Foreign literature Essay

Many students who come from other countries to study in the US wish to stay and work after graduation. This allows them to continue their exploration of a different culture, while at the same time develop professional experience that will further their careers. The following is an overview of employment options for foreign national students graduating from US colleges and universities, according to the type of visa they hold. Note that these options can change at any time so students should check with the resources included below for the latest regulations and details or if appropriate a professional service specializing in assisting international students and workers in the US. Student Visas for US Employment Both undergraduate and graduate students can apply to remain in the US for employment-based training for 12-18 months after completion of their studies, depending on their visa status. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS, formerly known as INS) defines this training as employment related to the student’s course of study. Without proper authorization, off-campus employment is illegal. Optional Practical Training for Foreign Student Visa (F-1) Holders Most international students are Foreign Student Visa (F-1) holders. After they have completed a course of study, F-1 students can apply for Optional Practical Training (OPT), which allows them to work up to 12 months following the receipt of a degree. (Each degree, starting with the bachelor’s, must be a higher degree than the previous one.) Steps to apply for OPT include: Make an appointment with an international student advisor that is scheduled at least 3 months before the end of the period of study Obtain a Practical Training Recommendation form from the school’s international student services Ask an academic advisor to complete the form Complete USCIS Form I-765 Photocopy both sides of Form I-94 Write check or money order for $180 payable to USCIS Obtain two passport photos of the student, and photocopy all passport pages Photocopy Form I-20 Go to appointment with international student advisor with all of the above  materials Once the OPT application has been submitted, it takes 2-3 months to receive an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). Upon receipt of the Optional Practical Training authorization card, graduates can legally work. After the EAD has been issues, the approved period of time cannot be changed. Therefore, students who have not completed their studies by the date provided on their application will not be able to begin working full time until all their studies are completed, and they will not get back time lost. In some cases, once an employee reaches the end of their OPT, an employer may wish to sponsor them for an H1-B Temporary Worker Visa (see below). This allows the employee to continue to work for that company an additional 3-6 years. Academic Training for Exchange Visitor Student Visa (J-1) Holders Exchange Visitor Student Visa (J-1) holders can apply for Academic Training (AT), which allows them to work off-campus in full-time, paying jobs related to their field. The total amount of time allotted for AT is 18 months (regardless of the number of degrees obtained while studying in the US) and can be completed either before or after a graduate’s period of study. Both undergraduate and graduate-level students are eligible. Postdoctoral fellows are allowed to apply for an additional 18 months, for a total of 36 months of AT. Steps to apply for AT include: Applications for AT should be submitted at least two weeks prior to the date employment is scheduled to begin  Obtain a job offer letter from an employer that includes job title, brief description of employment â€Å"goals and objectives,† dates and location of employment, number of hours per week, salary amount, and  name and address of supervisor Ask the international student services office for a recommendation form, and give to an academic advisor along with a copy of the job offer letter; the advisor’s recommendation letter should note that the AT is an integral part of the student’s academic program Schedule an appointment with an international student services advisor and bring the above materials along with a current passport If the J-1 Responsible Officer evaluates the AT program and decides it is warranted and appropriate, he or she will authorize the AT and issue a new DS-2019 If one period of AT ends, or if the job ends, a new application must be submitted and authorization granted for any new period of AT. Some J-1 students may have a â€Å"two-year home country residence† requirement, which prevents them from continuing employment with an H-1B visa (see below) after academic training, unless the requirement is waived. Worker Visas for Long Term Employment H-1B Temporary Worker Visa Once a period of Optional Practical Training or Academic Training is completed, Federal regulations require that employment be terminated. However, graduates may continue their employment if the USCIS approves a change in visa type to H-1B Temporary Worker, the most common type of work visa. There is a quota of how many H-1B Visas can be granted per fiscal year (between October 1 and September 31). Some non-profit research institutions and universities are exempt. H-1B Visa holders must be sponsored by their current or prospective employer, and the position must be a professional one. The sponsoring organization petitions the USCIS and the Department of Labor for the H1B, which can take 4-6 months before the employee’s new immigration status is granted. Employees cannot change companies without jeopardizing their visa status,  and the visa ends when employment with that company ends, or after six years, whichever is shorter. Finding an Employer American employers often see international students as assets, as they possess both multicultural and multilingual skills, and an education from a US institution. Additionally, when they hire a foreign national with a student visa, organizations are not required to prove that there is no American available for the position (which they have to do with green cards). However, some employers are reluctant to interview F-1 Visa holders because they know their worker will have to leave in one year, unless the employer is willing to sponsor a change to H-1B Visa status. Potential employers may also be concerned about their own lack of familiarity with the process, and hesitant to invest money in training an employee who, sooner or later, will want to return to their home country. The following tips can help in securing an F-1, J-1, or H-1B job: Work while in school – Take advantage of Curricular Practical Training (CPT) internships during school to gain valuable experience Communicate well – Become as fluent as possible in spoken and written English Develop an excellent resume – Design targeted resumes according to American expectations (keep to one page; address only ability, skills and experience; do not include personal information such as race, age, or parents’ occupations) Keep an open mind – Consider less desirable field-related jobs in addition to ideal opportunities — they can lead to more desirable positions later Educate employersAssure employers that the government issues a specific number of H1-B visas each year, so if a visa is not issued to the current student, it will go to another student for another company – the employer will not be depriving Americans of jobs Sell uniqueness – Communicate to employers the benefits they will receive by hiring an international student (resourcefulness, determination, ability to adapt, multilingual, overcoming challenges, etc.) www.braintrack.com

A Brief Analysis of Kafka’s The Trial

On his thirtieth birthday, Joseph K. is arrested even though he has done nothing wrong. Naturally Joseph K. is angry and annoyed. On the day of his thirty-first birthday, Joseph K. is taken to a nearby quarry by the warders and killed. Joseph K. does nothing to stop them from killing him. The Trial is the story of the intervening year between Joseph K.'s two birthdays. This novel treats many subjects, but this paper will examine only three: the mystery of the bureaucracy in the novel, sexuality during the process, and the economic and social point of view of The Trial.The bureaucracy in The Trial is large, impersonal and frightening. Prior to the beginning of the book Joseph K. is a successful businessman working in a bank apparently on the fast track for advancement and even greater success. After his arrest he and his life decline until his execution. Although Joseph K. â€Å"is accused of crimes he did not commit . . . [he] still feels guilty about these unnamed offenses† ( Meyers, 329). This guilt plays an important role throughout the novel. Joseph K. is mentally and emotionally paralyzed by his guilt of having been accused of the unknown crime.As Boa writes, the experience of being arrested has taken Joseph K. out of his comfort zone and he is unable to operate; he doesn't know what to do. â€Å"What is the nature of the court, what is the law, what should the individual on trial do?† (1). The paralysis Joseph K. suffers appears to be psychological rather than due to a physical threat. The parable told to Joseph K. by the priest provides an accurate description of the state Joseph K. is in. In the parable a man from the country comes to have access to the law however the doorkeeper will not admit the man.The doorkeeper steps aside from the doorway and offers no physical resistance, but the man is paralyzed by what might be done by the institution. â€Å"‘If you are so strongly tempted, try to get in without my permission. But note that I am powerful. And I am only the lowest doorkeeper. From hall to hall, keepers stand at every door, one more powerful than the other . . .'† (Kafka, 267-8). Rather than confront these possibilities the man sits on a stool by the door and waits. This is precisely what Joseph K. does. He tacitly accepts the non-accusation of the court and submits to its jurisdiction. One cannot help but feel that if he were refuse to comply with the court that he would be free to continue living his life. The mystery of the bureaucracy of the court appears to be a psychological threat of the unknown combined with a man's natural inclination to obey the institutions that govern the locality where he lives.The second area this paper will address is sexuality during the process. During the year of the trial, Joseph K. has a brief flirtation with Fraulein Brustner but she later refuses his advances. It is interesting that â€Å"Brustner† is very close to the German word â€Å"brusten† meaning breast. The desire to dominate a woman has considerable Freudian implications that suggest that Kafka was greatly influenced by his mother, the source of his life and breastfeeding, and not always in a positive manner.During this encounter Joseph K. kisses her â€Å"all over the face, like some animal lapping greedily at a spring of long-sought fresh water† (Kafka, 38). This is an interesting foreshadowing of his execution where he dies â€Å"[l]ike a dog† (Kafka, 286). After kissing her Joseph K. returns home, â€Å"[h]e fell asleep almost at once, but before doing so he thought for a little about his behavior, he was pleased with it, yet surprised that he was not still more pleased† (38).This appears to be an example where a man dominates a woman to get his will without regard to her desire. This strength is uncharacteristic of Joseph K. particularly in regard to the affair he has with Leni, Huld's nurse. Leni appears to like men who are vulnerable. S he has considerable control over her employer who must accept her care because of his heart condition and because she is unaccountable attracted to Joseph K. who is vulnerable because of the accusation against him.From an economic and social point of view The Trial is particularly interesting. The Trial â€Å"moves beyond the household to explore the interlocking of social power and psychic structure in urban society at large† (Boa, 133). Adler suggests that Kafka is writing about â€Å"[t]wo defining factors stand out in this period.Firstly, the conflict between Czech, German and Jewish traditions; and secondly, the struggle between Prague's history and modernisation [sic]† Kafka appears to have had trouble reconciling these three worlds in his own life and feels he is unable to successfully struggle against the enormous, looming presence of the government and his religious background. It is interesting that Joseph K. actually has considerable impact, although it appe ars is unaware of it.In fact, the Court even follows his requests and confirms his assumptions. Although K. tells himself what time he should arrive for his first interrogation, this turns out to be the same hour mentioned by the Examining Magistrate. K. decides that he will attend only one interrogation, instead of the series of short interrogations planned by the Court, and the Court complies K. accuses the warders, and the Court promptly punishes them . . . . (Lasine, 34).It is this lack of awareness of the capabilities that Kafka seems to warning the reader about. The Trial is not to be viewed as a plan or even a call to change society, but an examination of authority intended to help people think for themselves about the issues in the book (Boa, 186).The Trial is a haunting frightening book in the same genre as the later books Orwell's 1984 and Huxley's Brave New World. However, it is more subtle and thought provoking. Given the multi-leveled layers of bureaucracy both governme ntal and in business one wonders if The Trial is not more relevant today that when it was written near the beginning of World War I. Given the excess of administrative law with its great power that is not subject to many of the protections of due process, it is easy to empathize with Joseph K.Works CitedAdler, Jeremy. â€Å"What Was Lost? The Czech Jewish Community.† European Judaism. 38, 2 (2005) 70+. Boa, Elizabeth. Kafka: Gender, Class, and Race in the Letters and Fictions. Clarendon Press: Oxford, 1996. Kafka, Franz. The Trial. Alfred A. Knopf: New York, 1957. Lasine, Stuart. â€Å"Kafka's Trial.† The Explicator. 42, 3 (1985): 34. Meyers, Jeffrey. â€Å"Swift and Kafka.† Papers on Language & Literature. 40, 3 (2004): 329.

Magnolia Therapeutic Solutions Case Study

Magnolia Therapeutic Solutions is a well known nonprofit that provides psychotherapy for clients with Post Traumatic Syndrome Disorder (PSTD). Magnolia contributed several hours of intensive help to the victims of 911. In return NYC gave the organization a large grant to help it meet the demands of PSTD services. Mary Stewart, the founder of the organization believed that the grant given in 2001 would be renewed in 2002 as well. Much to her surprise the grant was not renewed. The grant was already factored into her budget for 2002 and she had to go back and revise the budget. Mary was $500,000 short and in turn had to lay off one third of the employees. My Decision Versus the Boards The board of directors chose to approve the budget, based on Mary’s 2001 budget and financials. My decision would have been the complete opposite. The decision I would have made was to ask Mary for documents backing up the proposed budget. Mary made the budget based on her grants and fundraising from 2001. She did not take into consideration that the grant may not have been renewed. If she had made a lower budget, or even a back up budget, she would have had an alternative plan if NYC did not renew the grant. I made the decision I did because Mary’s 2002 budget was made up on monies she was not even sure that she would have. Mary even based the development department raising more money on a grant she was not even sure would be offered to the organization. Organizational infrastructure had a large affect on my decision to reject the budget. The policies and procedures that are put into place by an organization are done so to build accountability and adjust to internal and external requirements. According to Business Development Group, Inc (1999-2009), â€Å"Properly implemented policies and procedures prove to be very critical for achieving growth and profitability through the more efficient allocation and utilization of a company's limited resources† (para. 3). Causes Behind the Ultimate Problem There were several causes behind the ultimate problems Magnolia suffered. This seems to have stemmed from the lack of accountability and responsibility with the financial management. First, Mary had written a budget based on funds that were not guaranteed. She even based raising money for the organization on higher grants for 2002. Since the 2002 budget was written on false grants, this caused a huge problem and several staff members got laid off. This caused the organization to come to a stand still. This problem could have been solved a few different ways. Either by writing a budget with the grants and funds Mary knew 100% would be available. Or she could have written the budget with the NYC grant and had a back up budget incase it was not renewed. This way the board of directors could have seen either way Mary had a budget that could actually be carried out. Secondly, in 2001 the organization used the remainder of the grant to â€Å"increase other administrative services. † The surplus from the grants in 2001 should have been budgeted into the growing organization and the services provided, not administrative services. â€Å"The identification of a human service agency’s programs, the creation of a program structure, the assignment of program managers, and the designation of responsibility centers are the basic building blocks of financial management† (Martin, 2001, p. 16). Main Differences There are several differences in a non-profits inability to thrive and a for-profits inability to thrive. First, a non-profit can fail in acquiring â€Å"revenue† by not getting enough grants and not having enough staff. For-profits fail to get revenue by not making enough profit. Secondly, non-profits accrue expenses through program supplies, staffing, bills, and rental space. A for-profit accrues expenses through production, staffing, bills, paying out shareholders and owners, and getting the necessary supplies to keep up with newer products/technology. Lastly, non-profits do not have the resources to pay employees/volunteers for training or higher education. This could result in a nonprofit’s inability to thrive. Training key employees is usually part of most for-profit organizations. Money is typically not an issue and organizations that make a profit know if they put money into an employees training, the end results will come back to them. Risk Management â€Å"Risk management can be defined as the identification, planned control, and reduction of risks to a human service agency† (Martin, 2001, p. 187). Magnolia’s deficit happened because Mary and the organization did not have any risk management set in place. Had the organization had a risk management plan, Mary would have known better than planning a budget with unknown funds. â€Å"A formalized risk management program is one of the few ways a human service agency can reduce service delivery costs without cutting either staff positions or operating budgets† (Martin, 2001, p. 187). If Magnolia had used the essential tasks of risk management it may have been able to find a way to keep employees or get funding elsewhere. The five tasks are risk identification, risk evaluation, risk control, risk funding, and administration. These tasks are a key component in helping nonprofits thrive. Had Magnolia identified problems or issues that could potentially happen with the budget and shortfalls it could have minimized the outcome. Conclusion Because of Mary Stewart Magnolia had become a nonprofit organization that was helping in such a needed area, PSTD. Magnolia continued to thrive and receive many awards for the services performed. The organization received a large 1-year grant from NYC to help 911 PSTD victims. When it came time for Mary to write the budget for 2002 she included the 2001 1-year grant from NYC. In the end Mary’s budget caused a deficit in the organization and one third of the employees had to be laid off. If there had been a better risk management plan in order this could have been prevented. Also, if Mary had created a budget that was based on grants she knew they would be receiving the organization could have continued providing the excellent services at the same rate.

Project Management and Monitoring

Monitoring is the regular observation and recording of activities taking place in a project or programme. It is a process of routinely gathering information on all aspects of the project. To monitor is to check on how project activities are progressing. It is observation; – systematic and purposeful observation. Monitoring also involves giving feedback about the progress of the project to the donors, implementers and beneficiaries of the project. Reporting enables the gathered information to be used in making decisions for improving project performance.Monitoring is the systematic collection and analysis of information as a project progresses. It is aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of a project or organisation. It is based on targets set and activities planned during the planning phases of work. It helps to keep the work on track, and can let management know when things are going wrong. If done properly, it is an invaluable tool for good management, and it p rovides a useful base for evaluation.It enables you to determine whether the resources you have available are sufficient and are being well used, whether the capacity you have is sufficient and appropriate, and whether you are doing what you planned to do Purpose of Monitoring: Monitoring is very important in project planning and implementation. It is like watching where you are going while riding a bicycle; you can adjust as you go along and ensure that you are on the right track. Monitoring provides information that will be useful in: Analyzing the situation in the community and its project; †¢ Determining whether the inputs in the project are well utilized; †¢ Identifying problems facing the community or project and finding solutions; †¢ Ensuring all activities are carried out properly by the right people and in time;†¢ Using lessons from one project experience on to another; and †¢ Determining whether the way the project was planned is the most appropria te way of solving the problem at hand. Planning, Monitoring and Controlling Cycle: [pic] Importance of Monitoring: Monitoring is important because: it provides the only consolidated source of information showcasing project progress; †¢ it allows actors to learn from each other’s experiences, building on expertise and knowledge; †¢ it often generates (written) reports that contribute to transparency and accountability, and allows for lessons to be shared more easily; †¢ it reveals mistakes and offers paths for learning and improvements; †¢ it provides a basis for questioning and testing assumptions;†¢ it provides a means for agencies seeking to learn from their experiences and to incorporate them into policy and practice; †¢ it provides a way to assess the crucial link between implementers and beneficiaries on the ground and decision-makers; †¢ it adds to the retention and development of institutional memory; †¢ it provides a more robust basis for raising funds and influencing policy. WHY DO MONITORING? Monitoring enable you to check the â€Å"bottom line† (see Glossary of Terms) of development work: Not â€Å"are we making a profit? † but â€Å"are we making a difference? † Through monitoring and evaluation, you can: _ Review progress; _ Identify problems in planning and/or implementation; _ Make adjustments so that you are more likely to â€Å"make a difference†.In many organisations, â€Å"monitoring and evaluation† is something that that is seen as a donor requirement rather than a management tool. Donors are certainly entitled to know whether their money is being properly spent, and whether it is being well spent. But the primary (most important) use of monitoring and evaluation should be for the organisation or project itself to see how it is doing against objectives, whether it is having an impact, whether it is working efficiently, and to learn how to do it better. Plans a re essential but they are not set in concrete (totally fixed). If they are not working, or if the circumstances change, then plans need to change too.Monitoring and evaluation are both tools which help a project or organisation know when plans are not working, and when circumstances have changed. They give management the information it needs to make decisions about the project or organisation, about changes that are necessary in strategy or plans. Through this, the constants remain the pillars of the strategic framework: the problem analysis, the vision, and the values of the project or organisation. Everything else is negotiable. (See also the toolkit on strategic planning) Getting something wrong is not a crime. Failing to learn from past mistakes because you are not monitoring and evaluating, is.The effect of monitoring and evaluation can be seen in the following cycle. Note that you will monitor and adjust several times before you are ready to evaluate and replan. Monitoring inv olves: _ Establishing indicators (See Glossary of Terms) of efficiency, effectiveness and impact; _ Setting up systems to collect information relating to these indicators; _ Collecting and recording the information; _ Analysing the information; _ Using the information to inform day-to-day management. Monitoring is an internal function in any project or organisation. WHAT DO WE WANT TO KNOW? What we want to know is linked to what we think is important. In development work, what we think is important is linked to our values.Most work in civil society organisations is underpinned by a value framework. It is this framework that determines the standards of acceptability in the work we do. The central values on which most development work is built are: _ Serving the disadvantaged; _ Empowering the disadvantaged; _ Changing society, not just helping individuals; _ Sustainability; _ Efficient use of resources. So, the first thing we need to know is: Is what we are doing and how we are doing it meeting the requirements of these values? In order to answer this question, our monitoring and evaluation system must give us information about: _ Who is benefiting from what we do? How much are they benefiting? Are beneficiaries passive recipients or does the process enable them to have some control over their lives?_ Are there lessons in what we are doing that have a broader impact than just what is happening on our project? _ Can what we are doing be sustained in some way for the long-term, or will the impact of our work cease when we leave? _ Are we getting optimum outputs for the least possible amount of inputs? MONITORING When you design a monitoring system, you are taking a formative view point and establishing a system that will provide useful information on an ongoing basis so that you can improve what you do and how you do it. On the next page, you will find a suggested process for designing a monitoring system.For a case study of how an organisation went about designi ng a monitoring system, go to the section with examples, and the example given of designing a monitoring system. Monitoring DESIGNING A MONITORING SYSTEM Below is a step-by-step process you could use in order to design a monitoring system for your organisation or project. For a case study of how an organisation went about designing a monitoring system, go to examples. Step 1: At a workshop with appropriate staff and/or volunteers, and run by you or a consultant:_ Introduce the concepts of efficiency, effectiveness and impact (see Glossary of Terms). _ Explain that a monitoring system needs to cover all three. Generate a list of indicators for each of the three aspects. _ Clarify what variables (see Glossary of Terms) need to be linked. So, for example, do you want to be able to link the age of a teacher with his/her qualifications in order to answer the question: Are older teachers more or less likely to have higher qualifications? _ Clarify what information the project or organisat ion is already collecting. Step 2: Turn the input from the workshop into a brief for the questions your monitoring system must be able to answer. Depending on how complex your requirements are, and what your capacity is, you may decide to go for a computerised data base or a manual one.If you want to be able to link many variables across many cases (e. g. participants, schools, parent involvement, resources, urban/rural etc), you may need to go the computer route. If you have a few variables, you can probably do it manually. The important thing is to begin by knowing what variables you are interested in and to keep data on these variables. Linking and analysis can take place later. (These concepts are complicated. It will help you to read the case study in the examples section of the toolkit. ) From the workshop you will know what you want to monitor. You will have the indicators of efficiency, effectiveness and impact that have been prioritised.You will then choose the variables th at will help you answer the questions you think are important. So, for example, you might have an indicator of impact which is that â€Å"safer sex options are chosen† as an indicator that â€Å"young people are now making informed and mature lifestyle choices†. The variables that might affect the indicator include: _ Age _ Gender _ Religion _ Urban/rural _ Economic category _ Family environment _ Length of exposure to your project’s initiative _ Number of workshops attended. By keeping the right information you will be able to answer questions such as: _ Does age make a difference to the way our message is received? _ Does economic category i. e. o young people in richer areas respond better or worse to the message or does it make no difference?_ Does the number of workshops attended make a difference to the impact? Answers to these kinds of questions enable a project or organisation to make decisions about what they do and how they do it, to make informed chan ges to programmes, and to measure their impact and effectiveness. Answers to questions such as: _ Do more people attend sessions that are organised well in advance? _ Do more schools participate when there is no charge? _ Do more young people attend when sessions are over weekends or in the evenings? _ Does it cost less to run a workshop in the community, or to bring people to our training centre to run the workshop? nable the project or organisation to measure and improve their efficiency.Step 3: Decide how you will collect the information you need (see collecting information) and where it will be kept (on computer, in manual files). Step 4: Decide how often you will analyse the information – this means putting it together and trying to answer the questions you think are important. Step 5: Collect, analyse, report. PURPOSE OF MONITORING AND EVALUATION What development interventions make a difference? Is the project having the intended results? What can be done differently to better meet goals and objectives? These are the questions that monitoring and evaluation allow organizations to answer.Monitoring and evaluation are important management tools to track your progress and facilitate decision making. While some funders require some type of evaluative process, the greatest beneficiaries of an evaluation can be the community of people with whom your organization works. By closely examining your work, your organization can design programs and activities that are effective, efficient, and yield powerful results for the community. Definitions are as follows: Monitoring can be defined as a continuing function that aims primarily to provide the management and main stakeholders of an ongoing intervention with early indications of progress, or lack thereof, in the achievement of results.An ongoing intervention might be a project, program or other kind of support to an outcome. Monitoring helps organizations track achievements by a regular collection of informa tion to assist timely decision making, ensure accountability, and provide the basis for evaluation and learning. STRATEGIC QUESTIONS In conducting monitoring and evaluation efforts, the specific areas to consider will depend on the actual intervention, and its stated outcomes. Areas and examples of questions include: †¢ Relevance: Do the objectives and goals match the problems or needs that are being addressed?†¢ Efficiency: Is the project delivered in a timely and cost-effective manner? Effectiveness: To what extent does the intervention achieve its objectives? What are the supportive factors and obstacles encountered during the implementation? †¢ Impact: What happened as a result of the project? This may include intended and unintended positive and negative effects. †¢ Sustainability: Are there lasting benefits after the intervention is completed? COMMON TERMS Monitoring and evaluation take place at different levels. The following box defines the common terms w ith examples. INPUTS The financial, human, and material resources used for the development intervention. Technical Expertise Equipment Funds ACTIVITIES Actions taken or work performed.Training workshops conducted OUTPUTS The products, capital goods, and services that result from a development intervention. Number of people trained Number of workshops conducted OUTCOMES The likely or achieved short-term and medium-term effects or changes of an intervention’s outputs. Increased skills New employment opportunities IMPACTS The long-term consequences of the program, may be positive and negative effects. Improved standard of living STEP-BY-STEP: Planning for Monitoring and Evaluation Steps for designing a monitoring and evaluation system depend on what you are trying to monitor and evaluate. The following is an outline of some general steps you may ake in thinking through at the time of planning your activities:1. Identify who will be involved in the design, implementation, and rep orting. Engaging stakeholders helps ensure their perspectives are understood and feedback is incorporated. 2. Clarify scope, purpose, intended use, audience, and budget for evaluation. 3. Develop the questions to answer what you want to learn as a result of your work. 4. Select indicators. Indicators are meant to provide a clear means of measuring achievement, to help assess the performance, or to reflect changes. They can be either quantitative and/or qualitative. A process indicator is information that focuses on how a program is implemented. 5.Determine the data collection methods. Examples of methods are: document reviews, questionnaires, surveys, and interviews. 6. Analyze and synthesize the information you obtain. Review the information obtained to see if there are patterns or trends that emerge from the process. 7. Interpret these findings, provide feedback, and make recommendations. The process of analyzing data and understanding findings should provide you with recommendati ons about how to strengthen your work, as well as any mid-term adjustments you may need to make. 8. Communicate your findings and insights to stakeholders and decide how to use the results to strengthen your organization’s efforts.Monitoring and evaluation not only help organizations reflect and understand past performance, but serve as a guide for constructive changes during the period of implementation. Why have a detailed toolkit on monitoring and evaluation? If you don’t care about how well you are doing or about what impact you are having, why bother to do it at all? Monitoring and evaluation enable you to assess the quality and impact of your work, against your action plans and your strategic plan. In order for monitoring and evaluation to be really valuable, you do need to have planned well. Planning is dealt with in detail in other toolkits on this website. Who should use this toolkit?This toolkit should be useful to anyone working in an organisation or project who is concerned about the efficiency, effectiveness and impact of the work of the project or organisation. When will this toolkit be useful? This toolkit will be useful when: _ You are setting up systems for data collection during the planning phases of a project or organisation; _ You want to analyse data collected through the monitoring process; _ You are concerned about how efficiently and how effectively you are working; _ You reach a stage in your project, or in the life of your organisation, when you think it would be useful to evaluate what impact the work is having; _ Donors ask for an external evaluation of your organisation and or work. DESIGNING A MONITORING SYSTEM – CASE STUDYWhat follows is a description of a process that a South African organisation called Puppets against AIDS went through in order to develop a monitoring system which would feed into monitoring and evaluation processes. The main work of the organisation is presenting workshopped plays and/or p uppet shows related to lifeskill issues, especially those lifeskills to do with sexuality, at schools, across the country. The organisation works with a range of age groups, with different â€Å"products† (scripts) being appropriate at different levels. Puppets against AIDS wanted to develop a monitoring and evaluation system that provided useful information on the efficiency, effectiveness and impact of its operations. To this end, it wanted to develop a data base that:Provided all the basic information the organisation needed about clients and services given; _ Produced reports that enabled the organisation to inform itself and other stakeholders, including donors, partners and even schools, about the impact of the work, and what affected the impact of the work. The organisation made a decision to go for a computerised monitoring system. Much of the day-to-day information needed by the organisation was already on a computerised data base (e. g. schools, regions, services pr ovided and so on), but the monitoring system would require a substantial upgrading and the development of data base software specific to the organisation’s needs.The organisation also made the decision to develop a system initially for a pilot project, but with the intention of extending it to all the work over time. This pilot project would work with about 60 schools, using different scripts each year, over a period of three years. In order to raise the money needed for this process, Puppets against AIDS needed some kind of a brief for what was required so that it could be costed. At an initial workshop with staff, facilitated by consultants, the staff generated a list of indicators for efficiency, effectiveness and impact, in relation to their work. These were the things staff wanted to know from the system about what they did, how they did it, and what difference it made. The terms were defined as follows:Efficiency Here what needed to be assessed was how quickly, how corr ectly, how cost effectively and with what use of resources the services of the organisation were offered. Much of this information was already collected and was contained in reports which reflected planning against achievement. It needed to be made â€Å"computer friendly†. Effectiveness Here what needed to be assessed was getting results in terms of the strategy and shorter-term impact. For example, were the puppet shows an effective means of communicating messages about sexuality? Again, this information was already being collected and just needed to be adapted to fit the computerised system.Impact Here what needed to be assessed was whether the strategy worked in that it had an impact on changing behaviour in individuals (in this case the students) and that that change in behaviour impacted positively on Monitoring and Evaluation Monitoring and Evaluation by Janet Shapiro (email: [email  protected] co. za that happens when a donor insists on it, in fact, monitoring and e valuation are invaluable internal management tools. If you don’t assess how well you are doing against targets and indicators, you may go on using resources to no useful end, without changing the situation you have identified as a problem at all. Monitoring and evaluation enable you to make that assessment.

Business Finance and the Capital Structure Research Paper

Business Finance and the Capital Structure - Research Paper Example The most important disadvantage of debt financing is the interest burden and the repayment of loan. If the loan and interest are not repaid on time then banks and financing institutions can seize the assets of the company. The history of bond and stock market shows that risk and returns are indispensably attached to each other. Investors cannot get higher returns if their risk portfolio is low. Lower risk will bring lower returns and in order to get higher returns investors need to take high risk. William Sharpe (1964) and John Lintner (1965) have contributed to the origin of asset pricing theory in the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). The CAPM was built on the model of choice of portfolio developed by Harry Markowitz (1959). According to the model of Markowitz, an investor opts to select a portfolio at time t-1 which would generate a stochastic return at time t. The model assumes that investors are generally risk averse, and at the time of choosing their portfolio they are concerned about only mean and variance of their return at the end of investment period. So investors prefer to choose mean & variance efficient portfolios that would either minimize variance with a certain expected return or would maximize expected return given variance. Thus, CAPM is a theory that defines the relationship between risk and the expected return of a security or a portfolio of securities. The theory is based on the assumption that the security market is generally composed of risk-averse in vestors and the type of investors who prefer and will to take more risk only when they expect to earn a higher return in commensuration with that risk. The return from an asset varies through successive periods and an asset which has a fluctuating return is considered to have greater risk. So, the tendency of investors is to diversify their investment portfolio so that they could minimize the effect of risk volatility, i.e. the unsystematic risk attached

Climate change Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Climate change - Research Paper Example 1). The current discourse hereby asserts that deforestation is a human activity that contributes immensely to climate change and; since it is within man’s control, it could be abated and mitigate the impact of climate change. In the article written by Docksai (2013), the author acknowledged that in the simplest means, climate change could be addressed by merely focusing on the need for more trees. From statistics provided on the top 10 countries with the highest deforestation, it was revealed that Brazil topped the list with 3,446,000 hectares of forest area that was allegedly cut. This was seconded by Indonesia with 1,447,800 hectares of forest area cut; followed by Russia (532,200 hectares) and Mexico (395,000 hectares). The United States is also included in the list with 215,200 hectares of forest area cut (Compare Infobase Ltd., 2013). Evidently, the extensive amount of forest area that had been cut through deforestation has significantly affected the world’s climat e. The reasons for cutting trees in forest areas have been identified to be diverse and mostly linked to financial pursuits. According to the National Geographic, the primary reason for deforestation is actually agriculture. Trees from forests were reportedly cut to provide greater land for purposes of planting crops; as well as grazing livestock (National Geographic Society, 2013). Other causes of deforestation were disclosed to either be intentional which include logging and making way for urbanization; or uninentional such as natural causes like wildfires. The effects of deforestation were mostly noted as skewing in the negative side: the destruction of natural habitat for living species; soil erosion leading to flash floods; and of course, climate change. Trees were noted to be agents of absorption for greenhouse gases. Likewise, trees were commonly known as serving as canopies that apparently block the rays of the sun from piercing through the land; and therefore keeps the fore st soil moist. At night, these trees were also revealed to hold the heat that was apparently preserved during the day and prevents the heat from entering the atmosphere (National Geographic Society, 2013). With a great amount of lost trees, the heat pierces through the land and dries it immensely; and also allows greater levels of greenhouse gases to be expelled to the atmosphere resulting to climate change. After having identified the causes and effects of deforestation, it is crucial to acknowledge that the solution is clear and identifiable; since man could control the rate of cutting of forest trees and could design policies to prevent further devastation. As asserted, the quickest solution to the dilemma is to prevent the cutting of forest trees at such an alarming rate. Likewise, another solution that was noted included the effective management of forest resources. This allegedly entails balancing the cutting of appropriately selected forest trees to be immediately replaced by new trees (National Geographic Society, 2013). It should be emphasized, however, that the number of replanted trees should significantly exceed the number of trees that were cut due to deforestation. This method had already been implemented by Brazil, the number one country to have been identified to have deforested their land (Compare Infobase Ltd., 2013). According to Docksai (2013), Brazil â€Å"hit a milestone in 2012: Forest loss that year, at 4,500

Response Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Response - Assignment Example ial component of the educational system and the way their responsibilities and training have changed over the decades makes them an active participant in the evolving educational system of the present and future. The school principal is the architect of a students educational life. He is the person who dictates what subjects are to be taught and how. He holds in his hands, the power to educate or dumb down his students. The Wallace Report has proven that principals have slowly come to embrace the fact that just because they are administrators, that does not mean they are no longer educators. Thanks to their continuous training programs, the students of the future will continue to benefit from the skills of principals who concentrate more on the educational welfare of their students rather than the financial bottom line of the school districts. Overall, I learned a lot from this study about how a principal should perform his job as an administrator. As such, my first order of business is to ensure the quality of education and teaching that the children in my school receive. I have to work towards the end result of having no child left behind in the educational system before making sure that my school is running within its budget and other requirements of the school district. The Wallace Foundation published a book or rather, the results of their decade long research into what makes for an effective learning environment in schools. With the publication of â€Å" The School Principal as Leader: Guiding Schools to Better Teaching and learning, they try to answer key questions that are relevant to the quality of education that our students receive. Their data came back as clear as daylight. The school principal is the most important person within the existing school system. The weight of the quality of education delivered by a school is reliant upon his effective administrative and educator skills. Every parent has a vision of what the perfect school system should be