AnInconvenient TruthWorksheetAnswers Essay

AnInconvenient TruthWorksheetAnswers Essay AnInconvenient TruthWorksheetAnswers Essay An Inconvenient Truth Name: __________________________________________________ Date: __________ Based on the videoÍ ¾ please answer the questions below in thoughtful and complete sentences. 1. What image started the modern day environmental movement? An image of the earth. 2. What is considered the most vulnerable part of the earth system? The atmosphere. 3. Relatively speaking, compared to the earth, how thick is the atmosphere? As thin as the varnish that covers or protects a globe. 4. How can trapping infrared radiation by the earth’s atmosphere be a GOOD thing? It makes the earth warm and livable. 5. How can trapping infrared radiation by the earth’s atmosphere be a BAD thing? If too much infrared energy is trapped it makes the earth too warm and thus unlivable. 6. Sketch the general trend of the â€Å"CO2 Level† versus time graph below: 7. What percentage of people depend on glacial melt for their drinking water? 40% 8. Why is studying ice cores important? It gives us a 650,000 year record of climatic change. 9. What is the relationship between carbon dioxide (CO2) and atmospheric temperature? As CO2 levels increase temperatures increase. 10. Over what time period have the hottest 10 years on earth occurred? The last 14 years. 11. As the water temperature under a hurricane increases, what happens to the wind velocity of the storm? As water temperature increases wind velocity and precipitation increases. 12. What has happened to Lake Chad over the years? It virtually dried up. 13. How much

Learn the History of the Swastika

Learn the History of the Swastika The swastika is an extremely powerful symbol. The Nazis used it to murder millions of people during the Holocaust, but for centuries it had positive meanings. What is the history of the swastika? Does it now represent good or evil? The Oldest Known Symbol The swastika is an ancient symbol that has been used for over 3,000 years. (That even predates the ancient Egyptian symbol, the Ankh!) Artifacts such as pottery and coins from ancient Troy show that the swastika was a commonly used symbol as far back as 1000 BCE. Nigel Hicks / Getty Images During the following thousand years, the image of the swastika was used by many cultures around the world, including in China, Japan, India, and southern Europe. By the Middle Ages, the swastika was a well known, if not commonly used, symbol, but was called by many different names: China - wanEngland - fylfotGermany - HakenkreuzGreece - tetraskelion and gammadionIndia - swastika Though it is not known for exactly how long, Native Americans also have long used the symbol of the swastika. The Original Meaning The word swastika comes from the Sanskrit svastika: su meaning good, asti meaning to be, and ka as a suffix. Until the Nazis used this symbol, the swastika was used by many cultures throughout the past 3,000 years to represent life, sun, power, strength, and good luck. Even in the early twentieth century, the swastika was still a symbol with positive connotations. For instance, the swastika was a common decoration that often adorned cigarette cases, postcards, coins, and buildings. During World War I, the swastika could even be found on the shoulder patches of the American 45th Division and on the Finnish air force until after World War II. A Change in Meaning In the 1800s, countries around Germany were growing much larger, forming empires; yet Germany was not a unified country until 1871. To counter the feeling of vulnerability and the stigma of youth, German nationalists in the mid-nineteenth century began to use the swastika, because it had ancient Aryan/Indian origins, to represent a long Germanic/Aryan history. By the end of the nineteenth century, the swastika could be found on nationalist German volkisch periodicals and was the official emblem of the German Gymnasts League. In the beginning of the twentieth century, the swastika was a common symbol of German nationalism and could be found in a multitude of places such as the emblem for the Wandervogel, a German youth movement; on Joerg Lanz von Liebenfels antisemitic periodical Ostara; on various Freikorps units; and as an emblem of the Thule Society. Hitler and the Nazis Heinrich Hoffmann / Getty Images In 1920, Adolf Hitler decided that the Nazi Party needed its own insignia and flag. For Hitler, the new flag had to be a symbol of our own struggle as well as highly effective as a poster. (Mein Kampf, pg. 495) On August 7, 1920, at the Salzburg Congress, the red flag with a white circle and black swastika became the official emblem of the Nazi Party. Hulton Archive / Getty Images In Mein Kampf, Hitler described the Nazis new flag: In red we see the social idea of the movement, in white the nationalistic idea, in the swastika the mission of the struggle for the victory of the Aryan man, and, by the same token, the victory of the idea of creative work, which as such always has been and always will be anti-Semitic. (pg. 496-497) Because of the Nazis flag, the swastika soon became a symbol of hate, antisemitism, violence, death, and murder. What Does the Swastika Mean Now? There is a great debate as to what the swastika means now. For 3,000 years, the swastika meant life and good luck. But because of the Nazis, it has also taken on a meaning of death and hate. These conflicting meanings are causing problems in todays society. For Buddhists and Hindus, the swastika is a very religious symbol that is commonly used. Chirag Badlani shares a story about one time when he went to make some photocopies of some Hindu Gods for his temple. While standing in line to pay for the photocopies, some people behind him in line noticed that one of the pictures had a swastika. They called him a Nazi. Unfortunately, the Nazis were so effective at their use of the swastika emblem, that many do not even know any other meaning for the swastika. Can there be two completely opposite meanings for one symbol? Does the Direction of the Swastika Matter? In ancient times, the direction of the swastika was interchangeable, as can be seen on an ancient Chinese silk drawing. Glenn Waters in Japan / Getty Images Some cultures in the past had differentiated between the clockwise swastika and the counter-clockwise sauvastika. In these cultures, the swastika symbolized health and life while the sauvastika took on a mystical meaning of bad-luck or misfortune. Italian summer camp forming group backwards swastika. Â  De Agostini / Foto Studio Leoni / Getty Images But since the Nazis use of the swastika, some people are trying to differentiate the two meanings of the swastika by varying its direction- trying to make the clockwise, Nazi version of the swastika mean hate and death, while the counter-clockwise version would hold the ancient meaning of the symbol, life, and good luck.

Alexander the Great Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Alexander the Great - Essay Example Alexander the great became King of the Macedon after the death of a father, Philip II at the age of 20. Alexander engaged in a journey of the conquest of around 11 years and fought more than 70 battles. Alexander the great had able to conquer the half of the world from India to Egypt in 32 years. Alexander created an empire which was so vast that it covered two million square miles and it stretched across the three continents. The integration of dream and great achievement distinguished Alexander as one of the greatest leaders of all-time. During the 12 years of the campaign, Alexander had defeated armies that were five times of own army, leading own armies of Macedonians in freezing weather and across deserts. Alexander faced tremendous hardships to unite and bring together the known world under a one single common unified vision. The main success of Alexander the great as a leader was the ability and passion for inspiring and encouraging all the men to think great things to think big and later achieve them with great commitment, passion, and enthusiasm. Alexander’s main motive and the dream was to unite Asia and Europe. Alexander called unity of Europe and Asia as â€Å"The Brotherhood of Man†. According to Alexander, brotherhood would help to unite and bring together the different culture of different societies into one unit which would be governed by the spread of Hellenism. Alexander’s dream of brotherhood was attained at different aspects (Fox 82). Even after the empire of Alexander the great Greek was a common language. ... Alexander called unite of Europe and Asia as â€Å"The Brotherhood of Man†. According to Alexander, brotherhood would help to unite and bring together different culture of different societies in to one unit which would be governed by spread of Hellenism. Alexander’s dream of brotherhood was attained at different aspects (Fox 82). Even after the empire of Alexander the great Greek was a common language. Due to the fact gospels were written in Greek it helped to reach large audience as it helped them to understand. The Alexander the great and the visionary leadership style is the classic combination of leaderships which is taught nowadays in military and business schools. Research done on the visionary leadership style of Alexander and it clearly shows that leadership style used by Alexander helps to communicate extensively with the people and resonate with their feelings and hearts. The strong case on business for the visionary style of leadership can be done by noticing at the pride in organization, retention of employees and shared sense of purpose and goals. Ronald Reagan’s speech of â€Å"Berlin Wall† and Martin Luther King’s speech on â€Å"I Have a Dream† are various examples of visionary leadership style which is same as Alexander the great. Visionary leaders used to have a clear picture on their minds and are able to go inside into the dreams and hopes of the people and would help to create destination. Creating destination among the people not only helps people to inspire but also would help them to challenge to be better (Martin and Blackwell 186). The effective visionary leadership strategy used by Alexander would help to stretch people’s gullibility just at the right moment of time. Felling the

Managing Activities to Achieve Results Assignment - 1

Managing Activities to Achieve Results - Assignment Example To get such skills the company has to employ people with various skills across different cultural backgrounds and thus it has contributed to the current structure of the company. It has committed itself towards empowering the staff it has employed and thus utilized the innovative style of organizational structure. The structure specifically used by Syngenta is the matrix structure also referred to as the project team structure. If Syngenta has to use process management in the mapping out their processes in order to get its goals and objectives, there are several things it must consider if it has to succeed. Use of a process management occurs when the management situation is dynamic rather than static. Dynamic can be caused by: (a) external factors – the activity begins as a project but eventually deviates and becomes a process because the external parties have introduced their own definitions of problems and solutions and thus interfere with the process (Bruijn, Heuvelhof and Veld 2010, p15). (b) Internal factors – the activity begins as a project and eventually becomes a process because the project owner has realized that during the course of the project, the problem has become different from what he had anticipated. The decision making process in this case has to be based on the hierarchy system and all the decision making processes are linear and structured and they proceed towards a solution thorough different phases. An actor who is superior in hierarchy initiates the decision making process. The other involved in the decision making have to behave cooperatively and this is partly due to the subordination to the one in control of the decision making process (Bruijn, Heuvelhof and Veld 2010, p16).The company has to take into consideration the two factors when mapping out their processes in order to get their goals and objectives. The processes can be evaluated by the results it achieves such as a number of actions, a number

Ethical considerations Essay Example for Free

Ethical considerations Essay Deception; the participants were not aware that they were taking part in a psychological study about memory until after the study had taken place in order to reduce the risk of bias in the experiment. Afterwards they were informed and were given the opportunity to withdraw their responses without prejudice. They were told that no names would be recorded and that confidentiality was assured of their result. Another risk would be if people then realised the experiment tested memory they could think it was to do with intelligence and worry that they would be judged as stupid if they did not remember many words. This could cause psychological distress to that person and might confirm personal fears of insecurity causing further damage. This could be controlled by warning the participant what the study was going to be about before they did it so if they felt embarrassed or worried about their result they could make a more informed decision not to take part. Results This table shows how many words were recalled by each participant. It shows that the mean average number of words recalled in Condition A was 15.08; 1.59 less than condition B at 16.67. It also allows us to see that 2/3 of the participants recalled more words with classical music playing than they did in silence.  Summary table to show the number of words recalled by each participant in condition A and. Condition B This bar chart shows condition A results in red and condition B in green. From this we can see that both the highest and lowest numbers of words recalled were in condition B. This bar chart clearly demonstrates the difference between condition A and B to vary greatly throughout the experiment.  This pie chart shows the difference between the average scores to be quite insignificant as there is only a 5 % difference which means that although most of the numbers of words recalled did increase from condition a to condition b there was not a big difference when taking into account what their scores actually were and working out the average. I also deduced the range to be 12 for condition A, the lowest/ highest values being 8 and 20, and 17 for condition B, the lowest/ highest values being 7 and 24. The median, however, for both was the same at 16.5. This means there was a wider spread list of values for condition B therefore more variation in how many words people remembered than in condition A.  However the descriptive statistics used above only describe what has been found. In order to suggest the probability of achieving the scores that we did, an inferential sign test was used. A sign test was used as the experimental design was a repeated measures design and the data collected was nominal. When we applied our raw data to the sign test analysis a sign value of 4 was achieved. As this exceeds the critical value of 2, for 12 participants, we can suggest that the raw data achieved is more than 5% due to chance factors and less than 95% due to the manipulation of the independent variable which means our original hypothesis is only partially supported. Discussion From the results obtained in this experiment, we can suggest that our one tailed experimental hypothesis of playing classical music during a memory test will increase the number of words remembered, is only partially supported, in that only 2/3 (66.67%) of participants recall improved when tested with classical music. This was not found to achieve a significant level of probability 0.05, which means that recall was not 95% or more due to the manipulation of the independent variable i.e. whether or not classical music was playing in the background. Therefore on this occasion we must accept our null hypothesis of there will be no significant relationship between whether or not music is played in the background and how many words the participants remember as there was not a high enough probability to suggest that the variation in number of words recalled was a direct effect of the manipulation of the independent variable. In our experiment we found that classical music did improve performance of memory as 2/3 of the participants recall improved. This disagrees with the findings of Cohen whose study suggested that participants who were exposed to background noise were cognitively impaired. Our experiment was similar to Cohens in that it tested the effect of environmental stimulants on recall ability. Cohen, however, tested the participants under exposure to aircraft noise which is much louder and more distracting than a relaxing piece of music such as Mozart. Our findings, therefore, may be more appropriately compared to the findings of Dr. George Lozanov. Lozanov designed a way to teach foreign languages to children in a fraction of the learning time. He did this by teaching whilst using certain 60 beats per minute Baroque music and found that his students had a retention rate of 92% and an accuracy of 85- 100% after only thirty days. The findings of which reflect our own in that he used classical music, with the typical 60 beat per minute pattern, to improve performance of memory in the recollection of vocabulary in foreign languages. However, the percentage of improvement in his experiment was 92%, whereas ours was only 66.67% and therefore shows that his experiment was more accurate than our own However, as our participants were young adults and not children, as in the above, direct and reliable comparisons may not be fully appropriate. This could be due to wider social influences upon adults in relation to children for example a young adult would understand the instructions better and therefore might feel under more pressure to perform than a child. This could have adverse effects and make their performance worse or make them try harder than a child would. Due to this ignorance on the childs behalf, an experiment involving children is often more natural. Also, differences in procedure and experimental design may have led to the difference in findings. For example Lozanov choose to teach foreign languages to children and it has been proven that children have a higher capacity than adults for learning language, as they are not as set in speaking their own language as an adult is. The differences found may have related to this factor and so had an effect upon the data that we achieved. If my experiment had been carried out on children instead I think I would have gotten more positive results due to the above reasons. Other limitations include our choice of method; an experiment is not a natural setting as participants would feel pressurised by the fact that their results were being analysed and might have not been able to concentrate on recalling the words. An improvement could have been a test administered by a normal teacher in a classroom environment, where students would be more used to getting a test and might be more relaxed. This would be unethical, however as it is deceptive. The repeated measures design used meant that the list of words in the second experiment had to be changed because the same participants had seen it in the first experiment and therefore might recall more words after looking at it for a second time. This would have meant the results were inaccurate therefore another list of words was devised. This could however have caused even more problems because, although care was taken not to use more confusing or longer words from one list to another, the experiment was not standardised and therefore direct comparisons could not be made. A matched pairs design would have allowed comparisons to be made between the lists, but not as accurately between the participants, as every participant will be different. The opportunity based sample that I used meant that there werent an equal number of males and females, therefore it wasnt representative. A better sampling technique would be to use stratified sampling, in which equal numbers of the same sex can be selected. If the target population was larger, the sample would have been more representative but we needed to use similarly aged participants, as there would have been difference in recall ability between, for example, a four and an eighteen year old. Using people from our own class could have interfered with the result because the participants knew who they were doing the experiment for and could be biased to the experimenter. Also, I think that using younger participants would have given a more natural element to the experiment, as they would not ask too many questions, worry about the results or interfere as much with the experiment by not trying their best. The participants did not seem to be confused by the standardised instructions but they might not have been clear on why they were doing the experiment, which could have had an effect on their performance. The participants were also talked through the experiment as we carried it out and everything was plainly stated to them. A better way of presentation of the words however, might have been to present them on an over head projector, so that timing could be controlled better; in our experiment, participants were in control of turning over the sheet of paper with the list on and therefore could have turned it over before the test started. The paper was only one sheet thick as well so participants might have been able to see the words even when the sheet was face down. To expand the experiment further, there are many different variables and different aspects of memory which I could test. The serial position effect, mentioned in my introduction, would be an interesting aspect of memory to test as I noticed in the lists of words there were a significant number of words from the start and the end of the actual list, included in the words the participants remembered. We could test this by setting a quota at, say, the first five and last five words and seeing what percentage of the recalled words were within one of these quotas. We could have used a recording of background noise to repeat Cohens experiment or used music with words to test the participants. A really interesting experiment would be to use children against adults in a memory test with the classical music, as I believe children would give a more positive result in relation to my hypothesis. I dont believe that there would be a significant difference between males and females, if any, but it would be worth considering. We could have tested different amounts of words see if there is a difference in capacity of recall between a list of one hundred words and thirty words; would the participants be put off by the amount of words and not remember as many for the long list as the short? There are clearly many different experiments relating to memory that could be tested.

Challenges Affecting International Students in Australia Essays

Challenges affecting international students in Australia 1.0 Challenges facing international students in Australia 1.1 Introduction The need for higher education has prompted many students to seek further studies in international colleges outside their countries and Australia has become an academic hub for international students who mostly come from developing nations in Asia and Africa. The students, once they secure a place in this schools, they are subjected to a new environment which comes with different challenges. International students in Australia have become an integral part of the society both social and economical. However the students face a myriad of challenges before fully adopting to the new learning culture. In this report, the focus is centered in the analysis of challenges facing the international students in Australia and strategies the institutions and students have resolved to use to address the problems. The case reviews the social as well as economic factors which affect these students in the processes of their academic pursuits. 1.2 Social Issues 1.2.1 Language Barrier: There are several social issues that affect the international students in Australia. The major social issue is basically language barrier. According to Sawir (2005), prior research indicates that many international students from Asia, studying in Australia, face serious learning difficulties and lack confidence in speaking and taking a proactive role in classrooms and surrounding environment. Language barrier creates communication barriers between the lecturers and some students especially from Asian countries and can lead to dismal academic performance while at the same time separating themselves from mainstream society. The... ...on to the students about the university and its environment, before enrolment. Offering part-time job placement and coordinating with surrounding firms to assist the students can be of great help to the society. 3.0 References Marginson, S, Deumert, A, Nyland, C, Gaby Ramia & Sawir, E, The Social and Economic Security of international students in Australia: Study of 202 student cases, Monash Institute for the Study of Global Movement, Monash University Morris, J, E, 2009, Approaches and strategies to foster a culture of academic honesty: how can we help students develop an understanding of good academic practice? Oxford, United Kingdom Higher Education Academy Sawir, E, 2005, Language difficulties of international students in Australia: The effects of prior learning experience, Australia, Education Faculty, Monash University

Graduation Speech Essay

â€Å"The heights by great man reach and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they while their companions slept were toiling upwards through the night. †Ã‚  (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow  ) Members of the school board, principal and staff, distinguished guests in the audience and on the platform, parents, guardians, graduate, good afternoon. Our guest speaker for this afternoon is Mrs. Merlette Barrett-Fender. She was born in the parish of St. James. There, she attended the Salt Spring All Age School- later the Mt. Alvernia High School then went on to further her education at Shortwood Teachers’ College. She has worked at the Jamaica Telephone Company as an international operator. She later acquired a Bachelor’s Degree in Middle Grades Administration offered by Western Carolina University, at the Montego Bay site. Her zeal for leadership led her to access the Master of Science in Educational Leadership just two years later with the Jamaican Programme of Central Connecticut State University. She has worked at the Primary, Secondary and Tertiary levels of the education system, having the experience as class teacher, subject teacher of English Language and Literature at Cornwall College and as Principal. She presently holds the position of Academic Vice-Principal of Knox Community College. Mrs. Barrett-Fender posses a great love for her country and as a result has made the decision to remain in Jamaica. She takes great pleasure in working amongst Jamaica’s poorest, to help train and educate them and being the voice for some who are voiceless. As a member of the Upper St. James Consultative Committee, she conducts motivational talks to students and teachers. She is the lay preacher of the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. She is dedicated to spreading the work of God for the upliftment of people. She possesses a vibrant personality, loves the outdoors, loves good company and enjoys helping others. Mrs. Barrett-Fender believes in having a sound character thus her everyday life is grounded in integrity. Her community involvement includes being a member of the Friends of the Hospital, the founder of Salt Spring All Age Past Students’ Association, past president and fund raising committee member, speaking at graduation exercises, Patron of the Knox Early Childhood Institute, motivational speaker, mentor and counselor. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls; please put your hands together as I introduce to some and present to the others Mrs. Barrett-Fender.

Bram Stoker Essay

Within â€Å"Dracula†, Stoker clearly presents the male characters in the book as heroes, without over emphasising this by giving them extraordinarily strong powers. They are portrayed as normal human beings with faults and weaknesses. This can be seen when Van Helsing suffers from hysteria, but despite this still plays an important role in the chase for Dracula, and brings confidence to their quest at desperate times. He describes the â€Å"Band of Brother’s† as those â€Å", who are willing to peril even our own souls for the safety of one we love-for the good of mankind, and for the honour and glory of God†. A similar comparison could be made to fictional characters/super heroes in comics such as Superman. They save the weak and bring down the villain while also leading normal lives. But despite doing this, these super heroes still posses certain vulnerabilities, in the instance of superman, he possesses a weakness to kryptonite. In the same sense, members of the brotherhood have their own weaknesses. Therefore, it is fair to say that there is some presence of a comic book nature in Stokers writings, and the characters in the book represent this. Stoker does well not to make the characteristics of his male heroes all man and butch, like our version of the male hero today. I believe Stoker’s view of the perfect hero, is one that is physically strong but in touch with his feminine side. I believe such a character to be Van Helsing. At the opening of Jonathan Harker’s journal it says, â€Å"God preserve my sanity†, and later Dr. Seward says, â€Å"What does this all mean? I am beginning to wonder if my long habit of life amongst the insane is beginning to tell upon my own brain†. Clearly within the novel, the male characters show signs of tenderness and sensitivity, which would be an imperative trait for a women of the time. Despite this, within the â€Å"Band of Brothers† each individual member have their own personal weakness, and this again parallels to that of a super hero in a comic book, (an ideal present day hero), how everyone has their own weaknesses, and often all have a universal weakness, eg. Breathing, in a comic world. In this case, the universal weakness of the â€Å"Band of the Brothers† is the shared love and protective nature over their women/partners. I believe that the men in the novel feel threatened by Dracula, who is a perfectly attractive, who is physically powerful, and more importantly targeting their women. The men may have felt that this new species may lure their women away from them, since it can be seen that his prey needs some sort of willingness or co-operation for him to act. It is not clear in the novel if Jonathan and Mina have consummated their marriage, since Jonathan was in such a bad state at the time of the wedding, yet later in the play he again shows inadequacies in the bedroom department, and can only watch Mina sucking at the chest of Dracula having been paralysed by the more dominant figure, Dracula. In the novel, personal and universal strengths and weaknesses are present in the â€Å"Band of Brothers†. Since all the characters concerned are human, there is no distinct line between the two, perhaps rather they represent individuality of characters. Due to the group’s enthusiasm, and their keenness to save their beloved from Dracula, they play directly into the hands of Dracula, and this can be seen in London. This shows that the eager and hunger of the man exploits their weakness of not thinking correctly, rushing into things and a little gullibility. Mina is left alone at the house a sitting duck for Dracula to attack, a thoughtless action showing human weakness. However the group show great dedication and understanding to the task in hand as Van Helsing says, â€Å"Our toil must be in silence, and our efforts in secret; for in this enlightened age†¦

The Future of Early Education Importance of Preschool

The Future of Early Education Importance of Preschool Did you know that  Forbes.com reports that the Department of Education has awarded almost $250 million in an effort to ensure that development of early education programs, preschool, continue to best serve children from low- and moderate-income families? This is one example of the Presidents long-standing plan to offer free, universal pre-school for these families. However, President Trumps latest budget for 2019 education appears to be reducing funding   for schools. As we know, in President Obamas 2013 State of the Union address he unveiled his plan for universal Pre-K or pre-kindergarten education for four-year-olds. His plan would guarantee kids whose household income is at or below 200% of the poverty line a free pre-K education with local schools and local partners, and their teachers would have the same training as K-12 teachers. In addition, the programs would offer many of the benefits of private school pre-kindergarten programs, including small class sizes, high adult-to-child ratios, and assessment of the programs provided. The program would also expand the number of full-day kindergarten programs available. Unease in Regards to the Future of Early Childhood Education However, despite these advancements, there is unease as a result of the new leadership of our nation coming; many people are unsure about the future of early childhood programs. Betsy DeVos has been chosen by President Donald Trump to take on the role of Education Secretary, and her position on pre-school funding is not clear; the same can be said for the President. As a result, there are some who are uncomfortable with the uncertainty, and the latest budget developments are not alieviating fears.   Why Pre-Kindergarten is So Important While many private schools offer high-quality pre-kindergarten programs and full-day kindergartens, providing enriching educational opportunities for children under age 6, many children who attend public schools, particularly children living in poverty, do not have access to these programs. According to the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) in New Brunswick, New Jersey, 28% of 4-year-olds were enrolled in a pre-kindergarten program in the 2011-2012 school year, which represents an increase over the 14% of four-year-olds who did so in 2002. Yet, pre-kindergarten programs are critical to children’s long-term success, and experts at NIEER have documented that children who have been enrolled in high-quality pre-kindergarten programs enter kindergarten with better vocabularies and more advanced pre-reading and math skills than children who don’t have access to these programs. Kids enrolled in pre-k programs aren’t just learning how to recognize letters and numbers; they are also learning critical social skills and the importance of working independently in the classroom. Through high-quality pre-k programs, they develop the confidence to take on more advanced classroom work. Many children struggle with social skills and behavioral problems in kindergarten, and many children are even kicked out of kindergarten. Pre-kindergarten programs are essential in teaching kids the social skills they need for later grades, not just the academic skills. Pre-K Benefits Last a Lifetime The benefits of pre-kindergarten education last well beyond kindergarten. According to research conducted by NIEER, there are amazing long-term economic benefits from early childhood education for children in poverty. For example, life-time earnings of some children increase by hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the economics benefits of these programs outweigh the costs by a factor of up to 16 (in some programs). In addition, such programs show that participants have lower crime rates and decreased rates of welfare dependence as adults, so the benefits of early childhood education can last a lifetime. According to the White House Fact Sheet on Obama’s educational plan, children from low-income families are less likely to have access to pre-kindergarten programs, and middle-class families also struggle to afford private pre-school programs, yet these programs are critical to children’s long-term school success. Children from low-income families who are not reading at grade level by third grade are six times less likely to graduate from high school. According to the Fact Sheet from the White House, only 60% of American children have access to full-day kindergarten programs, yet these programs are also essential to teaching children skills critical skills for later academic success. Pre-kindergarten programs are a promising way to reduce adult poverty in this country and to provide the essential skills workers need as adults. Working with at-risk children in the primary or middle school years may be too late, and while private schools offer high-quality pre-school and early education programs, research studies have documented the need to expand these programs to state-funded programs across the country. Article updated by Stacy Jagodowski

How to Guess Strategically on SAT Math

How to Guess Strategically on SAT Math SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The SAT gives negative penalties for guessing, so you shouldn’t even bother to guess on the SAT math section...right? Well yes and no. Guessing requires strategy for a test like the SAT, but it is possible (and indeed we recommend that you do so!) when you can do it smartly. In this guide, we’ll go through when and how to guess strategically on the SAT math section and show you examples of it in action. Refresher on SAT Math Scoring and Organization The SAT is a standardized test, which means that each SAT must look and feel like every other SAT as much as possible. The individual questions may vary, but the patterns in how the test-makers design both the questions and the answer choices will be as similar as can be. With time and practice, you can learn to not only recognize these patterns when you see them, but also use the clues in both the question and the answer choices to help you find your right answer (or at least narrow down your options!). To refresh your understanding of how the SAT math test is structured, let’s look at how it is scored. For each multiple choice question, you will get: +1 point for every correct answer, 0 points for every blank answer, and -0.25 points for every incorrect answer. For each math grid-in question, you will get: +1 point for every correct answer and 0 points for every blank OR incorrect answer. There is no negative penalty for an incorrect grid-in answer. There will be a total of 54 math questions on the test, 44 multiple choice and 10 grid-in. [Note: if you receive an extra math section on the day of the test, it will be because this is your â€Å"experimental† section. If this happens, you will have a total of 74 math questions64 multiple choice and 10 grid-in. There will never be any additional grid-in questions in the experimental section.] Developing a Target Score Because the SAT delivers a penalty for incorrect answers, your strategy for how to approach the SAT math section will depend on your target score and will change as your score goals change. First, take a practice test,and try to slow down a little more than might feel natural as you work through your test. In addition, come up with different ways to mark your questionsone mark for questions you don't know how to do, and another mark for questions you're only somewhat confident about. You may even want to create a third marker for questions that you know how to do, but will take a long time or will require multiple steps, so must be done carefully to avoid error. This way, you can save them for last (though this is optional). For now, use your best judgment on whether to skip or guess the questions you've marked, but do make sure that you can identify which problems were which later. These marks will help you when you go to analyze your answers (and your guessing strategy) in the next section. Once you're done with your practice test, check out our guide to developing your ideal target score, based on your current scores and the schools you want to get into. Don't worry if you're a little off your target right now. A little strategy and practice will soon get you much closer to where you want to be (if not right on the bull's eye!). Guessing Based on Target Score After you find your target curved score, see how that translates to your raw score. How many questions must you answer correctly to get that target score? Keep that number in your head and then plan to answer a few more questions than that target. Why? You are leaving yourself room to get a few questions wrong. For example, if your target SAT math score is 600, you’ll need a raw score of about 37. But to get a raw 37, you must answer 37 questions correctly and absolutely no questions wrong. Since this is difficult for most students, you should aim to answer somewhere in the range of 44 questions. This would allow you to miss up to 6 questions and still get a raw score of 37. How? If you answered 38 questions correctly and missed 6, you would have a score of: 38+6(−0.25) 38−1.5 36.5 The SAT rounds up any score ending in 0.5 or 0.75, so your raw score would be rounded to 37. Success! Once you’ve scored your test, look back on the questions you marked. How accurate is your guessing right now? Did you mostly get questions right or wrong that you marked as "didn't know" or "kind of knew," or did you leave most of these blank? Is there a pattern in your missed guesses? But what happens if you're currently well under your target raw score? If this is the case, then you're going to want to establish a two-tonged study approach of brushing up on the individual math topics you're struggling in right now and learning how to guess more effectively. So now that you’ve seen how you’re guessing strategies have worked so far (even if that means you haven't been guessing at all), let’s talk best guessing strategies for SAT math. The more you practice, the more refined and honed your study skills and guessing abilities will become. SAT Math Guessing Strategies The SAT math section is designed to test how well you can recognize and figure out how to apply familiar mathematical concepts to new situations. But though the scenarios may be unusual, each and every math topicon the test is one that you are likely familiar with and have studied for a number of years. This is all to say that you likely have a better understanding of the questions than you may think, even if you don’t know how to actually solve the problem. Often (though not always), a little strategy will allow you to eliminate at least one or two answer choices and make an educated guess. Note: this may seem apparent, but only use your guessing strategies when you don't know how to solve a problem or are not confident about your answer. Guessing often takes a little more time than a straight-solve, so if you know the answer, great! Move on to the next problem. Only stop and take the time to guess if you're stuck. We’ve laid out three of the most important rules of thumb that go into making an educated guess on an SAT math problem. Most of the time you will use a combination of these three techniques on any given problem, so they are less individual strategy than they are a combination of thought processes that you should go through every time you make a guess. So let’s look at all three techniques needed to best make guesses (and when to do so!) on the SAT math section. Guessing Strategy 1: Process of Elimination Being able to eliminate questions SAT is arguably a more important skill than even being able to solve questions (or at least equally as important). Most of the SAT math questions are multiple choice, which means that the correct answer is always there amongst the answer choices. This may seem obvious, but it means that you have two options to get the right answeryou can solve the problem for the correct answer, oryou can simply eliminate four wrong answers. Whatever remains must be correct. Either option you choose will each get you to the right answer in the end. For example, is it impossible that the answer to a certain problem be negative? Do you know the parabola must open upwards, even if you don't know how it's positioned horizontally? Even knowing just a tiny bit about the problem or its possible answer will often be enough to eliminate a few answer choices. But what if don't know enough about the problem toknow that four answers are wrong? Is eliminating just one or two answer choices enough? When, exactly, should you make a guess? Eliminating 0 Answer Choices So you’ve come to a question and you can’t eliminate any answer choices at allshould you guess? Definitely not! The test is designed to make random guessing (quite literally) pointless. With the -0.25 point penalty and 5 answer choices for each question, random guessing will balance out to 0 points earned over time. Why? A one-in-five chance of a right answer will get you one right answer and four wrong answers for every five questions. This gives you: 1+4(−0.25) 1−1 0 points for every five questions. Better to leave it blank and move on. Eliminating 1 Answer Choice All right, let’s say you can eliminate one answer choice, but no othersshould you guess now? Unfortunately, the answer is: it depends. If you can eliminate one answer choice, then you will have a one-in-four chance of getting the right answer. Over the course of several questions, you will earn: 1+3(−0.25) 1−0.75 0.25 points for every four questions you can answer this way. As you can see, technically, if you can eliminate one answer, then it is to your benefit to guess. But this only works over the long-term and, even then, only if you make your final selection at random. Since human beings are not random, our advice is only to guess when you can eliminate two or more answer choices. Eliminating 2 Answer Choices (Now We’re Getting Somewhere!) You’ve eliminated two answer choices that you know have to be wrong and are now down to three possibilities. This is the time to start guessing. Though eliminating one answer and making a guess might be worth it in the long-term (as in, you must do so over the course of several questions), you should really only make a guess when you can eliminate two or more answer choices. This will give you a one-in-three chance of guessing the right answer, which will earn you: 1+2(−0.25) 1−0.5 0.5 points for every three questions you can answer this way. [Note: getting 0.5 points has an extra bonus in that raw scores on the SAT are rounded up at the 0.5 mark. So if you have a raw score of 41.5, you will actually end up with a final raw score of 42!] Eliminating 3 Answer Choices If you can eliminate three answer choices, you’re in a great place! This will give you a one-in-two shot of choosing the correct answer, which, over time will get you: 1+1(−0.25) 1−0.25 0.75 points for every two questions you can answer this way. Go you! Eliminating 4 Answer Choices If you can confidently eliminate four answer options, then celebrate! No need for guessing hereyou’ve found the correct answer. But how exactly do you go about eliminating answer choices? Let’s take a look. Guessing Strategy 2: Approximating If you have even a general idea of what the right answer might be (even a ballpark figure will do), you will often be able to eliminate one or two of the most blatant outliers. Though the answer choices are most often generated based on common student errors or closely related values, there will still generally be answer choices that are way far afield. Let’s take a look at this in action. Don’t worry about actually solving the problem, just give yourself enough of a ballpark to see if you can eliminate one or two answer choices. Garcia won by a ratio of 5:3, which means that Pà ©rez must have lost, but not by a landslide. First, let’s divide the total number of votes in half. 120,0002 60,000 Pà ©rez received fewer than half the total votes, but again, not by too terribly much. At a rough estimate, let's say that Pà ©rez probably received about 40,000 votes. Again, less than 60,000 (half), but not nearly so small as 15,000. Just with this ballpark figure, we can eliminate answer choices A, D, and E. We are left with answer choices B and C. Even if you didn’t understand how to work with ratios, you would still be in a good place to guess at this point. You now have a 50-50 chance of getting the right answer between the two options just from approximating what the correct answer might be. [Note: the correct answer is C, 45,000.] You can also approximate answers on geometric figures on the test. Unless noted otherwise, all figures will be to scale, and you can make a ballpark guess as to their size and angles. Because there is no note to indicate otherwise, we know the figure must be to scale. Just by glancing at the triangle ABO, we can see that angle ABO must be larger than 15 ° and less than 90 °. We can definitively eliminate two answer choices, which leaves us with threeB, C, and D. This is enough to make a guess. But we can even go further. Considering all the angles in the triangle look about the same, we can make an educated guess between our three options. Angle ABO looks about equal to angles BAO and BOA, and we know that there are 180 ° in a triangle. Knowing this, we can make a guess that the answer is D, 60 °, without making any bit of effort to actually solve the problem. [Note: the correct answer is indeed D, 60 °.] The more you can whittle away obviously wrong answers, the better the odds will be of you grabbing thatright answer choice. Guessing Strategy 3: Avoiding Temptation The test is designed around the statistically average student, and many of the answer choices are generated based on common student errors. People have a tendency to fall into predictable thinking patterns, and the SAT is, in part, designed to lure you to fall for traps that the average student falls for again and again. Often, what makes an answer difficult is the wording and the bait answer choices, rather than the difficulty of the mathematical material being tested.So if you look at a question in the medium or difficult range that looks easy oreven worseobvious, it may just be too good to be true. If an answer choice seems immediately appealing, especially on a difficult question, it’s likely a trap. Think about how many other students would have felt the same way on trial tests. Don’t be that person and try not to let yourself fall for the booby traps. This question is near the end of a math section, which means that the test-makers consider it â€Å"medium-difficult.† Knowing this, the answer is probably NOT going to be simple or obvious. If you don’t have a clue as to how to solve the problem, you can still narrow down your answer choices. Consider that we are working with the difference of 4 people vs. 3 people, which means that it is highly unlikely that the correct answer will be x4 or x3. Those answers look too obvious and tempting to be trusted. We can probably also discard answer choice E, 7x. Not always but most of the time, if an answer doesn’t look anything like the other answer choices, there’s a very good chance it is incorrect, and you can discard it. The rest of our answers are in fractions and E is the only answer that is purely a multiple. Let us, therefore, get rid of it. By discarding both the tempting answer choices and the outlier, we are left with two options, answer choices A and D. This gives us a 50-50 chance of getting the right answer and is a good time to guess. [Note: the correct answer is A, x12.] Let's take a look at another example. This is the last question in a math section, which means it is the hardest question (or one of the hardest questions) on the test. With that in mind, the correct answer will NOT be the most obvious. There are two X-marked offices and four offices total. The X’s, therefore, make up half of the total number of offices, which is something we can see right at a glance. This means that the answer is NOT going to be E, 12that is way too obvious to be correct. Considering there are four offices total, it is also safe to guess that the answer is not D, 14 either, as that is still too obvious an answer for question 20 of 20. To solve any problem that is last on a math section, we will need to go through at least two or three math steps. We therefore know the problem will be more complex than simply using the number of offices as the denominator. Even without knowing anything about probabilities, we have narrowed down our options to A, B, or C. It is now a safe time to guess, so we can go ahead and pick an answer. [Note: the correct answer is C, 16] You did it! Now go forth and conquer. The Take-Aways Though it is very useful to know how to actually solve your SAT math problems, we’ve seen that it is not always necessary. Though you shouldn’t guess on every SAT math question, it can help your scores to do so on occasion. Just remember to always employ your guessing strategies when you are forced to make a guess, and take a deep breath. Sometimes you will be able to eliminate enough answer choices to make a final guess and sometimes you'll have to leave the question blank, and that's okay. You probably know more about the math topic in question than you think, and you probably know enough to at least eliminate an answer choice or two, even if you’re feeling overwhelmed. Don’t force yourself to answer questions you don’t feel comfortable answering, but don’t doubt your skills to eliminate possible answer choices either. Pretty soon you’ll be beating the odds and boosting your scores more than ever before. What’s Next? Still not satisfied with your SAT math scores? Improve your individual SAT math topic skills by working through ourindividual math topic guides. In each guide, we willwalk you through the definitions of each topic, the formulas you'll need, and how you'll see the questions on the SAT math section, as well as give you real SAT math problems (and answer explanations) for you to practice your skills on. Been procrastinating on your SAT prep? If you've found yourself in a procrastination rut, check out our guide on how to stop procrastinating so you can get back on that study wagon. Aiming for a perfect score? If you're looking to score a perfect 800 on your SAT math section, then look no further than our guide to getting an 800 on the SAT math, written by a perfect-scorer. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? Check out our best-in-class online SAT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your SAT score by 160 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this Math strategy guide, you'll love our program.Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands ofpractice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial:

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Misevaluation Affects the Failure of Merger and Acquisition Activities - Dissertation Example The literature review chapter highlighted the ideas, views and opinions of different academicians and researchers along with discussing them at length. The literature review illustrated that mergers and acquisitions are often driven by misevaluation that leads to the failure in the long term as the market corrects the misevaluation. Moreover, mergers and acquisitions are driven by managerial optimism that leads to the failure in the long term. A detailed approach has been presented in the chapter that also covers other elements affecting the result of mergers and acquisitions in the business environment. The research methodology chapter is based on secondary research method and case study approach that covers information on the merger of Time Warner and AOL. The study highlighted the reasons of failure along with stating the role of the management and other factors. Overall, the center of discussion was restricted to the impact of misevaluation in mergers and acquisitions. The finding and analysis chapter is based on the findings of the case study along with relating them to the literature review in a logical manner. The last chapter concludes the entire research by stating its strengths, limitations, results and outcomes in a descriptive and analytical manner. Every journey starts with a single idea and enthusiasm that makes the journey an experience. The research journey stated with an idea that took desired shape with the help, support and cooperation of many people. The researcher would like to thank his professor and supervisor†¦. for guiding him in the right direction through motivation and profound knowledge. His ideas often motivated the researcher making him achieve the proposed aim and objectives of the research. His continuous guidance and feedback helped in understanding the intricacies of the research topic along with gaining a new perspective through a thorough understanding of the subject matter. The researcher would also like to thank the University for offering all kind of support in terms of access to library and free access to professors that made the research an easy task. The role

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