The Fall Of Rome

The Book is composed by Bryan Ward-Perkins, with the title The Fall Of Rome: And the End of Civilization and printed by Oxford University Pres in 2005. John Bryan Ward-Perkins was conceived in 1912 in UK. He was a British student of history and prehistorian and chief of British School at Rome. During WWII he served in military, during which he picked up the information on Tripolitania and Roman vestiges which drove him to check out history.In 1946 he acknowledged the situation of Director at British school at Rome and remained on this situation till 1974. â€Å"The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization†, addresses the general impression of present day students of history about the benevolent change from Roman Empire to Christianity. The creator adjusts this thoroughly considering archeological proof. He makes reference to that it was the happening to German clans and their drawn out impacts that prompted the disintegration of Roman Empire.The principle contention which I fi nd not quite the same as the typical reading material is the recounting story of fall of domain from the opposite side. For instance, he makes reference to that the progress of Roman Empire was neither nor serene; rather it was Germanic clans (Vandals, Visigoth) and so on who crossed the stream Rhine in fifth BC and took anything they desired forcibly as opposed to through settlements or exchanges. He contends that one of the principle purposes behind breakdown of Roman Empire was decay of Roman economy through numerous centuries.He gives a rude awakening to current perusers stunning them with reality with regards to a Rome that was trapped in monetary breakdown, uprisings from brutes and ascent of new conventionality; all of which turned into the reasons Rome breakdown. The book gives fascinating knowledge into the fall of Roman Empire from an alternate view contrasted with famous speculation in schools and course readings. I accept this book is fundamental for any history understu dy to take a gander at an extraordinary occasion of history from an alternate point of view. Reference: Bryan Ward-Perkins,The Fall Of Rome: And the End of Civilization. Oxford University Pres,2005.

Oligopolistic Market Structures And Management Of Them Economics Essay

Oligopolistic Market Structures And Management Of Them Economics Essay One useful methodology of arranging a market is by partitioning it regarding the quantity of firms on the flexibly side of the market and the purchasers focus on the interest side. Oligopoly speaks to one of the market structure where there are a not many firms on the flexibly side and an enormous centralization of purchasers on the interest side. As the purchasers can't influence the economic situations, they will receive it in that capacity and the provider will be occupied in foreseeing the opponent conduct. Oligopoly poses a potential threat in businesses of steel, oil, autos and so forth. Numerous ventures can work topographically as oligopolies. For instance banking in a modest community work as oligopoly since there will be a couple of banks in the region and the occupants will be compelled to take their business to the nearby banks.( Friedman, 1983) Oligopoly a mind boggling market structure Oligopoly is for all intents and purposes a major business. Under this market structure, the contention takes on its most noticeably terrible structure. Item advancements, forceful publicizing and inventive showcasing strategies are regularly applied to exceed one another. Oligopolistic advertise structures are the most hard to investigate as they are profoundly reliant and interlaced, where moves and countermoves are taken quickly. For instance a basic activity by Ford may prompt a response by General Motors, which thusly cause a rearrangement in Fords plan, consequently changing GMs reaction, etc. So anything can happen whenever in oligopoly. There are hardly any models that feature oligopolistic conduct. They are: Cartels A case emerges in imposing business model when all the organizations endeavor to advance association and they all commonly consent to set cost and yield. The organizations through their common coordination attempt to make a monster imposing business model. OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) is a case of a cartel stage. Value administration and Tacit Collusion It is a game plan where a couple of firms make a game plan of the valuing for the whole firm. Different firms are compelled to follow a similar value design albeit no such understanding exists in the business. For instance: In the newborn child equation industry, Abbot labs, Bristol Myers Squibb and American Home Products purposely set their costs nearer to one another to overwhelm the business. The Kinked Demand Curve This model expounds the tenacity in evaluating in an oligopolistic structure. It has been estimated in this model if for instance, a firm X brings down its cost in an oligopolistic advertise, the adversary will be compelled to bring down its cost to so as to maintain a strategic distance from the loss of its market base. The interest bend dd is along these lines the important bend if there should arise an occurrence of a value decrease. dHowever, in the event that the firm X goes at a cost increment, at that point the case wont be the equivalent. The adversaries won't mimic this time, and would keep on getting a charge out of the client service as they would escape the firm X items. For this situation the interest bend would be DD. The firm at that point attempts to stay in a section of the versatile interest bend among dd and DD. The genuine interest bend is spoken to by DAd, known as the wrinkled interest bend which quietly calls attention to the reality heads you lose, tails you lose (Baumol and Blinder, 2009) D A Cost 8 (Contenders costs are fixed) 7 D d (Contenders react to value changes) 0 Amount every year 1,400 1,100 1,000 Game hypothesis and the Oligopoly Game hypothesis has been planned to comprehend the conduct of the organizations in an oligopolistic advertise structure that don't deal with a teamed up yield and valuing. The basic supposition that will be that the huge bossy firms resemble players in a round of poker. They make the moves of bringing down or expanding the cost, to publicize or not to promote, to limit, etc, in view of their adversaries move. Understanding the settlements can place a firm in a superior situation to contend with its opponent and be in a benefit augmenting and judicious position. For instance the game between two cafés is shown as beneath: C:Documents and SettingsAnumDesktop4th assignmentUnderstanding Oligopoly Behavior a Game Theory outline Economics in Plain English_filesgame-hypothesis 1.jpeg Source: Welker, J. (2009).Understanding oligopoly conduct A game hypothesis outline. Accessible from: http://welkerswikinomics.com/blog/2009/12/15/seeing oligopoly-conduct a-game-hypothesis review// As per the above figure, both San Francisco espresso and Starbucks is following a predominant system. They are working up to amplify their result through promoting, overlooking what their rival does. In the event that S.F promotes, Starbucks wins benefit ($12 versus $10) through promoting. This implies the settlements are the equivalent. Since the two firms are getting a charge out of benefit through promoting they will do as such, however the absolute benefits are less on the off chance that when both are publicizing, when contrasted with when they are not publicizing. Be that as it may, such a condition would be a state of unsteadiness, as to promote is probably going to be gainful for both. So we state that promote/publicize is Nash harmony, as at this stage none of the firm is going to change its methodology since it is carrying impetuses to both (Jason Welker, 2009). Market disappointment because of Oligopoly Keeping in see the above hypotheses that attempt to clarify oligopolistic conduct, the market disappointment because of oligopoly can be credited to different causes. Wastefulness, precariousness and indeterminacy realized by oligopoly may bring about a market crash. The organizations incomparability is set up as the limit is set up to an ever increasing extent, yet little is delivered so as to make counterfeit boundary to section. The contenders contend based on non estimating elements, for example, overwhelming promoting, which surrenders more hold to the counterfeit hindrance to section. Costs are well above expense and value separation wins. A portion of the organizations likewise take part in self-guideline to safeguard their own benefits and piece of the pie that further detoriate the circumstance (Grewal and Kumnick, 2006). Oligopolistic firms yield and costs generously contrast based on what is socially acknowledged from them. It is additionally accepted that the deceptive no tice by the huge firms likewise tricks the shoppers and forces them to purchase items that they don't need. They force political and financial power and drift over the brain of the customers working like an undetectable hand. Market Form Number of firms in the market Recurrence in Reality Section Barriers Open Interest Results Since a long time ago Run Profit Balance Conditions Oligopoly Few Creates Large portion of GDP Changes Changes Changes Changes Source: Economics: Principles and Policy By William J. Baumol, Alan S. Blinder MC=MR applies for a benefit augmenting firm, under balance. Be that as it may, in oligopoly, MC is normally inconsistent to MR for the most part on the grounds that in oligopoly the organizations are trying to receive methodologies as per the game hypothesis, or they search for procedures, for example, expanding deals revenue driven augmentation as their definitive objective. End In a totally serious commercial center the conduct of the organizations naturally lead to a boost of shopper benefits through a proficient portion of assets. In oligopoly nonetheless, asset portion is normally isn't all around set, progressively centered is paid around confining yield trying to move costs and benefits. In an oligopoly the sky is the limit, can happen whenever anyplace, so the financial analysts are as yet unfit to plainly anticipate its conduct. Plus, its capacity to lead the market down, a few business analysts are of the conviction that oligopoly has made a critical commitment towards the financial development in the previous two decades bringing about an expansion in the normal salary of the rich countries.(Baumol and Blinder, 2009). Question two What are the suggestions for the board of organizations in such structures? Presentation Oligopoly is a market described by a couple of firms. Chiefs of a firm in such a structure know, that their firm appreciates a market power. In any case, different players have a lot of intensity as well. In the event that the chiefs go in the correct direction, appropriately evaluating the conduct of their opponents in the business, they are probably going to make a benefit. Key conduct Key conduct alludes to the organizations capacity of legitimate thought of their market force and consciousness of their adversaries move. Key conduct happens in oligopolistic structures where there is less item separation and a serious industry exists (Taylor and Weerapana, 2009) Suggestion for the supervisors The most significant ramifications for the supervisors with respect to oligopoly is the valuing practice based on shared reliance. If there should arise an occurrence of restraining infrastructure, the nonattendance of rivalry empowers the administrators to follow the MR=MC job to boost its benefit. Anyway in Oligopoly, basically following the MR=MC isnt simply enough. Model Consider, for instance the instance of Proctor and Gamble, where the supervisor employs a specialist for the intensive examination of the cost, structure and request. After a nitty gritty investigation of the structure of the body cleanser items, the administrator observes the MC=MR rule and set the retail cost at $1.99.In an unexpected move, the contenders Colgate-Palmolive , Lever siblings and so on set the cost of the similar item 10 to 15 beneath to that of delegate and bet. What the administrator is probably going to do? Possibly he can go for publicizing and substantial advancement to go up against the lower costs of the contenders or can drop its costs down. Or on the other hand he would simple be able to sit idle on the off chance that he is certain enough of the solid dependability that his image appreciates among purchasers. The fact of the matter is that, that estimating in oligopolistic structure is impossible without considering your rival. This is the pith of shared rel iance (Young and McAuley,1994) The second ramifications for the supervisors is to comprehend that it tends to be very hard to bring in cash in a serious market. Firms are required to be as much expense ef

Marketing Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Promoting Plan - Essay Example Advancement of an item is subsequently part of the showcasing dish in which a business needs their item to be broadly known to the imminent customers, the sole aim of advancement is to make the necessary mindfulness among the individuals on the presence of an item, its uses, adequacy, cost, and accessibility in the outlets. A very much organized advancement jars results into gigantic addition in the all out item deals. There are numerous different angles in a limited time blend that will be considered for this situation to do advancement in South Africa, they are talked about beneath; I. Publicizing For compelling advancement of our item in South Africa, we have thought about utilizing ad as one of our systems to meet the forthcoming purchasers. In notice, we have selected to utilize broad three alternatives, TVs, Radio, and Print advertisements. This is following the acknowledgment that with radio, we can arrive at various individuals at the same time the proficient and the ignorant . Since a gigantic piece of the populace in South Africa lives in urban zones, and that the item we plan to elevate is for the most part identified with those in urban territories, we have additionally selected to utilize TVs and Print advertisements to enhance the advancement inclusion. Given that the advancement is proposed for the acknowledgment of new item in the market, we have depleted all the potential dialects in South Africa that can be of noteworthiness; Afrikaans, Xhosa, English, Tswana, Zulu, and Tsonga dialects, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga radio broadcasts will be utilized. For the TVs, we have singled out those will national standpoints and these incorporates South African Broadcasting Cooperation, MNet and DSTV, and e.tv. The Print to be locked in incorporate Beeld, City press, DailySun, Rapport, Sunday Times, and Sunday World, these paper have national standpoint. Time factor is a significant issue in advancement and it must be auspicious for the crowd focused on. For the Radio and the TVs, the limited time will be during significant news time, this is at 1 pm and at 7 and 9 pm. This time were purposely picked on the grounds that it is foreseen that the vast majority of the individuals will be mindful to get a handle on the new advancement in news everywhere throughout the nation. In the print advertisements, the advancement will be done on ends of the week in light of the fact that the vast majority of the individuals are not dedicated and will have abundant chance to peruse the majority of the paper and chances are that a large portion of the individuals will get to the data (Clow and Baack 78). In our limited time procedure, we have agreed to all the guidelines that oversee advancement in the nation, our lawful group has considered all the potential escape clauses in the advert and prompted properly. 100,000 South African Rand can continue 1-week advert in the Radio and TVs while in the print media, they serve for a month consistently. We have likewise included the Media Mix for the open connection works out, they come last however are significant in the way that they make the entire promotion speaking to the objective gathering and give the much-required notoriety. They likewise haggle for the quantity of adverts that our compensation can oversee for the advert. II. Web Advertising/long range interpersonal communication/cell phone promotions Our item will likewise be publicized in the web and other informal organizations, for example, facebook and twitter including cell phones. This is following our acknowledgment that the greater part of our focused on customers are additionally expected to be web clients. Web additionally gives a less expensive and productive method of arriving at an enormous

Gcse History Revision Notes – Germany

History Revision Notes †Germany Weimar †qualities and shortcomings The Weimar Republic After Germany lost the First World War, the Kaiser fled and another vote based administration of Germany was announced in February 1919 at the humble community of Weimar. It was too risky to even think about making an affirmation in Berlin where there had quite recently been a revolt by a Communist gathering called the Spartacists. Qualities †¢ A Bill of Rights ensured each German resident ability to speak freely and religion, and fairness under the law. †¢ All people beyond 20 years old were given the vote. †¢ There was a chosen president and a chosen Reichstag (parliament). The Reichstag made the laws and delegated the administration, which needed to do what the Reichstag needed. Shortcomings †¢ Proportional portrayal †rather than deciding in favor of a MP, as we do in Britain,Weimar Germans decided in favor of a gathering. Each gathering was then allotted seats in the Reichstag precisely reflecting (corresponding' to) the quantity of individuals who had decided in favor of it. This sounds reasonable, however by and by it was a catastrophe it brought about many little gatherings, with no gathering sufficiently able to get a dominant part, and, consequently, no administration to get its laws went in the Reichstag. This was a significant shortcoming of the Republic. Article 48 †this said, in a crisis, the president didn't require the understanding of the Reichstag, however could give orders [Decrees: Laws passed by one clergyman in a parliament, which have not been affirmed by the larger part parliament. ]. The issue with this was it didn't state what a crisis was, and at long last, it ended up being a way that Hitler used to take power legitimately. Weimar †issues 1919-1923 The Weimar Republic confronted resistance from the beginning in 1919, after the marking of the Treaty of Versailles. Financial hardship influenced the entire c ountry and prompted uprisings and assassinations.Key issues The Weimar Republic was made during a period of disarray and bedlam after Germany had lost the First World War. Numerous individuals felt that Germany had gotten a brutal arrangement in the Treaty of Versailles and they despised the legislature for marking it and consenting to its conditions. The Weimar Republic confronted rough uprisings from different gatherings, also monetary issues. Germany somewhere in the range of 1918 and 1919 was in bedlam. Individuals were starving, the Kaiser had fled and individuals abhorred the administration for marking the cease-fire to end the war in November 1918 †they considered them the November criminals.Bands of officers called Freikorps wouldn't disband and framed private armed forces. It was anything but a decent beginning for the Republic. There was consistent viciousness and agitation: †¢ In March 1920, there was a disobedience †the Kapp Putsch †that meant to brin g back the Kaiser . †¢ Nationalist fear bunches killed 356 government legislators. †¢ Many of the individuals in Germany were socialists who needed to get a Russian-style socialist government. There were various socialist uprisings. For example, in 1919 the Spartacists revolted in Berlin. [pic] The Kapp Putsch walk in March 1920, the conservative patriot Dr Wolfgang Kapp took over Berlin. The military wouldn't assault him; he was possibly crushed when the laborers of Berlin took to the streets. The Weimar government's fundamental emergency happened in 1923, when the Germans neglected to make a reparations installment ( installments made for harm caused in WW1. Some portion of T of V) on schedule, which set off a train of occasions that included: †¢ a French intrusion of the Ruhr †¢ a general strike †¢ hyperinflation †¢ various socialist uprisings †¢ an endeavored Nazi putsch in Munich Weimar †emergency of 1923The 1923 emergency started when Ge rmany missed a reparations installment. This circumstance spiraled wild and by and by the German individuals were miserable and in money related trouble, so uprisings happened all through the nation. Hyperinflation The abrupt surge of paper cash into the economy, on the general strike †which implied that no merchandise were fabricated, so there was more cash, pursuing less products †joined with a frail economy destroyed by the war, all brought about hyperinflation. Costs came up short on control †eg a portion of bread, which cost 250 stamps in January 1923 had ascended to 200,000 million checks in November 1923.German's cash got useless. Be that as it may, recall: †¢ Some individuals made fortunes during the emergency. One man obtained cash to purchase a crowd of dairy cattle, yet not long after took care of his credit by selling one cow. †¢ People on compensation were protected, in light of the fact that they renegotiated their wages each day. †¢ Pensi oners on fixed salaries and individuals with investment funds were the most seriously hit. One lady sold her home with the goal of utilizing the cash to live on. Half a month later, the cash wasn't sufficiently even to purchase a portion of bread. The Early Nazi Party The Nazi belief system: †¢ Lebensraum †the requirement for ‘living space' for the German country to extend. A solid Germany †the Treaty of Versailles ought to be abrogated and all German-talking individuals joined in one nation. †¢ Fuhrer †the possibility that there ought to be a solitary head with complete force as opposed to a majority rules system. †¢ Social Darwinism †the possibility that the Aryan race was prevalent and Jews were ‘subhuman'. †¢ Autarky †the possibility that Germany ought to be financially independent. †¢ Germany was in peril †from Communists and Jews, who must be devastated. The intrigue of the Nazis In the 1920s, the Nazis attempt ed to be everything to all people.The 25-Point Program had arrangements that were: †¢ Socialist †eg ranchers ought to be given their property; benefits ought to improve; and open ventures, for example, power and water ought to be possessed by the state. †¢ Nationalist †all German-talking individuals ought to be joined in one nation; the Treaty of Versailles ought to be canceled; and there ought to be unique laws for outsiders. †¢ Racist †Jews ought not be German residents and movement ought to be halted. †¢ Fascist †a solid focal government and control of the papers. The Nazis didn't interest: †¢ working men who casted a ballot Communist savvy people, for example, understudies and college teachers They were well known with: †¢ patriots and racists †¢ ranchers †¢ lower white collar class individuals, for example, handymen and businesspeople who were stressed over the tumult Germany was in †¢ rich individuals stressed by the danger from Communism Rebellions Unsurprisingly, the hardships made by hyperinflation prompted numerous uprisings as gatherings battled to take influence from Weimar. The Munich Putsch 1923 In November 1923, Hitler attempted to exploit the emergency confronting the Weimar government by affecting an upheaval in Munich.It appeared the ideal chance, however lack of foresight and misjudgement brought about disappointment and the resulting detainment of Adolf Hitler. Rundown from the get go, the Nazis were only a fear based oppressor gathering. Hitler collected a huge gathering of jobless youngsters and previous warriors, known as the tempest troopers (the SA), which assaulted other political gatherings. Hitler would have liked to take power by beginning a transformation During the emergency of 1923, along these lines, Hitler plotted with two patriot government officials †Kahr and Lossow †to assume control over Munich in a revolution.Hitler gathered his tempest troopers an d advised them to be prepared to revolt. In any case, at that point, on 4 October 1923, Kahr and Lossow canceled the disobedience. This was unthinkable for Hitler, who had 3,000 soldiers prepared to battle. [pic] Hitler waved a weapon at Khar and Lossow the evening of 8 November 1923, Hitler and 600 tempest troopers burst into a gathering that Kahr and Lossow were holding at the neighborhood Beer Hall. Waving a firearm at them, Hitler constrained them to consent to revolt †and afterward let them return home. The SA assumed control over the military central command and the workplaces of the nearby paper. 16 Nazis were killed in the scuffleThe following day, 9 November 1923, Hitler and his Nazis went into Munich on what they thought would be a triumphal walk to take power. In any case, Kahr had brought in police and armed force fortifications. There was a short fight wherein the police slaughtered 16 Nazis. Hitler fled, however was captured two days after the fact. For what reaso n did Hitler endeavor the Munich Putsch in 1923? 1. By 1923, the Nazi party had 55,000 individuals and was more grounded than any time in recent memory. 2. The Weimar Republic was in emergency and going to crumple. 3. In September 1923, the Weimar government had canceled the general strike, and each German patriot was incensed with the legislature. . Hitler figured he would be helped by significant patriot legislators in Bavaria. 5. Hitler had an immense armed force of tempest troopers, yet he realized he would lose control of them in the event that he didn't give them something to do. 6. Hitler would have liked to duplicate Mussolini †the Italian fundamentalist pioneer †who had come to control in Italy in 1922 by walking on Rome. Consequences of the Munich Putsch The Munich Putsch was a disappointment. Subsequently: 1. The Nazi party was prohibited, and Hitler was kept from talking out in the open until 1927. 2. Hitler went to jail, where he composed ‘Mein Kampf'.Mi llions of Germans read it, and Hitler's thoughts turned out to be very notable. 3. Hitler concluded that he could never come to control by insurgency; he understood that he would need to utilize sacred methods, so he sorted out: o the Hitler Youth o purposeful publicity crusades o mergers with other conservative gatherings o nearby offices of the gathering, which attempted to get Nazis chose for the Reichstag o the SS as his own guardian, which was set up in 1925 It was this procedure of picking up power really that in the end carried him to control. How did the Weimar Republic survive?In 1923 the Weimar Republic was wavering near the precarious edge of an extremely enormous precipice with issues, for example, hyperinflation, endeavored upsets and open d

Managing the New Enterprise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Dealing with the New Enterprise - Essay Example Bringing value fund up corresponding to Peter and Julie’s thoughts, for example, from investors and business blessed messengers is invaluable to business visionaries. To begin with, business heavenly attendants can empower the new endeavor to make extraordinary progress; consequently, financial specialists will understand their speculations in case the undertaking is progressing admirably. Consumes (2007, p. 123) contends that business holy messengers can empower the business visionary to improve their business exercises. Besides, investment assumes a noteworthy job in driving business development and work exercises. This is significant in light of the fact that it deliverers important abilities helps in technique and dynamic; along these lines empowering the organization to build their presentation levels. It additionally permits the advancement of new advances in the business and their applications; accordingly adding to high efficiency levels. Funding isn't for each busines s person despite the fact that how productive it would be. This is on the grounds that it's anything but a business understanding needs of a business visionary, yet rather helping the business visionary to accomplish high productivity or income levels. Additionally, funding and business blessed messengers are among the most convincing powers driving business economy-wide headway to expanded business profitability. The business may concentrate on propelling major business execution implies; hence, the two value funds would be the strong powers for adding to expanded business execution. Raising investment and the business point is vital in light of the fact that it will empower new dares to create and arrive at their business objectives successfully(Fraser and Simkins 2010, p.22). Each business visionary hopes to make a triumphant business; accordingly getting enough capital for the business is significant. Berman, Knight, Case and Berman (2008, p. 46) contend that it is just a couple of business visionaries who become fruitful in raising value money for dealing with their business. It is likewise just a couple of business visionaries who can create value money and not many of them can meet the holy messenger or investment finance requirements.â

Delicious Dilemma

Delicious Dilemma What should I attend tonight? Option 1: 4th Annual LATKE-HAMENTASHEN DEBATE Today, 8:00 p.m. in Room 10-250 Dont miss this exciting debate between the fruit-filled cookies known as Hamentashen and the fried potato pancake known as the Latke. Two teams of MIT experts will present their arguments in favor of their respective type of food. Hear the arguments of these esteemed MIT professors: Hamentashen Team: Alan Guth (Physics) Daniel Kleitman (Mathematics) Alexander Slocum (Mech Eng) Latke team: Diana Henderson (Literature) Brian Robison (Music) Robert Silbey (Chemistry Dean of Science) Moderator: Walter Lewin (Physics) Join us after the debate for a reception with hundreds of latkes and hamentashen in Lobby 10. Event sponsored by MIT Hillel and supported by MITs Peter de Florez Fund for Humor, UA Finboard, and ARCADE. For information about this years debate and past years debates see: http://web.mit.edu/hillel/www/latke-hamentashen-debate.html Option 2: Tired of Ramen for dinner? Wish you could do something to make your nightly pasta taste better? Well, tomorrow is your lucky day! Julie Banda from Health Promotion and Wellness will be not only talking about how to eat better when you have to cook for yourself, but actually showing you how, too! Bronwyn, one of our wonderful Housemasters, has graciously offered the use of her kitchen to allow Julie to make some dishes that are simple, inexpensive, and nutritious! WHEN: 6 March, 8:00 PM (Monday night) WHERE: Bronwyns kitchen! (Conner 1, suite 111) WHY: Nutrition doesnt have to be tedious or boring Oh, if only all of lifes problems were this enjoyable. Option 3: The Undergraduate Association (UA) Presidential/VPial (?) debates Election 2006

Kids with Disabilities Special Testing Accommodations - 2750 Words

Kids with Disabilities Should Get Special Testing Accommodations (Essay Sample) Content: Kids with Disabilities Should Get Special Testing AccommodationsName:Instructor:Course:Date:Introduction In the 4th November, 2010 edition of the New York Times, Moore (2010) explored the suitability of the special testing accommodations. Students with learning disabilities are required to apply special accommodations from relevant bodies but some of these requests are denied. Moore (2010) estimates that ACT approves about 92% of applicants while SAT 85% of the applicants. These statistics indicate that special testing accommodations are becoming popular in the United States, but this trend is being criticized by some researchers. In this article, Moore (2010) alleges that some of the white and affluent students receive special testing accommodations, creating suspicions of exaggerated or non-existed disabilities. Other problems exist including the lack of proper regulation and lack of consensus on what constitutes disability. This paper argues that despite these chal lenges, students with learning disabilities should continue being provided with special testing accommodations. Background In the world today, there is controversy over whether; persons with disabilities should be given special testing accommodations or not. Once a child is diagnosed with a learning disability he or she is certified by the IEP team to receive special testing accommodations. The preferential treatment accorded to the special persons is permitted by the IDEA. The IDEA is a federal law requiring public schools to provide Free Appropriate Public Education to persons with disabilities. Under the act, schools are required to perform a scientific assessment to determine whether children need special education services or not.The preferential treatment accorded to the school-going children is broken down into several categories. The first category is related to the presentation, whereby school going children are provided with the right equipment and are facilitated to comp lete the assessments. Presentation is enhanced by providing the affected students with designated readers, providing the instructions in large prints and reducing the number of items per page. The second category is related to capturing the response from the students. It is a well known fact that disabled students may have problems responding to the questions asked by the examiners. It is for this reason that they are allowed to give verbal responses rather than writing the answers. Some of the schools also allow the disabled learners to give the responses through the computer. The third category is related to the improvements made to enhance the test setting. Some of the schools provide their students with preferential seating, special lighting and acoustics, and spaces with minimal distractions. To encourage the performance of the disabled persons, schools also allow them to sit for tests in small groups or in private rooms. These initiatives provide the disabled persons with a le ss-intimidating environment. Timing is considered an important element when dealing with disabled persons. In order to ensure the disabled students successfully complete the tests, some schools provide them with frequent breaks and extend the allotted time. Some of the schools also administer the test in several timed sessions or for an elongated period of time. Some of the disabled students prefer doing a test in specific times of the day or taking the subtests in different order. Others receive test preparation, on-task prompts and reasonable accommodation depending on the situation. Argument for special testing accommodationsPersons with disabilities require specialized presentation formats including visual, tactile, audio and multi-sensory facilities. Recorded tests are produced on audiotapes, compact discs and electronic files. Screen readers could also be availed to the students to change digitized text to synthesized speech. There are many other technologies and other compon ents which are used for special testing accommodations. The section below argues why schools should adopt special testing accommodations using the available literature. 3.1 Extended Time Testing Accommodation The use of special testing accommodations is supported by an article titled, how much time? A review of the literature on extended test time for postsecondary students with learning disabilities. In this article, Ofiesh and Hughes (2002) argues that students in schools deserve to be given Extended Time Testing Accommodation, one the commonly used strategies to help students with learning disabilities. Under this arrangement, students with disabilities receive up to twice the standard examination time. One of the major rationales behind extended test times is that students with disabilities take more time to complete a variety of tasks than students without disabilities. Giving students with disabilities more time to complete the test is supposed to compensate for the slower pr ocessing speed. While supporting Extended Time Testing Accommodation, Ofiesh and Hughes (2002) find that when provided with more time, disabled students are able to attain almost similar scores as their peers. However, researchers often argue that students with disabilities should not be given too much extra time as doing so would result in test scores that are invalid of academic ability. This means that school should come up with an appropriate way of deciding the appropriate extended test times. This should be done with the help of the disability service providers. The assessment should evaluate the impact of the disability on the victim and the functional limitations caused by the disability. Already, some of the studies have suggested that students should always be given one-half to double time to finish the test. The need to give students with ADHD and other students is again revisited in an article by Brown, Reichel and Quinlan (2011). The three researchers conducted a study to examine the difficulties of adolescent students and to propose ways through which their academic performance can be improved. Brown, Reichel and Quinlan (2011) used a sample of 145 adolescents diagnosed with DSM-IV ADHD. The participants underwent comprehensive clinical and psycho-educational evaluation to determine whether they should be given extended test time or not. Brown, Reichel and Quinlan (2011) found out that under standard test time, about half of the respondents failed to complete the comprehension tests. In addition, under the standard test time, less than half of the respondents were able to attain an average score (Brown, Reichel Quinlan, 2011). However, after being given extended test times, the number of the disabled students who were able to complete the test increased drastically. The results of this comprehensive study support the need to allow the students with learning disabilities more time to complete exams and assessments.The available literature has als o established that students with disabilities face many challenges unlike their peers. For instance, persons with ADHD report difficulties in reading and hence their ability to complete tests and assignments within the allotted time is greatly impaired. Student with disabilities also exhibit marked slowness in completing the assigned readings and are sometimes forced to re-read texts in order to fully grasp the meaning. According to Johnson (2000) their recalling ability is also very low and they face difficulties when using their executive functions. A number of studies have examined the effect of the slow processing speed on the ability of the students to complete the tests within the stipulated time. One of the common measures of processing speed is the rapid automatized naming (RAN) test. The students are exposed to familiar stimuli such as letters, digits and colors in a random sequence. However, students with learning disabilities take time in comprehending the text.3.2 Oral a dministration While the available literature supports the use of the extended test times, the available literature also indicates the importance of oral administration. This interventions entails the use of read aloud protocols either using technological tools such as computers, videos and audio tapes. Oral administration of tests is supported by many studies. For instance, Pitoniak and Royer (2001) evaluated the impact of the read-aloud protocol on the test performance of middle school students with disabilities. Pitoniak and Royer (2001) used a sample of 260 students: 98 sixth graders, 84 seven graders and 78 eighth graders. At the end of the study, Pitoniak and Royer (2001) found out that students with disabilities performed better under read-aloud conditions. These findings are replicated in a similar study which conducted by Elbaum (2007). The study used a sample of 625 middle and high school students in the Southeastern United States. All the students were put under testing accommodations. The findings of this study indicate that under read-aloud accommodation, students perform better. The study further established that the effect of using oral accommodation on the test score is greater for the learning disabled students than for the regular students. These results are supported by many other researchers who find that learning disabled students should be placed under accommodated conditions. Failing to do so, no doubt contravenes on their rights and puts them at a disadvantaged compared to their no-disabled peers. Indeed, oral administration is supported not only by the researchers, but also the teachers. This kind accommodation is suitable for students with print disabilities and English learners with stronger listening capabilities than reading comprehension skills. Beside the teachers, many other studies support the use of audio presentation especially in students with low reading fluency. According to Johnson (2...