Study Skills Preparing for and Taking Tests Research Paper

Study Skills Preparing for and Taking Tests - Research Paper Example This paper will describe strategies for preparing for and sitting tests. In this paper, it will be assumed that the exam and test mean the same thing and the two words will be used interchangeably. Hall (2010) advises that test preparation begins on the very first day a student enters the school. This is because all that may be tested during the exams include even the lessons that were taught on the very first day. In Hall’s view, test preparation starts by paying a lot of attention in class and taking an active part in a class by taking lecture notes. No student should ignore note taking because lecture notes are good for future reference considering that the human brain cannot grasp everything at ago. Students should also engage the lecturer by asking questions in areas that have not been well explained or those which the student feels that he/she needs additional clarification on. This is important because such areas are likely to be tested. This implies that failing to ask questions may mark the beginning of failure in tests. It is common that lecturers leave assignments immediately after a lecture. Students who intend to pass tests highly must always take advantage of these assignments by completing all of them in time. They should also take the assignments to the lecturers for marking, and seek assistance on questions that were wrongly answered. Completing assignments and taking them for marking may be the key to passing exams because some tests are directly taken from the assignments given in class by the lecturers. It is also important for students to engage in reviewing what they have learned regularly so as to avoid forgetting concepts previously learned. To effectively do this, a student must utilize his/her time well. It is, therefore, imperative for the learner to make a personal timetable which acts as a guide on how the time is to be spent on reviewing the notes.

Classroom Management And Discipline Plan Education Essay

Classroom Management And Discipline Plan Education Essay Students must understand the behaviors that are expected of them. The students will help the teacher make classroom rules the first few days of school. Each student will brainstorm and give a classroom rule that they would like to include. The student will give a rule or rules as the teacher list them on the board and the teacher would consolidate the rules to 4 or 5 basic classroom rules. This will give the students a sense of involvement and acceptance in the class if they help with the rules. The classroom rules help keep the rules simply and the students on task as well as helping the student succeed in the classroom. Be polite and kind The teacher will give an example for better understanding of the rule such as no name-calling and listen carefully when others are speaking. Respect others and yourself as well as their property. This is a general rule that all students need to understand. Return borrowed materials, do not write on desks, pick up litter, do not use other persons things without permission. Talk only with permission. Dont talk when others are talking. This rule is another general rule that must be explained such as when the teacher is giving instruction do not talk or interrupt. If you are in small group talk quietly in the group and do not disturb others. Obey all school rules. This is an important rule that helps with general school rules such as no talking or running in the hallway. It also suggests to the students that they must abide by all school rules. REWARDS AND CONSEQUENCES Maintaining good student behavior requires good communication, monitoring and consequences. Young children are more likely to follow a rule just by the teacher asking but motivation is a good way to maintain appropriate behaviors. Sometimes a deterrent is needed to avoid negative behaviors of students. REWARDS Positive feedback is a great motivation for most students. Explain what is expected of the students. Positive verbal praise such as good job, way to go, great idea. Positive written comments on papers such as stickers with sayings such as great job, star student, etc. Reward improvement Recognition by giving awards or certificates. Display student work Material incentives after earning certain number of points such as pencils, stickers, erasers, other materials Extra recess time for good work or group cooperation. CONSEQUENCES Rely on corrective feedback for struggling students Communicate dissatifiacation with student behavior Demerit System is totaled daily and weekly (Start over daily) 1st violation warning 2nd violation student will have extra written work such as writing spelling words 5 times. 3rd violation loss of privileges 4th violation referral to principal/note sent home to parents Student grades will be affected, such as reductions of grades for late, missing or incomplete assignments. 4. If the student bring items to school that are not allowed that item or items would be confiscated. Starting School First few days of school, learning names of the students, teaching and sending messages. The first few days are a very important time especially for classroom management. There are several ways the teacher can prepare the students for management. Students will feel more comfortable in the classroom if the learn other student names in the classroom and students realize that everyone has similarities and differences. The main goal of the school year is to obtain student cooperation with following the rules and learning the rules and successfully completing classroom assignments. If the students feel comfortable and welcome in the classroom they are more likely to listen and respect the teacher and other students in the classroom. Below is a list of procedures to be used for the beginning of the classroom activities. Play a game that will help introduce each other to the classroom. Such as introduce myself to the classroom and tell a little something about myself to the classroom. Then let students introduce him or her and tell something special about themselves. What are my expectations? Introduce my love of music and explain the different activities that the student will be involved in during the school year? What is the grading system? Keep it simply. Help students with uncertainties and make them feel comfortable enough to ask questions, etc. Let the student know that I am available for them, being visible, monitoring the classroom and letting them know the class can have fun and still learn without disrupting others. B) Starting School First Day Activities Greet students Welcome students and have nametags on each desk so the student will know where they are sitting. Introduction Brief introduction of myself Use a game to let students introduce themselves. Have work sheets or other activities for students to complete after introductions. Room description Describe class schedule such as classroom time, lunchtime, recess, etc. Set a positive tone. Teach procedures, as they are needed and step-by-step instructions. Content Activities Give whole group instruction to the classroom. Plan activities so students can succeed. Have extra activities for students who finish early. Time fillers Be prepared for the unexpected Have ideas ready for the classroom such as handouts, work sheets, word puzzles, coloring pages. Administrative activities Complete list of students for the roll book, give out school handbooks and other paperwork for the students/parents to complete and return to school. Have textbooks, texts, and forms for the students Materials or supplies checklist for each student Available conference times and contact information Special information Closing activities Set aside a few minutes before the end of the day and go over with the students before they leave a brief review of the day activities and discuss with the students what they have learned, found difficult, and liked about the day. Comment on students good work and good behavior to reinforce expectations and keep the tone position. C) Daily Schedule times, procedures A list of daily activities will be posted in the classroom as well as weekly activities for the students to know what is expected. Schedule will include: Reading This will include language arts, writing skills Bathroom break Math This will include math work sheets and work with manipulatives Lunch/Bathroom break Library /computer lab/art or music Social studies Science Time to clean up, get backpack ready Time to leave D) Within class and weekly schedule times for specific activities Since some activities will change within the daily schedule such as library, computer lab, art and music it is important to highlight activities that will change. Special activities such as group activities with the school and different groups or clubs that will have special events for the students will also be a change for the classroom. School pictures, field trips as well as other activities will change your schedule. The daily schedule as a teacher will have to be flexible and ready for the unexpected. E) Procedures and routines for critical times and activities Beginning day, periods Each day briefly review major materials and focal points from the previous day. Ending day, periods Make sure that each student understand what they are expected to learn form the material and give the students time to ask questions. Transitions within day, within class The class will follow the teacher cues and learn routines for changing into whole group and small group instructions. The classroom will also become familiar with centers and time for transitions for lunch, library and other activities. Planning times Planning times will occur before and after school. In the afternoon to prepare for the next day such as making sure materials that are needed for the lessons are available. Materials locations, distribution and collection. The teacher will have shelves for books, cabinets/drawers for large materials such as paper, crafts, math manipulatives, etc. Each student will have their own materials that are left at their desk such as pencils, paper, erasers, crayons or markers, individual dry eraser boards, etc. The teacher will also have a center that has extra pencils, crayons, scissors and other materials that would be needed in the classroom. Collection of schoolwork would depend on the activity or assignment such as individual or group work. Individual work would be collected and graded as well as group work as appropriate. Attendances, tardiness , make -up work, etc. The teacher will keep a roll book of student and take attendance daily, tardiness will also be noted . If a student is absent then the student will complete their schoolwork within 3 days after their return or as determined by school policy. If students are absence for extended periods such as serious injury or illness or surgery for example then the teacher would work with the student and his or her parents on a case by case basic or as determined by school policy, etc. F) Student accountability systems Supervision and monitoring The teacher will walk around the room as necessary for supervision and monitoring of schoolwork. The students will be spaced out for testing such as spelling, reading, science and social studies tests. In-class work Class work will be turned in daily and graded by the teacher or with older students they will self-grade some of their daily work Homework When introducing new skills to the students or the students need extra practice then homework will be sent home to help with further understanding. Returning papers Homework and other papers will be returned daily or the next school day. Papers will be graded daily and returned to the student so they will know what areas they are doing well in and also the areas that they need to work on. Communicating grades Homework and other graded papers will be sent home daily for the parents to be aware of the students progress. Each Monday the teacher will send home progress reports with each subject listed and the grade for each subject for the parent to sign and return weekly so the parents are aware of the students progress. Quizzes, other assessments Quizzes will be given to make sure the students are learning a new skill or skills that is introduced. Other assessments that will be used to grade students activities such as science projects or experiments and students can work together in groups. Other hands -on activities may include reading maps or work globes, etc. G) Structuring instruction Notebooks Notebooks will be used to keep activities and daily homework. Each day the student will place their notebooks in their desks and keep paperwork in them. For older students, notebooks will be kept for paperwork, materials and other paperwork for each subject. Folders Individual students folders will be keep and will also be put in their backpack and took home each day with daily work, homework and other paperwork. Other systems for instructional activities Weekly schedule and weekly newsletter will be sent home each Monday that lists each subject and the skills that will be taught for the week as well as any weekly reminders of upcoming events. Filler activities Activities will be set up in small groups or centers needed for extra educational activities. Education games will be used for the centers such as word games, reading activities, matching games, math games, etc. Giving instructions steps, posting etc. Each activities will be given specific instructions such as verbal or written instructions. H) Dealing with discipline problems in the classroom As a teacher there are many ways for classroom disruptions that are beyond our control such as intercom announcements and other classroom disruptions. In order to maintain appropriate behavior it is best to teach desirable responses regarding classroom interruptions. Reinforcing desirable behaviors When a student is behaving appropriately let the student be aware of the good behavior. For example, by stating, I really like the way James or Sally is sitting quietly and listening. I like the way Molly is raising her hand before asking a question. I am happy to see John, Amy and Matt standing in line quietly in the hallway. Praising good behavior helps others want to do the right behavior. Techniques for dealing with minor disruptions If minor disruptions occur the first approach would be to response to the student by the following procedures: Ignore Eye Contact Move closer in proximity Gesture or shoulder touch Questioning Techniques for dealing with chronic misbehaviors Dealing with chronic misbehaviors would include using some form of accountability by using a tally or other system to keep up with misbehavior as follows: Warning Written work Additional schoolwork Lose of privileges Send to principal/Note to parents/guardian Referral to principal or other personnel Referral to principal or other personnel would result as a last resort such as student refusing to listen to the teacher or being a disruption to the whole class. If the student were not responding to any action that the teacher has tried or offered then the student would be sent to the principals office for consequence of his/her actions. Techniques for dealing with severe problems If a student is threatening others, fighting or bringing inappropriate items into the classroom that the school has determined dangerous or illegal then I would follow school policy in regards to inappropriate behaviors. Student actions may result in the students being placed in school detention, expelled for a few days or in extreme cases expelled for the school year. Desists and desisting If a student has numerous issues regarding inappropriate behaviors and nothing seems to work to deter a negative behavior and the student still desists then it may be necessary to remove the student from the classroom and place the student in detention. Sending a written letter home to the parent or guardian to explain the student actions/behaviors. NOTE: Select the least intrusive strategy to gain students compliance. Avoid lecturing/nagging. Parent communication Communication systems- letters, notes, calls One of the easiest ways a teacher can communicate with a parent or parents is to send home weekly progress reports and weekly classroom newsletters with identified areas or skills to learn for the week. Another good way to communicate is through the school website. E-mail is also a great way to communicate but not all families especially in rural areas have Internet access. The teacher can also provide contact numbers or contact hours for parents to communicate with them. Conferences Parent teacher conferences are a great way to get to know the parent and the type of family that the student comes from. Understanding a students background will help understand their styles of learning and what works best for each individual student. Involvement Teachers can also involve parents in school activities or invite parent if they have the time and opportunity to volunteer for a day in the classroom. Most parents like to stay involved even if they are unable to volunteer and another way for them to be involved is to donate materials, money or other things needed for the school or classroom. Dealing with moods, changes in weather, illness, etc. There are different situations that will affect the school day. Changes in moods are often related to weather. Some children do better when it is a sunny day versus a rainy or snowy day. Another distraction for children regarding the weather is a forecast of snow and the anticipation of a snow day. Sometimes illness of a child affects the classroom schedule. A child may not be sick when they arrive at school but during the day may develop a fever or sudden illness such as stomach virus or other illness. If this occurs, the teacher would refer the student to the school nurse to contact the parent or guardian to pick the student up from school. Modification of activities for specific times There are certain times that modification of class schedule will occur such as field trips, student assemblies, school fire drills, tornado drills, pep rallies or other activities. The teacher will adjust the class schedule and be flexible and prepared for any situation. Preparation and procedures for substitute teachers As a teacher I would have lesson plans for each week that would list daily schedule and list subject areas for each day/week. If the teacher is planning on being absent then materials, textbooks, paperwork and other materials would be listed and given to the substitute teacher in advance if the teacher has made plans to be absent. In other cases, if the teacher is ill or has other emergencies then the substitute would follow the lesson plans and use material that are in the classroom to help teach the class. K) Management of various instructional formats Whole group instruction As a teacher I would complete whole group instruction by explaining to the classroom the activity or subject they will be completing. Whole group instruction for younger children learning to read would be completed with the students gathered in a semi circle on the floor the teacher would start with echo reading to help the students with fluency, comprehension and reading with expression. Another example of whole group instruction in the subject are of math the teacher would use math manipulatives to show fractions using blocks representing how many triangle in a rectangle. Small group activities (and reading groups for elementary) Small group activities would include different activities set up for the students to learn computer skills, math games, and reading. Small groups of reading for elementary students will also allow the teacher to assess the students in the small group reading fluency and comprehension as well as phonics being able to sound out letters and words. Other formats particularly appropriate to the grade level or subject matter. Setting up simple science experiments for younger children to let them explore and complete hands-on activities seem to help motivate children to learn about science and their environment. In older students the students would be able to have a science lab or science workshop to perform experiments to create their own hypothesis.

Religion in American Politics Essay -- Role of Religious Lobbies

The United States of America has the most diverse religious population in the world. In places like Iraq, Syria, Israel, Afghanistan, Yemen, and other countries too numerous to mention, countless lives are lost over religious differences. In America, a Protestant can live happily next door to a Jew, who might live across the street from a Muslim, or a Catholic, or a Sikh, or even a Humanist! This is in no small way attributed to the fact that the US Constitution’s First Amendment includes what is known as the establishment clause, which states that â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,† effectively separating affairs of religious institutions from secular, governmental institutions. That is, however, no guarantee that American politics will turn a blind eye to religious beliefs. In fact, in the past few decades, political agendas have been turning more and more religious in nature(Paraschivesc u 2012:22). In 1960 John F. Kennedy was elected the first Roman Catholic President of the United States, putting an end to the 171-year tradition of presidents, beginning with George Washington, that were from Protestant backgrounds. While many conservative Protestants scoffed at Kennedy as trying to break down the wall of separation between church and state and bring Catholic teachings into American government, Kennedy eloquently replied by saying, â€Å"I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute—where no Catholic prelate would tell [a Catholic] president how to act and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote.† Kennedy went on to elaborate that no faith-based educational institution should be granted money by t... ...olitical system for as long as Americans are religious. References Chapp, C. B. (2012). Religious rhetoric and American politics: The endurance of civil religion in electoral campaigns. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Fowler, Robert Booth, and Allen D. Hertzke. 1995. Religion and Politics in America: Faith, Culture and Strategic Choices. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. Hertzke, Allen D. 1989. â€Å"The Role of Religious Lobbies.† Religion in American Politics. Ed. Charles W. Dunn. Washingtonc D.C.: Congressional Quarterly. Kosmin, Barry A., and Seymour P. Lachman. 1993. One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society. New York: Harmony Books. Paraschivescu, M. (2012). ‘We the People’ and God, religion and the political discourse in the United States of America. Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies, 11(33), 21-38.

Obesity Is a Disease

Obesity Is A Disease Obesity is a disease that affects one in three members of the American population. The trend of obese Americans has continually increased since 1960, and is not showing signs of slowing down. More than half of the adults in America are considered overweight or obese, and about thirty-four percent of the total population in the U. S is either overweight or obese. One is considered â€Å"overweight† if the body mass index, or BMI, is twenty-five to twenty-nine kilograms. â€Å"Obese† is any number thirty or greater (Hateweight. com). Obesity is the cause of at least 300,000 deaths in the U. S every year, second only to smoking (American Obesity Association). There are many causes of obesity, some of which are environmentally related and others are geneticly related. Genetics from an obese relative can be passed from generation to another; this form of obesity is hard to control without proper treatment (Hateweight. com). The American culture has been the biggest cause of obesity. All of our surroundings and social environments have greatly influenced obesity. Most social events revolve around food or drinks, which are usually unhealthy for the body. Food itself has become a reward; young children are often rewarded for good behavior with a â€Å"treat† (American Obesity Association). This treat is often a child’s favorite candy or sweet. Adults also use food as a reward. Successful business transactions between companies are often celebrated with food and drinks. Employees often stop after work to have drinks and possibly dinner to celebrate. Alcoholic drinks are very high in fat and have no nutritional value. Also, most restaurant food is high in fat and calories. Another factor which is the cause of this disease is lifestyle. People are no as physically active as they should be. They have become more dependent on someone else to do their work for them. An example if this would be fast food restaurants. Why make dinner when you can go up the street and have someone else cook it for you? Most meals from fast food restaurants have almost fifty percent, if not more calories than a person needs for one day. Another cause of obesity would be a person’s mental state. People cope with life changing experiences differently, such as a death of a family member or the loss of a job. These types of events cause some people to over-eat and, over time, become overweight. Obesity has many effects on a person both psychologically and physically. Psychologically, obesity may cause a person to become depressed and even become suicidal. Not only that, but it can also cause low self esteem (Hateweight. com). Physically, obesity has a greater effect, because it is known to cause many other health related issues. Arthritis may occur in the hands, hips, back, and knees from the extra weight a person would be carrying around. Seventy-five percent of people with hypertension are obese. The risk of developing hypertension is five times greater in an obese person than compared to a non-obese individual. Obesity is also the leading cause of cardiovascular disease, carpal tunnel syndrome, chronic venous insufficiency, daytime fatigue, deep vein thrombosis, diabetes type 2, infections following wounds, infertility, liver disease, lower back pains, obstetric and gynecologic complications, sleep apnea, stroke, and surgical complications(American Obesity Association). Not only does obesity cause all of those diseases, but it also increases an individual’s chance of getting many different types of cancer. Breast cancer, esophagus and gastric cardial cancers, colorectal cancer, endometrial cancer, and renal cell cancer all have been linked to obesity in one way or another (American Obesity Association). Treatment for obesity comes in many forms. One form is called dietary therapy, were a doctor will devise, a diet which an individual should follow to lose weight. The diet usually consists of more healthy foods with low calories and smaller portions. Along with a diet plan the doctor recommends physical activity, which is another treatment. Physical activity could be anything from working out at a gym or playing sports to just moving around the house more. Behavior therapy is a combination of both dietary and physical therapy in which the doctor comes up with new diet and physical activity habits to promote weight loss (Hateweight. com). The treatment with the biggest risk is surgery. An individual may have their stomach stapled so they will eat smaller portions of food and, which causes the body to burn the fat cells faster because there are fewer calories coming in. Obesity is a serious matter because of all the risks that follow it. The only way to stop obesity is to become more informed and more knowledgeable of the foods we consume, and to become more physically active. Obesity is the second leading cause of unnecessary deaths in the U. S. Despite its death toll is has not received the attention it needs from the government. Bibliography www. hateweight. com www. obesity. org www. nlm. nih. gov/medlineplus/obesity. html http://www. obesity-online. com/ http://www. cdc. gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/

Alex Ferguson – Autocratic Leadership Style

Leadership Styles: Autocratic Leadership Style This is the type of leadership exhibits by dictators. A leader exerts high levels of power over his or her followers. An autocratic leader gives his or her idea which the team must follow. He or she has no time for deliberations on others ideas before chosing one. In autocracy, time wasting in long deliberations is reduced but most followers will not like being treated as bench warmers without having anything to contribute. For leading unskilled workers who do not have any skill about a job, this leadership style is appropriate.Charismatic Leadership Style This is the type of leadership in which the leader lead through encouragement and enthusiasm. A charismatic leader builds power around himself or herself which draws followers around him or her. Charismatic leaders wield so much power about their team that team success always depends on them. They control too much influence on their team. Bureaucratic Leadership Style Bureaucratic lead ers are principled and lead by instructions. They write instructions and expect workers and followers to follow these.It is good for works requiring rules like using machineries but not good for management and skilled staff because it delimits their initiatives. Influential Leadership Style An influential leader delibrates with his team members and followers and use thir contributions to make decisions. Where he or she has a clear road map on the way he or she wants to go, an influential leader will still brain-storm with his or her team member and help the team to come out with his or her idea as collective team decision. He or she is a good moderator nd effective talker. He or she communicates with the team and highlights what needs to be done. He or she rely on his or her team support for performance of the task. He or she develops the team members by delegating tasks and allowing members to air their opinions. This type of leadership is appropriate for managing people with skill and education but not people who do not have ideas about the tasks. Laissez-Faire Leadership Style This is free style leadership style in which the leader gives adequate authority to the team members to decide on their own.Laissez-Faire is a French word meaning individualistic. A Laissez-Faire leader does not encourage team work, but allows the team members to work individually. It is good to manage skilled workers and where everybody knows his or her role, for example, a University Departmental staff, but it may put a leader out of control if care is not taken. Participatory Leadership Style This is a type of leadership in which the leader shows examples by participating with his or her team members and showing them what to do so that they can carry out the task on their own in future.It asumes that all team members except the leader do not know the task. It encourages teamwork and ensures that all team members are aware of the task ahead. It is a good way of fostering collaborati on. Most skilled workers will not fancy participatory leader because he or she shows thinks that he or she knows all. Service-Oriented Leadership Style It is a type of leadership style in which the leader moderates all team members to reach decision. He is at the back watching proceedings and only comes out with what the team has ageed.It is a form of democracy except that the leader does not influence decision making. The leader only supply the team members with enough information and background for them to deliberate. It is a good way of leadership where the leader does not have knowledge about the technicalities of what is being decided. For example as a chairman of a committee in which he or she does not have knowledge of how things work. It may expose a leader as a novice if he or she does not manage the situation well. Managerial Leadership StyleA managerial leader is only interested in making sure that the job is done. He or she is only concern about the welfare of his or her team in as much as they can do the job. His or her team is measured by its performance. A managerial leader sees all his or her team members as tools for job performance and dispensable. He may be influential or autocratic depending on situation. He is a result-oriented leader. He puts the structure in place for team members to work and satisfy their requirements as far as they are getting results.He does not want to understand why there may be failure and does not give room for second trial. Transactional Leadership Style This is the type of leadership in which rewards are measured by performance. This leadership style believes fingers are not equal and deals with individuals team members according to their performance. Good performances are rewarded while poor performances are punished. Transactional leadership does not consider his or her surbodinates as members of his or her team but as workers who must be managed to get works done. His or her tool is â€Å"carrot and caneâ₠¬ .If works is going on fine, he or she can use award to motivate good work or fines to punish bad work. Transformational Leadership Style A transformational leader is a delegator of tasks and inspires his or her team to share in his or her vision and the objectives. This is a true leader who motivates and care for his or her team. He or she wants to achieve results through his or her team and take time to understand the conditions of all the team members. He or she is visible by the team members and show more interest in the team than in the task ahead.He or she is a good communicator and naturally influence the team. The team members work not only to get paid but for the transformational leader to succeed. The transformational leader sees all his or her team members as potentials and lead by examples. He or she supervises the ideas of his or her team members. This style is good for managing big organisations and large groups like a state. The team members know what the transforma tional leader requires from them and are ready to work without him. There is no leadership style that canbot be used to manage people in order to meet goals.After finding his or her leadership style, a leader should realise that human beings are different from each other in the way they think, see. feel and reason. Leaders should therefore, understand that everybody will require different kind of leadership style to be managed for results. While some people will require transformational leadership style, others will require influential or managerial leadership styles. Leadership Styles of Selected Successful Team Managers Sir Alex Ferguson is the most successful manager in British football history – winning more than 30 trophies during his time in charge of the Reds.Yet despite more than two decades at the Manchester United's helm, he remains focused on increasing that tally, bringing yet more silverware to Old Trafford. The Reds boss enjoyed a playing career north of the Eng land border that saw him take in spells with Queens Park, St. Johnstone, Dunfermline, Glasgow Rangers Falkirk and Ayrshire United. But it is not for his playing of the game that Sir Alex was to become a success. Following a spell out of the game he moved into coaching, taking up the role of manager of East Stirlingshire, St Mirren then Aberdeen. It was his time at Pittodrie where he earned his reputation as a top coach.He broke the Glasgow dominance of Scottish football to lead Aberdeen to three Scottish titles, four Scottish cups, one League Cup and one Europeans Cup Winners' Cup. Following the sacking of Ron Atkinsons as manager of Manchester United, the Old Trafford hierachy moed quickly for his services. They got their man on 6 November 1986. Ferguson inherited a dispirited team of underachievers who had consitently, to their supporters failed to break Liverpool dominance to their supporters discontent. Ferguson motivates his team by listening to their needs and is ready to prov ide for them.He sees them as his sons and call everyone of his palyer â€Å"son†. He sees them as the greatest asset of his team and is reay to solve their personal problems as a manager. Ferguson does not allow inter team rivalry and has a good system of conflict resolution. All his team members, sees him as a father and not only as a tea manager. Sir Alex Ferguson is an Influential leader, approachable and humorous. In December 2009, he said the secret of his success is a scruffy old red Wakes wooly hat he nicked off Ryan Giggs (one of his team members) way back in Novemeber 1996 before playing against a team in Turkey.He creates atmosphere of friendliness in his camp and abhor segregation or the existence of unhealthy rivalry in his team. Ferguson said; â€Å"The only time Ryan has ever let himself down is letting me steal his Welsh bunnet. He is never going to get it back, because it is lucky for me. I have always worn it. I pinched it off him when we were in Turkey befo re a game against Ferneberche. At the time, I just thought it would look better on me than him†. He does not do sentimentality when it comes to naming his team. He believes whoever plays for the team is the best choice at the particular time.

The Principle Of Stare Decisis Example

The Principle Of Stare Decisis Example The Principle Of Stare Decisis – Coursework Example The Principle of Stare Decisis Court adherence according to the legal issues presented is established on the basis of court decisions. The application as evidenced essay demonstrated what the court had already decided on the murder case of Charisse and Lacie. The expectations based on the legal system were to define some level of consistency as explained in the case establishment procedure. Though the murder case appeared complex and based on various facts, Stare decisis explored by preserving some amount of information necessary to project appropriate decisions. Depending on the set of information presented, Payne actions illustrated that the settings made against the evidence projected explore a reconsideration based on facts. (Black, 1979)In the first instance, the malt of liquor which had Payne fingerprints was equally fully based on the existing information. Prior to the murder, there appeared to have been various classes of information that the judges had to dwell on in order t o establish the necessary judgment. Equally enough, the argument was consistent with the various state of information, and the judges were hence at liberty to ignore the stare decsis. The composition of this attempt is based on mistakes making a controversial role play in the entire ruling. Hence adherence to decisive principles involves providing absolute information as per the court establishment. The criminal justice law agencies make a reflection of the law and the constitutional overruns help to provide a justifiable understanding of the effective law judgments. If for example the murder case involving the minor aged 3 presented in the essay appears to be counter-productive then the law considers the latest information and hence presents this before the US Supreme court for interpretation. Court decisions defined in the US Supreme court and expressed as an overturn imply that the system itself is based on the stare decisis decision procedure, widely accepted according to the la w. The aggravation based on the amount of punishment preferred explore the impact of the guilt especially when the evidence is adequate and which would warrant unconditional passage of judgment. (Landes, 1976).ReferencesLandes, W. & Posner, R.(1976). Legal Precedent: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis. Journal of Law and Economics, 249, 251Black, H.C. (1979). Case law. Blacks Law Case law is a 1979 Dictionary, Fifth Edition, West Publishing Co., St. Paul, MN, 1

Understanding Scaled Scores on Standardized Tests

Understanding Scaled Scores on Standardized Tests Scaled scores are a type of exam score. They are commonly used by testing companies that administer high stakes exams, such as admissions, certification and licensure exams. Scaled scores are also used for K-12 Common Core testing and other exams that assess student skills and evaluate learning progress. Raw Scores vs. Scaled Scores The first step to understanding scaled scores is to learn how they differ from raw scores. A raw score represents the number of exam questions you answer correctly. For example, if an exam has 100 questions, and you get 80 of them correct, your raw score is 80. Your percent-correct score, which is a type of raw score, is 80%, and your grade is a B-. A scaled score is a raw score that has been adjusted and converted to a standardized scale. If your raw score is 80 (because you got 80 out of 100 questions correct), that score is adjusted and converted into a scaled score. Raw scores can be converted linearly or nonlinearly. Scaled Score Example The ACT is an example of an exam that uses linear transformation to convert raw scores to scaled scores. The following conversation chart shows how raw scores from each section of the ACT are transformed into scaled scores.   Raw Score English Raw Score Math Raw Score Reading Raw Score Science Scaled Score 75 60 40 40 36 72-74 58-59 39 39 35 71 57 38 38 34 70 55-56 37 37 33 68-69 54 35-36 - 32 67 52-53 34 36 31 66 50-51 33 35 30 65 48-49 32 34 29 63-64 45-47 31 33 28 62 43-44 30 32 27 60-61 40-42 29 30-31 26 58-59 38-39 28 28-29 25 56-57 36-37 27 26-27 24 53-55 34-35 25-26 24-25 23 51-52 32-33 24 22-23 22 48-50 30-31 22-23 21 21 45-47 29 21 19-20 20 43-44 27-28 19-20 17-18 19 41-42 24-26 18 16 18 39-40 21-23 17 14-15 17 36-38 17-20 15-16 13 16 32-35 13-16 14 12 15 29-31 11-12 12-13 11 14 27-28 8-10 11 10 13 25-26 7 9-10 9 12 23-24 5-6 8 8 11 20-22 4 6-7 7 10 18-19 - - 5-6 9 15-17 3 5 - 8 12-14 - 4 4 7 10-11 2 3 3 6 8-9 - - 2 5 6-7 1 2 - 4 4-5 - - 1 3 2-3 - 1 - 2 0-1 0 0 0 1 Source: ACT.org The Equating Process The scaling process creates a base scale that serves as a reference for another process known as equating. The equating process is necessary to account for differences between multiple versions of the same test. Although test makers try to keep the difficulty level of a test the same from one version to the next, differences are inevitable. Equating allows the test maker to statistically adjust scores so that the average performance on version one of the test is equal to average performance on version two of the test, version three of the test and so on. After undergoing both scaling and equating, scaled scores should be interchangeable and easily comparable no matter which version of the test was taken.   Equating Example Lets look at an example to see how the equating process can impact scaled scores on standardized tests.  Imagine that say you and a friend are taking the SAT. You will both be taking the exam at the same test center, but you will be taking the test in January, and your friend will be taking the test in February. You have different testing dates, and there is no guarantee that you will both take the same version of the SAT. You may see one form of the test, while your friend sees another. Although both tests have similar content, the questions are not exactly the same. After taking the SAT, you and your friend get together and compare your results. You both got a raw score of 50 on the math section, but your scaled score is 710 and your friends scaled score is 700. Your pal wonders what happened since both of you got the same number of questions correct. But the explanation is pretty simple; you each took a different version of the test, and your version was more difficult than his. To get the same scaled score on the SAT, he would have needed to answer more questions correctly than you. Test makers that use an equating process use a different formula to create a unique scale for each version of the exam. This means that there is no one raw-to-scale-score conversion chart that can be used for every version of the exam. That is why, in our previous example, a raw score of 50 was converted into 710 on one day and 700 on another day. Keep this in mind as you are taking practice tests and using conversion charts to transform your raw score into a scaled score. Purpose of Scaled Scores Raw scores are definitely easier to calculate than scaled scores. But testing companies want to make sure that test scores can be fairly and accurately compared even if test takers take different versions, or forms, of the test on different dates. Scaled scores allow for accurate comparisons and ensure that people who took a more difficult test are not penalized, and people who took a less difficult test are not given an unfair advantage.

Learning the Basic Steps of MySQL

Learning the Basic Steps of MySQL New website owners often stumble at the mention of database management, not realizing how much a database can enhance a  website experience. A database is just  an organized and structured collection of data.   MySQL is a free open source SQL database management system. When you understand MySQL, you can use it to store content for your website and access that content directly using PHP. You dont even need to know SQL to communicate with MySQL. You just need to know how to operate the software that your web host provides. In most cases that is phpMyAdmin. Before You Begin Experienced programmers might choose to manage data  by using the SQL code directly either through a shell prompt or through some sort of a query window. New users are better off learning how to use phpMyAdmin. It is the most popular MySQL management program, and almost all web hosts have it installed for you to use. Contact your host to find out where and how you can access it. You need to know your MySQL login before you begin.   Create a Database The first thing you need to do is create a database. Once that is done, you can start adding information. To create a database in phpMyAdmin: Log in to your account at your web hosting site.Locate and click the phpMyAdmin icon and log in. It will be in your websites root folder.Look for Create New Database on the screen.Enter the database name in the field provided and  click Create.   If the create database feature is disabled, contact your host to create a new database. You must have permission  to create new databases. After you create the database, you are taken to a screen where you can enter tables. Creating Tables In the database, you can have many tables, and each table is a grid with information held in  cells on the grid. You need to create at least one table to hold data in your database. In the area labeled Create new table on database [your_database_name], enter a name (for example: address_book) and type a number in the Fields cell. Fields are columns that hold information. In the address_book example, these fields hold first name, last name, street address and so on. If you know the number of fields you need, enter it. Otherwise, just enter a default number 4. You can change the number of fields later. Click Go. In the next screen, enter a descriptive name for each field and select a data type for each field. Text and number are the two most popular types. The Data Now that you have created a database, you can enter data directly into the fields using phpMyAdmin. Data in a table can be managed in many ways. A tutorial on ways to  add, edit, delete, and search the information in your database  gets you started.   Get Relational The great thing about MySQL is that it is a relational database. This means the data from one of your tables can be used in conjunction with data on another table as long as they have one field in common. This is called a Join, and you can learn how to do it in this  MySQL Joins tutorial. Working From PHP Once you get the hang of using  SQL to work with your database, you can use SQL from PHP files on your website. This allows your website to store all its content in your database and access it dynamically as needed by each page or each visitors request.

Summary Marketing Plan Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Summary Marketing Plan - Term Paper Example This marketing plan will first make a situational analysis for the cafà ©. In the situational analysis, the overall picture in terms of trends, statistics, size, growth and competition will be discussed. Also, a SWOT analysis will be performed for identifying the strength, weakness, opportunities and threats of the current industry. The report will also give an insight into the current competitors in the industry. A comprehensive explanation of the target market and product positioning is discussed. Based on all these analysis, a marketing plan is charted out for the cafà ©. Cafà © Gam Sung will be located at Sunnyside neighborhood in New York City. Sunnyside is located in the western portion of New York City. Sunnyside contains a total population of 29,506 people. Though majority of the population are Americans, a larger portion is also constituted of people from almost 30 countries. Therefore, Sunnyside is a place with very diverse cultural characteristics. The median income of the region is $37,962. Majority of the population in the area are of the age group of 25 – 39 years. Clearly mentioning, they constitute up to 32% of the Sunnyside population. The next bigger group is 40 – 64 years old forming around 30%. Teenage people of 19 – 24 years old form 7% of the population. The majority of the employed people are from the industries of retail/wholesale, professional, manufacturing, finance, education/health and arts/entertainment. Around 44% of the employed population falls into the income category of $30,000 - $74,999. 40% fall below $30,000. Only a meager 1% has an annual income of higher than 150,000. Sunnyside is a market with a highly growing potential for coffee shops. The major opportunity in the market is that it contains a considerable portion of young population. The population of age groups 19 – 39 years is of great potential for the business.

Isabel Allendes novel, La Casa de los Espritus Essay

Isabel Allendes novel, La Casa de los Espritus - Essay Example A major part of the novel relates their stormy marriage and the birth of their three children, punctuated with deaths and disaster, and seasoned with Trueba's worsening temper. A democratic senator in his later life, he witnesses the changing political scene before, during and after the military coup, and the disintegration of his family, health and everything that he holds dear. Esteban is one of the narrative axes of the novel. It is often through his eyes as the first-person narrator, or his emotions via the omniscient narrator, that the reader weighs the effects of the events of the story, bearing a witness to accompany Clara's notebooks until the moment when Alba would write her "testimonio". For example, when Rosa dies by accidental poisoning, it is from Esteban's perspective that we feel the senseless tragedy in the words: "no poda nadie comprender mi frustracin por haber pasado dos aos rascando la tierra para hacerme rico, con el nico propsito de llevar algn da a esa joven al altar y la muerte me la haba birlado." (p. 25). Likewise, the deaths of Jaime and Clara, and the arrest of Alba, are filled with pathos because of his gaze and voice:"cay de rodillas al suelo gimiendo como una criatura," (p. 174). Esteban is also witness to the destruction and ruinous passage of time, as he observes: "Dej sus maletas sobre una mesa y sali a recorrer la casa, luc hando contra la tristeza que comenzaba a invadirlo. Pas de una habitacin a otra, vio el deterioro que el tiempo haba labrado en todas las cosas." (p. 34) Trueba is the cornerstone of the family saga. His violent, delusional and idealistic personality is a catalyst for the many family disasters, and to some extent, the political disaster. His chauvinistic arrogance leads him to rape, impregnate and repudiate Pancha Garcia, whose grandson, Esteban, fed on his mother's dishonour, his uncle's resentment of the patrn, and his own sense of injustice at having to live a life of bastardry, takes revenge on the family by arresting, maiming and raping Alba. His arrogance forces the lovers to hide their love, Blanca to marry Jean de Satigny against her wishes and discover his "malfico reino de los incas" (p. 156). He outcasts his sister, Ferula, out of jealousy for her (unnatural) love for Clara, relegating her to a solitary death in the slums (p. 92). A symbol of just what a destructive force he is in the life of his family is when he and Jaime go to steal Rosa's body to place it beside Clara's in the "el mausoleo color salmn". The effect of hi s egotistical desire to see her and kiss her once more is that: en un instante la novia inmutable se deshizo como un encantamiento, se desintegr en un polvillo tenue y gris. Cuando levant la cabeza y abr los ojos, con el beso fro an en los labios, ya no estaba Rosa, la bella. En su lugar haba una calavera con las cuencas vacas, unas tiras de piel color marfil adheridas a los pmulos y unos mechones de crin mohoso en la nuca. (p. 184) But aside from the havoc of his attempts at control on his family, he bears no little responsibility in stirring up the political assassination of the

Introduction to Criminal Justice Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Introduction to Criminal Justice - Coursework Example Another problem with UCR is that it only reports the most serious offense and does not collect all important pieces of information. To improve the reliability and validity of UCR data efforts are being done to improve how crime statistics will be reported and collected. Apart from UCR, there is now the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) which aims to provide a more detailed crime statistics and collect information in a more categorized and defines ways. 2. Victimization surveys refer to the method of questioning the victims of a crime about their experiences. These surveys collect a more detailed information about the crime incident, for instance when and where it occurred, how was the crime executed, and whether the victim was related to the offender. The advantages of Victimization surveys are: (1) provides more accurate estimates on the dark figure crime; (2) collected data help in understanding why some people choose to not report crime events to the law enforcement ; (3) the information gathered provides criminologists further explanation about the association of crime and social interaction that exists between the victim and offender. On the other hand, Victimization Surveys are also perceived to be limited in scope, unreliable due to memory errors, deception, sampling error, and telescoping. 3. Children are deemed to be one special population of crime victims. Since they are young and helpless, it is very easy for them to be abused by older family members. Different forms of abuse (physical, sexual and emotional) and neglect are the usual types of victimization that they confront, and the rate of victimization is on its highest among the youngest children. Another special population of crime victims is the senior citizens group. The usual types of victimization they face are nonfatal violent crime which is at 5%, and property crimes which is at 25%. The third special population of crime victims is the intimate partner. Intimate partners norm ally experience violent acts like murder, rape, robbery, and assault. Approximately, there are 570,000 women offended by their partners. 4. Often, the victims interact with the police in an uncomfortable and apprehensive manner because, first, the victims find the police’s process of questioning intimidating and, second, the victims are virtually always anxious about the result of the investigation which poses conflict to the â€Å"slowly but surely† process of the police. Similarly, the victims also feel uncomfortable and intimated whenever they interact with the prosecutors because of direct confrontation and vandalizing their property. In terms of the victims’ interaction with the parole boards, the conflict between the victims and parole boards usually arises when their offender receives an early release order, not to mention that majority of the parole boards give less credit to the statemenst of the victims. 5. The four main goals of punishment are general deterrence, specific deterrence, incapacitation, and retribution. 6. A punishment is deemed effective when, as much as possible, the offender is being punished immediately after the offense, the offenders are well-informed as to why they are being punished, there is consistency in the implementation of punishment, and there exist a strong and healthy relationship between the criminal and the punisher. Generally, punishment in the United

A usability report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

A usability report - Essay Example I measured whether each task was passed or failed by asking the participants to tell me how long it took to find the necessary links. If it took more than 5 seconds to find any of the links on the page, it was a fail. Any link that took under 5 seconds to locate was a pass. The test participants were two guys and one girl. The equipment that was used were four Macintosh MacBook laptops equipped with mice and mouse pads. 2. Describe, clearly, what parameters of usability you were testing for. E.g. effectiveness, efficiency, satisfaction or learnability – Describe how you measured these parameters in your test. Describe how you measured whether a usability problem was trivial or significant. (470 words) The parameter of usability that was being tested for was basically efficiency. Effectiveness, satisfaction, and learnability were not necessarily what were taken into account, basically because the idea was that, if a person could not efficiently use the website (read: quickly), they might be more apt to go visit another website instead. What any website wants is more traffic. Obviously, the Coventry University Student Union is no different in that regard. I measured this usability problem as being trivial or significant by asking each participant in the study, â€Å"How important is it to you—on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the most important—that a website you visit be easily navigable?† One-hundred percent of study participants responded that they thought it rated ‘10’. One user blatantly said, â€Å"I had such a hard time finding out where the Rag Week 2011 link was, I just ultimately gave up after like 20 seconds.† The other two study pa rticipants reiterated similar thoughts. â€Å"Sorry, I didn’t find it.† â€Å"I didn’t bother looking for the link after the 5 seconds was up.† Such results were indicative that the problem in finding the link, which was buried in the middle of the page in small type, was a

The Clients Specific Areas of Strength and Growth Essay

The Clients Specific Areas of Strength and Growth - Essay Example Emotion = Joe is good at his projects and at organizing his team but personally, he feels sometimes off balance when he has to cooperate with business and marketing and feels devalued due to the emphasis is given to marketing and innovation by his company. Will = Joe takes on new challenges under high – stress conditions, he is proactive and he takes initiatives. Context = Joe wants to move upward in the business but this does not create a purpose for him. As Flaherty (2005) wrote: â€Å"Our capacity to design a purpose and then bring our own life into alignment with it is what I mean by context.† In the case of Joe, his ambitions do not form a purpose and his worries about the time spent with his family show that he is not going beyond his and his family’s survival and comfort. Soul = Joe has shown understanding of the issues concerning to this team and compassion to their needs, a fact that it is proved by the effectiveness of his team. He shows also compassion to his family since he wants to devote time to it and especially to his children. The creation of a coaching plan that will enhance personal development is a critical step in motivating a positive performance. The coaching plan will improve the areas of growth and it will have the following stages: State the Final Goal The goals will be: improving cooperation with business people within one month, develop business knowledge by attending a specific course of one year duration, to coordinate effectively work and personal life within three months, attend negotiation, time management and conflict management courses during the present year. The final goal will be to move upward in the organization. State the Progress Goals to Milestones The milestones over the next year will be set in quarters. In the first quarter, he will start his business course and he will set up more meetings with business people so he will be in the position to understand better their goals and priorities. In the second quarter, he will attend the time management courses so as he can bring in balance his personal and professional life and in the third quarter, he should have finished the business course.

The Negatives and Downfalls of U.S Public Schools and Its System Research Paper

The Negatives and Downfalls of U.S Public Schools and Its System - Research Paper Example The current public school curriculum is fixed. The current curriculum is not addressing the problem of individual differences. No tow individuals are alike. Same way it is not necessary that needs of two children are the same. Current curriculum is providing same thing to all the children irrespective of the different tastes of children. For example, a child who hates mathematics, forced to learn mathematics. Same was a child who likes painting may not get the opportunity to learn more about painting in public schools. Instead of tying the children inside the classrooms, they should be allowed to come out of the class rooms and learn something from the nature. Ultimately, the workplace for a child will be the nature when he grows up. So, the training to tackle the challenges from the nature should be given at an early age itself. â€Å"The good news for parents is that public schools cannot charge tuition. The bad news is that public schools are complicated, often underfunded operat ions influenced by political winds and shortfalls†(Great schools staffs). Private schools raise funds through tuition fees, developmental activities and contributions from the alumni whereas public schools don’t have such channels of funding. Moreover, the funds allotted to public schools have been reduced considerably by the administration. â€Å"In a recent survey of school districts, 43% of respondents reported budget cuts of 10% or less for this academic year, and 21% reported cuts of 11 to 25%, according to the American Association of School Administrators (School budget cuts across the US projected for next academic year) One of the toughest blows and most shocking hypocrisies of the Bush education budget is his plan to entirely end the Perkins Loan Program,... This essay declares that the current public school curriculum is fixed. The current curriculum is not addressing the problem of individual differences. No tow individuals are alike. Same way it is not necessary that needs of two children are the same. Current curriculum is providing same thing to all the children irrespective of the different tastes of children. For example, a child who hates mathematics, forced to learn mathematics. Same was a child who likes painting may not get the opportunity to learn more about painting in public schools. Instead of tying the children inside the classrooms, they should be allowed to come out of the class rooms and learn something from the nature. Ultimately, the workplace for a child will be the nature when he grows up. So, the training to tackle the challenges from the nature should be given at an early age itself. This paper makes a conclusion that major problem which contributed to the downfall of public school system in America is the bigger class size. The class size will be bigger in public schools compared to private schools and therefore individualized attention cannot be guaranteed to students studying in such schools. Private schools have many options to raise funds whereas public schools have limited options for raising funds. Public school facilities depend heavily on the economy of the place of its operation and any fluctuations in local economy can adversely affect the public school system. The salaries of the teachers in public schools are cheaper when we compare it to the salaries obtained by the private schools.

The Clients Specific Areas of Strength and Growth Essay

The Clients Specific Areas of Strength and Growth - Essay Example Emotion = Joe is good at his projects and at organizing his team but personally, he feels sometimes off balance when he has to cooperate with business and marketing and feels devalued due to the emphasis is given to marketing and innovation by his company. Will = Joe takes on new challenges under high – stress conditions, he is proactive and he takes initiatives. Context = Joe wants to move upward in the business but this does not create a purpose for him. As Flaherty (2005) wrote: â€Å"Our capacity to design a purpose and then bring our own life into alignment with it is what I mean by context.† In the case of Joe, his ambitions do not form a purpose and his worries about the time spent with his family show that he is not going beyond his and his family’s survival and comfort. Soul = Joe has shown understanding of the issues concerning to this team and compassion to their needs, a fact that it is proved by the effectiveness of his team. He shows also compassion to his family since he wants to devote time to it and especially to his children. The creation of a coaching plan that will enhance personal development is a critical step in motivating a positive performance. The coaching plan will improve the areas of growth and it will have the following stages: State the Final Goal The goals will be: improving cooperation with business people within one month, develop business knowledge by attending a specific course of one year duration, to coordinate effectively work and personal life within three months, attend negotiation, time management and conflict management courses during the present year. The final goal will be to move upward in the organization. State the Progress Goals to Milestones The milestones over the next year will be set in quarters. In the first quarter, he will start his business course and he will set up more meetings with business people so he will be in the position to understand better their goals and priorities. In the second quarter, he will attend the time management courses so as he can bring in balance his personal and professional life and in the third quarter, he should have finished the business course.

Respond to the question from a theistic world view .evaluate both Essay

Respond to the question from a theistic world view .evaluate both their naturalisic and theistic vew - Essay Example The paper explores â€Å"big† questions raised by laypersons and experts, explained better through Christian Theism than Philosophical Naturalism. How did this world come into existence? Scientist, theologians, and philosophers have spent their lives finding the answer. Various theories and propositions have been presented, and the scientists now agree with the fact that the existence of world came into being from nothing and that it is continually expanding towards a fierce end. The â€Å"Big Bang Theory† is the only possible explanation the Naturalists’ can give for the existence of the universe, which itself is contested in cosmological terms among scientists, providing insufficient answers regarding who was that being that made the Big Bang. The Christians believed all of this, long before scientists, through scriptures in the Bible referring to an â€Å"uncaused, first cause† (God) that caused the universe. The Theists’ answer is the only possible explanation providing coherency and stability to the cosmology of the Big Bang Theory. This is done by explaining an ever-loving God that existed bef ore anything else existed who made this world to show His supremacy, and for people to understand His nature and offer the glad tidings of an immortal life in the hereafter. Naturalists have pondered and presented various vague theories explaining the complex structures and systems involved in the make-up of this universe. Unfortunately, they do not recognize a creator and that is why they are unable to present any plausible explanation. The biological explanations of origin of life are stated through Darwin’s â€Å"Theory of Evolution,† yet it is unable to provide sufficient evidence regarding the physical aspect of its origins. However, the Christian theism explains the harmony in which this universe has existed to be the cause of a creator. The (Genesis 2:7) explains that God has the power to create life from non-living

Permanent versus Transitory Earnings and Security Valuation

Permanent versus Transitory Earnings and Security Valuation In this study we examine the role of permanent and transitory earnings and cash flows in explaining security r in three major capital markets, UK, USA and France. We hypothesize that the relationship between cash flows and security returns improves when earnings are transitory and this robustness is country specific. The dataset consists of more than 40,000 USA, UK and French firm-year observations over a nine year period. Multivariate statistical regression analysis is undertaken to test the major research hypotheses. Results indicate that when earnings are transitory (not stable), investors pay more attention to cash flows and less attention to earnings, a result indicating that investors penalize firms with unstable earnings. In summary, the evidence provided in this study supports that indeed there are substantial differences in the way investors and financial analysts perceive financial information such as earnings and cash flows in the UK, France and the USA. These results shou ld be of great importance to the major stakeholders such as investors, creditors, financial analysts, especially after the recent global financial crisis and the collapse of giant organizations worldwide. Keywords: Permanent and Transitory Earnings, Capital markets, Earnings, Cash flows, France, Empirical. * Dr. Melita Charitou is an Assistant Professor of Finance and Accounting, University of Nicosia, Cyprus. Address for correspondence: Division of Finance and Economics, School of Business, University of Nicosia, Cyprus, email: [emailprotected] .1. INTRODUCTION Capital markets emphasized to a great extent the value relevance of earnings in the marketplace. The usefulness of earnings has also been examined recently in conjunction with cash flows (Bali et al (2009), Banker et al (2009), Bartov et al., 2001; Charitou et al., 2001, Ball et al., 2000, among others). Empirical research provided evidence to support that earnings are more useful than cash flows in the capital markets. Existing evidence on the association of operating cash flows beyond earnings in explaining security returns has been inconclusive. Furthermore, to date comparative international research on the value relevance of cash flows has been limited. Moreover, researchers argue that when aggregate data is used, it is assumed that the relationship between earnings and cash flows with security returns is homogeneous across firms. It should be noted that this assumption that investors react identically to earnings and cash flows of all firms is not that pragmatic.The present stud y hypothesizes the value relevance of earnings and cash flows is country specific and it depends on the transitoriness of earnings. Earnings persistence studies consistently report that earnings persistence is significantly positively associated with ERC (Easton and Zmijewski, 1989; Donnelly and Walker, 1995; Ali and Zarowin, 1992; Chambers, 2004). Cheng et al. (1996) extended prior studies on this topic and added cash flow variables in their models. They found that the incremental information content of cash flow from operations(CFO) should increase with a decrease in the permanence of earnings. Furthermore, Ali (1994) using non-linear models concluded that earnings, cash flows and working capital from operations(WCFO) have incremental information, which increases the lower are the absolute changes in earnings, cash flows and WCFO respectively. Finally, Ali and Zarowin (1992) show that the more transitory the previous periods earnings are, the greater the increase in the ERC and the expected incremental explanatory power from inclusion of the level variable. According to Cho and Chung (1991) the persistence meas ure used in those studies has 3 limitations: first, although persistence is changing over time, a constant parameter assumption is made which is problematic, especially when estimations are based on annual data for several year time series. Second, a measurement error problem exists, from using time-series reported earnings. Easton and Zmijewski (1989) use revision coefficient avoiding to some extend the latter problem. The third limitation is that persistence as measured by the time series of earnings is a crude proxy for the construct because it contains little economic content. Researchers also extended prior studies in order to examine the value relevance of the permanent and transitory earnings. Cheng et al (1996), Ali (1994), Ali and Zarowin (1992) and Easton and Zmijewski (1989) among others examine the impact of permanent and transitory earnings on the relations between returns and earnings or between returns and cash flows. Ali and Zarowin (1992) concluded that for firms with permanent earnings in the previous period, when the earnings level variable is included in the model, the incremental explanatory power and the increase in Earnings Response Coefficient (ERC) are small. Cheng et al. (1996) investigated whether the incremental information content of cash flows increases when earnings are transitory. Transitory earnings have smaller marginal impact on security returns. Moreover, their results showed that the incremental information content of accounting earnings decreases, and the incremental information content of cash flows increases with a decre ase in the permanence of earnings. Regression analysis was undertaken to test the major hypothesis. A sample of more than 40,000 USA, UK and French firm year observations was used to test the research hypotheses. The major conclusions of the empirical results are summarized as follows. First, regarding our basic proposition which stated that earnings and cash flows are associated with stock prices in USA, UK and France, results indicate that indeed both earnings and cash flows are taken into consideration by investors in their investment decisions. Second, regarding our major hypothesis which stated that the value relevance of earnings and cash flows is country specific and depends on the transitoriness of earnings, results indicate that when earnings are transitory (not stable), investors pay more attention to cash flows and less attention to earnings, a result indicating that investors penalize firms with unstable earnings. In summary, evidence provided in this study supports that indeed there are substantial differences in the way investors and financial analysts perceive financial information such as earnings and cash flows in UK, France and USA and that the value relevance of cash flows depends on the transitoriness of earnings. .2. LITERATURE REVIEW and Hypotheses development. Earnings are of primary importance to managers, because managerial executive compensation contracts are usually based on earnings. Managers select financial reporting methods to maximize the value of their bonus awards through incentives created by bonus schemes. In addition, managers indulge in income smoothing, that is, taking actions to dampen fluctuations in their organizations earnings, as investors pay more for a firm with a smoother income stream (Dechow et al. 2003; Barth et al. 2005). In the past few years there has been an increased interest in the role of earnings and cash flows in explaining security returns. Contextual factors, such as earnings transitoriness, have a common objective. To identify specific circumstances where the value relevance of earnings and cash flows is altered (improves or deteriorates). Using USA data, Freeman and Tse (1992) and Ali (1994) showed that transitory earnings have smaller marginal impact on security returns. Cheng et al (1996) and Charitou et al (2001) extended these studies by hypothesizing that when earnings are transitory, the value relevance of earnings diminishes, whereas the value relevance of cash flows is expected to increase. Earnings transitoriness was measured as the earnings change scaled by the beginning of period price and also by the earnings to price ratio. Extreme values of these measures could be considered as an indication of earnings transitoriness. Transitory items are expected to have limited valuation implications. Examples of transitory items in earnings include current and long-term accruals such as losses due to restructuring, current recognition through asset sales of previous periods increases in market values, one time impact on income from changes in accounting standards. The results of the Cheng et al. (1996) study indicated that a) when level and changes in earnings and cash flows are included in the model, all are value relevant in the marketplace, and b) when earnings are transitory the value relevance of earnings diminishes substantially, and simultaneously the value relevance of cash flows increases. In summary, these results are indeed of great importance since earlier studies assumed that the earnings returns relation is homogeneous across firms. These studies, however, disprove this assumption and indeed show that the value relevance of earnings and cash flows depends on the permanence or transitoriness of these measures. The present study goes a step further to examine whether the value relevance of earnings and cash flows is country specific and whether it depends on the transitoriness of earnings. 2.2 Research HypothesIs Empirical evidence supports that earnings are valued more than cash flows in the marketplace. Extant evidence though on the incremental information content of cash flows beyond earnings in different countries when earnings are transitory has been inconclusive (Barth et al., 2004, Bartov et al., 2001). The inconclusive results in prior studies, and the limited research on this issue provide motivation for this study. The research hypothesis to be tested is: Hypothesis 1: The value relevance of cash flows improves when earnings are transitory, whereas the value relevance of earnings decreases when earnings are transitory. The framework developed thus far suggests that both earnings levels and changes have explanatory power when they are included simultaneously in explaining stock returns. Earning changes are used as a proxy for unexpected earnings, following the assumption that earnings follow a random walk. Based on these arguments, in developing the theoretical framework on the transitoriness of earnings, it is proposed that annual earnings follow an Integrated Moving Average, IMA (1,1) process, which includes both levels and changes, i.e. permits for both transitory and permanent components. IMA was chosen because prior theoretical and empirical evidence shows that annual earnings follow a random walk (Cheng et al., 1996; Easton and Harris, 1991). This hypothesis predicts that the value relevance of earnings decreases when earnings are transitory and therefore, the value relevance of cash flows improves in all three countries when earnings are transitory. The issue of the time permanence of earnings has raised the stimulus in the present study in examining the role of operating cash flows when earnings are transitory. As Cheng, Liu and Schafer (1996) argue, earnings may contain transitory items with limited valuation implications. For example, transitory items that may be included are current and long- term accruals such as losses due to restructuring, current recognition (through asset sales) of increases in market value previously (or currently), one-time impact on income from changes in accounting standards etc. Moreover, because of compensation contracts and debt covenants are often based on reported accounting income, incentives exist for managers to introduce transitory elements in earnings. Dechow (1994) and Charitou et al (2001) also argue that because management has some discretion over the recognition of accruals, this can be used to manipulate earnings. Following Ali and Zarowin (1992) and Cheng, Liu and Schafer (1996), included in the theoretical framework, both levels and changes in order to characterise the unexpected components of earnings, whereas they also include levels and changes of cash flows from operations. This is done in order to test the hypothesis that when earnings are transitory the earnings response coefficients (ERCs) on both levels and changes will have reduced significance in explaining security returns. In this situation the importance of cash flows from operations will be greater. As in Freeman and Tse (1992) and Ali (1994) transitory elements are more likely to be present when unexpected earning values are large relative to price. Hence in the model [58], the coefficients c1t + c2t and c3t+ c4t represent the estimates of the earnings and cash flow response coefficients when earnings are mainly permanent. The coefficients c5t+ c6t and c7t+ c8t capture the additional information content of earnings and cash fl ows for firms with predominantly transitory earnings. It is expected c5t+ c6t to be negative and c7t+ c8t to be positive. In summary, following the aforementioned theoretical framework, I hypothesize that the incremental information content of cash flows from operations is expected to increase as the permanence of earnings decreases (see also Freeman and Tse, 1992; Ali, 1994; and Cheng, Liu and Schafer, 1996. Prior studies that examined earnings transitoriness include Cheng et al (1996) for the USA and Charitou et al (2000) for the UK. Prior studies have not examined the role of the cash flows when earnings are transitory in both Anglo-Saxon and code law countries. 3.0 Research Design 3.1 Dataset All industrial firms that belong in the Manufacturing Industry (SIC 100-4299, 4400-4799), Retail Industry (SIC 5000-5999) and Service Industry (SIC 7000-8999) from the USA, UK and France over the recent nine year period were selected. Industrial firms that had all the information available for the computation of operating cash flows, operating earnings and security returns were included in the sample, resulting in the following firm-year observations for the recent nine year period: USA =36695, UK =4234 and France = 1181. Consistent with prior empirical studies, observations that were regarded as outliers were excluded from the sample, i.e. observations with absolute change in earnings/market value, absolute change in cash flows/market value, earnings/market value and cash flow/market value greater than 150%. Also observations that were in excess of three absolute studentized residuals were considered outliers and were excluded from the sample. These restrictions resulted in approxim ate reduction of the sample size of about 2%, which is consistent with prior empirical studies. Therefore, the final sample size used for regression analysis purposes equals to 35872 firm-year observations for the USA sample, 4178 firm-year observations for the UK sample and 1165 firm-year observations for the French sample. 3.2 Measurement of financial and market variables In order to examine whether investors in UK, USA and France take into consideration in their investment decisions the levels and changes of earnings and cash flows, independent of each other, the following univariate regression model will be used: Univariate (Simple Regression) Model: RETit = b0 + biXi + eI (1) where: Xi: is replaced by: E: Operating Earnings ΔE: Change in operating-earnings CFO: Operating cash flows ΔCFO: Change in operating cash flows. RETit: stock return for firm i measured over a 12-month return interval ending three months after the fiscal-year-end. b0: the intercept term bi: slope coefficient ei: error term In order to test whether both the levels and changes of earnings and cash flows are valued differently in the capital markets, namely in USA, UK and France, the following multivariate regression model will be used: 3.3 Permanent vs transitory earnings models: In order to investigate the role of permanence of earnings, the basic regression model that includes the level and changes of earnings and cash flows will be extended to include additional dummy variables. The following model will be tested: RETit = c0 + c1Eit + c2 Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Eit + c3CFOit + c4 Ã¢â‚¬Å¾CFOit + c5Eit*D + c6 Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Eit*D + c7CFOit*D + c8 Ã¢â‚¬Å¾CFOit*D + eit where RETit= Security returns for the year, Eit = operating earnings CFOit = operating cash flows for firm i in period t,  Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ denotes the change in a variable, eit is the error term for firm i in period t D is a dummy variable taking a value of one when earnings are transitory and zero otherwise. Consistent with Cheng et al. (1996), two alternative definitions are used to determine D. Under one approach, D equals 1 (0) when |  Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Eit/ Pit-1 | is greater than (less than) its yearly cross-sectional median (Ali, 1994). Under the second approach, firms are ranked each year according to their Eit/ Pit-1 , placing firms with positive Eit/ Pit-1 into the first nine groups with equal number of firms per group and firms with negative earnings in the tenth group. Earnings are classified in the bottom two and top two groups as transitory (D=1) and earnings in the middle six groups as permanent (D=0) (Ali and Zarowin, 1992, Charitou et al, 2001). 4.0 EMPIRICAL RESULTS 4.1. Descriptive Statistics Table 1 presents basic descriptive statistics for all the earnings, cash flows and security returns variables examined in the study for all three countries (USA, UK and France) for the recent nine year period. Results indicate the following: a) the mean security return for UK and USA is the highest (0.092 and 0.08, respectively), whereas in France is somewhat lower, 0.055, b) the mean earnings level is higher for UK (0.057) and lowest for USA. For the French dataset the mean of earnings levels is 0.037; c) the mean of the cash flow levels is shown to be the highest for the French dataset (0.184) and lower for UK and USA (0.123 and 0.057, respectively); d) as expected the standard deviation of the levels and changes of cash flows is always higher than the level and changes of earnings in all three countries. These results are consistent with the results provided in prior empirical studies. Moreover, untabultated correlation analysis results indicate that there are no significant corre lations that may possibly affect the results. 4.2. Regression analysis results 4.2.1 Univariate and multivariate regression analysis results on the value relevance of earnings and cash flows for the USA, UK and France. Univariate results presented in table 2 indicate the following. First, as far as the value relevance of earnings is concerned, as expected, the results indicate that both the levels and changes in earnings are positive and statistically significant in all three countries. Interestingly, the size of the levels of earnings and the size of the changes in earnings is approximately equal in all three countries, in spite of the fact that the French financial reporting system is much more conservative. Specifically, the coefficients of the level of earnings are 0.759, 0.767 and 0.793 for the USA, the UK, and France, respectively. The coefficients of the changes in earnings are 0.701, 0.612 and 0.669, for the US, UK and France, respectively. As far as the R2 is concerned, results indicate that French earnings (levels and changes) are more value relevant than the earnings in the USA and the UK, even though the financial reporting system in France in more conservative. The R2 for the level of earnings is 11.20%, 8.80% and 6.70% for France, the UK and the USA. The same ranking applies to the changes in earnings, although the R2 is somewhat lower, indicating that the level of earnings is more value relevant than the changes in earnings. As far as the value relevance of cash flows is concerned, as expected, results indicate that cash flows are value relevant in all three countries. All the coefficients of the levels and changes in cash flows are positive and statistically significant. The size of the coefficients of cash flows as well as the magnitude of the R2 are somewhat higher in the Anglo-Saxon countries, suggesting that cash flows could be less value relevant in France. Moreover, as it was expected the size of the earnings coefficients and the magnitude of the R2 are relatively higher than the equivalent cash flow statistics. These results are consistent with our hypotheses, expectations and consistent with prior empirical evidence. This is due to the fact that earnings are considered more value relevant in the stock markets. 4.2.2 Multivariate regression analysis results for examining the valuation of earnings and cash flows when the earnings are transitory. Hypothesis 1 predicts that the value relevance of earnings decreases when earnings are transitory and thus, the value relevance of cash flows is expected to improve in all three countries when earnings are transitory. The issue of the earnings permanence has raised the stimulus in the present study in examining the role of operating cash flows when earnings are transitory. As Cheng, Liu and Schafer (1996) argue, earnings may contain transitory items with limited valuation implications. For example, transitory items that may be included are accruals such as losses due to restructuring, current recognition through sale of assets of previous periods, increases in market value, one-time impact on income from changes in accounting standards etc. Moreover, because of compensation contracts and debt covenants are usually based on profit, incentives exist for managers to introduce transitory elements in earnings and thus manipulate earnings. Results in Table 3 provide evidence to support hypothesis 1, that is, when earnings are transitory the role of earnings in stock markets decreases and the role of cash flows improves. Consistent with prior studies and with my theoretical framework, I included in my multivariate regression model in Table 3 both the level and changes of earnings and cash flows (Cheng, Liu and Schafer, 1996), in order to characterise the unexpected components of earnings and the unexpected components of cash flows from operations. This is done in order to test the hypothesis that when earnings are transitory the earnings response coefficients on both levels and changes will have reduced significance in explaining security returns. In this situation the importance of cash flows from operations will be greater. Therefore, in the model in Table 3, the coefficients c1t + c2t and c3t+ c4t represent the estimates of the earnings and cash flow response coefficients when earnings are mainly permanent. The coeff icients c5t+ c6t and c7t+ c8t capture the additional information content of earnings and cash flows for firms with predominantly transitory earnings. It is expected that c5t+ c6t to be negative and c7t + c8t to be positive. Specifically, results in Table 3 indicate the following. First, as expected, the sum of the coefficients of earnings (c3+c4) are positive and statistically significant in all three countries, the USA, the UK and France. These results indicate that in all three countries, the earnings are taken into consideration in the valuation of stock prices by security analysts and investors. Second, as expected, the sum of the coefficients of cash flows is positive and statistically significant in all three countries. Again, these results show that cash flows are important to security analysts and investors in the USA, the UK and France for stock valuation purposes. These results are consistent with the results provided thus far in all previous models. Third, the sum of the coefficients of earnings c5+c6 is negative and statistically significant in all three countries, the UK, the USA and France. These results are consistent with my expectations and with my hypothesis. These results mean that wh en earnings are transitory, i.e. when the variation of the earnings compare to stock prices is relatively high (in the present study above its median), then the stock market does not perceive this information as good news and the relative importance of earnings on stock prices decreases. This is measured by the sum of the coefficients of (c1+c2) + (c5+c6). To give an example to make things clearer, let us assume that earnings are stable, not transitory. In that case the effect of earnings on stock prices in the UK will be 5.65 (sum of coefficients of earnings c1+c2). In contrast, when earnings are transitory for a firm in the UK, the effect of earnings on stock prices will not be 5.65 as above, but it will be 5.65 minus 4.933 (b5+b6), which is 0.68 only. So for, stable or permanent earnings firms in the UK the effect of earnings on stock prices is 5.65 whereas for transitory earnings firms the effect of earnings on stock prices in the UK is only 0.68. As far as the USA and France is concerned the results are consistent with the UK results just discussed. Specifically, in the USA results indicate that when earnings are permanent the effect of earnings on stock prices is 5.88 (c1+c2), but when earnings are transitory (not permanent), then the effect of earnings on stock prices is only 1.08 (i.e. 5.88 minus 4.8 or c1+c2 minus c5+c6). Results in France also support the results of the UK and the USA. French results in Table 20 indicate that when earnings are permanent, the effect of earnings on stock prices is 5.66 (c1+c2), but when earnings are transitory (not permanent), then the effect of earnings on stock prices is only 1.15 (ie., 5.66 minus 4.51 or c1+c2 minus c5+c6). Fourth, as hypothesised, results in Table 3 support that the cash flow variables are taken into consideration by investors in investment decisions. Specifically, the sum of the coefficients of cash flows c3+c4 is positive and statistically significant in all three countries. For example, in the UK it is 0.15, in the USA it is 0.095 and in France is 0.18. These results are consistent with the results provided thus far in all previous models and hypotheses. Fifth, as hypothesised, results in Table 3 support that when earnings are transitory, investors and security analysts in the UK and the USA pay more attention to cash flows. This is evidenced by the sum of the coefficients of cash flows c7+c8. For example, in the UK when earnings are transitory, stock prices are affected more by 0.03 (c7+c8) from changes in cash flows. Similarly, in the USA, when earnings are transitory, stock prices are affected by 0.02 more from changes in cash flows. These results are very interesting because they show that in Anglo-Saxon countries such as the USA and the UK, investors do pay additional attention to cash flows because they do know that earnings are of lower value when they are transitory. On the other hand, consistent with prior evidence in previous models and tables of this study, French analysts and investors pay more attention to earnings because their code law system make financial reporting in France much more conservative, and thus the varia bility of earnings is not that high as the variability of earnings in the UK and the USA. Sixth, in all countries examined, results support that the model is statistically significant and the variation of stock returns as explained by the R2 is 15.6 in the UK, 12.8 in the USA and 17.2% in France. In summary, results presented in Table 3 support my hypothesis that when earnings are transitory (not permanent), investors pay less attention to earnings and more attention to cash flows. 5.0 Conclusions Consistent with our hypotheses and our expectations, these results indicate that earnings and cash flow information is country specific, that is investors and financial analysts pay different attention to earnings and cash flows depending on the country under investigation and on whether earnings are transitory or permanent. Specifically, results indicate that earnings and cash flows are perceived differently by investors, depending on the country to which they belong. When earnings are transitory, investors in Anglo-Saxon countries penalize more these firms because the effect of earnings on stock returns is much more negative (c5+c6= -4.933 and -4.8 for UK and USA, respectively, whereas it is only -4.51 for France). The results of this study have practical implications as well and should be of great importance to the major stakeholders such as investors, creditors, financial analysts, especially with the latest events that are taking place, and the major collapses of giant organizations worldwide such as Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, among others. Regulatory bodies, investors, financial analysts and the financial press, blamed among others, the possible manipulation of financial information supplied to the investors by these organizations. The question raised, is whether this type of information is taken into consideration by investors in their investment decisions.

The Watergate Affair :: essays research papers

This analysis of the news media coverage will focus on the Watergate affair which originally began on June 17, 1972 with the break-in of the Democratic National Committee Headquarters at the prestigious Watergate office complex in Washington D.C.. I will primarily concentrate on the negative impact that media coverage had to the publics eye. This media coverage, although justified and appropriate for the situation, ultimately destroyed the credibility of Nixon's administration and the ability to run an effective government which forced the first resignation of an American president.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The history of the events at hand is as follows. The Nixon Administration financed a White House Special Investigative Unit called the plumbers. This unit was initially established under John Erlichmann a top White House aide, to â€Å"plug† leaks from the White House to the press and consisted of former FBI and CIA operatives. It comes to fact that these plumbers were involved in illegal break-ins and wiretapping before the Watergate scandal. On June 17, 1972, the night watchman at the Watergate complex discovered adhesive tape on the basement doors of the complex. Five men were arrested that night and began a series of inquiries and investigations into the possible corruption of White House Officials. (Encyclopedia of the American Presidency, Volume 13, page 1603)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Among those arrested on the night of June 17, 1972 were James McCord Jr., security coordinator for the Committee for the Re-election of the President (CRP also known as CREEP). (New York Times, June 21, 1972, page 1, column 3) Immediately after the arrests, the news media had already began initial accusations and offering possible motives to the public through statements like:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å" There was continuing speculation here and in the Cuban community in Miami that unnamed men, in or out of an anti-Castro organization, had carried out a number of politically sensitive operations to win the Governments sympathy for 30,000 to 40,000 Cuban refugees living in Spain.† (4 Hunted in Inquiry on Democratic Raid, New York Times, June 21, 1972, page 44, column 1)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On June 20, it came to the attention of President Richard Nixon that there were connections made between the burglars and CRP and various White House personnel. The president, on June 23, recommended that the CIA should prevent a FBI inquiry into the Watergate incident based on national security interests. To no avail, the FBI continued its investigation and eventually sifted through the maze of paper trails and cover up. Evidence began to surface, pointing to the administration itself. Realizing the internal nature of this situation, stories began to look like this:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å" No one was making any accusations yet, but in the midst of a curious