Saturday, October 26, 2019

Research into Phonological Mean Length of Utterance (pMLU)

Research into Phonological Mean Length of Utterance (pMLU) Specific language impairment (SLI) is a disorder defined by exclusion. Children with SLI exhibit language difficulties in the absence of other factors, such as hearing loss, mental impairment, physical impairment, emotional disturbance, or environmental deprivation (Bishop, 1992a, 1992b; Lubert, 1981). Children with SLI have difficulty acquiring one or more of the components of language, i.e. form (phonology, morphology, and syntax), content (semantics), and use (pragmatics). The field of phonological acquisition has made extensive efforts to measure its development through normative studies (Templin, 1957; Olmstead, 1971) and articulation tests (Hodsen Paden, 1991). Earlier, the research focus was on correctness of consonants as well as the analysis of segments in general. Recently the whole word complexity has been stressed (Masterson Kamhi, 1992, Ingram, 2002). One such measure is the Phonological mean length of utterance (pMLU). It is a whole word measure for measuring phonologic al proficiency (Ingram,2002). It measures the length of a childs words and the number of correct consonants. The pMLU for a speech sample is calculated by: (1) counting the number of segments (consonants and vowels) in each word as produced by the child; (2) counting the number of consonants produced in each word that the child produced accurately; (3) summing these two numbers; (4) totaling these sums; and (5) dividing this total by the total number of words in the sample. pMLU quantifies development of phonology and focuses on the childrens whole-word productions instead of specific segments. Ingram demonstrates the value of the pMLU measure by applying it wide range of contexts. NEED FOR THE STUDY Although pMLU has been addressed in normal as well as phonological disorders and cochlear implanted children, the same is not focussed on children with SLI. Since PMLU is a whole word measure, problems in phonology and morphosyntax are expected to reduce the score. Hence PMLU can be used to investigate the difficulties if any in phonology and morphosyntax of children with SLI. Hence the present study was planned. AIM OF THE STUDY: To compare the pMLU of children with SLI in comparison with typically developing Kannada speaking children. METHOD: This study followed a case control design. Participants were divided into 2 groups. Clinical group comprised of six individuals (5 males 1 female) with SLI in the age range of 4 to 6 years. The diagnosis of SLI was done on the basis of Leonards exclusionary criteria and the informal assessment of morpho-syntax by the primary investigator. The control group comprised of age matched 30 children out of which 15 were males and 15 females. Exclusion criteria considered were speech, language, hearing and neurological problems. A minimum of 50 spontaneous speech utterances were elicited from each child for a duration of 30 to 40 minutes which was audio recorded using SONY recorder. The childrens utterances were narrow transcribed and pMLU was calculated for each word produced by the child. The sum of each word in all the utterances were totalled and divided by the number of words produced by the child to obtain the pMLU scores. pMLU was calculated for all the children in both the groups. Mann Whitney U test was administered to find out the significant differences between the means of both the groups. RESULTS: The results of the Mann Whitney U Test revealed a statistically significant difference between the means of pMLU scores across the group at p DISCUSSION: pMLU is a whole-word measure for phonological development. The results of the present study revealed that the pMLU scores for the children with SLI were lower in comparison to children with normal language development. This could be attributed to the increased number of incorrect consonants in the speech of clinical group when compared to the control group. The decrease in pMLU scores in the clinical group could also be due to the deficit in the use of morphosyntax as these children were having morphosyntactic errors. This in turn suggests that children with SLI are inferior in the acquisition of segments and in their whole-word phonological proficiency to typically developing children. As this pMLU measure includes the number of segments in a word, pMLU can be used to indicate morphosyntactic abnormalities in children with SLI. This tool can also serve as an aid for monitoring the progress of a child when assessed pre and post therapeutically. CONCLUSION: The present study investigated pMLU in children with SLI in the age range of 4-6 years. The results revealed that children with SLI are inferior in the acquisition of segments including morphemes as well as in their whole-word phonological proficiency than the typically developing children. Hence, pMLU measure could be regarded as a yardstick for phonological and morphosyntactic development in children with SLI. INTRODUCTION: SLI is a disorder defined by exclusion. Children with SLI exhibit language difficulties in the absence of other factors, such as hearing loss, mental impairment, physical impairment, emotional disturbance, or environmental deprivation (Bishop, 1992a, 1992b; Lubert, 1981). Specific language impairment (SLI) has been estimated to affect approximately 7 percent of children (Leonard, 1998; Tomblin et al., 1997) and to persist into adolescence (Aram et al., 1984; Beitchman et al., 1996; Stothard et al., 1998;Johnson et al., 1999). Children with SLI have difficulty acquiring one or more of the components of language, i.e. form (phonology, morphology, and syntax), content (semantics), and use (pragmatics). However, as a group they show disproportionate difficulty with some areas, performing worse than typically developing children matched on vocabulary level or mean length of utterance. Several authors (eg, Leonard et al.,1992; Rice et al., 1995; Rice and Wexler, 1996; Oetting and Horohov, 1997; van der Lely and Ullman, 2001) observe that this is particularly the case in the area of verb morphology and it has also been reported in some areas of syntax, including the comprehension of passive sentences (Bishop, 1979; van der Lely and Harris, 1990; van der Lely, 1996) and formation of wh-questions (Leonard 1995; van der Lely and Battell, 2003). The field of phonological acquisition has made extensive efforts to measure its development through normative studies (Templin, 1957; Olmstead, 1971) and articulation tests (Hodsen Paden, 1991). Earlier studies have focused on correctness of consonants as well as the analysis of segments in general. Recent studies have focused on the whole word complexity (Masterson Kamhi, 1992, Ingram, 2002). One such measure is the Phonological mean length of utterance (PMLU). It is a whole word measure for measuring phonological proficiency (Ingram, 2002). It measures the length of a childs words and the number of correct consonants. The PMLU for a speech sample is calculated by: (1) counting the number of segments (consonants and vowels) in each word as produced by the child; (2) counting the number of consonants produced in each word that the child produced accurately; (3) summing these two numbers; (4) totaling these sums; and (5) dividing this total by the total number of words in the sample. PMLU quantifies development of phonology and focuses on the childrens whole-word productions instead of specific segments. Ingram demonstrates the value of the PMLU measure by applying it in a wide range of contexts. These include a comparison of monolingual children, a comparison across languages, and the diagnosis of impairment or delay. Very few studies have addressed the PMLU in different languages. One such study is by Ingram (2002) who proposed preliminary PMLU stages, reflecting the possible level of development in English speaking children which are as follows. Helin, Makkonen Kunnari (2006) reported that PMLU was much higher in Finnish speaking children than those reported for children acquiring English. Balasubramanium bhat (2009) reported the same in kannada speaking typically developing children. Other studies have focused PMLU on the disordered population. Schauwers, Taelman, Gillis Govierts (2005) reported lower PMLU scores in children with cochlear implant than age matched typically developing peers and they also concluded that the earlier implanted children were more proficient than the later implanted children. Prasad, Hossabetu, Balasubramanium Bhat (2010) studied phonological mean length of utterance in children with phonological disorder and they reported, children with phonological disorder are inferior in the acquisition of segments as well as in their whole-word phonological proficiency than the typically developing children. NEED FOR THE STUDY: Although pMLU has been addressed in normal as well as phonological disorders and cochlear implanted children, the same is not focussed on children with SLI. Since PMLU is a whole word measure, problems in phonology and morphosyntax are expected to reduce the score. Hence PMLU was used to investigate the difficulties if any in phonology and morphosyntax of children with SLI. Hence the present study was attempted in this direction. AIM OF THE STUDY: To compare the pMLU of children with SLI in comparison with typically developing Kannada speaking children. METHOD Participants The study followed a case control design. Participants were divided into 2 groups i-e the control group and clinical group. Clinical group comprised of six individuals (5 males 1female) with specific language impairment in the age range of 3 to 6 years. The control group comprised of age matched 30 children out of which 15 were males and 15 females. The diagnosis of specific language impairment was done on the basis of Leonards exclusionary criteria and the informal assessment of morpho-syntax by the primary investigator. The exclusion criteria for the controls were the history of speech, language, neurological and hearing problems. Procedure In order to assess the phonological mean length of utterance, spontaneous speech utterances were elicited from each child for duration of 30 to 40 minutes. Samples consisted of minimum of 50 utterances. The experimenter served as a conversational partner and introduced the child to age appropriate toys and questions. The samples were obtained in an informal setting within the school premises for the control group and in the therapy premises for the clinical group. Audio recording was done using a portable Sony Recorder in a relatively quiet environment. The words were accepted for analysis according to the rules suggested by Ingram and Ingram which are mentioned in the table mentioned in appendix. The childrens production of utterances was narrow transcribed and PMLU was calculated for each child. For each word, the number of segments (consonants and vowels) as produced by the child was counted and summed with the number of correct consonants in a word. The sum of each word in all th e utterances of a single subject were totaled and divided by the number of words produced by the child to obtain the PMLU scores. Mann Whitney U test was administered to find out the significant differences between the means of both the groups. RESULTS: The results of the Mann Whitney U Test revealed a statistically significant difference between the means of pMLU scores across the group at p Group Statistics DISCUSSION: pMLU is a whole-word measure for phonological development and is used to investigate the difficulties if any in phonology and morphosyntax. The present study compared the pMLU of children with SLI in comparison with typically developing Kannada speaking children. The results of the study revealed that the pMLU scores for the children with SLI were lower in comparison to children with normal language development. This could be attributed to the increased number of incorrect consonants in the speech of clinical group when compared to the control group as these children were neutralizing the sound contrasts and also exhibiting syllable reduction strategies. Whether it is syllable structure reduction or sound contrast neutralization, it reduces the overall pMLU score. As children with SLI are inferior in the acquisition of segments as well as in their whole-word phonological proficiency than the typically developing children, phonological errors are reflected in the pMLU scores. Hence it can be concluded that pMLU reflects on the phonological errors. The results of the present study are in consonance with findings that the developments of phonology in children with SLI are much later in comparison to typically developing children (Balasbramanium Bhat, 2009) and also that children with phonological disorder are inferior in the acquisition of segments as well as in their whole-word phonological proficiency than the typically developing children (Prasad, Hossabetu, Balasubramanium Bhat 2010). Hence, pMLU can be used as an assessment tool for children with SLI as this provides an objective assessment tool in the evaluation process. The decrease in pMLU scores in the clinical group could also be due to the deficit in the use of morphosyntax as these children were having morphosyntactic errors. This in turn suggests that children with SLI are inferior in the acquisition of morphemic segments when compared to typically developing children. As this pMLU measure includes the number of segments in a word, pMLU can be used to indicate morphosyntactic abnormalities in children with SLI. This tool can also serve as an aid for monitoring the progress of a child when assessed pre and post therapeutically. CONCLUSION: The present study investigated pMLU in children with SLI in the age range of 4-6 years. The results revealed that children with SLI are inferior in the acquisition of segments including morphemes as well as in their whole-word phonological proficiency than the typically developing children. Hence, pMLU measure could be regarded as a yardstick for phonological and morphosyntactic development in children with SLI. REFERENCES: Aram, D. M., Ekelman, B. L., Nation, J. E. (1984). Preschoolers with language disorders: 10 years later. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 27, 232-244. Beitchman, J., Wilson, B., Brownlie, E. B., Walters, H., Lancee, W. (1996). Long-term consistency in speech/language profiles: I. Developmental and academic outcomes. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 35, 804-817. Bowen, C. (1998). Developmental phonological disorders: A practical guide for families and teachers. Melbourne: The Australian Council for Educational Research Ltd. Bishop, D. V. M. (1979). Comprehension in developmental language disorders. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology 21, 225-38. Bishop, D. V. M. (1992a). Comprehension problems in children with specific language impairment: Literal and inferential meaning. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 35, 119-129. Helin, K., Makkonen, T., Kunnari, S. (2006). The Phonological mean length of utterance: the methodological challenge from cross linguistic perspectives. Journal of Child Language, 33, 179-190. ÂÂ  Hodson, B., Paden, E. (1991). Targetting Intelligible speech: a phonological approach to remediation. Austin TX: Pro-edition. Ingram, D. (2002). The measurement of whole-word productions. Journal of Child Language, 29, 713-733. Johnson, C. J., Beitchman, J. H., Young, A., Escobar, M., Atkinson, L., Wilson, B., Brownlie, E. B., Douglas, L., Tback, N., Lam, I., Wang, M. (1999). Fourteenyear follow-up of children with and without speech/language impairments: Speech/language stability and outcomes. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 42, 744-760. Lakkanna, S., Venkatesh, K., Bhat, J. (2007). Assessment of language development. Mangalore: Codeword processors. Leonard, L.B., mcgregor, K.K., Allen, G.D. (1992). Grammatical morphology and speechperception in children with specific language impairment. Journal of Speech and hearingresearch, 35, 1076-1085 Leonard, L. B. 1995 Functional categories in the grammars of children with Specific language impairment, Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 38, 1270-83. Leonard, L. B. (1998). Children with specific language impairment. Cambridge, MA: Bradford. Lubert, N. (1981). Auditory perceptual impairments in children with specific language disorders: A review of the literature. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 46, 3-29. ÂÂ  Masterson, J., Kamhi, A. (1992). Linguistic interrelationships in school age children with and without language disorders. Journal of speech and Hearing Research, 35, 64-75. Olmstead, D. (1971). Out of the mouth of babes. The Hague: Mouton. Oetting, J., Horohov, J. (1997). Past tense marking in chldren with and without specific Language impairment. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 40, 62-74. Polite, J ., and Leonard, B. (2006). Finite verb morphology and phonological length in the speech of children with specific language impairment. Clinical Linguistics Phonetics, 20, 751-760. Radish, B., Jayashree, S. (2009). Phonological Mean Length of Utterance (Pmlu) in Kannada-Speaking Children. Language in India, 9, 489-502. Rice, M.L., Wexler, K., Cleave, P.L. (1995). Specific language impairment as a period of extended optional infinitive. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 38, 850-863. Rice, M. Wexler, K. (1996). A phenotype of specific language impairment. In M. Rice (Ed.), Toward a genetics of language, pp. 215-238. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc. Stothard, S. E., Snowling, M., Bishop, D. V. M., Chipchase, B. B., Kaplan, C. A. (1998). Language impaired preschoolers: A follow-up into adolescence. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research, 41, 407-418. ÂÂ  Templin, M. (1957). Certain language skills in children. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota press. Taelman, H., Durieux, G., Gillis, S. (2005). Notes on Ingrams whole-word measures for phonological development. Journal of Child Language, 32, 391-405. Tomblin, J. B., Records, N. L., Buckwalter, P., Zhang, X., Smith, E., OBrien, M (1997). Prevalence of specific language impairment in kindergarten children. Journal of Speech Hearing Research, 40(6), 1245-1260. Van der Lely, H. K. J. Harris, M. 1990 Comprehension of reversible sentences in specifically language-impaired children. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders 55, 101-17. Van der Lely, H. K. J. 1996 Specifically language impaired and normally developing children: Verbal passive vs adjectival passive sentence interpretation, Lingua, 98, 243-72. Van der lely, H. K. J. Ullman M. T. (2001) Past tense morphology in specifically language impaired and normally developing children. Language and Cognitive Processes, 16: 177-217. Van der Lely, H. K. J. Battell, J. (2003) Wh-movement in childrenWith grammatical SLI: a test of the RDDR hypothesis, Language 79,153-81.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

The Destruction of our Environment :: essays research papers

One of the greatest arguments of philosophy and the scholastic disciplines of the sort has been the debate on the degree of influence that nature has on the growth and development of human beings and the civilizations that define them. By examining the interactions of the environment and the living creations that reside within, one is able to examine and define the type of relationship in place between nature and the creatures of the world. Upon first glance, one will notice that the fundamental roles of the environment and the creatures within respectively are that of a cyclical reciprocity wherein the environment serves as a primary provider in a great cycle of life and death, a cycle that all of the living creatures, especially humans, are a part of on a daily basis. The first premise is that the environment’s role in the cycle of life is that of a provider, wherein all possible forms of energy and sustenance derive. All of the environment’s facets, the air, the water, the verdancy, serve as the primary commodity with which the basic order of life on this planet employ for their means of sustenance. Most animals in nature directly receive their means of sustenance directly from consuming articles of the earth, namely plankton, field grass, and the lowest forms of animals and receive their obligatory elements from the water and the air. All animals are entangled in the reciprocation of water and air, for all animals consume water and then replete the water supply via digestive process wherein water is returned to the Earth, and all mammalian animals transfer air amongst their environment wherein the plants are able to internalize this discharge and return back into the environment viable source of breathable air. These basic roles help to foster the more complex roles that are found in the environment between the different forms of life, the different types of animals and plants. The more complex roles that one will see in play in nature include the hierarchy of the predacious wherein animals comport their existence to the animals and plants that they rely on for food, energy, and maintenance. It is by this process of comporting to the environment that becomes the predication on which a species’ evolutionary track progresses, towards prosperity and towards stagnancy. It has been refuted by many, but accepted by most that it is due to a harmonious and contemporaneous existence between the environment and those who depend on the environment that results in the prolonged existence and evolution of a species. The Destruction of our Environment :: essays research papers One of the greatest arguments of philosophy and the scholastic disciplines of the sort has been the debate on the degree of influence that nature has on the growth and development of human beings and the civilizations that define them. By examining the interactions of the environment and the living creations that reside within, one is able to examine and define the type of relationship in place between nature and the creatures of the world. Upon first glance, one will notice that the fundamental roles of the environment and the creatures within respectively are that of a cyclical reciprocity wherein the environment serves as a primary provider in a great cycle of life and death, a cycle that all of the living creatures, especially humans, are a part of on a daily basis. The first premise is that the environment’s role in the cycle of life is that of a provider, wherein all possible forms of energy and sustenance derive. All of the environment’s facets, the air, the water, the verdancy, serve as the primary commodity with which the basic order of life on this planet employ for their means of sustenance. Most animals in nature directly receive their means of sustenance directly from consuming articles of the earth, namely plankton, field grass, and the lowest forms of animals and receive their obligatory elements from the water and the air. All animals are entangled in the reciprocation of water and air, for all animals consume water and then replete the water supply via digestive process wherein water is returned to the Earth, and all mammalian animals transfer air amongst their environment wherein the plants are able to internalize this discharge and return back into the environment viable source of breathable air. These basic roles help to foster the more complex roles that are found in the environment between the different forms of life, the different types of animals and plants. The more complex roles that one will see in play in nature include the hierarchy of the predacious wherein animals comport their existence to the animals and plants that they rely on for food, energy, and maintenance. It is by this process of comporting to the environment that becomes the predication on which a species’ evolutionary track progresses, towards prosperity and towards stagnancy. It has been refuted by many, but accepted by most that it is due to a harmonious and contemporaneous existence between the environment and those who depend on the environment that results in the prolonged existence and evolution of a species.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Achieving Strategic Fit

Strategic fit express the degree to which an organization is matching its resources and capabilities with the opportunities in the external environment. The matching takes place through strategy and it is therefore vital that the company have the actual resources and capabilities to execute and support the strategy. Strategic fit can be used actively to evaluate the current strategic situation of a company as well as opportunities as M&A and divestitures of organizational divisions.Strategic fit is related to the Resource-based view of the firm which suggests that the key to profitability is not only through positioning and industry selection but rather through an internal focus which seeks to utilize the unique characteristics of the company’s portfolio of resources and capabilities. [1] A unique combination of resources and capabilities can eventually be developed into a competitive advantage which the company can profit from. However, it is important to differentiate betwee n resources and capabilities.Resources relate to the inputs to production owned by the company, whereas capabilities describe the accumulation of learning the company possesses. Resources can be classified both as tangible and intangible: Tangible: Financial (Cash, securities) Physical (Location, plant, machinery) Intangible: Technology (Patents, copyrights) Human resources Reputation (Brands) Culture Several tools have been developed one can use in order to analyze the resources and capabilities of a company.These include SWOT, value chain analysis, cash flow analysis and more. Benchmarking with relevant peers is a useful tool to assess the relative strengths of the resources and capabilities of the company compared to its competitors. Strategic fit can also be used to evaluate specific opportunities like M&A opportunities. Strategic fit would in this case refer to how well the potential acquisition fits with the planned direction (strategy) of the acquiring company. In order to ju stify growth through M&A transactions the transaction should ield a better return than Organic growth. The Differential Efficiency Theory states that the acquiring firm will be able increase its efficiency in the areas where the acquired firm is superior. In addition the theory argues that M&A transactions give the acquiring firm the possibility of achieving positive synergy effects meaning that the two merged companies are worth more together than the sums of their parts individually. [2] This is because merging companies may enjoy from economics of scale and economics of scope.However, in reality many M&A transactions fails due to different factors, one of them being lack of strategic fit. A CEO survey conducted by Bain & Company showed that 94% of the interviewed CEO’s considered the strategic fit to be vitally influential in the success or failure of an acquisition. [3] A high degree of strategic fit from can potentially yield many benefits for an organization. Best case scenario a high degree of strategic fit may be the key to a successful merger, an efficient organization, synergy effects or cost reductions.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Supporting Big Bang essays

Supporting Big Bang essays Science has hypothesized that the universe was created by a big bang. By researching stars and fossil records scientists have claimed that the earth is much older than it is said to be in the creation theory. The creation theory says that the universe is only several thousand years old, but carbon dating has shown that fossils on earth are millions of years old thus disproving part of the creation theory with evidence. There is another reason scientists think that the creation theory is wrong. If the universe was a small ball of matter then outside of this small ball of matter was void. The creation theory says that the universe was created by a supreme being, but there is nowhere that this being could have come from. Other dimensions can only exist inside the universe. If there had been no universe then there is no where that this supreme being could have come from. ...

Monday, October 21, 2019

Discipline in High School Class

Discipline in High School Class Free Online Research Papers Subject: Discipline Topic: Use some ideas from Kounin or Skinner to solve a classroom problem One of my classes is made up for the most part of good students. The class is not large, although the room is tiny and crowded. Some of the students are excellent, always having the answers ready. Others listen for the most part, and learn. Two students, who we will call Amit and Gal, are different. They don’t seem to take the class seriously, and like to laugh and joke, even when nothing is funny. Amit doesn’t always pay attention, but when his behavior in class is commented on by the teacher, he always makes a big argument and defends himself. â€Å"Why me? I’m not the only one talking. And anyway, I wasn’t disturbing the class. I work hard to assimilate the material, see how my grades have come up since the beginning of the year. Why do you pick on me? I wasn’t fooling around at all. â€Å" He never admits anything. You would think he was being interrogated by the police and was afraid to admit even one thing, because it will be held against hi m What advice can Skinner and Kounin give me? How can I control this student’s behavior, or get him to control himself? I think I would try Skinner’s successive approximations and positive reinforcement. If Amit doesn’t disturb for a half an hour, make a positive comment even if he doesn’t listen. When he listens attentively make another positive comment. (These students are too old for stickers or Smileys). After a few days of this, discuss with him his improvement but insist in the future on no disturbances and also attentiveness. I would also try and keep up the Kounin student accountability pressure on Amit by peppering him with questions more frequently than other students. I would do this even though he will resent it. Gal’s problem is very similar. I once told of a humorous comment of the Ibn Ezra, at which Gal laughed uproariously. Gal constantly refers to this comment and laughs, even though it’s not that funny the tenth repetition. He also talks in class much too much, and is called to task frequently. I and using Kounin’s student accountability, but that has only limited effectiveness. I think I should try a schedule of reinforcement if Gal does not disturb, and note and praise his positive (or really non-negative) classroom behavior. Research Papers on Discipline in High School ClassStandardized TestingTrailblazing by Eric AndersonHip-Hop is ArtUnreasonable Searches and SeizuresThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyWhere Wild and West MeetQuebec and CanadaMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever Product

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Writing Effective School Policy and Procedures

Writing Effective School Policy and Procedures Writing policy and procedures for schools is a part of an administrators job. School policies and procedures are essentially the governing documents by which your school district and school buildings are operated. It is essential that your policies and procedures be current and up-to-date. These should be reviewed and revised as necessary, and new policies and procedures should be written as needed. The following guidelines are tips and suggestions to consider when you are evaluating old policy and procedures or writing new ones. Why Is the Evaluation of School Policies and Procedures Important? Every school has a student handbook, support staff handbook, and certified staff handbook which are loaded with policies and procedures. These are vital pieces of each school because they govern the day-to-day occurrences that happen in your buildings. They are valuable because they offer the guidelines for how the administration and school board believe their school should be run. These policies come into play every single day. They are a set of expectations that all constituents within the school are held accountable by. How Do You Write Targeted Policy? Policies and procedures typically are written with a specific target audience in mind, This includes students, teachers, administrators, support staff, and even parents. Policies and procedures should be written so that the target audience understands what is being asked or directed of them.  For example, a policy written for a middle school student handbook should be written at a middle school grade level and with terminology that the average middle school student will understand. What Makes a Policy Clear? A quality policy is both informative and direct meaning that the information is not ambiguous, and it is always straight to the point. It is also clear and concise. A well-written policy will not create confusion. A good policy is also up-to-date. For example, policies dealing with technology probably need frequently updated  due to the rapid evolution of the technology industry itself. A clear policy is easy to understand. The readers of the policy should not only understand the meaning of the policy but understand the tone and the underlying reason the policy was written. When Do You Add New Policies or Revise Old Ones? Policies should be written and/or revised as needed. Student handbooks and such should be reviewed on a yearly basis. Administrators should be encouraged to keep documentation of all policies and procedures that they feel need to be added or revised as the school year moves along. There are times to put a piece of new or revised policy in effect immediately within a school year, but the majority of the time, the new or revised policy should go into effect the following school year. What Are Good Procedures for Adding or Revising Policies? The majority of policy should go through several channels before it is included within your proper district’s policy book. The first thing that has to happen is that a rough draft of the policy has to be written. This is usually done by a principal or other school administrator. Once the administrator is happy with the policy, then it is an excellent idea to form a review committee made up of the administrator, teachers, students, and parents. During the review committee, the administrator explains the policy and its purpose, the committee discusses the policy, makes any recommendations for revision, and decides whether it should be submitted to the superintendent for review. The superintendent then reviews the policy and may seek legal counsel to make sure the policy is legally viable. The superintendent may kick the policy back down to the review committee to make changes, may kick out the policy completely, or may send it on to the school board for them to review. The school board can vote to reject the policy, accept the policy, or may ask that a part be revised within the policy before they accept it. Once it is approved by the school board, then it becomes official school policy and is added to the appropriate district handbook.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Short Term Long Term Goal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Short Term Long Term Goal - Essay Example Since then, I have never lost sight of my goals of pursuing entrepreneurship. In college, my friend and I started a clothing import company which enjoyed considerable sales. I also joined the companies of AXA Advisors, Philip Simon Developments USA, Inc and later Shoesapart, Inc. to learn fundamental business structures and to have an in-depth scope into daily business operations. Despite these developments, I know I can still be better. Thus, my short term goal is getting accepted to the CEIBS MBA program. My recent trip to China made me discover the great business potential that it holds. Not only does it offer accelerated and extensive market expansion, China also offers a high level of penetration opportunity. I am confident that through the CEIBS MBA program, I will be able to build an extensive network of classmates and alumni and gather sufficient knowledge of the local market in China to streamline future business growth. Within a year of acquiring my MBA, I want to start a p romising food business venture, choosing the initial location at a primary market to promote the brand and attract franchising interest.