Childcare Management Systems | Literature Review

Childcare Management Systems | Literature Review CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 OVERVIEW Literature reviews are conducted in order to fully understand a topic being researched about. By doing so, we could define and establish our area of study, as in my topic childcare management systems. Reviews are done on existing systems by explore how existing childcare or daycare centers management systems have been introduced, implemented and evolved. Comparisons of the systems are made for better understanding of systems functions. Advantages and disadvantages of the systems have to be understood as well. Section 2.1 depicts background study of three existing childcare management systems which are analyzed for better understand of this project. Section 2.2 summarizes the proposed system which will be designed and developed on later stages of this project. The features have been tabulated in Table 2.1. 2.1 BACKGROUND STUDY Nowadays the need of daycare and childcare centers are increasing due to working parents and need of proper care of children. The management has to be efficient to keep up with these demands. In order to ease the work done in the centers, owners purchase or subscribe childcare management system software. There are so many different types and quality level of childcare management system software in the market. Even though each of them is used for similar purpose that is to manage a daycare centers but the design of functions and implementations of the systems are different. A system that provides all important functions needed by childcare centers will be the top priority in the market. Following existing systems have been choosing for comparison because they have higher market value and many customers favor them. In order to understand the similarities and differences of existing systems in different platform as well, comparison have been made between fully web based system, software based system and mobile application based system. Exploring the systems have been done by understand fully how the systems works and finally list out the advantages and disadvantages. 2.1.1 Centers Online (https://www.centresonline.com/index) Centers online is an online childcare management system designed for both long and short day care centers. Centers Online provides childcare services with simple and easy to use online software for daily reporting and communication needs. The site updated continually and modified to ease users needs. The management system also helps every parent receives frequent updates about their child instantly. Centers Online provides a login interface for childcare centers and parents that is easy to use allowing parents to continually be aware of their childrens activities. Centers Online applications are available for all smartphones and tablets. Centers Online is designed to be used by three types of users which are admin/owner of the childcare centers, teachers and parents. All of the users have their own login ids and viewing page. The owner can access, view, create users and create rooms. They also can manage events and contact parents. Teachers can update all information regarding children in their room such as feeding schedule, activities, performance, health condition and etc. Parents get instant update regarding their children. They can view daily activities, update parent profile, view event details and view pictures uploaded by teachers of their children. Figure 2.1 shows user management page where the owner or admin of the childcare center manages users profile such as registration of students, parents profile and assigning teachers to classes. The panel on left side gives access to all functions for users. Figure 2.1: Display of User Management Page Figure 2.2 shows the group permission page which grants owner or admin of childcare center to categorize users and their level of permissions on using the service. For instance, parents have limited access on site and more focus in viewing children’s update. Senior teachers have additional permissions since they have extra work to be done compared to new teachers. Figure 2.2: Display of Group Permission Page Figure 2.3 shows children management page where all profile of children will be managed. Teachers and sometimes owners will assign children to classes according to their ages here. Status of students can be viewed here. All reports can be saved as pdf and excel files for reference or print out. Figure 2.3: Display of Children Management Page Figure 2.4 shows the calendar in schedule management of the system. All the activities that are carried out in the daycare center are recorded in the calendar. Upcoming events will be marked as well for easy reference and updates. Admin and teachers can access and view all the events and activities carried out on particular day. Parents only have access to view marked activities by teachers for their children. Parents will not fall behind knowing important dates of events. Figure 2.4: Display of Calendar Page Advantages: Easy to use GUI (graphical user interface) The user interface is friendly and understandable. free access via website to parents account Parents who register with childcare that use Centers Online will get free access to get updates from the center. no server needed No server and IT maintenance needed since it is web based software. The service provider maintains all the data and all data are secured. register and use The childcare center owner that is interested using this system simply registers with the service provider and start using. application for smartphones and tablets The service provider also has created application for devices such as smartphones in order to give an easy access and portability for users. Disadvantages: compulsory need of internet connection Since it is a web-based software system internet connection needed in order to use the service provided and no offline option is given for the users to work offline. 2.1.2 The Pre-School Partner (http://www.on-qsoftware.com/pspscreens.html) The Pre-School Partner is a software-based childcare management system. The software is available for a single PC or buyer could choose to take a package contains of license key for up to 20 personal computers which labeled as Network (1- 20). The software is obtained by either getting an installation CD or e-mail link to download and install. It facilitates the daily functions andmanagementof the center by tracking and instantly making available all family, child and staff related information. It is complete and up to date with emergency contacts, guardians, drop off/pick up contacts, family and children notes, medical information, vaccination management, billing, accounts receivable, remote terminal logging and child scheduling and attendance. All the reports are easy to manage and printable for additional purpose. The software also has feature to manage staffs. The owner can keep track of staffs training histories. Figure 2.5 shows children registration page where owner or staff at childcare center can register new children with the system. Children’s full detail such as full name, age and family information required for registration. Picture of registered children will be uploaded in the profile as well. Figure 2.5: Display of Children Registration Page Figure 2.6 shows family or sponsor info page where all details of parents or sponsor are added such as contact details and address. Detail about particular people not permitted to be close to children added here as well to increase awareness of management. All records of drop off and pick up are keyed in here as well. Figure 2.6: Display of Family/Sponsor Info Page Figure 2.7 shows guardians detail page where all information of child parents registered with the daycare center will be recorded and updated regularly. Contact details of parents given importance in order to get hold of them in case of emergency. Picture of the parent will be added as well. Figure 2.7: Display of Guardians Detail Page Figure 2.8 shows invoice record page where all invoices for the parents or sponsor of children registered recorded. All details of payments such as dates, amount and identification will be recorded accordingly for easier reference and record keeping. Figure 2.8: Display of Invoice Page Advantages: user friendly screens The GUI (graphical user interface) of the software is designed well by placing all the essential keys and buttons in easy accessible and understandable way. larger scale of choice, more detailed and more functional The software provides all essential functions that needed to run a daycare center. User has the option to choose use functions only they required. work can be done offline (online only needed for cloud backup and sync) No internet connection needed to use pre-school partner Disadvantages: one software one pc The software is limited to one personal computer unless the owner buys a network package. Even though the network package consists of a maximum of 20 key licenses for personal computers the portability of the software is still limited. sever maintenance The server of the software installed has to be maintained regularly. The files saved have to be fragmented to remove bad sectors. Firewall, virus and spyware protection needs regular review and management. minimum requirements The software installed needs hardware specifications that meets its minimum requirements in order to function well and fully. Operating System : Windows XP Professional (Service Pack 2) Processor : Pentium 4 with Hyper-Threading, 2GHz Ram : 512MB minimum Disk Capacity : 80GB 2.1.3 Tadpoles (http://www.frogsquared.com) Tadpoles is a web-based application aided childcare management system. The use of smartphone application is integrated with the system for easy and effective use. Tadpoles is revolutionizing the childcare market by helping to streamline operations and parent communication through mobile technology. Tadpoles focuses more on the importance of parent involvement in the learning process. Teachers are able to share photos and videos to parents throughout the day. They could record meals, activities, naps and more to daily reports. Teachers also could prepare lesson plans up to four weeks ahead. Directors are able to view real time counts per class. They can manage classroom, children and employees. All the pictures and videos teachers send to parents have to be approved by directors or owners. They can view charts and graphs of reports on children progress under their care. They are able to send official letters to parents and emergency alerts as well. Parents can receive daily update of their children via email. They can download and share the photos and videos of their children. In case of emergency, they will receive text message first before further notice for a head start. Parents also can view their children’s profile using mobile application provided and they also able to mark their child sick or on vacation. Figure 2.9 shows classroom page in tadpoles application where teachers can view all the children in their class accordingly. The children will be categorized by their age. Teachers can choose and update information on children from here. They could edit notes for their teachings and send photo to parents as well. Figure 2.9: Classroom Page Figure 2.10 shows children profile page where a children’s profile can be viewed by selecting a child. All detail about meal taken, sleeping time and activities done by children will be added here by the teacher. They can tag category of the child for easier reference. Figure 2.10: Children Profile Page Figure 2.11 shows the dashboard which offers a live view of the activity in the center. The classroom counts, attendance, and parent communications updates in real time without refreshing. The owners or directors can view the update anywhere and anytime. Figure 2.11: Live Dashboard Figure 2.12 shows communication page where owner can notify all parents by text messages in case of emergency, school closings or other urgent messages. This method is effective and fast compare to individual notification. Figure 2.12: Communication Panel Figure 2.13 shows email snapshot parents receive from the daycare center with all current detail of their children, activities they are doing, sleeping times, meals and more. Pictures that are taken for their children during activities are attached as well. Parents are able to get update on their children anywhere anytime through their email. Figure 2.13: Display of Parent Email Advantages: children information up to date for parents via email Teachers and owners update children’s profile throughout the day by updating profile, uploading pictures and updating schedules. Parents get the updates via their email and mobile application. application for teachers The designed application is easy to use and give better functionalities for teachers in carrying out their daily activities. All details of children, schedule and study plans can be accessed almost instantly. live view and real time updating for directors and owners The directors and owners are up to date with activities carried out in centers and children’s statuses. All without software installations and no per-user licenses. They can check on things easily and securely even while away from the center. portable Since it is an application on device, it gives more portability to teachers. All children’s attendance and emergency details are within teachers’ reach when they bring children to playground or field trip. Pictures and videos taken can be uploaded instantly. Disadvantages: limitation of devices can be used The application is only designed for apple products with IOS. The teachers are encouraged to use devices such as ipad mini or ipad only for easy access and portability. 2.2 PROPOSED SYSTEM The proposed childcare center management system is a web-based system that has all the features stated in Table 2.1. The name of the system would be Kool-Child Childcare Management System. Kool-Child provides all functions needed to manage a childcare or daycare center efficiently. With Kool-Child, child care centers are able to record down feedings, nursing, milestones, activities children are doing such as playing, sleeping and others. Apart from that, they are allowed to make photo galleries of the children. Parents will be updated with all their children information. Kool-Child provides tuition/billing management as well. The billing is done automatically with little information about chargers and individual child’s program. With Kool-Child, owner of the childcare center will be able to manage employee profile by record and update personal details of employee. Parents also will be able to log in into Kool-Child with limited access to view their children’s schedule. Kool-Child also will have chat space where all parents could share ideas and get to know each other. Kool-Child will also provide simple tutorials on how to use the system for the customers. Customer support is also available to assist customer and receive feedbacks. Table 2.1 Features Comparison FEATURES Centers Online Pre-School Partner Tadpoles Kool-Child 1 Classroom and Schedule Management √ √ X √ 2 Food Program records √ √ √ √ 3 Immunization Records √ √ X √ 4 Daily Activities Planning √ √ √ √ 5 Photo Gallery √ √ √ √ 6 Billing Management X √ X √ 7 Online Registration √ X X √ 8 Employee Database X √ X √ 9 Customer Support √ √ √ √ 10 Parents Update √ X √ √ 11 Reports Management √ √ √ √ New Feature 12 Chat Space X X X √ Table 2.1 shows the comparison in features of Centers Online, Pre-School Partner, Tadpoles and the proposed system Kool-Child. All three existing systems have important features which are classroom management, food program records, photo gallery and customer support. Pre-School Partner is only a system among three that has billing management and employee management features which needed by most childcare centers to ease their workload. Chat space is an additional feature that will be implemented in Kool-Child. All twelve features will be integrated in Kool-Child to maximize functionality of the system.

Why Kill the Dolphins? :: Marine Life Whaling Fishing Conservation Essays

Why Kill the Dolphins? Dolphins make up the largest and most diverse family of cetaceans. The family contains 26 recognized species of which 13 tend to have long well defined beaks and streamlined robust bodies. Many vary in size, shape, colors, beaks and flippers, as humans have various characteristics. One of the most common dolphins that are found in southern California is the bottlenose dolphin (Kelly). The bottlenose dolphin is mainly found in coastal waters between 45 degrees north and 45 degrees south, also in Northern Europe waters. It is believed that there are two types of bottlenose dolphin regional wise: oceanic form and coastal form. This species is studied the most by biologists (Jefferson). The coastal population lives in fairly open groups with twenty or less in a pod, some groups are found to contain more in open ocean. It is not uncommon for these species to interact and breed with other species, as would a human interact with other diverse humans. The dolphins feeding behavior is adapted to the availability of resources. They sometimes are known to work together to catch fish from large schools, they also trail behind large fishing boats to catch what falls behind (Leatherwood). A large problem today is the incidental exploitation of the bottlenose dolphins in the Black sea. The dolphins suffer from entanglement in gillnets, shark nets, shrimp trawls, and purse seine nets in the eastern pacific tropical tuna fishery. In the past twenty years a large amount of bottlenose dolphin have been killed due to the tuna fishery. In the Eastern Pacific swim large schools of tuna, these shoals tend to be under herds of dolphins, for some unexplained reason. Because of this, fishermen can easily find schools of tuna. The tuna are being caught under purse seine nets, which encircles the shoals of tuna and then is pulled back on board the fishing vessel, catching both tuna and dolphin. Initially the mortality rate was 500,000 each year for dolphins alone. Although some efforts are made to encourage the dolphins to leave the net by backing down part of the net, which allows the dolphins to escape, there are still a large number of mortalities (Bryant). On the other hand, in the last few years there has been dramatic progress in stopping the fishing industries from using purse sine nets. It has been found that dolphins are in immediate danger of extinction if these fishing techniques don’t stop.

Is Kate Minola tamed by the end of “Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare Essay

IntroductionThe Taming of the Shrew is one of Shakespeares most popular plays. Its wit and comedy revolves around Kate Minola, a strong-willed woman who is seen as a shrew due to her unwillingness to conform to the unwritten rules of lady-hood and Pertruchio who is convinced he was born to tame [Kate]. The most obvious and major question would then be, was Katherine tamed by the end of the play? To be tamed, one would have to be forcibly changed into submissive obedience. A tamed being would obey there master unquestionably in order to obtain a reward or avoid a punishment. I believe, although Kate has changed by the end of the play, she was not tamed but liberated. Although she acts just as Pertruchio demands, she is not submissive but in fact, has objectives of her own. BodyI would like to start by answering the questions as to why Kate is stark mad or wonderful forward to begin with. Kate has grown up being the loser in a competition with her sister in terms of suitors and the respect of there father. Baptista cherishes Bianca while not even defending Kate on the streets when people insulted, calling her too rough or fiend of hell. At the beginning of Act 2, it can be seen that Kate is jealous of Bianca. On top of that, Baptista automatically assumes that the fight was Kates fault and This combination of her frustration to the fact that that Bianca has an army of suitors while she seemingly will end up alone and the neglect, humiliation and lack of respect from her father can and did undoubtedly pushed her to become the angry person she is. Her isolation and anger is a cycle. Her strong-will and violence pushes people the people around her away, causing her to be more frustrated and angry which furthers her alienation. I believe Pertruchio was not successful in taming her but was successful freeing her of the cycle and showing her all the benefits of a better behavior. Her anger towards herself and others due to loneliness is broken by Pertruchios will to match Kates ferocity and compliment her. This has never happened to her before and I believe it gave her the attention she has always longer for. In the beginning the attention was quite obnoxious especially when it came to Pertruchio and his servants. He was angry and violent towards them much like the way Kate acted before and you can tell that she saw the horror of that behavior. Pertruchio did many things like keep her up and not feed her and after that, she most likely longed for a more peaceful environment and perhaps, if she conformed, she is able to receive better love, love that her father never gave her. I think Pertruchio also showed her that she no longer has to be mad at herself. She has a husband who loves her and therefore, the cycle is broken. Before Kate was focused on challenging the status quo and feeling sorry for herself. Petruccio took both those thoughts from her head and threw them out the window. He taught her that as long as she was happy, she shouldnt care what other people think of her. Like how he showed up at the wedding dressed like a fool. With that she is able to finally fit society show it off for all the people who had no faith in or time for her. Kates true identity is finally revealed and able to shine brightly with Pertruchio by her side. Before Pertruchio, Kate was able to get her way by being violent. However, Pertruchio strong-willed personality will not bend under her old weapon of emotional and physical lashing. I think she realizes this. The situation has already happened and cannot be reversed. She did not get tamed but learned to adapt and fight through other means. Switching up the technique and attacking from the inside. Perhaps, this is what Pertruchio wanted to show her. That by listening to him and being ACTING tamed, she can control the direction of her path. For example, by kiss him, they could stay at the party, by agreeing with the moon, she could go. In the beginning, Kate was refused a cap because she wasnt gentle and when she finally was, she was offered it. Listening to Pertruchio and sacrificing a little bit, she was able to gain a lot. By compromising, she would have the respect of Pertruchio who she could then use to obtain her desires, such as the nice gown and cap. With a strong husband, she could hold more power than she could even dream of under the title of the shrew. To a much larger extent, she can be happy. ConclusionIt is clear that by the end of the play, Kate has changed to a whole new person. But was Pertruchio successful in taming her? I believe he wasnt, however, he was able to show her the advantages of the other side. Pertruchios abusive techniques did not turn her to be submissive and obedient but liberated her of a false personality of unloveliness and violence spawned from her past. By compromising, Kate realized that she is not only able to achieve her materialistic goals like going to her fathers house or a nice gown and cap, but also respect, power and happiness way beyond what she was able to achieve before with anger. All these personal gains lead to conclude that Kate was not tamed but simply changed herself to achieve her own goals. Pertruchio opens her eyes to a life where she does not have to be mean and shrewish. He gave her the opportunity to be her true self without extinguishing her inner spirit and fire. Editors, SparkNotes. The Taming of the Shrew (No Fear Shakespeare) (No Fear Shakespeare). New York: SparkNotes, 2004. Shakespeare, William. The Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare, Signet Classic). New York: Signet Classics, 1998. â€Å"SparkNotes: The Taming of the Shrew. † SparkNotes: Most Popular Study Guides. 31 Mar. 2009 .

Maggie A Girl of the Streets

Maggie A Girl of the Streets The Basic Information about the Client Maggie is a young Caucasian woman in her twenties who came from the Bowery neighborhood. Maggie decided to ask for the help of a professional without the impact of the other persons. The purpose for the referral is the feelings of despair and guilt from which the woman suffers. Maggie states that she also suffers from negative thoughts and the idea of suicide became rather obsessive. The woman seems to be nervous and exhausted, her speech and movements are fitful.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Maggie: A Girl of the Streets specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The Background Information Maggie says she comes from the poor family living in the Bowery neighborhood of New York. Maggie and her two brothers were brought up by the cruel father and mother who suffered from alcohol abuse. The girl grew timid and shy, but she hoped to receive the good education, overcome poverty, and develo p her knowledge and views. In reality, Maggie’s education is poor, and her working experience is based on the work at the shirt factory. In spite of the problems within the family with the mother and brother, Maggie hoped she could improve the situation. The woman began relations with her brother’s friend Pete, believing the man could help her escape from the poverty. Nevertheless, the family did not accept the fact of Maggie’s relations, and the woman had to leave home feeling guilt for her immoral behavior. The relations with Pete were ceased because of his intention, but the woman could not return back to her family. As a result, today, Maggie has to work as a prostitute in order to earn some money, but she does not see any positive perspectives in her life. The Psychological Profile Having paid attention to the information provided by Maggie in the interview, it is possible to state that today Maggie suffers from the problems associated with such social issu es as poverty and necessity to work as a prostitute. The woman cannot accept the fact, but she also does not see possible variants to overcome the situations. Having assessed Maggie’s psychological state with the help of psychological rating scales, it is possible to note that the woman suffers from melancholic depression which can result in developing suicide ideas. Furthermore, Maggie’s speech is full of words with the negative connotation, and she is fixed on her negative feelings and emotions. The typical signs of clinical depression are feelings of despair, loss, frustration, and hopelessness which are experienced by Maggie.  The woman also states that she feels being betrayed by her relatives and lover because they abandoned her, and this feeling makes Maggie discuss herself as worthless and empty. Furthermore, she discusses her current position as a prostitute as the result of her immoral behaviour and relations with Pete.Advertising Looking for essay on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More From this point, Maggie suffers from rather opposite feelings of guilt and helplessness which are the results of her positive intentions to improve the life conditions beginning relations with Pete and her negative experience of being ‘ruined’ and betrayed by Pete. This emotional controversy is influential for Maggie, and its combination with the problematic life conditions makes Maggie choose the work of prostitute because she does not discuss herself as worthy of the better life because of the negative experience. The result of these inner conflicts is clinical melancholic depression which is observed with references to Maggie’s statement of her sadness, anxiety, hopelessness, loss of interest to the life, and despair. The signs of depression are observed while focusing on the woman’s appearance. Maggie does not pay attention to her clothes and appearance, she avoids looking at the interviewer, and she is rather passive while telling about her problems. Recommendations and Therapies The symptoms of Maggie’s depression can be relived and treated, if a psychologist focuses on increasing Maggie’s self-esteem. The problem is in the woman’s resistance to accept her right to live the better life because she is fixed on her negative experience. However, the complex therapy also includes the work oriented to improving the social conditions which make Maggie feel frustrated. Thus, Maggie should receive the help according to the cognitive-behavioral therapy. It is useful to participate in the group of support. It is helpful for Maggie to give up her work as a prostitute and return to the work at the factory in order to change the social status. Nevertheless, Maggie can experience some difficulties with changing the work because the woman feels that she cannot accept the better position because of her immoral behavior. It is necessary to focus on the therapy with a psychologist in order to help Maggie understand the fact that she is not guilty in the problems of her family, but she is strong enough to overcome the issues. Prognosis There are high chances for Maggie to overcome her depression. At the first stage of recovery, Maggie should work on her self-esteem and avoid negative thinking styles. As a result, Maggie can feel powers to change the work. The long-term outcomes of the therapy are the development of Maggie’s self-esteem and will along with changing the living environments. Maggie can become independent from her family’s background with changing the district of the city or even the city itself. Maggie can also focus on communication with people because it is important to her to find the balance between naivety and distrust in relation to people.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Maggie: A Girl of the Streets specifically for you for onl y $16.05 $11/page Learn More

5 Critical Concepts You Must Understand to Ace ACT English

5 Critical Concepts You Must Understand to Ace ACT English SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The ACT English can be overwhelming. There are so many questions! And they're mostly just underlined text: what are they even asking? Of course, that confusion is the whole point: it's what makes this part of the test hard. What does that mean for you? Because the ACT test writersrely on yourconfusion about the formatto confuse you, the questions themselves usually aren't that difficult. In order to excel onthe English section of the ACT, you first need to understand how it's organized- if you're not yet clear on that, take a look at our post laying out exactly what's tested on the ACT English. Onceyou know the basics of how this section of the test work, you just have tolearnhow to approach it. Do that, and you’ll find that the English section is surprisinglysimple! There are five key points you need to understand about the ACT English: ACT English Isn't the Same as High School English The ACT Tests a Limited Set of English Concepts You Always Need a Plan You Can Use the Format to Your Advantage Rushing Will Hurt Your Score Let's go through these one at a time. Feature Image Credit: CollegeDegrees360 #1: ACT English Isn't the Same as Everyday InformalEnglish A lot of students believe that since they speak English the English section should be easy, right? Not quite. Even students who excel with writing and grammar in school can struggle with the ACT English because the testhas its own logic. The ACTwill sometimes consider sentences that would be fine with your English teacher wrong, while some of the constructions that are correct on the test would make your teacher cringe. Answers That Sound Right but Are Actually Wrong A common strategy on the ACT English is to "listen" for errors and pick the answer that "sounds" correct. This approach is certainly helpful for picking out some of the more obvious errors, but the test will use it against you. There are a lot of questions about constructions that we routinely misuse in spoken English- they may sound right, but they're actually wrong. Take "should of" for example: If he didn't want to be late, he should of taken the shorter route. Soundsfine! But this is actually a misspelling of "should've," the contraction of "should have." If you say both "should've" and "should of" out loud, you'll notice that they sound almost identical. The correct version of the sentence is: If he didn't want to be late, he should'vetaken the shorter route. I don't recommend relying on "listening" for errors, but if you do plan to do so (and even if you don't) make sure to study the errors that we routinely make when speaking: pronouns, subject-verb agreement, word choice, and commas. Unfamiliar Grammar Rules Even more confusing are the ACT English's unique grammar rules, manyof which will becompletely new to youor evencontradict what you've been taught in school. With that in mind,the most important advice I can give you about the ACT English is to approach the test on its own terms. For example, a common error I see students make is assuming that the most formal answer is the best one. In school you're expected to use very formal English for essays and assignments, so shouldn't the ACT want the same thing? But it doesn't quite work that way, as you'll see in this example. This question asks for an answer that does two things: "provides the most specific detail" and "maintains the style and tone of the essay." Choices A and B can be ruled out because neither one provides specific details. That leaves answers C and D, which both specify that the kiln's temperature rises above a thousand degrees- the difference between them is one of tone. If you're looking for the most formal answer, D seems correct; however, that answer is unnecessarily wordy and doesn't fit with the more conversational style of the passage itself. As such, C, which provides the relevant detail in a tone that fits into the passage, is the correct answer. You can't assume that the ACT English follows the same rules that you've been taught in school; instead, you have to understand what the test itself wants you to know. The ACT English is not like this(Â © David Shankbone) #2: The Rules for ACT English May Be Weird, but There Aren't That Many of Them If, as I just told you,a lot of what you already know about English is useless on the ACT, then what do you need to know? In short, you must know the specific set of rules that the ACT considers important, as well as how those rules are tested on the ACT. Well, luckily, the types of questions on the ACT Englishare extremely limited, which makes this section of the test surprisingly easy to study for.These questions fall into two categories:usage and mechanics (~55%) and rhetorical skills (~45%).I'mnot going to detailall the concepts you need to know- take a look at our complete guide to ACT grammar rules for that- instead, I'm going to help you start analyzinghow the ACTwritersdesign questions. Remember that the ACT tests conceptsin context, so it's less important to know the names of terms of the reason behind rules than to understand how to spot and correct errors. Usage and Mechanics The usage and mechanics questions are divvied up into three categories: sentence structure, which includes sentence fragments, run-ons, misplaced modifiers, and parallelism grammar and usage, which includes subject-verb agreement, verb tense, pronoun usage, and adjectives and adverbs punctuation, which includes commas, apostrophes, dashes, colons, and semi-colons. To do well on the usage and mechanics, you have to both know the grammar rules as definedby the ACT andunderstand how to spot those errors in practice. That means studying the concepts- see our in-depthguide to the ACT English(coming soon!) or our guide to the best ACT books- and then drilling yourself with real ACT practice passages, which you can find in the Official Guide to the ACT or online. Because the ACT is standardized, these topics are tested in certain defined ways that you will see again and again. For example, a lot of verb tense questions are actually subject-verb agreement questions in disguise: all the answers are in different forms, but only one is correctly conjugated. As you practice, keep an eye out for these types of tricks- the better you get at understanding the logic of the questions, the higher your score will be. Rhetorical Skills Rhetorical skills questions are the ones that really confuse a lot of students, since they aren't even remotely similar to the test questionsyou seein school. The ACT categorizes them in to three groups: organization, which covers transitions and sentence and paragraph order strategy, which covers sentence additions and main idea questions style, which covers redundancy and word choice. Though each type of rhetorical skills question has its own quirks, they're almost all governed by two basic principles: All prose should be as clear as possible. You must answer the question you're being asked. That may sound like gibberish, so let's break it down. When I say that you should prioritize clarity in picking answers, I mean that you want to focus on finding the clearest answer, i.e. the choice that provides all of the necessary information and nothing more, in the most straightforward way possible.Phrasing questions will try to confuse you with extra words that sound smart or important: don't let them fool you! My second point may seem superfluous (of course you have to answer the question!), but it's just as important as the first. On the ACT English, the test itemsthat involve actual questions will ask you for very specific things. You must read these questions carefully and pick the answer that best fits the criteria they lay out. Let's look at an actual rhetorical skills question to see how to apply these ideas. None of these answers involve a lot of extra words, but C and D are both phrased slightly confusingly, so we can probably rule those out. Next, let's look at what exactly the question is asking for: a specific and vivid description of the underwater terrain. Now we can definitely be sure that C and D are wrong- they're both quitevague. Moreover, we can see that A must be the correct answer, since it's the only one that gives a sense of what the underwater scene actually looks like. Now that we've covered how the ACT English is different from what you might expect, let's cover the tools you need to tackle this admittedly weird test successfully. #3: Always Have a Plan of Attack Because the format of the ACT English is so different from the tests you take in school, it's easy to get confused or overwhelmed and end up approaching the passages haphazardly, looking at each underlined section individually. Don't do this! Because the test is designed to test grammar concepts in context, looking at only the underlined portions will cause you to miss questions. Instead, you want to have a strategy for how you approach passages that you use every time you take the test, whether it's for practice or the real thing. Different methods work best for different people, and you'll have to decide what makes the most sense for you. However, every goodstrategyshares one vital principle: no matter where in asentence the underlined section appears, you must always read to the end of the sentence. If you don't do this, it will hurt your score- a lot. For a full breakdown of the pros and cons of different strategies, take a look at our post onthe best way to approach the ACT English passages. Below I've included a quick take on two possible approaches. The Best Strategy for ApproachingACT English Passages Like I said before, every student has their own way of approaching things. However, I've found that the strategy that best minimizes the potential for misunderstanding context is to first read each paragraph and then go back and answer all the questions about that paragraph. Let's walk through how this works in an actual ACT Passage. In this example, you start by reading the first paragraph, until the purple line. Then you answer the questions that are marked with purple boxes. You can see how having read the entire paragraph makes answering question 26, which asks for the sentence that "most effectively introduces the information that follows," much easier. You'll still needto be especially careful with questions 27 and 28, since they appear in the same sentence- in these cases, make sure to look at both underlined portions and consider whether the answer to one will affect the answer to the other. Once you've completed the two-step process for that paragraph, you move on to the next one. Read down to the green line, and then answer the question marked in green. On a real ACT English section, you would repeat this process for each paragraph in each passage. Strategy for Those who Struggle with Time Though the above strategy is ideal, as it gives the clearest understanding of the context for each question, you may find that it's too time consuming. If you are running out of time on the English section with more than a couple of questions of left, you may want to focus more closelyon the underlined portions of the passage. In this strategy, you read only the sentences that contain underlined portions (you still have to read the entire sentence, though), answering the specificquestions as you go, and then going back to any big picture questions at the end.You can see how this approachworks in the example below. 26 is a big picture question, so we skip the blue highlighted portion, and go straight to pink sentence. We read that and answer 27 and 28. Next,we readthe yellow sentence, answer 29, read the green sentence, and answer 30. Finally, we return to the blue sentence and answer 26. For a full passage, you follow the same pattern but for all 15 questions. This strategy can work, but it's not nearly as reliable as the first one. I don't recommend it if you're shooting for a score higher than a 25. (In case you're curious, the correct answers for the questionsabove are as follows: 26. G, 27. D, 28. F, 29. A, 30. G) Remember: always have a plan! #4: Use the Structure of the Test to Your Advantage Once you masteryourapproach to the passages, you'll need to learn how the ACT English questions work. The best way to do that is just to look at, practice with, and analyze as many real ACT questions as possible. Keep in mind that the test is multiple choice and consider how you can usethat to your advantage. Here are a fewtips toget you started. Strategy: Consider How the Answer Choices are Different from Each Other Let's say you look at an underlined portion and don't see anything wrong: you should just bubble A (for no change) and move on, right? Not quite. Just because you don't recognize the error immediatelydoesn't mean there isn't one. Instead, try looking at the answers. What's the difference (or differences) between them? Once you figure that out, you'll know what kind of question you're dealing with- whether it's a subject-verbagreement or idiomatic usage question, for example. Let's look at some examples: Even without knowing the context, wecan see that this a question about punctuation. Looking back at the sentence, you could then determine what factors willaffect the correct punctuation here: maybe there's adash earlier in the sentenceand you need another one to properly punctuatea interjection or maybe this punctuation mark falls between two independent clauses, making the semicolon correct. Next, we've got a trickier case: Inthis example, we can see that there are two questions at issue: whether"therefore" or "in addition" is the correct transition and whether a period or a comma is the correct punctuation. With two concept questions like this, you can narrow down choices based on one of the issues, even if you aren't sure about the other one. Strategy: Don't Get Too Attached to Your Own Idea ofthe Answer We've talked about what to do when you aren't immediately sure what's going on with a question, but what about the times when you immediately know what's wrong and how to fix it? For the most part, those occasions are the best case scenarios- you should still read all the answer choices and double check to make sure you aren't falling into any traps, like failing to read to the end of a sentence or missing a "not" in the question, but usually you'll be able to quickly determine the right choice and move on. However, there will be times, especially when dealing with the rhetorical skills question, that you come up withthe perfect answer only to find that there's no choice even remotely similar to it. Don't panic! Think about what the erroris, rather than what would be correct, and eliminate any answers with the same mistake. Then try to narrow down the rest of the choices. Once you've got it down to one choice, plug that back into the sentence and see if it makes sense. Strategy: Eliminate Identical Answers This is a pretty simple strategy, but a lot of students find it really helpful: If two answers are functionally identical, they must both be wrong. Think about it this way:if you have a transition question and "Furthermore" and "Moreover" are both answer choices, how can you choose between them? You can't, because they mean the same thing. As such, both answers must be wrong. The exception to this rule is if there are more than two answers that are all the same. In that case, you've probably missed the part of the question that says "Which of the following would NOT be acceptable?" Go back and check. Keep an eye out for these kinds of patterns as you study- they're invaluable for conqueringthe weird world of the ACT English! This is good advice for every section of the ACT! #5: Don't Rush! After reading all this advice, you may be wondering how you will possibly get through the whole English section of the ACT in just 45 minutes. After all, it includes five passages and 75 questions, which is quite a lot. However, if you try out a couple of practice sections, you'll find that they go much faster than you expect. In fact, manystudents make a lot of careless mistakes because they're rushing to get through the test and then end up with time left over at the end. If you have more than one or two minutes left at the end of the English section and are missing more than a handful of questions,you're moving too fast. Even ifyou do find yourself running out of time, it may not benefit you to speed up. Rushing will always hurt your score. You may be better off guessing on some of the questions at the very end or skipping some of the time consuming big picture questions than you would be struggling to get to every single question in the allotted time. What's Next? Now that you understand the big picture of the English ACT, drill into some specific grammar topics, starting with our complete guide to commas. Aiming for that elusive perfect 36? Try our guide to getting a 36 on the ACT English from a perfect scorer. Or maybe after that you're considering switching to the SAT? Make sure you understand the differences between ACT English and SAT Writing first. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this English lesson, you'll love our program.Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands ofpractice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial:

Asian Management for Toyota Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Asian Management for Toyota - Case Study Example The automation (ji-do-ka) consisted of equipping machines with an automatic system to stop them in case of problems. Automation applied to operators who stopped their production line if they ran into problems, so that product quality could be guaranteed and the problem solved on the spot the number of workers per line was diminished through the kaizen (continuous improvement) of production processes. The Asian values of lifetime employment, seniority-based wages, and the company union form the triptych of Japanese-style industrial relations. The relationship between the union and management hinges on reciprocal trust as provided by the 1962 Management-Union joint declaration. The union had no more strikes after 1954. Collective bargaining was replaced by a summit conference organized by company administrators and union executives. Worker bonuses were paid twice yearly, and a retirement bonus was provided. Toyota's weaknesses are its aging workforce, the exit of the Japanese salary man and the end of the era of lifetime employment. ... This case relates closely to the general theories and practices in Asian Management Systems. First, Toyota's Human Resources Division prides itself in treating its workers and suppliers as part of a big family. This close relationship based on trust is seen in the entire production system. First, the company encouraged the workers to propose solutions to production problems. The increased profitability is shared by huge bonuses given to the workers at the end of the year. Second, the company gave them a sense of ownership over their workplace through participation in its improvement. Thirdl, they reinforced bonds among workers by encouraging them to discuss and reflect upon their work. Finally, they promoted leaders from the rank and file and helped them develop their communication skills. Human relations activities were aimed at promoting the manager's personal touch and it has a mentoring system within the company. Toyota helps its suppliers in their production processes, work orga nization, production costs, and product quality. Toyota chose suppliers for each new model. Toyota informed its suppliers of its quarterly production plan so that they could prepare themselves. By creating competent suppliers, Toyota is able to increase its price and quality competitiveness. Customer satisfaction and dealer satisfaction is important. Dealer contracts prohibited them from selling other brands. Toyota provides financial support on condition that they remained loyal. Each dealer signed an annual contract indicating sales per model. The role of the dealers consisted of getting the complaints, requirements, and desires of current and future customers, so that these factors could be taken into account in the design of new

Exploratory argument on what has come to be called the school - to - Essay

Exploratory argument on what has come to be called the school - to - prison pipeline - Essay Example The STPP has become a social problem since learners drop out, causing social disruptions due to the influence of the policies. Primarily, radical changes are required within the NCLB (No Child Left Behind) act and the Zero tolerance policy to bring back education to its worth of content instead of test scores, image and funding. When learners are well provided with the test and material, administrators and teachers not only require them to prosper, but are more disturbed with the students’ failures, since they miss sufficient funding (Christle,  Jolivette & Nelson,  2005). This makes the education phase to be merely on money and funds instead of content oriented system. When schools became victims of little test score due to the societal economic standpoint, offense ridden where imprisonment is high and other contributing social issues, then administrators and teachers are put in a situation where they cannot come out of the issues within the time frame. Besides, given tha t the social populations of the society are wealthier and safe, it is believed that they have higher scores due to some benefits; they are not adequately learning the content but rather for further grants. The administrators and teachers have perceived the test scores and material as a dollar symbol to get federal funding; denying learners the chance to acquire the full knowledge of an education. The next factor to the social problem of the STPP (School to Prison Pipeline) is the Zero Tolerance rule. All schools in US (United States) have Zero tolerance rules meant to make learning institutions a safe place by keeping drugs and weapons out of them. In retrospect, the Zero Tolerance appears to ensure that the learners are safe in mind. However, the effects of expulsion and suspension do not appear reasonable. When a leaner is suspended and stopped from coming to school, he or she looses much of the learning time. Besides, expulsing or suspending a student makes his or her drops back on the learning, making them not to care about education hence dropping out of school. Drop out of learners with little life skills and education make students to resort to more criminal offenses and activities. The huge investment done by the US government on the criminal justice policy instead of education system is worrying and increases the risk of the (STPP) School to Prison Pipeline. This makes the youth awareness and motivation towards an education system to constantly be low concerning the experience and values of learning. The massive investment being employed into prisons versus education indicates the relation between the little budget of education as well as reduced test scores. Possibly, when much funding is spent on education, learners would get the equipment in education and academia so as not to be part of this trend. When this is adhered to, the social problem of the STPP (School to Prison Pipeline) would effortlessly decline. Besides, to eliminate the aforementione d social issue, teachers, administrators and teachers should be accommodated in adjusting the No Child Left Behind policy. The educational stakeholders such as cabinet secretaries, ministries and political leaders need to recognize the social problems faced by the education system to enable instructors educate and teach learners about the content of the