Saturday, August 31, 2019

Asses the view, that working class children underachieve because they are culturally deprived Essay

Middle class children have a higher tendency of achieving more than pupils of the working class. A few explanations pay attention on the external factors outside school. This includes cultural deprivation – working class pupils are portrayed as having a lack of correct attitude, values, language and knowledge for educational success. Whilst material deprivation means that working class pupils are most likely to have poorer diets, health and housing and their parents are less able to meet the hidden costs of schooling. The middle class have mote cultural capital – they have a better advantage of their choices within the marketised education system. There are three main aspects to cultural deprivation. The first is intellectual development; theorists argue that many working class homes lack things such as books, educational toys and activities which would help to stimulate intellectual development. Douglas (1964) found that pupils of the working class scored lower on a test of ability than those of the middle class. He argued that because working class parents are likely to be less supportive of their child’s intellectual development this has an impact on them. This could then lead to underachievement as it would mean the child is always behind. Secondly, Bernstein (1975) looked at the difference in language between working class and middle class students. He identified that language can be categorised into two types of speech codes. This highlights the differences between both the working and middle class. The restricted code was typically used by those of the working class. It consisted of a limited vocabulary and is based on use of short, often unfinished, grammatically simple sentences. Their speech is predictable and sometimes consists of single words and hand gestures. The restricted code is context bound so the speaker makes the assumption that the listener shares the same set of experiences. Then there was the elaborated code which is most commonly used by those of the middle class. Vocabulary is a lot more varied and is based on more grammatically complex sentences; speech is more varied and communicates abstract ideas. It is also context free: so the speaker doesn’t assume that the listener shares the same experiences as them, allowing the use of a more descriptive language. This would lead to under achievement  because the language used in schools and in test papers tend to be in the elaborate code as it is seen as the ‘correct’ way of speaking and communication, so therefore middle class people are again at an advantage. Finally, attitudes and values, Hyman (1967) argued that values and beliefs of the lower class show a ‘self-imposed barrier’ to educational and career success. Hyman outlined between working-class and middle-class value systems Members of the working class place a lower value on education. They place less emphasis on formal education as a means to personal achievement, and they see less value in continuing school beyond the minimum leaving age. Members of the working-class place a lower value on achieving higher occupational status, In evaluating jobs, they emphasize ‘stability, security and immediate economic benefits’ and tend to reject the risks and investments involved in aiming for high-risks occupations. Job horizons tend, therefore, to be limited to a ‘good trade’. Compared to their middle-class counterparts, members of the working-class believe there is less opportunity for personal advancement. This belief is probably the basis for the lower value placed on education and high occupational status. Whilst Sugarman (1970) similarly argued that working class subculture has four key elements that create this barrier to educational achievement: Collectivism involves loyalty to the group rather than to emphasis on individual achievement which the school system demands. Immediate gratification emphasizes the enjoyment of pleasures of the moment, rather than sacrifices for future rewards, Will also tend to encourage early school-leaving for the more immediate reward of a wage packet, adult status and freedom from the disciplines of school. Fatalism involves an acceptance of the situation rather than efforts to improve it; it will not encourage high achievement in the classroom. Present-time orientation may further reduce the motivation for academic achievement, whereas an emphasis on long-term goals and future planning can encourage pupils to remain longer in full-time education by providing a purpose for their stay. Cultural deprivation theorists argue that parents pass on values of their class onto their children. Values of middle class will equip children for success, whilst working class values fail to do so. However Keddie (1973) describes cultural deprivation as a myth and sees it as  a victim blaming explanation. She believes that having a culturally deprived background can’t be blamed as the reason that certain pupils fail in school. She argues that there is no cultural deprivation but cultural differences; failure is due to the disadvantages that are pursued by an education system dominated by middle class values. She believes that schools should recognise and build on strengths, and also challenge teachers’ anti working class prejudices. Under achievement can also be subjected to material deprivation. This can also be classed as poverty. It is a lack of basic necessities such as adequate diet, housing, clothing or the money to buy these things. Material deprivation theory explains working class under achievement as the result of the lack of such resources. Unlike cultural deprivation theorists, who blame educational failure on the inadequacy of working class subculture, many other sociologists see material deprivation as the main cause of under achievement. Poverty is closely linked to educational under-achievement. Although external factors, such as cultural deprivation, material deprivation and cultural capital can play an important part as to why there is class difference in regards to achievement, there are also internal factors that can be put to blame. To label someone is to attach a meaning or definition to someone. Studies show that teachers often label pupils regardless of ability or attitude, by basing labels on stereo-typed assumptions about their class background, labelling working class pupils negatively and working class pupils positively. This can restrict pupils from achievement as it means teachers will refrain from giving pupils they have labelled negatively from getting the support they need, meaning they do badly at school. The self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that comes true simply by virtue of it having been made. Integrationists argue that labelling can affect a pupils achievement by creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. When a teacher labels a pupil, they make predictions about their abilities for example, ‘this child will do well’ – The child then gets treated in accordance to this prediction, the pupil then internalises the teacher’s expectations which becomes part of its self-image. This makes the child become the kind  of pupil the teacher perceived them to be. (e.g. if a child is labelled positively, the child will then gain more confidence and try harder with their work, thus leading them to success). This prevents children from having the potential to do well, rather than working hard to allow them to do their best they allow their teachers opinion of them to hold them back. Marketisation is the final internal factor that portrays class differences of achievement. Schools operate on a wide education system, whose policies affect class differences in achievement. Such policies include marketisation and selection. Marketisation brought in – a funding formula that gives the school equal funding for each pupil, exam league tables which rank each school according to its exam performance and make no allowance for the level of ability of its pupils, and competition among schools to attract pupils. Marketisation explains why schools are under pressure to do well. Some schools respond to marketisation by creating a traditional image to attract middle class parents – this has re-in forced class divisions. Schools have to spend more money on marketing themselves to parents, often at the expense of spending funds on special needs or other important areas. Overall I think it is clear that cultural deprivation plays a huge part in regard to underachievement. Pupils lack help both at home, and at school, meaning they have less chance at doing well. Internal and external factors both work alongside each other – putting middle class pupils at an advantage in contrast to working class pupils.

Friday, August 30, 2019

DuPont’s Divestiture of Conoco

DuPont began life in 1802, as a gunpowder manufacturer supplying the US Army under President Thomas Jefferson. The company had a long tradition of technological innovations in business and it continues to serve worldwide markets including food and nutrition; health care; agriculture; fashion and apparel; home and construction; and electronics. Among some of its inventions are nylon stockings invented in 1939, Teflon for pans, Kevlar for bullet-proof vests, stainmaster for carpets, the synthetic fabric lycra, and Dacron for clothing. In 1999 the company held a portfolio of 2000 trademarks and brands. DuPont was the 15th largest company in the US with its 1998 revenue reaching $45. 1 billion. The company operated 200 manufacturing and processing facilities in 65 countries with 98,000 employees worldwide. Conoco began in 1875 as the Continental Oil and Transportation Co. , one of the first petroleum marketers in the West. The company has made it through plenty of tough and challenging times from the stock market crashing just a month after Conoco took its stock public, to overseas expansion, to the oil crisis of the 19070’s. Then in 1981 a simple proposal by Canada's Dome Petroleum about acquiring a Conoco subsidiary, Hudson's Bay Oil and Gas left the company wide open. In order to assure an adequate supply of petroleum products to use as chemical feed stocks, DuPont bought Conoco on Sept. 30, 1981. Conoco became a wholly owned DuPont subsidiary in the largest merger ever at that time, costing DuPont $7. 8 billion. As a subsidiary of DuPont, Conoco became a major, integrated, global energy company operating in 40 countries worldwide. The company was involved in both downstream and upstream activities like exploring for, developing, refining, marketing, transporting, and selling crude oil and natural gas. In 1998, Conoco ranked 8th in worldwide production of petroleum liquids by US companies, 11th in natural gas production, and 8th in refining throughput. In 1997 both DuPont and Conoco planned to pursue new corporate strategies: DuPont wanted to transform into a life sciences company focused more on biotechnology and less on petrochemicals, and Conoco desired financial independence to make significant foreign asset investments. While part of DuPont, Conoco doubled its value between 1986 and 1996, and realigned its assets. By late 1998, DuPont divested Conoco in a two-step process. First it would sell a minority stake in Conoco through an IPO otherwise known as an IPO carve-out. Then it would execute a spin-off and sell the rest of its ownership interest in the subsidiary at a later time. Under the split-off, DuPont shareholders would be given the opportunity to exchange their DuPont shares for shares in Conoco at a predetermined ratio of 2. 5 to 1. Participation in the exchange rate would be completely voluntary. On October 22, 1998 the Conoco IPO netted $4. 4 billion for 30% of Conoco culminating in the largest IPO in history. Then on August 9, 1999 the swap of DuPont stock for Conoco stock was finalized. DuPont secured about $21 billion in after tax value through the IPO and stock swap. I think DuPont’s two-stage divestiture worked the best because the company was able to make the transaction tax-free at both the corporate and personal levels. This basically means that DuPont sold off shares of Conoco in two separate stages. The company avoided the corporate capital gains tax by structuring the deal as a primary offering, which is the first of issuance of stock for public sale from a private company. Under this approach Conoco would sell new shares to the public and use the money from the offering to pay down an equivalent amount of its debt. If a second offering had been used, DuPont would directly sell a portion of its Conoco shares for cash, possibly creating a capital gains tax liability for itself if the sale proceeds exceeded its tax basis in the shares. The primary public offering of 25% of Conoco by DuPont was also good for shareholders because it met the objectives of maximizing shareholder value and it also allowed Conoco to capitalize on different investment opportunities for energy companies going on at the time. In order to make the second stage completely tax free DuPont had to satisfy a number of IRS rules and regulations. These rules stated that DuPont had to control Conoco immediately before the split-off, meaning that it had to control at least 80% of Conoco’s stock. In addition the split had to be motivated by a valid business purpose. Also DuPont had to get rid of all Conoco stock so it would not have any control over the company after the deal was completed. Conoco had to be recapitalized or reorganized into two classes of common stock. Class A stock that carried one vote each, issued to the public and Class B stock with five votes each, retained by DuPont for later disbursement to DuPont shareholders in the exchange offer. Prior to the IPO, Conoco would have to issue a $7. 5 billion promissory note to DuPont as a dividend. The payment would be tax free to both parties because at the time DuPont owned all of Conoco. Conoco would in turn, use the proceeds to pay back part of the note and other intercompany notes with DuPont. While I do agree with the Chief Operating Officer that a 100% IP of Conoco would raise a significant amount of cash to use in our core business growth internationally, allowing us to expand our global operations. I think the equity care-out was the best choice for DuPont to do instead of a complete 100% IPO. The reason I say that is because the deal still allowed DuPont to raise some capital but it also allowed DuPont to retain firm control of the subsidiary before, selling the remaining shares in a tax-free spin-off at a later date. A 1998 working paper from Pennsylvania State University examined 83 equity carve-outs done between 1981 and 1990, and found that carved-out companies had significantly higher revenue and asset growth, higher earnings, and higher capital spending than the industry average during the first three years after the carve-out–achievements, the authors say, that are a direct result of 80 percent of the deals tying executive compensation to the share price of the carved-out company at the time it goes public. â€Å"It's a way of providing a stronger incentive for subsidiary executives to perform,† says James A. Miles, one of the authors of the study, along with Heather Hulburt and J. Randall Woolridge. Parent companies also benefit from a carve-out. The Penn State study, in fact, found that these companies had a higher return on assets in the first year after the carve-out. And a similar study by J. P. Morgan & Co. , which examined 101 carve-outs between 1986 and 1997, documented that, on average, the share price of the parent rose between 3 and 4 percent in the 90 days following the announcement of a carve-out. The company’s ownership of Conoco has added great marketing and purchasing clout to DuPont’s operations just like the Executive VP for Research and Development and Product Development suggests, but again I don’t think that owning a majority share would benefit the company like getting rid of all ownership would do. The decision to retain majority ownership, however, may limit the upside to the deal. The J. P. Morgan study found a distinct difference in the share price performance of carve-outs that later became spin-offs and carve-outs that did not. In the case of 12 carve-out companies in which the parent announced there would be a later spin-off, the share price of the carve-out performed 11 percent above the market 18 months after the initial public offering. The shares of all other carve-outs–those without an announced spin-off later–actually underperformed the market by 3 percent. In closing I think DuPont did the right thing when they decided to go through with a two-stage divestiture of Conoco. I think they got the most bang for their buck by doing the deal this way. DuPont was able to net $4. 4 billion for 30% of Conoco resulting in the largest IPO in U. S. history. DuPont was also able to spin-off the rest of their shares of Conoco and secured about $21 billion in after tax value through the IPO and a stock swap. I think this was the best move because both companies were looking to go in different directions. DuPont wanted to transform into a life sciences company focused more on biotechnology and less on petrochemicals, and Conoco desired financial independence to make significant foreign asset investments.References: 1. England, Robert Stow. (1999). How companies are unlocking value by carving out pieces of their business.† CFO Magazine, March 1999, Retrieved April 2011, from http://www.spinoffadvisors.com/articles/cfomagazine0399.htm 2. Conoco Phillips Web Site. Retrieved April 2011, from http://www.conocophillips.com/EN/about/who_we_are/history/conoco/Pages/index.aspx3. Chemical Online. (1998, May 11). Chemical Online.   DuPont Announces Plans to Divest its Conoco Energy Operations. Retrieved April 2011, from http://www.chemicalonline.com/article.mvc/DuPont-Announces-Plans- to-Divest-its-Conoco-E-0001. 4. Ohio University. DuPont spins off Conoco: Good Move for Conoco Retrieved April 2011, from   http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~rm663596/esp/case.htm

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Contextual Factors of the Classroom

This paper discusses the contextual factors within the school community and how they can impact the acquisition and learning procedure. The paper looks at different factors such as community, school territory, schoolroom, and pupil features. Within these factors an account is given for how each one can impact pupil acquisition and accomplishment. Besides, deductions are discussed and schemes are given for how instructors can integrate contextual factors and still make pupil accomplishment. robert.askey2010-09-20T15:00:00 Space Contextual Factors of the Classroom, School, and Community and How They Affect the Teaching and Learning Process Many people think that there are n't many contextual factors within the learning profession. They think that the instructor teaches the lesson, the pupils listen softly, and so they complete their assignments. While that may be a â€Å" dream † schoolroom, is it far from world. There are many deductions that go along with the profession. The environing community, every bit good as, the school and school territories have a batch of lending factors that affect the instruction and acquisition procedure. Classroom kineticss and pupil features are besides of import factors when it comes to teacher planning and pupil acquisition. Teachers need to take all of these factors into history to guarantee that all the demands of our pupils are met. Community Factors The community plays a large portion in the acquisition procedure and school accomplishment. Some communities tend to go a really high transient country. Many people move about depending on where occupations are located, which leads to pupils coming and traveling throughout the academic school twelvemonth. This instability causes a break in learning. Achievement spreads are created because pupil direction is non consistent, which leads to hapless motive within pupil acquisition. Besides, some provinces may hold a batch of English Language Learners ( ELL ) depending on where they are located geographically. States that are close to the outside boundary lines may detect an addition in ELL pupils, which excessively, may do a challenge when supplying direction. Teachers will hold to accommodate their direction to supply schemes for ELL pupils and do certain that they enrich their vocabulary cognition. Different economical positions may besides be a conducive factor within the instruction and acquisition procedure. Schools that are located in low socio-economic countries may non acquire the support or resources from the outside community. Parents are non able to supply supplies for their kids or the schoolroom, which may impede instructional chances for pupils. Whereas, schools that are located in higher economic countries have a batch of community support and local contributions to assist supply pupils with equal resources they need for acquisition. District Factors School Districts have an huge influence when it comes to the acquisition and learning procedure. They are the 1s that pave the manner for academic success. Recently, many territories have been traveling through a budget deficit. They are being forced to put off instructors and make full the places with long term replacements. Many long term replacements do non hold the same educational background and preparation that licensed instructors have, which may ensue in academic failure with our pupils. Districts are besides being forced to cut many plans and resources. The most frequent plans to be cut are extracurricular activities. Many pupils gain motive from these extracurricular activitiesrobert.askey2010-09-20T15:01:00 I could non hold more.. Students are required to keep a certain class point norm which forces pupils to seek harder in school and advance academic accomplishment. In David Reeves ‘ ( 2008 ) article, a survey was conducted to mensurate the relevancy between extracurricular activities and pupil accomplishment. Woodstock High School, in Woodstock Ill. , found that pupils who took portion in three or four extracurricular activities during the twelvemonth had dramatically better classs than those who participated in no extra-curricular activitiesrobert.askey2010-09-20T15:02:00 This is a great illustration of how to utilize a mention to back up the point you are seeking to make.. Classroom Factors The schoolroom is the most of import factor when it comes to student acquisition and teacher direction. It is a topographic point where pupils should experience safe and acquisition should be promoted, therefore it should be clean and in superior status. All pupil desks and chairs should be in good status. If classroom furniture is uncomfortable, pupils may lose their deficiency of focal point. Students should besides be confronting the way where direction is being taught, if they have to turn around to see, their focal point will be lost. The stuffs in the schoolroom should be organized and available for easy entree. This will let small clip to be taken off from direction. Technology resources are another lending factor for pupil acquisition and the instruction procedure. Resources such as computing machines, SMART boards, and Elmos, supply a more custodies on larning experience for pupils. These resources will let instructors to fix our pupils for the engineering savvy professional community. Another factor within the schoolroom is a strong sense of regulations and modus operandis. Students need to cognize and stay by schoolroom modus operandis and regulations. In the schoolroom, pupils frequently spend a batch of clip waiting for a new activity to get down. This can take to a batch of otiose instructional clip. It is of import for instructors to hold effectual modus operandis in topographic point so that the maximal sum of instructional clip can be utilized. Proper modus operandis and regulations besides lead to minimum breaks and behaviour jobs, hence advancing the acquisition procedure. Concerted acquisition is another of import factor for the acquisition procedure. Students are able to work together and construct a schoolroom community. During the grouping pupils are typically forced to utilize job work outing schemes to come up with solutions and heighten critical thought accomplishments. Concerted groups are besides typically heterogenous so that varied degrees are incorporated into each group ; everyone has something different to convey to the group. Student Features Students frequently come into our schoolroom with a whole batch of â€Å" luggage. † There are many factors that pupils have to cover with which can impact their acquisition procedure. Many schoolrooms today are multicultural. It is of import that instructors understand the cultural differences within their schoolroom, and acquire to cognize their pupils. Students may come from a background where instruction is non good respected and higher instruction is non an option. This may hold an consequence on those single pupils ‘s accomplishment. Teachers will necessitate to modify and prosecute acquisition to assist actuate these pupils. In today ‘s schoolroom ‘s, many pupils have particular demands. Teachers need to recognize that non all pupils are on the same degree, and that direction should be differentiated to run into the demands of each pupil. Most schools have adopted the inclusive theoretical account where kids with particular demands spend at least half of the twenty-four hours in a general instruction schoolroom with particular helpers. Inclusive classrooms non merely benefit pupils with particular demands, but the general instruction pupils as good. Teachers are provided an helper to assist during direction which will let more attending to all pupils within the schoolroom. Particular needs pupils are besides introduced to more grade degree content, assisting them reach IEP ends. In bend, this will be good towards the acquisition procedure for all pupils. Students besides have different larning modes. Some pupils may be an audile scholar, they need to hear waies or complete unwritten assignments. Other pupils may be a ocular scholar ; ocular images are a large portion of their direction penchant. Students that need to make things and travel about may be kinaesthetic scholars. In a typical schoolroom, there will be a broad assortment of these modes. Teachers should supply an mixture of instructional techniques to run into the larning demands of all pupils. Not all pupils come into your schoolroom with the same cognition or accomplishments. Many instructors have to accommodate their direction to re-teach or construct background on the approaching content. Depending on the environing community, pupils may non hold the assumed societal experiences. Teachers frequently need to pass excess clip presenting pupils to the content, edifice background, and conveying in regalia to assist pupils link with the subject being presented. Besides, pupils coming from the old twelvemonth may hold non learned of import constructs used in the following class degree. Many instructors have to pass the beginning of the school twelvemonth learning constructs that should hold been mastered in the old twelvemonth. With the deficiency of accomplishments or prior larning it can take twice every bit long to accomplish the acquisition ends. Instructional Deductions When be aftering direction, instructors should maintain many deductions in head. Teachers should go painstaking of where there pupil comes from. They need to retrieve that non all pupils come from the same civilization and socio-economic background. Some pupils require more forbearance and apprehension, which they may non have at place. Not all pupils have the same support system at place. Many parents may work, or there may be merely one parent who works two occupations. We, as instructors, need to be more understanding to our pupils ‘ emotional demands. These pupils may necessitate excess instructional clip to assist accomplish larning ends. Student larning manners is another deduction that instructors need to maintain in head when be aftering direction. All pupils learn in different ways. To assist with accomplishment, instructors should offer assorted activities from each mode. In my schoolroom I give pupils an assignment bill of fare. Each bill of fare consists of different assignments measuring the same criterion. The assignments are geared to all the different acquisition modes, leting pupils to take which activities they want to make. Giving pupils a bill of fare of assignment picks will non merely increase pupil accomplishment, but will besides heighten pupil motive and battle. robert.askey2010-09-20T15:06:00 Great scheme. When be aftering direction, instructors need to take all of these contextual factors into history. As a instructor, we have to come to the realisation that each pupil is different. Whether it ‘s the community, school territory, schoolroom, or the pupil features, each pupil comes with a â€Å" bag † of who they are. We need to encompass their â€Å" bag † and assist them accomplish academically, socially, and emotionally.

ISOLATION AND CHARACTERISATION OF LYMPHOCYTES Lab Report

ISOLATION AND CHARACTERISATION OF LYMPHOCYTES - Lab Report Example This is because this results in an inaccurate count. The same is true if the cover slip is moved after the sample is loaded. To make randomized counting only the 4 squares at each end were picked and then the 16 small squares within each large square, that is, in an organized zigzag along the rows. To make the counting standardized only cells lying on the bottom and right hand boundary were counted in and a cell lying on the top or left hand boundary were not counted in. This was in order to avoid counting cells twice. Normally, at least two squares should be counted, comprising more than 100 cells within each central counting area of every square. For higher accuracy, additional cells can be counted and the mean used to compute cell concentration. The result of cells counts were in the table 1 below. The other cells in the splenocyte preparation are red cells 3.82%, Granulocytes 6.1% as shown in the table 4 above. The abundance of small lymphocytes shows that the cell suspension has more immature cells which are maturing in the spleen to become large lymphocytes and T-lymphocytes. With time the population of small lymphocytes decreases as they develop to large lymphocytes, medium lymphocytes and T-lymphocytes. The spleen is made up of immune lymphocytes and that why in this experiment there were low number of other types of cells. Time was very important in this lab because long exposure could lead to lack of the reliability. This is because the population of splenocytes keep on changing since some cell has not matured fully and other are multiplying. For this lab the time limit was hour since In this lab exercise, Nigrosin was used to stain any dead cells. Nigrosin is an acidic stain. This means the stain readily gives up a hydrogen ion and becomes negatively charged. Since the surface of dead cells is negatively charged, the cell surface repels the stain. Thus slide glass will stain, but the dead cell will not. The dead