The Uk Budget Hotel Sector Literature Review Tourism Essay

The Uk Budget Hotel Sector Literature Review Tourism Essay The negative connotation, which camped in the thoughts of regulars of small-sized commercial hotels, also known as budget hotels, is being substituted by a perceptual experience of affordability, proficiency and decency (Parsons, G., 2008). The swift shifting market changing aspects has positively affected the budget hotels fragment. This can be observed from the elation amongst local and international hospitality operators of budget hotels. There is a well-defined shape of evolving European vacationer over the direction the hospitality industry is taking (Solomon, M. R., 1992). Budget hotels are in the progression of being redefined with novel models, innovations as well as strategies. With converting mentality of customers and operators, modern-day budget hotels have fully taken a U-turn with unhesitating contrast. Being at a time when mini-full service hotels are acknowledged as business class, budget hotels have a healthy future. Budget hotels are compacted with simple facilities for apprehensive business travelers, hence targeting a precise market division of middle-rank business executives and price-sensitive corporate. Competitive hospitality entities are sensibly priced while having good service, style, and ambiance, and they manifest professionalism (Deloitte, 2004). A very high growth for budget hotels is envisioned, however the situation would be shrank due to deficit in supply of professional human capital. Nevertheless the encounters lay ahead need to be assumed as the spirit to test and the zeal to outshine continue. The UK Budget Hotel Sector In the UK, the budget hotel sector is at a point of exponential growth (McCaskey D., 2000).The branded budget hotel market remains to be controlled by hardly two heavy players. This is in reference to a new study by TRI Hospitality Consulting. Table 1 below from Budget Hotels 2010 UK show that the leading brand, Premier Inn, owned 41,511 rooms by the end of 2009, earning it a market share of about 38%; The closest contender to Premier Inn was Travelodge, having 27,010 rooms by the close of 2009, earning Travelodge a market share of almost 25%. Premier Inn and Travelodge therefore control over two thirds of the budget hotel brands market in the United Kingdom. Table 1 UK Leading Budget Hotels Operators Source: Budget Hotels 2010 UK Brand Number of Hotels Number of rooms Premier Inn 582 41 511 Travelodge 377 27 010 Holiday Inn Express 109 12 464 Ibis 53 7 173 Jurys Inn 23 5 828 Innkeepers Lodge 91 2 652 Etap 17 2 212 Ramada Encore 16 1 947 Days In 30 1 834 Day Hotel 12 1 562 The branded budget sector in the United Kingdom is centered in just a couple of companies. However, the competition keeps on to fly high in the general hotel industry as the budget hotels take over the mid-market hotels and boardinghouses. Jonathan Langston, the managing director of TRI Hospitality Consulting agrees with this observation (Parsons, G. 2008). After 1993, the count of rooms in budget hotel in the United Kingdom has risen by more than 10 times from 10,555 rooms in 1993 to 109,528 rooms at the close of 2009. Although Premier Inn and Travelodge control the branded budget market, many new brands have been coming up into the sector (Tri Hospitality Consulting, 2010).The most fortunate competitor to Premier Inn and Travelodge has been Holiday Inn Express which currently runs 109 hotels having 12,464 rooms (Tri Hospitality Consulting, 2010). However, this is less than 50% of the Travelodges number of rooms, and less than 30% of Premier Inn. Recession Impacts on the Budget Hotel Sector The new study, done by HotStats and issued by industry newsletter Hotel Analyst, as well makes it clear that while robust, the budget hotel sector has not remained unhurt by the economic downturn. Throughout 2009, returns per available room went down by 9.1%, with tenancy falling by 5.9% points to 67.8% and rate holding up better with a decline of 1.1% to  £50.97. The effect of recession on the budget hotel sector was confirmed by Jonathan Langston when he said, The budget hotel market has truly been the hotel industrys success story of the last decade. While trading has suffered in the recession, new hotels are continuing to open, reflecting the long term viability of the segment, (TRI Hospitality Consulting, 2010, Pp. 1). The Budget Hotel Market Environment The UK Budget hotel sphere began in 1985 with the inaugural of the Ibis at Heathrow, as well as Little Chef Travel Lodge. Ten years later, there were about 400 budget hotels having 28,500 rooms in total. As already mentioned in this paper, the budget hotel sector is exponentially growing, becoming increasingly swift; Merrill Lynch forecast the budget hotel rooms to increase from 40,000 in 1999 to 80,000 in 2003 taking a 20% share of the UK hotel market (Deloitte, 2004). An exploration study by the Henley Centre (2000) Leisure in the New Millennium staged to the Joint Hospitality Industry Congress (JHIC) demonstrated that development in real disposable income was increasing demand. This unrestricted spend had been arising at 2.6% since 1995 and was visualized to speed up its rate of growth to 3.7% Compound Annual Growth Rate by 2005. Leisure consumption was shifting from being looked upon as a luxury to becoming a necessity, in fact, almost an elementary human right. The effect of individuals seeing leisure as part of their run-of-the-mill running expenses should be to cut down the industrys cyclicality. Afore the budget hotel industrys historical perspective as suffering from a hyperbolized cycle, the realism is that this industry has developed at a similar rate as the GDP since 1993 (McCaskey D., 2000). There is a lot of evidence to demonstrate that every night budget hotels in the UK growingly affranchise the population into budget hotel use. This must be a wanted shift from the 1960s the time at which fewer than 5% of the population in the UK stayed in UK hotels, to the rates experienced today 21st Century, when more that 50% of the UKs population are active hotel users. Arguably, McDonalds was a chief accelerator in stimulating the development of the UK eating-out market. McDonalds got rid of many of the roadblocks or inhibitions to hotel usage. Several strategic success reasons behind McDonaldss QSCV (Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value) are very relevant to budget hotels. To protect its name that could be taken advantage of, McDonaldss attorneys had to deter one business from brand-marking its hotel product McSleep (McCaskey D., 2000). With 80,000 rooms and 80% tenancy rate, approximations point that, budget hotels will accommodate more than 23,000,000 room-nights per year; in other words over 55% of an entire UK PLC demand. Kleinwort, B. (1996) figures demonstrate that back in 1995, UK PLC hotels gave 31.35 million room nights on sale. Accordingly, these newly lodge formats having low cost base have become a major challenge to two-thirds of the star conventional hotels which incline to having comparatively high costs reinforced into their operations and per se, lack the plasticity to elevate their operation to four-star levels, or to reduce costs to empower them to tie lodge prices. McCaskey, D. (2000) depicted budget hotels as a more and more hungry Pac Man as they cut a strip through the current industry. Similar volatile increase in lodge facility in the United States from the mid 60s to the late 70s left many of the USs distracted mid-market hotels in confusion. In the air, Governmental deregulation engendered the development of low cost airlines, a move that served to give rise to the speedy end of Pan Am and TWA. Deregulation is at present in full spate in the United Kingdom and Europe with a radical diminishing effect on costs and subsequent revenues in both airline and hotel industries. In the United States, the waysides and conurbation are now full of supererogatory and peripheral lodge properties constructed all through their boom years while some companies such as Red Roof Inns and La Quinta still record continuing success every year (McCaskey, D., 2000). The Battle for Market Share The budget hotel market has all the features of the growth phase in the product/service life cycle, making it an apotheosis. The marketing processes commonly associated with the growth phase are: The approaches which promote resilient brand loyalty; The approaches which reinforce market share: The approaches which improve a competitive status and underline the differentiated benefits. The marketing activities of Travel Inn brand, owned by Whitbread Hotel Company, stand out to clearly exemplify the above three. Travel Inn brand has been so orchestrated to cut down the risk of a negative client experience and has built a lasting value. Travel Inn conforms to all the standards for classification as a Leadership Brand, ranked beside other brands including Coca-Cola, Volvo, Disney, as well as Tesco. In other words, Travel Inn and the other four live a sort of Total Brand Management lacking in other organizations. Other budget hotels also need to pursue similar status. The exemplified companies and Travel Inn have a tenacity that communicates all that they do for everybody to know what they can best do for the brand. To affirm this take, Travel Inn competitive advantages have been examined using the Seven Characteristics of Leadership Brands model (Tilley, C., 1999). The Seven are the common elements to be found in all leading brands; they are the ways by which brands r egularly and consistently bear their promise. Travel Inn is the prominent market leader in the mushrooming budget hotel industry; attaining 86% room tenancy, across its 250 outlets, noting that every newly opened Travel Inn operates for about three years before it gains about maximum penetration in its home-grown area. This dilutes Travel Inns general mean group occupancy. This budget hotel takes another three years to build its regular clientele base. Accordingly, Alan Parkers, Hotel Companys M.D. (Parker, A., 2000) argument that a great number of Travel Inns invariably performed at mid-90% tenancy, can be said of being bold as well as true. It is evident that Travel Inn is doing what others are not doing in order to successfully remain competent. For instance in 1999, Travel Inn recorded a staggering 78% repeat occupation. Further analysis of Travel Inns figures staged that 77% of its customers stayed doubly or more throughout a year. In the meantime, 33% of the budget hotels customers stayed over 21 nights per annum year while more than 15,000 stayed every single night (Tri Hospitality Consulting, 2010). In contrast to other UK budget hotels, Travel Inn finds another competitive advantage on booking; Travel Inn has a system by which its regular customers are able to book further and further beforehand to secure their spaces. Competitive Advantage Success factors held by one budget hotel can be adopted by another. Travel Inn does a number of things that place it at a better place to successfully compete in the market. In reference to Travel Inn, the following strategies have been found to help budget hotels in competing successfully for market share: 1. Competitive budget hotels influence the conducts of their clients instead of following conventions and markets; they create customers. It is a practice and tradition in the hotel sector to come up a sophisticated rate of discounts. These discounts may be related to the volume of business and booking period among others. This strategy is meant to maintain and generate demand to make the most of tenancy and price. However, some budget hotels run without these incentives abs they still make it in competitive business. This could imply that there are factors other than this that place such brands on a competitive edge. For instance, Travel Inn does not offer such discounts; it neither pays travel agent commissions. As much as these are revolutionary departures from the budget hotel industry norm, Travel Inn still out-performs the occupation averages for the budget hotel sector. Travel Inns AARR (average achieved room rate) without discounts is the chains rack rate. 2. Competitive budget hotels efficaciously make a meaning that is more than just a function of the product or service. The best meanings are grounded on profoundly felt human needs. A research report on June 29, 2009 by Guy Parson, the Director of Marketing at Travel Inn, indicated that Travel Inn was more welcoming compared to Holiday Inn Express or Travel Lodge. The report also confirmed the speculations that Travel Inn was the first option in cheap accommodation. Very encouraging client gratification surveys as well as mystery shopping rates were being attained throughout Travel Inn and were invariably supervised. From this quantitative and qualitative research it was learnt that clients truly enjoyed their Travel Inn rooms that were new and lively (Parsons, G., 1999). Travel Inn has a compulsory total renovation after every three years, up to and including the bed. Evidently, there are other budget hotels which are riding on a similar competitive edge. For instance, on September 10, 2009, David Michels (2000) gave a brief biography in which he stated that among his first undertakings immediately after taking over as Chief Executive of the tumultuous Stakis Hotel Group was to make a request to a bank to enable him to buy 4,000 new beds for the hotel. Michels, D., (2000) acknowledged that the move helped Stakis recuperate. Michels said, We are after all in the sleep business, it would seem that one of the major components in making this a pleasurable experience is frequently ignored (Michels, D., Pp. 3). From this proceeding, Paul Slatterys (1995) analysis established that the gap between UK hotels PLC and unquoted firms is daily broadening while the tormenting multitudes of independent budget hotels deteriorate into slums. How Budget Hotels Achieve Competitive Advantage Still using Travel Inn as an example, this paper now focuses on how the most successful budget hotels in the UK have achieve a competitive edge. 1. Leadership budget hotel brands stand for meaning everything that they do According to McCaskey, D. (1999), the Travel Inn line of attack in relation to pricing is totally ethical. Leadership budget hotel brands take a pluralist line, such as an impression that a companys performance ought to be looked at in a much more pluralistic manner than just by the bottom line. Such budget hotels frequently go beyond the minimal demands of Corporate Governance. These budget hotels policy is an example of good practice. Given tenancy figures and the significant amount or deflected demand, Whitbread could maximize its price easily. Notwithstanding, Whitbread stands for the prices which are conventional, competitive, widespread, logical and fair, which makes it to easily communicate the prices throughout its affiliates. There are only three classes of prices in the UK budget hotel industry; Roadside, Metro (in City Centre) and Capital (in London). However, leadership budget hotel brands carry out price research to insure that the prices are in line with customer value. It is believed that many of Whitbreads contenders simply follow Whitbreads lead. Though the pricing warfare has for a long time successfully invaded the unjust pricing in retail banking, super-marketing and automobile distribution, there are however too many doubtful practices in the UKs budget hotel industry (McCaskey, D., 1999). These questionable traditions comprise of: Hyperbolic rack rates; Bait and Switch publicizing promotions; Single-room supplements, and; Over-Riding Commissions (kick-backs given to agents/ middlemen and their staff. Given the present-day consumer rights desired order of business, the four questionable practices will unavoidably be disclosed. 2. Leadership budget hotel brands are steady and expressive in every facet of their communication This strategy ensures understanding. Whitbreads recent innovational TV promotion fully conforms to this approach. A reexamination study staged in April 2000 affirmed that the purposes set for this TV commercial were outmatched. The researchs outcomes demonstrated that: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Spontaneous awareness had risen from 12% in April 1999 to 26% in May 2000. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Prompted awareness had risen from 67% in April 1999 to 82% in May 2000. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ New logo recognition rose from 17% in April 1999 to 51% in May 2000. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Over the campaign period, there was a 16.5% increase in Central Reservation calls à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Over the year there had been a 99% increase in e-mail requests and a 900% increase in Web Site visitors. The site should take interactive bookings shortly. (Whitbread Marketing Department August, 2000, Pp. 12) The Whitbreads staff handbook on the other hand captures the effect of the brand which is apportioned among team players. These foreshortened extracts from Whitbreads staff handbook are a model of what ought to be carried out by other UK budget hotels. The book states: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Dare to care; Budget hotel staffs need to show considerateness, regard client as special so as to ensure that the brand transcends what is expected. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Keep it simple; Budget hotel staffs should not over-complicate matters; Whitbreads staff are informed that being informal helps them to communicate crush barriers. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Right first time; Budget hotel staffs ought to be passionate about the industry standards. The then Whitbreads CEO David Thomas (2000) got this Right First Time attribute right with an instance serving as a lesson for the budget hotel sector. Mr. Thomas said that Most of the budget hotel sector needs continuous investment in people. He said, This is an area where I believe we most frequently shoot ourselves in the foot. Putting a raw recruit with little or no training and, no experience, in front of a customer is unforgivable. In the end this is the most expensive option to take because we then have to find more raw recruits and more customers, because the experience demeans them both, (Thomas, D., 2000, Pp. 7). Thomas (2000) continued to say that by the budget hotels industry standards, Whitbread had comparatively a low staff turnover. According to Mr. Thomas, the investment of budget hotels in training and improvement, and competitive pay and considerations, are critical factors in the future of the budget hotel industry. These tools of the trade, Mr. Thomas said, shape the future of this industry. 3. Leadership budget hotel brands are dynamic, invariably adopting to meet new demands and remain pertinent In a 1998 brand re-launch, Project Catapult, Guy Parsons (1999) clearly redefined the brand proposition. In his speech, Parsons suggested a number of things that ought to be done by UK budget hotels that wish to have a sharp competitive edge. Parsons proposed that UK budget hotels need to have a constant duologue between the hotel and its customers. A succeeding UK budget hotel in terms of competitive edge should have the following characteristics: It should fit its general mission statement; It is should be grounded in fact, and there should prove to support it; It should have a good tonal fit in line with the most recent research findings; It should suggest the audaciousness and confidence of being a market leader It should state its attention for internal motivation It should state its clear focus concerning communication It should bear in mind that price is not the center though value should still be The UK budget hotel according to Parsons, G. (1999) should use the above measures to draw their competitive strategies. Budget Hotels Societal Roles to Achieve Competitive Advantage Leadership Budget Hotel brands have social responsibilities According to Whitbreads Chief Executive, David Thomas (2000), during The Joint Hospitality Industry Congress at the Gloucester Millennium Hotel, leadership brands hold beliefs, positions and, conduct which earn the respect of the people outside the brand. A few years before 2000, Travel Inn had been criticized by some players in the budget hotel industry, and by a good number of city market analysts, for missing the chance of making short-term profits in Travel Inn. The analysts attributed the cause to having one national price that Travel Inn applied each throughout the week. After Travel Inn sharpened its strategies, Travel Inn it has since developed to become among the UKs biggest branded hotel chains having 250 hotels and 12,500 rooms. As tabled earlier on this paper, Travel Inns tenancy is increasing across the brand relative to its returns. Thomas bases Travel Inns success on a win-win approach between the brand and its clients. 2. Budget Hotel brands leadership is earned not given Leadership budget hotel brands percolate the whole establishment; they are not merely the organizations label. Leadership budget hotel brands serve as a living model of how well to carry on, what activity to do to achieve the best, and how to perform into the future. Other UK budget hotel brands need to realize the groundbreaking and innovative strategies developed by Whitbread. In its inauguration, Travel Inn yipped that it was set to start up a totally innovational and path-breaking scheme which would play a role in further differentiating it, give its brand the first mover status as well as maintain its intention as The UKs Favorite place to Stay. Successfully, Travel Inn has lived to live its initiation dream. This thus serves as an example to other UK budget hotel brands; they should set their own societal goals, live by them so as to place them in a better competitive position (Parsons, G., 1999). The Future for the UK Budget Hotel Sector Mr. Robert C. Hazard, President Choice Hotels, in the year 1994 was quoted saying, the period 2000-2010 will be the most competitive in the history of the UK Budget Hotel industry..every lodge must become more market driven, improving its product to create a unique, sustainable competitive advantage and a perception of greater value amongst its guests (Porter, M., 1996, Pp. 61). Porter argued that strategic advantage may be earned via uniqueness. He said, A company can only outperform rivals if it can establish a difference that it can preserve. It must deliver greater value to customers or create comparable value at lower cost or do both (Porter, M., 1996, Pp. 67). Porter also acknowledges that through differentiation, arithmetical productivity leads to superior measure and lets a company to charge even higher normal prices per units. It also makes a company get more efficient results even in lower than normal costs per unit and all this enable a company to achieve a virtuous circle . Today, the quick development stage in lodging services decelerates as the market attains full development and becomes concentrated. Predictions place this development at an infiltration that is approximately between 20% and 25% in the hotel market in United Kingdom. The predictions have mentioned important presence in the developments at the waysides, in the outskirts, in inner-cities and also in London. The hotel market in UK will be noticeably defined by price and quality groupings, from the super- budget to upper-market economic systems. Most hotels that will be the mid-market contributors in the current cluster include, Holiday Inn Express, Premier Lodge, Travel Inn and Travel Lodge. These hotels are expected to have realized their strategic and network aspirations and to have also settled most present matters such as the telephone facilities in the hotel bedrooms, the extra conference and meeting rooms. These improvements should be carefully examined so as to meet the actual cus tomer prerequisites. Increment in competition is expected over the years and growth in supply is also expected to surpass the growth in demand. The stronger players are gradually expected to battle one another instead of just taking business from the lesser participants as presently (Pricewaterhouse, 2010). In 1998, the Vice President of Holiday Inn Express, Mr. Shane Harris remarked that, The budget sector is over supplied with non-branded, poor quality, inconsistent hotels. These will be overtaken by the branded budgets which are currently undersupplied, (Harris, S., 1998, Pp. 21). The renowned betting and control organization, Pricewaterhouse Coopers recognize Brands as the large components of an organizations incorporeal worth (July 2000). Pricewaterhouse Coopers also influence brands capability to improve stakeholder worth with trademark tactics in formulating competitive benefit. The trademarking idea has changed from product advertising to service advertising. Corporate brands should steadily mirr or the capabilities of the particular organization. Table 2 Literature Review Matrix Author/Focus Industry Recession Environ Share Advantage Strategy Social Future Deloitte Kleinwort, B McCaskey Michels Parker, A. Parsons, G. Porter, M. Pricewaterhouse Slattery, P. Solomon, M Tilley, C. THC Whitbread

History Of Skills Demonstrations Children And Young People Essay

History Of Skills Demonstrations Children And Young People Essay There have been many theorists which have influenced todays early childhood education. From as early as 1698 with John Comenius to the most mentioned Jean Piaget in the 1920s? John Comenius was one of the first producers of the childrens picture books. Comenius paved the way for subsequent development in education. His understanding of learning through the senses and of the holistic nature of learning remains the cornerstone of educational theories today. Friedrich Froebel also believed that teachers should not teach by rote but should encourage self-expression through play. He believed that the education of young children was a vital part of their development as individuals. Froebel was the 1st theorist to articulate a theory on how children learn and gave detailed instruction for putting this theory into practice. This was the first teacher training programmer for young children. Rudolf Steiners theory is centered on all aspects of growth and development, which included spirituality. He wanted to create an education which gave children a balanced experience. The teachers attempts to engage the childs whole being in what they do, in as an artistic way as possible, by providing a warm and joyful environment in which the child can feel nurtured and at east, happy to explore and play, be busy and be still. The room is painted and in a warm colour has few hard rectangular corners, and is often furnished with soft muslins to mark off a different area or draped over a window to give a softer quality of light. The quality of sound is that of human voices rather than of mechanical toys. The materials in the room are natural and are at childrens level and are stored in aesthetic containers such as simple baskets or wooden boxes which may themselves be incorporated into the play (Drummond, MJ. Lally M. And Pugh, G. (EDS) (1989) Page 59) (Working with Children: Developin g a Curriculum for Early Years). This theory and concept of teaching has influenced many types of early learning frameworks and curriculums. But his belief in the non-introduction of print to children prior to the age of 7 years remains a controversial part of his theory. As we are aware today, young children have a huge understanding of print, not just from books but from their environment. Maria Montessori was one of the most influential theorists. Her aims were to harness childrens natural ability to learn and then offer defined experiences and materials to explain abstract principles. She wrote the child can only be free when the adult becomes an acute observer. Any action of the adult that is not a response to the childrens observed behaviour limits the childs freedom (cited by MacNaughton in Shaping Early Childhood) (Open University Press, 2003). She developed a range of equipment and materials to help develop the childrens daily living skills such as number concepts, language development, education of senses and exploration and science. Today these methods are still widely used and have been some of the most popular methods of early childhood education in the modern day. Jean Piagets theories dominated developmental psychology in the 1960s and 70s. Like Sigmund Freud, Piaget identified stages of development but while Freud concentrated on the emotional and sexual development, Piaget focused on intellectual development. He identified these 4 stages as Stage 1: Sensorimotor, which was between the ages of 0 2 years. Stage 2: Preoperational, came from the age of 2 to 6/7 years. Stage 3: Concrete Operational, identified itself at age 7 years to 11 years. The final stage, Stage 4: Formal Operations, begins at the age of 12 and continues through into adulthood. His theories were covered during teacher training and influenced the education of young children during the 1970s. Today his theories are still taught but as part of a range of theories. He was created a sense of curiosity about how children learn but his emphasis on logic mathematical thinking resulted in his experiments being over-generalised from a narrow range of subjects. His theories were most influential to the modern curriculum of Highscope. ACTIVITY 1 A Using Highscope within the creche, I can identify many features from Steiner, McMillan, Froebel, Piaget and Melanie Klein. Froebel theorised about the importance of outdoor experience. In our creche we ensure that all the children get outside to play every day. This is an important part of the daily routine, Froebel emphasised nature walks and gardening. The creche has limited outdoor space and the children have plenty to play with, which encourages their gross motor skills. Because of the safety flooring, we have little aspects of gardening outdoors. Melanie Klein believed that children use play to express and show their experiences. This is emphasised within the creche as the majority of the childrens learning/teaching is play-based and to manage challenging behaviour, we re-enact situations through play scenarios, i.e. puppets or stories. But we do not single children out, only observe them in group situations. BC Rudolf Steiners theory concentrates on the child as a whole, balancing the childrens experiences. I can see through observations and toy selection that this is the thesis of our creche. As a supervisor, I see every child as unique. They may go through particular stage but not always at the same time! Each child needs to have positive and constructive experiences which develop their mind, emotions and will. We allow the children freedom of choice and support needed to help them make those choices. With group-time we give them the freedom to speak which builds self-worth and their listening skills. We encourage them to problem-solve which builds their confidence and teaches them patience and respect. But unlike Steiners belief in not introducing them to the printed word, we show the books and flash cards from the babyroom up! McMillan brought the importance of hygiene and nutrition to the forefront. Within the creche we encourage the children to be aware of self-care. Through role-play and story time, we show the children the importance of cleaning hands and face, of brushing their teeth and self-grooming. This is also taught to them through example (staff washing hands regularly, etc.). The creche has a daily well balanced and nutritious menu for the children. We liaise with parents to show them the importance of well balanced meals. Maria Montessori had many contributions to creche curriculum but the one I see regularly in our creche is her theory and observations. The creche revolves around observing the children and planning their routines around that. Adults need to see what the children are interested in and how to enhance that so that their experience is full! Also when observing the children staff can see problems or issues which arise through play situations, i.e. social issues, developmental delays or problems. But we do not use any of the Montessori equipment as we use as much natural material as possible. D Although I can see concept from each theorist, I feel that Steiner/Piaget theories would be the most influential with the creche. Steiners theory about development of the child as a whole person is strong and his emphasis on the importance of play and imitation play a large part in the creche. Piagets theories of development were very influential to the Highscope approach which is used throughout the creche. PART 2 Children love to play! It is an important part of their development. Play offers children the chance to be in control and to feel both confident and competent within relevant and open-ended experiences which are meaningful to them. It helps children make sense of the world around them. Children gain an understanding of their emotions. When children play it involves the exploration of ideas, feelings, relationships, materials and their environment. Play encourages creativity and imagination, and offers the children a chance to explore at their own pace and developmental stage without restriction or expectations. There are different types of play which can overlap and lead into each other. These are symbolic play: The child can use this type of play to reinforce, learn about and imaginatively alter painful experiences. Children mimic parents or pretend to be heroes theyve seen on T.V. or read in a book. This type of play helps children cope with fears. Expressive play: This gives children opportunities to express their feelings by using many different types of materials. Physical play: This has a large social aspect to it because it generally involves other children and it provides exercise which is essential for normal development. Dramatic play: This can be spontaneous or adult-guided. The children act out situations which they feel may happen or are fearful of or may have witnessed. Manipulative play: This starts in infancy. Children control and manipulate their environment and people around them. Children manipulate and move objects to better understand how they work. Familiarisation play: This is when children handle materials and explore experiences in an enjoyable way. Surrogate play: This is when an incapacitated child watches and enjoys through other children or adults. Therapeutic play: This is guided play used by professionals to help children understand their feelings and show them through play. There are three main stages of play which are: (0 2 years) Solitary Play where a child plays alone to explore. (2 3 years) Parallel Play where a child will play alongside other children but not join in. (3-5 years) Sharing Play where children co-operate and use conversation when playing games. This also involves children taking turns and using imagination. Our role as Early Years workers is to facilitate and support each child in play. Through observing practitioners can plan for play. Planning a daily routine and planning the environment around the childs play is important as through planned play a practitioner can best support the children. No matter the age group of the children they need adult support during play. By talking to the children about their play, recognising and supporting their choice of play (without interference) gives children a sense of competence and self-worth. Only participate in childrens play when invited or if you can help them develop the skills of playing. Practitioner can also support by acting as mediator teaching children skills such as problem solving and to be respectful of others feelings. Practitioners knowledge of equality and diversity will protect children from harm in play intervening in satiations that could be potentially harmful for children. Further to practitioners planning and supporting them also need to review play. Observing the children during play can show how the equipment materials and the environment is supporting or maybe hindering the childrens abilities to continue or to progress in the play. Children today are growing up in a society where they are over-protected and parents are fearful of allowing them to play outside and explore houses are made so safe that children are stifled in their development. Things that we did to have fun and play developed our gross motor skills. We problem solved situations so as to stay out longer but today children have a lot of house based games such as PlayStation, etc., which are generally play solely and are intellectually based. I think children coming to an Early Years setting enjoy playing. Having materials and space which is suited and facilitates their interests, means they can express themselves freely and helps them explore and understand the ever changing world around them. As Froebels theory highlighted, children should be allowed to be children and enjoy the things that children enjoy. 1) What is the current framework available in Ireland? Siolta and Aistear are the most recent frameworks developed by the Centre for Early Childhood Development and Education (CECDE). Now the responsibility of Sioltas implementation lies with the Department of Education and Science. Aistear is the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework. 2) What will the Framework for Early Learning do? Siolta focuses on all areas of quality within ECCE settings for children aged from birth to six years old. Aistear plays its part in giving children opportunities to learn based on their interests, strengths, culture and specific needs. 3) Who will the Framework be for? The framework covers children from birth to six years old. This includes all Early Years settings, childrens own homes and infant classes in primary school. 4) How does the Framework consider the children? Our society today has become more diverse. In allowing the children to learn to their abilities. It will give them quality interactions with other children and an enriched environment that encourages play indoors and outdoors, adult/child interactions, exploration, conversation and observation. 5) What themes are included in the Framework? a) Well-being b) Communication c) Exploration and thinking d) Identity and belonging 6) What are Siolta and Aistear? 7) How can you as an Early Childhood Supervisor promote a quality Framework in your service? Introducing the National Framework to the service involves educating both the staff and the parents. Training the staff and supporting them as a supervisor with the transition is very important. Aistear will broaden the range of strategies the staff will have for interacting with the children. Introducing new assessments and methods which will progress the childrens learning across the curriculum. The staff must support the children in the learning experiences by observing, listening and interacting, when invited by the child or if intervention is required. The involvement of the parent is essential. To help them understand the benefits to the children of quality play time and helping them understand the limitations paperwork can have with children, as most parents like to see their childrens progress through pictures or writings. The introduction of project books for the children as a group and as individuals is a great way to review activities and allows the children express themselves through pictures and photos. PART 4 Highscope and National Curriculum The curriculum used at my service is Highscope. This was developed by Dr. David Weikart to serve children at risk of failing school. It originated in the USA in 1962 and is now used in many countries around the world. It can be used throughout the childcare setting with children aged from birth to six years. Staff encourages children to become decision makers and problem solvers. This helps them to develop skills that enable them to become successful students as they grow and progress through school. The central principles are given through a Wheel of Learning. At the centre the active learner (the child) and surrounding that the principles that will support the child while learning these are adult/child interaction: learning environment: daily routine and assessment. These give staff and management a base on how to provide an environment and daily routine that will enrich a childs experiences within my service. My vision is to have a quality service that children will run into every morning with smiles on their faces and at the end then to watch them become fully rounded, capable children as they make the transition to national school. I want my staff to enjoy coming to work, feeling satisfied that they have made a difference in each childs life. That they have helped each child reach their full potential and have positive experiences in the setting. I want parents to feel secure in entrusting their children to my service, that they know that their children will be nurtured and encouraged positively during every step of the day. They feel still included in every part of their childrens day, even while they are away from them. I feel that the new National Framework can slot in easily to a service that is High scope-based, as there are a lot of similarities. Aistear curriculum can be used during a Highscope daily routing as both are play-based, learning and emphasise the value of observations to plan routines and activities. Because of this, I feel the transition to national school should be smooth. The children have built up the abilities to problem solve and make decision and choices for themselves. This builds confidence both socially and academically. I feel the largest problem for children when progressing initially to national school is more social than academic and if a child is confident, self-aware and happy in themselves, the transition can bring more positive experiences than negative which sets a good base for a child to progress successfully as a student.

Using Biometrics for Security :: Technology Safety Essays

Using Biometrics for Security Today the protection of everything has become an important issue that affects everyone. Whether it’s protecting a cashier’s cash drawer or preventing a suicide bomber onto an aircraft. Either way there is going to be an increase and change in security. The advancement in the technology of computers has made it easier for people to get information. Today, a person can log onto the internet and view information on anything and everything. If an average person can do that then how secure is the internet? How much security should be placed on a computer or a website? For the average person, a password, personal identification number, or keys allow them to view information that only they can access. This form of security isn’t of high-quality because it can be forged. Over the years, many people have developed security systems that can actually authenticate a person. This report will be looking at these advancements as well as my thoughts of them. The improvement in security was developed on the bases of biometrics. Biometrics refers to the authentication techniques that rely on measurable characteristics that can be automatically checked. [1] Biometric techniques are divided into physiological and behavioral characteristics. Physiological characteristics include: the finger, palm, the face, and the retina and iris of the eye. Behavioral characteristics include: voiceprints, keystrokes and handwritten signatures. Fingerprints is the most commonly use of biometric today. It works great for the population between the ages of 18 and 40 because their prints are haven’t been effective by normal aging. In my view there are a few downfalls. The first on is due to aging. As we go through life our body changes. We lose fat on a fingers causing the image to become more difficult to read. The second one is due to the type of employment. A construction worker or a carpenter work with their hands all the time. Many of them get injuries on their hands causing a scar to alter the fingerprint. My final downfall is a bit distorted. A finger can be cut off. There are many people that will go to any means to get what they want. This includes cutting off a person finger and carrying it around till they get to what they need to access. Palm and hand scanner are less effective and more expensive then fingerprint scanners.

Of Castles And Kings (chess) :: essays research papers

Of Castles and Kings Chess, which is believed to have originated in India, has come a long way since it’s earliest record and perhaps violent history. Since it’s origin, chess has undergone a few changes. One of the biggest changes in chess is the switch from classical openings to a new style referred to as hypermodern openings. Before you can understand this change, you must know about the history, rules, and strategy of chess.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many theories about the origination of chess. The most popular idea is that it originated from the game Chaturanga, once thought to be Chinese Checkers, but now is believed to be of Indian Origin (from India, the country). According to Eastern Legend, Chaturanga was invented by a man named Sissa. Sissa was a Brahman at the Court of King Balhait of India. King Balhait was tired of dice games that depended primarily on luck and chance, so he ordered his wise men to come up with a game that depended on a player’s judgement and skill. Sissa took an eight by eight grid of sixty-four squares, which back then in India was called an Ashtapada Board, and checkered it with with colors. The pieces he used were based on the four categories of the Indian army: The elephants, the cavalry, the chariots and the infantry. He also used the King and his chief counselor. Sissa made the rules so that you have to use strategy and skill in order to win. The King was ver y pleased with this new game. It reduced luck and chance to a small role. He ordered that it be played in every temple as training in the art of war.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Chaturanga spread Eastward to China, and on the way over there, it was transformed into Siang K’I, which is Chinese Chess. Chinese Chess is played on the points, rather than the squares. Chinese Chess traveled through Korea to Japan, where it transformed into Shogi, also known as The General’s Game. Chess also traveled Westward to Persia; there it was known as Shatranj. The Moors brought the game into Spain in the eighth century, from their traders took it to Russia. It wasn’t until the 15th century that Chess began to resemble the game we have now, with a Queen instead of the King’s counselor and Rooks, Knights, Bishops, and Pawns instead of elephants, cavalry, chariots and infantry.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Is it possible that chess is a violent or evil game?

Jane english and the Analogy of the Hypnotized Attackers :: essays research papers

For our next paper I plan on discussing abortion as a social issue. I want to do this in the form of a critical paper This seems to be a very sticky subject and is one of the topics we had in our class that was very interesting to me with a lot of room for interpretation as to when it is or is not o.k. to abort the fetus if it should ever be done at all. The argument I plan to discuss is Jane English's analogy of the hypnotized attackers which was not one of our readings, but one I came across in some research I did for this upcoming paper. This analogy has to do with a mad scientist who abducts people, hypnotizes them and has them attack innocent passerbys. A major part of the analogy is realizing that these people who are attacking innocents are themselves innocent and would not be committing the acts of violence that they are guilty of if they were not hypnotized and were able to act on their own volition. They are acting on the will of the mad scientist. He is the only bad person in this whole scenario. The innocent hypnotized attackers are representative of the fetus and the helpless attackee is representative of the woman or women who are victims of the unwanted pregnancy. The analogy is to determine the measure of force that can that can be used by the attacker to protect one'sself from the undesired attack of an undesirable pregnancy depending on what kind of damage the pregnancy may cause. I think that this analogy does a good job in deciding how to deal with the burden of pregnancy during more than just the moment of attack. Her narrative can grasp or deal with a lot of possible situations. Jane English argues that if a fetus is a person, abortion is still justifiable in many cases and if a fetus is not a person, killing it is still wrong in many cases (pg. 4). When I first read this , or heard, this passage I felt that it was fairly wishy- washy. I felt that her argument really did not have a stand, but how can you when you are not truly pro- choice or pro-life. She seems to be saying that there must be a good reason to end a life and not just for the sheer convenience of it. I completely agree. Also, with this argument came the concept of personhood. This concept seems to be what liberals and conservatives are trying to define because it can be stated at that exact moment when a fetus becomes a person and therefore when abortion

Prison and Parole

CJ 365 1 – April – 2013 Parole In Society Last year, 77% of prisoners released from incarceration were released through and in to a system of community and authoritative supervision called parole. Parole is the conditional release from confinement of a person serving an indeterminate sentence (Corrections Today, page 262) and it is an idea which has had a huge impact on the justice system and the workings of the U. S. Department of Corrections as we now know it. The concept of parole can be traced back to the works of Alexander Maconochie.Maconochie was the superintendent of a penal colony on Norfolk Island, Australia. In his work, Maconochie utilized a system through which good behavior was encouraged through the use of ‘marks’. Prisoners served their sentence in three stages of progressively increasing responsibility. Prisoners advanced through the first two stages through labor, studies and good behavior. They would then be released into the outside worl d under the condition that disobeying the law would result in reincarceration.Walter Crofton adopted Maconochie’s ideas as the basis for the ‘Irish mark system’ which made permissible the early release of prisoners with a record of good behavior. This mark system was instituted at the Elmira reformatory in the 1870s and from there went on to spread rapidly throughout the United States justice system. Today, around 77% of inmates that are released from prison do so through the parole system or some very similar form of community supervision. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, at the end of 2011 there were 853,900 adults on parole and around 1. million adults that had moved on to or off of parole over the course of the year. The main goal of parole is to supervise the reintegration of inmates back into society and encourage their rehabilitation towards becoming a more productive member of society. There are three different purposes of the institution of parole: to help the parolee obtain help for problems with employment, residency, finance, and any other personal troubles that may interfere with a prisoner’s reintegration into everyday life; to make society safer by preventing situations in which prior offenders might commit new offense; and also to prevent the needless imprisonment of those not likely to commit further crime (Parole FAQ’s). Parole is often confused with probation, though they are distinctly different. Probation is used as an alternative to incarceration in which the offender receives state supervision whilst still living a mostly normal life, whereas with parole, an offender serves most of their sentence in a reformatory and pending good behavior, is then released to serve the remainder in the community (under state supervision).There are several rules and guidelines used to determine eligibility for parole that must first be met by an inmate. Eligibility for parole depends on the type of sentence assigned by the court. Accompanying an offender’s sentencing is a ‘parole eligibility date’. This is the earliest potential date upon which an offender may be released in the instance that the parole commission finds them suitable for release. Unless the court specifies a minimum amount of time that an inmate must serve or said offender is serving an indeterminate sentence, an inmate becomes eligible for parole after completion of one third of their court-mandated sentence.To apply for consideration, an inmate must fill out a parole application furnished by a case manager. The case manager then informs the potential parolee of his parole hearing date. This date generally occurs within a few months of placement in the respective institution, except in cases where the offender is serving more than ten years time. In this instance, ‘the initial hearing is scheduled six months prior to the completion of ten years.At this parole hearing, the offender receives an opportunity to present their side of the story and to offer their argument as to why they should be released. The general factors considered during a parole hearing include â€Å"the details of the offense, prior criminal history, the guidelines which the Commission uses in making their determination, the offender's accomplishments in the correctional facility, details of a release plan, and any problems the offender has had to meet in the past and is likely to encounter again in the future† (USPC FAQs).When determining parole eligibility, there are four important factors which the parole commission must consider: can the inmate be released without being a detriment to himself and/or the community, will their release serve the best interest of the community, is the inmate willing and able to meet the conditions of both their parole assignment and of everyday life, and whether or not continued correctional treatment would further their chances of leading a normal, law-abiding life.To make a determination of these factors, each potential parolee is interviewed by the acting parole board. A parole board is a group of people who decide whether or not an offender should be released on parole. On February 7th, 2011, Governor Rick Snyder signed State of Michigan Executive Order No. 2011-3 abolished the ‘Michigan Parole and Commutation Board’ and replaced it with the ‘Michigan Parole Board’, granting membership â€Å"†¦ to ten full-time non-Civil Service employees who are appointed by the director of the Michigan Department of Corrections† (MDOC Parole Board).Michigan’s current board members come from a variety of backgrounds including law enforcement, law, corrections, ministry, social work and public service. These ten people are split up into three groups of three, with the remaining person acting as the chairperson and also the deciding vote in ties. The MPB (Michigan Parole Board) is the sole parole authority f or prisoners under the jurisdiction of the Michigan Department of Corrections. It should be noted that parole board structure and decisions differ from one jurisdiction to the next. According to statute MCL 791. 33, a prisoner may be granted parole only after the board has reasonable assurance, after consideration of all of the facts and circumstances, including the prisoner's mental and social attitude, that the prisoner will not become a menace to society or to the public safety† (Parole – Learning More). Most prisoners are interviewed by one member of the board. This interview is used to explore the offender’s criminal, social and substance abuse history, their behavior in prison, their plans for parole, and any other matters pertinent to the specific case.The prisoner is allowed to have one other ‘representative’ present at the interview with them (this representative cannot be a lawyer or fellow prisoner). On October 30th, 2004, the ‘Crime Rights Victims Act’ was enacted. This act is intended for the preservation of the rights of crime victims. A crime victim is defined as â€Å"an individual who suffers direct or threatened physical, financial or emotional harm as a result of the commission of a crime is considered a victim† (Crime Victim’s Rights Act). This act entitles the crime victim notification and consultation throughout each step of the justice process.According to the act, at the written request of the victim, the MDOC must provide notifications at every stage of the prisoner’s incarceration process. This act also grants the victim the right to submit a written, telephone or oral impact statement to the parole board for hearing prior to the approval of a parole request consisting of any relevant statements regarding the effects of the crime upon the victim, the circumstances surrounding the crime and any other details relevant to the crime, and also the victim’s personal o pinion as to whether or not the offender should be released on parole.The parole board utilizes a numerical scoring system called the parole guidelines. This process applies objective criteria and is generally a significant factor in the parole approval decision process: in some situations, parole can be approved or denied before an interview even takes place. The score is important enough that in instances where the Parole Board makes a decision contradictory to that suggested guideline score, they â€Å"†¦must provide, in writing, substantial and compelling reasons in support of the decision. † The guidelines used in parole guidelines are outlined in Administrative Rule 791. 716 (Parole Consideration Process). After the hearing has been completed and the case file examined, the parole decision is made by three-member panels of the board. If their request is denied, the inmate is returned to the institution where they then have the option of filing an appeal of the paro le decision with the National Appeals Board (so long as they do so within thirty days of the date listen on the Notice of Action). The National Appeals Board then has the option of affirming, reversing or modifying the decision made by the regional commissioner, or they may order a new hearing.Decisions made by the National Appeals Board are final, and offenders will not have the option of appealing the Appeals Board’s decision. If the inmate declines to submit an appeal, he is legally entitled to reconsideration after a certain amount of time. If the inmate is sentenced to less than seven years, they will receive another hearing 18 months from the date of their last. If their sentence exceeds seven years, their next parole hearing will be scheduled 24 months from the date of the last.If the panel approves the parole request, the inmate’s case file is then assigned to a parole officer based upon the county in which the subject will be fulfilling their parole requiremen ts over a specified amount of time. The offender should have a release plan denoting a suitable residence and ideally a verified offer of employment. This is not mandatory though and there are exceptions to this law which are decided on a person to person basis. If everything goes accordingly, the detainee will be released from incarceration on the date listed on their release certificate.They then return to their approved housing and must then report to the United States Probation Office listed on their certificate. Their assigned officer will establish a plan for regular reporting in person, along with mandatory monthly reports for the remainder of the sentence. Also listed on the release certificate are the rules and conditions by which the parolee agrees to live. So long as the parolee fulfills the requirements established by the parole board and finishes his parole period without any violations of the predetermined parole conditions, the parolee will be released from government supervision.These rules vary from one person to the next and are tailored by the Parole Board to better equip each individual offender for success in the integration process. Common conditions of parole often require abstaining from any and all drugs and alcohol, confinement to a defined area/perimeter, steady employment/residency, counseling or, if deemed necessary, enrollment into in-patient treatment facilities. In the event of a violation of parole conditions, the offender isn’t always returned to prison.Depending on the nature of the violation, various programs and sanctions can be used as an alternative to re-incarceration. The Michigan Department of Corrections cites â€Å"†¦an added emphasis on offender success in the community and tries to keep parolees out in the community when they believe that they can continue to be safely managed there† (Parole – Learning More). Though it is, like nearly every other government approach to social issues, plagu ed with disadvantages, parole serves as an efficient and mostly effective tool for managing some of the flaws and issues within the justice system.Parole allows the freeing up of space in already rapidly overcrowding prisons nationwide by releasing non-violent drug offenders and other reformed prisoners ready for reintegration into society, opening up space for inmates who pose a more serious threat to society. After spending months, years or even decades in prison, the average inmate has lost at least some sense of what life is like outside of their institution. Parole is a gentle easing back in to community life; allowing the prisoner supervision and some restrictions to help keep them from the activities which got them into trouble into the first place.Parole’s accompanying threat of a return to prison is often enough to deter those who might otherwise fall back into their old ways. Many inmates report feeling lost and alone following their release; some don’t know what to do in the absence of the basic structure and routine that they’d grown accustomed to during their period of incarceration. Parole is not a unanimously accepted issue and some think it to be little more than an extension of mercy towards the prisoner in the form of a reduced sentence. These people feel that early release on parole drastically reduces the effectiveness of the prison sentence.What most do not realize is that even if a person doesn’t receive approval for parole, this does not disqualify them from or affect their chances of an early release on account of good behavior and/or other contributing factors. Citing information from ‘White Paper’, a report compiled by a firm called â€Å"Prisoners’ Legal Services† which covers nearly all aspects of the current state of parole in Massachusetts; lower rates of parole negatively affect the prisoner, the community to which he returns, the crime victim, and also the justice system of which he is a part.The report states that the number of state and county prisoners released on parole decreased from 4,508 in 2010 to 2,043 in 2011. By the end of 2011, there were only 1,649 offenders out on parole; nearly half the number of the previous year’s end. In 2010, 38% percent of released offenders were put on parole, compared to 2012’s meager 15% release rate. Instead of having a parole officer to guide them through the reintegration process, prisoners are released back into the world with no form of supervision, services or support.Reduced parole approval rates also mean that prisoners serving time in medium and maximum security institutions return directly to the community with no transitioning steps. Failure to provide assistance to released inmates and the state’s ignorance of the rehabilitation process can be directly correlated with higher rates of recidivism. Recidivism is defined as â€Å"the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have experienced negative consequences for that ehavior, or have been treated or trained to extinguish that behavior† (Recidivism, Wikipedia). Recidivism is one of the most important subjects of consideration within the criminal justice process as the purpose of a release from incarceration is rendered useless if the perpetrator will simply return to the life that lead him into the justice system in the first place. This is an issue of the highest priority as over 95% of prisoners serving time in state and federal prisons will eventually be released back into the community.While the United States continues to take increasing measures aimed towards the arrest and incarceration of its criminals (resulting in drastically higher arrest rates and increasing issues with overpopulation and crowding in the nation’s institutions), it has failed to respond to increasing rates of recidivism among its prisoners. A survey conducted in 2003 by the Urban Institute of the Ju stice Policy Center reported that 53% of arrested males and 39% of arrested females would be re-incarcerated.This same study states that within three years of release, nearly seven out of every ten males will be rearrested and half of that number will end up back in prison. The report says recidivism happens due to both personal and situational conditions. It also claims that one of the main reasons for recidivism â€Å"†¦is because it is difficult for the individual to fit back in with normal life†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  It says many prisoners report anxiety regarding their release and excitement about how their life will be ‘different this time’ and this often proves a matter of utter disappointment and frustration in the instances where this doesn’t end up being the case.Nearly every study and report on the issue reports the same thing: the more efforts taken to work towards rehabilitation of released prisoners, the lower their chances of recidivism. The su ccess rates of rehabilitation efforts depend largely on the nature of the original offense, but in almost every single instance, an inmate has a notably higher chance of success in the outside world with the assistance and support of the state. In 2010, 51% of United States federal inmates were doing time as a result of a drug-related charge.Estimates state that nearly three out of four prisoners returning from prison have a history of substance-abuse. Despite this, only 7%-17% of prisoners actually meet the DSM criteria for alcohol and drug dependence and actually receive treatment in prison. Effectiveness studies have reported that inmates who partake in residential treatment programs during their incarceration have 9%-18% lower recidivism rates, and possess a 15%-30% lower chance of relapse than their fellow prisoners who did not receive treatment.One interesting statistic to note is the rate of recidivism in offenders with prior arrest history. Within three years of release, 41% of prisoners with one prior arrest were re-arrested while 82% of those with more than fifteen prior arrests were re-arrested. A study published in McNair’s Scholar Journal entitled â€Å"The Relationship Between Parole and Recidivism in the Criminal Justice System† by Jacquelin Robinson of Grand Valley State University claims a direct association between parole and recidivism.Interestingly enough, she says that because of modestly high rates of parole violation and failure among parolees are a direct opposite of what they seemingly should be; as the rate of parole increases, so do the chances of recidivism. According to the same studies, parole supervision (regardless of how intensive) was not a direct contributor towards lower recidivism rates. This same article cites a study conducted by Jeremy Travis in May 2000 on behalf of the National Institute of Justice.Travis’ findings indicated that rehabilitation programs actually had very little effect on reduced re cidivism and actually states that parole violations are ‘now the driving force behind prison growth’, being responsible for 34% of all admissions. A study entitled ‘Does Parole Work’ compiled by Amy Solomon of the Urban Institute in Washington D. C. for the Bureau of Justice Statistics offers statistics indicating a meagerly higher chance for recidivism of unconditional releases (61%) in comparison to discretionary parolees (57%). While these studies claim that parole supervision is next to useless, other studies present very different ideas.According to a four year study conducted by Rutgers University and presented to the New Jersey State Parole Board, intensive supervision of violent and high-risk offenders significantly reduces the chances that they will be re-arrested. According to this study, parolees subjected to intensive law-enforcement supervision and to programs designed to ease their re-entry into the community fared best, boasting a 41% recidiv ism rate in comparison to the 51% general parolee rate and the 73% rate of those who completed their full sentence and were under no supervision post-release.Though as a general whole, these high rates of recidivism and the low rates of parole success might seem to support the idea that parole is not a terribly effective manner of approaching the release and treatment of the country’s lower-threat class of criminals, it is proven more effective in cases involving violent/high-risk offenders which should be of a higher priority anyways. That said, parole also makes sense from a financial perspective which is ultimately of huge important in the process.Though it varies from one institution to the next and from state to state, it costs taxpayers $47,000 per year to keep inmates incarcerated in a California prison (less than yearly tuition at Princetown University) which stands in comparison to a probation cost of around $1200 a year and about $1500 a year to keep an offender out on parole. In the fiscal year of 2010, the Michigan Department of Corrections had $1. 2 billion in prison expenditures and more than seventy million in prison-related costs outside the department’s budget. A Michigan inmate will end up costing the state $28,117 for each year of incarceration (Price of Prisons).Obviously withstanding the offender themselves, the most important person in the parole supervision and reform process is the parole officer. Parole and probation supervision is a social-based job, rather than one rooted in information and data and often culminates in an end-result of satisfaction and rewards when a parole officer gets the opportunity to have a positive impact on the life of one of their parolees. In a news article published in New Hampshire News, reporter Chris Jensen follows parole/probation officer John Loven through an average day in his line of work.Loven starts the day out with a folder containing the files of all of the parolees to which he is a ssigned. His job is to make sure that the people in these files are living up to the conditions agreed upon that are listed upon the parolee’s assigned certificate of release, and in the cases where they are not, it is his duty to see to it that they’re either rewarded for their efforts or punished for their lack thereof. Loven says that most of his cases involve problems stemming back to alcohol and drugs, though there are the inevitable outliers to this too. Each probation or parolee,† Loven states, â€Å"is really an individual; they have individual problems and they each have individual needs. † (Day in the Life)† Loven’s job entails a daily commute of up to (and sometimes more than) two hundred miles. Most of his visits are unexpected; intended to catch the parolee in their natural environment living out an average day. Hoping to catch them in the act, he often finds himself digging through their trash cans for evidence of recent drinking or drug use. One case special to Loven is that of a twenty year old recovering addict.Loven stops by her house regularly, checking up on her physical well-being, keeping track of what stage she is at in her recovery. Upon arrival, Loven finds the girl in a bad state. She appears visibly nervous, and is quite shaky and seemingly anxious and upset. At first Loven probes for any evidence of deviance from the court-ordered conditions but after a phone call informs the girl of family problems she breaks down in to tears. Loven works to console the girl, and that done, asks to look at her arms. She explains two bruising track marks as the areas from which she had her blood drawn for a recent medical procedure.Loven makes sure that she’s taking proper hygienic standards to keep herself in optimal shape. With a history of previously missed appointments, Loven then reminds her that she’ll have another meeting with him in two weeks time. After running through her schedule with him, he wishes her well and then heads back to his car to go about his day. With 96 cases that month, and nearly 110 the month before that, Loven keeps plenty busy. His visits take him to a variety of different environments filled with a variety of different people.Drug users, alcoholics, sex offenders, violent criminals and also everyday average American citizens; there are few limits drawn around Loven’s scope of duty. With a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and graduate’s degrees in community counseling and psychology; although he does mention a huge amount of paperwork, he says that when it comes down to it, his job is a delicate balance of counseling and investigation. He must reach a point where he’s not unapproachable to his parolees, but at the same time, doesn’t come across as a sucker that will fall for their lies and tricks.He must count on a sense of reason and logic to guide him through the day to day. â€Å"You get to know them, you get to know their families, their lifestyles and how they’re doing. † Though not for everyone, the role of parole officer/supervisor is a job that will prove both enriching and rewarding to the right kind of person who is ready to endure the hard work and dedication required to meet the demands of a job so important in modern-day society. All in all, parole is one of society’s stepping stones towards a brighter future.Though not a guarantee of success and not without the occasional flaw, parole still holds much greater promise than most of the alternatives. Through the hard work of officers, parole gives criminal offenders a chance at putting together the pieces of a normal life in the wake of a lengthy prison sentence. So long as both officer and parolee are willing to put in the time and effort towards improvement on a personal and community level, parole gives a reformed and well-intentioned offender the chance for a new start and a better life.Works Cite d Alarid, Leanne Fiftal, and Carmen Rolando V. Del. â€Å"Probation. † Community-Based Corrections. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2011. 139-55. Print. â€Å"Crime Victims' Rights Act. † Michigan Department of Corrections. N. p. , n. d. Web. 01 Apr. 2013. . â€Å"Crime Victims' Rights Act. † Offices Of The United States Attorneys. United States Department of Justice, n. d. Web. 01 Apr. 2013. . Jensen, Chris. â€Å"A Day in the Life of a North Country Parole Officer. † New Hampshire News. NHPR, 23 May 2011. Web. 01 Apr. 2013. . Marushack, Laura, and Erika Parks. â€Å"Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). † Bureau of Justice Statistics. N. p. , 29 Nov. 2012. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. Http://bjs. gov/index. cfm? ty=pbdetail&iid=4538 Michigan Exec. Order No. 2011-3, 3 C. F. R. (2011).Print. â€Å"Parole – Learning More. † Michigan Department of Corrections. N. p. , n. d. Web. 01 Apr. 2013. . â€Å"Parole Conditions. † LegalMatch. Ed. Ken LeMance. N. p. , 21 Oct. 2012. Web. 01 Apr. 2013. . â€Å"The Parole Consideration Process. † Michigan Department of Corrections. N. p. , n. d. Web. 01 Apr. 2013. â€Å"Parole Position

Assessing Young Learners’ Speaking Ability in the Fifth Grade of Three Elementary Schools in Padang Essay

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Problem Communicative view development in English learning makes the focus on English teaching changed. What once became structurally focused, it now moves toward meaningful language-focused. Students are not asked to memorize structure-based dialogues without knowing the meaning anymore. There are no more grammatically controlled sentences for students’ meaningless repetition. Dialogues, if used, center around communicative functions and are not normally memorized (Richards & Rodgers, 1986). That makes the teaching of speaking becomes the core part of English teaching. Just like the adults, young learners today are also taught speaking meaningfully and communicatively. However, young learners have distinctive characteristics compared with adult learners. One of them is children are still developing cognitively, linguistically, socially, emotionally, and physically (Teaching Knowledge Test Young Learners: Handbook for Teachers, 2010). In other words, in teaching speaking to them, teachers need to consider children’s development of skills in the native language first. Young learners also enjoy rhythmic and repetitive language more than adults do. They are more likely to play with language than adults are, and they can be more effectively engaged through stories and games (Peck, 2009). The different techniques and approaches in teaching speaking to young learners lead to different ways in the speaking assessment. This is the problem faced by Indonesian young learners’ teachers nowadays. Most teachers do not know how they should assess their young learners’ speaking ability; some finally choose to skip the speaking assessment and focus on pencil-paper-tests. Thus, this research is conducted to discover and reveal ways of assessing young learners’ speaking ability. B. Identification of the Problem Based on the background above, the speaking assessment techniques used for young learners should be different from the adult. It should be suited with their cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical development. As we looked upon Language Assessment: Principles and Classroom Practices by Brown (2010) and integrated it with curriculum standard in Indonesia, KTSP 2006, young learners will be better to be assessed in imitative and intensive speaking categories, such as imitating teachers’ saying, directed response tasks, read-aloud tasks, and dialogue completion tasks. Alternative assessments such as interviews and conferences can also be applied for them. C. Limitation of the Problem In this research, the problem will be focused on the speaking assessment techniques in the fifth grade of three selected elementary schools in Padang. D. Formulation of the Problem * What kind of speaking assessment technique used by elementary school English teachers? * Why do they use such techniques? E. Purpose of the Research The purpose of this research is to discover and reveal the technique used by English teachers to assess elementary school students’ speaking ability. F. Significance of the Research Theoretically, this research is aimed to give a description of how speaking assessment for young learners done in Indonesia. Practically, some techniques used by English teachers provided here can be a source of alternative speaking assessment. CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE A. The Nature of Assessment There has been various explanation of what assessment is. Brindley (as stated in Linse, 2005) refers assessment as â€Å"collecting information and making judgments on a learner’s knowledge†. It means that in assessing students, we need to find out what students know about the subject being taught and how far that understanding has reached the learning indicator. In the same line with Brindley but with an addition, Brown (2010) states assessment as â€Å"an ongoing process of collecting information about a given object of interest according to procedures that are systematic and substantively grounded.† In his statement above, Brown implies that the process of collecting and judging students’ understanding is not done orderly in one single time; it is done continuously. Harris and McCann (1994) also give an essential note that in doing assessment teachers have to measure the performance of their students and the progress they make, as well as diagnose the problems they have and provide useful feedback. In other words, collecting and judging students’ intelligence is not enough; finding out what becomes students’ problem and giving advice to them to overcome the problems is also important to create a more successful learning process. Based on the theories above, it can be seen that assessment involves collecting information about students’ knowledge and judging their understanding in order to diagnose the learning problems they have so that students can get useful feedback to be more-successful learners. B. The Nature of Speaking As stated in the previous chapter, today’s English teaching focuses more on communicative purpose of language learning than in the past. It leads to the more important consideration of speaking skills than in previous time. Just like assessment, there is also various definition of speaking. One of them is from Lingua Links (1998) that defines speaking as productive skill in the oral mode that involves more than just pronouncing words. Referring to today’s communicative view, of course speaking cannot be thought as just pronouncing words; it needs to be meaningful, and communicative. Furthermore, Noonan (2003) states that, if pronunciation included, speaking involves three areas: mechanics (pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary), functions (transaction and interaction), and social cultural norms and rules (turn-taking, rate of speech, etc). All of them are connected to each other and prove that speaking is not only about what is uttered, but also the meaning and social purpose. C. The Nature of Young Learners Young learner is a child who is in their first six year of formal education, from age 6 to 12 (Teaching Knowledge Test Young Learners: Handbook for Teachers, 2010). Many experts argue that it is beneficial to teach the children English since young age. TKT Young Learners (2010) notes one of the advantages that those children will have positive self-esteem toward English and it will help them to learn English more once they are adult. That is why teaching English to young learners considered important today. However, young learners have characteristics that make them different from the adults (Teaching Knowledge Test Young Learners: Handbook for Teachers, 2010). First, they are still morally, cognitively, psychologically developed. Based on Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, children in age 6-12 years old are still in concrete operational thought stage, they already have the ability to do logical reasoning and understand reversibility with the help of concrete objects (Santrock, 1998). It means that explaining theory will not do for them, we need to make them move, do games, sing, etc. Second, young learners often have no obvious reason for learning English. Unlike adults who want to do it because of the career-related reasons or teenagers that do it to pass an exam, young learners do not have concrete reason why they must learn English. However, it does not mean they are not motivated to learn English; their goodwill, energy, and curiosity to learning overcome that. Third, they may not always have well-developed literacy skills to support their learning of English. Many children in the age of 6-12 years old are just getting to know their first language. It means that as a teacher we need to not have too-high expectation and do more. Fourth, young learners often learn slowly and forget quickly. It is related to the first characteristic that young learners are still developed morally, socially, and cognitively. Their still-ongoing developments in those basic things make them forget easily and learn slowly. This is why songs, agmes, and chants do best for them. D. Principles of Assessing Young Learners According to METU Open Course Ware (2006), principles of assessing children’s language learning are: 1. Assessment should be seen from a learning-centered perspective. It means that we cannot get a true assessment by testing kids what they can do alone. It has been stated by many experts that the goal of learning English is to be able to communicate meaningfully in English. Testing students, let alone young children, as a tool to get true assessment will not congruent with the real goal of English learning and it will just be wasting time. 2. Assessment should support learning and teaching. This is something that is not also becomes a problem with young learners, but also with the adult. Before performance-based assessment is introduced, teachers chose paper-and-pencil tests as their source of assessing (Puppin, 2006). It becomes a problematic then since students do not see the connection between the learning and the test they are doing, ; they see them as two different incongruent things. If the assessment done is congruent with the learning they did, children will feel that what they have learned is useful. 3. Children and parents should understand assessment issues. Their understanding will make the assessment process more meaningful since they can participate and supports greatly on behave of children’s English development. On the other hand, if they do not understand why the teacher does this and that, there will be no good communication between these three subjects to help children’s development. E. Techniques of Speaking Assessment Brown (2010) states some techniques of speaking assessment based on students’ language development level: Imitative Speaking This kind of assessment is intended to see whether students can imitate saying in English correctly. Eventhough it focuses on the accuracy of repeating words, it does not mean that it cannot be communicative and meaningful. Besides, in recent years many experts have discovered that an overemphasis on fluency can sometimes lead to the decline of accuracy in speech. Intensive Speaking There are four tasks in this kind of assessing: directed response task, oral questionnaire, and picture-cued task. In oral questionnaires, students are first given time to read the dialogue to get its main idea and to think about the appropriate lines to fill in. Then, as the tape, teacher produces one part orally; the students respond. In directed response task, students elicit a particular grammatical form of a transformation of a sentence. Such tasks are clearly mechanical and not communicative, but they do require minimal processing of meaning in order to produce the correct grammatical output. Picture-cued task requires a description from the students. Pictures may be very simple, designed to elicit a word or a phrase, or composed of a series that tells a story or incident. This task is meaningful since sometime a little sense of humor is injected. Responsive Speaking Assessment of responsive tasks involves brief interactions with an interlocutor, differing from intensive tasks in increased creativity given to the student and from interactive tasks by somewhat limited length of utterances. The kinds of this assessment are question and answer, giving instructions and directions, and paraphrasing. Questions and answers involve oral interaction with teacher.