Time and Health Nursing

nur/405 University of Phoenix Material History of Community Nursing Matrix Complete the matrix with the following concepts, and relate the concepts to two different periods of time in history and the present time: †¢ Describe each period briefly. †¢ Clarify the differences during each period with public health nursing and community health nursing. †¢ Describe the key health issues. †¢ Identify community health partnerships used during this period of time. †¢ Describe how Watson’s Theory of Human Transpersonal Caring is related. |Historical time |Nursing role in |Major health issues |Partnerships used |Watson’s theory | | |period |community | | | | |Past period 1 |Florence Nightingale |Florence Nightingale |Infection with bacteria |Nightingale used rich and |Watson’s theory of | | |in 1860 |developed nursing |such as E. oli, |upstanding people in the |caring was based on | | | |programs for students as|Pseudomonas, Staph, |community to hel p her with |caring for the | | | |well as a form of |blood borne diseases, |her goal of creating more |patients and | | | |nursing where nurses |and airborne disease |schools and promoting |environment. | | |took care of sick people|from caregivers not |public health nursing. |Nightingale and | | | |within the home. Her |using universal |Most people noticed the |Watson’s vision was | | | |emphasis for this care |precautions with good |problem in the community |related in this way | | | |was on sanitation, |hand washing. and willing to help, such |because environment | | | |prevention of illnesses,|Sanitation and |as Rathbone Liverpool who |according to them | | | |and the actual education|cleanliness was another |helped create more schools |both is a part of | | | |of nurses caring for the|issue. Nightingale |to educate women in the |healing, and as | | | |sick. wanted to make sure |community about the |nurses we should pay | | | | |people were in a clean |importance of publi c health|attention to the | | | | |environment to promote |nursing and the need for |patient, families, | | | | |healing and sanitation |sanitation and promotion of|and the things around| | | | |was an important part of|wellness (Healthline, |them to promote | | | | |her program. |2008). |comfort and | | | | | | |relaxation which in | | | | | | |return helps them to | | | | | | |heal. |Past period 2 |Lillian Wald in the |Wald was known as the |The health issues were |When she began to extend |Watson and Wald were | | |late 1800s |pioneer of modern day |the same as far as |her work, it attracted the |similar because they | | | |public health nursing in|infection and |attention of philanthropist|both wanted to | | | |the United States |sanitation, nurses not |Jacob Schiff who then |promote education in | | | |(Healthline, 2008). She|practicing good hand |offered money and time |nurses to promote | | | |directed her focus of |washing, but Wald took |secretly because he was |health and wellbeing. | | | |nursing similar to |it a step further and |Jewish and this was the |Wald cared about the | | | |Nightingale’s.She |focused on people lives |large population of people |community and the | | | |started out in New York |outside of health also. |she was caring for |expansion of people’s| | | |training nurses and they|She taught people how to|(Healthline 2008). With |horizons and she | | | |lived in the |sew and cook along with |his help, she was able to |wanted them to live | | | |neighborhoods they |other recreational |expand her employees and |and work to their | | | |worked in. She not only|activities and |provide the most efficient |fullest potential. | | |focused on the care of |involvement in the |care with the best nurses |Watson is the same in| | | |the patient but other |community and her |available at that time. |that she developed | | | |areas of life such as |biggest accomplishment |She was even able to write |her model to give us | | | |empl oyment and education|was the labor movement. |two books which she |a guide in caring for| | | |as well as sanitation |She even worked with the|received great recognition |people and all things| | | |and wellbeing. She also|NAACP during the Civil |for. and situations that | | | |formed organizations |Rights’ movement for | |could affect their | | | |that focused on women’s |African Americans | |lives. In doing | | | |rights and equality, and|(Healthline, 2008). Her| |this, nurses build | | | |formed schools and |main projects were | |trust and there is a | | | |programs for the |focused around patient | |better working | | | |mentally ill. |care, education, and | |relationship. | | | | |equality. | | |Current period |Twentieth Century- |The Visiting Nursing |Environmental health, |Governmental agencies and |Watson’s caring | | |Visiting Nursing |Association, now known |social services needs, |American Red Cross as well |theory focused on | | |Association |as home health nursing |infection, immunizations|as healthcare departments |caring for patients | | | |has become a part of |and education are the |and clinics are the |and wellbeing. | | | |community nursing. |focus of home health and|partnerships that keep |Today, governmental | | | |Health departments and |health departments |these organizations going. |agencies and | | | |clinics have also been |today.Keeping up with |It is important to have |healthcare | | | |designed to help people |immunizations, well baby|these clinics for the |departments are very | | | |in their environment |treatments, and |younger generation who may |active in the | | | |versus them coming to |education about |not feel comfortable |promotion of wellness| | | |hospitals. This helps |STDs/AIDS and teenage |talking to their parents |and health, which is | | | |serve the poor by going |pregnancies are a main |about certain changes and |similar to Watson. | | | |to them to give good |focus of public health |aspects of life. Being a |Caring for people and| | | |care and also assess |nurses.This ensures |public health nurse, you |their environment was| | | |their situation to apply|that our community is |should remain positive and |the focus for Watson,| | | |any additional needs or |aware of resources and |open and very supportive |and we still hold | | | |assistance. |care available to them. |for teenagers and young |those same standards | | | | | |adults so they are able to |in our community | | | | | |understand possible dangers|today and will | | | | | |to them and others. continue to uphold | | | | | | |the values of life as| | | | | | |the people who fought| | | | | | |for us to have these | | | | | | |rights and | | | | | | |opportunities. |

History of Western Civilization Essay

An outstanding single event that happened in history during the ancient period was the development of the alphabet in Egypt around 2800 BC. This was in the form of hieroglyphics, which was the writing system devised by the Egyptians in order to improve their communication processes. The symbols developed by the hieroglyphics represented important messages and information that helped to clearly improve the way of living of the Egyptian people. Although the hieroglyphics are not used anymore today as part of the modern alphabet, it clearly became the basis for the establishment of the English, Greek and Latin alphabets that were further developed by people that lived during the Western civilizations. It was through the hieroglyphics that the concepts of vowels and consonants evolved, and the improved alphabets were effectively merged with different Western languages that enabled them to use better methods of communication (Budge, 2009). The legacy that the establishment of hieroglyphics has left to the modern era is the gift of improved written communication. With a recognized set of alphabet, people at present have been able to effectively express their ideas and sentiments through various forms of written communication. With the emergence of various technologies like mobile phones and computers, written communication has even become easier and able to reach people from various parts of the globe. Thus, people are given the opportunity to effectively convey their messages to one another by using a common alphabet and language system that they can understand, preventing unnecessary conflicts or misunderstandings that could potentially happen along the process of communication. The establishment of the Oxford University in 1249 is another outstanding single event that deserves consideration. Oxford University is one of the first academic institutions that were established all over the world, and it is already one of the oldest at present. The various religious sects in England had the initiative to establish an academic institution where the people can be able to get formal learning and improve their knowledge and understanding about various subject matters. Because of the massive influences of the medieval, renaissance and early Industrial Revolution periods, even the people from Western civilizations traveled to Europe and aimed to study at Oxford University where the best teachers all over the world can be found (Feingold, 2010). Music, religion, politics, science and law were the common subjects being taught at Oxford University, and the students returned to their respective countries bringing along with them the knowledge that they learned and applying them into the society. The legacy that the establishment of Oxford University has left to the modern era is that it provided the inspiration for the Western and Eastern worlds to make education of people a top priority. The significant intellectual improvements of students that studied at Oxford University paved the way for the foundation of many other universities all over the world. For example, America was able to establish its first university, Harvard, in 1636. It became clear for people that they had to get formal education in various schools and universities for them to be able to maximize their skills and capabilities and be able to become productive citizens and contribute positively to society. An outstanding individual during the ancient period was Plato. Originating from Greece, Plato’s ideas undoubtedly helped to shape the Western philosophy. His ideas on Platonic realism, theory of forms and the definition of knowledge helped to educate the people and made them think about their own perspectives about these matters. Plato also founded the Academy, an academic institution that was meant to help people to have a better knowledge and understanding about things that they were interested about. Perhaps the best contribution of Plato for the Western civilizations was his ideas on the ideal state. He believed that in order for the state to be able to function effectively, the society had to be properly organized into people that will lead, people that will serve, and people that will give recommendations and advice (Taylor, 2001). These people have to be able to work harmoniously so that the state can attain peace and progress in a sustainable manner. Plato also reminded that the people also had to make certain sacrifices whenever necessary so that the state can be able to stand strong and repulse any attempts from its enemies to destroy it. All these ideas of Plato have surely left a lasting legacy in the modern era as most governments still make use of his ideas on the ideal state to be able to guide them in the process of leadership and governance. His philosophical ideas are still being taught and debated in various academic institutions and have paved the way for people to appreciate Plato’s intellectual brilliance especially during his time where so many people were aspiring to make a huge difference in society. Another outstanding individual that lived during the Renaissance-early Industrial Revolution periods was Niccolo Machiavelli. Originating from Italy, Machiavelli’s contributions to Western civilization were mainly rooted on political science. Known for his courage and boldness in citing his opinions on various political matters, Machiavelli is well recognized for his unique ideas that even became the inspiration of other philosophers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Leo Strauss. Perhaps the best contribution of Niccolo Machiavelli was his masterpiece entitled The Prince. This book expressed Machiavelli’s ideas regarding a more deliberate and forceful transfer of power. He believed that when the leader of the state was not performing his roles and responsibilities, the people need not to wait for the leader to step down (Ford, 2005). Machiavelli mentioned that the people can be empowered to forcefully expel the leader of the state from his position and choose the best and most suitable leader as the replacement. He thought that this was a necessary evil in order to restore balance and orderliness in the society instead of the people doing nothing and allowing the ineffective and corrupt leader to continue to stay in power and eventually become stronger in time. Thus, these ideas of Niccolo Machiavelli paved the way for the establishment of the people empowerment concept, which is his legacy for the modern era. Although people at present do not really aim to kill their incompetent leaders or incite chaos to demonstrate their discontent, they use the ideas of Niccolo Machiavelli as their inspiration to have the courage to stand up and make their voices of displeasure be heard.

International law. The case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

International law. The case - Essay Example Natural products are fetching ever more precious in today's society. An important part of the shopper market is persuaded that natural products are linked with security and health, while artificial products are linked to unwanted side effects. In reaction to this trend, significant shifts are happening in many industrial sectors, such as food, drink, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, mostly because of rising feelings of the benefits of "lifestyle in agreement with nature". Since gathering consumer wants and expectations are of main significance for companies' competitiveness, there is a "gold race" for the use of natural elements as raw materials to expand a broad diversity of products. According to the Expert Ferreira, the "green wave" has led therapeutic plant sharing companies to seek "new products", with a sight to supplying the increasing demand in this market. Certainly, the similar thinking could be extensive to other industrial sectors intimately connected to human health, hygiene and food. This is the cause why rising countries abruptly discover themselves in the attention because of the sometimes huge biodiversity of plants rising within their boundaries. According to the Constitution of the United States gives Congress the authority to pass laws connecting to patents, in Article I, section 8, which reads "Congress shall have power to endorse the development of science and helpful arts, by securing for imperfect times to authors and inventors the elite right to their individual writings and discoveries." (US Constitution online, 2006) Under this authority Congress has from time to time enacted a range of laws relating to patents. The first patent law was enacted in 1790. The patent laws underwent a universal revision which was enacted July 19, 1952, and which came into result January 1, 1953. It is codified in Title 35, United States Code. As well, on November 29, 1999, Congress enacted the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999 (AIPA), which more revised the patent laws. See Public Law 106-113, 113 Stat. 1501 (1999). The patent law specifies the topic substance for which a patent may be obtained and the conditions for patentabili ty. The law establishes the United States Patent and Trademark Office to administer the law connecting to the yielding of patents and contains a range of other provisions linking to patents (Ray, 2003). A product can not be patented if any information is already available about it in any domestic or international level journals. So giving patent rights to Omni was wrong and the request for revocation should be granted as information was available in journal articles present in the libraries of state Y. Patents on Natural Products Investments in study and development are closely related to the hope of obtaining rights over the results, in order to recompense for the money spent throughout the work, which can be important through many years of study. Thus, given the spirited nature of modern life, it has become essential to offer incentives for study and growth

Island of stone money Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Island of stone money - Essay Example When the Germans gained possession of the island, they ordered the chiefs of the districts in the island to repair the paths that had been neglected and were in poor condition. When the chiefs declined to administer the repair of the roads, the Germans sought a way of imposing fine on them. A person was sent to each disobedient district to mark the most valuable Fei with a black cross to indicate that the government now owned the stones (Friedman 3). The people then felt impoverished, repaired the roads, and the government then sent its agents to erase the marks. Consequently, the people regained possession of their Fei. Despite these people’s apparent lack of knowledge on how monetary systems work, the article compares their beliefs with an incident in the U.S where the Bank of France requested the Federal Reserve Bank to store its gold in its account. Consequently, the Federal Bank put French gold in separate drawers and put a label to indicate that it belonged to the French. The two incidents illustrate how important myth is to monetary matters. People tend to believe that their own money is more real and rational than those used by other societies. Because of these myths, people fail to realize that money from other countries may have high purchasing powers than theirs (Friedman 5). One of the characteristics of Fei that qualified it as money was its use by these people as a medium that could be exchanged for goods and services. The durability of these stones, another characteristic of money, ensured that they performed their duty as a medium of exchange and store of value. Durability as a feature of money is critical since it develops confidence that an item can be exchanged later for other goods. Fei can be classified as commodity money because its value was independent of regulatory forces but dependent on attached value on its material. Act of the Germans to mark the stones illustrates this because of the adverse effects that it

My Quest for Self Actualization Personal Statement

My Quest for Self Actualization - Personal Statement Example One other important thing about my personality is that I am a very social person. I think that it is impossible to pursue a successful and meaningful search for self-actualization without engaging in sincere social service and communication. If it were not for society, every person would reduce to nothing but a grave. So it has always been my endeavor to be socially active and relevant, wherever I am and whatever I am doing. Surprisingly, I find sports to be the most suitable avenue for individual achievement in a societal context. My panache for sports has certainly contributed to my innate sense of fair play and ambition. Perhaps that is why the people who know me find me very outgoing and cordial.  I am committed to pursuing my search for self-actualization, achievement and social relevance with a mindset that is quintessentially optimist and positive. I believe that if I am daring in my academic and career choices, doors will open up where earlier were walls.  

Succeed essay Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Succeed essay - Term Paper Example The basic assumption of the current report is that although extracurricular activities are blamed by some for a decrease in academic performance, they are actually a vital part of education that help students to succeed, giving students better skills at time management, and fewer opportunities to get into trouble during the time in which school is closed for academics. adjustment skills and possibly pathological problems later in life. These activities can be considered to be extracurricular activities, because they show (although part-time jobs are not always enjoyable) â€Å"the value of safe, structured, and enjoyable opportunities†¦ unstructured afternoons, weekends, and early evenings are particularly risky times for youth† (Kahne et. al, 2001). Extracurricular activities are primarily thought of in terms of social interest, diversity, sociability, and the formation of an appropriate and successful resume or application. Generally, extracurricular activities can be divided by broad parameters of athletic and artistic activities, with various sub-categorical definitions. Scholars point out that â€Å"large-scale quantitative and qualitative studies find evidence that extracurricular activities foster educational attainment, identity development, and social integration into adult society† (Anderson et. al, 2001). Without extracurricular activities, students face increased risks. The lack of positive patterns of rule enforcement in schools can, in extreme cases, lead students to form horrifyingly negative structural patterns of behavior that are then taken back into the institution in terrifying ways. Socialization currents tend to flow backwards in unstructured and unsupervised time for adolescents who do not have more positive ways in which to occupy their time, or the social guidance that seems to be so crucial in terms of deterring or redirecting negative energy. â€Å"An increasing

Pls see the attachment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pls see the attachment - Essay Example Steve should have set up an agenda for his day and should have had a system to organize his paperwork. Before the meeting, Steve received a call on a rush job, which he had turned over to one of his production supervisors, Lucy Adams, and put out of his mind. He tried to reach her and discovered she was out of town and difficult to reach. He asked his secretary to leave her a message to call him. He should have told his secretary to ask Lucy about the job in case he was not in the office when she called. The rest of his day was one interruption after another—an appointment not listed, a priority job his boss had asked for that wasn’t done, being late for another meeting, missing calls from Lucy—and at 4:30, he decided to go home, wondering how he could ever get caught up. It is obvious Steve Arnold is a disaster waiting to happen. He is balancing on a tight rope, and any minute he’s apt to crash. He has several employees apparently capable of handling projects, but Steve has never created a preliminary schedule that would include early morning meetings with his staff to plan not only each day but also the time lines needed to complete projects by a reasonable deadline. It would also appear that his secretary, Ruth, either has not been given the option of helping Steve organize his own scheduled priorities and putting his papers in order or she is not dependable and probably should be replaced. Steve does not look ahead to determine how to prioritize his time. He also does not look at the overall picture to see how production schedules should interact. He needs to educate himself on these matters. Steve does not appear to have much personal interaction with any of his staff nor does he schedule his time properly. He will improve greatly as a leader if he sets a preliminary schedule for his day with connections to future projects and the reminders he needs to follow up. Once he does this, he will

Small business report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Small business report - Essay Example The results will be concluded and then recommendations will be provided based on the problems identified in the analysis stage. There is no one single, consistent definition of small business that is widely accepted. Therefore, there are different definitions for different sectors and regions. It is the objective nature of the business that defines the small business. In 1971, the Bolton Committee put down the two separate definition of small business with respect to economic and statistics. The economic definition stated that the small business is one that is relatively small share in the market, true owners run the place with no management structure and were independent. Whereas the statistical definition stated that the definition varied across the sectors. It said that manufacturing and construction were defined by the number of employees, retailing and services by turnover and road transport by number of vehicles. For example: A manufacturing businesses is considered small if it employs less than 200 employees (Storey, 1994). This perspective stated by Wynarczyk et al. said that the small firms will be different from the larger firms with respect to three important dimensions: uncertainty, innovation and evolution. The definition did not take a good pace in the minds of the researchers (Storey, 1994). Another definition of small businesses is laid down by the European Commission. They developed a new term ‘small and medium enterprises’ to define small businesses. This definition is invariant irrespective of the sector and region and uses only one variable, employee, to define the term. It stated that: The Bolton Committee definition faced severe criticism on several grounds. And therefore, the definition put forward by the European Commission supersedes all the other definitions and is most commonly used these days. The research suggested that most economists use their definitions of small business which they deem

The Spanish Settlement Essay Example for Free

The Spanish Settlement Essay During the 17th century, many nations started settling all throughout North America. Spanish conquistadors claimed much of the Southwest, while England began to occupy the Northeast. The Spanish and English colonies varied in terms of the impact of religion and control of the economy. The Spanish and English colonies varied in terms of religion such as immigration and opinions on salvation. Starting in the late 1500s and early 1600s, conquistadors such as Vasco Nunuez de Balboa and Herman Cortes of the Spanish empire first started to make their way into the New World. Known for their mantra, â€Å"Gold, Glory, God†, the main reason for their expansion was for power and wealth. In the Spanish church, the Pope decided who went to Heaven. This scared most Roman Catholics of the Spanish Empire into following the rules of the church. The Spanish ships arrived containing soldiers of the Spanish empire as well as Franciscan Friars, or priests of the Roman Catholic Church. The priests began converting Native Americans to Catholicism. The Spanish believed that by converting the Native Americans, the natives would be saved from an eternity spent in Hell. (This belief led them to demand tribute from the Native Americans.) Due to the notion that the Pope grants entrance into heaven, King Phillip III of the Spanish Empire fulfilled any demand the head of the church had. When the Pope insisted the Roman Catholic Church needed more money, King Phillip III made it a requirement for converted Native Americans to pay tribute to the Spanish using gold and silver bullion. On the other hand, English settlers came to the New World to practice their religion freely. After England broke away from the Roman Catholic Church in the 1500s, The Church of England was founded and all of England was forced to belong. The Puritans did not agree with ways of the Anglican Church. After years of being punished by King Charles I for not obeying the Church of England’s rules, the Puritans came to the New World. The colonists founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1629 as a way to reform parts of the Protestant religion. One major aspect of the Anglican Church that the Puritans wanted to reform was the belief that one’s actions on earth determined entrance into Heaven. The Puritans believed in predestination, a belief that God decides who will go to Heaven and Hell before birth. A Puritan’s actions on Earth were evidence of who was going to heaven. The Spanish and the English came to the New World for different reasons. The Spanish came to expand their empire through religion. The  English wanted religious freedom. The Spanish settlers had strong ties back the Spanish empire; all tribute that Native Americans aid to the Spanish settlers was sent back to the Spanish empire and Roman Catholic Church. Because the English setters came to the New World to distance themselves from England, the colonists of New England were mostly on their own. Because of this, English settlers were more independent and self-sufficient. The cultures also had different ideas about salvation. The Spanish believed that leaders of the church decide who goes to heaven. The English believed that their fate was predestined, and that God chose who will go to heaven before birth. Because of the Spanish settlers reliance on the church officials, the English settlers show more independence than the Spanish. Another difference between the Spanish settlers of the Southwest and English settlers of New England were their views on acceptable ways to treat the Native Americans economically and on proper handling of wealth. The Spanish used the encomienda system to acquire wealth. Under this system, an ecomendero was granted a specific number of Native Americans to protect from other tribes and teach the Spanish language to. In exchange, the encomendero could force the Native Americans to pay tribute in forms of bullion and labor. Eventually, the native people began to die off from the harsh labor and foreign diseases that the Spanish brought from Spain. The Native Americans rejected Spanish control and returned to their customs. Angered by this, the Spanish captured 46 Pueblo leaders, which started the Pueblo Revolt. After years of fighting, the Spanish regained control. In New England, relationships with local Native Americans started out peaceful. The Native Americans and settlers of New England began to trade with each other. Native Americans, who were used to their elementary weapons, acquired better weapons from the Europeans. This once beneficiary exchange between the two cultures eventually grew tense. As years went on and more settlers came to America, conflicts arose. An agreement formed between Dutch settlers of New York and the English settlers of New England about the division of the Pequot lands. When no immediate decisions were reached of who would gain the land, New Englanders started to settle in the area without notice. The Pequot took this unplanned invasion as a form of attack, and fought back. After a series of attacks, New England called for reinforcements from allies. By joining forces with Plymouth and the Narragansett people, the  English gained control of the lands. In Spanish settlements, the economy revolved around mercantilism. The colonies were founded to economically compliment the Spanish empire by sending all wealth back to Spain. Foreign ships were prohibited to enter Spanish ports to keep a positive balance of trade. On the other side of the New World, the English colony of Plymouth initially set up a communal society. The entire community shared the land and helped farm. This later proved to be unsuccessful, and the land was divided up. In New England, farming was possible, but not particularly successful. The rocky soil and short growing season made growing the majority of crops difficult. The English settlers found the most profit in fishing and large trading ships. Since the colonists of New England were independent, from England, all profit made from farming and fishing stayed in the colonies. The Spanish and English battled with Native Americans of the Southwest and New England. The Spanish settlers, coming from a large empire, already had the taste for conquering other nations. Defeating cultures was a foreign concept to the people of New England. Their humble victory over the Pequot people resulted in unexpected success. The Spanish and English had similar economies with major differences. The Spanish economy was based on mercantilism. This gives evidence of ties back the Spanish empire, who ruled Spanish settlements. The English colonists traded with Europe, but also raised crops and cattle for themselves. While the Spanish sent their gained wealth back to Spain, the English settlers were able to make a profit. Because the Spanish settlements economy was created to benefit the Spanish empire, English settlers are more independent than the empire reliant Spanish. The Spanish and English settlers varied due to the English settler’s independence. The Spanish settlers showed more dependent on Spain, while English settlers showed independence when it came to treatment of Native Americans and economically using resources widely. The colonists of New England were better prepared for life on their own, and eventually gained control of all of America.

Yosemite National Park Essay Example for Free

Yosemite National Park Essay The Yosemite Valley is regarded by its visitors as one of the World’s greatest natural wonders. People were attracted to its crowding beautiful scenery all in one small area. These include the five domes, lakes and caverns, cliffs and mountains elevated form 13,000 up to 15,000 feet (Hittell 1868). Yosemite National Park is found in eastern parts of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera countries located in east central California, United States. Extending across the Sierra Nevada mountain chain, the park area was measured 3,081 square kilometers (Harris 1997). According to Hamilton and Hamilton (2006), majority of Yosemite is composed of Plutonic igneous rocks which forms underground when magma cools and solidifies slowly forming large crystals. Yosemite Park is composed of plutonic rocks including tonalite, quartz monzonite, granodiorite and granite which were loosely treated as granitic rocks. Gabbro, quartz diorite and diorite are plutonic rocks which cannot be technically recognized as granitic rocks. Minerals including potassium feldspar, biotite, hornblende, plagioclase feldspar and quartz constitute plutonic rocks. The texture and relative extent of quartz and feldspar largely differs in plutonic rocks. The formation of different bodies of individual plutonic rocks was due to the repetition of magma intrusions into host rocks beneath the Earth’s surface taking 130 million years ago. The plutonic rocks previously inside the Earth are already out at the surface due to deep erosion and elimination of the previously overlying rocks. Within Yosemite, only small amounts of volcanic igneous rocks were found. Beneath the surface, latite lava flows, basaly flows and latite tuff are found while obsidian, ash-flow tuff, rhyolite and pumice were found on the surface. Huber (1987) stated that on each side of the batholith of plutonic rocks, metamorphic rocks of two northwest-trending belts were found. He added that metamorphic rocks were formed from the alteration of sedimentary and volcanic rocks due to high pressure, cutting stress and temperature beneath the Earth’s crust. Volcanically originated rocks are called metavolcanic rocks while those with sedimentary origin are called metasedimentary rocks. As explained by Lawson (1921) from the Handbook of Yosemite National Park, Sierra Nevada belongs to the class of mountains of the Basin Range type. The Great Basin is a region being described as without drainage to the sea which lies between Wasatch and Sierra Nevada. The blocks which were found in this region of the Earth’s crust were broken and elongated in a north to south direction. The blocks under the wide valleys of the desert have been reclined and depress while the others was uplifted and composed the linear mountain ranges. Matthes (1930) indicated in his work that the characteristic, structure and history of the two mountain systems were known by certain rock formations. The fossil remains preserved in rocks indicate the approximate time of creation. 415,000,000 years ago covered by the Paleozoic era, accumulation of thickness of thousands of feet on the Pacific Ocean’s floor was caused by the outwashing of sediments from the continent. The sediments are then uplifted dry folded forming mountain ranges in the Permian Epoch of the Carboniferous Period of the same era. During the Mesozoic era, which was 40 million years ago, in the Triassic period, the mountains slowly faded to hills and land sunk below the sea depositing new sediments. During the Jurassic period, as the sea bottom sinks more sediments were laid down. Parallel northwestward-trending mountain ranges came from the folded and crumpled remains of the old and new sediments. The folds below were accumulated with molten granite. In the Cretaceous period which is 75 million years ago, gradual worn down of the mountain ranges and the region resulted to its reduction into lowland. Streams carried away masses of thousand feet thick granite and sedimentary rock uncovering wide areas. The region together is gradually upwarded to moderate heights. Due to volcanic burst, the land in the northern region was continually covered with mud, mash and rhyolitic lava. In the Oligocene period, Rhyolitic materials were worn away due to continuous erosion. During the Miocene period which was 12 million years ago, the northern half of the region was covered with succeeding flows of andesitic lava and mud due to the beginning of another volcanic eruption. Irregular minimal crust movement and volcanic eruption happened. After that is a period of stability. The lofty block range with steep eastern front of the Sierra Nevada was caused by the transformed forceful tilting with strong faulting movements along its eastern margin. Pleistocene epoch is known for the great ice age, it was characterized by repeated mantles of glaciers at the higher regions of the range. Twenty thousand years ago up to the present time, is considered as the postglacial time wherein the normal climatic conditions returned. According to Harris (1996), island arc of volcanoes that was located at the west coast of proto-North America was due to the generation of Farallon Plate subducting beneath the North American plate. When two tectonic plates move and meet toward each other one moving down into the mantle and one sliding beneath is called subduction. During the Jurassic era, volcanism intruded and covered the rocks and these rocks eventually eliminated by the process of uplifted-accelerated erosion. 210 million years ago up to 150 million years before today, regional plutonism occurred. Plutonism is the process wherein rocks are formed due to volcanic activity. Around the same period of time, Nevadan orogeny occurred. Orogeny is the process of natural mountain building through distinctive structural phenomena. The rocks formed were composed of mostly granite and below the ground measures 6 miles. Uplifting of the Sierra Nevada was due to the vertical movement along the fault. The difference of westerm-flowing streams promoted the uplift of Sierra Nevada. The streams ran faster quickly cutting the valleys. Creation of Owen’s valley was due to the development of major faults to the east. Sierra’s uplifting accelerated during the Pleistocene. Exfoliation occurred due to the pressure produce by the increased erosion and uplifting exposing the granitic rocks into the surface. Exfoliation is responsible for the rounded shape of many domes in Yosemite National Park. Harris (1996) also stated that about 2 to 3 million years ago, the region has been changed by glaciations. Sherwin, Tahoe, Tenaya and Tioga are the four glaciations which have taken place in Sierra Nevada. The largest glaciers produced are from the Sherwin glaciation while the other stages only form smaller ones. It was said to be the reason for the largely excavated and shaped of the Yosemite Valley. Figure 1. Geological Map of Yosemite National Park Source: http://geomaps. wr. usgs. gov/parks/yos/yosmap. html References Hamilton, Calvin. , and Hamilton, Rosanna. Yosemite National Park Rocks. 2006. 14 May 2008 http:// www. scienceviews. com/parks/yrocks. html. Harris, Ann. Geology of National Parks 5th edition. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Pub. Co. , 1997. 2008 17 May 2008 http://people. uwec. edu/ERICKSKM/references. html. Hittell, John. Yosemite: Its Wonders and Its Beauties. 1868. 20 May 2008 http://www. yosemite. ca. us/library/yosemite its wonders and its beauties/general features. html Huber, N. King. The Geologic Story of Yosemite National Park. 1987. 17 May 2008 http://www. yosemite. ca. us/library/geologic_story_of_yosemite/rocks. html. Lawson, Andrew. Handbook of Yosemite National Park. 1921. 17 May 2008 http://www. yosemite. ca. us/library/Handbook_of_Yosemite_Nat’l_park/ Matthes, Francois. Geologic History of Yosemite Valley. 1930. US Geological Survey Proffesional Paper 160. 17 May 2008 http://www. nps. gov/history/history/online_books/geology/publications/pp/160/

Energy Efficient Operation of Three Phase Induction Motor

Energy Efficient Operation of Three Phase Induction Motor Energy Efficient Operation of Three Phase Induction Motor Using DELSTAR Converter for Machine Tools Abstract DELSTAR converter is an electronic system to be interfaced with the existing STAR DELTA starter for machine tools. Induction motor consumes more power while it is operated at DELTA mode for a long time under no load condition. The proposed system gives the solution for the above stated problem. When the load on the motor is less than 40% of full load, it switches the motor to operate in STAR mode to save energy. When the load increases beyond 40%, it automatically switches the motor to operate in DELTA mode. The starting regimen is not disturbed. The proposed converter is recommended for applications where load changes are not too fast (not more than 120 times/hour). This can be used with any capacity motor by choosing appropriate current transformers (C.Ts) and setting the current level using the potentiometer built in. Keywords DELSTAR converter, machine tools, energy saving, current transformers Introduction Lathes will perform as many operations like face, turn, neck, taper, drill, bore, spin, file, polish, hone, buff, knurl, cut internal and external threads and cut off work. Relatively hard materials are handled by a metal lathe. For repetitive production of parts, turret lathes and capstan lathes are used. Induction motor of several HP is coupled with turret lathe and CNC machines too. Induction motors draw higher currents during their starting operations than is the case under full load running conditions. In the early days Direct-on-Line have been used. The short duration inrush currents, greatly exceeds the Starting currents. Complex starting methods to reduce Starting currents is compromised by other inrush currents [1], [4]. Induction motors are started normally with direct on line, but when large motors are started with D.O.L. starter, due to starting surge current, the supply line voltage is disturbed. To limit the starting surge current, reduced voltage is given to induction motors at start and then have full supply voltage when they run up to near rated speed. Comparison between the different starting methods of induction motor in terms of power quality is to figure out the reliable starting method which has the less power quality problems [5]. Efficient torque/current characteristics are provided by STAR-DELTA, industries prefer STAR-DELTA starters for their application. The large amounts of losses which occur at low speeds determine the users given by the wound rotor only for starting. The losses specific to the additional rotor resistor are quite important [3] while analyzing the performance of the induction motor. Industries will operate three phase induction motors at delta connection mode since machine runs very efficiently when the machine under fully loaded condition. When the motor is loaded less than 40% of the full load, it runs under inefficient energy zone. So, the induction motor will consume more power from the supply side during partially loaded condition. In order to compensate the power consumption, the motor load is virtually added by connecting stator winding from delta mode to star mode. If the load on the motor is increased above 40% of full load current, winding connection automatically changes from star to delta for efficient operation. Figure 1 Block diagram of proposed system System Analysis Existing System Motor draws more current than the full load at the time of starting, resulting in burnout of motor winding and / or starter. When DOL starter is used, because of high starting current, there is a big voltage dip in the electrical installation and therefore DOL starter is not suitable for higher rating squirrel cage induction motors. Significant energy wastage results reduced motor life. The system which exists is starting current reduction and the starters at the time of start of motor is star-delta starter. The STAR-DELTA starter is used at the time of starting only, not under running condition. The starter may be operated semi-automatically or fully-automatically. The semi-automatic operation is done by the push button switch. Fully-automatic starter is built with the timer which is used to change the STAR to DELTA connection after some predefined time. The both types of STAR-DELTA starter changes the winding connection from STAR to DELTA, and it is not possible to change the windi ng connection from the DELTA to STAR during running of induction motor. This problem is overcome by employing proposed starter with induction motor which changes the winding connection during both starting and running condition. 2.2 Explored Technology The proposed converter (refer figure 1) is to change the winding connection from STAR to DELTA and vice versa at the running condition of the induction motor. The switching process is done according to the load variation of the motor at particular instant. The construction of the converter is also similar to the starter with the small modification in the circuit. It is an automatic converter and the automatic process is made by the microcontroller. In the ancient system, there is no microcontroller available. Any one of the phase is taken for the current sensing using current sensor. The sensor circuit continuously senses the load variation in the motor and the output is produced according to the variation of load. When the load on the motor is less than 40% of the full load rated current, the controller activates the STAR connected contactors, so that the motor can run at STAR connection. When the load on the motor is above 40% of full load rated current, the controller activates th e DELTA connected contactors, so that the motor can run at DELTA connection. The converter accurately operates for the pre-setting value of the current sensor. If the motor load current reaches to 41% of the full load rated current the converter switches the motor from STAR to DELTA. And, if the motor load current comes 39% of the full load current, the converter switches the motor from DELTA to STAR. The converter can sense the current continuously so that the losses are reduced by maximum amount. Moreover, the converter can also be used as the starter. System Specification Hardware units are split into many sub units and each unit requires power supply to energize the circuit. Figure 2 Power supply circuit for relays and microcontroller +12V SPDT relay and +5V SPDT relay were used here. So that relay requires +12V supply and +5V also for microcontroller unit. The LM7812 and LM7805 are the voltage regulators which is used to regulate the output voltage of the bridge rectifier in Figure 2. Then the output is again filtered with the capacitor. +24V power supply is used to energize the sensor unit. The current is sensed with the help current transformer with buffer unit to adjust the current setting. This circuit is designed with the help of LM317k voltage regulator in figure 3. Figure 3 Circuit diagram for sensor unit motor Above the preset value, the transistor operates and relay gets energized so that microcontroller switches the operation into DELTA mode. Microcontroller switches the operation into DELTA mode. The conversion process takes minimal time in milli seconds and give accurate change over from STAR to DELTA and vice versa. ULN2003 is a driver which drive the signal input from current sensor to the microcontroller and also the STAR and DELTA contactor. The analog output from the microcontroller is not suitable to operate the +12V relay. So the analog output of the microcontroller is changed from the +5V to +12V with the help of driver unit (refer Figure 4). The microcontroller is to control the switching of STAR or DELTA relay while the motor is under the running condition. When the load is current is below the predefined value, the controller will energize the STAR contactor and if the controller input is high, it will activate the DELTA contactor. The input and output are enabled in the same port of the microcontroller. The pin 2 is enabled for STAR and the pin 3 is enabled for DELTA. The mode of operation is displayed in the Liquid Crystal Display. XTAL1 and XTAL2 are the input and output respectively of an inverting amplifier which is used as a crystal oscillator in the frequency range of 1.2 MHz to 12 MHz. The RESET circuit is connected with the microcontroller in pin 9 (refer Figure 5). Figure 4 ULN2003 driver circuit Figure 5 Circuit diagram of controller unit The output of the relay driver is given to the relay coil for energizing. The output of the relay driver unit is either 0V or 5V. The relay is connected in 15th pin of the driver IC. So, whenever the output of the relay is +5V then the star contactors will be activated. The delta unit is also used to connect the motor with the converter part. Figure 6 Circuit diagram of star contactor The output of the delta relay driver unit is either 0V or 5V. So, whenever the output of the relay is +5V then the delta contactor will be activated. Figure 7 Circuit diagram of delta contactor With the help of the above arrangements, the contactors change the winding connection from STAR to DELTA and DELTA to STAR simultaneously while the motor is under running condition. The LCD display unit will display the motor running condition and also the load current. LEDs are used to indicate the status of the relays. Experimental Results The converter is tested with 5HP squirrel cage induction motor by conducting simple brake test in laboratory. The power factor is fairly good in delta mode compare to the star for the same current values of the motor. The performance of the induction motor is good in delta connection but only when the motor is under fully loaded condition. Under no load or partially loaded condition, the motor operated in inefficient zone since machine consumes more energy than star mode. The table given below proves that the converter can improve the efficiency of the motor at the same time; it can reduce the energy consumed by the motor significantly. TABLE I Energy Saving Data For A 5 HP Motor Load Current in Amps. Power Factor Output Power in Watts Volt Amps Delta Star Delta Star Delta Star Delta Star 3.7 0.8 0.17 0.23 367 128 2140 532 4.4 0.95 0.15 0.24 476 165 3025 641 4.7 1 0.15 0.34 545 233 3177 673 4.8 1.4 0.28 0.65 866 606 2961 887 5 2.1 0.43 0.80 1240 986 2922 1231 5.5 2.7 0.53 0.85 1741 1493 3298 1735 6.3 5 0.71 0.86 2691 2559 3661 2918 The tests conducted on a 5 HP motor with a full load current of 7.9 amps, the energy savings on no load is 65.3%, reduction in operating current is upto 79.4%, reduction in demand 78.8% and improvement in power factor 60%. Figure 8 Characteristics of Motor (Star Delta) Discussions And Future Developments This work concluded that the star delta converter is very useful for all the kind of three phase induction motors from smaller rating to the larger rating, the converter can be designed accordingly. In the present days, the starters only used and it has low sensitivity. If the automatic star delta star converter is replaces the starter, the performance and life time of the motors will be increased. Since the converter can be operatable at the running time of the motor it reduces the losses in switching and during operation. The converter is designed with the small hardware units and it is very easy to install with the motors. Cost wise also the converters is very economical. This converter will reach the market with cheaper cost soon and reduces the energy consumption. References P. C. Krause, O. Wasynczuk, and S. D. Sudhoff, Analysis of Electric Machinery and Drive Systems, 2nd ed. Piscataway, NJ: IEEE Press, 2002. D. Gritter, D. Wang, and T. G. Habetler, Soft starter inside delta motor modeling and its control, in Proc. IEEE-IAS Annu.Meeting, Oct. 8-12, 2000, vol. 2, pp. 1137-1141. Williams, A. Jack., Griffith, M. Shan, Evaluating the Effects of Motor Starting on industrial and Commercial Power Systems, IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, 1978, Vol. IA-14, No. 4, pp. 292-305. Larabee, J., Pellegrino, B., Flick, B. Induction motor starting methods and issues, Industry Applications Society 52nd Annual Petroleum and Chemical Industry Conference, 2005, pp.217-222. Phillip W. Rowland, Low Impact Motor Control with Star-Delta Starting, IEEE Annual Textile, Fiber and Film Industry Technical Conference, 1998, pp. 10/1 10/9. Austin H. Bonnett, The Benefits of Allowing for Increased Starting Current in AC Squirrel Cage Induction Motors, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Applications, 1991, Vol. 27, No.6, pp. 1169-1174. Chapman S.J., Electric Machinery Fundamentals, 4th ed., Australia: Mc Graw-Hill, 2005, pp. 380-472. AUTHORS BIOGRAPHY PREMKUMAR Mcompleted his Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Electronic Engineering in Sri Ramakrishna Institute of Technology, (SRIT), Coimbatore -641010, India. He also completed his Master degree in Applied Electronics in Anna University of Technology, Coimbatore, India. Currently, pursuing his Ph.D. in Anna University, Chennai. The author has presented many Technical Papers in various National International Conferences. Currently, he is working as an Assistant Professor in Electrical Electronics Engineering. His field of interest is Electrical machines, embedded systems, Renewable energy resources, Robotics, Electrical drives Control and Power electronics. SOWMYA R received her B.E. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Saranathan College of Engineering, Tiruchirappalli, India in 2013 and M.Tech. in Energy Engineering from National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli , India, in 2015. She worked as an Assistant Professor/ Dept. of Electrical and Electronics Engineering in KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, India for the academic year 2015-2016. She is currently working as an Assistant Professor/Dept. of Power Engineering in GMR Institute of Engineering and Technology, Rajam, India. Her research interest includes control systems, Electric vehicle and Renewable Energy.

Anthropology Essay -- Anthropologist Culture Essays

Anthropology Anthropology what a vulnerable observer you are! You may well have to jump into the arms of the scientists if you are going to try to keep your grass hut at the academy! -- Ruth Behar Debates on the role the reflexive plague the field of cultural anthropology as postmodern critics join the bandwagon attempting to claim authority in this dubiously recognized discipline. In the borderline realm between the sciences and humanities, cultural anthropology has tried to find a niche in which it can comfortably rest. For many, this has been in building a foundation of the methodical. If anthropology can classify, categorize, and synthesize, it can assert its legitamacy to the glares of academia. However, in the attempts to salvage its reputation, anthropologists have sacrificed the validity of research by neglecting our subjectivity. Critics have viewed the role of the reflexive as anthropological "naval gazing" leading to introspection and empathy which undermine accurate observation. However, I contend that it is important to include reflexivity in anthropological method. The anthropologist has to recognize not only the effect the surroundings have on him/her personally , but also the effect he/she has on the surroundings. This dialogue comprises data. If neglected, the text in its attempt to be comprehensive would be left incomplete. The anthropologist Renato Rosaldo has been particularly criticized for his statement on reflexivity in Culture and Truth: The Remaking of Social Analysis. In this work, he revisited his previous ethnography Grief and Headhunters Rage with a new perspective. Many years after his fieldwork, he realized the importance of personal experience in understanding the context. He states, "Dur... ...8) The anthropologist provides the framework for fieldwork. He/she is the very lenses in which the reader views the culture. By acknowledging his/her own subjectivity, the anthropologist recognizes the limited view he/she provides. This also adds texture to a text by filtering through his/her own background and personal experience. This personal insight is what gives understanding between individuals. By infusing this into the data, the anthropologist draws the reader into a realm where he/she can have the capacity to understand more deeply the ethnography. Beyond the personal background of the ethnographer, his/her actual presence in the environment effects the data immensely. The colliding cultures can reveal a lot about the culture at hand. Reflexivity leads the reader through a depiction of the ethnographer's journey rather than a detached set of sequences.

Causes And Effects Of The Amer :: essays research papers

Causes and Effects of the American Civil War Introduction-   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The American Civil War began on April 12, 1861 when General Pierre Beauregard opened fire with 50 cannons on Fort Sumter. This marked the beginning of one of the longest and bloodiest wars in American history. It was also the only war that took place fully on American soil. The entire war lasted four years and claimed over 620,000 American lives with many more injured. Causes-   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many people attribute the cause of this war to the abolishment of slavery and although that was one of the major catalysts in starting the war it was not the main cause behind the war starting. The main cause to the war starting was tat the south was â€Å"sick and tired† of the federal government meddling with the governing of individual states. The states thought that the government â€Å"meddled† too much in the affairs of individual states. The abolishment of slavery was just the excuse the south was looking for to secede from the union and form its own government placing the majority of the governing power in the states and not in a central government. An excellent metaphor for the cause of the war, which I found on the net, is to say that the causes were like a â€Å"Wagon Wheel.† The central hub of the problem being the problem of states rights. This was the central cause behind the war. The spokes of the wheel being either real or perc eived problems of the south such as unfair laws, injustices, etc. Now just having these problems doesn’t make a wheel i.e. a war, you still need the rim of the wheel. The rim in this case was slavery. The reason why this caused the south to secede was because the south’s economy was based upon the backs of slaves. The upper class politicians, the majority of whom were plantation owners, thought they would be devastated by having to pay the slaves. Effects-   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The war had some major and long lasting effects. Not the least of all was the instatement of a nation wide ban on slavery setting all the slaves free. A good deal of the former slaves kept on working for the plantations, except this time they were paid. The plantation owners did not, for the most part, suffer as much as they thought they would as a result of this law.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 is the primary federal statute that prohibits employers from discriminating against employees in terms, privileges and conditions of employment on the basis of age. The law also applies to employment agencies and labor organizations. To be covered by the ADEA, an individual must be 40 years old or older. There is no cap on an employee's age to be covered by the ADEA. What law requires/prohibits Under the ADEA, it is unlawful to discriminate against a person because of his/her age with respect to any term, condition, or privilege of employment, including hiring, firing, promotion, layoff, compensation, benefits, job assignments, and training. It is also unlawful to retaliate against an individual for opposing employment practices that discriminate based on age or for filing an age discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or litigation under the ADEA. Who is covered The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older from employment discrimination based on age. The ADEA’s protections apply to both employees and job applicants. The ADEA applies to employers with 20 or more employees, including state and local governments. It also applies to employment agencies and labor organizations, as well as to the federal government. ADEA protections include: * Apprenticeship Programs  * Job Notices and Advertisements * Pre-Employment Inquiries * Benefits * Waivers of ADEA Rights Reporting/recordkeeping requirements Employers must keep all payroll records for three years. Employers must also keep on file any employee benefit plan (such as pension and insurance plans) and any written seniority or merit system for the full period the plan or system is in effect and for at least one year after its termination How does one make a complaint if they feel the law has been violated? An individual must pre-file a charge with the EEOC within 180 days after the alleged unlawful practice occurred or within 300 days if a state age discrimination law (including remedies) exits.

English Proficiency and Academic Achievement Essay

Introduction For many years now, linguists and researchers have examined the impact of English language proficiency on various fields like academic success and employability. While early researches suggested that English proficiency does not dictate high academic rating and employment aptitude, evidences are now showing that proficiency of the English language is a cutting-edge asset in areas of academic success and employment in a highly-competitive and demanding industries in Medicine and Fitness, Information Technology, and the Business Process Outsourcing. In the Philippines, for example, where there is an increasing demand of call center workers year after year, fluency of the English language should be a topmost priority among schools. It is on this ground that the issue of how English language proficiency relates to academic achievement and employability is clearly relevant to the educational development of bilingual and trilingual students. This issue has been a widely debated topics not only in the Philippines, but also around some parts of the United States and Europe. Underlying these issues, the question of what English proficiency means and how it relates to academic achievement and employability should be addressed. Central to the understanding of English language proficiency is J. Cummins’s Theory of Language Proficiency. To be proficient in a second language (English, for Filipinos), both basic interpersonal communication skills (BICS) and cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP) need to be developed. The latter is the basis for students’ academic success but may take from 5-7 years or longer to master. The former, in contrast, is usually attained within the first two years of exposure to the second language and is characterized by superficial oral language skills. Language proficiency, furthermore, develops along these two continuums: from context-embedded to context-reduced communication, and from cognitively less-demanding to cognitively-demanding tasks. Then how do we measure English language proficiency? Canale provided a set of criteria he termed communicative competence to assess proficiency in the language as follows: grammatical  competence which encompasses knowledge in lexical items and rules of morphology, syntax, sentence, grammar, semantics, and phonology; discourse competence which is the ability to connect sentences in stretches of discourse and form a meaningful whole out of a series of utterances; sociolinguistic competence which involves knowledge of socio-cultural rules of language; and strategic competence which is the verbal and nonverbal communication strategies that may be called into action to compensate for breakdowns in communication due to performance variables or due to insufficient competence. Summing it up, English language proficiency is competence in basic mechanics, manipulation and ability to use words, phrases, and sentences, distinction of appropriate function of the language, and compensation or remediation for a lack in some language areas. These have been the basis for myriad of researches on the relationship of English language proficiency to academic achievement and employability. At present, researches have turned their attention to the broad cognitive development of language among students. These researches have found an increasing evidence for positive relation between English language proficiency and reasoning abilities including â€Å"nonverbal problem-solving skills, divergent thinking skills, and field dependence†. Research has also indicated that additive-bilingual students who have high proficiency in English outperform their monolingual counterparts who have low proficiency in English on tasks requiring high levels of cognitive control. The positive relation between proficiency in English among students and exceptional nonverbal ability in with-in group analyses has also been observed. Results of these studies revealed that students who are proficient in English are superior to their counterparts in the area of â€Å"general cognition development†, â€Å"academic achievement†, â€Å"and â€Å"linguistic competence†. The series of studies by J. Cummins in 1979, 1981, 1989, and 1992, respectively, have shown that proficiency in the acquired language must be obtained in order for the students’ cognitive abilities to be properly incited. In short, academic achievement is only attained through literacy and proficiency of English. Additionally, the more proficient one is in English, the quicker one is to amass knowledge. For a student to be academically competent in areas like Mathematics, Science, Humanities, Arts, and even Character Education, focus on â€Å"linguistic structures, functions ,  and mechanics†14, should be considered first. Thus, culturally diverse students must make the transition from using only concrete language style to a more contextualized language. Systematically selecting language activities along the oral-proficiency continuum and facilitating the development of the students’ narrative abilities prove to be effective in promoting academic achievement as well. Furthermore, Wallach and Miller noted that â€Å"the shift from utterance-based communication to text-based communication means that students engage in the manipulation of language topics, forms, and functions†, which is very crucial in attaining academic success. According to the researches of Wallach and Butler, and of Simon, there is an existing relationship between English language proficiency and academic achievement, and becoming academically good involves proficiency in English. Thomas and Collier suggested that sustained instruction in English enhances students’ academic success in later years, as shown in thei r research study on high school students. And with the booming call center industry in the Philippines, the need for English fluency and academic mastery should be addressed through effective academic instructions in schools. Every quarter, the industry opens more than 1000 seats to college and high school graduates alike, provided that they have the acceptable and standard language competence to deliver their highly demanding functions in a highly competitive environment. The quality of our graduates in terms of academic and English competence is determined by the passing rate of call center applicants. For the record, the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines admitted that only 9 out of the 100 entry-level applicants are deemed-fit for the call center job, while 20 to 40 applicants would need to undergo skills-based training in language and technology, and the rest failed to get the cut. The Call Center Association of the Philippines pointed out several reasons for the low passing rate. Aside from the lack of call center experience, the applicants do not have the entry-level skills to be considered for the job. Such entry-level skills include verbal conversations, technology know-how, and decision-making, which can be addressed through effective academic preparation in schools. While most vocational schools offer short-term call  center courses, nothing beats a well-grounded academic training in schools. As the call center business continue to offer an attractive working climate, some sectors express concerns about the overall English and academic competence level of the potential new hires. Due to the high-level language proficiency and socio-linguistic skills requirement of the job, certain call center companies may have not filled in the expected seats from the foreign clients, especially for high-end accounts like banking and finance and telecommunications which demand a higher-order thinking and analytical skills. In a study conducted by the John F. Kennedy Center Foundation – Philippines in 2006, it was revealed that the declining supply of qualified call center workers could arrest the projected growth of the industry. The JFKCF-P mentioned that one solution is to â€Å"adequately prepare graduates by providing them quality training in English proficiency.† The general perception of a â€Å"declining English competence† of our students and graduates has been constantly talked about by industry insiders, media practitioners, and educators. Has there been a decline of English competence that we have a relatively low passing rate in the call center job? If there is, what measures are currently in place to ensure academic and language success in schools? Does proficiency in the English language ensure good academic standing? What other factors contribute to language proficiency and academic performance in relation to employability? Background of the Study The academic achievement of bilingual and/or trilingual students has long been a major educational concern. It has been said that before these students are confronted with academically challenging tasks in any discipline, they should be masters of the English language first. But the question here is: how do these learners acquire the standard of English proficiency? There are several factors that affect or inhibit learners in attaining mastery of English; thus, attaining academic success is near to impossible. Such factors include age and/or level of maturity, first language proficiency, and attitude and individual differences. Age and/or level of maturity here refer to the preparedness or readiness of the learners to acquire competence in the language. Collier said that â€Å"for  academic achievement, it does not matter when second language begins, as long as cognitive development continues at least through age 12.† First language proficiency is also a major factor, as what was noted by researchers that it may inhibit the development of the second language. Attitude and individual differences refer to language learning styles and behavior of the learners towards the language. It is on this premise that this research study is geared to prove or disprove the validity of the said effects of English language proficiency on academic achievement and employability. Sufficient data are then gathered to supplement the research study and to aid the researcher with the proper procedures in conducting the study. These data are grouped according to relevance and importance and on the degree of reference. The interest of the research study started as a practical observation in the call center setting. It has been observed that those who have the ability, in whatever level of proficiency, in the English language have the competitive advantage over those who are less or no ability to use English in terms of aca demic performance, employability, and even job promotion. The interest was then broadened into a real research work. Theoretical Framework | Conceptual Framework This study is anchored on Jim Cummins’s Theory on Second Language Acquisition, where five stages of acquisition are discussed in relation to students’ capacity or readiness to achieve academic proficiency. The five stages are as follows: Stage 1: The Silent/Receptive or Preproduction Stage, which can last from ten hours to six months. Here, the students often have up to 500 hundred words that they can understand, but they may not be comfortable using; Stage 2: The Early Production Stage, which can last additional six months after the initial stage. At this stage, students have usually developed close to 1,000 receptive or active words; Stage 3: The Speech Emergence Stage, which can last up to another year. Students in this stage have usually developed approximately 3,000 words and can use short phrases and simple sentences to communicate; Stage 4: The Intermediate Language Proficiency Stage, which may take up to another year after speech emergence. Students have typically developed close to 6,000 words and are beginning to make complex statements, state opinions, ask for clarification, share their thoughts, and speak at greater length; Stage 5: The Advanced  Language Proficiency Stage, which typically takes from five to seven years. By this stage, students have already developed some specialized content-area vocabulary and can participate fully in conversations that require great fluency similar to that of native speakers. In relation to these stages, the achievement level of the students in their academics depends on what stage their proficiency of English is into. Another theory of Jim Cummins is that of Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) and that of Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP). This theory states that the â€Å"average student can develop conversational fluency within two to five years, but that developing fluency is more technical, academic language can take from four to seven years depending on many variables such as language proficiency level, and the degree of support for achieving academic proficiency.† The paradigm shown on the next page features the concept of this study. The continuous cycle begins with English language proficiency first, and after achieving proficiency in the language, students will be able to correctly manipulate language forms and patterns for easy understanding of academic lessons presented in English. This results to high academic performance, which will also augment students’ proficiency in the language. The more proficient one is in English, the more academically go od one becomes and the more one achieves academically, the more one becomes proficient in English. Paradigm: The continuous flow of English language proficiency to manipulation of language forms and patterns to academic achievement and then back to English language proficiency. Statement of the Problem This study determines and proves the significant correlation of English language proficiency to academic achievement of Grade 9 students of Calumpang High School for the school year 2014 – 2015. Specifically, it seeks to answer the following questions: 1. What is the profile of the respondents according to: 1.1. Age; 1.2. Sex; 1.3. Birth Order; 1.4. Parents’ Educational Background; and 1.5. Socio-Economic Status? 2. What is the respondents’ level of English proficiency as a result of the English Proficiency Test? 3. What is the academic achievement of the respondents as reflected by their average grade in all subjects from their previous year? 4. What is the degree of the variability of the respondents’ grades and scores on the English Language Proficiency Test? 5. What is the correlation of English language proficiency to academic achievement? 6. Does a positive correlation between English language proficiency and academic performance dictate high level of passing rate in the call center industry? Hypothesis of the Study For statistical testing and data interpretation, this hypothesis is considered: English language proficiency has no significant effect on academic achievement of the students; thus, no correlation can be made between the level of proficiency in English language and academic achievement. Scope and Delimitation of the Study While there is a strong presence of the issue of bilingualism and trilingualism and second language acquisition, this study covers only the inherent and potential relationship of English language proficiency and academic achievement. The above two issues are excluded here although some aspects have been tackled because of some relevance and association with the main focus of this study. This study also adheres to its main objective, which is to determine whether or not the ability to correctly use the English language has an effect on the students’ academic achievement, and in turn get a very high employability rate in the Business Outsource Processing industry. Although results vary due to factors like age, gender, birth order, socio-economic status, and the like, any conclusions made in this study are solely based on one variable, English language proficiency. The term English language proficiency covers not only mastery of grammar and mechanics or sentence patterns, but mor e so on the mastery of the four macro skills: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Proficiency in this study refers to the ability of the students to read, write, speak, and listen in English. Any of these macro skills does not determine proficiency  because proficiency means more that just the ability to read, write, speak, and listen. Rather, proficiency means the ability to correctly use these four macro skills in a given situation. In this study, the proficiency of the students in the English language is measured under these conditions. Academic achievement covers the school performance of the students through their grades from the previous academic year only. It includes academic subjects like Mathematics, Sciences, Language, Social Studies, Arts, and Livelihood Education. Academic achievement is measured here through the students’ grade from their previous year. The respondents of this study are enrolled Grade 9 students Calumpang High School of school year 2014–2015. Those who indicates in the survey questionnaire that they are foreigners and /or native speakers of English are excluded in the study. It is on these conditions where the results of this study can be concluded valid and reliable. Significance of the Study The study on the relationship of English language proficiency and academic achievement has been the subject of many researches for decades now. Educators and school administrators promote the idea that language proficiency affects academic performance and language proficiency and academic performance affect employability. Although there are some who contradicted such idea, the impact of the results of these researches and studies proved to be interest-provoking and had alarmed those in the authority. That is why considerable number of similar researches is still conducted. The study on the significant effects of English language proficiency on academic achievement is the key factor in understanding learners’ diverse ways on acquiring mastery of the subject matters specially those that use English as medium of instruction. The study alone may eliminate subjectivity on the part of the teachers in terms of assessing the academic performance of the students. In such ways, the teachers are given prior knowledge about the capacity of their students to use the English language and eventually make the necessary adjustments so that all students, in whatever level of English proficiency they have, shall learn effectively whatever the academic subject is. Additionally, understanding that the students are going through a predictable and sequential series of developmental stages in English language proficiency helps teachers predict  and accept students’ current stage, while modifying their instruction to encourage progression to the next stage. This study can also help teachers develop appropriate instructional strategies and assessments that guide students along a continuum of language development. This study will also benefit the students themselves. Having this background, they can already adjust to different academic tasks in the classroom. Also, this shall provide them with the necessary information on assessing their own competence in English and suit it to appropriate level of academic struggle. They will be given substantial help for them to understand their level of competencies in the language. In the case of those who are in the authority, they will be given enough background on the level of English proficiency and its effect to academic achievement of the students. With this, they shall have basis in future program implementation in relation to educational development. Furthermore, this research study is an important area in English language education, perhaps an area that can be significantly studied more. This study will generate new ideas that can be used for future researches related to the topic. As a mere research study, this may not be the be-all and end-all in describing students’ academic learning styles, but this will be a starting point in analyzing the important role of English not only as an international language, but also as a language of academics. Finally, understanding the concept of English language instruction and its impact to the overall academic performance of the students is a good bird’s eye view to course developers and educators of Call Center Programs in the K-12 curriculum. Identifying the areas of English our students are challenged with versus the English proficiency requirements of the call center job enables our school administrators to create skills-related teaching methodology to equip our students in their job application in the future. Moreover, it is imperative for the whole academe to understand the demands of the global market and the relevance of language proficiency and academic performance to marketability and self-worth. This research ultimately seeks answers to the unidentified reasons of the â€Å"declining English proficiency† and what effective programs and solutions can we implement to address such issues. Definition of Terms Throughout the study, there are words and terms that are contextually and operationally used. This section includes clearly and concisely defined coined words and technical terms as follows: Academic Achievement. This refers to the school performance of the students through grades. Bilingualism. This term refers to the use of two languages, the first language and English, as a medium in communication. Call Center Industry. Also known as Business Process Outsourcing, this term refers to the large operations of foreign companies in the Philippines. Communicative Competence. This refers to the ability to communicate effectively in whatever forms of speaking and writing as well as the ability to get messages through listening and reading. English Language Proficiency. This term refers to the competence in using English in forms of written discourse and oral communication.

Dead and Breakfast Essay

The person who killed dusty could have been anyone of these people, they all had motive but only one of them was desperate enough to kill one of his closest friends. (7:20)The murderer must have been wearing gloves when he set the table again because he left traces of sodium, carbon, iron, and gold. When the Murderer saw his chance, he took it. 7:25)Right when the table had been set and no one was around he slipped the Potassium cyanide into Dustys cup. Now potassium cyanide is a hard thing to come by and only someone who had worked with it for many years would have known the right amount to give to Dusty to make him drop dead. (7:35) Dusty returns down stairs to finish his breakfast. (7:40) Dusty takes one drink then five minutes later he drops dead. Now let me fill you in on how all this evidence plays into this. Mr. Horace Throat had been experiencing some money problems with the mob and really need this auction to go well. Horace was counting on Dusty to help him out but when he let him down, he snapped. Horace had been working in metal finishing for many years and he used the same gloves as he did to work as he did to place the cyanide in the drink, which is how the traces of gold ended up on the table. Second Dusty was the only one of that group of people who had already had potassium cyanide on him because he was already doing work for Dusty. Horace Throat killed one of his closest friends and best buyers of many years just for money to pay off the mob.

Reading and Books Essay

Despite the vast, growing and active educational reforms continuously being modified and implemented in today’s Philippine Educational System such as MTB – MLE and K+12 education curriculum, there are still 6. 2 million Filipino youth who does not receive proper and formal education in the classroom, which includes the Out – of – school children and youth. Specifically, according to the 2010 Annual Poverty Indicators Survey (APIS) of the National Statistics Office (NSO) released November 2011, one out of eight Filipinos aged between 6 and 24 is an out- of- school youth(OSY). Current estimates further indicate that 7. 8 million Filipinos or 16. 2% of the population are not functionally literate. About 3. 9 million of them are out of school youth. The Philippine government defines an out –of- school youth (OSY) as someone who is not attending formal education and/or not gainfully employed in the case of youth 18 to 24 years old who have not finished college or even a technical vocational course. The government further explains that the primary reasons for these out of school youth for not attending school is poverty and lack of personal interest. On the other hand, out- of- school youth are vulnerable people who have special needs too. Nobody can deny the hard fact that education is still an extremely important factor for bringing change in the lives of these individuals. It has universally been recognized as the most powerful instrument and pre – requisite for gearing up the socio – economic development of a nation. This is why investment in education is considered to be so vital for human resource development and enhancement of the quality of manpower. In the history of humankind, there is an established fact that a certain level of literacy in population is an essential pre – requisite for precipitating the process of development in a country. It is emphasized therefore that the most active part in the socio – economic development of any country or region always consists of the adolescents. Moreover, many people have a misleading impression of the abilities and capacities of â€Å"out – of – school youth†. It is generally assumed that this group needs to re – do and re – learn the most basic literacy skills. Hence, they are marginalized and ostracized. In fact, out – of- school youths do have some experience of learning within the formal system. In addition, many of them have gained rich learning experiences from their environment and culture. Thus, basic literacy does not necessarily mean teaching literacy in its most basic forms. However, the acquired skills and knowledge need to be recognized, tapped into and enhanced. Out- of- school youths may have failed to complete their education in the formal system due to various reasons, such as socio – economic or health issues, urbanization, teacher – teaching factors or curriculum problems but UNESCO still has enumerated and emphasized the basic literacy for out – of- school youth development which involves the acquisition of the basic skills needed to cope with the complex and technological world, including IT and computer skills, communication skills – listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing, critical thinking and many others. Moreover, developing the literacy of OSY’s is a complex process, which involves enhancing the knowledge and capacities that they have gained over the years and providing them with access to challenging learning opportunities. The Philippines through the initiative of the Bureau of Alternative Learning System formerly called the Bureau of Non – formal Education (BNFE) is responsible for contributing to the improvement of the poor including the out – of school youth and drop outs through literacy and continuing education programs. Its aim is to focused basic services to the more disadvantaged sections of the population to improve their welfare and contribute to human resource development. This was done to respond to the need of a more systematic and flexible approach in reaching all types of learners outside the formal school system. The Alternative Learning System (ALS) is a parallel learning system that provides a viable alternative to existing formal education instruction. It encompasses both non – formal and informal sources of knowledge and skills. Certification of learning for out – of –school youth and adults , aged 15 years and over, who are unable to gain from the formal school system and who have dropped out of formal elementary and secondary education , is ensured through the Alternative Learning System Accreditation and the Equivalency (ALS A &E) System. The system of certification is done through successful completion of the ALS and A & E test at two learning levels – elementary and secondary. Those who pass the test have to undergo counseling to explore their oppurtunities, be it a return to the formal school system or the option to enter the world of work. (UNESCO Bangkok, 2009). The ALS eSkwela program has five main learning strands: Communication skills, critical thinking and problem solving, sustainable use of resources and productivity, development of self and a sense of community, and expanding one’s world vision. Since ALS is a module-based learning system, students come in on a set time and choose a module to read. A quiz is given after each module to test their learning. Instead of teachers, facilitators are always present to answer any questions and sometimes lecturers would discuss a certain module. Apart from the major aim and objective of the system, the ALS Project was conceived to respond to many grassroots learning needs and at the same time fulfill the following key social development objectives of EFA: †¢Functional Literacy: Current estimates indicate that there are 7. 8 million Filipinos or 16. 2% of the population who are not functionally literate. About 3. 9 million of them are out of school youth. †¢Family Literacy: Many parents want to develop functional reading, writing and numeracy skills and knowledge so that they can help their children do their homework. †¢Community Participation: †¢ Continuing Education: Many people who have obtained literacy skills and want to continue learning should be given the means and tools to return to formal schooling or go on learning on their own. †¢Empowerment: Out-of-school youth and adults living in economically depressed communities need to develop communication, problem solving, critical thinking, and learning-to-learn skills and competencies which will directly help them raise their standard of living and improve their quality of life. Functional basic education should empower them with better health practices, better food, increased income, improved family life, more direct civic and community participation and more opportunities for wider life choices. It is noted that the ALS learning modules constructed by SEAMEO Innotech experts are freely chosen, used and read by the students. It is true therefore that through the skill called reading, any idea or module given to them are enlightened. On the other hand, observations show that are still many problems and issues encountered along the Reading performance and proficiency of the out – of – School Youth which includes vocabulary, comprehension, study skills and others. Even the (UIS, 2011) stated a very alarming issue that seven hundred and seventy-five million adults all over the world cannot read. Many of these OSY’s too are unemployed, underemployed adn lacks basic English language literacy skills specially reading and writing. In addition, UNESCO also emphasized that the basic English literacy skills development is too considered as a means of widening the experiences of learners and allowing them to communicate effectively in their everyday life as well as in their future lives as responsible citizens and professionals. Accordingly, woven into the framework of the basic English Literacy skills is also the development of critical thinking skills. Thinking critically would mean grasping the complexity of the world and questioning how others think in order to clarify and improve one’s own understanding. Although, schools and learning institutions clearly neglect the development of critical thinking, there is much evidence to show that students’ reading and writing abilities are linked to their ability to question facts and information. Literacy is briefly defined as the â€Å"ability to read and write†. When we think of literacy, we think of reading. But being able to read does not mean someone is necessarily a literate person. In the 21st century, literacy encompasses the skills youth and adults need to be functional in the society, including numeracy and reading and writing skills. Most learning is dependent to reading. As the learner advances in the educational ladder, more complex reading skills are required of him. Effective reading requires from an individual the ability to locate keywords in a sentence, locate the topic sentence in a paragraph and understand and interpret what is read. Reading, therefore is an important skill a child must developed in order to cope to the very fast, changing and difficulties the world offers. Of many skills it is cited that it is one of the first skill a literate person must acquire. Likewise, there were many studies and projects that responded to the many goals of ALS and UNESCO in general, specifically along the communication skills strands. One of which is the Project EASE. This study made use of a Reading Comprehension and writing composition test to assess the basic communication skills of the students. Unfortunately, there were only few qualifiers for the said program the rest did not qualify. Most of the non – qualifiers came from the lower sections where the pressure to earn was much stronger. The non – qualifier was given another chance. They were administered with an alternative cloze type of comprehension test carefully made by the SEAMEO Innotech experts. The program such as EASE was pronounced. (add facts) Another is a study on the Attributes of High School Student – qualifiers in the Accreditation and Equivalency Program (AEP) which was done as Basis for a proposed Action Program by Rarang in (1999). The study made use of the public high school students in the fourth congressional district of Pangasinan during the school year 1997 – 1998. The study was done for the purpose of creating appropriate action programs that could increase the probability of prospective PEPT examinees to qualify for promotion or year level acceleration. The result of the study revealed that out of the 86 respondents who took the 1997 PEPT only four qualified for the acceleration or promotion to the next higher level in high school. Furthermore, the research made use of the Descriptive Method with a pre and post enrollment attributes of the student – qualifier in the AEP as data gathering instrument. It was found out that there was more male drop – outs that females and their dropping age ranged from 13 to 17 years old and that before the respondents dropped out from school, the last level they completed was Grade VI. The findings of the study also revealed that the main reason for the learners dropping out is due to financial difficulty. They also vary in their performance in the last year level they attended with 89. 13% as the highest average grade and the lowest grade at 68. 25%. More so, the study discovered that the contributory factor in the acceleration and promotion of the students to the next level are their reading activities done during their free time like reading magazines, newspapers, books, pocketbooks and even their old notes. Accordingly, reading is the most important factor in achieving promotion and acceleration. Many reading researches have shown that learners and OSY’s reading skills literacy performance is always at risks. Firstly, in the second Readership Survey made by SWS survey commissioned by NBDB floated all over the Philippines revealed that reading has slightly declined in our country. Only 92 percent of the 1,200 respondents say that they read, down to two percent from the first Readership survey done in 2003. In the literacy field, comprehension is primarily identified as the goal of (Duke & Pearson, 2002; Duke, Pearson, Strachan, & Billman, 2011). While many agrees comprehension is of utmost importance, many still argue that in this many classroom context, focusing on students’ fluency did not limit students’ development as readers, particularly for those who were asked to read aloud. The findings of this study also pointed out the importance of teachers examining the learners own perceptions about reading and reading instruction (Edwards, Martin, Protacio, & Razali,2010). Furthermore, (Biancarosa & Snow, 2006; Joftus, 2002) exclaimed that even among students who do graduate from highschool, inadequate reading skills are a key impediment to success in postsecondary education (American Diploma Project, 2004). Students who struggle with reading of ten lack the prerequisites to take academically challenging coursework that could lead to more wide reading and thus exposure to advanced vocabulary and content ideas (Au, 2000). The 2006 report by ACT, Inc. , Reading Between the Lines: What the ACT Reveals About College Readiness in Reading, describes even more troubling trends. Only 51% of students who took the ACT test in 2004 were ready for college-level reading demands (ACT, Inc. , 2006). The reading skill levels of the out-of-school youth population have remained  low, especially in comparison to the rising skill demands of employers. Although this report cannot summarize the changing qualifications, a number of indicators suggest a serious shortfall between the skills of out-of-school youth and job requirements. Dropouts and other out-of-school youth are reported to be unable to attain basic levels of math and reading proficiency are certainly much higher. White Paper further explains that young people leaving the educational system at 16, or more likely 19, must at least have the requisite literacy and communication skills to be employable and to be effective in life. Since reading is linked to writing, students write about what they read. Young and adults who are behind in reading and writing simply have not had as much experience reading and writing as young adults who are proficient readers and writers. Moreover, out – of- school youth who are behind have also not leaned the strategies that proficient readers and writers use to understand text and communicate their ideas in writing. This means that explicitly the strategies that proficient readers and writers use and providing guided practice are the keys to improving these skills. It has been proven that Out – of- school youth possess a broad repertoire of knowledge and skills that simply needs to be recognized, tapped into and enhanced in order for their abilities to improve. Indeed, there is a need to place a greater emphasis on developing and enhancing quality English language literacy skills training, programs and instructional materials for Out – of – School youth development. The conception of the ALS program or the Alternative Learning System is a great endeavor that caters to the needs and improvement of Out –of-School youth in the City Schools Division of Dagupan City. The ALS DEpED Dagupan City Division is one with the government in the active fulfillment of its task to reach and educate the OSY’s in the City. In fact, there have been many OSY’s who benefited from the program. Latest report says that ALS students in Region I show positive interest in this endeavor. Dagupan City Schools Division is composed of five Districts. From all over the city, there have been many Out – of –school youth coming from the 31 barangays of the city who enrolled in the said program. With the initiative of teachers and volunteers who facilitates the program, the actual teaching and learning is collectively done with the help of the module based learning materials. Furthermore, in the case study conducted by the Accreditation and Equivalency System of the Non – Formal Education Project clearly encourages service providers like educational institutions to identify and make use of variety of enriching materials both print and non – print in addition to the prescribed NFE and A & E Learning modules provided by the SEAMEO – INNOTECH. With the encouragement of the BNFE or the ALS calling to different service providers to respond and create instructional materials that the OSY’s can benefit, the researcher will study on the present Reading Comprehension Skills Levels of the Dagupeno OSY’s particularly on the Reading Comprehensions Skills Level of the ALS students presently registered and attending the regular Eskwela ALS program in the City schools division of Dagupan during the calendar year 2013– 2014 and envisions to create a Self – Learning Reading Material that will better improve and enhance the Reading Comprehension and in general proficiency of the ALS learners. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM This study aims to analyze the Reading Comprehension Skills Level of ALS students in the city schools division of Dagupan. Specifically, it will answer the following questions: 1. What is the performance of the ALS students in the reading Comprehension Test in terms of the: a. Total scores they will obtain from the Reading Comprehension Test? b. Specific scores they will obtained in the following reading Comprehension levels: Literal Reorganizational Inferential Evaluational Appreciational? 2. What is the extent of performance of the ALS students in the reading Comprehension test in terms of: a. Total scores they will obtain from the Reading Comprehension Test? scores they will obtained in the following reading Comprehension levels: Literal Reorganizational Inferential Evaluational Appreciational? 3. What instructional material will be proposed to address the reading comprehension inadequacies of the ALS students? SUBJECTS The subjects of the study will be the ALS students of the city schools division of Dagupan enrolled in the five districts of the division. There is a total of 447 ALS students in the division and they will be randomly selected from among the districts of the division. The respondents of the study will be elementary drop – outs, secondary drop – outs, non- passer of previous ALS A&E Test/s, Learners/Completers of the ALS programs and Youth and adult drop – outs. RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS/ Assumptions The study will be anchored on the following assumptions: 1. The total test scores and the scores in the specific skills areas of the ALS students will reflect their reading comprehension performance. 2. The ALS students’ responses to the items in the test must truthful and accurate SCOPE AND DELIMITATION The study will be conducted to determine the reading comprehension performance and skills of the ALS students of the city schools division of Dagupan during the S. Y. 2013 – 2014. The respondents of the study will be elementary drop – outs, secondary drop – outs, non- passer of previous ALS A&E Test/s, Learners/Completers of the ALS programs and Youth and adult drop – outs in general. A constructed Reading Comprehension Test will be used as instrument in gathering data pertinent to the study. The Reading Comprehension test will be carefully validated, tabulated and interpreted to arrive at accurate and precise results that will help as basis for the creation of a self- learning reading material for ALS students. Definition of Terms The following terms are carefully defined in the context of the study to provide a common understanding and frame of reference between the researcher and the readers: Reading both a process and a product and it involves bringing the individual’s entire life experiences and thinking patterns to understand what the writer has written (Aukerman, 1981). Reading Comprehension refers to the ability to understand text read by means of constructing meaning with the use of some clues in the text and the schema or background knowledge of the reader about the text. Reading Comprehension Abilities, also referred to as reading comprehension skills, refer to the five(5) reading levels (Toffelson, as cited by Tuvera, 1993) of reading comprehension, which include (1) Literal Level;(2) Reorganizational Level; (3) Inferential Level; (4) Evaluational Level; and (5) Appreciational Level. Specific Comprehension Skills refers to the specific skills that make up the different reading levels. Literal level of reading refers to the reading level that enables the students to recognized and/or recall details, main ideas, sequences, comparison, cause and effect relationships, character traits and recall author’s organization and explicitly stated information in the reading selection (Toffelson, as cited by Tuvera, 1993). Reorganizational level of reading refers to the reading level that enables the student to classify or group, outline or specify, summarize and synthesize text that has been read (Toffelson, as cited by Tuvera, 1993). Inferential Level of reading refers to the reading level that enables the student to infer supporting details which require the making of a hypothesis on an information that might have been included in the text; infer the main idea; infer a sequence which requires the student to make a hypothesis about what might have occurred in addition to the already explicitly stated events and making a hypothesis in events beyond completion of the text. Other skills also included are inferring, comparison, cause and effect relationships, charater traits,  author’s organization, figurative language and predicting outcomes (Toffelson, as cited by Tuvera, 1993). Evaluational level of reading refers to the reading level that enables the student to make a judgment of reality and fantasy and judgment between fact and opinion (Toffelson, as cited by Tuvera, 1993). Appreciational level of Reading refers to the reading level that enables the student to have emotional response to the text and determine an author’s purpose, mood, tone and point of vies (Toffelson, as cited by Tuvera, 1993). Performance is defined as a manner of functioning: the manner in which something or someone or somebody functions, operates, or behaves (Microsoft Encarta 2006. 1993 – 2005 Microsoft Corporation). In this study, it refers to the number of correct answers of the ALS students an all the specific levels of the reading comprehension test to reflect the students’ reading comprehension abilities. Extent of Performance refers to the reading comprehension abilities of the students based on a scale of scores to describe the level of reading comprehension of the ALS students. The scale will consists of three (3) levels: High , for scores equivalent to 75 percent – 100 percent; Moderate, for scores equivalent to 50 percent – 74 percent; and Low, for scores equivalent to at most 49 percent of the total point and of their points in the different specific reading comprehension skills areas. Total Scores obtained refers to the raw scores of the students which will correspond to the number of the correct answers of the ALS students in the reading comprehension test. Specific scores obtained refers to the raw scores of the learners in the different specific skill areas which correspond to the number of correct answers of the students in the specific skill areas. Self – Learning Reading Activities are activities involving processes which will enhance the reading performance and improve the five levels of reading comprehension of the ALS students . It also encourages students to gain more interest in reading with the aid of the designated activities. Analysis refers to the process of categorizing the performance of the students in the reading comprehension test in its totality and in the specific reading skills according to the extent of their performance. Out – of School Youth ALS ALS Learners ALS Implementers Conceptual Framework The objective of all readers should be comprehension of what they read. Comprehension is understanding. Understanding involves abilities to explain, interpret, apply, have perspective, empathize, and have self – knowledge (Wiggins and Mctighe,1998). Reading is both a process and a product ant it involves bringing the individual’s entire life experiences and thinking patterns to understand what the writer has written (Aukerman, 1981). When good decoders have problems with comprehension, they need help in developing language proficiency and listening comprehension. Teachers can help them develop the corresponding skills by combining vocabulary and comprehension strategy instruction with encouragement to enhance their reading of different materials Dymock, 1993). Reading comprehension can be effected by background knowledge. This concept is proved that when readers possess rich prior knowledge about the topic of a reading material, they often understand the reading material better than readers with low prior knowledge. That said, readers couldn’t always relate their world knowledge to the content of a text because they are not able to, even when they possess knowledge relevant to the information it presents. Often, they do not make inferences based on prior knowledge unless the inference are absolutely demanded to make sense of the text (Mckoon % Ratcliff, 1992). The study is anchored on the core concept that reading difficulties encountered by learners can be addressed by an appropriate learning material in the form of a self – learning reading material which will address their difficulties to be assessed using the reading comprehension test. Research Paradigm Figure 1. Paradigm of the study Figure 1 above illustrates the prerequisites in the development of a Self – Learning Reading Materail to improve the reading comprehension ability of ALS learners in the city schools division of Dagupan. CHAPTER II Review of Related Literature and Studies This chapter presents studies and literature which are seen to be significant that can give light to the completion and conduct of the research. FOREIGN Educational research has become a global enterprise, with researchers recognizing the need to be aware of educational practices in other countries. Burbules (2002) notes that this international context makes possible the sharing of knowledge and experience gained in relation to reform and evaluation in different countries. Recent studies show that seven hundred and seventy-five million adults cannot read (UIS, 2011). According to the study conducted by Glewwe and Kremer, (2006 ) a major factor in the poor reading problem is the poor quality of public schools in developing countries. Many peoples understanding of the educational production function, however, is still limited. Providing resources to schools with no other inputs rarely improves overall student performance and that if resources are paired with a larger array of inputs, students’ test scores do improve, he exclaimed. Unfortunately, the exact kind of additional support is necessary to make additional resources effective. For reading in particular, a number of studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of large comprehensive changes. Banerjee et al. (2007) studies an Indian remedial education program. The intervention itself causes students’ reading skills to improve, but because the intervention changes the educational environment along multiple dimensions – additional teachers, new pedagogical methods, new curriculum, changes to organization of the classroom, and additional resources – it is impossible to identify which components are necessary. In addition, a Case Study of Reading Instruction in a Philippine Classroom was also conducted by Protacio and Sarroub, (2013) where the reading practices in a public and high-achieving 6th grade English classroom in the Philippines were used as subjects of the study. The study utilized a four resources model, the different roles that students assume in this classroom was also clearly discussed. The students in the class are describe mainly as code breakers and text users and have limited opportunities to assume the other two roles of the four resources model. The study also provides a different view of reading, specifically a view of a culture of reading wherein higher status is given to oral reading performance rather than comprehension. The results of the study further revealed that reading is perceived as an oral performance activity by Filipino students because reading aloud is used frequently to negotiate the lack of resources in Philippine public schools. Comprehension does not matter as much to these students; rather, they are concerned with how they are perceived as oral readers in English, which is their second language. The case study findings provide a different view of reading, specifically a view of a culture of reading wherein higher status is given to oral performance rather than comprehension or fluency. The data also reveals that the predominant emphasis on oral performance satisfies only two roles or family of practices in the â€Å"four resources model of reading†: code breakers and text users. All of the students in the pilot section were not afforded opportunities by the teacher to fully engage with the four resources, as the class focused mostly on oral recitation as the main indicator for reading well. Students in this class infrequently assumed the role of meaning-makers and text analysts (Luke & Freebody, 1999; Underwood, Yoo, & Pearson, 2007). Instead, both students and teacher privileged correct pronunciation and reading correctly aloud—getting the accent right determined who the best students were in the class. Though, Philippine literacy scholars have commented on the emphasis on performance and reading aloud. Maminta (1982) discusses how reading as a subject was relegated to the background as the curriculum emphasized speech improvement with most of the class time being spent on pattern drills, mimicry, and memorization. Even though Maminta’s article focuses on speech improvement as being the emphasis three decades ago, it seems that it still characterizes classroom practice in the Philippines today. In the pilot section, the students themselves seemed to be the ones placing the emphasis on speech improvement. In the literacy field, comprehension is primarily identified as the goal of reading (Duke & Pearson, 2002; Duke, Pearson, Strachan, & Billman, 2011). While many agrees that comprehension is of utmost importance, many still argues that in this classroom context, focusing on students’ fluency did not limit students’ development as  readers, particularly for those who were asked to read aloud. What we do feel strongly about is the importance of providing all students opportunities to assume the role of readers in this classroom by giving all students a chance to read aloud in class. However, we noticed that, sadly, this was not the case. The findings of this study also point to the importance of teachers examining their own perceptions about reading and reading instruction (Edwards, Martin, Protacio, & Razali,2010). Moreover, Reading fluency is the point at which beginning readers rely less on the phonemic decoding to recognize individual words and begin to recognize whole words, allowing for an increase in reading speed and comprehension. Meyer and Felton (1999), for example, define fluency as â€Å"the ability to read connected text rapidly, smoothly, effortlessly, and automatically with little conscious attention to the mechanics of reading, such as decoding. † Also, a study on the Effective Reading Programs for Middle and High School synthesized by Slavin, Cheung, Groff and Lake was published in 2009. This is a collection of many reading programs that systematically reviewed research on the achievement outcomes of four types of approaches to improving the reading of middle and high school students: specifically on the (1 ) reading curricula, (2) mixed-method models (methods that combine large and small-group instruction with computer activities), (3) computer-assisted instruction, and (4) instructional-process programs (methods that focus on providing teachers with extensive professional development to implement specific instructional methods). The collective synthesized study found out that students who enter high school with poor literacy skills face long odds against graduating and going on to postsecondary education or satisfying careers.