Multiculturalism in Early Childhood Education Essay

Introduction In recent times, early childhood education is becoming more diverse. Early childhood providers are required to attempt many challenging tasks. One of the most difficult of these is providing our children with diverse, multicultural experiences. (Ogletree & Larke, 2010) Since the beginning of times, young children have been raised by their families, extended families, clans and communities. Even today, most childcare homes and many early childhood programs tend to be fairly consistent and quite similar to the child’s home background. Parents tend to choose childcare and early childhood programs based on whether the programs match their own views of education and discipline. (Tarman & Tarman, 2011) Programs nowadays are expected to provide the children with experiences outside of their groups, offering opportunities to teach them to be tolerant, respectful and accepting of differences. (Derman-Sparks, 1989) Bennet (1995) described multicultural education â€Å"as an approach to teaching and learning that is based upon democratic beliefs and seeks to foster cultural pluralism within culturally diverse societies and an interdependent world.† In Singapore, where we have a culturally diverse population, it is essential to be sensitive towards each other’s cultural practices, beliefs and views. Thus, the reason to include multicultural education into the early childhood education system deems as important. The logical reason being that brain research has proved that the â€Å"prime time† for emotional and social development in children is from birth to twelve years of age. (Abdullah, 2009) Issues in Including Multicultural Education in Early Childhood Education There are several issues that do not allow multicultural education to permeate the early childhood programs in Singapore. Curriculum The curriculum of a center shows the process in which learning outcomes will be achieved. Therefore, including the goals and objectives of multicultural education into the center’s curriculum is essential. It has to be infused throughout the curriculum. Good early childhood pedagogy reflects and empowers the diverse cultural backgrounds of the children and families with whom they work. (Robinson & Jones, 2006) Including children’s identity into the daily programming and planning of the early childhood curriculum is considered necessary for developing their self-esteem as well as cultivating  their appreciation for diversity that exists more widely in our society. (Abdullah, 2009) In Singapore, multicultural education is not a mainstream issue. With Singaporeans being more aware of issues and events through globalization and internet, it is truly essential that multicultural education is included in schools. Quah (as cited in Berthelsen & Karuppiah, 2011) has discussed the expanded ethnic and religious awareness strain among Singapore in recent years. Recent cases such as the wearing of the Muslim head-dress in government schools drummed up a buzz around the diverse ethnic groups in Singapore and resuscitated ethnic strains. These cases show that government policies need to be re-evaluated painstakingly so as to safeguard cultural harmony and maintain respect for cultural diversity. Thus, gaining support from the Government to deal with this issue indepth is significant. Language Development Usually the educational system in most countries applies the national language as the medium of instruction. However, multiculturalism and the distinguishment of the important role of language in studying makes it compulsory for differing qualities of dialect, abilities and correspondence styles to be recognized, esteemed and utilized within all early childhood services. The procurement for children to study the majority language whilst maintaining their first language ought to be underpinned and energized. This obviously is to propose bilingualism or in any event underpin for the home dialect as a strategy even at the unanticipated youth level. (Abdullah, 2009) Research has demonstrated that there can just be favourable circumstances to the child other than ensuring and regarding home dialect. (Hakuta, 1986) This primary issue and challenge for the procurement of bilingual training is one of human assets. Relatively few countries will have the personnel who themselves are bilingual or multilingual. Consequently, children with languages other than the national language to look, maintain and to develop  and broaden their language and concept development within early childhood services.(Vuckovic, 2008) All children have the chance to listen to, utilise and study the majority language in a steady environment where assets, materials and individuals are utilized to scaffold their learning in a majority language. Early Childhood Education Staff Staff working in childcare centers and early childhood education programs has the ability to create an impact on the children’s developing attitudes towards cultural diversity more than any other person in the child’s life. This is an undeniable fact. It is crucial that staff go through appropriate training or staff advancement programs, which include the essential knowledge, skills and attitudes for such an avocation. Teacher must take the steps necessary to better themselves as teachers in multicultural education settings. With the changing face of today’s classrooms, there is a growing need to address multiculturalism an diversity awareness. (Riskowski & Olbricht, 2010) Training courses for early childhood educators might as well have components in both content and conveyance that address diversity of cultures. (Verma, 2003) Pre-service preparation in the form of actual scenarios where teachers are set in multicultural or classrooms made up of cultures different from their own are particularly adequate in getting them to re-look at their existing convictions and biases.(Jacobson, 2003) This type of learning emphatically influences teachers’ manners towards teaching in diverse settings. Pre-service learning has the potential of enabling teacher candidates to stand up to challenging issues of social inequities and to start the deconstruction of lifelong attitudes and the development of socially just educators. (Baldwin, Buchanan & Rudisill, 2007) Issues Affecting Child as a Learner Children need an education, which allows them to take their place in this multicultural society. A child as young as two and three years are familiar with human distinctions and this mindfulness is connected with the improvement of specific disposition. An essential socialization as well as  preferences and habit pattern in the early years of life leaves a preserving impact on the individual. .(Jacobson, 2003) These findings feature the importance of bringing social values and attitudes to children’s attention during this critical developmental period. Using this evidence, it becomes clear that early childhood community needs to address the needs of multicultural children and their unique families. These children include biological, multiracial and multi-ethnic children in blended homes, foster homes, adoptive homes and a variety of biological homes. In the early years, the child’s family assumes the leading role in socialising the child to the conduct, beliefs, convictions and plans held inside their culture. (Garbarino, 1992) With the rise in the amount of working parents and children partaking in group programs from an early age, preschools have likewise turned into compelling socialisation force. (Berthelsen & Karuppiah, 2011) Young children who live in a multicultural community experience social differences firsthand; it is part of their world. Then again, other children who live in a monocultural group frequently have challenges comprehending and tolerating an environment that is not the same as theirs. Knowing increasingly about the noteworthiness of children’s voyages between home and school and the impacts of these adventures, teachers can help these children unite the universes of home and school and all different worlds that they might experience in theirdaily lives. (Vuckovic, 2008) Pressures from mass media likewise push an impact on children to fit in with a uniform set of necessitites, dialect, method of articulation inshort, a whole way of life. They are exposed to a ‘counter culture’, which declines and demoralizes articulation from expressing their culture of origin. Regularly, this brings about immense pressures for the children, with parents demanding adherence to the old customs, with traditions practised in the home and frequently in activities outside the home. The consequence is that by and large, parents get estranged from their children who are attempting to comprehend and adapt to their transitory sub-culture, yet endeavouring to make a successful modification into another society, which  secretively and frequently unintentionally denies them this right.( Lin & Bates, 2010) Misconceptions in Teachers The most common issue is misconceptions in multiculturalism. Educators are unsure of their own ability to define what their role is in teaching culture. Teachers need the knowledge, skills and positive attitudes to know what to teach and how to teach. (Berthelsen, & Karuppiah, 2011) Teachers need to teach in a way that will meet the needs of all of their students. It may not be easy and may require more attention, time and effort. An issue teachers face is that pre-service teachers are leaving their courses unassuming to educate in today’s diverse classrooms. The dominant parts of them are leaving courses after just having one or two essential modules on educating in a multicultural setting. They are not ready for interacting with different cultures than the shielded ones that a large portion of them live in. (Lin & Bates, 2010) They are not ready for the distinctive needs controlled by today’s multicultural student population. They end up being not as qualified in this area as they should be. One reason for this could be that teachers express that students oppose multicultural education. (Atwater, Freeman, Bulter & Morris, 2010) Why is this the case? Everyone holds his or her beliefs about things. The zone of multicultural instruction is no distinctive. One of the first things that a teacher must do is to analyse herself. She ought to perceive how the conclusions, convictions and viewpoints that she holds influence the curriculum that she is planning to teach. Whether purposeful or not, a teacher’s comtemplations, recognitions, inclinations and sentiments can likely be depicted to her students. (Nichols & Dong, 2011) A â€Å"tourist approch† towards multiculturalism where cultures are only taught through celebrations, food and traditional clothing is a very common sighting in Singapore. (Berthelsen & Karrupiah, 2011) It is both disparaging and trivializing and does not give a genuine comprehension of different societies.(Derman-Sparks, 1989) Teacher need to comprehend their own particular convictions about cultures and differing qualities so as to  execute multicultural education programs viably with young children. Teachers should take the steps important to better themselves as instructors in multicultural settings. This is no feat that can be accomplished overnight. Multicultural Education in Singapore Singapore is a multi-racial, multi-lingual and multi-religious society. Our population comprises mainly Chinese, Malays, Indians and others. Multicultural education is not a mainstream issue in Singapore. While the government has been capable to keep up peace and congruity through its political, social and financial strategies and unique days, it does not manage the issue in profundity. As Singaporeans are presently for the most part more mindful of issues and occasions around the world through globalization and the web, it has become progressively critical for Singapore to think about multicultural education in schools. In the meantime as empowering differences through conservation of the social personality of the racial and ethnic aggregations in the nation, the government has likewise attempted to work towards building social union around diverse assemblies, which offered ascent to the trademark ‘unity in diversity’. (Berthelsen & Karuppiah, 2011) For multicultural ed ucation to be viable, it must be taught in the early years of education and strengthened in the later stages. Since children’s attitudes to their and other social assemblies start to structure in the early years, early childhood educators can impact the improvement of uplifting demeanor towards others, as well as consolidating an educational program concentrate on tolerance wand cross-cultural understandings of others. Early childhood educators, however, cannot adopt a â€Å"tourist approach† to multiculturalism which generalizes other societies and transforms the multicultural educational module into a â€Å"tourist curriculum†. ‘Tourist curriculum† which educates about cultures through festivals and antiquities of society, for example, food and traditional clothing, is both disparaging and trivializing and does not give a genuine comprehension of other cultures. Teachers need to understand their own beliefs about culture and diversity in order to implement multicultural education programs effectively with young children. (Berthelsen & Karuupiah, 2011) A survey was done by Berthelsen & Karuppiah(2011) to find out their understandings of multicultural education and their perceptions of its  importance in early childhood education. This was conducted in Singapore among a variety of teachers workingin private and public kindergartens and childcare centers. The participants came from different ethnic groups in Singapore. Perceptions about multiculturalism and children’s learning In this case study, they found that most teachers had restricted comprehension of multiculturalism. They saw multiculturalism as just regarding race and in the connection of Singapore.  About 60% of the participants expressed that multicultural education implied having information of one;s culture and additionally other cultures. They believed that this learning is sufficient and would immediately carry individuals out of diverse societies together. Another 40% showed that children learn prejudices, dispositions, convictions and qualities from the adults around them, parents and teachers. They communicated convictions that schools assume a paramount part in educating children about diverse cultures. Beliefs about teaching for multiculturalism The same group of teachers were asked their beliefs about teaching for multiculturalism. Twenty of them thought directing a multicultural program implied examining distinctive cultures regarding their food, clothing, celebrations, traditions and so forth. This brings it back to the â€Å"tourist approach† that Derman-Sparks(1989) implied when educating about multiculturalism. They did not go past a tourist point of view in advancing an ‘anti-bias’ approach to educating and researching the distinctive cultures. Thirteen others said preschool centers should treat kids of diverse cultures similarly and decently. Sixteen teachers thought individuals might as well put stock in multicultural education and be supportive of it. The greater part of teachers who had constructive encounters in multicultural situations or with multicultural individuals were likewise more agreeable than others without such encounters in examining multicultural issues. A few teachers had reservations about talking over  Ã¢â‚¬Å"delicate† issues, for example race or religion. Professional learning needs about multiculturalism Based on the survey done by Berthelsen & Karuppiah(2011), the teachers comprehended that they needed to understand more about multicultural education. They agreed that teachers needed knowledge, skills and positive attitudes to know what to teach and how to teach. However, the teachers did not explicitly discuss the vitality of individual reflection to comprehend their own particular prejudices, demeanor, convictions and qualities, and how these could influence their educating and learning. There were no critical or elaborated ideas on the challenges and opportunities to implement multicultural education programs. Recommendations James A. Banks, a specialist in multicultural education, has developed the five dimensions of multicultural education. He realised that in his work, numerous teachers considered multicultural education as simply content integration, meaning utilizing samples, information and data from diverse cultures. (Ogltree & larke, 2010) The five dimensions are content integration, knowledge constructions, equity pedagogy, prejudice reduction and empowering school culture and social structure. He desired for teachers to have the skills and knowledge and racial attitudes needed to work with people from diverse groups and to use a wide variety of strategies that cater to a wider range of students. (Banks, 2002) Content Integration Teachers should use several different approaches to integrate content about racial, ethnic and cultural groups into the curriculum. One of the most popular is the Contributions Approach. When this approach is used, teachers insert isolated facts about ethnic and cultural group heroes and heroines into the curriculum without changing the structure of their lesson plans and units. Knowledge Construction It helps students to understand how knowledge is constructed and how it reflects the experiences, values, and perspectives of its creators. In this approach, the structure, assumptions, and perspectives of the curriculum are  changed so that the concepts, events, and issues taught are viewed from the perspectives and experiences of a range of racial, ethnic, and cultural groups. The center of the curriculum no longer focuses on mainstream and dominant groups, but on an event, issue, or concept that is viewed from many different perspectives and points of view. This is done while at the same time helping students to understand the nation’s common heritage and traditions. Teachers should help students to understand that while they live in a diverse nation, all citizens of a nation-state share many cultural traditions, values, and political ideals that cement the nation. Multicultural education seeks to actualize the idea of e pluribus unum, i.e. to create a society that recogn izes and respects the cultures of its diverse peoples united within a framework of democratic values that are shared by all. (Banks, 2002) Prejudice Reduction According to Banks, this dimension is important in creating a â€Å"more positive racial and ethnic attitudes.† Basically, this dimension is the aspect of education where the teacher helps to lessen the amount of prejudice within students. Equity Pedagogy Teachers change their methods to enable kids from diverse racial groups and both genders to achieve. Empowering School Culture and Social Structure James Banks talks about looking not just at individual classrooms, but at the total school culture to see how to make it more equitable and using the other four dimensions to create a safe and healthy educational environment for all. James Banks’ five dimensions support that a child’s racial attitudes can change but education must start early and that early childhood programs are the perfect place to start multicultural education. (Vuckovic, 2008) Teachers As such, how can we make this a better transition for both teachers and the children? Sheets(as cited in Nichols & Dong, 2011) said, â€Å"all teachers can begin and most evolve into culturally competent educators; however, it is  important to become conscious that the ardous journey from novice to expert requires hard work, relentless commitment, and a high investment of time and energy†. Two evident approaches for joining multicultural education with teacher education programs are infusion versus segregation, and culture-specific versus culture-general. (Melnick & Zeichner, 1997) Ladson-Billings (as cited in Berthelsen & Karuppiah,2011), proposed a basic structure for breaking down teacher preparation programs. She argued that, paying little mind to prospective teachers; race, ethnicity or backgrounds; the educational module should include a target on comprehending the way of pre-service teacher relationships and the cultural bases of the educational program, educating and society. The education of teachers should boost self-reflection on values and beliefs about cultural difference and advocate the studying approaches, which allow for teacher inclusion that is dymanic, significant and ethno-linguistically appropriate. The plans of Melnick and Zeichner (1997) and Ladson-Billings (as cited in Berthelsen & Karuppiah, 2011) could be connected to teacher education programs for early childhood education in Singapore. Such programs might investigate how preschool educators characterize and conceptualize multicultural education; fuse investigations of the history of race relationships; and use careful investigations and field encounters to provide teachers with chances to gain greater knowledge, skills and understandings of their own culture as well as of other cultural and language groups in their society. In particular, they should learn how to advance suitable programs for young children that consolidate encounters to permit children to comprehend cultural differences and encourage relationships between children of distinctive cultural backgrounds. Environment There is a need for physical environment where children are well versed to reflect the cultures represented by the children working within it. For example, pictures, books, art, music, activities, cooking and recognition of certain significant days important to each culture can reflect this orientation. (Jacobson, 2003) There is a need to advocate in children, knowledge of the similarities and contrasts in cultures, underscoring the  likeness while encouraging an inspirational demeanor towards and delight in the differences. This could be attained through celebrating various holidays, enjoying reading material, folklore, music, art, games and introducing foods of various cultures. There is a need for a social or racial match between some educating staff and children in schools to be accomplished. This shows how the administration and teachers work together to decrease racial stereotypes and prejudices in the school and increase democratic attitudes, values and behaviours. The support from management is definitely essential. (Banks, 2002) Conclusion Multiculturalism is worthwhile undertaking in early childhood education based on our country’s population. It prepares children for the challenges of the globalized world. To attain the above, early childhood settings need to plan an environment, which puts forth diversity positively through resources, and materials that do not sustain stereotypes. It is also essential that a multicultural education, from pre-school onwards permeates the whole curriculum. It is inadequate to commit a component regularly reputed to be ‘ethnic studies’ to a corner of the syllabus or to a half hour period for every week. Most desirable is that interpersonal relations ought to be passed on by long-term and rational modeling and that knowledge gained ought to be by first-hand experience. Important implications need to be addressed before infusing it into the early childhood curriculum and equal collaboration between children, teachers, parents, administrators, employers and the wider community is essential. (Vuckovic, 2008) References Abdullah, A. C. (2009) Multicultural education in early childhood: Issues and challenges. Journal of International Coopeation in Education, 12(1) Atwater, M., Freeman, T., Butler, M., Morris, J. (2010). A case study of science teacher candidates’ understandings and actions related to the culturally responsive teaching of â€Å"other† students. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education. 5. 287-318. Baldwin. S. C., Buchanan, A. M., & Rudisill, M. e. (2007). What teacher candidates learned about diversity, social justice, and themselves from service-learning experiences. Journal of Teacher Education, 58(4), 315-327. Bennett, C. (2003). Comprehensive multicultural education: Theory and practice. (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn Bacon. Berthelsen, D., & Karuppiah, N. (2011). Multiculturaleducation: The understandings of preschool teachers in Singapore. Australian Journal of Early Childhood Education. 36(4). Derman-Sparks, L. (1989). Anti-bias curriculum: Tools for empowering young children. Washington, D.C: National Association for the Education of Young Children. Garbarino, J. (1992). Children and families in the social environment (2nd ed.). New York: Aldine de Gruyter. Hakuta, K. (1986). Mirror of language: The debate on bilingualism. New York: Basic Books. Jacobson, T. (2003). Confronting our discomfort: Clearing the way for anti-bias in early childhood. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Lin, M., & Bates, A. B. (2010). Home visits: How do they affect teachers’ beliefs about teaching and diversity? Early Childhood Education Journal, 38, 179-185. Melnick, S., & Zeichner, K. (1997). Teacher education for cultural diversity. Enhancing the capacity of teacher education for institutions to address diversity issues. In J. King, E. Hollins, & W. Hayman (Eds.), Meeting the challenge of diversity in teacher preparation (pp. 23-39). New York: Teachers College Press. Nichols, M. E., & Dong, E. (2011). Meeting the needs for today’s multicultural classroom: A review of literature. The Journal of Multiculturalism in Education, 7(1). Ogletree, Q., & Larke, P. J. (2010). Implementing multicultural practices in early childhood Education. National Forum of Multicultural Issues Journal, 7(1). Quah, J. S. T. (2000). Government policies and nation-building & searching for Singapore’s national values. Singapore: South East Printing. Riskowski, J. & Olbricht, G. (2010). Student views of diversity: A multicultural mathematics activity. Viewing transformation during the middle school years. Multicultural Education. 2-12. Sheets, R. (2009). What is diversity pedagogy?. Multicultural Education. 11-17. Tarman, I., & Tarman, B. (2011). Developing effective multicultural practices: A case study of exploring a teacher’s understanding and practices. The Journal of International Social Research, 4(17). Verma, G. K. (2003). Ethnic diversity and multicultural education: Cross-cutting issues and concepts. Proceedings of The International Conference on Globalization and Multicultural Perspectives in Education, Penang, Malaysia, 3-4 Dec. 2003. Vuckovic, A. (2008). Making the multicultural learning environment flourish: The importance of the child-teacher relationship in educating young children about diversity. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 33(1).

War on Terror Research Paper

War on Terror Do you ever have one of those moments in your life in which you will never forget where you were? I remember waking up early on September 11, 2001, getting ready for school and my dad telling me hurry up to watch the news with him. Being in 8th grade at the time, the news really wasn’t something I would watch in the mornings so I knew it had to be something important. Then I saw it. An airplane crashing into a tower, people panicking, and mayhem ensuing in a city very well known to me. When any tragic event like 9/11 occurs, the effect it will have on a nation is tremendous.It left America in shock, anger, and sadness just to name a few adjectives to describe the insurmountable amount of feelings that we felt on that day. With America being such a powerful nation, after recovering from the attack the next ideal step would be to seek retaliation, right? Well on October 7th 2001, the war in Afghanistan began marking the first step in the War on Terror. The 9/11 tra gedy was very devastating to the American morale and our sense of security. America being so powerful and strong it may be logical to see how we had a false sense of security when it came to attacks on us.I mean, who would really want to attack one of the strongest nations on Earth? No other nation in their right mind would, right? Wrong. When those two planes hit our towers and another hitting the pentagon we were slapped with a reality check. We weren’t as safe as we thought we were. To add onto things, on September 18th and October 9th, 2001, we were hit by the anthrax attack that killed five and injured seventeen Americans. Something had to be done about this. We shouldn’t be letting other nations attack us like this. So George W. Bush began the War on Terror.The single person who took responsibility for these attacks on America is the notorious Osama Bin Laden. Bin Laden founded the jihadist terrorist organization known as al-Qaeda at around 1988 to late 1989. The al-Qaeda, which translates into â€Å"The Base,† is well known for the September 11th attacks on the United States, but is also responsible for the 1998 US embassy bombings as well as the 2002 bombings in Bali. The war on terror started with America going on the offensive against al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. With Osama bin laden becoming the most wanted criminal in the United States, f not the entire world, other countries would join in our attempt to dismantle the al-Qaeda and their usage of Afghanistan as a home base. Australia, United Kingdom, and the united afghan front became our allies in the war in Afghanistan. These nations would launch Operation Enduring Freedom. While Operation Enduring Freedom was mainly targeting Afghanistan, it also had many subordinate operations. Along with Afghanistan, there were operations in the Philippines, Horn of Africa/Somalia, Pankisi Gorge, Trans Sahara, Caribbean and Central America, and Kyrgyzstan.The terrorist regimes were placed all o ver the world and the nations fighting terrorism found it necessary to assist these other countries in eliminating those hostile forces in their territory. Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines is a currently active mission to fight the terrorist forces of Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah. Abu Sayyaf is an Islamist separatist group that was residing around the southern islands of the Republic of the Philippines while Jamaah Islamiyah is a militant Islamic terrorist group that was spread out through Southeast Asia in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, parts of Thailand, and the Philippines.This operation is still ongoing and has tallied 17 US soldier casualties with >315 enemies killed, including Abu Sayyaf leader Janjalani. Another one of the Operation Enduring Freedom missions was the Horn of Africa (Northeast Africa/Somali Peninsula). This mission was dedicated to stopping terrorism and piracy in the Horn of Africa. The United States lost 29 due to non-combat fata lities, but so far have been able to kill 149-160 insurgents, 67-78 pirates, and captured around 1000 pirates. This mission is still ongoing since October 7th, 2002.There was also another operation held in Africa referred to as Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara. A 500 million budget was approved for the Trans-Saharan Counterterrorism Initiative (TSCTI) that would be spent over a six-year span to support those countries that were facing threats from the al-Qaeda. These countries were primarily Chad, Algeria, Senegal, Nigeria, Morocco, Mali, and Mauritania. Along with the attempts to thwart terrorism, the TSCTI were also focusing on drug and weapon trafficking. One of the main points of this specific mission was to train these 10 nations with the ecessary skills and equipment to combat these problems on their own. The last two Operation Enduring Freedom missions are â€Å"Caribbean and Central America† and Kyrgyzstan. The Caribbean and Central American mission ha s forces deployed in El Salvador, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Belize, Honduras, and Costa Rica. The US Air Force at Manas International Airport primarily runs the operation in Kyrgyzstan near the capitol Bishkek. Now onto the main mission in Operation Enduring Freedom, the War in Afghanistan.The main reason behind this war was to dismantle the al-Qaeda organization and stopping them from using Afghanistan as their base. The United States would also go on to state that they were attempting to take the Taliban out of power and create a nation with a more democratic government. This war began on October 7th, 2001, and is still ongoing today making it the United States longest running war. â€Å"Article 51 permits a victimized state to engage in ‘individual or collective self-defense’ until recourse has been taken by the Security Council to establish peace† (Maogoto, 2003).The reason that this war was criticized so much was because people felt that bombi ng and attacking Afghanistan was not self-defense because the 9/11 attacks were done by non-state actors, not Afghanistan’s own army. Either way, President George W. Bush was given authorization by Congress to go ahead and begin the war against Afghanistan on September 18th 2001, when a legislation called â€Å"Authorization for Use of Military Forces Against Terrorists,† was passed. With the War in Afghanistan being the longest war that the US has run, it is understandable that there are many losses.In our coalition there were 3,097 killed with 2,031 of them being from the United States, over 23,500 wounded, and 1 missing/captured. Of the contractors hired, there were 1,143 killed and over 15,000 wounded. The Afghan Security Forces lost 10,086+ and the Afghan Northern Alliance lost over 200. As for the opposing forces, there was no real reliable estimate, but the Taliban forces were estimated to be around 25,000 strong. One of the more shocking numbers to be brought u p in losses is how many civilians were killed during the attacks.A rough estimate of civilian casualties is 12,500 – 14,700. While there were many causes for the civilian casualties, the majority of the losses came from the airstrikes and improvised explosives by the insurgents. The civilian deaths caused a lot of tension between the foreign countries and Afghanistan government causing President Karzai to summon his foreign military commanders to tell them â€Å"his people’s patience was wearing thin† (BBC, 2007). Even though there were many losses suffered by all participants and those civilians, there was a huge victory for the United States on May 2nd, 2011.This was the day that al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden, was finally shot and killed by the US forces in Pakistan (BBC, 2011). They would later confirm the death through DNA tests This could have also been another one of those â€Å"you’ll never forget where you were† events for many seeing ho w he caused so much damage with the 9/11 attacks. The next war to start after Operation Enduring Freedom began was the Iraq war. The reasons behind this war have been extremely debated and discussed since it started. The official factors were listed in the â€Å"Iraq Resolution. † Here are some of the reasons to invade Iraq (President George W.Bush, 2002): * Members of al-Qaeda, the ones responsible for attacks on the US, were residing in Iraq. * Iraq paid bounties to suicide bomber’s families. * Iraq was brutally repressing their civilian population. * Iraq was not complying with the 1991 ceasefire agreement while also interfering with U. N. weapons instructors. * Iraq was â€Å"continuing to aid and harbor other international terrorist organizations,† that also included anti-United States terrorist organizations. * Turkey, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia wanted Saddam out of power in Iraq and feared what he may do.Those were listing only a few reasons, but another bi g factor in the Iraq War was that Saddam Hussein did not stop producing weapons of mass destruction in 2003 after the Duelfer Report revealed that information. In 1991, Hussein’s WMD capability was essentially destroyed by sanctions to restore Iraq’s economy to a more stable condition. On October 21, 2011, Obama announced, â€Å"After nearly 9 years, America’s war in Iraq will be over. † The last troops to leave Iraq were leaving by January 1st, 2012, and that the troops in Afghanistan would start to come home as well.A big problem that these wars caused for America, aside from the casualties, was how much money was spent. A lot of people look at the War on Terror and the Iraq War as the main reasons the American economy has taken a huge dive the last decade or so. From 2001 through 2011 the Afghanistan war cost the United States about $433 billion dollars (Bingham, 2012). The Iraq war has cost about $806 billion dollars so far, but Obama has said it may cost over $1 trillion dollars when it is all over (Krutzleben, 2011).However, with all these wars not completely wrapped up, the final price of war could be as high as $4. 4 trillion dollars when all is told (costofwar. org, 2012). War affects every country involved, but specifically the veterans who participated and contributed to the war. It would only seem logical that those countries that have had veterans deployed and fight for their nation should be taking care of them as best they can. From the veterans who came back from the Iraq war, 20. 3% of active soldiers and 42. 4% of reserve soldiers required mental health treatment (Milliken, 2007).The total numbers of those diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from the Iraq and Afghanistan war is about 30% of the 834,463 who were in those wars (Reno, 2012). These numbers were only the veterans that were treated by the V. A. (Veteran’s Association) hospitals, so there could actually be more who have not looked for fur ther treatment after returning. With some of these numbers rising as more soldiers are returning from the wars, this would mean the V. A. hospitals would need to hire more mental health professionals to deal with the influx in PTSD cases continuing to go up.The V. A. has increased their mental health investments by more than 1/3rd in the last three years. They have â€Å"hired more than 4,000 mental health professionals† and in April 2012 have announced they will add 1,600 more professionals, totaling their mental health staff to 22,000 (Reno, 2012). War has never been a good thing and there is never one side that is completely victorious when you consider how many people are killed on each side, civilians included. After the 9/11 attacks on the United States it would be hard to simply let that go unpunished, something HAD to be done.As unpopular war is in the United States, there was a lot of support from the nation as a whole. I personally found it hard for there to be some type of peaceful way to come to an agreement with a terrorist organization so I also supported the war. The cost of these wars have been devastating to our economy though and a lot of people thought we were in these places for too long trying to do too much. Overall, it’s really hard to judge whether these wars have been a success. It’s really a matter of opinion and how a person wants to analyze the results.I can only hope that we defend our nation much better, that all the troops come back, and that they receive the care they all deserve. We are doing our veterans a great disservice if we cannot properly accommodate them for life after war. Bibliography Bilmes, L. (2006, February). The economic costs of the iraq war: An appraisal threeyears after the beginning of the conflict. Retrieved fromhttp://www. nber. org/papers/w12054. pdf? new_window=1 Bingham, A. (2012, May). Afghanistan War by the Numbers: Lives Lost, Billions Spent. Retrieved from http://abcnews. go. om/ Politics/OTUS/billions-dollars-thousandslives-lost-afghanistan-war/story? id=16256292#. UIRxJmk4WA0 Faiz, S. (2006, March 17). A timeline of the iraq war. Retrieved fromhttp://thinkprogress. org/report/iraq-timeline/? mobile=nc Hoven, R. (2012, September 6). An iraq war every year. Retrieved fromhttp://www. americanthinker. com/blog/2012/09/an_iraq_war_every_year. html Iraq War Veterans. (2004, July). Iraq veterans against the war. Retrieved fromhttp://www. ivaw. org/ Kellner, D. (2004, December). Bring 'em on: Media and politics in the iraq war. Retrieved fromhttp://books. google. com/books? l=en;amp;lr=;amp;id=10BiGSdCyVQC;amp;oi=fnd;amp;pg=R7;amp;dq=iraq war;amp;ots=DpgUR6Ohbz;amp;sig=cb0_JxEuXqNrmyLL2WQEWCNLFY Kurtzleben, D. (2011, December). What Did the Iraq War Cost? More Than You Think. Retrieved from http://www. usnews. com/news/articles/2011/12/15/what-did-theiraq-war-cost-more-than-you-think Milliken, C. (2007, Novemeber 14). Longitudinal assessment of mental health probl emamong active and reserve component soldiers returning from the iraq war. Retrieved from http://jama. jamanetwork. com/article. aspx? articleid=209441 Montopoli, B. (2011, October 21). Obama announces end of iraq war, troops to returnhome by year end.Retrieved from http://www. cbsnews. com/8301-503544_16220123800-503544/obama-announces-end-of-iraq-war-troops-to-return-home-by-year-end/ Rainie, L. (n. d. ). The internet and the iraq war. Retrieved fromhttp://www. pewinternet. org/~/media/Files/Reports/2003/PIP_Iraq_War_Report. pdf. pdf Reno, J (2012, October) Nearly 30% of Vets Treated by V. A. Have PTSD Retrieved fromhttp://www. thedailybeast. com/articles/2012/10/21/nearly-30-of-vets-treated-by-va-have-ptsd. html War in iraq. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. iraq-war. ru/ Wilson, R. (2005). Human rights in the ‘war on terror'. Cambridge University Press.

Importance of Co-Curricular Activities in Schools Essay

Recognizing the importance of providing educational activities that enrich and broaden student experiences as an integral part of the curriculum as well as beyond the normal academic day, the School Committee supports the development of co-curricular and extracurricular programs in accordance with the policies established by the School Department. Co-curricular programs are defined as those activities that enhance and enrich the regular curriculum during the normal school day. Extracurricular programs are defined as those activities that broaden the educational experience which usually take place beyond the normal school day. Students who desire to participate on athletic teams shall do so on a volunteer basis with the understanding that it is a privilege and not a right to be a member of a school team. All students are invited to participate, but it is recognized that some students may not be capable of competing at the varsity level. At non-varsity levels, participation may be restricted based on safety and space restrictions. It shall be the policy of the School Department to compete in interscholastic athletics sanctioned by the Rhode Island Interscholastic League and to abide by that organization’s rules and regulations. Activities should be designed to meet the needs of and to stimulate interests expressed by students and should cover a broad range of abilities. There shall be equal opportunities for all students to participate in such programs. The expenses of voluntary activities may be covered by the students, the school, school-related organizations, and/or non-school groups. Elementary Level Recognizing the positive aspects of co-curricular programs that enrich and enhance the regular elementary school program, the School Committee supports the development of such activities in all areas of the approved curriculum. Middle School Level Recognizing the special needs and interests of students at the middle school level, the School Committee supports the development of both co-curricular activities as part of the regular school program and extracurricular activities based on the mutual interests and talents of students, teachers, and community volunteers. The Middle School Administration and the Director of Athletics and Student Activities shall be responsible for coordination of co-curricular and extracurricular programs at this level. Recognizing the importance of extracurricular as well as co-curricular activities in the total educational experience of high school students, the School Committee supports the development of programs that meet the needs and interests of a significant number of students, who come together to form organizations to pursue activities that are consistent with the educational goals of the School Department. Procedures for organizing such groups should be established and supervised by the High School Administration and the Director of Athletics and Student Activities. Recognizing that the variety and specialization of interests may preclude funding of all activities, the School Committee agrees to provide supporting funds and funds for advisors of approved activities insofar as these funds are determined by the School Committee to be available. The School Committee shall allow approved organizations to raise funds so that their programs shall be self-supporting. Procedures for fundraising should be established and supervised by the High School Administration and the Director of Athletics and Student Activities. No student shall be excluded from an activity because of an inability to contribute funds to support the program. The School Committee may sanction interscholastic programs supported in full by individuals and/or organizations under the following guidelines: †¢ The sport meets the â€Å"Criteria for Adding Interscholastic Sports† established by High School Administration. †¢ The funds identified by the Director of Athletics and Student Activities as necessary to support initial startup and annual operations must be on deposit with the School Department prior to scheduling competition. The School Committee and Administration shall have complete care and control of all activities associated with the particular sport. †¢ The use of students in fundraising activities shall be approved by the High School Administration and the Director of Athletics and Student Activities. †¢ Should the sport no longer be offered, all surplus funds shall be transferred to the High School Athletic General Account. http://www. cumberlandschools. org/website/Interscholastic%20Sports. pdf The term curriculum refers to the programme of study in various academic subjects (e. Maths, English, History, Science, Spanish) followed by students at various levels of education. The school or college’s teaching staff are employed to teach this curriculum, and students are periodically assessed (e. g. by exams and term papers) in their progress in each curriculum subject. As they grow older, students’ achievements in their curriculum subjects are seen as important in helping them get into a good university or college, and to find a good job when they leave education. Depending on which country you are in, schools and colleges may also be held accountable for their students’ results in the curriculum subjects. The academic curriculum has never been all that schools and colleges offer to their students. Often a range of other classes, clubs and activities is available to students, sometimes in lessons but more often in the lunch break or after school. These are referred to as the co-curriculum, or as extra-curricular activities, and they are mostly voluntary for students. Examples would include sports, musical activities, debate, Model United Nations, community service, religious study groups, charitable fundraising, Young Enterprise projects, military cadet activities, drama, science clubs, and hobbies such as gardening, crafts, cookery and dance. Because they are not examined in the same way that the academic curriculum is, and because most of them take place outside lessons, such activities have less status in education than the main curriculum. However, they are often held to be very important to the wider education of young men and women. This topic examines whether the co-curriculum should be given more importance in schools and colleges – maybe by giving academic credits for co-curricular activities, A distinction could be made between co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, although most of the time they are used to mean the same thing. The co-curriculum is sometimes seen as a non-academic, but formal part of education, with timetabled and compulsory sessions for all students – each student may get to choose what co-curricular activity they wish to pursue, but they are required to follow at least one. Staff are required to run co-curricular activities as part of their contract, and the co-curriculum is generally well-funded. This kind of co-curriculum can be seen in Singapore’s education system and also in private schools (especially boarding schools) in countries like the UK, the USA and Australia. By contrast, extra-curricular activities are less well organised and funded, being entirely voluntary for students and taking place outside the school timetable. School staff may be involved in running extra-curricular activities, but there is no obligation on them to do so and they do not normally receive extra pay for it. Clubs and societies in many UK and American state schools fit this definition, as do non-academic activities in most universities and colleges throughout the world. The arguments which follow can be used to fit either or both definitions.

Investment Analysis and Stock Valuation on REDBOX company Term Paper

Investment Analysis and Stock Valuation on REDBOX company - Term Paper Example They are situated across the United States at various grocery stores, supermarkets, discount stores, pharmacies, fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s etc. The company wants to bolster its way into the hearts and minds of movie and game renters. As mentioned previously, Redbox is a futurist and so the fast-growing firm, which brags around 33,000 kiosk nationwide, plans to proffer web or internet streaming by the end of 2011 and also feels that it can double the current number of rental outlets considering its bullish trend and prospective growth opportunities (Brad Tuttle, 2011). II. Stream of Expected Returns (Cash Flows) a. Form of returns: Due to non-availability of Redbox’s financial statements, its parent company, Coinstar Inc.’s financial data is being considered. Examining the years ended December 31, 2008, 2009 and 2010, the cash flows from operating activities reduced by 35.42% to $123.89 million in 2009 and escalated by a massive 154.76% mainly due t o increase in liabilities. The cash flows from investing activities were negative in all three years analyzed; however, there was an increase of $37.13 million and $5.02 million in 2009 and 2010. Due to heavy repayment of borrowings and purchase of stock in 2010, the financing activities came about again as a negative figure (-$122.046 million) after a meager one in 2008 (-$602,000). b. Time pattern and growth rate of returns: As mentioned in the previous part, a yearly time pattern has been considered. The growth rate of return is known as the Sustainable Growth Rate and is computed as follows: g = RR (Retention Ratio) * ROE (Return on Equity). As there are no dividend streams being paid by the company, RR will be equal to 100% and as ROE = 22.47% (according to Yahoo Finance, Coinstar Inc.... Form of returns: Due to non-availability of Redbox’s financial statements, its parent company, Coinstar Inc.’s financial data is being considered. Examining the years ended December 31, 2008, 2009 and 2010, the cash flows from operating activities reduced by 35.42% to $123.89 million in 2009 and escalated by a massive 154.76% mainly due to increase in liabilities. The cash flows from investing activities were negative in all three years analyzed; however, there was an increase of $37.13 million and $5.02 million in 2009 and 2010. Due to heavy repayment of borrowings and purchase of stock in 2010, the financing activities came about again as a negative figure (-$122.046 million) after a meager one in 2008 (-$602,000).b. Time pattern and growth rate of returns: As mentioned in the previous part, a yearly time pattern has been considered. The growth rate of return is known as the Sustainable Growth Rate and is computed as follows: g = RR (Retention Ratio) * ROE (Return on Equity). As there are no dividend streams being paid by the company, RR will be equal to 100% and as ROE = 22.47% (according to Yahoo Finance, Coinstar Inc. Key Financials as of December 31, 2010), the growth rate will also come about to be 22.47%.III. Investment Decision Process: A comparison of Estimated Values and Market PricesTo consider investment decisions in a particular stock, its estimated or fair value and market price comparison should be carried out. This will tell investors whether the stock is undervalued or overvalued.

DQ1 What types of subjects should be discussed with the employee prior Essay

DQ1 What types of subjects should be discussed with the employee prior to the assignment DQ2 What types of data is needed to start the process of gaining an accurate assessment of the training needs - Essay Example ssing fundamental things with the employees before assignments especially difficulties that persons may encounter in the new countries to prepare them. The firm should also discuss with the workers how they would like to be compensated during or after the assignment. Additionally, the firms should discuss with the workers how they would benefit from the international assignments. Some of the benefits may include acquiring the international experience to gain promotions (Reiche & Harzing, 2009). Timely needs analysis is necessary for the training process to become effective. It is equally fundamental to acknowledge that training needs constitute the companies’ expectation after the training. Before the needs assessment, the company needs to have certain data types. The data includes the current performances of individual workers and their expected performances after the training (Barbazette, 2005). The data should also include the current general performance of the organization and the expected general performances following the training. An organization also needs to have information about the resources required to fulfill the training objectives. Additionally, the organization requires the trainees’ occupational data such as their skill and knowledge before and after training (Spectrum,

Managing Human Resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managing Human Resources - Essay Example From the study it can be comprehended that the most significant asset in any organization is the employee. As a group or individually the employees play a crucial role towards the success of the company and; therefore, they should be acknowledged. When a business becomes successful, it is because of the influence that the employees have brought to the company. A good management in human resource will guarantee the satisfaction of the employees. It is advantageous to manage employees individually so that their development within the organization is monitored. The management provides all the required resources to the employees so that they can perform their duties well. A reliable human resource sector that works well assists the organization to achieve its strategic goals by acquiring the attention of workers, sustaining them and managing their needs. Every department of human resource strives to do this. Great focus is put on forming an efficient human resource system in a company. M ost of the departments in the companies utilize the human resource to make plans and means of processing formal assignments. The organizations that have unstable managing in human resource sector go through formal disarray and lack of the administrative skills in the staff activities. Human resources are available in any successfully performing organization. The organization should go on despite how large or small the company is, and this essentially depends on the competence and performance of the people it has. ... In the real sense, they should have a similar management. Nonprofits inherently have volunteers, which are human resources that  are not paid. Volunteers are to be managed like  normal  employees. Although they  are not given  money, they are other ways in which they  are compensated  (Carter, 2009). There is a similarity in volunteer and paid  staff  management; therefore, there should be a  clear  specification of the  volunteer’s roles, and their recruitment should be carefully done.  In addition, they should be given  proper  training and  orientation, their organization into  suitable  teams with  appropriate  leaders are  crucial, there should be  performance  monitoring, incase issues regarding performance  arise  they should be addressed, volunteers also need to be motivated through rewarding them for outstanding performance (Carter, 2009). Employees  welfare  regarding risks and liabilities  are considered  by the organization and the same should be considered for the volunteers. The organization should identify the most significant duties it has and then people  are supposed  to be recruited, oriented, prepared and organized so that they can successfully  perform  the identified roles. For a  business  to be successful, the right employees should be allocated the  right  duties at the right time so that they are able to perform their duties with a good attitude. The work of the human resource is, therefore, to get the  qualified  employees. Employees should be fairly compensated for the labor they provide for the organization, therefore, the human  resource  is supposed  to pay the employees (Carter, 2009). Employees

What role did colonial trade play in the development of London Essay

What role did colonial trade play in the development of London - Essay Example Britain is known to have colonized some of the world’s biggest economies and nations including America, Australia and most parts of Africa. Out of this, Britain gained total economic and political control over most countries who served as British colonies. By and large, these countries invested heavily into the entire development of Britain – particular London. This essay is thus dedicated to scrutinizing some of the major means by which London’s development was affected: positively and negatively by the colonial trade. How the early profits from the slave trade developed the industrial revolution It has remained common knowledge and taught throughout British schools that â€Å"during the 1800s the Industrial Revolution spread throughout Britain.† ... unskilled slaves were not on regular salary taken by unskilled British, they were also made to work overtime in most of the times that they were called to duty. The second way that the slaves were used by the industries is that they were given rapid training to take up ‘semi-skilled’ tasks. These semi-skilled tasks were not typically bookish but had to do with supervision over unskilled labourers. As discussed earlier, these slaves were not taking normal salary and as such saved the industries a lot of expenditure. Again, the slaves were made to work far beyond normal working hours and thus improved productivity. The improvement in productivity that was recorded in most industries saw London and Britain record major industrial growth. This eventually brought about what came to be known as industrial revolution, which was a major turning point in London’s development. East and West India Company, their business dealings and profits The East and West India Company w ere seen as the backbone of London’s development in the colonial days. Surprisingly, the company still plays very vital role in the economy of London and the world at large. As noted by The East India Company (2011), â€Å"without The Company our world would not be as it is today.† This is not a mere publicity talk when discussion is being made of companies, whose dealings and profits indeed were visible in the transformation of London’s economy and entire development. As a company that received the recognition of the Queen of England through the Royal Charter, much was expected from the company right from the unset. Hopefully and true to expectation, the company’s dealings and general business structure ensured that the company recorded major trade gains and initiations such as the establishment of

Increasing numbers of inmate in prisons Research Paper

Increasing numbers of inmate in prisons - Research Paper Example These factors include the increase of older population, the increase of crime and productivity of inmates in the United States. Increase of older population and its impacts Over the years, the population in the United States continues to increase due to high fertility rate, increase of live birth and some other factors such as geographical movement of the people. In 1995 the national population in the United States has grown by 13 million from 1990 (US Census Bureau, 2010). From 2000 to 2006, the US population increased by 6.39% but the overall population growth rate slowed down by 17% (Geo Midpoint, 2011). However, the entire national population in the United States does not shrink in number, rather it continues to grow. Its condition at present time is moving into an upward spiral while it becomes older in general. However, this trend started in 1980s. The population growth rate in 1980 was 10% and 13% in 1990 (US Census Bureau, 2010). In 2000, the US population was growing older w ith majority of them from fifteen down to fifty-four year old (US Census Bureau, 2010). This implies that the population in the US is getting older. However, a certain study shows that age structure is related to the prison population (Marvell and Moody, 1997). The age groups with high imprisonment rate are eighteen to twenty four, twenty five to thirty four, and thirty five to forty four. In 1980 to 1987, it was the groups with age twenty four to forty four that grew most rapidly (Walker, 1996). This probably explains the dramatic increase of prison system in the United States starting in 1980s. Considering that the population in the United States is getting older and the age of individuals with high imprisonment ranges from eighteen to forty four, the number of crimes is expected to move in an upward spiral. In general, the number of violence and crimes in the United States has a positive association with the increasing number of its older population. For instance, those people wh o committed crimes or violent behavior at the age of 18 may eventually repeat the same act in the following years of their life. For instance, it is found that re-victimization pattern is associated with imprisonment (Finkelhor et al., 2007). In fact, this study further shows that within family older siblings are most likely to stand as factor for both risk and decrease of re-victimization process. This further implies that age is associated with the increase of crime in the United States. In fact, it is not only in the United States, but in other countries that most of inmates have long criminal records (Tonry, 2004). This means that they have various records of imprisonment or being in prison due to crimes or violent behaviors they committed against the law. These people have committed the same or related crimes all over again due to alcohol and drug abuse (Tonry, 2004). In the United States, substance abuse and alcohol addiction are pervasive issues that the national government h as long been given with its wider focus and attention. The fact that these social problems have contributed to the increase of crimes, violent behavior of a person and other related accidents, the government is very eager to alleviate or eventually impede their negative impacts. However, there is another important issue that needs to be closely determined aside from finding for the right solution of these social problems. In the United States, adults and young adults are strongly linked to alcohol

Research Planning of the Travel Lodge Hotel in the UK Assignment

Research Planning of the Travel Lodge Hotel in the UK - Assignment Example However, in the present scenario, the hotel chain is under private ownership and do not have merged operations with the Travelodge located in the United States. The company was founded in the year1985 by Lord Forte who had bought the brand of Travelodge that was in the United States and established it in the United Kingdom. From 1985 to the present scenario the company has been able to sustain in the market because of its good quality bedrooms and dining facilities and the cost-effective approach that it incorporates in the business operations. Â  There is a great need for the company to conduct the research so as to know the exact reasons behind the low performance in relation to other competitors in the industry. The research would even reveal as to what are the measures in term of digital communication and social media that needs to be considered by the company so that it is able to interact more effectively with its existing customer base. The research to be conducted in this field is also very essential as it would help the company to survive the competition and even know the areas the customers feel that the company should improve upon in terms of digital communication and social media so that a more effective communication platform is established between the customers and the organization. Â  The research criteria of the company are based on understanding how it can improve the usage of social media so that there is more of interaction with the existing customers. The goal of the research is to compare the social media and digital communication platform that is used by other players in the hotel industry with that of Travel Lodge Hotel of UK (Armstrong, Kotler, Harker and Brennan, 2009).

Developing People Module Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Developing People Module Assessment - Essay Example This has been similar with the whole process of critical reflection as has been described by different experts (Gardner & Fook, 2007, pp. 19-33). It is a personal belief that intentions and motives play a crucial role in success or failure of a teaching-learning process. Besides theoretical frameworks and formal objectives of education, it is very imperative for a teacher to believe in things that later become a part of any learning process. However, at the same time, it is essential for an effective teacher to avoid inclusion of biasness resulting in making teaching a very difficult process that often is considered a simple process that is not the case at all. From module readings, it is an observation that experts (Rodgers, 2002, pg. 845) have set the criteria for reflection as a meaning-making process, disciplined way of thinking, and a notion that requires attitudes and interaction with the community. From understanding of these researches and personal experiences, it is a belief that teaching is nothing but a reflection of reflection, in which a teacher has to endeavor to reflect on his/her own reflections while at the same time, equipping learners with capacity to reflect on their own. This is one of the reasons that in initial sections of this reflection, I inclined to consider teaching as a learning process itself. In addition, from further observations, I can reflect considerably that for an effective and efficient learning and reflective process, it is very imperative for teachers to consider needs, experiences, context, and attitudes of learners (Gardner & Fook, 2007, pp. 41-53). In other words, personally, the learning process cannot reach to its plinth when teachers focus more on subject matters rather than learners’ intelligences. One can associate this personal new insight with Gardner’s argument in which â€Å"he questioned the validity of determining an individual’s intelligence through the process of taking a person out o f his natural learning environment and asking him to do isolated tasks he had never done before and probably would never choose to do again† (Armstrong, 1994, pg. 1). Particularly, a teacher has to play the role of a network hub in which he/she can allow the learners to bring and connect their own perceptions, experiences, and context in the learning process while at the same time, acting as an encoder, as well as decoder to understand and reflect on personal experiences of each learner. This may seem very unrealistic in theory; however, in classroom settings where teachers spend an extended period with the learners, this is possible and if implemented, may result in enriched learning experience. On the other hand, absence of such considerations may although enable a climber to reach to the mountain base with the help of a guide; however, may not equip him/her with skills to reach to peak and conquer the mountain without help of any guide and even without any oxygen support. A mountain guide can be a teacher or a facilitator, whereas, absence of oxygen support can be critical

Should college athletes be paid Essay Example for Free

Should college athletes be paid Essay Should College Athletes be Paid? Maybe it was the annual spectacle of March Madness and the fact that UCONN came out of nowhere as an underdog to win their 3rd national NCAA men’s basketball title. Maybe it was the excitement of watching the UCONN football team playing in its first ever BCS Bowl against Oklahoma last year. Whatever he reason, the media and sports critics always ignite a fresh debate over the merits of paying college athletes for their services to the schools. Over the past few months, PBS, ESPN and HBO each aired major specials and documentaries on the relative injustices or justice – deepening our your view of the current college Division 1 (D1) system that allows amateur players to generate billions (that is correct, billions) in revenue each year for their respective schools and the NCAA organization, but prohibits them from receiving a dime of it or any compensation that might be offered from other sources deemed private or public. Coaches can sign multimillion-dollar contracts, endorse products, and rake in lucrative speaking fees. Is this fair? Are we being ethical and righteousness treating young and innocent individuals in this matter? Should we as a society allow these individuals to be taken advantaged in this matter? These are just a few questions many people ask, and the answers are not clear-cut as one might think. To pay or not to pay? The question everyone asks every year since the explosion of D1 College sports over the past couple of decades. The debate over the pros and cons in paying college athletes won’t end until changes are made or someone does something about the current system. My goal throughout this paper will be to present and clarify some of these arguments and why someone could make changes amendable to everyone involved. I will focus my arguments and debate on three major issues. (1) Should we pay students athletes and how much should they be paid? (2) How would they get paid and the challenges in managing this process, can the schools afford it? (3) And finally, what ethical issues, if any, would this pose to our schools and society at large? In conclusion, I will share my opinion and recommendation on what should be done to address this ongoing dispute. My discussion through out this paper will focus on  the â€Å"Primetime† college sports programs in the NCAA; Men’s College Basketball and College Football. As these two sports represent virtually the face of the NCAA and college sports on TV and to the public. While the other college sports are as important to student athletes and schools, they don’t drive the same level of viewing power and revenue numbers for the NCAA and their respective schools. In my opinion college is suppose to be a place you go to earn an education an d determine your future career. Although many college athletes are going to the school that offers them the most money potential at the next level of their carriers, paying the athletes based on their current star power or future potential could have the potential to turn the entire college arena into a bidding war. You would stop seeing athletes go to a place because of tradition or loyalty, but instead to whom would pay them the most money. This in turn would kill the magic of college sports and the purity of the game. Where only a few large schools would have enough capital and buying power to buy the top performing and premier student athletes. If this would to happen, the Butler Bulldogs would have never made it to the NCAA College Basketball finals against UCONN just this past May, as Butler could never compete with the deep pockets of schools like Duke, Syracuse, UCONN, and Georgetown, just to name a few. You may also see free agency enter college sports. Although they would have to sit a year, what would stop players from jumping universities because of money? It would dramatically change the college sport world, as we know it today. Butler again comes to mind, as most of their top athletes would jump ship to another school after they finished 2nd in the 2010 NCCA finals, in the hope of getting more money. In the long run, paying college athletes will make it ok to pay non professional athletes and thus you could then see high schools develop the same principles. If you are paying a player at the college level because they bring in money, then Bloomfield High, New Britain high and other dominant high schools would do the same, and you then re-create the problems I already mentioned. While the arguments above raise good concerns, I do have some major issues with college athletes not getting paid as well. If an ordinary student receives a grant or scholarship based on their intellectual power of monetary limitations, then its perfectly legal for the student to get a job while in college and use that money for whatever they want. Ive seen this happen. One of my friends in college got a $50K  scholarship to Northeastern; no strings attached (except for keeping up the GPA), paid tuition with that money, and then used his talents after schools hours to become an independent contractor whil e still attending school. He made enough money on the side to buy a used car in cash and pay for a couple of spring break vacations and a few other â€Å"luxuries† currently unavailable to college athletes. While college athletes get free room, board, books, tuition and fees covered by the scholarship, they don’t have the luxury or option to earn extra money for additional expenses (car, travel, vacation, nice dinner, etc.) as they spend most if not all of their time practicing or traveling when outside the classroom, limiting the amount of time they have to find any part time job. On the other hand, they are plenty of non-athletic students in college who have an equally difficult time having a normative college experience because the job that they do work is used to cover the enormous expense of room, board, books, tuition and fees. Furthermore, many of those non-athlete students have to take on mounds and mounds of debt to be able to afford the very things the athletes are given. I bet more than a few of them would gladly give up their play money for the chance to finish college without being $100-150k in the hole. That being said, I am convinced that student athletes deserve t he same opportunity regular students have. They should have the opportunity to earn additional money to cover expenses currently covered by their parents, friends family or bank loans. Do I feel that the players should be paid some amount of money to pay for additional expenses? Yes. The amount of money these kids generate is in the Billions and they get nothing (monetary) in return, as if these athletes use college as the tool that it is, then they should at least be getting an education. However, it does not make sense for college players to have no money and barely able to get by, while someone makes a substantial amount of money off their talents. However, the payment should be controlled and limited to a defined amount. More on this a little later. In the past, Maryland’s head basketball coach Gary Williams made a public statement in which he denounced the present system of not paying athletes. His proposal was to give those players in revenue-producing sports a stipend of $200/month. While I agree with Mr. Williams approach and argument, I disagree with the payment amount and structure. In my opinion his argument makes perfect sense and achieves a realist solution. He  points out that college athletics – specifically basketball and football are making a fortune for the NCAA, the schools, the coaches, the staff and filtering down to just about everyone else in the athletic department and sometimes even to other parts of the school. However, not a c ent is being given to those who are actually providing the product on the court and field. You know, the product that we love to watch and talk about during water breaks in the office, the product that creates so much exhilaration every weekend to millions of people across the US and world! Again, I realize the argument is that they are being given free housing and a free scholarship, etc. The problem is that there isn’t another kid at the school that has to have a life based upon $0 extra income to buy what he wants. As I mentioned above, these individuals don’t have the time to work and earn extra money, so they will be tempted to take some extra cash or a trip or a meal at a fancy restaurant from a â€Å"friend† or â€Å"acutance†. Who wouldn’t be? And there lies the problem. The student athletes under the current system will always be faced with the hard decision not to break the rules and laws, which honestly, other students don’t have to deal with. As I pointed out before and Williams makes the same point, regular kids are allowed to receive living expenses and spending money as part of financial aid from family, friends or even strangers. Since athletes cannot, they are clearly being discriminated against. The student athlete might bring thousands if not millions of dollars to the school and more importantly the NCAA in one way or the other, but how much does any other student bring to the school? In addition to the moral argument of making students paid employees of the school while attending school, there’s the cost argument. Can the NCAA and schools really afford it? The answer might surprise and shock you at the same time. The NCAA negotiated an $11 Billion (with a B) deal for the 2011 NCAA tournament. Not the regular season, just the tournament – and that’s just NCAA basketball. Doing some analysis show that, there are 346 Division One schools in basketball. If each one of them has 13 players, that’s 4,498 players. Divide $11 Billion by 4,498 and you get†¦ over $2 million per player! These figures clearly indicate that both the NCAA and schools could afford to pay the students athletes some monetary figure, more on that later. Clearly the argument is no longer about money! Or is it? Between 2004 and 2010, fewer than 7 percent of all Division I sports programs  generated positive net revenue, according to NCAA data. Fewer than 12 percent of all Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools — 14 out of 120 — did so in fiscal year 2009. For that matter, the NCAA reports that only 50 percent to 60 percent of FBS football and basketball programs make money. In other word s, a significant chunk of top-level FBS programs are losing money. Should those programs be obliged to pay their football and basketball players, even though they aren’t actually producing a net profit. Paying student athletes large sums of money based on their natural ability would destroy the college sports, as we know it today and potential drive schools out of business into bankruptcy. Obviously a large majority of D-1 schools can’t afford to pay students athletes even if it was legal today. So, where’s the money going? As I mentioned before, the NCAA is signing record deals with the networks, shouldn’t that money go back to the schools? Nobody can answer this question with certainty, but one thing is clear, the NCAA could afford to compensate the student athletes, based on their current revenue streams. My recommended solution will address this disparity in D-1 schools and their ability to lash out money to pay student athletes. Indeed, with many coaches and college experts, the biggest problem with paying players isnt a money issue. Its the legal and structural chaos that would result. In an interview with PBSs Frontline that aired a few weeks back, NCAA president Mark Emmert said it would be utterly unacceptable to convert students into employees. Emmert had reason to be adamant. What happens when college athletes become employees? Can they collectively bargain? Can they strike? Do injured players receive workmans comp? Are players at state schools eligible for subsequent retirement benefits? Do only football and mens basketball players receive salaries? Should a star point guard earn more than a third-string center? Should an All-American quarterback earn more than his entire offensive line? Who decides and who controls all of these decisions? The NCAA? The School? Since student athletes are prohibited in gathering any additional money, the NCAA is making efforts to help support the future of college sports by helping to funnel $750 million over 11 years into funds strictly designed to benefit these athletes. This money is ideally going to be used by the NCAA to help fund student-athletes who are looking for clothing, emergency travel, educational and medical expenses, personal needs and also a injury  insurance. Even though this is a very nice touch by the NCAA organization, it however does not address the real issue of allowing college athletes in earning money, which can be used a the discretion of the student-athlete. Until that day comes, the future student-athletes have a lot of hard work, dedication and lessons to be learned from before they are all worthy enough of being able to accept salaries for their individual efforts. It is a fact that since its birth, the NCAA has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry and some experts feel college athletes should begin to benefit financially from the large revenues. The NCAA brought in more than a billion dollars more than what the NBA generated globally in the 2009-10 season, according to the most recent estimate from Forbes. One of the biggest revenue-creating sports a part of the NCAA today is college football that has come a long way since the establishment of the Harvard, Yale and Princeton football association. Recently in the last five years a few football teams have financially stood out amongst their competitors in the NCAA. NCAA players, coaches and officials constantly argue for the paying of student-athletes because for them the primary reason for massive profit earnings is due to the thanks of the hard work of their student-athletes. College athletes are constantly seeing their jersey numbers on the racks of their campus bookstores but instead of seeing any of the profits all they see is their coaches racking in multi-million dollar contracts year after year. In total there are 119 Division I-A football teams competing in the NCAA today and out of those a reported 42 of those team’s coaches received more than $1 million salaries, at least nine receiving more than $2 million. In Basketball, the University of Connecticut last year signed a 5-year contract with coach Jim Calhoun worth approximately $11M – including speaking and media fees. This is one of the biggest reasons why players argue for their own salary incomes due to the financial successes of their own coaches and seeing them living extravagant lifestyles. Meanwhile, would each salaried player on a given team be paid the same amount? If not, who would decide whether the All-American linebacker deserved more money than the All-American wide receiver, or whether Kemba Walker was more valuable than the star power forward, Jeremy Lamb. Would 18-year-olds be negotiating â€Å"contracts† with officials in their athletic department? Would they be hiring agents before high-school graduation? And how would all this affect  those sports programs that depend on football and basketball revenue to stay afloat? To pose an discuss these questions is to realize that paying college athletes merit salaries based on their â€Å"book value† is simply unrealistic and unfeasible. Still, the current NCAA rules are deeply flawed, and many players are indeed being ex ploited. Let’s face it: Big-time college football and basketball basically function as minor-league systems for the NFL and the NBA, respectively, while creating massive profits for everyone except the athletes. Scholarships are financially valuable, sure. But according to many experts, the average scholarship falls about $5,000 short of covering an athlete’s â€Å"essential† college expenses. Closing that gap — My proposed solution would address the majority of these concerns, if not completely eliminate them. Many experts have reach a determination that college sports have already effectively become professionalized. Given the N.C.A.A.’s abandonment of standard honored amateur principles, many experts argued, that there’s not a good enough reason preventing athletes from engaging in the same entrepreneurial activities as their celebrity coaches. Big-time college athletes should be able to endorse products, get paid for speaking engagements and be compensated for the use of their likenesses on licensed products. After all, aren’t non-athlete students allowed to go on a TV show like â€Å"MTV SpringBreak† and receive money for their appearances and efforts? If non-athletes students are a llowed, why can’t students athletes appear on ESPN shows and get paid for it? They should! They should be allowed to also negotiate an actual contract with the N.B.A. as part of a final project in a finance class, and have an agent from the day they decide to. In the past few years, the NCAA has cracked down on players taking illegal benefits from â€Å"agents and boosters†. USC was under two years of probation for the Reggie Bush affair. Cecil Newton openly shopped his son around to SEC schools. And just a few months back, the University of Connecticut was found guilty and punished by the NCAA for violating its rules and laws. Schools, coaches and athletes decide to take these risks and break the rules because they know what’s a stake, millions and millions of dollars. All of these things are clearly against NCAA rules, but how fair are the rules? We all know how much money colleges bring in off of the hard work of these kids, and we all know what its like to be young and poor. Should college football players be paid or at least allowed to accept benefits? After long  hours of research, deliberation and studying both sides of the argument in paying student athletes for their services to the NCAA and respective schools, I came up with the following recommendations. Frist and foremost, student athletes should continue to receive scholarships from their schools with the same benefits as they receive today. I also think that we should not pay large salaries to these athletes based on their personal ability or star potential as it would turn college into even more of a business and less of an academic institution. Furthermore if would open the floodgates for paying athletes very large sums of money. It has been said again and again; more money more pr oblems. However, I also believe that it is unfair for these athletes not to receive anything for the services they provide to their schools which yield millions and millions of dollars in profits, prestige recognition and increase in student enrollments, all very positive for the school’s bottom line. In my opinion, students’ athletes should receive from the NCAA NOT their schools a yearly payment (for all 4 years) equal to the average school annual tuition amount– in other words, take all D1 schools, average out the full tuition across all schools and make that the payment to every school athlete. This money would come from the lucrative contracts the NCAA signs with TV networks, clothing companies, etc. While in some cases this represents more income than what students could need, it would eliminate calculating complex and unfair student payments, and give student athletes additional spending money. It would also avoid any student athlete from choosing one school over the other because of this payment, as it would be the same independent of what school they eventually select. This approach would also eliminate the fact that a majority of D-1 schools have a negative balance sheet and realistically can’t afford to pay any student athlete’s salaries. If not else, it certainly would be a great deterrent for the vast majority of otherwise good players, but not ready to jump to the NFL or NBA early.

Summative Assessment for Poverty as a Challenge Essay Example for Free

Summative Assessment for Poverty as a Challenge Essay A. IMPORTANT QUESTIONS 1. Every _________ person in India is poor. (a) third (b) fourth (c) fifth (d) sixth 2. Vulnerability to poverty is determined by the options for finding an alternative living in terms of (a) assets (b) education (c) health (d) all the above 3. Social exclusion denies certain individuals the (a) facilities (b) benefits (c) opportunities (d) all the above 4. How many people in India live below the poverty line? (a) 30 crores (b) 26 crores (c) 28 crores (d) 24 crores 10. What is the poverty ratio in the state of Orissa? (a) 50% (b) 47% (c) 60% (d) 57% 11. In which state has the high agricultural growth helped to reduce poverty? (a) Jammu Kashmir (b) West Bengal (c) Punjab (d) Gujarat 12. In which state have the land reform measures helped to reduce poverty? (a) Tamil Nadu (b) Punjab (c) West Bengal (d) Kerala 13. Which state has focussed more on human resource development? (a) Gujarat (b) Madhya Pradesh (c) Maharashtra (d) Kerala (1 mark) 5. Which organisation carries out survey for determining the poverty line? (a) NSSO (b) CSO (c) Planning Commission (d) None of the above 6. Which social group is most vulnerable to poverty in India? (a) Schedule castes (b) Schedule tribes (c) Casual labourers (d) All the above 7. Which two states of India continue to be the poorest states? (a) Madhya Pradesh, Jammu Kashmir (b) Uttar Pradesh, Utarakhand (c) Orissa, Bihar (d) None of the above 8. Poverty line in rural areas (As per 1999 – 2000 prices) is (a) Rs 328 (b) Rs. 370 (c) Rs 454 (d) Rs. 460 9. Who are poorest of the poor? (a) Women (b) Old people (c) Children (d) All the above 14. In which state is the public distribution system responsible for the reduction in poverty? (a) Andhra Pradesh (b) Tamil Nadu (c) Both (a) and (b) (d) None of the above 15. What is the main cause of poverty in India? (a) High income inequalities (b) Less job opportunities (c) High growth in population (d) All the above 16. Which of the following is responsible for high poverty rates? (a) Huge income inequalities (b) Unequal distribution of land (c) Lack of effective implementation of land reforms (d) All the above 17. What is the biggest challenge to independent India? (a) illiteracy (b) Child labour (c) Poverty (d) Unemployment 18. In rural sector which of the following is not poor? (a) Landless agricultural workers (b) Backward classes (c) Rural artisans (d) Medium farmers 19. Nutritional level of food energy is expressed in the form of (a) calories per day (b) wheat consumption (c) rice consumption per day (d) none of the above 20. As per Planning Commission, minimum daily intake of calories for determining poverty line for rural area is : (a) 2100 (b) 2400 (c) 1500 (d) none of the above 21. Poverty ratio in India as compared to Pakistan is : (a) same (b) half (c) twice (d) two and a half times 22. Common method to measure poverty in India is based on (a) income level (b) subsistence consumption level (c) both (a) and (b) (d) none of the above 23. Decline in poverty in Kerala is due to (a) emphasising more on human resource development (b) land reform measures (c) efficient public distribution of foodgrains (d) none of the above 24. To generate wage employment our government has started (a) National Social Assistance Programme (b) National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (c) Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana (d) None of the above 25. In which group of countries did poverty ratio remain constant? (a) South Asian countries (b) Latin American countries (c) Socialist countries (d) None of the above 26. Poverty line prescribed by World Bank (As per 2001 study) is : (a) $ 1 per day (b) $ 2 per day (c) $ 5 per day (d) $ 6 per day 27. National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (2005) provides assured employment to every rural household for (a) 120 days (b) 100 days (c) 60 days (d) 50 days B. QUESTIONS FROM CBSE EXAMINATION PAPERS 3. Which of the following programmes was launched in the year 2000 ? [2011 (T-2)] (a) National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (b) Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana (c) Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (d) Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana 4. Who conducts the periodical sample surveys for estimating the poverty line in India? [2011 (T-2)] (a) National Survey Organisation (b) National Sample Survey Organisation (c) Sample Survey Organisation (d) None of the above 2 1. Who advocated that India would be truly independent only when the poorest of its people become free of human suffering? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Mahatma Gandhi (b) Indira Gandhi (c) Jawahar Lal Nehru (d) Subhash Chandra Bose 2. Which one of the following states in India has focussed more on human resource development? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Punjab (b) Karnataka (c) Kerala (d) Tamil Nadu 28. In how many states and Union Territories is poverty ratio less than the national average? (a) 20 (b) 22 (c) 16 (d) 18 29. Poverty line in urban areas (As per 1999 – 2000 prices) is : (a) Rs. 354 (b) Rs. 454 (c) Rs. 554 (d) Rs. 455 30. Poverty ratio in Bihar (As per Planning Commission Report 1999 – 2000) is (a) 40% (b) 43% (c) 46% (d) 47% 5. When was National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREGA) Act passed? [2011 (T-2)] (a) 2000 (b) 1995 (c) 2005 (d) 1993 6. Which category does not come under the category of Urban Poor? [2011 (T-2)] (a) The Casual workers (b) The Unemployed (c) The Shopkeeper (d) Rickshaw-pullers 7. How many per cent of Indian people were poor in the year 2000? [2011 (T-2)] (a) 36% (b) 46% (c) 26% (d) 29% 8. Which state has the highest percentage of poor? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Bihar (b) Madhya Pradesh (c) Assam (d) Orissa 9. Average calories required per person per day in rural areas in India are: [2011 (T-2)] (a) 2400 calories (b) 2800 calories (c) 3200 calories (d) 3600 calories 10. Which scheme was started in 1993 to create self-employment opportunities for educated unemployed youth in rural areas and small towns? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana (b) National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (c) Rural Employment Generation Programme (d) Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana 11. For how many days NREGA provides employment? [2011 (T-2)] (a) 70 (b) 80 (c) 90 (d) 100 12. Who is considered as poor? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Landlord (b) Landless labourer (d) Businessman (c) A rich farmer 13. Which among the following is the method to estimate the poverty line in India? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Investment method (b) Capital method (c) Human method (d) Income method 14. Which one of the social groups is vulnerable to poverty? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Scheduled caste (b) Urban casual labour (c) Rural agricultural household (d) All the above 3 15. By which year governments are aiming to meet the Millennium Development Goals including halving the rate of global poverty? [2011 (T-2)] (a) 2011 (b) 2015 (c) 2045 (d) 2035 16. What is the average calories required in rural areas for measuring poverty? [2011 (T-2)] (a) 2400 calories per person per day (b) 2100 calories per person per day (c) 2800 calories per person per day (d) None of these 17. What is not one of the major causes of income inequality in India? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Unequal distribution of land (b) Lack of fertile land (c) Gap between rich and poor (d) Increase in population 18. In which of the following countries did poverty actually rise from 1981–2001? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Sub-Saharan Africa (b) India (c) China (d) Russia GO YA L BR OT HE RS 19. The calorie requirement is higher in the rural areas because: [2011 (T-2)] (a) they do not enjoy as much as people in the urban areas (b) food items are expensive (c) they are engaged in mental work (d) people are engaged in physical labour 20. Which of the following is an indicator of poverty in India? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Income level (b) Illiteracy level (c) Employment level (d) All of these 21. Which one of the following economic groups is vulnerable to poverty? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Scheduled caste (b) Scheduled tribes (c) Rural agricultural household (d) All the above 22. Which one of these is not a cause of poverty in India? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Low level of economic development (b) Migration of people from rural to urban India (c) Income inequalities (d) Unequal distribution of land PR AK AS HA N 23. Which of the following is not a valid reason for the slow progress of poverty alleviation programmes in India? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Lack of proper implementation (b) Lack of right targeting (c) Corruption at the highest level (d) Overlapping of schemes 24. What is the accepted calories requirement in urban areas? [2011 (T-2)] (a) 2000 cal/person/day (b) 2100 cal/person/day (c) 2300 cal/person/day (d) 2400 cal/person/day 25. Which communities are categorised as economically vulnerable groups in India? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Scheduled caste (b) Agricultural labour household (c) Scheduled tribes (d) All the above 26. Which industry suffered the most during colonial period? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Jute (b) Textile (c) Indigo (d) All the above 27. Calorie requirement in rural areas is more than in the urban areas because: [2011 (T-2)] (a) rural people eat more (b) rural people have big bodies (c) rural people do more hard physical work (d) rural people have to take more rest (c) Lack of access to health care (d) Lack of job opportunities 32. Full form of NFWP is: [2011 (T-2)] (a) National federation for work and progress (b) National forest for wildlife protection (c) National food and wheat processing (d) National food for work programme 33. Who are considered as the poorest of the poor? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Scheduled castes (b) Scheduled tribes (c) Disaster struck people (d) Women, female, infants and old people 34. Which country of South-East Asia made rapid economic growth resulting in significant decline in poverty? [2011 (T-2)] (a) India (b) China (c) Nepal (d) Pakistan 35. In which part of the world poverty has remained the same during 1981 to 2001? [2011 (T-2)] (a) South Asia (b) Sub-Saharan Asia (c) China (d) Latin America 36. Which of the following states has the poverty ratio below the national average? [2011 (T-2)] (a) West Bengal (b) Uttar Pradesh (c) Assam (d) Maharashtra 37. In year 2000 what was the average Indian poverty ratio? [2011 (T-2)] (a) 15% (b) 43% (c) 26% (d) 47% 38. The organisation that conducts surveys for finding poverty levels in India is. [2011 (T-2)] (a) NSSO (b) USO (c) World Bank (d) None of these 39. The current anti-poverty programe consists of two planks, they are: [2011 (T-2)] (a) Socio-economic reasons and public distribution system (b) Promotion of economic growth and targeted poverty programe (c) Anti-poverty programe and public distribution system (d) None of the above 40. In 2000 the percentage of people below poverty line in India was: [2011 (T-2)] (a) 26% (b) 46% (c) 56% (d) None of the above 4 28. Poverty ratio in which of the following states is above the national average? [2011 (T-2)] (a) West Bengal (b) Tamil Nadu (c) Andhra Pradesh (d) Karnataka 29. The most vulnerable social groups for poverty are: [2011 (T-2)] (a) Scheduled tribes (b) Urban casual labourers (c) Rural agricultural labourers (d) Scheduled castes 30. Which of the following states of India has the highest poverty ratio? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Bihar (b) Orissa (c) Punjab (d) Assam 31. Which of the following is not considered as a social indicator of poverty? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Less number of means of transport (b) Illiteracy level