Paul Stultz Essay Example for Free

Paul Stultz Essay Paul Stultz, a character who has always admired me not as an individual but as a code that has the hidden formula that makes up a successful person. Mr. Stultz with his attractive traits which circles around self-motivation and persuasive attitude towards the core values, A Professional teacher and Sales Manager, he has un matched skills in both the fields. With vast experience in areas of telecommunications and a proven record in planning, management, and leadership he stand as an example that always continue to impress every bit of my existence and defines my approach on a idealistic character. The habit of always thinking out of the box has polished his abilities as an innovative thinker and effectual problem-solver who can see the big picture. During the nineties, the knowledge explosion created an exponential increase in the complexities of doing business. As mentioned his ability to predict future prospects and then set in motion to achieve them has always been thr trait that has made him stand tall among the fellows who surrounds him. Forecasting the influences of new technologies on our organization, our customers, and the marketplace with trivestiture, he identified the human factors, technology gap. Profoundly he tasked us with analyzing the systems our clients had and what would be needed to transition through the millennium change over which eventually set the grounds for developing the best possible mix which was beneficial not even for a shorter but a longer run as well. In addition, he adapts quickly to challenges and interacts effectively with all levels of business management he has the consult and tell approach and that is the key to his never ending goodwill. Finally, he is committed to professional excellence with a high level of integrity with all business interactions internal and external. Mr. Stultz’s leadership actions and skills Basics of an efficient sales person are driven by the personal persona and the ideal blend of skills and venom towards goal attainment. Mr. Stultz’s has the following note worthy traits that has made him the revenue machine for the organization on the whole. 1. Initiated contact with senior decision-makers and maintained open communication channels that were significant in cultivating sound relations with agency business leaders.  Practiced self discipline in terms of ethical rules of conduct during all oversight of presentations and proposal submission of closing high-dollar volume sales of telecom services and products. 2. He supplies the purpose and meaning; provide the energy that drives a group forward. His visionary aspect of leadership is supported with his excellent communication skills that allow him to articulate his or her vision with precision and power in a compelling and persuasive way. 3.  The degree, to which the he challenges assumptions, takes risks and solicits ideas are way exceptional. Mr Stultz with this trait stimulate and encourage creativity in their followers and analyzes the pros and cons of system solution architecture. Oversees and participates in cross functional innovation teams and conscientiously attentive to details and big picture interactions. Reconciled all interoperability and time line issues to exact accountability to the team member for the account, maximizing team achievement to president’s club three out of five years. 4. Expected team members copiously to write root cause analysis of problem and cause and effect problem solution. I n turn, he and the team interfaced with product house for service requirements, reconciled billing disputes to contracted amounts. Effective accountability of ethics in compliance of proposal response and performance of the award, Senior Vice President of Government Markets was impeccable in the senate hearings for the Census 2000 and thus concurrence with congress for best in class vendor. 5.  The inspirational leader that he is, one who can instill passion and direction to a group of individuals requires an understanding of how the psychology of a group affects the members of the group. He listens to team members, technical lead myself to hold major partners accountable for the mandated requirements and backup contingency plans for major components of proposed solution. Acted as advisor mentor to my design team and held firm the ethical while seeking clarification on all aspects of implementation schedules and performances. Spearheaded all executive presentations given to the legislature informing upper management and product house of the steps and successes. Description of how the leader’s environment shaped his or her leadership practice and style Mr. Stultz is a magnetic transformational leader who injects huge doses of eagerness into his team and gives them the venom that is very much required to achieve goals. He is very energetic in driving innovations and giving new lines of thinking of system product solutions. This can create a synergetic solution to solve a problem and empower team participant in order to have cohesive leadership should he have to leave or be moved to another division (Burns, 1978, p. 79). The belief that the most important resource that an organization possesses is the people that comprise the organization, some organizations address the development of these resources, Burns characterizes transformational leadership as a style that motivates followers by appealing to higher ideals and moral values which eventually makes the individual grow not only as a professional but as an individual as well. Mr. Stultz adopted the transformational style because of the high level and sensitive nature of his work with huge corporations and the government while being a Colonel with the Army National Guard. The degree to which the leader behaves in admirable ways that cause followers to identify with the leader the bond that eventually allows the fellow employees to work out of the blue for the leaders. Charismatic leaders display convictions, take stands and appeal to followers on an emotional level. This is about the leader having a clear set of values and demonstrating them in every action, providing a role model for their followers This style includes an emotional component, which includes: qualities of transformational leadership include communication of clear vision of the organization to perform above the norm and to think outside of the box. Mr. Stultz’s degree to which he articulates a vision that is appealing and inspiring to his followers and the inspirational motivation that he injects in his employees challenge give them high standards, communicate optimism about future goals, and provide meaning for the task at hand. Technology, new innovations and the need to have the cutting edge systems demands this proactive collaborative problem solving approach to develop research and bring to market innovative products. Entwined in this leadership style is a charismatic intellectual push for excellence with emotional ties to the leaders mission. Perception of the leader by the followers is key to the adoption of the leaders values. Current statistics show state that 90% of companies are in a product innovation and service organization (O’Regan 2007). Mr. Stultz’s work environment shaped this democratic approach because, as a person from a large family, he had learned to depend on new ideas coming from other people, he has always been a firm believer of a win win approach where the employee always tend to feel that he is not there just to earn revenue for the company but consider himself as the back bone of the organization, he basically promotes bottom to top approach where he himself with his intellectual sound knowledge creates the win win situation for all. He knows that good ideas come from all over an organization and is not too proud to try someone else’s ideas; and he is more than willing to give credit to those who innovate the ideas. Burns (1978) discusses how leaders’ influence on their subordinates is â€Å"based on their shared sense of what is important, worth doing well, and expending energy on it† (p. 79). One of the hallmarks of Mr. Stultz’s leadership is his high moral ethics and his ability to prompt team members to reach beyond their comfort zone to achieve superior goal attainment things. As demonstrated earlier in this paper, Mr.  Stultz and his team have successfully negotiated huge contracts and accomplished exceptional goals with this leadership formula. Regarding Mr. Stultz’s environment, the increasing dependence on information technology in the business arena and globalization realities have led to an increased focus on performance metrics over the past 15 years. His ability to forecast the future and adopting to the ever changing situation along with his adaptation with new technologies has always kept him with track records of achieving all that seemed impossible before him. Companies are making radical and fundamental changes to the way in which they conduct business to meet customer needs, stay competitive and position themselves in the technical revolution his idea of customer satisfaction is basis of bringing more business then by promoting services through advertisements has led to more cash inflows then ever before. Leaders such as Mr. Stultz have revised their strategies, restructuring their organizations and redesigning their business processes to meet these new challenges. New possibilities are emerging which already show a powerful impact on meeting innovative solutions to achieve cutting edge success of clients and this contribution brings the synergy and financial growth of the sales team (O’Regan 2007). How this person influenced your personal leadership style My experience and success is due to my emulation of Mr. Stultzs management style, and his mentoring of me during my association with him. After working for Mr.  Stultz, I acquired a repertoire of leadership and organizational skills that I have found to be crucial to my personal success he made me digest the moxt complex ways of handling humans with just a simple formula of †giving importance† the basic want of humans I have learned that a true leader inspires his or her team constantly with a shared vision of the future. The degree to which he attends to each followers needs, acts as a mentor or coach to the employees and listens to the there concerns and needs. This also encompasses the need to respect and celebrate the individual contribution that each of us an make to the team (it is the diversity of the team that gives it its true strength). Transformational leaders are highly visible, and spend great deal of time communicating. While performing as the lead Technical data sales executive, my responsibilities included serving as the expert organizational catalyst activating the integrated voice / data project for the Bureau of the Census in addition to deploying the TQA and JHL programs. I was also designated to work with diverse personalities productively of internal/external technical groups to ensure that the technical, product house and industry partner issues were addressed properly. My responsibilities also focused on scrutinizing various interoperability protocols to prevent a myriad of potential problems and subsequently initiating guidelines for preventive action that would circumvent malfunctions and defects. As a consequence, I initiated a mosaic of complex solutions throughout the entire project and managed the on time project timeline processes to ensure the Implementation Team’s successful partner link with multi industries for census 2000 two toll free networks. I also used transformational motivational persuasion and skills propose, win and negotiate web services for the SSA White House Initiative, Seniors. gov. I initiated negotiations with support of my executive team and compiled the design and developed an array of complex reliability and disaster recovery network solution and implementation timelines to track and deliver the project in a timely manner in compliance with preset White House requirements. My innovative solution was picked ahead of other higher-ranking bids for my ability to â€Å"see the big picture† while managing the interoperability details for seamless integration of services. Mr. Stultz emphasized the need to be clear and concise in negotiating with client, operations and product development. He provided feedback to empower me in developing PowerPoint presentations and concise meeting minutes to illustrate complex, abstract award requirements that in turn were modified as executive briefings. Timely communication to key stakeholders, both internal and external, required disciplined ethical leadership skills to maintain high standards and sensitivity to political situations inside and outside the company I gained confidence to lead team members cross functionally to feel in control of their own destiny, such as the promotion they desire, and achieve technical excellence certifications and thus they are motivated to work hard by more than just a financial reward. As innovation takes time, this approach led to presidents club and vendor of the year for three out of five years and our results were best in class (Burns, 1978, p. 78). The approach can be most suitable where team working is essential, and quality is important to have speed to market and productivity while making profit (Burns, 1978). The main skill set I have learned from Mr.  Stutz’s mentoring is that a comprehensive transformational leadership requires emotional synergy which carries over into customer satisfaction and the employees model service and work above normal job objectives to excel (Densten, Iain, 2006). His persuasive nature has made me learn the tactics that are there to efficiently manage a chunk of individuals and make them perform to their outmost with a motive of supporting there leader rather then with a motive to secure there jobs. Once products are innovated, I have learned behavior that mirrors a continuum between transactional and transformational. A marriage between mature products and active transactional leadership is balanced while transformational beta product development leads the organization to future innovations. Honoring confidentiality, handling situations appropriately and with discretion my transfomational leadership has successfully achieved the financial, emotional technical, and quality health of the leaders, peers, followers and customers (Brymer, 2006).

Comparison of Education Reports of Behavioural Symptoms

Comparison of Education Reports of Behavioural Symptoms Running Head: Teacher, children, and parents reports of behavioral symptoms Comparison between teacher, children, and parents reports of behavioral symptoms associated with disruptive behaviors. Karelyn M. Gonzà ¡lez-Cruz, M.S., Josà © J. Cabiya., Ph.D., Lymaries Padilla, Ph.D. Jovette Sà ¡nchez, M.S. (The project/study described was supported by Grant Number 1 R24 MD00152-01, from the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health. It’s contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.) Key Words: School age children, aggressive behavior, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, impulsiveness depression. Abstract The goal of the present pilot study was to compare the teacher, children, and parents reports of behavioral symptoms associated with disruptive behaviors using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule of Children-Parent version (DISC-P), the Diagnostic Interview Schedule of Children-Youth (DISC-Y) and the Bauermeister School Behavior Inventory (BSBI). The parents of 52 children consented to participate in the DISC-P and DISC-Y interviews. The results showed that parents and children had a moderate degree of agreement in answering symptoms of major depressive episode, symptoms of traumatic stress disorder, and symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder. The results also showed that teachers had a high degree of agreement with children in their report of disruptive symptoms while no agreement was found between teachers and parents reports. Teachers’ reports of disruptive behaviors such as irritability, hostility, distraction, and low motivation had a moderate correlation with children re ports of symptoms related to conduct disorders and ODD. These results might suggest that parents identify more efficiently affective disorders than teachers. On the contrary, teachers appear to identify more efficiently disruptive behaviors than parents do. Comparison between teacher, children, and parents reports of behavioral symptoms associated with disruptive behaviors Assessment of child psychiatric disorders traditionally relies on information obtained from multiple informants, usually the parent, the child, and sometimes others such as teachers and additional family members. These informants may provide different information about the presence, severity, and duration of a childs symptomatology or behavior (Achenbach, McConaughy, Howell, 1987). Several studies have compared parent and child reports of the children psychiatric symptoms in structured diagnostic interviews like the Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents (DICA; Herjanic Reich, 1982; Reich, Herjanic, Welner, Gandy, 1982; Welner, Reich, Herjanic, Jung, Amado, 1987), the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC; Edelbrock, Costello, Dulcan, Calabro Conover, Kalas, 1986; Loeber, Green, Lahey, Stouthamer-Loeber, 1989; Weissman et al., 1987), and the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-age Children (K-SADS; Chambers et al., 1985; Orvaschel , Puig-Antich, Chambers, Tabrizi, Johnson, 1982). These studies have documented low to moderate agreement between parents and children report of psychiatric symptoms. In general, these reports have found that parents report more behavior symptoms about their children than the children report about themselves, whereas children report having more affective and neurotic symptoms than their parents report about them (Edelbrock et al., 1986; Herjanic Reich, 1982). In addition, a meta-analysis of more than 200 studies examined agreement among informants, and reported moderate to poor agreement for most studies, including those in which agreement was assessed along symptom dimensions rather than by categorical diagnoses (Achenbach, McConaughy, Howell, 1987). Somewhat better agreement between parents and children has been observed in clinical samples when semistructured interviews were used by clinicians (Orvaschel, Thompson, Belanger, Prusoff, Kidd, 1982) and for externalizing as compared to internalizing symptoms (Reich, Herjanic, Welner, Gandhy, 1982). Asymmetrical reporting of certain types of symptoms has been found to be the most frequent source of disagreement. Parents tend to report externalizing behaviors or problems more often while children tend to report internalizing depressive or anxiety symptoms with greater frequency Edelbrock et al., 1986; Reich et al., 1982). In addition, a study completed by Bravo, et al. (2001) with a Puerto Rican sample found that parents were generally fair or moderately reliable informants when reporting about their children. Children (11-17 years) were excellent or moderately reliable informants on disruptive and substance-related disorders, but were unreliable when reporting about anxiety and depressive disorders. For lifetime diagnoses, they found that parents were fair reporters of their childrens conduct disorder, as well as substance-related disorders, whereas their children were excellent or moderately reliable reporting about most of these disorders. However, no study was found that have assessed the relationship between the teachers, parents and children report of clinical symptoms related to disruptive disorders. The goal of the present pilot study was to compare the teachers, children, and parents reports of behavioral symptoms associated with disruptive behaviors using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule of Children-Parent version (DISC-P), the Diagnostic Interview Schedule of Children-Youth (DISC-Y) and the Bauermeister School Behavior Inventory (BSBI). Method Participants Fifty two (26 boys and 26 girls) from ages 9 to 12 (mean age was 10) from the San Juan metropolitan area, who were referred by their teacher for disruptive behavior in the classroom, were administered a symptoms checklist based on the DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria for disruptive disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Informed consent to participate in the study was then requested from the parents of these children. The socioeconomic status of all of these children was low. The mean age was 10.06 (SD = 1.07). Of the 52 referred children, 17 children (9 boys and 8 girls) were evaluated with the DISC-Y. The mean age of this group was 10.12 (SD = 1.16). Instruments Bauermeister School Behavior Inventory (BSBI). This inventory consists of six scales for male children and five for female children completed by the teachers that evaluate anxiety symptoms, social alienation, depression, irritability-hostility, distraction-motivation and activity impulsiveness. Internal consistency fluctuates between .74 and .96; test-re-test reliability (four week period fluctuated between .52 to .89. This instrument was developed, validated and standardized for Puerto Rican population (Bauermeister, 1994). Computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (C-DISC) (Shafer, D. et al. 2000). The DISC is the most widely used and studied mental health interview that has been tested in both clinical and community populations. It is a comprehensive, structured interview that covers 36 mental health disorders for children adolescents, using DSM-IV criteria. The version used in this study was the most recent Spanish translation of the DISC-IV (Bravo et al., 2001), with parallel youth (DISC-Y) and parent (DISC-P) versions. The test-retest reliability of the DISC-IV has been reported in both Spanish and English-speaking clinic samples yielding comparable results (Bravo et al., 2001; Shaffer, Fisher, Lucas, Dulcan, Schwab-Stone, 2000). The disorders assessed by the DISC were: Generalized anxiety, Panic, Post-traumatic stress, Major Depression, Dysthymia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity, Oppositional Defiant, Conduct Disorder, Alcohol Abuse / Dependence, Marijuana Abuse / Dependence, Nicot ine Dependence and other Substance Abuse / Dependence. Socio-demographic interview. The questionnaire used in the Research Scientific Institute at the Carlos Albizu University was administered. The questionnaire provides socio-demographic information about the child and his/her family. Procedures Teachers completed the BSBI after the parents consented to participate in the study. The project’s director selected advanced doctoral students in clinical psychology to be trained as interviewers. These students received two day intensive DISC workshops from trainers certified by the Columbia University original developers of the DISC. They were blind to experimental hypotheses. Interviewers contacted by phone the principal caretaker of each child to arrange for the DISC-P interview in the school. They administered first the DISC-P to the parent and afterwards they administered the DISC-Y to the child. The principal caretaker received an compensation of twenty dollars for their participation. The interviews took place in a classroom with comfortable chairs, illumination, tables, and non distractions. Quality control procedures were established to guarantee the integrity of the data gathering process. The project’s director conducted weekly meetings for the supervision of recorded practice DISC interviews according to the DISC instructions manual. The interviewers received recommendations from other trained DISC interviewers, specifically on how to deal with ambiguities, which did arise, and clearly define â€Å"do’s† and â€Å"don’ts† in various situations. Specific situations that lead to deviations from the interview were discussed in the weekly supervisions. Results The correlations between the quantity of symptoms of the different disorders on DISC-P and DISC-Y were as follows: symptoms of inattention on DISC-P and symptoms of inattention on DISC-Y was r = .57 (pr = .70 (pr = .64 (pr = .67 (pr = .75 (p The correlations between the BSBI distraction-motivation scale and ODD symptoms on DISC-Y was r = .87 (pr = .92 (pr = .64 (p Discussion The goal of the present pilot study was to compare the teacher, children, and parents reports of behavioral symptoms associated with disruptive behaviors using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule of Children-Parent version (DISC-P), the Diagnostic Interview Schedule of Children-Youth (DISC-Y) and the Bauermeister School Behavior Inventory (BSBI). Results indicated that parents reported more behavioral symptoms (such as ODD symptoms and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder symptoms) than the children reported. Also, parents reported more affective and anxiety symptoms than their children reported. Even more, the results on DISC-P and DISC-Y showed that parents and children had a moderate degree of agreement in answering symptoms of major depressive episode, symptoms of traumatic stress disorder, and symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder. The results also showed that teachers had a high degree of agreement with children in their report of disruptive symptoms while no agreement was found between teachers and parents reports. Teachers’ reports of disruptive behaviors such as irritability, hostility, distraction, and low motivation had a moderate correlation with children reports of symptoms related to conduct disorders and ODD. These results might suggest that parents identify more efficiently affective disorders than teachers. On the contrary, teachers appear to identify more efficiently disruptive behaviors than parents do. These results are consistent with previous research that documented low to moderate agreement between parents and children in their report of disruptive symptoms (DICA; Herjanic Reich, 1982; Reich, Herjanic, Welner, Gandy, 1982; Welner, Reich, Herjanic, Jung, Amado, 1987; Orvaschel, Thompson, Belanger, Prusoff, Kidd, 1982). In addition, a study with a Puerto Rican sample found similar results, in that parents were generally fair or moderately reliable informants about their children’s affective symptoms (Bravo et. al, 2001). One limitation of the present study was the small size of the study sample. The main reason for this was the fact that many parents that were contacted refused to participate in the study. One possible recommendation for future research is to develop specific strategies to engage more Puerto Ricans in order for them to participate in the phases of research with little immediate benefits that requires extended interviews or evaluations. These strategies could include increasing significantly the monetary compensation. Another strategy is to train the research assistants on specific ways of engaging the parents in a culturally sensitive manner like appealing to â€Å"familism† which Muir, et al. (2004) have found to be essential in engaging Latinos in general including Puerto Ricans in research. Nevertheless, engagement of Latinos including Puerto Ricans in research appears to be a significant challenge and future research needs to address this area by itself in a systematic and comprehensive manner. References Achenbach, T. M., McConaughy, S. H. Howell, C. T. (1987). Child/adolescent behavioral and emotional problems: implications of cross-informant correlations for situational specificity. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 213-232. Bauermeister, J. (1994). Desarrollo y utilizacià ³n del Inventario de Comportamiento Escuela (IDC-E) en la evaluacià ³n de nià ±os puertorriqueà ±os [Development and use of the Bauermeister School Behavior Inventory (BSBI) in assessing Latino children]. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Author. Biederman, J., Faraone, S. Mick, E. Moore, P. (1996). Child Behavior Checklist findings support comorbidity between ADHD and Major Depression in a referred sample. Journal of the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 35 (6), 734-742. Bravo, M., Woodbury-Farina, M. A., Canino, G., Rubio-Stipec, M. (in press). The Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children DISC): Its translation and adaptation in Puerto Rico. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry. Bravo, M., Ribera, J., Rubio-Stipec, M., Canino, G., Shrout, P., Ramà ­rez, R. (2001). Test-retests reliability of Spanish version of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children DISC-IV. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 29(5), 433-444. Chambers, W. J., Puig-antich, J., Hirsch, M., Paez, P., Ambrosini, P. J., Tabrizi, M. A., Davies, M. (1985). The assessment of affective disorders in children and adolescents by semistructured interview. Archives of General Psychiatry, 42, 696-702 Cohen (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. (2nd.ed) Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Edelbrock, C., Costello, A. J., Dulcan, M. K., Calabro Conover, N., Kalas, R. (1986). Parent-child agreement on child psychiatric symptoms assessed via structured interviews. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 27, 181-190. Herjanic, B., Herjanic, M., Brown, F., Wheatt, T. (1975). Are children reliable reporters? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 3, 41-48. Herjanic, B. Reich W. (1982). Development of a structured psychiatric interview for adolescent: Agreement between child and parent on individual symptoms. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 10, 307-324. Kashani, J. H., Orvaschel, H., Burke, J. P., Reid, J. C. (1985). Informant variance: The issue of parent-child disagreement. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 24, 437-441. Loeber, R., Green, S. M., Lahey, B. B. Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (1989). Optimal informants on childhood disruptive behavior. Development and Psychopathology, 1, 317-337. Orvaschel H., Puig-antich, J., Chambers, W. J., Tabrizi, M.A., Johnson, R. (1982). Retrospective assessment of prepubertal major depression with the Kiddie-SADS-E. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 21, 392-397. Orvaschel, H., Thompson, W. D., Belanger, A., Prusoff, B. A., Kidd, K. K. (1982). Comparison of the family history method to direct interview: Factors affecting the diagnosis of depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 4, 49-59. Pliszka, S., Carlson, C. Swanson, J. (1999). ADHD with comorbid disorders: Clinical assessment and management. New York: Guilford Press. Reich, W., Earls, F. (1987). Rules for making psychiatric diagnosis in children on the basis of multiple sources of information: Preliminary strategies. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 15, 601-606. Reich, W., Herjanic, B., Welner, Z., Gandhy, P. R. (1982). Development of a structured psychiatric interview for children: Agreement on diagnosis comparing child and parent interviews. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 10, 325-336. Shaffer, D., Fisher, P., Lucas, C. P., Dulcan, M. K., Schwab-Stone, M. E. (2000). NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version IV (NIMH DISC-IV): Description, differences from previous versions, and reliability of some common diagnoses. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 28-38. Weissman, M. M., Wickramaratne, P., Warner, V., John, K, Prusoff, B. A., Merikangas, K. R., Gammon G. D. (1987). Assessing psychiatric disorders in children. Archives of General Psychiatry, 44, 747-753.

Doublethink In 1984 Essay -- essays research papers

What is doublethink? Orwell describes doublethink as “the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.'; In 1984, doublethink is the normal way of thought, and as a result everyone understands it and practices it. Doublethink is different from changing ones mind, lying, and self-deception in many ways. Doublethink involves believing in the two contradictory ideas at the same time. This is different from lying because lying is saying something that is wrong and knowing that it is wrong but still saying it anyway. For example lets say you broke a vase. When your mother asks you who broke the vase and you say the dog did it that would be lying. The reason it is not doublethink is that you do not believe in two different beliefs at one time. You don’t believe you broke the vase and the dog broke the vase, you absolutely know you broke the vase and are trying to put the blame on the dog as to avoid trouble. Changing ones mind is also different from doublethink. Changing ones mind is accepting or believing one thing, then deciding to accept or believe something else different then what you thought before. An example of changing ones mind would believe the earth is flat and then after seeing sufficient evidence that it is not flat but actually round. Due to the new evidence you would change your mind and now believe the earth is round as you previously thought it was flat. This is clearly different from doublethink because you are not believing in two ideas at the same time and accepting both. You are believing one thing, then completely change your mind and believing in another. Changing ones mind involves completely dismissing one idea to believe in the other, which means you, cannot believe in both at the same time. Finally doublethink is also different from self-deception. Self-deception is to mislead or be unfaithful to the way someone perceives him or her self or to mislead the way they th ink about something else. Self-deception would be the closet to doublethink then the other two examples given before. However it still is different from doublethink. With self-deception you are fooling yourself to believe something that really is not true. It is like your not accepting a fact or idea and replacing it with one that you believe, either if it is right or wrong. As said befor... ...child is taught that man, in current form, was put on this earth by God himself and then in the science class it is explained to them how man is evolved from primates. This is not virtuous at all for society. There needs to be a defining gap between religion and science. How are little children suppose to know which is right and which is wrong when they are told two different ways of how man has come upon this earth and they are contradictory. Religion however is deemed to be necessary by many people. They feel that people need some form of organized religion. Religion does help many people get through hard times in their life and gives them hope. However, it causes problems when science is introduced into the life of a child who is experiencing life and trying to figure out the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Doublethink is the idea of believing in two contradictory ideas but accepting both. There are instances of doublethink in our society that include affirmative action, jury duty, and religion. These all have positives and negatives on the modern day American society. Doublethink for the most part is not that necessary for society. It causes problems more often then not.

Racism :: Canadian History, Politics, The Indian Law

The two earlier existing schools, industrial schools and boarding schools, were united into residential schools by the Canadian Government in 1864 (Reimer, 2010:36). Miller (1996) has explained â€Å"the governing of the schools had the form of joint venture between state and church (Roman , Anglican, Methodist or United Church) where the state was responsible for the financing (Miller, 1996:25). ’’ The Canadian Government was responsible directly when it came to establishing residential schools for Aboriginal children. In order to attend residential schools, Aboriginal children were taken away from their families and communities. The proper definition of Aboriginal people or Aboriginal includes Mà ©tis, Inuit, and First Nations regardless of where they live in Canada and regardless of whether they are â€Å"registered† under the Indian Act of Canada (Stout and Kiping, 2003:5). Throughout history First Nations, Inuit, and Mà ©tis people have faced centuries of colonial suppression which has disrupted the process of Aboriginal cultural identity formation. One of the tools of suppression is through the formation of residential schools. At the schools, the children suffered from emotional, physical, sexual and psychological abuse (Stout and Kipling, 2003:8). The trauma to which Aboriginal people were exposed in the past by residential schools continues to have major negative effect to the generations to follow. By the 1840s, the attempts by the churches to â€Å"civilize† Aboriginal people became a matter of official state policy (Claes and Clifton, 1998). This was an era of westward expansion and the government was anxious to prevent any Aboriginal interference with its colonization plans. Subscribing to an ideology that constructed Aboriginal people as backward and savage, government officials believed assimilation was in the population’s best interests (1998; Culture and Mental Health Research Unit, 2000). For example, in 1847, the chief superintendent of education in Upper Canada indicated in a report to the Legislative Assembly that â€Å"education must consist not merely of the training of the mind, but of a weaning from the habits and feelings of their ancestors, and the acquirements of the language, arts and customs of civilized life† (cited in Claes and Clifton, 1998:15). The 1884 amendments to the Indian Act served as a particularly important impetus for growth. On the one hand, they made boarding school attendance mandatory for Native children less than 16 years of age. On the other hand, the revised Act gave authorities the power to arrest, transport and detain children at school, while parents who refused to cooperate faced fines and imprisonment (Claes and Clifton, 1998).

My Personal Philosophy of Education Essay -- Education Teachers Reflec

My Personal Philosophy of Education Education is the key to a successful and fulfilling life. The purpose is to give each child an equal opportunity to achieve his or her goals. I believe that the overall purpose of education is to prepare for the future. Education is so important to one’s life that educators cannot merely teach in one manner. To truly teach someone you must dig until you find a way for him or her to completely understand. That’s why I think that teaching is going to be a great challenge everyday. As a teacher I will have a whole classroom full of individuals with different learning styles, different strengths and weaknesses, different attitudes, different lifestyles, and different motivations. Because of this, I will have to use an eclectic mix of approaches and teaching styles. As a teacher I feel it is my responsibility to prepare my students for the inevitable changes that will occur in their lives by instilling confidence and knowledge while presenting myself as a good role model. Teachers play such an important role in a child’s life, sometimes being their only source of encouragement and support. As a teacher, I want to know my students; their personality, learning style, and academic level, so I can meet their needs and create the best learning environment possible. I will bring into the classroom my open-mindedness, my respect for others, my willingness to listen before making decisions, and my love for knowledge. I hope that by ...

The Role of the Writer in Society

Formative assignment: discuss the role of the writer in society, with reference to specific examples. The ‘writer’s’ role is vital to society in many ways. From the newspapers that are written to be informative, to the poets that are taught for education, from the bible that millions follow on a daily basis to fictional novels for entertainment. On one hand, Literature is all around and can be extremely influential, informative and enlightening. On the other hand, literature can be dangerous and also a source of controversy.The aim of this essay is to explore some of the key writers that portray this. Literature in itself takes on two main roles in society. The first is an active role. This could mean that the literature itself is inspirational and effective towards society. The second is a passive role. This meaning that the literature itself is there but not necessarily crucial to create a real impact on today’s civilisation. Either way, this only emphasi ses the fact that the writer’s role, whether passive or not is important. The role of the active writer is extremely significant.A powerful example of this is that of William Shakespeare (1564-1616). The role that Shakespeare took on in society was ultimately very influential. The fact that his works are still studied in schools and colleges to this day, almost four hundred years after his death and that he is still thought of as one of the greatest poets and playwrights in history portrays the importance of his works. Shakespeare’s plays are still performed in theatres worldwide and his house still stands in Stratford-upon-Avon and is now considered a landmark.There are many reasons as to why Shakespeare was so influential, one of which being his influence on the modern language. Many of the phrases that are still used to day were adapted from a number of Shakespeare’s plays. Another of these reasons is Shakespeare’s ability to write a dialogue. The dept h and skill that Shakespeare was able to describe the setting of his plays, the compelling characters that he created and the script the actors were to use made each of the scenes flow fluidly and also made the story easy for the audience to follow.One of Shakespeare’s plays in particular stands out amongst the rest purely because of the main character, this play is Hamlet. Due to the fact that this play was written hundreds of years before the idea of psychology, Shakespeare’s characterisation of Hamlet is extraordinary in itself. â€Å"Tis not alone my inky cloak, good-mother, Nor customary suits of solemn black †¦ Together with all forms, moods, shows of grief that can denote me truly. † The idea of a character that is so completely consumed by his grief and obsession with death is unheard of in any other works of the time.Another example is the renowned novelist Charles Dickens (1812-1870). Although Dickens’ literature was chronologically later t han that of Shakespeare, his work was no less influential. He is identified as the one of the best writers of the Victorian era and one hundred and forty years after his death, Dickens’ novels such as ‘Oliver Twist’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’, like that of Shakespeare, are still also taught in schools and colleges, films are also made and re-made of his novels and are still performed in theatres.Dickens writing is prominent due to, firstly, his ability as a story teller. His works are highly entertaining, yet the subjects that Dickens touches on maintains the ability to capture the empathy of the audience in a way that makes it possible that the audience understands the complex issues, without having experienced them. the parish authorities magnanimously and humanely resolved, that Oliver should be ‘farmed,’ or, in other words, that he should be despatched to a branch-workhouse some three miles off, where twenty or thirty other juvenile off enders against the poor-laws rolled about the floor all day, without the inconvenience of too much food, or too much clothing, under the parental superintendence of an elderly female who received the culprits at and for the consideration of seven pence-halfpenny per small head per week. †His observations of the imperfections of Victorian society are so well written that even though he wrote mainly of the injustices of the era, he is able to resolve the stories by creating comical and ultimately engaging storylines. This shows an expert ability to write an interesting plot without making the story too complicated for the reader to follow. In contrast to the above novelists, an example of controversy in literature is that of the author D. H Lawrence. Lawrence wrote the infamous ‘Lady Chatterley’s lover’ in 1928, which was first published in Florence, Italy.The book itself was a notorious subject as it portrays the story of a noble woman having an explicit aff air with the working class game-keeper. The deeply descriptive language and use of banned obscenities used by Lawrence to describe the sexual part of the relationship meant that it could not be published in the United Kingdom until 1960. â€Å"His lovemaking was earthy and gritty, and no wonder, as he'd misplaced his dibber earlier that day, and had to use the only suitable piece of equipment he'd had to hand in the greenhouse at the time†This piece of literature may have aroused debate amongst many people yet this still stands to be a widely recognised story of forbidden love. Even though it has only been around for the last 60 years in this country, this story in its entirety forcedly changed the perception of many on people that are very different from themselves. In conclusion, the role of the writer has established itself in today’s civilisation in many forms. Whether the novelist writes for entertainment or education, whether to touch on previously taboo subjects , or to question authority and provoke a worldwide debate, the writer’s position is prominent.A writer can follow the norm of society or can go to extremes, and in this freedom can incite a revolution. The extent of the impact of the writer and their work remains to be seen, but as it stands the effect is there whether the writer intends it or not. References for Assignment 1 – Formative assignment: discuss the role of the writer in society, with reference to specific examples. * BBC. (10, Nov 1960). Lady Chatterley's Lover Sold Out. Available: http://news. bbc. co. uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/10/newsid_2965000/2965194. stm. Last accessed 11/10/11 * Charles Dickens (1966). Oliver Twist. 3rd ed.United States, New York: Oxford University Press. Chapter 2, Page 4. * Shakespeare (1992). Hamlet. New York: WSP. Act 1 scene 2 Page 4. * Jeremy Hilton. (1993). Hamlet. Available: http://shakespeare. mit. edu/. Last accessed 10/10/11. * D. H Lawrence. (2007). In: Lady Chatterley's Lover. United States: Read How You Want. * Jamieson. (2011). Hamlet Character Analysis. Available: http://shakespeare. about. com/od/hamlet/a/hamlet_char. htm. Last accessed 10/10/11. * BBC. (2011). Charles Dickens (1812-1870). Available: http://www. bbc. co. uk/history/historic_figures/dickens_charles. shtml. Last accessed 10/10/11.

Research on the Australian Education Export Industry Essay

Executive Summary The following report provides a detailed analysis of the four sectors in the education industry in Australia, which are: Higher Education, Vocational Education and Training (VET), English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) and the schools. The report starts interpreting trends from the industry in Australia, analyzing numbers of enrollments and commencements of students in each sector, as well as their nationalities. With these numbers we have an overall idea of the scenario, which shows that Higher Education is the Over Performing sector, followed by ELICOS, VET and schools. A second stage of the research is the PESTEL analyze, which observes the Political, Economical, Social, Technological and Legal conditions of Australia, with the conclusion that Australia has a stable government, strong economy and high currency, great quality of life, invests widely in technology and gives incentives to international students to come to Australia. The data provided by PESTEL helped with the SWOT analyzes of the industry and sectors in Australia. The findings shows opportunities manly in students that progress in more than one course in Australia, which already lead us to consider ELICOS as a good sector to invest. After the secondary data gathered, a qualitative research was created and is here presented showing that all the interviewed international students are having a positive experience in Australia and more than half would enroll in a different course after finishing the current one. As a result of the findings, ELICOS course was pointed as a better option of investment – since higher education has risks of high costs and perceived quality. Private institutions offering ELICOS and VET come up as an even better choice, since almost one quarter of international students progress from ELICOS to VET. New South Wales is recognized as a better location for investment, since the majority of students choose that state as a destination. A few schools offering ELICOS and VET were identified as an option for investment, however a more detailed analyses of their internal data would be necessary to point out with certainty which one would be the best option. 1. Introduction 1.1 Background Students from all around the world choose Australia as a study destination, wishing to gain a top-quality education. Each year, Australia becomes even  more popular, with many new international students enrolling in courses around the country. In 2013, 526,9321 international students enrolled in education programs in Australia, representing a 2.6% increase over 2012. Most of the international students in the country are studying in the Higher Education sector, followed by the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector, the English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) sector and the schools sector. 1.2 Purpose of Report The aim of this report is to research about the education export industry in Australia. The report was commissioned by the Group April with the aim to analyze the trends in the following education sectors: VET, ELICOS, Higher Education and Secondary School courses. The Market Trends will be interpreted in order to identify their impact on the education sector, as well as potential opportunities and threats to the industry. 2. Interpreting Market Trends For the purpose of this research we will analyze the number of international students commencements (number of students starting a new course) and enrollments (enrolling in a course) in the country. According to Australian Education International, the total value of commencements and enrolments students has been growing steadily in the last ten years. We will analyze the data the number of international students from all sectors from 2010 to 2013. The following chart shows the summary of commencements from 2010-2013. Chart 01: International Students Commencements from 2012 to 2013 Source: http://www.austrade.gov.au/Education/Student-Data/2013/ In addition to that data, we also have the table below, comparing the number of commencements and enrolments per year and course: Table 01: Enrolments and Commencements from 2012 to 2013 With the data provided, we can see that in 2013 Higher Education Sector ranked first by volume of commencements and enrolments. VET had the second  largest volume of enrolments but third in commencements. ELICOS ranked second in volume of commencements, but third in enrolments. From 2012 to 2013, the number of commencements in Higher Education increased by 8.1%. The ELICOS commencements also registered 21% growth in the same period. The VET sector commencements have been declining in the last 4 years, but had only a minor decrease from 2012 to 2013 (0.1%). Schools accounted for only 2.9% of commencements, declining steadily in the past years. It is possible to notice that even though Higher Education is the over performing sector, ELICOS is also gaining more relevance over the past years. The Chart 01 shows that VET sector has been declining over the years. When considering number of enrolments for each sector, the top nationalities differ between the categories. The Australian Government also provides the following data: Higher Education enrolments: China (39.9%) and India (7.2%) VET: India (21.5%), China (10.5%), Republic of Korea (7.3%) and Thailand (6.6%) ELICOS: China (25%), Brazil (8.7%) and Thailand (7.9%) Schools: China (46%) and Vietnam (10%) The top five nationalities present in number of enrolments in 2013 contributed to 52.1% of the total, which were: China (28.5%), India (9.3%), Republic of Korea (5.2%), Vietnam (4.9%) and Thailand (4.1%). When looking directly at students visa granted, the last five years have also showed a majority of Chinese, Indians and Koreans students, differing only in the last two countries. The chart below shows the student visa applications granted by the top five countries of origin: Chart 02: STUDENT VISA APPLICATIONS GRANTED BY TOP FIVE COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN Source: http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0Main+Features20Dec+2011 Accessed on 29/10/2014 As per the chart above, China represents the majority of international students, with approximately 50 thousands student visa granted in 2011. China also represented in 2013 the majority numbers for all education sectors. Also, over 90% of Chinese ELICOS students went on to do further study in Australia in 2012.2 The Australian Financial Review points out that  the most likely reasons why Australia became a destination for so many Chinese students can be due to the increase of the middle class of the country and the geographical proximity to Australia. 3 India still represents the second largest group of international students, even after drastically dropping from 2009 and on. The plunge on numbers came specifically after a series of attacks on Indian students in 2009.4 South Korea comes in third in the represented numbers of granted visa, followed by Malaysia and Brazil. There is also a strong relationship between the Australian Dollar rates with the number of students’ commencements per year. The table below shows the number of students’ commencements versus the average rate for AUD/USD Dollars. Year It becomes even more noticeable when represented in a chart how one factor is influencing the other. The lowest the Australian dollar rate is, the higher the number of commencements becomes. On the other hand, as the Australian dollar rate increases the commencements decreases proportionally. The following data can be seen in the next chart: Chart 1.1. – Students Commencements vs Australian Dollar Rates 2.1Over Performing and Under Performing Sectors Analyzing the numbers of commencements of each area in the last 4 years, it is possible to say that the three Over Performing sectors would be: Higher Education, ELICOS and VET. The three Underperforming sectors are schools, VET and ELICOS. Compared to the three other sectors, the Schools sector is small and has been declining over the past years. To proceed with the study of which sector would be more interesting to invest on, a PESTEL (Political, Economical, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal) and SWOT (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) analysis will be made. 2.2 PESTEL Analysis: The following analysis intend to identify the Political, Economical, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal Australian conditions, in order to provide enough data to clearly present its Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats afterwards. Political The Australian Government is a constitutional monarchy, being under a federal system. For that reason, Australia can be considered a stable country. The Government also has innumerous initiatives regarding international students, such as the International Students Strategy of Australia. With those initiatives, Australia’s Government acknowledges the importance of international students for the country and seeks to protect the country’s reputation for high-quality education and for being a safe, welcoming and culturally diverse place to live.7 Economical The Australian economy has experienced continuous growth and also features contained inflation. It is one of the largest capitalist economies in the world with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$998.3 billion (2013 est). The service sector dominates the economy, accounting for about 70% of GDP and 75% of jobs. 8The unemployment rates are considered low (6.1% in September of 2014), however the part-time employment has decreased recently.  Those numbers may affect international students, since they can only work on part-time contracts. The Australian Dollar Currency has been maintained stable over the past few years, valuing 0.88 US dollars in October 2014. A strong currency is a factor of great impact on international students, since the exchange rates may affect their decision. 9 Social Australia population is composed by a majority of white people (92%), followed by Asians (7%) and aboriginal and other (1%). The official language is English, which is one the main reasons for international students to choose it as a destination. It’s considered a welcoming country for people from overseas. Australia is also known per its high quality of life, safeness and great education institutions. Environmental The weather conditions and the natural landscape in Australia are positive aspects of the country when seen by students. Travelling interest has a major impact on students’ decision. Technological Australia is a modern country that invests in constant evolution of its Technology. The Government invests heavily in national science agencies, as well as providing about AU$2.5 billion to Universities10 to support research and research training activities, and this is complemented by research funding from the private sector, non-profit organizations and state governments. That factor might influences in the Higher Education numbers for international students. Analyzing the worldwide situation, we can also point out that the technological changes have been providing advances in several sectors, as well as education. With the improvement in technological resources and Internet speed, a wide variety of courses online are being offered – even by top quality know universities. That factor might also have great influence in students’ decision. Legal There are many requirements for applying to a student VISA in Australia,  which had also been in constant change throughout the last few years. Most of the Government reforms were introduced in response to the Knight Review (2011) of Australia’s student visa system, such as the streamlined visa processing and new arrangements for post-study work visas. At the same time that changes came to facilitate the students’ application, it can give a negative image to international students, since there’s always a risk of changes in the law if there’s an interest to renew their VISA. 2.3 SWOT The following SWOT analyses will provide data about the education industry as well as the sectors in Australia, pointing out its Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Strengths High-quality education: Australia is a worldwide destination to many students by its top quality of education. Australia’s English language teaching is mainly highly regarded worldwide. Permission to work and study: The student visa permission to work up to 40 hours fortnightly is a decision factor by many students that have to work while studying. Proximity to Asian countries: Considering that many Asian countries look for English speaking countries to study, Australia stands out for its proximity to the continent. Highest quality of life: Australian has the highest quality of life in the world, according to the OECD Better Life Index organization, analyzing the categories: income, housing, jobs, community, education, environment, civic engagement, health, life satisfaction, safety, and work-life balance. Tourist VISA and working Holiday students: Many international students come to Australia through tourist visas or working holyday visas, being allowed to study ELICOS to up to 14 weeks in the first case and 4 months in the second one. That gives an extra advantage for this sector, since they are easier to apply to. Weakness VISA requirements: Australian VISA requirements changed recently in 2012, accepting the recommendations of Knight11. Event though it brought positive changes to facilitate the VISA process, the constant changes in VISA requirements might make long term students consider if any changes will still come up. High price and competitors’ countries quality: Australia was  pointed by a HSBC report as the most expensive destination for higher education for international students. Besides that, when it comes to perceived quality of higher education, it was ranked in 5th by Chinese parents (staying behind USA, UK, Germany and Hong Kong). 12 Opportunities Growth in numbers of higher education international students: a new British Council report has predicted that the number of international students of higher education will reach 3.8 million by 2014.13 Strengthening of the student VISA from Canada and USA: With modifications in student VISA requirements of competitors’ countries, Australia comes up as an option for new students. Major events in the country: Major events are frequently being held by Australia, calling international attention and being an extra reason for students to choose the country as a destination. The Commonwealth games, which will be held in 2018 in the Gold Coast, might have a big influence in student numbers, especially for short-term courses (such as ELICOS). Students’ progression from different sectors: Many students progress from ELICOS to higher education or VET, most likely had been on a package arrangement where the ELICOS study was a precondition for undertaking the next course. 14 Threats Changes in New Zealand student visa: The recent changes in New Zealand student visa now allows more English language students to work part-time, becoming a even bigger competitor to Australia as an destination.15 Crimes against international students: Any crimes and racist acts against international students have an impact in international students numbers. With the murder of four international students in Brisbane since November of 201316, the exposure by national and international media can damage the safeness image of the country. 3.0 Approach for research After our secondary research about the education market in Australia, a qualitative study was made with international students in order to find out the reasons and influences that made them choose to study in the country. An  online questionnaire was made and answered by 18 students. 3.1 Qualitative Analysis The nationalities interviewed were: Brazil, USA, Chile, Spain, Italy, Czech Republic and France, from which 61% were Brazilians, 11% Italians and 28% of each other nationality. Chart 03 – Nationalities Half of the students are enrolled on ELICOS courses, one third on VET and 17% on Higher Education. None of the interviewed is studying on secondary school. The schools of study vary between the following: ILSC Brisbane, Shafston, Queensford, ALS, Queensland Academy of Technology, TAFE, Bond University, University of Western Australia, Australian College Sports and  Fitness, Hetc Harvest, VIVA College and Melbourne University. All the interviewed students declared that their experience in Australia has been positive so far and 67% would enroll for another course in the country and consider living in Australia permanently (from which 22% are current ELICOS students). More than half of the students (56%) considered studying in a different country before choosing Australia, being mentioned the following: New Zealand, Canada, USA, Ireland, South Africa, UK and Germany. An open question also asked the students to describe briefly why their experience in Australia has been positive or negative, and it was mentioned the different cultures/nationalities present in the country, opportunity to meet new people, personal and professional growing, independence, improvement of English, great quality of life, good weather, new challenges and travelling (Refer to appendix 1 for further details). 4.0 Recommended Sector The following section will explain which sector have been identified as the best business opportunity, based on the interpretations of marketing trends and qualitative analysis sections of this project. Based on the report findings, we can see that two sector are in great advantage: Higher Education and ELICOS. While Higher Education has been the sector over performing in the last years, the forecast for that sector may  not be favorable – especially due to the competition of different countries that offer lower costs of studying and are increasing high-quality study reputation. To open a new University or other Higher Education school would be a great risk for investors, considering that it would take time to build their brand awareness and reputation. More than that, the costs for buying an existing private institution would be much greater in that sector. The second over performing sector was considered ELICOS, since the numbers of commencements and enrolments have been increasing constantly. When it comes to ELICOS, it is also an entry door to other courses in Australia – as many students that proceed from ELICOS to VET or Higher Education. ELICOS students may also be on student visas (currently around 60%) or visitor, working holiday or other VISAS (around 40%).17 ELICOS sector is also divided in a wide range of courses, where as the main courses offered in Australia are: General English, English for Academic Purposes, Exam Preparation Course, English for Special Purposes, English for Teaching and Study Tour. These options are closely aligned to the need of the students, attracting all sorts of international students. 4.1Competitor Analysis ELICOS courses are provided in a wide range of institutions and sectors. According to the Knights review (2011), the ELICOS activities occur in almost all parts of the international education sector: â€Å"Unpublished National English Language Training (ELT) Accreditation Scheme (NEAS) research shows that of the 269 active providers in 2010, 100 were stand†alone ELICOS providers, 99 were private VET providers and another 18 were publicly owned VET providers, 32 were universities and the remaining 20 were schools. The numbers of ELICOS students in the different providers also varied significantly. 24 providers had a capacity for 50 or less students. 81 providers had a capacity for between 51 and 150 students. But more than half of all registered providers, 164, had a capacity for more than 150 students at a time.† (KNIGHT, 2011, p. 64)18 Considering that data, it is a better investment to buy an existing institution than opening a new one, since there are a wide number of competitors already. Since the majority of students choose to study in New  South Wales, as we can see per the chart below, the best investment would be in NSW state. Chart 07 – International Student Enrolments & Commencements by State and Territory (2010) Source: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0Main+Features20Dec+2011 – accessed on 30/10/14 The private VET providers that also offer ELICOS as an option can be considered a good investment option, since AEI researches show that 23% of ELICOS students in Australia eventually progressed to VET. 19 New South Wales Government also tells that Private VET colleges and institutions are very popular with international students, with the majority of international students in NSW studying at a private college.20 That data confirms that a private ELICOS institution that also offers VET will be a good choice. The following private schools in Sydney stand out as options that provide ELICOS and VET courses: ILSC Education Group: ELICOS and VET provider Since the number of students and financial reports of each institution are not publicly available, there isn’t enough data to point with certainty which school would be a better option for investment. However, a more detailed analysis can be made as a secondary step of this report. 5.0 Conclusion This report objective has been centred on identifying the over performing  sectors on the industry of education, which we believe have been successfully reached. The data provided will give be used by the Group April to decide which sector is the most promisor. We would recommend Group April to closely look at potential schools with extensive knowledge and good reputation, besides being costly competitive and well located. Finally, throughout the whole project, attention was maintained to remain realistic based on the investor budget and interest in industry. The findings of the interpreting trends section as a whole were summarized in a SWOT analysis table to facilitate its understanding. Considering the overview of the over performing sectors the best choice considered for investment was the ELICOS sector, since is growing at a very good pace. SLIC will remained opened for further discussion of the content of this report, as well as for conducting a second phase of research. Question: Describe briefly why did you found your experience in Australia positive: Student 1. â€Å"I had a substantial improvement in my English level at the same time I could know different cultures (not just Australian) and met many interesting people.† Brazil, Male, 21-25 years old, ELICOS Student Student 2. â€Å"Because there are many differences between Brazil and Australia. Most of the social problems that we have in Brazil are almost nonexistent here. The quality of life is extraordinary.† Brazil, Male, 26-30 years old, ELICOS student Student 3: â€Å"Positive: Friendly citizens, Weather, Good opportunities of work† Brazil, Male, 26-30 years old, ELICOS student Student 4: â€Å"To be completely independent, Know about new cultures; Learn new languages† Chile, Male, 26-30 years old, ELICOS student Student 5: â€Å"Due to the people I met† Spain, Male, 26-30 years old, ELICOS student Student 6: â€Å"Because Australia still giving me a lot of opportunities to grow personal and professional.† Brazil, Male, 26-30 years old, VET student Student 7: â€Å"New experience and challenges, meeting new people, improving my English, travelling† Czech republic, Female, 31-40 years old, ELICOS student Student 8: â€Å"Good people, opportunity to work, grow up by myself.† Brazil, Female, 26-30 years old, VET student