Educational Technology Essay

Educational technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using and managing appropriate technological processes and resources.† The term educational technology is often associated with, and encompasses, instructional theory and learning theory. While instructional technology is â€Å"the theory and practice of design, development, utilization, management, and evaluation of processes and resources for learning,† according to the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) Definitions and Terminology Committee,educational technology includes other systems used in the process of developing human capability. Educational technology includes, but is not limited to, software, hardware, as well as Internet applications, such as wikis and blogs, and activities. But there is still debate on what these terms mean.[3] Technology of education is most simply and comfortably defined as an array of tool s that might prove helpful in advancing student learning and may be measured in how and why individuals behave. Educational Technology relies on a broad definition of the word â€Å"technology.† Technology can refer to material objects of use to humanity, such as machines or hardware, but it can also encompass broader themes, including systems, methods of organization, and techniques. Some modern tools include but are not limited to overhead projectors, laptop computers, and calculators. Newer tools such as â€Å"smartphones† and games (both online and offline) are beginning to draw serious attention for their learning potential. Media psychology is the field of study that applies theories in human behavior to educational technology. Consider the Handbook of Human Performance Technology. The word technology for the sister fields of Educational and Human Performance Technology means â€Å"applied science.† In other words, any valid and reliable process or procedure that is derived from basic research using the â€Å"scientific method† is considered a â€Å"technology.† Educational or Human Performance Technology may be based purely on algorithmic or heuristic processes, but neither necessarily implies physical technology. The word technology comes from the Greek â€Å"techne† which means craft or art. Another word, â€Å"technique,† with the same origin, also may be used when considering the field Educational Technology. So Educational Technology may be extended to include the techniques of the educator. A classic example of an Educational Psychology text is Bloom’s 1956 book, Taxonomy of Educational Objectives.Bloom’s Taxonomy is helpful when designing learning activities to keep in mind what is expected of—and what are the learning goals for—learners. However, Bloom’s work does not explicitly deal with educational technology per se and is more concerned with pedagogical strategies. According to some, an Educational Technologist is someone who transforms basic educational and psychological research into an evidence-based applied science (or a technology) of learning or instruction. Educational Technologists typically have a graduate degree (Master’s, Doctorate, Ph.D., or D.Phil.) in a field related to educational psychology, educational media, experimental psychology, cognitive psychology or, more purely, in the fields of Educational, Instructional or Human Performance Technology orInstructional Systems Design. But few of those listed below as theorists would ever use the term â€Å"educational technologist† as a term to describe themselves, preferring terms such as â€Å"educator.†The transformation of educational technology from a cottage industry to a profession is discussed by Shurville, Browne, and Whitaker. Definition of terms Evaluation is a systematic determination of a subject’s merit, worth and significance, using criteria governed by a set of standards. It can assist an organization to assess any aim, realizable concept or proposal, or any alternative, to help in decision-making; or to ascertain the degree of achievement or value in regard to the aim and objectives and results of any such action that has been completed. Technology is the making, modification, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems, methods of organization, in order to solve a problem, improve a preexisting solution to a problem, achieve a goal, handle an applied input/output relation or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, modifications, arrangements and procedures. Technologies significantly affect human as well as other animal species’ ability to control and adapt to their natural environments. Educational technology is the use of technology to improve teaching and learning. the treatment of the process by which people learn, as a systematic process based on objectives, with strategies and systems to achieve them; a set of expensive tools sold to schools purporting to improve learning but not actually proven to do so information and communication technology (ICT), is often used as an extended synonym for information technology (IT), but is a more specific term that stresses the role of unified communications[1] and the integration oftelecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals), computers as well as necessaryenterprise software, middleware, storage, and audio-visual systems, which enable users to access, store, transmit, and manipulate information. Classifications of Educational Technology When we hear the word technology today, we would immediately think of the mediated instructional materials particularly those, which are computer-based. But technology also includes the indigenous materials which have been used in the past and which have been proven as reliable. They have proven their worth especially to the teachers in the early days. According to the Equilibrium Theory of Education, the schools which are supposed to transmit accumulated knowledge and skills to students, that students are given balance of the old and new learning so that they will not lose track of the finest pedagogical culture which have been developed and accumulated all through the years. The classification of Educational Technology is divided into two which is the following: * Material Technology Material Technology is divided by two which is the lo-tech paper technology and the hi-tech mediated technology Lo-tech paper technology * It is also called traditional instructional materials; these are indigenous materials usually real objects or those that are made of paper and cardboards. They are still here to stay because not all schools are equipped with technology tools and not all teachers are ready to embrace modern technology. Hi-tech mediated technology * Often called as the mediated technology, it includes those, which are presented using media equipment or hardware. The most persuasive modern technology for teaching and learning in these contemporary times is the computer and its various applications. In fact all educational efforts are being geared toward its used. Its effectiveness in teaching and learning has been widely recognized. * Non-Material Technology This includes theories, laws, principles, methods and strategies of teaching. They evolved results of researches and studies in order to facilitate teaching and learning. Applications of Educational Technology A proper application of educational technology can result to improved sensation and perception that will lead to quality learning. Educational technology transcends geographical barriers, expose students to experiences beyond classroom, disseminate instruction across large areas and make education more accessible to more people. If Educational Technology is properly selected and used the students can do the following: * Arouse and sustain the interest and attention of the students. * Concretize concepts and ideas to promote meaningful learning. * Make learning more permanent by providing rich experiences. * Provide self-activities for independent learning. * Increase one’s vocabulary by eliminating verbalism * Promote continuity of thought * Increase the quality of learning while decreasing the time spent * Check student’s preparedness * Make learning more interactive * Choosing and applying educational technology . Evaluation in Educational Technology As education systems, in particular Technology Education, adapt to new expectations for secondary students entering an uncertain workforce, the time is appropriate to investigate the need for school facilities to meet these present demands and those that continue to change curricula. This study has been conducted in order to determine the facility requirements for the delivery of the evolving technology/manual arts curriculum in Queensland. A set of validated design criteria for evaluating technology education and vocational education settings was developed and trialed to assist the designer of such facilities to meet the needs of this area on schools designed in different eras from the 1960s to the present. A review of the published literature would indicate that little has been written on this aspect of facilities design. While related studies have been conducted in North America, they were not confined to the designing of the facilities and only had specific relevance in that coun try. An expert group consisting of prominent Queensland educators provided the impetus for developing the criteria which had been generated through a systematic search of the literature. The methodology utilised to involve the expert group was the Nominal Group Technique. After the criteria had been developed, they were validated by questionnaire through a 30% random sample of practicing heads of department across Queensland in both state and independent systems. A trial evaluation using current facilities was subsequently conducted to determine the effectiveness of the criteria in terms of teacher acceptability as well as establishing a pattern of needs for modification. Practitioners who use the facility for teaching technology education and/or vocational education could use the set of criteria to evaluate their facility in a similar manner to that of evaluating their students. Such evaluations could then become the basis for ffiture school planning and budgetary allocations as well as asset management of existing facilities. The study proved to be valuable as the validated criteria have the potential of being used as a tool by teachers to evaluate their facilities. At the systems level of operation, the criteria will provide assistance for designers, architects and teachers to prepare informal educational briefs. Such briefs would provide a consistent approach to the some times difficult task of clearly defining the function of a facility. The modem facility must meet the needs of current curriculum and be sufficiently flexible and adaptable to provide the educational requirements well into the twenty-first century. These developed criteria will gr eatly assist in this process. Overview It is a great honor for me to join in the celebration of the 100th birthday of National Taipei Teachers’ College. In the United States, this year is also the 100th anniversary of a famous march, the â€Å"Stars and Stripes Forever,† composed by the revered bandmaster, John Phillips Sousa in 1896. I learned this when I attended a band concert this fall, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Department of Bands at Indiana University. During the concert I was thinking about what I might say today, and I realized that National Taipei Teacher’s College, the IU Department of Bands, and the â€Å"Stars and Stripes Forever† are all 100 years old this year. I plan to talk today on the topic: evaluation of use of information technology in education. First, I will discuss the use of information technology as a lever for change in educational systems and practice. Second, I will talk about the development of criteria for evaluating information technology systems in K-12 education. During 1993-95, I played a central role on a team of faculty and graduate students at Indiana University who helped develop these criteria for the National Study of School Evaluation. I will provide a brief overview of the criteria for use of information technology in K-12 education in the United States. Finally, I will share my personal philosophy on use of technology in education. Stability and Change in Education The publication of A Nation at Risk in 1983 helped to renew U.S. efforts to further improve public schooling. We have given names to these reform efforts such as: site-based management, school restructuring and educational systems design (cf. Banathy, 1991; Reigeluth, 1992; Frick, 1993). One difficulty in changing a system is that it tends to remain the same. Systems try to attain and maintain some level of stability (cf. Maccia & Maccia, 1975; 1966). The big challenge is: How can we overcome this stability in our education systems in order to make positive changes, without harming what is already good and should not be changed? One educator in Indiana has joked that the problem of getting our schools to change is like trying to change the direction of a big elephant going 100 miles per hour. Indicators of Quality Information Technology Systems in Education The National Study of School Evaluation recently published Technology: Indicators of Quality Information Technology Systems in K-12 Schools (NSSE, 1996). This publication provides: * a vision for student learning in technology through suggestions of performance indicators at the elementary, middle and high school levels, * indicators for judging how a school’s instructional system supports learning achievement in technology, and * indicators for evaluating how a school’s organizational system supports its vision. History of Educational Technology during ancient times There is no written evidence which can tell us exactly who has coined the phrase educational technology. Different educationists, scientists and philosophers at different time intervals have put forwarded different definitions of Educational Technology. Educational technology is a multifaceted and integrated process involving people, procedure, ideas, devices, and organization, where technology from different fields of science is borrowed as per the need and requirement of education for implementing, evaluating, and managing solutions to those problems involved in all aspects of human learning. Educational technology, broadly speaking, has passed through five stages. The first stage of educational technology is coupled with the use of aids like charts, maps, symbols, models, specimens and concrete materials. The term educational technology was used as synonyms to audio-visual aids. The second stage of educational technology is associated with the ‘electronic revolution’ with the introduction and establishment of sophisticated hardware and software. Use of various audio-visual aids like projector, magic lanterns, tape-recorder, radio and television brought a revolutionary change in the educational scenario. Accordingly, educational technology concept was taken in terms of these sophisticated instruments and equipments for effective presentation of instructional materials. The third stage of educational technology is linked with the development of mass media which in turn led to ‘communication revolution’ for instructional purposes. Computer-assisted Instruction (CAI) used for education since 1950s also became popular during this era. The fourth stage of educational technology is discernible by the individualized process of instruction. The invention of programmed learning and programmed instruction provided a new dimension to educational technology. A system of self-learning based on self-instructional materials and teaching machines emerged. The latest concept of educational technology is influenced by the concept of system engineering or system approach which focuses on language laboratories, teaching machines, programmed instruction, multimedia technologies and the use of the computer in instruction. According to it, educational technology is a systematic way of designing, carrying out and evaluating the total process of teaching and learning in terms of specific objectives based on research. Educational technology during the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age Educational technology, despite the uncertainty of the origin of the term, can be traced back to the time of the three-age system periodization of human prehistory; namely the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age. Duringthe Stone Age, ignition of fire by rubbing stones, manufacture of various handmade weapon and utensils from stones and clothing practice were some of the simple technological developments of utmost importance. A fraction of Stone Age people developed ocean-worthy outrigger canoe ship technology to migrate from one place to another across the Ocean, by which they developed their first informal education of knowledge of the ocean currents, weather conditions, sailing practice, astronavigation, and star maps. During the later Stone Age period (Neolithic period),for agricultural practice, polished stone tools were made from a variety of hard rocks largely by digging underground tunnels, w hich can be considered as the first steps in mining technology. The polished axes were so effective that even after appearance of bronze and iron; people used it for clearing forest and the establishment of crop farming. Although Stone Age cultures left no written records, but archaeological evidences proved their shift from nomadic life to agricultural settlement. Ancient tools conserved in different museums, cave paintings like Altamira Cave in Spain, and other prehistoric art, such as the Venus of Willendorf, Mother Goddess from Laussel, France etc. are some of the evidences in favour of their cultures. Neolithic Revolution of Stone Age resulted into the appearance of Bronze Age with development of agriculture, animal domestication, and the adoption of permanent settlements. For these practices Bronze Age people further developed metal smelting, with copper and later bronze, an alloy of tin and copper, being the materials of their choice. The Iron Age people replaced bronze and developed the knowledge of iron smelting technology to lower the cost of living since iron utensils were stronger and cheaper than bronze equivalents. In many Eurasian cultures, the Iron Age was the last period before the development of written scripts. Educational technology during the period of Ancient civilizations According to Paul Saettler, 2004, Educational technology can be traced back to the time when tribal priests systematized bodies of knowledge and ancient cultures invented pictographs or sign writing to record and transmit information. In every stage of human civilization, one can find an instructional technique or set of procedures intended to implement a particular culture which were also supported by number of investigations and evidences. The more advanced the culture, the more complex became the technology of instruction designed to reflect particular ways of individual and social behaviour intended to run an educated society. Over centuries, each significant shift in educational values, goals or objectives led to diverse technologies of instruction. The greatest advances in technology and engineering came with the rise of the ancient civilizations. These advances stimulated and educated other societies in the world to adopt new ways of living and governance. The Indus Valley Civilization was an early Bronze Age civilization which was located in the northwestern region of the Indian Subcontinent. The civilization was primarily flourished around the Indus River basin of the Indus and the Punjab region, extending upto the Ghaggar-Hakra River valley and the Ganges-Yamuna Doab, (most of the part is under today’s Pakistan and the western states of modern-day India as well as some part of the civilization extending upto southeastern Afghanistan, and the easternmost part of Balochistan, Iran). There is a long term controversy to be sure about the language that the Harappan people spoke. It is assumed that their writing was at least seems to be or a pictographic script. The script appears to have had about 400 basic signs, with lots of variations. People write their script with the direction generally from right to left. Most of the writing was found on seals and sealings which were probably used in trade and official & administrative work. Harappan people had the knowledge of the measuring tools of length, mass, and time. They were the first in the world to develop a system of uniform weights and measures. In a study carried out by P. N. Rao et al. in 2009, published in Science, computer scientists found that the Indus script’s pattern is closer to that of spoken words, which supported the proposed hypothesis that it codes for an as-yet-unknown language. According to the Chinese Civilization, some of the major techno-offerings from China include paper, early seismological detectors, toilet paper, matches, iron plough, the multi-tube seed drill, the suspension bridge, the wheelbarrow, the parachute, natural gas as fuel, the magnetic compass, the raised-relief map, the blast furnace, the propeller, the crossbow, the South Pointing Chariot, and gun powder. With the invent of paper they have given their first step towards developments of educational technology by further culturing different handmade products of paper as means of visual aids. Ancient Egyptian language was at one point one of the longest surviving and used languages in the world. Their script was made up of pictures of the real things like birds, animals, different tools, etc. These pictures are popularly called hieroglyph. Their language was made up of above 500 hieroglyphs which are known as hieroglyphics. On the stone monuments or tombs which were discovered and rescued latter on provides the evidence of existence of many forms of artistic hieroglyphics in ancient Egypt. Educational technology during Medieval and Modern Period Paper and the pulp papermaking process which was developed in China during the early 2nd century AD, was carried to the Middle East and was spread to Mediterranean by the Muslim conquests. Evidences support that a paper mill was also established in Sicily in the 12th century. The discovery of spinning wheel increased the productivity of thread making process to a great extent and when Lynn White added the spinning wheel with increasing supply of rags, this led to the production of cheap paper, which was a prime factor in the development of printing technology. The invention of the printing press was taken place in approximately 1450 AD, by Johannes Gutenburg, a German inventor. The invention of printing press was a prime developmental factor in the history of educational technology to convey the instruction as per the need of the complex and advanced-technology cultured society. In the pre-industrial phases, while industry was simply the handwork at artisan level, the instructional processes were relied heavily upon simple things like the slate, the horn book, the blackboard, and chalk. It was limited to a single text book with a few illustrations. Educational technology was considered synonymous to simple aids like charts and pictures. The year 1873 may be considered a landmark in the early history of technology of education or audio-visual education. An exhibition was held in Vienna at international level in which an American school won the admiration of the educators for the exhibition of maps, charts, textbooks and other equipments. Maria Montessori (1870-1952), internationally renowned child educator and the originator of Montessori Method exerted a dynamic impact on educational technology through her development of graded materials designed to provide for the proper sequencing of subject matter for each individual learner. Modern educational technology suggests many extension of Montessori’s idea of prepared child centered environment. In1833, Charles Babbage’s design of a general purpose computing device laid the foundation of the modern computer and in 1943, the first computing machine as per hi design was constructed by International Business Machines Corporation in USA. The Computer Assisted instruction (CAI) in which the computer functions essentially as a tutor as well as the Talking Type writer was developed by O.K. Moore in 1966. Since 1974, computers are interestingly used in education in schools, colleges and universities. In the beginning of the 19th century, there were noteworthy changes in the field of education. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), right from its start of school broadcasts in 1920 had maintained rapid pace in making sound contribution to formal education. In the USA, by 1952, 20 states had the provision for educational broadcasting. Parallel to this time about 98% of the schools in United Kingdom were equipped with radios and there were regular daily programmes. Sidney L. Pressey, a psychologist of Ohio state university developed a self-teaching machine called ‘Drum Tutor’ in 1920. Professor Skinner, however, in his famous article ‘Science of Learning and art of Teaching’ published in 1945 pleaded for the application of the knowledge derived from behavioral psychology to classroom procedures and suggested automated teaching devices as means of doing so. Although the first practical use of Regular television broadcasts was in Germany in 1929 and in 1936 the Olympic Games in Berlin were broadcasted through television stations in Berlin, Open circuit television began to be used primarily for broadcasting programmes for entertainment in 1950. Since 1960, television is used for educational purposes. In 1950, Brynmor, in England, used educational technological steps for the first time. It is to be cared that in 1960, as a result of industrial revolution in America and Russia, other countries also started progressing in the filed of educational technology. In this way, the beginning of educational technology took place in 1960 from America and Russia and now it has reached England, Europe and India. During the time of around 1950s, new technocracy was turning it attraction to educations when there was a steep shortage of teachers in America and therefore an urgent need of educational technology was felt. Dr. Alvin C. Eurich and a little later his associate, Dr. Alexander J. Stoddard introduced mass production technology in America. Team teaching had its origin in America in the mid of 1950’s and was first started in the year 1955 at Harvard University as a part of internship plan. In the year 1956, Benjamin Bloom from USA introduced the taxonomy of educational objectives through his publication, â€Å"The Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, The Classification of Educational Goals, Handbook I: Cognitive Domain†.

Nvq Plevel 3 Playwork

PW3. 12 Assignment 4 5. 1 Explain why it is important to have positive relationships with adults in the play environment It could be argued that playworkers are often naturally skilled and adept at making good relationships with the children in the informal setting of a play environment. Whilst adult relationships may take more time and effort, and thus more difficult to achieve it is essential that they maintain positive relationships with other adults within the play environment.As professional’s playworkers are likely to come in to contact with a range of adults be it parents, carers, elder siblings, other playworkers, or the general network of care and as a result need to be proficient in forming positive relations with such adults. There are a number of reasons why this is important. First and foremost, children always benefit when adults around them are able to collaborate, co-operate and work in tandem. In relation to parents and carers, it is important that playworkers and parents are amiable, and can work together to form a strong support foundation for the child.Not only will the play setting benefit from amicable relations but children will feel that they are supported as a result of the good rapport between parents and playworkers. In addition to this, parents are naturally interested in the happiness and well-being of their child. Through strong and positive relations between parents and playworkers, parents will feel that they are informed about their child’s experiences at the club and involved in this aspect of their life.Another aspect of this mutual relationship is that the parent can inform the play setting if things are difficult at home, that the child worries about certain aspects of the play environment or any difficulties that they are having. Not only will this provide an explanation for potential changes in behaviour, but it allows the playworkers to accommodate the child to make them feel more comfortable or at ease, and generally support them within the play setting.It is through this positive relationship that parents are able to support playworkers and their decisions, and in turn provide a strong team foundation to support the child and their general welfare. In terms of positive relationships with those directly associated to the play environment it is essential that a positive, friendly and supportive relationship occurs between co-workers. One must remember that children are sensitive to the way in which one works with colleagues, and indirectly the relations they see modelled by their elders are those which they in turn will portray.In effect, the attitude and relations of the playworkers act as a blue print upon which they form their own relationships. Essentially, through positive relationships with other adults within the setting, it not only creates a pleasant and fruitful atmosphere but it provides a strong foundation of support – both between playworkers themselves and with par ents and carers. Through good communication and positive relations children are able to feel settled and supported in all aspects of their development. . 2 Explain the importance of clear communications with adults in the play environment In order to develop and maintain positive relationships with adults in the play environment, an element of respect is vital. The key to this is a clear communications style. It is through such a style that both playworkers themselves, and parents feel respected, valued and a part of the play setting. Good communication is a central aspect to playwork, as well as everyday life.It is a skill which not only underpins almost every other social skill but it is particularly important when working with children and young people, and in turn the adults associated with the play environment. Through communicating effectively as playworkers, it encourages positive relationships with the adults and thus results in a proactive and efficient team between both pl ayworker and parent. The importance of this cannot be understated, by having a solid team foundation between playworkers and parents, children will not only feel supported and comfortable, but are aided in their development.The key to attain this solid foundation is through communicating effectively and clearly with the adults associated with the play setting. For example, it is important that parents and carers are aware of any issues that may have arisen during the session, any difficulties their child is encountering, or if their child has behaved or responded particularly well to a certain situation. Essentially, this involves being ‘updated’ on their child’s general behaviour and well-being. The importance of clear communication can be evidenced here.Being vague in ones communications can lead to problems such as misunderstanding, the child being reprimanded for something they didn’t do by parents, or by parents not grasping the full extent of the pro blem. Not only would this affect the support the child would receive, but many could argue that such misinterpretations or misunderstandings could result in conflict between play setting and parent. When considering this from another perspective, effective communication with other team members and playworkers is equally essential.Playworkers need to feel that when asked to do something by another member of the team, or someone of higher position that they are doing as required and desired. In addition to this, they need to maintain and portray a team approach in everything conducted. By communicating roles, responsibilities and issues effectively the team is able to work as a unit and thus provide the best care for the children in the play setting. By supporting the team, communicating effectively and efficiently it ensures that problems are dealt with promptly so as not to impact on the running of the team and the setting.From this it can be noted that clear and effective communica tion not only benefits the playwork team as a whole, but in addition it means that an effective team approach between playworkers and parents can be attained. In doing so, this provides children with the best support possible. 5. 3 Summarise different strategies the playworker can use to communicate with adults who have communication difficulties The way in which one communicates with people should not be static. It is important that the style used is adjusted to meet the needs of both the situation and the person with whom one needs to communicate.In many cases communicating with a range of adults can be challenging, however this becomes more difficult when trying to communicate with those who have communication difficulties. Here, a more precise and patient method is required. There are a number of strategies that can be employed when dealing with those who have communication difficulties. Firstly it is essential that one remains patient, speaks clearly and allows the other person a chance not only to understand what is being said, but then to construct a response.The phrase â€Å"connect before you direct† also comes in to play here; by making eye contact and engaging the other person in conversation not only allows you to form a relationship, but it may be essential for those with communication difficulties. For instance, and adult who has hearing difficulties will need to see mouth movements to understand and will rely heaving on visual signs such as facial expressions. In addition to this, it is important, especially with adults, that one respects their difficulties, not pressuring them or treating them like a child.Achieving this takes practice but in doing so it ensures the other person feels respected, valued and understood. In some cases a more active style of communication may be necessary, such as physically demonstrating what is required by drawing or miming. Another strategy is to employ physical cues such as pictures, objects or photos wh ich the adult can point to or respond with. In doing this, verbal speech is simply an aid, and for those who have difficulties in such an area it provides an external method of communication, and perhaps a better means of understanding.Alternatively, a translator may be required to assist the communication of confusing, difficult or complex issues and conversations. Written word is another strategy which can be employed when dealing with adults who have communication difficulties. For some, written word is easier to process and understand than verbal conversations, and so this provides another means of communicating with those who have communication difficulties. One downside of this method is that those who are not native to the language may struggle to comprehend written style. Utilising the telephone is another option and strategy.Those who suffer communication difficulties may be more aware of themselves in busy, noisy and unknown environments which may impede their ability to u nderstand as well as to respond. By speaking on the phone it allows them to take in the information and construct their sentences in peace, in their own time and in the security that no one external is judging them. From this, it is evident that when communicating with adults who have communication difficulties there are a number of strategies that could be employed. Essentially it involves being understanding, precise and clear.Talking slowly but not in an exaggerated manner and simplifying our extended language abilities allowing them to not only understand what is being asked but at the same time feel respected and valued as an individual and not undermined due to their difficulties. 5. 4 Evaluate types of situations that might lead to conflict between playworkers and other adults Sometimes things go wrong. In any work place there are bound to be situations that arise which will result in conflict of some sort. People react differently to such situations depending on circumstance s, but it is mportant to remember that differences of opinion are not necessarily a bad thing. There are numerous situations that may result in conflict between playworkers and other adults, as with anyone in society. It could be argued that one of the largest contributors to conflict is merely the result of miscommunication. Someone may take a comment the wrong way, not understand the context or may not have had the message properly passed on. As a result of this sour feelings such as resent, confusion or misunderstanding can lead to conflict between adults.In the case of the playwork setting, this could be between two playworkers with one person commenting on what is normally done in a helpful manner, with the other taking it as condescending, patronising or dictatorial. Another example of such a situation would be a playworker telling a parent about the way their child has behaved during the session. If this was not explained properly, or details were left out (such as it being à ¢â‚¬Ëœstarted’ by another child) this could result in conflict between parent, child and playworker.Another effect of miscommunication is conflict due to lack of role explanation. If roles and responsibilities are not clearly and effectively outlined (miscommunicated), this could lead to false expectations from supervisors and thus result in conflict. For example if a supervisor expects a certain playworker to be doing the headcount and this is not achieved, conflict could occur as a result. Typical playwork situations which may cause conflict are about the decisions made or the actions taken by playworkers.If parents do not agree with or support such decisions it can often lead to a conflict over what is expected by the parent, versus what is required and expected from the playworker. Situations such as where a child has been hurt (falling from a swing, or injury from another child), damage to the child’s equipment or clothes, or relations with other children are ofte n the causes of conflict between playworkers and parents or carers. Here the playworker will follow policies and procedures, but the parent may not agree with the action or decision subsequently forming the foundations for conflict.As is often the case, conflict can occur because a person is coping with unrelated pressures. Life stressors, home issues etc may cause either parent or playworker to snap without reason. This can initiate feelings of resent, confusion, or misunderstanding, thus producing a conflict scenario. As evidenced, it can be noted that there are a number of types of situations which may result in conflict between adults in the play setting. Miscommunication, stressors, expectations and even own confidence in handling a situation can result in conflict between the adults within the setting. . 5 Explain different strategies the playworker can use to deal with conflict situations involving other adults. There are a number of strategies that can be employed when deali ng with conflict situations. In many situations simply listening to the other person, attaining all the facts and showing an understanding is enough to dilute the problem. However if this is not the case, then there are other strategies which can be utilised. In many respects dealing with conflict situations with adults requires a similar approach to that of children.If emotions are tense the best way to manage conflict is to listen to the other person, acknowledge their feelings and show empathy and understanding of the issue. In acknowledging another person’s feelings or point of view it can take the heat out of the conflict and thus allow a solution to be found, even if this involves stating â€Å"I can see what you mean, but I can’t agree with you there†. By accepting and acknowledging another person’s feelings, one can then ask them how they wish the issue to be resolved.In asking for their opinion it shows respect and highlights that their opinion i s valued. Much like dealing with children in conflict, those adults in conflict can then work together in order to come to a viable solution for them both. In addition to this when dealing with parents or other playworkers it is important to thank them for bringing the matter to one’s attention and check that the problem is understood fully. Furthermore if you believe there to be a misunderstanding, say so as this may be enough to resolve the conflict.It is important to talk in a private area, listen carefully, make eye contact, ensure that one remains polite and calm and that any apologies are made if necessary. Another important aspect to consider is to avoid personalising the issue (through comments made, or actions taken, or gossiping) as this can lead to it becoming more heated, intense and appear like a personal vendetta. It is best to talk to the person directly before any more misunderstanding or misinterpretation can occur. In order to deal with miscommunications wit hin the work place, one strategy that could be used it to write things down, a record of events.This is particularly relevant for when children are hurt in the play setting. By recording what happened, when and how it ensures that relevant people are provided with correct information that is the same across the board. Dealing with conflict due to confidence is hard. Essentially it is important that the supervisors acknowledge their team’s skills, expertise and value within the playwork team. Conflict due to external pressure is also difficult. By observing other people as they talk to you can sometimes provide an indication of whether other factors are at work.If this is the case, simply being sympathetic and a good listener can often take the heat out of a conflict potentially brewing. Essentially, when dealing with conflict in adults it is similar to the approach taken when dealing with children. It is important that one listens, shows understanding, respects the other pers ons differentiating view points, and that they work together to find a solution suiting to them both. In doing this, not only will it aid the conflict itself, but it almost acts as pre conflict management.

Building and Presenting Power Relations in Roots

Building and Presenting Power Relations in Roots Alex Haleys 1976 novel, Roots, portrayed the history of a Kunta Kintes family as an epic story of survival. Haley presented the history of a man and his family torn apart, but not broken, under enslavement in America. The experiences that ravaged Kunta Kintes family life display the lack of institutional power of those enslaved. Although Kunta and Bell do not have institutional power, they do possess a limited amount of power within their nuclear family unit. Haleys depiction of an enslaved family contradicts reports on the black family by sociologists such as E. Franklin Frazier and the Moynihan Report, which supported a matriarchal family structure. Roots depicts Kunta and Bell as equals, with regards to the amount of power vested in each individual. Neither the female nor the male, has a greater amount of power. Both are virtually powerless. Haleys novel, Roots, portrays the conflict between the lack of institutionalized power and the limited amount of familial power. Roots was published at a time where the structure and history of the American black family was a very contentious issue. In 1965, approximately ten years before the novels publication, the U.S. government published the Moynihan Report. The report placed the blame for continuing black inequality, upon the very structure of the black family.1 Moynihans central thesis was that the black family was crumbling and that a major part of the blame lay with the black matriarchy extant in the black community.2 Much of the information in the infamous Moynihan Report was first publicized by the prominent black sociologist Franklin Frazier, who published one of his studies on black culture in 1939. Frazier wrote that, the Negro woman as wife or mother was the mistress of her cabinand her wishes in regard to mating and family matter were paramount.3 In a sense, the Moynihan Report updated the early findings and observations of Frazier. Scholars such as Robert Staples and Angela Davis rose to challenge the assertions made by Frazier and Moynihan. Staples stated that a matriarchy is a society in which some, if not all, of the legal powers relating to the ordering and governing of the family-power over property, over inheritance, over marriage, over-the-houseare lodged in women rather than men.4 He argued that a matriarchal family structure was not plausible because the black woman was exploited because of both her gender and race.5 Davis was another sociologist who refuted the matriarchy thesis. She stated that the matriarchal structure presented by some ignored the profound traumas the black woman must have experienced when she had to surrender her child-bearing to alien and predatory economic instincts.6 In the novel Roots, Alex Haley depicts the struggles of an enslaved family. Under enslavement, Kunta Kinte and Bells lives are dictated by their status of being owned by Master Waller. Bell has a limited amount of power when it comes to trivial matter such as the appearance of her cabin, but when it comes to important matters such as keeping the family together, Bell (and Kunta) possessed no institutional power. Evidence which refutes Fraziers thought that the mother had control over her cabin and family life, is displayed when Kunta and Bells child, Kizzy, is sold. Neither of her parents can change the horrible fate of their only child. Bell pleads with Master Waller, Don split us up!,7 but to no avail. Kunta tries to physically save his daughter but he crumpled to his knees8 after he is hit by the butt of the sheriffs pistol as it crashed above his ear.9 Both the mother and the father, female and male are rendered powerless in the situation. This example exemplifies Davis thoughts on the lack of institutional power held by enslaved women, in the face of the whims of their masters. The cultural stereotype of the domineering black woman belies the existence of the masses of black women who constituted a defenseless group against the onslaught of white racism in its most virulent sexual and economic manifestations.10 The lives of enslaved women could be destroyed at any moment. After Kizzy was taken away, she was sold to a man of the name, Tom Lea2E The first night Kizzy is under Leas ownership, he rapes her. Then came the searing pain as he forced his way into her, and Kizzys senses seemed to explode.11 After Kunta and the other Africans get off the big canoe and wait for the slave auction to commence, he and his mates had had to sit there, burning with humiliation at being helpless to defend their women, let alone themselves.12 The women were powerless, as they could not stop the continual rape at the hands of the toubob and the men were powerless because they could not aid the women. Another instance where Kunta feels hopeless because he cannot aid a woman in need, occurs while at a slave auction, he hears a chained Jola woman shrieking piteouslybeseeching him to help her13 he feels a rush of bitter, flooding shame14 at the prospect that he could not or did not do anything to help the woman. After an argument concerning a visit Kizzy was to have with Missy Anne, Bell lay sleepless in their bed that night, he sat sleepless in the stable beneath the harnesses. Both were weeping.15 Neither of them, as parents could control whether or not their child went. Master Waller said he promise Missy Anne to drop Kizzy off at Massa Johns.16 Even though Kunta objected to this strongly, he could not do anything about it. It was not within his power it was outrageous enough to have to sit by and watch while Kizzy was turned slowly into a lap dog, but now they wanted him to deliver the animal to its new keeper.17 Under slavery, the family structure of the enslaved was neither matriarchal or patriarchal. How could it be? The lives of those bound under slavery were fully controlled by their master. Even the basic rights naming was controlled. When Kunta arrived at his first plantation home he was given a new name, Massa say your name Toby!.18 Kunta was flooding with rageand he wanted to shout I am Kunta Kinte, first son of Omoro, who is the son of the holy man Kairaba Kunta Kinte,19 but he could not utter a word. Kunta had no power. There were instances within Roots, where both Kunta and Bell exercised power to control aspects of their lives, albeit a limited amount of power. Bell had been on the Waller plantation for many years and as the cook for the main house, she had access to information and the master that many field slaves did not, Bell had more influence on the massa than anyone else on the plantation, or probably all of them put together.20 Bell, along with her daughter Kizzy, had another form of power, they were partially literate. Ultimately though, these powers hurt the interests of Bell and Kizzy. Even though Bell had such high standing with Master Waller, she still had no say in the sale of her daughter. Part of the reason Kizzy was sold, was because of her ability to read and write. Kizzys intellectual powers ultimately rendered her powerless. Kunta also struggled to retain power within his life and relationship with Bell. The naming of their daughter was one instance where he asserted power. Kunta wished to keep the traditions of his homeland alive. One way was by naming Kizzy by the same ritual as he was named in Juffure. Bell was reluctant to allow this but as deeply as Bell disapproved, she was even more apprehensive of what Kunta would do if she refused.21 Kunta named their daughter Kizzy, which as he explained to Bell, meant you sit down or you stay put which, in turn meant that unlike Bells previous two babies, this child would never get sold away.22 Unfortunately Kuntas wish for his child, as it was represented by the name he gave her, did not come true. Kizzy was sold and even though Kunta had some power within his own family, he did not have the institutional power necessary for stopping his (and Bells) greatest fear from happening. Alex Haleys poignant novel, Roots, depicts the fight for survival as it was experienced by the family of Kunta Kinte. The novel brutally portrays the conflict between the slaves lack of institutionalized power versus the power they retained within their family unit. Through many harrowing experiences, Haley presents Kunta and Bell as ultimately powerless in the face of their oppressors. Although the novel displays the precarious and vulnerable living conditions of Kunta and Bell, it also celebrates the resiliency of this family. Contrary to the beliefs presented by Frazier and Moynihan, the slave system did not and could not engender and recognize a matriarchal family structure. Inherent in the very concept of the matriarchy is power'.23 The portrayal of the enslaved family in Roots refutes the myth of black matriarchy. The novel does not try to prove a patriarchal family structure, it simply presents the lack of power of those enslaved. Notes 1. U.S. Dept. of Labor, The Negro Family: The Case for National Action (Washington, D.C. : GPO, 1965). 2. Robert Staples, The Myth of Black Matriarchy, Black Scholar, 2 Jan.-Feb. 1970, 341. 3. Deborah White, Female Slaves: Sex Roles and Status in the Antebellum Plantation South, Journal of Family History, 8 Fall 1983, 248 4. Staples, 336. 5. Staples, 335. 6. Angela Davis, Reflections on the Black Womans Role in the Community of Slaves, Massachusetts Review, 13 Winter/Spring 1972, 84. 7. Alex Haley, Roots (New York: Dell Publishing Co., 1976), 452. 8. Haley, 452. 9. Haley, 452. 10. Staples, 334. 11. Haley, 455. 12. Haley, 214. 13. Haley, 322. 14. Haley, 322. 15. Haley, 385. 16. Haley, 385. 17. Haley, 385. 18. Haley, 232. 19. Haley, 232. 20. Haley, 336. 21. Haley, 367. 22. Haley, 368. 23. Davis, 82.

What did evolution do to our muscles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

What did evolution do to our muscles - Essay Example However, humans do not come close to comparing to chimps’ strength and the percentage points that humans and chimps differ are extreme due significant anatomical and physiological differences. The way in which muscles are attached to bones is different in chimps compared to human, which enables chimps to have enhanced mechanical advantage in both arms and strength. The paper explores why chimps enjoy powerful strength relative to humans. Evolution changes manifest on the genetic levels passed from one generation to another. The changes manifest at the genetic level overtime as the organisms’ genes mutate and/or recombine within diverse ways during reproduction and are passed to future generations. Scientific evidence demonstrates that the physical and behavioral traits shared by humans emanated from apelike ancestors and evolved overtime. Bipedalism remains one of the most prominent human traits highlighting how humans have evolved. Other traits include development of a large and complex brain, capacity for language, and capability to make and utilize tools. Muscle contractions form the basis of movement within a majority of the species (Muehlenbein 137). Chimps are stronger that humans centers on the fact that they do not have closely as many fine control over their muscles. Humans enjoy the capability to d precise things such as operating complex machinery, which necessitates choice of minute sizes of muscle fibers. Hence, humans sacrifice strength over precise control of their muscles. The nervous system exercises significant control over the muscles relative to the chimp muscles. Studies have revealed that chimps have relatively reduced grey matter within their spinal cord compared to humans. Spinal grey matter features a significant amount of nerve cells that link to muscle fibers and control muscle movement. This details the process that allows finer control of the muscles. As a result,

Environmental Ethics. response 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Environmental Ethics. response 1 - Essay Example The contract between humans and animals is rudimentary. This is because humans are the grantors of animals’ rights, where they choose on what they feed, their medication, and even caring for their needs. In the case of livestock, humans determine what they feed and choose mates for the animals for purposes of robust breeds. Animal rights are perceived to be acquired by virtue of birth. The rules of nature, however, do not give animals the sense of granting other animals their rights. The complex structures relating to equality, put in place by humans does not resemble any structures relating to animal rights. This proves that animals are not able to honor the necessary basic contract for the existence of their rights. Animals have quite an impact on the lives of human beings. Despite the sympathy and care that humans show to animals, the animals have rights that are enforceable by law. Although the animals cannot comprehend the laws, they may be disastrous for the humans. The welfare of animals should be put into consideration to ensure that the quality of life is achieved by both humans and

The Role of a Modern Industrial Manager Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Role of a Modern Industrial Manager - Essay Example The paper tells that managers are pivotal in performing leadership functions in the organization. By definition, management refers to the activities and people involved in the four general functions of management -planning, organizing, leading and the coordination of resources. However, increasing number of literature today has tended to emphasize the difference between management and leadership. Modern management and modern management thinkers assert that management has to focus on leadership if managerial functions must be achieved. Zhong-Ming &, Takao argue that, most modern management thinkers assert that leadership must be more facilitative, participative and empowering in how visions and goals of the organizations are carried out. Industrial management is concerned with the design, improvement, and implementation of integrated systems of people, material, information, equipment, and energy. According to McGregor & Cutcher, industrial management draws upon specialized knowledge and skills in the mathematical, physical and the social sciences not leaving out the principles and methods of engineering analysis. Today, industrial management is also known as industrial engineering, operations management now encompasses services though initially applied to manufacturing. Management involves the process of directing, planning, controlling, and coordinating the activities of an organization so that predefined goals are met. However, prominent writers in the field of management see coordination as the main objective of management rather than one of its functions. In managerial terms, leadership is the way people relate themselves to an organization. Leadership is at the center of coordinating and executing management functions. The activities of an organization must be properly carried out and executed if the goals must be achieved. Managerial functions are performed by managers and leaders assigned to each of the functional areas. Acknowledged by all to be the fat her of scientific management, Frederick W. Taylor equated leadership with effective management, with focus on productivity, improvement, and efficiency, he thought of management as being generic and universal. As for Mullins, leadership is a relationship through which one person influences the behavior or actions of other people And he suggested that leadership is a dynamic process, which can be altered to suit a particular management philosophy.

Factors Affecting Operations Management Today Essay

Factors Affecting Operations Management Today - Essay Example This brings to light the notion of discussing the structural basis of the organizations themselves. For starters, these organizations might not be that easy to understand at the very beginning. These can encompass a variety of different aspects, features and traditional mindsets which make up their structures. (Llewellyn, 2002) The topic for this paper is of understanding where the field of operations management stands today and how the same has evolved over a period of time within the domains of an organization. This paper will touch issues of significance, all of which come under the realms of the operations management study. Within operations management, an organization can either be formally aligned in its ways and means of doing things and different processes or the same might just be in a way informal in quite a few of its activities and tasks. The manner in which it runs across this paradigm is something that needs to be studied in depth before we reach further consensus on their purposes and the kind of achievements that they have had. The communication within an organization can flow in one of three ways or in all the three directions. This means that these three directions pave the way for the ease of communication and there are as such no barriers to arise from the whole equation. The first communication flow is from top to bottom, which means that the communication starts from the top management and goes down towards the middle and lower management. The second form could be the one that starts from the lower or middle management and goes up towards the top management. (Axley, 1996) The third co mmunication flow could be in the kind of peer to peer communication and interaction. This means that the employees and the workers at the same level communicate within their own capacities and as such there are no hindrances arising from the whole communication matrix. Apart from this, within an

Assigment for Strategic management accounting Essay

Assigment for Strategic management accounting - Essay Example The business functions within Pear Ltd’s value chain encompass aspects such as research and development, design of products, services, and processes, production, marketing, distribution, and customer service. As such, cost management is critical component to the company’s operation in integrating and coordinating activities in all spheres of business function. Alternative Methods of Budgeting The traditional budgeting employs the incremental approach whereby the previous year’s budget is used a basis, subsequent to adjustments up and down, from that budget to mirror the changing assumptions for a new year. This incorporates employing the previous year’s budget, adjusted to accommodate known factors such as anticipated price inflation. Although, incremental budgets are crucial for planning, they may be less useful for control. The incremental approach to budgeting has the effect of incorporating last year’s inefficiencies into the present budget (Bhi mani and Bromwich, 2010). This necessitates the consideration of alternative methods of budgeting. Zero Based Budgeting Zero-based budgeting avails a better approach to dealing with the drawbacks associated with incremental budgeting. Unlike in incremental budgeting, zero-based approach does not necessarily start from the previous year’s budget level; instead, the existing operations remain evaluated and continuance of the operation or activity ought to be justified based on its utility and its need to the company (Bhattacharyya, 2011). Every plan in this case remain justified as per the total cost, and the total benefits and past performance are not in any way referred as a building block. Zero-based budgeting approach avails some distinctive advantages compared to traditional incremental budgeting such as it allocates financial resources based on planning requirements and results; and, in order to attain efficiency, zero-based approach encourages managers to search for alte rnative operation plans. However, the process can consume a lot of managerial time and may appear to be â€Å"too drastic a solution for the task at hand.† Moreover, short-term benefits may take precedence and obscure long-term planning and there may be annual conflicts over budget allocation (Bhattacharyya, 2011). In order to circumvent these drawbacks, especially concerning the managerial time required, one alternative may be to conduct a rolling budget every year and carry out zero-based budgeting perhaps three to five years, or in cases where a considerable modification that occurs within operations. This compromise may aid weeding out waste and inefficiency, especially within a period of intense competition and reengineering that is characteristic of the mobile phone industry (Bhattacharyya, 2011). The adoption of zero-based budgeting will aid Pear Ltd to save costs and exercise restraint in developing budgets, minimizing the entitlement mentality with regard to cost inc reases, and budget decisions to be more meaningful during review sessions. Zero-based budgeting approach is applicable to Pear Ltd in aiding the company to utilize the latest insights and business priorities that reveal fresh opportunities to minimize investments and costs in areas where Pear Ltd market share is lower than critical thresholds. Activity Based Budgeting

Educational Mission Statement Paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Educational Mission Statement - Term Paper Example Leadership aspects among the youth that are a made-up attribute by the education institutions and views laid down by the current leaders are now criticized by the formative people because of hopelessness and the utilization of the substances (Ministry of National Security. (2010). Problems The institution faces malnutrition and severe closed head injuries obtained from the accident. In detail, the problems can be broken down into the consumption, clinical and environmental issues that institution endures in the clinical surrounding. Moderately, institution should be able to adhere to the prescribed information regarding the amounts of medication available during the enteral feeding mode. Clinical and physical conditions that BJ endures after the accident include a coma induced naturally after certain test were conducted in the hospital by the experts. The faced situations by institution were considerably abnormal according to the caregivers as severe closed head trauma assesses the n ormal neural processes within the cranium. Finally, the environmental assessments of institution regarding her skills, religion, attitude, food security and nutrition availability from her initial environment was somehow unattended. The fact that the laboratory tests displayed insufficient levels of crucial blood and gut constituents was crude evidence of imbalanced diets prior institution’s accident. Etiology Etiology consists of the contributing aspects that led to the coma and severe closed head trauma experienced by institution. Some of the linked factors that can explain the situation include Malnutrition of the girl. The low levels of hemoglobin, glucose, Serum albumin and the C - reactive protein in her blood led to relapse of the neurons and nerve cells within institution’s brain. Risks of trauma were then increased as insufficient nutrients that cater to the nerve impulse navigation were not available for the whole process. The situation also explains why her brother did not succumb to a trauma situation and institution did. In constructing the social civilization, definite qualities contained by the public are in requirement of building and acknowledgment for the development into the outlook. Not only do drugs perform the wearing out the brains of the adolescence, but in addition aids in injecting the broadening of fatal viruses in the society such as HIV/AIDS. The importance of schools in the livelihoods of the American adolescence has to be an element of the drugs prohibition proposal within the education institutions if the transfer of the drugs is to make any advancement in the livelihoods of the youth. I occasionally desire I had the capability or acquaintance and skill to get rid of drugs completely from the humanity. Regrettably, natural psychological drifts into hope indicate misery in the individual and the surroundings involved. Disclosure of the youth to abuse of drugs at a premature age is fairly saddening. Children as youth ful as thirteen years are taking a part in the utilizing and trafficking of the substances, in the name of domestic stresses. These children are more often than not liberated after discipline hours or during the weekends, if they are taking part in any lessons at all, to attain of the drugs and mistreat them. On the parking batches, buying centers, residents, at their own houses or when their keepers are not present are the periods and places where the youth carry out the unethical

Children learn Essay Example for Free

Children learn Essay The Guidance for the Foundation Stage Curriculum (2001) suggests that an appropriate curriculum for young children is a play-based curriculum, offering children a choice of play based activities and experiences. Siraj-Blatchford and Clarke (2000) agree that play has been well documented as a means by which young children learn.  Play is highly valued in the Early Years for its ability to stimulate and integrate a wide range of childrens intellectual, physical, cultural, social and creative abilities. (Siraj-Blatchford and Clarke 2000, p.76) However, unstructured play, in its purest sense, may cause a number of problems when providing suitable provision for children demonstrating hyperactive, impulsive or inattentive behaviour due to lack of structure and continual distraction. Kewley (1999,p.151) would agree when stating,   Unstructured situations such as playtime often cause problems for children with ADHDbecause of the over-reaction to the stimulus and their impulsive behaviour. Ballard (1997) defines an inclusive setting as one where differentness is an ordinary part of human experience. Indeed, differentiation is the key to effective teaching and learning. However, problems arise when the whole structure of the curriculum is inappropriate for the needs of a particular child. Cooper (1999) would agree that it is invaluable for the practitioner to be aware of the specific circumstances in which individual children perform best in order to plan for the learning needs of these children and suggests that some aspects of an Early Years curriculum may aggravate symptoms of ADHD when stating, Children with ADHD can become overwhelmed by the massive over stimulation they experience in a group situation and through free-play activity. (Cooper 1999, p.144)  In addition,  Barrow (in: Merton 1998) and Toothhill and Spalding (in: Sefton 2000) also found that children with ADHD responded better in highly structured lessons than less organised ones.  Children with ADHD are often hypersensitive to distraction. It is important, therefore, to ensure that they are seated in a place that is relatively free from distraction. (Cooper 1999, p.146) Thus, making the task of suitable inclusive provision difficult for practitioners in Early Years settings. However, many opportunities for structured, adult-directed play do exist within the Early Years. (Siraj-Blatchford and Clarke 2000) Games such as those with rules, card games, matching games, and outdoor games with balls all provide opportunities for adult-directed play and provide the child with instructions and guidance for playing the game, rules of turn taking and developing new information. In addition a play-based curriculum offers opportunities for high levels of adult support and encouragement and a kinaesthetic based approach to learning, which is a preferred style of learning for many children with ADHD. Kewley (1999,p.146) concurs, stating, Children with ADHD tend to be intuitive and need a practical approach to learning rather than a highly theoretical approach.  Research suggests however, that a high number of children with ADHD are not acknowledged as having SEN and instead their inappropriate behaviour highlighted as unsuitable candidates for mainstream settings. Hayden (1997) suggests that this attitude does not improve as the children enter formal education. Hayden researched children who had been excluded from primary school and found that children with ADHD are more likely that most to be excluded from school for behavioural reasons. This does appear at first glance to be surprising, when considering the evidence to suggest that a structured environment is more appropriate for a child with ADHD. Cooper (2005) offers an explanation for this however, and suggests that when considering the constructions of ADHD that, it is influenced by both biology and the social environment. Cooper infers that school plays a major part in the process of social constructions and indicates that children with ADHD are expected to conform to an unsuitable and ridged social framework and inappropriate curriculum when stating, Pupils from an early age are expected to internalise and behave in accordance with a set of rules that derive from constraints imposed by a teacher-centred, curriculum-focused method of teaching pupils in age related groups. (Cooper 2005,p.128)  Cooper also suggests that inappropriate teacher/child ratios may create social disorder problems that are met by a set of lineal rules, designed to regulate peer interaction and movement around school. Concluding that the majority of problems arise from an externally imposed age determined curricula as apposed to a negotiated curriculum. These findings are alarming when considering recent developments, legislation and guidance relating to children with SEN and may indicate that the behaviour aspect of children with ADHD is being used as a scapegoat strategy for settings who are not meeting the needs of these children.  When examining the issues surrounding ADHD it is clear that successful inclusion both in the Early Years and Primary school settings is problematic. On the one hand a play-based curriculum is the most suitable form of learning for the majority of young children and is endorsed in Early Years Settings, whilst on the other the symptoms that children with ADHD display suggest that such a curriculum would exasperate these symptoms. However, as previously discussed, some aspects of a play-based curriculum are preferable to the more formal approach of primary school. The PLA (2001) suggest once children have been admitted to the setting, an environment that is created should be one that encourages all children to flourish. Furthermore, Kewley (2001, p6) states the inclusion of children with ADHD is a moral imperative, however, Farrell and Polat (2003) argue that the inclusion of children with EBD has the potential to cause barriers to the government implementation of their policy of social inclusion. This would suggest that although differing levels of ability can be quiet easily catered for, behavioural and emotional differences are not as easily accommodated in educational settings. Visser and Stokes (2003) found that many people agreed with the inclusion of children with SEN, however when it came to children with EBD they were often denied inclusion due to their SEN. This supports the research undertaken by Hayden (mentioned previously) that children with ADHD are excluded from primary school due to behavioural reasons. The DfES (2006, p.1) suggest that children with ADHD can have an overwhelming affect in the setting when stating, pupils with ADHD present challenges for teachers, both in effective behaviour management and in keeping them focused on the task in hand. [online]  Teachers may feel threatened by having to deal with a child with ADHD, particularly if they have no training in the area and lack confidence, in addition to having to give instruction to a further 30 children or more. The parents of other children may feel that the attention has been drawn away from their children as more time needs to be spent dealing with disruptive outbursts and one to one tuition. All these factors effect the successful inclusion of children with ADHD. Swinson, Wolf and Meling however, disagree that these childrens needs would be addressed more effectively in special schools and conclude that there is much evidence of mainstream schools successfully including children with EBD and there was no evidence to suggest children with EBD benefit from special school. Rose (2002) found that teachers felt they could successfully include children with EBD, but only with additional classroom support. This may suggest a lack of confidence in their ability to meet the needs of children with ADHD in their care. Swinson, Wolf and Meling (2002) suggest that this view is not uncommon, they found that many teachers felt they were not sufficiently trained to meet the needs of inclusion. Another reason that teachers insist on additional classroom support may be due to the time and attention children with ADHD need. Newelle (2001) agree that children with EBD take up a lot of time and resources. All of the barriers above are not isolated to ADHD or indeed EBD they are general inclusion issues that have been successfully addressed throughout a majority of mainstream settings, particularly Early years settings. Albeit ADHD may manifest itself in differing ways and appear to centre around continuous, disruptive behaviour, for some leading to exclusion, however, all children with SEN should have their needs met and advice given by the DfES (2000) should apply to all children when stating,  Children with special educational needs all have learning difficulties that make it harder for them to learn than most children at the same age. These children may need extra or different help from that given to children of the same age [online] According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) [online], ADHD can have long term effects on the childs ability to make friends and over time these children may develop emotional problems such as poor self-esteem and depression if the childs needs are not met. McEwan (1998) identifies emotional reactivity and conduct problems, which include symptoms such as a shot fuse due to getting easily frustrated, overreacting to things that happen, defiant behaviour, verbal hostility and angry outbursts. Fletcher-Campbell (2001) looks at the problems of children with EBD and suggests that these children alienate themselves from their peers, due to their behaviour. Thus, Some manifestations of the disorder tend to isolate children with ADHD from their peers, who will sometimes react with hostility to impulsive and hyperactive behaviour. This can result in long term difficulties in relation to other individuals and developing and sustaining relationships and the emotional problems that follow often exacerbate the struggle to learn. (Question Publishing 2003) [online] Effects of inattention and impulsivity causes children problems with turn taking and this suggests they often interrupt when others are talking or playing. (Cooper and ORegan (2001) In addition McEwan (1998) argues that children with ADHD can often be selfish and self-centred, which means they are likely to find it hard to make friends and build relationships. They are often unaware of social cues and do not worry about the consequences of their behaviour.

Management Challenges to NGOs

Management Challenges to NGOs INTRODUCTION Management has been defined by Weirich Koontz as the process of designing and maintaining an environment in which individuals, working together in groups, effectively accomplish selected ends or goals (Weirich Koontz, 2005). They also submitted that management is applicable to all kinds of organizations (public, private, not for profit) and that no matter the organization, managers responsibilities are to plan, organize, staff, lead and control in such a way that surplus is created authors (Werich and Koontz 2005). This surplus could mean profit as in the private sector, or meeting a need or having a positive effect, as in the not for profit sectors. So whether an organization was set up in order to sell cars at a profit e.g. Toyota, or set up to meet the dire needs of the poor e.g. Food Aid, management is important if the goals are to be met. However, while the importance of management in all spheres of human living has been highlighted by several authors, the reality of NGO management differs significantly from what obtains in the Public or the Private sectors. Fundamentally, management or managerialism has not been a major concern for many NGOs until very recently. Why was this so? What are the peculiar features of management in this sector? What are the important management challenges facing NGOs and why are they important? While management challenges abound in all sectors, this essay will explore those peculiar in the management of NGOs in order to answer these questions. It will also critically analyse the case study of Project Literacy, a South African NGO to illustrate how some of these challenges were responded to. The essay will focus more on the most important management challenges, which have been taken to be leadership, funding, accountability, performance monitoring evaluation, and scaling up. There are many different kinds of NGOs, however for the purpose of this essay NGOs will be defined as are organisations that are non-political, non-profit, non-governmental, and accountable to their stakeholders and involved in welfare and socio-economic development of people (Rahman, 2007). WHY NGO MANAGEMENT? Since 1960, the number and size of non-profit organizations involved in international relief and development have grown substantially (Carroll, 1992; Clark, 1991; Fisher, 1998; Fowler, 1998; Edwards, 1999). As the sector has expanded, it has been subject to new competitive pressures. In the past, the word management was considered synonymous with business management, but for NGOs, commercial activities are presumed to be against their non-profit mission and scored negatively. Since the last two decades NGOs themselves have realised the importance of management, and academicians along with NGO executives have also started thinking over the issues of vision, mission, strategic planning, goals, effective coordination and communication, human resource development, motivational strategies, bottom lines and leadership. Today more NGOs compete for increasingly scarce donor resources. Both private and institutional donors demand greater financial accountability and more concrete evidence of program impact. Small, independent NGOs find it hard to keep pace with more efficient, larger ones that take advantage of economies of scale in marketing, operations, and support services. The world of competitive market dynamics presents difficult paradoxes to many who work in the NGO sector. They believe that their organizations strength, fuelled by the staffs primary motivation, is in its determination to help people improve their lives. But in this more competitive NGO world, it is no longer enough to simply have good intentions and a strong value orientation. As noted by Lindenberg (2001), those working in the NGO sector now recognize that NGOs that do not adapt their strategies and promote greater impact, efficiency, and accountability run the risk of bankruptcy as well as irrelevance. Yet they fear that too much attention to market dynamics and private and public sector techniques will destroy their value-based organizational culture. It has also been argued elsewhere that the management system for NGOs is supposed to be different from traditional management thoughts given by Fayols Modern Operational Management, Taylors scientific management and Webers Bureaucratic Model, because of their distinctiveness in vision, mission, organisational culture, goals and values from the other two sectors (Rahman 2003). Stemming from Henri Fayols (1916) definition of management as forecasting, planning, organizing coordinating and control, Rahman (2003) gave a possible definition of NGO management: To manage an NGO is to forecast with shared vision, to plan strategically, to operate professionally and to lead culture friendly. In this definition the word organise used by Fayol has been replaced by operate in order to give a more functional touch, and the word control has been replaced by lead because there is a minimum use of control in NGO management as the shared values of NGOs discourage the concentration of power at the hie rarchical levels and in their functions. Having agreed that management has gained importance for NGOs, what then are the key management challenges for NGOs? Though management challenges abound also in the public and private sectors, the NGO sector has a unique complex nature with its own characteristic management challenges ranging from funding problems to leadership, performance monitoring evaluation, accountability, scaling up, human resources, organization culture, and professionalization. The following sections will however focus on the first five challenges I believe a key in NGO management. FUNDING AND INDEPENDENCE Funding is a very major challenge in NGO management. NGOs require funds to carry out programs and maintain the organization. Unavailability of funds for an NGO could mean a total standstill. NGOs could most time depend on government for funding. However, NGOs that depend largely on public finance run the risk of becoming mere government subsidiaries by implementing activities formerly carried out by their own governments or multilateral institutions (Senillosa, 1998). Government policy may differ from the NGOs objectives and/or the beneficiaries interests, which may lead to a conflict of interest. The availability of substantial government grants may tempt NGOs or the program beneficiaries to become involved in programs inconsistent with their own objectives and capacities. The sheer size of government grants and certain government grant restrictions (specific countries, certain social groups, special forms of assistance) may lead to an imbalance in the NGOs programs. Some NGOs have, more or less, become contractors to governments, particularly if they do not have other programs or funding sources. NGOs may become unwilling to criticize government publicly thus softening their advocacy work and/or human rights campaigns. Also, as government funding may be comparatively easy to obtain, there is the risk of the NGO ignoring or downgrading their traditional sources of private funding and traditional relationships with their constituencies. In addition, as non-governmental providers of development services, NGOs (and their programs) became subject to the availability of government funds (with associated uncertainty about magnitudes and timing), to some degree of governmental control and supervision, and to the rules and procedures that went with the receipt and use of public funds. This tended to impose heavy and sometimes excessive requirements on NGO administrative and audit capacities (Van Der Heijden, 1987). Another problem with funding is the issue of rejection of core funding- a situation whereby donors are only willing to pay project costs. According to Bornstein (2003), NGO managers that are not competent enough to incorporate core costs within project proposals usually have their key functions not being funded. Organizational development, experimental pilot approaches and long-term impact analysis are being abandoned due to lack of funds. Finally, financial uncertainty affects planning for NGOs. It has also forced them to look for more financial sources and adopt private sector-like methods like downsizing. Take for example; shortage of funds is forcing many South African NGOs outside the donor loop to diversify income sources. They are redefining their relationships to the state and the market, taking on government contract work, selling services to the private sector and charging user fees. Some have had to downsize and depend on short-term contract staff while others are experimenting with their legal status and turning into non-profit companies. (Bornstein 2003). LEADERSHIP Leadership in NGOs is a matter of concern considering the highly personalized nature of leadership in the sector. The sector is full of anecdotal stories about the detrimental impact of paternalistic founder leaders, charismatic autocrats, or the guru syndrome (Hailey, 1999). On one hand such leaders demonstrate a drive and commitment, and a remarkable ability to mobilize people and resources. While on the other hand they are criticized for dominating organizations, being unaccountable, and failing to adapt to changing circumstances. Chambers (1997) points out that such NGO leaders can achieve many things through their guts, vision and commitment, but the way they use power is a disability that jeopardizes organizational effectiveness. He argues such charismatic leaders are vulnerable to acquiescence, deference, flattery and placation (Chambers, 1997). They are not easily contradicted or corrected. As a result they actively suffocate promising initiatives that may threaten their powe r base, relationships, or position of patronage. The concept of leadership in NGO could also at times be antithetical to the participatory culture espoused by many NGOs. In a sector that believes itself to be more value driven, participatory, and less managerialist than the for-profit business sector, there is an unwillingness to concede the important influence of any one individual leader. Managers in this new era thus have to be conscious of the greater credence given to ideas of equality and participatory democracy in this sector if they are to succeed (Hailey James 2004). Effective NGO leadership also requires the ability to balance a range of competing pressures from different stakeholders in ways that do not compromise the leaders individual identity and values (Hailey James 2004). The leadership of development NGOs face extraordinary challenges as they work with very limited resources in uncertain and volatile political and economic circumstances to help the most marginalized and disadvantaged members of their communities. Civicus referred to the growing deficit in leadership abilities in NGOs. In particular they pointed to rapid turnover of NGO staff in leadership positions into business and government and the difficulty NGOs have in replacing them (Civicus, 2002). All too often this failure of leadership results in programmatic dysfunctionality and even organizational collapse. MONITORING AND EVALUATING PERFORMANCE NGOs are making significant efforts to show how they are performing, a trend impelled by three factors: stricter requirements attached to official aid; doubts about NGO claims to be more effective than governments; post-Cold War shifts in the role of NGOs, which increase their own needs to know what is being achieved, in order to manage the processes of organisational reorientation and transformation. However, almost without exception, NGOs are finding it very difficult to come up with sound, cost effective methods to show the results of their development activities, or even to demonstrate their effectiveness as organisations (Fowler, 1996). Rick Davies attributed the problems of monitoring and evaluating the performance of NGOs to ambitious expectations, complexity caused by scale (hierarchical differences in goals and expectations at various actors levels), diversity of NGO activities, vague objectives, fault-able measuring tools, and absence of baseline information adequate monit oring systems (Davies, 2000). Unlike commercial companies development NGOs do not have the bottom lines of market feedback, profitability, and returns on financial investment, nor do they receive the judgement of citizens through social unrest or the periodic vote. In other words, consumers and voters are the source of performance standards for business and government- but not for NGOs (Fowler, 1996). According to LeCompte (1986), the difficulty in measuring the development performance of NGOs stems from the basic incompatibility between the assumptions on which the aid system is based and the actual process of socio-economic change. Social economic change is mostly contingent as different from the linear model the aid system presupposes. There are three problems with this approach. Firstly, the right ways of doing things cannot all be sufficiently predicted in advance? Secondly, the assumptions seldom hold. And, thirdly, development in the sense of sustained improvement in the lives and circumstances of people who are poor or marginalised does not take place in a linear way under the influence of one single intervention (LeCompte, 1986). As resources move down the aid chain, several things happen which undermine the project approach, and hence limit the ability simply to tie resources and activities to NGO performance in terms of development? Furthermore, the measures of development are very complex, containing both tangible or physical elements and intangible factors of human and organisational processes and capacities. Also, the possibility of attributing the cause of change to an NGOs work is very restricted. ACCOUNTABILITY Who are NGOs accountable to, for what, and how? Concerns about the role and accountability of NGOs have been voiced from different quarters in recent years. As the World Bank (2005) noted, with growth in the influence of NGOs so also are they attracting greater public scrutiny, prompting calls for greater accountability. Some donors, governments, corporations, and international agencies raise important questions about the effectiveness of NGO work and the legitimacy of their advocacy. Some NGOs have also recognized the need to ensure good practice in the wider voluntary sector. The question of accountability is seen as a bureaucratic hurdle at best, and at worst as a threat to achieving an NGOs aims. Some fear that any toughening of accountability may lead to an overbearing influence from funders and governments, which could then lead to cooptation and a deflection of original purpose (Najam, 2000), or lead to the stymieing of innovation and reducing the diversity of NGOs (Cnaan, 1996). The problem of to whom accountability should be towards also arises many times. Accountability is usually upwards to donors and not to the poor who are the most immediately concerned. NGOs just want to show that money is not being misappropriated and that the approved activities are completed rather than that desirable change was achieved, let alone sustainable. Bendell (2006) however argued that democracy and human rights should firmly be at the centre of the debate about NGO accountability. By democratic accountability he meant that NGOs should be more accountable to those with less power who are affected by the organizations actions or decisions the poor. SCALING UP Much has been said about the need for NGOs to increase the impact they are having rather than applying small piecemeal efforts to large scale problems of poverty. Edwards and Hulme (1992) described strategies for scaling up to meet this demand for more impacts. Some NGOs are contented to focus on a single small community within which they work taking a small is beautiful approach to their work (Lewis 2001). Edwards and Hulme (1992) noted three kinds of scaling up for NGOs as; additive (increase size and coverage of programs), multiplicative (gain more leverage by influencing other development actors, thereby reaching more people), and diffusive (transferring its approaches beyond the organizations immediate sphere of influence). Bangladesh Grameen Bank was able to effectively manage the challenge of the scaling up process. The bank impacted a lot of poor people in the immediate community, but rather than growing any larger as an implementing organization, it encouraged the adaptation of its original microcredit delivery model around the world (Lewis 2001). CASE STUDY: PROJECT LITERACY, SOUTH AFRICA This case study is about Project Literacy, an NGO based in South Africa. The NGO was founded in 1973 by Jenny Neser to help provide an opportunity for non-educated marginalized workers to learn how to read, write and learn other basic life skills thereby tackling the problem of very low educational level in the society (projectliteracy.org.za). Just like most NGOs, it started with the leader identifying a need in the society which neither the government nor the private sector is making provision for. The NGO started out making use of church facilities for the training and getting volunteer teachers to help out with the training. Much of the funds at this initial stage were from the founders purse and little fees affordable by the beneficiaries. Even at this early stage, some other churches too started to copy Project Literacys programme, thereby increasing their impact (multiplicative scaling up). In 1985, the NGO enrolled up to 200 learners in its Adult Basic Education Training (ABE T) programme and had an annual budget of approximately R4000. The first major turnaround however came when the NGO received a donation of $10,000 (worth R33, 000) from USAID. With this, the NGO registered Project Literacy Trust Fund, and with additional fundraising drive, built its first mini office. By 1990, trainings for community based organizations and commercial clients were initiated. This helped in further diversifying the NGOs income source. The program also enjoyed a lot of support from other bodies like the South African Council of Churches and the Independent Development Trusts which both gave funds for the further development of an ABET teacher training programme and development of suitable ABET materials. The NGO was able to build its central office in 1994 through a donation from the Joint Education Trust. However, the direct funding enjoyed by most South African NGOs from international donors soon dried up. With democracy in South Africa in 1994, donors began entering into bilateral agreements with the elected government rather than directly with NGOs, resulting in the folding up of most NGOs. This highlights the centrality of funding to the operations of these NGOs and probably their overdependence on it. Project Literacy however, was able to survive this period by identifying the opportunity in this challenge (Farouk, year unknown). The new Government saw the need to provide sector wide training to meet the education and skill needs of its work force and the unemployed. This was done through the establishment of Sector Education Training Authorities (SETA) e.g. agriculture SETA will attend to needs in agriculture. Project Literacys strategy was to build capacity to tender effectively for government contracts, and the organization moved from direct delivery to service delivery. It al so restructured its financial management structure, retrained staff, and adopted a robust marketing strategy, all of which were not normal practices in the sector. This sort of bold move required strong leadership able to venture into areas not treaded before. By 1999, the NGO had gained national notoriety, with offices in all of South Africas provinces. Also critical to Project Literacys success was its leadership structure. Unlike most other NGOs that depend on the charisma of the leader and his influence or connections, Project Literacy was able to put in place a standard structure with board of trustees and board of directors, with a management team. By 1995, Jenny Neser the founder resigned and a new CEO was appointed. Continuity was thus ensured. Growth however has its challenges, and Project Literacys biggest challenge ever came in 2010 when it lost a major government contract worth R 90m. By this time the organization spent up to R1.2m monthly to maintain its offices nationally. The loss of this contract resulted in the need for the organization to close all its provincial offices and lay off 47 out of its 78 staff members (Independent online, 2010). This highlights the danger of a growth dependent on government funding, and also the danger of additive scaling up. Politics could play a major role in who gets governments contract, and a domineering monopoly might not be the best mode for NGOs to adopt in their bid to scale up. Whether or how Project Life will be able to handle the current management challenge remains a question to be answered, but the lessons learnt from it will be invaluable to every aspiring NGO. In conclusion, this essay has highlighted the importance of management with respect to NGOs and how it differs from management in the public or private sectors. It has also considered the management challenges of leadership, funding, accountability, monitoring evaluation, and scaling up as the most important management challenges facing NGOs. The case study of Project Life has shown that management in the NGO sector could be likened to a rollercoaster ride, monumental success could bear with it seeds for colossal failure. NGOs in the foreseeable future will have to continue to work in a very unpredictable environment, adapting quickly as the need may be in order to survive diverse challenges that will continue to face them.