Family Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Family Business - Essay Example According to the report there is detailed presentation of three key factors; owner, potential successor and environment, and their effects in family business transfers that guarantees continuity. Wise management of these three factors will ensure elimination of key challenges hence ensuring business continuity. From the study, there is an indication that family businesses in Austria operate on long-term orientation with the objective of passing on the business from one generation to the next within the family lineage. This makes issue on business succession an important process of greater importance to families.  From this discussion it is clear that  the process of business transfers entails various aspects of concern such as emotional elements and occurrences of intergenerational conflicts. The study reveals several initiatives that are required in the process of planning successive transfer process in a timely fashion. Substantial preparation on both owners and successors is c onsidered one of the major success factors in business succession.  Family business transfers require detailed incorporation of intention as well as inclusion of various generational changes. Such changes are crucial in ownership and management processes since they pose considerable challenge to the process.Communication plays a role in overcoming such obstacles especially on the ability to question and translate strategy into profitable action. Such actions are considered superior especially when markets are facing uncertainties.

Solar & Wind Energy Resource Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Solar & Wind Energy Resource Assessment - Essay Example The buildings at Merchiston are a major part of Napier’s estate offering teaching accommodation for up to 2,000 students. An energy audit for the above buildings has been conducted using utilities bills. Utility bills from August 2007 to July 2009 (24 months) have been used for the assessment. Alternative systems have been considered to reduce energy use. The electricity consumed (kWh) for each month has been illustrated in figure 1. The units of electrical energy consumed have steadily declined over the years. Various initiatives have resulted in the development and use of energy efficient equipment, in addition to energy efficient practices. The energy cost for each month for electricity has been illustrated in figure 2. Despite the decline in energy usage, there has been a rise in energy cost. This is because of increase in the cost of production of electricity. The average electric energy unit cost during the period has been illustrated in figure 3. The increase in costs of electricity production has been passed on to the consumer. There has been an increase of over  £3 per kWh over the years. The units of energy consumed (kWh) for gas each month has been illustrated in figure 4. Seasonal influences play a significant role in the use of gas, which is primarily used for heating. Naturally gas consumption declines during summer months and peak during the cold winter months. The facilities consume 4198.55 MWh of electrical energy and 6005.35 MWh of gas annually. The electrical energy consumed results in average energy cost of  £393.3347K annually and gas consumed results in energy costs of  £172.1616K annually. Electricity and gas consumption at the facilities results in the release of 3.5KtCO2 each year. Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA) requires buildings to comply with legislation and principles of â€Å"Green Government† policy. The Scottish Government has set a target for 80% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Understanding Optimized Production Technology

Understanding Optimized Production Technology Drum-Buffer-Rope (DBR) is the Theory of Constraints (TOC) production planning methodology originated by Eliyahu M. Goldratt in the 1980s. In fact, the concepts of DBR actually preceded the Five-Focusing-Steps and the notion of the throughput world in the development of the TOC paradigm. While the DBR method is much simpler than the older Optimized Production Technology (OPT) algorithm and the recent Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) systems, for many production environments, especially those not currently- or consistently- dominated by an active internal bottleneck, an even simpler method can be adopted. We call this method S-DBR, to distinguish it from the traditional model, which well refer to as traditional DBR. S-DBR is based on the same concepts as traditional DBR and is certainly in harmony with TOC and the Five Focusing Steps. What distinguishes it from traditional DBR is its assumption of market demand as the major system constraint, even when an internal capacity constraint temporarily emerges. S-DBR can be easily supported by traditional ERP/MRP systems and it is specifically intended to deal with fluctuating market demand. Optimized Production Technology (OPT) 1. What is Optimized Production Technology? 2. What is the aim of Optimized Production Technology? 3. What are the main features of OPT? 4. How OPT can be developed? 5. How OPT is operated? 6. What are the benefits achieved from OPT? DEFINITION Optimized production technology is proprietary scheduling system using, computer software which was originally developed by Dr. Eliyahu Galodratt and colleagues who recognized that one of the most complex problems facing manufacturing organizations was that of shop-floor scheduling. The system is based on the concept that there are two fundamental manufacturing phenomena: Dependent events. All processes rely upon the completion of preceding operations. Statistical fluctuations. Process times fluctuate around an average. The effect of these phenomena is that the capacity of a plant must be unbalanced and therefore bottlenecks are inevitable. As defined by Johnson, the OPT method of scheduling dictates that material should only be launched on to the shopfloor at the rate at which it is consumed by the bottleneck. Furthermore, a time buffer of work should protect the production in the bottleneck. This means, that work scheduled for day three arrives on day one, creating a buffer of two days as protection against disruption in operations before the bottleneck. AIM OF OPT The aim of OPT is to schedule bottleneck capacity in an efficient way. This schedule is the master for the demand placed on other capacities. MAIN FEATURES OF OPT The main features of OPT are described by Fax as follows: Balance flow not capacity. The level of utilization of any part of the system, which is not a bottleneck, is dependent on other constraints in the system, not the potential of the worker. The utilization and activation of a resource are not synonymous. An hour lost at the bottleneck is an hour lost for the total system. An hour saved at a non-bottleneck is just a mirage. Bottlenecks govern both throughput and inventories. The transfer batch may not, and many times should not be equal to the process batch. The process batch should be variable, not fixed. Schedules should be established by looking at all the constraints simultaneously. Lead times are the results of the schedule and cannot be predetermined. DEVELOPING OPT The steps used to develop OPT consist of the following: Preparation. Measuring performance, project planning and identifying hardware and software requirements. Plant analysis. Analyzing the manufacturing processes and how they are managed. Bottleneck analysis. (A bottleneck is defined as a resource where capacity is equal to or less than the demand being placed upon it.) This is conducted by analyzing work in progress and shortages vs. excesses (potential bottlenecks are those resources which appear on the shortage list but not the excess list). Computer modeling. This is the process of developing the engineering network and instructing the OPT scheduler how to interpret details concerning the manufacture of products such as dependent set-ups, critical material, fixed batch quantities, maximum batch quantities, consumable tools, rework and uninterruptible processes. Data will be fed into the model concerning routines, bills of material and customer demand. Data definition. Establishing what data is required to be fed into the system. Defining outputs. The output will be a master production schedule (MPS), which is achieved by constraint capacity planning. This provides the basis for the process of demand management using the OPT software to carry out the scheduling the OPT identifies the relevant demand and controls the build accordingly. OPERATING OPT OPT is operated through OPT software which has been developed to control complex manufacturing processes. The software will model the process and produce the schedules in the shape ofmaterial and capacity plans using the OPT bottleneck forward-loading techniques. The shopfloor control system will then monitor progress against the schedule and initiate any action to overcome shortfalls. BENEFITS The benefits claimed for OPT are that it will schedule finite resources in order to achieve maximum factory effectiveness. The scheduling system: Addresses the key problem of bottlenecks. Improves profitability by simultaneously increasing throughput. Reduces inventory and operating expenses. Manufacturing Strategy Part 6: Optimised Production Technology (OPT) Introduction OPT is possibly the most radical of the 3 production strategies to be discussed as it requires a new way of thinking, not only about production but also about the basic accounting principles. In many areas this demands radical or revised thinking by our accountants and new approaches to the fundamentals of accounting. OPT begins by stating that the goal of a manufacturing business is to make money both now and in the future. This might seem to be rather simple but it provides a framework for all the other decisions involved in the business. The aim of OPT is to increase throughput (the rate at which the company generates money through sales) whilst simultaneously decreasing inventory and operating expense. If an action does not directly improve one of the three measures then it is irrelevant at best and damaging at worst, do not do it. The traditional approach has been to optimise each sub-system irrespective of its importance (i.e. to improve the output of the welder) but the OPT approach is to optimise the total system to maximise throughput (i.e. if the welder is not limiting your throughput then dont work on it and put your efforts somewhere else). OPT states that the optimum of each sub-system is not necessarily the optimum of the whole system. OPT defines a bottleneck as any resource whose capacity is equal to or less than the market demand placed upon it. The bottleneck is thus the constraint that is preventing increased throughput from your factory. Improvements here will tend to optimise the whole system and have an increased payback by directly increasing throughput. Bottlenecks are easy to spot in the average factory they are the operations that have lots of work in progress stacked up in front of them. In this sense a non-bottleneck is any resource whose capacity is greater than the market demand placed on it and improvements here will be irrelevant in terms of increased throughput. Figure 1: Spotting the bottlenecks Operation C is the obvious bottleneck for the factory. Running A at capacity will lead to a build up of inventory in front of B. Running B at capacity will lead to a massive build up in inventory in front of C. Investment or improvement in A, B or D will do nothing to improve throughput, the only meaningful investment area would be C where the ability of the plant to earn money can be rapidly improved. Operation C must be protected from loss of output for any reason. It is the operation that controls the income of the factory. In reality the choice is never this clear and the important thing is to balance the flow and not the capacity. The bottleneck concept is best explained in the hiking analogy from The Goal. The speed of a group of hikers needs to be maximised to get to the campsite by nightfall but the actual speed of the whole group is limited by the speed of the slowest hiker (the bottleneck). Placing the slowest hiker at the front of the group slows down the whole group and increases the time required i.e. reduces the throughput. Placing the slowest hiker anywhere else in the group still slows the whole group and also increases the length of the group (the inventory). Thus the only way to reduce the length (the inventory) and achieve the fastest transit time the throughput) is to find a way of moving the slowest hiker faster i.e. working on the bottleneck. An hour lost at a bottleneck, for any reason is an hour to the whole system and cannot be recovered. Dont think you can get it back later because the way we defined a bottleneck means that you cannot. The cost for this lost hour is the total cost of running the whole factory for one hour, after all the bottleneck is governing the throughput. Factory scheduling is at the heart of OPT and a critical factor in this is the location and elimination or management of bottlenecks, a fact which is not explicitly dealt with by JIT. The set up time reduction techniques of JIT appear again but are not formally recognised by OPT. An hour saved in the set-up time of a bottleneck is an hour saved for the whole system. OPT goes on to say that an hour saved on a non-bottleneck machine simply increases inventory and does nothing to improve throughput. It is wasted effort, so dont do it. In a sense OPT shares a lot of philosophy with JIT and both concentrate on quality, lead times, lot sizes and machine set-up times. A major difference is that OPT regards the river and rocks analogy of JIT as being fundamentally flawed. In OPT terms the river is not the flat evenly flowing stream that JIT assumes but has waves on inventory moving through it depending on the order situation in the factory. All can be fine until the inventory is at the trough of a wave. If you hit a problem then it is likely to rip the bottom out of the boat and sink the business! The OPT approach is much more like reality than the JIT approach in this situation, in other words dont take any analogy too far. An underlying rule forgotten at your peril. Figure 2: The OPT view of rocks in the river In the same way OPT shares a computer based approach with MRPII and both require a large complex database of product and machine information for schedule calculation. OPT also requires information on how the product is made, the route through the factory and both set-up and run times. OPT can generally pirate a lot of this information from an existing MRPII system. One problem with MRPII is that it ignores the in-build variation of any machine and assumes that a machine will work at capacity at all times. OPT is more realistic in accepting that the actual capacity is affected by statistical fluctuations and a dependence on previous operations to supply product for processing. In many cases this makes MRPII scheduling unrealistic and time buffers are built in to cater for this. OPT can be more realistic in scheduling than MRPII by taking this into account and also allowing for improvement in times and routing. OPT is based on a set of rules which need to be adopted completely by management and basic statements are incorporated into these rules. The OPT rules Balance the flow, not the capacity. Let bottlenecks determine usage of the non-bottlenecks and do not seek machine utilisation. If a resource is activated when output cannot get through the constraint then all it produces is inventory. Utilisation and activation of a resource are not the same thing. Activation is when a resource is working but utilisation is when it is working and doing useful work. Producing stock for inventory is not useful work. An hour lost at a bottleneck is an hour lost for the whole system and cannot be recovered. An hour saved at a non-bottleneck is a mirage. Bottlenecks govern both throughput and inventory. A transfer batch is not necessarily equal to a process batch i.e. just because you have to cut 20 frames at a time on the optimiser saw it does not mean that you have to push them all on to the welder at one time. You can break the process batch (20 frames) down into small transfer batches (1 order). Process batches should be variable and not fixed. Later work shows that the best results are achieved by using a drum-buffer-rope technique to control the system. You must first find the true bottlenecks that govern the factory throughput. The bottlenecks that beat out the pace like a drum for the whole factory should be kept fully scheduled and working at all times. The bottlenecks must be protected against any interruption caused by breakdowns, quality, set-up times, labour concerns or any other variation. This protection is achieved by building in time buffers. These are a focus for process improvements. All other operations are then synchronised to the bottleneck operation and work is pulled through as if it were on a rope. Without computers the drum-buffer-rope concept works very well for limited variety production. The introduction of variety leads to shifting bottlenecks and the need for complex computer software to run the system. OPT requires maximising the flow of materials and rarely requires large investment in machinery or restructuring of the plant. By improving the flow of the product OPT seeks to get inventory moving and can make an immediate financial impact. OPT needs to be carried through to the whole company and encourages the view of the production area as a real profit maker for the company. For and Against For Quickly targets areas of concern (bottlenecks, quality set up times, high inventories). Incorporates some production and MRP. Quick results. Gives financial feedback. Suitable for discrete, batch and process industries. Possible to grow into via partial implementation at a practical level. Easily understood by the shop floor. Against Challenges traditional cost accounting. Requires simulation modelling of the process. Needs good database. Must go via one consultancy company. Summary OPT is relatively new in terms of production management systems and is an overall philosophy for running the business rather than simply being about production management. OPT starts by assuming that manufacturing is all about making money and looks at optimising the complete system to achieve this rather than just optimising individual operations on a piecemeal basis. OPT is a proprietary system in the full version (rather than just the philosophy) owned by a software and consultancy company. This does not prevent the adoption of some of the excellent ideas it contains and generates. OPT is a trademark of the Scheduling Technology Group. The only, but excellent, book on the subject is The Goal by E Goldratt and J Cox. In the previous pages we have looked at 3 different methods of production management and have reviewed the significant areas for improvement and change. As an overall summary MRPII does not seek to change anything whereas JIT actually forces a fundamental but painful search for excellence. OPT is probably even more powerful because it uses many of the JIT ideas and also follows through into the overall system. The current strategy of many companies uses a blend of these three main methods at various points in the company to achieve the right blend of success. The Manufacturing Strategy Series The Manufacturing Strategy series is designed to give production managers and their staff some insights into new manufacturing methods and to prompt the industry into considering the benefits of alternative approaches to manufacturing. The series is: Part 1: Setting the strategy Part 2: The systems and MRP II Part 3: Just in time (1) Part 4: Just in time (2) Part 5: Just in time (3) Part 6: Optimised Production Technology (OPT) (This section) Part 7: A fundamental quality Part 8: Quality management techniques tools Part 9: Theres no accounting for manufacturing strategy Part 10: Performance measurement Part 11: Changing roles and things to do NOW! Last edited: 29/03/04 Â © Tangram Technology Ltd. 2001 Our standard disclaimer regarding Internet data applies. dvanced planning and scheduling Clients in the consumer products manufacturing and process industry have revealed that many are interested in knowing more about how advanced planning and scheduling (APS) systems can support them in making the right decisions to drive supply chain benefits. More and more companies are in the process of implementing such a system to further optimize their planning processes. To learn more, read the following book exerpt: How to Get the Most Out of Your Supply Chain An overview of Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) systems in the consumer products manufacturing and process industry by Deloittes Rhiannon Davies, Nadine Diepeveen, Erik Diks and Vincent Vloemans. Published December 2002. Requirements driving APS Pressure on performance has been steadily increasing over the last decade, and it does not appear to be abating. But where can a company still squeeze out performance improvement? According to Gartner, a leading technology research and advisory firm, supply chain management is one of the key differentiators for the future. Gartner researchers predict that: By 2004, 90 per cent of companies that fail to apply supply chain management technology and processes to increase their flexibility will lose their status as preferred suppliers (0.8 probability). Through 2005, organizations that implement supply chain planning applications with a continuous improvement program will increase ROI by 40% during a 5 year lifecycle (0.7 probability). Changing business requirements and markets are making effective supply chain management and the resulting competitiveness and flexibility more important. Customers are demanding more flexibility, more visibility of availability, more speed and highly customized products. To provide this information, more and more emphasis is put on the supply chain planning capabilities to allow the visibility along the supply chain to react quickly to changing customer demand in a cost competitive way. The alternative to reliable planning is a fully flexible supply chain. Some companies have made good headway in this area, but for many, the cost of this full flexibility is till too high. At Deloitte, we recommend balancing planning improvements with increasing flexibility in the supply chain and continuous development of supply chain professionals. Discussions with our clients in the consumer products manufacturing and process industry have revealed that many are interested in knowing more about how APS systems can support them in making the right decisions to drive supply chain benefits. More and more companies are in the process of implementing such a system to further optimize their planning processes. This book will help our clients to answer the following questions: What is an APS system and what role do they play in supply chain optimization? How APS is different from ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)? To what businesses could it apply? Will it apply to my business? How? What are the benefits that could be gained from such a system? Who are the key vendors of APS systems? How can I choose which vendor to use for my organization? How are APS packages implemented and how can I apply this methodology to my own organization? The book is written in cooperation with the 10 major APS vendors in consumer products manufacturing and process industry. As sort of an APS primer, the book includes profiles of each vendor, listing the company, its strategy, product technology, functionality and other important information. But the book also is appropriate for readers with a strong knowledge of APS, providing them with up-to-date knowledge of technology and vendors. The APS vendor assessment APS applications cover various domains in supply chain management. To structure the discussion on APS, we introduce our APS reference model. This model serves as a guideline for the general building blocks of an APS system, and allows for a level comparison of the functionality of the various vendors. Furthermore, we discuss the most common models and techniques used by APS packages and assess the level of sophistication of the functionality provided by each vendor in each of the areas outlined in the APS reference model. Each industry has its own specific business issues and these must be addressed during the definition of the requirements that need to be met by an APS package. For example, in the process industry tank planning and dealing with shelf life are usually required, whereas in the high tech industry, complex capacity planning with many constraints. We concentrate on APS packages that cover most requirements in the consumer business and process industry. We provide a classification of consumer business manufacturers to explain the different requirements that need to be addressed by an APS package. We also describe how major changes in the business environment, as well as process and technology innovations impact the requirements on APS software. To provide an up-to-date overview of the software capabilities offered by major APS vendors in the consumer products manufacturing and process industry arena, we performed a large survey among the largest APS vendors within the consumer business and process arena, including Adexa, Agilisys, Aspen Tech, Baan, i2, Logility, Manugistics, Oracle and SAP. We took a two-stage approach to the survey process. First, each vendor filled out a questionnaire that gave insight into the company, its strategy, its product and footprint, product strategy and development plans to allow us to better understand and position their capabilities. Second, we visited each vendor to discuss in more detail their answers to the survey, to view demonstrations of how their product functionality really answers supply chain planning requirements, and to get an impression of their product and company. The vendor analysis in the book is structured to allow easy comparison of vendor capabilities. First, we inventarize the capabilities of each of the vendors per functional area as outlined in the aforementioned APS reference model. Second, we compare the vendors by their industry focus and their technology capabilities. Finally, per vendor we give an overview of their user interface functionality and development areas. Selection and implementation methodology One of the objectives of the book is to serve as a guide to support the initial selection of the APS application/vendor that best meets the business needs of our clients. As such, in addition to providing a vendor selection methodology, we explain Our proven five step methodology to implement an APS system. We explain each step in detail, as well as our methods and the tools we use during an APS implementation. Finally, we provide some lessons learned (secrets of our success) based on our practical implementation experience at numerous customers. Advanced Planning Scheduling (APS) For complex planning scheduling activities especially those that are heavily constrained or require multi-stage scheduling and frequent re-scheduling our experience is that off-the-shelf software packages just dont work. Because of the many differences between problem types and industries, you often end up with a rigid system with preset objectives, logic, and scope, which doesnt quite fit your core operation. Because our Advanced Planning Scheduling (APS) system is tailored to your unique business rules, constraints, and processes, it can be used to optimise a wide variety of planning scheduling activities, including Production-line planning, scheduling, and sequencing Labour planning and timetabling Maintenance planning scheduling Equipment planning scheduling Media planning Features and benefits of our APS system include: Creating schedules that are optimised for cost, profit, or client-defined objectives (service levels, utilization, etc.) Increased delivery on time and in full (DIFOT) Reduced work-in-progress and finished goods inventory Reduced planning time Dynamically re-optimising around unexpected changes in demand and other events Conducting financial what-if analysis and scenario comparison Setting more than one objective/goal and analysing the trade-offs Centralising the planning and scheduling function across multiple plants Optimising across multiple production stages or steps Evaluating the impact of your business rules, processes, and constraints Seamless connection with your existing databases, MRP/ERP systems, and other enterprise software HOT NEWS March 2010 Â » ORDINA signs partner agreement with ICRON. HomeSolutions Advanced Planning and Scheduling Planning and scheduling has never been easy, but today it is far more challenging than it was a decade ago. Planners are feeling more and more pressure to generate accurate and timely plans by considering complex production and supply chain environment, ever changing demand, heavy constraints, conflicting business objectives and processes. And to make things worse, traditional tools at hand are becoming obsolete: spreadsheet based manual planning and scheduling cannot cope with the complexity, your ERP system hardly helps and there is no off the shelf product which can address your unique production environment and supply chain network. What you need is a flexible and reliable Advanced Planning and Scheduling solutions which is tailored for your unique requirements. With 15+ years of experience in Supply Chain Optimization, ICRON Technologies provides ICRON Advanced Planning and Scheduling (ICRON APS) solution to revolutionize your planning and scheduling activities by its mature, cutting-edge technology, and innovative modeling and implementation practices. ICRON APS provides optimized, automatically generated plans and schedules while simultaneously considering demand, resource and material constraints and business objectives. Benefits and features of ICRON APS are: ICRON APS provides significant cost and waste reduction by optimization based on user defined objectives (reduced cost of early/late job completion, inventory, overtime, transportation, reduced WIP times, etc.). ICRON APS greatly improves available-to-promise and capable-to-promise capabilities by generating realistic completion times for individual operations and jobs on entire supply chain network. This quickly translates into increased customer satisfaction. ICRON APS provides feasible, finite capacity schedules which can be readily published to the shop floor. ICRON APS significantly reduces the planning time. ICRON automatically performs most of the schedule generation activities and produces schedules in minutes rather than hours or days. ICRON APS provides tremendous what-if analysis capability. With its speed, accuracy easily generates as many scenarios as user requires and provides user friendly, efficiently tools for planner and management to selects the best scenario to be used as the official plan. ICRON APS maximizes the resource utilization by reducing the setup times by better sequencing, especially when sequence dependent setups exist. ICRON APS provides you fast rescheduling capability to respond to frequent changes. With ICRON, the production planning shifts from reactive, fire fighting planning to proactive, strategic planning. ICRON APS integrates and centralizes the planning and scheduling along the entire supply chain network. Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) -Techniques that deal with analysis and planning of logistics and manufacturing during short, intermediate and long-term time periods. APS describes any computer program that uses advanced mathematical algorithms or logic to perform optimization or simulation on finite capacity scheduling, sourcing, capital planning, resource planning, forecasting, demand management, and others. These techniques simultaneously consider a range of constraints and business rules to provide real-time planning and scheduling, decision support, available-to-promise, and capable-to-promise capabilities. APS often generates and evaluates multiple scenarios. Management then selects one scenario to use as the official plan. The five main components of APS systems are Demand Planning, Production Planning, Production Scheduling, Distribution Planning, and Transportation Planning.

Learning Disabilities Essay -- Education Papers

Learning Disabilities Approximately 10 percent of the adult population have learning disabilities. Learning disabilities also affect about 5 to 10 percent of school-age children. Most disabilities occur in math, spelling, reading comprehension, oral expression, and written language. The most common learning disabilities are in reading. Children with learning disabilities also have problems with attention, memory, and behavioral problems as a result of frustration. The term "learning disabilities" covers a combination of possible causes, symptoms, treatments, and outcomes. What is a learning disability? With at least twelve definitions that appear in professional literature, there is no exact definition. Most experts agree that the learning disabled have difficulties with academic achievement and progress and that discrepancies exist between a person's potential for learning and what he actually learns. Learning problems are not due to environmental disadvantages, mental retardation, or emotional disturbance. The learning disabled also show an uneven pattern of language, physical, academic, or perceptual development. A learning disability is a disorder, which affects people's abilities to interpret what they see and hear or to link information from different parts of the brain. The regulations for Public Law (PL) 101-476, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA) define a learning disability as a "disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using spoken or written language, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations." ... ...gging. The parents need to be a model for their child because children often look up to their parents. The parent is very important to the child's success. Learning disabilities affect six million adults according to The Foundation for Children With Learning Disabilities. That number will only increase as the population grows. Therefore, it is extremely important that learning disabilities are recognized in childhood. Once a child is actually diagnosed, the school and family can work together for the child. Then improvements can be made in the child's work and ability. Sources The ABC's of LD and ADD. LD Online. *http://www.ldonline.org/abc_info/articles-info.html About Learning Disorders. CDI Page. *http://www.cdipage.com/learning_disabilties.shtml Folse, Rene Thomas. Learning Disabilities. *http://www.childpsychologist.com/ld/learning.html

Organizational Behaviour Essay

Explain ‘Y’ theory of Mc Gegor. Answer: Douglas McGregor proposed two   Ã‚  Home theories by which to view employee motivation. He avoided descriptive labels and   Ã‚  About simply called the theories Theory X and Theory Y. Both of these theories begin with Privacy the premise that management’s role is to assemble the factors of production,   Ã‚  Reprints including people, for the economic benefit of the firm. Beyond this point, the two   Ã‚  Terms of Use theories of management diverge. Theory Y The higher-level needs of esteem and self-actualization are continuing needs in that they are never completely satisfied. As such, it is these higher-level needs through which employees can best be motivated. Theory Y makes the following general assumptions: †¢ Work can be as natural as play and rest. †¢ People will be self-directed to meet their work objectives if they are committed to them. †¢ People will be committed to their objectives if rewards are in place that address higher needs such as self-fulfillment. †¢ Under these conditions, people will seek responsibility. †¢ Most people can handle responsibility because creativity and ingenuity are common in the population. Under these assumptions, there is an opportunity to align personal goals with organizational goals by using the employee’s own quest for fulfillment as the motivator. McGregor stressed that Theory Y management does not imply a soft approach. McGregor recognized that some people may not have reached the level of maturity assumed by Theory Y and therefore may need tighter controls that can be relaxed as the employee develops. Theory Y Management Implications If Theory Y holds, the firm can do many things to harness the motivational energy of its employees. Decentralization and Delegation – If firms decentralize control and reduce the number of levels of management, each manager will have more subordinates and consequently will be forced to delegate some responsibility and decision making to them. 2. Job Enlargement – Broadening the scope of an employee’s job adds variety and opportunities to satisfy ego needs. 3. Participative Management – Consulting employees in the decision making process taps their creative capacity and provides them with some control over their work environment. Performance Appraisals – Having the employee set objectives and participate in the process of evaluating how well they were met. 5. If properly implemented, such an environment would result in a high level of motivation as employees work to satisfy their higher level personal needs through their jobs. 2. Explain Chris Argyris’s immaturity – maturity theory. Answer: Chris Argyris developed the Theory of Immaturity-Maturity. Individuals progress at different rates from the total immaturity of early childhood (being passive, dependent, shallow, limited activity) to maturity (active, independent, deeper thoughts, more varied interests). Most organizations have bureaucratic or pyramidal values that foster immaturity in workers and â€Å"in many cases, when people join the workforce, they are kept from maturing by the management practices utilized in their organizations† (Hersey 65). Argyris’s Immaturity-Maturity Theory is the most intriguing of these motivational theories. Unfortunately, most organizations still adopt the bureaucratic or pyramidal style of leadership. This authoritarian style often resembles a family with a dominating parent (management) exercising almost total control over the children (employees). It is no wonder in these environments that trust and creativity are rare. There are exceptions however. The leadership of the author’s employer, the YWCA of Nashville, values employees and treats them with respect. As a result, YWCA staff members are more independent and have room to grow. It is easy to apply this theory to many circumstances outside the workplace. Families in which parents are either over-protective or, on the other extreme, do not protect their children at all may have offspring who are immature and have trouble forming long-term relationships. Governments with strong central authority where people have little personal freedom usually have citizens who are dependent financially and psychologically. Schools where rigid rules are more important than the free flow of ideas will probably graduate students with narrow views and a lack of creativity. It is obvious that human beings flourish only when they are in an environment with trust, support and independence. The fact that bureaucratic/ pyramidal values still dominate most organizations, according to Argyris, has produced many of our current organizational problems. While at Yale, he examined industrial organizations to determine what effect management practices have had on individual behaviour and personal growth within the work environment. Personality changes According to Argyris, seven changes should take place in the personality of individuals if they are to develop into mature people over the years. †¢ First, individuals move from a passive state as infants to a state of increasing activity as adults. Second, individuals develop from a state of dependency upon others as infants to a state of relative independence as adults. Third, individuals behave in only a few ways as infants, but as adults they are capable of behaving in many ways. †¢ Fourth, individuals have erratic, casual, and shallow interests as infants but develop deeper and stronger interests as adults. †¢ Fifth, the time perspective of children is very short, involving only the present, but as they mature, their time perspective increases to include the past and the future. †¢ Sixth, individuals as infants are subordinate to everyone, but they move to equal or superior positions with others as adults. Seventh, as children, individuals lack an awareness of a â€Å"self,† but as adults they are not only aware of, but they are able to control â€Å"self.

Education in India

Education in India has a history stretching back to the ancient urban centres of learning at Taxila and Nalanda. Western education became ingrained into Indian society with the establishment of the British Raj. Education in India falls under the control of both the Union Government and the states, with some responsibilities lying with the Union and the states having autonomy for others. The various articles of the Indian Constitution provide for education as a fundamental right. Most universities in India are Union or State Government controlled. India has made a huge progress in terms of increasing primary education attendance rate and expanding literacy to approximately two thirds of the population. [2] India's improved education system is often cited as one of the main contributors to the economic rise of India. [3] Much of the progress in education has been credited to various private institutions. [4] The private education market in India is estimated to be worth $40 billion in 2008 and will increase to $68 billion by 2012. [4] However, India continues to face challenges. Despite growing investment in education, 35% of the population is illiterate and only 15% of the students reach high school. [5] As of 2008, India's post-secondary high schools offer only enough seats for 7% of India's college-age population, 25% of teaching positions nationwide are vacant, and 57% of college professors lack either a master's or PhD degree. [6] As of 2007, there are 1522 degree-granting engineering colleges in India with an annual student intake of 582,000,[7] plus 1,244 polytechnics with an annual intake of 265,000. However, these institutions face shortage of faculty and concerns have been raised over the quality of education. [8] Three Indian universities were listed in the Times Higher Education list of the world’s top 200 universities — Indian Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Management, and Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2005 and 2006. [9] Six Indian Institutes of Technology and the Birla Institute of Technology and Science – Pilani were listed among the top 20 science and technology schools in Asia by Asiaweek. 10] The Indian School of Business situated in Hyderabad was ranked number 12 in global MBA rankings by the Financial Times of London in 2010[11] while the All India Institute of Medical Sciences has been recognized as a global leader in medical research and treatment. [12]Contents [hide] 1 History 2 Overview 2. 1 Primary education 2. 2 Secondary education 2. 3 Tertiary education 2. 4 Technical education 3 Literacy 4 Attainment 5 Private education 6 Women's Education 7 Rural education 8 Issues 9 Initiatives 10 Central government involvement 10. 1 Budget 10. Public Expenditure on Education in India 10. 3 Legislative framework 11 Notes 12 References 13 External links [edit] History Monastic orders of education under the supervision of a guru was a favored form of education for the nobility in ancient India. [13] The knowledge in these orders was often related to the tasks a section of the society had to perform. [14] The priest class, the Brahmins, were imparted knowledge of religion, philosophy, and other ancillary branches while the warrior class, the Kshatriya, were trained in the various aspects of warfare. 14] The business class, the Vaishya, were taught their trade and the lowest class of the Shudras was generally deprived of educational advantages. [14] The book of laws, the Manusmriti, and the treatise on statecraft the Arthashastra were among the influential works of this era which reflect the outlook and understanding of the world at the time. [14] Apart from the monastic orders, institutions of higher learning and universities flourished in India well before the common era, and continued to deliver education into the common era. 15] Secular Buddhist institutions cropped up along with monasteries. [14] These institutions imparted practical education, e. g. medicine. [14] A number of urban learning centres became increasingly visible from the period between 200 BCE to 400 CE. [16] The important urban centres of learning were Taxila and Nalanda, among others. [16] These institutions systematically imparted knowledge and attracted a number of foreign students to study topics such as logic, grammar, medicine, metaphysics, arts and crafts. [16] By the time of the visit of the Islamic scholar Alberuni (973-1048 CE), India already had a sophisticated system of mathematics and science in place, and had made a number of inventions and discoveries. [17] With the arrival of the British Raj in India a class of Westernized elite was versed in the Western system of education which the British had introduced. [18] This system soon became solidified in India as a number of primary, secondary, and tertiary centres for education cropped up during the colonial era. 18] Between 1867 and 1941 the British increased the percentage of the population in Primary and Secondary Education from around 0. 6% of the population in 1867 to over 3. 5% of the population in 1941. However this was much lower than the equivalent figures for Europe where in 1911 between 8 and 18% of the population were in Primary and Secondary education. [19] Additionally literacy was also improved. In 1901 the literacy rate in India was only about 5% though by Independence it was nearly 20%. [20] Following independence in 1947, Maulana Azad, India's first education minister envisaged strong central government control over education throughout the country, with a uniform educational system. [21] However, given the cultural and linguistic diversity of India, it was only the higher education dealing with science and technology that came under the jurisdiction of the central government. [21] The government also held powers to make national policies for educational development and could regulate selected aspects of education throughout India. 22] The central government of India formulated the National Policy on Education (NPE) in 1986 and also reinforced the Programme of Action (POA) in 1986. [23] The government initiated several measures the launching of DPEP (District Primary Education Programme) and SSA (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan,[24] India's initiative for Education for All) and setting up of Navodaya Vidyalaya and other selective schools in every district, advances in female educ ation, inter-disciplinary research and establishment of open universities. India's NPE also contains the National System of Education, which ensures some uniformity while taking into account regional education needs. The NPE also stresses on higher spending on education, envisaging a budget of more than 6% of the Gross Domestic Product. [23] While the need for wider reform in the primary and secondary sectors is recognized as an issue, the emphasis is also on the development of science and technology education infrastructure. [edit] Overview The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is the apex body for curriculum related matters for school education in India. 25] The NCERT provides support and technical assistance to a number of schools in India and oversees many aspects of enforcement of education policies. [26] In India, the various curriculum bodies governing school education system are: The state government boards, in which the majority of Indian children are enrolled. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) board. The C ouncil for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) board. The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) board. International schools affiliated to the International Baccalaureate Programme and/or the Cambridge International Examinations. Islamic Madrasah schools, whose boards are controlled by local state governments, or autonomous, or affiliated with Darul Uloom Deoband. Autonomous schools like Woodstock School, Auroville, Patha Bhavan and Ananda Marga Gurukula. In addition, NUEPA (National University of Educational Planning and Administration)[27] and NCTE (National Council for Teacher Education) are responsible for the management of the education system and teacher accreditation. 28] [edit] Primary education The Indian government lays emphasis to primary education up to the age of fourteen years (referred to as Elementary Education in India. [29]) The Indian government has also banned child labour in order to ensure that the children do not enter unsafe working conditions. [29] However, both free education and the ban on child labor are difficult to enforce due to economic disparity and so cial conditions. [29] 80% of all recognized schools at the Elementary Stage are government run or supported, making it the largest provider of education in the Country. 30] However, due to shortage of resources and lack of political will, this system suffers from massive gaps including high pupil teacher ratios, shortage of infrastructure and poor level of teacher training. Education has also been made free[29] for children for six to 14 years of age or up to class VIII under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009. [31] There have been several efforts to enhance quality made by the government. The District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) was launched in 1994 with an aim to universalize primary education in India by reforming and vitalizing the existing primary education system. 32] 85% of the DPEP was funded by the central government and the remaining 15 percent was funded by the states. [32] The DPEP, which had opened 160000 new schools including 84000 a lternative education schools delivering alternative education to approximately 3. 5 million children, was also supported by UNICEF and other international programmes. [32] This primary education scheme has also shown a high Gross Enrollment Ratio of 93–95% for the last three years in some states. [32] Significant improvement in staffing and enrollment of girls has also been made as a part of this scheme. 32] The current scheme for universalization of Education for All is the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan which is one of the largest education initiatives in the world. Enrollment has been enhanced, but the levels of quality remain low. [edit] Secondary education The National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986, has provided for environment awareness, science and technology education, and introduction of traditional elements such as Yoga into the Indian secondary school system. [33] Secondary education covers children 14-18 which covers 88. 5 million children according to the Census, 2001. However, enrolment figures show that only 31 million of these children were attending schools in 2001-02, which means that two-third of the population remained out of school. [34] A significant feature of India's secondary school system is the emphasis on inclusion of the disadvantaged sections of the society. Professionals from established institutes are often called to support in vocational training. Another feature of India's secondary school system is its emphasis on profession based vocational training to help students attain skills for finding a vocation of his/her choosing. 35] A significant new feature has been the extension of SSA to secondary education in the form of the Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan[36] A special Integrated Education for Disabled Children (IEDC) programme was started in 1974 with a focus on primary education. [25] but which was converted into Inclusive Education at Secondary Stage[37] Another notable special programme, the Kendriya Vidyalaya project, was start ed for the employees of the central government of India, who are distributed throughout the country. The government started the Kendriya Vidyalaya project in 1965 to provide uniform education in institutions following the same syllabus at the same pace regardless of the location to which the employee's family has been transferred. [25] [edit] Tertiary education Our university system is, in many parts, in a state of disrepair†¦ In almost half the districts in the country, higher education enrollments are abysmally low, almost two-third of our universities and 90 per cent of our colleges are rated as below average on quality parameters†¦ I am concerned that in many states university appointments, including that of vice-chancellors, have been politicised and have become subject to caste and communal considerations, there are complaints of favouritism and corruption. – Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2007[38] Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. India's higher education system is the third largest in the world, after China and the United States. [39] The main governing body at the tertiary level is the University Grants Commission (India), which enforces its standards, advises the government, and helps coordinate between the centre and the state. 40] Accreditation for higher learning is overseen by 12 autonomous institutions established by the University Grants Commission. [41] As of 2009, India has 20 central universities, 215 state universities, 100 deemed universities, 5 institutions established and functioning under the State Act, and 13 institutes which are of national importance. [40] Other institut ions include 16000 colleges, including 1800 exclusive women's colleges, functioning under these universities and institutions. 40] The emphasis in the tertiary level of education lies on science and technology. [42] Indian educational institutions by 2004 consisted of a large number of technology institutes. [43] Distance learning is also a feature of the Indian higher education system. [43] Some institutions of India, such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), have been globally acclaimed for their standard of education. [43] The IITs enroll about 8000 students annually and the alumni have contributed to both the growth of the private sector and the public sectors of India. 44] Besides top rated universities which provide highly competitive world class education to their pupil, India is also home to many universities which have been founded with the sole objective of making easy money. Regulatory authorities like UGC and AICTE have been trying very hard to extirpate the me nace of private universities which are running courses without any affiliation or recognition. Students from rural and semi urban background often fall prey to these institutes and colleges. [45][dead link] [edit] Technical education From the first Five Year Plan onwards India's emphasis was to develop a pool of scientifically inclined manpower. [46] India's National Policy on Education (NPE) provisioned for an apex body for regulation and development of higher technical education, which came into being as the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) in 1987 through an act of the Indian parliament. [47] At the level of the centre the Indian Institutes of Technology and the Indian Institutes of Information Technology are deemed of national importance. 47] The Indian Institutes of Management are also among the nation's premier education facilities. [47] Several Regional Engineering Colleges (REC) have been converted into National Institutes of Technology. [47] The UGC has inter-university centres at a number of locations throughout India to promote common research, e. g. the Nuclear Science Centre at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. [48] [edit] Literacy Main article: Literacy in India According to the Census of 2001, â€Å"every person above the age of 7 years who can read and write in any language is said to be literate†. According to this criterion, the 2001 survey holds the National Literacy Rate to be around 64. 84%. [49] Government statistics of 2001 also hold that the rate of increase in literacy is more in rural areas than in urban areas. [49] Female literacy was at a national average of 53. 63% whereas the male literacy was 75. 26%. [49] Within the Indian states, Kerala has shown the highest literacy rates of 90. 02% whereas Bihar averaged lower than 50% literacy, the lowest in India. [49] The 2001 statistics also indicated that the total number of ‘absolute non-literates' in the country was 304 million. 49] [edit] Attainment World Bank statistics found that fewer than 40 percent of adolescents in India attend secondary schools. [2] The Economist reports that half of 10-year-old rural children could not read at a basic level, over 60% were unable to do division, and half dropped out by the age 14. [50] Only one in ten young people have access to tertiary education. [2] Out of those who re ceive higher education, Mercer Consulting estimates that only a quarter of graduates are â€Å"employable†. [51] An optimistic estimate is that only one in five job-seekers in India has ever had any sort of vocational training. [52] [edit] Private education According to current estimates, 80% of all schools are government schools[30] making the government the major provider of education. However, because of poor quality of public education, 27% of Indian children are privately educated. [53] According to some research, private schools often provide superior results at a fraction of the unit cost of government schools. 50][54][55] However, others have suggested that private schools fail to provide education to the poorest families, a selective being only a fifth of the schools and have in the past ignored Court orders for their regulation[56] In their favour, it has been pointed out that private schools cover the entire curriculum and offer extra-curricular activities such as science fairs, general knowledge, sports, music and drama. [53] The pupil teacher ratios are much better in private schoo ls (1:31 to 1:37 for government schools and more teachers in private schools are female. 57] There is some disgreement over which system has better educated teachers. According to the latest DISE survey, the percentage of untrained teachers (paratechers) is 54. 91% in private, compared to 44. 88% in government schools and only 2. 32% teachers in unaided schools receive inservice training compared to 43. 44% for government schools. The competition in the school market is intense, yet most schools make profit. [53] Even the poorest often go to private schools despite the fact that government schools are free. A study found that 65% of schoolchildren in Hyderabad's slums attend private schools. 55] Private schools are often operating illegally. A 2001 study found that it takes 14 different licenses from four different authorities to open a private school in New Delhi and could take years if done legally. [55] However, operation of unrecognized schools has been made illegal under the Ri ght to Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act[31] which has also significantly simplified the process of obtaining recognition. [edit] Women's Education Girls in school near Baroda, Gujarat. See also: Women in India Women have much lower literacy rate than men. Far fewer girls are enrolled in the schools, and many of them drop out. [58] According to a 1998 report by U. S. Department of Commerce, the chief barrier to female education in India are inadequate school facilities (such as sanitary facilities), shortage of female teachers and gender bias in curriculum (majority of the female characters being depicted as weak and helpless)[59] The number of literate women among the female population of India was between 2-6% from the British Raj onwards to the formation of the Republic of India in 1947. [60] Concerted efforts led to improvement from 15. 3% in 1961 to 28. % in 1981. [60] By 2001 literacy for women had exceeded 50% of the overall female population, though these statistics were still very low compared to world standards and even male literacy within India. [61] Recently the Indian government has launched Saakshar Bharat Mission for Female Literacy. This mission aims to bring down female illiteracy by half of its present level. Sita An antha Raman outlines the progress of women's education in India:Since 1947 the Indian government has tried to provide incentives for girls’ school attendance through programs for midday meals, free books, and uniforms. This welfare thrust raised primary enrollment between 1951 and 1981. In 1986 the National Policy on Education decided to restructure education in tune with the social framework of each state, and with larger national goals. It emphasized that education was necessary for democracy, and central to the improvement of women’s condition. The new policy aimed at social change through revised texts, curricula, increased funding for schools, expansion in the numbers of schools, and policy improvements. Emphasis was placed on expanding girls’ occupational centers and primary education; secondary and higher education; and rural and urban institutions. The report tried to connect problems like low school attendance with poverty, and the dependence on girls for housework and sibling day care. The National Literacy Mission also worked through female tutors in villages. Although the minimum marriage age is now eighteen for girls, many continue to be married much earlier. Therefore, at the secondary level, female dropout rates are high. [62] Sita Anantha Raman also maintains that while the educated Indian women workforce maintains professionalism, the men outnumber them in most fields and, in some cases, receive higher income for the same positions. 62] [edit] Rural education A primary school in a village in Madhya Pradesh. Following independence, India viewed education as an effective tool for bringing social change through community development. [63] The administrative control was effectively initiated in the 1950s, when, in 1952, the government grouped villages under a Community Development Block—an authority under national p rogramme which could control education in up to 100 villages. [63] A Block Development Officer oversaw a geographical area of 150 square miles which could contain a population of as many as 70000 people. [63] Setty and Ross elaborate on the role of such programmes, themselves divided further into individual-based, community based, or the Individual-cum-community-based, in which microscopic levels of development are overseen at village level by an appointed worker:The community development programmes comprise agriculture, animal husbandry, cooperation, rural industries, rural engineering (consisting of minor irrigation, roads, buildings), health and sanitation including family welfare, family planning, women welfare, child care and nutrition, education including adult education, social education and literacy, youth welfare and community organisation. In each of these areas of development there are several programmes, schemes and activities which are additive, expanding and tapering off covering the total community, some segments, or specific target populations such as small and marginal farmers, artisans, women and in general people below the poverty line. [63] Despite some setbacks the rural education programmes continued throughout the 1950s, with support from private institutions. [64] A sizable network of rural education had been established by the time the Gandhigram Rural Institute was established and 5, 200 Community Development Blocks were established in India. [65] Nursery schools, elementary schools, secondary school, and schools for adult education for women were set up. [65] The government continued to view rural education as an agenda that could be relatively free from bureaucratic backlog and general stagnation. 65] However, in some cases lack of financing balanced the gains made by rural education institutes of Ind ia. [66] Some ideas failed to find acceptability among India's poor and investments made by the government sometimes yielded little results. [66] Today, government rural schools remain poorly funded and understaffed. Several foundations, such as the Rural Development Foundation (Hyderabad), actively build high-quality rural schools, but the number of students served is small. [edit] Issues One study found out that 25% of public sector teachers and 40% of public sector medical workers were absent during the survey. Among teachers who were paid to teach, absence rates ranged from 15% in Maharashtra to 71% in Bihar. Only 1 in nearly 3000 public school head teachers had ever dismissed a teacher for repeated absence. [67] A study on teachers by Kremer etc. found that ‘only about half were teaching, during unannounced visits to a nationally representative sample of government primary schools in India. ‘. [67] Modern education in India is often criticized for being based on rote learning rather than problem solving. BusinessWeek denigrates the Indian curriculum saying it revolves around rote learning. [68] and ExpressIndia suggests that students are focused on cramming. [69] A study of 188 government-run primary schools found that 59% of the schools had no drinking water and 89% had no toilets. 70] 2003-04 data by National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration revealed that only 3. 5% of primary schools in Bihar and Chhattisgarh had toilets for girls. In Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, rates were 12-16%. [71] Fake degre es are a problem. One raid in Bihar found 0. 1 million fake certificates. [72] In February 2009, the University Grant Commission found 19 fake institutions operating in India. [73] Only 16% of manufacturers in India offer in-service training to their employees, compared with over 90% in China. [74] [edit] Initiatives Boys seated in school near Baroda, Gujarat. The madrasah of Jamia Masjid mosque in Srirangapatna. Following India's independence a number of rules were formulated for the backward Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes of India, and in 1960 a list identifying 405 Scheduled Castes and 225 Scheduled Tribes was published by the central government. [75] An amendment was made to the list in 1975, which identified 841 Scheduled Castes and 510 Scheduled Tribes. [75] The total percentage of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes combined was found to be 22. 5 percent with the Scheduled Castes accounting for 17 percent and the Scheduled Tribes accounting for the remaining 7. 5 percent. [75] Following the report many Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes increasingly referred to themselves as Dalit, a Marathi language terminology used by B. R. Ambedkar which literally means â€Å"oppressed†. [75] The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are provided for in many of India's educational programmes. [76] Special reservations are also provided for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in India, e. g. a reservation of 15% in Kendriya Vidyalaya for Scheduled Castes and another reservation of 7. 5% in Kendriya Vidyalaya for Scheduled Tribes. [76] Similar reservations are held by the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in many schemes and educational facilities in India. [76] The remote and far-flung regions of North East India are provided for under the Non Lapsible Central pool of Resources (NLCPR) since 1998-1999. [77] The NLCPR aims to provide funds for infrastructure development in these remote areas. [77] The government objective for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), started in 2001, is to provide education to children between 6–14 years by 2010. [78] The programme focuses specially on girls and children with challenged social or financial backgrounds. [78] The SSA also aims to provide practical infrastructure and relevant source material in form of free textbooks to children in remote areas. [78] The SSA also aims at widening computer education in rural areas. [78] SSA is currently working with Agastya International Foundation – an educational NGO – to augment its efforts in making science curriculum current and exciting. However, some objectives of the SSA, e. g. enrollment of all children under the scheme in schools by 2005 remain unfulfilled. 78] Education Guarantee Scheme and Alternative and Innovative Education are components of the SSA. [78] Women from remote, underdeveloped areas or from weaker social groups in Andra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Karnat aka, Kerala, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, fall under the Mahila Samakhya Scheme, initiated in 1989. [79] Apart from provisions for education this programme also aims to raise awareness by holding meetings and seminars at rural levels. [79] The government allowed 340 million rupees during 2007–08 to carry out this scheme over 83 districts including more than 21, 000 villages. [79] Currently there are 68 Bal Bhavans and 10 Bal Kendra affiliated to the National Bal Bhavan. 80] The scheme involves educational and social activities and recognising children with a marked talent for a particular educational stream. [80] A number of programmes and activities are held under this scheme, which also involves cultural exchanges and participation in several international forums. [80] India's minorities, especially the ones considered ‘educationally backward' by the government, are provided for in the 1992 amendment of the Indian National Policy on Education (NPE). [81] T he government initiated the Scheme of Area Intensive Programme for Educationally Backward Minorities and Scheme of Financial Assistance or Modernisation of Madarsa Education as part of its revised Programme of Action (1992). 81] Both these schemes were started nationwide by 1994. [81] In 2004 the Indian parliament allowed an act which enabled minority education establishments to seek university affiliations if they passed the required norms. [81] [edit] Central government involvement [edit] Budget As a part of the tenth Five year Plan (2002–2007), the central government of India outlined an expenditure of 65. 6% of its total education budget of Rs. 438250 million, or (Rs. 287500 million) on elementary education; 9. 9% (Rs. 43250 million) on secondary education; 2. 9% (Rs. 12500 million) on adult education; 9. 5% (Rs. 41765 million) on higher education; 10. 7% (Rs. 7000 million) on technical education; and the remaining 1. 4% (Rs. 6235 million) on miscellaneous education schem es. [82] According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), India has the lowest public expenditure on higher education per student in the world. [83] See also: Education in India Five Year Plan Expenditure [edit] Public Expenditure on Education in India In recent times, several major announcements were made for developing the poor state of affairs in education sector in India, the most notable ones being the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. The announcements are; (a) To progressively increase expenditure on education to around 6 percent of GDP. (b) To support this increase in expenditure on education, and to increase the quality of education, there would be an imposition of an education cess over all central government taxes. (c) To ensure that no one is denied of education due to economic backwardness and poverty. (d) To make right to education a fundamental right for all children in the age group 6–14 years. (e) To universalize education through its flagship programmes such as Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and Mid Day Meal. However, even after five years of implementation of NCMP, not much progress has been done on these promises or announcements. The public expenditure on education has actually declined from around 3. 23 percent of GDP in 2000-2001 to 2. 88 percent in the recent times. As a proportion of total government expenditure, it has declined from around 11. 1 percent in 2000-2001 to around 9. 98 percent during UPA rule. A policy brief issued by [Network for Social Accountability (NSA)][84] titled â€Å"[NSA Response to Education Sector Interventions in Union Budget: UPA Rule and the Education Sector][85]† provides significant revelation to this fact. Due to a declining priority of education in the public policy paradigm in India, there has been an exponential growth in the private expenditure on education also. As per the available information, the private out of pocket expenditure by the working class population for the education of their children in India has increased by around 1150 percent or around 12. 5 times over the last decade]. [86] [edit] Legislative framework Article 45, of the Constitution of India originally stated:â€Å"The State shall endeavour to provide, within a period of ten years from the commencement of this Constitution, for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen years. [21]† This article was a directive principle of state policy within India, effectively meaning that it was within a set of rules that were meant to be followed in spirit and the government could not be held to court if the actual letter was not followed. 87] However, the enforcement of this directive principle became a matter of debate since this principle held obvious emotive and practical value, and was legally the only directive principle within the Indian constitution to have a time limit. [87] Following initiatives by the Supreme Court of India during the 1990s the Ninety-third amendment bill suggested three separate amendments to the Indian constitution:[88] The constitution of India was amended to include a new article, 21A, which read:â⠂¬Å"The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in a such manner as the State may, by law, determine. [89]† Article 45 was proposed to be substituted by the article which read:â€Å"Provision for early childhood care and education to children below the age of six years: The State shall endeavour to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of sixteen years. [89]† Another article, 51A, was to additionally have the clause:â€Å"†¦ a parent or guardian [shall] provide opportunities for education to his child or, as the case may be, [a] ward between the age of six to fourteen years. [89]† The bill was passed unanimously in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian parliament, on November 28, 2001. [90] It was later passed by the upper house—the Rajya Sabha—on May 14, 2002. [90] After being signed by the President of India the Indian constitution was amended formally for the eighty sixth time and the bill came into effect. 90] Since then those between the age of 6–14 have a fundamental right to education. [ 91] Article 46 of the Constitution of India holds that:â€Å"The State shall promote, with special care, the education and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and in particular of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of social exploitation'. [49]† Other provisions for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes can be found in Articles 330, 332, 335, 338–342. [49] Both the 5th and the 6th Schedules of the Constitution also make special provisions for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. [49

Romanesque and Gothic Essay essays

Romanesque and Gothic Essay essays A Comparative Essay on Romanesque and Gothic Styles Architecture has progressed drastically throughout time. Gothic period followed the Romanesque period. Though they did not follow the same elements. The primary difference between Gothic cathedrals and Romanesque churches is ideological. The difference is completely in their style. The main difference between St. Sernin and Chartres Cathedral is their stylistic elements. They are two different structures close in time yet far from similar style. St. Sernin is a very large monastic church. Built in a southern French town, Toulouse, Sernin was along the roads leading to the pilgrimage center of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. It was among the first Romanesque churches built in its time. It is much more complex than earlier structures of its type. It was designed to accommodate large crowds in its long nave and transcept. It is built in the shape of a Latin cross. Like most Roman architecture, there is an order of complex that is also used in St. Sernin. It requires vaults, arches, and engaged columns. The aisles of St. Sernin are groin vaulted. It is a radiating church with tall proportions and elaborate walls. On the exterior, you see the windows and portals with decorated framing. There is a set off of different roof levels and buttresses that enhance the walls between windows. The tall tower was completed during the Gothic period. The two fascade towers have never been completed either. A our textbook reads, St.Sernin serves to remind us that architecture is the art of the possible. It proves to say that St. Sernin is beautiful all-around. Chartres Cathedral is a Gothic cathedral built in 1145. After 50 years from its birth, Chartres was destroyed by fire. Its rebuilding began in 1194. The church was erected on the highest point in town. The north transcept includes a beau ...

Affirmative Action as Reverse Discrimination

Affirmative Action as Reverse Discrimination Free Online Research Papers America is the land of opportunity, but to be fully qualified for the status, it needs to be color-blind, race-blind, and gender-blind. Affirmative Action began as a way to stop discrimination, but as new laws have been added to it, it has become reverse discrimination. Everyone has the opportunity to be a great addition to society. It is an immense injustice for people to say that someone of a different race or gender is not capable of achieving the same status in life as a white male. Through this paper, the concepts of affirmative action will be analyzed and discussed. Affirmative Action began in 1965 when President Johnson signed the Executive Order 11246 in to law. The Executive Order 11246 prevents Federal contractors from discriminating against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. This is when the phrase affirmative action was first used, because it requires federal contractors to take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are not discriminated against based on race color, religion, sex, or national origin. When Affirmative Action was created, it only included minorities. In 1967, Johnson decided to expand the program to include women, because women have received some of the same discrimination as men in the workplace. There were also earlier laws that were passed to ensure equal rights. The 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act are two examples of these laws, but they were a little behind considering the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments to the Constitution were passed much earlier. The Fourteenth amendment guarantees equal protection under the law and the Fifteenth amendment forbid racial discrimination in access to voting. Also, there was the 1866 Civil Rights Act, which was passed one hundred years earlier to ensure equal rights to all men. Secretary George Schultz and Arthur Fletcher, a top deputy, were the architects of some federal hiring and contracting regulations that added to the Affirmative Action regulations. In 1969, Schultz and Fletcher created these regulations under the Nixon administration to redress the unfair treatment of minorities and women in the workplace.4 Even though America is the land of freedom, minorities and women did not fully receive these freedoms until the mid 1960s. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs was established to require compliance to affirmative action. The Executive Order required that companies with more than fifty employees and doing more than $50,000 in business directly with the federal government or as a subcontractor prepare goals and timetables. Periodic reports are also required to show progress toward these adversity goals. The OFCCP investigates into the complaints and lawsuits against companies that have been accused of discrimination. It requires that annual reports be submitted to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The OFCCP analyzes these reports and then audits about 4,100 firms in connection with the federal government each year. So, not only can a company get into trouble by people filing complaints, the OFCCP looks for companies that it thinks are not abiding by its rules, which are not always written clearly. The general public, because of how the OFCCP has gone about auditing companies, has c ome to know some of these goals, as quotas. Goals are the precepts of affirmative action, but the goals are sometimes enforced to the point of looking like quotas, which are numeric targets for the racial composition of the work force. An example of how the OFCCP works is in the case of Aaron Woodson, an African American. He applied for a job at Solectron Corporation, but did not get the job. He was a qualified applicant, but there may have been a better one. When the reports were analyzes, the OFCCP decided that the company had a low percentage of minority workers compared to other similar companies in the area. At the end of the case, Solectron offered jobs to the nine qualified minority applicants, payment totaling $237,000, and a promise to refine its affirmative action goals. Woodson did not accept the job, because by this time, he already had another job. This is not the right way to conduct business, because Solectron was following all the rules and the OFCCP decided that the company did not meet the goals. In 1972 and 1973, Allan Bakke, a white male, applied to the University of California at Davis Medical School. He was denied admittance, but his test scores and GPA were higher than students admitted through the affirmative action admittance program. The affirmative action admittance program set 16 of the 100 opening aside for minority students that did not meet the standards of the normal admittance process. Bakke sued for admissions on the basis on the Fourteenth amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Bakke claimed he was a victim of reverse discrimination. The University of Californias logic behind this policy was that it is necessary to compensate for past injustice suffered by members of certain disadvantaged groupsIt was one way to open new opportunities for individual groups that in the past had not enjoyed these opportunities. The vote was five to four in favor of Bakke. Justice Lewis Powell wrote, The guarantees of the Fourteenth amendment extends to all pers onsThe guarantee of equal protection cannot mean one thing to one individual and something else when applied to another. This case was very controversial, because four justices believed that race should not be a consideration at all, while four others believed that affirmative action was a very good idea. The final decision of this case was that Bakke should be admitted to the school and that race could be a factor of the admissions process, but not the main criteria. This reinforces the questions about the legitimacy of affirmative action. This judgement was a step in the right direction, but was not totally constitutional, because the constitution is supposed to be race-blind. Not only does Affirmative Action affect the hiring goals; it also regulates how the government contracts its business. The 8(a) Program is designed to give minority and women owned businesses government contracts. If a firm is given 8(a) status, it is able to get a contract without competitive bidding. Participating companies must be 51 percent owned, controlled, and operated by individuals who are socially and economically disadvantaged. Minorities and women are usually considered to be socially and economically disadvantaged. This means that minorities and women should qualify, but that is not the only qualification. The applicant must also demonstrate that their net worth is not above $250,000 to qualify. This criteria means that not only white males are automatically excluded, but also some minorities do not qualify. This criteria not only affects the person who is applying, it also may apply to the spouse of the applicant. For example, Rep. Eva Clayton was denied a contract, bec ause her husband made too much money. Even with this, 46 percent of the programs 5,330 participants are black23 percent are Spanish-speaking and 21 percent are Asian, but only seven white women have qualified. In society, this means that the applicant must learn to play the system, because the qualifications tend to vary between applicants. To be eligible for any government contract, not just the set-aside program, a company must also make a good faith effort to meet their goals and timetables. There are several very influential people who think that these program requirements are not fair. Rep. Jan Meyers is the chairman of the House Small Business Committee. She stated: A black Harvard graduate with a net worth of a quarter of a million dollars stands a better chance of getting into the program than a poor white woman from Appalachia. There is something wrong with that. Also, the government allows the participant to stay eligible while his net worth steadily climbs during his nine-year tenure in the program. Every area of government is affected by Affirmative Action from the EPA to the Department of Transportation. In the Department of Defense, five percent of its entire procurement budget is to be awarded to socially or economically disadvantaged individuals who own firms. The Navy is cleaning up environmental damage on the Kahoolawe, a Hawaiian Island, and gives special preferences to businesses owned by native Hawaiians. In the Education Department, special consideration is given to minorities and minority colleges when applying for grants. Also, public colleges and universities offer scholarships, tutoring, and outreach programs for minority and female students. Not less than ten percent of the money appropriated for diplomatic construction shall be allocatedto minority contractors. That rule also applies to the Department of Transportation.8 These goals are designed to give minorities and women more opportunities. This is not constitutional, because in the Fourteenth amendment, equal protection of the law is guaranteed to all people, not just minorities and women. California decided to question the laws on affirmative action and make them more constitutional. In 1996, California lawmakers presented proposition 209 to its voters. The purpose of proposition 209 was to eliminate affirmative action on the state and local level where the federal government permitted. The court would decide exactly what programs have preferential treatment and what programs the federal government requires that California maintain. California Governor Pete Wilson, Newt Gingrich, Pat Buchanan, and many other people from around the country support this proposition, because America will reach its potential when the Constitution is considered color-blind. Proposition 209 also has exceptions to the rule since the federal government has not yet passed this law. One exception is to meet privacy standards based on sex. Another is to keep the state eligible for federal money. The state must also stay in accordance with the United States Constitution and the federal law. It has eliminated state affirmative action laws and voluntary rules that are strict quotas. This is Constitutional, because the interpretation of the Constitution cannot change when it is affecting different races of people. Proposition 209 effects public employment and contracting, public schools and community colleges, and state universities. In public employment and contracting, this would save California money spent by not using the lowest bidder on contracts and hiring based solely on qualifications, not race or gender. Funding for public schools would be decided on need, not on the number on minority students. Proposition 209 will affect up to $75 million spent on schools. That money would not leave the school fund, but it might be reallocated to other schools. Proposition 209 would also require California State University and the University of California to restructure its admissions policy. This would also change the requirements such as outreach, counseling, tutoring, and financial aid programs. Proposition 209 would affect about $50 million each year spent at the university level. This is a good idea, because it would put all applicants and students on the same level. With affirmative action, students and applicants are separated by their race and gender and that is not fair, because no one is better than someone else because of their race or gender. Fortunately, California voters passed this proposition with 54 to 46 percent vote. Table 1 shows further demographic breakdown of the state vote on Proposition 209. As visible on the chart, the traditional white male, protestant or catholic, conservative voter voted yes, but the minorities that had the rights taken away from them voted no. It can be assessed from the table that the minority voters are the main critics of proposition 209. Moderates and female voters were the closest vote, because 52 percent is barely a majority. It is also important to remember that the main California supporters were not reelected like Governor Wilson. Conservatives 77% Yes Latino 76% No $60,000 to $75,000 65% Yes Black 74% No Male 61% Yes Less than $20,000 59% No California has recognized the problems with affirmative action. They have recognized that it teaches that if you are a minority, you do not have to be as smart to get into college or bid as low to get a government contract. It is wrong that minorities can get more scholarships and get in to the university of their choose easier than the average, middle class white student. At some universities, an African American can get into a university with a lower GPA and lower test scores than a white applicant. Not only can they get into college, that student is eligible for scholarships that are based on race, not qualification. As the demographics change in the United States, the definition will also have to change, because then that group should not get to be listed as a minority. In the year 2010, it is expected that Latinos will be in the majority in the United States. At that time, white Americans should get to be called minorities, because they will no longer be the majority of the United States population. If white Americans were minorities, it would be with in reach for them to receive the same benefits that minorities are presently receiving. Affirmative action should be done away with totally before we get to this point in the future. If affirmative action still exists, that will mean that the nation is still seeing race and gender, not the person. Just about everyone has heard of affirmative action these days, but just what is it, really? Is it something only minorities really benefit from? Is it really as controversial as some people seem to think? Affirmative action is a term people use, but wh at it really means can be very misleading. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy defines affirmative action as positive steps taken to increase the representation of women and minorities in areas of employment, education, and business from which they have been historically excluded (Affirmative Action). Positive steps can mean many things, but here, they are meant to mean that women and minorities should enjoy the same rights and opportunities that anyone else in this country enjoys. It sounds simple, and it was meant to be simple, but the entire idea of affirmative action has become very controversial. Affirmative action was not a widely used term until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed into legislation. The term was associated with the Act, but still was not very common. It really came into use in the 1970s, when the American Secretary of Labor finally fully defined who was affected by the ruling, and what businesses, institutions, and educational facilities had to do to implement affirmative action and ensure women and minorities had the same rights as anyone else in the system. This is when the term began to become controversial, because many people began to see affirmative action as a kind of quota system, that forced businesses and education to admit certain numbers of women and minorities, even if they were not as qualified as other applicants. The Stanford Encyclopedia continues, Affirmative action, if it did not impose preferences outright, at least countenanced them (Affirmative Action). Therefore, affirmative action became increasingly controversial and disliked by many people. That did not stop affirmative action from gaining ground across the country. It was the law, and it was commonly used for educational admissions, employee hiring, and even guaranteeing that all people could qualify for decent, affordable housing. It continued to be controversial, but it also allowed many women and minorities to gain a foothold in the educational and business communities. Many people who companies and schools might have overlooked got good educations and decent jobs because of affirmative action. However, that did not stop other people from saying it was preferential and kept qualified men and whites out of jobs they were highly qualified for. Even President Clinton acknowledged the dilemma of how to choose between a white and a black using affirmative action procedures. He said, Imagine a college admissions committee trying to decide between the white [son] of an Appalachian coal miners family and the African American son of a successful Pittsburgh neurosurgeon. Why should the black applicant get preference over the white applicant? Many people came to hate the idea of affirmative action, and challenge it in the court system. In 2003, for example, affirmative action made headline news when students at the University of Michigans Law School finally had their day in the U.S. Supreme Court. They had initially filed a suit in 1997 that challenged the Universitys affirmative action admissions process. The two white students alleged that the university used race as a major factor in admissions to the Law School, and that it actually acted as reverse discrimination against more qualified white students. Eventually, the case made its way to the Supreme Court the first such affirmative action case heard in 25 years, and the Court supported the Univeristys admissions procedures. This opened up the topic for current debate and made it even more controversial. One thing is sure, affirmative action can be defined differently by different people. Some see it as a postive step for women and minorities, and others see it as a way to discriminate against white people Affirmative Action may have been a short-term solution to discrimination, but it has out lived its benefits. It is now encouraging reverse discrimination by setting quotas on the number of minorities required for a firm, contract, or school. America is now ready to become a color-blind society, and judge people on their merits, not their race or gender. We need to come together now as one nation, one world and one race the Human race, then and only then we will truly be a free country and a free people. 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How to Use a Library for Research

How to Use a Library for Research For some students, one of the biggest differences between high school and college is the amount and depth of research that is required for research papers. College professors expect students to be quite adept at researching, and for some students, this is a big change from high school. This is not to say that high school teachers dont do a great job of preparing students for college-level research- quite the contrary! Teachers fill a tough and essential role in teaching students how to research and write. College professors simply require students to take that skill to a new level. For example, you may soon discover that many college professors won’t accept encyclopedia articles as sources. Encyclopedias are great for finding a compact, informative accumulation of research on a specific topic. They are a great resource for finding the basic facts, but they are limited when it comes to offering interpretations of the facts. Professors require students to dig a little deeper than that, accumulate their own evidence from broader sources, and form opinions about their sources as well as the specific topics. For this reason, college-bound students should become familiar with the library and all its terms, rules, and methods. They should also have the confidence to venture outside the comfort of the local public library and explore more diverse resources. Card Catalog For years, the card catalog was the only resource for finding much of the material available in the library. Now, of course, much of the catalog information has become available on computers. But not so fast! Most libraries still have resources that haven’t been added to the computer database. As a matter of fact, some of the most interesting items- the items in special collections, for instance- will be the last to be computerized. There are many reasons for this. Some documents are old, some are hand-written, and some are too fragile or too cumbersome to handle. Sometimes it’s a matter of manpower. Some collections are so extensive and some staffs are so small, that the collections will take years to computerize. For this reason, it’s a good idea to practice using the card catalog. It offers an alphabetical listing of titles, authors, and subjects. The catalog entry gives the call number of the source. The call number is used to locate the specific physical location of your source. Call Numbers Each book in the library has a specific number, called a call number. Public libraries contain many books of fiction and books relevant to general use. For this reason, public libraries often use the Dewey Decimal System, the preferred system for fictional books and general use books. Generally, fiction books are alphabetized by the author under this system. Research libraries use a very different system, called the Library of Congress (LC) system. Under this system, books are sorted by topic instead of the author. The first section of the LC call number (before the decimal) refers to the subject of the book. That is why, when browsing books on shelves, you will notice that books are always surrounded by other books on the same topic. Library shelves are usually labeled on each end, to indicate which call numbers are contained within the particular aisle. Computer Search Computer searches are great, but they can be confusing. Libraries are usually affiliated or connected to other libraries (university systems or county systems). For this reason, computer databases will often list books that are not located in your local library. For instance, your public library computer may give you a â€Å"hit† on a certain book. On closer inspection, you may discover that this book is only available at a different library in the same system (county). Don’t let this confuse you! This is actually a great way to locate rare books or books that are published and distributed within a small geographic location. Just be aware of codes or other indication which specify the location of your source. Then ask your librarian about interlibrary loans. If you want to limit your search to your own library, it is possible to conduct internal searches. Just become familiar with the system. When using a computer, be sure to keep a pencil handy and write down the call number carefully, to avoid sending yourself on a wild goose chase! Remember, it’s a good idea to consult the computer and the card catalog, to avoid missing a great source. If you already enjoy research, youll grow to love special collections departments. Archives and special collections contain the most interesting items youll encounter as you conduct your research, such as valuable and unique objects of historical and cultural significance. Things like letters, diaries, rare and local publications, pictures, original drawings, and early maps are located in special collections. Rules Each library or archive will have a set of rules relevant to its own special collections room or department. Normally, any special collection will be set apart from the public areas and will require special permission to enter or to access. You may be required to put most of your belongings into a locker as you enter the room or building where special items are held. Things like pens, markers, beepers, phones, are not permitted, as they could damage delicate collection items or disrupt other researchers.You may find special collections materials by doing a normal library search with index cards, but the search process may differ from place to place.Some libraries will have all the collections materials indexed in their electronic databases, but some will have special books or guides for the special collections. Dont worry, someone will always be on hand to guide you and let you know where to find materials that sound interesting.Some material will be available on microfilm or microfiche. Film items are usually kept in drawers, and you can probably retrieve either of these yourself. Once you find the right film, you will need to read it on a machine. These machines may differ from place to place, so just ask for a little direction. If you conduct a search and identify a rare item youd like to view, you will probably have to fill out a request for it. Ask for a request form, fill it in, and turn it in. One of the archivists will retrieve the item for you and tell you how to handle it. You may have to sit at a specific table and wear gloves to view the item. Does this process sound a little intimidating? Dont be frightened off by the rules! They are put into place so that archivists can protect their very special collections! Youll soon find that some of these items are so intriguing and so valuable to your research that theyre well worth the extra effort.