Estimation of Import and Export Demand Functions free essay sample

Asian countries to see the dynamics of Pakistan trade from 1973 to 2008. OLS results suggest that income is the principal determinant of exports and imports. Pakistan exports are cointegrated with Japan and USA while the imports are cointegrated with UAE and USA. Pakistan imports and exports are cointegrated with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka but not with India and China. Income and exchange rate are both important determinants of foreign trade. Continuing its trade with traditional partners and making efforts for greater market access to USA and EU, Pakistan should make efforts to increase its trade with Asian countries notably China and India because both are fast growing economies and have huge market. JEL Classifications: F01, C51 Keywords: Import and export elasticities, Pakistan, Asian countries, cointegration. Introduction International trade has played an important role in the development of both developed and underdeveloped countries because countries are dependent on one another due to uneven distribution of resources. We will write a custom essay sample on Estimation of Import and Export Demand Functions or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Export of agricultural and other primary commodities accounts for a major share of developing countries income. Besides export dependence developing countries are also heavily dependent on the import of diverse capital and consumer goods to feed their industries and satisfy their peoples’ consumption needs. Developing countries have been facing balance of payments (BoPs) problems because of divergence in imports and exports and hence the importance of foreign trade is obvious. Pakistan is an important country of the world. However, in terms of trade it does not enjoy a significant share. Recognizing the importance of trade, different governments have adopted different policies about trade according to international economy demands. Precarious nature of the Pakistan’s economy was acknowledged by the government soon after independence in 1947and a strategy of import substitution (IS) industrialization was adopted through over-valued exchange rate, use of quantitative controls on imports and the export taxes on principal agricultural exports: cotton and jute. Though some 1950s policies were continued in 1960s, a number of new policies in the realm of economic management were adopted. Pakistan’s economy suffered as well as benefited from international events in 1970s. Pakistan started liberalizing the economy with the help of IMF and World Bank in 1982-83 with a view to improving the efficiency of the economy by increasing the role of the private sector. Most of these reforms were implemented by mid-1980s. The process of liberalization started during 6th Five-Year-Plan (1983-88) and was implemented with great force after 1988. The government pursued vigorous trade liberalization in the beginning of 1990s. Like many other developing countries, Pakistan has made significant efforts to integrate its economy with rest of the world through 40 Â © 2011 Prague Development Center Estimation of import and export demand functions using bilateral trade data: The case of Pakistan | BEH, September 2011 oreign trade, investment and other macroeconomic policies (Afzal 2006a). Pakistan’s trade suffers from a number of problems that includes concentration in composition and markets, lack of market access to major trading partners EU (European Union) and USA, uninspiring performance of the economy, unfavourable international conditions, adverse terms of trade, high population growth, lack of technological development etc. Although Pakistan trades with a large number of countries its exports are highly concentrated in few countries.

How to Write a Homeschool Progress Report

How to Write a Homeschool Progress Report For many homeschool families, tasks for wrapping up the school year include writing an annual progress report or compiling a portfolio. The job doesn’t have to be stressful or overwhelming. In fact, it’s often a delightful opportunity to reflect on the complete school year. Why Write a Homeschool Progress Report? A progress report may seem unnecessary for homeschooled students. After all, isnt the point of a progress report to let parents know how their children are doing in school? Its true that, as a homeschooling parent, you dont need a report from your childs teacher to know how he is advancing academically. However, for some reasons you might want to complete an annual assessment of your students progress. Meeting state laws.  The homeschooling laws for many states require that parents write an annual progress report or compile a portfolio for each student. Some parents must submit the report or portfolio to a governing body or an educational liaison while others are only required to keep such documents on file. Assessment of progress.  Writing a progress report also provides a means for objectively assessing how much your students have learned, experienced, and accomplished over the course of the school year. Comparing these reports year after year can reveal your child’s strengths and weaknesses and help you chart their overall academic development. Feedback for the nonteaching parent.  Progress reports can provide an interesting snapshot of your homeschool year for the non-teaching parent. Sometimes the teaching parent, who is with the kids every day, doesn’t realize all the moments that the nonteaching parent misses. Feedback for your students.  A homeschool progress report  can provide valuable feedback for your students, helping them identify areas that need improvement and recognize patterns of strength. Consider having your students complete a self-evaluation to include with the report you write. Providing a keepsake.  Finally, detailed homeschool progress reports become cherished keepsakes over the course of your childs school years. Writing a report for your first-grader may seem an unnecessary  chore, but you’ll read it with fondness when she’s about to graduate high school. What to Include in a Homeschool Progress Report If youve never written a progress report, you may be unsure what you need to include. Your states homeschool laws may dictate the components to some degree. Beyond that, a progress report can be as concise or as detailed as youd like to make it. Basic details.  A homeschool progress report should include basic, factual information about your student, regardless of whether you are required to  submit it  to anyone. You will likely enjoy looking back over these reports as your student  gets older, so be sure to include details such as age and grade level, along with a photo. Resource list. Include a resource list for your school year. This  list may include the titles and authors of your homeschool curriculum, websites visited, and online classes. You may also want to add a course description for the classes your student completed. List the titles of books your children read as well as family read-alouds.  Include outside classes such as co-op, driver’s education,  or music. List any nationally standardized tests your students completed along with their scores. Activities.  List  your student’s  extracurricular activities, such as sports, clubs, or scouting. Note any awards or recognition received. Log volunteer hours, community service, and part-time jobs held. List any field trips taken. Work samples.  You may wish to include work samples such as essays, projects, and artwork. Include photos of hands-on projects that your students complete. You can include completed tests, but dont use those exclusively. Tests dont show the full spectrum of your students education. Even though you and your student may want to forget the areas of struggle, keeping samples that capture them can help you see progress in the coming years. Grades and attendance.  If your state requires a certain number of school days or hours, include that in your report. If you give formal grades, even satisfactory or needs improvement, add those to your progress report. Using a Scope and Sequence to Write a Progress Report One method of writing a progress report is to use the scope and sequence of your homeschool materials to help you outline the skills and concepts your child has started or mastered. A scope and sequence is a list of all the concepts, skills, and topics that the curriculum covers and the order in which they are  introduced. You can find this list in most homeschool curricula. If yours doesnt include it, check the table of contents’ main subheadings for ideas on what to include in your childs progress report. This simple, somewhat clinical method is a quick and easy option for meeting state laws. First,  list each subject you covered in your homeschool during the year. Some examples include: MathHistory/social studiesScienceLanguage artsReadingArtDramaPhysical education Then, under each heading, note the benchmarks your student achieved, along with those that are in progress and those to which he was introduced. For example, under math, you might list accomplishments such as: Skip counting by 2s, 5’s, and 10’sCounting and writing to 100Ordinal numbersAddition and subtractionEstimationGraphing You may want to include a code after each, such as A (achieved), IP (in progress), and I (introduced). In addition to your homeschool curriculum’s scope and sequence, a typical course of study reference may help you to consider all the concepts your student has covered over the year and help you identify those she may need to work on next year. Writing a Narrative Homeschool Progress Report A narrative progress report is another option- a bit more personal and composed in a more conversational style. These can be written as a  journal entry snapshot, indicating what your children have learned each year. With a narrative progress report, you as the homeschool teacher  can highlight a student’s progress, include observations about areas of strength and weakness, and record details about your child’s developmental progress. You can also add notes about any  academic struggles you’ve observed and areas  on which you’d like to focus on in the upcoming year. Whichever method you choose, writing a progress report doesn’t have to be tedious. It’s an opportunity to reflect on all that you and your homeschooled students have accomplished during the year and begin to focus on the promise of the upcoming year.

MASS MEDIA ASSIGNMENT (Sociology) Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

MASS MEDIA (Sociology) - Assignment Example These types of advertisements frequently make appeals to dark humor as a means of both gaining attention and delivering a specific message that their product or service is uniquely suited to answer. The message is embedded within the rhetoric of the visual and textual elements of the ad. To examine how rhetoric is used in advertising, an ad from the Northern Bariatric Surgery Institute that promotes weight loss with seeming emphasis on delivering a social message will be examined for its intended and perhaps unintended output. There are two basic approaches advertisers might take to the development of their ad -- first, to present a social message for the overall benefit to society with their product or service taking a modest interest through the presentation of a logo or title somewhere on the page and second, to present the product or service as the main focus of the ad with social responsibility considered secondary or not at all. Whether we acknowledge it or not, there is a grea t deal of truth behind the statement that we are what the media tells us we are. â€Å"Much of what we share, and what we know, and even what we treasure, is carried to us each second in a plasma of electrons, pixels and ink, underwritten by multinational advertising agencies dedicated to attracting our attention for entirely nonaltruistic reasons† (Twitchell, 1996: 468). In working to create the ultimate ad, many advertisers forget to consider the unintended impacts their message might have on the greater social front. â€Å"Broadly speaking, the media exist in a very close, sympathetic relationship to power and established values. They favor a consensus view of any problem: they reflect overwhelmingly middle class attitudes and experience† (Hall, 1974). Subtle clues embedded within the action or image of an advertisement such as this one can change the way people interpret and react to specific behaviors such as overeating. This ad is focused on the problem of obesit y and relies mostly upon a dominant image to impart its message. â€Å"Inductive reasoning takes a specific representative case or facts and then draws generalizations or conclusions from them. Inductive reasoning must be based on a sufficient amount of reliable evidence, in other words the facts you draw on must fairly represent the larger situation or population† (Weida, 2007). The image featured is that of a heavyset man holding his shirt open to reveal sticks of butter strapped to his torso like dynamite. It is intended to evoke an immediate negative reaction to the concept of obesity. According to Weida (2007), emotional appeals such as this are usually made to â€Å"paint a more legitimate and moving picture of reality or illuminate the truth.† Rather than relying on a string of text to make this emotional appeal, the advertisement relies almost exclusively on image with only a few small words to help direct the focus of attention. The faceless image is filled wi th the torso of this man and the numerous sticks of butter that have been attached, causing him to appear as a suicide bomber. The most dominant words on the page are â€Å"Obesity is Suicide.† As further analysis reveals, this ad works to encourage negative attitudes toward obesity, indicate an active, willing participant in the creation of an overweight person, elicit associations

Report and PowerPoint presentation about comparing between two Dining Essay

Report and PowerPoint presentation about comparing between two Dining Hall - Essay Example Others will have their dining halls centralized at one building while others prefer decentralized services. However, the ultimate objective of these plans is providing quality and affordable meals to the students. in this easy, I present my findings from an analysis of two leading universities’ dining halls in the state of Florida, the Florida University of Technology dining hall and the University of Florida dining hall. Features of the Florida University of Technology dining hall Centralization into one building The Florida University of Technology dining hall, commonly known as the Panther Dining Hall, is the sole food provider to the students in the campus. Located at the main residential building in the university, the dining hall seeks to provide the students with convince in the accessibility of food to the students. ... With its large windows that always remain open; the dining hall has a good supply of air. Additionally, students can enjoy outside weather, by choosing to eat from the outside. There are cleaners who constantly keep on mopping the floor, thus maintaining its clean nature. Quality and variety of meals Despite being the sole food provider in the university, the dining hall strives to offer the students with a variety of meals that are high quality and affordable. Professionally prepared and packaged, the students receive high standard services from the dining hall. Having a meal in the hall gives one the impression of eating from a three star restaurant. Among the popular meals available in the dining hall to the students, include pizza buffet, pasta to order, deli, dessert, home-style entree with carvery, and salad (â€Å"Florida Institute of Technology,† 2013.) Presence of bars and international drinks Within its premises, there is an international bar and grill, which serves students with different alcoholic brands. With a variety of different alcoholic beverages, most of which are drawn from different countries, the dining hall factors in the international students (â€Å"Florida Institute of Technology,† 2013.) Therefore, one does not have to leave the campus premises in order to have their drinks. Not unless the students want to for a night out in the city, the dining hall fully caters for all the drinks that students could require. This enhances their security, as they do not have to leave the school compound most of the times. Different alcoholic bars and beverage bars The dining hall also has a beverage bar, one that serves the non-alcoholic drinks to the students (â€Å"Florida Institute of Technology,† 2013). This

Industrial Separation of a Mixture: Fractional Distillation

Industrial Separation of a Mixture: Fractional Distillation What sphere is the mixture found in? Crude oil also known as petroleum is an unrefined oil extracted manly to produce petrol, paraffin and diesel oil. The oil is comprised of hydrocarbons, a number of organic compounds and small pieces of metal. The formation of this liquid dates back to millions of years ago from ancient marine life. This substance is located in the lithosphere inside rocks well stuck into the ground. To combat this, mining companies use the normal extraction of drilling to crack open the rocks and withdrawal the oil. Petroleum has had a significant contribution towards the world as it powers all transport vehicles, chemicals, plastics, heat and electricity. Identify physical property used during separation One of the physical properties used when petroleum is being fractionally distilled remains heating to its boiling point. This method is used in order to extract oil from the rest of mixture and make into a pure substance. This is very important due to that fact that the substance must be pure in order to sell or work as petrol or diesel. If these requirements are not met the oil will not work properly and quality will suffer. Description of Process Since petroleum is a mixture there is a numerous ways to separate it such as physical or mechanically but the most common method used throughout the world is the process of fractional distillation. This method is mainly used in most companies because different substances in the mixture have different boiling points and allows it to condense, re-evaporate then condense that permits the separation of the oil from the mixture to become easier. Here is how the oil is separated using fractional distillation: The petroleum mixture is containing different boiling points is heated to a high temperature as it has more than two substances present in it.   Then heat is normally about 400-600 degrees Celsius. This makes the mixture boil and become a vapour Following this, the vapour travels down towards the bottom of the fractional distillation column that is filled with a number of trays or plates. Next, the vapour rises where the column contains various different height sections where its boiling point is similar to the sections that are heated up from hottest (350 degrees) to lowest (30 degrees) starting from the bottom in order to produce different products. Products include jet fuel, gasoline, diesel oil, residue, refinery gas and bottled gas. After that, the trays collect the numerous liquid fractions from each section. Finally, the trays pass through condensers which cool them down and then procced into storage tanks or a used in extended chemical processing. Products of the Separation and their uses The fractional distillation of petroleum has produced several products that have a significant impact towards the modern world.   These products include gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, heavy fuel oil, residue containing bitumen and many more. Gasoline is one of the most important   substances used in in   cars   as it contains flammable liquid hydrocarbons that react with   internal combustion engines to cause a spark that causes a mini explosion. Moreover, the fuel burns immediately and powers the vehicles crankshaft. Residue containing   Bitumen is also important substance as it plays a significant role in the construction of roads. The product is mainly used in roads as the glue or binder mixed with combined particles to create asphalt concrete. Furthermore, the oils main other uses include waterproofing products, including sealing flat roofs and the production of roof felts. The following table expands this more. Products of crude oil % of Crude oil   present Uses Refinery Gas   (350 degrees) 40-50 Roads construction Roofing Waste Management Issues: There are two issues present in cleaning up petroleum. Toxicity The toxicity of the substance is very dangerous to almost all living things. The cleaning up of crude oil tends to be great issue cause of the toxicity and so the cleaners must be very careful to not be exposed or contaminate other living things. They also have to be fast with the clean up because it can dig and leech onto underground water system that links to human residential areas and pose a serious threat onto local communities. Thickness The cleaning up of crude oil also tends to be a great issue because its thick and heavy and so it takes the cleaners many days to clean it insuring that its hasnt contaminated anything else. This is because of the temperature the oil was heated during the process in order to work properly. Therefore, to a high extent the issue of toxicity and the oils thickness is a major issue during its clean up. The Impact of the separation process on Chemistry The fractional distillation of crude oil has progressively changed over the past century. This is mainly due to the advancement of technology and knowledge through the oil refining industry. Most of the oil companies used vacuum distillation to refine crude oil whereby the pressure above the liquid mixture is distilled and reduced to less than its vapour pressure causing evaporation of the oil with the lowest boiling points. However, as the mixture contained different substances that all have different boiling points this made the oil much harder to refine. Moreover, this method was then replaced by fractional distillation as it made it much easier to refine due it being able to separate a mixture with different boiling points better. Fractional distillation has had a high impact towards other fields in chemistry where its used in petrochemical, chemical plants, natural gas processing and cryogenic air separation plants. This process has allowed scientists to produce products in mode rn society and help understand more about the natural world. Evaluate one of your sources One of my sources was published by the BBC but does not present an author in the article (http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/aqapre2011/rocks/fuelsrev3.shtml). This company is British commercial company known its for news, documentaries and education articles. The company was formed back in 1922 by British and American electrician companies and is known to be one of the most famous companies in the world. Articles presented on their website nearly always right and used by some schools for education purposes. To make this article more academic BBC should have identified the author to inform the validity of the source. Bibliography Reference Bbc.co.uk. (2011). BBC GCSE Bitesize: Fractional distillation. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/aqa_pre_2011/rocks/fuelsrev3.shtml [Accessed 27 Mar. 2017]. Freudenrich, C. (2001). How Oil Refining Works. [online] HowStuffWorks. Available at: http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/oil-refining4.htm [Accessed 26 Mar. 2017]. OilPrice.com. (2009). What is Crude Oil? A Detailed Explanation on this Essential Fossil Fuel | OilPrice.com. [online] Available at: http://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/What-Is-Crude-Oil-A-Detailed-Explanation-On-This-Essential-Fossil-Fuel.html [Accessed 26 Mar. 2017]. Pollutionissues.com.(Petroleum water, effects, environmental, disasters, pollutants, United States, history, causes, impact, EPA, soil, chemicals, industrial, liquid, wells, toxic, world, human, power. [online] Available at: http://www.pollutionissues.com/Na-Ph/Petroleum.html [Accessed 27 Mar. 2017].

Symbols and Symbolism in The Great Gatsby :: Great Gatsby Essays

Symbols in The Great Gatsby      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Great Gatsby is based on a man named Jay Gatsby and his idealistic infatuation to a girl named Daisy that he met while he was young.   Gatsby was not of a wealthy family and therefore Daisy would not marry him. Gatsby devoted his life to getting what he needed to win Daisy.   After the war Gatsby became a bootlegger to attain what he needed to win Daisy.   In the Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses various colors, objects, and gestures as symbols to portray the lack of moral and spiritual values of people and the different aspects of society in the 1920's.   The colors which are spread throughout the novel are green, white, gold, and others. F. Scott Fitzgerald provides a social commentary on the 1920's in this novel.   The Great Gatsby is an important American novel and not just a mere historical document depicting life in the 1920's.   Like other writers of the 20's   Fitzgerald was fascinated by the spectacle of what had become of the American Dream and how it had become corrupted by greed andmaterialistic possessions.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   At the end of Chapter One, Nick catches Gatsby stretching his arms out towards a green light. At the time it is not revealed to us that this is the light at the end of Daisy's dock.    he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and far as I was from him I could have sworn he was trembling.   Involuntarily I glanced seaward--and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock.   (Fitzgerald 26)      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughout the novel Fitzgerald emphasizes the color green as a promise of hope.   Through Gatsby this promise is corrupted by the means that he tries to attain it.   By attaining material wealth to win Daisy, Gatsby also shows the corruption of the American Dream.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the beginning of Chapter Two, Fitzgerald describes the huge billboard that watches over the Valley of Ashes.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic---their retinas are one yard high. They look out of no face but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a nonexistent nose.

Optical Character Recognition for Kids Learning Essay

Education is the learning and development which results from this process of teaching or training. It is the academic discipline dealing with teaching and learning methods in the schools. Learning starts at home and the parents are their first teachers to their kids. When they are about 4 to 6 years of age, parents are starting to bring their children at school where they are able to learn not only the basic skills such as reading and writing but also to develop simple logic and abstract ideas like numbers, shapes, colors, time and many more. Yet, learning first how to write is by far the most important lesson of all and is the priority of all those people who are teaching childhood education. Writing is a skill that is used in all academic coursework as well as through a person’s professional and personal life. Children learn about reading and writing by thinking about the sounds that words make and what those words look like when written out. When children are eager to learn something, they want to explore it themselves. Nowadays, children’s potentials are determined by their ability to learn the basics of writing and reading at their very early age (Patterson C (2008). Child Development. New York: McGraw-Hill. ). In today’s complicated world, the continuing advancing of technology has opened many doors when it comes to education. Technology has become an influential factor when it comes to education. This gives students the opportunity to choose what they are interested in learning. Computers have started to make a huge impact in our lives and begun to show up not only in only offices and households, but also in classrooms, as they have become cheaper, more powerful, and easier to use. There have been many software applications developed for the purpose of education and for use in the classroom. Computers and mobile phones are used in developed countries both to complement established education practices and develop new ways of learning such as the concept of E-learning. It is the unifying term to describe the fields of online learning, web-based training, and technology-delivered instruction. By adding interactivity to teaching, Not only wo uld the children will be able to see what is involved, but he or she would be able to learn from hands on experience. Computers can be a very effective way of accomplishing this. The use of computers in Elementary schools is basically vision as teaching and learning aid besides develop computer literacy amongst the children. Computer Aided Instruction will help us to make the present teaching learning process joyful, interesting and easy to understand through audio-visual aids. Teachers will be resourced with Multimedia Contents to explain topic better. Overall it will help us to improve quality of education in long term. In this study, the proponents develop software that will be an aid for teaching children how to write by using stylus and be able to write on the touch screen monitor of the computer. A stylus is a pen-shaped instrument that is used to draw images, select from menus and write characters which come with different devices that contain touch screens. The following are some of the reasons the proponents have develop such software: (1)Time constraints. Considering it applied in classes, children are pressured in terms of completing a given handwriting task which affects their performance. (2)Level of activities. Occasionally, activities that are held in classes may be inappropriate when it comes to the capabilities of the students. (3)Limited school activities. Children are only provided limited amount of activities in school to learn a specific area in school particularly handwriting. (4)Assessment procedure. Usually, it takes time for the instructor to evaluate the handwriting activities that they are providing for the kids. The basic handwriting software for kids will show certain gif format containing simple steps on how to write the letters and audio sounds to identify what letter should be written. Children can trace uppercase and lowercase letters using the stylus and will be evaluated afterwards in a friendly manner. The program will also contain a different order of teaching a child to write the alphabet and works can be saved. The program has a quiz section that assesses the learning of the child without the aided instruction of gif format. To help children to construct correct handwriting, there would seem to be a case for the use of ruled writing spaces and assist them to follow the proper procedure of writing a specific character and obtain precise strokes. There would also a field references or guidelines for line and cursive character in the every letter of alphabet. Error messages, if used, need to be in a simple English language that the children can easily understand. A different level of practicing is considered to be sure that children will be able to take hold of the writing technique through gif images that shows how characters should be constructed properly. An erase function will also be available as a feature for the children to make them avoid discouragement from scribbling out and overwriting. The children should see at the screen the characters they intend to write and see the results produced after the program recognizes it and be able to see the evaluation of their performance afterwards. Children should be able to understand what was happening effectively. There will be a comment or message alert for every wrong input of the children. The group will use an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) which is a subsystem for pattern recognition. Character recognition identifies the input handwriting and translates it into a machine language or the ASCII. With OCR, the software could identify and evaluate the child’s handwriting performance. When the child inputs the character the OCR will read and identifies whether the character is valid. If the character is valid the evaluation will takes place and calculate the handwriting performance of the children. There will be a set of points within a specific character that has a corresponding score. Children will be evaluated according to the use of Back Propagation algorithm. Back Propagation algorithm will trace the input characters and get the error percentage. A deduction will be conducted to the total score of the user if he fails to follow the designated ordinates. Scores will be evaluated and will be shown as follows; Very Good, Good and Fair. The software that will be implemented will serve as a teaching tool in developing handwriting skills of kids ages 6 and below only which can be used by pre-school teachers and parents as well. It is only an alternative way of teaching basic handwriting rather than the traditional way of learning. The validity of the software can be tested by parents, homeschoolers and teachers who have acquired the skills and knowledge in teaching the traditional process especially those teachers in nurseries and kindergarten. Chapter II Review of Related Literature Children’s Early Age Children ages 4-5-6 need some attention and care and parents must be able to identify the interest of the child and what they are capable of. In this stage they will be responsible but they still need assistance. They can do simple things on their own like wearing clothes, tying their shoes, brushing their teeth and others. In this stage of development they have their own specific interests like playing blocks, dawdling and others. Play with other children who need what she needs and like what she likes, who understand her because they are the same age, becomes very important to most children. By the age of 4-5 children can now accept the social interaction with other children. (Irma Simonton Black, Children from 4-5-6) There are other activities in this early age that are very short tempered to parents like dawdling but according to Black â€Å"Dawdling may be a child’s indirect way of asking for help, of asking for the warmth and quick affection of his babyhood†. If the child needs parent’s help they must give them a full hand but remember that there are some help that can be done by the child like putting and tying their shoes. The role of a parent is to be helpful, sympathetic and patient. Parents must also praise for the things that the child accomplish rather than disapproval of the things the he/ she did not do. Children are very easy to learn but they must need guidance and care. ThE-learning capabilities of children need time and patience. (Ruth Mason 2000) Schoolchild Development The E-learning capabilities of this early stage is different they can develop a sense of logic and often sticks with a problem until he/she has solved it. They can gain a sense of satisfaction from tackling simple number problems. These new ability gives confidence in developing and expressing on their own point of view. They can also grasp more abstract ideas, like numbers, time and distance. During this time the brain undergoes its most dramatic growth, and children rapidly develop the cognitive capacity that enables them to become intellectually curious and creative thinkers. In this child development they can now focus on their interest like reading books on related subject that are taught in the school. They can now express their point of view and reasoning. (Graham, Rob and Hess, Heidi) There are also circumstances that hinder child’s development and this is thE-learning Disability this causes a person to have troublE-learning and using certain skills. The skills most often affected are: reading, writing, listening, speaking, reasoning, and doing math. â€Å"Learning disabilities (LD) vary from person to person. One person with LD may not have the same kind of learning problems as another person with LD† according to National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities. Learning Disability is not a sickness but this situation are caused by the different approach of processing the brain. Learning Disability does not include visual, hearing and motor disability and also mental retardation. There are no concrete sign of having learning disability but by observing them you can actually identify and these signs are helpful: †¢ may have troublE-learning the alphabet, rhyming words, or connecting letters to their sounds; †¢ may make many mistakes when reading aloud, and repeat and pause often; †¢ may not understand what he or she reads; †¢ may have real trouble with spelling; †¢ may have very messy handwriting or hold a pencil awkwardly; †¢ may learn language late and have a limited vocabulary; †¢ may have trouble understanding jokes, comic strips, and sarcasm; †¢ may have trouble following directions; †¢ may mispronounce words or use a wrong word that sounds similar; And to help children with this disability parents must identify the strengths of their child. The parents must praise the good things about their child with this disability .And for teachers they can help their child with such disability by: †¢ breaking tasks into smaller steps, and giving directions verbally and in writing; †¢ giving the student more time to finish schoolwork or take tests; †¢ letting the student with reading problems use textbooks-on-tape (available through Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, listed under Organizations); †¢ letting the student with listening difficulties borrow notes from a classmate or use a tape recorder; and †¢ letting the student with writing difficulties use a computer with specialized software that spell checks, grammar checks, or recognizes speech. (National Dissemination for Learning Disability) Children’s School Level This is often categorized in pre-school and kindergarten levels. Pre-school is the preparation ground for children, this shows how kids will they be when they are 7 because of different aspects. In this level of education children only go to school for an hour which includes playing and 20-30 minutes of listening. The schools strategize a three days per week at an academic program and two days per week at a play-based school, hoping to achieve the best of both worlds. Preschool are very egocentric which they believe everyone sees the world as they sees it. They still don’t know what is the cause and effect and they give a process that is not logical and complex. They also focus on one event and ignore the other. According to Martha E. Mock â€Å"Young children learn best through meaningful interaction with real materials and caring adults and their peers, not through the drilling of isolated skills†. Preschool approach is commonly a play-based program to enjoy child academically and socially. After they excel in preschool year they can now step to kindergarten where they can formally in different approach. (Laura Davy, 2007) Kindergarten is being called nowadays as a new first grade of education. But be sure that your child is ready for kindergarten and there are signs to identify that are being analyzed by parents. This checklist are created by the National Center Disabilities Inc,. The purpose of kindergarten is to show the child the good feelings about learning and school. This is the building block for stepping in first grade. The curriculum starts by building familiarity with a wide number of aspects of the written and spoken word. In kindergarten the general trend of teaching is basic literacy and writing t hat is covered for first grader. The students taught a basic curriculum in all subjects, including science, social studies, and arts; but the most important academic topics will be literacy, handwriting exercise and math, which underlie everything else to come. Handwriting and dawdling is the common tool for expressing children’s idea and taught. (Julie Williams, 2007) Handwriting Handwriting is the first education that is needed for children. This is important because research shows that when children are taught how to do it, they are also being taught how to learn and how to express themselves. Handwriting is the best way to express children’s idea and feelings to their loved ones and friends. Emily Knapton, director of program development at Handwriting without Tears, believes that â€Å"when kids struggle with handwriting, it filters into all their academics. Spelling becomes a problem; math becomes a problem because they reverse their numbers. All of these subjects would be much easier for these kids to learn if handwriting was an automatic process†. In the research led by the professor of Venderbilt University, Steve Graham he found out that teachers believe that students with fluent handwriting produced written assignments that were superior in quantity and quality and resulted in higher grades aside from being easier to read. Evidence is growing that handwriting fluency is a fundamental building block of learning. It should be exciting and an enjoyable activity through which children can experience success. If we stop teaching penmanship, it will not only hasten the dreaded day when brides acknowledge wedding gifts by e-mail; the bigger danger is, they’ll be composed even more poorly than they already are. According to Baggett, changing a child’s handwriting can improve their grades, their behaviour, and their self-esteem. (Raina Kelley, 2007) Process of Teaching Handwriting In teaching the children the best way is to write their name first. Begin with lower case letters, rather than capital letters. This mechanism will help the child when first encountering reading and writing because lower case letters are commonly seen in the books. (Shirley Erwee et.al) The time span in teaching is between 20-30 minutes to avoid boredom. If the parents teach the child to write in large interval of time they will lost their interest. Their eyes are not that fully developed so they have no focus on every book or page like adults. This technique will avoid child’s eye strain and the limit is 15-20 minutes. Encourage the child in continuing handwriting practices and praise the work of the children. Do not compare the work of the child to the other children because they have a process in developing this talent. (Sandhya S. Naidu) 1. OVERSEE HANDWRITING PRACTICE When children are practicing handwriting it is very important that you oversee their work so that they do not develop bad habits. Take over some inappropriate letters so that they will not rooted to it. 2. ONE OBJECTIVE AT A TIME Focus on correcting or improving one objective at a time – be it a particular letter, spacing, size, alignment, etc. 3. PRACTICE DAILY Handwriting practice should be scheduled every day but keep lessons short for best results. 4. CORRECT PENCIL GRIP Correct pencil grip allows a writer to write quickly and smoothly, while a tight or awkward grip can hinder writing. 5. PROPER POSTURE Be sure that your child is sitting properly at a surface that is not too high. Her arms should rest comfortably and her feet should be supported (by the floor or a box), rather than hanging loosely. This is to avoid fatigue and bad habits which may develop as a result of improper posture. Monitor your child’s posture regularly. 6. BE PATIENT Improvement in handwriting requires a combination of skills and developmental maturity. Each child will progress at her own rate. Remember that fine motor skills develop more slowly in boys, than gross motor skills. 7. KEEP HANDWRITING SEPARATE Keep handwriting practice or copy work separate from composition and other writing tasks, which require attention to other skills such as focus on content, organizing ideas, editing, spelling, punctuation etc. so that students will not be reluctant to write. Assessing Child Handwriting According to Occupational Therapy Handwriting Resources in assessing child’s handwriting there must be clinical observation skills. There are different clinical observation skills and uses according to purpose. The child’s proper grip in pen or pencil is important because improper grip can cause fatigue and joint problems. The proper grip is the normal dynamic tripod give where the thumb is placed at the side of the pencil and the index finger is placed on the top of the pencil. The pencil is stabilized on the side of the middle finger. This position allows for needed stability and mobility. Improper grip can cause: – lead to joint problem and early fatigue in written assignments – tightness or pain in the thumb web spaces (Occupational Therapy Handwriting Resources) The Evaluation Tool for Children’s Handwriting (ETCH) is an assessment that ensures the legibility in word, letter and numeral percentage, as well as letters per minute. Pencil control, near and far point copying, manuscript to cursive translation, dictation and sentence completion are included. The Bruininks Oserteksy Test of Fine Motor Proficiency assesses motor proficiency of students without disabilities, as well as those with serious motor dysfunctions and developmental difficulties. It is administered to children from ages 4 years 6 months to 14 years 6 months. Occupational Therapist typically administer only the fine motor development subtests which include: – response speed – visual-motor control – upper-limb speed and dexterity The Peabody Developmental Motor Scales is composed of six subtests that measure inter related motor abilities that develop early in life. It assesses the motor skills of children from birth through 5 years of age. Occupational Therapist typically administers the grasping and visual motor subset. (Occupational Therapy Handwriting Resources) The assessment for teachers is based on the books and criteria. Teachers tend to teach children according to books instruction. The child needs some patience and virtue to achieve a good handwriting skill. This skill can visualize the children’s future and development. Handwriting as a Symbol of Success There are also instances that penmanship and handwriting predicts success according to Bart Baggett. They also identify the handwriting of Michael J. Fox , Martin Luther King and Oprah Winfrey which shows success. Baggetts identify the seven personality traits according to stroke that are common to successful people. – High Goals and Ambition (t-bars crossed on the top of the stem) – Strong self-esteem (Large signature and high crossed t-bars) – Determination (heavy downstrokes below the baseline) – Persistence (not picking up your pen when you cross the letter t) – Strong Physical Drives (large and heavy y and g loops) – Long Lasting Enduring Emotions (pressing very hard on the paper) – Enthusiasm (extra long strokes to make the crossing of your t) Handwriting is an important task to learn by the child and need some proper interaction to their instructor or teacher and also parents. (Yenra, 2007) Interaction for Teacher The quality of interactions between teachers and children plays a key role in accounting for gains in children’s development when compared to typical quality indicators such as teachers’ education, class size, and child-to-teacher ratio. High-quality instructional interactions happened when teachers provided children with feedback on their ideas, commented in ways that extended and expanded their skills, and frequently used discussions and activities to promote complex thinking. Teachers by doing this teacher-child interaction the children can improve or develop good cognitive, socio-emotional and language skills. Interaction could help children understand the knowledge he/she wants to gain, like media that are so interactive nowadays. The size and number of the students is not the basis for thE-learning of the child but the interaction of the teacher’s to them. A child learns a large amount of knowledge with the help of the emotional interaction. (Physorg, 2008) Children’s Interact Emotionally In early stage children does not only learn social skills and language but they also learn the act of sensitivity and emotion. Having a social interaction helps child to develop their logic and sense of reasoning. With this emotional interaction they can decrease their fear in reasoning out or expressing their emotion. Interaction benefits every child very much, because they not only get one on one time to talk to their teacher but they also produce positive relationships between teachers and students. Teachers by doing this teacher-child interaction the children can improve or develop good cognitive, socio-emotional and language skills. There are also materials that are very interactive to children and they could gain knowledge with this interaction. Technologies nowadays are very interactive to child which helps them to learn more. (Killi, 2008) Technology According to studies and researches more and more kids are applying technology to their lifestyle like playing video games, using computer and watching TV. According to parents using media and technology children helps to learn while entertained. Today’s children might use their brain differently than the kids in previous generation this is according to UCLA professor, Patricia Greenfield. Patricia Greenfield found out that TV, Media and video games does not limit the mind of the children but they also help them in other ways. In a concrete result they found out that surgeon who has a skilled in video games can be better in keyhole surgery. The use of technology can have a great effect of schools. With an increased emphasis on more teacher discretion over teaching and learning in the classroom has a potential to increase. Technology can also be integrated into the class through the use of software. Technology allows the student to comprehend the subject matter at hand easier. The children nowadays are better than their ancestor when it comes to multitasking as a result in complex visual information that they deal with. The school, learning institute and parents must understand this study and apply to their learning techniques according to the UCLA professor. (Patricia Greenfield 2005) Technological Adaptability in Education Many different types of technology can be used to support and enhance learning. Everything from video content and digital moviemaking to laptop computing and handheld technologies (Marshall, 2002) have been used in classrooms, and new uses of technology such as podcasting are constantly emerging. Various technologies deliver different kinds of content and serve different purposes in the classroom. For example, word processing and e-mail promote communication skills; database and spreadsheet programs promote organizational skills; and modeling software promotes the understanding of science and math concepts. It is important to consider how these electronic technologies differ and what characteristics make them important as vehicles for education (Becker, 1994). Each technology is likely to play a different role in students’ learning. Rather than trying to describe the impact of all technologies as if they were the same, researchers need to think about what kind of technologies are being used in the classroom and for what purposes. Two general distinctions can be made. Students can learn â€Å"from† computers—where technology used essentially as tutors and serves to increase students basic skills and knowledge; and can learn â€Å"with† computers—where technology is used a tool that can be applied to a variety of goals in the learning process and can serve as a resource to help develop higher order thinking, creativity and research skills (Reeves, 1998; Ringstaff & Kelley, 2002). The primary form of student learning â€Å"from† computers is what Murphy, Penuel, Means, Korbak and Whaley (2001) describe as discrete educational software (DES) programs, such as integrated learning systems (ILS), computer-assisted instruction (CAI), and computer-based instruction (CBI). These software applications are also among the most widely available applications of educational technology in schools today, along with word-processing software, and have existed in classrooms for more than 20 year s (Becker, Ravitz, & Wong, 1999). While DES remains the most commonly used approach to computer use in student learning, in more recent years, use of computers in schools has grown more diversified as educators recognize the potential of learning â€Å"with† technology as a means for enhancing students’ reasoning and problem-solving abilities. In part, this shift has been driven by the plethora of new information and communication devices now increasingly available to students in school and at home, each of which offers new affordances to teachers and students alike for improving student achievement and for meeting the demand for 21st century skills describe earlier. No longer limited to school labs, school hours and specific devices, technology access is increasingly centered on the learner experience. Bruce and Levin (1997), for example, look at ways in which the tools, techniques, and applications of technology can support integrated, inquiry-based learning to â€Å"engage children in exploring, thinking, reading, writing, researching, inventing, problem-solving, and experiencing the world.