The Relationship Between Managed Care And Prevention

In the fast and extensive changes that come with the evolving health-care systems in the United States, Managed Care organizations are viewed as the new actors in disease prevention and management. There are several reasons why Managed Care organizations should and are involved in disease prevention and management. First, managed care organizations have become the primary source of health care both for beneficiaries of publicly and employer-funded health programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.Statistics show that Managed Care enrollment has jumped from 6 million people in 1976 to 51 million in 1994 (Bektas, 2000). Since Managed Care plans are basically set up as health care insurance policies, this rapid increase that is prevalent even in the present means a greater risk of financial loss due to members getting sick with all kinds of disease. It thus becomes an imperative for Managed Care organizations to provide programs for disease prevention and management in order to minimize pot ential loss. Second, Managed Care plans have historically included prevention.This is embedded in the system’s performance measure as such organizations maintain and develop systems that aim to improve service quality. Thus, a god number of Managed Care organizations use internal performance-measurement and quality-improvement systems like Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) for system oversight and enhancement. Since the primary goal of Managed Care organizations is the health welfare of its clients, it falls incumbent upon them to provide measures for disease management and prevention (Bektas, 2000).Previous preventive measures that Managed Care organizations were involved with include vaccinations, cancer and cholesterol screening, mammography, retina exams for diabetics and prenatal care. Third, since Managed Care organizations are basically representatives of organized care systems, they should take due responsibility for the populations they service. They are accountab le to plan purchasers and individual consumers as well as to federal and state regulatory agencies for outcomes desired of all stakeholders which includes disease prevention.The following are the current measures that Managed Care organizations provide for disease prevention and management. Diseases and Health Care Information Drives Information drives aim to use public awareness to prevent possible undesirable outcomes from occurring. This activity involves tie-ups with business and government institutions where the drives could be launched. Some information drives are launched in public schools while others are held in business districts or company buildings.For its part, The Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound (GHCPS), a Managed Care organization with 486,000 members in Washington and Idaho continues to have information drives on the dangers of smoking, depression detection and management, stress management, and bicycle safety tips for children (Gordon, 2003). Such moves have led to an 8% decrease in smoking prevalence from 1985 to 1994, a 44% increase in the use of proper bicycle safety gear among children from 1987 to 1992 which is cited as the main reason for the 67% decrease in bicycle-related injuries in the same period (Gordon, 2003).Disease Screening Disease screening involves offering free services for routine examinations for common diseases. GHCPS has been involved with launching breast cancer screening programs in the past 12 years and continues to be involved at the present. The programs have yielded a 32% decrease in late-stage breast cancer. This is primarily because the program was able to detect breast cancer in early stages. This led to a 27% increase in survivability of breast cancer patients (Gordon, 2003).United Health plan in Los Angeles is also funding a similar program, they have also included lung and skin cancer screening as well as cholesterol and sugar level monitoring. United Health has reported positive results regarding the se disease screening programs. They determine several cases of abnormal cholesterol and sugar levels on a daily basis which help clients avoid further health risks. Immunization Programs Immunization programs require the procurement, delivery, and administration of necessary vaccines in order to prevent common diseases.These often necessitate tie-ups with pharmaceutical companies and local government. The GHPCS, United Health, and several other Managed Care organizations continually launch immunization programs for childhood and adult vaccinations. The vaccines are for diseases like chicken pox, influenza, hepatitis, typhoid, mumps and measles. Similarly, the National Immunization Program has formed tie ups with several Managed Care organizations to improve preschool children’s vaccination status. The dynamics of this alliance have individual organizations working with public health agencies in conducting CQI initiatives in immunization areas.The main objective is to increase vaccination rates in children up to 24 months of age. The program involves data collection and patient database management, parent education and incentives, and partnerships with both public and private entities for community outreach and immunization education. Implementation of the program over a 5-year period resulted to the standardization of vaccination records, various information seminars for medical staffs and children’s parents, and a vaccination completion rate that increased to 73% from 55% since the start of the program (Gordon, 2003).Satisfied with the program’s initial success, the National Immunization Program continues its partnership with Managed Care organizations at the present. Breastfeeding Seminars and Pre-natal care Previous studies have shown that breastfeeding significantly increases infant’s immune system and body resistance. This is why United Health also implements a breastfeeding awareness and seminar program that seeks to make wome n who have just given birth or are currently pregnant aware of the advantages of breastfeeding their babies up to two years of age.These seminars also discuss and disprove common misconceptions about breastfeeding and include illustrations on proper breastfeeding in order to minimize discomforts and maximize milk output. These programs have helped increase the prevalence of breastfeeding from only 7% in 1988 to 30% in 1990. Currently, breastfeeding programs have collectively encouraged 65% of American pregnant women to breastfeed for at least 6 months after giving birth (Gordon, 2003). Public Service ClinicsPublic service clinics are situated in key locations within the coverage area of designated Managed Care organizations. Their primary task is to service the immediate community’s basic health care needs. Their objectives include preventing disease outbreaks, providing a venue for other programs such as screening and immunization drives, and administering immediate remedies regardless of health care insurance status. Of the 100,000 people under United Health’s public service clinics, only 65% are Medicaid or Medicare beneficiaries (Gordon, 2003).Conclusion Managed Care organizations have genuine, industry based concern regarding the immediate and long-term disease prevention and management status of the areas that they operate in. This has led them to venturing into a variety of action plans that include information drives, screening and immunization programs, health awareness seminars and public service clinics. These projects show that managed Care organizations are standing up to their responsibility of not merely insuring but also ensuring the health of the American society. References: Gordon, K. (2003). Corporate Responsibility in Managed Care Providers. Howard & Sons: New Jersey. Bektas, Y. (2000). An Analysis of Trends in American Health Care since World War II. Prentice Hall.

Hca Case Study

I. Introduction The business-level strategy is acombined and synchronized collection of the obligations and actions that are used by the firms to attain a competitive advantage. The firms try to consume core abilities in certain product markets. Under this strategy, the firms stipulate their choices on that how they plan to strive in individual product markets. It’s important that every firm should improve a business-level strategy to generate the differences between its own place and its competitors’ places.The bond between the customers and business-level strategies is very important because the customers are main cause of the strategy’s success. The bond that a firm develops with its customers creates the value and profitability. There are five business-level strategies that a firm shouldor can practice to create and support its chosen strategic position against competitors. These include the variation, the cost leadership, the focused cost leadership, focused differentiation, and the unified cost leadership/differentiation. In chapter 6, it argues these five strategies and side by side with the risks that are associated with each other.In chapter 6 they also argue corporate level strategies. The corporate-level strategy has emphases on the actions that a firm takes to attain a competitive advantage by choosing from and handling a collection of different businesses competing in different product markets. These strategies help the firms in choosing on new strategic positions that are likely to increase the value. The product diversification is avital type of the corporate-level strategy. The diversifications also can differfrom the low levels to the high levels. Well normally, the diversification strategy is used to raise the firm’s value by improving its whole performance.It is essential that the managers should attentive to their firm’s internal organization and to its external environment when making decisions regarding t he most advantageous level of the diversification. In chapter 7 there is discussion of mergers, takeover, and acquisitions. A merger is formed when the two firms mix their businesses with each other. An acquisition is a strategy that involves when one firm purchasing the bulk or all interest into another firm with the aims of making it into a subsidiary company within its own group.A takeover is a type of acquisition where the acquired firm does not ask for the capturing firm’s proposal. Acquisitions are used for thenumerous reasons, which contain increasing in the market power and conquering the entry obstacles to new markets. Sometimes a firm must restructure its self in order to change its pool of businesses or financial procedure. This can be done through the downsizingor leveraged buyouts. A firm’s major goal for restructuring is to improvement or successful in strategic control. II. SWOT Analysis A. External environment The U. S. healthcare industry is one of the biggest industries in U. S. The U. S. ospital industry is split with thevarious ownership and noticeably different revenue sources with a small number of the main firms. The HCA was operating in a conservative industry where their aremany challenges and financial constraints. One of the major aspects that affected HCA is the increased quantity of the uninsured Americans citizen. The Columbia/HCA’s goal was to emphasis on the providing beds for insured patients to have the profits up. As the number of uninsured Americans citizen increased, it made it harder to keep the beds at full capacity. The increases in health care costs also played a role in the HCA’s actions.The Tenant and Triad Hospitals are recognizedas the big competitors for HCA. The HCA’s business strategy also puts them in competition in the urban areas mainly against autonomous non-profit hospitals. Many do not have the equal financial performance aims and this helped HCA to be the market leader. B . Strengths and Weaknesses The HCA’s strengths involvedarethe leading position in the hospital market, thespacious and infinite service offerings. The HCA developed such a strategy that dedicated on a main group of market-leading hospitals by utilizing its own financial resources, medical related, and management proficiency personnel.At current, the HCA still utilizes this whole operating strategy. The HCA controlledits advanced business practice. After selling its non-hospital business and the other facilities that did not resemble with its strategy, HCA is still persistent to focus on the providing of high quality healthcare. The company also has some weaknesses including its negative past and spoiled public image that included charges of the fraud, which headed to the federal government investigations. Over the years, the organization’s strengths have mostly remained same, except the fact that HCA does not provide the spacious amount of required services.The HCA mad e a clever choice to focus on only giving the hospital services in order to increase its quality and not to be putteringthemselves in other industries. The HCA still is known for its previous corruption, but still remains the prominent firm in the hospital industry. C. The Case of HCA 1. The HCA’s core capabilities consist of the greater patient care and its functioning strategy it that has been using for many years. It’s other core capabilitiesare includesthe financial resources, medical background, and the management proficiency.These competencies build the value for the company by specializing in the removal of excess capacity and the gratitude of the economies of scale. The HCA’s organizational resources add the unique value for the firm. In 1968, the HCA was founded and they operated under aunited cost leadership/differentiation business-level strategy. There was achance in the hospital industry to create the low cost services with differentiated qualities, and this is what HCA desired to implement in their system. The HCA was able to adapt quickly to the new technologies and fast changes that arose in the external environment of the HCA.The company focused on two resources of competitive advantages-cost and the differentiation in various aspects. The HCA establisheda strong network with physicians and with other healthcare practices under this strategy (HCA, 2011). 2. The HCA’s arepurchase of many small rural hospitals and the opposing investor-owned health care companies created a positive return on the firm’s invested capital in market. The HCA acquired these health care facilities in the faith of revolving them into the most profitable hospitals and control the industry for that specific region of state.There were problems of the recruiting in small rural hospitals, but HCA’s investments in the equipment and facility renovation have signified improved the firm’s ability to gain the support from small ru ral physicians. The external factors, such as the great unemployment in the certain or various locations and in the farming communities affected the purchasing of said facilities. The acquired hospitals constantly had the small staff in contrast with their competitors. However, the HCA focused on modification of the bed size. The acquired hospitals also had a good amount of oard-certified experts in comparison with their competitors. The HCA focused on main renovations and developments for the acquired hospitals for the creation of financial economies. 3. The HCA used both horizontal and vertical integration for the cultivation of mergers and acquisitions. The Columbian &HCA had such an acquisition strategy in place and the purchasing facilities and in building new facilities that prohibited its offers to purchase. In the firm’s own integration strategy, the company simply acquiredthe physician practices where HCA were not steadfastin its investments.The company fixed admissi on goals for the acquiring of physicians. The company then owned the coarsely 2,700 medical practices, and these acquisitions then began purchases by nonprofit competitors. 4. The HCA did not aspect too much integration because of its management proficiency. The company established a working strategy to obtain its goal and to succeed in gaining market authority. However, the management appeared to be too focus on the acquisitions and obtaining total power, which landed the company in such trouble that, consisted of a federal investigation for fraud.The company had lost focus on the point of quality of service. The firm also had become too huge due to acquisitions. Before the downfall of the Columbia/HCA, it had 2,700 medical practices, many of which were the non-hospital practices (Goldsmith, 1998). The HCA soon understood that the focusing on size was not really a good strategy for the success path. Overall, the HCA was between the 60% of failures in the merger/acquisition strategy . The merger with Columbia and the hostility to go into the several acquisitions was one of the reasons of HCA’s downfall. III. My Impressions of the CaseThe HCA had a great operating standard of the concentrating on patient care, but they lost focus by pushy to control the health care industry. Their business-level strategy primarily started off well but some are developed into one that only attentive on profitability of success of the company. The company soon lost sight of the main goal of satisfying the customer to achievethe value for the company. The HCA focused on the developing acquisitions and mergers to gain more profitability and variation in market. This caused the company to enlarge beyond its ethical operating means.It took the benefit of integration systems in order to take over the industry. This case revealed how a firm can negatively and positively usesthe acquisitions, mergers, and leverage buyouts. Overall, this case was one of a decent case to transmit to Chapters 4, 6, and 7 of the text. References Hitt, M. , R. Hoskisson, D. Ireland. (2012). Strategic management: Competitiveness & globalization. (10E ed. ) Mason, OH: South-Western,Cengage Learning. Montague Brown, Ph. D. (April 1, 1992). Physicians and Management in Health Care. Jones and Bartlett Learning. April 1, 1992.Jeff Goldsmith. (1998). Perspective: Columbia/HCA: A Failure Of Leadership. Health Affairs, 17, no. 2 (1998):27-29. Retrieved November 21 2012 from: http://content. healthaffairs. org/content/17/2/27. full. pdf HCA Holdings, Inc. (2011). Our History. Retrieved November 21 2012 from: http://hcahealthcare. com/about/our-history. dot McCosh, Jonathan G. (2003). A Strategic Analysis of the Hospital Industry and HCA Incorporated. Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship. Retrieved November 21 2012 from: http://www. highbeam. com/doc/1P3-1178660521. html

Gym Proposal Allowing More Gym in School

Untied states is known to have the most obsessed people in the world, yet they continue to not do anything about it. In Shrewsbury high school we have Gym 2 days out of a 7 day schedule, and sometimes you can end up not having gym for a whole week. The recommended exercise per week is 30 minutes 3-4 times a week. Most teenagers don’t even exercise on there own outside of school excluding those who participate in sports. Our health is just as important as your educations. They should change Gym from 2 days out of a 7 day schedule to making it 3 days per week.I feel that providing gym more during the week can help teens reach or be closer to reaching there recommended exercise per a week. Obesity is one of the main issues teenagers have to deal with in the united states. Making gym 3 days a week could help students reach there recommended exercise to stay health. This is going to stop obesity but if you make it as important as learning students will realize that its and issue an d exercise on there own to help there health. Schools make students realize how important it is to study and keep your grades up and to continue you to do great in school.Well by applying gym 3 days a week it can help them get the thought of exercise nailed in there heads so they see the importance of this alone with there education. a lot of students believe that this wont help them exercise more, and it be a pointless act because they hate gym as it is already. But a lot of students don’t even realize how important exercise is to you. They’d think that there exercise level will remain the same, but if the gym teachers run tests to make sure students are exercising out of school they may take it more serious then It is taken.Of course each student will have there own goals as long as there improving in some sort of way. Making gym 3 days a week can be done a simple way, but having schools 1 hour long there usually. On certain days you don’t have gym you can hav e an independent study. Everything about school can run the same with educational part, but have gym 3 out of the 5 days you attend school. The gym teacher can provide a test every month to make sure students are improving and treat it as if it was a normal class. In Shrewsbury we have assigned gym teachers only for gym so it wont interrupt in any educational part. lot of students feel they’d fail school but by forcing the importance of this it can help students change they way they live there life and realize its just as important as there education. Knowing from being a high school student I never exercised outside of school and never even worried about exercising much. Knowing most students they did the same if not less than what I know. Your suppose to have 30 minutes of exercise 3 days a week. By purposing gym 3 days a week to the gym teachers this could help students reach that goal or if not exceeded it.Having test at the end of each month will encourage students to ha ve to do some sort of physical activity in order to pass the class showing the importance of it. Many student would say that they do exercise enough and that there physically fit, and by having gym 3 days a week is a waste of time. If there are so physically fit then it should be an essay A, and they can be role models to those who are not physically fit. This may be easier to some, than others specially those who participate in athletic sports outside of school.This may help some of the students want to be apart of those sports to get there daily exercise in by doing something they enjoy and being with other students. To wrap this all up, your health is just as important as your education. Gym isn’t going to be the one to fix all obesity, and unfit students but hopefully it can be the next step in helping that cause. This helps students realize that you need to exercise part of your daily life and make it your lifestyle not a one day week or not all kind of thing. Implying t he importance of exercise will show the students how important this is and help students exercise.

The Patriot Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

The Patriot Act - Essay Example It exposed weaknesses in the intelligence community which failed in its job to protect American interests by not being able to predict and prevent when or where the strikes will occur; they were not able to interpret correctly despite all the warnings, a failure of â€Å"connecting the dots.† This act is actually an acronym, which stands for Uniting and Strengthening America (USA) while Patriot stands for Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism. This law has many pertinent provisions designed to fight terrorism but a primary aim was to strengthen law enforcement capabilities against any future terror attacks on America. The law likewise contained so-called â€Å"sunset† provisions designed to lapse after December 31, 2005 based on the assessment by security experts on the continued existence of terrorist threats. The paper will discuss the important provisions of the USA Patriot Act and the effects on civil liberties and personal freedoms. Among the provisions discussed will be concerning the regulation of financial transactions to deny the terrorists their sources of funding, the broadened discretionary authority of law enforcement and immigration officials to detain, deport, and try in courts these terror suspects, and the continued policy debates about this Act, among others. A consequence of the worst-ever terrorist attack on American soil caused the creation of a single government agency charged with protecting the country and its citizens. The Department of Homeland Security was created in 2002 and currently has about 240,000 federal employees in its payroll. This department is a unified, integrated cabinet-level agency tasked with the mission of protecting American citizens from attacks emanating from land, sea, air, and even in the cyber space (Department of Homeland Security, 2013, para. 1) such as prevention of hacking attempts. Americans now seriously take security precautions, together with the added

Chmistry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Chmistry - Essay Example The molecule is "locked" into a conformation with the isopropyl groups on the exterior. It is not actually locked into configuration because the size of the molecule makes it highly flexible, but the potassium ion gives some degree of coordination to the macromolecule (Metzeler 2001) Question 1b Valinomycin is a dodecadepsipeptide, that is, it is made of twelve alternating amino acids and esters to form a macro cyclic molecule. The twelve carbonyl groups are essential for the binding of metal ions, and also for solvation in polar solvent. The isopropyl and methyl groups are responsible for solvation in nonpolar solvents. Along with its shape and size this molecular duality is the main reason for its binding properties. K+ ions are octahedral coordinated in a square bi-pyramidal geometry by 6 carbonyl bonds in this space of 1.33 Angstrom, leading to a 10,000x selectivity for K+ ions. For polar solvents, valinomycin will mainly expose the carbonyls to the solvent and in nonpolar solven ts the isopropyl groups are located predominantly on the exterior of the molecule. This conformation changes when valinomycin is bound to a potassium ion. The molecule is "locked" into a conformation with the isopropyl groups on the exterior. It is not actually locked into configuration because the size of the molecule makes it highly flexible, but the potassium ion gives some degree of coordination to the macromolecule. Conformational and ionophoric properties of 3 valinomycin analogs cyclo n (n = 2, 3, 4) were studied by spectral and extraction methods. Conformations of dodeca- and hexadecaisoleucinomycins in nonpolar media practically do not differ from that of valinomycin, whereas for octaisoleucinomycin and octavalinomycin the conformations change significantly. Spatial structures of complexes of the investigated compounds are analogous to structures of complexes of valinomycin cyclopolymerhomologs (Metzeler 2001) The presence of isoleucine residues in dodeca- and hexadecaisole ucinomycins results in substantial increase in their ability of transfer the cat ions from aqueous to organic phase. Each complex has a characteristic spectrum which differs from that of uncomplexed valinomycin, suggesting several distinct structures for each of the metal-valinomycin complexes. The biologically active K complex shows the most significant changes in its spectrum, especially in the intensity of the symmetric C-H stretching vibration of CH3 and the convergence of the 2 ester carbonyl stretching vibration bands into 1 upon complex formation. These results are due to the unique orientation of the ester carbonyl groups toward the caged K ion and the resulting more free rotation of isopropyl side chains, thus they are poor cat ions transporters, assumptions made are that valinomycin has a complex structure as compared to octa-isoleucinomycin and hexadecaisoleucinomycin, differs in bonding in the methyl groups and the space in orientation make it superior in terms of bondin g and having a chelate effect as compared to its

Job Materials Portfolio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Job Materials Portfolio - Essay Example Customer service experience is another mandatory requirement since people to hold this position will have a lot of exposure to the customer. Therefore, one should have the necessary experience to serve customers in a hospitable manner hence making sure that the customer comes back once more. I have chosen to apply for a sales associate in Zara this is because this is the field I have got a lot of experience. In fact, I have studied a course related to sales in the college and this makes me feel that this field can be my best. In fact, I am looking forward to developing my career very much in sales. The opportunity with Zara will give me an opportunity to learn more on what selling really entail. These include selling, restocking and merchandising. Zara is an American company that deals with fashion for both men and women. This means that the company sells clothes to the American population bearing in mind the essence of fashion. For instance, every time designers keep on introducing new fashions in clothes market. This calls for business people to be so keen when it comes to deciding what customers need in order to survive. Zara takes into consideration customers’ preferences in a great way to make sure that their wishes are given priorities when designing their out fits. The company’s mission is to provide excellent customer service. This means that the organization works hard to make sure that they provide perfect services to their customers. This can be achieved through various methods which include involving customers in developing their designs. This means that the organization goes extra miles to make sure that they obtain necessary information from customers in terms of their fashion preferences and tastes. In addition, they use their sales associate to merchandise their stores hence creating a visible image to their customers. Zara Company started its operation in

Hair as Vital Evidence Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Hair as Vital Evidence - Research Paper Example Other types of trace evidence are as follows: glass fragments, food stains, feathers, metal filings, lubricants, building materials, pollens and spores, fingernail scrapings, cosmetics, gunshot residue, plastic fragments, chemicals, saw dust and paper fibers, plant and vegetable fibers, asphalt or tar, dust and other airborne particles, blood and other body fluids, vegetable oils and fats, textile fibers, insulation, soot, explosive residues, and soils and mineral grains among others. Nevertheless, forensic experts regularly meet relatively a few of them. These include: hair, paint, fibers, glass, flammable liquids, and fingerprints. Hair has the potential of associating an individual with a crime or giving a clue to what transpired (Byrd, 2012). For instance, in a crime involving persons the paint of car can chip off and stick on the victim, an indication of a hit and run. Simultaneously or alternatively, the hair of the victim discovered in the suspect’s car trunk indicating what happened during the time of the crime. This paper examines how hair becomes a vital piece of evidence in nearly any crime. Next the nature of hair as evidence, the techniques of collection, and its value will also be pursued. Finally, its effectiveness in pointing to a suspect and appropriateness in identifying the suspect as perpetrator will be analyzed. A French scientist, believed to be amongst the early pioneers in the field forensic science, Edward Locard, believed strongly that persons could not enter a place and leaves the scene without taking dust particles with them. This was later referred to as the ‘Locard’s exchange principle’ (Byrd, 2012). According to the principle, when two objects touch or collide with each other, particles of each of them will be left with the other. The basis of trace evidence’s forensic study emanates from this principle. Forensic investigation involves the

Applied theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Applied theory - Essay Example Besides Beyonce and her husband Jay Z, the article talks about other popular bands such as U2 and its lead singer Bono and Coldplay, the major artists expected to perform at the summer music festival in Glastonbury (Topping, 2011: 15). From this article, the emergence of the popular culture in form of music can be evaluated by considering theories of industrialization and of cultural studies. Popular culture is a broad term that incorporates common aesthetic or life practices in qualitative and statistical dimensions (Arnold, 1964:31). However, modern day theorists regard popular culture as a common tradition that has arisen in the modern times and it differs from folk tradition because it is mass-produced and different from high life because it is consumed in mass (Arnold, 1964:32). From this article on Beyonce, it is apparent that popular culture has undergone a lot of transformation from the last century. The current popular culture is characterized by extensive use of the mass me dia to publicize the events and elaborate organization by the artist and event organizers. Gans (1974:61-62) defines popular culture as an epitome of the society, reflecting the transformations occurring in the society. According to Giddens (1979:29), European and American societies underwent profound transformation in the 18th and 19th centuries. These changes resulted to massive social reorganization especially in the western European spheres where many people moved to work in urban areas in the emerging industries. Transformation from the rural peasantry to mass production in industries not only influenced the economic aspect of the workers, but their culture took a different turn (Giddens, 1979:49). Arnold (1964:85) noted that industrialization also brought with it capitalism in addition to increased interactions and mixing of diverse cultures. A combination of these factors in addition to the strenuous activities in the industries resulted to creation of a homogeneous society, with shared experiences across the regions. In addition, the increasing social density in the community and division of labor due to capitalism accelerated creation of distinct social classes, especially at the middle class level. Archer (1995:116-125) argues that a combination of capitalism ideology and its austere administrative structure resulted to increasing literacy levels especially to the middle class creating a formidable social, economic and cultural hegemony that changed the popular culture immensely. In this regard, capitalism resulted to sudden change in power that eventually caused social differentiation in the society. Archer (1995: 19) argues that the raise of the popular culture does not only involve a large group of individuals, but people who have high level of organization pertaining to their tastes and preferences. This class plays a very critical role in the cultural industry that has developed to meet the artistic aspirations of the middle class. Another influ ential factor in the middle class towards the popular culture is the high literate levels. According to Archer (1995: 49), the increasing levels of literacy in the middle class resulted to more economic empowerment that lead to accelerated social differentiation that enabled the people to realize new possibilities and discover new and limitless dimensions of their lives for exploration. Therefore, the middle class did not wish to be just machines working in the emerging industries for survival, but as beings with another dimension for fun and recreation. The high culture was not initially intended for entertainment, but it provided the middle class with opportunities for expressing their frustrations, achievements, joys and aspirations in their working places. Burke, (1978 b: 113) noted that the emergence of the

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

Business Strategy - Essay Example The industry sectors evaluated in this essay are ethical pharmaceutical companies, generic manufacturers, and biotechs. The pharmaceutical industry The global pharmaceutical industry faces significant twist in the twentieth century due to varying changes in the business environment. Holland is right, unmet medical needs, innovation and globalisation are critical driving forces of the industry. This is agreed by various researches, studies and evidences aiming to create assessment of the global pharmaceutical industry (Bianchi et al., 2011; Shah et al., 2009; Schmid and Smith, 2007). The next point is to evaluate whether these forces are what drive in each industry sector. The ethical pharmaceutical companies are broader since their products cover conventional pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceutical agents and vaccines and over the counter medicines. As a result, Holland points out that the key strategic capabilities of these companies are Research and Development and Sales and Marketing. Boone and Kurtz (2006) emphasize that companies which focus on these activities are dynamic at creating a need for their service or product offerings. This implies that the ethical pharmaceutical sector is somewhere between growth and maturity level in the industry life cycle while very particular at meeting unmet medical needs, innovation and globalisation. In fact, production and outsourcing are another two essential focus of this sector just to cover a wide range of geographic market coverage (Holland, 2010). The generic manufacturers on the other hand among any other concerns are particular with accessing new technologies so as to reach markets with untapped potentials (Holland, 2010). Regarding this, the said sector is invariably looking forward to achieve manufacturing and distribution efficiency. Manufacturing and distribution are broader in context, but they are also associated with growth and development (Kruger, 2006). The generic manufacturer sector is also dynamic as it tries to continually search for markets with untapped potentials and even attentive with patent concerns. Again, companies with this level of thinking cannot just simply skip the need to innovate, create or meet needs and be influenced by the global business force (Boone and Kurtz, 2006). The sector for generic manufacturer is somewhere between growth and maturity level in the industry life cycle. Finally, the sector for small biotechnology start-ups or biotechs like the previous sectors are also concerned with meeting needs, marketing concerns, but above all financial restructuring due to long-product development, so it would take time to realise profitability (Holland, 2010). Distribution of its product to market seems to be the primary concern of this sector. Thus, time is the essential contributing factor why for instance this sector embraces merger or acquisition (Holland, 2010). In the 21st century, this issue is a global concern that drives major businesses, not only to innov ate possibilities but gain market share by creating or meeting needs (Boone and Kurtz, 2006). Due to its restructuring activity, this sector is still primary moving forward to a growth level in the industry life cycle stage. Conclusion It is clear that unmet medical needs, innovation and time to market, and globalisation are essential forces that definitely move the different sector in the pharmaceutical industry. Even though only one

Why Nations Go To War Essay Example for Free

Why Nations Go To War Essay There are often people who ask the big question, â€Å"Why do nations feel the need to go to war? † One of the main reasons for this question comes from the loss of life that comes with it. However, on an opinionated theory I have concluded that a larger portion of why a nation decides to go to war would be to expand their territory. They could even be trying to gain freedom for their nation. Many times nations use scarcity of resources in their own country to justify warring with another nation for theirs. Regardless, the nations that begin a war will always be able to provide some reason for the fighting. As stated, territorial expansion is one of the main reasons I believe that nations wage war. Whether it is to prove dominance, or out of jealousy. Larger territories provide for the conquering nation to create a bigger and stronger nation. In some cases, they want to take territory from another nation to make them weak, and unable to stay caught up with the rest of the world. By taking what other nations have, there is the possibility to shut them out. Somewhat in relation to territorial gain, is the possibility to acquire new resources. Having access to more resources like coal, iron, oil, and steel would lead to a larger expanse of trade. This would feed a nation greater sum of money so they could better afford any expenses. At times, war could be caused to take resources from others because the attacking nation has very little of their own. Most wars that are based upon the gain of resources end up devastating the environment they are held in. Lastly, war issues could result from a fight for freedom, this derives from nations wanting the right to self govern themselves. Most times this is due to the abusive control of another oppressive power. Some enslaved nations wish to be free so they can do what was done to them. Eventually they may reach a strong enough point to create their own imperialistic movement. This can also lead to a never ending cycle of fighting for freedom, then turning that new power upon others. Do you have the ability to decipher why a nation chooses to go to war? People often think they know why nations go to war, but can they support their own opinion? I support the connections I made myself with ideas of territorial issues, the need for resources, and the want to truly be free. No matter what issues result in war. They will most likely cause feelings of hatred and resentment between combating nations.

The Admired Character Traits Of Ancient Greece English Literature Essay

The Admired Character Traits Of Ancient Greece English Literature Essay In the epic poem The Odyssey, a courageous hero, Odysseus, displayed many admirable traits, even though at times his actions brought pain and suffering to others he loved. These faults may have inflicted a substantial amount of desolation and agony to particular individuals, but these transgressions were inadvertent and failed to mutilate the true image of the protagonist during his many journeys. Odysseus is depicted as a dedicated warrior because his prominence and allure resulted in his depiction as a god-like figure among men and a worthy king amongst his people. Odysseus physical dominance earned himself respect and his intelligence and exceptional nature was admired by all of his followers. His dictating role in the Trojan War placed a large emphasis his strength as a fighter and as a human being. Odysseus demonstrated his intellectual abilities when devising strategic plans of attack, such as the penetration of Troy with the infamous Trojan horse. Nestor, Menelaus, Achilles, a nd Agamemnon, spoke highly of their comrade in response to his service. For all of the Achaeans who strove at Troy it was Odysseus who strove the hardest and achieved the most. Odysseus actions were known throughout the land, no more so than in his own country, Ithaca. Even though Odysseus was absent for more than a decade, many citizens were still loyal and hopeful of his return. A vital characteristic trait that was admirable in ancient Greece was physical strength due to their environment and dedication to succeeding in war situations. While accounting what happened after three of his men ate the flower of the Lotus Eaters, Odysseus recalls, I drove them, all three wailing, to the ships, ties them down under their rowing benches, and called the rest: All hands aboard; come, clear the beach and no one taste the Lotus, or you lose your hope of home' (985). To drag three grown men, who were also very strong and equally fit, onto a ship against their will and tie them up creates the image of a great physical challenge for Odysseus for the reader. The story states, All three wailing, translates that they were fighting against Odysseus, which extends his challenge to a more demanding stage. Next, Odysseus exemplifies his brute physical strength during his plan to disable a Cyclops by ramming a monstrous spear into the eye of the Cyclops. Now by the gods, I drove a big hand spike deep in the embers, charring it again, and cheered my men along with battle talk to keep their courage up: no quitting now. The pike of olive, green though it had been, reddened and glowed as if about to catch. I drew it from the coals and my four fellows gave me a hand, lugging it near the Cyclops as more than natural force nerved them; straight forward they sprinted, lifted it, and rammed it deep in his crater eye, and leaned on it turning it as a shipwright turns a drill in planking, having men below to swing the two-handled strap that spins it in the groove (992). An event in which Odysseus easily exemplifies his physical strength occurred in the claiming of Penelope because and arrow would have to pass through a series of targets using the bow that Odysseus had left behind when he went to war. Shockingly, none of the suitors could string the bow, but the Odysseus could string the bow with a negligible amount of effort. When the suitors failed to pull the bow to shoot the arrow through the targets, Odysseus genuinely pulled the bow to its fullest length then drove the arrow perfectly through the targets. In conclusion, Odysseus defies the limits of strength which boosts his probability in completing challenges quickly and more precisely than other heroes. Mental quickness and the abilities to fight through mental challenges is a major characteristic trait that places a fine line between Odysseus and other heroes of ancient Greece. When Odysseus and his crew were trapped in the cave of the Cyclops, Odysseus tricked the Cyclops into becoming drunk so the Cyclops would go into a state of dizziness to increase the probability of defeating the Cyclops. Odysseus purposely offered the Cyclops some of the sweet wine of maron in which was stronger than other wines because it was not diluted with water. When the Cyclops was drunk, he asked Odysseus his name, but he lied and said his name was Nohbdy which was a high intelligence decision on his part. He didnt know how to escape at first after this, but he and his men ended up heaving up a pointed stick and plunged it into its eye, which is where the name Nohbdy came into play because other Cyclops were ready to spring into action when they heard the cries, but the Cyclops yelled out that Nohbdy was attacking me. The Cyclops was blinded and opened the cave door, and Odysseus and his crew returned to the ship. On the way away from the island, Odysseus called back that if anyone ever asked who blinded him, he should reply, Tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: Laertes son, whose homes on Ithaca. Secondly, the sirens were evil spirits that were half woman and half bird that led sailors to their death with their song. To prevent this, he blocked up the ears of his men with beeswax, but he had himself tied to the mast of the ship so that he could hear their song. He forewarned his men that if he used sign language to be released, they should bind him tighter. After that, during the crews encounters with Scylla and Charybdis, Odysseus is wise in not informing them of the future events that is yet to come because he deserved full participation and effort from his crew instead of panic. When Scylla made her strike, Odysseus positioned the boat to where only six of his crew would be whisked by the arms of the sea monster instead of endangering all of his crew. Then Scylla made her strike, whisking six of my best men from the ship. I happened to glance aft at ship and oarsmen and caught sight of their arms and legs, dangling high overhead. Voices came down to e in anguish, calling my name for the last time (1010). A final explication of Odysseys mental abilities was when Odysseus returned home, he found that his wife had many suitors who wished to marry his wife and claim his possessions because they believed that he was dead. She tricked them to keep them at bay because she did not want to marry any of the suitors. She threw a tournament, and Odysseus took part in it, but under disguise so as not to be noticed by the suitors. The contest was to see if they could wield Odysseus bow, and to shoot an arrow through the holes of 7 axes that had been lit on fire, and Odysseus won easily winning back the hand of Penelope. The Odyssey is a perfect portrayal of how Odysseus can succeed in using Brains over Braun. A vital characteristic trait that all of ancient Greeces heroes and gods possessed were bravery and perseverance and to conduct themselves accordingly no matter the intensity of the situation. Eurylochos considers Odysseuss perseverance to be exceptional because he still had the fortitude to tell his crew to sail on past a potentially safe island retreat for the night after enduring the horrors of Scylla and Charybdis. You are a hard man, Odysseus. Your force is greater; your limbs never wear out. You must be made all of iron, when you will not let your companions, worn with hard work and wanting sleep, set foot on this land, where if we did, on the sea girt island we could once more make ready a greedy dinner; but you force us to blunder along just as we are through the running night, driven from the island over the misty face of the water (12.279-285). At this time Charybdis sucked down the seas salt water, but I reached high in the air above me, to where the tall fig tree grew, an d caught hold of it and clung like a bat; there was no place where I could firmly brace my feet, or climb up it, for the roots of it were far from me, and the branches hung out far, big and long branches that overshadowed Charybdis. Inexorably I hung on, waiting for her to vomit the keel and mast back up again. I longed for them, and they came late; at the time when a man leaves the law court, for dinner, after judging the many disputes brought him by litigious young men; that was the time it took the timbers to appear from Charybdis (12.431-441). This quote proves that Odysseus has mental and physical perseverance and without his willpower, his physical perseverance would go to ruins. This next quote portrays Odysseuss determination and believing and hoping for the best. Of all creatures that breathe and walk on the earth there is nothing more helpless than a man is, of all that the earth fosters; for he thinks that he will never suffer misfortune in future days, while the gods gra nt him courage, and his knees have spring in them. But when the blessed gods bring sad days upon him, against his will he must suffer it with enduring spirit. For the mind in men upon earth goes according to the fortunes the Father of Gods and Men, day by day, bestows upon them (18.130-137). No matter what back luck got thrown towards Odysseus and his crew, there was nothing simpler than enduring the challenge and hoping for the best because they mastered the skill in perseverance, which ultimately results in surviving the pain of the challenge. Perseverance was the key to surviving in ancient Greece during the times of war and self-defense. In ancient Greece, a necessity to be able to live your live as you wish with overall satisfaction and peacefulness, is to simply treat the gods with respect which will save their life in near death situations. Since the gods acquire such super powers, immortality, and control over their followers with human weakness, it is this combination that causes so much torment and suffering. Examples of such human weakness in the story are when Athena takes pride in Odysseus, Calypso lusts after Odysseus, and Helios wants revenge on Odysseuss crew. When Odysseus was caught in a storm after leaving Calypsos Island, he is on the verge of death when Odysseus yells, What do you want me to learn? Poseidon responds, That without the gods, man is nothing. This summarizes the necessity of having respect for the gods in the Odyssey. Odysseus also offered any sacrifices to ask forgiveness for their mistakes and for good will. Then I addressed the blurred and breathless dead, vowing to slaughter my best heifer for them before she calved, at home in Ithaca, and burn the choice bits on the altar fire; as for Tiresias, I swore to sacrifice a black lamb, handsomest of all our flock. Thus to assuage the nations of the dead, I pledged these rites, then slashed the lamb and ewe, letting their blood stream into the well pit (1000.) Finally, Odysseus portrays respect for the gods by praying to them in times of struggle and hardships, such as when he prayed to Apollo to see his wife and son back home. These examples prove the dear respect ancient Greeks gave to the gods because they knew it aid them one day in the future. The next admirable trait in ancient Greece was self-control in which Odysseus exemplifies perfectly in many occasions during his journey. When Odysseuss crew devour the rich taste of the Lotus, he remains sober because the drug muddles ones memory so that he forgets about home, but Odysseus remains faithful to his goal of traveling home as soon as possible. But those who ate this honeyed, the Lotus, never cared to report, nor to return: they longed to stay forever, browsing on the native bloom, forgetful of their homeland. I drove them all, all three wailing, to the ships, tied them down under their rowing benches, and called the rest: All hands aboard; come, clear the beach and no one taste the Lotus, or you lose your hope of home (985). Secondly, Odysseus resisted the songs of the Sirens, but even though he was tied up, Odysseus could have used his superhuman strength to unleash himself to the trap of the pleasuring sounds. Near the end of the Odyssey, Odysseus resists the temptati on to fight back against Melanthios and Antinoos because he had learned from his mistakes and decides to bear the unjust blows of the suitors because he knows his revenge has to be plotted in a careful manner. Finally, Odysseus turns down the offer to see Penelope because the suitors may attack him and he wants Penelope alone to test her loyalty. Although Odysseus did not resist every temptation, the one he did resist resulted in his overall enlightenment. In conclusion, those urn to be a leader must first convey specific qualities if they are to excel in the world. First, when each second counts, the ability to quick, but assessed decisions is vital. Next, a true leader will set goals for his followers and push them to their max to achieve their goals, but also conveying his own abilities to his followers to portray a true example of determination. After that, knowledge and intelligence of how to use your abilities are vital in accomplishing the set goals. The final and most important trait of a leader is self-discipline and sacrifice. A leader must not only act appropriately in all situations, but also remain humble even if his followers act exactly opposite in regards of their goals. According to the Odyssey, Odysseus exemplifies all major traits of a leader that are most admired by ancient Greeks.

Funny :: essays research papers

Cause the streets have opened my eyes to see. says: im the son of hazel and grame Cause the streets have opened my eyes to see. says: graeme* Cause the streets have opened my eyes to see. says: hazels hot Peter says: no, i am Peter says: lol she sure is Cause the streets have opened my eyes to see. says: shotgun!! Peter says: shes a milf Cause the streets have opened my eyes to see. says: i fukd her in the buttocks Cause the streets have opened my eyes to see. says: i hate canadians Cause the streets have opened my eyes to see. says: i burnt one the other day cuz he stole my sandwhich Hot Stuff says: Im sorry.. I thought it was my cousin Peter.. it must be a different Peter.. sorry about this.. bye Cause the streets have opened my eyes to see. says: dont leave, its fun Peter says: i like your baby Cause the streets have opened my eyes to see. says: we're just racists new zealanders Cause the streets have opened my eyes to see. says: i wona eat it Cause the streets have opened my eyes to see. says: then fuk its little hole Hot Stuff says: you're from New Zealand.. cool.. Cause the streets have opened my eyes to see. says: no, its a shit country Hot Stuff says: hey, that is not funny to say that about my daughter Cause the streets have opened my eyes to see. says: i wona move to japan Cause the streets have opened my eyes to see. says: im sory my dad abuses me Peter says: can we dress up in sheepskin and play sausages? Hot Stuff has left the conversation. Cause the streets have opened my eyes to see. says: lmao Peter says: lmfao Cause the streets have opened my eyes to see. says: we win Cause the streets have opened my eyes to see. says: u like? Peter says: man that was awesome Cause the streets have opened my eyes to see. says: hahahahaha Peter says: im was going nuts laughing Cause the streets have opened my eyes to see. says: we rock Peter says: i am not going to forget that Cause the streets have opened my eyes to see. says: i woz so proud 'fuk its little hole' Peter says: lol Cause the streets have opened my eyes to see. says: dude, wel done Cause the streets have opened my eyes to see. says: that woz orsum Cause the streets have opened my eyes to see. says: shes prolly cryin

The Old Man and the Sea :: Free Essay Writer

The Old Man and the Sea I believe that in the past three decades, the way society has treated he elderly has remained primarily the same. Some younger citizens have looked up to the elderly with respect, yet most continue to shun them and consider them useless and hopeless in a society such as ours. I think that the elderly population is continually losing respect from the new generations. Santiago, the elderly man in the novel The Old Man and the Sea, is respected by a young boy, Manolin, yet he is also looked down upon by many of the younger fishermen in the Cuban fishing village where he lives. This book is set in the late 1930's and, I as I see it, shows that societies all around the world have had a decline in respect for the older people in their environment since the beginning of the nineteenth century. An enormous number of issues have changed since Santiago's time, allowing the elderly to have the ability to do more in their old age and live in areas specifically designed for their needs. However, there is still an enormous lack of respect for the older people in society, and it is becoming worse every day. Younger citizens of our country make fun of older people, call them names, and believe that they are incapable of doing most things that the younger ones are capable of doing. When we believe they can no longer support themselves, we place our elderly relatives into retirement homes and "old folks' homes" as many call them. Sometimes they, themselves, do not wish to go to such a place, but we force them to, which many times is the wrong choice. Some younger people help the elderly, though, and try to support them, but few of these people can be found. It is a fact that when people get beyond a certain age, their memories begin depleting and they atrophy physically. However, as Santiago shows in the novel, older people have much knowledge about the world around them and enough strength to make it through hard situations if they are determined and have the will and courage to believe in a better tomorrow. In Santiago's community, it is shown that their is still a natural respect for elders, as is seen in Manolin's support of the old man. He was one of the dying breed that truly looked up to his elders and regarded their feelings and experiences with much respect.

The Boy Next Door and the Psycho Killer: Producing Society’s Extremes E

The Boy Next Door and the Psycho Killer: Producing Society’s Extremes Two boys walk down the corridor of a friendly, residential, public high school. As they approach, the crowd slowly parts as its bystanders just stare at the boys. The boys walk with a certain aire about them, as their trench coats swing from side to side and their gloomy faces meet the eyes of the rest of the students. They are pointed at and called names such as fag or freak-- for they are members of the infamous trench coat mafia. These two boys can also be described as the murderers in the Columbine High School shootings. Somewhere across the country in another friendly, residential, public high school, a good looking boy of the same age walks down a similar hallway, and has a similar effect on the crowd. Instead of being laughed at or called a fag, this captain of the football team, Corey Johnson, gets a few " good job at the game yesterday" or hellos from people that have only heard of him and wished to actually know him personally, for he is notorious for being "cool". Rather t han being called a fag as walks down the hallway no one even suspects or even contemplates the fact that he is a homosexual. These individuals are alike in various aspects; age, sex, surroundings, and others, but yet have managed to be labeled and categorized so differently and so harshly. So what are the social conditions that have allowed such opposing figures to take shape in our culture? What is it that forces youth to be successful at being normal or unsuccessful and weird? The answer is the confining and forceful methods that our society has used to produce its norms. These two particular cases are just representations of many types of kids who are forced into two very dist... ...nes, ads, schools—the devastating effect is one that is constantly making deviants the outcast. These outcasts take on labels that usually have a negative connotation of a freak. Should these deviant groups stride to fit this "normal" expectation and assimilate into a culture that has rejected them or rather try to gain strength to add to their uniqueness? Each individual has a role on how he is perceived. This "role" is not control but rather a path that can be taken to control their position according to the norm. It is debatable if Corey Johnson’s face to the nation as an icon was an action to make the gay race seem more normal, or to show that there are exceptions to the rule within the gay name. No matter the standpoint or path a group in society chooses take, there will always be one outstanding central ground: With your norm, you’ve always got your deviant.

Academic Achievement of Homeschooled Children Essay

These days many American children are schooled at home, with the number growing more and more per year; however, t the same time home schooling has received less attention than other recent changes in the educational system. It could be argued that home schooling may have a much larger impact on educational system, both in the short and long run. This research will basically provide the home school population, its growth and its characteristics. Also, with the beginning of a discussion of the data sources used in the analysis, this research examines characteristics of home schooled children and their families such as those characteristics most relevant for gauging trends in home schooling. Lastly, there will be talked about implications of home schooling for regular schools and a brief conclusion. Therefore, based on all these researches, I am going to research whether or not home-based education cause higher academic achievement than the institutional schooling in U. S. A. Proposal Methods The researchers will use quantitative research regarding the influence of the educational background of parents on the performance of their home schooled children. The performance of the home schooled children will be quantified in comparison with the public school children with also varying educational backgrounds. Survey method—using will be used in order to obtain the more generalized results of the study. Participants will be contacted first through phone to have permission or consent of being part of the study. This part will also inform the family, especially the parents about the research study that will be conducted. According to Timothy Johnson of University of Illinois at Chicago, having an informed consent of the participants is part of the ethics of conducting researches. (Johnson) If the participants agree on being part of the study, mailed questionnaires will be distributed. The group that I propose to study is 75 homeschooled eleventh (11th) and twelfth (12th) graders. The chosen sample size is a significant number in order to study the influence of the educational background of parents on their homeschooled children since 75 is not much of a high number, making it too pricey or having too much effort given on the study, or not too low of a number. Studies were also made regarding the influence of parents on their homeschooled children, but these studies were more focused on the primary education (Grades 1-4, as indicated in the Literature Review), and not on the high school level. This study will further explore if the influence of parent’ educational background will change if the students are at a higher level of schooling. This study will also be limited on eleventh and twelfth graders. The sample size 75 students will be divided into three groups. Group 1 will consist of children that have been schooled at home by parents that have less than a high school education. Group 2 will consist of children that have been homeschooled by parents that have a high school education. Group 3 will consist of 25 children that have been homeschooled by parents. Additionally, 75 public school children also in eleventh (11th) and twelfth (12th) grade will serve as the control group. Group 4 will consist of children that have been schooled in the public school system and whose parents have less than a high school education. Group 5 will consist of 25 children have been schooled in public school and have parents that have a high school education and Group 6 will consist of 25 children that have been schooled in public school whose parents have a college education. These particular groups were chosen to research two key areas addressed in the research proposal. First the area of whether homeschooled children outperform those that are educated by public school. Second this method will attempt to address if the parents education significantly impacts academic achievement in both groups. Eleventh (11th) and Twelfth (12th) grade students were chosen for this research because they are at the end of their respective high school education and one can better assess their overall education. Obtaining the data necessary to conduct the research will consist identifying the test subjects in home school by contacting a home school association within the target state(s) for a mailing list of parents. A small questionnaire will be sent out to ascertain the educational background of parents with return postage and a request that they mail the questionnaire back. This feedback will be divided into the three groups identified to study. At this point, 25 families will be randomly chosen from each group and contacted by the researcher via telephone. If a family elects not to be part of the study group, another family will be randomly chosen from that category. The researchers will continue to distribute questionnaires on families that fit the criteria, until a response is made. Once a telephone interview with the parents is conducted and they have agreed to participate, a paper assessment will be mailed to the family. A return envelope with postage paid will be sent with the assessment. This assessment will be an ACT/SAT style test addressing the four main academic components: Math, Reading, Science, and English. The child or children will have 24 hours to complete the assessment and return it to either the post office or mailbox so that the return envelope can be stamped for that day. This method will put urgency into the test being completed and sent back and may reduce some forms of cheating. While a computerized test was considered, it may not be possible for all children schooled at home to have computer access so a paper assessment was the most versatile method of data collection. The same process will be conducted for the public school children. Eligible families will be identified by contacting the target state(s) Department of Education. Again, a paper questionnaire will be sent asking for data on the parents’ education and a request to return it. These parents will also be contacted for permission. Once consent is given, the assessment will be sent to the family with the same procedure outlined above. In Groups 1, 2, and 3 we can assess the general academic achievement of children schooled at home. We can also measure, to a degree, how much the parents own education impacts the academic achievements of the child or children. The same is true of Groups 4, 5, and 6. In the case of the latter group, parents’ education may not be relevant however it is necessary for the continuity of the study. In order to obtain accurate results, these assessments should be conducted sometime within the school year after the first quarter of either the eleventh (11th) or (12th) grade. Students should be assessed after being accustomed to their routine learning guidelines in their respective schooling. Respondents will also be assured that they will be guaranteed that their responses will be confidential, as also stated in the Code of Standards of Council of American Survey Research Organizations. (Council of American Survey Research Organizations, 2009) In a working paper written for the U. S. Census Bureau, Kurt Bauman pointed out several characteristics that may determine home school trends (Bauman, 2001). However, the purpose of this study is purely to identify academic achievement within both the home school student group and public school student group. SURVEY QUESTIONS: The survey questions will be divided into three parts: basic information, performance section. These questions will be the same for Groups 1, 2, and 3, and Groups 4, 5, and 6. The first part, as the name says, contains all the basic information about the student and the parents. This part will include the educational background of the parents, the reasons for home schooling, what they know about the regulations regarding home schooling of their state, etc. The questionnaire for those that are homeschooled, in order, will provide this series of questions: name, name of parents, age, grade, educational background of parents, number of years being homeschooled, reason/s of being homeschooled, and organizations that are involved in regarding homeschooling. The questions, on the other hand, of those that are in public schools will be the same of the homeschooled questionnaire, except for the last three questions. The next part on the other hand, will include the academic test that will determine the performance of the student. The students will answer questions on subject matters like Math, Science, Reading and English, in order to at least have a grasp about their overall academic knowledge. ETHICS ON RESEARCH The researchers acknowledge the fact that the study can be a critical matter especially for parents since discrimination, especially on educational backgrounds, might be possible. However, it is also an essential for the researchers to keep in mind the ethics of conducting a research as stated by Thomas Watson. First is that the researchers will give privacy to the respondents, meaning they can willingly say or not say information that they aren’t comfortable with. Second, the researchers will ensure voluntary participation—that is, the researchers will respect if they want to be part of the research or not. Lastly, the researchers will maintain confidentiality and non-attribution. The respondents will remain to be anonymous. (Watson, 1996) References Bauman, Kurt J. , Home Schooling in the United States: Trends and Characteristics, (2001). Retrieved April 13, 2010 from the U. S. Census Bureau website: http://www. census. gov/population/www/documentation/twps0053/twps0053. html Literature Review Academic Achievement of Homeschooled Children Does home-based education cause higher academic achievement than the institutional schooling in California? Early studies as well as the more recent studies illustrate that this is indeed possible, as they examine the academic performances of homeschooled students in different locations and with various independent variables. For instance, Belfield and Levin (2005) showed that homeschooled students have better SAT verbal scores than the non-homeschooled students. Although homeschooled students have higher SAT math scores as well, the gap seems to be greater in the verbal scores (Belfield & Levin, 2005). After controlling for 21 independent variables, Belfield and Levin showed that the advantage of homeschooled students over private school students was reduced, but the great gap still exists when the comparison is between homeschooled students and public schools students. Moreover, the scores of the homeschooled students and private school students in SAT are at par with each other, with no group outperforming the other (Belfield & Levin, 2005). According to Basham et al. (2007), whether having at least one or no parent as a certified teacher do not significantly matter on the achievement levels of the homeschooled children, although parents who acquired university degree have homeschooled children who outperform significantly those parents who did not earned a degree. However, Bansham illustrate that regardless of these parental backgrounds, homeschooled children all scored between the range of 80 to 90 percent, as opposed to the average score of 63 percent for public school students, who have parents with university degree and average score of 28 percent of public school students who have parents with no degree. Moreover, around 25 percent of homeschooled students have academic performances better than students above their age-level studying either in public or private schools (Bauman, 2002). This can be seen in grade 1 to 4 homeschooled students. All of them perform better compared to the performance of the non-homeschooled students of at least one-grade level higher (McDowell & Ray, 2000). When it comes to 8th grade, the homeschooled students have academic performances better than non-homeschooled students at least four grade levels higher. All these evidences illustrate that being homeschooled leads to better academic performances despite the children’s background, which would have played negative roles when the children were not homeschooled (McDowell & Ray, 2000). Homeschooling reduce or eliminate altogether the negative effects low family income, low parental educational attainment, large family size, race or ethnicity or even gender would have played if the students were not educated in the home setting (Bansham et al. , 2007, Ray, 2000; Ray & Eagleson, 2008). Not having computers or other materials required by formal schools or not having access to public libraries seems not to matter as much for homeschooled students as compared to homeschooled students as well (Bansham et al. , 2007). All these factors do not affect how the children perform academically either. The academic achievements of homeschooled children cannot be generalized. Researchers doubt generalizations because it is difficult to compare homeschooled children and those who are not. However, despite all the doubts of the generalizabilty of the better academic performance of homeschooled children, more and more studies are producing evidence that homeschooled children achieve better performance against their non-homeschooled peers on various types of tests (Basham et al, 2007). The present study will determine if in California, the same findings would emerge. the scores of the homeschooled students and certain Californian private school students in SAT will be examined to test this. Factors such as socio-economic background, gender and ethnicity will also be tested to determine whether each of them will have a significant relationship with the academic achievement of homeschooled students in California. Homeschooling laws depend on the state where the family is residing—whether be it the requirements of the parents, the testing procedure, etc. In a state like Washington, parents are required to have 45 quarter units of college level credit, complete parent qualifying course, an average of an hour a week meeting with a certified teacher, and a qualification to provide home-based teaching instruction by the superintended of the local school district. (Russell, 2008) The case is otherwise different in Michigan since no law requires for parents or teachers to have certain qualifications in order to teach. ( Home School Legal Defense Association, 2009) According to Home School Legal Defense Association, there are already 40 states that adopted the home school regulations. It is also stated in their website that â€Å"Forty-one states do not require home school parents to meet any specific teacher qualifications. The eight states which require only a high school diploma or a GED are: GA, NC, NM, OH, PA, SC, TN, and WV. DC also requires either a high school diploma or GED. (In TN, there is no qualification requirement for grades K-8 if home school is associated with a church-related school). The remaining state has the following qualification requirements: ND requires only a high school diploma or GED, provided that the parent is monitored by a certified teacher for two years. † There are three states who qualify home school teachers to be â€Å"competent† such as CA, KS, and NY. Having less than GED are considered to be competent in those three states. (Home School Legal Defense Association) References Bansham, P. , Merrifield, J. , Hepburn, C. R. (2007). â€Å"Home Schooling: From the Extreme to the Mainstream. Studies in Education Policy. † The Fraser Institute. Retrieved from http://www. netzwerk-bildungsfreiheit. de/pdf/From_the_extreme_to_the_mainstream. pdf Bauman, K. J. (2002). Home schooling in the United States: Trends and Characteristics. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 10(26). Retrieved from http://epaa. asu. edu/epaa/v10n26. html. Belfield, Clive R. and Henry M. Levin (2005). Privatizing Education Choice: Consequences for Parents, Schools and Public Policy. Boulder, C. O. : Paradigm Publishers. McDowell, Susan A. and Brian D. Ray (2000). â€Å"The Home Education Movement in Context, Practice, and Theory. † Peabody Journal of Education, 75(11), 1-7 Ray, B. D. (2000). Home schooling: The ameliorator of negative influences on learning? Peabody Journal of Education, 75(1 & 2), 71-106. Ray, B. D. , & Eagleson, B. K. (2008, August 14). State regulation of homeschooling and homeschoolers’ SAT scores. Journal of Academic Leadership, 6(3). Retrieved from http://www. academicleadership. org/emprical_research/State_Regulation_of_Homeschooling_and_Homeschoolers_SAT_Scores. shtml Bibliography Home School Legal Defense Association. (2009). Home Schooling in the United States: A Legal Analysis. Retrieved April 30, 2010, from Home School Legal Defense Association: http://www. hslda. org/laws/analysis/Michigan. pdf Council of American Survey Research Organizations. (2009). CASRO Code of Standards and Ethics for Survey Research. Retrieved April 29, 2010, from Council of American Survey Research Organizations: http://www. casro. org/codeofstandards. cfm Home School Legal Defense Association. (n. d. ). Summary of Home School Laws in the Fifty States. Retrieved April 29, 2010, from Home School Legal Defense Association: http://www. hslda. org/laws/Summary_of_Laws. pdf Johnson, T. (n. d. ). Ethical Issues in the Conduct of Survey Research. Retrieved April 29, 2010, from College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs: http://www. srl. uic. edu/seminars/ethicsint. htm Russell, L. (2008, June 12). Washington Homeschool Law. Retrieved April 29, 2010, from Suite 101: http://homeschool-regulations. suite101. com/article. cfm/washington_homeschool_law Watson, T. (1996). Survey and Interview Ethics for Data Gatherers and Respondents. Retrieved April 30, 2010, from Independent Job Analysis: http://www. ijoa. org/imta96/paper64. html

Preschool Teacher Hiring Standards, Policies, and Practices Essay

The early years of children are important because of their unique developmental needs (physical, cognitive, social and emotional). These needs can only be identified and addressed by professionally trained and competent preschool or early childhood teachers. However, attracting and hiring these teachers are serious challenges for school administrators. To look more closely into the problem and help craft a solution, this paper examined the current standards, policies, and practices in hiring preschool teachers in public and private schools in Pasig City based on the recommended hiring standards, policies, and practices in the literature, DepEd, and experts. The study suggests appropriate standards, policies, and practices in hiring teachers that will ensure that children’s unique developmental needs are met and that they shall have gained readiness to proceed to the next educational level. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Background of the Background of the Study Children who undergo preschool education perform better in primary grades (grade 1-3) than those who do not (Branscombe, Castle, Dorsey, Surbeck, and Taylor 2000; Jalongo, Fennimore, Pattnaik, Laverick, Brewster, and Mutuku 2004; Laosa 2005; Soliven, Guerrero, Barsaga, Palma, Canlas, and Garon 1997). & Mutuku. By the time they enter elementary school, they can say the alphabet, write their names, and count numbers one to ten. They adjust better, follow instructions, and interact with their teachers and classmates. Because of thparents realize the benefits in the early schooling of children, preschool student enrollment has been growing in number, which encouraginges a number of investors to set up preschools. Preschool education is mostly managed by private individuals, organizations, and institutions because of insufficient government funding for the enhancement of preschool education (Neri 2001; Soliven et al. 1997). According to the Department of Education (DepEd), tis, there has been an unprecedented growth in the number of preschools both in rural and urban areas in the private sector. The latest directory of private preschools in Metro Manila from the Department of Education (DepEd) shows that there are 1,477 preschools all over the National Capital Region during the school year 2005-2006, and 872 preschools during the school year 2000-2001; thus, there was an increase of 575 preschools. (see table 1). (See Table 1)(See Table 1) he number latest of private schools in Metro Manila grew from 4,788 in school year 2003-2004 to 6664 in the school year 2007-2008, a 72% showing increase. from school year 2000-2001 to school year 2005-2006 (see table 1). Preschool enrollment in private schools rose from 349,574 in school year 2003-2004 to 410,778 in school year 2007-2008, an 85% increase. Many see preschool education as a profitable business, but one that entails high costs if one is to meet certain standards, such as hiring qualified and licensed teachers and paying higher salaries. Quality education also means better teacher-to-student ratio (the ideal is 1:10 or 1:15), a developmentally appropriate curriculum, and quality teaching materials—all of which translate to higher costs. Ms. Vanessa Morales, owner and administrator of Kid’s First Discovery Space preschool in BF Homes, Paranaque, wanted her preschool to be different from preschools run by business people. Her priority is providing quality education on a not-for-profit basis. At Kid’s First, she has knowledgeable and experienced teachers: all her head teachers have master’s degrees in Education or Psychology, major in child development (Manuzon 2006). Due to the growing number of private preschools in Metro Manila, there will be a great demand for preschool teachers who are professionally trained to manage the learning needs of young children. To ensure that For this purposeteachers hired are qualified and competent, , DepEd issued DECS Order No. 107 (1989) outlining the standards in the organization and operation of preschools (see appendix A), which include guidelines on staff requirements. The qualifications of teachers prescribed by DepEd for private schools are: Bachelor of Science degree specializing in Family Life and Child Development or Early Childhood Education or Kindergarten; Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education with 18 units in Preschool Education and 54 hours of practicum in preschool classes; Bachelor of Arts/Science degree in a discipline allied to education, arts, nursing, anthropology, with 18 units of preschool education. Upon appointment, the teacher should have at least 6 units of preschool education, and the requirement of 18 units may be gradually implemented as follows: At the end of Year 1 – 9 units; Year 2 – 12 units; Year 3 – 15 units; Year 4 – 18 units. In addition, the sprouting of private preschools are also due to the following: 1) most private schools do not accept grade one pupils if they have not been through kinder and nursery or preschools; b) they are financially viable and a lucrative business; 2c) public schools cannot accommodate all preschool-age children and so parents put them in private preschools; 3e) there is a growing number of preschool student enrollment; 4f) because of the child sduring their early years, 5the Department of Education (DepEd) is not as strict with preschools as with regular grade and high schools; or, 6g) parents are both working and the mother is too busy to give her children their first lessons. 7have become a (Newman 2002). The Due to the mushrooming of preschools grew asthat have been set up forcommercial, business reasons, especially in urban centers, and the government’s insufficient funding towards the enhancement of preschool education, the desired goal of standard quality educati on for young children may not be achieved. This vast, mushrooming, unregulated and still unsurveyed sector maybe violating the right of young children to quality education. Due to the absence of control or regulation, these schools would have unqualified teachers, large classes, and less infrastructure facilities (Newman 2002). Ms. Irene Bernardo, whosingle and now retiredSomeone who prefers to be anony from preschool teaching setismous and who’s up a preschool in her own home after retiring from teaching, stated that some preschool teachers are business or psychology graduates, business or psychology graduates, not education graduates, but business or psychology graduates.. In her case, she has a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, magna cum laude, from the Philippine Normal College, ManilaUP, Diliman. For her, it is important for preschool teachers to have a background in education, especially in early childhood development education, which involves a substantial study of the- the psychomotor, affective, psychosocial and cognitive foundations of the childI. Bernardo, m), which will have bearing on the development of the child. which will determine how and what he will be when he grows up. The preschool teacher should also acquire skills and training in educating young children, them. From agesold . (. http://www. sunstar. com. ph/static/ceb/2002/06/13/life/the. mushrooming. of. preschools. html) | | DepEd also issued DECS Form GPR 3-A (revised 2005) to serve as a processing sheet for proposals for opening of new school (see appendix B). It limits the teaching staff requirements for preschool teachers to a Bachelor in Early Childhood Education (BECED); or Bachelor in Elementary Education (BEEd) with 18 units of Early Childhood Education. In public schools, student enrollment grows by 300,000 yearly, and some 10,000 teachers are needed to be hired every year to address the lack of manpower. Out of the 10,000 teachers recommended for hiring annually, 2,500 are intended for government preschools. The hiring of more teachers is needed because President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has issued an order requiring preschool education nationwide by 2010. (News Balita, January 13, 2006). In preparation for the launching of preschool education in public schools, DepEd business peoplebut . Theireesbetter teacherstudent, she not onlyes but also s: a. Furthermore,havesan degree P. Last August 24, 2007, DepEd issued Order No. 57 on August 24, 2007, laying down or the â€Å"Guidelines on Hiring and Deployment of Preschool Teachers† was issued as additional guidelines forin the selection and deployment of public preschool teachers (see appendix CB). Based on the guidelines, a preschool teacher applicant must must pass the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) to be eligibleconsidered for teaching. Preschool teachers in order to teach should take the LET for elementary teachers. There is no LET yet yet in specific to preschool teachers; prospective preschool teachers take the LET for elementary teachers. , while there is LET specific to secondary or high school teachers. According to Dr. Rogelio Baybayon, Assistant Superintendent of the Pasig Division office of DepEd, the requirements of the LET and the 21 early childhood education (ECE) units (instead of 18 ECE units) d et al. When I telephoned the Pasig DDivision of public schools to inquire on their policies regarding preschool education, and was able to talk to Dr.Rogelio Baybayuin, the officer-in-charge of preschool education,he said that they do not have preschool programseducation like nursery and prep, and what they have is onlythey only have kindergarten level which is being offered by very few public schools. They do not accept 4 year olds, only 5 year olds for kindergarten, and the 6 year olds are automatically Grade 1 even without going through the kindergarten level or preschool education. Since preschool educations is not yet part of the public school educational ladder. The , unlike the elementary and secondary education, it is mostly in the hands of private individual, organizations and institutions, which are operating without proper government regulations see guidelinescoveringsguidelinesthe renewal of toany administrators when they have been found to v some rules Neri (2001) disclosed a. s Based on the DECS Order No. 107, s.1989 or the Standards for the Organization and Operation of Preschools (Kindergarten Level), the required qualifications for preschool teachers are the following: (1) Bachelor of Science Degree with specialization in family life and child development of early childhood education or kindergarten; (2) BS Degree in Elementary education with 18 units in preschools education and 54 hours of practicum in preschool classes; and (3) Bachelor of Arts or BS degree in a discipline allied to education, arts, nursing, anthropology with 18 units of preschool education (Industry Briefs, October 2001). The job requirements based on the DepEd qualificationss for for preschool teachers are also now being enforced for private schoolsteachers.to be able to teach in preschools. s do not include the licensing or certification, of preschool teachers. However, DepEd sare encouraged requires all public school teachers to undergo the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET). .He revealed that there are some private schools which cannot follow these requirements and DepEd is forced to withhold their permit to operate. In any case, even if He also said that the LET for elementary teachers is for general education, and preschool teachers may take it. tTo qualify to teach For the 21 ECE units requirement, Philippine Normal University (PNU) is their reference. ,(pers. com. Dr. R. Baybayon, February 28, 2008). In the recent LET given by the Board of Professional Teachers on September 28, 2008 and conducted in 19 testing centers all over the Philippines, only 17,816 out of 58,471 elementary teacher examineesthere were who passed itThere were o,3who the examination (The Professional Regulation Commission, March 10, 2009). This meansmMan estimated that only 302933% of the examinees are qualified to teach, and are difficulty in the hiring of qualified preschool teachers, mo913,45,56eligible for hiringto hire. Table 2. National Percentage of Passing in the LET | |Teacher-Elementary |Teacher-Secondary | |Year |No. of Examinees |No. of Successful |Percentage of |No. of Examinees |No. of Successful |Percentage of | | | |Examinees |Passing | |Examinees |Passing | |2002 |76,626 |27,060 |35. 32% |65,106 |23,772 |36. 52% | |2003 |75,348 |19,765 |26. 25% |68,992 |18,115 |26. 25% | |2004 |60,614 |16,297 |26. 89% |58,507 |15,860 |27. 11% | |2005 |67,333 |18,517 |27. 50% |61,576 |15,945 |25. 90% | |2006 |59,457 | 17,377 | 29. 23% |53,303 | 17,290 |32. 44% | Former senatorSource: Professional Regulation Commission Licensing of teachers in the private preschools are also being encouraged by the DepEd, an example is the Pasig Catholic College, where their preschool teachers are graduates of early childhood education and are LET passers. The prospect of hiring teachers without credentials may be rampant because of the recent result of the LET. There were few teachers who passed the LET given by the Board of Professional Teachers on August 27, 2006 in 18 testing centers all over the Philippines. It showed that there were only 17,277 elementary public school teachers out of the 59,457 examinees who successfully passed. (Manila Standard Today, October 10, 2006). This is an estimated 33% who are qualified to teach in the public elementary schools and these may not be enough considering the growing number of student enrollment in public elementary schools which accounts to 12,089,365 based on Basic Education Statistics (BES) SY2004-2005. In view of the above, howHow can both private and public schools get teachers who can meet the minimum requirements for teaching in preschools and how can the DepEd ensure that only well-qualified, licensed preschool teachers educators are being hired and will be available in every preschool classroom.? How does the private and public schools cope with the supply and demand of qualified preschool teachers? Student enrollment is increasing and there are not enough qualified teachers to teacher these students. What other options can the government doy take in addressing hiring teachers without credentials? How can the preschoolsy tap sources of potential preschool teachers? has the government . annually . whomis afigure Trequiring nationwide. The combined public and private preschool enrollment increased from 2003 to 2007, from 778, 550831,730 (18. 36%) in school year 2003-2004 to 999,59652,109 (20. 53%) in school year 20076-20087; or 221120,046379 school children were added to the system. More than half of these children (588,81857, 220) were with DepEd’s preschool program in school year 2007-2008 (DepEd Updates, March 22, 20097). Mrs. Mariquita de Guzman, Assistant Principal of San Miguel Elementary School, said that their school has four preschool teachers for their 132 kindergarten students with a teacher to student ratio of 1:48. Miss Letty Flores, preschool teacher of Maybunga Elementary School, said that their school has two preschool teachers for the 90 kindergarten students with a teacher to student ratio of 1:45. All of their preschool teachers were volunteers from the elementary level who have a degree in elementary education (pers. com. Mrs. M. de Guzman and Ms. L. Flores, April 15, 2009). In some private preschools, principals wait until the enrollment has begun before they decide to hire teachers. As a result, teachers hired are not qualified. only a few qualified teachers are available and teacher to student ratio becomes to 1:50 (pers. com. Mrs. Susan Garcia, April 16, 2009). ). To address the teacher shortage in the public schools (including preschools), Education Secretary Jesli Lapus announced that 16,390 new teachers would be hired for the year 2007. (The Manila Times, June 4, 2007). lat thsover This e concern for the hiring of preschool teachers will create more pressuresnot likely abate in the near future because the pressures on that strain the local supply and ddemand for and supply ofof qualified teachers. With the increase in becausewill increase more and more private individuals and institutions will are venturinging into the preschool business education, and the institutionalization of preschool education by 2010, that will require more qualified preschool teachers will be requiredto support DepEd’s effort in institutionalizing preschool education.. . Human capital is the most important resource of any service organization, and the teacher is the most important capital in the educational setting. There are many nonhuman resources that are needed in the schools such as classrooms, computers, and textbooks, but these resources are dependent on competent teachers who will put them into good use. The preschool is a labor-intensive operation where the teacher’s knowledge, skills, abilities, stamina, values, and passion must be carefully managed to achieve its learning objectives (Hearron and Hildebrand 2003). However, in order to achieve its learning objectives, they should hire teachers who possess proper qualifications who can provide learning opportunities that will bring out the best in their students. epartment of ducation, ulture and ports (DECS)A major task of the artment of ucation (DepEd)school administrator is faculty hiring and selecting qualified and committed teachers is a more critical task considering the scarcity of qualified applicants. Teacher qualifications remains to be an issue and with the recent results of the Licensure Examination for Teachers given by the Board of Professional Teachers on August 27, 2006 in 18 testing centers all over the Philippines, there were only 17,277 elementary public school teachers out of 59,457 examinees who successfully passed. (Manila Standard Today, October 10, 2006). This is an estimated 33% who are qualified to teach in the public elementary schools and there may not be enough considering there the growing growing student enrollment in public elementary schools which accounts to 12,089,365 based on Basic Education Statistics (BES) SY2004-2005. However, in the private preschools but they should meet the minimum required in order to the desired qualifications which is:,need to prepare job descriptions that state the criteria like the applicant â€Å"(1) Bachelor of Science Degree with specialization in family life and child development of early childhood education or kindergarten; (2) BS Degree in Elementary education with 18 units in preschools education and 54 hours of practicum in preschool classes; (3) Bachelor of Arts or BS degree in discipline allied to education, arts, nursing, anthropology with 18 units of preschool education† (Industry Briefs, October 2001). Hiring the right faculty is building the future. It is essential that utmost care and attention be given to hiring standards and policies and that execution be done with creativity and patience, since the hiring process is tedious and time-consuming, thus there should be no shortcuts. As the philosopher Spinoza observed at the end of his great work, The Ethics, â€Å"†¦all things worthwhile are difficult as they are rare† (A Re-Examination of Faculty Hiring Processes and Procedures, Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, Adopted Fall 2000). The term â€Å"faculty† is defined as a branch of teaching or learning in an educational institution; something in which one is trained or qualified; the members of a profession; or the teaching and administrative staff and those members of the administration having the academic rank in an education institution (Merriam Webster 1991). The faculty is composed of all persons appointed for the instruction of students. In a preschool, the faculty or teachers are persons directly involved in handling children. They play a major role in the education of the children since they help in the formation and development of the students especially in their early years. They are responsible for providing environment conducive to learning conditions where children are given opportunities to interact. Thus, the faculty or preschool teachers significantly contribute to humanity and to the nation towards prosperity by providing learning opportunities that will bring out the best in their students. Hiring is engaging the services or labor in exchange for payment (Lexicon Webster 1978. ). Hiring involves the following steps: advertising, recruiting; screening; interviewing; teaching demo, selecting and final interview. Recruitment is defined as establishing a pool of potentially acceptable applicants (Lipham and Heoh, 1974 p. 236). The first step is usually to post (advertise) the job position usually in bulletin boards of universities, professional organizations, advertise in local newspapers and teacher based magazines. Once the school recruitment officer has received the letters of applications, the rest of the hiring process is accomplished. Faculty hiring is the recruitment and selection of teachers for teaching positions. It involves the following steps: advertising, recruiting; screening; interviewing; teaching demo; selecting and final interview. Faculty hiring is a major task of the administrative or leadership group of the school and selecting the right teacher is a more critical task considering the very few qualified applicants to choose from. Administrators need to prepare job descriptions that state the minimum as well as desired qualifications of a preschool teacher, these are: (1) Bachelor of Science Degree with specialization in family life and child development of early childhood education or kindergarten; (2) BS Degree in Elementary education with 18 units in preschools education and 54 hours of practicum in preschool classes; (3) Bachelor of Arts or BS degree in discipline allied to education, arts, nursing, anthropology with 18 units of preschool education. † (Neri October 2001) â€Å"The teachers we need are immersed in discipline, informed professional inquiry and action that results in raising the bar and closing the gap by engaging all students in learning† (Fullan 2003). The preschool administrator or principal is usually the one in charge of recruiting the right teachers to fill in teaching positions clearly defined and understood by the selectors, i. e. there is a good and clear job description. The competencies to perform the job successfully are explicit, i. e. the job criteria or person specification have been prepared and are known by the selectors. There is a planned provision for the assessment of all the required competencies, i. e.the technical assessment stages have been clearly conceived and scheduled. There is a clear policy on how the final decisions are to be arrived at and the final stage procedure ensures that all of the evidence of earlier stages is accumulated and considered before making a judgment† (Kydd 1997). Although it can be time-consuming, principals must actively recruit good teachers to their schools. They usually do this by: (1) visiting teacher education classes to find promising new teachers; (2) providing practicum to student teachers and later hire the good ones; (3) talking to teachers and other principals to find quality experienced teachers who might be looking for new positions. Hiring policies and practices should be carefully crafted so fairness and equity are reflected to avoid legal complaints in the future. Applicants should be notified whether they were accepted or denied and the reasons why they were not accepted. â€Å"Hiring the right faculty is building the future because teachers play a major role in the education of children; they help in the formation and development of children, some of whom will become future leaders of tomorrow. But the right faculty may not mean hiring having a certification or licensure, but one who has a strong commitment to the care and education of young children. There is no wiser or more enduring investment than in the care and education of young children. worthwhile The Research Problem. DDue to the number mushrooming being put up and the government’s move to institutionalizeeize preschool education by year 2010, in Metro Manila and in the provinces without control or regulation, hiring would is in all probabilitymay be increasingly be intenserampant. DepEd’s hiring guidelines for preschool teachers prescribe only the minimum qualifications;;, but there are no clear-cut guidelines on the screening and hiring process for preschool teachers. these schools tend to hire preschool teachers who are not qualified. There is a need to carefully managed preschools to ensure that the intellectual development and values formation of childrenThus, there is a need forere should be specific and customized procedures for  screening applicants and hiring areistowardforqualified preschool teachers who are trained to address the unique learning and developmental needs of preschoolers. (Berk 2005; Branscombe et al. 2000; Brewer 2004; Essa 2003; Estes 2004; Machado and Meyer-Botnarescue 2001). However, Taguiwalo (2005) reported that recruitment is the number one weakness of the Philippine basic education. and eEvery year for the past five years, public schools recruited around 10,000 to 15,000 teachers from a pool of 100,000 new graduates. ,Yet the schools do not always get the best qualified teachers, as evidenced by the poor student achievement test results. they Results of the National Elementary Achievement Test (NEAT) in SY 2005-2006 reflected that only 29 percent or 38 of 131 competencies/skills were demonstrated by children. The problem of poor quality of education has been traced to a number of factors which include lack of teacher competencies and poor manpower planning (UNESCO and National Statistical Coordination Board 2009). How can DepEd ensure that only qualified and competent preschool teachers will handle every preschool class? HHoH will be assured hiring of professionally well prepared preschool teachers who are committed to caring and educating young children.. Preschool teacher hiring will not be easy considering the scarcity of qualified teachers. ow then can then school administrators ensure that they that they hire qualified and competent preschool teachers who can How can they tap available sources of prospective preschool teachers present? To seek answerss to the research problem, se questions, â€Å"The government, through the Department of Education (DepED), should come up with clear-cut policies on the operation of these schools offering pre-school education to children aged three to six years old,† Chipeco added. (http://www. congress. gov. ph/press/details. php? pressid=931) DepEd should also develop measures seeking not only to regulate and oversee the pre-schools, but also to develop preschool teachers hiring guidelines. DepEd should conduct investigation and close down preschools that do not use the guidelines. thus early childhood education is regarded as their top priority. â€Å"Childhood should be carefully defined in all nations as a highly distinct period of human growth and development that deserves careful educational, social, and political attention and intervention. † (Jalongo, et al 2004) However, Nolido (2006) said . While the government is not yet capable of putting preschool education in the educational ladder, we would like to expand it to reach more five year-old kids particularly in the depressed areas of the country. .. Jalongo, et al 2004et al, page 23number Educational prog for the world’s youngest citizen teachers who are ,m ? Will there be enough preschool teachers who will teach this growing number of student enrollmentissues in the Philippine basic and (LET) (NAT) private preschools hire applicantsare not education graduates or licensed? private . To seek answers to these questions, I will e researcheris Another issue which is very timely is the campaign of the Department of Education to institutionalize preschool education in public schools. Nolido said preschool education is not yet part of the educational ladder. Institutionalizing it requires a huge budget to the basic education system. â€Å"While the government is not yet capable of putting preschool education in the educational ladder, we would like to expand its coverage to reach more five year-old kids particularly in the depressed areas of the country,† Nolido said. and also the current issues in the Philippine educational systemthe Thus the objective of thisresearch willof the study revieweds and compareds the currentGrowing demand for preschool teacher applicants can be attested to the increasing number of student enrollments and the mushrooming of preschools in the metropolis. Drive along any neighborhood and you will likely pass by one, whether it is a small home-based play school or a more structured organization in a bigger edifice. The latest directory of private preschools in Metro Manila from the Department of Education shows that there are (872) preschools all over the capital region alone. Of this total, (217) are exclusively preschools only, defined here as catering to either the one-year-old to 6-year-old age bracket or the kindergarten level which may also include levels preparatory to kindergarten (e. g. nursery, etc. The remaining (55) schools offer elementary education up to 6th grade, in addition to the preschool curriculum. Quezon City has the most number of preschools with 275, followed by Manila with 112. Proximity to residence is criterion parents often consider when choosing schools for their children, however there are many other factors to bear in mind in deciding which school is best† (Neri 2001). Public and private preschools resort to hiring teachers to fill in the demand for teaching positions. The Department of Education has recommended guidelines for hiring preschool teachers, which the public preschools should implement while the private preschools are encouraged to use. Thus, the main research problem of this study is to compare standards, policies, and practices (SPPs) in hiring preschool teachers in preschool andpublic schools with those of privateprivate schools in Pasig City ,and , then compareds each group’s SPPs with offering preschool education with the standards, policies and practices in hiring teachers in private preschools in Pasig City the recommended SPPs in hiring preschool teachers based on related literature, DepEd requirements, and the views of experts on preschools. point out the gaps or discrepancies between the mandated and actual faculty hiring standards, policies and practices of public and private preschools in Pasig City. Secondly, I would like to understand the nature and causes of the gaps, and thirdly, I would like to understand why such gaps have been permitted to exist until the present. Purposess of the Study create awareness among the policymakers, DepEd officials, private preschool owners, and preschool principals The purpose of the study soughtoughtis to (1) investigate the SPPstandards in for hiring preschool teachers in selected public and private schools in Pasig City; (2)and pinpoint commonalities and differences in their current hiring SPPs; and, (3) find out how they measure up to what is recommended in the scientific literature, at DepEd, and by experts. Thus, this study has drawn upwilldetermine whether standards are in line with preschool learning capabilities and requirement for primary grades. s appropriate hiring SPPs for both public and private preschools that can serve ases benchmarks for hiring preschool teachers to ensure that the goal of getting the best qualified preschool teachers is met. Theensure that both public and private schools offering preschool education in Pasig City are able to hire the most qualified and competent preschool teachers and that ensure that there are standards, policies and practices in hiring preschool teachers in public and private schools in Pasig City. is that they together withmajority if not alleto review and reexamine their preschool teaching hiring standards, policies and practices. This assist in the hiring of preschool teacherswill enfrom a wider market and whose qualifications meet the preschool learning competencies. Research Questions In order to answer the research problem, the following research questions were looked intoarewere: †¢ What are the recommended faculty hiring SPPsstandards, policies, and practices for preschool teachers based on related literature, DepEd guidelines, and the views of experts and administrators? †¢ What are the reported and/or actual hiring SPPsfaculty hiring standards, policies, and practices for preschool teachers in both of public and private schools in Pasig City offering ECE? †¢ How do the reported and/or actual faculty hiring SPPstandards, policies.