Salim Group Case study

Flexibility In order for Anthony Salim group to operate flexibly to capture whatever opportunities may arise on the axis between Australia, ASEAN and China, there must be certain tasks which its companies are required to fulfil. With regards to corporate communication, Salim group tends to stay off the media publication completely.Advertising We will write a custom article sample on Salim Group Case study specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This in itself hinders transparency of its operations and shields the public from knowing its internal goals, size and performance. Dieleman (2006) also argues that â€Å"Even relative insiders such as board members of the OPUs do not know exactly what Salim Group as a whole is up to† (p.14). Since International accounting standards require transparency and disclosure, Salim Group may experience difficulties going multination due to violation of this very standard. Benny also explains in Di eleman (2006) that â€Å"We don’t give interviews to reporters, normally† (p.14). Keeping low profile operations in its internal management information system as well as towards outside world communication may compromise its competence and progressive leadership may hinder its effort in attracting investors. Another difficulty raises the issue where Salim Group permits its companies to operate under different legal basis. While the legal system in principle offers uniform interpretations concerning the application, Salim Group system requirements have not obliged to this law. Dieleman (2006) also states that it is always unclear to know if a particular company belongs to the Salim Group until it publishes its end year results in the publicly listed companies, and if it’s a private owned company may be hard to prove its private operations. In this regard, a private holding may be rigid in operating under the provided stringent rules by holding a company. This may prove difficult in providing uniform system that is recognised by all companies. In conclusion, providing uniform interpretation as a strategy to preserve the autonomy of all its operations are required by Salim Group.Advertising Looking for article on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It would be naive to believe that having family members control Salim holding would ensure that the firms in question internalise the costs of the damaging practices. A problem arises when it is impossible to raise short-term finances in cases of emergencies. Here, there’s a possibility of these companies failing to organise themselves economically hence limiting their exposure to international markets. Another relevant issue is that since the Salim family holds majority shares that ultimately influences decision making, the organisation may experience complexities in all the separate legal entities. The bigger the num ber of separate legal entities there are, the more difficult it is to legally establish the liability of any particular firm. At this point, Salim Group can not be relied upon to ensure effective management in all the mentioned countries. Around 1972, Salim Group started exploiting its strategy by way of selecting business opportunities rather than being driven by mere opportunities. This market based strategy enabled the introduction of professional management as a way of decreasing government dependency. On the contrary though, international network requires coordinative decision of the involved countries and enterprises without subjecting stringent rules to the corresponding government agencies. In order to operate flexibly, Salim Group should give these countries a chance to express their economic preference and consider their income constraints (Dieleman 2006, p.4). Since the company started organising its business through the value chain, countries that will be selected to pro duce food commodities should be provided incentives to produce quality goods at low costs and to attract new innovations. Also, the fall of Suharto, one of the Salim Group corporate sectors due to huge debts experienced during the period of May1992 could have been minimised or eliminated altogether if the company would have engaged government agencies.Advertising We will write a custom article sample on Salim Group Case study specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The major reason for the company’s bankruptcy was because that the family was unable to rescue the bank forcing it to hand all its operation to the government for recapitalisation. Even if particular companies are not threatened by bankruptcy, collaboration with individual countries’ governments reduces tension between short-term economic imperatives and long-term environmental interests that may lead to its closure. Since companies operations are largely manage d by family members, significant investors are most likely to dump stocks whose performance disappoints them. This statement is supported by Dieleman (2006) quote that states â€Å"apart from internal rigorous control system, most of the group’s contributors to profit are listed companies, exposing them to the external control mechanism of the market (minority shareholders† (p.13). Normally when enterprises are subjected to short-term pressure to maintain their earnings, long-term investment opportunities may be ignored subjecting the firms’ survival to receivership. Conclusively, rather than subjecting its business strategies to western multinationals that requires limiting its group core businesses into one strategy to control costs, Salim Group took an entirely different path of geographical orientation that involved very large number industries ranging from food, property, media and telecom limiting its ability to specialise. Even if all the above problems a re overlooked, the problem remains what Dieleman (2006) terms as â€Å"creating a toll-road with many stations† (p.15)† will not increase business opportunities. Linking production in a particular country to consumer markets in another county argument, once again, does not provide management practices that will ensure prosperity of future generations. Environmental forces Environmental forces describe changes in the environment in which business operations and the driving forces that control their relationships. The company’s success is dependent on its diversification strategy that combined food processing with trading business. According to Dieleman (2006), Salim Group followed the belief that â€Å"all businesses are good† (p.3). As Salim explains in Dieleman (2006), â€Å"the group evolved not be design, but by necessity. Whatever opportunity was good, we just grapped† (p.3).Advertising Looking for article on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Another strategy that involved combining business skills and political contacts to gain market dominance resulted to lack of dependency resulting to collective irrationality leading to rapid depletion of the resources where common grounds were not achieved. Evidently, when business activities are exchanged with political favours, new business environment driven by import monopolies are likely to occur. Salim Group early expansion in Indonesia subjected its business environment to political orientation forcing its closure. This trading environment is limited to protecting the business against force and fraud since business matters are not left to voluntary agreement in the market place. In a social philosophy, providing favourable business environment aimed at attracting foreign investors is regarded as beneficial to business survival. If one holds the general view that connection with the presidential family increases business opportunities, then once political changes occur, the bu siness is likely to collapse . The standards argument against a business being tied closely with political families begins with the Dieleman (2006) quote that stated â€Å"†¦..when the Salim Group, by then closely connected wit the presidential family, tried to move its noodle company out of Indonesia,†¦..many suspected that the group had inside information on upcoming political changes..†(p.5). Change of political leadership will evidently create a hostile environment in a profound different political situation. Lesson learned from Salim Group With regards to environmental forces, a business should device one practical core business of strategising its business operations. Shifts in mindsets from textile industries to finance operations provide endless financial struggles. A business strategy should stick to its principles to measure its present performance with future costs of today’s environmental practices and future technological developments. Since mark et trends change to keep a breast of Information technology, my future career in entrepreneurship will ensure its operations are up to date with technological development present in evolving markets to keep up with competitive market environments. Human resource in this regard will put emphasis on attracting and retaining talent by quickly adopting to and becoming resilient to innovative technologies. Information technology has influenced all aspects of human resource departments making them more focused to competence. Artlett and Ghoshal (2000) quote â€Å"the global market place is information based and knowledge intensive† (p.140). This change of environment brings about work diversity as required in my future career. In my perspective, diversity will include motivating employees through gain-sharing and application of innovative technologies. Government involvement in my business may serve as a source of environmental regulations as I would prefer a free market where uneq uivocal market price is determined. My point is not that government involvement cannot be assigned to such matters, but its involvement will not claim an â€Å"objective measure† of determining its operations. Involving political perspectives to some extend will be beneficial in environmental practices since costs analysis in the price terms may have an inherent bias. In this case, certain costs and certain benefits will be given certain consideration including waiving taxes. There is a second area where transparency is required disclosing company operations. In this case, my business will disclose all its potential divergence to the public and the media as well as a strategy to attract foreign investors. Salim Group assumed that keeping low profile operations in its internal management information system as well as towards outside world communication may compromise its competence and progressive leadership. Salim Group article also point out that combination of business skil ls with political favours provide favourable trading conditions. This is not a reality since Defining and weighing costs are inherently political matter. Since the application of innovation technologies relies heavily on HR practices, the selection of suitable entrepreneurship programs and qualified human resource manager is required to be able to cope with the technological changes as success or failure of a company relies on them. Reasons driving technological change and the frequency that organisations are required to adapt to these changes can also be incorporated in my business strategy to how the business can cope with technological changes. Research can also be done in technology firms such as internet and software companies could be examined for different HR practices that respond to technological changes. From this, the conclusion is derived that engaging in a business that specialises in one product and studying the scope of markets is of paramount importance in determinin g economic pressures that may lead them to engage in practices that undermine its survival. In conclusion, communication is indeed a top considered strategy in management process with the ultimate goal achieving organisational goals. In this regard, my future career of entrepreneurship will ensure communication goals are aligned with organisation objectives regardless of their predefined objectives such as increased productivity, money surplus and increase livelihoods. Effective communication and efficient feedback system are among the best management principles required of an organisation. In this regard, I will provide transparency in my business operations and invite the media when publishing my end year financial results. The idea could be established that communication skills such as an effective communicator plays a significant role in ensuring organisation accomplish its goals. Salim Group Late Movers Lesson Salim Group growth since the 1950s through the Asian financial crisi s of the late 1990s have been attributed to its newly introduced technologies has increased its likelihood to acquire capital gains. Evidently, relationships between technology changes and human resource development practices are quite fascinating. Research argues that application of innovative technologies improve job performances and human performance. On the other hand however, employee development that required on-job training plays a crucial role in efficiency and inefficiency of a company. It is evidenced that technology has enabled creation of new avenues for grassroots activism and community building. Success of an organisation relies entirely on the ability of an HR manager to manage a multicultural organisation of different religious beliefs, income, educational and work experience. Programs designed to prepared managers to manage diverse workforce that can bring different views at work and perspectives and innovative ideas. Promoting and fighting challenges faced at work places requires reorganising company’s source of assets into strategic organisation talents that capitalize on of diverse cultures. This global arena as demonstrated by late movers that capitalises on a mixture of businesses opportunities requires manpower that rapidly and creatively adopts and applies innovative technologies. An organisation primary goal should be driven in an environment that supports diversity broadly, as a strategy to retain and attract to survive in competitive markets. Chan (2004) emphasizes that â€Å"businesses have to be mindful and strive towards knowledge based and high technology economy approach in most circumstances, lured to share expertise , diversity management requires skilful balancing act of the HR manager† (p.1). In doing this however, an organisation requires to rapidly respond to human complexity by encouraging training and human skill evaluations. This is done by balancing the talent of a broad workforce to correspond to wider c ustomer base. This requires what Chan (2004) quotes as â€Å"planning, organizing, leading and controlling of organisational resources to ensure effective management of workplace diversity to attain organisational goals† (p.1). Leveraging diverse talents and strategies to retain manpower requires application of gaining-sharing program that meets minimum requirements of an organisation. This requirement is crucial for the success of a company, and requires employees to participate in planning and influencing the implementation of gain-sharing formula. These gain-sharing programs require brain storming ideas such as; 1) change of work attitudes as a strategy to motivate employees to increase productivity 2) providing challenging and reasonable targets 3) providing useful and immediate feedback as guidance to realize gain-sharing payouts. To do this, Chan (2004) urges organisations to provide frequent, objective and clear feedback system to drive members’ performance towa rds gain-sharing target 4) provide effective mechanism that will enable employees initiate changes. This can be achieved by ingraining work procedures and methods in gain sharing programs to provide room for new technology. The second dimension applied by late movers is the corporate responsibility embedded in its business operations, polices and practices. Involved with leading the way in the organisation operates, ethical theories when applied correctly create value with its employees, customers, shareholders and the surrounding community by connecting company’s sense of purpose with a sense of accomplishment. Corporate responsibility has immensely gained recognition in top management functions as it actively maximises the good of the society by following the principles while employing maximum efforts in avoiding the morally wrong doings or rather putting constraints on actions. Managing information systems relies heavily on effective managerial control. The lasting effects are experienced through strategic planning and decision making which are very significant in spotting significant variations. By also ensuring communication channels are driven in the right directions, feedback systems should be delivered in the right direction and time and relayed to the right people for immediate actions. In this regard, only important and critical information should be relayed to company websites and made available to the human resource department. This strategy ensured information technology has been ingrained with strategic business goals. Human resource management goals must be aligned with those of employee and organisation needs. Organisation should be flexible enough to quickly adopt and change directions towards customer oriented. This calls for keeping abreast with the latest technological changes and managing organisation effectively through becoming knowledgeable, being able to lead and control the human resource through providing training and employee development Another issue is where Salim Group required its companies to operate under different legal basis. Legal system in principle offers uniform interpretations concerning the application, Salim Group system requirements should have obliged to this requirement. DIELEMAN (2006) also states that it is always unclear to know if a particular company belongs to the Salim Group until it publishes its end year results in the publicly listed companies, and if it’s a private owned company may be hard to prove its private operations. This proves difficult in providing uniform system that is recognised by all companies. Providing uniform interpretation as a strategy to preserve the autonomy of all its operations are required by Salim Group. Also, having family members control Salim holding will not ensure firms internalise costs and may be impossible to raise short-term finances in cases of emergencies. Also, there’s a possibility of these companies failing to organise the mselves economically hence limiting their exposure to international markets. Another relevant issue is that since the Salim family holds majority shares that ultimately influences decision making, the organisation may experience complex management in all the separate legal entities. In conclusion, company’s success is dependent on its diversification strategy that combined food processing with trading business played a major role in its succes. Selecting opportunities based on upcoming opportunities enabled the group penetrate most countries in Asia. It enabled the introduction of professional management as a way of decreasing government dependency. Since international network requires coordinative decision of the involved countries and enterprises without subjecting stringent rules to the corresponding government agencies, Salim Group in order to operate flexibly enabled the countries it traded in a chance to express their economic preference and consider their income constr aints. Since the company started organising its business through the value chain, countries that were considered to produce certain commodities cheaper were identified. List of References Artlett, C.A. GhoshaL, S. 2000, ‘Going Global: Lessons from Late Movers’,  Harvard Business Review, vol. 78, no. 2, pp. 132-142 Chan, A. 2004, ‘The Challenges of Human Resource Management: Diversity Working’. Web. Dieleman, M. 2006, ‘The Salim Group: The Art of Strategic Flexibility. Asian Case’,  Research Journal, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 1-25 This article on Salim Group Case study was written and submitted by user Ernest Cameron to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Accredited Online MBA Programs Essay Example

Accredited Online MBA Programs Essay Example Accredited Online MBA Programs Essay Accredited Online MBA Programs Essay Accredited Online MBA Programs are a great place to start if your shopping for a college or university to enroll in an online MBA program. one extremely important bit of information when youre looking a accredited college or university is to make sure that they are accredited by an agency that is officially recognized by the US Department of Education. Otherwise you may find yourself with a degree that wont hold muster when it comes to that new job youve been looking so forward to. There are a plethora of Masters degree mills online that are more than happy to take your hard earned cash and send you a beautiful degree theyll even frame it for an extra charge. Top  Accredited Online MBA Programs We deduced the top online  distance learning MBA programs  from a couple of factors. The first and most important factor was tuition costs; at the end of the day you want your MBA for a great deal,  all the universities and colleges in our lineup bar accredited by the AACSB. The enrollment fees in these programs may have changed since the publishing of this article. Rather than make you read through the entire list were going to begin with the most affordable  accredited online MBA programs  and work our way to the least affordable. We have not received any compensation nor has any college or university paid for a position in our line up. First up is: 1)  Ã‚  Southeast Missouri State University  with a Masters of business administration/general management. These guys are the best priced online MBA program we could find. Residents:  $8,234 Non Residents:  $14,174 Click the Banner below for the Official SMSU Website:     #2 Most affordable  Accredited Online MBA Program 2) Texas AM University Online MBA Program  Master of Business Administration. TexasUniversitycomes in at a close second place with: Resident: $9,175 Non  Resident:  $17,485 TexasAMUniversityprepares its students to be rewarded professionally and personally. Graduates take courses online at any or all of our locations inTexas, Rockwall,Dallas, and Commerce, or any combination of them. TexasUniversity  is ready to meet the challenges and  opportunities in this competitive, global, and technological environment in today’s competitive and innovative culture.TexasAMUniversityprovides its students with a personal educational experience for a strong and diverse community of life long learners. Our goal is to discover knowledge for leadership and service in todays dynamic world. TexasAMUniversitys challenge is to nurture various partnerships for the cultural, social,  intellectual, vitality ofTexasand around the world. An online degree from Texas AM University  Commerce offers its students the affordability,  convenience, and flexibility that your busy life style needs! Our online program caters to students with busy lives whom have families and possibly work as well as the students who just prefer the online  learning  environment. Click the Banner below for the Official TAMU Website: Click to see #3 Thru #6:   Ã‚  Online MBA Programs  Accredited

SAT Essay Rubric Full Analysis and Writing Strategies

SAT Essay Rubric Full Analysis and Writing Strategies SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips We're about to dive deep into the details of that least beloved* of SAT sections, the SAT essay. Prepare for a discussion of the SAT essay rubric and how the SAT essay is graded based on that. I'll break down what each item on the rubric means and what you need to do to meet those requirements. On the SAT, the last section you'll encounter is the (optional) essay. You have 50 minutes to read a passage, analyze the author's argument, and write an essay. If you don’t write on the assignment, plagiarize, or don't use your own original work, you'll get a 0 on your essay. Otherwise, your essay scoring is done by two graders - each one grades you on a scale of 1-4 in Reading, Analysis, and Writing, for a total essay score out of 8 in each of those three areas. But how do these graders assign your writing a numerical grade? By using an essay scoring guide, or rubric. *may not actually be the least belovà ¨d. Feature image credit: Day 148: the end of time by Bruce Guenter, used under CC BY 2.0/Cropped from original. The Complete SAT Essay Grading Rubric: Item-by-Item Breakdown Based on the CollegeBoard’s stated Reading, Analysis, and Writing criteria, I've created the below charts (for easier comparison across score points).For the purpose of going deeper into just what the SAT is looking for in your essay, I've then broken down each category further (with examples). The information in all three charts is taken from the College Board site. Reading The biggest change to the SAT essay (and the thing that really distinguishes it from the ACT essay) is that you are required to read and analyze a text, then write about your analysis of the author's argument in your essay. Your "Reading" grade on the SAT essay reflects how well you were able to demonstrate your understanding of the text and the author's argument in your essay. Score Reading 1 (Inadequate) The response demonstrates little or no comprehension of the source text. The response fails to show an understanding of the text’s central idea(s), and may include only details without reference to central idea(s). The response may contain numerous errors of fact and/or interpretation with regard to the text. The response makes little or no use of textual evidence (quotations, paraphrases, or both), demonstrating little or no understanding of the source text. 2 (Partial) The response demonstrates some comprehension of the source text. The response shows an understanding of the text’s central idea(s) but not of important details. The response may contain errors of fact and/or interpretation with regard to the text. The response makes limited and/or haphazard use of textual evidence (quotations, paraphrases, or both), demonstrating some understanding of the source text. 3 (Proficient) The response demonstrates effective comprehension of the source text. The response shows an understanding of the text’s central idea(s) and important details. The response is free of substantive errors of fact and interpretation with regard to the text. The response makes appropriate use of textual evidence (quotations, paraphrases, or both), demonstrating an understanding of the source text. 4 (Advanced) The response demonstrates thorough comprehension of the source text. The response shows an understanding of the text’s central idea(s) and of most important details and how they interrelate, demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of the text. The response is free of errors of fact or interpretation with regard to the text. The response makes skillful use of textual evidence (quotations, paraphrases, or both), demonstrating a complete understanding of the source text. You'll need to show your understanding of the text on two different levels: the surface level of getting your facts right and the deeper level of getting the relationship of the details and the central ideas right. Surface Level: Factual Accuracy One of the most important ways you can show you've actually read the passage is making sure you stick to what is said in the text. If you’re writing about things the author didn’t say, or things that contradict other things the author said, your argument will be fundamentally flawed. For instance, take this quotation from a (made-up) passage about why a hot dog is not a sandwich: â€Å"The fact that you can’t, or wouldn’t, cut a hot dog in half and eat it that way, proves that a hot dog is once and for all NOT a sandwich† Here's an example of a factually inaccurate paraphrasing of this quotation: The author builds his argument by discussing how, since hot-dogs are often served cut in half, this makes them different from sandwiches. The paraphrase contradicts the passage, and so would negatively affect your reading score. Now let's look at an accurate paraphrasing of the quotation: The author builds his argument by discussing how, since hot-dogs are never served cut in half, they are therefore different from sandwiches. It's also important to be faithful to the text when you're using direct quotations from the passage. Misquoting or badly paraphrasing the author’s words weakens your essay, because the evidence you’re using to support your points is faulty. Higher Level: Understanding of Central Ideas The next step beyond being factually accurate about the passage is showing that you understand the central ideas of the text and how details of the passage relate back to this central idea. Why does this matter? In order to be able to explain why the author is persuasive, you need to be able to explain the structure of the argument. And you can’t deconstruct the author's argument if you don’t understand the central idea of the passage and how the details relate to it. Here's an example of a statement about our fictional "hot dogs are sandwiches" passage that shows understanding of the central idea of the passage: Hodgman’s third primary defense of why hot dogs are not sandwiches is that a hot dog is not a subset of any other type of food. He uses the analogy of asking the question â€Å"is cereal milk a broth, sauce, or gravy?† to show that making such a comparison between hot dogs and sandwiches is patently illogical. The above statement takes one step beyond merely being factually accurate to explain the relation between different parts of the passage (in this case, the relation between the "what is cereal milk?" analogy and the hot dog/sandwich debate). Of course, if you want to score well in all three essay areas, you’ll need to do more in your essay than merely summarizing the author’s argument. This leads directly into the next grading area of the SAT Essay. Analysis The items covered under this criterion are the most important when it comes to writing a strong essay. You can use well-spelled vocabulary in sentences with varied structure all you want, but if you don't analyze the author's argument, demonstrate critical thinking, and support your position, you will not get a high Analysis score. Score Analysis 1 (Inadequate) The response offers little or no analysis or ineffective analysis of the source text and demonstrates little or no understanding of the analytic task. The response identifies without explanation some aspects of the author’s use of evidence, reasoning, and/or stylistic and persuasive elements, and/or feature(s) of the student’s choosing, Or numerous aspects of the response’s analysis are unwarranted based on the text. The response contains little or no support for claim(s) or point(s) made, or support is largely irrelevant. The response may not focus on features of the text that are relevant to addressing the task, Or the response offers no discernible analysis (e.g., is largely or exclusively summary). 2 (Partial) The response offers limited analysis of the source text and demonstrates only partial understanding of the analytical task. The response identifies and attempts to describe the author’s use of evidence, reasoning, and/or stylistic and persuasive elements, and/or feature(s) of the student’s own choosing, but merely asserts rather than explains their importance, or one or more aspects of the response’s analysis are unwarranted based on the text. The response contains little or no support for claim(s) or point(s) made. The response may lack a clear focus on those features of the text that are most relevant to addressing the task. 3 (Proficient) The response offers an effective analysis of the source text and demonstrates an understanding of the analytical task. The response competently evaluates the author’s use of evidence, reasoning, and/or stylistic and persuasive elements, and/or feature(s) of the student’s own choosing. The response contains relevant and sufficient support for claim(s) or point(s) made. The response focuses primarily on those features of the text that are most relevant to addressing the task. 4 (Advanced) The response offers an insightful analysis of the source text and demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of the analytical task. The response offers a thorough, well-considered evaluation of the author’s use of evidence, reasoning, and/or stylistic and persuasive elements, and/or feature(s) of the student’s own choosing. The response contains relevant, sufficient, and strategically chosen support for claim(s) or point(s) made. The response focuses consistently on those features of the text that are most relevant to addressing the task. Because this category is so important, I've broken it down even further into its two different (but equally important) component parts to make sure everything is as clearly explained as possible. Part I: Critical Thinking (Logic) Critical thinking, also known as critical reasoning, also known as logic, is the skill that SAT essay graders are really looking to see displayed in the essay. You need to be able to evaluate and analyze the claim put forward in the prompt. This is where a lot of students may get tripped up, because they think â€Å"oh, well, if I can just write a lot, then I’ll do well.† While there is some truth to the assertion that longer essays tend to score higher, if you don’t display critical thinking you won’t be able to get a top score on your essay. What do I mean by critical thinking? Let's take the previous prompt example: Write an essay in which you explain how Hodgman builds an argument to persuade his audience that the hot dog cannot, and never should be, considered a sandwich. An answer to this prompt that does not display critical thinking (and would fall into a 1 or 2 on the rubric) would be something like: The author argues that hot dogs aren’t sandwiches, which is persuasive to the reader. While this does evaluate the prompt (by providing a statement that the author's claim "is persuasive to the reader"), there is no corresponding analysis. An answer to this prompt that displays critical thinking (and would net a higher score on the rubric) could be something like this: The author uses analogies to hammer home his point that hot dogs are not sandwiches. Because the readers will readily believe the first part of the analogy is true, they will be more likely to accept that the second part (that hot dogs aren't sandwiches) is true as well. See the difference? Critical thinking involves reasoning your way through a situation (analysis) as well as making a judgement (evaluation). On the SAT essay, however, you can’t just stop at abstract critical reasoning - analysis involves one more crucial step... Part II: Examples, Reasons, and Other Evidence (Support) The other piece of the puzzle (apparently this is a tiny puzzle) is making sure you are able to back up your point of view and critical thinking with concrete evidence. The SAT essay rubric says that the best (that is, 4-scoring) essay uses â€Å"relevant, sufficient, and strategically chosen support for claim(s) or point(s) made.† This means you can’t just stick to abstract reasoning like this: The author uses analogies to hammer home his point that hot dogs are not sandwiches. Because the readers will readily believe the first part of the analogy is true, they will be more likely to accept that the second part (that hot dogs aren't sandwiches) is true as well. That explanation is a good starting point, but if you don't back up your point of view with quoted or paraphrased information from the text to support your discussion of the way the author builds his/her argument, you will not be able to get above a 3 on the Analysis portion of the essay (and possibly the Reading portion as well, if you don't show you've read the passage). Let's take a look of an example of how you might support an interpretation of the author's effect on the reader using facts from the passage: The author’s reference to the Biblical story about King Solomon elevates the debate about hot dogs from a petty squabble between friends to a life-or-death disagreement. The reader cannot help but see the parallels between the two situations and thus find themselves agreeing with the author on this point. Does the author's reference to King Solomon actually "elevate the debate," causing the reader to agree with the author? From the sentences above, it certainly seems plausible that it might. While your facts do need to be correct, you get a little more leeway with your interpretations of how the author’s persuasive techniques might affect the audience. As long as you can make a convincing argument for the effect a technique the author uses might have on the reader, you’ll be good. Say whaaat?! #tbt by tradlands, used under CC BY 2.0/Cropped and color-adjusted from original. Did I just blow your mind? Read more about the secrets the SAT doesn’t want you to know in this article. Writing Your Writing score on the SAT essay is not just a reflection of your grasp of the conventions of written English (although it is that as well). You'll also need to be focused, organized, and precise. Score Writing 1 (Inadequate) The response demonstrates little or no cohesion and inadequate skill in the use and control of language. The response may lack a clear central claim or controlling idea. The response lacks a recognizable introduction and conclusion. The response does not have a discernible progression of ideas. The response lacks variety in sentence structures; sentence structures may be repetitive. The response demonstrates general and vague word choice; word choice may be poor or inaccurate. The response may lack a formal style and objective tone. The response shows a weak control of the conventions of standard written English and may contain numerous errors that undermine the quality of writing. 2 (Partial) The response demonstrates little or no cohesion and limited skill in the use and control of language. The response may lack a clear central claim or controlling idea or may deviate from the claim or idea over the course of the response. The response may include an ineffective introduction and/or conclusion. The response may demonstrate some progression of ideas within paragraphs but not throughout the response. The response has limited variety in sentence structures; sentence structures may be repetitive. The response demonstrates general or vague word choice; word choice may be repetitive. The response may deviate noticeably from a formal style and objective tone. The response shows a limited control of the conventions of standard written English and contains errors that detract from the quality of writing and may impede understanding. 3 (Proficient) The response is mostly cohesive and demonstrates effective use and control of language. The response includes a central claim or implicit controlling idea. The response includes an effective introduction and conclusion. The response demonstrates a clear progression of ideas both within paragraphs and throughout the essay. The response has variety in sentence structures. The response demonstrates some precise word choice. The response maintains a formal style and objective tone. The response shows a good control of the conventions of standard written English and is free of significant errors that detract from the quality of writing. 4 (Advanced) The response is cohesive and demonstrates a highly effective use and command of language. The response includes a precise central claim. The response includes a skillful introduction and conclusion. The response demonstrates a deliberate and highly effective progression of ideas both within paragraphs and throughout the essay. The response has a wide variety in sentence structures. The response demonstrates a consistent use of precise word choice. The response maintains a formal style and objective tone. The response shows a strong command of the conventions of standard written English and is free or virtually free of errors. Because there's a lot of different factors that go into calculating your Writing score, I've divided the discussion of this rubric area into five separate items: Precise Central Claim Organization Vocab and Word Choice Sentence Structure Grammar, Etc. Precise Central Claim One of the most basic rules of the SAT essay is that you need to express a clear opinion on the "assignment" (the prompt). While in school (and everywhere else in life, pretty much) you’re encouraged to take into account all sides of a topic, it behooves you to NOT do this on the SAT essay. Why? Because you only have 50 minutes to read the passage, analyze the author's argument, and write the essay, there's no way you can discuss every single way in which the author builds his/her argument, every single detail of the passage, or a nuanced argument about what works and what doesn't work. Instead, I recommend focusing your discussion on a few key ways the author is successful in persuading his/her audience of his/her claim. Let’s go back to the assignment we've been using as an example throughout this article: "Write an essay in which you explain how Hodgman builds an argument to persuade his audience that the hot dog cannot, and never should be, considered a sandwich." Your instinct (trained from many years of schooling) might be to answer: "There are a variety of ways in which the author builds his argument." This is a nice, vague statement that leaves you a lot of wiggle room. If you disagree with the author, it's also a way of avoiding having to say that the author is persuasive. Don't fall into this trap! You do not necessarily have to agree with the author's claim in order to analyze how the author persuades his/her readers that the claim is true. Here's an example of a precise central claim about the example assignment: The author effectively builds his argument that hot dogs are not sandwiches by using logic, allusions to history and mythology, and factual evidence. In contrast to the vague claim that "There are a variety of ways in which the author builds his argument," this thesis both specifies what the author's argument is and the ways in which he builds the argument (that you'll be discussing in the essay). Organization While it's extremely important to make sure your essay has a clear point of view, strong critical reasoning, and support for your position, that's not enough to get you a top score. You need to make sure that your essay "demonstrates a deliberate and highly effective progression of ideas both within paragraphs and throughout the essay." What does this mean? Part of the way you can make sure your essay is "well organized" has to do with following standard essay construction points. Don't write your essay in one huge paragraph; instead, include an introduction (with your thesis stating your point of view), body paragraphs (one for each example, usually), and a conclusion. This structure might seem boring, but it really works to keep your essay organized, and the more clearly organized your essay is, the easier it will be for the essay grader to understand your critical reasoning. The second part of this criteria has to do with keeping your essay focused, making sure it contains "a deliberate and highly effective progression of ideas." You can't just say "well, I have an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, so I guess my essay is organized" and expect to get a 4/4 on your essay. You need to make sure that each paragraph is also organized. Recall the sample prompt: â€Å"Write an essay in which you explain how Hodgman builds an argument to persuade his audience that the hot dog cannot, and never should be, considered a sandwich.† And our hypothetical thesis: The author effectively builds his argument that hot dogs are not sandwiches by using logic, allusions to history and mythology, and factual evidence. Let's say that you're writing the paragraph about the author's use of logic to persuade his reader that hot dogs aren't sandwiches. You should NOT just list ways that the author is logical in support of his claim, then explain why logic in general is an effective persuasive device. While your points might all be valid, your essay would be better served by connecting each instance of logic in the passage with an explanation of how that example of logic persuades the reader to agree with the author. Above all, it is imperative that you make your thesis (your central claim) clear in the opening paragraph of your essay - this helps the grader keep track of your argument. There's no reason you’d want to make following your reasoning more difficult for the person grading your essay (unless you’re cranky and don’t want to do well on the essay. Listen, I don’t want to tell you how to live your life). Vocab and Word Choice In your essay, you should use a wide array of vocabulary (and use it correctly). An essay that scores a 4 in Writing on the grading rubric â€Å"demonstrates a consistent use of precise word choice.† You’re allowed a few errors, even on a 4-scoring essay, so you can sometimes get away with misusing a word or two. In general, though, it’s best to stick to using words you are certain you not only know the meaning of, but also know how to use. If you’ve been studying up on vocab, make sure you practice using the words you’ve learned in sentences, and have those sentences checked by someone who is good at writing (in English), before you use those words in an SAT essay. Sentence Structure Creating elegant, non-awkward sentences is the thing I struggle most with under time pressure. For instance, here’s my first try at the previous sentence: â€Å"Making sure a sentence structure makes sense is the thing that I have the most problems with when I’m writing in a short amount of time† (hahaha NOPE - way too convoluted and wordy, self). As another example, take a look at these two excerpts from the hypothetical essay discussing how the author persuaded his readers that a hot dog is not a sandwich: Score of 2: "The author makes his point by critiquing the argument against him. The author pointed out the logical fallacy of saying a hot dog was a sandwich because it was meat "sandwiched" between two breads. The author thus persuades the reader his point makes sense to be agreed with and convinces them." The above sentences lack variety in structure (they all begin with the words "the author"), and the last sentence has serious flaws in its structure (it makes no sense). Score of 4: "The author's rigorous examination of his opponent's position invites the reader, too, to consider this issue seriously. By laying out his reasoning, step by step, Hodgman makes it easy for the reader to follow along with his train of thought and arrive at the same destination that he has. This destination is Hodgman's claim that a hot dog is not a sandwich." The above sentences demonstrate variety in sentence structure (they don't all begin with the same word and don't have the same underlying structure) that presumably forward the point of the essay. In general, if you're doing well in all the other Writing areas, your sentence structures will also naturally vary. If you're really worried that your sentences are not varied enough, however, my advice for working on "demonstrating meaningful variety in sentence structure" (without ending up with terribly worded sentences) is twofold: Read over what you’ve written before you hand it in and change any wordings that seem awkward, clunky, or just plain incorrect. As you’re doing practice essays, have a friend, family member, or teacher who is good at (English) writing look over your essays and point out any issues that arise. Grammar, Etc. This part of the Writing grade is all about the nitty gritty details of writing: grammar, punctuation, and spelling. It's rare that an essay with serious flaws in this area can score a 4/4 in Reading, Analysis, or Writing, because such persistent errors often "interfere with meaning" (that is, persistent errors make it difficult for the grader to understand what you're trying to get across). On the other hand, if they occur in small quantities, grammar/punctuation/spelling errors are also the things that are most likely to be overlooked. If two essays are otherwise of equal quality, but one writer misspells "definitely" as "definately" and the other writer fails to explain how one of her examples supports her thesis, the first writer will receive a higher essay score. It's only when poor grammar, use of punctuation, and spelling start to make it difficult to understand your essay that the graders start penalizing you. My advice for working on this rubric area is the same advice as for sentence structure: look over what you’ve written to double check for mistakes, and ask someone who’s good at writing to look over your practice essays and point out your errors. If you're really struggling with spelling, simply typing up your (handwritten) essay into a program like Microsoft Word and running spellcheck can alert you to problems. We've also got a great set of articles up on our blog about SAT Writing questions that may help you better understand any grammatical errors you are making. How Do I Use The SAT Essay Grading Rubric? Now that you understand the SAT essay rubric, how can you use it in your SAT prep? There are a couple of different ways. Use The SAT Essay Rubric To...Shape Your Essays Since you know what the SAT is looking for in an essay, you can now use that knowledge to guide what you write about in your essays! A tale from my youth: when I was preparing to take the SAT for the first time, I did not really know what the essay was looking for, and assumed that since I was a good writer, I’d be fine. Not true! The most important part of the SAT essay is using specific examples from the passage and explaining how they convince the reader of the author's point. By reading this article and realizing there's more to the essay than "being a strong writer," you’re already doing better than high school me. girl sleeping on a couch holding a mirror by RickBrenda Beerhorst, used under CC BY 2.0/Resized from original. Change the object in that girl’s left hand from a mirror to a textbook and you have a pretty good sketch of what my junior year of high school looked like. Use The SAT Essay Rubric To...Grade Your Practice Essays The SAT can’t exactly give you an answer key to the essay. Even when an example of an essay that scored a particular score is provided, that essay will probably use different examples than you did, make different arguments, maybe even argue different interpretations of the text...making it difficult to compare the two. The SAT essay rubric is the next best thing to an answer key for the essay - use it as a lens through which to view and assess your essay. Of course, you don’t have the time to become an expert SAT essay grader - that’s not your job. You just have to apply the rubric as best as you can to your essays and work on fixing your weak areas. For the sentence structure, grammar, usage, and mechanics stuff I highly recommend asking a friend, teacher, or family member who is really good at (English) writing to take a look over your practice essays and point out the mistakes. If you really want custom feedback on your practice essays from experienced essay graders, may I also suggest the PrepScholar test prep platform? I manage the essay grading and so happen to know quite a bit about the essay part of this platform, which gives you both an essay grade and custom feedback for each essay you complete. Learn more about how it all works here. What’s Next? Are you so excited by this article that you want to read even more articles on the SAT essay? Of course you are. Don't worry, I’ve got you covered. Learn how to write an SAT essay step-by-step and read about the 6 types of SAT essay prompts. Want to go even more in depth with the SAT essay? We have a complete list of past SAT essay prompts as well as tips and strategies for how to get a 12 on the SAT essay. Still not satisfied? Maybe a five-day free trial of our very own PrepScholar test prep platform (which includes essay practice and feedback) is just what you need. Trying to figure out whether the old or new SAT essay is better for you? Take a look at our article on the new SAT essay assignment to find out! Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? Check out our best-in-class online SAT prep classes. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your SAT score by 160 points or more. Our classes are entirely online, and they're taught by SAT experts. If you liked this article, you'll love our classes. Along with expert-led classes, you'll get personalized homework with thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step, custom program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Try it risk-free today:

Economic topic Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Economic topic - Assignment Example This paper, therefore, explains the empirical evidence on different roles played by the history and geography on the international finance and how they are inter-connected in improving the investors desires in the market. Over the recent years, geography has been seen as the growing interests of the international finance, particularly, on the studies of using the gravity models. The models were being used to determine the direction of the cross border financial flows and stocks. Using this approach, the bilateral trade in assets is deemed to increase depending with the size of the country and also decline with information asymmetries and transaction costs. This is because they are being captured by geographical distance and the variables relating to it (Portes and Rey, 2005). Furthermore, there has been a lot of empirical work on the gravity but has taken place without a theoretical foundation which can stand firm on the matter of financial holdings for cross-border. Anderson and van Wincoop (2003) gave an analysis that the estimated gravity equations which are not being founded in economic theory can result to biased estimations since some variables are omitted. It also leads to comparatives with an incorrect static analysis which doesn’t consider the general equilibrium effects of changing the cross border barriers. Different sources of literature such as Clemens and Williamson (2004) highlight the important trend and progress of the financial globalization since 1990s although it has not analyzed the historical forces which have influenced the international investment for a longer period of time. The existing literature also doesn’t highlight the applicability and generality over time of the emphasized factors on the standard framework. These shortcomings aroused the interests of writing this paper in order to be addressed accordingly. The paper gives a clear discussion on the issue by estimating the gravity model the international investment u sing an example of information on Us investors’ holdings. The history an effect is being tested through the past holdings influenced the current holdings (Eichengreen and Irwin, 1998). The aspect on how the past investment influences the current investment is through the fixed costs. The empirical evidence and literature theories have shown the permanent impacts on trade patterns as a result of mart penetration. This is due to the fixed costs incurred by firms when entering into the new market which they can’t get when exiting the same market (Dixit, 1989). The passing shocks of literatures can be cumulated to impact a more powerful still which can lead firms to penetrating the market and have the ability to learn more about the market in question thereby, have the advantage of having the initial information of the market. This helps many organizations to analyze the conditions of the current market with the information contained of the past before deciding on which st rategy to be used in penetrating the larger market. In simple terms, the historical theories and literature helps many companies to be prepares on the impacts as many firms have been penetrated in the past. As it is currently penetrating, hence, there

Nazi Holocaust Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nazi Holocaust - Essay Example The essay "Nazi Holocaust" will help to understand the graphic nature of the Holocaust, and the reader can picture the events in his mind based on the explanation given. The book Night recalls the occurrences in the town of Sighet, Transylvania in Northern Romania. At the very beginning, we get introduced to the twelve-year-old Eli back in 1941. The historic expulsion of all Jew from Sighet gets vividly explained in the book. The Hungarian police rounded up all foreign Jews and bundled them up into waiting vehicles in full public glare. Rumor mills purported that these Jews got taken to Galicia where they became happy and got formally employed. These reports later got challenged by an escapee, Moshe the Beadle, who told of the Gestapo and how the Jews got killed each day. He explained that the Jews got led to a forest where they got forced to dig trenches before they got shot and buried. Babies, he explained, got tossed in the air and used for target practice. Moshe had escaped after getting a shot at the leg and mistaken to be dead. The Jews ignored Moshe’s warning with some saying that he was mentally unstable (Wiesel 21). As soon as the Fascist took over control of the government, Nazi soldiers took to the streets of Sighet where they rounded up all Jews including Eli and his family. Elis family got put in a cattle wagon after receiving a stern warning that anyone who dared to escape would be killed. They got transported to Auschwitz. Upon arrival, men and women got separated. Eli and his father got whisked away separately, while Hilda, Elis mother and Tzipora got led straight to the gas chamber. Eli tried to remain vigilant the rest of the night in the concentration camp never losing sight of his father. He feared that if they got separated, that would be the last he would ever see of him (Wiesel 22). On their first night at Auschwitz, Eli and his father got put in line ready to be thrown into the fire furnace. They both watched trucks loading up children that were to be delivered into the fire (Wiesel 19). Elis father chanted the prayer for the dead, commonly known in Jewish circles as Kaddish. He m ade the prayer for them too in anticipation of the inevitable. They survived the night and got ordered back to their barracks. Sometimes the whole camp got forced to watch hangings of children. Eli graphically explains this when he says the child’s eyes were still clear, and his tongue was still pink (Wiesel 23). Eli and his father got moved to Auschwitz II form Birkenau in 1945. This was a work camp with reduced cases of violence. Eli explains that they were in constant search of food, saying that they were worse than corpses. After American and soviet bombing of the concentration camps, 60,000 Jews including Eli and his father got moved back to Germany in what gets commonly referred to as the death march. They got bundled up in trains to Auschwitz where many of them lost their lives due to congestion. They literally lay on top of others, occasionally throwing out dead bodies each morning. This train journey marked their symbolic journey to freedom as the Soviets liberated A uschwitz (Wiesel 65). Maus, on the other hand, gets divided between the present interviewing sessions where Spiegelman interviews his father and the past, where Vladek recounts his experiences between the mid 1930s and 1945, when the Holocaust ended. The book recount details of the marriage union between Vladek and his wife, Anja. Vladek got captured as a war prisoner due to escalating racist and political tensions. He got shocked to find out that Sosnowiec got placed under German siege when he got released. Vladek got released on the Polish Protectorate side of the

Bistable Flip-Flop Experiment

Bistable Flip-Flop Experiment Objectives: To study the properties and performance of cross-coupled inverting logic gates. To set up the gates in order to obtain an experience, in the same time able to understand the Bistable Flip-Flop. These circuits have been mostly replaced become a straightforward and effective design. These designs for applications including large dimension digital circuits. Although these circuits have been changed, they still have important use range, and it is necessary to understand their characteristics. This experiment state clearly that digital circuits are still be made from analogue parts. It has analogue functions correlative to current, voltages and time-varying diversification. Materials and Equipment: Built-in socket connector bread board A selection of IC devices Jumper wires and connector leads Digital multimeter with test probes Theory: Flip-Flop A standard Bistable circuit is made by simple combination of NAND gates or NOR gates. Hence, produce the required sequential circuit. Common Sequential Logic circuits: Clock Driven- Synchronized to a clock signal. Event Driven- Asynchronous. Changing state when an external event happens. Pulse Driven- Combination of Synchronous and Asynchronous. SR NAND Flip-Flop This system assembled of two inputs and two outputs. R and S inputs are representing Reset and Set. Q and are represent as outputs of the circuit. Firstly, user need to construct the inputs Set and Reset to a pair of cross coupled 2-input 7400 NAND gates in order to shape into a SR Bistable. Thus, the action of feedback may occur from each output to one of the other inputs. RST Flip-Flop The device connected and synchronized to a clock signal. The outputs are only trigger when Set (S), Reset (R), and Trigger (T) inputs are in logic 1 level. There will we un-trigger when the inputs are in logic 0 level. NAND gate M74HC00 is a high rate CMOS QUAD 2-input NAND gate. Silicon gate C2 MOS technology is applied. The internal circuit is build up by 3 stages including buffer output, which can prevent high noise and produce stable output. Task Discussion: Investigation of a Bistable Flip-Flop Theoretical Details: The consequential circuit has two stable situations, when the direct feedback cross-coupling is implemented among inverting NAND logic gates. Bistable is either of which can be choose by submission of the correct input situation. R and S inputs are representing Reset and Set. Q and are represent as outputs of the circuit. At standard running, both NAND inputs must normally be logic 1 level. The logic level of the Q and outputs will become relative. To stabilizing the two possible states, changing the R input temporarily to logic 0 level, that will create a output with logic 1 level. In the same time, the output output with logic 1 level will be applied to the S input (2nd input), which is logic 1 level. Thus, the Q output will temporarily become a logic 0 level. While both R and S inputs become logic 0 level at the same period, it is forbidden. In this state, both Q and outputs will become logic 1 level. Hence, that will override the load-back motion. The final state of the latch will not be resolved in front of time. One practical unfavorable of the RS Flip-Flop effects from the data that the outputs can change state when either or both of the logic level of inputs is change. Operation is non-simultaneous. Modifying the Bistable Flip-Flop: Creating an RST Flip-Flop Theoretical Details: It is similar in the RS NAND Flip-Flop operation. The R and S inputs are at logic 1 level. The third input (Trigger) has been added. The Q and outputs can only change states while the Trigger input is at logic 1 level. If logic level of Trigger input is 0, the R and S inputs are no effect for the outputs. In a valid operation, the R or S inputs must be logic 1 level, and the Trigger input must be logic 1 level and then logic 0 level. In the end, the selected input must be returned to logic 0 level. Investigation of a NAND gate Theoretical Details: The NAND gate is a digital gate, obtains voltages and currents at its inputs. While connect to the variable voltage supply, these may involve any value in a real circuit. For instance, since during an input changes, the output voltages may takes a non-zero time for the change to occur, so the voltages will not be accurately come up to 5V or 0V all the time. Objective: To concern the transforms and voltage levels of the output of the NAND gate to the states of the inputs. Procedure: Circuit shown in Figure 2.7 is constructed and an external variable voltage from a power supply is used. Any value from 1k? to 10k? can be taken by R1. A fixed digital voltage (0 or 5 volts) is applied to one terminal of a NAND gate. A variable voltage is applied to another terminal. Firstly, the input voltage Vin is varied up to a maximum of +5V and Vin against Vout is plotted. Thus, the logic 1 output voltage (V1) and the logic 0 input voltage (Vgo) are determined. The output unchanging for wide ranges of input voltage is noted. To found the overall behavior, the rough initial experiment is did. More reading is taken. Conclusion: All of the objectives are achieved. In this experiment we understand the theory of Bistable Flip-Flop, Standard SR NAND Flip-Flop and RST Flip-Flop. All of the properties and performance of cross-coupled inverting logic gates have been studied. Experience is obtained during the construction of the gates. In conclusion, at standard running of SR NAND Flip-Flop, both NAND inputs must normally be logic 1 level. Thus, the logic level of the Q and outputs will become relative. While both R and S inputs become logic 0 level at the same period, it is forbidden. In this state, both Q and outputs will become logic 1 level. Hence, that will override the load-back motion. The final state of the latch will not be resolved in front of time. For the operation of RST Flip-Flop, the Q and outputs can only change states while the Trigger input is at logic 1 level. If logic level of Trigger input is 0, the R and S inputs are no effect for the outputs. Hence, to obtain a valid operation the R or S inputs must be logic 1 level, and the Trigger input must be logic 1 level and then logic 0 level. In the end, the selected input must be returned to logic 0 level. References: http://www.play-hookey.com/digital/rs_nand_latch.html http://www.play-hookey.com/digital/clocked_rs_latch.html http://us.st.com/stonline/books/pdf/docs/1879.pdf http://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/sequential/seq_1.html

Aed 201 Appendix a

Axia College Material Appendix A Final Project Overview and Timeline Final Project Overview Currently, many teachers and paraprofessionals are required to create a professional portfolio as part of their pre-service education. Use Appendix A to help you create a Professional Development Plan, which is a component that can be added to your professional portfolio. In a 2,100- to 2,500-word paper composed in Microsoft © Word, include answers to the following questions: * What are your goals in the next five years? In the next 10 or more years? * What steps are necessary to get you to your goals? What obstacles can you foresee and how will you overcome them? * What is one principle from the INTASC Principles Web site (http://cte. jhu. edu/pds/resources/intasc_principles. htm) that you feel you need to improve the most in order to be effective in the education profession? What existing professional development program(s) could you pursue to address the need to improve in this area? What professional development programs can you enroll in to help you prepare to meet the diverse needs of today's learners? * How will you evaluate your progress? What will help keep you motivated toward achieving those goals? * What professional organizations will you join? Why? What do you expect to gain from membership in these organizations? * What techniques will you use to help you develop leadership skills? Final Project Timeline You should budget your time wisely and work on your project throughout the course. As outlined below, some CheckPoints, assignments, and exercises in the course are designed to assist you in creating your final project. If you complete your course activities and use the feedback provided by your instructor, you will be on the right track to complete your project successfully. * Suggested in Week One: Read Appendix A. Consider how current reforms will affect your 5- and 10-year goals. Review the INTASC Principles at http://cte. jhu. edu/pds/resources/intasc_principles. htm Suggested in Week Two: Make note of anything you’ve come across while interviewing a teaching professional that could be an area of improvement for yourself before or during your first year in the classroom. * Suggested in Week Four: Begin searching for professional educator organizations and/or programs that interest you. * Suggested in Week Five: Begin outlining and writing your final project. * Suggested in Week Eight: Complete and proofread a rough draft of your final project. * Due in Week Nine: Submit your final project.