right because since 1963 when the research was first carried out to (21st )this century there wasn’t any great improvements in the life expectancy rates of the Papua New Guineans. The current life expectancy rate is still below (54-57 years )60 years:world development indicators-2009.

However they are certain people living over the age of 70 years and above simply because of improved health services, healthy diet,and Physical fitness. For example they were two particular colonial leaders in my district who lived up to the age of 101. They were interviewed and asked how they lived their lives and this is what they said,”Mitupla save kaikai fresh kaikai long garden na abuse bilong wara na bus tasol na save waswas olgeta de na wok na malolo gut na taim mitupla i sik mitupla save tokim ol pikinini blo mitupla kisim mitupla go long bikpla haus sik. Another obvious example is Sir Micheal Somare and Grand Chief Palius Matane ,they are over the age of 70 years. The research further indicated that PNG has the highest infant mortality rate of 73/1000 births and has the highest maternal death rates of 930 every pregnancy,which means that every mother who is pregnant has about 1% chances of surviving due to birth complication. In comparison with the current situation ,i disagree with the above statement because statistics of economic indicators have shown that our population is growing rapidly which implies that more babies are born every year .

According to the report , “a lot of people from the poor areas migrate into towns and cities hoping for better services and conditions of life while very few students complete secondary and tertiary education”. This is very true especially for rural-urban migrants who are moving consistently into urban centres in search of what they call ”easy life”. For instance most people from the rural parts of highlands provinces and some rural parts of Morobe are settling in the vicinity of the city trying to earn their living.

They left their homes and are in Lae city because they want to enjoy a decent life meaning basic education(primary),heath services and a good diet. The research further indicated that PNG has one of the highest illiteracy rates among rural villages except for Mortlock island with the highest educated citizens while Pomio has the least and poorly educated population. In my opinion i think it is right to say that the highest illiteracy is among rural villages because most of the population are living in the rural areas where they don’t go to school.

One reason of them not going to school are inaccessibility and unavailability of schools and school fees which resulted in them being illiterate. Dr Bourke has mentioned that the high poverty rate among the rural villages can be addressed through the following : Better quality of primary education,Improved access to secondary education;High cash income especially from agriculture and livestock; Better food security; Repair infrastructure and better communication.

I strongly believe that the above remedies will help address the issue of poverty in rural villages because other developing nations like East Asia and Sub -Sharan Africa have taken a similar approach and have at least achieved some changes. For instance as cited in the BA 367 lecture Notes,” these two regions have been the homes to three quarters of the worlds poor,despite this East Asia has experienced the most rapid poverty reduction due to sustained economic growth.

The latter will be achieved by us if the government and elite citizens of PNG unite and look into the rural areas of PNG and try to develop it by using the available resources efficient reference to Dr Bourke’s mention about reducing poverty in rural areas i seriously think that the PNG government really need to take serious initiatives in addressing this issue because Majority of the population are affected and PNG is heading for the worse . Though we say PNG is rich we are still ranked as the lower income earning countries at the global scale as well as one of the poor countries in the Pacific.

We are in fact rich in natural resources like gas,minerals ,timber ,coffee,cocoa and oil palm but we don’t have the appropriate technology to process and manufacture them into useful finish products. Therefore i suggest that the government should implement long-term development goals and other positive options such as improve education,health,subsidizing agriculture and livestock,improve infrastructure services by maximizing the available resources that we have. In conclusion ,the report has stressed a lot on rural areas because this is where most of PNGs population are and they are the main victims of poverty.

The main causes of poverty were:inaccessibility to improve health,education and unavailability of markets. To reduce poverty rate i seriously would recommend both the government and the citizens of PNG to think and act positively by using the free natural resources with other given resources such as human resource and capital to be integrated and share the benefits equally among the various parts of the country including the remotest location.

Stereotypes can be created from past experiences, reading books, watching movies, or through talking with friends and family. “In many cases, these stereotypical generalizations are reasonable (believed to be) accurate. ” Current Stereotypes Even in this day and age, people of different cultures, religions, appearance, education, sexuality, and history are Judged based upon stereotypes that often have no connection to the person standing in front of them. An example of a culture that is limited within society based upon stereotypes within the Spanish culture, usually are only given T.V. And movie rolls as thugs, gangsters, maids, gardeners, or the sarcastic over drinker, in the film industry illustrating character traits of dishonesty, undereducated backgrounds, and very traditional appearances and customs. For a long time African-Americans were described as lazy, violent, and unintelligent which have limited chances of advanced employment and have been shown negatively in the media. Blonds have been portrayed as limited both physically and mentally, which can be heard in stereotyped Jokes, in film, and in literature.

Christians are seen s uptight and Judgmental of others without any connection to their actual belief.

Recently with world affairs, Americans of Middle Eastern descent are being treated poorly based upon culture, appearance, or religious views because of terrorist attacks. Those without a high school diploma are seen as uneducated and shamed as they struggle through life with limited Job opportunities. Even people from the same country living in different areas such as mountains, rural, suburbia, and cities are Judged differently without any other facts about who they are.

Comments such s connected to the earth or backwards based on living in the county and cultured and non-caring or rude living in the city. Historically In the sass’s Native American were forced into slavery or forced to assimilate to European cultural norms because of living very differently from the colonists. Forced to assimilate the way they lived, dressed, and religious beliefs and many were forced into slavery. Similar stereotypes defining this cultural group such as lack of intelligence, dependency, and misunderstood cultural acceptance continue to affect Native Americans today thousands of years later.

Through the sass’s and sass’s, hundreds of thousands of Irish citizens, from northern and western Europe, fled from their homeland to find a better future in America. Most of these immigrants were skilled workers with a high rate of literacy, who were easily incorporated into American society. Near the end of the century, many Jewish, Catholics, and Greek Orthodox immigrated from southern and eastern European countries. A high percentage of them were illiterate and poverty-stricken. These particular immigrants mostly settled in major cities along the coast, maintaining their language and customs.

In the early 20th century, groups were formed to segregate the first wave of immigrants from the second. The purpose of these groups were meant to prove that the immigrants from the south and east were racially inferior to those from the north and west. The activities of such groups led to laws such as the Quota Act of 1921 which was the first law in effect that would restrict the number of immigrants allowed to migrate to the United States. A prejudice in America today is that all people of Mexican descent are Roman Catholic.

Roman Catholicism

While Roman Catholicism is the nominating religion amongst the Mexican population, that statistic clearly does not mean they all follow that religion. Catholicism first became an important aspect of when the Spanish invaded as conquerors and embarked on an aggressive push to convert indigenous populations. Since Catholicism shares similar beliefs with the with the indigenous religions- such as the Aztec, Catholics both believe in pilgrimages, fasting, and the idea of a divine mother figure- missionaries were able to capitalize on these similarities when converting the population.

The influence of Catholicism was furthered when the Federal Constitution of the Mexican States of 1824 was enacted on October 4th, 1824, which made it illegal for any Mexican citizen to practice any religion besides Catholicism. As a result, you can find in many horror films (Paranormal Activity, Devil) Mexican maids or priests having the ability to perform religious exorcisms, repeating catholic beliefs and shunning those who never “believed. ” Examples of stereotypes effecting people day to day in their social, emotional, and educational lives are to many to name.

To dismantle stereotypes the key is to understand that, “There are many biological and genetic differences between the races. “But there are no 100% facial statements that can define a group of people either by social, intellectual, topographical, appearance, religion, or histories. We must first stop believing such outlandish statements. Dig deep and really think, “Could one blank statement really apply too whole group of people? ” We must stand together and stop all stereotypical Jokes, comments, and misinformation and lead the next generation of people into a world hat Judges each individual by their actions and their actions alone.

Don’t partake, encourage, or enable others in spreading stereotypes. In the work place we must work against what we’ve been told and our prior experiences and give people a chance to stand up as the person they are. Not be Judged by others actions that could of happened thousands of years ago or thousand of miles away. We need to think about why we have the feelings we do and where they are coming from. Ask ourselves if we are allowing stereotypes to influence our decisions. The more we think through our actions and disprove the stereotypes that surround us the more e will influence change.

When others speak about stereotypes we need to speak up against such actions and encourage a change in the culture we live in. The last step is to fully understand that everyone lives with stereotypes. Some people may be more aware then others but we all carry the effects of stereotypes with us. By connecting with others, the negative effects that stereotypes have played in our, lives we are better able to battle against this invisible enemy. Take a stand and fight against stereotypes, no longer be silent and allow such ignorance to hurt another person again.

In the modern business world, the concept of contract plays a significant role in the operational and management aspect of the business corporations. Agreements and relationship between business entities for the best economic benefits are established and governed by the legal contract bonds they create. In this contract, all of the relevant details and informations important to the business deals and agreements are clearly stated. Indeed, contracts play as the sealed agreement of the businesses withholding them to meet their end of bargain as the involved parties agreed upon.

In the legal contract document, different elements are presented outlining all of the agreed details of the business relationship. Most important among all of these details are the duties and responsibilities of the involved parties to the agreement made. As the written contract symbolizes the verbal and conceptual accord of the parties, the details of the bargain of each party must be clearly presented in this document. The detailed responsibilities presented in the document are also referenced by conditional clauses stating that terms and options of the agreement. All of these facts are summarize in the document as agreed upon by the involved parties in the contract.

Contracts are important in the modern business world as this signifies the written and concrete evidence of the agreement of the involved parties. To protect the credibility of the contract, legal matters are added to the documents. In terms of violation of the contract bond, the offended party’s or parties’ rights are protected by the legal structure enabling them to apprehend the violator for legal penalties. The modern legal structure also regards the contract issue to be highly important thus, the credibility of this agreement bond must be preserved and protected through the legal aspect.

Consider for example the case of a certain lawsuit filed against a party for breaching the agreed contract between them. April 2007, the well-known Oscar winning actor Kevin Costner filed a lawsuit against a marketing and promotional corporation for breaching their contract due to the act of the latter’s disappearance neglecting their responsibilities as agreed upon by the two parties. The details of the lawsuit has stated that on the start of the year 2007, the party of Costner has made an agreement with the Mahee Worldwide Ventures Inc. for the promotional and marketing rights for the former’s newly formed, music band. 

Read about negotiable and nonnegotiable instruments

The contract was agreed for a two years deal calling for the Mahee Worldwide Ventures Inc to advertise the band through different medias namely through websites and mobile content and to organize a five concert deal per year for the band in exchange for the recording and intellectual rights of the band’s name and popularity.

As both parties have agreed, a legal document was drawn up and signed after the payment was made establishing the legality and substantiality of the contract agreement. However, few weeks after the contract was made, the representatives of Mahee Worldwide Ventures Inc. disappeared from the scene and refused to communicate with Costner’s Kevin’s Music LLC (KML) to discuss the business of their contract and operation. This has led to some unfavorable issues for the Costner’s band convincing him to sue the company for breach of contract in respect of the actor’s musical venture.

Indeed, contract is important for the business world as this a formal and legal documentation of the agreement between two or more parties for their respective interest. From the period of the formal implementation of the legal contract, parties are already binded to uphold and commit to their respective responsibilities to the agreement. In cases of breach and violation, the legal structure gives the offended or adversely affected parties to pursue legal implications to the issue as part of their rights for the contract’s legal substantiality.

Bibliography

LawFuel (April 07, 2007). Kevin Costner Lawsuit – Breach Of Contract Lawsuit Issued For Music Non-Performance. LawFuel.com. http://lawfuel.com/show-release.asp?ID=11561. June 14, 2007.

A New Method for a New Century The world is always changing, from the environment to the economy, from stock market crashes to global warming. With so many uncertainties, one thing remains ABA solute: students will not be prepared to face the challenges presented by today’s changing w oral if the schools’ methods of education remain the same.

The concept of the integration of 21st century skills into school curriculums has been an ongoing debate for some time now While opponents argue that such skills should not replace the current system, which focuses primarily on the memorization of content, proponents defend their contempt ray methods, advocating 21st century skills and the importance of their understanding in the fastened, intermediate society that exists today.

Both arguments, however, are supported with valid facts, many of which cannot be ignored. Because of the benefits of both methods of learning, a General Education class emphasizing the understanding and integration of 21st century skills in the work force and other environments should be required for all students at College of the Canyons in order to strengthen their ability sees and create a fundamental base that will help prepare them to enter the workforce.

Schools cannot ignore the fact that the very next step for the vast majority of student following the completion of their education is the securing of a Job in a career field the at functions in the modern world. In such a competitive workforce, students cannot be successful if the education they received focuses solely on the memorization of content NT rather than the application of skills. What good is an extensive grasp of facts if nothing g can be done with that knowledge? We need to ensure that all students are critical thinks RSI and problem solvers, that students can take on complex problems,” said Page Johnson, a POP board member and worldwide manager for K 12 education at Intel Corp.. This is where the benefits of 21st century skills come in. Such skills include learning and innovation skill Is, information, media and technology skills, , and an all around indispensable foundation students will be able to employ into their lives following SC hollow.

Where the heavy dependence of memorizing facts usually ends after one exits the SC hollow system, the need to understand and the ability to integrate 21st century skills only in creases significantly. Thirteen states have already begun to incorporate 21st century skills into their education system in different ways, such as Wisconsin, which has “overhauled its socio al studies curriculum in order to meet the criteria established by POP . As more begin to realize the importance of 21st century skills, College of the Canyons should follow in t he footsteps of those who have broadened the content of education taught at their SOHO Such skills should begin to be integrated into core classes, but to ensure that the full est. potentials of students learning these skills can be met, a General Education class foci used entirely on the utilization and understanding of 21st century skills should be added a acquirement for all students.

This will ensure that students will not only master the c intent of their classes, but will be able to produce, evaluate, and synthesize the information the eye have learned in order to prepare themselves for their futures. Students would be able e to experience hands on activities and learn to thrive in a modern work environment thru cough interactive projects and the like, of which will sharpen skills ranging from communicant dive to technological. Opponents are firmly grounded to the belief that older methods of learning are essential to a student’s education.

Richard Alienating, a professor at the University of Tennessee, advocates developing 18th century literacy, and claims that, “[t]he research, to date, has provided no evidence that having either computers or whiteboards in shoo Is has any positive effects on students’ reading and writing proficiencies,” and is rooted to t belief that libraries are essential in order to develop literate students. However, prop moments are not arguing against this.

Rather, they are facing the inescapable fact that educate reform has become more and more necessary as society and technology further diva once. It is true that without the understanding of the content taught in school, students lace k the basic knowledge and rigor required to engage successfully in situations in which critic thinking, problem solving, and teamwork are crucial. However, without the skills of the e 21st century, students are left with much information, but little understanding of what to do with it. 1st century skills fuse content with skill, creating the best possible foundation of lea ring for students. The application of these skills is crucial not only for the education of today’s students, but for the success of tomorrows employees. Employers are not looking to ire encyclopedias in the guise of humans, but rather capable people who can adapt and evolve to the changing work environment and use the skills they’ve acquired in order to be competitive and efficient. According to Michelle L.

Casts, a Whole Life Coach, speaker, and author, the top ten skills for the new world of work include communication, create pity, technology, teamwork, flexibility, and information management, along with other trade sees that all fall under the category of the indispensable 21st century skills necessary for any looking to become a valuable asset to their company. Schools need to begin to teach dents skills that will enable them to do more than achieve passing scores on multi pale choice tests, because interviews don’t come with a cantors and a number two pencil The teaching of modern skills should not be a controversy in such a modern world.

The incorporation of 21st century skills into school curriculum offers nothing but Ben felts, building upon past conceptions of learning and guiding students in order for them to adapt to today’s competitive workforce. The 2013 News STEM Solutions Conference address sees the sad truth that, the natural curiosity that small kids have, where they touch everything, experiment and discover the world, is being trained out of them as they grow up Lear inning things by rote to pass tests. ” Education should not hinder one’s curiosity, but enable I t to grow.