National Assessment Program Literacy And Numeracy

I. Introduction The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a series of tests administered annually to all Australian students. NAPLAN is divided into separate components for Numeracy and Literacy, including Reading, Writing, Spelling and Grammar. An article published in the Sydney Morning Herald in 2013 reported that students from a language background other than English (LBOTE) were performing better than students from English-speaking backgrounds (non-LBOTE) in both literacy and numeracy. LBOTE category broadly encompasses all students who speak a language other than English at home, or whose parents speak a language other than English at home. For the purpose of this report, only the Literacy component will†¦show more content†¦The tests are normally composed of approximately 40 questions. Narrative, informative and persuasive texts are the three main genres focused on by NAPLAN. Generally, students are given a writing prompt with the expectation they wou ld respond to one of the writing genres given. This reflects the variety of writing forms taught at school . The purpose of the tests is to monitor Australia’s education standards and identify students which require greater assistant and additional support at school. The tests provide data on the achievements of the students. By monitoring the performance of different categories of students, Governments and schools are able to recognise who needs support and target policy, funding and teaching facilities so that all Australian students receive the same opportunity to develop successfully in their education . There are numerous stakeholders in the NAPLAN tests. The Primary stakeholders are students, parents and teachers whereas the secondary stakeholders are the Schools/ principals and Jurisdictions. The primary stakeholder rely on the NAPLAN to monitor their skill levels in different areas, whilst the secondary stakeholders take appropriate action to address any deficiency in skill levels on the basis of the NAPLAN results . III. Proposed Criteria For Critical Evaluation In constructing tests it is important to ensure that they accurately measure the factors required to be tested,

Analysis Of The Book 1984 - 1452 Words

â€Å"The healthy man does not torture others - generally it is the tortured who turn into torturers.† (Carl Jung). Wise words from a man of much honor and knowledge of the totalitarian regimes around the world he lives in. Throughout documented history, torture and force played a role in nearly every totalitarian government. From Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany, to Joseph Stalin s Soviet Union the belief of force and hurting people has been alive, active in the minds of mad men in even the most current of times. Older societies like our own believed in a way of torturing, it was just a way of getting what was needed from the specific person, no thoughts of depth going into how it might affect the person or society as a whole. Obviously torture and force were as real today as when our main source of insight, the novel, 1984, was written. This book talks about the horrors of torture our main character was forced into. This comes as a hard pill to swallow knowing that the author o f the book more than likely got his inspiration from the totalitarian governments in existence during his time of life. More real than anything else in life is fear through torture, the real life thought of being tortured sends shock waves of fear into people, one of the worst of consequences these people live in is oppression and outwardly living and believing the way their governments want, this leads to a halt in a civilization s culture and ideas sadly which in turn has a trickle effect and can affectShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Book 1984 1182 Words   |  5 PagesWAR IS PEACE. FREEDOM IS SLAVERY. IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH. Can a world ever be like the scenario that occurs in the the story 1984? Everywhere you go, the government or party in other words are always watching you. They watch you in your house through your telescreen which you could never turn off and they hear you through the bushes. If you do any illegal actions the police might capture you and send you to the Min istry of Love where you would be torchered and beaten up. Actions that includes freeRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book 1984 1725 Words   |  7 Pages There are three main conflicts in the novel 1984. The first conflict in the book is an individual’s freedom, Winston’s rights and freedom, namely freedom of speech and his privacy, he is constantly being watched and cannot even think his own thoughts without being arrested by the ThinkPolice, also, Winston is constantly paranoid that there are always â€Å"telescreens† around in the trees and in the bushes, and all attempts to record thoughts are prohibited, â€Å"there was of course no way of knowing whetherRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book The Year 1984 1544 Words   |  7 PagesPart A– Summary In the year 1984, a 39 year old man named Winston lived in a totalitarian society set in in the nation of Oceania, in London, England. All of the people who live in the â€Å"Outer Party† were monitored via telescreens and were forced to believe whatever the ruling head Big Brother said. The history books were rewritten constantly to suite Big Brother. Unhappy with the society which he lives in, Winston decides to take the risk of writing a diary to assert his independence and protestRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book The Year Of 1984 1920 Words   |  8 Pages In the supposed year of 1984 ( the main protagonist has no clue of the actual year), we meet Winston Smith, a 40-year old man , who lives in a run down and decaying part of Eurasia called Airstrip One, or where our modern day England would be located. The people in the book seem as bare and lifeless as the country, although, there is a certain quality to Winston that sets him apart from the rest of the general population , or the others he meets throughout the book; the ability to think and thinkRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book 1984 By George Orwell1362 Words   |  6 PagesKathie Tejada Professor Antonio Tomà ¡s Guerrero Dà ­az COLI 214B 1984 This novel, 1984, is a dystopia and takes place in Oceania where people live in a totalitarian society. The author, George Orwell, wrote this as if he was looking into the future and what it was going to turn in to. This group of people, called The Party, have control over everything and everyone, and they have a leader, known as Big Brother, who is everywhere throughout the novel and the people look up to him. They invented a languageRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book 1984 By George Orwell1084 Words   |  5 Pages1984 was written by British author George Orwell. The main character is an average man by the name of Winston Smith. Winston does not agree with the ideals of the party; this gets him arrested by the thought police. 1984 proclaims what could happen if people just let the government do all their thinking for them. 1.In the world of 1984, what is considered orthodox is not the same as the actual world. In the book in order to be considered orthodox one must never question the party or have any individualRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book 1984 By George Orwell1493 Words   |  6 Pagessteadily bringing us closer to the world of Big Brother because the government has the ability to collect information from devices that are constantly being in use such as cell phones, televisions, and computers without our consent. In the book entitled 1984, George Orwell reveals how Oceania was a world where no one could be trusted; an action as simple as thinking was considered a violation of the law and you could be arrested for it. Individuals were living in a society where their own thoughtsRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book 1984 By George Orwell1288 Words   |  6 PagesControlled freedom Present day society is very much like society in the book 1984. Although, some of the procedures have diminished slightly, they still do exist, and are still current in today’s society. it’s a shame that most people fail to see that our â€Å"free† nation is actually still controlled. we are being manipulated in such a manner that we do not see by propaganda, media, lies, and yes even torture. Many citizens can say that here in America we are free nation or have freedom, but do weRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book 1984 And The Hunger Games 1032 Words   |  5 PagesCorrupt governments, totalitarianism, and no recollection of the previous years, can describe not only the book, 1984, but also the book, the Hunger Games. The two books share many similarities, from districts to ministries and thought police to peacekeepers. These books both share a glimpse into the future after a world war. They both predict that the futuristic societies will be separated into parts, the upper class being very wealthy and receiving many advantages, and the lower class workingRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book 1984 By George Orwell1088 Words   |  5 Pages1984 The book that I chose for my first book report was 1984 by George Orwell. The story begins by introducing a man named, Winston Smith, a simple man from the country known as Oceania. He lives in a small flat within London, on the Island known as Airstrip One. Winston is a part of the outer party, which is a part of the ruling party within Oceania, and is a low ranking member who works for the Ministry of Truth as a propaganda officer. The people of the ruling party are constantly being watched

History of the American Flag free essay sample

Unfortunately, historians have never been able to verify this charming version of events, although it is known that Ross made flags for the navy of Pennsylvania. The story of Washingtons visit to the flagmaker became popular about the time of the countrys first centennial, after William Canby, a grandson of Ross, told about her role in shaping U. S. history in a speech given at the Philadelphia Historical Society in March 1870. What is known is that the first unofficial national flag, called the Grand Union Flag or the Continental Colours, was raised at the behest of General Washington near his headquarters outside Boston, Mass. on Jan. 1, 1776. The flag had 13 alternating red and white horizontal stripes and the British Union Flag (a predecessor of the Union Jack) in the canton. Another early flag had a rattlesnake and the motto â€Å"Dont Tread on Me. † The first official national flag, also known as the Stars and Stripes, was approved by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. We will write a custom essay sample on History of the American Flag or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The blue canton contained 13 stars, representing the original 13 colonies, but the layout varied. Although nobody knows for sure who designed the flag, it may have been Continental Congress member Francis Hopkinson. After Vermont and Kentucky were admitted to the Union in 1791 and 1792, respectively, two more stars and two more stripes were added in 1795. This 15-star, 15-stripe flag was the â€Å"star-spangled banner† that inspired lawyer Francis Scott Key to write the poem that later became the U. S. national anthem. In 1818, after five more states had gained admittance, Congress passed legislation fixing the number of stripes at 13 and requiring that the number of stars equal the number of states. The last new star, bringing the total to 50, was added on July 4, 1960, after Hawaii became a state. To add to the mystery surrounding the first American flag, experts can only guess the reason Congress chose stripes, stars, and the colors red, white and blue for our flag. Historians and experts discredit the common theory that the stripes and five-pointed stars derived from the Washington family coat of arms. While this theory adds to Washingtons legendary involvement in the development of the first flag, no evidence exits to show any connection between the two. As further disproof Washington despised those kinds of trappings. The true meaning of the symbols in our flag may be tied to ancient history. Stars were a device representing mans desire to achieve greatness. The common metaphor reaching for the stars developed from this idea. Another possibility may come from Freemasonry. Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, Robert Livingston, Paul Revere and other important people of that period belonged to the secret fraternal order. They may have influenced the inclusion of stars in the American flag because, along with pyramids, arches, compasses and the all-seeing eye, stars were known to be an important icon in Masonry. The usage of stripes in our flag may be linked to two pre-existing flags. A 1765 Sons of Liberty flag flown in Boston had nine red and white stripes, and a flag used by Capt. Abraham Markoes Philadelphia Light Horse Troop in 1775 had 13 blue and silver stripes. One or both of these flags likely influenced the design of the American flag. The most logical explanation for the colors of the American flag is that it was modeled after the first unofficial American flag, the Continental Colors. In turn the Continental Colors was probably designed using the colors of Englands Union Jack. The colors of the Great Seal are the same as the colors in the American flag. To attribute meaning to these colors, Charles Thomson, who helped design the Great Seal, reported to Congress that White signifies purity and innocence. Red hardiness and valor and Blue ignifies vigilance, perseverance and justice. In 1986 Pres. Ronald Reagan altered Thomsons explanation by saying The colors of our flag signify the qualities of the human spirit we Americans cherish: red for courage and readiness to sacrifice; white for pure intentions and high ideals; and blue for vigilance and justice. Although we may not know all of the people who influenced the creation and design of the first American flag, the flag itself has influenced great patriotism and continues to do so to this day. Socially, politically and emotionally, the American flag has taken on a meaning unmatched by any other countrys national emblem. What do the colors stand for: The colors of the pales (the vertical stripes) are those used in the flag of the United States of America; White signifies purity and innocence, Red, hardiness amp; valour, and Blue, the color of the Chief (the broad band above the stripes) signifies vigilance, perseverance amp; justice.

Entrepreneurship Business Australia Premier Chocolate Families

Question: Discuss about the case study Entrepreneurship Business for Australia Premier Chocolate Families. Answer: Introduction: 1. Darrell Lea is one of the Australias premier Chocolate families. The company had seen a four-generation long rise and then fall to oblivion. The company at one time had 83 stores and managed 900 distribution licenses along with more than 1200 staffs (Ward, 2016). However, due to the inefficiency of family members, the $100 million business was insolvent in the year of 2012. According to Mller and Timofeev (2016), family businesses are by definition three overlapping systems. These three systems are such as family, owners, and managers-employees. From this three-circle model, it has been found that there are mainly three types of owners (Weiss, 2016). These include owners who work in the company but do not own any share, owners who have shares in the company but do not work and family owner-employees. Overlapping of these circles can create confusion and give rise to a conflict of interests (Gosnell, 2015). Figure 1: Three-circle model of family business (Source: Weiss, 2016) Jason Lea had first spotted the brewing trouble during the late 1990s. He could see the inevitable after he became the Managing Director. He had come across the three circle model and appreciated the confusion that occurred in the innermost segment. For this reason, Jason had dismissed his own son and brother (belonging to the employee owner segment of the three-circle model) from the company due to their incompetence. He also sacked himself and started to look for independent management. He had realized that none of the family members (belonging to the innermost section of the three-circle model) were capable enough to handle this business. In the year of 1996, during the 17th anniversary, Jason had appointed an outside chairperson Alan Batley and Jeff Moore, who was the first non-family CEO for the company. As Hartley (2013) stated that, in reality only 33% of the family owned business becomes globally successful. It has been found that only 5% family businesses are able to create shareholder value beyond the 3rd generation. The main reason for failure of the family-owned companies like Darrell Lea is that they had the same leader for 20-25 years. On the contrary, in public owned companies, the average CEO tenure is 6 years. It increases the difficulty for the company to cope up with the shift in technology, business model, trends and consumer behavior. Various other challenges rise due to the overlap of the business circles in the family business of Darrell Lea. These include messy structure and no clear division of tasks (Ward, 2016). In addition, the family business is not able to adapt professional management. Two specific problems have been found for the company Darrell Lea and the first one being the "Spoiled-kid syndrome." The third generation of the Lea family took wealth as an entitlement and began to squander it. The fourth generation of the family had totally lost the spot. Secondly, the family members were resistant to change. They resisted the effort of Jason Lea as he tried to introduce non-family members as CEO and the chairperson. The family had resisted his plans before Jason died in 2005. 2. In the classic case of this classic third-generation family business, the formula is well-known. Pitcher established the chocolate company. The second generation inherited the business and increased it. The problem started to grow in the third generation. They were not able to operate the business properly. The fourth generation of the Lea family had totally lost the plot. Jason Lea, the eldest of the third generation had spotted trouble in 1983. He had sensed the relational sloth. He had dismissed his own son and brother from the business for incompetence. He even sacked himself and hired Allen Batley during 1996. However, this change gave rise to emotional problems in the family. They were disenfranchised overnight. They did not take it lightly (Merig et al., 2016). Once, 13 family members were working in the business. During 2006 there were only three, one of them being Michael Lea's son, Nicholas, who was a management consultant. He provided the slender thread between the family council and the Board. They became resistant towards any change. The company kept on producing products that did not sell and other that they sold at a loss. The management was not able to erase the family entitlements. For all these problems the company was insolvent and placed it in the administration by the creditors. Holmlund Kowalkowski and Biggemann (2016) stated that there were a lot of family members involved in the business but none of them had an interest in running it day-to-day. They did not want to be bothered with the hard work of the business. There were many people involved in the company, but none of them were actually interested in running the daily business. Due to their emotional strain and resistive behavior, $100 million worth company became unsuccessful. 3. The entitlement issue of the company started during the third generation of the family-owned business company Darrell Chocolates. They took the wealth as an entitlement and started to squander it. Most of the CEOs of the company were family members (Marjanovic, Dinter Ariyachandra, 2016). They were operating on a business model that was 40 years old. Many people recommended change, but the board developed by family members knocked it back as they did not want to lose the heritage. According to Sumaya (2016), tradition killed most of the family business. It was applicable to the company Darrell Chocolates also. As a senior member of the company, they were not able to adapt change. There did not want to bother them with the hard work of running the business. There were a lot of people involved in the company, but none of them were actually interested in running the day-to-day business. They never invested their own money into the company when it went to through bad phases. As Weiss (2016) stated that only Jason Lea had the vision and plan. However, nothing had done since his death. 4. Any family business organization, in order to retain its position in future, must consider the task of succession planning in a very serious way. Approximately 88% of the family business owners intend their family members to join the family business. Yet according to the research conducted by Family Firm Institute, 30 % of the family businesses survive into the second generation, and only 3% survive into the fourth generation (Benavides et al., 2013). Darrell Lee belonged to the second generation, and as such he inherited the family business directly from his father. It is noteworthy here that patriarch of the family business, Harry started the business around the time Darrell was born. As such Darrell grew up watching his father introducing innovative business ideas, and adopting strategies, for the successful operation of the business (Darrell Lea, 2016). Darrell not only acquired the necessary business skills, but he gradually developed a clear understanding about the vision of the organization and its immediate goals. As a result, till the second generation, there was no issue at all. However, from the third and fourth generation onwards, issues cropped up, because the family members did not have a thorough understanding about what was happening in the business. These family members did not see the business grow, but found it when it was already established. As a result, they lacked in-depth knowledge about the business operation, and were more concerned with the question of succession. What happens in case of the third and fourth generation is that the family members have a very remote or rather no understanding about the mission, vision or plan of the family business. Although these members intend to represent the status and glory associated with the family business, they lacked the skills, knowledge and expertise needed to operat e the business activities smoothly (Kennedy, 2013). Jason was indeed right, when he thought of recruiting the manager from outside his family. A business organization, that wishes to sustain itself in future, must ensure that the management authority consists of employees who are highly experienced in the field of business. Family emotion should be set aside, and only those family members, who are capable, experienced and resourceful enough must be chosen for succeeding the business. The downfall of a business organization is inevitable, if the successors are not able enough. They have to be qualified, highly experienced in order to sustain the business in a highly competitive world of the 21st century. In absence of a suitable member, the family business may be succeeded by the next generation, but the management authority of the organization should consist solely of non-family members. 5. After the downfall of the family business of the Leas, it was being taken over by the Quinn family. Tony Quinn was highly experienced in the field of business, and as such he had thorough knowledge about the Dos and Donts of running a successful business. As a result, he possessed the necessary business skills and expertise. However, it is equally important for the Quinn family not to repeat the same mistake already perpetrated by the Leas. If a family business is well-managed over the successive years, then its growth can be ensured as well as preserved in the future. However, in case the successors of the Quinn family are lacking in entrepreneurial skills, entrusting the business to the successors would be a wrong decision (Neubauer Lank, 2016). The Quinn family must ensure that family business sustainability is maintained over the coming years. Tony Quinn must inculcate his own long term vision and business values and intentions, in the mind of his son. At the same time, he has to ensure that the basic business values, such as trust, commitment, responsibility, are being carried and passed over from one generation to the next. In case, the family member lacks entrepreneurial skills, he should be wisely kept away, from handling major business decisions (Hall, 2013). The family successors should acquire business management degree from any recognized university, or should at least work in a business firm for a couple of years, before he thinks of participating in the family business. It may also happen that the family successors are willing to join the family business itself. In such a situation, it has to be firmly stated, that the new, inexperienced member would be allowed to work under a strong management authority. For at least two years, he should learn, and try to polish his business skills. An inexperienced, young family member, under no circumstance shall be allowed to take important business decisions. While the older, experienced family members may be entrusted with significant responsibilities, the young and less qualified family members should be provided sufficient training, before they assume important roles in the management authority (Gibbon, 2015). In case, a Quinn family member in future, is not provided the same designation in the family business as his brother, family rivalry and jealousy can crop up, which may destroy the family bond. Hence, the family must keep up a tradition of holding family reunions whereby the young members have to be educated about the necessary rules for conducting business over the coming years. A family council should be set up, comprising of the family members of the older generation, who will take decisions regarding the issue of family succession, depending on the competence of the successors (Pwc, 2016). 6. The false advice here is that one does not need to pay the family members at market rate, since they are earning value elsewhere. It should always be remembered that a business organization can succeed, flourish and prosper, only if it knows how to motivate its employees. Even if the employees are a part of the family, they should always be motivated to work harder. The payment must be made in compliance with the market worth of the job duties being performed. In case a family member is underpaid, he may feel exploited; he may lose interest or enthusiasm in bettering his performance (Prochazka, 2014). This will ultimately lead to the downfall of the family business. Reference list Benavides-Velasco, C.A., Quintana-Garca, C. Guzmn-Parra, V.F., (2013). Trends in family business research.Small Business Economics,40(1), pp.41-57. Dlea, (2016).Darrell Lea. Retrieved 4 August 2016, from https://www.dlea.com.au/ Gibbon, S. F. (2015). Principle of Subsidiarity and the Law of the Family Business, The.BYU J. Pub. L.,30, 199. Gosnell, P. (2015). The challenges of restructuring family-owned businesses. Australian Insolvency Journal,27(3), pp.18-20. Hall, C. (2013).Sustainability Tips From Family Businesses.Forbes.com. Retrieved 4 August 2016, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/ey/2013/08/20/sustainability-tips-from-family-businesses/#5552f1c3f974 Hartley, S. (2013). Darrell Lea's rocky road.Busidate,21(1), pp.5-7. Holmlund, M., Kowalkowski, C. Biggemann, S., (2016). Organizational behavior in innovation, marketing, purchasing in business service contextsAn agenda for academic inquiry.Journal of Business Research,69(7), pp.2457-2462. Kennedy, B. (2013).Do family-owned businesses have a sustainability advantage?.the Guardian. Retrieved 4 August 2016, from https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/family-owned-sustainable-business-structures Marjanovic, O., Dinter, B. Ariyachandra, T., (2016), Introduction to the Organizational Issues of Business Intelligence, Business Analytics, Big Data Minitrack. In2016 49th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS)(pp. 5011-5011). IEEE. Merig, J.M., Merig, J.M., Gil-Lafuente, A.M., Gil-Lafuente, A.M., Gil-Lafuente, J. Gil-Lafuente, J., 2016. Business, industrial marketing uncertainty.Journal of Business Industrial Marketing,31(3), pp.325-327. Neubauer, F., Lank, A. G. (2016).The family business: Its governance for sustainability. Springer. Prochazka, S. (2014).How to Run a Family Business Without Killing Each Other.Entrepreneur. Retrieved 4 August 2016, from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/233148 Pwc, (2016).Pwc.com. Retrieved 4 August 2016, from PWC Family Business Survey,. (2014). PWC Family Business Survey. Pwc.com. Retrieved 4 August 2016, from https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/services/family-business/governance.html Sumaya, R. (2016, January). Generational Succession And Entrepreneurial Attitude In The Family Business In Baja California. InUnited States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Conference Proceedings(p. FZ1). United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Ward, J., (2016).Perpetuating the family business: 50 lessons learned from long lasting, successful families in business. Springer. Weiss, J.W., (2016). Business Ethics: A Stakeholder Issues Management Approach, 2014.Cyrus Chronicle Journal,1(1), pp.66-69.