The Importance of Setting in The Yellow Wall-Paper by...

The Importance of Setting in The Yellow Wall-Paper by Charlotte Gilman In the short story The Yellow Wall-Paper, by Charlotte Gilman, the setting contributes to the narrators insanity. When she first sees the house, she loves it. She thinks the house will be a perfect place to recover from her nervous condition, but that does not happen because her husband confines her to the bedroom so that her health will improve. The narrators mental illness deteriorates to the point of insanity due to her isolation in the bedroom, with only the yellow wallpaper to look at that she considers repellent, almost revolting; a smoldering unclean yellow,strangely faded by the slow-turning sunlight (106). At the beginning of the story,†¦show more content†¦She said the following: I wish I could get well faster. But I must not think about that. This paper looks to me as if it knew what a vicious influence it had! There is a recurrent spot where the pattern lolls like a broken neck and two bulbous eyes stare at you upside down. I get positively angry with the impertinence of it and the everlastingness. Up and down and sideways they crawl, and those absurd, unblinking eyes are everywhere. There is one place where two breadths didnt match, and the eyes go all up and down the line, one a little higher than the other. (107) The narrator is being forced to stay in her room, and since there is nothing else to do, she starts looking for a pattern in the wallpaper. She begins to see faces in the wallpaper, and it appears that the narrators nervous condition has grown into something more serious. Shortly after this occurs, she begins to see complete human figures in the wallpaper. This wall-paper has a kind of sub-pattern in a different shade, a particularly irritating one, for you can only see it in certain lights, and not clearly then. But in the places where it isnt faded and where the sun is just so--I can see a strange, provoking, formless sort of figure, that seems to skulk about behind that silly and conspicuous front design (108). The narrator continues to regress. Her rational thinking is being replaced more and more with ramblings about the wallpaper. Since she is not really allowed toShow MoreRelatedSymbolism of the Setting of The Yellow Wallpaper1198 Words   |  5 PagesVolpe 1 Marissa Volpe Prof. Baker ENC 1102 4/10/14 Symbolism In The Gothic Setting of â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† Gothic literature is incredibly distinct. There is a sort of formula involved with writing in the Gothic style, and one of the most important aspects of this is the setting, which can include anything from the architecture of the buildings to the color of the leaves on the trees. The setting of a story is a vital element, as it would seem to be that the most effective way of drawing Read MoreAnalysis Of The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman1269 Words   |  6 PagesFebruary 2017 Analysis of â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† Life during the 1800s for a woman was rather distressing. Society had essentially designated them the role of being a housekeeper and bearing children. They had little to no voice on how they lived their daily lives. Men decided everything for them. To clash with society s conventional views is a challenging thing to do; however, Charlotte Perkins Gilman does an excellent job fighting that battle by writing â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper,† one of the most captivatingRead More The Yellow Wallpaper1466 Words   |  6 PagesWhen looking at two nineteenth century works of change for two females in an American society, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Stephen Crane come to mind. A feminist socialist and a realist novelist capture moments that make their readers rethink life and the world surrounding. Gilman’s â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† was first published in 1892, about a white middle-class woman who was confined to an upstairs room by her husband and doctor, the roomâ€⠄¢s wallpaper imprisons her and as well as liberates herselfRead MoreUse Of Setting And Symbolism Of The Works Of Charlotte Perkins Gilman And Robert Frost1424 Words   |  6 Pagesworks of Charlotte Perkins-Gilman and Robert Frost that we’ve read in class use setting and symbolism to help readers to develop a greater understanding of the nature of relationships develop a greater understanding of the nature of relationships between two people. Gilman, Frost, and Edson use setting to demonstrate the strain that can exist between people in times of conflict. In Gilman s short story The Yellow Wallpaper the relationship between a man and a women displayed distressed. Gilman s useRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman1996 Words   |  8 Pagesand the winner is Charlotte Perkins Gilman with ‘The Yellow Wallpaper.’ ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ is a short story that emphasises a young woman struggling with the negative impacts of mental illness such as depression and nervous breakdowns. Through the fantastic use of repetition, convoluted sentence design, sophisticated language, active voice and evocative accounts of her surroundings, Gilman effectively plays with the feelings and emotions of the audience by creating a setting in which has jumpingRead MoreExamples Of Feminism In The Yellow Wallpaper1089 Words   |  5 PagesWomen were seen more as property and were merely useless if they c ould not have children. This time period’s society was male dominated. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s â€Å"The Yellow Wall-paper† strongly argues the theme of patriarchal control while in a authentic sense defines a feminist critique of the role of women. Gilman does a great example of relating the setting to the oppression of females during this time. Jane tells about the house in saying, â€Å"It is quite alone, standing well back from the roadRead MoreThe Progressive Stages Of Postpartum Depression1392 Words   |  6 Pagesmuch more exciting now than it used to be†(Yellow Wallpaper.) Defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Depression: a state of feeling sad. Simple, right? Dead wrong. Clinical depression is one of the leading psychological disorders in the US, affecting over 17.5 million Americans.(Washington) Amongst the many forms of depression, there is postpartum depression, a more uncommon one. Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Gilman, is a paper in which Charlotte Gilman tells a fictionalized version of her experienceRead More Importance of Symbolism and Setting in The Yellow Wallpaper2046 Words   |  9 PagesImportance of Symbolism and Setting in The Yellow Wallpaper      Ã‚   In the disturbing novel, The Yellow Wallpaper, the setting in which the action takes place is extremely important. The author uses setting to focus the reader’s attention into the story in a gradual manner. Also, the manipulation of setting allows the author to subtly introduce symbols in the text. These symbols represent Gilman’s view on the status of women in the patriarchal society of the nineteenth century. The story takesRead MoreThe Yellow Wall Paper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman900 Words   |  4 PagesPaper Three and Three Elements of Fiction The Yellow Wall-Paper was a short story written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in the year of 1892. In this story we are inside the mind of a lady who is suffering from a nervous disorder and is prescribed the â€Å"rest cure† by her physician husband. They go stay at a colonial mansion which she doesn’t like very much and there she is to just rest without no interaction with society and not even allowed to write in her journal. In the room she stays in she isRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper Essay : Importance Of Identity And Self Expression1707 Words   |  7 PagesThe Importance of Identity and Self Expression in The Yellow Wallpaper In the article â€Å"‘Too Terribly Good to Be Printed’: Charlotte Gilman’s ‘The Yellow Wallpaper,’† Conrad Shumaker explains the genius of â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† and how its themes reflect the patriarchal society of the time period. Shumaker identifies one theme as the detriment of suppressing the narrator’s sense of self and that â€Å"by trying to ignore and repress her imagination, in short, John eventually brings about the very circumstance

Canterbury Tales - 1291 Words

Essay Test In The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer, each character, such as the Pardoner, Wife of Bath, and the Franklin, epitomizes their spirit and reputation through the tales they tell. The Pardoner uses his tale as a gimmick to make money, because he is a greedy man. The way his tale illustrates each sin, every listener can relate to the three brothers and feel their guilt. The Wife of Bath’s Tale expresses her own values in the way the Knight is given a second chance after raping the young virgin. This greatly undermines her idea of the value of women. Because the Wife of Bath is so sexual, and lacks respect for her self, the Knight’s actions and forgiveness represent her own attitude on men versus women. Lastly, The†¦show more content†¦The Wife of Bath’s tale also demonstrates how important she thinks physical appearance is. Because, even after the knights immoral behavior, he is granted with a beautiful, trusting wife in the end. It is, how ever, the woman’s beauty that delights the knight, not her trustworthy manner. â€Å"Cast up the certain, husband. Look at me!’/ And when indeed the knight had looked to see,/ Lo, she was young and lovely, rich in charms./ In ecstasy he caught her in his arms,/ His heart went bathing in a bath of blisses/ And melted in a hundred thousand kisses,/ And she responded in the fullest measure/ With all that could delight or give him pleasure. â€Å"(292). The unexpected, and somewhat undeserved ending for the knight, expressed how forgiving, and fond of men the Wife of Bath truly is. Her choice of fate for this Knight is what makes this tale so appropriate for the Wife of Bath. A woman less reliant on the male sex would choose a bleaker fate for such an immoral man. The Franklin’s tale is very appropriate for his character because of its pleasant tone and trusting values. The Franklin chooses to tell a tale about trust, joy and faithfulness towards ones’ lo ver. Although the poem contains conflict, the ending is positive, and the integrity the wife possesses shows how the Franklin has strong faith in the human race, as well asShow MoreRelated The Canterbury Tales Essay972 Words   |  4 PagesThe Canterbury Tales The Canterbury Tales, a masterpiece of English Literature, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, is a collection, with frequent dramatic links, of 24 tales told to pass the time during a spring pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Thomas a Becket in Canterbury. The General Prologue introduces the pilgrims, 29 sondry folk gathered at the Tabard Inn in Southwark (outside of London). Chaucer decides to join them, taking some time to describe each pilgrim. According to the Norton AnthologyRead MoreAuthority And The Canterbury Tales1825 Words   |  8 PagesAuthority and The Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucer, widely known for his influence in medieval literature, expresses a fourteenth century literacy concept of authority and gentility in The Canterbury Tales. There are two forms of authority and gentility that will be covered in this discussion: authority and gentility in Chaucer’s personal life and the one in his two tales, â€Å"The Wife of Bath’s Tale†, and â€Å"The Clerk’s Tale†. Chaucer himself loses a sense of authority over his writing after his deathRead MoreThe Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer1582 Words   |  7 Pages Geoffrey Chaucer wrote the Canterbury tales a collection of short tales in the 14th century. The compilation of stories are told by different characters within the narrative as part of a game proposed by the host. Each individual must tell two stories on their journey and two stories on their way back. Each story tells some aspects of English life during the time and often added satire like qualities to the English life. In particular Chaucer often tells stories with elements of the relationshipRead MoreEssay on Chaucers The Canterbury Tales927 Words   |  4 PagesChaucers The Canterbury Tales In The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer comments on moral corruption within the Roman Catholic Church. He criticizes many high-ranking members of the Church and describes a lack of morality in medieval society; yet in the â€Å"Retraction,† Chaucer recants much of his work and pledges to be true to Christianity. Seemingly opposite views exist within the â€Å"Retraction† and The Canterbury Tales. However, this contradiction does not weaken Chaucer’s social commentary.Read MoreCanterbury Tales And Beowulf Essay1373 Words   |  6 Pagesof Beowulf and The Canterbury Tales are two that have been compared for centuries. Based in two different time periods, both novels describe religion, loyalty, and distinguish social classes through characters. In the novel Beowulf, the character Beowulf is known as the â€Å"hero of all heroes,† strong, courageous, and a warrior who is willing to risk his life for his ideals. In The Canterbury Tales, there are twenty-four tales describing characters from a knight to a monk’s tale. As the stories areRead MoreThe Canterbury Tales By Geoffrey Chaucer913 Words   |  4 PagesThe Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer consists of frame narratives were a group of pilgrims that are traveling from Southwark to the shire of St. Becker in the Canterbury Cathedral, tell each other to pass time until they arrive at their destination. During The Canterbury Tales the reader is exposed to many characters that represent all of the social classes of medieval England and the reader gets to know them from the general prologue to each individual tale. One of these characters is the PardonerRead MoreThe Canterbury Tales By Geoffrey Chaucer2664 Words   |  11 PagesThe Canterbury Tales The Canterbury Tales was written by Geoffrey Chaucer in 1392, during the medieval period in Europe. Three important aspects, his family’s ties to the court, his schooling and working for royalty (XI), and his love for reading and learning (XII) all combined and enabled him to create his greatest work, The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer includes many different characters, pilgrims, all from very unique walks of life. Although there are not as many women included as men, their storiesRead MoreCriticism of the Church in the Canterbury Tales1576 Words   |  7 PagesThe Canterbury Tales, a collection of tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, was written in Middle English at the end of the 14th century (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2011). It is considered to be the best work of literature in English in the Middle Ages (Johnston, 1998). Chaucer uses literary devices as no one had ever done. In addition, he chose to use English instead of Latin. This masterpiece is structured in a similar way as Bocac cios Decameron. The tales are organized within a frame narrative (EncyclopaediaRead MoreEssay on The Pardoners Tale of Chaucers The Canterbury Tales1482 Words   |  6 PagesThe Pardoners Tale of Chaucers The Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucers The Canterbury Tales is a structured novel which starts with the narrator obtaining twenty traveling companions at an inn. They are all traveling to Canterbury to pay homage to a saint. On their way, these colorful individuals decide to make the trip more bearable by having a story telling contest. Each will tell one story on the way to Canterbury, and one story on the way back. The winner will be decided by the innsRead More Chaucers The Canterbury Tales: The Parson’s Tale Essay2219 Words   |  9 PagesChaucers The Canterbury Tales: The Parson’s Tale The critical acclaim for The Canterbury Tales as a whole is matched by the puzzlement over the work’s conclusion, the â€Å"Parson’s Tale† and Chaucer’s retraction. By modern standards, it hardly seems the â€Å"merry tale† the Parson promises his audience, and after the liveliness of much of the rest of the Tales, it appears to close the work not with a bang, but a whimper. However, this does not mean that the tale and retraction aren’t worthy

Probability Distribution of Occupational Category

Questions: (a) Find the frequency distribution for the Occupational category (1=Management, 2=Sales, 3=Clerical, 4=Service, 5=Professional, 6=Other). Use Excel to produce a Descriptive Statistics table for your sample Occupational category data and paste into your MS Word assignment document. (b) Use the relative frequency approach to find the probability distribution for the Occupational category. (c) Draw the bar chart for the probability distribution of Occupational category. (d) Define the probability distribution based on part (b). x 1 2 3 4 5 6 P(x) 0.14 0.26 0.3 0.15 0.08 0.07 (e) Based on the probability distribution calculate the following i. Find the probability of exactly two ii. Find the probability more than two iii. Find the probability at least three. Answers: a. There are 6 categories of occupation. From our sample of size 60 that has been obtained, we obtain the frequency distribution of occupation as shown below. OCCUPATION Count 6 60 Thus, we observe that in the given sample, all the people belong to the occupational category Others. b. Relative frequency is a good approach to compute the probability of an event. Suppose the frequency of an event is f and the total frequency is n. Then the relative frequency of the event is (frequency of the event)/(Total frequency) =f/n. In this case, we have only one occupational category and its relative frequency = frequency/60 =60/60 =1 Thus the probability distribution of occupational category is shown below: OCCUPATION Count Probability 6 60 1 c. The bar chart for the probability distribution of Occupational category is given below: In the above diagram, 1 actually denotes Occupational Category 6 and all the samples units belong to the category Others. d. Considering the entire population, let X denote the Occupational Category of a person. Then X can take the values 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. According to our data given in task 1, we have a random sample of size 50 from the population and the corresponding probabilities of X are calculated according to the relative frequency method. For example P(X=1) = (number of people with Occupational Category 1)/50 In this way we compute all the probabilities for other values of X and the probability distribution table is shown below: X 1 2 3 4 5 6 P(x) 0.1 0.18 0.26 0.24 0.02 0.2 i. Based on the probability distribution given in the above probability distribution table, we compute some of the probabilities ii. Probability of exactly two =P(X=2) =0.18 (given in the above table) iii. Probability of more than two =P(X2) =P(X=3) + P(X=4) + P(X=5) +P(X=6) =0.26+0.24+0.02+0.2 =0.72 Probability of atleast three =P(X=3) =P(X=3) + P(X=4) + P(X=5) +P(X=6) =0.26+0.24+0.02+0.2 =0.72

The Future of NATO

Introduction The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) when signing the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949 declared that the organization would diligently work towards the unification of their combined defense in the preservation of peace and security.1Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Future of NATO specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The utmost danger to these goals was an armed attack by an unfriendly power. The insight resulted in the treaty’s most renowned provision as entrenched in Article V. It states that the parties to the treaty had concurred that a military attack against any of the members in Europe or North America would be regarded as an invasion against them all. However, the purpose for creating NATO has been objectively investigated by several interested parties of researchers and academicians including Lord Ismay to examine if NATO has a future given the contemporary security environment. In fact, Ismay formulated that the main objective of founding the alliance in 1949 was â€Å"to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down†.2 Six decades later, the mission has been achieved. However, the modern democratic Germany does not present any security threat. The effective collapse of the Soviet Union has resulted in a Russia that is incapable of presenting substantial military or conceptual threat to Europe effectively making NATO unnecessary from this perspective. The United States has played a vital role in ensuring that its national interests are permanently protected. Some quarters have suggested that the US has played its part in the alliance and should now leave. At the same time, NATO has achieved its mission in accordance with the treaty that created it. The accomplishment of these important missions somehow leaves NATO close to obsolete. NATO consequently requires restructuring and revamping to reflect on the realities of the 21st century .Advertising Looking for essay on international relations? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Evidently, the role of NATO remains important in view of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and increasing terrorism activities that threaten its members and non-members in equal measures. The security concerns of the 21st century and interconnected aspects offer NATO a new lease of life and a future. Main Body Initial paradox During the final decades of the 20th century, NATO was faced with a paradox. â€Å"The battle that the alliance had created to confront and conquer known as the conformist conflict in Europe terminated without bloodshed†.3 This almost made NATO irrelevant. Strangely, when the alliance relaxed, armed chaos exploded in the Balkans. As a result, Europe was caught in the violence. NATO’s response appeared to be sluggish given that the enormous task of merging the expanse increased with the flo p of Yugoslavia. In a timely manner, the alliance made the right resolution by intervening to terminate a violent war and remaining to maintain peace. The alliance assumed the responsibility of reconciling the former rivals into the transatlantic fold. This was a feat and the realization of one of the objectives of the European unity as stipulated in the Treaty. Reaching an agreement on both counts was taxing. However, the leaders of the alliance fixed the course of European history in a style that would offer enhanced safety, refuge and opportunity for all.4 Modern paradox The alliance is inherently faced by another paradox in its operation. The key member of the alliance in terms of finance and military capability enabled the United States to accomplish its mission as envisaged in the formation of the alliance. It has secured its interests globally by using the provisions of the treaty. Besides, it has managed to neutralize major threats to its national and regional security throu gh ISAF and direct military actions. The paradox that faces the alliance emerges from these facts and demands gallant and extensive resolutions.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Future of NATO specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The transatlantic region is less susceptible to conformist conflict now and in the foreseeable future. Since the alliance was designed to protect the community and the region from threat, it is still busy pursuing this mission despite lack of any potential threat. However, renewed threats to the region took a twist though not directly after the 9/11 attack on the American landmarks. Citizens of ninety countries died during the attacks on the Pentagon and New York. The consequences were economically felt globally. Through ISAF, NATO’s responsibility expanded to the global arena through the deployment of troops to Afghanistan to combat terrorists responsible for the attacks. For a n umber of countries, the shift to democracy has progressed in fits and starts. These include NATO’s neighbors. Economically weaker states face the hitches of controlling their areas and affording urgent needs for their populations. Under the umbrella of ISAF, NATO has a future as its assistance is required in these countries and regions. Terrorism mushrooms in these weaker countries. If first world countries are to effectively defend themselves against terrorism, they must support NATO in its endeavor to eliminate terrorist shells in these emerging economies. This globalizes the increasingly multifaceted threats. The 2004 Madrid and 2005 London and multiple deterred attacks illustrated what transnational radical groups pursue to spread across the multiple verges of shared transatlantic region. The unwelcomed visitor of international terrorism accompanied by social, racial and spiritual strife is augmented by other threats. There are other threats that are creating their course towards the transatlantic zone from unanticipated quarters.Advertising Looking for essay on international relations? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The dangers touch all countries similarly and no country is immune.5 This realization requires the partnership with NATO giving it a new role in future. The origins of these threats cling to globalization and shrouded within the economic networks that fuel the engines of global economy. For example, the essentials to construct biological weapons and the resources for their delivery possess a trend of masking behind millions of ordinary vessels meant for genuine trade. Computer-generated networks transmit novel ideas and chances at immeasurable speeds yet prowling in the data streams are fresh susceptibilities to trade and national security. When the Alliance was formed, cyber-crime and related threats did not present the region with substantial threats. These dangers advanced by technology require the alliance to review the mandate of NATO. In so doing, NATO will have extra responsibilities in future. Technological threats are currently the most probable source of global insecurity. Additionally, piracy, which for hundreds of years has been consigned to irritating levels, is on the increase. Illicit networks traffic artilleries, drugs and human are forming long vague shadows traversing international boundaries. The doubt of consistent energy provisions has the prospect in the disruption of livelihoods and trade at an extraordinary measure. Above this milieu of threats is a financial crisis of momentous degree. These emerging challenges to safety and security offer NATO a lifeline. Piracy activities have seemingly subdued contemporary measures by security agencies. This offers NATO a chance to help the world deal with piracy in collaboration with the agencies and nation-states. Expanding Jurisdiction The NATO leadership is alive to the emerging realities and challenges of the 21st century. NATO is re-inventing itself to deal with the threats to its interests in economic and security frontier. In the last five years, NATO forces have been deployed in its largest operation in history. The alliance has trained over 150,000 police and army forces to combat ferocious insurgence in Afghanistan, which is more than five thousand kilometers from its headquarters in Brussels.6 This is a departure from the initial objective of the Treaty and evidence of embracing global responsibility. In Balkan, there are various martial personnel devoted towards advancing firmness and amity.7 NATO ships prowl the high seas off the East African coast to combat the increasing piracy menace associated mostly with the Somali instability. Although the United States has played a vital role and close to accomplishing its mission with NATO, it remains an important partner in the role played by NATO in securing its interests globally. Its interest particularly in East Africa has been a target by terrorists who find it difficult to execute their mission in the American soil. As a result, withdrawal from the alliance in pursuit of other commitments would have dire consequenc es for the US.8 The intensive investment in training and deploying of troops to different locations further indicates the alliance members’ intention to ensure that NATO continues to have a position in the global security sphere. Renewed responsibilities The rate of operation by NATO demonstrates that even though the world security setting has altered, the alliance’s raison d’etre has not. It is the continuing responsibility of transatlantic community to assist nations, the alliance and entire world in addressing the grave and frequently detached threats that endanger the world. In this view, NATO will remain a beacon of unwavering peace and liberty in Europe as was the case in the 20th century. In an address to the NATO members, the Secretary of State named Hillary Clinton informed that the alliance was being challenged by circumstances to deal with greater challenges in the history of mankind. The secretary stated that to meet the challenges the alliance neede d to renovate and fortify their partnerships.9 The challenge by the secretary was positively received by the 28 leaders of the alliance. In November 2010, the leaders undertook the bold and enormous role of setting forward the vision on how the alliance through NATO would confront the security tasks of the present and the future effectively offering a future to NATO. In order to modernize and strengthen NATO, the leaders began with the development of a new Strategic Concept. The concept was launched on the platform of the initial premise offered by the earlier transatlantic visions, which included that the Transatlantic Alliance is a society of associates organized by a set of shared beliefs.10 Strategic Concept The NATO leadership realizes the need to develop a concept that will reflect on the changing security environment and reinvent the alliance to face the challenges of the 21st century and beyond. The strategy is composed of two fundamental and sturdy pillars. The first pillar is combined defense called the pledge (preserved in Article V of the Washington Treaty) meant to react to the aggression touching one as aggression touching all. With the Balkans and neighboring countries joining the alliance, the responsibility of NATO has been increasing despite the fact that the region does not face immediate threat.11 The collective defense precept means that NATO will remain an essential alternative in case of imminent threats. The second pillar of the alliance is co-operative security. The leaders appreciate that security issues need to be addressed proactively as opposed to being ready and reacting to threats that may ensue. Such cooperation is particularly important for the security agencies. The agencies need to work in tandem and synergically to forecast probable security scenarios.12 In implementing the strategic plan of the alliance leadership, NATO has in the last two decades been extending the ideology of partnership. Observably, the scope and value o f the alliance’s partnership has remarkably improved. This has enabled NATO to increase its presence in the global security arena. In an array of ways, NATO is regaining its relevance in the international security community through renewed commitment to partnering with compatible countries and security agencies on shared security concerns. This approach is important in differentiating the NATO of the Cold War era and subsequent years from the NATO of today. This is an affirmative leap forward for the future of NATO. The partnerships have enabled NATO to correctly construct the right competences, logistical and structural capacity in addressing security concerns of the present and the future.13 With the strategic concept in place, nations inside and outside the transatlantic zone are regaining their confidence in NATO. In recent years, NATO in collaboration with likeminded countries effectively created a no-go-zone in Libya that culminated in the ouster and consequent killing of one of the Africa’s most intimidating autocratic President called Muammar Gaddafi. This demonstrated that NATO still has a role to play in enhancing global security. Without the intervention of NATO, the war propagated against civilians would have spilled to the neighboring countries and probably to the entire African continent. The dismantling of piracy cartels along the coast of East Africa signifies that NATO still has a future. It has a role in stabilizing diverse world locations. Unique capability for security organization The parties that are members of the transatlantic alliance possess huge economic, political and military potential. With the largest percentage of its military and structural organization being funded by the world’s most influential economy, NATO has a unique capability for organizing security and operating in any environment through the marshaling of influential forces. This means that like-minded countries are keen to ensure that NATO remai ns as a partner in global security issues. While the security setting has altered significantly, the core ideals, the roles of collective defense and cooperative security, as well as the shared capabilities continue to be the essential basis of the alliance.14 With more countries around the world sensing the increasing threats from different corners including terrorism, the role of NATO will become relevant and necessary in future. These countries will be willing to assist and cooperate with NATO to improve security. They will offer financial and military support to the alliance. The departure of the US from the alliance will have an impact on NATO, but countries which feel that being affiliated with NATO is beneficial to their security will join efforts to fit in the US position in the alliance.15 Organizational structures Strategic Concept adopted by NATO leadership with a global aspect with the transatlantic zone acting as a security hub indicates that shareholders in the securit y region are keen to actualize the role of NATO in future. The future of sponsored organizations heavily depends on the well-wish of the partners. The suggestion by the stakeholders to realign NATO structures is a clear indication that it has a future. They are ready to investing in capabilities, training and mutual command structure that interlink the partners into a cohesive whole.16 NATO requires the assistance of security agencies and military support from outside the transatlantic region to avert security threats emanating from continents such as Asia and Africa propagated by terrorism networks like AL Qaeda. Such cooperation will ensure that the endeavors as envisaged in Article V are attained.17 The restructuring to involve international players is an indication that it has a future full of responsibilities that require distribution of responsibilities.18 New capabilities The United States has for decades played a dominant role in NATO. It has committed its economic and milit ary power to the preservation of peace, stability and security in Europe after the destructions of the Second World War.19 The termination of cold war, the downfall of the Berlin Wall and the breakdown of Warsaw Pact obligated NATO to discover a new responsibility to remain relevant in the eyes of the sponsors. By the end of the 20th century, the welfares of the US in the European continent had been entrenched firmly on irreversibility. Economically, Europe provides a rich market for the United States. The US economy will not succeed without an affluent Europe and vice versa. Although majority of the alliance members are cutting on defense spending, withdrawal of funding by the US as having accomplished its mission within NATO poses a major threat to the security and economies of the two continents and the world in general.20 NATO is a major conduit for the US in Europe hence America’s withdrawal and ‘returning home’ is ill-advised with dire consequences. For all intents and purposes, the US is virtually a member of the European Union without formally stating so in the treaty.21 There are strong indications from President Barrack Obama administration that the US is committed to fight emerging security threats through NATO. The fight against terrorism is complex.22 It requires expert approach. NATO offers sufficient expertise to execute the responsibility consequently earning a future in global security responsibilities. Given the history of NATO, it is easy to build new capabilities through it as opposed to establishing an entirely new organization. In this view, having accomplished the mission in Europe, it is the interest of the US for NATO to advance geographically as threats become spread outside Europe but with the same impact as if the threats were directly emanating from Europe. The EU has made significant steps in ensuring that the presence of the United States is not far-reaching. The countries have grown militarily and politically in leaps and bounds. They now have the capacity to stand on their own without essentially having the US partake in main or trivial roles.23 The European countries now admit that peacekeeping in the continent is their key responsibility. However, the economic interests of the US in Europe do not allow it to withdraw from the continent in totality. To safeguard its interests in Europe, the US will have to engage the services of NATO. This is yet another reason why NATO has a role to play in future. The US will employ the tactic of retrenching from Europe in a setting that it remains a partner and can send its military as well as offer support but cease running the show and bearing the risks. As has been the case in the recent years, the US will continue to expand the NATO mandate to other global locations to safeguard its interests. The US engagement with NATO will increase irrespective of the security environment and the funding will most likely increase. However, the engagement wit h Europe will be based on the needs of military backing. Irrespective of the need for backing, the US will ensure that NATO is well funded to effectively handle any unpredicted security threat. The US appears to continuously underline the criticality of subsidizing NATO activities and tackling 10-vital competencies. Key among these capabilities is warhead defense, computer-generated and civil-military cooperation. This approach in altering and increasing the responsibility of NATO while the leading sponsor gives it a future full of global responsibilities in countering threats as opposed to being restricted to transatlantic roles. â€Å"The 21st century dangers of extremism, the spread of weapons of mass destruction and cybercrime further justify the continuity of NATO into the future.†24 The non-member countries require to be assured by NATO that despite their non-membership to the alliance, NATO will reciprocate assistance when needed in order to maintain global peace and s ecurity. In this respect, NATO needs to review its objectives with a clear consideration of the changing security environment since the contemporary threats extend beyond ‘armed aggression’ as described in Article V. This way, the countries will give NATO logistic, military and financial support, and an operational future. America would readily approve such a move. Inevitability, the US is focusing its attention from the transatlantic region to combat contemporary threats of terrorism and cybercrime that mainly originate from the Middle East, Africa and Asia. NATO’s failure to embrace increasing global security responsibility will likely see the US losing interest in investing in the alliance’s future with NATO.25 NATO should partner with likeminded countries to effectively execute its global security mandate such as Australia and Japan. When such non-member countries provide significant military support, they should form part of the operative planning pro cedures even though they have no vote in the considerations.26 This way, NATO will have a busy future with mandate beyond that stipulated in the Treaty and particularly Article V. Conclusions and recommendations The future of NATO is increasingly challenged by social, economic and political factors. The future of the alliance is gradually being influenced by the diminishing security threats in the European continent. The stability and diffusion of threats has been facilitated by NATO which has played a central role for decades. The end of cold war, the collapse of the Berlin Wall and stability in the region has placed NATO in a paradox as to what role it should play having accomplished its initial mission of collective defense and security cooperation. Additionally, European countries are increasingly becoming militarily independent. Most countries in the regions have attained military capacity to defend their homeland from external aggression. The threats that had brought the count ries together in an alliance have significantly decreased. The threats are spread to other global locations. This waters-down the role of NATO in the transatlantic region. However, the future of NATO is still promising given the changing security environment. In order to maintain its relevance, NATO, its members and leaderships require adapting to the current and emerging security threats of the 21st century. The leadership and members of the alliance should seek ways to restructure NATO command to accommodate membership with a global representation. The dangers that are likely to threaten the transatlantic alliance will emerge from outside the region. The move by NATO to increase its security surveillance in Africa, Middle East and the coasts off East Africa is commendable but it requires increasing its presence to the global arena. It is also imperative for NATO to combine its identity of ‘defensive alliance’ with ‘instrument of intervention’ in Europe an d afar. In view of the ongoing crisis in Syria, it is evident that the US is a key player in NATO. The Barrack Obama administration has neglected the humanitarian crisis in Syria by refusing to offer extra funding to NATO. Evidently, the departure of the US from NATO will create a global crisis in security. It should hence be the responsibility of NATO leadership to ensure that the relationship between the US and the transatlantic alliance remains intact. The members should, therefore, commit to funding NATO’s operations to avert security threats that may spill to the region. Currently, the US population feels that the alliance members have neglected their responsibility by cutting on military funding thus effectively leaving the US taxpayer to bear the burden. Despite these circumstances, NATO still has a future in combating emerging global security threats. Works Cited BROOK, Tom. NATO Still has a Vital Role, Secretary General says. March 2013 [cited 29 January 2014]. Avail able from World Wide Web http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/09/25/nato-anders-fogh-rasmussen/2870679/. CURTIN, Mary. The Role of NATO in Today’s World. August 2013. [cited 29 January 2014]. Available from World Wide Web http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentaries/211628261.html. Daadler, I. A New Alliance for a New Century. The RUSI Journal, 2010, vol. 155 no. 5, p. 6-10. ERLANGER, Steven. Shrinking Europe Military Spending Stirs Concern. January 2013. [cited 29 January 2014]. Available from World Wide Web http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/world/europe/europes-shrinking-military-spending-under-scrutiny.html?pagewanted=all. Goldgeier, J. The Future of NATO. Council on Foreign Relations, 2010, vol. 51,no. 1, p. 1-33. Hallams, E. Benjamin, S. Towards a ‘Post-American’ Alliance? NATO Burden-Sharing after Libya. International Affairs, 2012, vol. 88, no. 2, p. 313–327. KARL, Kaiser. Does NATO Have a Future? For Better or for Worse. March 2008. [c ited 29 January 2014]. Available from World Wide Web http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/does-nato-have-a-future-for-better-or-for-worse-a-557914.html. Kashmeri, Sarwar. NATO: Reboot or Delete? Washington, D.C: Potomac Books, Inc., 2011. Print. MANEA, Octavian. Lord Ismay, Restated. February 2010. [cited 29 January 2014]. Available from World Wide Web http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/lord-ismay-restated. Michaels, J. NATO after Libya. The RUSI Journal, 2011, vol. 156, no. 6, p. 56-61. NATO Public Diplomacy Division. A Short History of NATO. PDF file [online]. 2012-[cited 2014-01-29]. http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_publications/20120412_ShortHistory_en.pdf. NATO Public Diplomacy Division. In NATO Handbook [online]. Brussels (Belgium): NATO Public Diplomacy Division, 2006-[cited 2014-01-29]. NATO Public Diplomacy Division. In NATO in Focus. PDF file [online]. 2012-[cited 2014-01-29]. http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_publications/1303-nato_in_focus- en.pdf. NATO Public Diplomacy Division. In Strategic Concept for the Defence and Security of the Members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization [online]. 2010-[cited 2014-01-29]. http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_publications/20120214_strategic-concept-2010-eng.pdf. STRATCON10EN / 1959-10. NESNERA, Andre. NATO/US Role. June 2013. [cited 29 January 2014]. Available from World Wide Web http://www.fas.org/man/nato/news/1999/990426-nato.htm Pachoud, Jeff. Has NATO Outlived its Usefulness? France: Agence France Press, 2013, Print. Racius, E. Lithuania in the NATO Mission in Afghanistan: Between Idealism and Pragmatism. Luthuanian Annual Strategic Review, vol. 1, no. 1, p. 187-207. Rostoks, T. Baltic States and NATO: Looking Beyond the Article V. Strategic and Defence Studies, vol. 4, no. 44, p. 1-12. Simon, Jeffrey. The Future of the Alliance: Is Demography Destiny? Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2010. Print. Yost, D. NATO’s Evolving Purposes and the Next Strategic Concept. International Affairs, vol. 86, no. 2, p. 489-522. Footnotes 1 NATO Public Diplomacy Division, NATO Handbook. 2 Manea, O., Lord Ismay, Restated, p. 1. 3 Daadler, I., A New Alliance for a New Century, p. 6. 4 Daadler, I., A New Alliance for a New Century, p. 6. 5 Daadler, I., A New Alliance for a New Century, p. 6. 6 Racius, E., Lithuania in the NATO Mission in Afghanistan: Between Idealism and Pragmatism, P. 188. 7 Rostoks, T., Baltic States and NATO: Looking Beyond the Article V, p. 2. 8 Kashmeri, S., NATO: Reboot or Delete? p. 48. 9 Daadler, I., A New Alliance for a New Century, p. 7. 10 Kashmeri, S., NATO: Reboot or Delete? p.56. 11 Yost, D., NATO’s Evolving Purposes and the Next Strategic Concept, p. 491. 12 Pachoud, J., Has NATO Outlived its Usefulness? p. 3. 13 Simon, J., The Future of the Alliance: Is Demography Destiny? p. 201. 14 Curtin, M., The Role of NATO in Today’s World, p. 1. 15 Pachoud, J., Has NATO Outlived its Usefulness? p. 4. 16 Curtin, M., The Role of NATO in Today’s World, p. 1. 17 Michaels, J., NATO after Libya, p. 58. 18 Karl, K., Does NATO Have a Future? For Better or for Worse, p. 1. 19 Nesnera, A., NATO/US Role, p. 1. 20 Erlanger, S., Shrinking Europe Military Spending Stirs Concern, p. 1. 21 Brook, T., NATO Still has a Vital Role, Secretary General says, p. 1. 22 Michaels, J., NATO after Libya, p. 59. 23 Nesnera, A., NATO/US Role, p. 1. 24 Goldgeier, J., The Future of NATO, p. 4. 25 Hallams E. Benjamin, S., Towards a ‘Post-American’ Alliance? NATO Burden-Sharing after Libya, p. 320. 26 Hallams E. Benjamin, S., Towards a ‘Post-American’ Alliance? NATO Burden-Sharing after Libya, p. 320. This essay on The Future of NATO was written and submitted by user Franco Byers to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Simple Random Sampling vs. Systematic Random Sampling

Simple Random Sampling vs. Systematic Random Sampling When we form a statistical sample we always need to be careful in what we are doing. There are many different kinds of sampling techniques that can be used.  Some of these are more appropriate than others. Often what we think would be one kind of sample turns out to be another type. This can be seen when comparing two types of random samples. A simple random sample and a systematic random sample are two different types of sampling techniques. However, the difference between these types of samples is subtle and easy to overlook.  We will compare systematic random samples with simple random samples. Systematic Random vs. Simple Random To begin with, we will look at the definitions of the two types of samples that we are interested in.  Both of these types of samples are random and suppose that everyone in the population is equally likely to be a member of the sample. But, as we will see, not all random samples are the same. The difference between these types of samples has to do with the other part of the definition of a simple random sample. To be a simple random sample of size n, every group of size n must be equally likely of being formed. A systematic random sample relies on some sort of ordering to choose sample members. While the first individual may be chosen by a random method, subsequent members are chosen by means of a predetermined process. The system that we use is not considered to be random, and so some samples that would be formed as a simple random sample cannot be formed as a systematic random sample. An Example Using a Movie Theater To see why this is not the case, we will look at an example. We will pretend that there is a movie theater with 1000 seats, all of which are filled. There are 500 rows with 20 seats in each row. The population here is the entire group of 1000 people at the movie. We will compare a simple random sample of ten moviegoers with a systematic random sample of the same size. A simple random sample can be formed by using a table of random digits. After numbering the seats 000, 001, 002, through 999, we randomly choose a portion of a table of random digits. The first ten distinct three digit blocks that we read in the table are the seats of the people who will form our sample.For a systematic random sample, we can begin by choosing a seat in the theater at random (perhaps this is done by generating a single random number from 000 to 999). Following this random selection, we choose this seat’s occupant as the first member of our sample. The remaining members of the sample are from the seats that are in the nine rows directly behind the first seat (if we run out of rows since our initial seat was in the back of the theater, we start over in the front of the theater and choose seats that line up with our initial seat). For both types of samples, everyone in the theater is equally likely to be chosen. Although we obtain a set of 10 randomly chosen people in both cases, the sampling methods are different. For a simple random sample, it is possible to have a sample that contains two people who are sitting next to each other. However, by the way that we have constructed our systematic random sample, it is impossible not only to have seat neighbors in the same sample but even to have a sample containing two people from the same row. What’s the Difference? The difference between simple random samples and systematic random samples may seem to be slight, but we need to be careful. In order to correctly use many results in statistics, we need to suppose that the processes used to obtain our data were random and independent. When we use a systematic sample, even if randomness is utilized, we no longer have independence.

3 Important Things All New Truck Drivers Need to Know

3 Important Things All New Truck Drivers Need to Know The trucking life sounds like it could be a country song: open road, deadlines to meet, lone soul getting it done. But the reality is that it’s a career like any other, and shares a lot of the same hard truths and anxiety points that affect people just starting out in any industry. Here are three things you should expect from your first year on the road. 1. It’s going to be tough out there.You’re literally putting in the miles. Maybe you’re homesick, or being in a truck cab for 20 hours a day isn’t quite what you thought it would be like. Many newbie truckers opt out during that first year, having decided that it wasn’t the right job for them. However, it’s important to know that if you can stick it out, life will get easier. Expect to make hard decisions about whether this is really the right choice for you.2. Your trucking company is just like any other workplace.Even though you’re not sitting in a cubicle for eight hours a da y, you will face some of the same workplace expectations and constraints as regular office workers. Set performance expectations with your bosses, and be open with them about your progress. Remember, someone is trusting you with their cargo- it can take time to build that trust and be able to have the kind of relationship where they know you’ll get it done.3.   You will need to be flexible.Things will not always go 100% as planned. There are so many variables out on the road (weather, traffic, the unpredictability of other drivers) that chances are at some point you’ll need to do some creative problem solving to get where you need to go. Whether that’s working with suppliers to correct a mistake (did Car Parts Inc. really order the 5 tons of cotton candy the warehouse just put on your truck?) or figuring out how to make a tight deadline when you’re two states away and the snow’s about to start, don’t stress. There’s always a solutio n, and even though you may need to come up with it on the fly, expect the unexpected and you’ll be able to make it through.Once you get through this adjustment period and you’re a veteran driver, it might be time to write that hit song about your experiences traveling the country in a big rig. But in the meantime, keep your eyes on the road and get ready for an interesting ride!Read More at greatcdltraining.com

Ethical Challenges Involved in Engineering Essay

Ethical Challenges Involved in Engineering - Essay Example †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Large systems operated by super-intelligent software packages designed and manipulated by the smartest people can lead to disasters if the smart people fail to be ethical. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Because of the rapid rate of advancement of technology, engineering graduates are literally absolute in their level of technological knowledge almost immediately upon graduation from college. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Historically, professional engineering licenses were lifetime approval to practice engineering provided that renewal fees were paid in a timely manner as required by the various licensing and regulatory boards and agencies. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first specialization to occur was to separate civil engineering from military engineering. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The purpose of formally recognizing or accrediting certification programs is to provide the engineering profession and the general public with assurance that certification programs do not meet a set of rigorous standards.

Writer's choice Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Writer's choice - Article Example Simplicity is maintained in the disciplinary plans at different stages of the corrective course.Every decision that the top management council, behaviour committee, as well as panels come to, are made public unless the act is considered to be not in the interest of the public. More details are put out in the publication plan of the disciplinary plans of financing reporting council. Safeguarding the public interest by protecting the public, maintaining public confidence in the accountancy and actuarial professions and declaring and upholding proper standards of conduct by accountants and actuaries; The FRC can start a disciplinary investigation in one of two ways: (i) the professional bodies can refer cases to the FRC; and (ii) the FRC may decide of its own accord to investigate a matter.   The Conduct Committee will consider each case identified or referred to it and decide whether or not the criteria for an investigation are met. Investigations are conducted by Executive Counsel and the professional discipline team within the Conduct Division.   The decision about whether to bring disciplinary proceedings rests with Executive Counsel.   If disciplinary proceedings are to be commenced, Executive Counsel will file a complaint with the Conduct Committee.   The Conduct Committee will instruct the Convener to appoint a Disciplinary Tribunal. Transparency is provided for in the disciplinary Schemes at various stages of the disciplinary process.   All decisions made by the Conduct Committee, Executive Counsel and Tribunals are publicised unless the Conduct Committee considers publication would not be in the public interest.   Further detail is set out in the FRC’s Publication Policy for the Disciplinary

Market Equilibration Process Paper Essay Example for Free

Market Equilibration Process Paper Essay The market equilibration process occurs when the market can reach and maintain a balance between the supply and demand. It also includes what manufacturers take in consideration of what can help lead their firms so they can maximize profits with units sold and match what consumers are willing to spend on an item. This will lead to market equilibration. With family, finances must have equilibration to maintain a good life. Prior to making major purchases or planning vacations, there are several options to consider. What should be done is assess the family finances. Each family need to account for all income during each pay period, then figure what they are going to pay as monthly expenses like rent, electricity, water, credit cards, cell phones, cables and putting money into the family savings. This information will help to determine the families’ income so they can plan their next major purchase or family vacation. If planning a vacation there needs to be consideration for the total cost and what is available to spend, and second is the real income effect, has there been a change in a families’ purchasing power. The law of demand according to McConnel (2009) states, â€Å" Other things equal, as price falls, the quantity demanded rises, and as price rises, the quantity demanded falls.† When there is a change in determinants of demand in the family for examples; income of the family, the cost of an item, and the expectations of the family. Each of these determinants will have an effect on the demand. The demand will either shift to the right with an increase or to the left indicating a decrease. The law of supply according to McConell, (2009) states, â€Å" As prices rises, the quantinty supplied rises; as price falls, the quantity supplied falls.† So with higher prices production is increased and profits are increased. Changes in family income will affect the supply determinants. This will cause a shift to the left to decrease the supply. These determinants  includes resource prices, job market, employment, taxes, and prices of other goods. Efficient markets theory states that all working financial markets react at the very moment to any new information for families, this means the price in vacation is placed at that very moment, and any family has a chance to act on it or not. At times, the resources are lacking and the consumer demand outweighs the available supply or the supply is greater than the demand. This is when the equilibrium shifts and causes either a shortage or a surplus. With shortages in this case there is an excess in the demand or low supply of income. This will result in a price increase and those prices will prevail. Then when there is a surplus of an income this will cause the family to have more expendable income. To obtain market equilibrium there has to be a balance between both supply and demand. References Economics Online. (n.d). Market Equiblrium. Retrieved from http://www.economicsonline.uk/competitive_markets/Market_equlibrium.html McConell, C. R., Brue, S. L., Flynn, S. M. (2009). Economics, Principles, Problems, and Policies (18th ed.). New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill. NASDAQ. (n.d). Efficient marets theory (EMT). Retrieved from http://www.nasdaq.com/investing/glossary/e/efficient-market-theory

Graduation Speech: Mom and Dad, Your Babies Have Grown Up! :: Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

The year 2012 is as unique as our class that’s graduating within it. As the Class of 2012, we should be prepared to answer questions about the things that make us unique. Our children will revisit this historic year through their text books, their TV reruns and our own high school keepsakes which we have held on to over the years. With all this attention will come questions from our children, questions like: "Hey dad, what’s an email?" Or, "What's Facebook?" As our yearbooks are taken from our shelves and our photo albums are cracked open once again, our kids will certainly be curious to ask: — Hey dad, was your hair blond all through high school? As our kids rummage through our old boxes of high school stuff there will be questions like: — Weren’t you supposed to return this library book? It looks like you haven’t even cracked the cover." Or, — Where did these 10 parking tickets come from? I thought there was a parking lot at County High." The year 2012 has been anticipated since 1997, when our mothers and fathers looked at us as newborns and said, "Hey, our baby is going to graduate in the year 2012." Well, Mom and Dad, your babies have grown up! This is a special date and an exciting time of our lives, and as we move into this next stage let us never forget the experiences that we have had. I encourage everyone to appreciate not only the uniqueness of our generation but the uniqueness of others. As we go our separate ways, embrace diversity, meet new people, and listen to different perspectives.

The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Twelve

â€Å"Good practice,† Christopher said, stopping next to Matt as he headed out of the locker room. â€Å"You've got some great moves, man.† â€Å"Thanks,† Matt said, glancing up from putting on his shoes. â€Å"You were looking pretty good out there yourself.† He could tel Christopher was going to be a solid team-mate, the kind of guy who did his job and focused on the big picture, working to help the rest of the team. He was a great roommate, too, generous and laid-back. He didn't even snore. â€Å"Want to skip the dining hal and order a pizza?† Christopher asked. â€Å"This is my night to beat you at Guitar Hero – I can feel it.† Matt laughed. In the couple of weeks they'd been living together, he and Christopher had been working their way through al the Wii games Christopher had brought with him to school. â€Å"Al right, I'l see you back at the room.† Christopher slapped him on the back, grinning widely. After Christopher left, Matt took his time getting his things together, letting the other guys get out of the locker room ahead of him. He felt like walking back to the dorm alone tonight. They were a nice bunch of guys, but he was sore and tired. Between footbal practices and Vitale Society pledge activities, he'd never worked his body quite so hard. It felt good. He felt good. Even the stupidest of the Vitale activities – and some of them were pretty stupid: they'd had to work in teams to build houses out of newspaper the other night – were kind of fun, because he was getting to know some amazing people. Ethan had been right. As a group, the pledges were smart, determined, talented, everything you'd expect. And he was one of them. His classes were interesting, too. Back in high school he'd gotten okay grades but had mostly just done what he had to do to pass. The Civil War, geometry, chemistry, To Kill a Mockingbird: al his schoolwork had sort of blended into the background of his real life of friends and sports. Some of what he was doing at Dalcrest was like that, too, but in most of his classes, he was starting to see connections between things. He was getting the idea that history, language, science, and literature were al parts of the same thing – the way people thought and the stories they told – and it was real y pretty interesting. It was possible, Matt thought, with a self-mocking grin, that he was â€Å"blossoming† in col ege, just like his high school guidance counselor had predicted. It wasn't ful y dark yet, but it was getting late. Matt sped up, thinking about pizza. There weren't a lot of people roaming the campus. Matt guessed they were either in the cafeteria or holed up in their rooms, afraid. He wasn't worried, though. He figured there were a lot more vulnerable targets than a footbal player. A breeze started up, waving the branches of the trees on the quad and wafting the smel of grass to Matt. It stil felt like summer. In the bushes, a few early-evening fireflies blinked on and off. He rol ed his shoulders, enjoying the stretch after a long practice. Up ahead, someone screamed. A guy, Matt thought. The cry cut off suddenly. Before he could even think, Matt was running toward the sound. His heart was pounding, and he tried to force his tired legs to move faster. That was a sound of pure panic, Matt thought. He strained his ears but didn't hear anything except his own ragged breaths. As he came around the business building, a dark figure that had been bent over something in the grass took off, its long skinny legs flying. It was moving fast, and its face was completely concealed by a hoodie. Matt couldn't even see if it was a guy or a girl. He angled his own stride to race after the figure in black but came to a sudden halt by the shape in the grass. Not just a shape. For a moment, Matt's mind refused to process what he was seeing. The red and gold of a footbal jersey. Wet, thick liquid spreading across it. A familiar face. Then everything snapped into focus. He dropped to his knees. â€Å"Christopher, oh no, Christopher.† There was blood everywhere. Matt frantical y felt at Christopher's chest, trying to figure out where he could put pressure to try to stop the bleeding. Everywhere, everywhere, it's coming from everywhere. Christopher's whole body was shaking, and Matt pressed his hands against the soaking footbal jersey to try to hold him stil . Fresh blood ran in thick crimson streams against the brighter red of the jersey's material. â€Å"Christopher, man, hold on, it's going to be okay. You'l be okay,† Matt said, and pul ed out his phone to dial 911. His own hands were covered with blood now, and the phone was a slimy mess as he held it to his ear. â€Å"Please,† he said, his voice shaking, â€Å"I'm at Dalcrest Col ege, near the business building. My roommate, someone attacked my roommate. He's bleeding a lot. He's not conscious.† The 911 operator started to ask him some questions and Matt tried to focus. Suddenly Christopher opened his eyes, taking a deep gulp of air. â€Å"Christopher,† Matt said, dropping his phone. â€Å"Chris, they're sending an ambulance, hold on.† The shaking got worse, Christopher's arms and legs vibrating in a rapid rhythm. His eyes settled on Matt's face, and his mouth opened. â€Å"Chris,† Matt said, trying to hold him down, trying to be gentle, â€Å"who did this? Who attacked you?† Christopher gasped again, a hoarse gulping sound. Then the shaking stopped, and he was very stil . His eyelids slid down over his eyes. â€Å"Chris, please hold on,† Matt begged. â€Å"They're coming. They'l help you.† He grabbed at Christopher, shook him a little, but Christopher wasn't moving, wasn't breathing. Sirens sounded in the distance, but Matt knew the ambulance was already too late.

Asian Paints Hr Strategy

ASIAN PAINTS LIMITED CODE OF CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES Page 1 of 11 Asian Paints – Confidential 14 January 2011 1. INTRODUCTION Asian Paints Limited (the Company) is committed to good corporate governance and has consistently maintained its organisational culture as a remarkable confluence of high standards of Professionalism, Growth, and Building Shareholder Equity with principles of Fairness, Ethics and Corporate Governance in spirit. 2. APPLICABILITY OF THIS CODE Ethical business conduct is critical to our business.As an organisation, we have taken it upon us to lay down this Code of Conduct for all our employees to uphold our commitment to ethical conduct. All the employees of the Company and the employees of its subsidiaries are therefore, expected to read and understand this Code, uphold these standards in day-to-day activities, and comply with: all applicable laws; rules and regulations; and all applicable policies and procedures adopted by the Company that govern the condu ct of its employees and to ensure that the various stakeholders of the Company are aware, understand and comply with these standards.Nothing in this Code or in any related communications (verbal or written) thereto shall constitute or be construed to constitute a contract of employment for a definite term or a guarantee of confirmed employment. All the employees of the Company shall affirm compliance with the code on an annual basis. 3. HONEST AND ETHICAL CONDUCT The Company expects all the employees to act in accordance with the highest standards of personal and professional integrity, honesty and ethical conduct, whenever the Company’s business is being conducted or at any place where such employees are representing the Company.The Company considers honest conduct to be conduct that is free from fraud or deception. The Company considers ethical conduct to be conduct conforming to the accepted professional standards of conduct. Ethical conduct includes ethical handling of ac tual or apparent conflicts of interest between personal and professional relationships. Page 2 of 11 Asian Paints – Confidential 14 January 2011 4. RELATIONSHIP WITH THE COMPANY Conflict of Interest The employees of the Company shall not generally engage in any business, relationship or activity which might detrimentally conflict with the interest of the Company or any of its subsidiaries.The main areas of actual or potential conflicts of interest would include the following: †¢ Financial interest of employees or his relatives, including the holding of an investment in the subscribed share capital of any company or a share in any firm which is an actual or potential competitor, supplier, customer, distributor, joint venture or other alliance partner of the Company. (The ownership of up to 1 per cent of the subscribed share capital of a publicly held company shall not ordinarily constitute a financial interest for this purpose. ) †¢ A employee of the Company conducti ng business on behalf of his or her ompany, or being in a position to influence a decision with regard to his or her company's business with a supplier or customer of which his or her relative is a principal, officer or representative, resulting in a benefit to him/her or his/her relative. Notwithstanding that such or other instances of conflict of interest exist due to any historical reasons, adequate and full disclosure by the interested employees should be made to the Vice President – Human Resources before any business amounting to an actual or potential conflict of interest is conducted.It is also incumbent upon every employee to make a full disclosure of any interest which the employees or his/her immediate family relatives, (which would include parents, spouse and dependent children) may have in a company or firm which is a supplier, customer, distributor or has other business dealings with the Company before any business is conducted with such a supplier, customer, di stributor or business associate.Every such disclosure as mentioned above shall be done in writing and shall be submitted to the Vice President – Human Resources, who in consultation with the Company Secretary/ Compliance Officer and the Managing Director & CEO, will communicate to the concerned employee to take necessary action, as advised, to resolve/ avoid the conflict, if any. Any employee’s duty to the Company demands that he or she generally avoids conflicts of interest. If a conflict of interest exists, the Company demands that he/she discloses actual and apparent conflicts of interest in the aforesaid manner.It is a conflict of interest to serve as a director of any Company that competes with the Company. The Company’s policy requires that an employee obtain prior approval from the Board of Directors and the Company’s Audit Committee before accepting such a directorship. Prevention of Fraud Policy: This policy applies to any irregularity, or suspec ted irregularity, involving employees as well as vendors, contractors, customers and/ or any other entities having a business relationship with the Company. The term fraud comprises the use of Page 3 of 11Asian Paints – Confidential 14 January 2011 deception with the intention of gaining an advantage, avoiding an obligation or causing loss or has the potential to cause loss to the company by one or more individuals viz. management, employees or third parties. Fraud may include such acts as deception, bribery, forgery, extortion, corruption, theft, conspiracy, embezzlement, misappropriation, false representation, leakage of confidential and sensitive information pertaining to the company, concealment of material facts and collusion.Any act of fraud or corruption in or against the Company or any abetment to such fraud/ corruption will not be tolerated. All employees are required to report frauds and suspicions of fraud. Knowing or wilful failure to report any such matter shall be construed as connivance and may invite disciplinary action. All employees are also required to take the responsibility of detecting and preventing fraud in their areas of work and co-operate fully in the internal checks and investigation of frauds. The Prevention of Fraud policy is available on Egloo at My HR Applications – HR Helpdesk.Receiving and Giving Gifts and Favours: All employees (including their immediate family member) shall not accept or give a gift or favour of any nature from any supplier, vendor, dealer, contractor, customer, competitor or any business associate. This prohibition does not apply to routine two way exchange of normal business courtesies, which might reasonably be expected to be exchanged in the ordinary course of business. These courtesies include business lunch/dinner and exchange of company diaries and calendars, pens with company logo and the like that are not lavish in any way.If a gift is inadvertently received it should be promptly retur ned with a polite note explaining that it is contrary to the Company policy. Any favour which is inadvertently received or extended is to be brought to the notice of the Vice President – Human Resources immediately. In case of any favour being received or extended in the context of an emergency (e. g. medical emergency), the event of such a favour being received or extended is to be brought to the notice of the reporting manager by the employee. A circular on policy regarding gifts has already been issued to all employees by Human Resources Department.The policy is available on Egloo at My HR Applications – HR Helpdesk. All employees shall conform to the gift policy of the Company. Corporate Opportunities: The employees may not exploit for their own personal gain opportunities that are discovered through the use of corporate property, information or position, unless the opportunity is disclosed fully in writing in the manner as prescribed under this policy. Recruitment of Relatives: Employees are prohibited from influencing the hiring/ recruitment of their relatives in any position with or without remuneration in the organisation.In the event of any relative seeking an opportunity to be employed with the organisation, the concerned employee shall inform the Vice President – Human Resources. The recruitment shall be done as per the rules laid down therein by the Company in conformance with the standards set for recruitment of employees in the Company. Page 4 of 11 Asian Paints – Confidential 14 January 2011 Local Rules and Regulations: Employees are expected to follow all the rules and regulations laid down at their respective workplaces with regard to discipline, workplace timings, dress code, etc.These rules and regulations are made available to the employees at their respective locations. Other Situations: It would be impractical to attempt to list all possible situations. If a proposed transaction or situation raises any question s or doubts they must be resolved after consultation with the Vice President – Human Resources. 5. HEALTH, SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT The Company shall strive to provide a safe and healthy working environment and comply, in the conduct of its business affairs, with all regulations regarding the preservation of the environment of the territory it operates in.The Company shall be committed to prevent the wasteful use of natural resources and minimize any hazardous impact of the development, production, use and disposal of any of its products and services on the ecological environment. Company policy prohibits sexual harassment, harassment based on race, religion, national origin, ethnic origin, color, gender, age, citizenship, veteran status marital status or a disability unrelated to the requirements of the position or any other basis protected by the central, state or local law or ordinance or regulation.If you believe that you have been harassed, submit a complaint to your own o r any other company manager. In addition, if you believe you have been sexually harassed, you may submit a complaint to the Vice President – Human Resources. The policy on Prevention of Sexual Harassment is available on Egloo at My HR Applications – HR Helpdesk. 6. RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS The Company reiterates its belief in and adherence to the principles of human rights as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations and to act in accordance with the principles laid down in it.It will also respect and abide by the requirements, in this behalf, of the countries in which it operates. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations is available at the url: http://www. un. org/en/documents/udhr/ 7. ACCOUNTING AND PAYMENT PRACTICES All transactions should be fully and accurately recorded in the Company's books and records in compliance with all applicable laws. All required information shall be accessible to the company's a uditors and other authorized persons and government agencies.False or misleading entries, unrecorded funds or assets, or payments without appropriate supporting documentation and approval are strictly prohibited and violate Company policy and the law. There shall be no willful omissions of any company transactions from the books and records. Any willful material misrepresentation of and/or misinformation of the financial accounts and reports shall Page 5 of 11 Asian Paints – Confidential 14 January 2011 be regarded as a violation of the Code apart from inviting appropriate civil or criminal action under the relevant laws.Additionally, all documentation supporting a transaction should fully and accurately describe the nature of the transaction and be processed in a timely fashion. Employees are required to ensure that they claims of reimbursement of expenses are based on actual spends and are supported by valid documents as required. Any misrepresentation of facts, false claim s or submission of invalid documents shall invite appropriate disciplinary action. 8. MAINTAINING AND MANAGING RECORDSThe purpose of this section is to set forth and convey the Company's business and legal requirements in managing records, including all recorded information regardless of medium or characteristics. These records include paper documents, CDs, computer hard disks, email, floppy disks, microfiche, microfilm or all other media. The Company is required by local, state, foreign and other applicable laws, rules and regulations to retain certain records and to follow specific guidelines in managing its records. Company records:The results of operations and the financial position of the Company must be recorded in accordance with the requirements of law and generally accepted accounting principles. It is Company policy, as well as a requirement of law, to maintain books, records and accounts that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect the business transactions and disposition of assets of the Company. The integrity of the Company’s accounting and financial records is based on the accuracy and completeness of the basic information supporting entries to the Company’s books of accounts.The employees involved in creating, processing and recording such information are held responsible for its integrity. Every accounting or financial entry should reflect exactly what is described by the supporting information. There must be no concealment of information from (or by) management, or from the Company’s internal or independent auditors. No payment on behalf of the Company shall be approved or made with the intention or understanding that any part of such payment is to be used for any purpose other than that described by the documents supporting the payment.No false or misleading entries may be made in any books or records of the Company for any reason, and no fund, asset or account of the Company may be established, acquired or ma intained for any purpose unless such fund, asset or account is properly reflected in the books and records of the Company. No corporate funds or assets should be used for any unlawful or improper purpose. Revenue and expenses should be properly recognized on a timely basis. Assets and liabilities should be properly recorded and appropriately valued.Page 6 of 11 Asian Paints – Confidential 14 January 2011 9. PROTECTING COMPANY’S ASSETS AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION Protecting company assets: The assets of the company should not be misused but employed for the purpose of conducting the business for which they are duly authorised. These include tangible assets such as equipment and machinery, systems, facilities, materials, resources as well as intangible assets such as patents, trademarks, proprietary information, relationships with customers and suppliers, etc.Confidential Information: The Company's confidential information is a valuable asset. The Company's confidential information includes product architectures; formulations, trade secrets, manufacturing plans, names of vendors, raw materials used, prices of raw materials, source codes; product plans and road maps; names and lists of customers, dealers, and employees; and financial information and any other information This information is the property of the Company and may be protected by patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret laws.All employees are prohibited from disclosing such information. In case need arises, all confidential information must be used for Company’s business purposes only. Every employee must safeguard it. This responsibility includes not disclosing the Company confidential information over the Internet or otherwise. The employees are also responsible for properly labeling any and all documentation shared with or correspondence sent to outside counsel as â€Å"Attorney-Client Privileged†.This obligation extends to confidential information of third parties , which the Company has rightfully received under NonDisclosure Agreements. Obligations of the employees with respect to Company Confidential Information are: †¢ Not to disclose this information to persons within the Company or outside of the Company without prior approval of the Compliance Officer or Vice – President – Human Resources. Not to use this information for the employee’s own benefit or the benefit of persons outside of Company. †¢Not to disclose this information to other Company’s employees except on a â€Å"need to know† or â€Å"need to use† basis and then only with a strong statement that the information is confidential. †¢ Company confidential information is not always of a technical nature. Such information can also include business research, new product plans, strategic objectives, any unpublished financial or pricing information, employee, customer and vendor lists and information regarding customer requirem ents, preferences, business habits and plans.This list, while not complete, suggests the wide variety of information that needs to be safeguarded. †¢ If any employee, his or her obligation to protect Company confidential information continues. Page 7 of 11 Asian Paints – Confidential 14 January 2011 All employees shall not use or proliferate information which is not available to the investing public and which therefore constitutes insider information for making or giving advice on investment decisions on the securities of the Company on which such insider information has been obtained.Such insider information might include the following: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ acquisition and divestiture of businesses or business units; financial information such as profits, earnings and dividends; announcement of new product introductions or developments; asset revaluations; investment decisions/plans; restructuring plans; major supply and delive ry agreements’ raising finances The ‘Code of Conduct for Prevention of Insider Trading' is applicable to Designated Employees as per the SEBI (Prevention of Insider Trading) Regulations.Its objective is to ensure protection of unpublished price-sensitive information and to ensure that the insiders and those covered by the Code of Conduct for Prevention of Insider Trading, who are or are deemed to be in possession of such information, abstain from transacting in the securities of the Company before the same has been communicated in public. The Code of Conduct for Prevention of Insider Trading is available in Egloo at My HR Applications – HR Helpdesk. All employees are expected to read and understand the policy.The Designated Employees are required to read, understand and comply with the said policy and are also required to make necessary disclosures and declarations as specified in the policy. 10. DISCLOSURE TO THE STOCK EXCHANGES AND PUBLIC It is the Company†™s policy to provide full, fair, accurate, timely and understandable disclosure in reports and documents that are to be filed with or submitted to the stock exchanges where the Company’s shares are listed, statutory authorities and in our other public communications.Accordingly, employees must ensure the compliance with such disclosure controls and procedures. All employees must also respect the confidentiality of information acquired in the course of one's work except when authorized or otherwise legally obligated to disclose. 11. RESPONDING TO INQUIRIES FROM THE PRESS AND OTHERS The requests for financial or business information about Company from the media, press, financial community, the Securities and Exchange Board of India or other regulators or the public must be referred to the Company Secretary/ Compliance Officer. Page 8 of 11Asian Paints – Confidential 14 January 2011 12. COMPLIANCE WITH GOVERNMENT LAWS, RULES AND REGULATIONS All employees must comply wit h all applicable governmental laws, rules and regulations. The employees must acquire appropriate knowledge of the legal requirements relating to their duties sufficient to enable them to recognize potential dangers, and to know when to seek advice from the Legal Department. If the ethical and professional standards set out in the applicable laws and regulations are below that of the code, then the standards of the code shall prevail. 13.SHAREHOLDERS The Company shall be committed to enhance shareholder value and comply with all regulations and laws that govern shareholders' rights. The Board of Directors of the Company will duly and fairly inform its shareholders about all relevant aspects of the company's business, and disclose such information in accordance with the respective regulations. 14. FOSTERING COMPETITION The Company will fully support the development and operation of competitive open markets and will promote the liberalization of trade and investment in each country an d market in which it operates.The Company or its employee will not engage in restrictive trade practices, abuse of market dominance or similar unfair trade activities in order to secure commercial gain or advantage. The Company will support the development of laws that promote, encourage or result in fair competition. The Company expects all the employees to conduct themselves in accordance with the company’s commitment to foster competition. 15. WHISTLE BLOWER POLICYThe objective of this policy is to provide employees and Business Associates a framework and to establish a formal mechanism or process whereby concerns can be raised in line with the Company’s commitment to highest standards of ethical, moral and legal business conduct and its commitment to open communication. The Company shall provide protection to the employees from unethical work practices and irregularities as well as prevent discrimination or retaliation against employees and business associates who report irregularities and also the methods to encourage employees and Business Associates to report evidence of fraudulent activities.The employees can make Protected Disclosures to the Ethics Committee as per the procedure defined in the policy, on becoming aware of any wrongful conduct or activity within 30 days after becoming aware of the same. The identity of the Whistle Blower shall be kept strictly confidential. The Whistle Blower policy is available on Egloo at My HR Applications – HR Helpdesk. Page 9 of 11 Asian Paints – Confidential 14 January 2011 16. VIOLATIONS OF THE CODE It is a part of the employee’s job, and his/her ethical responsibility to help enforce this Code.The employees should be alert to possible violations and report this to the Compliance Officer or the Vice President – Human Resources. The employees should cooperate in any internal or external investigations of possible violations. Actual violations of law, this code, or other C ompany policies or procedures, should be promptly reported to the Compliance Officer or the Vice President – Human Resources. The Company will take appropriate action against those whose actions are found to violate the Code or any other policy of the Company. 17.WAIVERS AND AMENDMENTS TO THE CODE The Company is committed to continuously reviewing and updating our policies and procedures. Therefore, this Code is subject to modification. Any amendment or waiver of any provision of this Code must be approved in writing by the Company’s board of directors and promptly disclosed on the Company’s website and in applicable regulatory filings pursuant to applicable laws and regulations, together with details about the nature of the amendment or waiver. Ernest Louis Vice President – Human Resources Page 10 of 11Asian Paints – Confidential 14 January 2011 ACKNOWLEDGMENT FOR THE EMPOYEES I have received and read the Company's Code of Conduct and Ethics for e mployees. I understand and agree to comply with the standards and policies contained in the above mentioned Code of Conduct and understand that there may be additional policies or laws specific to my job. Name of the Employee Employee Code Designation Location Signature Date This form shall be made available online subsequently for you to acknowledge. Page 11 of 11 Asian Paints – Confidential 14 January 2011

An Overview of the Common Core Assessments

An Overview of the Common Core Assessments The adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is arguably the biggest educational shift in the history of the United States. Having a set of national standards that most states have chosen to adopt is unprecedented. However, the bigger shift in traditional educational philosophy will come in the form of the Common Core assessment. While the national adoption of the standards themselves is immense, the potential impact of having a shared national assessment system is even bigger. Most states would argue that the standards they already had in place align pretty well to the Common Core State Standards. However, the rigor and presentation of the new assessments will even challenge your top tier students. Many school administrators and teachers will need to totally revamp their approach in order for their students to succeed on these assessments. What has been the norm when it comes to test prep will no longer be enough. In an age where a premium has been placed on high stakes testing, those stakes will have never been higher than they will be with the Common Core assessments. Impact of a Shared Assessment System There are several potential ramifications of having a shared assessment system. Many of these ramifications will be positive for education and many will no doubt be negative. First of all the pressure placed on students, teachers, and school administrators will be greater than ever. For the first time in educational history states will be able to accurately compare their students’ achievement to students in neighboring states. This factor alone will cause the pressures of high stakes testing to go through the roof. Politicians will be forced to pay more attention and increase funding in education. They will not want to be a low performing state. The unfortunate reality is that many excellent teachers will lose their jobs and others will choose to enter another field simply because the pressure of getting students to perform well on these assessments will be too large. The microscope for which teachers and school administrators will be under will be massive. The truth is that even the best teachers can have students perform poorly on an assessment. There are so many external factors that attribute to student performance that many would argue that basing the worth of a teacher on a single assessment is simply not valid. However, with the Common Core assessments, this will most likely be overlooked. Most teachers will have to increase rigor in the classroom by challenging their students to think critically. This will be a challenge for both students and teachers. In an age where parents are less involved, and students have information readily given to them at the click of a mouse, developing critical thinking skills will be even more of a challenge. This has been arguably one of the most neglected areas of education, and it will no longer be an option to omit it. Students must excel in critical thinking if they are to perform well on these assessments. Teachers will have to restructure how they teach to develop these skills. This will be such as massive shift in teaching and learning philosophies that it may take a generation of students to cycle through before we see a large group truly start to develop these skills. In the end, this shift in educational philosophy will better prepare our students to succeed. More students will be ready to transition to college or will be work ready when they graduate high school. In addition, the skills associated with the Common Core State Standards will prepare students to compete on the global level. Another benefit of a shared assessment system will be that costs to individual states will be reduced dramatically. With each state having its own set of standards, they have had to pay to have tests developed specifically to meet those standards. This is an expensive endeavor and testing has become a multimillion dollar industry. Now with a common set of assessments, states will be able to share in the cost of test development, production, scoring, etc. This could potentially free up more money allowing it to be spent in other areas of education. Who is developing these assessments? There are currently two consortia responsible for developing these new assessment systems. These two consortia have been awarded funding through a competition to design new assessment systems. All states who have adopted the Common Core State Standards have selected a consortium in which they are a partner with other states. These assessments are currently in the development stage. The two consortia responsible for developing these assessments are: SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) – Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.Partnership for Assessment of Readiness of College and Careers (PARCC) – Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Within each consortia, there are states that have been selected to be a governing state and others who are a participating/advisory state. Those that are governing states have a representative that gives direct input and feedback into the development of the assessment that will accurately measure student progress toward college and career readiness. What will these assessments look like? The assessments are currently being developed by the SBAC and PARCC consortia, but a general description of what these assessments will look like has been released. There are a few released assessment and performance items available. You can find some sample performance tasks for English Language Art (ELA) in Appendix B of the Common Core State Standards. The assessments will be through course assessments. This means that students will take a benchmark assessment at the beginning of the year, with the option of ongoing progress monitoring throughout the year, and then a final summative assessment towards the end of the school year. This type of assessment system will allow teachers to see where their students are at all times during the school year. It will allow a teacher to more readily cater to a particular students strengths and weaknesses to prepare them better for the summative assessment. The assessments will be computer-based. This will allow for quicker, more accurate results and feedback on the computer scored portion of the assessments. There will be portions of the assessments that will be human scored. One of the biggest challenges for school districts will be preparing for the computer-based assessments. Many districts across the United States do not have enough technology to test their entire district via computer at this time. During the transition period, this will be a priority that districts must prepare for. All students grades K-12 will participate in some level of testing. Grades K-2 tests will be designed to set the foundation for students and also give information to teachers that will help them better prepare those students for the rigorous testing that begins in the 3rd grade. Grades 3-12 testing will be much more tied directly to the Common Core State Standards and will consist of a variety of item types. Students will see a variety of item types including innovative constructed response, extended performance tasks, and selected response (all of which will be computer based). These are much more difficult than simple multiple choice questions as students will be assessed on multiple standards within one question. Students will often be expected to defend their work through a constructed essay response. This means that they simply won’t be able to come up with an answer, but will additionally need to defend the answer and explain the process through written response. With these Common Core assessments, students must also be able to write coherently in the narrative, argumentative, and informative/explanatory forms. An emphasis on balance between traditional literature and informational text is expected within the framework of the Common Core State Standards. Students will be given a passage of text and will have to construct a response based on questions over that passage in a specific form of writing that the question asks for. The transition to these types of assessments will be difficult. Many students will struggle initially. This will not be due to a lack of effort on teachers but will be based more on the overwhelming task at hand. This transition will take time. Understanding what the Common Core Standards are all about and what to expect from the assessments are the first steps in a long process of being successful.