The Relationship of Music Education Essay Example for Free

The Relationship of Music Education Essay The growing academic achievement gap observed in academic institutions in the United States has prompted numerous research studies conducted to find ways and means to improve the academic performance of school-aged children in the country. Based on such studies conducted, it has been determined that the incorporation of music education as part of the curriculum used among pre-school, elementary and high school students can help improve the level of academic performance observed in these levels. As such, there are now a number of different websites found over the Internet promoting this method of teaching school-aged children of various levels. However, there are still a number of groups that remain skeptical about its effectiveness. This paper aims to provide information proving that the incorporation of music education to school curricula of different levels result to an improvement of the academic performance of school-aged children. Apart from providing the numerous benefits advocated by different websites supporting this, this paper would look into studies published in academic journals available in Internet databases proving its effectiveness, the claims provided by skeptics that have caused them to conclude that there is no relationship between the use of music education and the improvement of the academic performance of school-aged children would also be presented. Music Education and Academic Performance As previously mentioned, there are a numerous Internet websites now advocating the use of music education as a means to improve the academic performance of school-aged children of different levels. This is because research studies have shown positive and promising results particularly among children with special needs such as those with autism and those that have been considered as children at-risk. In one study, the researcher found that the incorporation of music education in the classroom led to the creation of an environment where children with autism become more successful academically since they determined that students with autism are able to respond more efficiently with the use of music stimuli (Darrow 2009). In another study, it was determined that through the incorporation of music education, members of the faculty and administration have seen that there has been a decline in the number of students dropping out of school as compared to those that did not utilize these programs. In fact, they found that 93% of students dropping out are those that are not included in any music education program (Olson 2008). Internet websites that promote the incorporation of music education as a way to provide school-aged children the ability to develop and enhance various skills which have been considered as essential for the success of school-aged children not just in school but also within the corporate world. Some of these skills include mathematics, creativity and communication skills. It was also determined that through the use of music education as a part of the curriculum of school-aged children allow them to develop traits and personalities that would make them productive members of society. These include developing a sense of self-discipline, less prone to outbursts of rage and anger and substance dependency. These claims presented in these Internet websites are supported by various research studies released by such institutions such as the U. S. Department of Education and the College Board of New York (Children’s Music Workshop 2006; Zhang 2007). While this may be the case, other Internet websites have been found to refute such claims and benefits. One of which is a website that features the study presented to the Australian Association for Research in Education entitled No Evidence for a Mozart Effect in School Aged Children. In this study, the researchers have stipulated that while there have been numerous studies claiming that the use of classical music and other methods of incorporating music education in school curriculum have caused an improvement in the academic performance in some academic institutions, this does not happen each and every single instance. This is due to the fact that other factors such as the cultural of the academic institution and the quality of the teachers facilitating the education of the students play a major role in the overall academic performance of school-aged children (Crncec, Wilson Prior 2002). In another Internet website, it was stated that while music education does help most school-aged children with special needs, this does not encompass all children with special needs. To be specific, children with auditory disorders such as auditory process disorder, or APD, are unable to comprehend sound elements. As a result, the incorporation of music education to the curriculum of school-aged children would only be unbeneficial for these children. In fact, it may even cause these children to exhibit the very issues that Internet websites promoting the use of music education are able to address (Nikolaidou, Iliadou, Kaprinis, Hadjileontiadis Kaprinis 2009). Conclusion The incorporation of music education in school curriculum has, in no doubt, been able to help in the improvement of the academic performance of school-aged children in different levels. The promising results presented by research studies conducted have been found to be consistent when these principles have been applied by various academic institutions, particularly pre-school and elementary schools. As a result, the incorporation of music education has now been endorsed by various local and government organizations involved in the improvement of the overall academic performance of academic institutions in the country. While there are limitations to how much of an improvement may be observed in one academic institution as presented earlier, the consistency observed on the contribution music education to the overall academic performance continuous to make a viable method to be used in schools throughout the country. References Children’s Music Workshop. (2006). Music education online. Retrieved from http://www. childrensmusicworkshop. com/advocacy/benefits. html. Crncec, R. J. , Wilson, S. J. Prior, M. (2002, December). No evidence for a Mozart effect in school aged children. Retrieved from http://www. aare. edu. au/02pap/crn02420. htm. Darrow, A. (2009). Adapting for students with autism. General music today, 22(2), 24-26. doi: 10. 1177/1048371308328384. Nikolaidou, G. N. , Iliadou, V. T. , Kaprinis, S. G. , Hadjileontiadis, L. J. Kaprinis, G. S. (2009). Primary school music education and the effect of auditory processing disorders: pedagogical/ICT-based implications. Retrieved from the IEEE Xplore Web site: http://ieeexplore. ieee. org/Xplore/login.  jsp? url=http%3A%2F%2Fieeexplore. ieee. org %2Fiel5%2F4561602%2F4561603%2F04561902. pdf%3Farnumber%3D4561902a uthDecision=-203. Olson, C. A. (2008). Can music education help at-risk students? Study finds positive testimony substantial but quantitative research lacking. Teaching music, 16(3), 20. Retrieved from ERIC database (10697446, 20081101). Zhang, L. (2007, March). Benefits of music education for your child. Retrieved from http://www. articlesbase. com/education-articles/benefits-of-music-education-for-your- child-124538. html.

Pollution and Culture in Greenland :: Greenland Environment Ecology Pollute Essays

Greenland is contaminated with considerable amounts of pollution, caused by large-scale atmospheric circulations, especially in winter. The pollutants in the Arctic are primarily sulfur, which is highly acidic, in both gas and aerosol form. Most of these pollutants are from anthropogenic sources deriving mainly from industrialized areas in the Eurasian continent. In addition to threatening environmental stability, pollution is speeding the unraveling of traditional Inuit culture in Greenland. Climate change is affecting the entire world, yet Greenland is especially sensitive to slight fluctuations due to its dependency of the natives’ traditional lifestyles on the environment. Melting ice and permafrost restrict access to hunting grounds making a traditional way of life consisting of hunting seal and caribou more difficult.2 Every four years, the Inuit living in Greenland, Canada, Alaska, and Siberia convene the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC) to discuss issues of concern. The ICC lobbied successfully to ban a dozen organic pollutants, carried north by winds, that do not evaporate in the Arctic cold. These pollutants were infecting meat and berries, staples of the Inuit diet, as well as the breast milk of nursing mothers.3 There are many more problems facing the sustainability of Greenland, such as trans-boundary pollution and the fact that the Inuit are not an effective lobbying group due to differences in culture, dialect, and lack of communication. In November of 2004, a report by 250 scientists warned that the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the global average, which threatens to wipe out several species including polar bears, and melt summer ice around the North Pole by 2100.4 One of the reasons for the increased warming is that the dark water and ground in the arctic soak up more heat from the atmosphere than ice or snow. The levels of carbon dioxide today are about 379ppm and increasing, a comparable level to 55 million years ago when there was no ice on the planet due to the warmth of the atmosphere.5 If the Greenland ice cap melts, the sea level will rise six or seven meters. Although this is a worst-case scenario, it seems clear that steps must be taken to reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide and other pollutants in our atmosphere. Investigations of pollutants in Greenland during the past fifteen years show that the troposphere is burdened with high levels of trans-boundary pollution. The major anthropogenic contributors to this â€Å"Arctic haze† are central Europe, and northern Russia.

Barilla Spa – Executive Summary

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Barilla SpA, world’s largest manufacturer of pasta based in Italy is experiencing extreme demand variability resulting to operational inefficiency and increased cost. To combat the key issues stated my decision is to implement the Just In Time Distribution (JITD). This new system, contrary to current system Barilla has will eliminate Bullwhip effect and stock outs by having centralized information, there will be data transparency between Barilla and distributors.Distributors will provide actual sales data which will be the basis of forecasting and production thus increasing in efficiency in operation and alleviating stock out among distributors. JITD will lead to improved supplier-customer relationship which in the long run can be perceived as a win-win situation. Internal resistance coming from Sales and Marketing will be resolved by involving the top management and by presenting the benefits of the JITD in figures and by emphasizing that role of Sales team in JITD is of paramount to the implementation.External resistance will be combated by thorough discussion presenting the long term benefits of all parties involved. Implementation of JITD as soon as possible will position Barilla on even stronger pasta producer and will potentially increase growth rate of the company resulting from increased business efficiencies and reduced cost. Barilla can have a pilot run on the DO (Distribuzione Organizzata) where sales representatives functions are dominant, sales representatives are one of the key factors on the success of JITD implementation.Weekly meeting between Barilla and DO will have to take place for couple of months upon implementation to monitor its status. ISSUE IDENTIFICATION A. Immediate Issue Because Barilla is facing extreme variability in demand week by week which causes operational inefficiencies, high inventory and stock outs, Maggiali is fighting for the implementation of Just In Time Distribution (JITD) system despite of th e internal objection from Sales and Marketing team and external resistance from distributors. B.Systemic Issues †¢Poor Forecasting system Nature: StrategicTiming: Short term & Long term Most distributors like GDs and DOs check inventory levels and place orders with Barilla once per week using simple periodic review. They do not follow any forecasting model; they just do replenishment ordering without minimum/maximum quantity. Barilla has no visibility on actual data, their basis of production is per distributors’ information per week and this causes pressure on manufacturing & distribution team of Barilla. Too many SKUs & High level of inventory Nature: StrategicTiming: Long term & Short term On dry products alone, Barilla offers 800 SKU. Pasta is made in 200 different shapes and sizes and has more than 470 packaged SKUs. Typically distributors carry 150SKU out of 800 SKUs Barilla leaving high inventory on the CDC. There is high level of inventory across the chain; overa ll there is about 2 months of inventory on the entire supply chain at any given time. †¢Frequent Trade Promotion leads to Bulk Ordering Nature: Tactical Timing: Short termBarilla has 10-12 canvass period which each corresponding to a promotional program. During the canvass distributor can buy as much as he wants in order to avail the promotion and this is welcomed by sales representatives because their incentive is dependent on achieving sales goal for that canvass period. Barilla also offers volume discount and transportation discount in full truck load order quantities. The situation leads to bulk ordering which causes demand fluctuation. †¢Long Lead time Nature: StrategicTiming: Long term and Short termDistributors place order to Barilla once per week only using simple periodic review system and lead time is eight to fourteen days, due to long lead time distributors either order high inventory or it results to stock out at distributor’s customer. ENVIRONMENTAL & ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS Barilla is the largest manufacturer of pasta in the world, making 35% of all pasta sold in Italy and 22% of all pasta sold in Europe. However, Barilla suffers from Bullwhip effect due to huge variability in demand that resulted to operational inefficiencies such as increased cost on transportation, distribution & inventory. stock out (see exhibit 1). On the production itself the set up are very specific, the company is incapable of meeting fluctuating demand because they consider sequential production to avoid huge set up cost. When demand fluctuates manufacturing and distribution team experience too much pressure. Barilla has complex distribution; presence of multiple intermediaries slows down the delivery lead time to ultimate customer. Carrying too much variety on dry products, 800 SKUs also leads to long production lead-time because they maintain sequence of production based on size and shape of pasta to reduce set up cost.Stock out occurs due to the fact tha t distributors maintain only 2 weeks inventory and delivery lead time from CDC is 8-14days. On table below it is evident that stock can happen in DC/DO level because 2 weeks delivery lead-time and maintaining 2 weeks inventory on the shelf. Price changes due to promotions and incentives cause demand fluctuation as well. Barilla has no visibility on what is happening in reality with the flow of their products in the market. Barilla lacks centralized information and sophisticated forecasting capability and because of this bullwhip effect occurs ( see exhibit 2).Due to severe fluctuation in demand Barilla is pushed to increase the buffer of finished goods to avoid stock out and this only means increase in raw materials inventory, carrying cost, transportation cost and production cost which is detrimental to the growth of the company. Since Barilla’s production is based on input of distributors, Barilla in the long run may lose the market share if distributors find that other bra nds are selling more and decide to carry competitor’s product instead.Lack of knowledge on the actual sales data on the market will have a negative effect on Barilla; it has to establish smooth business relationship with all the supply chain channels and not only with the distributors. . RECOMMENDATION From my overall analyses given the facts presented I strongly recommend to proceed with option number 1- to implement JITD. Reason is because thru JITD Barilla will have the centralized information and will have access to actual sales information which they will be using to plan procurement of raw materials, production, logistics , safety stock , inventory accordingly .Also, thru JITD Barilla will have a chance to establish good supplier-customer relationship with the distributors and even with the supermarkets, this is very critical in running successful business. Barilla will have the control of production and not based on the order of distributor. Ultimately Bullwhip effect will be managed. First phase would be to implement with the DO because of the presence of sales representatives on the area. It would be so much easier to implement the plan since sales representatives of Barilla often spends 90% of the time in DO.

Electrolyzed Water - Miracle Liquid

Water is already pretty great stuff. You cant live without it and you use it throughout the day. What if you could use water plus a little salt to kill germs and clean, without added chemicals? It turns out you can. All you need to do is electrolyze the water. The Los Angeles Times has a feature on the increasing popularity of electrolyzed water for cleaning laundry without detergent, disinfecting medical instruments and wounds, sanitizing food, washing dishes — you name it. Why Electrolyzed Water Isnt Common So if electrolyzed salt water is non-toxic and highly effective, you may be wondering why dont you see it everywhere. There are a few reasons. First, the equipment used to electrolyze water isnt cheap. Home units are presently running around $3000, though when you consider the annual cost of all the cleaners you use and how nice it would be to replace the toxic chemicals you have with green, non-toxic water, the pricetag is a lot more palatable. Second, electrolyzed water has a relatively brief shelf life. It is something you can make and use, but not the sort of product youll find on grocery store shelves. Finally, a lot of people think a cleaner isnt working unless it produces suds and smells clean. Electrolyzed water doesnt produce mounds of bubbles or smell like flowers. If you live in Japan or Russia, you probably are familiar with electrolyzed water. In the United States, it is probably news to you. How Electrolyzed Water Works Heres how it works. Electrolyzed water is produced by applying a low-voltage electrical charge to saltwater. Sodium ions form sodium hydroxide (NaOH), a strong base that cleans much like a detergent. Chloride ions form hypochlorous acid (HClO), which is a powerful disinfectant. The potent compounds are rendered harmless either by doing their job cleaning and disinfecting or they are simply rendered inactive over time.