The Achievements Or Successes Of Both Eu And Iasc Iasb Accounting Essay

The Achievements Or Successes Of Both Eu And Iasc Iasb Accounting Essay Introduction Growth in international trade has been on the increase over the years necessitating several organisations to be involved in the efforts to harmonise accounting practices either regionally or internationally. Among those, leading in this effort were the European Union (EU) and International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) (formerly International Accounting Standards Committee, IASC). This essay will look at background and harmonisation process of the two organisations and evaluate their achievements to date. It is considered that harmonisation maybe defined as a means by which differences are reduced hence harmonisation of financial practices will be regarded as the process by which the differences in accounting practices across countries are reduced ultimately resulting in a set that is comparable (Nobes and Parker, 2010). Background and Objectives The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 27 member countries located in Europe. The EU was established on 1 January 1958 following the Treaty of Rome 1957 (Nobes and Parker, 2010). The objective of Treaty had established rules to encourage free movement of persons, products and services, and capital. This establishment drives the needs of harmonization of accounting and financial reporting. Thus, the most important objective of EU is to create a common market for the member countries. Uniformed accounting standards are required regionally in all parts of EU to encourage the flow of capital, enhance the protection of the shareholders and other stakeholders, and increase the reliability and comparability of companies financial information. The EU shows a contribution to regionally harmonizing accounting practices by established Directives and Regulations which are the two main instruments to harmonize company law and accounting standards (Nobes and Parker, 2010). As as an economic and political union, the EU have issued and established many directives to harmonize accounting practice in regional term. However, in international scope, the IASC is one of bodies are effecting on harmonization of accounting rules and disclosure and it reported a number of international standards (Nobes and Parker 2010). IASC was founded in June 1973, and the Board of IASC was constituted simultaneously by main accountancy bodies in nine different countries such as Canada, France, Germany, UK, and USA etc. The IASC was established to harmonize international accounting standards. IASC has received board range of support for its effort to harmonize international accounting, which has been considered as leading force to harmonization (Larson, 1999). The harmonization of accounting is also supported by IOSCO (International Organization of Securities Commissions), large public accounting firms, trading unions and most national public accountancy bodies. The basic objective of IASC is considered as publishing accounting standards to be observed in the financial statement preparation and encourage their acceptance and observance globally (Nobes and Parker, 2010). In 2001, the IASC restructured and renamed to the IASB. The new organization has shown new more comprehensive objectives compared to the IASC. To be able to understand the objectives of IASB, the conceptual frameworks should be explained. The IASCs conceptual framework included the objectives and the qualitative characteristics. The following table 1 shows the detailed objectives of IASB under the IFRS Foundation Constitution. Table : IASBs objectives IASBs Objectives To develop high quality and understandable international accounting standards to guide high quality, transparent and comparable information in financial reporting. Thus accounting standards will help the global capital market participants and other users decision making. To encourage the use and rigorous application of standards To fulfill the (a) and (b), and take account the interest of small, medium size entities and emerging economic account appropriately. Give high quality solutions about convergence of national and International accounting standards. Source: IFRS Foundation Constitution (ias.com, 2010). The qualitative characteristics of financial statements made by IASC followed the FASB. In order to forecast the risk, the accounting information must include all these three characteristics: relevance, reliability and comparability. The motives of harmonizing accounting practices by these organizations: One is tempted to consider harmonisation objective as having shifted from reducing differences to coming out with a standard or model for uniformity. The motives of the two most influential international bodies involved in the process of harmonisation of the different national accounting systems, therefore (as stated on their web sites), seems to suggest that they aim to develop or create a single set of high quality, understandable and enforceable global accounting standards, (Elliott and Elliott, 2009). It is more of standardization than harmonization as it is less flexible. This therefore raises suspicion as to the true purpose of their efforts especially when we consider their respective current compositions, history, their headquarters and the majority of stakeholders who are likely to benefit. Perera (1989) as quoted in Deegan and Unerman (2006) argued that the accounting standards themselves tend to reflect the circumstances and patterns of thinking of the representatives that makes the committees. Already, IASB seems to have noted similar criticism and Nobes and Parker (2010) states that the trustees will gradually increase the Board membership to include members from Europe, North America, Asia/Oceania, Africa and South America by 2012. Similar concerns were once echoed by Gray, et al (1981) while commenting on the proposal to introduce standards specifically for MNCs and the question seems to be still valid. He submitted that the term standard could be used broadly to mean a set of statements which may include reference to disclosure or measurement issues for the benefit of Multinational Companies. He found such statements to have a different meaning from that intended to achieve strict uniformity to those capable of more flexible interpretation; from those derived from statutory authority, to those which are effectively advisory. However, he relented that the fact that they exist as guidelines or criteria against which MNCs accountability is assessed, qualified such statements to be described as standards. Whittington (2005) stated that the motivation for the creation of the IASC was due to the need for a common international language of accounting to serve capital markets. He highlighted that a common set of accounting standards increased the comparability of companies in different countries and facilitated the easy consolidation of group of companies based in different countries. Although IASB sets standards after close scrutiny from different national standard setters, it is evident that it is involved more with convergence than harmonisation. This may in a way also support the sentiments expressed by UK finance directors during a survey that IFRSs undermined UK (and obviously of all other countries) reporting integrity, (Elliott and Elliott, 2009). Countries still need to maintain their national pride as they exhibit substantial economic and cultural differences. On another hand, it is important to note that we now have more of a global economy hence the development of international standards makes it easier to raise cross-border finance and to compare performance of companies by users who include prospective investors, (Elliott and Elliott, 2009). To summary, Epstein and Mirza (2001) and Choi et al.(2002) gave reasons for the harmonization process of accounting practices in the preparers and user perspectives, they stated that harmonization created huge advantages as listed in the following tables: Table : Advantages of harmonization Preparers Users Better comparison between group company and subsidiaries in preparing consolidation of financial statement Higher quality and comparable information among companies to decision making and Better communications in internal reporting system Reduce the risk for financial institutions MNCs do not have to change their statements to conform to each countrys rules when listing on exchange stock Lead to a well-developed and good functioning capital market, and its a pre-condition for a good economy and development Process of harmonization on IASC/IASB and EU The IASC and its successor are considered to be the most successful body that evolved in harmonization of accounting practices (Nobes and Parker, 2010). The harmonization efforts of IASC can be classified in three phases. Simultaneously, the IOSCO and IFAC have supported to the IASC/IASB and EU. First phase: 1973 to 1988 This period of time is called the first stage of development of IASC. During this period, the IASC set up most of its standards which covered major accounting topics like accounting for inventory (Epstein and Mirza, 2001). IASC focused on achieving compatibility between the existing standards and IAS and giving a lowest-common denominator approach cross the countries. At the same time, the strategy of IASC allowed multiple methods that used in various countries. IOSCO accepted that IASs for financial statement of foreign companies that listed in their stock exchange market (Larson, 2011). Additionally, the IFAC was founded in 1983 to develop the areas which were uncovered by the IASC, such as auditing and management accounting (Nobes and Parker, 2010). The following table shows the detail information of process: Table : Harmonization Process from 1973 to 1988 Harmonization Process 1973-1988 Context 1973 The IASC was founded. 1976 The Economic Cooperation and Development published an announcement on investment in MNCs to develop guidelines on disclosure of information (Choi et al., 2002) 1977 A Report about IASs for transitional corporations was issued by an expert group of United Nations (Choi et al., 2002). 1981 In order to set IAS widely, the IASC had forums with other organizations. 1983 Foundation of IFAC helped IASC to get a closer relationship with other bodies (Nobes and Parker, 2010). 1984 The London Stock Exchange issued a number of incorporated companies to follow IAS in the UK or Ireland (Choi et al., 2002). Second phase: 1989 to 1993 During this period IASC started to cooperate with IOSCO, and made agreement with IFRS for cross-border securities offerings (Nobes and Parker, 2010). However, the IASC was decreasing the choices under the IAS and the IASC needed more capital market so that the IOSCO would accept it in the period between 1989 and 1993 (Fritz and LÃ ¤mmle, 2003). IASC published a framework to prepare financial statement in 1989 and Comparability/Improvement Project was carried out to narrow the alternative accounting treatment in this period. Furthermore, 10 standards was revised in 1993 (Nobes and Parker, 2010). Table 4 shows the processes in this period. Table : Harmonization Process from 1989 to 1993 Harmonisation Process 1989-1993 Context 1989 Exposure Draft 32 was issued by IASC Third phase: 1993-2001 IASC started agreement with IOSCO and IOSCO supported 30 core standards that were developed or revised by IASC. From 2001, IASB started to improve existing International Accounting Standards, deal with the problem that IASC havent addressed and enhance quality of financial report. IASB also involves in reducing the international differences in standards with FASB (USA) (Nobes and Parker, 2010). Table : Harmonization Process from 1993 to 2001 Harmonization Process 1993-2001 Context 1995 The European Commission planned to support the IASC to make IAS link with EU accounting requirements. 1996 The SEC manifested that it supports the IASCÂ ´s objective to develop, as expeditiously as possible, Accounting Standards that could be used for preparing financial statements that could be used in cross-border offerings. (Choi et al., 2002:296) 1998 The IOSCO published an announcement International Disclosure Standards for Cross Border Offerings and Initial Listings by Foreign Issuers (Choi et al., 2002:296); the IASC began to explore a new strategy and organization structure. 2000 The IOSCO accepted the IAS, especially for foreign registers (Nobes and Parker, 2010). 2001 IASB was set up by supporting from the IOSCO and SEC (Nobes and Parker, 2010). The fundamental of EU accounting harmonization is a harmonization of company law which is aim to create a uniform business environment (Mueller, 1997). Harmonization of company law taken by EU is directives, which have publicized 12 directives. Moreover, the forth and the seventh directives made the contribution to the accounting harmonization process in the Europe (Hulle, 2001). In details, the fourth directive in 1978 combines Member States provision and provide a guideline of the presentation and content of annual accounts, valuation methods and the publication. The Directive also pointed out that the annual report must include a fair review of firms financial position and the true and fair view brought from UK was firstly mentioned in mandatory term. Also, the seventh Company Law Directive in 1983 combines National laws on consolidation accounting and the fourth directive together, and sets out the methods of preparing consolidated accounts. Choi (2002) suggested that IASs as the new accounting standards are the preferred choice for EU countries by European Union. In terms of international harmonization of accounting standards, the policy stated by European Commission in 1995 pointed out that it was more efficient to associate EU with IASC and IOSCO than amend existing directives (Epstein and Mirza, 2001). In 2000, a further step in harmonization process was made by EU, which required enterprises on a regulated market to prepare their consolidated accounts under IAS (Fritz and LÃ ¤mmle, 2003). The important obstacles faced by EU and IASC are differing accounting practice, which caused by different countries, nationalism, as well as lack of strong professional bodies and international enforcement agency. Also, the difference in regulatory sources is the challenge for EU and IASC (Houssain,nd). IASC is broadly focused on removing unnecessary differences in accounting principles and practice around the whole world (McComb, 1982). That A lack of synchronization between release of standards in different countries and the formulation of standards by IASC will be an obstacle for harmonization (Rivera, 1989). Furthermore, lack of the professional bodies takes a challenge to implement IASs. It is said that IASC can only implement its accounting standards by its member bodies, not through the own authority. Taking France and Germany as examples, the professional accounting bodies in these two countries have rarely influence setting of accounting rules than setting by the government and governmental bodies, so that IASs can only promoted by persuasion (Nobes, 1995). In terms of nationalism, there is an unwillingness to change accounting practice by accepting compromises. Nationalism may be brought out when attempting to maintain independence of sovereignty. It can be observed that some countries did not make a reaction to attempts of harmonization by IASC (Nobes and Parker, 2002). Another challenge is the economic consequences of a particular country. Various in economic consequences of standards could result in de-harmonization unless considered by those who set the standards (Nobes and Parker, 2002). The international accounting firms are also worried about the increasing interest of outsiders in the profession and the wish the standard setting process to be kept outside of the hands of the government (Samuels and Piper,1985). The achievements or successes of both EU and IASC/IASB in harmonising accounting practices: In order to decide whether EU and the IASC were successful, it is important to review the objectives of these 2 organizations. First of all, the achievements of EU would be evaluated. In the past, countries in European used control of bookkeeping system instead of the financial statements which were lack of law and format. The EU set two main directives to improve financial reporting practices and brought about some harmonisation. These directives approached rapidly throughout Europe and nowadays most countries in the continental Europe followed the EUs accounting system rather than Anglo-American type. The Table 6 describes the extent of harmonization that has been achieved in descending order. Table : Extent of harmonisation achieved between 8 EU countries in descending order The balance sheet translation Differences in translation treatment Value of inventory The income statement translation The way to approach depreciation Examination and improvement Value of Fixed Asset Goodwill Approach for cost of inventory Source: Herrmann Thomas, 1995, p264 Besides those successes, EU had some failures. Montagna (1986) stated that weak regulations, general and vague disclosure made European accounts be the same. In addition, Blake and Amat (1994) concluded that because of no direction for foreign currency translation, deferred taxation and accounting for lease commitments, the EUs directives was failed itself. Some countries have explained the directives paralleling with the national accounting tradition. Some individual companies might refuse to agree to the rules given by EU. For example, 90% of German companies failed to publish their accounts. The EU harmonization also failed at the material level of actual accounting practices. The Table 6 shown above have presented 9 material harmonisation completed by 8 European countries. Some of these areas are not concealed by the EU legislation. Secondly, we will determine whether IASC succeeded. The term issuing standards is clearly successful. IASC released forty-one standards coming along with conceptual framework. However, because of that the standards were criticized for allowing many options. Another objective which should be considered is promotion and observance of standards. We have to study four types of country: developing countries, emerging nations, continental Western Europe and Japan, and capital market countries in order to decide IASCs success. In developing countries type, Saudagaran and Diga (2003) achieved that the harmonization in ASEAN countries would go on and be based on IASBs standard. In addition, IASC had advantages as a global standard-setter to be a major impact in some emerging nations which moved from communist to capitalist economics. In the continental Western Europe and Japan type, IASC has achieved limited success. Some countries considered IASC as a Trojan horse trying to inflict the accou nting standard in EU. Some companies in Switzerland chose IASs for their financial statements, and until 1994 IASs were used by several large companies all over Europe. The last type of countries including United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa and Netherlands seems influence the IASC. Furthermore, IASC could be considered as a successful organization as it had a support from IOSCO and EU commission in 2000. Nevertheless, IASC has accomplished their objectives. CONCLUSION References IASB (2011) History of International Accounting Standards Board http://archive.iasb.org.uk/about/history.asp IAS.COM (2010) What is IASB? The objectives of IASB, http://www.iasplus.com/restruct/whatis.htm Larson, Robert K, Kenny, Sara York (1999) Harmonization of International Accounting Standards: Progress in the 1990s, Multinational Business Review, spring 1999. Nobes, C. and Parker, R. (2000) Comparative international accounting, 6th edition, Harlow: Pearson Education.

Project Management Chapter Notes

These tools provide basic project management features and generally cost I than $200 per user. Smartened and tablet APS are available for much less, but the y often have Limited functionality. Low end tools are often recommended for small projects and single users. Most of these tools allow users to create Gaunt charts, which cannot be done easily us inning current productivity software. Midrange tools: A step up from low end tools, midrange tools are designed to handle larger rejects, multiple users, and multiple projects.All of these tools can produce Gaunt c harts and network diagrams, and can assist in critical path analysis, resource allocation, project tracking, and status reporting. Prices range from about $200 to $1,000 per user, or less per MO nth for online tools. Several tools require additional server software for using workup feat rues. Microsoft Project is still the most widely used project management software in this ca destroy, and t has an enterprise version, as desc ribed earlier and in Appendix A.Students and deed actors can purchase software like Microsoft Project at reduced prices from sites like www. Journey yet. Com ($139. 95 for Project Professional 2010 in 2012), and anyone can download a trial verse on from Microsoft's Web site. Many other suppliers also provide trial versions of their product Weighed tools: Another category of project management software is high end tools, sometimes referred to as enterprise project management software.These tools provide robust c abilities to handle very large projects and dispersed workups, and they have enterprise an d portfolio management functions that summarize and combine individual project information t o provide an enterprise view of all projects.

Zoot Suit

Richard Martinez Professor George LIT413 September 29, 2011 Theme Essay Today there are many different pieces to choose from in literature. This paper will be discussing the two novels of Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez and The Milagro Beanfield War by John Nichols. Zoot Suit is also a play and The Milagro Beanfield War was made into a film. Zoot suit is actually the first Hispanic play to be written. It is to be the only Hispanic play that exists today. The main character in Zoot Suit is Henry Reyna the leader of the 38th street gang.The main character in The Milagro Beanfield war is Joe Mondragon a hardworking family man. These two pieces of work have some of the same themes but one that stands out the most is the Hispanic culture. Zoot Suits Description The main character in the novel Zoot Suit is Henry Reyna and he is the leader of the 38th street gang. There is also the narrator which was called Pachuco meaning a Hispanic gangster who dressed really nice in that time in a Zoot Suit, cl ean cut, slick back hair, and belonged to a neighborhood gang.A Zoot Suit is a suit that has a long coat with wide shoulders, baggy pants but cuffed tight at the bottom with a big chain hanging on the side from the wallet pocket to the front belt loop. Hispanic gangs have been around for years now and are still on the rise. Many Hispanic gangs set new trends and tried hard to fit in with others. In the 1940’s Zoot Suitors’ were the popular gangs of the Hispanics and even some African Americans. In this story there was even a Caucasian in the 38th street gang. The Zoot Suit gangs originated in Los Angeles and expanded to New York and other big cities.Henry Reyna Henry Reyna is a young man trying to join the navy. Henry ends up getting blamed for the crime Pachuco committed. Henry was tried with many of his Zoot Suit amigos. It was a fishy trial to begin with his only way out was to be convicted and filing for an appeal. During the trial Henry’s defense attorney w as incapable of getting any objections. The judge was Caucasian and was prejudice and was on the prosecutions side. During this time frame Hispanics were not treated very well. In the 1940’s Hispanics were looked down on. Hispanics were at the bottom of the food chain.Many time Hispanics were frowned upon because of the crimes committed by Hispanics and not the good things that were done by Hispanics. Hispanics were always stereotyped by Americans. Language In Zoot Suit there is strong language used. There is also Spanish used as well as Spanish slang. Many nicknames were used to refer to certain people. There was also profanity used that made the book more exciting to read. It brought out the emotion in characters. Enrique Reyna, Henry’s father mentioned that calling Hispanics Chicanos means trash and to say Mexicanos instead because it is a better term to use.Many of the terms used in this book are only going to be heard by veteranos today, or Hispanic gangs. Huisa t oday is not a common word used in today’s society. Conclusion Zoot Suit and The Milagro Beanfield war are both Hispanic novels that are similar to one another in many ways. The themes for these novels are culture and pride between the characters of Henry Reyna and Joe Mondragon. These two individuals are both strong individuals that carry a lot of pride because that’s the way that Hispanics carry themselves. Hispanics fight for what is right.Today Hispanics still get mistreated because of their skin color and the gangs that they affiliated with. Both Henry Reyna and Joe Mondragon had to deal with the people in order to accomplish their goal. Henry Reyna had to fight to prove his innocence. Joe Mondragon had to fight to have his beanfield. Another common thing in these novels is Hispanics fighting Hispanics. This situation still exists in society today. Not just Hispanics but everybody is trying to fit in. ? References Nichols, John. The Milagro Beanfield War. New York, 1974, 1994. Print. Valdez, Luis. Zoot Suit. 1992. Print.

An Achievement Gap Created by the Summer Slide Before Grade 9

An Achievement Gap Created by the Summer Slide Before Grade 9 By the time students in the United States enter grade 12, they will have spent 96 weeks, or the rough equivalent of 2 out 13 required academic years, in time designated as summer vacation. Researchers have been bemoaning the loss of this collective time as they point to the negative consequences of summer vacation up to and including high school..   Negative Impact of Summer Vacation Research A meta-analysis of 138 influences or â€Å"what works in education† was published (2009)  in  Influences And Effect Sizes Related To Student Achievement  by John Hattie and Greg Yates. Their results are posted on their  Visible Learning  website.   They ranked the effects of completed studies (national and international), and using the data combined from these studies, they developed a rating where any influence greater than .04 was a contribution to student achievement. For their finding on summer vacation,  Ã‚  39 studies  were used  to rank the effect of summer vacation on student achievement. The findings using this data revealed summer vacation as having  a negative effect (  -.09 effect) on education. In other words, summer vacation ranked at the bottom of what works in education, a dismal 134 out of 138 influences.. Many researchers refer to the achievement damage done during these months off as summer learning loss or the â€Å"summer slide†Ã‚  as described on the US Department of Educations blog Homeroom. A similar finding came from  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Effects of Summer Vacation on Achievement Test Scores: A Narrative and Meta-Analytic Review†Ã‚  by  H. Cooper, et al. Their work updated the findings of a 1990 study that originally found: Summer learning loss is very real and has important repercussions in the lives of students, especially those with fewer financial resources. There were several key findings outlined in their updated 2004 report: At best, students showed little or no academic growth over the summer. At worst, students lost one to three months of learning.Summer learning loss was somewhat greater in math than reading.Summer learning loss was greatest in math computation and spelling.For disadvantaged students, reading scores were disproportionately affected and the achievement gap between rich and poor widened. This achievement gap between haves and have nots widens with summer learning loss. Socio-Economic Status and Summer Learning Loss Multiple studies have confirmed that  students in low-income households develop an average two month reading gap during the summer. This gap is cumulative, and each summers two month gap contributes to a sizable learning loss, especially in reading, by the time a student reaches grade 9. Research published in the article Lasting Consequences of the Summer Learning Gap   by  Karl L. Alexander, et al, charted how a students socio-economic status (SES) plays a role is summer learning loss: We find that cumulative achievement gains over the first nine years of childrens schooling mainly reflect school-year learning, whereas the high SES-low SES achievement gap at 9th grade mainly traces to differential summer learning over the elementary years. In addition, a  white paper commissioned by the Summer Reading Collective determined that  two-thirds of the 9th grade achievement gap in reading could be between students from low-income households and their higher-income peers. Other important findings findings pointed out that access to books was critical to slowing summer learning loss. Neighborhoods in low income areas with public libraries for student access to reading materials had  significantly more gains in reading scores from spring to fall than students from high-income households with access to books as well as those from low-income households without access to books at all. Finally, the Summer Reading Collective noted that socio-economic factors played a critical role in learning experiences (access to reading materials, travel, learning activities) stating: Differences in children’s summer learning experiences during their elementary school years can ultimately impact whether they earn a high school diploma and continue to college. With the considerable amount of research documenting the negative impact of summers off, one may wonder why the American public education system embraced summer vacation. History of Summer Vacation: The Agrarian Myth Dispelled Despite the widely held myth that the educational calendar followed farm calendars, the 178 day school year (national average) became standardized for an entirely different reason.  The adoption of summer vacation was the result of an industrial society that opted to let urban students out of the sweltering cities  during the summer months. Kenneth Gold, a professor of education at the College of Staten Island, debunked the myth of an agrarian school year in his 2002 book  School’s In: The History of Summer Education in American Public Schools.  Ã‚   In the opening chapter,Gold notes that if schools were following a true agrarian school year, students would be more available during the summer months while crops  were growing but unavailable during planting (late spring) and harvesting (early fall).   His research demonstrated  that before the standardized school year,  there were concerns that too much school was bad for the health of students and teachers: â€Å"There was a whole medical theory that [people would get sick] from too much schooling and teaching† (25). Summer vacation was the solution to these medical concerns during the  mid-19th Century.   As  cities expanded rapidly, concerns were raised about the moral and physical dangers that unsupervised summer posed to urban youth. Gold goes into great detail about the  Vacation Schools, urban opportunities that offered a wholesome alternative. The 1/2 day  sessions in these vacation schools were attractive to participants and teachers were allowed to be  creative and more lax, addressing the  fears of [mental] overtaxation (125). By the end of World War I,   these vacation schools had become more in line with a growing academic bureaucracy. Gold notes, ...summer schools adopted a regular academic focus and a credit-bearing function, and they soon bore little resemblance to the vacation programs that preceded them (142). These academic summer schools were geared to allow students to gain extra credits, either to catch up or to accelerate, however, the creativity and innovations of these vacation schools diminished as the funding and staffing were in the hands of the administrative progressives that were overseeing the urban districts   Gold traces the standardization of education noting the growing body of  research on the adverse impact of summer vacation, especially on economically disadvantaged students as a growing concern. His work on how American education served the needs of a  continuously growing â€Å"summer leisure economy† clearly demonstrates  the stark contrast of mid-19th Century’s academic standards with the growing demands of 21st Century academic standards with their emphasis on college and career readiness. Stepping Away from Traditional Summer Vacation Schools K-12, and post-secondary experiences, from community college to graduate universities, are now experimenting  with a burgeoning market of opportunities for online learning. The opportunities bear names such as   Synchronous Distributed Course,  Web-Enhanced Course,  Blended Program, and others; they are all  forms of e-learning.   E-learning is rapidly changing the design of the traditional school year as it can be made available beyond the walls of a classroom at varying times. These new opportunities may make learning available through multiple platforms throughout the year. In addition, experiments with year-round learning are already well into their third decade. Over 2 million students participated (by 2007), and the research (Worthen 1994,   Cooper 2003)  on the effects of year round schools explained in   What Research Says About Year-Round Schooling (compiled by  Tracy A. Huebner) shows a positive impact: Students in year-round schools do as well or slightly better in terms of academic achievement than students in traditional schools;Year-round education may be particularly beneficial for students from low-income families;Students, parents, and teachers who participate in a year-round school tend to have positive attitudes about the experience. On more than one follow-up to these studies, the explanation for the positive impact is simple: The loss of retention of information that occurs during the three-month summer vacation is lessened by the shorter, more frequent vacations that characterize year-round calendars. Unfortunately, for those students without intellectual stimulation, enrichment, or reinforcement-whether they are economically disadvantaged or not- the long span of summer will culminate in an achievement gap.    Conclusion The  artist Michelangelo is reputed to have said, I am still learning (Ancora Imparo)  at the age of 87, and while he never enjoyed the American public school summer vacation, it is unlikely he went for long periods without the intellectual stimulation that made him the man of the Renaissance. Perhaps his quote could inverted as a question if there are chances to change the design of school academic calendars. Educators could ask, Are they still learning during the summer?

The Spellings of Shun

The Spellings of Shun The Spellings of Shun The Spellings of Shun By Maeve Maddox Commenting on my post about the spelling thru for through, a reader writes: And, I faintly remember that there are some 52 ways of spelling the syllable -shun. Can you please, in one of your articles, or series of them, [list] them? As far as I can remember there are only two words that end with the spelling -shion for shun. Fashion and cushion. -tion, cion, sion, ssion, and how many more can be listed this way? It should be an interesting exercise. I think it would take considerable effort to come up with 52 ways of spelling the syllable -shun, but I have seen lists of as many as thirteen. Critics of English spelling delight in cataloging as many different ways of spelling a sound as possible in an attempt to prove that English spelling is impossible to master. I tend to agree with Romalda Spalding that the problem isnt English spelling; its the way that spelling is taught: It is the failure to combine the sounds with the spelling of English which makes it seem so difficult to learn and makes so many common words seem to be exceptions to the general rules of spelling. The Writing Road to Reading. Thats not to say that there arent a great many English words that defy all phonetic explanation, but when the beginner is taught the sound/symbol correspondences as thoroughly as they can be taught, fewer exceptions remain to be memorized. Building on the work of Anna Gillingham and Dr. Samuel Orton, Spalding presents the sounds of English in terms of phonograms, not letters or syllables. Most of the spelling permutations of shun are covered as the beginning reader learns the four phonograms that can represent the sh [ÊÆ'] sound: sh, ti, si, ci. English spelling isnt easy, but it is not the arcane science that its made out to be. If schools would adopt some version of the Gillingham-Orton Multisensory Method of reading instruction beginning with kindergarten, the appalling reading failure rate in U.S. schools could be significantly reduced. As things are now, this efficient method for teaching reading, writing, and spelling is kept in reserve for children who fail to learn to read by grade three or four. In some school districts, that can be as many as half the children in the fourth grade. Here are some shun spellings from Page Four of the student-kept notebook at the center of Spalding instruction: nation Venetian session mansion electrician ocean Words like fashion, and coercion are covered by different rules. The example ssion is not a valid spelling of shun. In a word like succession, for example, the first s belongs to the second syllable: suc-ces-sion. Its easy to ridicule English spelling. Its a little harder to master the rules and patterns. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How Many Tenses in English?When to Form a Plural with an ApostropheHow to Treat Names of Groups and Organizations

Sterile Service Department Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sterile Service Department - Essay Example The essay "Sterile Service Department" talks about the hospital sterile services department which is operated by a specialised group of staff who provide an essential service by supplying the operation theatres with sterile instruments and departments with specific items required for patient care.After each use, the medical devices undergo various decontamination processes to render them safe and for reuse on patients and for staff handling. Prior to beginning the decontamination, the used medical device is first received by the sterile services department in a collection container specifically meant for this purpose and is subjected to reprocessing. It is essential that the SSD staff need to check the device and to notify the user if any part of the equipment is damaged or missing on receipt. This is followed by a series of interdependent decontamination procedures like cleaning, disinfection and sterilisation to ensure complete elimination of microbes and other contaminants from th e reusable medical device. Cleaning is the first step in decontamination and is an essential prerequisite for the next stage namely disinfection. Cleaning is done either by mechanical means using an automated washer disinfector or an ultrasonic bath comprising warm water rinse, power wash, disinfection using a detergent and a drying phase. The choice of detergent depends on the nature of the equipment and the user follows the instructions of the manufacturer. For delicate or complex medical devices, manual cleaning is normally preferred.

Climate change - a global problem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Climate change - a global problem - Essay Example The research will aim to provide intensive information regarding Building Design and Construction as against climate change. Scientists are predicting future environment and weather extremities and it is highly important to be prepared for potential changes. With future Sea level rise, flooding might be precipitated and if so, there is a need for protection. All EU Countries have ratified the Kyoto Protocol and agreed that they are responsible for 14% of World emissions and that the reduction of same is an EU responsibility. Ambitious new targets should be set to conserve all possible energy, working through adaptation. Homes and offices have to alter their design, construction and usage of material according to these highly relevant issues. There is an element of truth in saying that the buildings of medieval days were highly suitable for the climatic conditions prevailing in a particular region, because they had evolved over centuries with common sense and practicality and were the most suitable to that region. With climate change, any region's climate is not conventional any more and buildings have to be designed and built according to changing needs. Hence, this is a significant research area which would be very useful for future of buildings renovation and creation included. RESEARCH QUESTION AND HYPOTHESIS: A lot of uncertainty exists in this field as the climate changes are uncertain and unpredictable. The question of future buildings is based upon the research conducted in this area regarding future building designs, materials and methods of construction. I would like to concentrate on the design, raw material and construction of a 'Green Building' according to norms dictated by existing research information in all three fields. I will find ways and means of applying research into practice and look for as much information as possible, already available in scientific sectors of various countries, in an effort to combine it and make it suitable for practical use. As future weather conditions are not region-particular, but unpredictably universal, information from all quarters, economic, material industry, energy, solar studies, geography, climate surveys, history, archaeology, architecture, sociology, culture and heritage included, become necessary and relevant. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: Research will be done on material available from studies, research work, papers, journals, books, electronic media, mass communication, architectural reports and surveys, material production company reports and in-house research centre reports etc. Study has to be extended to Government policies, guidelines, Council regulations, norms and rigidities of City building creation that might provide hindrance and limitations for 'Green Buildings'. This will extend to practical matters like roof tile testing for their durability and power of withstanding elements, their overlap, pitch or slope, measurements and how they suit to the best possible weather