Contemporary Management Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Contemporary Management Practice - Essay Example Various theories have been created in the past about management and researchers continue to use old theories and come up with new ones. Over this time period, great approaches to management have been identified. This paper will cover various management approaches and how these approaches are used by managers and those who are studying management. Body Empirical or case approach is one of the various management approaches that have been studied and often used in organizations. It is based on the assumption, that current managers can solve their problems through the experience of previous managers and what those managers did to solve issues faced by management (KOONTZ, 2004, p.16). This study states that people new to the management positions in the organizations can learn from the successful and the unsuccessful experiences that other managers have already been through. This approach is used in management educational centres for the help upcoming managers. This kind of management appr oach does not provide any practical aid until it is applied to practical problems. The downside of this approach is that this approach is based on generalization. This means that managers who follow this approach end up applying same problem solving methods to new scenarios although new scenarios may be different from older ones. Human behaviour approach is yet another approach that scientists came up with to explain what managers have to do to operate an organization successfully. The behavioural approach of management suggests that managers can operate in a better fashion if they learn about individual as well as group behaviour and they can use this knowledge to make people to work for the interest of the organization (DAFT, 2011, p.33). The theorists of this approach suggest that satisfied workers work harder and their levels of productivity are high. Behavioural studies only pay emphasis to the human part of the organization and exclude the remaining parts with which managers h ave to deal. Vilfred Pareto and Chest Bernard came up with the social systems approach, according to this approach an organization consists of various individual who work together to achieve organization’s aims and objectives (JACKSON, 2000, p.100). This approach states that managers need work in cooperation with workers by understanding the behaviour of individuals working in an organization to achieve organizational goals. Socio technical systems approach is a management approach that suggests that managers should not only pay emphasis to the social system of the organization, they even have to give importance to the technical system (CHASE, 2006, p.195). The approach further suggests that if an organization has to run successfully, then both the technical system and the social system of the organization should work together. This approach of management does not only focus on the human part of the organization, it even pay emphasis to the technological part of the organizat ion that managers have to deal with to bring in change and keep the organization updated. Every manager’s main duty is to make decisions to help solve organization’s problems. One management approach that only pays emphasis to the decision making side of a manager is known as decision theory approach (FLOMBERG, 2008, p.60). The theory suggests that all managers have to make decisions each day and the main task of all managers is to make rational decisions. They have to ensure that the decision they are making is in the best interest of the organization and the people they are representing. The downside of this approach is that this approach ignores other elements of management and only emphasises on the decision maki

International Human Resource Management Essay Example for Free

International Human Resource Management Essay 1.0 Executive Summary The world of international HR management (IHRM) is changing. As companies shift operations abroad, IHRM is moving beyond expatriate programs. Todays IHR managers are charged with scaling and managing overseas HR operations. This shift has not only created new opportunities for IHRM professionals, but also for companies looking to staff operations abroad. Possibly one of the greatest challenges facing the IHRMs is the fact that they are now dealing with not an individual employee but a whole family and their needs as a family in the relocation process. Some IHRMs find it more difficult than others to adjust to the added dimension of having to deal with the spouse and family on a more intimate level than before. After all, they are now relocating them halfway around the world and away from their support structures. They have to be prepared to get a lot more involved in the family as a whole and not just think they have to communicate with the employee only as is often the case when dealing with an employee here at home base. Throughout this assignment, we are examined the implications of differences in national culture for policy and practice in of the following aspects of human resource management: * Performance appraisal * Training and development 2.0 Training and Development Important components of international human resources management include both cross-cultural training and a clear understanding of the overseas assignment as part of a managers development. 2.1 Training Cross-cultural training is necessary for expatriates managers and their families before, during and after foreign assignments. As different countries have different culture, regardless how close of those areas, such as Taiwan and Mainland China, USA and Canada. Maybe they are talking the same language, however, their perception of social values, business practices are different. In Western, especially in USA, people are more individualism. In the contrary, Eastern people, such as Chinese and Japanese, people are more collectivism. The social system also different in Western and Eastern, the former is low power distant and the later is higher power distant. When those expatriates arrive, they are foreigners, not the host population, it is necessary to provide much cultural and practical background. Language training is an essential activity for everyone in the family. Although English is the dominant business language worldwide, relying on English puts the expatriates at a disadvantage. The expatriate will be unable to read trade journals and newspapers, which contain useful business information, and will be reliant on translators, which at best only slow down discussions in the process. Evan if expatriates manager is not fluent, a willingness to try communicating in local language makes a good impression on the business community. Foreign language proficiency is also vital for family members to establish a social network and accomplish the everyday tasks of maintaining a household. But cross-cultural training is much more than just language training. It should provide an appreciation of the new culture, including details of its history and folklore, economy, politics, religion, social climate, and business practices. It is easy to recognize that religion is highly important in daily life in the Middle East, but knowledge of the regions history and an understanding of the specific practices and beliefs is important to avoid inadvertently insulting business associates or social contacts. All this training can be carried out through a variety of techniques. Language skills are often provided through classes and tapes, while cultural training utilizes many different tools. Lectures, reading materials, videotapes, and movies are useful for background information, while cultural sensitivity is more often taught through role playing, simulations and meetings with former expatriates, as well as natives of the countries now living in the parent countries. While all this training in advance of the overseas relocation is important, cultural learning takes place during the assignment as well. After the overseas assignment has ended and the employee has returned, more training is required for the entire family. The employee also must adjust to organization changes, including the inevitable promotions, transfers, and resignations that have taken place during his or her absence. Teenager find reentry particularly difficult, as they are ignorant of the most recent jargon and the latest trends, but often are more sophisticated and mature than their local friends. The employee also must adjust to organizational changes, including the inevitable promotions, transfers and registrations that have taken place during his or her absence. Returnees are anxious to know where to fit in, or if they have been gone for so long that they no longer are on a career path. 2.2 Development In the current global business environment, the overseas assignment should be a vital component in the development of top-executives. It is not only to achieve the advantages for the individual in overseas assignment, but also an organization can gain the competitive advantages from their overseas employee. It is also a chance to provide the host counties employees to broaden their global perspective through a post in the parent-country headquarter, and may make it easier for the organization to recruit and retain better quality managers in the host country. Development is an essential activity to the individual to improve the individuals ability during the assignment and to well perform their jobs. 3.0 Performance appraisal In evaluating employee performance in international environments, other factors come into plays. For instance, the cultural differences between the United States and England are not as great as those between the United Stated and China, for example. Thus, hostility or friendliness of the cultural environment in which one manager should be considered when appraising employee performance. 3.1 The responsibilities of the evaluation There are also issues to consider regarding who will be responsible for the evaluations: the host-country management or the parent country management. Although local management would generally consider a more accurate gauge, it typically evaluates expatriates from its own cultural perspectives and expectations, which may not reflect those of the parent company. For example, in some countries, a participatory style of management is acceptable, while in other countries, hierarchical values make it disgrace to ask employees for ideas (for e.g. in Japan). This could vastly alter a supervisors performance appraisal. Confusion may arise from the use of parent-country evaluation forms if they are misunderstood, either because the form has been improperly translated or not translated at all, or because the evaluator is uncertain what a particular question means. The home-office managements, on the other hand, is often so remote that it may not be fully informed on what is going on in an overseas office. Because they lack access and because one organization may have numerous foreign operations to evaluate, home-office managements often measure performance by quantitative indices, such as profits, market shares, or gross sales. However, simple numbers are often quite complex in their calculations and data are not always comparable. For example, if a company has many operations in Fast East Asia, it must be aware of the accounting practices in each country. Local import tariffs can also distort pricing schedules, which alter gross sales figures, another often compared statistic. Evan when the measurements are comparable, the comparison country will have an affect. For example, factory productivity levels in Vietnam may be below those of similar plants in Thailand. Depending on where the supervisors results are compared, different outcomes may occur. Such issues complicate parent country management performance evaluations by numerical criteria, or indices and can add to the emotional levels in appraisals. 3.2 Evaluation Format Other issues surround the question of selecting the best format to use in performance appraisals, If we have an overseas operation that includes both parent country nationals and host country nationals, we must determine if we will use the same forms for all employee. While most Western countries accept the concept of performance evaluation, some cultures interpret it as a sign of distrust or even an insult to an employee. This complicates a decision to use one instrument like an adjective rating scale for all employees. On the other hand, using different formats for PCNs and HCNs may create a dual track in the subsidiary, in turn creating other problems. The evaluation form presents other problems. If there is universal form for the entire corporation, an organization must determine how it will be translated accurately into the native language of each country. English forms may not be readily understood by local supervisors. For example, clerical and office jobs do not always have identical requirements in all cultures. As a result, some U.S. multinational may be hesitant about evaluating HCNs and TCNs. In some countries, notably those that support the Communist ideology, all workers are rewarded only when the group performs with punishment or discipline being highly limited. For example, in the hotel industry in the Peoples Republic of China. Without the ability to reward good individual performance or to punish poor performance, there is little motivation to have any evaluation at all. Although the subject of international performance appraisal continues to receive research attention, two general recommendations have been suggested as follow: * Modify the normal performance criteria of the evaluation sheet for a particular position to fit the overseas position and site characteristics. Expatriates who have returned from a particular site or same country can provide useful input into revising criteria to reflect the possibilities and constraints of a given location. * Include a current expatriates insights as part of evaluation. This means that non-standardized criteria, which are difficult to measure, will be included, perhaps in different basis for each country. This creates some administrative difficulties at headquarters, but in long run will be a more equitable system. Bibliography 1. Peter J. Dowling, Denice E. Welch and Randall S. Schuler, International Human Resource Management Managing People in a Multinational Context, South Western College Publishing, 3rd Edition 2. Nancy J. Adler, International Dimensions of Organization Behavior, South Western College Publishing, 3rd Edition 3. David A. Decenzo, Stephen P. Robbins, Human Resourc Management, John Wiley Sons Inc., 7th Edition. 4. Ian Breadwell and Len Holden, Human resource management a contemporary approach, FT Prentice Hall, 3rd Edition

The Depletion Of Global Oil Reserves Environmental Sciences Essay

The Depletion Of Global Oil Reserves Environmental Sciences Essay The literature review summarized the research done on the problem that global oil reserves are depleting day by day and there is a dire need to find out and utilized alternate energy options especially for a developing country. The depletion of global oil reserves has led to conflicts between the nations and soaring of prices. Oil is the main source of energy and developing countries are facing lot of problems due to shortage of oil in providing their populations better living standards. The literature also covered situation of shortage of oil reserves and energy crises consequent to it. It identifies main consumers of oil in a country and alternate energy resources that could possibly be worked on to meet the energy requirement through sources other than oil. DEPLETION OF GLOBAL OIL RESERVES The API estimated in 1999 the worlds oil supply would be depleted between 2062 and 2094, assuming total world oil reserves between 1.4 and 2 trillion barrels and consumption at 80 million barrels per day. In 2004, total world reserves were estimated to be 1.25 trillion barrels and daily consumption was about 85 million barrels, shifting the estimated oil depletion year to 2057. The US EIA predicted that world consumption of oil will increase to 98.3 million barrels per day in 2015 and 118 in 2030. With 2009 world oil consumption at 84.4, reaching the projected 2015 level of consumption would represent an average annual increase between 2009 and 2015 of 2.7% per year while EIAs own figures show declining consumption and declining supplies during the 2005-2010 period. The worlds oil supply is fixed because petroleum is naturally formed far too slowly to be replaced at the rate at which it is being extracted. Over many millions of years, plankton, bacteria, and other plant and animal matter become buried in sediments on the ocean floor. When conditions are right a lack of oxygen for decomposition, and sufficient depth and temperature of burial these organic remains are converted into petroleum compounds, while the sediment accompanying them is converted into sandstone, siltstone, and other porous sedimentary rock. When capped by impermeable rocks such as shale, salt, or igneous intrusions, they form the petroleum reservoirs which are exploited today. 3.2 ENERGY SECTOR IN PAKISTAN Energy is considered as one of the most important inputs to economic growth and development. Its consumption is also one of the significant indicators of the level of development of any country. It is now well recognized that energy services play a crucial role in enhancing social and economic development. Energy has become an engine of economic growth at local and global level. It is needed worldwide for fostering and sustaining development process perspective of developing or developed states of the economy. Keeping in view the global economic growth coupled with an increase in population, the demand for energy is bound to increase and meeting this demand poses serious challenges at the global level. In coming decades, the demand for energy is expected to grow more rapidly in developing countries. Since independence, the central thrust of Pakistans energy policy has been on augmenting the countrys energy system. As a result of significant planning and public investment, there has been substantial expansion of energy sector. Despite the significant development in the energy sector, Pakistan yet suffers from energy shortage. This situation has been increasingly viewed as a bottleneck to industrial and agricultural sectors that in turn are seen critical in stimulating the economic and social development. Being a developing country, Pakistan has faced the challenge of fueling industry and agriculture sectors adequately for meeting growth targets and providing energy at affordable prices to poor especially those living in the rural areas. The availability of energy at affordable prices can be a major factor that determines a whole array of other productive activities leading to economic growth. NATIONAL ENERGY MIX Energy sector in Pakistan comprises electricity, gas, petroleum, coal and nuclear power. The share of natural gas in primary energy supplies during 2010 reached 45 percent followed by oil (28 percent), hydro electricity (15 percent), coal (10 percent) and nuclear electricity (2 percent). As can be seen Pakistan is dependent on oil and Gas, which together contribute around 73% of the total primary energy supplied. 3.4 POWER GENERATION, SECTORAL DISTRIBUTION AND CONSUMPTION The total installed capacity generation during 2006-07, was 19,440 MW. WAPDA generated 11,363 MW of which, hydle accounts for 56.9 percent or 6,463 MW, thermal accounts for 43.1 percent or 4,900 MW. IPPs generation was 5858 (MW) which constituted 30% of total installed capacity. KESC with 1756 (MW) contributed 9.1% share and nuclear added 2.4%.Number of WAPDA consumers stood at 17 million out of which household accounted for 84%,commercial 13%and industrial and agricultural1.4%each. As on 30th June, 2007 industrial sector consumed 26%, agriculture 12%and households 43% besides commercial and others. The annual per capita electricity consumption in Pakistan is around 320kwh, and this only caters for 60 percent of the population. Forty percent of Pakistanis still have no access to electricity. There is currently load shedding of up to 700 MW a day because of shortage poor transmission capabilities. Electricity demand is expected to grow by eight per cent a year during the period 2005 2015, requiring an annual installation capacity of about 2000 MW for the next 10 years. Currently about 45% of Pakistans power supply is based on natural gas, 28% on oil, 15% on hydro and remaining on coal, nuclear and renewable electricity. Keeping in view the current power mix, it is essential to concentrate on indigenous and cost effective sources for power generation. 3.5 CURRENT ENERGY GAP IN PAKISTAN Pakistan is currently facing electricity shortfall of around 4000-9000 MW. Everyone agrees that an essential precondition for industrial development is an uninterrupted supply of power.The installed capacity for generation of electricity in the country is 11,500 MW of which 82.7 per cent was thermal; 15.3 percent was hydroelectric and 2 percent was nuclear. Pakistan needs to sustain an annual economic growth rate of at least 6 to 7 percent to alleviate poverty and realize desirable socio-economic and human development. To achieve the growth target of GDP, it is absolutely essential that the minimum electricity growth rate is maintained. The provision of adequate and reliable supply of electricity at a reasonable cost is a prerequisite to attain this goal. Power is the prime mover. Any big push of the economy would need accelerated power development. But there is a likelihood that Pakistans current economic growth might not sustain in the absence of consistent and continuous devolvement of new power projects. 3.6 REVIEW OF PAKISTANS ENERGY PORTFOLIO Looking at the power portfolio of Pakistan it looks as if we are living in an oil rich country. Presently, Pakistan has lot of oil fired power plants. Continuous hike in furnace oil prices can make them unviable in near future. But even if circumstances are not extreme, even if there are no upheavals in producing countries, no terrorist attacks and supply disruptions, the prices will keep going up. Why? Because there is a fundamental imbalance for oil in the world economy. Production is just enough to meet demand. There is no spare capacity to take care of unforeseen shutdowns, supply disruption or a further rise in demand. Such an unbalance power profile carries serious repercussions. An evenhanded power portfolio would require a fair balance among various sources of power with no excessive reliance on any. One of the few matters which must be considered in establishing the power portfolio is that excessive reliance on any single source especially foreign source on which we have no control over supply and price can make things miserable any time. Oil import bill of more than $ 7 billion or around 50% of foreign exchange reserves of a developing economy with no hopes of creating exportable surplus in the near future is undoubtedly very alarming. As 28% of the power generation is based on oil therefore any hindrance in the transportation of oil can cause severe damage to the economy. In short, time has proved that the best solution for all such problems is encouragement and development of indigenous resource. Many countries, including the developed and emerging economies, have adopted extensive programs for increasing hydle and coal based power into their energy portfolios. It would not be wrong if we say that continuous negligence of indigenous resource has made Pakistans power policy directionless. This negligence, absence of priorities and focusing on expensive foreign fuel has made cheap electricity and self reliance a day dream. Pakistan is fortunate enough to have two cheap indigenous resources for power generation i.e. water and coal. But it is sheer bad luck that we have not been able to use both of these resources effectively. Estimated coal reserves of Pakistan are around 185,175 million tons which is one of the largest coal reserves of the world whereas their utilization for electricity generation is barely ten percent. Essentially indigenous coal-based power will bring various benefits for Pakistan; first and foremost benefit would be immense savings in foreign exchange on import of expensive oil. Coal based power plants are labor intensive and will create thousands of new jobs and various other new business opportunities at plant site in particular and in Pakistan in general. ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN PAKISTAN Like any other country, energy is vital for the economic development of Pakistan. Energy should not only be available but it must be ensured that it is available at a reasonable and affordable price and with out any interruption. For a developing country, like Pakistan where the main stress is on the poverty alleviation, energy plays a positive role. It is imperative that energy production should be environment friendly. More over a mix of energy sources will be helpful in diversification of the sector and would ensure the provision of this vital resource where it is required. The stage of economic development and the standard of living of individuals in a given region strongly influence the link between economic growth and energy demand. An increased use of energy, either through natural gas or electricity, impacts favourably on the living standards of the poor as they then spend less time looking for alternative forms of fuel such as firewood. Similarly, the provision of electricity to the rural areas can help in raising productivity levels of small-scale industry thereby indirectly raising income levels and in the longer term improving the quality of life for the rural poor. Rural electrification is important because it brings to the rural areas the benefits that urban consumers take for granted -an improvement in the standard of living with the associated socio-economic benefits. Provision of electric power also has a purely economic outcome that of increasing the productive capacity of the rural areas with increases in agricultural output. 3.7 PAKISTAN ENERGY SECURITY PLAN AND ENERGY MIX Pakistan historically has been subjected to energy demand suppression due to limited supplies and lack of infrastructure development for provision of energy to the industrial sector. The non availability of sustained and affordable energy to industry has suppressed economic growth and created declining tendency for industrial investment in the country. It is now more important then ever that an adequate supply be made available to industry to drive economic growth, and create employment opportunities. Energy has also to be made available to the domestic sector and the life line segments of society to provide economic support and the convenience of clean fuel for cooking and heating and prevent the continuing environmental degradation and deforestation by massive use of wood for domestic fuel. The commercial availability to various sector of the economy will help in increasing job opportunities, enhancing agriculture productivity, improving standard of living and preserving environmen t through reducing deforestation. A long term integrated National Energy Security Plan, covering the period up to 2030 has recently been approved by the Government vide Mid Term Development Framework (MTDF). The energy sector development is aimed at (i) enhancement in the exploitation of hydropower, and exploration and production activities of oil, gas and coal resources, and to increase the share of coal and alternative energy in the overall energy mix, (ii) optimum utilization of the countrys resources base to reduce dependence on imported oil through an institutionalized strategy, (iii) creating an environment conducive to the participation of the private sector, and (iv) developing the local energy scenario in the context of regional perspective. The current energy mix includes 28 percent oil, 45 percent natural gas, 10 percent coal, 15 percent hydro and 2 percent nuclear. By 2015, the share of oil and gas is targeted to be reduced to 25 percent and 42 percent respectively with corresponding increases in the shar e of coal to 12 percent, hydro to 17.6 percent, renewable to 1 percent and nuclear to 3 percent. Over the long term, the increase in other sources of energy, has been targeted with substantial reduction in the share of oil. EXISTING ENERGY RESOURCES IN PAKISTAN THE CONVENTIONAL RESOURCES 3.8 HYDROPOWER The identified hydro power potential of Pakistan is 46,000 MW, out of which only 14 per cent (6,500 MW) has been exploited so far. Despite this big potential, no hydro power project has been established by WAPDA since Tarbela Dam. The most feasible and economical project Kala Bagh Dam has become so controversial that it could not take off though successive governments wished so. There are plans to develop the hydro resources on a large scale through storage and run -of-the-river projects. Feasibility studies of several projects have already been prepared, while studies of several additional projects are in progress or planned. Hydro is one of the major economic energy supply options in Pakistan for increasing the energy security of the country. The experts caution that for the time horizons of around 100 years, hydro storage projects are non -renewable due to the silting of these reservoirs. For example, over the last 30 years, the storage capacity of Tarbela dam has been reduced by 27 per cent due to silting. Similarly, there is a world wide concern over the dislocation of population and the environmental hazards associated with large dams. Another issue related to the hydro power is that a large number of additional sites with major potential exist in the mountainous North, but the difficulty of access and the high cost of transmission to the populous South make the idea into a completed project a distant prospect. Not only, it means additional cost to build the transmission infrastructure but at the same time a huge loss occurs during the transmission (it is estimated to be between 28 to 30 percent). Another problem is the seasonal variation, where in winter the generation is reduced due to shortage of water in the storages. However, hydro is still the most economical energy resource in Pakistan. 3.9 OIL AND GAS There are considerable oil and gas reserves in Pakistan. The crude oil reserves are estimated at 27 billion barrels including 300 million barrels proven reserves. The level of production is presently 22.6 million barrels compared with the level of consumption of 100 million barrels. The natural gas reserves are 8 trillion cubic meters including the proven reserves of 0.8 trillion cubic meters. The level of production is presently 93 million cubic meters per day compared with the level of consumption of 82 million cubic meters per day. The oil sector has all along been heavily dependant on imports of about 85 percent of the national requirement. Annually about 7.8 million tonnes of crude oil, 5.2 million tonnes of oil products and 2.8 million tonnes of coal are being imported. The local production of oil and gas would start declining due to depletion of resources. There would also be a deficit of gas unless considerable contribution is made from new discoveries. In case the gap is not met through indigenous supply, there will be need to import gas, and the requisite infrastructure would have to be placed in a timely manner. 3.10 COAL Pakistans coal resources are estimated at 185 billion tonnes (82,700 MTOE, or 2 per cent of the world coal resources), out of which 95 per cent are in the Thar coal field in Sindh. This coal is of lignite rank having high moisture content and low heating value. So far only 3.3 billion tonnes of coal resources are in the measured category, and considering a recovery factor of 60 per cent, these correspond to some 2.0 billion tonnes of recoverable coal reserves. However, this coal is equivalent to the combined oil reserves of Saudi Arabia and Iran. As part of the strategy of increasing local energy content, a major emphasis is being placed on exploiting coal resources for large-scale use in power generation, and possibly for the production of coal bed methane. 3.11 NUCLEAR ENERGY Pakistan has two nuclear power plants, Chashma-1 and Kanupp, with 300 MW and 125 MW respectively, of installed capacity. The PAEC operates both nuclear plants. Pakistan is currently working on a third nuclear power plant (Chashma-2), with the help of China National Nuclear Corporation. The plant will have 325 MW of installed capacity expected to be completed by 2012. INTRODUCTION AND DESCRIPTION OF ALTERNATE ENERGY Energy is one of the most important issues for all governments world over. Developed states need energy to sustain their advanced way of life and to cater to the every-changing needs of life dictated by technology. Developing countries need energy for it is the sine qua non for development. Alternative energy has been the most recent addition to the academic and practical aspects of the energy world. The concept is relevant but its importance is absolute. Developed states have begun to manage their energy sector in an increasingly alternative energy based perspective and, this has a great lessons for a country like Pakistan which is aspiring to develop into a healthy economy with an improved quality of life for its citizens. The theory and use of alternative energy is at the most introductory stage in Pakistan. However, in terms of resources and use of alternate energy, Pakistan stands well placed to employ this novel concept in the national policy framework Alternative or renewable energy, sources show significant promise in helping to reduce the amount of toxins that are by-products of energy use. Not only do they protect against harmful by-products, but using alternative energy helps to preserve many of the natural resources that we currently use as sources of energy. The Alternate Energy Development Board (AEDB) has been established to facilitate development of renewable energy projects. At least 5 per cent of the total electricity generating capacity of the country is targeted to be based on these sources by the year 2030. To understand how alternative energy use can help preserve the delicate ecological balance of the planet, and help us conserve the non-renewable energy sources like fossil fuels, it is important to know what types of alternative energy can be brought into reality in Pakistan. Renewable sources of energy like wind power, solar, geothermal energy, wave and tidal power, biomass energy, hydrogen and fuel cells, as well as hydropower are alternatives to fossil fuel and regarded as alternative sources of energy. 3.12 WIND POWER Wind power is one of the earliest forms of energy used by humankind. Windmills were used on farms in the early part of the twentieth century to pump water and generate electricity. Now considered an alternative energy source, wind power is being harnessed by modern windmills with lighter, stronger blades. In US states such as California, New Hampshire, Oregon, and Montana, up to several hundred windmills may operate together in open areas with steady winds. Single giant windmills capable of providing electricity to several thousand homes are also operating in the United States. With new technologies being developed to improve windmill performance and efficiency, wind power is a promising, clean, cheap, and abundant source of energy for the future. The wind power captured by turbines at is a source of energy that does not harm the environment. Wind energy harnesses the power of the wind to propel the blades of wind turbines. The rotation of turbine blades is converted into electrical current by means of an electrical generator. In the older windmills, wind energy was used to turn mechanical machinery to do physical work, like crushing grain or pumping water. Wind towers are usually built together on wind farms. Now, electrical currents are harnessed by large scale wind farms that are used by national electrical grids as well as small individual turbines used for providing electricity to isolated locations or individual homes. Wind power produces no pollution that can contaminate the environment. Since no chemical processes take place, like in the burning of fossil fuels, in wind power generation, there are no harmful by-products left over. Since wind generation is a renewable source of energy, Pakistan will never run out of it. Farming and grazing can still take place on land occupied by wind turbines which can help in the production of bio-fuels. Wind farms can be built off-shore. Since 2001, global wind capacity has nearly doubled to 47,760 megawatts and is cheaper than natural gas even without subsidies; on good sites, wind is even closing in on coal. Pakistan has potentials of wind energy ranging from 10000MW, yet power generation through wind is in intiaial stages in Pakistnan and currently 06 MW has been installed in first phase in Jhampir through a Turkish company and 50 MW will be installed shortly. More wind power plants will be built in Jhampir, Gharo, Keti Bandar and Bin Qasim Karachi. 3.13 SOLAR POWER Energy from the Sun is a free, abundant, and nonpolluting source of energy. Solar power involves using solar cells to convert sunlight into electricity, using sunlight hitting solar thermal panels to convert sunlight to heat water or air. Pakistan has potential of more than 100,000 MW from solar energy. Buildinn of solar power plants is underway in Kashmir, Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan. However, private vendors are importing panels/solar water heaters for consumption in the market. Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) is working for 20,000 solar water heaters in Gilgit Baltistan. Mobile companies have been asked by theh government to shift supply of energy to their transmission towers from petroleum to solar energy panels. 3.14 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY Geothermal energy harnesses the heat energy present underneath the Earth. Hot rocks under the ground heat water to produce steam. When holes are drilled in the region, the steam that shoots up is purified and is used to drive turbines, which power electric generators. If done correctly, geothermal energy produces no harmful by-products. Once a geothermal plant is build, it is generally self-sufficient energy wise. Geothermal power plants are generally small and have little effect on the natural landscape. Geothermal energy is the natural heat generated in the interior of Earth and released from volcanoes and hot springs or from geysers that shoot out heated water and steam. Reservoirs of hot water and steam under Earths surface can be accessed by drilling through the rock layer. The naturally heated water can be used to heat buildings, while the steam can be used to generate electricity. Steam can also be produced by pumping cold water into rock that is heated by geothermal energy; such steam is then used to produce electric power. Geothermal energy is an important alternative energy source in areas of geothermal activity, including parts of the United States, Iceland, and Italy. Homes in Boise, Idaho, are heated using geothermal energy, as are most buildings in Iceland. The Geysers in California is the largest steam field in the world and has been used to produce electricity since 1960. Unlike solar energy and wind power, however, the use of geothermal energy has an environmental impact. Chemicals in the steam contribute to air pollution, and water mixed with the steam contains dissolved salts that can corrode pipes and harm aquatic ecosystems. 3.15 TIDAL AND OCEAN ENERGY The rise and fall of ocean tides contain enormous amounts of energy that can be captured to produce electricity. Tidal power cab be extracted from Moon-gravity-powered tides by locating a water turbine in a tidal current. The turbine can turn an electrical generator, or a gas compressor, that can then store energy until needed. Coastal tides are a source of clean, free, renewable, and sustainable energy. Plans are underway in Pakistan to harness tidal energy, however, no implementation has been made so far. 3.16 AGRICULTURE BIOMASS/BIODIESEL Biomass production involves using garbage or other renewable resources such as sugarcane, corn or other vegetation to generate electricity. When garbage decomposes, methane is produced and captured in pipes and later burned to produce electricity. Vegetation and wood can be burned directly to generate energy, like fossil fuels, or processed to form alcohols. Brazil has one of the largest renewable energy programs from biomass/biodiesel in the world, followed by USA. Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) of Pakistann has planned to generate 10 MW of electricity from municipal waste in Karachi followed by similar projects in twenty cities of country.

An Analysis of Baldwins, Sonnys Blues :: Sonnys Blues Essays

An Analysis of Baldwin's, Sonny's Blues Sipiora identifies the critcal issues in Sonny's Blues with the character giving his self-reflections. Sipiora also says that literary characters sometimes perceive or not perceive the relationships or circumstances. We also have to judge characters in how they react to other characters whether they acted in good faith or not in good faith. We have to ask ourselves when we read literature if the character is being objective looking for personal qualities in a character when they come in contact with another character or is the character looking at another character in a judgemental, stereotypical, or preconceived way of thinking. Also is the character allowed the opportunity to share the similar things that are in common with another character or characters in the story. The main thing in reading literature in an Ethical Criticism is to take note on how a character interacts with another character or characters in a story. Also, take note on relationships of one character with anothe r character. In Sonny's Blues, the narrator is self-reflecting his experiences with various family members such as his mother and his younger brother, Sonny. Sonny and the narrator are brothers with a 7 year difference between them. The narrator was disappointed with Sonny at first due to his interest in becoming a musician. He thought it was a phase he was Sonny was going through and maybe it would pass. The older brother patronized Sonny with his insincere interest in music at first until it angered Sonny and he told his brother "don't do me no favors"(82). The narrator had a judgemental, stereotype, predetermined way of thinking when it came to his past. The narrator's thoughts and feelings were cruel and hard for the drug addict childhood friend of Sonny's when he told him he did not want to hear his "sad story"(81). Yet, he realized they both have something in common. The narrator has Sonny's drug addiction and the friend has his own addiction to deal with. The narrator realized that everyone has a sad story. When Sonny was trying to express how he felt on the inside and reveal his drug abuse, the narrator did not want to accept his younger brother's drug abuse and he 'kept putting them away. I told myself that Sonny was wild, but he wasn't crazy"(79). Just as Sonny felt alone and helpless, he could not talk about it to anyone.

Discuss the dramatic importance of the witches in Macbeth Essay

Macbeth was written sometime between 1603 and 1606. This coincides with the accession of James VI of Scotland to the English throne, as James I of England, in 1603. The play was certainly written with James in mind. Firstly, it caters for the interests and expertise of James: its fascination with the supernatural would attract his attention. Witchcraft, apparitions, ghosts and the King’s Evil were areas of great concern to James. Secondly, it compliments James by making his ancestor, Banquo, a hero in the play. Thirdly, the play explores the issue of kingship and loyalty. These were of profound importance to James, who had survived an assassination attempt earlier in life. Fourthly, the play is intimately related to the topical events of the Gunpowder plot of 1605 (where loyal people were planning to kill the king) and the subsequent trials of its conspirators. This failed coup was sensational in a number of ways – the sheer audacity of trying to blow up Parliament amazed the country, as did the scale of the treachery involved. Treason is related to the wider theme of appearances. For example, Lady Macbeth advises Macbeth to â€Å"look like th’innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t.†(Act 1, Scene 5, lines 64-65). When saying this, she is trying to convince Macbeth to become a villain and murder King Duncan; this expression could also be showing how scared she is. Lady Macbeth is tempting Macbeth to deceive people and create a disguise to achieve an end. It could also be deduced that the witches possessed the knowledge of what would trigger ambition, greed or deceit in the characters of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. Throughout the play, the witches have different dramatic functions such as setting the scene, creating or changing the atmosphere, foreshadowing what would happen later on in the play, altering the characters language and minds and they also acted as a plot device. All these dramatic functions will have different effects upon the audience. In this play, there are 5 main dramatic techniques. Firstly, there’s pathetic fallacy. This is used to create an atmosphere by the use of weather. For instance, in this play, it’s used at the beginning of Act 1, Scene 1. For example, â€Å"Thunder and lightning† evokes a feeling of evilness and darkness. This portrays an intimidating beginning. The audience would feel frightened; they would immediately guess it’s a prologue of the evil. Another function of the witches is foreshadowing, which signifies giving clues about future events, which Shakespeare uses to give clues to the audience about future events, by doing this, he makes the audience think in advance. Namely, this technique is used when the witches are playing with Macbeth’s sleep; this example indicates that this creates a feeling of confidence and nervousness amongst the audience. Confidence because the audience will know what is going to happen so they will be prepared for whatever to come. However, the actors on stage wouldn’t know what is going to happen; this indicates that the audience would feel nervous waiting for the reactions of the actors. Besides these, there are three more: dramatic irony, this will create a nervous feeling; this is because the audience would feel nervous waiting for the reactions of the actors. Besides these, there are three more: dramatic irony, this will create a nervous feeling; this is because the audience will know more than the actors on stage. The next one is symbolism, this depends on the audience, some people will have gained the ability to interpret words in different ways, these people will obviously know and understand the play fully however the people who haven’t gained this ability yet, will miss out bits and pieces of information. Finally, there’s plot device. This will be understood by everyone as it’s just the introduction of characters or objects that change events. In this case, the plot device is the witches. They are the ones who change events. This will create fear amongst the audience. In the beginning of Act 1, Scene 1, the witches were introduced as the evil side of this whole play. â€Å"A heath, Thunder, Enter three witches† has a lot of meaning. A heath is a barren land, a deserted place with a rough landscape covered with mud, it’s basically a place where no human being will live, and this creates tension amongst the audience. This is also created by using ‘pathetic fallacy’, another technique, in the word â€Å"thunder†. This word has a lot of meaning; it can be looked as weather, a sign of evil and darkness but also as a danger or warning. This immediately creates fear and tension. When the â€Å"three witches enter† (Act 1, Scene 1), the effect will be almost immediate, somewhere between shock and fear. â€Å"Three† is the number that witches mostly use to symbolise evil, so when the three witches enter, the audience is warned about what’s to come. This relates back to the introduction, in the Jacobean times, the audience will have had a very strong belief in witches and witchcraft; they were convinced that the witches has a lot of power and besides that they also suspected the witches to perform and make spells. On the whole, witches create these dramatic functions by firstly, being the first things to appear on stage, secondly by using pathetic fallacy and by finally talking in the witches language which is mostly made up of chants, spells and evilness. An example of a spell could be â€Å"Thrice the brindled cat hath mewed† which could show evil when we see the words â€Å"three† and â€Å"cats† which are things normally associated with evil. The witches also act as a plot device, they changed Macbeth’s fortune. At the start of the play, Macbeth is seen as the man of action, he is a fearless warrior and an important Lord who defends the king against treachery. He is praised by the King and by everyone else, including the audience. Initially he has a conscience and a highly developed imagination, â€Å"he is full, so valiant† (Act 1 Scene 4) – he sees all too well in his mind the horrors of what he is proposing to do – but he shuts out the implications of what this is telling him. Manhood is important to Macbeth, Shakespeare creates this impression when Macbeth says â€Å"I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more is none† (Act 1, Scene 7). This suggests that Macbeth will â€Å"dare† to do anything to show that he’s a man, he also talks back to Lady Macbeth which will give a shock to the audience; this also tells the audience that Macbeth’s manhood is very important to him. This is what the witches play on through Lady Macbeth and her language. The witches influence Lady Macbeth’s language. Lady Macbeth appeals to his manhood when persuading him to murder Duncan in the first place; she also makes a similar appeal during the banquet scene. Lady Macbeth thinks him â€Å"too full o’the milk of human -kindness† -an extraordinary statement in the light of the murders that Macbeth commits. The audience’s point of view on Macbeth also changes from strong and loyal to a treacherous and murderous character. The witches also foreshadow the torture that Macbeth will feel when they say â€Å"Hang upon his penthouse lid; He shall live a man forbid†. These words rhyme; this makes it sound like an enchantment, like a chant. â€Å"I’ll drain him dry as hay!† is a simile, which has been used to create a picture (of a man being tortured) of what’s going to happen to Macbeth. When the audience hears this line with the word â€Å"drain† in it, they will be wondering whether the witches are going to drain him with blood. However it’s only in the next line, â€Å"Sleep shall neither night nor day†, that the audience understands that the witches are going to drain Macbeth with sleep like one of the witches did to the poor sailor because of his wife not giving chestnuts to the witch. â€Å"And munched, and munched, and munched† is a repetition of the woman eating. This emphasises the point and helps the audience to visualise the eating actions. Witches can’t kill so they would do anything possible to play around with the victim’s consciousness. In Act 1, Scene 3, after the sailor’s meeting, all three sisters pronounce a chant. They also link back to evil when they say â€Å"thrice to thine† which again relates back to evil. The audience here will be warned about what’s going to happen to Macbeth, Shakespeare uses foreshadow in this context. With this in mind, when Macbeth says â€Å"Methought I heard a voice cry, Sleep no more: Macbeth does murder sleep† (Act 2, Scene 2) evokes a frightening atmosphere. The audience would be aware of this as it has already been foreshadowed in the previous lines of the witches. This is also showed when the witches say â€Å"Yet it shall be tempest-tossed!†, this also foreshadows what’s going to happen to Macbeth later on, that they are going to toss him a round like he’s in a storm. The witches deliberately play with the characters; they give misleading visions to Macbeth. Macbeth who was once a reputable, loyal and important Lord becomes involved with evil. We can see this when he says â€Å"Though you untie the winds and let them fight†¦Even till destruction sicken† to the witches on Act 4 Scene 1. This shows that Macbeth is prepared to risk all the common hazards of witchcraft, he is prepared to lay down his arms in front of evil. However what he says can also be interpreted as an uncontrolled ambition. Before Macbeth comes to meet the witches, Hecate tells the other witches that Macbeth has used witchcraft â€Å"for his own ends†, not for the witch’s sake (Act 3, Scene 5). In addition, she says that â€Å"by the strength of their illusion, shall draw him on to his confusion†. This again foreshadows what will happen later on to Macbeth. When Macbeth comes on stage, the audience will know more than Macbeth, which is dramatic ir ony. Macbeth received comfort from the three apparitions that the witches call up. They appear in symbolic form. The first, â€Å"an armed head†, represents Macbeth’s own head (wearing a helmet); the â€Å"bloody child† that comes next is Macduff, who has been â€Å"untimely ripp’d’ from his mother’s womb (as he tells Macbeth in Act 5, Scene 7); and the last, the royal child with a tree in his hand, is Malcolm, the rightful King of Scotland who approaches the palace at Dunsinane camouflaged with tree-branches (Act 5, Scene 4). These are all forthcoming events but Macbeth looks at them and interpret them as â€Å"that will never be† (Act 4, Scene 1). The witches also don’t tell him the real meaning as they want him to get confused, they want to see how he’s going to interpret their pictures, and it’s their type of revenge for him as he had used â€Å"witchcraft for his own ends†. He doesn’t think twice about their meanings, he doesn’t even try to understand them. He feels comfortable when he misunderstands that he’s safe. This means that the images can symbolise different things and everyone’s got different ways of interpreting them. Macbeth cannot interpret these symbols, but Shakespeare expects the audience to understand what is meant. This is ‘dramatic irony’- when the truth of a situation is known to the audience but hidden from the characters in the play. There is dramatic irony, too, in the words spoken by the apparitions, for again we understand the real meanings, while Macbeth can only understand the apparent meanings of the words. Macbeth, however, is in no doubt about the significance of the final ‘show of Eight Kings’. The witches want Macbeth to â€Å"Hear his speech, but say thou nought† (Act 4, Scene1). This shows that the witches do not want Macbeth to know what it really means they give ambiguous visions. The witches also say â€Å"Seek to know no more† (Act 4, Scene1), this means that Macbeth always wants more, he is greedy but it could also mean that the witches do not want to tell more. They want Macbeth to use his imagination to work out what the symbolic images mean, even though he goes on the wrong path, they do not stop him but encourage him to find his own interpretations. The audience would also probably feel shocked and surprised to see that a loyal man like him has turned into something evil. One of the main functions of the witches is to affect the language used by other characters – which mirror their evil language. They do this with Lady Macbeth when she starts to use negative and evil connotations. She places herself in the centre of evil, we can see this when she says â€Å"And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell† (Act 1 Scene 5). By placing herself there she becomes one of them. Lady Macbeth starts to use symbolism; she uses lots of symbols related to evil such as â€Å"raven† and â€Å"croaks the fatal entrance†. The raven is a bird associated with evil and fear, raven doesn’t normally croak, fatal also means deadly so the audience might expect murder or something deadly (Act 1 Scene 5). In the beginning of the play (Act 1, Scene 3), Macbeth says â€Å"So foul and fair I have not seen† mirrors the witches words. The effect upon the audience of this oxymoron should be immediate; they understand that what Macbeth just said is the repetition of what the witches said earlier on, this brings panic amongst the audience as they start to guess that Macbeth is letting evil penetrate through him. Macbeth gains the audiences sympathy by exposing his weakness -almost subconsciously. He is not a â€Å"bare-faced† plain murderer, but he is also a prisoner of horrendous imaginings. Shakespeare helps him gain this sympathy by making the audience decide on the moral issues involved. Shakespeare allows Lady Macbeth to explain her husband’s character as she understands it, and although she cannot see the whole truth, she tells us a great deal about Macbeth that is true. Two lines of her soliloquy in Act 1, Scene 5 are particularly significant â€Å"Thou wouldst be great; Art not without ambition, not without The illness should attend it.† By ‘illness’ Lady Macbeth mean ‘evil’, but her metaphor is appropriate; Macbeth catches ‘evil’, as one might catch a disease. Duncan getting killed creates havoc; it upsets the natural order and the reminder to the audience that you have to accept the King or Queen chosen by God is very well interpreted so that the message is clear. If you unbalance the natural order, you’ll allow ‘evil’ to take over. A paradox is used when Macbeth changes from a loyal Lord to a murderer. This is one of the important turning points. Macbeth gains the crown; but he loses love, friendship, respect – and in the end his life. His crime is rightly punished. It can be argued that the witches are not human at all, and therefore cannot be considered as a character. They are certainly a malign force in the play. They do not invite Macbeth to murder Duncan or even suggest such a thing. This shows that witches are very powerful. They symbolise evil, but man is free to resist them. Macbeth’s downfall occurs partly because he comes to depend upon their information. The prophecies weren’t prophecies; they were Macbeth’s driving force. The audience will not be very pleased to see the witches as they are supernatural phenomena; they are the device that unbalances the natural order. The audience will also be partly surprised that Shakespeare has included Hecate, the leader of the witches as a real person. But as I said before it was all in Macbeth’s hand, he was the one to choose his faith.

Kindergarten-Full Day Versus Half Day Essay

The sky is the limit for children. The benefits of children attending full day kindergarten are far greater than those children that attend half day. Some parents and educators disagree; they say that children should not be forced into their educational career so young. Whether for or against full-day kindergarten, the common goal for all parents is the well being for each individual child. Every child has different needs and capabilities. Parents have to make an informed decision on full day or half day kindergarten. That decision can be a difficult one. Ultimately that decision is the starting point for the next twelve or more years of education for these young children. Connecticut does not have a law mandating all towns have full day kindergarten. The budget process has to make full day kindergarten a priority. The curriculum for kindergarten is limited during half day sessions for children. Because of the time limitations during half day, these children are getting significant amounts of homework to bring home. Before and aftercare is needed due to the short school day for the half day kindergartners, causing parents to pay for childcare. The most important point is that children’s cognitive learning is so crucial at age five. They can absorb so much information at a kindergarten level. Taking advantage of that will give them the best opportunities for the educational career and give them a head start. Kindergarten was originated in 1837 (Burkam 3). Children develop their mental, social, and emotional faculties through play, music, movement, interaction with the outdoors, and opportunities to engage in independent and creative pursuits (Burkam 3). The goal of kindergarten is to prepare children for first grade academics (Burkam 5). Children show great resilience so can therefore adapt to any formal routine, especially education. We must constructively use this critical stage in their lives to have them absorb all the information they can. Most towns in eastern Connecticut have full day kindergarten except Montville. There is no set standard in Connecticut law for all towns to have at least one full-day kindergarten. East Lyme, Niantic, Norwich, Waterford, Ledyard, and Groton have already established a full day program for kindergarten. Montville being the only town in the surrounding area that does not have a full day option available makes it very difficult to those parents in that town to make arrangements for care of their children. Planning a town budget for full day kindergarten is not as complicated as it may seem. Child care is financed primarily by families, who are estimated to be paying between $40 and $50 billion annually (Mitchell 8). Only a small percentage of those funds being spent could be used for funding all schools with full day kindergarten programs. Demonstrating better ways to increase and combine local, state, public and private sources to finance all types of programs so that they can meet higher standards and that all families can afford kindergarten and preschool education (Mitchell 12). Some educators say the biggest obstacle is hiring teachers. They would need twice the amount already staffed. Splitting up the groups of half day classes and teachers could be a solution to that issue. There would not need to be any additional teachers hired in that case. There is so much for children to learn at the age of five. A full day of learning, social interaction, and play is so beneficial. Research comparing half-day and full-day kindergarten shows those children benefit from a developmentally appropriate, full-day program, most notably in terms of early academic achievement—a foundation for school and life success (Villegas 1). Full-day kindergarten can afford children the academic learning time needed to prepare for mastery of primary-grade reading and math skills (Villegas 1) In particular, the weight of evidence shows that full-day kindergarten benefits children in these ways: contributes to increased school readiness, children that are adapted to full day kindergarten are already prepared for the transition into regular grade level schooling, most importantly, they understand rules and behavior, which leads to a higher academic achievement. Standardized tests and classroom grades find that full day students achieve higher and improve student attendance. There is better attendance in full-day kindergarten due to the parents understanding that there is so much more information and teaching provided during a longer day and does not want their child to miss, supporting a childs literacy and language development has long lasting effects that are greater in children that attend full day kindergarten (Villegas 2). One study showed higher reading achievement persisting through third grade and in some cases even seventh grade (Villegas 1). Enrolling a child in full-day kindergarten benefits them socially and emotionally. Full day gives children a balance of structured play and self play. Being with classmates for more hours in a classroom forces them to build positive relationships. Those relationships last sometimes all the way through twelfth grade. Decreases costs by reducing retention and remediation rates (Villegas 1, 2). One study, which found full day students to be more than twice as likely to remain on grade through third grade, showed that this academic benefit helped to offset 19 percent of the first year’s cost of extending the kindergarten day (Villegas 2). For those children in half-day kindergarten, they need to have before and after care in some families, especially when both parents work full time. If there were full day kindergarten, it would eliminate some of that cost of after care. Due to these children needing to go to multiple places throughout the day for care and schooling becomes the issue of transportation. During a parents work day, that child could be bused to as much as three different locations just for child care. Parents prefer longer kindergarten programs because children have to make fewer transitions within a day and they believe their children will be better prepared for first grade (Mitchell 5). Day care programs are valuable, but do not have the curriculum and equal age structure that kindergarten does. Proponents of full-day kindergarten believe that children, as a result of their various childcare and preschool experiences, are ready for more demanding and cognitively oriented educational programs (Burkam 6). Having group play with children ages 0-5 is not beneficial educationally. Children at age five are at an important learning stage in their lives. The more education they can receive in kindergarten the better prepared for school they will be. Full-day advocates suggest several advantages for the longer kindergarten day: it allows teachers more opportunity to assess children’s educational needs and individualize instruction, it makes small-group learning experiences more feasible, it engages children in a broader range of learning experiences, it provides opportunities for in-depth exploration of curriculum, it provides opportunities for closer teacher-parent relationships, it benefits working parents who may need a longer school day (Burkam 6). Reading, math, science are subjects that are the beginning fundamentals in learning Researchers found that children who attended full-day kindergarten scored higher on reading comprehension and mathematics concepts and applications (Burkam 9). Having more hours in a school day allows teachers to take a more one on one approach for the children to really delve deep into counting, the alphabet, writing, speaking, and so forth. The foundation of learning stems from kindergarten. Cognitive development is the most important issue with having children in a full-day kindergarten program. Kindergarten is more than play and social interaction with peers, this time must be used to take full advantage of a child’s potential in learning. Education should be the first priority and focus in a child’s life. The bigger picture is laying the groundwork for children’s educational experience. The younger the child the more prepared they will be for the future and the most successful in life.

How to Discipline Without Stress, Punishment, or Rewards

How to Discipline Without Stress, Punishment, or Rewards Young people today come to school with a different orientation than past generations. Traditional student disciplining approaches are no longer successful for far too many young people. For example, a parent related the following to us after a discussion of how society and youth have changed in recent generations: The other day, my teenage daughter was eating in a rather slovenly manner, and I lightly tapped her on the wrist saying, Dont eat that way.My daughter replied, Dont abuse me.The mother had grown up in the 1960s and volunteered the point that her generation tested authority but most were really afraid to step out of bounds. She related that her daughter was a good child and added, But the kids today not only disrespect authority, they have no fear of it. And, because of rights for young children- which we should have- its hard to instill that fear without others claiming abuse. So, how can we discipline students, so we as teachers can do our jobs and teach these young children who refuse to learn? In many cases, we resort to punishment as a strategy for motivation. For example, students who are assigned detention and who fail to show are punished with more detention. But in my questioning about the use of detention in hundreds of workshops around the country, teachers rarely suggest detention is actually effective in changing behavior. Why Detention is an Ineffective Form of Punishment When students are not afraid, punishment loses its effectiveness. Go ahead and give the student more detention that he simply wont show up to. This negative, coercive discipline and punishment approach is based on the belief that it is necessary to cause suffering to teach. Its like you need to hurt in order to instruct. The fact of the matter, however, is that people learn better when they feel better, not when they feel worse. Remember, if punishment were effective in reducing inappropriate behavior, then there would be NO discipline problems in schools. The irony of punishment is that the more you use it to control your students behaviors, the less real influence you have over them. This is because coercion breeds resentment. In addition, if students behave because they are forced to behave, the teacher has not really succeeded. Students should behave because they want to- not because they have to in order to avoid punishment. People are not changed by other people. People can be coerced into temporary compliance. But internal motivation- where people want to change- is more lasting and effective. Coercion, as in punishment, is not a lasting change agent. Once the punishment is over, the student feels free and clear. The way to influence people toward internal rather than external motivation is through positive, non-coercive interaction. Heres how... How to Motivate Students to Learn Without Using Punishments or Rewards Great teachers understand that they are in the relationship business. Many students- especially those in low socio-economic areas- put forth little effort if they have negative feelings about their teachers. Superior teachers establish good relationships AND have high expectations. Great teachers communicate and discipline in positive ways. They let their students know what they want them to do, rather than by telling students what NOT to do. Great teachers inspire rather than coerce. They aim at promoting responsibility rather than obedience. They know that OBEDIENCE DOES NOT CREATE DESIRE. Great teachers identify the reason that a lesson is being taught and then share it with their students. These teachers inspire their students through curiosity, challenge, and relevancy. Great teachers improve skills that prompt students to WANT to behave responsibly and WANT to put effort into their learning. Great teachers have an open mindset. They REFLECT so that if a lesson needs improvement they look to themselves to change BEFORE they expect their students to change. Great teachers know education is about motivation. Unfortunately, todays educational establishment still has a 20th-century mindset that focuses on EXTERNAL APPROACHES to increase motivation. An example of the fallacy of this approach is the defunct self-esteem movement that used external approaches such as stickers and praise in attempts to make people happy and feel good. What was overlooked was the simple universal truth that people develop positive self-talk and self-esteem through the successes of THEIR OWN EFFORTS.