Cooperative Learning Advantages for English Language Learners

Concerted acquisition is defined as any group larning activity organized in such a manner that acquisition is dependent on the socially structured exchange of academic content every bit good as other information between the specific group of scholars, and whereas each single scholar is accountable for his/her ain acquisition ( Tinker-Sachs et Al, 2003 ) . Furthermore, Kagan ( 2002 ; 1994 ) states that concerted acquisition will finally take to additions in the acquisition of other members in the group. Kagan postulates ( 2002 ) that concerted acquisition is an first-class instruction scheme that promotes enhanced larning for diverse pupil populations and is particularly good for English linguistic communication scholars. Noyes ( 2010 ) further provinces that English linguistic communication scholars take parting in concerted larning groups non merely increase overall apprehension of the English linguistic communication, they besides develop deeper apprehension of academic content eve ry bit good as academic linguistic communication. Continuing research from Cummins ( 2009 ) suggest that pupils with diverse larning abilities, including pupils with larning disablements improve their accomplishments through the natural staging schemes found in concerted acquisition groups. What is Concerted Learning? Concerted propensity is basically a instruction method that utilizes little groups of pupils or squads where, each pupil has a specific occupation or duty in the group. The instructor structures pupils of assorted ability degrees in a little group, so that effectual staging for the English linguistic communication scholar will augment and heighten pupil larning. Students of different ability degrees participate in a assortment of larning activities designed by the instructor to better their overall apprehension of specific academic content or capable ( Noyes, 2010 ; Kagan, 2002 ; Kagan, 1994 ) . Additionally, each member of the squad is responsible for a specific part of the content, but is besides compelled to assist other members of the group learn the needed content aim ( Noyes, 2010 ; Kagan, 2002 ; Kagan, 1994 ) . Even modern-day research suggests that concerted acquisition creates favourable larning results for English linguistic communication scholars ( Murray, 2010 ) . Further more, by delegating unequivocal occupations or undertakings to each pupil, the group as a whole plant through the assignment and/or undertaking until each group member is able to successfully complete the activity and addition deeper apprehension of activity ( Noyes, 2010 ; Kagan, 2002 ; Kagan, 1994 ) . Cooperative acquisition has four basic rules with the acronym PIES. The P stands for positive mutuality, the I stands for single answerability, the E stands for equal engagement, and the S stands for coincident interaction ( Kagan, 2002 ; Kagan, 1994 ) . Kagan ( 1994 ) states that if any one of these four BASIC rules is non implemented, no concerted acquisition will be involved. Therefore, it is indispensable that all four rules are utilized for the academic content country in order for concerted acquisition to happen with fidelity. Therefore, it is important that the instructor to the full understands the basic four basic rules and chorus from extinguishing any of the cardinal constituents of concerted acquisition ( Noyes, 2010 ; Kagan, 2002 ; Kagan, 1994 ) . Both Kagan ( 2002 ) and Sharan ( 2010 ) further province that the concerted acquisition theoretical account leads to additions and expeditious apprehension for English linguistic communication scholars because group unwritten treatments lead to additions in the usage of the English linguistic communication through both colloquial duologue every bit good as written linguistic communication. By leting pupils to utilize and keep academic English conversations for pupils whose primary linguistic communication is non English, their develop more meaningful experience with the English linguistic communication, which in bend, leads to higher order believing accomplishments ( Sharan, 2010 ; Shaaban, 2006 ; Tinker-Sachs et Al, 2003 ) . Concerted acquisition is rather different from the direct direction learning theoretical account, every bit good as other traditional teaching methods. Traditional direction relies on the instructor to leave direct direction or talk to the pupils, while they sit passively, purportedly absorbing academic information in their encephalons, every bit good as understanding the English linguistic communication. However, even though the instructor may be patterning academic English linguistic communication throughout direct direction, research indicates that there are far excessively few chances to utilize the English linguistic communication for pupils whose primary linguistic communication is non English. Besides, with traditional instruction theoretical accounts, diverse scholars have small chance to increase academic vocabulary and content ( Chang, 2008 ; Gaith and Bouzeineddine, 2003 ) . Concerted Learning and English Language Acquisition for ELLs As antecedently mentioned, by utilizing concerted acquisition constructions, the English linguistic communication scholar will develop and better their overall English linguistic communication ( Cummins, 2009 ; Shaaban, 2006 ; Kagan, 2002 ) . When farther analyzed, Sharan ( 2010 ) states that English linguistic communication scholars use the English linguistic communication in its natural context. Further, utilizing the English linguistic communication to heighten functional interaction and real-life conversations increases understanding and increases transference. Besides, pupils working together in concerted acquisition constructions tend to modify their degree of address to suit each other ( Murray, 2010 ; Chang, 2008 ) . Plus, pupils in concerted grouping are able to modulate their ain English linguistic communication end product to guarantee that each squad member comprehends and understands each other ( Sharan, 2010 ; Kagan, 2002 ) . Another linguistic communication benefit for English linguistic communication scholars is they are speaking to a group member, as opposed to the full category, which allows the English linguistic communication scholars to derive some assurance with English. When concerted acquisition is implemented suitably, the squad members are supportive of one another during English linguistic communication acquisition ( Tinker-Sachs et Al, 2003 ; Kagan, 2002 ) . Other Benefits for English Language Learners There are several other benefits to cooperative larning for English linguistic communication scholars in add-on to greater academic accomplishment. Kagan ( 2002 ) states that pupils in concerted constructions develop improved self-esteem and beef up their societal accomplishments in category. Furthermore, pupils build community in their schoolroom by cultivating societal relationships and credence of pupils from other ethnicities or pupils with disablements ( Cummins, 2009 ) . With active pupil engagement, concerted larning Fosters increased enthusiasm for the category, school, and instruction ( Murray, 2010 ) . Teaching Cautions Teachers must be aware of the basic principals of concerted acquisition and really pass instructional clip learning the pupils how to efficaciously utilize non merely the scheme, but besides their single functions and duties ( Noyes, 2010 ) . The instructor is responsible for non merely academic content, but must vouch that the concerted group ( s ) will forbear from any negative remarks or comments directed toward any teammate and/or work merchandise. Students must experience safe and secure in the concerted acquisition construction in order to accomplish maximal benefit and deeper apprehension of academic content ( Kagan, 2002 ; Kagan, 1994 ) . It is besides critical that all pupils understand their function in the group, every bit good as group and instructor outlooks ( Sharan, 2010 ) . Another consideration the instructor must turn to is the noise degree in the schoolroom. Good schoolroom direction is important for optimal pupil success. The instructor will hold to supervise the groups to be certain that pupils are on undertaking and that each squad member is an active participant. Furthermore, pupils need to actively listen every bit good as participate ( Noyes, 2010 ; Kagan, 2002 ) . Decision Cooperative acquisition has been the topic of much research that continues today. Cummins ( 2009 ) posits that pupils have much higher happenings of unwritten English linguistic communication use throughout the instructional twenty-four hours when utilizing concerted acquisition schemes. Noyes ( 2010 ) concurs with several research workers sing the many benefits of concerted larning with English linguistic communication scholars. By leting pupils to actively listen and take part in group acquisition, the belief among outstanding research workers is that concerted acquisition will shut the accomplishment spread so that all pupils will be able to win in school and so travel on to go successful members of the community. Concerted acquisition Teachs pupils non merely increased English linguistic communication accomplishments, but besides societal accomplishments, credence and tolerance of others, increased pupil duty, and additions in self-pride ( Sharan, 2010 ; Cummins, 2009 ; Kagan, 20 02 ) .

Pdf Silence! the Court Is in Session †Vijay Tendulkar Essay

Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, JNTUACEP,YSR Kadapa (Dist),Andhra Pradesh, India ABSTRACT A criticism against Indian Judicial system that ‘the failure of modern legal theory and practice lies in its understanding of what it is to be a human being’ can be undoubtedly attributed to the themes of Vijay Tendulkar’s play Silence! The Court Is In Session. The play barbs against existing judicial system at two levels. Firstly, it can be studied as a ‘legal plea’ which demands for emancipation, equality and liberation of women and stresses the need for a social transformation of law, culture, and social patterns which release women’s potential, where the legal curriculum has neglected issues of central concern of women like: rape, domestic violence, reproduction, unequal pay, sex determination and sexual harassment, from Benare’s ‘case study’: Secondly, the play can be a thesis on elite-court relations in India as an unsatisfactory arrangement, where being structurally part of the state, the courts are expected to maintain a high degree of independence and to be ensured of a democratic policy. The play is highly relevant as it discusses the present atrocities occurring on women throughout India including Delhi ‘Nirbhaya’ gang rape case and demands for verdict and bits the elite society to ponder on the issue seriously. Key words: Judicial system, Unequal treatment, Legal plea, elite-court relations, Play within the play Dr. MEDIKONDA SAMBAIAH Mrs. KATUMALA SANDHYA Article Received on : 26/03/2013 Article revised from: 28/03/2013 Article accepted on: 28/05/2013 The stimulus for Silence! The Court is in Session came from a real incident for the writer. Tendulkar met an amateur group which was on its way to stage a mock-trial in Vile Parle, a suburb of Bombay. While overhearing their conversation, the outline of a play began taking shape in the writer’s mind and resulted in the creation of Silence! The Court is in Session. The play was written for Rangayana at the instance of Arvind and Sulabh Deshpande and was first performed in March 1971 in Madras. When the play was first performed in 1967 for a drama competition by the small group, it was rejected by the judges who said it was not play. But later it received The Kamaladevi Chatterpadhyaya award and was translated in fourteen Indian languages. The play was staged all over India in different versions. In a sense Marathi drama found a place on the national map and Tendulkar was recognized at the national level. When asked in an interview: â€Å"This play is a caustic satire on the social as well as justice†¦.The mental agony suffered by the girl throughout the play is in no way less than the legal punishment. Is that all you 102 VIJAY TENDULKAR’S ‘SILENCE! THE COURT IS IN SESSION’†¦| Medikonda Sambaiah et al Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELAL) A Peer Reviewed International Journal – http://www.rjelal.com wished to convey or something more?† Tendulkar said: â€Å"This is exactly what I had in mind. If I say anything else now, that will be an after-thought. An undaunted girl of Benare’s make-up could have, besides defending herself, made a  counter-attack , tearing to pieces the dos and don’ts of the selfish society. Had I shown her aggressive that would have been attitude, not hers? Otherwise also the playwright should only suggest leaving the rest 1 to the viewers.† The opening scene of the play turns into a marvellous piece of satire by pitting the self-consciously independent, vehemently assertive, and immensely cheerful Benare against the utterly selfish, hypocritical and malicious amateur artists and paves the way as to how they are going to judge and reverse the natural justice. The scene depicts how an average middle class woman strives and struggles for preserving her womanhood and motherhood and her thirst to be accepted by the society. As the curtain rises, Samant, a local chap and Leela Benare, the heroine are found conversing. She springs a surprise on the rustic Samant with a sudden confidential proposal: â€Å"Let’s leave everyone behind, I thought, and go somewhere far, far, away – with you†! [Silence! The Court is in 2 Session]. When she makes this observation, she has Professor Damle in her mind. Benare, after telling Samant that the school management is holding an enquiry against her â€Å"just because of o ne bit of slander†. [58] The depiction of unsecured condition of Benare explores the problems that exist among Indian women towards legal rights and her absence of awareness about legislations and their enforcement and inadequacies of legal provisions. The tragic and bottle neck like situation reminds the audience of Banavari Devi, Nina Sahni, Tasneem Sheikh Suhail, Delhi model Jessica Lal and Nirbhaya claims Vijay Tendulkar as a man of relevance to the contemporary society, where the practices like – eve teasing, whistling at girls, bottom pinching and are common phenomenon among Indian youngsters, apart from big incidents like gang rapes and murders. The purpose why the dramatist has selected different persons from different backgrounds can give some clues about the judicial circle and their Vol.1.Issue.1.;2013 judicial culture. In fact, all these characters are the representatives of the existing personalities in judicial circle with their personal, familial, educational, ethical and professional defects. Mrs. Kashikars, Sukhatme, Balu Rokde, Gopal Ponkshe and Karnik are the various typical personalities  in judicial circle. The very fact of Mrs. Kashikar’s collusion in the attack on Benare demonstrates how women internalize the dominance of men over themselves as a natural phenomenon and turn against other transgressing women as the ‘other’. Had Benare been the economically power, she might have protested more actively. Her present position is evidence that among educated women, concern for status has a positive relationship with age and employment. It has been found that the working educated women have higher concern for status than the non-working women or house wives. The commencement of the ‘Mock-trial’, which constitutes a ‘play-within-the-play’, offers Tendulkar ample scope to dissect and lay bare the dormant ills of discontent in the psyche of these urban hypocrites. Though, they gang themselves up against a hapless Benare for the time being, they have nothing but spite for one another. Rokde symbolizes lumped public which is enveloped in the culture of dependency and carried away by the lures of money, power and threat. Throughout the play, he is not allowed enough time to exercise his intelligent challenges to prospective jurors. Ponkshe and Karnik are the other two catalysts who have their active role in the plot against Benare. When Benare goes into the inner room to wash her face, Karnik takes Ponkshe aside and indicating the inner room into which Benare has just gone, tells him if he knows anything about her: â€Å"About her, About Miss. Benare. Rokde told me†. The stylistic gimmicks used by Ponkshe and Karnik sometimes speak a lot louder than the words they actually speak. As witness their technique is not to argue the case but to present the issues. These two people represent the educated elite in the society, who have to demand for ‘order of proof’ as yardstick before asking the jury to measure the complaint. But these people lack the logical order of proof for their expert testimony. The interrogatory procedure is so convincing that the legal professionals have been encouraging litigation more and more by giving impetus to disputes. There is a widespread belief both among litigating public and legislators, the intervention of lawyers in court 103 VIJAY TENDULKAR’S ‘SILENCE! THE COURT IS IN SESSION’†¦| Medikonda Sambaiah et al Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELAL) A Peer Reviewed International Journal – http://www.rjelal.com proceedings have the built-in tendency to delay the disposal of cases. The legal profession is no longer service-oriented but profit-oriented. Sometimes lawyers on both sides join hands to make both the parties compromise even if the clients have to suffer the loss. Majority of the lawyers harass their clients for more and more fee, false bills, while not taking the required interest in the case. In all his arguments there is no ethical creation of evidence. He indulges simply in word games and forgets the joint liability of Damle. All these things show that Mr. Sukhatme’s role in the play is a replica of the legal professionalism and an evidence of how â€Å"there is a fall in efficiency and standard at the Bar and which is on the verge of collapse.† In a perceptive analysis of justice, gender and the justice in American society, Deborah Rhode observed: â€Å"Without a fundamental reordering of cultural values, women cannot hope to secure true equality, and social status. In that constructive enterprise, law can play a modest but more effective 4 role.† This is more so in Indian society with a high level of illiteracy and strong traditions of gender inequalities. That is what happens in Benare’s case. Certainly, the play Silence! The Court is in Session is a question against existing legal curriculum. There is no roadmap for the image of reality in the procedure of the prosecution. There is an absence of trial dynamism in the play. The entire trial rotates around gimmick but is not based on evidence. There is no opening statement which tells to the jury the plaintiff claims in a direct and reasonable way. It must give the jury an overview of what the evidence will show and what the evidence will be without argumentative hype and individualistic exhibitionism. Missing direct or cross examination ruthlessly rules out the fundamental rules of natural justice i.e. ‘no body can be a judge in his own cause’ and ‘no body should be condemned unheard’. The foundations for the verdict ‘let the witness be himself’ is not at all observed. There is no review of the evidence offered by both sides. The judge rules based on what the lawyer presents. It seems that instructions to jurors will directly affect their judgment. The doctrine of 5 locus standi, a principle that the judicial time as well as energy ought not be wasted  over hypothetical or abstract questions, has been neglected and the truth that the trial is the ‘time of decision’ and the ‘moment of truth’ has been gained and gathered, assessed, weighed and measured for hours together in the dock room. Vol.1.Issue.1.;2013 Vijay Tendulkar who is acclaimed as ‘articulatory of violence’ in the modern Marathi theatre brings another dimension of the ‘cruelty’ in the play. He demands that the concept of cruelty is to be redefined along with the socio-economic changes in the society. The playwright proves how it could be possible that cruelty was ‘intentionally aimed at’ by the provisions of the law itself. It seems that he joins with radical criminologists in seeking to redefine ‘harm’ in the criminological arena of victimology. Similarly, the playwright focuses on the maleness of legal proceedings, specifically the trial of sexual crimes like abortion and pre and extra marital relationships. Simply, in trials the procedure is designed to break down the story of the woman complainant both by subjecting it to vigorous doubt and by implicitly serializing it. The victim becomes an object of the male gaze and forced to relieve her ordeal, which itself becomes another assault. In the play, it is very clear that the exploration of body and sexuality is done through fierce and bold debate by the testimonies of Balu Rokde and Karnik. Tendulkar poses another important question to the legal provisions of women in India. If the child is a legitimate one, the father is honoured with the guardianship of the child. But if the child is illegitimate the mother is the guardian, and she alone has to bear the stigma and humiliation of every day social pin-pointing as well as the responsibility of bringing up the child. The law makes no distinction between legitimate and illegitimate child when it imposes on the father an obligation to maintain 6 children. But if it is under the guardianship of the mother, the man escapes everyday disgrace by merely paying the maintenance amount, at the most! To put it briefly, ‘the law recognizes the patriarchal system of family in which father 7 supreme.† Doubtlessly, it is the supreme talent of the dramatist that the violence of the play is superbly sugar-coated with the technique of play within the play. Without this technique Tendulkar  could not have made his characters directly attack Benare on the charge of infanticide. The play is widely acclaimed for this technique. Dnyaneshwar Nadkarni pays a tribute to the play: â€Å"Silence! The Court is in Session comes as a turning point in Tendulkar’s career. It has a play in rehearsal and a real-life story, and the two intertwine to produce some unusual 8 confrontations.† 104 VIJAY TENDULKAR’S ‘SILENCE! THE COURT IS IN SESSION’†¦| Medikonda Sambaiah et al Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELAL) A Peer Reviewed International Journal – http://www.rjelal.com However, Tendulkar depicts Benare as â€Å"a modern 9 woman† who is capable of protecting herself and 9 her body in a male dominated society . He does not let Benare kill herself or feel shy about the whole episode, but makes her fight till the end. Apart from all the criticism as she faced in the play, the character of Benare remains as a lovely spark from the thunderbolt of Tendulkar, in the Modern Marathi theatre. She is a new woman pleading for freedom from social and legal norms. Even though Tendulkar 10 said that writing this play was ‘drudgery’ to him, the credit of raising him to the top of the Indian theatre goes to this play Silence! The Court is in Session. Vol.1.Issue.1.;2013 REFERENCES 1. Vijay Tendulkar. â€Å"Drama: The Most Difficult, But the Most Powerful Medium.† Interviews with Indian Writers, New World Literature Series, B-18, p.280 2. Vijay Tendulkar. Collected Plays in Translation: Silence! The Court is in Session, translated by Priya Adarkar, New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 2003, p.55. 3. Quoted in â€Å"System on the Verge of Collapse†, India Abroad , New York, February 4, 1994. 4. Deborah Rhode. â€Å"Justice, Gender and the Justice† in Crites Lawra L, and Hepperle Winifred L (eds), ‘Women, The Courts and Equality’. 1978, p.10. 5. Roma Mukherjee. Women, Law and Free Legal Aid in India, Deep & Deep Publications Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 1998, p.64. 6. Sect. (2), Adoptions and The Hindu Maintenance Act, 1956. 7. Ved Kumari. â€Å"Place of Women and Child in Guardianship† in Lotika Sarkar and B. Sivaramayya (eds), ‘Women and Law: Contemporary Problems’ Vikas PublishingHouse Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi, 1994, p.242. 8. Sudhir Sonalkar. â€Å"Vijay Tendulkar and the Metaphor of Violence†, The Illustrated Weekly of India, November 18-24, 1993, p.20. 9. Veena Noble Dass. â€Å"Women Characters in the Plays of Tendulkar†, New Directions in Indian Drama (ed) Sudhakar Pandey and Freya Barva, Prestige publications, New Delhi, 1994, p.11. 10. Vijay Tendulkar. â€Å"Interview†, The Indian Literary Review, Vol.I, p.12. 105 VIJAY TENDULKAR’S ‘SILENCE! THE COURT IS IN SESSION’†¦| Medikonda Sambaiah et al

6 Rules of Authoritative Leaders

6 Rules of Authoritative Leaders Authoritative Leaders are really good at setting the vision and painting an appealing picture of where we are going. The authoritative leader will not tell you how to get there, but will be inspiring you to follow. So he or she will say ‘Come with me’, ‘Look at where we are going’. When we catch someone we don’t tell them what to do, but we help people to find their own answers. A coaching style is really good to help the individual to unlock their potential. Some of the questions that we may ask in a coaching style is ‘What are you trying to achieve?’, ‘How can you get there?’. Democratic means that we share the problem space and in that sense a democratic leader will almost take a step back and denounce their leadership roles. They will ask people what they feel is the right thing to do. It has been proven that decision making by consensus is not most effective way of finding a good decision. Affiliative style is all about the harmony. It’s a very heart based style. People come first. If you are working with a team that feels a bit unsettled. Maybe, because two organizations have merged or something has happened. In that case people may not be ready to focus on the job because they are too much in the emotional part of the brain. In that case affiliative style can be really effective. As a pace setter I set a standard. ‘I will show how the job is to be done’. so I am not afraid of getting in there and really working with my team to show them how it must be done. In a long run that can be quite an exhausting style because I am here as a leader. I do it and I expect you to follow it. This is the old fashioned. Command and control management style where ‘It is my way’ or ‘No way’ or ‘You do as I tell you’. Coercive style, as you can probably imagine is not very effective in the long run because it doesn’t leave a lot of room for an individual to perform well and its not very empowering. But there is a time and place where it is appropriate. For example: In a crisis situation when a building is burning, I give you the direction to get out but we shouldn’t abuse this style because we think there is always crisis going on.

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Ted Talk Reflection Report - Essay Example I must say that the research process turned out to be quiet easy for me in the sense that I had to write about my father’s professional success and how he used the social media, which was in a very nascent stage in his times, to promote and expand his business. Yet, I was required to maintain a measure of detachment while culling out the traits that highlighted my father’s professional success, and to seek a theory of success that imbibed those characteristics and traits. I used a colorful and simple visual selection to make my paper more interesting, thought provoking and self explanatory. The objective of my essay is to bring to fore the essential human qualities, which when combined with the technical possibilities, give way to success and fulfillment. The management gurus and motivational speakers do not happen to be the only custodians of timeless qualities and abilities that promote human happiness. Families and communities also have been the traditional sources of ethics and excellence, which if approached and analyzed in a theoretical framework, can work wonders for the world. The Action Plan from the Doc Spec made the things for me less unwieldy, structured and organized. I must say that I don’t have much experience with essay writing in English. So the Doc Spec facilitated a manageable framework within which I was able to research and brainstorm the topic selected by me. To put it simply, it considerably curtailed the wastage of time, efforts and resources. It allowed me to construct and then build on the topic in a systematic and methodical manner Going through the papers drafted by others allowed me a clear and concise perspective as to what I was expected to do and how I should go about doing it. I more than often focused on the format and style of others to shape and organize my work. It also extended to me a fair idea as to what sources I need to research and how to access those sources. Besides it

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Art Museum of Denver and Clyfford Still Museum - Essay Example One day, during the semester, I went to Clyfford Still Museum. I can say that the trip there was very illuminating and also very interesting. I saw many things and drawings that looked so complicated to understand or make sense of it. One man who works over there told me that the drawings really represented faces of people. I was really puzzled because they didn’t look like human faces. The man told me that symbolic drawing can be complex, but artists get used to it. He showed me a simple drawing, because as he said, compared to other pieces the piece was easy to analyze and understand. The piece was about three people sitting with a woman standing behind them. The colors were very attractive, and that was a switch from symbolic art. The piece really caught my eye and I liked it a lot. It was a canvas oil painting with real thick coat of paint. I took my time analyzing and reflecting on the painting to understand if there was any hidden explanation. Actually, the woman was not really standing. She was kneeling down next to the men. Looking closer always clarifies things in art. When I looked in the back of the picture I noticed that the sky was very dark and gloomy because the colors were dark blues and dark grays with some orange or red in the horizontal scope. Finally, I realized because of the orange and red colors that the time of the setting of the painting was at down or dusk, because we see this mix of colors at those two times.

Public Policy Essay Example for Free

Public Policy Essay Public policies are tools of governments used satisfy certain wants and needs of the citizenry that they cannot effectively satisfy individually or that are better served through collective action. Public Policy is governmental laws, rules and regulation, funding and courses of actions that are measured by the government. Public policies can be complex and can rapidly change under most circumstances. According to Medical University of South Carolina, Individuals and groups often attempt to shape public policy through education, advocacy, or mobilization of interest groups ( MUSC, 2012). The study of public policies is the examination of the creation, by the government, of the rules, laws, and goals, and standards that determine what government does or does not do to create resources, benefits, costs, and burdens. There are many different areas related to Public policy that affect every one individual by way of education, economic development, health care, housing, employment income, and immigration just to name a few. There are also international policies as well that affect the US such as importing and exporting goods that go out into the economy, weapons, and terrorism. any level of government, whether federal, state, or local may be involved in a particular policy effort because social problems, and the public demand for action on them, manifest themselves from the local to the national level. All areas of public policies are important and should be addressed as top priority because some policies such as education are just not a top priority. Schools, recreational centers, and teachers are being closed and laid off daily due to public policies and politicians trying to figured out ways to cut cost and meet budget requirements. Without parks and recreational centers for our children, crime is more likely to increase among our youth as well as the unemployment rate increasing among our teachers and without teachers, how are our youth going to grow and learn what is needed to become tax paying cit izens in society? Public policy is defined by Websters as the The basic policy or set of policies forming the foundation of public laws, especially such policy not yet formally enunciated. The United States Government has many policies in the area of the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created in 1970 to help identify environmental problems in our nation, and to set policy on how to deal with those problems. Yet, with so much money spent by the government to deal with problems with the environment, it must be noted that problems still exist, even within the bureaucracy that was meant to help in the first place. During the presidential campaign of the last election, an issue arose concerning the energy crisis that was driving gasoline and oil prices up throughout our country. Vice President Al Gore supported President Clintons ideology of waiting for the proper legislative initiatives to pass through Congress, and when the situation merited, provide some limited releases of oil from the national oil reserve. Candidate George W. Bush, on the other had, favored drilling in the government protected lands of Alaska to find future oil reserves so that America would no longer be so dependent on foreign oil. The problem with Bushs plan, according to Gore, was that this could be devastating to the environment of the scarcely populated Alaskan wilderness. Regardless of the political, legal or moral implications of such drilling, there are problems dealing with multiple types of rationality in this issue. Others have noted the growing evidence that the increase in recent years in the frequency of such mega-hurricanes as Katrina is a result of global warming. A checklist of environmental policy failures must also include the administrations head-in-the-sand approach to global warming. The Bush administration has aggressively undermined international efforts to forcefully address such potentially catastrophic changes in the worlds climate as a result of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States and other industrialized nations. It is impossible to say whether even a responsible approach to climate change would have lessened Katrinas fury. But the fact remains that scientists believe global warming will make future hurricanes more severe. The presidents policy of blocking meaningful efforts to reduce global warming emissions no doubt means that future storms will do greater damage than they would otherwise. Huffington Post reported that Bush was heavily criticized at the time for the governments response to Katrina, a storm that caused 1,833 fatalities, damaged an estimated $81 billion in property, and ranks among the five deadliest hurricanes in United States history. He remained on vacation in Texas as the hurricane rocked the Gulf Coast, before belatedly cutting his trip short and returning to Washington (Huffington Post, 2013). References A Third Of Louisiana Republicans Blame Obama For Hurricane Katrina Response Under Bush. (2013). Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/21/obama-hurricane-katrina_n_3790612.html Definitions of Public Policy and the Law. (2012). Welcome to the Medical University of South Carolina. Retrieved from http://www.musc.edu/vawprevention/policy http://www.musc.edu/vawprevention/policy/definition.shtml Dictionary and Thesaurus Merriam-Webster Online. (2013). Dictionary and Thesaurus Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/

Exam Answers on EU Law

Exam Answers on EU Law (a)  The UK Parliament wishes to challenge the draft Directive on the basis that it infringes the principle of subsidiarity. The UK Parliament has a system of scrutiny committees that are responsible to review the proposal established by the EU Commission. In the given scenario, the draft Directive touches on the area of ‘Research, Technological Development and Space’. According to Article 4 of Lisbon Treaty, the EU and Member States have shared competence in this field, but paragraph 3 further stipulates that the exercise of the EU’s competence in this field does not limit the competence of the Member States. Therefore, the scrutiny committees may issue a reasoned opinion on the basis that the draft Directive has infringed the principle of subsidiarity set out in Article 5(3) of the Lisbon Treaty of European Union. According to Article 6 of Protocol 2, the UK committees must issue the reasoned opinion that oppose the draft Directive within eight weeks from the date of transmission.[1] Here, the draft Directive was established on 15 December 2012 and thus the deadline for the UK Parliament to issue the reasoned opinion will be 9 February 2013. It must be noted that, if at least one third of the national parliaments have given the reasoned opinion, it is considered as a ‘yellow card’ and the Commission can be required to review the draft Directive. However, in case of more than a simple majority, this is an orange card and this allows the European Parliament and the Council to reject the draft Directive before the first reading.[2] (b)  The German Association of University Professors and Lecturers (hereinafter referred to as ‘the association’) wishes to challenge the regulation, in order for it to be declared invalid. There are two ways available: a direct action under Article 263 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (hereinafter referred to as ‘TFEU’); or an indirect action under Article 267 of TFEU. Direct Action under Article 263 In order to strike down the directive successfully under Article 263,[3] there are three procedural requirements: there is a legal act, the action is raised within the prescribed limit of two months and the applicant must have sufficient legal standing to initiate the action.[4] By virtue of Article 288 of the TFEU, a directive is a ‘legal act’ that fulfil the Article 263 requirement. We are told that the directive was adopted on 1 July 2013 and thus the latest date for the association to bring the action is 1 September 2013. Further, the association is a non-privileged applicant who has no automatic standing and thus it is necessary for the association to satisfy that the adopted Directive is of both the direct and individual concern to them.[5] Nevertheless, as shown in the Salamander case, it may be extremely difficult for a non-privileged applicant to prove that a directive is of direct concern to him.[6] According to Plaumann, it is likely that the directive casts no individual concern to the association as they cannot be differentiated from the other researchers.[7] Thus, the action under Article 263 looks unlikely materialise to the association. Indirect Action under Article 267 Alternatively, under Article 267, the association may have to be a party to an action in a national court and the court would have discretion as to whether or not to make a reference on this issue to the CJEU. According to Rau v BALM, the facts that the association has no standing under Article 263 would not affect their ability in bring an Article 267 action.[8] But it is still not advisable for the association to bring an action under Article 267 as it has been pointed out by Advocate General Jacobs in UnioÃÅ'’n de PequenÃÅ'Æ’os Agricultores that it is wrong to expect someone to ‘breach the law in order to gain access to justice’.[9] (c)  Professor Moltisanti wishes to bring an action against Italian government for its failure to implement the directive. There are two actions available to him: the doctrine of direct effect; or the Francovich principle. The Doctrine of Direct Effect According to the leading case of Van Gen den Loos, in order for directive to give rise to direct effects, certain criteria has to be satisfied.[10] First of all, as shown in Ratti, the court held that the applicant is only allowed to rely on a directive that the deadline for implementation has been expired.[11] On the facts, the grant scheme runs from July 2014, this indicates that the deadline for transposition (1 November 2013) has already expired and thus Professor Moltisanti may be able to rely on the directive directly in the court. Next, in Marshall v Southampton SW Hampshire AHA, it was held that a directive could be invoked vertically against a public body.[12] In the other words, Professor Moltisanti can rely on the directive vertically against the Italian government. Francovich Principle On the other hand, an alternative way that available for Professor Moltisanti is the principle established in the Francovich case that a right to damages against the member states is available to individuals if they have suffered loss as a result of the member state’s failure to implement a directive.[13] This principle is further developed Factortame, where the court laid down the criteria in replying the Francovich principle that there must be a sufficiently serious breach and direct causal link can be established between the breach and the loss suffered by the individual.[14] Applying this to the facts, the failure to implement the directive is automatically a sufficiently serious breach within the SchoÃÅ'ˆppenstedt[15] formula and it is clearly that the Italian government’s failure to implement the directive makes Professor Moltisanti lost the opportunity to gain support under the scheme. Therefore, it is likely that he may seek redress under the Francovich principle. Introduction The statement suggests that the principle of supremacy of EU law is merely a myth originated from the Court of Justice case law, where in fact the national courts have constantly challenged on this concept. In this essay, we will deal with the principle of supremacy of EU law from both the Court of Justice and national courts’ perspectives and argue that the given statement is correct in the context that the supremacy principle enunciated by the Court of Justice is itself fictional and its application in the national courts is not absolute. The Principle of Supremacy of EU law from the Court of Justice’s Perspective When a State joins the European Union, it is considered that there will be a transfer of sovereignty for certain specific areas of policy from the state to the community. Nevertheless, the community treaty does not contain specific reference in the relationship between the EU law and national law and this leads to a situation where both law are in conflict. Not surprisingly, the Court of Justice (hereinafter referred to as ‘CJEU’, previously known as the ‘European Court of Justice’, ‘ECJ’) is on the view that the EU law must prevail in such conflict. The court took its first step in preserving the uniformity of application of EU law among the Member States in the landmark case of Van Gend en Loos.[16] The stance was affirmed in Costa v ENEL, where the ECJ held that the community has ‘created its own legal system which became an integral part of the legal systems of the Member States and which their courts are bound to apply’.[17] The ECJ further added force to the supremacy principle in the Simmenthal case, where it held that the national courts must set aside the national law if it is in conflict with the community law.[18] At this point, it can be argued that the supremacy principle established by the CJEU is ‘fictional’ as it merely requires a disapplication of national law. In Factortame, the ECJ made clear that if there is a dispute between the national law and the community law, the national courts must set aside its national law, instead on striking down the provision as ultra vires.[19] Furthermore, the supremacy principle from the CJEU’s perspective is not absolute and this was shown in the Asda Stores case in which the ECJ had forfeited the EU supremacy and applied the conflicting national law. [20] On the other hand, because of the wide variation of the constitutional background between the member states, the national courts have responded differently in interpreting the supremacy principle into their own legal system. The Principle of Supremacy of EU law from the National Courts’ Perspectives There are mainly two approaches to the incorporation of EU law by the national courts, namely monist or dualist approaches. Monistic Theory In monist States, such as Belgium and France, all law is treated equally, it is not necessary for an international law to be implemented into national law and the national courts can apply the law Dualistic Theory For states with a dualist system, such as Germany and United Kingdom, international law and national law are considered to be fundamentally distinct. This means that international law cannot be directly applied by the national courts but requires the translation into the national law. As to give a clearer analysis, we will deal with the legal system of the member states separately: Belgium Belgium provides a good example of acceptance of the supremacy of EU law based upon reasoning which is closest to that employed by the ECJ itself.[21] Even though there has no provision in the Belgian Constitution that supports the supremacy of EU law, the Belgian Court demonstrated its willingness to accord the supremacy principle in Le Ski case. In this case, it was held that if there is a conflict between the Belgian Constitution and a provision under EU treaty that imposes direct effect in the national legal system, the EU law prevails.[22] Is the Supremacy of EU law over national law a fantasy of the Court of Justice with reference to the Belgian court’s perspective? It is submitted that Belgium manages the supremacy principle of EU law with relatively ease. Can this be argued that as an evidence of the supremacy principle? Bribosa commented on this issue that the approach taken by the court was actually a consideration of Kompetenz-Kompetenz (competence-competence) doctrine but rather than the ruling of ECJ.[23] In other words, instead of treating that the EU law is superior to the Belgian law, it may be more appropriate to recognise that the Belgian courts has sought to emerge the new community rule with its established domestic legal framework. France In France, the court’s willingness to accord the supremacy of EU law was shown in the Administration des Douanes case[24], where it was held that by virtue of Article 55 of the French Constitution, if there is a conflict between national law and a ratified international treaty, the latter should be give precedence over the former.[25] This approach was only affirmed in Nicolo case[26] where the court suggested that Article 55 enables the courts to review the validity of French legislation with the EU provisions and thus the community law should be given precedence over the national law. Is the Supremacy of EU law over national law a fantasy of the Court of Justice with reference to the French court’s perspective? Even though the French courts have recognised the supremacy of EU treaty, it is arguable that the supremacy of EU law in the context of French jurisdiction is not absolute. The Constitutional Council had made it clear in the reasoned Decision given on 9 April 1992 Maastricht I[27] that France could derogate its sovereignty to the Union, only if the particular community rule is not contradictory to the French Constitution and will not violate the exercise of national sovereignty.[28] Such reasoning can be regarded as putting a limitation to France’s acceptance of supremacy and thus it may casts ambiguity on the supremacy principle that derived from the CJEU’s ruling. Germany In Germany, the EU supremacy principle is shaped with the terms of Article 23 of the German Basic Law. In Internationale Handelsgesellschaft mbH v EVGF (Solange I), the Federal Constitutional Court held that although Article 23 allowed the transfer of legislative power to EU law, the German Constitution would still take priority over the EU treaty if the community has not removed the possible conflict of norms between EU law and the fundamental rights provision under the German Constitution.[29] However, having considered the development of fundamental rights doctrine by the ECJ, the position has been altered in the case of Re Wuensche Handelsgesellschaft (Solange II), where it held stated that the court would no longer review EU provision in light of the German Constitution.[30] Is the Supremacy of EU law over national law a fantasy of the Court of Justice with reference to the German court’s perspective? By observing the change of attitude of Federal Constitutional Court in adopting the supremacy principle, it is likely that the ECJ’s wish that the EU law should prevail over national law may be fulfilled. However, in has been made clear in Brunner v European Union Treaty the supremacy of EU law within German jurisdiction is not unconditional, the EU law will be applied only because the national law says it does. [31] Therefore, it may not be appropriate to say that the EU law is supreme over German domestic law because the German courts have not surrendered Germany sovereignty but merely fulfil the obligations of EU membership.[32] United Kingdom The situation becomes more complicated in the UK jurisdiction because of its doctrine of Parliamentary Sovereignty. As a dualist states, the EU treaty will only have effect in the UK legal system with the incorporation of UK Act. This led to the publication of the European Communities Act 1972 (hereinafter referred to as ‘ECA 1972’), whereby it incorporates the EU provisions into the English legal system. In R v Secretary of State for Transport, ex parte Factortame, Lord Bridge stated that it had ‘always been clear that it was the duty of a United Kingdom court when delivering final judgment, to override any rule of national law found to be in conflict with any directly enforceable rule of Community law’.[33] Nevertheless, it must be noted that, the effect of this case would not actually nullify the existing UK legislation and this indicates that the UK national law is still superior to the EU law. Is the Supremacy of EU law over national law a fantasy of the Court of Justice with reference to the British court’s perspective? It is arguable that the EU law does not take precedence over the UK law since the community legislation may only be effective within the UK legal system with the incorporation of ECA 1972. Such approach has been adopted by Lord Justice Laws in the case of Thoburn v Sunderland City Council, where he pointed out that the relationship between the UK and the EU depends on UK law, not EU law. [34] Conclusion According to Maduro, ‘the acceptance of the supremacy of EU rules over national constitutional rules has not been unconditional’.[35] It is apparent from the discussion above, despite the distinction between monistic and dualist system, the application of EU law under the national legal framework is ultimately influenced by the national law. Therefore, it might be true that the supremacy principle is a fantasy of the CJEU. However, notwithstanding talk of any legal fiction, it can be observed from the case law that the national courts do give effect to supremacy of EU law. The fact that EU law has been consistently and uniformly applied in the member states’ courts today creates no real dispute over the application of supremacy principle in practice. Question: Word length: (2) 1129 (4) 1999 TOTAL 3128 Bibliography Tables of cases EU Cases Aktien-Zuckerfabrik SchoÃÅ'ˆppenstedt v Council (5/71) [1971] ECR 975 Amministrazione delle Finanze dello Stato v Simmenthal (106/77) [1978] ECR 629 Brasserie du PeÃÅ'‚cheur/Factortame III (C-46/93 48/93) [1996] ECR I-1029 Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma and Another v Asda Stores Ltd and Another (C-108/01) [2003] ECR I-5121 Costa v ENEL (6/64) [1964] ECR 585 Francovich v Italy Republic (6/90) [1991] ECR I-5357 Marshall v Southampton and South West Hampshire AHA (271/91) [1993] ECR I-4367 Ministero Pubblico v Ratti (148/78) [1979] ECR 1629 P UnioÃÅ'’n de PequenÃÅ'Æ’os Agricultores v Council (C-50/00) [2002] ECR I-6677 Plaumann Co v Commission (25/62) [1963] ECR 95 Rau v Bundesanstalt fuÃÅ'ˆr Landswirtschaftliche Marktordnung (C-133/85) [1987] ECR-2289 Salamander and others v European Parliament and Council (T-172 175-177/98) [2000] ECR II- 2487 R v Secretary of State for Transport, ex parte Factortame Ltd and Others (C-213/89) [1990] ECR 2433 Van Gend en Loos v Nederlandse Administratie der Belastingen (26/62) [1963] ECR 1 Belgian Case Minister for Economic Affairs v SA Fromagerie Franco-Suisse ‘Le Ski’ [1972] CMLR 330 French Cases Administration des Douanes v SocieÃÅ'’teÃÅ'’ CafeÃÅ'’s Jacques Vabre J. Weigel et Cie. SARL [1975] 2 CMLR 336 Raoul Georges Nicolo and another [1990] 1 CMLR 173 German Cases Brunner v European Union Treaty [1994] 1 CMLR 57 Internationale Handelsgesellschaft mbH v Einfuhr- und Vorratsstelle fà ¼r Getreide und Futtermittel [1974] 2 CMLR 540 Wà ¼nsche handelsgesellschaft,Re [1987] 3 CMLR 225 United Kingdom Cases Thoburn v Sunderland City Council [2003] QB 151 R v Secretary of State for Transport, ex parte Factortame [1991] AC 603 Table of Legislation EU Legislation Consolidated Version of the Treaty on European Union [2008] OJ C115/13, art 4 Consolidated Version of the Treaty on European Union [2008] OJ C115/13, art 5 Consolidated Version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union [2008] OJ C115/47, art 263 Consolidated Version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union [2008] OJ C115/47, art 264 Consolidated Version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union [2008] OJ C115/47, art 267 Consolidated Version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union [2008] OJ C115/47, art 288 Protocol (No.2) on the Application of the Principle of Subsidiarity and Proportionality [2010] OJ C 83/206, Art 6 Protocol (No.2) on the Application of the Principle of Subsidiarity and Proportionality [2010] OJ C 83/206, Art 7 French Legislation Conseil Constitutionnel, decision n.92-308 DC of 9 April 1992, Treaty of Maastricht I French Constitution, art 55 German Legislation Basic Law, art 24 United Kingdom Legislation European Communities Act 1972 Secondary Sources Books Chalmers D, Davies G and Monti G, European Union Law (3rd edn, Cambridge University Press 2014) Hartley T, European Union Law in a Global Context: Text, Cases and Materials (Cambridge University Press 2004) Articles Benvenisti E and Downs G, ‘The Premises, Assumptions, and Implication of Van Gend en Loos’ [2014] 25 EJIL 85 Martinoco G, ‘Is the European Convention going to be ‘supreme’? A Comparative-constitutional overview of ECHR and EU law before national courts’ [2010] EJIL 401 Maduro M, ‘Interpreting European Law: Judicial Adjudication in a Context of Constitutional Pluralism’ [2007]1 EJLS 2 Electronic Sources Craig P, ‘The ECJ, National Courts and the Supremacy of Community Law’ http://www.ecln.net/elements/conferences/bookrome/craig.pdf> accessed 29 December 2014 1 [1] Protocol (No.2) on the Application of the Principle of Subsidiarity and Proportionality [2010] OJ C 83/206, art 7. [2] Ibid, art 6. [3] Consolidated Version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union [2008] OJ C115/47, art 264. [4] Ibid, art 263. [5] Ibid. [6] Joined Cases T-172 175-177/98 Salamander and others v European Parliament and Council [2000] ECR II- 2487. [7] Case 25/62 Plaumann Co v Commission [1963] ECR 95. [8] Case C-133/85 Rau v Bundesanstalt fuÃÅ'ˆr Landswirtschaftliche Marktordnung [1987] ECR-2289. [9] Case C-50/00 P UnioÃÅ'’n de PequenÃÅ'Æ’os Agricultores v Council [2002] ECR I-6677, Opinion of AG Jacobs, paras. 41-9. [10] Case 26/62 Van Gend en Loos v Nederlandse Administratie der Belastingen [1963] ECR 1. [11] Case 148/78, Ministero Pubblico v Ratti [1979] ECR 1629. [12] Case 271/91, Marshall v Southampton and South West Hampshire AHA [1993] ECR I-4367. [13] Case 6/90 Francovich v Italy Republic [1991] ECR I-5357. [14] Joined Cases C-46/93 48/93 Brasserie du PeÃÅ'‚cheur/Factortame III [1996] ECR I-1029. [15] Case 5/71 Aktien-Zuckerfabrik SchoÃÅ'ˆppenstedt v Council [1971] ECR 975. [16] Van Gend en Loos (n 10). [17] Case 6/64 Costa v ENEL [1964] ECR 585, 593. [18] Case 106/77 Amministrazione delle Finanze dello Stato v Simmenthal [1978] ECR 629, 21. [19] Case C-213/89 R v Secretary of State for Transport, ex parte Factortame Ltd and Others [1990] ECR 2433. [20] Case C-108/01 Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma and Another v Asda Stores Ltd and Another [2003] ECR I-5121. [21] Paul Craig, ‘The ECJ, National Courts and the Supremacy of Community Law’ http://www.ecln.net/elements/conferences/bookrome/craig.pdf> accessed 29 December 2014. [22] Eyal Benvenisti and George Downs, ‘The Premises, Assumptions, and Implication of Van Gend en Loos’ [2014] 25 EJIL 85, http://www.ejil.org/pdfs/25/1/2477.pdf> accessed 9 January 2014, citing Minister for Economic Affairs v SA Fromagerie Franco-Suisse ‘Le Ski’ [1972] CMLR 330, 347. [23] Paul (n 21), citing H Bribosia, ‘Report on Belgium’, in A-M Slaughter, A Stone Sweet and J H H Weiler (eds), The European Court and National Courts, Doctrine and Jurisprudence (Oxford: Hart Publishing 1998) p.21-22. [24] Paul (n 21), citing Administration des Douanes v SocieÃÅ'’teÃÅ'’ CafeÃÅ'’s Jacques Vabre J. Weigel et Cie. SARL [1975] 2 CMLR 336. [25] Paul (n 21). [26] Raoul Georges Nicolo and another [1990] 1 CMLR 173, as translation can be found in http://www.utexas.edu/law/academics/centers/transnational/work_new/french/case.php?id=1440> accessed 9 January 2014. [27]Conseil Constitutionnel, decision n.92-308 DC of 9 April 1992, Treaty of Maastricht I, as translation can be found in http://www.utexas.edu/law/academics/centers/transnational/work_new/french/case.php?id=998> accessed 9 January 2014. [28] Giuseppe Martinoco, ‘Is the European Convention going to be ‘supreme’? A Comparative-constitutional overview of ECHR and EU law before national courts’ [2010] EJIL 401. [29] Internationale Handelsgesellschaft mbH v Einfuhr- und Vorratsstelle fà ¼r Getreide und Futtermittel [1974] 2 CMLR 540, as translation can be found in http://www.utexas.edu/law/academics/centers/transnational/work_new/german/case.php?id=588> assessed 9 January 2014.

Overview on Inflation Targeting as a Monetary Policy Strategy Essay

INTRODUCTION Since the 1990s, a large number of industrial countries and a growing number of emerging market and transition economies have adopted inflation targeting as their monetary policy strategy. During the implementation they face many challenges. However, there is no established pattern so countries must learn along the way from one another and more importantly from their own experience. This paper provides an overview on inflation targeting as a monetary policy strategy, necessary preconditions for its successful implementation, its advantages and disadvantages and issues and challenges that emerging market and transition economies face while defining and implementing this monetary policy strategy. Inflation targeting as a monetary policy strategy Macroeconomic policy of any country has several goals such as employment, economic stability, economic development and production growth. Those goals are achieved by appropriate fiscal and monetary policy led by â€Å"most important players in financial markets† , Central Banks. Healthy macroeconomic policy means healthy economy which can be achieved through one of three monetary strategies: monetary targeting, inflation targeting and implicit nominal anchor. Central banks are held highly accountable for the conduct of monetary policy and hitting the targets. In other words, those regimes appear to be highly transparent. Furthermore, what is common for these three strategies is that all three of them focus on price stability, which is, for most Central Banks of the world, the main goal of monetary policy. Not so long ago policy makers reintroduced the idea of targeting. They first introduced monetary targeting during the seventies and eighties, and later on in 1989 infla... ...//www2.gsb.columbia.edu/faculty/fmishkin/PDFpapers/w5893.pdf †¢ Mishkin, Frederic S. and Schmidt-Hebbel, K., 2006, â€Å" Does Inflation Targeting Make a Difference?† Central Bank of Chile Working Papers No. 404 available from http://www.bcentral.cl/estudios/documentos-trabajo/pdf/dtbc404.pdf †¢ Johnson, D., 2002, â€Å"The Effect of Inflation Targeting on the Behavior of Expected Inflation: Evidence from an 11 Country Panel,† Journal of Monetary Economics 49, pp.1521-1538; †¢ Gerlach, S., 1999, â€Å"Who targets inflation explicitly?† European Economic Review 43, pp.1257-1277; †¢ Lin, S. and Ye, H., 2009, â€Å"Does inflation targeting make a difference in developing countries?† Journal of Development Economies 89, pp.118-123; †¢ Cukierman, A., 1996, The Economics of Central Banking, in: H. Wolf (ed.) Contemporary Economic Issues: Macroeconomic and Finance, Basingstoke, UK: Macmillan.

Essay --

The first time I happened to know about computer networks was when in my third semester, I attended a lecture on networking by one of the university professors. This lecture had left me awed. With the increased curiosity in this field of networking, I enrolled myself in a course called "Networks". Within this course, I got an opportunity to work on various switched networks, FTP, DNS, DHCP, NFS and Telnet configurations, shell programming, apache web server, structured cabling, firewall services, configuring send mail and some countermeasures for hacking. The ample amount of hands-on experience and tests that they had made us take, was sufficient to evoke a propensity towards networking. Since then, there has been no looking back. Very early in my life I realised my penchant for engineering which made me take up diploma in electronics and communication right after school. The experience of studying in a prestigious institute like Vivekanand Education Society’s Polytechnic, Mumbai, acted as a web where engineering concepts gripped my mind. Subjects such as Computer fundamentals and Digital communications compelled me to dig deeper and explore more into this field. I ranked 2nd in the institute and 16th in the final academic year across the Maharashtra state, is a testimony to the fact that I strive to do my best at anything that I commit to. This helped me build a strong foundation which in turn opened the doors to Sardar Patel Institute of Technology, one of the premier institutes affiliated to Mumbai University, to pursue my degree in Electronics and Telecommunication engineering. My experience as an undergraduate student at this institute has played a vital role in shaping my interest towards networki ng. The rigorous curriculum ... ...ffered by Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the North Carolina State University being particularly in tune with global industry demands and recent developments will undoubtedly provide me with unique learning opportunities. I see at the North Carolina State University the chance to acquire the skills that will allow me to develop as a true leader in my professional realm through my exposure to on-going research initiatives such as the work being carried out by Dr.Jayant Baliga in the scope of Networking. I desire to pursue PhD in network securities taking my interest further in this field. As a high-achiever and an individual driven by her passion, I am determined to make the most of every opportunity provided to me. I can assure you that my admission into your University’s MS program will be met with the highest level of commitment and dedication. Essay -- The first time I happened to know about computer networks was when in my third semester, I attended a lecture on networking by one of the university professors. This lecture had left me awed. With the increased curiosity in this field of networking, I enrolled myself in a course called "Networks". Within this course, I got an opportunity to work on various switched networks, FTP, DNS, DHCP, NFS and Telnet configurations, shell programming, apache web server, structured cabling, firewall services, configuring send mail and some countermeasures for hacking. The ample amount of hands-on experience and tests that they had made us take, was sufficient to evoke a propensity towards networking. Since then, there has been no looking back. Very early in my life I realised my penchant for engineering which made me take up diploma in electronics and communication right after school. The experience of studying in a prestigious institute like Vivekanand Education Society’s Polytechnic, Mumbai, acted as a web where engineering concepts gripped my mind. Subjects such as Computer fundamentals and Digital communications compelled me to dig deeper and explore more into this field. I ranked 2nd in the institute and 16th in the final academic year across the Maharashtra state, is a testimony to the fact that I strive to do my best at anything that I commit to. This helped me build a strong foundation which in turn opened the doors to Sardar Patel Institute of Technology, one of the premier institutes affiliated to Mumbai University, to pursue my degree in Electronics and Telecommunication engineering. My experience as an undergraduate student at this institute has played a vital role in shaping my interest towards networki ng. The rigorous curriculum ... ...ffered by Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the North Carolina State University being particularly in tune with global industry demands and recent developments will undoubtedly provide me with unique learning opportunities. I see at the North Carolina State University the chance to acquire the skills that will allow me to develop as a true leader in my professional realm through my exposure to on-going research initiatives such as the work being carried out by Dr.Jayant Baliga in the scope of Networking. I desire to pursue PhD in network securities taking my interest further in this field. As a high-achiever and an individual driven by her passion, I am determined to make the most of every opportunity provided to me. I can assure you that my admission into your University’s MS program will be met with the highest level of commitment and dedication.

Toni Morrisons Sula - The Provinciality of Sulas Characters :: Sula Essays

The Provinciality of Sula's Character's In her review of Toni Morrison's novel, Sula, Sara Blackburn complains that the setting and characters "seem somehow frozen, stylized"(1). While Blackburn talks favorably about Morrison's past novels (The Bluest Eye in particular), she is of the opinion that Sula is less successful because the characters are confined to one location and one mode of thought. Morrison hasn't endowed her people with life beyond their place and function in the novel, and we can't imagine their surviving outside the tiny community where they carry on their separate lives (1). While I agree with Blackburn that the characters remain inside the confines of the Bottom and the way of life there, I disagree with her that the characters are nothing more than their place and function in the novel. After reading this review, I began to think about other famous authors and novels and I realized that most stay within a certain setting and way of life. Morrison is not writing her characters as flat by making them a product of their environment and upbringing; she is simply mirroring the reality of life and human nature. I also disagree with Blackburn that the character of Sula is the exception in the novel. She too is simply a meshing of her surroundings and the people who raised her and whom she came into contact with. Had Sula not been raised by a mother prone to taking other women's husbands into storage closets, she would not have slept with her best friend's husband and then act as if she had done nothing wrong. Morrison say's the following in the novel about ho w Sula became the woman she was: Eva's arrogance and Hannah's self-indulgence merged in her and, with a twist that was all her own imagination, she lived out her days exploring her own thoughts and emotions, giving them full reign, feeling no obligation to please anybody unless their pleasure pleasedher (118). I also disagree when Blackburn says that Sula is a novel "whose long-range impact doesn't sustain the intensity of its first reading"(2). How can that be true when the character's actions are never those that the reader expects. The reader is forced to wonder why about so many different situation in the novel, that it sticks with them way after they've put down the book. How could Eva justify burning alive her own son?

Always Running by Luis Rodriguez

Gangs, violence and drug use are realities that most people in communities where poverty proliferates. While poverty, in itself, is not the major factor, it is certainly a risk factor and leads to further complications. Those who are poor and homeless definitely have less choice in the way they live their lives. In this regard, they are forced to engage in dangerous and even criminal behavior just to win their next meal or protect themselves from other people who may be eyeing the same source of income or subsistence in the community.When a sufficient number of people within the community experience extreme poverty and they resort to extra-legal behaviors, the community will deteriorate and its citizens will have to live with the reality of gangs, violence and drugs. The book of Luis Rodriguez, Always Running, is an attempt to present the situation in East Los Angeles. Amid the splendor and the richness of Los Angeles, the community of East LA is America’s version of the third world.More than just a psychological and sociological reflection on the realities of gangs and violence, his is reflection of someone who really went through the ordeals of gangs, violence and the use of drugs in the neighborhood. By writing his memoirs, Rodriguez (1994) depicted the scenes of his neighborhood with urgency and the poignancy of someone who truly experienced the events he portrays in his book. Gangs, Violence and Drugs in East LA The prevalence of gangs, violence and drug use in any given neighborhood may be easily blamed on the adventurous spirit of young men and women who seek life outside of their families.Or to the people behind the gangs who just manipulate the lives of these young people for their own personal gain. Based on the memoir of Rodriguez (1994), however, a number of reasons may be pointed to. One is the homelessness and continuous search of protection for oneself and one’s family. The title of the book is Always Running. The status of the fami ly and one’s relationship with the family has an impact on the kids who decide to join the gang. To protect themselves from harm and to help find food for themselves and their families, gangs are an alternative for these kids.Another reason for this proliferation is the search for belonging and camaraderie they find in gangs. Gangs often function as a surrogate family, albeit a dysfunctional one, to those who choose to belong to them. Through the process of initiation, the togetherness and the invitation to â€Å"toughness,† the kids who decide to belong to gangs become caught up in a vicious cycle that becomes very difficult to break. Rodriguez (1994), himself, learned how to run away from the police, how to steal, rob, and even engage in rape and other criminal behavior.Gangs also give a semblance of order and direction for the kids who belong to them. By trusting the older and more senior members of the gangs, the young people get a semblance of direction as other g ang members tell them about the things they should do to remain as members of the gang. Through the difficulties that they face in their own lives, they can achieve a level of control through their membership in the gangs. It is a destructive process but since these gangs are available in the neighborhood, the temptation to be a part of these is too great to resist for most young people.The whole community is affected by these gangs and violence. Although most of the families in the neighborhood are fragmented by poverty, divorce and other issues, they were still a force that most kids respected. As such, to a certain level, families were heeded by gang members. Yet, the community often responds by trying to ignore these events and engaging the police and other authorities to bring order. More than that, they also live in fear of the constant fighting among gangs and the violence they leave in the wake of such fighting.Those who do not belong to the community tend to look negatively to the community and shun it. This way, the gangs may feast on strangers who happen to wander into their territories. Since gangs are territorial, they would not tolerate other gangs from wandering into their territories. Yet, as the police becomes involves, such scenario is difficult to avoid. Therefore, some gangs do get in trouble with the police and with other gangs at the same time. This scenario becomes commonplace in the community and they cease to fight it and actively go against such culture.When this happens, they simply accept the reality of gangs, violence and drug use and do their best to minimize their impact on their lives and activities. Yet, they cannot get away from these realities. There are also members of the community who feel protective of the members of the gang, but not necessarily of the gangs. This is because of the perceived way in which they contrast their situation with the situation of more affluent people in the outskirts of their community and beyon d.As such, they reason, albeit subconsciously, that the gangs are a natural outgrowth of the desire of these people to protect themselves from other groups seeking to take advantage of them. Such stance therefore justifies in their minds the existence of such gangs and the necessity for violence. Aiming for Change There are instances, however, when the community is mustered to action and inspired to spearhead some changes in the community. When the culture of the people who belong to the community is affirmed, they are moved for action.When a particular cultural group manages to prove itself, the community rouses from slumber and they respond in kind. They then affirm their collective power and empower the young people in the community to aim for their best so that their lives would improve. This also helped the young people affirm the culture that they have even if the school system did not have provisions for such. The achievements of such kids, therefore, became the achievement o f the community and became a symbol of what they can do if they choose to rise above their economic and social standing. Another important aspect of the issue of gangs is the issue of race.Cultural groups such as Chicanos would need to band together so that they would not fall prey to White kids who are intent on waging violence against those who do not belong to them. Conclusion The issue of gangs, violence and drug use is multi-faceted. As such, the solutions that would be proposed should also take into account the issues of culture, family, school, and poverty. Sociological, political and economic analyses have been made. Yet, the memoirs of Rodriguez are a stark reminder that more than just academic curiosities, the kids who belong to gangs are real people who need empowerment.Rodriguez told the story of his life with gangs, violence and drugs as a means of showing his son what it was like to live a life that was always running. By documenting his experiences, he hopes to deter his son from his foray on such a risky life. Gang members can make choices to move away from their gangster lifestyles. But they will need the economic stability and the support of the community if they were to do that. The case of Rodriguez is an example of a man who thought about his life and decided to change it for the better. Reference Rodriguez, LJ (1994). Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L. A. LA: Touchstone.

Teenage Brain Term Paper

Cleve Harrison PYSCH 1030 Guerin 9 March 2013 Inside the Teenage Brain Every human being on the face of the earth went through those fun, party filled teenaged years. During this time most everyone experienced mostly the same awkward moments. The time when teens feel they know everything, and are an adult. How is this explained and how does brain development explain how and what we learn? In a PBS documentary â€Å"Inside the Teenage Brain† by Sarah Sparks this is explained in a great amount of information. Did you know that during the teenage years, this is when the most development occurs?People often wonder why it seems like their teens have been invaded by another body or why their baby suddenly wants to be separate from them. A study done by Dr. Jay Giedd who ran a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) on his own son shows some of the difference. An MRI is a magnetic field used to excite the atoms in the body and the energy emitted by these atoms is used to construct a compute r-generated picture of the brain. (Pastorino) The MRI was used to show stages of the brain over time from early childhood into the teen years and comparing that with images from an adult brain to show what the differences were.One of the biggest finds in the brain development of the teenage years was the fact that that frontal cortex of the brain takes on the image of a babies brain right before a child turns to their teenage years. This sort of â€Å"growth spurt† is responsible for a wave of over-thinking mainly due to the level of thickness in the gray matter or thinking part of the brain. (Sparks) As humans age the gray matter thickens and the executive part of the brain is formed during the teenage years. This is due to the neural connections in the frontal cortex of the brain as they are larger in a teen’s brain than in the normal adult.This also is where the stages of pruning begin. This gives the brain shape for future strengths of what is learned. For example if you come from a family of mechanics and you are constantly under the hood of a car you are more likely to have a strength in fixing an engine or have a more natural lean towards that, instead of say cooking. (Sparks) Another aspect to explore is the characteristics of the brain during the teenage years. Most teens need nine and a quarter hours of sleep each night to be vivid enough to start their school day.This study shows that most teens get an average of about seven and a half hours of sleep instead. (Sparks) Part of the reason for this as the events going around in the teens life, this is the discovery period of video games, late night television and when the brain tends to kick in more in teens and gives them a â€Å"second wind† instead of allowing sleep. The program shows that teens who get more sleep, primarily REM sleep, tend to have better functions than those who get less. One of the major characteristics of development is the interior prefrontal part of the bra in.In teens this has less function than in adults, but the flip side to this is the emotional region of the brain in teens is more active than that of adults. This explains why teens have baby like tantrums if they don’t get their way or we hear the infamous grow up or act your age from parents to their children. Other aspects in the characteristics include the cerebellum of the brain. The cerebellum changes the most in teens, this gives teens the ability to coordinate their thoughts into cohesive and understanding sources.This is also the reason teens are more likely to experience more with drugs and alcohol as this is the time when curiosity gets the best of people in their adolescent stages. (Sparks) In some states, an attempt to get teens the full recommended sleep has led to a later school start. In Minnesota, school starts a full hour later than it used to begin. While this has led to more attentive students in the first part of the classes it has also began to affect e xtracurricular activities which are also very important in the development of teens. This also affects family time.Given all the new findings adults are learning better ways and more understanding ways to relate. Teens want relationships with their parents and want them to ask if something is wrong and have open discussions with them. Kids want more one on one time instead of feeling like they are being forgotten or ignored as children. This study has shown that teens who have a better relationship with their parents tend to fair better in society and develop better. While teens still want some form of independence, they still want the reliance that is there for them if the need it with their parents. (Sparks)Growing up we all have experienced the ups and downs and the fun that is being a teenage. From the awkward start of puberty through the first driving experiences it is easy to understand why we were all so rebellious. For me, being very close to my mother and not so much to my father it was a little different. Being one of twins and with a sister ten years older than me it was almost like being a generation apart. During my teenage years my father had my brother in the tobacco field while I was at home with mom and have a more care-like nature about me. During my teen years I fought more with my mother, while still staying close to my father.Whereas my brother was out doing regular teenage stuff, experimenting with drugs, alcohol and having sex. During my teen years extracurricular activities were very my teen stuff. I was a band nerd, journalist and part of the student government and enjoyed my after school time. While looking back I wish I had been more sports active for more social skills I grew up with that yearning to learn. Being close to my parents in my teenage years allowed me to shape my future. I took care of my parents at the close of their lives while my brother was more secluded and off to his own not knowing how to deal with what was happen ing.I am happy to have had the experience as a teen of growing and learning more from my parents and family than doing the party thing. The learning experience from the PBS Special is invaluable. Learning why and how we all react as teens gives hindsight to everything experienced. The good, the bad and that embarrassing. Works Cited Pastorino, Ellen, and Susann Doyle-Portillo. What Is Psychology? 3rd ed. Australia: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2006. Print. Sparks, Sarah. â€Å"Inside the Teenage Brain. † PBS. PBS, 09 Mar. 2002. Web. 09 Mar. 2013.

Importance of Grades

Importance of Grades Grading and reporting are relatively recent phenomena in education. In fact, prior to 1850, grading and reporting were virtually unknown in schools in the United States. The teacher reported student’s learning progress orally to parents, usually during visits to students' homes. As the number of students increased in the late 1800s, schools began to group students in grade levels according to their age, and new ideas about curriculum and teaching methods were tried. One of these new ideas was the use of formal progress evaluations of students' work, in which teachers wrote down the skills each student had mastered and those on which additional work was needed. This was done primarily for the students' benefit, since they were not permitted to move on to the next level until they demonstrated their mastery of the current one. It was also the earliest example of a narrative report card. In essence, grading is an exercise in professional judgment on the part of teachers. It involves the collection and evaluation of evidence on students' achievement or performance over a specified period of time, such as nine weeks, an academic semester, or entire school year. Through this process, various types of descriptive information and measures of student’s performance are converted into grades or marks that summarize students' accomplishments. Although some educators distinguish between grades and marks, most consider these terms synonymous. Both imply a set of symbols, words, or numbers that are used to designate different levels of achievement or performance. They might be letter grades such as A, B, C, D, and F; Descriptive words such as Exemplary, Satisfactory, and Needs Improvement; or numerals such as 4, 3, 2, and 1. Reporting is the process by which these judgments are communicated to parents, students, or others. However, grades do not come easy to some students. College is really a student’s last chance to get good grades and the noteworthy chance for a person to prove himself to the world. Having said that, grades are very important because they determine the length of time you spend getting your degree, the kind of job you receive, and the livelihood of your future. Continuing to get good grades is a sure way of getting your degree in a timely the working world. Maintaining a 3. 0 GPA is characteristic in being considered for the top jobs in today’ s world. Many companies are only looking for the top scholars in their academic field. You will be compensated for the amount of knowledge that you have. Good grades act as the prerequisites of your future. Therefore, it is up to you to expand with hard work, discipline, and the ability to excel. Excellence is the key to success in the 21st Century. Despite such difficulties in understanding the exact meanings of grades and the GPA, they remain important social metrics and sometimes yield heated discussions over issues such as grade inflation. Although grade inflation has many different meanings, it usually is defined by an increase in the absolute number of As and Bs over some period of years. The tacit assumption here seems to be that any continuing increase in the overall percentage of â€Å"good grades† or in the overall GPA implies a corresponding decline in academic standards. Although historically there have been periods in which the number of good grades decreased significantly. Social concerns usually only accompany the grade inflation pattern. As discussed in essay â€Å"A’s for Everyone. † By Alicia C. Shepard, James Mooney stated â€Å"Certainly there are students who are victims of grade inflation in secondary school,† said Mooney. â€Å"They come to college, and the grading system is much more rigorous. That's one of the most difficult things to convey to the students. If you're getting a B, you're doing well in a course. † When college instructors are asked about the reasons for their emphasis on grades, they report that student behaviors – such as arguing over the scoring of a single question – make it necessary for them to maintain strict and well-defined grading standards in their classrooms. What seems missing in this context is a clear recognition by both the instructor and the student that grades are best construed as a type of communication. When grades are thought about in this way, they can be used to improve learning. Only when grades are integrated into a coherent teaching and learning strategy do they serve the purpose of providing useful and {text:bookmark-start} meaningful {text:bookmark-end} feedback not only to the larger culture but to the individual student as well. Few issues have created more controversy among educators than those associated with grading and reporting student learning. Despite the many debates and multitudes of studies, however, prescriptions for best practice remain elusive. Although teachers generally try to develop grading policies that are honest and fair, strong evidence shows that their practices vary widely, even among those who teach at the same grade level within the same school. Letter grades, for example, offer parents and others a brief description of student’s achievement and the adequacy of their performance. But using letter grades requires the abstraction of a great deal of information into a single symbol. In addition, the cut-offs between grades are always arbitrary and difficult to justify. Letter grades also lack the richness of other, more detailed reporting methods such as narratives or standards-based reports. Parents often are left wondering if their child's achievement is comparable with that of other children or in line with the teacher's expectations. Nowadays Parents are more concerned with the grades as mentioned by Alicia Shepard in the essay, â€Å"There's a term for the legions of parents like me. The parents who make sure to get the teacher's e-mail and home phone number on Back to School Night. The kind who e-mail teachers when their child fails a quiz. The kind who apply the same determination to making sure their child excels academically that they apply to the professional world. We are called â€Å"helicopter parents† because we hover over everything our kids do like Secret Service agents guarding the president. †Most students view high grades as positive recognition of their success, and some work hard to avoid the consequences of low grades. Although educators would undoubtedly prefer that motivation to learn be entirely intrinsic, the existence of grades and other reporting methods are important factors in determining how much effort students put forth. No single grading method adequately serves all purposes, schools must first identify their primary purpose for grading, and then select or develop the most appropriate approach. This process involves the difficult task of seeking consensus among diverse groups of stakeholders. The issues of grading and reporting on student learning continue to challenge educators. However, more is known at the beginning of the twenty-first century than ever before about the complexities involved and how certain practices can influence teaching and learning. To develop grading and reporting practices that provides quality information about student learning requires clear thinking, careful planning, excellent communication skills, and an overriding concern for the well-being of students. Combining these skills with current knowledge on effective practice will surely result in more efficient and more effective grading and reporting practices. Shepard, Alicia. â€Å"A’s for Everyone. † The Contemporary Reader. 9th ed. Ed. Gary Gosggarian. New York: Pearson, 2008. 417-422.