Talent Acquisition Strategies for the 21st Century.

In the past five years, we have gotten a taste of what is going to feel like in a market where there are simply not enough qualified people to fill jobs needed to be filled. The recent downturn has caused organizations to stop many of the programs that were starting to show promise in the field of Human Capital Management, particularly on the recruitment side of the house. In these testing times, one needs to have proper strategy in place to be successful in any venture.In business you cannot do everything by yourself. You need capable and highly accomplished people to assist you in achieving the goals that you have set for your organization. Today, we are in the era of ‘War of Talent'. Wherein it is becoming more and more hard to get right kind of talent and keep hold of them. Many organizations are trailing to competitors because they are not able to hire â€Å"right type of people† and retain them. â€Å"What is the difference between ‘Recruiting' and ‘St rategy Talent Acquisition'? Recruitment is nothing more than filling the vacant positions, whereas Strategic Talent Acquisition is a long term process. It is not only concerned with filling the vacant positions today, but also using the prospective candidate data for filling similar positions in future. Strategic Talent Acquisition allows an organization have a pool of competitive talent that could be used for filling the positions in future. Executive leadership cites the procurement of human capital among their top concerns.The first step to address this reality is the recognition that successful talent acquisition is no longer an annual process, but instead is the process of building long-term strategies. Whether it is board room pr factory floor, a combat is swiftly taking shape. It will unquestionably redefine how organizations do business in the 21st- century market. A prophesy of the warfare came two decades ago, when Mckinsey consulting predicted a progress in the business s etting that could later on become the most serious issue facing HR managers.This ‘Talent war' or skill shortage is threatening the very existence of many corporations. It is believed that around 1/3 of business failures are due to inappropriate hiring decisions and their inability to draw and keep hold of right kind of talent. ‘Star Performers' who don't get enough opportunities for growth and advancement in their current job often change jobs, and the shortage of talent becomes apparent. In this ‘War of Talent', there's a need for long-term, and strategic talent acquisition. Organizations can no longer erely fill the positions as and when any vacancy arises. They must think ahead to deal with the sudden exodus of talent and adapt their strategies to allay the high turnover risk. Traditionally organizations do not consider the recruitment process as one of tactical importance, but in recent years many organizations are facing this harsh reality that they no longer have a wide pool of candidates to choose from. Several changes in the past few years have tipped the balance in support of the highly talented individuals. Internet is one such change.It has brought the whole world into your living room. Candidates can now look for jobs online and send and receive enquiries about prospective positions within hours. Things are Further complicated by ‘Generation Shift'. It is the change in outlook amongst the generations of workforce who'll stay put in the next few decades. Today's young generation of workforce has the outlook and pattern of behaviour that differ noticeably from preceding generations. No longer pleased to waste their whole career with one company, generation Y prefers work-life balance over loyalty.They are very much mobile and do not waver to look for a different position somewhere else if work-life balance is hurt or if they are treated badly. Furthermore, they may merely look to alter the landscape every couple of years, movi ng to different part of the country to experience diverse cities or industries. Disparate to their parents or grandparents, they are ready to change jobs and switch to different company and might even regard as staying with the same company to be an indication of lethargy or lack of objective. Acquiring ‘Star Performers' is a both art and science.The key to success is to be able to attract the ‘Top Performers'. Encouraging ‘Top Performers' to identify other top performers outside your organization is an extremely useful tool. Corporations offer reward to their employees in order to get these names. Money can be an important factor in attracting ‘Top Performers', but it's not the only element. Being able to shape an opportunity and make it look exciting will always attract top talent. Today more and more organizations are using benefits and perks as incentives to retain the talent.The main idea behind the talent acquisition is to move away from a reactive thin king i. e. to recruit when an individual is either promoted or leave the organization to a more pro-active one involving building of the desired skill sets. An all-inclusive, competency-based procedure will assist in identifying, developing and retaining top performers, and ensuring sufficient knowledge transfer for the subsequent generation of workforce. A focus on retention will not only aid in implementing a succession plan, but will also work to tackle generational differences when recruiting these new generation employees.Supporting employees in maintaining a positive work-life balance will aid in retaining younger employees, and also young mothers who are raising children, or employees who are pursing educational opportunities. An assortment of scheduling options – and eagerness to work with your workforce on those options – makes an organization attractive to work in, and boosts the morale of existing workforce. It is also important that you make your employees clearly aware of their performance. This will not only build confidence of your employees but will also help them to grow.Provide feedback to your employees, and encourage them to improve their performance. Engagement is everything for new generation workforce. Habituated to receiving feedback via a multitude of technologies and social media. The members of this generation wish to see that their contributions and efforts are appreciated and recognized. Companies which demonstrate appreciation for hard work of its employees and which recognize the value of their workers contribution will be the ‘Employer of Choice' and find it easier to retain top talent.Keeping existing workforce happy can be one of the company’s most efficient promotion strategies, as workers praise their employers and extend positive buzz both inside and outside the organization. In the similar fashion, the talk of discontented employees can negatively influence the company’s hiring and retenti on efforts. Poaching is one of the quickest way to get talented people onboard and it is not unethical as well. If I identify a talented person who fits my requirement and is working in another company and if I can lure that talent in to my organization then there's nothing wrong in doing that.In the end, I like to conclude that there is no â€Å"silver bullet† that will guarantee that a company succeeds in its efforts to construct a prolific, and adaptable workforce which is competent enough to meet and exceed the companies goals. Understanding a candidate’s motivational fit is extremely crucial in all recruitment and retention efforts. Studies have proved that motivational fit is the sole major predictor of malingering, turnover and overall employee satisfaction. If people are pleased with their position and pleased with their compensation and other benefits, they will be more prolific and in turn your company will be more productive.

Language Stereotypes in Television Essay

That 70’s Show is an American sitcom that ran from 1998-2006. It takes place in 1976-1980 Wisconsin and centers around a group of highschool kids and ends a couple years after their graduation. In a way, the show proves that no matter what the decade, kids behave the same way and have mostly the same stereotypes. There are many characters who have either ethnic or gender stereotypes pinned to them through their language or how they act. The first example is also the main love interest of the show, Eric and Donna. In the later seasons, when the main relationship is more serious, Eric believes that Donna’s responsibilities when married is to stay at home and take care of the children while he worked. However, Donna, being a feminist, wanted nothing to do with staying home all the time. She wanted to explore the world and work. Another character who exemplifies a female stereotype is Jackie. She is a year younger than everyone else and her language can best be described as often high-pitched and definitely the most girly on the show. She loves pink unicorns and everything stereotypically girly. Many of the male characters can often find her â€Å"annoying† because of her overbearing girliness. The most masculine character is Hyde, and through his actions and words he expresses many male stereotypes. He is very direct with what he says and never beats around the bush. If he has a problem with something he will not hesitate to speak up and does seem to be commanding of the other characters, seeming both stronger and smarter than the other men. He uses the word â€Å"man† often, something that seems to be stereotypical of a guy. He will often use silence to his advantage when necessary. Another character is Fez(basically an acronym for â€Å"Foreign Exchange Student†), a dark colored boy whose country of origin is unknown. Being foreign, his language is poor at best since he doesn’t understand certain things that are acceptable in this late 1970’s teenage American culture, often exploited for laughs. It works because it is typical for someone learning a foreign language that differs from their native language to not make the connection between certain acceptable usages of words. Kelso is the stereotypical idiot who you can’t help but to love. He uses words such as â€Å"man† and â€Å"dude,† like many other masculine characters typically do. Words ending in â€Å"ing† are shortened to â€Å"in,† instead of saying â€Å"running,† Kelso will say â€Å"runnin. † Finally, there is Red and Kitty. Kitty speaks with a loving high pitch and is the polar opposite to Red’s stern low voice. These are both stereotypical characters, the father believes he is supposed to be the main provider and the punisher of the children, while the mother should be taking care of the children and comforting them. In the end, there are many stereotypes in television shows and movies. Some are harder to find than others, but if you look enough, they can be very easy to spot.

Leading Organization Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Leading Organization Change - Essay Example Macro level (big scale - organizational level causes) Demand for Little-bit's product has been strong, however, quality decrease because of organizational culture. Little-bit's reputation is crumbling because of its managers' negative public statements. Fairly flat structure of Little-bit. Micro level (small scale - group/individual level causes) Members of the organization has their own agenda, the whole organization is not working for the company's vision and objectives. The leaders also divided, they decide individually. Too many members of the management, the functions and responsibilities overlap. 3. Identify which of the four systems are affected - e.g. Interpersonal, Techno-structural, Human processes, Strategic. Note: Using Text Book The most affected by change is the strategic system, because change is simply unavoidable in the business world. The advent of globalization and information technology taught organizations well that change is necessary. To become stagnant is to deprive the organization of its chances to survive in a harsh, unpredictable and rapidly changing business environment. 4. Identify which organizational metaphors (machines or political or organisms or flux and transformation ) are generally applied by members of the organization Note: Using concept stated in S_Reading 4.6 The members of Little-bit are applying the organizational metaphors such as organisms (it is important to maximize to fit between individual, team and organizational needs), cultures and political system (the company applies autocracy and there are coalitions between individuals that is more important than work teams). 5. Identify which new metaphors (machines or political or organisms or flux and...For example, if you selected a theoretical approach that indicated that managers are capable of shaping their environment, then you would need to select interventions and other factors that are consistent with this approach. The most affected by change is the strategic system, because change is simply unavoidable in the business world. The advent of globalization and information technology taught organizations well that change is necessary. To become stagnant is to deprive the organization of its chances to survive in a harsh, unpredictable and rapidly changing business environment. The members of Little-bit are applying the organizational metaphors such as organisms (it is important to maximize to fit between individual, team and organizational needs), cultures and political system (the company applies autocracy and there are coalitions between individuals that is more important than work teams). Little-bit should apply the concept of "organizations as machines" because in this metaphor change must be driven and resistance can be managed. The company's objectives can be set at the beginning of the process and can give the direction. 7. Identify which meta-model of change is most appropriate.

1940-1970 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

1940-1970 - Essay Example rk to the use of montages, Double Life is a treat to a earner like me since, it provides rich literature in how cinematography in the 1940s used to be. From on stage scenes to hall room and bedroom scenes, every frame has the lighting and set up of a plush lifestyle and promises of thrill and adventure in an affluent set-up (Bordwell, Staiger & Thompson, 2003, p.54). One of the main attractions of the move was the lead actor Ronal Colman himself, whose suave and gentlemanly looks and smart dialogues give everyone an assurance of quality. In every frame, in the role of his mistress actress Shelley does a remarkable job as the supporting cast (Cagle, 2012, p.422). By watching the performance of these artists, onlookers get the feeling that acting is not just a profession for such stars. On the contrary, it is like a religion practiced with perfection by these lead artists. The story takes us through the psychological battle of a person who has been asked to play Othello. The uniqueness of the story itself is the second best attraction to me about this film. This actor finds it initially difficult to emote jealousy that is the lethal factor in Othello’s character. While he finally achieves it with success through the help provided by the supporting cast and his mistress, he slowly finds the traits of Othello growing into his sub-conscious and overtaking his normal life, wherein he is now unable to control the jealousy and has repeated experiences of Othello’s character even amidst normal parties and day to day living. The gruesome result of this shift of imaginary character in his real self is that he ends up killing his mistress, taking her to be the real life version of Desdemona, the heroine in Shakespeare’s play Othello, whom Othello kills. All through the scenes, the direct focus on Ronald, the repetition of standard montages like smoking cigarettes and pipes, the mistresses demand and the theater rehearsals and props, keeps the audience aligned to the

Effects of economic and political climates on current higher education Essay

Effects of economic and political climates on current higher education - Essay Example Various factors of politics, economy and regulatory developments do have an impact on institutions of higher learning. Most issues are above the control of the national higher education community and the individual institutions. In response to these changes, institution budgeters must respond accordingly to the anticipatory changes in political and economic conditions that may have an effect on the amount of revenue that is available. In addition, of equal importance, they must put into consideration the pressures that are being exerted by the external forces on the institution of higher learning before its survival is put in jeopardy. Economic climate Institutions dealing with higher education are stable partly due to the mission and role that they have in the society and the way they are operated their activities and management. Despite this, the current financial issues in various ways are affecting the institutions of higher learning (Solt 2008, pp.48–60). Economic changes have significantly affected the higher institutions of learning since the beginning of 1990’s. In respect to this, changes seen in the national government support for higher education have been accompanying the turmoil of the economy. Today, the institutions of higher learning are no longer enjoying the high ranking that they used to on the societal agendas, local, state and national talks. Resources that were previously directed to higher education are captured by other sectors of the government.

Marketing Proposal for Daimler Chrysler Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marketing Proposal for Daimler Chrysler - Essay Example Based on Daimler Chrysler dataset it is been found out that there was a declined car market trend from 1990 to 2004. In 1990 there was a value of 23.9 percent while in 2004 there was only 18.3 percent. This gives a wake-up call to the companies under Daimler Chrysler. They checked the importance of styling and prestigious promotion to the market. And they find a way on how to attract yuppies crowds. They made a new exciting designed car without looking the shortage of capital. The objective & goal of this research is to determine there is a significant difference between the Consider Buying Dodge Viper and selected variables such as: Faddish; Carefree; Paranoid; Conscientious; Irresponsible; Positive outlook; Pro-active; Responsible parenting; and Patriot/ Loyalty, with Daimler Chrysler Informational Data. Daimler Chrysler dataset has a declined car market trend from 1990 to 2004. In 1990 there was the value of 23.9 percent while in 2004 there was only 18.3 percent. This gives a wake-up call to the companies under Daimler Chrysler. They checked the importance of styling and prestigious promotion to the market. And they find a way on how to attract yuppies crowds. They made a new exciting designed car without looking the shortage of capital. There were 400 rows and 31 columns in the informational data. The researcher made clusters based on his common sense. These clusters were categories based on Faddish; Carefree; Paranoid; Conscientious; Irresponsible; Positive outlook; Pro-active; Responsible parenting; and Patriot/ Loyalty. Sample Size: Clustering the dataset through commons sense, then after clustering the researcher calculated the mean of every cluster, the results will be used in multiple regression for determination of the predictor's elasticity. This section presents the analysis of the data on the study to find out if there a significant difference between the Consider Buying Dodge Viper and selected variables.

I will post it down 13 question to be answerd in 5 pages Essay

I will post it down 13 question to be answerd in 5 pages - Essay Example These views represent a mixed bag just as advocated for by Marshall and Smith. As such, values differ in range and manner depending on the user and the needs (Marron 94). 2. Likewise, how are wages and profits determined in your economic theory? By subsistence level like Malthus and are they mutually exclusive as they are for Ricardo? Or by social/historical determinants like Marx or by supply and demand in the market, like NC theorists? The market forces of demand and supply are what determine wages and profits in an economic theory. These forces determine the costs of operations within the industry, thereby setting costs such as the cost of living, the costs of operations in the company, as well as determine the level of efficiency and effectiveness in the company. As such, a company sets the wages according to market levels, since very low wages will dismiss good and experienced workers, whilst on the other hand, very high wages will drain the company’s profits. The main goal under these conditions is to keep the level of costs at controllable measures in order to maintain high profits. 3. What is your theory of human behavior? i.e., do you see humans as profit-maximizing individualists, or as community-minded workers who get great satisfaction from their work (like Veblen’s idea of â€Å"workmanship†) or something else? Human beings are profit-maximizing individualists who work hard to make them rich and comfortable. This is because most people think about satisfying their own needs and desires first before they look out for the welfare of others and of the community. For instance, an individual will go to school study hard to get the best grades, and then seek employment in the biggest corporation within his or her neighborhood. However, the first thing he or she will do with their paycheck is to buy a new car, or

Imagine you are an OD Consultant and need to investigate the working Essay

Imagine you are an OD Consultant and need to investigate the working climate within a hospital. What diagnostic methods of data collection would you use Explain details giving reasons for your answer - Essay Example Moreover, as an organization development practitioner, one is required to be a little bit more sensitive and keen on how they handle and interact with the different groups of staff in the different departments in the hospital hence a lot of knowledge is required in such a situation. The first step would be to collect information on the current working condition which would be either using questionnaires that would be handed out to the staff and also a number of patients, or sampling where the organization development practitioner would interview a number of the staff and patients too. Using the questionnaires alone might have a number of limitations since the staff and patients are limited to the amount of information they give out, so it would be advisable to use both the questionnaires and interviewing (random sampling). Considerably, after collecting data, analysis will follow, which is a major process that requires a lot of focus so as to avoid missing out on the little but significant details that would act as a barrier to development. In any working hospital, they are various groups of staff; for instance, there are those that work during the day and others throughout the night, there are those in charge of the cleaning/ hygiene and those that conduct medical operations that might involve prescribing medication etc. Reflectively, with the different clusters the barriers of development may originate from the top level management or the middle level management and hence it is essential that the OD practitioner be alert and keen to figure out the source of the hospital’s problems. Normally, what should follow after this is feeding back data to the management first and then later on enlighten the staff with the findings; however, this is said to be the hardest part of the whole process since it might involve implementation of new ideas or even changing of the already existing ones. All the same, before

Insider Trading Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Insider Trading - Research Paper Example In Martha Stewart case, Martha avoided a loss of $ 46000 by selling her shares which is duly covered by the fine she was subjected to; Moreover, she lost a great deal of money as a tradeoff for her legal troubles. Furthermore, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia’s stock price fell and Martha was banned to serve as an officer or director of a public company for five years. Peter Bacanovic, on the other hand, was barred from working in securities industry along with a $ 75000 fine. These penalties are enough to set an example for the public. SEC can and should take measures to prevent such incidences before their occurrence. They can do so by eliminating the opportunity to insider trading because no matter what the penalty, such violations are very appealing to people as their upside is extremely lucrative. â€Å"Research shows that the certainty of punishment, rather than its severity, as well as how particular punishments are perceived, that most greatly impacts whether criminal sanctions deliver a potent â€Å"message† to would-be lawbreakers† (Berman, 18). Control person provision suggests certain internal controls that would raise the bonding cost. By incurring bonding costs, a firm’s cost of capital will be reduced. Insider trading leaves behind agency cost and since investors cannot detect insider trading within a firm, they adopt a discounting method to value the firm’s stock that leads to a raise in the firm’s cost of capital. So in essence, incurring bonding cost would reduce the cost of capital which would send a strong signal to the investors that the firm has taken extraordinary measures to control insider trading. So in short SEC should impose the control person provision which would encourage the application of internal

Charachter Analysis Atticus Finch Essay Example for Free

Charachter Analysis Atticus Finch Essay In â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird† by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch is a man who fights for what he believes in. He is very strong willed and always the one who will stand up for what is right, not what the most popular thing is to do. He also is often reffered to as the wisest man in his town. Atticus believes in equality among people. In his mind all people are equal and deserve equal treatment no matter what race they are. Atticus tells Jem and Scout, his two children, not to judge people until you walk in their shoes. Atticus is also a defense lawyer for his county of Maycomb. Durring his case with Tom Robinson, the black that was accused of raping a white girl, Atticus tries to change the injustices and racism in his small hometown. Atticus is a older male, about 50 years old, with a darker hair color that is turning gray as he ages. He wears glasses because his left eye is nearly blind. He said â€Å"Left eyes are the tribal curse of the Finches. He is also rather tall. His two children were once ashamed of him, because he didn’t fish or hunt, like the other childrens fathers, due to his age. But as they grew, they began appreciating him not for the activities he did on the weekend, but his morals and beliefs. Atticus is one of the most loyal, humane, and consistent with his views and beliefs than any other character in the novel. Miss Maudie states, Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets. His intelligence, calm wisdom, courage, humility, lack of prejudice, and strong sense of justice, causes him to be respected by everyone, including the very poor and black people. Although he is looked down on and mocked by many characters in the novel for his kindness towards the â€Å"Negros†, the people of Maycomb still respect him and keep re-electing him to be their representative in the State Legislator. Durring the trial with Tom Robinson, Atticus Finch defendes him to the best of his ability despite significant difficulties from the community. Since it was back in the time of civil unrest and racial segregation. This had a huge impact on the community, as Atticus Finch was a highly respected attorney in the white community, who ended up drawing the most adoration and respect from the entire black community for his efforts to stand up for the truth regardless of race. Atticus is a strong willed man who stands for what he belives in. His thoughts do not change because of a persons skin color. He is kind and understanding and helpful to his children as well as anyone else who may seek for help. He is a well respected man in Maycomb, because he stands for what he believes, not the popular beliefs.

An Overview Of A Constructions Productivity Construction Essay

An Overview Of A Constructions Productivity Construction Essay Recently, construction productivity is on a long-term slide and it is recognized as industry challenge. System, people, materials, information and energy must flow effectively and efficiently to produce its objective at high productivity to complete construction at lowest possible cost with possible shortest timeframe (Picard, 2005). Productivity is critically important in construction industry. Many researchers have expressed their concern over productivity in construction industry. Defining productivity is not a simple task to everybody. Different people will give different definition and understanding. Most of them agreed that marketable output was essentially the main measure used. Increased productivity was a leading concern to all Committee stakeholders such as users, contractors, and construction labor unions and led by the owner. The construction users emphasized the need of collecting data directly relevant to productivity improvement. The Committee was concluded that the front-line construction foreman/supervisor would be a reliable source of information. These informants would be asked to provide their judgment of the greatest impediments to a productive construction project (Tucker, 2003). Definition of productivity Within these several decades, many researchers have defined the productivity term in their studies in a number of ways. The term productivity has different meanings to different people. Many individuals automatically think only of labor unions when the term productivity is mentioned. Others associate capital expenditures with the term. Each of these interpretations is only partly correct (Adrian, 1993). Many researchers have attempted to define precisely the meaning of productivity and below are some of it that referred from their studies: Oglesby et al. (1989), presented that productivity can be defined as in-place value divided by inputs . Some researchers have defined it as works-hours divided by the equivalent quantity of work. In construction, productivity normally can be understood as work quantity divided by man-hours (or work-hours) consumed to accomplish the work. Productivity = Work Quantity Man-hours According to Dolman, Parham, Zheng, (2007), productivity is a measure in order to know how much output is produced per unit of input. Diewert Lawrence, (2006) presented that productivity can be defined as the level of economic output per unit of input and also per worker. Productivity is important to the wealth and well-being of a nation and give efforts to improve productivity occur at all levels of society. According to Hwang and Liu, (2005), productivity is an effective index that can indicate output of construction work quantity versus the input of resources. Productivity of a crew is directly impacts the cost and time needed to complete a task. By analyzing and forecasting productivity, project manager can be more effective to control and predict project time and cost throughout execution up to completion. Thomas and Mathew, (1986) presented that no standardized productivity definition had been established in the construction industry. It is difficult to define a standard productivity measure because companies use their own systems which are not standardized. Association simply illustrates the productivity between an output and an input. The form has been widely used and existing in literature over the years in construction industry is; Productivity = Input/Output Prokopenko, (1987), defined the productivity as effective and efficient utilization of all resources, labor, plant and materials. According to Jugdev, et al.,(2001), productivity is a ratio between inputs and outputs. In calculating the productivity, it is important to specify the inputs and outputs that to be measured because there are many inputs such as labors, materials, equipments, tools, capital and design in construction system. Uusi-Rauva and Hannula, (1996), presented that productivity can be defined as internal efficiency of the organization or other object to be measured. A more precise definition of productivity is the following: output divide by the input that is used to generate output. Output is consists of products or services and input is consists of materials, labor, capital, energy, etc. Productivity is not only affected by the quantities of inputs and outputs but also the qualities of inputs and outputs. According to Halligan, et al., (1994), there are many ways to define productivity. In construction, it is usually taken to mean labor productivity which is units of work placed or produced per man-hour. Teicholz, (2004), stated that productivity in construction industry was measured by constant contract dollars of new construction work per hourly work hour The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS, 2009) of the U.S. Department of Labor was defines productivity into two type which are labor productivity and multifactor productivity. Labor productivity can be measures as output per hour of labor and it is used in over 40 industries including construction. Productivity can be calculated by dividing the quantity of work completed (Quantity) by number of labor hours used to complete the work (Man Hours). A productivity value represents performance of an operation with respect to time and cost, where activity duration and activity cost is directly affected by productivity. Duration (Hours) = Quantity of Works (Quantity / Man Hours) = Quantity of Works Productivity The formula above indicates how critical the reliability of the productivity factors in estimation time. Measurement of productivity There is controversy surrounding productivity that rooted in the differences in data collection. It is due to incorrect in assuming productivity measured uniformly and that all published productivity values have the same basis (Whiteside, 2006) Overall conception of productivity is difficult to express or to measure. It is sometimes expressed either in terms of output from labor or from services or from capital invested. These parts of expressions often do not give an accurate picture of the overall position. Although, there are measurements of some or all of the inputs and outputs of the industry but they still failed to combine these measurements into any satisfactory measure of efficiency. In fact, the ratio is easy to compute if the unit uses a single input to produce a single output (Choy, 2008). According to Whiteside, (2006), production is average direct labor hours to install a unit material. He also stressed that in perfect world, perfect productivity (1.0) will be accomplished in 40-hour work week, with everyone taking all of their holidays and vacation days planned. It is regarding to all the engineering drawings must be 100% complete, there would be no delays of any kind, everyone would work safely, everything would fit perfectly at the first time, the weather would be 70 degrees Fahrenheit and there would be no litigation at the end of the project. But, we do not live in perfect world and true productivity is often poorly understood. The first challenge in understanding productivity is lacking of common terms. The definition of hours identified as direct labor should be consistent. Second is too much focus in determining productivity which is incorrectly placed on the individual worker. Productivity is something to do with the worker because many workers work at the s ame rates. The main thing should be focused in productivity measurement is proper or complete planning. It is because like-out-sequence work will contribute to lower productivity due to the rework hours required to complete the original task. The final challenge is how to make productivity comparison when the data used in productivity studies before have the same basis. Productivity is not based on wage rates or cost data alone and it is improper to combine wage rate, hours and material quantities to make productivity comparison. According to Hwang and Liu, (2009), construction productivity studies have centered on the identification of factors that influence productivity and quantification of the impact of such factor on productivity. As a result, there were various qualitative and quantitative factors have been discovered and various methods for productivity have been presented. Majority of those methods are based on relationships between productivity and factors. Based on Thomas and Yiakoumis (1987), they stated that theory underlying the factor model is the work of crew is affected by a number of factors. If the cumulative effect of these disturbances can be mathematically represented, then the expected actual productivity can be estimate. But, it is not always feasible to quantify the impact of various factors and represent the relationships mathematically. Another limitation is the value of many related factors in future is not available and thus, they have to be estimated. In fact, some of the factors can be correlated with others which the correlation may be higher or lower under different situations. There is several research efforts have been devoted to developing models. The models that being used in the construction industry are such as below: According to Sonmez and Rowings, (1998); Portas and AbouRizk, (1997), recommended Neutral Network (NN) techniques which have been used to develop method of productivity prediction. Everett and Farghal, (1994), recommended learning curves that for various activities. Abdelhamid and Everett, (1999), have applied time series analysis to evaluate hoisting performance comparing the CRANIUM technology with the conventional technique. According to Brockwell and Davis, (2002), ARMA (autoregressive moving average) models are used to model time-lagged relationship of self-correlated observations within a single series. Cumulative Average and Simple Moving Average that wisely used to model a single time series Exponential Smoothing produce forecasts of weighted value of past observation with exponentially decreasing weights (NIST, 2006). Although there are numbers of publications exist on construction productivity, there is no agreed upon definition of work activities nor a standard productivity measurement system. Most of researchers have concluded that it is difficult to obtain a standard method to measure construction labor productivity because of project complexity and unique characteristics of the construction projects (Oglesby et al. 1989). The uniqueness and non repetitive of operation in construction projects make it is difficult to develop a standard productivity definition and measure (Sweis, 2000). Current measurement of productivity in construction industry Our labor productivity experts specialize in labor productivity analysis and may utilize the following industry-recognized methodologies, where appropriate: Measured Mile Analysis Work Sampling Comparable Work Study General and Specialty Industry Studies (Mechanical Contractors Association of America [MCAA],  Construction Industry Institute [CII], Business Roundtable, etc.) Total Cost Method Modified Total Cost Method Time and Motion Studies   The selection of a particular productivity analysis methodology is depends on the project facts, the nature of the events being analyzed, the nature and extent of available labor data and may vary from project to project. Each of the above-referenced productivity analysis methodologies has inherent its own advantages and disadvantages. Interface Consulting has extensive experience handling construction labor productivity claims and construction claims consultants are skilled at tailoring productivity analysis approach to suit a projects needs and constraints (ICII, 2009). Factors influence productivity in construction According to Tucker, (2003), he presented the most factors that can affect the construction productivity especially on site as below: Design: specifications, drawings, documents have to be improved Field support for timely responses; have architect/engineer on site with field competency Coordinate Design/Review Timely RFIs/RFPs (Request For Informations/Request For Proposals) Construction/Project management competency He also suggested that productivity improvement should be done based on this area: Constructability of the design documents with input of major contractors on schedule quality and realism Coordination among major contractors Pre-project planning Communication and teamwork between owners, design professionals, contractors and labor Improvement of the construction management process. Parisi, (2008) presented that potential factors influence the construction productivity are many, including out-of-sequence work; skilled labor shortages; worker crowding/congested work areas; interference of trades; owner interference; design problems and defects; contractors inadequate management/supervision; failure to properly staff the project; overtime; and acceleration. Lim et al (1995) studied factors affecting productivity in the construction industry in Singapore. Their findings indicated that the most important problems affecting productivity were: difficulty with recruitment of supervisors; difficulty with recruitment of workers; high rate of labour turnover; absenteeism from the work site; and communication problems with foreign workers. Olomolaiye et al (1996) studied factors affecting productivity of craftsmen in Indonesia, with their findings indicating craftsmen in Indonesia spent 75 % of their time working productively. Five specific productivity problems were identified: ie lack of materials; rework; absenteeism; lack of equipment; and tools. Kane et al (cited in Herbsman et al, 1990) classified factors affecting construction productivity into two main groups: technological factors and administrative factors. The technological factors encompass those related mostly to the design of the project; the administrative group factors relate to the management and construction of the project. Technological factors comprise sub-groups such as design factors, material factors and location factors. Administrative factors comprise sub-groups, such as construction methods and procedural factors, equipment factors, labour factors, and social factors. Heizer and Render (1990) classified factors influencing site productivity into 3 groups: labour characteristic factors; project work conditions factors; and nonproductive activities. Olomolaiye et al (1998) stated that factors affecting construction productivity are rarely constant, and may vary from country to country, from project to project, and even within the same project, depending on circumstances. They classified factors influencing construction productivity into 2 categories: external and internal, representing those outside the control of the firm s management, and those originating within the firm.. External factors included the nature of the industry, construction client knowledge of construction procedure, weather, and level of economic development. Internal factors included management, technology, labour, and labour unions. Enshassi et al 2006, Enshassi et al 2007, and Al Haddad 2007 stated that among the problems which the Palestinian construction industry is facing are material supply schedules and project scheduling techniques. Although a number of training courses were conducted to local contractors, these training efforts did not focus enough on the abilities to use project scheduling techniques such as Microsoft project and Primavera. Therefore training effort should also be tailored to improve methods of studying productivity and ways of productivity improvement on construction sites. The important productivity rate in project scheduling The duration of construction project is a key factor to consider before starting a new project which is it can be determine project success of failure. Despite the uncertainty and risk level is very high in construction industry, current construction planning which is more relies on traditional deterministic scheduling method is still not clearly ascertain the level of uncertainty involved in the project. Subsequently, it can prolong a projects duration and cannot be completed within the allocation time of the project (Lee, et al., 2009). Construction projects are subjected to changes which it require constant performance monitoring and follow-up schedule updates. Project manager must take proactive attitude to analyze project data and to predict potential problems and delay in order to make timely decisions and to reduce the negative impact on cost and schedule (Hwang and Liu, 2005). Planning in construction is a complex and iterative process. A plan usually is prepared based on the estimates by the participants actual commitment. Therefore, construction productivity plan plays a significant role in the process. Based on Parisi, (2008), in estimating labor, there are several key factors that should be considered: Productivity of its field forces Union labor agreements and requirements Past experience with the owner, designer, and construction manager Labor availability Specialty trades Therefore, if the actual construction work deviates from the anticipated plan, once the contract is signed and the project is underway, several situations may result as below: The job may take more time because the progress is not being made at the rate projected in the original baseline schedule and thus, project completion must be extended. (In such cases, acceleration of the remaining activities may be implemented to recover time) More hours of labor may be required to install the work items because materials are not being installed by the contractors workforce at the productivity rates (the anticipated quantities of material to be installed per hour) same as estimated in the original bid. An overrun of both time and labor may occur. In order to succeed, the companies must make a phase affirmative action into the total management of productivity through a formalized, documented process such as depicted in Figure 2.0. The process should be started with historical productivity analysis. The knowledge that gained from this processes should then be utilized to forecast and manage future productivity. The supervisor that involved in this process must implement and monitor the predetermined productivity values. Only then the companies can be more competitive and successful in todays global market Figure 2.0: A model to manage construction productivity Construction industry seemed as low sector when there is low technology and low skilled employments occur. According to Saad, (2002), in order to raise level of construction productivity, it is recommended that the projects should have the following features: High degree of standardization Design is preferred to use pre-fabricated units or pre-assemble forming system Building system should be easy and simple to construct and repetitive Well managed construction methods with details planning and specification High level of mechanized methods and skilled workers Roof works Roof is a basic human need is for shelter, which for most of us consists of a few walls and a roof over our heads. Roofs come in many shapes and sizes. One of the main reasons for having a roof is to keep out rainwater and snow. The selection of roof is based on the following characteristics: Stability Protection from the sun, weather, wind and rain Durablity Heat resistance Brightness and ventilation Beauty Construction of roof must be strong and able to support the load and stressed that going to happen. The load that is attributable to roof, firstly is dead load which is the weight of the roof trusses, roof covering; secondly is live load which is consists of tools, equipment, workers, rain water and lastly is wind load. Wind is a major stress to the roof which is difficult to forecast accurately. Roof stability is depends on the support such as roof trusses, column, walls, beams and foundation of the building. Design of roof also takes into account the respective functions of the building. Building for residential and office should have a comfortable situation in terms of condition, light, air and dam parts sounds. Industrial buildings and warehouses may require heat insulation on the roof to maintain the same conditioning in buildings. Traffic in the building to allow use of the pillars supporting the roof of the short-range distance. Roof for theater and stadium, must be supported by long span of roof trusses and the support in the middle will distrupt the view and noise and sound effect protection from the audience. Productivity work to be consider in roof works The productivity works to be considered in this study as below: Installation of roof trusses (cold form) Installation of insulation Installation of roof covering (concrete roof tiles and metal decking) No. of workers in group Daily Productivity (m2) METHOD PRODUCTIVITY OF ONE WORKING DAY Handling Half Mechanized Full Mechanized Summary From the literature review of the productivity in construction is important especially to provide accurate duration of task in building project scheduling. Rerefences: Dolman, B., Parham, D., Zheng, S. (2007), Can Australia match US productivity performance?, Retrieved May 7, 2007, from http://www.pc.gov.au/commission/work/productivity/publications/reports.html. Diewert, W. E. and Lawrence, D. (2006), Measuring the contributions of productivity and terms of trade to Australias economic welfare, Retrieved May 7, 2007, from http://www.pc.gov.au/commission/work/productivity/publications/reports.html. Oglesby, C.H., Parker, H.W. and Howell, G.A., (1989), Construction productivity improvements, McGraw Hill, New York Adrian, J.J. (1993), Construction Estimating: An accounting and productivity approach 4th Edition, 1993 Hwang, S. and Liu, L.Y. (2005), Proactive project control using productivity data and time series analysis, Computing in Civil Engineering 2005 Thomas, H.R. and Mathew, C.T., (1986), An analysis of the methods for measuring construction productivity, SD 13, Construction Industry Institute, The University of Texas. Whiteside, J.D., (2006), Construction Productivity, AACE International Transaction, 2006 Picard, (2005), Construction productivity qualifications, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA Prokopenko, J.,(1987), Productivity management, Geneva International Labor Office. Jugdev, K., Thomas, J. and Delisle, C., (2001), Rethinking project management old truths and new insight, International Project Management Journal, 7(1), pp. 36-43 Uusi-Rauva, E. and Hannula, M., (1996), Measurement A tool for productivity Improvement, 9th International Working Seminar on Production Economics, Innsbruck, pp. 13-29 Halligan, D.W., Demsetz, L.A., Brown, J.D. and Pace, C.B., (1994), Action-response model and loss of productivity in construction, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 120 No. 1, March 1994 Teicholz, P., (2004), Labor productivity declines in the construction industry: Causes and remedies, AECbytes Viewpoint #4, April 14 2004. Tucker, W.W., (2003), Construction Productivity Study Summary, Eastern Michigan University, 2003. Choy, C.F., (2008), Productive efficiency of Malaysian construction sector, Built-Environment Department, Faculty of Engineering and Science, University Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia. Lee, H.S., Shin, J.W., Park, M. and Ryu, H.G, (2009), Probabilistic duration estimation model for high-rise structural work, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, December, 2009 Hwang, S. and Liu, L.Y. (2009), Predicting short term productivity I: Contemporaneous time series and forecasting Methodologies, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, December, 2009 Sonmez, R. and Rowing, J.E., (1998), Construction labor productivity modeling with neutral network, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, December, 124(6), 498-504 Portas, J. and AbouRizk, S. (1997), Neutral network model estimating construction productivity, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 123(4), 399-410 Everett, J.G. and Fargahl, S. (1994), Learning curve predictors for construction field operations, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 120(3), 603-614 Abdelhamid, T.S. and Everett, J.G., (1999), Time series analysis for construction productivity experiments, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 125(2), 87-95 NIST, (2006), Engineer statistic handbook Oglesby, C.H., Parker, H.W., and Howell, G.A., (1989), Productivity improvement in construction, McGraw-Hill, New York. Sweis, G.J., (2000), Impact of conversion technology on productivity in masonry construction, PhD dissertation, Northwestern University, Evanston, III. Interface Consulting International, Inc.(ICII), 2009 Parisi, R.F., (2008), When the best-laid plans go astray A primer on labor productivity, Capital Project Management, Inc. Saad, D.A, (2002), Standard labor productivity of reinforced concrete building structures and factor affecting on it, Thesis presented to university of Technology, Iraq FACTORS AFFECTING LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY IN BUILDING PROJECTS IN THE GAZA STRIP Adnan Enshassi1, Sherif Mohamed2, Ziad Abu Mustafa1 and Peter Eduard Mayer3

The Character of Mrs. Mallard in The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin Es

The Character of Mrs. Mallard in The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin In "The story of an Hour," Kate Chopin reveals the complex character, Mrs. Mallard, In a most unusual manner. THe reader is led to believe that her husband has been killed in a railway accident. The other characters in the story are worried about how to break the news to her; they know whe suffers from a heart condition, and they fear for her health. On the surface, the story appears to be about how Mrs. Mallard deals with the news of the death of her husband. On a deeper level, however, the story is about the feeling of intense joy that Mrs. Mallard experiences when she realizes that she is free from the influences of her husband and the consequences of finding out that her new-found freedom is not to be. At First, Mrs. Mallard seems to be genuinely affected by her grief: "She wept ar once, with sudden, wild abandonment....When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. SHe would have no one follow her". At this point in the story, the reader is abl e to look into the mind of Mr...

language :: essays research papers

What is the Language of Thought Hypothesis? LOTH is an empirical thesis about the nature of thought and thinking. According to LOTH, thought and thinking are done in a mental language, i.e. in a symbolic system physically realized in the brain of the relevant organisms. In formulating LOTH, philosophers have in mind primarily the variety of thoughts known as ‘propositional attitudes’. Propositional attitudes are the thoughts described by such sentence forms as ‘S believes that P’, ‘S hopes that P’, ‘S desires that P’, etc., where ‘S’ refers to the subject of the attitude, ‘P’ is any sentence, and ‘that P’ refers to the proposition that is the object of the attitude. If we let ‘A’ stand for such attitude verbs as ‘believe’, ‘desire’, ‘hope’, ‘intend’, ‘think’, etc., then the propositional attitude statements all have the form: S As that P. LOTH can now be formulated more exactly as a hypothesis about the nature of propositional attitudes. It can be characterized as the conjunction of the following three theses (A), (B) and (C): (A) Representational Theory of Mind (RTM): (cf. Field 1978: 37, Fodor 1987: 17) (1) Representational Theory of Thought: For each propositional attitude A, there is a unique and distinct (i.e. dedicated)[1] psychological relation R, and for all propositions P and subjects S, S As that P if and only if there is a mental representation #P# such that (a) S bears R to #P#, and (b) #P# means that P. (2) Representational Theory of Thinking: Mental processes, thinking in particular, consists of causal sequences of tokenings of mental representations. (B) Mental representations, which, as per (A1), constitute the direct "objects" of propositional attitudes, belong to a representational or symbolic system which is such that (cf. Fodor and Pylyshyn 1988:12-3) (1) representations of the system have a combinatorial syntax and semantics: structurally complex (molecular) representations are systematically built up out of structurally simple (atomic) constituents, and the semantic content of a molecular representation is a function of the semantic content of its atomic constituents together with its syntactic/formal structure, and (2) the operations on representations (constituting, as per (A2), the domain of mental processes, thinking) are causally sensitive to the syntactic/formal structure of representations defined by this combinatorial syntax. (C) Functionalist Materialism. Mental representations so characterized are, at some suitable level, functionally characterizable entities that are realized by the physical properties of the subject having

Julius Caesar Essay

He says â€Å"If then that friend demand why Brutes rose against Caesar, this is my answer: Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more. † (Ill. Ii. 2022). Brutes here says that he did not kill Caesar because he did not like him, but he put Rome before Caesar in importance and thus killed Caesar for the better of Or me. Another example is â€Å"Had you rather Caesar were living, and die all slaves, than that Ca sear were dead, to live all free men? â€Å"(all. Ii. 2324).Even though nobody was a slave when Caesar w as alive, Brutes takes extra precaution because what he said could have happened so Brutes decided to kill Caesar in order for the of Rome to remain free, which tells readers that Brut s did not kill out of jealousy or for power but to make Rome the best it can be. The last example t hat supports Disraeli quote is â€Å"†¦ As I slew my best lover for the good of Rome, I have the s name dagger for myself, when it shall please my country to need my death. â€Å"(all. Ii. 4547).Based on the quote, Brutes is saying that he will kill himself when he finds it necessary for Rome if he becomes the same as Caesar. Career's rule or power also supports Disraeli quote because whatever Cases does, it is mostly for the good of the common people or the plebeians. Antonym reads his will and says, â€Å"To every Roman Citizen he gives / To every several men, seventies drachmas. â€Å"(ill. Iii. 243244). Caesar would not have done this if he was truly corrupt,Caesar did this â€Å"to sec urea the social welfare of the People. He cares about Rome than anything else and always SST rived to make the citizens, especially the lower or poor class, happier and better people. Another r example in which it again came from the will read by Mark Antonym says, â€Å"Moreover, he hath left o all his walks / His private arbors, and new planted orchards/ On this side Tiber; he hath left them you / And to your heirs forever: common pleasures / To walk abroad and recreate yourselves(all. Iii. 49253). And Mark Antonym ends with, â€Å"Here was a Caesar! When comes such another? † (Ill. Iii. 254). Caesar in the eyes of everybody was a great ruler and was a very honorable man. Going back to the will, Caesar leaves all his luxuries to the common people for them to enjoy y, and that right their is a ruler who truly cared about his people and uses his power for the be term of Rome. Lastly, the conspirators actions in killing Caesar support Disraeli quote.All the conspirators want to kill Caesar for the good of Rome, and Cassias wanted pep arsenal power not because of jealousy, but because everybody thought Cassias very lowly com eared to Caesar as described in this quote, â€Å"†¦ Did the tired Caesar. And this man Is now become a god, and Cassias is A wretched creature, and must blend his body If Caesar carelessly b UT nod on 1511 8). Cassias got no respect in saving Caesar from drowning in t he river, everybody looked dow n upon him like he was worth nothing.All the other co inspiration were friends with Caesar until Cassias convinced them to take sides with him and b reek away from Caesar. When Brutes joined, they decided how to kill Caesar and Cassias prop used to kill Mark Antonym but Brutes being the good man he was said to Cassias it would be too bloody because he wants the citizens to look upon them as honorable people, not murderers an d traitors. After Brute's speech, all the plebeians said â€Å"Live, Brutes! Live, Live! â€Å"(all. Ii. 49).If the c moon people thought Brutes killed Caesar out of pure greed and jealousy, than the people would probably not have spared Brutes but the people are convinced that Brutes kill ‘s Caesar not because of hatred but for the better of Rome. In conclusion, Benjamin Disraeli quote,†Power has only one duty secure the e social welfare of the People. † was supported by Brute's Justification in killing Cases r, Career's rule and will, and t he conspirators. True leaders and truly great men use power to truly do good things rather than taking advantage of it and becoming corrupt. Julius Caesar Essay

Children Education Special Needs Essay

This first chapter introduces you to an area of education that has greatly affected the lives of countless children in positive way. Together we will take a look at the radical change of thought that has taken place, not only in this country, but also in other parts of the world. This, in turn, has influenced our understanding of how we identify children who require special needs. Here you will see the unfolding scenario that greatly affects all of us as we are being introduced to various groups who are directly or indirectly associated with these children. They include parents, educators, legislators, and even our leaders. But in the very central spotlight are the children who are exceptional or who need special services. As you become acquainted with new terminology, keep your focus on the major trends outlined, especially as these are interwoven into later chapters, as they highlight issues related to groups of children with specific needs or exceptionalities. Focusing Questions 1. How have perspectives on treating individuals with special needs changed over time? 2. What are the major forces that affect individuals with special needs development? 3. How have families been instrumental in obtaining services for individuals with special needs or exceptional children? 4. What trends show that individuals with special needs or exceptional individuals are becoming more integrated into society? Chapter Outline 1. Who are the individuals with special needs or exceptional children? 2. Characteristics of those with special needs or Exceptional Children 3. Identifying students with special needs 4. Methods of educational provisions 5. Instructional strategies 6. Changing perspectives on special needs children or exceptional children 7. Environmental influences on special needs children or exceptional individuals 8. Families of special needs children or exceptional children 9. The special needs children and the school 10. The special needs children in the society 11. Issues Related To The Special Needs Children 12. Inclusive Education in Malaysia: Country Report 1. Who Are the Exceptional Children or Children with Special Need 2. Who Are the Exceptional Children or Children with Special Need Special education is the education of students with special needs or exceptional children in a way that addresses the students’ individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials, accessible settings, and other interventions designed to help learners with special needs achieve a higher level of personal self-sufficiency and success in school and community. Some of the common special needs of these children include: challenges with learning, communication challenges, emotional and behavioral disorders, physical disabilities, and developmental disorders. Special needs students benefit from additional educational services such as different approaches to teaching, use of technology, a specifically adapted teaching area, or resource room. We define a child with special needs or exceptional child as a child who differs from the average or normal child in 1) mental characteristics, 2) sensory abilities,  3) communication abilities, 4) behavior and emotional development, 4) children with multiple and severe handicapping conditions, or 5) physical characteristics. These differences must occur to such an extent that in order to develop his or her unique capabilities, the child requires a modification of school practices, or special educational services. Perhaps the definition given is quite general. You might be asking: what is meant by average or normal? What is special education? How do we decide whether the child requires special education services or not? 2. CHARACTERISTICS OF SPECIAL NEEDS OR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN 2. CHARACTERISTICS OF SPECIAL NEEDS OR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN Children are considered educationally exceptional only when it is necessary to alter the educational program. As an example, a child is considered exceptional if he or she is unable to read or to master learning in the traditional way; or a child becomes bored by what is being taught in the classroom because he or she is far ahead of others. The term exceptional child can mean different things in education, in psychology, or in other disciplines. In education we usually group children of similar characteristics for instructional purposes. Some typical groupings are as follow: 1. Intellectual differences: This includes children who have high intellectual abilities as well as those who are slow to learner 2. Sensory differences: This includes children with auditory or visual impairments or disabilities 3. Communication differences: This includes children with learning disabilities, or speech and language disabilities 4. Behavior differences: This includes children who are emotionally disturbed or socially maladjusted. 5. Children with multiple and severe handicapping conditions: This includes children with combinations of impairments (for example – cerebral palsy and mental retardation; deafness and blindness) 6. Physical differences. This includes children with non-sensory disabilities that impede mobility and physical vitality When discussing a child as learner, we need to look at the complete portrait of the child itself, including the social and family context in which the child lives. These are the complex and unique forces which influence the child individuality. Once we recognize this, it is easier to choose the most appropriate instructional strategies and the most suitable learning environment. 3. IDENTIFYING STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS 3. IDENTIFYING STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS Some children are easily identified as candidates for special needs from their medical history – diagnosed with a genetic condition that is associated with mental retardation, brain damage, developmental disorder, visual or hearing disabilities, or other disabilities. Less obvious identification are students with learning difficulties. Two primary methods have been used for identifying them: i. discrepancy model – depends on the teacher noticing that the students’ achievements are noticeably below what is expected, and ii. response to intervention model – which advocates to earlier intervention. In the discrepancy model, a student receives special educational services for a specific learning difficulty (SLD) if the child has at least normal intelligence, and his academic achievement is below what is expected of with his or her intelligent quotient (IQ).. The discrepancy model recently has been criticized among researchers because diagnosing SLDs on the basis of the discrepancy between achievement and IQ does not predict the effectiveness of treatment. Low academic achievers who also have low IQ appear to benefit from treatment just as much as low academic achievers who have normal or high intelligence. Therefore an alternative approach has been identified. This approach i. identifies children who are having difficulties in school in their first or second year after starting school. ii. provides problematic children with assistance such as participating in a reading remediation program. iii. focuses on responses of these children on the intervention provided, then determines whether they are designated as having a learning disability. iv. ensures that those few who still have trouble may then receive designation and further assistance. Many experts believe that i. early remediation can greatly reduce the number of children meeting diagnostic criteria for learning disabilities. ii. the focus on learning disabilities and the provision of accommodations in school fails to acknowledge that people have a range of strengths and weaknesses and iii.most parents and teachers place undue emphasis on academics In helping these children, their individual needs should be given a priority. Some of the critical issues need to be taken into considerations are: i. Services for these children should be customized to address each individual student’s unique needs. ii. Special educators should provide a continuum of services, in which students with special needs receive services in varying degrees based on their individual needs iii. Programs need to be individualized so that they address the unique combination of needs in a given student iv.Educational professionals need to use Individualized Education Programs (IEP) when referring to a student’s need v. They are being assessed for educational purposes i. e. to determine their specific strengths and weaknesses vi. All placement, resources, and goals are determined on the basis of the student’s needs vii. Should plan for accommodations and modifications to the regular program which include changes in curriculum, supplementary aides or equipment, and the provision of specialized physical adaptations that allow students to participate in the educational environment to the fullest extent possible. 4. METHODS OF EDUCATIONAL PROVISION 4. METHODS OF EDUCATIONAL PROVISION This can be broadly grouped into four categories, (using North American terminology): i. Inclusion: Students with special educational needs spend all, or at least more than half, of the school day with students who do not have special educational needs. Since inclusion can require substantial modification of the general curriculum, most schools use it only for selected students with mild to moderate special needs. Specialized services may be provided inside or outside the regular classroom, depending on the type of service. Students may occasionally leave the regular classroom to attend smaller, more intensive instructional sessions in a resource room, or to receive other related services that might require specialized equipment or might be disruptive to the rest of the class, such as speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, or might require greater privacy, such as counseling sessions with a social worker. ii. Mainstreaming: The practice of educating students with special needs in classes with non-disabled students during specific time periods based on their skills.  iii. Segregation: The practice of educating students in a separate classroom or special school. Some of the typical features are: * students with special needs spend no time in classes with non-disabled students * students may attend the same school where regular classes are provided, but spend all instructional time exclusively in a separate classroom for students with special needs * if their special class is located in an ordinary school, they may be provided opportunities for social integration outside the classroom, e.g. , by eating meals with non-disabled students iv. Exclusion: A student who does not receive instruction in any school is thus excluded from school. Exclusion may be described as * Those children with special needs which have been excluded from school, and such exclusion may still occur where there is no legal mandate for special education services, such as in developing and under developed countries * Children who are sick and need to be hospitalized; housebound children, or those detained by the criminal justice system. These children may receive one-on-one instruction or group instruction in hospital, at home, or the place where they are being detained. However, students who have been suspended or expelled from schools are not considered excluded in this sense. 5. INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES 5. INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES Different instructional techniques are used for some students with special educational needs. Instructional strategies are classified as being either accommodations or modifications. An accommodation is a reasonable adjustment to teaching practices so that the student learns the same material, but in a format that is accessible to the student. Accommodations may be classified by whether they change the presentation, response, setting, or scheduling. For example, the school may accommodate a student with visual impairments by providing a large print textbook. This is known as a presentation accommodation. Examples of accommodations i. Response accommodation. Typing homework assignments rather than hand-writing them (considered a modification if the subject is learning to write by hand). Or by having someone else write down answers given verbally. ii. Presentation accommodation. Listening to audio books rather than reading printed books. Agencies like Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic and RNIB National Library service in the UK provide a variety of titles on tape and CD. These may be used as substitutes for the text, or as supplements intended to bolster the students’ reading fluency and phonetic skills. Similar options include designating a person to read text to the student, or providing text to speech software. Others include designating a person to take notes during lectures, using a talking calculator rather than one with only a visual display. iii. Setting accommodation. Taking a test in a quieter room. Moving the class to a room that is physically accessible, e. g. , on the first floor of a building or near an elevator; or arranging seating assignments to benefit the student, e. g. , by sitting at the front of the classroom. iv. Scheduling accommodations. Students may be given rest breaks or extended time on tests (may be considered a modification, if speed is a factor in the test). All developed countries permit or require some degree of accommodation for students with special needs, and special provisions are usually made in examinations which take place at the end of formal schooling. A modification changes or adapts the material to make it simpler. Modifications may change what is learned, how difficult the material is, what level of mastery the student is expected to achieve, whether and how the student is assessed, or any another aspect of the curriculum. For example, the school may modify a reading assignment for a student with reading difficulties by substituting a shorter, easier book. A student may receive both accommodations and modifications. Examples of modifications i. Skipping subjects: Students may be taught less information than typical students, skipping over material that the school deems inappropriate for the student’s abilities or less important than other subjects. For example, students whose fine motor skills are weak may be taught to print block letter and not cursive handwriting. ii. Simplified assignments: Students may read the same literature as their peers but have a simpler version, for example Shakespeare with both the original text and a modern paraphrase available. iii. Shorter assignments: Students may do shorter homework assignments or take shorter, more concentrated tests, e. g. 10 math problems instead of 30. iv. Extra aids: If students have deficiencies in working memory, a list of vocabulary words, called a word bank, can be provided during tests, to reduce lack of recall and increase chances of comprehension. Students might use a calculator when other students are not. v. Extended time: Students with lower processing speed may benefit from extended time in assignments and/or tests in order to comprehend questions, recall information, and synthesize knowledge. In addition to how the student is taught the academic curriculum, schools may provide non-academic services to the student. These are intended ultimately to increase the student’s personal and academic abilities. Related services include developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a student with special needs. This includes speech and language pathology, audiology, psychological services, physical therapy, occupational therapy, counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling, orientation and mobility services, medical services as defined by regulations, parent counseling and training, school health services, school social work, assistive technology services, other appropriate developmental or corrective support services, appropriate access to recreation and other appropriate support services. In some countries, most related services are provided by the schools; in others, they are provided by the normal healthcare and social services systems. As an example, students who have autistic spectrum disorder, poor impulse control, or other behavioral challenges may learn self-management techniques, be kept closely on a comfortingly predictable schedule, or given extra cues to signal activities. 6. CHANGING PERSPECTIVES ON SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN 6. CHANGING PERSPECTIVES ON SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN In the nineteenth and twentieth century, medical profession was the first profession that gave significant attention to exceptional children. The attention was on the unique characteristics of the children that helped to diagnose their condition and treatment. They gave very little attention to the environment, the family, the culture and its influences on those children. For example if a child was blind or mental retarded, it was accepted that the problem was entirely within the child. The basic problem was to find ways to help the child adapt to the surrounding world. As programs for exceptional children expanded, it became clear that exceptional child involved a mix of the individual’s characteristics which needed to  take into account the demands of the environment on each individual. With this, the concept of exceptionality moved from a medical model, which implies a physical condition or disease within the patient, to an ecological model which sees the exceptional child in complex interaction with environmental forces. 7. ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ON SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ON SPECIAL NEEDS ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ON SPECIAL NEEDS ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ON SPECIAL NEEDS 7. ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ON SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ON SPECIAL NEEDS ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ON SPECIAL NEEDS. ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ON SPECIAL NEEDS In order to understand exceptional children, we have to understand the environment in which the child exists. The child is at the center of a complex network of forces: the family, the school, and the larger society. As the child develops, the impact of each of these forces changed. For example, the family may be very important in early years, but in later years, school and society become more important. Even though t he influence of parents on the child is undisputable, bur psychologists and educators also believe that children have a powerful influence on their parents. A child who is hyperactive or has difficulty giving attention can create negative reaction among other members of the family. This will increase the child problem. Thus we need to look at both the effects of the family and the personal characteristics on the child. On the other hand, the school environment exerts a significant influence on the developing individual. Social forces and values can also influence exceptional children. The acceptance or non acceptance of the society on the handicapped children can affect the parents to cope with the exceptional child. Thus we can say that family, school, and society leave greater impact on the ability to cope with exceptionality than the individual or the nature of the exceptionality itself. 8. FAMILIES OF SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN 9. FAMILIES OF SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN One of the important elements in the ecological setting of any child is the family. For the exceptional child, the critical role of the family environment is more visible. For normal or able-bodied person, it is difficult to understand what it is like to have a handicapping condition. We can try to understand physical handicap, blindness and deafness through simulation. But still to those who have been handicapped from birth they do not have the visual, auditory and motor memories to help them. In fact it is harder to imagine what it is like to be mentally retarded – i. e. not to understand what is going on around them. Imagine failing at almost every tasks and what that does to an individual. Similarly it is hard to grasp the problems of the gifted of superior ability child, who cannot understand why others cannot see what is so obvious to him or her. Having exceptional children can happen to anyone, regardless of educational background, family status or financial standing. Society at large has begun to appreciate the pain and stress of parents having a child who is handicapped, and to realize the important of external support to maintain their equilibrium under those circumstances. Most parents with a severely handicapped child must cope with at least two major crises. The first is the symbolic death of the child who was to be – the loss of their dreams and hopes. Expectant parents have high hope for the unborn child – for success, for education, and for financial security. The second crisis is more challenging: the problem of providing daily care for their exceptional child. For example, the child who is autistic or cerebral palsied is often difficult to feed, to dress, and to put to bed. The thought that the child is not going to go through normal developmental process weighs heavily on them. 9. THE SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN AND THE SCHOOL 9. THE SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN AND THE SCHOOL School is not only a center for learning but also a social training ground. School provides opportunities for the child to develop skills and knowledge that will allow him to adapt to the society, to respond to adult requirements, to interact with his peers, to form friendships, and to learn how to work cooperatively with others. For exceptional children school becomes particularly important in getting special kinds of assistance to become productive adults. Schools should carry out the responsibilities of providing a free public education for all children. In the past handicapped students have been deprived of the education because of the perception that these children did not fit into the established program. However in recent decades the schools have accepted their role more positively in giving equal education for all. 10. THE SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN IN THE SOCIETY 10. THE SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN IN THE SOCIETY. The most revolutionary changes over the last few decades were the society’s view and acceptance of exceptional individuals as contributing members of society. However, it is helpful to understand the history of special needs children. The concept of giving education to every child to the highest performance possible is relatively new idea. The use of the term exceptional is itself a reflection of radical change in society’s view of those who differ from the norm. There are roughly four stages in the development of social attitudes toward children and adult with handicaps: 1. During the pre-Christian era where handicapped children were neglected or mistreated. 2. During the spread of Christianity, those children were protected and pities. 3. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries where institutions started to be established to provide separate education for exceptional children 4. In the latter part of twentieth century, we see a movement toward accepting people with handicaps and integrating them into society to the fullest extent possible. 11. ISSUES RELATED TO THE SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN 11. ISSUES RELATED TO THE SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN. 1. At-Risk Students At risk students (those with educational needs that are not associated with a disability) are often placed in classes with students who have disabilities. Critics assert that placing at-risk students in the same classes as students with disabilities may impede the educational progress of people with disabilities. Some special education classes have been criticized for a watered-down curriculum. [ 2. Inclusion The practice of inclusion (in mainstream classrooms) has been criticized by advocates and some parents of children with special needs. This is because some of these students require instructional methods that differ from typical classroom methods. Critics assert that it is not possible to deliver effectively two or more very different instructional methods in the same classroom. As a result, the educational provision for these students who depend on different instructional methods in order to learn often fall even further behind their peers. Parents fear that their children would continue to lack behind from the rest of the class and thereby impair the academic achievements of all students. (NOTE: Discussion on Country Report) 3. Eligibility Criteria Some parents, advocates, and students have concerns about the eligibility criteria and their application. In some cases, parents and students protest the students’ placement into special education programs. For example, a student may be placed into the special education programs due to a mental health condition such as obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, anxiety, panic attacks or ADHD, while the student and his parents believe that the condition is adequately managed through medication and outside therapy. In other cases, students whose parents believe they require the additional support of special education services are denied participation in the program based on the eligibility criteria. 4. Severely disabled children It is debated whether it is useful and appropriate to attempt to educate the most severely disabled children, such as children who are in a persistent vegetative state. While many severely disabled children can learn simple tasks, such as pushing a buzzer when they want attention, some children may be incapable of learning. Some parents and advocates say that these children would be better served by substituting improved physical care for any academic program. 13. INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN MALAYSIA: COUNTRY REPORT MINISTRY OF EDUCATION MALAYSIA 14. INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN MALAYSIA: COUNTRY REPORT MINISTRY OF EDUCATION MALAYSIA National Education Philosophy * To reinforce the direction and goals of national education. * It emphasises holistic and integrated education. * To nurture well-balanced students physically, emotionally, spiritually and intellectually Vision: Excellent Schools and a Glorious Nation. Mission: Developing Individual Potential through Quality Education Overview of the system: INCLUSIVE EDUCATION: Welcome all learners regardless of their characteristics or disadvantages and addressing the diverse needs of all learners by reducing barriers within the learning environment. Adopting more holistic definition of inclusive education Inclusive education means that all students in a school, regardless of their differences, are part of the school community and can feel that they belong. The mandate to ensure access, participation and achievement for every student is taken as given. (Department of Education, Tasmania, 2006) Building †¦ a school community where students are not only valued and respected but also involves social connectedness and creates a feeling of belonging among the students (DISABLED + NON DISABLED). Inclusive education in Malaysia is illustrated by the opportunity to gain access (without gender bias) to quality education for all, including ‘At Risk’ children/adults, namely: * Children with special education needs; * Indigenous children (Orang Asli & Penans); * Children in hospitals (Schools in Hospital); * Young convicts and juveniles (IS & HGS); * Undocumented or stateless children; and * Indigenous adults (Adult education classes) Malaysia Embraces Inclusive Education * 2003: Compulsory primary education * 2008: Free education or fully funded schooling (No school fees or examination fees) * Support program: Textbooks-on-loan, boarding facilities, scholarships, allowances, food & nutrition and school health. * Curricula for specific groups: Modified/alternative curriculum for children with special needs, special curriculum for indigenous pupils and special learning modules for indigenous adults * Remedial and enrichment programs to reduce gaps in 3Rs. LEGISLATION ACT 550 – EDUCATION ACT (1996) Chapter 3 – Compulsory Education: Minister to provide primary education for all 29A. (1) The Minister may, by order published in the Gazette, prescribe primary education to be compulsory education. Chapter 8 – Special Education 40. The Minister shall provide special education in special schools established under paragraph 34(1) (b) or in such primary or secondary schools as the Minister deems expedient. Power to prescribe the duration of and curriculum on special education 41. (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), the Minister may by regulations prescribe —. (a) the duration of primary and secondary education suitable to the needs of a pupil in receipt of special education; (b) the curriculum to be used in respect of special education; (c) the categories of pupils requiring special education and the methods appropriate for the education of pupils in each category of special schools; and (d) any other matter which the Minister deems expedient or necessary for the purposes of this Chapter. Below are illustrations of the acts: ACT 685 – PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES ACT PWDs (Persons with disabilities) (2008). 36. (1) The Government and the private healthcare service provider shall make available essential health services to persons with disabilities which shall include the following: a. prevention of further occurrence of disabilities, immunization, nutrition, environmental protection and preservation and genetic counselling; and b. early detection of disabilities and timely intervention to arrest disabilities and treatment for rehabilitation INTERNATIONAL LEGISLATION a. Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNESCO (12th December 1989) b. Jomtein World Conference on Education for All, UNESCO (1990) Article 1: Meeting Basic Learning Needs Every person – child, youth and adult – shall be able to benefit from educational opportunities designed to meet their basic learning needs c. Salamanca Statement 1994: School should accommodate all children regardless of their physical, intellectual, social, emotional, linguistic or other conditions d. Dakar Framework for Action (2000) Article 7(i): Expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children e. Biwako Millennium Framework for Action 2002: Towards an Inclusive, Barrier Free & Right-based Society for Persons with Disabilities f. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2006 TYPES OF CHILDREN WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES 1. Children with Pervasive Development Disorders (PDD), Autism, Asperger Syndrome, Rett Syndrome, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder or PDD-NOS. 2. Children with Specific Developmental Disorders – Speech & Language, Cognitive Skills, Motor Function and mixed specific developmental disorders. 3. Children with chromosomal disorder : (Angelman/Prader Willi Syndrome, Down Syndrome , Klinefelter Syndrome†¦) 4. Children with other Developmental Disorders (Apert Syndrome, Goldenhar, Syndrome, Noonan Syndrome†¦) 5. Children with Specific Learning Difficulties – Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, etc. 6. Children with Emotional Behavioural Difficulties – ADD, ADHD, CD, ODD, etc. 7. Children with multiple disabilities. EARLY IDENTIFICATION & INTERVENTION Early Identification a. Literacy and Numeracy Screening (LINUS) b. Checklist (Screening instrument) : Identify children for special needs to be referred for diagnosis by registered doctors EARLY AND TIMELY INTERVENTION a. Special Education -. * Trained teachers, teaching styles, classroom environment, curriculum, extracurricular activities and assistive devices. * Special Education Service Centres Special Education Service Centre: a. Facilities: * Audiology room * Low vision room * Occupational therapy room * Physiotherapy room * Psychology room * Multi-sensory room * Common Rehab Corner and * Toy library. b. Personnel: * Audiologist * Speech pathologist * Peripatetic * Physiotherapist * Occupational Therapist * Educational and/or Clinical Psychologist. c. Services: * Audiology * Individual/Group Speech Therapy * hearing aids and Braille maintenance * low vision and mob.

Did the Ancient Greek Gods Exist Essay

The Ancient Greeks regarded their religion and mythology with much respect and loyalty. Although the Ancient Greek Gods are now seen as an explanation created by man, for natural forces and the world around us, there has been much evidence both for and against the debate that these Gods were real. The Greeks believed that the Earth was created with the birth of Gaia, or Mother Earth, from the dark void known as Chaos. It was believed that Gods were all-powerful giants and heroes, who were responsible for our creation. The Olympians were a younger race of Gods led by Zeus, who eventually overthrew the formidable Titans, led by Zeus’ tyrannical father Cronus. Once in power, the Olympians, named after their home Mount Olympus, were each given certain responsibilities and powers over natural forces and aspects of life. Such as the sky, ocean, death and war. Many have debated that the Gods have made their presence clear, through their influencing and intervening with our history and punishments that they have cast upon us. Whereas others argue that they were mere stories told to inspire others, teach morals and explain the unknown. The mythology of the Gods were mainly passed on through stories and supported with archaeological evidence, the main literary account was by Homer and his two epic poems. Although they mainly accounted for the events surrounding the Trojan War, they include much proof on the impact and influence the Gods had on Ancient Greek history. In Homer’s epic poem Illiad, Zeus is shown sending Agamemnon a false dream, thus influencing his military decisions during the Trojan war in an attempt to depopulate the Earth. Although the existence of Agamemnon cannot be proven, the city of Troy can be. The archaeological ruins of the city can be found in what is now known as Turkey and shows signs of being destroyed and rebuilt several times, most likely due to an earthquake and even a war, from which there was evidence of much slaughter. The Ancient Greeks worshipped the Gods, believing they had power over everything around them and perceived them as almighty deities. The Gods were believed to have normally taken on human form, exhibiting the same emotions and traits. They were also known for regularly intervening in human history. Many people have argued that like some Ancient Chinese deities, many Gods were in fact based on actual figures of history and that over time, like the Chinese gods, their true identities were simply forgotten and they were continually perceived as almighty gods. Such as Guan Yu, a Chinese general who was deified as the Taoist God of War, during the Sui Dynasty (581-618) for his contributions to the civil war. He continues to be worshipped by the Chinese and is a figure of Chinese folk religion. Like the Greek Gods, Guan Yu is worshipped with alters, ceremonies, sacrifices and festivals. However after many centuries of being seen as a God, many are unaware that he did in fact exist. The Historical Theory, continues to support the idea that all people mentioned in mythology were once real people, only their story is passed on and changed over time. Comparisons have also been drawn with the similarities between the basis of Ancient Greek mythology and its factual history. The Greeks believed that there were three generations of Gods; Uranus and other creation gods, the Titans and the Olympians. Many believe that this is merely a reflection of the three major Ancient Greek civilisations; Minoan, Mycenaean and Hellenic. Even with the Gods, they portray heavy social struggles between threatening communities. Professor Martin P. Nilsson concluded that the Gods were a mere reflection and dramatization of Ancient Greek civilisation. Although the Gods were worshipped for their allegiance, they were also known for their wrath and harsh punishments such as the Minotaur, a ferocious monster with a thirst for blood and the result of a God’s punishment. It all began as a sentence cast by the God, Poseidon, onto the King of Crete, Minos for not sacrificing a prized white bull. To punish him, fellow goddess Aphrodite made Minos’ wife Pasiphae fall in love with a bull hence resulting in the birth of the Minotaur, the unnatural offspring of man and bull. The Minotaur was infamous for its human body and bull head. Uncovered representational arts such as vases, alters and ruins have proven the high amount of bull worship in Crete and even parts of Spain, possibly due to the existence of the Minotaur. However many argue that it was from the bull sensation that came the origins and inspiration for the tale of the Minotaur. The creature eventually grew for a horrific taste for blood, forcing Minos to imprison it in a twisting labyrinth under his palace, Knossos. Several years ago, Oxford university geographer Nicholas Howarth uncovered an underground cave complex consisting of a dark, twisting network of tunnels on the island of Crete, just miles away from the ruins of Knossos. Locally, it is even known as Labyrinthos Caves. The Minotaur was eventually slain by Theseus, a demi-god, further supporting the argument that the Ancient Greek Gods existed. As mentioned, over time people have come to accept the Ancient Greek gods as something the Greeks created to understand the world around them. The Physical theory reinforces this argument, claiming that all mythology and religion is formed from the basis of the natural elements; air, fire and water. Similarities can be seen with that of the Ancient Greek gods, such as Poseidon who was â€Å"God of the Sea† and was believed to have domain over the ocean. Many argued that the Gods were mere symbolic personifications of the uncontrollable nature around us, from which the Ancient Greeks found hope and security. Sigmund Freud’s symbolic communication and dream interpretation suggested that with the proper psyche and desperation, the Greeks could have used the Gods as a verification of control. Many have continued to attempt to interpret the mythology of different ancient civilisations. One of the most successful would be Herodotus, who uncovered the relationships and connections between Ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian mythologies. He believed that the Ancient Greek Gods were directly inspired by Egyptian mythology. Gods such as Zeus were paired with the Egyptian god Amun. Through historical linguistics, it was believed that these gods actually derived from common archetypes of the Proto-Indo-European religion. Thus concluding that Gods were a mere copy of other cultural religions and myths. Despite the scepticism that many feel towards the argument, the evidence is overwhelming and reinforces the debate that the Gods did exist, whether they were immortal Olympians or simply heroic human beings. As immortal wrathful giants, the gods were able to influence entire battles and punish those they believed evil, whereas if they were only human beings, their story would be able to inspire and teach others heroism and bravery. Although the argument involving the Physical theory and Herodotus is viable, the natural elements are the foundation of life and therefore can be twisted to fit any argument and have similarities found anywhere if one simply looked hard enough. Although we may never learn the truth, the existence of the Ancient Greek gods are more realistic due to the possibilities faced with the idea that they could have been either almighty gods or average human beings.