Contemporary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Contemporary - Essay Example This is because a formal disclosure framework helps to guide regulators, and preparers towards better and more material disclosure. However, while material disclosure is supposed to be free and within a given time frame, there are numerous cases where preparers have failed to disclose significant materials to users or vice-versa. This fact has been associated with the idea that many organizations lack proper disclosure framework (White, 2009, p.67). It was this lack of proper disclosure framework that led IASB to carryout survey recently about disclosure framework, and found that regulators, preparers and users are supposed to work together so as to improve disclosure. All disclosures need improvement. Disclosure is supposed to be guided by materiality, and that principle based disclosure guidance would be essential. This study will be therefore examining why regulators, preparers and users are supposed to work together so as to improve disclosure. All disclosures need improvement. D isclosure is supposed to be guided by materiality, and that principle based disclosure guidance would be essential According to United States Congress Staff (2002, p.788), one of the most significant findings of IASB is that disclosure should be guided by materiality. ... The main issue is a clear and comprehensive disclosure of information related to sound decision making by market participants, authorities, and the public. Majority of people held the view that crucial information regarding funds and expenditure has always been concealed from the users or in case where it is given, it is not clear and comprehensive. This fact has raised many concerns among the people who want that information disclosure should be improved because it has been facilitating corruption. Due to this increased demands, many organizations are implementing disclosure policies as they have started to come up with succinct disclosure framework. For instance, Financial Market Insurers (FMIs) have implemented a disclosure framework that was organized to supplement the CPSS-ISCO principles for financial market infrastructures, and help it in providing the comprehensive degree of disclosure that is expected of them under Principle 23 on disclosure of rules, main processes, and mar ket data (Fung et al., 2007, p.140). According to Bunger (2012, p.337), the disclosure framework was prepared in association with the CPSS-IOSCO Assessment methodology for the principles for FMIs and the accountabilities of the authorities to ensure a common framework that will reduce burden on FMIs and give assessors a basic set of information from which to start their assessment of FMIs. Heated debate about accounting regulation that calls for a formal disclosure framework has led to establishment and implementation of new rules and regulation that governs information disclosure. For instance, federally tax-exempt organizations stated under IRC sections 501(c) and 501(d) ought to comply

Poems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Poems - Essay Example These perspectives are reinforced by the mythical approach that Coleridge has taken. He describes the almost superhuman power that Kubla possesses through the fear that the speaker wishes to impart on his ‘subjects’. The same mysticism applies to his desire to be the demon lover, which shares the same divine and scary characteristics. The use of altered states of consciousness was popular among writers and poets in the Romantic Movement. It is important to note that the narrative was based on an opium-influenced dream. As a result, the poem features some hallucinatory aspects. The instance of ‘flashing eyes’ and ‘floating hair’ correlates to the tenets of the movement. It idealized the use of imagination over the power of reason. In that respect, Coleridge utilizes his imagination to develop a narrative that personifies his character as that of Kubla Khan. The movement appreciated the use of religious and divine ideals, as opposed to rational co ntent related to scientific knowledge. The same Romantic ideals have been used in developing mystic themes and references in the narrative. The speaker highlights the dread that engulfs his ‘subjects’ and invokes divine practices as part of their response to Kubla. For example, Coleridge explains ‘weave a circle around him thrice†¦ (Coleridge 51)’ Mary Shelley lived at a time when societies were at a crossroads. In her time, the world was engulfed in thought concerning various philosophical concerns, which were centered on the well-being of the human individual. For example, political philosophy of the time was focused on natural rights, enfranchisement and what constitutes human nature. This was a time that slavery existed legally in parts of the world. In that respect, Shelley develops the nature of her monster as part of her revolutionary ideals. She believed in equality among individuals, and that each has his/her own right to determination. Simila rly, the narrative exposes her beliefs in the representation of disability. The monster appears physically disoriented, and its body is considered repulsive. As a result, it is discriminated upon by the larger society. However, Shelley disputes this ideal that had permeated the societies of the time. She highlights that physical differences to ‘normal’ people did not change their human nature. In that regard, she grants the monster equal cognitive and lingual ability to ‘normal’ people. This serves as a representation of her revolutionary stance on natural rights. The monster may be regarded as autistic by some. At the time, disabled people were disregarded in the society, and seen as foolish and unfruitful individuals. The presentation of the monster contravenes these ideals and may be regarded as revolutionary. However, Shelley’s monster highlights that disabled individuals can maintain their productivity. This is seen through the monster’s intellect and actions. In that respect, Shelley speaks out against oppression, which may be regarded as a revolutionary ideal. This is seen through the themes of anger and loneliness that surround the monster. The author explores her revolutionary views on equality by developing her monster as a being that possesses human nature. This is seen through her monster’s cognitive development. It begins by attempting to connect with other human beings

Case Study: Harold Shipman

Case Study: Harold Shipman Shipman began practicing as a doctor in 1974, at the Abraham Ormerod Medical Practice in Todmorden. He was there until 1975 when his partners discovered that he had been obtaining drugs dishonestly for his own use. In 1976 he pleaded guilty to three offences of obtaining pethidine by deception, three offences of unlawful possession of pethidine and two further offences of forging a prescription he was sentenced in Halifax Magistrates court to pay a fine and compensation. In August 1992,he began working as a solo practitioner at a surgery in Hyde he continued to work as a single-handed practitioner until his arrest in September 1998. In July 1998 the Greater Manchester Police began an inquiry into Kathleen Grundys death, a patient of Dr Shipman, the inquiry was rapidly widened to include the deaths of Shipmans other patients. On Monday, 31st January 2000 the jury at Preston Crown Court convicted Harold Shipman of 15 murders and of forging a will. Case Study Mrs Kathleen Grundy was a widow and lived by herself she was in remarkably good health for her age. She undertook work for many Charitable organisations and had a healthy social life. She spent the evening before her death with a friend and was in normal health when she went home. Mrs Grundy died on 24th June 1998 at the age of 81. Shipman forged a certificate and passed of her death being due to old age. Later scientific analysis of her body tissues in August 1998 showed that she had died of morphine poisoning. In the few days before her death, Shipman had persuaded Mrs Grundy to take part in a research project into the ageing process, allegedly to be conducted by Manchester University. It emerged later that this was a hoax so he could obtain a sample of her signature, which he used in an attempt to forge a will. This also created an excuse to visit her at home. She visited him on 23rd June, to have her ears syringed and told her that he needed a blood sample for the research project which must be taken early in the morning. He arranged to visit her at about 8.30am the next morning. The following day she was due to attend Werneth House but she did not arrive. Friends and colleagues there became concerned as this was out of character for Mrs Grundy and two of them, Mr John Green and Mr Ronald Pickford, went to her house at about midday. They found her lying on the sofa fully dressed. Her body was cold and it was established she was dead. The door to the house was unlocked. They summoned Shipman to the house. Following a perfunctory examination of the body, he said ‘cardiac arrest’, following the test he had a brief discussion with someone in the coroner’s office and it was agreed that a certificate which stated the cause of death to be ‘old age’ would be acceptable. There was no record kept of the conversation with the coroner’s office. When Shipman had left the house Mr Green informed the police, as he was unable to contact Mrs Grundy’s daughter Mrs Angela Woodruff. The officers concerned spoke to Shipman later and he informed them he had called on Mrs Grundy earlier that day because she had been unwell. He did not mention the fact that he had called to take a blood sample. Shipman also told them he had spoken with the coroner’s office and was going to issue a certificate stating that Mrs Grundy had died of natural causes. The police officers took a quick look at the body and on seeing nothing suspicious took no further action. The day after the death Shipman spoke to Mrs Woodruff. He told her that he had seen Mrs Grundy on the day before her death just for ‘a routine thing’. He was vague and mentioned she had chest pains possibly due to indigestion. Shipman said that he had arranged to collect a blood sample the next morning, when he arrived she was not yet dressed. He then said that some old people complain of feeling unwell a few days before they die and then just die. He inferred that this had happened to Mrs Grundy. He handed Mrs Woodruff the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) and said that he had certified the death as being due to old age. Mrs Woodruff’s suspicions were not aroused until she was contacted by the Hamilton Ward legal firm handling her mother’s will. Her own law practice in Warwickhad usually dealt with her mother’s legal affairs. The original will had been lodged with the firm in 1986. Hamilton Ward received a new will the same day that Mrs Grundy died. The new will was badly typed. Mrs Woodruff told the Shipman trial in October: â€Å"My mother was a meticulously tidy person. The thought of her signing a document which is so badly typed didn’t make any sense. The signature looked strange, it looked too big. The concept of mum signing a document leaving everything to her doctor was unbelievable.†[1] The police arranged for the exhumation of Mrs Grundys body. The exhumation was vital because forensic evidence was needed to verify the case of death. Dr Rutherford an expert witness pathologist was instructed to conduct the post-mortem examination. The post-mortem was crucial as it would establish time and cause of death, one would also know if Shipmans version of events are true. The results of the post-mortem examination found no natural explanation for Mrs Grundy’s death therefore not supporting Shipmans account. Also questions that were left unanswered for example why had this happened to someone who had been in good health, had been answered. Scientific analysis of the body tissues revealed levels of morphine consistent with the administration of a fatal dose. Dr John Grenville also provided a report and said that there were a number of false entries in the medical records which had been created after the death to give credibility to Shipman’s stories. Firstly that Mrs Grundy was under the weather when he saw her on 23rd June and secondly that Mrs Grundy had been abusing drugs and might have administered the morphine herself. This evidence was very valuable as it proved medical records had been doctored in order to cover Shipmans back. Forensic evidence proved that Shipman forged Mrs Grundys will this was one of the main reasons as to why suspicions were aroused in the first place. Shipman wanted to obtain the whole of Mrs Grundy’s estate, leaving nothing to her daughter and grandchildren. He drafted the will using his own old-fashioned Brother portable typewriter. When the police came to Shipman’s premises and took possession of the typewriter the will was immediately linked to him. This was important as tests would be able to show that if the will had been produced from Shipmans type writer the paper could be matched as well as the ink and tracks that had been used, this evidence would be enough to prove that it had come from that specific printer. Although this evidence was valuable shipman could still argue that someone else had used his type writer. Overall the final product looked painstakingly unprofessional and suspicion would be aroused immediately. Expert hand writing evidence proved them to be forgeries. Shipman forged Mrs Grundy’s signature and dated the will 9th June 1998. On that day he staged a ‘signing and witnessing’ event in his consulting room and must have prepared a document for Mrs Grundy to sign which purported to provide for her consent to take part in some medical research supposedly to be conducted by Manchester University. This document required that Mrs Grundy’s signature should be witnessed by two others, who also had to sign and provide their names, addresses and occupations. While Mrs Grundy was at Shipman’s surgery on 9th June, Shipman appears to have obtained her signature on this document and then called two patients from his waiting room into the consulting room where they completed and signed the witnesses’ part of the document. Shipman must have used this document to copy the three signatures as well as he could. The document would have been valuable to shipman as he had no other means of looking at Mrs Grundys signature. Forensic evidence showed the Shipman had forged the signature as it did not match the style of Mrs Grundys writing and it was blatantly obvious that it was a copy due the fact that Shipman had to break off as he kept looking at the original signature to copy it, it was also noted that the signature Shipman forged was allot bigger than how Mrs Grundy would normally sign. There were clear conclusions drawn from the Forensic evidence as the post-mortem that Mrs Grundys death was a clear case of morphine poisoning. Even without this evidence there were a number of questions that did not add up for instance this was a sudden death of an elderly person in good health. There was no explanation for her death. Mrs Grundys door was unlocked this was also unusual for her as her neighbours mentioned the fact that she was a security conscious person, Shipman implied that Mrs Grundy left the door unlocked after letting him out this vital piece of evidence was a major blow to shipmans case as he had been unable to leave the security system in the condition relatives and friends would have expected it to be. Even though Shipman had altered Mrs Grundys medical records to show she was unwell just before her death and that he suspected she had been abusing drugs her medical records still showed she had been in good health and had no potentially fatal conditions that would harm her. Also the cause of death being ‘old age’, left unanswered question and was quite an inappropriate case of death for a person who had been in such good health. On the 31st January 2000, after six days of deliberation the jury found Shipman guilty of killing 15 patients by lethal injections of diamorphine, and forging the will of Kathleen Grundy. He was sentenced to 15 consecutive life sentences and it was recommended that he never be released. Shipman also received four years imprisonment for forging the will. Two years after his conviction, Home Secretary David Blunkett confirmed the judge’s recommendation that Shipman never be released. Shipman was officially struck off by the General Medical council in Februaury 2002 he consistently denied his guilt, disputing the scientific evidence against him. He never made any statements about his actions. His defence tried, but failed, to have the count of murder of Mrs Grundy, where a clear motive was alleged. Shipman subsequently committed suicide at Wakefield Prison by hanging himself from the window bars of his cell using bed sheets. He was found in his cell at 6:20 am on 13 January 2004, on the eve of his 58th birthday, and was officially pronounced dead at 8:10 am. Bibliography Crime scene to court second edition, Edited by .P.C.White http://www.the-shipman-inquiry.org.uk http://www.geraldengland.co.uk/gx/shipman.htm http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-180566187.htm [1] Mrs Woodruffs evidence in court Royal Ahold: An analysis Royal Ahold: An analysis ROYAL AHOLD: 1. Introduction Headquartered in the Netherlands, Royal Ahold is one of the worlds largest international retail grocery and food service companies. At its peak in 2001, Aholds reported sales and profits were â‚ ¬66.6 billion and â‚ ¬1.1 billion and it operated 5,155 stores in 27 countries with nearly a quarter of a million employees. Ahold was started as a family firm in 1887 by the Heijn family. It was a family-controlled business, operating primarily in the Netherlands for over 100 years. The company went public in 1948. In 1989, Ahold underwent a major transition from a family-controlled to a management controlled firm. This transition resulted in a phenomenal period of success for the firm. It generated over a 1,000% return for its shareholders and had a market capitalization of â‚ ¬30.6 billion by November 2001. In February 2003, Ahold witnessed a reversal of fortunes and suffered a complete meltdown. The firm was in a complete disastrous state with nothing going in their favour: a failed strategy, an accounting scandal, the firing of professional management, and litigation filings from all parts of the world. Shareholders lost most of their returns generated since 1989. Ahold scandal gave Europe a reason to believe that corporate governance and accounting problems were not restricted U.S. only. Ahold became â€Å"Europes Enron† (The Economist, March 1, 2003). It caused Dutch and European policymakers to rethink their approach to corporate governance and accounting policy. The Royal Ahold scandal, along with the accounting fraud at the giant Italian firm Parmalat, caused the European Union (EU) to impose more extensive and rigorous regulation on the financial reporting system and independent audit function within its member nations. The Royal Ahold debacle also reignited the debate re garding the need for more uniform accounting and auditing standards around the globe. In the Netherlands, a committee on corporate governance was installed on March 10, 2003 (Tabaksblat Committee, 2003) to restore the lost confidence in public companies. This report aims at studying the inter-relationships between the lack of corporate governance and of accounting transparency which led to the downfall of Ahold. The subsequent policies and strategies of the firm which aimed at reviving the firm are also aptly covered in the report. 2. The Growth Story: Expanding Boundaries Over the years, Ahold evolved from a single grocery store in 1887 to a food company with a dominant position in the Netherlands. By the mid-1970s, Royal Aholds management realized that for the company to continue to grow it could not limit its operations to The Netherlands. Since the Netherland market was already dominated by Royal Ahold, the companys top executives, who had long been known for their conservative operating and financial policies, announced their plan to expand its operations into other countries. Royal Aholds expansion efforts got off to a slow start but then accelerated rapidly in the 1990s after the company hired a new management team. Until the late 1980s, members of the Heijn family had occupied the key management positions within the firm. In 1987, two grandsons of Albert Heijn, served as Royal Aholds two top executives. Later in 1987 when the brothers retired, a professional management team was hired to replace the Heijn brothers. The team recognized that the quickest way for Royal Ahold to gain significant market share in the grocery retailing industry outside of The Netherlands was to purchase existing grocery chains in foreign countries. To finance their growth-by-acquisition policy, Royal Aholds new executives raised large amounts of debt and equity capital during the 1990s. By 2000, Royal Ahold had purchased retail grocery chains in Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Portugal, Scandinavia, South America, and the United States. This aggressive expansion campaign m ade Royal Ahold the third largest grocery retailer worldwide by the turn of the century. At the time, only U.S.-based Wal-Mart and the French firm Carrefour SA had larger annual retail grocery sales than Royal Ahold. Royal Ahold completed its most ambitious acquisition in 2000 when it purchased U.S. Foodservice, a large food wholesaler headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. Although Royal Ahold had previously purchased several retail grocery chains along the eastern seaboard of the United States, including New England-based Stop Shop, U.S. Foodservice was easily the largest U.S. company it had acquired. The U.S. Foodservice acquisition was also important because it signalled the companys commitment to becoming a significant participant in the food wholesaling industry. In 2003, after purchasing two smaller U.S.-based food distributors, Royal Ahold ranked as the second largest food wholesaler in the United States—Houston-based Sysco Corporation was the largest. In fact, the three U.S. acquisitions caused food wholesaling to be the companys largest source of revenue, accounting for slightly more than one-half of its annual sales. The companys more than 4,000 retail grocery stores located in 27countries accounted for the remainder of its annual sales. 3. Problems Due to Expansion The aggressive growth strategy adopted by the new professional management gave rise to a number of unexpected and unanticipated problems. Among these the major problems were caused primarily due to the expansion in the global regions. The differences in the cultural norms hampered the ability of the management to manage its worldwide retail grocery operations. As the firm ventured into new markets, especially the markets outside of Western Europe and the United States, it faced new challenges in the face of wide range of laws, regulations and cultural differences. The management team also faced difficulty in dealing with human resource policies regarding hiring, appraisal, and other employee benefits. The policies which were successful in The Netherlands failed to live up to the expectations of the new managers and employees in the countries of Asia, Latin America and South America. Furthermore the cultural norms of grocery shopping among the consumers in global markets also exacerbated the misery of the firm. Some consumers out rightly rejected the â€Å"Dutch: idea and way of organizing the grocery store. The consumers also did not appreciate the idea of â€Å"foreign invader† replacing the local grocery stores which existed there for years. 4. Response towards the Problems and Further Issues Since the problems were primarily the result of cultural and social issues, the management at Ahold decided upon the strategy of using the management personal of the local grocery chains and retaining them when those chains were acquired by Ahold. The new mangers were empowered with the authority to make major decisions. The Royal Ahold ambitious plan to become a major player in the wholesaling segment of the huge food industry in the US gave rise to new problems. Most of the company officials were unfamiliar with that segment. Therefore they adopted the â€Å"hands-off† mindset to the acquisition and depended primarily on the executives of U.S. Foodservice who were retained following the buyout to oversee the subsidiarys day-to-day operations. But the firm adopted a policy of following the same rigorous performance standards that were imposed on the companys domestic operations. The companys established goal of 15% annual growth rate in profits was used to decide upon the annual sales targets for each of the companys operating unit in Netherland and also at global locations. The units were pressurised to achieve their target and there were significant rewards on meeting the specified targets. But due to increased competition and the relatively lower profit margins within the food industry prevented many of those units from achieving the annual earnings goals that had been assigned to them.  ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­5. Accounting Issues During the fiscal 2002 audit of Royal Ahold, Deloitte Accountants uncovered evidence suggesting that the companys consolidated revenues had been inflated and overstated. When Royal Ahold invested in a foreign company, it often acquired exactly a 50 percent ownership interest in the given company. Nevertheless, Royal Ahold would fully consolidate the companys financial data in its annual financial statements.Dutch accounting rules at the time permitted a parent company to fully consolidate the financial data of a joint venture company if the parent could control that firms operations. Such control could be evidenced by a more than 50 percent ownership interest in the joint venture company or by other means. Royal Ahold persuaded their Deloitte auditors by providing them with â€Å"control letters† officially signed by the officials of joint venture companies. This was accomplished by taking the officials to their side by bribing them. Further in order to placate the companys executives, the Royal Aholds management team signed â€Å"side letters† addressed to the companys executives of the JV. These letters affirmed that the decision making was mutual rather than by Ahold exclusively. Thus for Dutch accounting purposes, the joint ventures operating results should have been â€Å"proportionately consolidated† in Aholds annual financial statements. Apart from such improper accounting, Royal Ahold was also accused of not sharing the full information among the stakeholders. It did not reveal its obligations to purchase the ownership interests of certain investors in those companies. This was because of the default on the part of the joint venture companies to pay off their outstanding debt. Fraudulent Accounting at U.S. Foodservice Deloitte Accountants U.S. affiliate, Deloitte Touche, audited the financial statements of U.S. Foodservice after that company was acquired by Royal Ahold in 2000. Before the acquisition, KPMG was its auditor. Deloitte uncovered anomaly in the account books which distorted the consolidated net income of Ahold group. Subsequent investigation revealed that US food Service had misrepresented their financial statements for several years before the acquisition. The misrepresentation was because of improper accounting of the â€Å"promotional allowances.† Since the food wholesaling industry is intensely competitive, so the profit margins on their sales are relatively small. This led to the concept of â€Å"promotional allowances† (refund on purchases) being paid to food wholesalers by their suppliers or vendors. Another common practice or rather malpractice was â€Å"front-loading† promotional allowances. This means accounting for all the allowances prior to its actual period. The absence of proper internal controls over promotional allowances provided an opportunity for dishonest employees to overstate those allowances for accounting purposes. 6. The Aftermath In 2003 when the company issued the restated financial statements for the preceding there years, the fraud was uncovered. The net income figures for the years 2000, 2001 and 2003 had been overstated by 17.6%, 32.6% and 88.1% respectively. The corresponding figures for the reported revenues were 20.8%, 18.6% and 13.8%. Soon after the disclosures were made the regulatory agencies, law authorities, investment companies and other stakeholders began seeking more information regarding the fraud. Following the public disclosure both Dutch and U.S. law enforcement authorities filed criminal charges against the company and several of its former executives. Upon investigation, the responsibilities for the fraud lay on the top executives of the firm. The so called â€Å"professional management† which replaced the Heijn-family management in the 1990s were the forces responsible for the crisis. They over estimated their growing potential and set unrealistic targets at the company level. These targets where passed on to the individual units which were pressurised to achieve these unrealistic targets by hook or by crook. This was further enhanced by a significant level of rewards attached to the meeting of targets. Role of the Auditor Though it was because of the Aholds auditor Deloitte that the crisis was finally ended, but it cane under severe criticism for letting this fraud flourish to the extent it had reached. There were many lawsuits filed against Deloitte for the shear reason of negligence on their part which required them to prove their integrity. The loosely organized operating units under Ahold group made the auditing task a tough one. Regulatory Bodies The following controversy also revolved around the inefficiency and loopholes of the present in the regulatory system. The Ahold case re-affirmed the need for cooperation among the different regulatory bodies across countries. This was evident in the wake of rapid globalization which had taken place in the 1990s. Also the need for a common framework of regulations was further enhanced to maintain the comparability aspect of the account books across globe. 7. The Verdict The fraud charges against the Royal Ahold corporate house were finally settled in September 2004. The verdict required the firm to pay a fine of 8 million Euros. Further after investigation the Royal Aholds former executives (CFO and CEO) were found guilty and were penalized as well as were sentenced to four to nine months of imprisonment 8. The Road to Recovery program Press release is issued by Royal Ahold N.V â€Å"Our highest priority now is to rebuild the value of our company. We will do everything in our power to create a company of which you can once again be proud. Reinforcing accountability, controls and corporate governance Ahold is replacing a decentralized system of internal controls that had many weaknesses with a one-company system with central reporting lines. Internal audit will not only report to the CEO, but also to the Audit Committee of the Supervisory Board. In addition, Ahold has nominated Peter Wakkie to the position of Chief Corporate Governance Counsel on the Executive Board, to serve as the driving force behind improved internal governance policies and practices, for legal compliance as well as conformance to ethical and social standards. †

What Foreign Aid Is Essay -- Politics Political Government Relations E

What Foreign Aid Is There are two words that many politicians like to shy away from, and those two words are, "foreign aid." Taking a firm stand on either side of this topic is usually side stepped by decision makers. Their opinions are usually based on a case by case analysis. This extremely controversial topic involves whether or not to support the policy of foreign aid to needy or sometimes not so needy countries. What benefits does foreign aid have for the countries that receive it, and does it have any benefits for the countries who give? Some may say that instead of spending money on foreign aid, money should be spent on domestic aid. Those who argue in favor of foreign aid say that it is an investment in the future of both countries that will eventually pay off. There is also another factor to consider when discussing foreign aid: what kind of foreign aid is being offered. There are three different types of foreign aid: first, there is military foreign aid; second, there is foreign aid for the advancement of business; third, there is emergency foreign aid for food and medicine.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Foreign aid to countries can help in many ways. It can be used as a tool in bargaining. For instance a country that has just received foreign aid or is expecting to get their regular installment of foreign aid will be more likely to listen to new ideas. Because some countries are so dependent on their regular installments of foreign aid, they are willing to appease countries such as the U.S who are giving it. When looked at closely, foreign aid may be considered an elaborate system of legal bribery. This becomes evident when countries do what they would normally not consider doing in order to continue receiving foreign aid. The U.S supplies financial foreign aid to many different countries; sometimes this foreign aid is in a form of a loan. For example, recently the U.S. supplied Mexico with a loan in order to save the falling value of the Peso. This loan was denigrated by much of the U.S. population because many people don't understand why the U.S. should care about the falling value of the Mexican Peso. First of all, deflation of the Peso means a loss of jobs in Mexico which would in turn send an influx of illeagal immigrants from Mexico to the United States. In addition, Mexico is a large economy that imports American goods. If the P... ...the relief workers and to distribute the goods. Soon it seemed that the US was not wanted in Somalia, and it seemed as if they were biting the hand that feeds them. With such negative feelings about the US troops staying in Somalia, an ethical decision had to be made. Do we help these starving people, or do we leave to protect ourselves. Somalia was supposed to be a strictly humanitarian effort, but it turned out to be a military effort when the US had to fight against all sides.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When every aspect of foreign aid is looked at, a decision about who is right or wrong by each individual on their own. Foreign aid is most likely a necessary evil for a superpower such as the United States. The US, just because of the sheer size and strength of its economy and military might has to watch over the rest of the world in order to keep balance and peace around the world. When considered, it turns out to be that all the foreign aid combined is such a small percentage of the United States GDP that we really have little to complain about. I believe that foreign aid is blown out of proportion by the media. It is hot topic that generates controversy and kicks up the ratings.

Positive Psychology and Depression

Positive Psychology in the Treatment of Major Depression Positive psychology is a strengths-oriented, positively focused approach to human behaviors and thoughts that is relatively recent to the overall field of psychology. Previous schools of thought had always focused on the abnormalities, weaknesses, and pathologies of people. Positive psychology is an exceptionally new branch of psychology and aims at making life more fulfilling, enjoyable, and happy instead of just tolerable; they wish to promote mental health and well-being instead of only treating disorders.This research paper will address the roles that hope, gratitude, forgiveness, resilience, optimism, and self-efficacy play in one’s life, and how these characteristics can be utilized in a way to maximize one’s positive affect. One of the most common mood disorders is depression. Depression comes in many forms and there are also different depressive disorders such as major depression, bipolar disorder, and dys thymic disorder. (NIMH, 2009) For the sake of this paper, major depression will be examined. Related article: Approaches to Promoting WellbeingSymptoms of a major depressive episode include feelings of sadness or unhappiness, irritability or frustration, loss of interest or pleasure in normal activities, reduced sex drive, insomnia or excessive sleeping, changes in appetite, agitation or restlessness, angry outbursts, slowed thinking or speaking, fatigue, tiredness, loss of energy, trouble thinking or concentrating, frequent thoughts of death or dying including suicide, crying spells for no apparent reason, and unexplained physical problems such as pain (Mayo Clinic, 2012).One does not have to have every one of these symptoms, they must have at least five symptoms, they must persist for at least two weeks, symptoms cannot be caused due to drug or alcohol consumption, are not caused by bereavement or last longer than two months, and they must cause a significant amount of impairment in the person’s everyday life functioning (DSM-IV-TR, 2000). Major depressive disorder has a lifetime prevalence rate of 11. 2 percent in young adults with 3. 3 percent of those cases deemed severe, and a twelve month prevalence rate of 6. percent in adults with 30. 4 percent of those cases diagnosed as severe. People ages eighteen to twenty-nine are seventy percent more likely to have experienced depression compared to those over the age of sixty, people between thirty to forty-four years old were 120 percent more likely, and forty-five to fifty-nine year olds were 100 percent more likely. Women are seventy percent more likely than their male counterparts to experience depression during their lifetime and whites are forty percent more likely than blacks to experience depression.Compared to 2 percent or less for most other disorders, major depression is quite common. (NIMH, 2009) Positive psychology interventions in cases of major depression focus on increasing positive emotions, positive experiences, subjective well-being, and beneficial engagements. This differs fro m traditional interventions by not focusing on the depressive, negative symptoms and instead trying to focus on the good aspects of one’s life. Positive psychologists do not ignore the fact that mental illnesses are abnormal and the fact that things do go wrong in peoples’ lives.Instead, they want to take a closer look at the good things that happen in peoples’ lives and what makes and keeps people content or happy. In one study, conducted by Seligman et al, positive psychotherapy exercises delivered through the internet were shown to relieve the symptoms of depression for a minimum of six months whereas traditional treatments lasted less than one week. In subjects suffering from severe depression, reduction in mild-to-moderate depressive symptoms was observed.It was also observed that subjects who had been suffering from major depressive disorder and underwent positive psychotherapy had a higher reduction in symptoms than those who underwent traditional treatme nts and those who underwent traditional treatments combined with medications. The hypothesis of this study stated that â€Å"depression can be treated effectively not only by reducing its negative symptoms, but also by directly and primarily building positive emotions, character strengths, and meaning. It is possible that directly building these positive resources may also buffer against their future reoccurrence. (Seligman et, al. , 2006) Logically, major depression would be well treated when using a positive psychology oriented approach. People who suffer from depression experience anhedonia – an inability to experience pleasure in activities which it is usually produced. They lack positive affect, show a lack of engagement in meaningful activities, lack of feeling of purpose, and lack of feeling of meaning. These people no longer find any interest in things such as sex, food, bonding with friends, favorite past times, and work. (Brynie, 2009) A study by Barnaby D.Dunn, pu blished in July of 2012 also found that people suffering from depression also do not experience anticipation or recognize positive emotions the way those unaffected do. (Dunn, 2012) The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines anticipation as â€Å"1: b. the act of looking forward; especially: pleasurable expectation. 2: a mental attitude that influences a later response. †(Merriam-Webster, 2012) From this, it is understood that people suffering from depression, and therefore anhedonia, not only miss out on the pleasure normally experienced during enjoyable activities, they also do not even look forward to any of these pleasurable activities.It is as if they do not see the possibility of an experience producing positive outcomes. Positive psychology, on the other hand, is primarily focused on creating and building-upon positive emotions, helping people find meaning in their everyday lives, and promoting an overall increase in mental health. Positive psychology has its roots in self -efficacy, optimism, and hope. Self-efficacy is the belief that you have the skills and self-control necessary to achieve the goals you set for yourself.This is a learned way of thinking, predicted by previous successes, observing others with high levels of self-efficacy, the ability to imagine oneself achieving a successful outcome, verbal persuasion by other strong and trustworthy individuals, and ability to control negative emotions. Optimism is a person’s tendency to look at a situation from the best possible point of view, or too expect the best possible outcome in any given situation (Merriam-Webster, 2012). Optimism can be predicted by a childhood environment which provided safety, coherence, secure attachments, and there is also a genetic component to optimism.Television, however, is one of the main culprits in promoting pessimism – the opposite of optimism. The final main building block of positive psychology is hope. Hope is the combination of the belief that one can reach his or her goals and has the ability to find alternate routes to these goals should they be presented with adversity. (Snyder, 2011) Key steps and aspects of combating major depression with positive psychology were outlined by Seligman, Rashid, and Parks in their 2006 article.Since depression is associated with a lack of positive realizations in one’s life, clients were asked to take steps to help them recognize their signature strengths, ways to utilize these signature strengths, good things that happen to them every day, things and people in their lives that they are thankful for, and also to forgive others and themselves for past transgressions. To help clients recognize their signature strengths as well as help them to see the way they view themselves, clients were instructed to write stories describing what they believe to be their character strengths.The client and therapist discuss how apathy and the absence of positive emotions do nothing but maintain t he cycle of depressive episodes. Next, clients were instructed to take the VIA-IS strengths finding questionnaire and then use those results in an assignment stating how they could best utilize their strengths to improve their everyday lives. Afterwards, clients were to recall past situations in which they have successfully used their identified strengths to their advantage. Pleasure, engagement, and meaning as pathways to happiness are discussed during the client’s session and their role in overcoming depression is outlined.All of these steps help lead to the realization of the client that they have strengths that are unique to themselves, they have control over situations that happen to them, and they are not helpless. (Seligman, 2006) The next set of steps focuses mainly on engagement. Clients were asked to keep Blessings Journals in which they recorded at least three good things which happened to them each day. They are also encouraged to write about three bad things that have happened to them and to go into depth about their emotions surrounding these events and how the events influenced their depression.The therapist will inform the client of the ways in which retaining negative feelings such as anger and bitterness can compound the effects of depression and prevent recovery. Clients were encouraged to talk about negative experiences and vent about these experiences rather than ruminate on them. Clients were then to write at least one forgiveness letter. They describe an incident with a wrong-doing, the emotions experienced along with the event, and they also promise to forgive to transgressor; even if it was himself or herself. Seligman et al, 2006) Forgiveness is a freeing from a negative attachment to the source that has transgressed against a person. There is less desire to avoid the person or seek revenge, and an increase in positive feelings or actions towards the individual. There is a realistic assessment of the harm done, an acknowledgeme nt of the perpetrator’s responsibility, a cancelation of debt between the victim and perpetrator, and then a self-removal from the category of victim.Forgiveness is important in a person’s life because it helps to break the cycle of violence when one person is harmed and seeks revenge and then the initial transgressor seeks revenge as well which initiates and maintains said cycle of violence. When a person displays a willingness to forgive others, it is not only beneficial to that person, but also to all of the people surrounding said incident. It produces positive feelings as well as an inclination to also be forgiving in future situations. This is a form of positive role modeling between peers. Snyder, 2011) Another important step is expressing gratitude. Clients are encouraged to express their gratitude to someone they never properly or fully thanked either in person, through a letter, or via telephone conversation. (Miller, 2008) One way gratitude is experienced is when another individual acts in a way that is costly to himself or herself, provides value to the recipient, and was done intentionally. Another way gratitude can be experienced is when someone survives a catastrophic event, a threat to his or her health, or a dangerous situation.Gratitude is a highly valued character trait in many cultures due to its beneficial nature and tendency to increase a person’s tendency to perform altruistic tasks. Those who are high in gratitude are generally less concerned with material goods, more spiritual, more satisfied with life, and more empathetic. (Snyder, 2011) Using the concept of primary prevention, psychologists can help their clients to prevent depressive symptoms from occurring in the first place, or lessen the severity of depressive symptoms during the next depressive episode.Some positive psychology interventions in Seligman, Rashid, and Parks’ 2006 study that dealt with primary prevention were being more physically active, socializing with more people or more often with people who were already friends, engaging in meaningful work such as volunteering and helping the less fortunate, bonding more with loved ones and forming deeper connections, lowering expectations of oneself and others, and making one’s own happiness a priority.In the same study, Seligman and his fellow researchers randomly assigned six hundred volunteers to one of six intervention activities online. Five of these activities were from a more positive psychology focused list of exercises, and one was a placebo. The placebo exercise required participants to write down their earliest memories every night for a week which had only temporary effects on that group. The volunteers assigned to groups 1, 2, and 4 showed pointedly lower depressive symptoms and much higher levels of happiness when compared to the lacebo and two other control-like groups. The volunteers in the successful group also had result which lasted at least six mont hs whereas the people in the other groups had either no results, or results that were only fleeting. (Seligman et al, 2006) Group 1 was required to take the VIA-IS strengths questionnaire and then considers ways in which they could utilize their results to help them in their everyday lives. Group 2 had to write down at least three good things that had happened to them that day and why they thought these things had happened to them.Group 4 had to conduct a gratitude visit, much like the one previously mentioned, in which they composed a letter of thanks to someone who had positively impacted their life in some way, shape, or form but they had never fully thanked and then read said letter either in person or over the phone. The two control-like groups’ assignments were to take a strengths test questionnaire alone, or to write an essay about themselves in a moment when they were at their best. Seligman et al, 2006) These last findings show that the positive psychology activities used in the Seligman et al study can also be used as a form of secondary prevention. Secondary prevention addresses a problem after it has already appeared; just as these online participants were already showing signs of extreme depression. After participating in the three blessings per day exercise their depression scores went down showing that this exercise not only could help prevent depressive episode as previously shown, it could also lessen a depressive episode that had already begun.As a spin-off from this study a website, www. reflectivehappiness. com was created. This was a social website community centered on positive psychology. New exercises and interventions were posted each month, a book club was formed, a newsletter was published and sent out, and a discussion board dedicated to positive psychology. During the first month of operations, it was found that fifty of the site’s subscribers who took pretests for the Center for Epidemiological Studies – Depre ssion Scale, scored in the range that would qualify as extremely depressed.After completing the exercise involving recording three blessings each day for two weeks, the average score for this group of people dropped from 33. 9, to 16. 9. This showed that ninety-four percent of these people were less depressed and fell from the extremely depressed range to the mildly to moderately depressed range. This website is no longer functioning the same way, it has moved to a mobile network which only works on iPhones and now runs under the URL www. happiness. com. Another important part of positive psychology and the ability of a person to remain positive, optimistic, and hopeful is resiliency.Resilience is the ability to bounce back from adversity and to successfully adapt to the demands of stressful situations (Tugade et al, 2004). People who are seen as resilient are more likely to be described as self-efficacious, confident, and determined and can also be expected to generate a more posit ive self-talk, boost their self-image, and promote self-agency (Mak et al, 2011). All of these characteristics are those of someone with a very positive outlook on life as well as a positive view of themselves.These people show a much lower susceptibility to mental disorders and behavioral problems such as depression, anxiety, violence, and substance abuse (Lillehoj et al, 2004). People who are more resilient also show more optimism and a higher level of hope when thinking about the future. The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions suggests that â€Å"positive emotions expand what an individual feels like doing at any given time. †(Snyder, 2011) This is referred to by Fredrickson as a broadening of one’s thought-action repertoire.Emotions such as joy, interest, contentment, pride, and love all have the ability to expand you potential action options. Joy can create more creative, playful behaviors while interest creates the desire to explore, expand, and experie nce new things. One of the most important in positive psychology is pride. Pride creates the desire to share good news and envision oneself doing even bigger and better things. The opposite happens in any life threatening situation; your thought-action choices narrow to provide a smaller list of options to try to conduct a speedy, potentially life-saving choice. Frederickson, 2001) This research proves that when a person is feeling depressed and are lacking the positive emotions described above, they do not have an expanded thought-action repertoire and therefore do not see all of the possible paths to their goals which, in turn, leads to feelings of hopelessness and a lack of self-efficacy. Other health benefits of promoting positive emotions are increased laughter, decreased heart disease, increased longevity, positive emotional disclosure, and overall increased psychological health.Laughter has been proven to be a cyclical cause and effect of positive emotions which in turn impro ves immune system functioning, and help maintain a stable positive emotional state. Elderly people who had been hospitalized for an incident involving heart disease and kept up a positive attitude had a much lower readmission rate than those who displayed a negative outlook. Also, people who tend to be more positive throughout their lives, participate in emotional disclosure, and upholding an optimistic and hopeful outlook have a propensity to live longer than those who did not.Positive emotions and an expanded thought-action repertoire not only help people emotionally avoid depression, they also help people to be more physically active and thus further avoid depressive symptoms. The reasons why exercise helps to alleviate depressive symptoms is not completely understood, but it is believed to happen on a few different levels. First of all, exercise is thought to release beneficial neurotransmitters and endorphins which are essentially ‘feel good’ chemicals for your bra in and body. These chemicals are thought to activate the opioid receptors in the brain creating feelings of happiness and optimism.Another way exercise is thought to help create positive emotions in those who exercise is by lowering certain chemicals released by the immune system which can also prolong depressive feelings. Finally, exercise increases body temperature which is thought to have a calming effect on individuals. The more direct, less scientific ways that exercise can help people avoid depression are by acting as a distraction from everyday life and taking a person’s mind off of things, increasing social interactions and therefore increasing positive interactions, and improving physical appearance and thus increasing confidence. Mayo Clinic, 2011) A study also found that speed walking for thirty five minutes per day for five days each week, or sixty minutes per day three times each week had a significant effect on decreasing depression. (Harvard Medical School, 200 9) All in all, having a positive outlook on life can be beneficial to one’s life in countless ways. The study of positive psychology helps people to take steps towards developing better skills to take advantage of their ability to think positively, act positively, and avoid or decrease their depression.Through a few very simple steps, such as gratitude letters, blessings journal keeping, and skills and strengths assessments, one can increase their sense of self efficacy, increase resilience, increase their sense of hope, and by doing this decrease major depressive symptoms. Works Cited: American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed. , text rev. ). Washington, DC: Author. Anticipation. 2012. In Merriam-Webster. com. Retrieved November 26, 2012, from http://www. merriam-webster. com/dictionary/anticipationBrynie, F. (2009). Depression and Anhedonia. Brain Sense. December 2009. Dunn, B. D. (2012). Helping Depressed Client s Reconnect to Positive Emotion Experience: Current Insights and Future Directions. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 19(4), 326-340. Frederickson, B. (2001). The Role of Positive Emotions in Positive Psychology: The Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218-226. Harvard Medical School. (2009). Exercise and Depression. Retrieved from http://www. health. harvard. edu/newsweek/Exercise-and-Depression-report-excerpt. tm Lillehoj, C. , Trudeau, L. , Spoth, R. , & Wickrama, K. (2004). Internalizing, social competence, and substance initiation: influence of gender moderation and a preventive intervention. Substance Use & Misuse, 39(6), 963-991. Mak, W. S. , Ng, I. W. , & Wong, C. Y. (2011). Resilience: Enhancing well-being through the positive cognitive triad. Journal Of Counseling Psychology, 58(4), 610-617. doi:10. 1037/a0025195 Mayo Clinic staff. (2011, October 1). Depression and Anxiety: Exercise eases symptoms. Retrieved from http://www. mayo clinic. om/health/depression-and-exercise/MH00043 Mayo Clinic staff. (2012, February 12). Symptoms. Depression (major depression). Retrieved from http://www. mayoclinic. com/health/depression/DS00175/DSECTION=symptoms Miller, M. (2008, June 16). Positive Psychology Techniques for Depression. Retrieved from http://health. gather. com/viewArticle. action? articleId=281474977374787 National Institute of Mental Health. (2009). Major Depressive Order Among Adults. (DHHS Publication No. ADM 90-1679). Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office. Optimism. 2012.In Merriam-Webster. com. Retrieved November 26, 2012, from http://www. merriam-webster. com/dictionary/optimism Seligman, M. , Rashid, T. , Parks, A. (2006). Positive Psychotherapy. American Psychologist. November 2006, 774 – 788. Snyder, C. (2011). Positive psychology : the scientific and practical explorations of human strengths. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE. Tugade, M. Frederickson, B. Barrett, L. (2004). Psychologi cal Resilience and Positive Emotional Granularity: Examining the Benefits of Positive Emotions on Coping and Health. Coping & Health. 1161 – 1190.

Maternal Smoking During Pregnancy

Around 12% of all pregnancies occur to women who continue to smoke throughout their pregnancy. Two thirds of those involved in maternal smoking during pregnancy are Caucasian. More than 500,000 infants each year are exposed to cigarette smoke in utero. Maternal smoking during pregnancy has been heavily linked to many infant and toddler health issues. Health issues are also apparent in women who do not smoke during pregnancy, but are regularly exposed to smoke during their pregnancy.   This applies most to those who live with a smoker, or those who work in smoking environments. It is a known fact that maternal smoking during pregnancy produces more premature births and babies with lower birth weights. Maternal smoking during pregnancy has also been associated with babies who have colic. It has been found that tobacco smoke raises levels of motilin in the blood and intestines when maternal smoking during pregnancy is apparant. These raised levels causes contractions of the stomach and intestines to increase. The increased levels of motilin can cause colic in infants, which can cause the infants pain and discomfort for months. Studies show that infants who had colic at 3 months of age had more sleep difficulties and temper tantrums at 3 years of age in comparison with those children without colic. Studies show that maternal smoking during pregnancy leads to more rebellious and aggressive infants and toddlers, helping to link smoking during pregnancy to behavior in infants and toddlers. Mothers who smoked during pregnancy also reported more negative behavior from their infants and toddlers than mothers who did not smoke during pregnancy. Studies show that maternal smoking during pregnancy can have behavioral affects on the infant well into adulthood. Question Does maternal smoking during pregnancy affect the personality (behavior, mood) of an infant and continue to have an affect into toddler hood? Hypothesis It is suspected that maternal smoking during pregnancy does indeed have an affect on the personality (behavior, mood) of an infant and continues to have an affect into toddler hood. Conducting a study on the behavior of infants born to mothers who smoked during their pregnancy, and continuing the study through their toddler years can provide adequate research for this question. This study would need to monitor the child in his or her normal environment as well as in typical social environments. The child’s behavior would then be compared to the behavior of children of the same age and developmental stage that were born to mothers who did not smoke during the pregnancy. By collecting all of the data and analyzing it, there may be a pattern of behavior differences between the children who were born to smoking mothers and those who were born to non-smoking mothers. Problems It may be difficult to pinpoint aggressive or negative behavior from children on the sole fact that their mother smoked during their pregnancy. It will be difficult to factor in behavioral and discipline techniques used by guardians of these children. It may be difficult to get mothers to admit they smoked during their pregnancy, as they may be embarrassed of their lack of attention to the health issues that may have been affected. It may be impossible to set a standard and determine what is normal rebellious behavior for an infant and toddler and what is abnormal behavior. Sources Hitti, Miranda. â€Å"Tobacco Smoke May Increase Colic†. 4 October, 2004. http://my.webmd.com/content/article/94/103060.htm. Acquired on 22 June 2005. â€Å"Infant Deaths Tied to Premature Births†. New York Times. 1 March, 1995. http://www.stat.berkeley.edu/users/statlabs/papers/sample.pdf.   Acquired on 22 June 2005. â€Å"Prenatal Smoking Data Book: Smoking and Reproductive Outcomes†.   www.cdc.com. Acquired on 22 June 2005. Schonfeld, Amy Rothman PhD.   â€Å"Dreading the ‘Terrible Twos'? Don't Smoke, Mothers Warned†.   13 April, 2000. http://my.webmd.com/content/article/23/1728_56585.htm. Acquired on 22 June 2005. ; ; Maternal smoking during pregnancy The Research Question would be â€Å"Are babies born from mothers who smoke during the pregnancy have greater chances of developing low-birth weight, compared to those born from mothers who do not smoke?†A study was conducted on pregnant women that belonged to a Maternity Hospital in Haguenau, France, in 1974.   248 pregnant women that smoked at least five cigarettes a day were defined as ‘cases’, and 196 pregnant women who did not smoke were defined as ‘controls’.Tests conducted on the placenta demonstrated higher incidences of defective trophoblasts in smokers compared to non-smokers.   The signs of intrauterine hypoxia, low birth-weight and low placental weight, were also higher in smokers compared to non-smokers.   However, the study was not able to establish a relationship between low birth-weight and low placental weight or intrauterine hypoxia (Shipra, A. Et al, 1977).Another study conducted demonstrated that mothers who smoked during one pregnancy had produced infants with lower birth-weight, compared to those infants born during pregnancy when they did not smoke.   This was irrespective of the birth order and other factors that affect the growth of the unborn baby in the utreus.   The reduction in the birth weight was directly associated with the number of cigarettes smoked.Mothers, who smoked less, produced infants on an average 90 grams less than normal, whereas those who smoked heavily developed babies on an average 533 grams below normal.   Smoking brought about the development of several lesions in the placental due to under-perfusion (which was usually periodic).   Besides, pregnancy during smoking was on an average 1.5 days shorter than without smoking (Naeye, R.L., 1978).A study was also able to demonstrate that women who quit smoking during pregnancy are able to reduce the several risks associated with pregnancy such as low birth-weight, preterm labor, spontaneous abortion, etc, and period of brea stfeeding also improved (Giglia, R.C. Et al, 2006).A study conducted in Johannesburg and Sweto, in 1990, demonstrated that women who smoked (6.1%) and used snuff (7.5%) during the pregnancy, produced babies who weight an average 2982 grams compared to babies of non-smokers who weighted 3148 grams, on an average.   However, environmental pollutants (such as passive smoking) did not significantly adversely affect the birth weight (Steyn, K., Et al, 2006).Another study conducted in Pelotas, Brazil, in 193, demonstrated that smoking in mothers produced babies on an average 142 grams below that of the non-smokers average.   The study also demonstrated that the risk of fetal retardation was higher with the extent of smoking.   However, the study did not find any relationship between preterm delivery and smoking (Horbta, H.L. Et al, 1997).Hence, it is obvious that birth-weight of the baby is directly affected to the extent of smoked (number of cigarettes) by the mother during pregnan cy.   Further studies need to be conducted on the exact manner in which smoking causes a reduction in the birth-weight of the child.References:Giglia, R.C., Binns, C.W., & Alfonso, H.S. (2006). Which women stop smoking during pregnancy and the effect on breastfeeding duration. BMC Public Health, 2696Z), 195.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16869976?dopt=AbstractPlusHorta, B.L., Victora, C.G., Menezes, A.M., Halpern, R., & Barros, F.C. (1997). Low birthweight, preterm births and intrauterine growth retardation in relation to maternal smoking. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol, 11(2), 140-151. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9131707?dopt=abstractplusNaeye, R. L. (1978). Effects of maternal cigarette smoking on the fetus and placenta. Br J Obstet Gynaecol, 85(10), 732-737.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/708656?dopt=abstractplusSpira, A., Philippe, E., Spira, N., Dreyfus, J., & Schwartz, D. (1977). Smoking during pregnancy and placental pathology. Biomedicine, 27(7Z), 266-270.http s://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/588667?dopt=AbstractSteyn, K., de Wet, T., Saloojee, Y., Nel, H., & Yach D. (2006). The influence of maternal cigarette smoking, snuff use and passive smoking on pregnancy outcomes: the Birth to Ten Study. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol, 20(2), 90-99.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=16466427&query_hl=6&itool=pubmed_DocSum

Pepe Jeans Brand Management Essays

Pepe Jeans Brand Management Essays Pepe Jeans Brand Management Paper Pepe Jeans Brand Management Paper This report aims to evaluate the brand image, positioning and brand value of a popular denim brand Pepe Jeans. Pepe is a renowned brand in the apparel industry and is amongst the top international jeans and casual wear brand. This report will also discuss the philosophy and essence of the brand, what it stands for the USP (Unique Selling Point) of the brand and how Pepe Jeans is perceived in the consumer mind. The purpose of researching the brand extensively is to help us understand the strengths and weaknesses of the brand from the point of view to verify its effectiveness. Pepe offers a wide range of products to its consumers and tries to cover the intended target market through its advertising and promotions. The brand is present across the globe in almost 100 countries with numerous loyal customers. A Brief History Headquartered in Madrid, Spain Pepe Jeans London, was started in a small market stall running only on weekends in West London by three brothers from Kenya Nitin, Arjun and Milan Shah in the year 1973. The brothers wanted to set up a British brand of jeans that would be known globally. The jeans that they sold were of good quality and fitting and within no time, the business started to boom. The brand was inspired by London street-wear style and was called Pepe because it was a short two syllable word that was really fast to remember. Pepe was the first brand which enforced that jeans should not be sold hung like a trouser for which they even had to fight with the retailers. By 1980, the brand was competing against the big rival brands like Levis, Lee, etc. for the No. 1 place in U.S. Pepe became UKs most successful jeans brand and even had Jason Priestly and the popular band The Smiths featured in their advertising campaign. Some of the campaigns were censored as Pepe ads usually t eased the boundaries of socially acceptable imagery and norms. This helped them gain the attention of the consumers in the ever expanding world of advertising. Pepe is the fastest growing label in the world and has grown to be more than a $500 million denim and casual wear brand. Brand Image According to Kotler (1988) and Herzog (1963), brand image is the perception of the brand regarding the values it carries in the mind of the consumer. Denims are perceived as a casual wear and the wearer carries an attitude whilst wearing it. Pepe has managed to make denim a style statement. Pepe Jeans is perceived as a premium and international brand which houses casual wear with the heart of London in the brand. The products offered are contemporary and innovative and the impression it leaves, is never missed. The brand image is not a thought on its own, it is engraved in the consumer mind by the marketers through the use of various marketing tools. Some other researchers like Ditcher (1985) define that the impression that the product creates as a whole and not by its individual characteristics is what forms the image of the brand. Pepe offers a whole wardrobe solution from jeans to skirts, to jackets, t-shirts, shirts, cargos, capris and a wide selection of accessories like caps, bags, wallets, belts and even socks. In the case of Pepe Jeans, the marketing and pricing has made the brand appealing to primarily youngsters. The brand has been practicing aggressive pricing i.e. they are competitively priced to their competitors and other international brands. The campaigns reflect that the brand is young at heart and promotes a rebellious attitude through its advertising. The concept is to be bold and ambitious which has helped the brand create a connection with both the sexes globally. As per Abraham (2005), to save the brand legal issues, the brand name should always be unique and distinct. The brand is called Pepe because it was a short two syllable word that was easy to remember and fast to sign on a cheque. Brand Positioning Positioning of a brand can be observed by evaluating how the brand appears when seen in contrast with its competitors. Brand positioning is controlled by the company and its marketing team. They concentrate on delivering and positioning the product in the right way to the intended target audience. All the efforts put together create the brand image of the company. (Park et. Al., 1986) Since its inception, the positioning of the brand was that, Pepe Jeans is all about international premium jeans and casual wear. To be a successful brand, the brand must keep in mind the offering its makes to its consumers and makes the product exclusive to set itself apart from the competitors (Friedman, 1993; Muse Hartung, 1973). The brand continuously developed new fabrics and silhouettes which all had a perfect finish. Pepe used this as a P.O.D. (Point of Difference) to promote itself as The premium jeans, inspired by Londons street wear. For a consumer to feel associated with what the brand wants itself to be perceived as, it is important for the brand to first build a relationship with the consumer (Aaker, 1991). All the retailers in the category are characterised in terms of maturity, capacity, and difference in price which leads to the common factor in all stores (Standard Poor, 1995). Pepe has differentiated itself by keeping the promise of being committed to quality products. They have strived to be best in the commercial aspect and by being the most service oriented. Brand positioning comprises of three important elements namely identifying the possible competitive advantages, leverage the strongest advantages and communicate them in an effective manner and lastly make sure that the message has reached the target group, all these factors combined together influence the buying behaviour of the consumer (Kotler, 1988). In connection with the brand, Pepe whilst positioning itself clearly identified themselves as a premium denim brand which the consumer would crave for and branded themselves with the same proposition. They created their USP from the simple fact that they manufactured the best quality denims which were inspired from London street wear. The brand stands for the youth and talks about being young, cool, creating a style statement, independent and self confident which exudes an attitude of the person who is wearing it. The second element is to identify their own strength which was inspired from Londons energy and street wear styles, every garment exudes an attitude and promoted this through their advertising. The third element is to segment the market and identify the appropriate target audience, having in mind what are the elements of your brand that are able to satisfy their needs and how you are related to this group. Pepe managed to identify and connect with all the three elements ma king it one of the most successful international brands. A successful brand should create an image for its product that, in the consumers mind is associated with the quality, the Unique Selling Point of the product and the superiority towards the competitor. (Vranesvic and Stancec, 2003) Brand Equity and Value A brand is the representation of ownership and product segregation manifested through names, logos and trademarks (Chernatony and Riley, 1998; Hankinson and Cowking, 1993). In the American Marketing Association (1960), the definition of a brand is a name or term, a symbol or design, or maybe a combination of the two which is intended to identify the product or service of the seller and enable them to differentiate it from its competitors. Brand equity expresses the value of a product compared to as if the same product didnt have a brand name. Therefore brand equity is based on the added value of the product because of the brand name. Equity consists of brand awareness and brand image (Aaker, 1991; Ailawadi et.al, 2003). Pepe over the years has successfully established itself in the consumer minds by constantly delivering high quality products and numerous advertising campaigns. Pepes brand value has been focused and been a trademark in the category recognised for the commitment and s ervice provided to the consumers. The brands are seen as corporate assets which have to be taken care of, invested in and have to be nurtured to grow. The brands are conceptualised as value enhancers which has led to the development of the concept of brand equity (Wood, 2000). Pepe has been marketed keeping a target audience in mind and has managed to create a bond of trust and a relationship with the consumers. Pepe as a brand name through the consistent performance and every growing demand in the market by opening new stores and a modern youthful urban image has created a sense of comfort in the consumer mind. As per Biel (1993), the concept of brand equity is very consumer-centered and it said that the consequence is focused more on output rather than input. The brands differentiating factor is that Pepe is much more than just a denim company, it offers a complete casual wear line with knits, wovens, non-denims and accessories under its umbrella. Pepe Jeans takes pride on the fashion forecasting abilities and setting trends with every collection they offer to their consumers. The consumers perception of the quality of the brand is what helps create brand equity.

Free Essays on Civil Rights Movement

The Civil Rights Movement The Civil Rights Movement was a very important point in the history of the United States. The self-proclaimed, â€Å"Land of the free† promoted the segregation and mistreatment of the colored people of American whether they be Black, Asian or Hispanic. The Civil Rights Movement was aimed at gaining equality for the Blacks but it came with the added bonus of gaining rights for the other races as well. During this period the eyes of whites and others were opened and started to change the errors in their way. Though the majority might have changed there was still those who believed that all other races were inferior to the White race and treated them poorly and some times just brutally. Thurgood Marshall was the director of legal defense and the educational fund for the N.A.A.C.P., a lawyer, Federal Judge, solicitor general and the first African-American Supreme Court Justice in America. He was also one of the best (if not the best) known black Lawyers in the United States. He played a major role in the civil right movement by winning many cases that led to more rights or improved rights for the black race. As Director of Legal Defense, Marshall fought in the majority of the civil rights cases. The most famous of these cases would be the â€Å"Brown vs. Board of Education† (1954) which resulted in the â€Å"beginning† of the end of segregation in schools and public areas. It was people like Thurgood Marshall that fought for the rights of colored people in the courts. At the age of 26 Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. became the unofficial leader of the civil rights movement in America. His leadership and efforts for racial equality eventually earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. King’s first taste of the civil rights movement came when Rosa Parks sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott when she refused to give her seat up to a white man and was arrested for doing so. With Television being a common... Free Essays on Civil Rights Movement Free Essays on Civil Rights Movement The first massive direct action in the civil rights movement came in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955. Under SCLC leadership, the black community boycotted the city’s bus system, which required them to ride at the back of the buses. After many months of boycotting, the U.S Supreme court declared that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional, and the boycott was bought to an end. This was a very significant event for the civil rights movement. It caught the attention of the entire nation. People around the country were made aware of the event because it was launched on such a massive scale and lasted for more than a year. It also set the tone for the civil rights movement, which led to more struggles and protest. There was the school integration in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957, where nine black students were admitted to Little Rock’s Central High School. President Dwight Eisenhower sent federal troops to enforce desegregation. There were public accommodation sit-ins in North Carolina and Georgia in 1960, when four black college students began protesting racial segregation in restaurants by sitting at â€Å"white only† lunch counters and waiting to be served. There were the freedom riders who traveled around the South in buses to test the effectiveness of the 1960 Supreme Court decision of illegal segregation in bus stations. There was also education and voter registration drives in Mississippi in 1961, which organized voter registration campaigns in black counties. Many of these protests where organized by the student affiliate of SCLC, many northern white liberal supporters, and the SNCC which stands for Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. The SNCC was founded in Raleigh, North Carolina in April 1960 to help organize and direct the student sit-in movement. They also concentrated on voter registration, believing that voting was a way to empower blacks so that they could change racist policies in the South. ... Free Essays on Civil Rights Movement The Civil Rights Movement The Civil Rights Movement was a very important point in the history of the United States. The self-proclaimed, â€Å"Land of the free† promoted the segregation and mistreatment of the colored people of American whether they be Black, Asian or Hispanic. The Civil Rights Movement was aimed at gaining equality for the Blacks but it came with the added bonus of gaining rights for the other races as well. During this period the eyes of whites and others were opened and started to change the errors in their way. Though the majority might have changed there was still those who believed that all other races were inferior to the White race and treated them poorly and some times just brutally. Thurgood Marshall was the director of legal defense and the educational fund for the N.A.A.C.P., a lawyer, Federal Judge, solicitor general and the first African-American Supreme Court Justice in America. He was also one of the best (if not the best) known black Lawyers in the United States. He played a major role in the civil right movement by winning many cases that led to more rights or improved rights for the black race. As Director of Legal Defense, Marshall fought in the majority of the civil rights cases. The most famous of these cases would be the â€Å"Brown vs. Board of Education† (1954) which resulted in the â€Å"beginning† of the end of segregation in schools and public areas. It was people like Thurgood Marshall that fought for the rights of colored people in the courts. At the age of 26 Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. became the unofficial leader of the civil rights movement in America. His leadership and efforts for racial equality eventually earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. King’s first taste of the civil rights movement came when Rosa Parks sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott when she refused to give her seat up to a white man and was arrested for doing so. With Television being a common...

Bec Curriculum

Speaking includes skills in using the language expressions and grammatical structures correctly in oral communication. Reading is getting meaning from the printed page. It includes skills for vocabulary development, levels of comprehension namely, literal, interpretative, critical analysis and application, literary appreciation and study skills. Writing includes readiness skills, mechanics, guided writing, functional, and creative writing. Learning activities to develop competence in these phases of communication should be varied, meaningful and realistic. Science and Health concepts may be used as content in English especially for Grades I and II, but not to the extent of neglecting the content in the English books for the grade. Grade III is considered the threshold in reading. Thus, at the end of the third grade, every child is expected to be a functional/successful reader. TIME ALLOTMENT Learning Areas English Daily Time Allotment III IV V 100 80 80 I 100 II VI 80 100 The daily period of 100 minutes is allotted for Grades I-III. There is no increase in time allotment for Grades IV-VI because basic literacy skills are expected to have been developed in Grades I-III. The 20-minute increased time allotment may be used for mastery of the skills through any of the following: peer tutoring spelling lessons enrichment/reinforcement for fast learners writing (practice) remediation for slow learners free reading 1 EXPECTATIONS GOAL: Access varied information and creatively use them in spoken and written forms; communicate fluently and accurately orally and in writing, for a variety of purposes and different social and academic contexts at their level while carrying out activities in everyday life At the end of Grade VI, the learner is expected to listen critically; communicate one’s feeling and ideas orally and in writing with a high level of proficiency; and read various text types materials to serve one’s own learning needs in meeting a wide range of life’s purposes. At the end of Grade V, the learner is expected to listen critically to different text types; express ideas logically in oral and written forms; and demonstrate interest in reading to meet one’s various needs. At the end of Grade IV, the learner is expected to listen critically to news reports, radio broadcasts and express ideas accurately in oral and in written form; demonstrate more independence in the use of language to meet everyday needs; and read independently for pleasure and get information from various text types. At the end of Grade III, the learner is expected to listen critically to get information from text heard; demonstrate independence in using the basic anguage structure in oral and written communication; and read with comprehension. At the end of Grade II, the learner is expected to listen critically to 1-2 paragraphs; use appropriate expressions in varied situations and about places and topics of interest; read critically and fluently in correct thought units, texts for information and entertainment and respond properly to environmental prints like signs, posters, commands and requests; and write legibly simple sentences and messages in cursive form. At the end of Grade I, the learner is expected to recognize differences in speech sounds, word stress, intonation patterns in sentences heard; speak clearly and use appropriate expressions in talking about oneself and the immediate environment; read with ease and understanding beginners’ books in English; and write legibly information about oneself, common words and simple sentences in manuscript form. 2 The Philippine Elementary Learning Competencies (PELC) The PELC is a listing of expected outcomes in the four phases of Communication Arts, namely, listening, speaking, reading and writing. The expected outcomes are stated in behavioral terms hierarchically arranged from the simplest to the most complex. The expected outcomes (skills) for each component are in matrix form per grade level. With this arrangement, teachers can easily pick out objectives from each phase in preparing his/her lessons to show integration within learning areas. The teacher is free to decide whether to have the four components or only two or three components integrated in a day’s lesson. Here is a sample lesson plan showing the four components integrated in a day’s lesson for 100 minutes. Science concepts are integrated in this lesson. I. Objectives Tell what the story heard is about (Listening) Use of this/that with singular form of nouns (Speaking) Give appropriate heading for a set of pictures/sentences (Reading) Write words/phrases – copying from a model (Writing) II. Subject Matter Telling what the story/picture is about Use of this/that with singular nouns III. Materials: short story, pictures 3 IV. Procedure A. Listening †¢ †¢ Motivation – showing pictures of animals; talking about pets or animals they know Listening to a story Pussy Cat is big. Its color is white and black. She sleeps under the chair with her three little baby kittens. The baby kittens are very small. Pussy Cat is always beside the baby kittens. †¢ Comprehension Questions Who has baby kittens? What is Pussy Cat doing? What are the baby kittens doing also? What is our story about? B. Speaking Show picture of a cat and say: This is a cat. The cat is big. Ask pupils to hold the picture and repeat the sentence. Ask them to tell something about their personal belongings. e. g. This is my bag. My bag is red. Introduce the use of that. Teacher says: This is a bag. What is this? Guide the pupils to say – This is a bag. (pointing to the object) Practice: Pupils take turn in asking and answering questions using this-that. e. g. Pupil 1: This is a pupil. What is this? Pupil 2: That is a pencil. (Pupil 2 shows another object and repeat the sentence pattern. ) (There is pupil to pupil interaction with this kind of activity. ) Let the pupils understand that – This and That refer to one object. 4 C. Reading Teacher recalls the story used in listening. Teacher/pupils read the story. Question: Which of the following is a good title for the story? a. My Pet b. Pussy Cat c. Pussy Cat and Her Kittens Present these words on the board or show pictures. Pupils read the words or give the names of the pictures. a. pig b. pig dog goat bird carabao monkey cow Question: What are these words called? What words would be the title/heading for the animals in Set A? Set B? Science Concepts: There are different animals around. Some animals make good pets. Some animals give us food. Infusion of Values: Animals need care. We should be kind to animals. Practice: Read these sentences and give a title for each group of sentence. e. g. There are many animals in the farm. The animals make different sound. The dog barks. The cat says, â€Å"meow, meow. † The duck says, â€Å"quack, quack† Group Activity: Assign 3 or 4 leaders who will be holding strips of paper with titles of the sentences or pictures distributed to the pupils. When the leaders show the strips of paper, the pupils holding the pictures/sentences group together to their respective leaders. D. Writing – Copy the sentences and fill in the blanks. My Pet I have a ______. I call it ______. Its color is _____. My pet eats ______. 5 V. Evaluation: †¢ †¢ Evaluation of written work, neatness, etc. Fill the blank with this or that. Father reads a book and says, â€Å"_____ is a good book. † (Picture of father holding a book. ) †¢ Give a title for the set of words and sentences. orange VI. Agreement: apples guavas pineapple Ask the pupils to write down words or sentences related to the following: Games I Like to Play The teacher should strive for mastery of a particular objective before proceeding to the next higher one. Objectives may be taught for two or more days but with different activities/exercises for each day. Criterion – reference test should be administered to measure mastery of the objectives/skills taught. ENGLISH – GRADE I LISTENING 1. Respond appropriately to expressions listened to * †¢ greeting others †¢ leave taking SPEAKING 1. Use expressions listened to in appropriate situations Ask and answer questions e. g. What’s your name? Where do you live? What grade are you in? How old are you? etc. 2. Give short commands and directions READING 1. Recognize wo rds commonly heard through sight word †¢ courteous expression †¢ one-step direction WRITING 1. Demonstrate Writing Readiness Skills * †¢ free-hand writing †¢ connecting dots 2. Follow simple one-step direction heard e. g. stand up sit down . Identify common printed materials e. g. book, newspaper, 2. 1 Turn the pages of a reading material properly 2. Trace and copy lines * †¢ straight †¢ slanting †¢ horizontal †¢ curve †¢ circular 3. Write legibly, accurately in manuscript form the capital and small letters of the alphabet 3. 1 Trace and copy letter with †¢ straight lines †¢ combination of straight and slanting lines e. g. Nn Aa †¢ combination of straight and curved lines e. g. Dd †¢ rounded strokes with loops e. g Cc 3. Identify specific sounds from a background of different sounds heard * †¢ loud and soft †¢ high and low 3. Talk about the meaning of sound signals heard e. g. roosters crow in the morning, ships make loud sounds when they arrive 3. Sharpen visual discrimination skills * †¢ similarities and differences of objects/pictures as to size, length †¢ identifying missing parts of pictures †¢ left to right eye movement Identify letters that are similar/ different in a group of letters * included in the 8-Week Curriculum 7 LISTENING 4. Identify speech sounds heard †¢ initial and final consonant and vowel sounds e. g. /f/ vs. /p/; /e/ vs. /iy/ SPEAKING 4. Produce words listened to with †¢ initial and final consonant ounds †¢ initial and medial vowel sounds READING 4. Associate names of objects/ pictures with their printed symbols e. g. words with †¢ initial and final consonant sounds †¢ critical consonant and vowel sounds 5. Sing/act rhymes, poems, jingles WRITING 4. Write the letters of the alphabet according to: †¢ grouping †¢ proper sequence 5. Ide ntify words that rhyme in poems/jingles 6. Recognize rising and falling intonation and meanings they signal †¢ yes-no questions †¢ wh- questions †¢ statement 5. Recite rhymes, jingles with correct intonation and stress 6. Talk about oneself/others/things 6. Read orally high frequency words in running print – Dolch Use singular form of nouns Basic Sight Word †¢ this/that is with objects 6. 1 Increase one’s vocabulary †¢ a and an in naming †¢ words about family members objects †¢ labels and sign in school Use the plural form of nouns †¢ synonyms and antonyms †¢ noun + s 6. 2 Identify the parts of a book †¢ these are/those are + cover, title, table of contents noun 7. Use personal pronouns 7. 1 Use the pronoun that agrees in gender with its antecedent 7. Tell what the picture or a series of pictures is about 7. 1 Tell what the story is about †¢ composite picture e. . a garden scene †¢ solo picture e. g. red rose 8. Answer wh-questions based on stimuli presented Objects: †¢ composite pictures †¢ experience charts 8 5. Write words and phrases 5. 1 Copying from a model †¢ name, grade, school 5. 2 Dolch Basic Sight Word †¢ days of the week 7 Give the main idea of a selection heard 6. Copy paragraph with 2 to 3 sentences †¢ use the correct punctuation mark 8 Note details in a selection heard †¢ answering wh- questions †¢ identifying setting, characters, events 8. Use verbs †¢ simple present form 7. Write from dictation †¢ common words †¢ phrases †¢ simple sentence LISTENING 8. Select the details of a story heard from a set of pictures SPEAKING 8. 1 Use –ing form of the verb in response to: †¢ What is _____ doing? ____ is cooking. †¢ What are _____ doing? ____ are playing. READING 9. Organize ideas †¢ Grouping pictures based on similar ideas †¢ Select appropriate heading for a: set of related pictures set of words/phrases set of sentences 10. Tell the sequence of natural events †¢ plant growth †¢ life stages of animals 10. 1 Tell what happened first, second, last in a series of pictures 11. Perceive relationship †¢ source e. g. egg-chicken †¢ function e. g. tab le-trees †¢ part-whole e. g. eyes-face 12. Predict outcomes †¢ Give the possible ending of a series of pictures/given events †¢ Tell what would happen next to a set of pictures 13. Infer 13. 1 what a person or animal does 13. 2 what have happened before/after an event 9 WRITING 8. Write names of common objects learned in listening and speaking †¢ common signs in the classroom 9 Tell the sequence of events in a 8. 2 Use the verb to be (am, is, are) story heard through pictures with nouns and pronouns as subject 8. 3 Use the simple past form of the verb (regular verb) 10 Act out best liked parts of story heard 9. Use words that describe persons, animals, places (adjectives) 9. Use the positive form of regular adjectives 9. Write sentences using synonyms and antonyms to describe objects 11. React to what the character said/did on a story listened to 10. Talk about topics of interest in 2-3 sentences 10. Write sentences about one’s self and family 12. Infer the feeling/traits of characters in a story heard 1 1. Compose greetings in cards e. g. Happy Birthday ENGLISH – GRADE II LISTENING 1. Identify speech sounds heard initial consonant blends initial and medial vowel sounds words with diphthongs 1. 1 Discriminate speech sounds heard critical consonant and vowel sounds e. g. /s/ vs. z/ /? e/ vs. /ey/ SPEAKING 1. Improve pronunciation skills 1. 1 Use initial consonant blends initial and medial vowel sounds words with diphthong critical consonant sounds critical vowel sounds 1. 2 Use courteous expressions in appropriate situations greeting others taking leave offering help READING 1. Associate names of objects. pictures with printed symbols 1. 1 Read automatically high frequency words in running print 1. 2 Recognize words using spelling patterns. c–v–v–c c–v–c–c consonant clusters in initial and final position consonant clusters and blends in initial/final position WRITING 1. Copy legibly, accurately and neatly in manuscript form of a given text sentences paragraph rhymes/poems learned 2. Recognize the rising and falling intonation in: yes-no questions wh- questions statements 2. Ask and answer questions 2. 1 Use short answer forms to questions e. g. Who is your teacher? Does the dog bark? 2. Increase one’s vocabulary by learning synonyms and antonyms of common words 2. Use capital letters in writing one’s address, names of persons, subjects, the beginning letter of the first word in a sentence 1. 1 Write common abbreviations e. g Mr. , Mrs. 1. Copy words in alphabetical order 3. Copy paragraph observing indention, capitalization and punctuation 4. Copy poems/rhymes accurately 5. Demonstrate readiness skills in cursive writing 2. Follow simple one-step directions heard 3. Give commands/directions two-step direction 3. Do accurately slow reading to follow a simple one-step direction 3. 1 Follow printed directions for test taking 4. Pantomime/act out rhymes and jingles 4. 1 Feel the rhythm through clapping, etc. 3. Identify words that rhyme in 2-3 stanza poems 4. Recite short verses, two-stanza poems with correct intonation and stress 0 LISTENING 5. Give the main idea of a selection listened to Tell what the story is about SPEAKING 5. Talk about oneself/others things/ events 5. 1 Use nouns This/that with singular form of nouns Plural form of regular noun These are/those are with plural noun 5. 2 Use possessive pronouns (My, You, His, Her, Your) Use the pronoun that agrees in gender with its antecedent READING 5. Get the main idea 3. 2 Tell what the set of related pictures is about Give the appropriate heading for a set of †¢ pictures †¢ sentences 3. 3 Group similar ideas under proper heading WRITING Write important dates, abbreviations in cursive Birthday Days of the week Months Address 6. Write from dictation Phrases Simple sentences Sentences in paragraph form 3. 4 Distinguish big ideas from small ideas 7. Write sentences/short paragraph about the pictures 3. Note details in selection listened to 3. 1 Answer wh-questions 7. Retell best-liked parts of a story heard 5. 3 Use verbs 5. 3. 1 Use simple present form of verbs with singular/plural nouns as subject 5. 3. 2 Use the -ing form of verbs (verbs of being) 5. 3. 3 Use the simple past of the verbs commonly used 5. 3. Use positive/negative form of auxiliary verbs 5. 3. 5 Use two-word verb 6. Use adjectives to describe people, animals, places Use the positive form of regular adjectives 4. Note details in short paragraph, poems, stories read 4. 1 Note explicit details descriptive words identify characters, setting etc. of the story 5. 2 Note implied details 5. Organize ideas 5. 1 Group pictures showing similar ideas 5. 2 Identify words/phrases sentences that go with a given concept/idea 7. Sequence events 7. 1 Tell what happened first, second, etc. 7. 2 Tell what happened before/after an event 7. Arrange words alphabetically based on the first letter 11 8. Act out best-liked parts of a story heard 7. Use preposition and prepositional phrase 8. Write the correct spelling of words learned in auditory discrimination LISTENING 9. Impersonate well-liked characters in a story heard SPEAKING 8. Talk about topics of interest in 3-4 sentences READING 8. Perceive relationship shown in pictures 8. 1 Identify the cause of a given effect 8. 2 Infer details in passages that are not signaled explicitly WRITING 9. Write sentences from a picture stimulus 10. Give a possible ending to a situation/story heard . Predict outcomes 9. 1 Tell the possible ending of a situation presented through pictures 10. Write a different story ending to a story read/heard 9. 2 Give events that could happen next 11. Make inferences Inf er hidden information from oral texts 10. Infer what have happened before/ after an event 11. Write a composition about a given topic 10. 1 Prepare an invitation card based on a model 10. 2 Write short notes to friends/family member 12 ENGLISH – GRADE III LISTENING 1. Identify words with – †¢ final consonant sounds †¢ initial and final consonant blends and clusters SPEAKING 1. Increase one’s speaking vocabulary 1. 1 Use words presented under auditory discrimination in sentences READING 1. Recognize words using spelling patterns as clues e. g. digraphs Cvc Consonant clusters in initial and final position 1. 1 Recognize words through repeated exposure 2. Read orally 1-2 stanza poems with correct pronunciation, stress and rhythm 2. 1 Read orally or commit to memory well liked lines in a poem/selection 2. 2 Use context clues to get meaning of unfamiliar words 2. 3 Use the glossary to get meaning of new words 3. Read orally conversations/dialogs observing proper intonation 4. Follow simple two-step directions two separate simple sentences compound sentences 5. Get the main idea distinguish big ideas from small ideas give appropriate title for a paragraph identify key sentence in a paragraph WRITING 1. Write legibly and neatly observing correct letter form, capitalization, punctuation and spelling copying from a model letters of excuse, apology name and write the parts of a letter 2. Identify words that rhyme in poems heard 2. Recite short verses, 1-2 stanza poems with correct intonation and stress 2. 1 Recite poems with gestures 2. 2 Memorize short verses . Write contractions correctly 3. Recognize the rising and falling intonation in questions and answers heard 4. Follow two-step directions heard 3. Use courteous expressions in appropriate situations e. g. inviting someone 4. Give short commands/directions three-step directions 5. Ask and answer questions about oneself/others using pictures dialogues comic strips 3. Write different kinds of sent ences Telling, asking, requesting and exclamatory sentences 3. 1 Write one’s own address correctly 4. Copy paragraph with 4-5 sentences observe indention, capitalization and punctuation 5. Give the main idea of a selection listened to 13 LISTENING 6. Note details in selections listened to (1-2 short paragraphs) answer who, what, when, where questions SPEAKING 6. Talk about oneself things/events 6. 1 Use the singular form of nouns with verbs of being 6. 2 Use the plural form of Nouns 7. Use possessive pronouns 7. 1 Use pronouns that agree in gender with its antecedent 8. Use verbs 8. 1 Use the correct form of the verb that agrees with the subject in number 8. 2 Use the correct time expression to tell an action in the present past future 8. 3 Construct sentences with simple subject and predicate 9. Use words that describe persons, places, animals, ideas, events (adjectives) READING 6. Note explicit and implied details from a story read Answer how and why questions 6. 1 Decode words using structural analysis prefixes compound words 7. Organize ideas 7. 1 Classify related ideas/concept under proper headings 7. 2 Identify proper heading for related sentences 7. 3 Outline a 2-paragraph text with explicitly given main idea 8. Sequence events 8. 1 Arrange events as to space order line order both space and time order 8. 2 Number events in a story read 8. 3 Arrange words alphabetically based on the first and second letter 9. Perceive relationship 9. 1 Identify cause – effect relationship 9. 2 Identify and use language clues that signify cause-effect relationship e. g. because, as a result 10. Predict outcomes 10. 1 Give an appropriate ending to a given situation 14 WRITING 5. Write from dictation different kinds of sentences with correct punctuation marks –telling, asking etc. 6. Write the correct spelling of words learned in listening, speaking and reading 7. Write simple letters for a given purpose letter of excuse letter of apology 7. Sequence events in the story listened to through pictures/groups of sentences/guided questions 8. Write utterances on a given situation/comic strip presented 8. Retell best-liked parts of a story heard Use the positive, comparative and superlative forms of adjectives 9. Write a different story ending 10. Write sentences from a set of pictures to make a story LISTENING 9. Make inferences Infer traits of characters based on what they do or say in a story listened to SPEAKING 10. Use expressions to show location 11. Talk about topics of interest in 4-5 sentences 11. Infer READING WRITING 11. Write a different story ending 11. 1 what have happened before or after 11. 2 insight from what is read or observed 12. Draw conclusion using picture-stimuli/passages 12. Fill out forms correctly †¢ library form †¢ Information Sheet 10. Distinguish between facts and fancy from stories heard 13. Evaluate ideas 13. 1 Tell whether an action or event is a reality or fantasy 13. 2 Identify irrelevant ideas in a passage 14. Read orally or commit to memory poems/verses 13. Write a short story from a given situation 15 ENGLISH – GRADE IV LISTENING 1. Distinguish rising and falling intonation 2. Identify the stressed and unstressed syllables e. g. stress on the: first syllable (library) second syllable (industrious) third syllable (elementary) 3. Recognize pauses and stops in utterances that signal meaning e. g. Roy, the boy in white/is my cousin. (describing Roy) Roy/the boy in white is my cousin. (talking about Roy) 4. Follow 3-4 step directions heard 2. Give series of directions using sequence signals e. g. first, then, next, etc. SPEAKING 1. Use words with stressed and unstressed syllables in sentences READING 1. Decode words in stories read using phonetic analysis e. g. /ze/z/- breeze /th/ thank Read orally stories/poems with correct stress and Intonation Show enjoyment of stories/poems read 2. Use the dictionary to interpret stress marks for correct accent select appropriate meaning from several meanings given to locate words using guide words 3. Do accurate, slow reading in order to follow common directions in: prescriptions medicine labels simple experiments 4. Identify meaning of unfamiliar words through structural analysis words with affixes and inflectional endings compound words and their components words written as: one word (backyard) two words (security guard) hyphenated (sister-inlaw) WRITING 1. Write the correct spelling of words with stressed and unstressed syllables e. . words with silent letters words ending in –ph sounded as f 2. Write sentences/paragraphs giving simple directions in doing something e. g. making a project playing a game 3. Write from dictation sentences and short paragraph observing correct spelling capitalization and punctuation marks 5. Get information from a conversation listened to 3. Use courteous expressions in ap propriate situations e. g. telephone conversation 16 LISTENING SPEAKING 4. Ask and answer questions about oneself/others/pictures use because, so that, in order 5. Use the plural form of nouns in sentences e. g. ouns ending in f: chief-chiefs leaf-leaves use expressions denoting quantity e. g. a lot of, some, etc. READING use context clues synonyms, antonyms, homonyms WRITING 6. Give the main idea of a selection listened to: -Tell what the story/poem/ news is about in two or three sentences 4. Give the main idea of a 2-paragraph text 4. 1 Identify the main idea that is implied or explicitly stated 4. 2 Evolve a title in topic form for text based on the main idea or big idea 4. 3 Skim the general idea on what the material is about 4. 4 Read orally one’s best liked part of a story 5. Note significant details that relate to the central theme 5. Locate answers to wh-, how and why questions that are explicitly stated in the texts 5. 2 Demonstrate knowledge of story grammar by be ing able to identify setting, characters and main events in the story 5. 3 Find descriptive words/action words in selection read 5. 4 Read orally one’s best liked part of a story 6. Organize ideas 6. 1 Classify related ideas/concepts under proper heading 6. 2 Give a heading or title for texts read 6. 3 Identify sub-heading for a given heading 17 4. Write a paragraph/short story from one’s experience 7. Note details in a selection listened to: -identify setting, suspense, climax in the story 6. Use possessive form of singular nouns e. g. Renato’s bag 6. 1 Use possessive form of plural nouns e. g. the boy’s shirt 5. Write letters observing the correct format thank you letter letter of invitation letter of congratulations 8. Classify related ideas from news/ stories heard 7. Use a variety of sentences declarative interrogative imperative exclamatory 7. 1 Construct simple sentences with modifiers and compliments 6. Write a paragraph based on an outline LISTENING SPEAKING READING 6. 4 Outline a two-paragraph passage 6. 5 Outline a story read 6. 6 Use the outline as a guide in retelling or summarizing the story 7. Sequence events/ideas 7. 1 Sequence the major events/ideas in a selection 7. 2 Arrange a set of given events in logical order to make a story e. g. time order space order both space and time order 8. Perceive relationship 8. 1 Identify statements/events that show cause-effect relationship 8. 2 Give cause-effect relationship in paragraph/passages read 8. 3 Use the word because/so that to identify statements that show cause-effect 9. Predict outcomes 9. 1 Give an appropriate ending to a given situation and give justification for such ending 10. Infer 10. 1 character traits from a selection read WRITING 9. Sequence events in the story listened to through groups of sentences/guided questions 8. Use object pronouns (me, him, her, us, them, you) 8. 1 Use the object pronoun that agrees in number with its antecedent 7. Write essays arrange paragraphs according to order of time/events and location 9. 10. Report on a news item/radio broadcast heard Use the different verb forms (regular and irregular) present form past future 9. 1 Use the verb that agrees with the subject in number 8. Write a variety of texts letters, paragraphs using a variety of sentences riddles, mottos, sayings 11. Predict the outcome of stories heard 0. Use words that describe persons, places, animals, events (adjectives) 10. 1 Use the positive, comparative and superlative forms of regular adjectives 11. Use adverbs of place and time 9. Compose riddles, slogans and announcements from given stimuli e. g. semantic maps, planned activities/programs 10. Write utterances/expressions on situations/comic strip presented e. g. Thank you! You’re great! 12. Infer the feelings of characters based on how they talk (volume, voice, stress) 13. Give conclusions to situations/ news/oral report heard 12. Use prepositions and prepositional phrase e. g. among in a month 11. Draw conclusions based on information given 18 LISTENING 14. Evaluate ideas and make judgments on oral texts presented orally 14. 1 Distinguish between fact and opinion SPEAKING 13. Talk about topics of interest in 56 sentences READING 12. Evaluate ideas and make judgments 12. 1 Tell whether an action or event is reality or fantasy 12. 2 Distinguish between fact or opinion 12. 3 Compare and contrast text information with prior knowledge 12. 4 Evaluate the likelihood that a story could really happen 12. 5 Determine an author’s perspective on the central topic WRITING 11. Write paragraphs Descriptive Narrative 12. Write diaries and journals 13. Write summary of story read fable fairy tale 19 ENGLISH – GRADE V LISTENING 1. Distinguish changes in meaning in sentences caused by shift in intonation e. g. She’s coming. (plain statement) She’s coming? (for confirmation) 1. 1 Distinguish changes in meaning of words caused by stress shift e. g. Please record (verb) the test result in the class record (noun) SPEAKING 1. Increase one’s speaking vocabulary 1. 1 Pronounce words putting stress on the correct syllable 1. 2 Use the correct intonation for statements and questions 1. 3 Use courteous expressions in conducting a club meeting READING 1. Decode meaning of unfamiliar words 1. 1 Decode words in stories using structural analysis 1. 1. 1 words with affixes prefixes and suffixes 1. 2 Identify the different information given to a word in a dictionary syllabication stress marks multiple meaning of words. 1. 3 Use synonyms and antonyms 2. Follow printed directions in filling up school forms Information Sheet 3. Get the main idea 3. 1 Give heading to a set of related ideas 3. 2 Identify the key sentence in a paragraph 3. 3 Identify the details that support the key sentence 3. 4 Skim to get a general idea on what the material is about 4. Note significant details 4. 1 Identify the setting, characters and ending of stories read 4. 2 Draw pictures of Incidents/characters from a selection heard 4. 3 Identify oneself with a character in the story WRITING 1. Write the correct spelling of words learned in listening, speaking and reading 2. Follow a series of directions (5 to 6 steps) 3. Give titles to paragraph/stories listened to 4. Note details in a selection listened to: Make a story grammar to remember details (setting, character, events Give implied ideas or information 5. Get information from news report heard 5. 1 List down important ideas/events . Make simple and accurate descriptions and announcements 3. Use plural form of nouns in talking about oneself/others irregular nouns 4. Retell selections listened to 5. Use a variety of sentences simple compound complex 6. Use possessive form of plural nouns proper nouns ending in s or z 2. Fill out school forms correctly Information Sheet Bank deposit and withdrawal s lip 3. Write a paragraph from the pictures drawn Beginning sentence Middle Ending 4. Arranging sentences according to order of time/importance in writing a paragraph 5. Write rhymes/jingles related to the selection read 20 LISTENING 6. Sequence events in the story listened to through groups of sentences SPEAKING 7. Use pronouns 7. 1 Demonstrative (who, where, etc. ) 7. 2 Reflexive (myself, herself, etc. ) 7. 3 Ask and answer questions about oneself/others No + negative (No, I’m not. ) rejoinder Yes + positive rejoinder (Yes, I am. ) positive stem + negative stem It’s a puppy, isn’t it. negative stem + positive tag READING 5. Organize ideas 5. 1 Identify the major ideas/concept in a selection 5. 2 Organize the key sentence and supporting details into an outline 5. 3 Make a two-point outline of a 2 to 3 paragraphs 6. Sequence the major ideas/concept in a selection 7. Perceive relationship give possible causes to a given effect and possible effects to a given cause 8. Predict outcomes 8. 1 Give possible endings to a selection 8. 2 Give an appropriate ending to a selection WRITING 6. Write a 2-point sentence outline 7. Identify cause/effect from statements/situations heard 7. Write reports from writing models Science report television shows schools and community news 8. Write an ending to an incomplete story 8. Give justification to a possible ending to a story heard 8. Use the different verb forms 8. 1 Simple present for general truth 8. 2 Habitual past (use to + verb) 8. Future (going to + verb) 8. 4 Use two-word verb 9. Use words that describe Persons, places, animals, Ideas (adjectives) 9. 1 Use the positive, comparative and superlative forms of adjectives 9. 2 Use descriptive words and phrases as + adj. + as 10. Use adverbs10. 1 Adverbs of manner and frequency 10. 2 Use words that can function as adjectives and adverbs 10. 3 Use prepositio n + prepositional phrase 21 9. Identify action words/ descriptive words in sentences/paragraphs heard 9. Infer traits of character the general mood of expression in a selection how the story would turn out if some episodes were changed 9. Write descriptive paragraph letters of invitation/request telegrams announcements 10. Evaluate and make judgments on oral texts presented orally 10. Draw conclusions based on information given 11. Evaluate ideas/make judgements 11. 1 Identify facts/opinions in a selection read 11. 2 Give opinions about information read 10. Respond in writing based on stimuli- result of an observation/ experiment acceptance letter descriptive/narrative LISTENING 11. Report accurately information heard SPEAKING 11. Direct and indirect discourse e. g. Direct – Lydia said, â€Å"Fe write a letter. † Indirect – Lydia told Fe to write a letter. 1. 1 Transform direct to indirect or vice versa 11. 2 Change statement to question or vice versa e. g. Nora writes a letter. Does Nora write a letter? 12. Talk about topics of interest in 7-8 sentences READING 11. 3 Get information from newspapers parts of a newspaper and information from each part 12. Use library resources to get informa tion Card catalog Atlas, encyclopedia Newspapers WRITING 11. Write reported statements in paragraph form 11. 1 direct discourse to indirect 12. Write different texts Narrative Description Appointments Advertisements 22 ENGLISH – GRADE VI LISTENING 1. Distinguish changes in meaning of sentences caused by stress e. g. This is your dress. (It’s yours. ) This is your dress. (It’s definitely a dress. ) 2. Follow a series of directions listened to labeling diagrams completing a chart 3. Give the main idea of a selection listened to 2. Use courteous expressions on appropriate situations Participate in club meetings Conducting an interview 3. Ask and answer questions using pictures/dialogues/comic strips 3. 1 Change statements into questions 3. 2 Use tag questions negative and positive e. g. We get food from the forest, don’t we? You don’t buy junk food, do you? . Retell a selection listened to – news broadcast fiction stories 4. 1 Read orally/recite poems cast for a verse choir 4. 2 Give accurate announcements Give a report based on an interview SPEAKING 1. Increase one’s speaking vocabulary 1. 1 Relay information accurately using different discourse (statement, questions, commands) 1. 2 Use the correct intonation Yes-No questions Questions introduced by interrogatives READING 1. Decode meaning of unfamiliar words using structural analysis words with affixes †¢prefixes and suffixes the dictionary †¢words with multiple meanings context clues 1. Learn some common idioms e. g. stone’s throw 1. 2 Use figurative language to describe people and events Simile; Metaphor; Hyperbole 2. Follow a series of directions in- experiments prescriptions cooking 3. Tell the big ideas/key concepts implied in each paragraph of the story read3. 1 Give the details that support the big idea 3. 2 State the main idea of a paragraph that is explicit or implied 4. Note significant details 4. 1 Identify the events of the plot of a story, poem, short plays 5. Sequence the key concepts/big ideas to show wholeness of the story/selection 5. Use a story grammar to show sequence of episodes in a story 23 WRITING 1. Write a composition showing introduction body conclusion 2. Write specific directions on given situations e. g. interpret a diagram/road map 3. Write a model composition arrange details in order †¢ home reading report †¢ diaries †¢ minutes of meeting 4. Write a summary of what was read 5. Write from dictation 5. 1 Reconstruct a dictated text by taking down important notes 4. Note details in selections listened to- identify the setting, main and secondary characters, climax and ending of the story 5. Sequence events of a story listened to through guided questions LISTENING 6. Give possible cause/effect to situations/news stories heard SPEAKING 5. Use nouns- plural of compound nouns, gerunds 5. 1 Use nouns that are plural in form but singular in meaning e. g. news, measles 6. Use a variety of sentences as to structure †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ simple simple subject with compound predicate compound subject and simple predicate simple subject and compound predicate compound predicate and compound subject compound using connectors and and but complex dependent and independent clause READING 6. Organize ideas Make a heading/sub-heading for paragraphs in a selection Identify the key concept/ sentence that make up the story Identify the details, heading for an outline Make a three-point outline of an expository text read 7. Perceive relationship Tell the relationship expressed in the selection as to cause and effect Give other possible causes to a given effect and other effects to a given cause 8. Predict outcomes 8. 1 Give other events that could happen next 8. 2 Draw pictures of incidents/characters that is possible to happen 8. 3 Give possible endings to a selection 9. Infer traits of character the general mood of the selection how the story would turn out if some episodes were changed alternative actions taken by characters alternative actions taken by characters 24 WRITING 6. Write reported statements in a story form 6. 1 Change statements, questions, requests and commands to reported sentences 7. Analyze ideas as to what could happen next from stories heard 7. Write an ending to a given situation 8. Write a model composition write about one’s feelings/reactions using the correct form of the verb 8. Make inferences 8. Infer the mood of certain events through the speaker’s actions/ intentions/utterances 7. Use indefinite pronouns 7. 1 Use the verb that agrees with the indefinite pronouns 8. Use verbs 8. 1 Use the different verb forms present perfect form active and passive voice expressions about future plans – hope-can; wish, could if were 9. Write an outline of a story read Write a two to three point sentence outlin e LISTENING SPEAKING 9. Use adjectives 9. 1 Use descriptive words and phrases too + adj. + nominal e. g. too short for adjective + enough e. g. old enough two-word adjective e. g. two-story building 9. degree of comparison of irregular adjectives 9. 3 adjectives in series 10. Use adverbs degrees of comparison of adverbs words that can function as adjective /adverb 11. Use direct and indirect discourse 12. Talk about topics of interest use a variety of sentences preposition and prepositional phrases READING 10. Draw conclusions based on information given 10. 1 Evaluate if a conclusion made is justifiable 10. 2 Identify sufficient evidences to justify a conclusion/generalization 11. Evaluate ideas/make judgement 11. 1 Give opinions about information read 11. 2 Determine the purpose of the author 11. Identify author’s device to bring out his message 12. Use the library resources effectively 12. 1 Use card catalog, atlas, almanac, and other general references 12. 2 Get inf ormation from newspapers and other references Parts of a newspaper Information one gets from each part WRITING 10. Organize one’s thoughts in writing information description resume 9. Evaluate and make judgments 9. 1 Distinguish advertisement from propaganda 11. Respond in writing based on stimuli and triggers application letter directions ads for work, editorials 12. Fill out forms Information Sheet Community Tax Certificate Bank Notes 25