Draw from the sociotechnical debate to discuss the...

INTRODUCTION Technologies can be considered as structural constraints. Similar to all structures human beings have created, they can limit or enable human actions. Technology can be defined as the creation, adaptation, usage and comprehension of mostly machines which are known to make life better and assist in solving a problem (Wright, 2008). In addition to that, technology is also used to perform a specific function. The use of technology by human beings can be dated back when they began creating simple tools from natural resources. From using fire to prepare their food which led to the increase of food production to the use of the wheel which aided in moving from one place to another and environmental controlling, human beings are†¦show more content†¦According to this theory, technology affects the society outside the society (Mackenzie Wajcman, 1985). This can be compared to climatic changes in which the human forces have no control over them. This theory, therefore, tries to rela te climate and technology. This implies that the society does not have any control over technology and that technology controls the society. In addition to that, although the scientist that invent technology are part of our world, the things they create are over our control and understanding, therefore, viewing technology as an independent factor and which has control over the society (Mackenzie Wajcman, 1985). With the sophisticated nature of technology being used in media devices together with its importance in communication, it is no wonder that media technology usually emphasizes on the power of the latest media and how it affects the society. However, it is likely that the influence that technology dictates on social change will be overemphasized. Claude Fischer, a well renowned sociologist acknowledges that technology is usually seen as an external force which is usually introduced to a social situation. However, contrary to the view of most sociologists who support technological determinism, majority of the scholars have argued that social forces determine technologies (Hutchby, 2001). As much as technology is important in ourShow MoreRelatedChange Management49917 Words   |  200 PagesMBA –H4010 Organisational Development And Change ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE UNIT – I LEARNING OBJECTIVES The student is expected to learn the following concepts after going through this unit. 1. Change 3. Planned Change 5. Unplanned Change 2. 4. 6. Stimulating Forces Change Agents Lewin’s Three Step Model The change means the alteration of status quo or making things different. It may refer to any alteration which occurs in the overall work environment of an organizationRead MoreManagement Course: Mba−10 General Management215330 Words   |  862 Pagesclear that all this complexity has been changing the fundamental dimensions of business strategy and the meaning of its implementation. These changes affect a broad range of decisions, including the following: ââ€"  ââ€"  ââ€"  ââ€"  ââ€"  ââ€"  ââ€"  How to invest in technology How to lead meaningful human resources initiatives How to maintain alliances successfully What the speed of new product or service development should be What the appropriate time horizons for investments and financial planning are How to implementRead MoreLibrary Management204752 Words   |  820 PagesLibrary and Information Center Management, Sixth Edition Robert D. Stueart and Barbara B. Moran United States Government Information: Policies and Sources Peter Hernon, Harold C. Relyea, Robert E. Dugan, and Joan F. Cheverie Library Information Systems: From Library Automation to Distributed Information Access Solutions Thomas R. Kochtanek and Joseph R. Matthews The Complete Guide to Acquisitions Management Frances C. Wilkinson and Linda K. Lewis Organization of Information, Second Edition Arlene G. TaylorRead MoreProject Mgmt296381 Words   |  1186 PagesCross Reference of Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) Concepts to Text Topics Chapter 1 Modern Project Management Chapter 8 Scheduling resources and cost 1.2 Project defined 1.3 Project management defined 1.4 Projects and programs (.2) 2.1 The project life cycle (.2.3) App. G.1 The project manager App. G.7 Political and social environments F.1 Integration of project management processes [3.1] 6.5.2 Setting a schedule baseline [8.1.4] 6.5.3.1 Setting a resource schedule 6.5.2.4 Resource

Private Schools Vs Public Schools - 878 Words

Education is an essential need for living in today’s society. A school is an organization where students are provided information and skill that will be useful in their future. Picking the best school for them is crucial. One problem that people need to experience is choosing where to send their children to class; private or public. There are many differences of public and private schools such as, environment, cost, and education. Everybody needs to get the proper learning experience that they need because it leads to a desired learning process. It helps students to grasp a better interest in their studies. There are many qualities that private schools offer that public schools can not afford to offer. For example, private schools offer better facilities. Private schools are not funded by the government, therefore they seek their profit through tuition fees and sponsors. Private schools have higher spending plans than government funded schools, or public schools, because they are able to choose the areas where money needs to be spent. The room size at private schools is typically bigger to attract the eye of incoming students and helps with a better learning environment. Private schools thrive for better learning environments for their students. Private schools are known to attract the eye of peers. Students often first take notice to the bigger and better facilities such as the athletic department. Student at hletes desire the best environments for themselves and theirShow MoreRelatedPrivate Schools Vs. Public Schools1406 Words   |  6 Pagesthat private school is more expensive than public school, but has it ever occurred to you why it is like this? Private schools are not just trying to take your money, they are just trying to provide a quality education, without the government funding that public schools get. The tuition money goes to very important things; high quality teachers, better resources and the overall quality and stability of the institution. It is true that private school tuition is expensive, but private schools haveRead MorePrivate Schools Vs Public Schools1723 Words   |  7 Pagesthink of private schools they often think of a quality of education that cannot be found in a public school. Private school education is thought of to be so thorough and innovative that public vouchers are given to individuals just to attend. Many parents could rest easier at night if thei r kids could attend private school because for generations it has been drilled into the psyche of many that going to private school is a sure way to have a good future. In actuality however, private schools are notRead MorePrivate Schools Vs Public Schools1428 Words   |  6 Pagesstudy in private schools, which almost represents the fifth of students in Saudi Arabia. Although a lot of families prefer to make their children study in private school, that does not mean they are completely satisfied about the schools’ quality and their children’ achievement (Al-Hagbani, 2013). Nevertheless, they still enroll their children in private schools, believing they will benefit more from studying in private schools than public schools. In addition, some parents believe that private schoolsRead MorePrivate Schools Vs Public Schools1207 Words   |  5 PagesAn Introduction of the Topic Private schools differ from public schools for many different reasons. The major difference is that the government, unlike private schools that are privately funded, funds public schools. Another difference would be that the private schools have more flexibility on what they can teach because the government does not fund them. One other difference that is very prevalent is the social goals of schooling. This topic is a very important issue that many parents struggle withRead MorePrivate Schools Vs. Public Schools998 Words   |  4 Pagesnation. People today might say that private schools are superior to public schools, saying that they are safer and a better environment to learn in. Some might say that a private school is a way of sheltering your child and not letting them experience opportunities and face many problems to learn from. There are many positives and negatives to both sides; it mainly depends on whom you are talking to. Some parents might want their child to go to a pri vate school because the class size is smaller andRead MorePublic Schools vs. Private Schools1027 Words   |  4 Pagesare things to consider before choosing to send your child to a public school or private school. Perhaps doing so would be much easier if you would take the time to research the differences between the two. Public schools are better than private schools because of the diversity, funding and extracurricular activities available. Eileen Gale Kugler, a national advocate for diverse schools, wrote an article about how the diversity in schools makes academic and social improvements. She recalls a memoryRead More Private Schools vs. Public Schools870 Words   |  4 PagesChoosing between a public or a private school for one’s education is as important as deciding where to invest one’s hard-earned money—the consequences influence one’s life forever. In the United States, it is the law for every child to be educated. However, the decision as to where to go for one’s education is up to each individual. There is a great deal of debate as to which is the better option: for-profit private schools or one’s local public school. Ultimately, the decision is made regardingRead MorePrivate Schools vs. Public Schools 1081 Words   |  5 PagesHave you ever attended a private institution? What was your experience like? Think back and compare it to your ideal public school, which on e happens to pale in comparison? Public schools, which are controlled by the government, and heavily influenced, by politicians and privateers, hurt your children, not allowing them to reap the full benefits of their growing mind. â€Å"Our schools have been scientifically designed to prevent over-education from happening. The average American [should be] contentRead MorePrivate School Vs. Public School1254 Words   |  6 PagesThesis: Private school students are more likely to have a better viewpoint in learning, a firm stance in education, and will be more successful in colleges than of public school students. I. Introduction A. Attention Getter: According to NCES data, 88 percent of private high school students apply to college, compared to 57 percent of public high school students. Every day parents contemplate whether to send their children to private or public school. There are many dangers that come with public schoolRead MorePrivate Schools Vs Public Schools921 Words   |  4 Pageschild’s education, parents want the best the school has to offer their children. Parents want a prosperous future for their child which is not only health, but a well-educated one. Education is of the utmost importance especially because it will impact the child the most in the long run. Private schools offer ample education opportunities. There are some factors to consider when choose a private school education over a public one. Many times, the private schools are religious are having certain beliefs

Suggestions Crisis Communicate Development -Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Suggestions Crisis Communicate Development? Answer: Introducation Effective communication is essential for business success and it is all about sharing knowledge and information among each other inside and outside of the organisation. It is worth saying that, effective communication goes far beyond simple speech and hearing and for this purpose, body language, word of choice, tone of voice, communication style and message clarification all come into play. These can make the difference between failure and success in interpersonal interactions and transactions. One of the important employability skills is the communication and communication needs to be accurate to make any business process effective. As opined by Adnan et al., (2017), communication is the essence of business management and therefore, all other aspects of management such as planning, staffing, organizing, controlling and directing are solely dependent on the knowledge of effective communication. There are five diagnostic tools that help to identify individuals communication competence and these are non-verbal immediacy, talkaholic scale, willingness to listen, tolerance for disagreement and the other is self-perceived communication competence scale. Non-verbal immediacy Non-verbal communication holds the same importance along with verbal communication in the effective communication skills. As stated by McCroskey et al., (2014), nonverbal behaviour may emphasize verbal communication in the similar way that italicizing emphasizes written communication. In the workplace environment, it is essential for the employees especially for leaders and managers to use different types of body language, poster, hand gesture and facial expression to make the confrontation more attractive and significant. This non-verbal test has near about 26 questions that have to be answered as per the preferred choice. After that, score will be generated and based on this; it becomes possible to understand the effectiveness of that kind of competence. Talkaholic scale Considerable research has determined that, the more an individual talks (unless the person is an incompetent communicator) the more the individual is positively evaluated by others. Such kinds of people are more likely to be a leader as being more competent in respect to other persons perception variables (Hybels, 2014). There are approximately 16 questions that have to be responded and at the end of the test, it becomes possible to understand how much the participant is Talkaholic. Tolerance for disagreement scale Sometime, in the workplace environment, employees need to involve in debates so that; it becomes possible for them to convey their own opinion over some traditional monotonous culture (Shockley-Zalabak, 2014). However, sometimes, staffs need to avoid disagreement so as to reduce workplace conflict (OGallagher, 2015). From this perspective, the tolerance for disagreement scale helps to measure the extent to which an individual can tolerate disagreement of other people. It is a form of Likert scale where individual needs to answer each question as per their belief in order to measure their level of tolerance. Willingness to listen diagnostic tool Listening is another skill of effective communication and with the help of heightened listening skills, both the organisation and the employee can realize the higher level of success. Employees need to listen to the leaders and the managers while receiving information or getting updates on corporate policies (Couldry Hepp, 2013). Hence, an individual can take a test over the willingness to listen diagnostic tool in order to understand their orientation towards listening. Self-perceived communication competency scale (SPCC) Peoples competence of communication varies as per the situation. As mentioned by Berger (2014), employees have to communicate in group meetings along with individual meetings and therefore, it is necessary for the staffs to be able to share their knowledge and information confidently in any situation. Hence, SPCC tool is helpful to identify individual's competence. There are a number of questions in the tool that have to be answered for developing entire understanding about the self-competence. Findings of the tools Based on the aforementioned tools, it becomes helpful for me to understand my communication competence. Hence, I have practiced all the tools and based on these, I get score from each of the tools. Non-verbal immediacy While confronting others, it is essential for me to involve some of the non-verbal communication skills to make the speech listenable. After conducting the test, I score 97 and it shows I am an excellent communicator in case of non-verbal communication. Based on this tool, I get to know that, I like to smile while talk and usually I make eye contact and move my hands to make the confrontation attractive. Talkaholic Talkaholic test helps me to understand whether I prefer to talk to my peers or not. Based on the test, I came to know that, I am not a talkaholic and I scored 18. Therefore, I can add that, I keep quiet when I should talk to others. However, based on the test, I became able to know that, I am not a compulsive talker and therefore, in most of the situations, I remain silent and prefer not to talk too much. Willingness to listen Being an employee, it is important to listen to others in order to develop a collaborative teamwork. Further, it is important to listen to the leaders and the managers in order to get updates over the organisational policies and culture. Therefore, to get employable and be noticeable in the workplace environment, it is necessary to be active listener. Hence, the willingness to listen tool helps me to understand how much potential I have to listen to others. Based on the test, I get a score of 76 that made me know that, I have moderate willingness to listen. However, I do not want to listen to boar presentations and therefore, it makes me sleepy while listening to non-responsive speakers. Tolerance for disagreement scale From the above discussion, I get to know that, discussion is necessary in the workplace environment in order to understand organisational goal and objectives. However, employees need to share their own opinion about the work process and a conflict or disagreement may arise. Sometimes, disagreement becomes fruitful for the company while sometimes, it brings negative growth in the productivity. From this perspective, an employee needs to be engaged in the conflict situations and hence, tolerance for disagreement skill is required. The tolerance for disagreement tool helps me to understand the extent to which I can tolerate situations where people are in disagreement. Hence, I scored 52 which indicate I encompass high level of tolerance for disagreement. Self-perceived Communication Competence Self-perceived communication competence test encompass different characteristics of same people at different situations and therefore, it is essential to calculate each of the factors of the test in order to get clear idea about different essence of same people. Based on the test, I get to know that, there are different factors of characteristics and these are meeting, group, public, Dyad, stranger, friend and acquaintance. I have tested each of the factors and I scored 85 in public and 75 in case meeting. Along with this, I get 83.3, 73.75, 90, 86.25and 90 in case of group, stranger, dyad, acquaintance and friend respectively. In total, I get 83.3 which depict my high self-perceived communication competence. Two communication issues Based on the above test, I get to know my competence level and therefore, I have found two of my communication issues. I have found that, I am not a talkaholic and therefore, most of the time, I keep quiet. Sometimes, this brings a lot of problem and therefore, I need to improve myself so that, I become an effective communicator. This skill is required to maintain a good professional tone. Along with this, for an employee, it is necessary to be communicative because, sharing information is necessary in the workplace to get benefits in terms of promotion and incentives. Moreover, I have found that I am a moderate listener and therefore, I do not like people with misinterpreted body language and who give bore presentations. In the workplace environment, it is necessary to listen to others in order to understand existing work culture and business objective. From this perspective, it can be stated that I need to improve my listening skills in order to get success in the workplace environment. Reflect on two recent professional interactions One of my professional interactions happens in my previous workplace where I was in the sales team and I had to work within a team. In the workplace, leaders used to provide us training about how to handle customers and there I faced the issue of lack of being an active listener. I did not pay much attention to the bore presentations of my peers and leaders and because of this; I was not able to fulfil all the tasks properly that my leaders used to give us to do because of the lack of assertiveness. The leader behaved rudely because of this kind of communication issue and breaking of organisational composure. In another situation of my workplace, I had to handle customers and sales effectively and therefore, I had to make customers understood the qualities of the products. Last month, I had to handle a client who asked me a lot of useless questions about the product and there, I faced the issue of not being talkaholic. Managing people is not so easy and being talkaholic in all kinds of conversations is not always possible. The customer was continuously asking a huge number of questions and I felt incompetent for not being able to answer all the questions. In this particular reflective study, I have identified two of my communication issues that may bring the potential barrier to career life. The theoretical perspective of communication has been introduced in the literature review where I have explained its issues shortly. In order to mitigate the problems, I have developed an action plan for the betterment of my future career. Two communication issues Without effective communication, organisation becomes unable to exchange information with the employees and therefore, it will not be possible for the company to develop communication network for carrying out new product data. Studies show that people that connect and communicate with each other during the business process are more likely to increase productivity. According to the viewpoint of Couldry Hepp (2013), employees need roots in the workplace environment in order to feel a part of the company. The relationship of employees within the workplace helps to grow entire happiness during working hours. From this perspective, a leader needs to be an active talker in order to manage employees and share all information about business objectives and corporate policies. According to the viewpoint of DeVito (2015), effective communication skills are associated with the team working, conflict resolution, critical observation to workforce and adaptability. Sometimes, it is essential for an employee to give a verbal presentation in front of higher authorities and therefore, it is necessary to be an effective communicator to share knowledge in front of them. Therefore, it can be stated that an employee's performa nce is somewhat based on active communication and therefore, it is essential to be able to communicate in any situation to create extra benefits. Active listening skills Listening, one of the skills is highly valued in the workplace environment. Employers hire employees who have the ability to listen and therefore, listening is one of the soft skills that individual requires in order to get employable. Listening is processed in the work content by which an individual becomes able to gain an understanding of the requirements, needs and preferences of stakeholders' thorough indirect or direct interaction (Petersons Khalimzoda, 2016). Sometimes, it becomes essential for the employees to listen carefully to the leaders so that; it becomes helpful for them to understand business objectives carefully (Fussell Kreuz, 2014). Along with this, it is essential for the leaders and managers to be an active listener so as to empower employees. Therefore, it is worth saying that, to be an active listener, it is essential to make eye contact with the speaker so that, it becomes helpful for the speaker to convey the entire message fruitfully. Theoretical understanding of communication Active listening is involved with listening to all senses and interest of the speaker can be shown by using proper non-verbal and verbal messages. Active listening means not focusing only on speakers, the listeners need to listen to perfectly demonstrating appropriate responses. On the other side, public speaking is another issue for people and it is quite common to nervous in front of audiences. Practice and rehearse are needed to be talkaholic. The matter of speech needs to be simplified and preparation is also needed. In order to develop a complete understanding of communication, there are some of the factors that need to be discussed. Mechanistic: This is the systematic process of communication where there is a source who generally sends information to. At another end of the system, there is a receiver who receives the information (Ganguly, 2017). Social In case of social communication, interpersonal communication takes place between sender and receiver. According to the viewpoint of Hybels (2014), content takes the utmost responsibility for the social communication. Psychological In this particular case, interpersonal communication comes into account along with the flow of feelings between source and receiver. Systematic In this kind of mechanistic communication, a number of individuals play a significant role and thereby, the message is prepared by all of the individuals. Each of the participants interprets their emotions and perspective in the communication. Models of communication Schramms model of communication The basic concept of the Schramm's model of communication is that communication is a two-way process. Both the source and the receivers are responsible for this entire process. Source generally creates a message which is then encoded by the encoder (Jensen, 2016). The encoded message needs to be decoded by the decoder where the wave is transformed into the information. The receiver gets the decoded message and the entire communication process takes place. The encoder and the decoder that transform the message are called as a transmitter (McQuail Windahl, 2015). Therefore, the main components of the communication process are the source, encoder, decoder and the receiver. Schramm's model refers that how the message is transferred to a group of people when interpersonal communication takes place. Berlos model of communication is based on Schramms model and therefore, it is the backbone of Berlos model of communication. According to this model, there are some factors that affect the communication process and make the communication process more effective (Knapp, Vangelisti Caughlin, 2014). The four components of the communication include source (S), channel (C), Message (M) and the other factor is all about the receiver (R). The sender sends the message to the receiver through the channel where the message can be distorted by the factor Noise. According to this model, noise is the one that disturbs the message and because of this, the receiver gets distorted information. For this purpose, it is necessary to improve the quality of the channel so that, it becomes possible to get actual message. The message can be in the form of audio, video, text, voice or media. However, Liu Fraustino (2014) argue that the model is a linear model and therefore, Berlo's model does not involve two-way communication process. Theory of interpersonal communication Triandis theory of interpersonal behaviour: Behaviour partly depends on intention and partly on the responsiveness as well. From this perspective, according to the viewpoint of McQuail Windahl (2015), the situational constraint is all about manages behaviour and communication significantly and therefore, it can be stated that, the intention of individuals being influenced by effective elements of social factors and rational deliberation. It is worth saying that, employees need to communicate in the workplace based on the organisational culture and norm. Hence, moral beliefs impact the interpersonal behaviour of individual and therefore, this can influence the similar cognitive limitations and emotional aspects of human beings. As mentioned by Thatcher Evia (2017), it is essential for the employees to maintain certain aspects of behaviour in the workplace and therefore, it is the responsibility of the organisation to maintain all attributes of organisational process so that, it becomes possible for them to maintain staff mora le and cognitive limitations in the workplace environment. It is worth saying that; social factors in the workplace are associated with culture, role and self-concept of the community within which the organisation operates. Along with the social factors, there is another element that impacts the interpersonal behaviour and this is all about the emotional responses. According to the viewpoint of Stead(2013), emotional responses are entirely assisted with the consequences of the effective communication and the rational-instrumental invigilation of the situation. As mentioned by Shockley-Zalabak (2014), in a difficult situation, the decision-making condition is highly influenced by the behavioural attitude of individual and hence, the brain of individuals provides an extent of behavioural reaction in order to find out best possible solutions for the critical situation. In relation to this, attitudes are highly shaped by beliefs about results and evaluation of various outcomes while habits of individuals are mostly affected by the essence of the previous attitude. This section is entirely based on my planning for betterment of communication. Effective communication is essential to having an improved professional career in life. For this purpose, I have developed an action plan which is set for 24 weeks or 6 months for the betterment of my communication. Within the scheduled timings, I will try to reach my desired objectives. Short courses Crash-courses on communication are available in Australia to improve communication skills within one to two months' time-frame. Hence, I would like to complete these courses so that, it becomes possible for me to deal with individuals effectively within two months. Along with this, it becomes possible for me to do courses on Assertiveness with the help of these crash-courses within 1 month. Moreover, I would like to take a course on Effective People management which is near about three-month course that helps me to improve all my communication issues significantly. It is worth noting that, these short courses have that potential to develop my active listening skills that will help in my future career strongly. Further, I would like to develop my academic degree on Masters in Communication course from one of the top-ranked universities because this course will definitely help me to deal with people in the workplace. The entire course takes near about 20 weeks of a professional portfol io and I will be able to develop my professional behaviour and skills significantly. Reading plan Along with the courses, it is necessary for me to develop a reading plan so that, it becomes possible for me to gain motivation and confidence as well. Hence, I can state that reading proper books help me to gain effective communication skills and I will be able to develop my self-confidence to that extent to get employable positively. I will read top quality books of renowned authors to develop my skills effectively. This is because I want to read books to boost my confidence level and increase the extent to patients. Therefore, I have selected a number of books that will be helpful from the very beginning. One of the books includes Emilia Hardmans Active Listening 101: How to turn down your volume to turn up your communication skill. Another book in the list is all about Helio Fred Garcias The power of communication skills to build trust, inspire loyalty and lead effectively. Along with this, I want to read The Power of self-confidence written by Brian Tracy. Maintaining personal journal Along with reading books, it is essential to maintain personal journals as it helps to keep account of daily activities properly. With the help of this, it becomes possible for me to monitor my growth and progress. Therefore, to measure my progress, I would like to maintain a personal journal in order to note down my growth in terms of the weekly basis. It is worth saying that, keeping a journal will increase my IQ level and this will consequently enhance mindfulness. Along with this, it can be stated that maintaining personal journal will help to reach my objectives with an ease. However, this will positively provide mental support and so that I will be able to enhance my EQ level as well. Identification of mentor A mentor can perform as a catalyst to improve my growth level positively. It will be beneficial for me to have a mentor who can provide a solution for each of my error. I will select a mentor who will be able to motivate me with his experience and training courses. Stephen Rother was my school time teacher and he used to take our English classes. I still have connection with him and I would be taking communication classes from him. Gantt chart Set of Activities Week 1 Week 4 Week 8 Week 12 Week 16 Week 24 Reading books Keeping personal journal Doing short crash-courses of communication Training under mentor Starting of implementation professional along with personal life Searching for Post-graduation courses on Reference List Adnan, Y. M., Daud, M. N., Alias, A., Razali, M. N. (2017). Importance of soft skills for graduates in the real estate programmes in Malaysia.Journal of Surveying, Construction and Property,3(2), 23-26 McCroskey, L. L., Teven, J. J., Minielli, M. C., Richmond McCroskey, V. P. (2014). James C. McCroskey's instructional communication legacy: Collaborations, mentorships, teachers, and students. Communication Education, 63(4), 283-307. OGallagher, A. (2015). Examining the Relationship between Need to Belong, Tolerance for Disagreement, Attachment Style and Life Satisfaction. Berger, J. (2014). Word of mouth and interpersonal communication: A review and directions for future research.Journal of Consumer Psychology,24(4), 586-607. Couldry, N., Hepp, A. (2013).Conceptualizing mediatization: Contexts, traditions, arguments.Communication Theory,23(3), 191-202. DeVito, J. A. (2015).The interpersonal communication book. Sydney: Pearson. Fussell, S. R., Kreuz, R. J. (2014).Social and cognitive approaches to interpersonal communication. London: Psychology Press. Ganguly, S. (2017).Action Research to Improve the Communication Skills of Undergraduate Students.IUP Journal of Soft Skills,11(3), 62-71. Hybels, S. (2014).Communicating effectively. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Jensen, K.B., (2016). Practical theories: Concepts, conceptions and conceptualizations of communication.Empedocles: European Journal for the Philosophy of Communication,7(2), 143-156. Knapp, M. L., Vangelisti, A. L., Caughlin, J. P. (2014).Interpersonal communication human relationships. Sydney: Pearson Higher Ed. Liu, B. F., Fraustino, J. D. (2014).Beyond image repair: Suggestions for crisis communication theory development.Public Relations Review,40(3), 543-546. McQuail, D., Windahl, S. (2015).Communication models for the study of mass communications. Abingdon: Routledge. Patton, L. J., Tidwell, J. D., Falder-Saeed, K. L., Young, V. B., Lewis, B. D., Binder, J. F. (2017). Ensuring safe transfer of pediatric patients: A quality improvement project to standardize handoff communication.Journal of Pediatric Nursing,34, 44-52. Petersons, A., Khalimzoda, I. (2016). Communication models and common basis for multicultural communication in latvia. InProceedings of the International Scientific Conference.423, 433. Shockley-Zalabak, P. (2014).Fundamentals of organisational communication. Sydney: Pearson. Stead, B. A. (2013).Berlo's communication process model as applied to the behavioral theories of Maslow, Herzberg, and McGregor.Academy of Management journal,15(3), 389-394. Thatcher, B., Evia, C. (2017).Outsourcing Technical Communication: Issues, Policies and Practices. Abingdon: Routledge.

Solar Energy Installation Project Management

Introduction Establishment of renewable energy resources to curb global warming is receiving immense support from a majority of the governments (Atkinson 2001). Atkinson claims, â€Å"People have used non-renewable sources of energy like coal and petroleum for a long time† (2001, p. 45).Advertising We will write a custom proposal sample on Solar Energy Installation Project Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These sources have significantly contributed to the emission of greenhouse gases, prompting the nations to look for alternative sources of energy. The sun has proved to be the sole source of energy that does not contribute to environmental pollution. Moreover, the source of energy is inexhaustible and naturally acquired. What’s more, the cost of solar power continues to go down as many people appreciate its use in the society (Ghosh et al. 2002). It underlines the reason many institutions and households a re installing solar panels in their buildings. Project Overview Countries like India have also established â€Å"grid connected solar photovoltaic power systems as part of their action plan for climate change† (Goletsis, Psarras Samouilidis 2003, p.139). Many solar energy projects are in progress as countries respond to the call for environmental conservation. The sun is an excellent source of energy, but many people have not taken its advantage. The sun emits most of its energy in the form of heat and light, which can be harnessed and converted into other forms of energy for various uses (Haapasalo, Ingalsuo Lenkkeri 2006). Long ago, people used solar power to keep warm. They could use solar energy to start a fire and warm themselves. Later, some people came up with passive solar energy plans to keep their houses warm. They built their houses in such a way that the floors and walls could absorb heat energy from the sun and emit it during the night. With time, people learnt that the sun could act as an essential source of energy. In 1839, scientists discovered photovoltaic, which was a breakthrough in the history of humankind. According to Haralambopoulos and Polatidis, photovoltaic (solar) cells are â€Å"large-area semiconductors that convert sunlight directly into electricity† (2003, p. 967). Photovoltaics can be used in numerous gadgets, which include satellites, watches, telecommunication devices and in calculators. Photovoltaics are not widely used because they are very expensive. However, the reduction in cost of energy power should make photovoltaics affordable.  Changes in global fuel cost have led to many organisations losing a lot of money.Advertising Looking for proposal on project management? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Adoption of solar energy would go a long way towards saving the countries and companies from costs attributed to the energy crisis. The fact that solar energy is inexhaustible makes it the most reliable source of energy for business and nations at large (Kendrick 2009). It is alleged that the available oil reserves will only sustain the world for at most 40 years. It implies that countries will have to look for alternative sources of energy before the oil reserves get exhausted. Solar power is inexhaustible, which makes it the next source of energy that countries are likely to adopt.  The objective of solar energy installation project is to ensure that households get the most required light and heat energy. It is hard to run domestic chores without light and heat energy in the houses. Consequently, installing solar panels would go a long way to facilitate domestic duties. The project aims to equip 1000 households with solar panels by the end of six months. The installation will be the first phase of the project. Another objective of the project is to integrate families into the global campaign on environmental conservation. Homes , contribute to environmental pollution through the use of nonrenewable sources of energy like coal and petroleum. Installing solar power would lower the rate of environmental pollution linked to households. This project covers 3000 houses from the outskirts of London. Majority of the families outside the city of London rely on electric energy supplied by the government. The project intends to equip all the households with solar power by the end of one and a half years. The project will not involve non-governmental organisations and public facilities that might be found in the region that the project covers. It will strictly focus on domestic households.  One of the project’s deliverables is the establishment of proper procedures to facilitate installation of the solar panels. The other deliverable is the installation of solar power system in two households to demonstrate the realism of the project in outskirts of London. The project desires to encourage the society to embr ace solar energy as the only source of energy that is sustainable and does not contribute to environmental pollution. Work breakdown structure Kerzner alleges, â€Å"Success of project management depends, to a significant extent, on the manager’s ability to effectively specify the work contents of the project in terms of its activities and deliverables† (2009, p. 113). One of the instruments of planning and managing the activities of a project is work breakdown structure (WBS).Advertising We will write a custom proposal sample on Solar Energy Installation Project Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Kerzner alleges, â€Å"The work breakdown structure identifies and groups the project elements in a way that defines the overall range of the project† (2004, p. 75). Every lower level of the structure stands for a progressively more detailed definition of a project component (Kerzner 2004). The constituents may be in form of goods or services. In other words, the work breakdown structure is â€Å"a hierarchical representation of the work contents, whereby the project is divided into progressively smaller elements. The elements found at the lowest level of the hierarchy are known as work packages† (Rogers et al. 2008, p. 4219). The success of the project lies in the ability of the project manager to accurately identify, organise and run each work package. The entire work requires being broken down into a number of successive activities that work coherently to achieve the overall goals of the project (Solangi et al. 2011). The figure below represents the high-level planning workflow of solar energy system installation. Assessment report will involve analysing and reporting on the energy system that the homes are currently using to identify its merits and demerits. The report will give a detailed account of how the existing power system contributes to environmental pollution as w ell as it inefficiency (Cleland 2002). The compilation of assessment report will run concurrently with a pilot project aimed at determining feasibility of the intended project. The pilot project will help the managers to determine if the project will work. Besides, it will help the managers to understand how the society will respond to the project. The success of any project depends on how it is received by the target population. Prior to rolling out the project, it is imperative to conduct a pilot project to understand its reception.  The assessment report will help the project managers to have clear information about the project. It will assist them to evaluate and compare the cost of the project to its benefits.Advertising Looking for proposal on project management? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Besides, the report will give a clear regional input-output analysis, which is vital for the managers to know if the project will be of significant benefit to the society. The solar installation project is not only intended to help the community to cut down on environmental pollution, but it is also designed to help the nation to reduce its energy cost. Consequently, one of the work packages of the project will be to identify the existing energy service company (ESCO) billing structures and come up with a database for the same. The database will be crucial when determining the energy billing structure to adopt.  Another task that the installation project will cover will be carrying out an audit of the energy saving opportunities. One way of reducing energy cost is reducing the rate of energy consumption. Besides, it is imperative to lower the rate of energy consumption for solar energy to be enough. The audit will help the managers to identify possible ways of maximising the usage of solar energy. Besides, they will identify the available options of solar power projects and settle for the most efficient. Work breakdown dictionary ID Task name Description Duration Start Finish 1.0 Assessment report The report gives an account of the available energy system and its costs. It documents how the existing power system contributes to environmental pollution. 20 days Jan 10 ‘15 Jan 30 ‘15 1.1 Costs/Benefits analysis A cost/benefits analysis will be run to compare the existing and intended energy systems. The analysis will identify the current ESCO billing structure, possible alternative billing structures and establish a database for the same 20 days Feb 2 ‘15 Feb 22 ‘15 1.2 Identify energy saving opportunities A field study will be conducted to determine how the households utilise energy and come up with measures to save energy. On-site energy assessment will be done, and an energy review carried out. 20 days Feb 25 ‘15 Mar 17 ‘15 2.0 Pilot solar energy project Managers will run a pilot project to determine the feasibility of the project. The pilot project will help to determine if the community will embrace the intended project. 28 days Mar 20 ‘15 Apr 17 ‘15 2.1 Project design and implementation After the pilot project, managers will sit down with other employees to develop the overall solar installation project based on the findings of the pilot project. The end of the project plan will mark the onset of project implementation and monitoring 90 days Apr 20 ‘15 July 7 ‘15 Determining package size This project will use â€Å"hammock† activities to ascertain the degree of the lowest package. Many people believe that each work package ought to last for about 80 hours and not more than a month. It cannot happen in this project since it would lead to the establishment of millions of work packages. Therefore, the â€Å"hammock† activity will be used to break the task into smaller packages by splitting the total work into distinct and coherent sub-elements. Activity schedule The success of any project depends on the ability to organise and sequence activities in an orderly manner (White Fortune 2002). Project managers ought to identify the activities that are interdependent and sequence them accordingly. Besides, they need to determine the independent activities and schedule them in a way that they run concurrently to save on time. For decades, countries have incurred enormous economic loss due to the energy crisis (Huraib, Hasnain Alawaji 2007). The project will entail a number of activities, which will be implemented in a sequence to guarantee the success of the project. These activities will include compilation of assessment report to understand the degree of energy requirement. Additionally, the project managers will evaluate the costs and benefits of solar energy and analyse the existing ESCO billing structures. The project will b e preceded by a pilot project aimed at ascertaining the feasibility of the project. The following is the work plan for the project: S. No Position in WBS Activity Depending on Duration 1 1.0 Assessment report – 20 days 2 1.1 Costs/Benefits of current vs. previous energy – 6 days 3 1.1.0 Economic input/output RIO scrutiny 2 2 days 4 1.1.1 Analyse present ESCO billing – 5 days 5 1.1.2 Identify substitute ESCO’s billing 4 4 days 6 1.1.2.1 Establish a database of substitute 5 3 days 7 1.2 Identify possible energy saving opportunities – 7 days 8 1.2.1 Energy audit evaluation 7 3 days 9 1.2.2 Collect data – 4 days 10 1.2.3 Analyse data 9 3 days 11 1.2.2.0 On-site assessment 9 1 day 12 1.2.2.1 Energy review study 11 2days 13 2.0 Run pilot project 12 14 days 14 2.1 Project design 13 10 days 15 2.2 ID feasible solar energy project options 14 4 days 16 2.3 Implementation 15 3 months Project network It is imperat ive to identify the dependencies and to sequence them correctly in a network so as to come up with a project network (Andersen, Cook Marceau 2004). Dependencies are activities that depend on others and cannot be executed before the independent activities (Wustenhagen et al. 2007). The above schedule shows some of the dependence activities in this project. The importance of establishing the project network is to show the order in which the various activities will be executed. Besides, the system helps to identify the critical path, which shows the principal activities. Critical path facilitates in work prioritization to ensure that the project is completed on time. The network technique helps the project manager to identify where to start the project, the order of activities and where to end the project. Besides, the method helps the project manager to identify the relevant activities and trail their execution (Burke 1999). On the other hand, Gantt diagram helps the project manager to identify the various activities of the project. However, Gantt diagram does not allow the manager to determine the critical path. Instead, the manager ends up executing all the outlined activities without understanding their interdependence. For the Gantt technique, the project may take a long duration since it is hard to identify the critical path and the most important activities. The project will use optimization technique to allocate time to the various activities. It will guarantee that critical activities get adequate time. Additionally, it will ensure that managers do not take a lot of time on trivial activities. Resource estimation One of the benefits of breaking the work into smaller packages is that â€Å"it provides accurate cost control if and only if the line managers can determine the costs at this level of detail† (De Wit 2004, p. 167). The managers will use the Ratio Method to estimate the total cost of the project. The ratio method is a top-down approach, which is conducted through estimation (Vine 2005). The managers will do a rough estimate of the requisite resources based on what the project will require for its completion. Ratio Method technique does not require the elements of work breakdown structure. Nevertheless, the elements will help the project managers to understand the required resources based on workflow. For the activities that require an enormous amount of money and time, the project managers will do the estimations based on the available data from previous projects. It will be difficult for the managers to come up with a correct estimate of the cost of the entire project. However, the estimation process will be conducted in a way that takes into account the changes that might arise during project realization. Hence, financial estimates for each activity will be raised a bit to cater for any unforeseen changes.  A number of resources will be required to complete the project. They include both material and human res ources. In the case of human resource, the project will need experts in solar panel installation. The experts will be assigned the duty to install and manage the solar panels once the project managers learn that the project is feasible, and it receives support of the community. On the other hand, the project will require research and data analysts who will be responsible for researching on the existing solar energy installation projects. They will identify and analyse the challenges that the projects face, how the challenges are overcome and project feasibility. In the case of material resources, the project will require numerous resources, which range from solar panels, inverters, batteries and photovoltaic diodes. These resources are essential for the project to be complete. Below is a summary of the costs associated with the project. Resources Estimated cost ($) Human Resources $120,0000 Solar panels $40,000 Inverters $25,000 batteries $75,000 Photovoltaic diodes $15 ,000 Miscellaneous expenses $20,000 Total $295,000 Financial Manager will be responsible for controlling the cash flow during the timescale of the work package. The manager will liaise with procurement staff to purchase all the necessary materials. It is important that cash flow is managed from a central location to minimise wastage. Therefore, the finance manager will account for the money spent throughout the project. Risk assessment and conclusion The project faces a number of constraints, one of which is financial challenges. The cost of installing the solar power system is high. Besides, the amount of energy generated by the system is less relative to the energy produced by the non-renewable sources. Solar power relies on the sun. Hence, it would be hard for the families to use the energy, especially during winter seasons (Kern Howlett 2009). The families will be advised to cut down on their rate of energy consumption to curb these challenges.  Solar energy installati on projects are susceptible to a number of risks. The risks include financial risk, operational risk, technological risk, climate and the weather risk and construction risk. Financial risk may arise due to insufficient capital (Bing et al. 1999). On the other hand, operational risk may occur in the form of project closure due to scarcity of resources or component failure. Technological risk may arise as a result of the equipments not producing the expected amount of electric energy. Changes in the weather condition may also affect the project. Risk assessment matrix Risk identified Management Reactions Probability Cause of the risk Manageable Solution There might be insufficient financial resources Gathering adequate financial resources Low Poor planning Soliciting for funding from financial institutions The project may come to a halt due to inadequate resources Not starting the project before all resources are mobilised Very low Poor planning Mobilising resources before laun ching the project The equipments may not produce the required amount of energy Not purchasing equipments before they are tested Low Technical problem Purchasing electrical gadgets from authorised dealers There may be alterations in electricity generation Ensuring that solar panels are clean, and no snow covers them Low Natural cause Cleaning the solar panels regularly Conclusion The accomplishment of the solar energy installation project will depend on accurate identification of the work packages and proper allocation of human and financial resources. The work breakdown structure has been provided to help the project manager to identify all the activities that the project involves. Besides, a project network has been prepared to assist the project manager to prioritise the different activities. The project is vulnerable to numerous risks. However, if the management team conducts thorough preparation prior to starting the project, it will avert all the potential hazards. The o verall cost of the project stand at $295,000. To ensure that the project is completed on time, the management team should make sure that it has mobilized the necessary resources, and it has evaluated all the potential risks. Reference List Andersen, P, Cook, N Marceau, J 2004, ‘Dynamic innovation strategies and stable networks in the construction industry: Implanting solar energy projects in the Sydney Olympic Village’, Journal of Business Research, vol. 57, no. 4, pp. 351-360. Atkinson, R 2001, ‘Project management: cost, time and quality, two best guesses and a phenomenon, its time to accept other success criteria’, International Journal of Project Management, vol. 17, no. 6, pp. 337-342. Bing, L, Tiong, R, Fan, W Chew, D 1999, ‘Risk Management in International Construction Joint Ventures’, Journal of Construction Engineering Management, vol. 125, no. 4, pp. 277–284. Burke, R 1999, Project Management: Planning and Control Techniques, John Wiley Sons, Chichester. Cleland, D , 2002, Project Management: Strategic Design and Implementations, McGraw-Hill, London. De Wit, A 2004, ‘Measurement of project success’, International Journal of Project Management, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 164-170. Ghosh, D, Shukla, P, Garg, A Ramana, P 2002, ‘Renewable energy technologies for Indian power sector: mitigation potential and operational strategies’, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 6, no. 6, pp. 481-512. Goletsis, Y, Psarras, J Samouilidis, J 2003, ‘Project ranking in the American energy sector using a multicriteria method for groups’, Annals of Operations Research, vol. 120, no. 4, pp. 135-157. Haapasalo, H, Ingalsuo, K Lenkkeri, T 2006, ‘Linking strategy into operational management: A survey of BSC implementation in Finnish energy sector’, Benchmarking: An International Journal, vol. 13, no. 6, pp. 701 – 717. Haralambopoulos, D Polatidis, H 2003, ‘Re newable energy projects: Structuring a multi-criteria group decision-making framework’, Renewable Energy, vol. 28, no. 6, pp. 961-973. Huraib, F, Hasnain, S Alawaji, S 2007, ‘Lessons learned from solar energy projects in Saudi Arabia’, Renewable Energy, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 1144-1147. Kendrick, T 2009, Identifying and Managing Projects Risk: Essential Tools for Failure-Proofing Your Project, John Wiley Sons, London. Kern, F Howlett, M 2009, ‘Implementing transition management as policy reforms: a case study of the Dutch energy sector’, Policy Sciences, vol. 42, no. 4, pp. 391-408. Kerzner, H 2009, Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling, John Wiley Sons, London. Kerzner, H 2004, Advanced Project Management: Best Practices on Implementation, John Wiley Sons, New Jersey. Rogers, J, Simmons, E, Convery, I Weatherall, A 2008, ‘Public perception of opportunities for community-based renewable energy project s’, Energy Policy, vol. 36, no. 11, pp. 4217-4226. Solangi, K, Islam, M, Saidur, R, Rahim, N Fayaz, H 2011, ‘A review on global solar energy policy’, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol.15, no. 4, pp. 2149-2163. Vine, E 2005, ‘An international survey of the energy service company (ESCO) industry’, Energy Policy, vol. 33, no. 5, pp. 691-704. White, D Fortune, J 2002, ‘Current practice in project management- an empirical study’, International Journal of Project Management, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 1-11. Wustenhagen, R, Wolsink, M Burer, M 2007, ‘Social acceptance of renewable energy innovation: an introduction to the concept’, Energy Policy, vol. 35, no. 5, pp. 2683-2691. This proposal on Solar Energy Installation Project Management was written and submitted by user Qu1nt1n to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Ethical Behavior Essays - Rodham Family, Lewinsky Scandal

Ethical Behavior Essays - Rodham Family, Lewinsky Scandal Ethical Behavior Is it fair to measure a politicians public worth by his/her sexual behavior? This a question which has been brought before me and requires an answer, or a position on which I stand, fair or unfair? Well, I think it is fair. After a two-year scandal involving President Bill Clinton and his sexual escapades with different women besides his wife, I cant help but see a direct comparison in this question. Using President Clinton works as an excellent example as to why I take the position I do. For obvious reasons a politicians public worth should not only be measured by his/her sexual behavior, but this should be an important consideration. Every time a new president is elected they are sworn in, they raise their right hand and swear to approximately 272 million people to uphold certain duties as president. Each time a president neglects to uphold one of these duties or if he/she is found to be committing a crime, a process is followed to decide whether or not the president should be impeached. If the act is found to be minor or not an impeachable offense, business continues as usual, but the dignity or public worth of this individual has to be questioned by the public, because as the employers of these poli ticians it is our duty. Now even though it might not seem relevant to use the president, or any politician being sworn in as a valid example, in comparison to marriage vows, I think it is valuable. Along with marriage comes a word called fidelity, this is usually touched upon at the ceremony or even before, this means to be faithful and loyal. When a person such as President Bill Clinton, or any politician professes his/her love and fidelity to his/her life partner, which is only one person, then without any regret, completely disregards those promises. How can a politician like this make a promise or swear to uphold certain duties to approximately 272 million strangers and be trusted? In my opinion that is the exact definition of public worth. Whatever goes on between consenting adults in private is nobodys business but their own, and that holds for sex as for anything else. Why should anybody even care whether Mary has fifteen lovers or none, whether Jack prefers sex with Bill to sex with Jane, or whether married couples like to swing with other married couples. Just because you personally disapprove of such things doesnt make them wrong. We all have the right to live our lives as we see fit as long as we dont interfere with the rights of others to live their lives as they see fit. Promiscuous people, homosexuals, and swingers dont tell you how to live your life. Dont tell them how to live theirs.(Olen & Barry pg.82) In essence I completely agree with this statement, but for a politician whose personal life is completely in the eye of the public especially when there is a scandal involving his/her sexual endeavors, this becomes a measurement of their public worth. These politicians are well aware of how their lives will be affected in the world of politics and this is something they must keep in mind when entering a situation that might compromise their worth to the public which elected them. I feel strong on my position and think if the economy wasnt doing as well as it is the Bill Clinton scandal would have been worse for him. Im not a political buff or analyst by any means but before the Bill Clinton sex scandal my opinion of his public worth and his principals were much greater than after the scandal. That might not be completely fair but it is my opinion.

Whats an Excellent ACT Score

What's an Excellent ACT Score SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips This article would be a pretty short one if there were a singleanswer to the question of what qualifies as an excellent ACT score. Like most things in life, however, what you might consider an excellent score depends on your perspective. In this post, I’ll talk about different ways to understand what counts as excellent test performance. I’ll start off with excellent scores in relation to the general population before discussing more nuanced comparisons: what does it mean to have an excellent score when considering your peer group performance, your target schools, and your own strengths and weaknesses? A Note Before We Get Started: Percentiles Percentiles are the best mathematical way to understand score performance because they help us understand how people perform in relation to each other. Before I talk about excellent ACT scores, I'll give you a (brief) crash course in percentile scores. First, percentile scores are different from percent scores. A percent score tells you what portion of anexam you got correct, whereas percentile score tells you how you did on the exam compared to everyone else who took it. For example,a percent score of 60% means got 60% of the questions right, whereas a percentile score of 60% means you scored better than 60% of the students who took the exam. Percentile scores are more meaningful than percentages when we talk about ACT scores because what’s important is how you score when compared to other students. For example,if you take a difficult test in a large class and only receive a 70%, you might assume you scored poorly. But if everyone else in your class scored lower than a 70%,you would have a 99th percentile score. This information would significantly change the perception of your performance. Now that you have an understanding of percentiles, we can start talking about what it means to have an excellent ACT score. Excellent ACT Scores for the General US Population We're starting with a big crowd and working our way down. It’s hard to get a handle on what ACT scores actually mean without some good, general info about population performance. Who can make intuitive sense out of an exam score without some contextual information? First, you should know that the ACT is scored out of 36 points. The lowest possible composite score is 1.The average national composite score is 21 points. The top 25% of scorers - people with 75th-99th percentile scores- get composite ACT scores of 24 and above. Thebottom 25% of test-takersget composite scores of 16 and below. You may very well have your own ideas about what a reasonable â€Å"excellent score† cutoff should be. For the general population, scores of 24 and above (so, scores that are higher than those of 75% of the population) could reasonably be considered excellent. Here are some other important percentile cutoffs and the corresponding ACT scores for quick reference: 10th percentile composite scores →13-14 25th percentile composite scores→16-17 50th percentile composite scores→21 75th percentile composite scores→24 90th percentile composite scores→28 Excellent ACT Scores for Your Peer Group To get a more nuanced understanding of what an excellent ACT score is, the next step would be to consider the scores of your peers- namely, people in the same geographical area or at the same high school. We’re narrowing down the comparison group here from the entire nation to people who are more similar to you in terms of educational background and opportunities.Here’s how to figure out how to get information on what your peers are scoring: Aggregated High School Information - A school report with ACT score informationshould give you an idea of how your peers tend to score. If you live in a mandatory testing state, you may be able to find this information just by googling "[Your High School Name] ACT score report." If you don’t know where to get this info or if it’s just not available, check in with your guidance counselor to see if shehas insighton the typical ACT score range for your high school. Classmate Information or Word of Mouth - Ifyou can’t get solidinformation on general school performance, you may just want to ask around to see how your peers tend to score. This is a delicate topic, so be respectful and don’t push the subject if someone’s uncomfortable discussing it. Ifyou want a more competitive score range, check in with honor students- they tend to score higher on the ACTs. Once you get information on general school or peerperformance: Consider whether this score distribution matches up with the national average, or if it's higher/lower than expected. If your school/classmates scores are higher/lower than the national average, you can use this info to adjust parametersand expectationsfor your own scores. For example,if most of your peers are scoring above average (21), you might have to score above the national 75th percentile (24) to stand out as â€Å"excellent† among your peers. Excellent ACT Scores for Your Target Colleges We're narrowing in on what's important: excellent ACT scores for the schools you have in your sights. Your ACT score doesn’t have to be perfect (or even necessarily excellent) for you to get into your target schools. They just have to be good enough to get you accepted- after that, they really don’t matter too much.If you have a list of target schools, you can easily figure out what would constitute an excellent ACT score for each particular school. Here’s how to do it: Google â€Å"[name of school] PrepScholar admissions requirements.† On the admissions page, look for the 25th and 75th percentile ACT scores. This will give you an idea of what â€Å"low† (25th percentile) and â€Å"excellent† (75th percentile) ACT scores are for students who attend that particular college. If you want an excellent ACT score for a particular college, aim for that 75thpercentile score. Now, there's some flexibility with this - keep in mind that 75% of students at any college are accepted with scores lower than the 75th percentile cutoff. If your ACT is in the top 25% of scores for schools that you’re considering, you may want to consider applying to some more competitive schools. Schools with higher average ACT scorestend to have more ambitiousstudents and more challenging courses. A high-ranking school also sends a better signal to grad schools and employers. Ultimately, it's a good strategy to apply to several target, reach, and safety schools- knowing schools' ACT score ranges will help you figure out which ones will best fit within this strategy. Excellent ACT Scores for Yourself This is perhaps the most important consideration with the most practical implications. Given your goals, strengths, and weaknesses, what’s considered an excellent ACT score for you personally? There are quite a few factors to take into account here: Whether you're a â€Å"good† test-taker or ananxious test-taker Your innate skill setfor each ACT section Your educational opportunities- some students may not have a strong background in all ACT content Your resources- some students may have access to prep courses, tutors, or extra help, whereas others may not It’s important to set a realistic but challenging goal in order to meet your full potential. If you set too low of a goal, you cheat yourself out of the opportunity to attend better colleges. If you settoo high of a goal, you may feel unnecessarilydemotivated and frustrated. So where do you begin figuring out what an excellent ACT score means for you? Here's how to do it: Get a baseline score. Take a practice test after familiarizing yourself with the ACT for about 10 hours of prep. You might consider this baseline your low score cutoff- after all, you did get this score with pretty minimal study time. Reach your own score potential. Know that whatever you scored on your baseline, there will be significant room for improvement with good prep. Many students reach a score max (an excellent personalscore) after about 40-80 hours of studying. This score maximum is generally 3-4 points higher than baseline, although it's definitely possible to increase your score more than that. How Do You Get an Excellent ACT Score? Now comes the real work: getting the scores that you want! There are three key components to earning an excellent score, however you define it: a solid timeline, a concrete goal, and a smart study plan. Timeline The amount of time you have to prep will directly affect your study timeline. Read our guide on how long you should study for the ACT. Goal Score Work towards a concrete goal after making a list of target, reach, and safety schools. Get instructions on how to set a goal score in our ACT score guide. Want a beyond-excellent ACT score? We have a guide for that too. Study Plan Now that you have a study timeline and goal score in place, you'll need a smart study plan. This plan will, of course, depend on when you're taking the test. Don't have a lot of time? Read our last-minute tipsand strategies, or our 10-day study plan. Have a bit more time on your hands? Read our study schedule for students who have one year or more to prepare. What's Next? If you're still deciding whether to take the SAT or the ACT, you might be wondering which one will get you the best scores. Read more about how to decide which test is the best fit for you. Looking for more info on the SAT? Read about what counts as anexcellent or bad SAT score. Disappointed with your ACT scores? Want to improve your ACT score by 4+ points? Download our free guide to the top 5 strategies you need in your prep to improve your ACT score dramatically.

The United States from the 1880s to the 1930s Essay

The United States from the 1880s to the 1930s - Essay Example These poor working conditions are eminent throughout the novel, indicating that the poor working conditions for the workers persisted during the period 1880s to 1930. The poor working conditions would see most industrial workers move from one industry or factory to the other, in search for more favorable working conditions. This can been seen from this novel, where Joe tells George that his family is moving to Cherry Alley, where life is more expensive, but it is worth, just for the sake of getting away from the cinder dump (Bell, 53). The working conditions of the industrial workers during this period were such dangerous, that losing life for the workers was a normalcy. Another social issue facing the industrial workers during this period is lack of adequate health facilities, despite the dangerous working conditions they were operating in, which leaves the workers either ill or injured (Foner, 26). While George is lucky to get some employment, he notices some deep boom on the floor of the industry, and feels the earth shake only to realize that an explosion had occurred which injured many of his co-workers. George and other co-workers go to find a doctor for the injured workers, which proves impossible and they have to put them in a train and take them to Pittsburgh, the only place they could find a hospital (Bell, 112). Social situation was also imbalanced during this period, with more men than women in the industrial towns, which triggered infidelity and marriage breakups (Bell, 91).

International business DISCUSSION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

International business DISCUSSION - Essay Example While they are out, HR professionals should contemplate on how much the expatriates rely on them and the impact of their personal touch they have. Organizations should invest in global awareness training and educate employees who are involved in global operations at all levels. The HR should give achievable expectations and be clear about post-assignment obligations. The role of the HR professional is to make the expat understand what the assignment, he/she is going to undertake. Expatriates should get predeparture assistance and consultations for expats and their families. It will be a good practice if basic language skills and intercultural training be provided to the expatriates (Tyler 98). Providing good strategies for expatriates such as a reasonable budget and a selection of support services would be a good approach. It spends employers’ money intelligently, and their families would confide in the business as they think the company recognizes the challenges the families go through. HR professional ought to enable mentor relationships amongst expatriates and establish systems to give incentives to mentors. Carl says, "Some of the expats I worked with had terrible times coming back; there was nothing available to them" (2006). Getting an expatriate home safely is an important cause to the expatriate, his/her family and the sponsoring organization (Tyler 100). An expatriate will experience emotional and professional challenges that deter an unbroken return and can result to their resignation. HR professional(s) has a mandate to make the expats feel lucky to have their job at the

An Inspector Calls Essay Example for Free

An Inspector Calls Essay JB Priestly wrote An Inspector Calls to enhance the message that we dont live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other. This is something Priestly felt strongly about and he succeeded in representing his views through the character of the Inspector in the play itself. He wanted to communicate the message that our actions, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, always affect others. He uses the downfall of Eva Smith and a chain of events to demonstrate this. This leads to a very convincing and well-devised play, which puts across JB Priestleys views clearly and precisely. In Edwardian Britain there was a great difference in the roles of men and women in society and the outlook of what and was not accepted differed substantially. A prime example of this in the play is when Mr Birling says Nothing to do with you, Sheila. Run along. This tells us that women are treated as inferior to men as they should not interfere with their conversations. For example, upper class men were encouraged to gain sexual experience with lower class women. This way, women were preserved until the wedding night as a sign of purity. The background a marriage carried was seen as more important than the relationship between the couple. In many cases it was necessary for individuals to marry into families that offered greater status or financial strength. This is shown in the play when Mr Birling says Your father and I have been friendly rivals in business we may look forward to a time when Crafts and Birlings are no longer competing but are working together. This suggests Mr Birling cares more about his own welfare than Gerald and Sheilas happiness. The Inspector conveys the theme of responsibility. He shows we must all look out for each other and think before taking actions. Priestley uses Eva Smiths death as an example of the suffering of lower class women in Edwardian times and directs the blame at the whole family caused by their small but consequential, chain of events. Priestley cleverly brings in the inspector at a strategic moment, just after Birling has stated that a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own. This is the speech that Birling has just made, which reveals his true character. That of a narcissistic, unsparing old man. But then the inspector comes in and gradually shows them how wrong Birling is and how we should feel and show responsibility for one another.

A Summary and Application of Presence and Resistance: Postmodernism and Cultural Politics in Contemporary American Performance :: Research Papers

A Summary and Application of Presence and Resistance: Postmodernism and Cultural Politics in Contemporary American Performance Here it is a book seen from the outside. A book is only a book when seen from the outside. Seen from the inside, a book is not a book, but a train ride at night - Michael Goulish In his book Presence and Resistance, Philip Auslander responds to the claims of many prominent cultural theorists that recent performance has been unable to engage in political critique. He argues contemporary performance can - and has - mounted a critique of postmodern politics. He holds up performance of the 1980’s as an example of politically critical (what he terms ‘’resistant’’) performance, claiming it carved a space for political critique by questioning, or reconstructing, the authority of the performer’s presence. He breaks his argument into two parts. First, he positions resistant performance of the 1980’s within postmodern mass media culture and identifies it as a response to the failure of the 1960’s avant-garde. Second, he examines the resistant strategies performers of the 1980’s employed to deconstruct presence and mount political critique. He focuses mainly on performers Laurie Anderson, Spalding Gray, and T he Wooster Group, and secondarily on comedians Andy Kauffman and Sandra Bernhard to illustrate his points. Part I will summarize Auslander’s argument, and Part II will use his insights to discuss Michael Goulish’s book, 39 Microlectures in Proximity of Performance, which gains relevance as a resistant text in light of Auslander’s analysis. Part I Auslander takes time to situate the performances of the 1980’s within the context of postmodern culture before launching his main argument on the strategies resistant performance employed. The ‘’mediatized,’’ information-saturated, environment of mass media culture, he argues, is paralyzing. Paralysis extends to the political sphere, where even the most vehement political critique is neutralized by the fact that one â€Å"must participate in the very activity that is being denounced... to denounce it’’ (Jameson qtd. Auslander 23). Auslander acknowledges mechanized culture’s impact on political critique but refuses to accept the conclusions of other major cultural/media theorists that a politically resistant performance aesthetic has not yet been developed, or that performers can only find a voice by rejecting mainstream culture altogether. Instead, he argues that performers of the 1980’s succeeded in critiquing postmodern cultural politics and did so, necessarily, from within mediatized postmodern culture. Auslander explains the significance of internal critique, arguing that resistant performance of the 1980’s grew from a rejection of the fringe approach of the 1960’s avant garde.

Psychology Process Essay

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although psychological pioneers such as Jung and Freud dominated much of the early dialogue regarding psychoanalytic theory in the early through mid twentieth century, the contribution of Erik Erikson to modern psychology has proven to be no less enduring than it was originally regarded as radical. Some evidence suggests that Erikson’s theories of the eight stages of personal development have enjoyed a more widespread acceptance among contemporary twenty-first century thinkers and scholars than many of his predecessors and colleagues. Erikson was a pioneer in adult psychoanalytic theory: â€Å"he stands alone as the one thinker who changed our minds about what it means to live as a person who has arrived at a chronologically mature position and yet continues to grow, to change, and to develop.† (Hoare 3); because Erikson’s theories went â€Å"beyond† those extended by Freud and others, his contributions to modern psychology are still regarded as important second-stage psychoanalytic theory.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although for Freud â€Å"humans were psychosexual creatures† (Hoare 4). ,for Erikson the human psyche presented a much more complex and evolving entity, one which developed over a series of specifically defined stages, and the successful or unsuccessful navigation through these stages, which numbered eight, indicated whether or not an individual had successfully attained a working self-identity. Perhaps Erikson’s break-through inn psychoanalytic theory were at least partially based upon his personal life-experiences. Certainly within the context of Erikson’s theories of identity development, one’s personal experience played a crucial role in the development of identity. As his many biographers have noted, Erikson â€Å"lived in dramatic times† (Hoare 4). and in his life he experienced â€Å"two world wars[†¦] and, later, living in the United States, saw the origin and first use of nuclear weapons.† (Hoare 4).; whether or not these historical experienced shaped his intellectual vision is debatable. What is less ambiguous is whether or not Erikson’s personal life, outside of any historical context, influenced his theories and it certainly did.   Erikson’s early life: â€Å"born on June 15, 1902, in Frankfurt am Main, Germany† (Hoare 7). Erikson first lived alone with his mother and then later, â€Å"The two lived among his mother’s artist friends, who provided early identifications for him† (Hoare 7).   The fact that Erikson was essentially an artist rather than a pure scientist allowed him to bring a sensitivity to his psychological studies and theories which many scholars believe was previously lacking in psychology.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is well known that Erikson in nineteen sixty-three â€Å"postulated eight stages that must be encountered successfully and lived through in the development of the self† (Hattie 118).; the navigation of these eight stages produced an enduring self-identity which continued to develop adn meet challenges right on through until personal death. (Hattie). The specific stages were looked at by Erikson as challenges and one either â€Å"won† or â€Å"lost† them. Such a vision was radical when Erikson proposed it and his ideas are still regarded, by some, as quite radical today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For example, Christian educational theorists belive that not only Erikson, but many of the psychoanalytic theorists of the twentieth century have replaced the traditional role of ministers, and other mentors and societal influences over the upbringing of children in Western society. These people believe that â€Å"the vocabulary of the psychologist frames virtually all public discussion[†¦] Anthropologists and sociologists are likewise absent from the discussion.†Ã‚   (Hunter 5).a and this is viewed as being highly detrimental to educational strategies and programs. However, despite the criticism of groups like these, Erikson’s theories continue to be deeply referenced and relied upon by modern psychologists, and he is revered as the primary thinker in psychology who extended the recognition of the development of self-identity beyond the early stages of adolescence and envisioned a paradigm which covered the evolution of the self over the entire duration of an individual life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Works Cited Hattie, John. Self-Concept. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1992. Hoare, Carol Hren, ed. Erikson on Development in Adulthood: New Insights from the   Ã‚   Unpublished Papers. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. Hunter, James Davison. â€Å"When Psychotherapy Replaces Religion.† Public Interest Spring   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     2000: 5.

“Archetypes for a Contemporary Audience” Essay

Myths are an important cultural aspect that were, and are to this day, used commonly to help teach morals and life lessons. Strength, courage, and fortitude are just a few characteristics addressed in mythology. The archetypal layout of an exemplary story is composed of the Twelve Stages. The Twelve Stages of a hero’s journey are the steps every person must take in order to prove one’s self as a hero. Mythical heroes such as Theseus, Sigurd, and Beowulf clearly demonstrate the archetypal qualities of a hero. A typical hero is seen as a morally just individual, with a noticeably ethical intent. An archetypal quality of a hero is moral goodness. The hero is always opposing evil and wrong-doing, while attempting his best to halt it. The hero is selfless always willing to give his life in place of another. A villain, or monster, is the opposed force of the hero, whose intent is solely based around a malicious and self-centered motive. The shadow-self of a character is often portrayed as the villain, or monster, but it has a much greater importance. The shadow-self illustrates the two extremes of a personality. Since the shadow-self is the complete opposite of a character, the good and bad qualities of that character are shown, the shadow self of a character can have both good and bad aspects. When someone is able to control the good aspects of both characters, the individual is able to grow and learn from themselves. The shadow-self is often used in literature, because it is seen as the perfect challenge for the protagonist. An example in literature would be Beowulf and Grendel. Beowulf is a great hero driven by good morals and intentions, while Grendel is a soulless monster living only to cause pain and death. Another example would be Sigurd and Regin. Sigurd is somewhat naive and physically strong, Regin, being the opposite, is extremely intelligent and persuasive, but not physically robust. Monsters are often confused with the shadow-self, but the monster can share similar qualities, values, and goals with the protagonist. Most monsters are shown as creatures, or people, who are not bound by the conforming laws set in place for the average person. In many cases with monsters in literature, there is a figurative veil drawn over them; shrouding them in mystery and uncertainty. These aspects draw people’s fascination by providing the reader with a form of escapism. Thus, allowing the reader to break away from the dull, constant, day-to-day routine of  their lives, and discover a new unfamiliar world. By providing this new reality for the reader the monster’s role in the narrative is greatly enhanced. When combining heroic qualities with villainous attributes, a perfect balance is formed. Most literature contains some manner of conflict between heroes and villains. Without conflict, the story would have no distinguishable design or purpose. Without the purpose or design the story would ramble aimlessly, until a much desired conclusion is reached. This leads back into the balance between hero and villain, because the existence of a hero or villain depends greatly upon the existence of the other. The reason for this is simple, because there is no need for a hero if there is no villain, and the same applies to a villain, who has no hero to rise up against. The voyage and quest of a hero is often riddled with hardship and treachery: Then an old harrower of the dark happened to find the hoard open, the burning one who hunts out barrows, the slick-skinned dragon, threatening the night sky with streamers of fire. People on the farms are in dread of him. He is driven to hunt out hoards under ground, to guard heathen gold†¦ When the dragon awoke, trouble flared again. He rippled down the rock, writhing with anger when he saw the footprints of the prowler who had stolen too close to his dreaming head. So may a man not marked by fate easily escape exile and woe by the grace of God. (Heaney-155) This quote from Beowulf shows that quest for treasure is always challenging. The road to the treasure is filled with tests and confrontations that are put in place to challenge the hero’s skills and knowledge. When the location of the treasure is finally reached, there is always a final obstacle blocking the way of the treasure. A common example of this is a dragon in its lair, sleeping soundly, guarding its treasure from unwanted thieves. Beowulf’s final fight with the dragon is an obvious example. In the story, â€Å"Theseus and the Ariadne Thread† Theseus uses a thread given to him by Ariadne. â€Å"As may be imagined, he made no difficulty about that, and she gave him the clue she had got from Daedalus, a ball of thread which he was to fasten at one end to the inside of the door and unwind as he went on. This he did and, certain that he could retrace his steps whenever he chose, he walked boldly into the maze, looking for the Minotaur.†(â€Å"Theseus† 776) The thread was used to help Theseus remember where he had already been,  and to lead him back to his original starting position, and keep him from getting lost in the maze. A valuable lesson can be learned from this thread, as it symbolizes connection to a person, place, or thing that brings us back to reality, when we are in need of direction. The slaying of the dragon is seen as the overcoming of an obstacle: After what seemed minutes, he thought, I must risk it now. With that he straightened his knees and drove the sword upward with all his force. It tore up through the cloak, through the loose earth, and on with the force of his arm until it buried itself to the hilt. A great cry came from the monster. (Who Are You Quoting Here?) Being able to overcome an obstacle is important, because it allows the person to undergo change and growth. As a contemporary audience we are able to read this, and be able to apply the knowledge gained from reading, in our own lives. The heroic epic poem Beowulf is a remarkable example of archetypes in a story. Beowulf is centered on a Scandinavian hero who is both strong and cunning. Beowulf is the classic hero everyone envisions when they think of a hero. Grendel, Beowulf’s shadow-self, is an obvious archetypal villain. Beowulf’s many quests represent the typical hunt for treasure. Beowulf’s final adventure, which would lead to his death, was by far the most archetypal of all of his endeavors, completing the last few stages of the Hero’s Journey. The poem Beowulf has a lot of psychological depth contained within the story. In preparation for the battle with Grendel’s mother, Beowulf must sink to the bottom of a lake, to get to the underwater lair. Beowulf must sink for hours to get to the bottom, and in doing so, this event displays that Beowulf’s mental strength is just as robust as his physical strength. Once Beowulf reached Grendel’s mother’s lair, Hrunting, a sword that had never failed in battle, was broken when it attempted to pierce the monster’s skin. Beowulf was quick to disarm the sword and reequip with a giant’s  sword, which happened to be conveniently placed in the lair. The significance of this in the story demonstrates the idea that un-useful things should be quickly discarded, as they are only weighing you down. Letting go of things that only slow you down, or hold you back from your true potential, will free you to move forward in your life’s quest. Once an obstacle, or hindrance, in your life is gone, you are able to look for another alternative or way out. The last important archetypal piece in Beowulf is Beowulf’s final fight with the dragon. This fulfills two of the 12 stages: The Resurrection and the Return with the Elixir. When Beowulf defeats the dragon, but is also killed in the process, the resurrection is displayed when Beowulf comes to release his death. When Beowulf realizes his death is upon him he reminisces about his old heroic deeds, and comprehends the valor of his actions. The twelfth stage is exemplified when Wiglaf, the only one of Beowulf’s men who didn’t desert him, retrieves some of the treasure, won by Beowulf, and shows Beowulf the spoils. Finally, when Wiglaf returns to the people and tells them of Beowulf’s death, along with a prediction of the upcoming days, the people fully realize what their leader has done for them, and they feel sorrow and remorse. The works of literature Beowulf, â€Å"Sigurd the Dragon Slayer†, and â€Å"Theseus† still maintain relevance in today’s society. The heroic qualities of these heroes are still admired and sought after by the people of today. Reading these stories will provide the reader with a greater knowledge of how our society bases its morals. The morals of any society are based on the archetype of whom ever that society deems to be the ultimate â€Å"good† example. The age old battle between good and evil is still being fought out in everyday life, and each one of us is a character in the drama of human history. We all need heroes, because we all feel the threat of evil, or villains, in our lives.

Every IB History Past Paper Available Free and Official

Every IB History Past Paper Available Free and Official SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Taking a practice IB History exam before the actual exam will help you familiarize yourself with the length, style and format of the test. In this guide, we explain the IB History test format and link to the best past papers available. At the end, I’ll explain how best to use these IB History past papers for your studying. Disclaimer: these free exams should be used at your own risk. The exams are not authorized by the IBO and were most likely put up online without the IBO’s consent. IB History Exam Format The IB History course was completely revamped in 2017. Now, there are five prescribed subjects: Military leaders Conquest and its impact The move to global war Rights and protest Conflict and intervention Your teacher will choose one that you'll cover, and you'll be tested on this for paper 1 (one hour in length). There is also a list of twelve world history topics. For paper 2 (1.5 hours), you'll cover two of these: Society and economy (750-1400) Causes and effects of medieval wars (750-1500) Dynasties and rulers (750-1500) Societies in transition (1400-1700) Early Modern states (1450-1789) Causes and effects of Early Modern wars (1500-1750) Origins, development and impact of industrialization (1750-2005) Independence movements (1800-2000) Evolution and development of democratic states (1848-2000) Authoritarian states (20th century) Causes and effects of 20th-century wars The Cold War: superpower tensions and rivalries (20th century) For students taking IB History HL, they'll have a final paper (paper 3) that is 2.5 hours and will cover one of the four Depth Studies: History of Africa and the Middle East History of the Americas History of Asia and Oceania History of Europe Current IB History Papers The best source for up-to-date IB History past papers is the IBO store. Each paper and each markscheme is $3, so a full test's worth will cost you $12 for SL or $18 for HL. (While the IBO site has a sample SL/HL paper 2 available for free, it's from November 2005, predating the most recent syllabus updates.) Currently, the IB store has papers from 20 through 2018, but we recommend only purchasing papers from May 2017 tests or later, as those are the exams that match the new syllabus. Be sure to check not just the test date but also the depth-study area for each exam paper and markscheme you purchase to make sure they match up- you wouldn't want to purchase a History of Asia and Oceania exam paper but a History of Europe markscheme! Additionally, we've found these IB History past papers available for you to study from. They are from 2017 and follow the same format as current IB History exams, so you can be sure they'll be close to what you actually see for your own paper. Because they're not on the official IB site, however, we urge you to use these with caution. Paper 1 prompts and grading Paper 2 prompts Alan O'Rourke / Flickr Old IB History Papers These papers are before the IB History course was revamped in 2017, so the topics the papers cover won't be exactly what you see for your course. However, these can still be a useful way to get a better sense of the kinds of papers you'll see for IB History and the types of information you'll be expected to know. 2003 Paper 1Paper 1 Source BookletPaper 2Paper 3 2004 Paper 1Paper 1 Source BookletPaper 2Paper 3 2005 Paper 1Paper 1 Source BookletPaper 2Paper 3 2006 Paper 1Paper 1 Source BookletPaper 2Paper 3 Paper 3 Topics Chart of paper 3 topics from 2000 through 2012 How to Use IB History Past Papers Each full IB History practice exam will take you 2.5 hours for SL or 5 hours for HL, so you need to get the most out of each test. Below are some pointers for your practice. Tip 1: Take Papers 1 and 2 Consecutively (If Possible) For both IB History SL and HL, papers 1 and 2 are administered one after the other, requiring you to maintain your concentration and testing stamina for 2.5 hours. Part of practicing for the test means building up your testing endurance so that you're not making careless errors or losing focus towards the end of the tests. IB History HL includes a third, 2.5-hour paper administered on a second day of testing, which you should also try to match in your practice schedule. Having a test spread out over multiple days means that you can't just cram and then immediately forget everything after you've finished papers 1 and 2; you'll need to practice retaining information even after the 2.5-hour slog of the first day's papers 1 and 2. If you don't have time in your schedule for a full 2.5-hour session (or for two 2.5-hour sessions two days in a row for HL), then splitting papers 1 and 2 up over multiple days is OK. Just make sure that in your studying you follow this next tip: Tip 2: Time Yourself on Each Paper You must get used to the timing pressures of this exam. The time allowed per paper is: IB History SL Paper 1- 1 hour Paper 2- 1 hour 30 minutes IB History HL Paper 1- 1 hour Paper 2- 1 hour 30 minutes Paper 3- 2 hour 30 minutes Don't give yourself extra time. If you do, you will not figure out your pacing for the real exam and will likely score higher than you actually will the day of the test. I want these practice exams to give you an accurate picture of your actual test score. Stephan Baum/Wikimedia Tip 3: Review Your Mistakes! When you complete your exam (end of Paper 2 for SL or end of Paper 3 for HL), check every mistake. If you skip this step, you will not learn from your errors, and you'll keep making them. You need to take at least an hour reviewing your exam. I know this may seem like a lot of time, but you want quality practice. If you only end up taking two practice tests with detailed review, you will be better prepared than if you took six tests with no review. What’s Next? Taking IB History right now? Round out your studying with our complete IB History notes and study guide. Ready to jump into some US History topics? Learn about the Platt Amendment and Ida Lewis. If you're more interested in political history, be sure to also check out our articles on checks and balances in the US government and how the executive branch can check the judicial branch. Or perhaps you're interested in learning something that might not come up in history class? Find out more about David Ghantt and the Loomis Fargo heist, the complete history of hip hop, and the competing claims for invention of the 3-hole punch. Learn more about the IB course offerings: The Complete List of IB Courses and Classes Which IB Courses Can I Take Online? Can I Get an Online IB Diploma? Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: