Relationship between Inflation and Interest Rate Essay

Interest and inflation are key to investing decisions, since they have a direct impact on the investment yield. When prices rise, the same unit of a currency is able to buy less. A sustained deterioration in the purchasing power of money is called inflation. Investors aim to preserve the value of their money by opting for investments that generate yields higher than the rate of inflation. In most developed economies, banks try to keep the interest rates on savings accounts equal to the inflation rate. However, when the inflation rate rises, companies or governments issuing debt instruments would need to lure investors with a higher interest rate. The Relationship between Interest and Inflation Inflation is an autonomous occurrence that is impacted by money supply in an economy. Central governments use the interest rate to control money supply and, consequently, the inflation rate. When interest rates are high, it becomes more expensive to borrow money and savings become attractive. When interest rates are low, banks are able to lend more, resulting in an increased supply of money. Alteration in the rate of interest can be used to control inflation by controlling the supply of money in the following ways: †¢A high interest rate influences spending patterns and shifts consumers and businesses from borrowing to saving mode. This influences money supply. †¢A rise in interest rates boosts the return on savings in building societies and banks. Low interest rates encourage investments in shares. Thus, the rate of interest can impact the holding of particular assets. †¢A rise in the interest rate in a particular country fuels the inflow of funds. Investors with funds in other countries now see investment in this country as a more profitable option than before. Inflation and Interest Rates: Effect on the Time Value of Money Inflation has a significant impact on the time value of money (TVM). Changes in the inflation rate (whether anticipated or actual) result in changes in the rates of interest. Banks and companies anticipate the erosion of the value of money due to inflation over the term of the debt instruments they offer. To compensate for this loss, they increase the interest rates. The central bank of a country alters interest rates with the broader purpose of stabilizing the national economy.  Investors need to keep a close watch on interest and inflation to ensure that the value of their money increases over tim e.

Glenmark Pharma Private Limited

Glenmark Pharma Private Limited Case Study Introduction * The company is headquartered in Baroda. * Mr. Ranjit Deshmukh holds the position of the Vice President. * Plants set up in Tamilnadu, Hyderabad and Gurgaon. * Markets bulk and cancer drugs and formulations. * Strong sales force of 700 people, supervised by 85 sales managers. * Salespeople have to compete with multiple competitors in different markets. * Competitors are from local manufacturers to large multinationals. Factors affecting sales effort * Sales effort is largely affected by the personal attitude of sales force towards the organization, job and the profession. In pharma sector, success largely depends on the growth in market share. * A negative attitude is more detrimental to the organization rather than to the individual. * Moreover it leads to low morale- this creates more problems to the organizations and also to the sales managers.Results of low motivation level * Such salespeople are mere order takers. * They d o not think creatively to increase sales. * They have a tendency to blame the marketing programme for poor sales. * They will never accept the lack of effort on their part. * They talk against the company. * They hardly give confidence to customers on the company’s products. Become argumentative with supervisors. * Also start giving credit to the competitor’s firm for their own sales failure. * Highlight the products of the competitor as being far better than that of their firm. * Complain that the salary paid to them is low. * Sales expenses are lower than other companies and it is restricting them from their goal achievement. * Some of them even quit the company and join other firms in the same sector.Problem Identification * Sales policy was altered considerably by the time product reaches to the customer level. * Sales people were not able to give their best to the company. People felt that there is something rotten happening in the field. * There was something tha t was grossly wrong with the sales staff. Means to identify the problems * Conducting a formal study to identify the problems of the sales staff. * They agreed upon hiring an independent consultant who can really talk to the salespeople to identify the problem. * They prepared a questionnaire containing 115 items covering 26 attitude areas. * Respondents had to give their opinion on a five point agreement scale. To make any remedial plan it is very essential to know what went wrong. 1.Issues related to security- I. Not a satisfactory compensation package. II. Fear from competitors. III. Inferiority Complex. IV. Below average attitude towards the company. 2. Issues related to achievement- I. No recognition or rewards for path breaking ideas II. No response on suggestions 3. Issues related to approval- I. Low status of job II. No rewards or recognition from higher management. III. 4. Issues related to advancement- I. No plan for growth or advancement from company’s side. II. In sufficient salary structure- lower than industry average. 5. Issues related to leadership- I.Dissatisfactory leadership. II. Failure of middle management to lead the salespeople and to give creative ideas. III. Higher management doesn’t want to listen to the problems of salespeople. IV. No cross functional co-ordination in the organization. 6. Issues related to Human Behaviour- I. Very high dissatisfaction among employees. II. Less coordial relationship with finance and account departments as the problems related to advances & expenses are knowingly created by these departments. REMEDIAL ACTION- 1. A compensation package directly related to the performance should be developed. 2.The training should be given regarding superiority of the products over competitor’s products 3. The Need Hierarchy Theory should be followed by sales supervisors where they access the need of every salesperson and motivators can be provided by deciding at what level of need hierarchy the s alesperson lies. 4. Sales managers should follow a role of motivator. 5. Middle management and top management should act as faciliatator for growth and self fulfillment. 6. A clear carrier path should be developed. 7. Proper communication of growth prospectives should be mentioned. 8. Appreciation of sales force on achievement of sales targets. . Proper training has to be imparted from time to time. 10. Disputes related to advance & expenses should be solved as quickly as possible. 11. There should be more inter-departmental coordination. LONG TERM MOTIVATIONAL PLAN FOR THE ORGANIZATION- SECURITY RELATED ISSUES:- 1. A compensation package directly related to the performance should be developed 2. The training should be given regarding superiority of the products over competitor’s products 3. An induction of new joinees should be conducted explaining the culture of the organization. ACHIEVMENT RELATED ISSUES:- 1.Non financial motivators should be used more. 2. The Need Hie rarchy Theory should be followed by sales supervisors where they access the need of every salesperson and motivators can be provided by deciding at what level of need hierarchy the salesperson lies. 3. Appreciation of sales force on achievement of sales targets should be done. APPROVAL RELATED ISSUE:- 1. Sales managers should follow a role of motivator. 2. The middle management should take a keen interest in providing approval of good work. 3. A strong communication policy oriented towards employees should be followed. LOYALTY RELATED ISSUE:- 1.A strong organisational culture backed by equity an opportunity for all should be followed. 2. Middle management and top management should act as faciliatator for growth and self fulfilment. 3. Aim at binding employees with organization ADVANCEMENT RELATED ISSUE:- 1. A clear carrier path should be developed. 2. Proper career anchors should be developed. 3. Proper communication of growth prospectives should be mentioned. LEADERSHIP RELATED ISS UE:- 1. Top management should emerge as role model to employees. 2. A conducive culture has to be followed where each employee is free to say what he feels & have a trust on leadership. . A right path should be shown to employees to have a pride on their leadership & their company. HUMAN BEHAVIOUR RELATED ISSUES:- 1. Employees should be treated as resource to the company rather than just a revenue generation tool. 2. Proper training has to be imparted from time to time. 3. Problems regarding sales pitching & sales presentation should be heard & resolve by experts. 4. Disputes related to advance & expenses should be solved as quickly as possible. 5. There should be more inter-departmental coordination.

Child Development Essay

Purpose of the course: The course meets Mondays and Wednesdays from 8:45 to 10:00 in Mayborn 105. My office hours are Wednesdays from 10-12 and nearly anytime by appointment in Hobbs 217a. The course is about experimental methods of research on child development. It is designed for students concentrating in child development, cognitive studies, or psychology. The prerequisites include at least one course about child development and at least one course about statistics. The course is built around empirical articles about child development (many of the articles are â€Å"classics† that you may have read about in your other courses) and around readings about statistics & research methods. The main purpose of the course is to bring to life the basic elements of experimental approaches to psychological science in the context of child development research. To accomplish this we will read chapters about statistics and research methods. These concepts will be anchored to child development by applying them to classic (and recent) research reports, by applying them to hands-on experiences of designing and implementing data collection protocols, and by applying them to the entire research process by writing a research proposal. Requirements: 1. Come to class and participate. This will count 5% of your final course grade. I hope everyone receives the entire amount of credit. I’ll distribute an attendance list at the start of each class. It is fine to miss two classes. If you need to miss, please email me the day before. As for participating in class – it is a good thing for students to ask & answer questions in class. Sometimes I’ll ask people to hold on to their questions and ask me after class, so I can continue with the lecture. 2. Midterm exam. This is the only test in the course and will count 40% of your final course grade. It is a â€Å"concept mastery† test. You will be expected to define, explain, and apply the statistical concepts and the research design concepts to the empirical papers that we have read up to that point. It involves teaming-up with classmates in order to identify a classic research study, to design dependent variables and independent variables based on that study, create an observation sheet, and observe a few children. Then students should, individually, summarize what you observed in a table, and report your observations within a scientific style format. It will count 15% of the your final course grade. 3. Term paper in lieu of a final exam. This is to be a 12-20 page paper roughly following the format of an NIH research proposal. It will count 40% of your final course grade. 4. Letter grades: Excellent or outstanding work will receive a grade of â€Å"A† or â€Å"A-â€Å". Good or very good work will receive a grade of â€Å"B+† or â€Å"B†. or â€Å"B-â€Å". Work that minimally fulfills the assignments will receive a grade of â€Å"C†, and work that does not fulfill the assignment will receive a grade of â€Å"D† or â€Å"F†. The Vanderbilt Honor Code: I strongly encourage students to brainstorm together, to study together, and to team up to prepare for tests together. However, all written work should be your own. Tests are to be taken on the scheduled day and assignments are due on the scheduled day. I will make exceptions for documented medical emergencies, family emergencies, and participation in official Vanderbilt events.

Statistics Minitab Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Statistics Minitab - Assignment Example Then analyse the variability in the designed experiment. Then the results would be interpreted. The paired-t test has been selected because we needed to test whether the two samples had difference means and if these differences were significant. We therefore needed to pair these two samples and test the differences at 95% confidence level. As can be seen, p > .05 therefore the differences are not significant. The chi-square analysis was run for the categorical values as were in the table. The chi-square tested the hypothesis that there is no association between caffeine consumption (column factors) and marital status (raw factors). The results show that the chi-square statistic was 51.656. The p value is < .001 which suggests that we reject the null hypothesis of no association between marital status and caffeine consumption in favour of the alternative that there is indeed an association between them. Thus, marital status affects caffeine consumption. The reason for this association could be attributed to the fact that we had more married participants in the sample and hence the results may be biased towards the same. As can be seen, there were 3029 married participants out of the 3888 participants in total. I recommend that to improve results, same number of samples should be selected from the marital status categories for the

Campus Visit - Utilizing Resources Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Campus Visit - Utilizing Resources - Assignment Example The fear of new experiences is quite common and happens to everyone in some measure. Few people on earth can go directly into a new circumstance and take charge of it without batting an eyelid. Confidence takes some psyching up and practice once in a while. The ability to mix and make friends with new students, both in your class and all around the campus is a learned skill. Agreed there are some who are more outgoing than others but this is not something that cannot be worked at and improved. The Office of Student Success has many programs and initiatives to help new students, from their first day on campus right up to their graduation day. Smarty Cats Tutoring allows gifted students to act as facilitators to clarify points not understood in class. There is Math and Science Help, Writing Help and also Students Services such as career counseling and academic advice. All you have to do is to fill out a form and you are in (Division of Student Success, 2011, 1). Student Workshops and C hamp Change are other ways you can progress and earn prizes as well. Second Year Success Initiatives includes mentoring from success coaches and advice on taking majors and improving GPAs. Education, the World of Work and You helps students in preparing to enter the world of work by polishing their writing, speaking and presentation skills as well as improving their resumes and business etiquette. There are also facilities for disabled students, returning students and veterans (Office of Student Success, 2011, 1). For those students with wanderlust or who want an entirely different study experience, Montana State University also has a Study Abroad Program. At present there are study abroad options in Africa and Europe. International Student Exchange Programs in Ghana, Morocco and La Reunion are available, as well as South Africa. The MSU Direct Exchange Program with Stellenboch University, South Africa and Alakhawayn University, Morocco are some other

Haitian Culture and Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Haitian Culture and Society - Essay Example This paper outlines the origins of Haiti’s poverty in its geography, history and political evolution. There is then an outline of the main features of Haitian culture and a discussion of what culture is and how it is understood within Haiti and by outsiders looking on. Finally there is an explanation of the paradoxical â€Å"rich in culture but deep in poverty† paradox which both sustains Haiti’s sense of identity and inhibits its development in the future. Haiti’s geography is typical of the Caribbean region in so far as it is part of a larger tropical island. The Dominican Republic occupies the Eastern portion and Haiti has the smaller western portion. The terrain is mountainous in parts, and conducive to fruit and timber production, and the surrounding seas provide ample fishing possibilities. The climate is drier than in most surrounding islands which presents some problems for agriculture. Mineral resources are present, which made the island an attrac tive target for colonial activities from the 15th century onwards. The early history of Haiti is lost in the time before literacy and so it is impossible to tell exactly when and how the area was colonized and who set up the first settlements there. What is clear, however, is that the land was inhabited by an Amerindian people called the Tainos long before Columbus and the Spaniards arrived. The whole island was known as â€Å"Hispaniola† in deference to the European conquerors and it was quickly taken over and subjected to the exploitation of plantation and mine owners, using the local population as a convenient workforce. From this time onwards a pattern of emigration developed which still haunts the country to this day. The incoming Europeans brought with them many aspects of Western culture including the Roman Catholic faith, colonial architecture and incidentally also many diseases and vices which were unknown to the indigenous population. There are some records of local culture, including sporting and cooking practices, house designs and the â€Å"elaborate social structure organized around local chiefs or caciques.† (Girard: 2005, p. 19) Having taken what they wished from the part of the island which is present day Haiti, the Spaniards retreated to the far eastern tip of the island and left the west to return to its natural tropical jungle state. The next wave of conquerors were the French who added slavery to the list of exploitative practices that were used in Haiti. This brought huge changes to the island, such as the arrival of many thousands of captives from Africa and the building of western style cities and roads. It was at this point that one of Haiti’s most famous cultural practices was introduced: the tradition of voodoo. This was a loosely defined set of religious and cultural beliefs based on the polytheistic societies in West Africa. It existed alongside Catholicism, and the population often integrated elements of both religious traditions into their lives and practices. A combination of poorly educated priests and strong ties to ancestor and spirit worship from Africa ensured that this unusual combination was maintained into the present time. This syncretism is perhaps one of the most significant features of Haitian culture and it is carried through into its art, architecture, language, music and sports. Discrete

Suicide In Mental Health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Suicide In Mental Health - Essay Example The paper is issued by the UK Parliament as Command Paper, Cm 4386. The site provides access to the full-text of the report". (Intute:Social Sciences,2006). The objective is to improve the health of everyone and the health of the worst off in particular. The program emphasizes on the fact that good health is inherent need of all, but many people spend most of their lives ill or die young from preventable diseases, this need should be effectively addressed with good support and the first comprehensive Government plan focused on the main killers: cancer, coronary heart disease and stroke, accidents, mental illness. They emphasize on the tougher but attainable targets. The objective is to reduce the death rate in people under 75 suffering from cancer by at least a fifth. The focus is to reduce the death rate in people under 75, suffering from coronary heart disease by at least two fifths. The death rates caused by accidents by at least a fifth and serious injuries caused by accidents by at least tenth. In the sensitive area of mental illness, to reduce the death rate from suicide and undetermined injury by at least a fifth. If these targets are achieved there is opportunity to save lives by preventing up to 300,000 untimely and unneces sary deaths. To achieve this target the government is putting in more money: twenty one billion pounds for the NHS alone to secure a healthier population. The focus is also to raise awareness first by tackling smoking as the single biggest preventable cause of poor health. The aim is to integrate Government, and local government work to improve health, stressing health improvement as a key role for the NHS. The emphasis is on high health standards for all, not just privileged few. can make a difference. We want to see a new balance in which people, communities and Government work together in partnership to improve health. "Our drive for better health is in line with a background of real improvement in health: people live longer and healthier lives life expectancy is now 80 for women and 75 for men many infectious diseases of the past - such as cholera, diphtheria and polio - have been brought under control death in childbirth is now rare. But new problems arise, including AIDS and v ariant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease". (Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation,1999). People can improve their own health, through physical activity, better diet and quitting smoking. Communities can tackle poor health, which springs too from a range of wider, community factors - including poverty, low wages, unemployment, poor education, sub-standard housing, crime and disorder and a polluted environment. (Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation,1999) Health inequality is widespread: the most disadvantaged have suffered most from poor health. The Government is addressing inequality with a range of initiatives on education, welfare-to-work, housing, neighborhoods, transport and the environment which will help improve health. As well as taking action on our key targets, we are also tackling other important health issues like sexual health, drugs, alcohol, food safety, water fluoridation and communicable diseases - to put our new approach into practice. We want to see healthier people in a healthi er country. People improving their own health supported by communities working through local organizations against a backdrop of action by the Government. We want to see everyone take the

The Scientific Method Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Scientific Method - Lab Report Example The quantity of oxygen dissolved would be controlled by beginning from 20ppm and twenty fish. After this the amount of oxygen would be lowered slowly up to 0ppm. In this instant, as per the hypothesis set, there would be zero fish within the water. The control variable for this experiment would be temperature of water. This is so because for accurate results of this experiment, the temperature of water needs to be kept constant. Otherwise it will alter or give out biased the results of the experiment. For this data set, a line graph would be most appropriate representation. This is so because line graphs are normally used in making comparison and representing data that have a time series. This graph is the most appropriate for this data, because it displays a clear magnitude change. In this observation, we hypothesize that the rate at which the plant grows depends on the quantity of sunlight. The null Hypothesis for this observation would be; the rate at which a plant grows is not controlled by the quantity or degree of sunlight. The approach used would be moving the plant around the specific room. The dependent variable shall be the plant growth whereas the independent variable shall be the sunlight amount. The control variable for this observation shall be a plant placed in the shade. Data shall be collected using a pencil, stopwatch, ruler and a clipboard. Presentation of data shall be done using a bar graph. This data would be interpreted using an excel program or an SSPS program. In this observation, we hypothesize that the Bank tellers having brown hair with brown eyes certainly would be taller in height. The null Hypothesis, in this case, shall be the bank tellers height has no relationship with their eye or hair color. The approach of experimentation to be used would be observing tellers who work at different banks. The dependent variable for this observation is the bank teller’s height and the independent variables are the bank teller’s

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Marketing - Essay Example The cost for a normal unit is only $349 and the buyer sees an instant saving of both time and money. Most women recoup the cost of the IMA within a year. When introduced, the IMA was not advertised or placed in retail locations. The promotional tool used was a social-networking epidemic campaign that grew out of the â€Å"Maven-Connector-Salesman† theory first proposed at the turn of the century by Malcolm Gladwell in his book â€Å"The Tipping Point.† (Gladwell) Mavens in the area of beauty were first identified and then carefully introduced to important connectors to establish the network focus points. It was believed that personification of the product (Emma) was a key to selling to women and so â€Å"Emma† was given a personal webpage. In the beginning, â€Å"she† was present only to establish a presence, personify the product and offer a brand identity. A simple form for ordering was the only indication that the product was available. The personificat ion of the product was the third point of the strategy and a careful search had been made to find the perfect saleswoman who would personify the IMA and become Emma. Emma became the face of, and personified, the brand. Mavens were identified with carefully placed Maven-traps and the Connectors and salesmen were identified by genetic algorithm driven social networking spiders. A careful social engineering campaign was launched to develop relationships with Mavens and introducing them to Connectors. This was accomplished by one team and another team focused on developing relationships between Connectors and Salesmen. While the preparations for product launch were under way, production was working out the bugs in the manufacturing and support division. When the marketing team felt the network was ready to start the campaign, Mavens were provided with IMA’s to test in order to get their opinion. They were cautioned that the product was still in the early stages of production and were cautioned to only discuss it with close friends or if asked about it. Connectors who had been previously introduced to Mavens were quietly told about this new and revolutionary product, that it was in limited production and the company was keeping it quiet. The Connectors consulted their Mavens, received confirmation and validation and began telling their friends, some of whom were the Salesmen the team had identified. This caused an underground word-of-mouth campaign within social networks that generated an exponential demand with no advertising cost. The oversupply of childbearing age women as compared to men and the difficulty of women in finding a mate resulted in the desire of women to have a â€Å"secret weapon† that would give them an advantage over other women. The ability of a woman to put on, repair or rapidly change her makeup was noticeable and caused curiosity. Most women were in the workforce and their social lives revolved around their free time away from work. Women discovered a small change in their wardrobe and a change of makeup meant they could practically change personalities during a 45-minute lunch-break and be

Summary and response 11 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Summary and response 11 - Assignment Example However, the physical price will only be paid by them. 3. "Kentucky Town Illustrates National Obesity Crisis" prompt: How does Haygood explain the serious increase in over weight and obese people in this town? What evidence does he provide? What attitude does he say contribute to this problem? Haygood mainly focuses in his article over the unhealthy lifestyle of most people of Kentucky town. He questions a few families like the family of three, father and 2 daughters.. Haygood provides a review of the town in relation to obesity by highlighting the sufferers of obesity. In addition, he creates a bridge between obesity and the town having no Parks and such facilities along with a healthy store that gives nutritional information to the people. Susie Orbach analyses â€Å"feminism† when finding out the cause for women suffering from obesity. She pints out and talks about the Social pressure placed on the women of America. She further, asserts that if you are a true supporter of women, being overweight proves your disapproval for the society and its set patterns and opinions, which is wrong. Orbach also deals with the fact that women in America are falling in the traps of obesity with the passage of

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Research Paper

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) - Research Paper Example â€Å"However, defining an addressing system and setting up the correct address on each workstation and server is far from trivial. Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol can be a great help.† (Richards, 1997, p. 11). The address assignment of machines on a network is a core issue of network administration and management and is considered a major cost contributor in managing client server environments. There are two options available to network administrators, either they may address each machine on the network themselves, or they may go for a DHCP server to assign IP addresses to all requesting hosts on the network. A DHCP server has a pool of assignable IP addresses and depending on the implementation may also have a pool of IP addresses to be assigned to the restricted users on the network. The address assignment process of DHCP Server, normally called the Lease Process, is an important part of understanding how actually DHCP work and how it can be troubleshoot in case of an a ddress assignment problem. The first step of Lease Process is a DHCP Discover request from a client, which is broadcasted on the network to locate a DHCP server.

Video games and violence Essay Example for Free

Video games and violence Essay Whatever happened to Candy Land and Monopoly? Today’s youth are being molded into the future working adults improving skills, at the same time, showing aggressive behaviors playing video games. Today’s Video games can be very misleading when it comes to discerning the fantasy of the game. This brings forth serious behavioral issues. According to Curt (1990), â€Å"What worries many experts is that video-game violence is abnormally stimulating, arrives with the apparent sanction of parents and society, and appears on the same TV screen as the evening news, this blurring the distinction between play slaughter and real life carnage. †(Curt, Washington Post,1990,p. 1) Children are consumed within the game. They lose focus of themselves. As a result this affects today’s youth in acting out by manipulating adults in order to get their way(Curt 1990). These behavioral issues are turned around into a more positive manner though. In the game of, Call of Duty, children are soldiers standing up to defend their country. While as adults the reality comes out and washes away the fantasy environment of video games. While on the other hand, video games can be very beneficial for todays youth. Thilmarry(2012) notes that, â€Å"In the article, University of Rochester researchers Daphne Bavelier and C. Shawn Green looked at a study they did on the futuristic first-person shooter game† Unreal Tournament,†in which they found players improved perceptual and attention skills by playing in a first person shooter, player shoot from their own perspective as if theyre holding the shooting device. † While immersed in the game, they have the opportunity to fine tune their perception and memory skills. This could also lead to higher results on test in school with increased memory skills. This also aids todays youth in their problem solving skills when it comes to being sociable and interacting with their peers. Many children self-esteem are increased, as a result, of feeling that they are able to excel within the game. Whereas, under peer-pressure, the child would crumble with the bad comments tossed towards them in not measuring up to other standards. Which in turn makes the video game environment more beneficial for todays youth. With the ever changing technology our children are better equipped for the future. Todays youth are being prepared with various systems and newer versions of games. While in the business environment, working adults are working with ever changing programs. In todays video games, players are able to role-play with other players on the internet. While in the modern business world, adults are using the chat environment to interact with others making well-informed decisions together. With updated versions of video games todays youth learn to adapt more into well informed adults. While Monopoly maybe a long drawn out board game, there is nothing like an exciting video game for todays youth in the ever changing technological day in age. We should always be mindful to buy the most updated and appropriate rated video games for our youth. References 1. Suplee,C. W. P. (1990, Dec28). Weighing virtues, vices of video games. Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved from HTTP://search. proquest. com/docview/277808375? account id = 7374 2. Thilmarry, J. (2012). Gaming pros and cons. Mechanical Engineering, 0135(3),20-20. Retrieved from HTTP:// search. proquest. com/docview/963767435? account id=7374.

Investigation of outdoor play in early years

Investigation of outdoor play in early years Outdoor Play in Early Years In whose best interest? This review examines the definition of play and outdoor play as well as the perspectives of the early years pioneers spanning over two centuries who has shaped our understanding of outdoor play such as Friedrich Froebel, Maria Montessori, Margaret McMillan, Susan Isaacs and Majorie Allen, better Known as Lady Allen of Hurtswood. It will also seek to address how outdoor play can be optimised in early years setting to improve childrens learning and development outcomes. The scope of this review includes debates surrounding outdoor play, concerns and the advantages of using the outdoor environment. This review would also analysis previous researches on outdoor play and evidence which suggests that outdoor play improves childrens development and well-being. Play is a difficult concept, and by its very nature cannot be pinned down or precisely defined. There is nothing tangible, predictable or certain about childrens play, and this makes thinking about play more difficult and sometimes uncomfortable for those who like things neat and orderly. Play sits uneasily in a culture of standards, measurable outcomes, testing targets and quality control. While most of us know play when we see it, academics have had trouble defining it (Johnson, Christie, Yawkey, 1999). Play involves a free choice activity that is non-literal, self-motivated, enjoyable and process oriented. Critical to this definition is the non-literal, non-realistic aspect. This means external aspects of time, use of materials, the environment, rules of the play activity, and roles of the participants are all made up by the children playing. They are based on the childs sense of reality (Wardle, 1987, p. 27). Children do not play for a reward-praise, money, or food. They play because they like it.(p. 28). Children who compete to make the best wooden ship are not playing. Children who are told they must use the block with an A on it to create a word are not playing, and children who are asked to label the colours of their paints, instead of using them to create a picture, are not playing. Article 31 in the United Nation Convention on the rights of the Child stipulates that play is a fundamental right of all children (Human Rights Directorate, 1991 cited in Steampfli 2008) and that play is essential for children to develop intellectually, physically, emotionally, and socially. Through play children learn to express their thoughts and feelings, develop language and social skills and become aware of cultural diversity in their community. Filer, (2008), describes creative outdoor play as play which gives children the opportunity to use their imaginations, helps promote original thinking, flexibility, adaptability, empathy and the ability to generate multiple solutions to a problem. She express play as the most important activity that children will take part in outside as it is a means through which they find stimulation, well-being and happiness in order to grow physically, emotionally and intellectually. She express that the outdoor environment is well suited to meeting childrens needs for all aspects of play and is the most relevant way of offering learning based upon first-hand experiences and individual interests. Waite et al. (2006) cited in Waller, T (2007) journal article point out, outdoor learning is not a single entity but comprises many different sorts of activity with distinct purposes. Outdoor environments afford opportunities for a balance between adult-led structured activities and giving children access to interesting outdoor spaces. Friedrich Froebel(1782-1852) emphasised the importance of the garden and the educational importance of learning out of doors more than a century ago. To Froebel, the garden was both literal and metaphorical. He used the word kindergarten, a garden for children, rather than the word school and saw the kindergarten as a place where the child could develop in harmony with nature. Educators would provide a rich environment for growth, and would tend, nurture and cultivate each child just as a good gardener would tend a young plant. Froebel believed in a divine unity and connectedness between all living things, and it was therefore important for children to be close to nature in the outdoor environment. Through gardening and play outdoors children learnt about nature and about the growth of plants and animals, but they also learnt to care for and take responsibility for nature, and gradually to recognise their own place in the natural world. Childrens freely chosen game games outdoors wer e a source of fascination to Froebel. He saw in such games evidence of childrens growing sense of justice, self- control, comradeship and fairness. (Tovey, 2008). Forest Schools which are closely associated with the Danish early years programme is inspired by the ideas of Froebel, traditionally favoured play, movement and fresh air (Stigsgaard, 1978, cited in Maynard, 2007), while a sense of connection with nature and the environment has been linked to the Danish notion of an ideal childhood (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 2001 cited in Maynard, 2007). The development of young childrens understanding about the natural environment is seen as being an important aim of all day-care facilities (OECD, 2000 cited in Maynard, 2007). For Maria Montessori (1869 -1952), working in a poor inner city community in Rome, Italy it was not the garden, but the house that was the enduring metaphor for her approach to early childhood. The environment, she argued, should allow children to be like the masters in their own houses, that is it should be child-sized, offer independent movement and be well organised with everything in its place. It was not nature, but science and her notion of scientific pedagogy, which was a guiding principle. Using Froebels metaphor of the gardener she argued that behind the good cultivatorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.stands the scientist. This is a very different philosophy from Froebels garden where weeds were valued as much as the flowers. It was Montessori, who pioneered the idea of open access from indoors to outdoors and free choice and self direction, but choice was restricted. Unlike Froebel, Montessori did not believe the natural materials were educative and, therefore, she made no provision for pla y materials like sand and water. Rather she argued that structured materials, which had been subject to the perfecting hand of a higher intelligence (Montessori 1983 cited in Tovey 2008), were necessary to identify the real or true nature of the child. Margaret McMillan (1860-1931) was a socialist politician. Her experience of running an open air camp for children in the slums of Deptford, South of London, where disease was rife, convinced her that time spent outdoors could dramatically improve childrens health and that the youngest children should be the focus of attention. She developed an open air nursery school for children, and literally designed and built a garden for children. The garden was central and the indoor spaces were merely shelters for use in very bad weather. Everything, she argued could take place outdoors, play, sleep, meals, stories and games. She argued that there was no need for artificial didactic apparatus to stimulate childrens senses in isolation when real first-hand experience offered richer and more meaningful opportunities. A nursery garden must have a free and rich place, a great rubbish heap, stones, and flints, bits of can, and old iron and pots. Here every healthy child will want to go, taking out things of his own choosing to build with. (McMillan 1919 cited in Tovey 2008). Susan Isaacs (1885-1948) worked in a very different social context from McMillan. She opened the malting House School in Cambridge in 1924, a school for highly advantaged children of professional parents. It was an experimental school that had two aims: to stimulate the active enquiry of the children themselves rather than to teach them and to bring within their immediate experience every range of fact to which their interests reached out (Issacs 1930 cited in Tovey 2008:46). Children were given considerable freedom for Isaacs argued that play has the greatest value for the child when it is really free and his own (Isaacs 1929 cited in Tovey 2008:46). The garden included grass, fruit trees, a climbing frame, slides, movable ladders, trees for climbing, flower and vegetable garden with individual plots for each child and a range of animals. The garden provoked childrens curiosity and enquiry. It offered challenge and risk and children had considerable freedom to try things out, to question, to experiment and to follow wherever their curiosity led. However, this freedom also had constraints. Eg. Children were allowed to climb on the summer house roof, but only one child at a time was allowed. Like Froebel and Montessori before her she argued that freedom brought responsibility, but it also empowered the children to develop skills to be safe. Isaac view of childhood is one of passion. Young children had a pas sion for finding out about and striving to understand the world. Although she tried to observe children in free conditions she also recognised, unlike Montessori, that it was impossible to discover the natural child. Marjorie Allen (Lady Allen of Hurtwood) 1897-1976 featured less in education literature but nevertheless deserves an important place as a pioneer of outdoor play areas for young children. She was active in campaigning for better provision for young children and became president of the nursery school association, and a founder member of the worldwide organisation Mondiale Pour LEducation Prescolaire (OMEP). She designed play areas for many nursery schools including gardens with sand pits and paddling pools on roof tops of blocks of flats in Camden, London. She is associated most for bringing the idea of adventure or junk playgrounds to Britain. She argued that children seek access to a place where they can dig in the earth, build huts and dens with timber, use real tools, experiment with fire and water, take really great risks and learn to overcome themà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.(Allen cited in Rich et al 2005:46) She was damning in her criticisms of conventional playgrounds that are static, dull, unchallenging, and which do not account for young childrens drive to explore, imagine, create and to seek companionship. The tendency for ordering a complete playground from a catalogue is greatly to be deployed: this lack of enterprise spells dullness and monotony and only the manufacturers benefit (Allen 1968 cited in Tovey 2008:50). Lady Allens vision for challenging outdoor play environments, her belief that children with disabilities were entitled to equally rich and exciting environments, and her knowledge, from careful observation, of the impact of design on childrens play is still influential today particularly in the playwork field. These developmental emphasis on play and playgrounds for nursery school playgrounds and kindergartens was later reinforced by the work of early 20th century child research centres and figures such as Piaget (1951), Vygotsky (1978) Bruner, et al (1976), and Huizinga (1950). The developmental emphasis continues in the early 21st century. Until recently, preschools were relatively unaffected by contemporary high stakes testing and continued to focus on play as a primary vehicle for learning and development.(Frost 2006). A research study by Clements (2004) reveals that children today spend considerably less time playing outdoors than their mothers did as children. The study reveals several fundamental reasons for this decline, including dependence on television, digital media, and concerns about crime and safety. The study also conveys findings related to the frequent use of electronic diversions. Maynard (2007) also linked the growing interest in Forest School to a concern that childrens outdoor play is in decline. Parents, it is suggested, are reluctant to let their children play outside as they once did for fear of strangers, traffic or violence and as a result, it is also suggested, childrens play revolves around organized recreational activities or is home-centred and focused on computers, video games and television. This, it is maintained is having a negative impact on childrens social and emotional competence while also contributing to an epidemic of child obesity. Maynard Waters (2007), in their journal also identified recent years reports about the use and abuse of the outdoor environment have rarely been out of the media. These reports, often backed by the latest research findings, have focused on concerns about environmental damage as well as issues such as stranger danger, childrens lack of physical activity, the rising levels of childhood obesity, as well as a more general lack of connectedness with nature. A view which agrees with Froebel who sees garden as a spiritual place where children could grow and develop in harmony with nature, and begin to sense their own place in the natural world. It was a place for creative and imaginative play. There is growing public policy interest in childrens play. Politicians and opinion formers are interested in exploring how good play opportunities can help improve quality of life and safety in neighbourhoods, tackle obesity and promote childrens well being, support children development and build community cohesion. Alongside, there is a growing view that good play experiences are not only an essential part of every childhood, but also a key public responsibility and an expression of our social obligations towards children. (Filer, 2008:14). Dr Aric Sigman, of British Psychological Society, recommends that children under three should be banned from watching TV, and older children, aged 3-5, should be restricted to viewing one hour a day of good quality programmes. Children spend more time looking at the screens than they do outside doing real things, which is detrimental to their health and well being, particularly in the long term. He recommends that children should be outside experiencing real life and real things (Sigman, 2005 cited in Filer 2008). One way in which government has attempted to address these concerns has been to raise awareness of, for example Healthy Schools programme, Food in Schoool programme, School Fruit and Vegetable scheme, Physical Education, School Sport and Club Links programme (DSCF, 2008) The introduction of Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum (EYFS) in September 2008 in England for children from birth to five (DSCF, 2008) emphasise the need for the provision of regular outdoor experience. However, Waller (2007), in his article identified that a clear pedagogy for the use of the outdoors as a site for learning has not been established and, as (Fjortoft, 2001 cited in Waller 2007) and (Waite et al.2006 cited in Waller 2007) point out, there has been relatively little research on what actually happens in outdoor environments. The EYFS now recognises that the environment plays a key role in supporting and extending childrens development and learning under theme 3: enabling environments which is line with the Macmillans theory which allowed children free access to play areas and gardens and was not predicated upon a fixed time schedule. The importance of outdoor learning is also emphasised in the effective practice: outdoor learning as below: Past generations of children benefited from extended amounts of unsupervised time outdoors, and as adults they look back fondly at these early experiences. Indeed it is widely recognised that such experiences make a positive impact and as adults we are aware that it shaped many aspects of our own development and healthà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Despite this cultural shift away from outdoor play and learning, it remains essential to childrens health, development and well-being. Consequently, it is vital that early years settings maximise childrens opportunities to be outdoors: for some it may be their only opportunity to play freely and safely outsideà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Outdoor learning encompasses all that children do, see, hear or feel in their outdoor space. This includes the experiences that practitioners create and plan for, the spontaneous activities that children initiate, and the naturally occurring cyclical opportunities linked to the seasons, weather and nature. (DCSF, 2007) It is evidenced that a lot of recent and old research into outdoor play are in agreement that it is beneficial for children to be outside experiencing real life, real things, in order to grow and develop holistically. Most of the researches also concluded outdoor is a place where the child could develop in harmony with nature, a place to begin to sense their own place in the natural world and a place for creative and imaginative play. Good play experiences are seen as an essential part of every childhood which would lead to improve quality of life, tackle obesity and promote childrens well being. However, Majorie Allen criticized the conventional playgrounds seen at majority of the nursery and pre school these days as static, dull, unchallenging, and which do not account for young childrens drive to explore, imagine, create and to seek companionship. Finally, according to the literatures, one of the main advantages of using the outdoor environment is that it provides children with th e space to move freely. (Fjortoft 2001, 2004 cited in T.Maynard et al 2007) report on research from Scandinavia, which demonstrates that children who play in flexible, natural landscapes appear to be healthier, have improved motor fitness, balance and co-ordination, and demonstrate more creativity in their play. It can be concluded based on the literature review above that experiences of the outdoor play and learning suggests that early years practitioners should recognise the significant potentials of outdoor learning highlighted above, in addition to developing outside play opportunities within their gardens; they should also consider giving children regular opportunities to experience wild natural environments. CONTENT Page No ABSTRACT 1 INTRODUCTION 2-3 LITERATURE REVIEW 4-14 METHODOLOGY/RESEARCH DESIGN 15-16 ANALYSIS/FINDINGS 17-20 CONCLUSION 21-22 REFERENCES 23-25 APPENDICES NARRATIVE OBSERVATION A-C TRACKING OBSERVATION D-E SANDRINGHAM SCHOOL PICTURES F-J BLOOMING GARDEN PICTURES K-M ABSTRACT: I have worked in different setting during my course and I have noticed that outdoor play is not particularly well planned by the practitioners. It seems to be seen as an opportunity for the staff have a break and for the children to let off steam. Play is childrens natural way of doing stuff to build for children to build self-esteem and social skills and the philosophy behind the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum supported this very much. The aim of my study is to look at how children participate in outdoor play in Sandringham school environment compared with regular setting with limited outdoor space with fixed and movable apparatus such as climbing frames, slides and bikes etc as well as to encourage practitioners to reflect on their practices. My research draws on observation (both narrative and tracking method) of one nursery located in London borough of Newham- Sandringham Schools nursery in London and a regular nursery with fixed garden apparatus in Redbridge b orough, Uphall School. My observation was used to find out how children attending both school nurseries react during outdoor session and how practitioners assist the children in extending and stimulating their learning and development. The play experiences of children at my own school Sandringham School nursery in comparison with the children at Uphall Schools nursery clearly indicate that children at Uphall school nursery spend less time playing outdoors than those at Sandringham schools nursery. The study reveals that children at my school at Sandringham schools nursery are engaged in depth active learning with their peers and practitioners, objects, allowing the children to use their imagination more creatively. For example, during my observation, a child uses a tree branch to sweep an area under a large tree, which she described as Goldilocks grandmas house. INTRODUCTION In searching for my research topic, I have drawn on my experiences and interest during my placements. It struck me fairly quickly from observations in my various placement that outdoor play space in most of the settings is still just about physical development and not given the equal status to indoor play it deserves in terms of the planned experiences that are provided for young children. Majority of the settings outside play area are small with static, dull, and unchallenging equipments, and do not allow young childrens drive to explore, imagine, create and to seek companionship. Practitioners should promote and enhance the development of playground that offer a rich, multi sensory environment that is meaningful, imaginative and stimulating for all young children, providing them with real experiences that help embed their early learning and holistic development and not just their physical development. Parents and practitioners agree from conversation with them that outdoor play is a natural and critical part of childs well being, health and development and the importance of outdoor play is also reflected in recent government policies such as the Every Child Matters agenda (2003) and Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS, 2008) curriculum embraces outdoor learning as it enables the children to follow their interest, make choices, forge links between their learning and develop ideas over time. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of opportunities provided for children under five to learn in the outdoors, in a garden, or other open air space e.g. in Sandringham school nursery environment and a regular day nursery setting. The research aimed to investigate the impact that the type of outdoor play experiences in the two settings has on all areas of learning and development for children under five. In this study I will use (Filer, 2008) definition of outdoor play a creative outdoor play as play which gives children the opportunity to use their imaginations, helps promote original thinking, flexibility, adaptability, empathy and the ability to generate multiple solutions to a problem. She expresses play as the most important activity that children will take part in outside as it is a means through which they find stimulation, well-being and happiness in order to grow physically, emotionally and intellectually. Outdoor play also offers play spaces that enable children to create play spaces themselves and to exercise greater choice over materials, location and playmates. Being outdoorsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..offers opportunities for doing things in different ways and on different scales than when indoors. It gives children first-hand contact with weather, seasons and the natural world and offers children freedom to explore, use their senses, and be physically active and exuberant. (EYFS card 3.3 cited in Hitchin, 2007) METHODOLOGY The research takes place in two different borough schools nursery in their early years settings in England over a period of 4 months. Setting 1: This is my own schools nursery based separate building for the infants school building, this is located in a most multicultural state in town in Forestage, London area of the UK. Children aged 3 years to 5 years old attending the nursery on a half day and the next lot come for the afternoon session. The garden is a large part of it concrete and the other part was gated and covered with tree barks, with plastic climbing frame and slide, large tree on the other end of the gated part end bench under the tree and a large plastic turtle shape sand and water tray. On the paved area, there is a large wind chime resting on the fence and the other areas are left free for obstacle activity, easel, construction blocks, bicycles etc. Setting 2: This is a school based in borough of Redbridge, In order to establish childrens involvement levels in the two settings, I considered issuing questionnaires to both parents and practitioners. On discussing this with my School mentor, it transpires that the result will only give parents/ practitioners view on outdoor play and not necessarily give an answer to childrens level of learning and development physically, emotionally, imaginatively, and creatively through outdoor play. In conjunction with the setting staffs, I have collected data using participant observations in the form of tracking observation method which was handed out to the practitioners to follow selected children during outdoor play at each of the setting to find out the childrens interest while outdoor as well as direct observation method conducted by myself in the form of narrative observation to assess childrens involvement levels in two different outdoor environments. Observation is an important, if underrated, form of assessment. It may seem subjective, but it has a great deal of potential. Assessments can be made when the children are actively engaged in outdoor play and therefore the process on interaction with other children and adult can be observed. According to Creswell (2002) observations in a setting requires good listening skills and careful attention to visual detail. It also required management of issues such as the potential deception by people being observed and the initial awkwardness of being an outsider without initial personal support in a setting (Hammersley Atkinson, 1995). ANALYSIS/FINDINGS The results indicates that there is quality adult-child verbal interactions at the sandhringham school than the other setting which was my main concern and according to EPPE (2004) and REPEY (2002) research findings which identified that more sustained shared thinking was observed in settings where children made the most progress. Sustained shared thinking occurs when two or more individuals work together in an intellectual way to solve a problem, clarify a concept, evaluate an activity, extend a narrative etc. For example, a child sat under a large tree with few other children with an adult and she told the adult this is a forest, where the wolf is hiding and waiting me, Ill be the goldilocks and you can be the bad wolf and the adult engaged the child in open-ended questioning which is associated with better cognitive achievement according to the EPPE research findings. The forest was later turned into grandmas house they used drapes and plastic cover and securely pinned and another child sweeping off the dry leaves I am sweeping my grandmas room, because she is unwell and I need to help keep it clean. Where as at my other setting, the adults intervened mainly to ensure the safety of the children by encouraging a child to participate in an activity. For example, during an obstacle activity, the adult encouraged the child to walk on the blocks and offered a hand to boost the childs confidence. An interesting observation is that there are a lot of initiated activities at the Sandringham school with interventions by practitioners when invited by the child to extend the child/rens thinking. Opportunities are provided for adult initiated group activities which according to EPPE (2004) research findings are most effective vehicles for learning. For example, a game of silence ball? hide and seek game where the children have to listen to where the voices responding to their call is coming from to help them locate the people hiding. This game promotes listening skills. However, majority of the activities at the other setting is usually free play with mainly fixed climbing frames and slides, large wind chime, and selection of choices made available by the adult such as sand and water tray, lego blocks on a carpet or tray, writing materials, dressing up clothes, balls and books which is alternated on a daily basis. There is mostly child to child verbal interaction. The children in Sandringham school are engaged in more creative and imaginative play such as finding treasures, digging, treasure hunting lifting logs to look for worms which was in line with Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852) who described garden then as a spiritual place where children could grow and develop in harmony with nature, and begin to sense their own place in the natural world. It was a place for creative and imaginative play for investigation and discovery for songs, music and ring games. Froebel was perhaps unique in amongst the pioneers in linking garden design to his philosophy of childrens learning and in recognising the holistic nature of young childrens learning. He saw in such games evidence of childrens growing sense of justice, self- control, comradeship and fairness which I also noticed during my observation at the sandringham, school setting. For example, each child is given opportunity to lead with an adult when doing the head count before entering and leaving the forest school. A child was upset because she wanted to lead on this occasion and the adult explained to her that she has had a turn last week and that everyone has to have a go before it could be her turn again and this helps the children to develop sense of fairness and justice. The staff leading at the sandringham school seemed to have good knowledge and understanding of the curriculum as well as knowledge of child development and they have gained additional training on forest school approach, which I assume has helped the adult in facilitating childrens learning. For example, the children learn to use natural materials such as sticks to make a shelter, two other children uses large paint brushes with water to paint the wooden fence. Another girl went to paint a tree, which a boy was climbing on and he said no Amisha, its going to be slippery. Other activities observed at Sandringham school arethey are climbing, move over obstacles, carrying logs from one area to the other, eating outdoors, getting dirty while digging or hiding, opportunity to wander freely without constant adult supervision in a large space with lots of nature to see and explore at their own pace. All these will support the childrens emotional, social development, environmental awareness a nd spiritual wellbeing. It also encourages active learning, improve creativity and critical thinking. From my observation of children at the other setting with garden equipment from a sale, the older children mostly run around the small garden or climb on the plastic frame and slide which I agree with Allen, M (1897-1976) spells dullness and monotony and only the manufacturers benefit. Marjorie Allen 1897-1976 also criticized the conventional playgrounds seen at majority of the nursery and pre-school these days as static, dull, unchallenging, and do not account for young childrens drive to explore, imagine, create and to seek companionship. However it is interesting to note during each observation at the other school that the tree bark that covers the garden floor offered scope for children with learning difficulty. For example, the children use the tree bark to represent food served by one child to the other children and as they received each said thank you. While at the sandrigham school, a space under the tree was transformed into a Grandmas house, Vygosky (1978) cited in Tovey 2007 argued that such play leads to higher level thinking because children are using objects symbolically. The act of transformatio

Martha Grahams choreography

Martha Grahams choreography Discuss how the choreography of Martha Graham or Merce Cunningham reflected the changing contexts in which her/his work was produced. Martha Graham (1894-1991) was a truly inspirational and revolutionary performer and choreographer throughout the 20th century. Her work was a great influence to people from all aspects of the arts, from famous stage actors to painters, composers, sculptors and of course choreographers. Over Grahams seventy year long career she created a great many one hundred and eighty one pieces. (States http://www.innovationpark.psu.edu/coolblue/events/martha-graham-dance-company-clytemnestra last accessed 05/01/2010) These were an important influence for many people. She changed the way many perceive and interpret dance. It was 1910 when Graham was sixteen that she first laid eyes on an enthralling dance piece. It was seeing Ruth St. Denis at a performance of her famous solos The Cobras, Radha, Nautch and Egypta, in Los Angeles that caught her attention. Graham knew from this point on that this new, defining concept of dance with bare feet and natural flow is what she wanted to devote her life to. Due to her persistent and determined nature, she refused to conform to the social normalities of ballet within contemporary dance. It was 1926 when Graham formed the Martha Graham Dance Company. She veered off from the strict form of traditional ballet and led the way for a new language of dance which was based on her own principles of dance as an inner expression. With this ideology she focused more on significant movement than on classical technique, the likes of which ballet demands. She loved the form of precise movements of the body and she was set to faà §ade classical dance moves. She would go on to do this through her expressionistic work. Many of her performances would involve a rather racy theme, or something that was very rare for the period in which it was created. She also reflected what was going on around her socially. When discussing Grahams use of contraction and release, for which she was so well known, Susie Cooper (2009) states, Graham developed the movements of breathing contraction and release as the basis for her movement vocabulary and technique. When breaking down the dance of Graham I think Merle Armitage said it best; The dance of Martha Graham is neither literally (story telling in the allegorical sense) nor is it symbolic. It is a pure art of the dancea play of form which in itself is significant and provocativea language of its own, not a hand-maiden of another art form. Perhaps it is the first uninfluenced American dance expression, wholly disarming in its simplicity but curiously profound in its complexity. (Armitage, M. 1969 Martha Graham the early years. Da Capo Press, Inc.) Graham was greatly influenced by her father. Dr Graham was a physician who showed particular interest in the way people moved and used their bodies. This state of mind was passed on to his daughter and later on in her life she used to state his favoured dictum movement never lies.Graham was inspired by many different sources ranging from paintings and artwork to Greek mythology, Native American ceremonies and the American Frontier. Most of her truly memorable roles depict grand and significant women in history. Such as Clytemnestra, Jocasta, Medea, Phaedra and Joan of Arc.Lamentation is Grahams dance from 1930. It is a solo choreography which shows the struggle of human emotion and is a visual counterpart to the contemporary architecture that was beginning to grace the skyline of New York in a new and exciting way. Graham describes her piece as; a solo piece in which I wear a long tube of material to indicate the tragedy that obsesses the body, the ability to stretch inside your own skin, to witness and test the perimeters and boundaries of grief, which is honourable and universal. (Graham, M. 1991 Blood Memory: An Autobiography. Doubleday; 1st edition.) Many of her movements in this piece are from a grounded position and slowly contract and release to an upward position, much like the building and construction of a skyscraper. For example she is sitting on the edge of a bench and contracts from side to side and then arches into a high release which represents the rise of a building. As the dance progresses Grahams movements become a lot faster and angular. This shows the speed and contemporary design that the buildings were being built. It seems safe to assume that her fundamental aim is to allow the power and energy of the living world to filter through and animate her work. (Armitage, M. 1969 Martha Graham the early years. Da Capo Press, Inc.) Chronicle (1936) brought upon a new period of contemporary dance. Completely danced by women, serious issues were brought to light for the first time. It is a preface to war, devastation, destruction and seclusion. It showed Grahams anti-war stance. It was a counterpart to events such as the great depression. It was an iconic step forward in modern dance. Clytemnestra (1958) was considered by many to be Grahams masterpiece. It was an evening long performance, her largest scale work that she ever produced. Composed by Halim El-Dabh. The piece is based on an ancient Greek story about Queen Clytemnestra. It involves love affairs and sacrifice of her daughter. This was a very symbolic piece, use of red material as costume and props for the entrance to the Queens bedchamber. Graham had used material before in Lamentation but not in a design way, so Isamu Noguchi incorporated it within the design. (Graham, M. 1991 Blood Memory: An Autobiography. Doubleday; 1st edition.)Graham collaborated with many artists and visionaries alike. (The following are just to name a few.) Many of whom influenced her work and she in turn influenced them. Isamu Noguchi was a famous sculptor and was a good friend of Grahams and created many of her sets for her pieces. Graham was often compared to many famous artists by society. Her affect on dance was thought upon like Stravinskys music, Picassos paintings or Frank Lloyd Wrights architecture. One of the foremost composers of the time, Aaron Copland, worked with Graham. Copland was known to incorporate jazz music and folk music into his compositions, a revolutionary design for the time. This was then shown through Grahams pieces, for example, Appalachian Spring (1944), one of Grahams well known dances, had a brand new score created for it by Copland. This was a revolutionary piece both in the style of the choreography and of the music. Appalachian Spring was Grahams piece based on a springtime celebration of the American pioneers of the 19th century after they build a new farmhouse. Other composers were William Schuman, who composed Night Journey (1947) for Graham, Samuel Barber composed Frescoes (1978/79). Louis Horst was another of Grahams most valued composers, also known to be Grahams closest adviser on choreographic and creative issues. Graham collaborated with the famous designer Roy Halston Frowick, who created the costumes for some of her later works. He was one of the most proclaimed designers of the seventies. The first time Graham collaborated with Halston was on her work Lucifer (1975), which starred Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev. Lucifer was a reference to the light bearer of biblical times. When talking about this piece Graham states; Many people have asked me why I did Lucifer with Rudolf Nureyev. Lucifer is the bringer of light. When he fell from grace he mocked Gosh. He became half god, half man. As half man, he knew mens fears, anguish, and challenges. He became the god of light. Any artist is the bringer of light. Thats why I did with Nureyev. Hes a god of light.And Margot Fonteyn was such a glorious complement to him at it. Luminous as night. When I first saw Margot Fonteyn she was a great and beautiful figure. The magic of Margots presence is an elusiveness of spirit that defies description (Graham, M. 1991. Blood Memory: An Autobiography. Doubleday; 1st edition.) Grahams final performance in which she danced was her work Cortege of Eagles (1967). It is one of her Greek mythology drawn pieces. It is about Hecuba reliving the massacre of the Trojan War. It is a very dramatic based piece focusing on the internal actions and ideals of Hecuba. It is not as investigative as her earlier Greek mythology drawn pieces. It has a focus to emotions and presence more than movement of Graham herself. Instead the actions are carried out by the chorus of dancers. As if they were playing out Hecubas memories. Martha Graham is still celebrated today as one of the most important performers and choreographers of all time. Maple Leaf Rag (1990) was Grahams last choreographed work with a score by Scott Joplin and Calvin Kleins costumes. Graham was working on a piece called The Eye of the Goddess before her death in 1991. It was her new ballet for the Olympic Games in Barcelona. So many of her students became choreographers and company leaders and took a certain aspect of her work with them. Merce Cunningham is a prime example, and this is one of the reasons why we still get to see a lot of her style of work today. Graham changed the concept of what we know as contemporary/modern dance. If not for her, many ideas of how we perceive dance would not exist in the present day. Some found Grahams work ugly and hateful; others called it a revolutionary masterpiece. People have asked me why I chose to be a dancer. I did not choose. I was chosen to be a dancer, and with that, you live all your life. (Graham, M. 1991. Blood Memory: An Autobiography. Doubleday; 1st edition.) Bibliography Books Horosko, M. 2002 Martha Graham: The Evolution of Her Dance Theory and Training. University press of Florida. Armitage, M. 1969 Martha Graham the Early Years. Da Capo Press, Inc. Graham, M. 1991 Blood Memory: An Autobiography. Doubleday; 1st edition. DVDs/Videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEvcP-vXk4M (Last accessed on 13/11/09) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgf3xgbKYko (Last accessed on 12/11/09) DVD Martha Graham in Performance. Kultur. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFNsKeMbW20 (Last accessed on 19/12/09) http://community.ovationtv.com/_Martha-Graham-A-Dancer-Revealed/video/251083/16878.html (Last accessed on 06/01/10) Websites http://www.studio360.org/americanicons/episodes/2006/01/07 (Last accessed on 13/11/09) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Graham (Last accessed on 13/11/09) http://www.cmi.univ-mrs.fr/~esouche/dance/Lamentation.html (Last accessed on 12/11/09) http://www.dancehelp.com/articles/modern-dance/martha-graham.aspx (Last accessed on 13/11/09) http://www.pitt.edu/~gillis/dance/martha.html (Last accessed on 26/11/09) http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/aaron-copland/about-the-composer/475/ (Last accessed on 19/12/09) http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/martha-graham/about-the-dancer/497/ (Last accessed on 19/12/09) http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/isamu-noguchi/about-isamu-noguchi/675/ (Last accessed on 19/12/09) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachian_Spring (Last accessed on 19/12/09) http://www.studio360.org/americanicons/episodes/2006/01/07 (Last accessed on 19/12/09) http://www.answers.com/topic/louis-horst-1 (Last accessed on 19/12/09) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Schuman (Last accessed on 19/12/09) http://marthagraham.org/resources/about_martha_graham.php (Last accessed on 19/12/09) http://www.innovationpark.psu.edu/coolblue/events/martha-graham-dance-company-clytemnestra (Last accessed on 05/01/10) http://www.nytimes.com/1985/04/06/arts/the-dance-martha-graham-s-cortege-of-eagles.html?pagewanted=1 (Last accessed on (05/01/10) http://www.exploredance.com/marthagraham2103.php (Last accessed on 05/01/10) http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/47790.Martha_Graham (Last accessed on 06/01/10)

Got Milk? Essay -- Advertising Media Advertisements Essays

Got Milk? In the fast paced world of today, advertisers have to keep up with the times. One of the best ways they do this is through the Got Milk ads. Milk is a part of everyday life and the advertisers for Milk show this through modern tactics and popular celebrities. By putting familiar faces on magazine ads and using interesting T.V. commercials, companies sell their products. The ways in which they sell the products is not by just stating that their product is good, they appeal to the human emotions, ethics and most of all what is logical. There are many ad campaigns out there that strongly target one area, such as your emotions, but the Got Milk advertisers campaign has all three of these factors. To begin with, each ad is placed in a certain magazine based on who the reader will be, for instance, a 17-year-old girl is going to be reading Seventeen, not Maxim. When I looked through one of my Seventeen magazines I found a Got Milk ad with Britney Spears in tight clothing standing next to a little girl in a ballet costume. Above the little girl’s head was a statement that said Grow Up. This ad tries to appeal to a person’s logical side. At the bottom of the ad is written, â€Å" 15% of your height is added during your teen years and milk can help make the most of it.† A seventeen year old girl looks at this ad and is tempted to look just like her, so not only is this ad logical it also appeals to a girl’s emotional side. You would not find this ad in a car magazine for older men. Ad companies are not just trying to sell you a product they are trying to sell you the image of their product. It is not just magazine companies that try to get people to buy their product by appealing to emotions, logic and ethics, the pr... ...information posted about the company have a copyright from The National Milk Processor Promotion Board. When we see an ad campaign we know who the company is and exactly what they are selling. We have already seen how different tactics that companies use appeal greatly to ones emotions and ethics but exactly how logical is it? We never consider who is telling us that milk is good. People believe buying milk is right because the ads continuously state that it is good. The campaign for milk appeals to people’s emotions, ethics and their logic, it works because, people continue to buy milk. There are so many ads for milk out there that people just see them and believe that milk is right for them because it says so. People will continue living like this, buying the product without really knowing who sells it because it works, they get money for it and we get milk. Got Milk? Essay -- Advertising Media Advertisements Essays Got Milk? In the fast paced world of today, advertisers have to keep up with the times. One of the best ways they do this is through the Got Milk ads. Milk is a part of everyday life and the advertisers for Milk show this through modern tactics and popular celebrities. By putting familiar faces on magazine ads and using interesting T.V. commercials, companies sell their products. The ways in which they sell the products is not by just stating that their product is good, they appeal to the human emotions, ethics and most of all what is logical. There are many ad campaigns out there that strongly target one area, such as your emotions, but the Got Milk advertisers campaign has all three of these factors. To begin with, each ad is placed in a certain magazine based on who the reader will be, for instance, a 17-year-old girl is going to be reading Seventeen, not Maxim. When I looked through one of my Seventeen magazines I found a Got Milk ad with Britney Spears in tight clothing standing next to a little girl in a ballet costume. Above the little girl’s head was a statement that said Grow Up. This ad tries to appeal to a person’s logical side. At the bottom of the ad is written, â€Å" 15% of your height is added during your teen years and milk can help make the most of it.† A seventeen year old girl looks at this ad and is tempted to look just like her, so not only is this ad logical it also appeals to a girl’s emotional side. You would not find this ad in a car magazine for older men. Ad companies are not just trying to sell you a product they are trying to sell you the image of their product. It is not just magazine companies that try to get people to buy their product by appealing to emotions, logic and ethics, the pr... ...information posted about the company have a copyright from The National Milk Processor Promotion Board. When we see an ad campaign we know who the company is and exactly what they are selling. We have already seen how different tactics that companies use appeal greatly to ones emotions and ethics but exactly how logical is it? We never consider who is telling us that milk is good. People believe buying milk is right because the ads continuously state that it is good. The campaign for milk appeals to people’s emotions, ethics and their logic, it works because, people continue to buy milk. There are so many ads for milk out there that people just see them and believe that milk is right for them because it says so. People will continue living like this, buying the product without really knowing who sells it because it works, they get money for it and we get milk.

Free Hamlet Essays: Father and Son in Hamlet :: The Tragedy of Hamlet Essays

Father and Son in Hamlet Although they may exhibit some similar traits, all fathers and sons are individuals. They are, or will become, their own man. This development is based on life experience, which is never the same for any two people. In the case of King and Prince Hamlet, this also holds true. King Hamlet must have been a good father for his son to be so devoted and loyal to him. It almost seems that the Prince made an idol of his father. In Prince Hamlet's first soliloquy he described his father as an excellent king, a god-like figure and a loving husband. It is strange that the Prince did not convey information about being a loving father. It is left for us to infer that there must have been a special bond between father and son for the Prince to be so willing to carry out retribution against his father's murderer. Hamlet describes his father in this way: "See, what a grace was seated on his brow:/ Hyperions curls, the front of Jove himself,/ An eye like Mars, to threaten or command/ A station like the herald Mercury" (Act III,scene IV,55-59) Prince Hamlet feels a great obligation to carry out the direction of the ghost of his father to avenge his father's death. Here we see a bit of his conflict. Since there doesn't seem to be much description of interaction of King and Prince, it is left to us to decide if Hamlet loved his father or he has agreed to avenge the death of his father due to a sense of filial duty. After the Prince has killed Polonius, the spirit of King Hamlet reappears for the 2nd time to the Prince when he is condemning his mother for her misdeeds. It almost seems like the ghost is acting just like most fathers. He seems to be prodding a too slow child. The ghost reminds Hamlet that he has promised to get revenge for the King's death. Prince Hamlet does seem to feel conflict in carrying out the charge. When and how to act and how fast are questions that appear in his mind. What was Prince Hamlet like? In Act III scene 1 (158-162) Ophelia describes him, before his father's death, as an accomplished man. "O, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown!/ The courtier's, soldier's scholar's eye, tongue, sword;/ The expectancy and rose of the fair state,/ The glass of fashion and the mold of form,/ The observ'd of all observers, quite, quite down!

The proper role of education is to teach facts, not morals

Certainly, teachers have a long list of responsibilities every day. The most important one of course is enriching the minds of our children. A large amount of their time is spent with teachers throughout the week and they become one of children’s biggest influences. Sure, their major responsibility is to teach them reading, writing and arithmetic, they also have an obligation to encourage the right morals as well. In many cases teachers become one of the biggest influences in children’s lives. There are many people, including famous ones who will say that one of their teachers was their influence to thrive and succeed in life. Understandably, teachers are working hard to maintain the educational goals necessary to have the children succeed in life as far as academics is concerned. However, just as important is a child’s moral compass. Some may argue that it’s the parent’s responsibility to teach them morals at home, but it’s just as important that the teacher reinforce and instill new morals in the classroom. The most important factor that teachers and parents must consider is that children will one day become adults and having a great set of morals will greatly impact society. This idea is not novel; institutions of higher learning have these principals in place for their students for quite some time Most colleges and universities have codes of conduct that students must adhere to, in order to maintain student status there. Also, doctors take the Hippocratic oath, to ensure there are ethics that must be maintained in order to be a doctor.

Standardized Testing in Schools

standardised psychometric examines atomic number 18 administered in every last(predicate)(prenominal) shoals crosswise the U. S. in lieu of the basal and Secondary bringing up function of 1965 and the No tiddler leave Behind form of 2001. According to these laws, drills pass to administer regularize tests to qualify for conglomerate types of licensing and harmonizes. For instance, a occurrent percentage of the students in public schools mustiness ex ex extend the regularize tests to be allowed supplyeral support and funding for that particular school. If the results of the similar tests be non at par, the school does non get funding.At the equivalent time, many students present to aim senior high school-stakes similar tests to get into various colleges/universities of their choice. If the students do non do rise on much(prenominal)(prenominal) tests, they ar denied admissions. The thing to note head-nigh these exchangeable tests is that they ar not tried and they contain various biases in them. many a(prenominal) battalion defy criticized how such tests do not contain relevant study that cook up be found in the course broadcast and they test students on impractical directs. Others believe that standardise tests try results based on very roughly parameters that do not reflect the students substantive intelligence.Looking at the various researches and opinions of critics, we cons full-strength that order interrogatory is not an in force(p) handbill of gauging students intelligence, and they should not be apply in schools. For example, bingle of the unsoundgest reasons convertible test is not stiff is because of the subjectivity that dirty dog be found in such tests. For instance, Williams (2005) speaks of how many of the standardise tests be gauged by computers. These computers look at the auditions input and they impart the results after running certain algorithms that measure certain aspects of the essay, such as structure.Williams (2005) presents a very interesting fact of how some of his colleagues and heretofore he himself used an online website to pay essays closely a subject and fed that into the exam machine. The essay that was generated was completely gibberish but was constructed worthyly according to the rules of grammar. For instance, the essay was supposed to be about standardized scrutiny, but it speaks of how goernmental officials and monarchs use the system. The testing machine, however, said that the essay was very well written. This is because the essay followed rules of grammar impeccably, even though it did not puzzle out any sense.This shows how standardized testing chamberpot be extremely in incumbranceive, as they atomic number 18 mostly macrocosm gauged by computers that assess their structure and not their contents. an some other(prenominal)(prenominal) problem with standardized tests is that they do not take into account the syllabu s that students call for all year run through in their classroom curriculum (Rosengarten, 2002). This authority that it makes what children are being taught in classrooms as being useless. peasantren are taught a different syllabus in class, and they are expected to deposit for a test that tests them on other criteria.This causes two problems one, that the children are being disposed two different types of education, and two, educateers are not sure what to teach their children. They must teach the children the regular coursework, however, they in addition must make sure that the children pass the standardized test so that they can receive the federal official funding and grant, as per the No chela Left Behind identification number. some wad have criticized this act. According to his act, each school must administer standardized tests to its students so that all schools can be gauged on a similar platform (United States plane section of Education, 2001).If the students attain a certain level of tag on these tests, the public schools are given the federal funding and grant however, if the school fails, the grants are withdrawn (Diorio, 2008). This is why most of the schools pressure their teachers to deposit the students in such a way so that they ace the standardized tests (Smyth, 2008). This can be problematic. other problem with standardized testing is that when teachers prepare the students for the standardized tests, they neglect and brush aside the subjects that the students will not be well-tried on.For example, most of the standardized tests focus on mathematics and English skills much. This is why to table service students pass the standardized tests, teachers pay more than than attention to these subjects and other subjects, such as science, humanities, history, and art are ignored. Children are getting a skew education that is made-to-order to fulfill the federal mandate. Moreover, as mention earlier, most of the standardiz ed tests test students on knowledge that is not part of their syllabus.This results in teachers preparing the students to take the test and do well at it, alternatively of providing a equal form of education that benefits students crossways all the different subjects. This also means that students can effectively remain lazy and not study all year round and only prepare themselves to take the standardized tests at the end of year to pass their grades. This is also not good, as the students are not being given the proper way of being educated, which should be logical all year round and not focused on passing one test at the end of the year.Furthermore, standardized tests are also not effective because they contain various biases (Se Queda, 2011). This is because the standardized tests are designed to be administered to a freehanded population that has to take the said(prenominal)(p) test. whole the students are considerd to answer the test in the alike manner. This can be pro blematic, as the U. S. has a very respective(a) student population from various social, cultural, and pagan backgrounds (Scholmerich et al, 2008). Placing them all on the same level and playing field is giving return to some of the students while making it more difficult for others.For instance, children from different parts of the unsophisticated would have different doctors of skills. For example, a child raised in a big city, such as New York City, would have completely different mindset and set of skills than a child who was raised in a small town, such as Fort Pierce, Florida. This has to do with cultural kinetics and the way that children are taught, treated, and raised in different surroundings. Each of these children would respond in different ways to various educational questions because of their differences in the way that they were raised. regulate tests do not account for such differences, as the same test is administered in the same manner for all students. At the same time, children with disabilities, e. g. blind children, are also mandated to take standardized test under Individuals with Disabilities Education puzzle out (IDEA). In such cases, the questions are read out aloud to the children and they have to speak out their answers (National Council on Disability, 2008). However, the No Child Left Behind Act ignores the blind children and gives them a null score Mefford, 2009) since they cannot read, which means that the standardized tests are skewed and aslope. Additionally, many critics have voiced their concerns over how standardized tests should not be allowed because they are unfair. Such critics talk about how the questions require a set of knowledge and skills more likely to be possessed by children from a privileged background. The discriminatory effect is particularly pronounced with norm-referenced tests, where the imperative to outflank out the scads often produces questions that faucet knowledge gained outside of school (K ohn, 2000).At the same time, since the standardized tests contain various patterns that students can be taught, various parents can help their children get the proper supply so that they can pass these tests. This means that the rich and better off people tend to have the ability to give their children with private tuitions, helping them prepare special(prenominal)ally for the standardized tests so that they can do well. This is another bias that can be seen in the standardized tests, as those who are able to move over to get specific education and preparation for the standardized tests are able to get better pull ahead.This goes against the true reasons for the standardized tests, which is to gauge the students equally across the same platform. Clearly, the rich have an advantage, as they can afford to be specifically prepared for the test, giving them better scores not because they are more bright but because they could pay enough currency to tailor their preparation exactl y for the test. Another reason standardized tests are uneffective is because they tend to measure superficial thought rather than the deep mentation of the students.Many scholars have indicated the difference between progressive thought process and superficial cerebration, in that sprightly thinking occurs when students ask many questions about their course, coming up with questions themselves and then linking their current coursework with what they have learned in the past. dilettante thinking occurs when students tend to copy down the answers, do a large list of guesswork and do not debate on the more difficult aspects of the curriculum. inquiry has shown that students who get higher scores on their standardized tests are normally those that pimp more in superficial thinking rather than active thinking.Even though some of the students who indulged in active thinking were also able to get high scores, the correlation between superficial thinking and high scores on stand ardized test is a positive one. This is another reason standardized tests can be seen as being ineffective, as they tend to measure the wrong kind of things kind of of measuring the students who do active thinking, they regard superficial thinking, which is not good. Thus, we find that standardized tests are ineffective for many reasons. Standardized tests test students on a set of knowledge and skills that they are not usually taught in their coursework.This is why many of the teachers tend to teach students how to pass standardized tests sort of of teaching them the proper syllabus. To do this, the teachers have to cut down on other subjects, such as art, and sometimes even take the recess time from the childrens daily timetable. Students can also yield because many subjects that are not pay attention to help children in build their moral and social learning. At the same time, standardized tests tend to be biased against certain portions of the society, as some students are able to do well on them because of their social backgrounds.Children belonging to rich parents also benefit, as they are able to afford tuition and materials that have been designed to prepare them specifically to get good scores on standardized tests. Finally, it has been found that standardized tests measure superficial thinking more than active thinking. All of these reasons depict why standardized testing is wrong and that it should be replaced with other forms of testing that are more homogenized and work to test the students across relevant parameters.ReferencesDiorio, G. L. (2008). No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Retrieved on November 7, 2012 from http//ehis.ebscohost.com Henry, P. (2007). The fount Against Standardized Testing. Minnesota English Journal. 39-71. Retrieved on November 7, 2012 from http//www.mcte.org/journal/mej07/3Henry.pdf Kearns, L. (2011). High stakes Standardized Testing and Marginalized Youth an Examination of the do of on those who Fail. Canadian Jou rnal of Education, 34(2). Kohn, A. (2000, family 27). Standardized Testing and Its Victims. Education Week. Retrieved on November 7, 2012 from http//www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/edweek/staiv.htm Mefford, D. (2009, October 01). Why Was No Child Left Behind a ruin? EduBook. Retrieved on November 7, 2012 from http//www.edubook.com/why-was-no-child-left- scum bag-a-failure/15467/ National Council on Disability. (2008). The No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Retrieved on November 7, 2012 from http//www.ncd.gov Rosengarten, D. (2002). Standing up to standardized tests. Dollars and Sense, 232 6 Scholmerich, A., Leyendeker, B., & Citlak, B., Ulrike,C., Jakel,J., (2008). Assessment of migratory and Minority Children. Journal of Psychology, 216 Se Queda, m. (2011, February). Biases in Standardized testing. Persephone Magazine retrieved October 26.2012Smyth, T. S. (2008, January/February). Who is No Child Left Behind leaving behind? Clearing House, 81 , (3). United States Department of Education. (2001). No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 for Elementary and Secondary Education, Retrieved on November 7, 2012 from http//www2.ed.gov/ insurance policy/elsec/leg/esea02/index.html Williams, B. (2005). Standardized students The problems with writing for tests instead of people. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 49, (2) 155.