Application Of Theory Of Constraints In Commercial Printing Accounting Essay Example

Application Of Theory Of Constraints In Commercial Printing Accounting Essay Example Application Of Theory Of Constraints In Commercial Printing Accounting Essay Application Of Theory Of Constraints In Commercial Printing Accounting Essay This paper seeks to analyze and discourse the application of a Theory of Operations Management in an administration. I have selected a former employer, a commercial printing company, as the company to carry on a critical reappraisal of its operations. I have indentified legion jobs throughout the company s operations, but for this exercising, have decided to concentrate chiefly on the fabrication procedure. In making so, I was able to clearly place a specific country of concern within the operations procedure and use an applicable Theory of Operations Management. In my treatment I non merely applied the relevant theory, but besides justified the choice of such based upon the possible betterments in the fabrication procedure. The recommended alterations if applied will finally convey about a more efficient entity and an betterment in the quality of the merchandises and client focal point. Profitability would be realized and the measurings of which can be done with the usage of the theory as it enables for the computations of the associated execution hazard. The Company The company that has been selected for this assignment is Press-Box Printers Limited ; a household owned and operated commercial printery. The company has been in operation for over 35 old ages and is one of the taking industries of printed stuffs in the local industry. Press-Box Printers Limited has about 85 staff who are employed throughtout the four sections viz. Administration, Gross saless and Selling, Production and Ancillary. The nucleus merchandises manufactured includes books, magazines, and letter paper for a broad cross subdivision of other local Jamaican concerns and persons. The fabrication procedure incorporates the inputs of labor, electricity, paper, inks, chemicals and other applicable natural stuffs and transforms them to bring forth full service publishing solutions ( See Appendix 1. ) . The company uses Offset Lithography ( See Appendix 2. ) , Letterpress and Digital printing techniques, each of which produces a alone consequence depending on the demands of its diverse client base. The Problem The big substantial occupations are those that require the usage of Offset Lithographic printing and over the past 15 old ages, the company has lots its command to retain or to get such contracts. It was discovered that the tendered commands for moneymaking contracts were unsuccessful as they are being alternatively given to entities that are either new or have invested in new engineering and equipment. Press-Box Printers monetary value points are deemed to be uncompetitive. A major lending factor is that the printing imperativenesss are antiquated and can reproduce merely a upper limit of two colorss at a clip. Major occupations require a lower limit of five colorss. Therefore, for Press-Box to fabricate such a occupation, it would hold to go through through the printing imperativeness at least three times. This is deemed to be really inefficient. The input costs of labor, electricity and stuff to bring forth a individual five coloring materials occupation has been proven to be highly high. Further, other internal every bit good as external costs have been identified. The internal costs includes ; ( I ) bit cost of hapless quality as parts must be discarded, ( two ) the re-work cost of repairing faulty merchandises, and ( three ) downtime cost due to the repairing of equipment or replacing faulty merchandise ( s ) . External costs identified were ; ( I ) the cost of reacting to client ailments, ( two ) the cost of managing and replacing poor-quality merchandise ( s ) , and ( three ) lost gross revenues incurred because of client good will impacting future concern. In visible radiation of the above issues of concerns, I have selected to utilize the Theory of Constraints ( TOC ) to review the current fabrication pattern of Press-Box Printers Limited. By using the theory, I will be able to supply elaborate analyses and to urge the manner frontward. Discussion of relevant theory The development of the methodological analysis of TOC can be traced to the development by Dr. Eliyahu Moshe Goldratt of a commercially successful software-based fabrication scheduling plan known as optimized production Timetables ( OPT ) , but this was nevertheless changed in 1982 to Optimized Production Technology ( OPT ) ( Jacobs 1983 ) . With the publication of The Goal, Goldratt used his influential instruction manner to educate the universe about pull offing constrictions ( restraints ) and his new thoughts about public presentation ( Goldratt and Cox 1984 ) . Several early executions brought about the disclosure of the importance of ; ( I ) placing resources as constriction and non-bottleneck, ( two ) holding idle clip or protective capacity on non-bottleneck resources, ( three ) doing planetary public presentation steps an built-in constituent as opposed to efficiency based steps that are considered local and ( four ) explicating a focussed betterment procedure. Theory of Constraints ( TOC ) has evolved over the past two decennaries from a simple production scheduling technique to a systems attack which is chiefly concerned with pull offing alteration. Klein A ; DeBruine ( 1995 ) province that originally set out to invent a systematic attack to placing what was forestalling a company from accomplishing its end of maximizing net income for its stakeholders. The attack was foremost used in a fabrication environment and reported at an American Production and Inventory Control Society ( APICS ) conference in 1980. Hrisak ( 1995 ) informs that TOC is now being used worldwide by companies of varied industries and sizes. He farther states that directors who routinely use TOC were convinced they got a better apprehension of the operations of their several concerns and are able to accomplish a sense of control and take action. He says that TOC allows directors to be empowered by supplying a dependable and consistent model for naming jobs. The TOC methodological analysis encompasses a broad scope of constructs, rules, solutions, tools and attacks. The Theory of Constraints has two expansive places ; ( I ) the concern system and ( two ) a go oning sweetening of the procedure itself. From the concern system position, TOC emphasises three dimensions that of mentality, measurings, and methodological analysis ( 3Ms ) . ( Boyd and Gupta 2004 ) explains that ; Mindset is frequently referred to as finding the system s planetary end. A most of import premise of TOC is that every for-profit concern has the aim of making more money now every bit good as in the hereafter ( Goldratt and Cox 1984 ) without go againsting certain indispensable conditions. Two such conditions conferred in Goldratt ( 1994 ) are that: ( I ) present current every bit good as future fulfilling work environment for employees, and ( two ) supply value and satisfaction to the market. Foregrounding the difference between the end, the aim of which is to continuously heighten net incomes, and the necessary conditions which is to convey to a specific threshold value, TOC distinguishes itself from other direction theoretical accounts as it presents a system that when implemented, makes for a more robust model. The measuring of a system s public presentation is to presume that a house s end is to go more profitable and in so making, TOC proposes a set of planetary operational steps. These steps are throughput, stock list and operating disbursals. The operational steps are said to be: ( I ) fiscal in nature, as they can be translated to steps such as net net income, and return on investing ( 3708 M. Gupta and D. Snyder ) ( two ) they are easy applied at any degree of an administration, and ( three ) warrant that local determinations are in maintaining with the net income end of the house ( Goldratt1990a, Goldratt and Fox 1993, Noreen et Al. 1996 ) . This facet of TOC, termed throughput accounting , has been discussed extensively in accounting literature ( Corbett 1999, Dugdale and Jones 1996, Noreen et Al. 1996 ) and compared, contrasted, and incorporated with activity-based cost accounting. The methodological analysis, the last of the 3m s, speaks to the uninterrupted betterment of the system. Ever since the launch of optimized production engineering ( OPT ) as a production planning and control methodological analysis, TOC has developed into a uninterrupted betterment methodological analysis. TOC states that every concern system has at least one restraint and for the most portion, really few. A restraint is defined as that which limits the system from accomplishing greater degree of public presentation relation to its declared end. Goldratt proposed a five-step focussing procedure for pull offing restraints and continuously bettering the system. Cardinal to this focussed procedure are the constructs of V-A-T procedure construction analysis, drum-buffer-rope, and buffer direction which are used to develop the restraint s agenda, regulate and manage buffer stock lists within an organisation. TOC is possibly non normally considered by systems modellers to be portion of the systems literature, but it is a systems methodological analysis in that it strives to guarantee that any alterations embarked upon as portion of a uninterrupted procedure of sweetening will be of benefit to the system as a whole, instead than merely an stray section of the system. Even at the cardinal degree of operations, TOC provides directors with a set of tools that will maneuver them to bring out replies to the basic issues associating to alter. The issues are ; ( I ) what to alter, ( two ) what to alter to, and ( three ) how to consequence the alteration. Goldratt ( 1990b ) , Klein A ; DeBruine ( 1995 ) A ; Dettmer ( 1997 ) states that TOC views an administration as a concatenation composed of many links, or webs of ironss. Often times viewed as a forced system, a concatenation s links all contribute to the over-arching end and each nexus is really much dependant on the other links. However, the concatenation itself is merely every bit strong as its weakest nexus. With this in head, Goldratt s TOC states that the overall public presentation of an administration is limited by its weakest nexus. He farther argues that if an administration wants to better its public presentation, the first measure must be to place the system s weakest nexus, or restraint. Stairss in the procedure of ongoing betterment Goldratt ( 1990b, Goldratt and Cox 1992 ) introduced a technique called the five focusing stairss ( See Appendix 3. ) for undertaking system jobs on a uninterrupted betterment footing. The stairss are ; ( I ) to place the restraint in the procedure that is restricting the efficiency of the system. This could be a physical every bit good as a policy restraint ( two ) make usage of the restraint to accomplish the best possible end product from the restraint by eliminating insufficiencies that inhibit the flow, and cut down non-productive clip, so that the restraint is used in the most effectual manner possible ( three ) subsidiary other activities to the restraint by associating the productiveness of other operations to be suiting the restraint. This should ensue in an elementary work flow and avoid build up of work-in-process stock list. A critical point nevertheless, is to forestall the restraint from holding to wait for work ( four ) elevate the restraint and in state of affairss wh ere the system restraint still does non hold satisfactory degrees of end product, an investing in new equipment or an addition in staff is recommended to increase end product ( V ) if alteration has occurred, travel back to step one and measure whether another process or policy has turn out to be the system restraint. Goldratt ( 1990b ) states that this measure is consistent with a procedure of ongoing betterment. Predating the Five Focusing Stairss, Goldratt ( 1986, 1990b ) prescribes two excess stairss, which Coman and Ronen ( 1994 ) include in the focusing stairss, hence redefining them as a seven-step method. The two excess stairss included at the beginning are ; ( I ) specifying the system s Goal and ( two ) determine proper, planetary and simple steps of public presentation. Scheinkopf ( 1999 ) describes these as prerequisite stairss for any betterment in the procedure. As is indicated, a main rule of TOC is that all systems have restraints that prevent it from accomplishing its end. The accent therefore, is to concentrate attempts on holding those restraints produce more, either by moving on the restraints straight, or on the other operations that interact with them. TOC s Five Focusing Steps supply a straightforward but successful method to uninterrupted betterment in cases where the restraint can be easy identified. Conversely, if the restraint is caused by cases of policies or behaviors, or farther completed state of affairss, the restraint may be more hard to place, therefore doing the preparation of a solution hard. If this were the instance, the TOC Thinking Procedures are more utile in make up ones minding what to alter, what to alter to, and how to convey about such a alteration. Similar to the Five Focusing Stairss in that it focuses on the restraint, the Thinking Processes focal point on the factors that are presently forestalling the system from accomplishing its ends. The Thinking Processes achieves this by first placing the symptoms within the system, which present verification that the system is non executing every bit good as is desired. From this place, the assorted TOC Thinking Process tools are so applied to deduce the causes of those symptoms, what needs to be done to rectify those causes, and how such remedial actions could be carried out. By making this, the TOC attack is to map the system from the place of the current trouble, instead than seek to pattern the whole system. A really swoon but major discrepancy, this allows for complex jobs to be addressed without holding to wholly pattern the full system. The TOC Thinking Process begins with a Current Reality Tree, which detects what in the system, needs to be changed. The Evaporating Cloud is so used to derive a deeper apprehension of the struggle within the system environment. Additionally, the Evaporating Cloud provides thoughts of what can be changed to interrupt the struggle and decide the focal issue of concern. The Future Reality Tree uses these thoughts for alteration and ensures that the freshly established world would in fact decide the unsatisfactory systems conditions and non convey about new 1s. The Prerequisite Tree identifies obstacles to the execution and attacks to predominate over them. The Transition Tree can be seen as the creative activity of a elaborate execution program. Goldratt s tools are designed to get the better of opposition to alter as a logical way is created that can be easy followed. The five tools can be used individually or as a whole but this all depends nevertheless on the complexness of the state of affairs. Many applications of the Thinking Procedures have been published since its introduction in Goldratt ( 1994 ) ; and there have been many illustrations presented in the APICS Constraints Management Symposiums, and in books such as Noreen et Al ( 1995 ) , and Kendall ( 1998 ) . Recommendation and Justification Having identified the restraint in Press-Box Printers operational procedure, the undermentioned recommendation is being made ; the organisation should get a newer more efficient five coloring materials publishing press.The machine being proposed and the specifications are as follows: Model: Heidelberg SM 74-5-H Year: 2005 Impressions: 74 million ( approx. ) Sheet size: Width 52 centimeter Height 74 centimeter Colorss: multi-colour ( 5 ) Auto home base burden The above machine is deemed idle for the nature and range of the printing production procedure at Press-Box Printers ( See Appendix 4 ) . The acquisition would replace at least three Heidelberg, two coloring material printing imperativenesss presently in usage which have a combined mean age of 28 old ages. In using TOC to the administration s operational and systems challenges will necessitate the hazard of investing capital. The Rate of Return ( ROI ) on such an investing can nevertheless be adequately measured by using TOC. In mensurating the ROI, the specifications of the recommended printing imperativeness should include its production capacity, cost to run inclusive of care ( OE ) , net net income ( NP ) obtained from the machine over a specific clip period, and investing ( I ) that was made to obtain the machine and bring forth the net net income. If these measures are known, return on investing ( ROI ) can be calculated as follows: ROI = NP I The net net income ( NP ) can be calculated from the difference between all the money generated, called per definition the throughput ( T ) of the machine, and the operating disbursals ( OE ) of the machine: NP = T OE Therefore: ROI = T OE I The definitions of the TOC measuring parametric quantities are as follows: Throughput: The rate at which the administration generates goal units ; Operating Expense: All the money the administration spends in bring forthing goal units ; and Investing: The money tied up in the administration . It should be noted that throughput is a hard currency step and therefore gross revenues on recognition or debitors on the books should be included in the investing. However, Throughput is merely recognized when hard currency has been received for the sale generated. This is a really different construct from normal accounting patterns which identifies a sale, be it hard currency or recognition. Another measuring of corporate public presentation is that of hard currency flow. Cash flow ( CF ) is the sum of money of net net income left after alterations in investing have been accounted for: CF = T OE -I. Negative investing, or a lessening in inventories/investment, therefore additions the hard currency flow of the concern. Managed a company as per TOC rules, the Economic Value Added ( EVA ) , which is a fiscal public presentation method to cipher the true economic net income of a company, will better. This is so as the fact that net net income ( NP ) , return on investing ( ROI ) and hard currency flow ( CF ) will increase due to the focal point on the restraints of the company. Simultaneously, the plus hazard, runing hazard, size and diverseness hazard and the strategic hazard of the company will be reduced. For that ground, the hazard factors that impact the cost of capital of the company will be reduced, taking to a decrease in the cost of invested capital. Jointly ; return on investing and cost of capital, which form portion of the EVA equation are therefore influenced positively by the application of TOC direction rules. Decision By geting the above recommended Heidelberg printing imperativeness, the efficiency of the fabrication procedure will be greatly improved. This betterment will be realized through the decrease of ; ( I ) stock list, ( two ) production clip, and ( three ) direct inputs such as labor and electricity. Improvements will be realized in: ( I ) rhythm clip, ( two ) on clip bringing / due day of the month public presentation, and ( three ) fiscal place ( throughput ) . Mentions Ackoff, R.L. ( 1978 ) . The Art of Problem Solving, Wiley. Aggarwal, S. and Aggarwal, S. , 1985. The direction of fabricating operations: an assessment of recent developments. International Journal of Production Management, 5 ( 3 ) , 21-38. Boyd, L.H. and Gupta, M.C. , 2004. Constraints direction: is it a theory? International Journal of Operational and Production Management, 24 ( 4 ) , 350-371. Cook, D. , 1994. A simulation comparing of traditional, JIT and TOC fabricating systems in a flow store with constrictions. Production and Inventory Management Journal, 35 ( 1st one-fourth ) ,73-78. Coman, A. and Ronen, B. ( 1995 ) . Management by Constraints: Yoke IS to Support Changes in Business Bottlenecks. Human Systems Management 12, 65-70. Cox, J.F. III and Spencer, M.S. ( 1998 ) . The Constraints Management Handbook. St Lucie Press / APICS Series on Constraints Management: Boca Raton, FL. Dettmer, H.W. ( 1997 ) . Goldratt s Theory of Constraints: A Systems Approach to Continuous Improvement. ASQC Quality Press, Milwaukee, WI. G. Bennett Stewart. The quest for value: the EVA ( TM ) direction usher. HarperCollins, 1990. Gardiner, S.C. , Blackstone, J.H. , and Gardiner, L.R. , 1994. The development of the theory of restraints. Industrial Management, 36 ( 3 ) , 13-17. Goldratt, E.M. and Cox, J. 1986. The Goal A Procedure of Ongoing Improvement. Revised Edition. North River Press, Croton-on-Hudson, NY. Goldratt, E.M. ( 1990a ) . What is this thing called the Theory of Constraints? North River Press, New York. Goldratt, E.M. ( 1990a ) Haystack Syndrome: Sifting Information Out of the Data Ocean. Croton-on-Hudson, NY: North River Press Goldratt, E.M. ( 1990b ) . The Haystack Syndrome. North River Press, New York. Goldratt, E.M. ( 1990b ) . What is this thing called the Theory of Constraints? North River Imperativeness, Croton-on-Hudson, NY. Goldratt, E.M. and Cox, J. ( 1993 ) . The Goal, 2nd erectile dysfunction. Gower, Aldershot, England. Goldratt, E.M. ( 1994 ) . It s Not Luck. North River Press Publishing Corporation, Great Barrington, MA. Goldratt, E.M. ( 1997 ) . Critical Chain. North River Press Publishing Corporation, Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Goldratt, E.M. and Cox, J. 1992. The Goal A Procedure of Ongoing Improvement. Second Rev. Ed. , North River Press Publishing Corporation, Great Barrington, MA. Gupta, M.C. , 2003. Constraints management-recent progresss and patterns. International Journal of Production Research, 41, 647-659. Hrisak, D.M. ( 1995 ) . Interrupting Bottlenecks and TOC. Chartered Accountants Journal of New Zealand, Vol. 74, No. 7, 1995: 75. Kendall, G.I. ( 1998 ) . Procuring the Future: Schemes for Exponential Growth Using the Theory of Constraints. St. Lucie Press / APICS Series on Constraints Management: Boca Raton, FL. Klein, D. and DeBruine, M. ( 1995 ) . A Thinking Procedure for Establishing Management Policies. Review of Business. Vol. 16, No. 3: 31-37. Mabin, V.J. and Balderstone, S.J. , 2003. The public presentation of the theory of restraints methodological analysis: analysis and treatment of successful TOC applications. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 23 ( 6 ) , 568-595. Mabin, V.J. and Balderstone, S.J. ( 1999, forthcoming ) . The World of the Theory of Constraints: A Review of the International Literature. St. Lucie Press / APICS Series on Constraints Management: Boca Raton, FL. McMullen, T.B. ( 1998 ) . Introduction to the Theory of Constraints ( TOC ) Management System. St. Lucie Press/ APICS Series on Constraints Management, Boca Raton, FL. Miltenburg, J. , 1997. Comparing JIT, MRP, and TOC and implanting TOC into MRP. International Journal of Production Research, 35 ( 4 ) , 1147-1169. Noreen, E. , Smith, D.A. A ; Mackey, J.T. ( 1995 ) . The Theory of Constraints and its Deductions for Management Accounting. The North River Press Printing Corporation: Great Barrington, MA. Plenert, G. , 2000. Bottleneck allotment methodological analysis: an incorporate fabrication direction model-a system survey. International Journal of Flexible Manufacturing Systems, 12 ( 1 ) , 81-101. Rand, G.K. ( 1990 ) . MRP, JIT and OPT. In Hendry L.C. and R.W. Eglese, Operational Research TutorialPapers, 1990. Operational Research Society, Birmingham, England. Scheinkopf, L. ( 1999 ) . Thinking For Change: Puting the TOC Thinking Processes to Use. St. Lucie Press / APICS Series on Constraints Management: Boca Raton, FL. Spencer, M.S. , 1991. The end in an MRP system. Production and Inventory Management Journal, 32 ( 4 ) , 22-28. Spencer, M.S. and Cox, J.F. , 1995. Optimum production engineering ( OPT ) and the theory of restraints ( TOC ) : Analysis and family tree. International Journal of Production Research, 33 ( 6 ) , 1495-1504. Appendix 1 The Transformation Process Beginning: Figure 13. Transformation procedure theoretical account ( Armistead, Harrison et Al. 1996, 118 ) Appendix 2 The Offset Lithography Printing Process Beginning: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.compassrose.com/publishing/offset-printing.html Appendix 3 Five Focusing Stairss Beginning: Industrial research Institute hypertext transfer protocol: //www.iriweb.org/Public_Site/RTM/free/Whats_Constraining_Your_Innovation.aspx

Trends that older workers need to watch for in 2018

Trends that older workers need to watch for in 2018 Attention Baby Boomers- not all trends are created equal. Each year, we see a variety of new workplace trends take hold, which often vary by industry, geography, and even individual demographics. One of these factors is age- simply put, there are trends in the job world that affect older individuals differently, based on their level of experience, personal needs, comfort level in a rapidly changing work environment, and longevity in the job market. Older workers- specifically Baby Boomers (individuals born between 1946 and 1964), face some unique issues and challenges in the work world. This aging population possesses a wealth of work experience, knowledge, and expertise, but is growing older in a workplace that increasingly prizes youth and vitality, and many are approaching the age where retirement is a consideration. According to a recent Pew Research Center study, approximately 29% of the workforce in the United States- which represents approximately 45 million workers- is part o f the Baby Boomer generation. Although this number continues to shrink each year, it’s still a significant amount of people. Therefore, it’s worth taking a closer look at the trends these older folks can expect to encounter in the workplace in 2018.More flexible work arrangementsAlthough this may not seem like much of a departure from the norm for younger workers, older workers who are typically more used to the traditional Monday to Friday, 9 to 5 office arrangement may need some time to get used to the changing notion of what it means to be â€Å"at work.† Advances in technology have made it easier than ever before to work remotely and telecommute- and older workers will get the opportunity to take more advantage of the flexibility this allows.Baby Boomers who work in fields in which telecommuting is a viable option and possess the technical knowhow can expect to encounter more flexible work arrangements in 2018. This is often a good thing, allowing for a fast er, easier, and less expensive commute to the office- which might now just mean walking into one of the rooms in your house.Rise in contract employmentAnother trend in the workplace that may hit Baby Boomers harder than their younger counterparts is the change in how employers are hiring individuals to meet their needs. Many companies are embracing leaner approaches to work by using technology to get more work done with less people on their payrolls. Companies are also increasingly relying on unorthodox work arrangements, which means a shift from full-time employees and towards a greater reliance on contract, freelance, and part-time workers to get things done.Why is this especially concerning for Baby Boomers? These new workplace arrangements typically don’t include benefits like medical and dental insurance, which usually become more essential as workers get older, so workers are going to have to get creative and seek out alternative means for coverage. Another thing missin g from most forms of contract employment are retirement benefits, which will impact how workers prepare and save for retirement in the future.Delaying retirementSpeaking of retirement†¦a growing trend that many older workers are facing is the notion of having to delay exiting the workforce for as long as possible. According to a recent article by U.S. News World Report, this can be attributable to a wide range of factors, including older workers not having enough money saved, needing health insurance, desiring to stay active and productive, and simply enjoying working and passing on their knowledge and skills to a new generation of employees. Whether by choice or not, older workers who are looking to delay retirement are going to have to learn how to effectively navigate the changing landscape of the work world and plan for the future.These are the biggest trends older workers can expect to encounter in 2018. Those employees who will prove most successful in coping with a rapi dly evolving workplace will stay one step ahead of these trends and strategize accordingly.

Strategies for Gathering and Evaluating Sources Essay

Strategies for Gathering and Evaluating Sources - Essay Example The information was last published in the year 2003 and has not been updated of late. There are however other resources that can be found from a variety of books. In addition, the materials found in this article do match the content in most of the other articles. In addition, this article gives case studies that highlight issues that concern censorship in many nations. The author is a music lecturer at the University of Connecticut and has dwelt on the issues affecting censorship for several years. He describes what is already known from other sources and adds little from his personal experiences. The experience that the author has in the field enables him to handle the complexities that arise from the topic under consideration. The information was last published in the year 2006 and has not been updated of late. However, there are other sources that have the latest information regarding censorship in music but which match the content of the article. The article brings forth the newest research concerning the topic of censorship in Africa along with various case studies on the issue. The article focuses on any attempts that are being made in the continent for the purpose of censoring musicians along with the strategies that the musicians have devised for resisting these moves. Nuzum describes what is already known and is unknown in the industry and adds little from his personal experiences. The experience that the author has in the field enables him to handle the complexities that arise from the topic under consideration. The information was last published in the year 2001 and was updated in the year 2008. However, other information sources also have the latest information regarding censorship in music but which matches the content of this article. This book by Nuzum provides details of everything an individual would like to know concerning music including what the parents may not like

Composition Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Composition - Annotated Bibliography Example While it may not be as complete and detailed as other biographical accounts of Hoover, it does provide enough information about his disposition and temperament when it comes to individuals whom he considered as enemies of the state. Since the research deals with the government abuse of power while Hoover was in the FBI as described by Stout in The Doorbell Rang, this book would help in explaining the character of the said director. The FBI: A History presents a detailed discussion of the history of the country’s principal crime-fighting force. It also attempts at providing analysis on the key events that occurred during the history of the FBI. It particularly highlights the era when J. Edgar Hoover was at the helm of its organization. This book by Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones is relevant to the research since it helps in clarifying the historical context of Rex Stout’s The Doorbell Rang. Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations. Intelligence Activities and the Rights of Americans. United States Senate, 1976. Web. 27 January 2012. http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/cointelpro/churchfinalreportIIce.htm This is basically a report submitted by a senate committee headed by Sen. Frank Church in 1976. The said committee made and investigation of all the actions that the FBI did during the time when J. Edgar Hoover was its director. The document was actually one of the very first systematic and comprehensive attempts at exposing the FBI and the CIAs abuse of power, such as the spying conducted on American citizens. This also provides substantial proofs of Hoover’s violations of the privacy of individuals, which is the gist in The Doorbell Rang. Since the research is on the theme of how The Doorbell Rang serves as a critique of J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI, it is only right that the book become a principal reference. The book written by Rex Stout is part of the Nero Wolfe detective story series. However, unlike the rest of the Nero

Use of Elemental Imagery Jane Eyre Essay Example for Free

Use of Elemental Imagery Jane Eyre Essay The use of elemental imagery in Jane Eyre, revealed throughout the novel both literally and metaphorically, is one of Charlotte Bronte s key stylistic devices. The opposition of the two elements, fire and water, highlights the need for the characters to find equilibrium between the two. Fire can describe passion and warmth, but it can also burn. Water can describe coolness and comfort, but it can also chill. Because of Charlotte Bronte s use of elemental imagery in her book, Jane Eyre, the reader can better comprehend what the characters of Jane Eyre, Mr. Rochester, St. John Rivers, and Bertha Mason are feeling and thinking. Fire imagery helps the reader understand the strong feeling of passion in the character of Jane Eyre. At Gateshead, Jane is unable to control her passions and hits John Reed after he bullies her. As her punishment, Jane is locked up in the red-room. Fire imagery here, in the form of the red room, is Bronte s way of representing Jane s passion and fury. A bed supported on massive pillars of mahogany, hung with curtains of deep red damask (20) is used by Bronte to represent, through physical manifestation, Jane s overly passionate nature. Also very significant is the direct use of fire. This room was chill, because it seldom had a fire (20) is Bronte s way of saying that Jane is the fire in the room. There was not a fire until Jane inhabited the room. This key symbolism generates a horrific image in the reader s mind of what Jane looks like and is acting like in this scene due to Bronte s significant use of elemental imagery. Another instance of fire describing Jane is when she sees Mr. Rochester s bed torched. It is ironic that Jane happens to find Rochester s bed torched. The reason, illustrated by Bronte, is because they share passion with each other. They have feelings for each other in a way that Bronte can only describe with the fire imagery. The scene s sheer coincidence makes that hard not to believe. Because Bronte used fire to describe Jane s passion in that scene, the reader can really grasp how Jane is feeling. On the contrary, that scene extinguishes the fire, thus the passion. Later in that scene, Jane extinguishes the fire in Rochester s room with water. The water that Jane uses to put out the passion flame in that scene is metaphorically telling the reader that she needs to relinquish her passion. The flame between Jane and Rochester is too hot. They need to find equilibrium. The reader can see the amount of passion that Jane feels, and the amount needed to extinguish her passion. Another instance of water imagery describing Jane s feelings is when Jane shows Rochester one of her paintings. This painting tells the reader much about Jane s concerns and values through the rich sense of imagery in them. The first painting is described as having a drowned corpse in its swollen seas of green water (143). Jane, because of her passionate nature, sees water, representing a locking out of passion and emotion, as death itself. Given that Jane has hot, fiery passion, water imagery is used by Bronte to show the reader how and equilibrium needs to be reached between the two. Another character, Mr. Rochester, shows extreme passion in his multifaceted and intricate feelings. Thornfield is usually considered a gloomy house like a grey hollow filled with rayless cells, (133) but when Rochester enters, Jane sees a warm glow in the oak staircase and a genial fire lit in the grate (133). Immediately upon Rochester s return to Thornfield, fire imagery is used more by Bronte. Come to the fire, (152) said by Rochester to Jane is seen as an invitation to indulge Rochester s passion. Bronte portrays Rochester as fire itself. His purpose is to offer passionate and romantic love to Jane. Rochester, viewed as fire, makes the passion swelling in him more obvious to the reader. St. John Rivers does not feel much passion in his life. Therefore, he can be described as cold and icy. The first and foremost evidence of this is exemplified just by reading his name, Rivers. When Jane sees St. John for the first time, she says, I have never seen that handsome face of his look more like chiseled marble as he put aside his snow wet hair from his forehead (386). Bronte writes that St. John was at the fireside a cold, cumbrous column, gloomy and out of place (393), hinting the incompatibility of Jane and St. John. Jane s nature is passionate while St. John s is not. Bronte again uses water imagery to describe the strange marriage proposal of St. John s. She compares him with imagery of cold, running water when Jane says he has no more a husband s heart for me than that frowning giant of a rock, down which the stream is foaming in yonder gorge (459). St. John Rivers feelings are better illustrated from this use of water imagery. Bronte uses fire to describe Bertha Mason. Through Bronte s use of this imagery, the reader can see the potential dangers of allowing passion to rule uncontrolled. Bertha represents unleashed, untamed passion, without any control or reason. This can be observed when she torches his bed curtains. The imagery, such as the lit candlestick on its side lying on the hallway floor, symbolizes destructive passion that Bertha possesses. Notice that the candlestick is on its side, not upright in a safe position. When Bertha torches Thornfield, she is described as having hair streaming against the flames (476). This description signifies that Bertha has almost a satanic nature bearing a head full of fire. These two scenes are designed to make the reader appreciate the grave danger of uncontrolled passion. In Charlotte Bronte s Jane Eyre, the reader understands better what Jane, Mr. Rochester, St. John Rivers, and Bertha Mason are feeling and thinking due to Bronte s use of elemental imagery. As a result of this, the reader appreciates these characters even more. Without the use of fire and water imagery to show the characters feelings, comprehending what the characters are thinking would be difficult. Basically, Bronte s use of fire and water imagery signifies her relentless pursuit to show the reader what her characters in Jane Eyre are feeling.

Discuss the reasons for the growth and decline Essay -- essays researc

Up until World War II, Imperialism had been a major part of civilization throughout the world. The conquering and occupying of other lands had been prominent in all of the major world empires. The Romans, Ottaman Turks, Egyptians, Mongols, Syrians, Greecians, Babylonians, Muslims, Persians, and others had all thrived on the occupation of other territories. However, as the advancement of military warfare and techonolgy increased, the stakes increased, the wars longer, the casualities higher, and the controlling of vast amounts of land became harder as people sought ethnic diversity and clung to their heritage harder. The last of these great imperialistic empires stands with Great Britian and France. Other european powers in the 1800's also had their hand in the cookie jar of imperialism, including belgium, italy, and Germany, but the powerhouses existed with Great Britian and France. Up until a little after World War II, in the 1950's and 60's, did imperialism last. The questions asked now is how did European powers manuever their way into the lives of other ethninticies, and why didn't it last?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Around 1870, imperialism in Africa escualted, with her coast line quickly being snatched by Great Britian, France, the Dutch, Germany, and the Italians, and then they started working their way inward. The Industrial Revolution caused new wealth to emerge, and this new wealth was invested in occupying new territories, for either a sign of prestige or dominance, probably both to an extent. Techonology is growing, and communications is increasing, thus making it easier to occupy new lands and peoples. Medical techonolgy is increasing, and the ability to combat new diseases helps the imperialistic powers overcome the new pestilences that they encounter. The increasing growth of the R.R made it easier to transport goods and materials needed to occupy territory. The population in Europe is growing, and these new lands are possible place to settle as well. But why did countries like Great Britian seek to expend enouormous amounts of money on provinces without much coming back to them?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One theory is the Accident theory that says their was no real intent in the colonization that took place. The theory says that once one land was taken, the surrounding land would... ...by the British by combining three tribal groups together. One the British left, much blood was shed over what a nigerian was or was not. There was no coherant agreement on what these new people stood for.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Goals for the future are almost dependant on the new countries ability to industrialize and keep up with the Western powers. Establishing a stable government is one step toward political and economic growth and stablity. Agreeing on what a country is about, and how they are to support themselves are vital. Holding fast to an identity, as Americans, Frenchmen, and the British do, only aids in the development of old things, and the creation of new techonology. However, as afore mentioned, because of their being no distribution of weatlth in the world, and within the new countries, the new money is only spread out over the growing population providing no real enhanced standard of living for anyone, the gap will become wider and wider economically between the more developed countries and the third world. Economic developement is the key to success, and without that, these once colonized countries will only continue to struggle.

Comparison and Contrast of Two Poems Essay

William Blake’s poems entitled â€Å"The Tyger† and â€Å"The Lamb† are depictions of human self. The narrators in these poems described their characterization through the illustration of the lamb and the tiger. There are similarities and differences between these two poems in terms of theme, tone, and literary images. By reading these poems, readers would recognize the braveness of the tiger and the calmness of the lamb. Through this, it can be said that these poems are representations of emotions and intentions of the author and narrators in the poems.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the poem â€Å"The Tyger,† the narrator already established the burning fire of the tyger’s character in the first stanza. The first line of the poem characterized the persona into a mortal hero because of the use of words and exclamation marks. In the second stanza, ironies of different literary images started to emerge. Fire and sky, wings and hands are some of the ironies that exist throughout the poem. It shows that fire and sky are interrelated concepts with the use of hands and wings to reach its aspects and sense. In the third stanza, humanistic point of view developed. From natural abstract of nature, animal body parts began to unravel as a way of showing the tyger’s being. The second and third stanzas are related to one another because these means that nature and animals are connected and cannot live without each other. The fourth stanza discussed the different threats against the tiger. Chains and hammers are depicted to be the armor against the illogical braveness of the tiger. Its terror characterization showed that humans are aloof with it. They could not able to live with the tiger that is why they were chained and hammered. The fifth stanza symbolizes the resurrection of the tiger. Once he died from the hands of chains and hammers, the sky will comfort him and give him a new life again. It was seen that once an animal died, it will still conceive a new form of life as it emerge into the nature’s womb. At the end of the poem, the tyger will live through its burning fire. It will always live at the heart of the forest by way of perceiving the eye of â€Å"symmetry.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the other hand, Blake’s â€Å"The Lamb† is a representation of lamb’s beauty and keenness. She was depicted as a girl – a little girl who seeks love and comfort from within. This little lamb has simple joys in her heart. He wanted to have something to eat to be able to survive. She just wanted to have comfortable shelter to nurture her self from her surroundings and environment. She is happy and contented with what she has for she is young. The author used two stanzas to illustrate the persona of the poem. It means that simplicity of the character lies within her physical and emotional being.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the first stanza, the narrator discussed how the little lamb portrayed her self in beauty and comfort. The narrator also showed how people used the lamb’s fur for their daily lives especially their clothing.   This is how the lamb works for that is why she has simple happiness because she knows that she would become a big help to everyone. In the second stanza, showed how the persona of the poem loved and admired the lamb. The narrator wanted to tell all the people to be mild and gentle towards the lamb because she is a fragile one. The persona relates herself like a lamb that is unique, keen, happy, and contented being despite of everything that she experienced in life. At the end of the poem, the persona said â€Å"God Bless† to the lamb. It means that she must take care of her self for everything she does throughout her lifetime and beyond.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Aside from the lamb and the tyger’s being animals, the similarity with them is their attachment to nature. Nature always becomes their comfort place to live and ponder. Another similarity is the way humans thought towards and against them. People look at them as an object of economic power and raw materials. They could not look at these animals as part of the ecosystem that helps us to become what we are right now in terms of ecological perspectives. In terms of theme, these two poems are similar. They are both illustration of animal oppression and discrimination. These poems are created to express how animals think of their selves and their use in the society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the other way around, the poem â€Å"The Tyger† is more on loud images rather than the poem â€Å"The Lamb.† Even if they both express the essence and meaning of animal oppression, the poem â€Å"The Tyger† was illustrated in a direct and frank portrayal unlike the poem â€Å"The Lamb.† This poem showed indirect attack towards the issues that it wanted to discuss. â€Å"The Tyger† also used abundant literary images to show the roaring character of the tyger. In â€Å"The Lamb,† the author did not use many literary images because he illustrated the persona as a child who has limited knowledge and learning towards the real intuition of the lamb.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Based on the elaboration of the whole poems in this paper, it was seen that â€Å"The Tyger† and â€Å"The Lamb† have differences and similarities based on the literal and logical perspective. It was also seen that the author made different kind of attack from one point to the other. The target audience for the poem â€Å"The Tyger† is mainly for those who have enough vocabularies to understand the meanings of the words while the poem â€Å"The Lamb† is for children who have simple words to acquire. However, they can be seen as children and adult poems if they are entitled to unleash the essence and persona of the animals in the poems. Bibliography Blake, W. (2005). â€Å"The Lamb† 22 March 2008. http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/181.html Blake, W. (1794).â€Å"The Tyger† 22 March 2008. http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/~keith/poems/tyger.html

Assessing the English Language Learner

Assessing the English Language Learner (ELL) The Growth of ELL (ESL) The number of human beings who speak a language other than English continues to increase in the United States, Canada, and Australia, for example, as the number of immigrants grows. In 2006, 34. 70% of the population of Los Angeles, California, was foreign born; 25. 50% of Miami, Florida; 39. 60% of Vancouver, British Columbia; 45. 70% of Toronto, Ontario; 28. 90% of Melbourne, Australia; and 31. 70% of Sydney, Australia (Statistics Canada, 2008).In the United States, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 2004) reported that â€Å"The number and percentage of language minority youth and young adults— that is, individuals who speak a language other than English at home—increased steadily in the United States between 1979 and 1999† (p. 1). NCES added, Of those individuals ages 5–24 in 1979, 6 million spoke a language other than English at home. By 1999, that number had more th an doubled, to 14 million. Accordingly, of all 5- to 24-year-olds in the United States, the percentage who were language minorities increased from 9 percent in 1979 to 17 percent in 1999. p. 1) The number of ESL students in U. S. public schools has almost tripled over the last decade (Goldenberg, 2006). In 2004 Crawford observed that one-fourth of the school-age students in the United States were from homes where a language other than English was spoken. The school-age population (K–12) will reach about 40% ESL in about 20 years (Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence, 2002). Between 1990 and 2000, the number of Spanish speakers increased from about 20 to 31 million (U. S.Census Bureau, 2001). The Census Bureau report also showed a significant increase in the number of speakers from other linguistic groups, particularly Chinese and Russian. Individuals at all ages enter school to learn the English skills they need to learn, gain employment and participate in society. Planning for their instruction is a significant issue for teachers at all levels and assessment becomes central. In this chapter we first define and differentiate terms such as ESL and ELL and describe the populations they represent.The use of assessment measures to place students into appropriate instructional groups is described and the distinction between interpersonal and academic language is reviewed. The use of assessment in the classroom and as a gate-keeping tool is addressed in addition to the appropriateness of the use of published measures to assess ESL students. The first issue addressed is terminology. Defining ELL Over the years students who speak a language other than English have been titled English as a Second Language (ESL) learners.However, English in some cases is not the second language (L2), but may be the third (L3), the 4th (L4), etc. , language, and, as a result, members of this population have different linguistic resources to draw on. The term â€Å"English Language Learner† (ELL) has been adopted by educators, primarily in the United States, to describe better the notion that English may not be the L2. However, it is not a particularly good term because students who speak English as a First Language (L1) are also English language learners (Gunderson, 2008).The term â€Å"Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages† (TESOL) is used outside of the United States. Students who learn English in environments where it is not the language of the community are referred to as English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students. The pedagogy related to EFL is different from ESL (ELL) because students are not immersed in English in the community and the major task of the teacher is to try to provide them English models (Gunderson, 2008, 2009). An added difficulty with the term â€Å"ESL† or â€Å"ELL† is that it does not adequately characterize the diversity of human beings it represents.Those who use the t erm â€Å"ELL† do so to describe those K–12 students who come from homes in which the language used for daily communications is not English and who must learn English to succeed in schools where the medium of instruction is English. The ELL (ESL) Population A serious problem with the ELL (ESL) conceptualization is that it does not adequately describe the underlying complexities of differences in age, motivation, literacy background, and first and second language achievement (Gunderson, 2008, 2009).Those classified as ELL or ESL vary in age from pre-school to senior adults. Many speak no English at all, while others vary in oral English proficiency. Many have never attended school, while others have earned high academic credentials in the language of instruction in their home countries. They are from diverse cultural backgrounds that vary in the way they perceive the importance of teaching and learning. Many are immigrants to an English-speaking country, while many ELL learners are born in an English-speaking country, but speak a different language at home (Gunderson, 2008, 2009).Indeed, in the Vancouver, Canada, school district 60% of the kindergarten students are ESL and 60% of this number are born in Canada (Gunderson, 2007, 2009). Many immigrant ESL students come from impoverished refugee backgrounds, others have high levels of education and socioeconomic status. Thus, ESLs or ELLs do not adequately represent the underlying complexity of the human beings in the category. Assessment Issues in ELLInstruction in mainstream classes, those typically enrolling students of different abilities but of the same relative age in the same classrooms, is based broadly on the notion that the acquisition of English is developmental and occurs over time as human beings grow into maturity. It is also thought that there is a relationship between language development and â€Å"grade level. † Grade 1 students differ from Grade 7 students in systematic ways. Their teachers design instruction that is appropriate for their grade levels.ESL (ELL) students represent a more complex problem because their English and their cultural and learning backgrounds vary in many different ways, even in individuals who are the same chronological age (Gunderson, 2009). In addition, Cummins (1979a, 1979b, 1981, 1983, 2000) and Cummins and Swain (1986) argued there are two basic kinds of English a learner has to learn; â€Å"basic interpersonal communicative skill† [BICS] and â€Å"cognitive academic language proficiency† [CALP], the language of instruction and academic texts. BICS appears to take about 2 to 3 years to develop and CALP about 5 to 7. â€Å"Hello, how are you? and â€Å"What is your name† represent BICS, while â€Å"Identify a current controversial world political issue and develop and defend your position† is an example of CALP. Teachers are faced with the task of determining what learning activities and materia ls are appropriate for instruction and measurement of learning, while institutions such as universities and some governments are interested in determining whether or not an individual’s English ability is advanced enough for them to either enter a post-secondary program or to have the skills necessary to be integrated into a society and, therefore, be eligible to immigrate.Thus, in some instances, assessment serves to guide learning by informing teachers of students’ needs while in others it serves as a gatekeeper by excluding those who do not meet its standards. Instructional Levels—Determining Appropriate Instructional Strategies Language teachers have for some time opted to assess their students to ascertain their â€Å"level† of English language proficiency. The difficulty with the levels approach is that they do not really exist (Gunderson, 2009). A popular levels approach was developed in 1983 by the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Lang uages (ACTFL).The assessment is a one-on-one assessment focusing primarily on oral language. Three levels of beginner, intermediate, and advanced are distinguished (see, ACTFL, 1983). A learner can be identified as a low beginner or a high intermediate, etc. The behaviors that determine inclusion in a particular group are usually described in an assessment matrix. The assessor asks a series of questions to elicit knowledge of vocabulary, syntax, and pragmatics. The following is an example of a matrix developed by Gunderson (2009) showing oral language â€Å"levels† and their attendant features. * 0-Level English 1.Cannot answer even yes/no questions 2. Is unable to identify and name any object 3. Understands no English 4. Often appears withdrawn and afraid * Beginner 1. Responds to simple questions with mostly yes/no or one-word responses 2. Speaks in 1–2 word phrases 3. Attempts no extended conversations 4. Seldom, if ever, initiates conversations * Intermediate 1. Re sponds easily to simple questions 2. Produces simple sentences 3. Has difficulty elaborating when asked 4. Uses syntax/vocabulary adequate for personal, simple situations 5. Occasionally initiates conversations * Advanced 1. Speaks with ease 2. Initiates conversations 3.May make phonological or grammatical errors, which can then become fossilized 4. Makes errors in more syntactically complex utterances 5. Freely and easily switches codes More elaborate approaches involve the assessment of English listening, speaking, reading and writing skills, e. g. , the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CCLB, 2007). The notion of levels is an important one for teachers because they are thought to predict a student’s probability of succeeding within a particular teaching and learning environment. A beginner is different from an intermediate in various ways, and the instruction they are involved in is also different.Teachers often refer to ESL students as Level 1 or Level 5, depending upon their performance on an assessment measure. The notion of levels varies widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In some cases there are 3, 4, 5, 8, or 10 levels, which are determined most often by locally developed informal assessment measures (Gunderson & Murphy Odo, 2010). Good assessment is essential to the design of appropriate instructional programs. The difficulty for classroom teachers is that there are few, if any, appropriate measures for them to use. Classroom AssessmentBlack and William (1998) reviewed more than 250 studies and found that there was a relationship between good classroom assessment and student performance. Most classroom-based assessment has been developed by teachers (Frisby, 2001; Wiggins, 1998). Unfortunately, most teachers report they are unprepared to assess and teach ESL students (Fradd & Lee, 2001). According to Pierce (2002), the majority of teachers employ assessments they remember they were involved in when they were in school: multiple-choice, cloze -like measures, matching, and true/false tests.This seems to have been the pattern for 50 years (Bertrand, 1994). Unfortunately, it seems, â€Å"†¦ many teachers are unprepared for the special needs and complexities of fairly and appropriately assessing ELLs† (Ehlers-Zavala, Daniel, & Sun-Irminger, 2006, p. 24). Gunderson and Murphy Odo (2010) have recently reviewed the measures used by teachers in 12 local school districts to assess ESL students. The number of different measures and approaches in use was surprising. The Idea Proficiency Test (IPT) (see Ballard, Dalton, & Tighe, 2001a, 2001b) was the measure most often used for primary level ESL students.Other assessments mentioned were the Brigance, (1983) the Bilingual Syntax Measure (Burt, Dulay, & Hernandez, 1976), the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test (Woodcock, various dates), the Woodcock-Munoz (Woodcock-Munoz-Sandoval, 1993), the Pre-IPT, the Comprehensive English Language Test (CELT; Harris & Palmer, 1986), informal reading inventories, the Waddington Diagnostic Reading Inventory (Waddington, 2000), the Alberta Diagnostic Reading Inventory, the SLEP, the Gap (McLeod & McLeod, 1990), PM Benchmarks (a system for placing students in leveled books), the RAD (Reading Achievement District—a local assessment measure), the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT; Dunn & Dunn, 1997), and a variety of locally developed listening, speaking, reading, and writing assessments. A serious difficulty is that most of these measures were not designed to provide ESL instructional levels so different heuristics in different districts were developed to translate them into levels.The designation â€Å"beginner,† for instance, varies significantly across districts as a result of the measures involved and the number of levels districts chose to identify. Two school districts reported the development and norming of tests for elementary and secondary students comprised of leveled passages taken from academic textbooks that were transformed into maze passages (see Guthrie, Seifert, Burnham, & Caplan, 1974). Scores from these measures were used to compute ESL levels; four in one case and five in the other. Interestingly, different metrics were used to compute instructional levels. So, for instance, a CELT score was used to determine ESL levels based on local intuition and experience.Most often the locally developed assessments involved one-on-one interviews in which students respond to tasks that require recognition of colors, body parts, school items, and the ability to answer simple questions (see, for example, Gunderson, 2009). There are also standardized assessments used by personnel at post-secondary institutions to make decisions concerning admissions to their programs. Predicting Academic Success The best known standardized English assessment measure is the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) published by Educational Testing Service (ETS). The publisher notes: In fact, m ore institutions accept TOEFL test cores than any other test scores in the world — more than 7,000 colleges, universities and licensing agencies in more than 130 countries, to be exact. (ETS, 2009a) There are different forms of the TOEFL. The classic paper-and-pencil form had standardized scores with 500 being the mean and 50 being the standard deviation. There are newer versions including a computer- and an Internet-based version that have different scoring criteria (see score comparison tables (ETS, 2009b)). The online version is based on a â€Å"communicative competence† model that requires learners to view clips of science lessons, for example, take notes, and respond to questions.TOEFL scores are used by post-secondary institutions to screen students for admission to their programs. The criteria for admission to programs varies from institution to institution and among departments in institutions (see, for instance, University of British Columbia, 2009). There is evidence that TOEFL scores are not highly predictive of success in university (Al-Musawi & Al-Ansari, 1999), however, although they continue to be used to do so. ETS also produces the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) and the Secondary Level English Proficiency (SLEP), both standardized assessment measures. The primary users of the SLEP are secondary teachers.The SLEP â€Å"measures the ability to understand spoken English,† and â€Å"the ability to understand written English† focusing on grammar, vocabulary, and reading comprehension (ETS, 2009c). The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is a test of English language proficiency developed by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (2009). There are two versions: individuals who want to gain admission to a university in an English-speaking country take the academic version, while the other version is appropriate for trade schools and other purposes. Scores range f rom 1 to 9 with 1 being zero-level English, while 9 indicates native-like ability. Different universities require different IELTS scores to be eligible for admission.Both ETS and Cambridge have international centers around the world where students can take these tests. ELL assessment issues and standardized testing are procedures relevant to large-scale achievement testing in the United States. Large Scale or High-Stakes Testing According to Abedi, Hofstetter, and Lord (2004), â€Å"Historically, English language learners in the United States were excluded from participation in large-scale student assessment programs; there were concerns about the confounding influences of language proficiency and academic achievement† (p. 1). However, the United States has seen a focus on large-scale assessments due to the accountability requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (PL 107-110).No Child Left Behind permits assessing ELLs in their first language for up to 3 years, but few states do. In 2005 a group of school districts sued the state of California to force it to allow Spanish-speaking students to take state-mandated tests in Spanish. Plaintiffs in Coachella Valley Unified School District v. California argued that the state â€Å"violated its duty to provide valid and reliable academic testing† (King, 2007). On July 30, 2009, â€Å"The First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco rejected arguments by bilingual-education groups and nine school districts that English-only exams violate a federal law’s requirement that limited-English-speaking students ‘shall be assessed in a valid and reliable manner’† (Egelko, 2009).A lawyer for the school districts and advocacy groups stated, The court dodges the essential issue in the lawsuit, which is: What is the testing supposed to measure? If you don’t have to evaluate the testing, California gets a free pass on testing kids (who) don’t speak English, using tests that they have literally no evidence of their validity. (Egelko, 2009) The ruling was that â€Å"The law does not authorize a court to act as â€Å"the official second-guesser† of the reliability of a state’s testing methods. † The difficulty is that English measures are neither reliable nor valid when ESL students are involved. In some cases, accommodations are made for them.The procedures of providing ELL students accommodations during assessment sessions varies across jurisdictions, but includes such activities as lengthening the time allowed to take a test, allowing ELLs to be tested in separate rooms, allowing students to use bilingual dictionaries, the use of two versions of the test at the same time written in English and students’ first languages, providing oral translations for students, and composing responses in first languages. In 1998–1999, 39 states reported using test accommodations (Rivera, Stansfield, Scialdone, & Sharkey, 20 00). There is considerable controversy about providing accommodations, however.At the time of the writing of this chapter, accommodating students through the provision of L1 assessments has been judged not to be required. ELLs, Assessment, and Technology Advances in technology have made it possible for assessments to be administered as computer- or Internet-based measures. These developments have already taken place with measures such as the TOEFL (see above). An increasing use of technology to administer standardized and non-standardized assessments has raised interest in issues relating to mode-effects (e. g. , computer displays versus print form) and familiarity with computers, which have significant implications for ELLs.There is evidence that performance in paper-based and computer-based modes of assessment may vary due to ethnicity or gender (Gallagher, Bridgeman, & Cahalan, 2002). In addition, familiarity with computers is known to influence performance in writing (Horkay, Be nnett, Allen, Kaplan, & Yan, 2006) and mathematics (Bennett et al. , 2008) high-stakes tests. These issues need to be taken into consideration with ELLs particularly immigrant and refugee students. A related problem has to do with access. Indeed, access to computer and/or to the Internet is widely varied and, therefore, creates systematic differences in access. These are all areas that need further research. The State of the Art of ELL Assessment ResearchAs noted above, the category ESL or ELL is deceptive in that it represents millions of human beings who vary in age, first-language development, English achievement (both interpersonal and academic), educational backgrounds, immigration status, motivation, socioeconomic background, cultural views of teaching and learning, professional backgrounds, and social and academic aspirations. It is not, therefore, possible to review the breadth and depth of available research in this chapter. There are, however, some overall generalizations that can be made. Generally, the assessment practices and approaches designed for and used with native English speakers have been adopted and used with ELL students. This phenomenon is especially apparent in jurisdictions such as the United States where high-stakes assessments have become so important.There are serious validity and reliability concerns associated with this practice. It is not clear that the notion of accommodation, one borrowed from special education, helps in either case. Leung and Lewkowicz (2008) argue that this â€Å"common educational treatment irrespective of differences in language backgrounds† (p. 305) is emblematic of the view that both treatment and assessment should be inclusive. It does not account, among other features, for cultural differences that can cause difficulties for ESL students (Fox, 2003; Fox & Cheng, 2007; Norton & Stein, 1998). Overall, English proficiency is a significant variable in ELL assessment.In addition to the BICS/CALP dist inction mentioned above, Bailey (2005) proposes that there is a language of tests that is a different â€Å"register† or â€Å"discourse domain. † The use of such language creates a problem of â€Å"face validity. † Is the test actually testing what it is designed to test or is it a test of the language of tests? English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students around the world are assessed using many of the same measurements that are used to assess ELL students. EFL students are enrolled in programs in non-English contexts such as Japan where the language of the community is not English. They do not have ready access to native models of English that ELL students usually do. This is very much like the way students learn Latin in secondary school.It appears that EFL assessments are generally used to measure oral language ability such as the ACTFL mentioned previously. Our review of the assessment procedures and methods in use in K–12 schools in 12 school distr icts raised several issues that related to ESL learners’ assessment that were not found in studies such as Bertrand (1994), so we present them here. First, we found that there was a need for a measure that would discriminate students with language pathologies and/or learning disabilities from those who only needed English instruction. District members also expressed the need for a reliable measure to sort out secondary students’ content knowledge and their linguistic knowledge.Lastly, they contended that assessment should be developed to isolate ESL students’ specific areas of weakness so that teachers could more effectively use them to guide instruction. Summary and Conclusions The use ELL or ESL is unfortunate because it masks the underlying complexity of the human beings included in the category. ELL is inaccurate as a term because native English-speaking adults continue to be English language learners well into old age. Perceptions and pedagogical prescripti ons are the most troubling aspects of the use of these terms. In article after article the ESL or ELL is used as though they represent a homogenous group of human beings.Pedagogical recommendations are made on the notion that they are a single group with the same skills and abilities. Of course, this is far from the truth. Our experience is that teachers use the term to represent all students who speak English as an additional language. In addition, they appear to perceive ESL students as human beings who have trouble learning to read (English). And this too, is far from the truth for some students, but not for others. ESL (ELL) is a term that should either be qualified when used or discarded as a general term. The assessment of ELL/ESL/EFL learners is a significant foundational process for teachers to determine the appropriate teaching and learning programs for their students from kindergarten to the mature adult level.ELL assessment traditionally includes measures of listening, sp eaking, reading, and writing. There are three basic kinds of assessment instruments. The first is purely instructional in that it is designed to indicate the level at which students should be placed for instruction. The second type of measure is designed to provide an estimate of proficiency related to norm groups and involves scores such as percentiles and NCEs. The third is designed to provide predictive information concerning how well a student will succeed academically. Unfortunately, it appears that most measures are based on native English models. Another difficulty is that students’ English proficiency has a profound effect on their ability to succeed on a test.It is often difficult for a student to succeed on a test when the language of the test is difficult or unknown to them. Some have noted that the language of tests is also unique. Recently, assessment measures have been computerized and some have been put on the Internet. This raises serious questions of access, especially for students from countries where access is difficult or non-existent. For example, we have been told that the cost of taking an online test in a country like Zimbabwe is prohibitive. Educators from many jurisdictions have borrowed the concept of accommodation from special education to make the assessment procedures fair to ELLs who differ in various ways from native English speakers.There is disagreement concerning the validity of test results as a result of accommodations since they are not often included in the norming procedures of the instruments. We have heard some opine that accommodation is not itself fair, and that the results of standardized assessment provide information about how well students will do in an English-speaking instructional setting. It has been recommended that assessment measures be constructed that are written in different first languages. Some have argued that the number of first languages in schools would make this an expensive and impractica l approach. In July 2009 the use of English-only assessment measures was upheld in a federal appeals court in California.It is clear from a review of existing assessment practices that school-based personnel use a wide variety of instruments and procedures. It is also clear that there is the belief that it is important to identify a student’s â€Å"English level† for instructional purposes, but there is little agreement on how many levels should be identified. The precise process for determining a level is somewhat fuzzy, but it involves the interpretation of a variety of scores from a variety of tests. The research base concerning ELL assessment is not substantial. It focuses on measures originally designed for native English speakers. They do not do well generally on such measures. Indeed, they do not do well in school and a great number drops out, particularly from lower socioeconomic groups.The state of the art of assessment and instruction involving ELLs is extrem ely dire. The issues of ELL assessment needs urgent attention since ELLs are the most rapidly growing group in our schools. References ? Abedi, J. , Hofstetter, C. G. , & Lord, C. (2004). Assessment accommodations for English language learners: Implications for policy-based empirical research. Review of Educational Research, 74, 1-28. ? Al-Musawi, N. M. &. Al-Ansari, S. H. (1999). Test of English as a foreign language and first certificate of English tests as predictors of academic success for undergraduate students at the University of Bahrain. System, 27(3), 389-399. American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). (1983). ACTFL proficiency guidelines. Hastings-on-Hudson, NY: ACTFL Materials Center. ? Bailey, A. L. (2005). Language analysis of standardized tests: Considerations in the assessment of English language learners. In Abedi, J. , Bailey, A. , Castellon-Wellington, M. , Leon, S. , & Mirocha, J. (Eds. ), The validity of administering large-scale content asse ssments to English language learners: An investigation from three perspectives (pp. 79-100). Los Angeles: Center for Research on Evaluation/National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESSR). Ballard, W. , Dalton, E. , & Tighe, P. (2001a). IPT I oral grades K-6 examiner’s manual. Brea, CA: Ballard & Tighe. ? Ballard, W. , Dalton, E. , & Tighe, P. (2001b). IPT I oral grades K-6 technical manual. Brea, CA: Ballard & Tighe. ? Bennett, R. E. , Braswell, J. , Oranje, A. , Sandene, B. , Kaplan, B. , & Yan, F. (2008). Does it matter if I take my mathematics test on computer? A second empirical study of mode effects in NAEP. The Journal of Technology, Learning and Assessment, 6(9), 1-40. ? Bertrand, J. E. (1994). Student assessment and evaluation. In Harp, B. (Ed. ), Assessment and evaluation for student centered learning (pp. 7-45). Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon. ? Black, O. , & William, D. (1998). Inside the black box: Raising standards through cl assroom assessment. Phi Delta Kappan, 80(2), 141-148. ? Burt, M. K. , Dulay, H. C. , & Hernandez, E. (1976). Bilingual syntax measure. New York: Harcourt Brace Javonovich. ? Brigance, A. H. (1983). Brigance Comprehensive Inventory of Basic Skills II (CIBS II). North Billerica, MA: Curriculum Associates. ? Cambridge University Press. (2009). IELTS catalogue. Retrieved July 14, 2010, from http://www. cambridgeesol. org/. ? Centre for Canadian language benchmarks (CCLB). (2007). Canadian language benchmarks.Retrieved August 10, 2009, from http://www. language. ca/display_page. asp? page_id=206. ? Center for Research on Education Diversity and Excellence. (2002). A national study of school effectiveness for language minority students’ long-term academic achievement final report. Retrieved August 10, 2009, from http://www. crede. ucsc. edu/research/llaa/1. 1_final. html. ? Cummins, J. (1979a). Cognitive/academic language proficiency, linguistic interdependence, the optimum age que stion and some other matters. Working Papers on Bilingualism, 19, 175-205. ? Cummins, J. (1979b). Linguistic interdependence and the educational development of bilingual children.Review of Educational Research, 49(2), 222-251. ? Cummins, J. (1981). Age on arrival and immigrant second language learning in Canada: A reassessment. Applied Linguistics, 2(2), 132-149. ? Cummins, J. (1983). Language proficiency and academic achievement. In Oller, J. W. (Ed. ), Issues in language testing research (pp. 108-129). Rowley, MA: Newbury House. ? Cummins, J. (2000). Language, power and pedagogy. Toronto, ON: Multilingual Matters. ? Cummins, J. , & Swain, M. (1986). Linguistic interdependence: A Central principle of bilingual education. In Cummins, J. & Swain, M. (Eds. ), Bilingualism in education (pp. 80-95). New York: Longman. ? Crawford, J. (2004).Educating English learners: Language diversity in the classroom (5th ed. ). Los Angeles: Bilingual Educational Services. ? Dunn, L. M. , & Dunn, D. M . (1997). Peabody picture vocabulary test. San Antonio, TX: Pearson. ? Educational Testing Service (ETS). (2009a). TOEFL ® Internet-based Test (iBT). Retrieved August 10, 2009, from http://www. ets. org/portal/site/ets/menuitem. 1488512ecfd5b8849a77b13bc3921509/? vgnextoid=f138af5e44df4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD&vgnextchannel=b5f5197a484f4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD. ? Educational Testing Service (ETS). (2009b). TOEFL ® Internet-based Test (iBT). Retrieved August 10, 2009, from http://www. ets. org/Media/Tests/TOEFL/pdf/TOEFL_iBT_Score_Comparison_Tabl

The Five Best Methods for Taking Notes in College

The Five Best Methods for Taking Notes in College One of the keys to success in college is effective note-taking. Taking quality notes will help you to manage large amounts of complex material. The idea is to summarize what youve learned using your own words. When you focus on key concepts and condense them, it will help you to remember them more effectively. It makes studying and reviewing material a less difficult task. This is key to success on your exams. The type of technique you choose will depend on the course you are taking and your learning style. This guide will take you through how to use some of the most popular and effective methods of note taking.1. The Outline MethodThe outline method is probably the most popular method used by students. This method is perhaps the best when it comes to summarizing the main points of a lecture. The method works best in classes that follow a logical structure. It helps you to structure complex material and reduce it down to the main points. As the name suggests, you use an outline struc ture to list the main topics and subtopics. First, write down the main ideas or topics on the far left of the page. Next, indent and write down a subtopic related to the main topic. Underneath the sub-topic you may want to list any supporting facts or details. Here are a few tips for using this method:Write down the most important points as main topics.List subordinate or sub-topics underneath them after indenting.Make sure to include any relevant details or facts after your sub-topics.Use this method when you have a class with a logical structure. If your professor doesnt use the lecture method or structure, you might want to consider a different method.This method is effective because it reduces complex material to key concepts. It is not as effective in classes that make use of graphs, charts or complex statistics such as math course.Here is an example of how to structure your notes using this method:Outline MethodWrite down your main topic.List your sub-topic related to the main topic.Include any relevant details or facts supporting the topic.2. Concept MappingConcept mapping, also known as mind-mapping, is an effective way of taking notes in classes with interrelated concepts. It is also useful for helping you to go more in-depth about a particular topic. Subjects such as Science, History, or Philosophy are perfect classes for this method. First, begin by drawing a large bubble in the center with the most general topic. Secondly, draw smaller bubbles with other concepts related to this concept. Connect them to the main topic by drawing lines to connect them. Later, you can add other bubbles that add details or further connect the ideas or concepts that you are learning about. Here are some key things to remember when using this method of note-taking:List your main topic in a large bubble in the center of your paper such as Causes of World War 1List the related sub-topics or facts in smaller bubbles connected to the main concept.Later add other small bubbl es with facts that connect the sub-topics if applicable.Use this method when you want to connect concepts and understand how they are interrelated. This would not be effective in classes that demand memorization of large amounts of facts.Use brief descriptions or labels in your bubbles. Do not attempt to write long sentences in your bubbles.Below is an example of the use of this method using a History topic:Concept MappingAn example of Concept Mapping3. The Cornell MethodThe Cornell method has a different layout than many other methods. It involves a large section at the top for the title. In the center is a section for the main notes or concepts divided into two columns. The smaller column on the left is used for questions and key words from the lecture. The larger right column is used for the main notes and key facts. It is best to use abbreviations here to save space. At the bottom is a section for you to summarize what you learned. To summarize information, read what youve writt en and try to rewrite it using your own words. Here are some tips to apply when using this method:This method is effective for most types of lectures.It is a systematic way to summarize material and focus on the main ideas behind the concepts you are learning.It does require some advance planning. Draw your layout before you go into your lecture by hand or using a computer.Place your main topic or title at the top. Reserve the majority of the middle section for the main notes. In the smaller left column, list the keywords or questions. In the larger right column, write down your main notes, using abbreviations when you can. Try and summarize your concepts in the bottom section. If you can put the information in your own words, it will help you to remember it later.Here is an example of the Cornell Method:An example of the Cornell Method4. The Sentence MethodThe sentence method is perhaps the simplest method of taking notes, but it can be effective. When you are taking a course that is fast-paced and involves large amounts of information, this method works best. It involves simply writing down a quick summary sentence for the important facts being covered in a course. This allows you to have pared-down information to just the most important or relevant topics. It doesnt involve any advance planning and can be used for any college class. Here are some things to remember when using this method:Use it to summarize the main facts delivered in a lecture, especially ones that deliver large amounts of information in a fast manner.Every new line should be a separate topic, using headings for the topic if that helps you.This method is great for remembering the main points or facts of a class lecture.It does not require any advance planning to use it.Here is an example of the sentence method:Main topic (listed at the top of the page):A sentence involving relevant details pertaining to the topic.A sentence involving a separate concept/details pertaining to the same topic. A sentence involving a separate concept/details from the first two but related to the same topic.5. The Charting MethodThe charting method is best used to organize more complex material. This would be an effective way to organize statistics or other more detailed information. Set it up similarly to a spreadsheet with specific categories in your columns. This can be done on a computer or can be hand-written. The categories should be comparable and related. It may not be the best way to list information that is hard to categorize. It is also time-consuming, but is highly effective for facts and statistics that need to be memorized. Like the Cornell Method, you will need to draw your columns beforehand or create them using your computer. Keep these tips in mind as you implement this method:Use the charting method to summarize material that requires categorization such as science concepts.Either draw or use your computer to create separate columns before you try and use it.The categorie s that you create should be interrelated. This method is designed specifically to illustrate the interconnectedness of concepts and categories.This is probably not the best method for taking lecture notes. However, it is highly effective when reading textbooks and trying to break down complex material.Below is an example of the charting method using Scientific Classification:An example of the Charting MethodThe method that you use to take notes should depend on the nature of your course and your learning style. If you like to have highly organized summaries of lecture material, the outline method may work best. The outline method works best in classes where material is organized. When you need to learn how concepts are related to one another, the concept mapping method may be most effective. Sometimes, putting key words and concepts together by summarizing them in your own words works best. This involves the use of the Cornell method. If you are taking a class that is fast-paced and involves loads of information, use the sentence method. Use the charting method for courses that require you to use statistics or detailed information.Decide which method works best for you and the course you are taking. Feel free to experiment with different methods to find the right one. Once you do, you will find it easier to digest important information. Effective note-taking leads to effective learning. This will help ensure your success on exams and in your college classes.

The Plan †Creative Writing Paper

The Plan – Creative Writing Paper Free Online Research Papers The Plan Creative Writing Paper Part One â€Å"Forget it Josh† â€Å"What’s so difficult about it? All we have to do is get past them.† â€Å"And you don’t think that’s difficult? Jeez, sometimes I think you’re out of your mind.† Kevin paced around the room, wondering what to think. â€Å"What’s the problem? Why are you so uptight about this? We have Grant.† â€Å"Are you an idiot, Josh? Do you not remember what happened to my dad when he tried to pull this off? Josh thought for a moment, the skin on his forehead wrinkling like a pile of disregarded clothes. Then he gave up. â€Å"I have no idea what you’re talking about.† â€Å"God, you have the memory of an 80-year-old sewer rat. He was expelled from all public high schools in the area, it went on his criminal record, he lost almost all of his friends and look how it screwed up his life. He serves gas and cigarettes to Ginos on their way to loiter outside strip clubs.† â€Å"Hey, as my uncle Ted always said, ‘Don’t knock it ‘till you’ve tried it.’ Of course, he did die of food poisoning three years ago, but the point is, you never know if something is really that bad if you don’t put yourself in that position,† said Josh, trying to convince his friend. â€Å"All the more reason that we should try this.† â€Å"And end up like Uncle Ted? Josh, do you have any idea what the odds of slipping this past them are?† asked Kevin, franticly. â€Å"I have done my research and we are skating on thin ice with a skateboard if we go ahead.† â€Å"Dude, you’re over-reacting. It’s not that difficult. Trust me on this one.† â€Å"Josh, you are about as dependable as a bike with no handlebars. I have never trusted you before and I’m not about to start now.† â€Å"You and your metaphors,† muttered Josh â€Å"They’re similes, dumbass,† replied Kevin. â€Å"You see? You’re a brainiac! There is no way this mission could fail, what with your smarts and my looks and clever remarks. And mechanical skills too.† â€Å"Your looks and wit have nothing to do with this situation. It’ll all depend on my brains and, quite frankly, I don’t think there are enough of them. I can’t believe I’m even having this conversation with you!† â€Å"Oh, come on, Kevin. We both know that there is nothing in this town that the two of us can’t handle. I mean, do you really think it will be that hard to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Shhh!† interrupted Kevin. â€Å"Someone might be listening to us!† â€Å"In your bedroom?† said Josh. â€Å"Paranoid too. That could come in handy. I don’t know how, but it might.† â€Å"I am not paranoid, and if you start to call me Android, I will kick your ass,† Kevin said aggressively. â€Å"Whatever, Android,† mumbled Josh. â€Å"Stop it!† whined Kevin. â€Å"There is no way I am going through with this, and that’s all there is to it.† Part Two â€Å"Alright, I’ll do it.† After an excruciating three hours of convincing from Josh, Kevin had caved. Josh looked like he had just won the lottery. He let out a cry of victory. â€Å"Yes! I knew you would. It took a little more persuasion than I had anticipated, but I did it.† â€Å"Would you get over yourself?† Kevin said sarcastically. â€Å"We might as well start planning it out.† Josh brought out a pad of paper. The boys started in on their work. The next morning, Josh awoke to the sound of Nelly Furtado on his radio singing â€Å"I’m Like a Bird†, a song he hated almost as much as men’s field hockey. â€Å"No, no!† he shouted in a half-awaken state. â€Å"Shut up!† He reached over and slammed his fist on the oversized snooze button. He heard a crack. Oh crap, he thought. I broke my stupid, cheap alarm clock. Mom’s going to kill me. He half opened his eyes and saw that there was not even a scratch on his digital clock radio. He examined it further and saw that there was absolutely nothing wrong with it. He looked a little closer and saw that his clock read 8:30 am. â€Å"Eight-thirty!† he exclaimed. He jumped out of bed and threw on some pants and a tee-shirt reading ‘Chess Club ‘99’. â€Å"Why do I have Kevin’s shirt?† he mumbled to himself. He tore it off and grabbed another one. This one said ‘Your Mom Is Hot’ in red letters. â€Å"Much better.† â€Å"Josh let’s go! We’re going to be late for school!† shouted Kevin from downstairs. He must have been waiting for fifteen minutes, thought Josh. He didn’t feel badly though. Kevin had stood him up many a time en route to school. Josh grabbed his socks and raced down the stairs. â€Å"Thank God for Nutri-Grain bars† Josh said to Kevin as he grabbed a cereal bar. â€Å"I just have to put on my shoes and we can leave. How long have you been waiting here?† â€Å"About two minutes, and by the way, I think I broke your door when I came in. It made a huge crack when I closed it.† â€Å"That would explain the whole cracking thing,† replied Josh. â€Å"Let’s go,† said an anxious Kevin. Kevin always wanted to get to school on time, if not early. Today, it looked like his Mom forgot to wake him up on time. The boys grabbed their bags and headed out. â€Å"Ian changed my radio station last night. I woke up to Nelly Furtado.† Ian was Josh’s little brother. He loved to tag along with Kevin and Josh and whenever they were mean to him or shut him down, Ian always found some little way to get back at his older brother. Josh found this extremely annoying. It was a lose-lose situation. â€Å"I don’t mind Nelly Furtado† â€Å"I know you don’t. But I do,† said Josh, â€Å"Anyway, when are we going to do this stupid thing?† â€Å"We can’t talk about it in public, Kevin. I thought you were smarter than that.† â€Å"I didn’t say what it was,† Kevin defended himself. â€Å"Yet,† replied Josh. â€Å"To answer your question, I don’t know. We’ll get there.† Part Three â€Å"Now can anyone tell me what the difference is between a subordinate clause and a phrase? Anyone?† Mr. Grant’s English class. His voice was like listening to a continuous, low humming sound for an hour and a half. He always talked in the same dull monotonous way. After a while you learned to tune out in his class because all he ever did was talk and ask questions which no one paid any attention to. You just came in, sat down, copied down the homework and semi fell asleep. However, Mr. Grant was Josh and Kevin’s ticket to success. He was one of the nicer teachers at Newton High School. He was also gullible and not the sharpest knife in the drawer. They had tried extra hard to stay awake in his classes. This attempt crashed and burned the moment Mr. Grant started talking. Finally the bell rang, a wake up call for all students. â€Å"Alright, class, pack up and move on to your next class.† This was the cue for Josh and Kevin. They approached him nervously, hoping that he would not guess what they were up to. â€Å"Mr. Grant?† Kevin asked tentatively. â€Å"Could we talk to you for a moment?† â€Å"Certainly boys. But I must ask you, do you think that that shirt is appropriate for school, Mr. Evans?† Josh didn’t think that there was anything wrong with his shirt and was about to speak his mind when he felt a subtle elbow hit his ribs. He got the message. Any derogatory remark towards a teacher could damage their chances of getting the information they needed. â€Å"No sir,† he replied softly. â€Å"I’ll change it as soon as I get home, sir.† â€Å"Good. Now what was it you boys wanted to see me about?† â€Å"We were wondering about access to the boiler room sir,† Kevin proceeded. â€Å"Do you know if it is open to students?† â€Å"Maybe you should speak to Mr. Kijifusu about this. It would be more up his alley,† started Mr. Grant as he picked up his telephone. â€Å"No, no!† exclaimed Josh in a sudden panic. Yosoko Kijifusu was the schools chief caretaker. All the students hated him and the feeling was more than mutual. â€Å"Uh, we’ve already talked to him about it.† Kevin covered for his friend’s unexpected outburst. â€Å"He thought we should talk to you about it because, uh†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"You know more about water than he does,† blurted Josh. At this remark both Kevin and Grant looked confused, although Kevin looked more stunned and had turned a tint of green. â€Å"He said that?† asked a puzzled Mr. Grant. Kevin had lost all use of his tongue. â€Å"Yeah,† managed Josh, thinking that he had ruined the whole operation. â€Å"Well that was kind of him,† Grant continued as if nothing awkward had happened. â€Å"No boys, the boiler room is only accessible to caretakers and a selected group of staff. What do you need that room for?† he asked. Now that Kevin had regained his speech, he could respond to the question. â€Å"It’s for a Geography project. We have to find a place in the school and explain its geographical qualities,† said a now confident Kevin. â€Å"Well, you’re in luck. I am one of those selected staff members because my father was a plumber and I grew up around water.† The boys now knew why he had accepted Josh’s lame excuse. â€Å"You can borrow my key for this week if you like.† â€Å"That would be great, Mr. Grant,† said a relieved Josh. â€Å"Oh and by the way, sir, exciting lesson today.† â€Å"Glad you liked it, Mr. Evans,† said Mr. Grant sounding more dead than ever. The boys left for their next class with Mr. Grant’s key, talking about their performance. â€Å"I had no idea his dad was a plumber.† â€Å"It was just a wild guess?† â€Å"Yep.† â€Å"I was so scared.† â€Å"I know! Dude, you should’ve seen your face! It went green for a second.† â€Å"That was unbelievable. Nice job, Evans.† â€Å"You too, Young.† They shook hands and headed down the stairs. Part Four The halls of Newton High at lunch were as crammed as the 404 on a Friday at rush hour with a fire-truck blocking off all four lanes. It was hard to move at all, much less walk, which meant that no matter where you turned, you always slammed into someone trying to get somewhere. Groups of friends bunched up by their lockers, clogging the way for everyone. Teachers would try to go to their classes to prepare for their next lesson. The football team would barge through, making their way to practice. The science and environment clubs would be trying to get to the lab, or the outside garden. Then there were the innocent bystanders who were just trying to get to their lockers to get their books or lunches. Everyone thought that what they were doing was more important and that the other people should be the ones to move which, of course, kept people pretty well stationary until the bell rang and everyone went their separate ways. It was hectic. Everyone pretty well hated lunch brea k because of it, and if you were smart, you would get out of the building and go out or home for lunch as soon as possible. There was only one student in the whole school who didn’t have to worry about this mess. It was Trent O’Leary. He was the tallest, biggest, most muscular, best looking, most popular and quite possibly the meanest kid the school had ever seen. He was in his senior year and stood at 6’5, weighing 227 pounds, pure muscle. It was no surprise that he was captain of every sports team. He had thick, red hair, deep blue eyes and a faint Irish accent. Every girl in the high school swooned as he passed and when he spoke, even more so. He was the sweetest guy you could ask for around the ladies, with his smooth talking and his charming smile. However, around males it was a completely different story. He loved to show that he was dominant in every sense of the word. If you bumped into him in the halls, it was bad news for you. This is why people went out of their way to make a path for Trent O’Leary when he walked by. But if there was one aspect of life that Trent was lacking in it was brains. Sure, he was charming, funny and even a little sarcastic at times, but academically, he was horrible. Maybe it was because he didn’t try, maybe because he was just flat out stupid, but for whatever reason, he stank in school. He had no reason to fear for his athletic position though. It was common knowledge that he was once brought into the principal’s office to be told he couldn’t play sports anymore until he lifted his grades. When the news was broken to him, O’Leary decided to take matters into his own hands (and by matters I mean, of course, Principal Gordon’s neck) and tell the principal how strongly he felt about the subject. He did a fantastic job of convincing Principal Gordon to let him play on his numerous teams, for Gordon never mentioned the matter again. This was just one of many incidents that had proved O’Leary’s toughness. Sometimes he liked to bump into people on purpose just so that he could have an excuse to beat them up. Kevin Young seemed to be a magnet to O’Leary. As a result, Kevin got much tougher himself. He had always accepted this as part of everyday life. But when it started to happen more frequently, Kevin got bitter. There was no way of avoiding O’Leary and there was certainly no way of stopping these daily beatings with Kevin’s strength nor with the strength of Kevin and ten other averagely built guys combined. The only level at which O’Leary could be challenged was at that of the intellectual. So, with some excessive persuasion from his friend Josh Evans, Kevin had agreed to seize his revenge with a plot so original, crafty and, above all, daring that it had only ever been tried by one man before. This man was Kevin’s father who came out worse in the scheme. He was expelled from not only Newton High, but all schools in the residential area. He lost all r espect from former friends and comrades and he developed a small criminal record, which made it difficult for him to get a decent job. All of these facts made it even more daring than it was the first time around. The plan had to do with tampering with the water system and making O’Leary look like the biggest goof in the world, which was not against the law. At least, it wasn’t written in the school rules. The boys hoped and prayed that they could pull this off, because if they failed they would be doomed to a life of loneliness, guilt and solitude. Part Five â€Å"Can I come too?† asked a whiny little voice. â€Å"No, Ian! Leave us alone!† replied a harsh one. â€Å"I never get to do anything exciting,† said Ian â€Å"Ian, there are always people in life that aren’t going to want you to come with them. You should thank us for preparing you for that,† said a condescending Kevin. â€Å"Shut up Kevin. Nobody asked you.† â€Å"Ian,† Josh said. â€Å"Shut your ugly face and leave us alone.† â€Å"You’ll regret this, Josh. You’re going to pay big time for this one.† â€Å"What are you going to do, you little shrimp. You got nothing on me.† With that, Kevin and Josh hopped on their bikes and rode off into the darkness. â€Å"That’s what you think, Josh. Keep dreaming,† whispered Ian to himself. Josh looked around. There was no one in sight. He looked back to Kevin and nodded. Kevin opened the school door cautiously so that it didn’t make a sound. He crept inside as Josh caught up to him. The boys had a flashlight and a headlamp each and they were completely dressed in black. Making their way through the halls as silently as they could, they jumped at every noise they heard. These noises, however, were usually them scuffing their shoes on the ground. They found the staircase that led to the basement and made their way down. â€Å"I can’t believe I’m doing this,† mumbled Kevin. â€Å"Shhh!† They couldn’t afford to make any noise at all. Shining their lights on the doors of the basement, looking at the names of the rooms, they came across their headquarters: the boiler room. There must’ve been a million pipes in the tiny room, only one of which needed to be cut. â€Å"Which one is the one under his desk?† asked Josh. â€Å"I don’t know,† whispered a suddenly panicked Kevin. â€Å"You have the plans in your left jacket pocket, Kevin.† â€Å"Oh yeah,† replied Kevin. He pulled out the pad of paper that he and Josh had written the complicated procedure on. â€Å"It’s the one that’s seven pipes in from the window wall and nineteen in from the wall to the left of that. It’s the really thick one with the one-inch bolts.† â€Å"Found it,† whispered Josh. â€Å"Where is the wrench? We forgot the wrench! We’re screwed!† panicked Kevin. â€Å"Dude, calm down. I have the wrench in my hand. God, sometimes I wonder about your stability,† whispered Josh calmly. He then proceeded to loosen the bolts on the tube. It felt hot, meaning that there was hot water pumping through it at that very moment. This was good news for the mission. He got the nut just to the edge of the bolt so that any movement from above would take it right off and water would spurt up through the hardwood floor when he nearly fell off his feet. â€Å"Don’t take it all the way off!† Kevin had nearly screamed this last remark. â€Å"I know, doofus! Would you shut up? Someone’s going to hear us,† said Josh angrily. â€Å"Alright, I’m done. Let’s get out of here.† â€Å"I wholeheartedly agree,† said a relieved Kevin. They left exactly the way they had come, back up the stairs, out the side door to their bikes where they got on and rode off. Suddenly they heard someone shout, â€Å"There they are!† Thoughts raced through the heads of the boys as their legs raced around the pedals of their eighteen speeds. Voices behind them called out, telling them to stop. They didn’t stop. They didn’t even turn around to see who it was. Their legs flew like frightened birds as they steered in and out of corners as fast as they could, trying to outpace their enemies. Kevin’s wheel hit a twig in the road and he went flying. Josh turned around instantly to go back for his friend who waved his hand signalling for him to leave. â€Å"No way man. I got you into this, now I’m going to get you out.† â€Å"Just go!† shouted Josh. Now they could hear their pursuers in the background. Josh was getting frantic, wondering what to do. He picked up Kevin and put him on the handlebars or his bike. â€Å"What the hell are you doing?† asked Kevin as they rode off. â€Å"Trying not to get us caught.† The followers were within a block now. They were going slower and slower. Josh put all of his strength into every pedal. They were still catching up. Josh had no plan of defeat, though, and he turned a very sharp corner, which threw off the enemy completely. They finally arrived at Josh’s house, exhausted and nervous but nonetheless triumphant. â€Å"Did you get a glimpse of who they were?† asked Josh in between breathes. â€Å"Yeah,† replied an incredulous Kevin. â€Å"They were the cops!† Part Six Josh looked completely flabbergasted. All that time he had been running from the cops? Why wouldn’t they have taken a car? Probably because they didn’t want to let the intruders know that they were there. But how did they know they were there? That was the biggest question there was. How did they know? No one knew. Not parents, not siblings†¦wait a minute†¦Ian! But Ian didn’t know where they were going, did he? How would he know? Anyway, he wouldn’t have the guts to tell the cops. Maybe parents, but certainly not cops. Kevin was sitting on the couch, nursing a badly cut left leg. If the cops knew who they were, this would be bad news for their mission and, more importantly, horrible news for their future. â€Å"Do you think Ian tipped them off?† whispered Josh. â€Å"No. He wouldn’t know what was going on,† replied Kevin. He was dabbing a wet sponge on his leg. â€Å"Even if he did, he wouldn’t tip off the cops.† Kevin seemed pretty confident about this, which was not normal for him. It was probably because he was injured and in a sort of shock, but Josh let the subject rest for a while. â€Å"Whoever it was obviously didn’t know how serious this was,† he whispered after a minute or two. â€Å"Or they did know how serious it was and they wanted to completely ruin us.† â€Å"Well, the cops have your bike now and let’s hope they can’t trace it back to you,† said a worried Josh. Usually it was the other way around; Kevin was the worried one and Josh was the relaxed one. Josh couldn’t understand why Kevin was this laid back after this sort of incident. â€Å"Why are you so calm, man?† he asked. â€Å"I’m completely in shock. I tore up my leg, I lost my bike, I created a major scandal, I broke a bunch of laws, and there are going to be plenty of questions. It would be a miracle if I didn’t get caught and yet I don’t feel much like anything. I’m not by any means relaxed, but I’m more so than I would regularly be in this sort of situation.† â€Å"They’ve probably figured out what we did in there by now and tightened the nut again,† Josh said. It sounded like he was disappointed that he had run all that risk for nothing, and rightly so. â€Å"It’ll probably be better this way, though.† â€Å"How is it better?† asked Kevin. â€Å"Well, this way†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Josh started. Then he stopped and said, â€Å"I don’t know. All I’m saying is that things happen for a reason, and no matter what you do, Nature either agrees with you or disagrees and you better hope it agrees, because if it doesn’t, you’re pretty well screwed. Sooner or later, Nature will prevail.† â€Å"Those are some pretty wise words for a guy whose tee-shirts say ‘Your Mom Is Hot’.† â€Å"Yeah, well that’s better than ‘Chess Club ‘99’, pal,† laughed Josh. They may have been in an awkward situation, but they had been friends for a long time and whatever happened to them, they could always be themselves and have fun. Part Seven The house was practically empty. Only Ian was home playing his PlayStation when the doorbell rang. He ignored it, thinking it was Josh just being too lazy to get out his key. Then it rang again and it was once again ignored. It rang again, and finally Ian got the message. It was not Josh at all, he discovered. It was a police detective. â€Å"Can I help you?† asked the nervous little kid. â€Å"Yes. We received a tip from this address with regards to two teenagers breaking into a school late last night. Are your parents home?† said the officer. â€Å"No, actually, it’s just me here and, uh, I really don’t know what you’re talking about, so maybe you could come back later and talk to my† Ian was speaking in rapid fire. It was so obvious that he knew something about this that the officer stepped inside and sat down on the couch in the living room. â€Å"Son, I know that you know something,† said the cool detective. â€Å"And the quicker you tell us what it is, the quicker we can both relax. Now why don’t you tell me what’s going on.† When Ian had told the police about this, he had no idea what kind of offence he was laying on his brother and his friend. He had just overheard them talking in Josh’s bedroom. He never meant any harm to anyone. He just wanted to show Josh that he could do whatever he felt like doing, thus proving to be tough. Now, he felt like he had to get his brother out of whatever trouble he had gotten him into. As for Kevin, he could fend for himself. â€Å"Sir, it’s my brother’s friend. He came over one day and told Josh, that’s my brother, that he was going to get revenge on this bully at school and asked him to help out. Josh said that he would have nothing to do with Kevin’s plan and so Kevin called up someone else. That’s all I know, sir,† lied Ian. He felt like he had done a good thing for his brother. â€Å"And I have Kevin’s address too.† Ian went and got the address book for the detective and gave him that of Kevin Young. Ian had no idea what he was setting up for Kevin nor did he know that his brother would have been happy to take all of the blame for his friend. All he knew was that he and his brother were off the hook. â€Å"It was beautiful! I don’t think Trent O’Leary will ever move his desk again,† laughed Josh. â€Å"I never dreamed that I would ever, ever beat that oversized goon. Now I know that we can do anything.† Josh and Kevin had never looked so jolly in their whole lives. The look on their faces was one of pure mirth. The moment that the floor under the jock’s desk had erupted with water, they couldn’t help but burst with laughter. Fortunately, neither could anyone else in the class, which covered for them. Trent O’Leary finally knew what it was like to be the one everyone laughed at, not with, but at. His desk lifted a foot off the ground and he flew up into the air before landing right back down on the gaping hole in the floor, gushing with water. The water was warm, which made it a little more tolerable for O’Leary. Their plan had worked perfectly. â€Å"They didn’t even notice. I bet they looked for hours and couldn’t find anything wrong,† commented Kevin. â€Å"That was so sweet.† â€Å"I will never lose the image of the look on his face when he was three feet in the air!† beamed Josh. â€Å"Amazing.† â€Å"Who was right about this whole thing, Kevin?† asked a proud Josh. â€Å"I have to give credit where credit’s due,† said Kevin. â€Å"It was all you, my friend. Nature likes us, Josh. Nature agreed.† â€Å"You said it, man. Well put.† Part Eight â€Å"You did WHAT?† When Josh walked in the door to his house, Ian greeted him with the news that he had laid all the blame on Kevin. â€Å"First of all, how could you tell the cops about what we were doing? Do you know how stupid that was? I ought to beat the crap out of you! And secondly, why did you peg Kevin with all the responsibility? Do you know what’s going to happen to him now? He’s going to end up just like his father! You don’t know his father, do you? You don’t understand what he’s up against! He doesn’t have a chance! You are going to pay for this one, you little bastard! You are going to pay big time!† Josh yelled. Ian started to whimper a little. His whimpers then turned into sobs and tears streamed down his face. â€Å"Don’t cry to me. You’re not getting any sympathy from me so don’t waste your time.† Josh walked off in a mood so furious that it could only be described as indescribable. â€Å"I’m sorry, Josh!† sobbed Ian. â€Å"I just wanted to help! I’m sorry!† Josh reluctantly walked back into the room to comfort his desolate brother. â€Å"Hey, look buddy. We all make mistakes. We can’t help it. But you have to be careful what you say. It could end up destroying someone’s whole life, and that’s something you can’t get back. Sure, you screwed up. You’re only human.† Josh was now speaking in a soft, understanding voice. Then he snapped out of it a bit. â€Å"This whole speech doesn’t mean that I’m not mad at you, don’t kid yourself.† He walked off, still angry but a little more subdued. Kevin got home and saw a police car outside his house. He immediately dropped his books and ran in a blind panic. He didn’t get far, though, because there was another cruiser just down the street. They put him in the back seat and told him to wait there. He looked out the window and saw his mother in tears at the doorway of his house as a police officer explained what had happened. The officer came back to the car and they drove to the police station, which was a concrete box that had been hollowed out and put windows into the walls. They took him inside and put him in an isolated room, the kind with the fake mirror in it. They then came in and asked him questions like who was with him that night. He was loyal, of course, and said that he was with his cousin who lived in Idaho. He went on to say how he thought up the whole thing because O’Leary had bullied him. â€Å"It’s not like I pulled a Columbine on him. I never would. I never even had a toy gun as a kid,† said Kevin when he was asked if he realised how serious his actions were. â€Å"He wasn’t even hurt at all. He was just a little soggy.† They told him that he would have to stay there overnight in one of the cells. He was allowed one phone call and one visit. He called Josh and told him to come and see him. â€Å"Hey,† he said when he arrived. â€Å"Hey.† There was an awkward pause in which not a word was said. â€Å"Ian ratted us out, eh?† asked Kevin. â€Å"Yeah. Then he tried to get me out of it by saying that you asked me to do it and I said no,† said Josh. â€Å"I yelled at him for it and he cracked. He feels pretty terrible about it.† â€Å"He should,† Kevin said bitterly. â€Å"Once he starts feeling better I’ll kick the stuffing out of him for you,† promised Josh. Kevin nodded. A tear dribbled down his face. â€Å"Hey, man, you’re going to be fine. You can do this. We can do this. I can help, you know.† â€Å"But my Dad†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"You are not your Dad, Kevin. You are a completely different person. A stronger one. You know how to stand up for yourself, otherwise you wouldn’t have gone along with the plan. Even if you do get in trouble for it, we’ll always have the joy of looking back on O’Leary’s misfortune. That’s something no one can take away from us, alright?† â€Å"Yeah, I guess,† said Kevin as he wiped the tears from his eyes. â€Å"That was pretty cool, eh?† â€Å"Sure as hell was, man,† replied Josh. The guard came in and told them to wrap it up. â€Å"Say hey to my parents for me, will you?† asked Kevin. He was starting to break up again. Josh nodded that he would. Then he turned around and walked towards the door. â€Å"Hey Josh.† Josh stopped and turned back around. â€Å"Seems like Nature has mixed feelings about us,† said Kevin as he tried to smile. â€Å"No way, man,† Josh replied. â€Å"Nature loves us. You’ll see.† He grinned knowingly and walked out the door. The End Research Papers on The Plan - Creative Writing PaperTrailblazing by Eric AndersonHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows EssayHip-Hop is ArtBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenResearch Process Part OneAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaThe Effects of Illegal Immigration