Angiosperms and Gymnosperms Essay Example

Angiosperms and Gymnosperms Essay PRACTICAL 6 Seed Plants (Gymnosperms and Angiosperms) OBJECTIVES: 1. To describe the features of seed plant life cycle and the concept of the dominant generation. 2. To describe the life histories and related reproductive structures of gymnosperms and angiosperms. 3. To summarize the features that distinguish gymnosperms and angiosperms. 4. To discuss the advantages of seed plants to dominate land and their evolutionary adaptations on land. EXPERIMENT 1: Gymnosperms INTRODUCTION: Gymnosperms (720 species in 65 genera) are ancient seed plants that include ginkgos (Division Ginkgophyta), cycads (Division Cycadophyta), conifers (Division Coniferophyta), and gnetophytes (Division Gnetophyta). The term gymnosperm derives from the Greek wood roots gymnos, meaning â€Å"naked†, and sperma, meaning â€Å"seed†. They are naked-seeded plants meaning that the ovule, which becomes a seed, is exposed on the sporophyte at pollination. Mature seed are not enclosed in a fruit as are those of flowering plants. Gymnosperms are best known for their characteristic cones, called strobili. These strobili display sporangia and their subsequently developing ovules and pollens. Gymnosperms do not require water for sperm to swim to reach the egg as do seedless plants. Instead, immense amount of windblown pollen are produced. Most gymnosperm cones, including the familiar pine cone, are complex whorls of leaflike, woody scales around a central axis. The smallest cones include those of the junipers (Juniperus) which have flesh scales fused into a structure resembling a berry. The larger cones may weigh 45 kg and are produced by cycads. We will write a custom essay sample on Angiosperms and Gymnosperms specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Angiosperms and Gymnosperms specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Angiosperms and Gymnosperms specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In most gymnosperm species, the female megastrobilus is larger and distinctive from the male microstrobilus. MATERIALS: 1. Living or preserved specimens of * Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) * Cycad (Cycad sp. ) * Pine (Pinus sp. ) 2. Prepared slide of gymnosperms 3. Compound microscope 4. Dissecting microscope 5. Slide and coverslip 6. Forceps 7. Distilled water PROCEDURE: A ginkgo: 1. A prepared slide of male strobilus of Ginkgo biloba is examined. The microsporophyll, microsporangium, and strobilus axis are identified. 2. A prepared slide of female strobilus of Ginkgo biloba is examined. The megasporophyll, megasporangium, and strobilus axis are identified. A cycad: 1. A female cycad is examined. The leaves, megasporophylls, megasporangia and developing seed are identified. 2. The pollen cone bears on male cycad. Pollinated cone is examined and microsporophyll, microsporangia, and pollen grains are identified. A pine: 1. A male cone and female cone of Pinus sp. are obtained. 2. A prepared slide of longitudinal section of female cone is examined. The megasporophyll, megasporangia, and ovule are looked. 3. A prepared slide of longitudinal section of male cone is examined. The microsporophyll, microsporangia, and pollen grains are looked. 4. Fertilization occurs after the pollen tube penetrates the megasporangium and allows sperm to enter the archegonium and fuses with the egg. The zygote will form after fertilization. A prepared slide of the developing embryo of Pinus sp. is examined. 5. Mature seed cone is obtained. The seed with wing attached to the ovuliferous scale is found. 6. The anatomy of pine leaf one needle is examined. The following: epidermis, stoma, photosynthetic mesophyll, endodermis, phloem, xylem, and resin duct are identified. RESULTS Cross section of Ginkgo Biloba Cross section of Cycad Cross section of female pine Cross section of male pine EXPERIMENT 2: Angiosperms INTRODUCTION: Angiosperms are the most abundant, diverse, and widespread of all land plants. They are successful because they are structurally diverse, have efficient vascular systems, share a variety of mutualisms (especially with insects and fungi), and have short generation times. Flowering plants are important to human because our world economy is overwhelmingly based on them. Indeed, we eat and use vegetative structures (roots, stems and leaves) as well as reproductive structure (flowers, seeds, and fruits). You will find that many of the vegetative structures are quite similar to those of more ancient plants shown. The roots, stems, and leaves of flowering plants function just as those of ferns and cone bearing plants. Flowers and fruits, however are unique adaptations of angiosperms. Biologists believe that the extraordinary adaptiveness of these structures has led to the proliferation of the incredible diversity found among flowering plants. MATERIALS: 1. Living specimens of angiosperms (dicots monocots) with roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds. (Imperata cylindrical, zea mays, Carica papaya, Phaseolus sp. ) 2. Prepared slide of angiosperms (dicots monocots) 3. Compound microscope 4. Dissecting microscope 5. Slide and coverslip 6. Forceps 7. Distilled water PROCEDURE: Roots: 1. A root of dicots and monocots are obtained for morphology and anatomy study. 2. The root systems of representative dicot and monocot are looked. 3. Cross section of dicot root shows the central stele is surrounded by a thick cortex and epidermis. The following: epidermis, cortex, parenchyma cells, starch grains, pericycle, endodermis, phloem, and xylem are identified. 4. Cross section of monocot roor shows this root has a vascular cylinder of xylem and phloem that surrounds a central pith. The following: epidermis, cortex, endodermis, Casparian strip, pith, phloem, and xylem are identified. 5. A prepared slide of the roots for some other species is obtained and their structure is identified. Stems: 1. The longitudinal section of shoot tip of representative dicot and monocot is studied. The following: leaf, leaf primordium, apical meristem, ground meristem, axillary bud, vascular bundle, and pith are identified. 2. A dicot and monocot is obtained and a cross section of the stems is made and the arrangement of vascular bundles is examined. The anatomy between this dicot and monocot is compared. 3. For both type of plants, epidermis, cortex, phloem, xylem, cambium, pith, and vascular bundle are identified. Leaves: 1. Fresh specimen provided in lab is looked. Flowering plants show a variety of morphology to identify, such as, leaf arrangements and leaf venation. 2. Using fresh prepared slide or prepared slide of some flowering plants, the structure of the leaves is studied. The leaves have common features: cuticle, air space, lower epidermis, upper epidermis, palisade mesophyll, spongy mesophyll, and vascular bundle are noticed. Flowers: 1. The longitudinal section of some flowers is looked. The parts of a flower: stigma, pistil, style, ovary, sepal, receptacle, peduncle, petal, filament, stamen, and anther are named. 2. A prepared slide of a cross section of mature anther (lily anther) is examined. Sections of the four microsporangia are found. Pollen grains within a microsporangium is looked. 3. A prepared slide of a cross section of an ovary (lily ovary). The several ovules are found. Megaspore mother cell within megasporangium is looked. The megasporangium develops is studied. The placenta, integuments, microphyle, egg cell, central cell, and polar nuclei are identified. 4. The demonstration slide of double fertilization is observed and the zygote, primary endosperm nucleus, and central cell of the female gametophyte are identified. Fruits and seeds 1. A sample of dry, dehiscent fruits (peanuts) is obtained. The fruit wall, cotyledon, plumule of embryo, embryo, radical, cotyledon, and seed coat are identified. 2. A sample of simple flesy fruits (tomato, a berry) is obtained. Pericarp, mesocarp, endocarp, locule, seed and placenta are identified. 3. A prepared slide of corn grain (Zea mays), a caryopsis fruit is examined. The pericarp of a corn grains is tightly united and inseparable from the seed. The pricarp, endosperm, cotyledon, coleoptiles, plumule bud, embryo, radical, and coleorhizae are identified. RESULTS Cross section of root Cross section of stem Cross section of leaves Cross section of flower Cross section of seed DISCUSSION For the lower vascular plants the important evolutionary development was in the water and food conducting tissues of the sporophyte. As we move on through the plant kingdom the next important development was the seed. The free living gametophyte is a vulnerable phase of the life cycle. Reproduction by seeds is a less chancy procedure and has other advantages for plant survival and dispersal. Seeds can be remarkably tolerant of environmental extremes heat, cold and drought. Unlike free-living gametophytes seeds can postpone their development until conditions are right. And, of course, we find them very convenient for plant propagation. Already in the coal-measure forests there were plants that reproduced by seeds. Some were the so-called seed ferns. Others were the ancestors of the plants we now know collectively as gymnosperms. In these plants the seeds are not enclosed in an ovary, as in the flowering plants; they grow on the surface of a modified leaf in a strobilus or cone. Gymnosperm means naked seed. Alternation of generations is still involved in the reproduction of these plants. They are all heterosporous: the microspores are shed as pollen, whereas the megaspore germinates in the strobilus to produce the female gametophyte. The archegonia in this gametophyte get fertilized by sperm from the male gametophyte and the zygote grows to produce an embryo which is enclosed in a seed coat of tissue from the parent plant. Gymnosperms were the dominant land plants in the age of dinosaurs, the Cretaceous and  Jurassic periods. The surviving gymnosperms in the Coniferophyta, Cycadophyta and Ginkgophyta are similar in their woody habit and pattern of seed development but are not closely related. The characteristic feature of angiosperms is the flower. Flowers show remarkable variation in form and elaboration, and provide the most trustworthy external characteristics for establishing relationships among angiosperm species. The function of the flower is to ensure fertilization of the ovule and development of  fruit  containing  seeds. The floral apparatus may arise terminally on a shoot or from the axil of a leaf (where the  petiole  attaches to the stem). Occasionally, as in  violets, a flower arises singly in the axil of an ordinary foliage-leaf. More typically, the flower-bearing portion of the plant is sharply distinguished from the foliage-bearing or vegetative portion, and forms a more or less elaborate branch-system called an  inflorescence. There are two kinds of reproductive cells produced by flowers. Microspores, which will divide to become  pollen grains, are the male cells and are borne in the  stamens  (or microsporophylls). The female cells called megaspores, which will divide to become the egg cell (megagametogenesis), are contained in the  ovule  and enclosed in thecarpel  (or megasporophyll). The flower may consist only of these parts, as in  willow, where each flower comprises only a few stamens or two carpels. Usually, other structures are present and serve to protect the sporophylls and to form an envelope attractive to pollinators. The individual members of these surrounding structures are known as  sepals  and  petals  (or  tepalsin flowers such as  Magnolia  where sepals and petals are not distinguishable from each other). The outer series (calyx of sepals) is usually green and leaf-like, and functions to protect the rest of the flower, especially the bud. The inner series (corolla of petals) is, in general, white or brightly colored, and is more delicate in structure. It functions to attract  insect  or  bird  pollinators. Attraction is effected by color,  scent, and  nectar, which may be secreted in some part of the flower. The characteristics that attract pollinators account for the popularity of flowers and flowering plants among humans. While the majority of flowers are perfect or  hermaphrodite  (having both pollen and ovule producing parts in the same flower structure), flowering plants have developed numerous morphological and  physiological  mechanisms to reduce or prevent self-fertilization. Heteromorphic flowers have short carpels and long stamens, or vice versa, so animal  pollinators  cannot easily transfer pollen to the pistil (receptive part of the carpel). Homomorphic flowers may employ a biochemical (physiological) mechanism calledself-incompatibility  to discriminate between self- and non-self pollen grains. In other species, the male and female parts are morphologically separated, developing on different flowers. POST-LAB QUESTIONS: 1. How to distinguish between a male and female cone of pine? The male cone will form at the bottom of the tree and it is much smaller than the female and the male produces the pollen grains and the female produces the ovule and forms at the top of the tree. 2. Explain the characteristics of gymnosperm seeds to aid in dispersal. Many gymnosperms have winged seeds that aid in dispersal. Generally, gymnosperms have heavy seeds so the wings only assist in moving the seed a short distance from the parent plant. 3. List some uses for conifers. Economically, conifers are very important as they are a major source of timber. The majority of the world’s sawn timbers come from conifers. Exploitation of this resource from wild growing forests is still going on in many parts of the world, but there is an obvious trend especially in the developed world to phase this out and use more sustainable planted or seeded resources. There are many species with highly different wood properties, some of these are extremely valuable and used for fine cabinet making or expensive applications in construction. Wood from conifers is also an important source of pulp for paper and cellulose fibres such as rayon. Conifers also very important in horticulture, especially in regions with a temperate climate. Several species have yielded hundreds of different cultivars and new ones are constantly appearing on the market. In some countries conifers have a role to play in traditional medicine and in religious ceremonies and, of course, our Christmas trees can be seen as a form of this kind of use. A few conifers even have edible seeds; well known are those of certain pines. 4. Lists the common characteristics of seeds plants. i. They have vascular tissue ii. They use seeds to reproduce iii. They all have body plans that include leaves, stems, and roots. 5. Contrast between dicots and monocots, the two classes of flowering plants. Monocots| Dicots| Herbaceous| May be woody or herbaceous| Embryo with single cotyledon| Embryo with 2 cotyledons| Flower parts in multiple of three| Flower parts with multiple of 4 or 5| Parallel-veined leaves| Net-veined leaves| Bundles of vascular tissue are scattred throughout the stem| Vascular bundle in the stem forms rings| Roots are adventitious| Root develop from radicle| . Discuss the features of plant flowering fruits and seeds. Seeds  develop from ovules in the ovary, and at maturity consist of an  embryo  and a reserve food supply surrounded by a protective covering, the  seed coat. The diversity of flowering plants assures diversity among their seeds, but, unlike fruits, which have numerous variations, structural plans for seeds are few. The reserve food can be stored either in or out of the embryo and the  cotyledons, the seed leaves can remain either below ground or be elevated above the surface when germination occurs. Fruits are ripened ovaries containing seeds with sometimes additional flower or inflorescence tissues associated with them. Only angiosperms produce flowers and fruits. From a botanical viewpoint, many of the foods we eat as vegetables are fruits, for examples, tomatoes, green beans, squash, eggplant, and peppers. Fruits apparently arose as a means not only of protecting the seeds, but as a way to ensure their dispersal. REFERENCES 1. http://faculty. unlv. edu/landau/gymnosperms. htm 2. http://www. kew. org/plants/conifers/uses. html 3. http://edhelper. com/ReadingComprehension_37_251. html

Burka Essay Essay Example

Burka Essay Essay Example Burka Essay Essay Burka Essay Essay The Burka: Controversies over women all around the World In present society there seems to be more and more controversies with Muslim women wearing the burka. The burka is a traditional piece of clothing used by women of Islamic religion. This piece of clothing is a type of veil attached to the head and covers the face and entire body, which the eyes uncovered, so women can see through it (Cody Daily, 2010). In this way, it is known that the burka has become a symbol of terrorism or a form of discrimination of women in the society, causing even more controversies. In the other hand, this piece of clothing erases the Muslim women’s identity and it is a symbol of faith and traditionally conservative Afghan society (Asamblea General Plenaria del Consejo de Estado frances, 2009). So now, although many countries consider that the use of the burka has negative effects on society and women, the burka has a positive effect if it is seen as a symbol of tradition and respect for the right to free development of personality. First of all, the burka represents an important symbol of tradition in the Afghan society. The use of the burka seen as something traditional between the Muslim women is characterized because this use represents a behavior of cultural and religious origins and its prohibition cannot be protected by the secularism notion (Motilla, 2009). Secularism notion means the view that religious considerations should be excluded from civil affairs and a religious skepticism. Despite this, there are several European countries that are trying to forbid the use of the burka in public places because they argue that these religious expressions involve problems of public order and the safety of people; so these cultural minorities must leave their religious identities to adopt the common tradition in other countries (Cody Daily, 2010). It is important to mention that the use of veils should not be a prohibition, but a decision that women can freely make to defend their religion and their beliefs, and it is true there are rules in every country but the government should not interfere in the way in which each person chooses their clothing or their beliefs. For these reasons, Muslim women can use their veils in other countries while it is used without damage to others and only through the decision to follow their beliefs. For example, countries like France and Belgium have established that women who use the burka in public should be arrested, because they represent a danger o society, while the United States have chosen to respect the religious beliefs (Munoz, 2003). Moreover, the right to free development of personality is a right of each person of every culture in a country and it includes the way Muslim women live. The burka prohibition would affect several rights and freedoms principles like: individual freedom, p ersonal liberty, freedom of speech and expression of opinions, especially religious; thus women can use this piece of clothing when they have attributed a meaning that produces wellness, belonging and attachment to their identity (Motilla, 2009). In the other hand, several countries argue that the use of the burka do not respect the principle of gender equality, also that its wearing is an element that shows the lack of integration of women and it affects their right to identity as a person (Cody Daily, 2010). However, as people know, every person has the right to the free development of personality, so women will be free to use their veil whenever they want, while they feel comfortable and in that way the can freely express their decision, personality and beliefs. For example, in Spain the state have a social perception that is trying to demonstrate through â€Å"The wilderness that is the Islam with womenâ€Å" that there is a conflict between modernity and the world of the Islam; however, there is a Muslim Womens Network in Spain that seeks to respect the rights of women and their personal liberty (Red de Mujeres Musulmanas en Espana, 2010). In conclusion, tradition and the right to free development of personality represent enough reasons to do not develop the prohibition of the use of veils in several countries. The first one represents the attachment and belief in their religion of all Muslim women, so they can use the burka to express freely their religious identities as long as there is not an abuse that affects other people in the society. In the second place, every person in each culture has de right to free development of personality, so if women want to use this veil is because they have attributed a meaning that produce in them a feeling of wellness, belonging and identity and they are free to do that as long as it does not affect others. In this way, although all over the world the burka has become a subject of controversy and discussion, I think it is not justified the prohibition of the use of this veil between the Muslim women because it is common that they use this piece of clothing because they are respecting their beliefs and values taught by the culture that gave them a particular identity all over the world.

How to Grow Black Crystals

How to Grow Black Crystals This crystal growing recipe produces black crystals. You can make them solid black like black diamonds, or translucent black like smoky quartz. Materials Black food coloring is used to make black crystals. While this crystal recipe calls for borax, you could grow black sugar crystals or rock candy, if you prefer. The black pipe-cleaner is not essential, but it provides a good surface for crystal growth and is not visible underneath the dark crystals. BoraxHot waterWide mouth jar or glassBlack pipe-cleanersBlack food coloring Directions Bend the black pipe-cleaner into any shape you like, as long as it will fit inside the glass or jar you are using to grow the crystals. Bend an end of the pipe-cleaner over a pencil or butter knife so that the shape will be hanging inside the jar. Try to keep the pipe-cleaner shape from touching the sides or bottom of the container. Remove the shape and set it aside.Prepare the crystal growing solution. Fill the jar with boiling water. Stir borax into the water a little at a time until it stops dissolving. You will need about 3 tablespoons of borax for each cup of water. It is fine if a small amount of undissolved borax remains on the bottom of the container.Stir in 5 to 10 drops of black food coloring. A smaller number of drops will produce translucent black crystals. If you use a lot of black food coloring, you can get solid black crystals.Place the pipe-cleaner shape in the jar. Allow the crystals to grow several hours or overnight. Try to avoid disturbing the crystals. You wont b e able to see into the jar to see how they are doing. Wait several hours before checking on their progress. When you are satisfied with the crystals, remove them and hang them or set them on a paper towel to dry. The black food coloring can stain your hands, clothing, and furniture.

BIOGRAPHY ON THOMAS JEFFERSON, INCLUDE HIS WRITINGS Term Paper

BIOGRAPHY ON THOMAS JEFFERSON, INCLUDE HIS WRITINGS - Term Paper Example He wanted to be remembered for the things people owed to him. His tombstone, which he designed for himself, read,† Here was buried author of declaration of American Independence, of the statute of Virginia for religious Freedom, and father of university of Virginia, Born April 2, 1743 O.S. Died July 4. 1826†, (Irelan,1888). Though, historians wanted to attach other triumphs as well, such as his expertise in linguistics, his distinction as an architect and an environmentalist, but readers of his life are well concurred with his own assessment.(Risjord,1994). MAJOR IDEAS: Thomas Jefferson promoted many philosophical theories such as natural rights, constitutionalism, which automatically leads to justice and democracy. He was a person who believed in equitable distribution of land. One of the major ideas of Jefferson were emphasizing on education’s importance in democracy. He extended the structure of educational system to four stages i.e., elementary school, grammar school, universities and lifelong learning. Jefferson was always known for his huge collection of books throughout the history. When the British burned the Library of Congress during the war in 1812, Jefferson was offered $23,950 for his 6000 volume library, which he agreed upon and sold. His uncountable efforts towards the development of educational sector are commendable. In 1819, he pressurized the Virginia legislature to employ a commission for the need of a university in the state. In 1825, University of Virginia was located in Charlottesville and accepted its first set of students in the year 1826. Thomas Jefferson took great pains for the establishment of University of Virginia. He not only designed the building and the whole campus himself, but also developed the syllabus and hired competent educationist at that time. He also coined the term aristocracy of merit, which signifies the importance of certain group of people who have unique tendencies. According to this, rewards are allocated to the best or those who have talents can rule the world.(Demille, ) Unfortunately, Jefferson’s view of education was limited to the Whites of the society. He also preached about the equality among human beings although he was one of the largest slaveholder, so apparently he excluded blacks or at least his own slaves from the territory of being considered as a human (Massner, 2008) He held an opinion that the states legislature should be the most powerful area due to this he was interested in writing the constitution of the state. EARLY LIFE Albemarle County Virginia, which was then called, Shadwell, was Jefferson’s birth place. He was born on 2nd April in the year of 1743. Thomas was Peter Jefferson and Jane Rudolph’s third child and eldest of the three sons. From Peter he inherited his energetic body and a love of mathematical subjects and a mind to formulate new ways of success and independence. After Peter’s death, Thomas was left with 5 acres of land and an established position and respect in the community (Malone, 1993). Due to his father’s inclination towards education, he had an opportunity of getting an excellent tutoring. He went to boarding schools and thus, excelled in languages. He took classes in William and Mary College at the age of seventeen in Virginia, where his majors were mathematics, science, philosophy, literature, rhetoric. He went to study law when

Dispositional Resistance to Change Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Dispositional Resistance to Change - Article Example or the study is to validate that the RTC scale measures the dispositional resistance to change and that it accurately reflects ‘resistance to change’ as a personality factor that correlates appropriately with other personality factors like neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience and agreeableness and conscientiousness. This is a significant research as earlier research into resistance to change have been confined to the environmental and external factors and how individuals may respond to change in a given situation. This study also presented a literature survey that established this fact. It presented the research by various scholars like Armenakis, Harris, & Mossholder, 1993; Bartunek, Rosseau, Rudolph, & DePalma, 2006; Fedor, Caldwell, & Herold, 2006; Kiefer, 2005; Ameniakis et al., 1993; Bartunek et al., 2006; Fedor et al., 2006; Kiefer, 2005; which either claim that resistance to change is merely behavioral issue or merely an emotional or cognitive one. The current study also dwelt on Oreg’s contention that resistance to change is more holistic and based on disposition. This is among the very few studies on the topic of resistance to change that takes the dispositional approach and indicate that resistance to change depends upon the make-up of the individuals. The findings from this study are expected to benefit organizations and managers in understanding individual resistance to change and provide insight about overcoming it. The study was conducted using an RTC scale (Oreg, 2003) and a short version of the NEO PI-R, the NEO-FFI (Costa & McCrae, 1992). The RTC scale measured the dispositional resistance to change using 17 items that had responses in the range of 1 to 6 intensity with 1 denoting strongly disagree and 6 strongly agree. The NEO-FFI is based on the FFM personality scale and it uses sixty items, 12 each per trait to measure the overall personality traits. The population selected for the study was from Norwegian University of

An Illustration of how Multinationals can fail Essay Example for Free

An Illustration of how Multinationals can fail Essay In an ever-globalizing world, which is turning the world into a global village, businesses have found tremendous opportunities to expand their operations, markets and resources worldwide. Globalization has led to opening of national borders, allowing freer trade and increased exploitation of the resources located in foreign countries giving rise to the phenomena of multinational corporations. These business enterprises own and control resources located in countries other than the country where these originate from or have their head-quarters based in. After the disintegration of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) and creation of an sovereign Russia in 1991, thus ending the Cold War, Russians and other former USSR republics began to consider opening their borders to freer trade, and also introduce some free-market economy initiatives. It was and is still perceived that the failure of state-run economy itself was the reason. During the early 80’s the economy of Russia ceased to grow, making the government gradually deviate from communist ways of governing the economy. However this caused the USSR to break away. The reason why Russia had encouraged foreign investment on its soil is the potential for growth. Russia wishes to extract its natural resources for domestic use and export, which can help it sustain growth. Just upon creating, a number of free market reforms were introduced to improve the economy. Among those reforms, especially those that encourage foreign investment, Production Sharing Agreement was introduced in 1994 which was signed with the Sakhalin II project consortium. Sakhalin Sakhalin is an island located in the far east of Russia, close to Japan. It is now known for its oil and gas reserves. There have been two projects that include Sakhalin I and Sakhalin II. The area has grown in importance to Russia because it is has one of the unexploited oil reserves in the world. Sakhalin remained unexploited because USSR has other oil reserves in their central republics. It is estimated that the island and its surrounding have oil reserves amounting to 1. 8 billion tons of oil and gas reserves of about 2 billion cubic meters of natural gas. Such large amount of untapped resources have make Sakhalin an attraction for foreign oil companies. Sakhalin inhabitants have seen a general improvement is their life styles since the oil generation brought economic boom to their island. The inhabitants, who are traditional in outlook are becoming more modern, and now prefer to move to the central Russia, which is more developed. The Consortium The consortium consisted of Shell, Mitsui and Mitsubishi, which are multinational corporations, of which Shell had 55% of the shares. Royal Dutch Shell is a company which is jointly owned by the Dutch and Britain. Its core business is in oil and gas. It have make diversifications into many other areas of non-renewable and renewable energy generations. So it can be more appropriately defined to be in the energy sector. It was the majority shareholder of the project, which reflects the project core product. The remaining two minority shareholder, the Mitsui (25%) and Mitsubishi (20%) are corporations based in Japan and are conglomerates. Energy is not their core business. They have created small companies for some market share in the energy sector. Thus they exist in the Sakhalin II, sharing the revenues and reducing investment risk for Shell. Their exclusion from the project may not be of much concern to them because they have businesses in other products. However, for Shell, the exclusion will be a severe blow for Shell. This is because the Sakhalin II project is considered by investors and media alike as an ‘image building’ project. The Shell was planning to make further investments in the energy sector in the phase II of the project, which could have broken several records which are the largest investment of Shell itself, the largest foreign investment in Russian history and also creation of world’s largest integrated oil and gas project. Such strides would have provided great potential for Shell’s growth. Exclusion means that Shell will lose their reputation by having to leave a project. The fourth partner emerged in the Sakhalin II project consortium is Gazprom which is Russia state owned energy corporation. It entered the consortium when it bought shares from all the three companies reducing them to exactly half of what it had been. Thus Gazprom became the majority share holder with 50% and one more share, giving it a majority position in the share. Gazprom’s entry into the consortium is rather controversial. It is known that the Russian government forced Shell to sell their shares. This caused a blow to the image of Shell. The circumstances under which Gazprom’s takeover took place also controversial. The Sakhalin Energy Investment Company is the operating company of which the shares are owned by the consortium. The creation of such a company is a legal requirement that is usually done two or more company want to do a joint venture. This arrangement helps the companies to organize their resources under a common company. For the Russian government, it helped ensure liquidity of the shareholdings, which means that any part of it can be traded with any company, and it is this feature that helped the Russian government make Gazprom a major shareholder. Production Sharing Agreement The consortium made explorations in the Sakhalin Island, and also succeeded in making export revenues. Soon, the Sakhalin II wan being considered as a most important project for Shell. The only challenge that Shell or the Russians faced for in bringing Shell was the Production Sharing Agreement. This agreement is a commercial contract which allows the member of the consortium to share the profits from the project. This agreement had many legal problems because it has many clauses which are not supported by other Russian Laws such as that of taxation. This has created a controversy which had been an obstacle to Shell’s presence right from the beginning. Production Sharing Agreement is supported by Russian Law but for non- Multinational corporations, which are state run companies in Russia’s case, there is a different law. This create another issue of multi-nationals presence throughout the world; circumvention of local law. To encourage multinationals to remain in the country, new laws are created which are often are not available to local companies. (Abdelal, 2006) Production Sharing Agreement is designed to over-ride any local law. For example, in the energy sector of Russia the petroleum taxation for foreign oil companies is lesser than a local company. So, for example, they may stipulate a certain taxation rates on the profits of the foreign oil company that is party to the agreement, which is different from that of the general fiscal regime in the country as a whole. Production Sharing Agreement gives too much powers to the multinational corporations. First these contract cannot be changed without any mutual agreement. If the government want to change any clause, for example, place limits on productions or increase tax rate, it is not possible unless the multinational corporation agrees. If it implements any change without the multinational accepting, then the multinational has the right to bring international arbitrators to resolve the issue. Production Sharing Agreements remain in force for the full duration of the contract. The duration is usually a long period of time. This is favorable for the multinational because it gets the security for making any large capital investment. If would be quite risky for any foreign corporation to make a large investment without assurances. These assurances are not new to any country attracting foreign investment. However it also benefits the country because there is a limited time given to the multinationals to make explorations. If the explorations does not yield any reserves, then the multinational company cannot reclaim more than their original investment. Once the exploration succeeds, the company first covers it costs until what is left is the ‘profit oil’. As stated by the name of the agreement, the production’s profit is shared between the state oil company and the foreign oil company according to an agreed ratio which is usually 40 percent allocated to the foreign oil company. In any case, the investment made by the multinational is usually a risked investment. Recently there has been an issue with such agreement as being ineffective. The Russian Natural Resources Ministry believes that the projects should be reviewed. The ministry reported that the production-sharing agreements are ineffective and are damaging Russia’s national interests. If the agreements are taken for review and revision, this can potentially discourage the foreign investment in the future. (Buckley, 2006) Perhaps acting on national interests, the Russian government felt compelled to take over the Sakhalin II project. The project has a good estimate of ‘profit oil’ which have been realized to be of a strategic importance to the Russia. There were other issues which may have compelled the Russian government to take such a step which can potentially discourage foreign investment. Environmental Issues One issue that may have compelled the government to change the clauses of the agreement are environmental issues. The construction process has caused harm to the environment. The environmental issues is an important issue that weakened Shell’s position in Russian energy sector because it lost the financial support of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, a major financer of the project. There are numerous environmental violation that took place. The construction of oil tankers bay needed extraction of undersea mud and disposal on a site farther away in the sea. This had a damaging impact on marine life and ecosystem, which produces fish for local population’s consumption. The island is seismic in nature, however there are no safeguard against any major earthquake. The pipelines are not made up of an appropriate material and are vulnerable to breakdown in case of any such natural calamity. This can cause oil spill and thus are a risk to the environment. Also during the construction of some pipelines, it was found that large amount of earth was left in the open alongside the pipelines which caused the temporary revocation of the construction licenses and the contruction process had to be stopped. Such hindrances in the construction process increases the overall cost of construction and also endangers the environment. The consortium had to pay US $ 110,000 in advance to the Russian Federation for all the potential damage that can be caused to fish off-shore in the Sea of Japan, although there has not been any oil spill till date. There have been reconstruction of some pipelines and also the re-routing of pipelines to prevent any potential damage in the future. Lessons from Shell in Sakhalin It has been found that since the publication of the case, Shell came under pressure from the environmental issues as well as the economic opportunities for Russia that compelled Gazprom to take over half of the Sakhalin II. With Shell under pressure, it became increasingly possible for Russia to come under a ‘mutual’ agreement with Shell to change some clauses of the Production Sharing Agreement. Thus the intent of Russia was not to deal with the environmental issue but rather to gain control of the world gas industry as the project produces over 8 % of world’s gas and that too in the most transportable form, LPG. The goal might be to create a cartel in the future that can control the gas prices in the future. (Miriam, 2008) One lesson learnt is that in today globalizing world, multinational corporations face challenging situations where they have to know the interests of the country they are operating in. No matter what assurances have been made, it is important to consider the changing underlying economic interests behind such assurances. As we see in the case, the apparent reason for assurances made by Russia was to exploit its resources, however as it realized the economic potential of such vast reserves, they looked for an appropriate time to start the takeover program. The other lessons learnt is the multinationals should look at the social interests of the country where they have their operations. Environmental issues as we have seen in the Shell’s case were alarming social issues that went unheeded in the beginning. It is a habit of multinationals not to look after the social issues. Their motive is to exploit the market and maximize their profits in the process. In the type of industry which Shell belongs to is rather short term. After exploiting non-renewable resource until these have been exhausted, there will be no reason to stay in the country. Thus is this industry where short term interests exist, multinationals do not wish to make social investments. Another lesson that has been learnt is the approach to issues. As we have seen, Shell did not have a proactive approach let alone an interactive approach. We have seen that Shell took corrective steps towards environment only if it was prompted by the Russian government and international environmental activists. Moreover, such steps seemed to be taken in haste, without much thought to the fact that such steps are also causing pollution. Such an approach is a reactive approach and it is now being discouraged in business circles. If an interactive approach had been taken, the conditions would have been much better, showing the world that the corporation is socially responsible and knows the interests of the countries where they operate. Russian Conditions for Foreign Direct Investment If we are to rely on the case study, we can infer that Russia has been making attempts to place itself as a destination for Foreign Direct Investment in the early 90’s. That time was much different from what it is today. That time, Russians believed that free market economies can produce better results. For that reason they introduced new regulations that encourage investment by multinational corporations. However today, the government is once again centralizing its control of economy. This can change the way the Russian economy is managed. Such a step, which is unexpected and has not been favored by the multinationals, has stemmed from the local pressures. The public opposition of programs that favor the multinationals has increased. However, this has come at a time, when several opportunities are being realized. By coincidence or by intention, as we see in the case, the step was taken when the economic opportunities were on the maximum. It has been found that although Russia has become a favoured destination for FDI, other large developing countries are becoming more popular in the recent years. WTO and multinationals are urging the Russians to right against corruption, red-tapes and bureaucracy, which are known causes why foreign investment does not enter Russia. Thus it has been realized that most investors enter Russia because of its largely untapped resources and markets. This has meant that investors still give low mark on Russia’s promotional efforts. (The School of Russian and Asian Studies, 2006) Due to the reluctance of Russia to open up as investors expect it to, has caused China and India become more favored destinations for FDI, although their growth in FDI is not as high. This is because these countries have already been allowing FDI much more openly even before Russia did. China opened up in1979 while India did in 1991. However in the current global financial crisis, it has been found that FDI will fall in all these economies. So is difficult to predict which economy will get least affected by this crisis. It can be said that Russia may be least affected because its economy which is not as open as India or China, can prevent the shocks from reaching their economy. This goes with those who believe that there is a â€Å"firewall† that protects some Asian economies. References Abdelal, Rawi (2006) Journey to Sakhalin: Royal Dutch/Shell in Russia, Harvard Business School Publishing Buckley, Neil, Thomas Catan, Carola Hoyos and Arkady Osrovsky, (2006) â€Å"Russia Calls for Review of Two Foreign Oil Projects: Sakhalin Island,† The Financial Times. 26 May 2006 p. 6. Miriam Elder (2008-12-2007). Russia look to control worlds gas prices, Telegraph. Retrieved on 27 December 2008 The School of Russian and Asian Studies (2006)RUSSIA: INVESTMENT DESTINATION II, Retrieved Decemer 28, 2008, from RUSSIA: INVESTMENT DESTINATION II, http://www. sras. org/news2. phtml? m=648

Structure of American and California Governments :: essays research papers

The United States of America is one of the most powerful nation-states in the world today. The framers of the American Constitution spent a great deal of time and effort into making sure this power wasn’t too centralized in one aspect of the government. They created three branches of government to help maintain a checks and balance system. In this paper I will discuss these three branches, the legislative, the executive, and the judicial, for both the state and federal level. The legislative branch of America helps create the laws or legislation. Ideally, it works to create a society that is safe for all members. The State of California like the federal government has a bicameral legislature, in other words, composed of two chambers. The upper chamber is called the senate, while the lower is called the assembly. A unique process for the state level is that it allows for the initiative. This process circumvents the state congress and can create laws without their aide. In the state of California, every ten years, following a US census, which collects demographic information, state legislators draw redistricting plans for itself, California seats in the US House of Representatives, and the State Board of Equalization. There have been attempts to create a â€Å"non-partisan† redistricting commission, but this has been turned down by voters numerous times. Proposition 14, 39, 118, and 119 were all turned down by voters to create a non-partisan district ing commission. Every decade a large portion of the state congress’s energy is spent on redistricting. In fact, two of the last four censuses, Supreme Court has had to step in to break a deadlock. In 1970, Ronald Reagan, a Republican, vetoed all together the Democratic redistricting plan. The Supreme Court had to step in and created its own plans for California to follow. Then in 1981, Democrats proposed redistricting as well as congressional delegation redistricting. The Republicans stopped this by adding referendums to the state ballot. Because it was too close to elections though, Supreme Court overturned these referendums in 1982. In 1984, they officially passed the new redistricting plan which was very similar to the original plans. In 1990, Governor Pete Wilson, a Republican, could not agree with a predominantly Democratic state legislature. The United States Supreme Court again had to step in and make independent plans. They created a system that moved two assembly districts into each senate district, otherwise known as a â€Å"nested† system.

Internet regulation vs Freedom of Speech Essay

MGM v. Grokster case determines the file sharing software. Grokster is a software development company that makes peer-to-peer file sharing software making it possible for all users to share files. However, one possibility with the usage of this software is that some users start sharing copyrighted files. Most commonly copyrighted music mp3 files are shared. In this case court determined that whether making of such software can be regulated. Proponents argue that file sharing is very popular and important technology implemented today in several companies for important business tasks. It is also commonly used by individuals for normal sharing of files for important reason. Only for just one reason it is not possible to shut down the whole business. This is just beginning of the exploration of current use of technology which may expand later. Court determined that whether Grokster should be liable for this file sharing that involves copyrighted material. The pro of this case is that today as we’re bound with each other via world wide networking, it has changed the way of our living. Regulating things going on Internet has recently affected our legislations. With internet networking we can easily connect together and communicate. However, recently several cases have emerged and made it more complex to handle people communicating on the internet. There is another law case that is very hot these days, a Yahoo case. Yahoo has been disgraced in France and now fighting with Chinese government on several issues of free speech. All legal aspects of internet regulation include several security measures and protection from threats. In addition, the way of communication on the Internet has made it much easier for anyone to pass any remarks to any person far away from the location. Speech and communication on the internet has to be regulated in order to protect people from any kind of abuse. According to the Judge decision of freedom of speech that the Yahoo had the right in favor it. The con of this case is that though, we know that all humans have rights. Freedom of speech is one of the rights an individual have by birth, but this right has a limitation as well. The limitation is decided by the exposure of the speech on makes in his social environment. Freedom of speech is a right until this freedom doesn’t hurdle the other’s same right. And if this come to happen the ‘right’ of one rests no more with him. Many firms and legislations are now restricting making use of language and topics on the communication board and email. For example, many big firms like Mircrosoft do not allow specific topics to be discussed on their forums. In China a journalist was imprisoned because of the fact that he forwarded an email that contained an inappropriate language terms. Many U. S. firms are now help resolving issues in China regarding communication. Different law now governs freedom of speech on the Internet. Whatever the case it must now be the matter of great concern to regulate everything that is going on Internet. Similarly, USA and other countries several such cases were detected. Many groups, forums and companies do not allow free talk on politics and religion in order to avoid hot debates involved on these topics. In the present circumstances, especially whereby the social environment has become digital, it’s become very crucial to maintain an equilibrium so that each one can enjoy his right of freedom of speech in the most effective way. The most prominent platform for present digital social environment is ‘internet’ which has not only reduced the distances among the continents, but has also opened the opportunities for individuals to have their say on broader channels. This outgrowth in the outreach of common man’s voice has lead him to be confident on one hand and made others to suffer from the un censored voice. Law gives the right to speech, freedom of thought, freedom of choice, freedom of choosing a religion and changing beliefs. Though we have right for freedom of expression but this does not determine that we can use abusive language, make false statements, and defame others. References Internet Regulation law. Retrieved from http://bubl. ac. uk/LINK/i/internetregulation-law. htm Kirby, Carrie (2005). Chinese Internet vs. free speech Hard choices for U. S. tech giants Retrieved from http://www. sfgate. com/cgi-bin/article. cgi? file=/c/a/2005/09/18/MNGDUEPNLA1. DTL&type=tech Supreme Court Hears Two Cases Critical For Future Of Online Free Speech. Retrieved from http://www. aclu. org/scotus/2004/13918prs20050329. html

Thermal Power Plants For Electricity Education Essay

Along with other parts of this state economic system, the crude oil industry was privatized and liberalized in the 1990s which resulted in a crisp encouragement in monetary values and investing. Several oil companies are prospecting in or near this state Western Rift Valley where surface oil seeps have occurred. In June 2006 finds at three Fieldss were announced which have combined militias of 100-300 million barrels. This important discovery, but compared to the known militias of Nigeria ( 35 billion barrels ) and Angola ( 5 billion barrels ) . 30 million barrels are deemed ready for extraction is started from 2009/10, which would ensue in an estimated 12,000+ barrels a twenty-four hours. While this is comparable to this state national ingestion, there is non available all the oil-based merchandises that Uganda needs. So, the state is project to export some oil merchandises while go oning to import others. The refinery edifice is provide some national capacity to treat the extracted oil is besides under manner.SolarThis state, In 2002 governmental Energy Policy notes the state ‘s favourable state of affairs sing solar energy: This state is endowed with plentifulness of sunlight giving solar radiation of about 4-5 kWh/m2/day. This type of sunstroke is rather favourable for all solar engineering applications. Solar energy applications in this state include solar photovoltaic ( PV ) , H2O warming, chilling and harvest drying. PV systems are by and large required for applications where nice power demands exist chiefly in countries that are non served by the grid. They provide power for lighting, telecommunications, vaccinum and blood infrigidation, and for playing wireless and telecasting in such countries. This engineering has besides proven to be really successful in supplying energy services to really unaccessible countries such as on islands and cragged countries where the national grid can non be expected to widen its services in the foreseeable hereafter. Government is execution a solar PV pilot undertaking through a funding mechanism that makes it possible for both PV consumers and sellers to obtain recognition from Bankss for solar rural electrification now. The solar H2O application warming is still really limited. In this state Electricity Regulatory Authority reported in 2008 that, â€Å" the Ugandan authorities is advancing solar photo-voltaic systems in places and solar H2O warming in both places and commercial endeavors in order to decrees on the eventide extremum burden demand for grid electricity. A proposed 50MW solar- thermal undertaking is under survey at Namugoga, Wakiso District. † Despite these recent attempts, solar remains a really minor portion of this state existent energy balance.EducationThis state made a big spring progress in instruction in 1997, when the authorities published its Universal Primary Education strategy with the end of doing instruction free for everyone. As 1000s more kids started school, there was existent sense of hope that at last everyone would hold a opportunity to take on in larning in a structured manner. They think that literacy would be available to everyone, but the challenges to a wholly free instruction in this state are many and there are still fees associated with instruction It must be borne by the households. The state of affairs of those who had non had a opportunity to acquire clasp of literacy was even starker. In 1997 they added up to 37 % of this state population, about seven million grownups and kids. Female illiteracy stands at 49 % . It is higher in war affected parts such as Northern Uganda. This is what LABE wor ks to alter – to see a literate environment develop in which everyone participates, to enable people to take charge of their ain acquisition and development.To see parents promoting kids in the instruction. But the narrative of LABE did non get down in 1997. Before now in 1989 a group of people at Makerere University launched a voluntary strategy to advance literacy. In 1995 this had evolved into a registered national non – governmental organisation ( NGO ) working in partnership with national, local and international NGOs, authorities sections and local communities. However, LABE does non run literacy programme or learning literacy categories. It offers a facilitate function, it trains groups and squads of community based pedagogues to get down and pull off categories in the community. LABE develops technic and stuffs for acquisition and instruction. Through a national web of like-minded NGOs, LABE advocates for literacy and seeks to power of authorities policy. In 2002 LABE received international acknowledgment by winning the Noma award, one of the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes, for outstanding work in literacy. The system of instruction in this state has a construction of: 1 ) 7 old ages of primary instruction. 2 ) 6 old ages of secondary instruction ( divided into 4 old ages of lower secondary. 3 ) 2 old ages of upper secondary school ) . 4 ) 3 to 5 old ages of post-secondary instruction. The present system has existed since the early sixtiess.Primary instructionIn 1999 there were 6 million childrens having primary instruction, as compared to merely 2 million in 1986. Numbers received a addition in 1997 when free primary instruction was made available for four kids per household. Merely some of primary school alumnuss go on to take any signifier of secondary instruction. This is dependent upon them go throughing their Primary Leaving Examinations ( PLE ) .Secondary instructionLower secondary consists of 4 old ages of schooling in the terminal of which pupils Ordinary-level tests ( O-level ) in at least 8 topics. Upper secondary consists of 2 old ages of schooling in the terminal of which pupils sit Advanced-level tests ( A-level ) in at least 3 topics. The set of classs for lower secondary is presently being reviewed by the National Curriculum Development Center, and a new set of classs is expected to be rolled out in 2014 or 2015. Three-year proficient schools provide an option to take down secondary school. Options for alumnuss from lower secondary school addes: 1 ) 2-3 twelvemonth Technical institutes ; 2 ) 2 twelvemonth Primary Teacher Colleges ( PTC ) 3 ) Department Training Colleges ( DTCs ) 4 ) Upper secondary schools.Post-secondary instructionAlthough 60,000-70,000 pupils per twelvemonth leave school qualified to travel on to higher instruction, Some of them 35 % ( at most 25,000 ) are able to happen topographic points at the limited figure of establishments. The mass of these go to universities both Public and private. Specifically, Makerere University in Kampala ( MUK ) accepts 95 % of the entire pupil population in this state universities. Rest of all is distributed among the 20 and private universities and a smaller figure of non University establishments. The accepted Universities in this state include:Government UniversitiesMakerere University ( MUK ) Mbarara University of Science & A ; Technology ( MUST ) Kyambogo University ( KYU ) Gulu University ( GU ) Busitema University ( BSU )Religious-Affiliated UniversitiesAll Saints University ( ASU ) Ankole Western University ( AWU ) Bugema University ( BU ) Busoga University ( BGU ) Islamic University in Uganda ( IUIU ) Kumi University ( KUMU ) LivingStone International UniversityLink Ndejje Christian University ( NDU ) Uganda Christian University ( UCU ) Uganda Martyrs University ( UMU ) Uganda Pentecostal University ( UPU )Private Secular UniversitiesFairland University ( FLU ) Kabale University ( KABU ) Kampala University ( KU ) Kampala International University ( KIU ) Lugazi University ( LZU ) Muteesa I Royal University ( MRU ) Mountains of the Moon University ( MMU ) Nkumba University ( NU ) St. Lawrence University ( SLAU ) African Bible University ( ABU ) International Health Sciences University ( IHSU )Public Technical CollegesUganda Technical College – Lira ( UTC Lira ) Uganda Technical College – Ombaci ( UTC Ombaci ) Uganda Technical College – Elgon ( UTC Elgon )Private Technical CollegesCity polytechnic Institute – Kampala ( CPI )Northern UgandaEducation is of import for a successful post-conflict alteration in Northern Uganda ( see Conflict in Northern Uganda ) , as it helps spread out peoples ‘ abilities to interrupt free of circles of aggression and agony. In this state Universal Primary Education ( UPE ) has resulted in high registration rates in Northern Uganda, but instruction tends to be of a low quality and few kids really complete primary school. There are deficient installations ; For e.g. out of 238 primary schools in Pader, 47 are still under trees, limited teacher adjustment is doing high rates of instructor absenteeism and in some countries the mean primary school instructor to student ratio is 1:200. , There is some cogent evidence to propose completion of secondary school is necessary to supply an person with a proper opportunity to get away poorness, as emplo yment and income degrees for those who completed primary schools. And besides for those who did non go to at all. There part has peculiar troubles as instructors are difficult to happen, the struggle shaped a lost coevals without an sufficient instruction themselves and instructors from other countries are still extremely concerned about security in the part. Particular attending to instruction in the part is necessary to guarantee the delicate peace does non acquire worse into full graduated table struggle one time more. This state has a population of about 28 million people. Of that figure, approximately 15 million are under the age of 18. The mean life anticipation is 47 old ages. Lending causes of decease are malaria and HIV/AIDS. One in every 12 kids has been orphaned due to the AIDS epidemic. 6.7 % of the population are populating with the HIV/ AIDS virus. 44 % brand less than $ 1 / twenty-four hours 78 % are peasant husbandmans. 77 % unrecorded on soil floors. 49 % rely in word of oral cavity for their information.School Improvement Plan:Several of us at Educate Uganda have visited schools in the Nkokonjeru country and have seen the creaky school edifices, deficient schoolroom infinite, unhygienic latrines, and the terrible demand for educational stuffs. At Educate in this state they understand that merely paying for the kids to go to school is non sufficient. There are 21 schools which have orphans taking portion in the plan ( see Sponsorship Program ) . They have presently analysing each school to find their specific demands. These demands include the most basic aims as like school edifices, learning stuffs, latrines, desks, blackboards, better H2O beginnings and other things to do these schools a healthy and safe acquisition environment. At now, we are constructing extra schoolrooms and latrines for a jungle school in Nnyermawa called St. Gyaviira. This school presently has two schoolrooms which educate kids through the 4th class. In add-on schoolrooms they will be able to educate pupils through the 7th class. with no the extra schoolrooms, kids have to walk several stat mis through the jungle to go on their surveies at a different school or merely halt their instruction after the 4th class. ( 1 ) Mother Tongue Education undertaking in Northern Uganda ( 2 ) Direction in Mother Tongue-The Language of Opportunity: ( 3 ) Increasing Access to Education Prospects for Children, their Teacher and Parents ( 4 ) In the rural countries, the medium of direction from P1 to P4 will be the relevant local linguistic communications ; and from P5 toP8 English will be the medium of direction. The pertinent country linguistic communication will besides be teach as a topic in primary school. This apply to both rural and urban countries. ( Beginning: Government of this state White paper on Education, 1992 pp. ) The 2000 World Education Forum recognized struggle as an obstructor to the accomplishment of Education For All. Prolonged clang in Northern Uganda has undermined and disrupted instruction through annihilation of substructure, supplanting of school communities, kid abductions, and demoralisation of instructors. This undertaking includes mother tongue instruction as a redress for the current low primary school registration, really short keeping and hapless larning result. in malice of traditional accent in Africa on direction in European linguistic communication, larning in initial old ages in female parent lingua is known to advantage the engagement and public presentation of kids and to hike parental engagement.Broad activitiesaˆ? Train instructors to utilize local linguistic communications successfully in the schoolroom aˆ? Support authors to make educational stuffs in local linguistic communications aˆ? recover kids ‘s literacy and life chances aˆ? power wider pattern and policyPurposes and expected resultsThis undertaking seeks to work with 240 school communities in Northern Uganda to hike meaningful entree to primary instruction for marginalized kids through the development and aid of female parent lingua instruction. This will keep up the authorities to use its adopted female parent lingua policy. It is every bit long as a feasible theoretical account, integrating preparation, resource growing and support which it can so implement and upscale in other countries. This overall program will lend to the realisation of the Millennium Development Goal of Universal Primary Education and gender par in six clang level territories of Northern Uganda. Better instruction will ease poorness through its part to the accretion of human capital, which is necessary for more incomes and uninterrupted economic growing. Undertaking activities duplicate the undermentioned schemes as like developing instructors, broadening the literate env ironment from side to side proviso of local linguistic communication stuffs, hiking parental and household engagement in misss ‘ schooling, intensification local authorities ability to decently supply a quality instruction for marginalized kids. It will be shared easy in print with a big group of people through communicating in original linguistic communications. This will let non-literate hapless people, particularly adult females and misss, to hike watchfulness about the right to educational entree and usage available print information in female parent lingua on their ain. By leting misss and parents, with a focal point on female parents in peculiar, to document their experiences in the female parent lingua. The undertaking will acquire better their entree to instruction and increase consciousness in the wider community of the significance of misss ‘ instruction.Scope of this planThe undertaking covers 6 territories of Gulu, Amuru, Arua, Koboko, Yumbe and Adjumani territory. The undertaking includes 40 UPE schools in each of the territory.Learn to populateThe undertaking aims at bettering parents ‘ literacy accomplishments and ability to take part to the full in the instruction of their kids. It adapts the household larning attack where parents are mobilized to larn jointly with their kids both at school and at place. Mothers are specifically targeted ( in order to turn to the gender spread ) during grownup literacy categories and besides mobilizes them to take part in kids – parent articulation larning Sessionss in schools. The adul t females particularly female parents are provided with local linguistic communication reading stuffs to utilize at place to better joint larning with their kids. Mother Tongue Educational stuffs turn toing different faculties ensuing from the national thematic course of study – specifically turn toing HIV/Aids content and showing misss and male childs positively are produced and used in categories and places to diminish the kid book ratio to a national coveted ratio of 1:6. LABE works with adult females force per unit area groups to asseverate force per unit area on the parents, community and local authorities to ordain bye Torahs to guarantee that kids – particularly girl children- enroll, stay and complete schools. It implements in the two territories of Gulu and Amuru both in northern Uganda.Family Sexuality Education ProjectThe undertaking ‘s overall purpose is to hike kids ‘s educational public presentation, keeping and completion particularly among the misss, during increased parents and instructors active engagement in their sexual generative wellness and rights instruction. The one twelvemonth Oxfam Novib support pilot that was implemented in 4 schools – communities of Yumbe and Koboko territories specifically aimed at ; Bettering the capacity of parents to positively pass on with their kids Sex and Reproductive Health issues Equiping parents with information and accomplishments to recommend for SRHR and rights of kids Bettering the capacity of female and male senior instructors to advocate kids with societal challenges at schoolAwareness On Children ‘s ( Especially Girls ‘ ) Right To Education CampaignIt is a 1 twelvemonth pilot undertaking implemented in 10 schools -communities of Arua territory with fiscal support from KIOS. It is of import end to make consciousness on the kids ‘s right to instruction ; supply the responsibility carriers to carry through their responsibility and the rights holders to demand for their rights. This undertaking works to do certain that 900 parents ( 65 % adult females ) 40 instructors and 10 school communities are cognizant of the aggression committed against Children particularly misss, at school, place and the community. These communities are supported to promote the Children ‘s ( particularly the girl-child ) right to education through the growing of Education regulations, wireless runs, preparations and sensitisations and adult females force group local response to VAC enterprise. The undertaking besides include engages local school policy shapers such as School Management Committees from the point out schools in one Sub County to increase consciousness on the kids ‘s right for the better acquisition environment both at school and at place. The undertaking is work in partnership with increasing Voices – utilizing the VAC stuffs to strongly recommend following to VAC both within and without the school environment Undertaking activities aim is to supplying information to recommend for kids ‘s right to instruction and a good acquisition environment, sensitisation on kids ‘s rights to instruction and a good acquisition environment and duties of instruction responsibility carriers ( caput instructors, School Management Committees, instructors, instruction officers every bit good as parents )Learning For Life ( Labe – Wch – Echo Bravo )It is bettering educational public presentation among kids, retain accomplishments, and facilitate kids and misss to remain put in school. To use these wide ends, LABE partnered with War Child Holland and Echo Bravo to implement three interconnected sub-projects. LABE is implementing family-based instruction programming to retrieve school public presentation and keeping rates by the preparation parent pedagogues and instructors in household larning techniques and pedagogical instruction methods, every bit good as mobilising parents for grownup literacy categories and to keep up kids ‘s educational activities. In this struggle Child offers psychological clasp up to youth, while Echo Bravo has apply catch-up instruction and accomplishments developing classs to back up community members who can non restart formal primary instruction. Learning for Life is being applied in 25 schools indoors five sub-counties of: Bobi, Paicho in Gulu and Koch Goma, Alero, Lamogi in Amuru territories with support from Oxfam NovibCourses, Semesters, & A ; Diplomas:It ‘s takes three old ages to go a unmarried mans degree at any East African university, Makerere University and Mbarara University are no opportunities. Degrees in medical specialty and veterinary scientific discipline take five old ages to finish, and technology demands four old ages to finish. Academic old ages begin October 1 and stop on June 30, or August 30 for four term classs. In the first twelvemonth of survey each pupil must take and go through three topics before being permission to progress to their 2nd twelvemonth of coursework. Lectures, treatments, and research labs are supplemented with tutorials and library surveies, research, and practical preparation. Undergraduate pupils have installations for relaxation, athleticss installations, chaplainships, we llness attention, and chances to take part in student authorities and societal nines. First grades are gettable in Fieldss such as medical specialty, jurisprudence, dental medicine, veterinary scientific discipline, agribusiness, technology, commercialism, statistics, societal work, forestry, doctrine, political scientific discipline, anthropology, sociology, geographics, literature, public disposal, economic sciences, music, dance, play, all right art, natural philosophies, chemical science, biological science, fauna, environmental surveies, mathematics, and computing machine scientific discipline, every bit good as linguistic communications ( English, French, German, Russian, Swahili, Luganda, and Lingala ) . Students can acquire either a grade, such as a unmarried man ‘s grade, maestro ‘s grade, or Ph.D. , or a sheepskin or certification. Certificate classs are including grownup instruction and library scientific discipline. It takes one twelvemonth to finish. Biennial sheepskin classs are supplying in library scientific discipline, music, dance, and play. The Islamic University suggest unmarried man ‘s grades in Islamic surveies, instruction, and medical specialty. Mbarara University of Science and Technology awards grades in development surveies, instruction, medical specialty, and applied scientific discipline. The Institute of Teacher Education at Kyambogo awards sheepskin in instruction to instructors who complete a biennial class. In this state so many institutes are award either certifications or sheepskin depending upon the continuance of coursework.Postgraduate & A ; Professional Training:Most maestro ‘s degree campaigners must run into residence necessit ies, take required classs, and compose a maestro ‘s these is based upon original research. Doctoral degree plans are besides have residence and less coursework demands, every bit good as a paper based upon original research. Students must fulfill their internal reappraisal commissions and external testers that they have mastered their topic. The M.D. and/or Ch.M. grade is awarded after finishing one twelvemonth of survey in front of the unmarried man ‘s of scientific discipline grade, and the doctor's degree of literature ( D. Lit. ) and D.Sc. are awarded after publication of work. For this state fees for tuition, research, and adjustments are free. Foreign pupils are required to pay one-year tuition and fees, and besides pay for research and thesis, every bit good as adjustment costs individuallyFood engineeringOn this favourable juncture, the School of Food Technology, Nutrition & A ; Bioengineering, College of Agricultural & A ; Environmental Sciences, Makerere Univer sity salutations and congratulates King Harald, Queen Sonja, Her Excellency the Ambassador and the whole people of Norway on taging their Constitutional Day. The School of Food Technology, Nutrition and Bioengineering is conceited to be associated with the Royal Government of Norway and the Norse Universities and growing bureaus. We take this chance to explicate their gratitude to NORAD, NUFU, The Norse University of Life Sciences and the full Norse people for their continued aid and favour in developing our research, preparation and out range capacity. Giving up of the School to national human resource requires that the school has trained over 2000 alumnuss at BSc, MSc and PhD degrees in assorted Fieldss of Food Technology. Human Nutrition and Bioengineering. Their alumnuss continue to do positive parts in the nutrient industry, agricultural mechanisation, agro-processing and public bureaus are employed, some of their successful enterprisers. The School is repackaging their preparation plans through beef uping and betterment of the practical, internship and entrepreneurship constituents to do their alumnuss for the challenges in their turning nutrient sub-sector. The suggest preparation plans In this include: For the Undergraduate: B.Sc. Food Science and Technology B.Sc. Human Nutrition and Dieteticss B.Sc. Agricultural Engineering For the Alumnus: MSc. Applied Human Nutrition, MSc. Food Science and Technology PhD. Program in several countries of Food Science, Human Nutrition & A ; Bioengineering Short classs: The School under their Skills Training Program for Small & A ; Medium Enterprises ( STRAP 4 SMEs ) runs specific short preparation classs in the country of nutrient processing, nutrition and irrigation that are custom made to run into the client ‘s demands. At that type of plan benefits young person enterprisers, future enterprisers, school departers, pupils on holiday, university alumnuss, and extra room workers. The preparation under STRAP 4 SMEs plan is conducted at both the University ‘s chief campus and clients ‘ site in English though local slangs may be second-hand where necessary. This plan has so distant trained over 130 participants in assorted nutrient processing engineerings. With support from Nordic states and Government of this state, the school continues to do growing in the country of research for development. In surplus of 15 nutrient processing engineering bundles have been built-up and are ready for uptake by industry. Research for development activities have besides contributed to capacity edifice for the School through: Staff preparation at PhD and MSc and changeless research Lab and processing substructure growing Constructing partnerships for engineering transportation and growing The capacity of edifice and growing has constant to beef up the School ‘s preparation, research and outreach plans. Government-University-Private Sector Partnership in engineering move & A ; enterprise growing. In 2009 the Government bigger support to the School through commissioning the Food Technology and Business Incubation Center ( FTBIC ) . The centre is a partnership between Government of this state, Makerere University and the private sector aimed at engineering exchange and advancing entrepreneurship in the nutrient sub-sector by supplying right of entry to processing installations and proficient clasp to foster immature enterprisers and endeavors. To this coating, the Government of this state supported the FTBIC with a UShs 4.5 billion grant to spread out the centre into a state-of-the-art capableness to excite and spread out feasible and competitory nutrient processing endeavors in the state. The centre focuses on alumnus young person by agencies of entrepreneurial po tency.InfrastructureUganda has made considerable development on its substructure docket in recent old ages. The early and winning ICT reform detonated a huge enlargement in nomadic coverage and incursion ensuing in a really much competitory market. Power sector restructuring has paved the manner for a rapid doubling of power production capacity. This state is making all right on the H2O and hygiene MDGs, and has made successful usage of public presentation catching to better public-service corporation public presentation. Though, a figure of important challenges remain. in malice of reforms, the power sector continues to shed blood resources due to under-pricing and high distribution losingss, while electrification rates are still really minimal. every bit long as equal resources for route care remains a face, and farther investing is needed to raise rural connectivity and retrieve route safety. In this state substructure challenges will necessitate sustained outgo of around $ 1.4 b illion per twelvemonth over the following decennary, strongly skewed towards capital outgo. In this state already spends about $ 1 billion per twelvemonth on substructure, equal to about 11 per centum of GDP. A farther $ 0.3 billion a twelvemonth is lost to inefficiencies, the mass of which are associated with underbracing and allotment losingss in the power sector. In this state the one-year substructure funding spread is about $ 0.4 billion per twelvemonth, most of which is linked with irrigation and besides H2O and sanitation substructure This state sees infrastructure spend buoying growing * Sets to the side $ 85.52 million to construct 700 MW dike * Aims to pare rising prices to individual figures in 2012/2013 KAMPALA, April 26 ( Reuters ) – This state rate of economic growing is predictable to increase somewhat during the following financial twelvemonth as the state ramps up investings in transit substructure, energy and instruction, the finance ministry said on Thursday.

Conflict ‘Romeo and Juliet’ Essays

Conflict ‘Romeo and Juliet’ Essays Conflict ‘Romeo and Juliet’ Essay Conflict ‘Romeo and Juliet’ Essay How of import is the subject of struggle in the drama Romeo and Juliet?Shakespeare’s drama. Romeo and Juliet. is the most celebrated love narrative in English literature. However love isn’t the lone subject that runs through the drama. Shakespeare makes this typical love narrative more dramatic when he pits the love affair in the context of household feuds. battles and deceases. The issue of struggle is every bit cardinal to this drama as the issues of love/honour/betrayal and decease. It should come as no surprise that Shakespeare would include struggles in this drama as otherwise the drama would merely be a dull statement on teenage love. Adding the struggles highlights the tensenesss that the adolescents feel between their fond regards to their ain households and each other. Besides. adding the struggle is of import for dramatic consequence. We see this clearly in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet but besides see it in many modern signifiers of storytelling. such as movie.The movie Slumdog Millionaire’ is another illustration of two star-crossed lovers fighting to be together against their family’s wants. The struggle in the movie is between brothers. but besides with others outside the characters immediate households. The dramatic consequence of the struggle has the audience on the border of their place. willing the brace to get away their awful lives of maltreatment and unrecorded merrily of all time after. Slumdog is Romeo and Juliet for the twenty-first Century. As in Shakespeare’s drama. in Slumdog the audience are told what will go on in the narrative by manner of a prologue The prologue in Romeo and Juliet tells the audience the narrative and the stoping ( the two lovers will repair their household feuds by taking their ain lives )From forth the fatal pubess of these two enemies. A brace of star-crossed lovers take their life. . The prologue is an unusual storytelling device as it reveals the terminal of the narrative at the beginning. But it besides draws the audience is to cognize why the lovers take their ain lives and the audience remains shocked by that event. despite being warned about it. In Bas Learhmann’s movie the audience is surprised when Juliet wakes from her slumber to happen Romeo lying dead following to her. Her reaction of killing herself is a flooring stoping to the movie ( drama ) despite the audience cognizing what is coming. In Shakespeare’s prologue the Chorus describes tw o baronial families in the metropolis of Verona. The houses hold an ancient grudge against each other that remains a beginning of violent and bloody struggle.The audience are told that the households live in Fair Verona and who the chief characters in the drama are. So within a few proceedingss of the drama get downing the audience ( reader ) is primed with adequate information to bring forth an involvement to read on. The first scene comes instantly after the prologue and Shakespeare commences the scene with two Capulet retainers ( Sampson and Gregory ) who talk about the struggle between the two family’s. It is interesting that even though they are retainers ( Slaves ) they say that the family’s feud is their feud: The wrangle is between our Masterss and us their work forcesIt is of import to retrieve that the drama is written at a clip when retainers were obliged to honor their Masterss. and that included puting down their life for their betters’ . The tone o f the conversation between the two retainers replicates the struggle that we hear about in the prologue. Shakspere has established a yarn for the reader to follow here. The force of the struggle is clear when the two retainers talk of what they will make to the Montague adult females one time they defeat the Montague work forces. Brutalizing the adult females of a defeated enemy is something that has happened throughout history. True ; and hence adult females. being the weaker vass.are of all time thrust to the wall: therefore I will forceMontague’s work forces from the wall. and thrust his amahsto the wallThe public bash started by Tybalt is joined by members of both households. including the Montague and Capulet fathers’ . Sing old enemy ( Montague ) Capulet says to his married woman: My blade. I say! Old Montague is come.And boom his blade in malice of me.The street combat and hatred between the Capulets and Montagues is merely one signifier of struggle in Shakespea re’s drama. Shakespeare’s composing about struggle extends to Juliet’s household excessively. In Act 3 Scene 5 Juliet is told by her female parent that she will get married. Juliet’s sadness at this ordered matrimony ( she is told to describe to the church on Thursday ) leads to a struggle with her male parent who calls her a young luggage and disobedient wench’ . The household struggle repeats one faced by some immature adult females whose hubbies are chosen for them. This cultural duty is besides made clear by Juliet’s female parent when she says to Juliet that by the age of 14 ( Juliet’s age at the clip of the drama ) she was already pregnant with Juliet. The tradition of get marrieding misss off immature. and to wealthy older work forces. has mostly been overcome in some communities. nevertheless. in others it still creates tenseness. Sometimes with tragic results.The subject of struggle is of import in this drama because it refle cts the type of societal conditions that existed at the clip that Shakespeare wrote his drama. It is interesting that although our societal conditions have changed. the implicit in subjects and fortunes here could use to our society today. Young. violent. work forces contending over territory/honour and ( like Tybalt ) being killed in the crossfire. Shakespeare’s determination to speak about the unfairness of Juliet’s father’s insisting that she marry. may be a courageous effort to raise the issue of forced matrimony. But. instead. it could besides be seen as a beginning of merriment and gaiety for the Shakespearian audience. Despite some truly hard linguistic communication. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a drama that transcends clip in footings of its implicit in subjects. This makes the drama as relevant now as it was when it was first played.

Airport and Aviation Security Annotated Bibliography

Airport and Aviation Security The paper "Airport and Aviation Security" is a delightful example of an annotated bibliography on social science. Abrahamsen, R., Williams, M. C. (2009). Security beyond the state: Global security assemblages in international politics. International Political Sociology, 3(1), 1-17.The book provides an in-depth analysis of global security privatization. It analyses global governance in relation to security in private companies. The books put forth theories examining state authorities and the private e-commerce sectors and how this impacts global security. The book content is very current and politically inclined. The information can be relied on as credible and useful.Adey, P. (2009). Facing airport security: affect, biopolitics, and the preemptive securitization of the mobile body. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 27(2), 274-295.The book preemptively narrates the openings that airports provide to global security or insecurity. The book cross examines why airports are i nsecurity targets. The book also provides a peek into the future of airport security on several dimensions. The book is current and very useful in providing credible discourse in upgrading airport security mechanisms.Elias, B. (2009). Airport and aviation security: US policy and strategy in the age of global terrorism. CRC Press.The books explore the challenges that current airport security strategies are facing. The measures put forth by security protocols and why they do not effectively counter insecurity. There is wide coverage of the imbalance between air commerce whenever global security measures are enforced. The authors perspective is absolutely convincing as they relate with the most recent al-Qaida attacks. More than this, the book is recently published and has been referenced a lot meaning it is credible and the information reliable.Frederickson, H. G., LaPorte, T. R. (2002). Airport security, high reliability, and the problem of rationality. Public Administration Review, 62(s1), 33-43.The article appeals to the aspects of the reliability of airport security operations. The author explores a myriad of efforts to ensure enforced airport security standards to bear fruit in global security. The article further provides an overview of the information needed to implement the high standards of security. The author being a public administrator provides the administrative view where the airline sector is to charge for the responsibility of global security. The public administration theories are more accurate and relevant in the application.Heng, Y. K., McDonagh, K. (2009). Risk, Global Governance and Security: The Other War on Terror. Routledge. The book provides a multilateral view of global security cutting across the militaristic forces, the rhetorical war on terror and emerging issues in global security. With the incessant explosion of terrorism, the book covers strategic ways to end the insecurity. The book exhaustively discusses anti-terror initiativ es and the modes of implementation exploring their effectiveness. The information as presented is credible. The author has vast knowledge in international relations from his long lecturing career in many universities. The authors reference to theories of risk and key concepts adds credibility that makes the knowledge very useful. Kibaroğlu, M., Kibaroğlu, A., Halman, T. S. (2009). Global security watch--Turkey: A reference handbook. Westport, Conn: Praeger Security International. The book examines Turkeys reaction to foreign policies and decisions. It also explains how the private sector has boosted the state of global airline safety. The book provides a conceptual framework for the role that airport security plays in global security by demonstrating the state of Turkish airports. Other than been current the information is practically drawn making this credible source. McCarley, J. S., Kramer, A. F., Wickens, C. D., Vidoni, E. D., Boot, W. R. (2004). Visual skills in air port-security screening. Psychological Science, 15(5), 302-306. The journal is based on an experimental check on the tools employed in airport security. The experiment purely is used to reveal how the travels and screening tools can contribute to global insecurity. Moreover, the journal uncovers the need to upgrade airport security screening tools. This information is credible and having been conducted scientifically, it is highly accurate and reliable. Sparke, M. B. (2006). A neoliberal nexus: Economy, security and the biopolitics of citizenship on the border. Political Geography, 25(2), 151-180. The book identifies the ways in which airport security is has failed. It examines the inadequate security designs that airports employ. The role that bodies such as the Transport Security Administration and Homeland security play are discussed. This is a very recent publication, therefore, gives a current view. The author is a diplomat and a keen analysis of security matters. This informat ion is fairly credible and accurate when related to the current state of affairs.Sweet, K. (2008). Aviation and airport security: terrorism and safety concerns. CRC Press. The descriptive analysis of biometrics, predictive analysis and dataveillance in the book scrutinized the role of airport security on state borders. The book relates technology, the airport travels and global security on many levels. The text is also particular in technological techniques through which airport security enhances global security. The content is relatively recent, credible and accurate technologically and other senses.TYLER, S. T. A. C. E. Y. L. (2017). AIRPORT SECURITY: Passenger screening and governance post-9/11. S.l.: ROSEDOG PR. This book narrates the tenets of airlines exploring their operations, economic impacts and political roles. It addresses the challenges faced, global security being a major threat. The book also provides great insight into the age of terrorism and its impact on airports. The author writes on account of their first-hand experience from their experience working in the Turkish embassy. This authors active involvement in business security has enabled her to argue substantially on the subject making credible and reliable arguments.

An Investigation Of The Common Reason Special Education Students Fail Dissertation

An Investigation Of The Common Reason Special Education Students Fail To Graduate From High School - Dissertation Example ACKNOWLEDGMENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iii CHAPTER ONE 1 INTRODUCTION 1 Background 2 Problem Statement 12 Purpose of the Study 15 Research Questions 16 Scope of the Study 16 Limitations and Delimitations 17 Definition of Terms 20 Research Plan 21 CHAPTER TWO 25 LITERATURE REVIEW 25 Introduction 25 Overview 26 Institutional reasons for dropping out 39 School belonging and dropout rates 45 Special education services and dropout rates 48 Exit exams 50 Inclusion: Does it reduce dropout rates? 55 Teachers and inclusion 65 Dropout prevention programs 72 IEP programming 75 Transition programming 77 Programs attending to social and academic elements of student lives: Finn’s participation-identification model of school engagement-belonging 80 School belonging and engagement and special education 92 Case studies of best practice school engagement programs that have improved the retention level of special education students in high school 100 C onclusion 103 CHAPTER THREE 105 METHODOLOGY 105 Introduction 105 Research Questions 106 Design 107 Active Observation 113 Intensive Interview 115 Replication of the Study 117 The Researcher’s Role 118 Data Collection Procedures 118 In-depth Interviews 119 Qualitative Data Analysis 122 The Coding Process 123 Trustworthiness 127 Ethical Considerations 129 APPENDIX A 143 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION High School Dropout Concerns Educators, policy makers and researchers have consistently tied the achievement gap to the student dropout rate (Ladson-Billings, 2006). As a result, educators, parents, employers and policy makers have expressed concerned over the persistent high drop-out rate particularly among high school students (Burris & Welner, 2005). For instance, reports from the US Census Bureau...For instance, reports from the US Census Bureau indicate that over the last 20 years or so, high school rates in the US have steadily declined to such an extent that it reached 90% (Barton , 2006). There has been a corresponding decline in labor force numbers indicating that fewer and fewer under-educated persons are entering the workforce (Lee and Mather, 2008). Tyler and Lofstrom (2009) reviewed US student data and concluded that dropout rate consistently fluctuates between 22 and 25 percent. The Editorial Projects in Education (EPE) Research Center (2010) conducted a national report, which found that approximately 1.3 million youth drop out of high school every year. However, the White House (as cited in America’s Promise Alliance, 2009) reported the number as a slightly lower figure of 1.2 million. A quantitative review of statistics by Sum et al (2009) demonstrates that â€Å"the incidence of institutionalization problems among young high school dropouts was more than 63 times higher than among young four-year college graduates† (p. 9). The need for effective dropout prevention strategies is important because the increasingly significant gap between the student who leaves high school without earning his/her diploma and the high school graduate has increasingly widened since the 1970s with regard to career mobility, unemploy ment rates and wages.