Commerce Clause & Health Care

The Commerce Clause was merely placed in our Constitution to ensure that states couldn’t establish laws or regulations that would hinder with trade and economic commerce, in result gave Congress the power â€Å"to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes. † To me, the Commerce Clause was once legitimate in the sense that the economic activity was mainly trade based and to prevent the intense rivalry among states, Congress needed to have the power to control interstate commerce to render conflicts. When creating and establishing the Commerce Clause I believe it could have been thought through and furthermore written in a more distinct and detailed way to accommodate the issues we have had. Because it wasn’t stated, U. S. Supreme Court ruled Congress to control intrastate commerce as long as the commerce significantly affects commerce involving more than one state, resulting from Gibbons v. Ogden. Sometimes I wonder if it’s realistic to think Congress will get to the point of controlling every aspect of our life, until something like the Affordable Care Act comes into consideration and keeps me questioning, what will be next. The Government’s argue is, under the Commerce Clause that Congress has the power to mandate the Affordable Care Act. Their philosophy is that Congress can demand people to buy health insurance, and if they refuse, then it would be affecting interstate commerce weakening the Act’s other developments. Their reasoning is that there are individuals who currently do not have medical insurance that are making a remarkable amount of visits to the doctor. In result, leaving hospitals reaching out to insurance companies to recover what they didn’t get paid for treating the non-insured. Consequently, insurance companies will start raising premiums higher and higher which will penalize those who already have insurance and those who reach out for insurance where premiums have raised to a point that it is unaffordable for the average citizen, then the problem will get worse. The argument against the Affordable Care Act is that it violates the Commerce clause regarding the fact that Congress has the power to regulate interstate commerce and intrastate commerce as long as the conflict in commerce is among more than one state. Some states, like Virginia, have passed or are in consideration of declaring a law that the Affordable Care Act can’t be enforced in their States. In the article on the Reuter’s website it says, â€Å"State legislators in Maine, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, Texas, and Wyoming have introduced bills that establish penalties, including fines and jail time, for any agent seeking to enforce the healthcare law within their states’ borders. Congress has the power to do most of which they feel capable of doing and if they can prove a good enough argument to the Supreme Court that inactivity affects interstate commerce then I think no matter what the States arguments are going to be shut down. Regarding tax, the Government argues that if their power under the commerce clause doesn’t support the mandate, then they will implement the power of Congress to tax. The mandate was Congress’s solution to those who decided they weren’t going to get health insura nce, preventing cost shifting. Cost shifting was their answer as to why they can force the individual mandate and it’s because the â€Å"failure to purchase insurance has a substantial and deleterious effect on interstate commerce. † The Government believes that health care at some point in life is unavoidable, whether it’s an emergency or through insurance, that’s why they have created the individual mandate penalty to refrain from premiums rising. The main argument against the mandated tax is that when lobbying for the bill, President Obama stated that there would not be a new tax involved with the individual mandate requiring coverage. But the penalty will be collected through tax filings and the Federal Government says that the fine is in their power to levy. From the Reuter’s article it says, â€Å"States say the U. S. Government does not have the authority to charge the fine and point to the discrepancy between Obama’s statements and the U. S. Government’s arguments. † Government regulation in business is everywhere, from advertising, employment and labor, privacy, environmental, and safety and health issues. The ultimate reason there are so many regulations is so that consumers are protected and it helps businesses to thrive at the same time. What is so interesting about the law is that we have a firm foundation, but the law will always be changing because with time there will come a new circumstance with no precedent that will cause a controversy like the Affordable Care Act itself. I just hope it doesn’t get to the point that the Government abuses its powers given to them by the framers who created our Constitution to resolve conflict, not create it.

Educational Observation of Development of a 5th Grader Essay

Archie is a 10 year old in the fifth grade class here at Friends’ School. He’s attended this school from preschool until now, a total of seven years. He lives in the neighborhood and tends to be one of the first kids in the classroom every morning. In general he seems to be a happy child, smiling often. He has a tendency to be quite goofy at times and struggles with impulse control, often speaking out in class or being disruptive by talking or making jokes. This seems to stem from his ADHD, which he is on medication for. Though he has many challenges related to his ADHD, he displays an aptitude for math, enjoys reading, loves computers and is full of random facts that he adores to contribute. His general health seems fine however we have noticed that he spends quite a bit of time in the bathroom on occasion. We suspect that he may have digestion/constipation issues, however this is unclear and only speculation, as his younger sister is known to have these issues. He is on ADHD medication and takes that daily. He chooses not to eat a snack mid morning, but seems to eat a light lunch every day. He is of average height and weight in comparison to his classmates. He has plenty of energy daily and hasn’t missed any school due to sickness in these first 5 weeks of school. Archie is the oldest of two children. His younger sister is in the second grade here at Friends’ School. His parents are his adoptive parents, though his sister is biological – I do not know any further information about this at this time. His parents are both Lawyers by trade, though the Mother is the only one currently practicing. His father is the Hockey Coach at DU. I see both parents frequently here at the school dropping off and picking up their children. In addition, their Nanny and Aunt are often here at the school and heavily involved in their lives. They also are very involved with them at home and are on top of Archie’s behavior including enforcing consequences. Why I selected this child? The decision on which child to choose was an interesting process for me. I found it quite difficult because I truly wanted to learn the most from this process as possible. Not only about this one individual child, but learning that will relate to future students in my classes. I knew that I wanted to choose someone that didn’t fall into the gifted/exceptional categories  academically because in the future I don’t see myself working with kids that are outliers on either end of extremes, and didn’t feel I would learn what I wanted to by choosing someone from those categories. Once removing some of those kids, that also removed some of the obvious choices with quirky personalities! However, I find myself lucky to have a number of interesting and bold personalities in class and no one that seems to get overlooked or blend into the cracks. I took a look at the kids that were right were they needed to be academically, however had some barriers to learning socially/emotionally/behaviorally etc. Who needed extra help in ways that I don’t currently know how to attend to? How do you support these types of kids and encourage them to be part of the group and follow norms without squashing their own unique personality? By asking myself these, among other questions, it became obvious that Archie was my choice. I see my future classrooms having at least a few children like him that have ADHD or similar learning issues. I want to know how to relate to these kids, encourage them, and support them. I also hope to learn how to help them manage their own behavior in the classroom to allow the other children to learn and not be a constant distraction which often leaves them feeling like an outsider or looked down upon by classmates. Key questions about this child: 1. How severe is his ADHD disorder, when was it diagnosed, what is being done to help him compensate? What aspects of his learning are most affected by this disorder? 2. How to understand what life is like for him from his point of view? 3. What is the main cause for his inabilities to self regulate and his lack of impulse control? 4. Does his behavior change based on the time of day or day of the week? What about subject matter? 5. What are his strengths academically? Weaknesses? 6. Where is he developmentally in comparison to his classmates? National Norms? 7. Physical Development? (coordination, stamina, fine motor skills, rt/lt dominance, nutrition etc) 8. Mental/Cognitive Development? (multiple intelligences, level of executive function etc) 9. Does he have any other health issues? Possible digestive/constipation? 10. What is his background in regard to being adopted and does that have any bearing on his current issues? (ie. Drugs/alcohol birth parent? etc) 11. Does his  sister have any similar behavioral or learning issues? 12. Who are his friends and how does he relate to them? Do any of his issues get in the way of those relationships? 13. How does his family & life outside of school affect his daily life in school? (ie extracurricular activities, consequences, family culture, parental expectations etc) 14. What language and questions are best when communicating with this child? What approaches work? What encourage him vs deflates him? 15. How does he function in large groups, small groups, pairs? 16. How does he respond when he’s faced with something difficult or makes mistakes? What motivates him to try harder? Participate? Key questions for me to learn from this study: 1. What can we do as teachers to help him with these issues?   2. How can I connect with him and support him?  3. What can I learn from this child’s behavior and needs that I can use with other future students? 4. What exactly is ADHD and how does it affect a child’s learning? 5. How might I better support and motivate children with learning disorders? 6. When comparing students development in general, what factors influence their development? Physical Development Archie falls into the category of the Middle Years which occurs from the ages of six to twelve. This is a time when growth slows down in comparison with the periods preceding and following it (Stone & Church, 1984, p426). Archie is 10 years and 2 months old. He is one of the youngest children in his class, though his physical development seems to be consistent with that of a typical 10 year old. He is 56.5 inches tall and weighs 80 pounds. When directly compared to his 20 classmates, both male and female, his height falls in the middle of the pack at the 10th tallest and his weight slightly higher at the 15th heaviest. When compared to the national average growth charts in the United States, he falls into the 75th percentile of 10-year-old boys in both height and weight (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2000). His BMI, calculated at 17.6, places him into the 65th percentile for boys his age and is deemed a healthy weight (Center for  Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). He has not hit his adolescent growth spurt yet, which is not expected until he turns twelve or thirteen. (see Appendix B for all growth charts) Overall, Archie’s general health appears good. Since the beginning of the school year, he has only missed one day of school due to being sick. This seems to be on par with others in his class. He has been clinically diagnosed with ADHD and is currently on medication for this issue. The medication is administered in the morning then again at lunchtime by our administrative staff. He has expressed the annoyance of having to take the medication during the day at school but said that it really helps him in class, so it’s worth it. Archie said he has been taking ADHD medication since he was in second grade and it has tremendously helped. In addition to the ADHD diagnosis, we have observed some potential digestive issues. A few times a week, Archie will disappear for long periods of time in the bathroom. When asked if everything is all right, he says yes, however this is abnormal behavior for a 10 year old. It is understood that his younger sister who is in the 2nd grade does indeed have constipation issues, so we think that may be affecting Archie as well. Over the course of my 6 weeks of observations, this bathroom behavior continued which leads me to speculate that something is going on in regard to his digestion and elimination. The ADHD medication does not appear to affect his physical health, however his eating habits do seem to be affected. The majority of the children eat a snack every morning around 10am and Archie never does. I’ve asked him why and he says he isn’t hungry. He prefers to get on the classroom computers for the 15-minute duration of snack time. For lunch everyday, he brings a Vanilla Ensure along with a few other nutritious items. Ensure is a nutritional shake that has essential vitamins, minerals, fat, and protein, along with aiding in digestion and providing energy. I was told he started bringing these last year to make sure that he was getting some nutrition during the day because he often times did not eat much. I also wonder if a secondary reason has to do with his digestive issues. He nearly always drinks the Ensure and occasionally eats the other items he brings. He is nearly always one of the first children done with his lunch and is eager to get on the computers to play a game. In addition to his daily snack and lunch habits, I have noticed that when offered snacks or sugary treats he never partakes. A few examples are  during birthday celebrations or the harvest festival, both of which consist of potluck treats brought in by classmates. In addition, the music teacher says that he never takes the skittle reward claiming â€Å"he said he doesn’t need extrinsic motivation!† It seems that there is a clear link between his ADHD medication consumed during the day and his lack of appetite. I am unsure of how he eats at home, however seeing that his height and weight fall into healthy categories, his current nutrition must be providing what he needs. Throughout the day, his energy levels are consistent, however his focus and attention seem to be best in the morning. Many times a day we gather the group into a circle. He tends to be fidgety and move a lot, so he is allowed to sit on a stool during these times (unlike other children who sit on the floor). These times seem to be the most difficult for him to manage impulse control, stay focused and suppress excess energy. These behaviors are consistent with his ADHD and there have been modifications in the classroom, such as the stool, to support him with that. His mood seems to stay consistently jovial throughout the day, and his bodily movements don’t seem to express this aspect of him. It appears his motor skills are appropriate for his age, though it is clear during observation that those skills are not nearly a s advanced as many of his classmates. His large motor skills show the most obvious discrepancy. His movements when running, kicking and throwing a ball are awkward, jerky and only mildly coordinated (See picture #8a in Appendix A). Children with ADHD are notoriously clumsy and tend to have problems with how they perceive their bodies in relation to space (Freed & Parsons, 1997, p64). His PE teacher says that he has never been that great at sports and often seems to exaggerate his bodily movements. She suspects some of the exaggeration is to be humorous and to distract from his lack of coordination in comparison to the other students. Energetically he seems to easily have the stamina to keep up with the sports and activities at hand, however, the interest in these activities seems to be lacking. This shows up not only in PE class but also on the playground at recess. Over many days of observing Archie at recess, never once did I see him participate in any kind of sport activity. Daily the other children are playing kickba ll, capture the flag, four square or tag, and he never chooses to join in. He often chooses to hang out with the same 2 to 3 boys engaging in non-physical activities while talking and sitting on the picnic  table, under the play structure or hanging from the chain loops. A few times I observed him reading by himself on the playground. I find it intriguing that his energy and body movements inside the classroom seem heightened, yet he does not feel the need to exert this energy outside of the classroom. Personal interest and aptitude in sports seems to play a role in this discrepancy. However, it leaves me curious as to what else might be influencing his physical behaviors and choices. In addition, it is said that during the middle years, motor skills blossom as children become proficient at many types of physical activities, skills and games (Stone & Church, 1984, p450). This also makes me wonder what he might be missing out on developmentally by not having interest in these physical activities. His fine motor skills are on par with the other students in his class. Though his handwriting is not always perfect, when he takes the time, it is often much nicer than the other boys in the classroom. His written work, both writing and math, is legible, tends to be larger letters, and of average quality (see Appendix C ). His drawing and art skills are less advanced, more careless and not as refined as evidenced by picture #6b & 6b of his art project box in comparison to four other students (see Appendix A). His attention to detail in writing is much more pronounced than in drawing (see Appendix C, 4/5/6). He is right handed, holds the pencil appropriately and writes with adequate pressure. He is sufficiently coordinated with scissors and math tools as well. There is no evidence that his fine motor skills are deficient, just not as advanced as some though on par or exceed others in his classroom. Overall, Archie’s physical development seems to fit the usual pattern of his age group. The differences I have observed are in his gross motor skills being less coordinated than others and his lack of interest in physical activities during recess and PE. I have not noticed any physical development issues that are affecting his learning or social interactions, though it is clear that his ADHD does have an impact on all areas of his life. Cognitive Development Perhaps the most intriguing aspects of Archie’s development are in both the social/emotional and cognitive realms. He is a generally happy child that comes to school everyday with a positive attitude and a smile on his face.  He is caring and empathetic to others and is quite self-aware and reflective. He has the tendency to be quite goofy, often looking for ways to be the class clown and generate a laugh. Controlling his urges to speak out, move about or be appropriate in the moment is very difficult for him. You can see that he often acts first then thinks later. His impulses seem to get the best of him at times and often leads to him causing interruptions and getting into trouble. You can see that he is a good-natured boy and means well, however his low executive functioning skills make it difficult for him in the classroom. Luckily, his happiness seems to remain strong and resilient despite his social/emotional shortcomings. All of this can be accounted for when viewed through the lens of a child with Attention Deficit Disorder. Therefore, we must first examine his cognitive development before addressing his social/emotional development. ADD is described as a neurological syndrome that has three primary symptoms: impulsivity, distractibility and hyperactivity. The American Psychiatric Association states in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) that 3%-7% of school-aged children have ADHD (Freed & Parsons, 1997). Research shows that each year there is a drastic increase in reported cases and boys are more likely than girls to be diagnosed. Why might this be? Children with ADD or ADHD (incorporating the hyperactivity component) are often easily distracted, find it difficult to listen, follow directions, trouble sitting still and control impulsive behaviors. It is not surprising that in the typical school system that a child with these issues would be looked at as a nuisance and difficult to teach. Freed and Parsons (1997) say that the percentage is growing because of the cultural influences and failure of our educational system to understand and adequately address it [ADHD]. In their book, Right-Brained Children in a Left-Brained World, they make the argument that mostly gifted and virtually all children with ADD share the same learning style (Freed & Parsons, 1997, p17). They are often highly visual learners, with non-sequential processing and creative tendencies. Interestingly enough, Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory also addresses this discrepancy in learning behavior. Gardner’s multifaceted view of intelligence suggests a plurality in view of mind and intelligence, recognizing many different facets of cognition and their strengths and weaknesses (Gardner, 1993, p6). Our  American school system has been set up to support left-brained learners who are strong at regurgitating information but weak at creative and problem solving skills. The ADHD ch ild does not fit well into this rubric, which results in his disorder looked at as a problem as opposed to a gift. Both theorists suggest that there are students like Archie who think differently and possess strengths that are not explored or supported in the traditional school system of our left-brain focused society. Luckily, we as educators are learning and expanding! As stated in The Compassionate Classroom, â€Å"The trust level rises markedly when students realize that a relationship based classroom teacher is supporting their common needs rather than ranking their academic differences.† (Hart, Hodson, 2004, p. 20) As I stated in my introduction, my decision to choose this child was in order to learn what I could do as a Teacher to help these non-traditional learners flourish in their education. Archie was formally diagnosed with ADHD in the second grade and began seeing the school psychologist at that time. His kindergarten/first grade teacher said they had been talking to the parents since kindergarten about the need for some intervention and possible learning issues, yet the parents were quite resistant up until the second grade. At that point, they did decide to get Archie evaluated and it was determined that he had ADHD and medication would help him. Due to Archie being adopted, I found it intriguing that his biological sister also had ADHD. What is the hereditary link and how does adoption play a role? After further investigation, one study published by the Journal of Abnormal Psychology found that out of 808 adopted children ages 4-18, 21% had enough behavioral symptoms to qualify for a diagnosis of ADHD. This is over twice the rate in the general population (Connell, P). They also say that 40% of children with ADHD will have a parent with ADHD, usually the father (Adesman, MD). Wow! It isn’t a stretch to start to see the link and why. ADHD greatly effects the executive function of an individual, so poor impulse control and accompanying behavior may account for the factors that make these numbers abnormally high. These adoptive children are exposed to more risk factors such as smoking, drinking, drugs, malnutrition, neglect, and unplanned pregnancy (Kunz, 2010). Archie and his sister came from the same set of birth parents three years apart. It does not surprise me at all to think that these siblings were exposed to any number of risk factors  seeing that the parents chose to give up one child and then got pregnant 3 years later and gave that one up as well! One of the areas most affected by ADHD is in the realm of executive function. In a 1990 study published in the medical journal Lancet, a discovery was found when using PET scans to measure the brain activity in 9 children with ADHD. The scans showed an abnormally low cerebral activity in the frontal areas of the brain responsible for concentration, language development, attention span, impulse control and logical, sequential reasoning. Conversely, they found higher activity in the occipital or rear lobe, which is the primary visual area of the brain (Freed & Parsons, 1997, p36). If the areas of the brain most affected by ADHD are associated with carrying out executive function, that wo uld explain Archie’s behavior in many ways. His biggest issue is with impulse control. He calls out answers and comments consistently throughout the day, and has a hard time waiting to be called on when he’s excited with an answer. His humor is often interjected at inappropriate times and if you ask him why he chose to do what he did, he often says he couldn’t help it and that he had to. It seems that in the moment, he doesn’t â€Å"think† before he acts. When in a group at circle his attention starts out on task but then diminishes quickly over time. If he is working independently he often needs to sit by himself in order to focus. I’ve observed that he participates in small groups pretty well, however if with certain kids he just goofs off. His strength seems to be in cognitive flexibility as he is able to problem solve, adjust to various settings and is socially aware of others and their point of view. A great example of this perspective shift is when he is pulled aside for inappropriate behavior. Once removed from the initial impulsive moment he can easily see how his behavior was inappropriate or disrespectful to the class or teacher. Archie usually becomes apologetic and submissive, saying sorry and that it won’t happen again. I’ve been impressed by his mature response to these instances and level of respect shown. Many children might make excuse after excuse, however, he admits that it was a poor choice on his part and moves on. Theorist William Damon had an interesting six-stage theory on human moral reasoning and its relation to authority. It seems to me Archie falls into the fifth stage of special preparation where the superior is seen as superior and obedience is founded on respect and faith in the authorities  concern (Stone & Church, 1984). Despite Archie’s ADHD diagnosis, he appears to be developing cognitively at his appropriate age level. In both 4th and 5th grade, his writing and reading assessments place him squarely performing at grade level (see Appendix D). For the writing he was given a prompt to write a story, create a rough, then final draft. For reading, he was asked to read a short story out loud and respond to a series of comprehension questions. When comparing the two grade level evaluations, you can see the improvements made from year to year and the expansion of his abilities in these areas. If you take a look at his current writing samples, you can see his personal expression expressed and some really creative thinking, in addition to the accurate use of conventions (see Appendix D). Louise Bates Ames, Ph.D. says that typical ten year olds combine ideas in short, choppy sentences but with enough punch to catch the readers interest (Ames, p42). This is evidenced by his personal narrative story on page 6 of Appendix C . He seems to enjoy math, actively participating and contributing in his 5th grade level math classes. His math worksheets and homework indicate that he has a solid knowledge of the curriculum being covered and can do it on his own in and outside of class (see Appendix C, 7/8/9/10). He shows a similar eagerness and competency in Science, Spanish, Spelling and Technology. His music teacher says that he tends to goof off more than not and is awkwardly coordinated with instruments or drums in comparison to other children. However, he has expressed a love for music and is currently enrolled at The School of Rock in drum lessons. His parents said that he is doing quite well. I wonder if this individual musical instruction works for him better than in a whole class group environment. ADHD children have difficulty filtering out all the stimuli and their nervous system is on overload (Freed & Parsons, 1997, p55). If Archie feels more stimulation than other children, that can explain his difficulty in certain highly stimulating learning environments like music or PE. Middle years children typically turn their attention toward the world at large. Piaget describes this as the stage of concrete operations, during which children have limited capacity for abstract thought but can deal with objects quite fully (Stone & Church, 1984, p. 493). Piaget believes that children construct their knowledge of the world though active manipulation with materials (Pawlina, 2011) Essentially, learning by  experience. Archie is most engaged in school when he is actively â€Å"doing† something and problem solving. When administering the Piagetian tasks he showed competent levels of knowledge in laws of conservation, reversibility and demonstrated logical thinking. When asked why he knew what he knew, most of his responses were matter of fact and then expanded in very creative and unique ways. For example, in the water level comparison, he said they were the same amount because I didn’t take any water out†¦.†unless it quickly evaporated† ha ha. Or when asked about the wood beads, he very animatedly exclaimed, â€Å"What do you mean? They’re ALL wood!!! So obviously more wood beads!† and laughed. Archie always has a humorous, clever remark to add in all his interactions. Though not always appropriate, his sense of humor is one of his biggest strengths. This in addition to his creativity and ability to think beyond what he sees in front of him tells me that he has progressed beyond the concrete operational stage in ways that aren’t accounted for in Piaget’s tests. Critics of Piaget’s theory note that he does not account for other competencies a child has developed. I believe this is where Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences theory and Right and Left Brain Dominance theories realistically cover far more of the learning population in our world today. In taking a Right Brain, Left Brain dominance test (TPT, 2012) we concluded that Archie is a combination of both left and right brained. Though he is right handed and a right foot kicker, his eyes and ears are left dominant (see Appendix E). We took some time to go over the typical characteristics of each and he claimed he identified with nearly all of the Right brain qualities. I then gave him The Connell Multiple Intelligence Questionnaire for Children (Connell, J.) which is a series of statements you are to check off if it describes you (Appendix ). Archie scored highest in the areas of Word Smart, Nature Smart and People smart. These categories correspond to Gardner’s labels Linguistic, Naturalistic and Interpersonal intelligence (Zeiger, 2012). This does not surprise me! In observation, it is evident that Archie is extremely creative with his words, both written and oral, he has a charismatic, humorous, and sensitive personality in addition to showing interest in science, geography and nature in general. Social/Emotional Development Archie’s social and emotional development seem to reflect similar advances as his cognitive development. Being that your happiness is generally based on your experience of the world around you, it is clear that Archie is at a happy place in life. Ames (1998) says that a typical ten-year-old has generally reached an enjoyable state of equilibrium. They love life and share it enthusiastically with those near and dear (p21). This truly seems the case for him as he comes to school every day in a pleasant mood, a smile on his face, eagerly interacting with classmates and has only complained about not liking homework! In his earlier years at Friends School, the school psychologist started to work with Archie to build his low self-esteem, ease anxiety and self regulate impulse control. Right off the bat she implemented play therapy, allowing him to choose materials that help him express himself. He chose a lot of mastery kinds of games that he was able to solve or figure out and this made him feel better about himself. She says he was always a well-intentioned kid, he just doesn’t think before he acts. This behavior got him into a lot of trouble in 3rd grade, so she worked with him on better control and choosing which children to be around. At this time he had only been formally diagnosed with ADHD and on medication less than one year. She said, â€Å"Once his bio-chemistry was corrected, he had to go back to learn what the other children had already learned about choosing friends, making good decisions and controlling impulses. â€Å" It makes sense that these areas of social finesse are behind those of his classmates and affect his interactions to this day. Social difficulties often accompany special needs learners and giftedness, I see this clearly represented in both Archie and other students with these labels in my classroom. Regardless of his past, I see that classmates really seem to enjoy his humor and contributions. No doubt his caring and empathetic nature, along with that humor, are his strengths socially. When administering the Piagetian tasks, I asked him about how he thought 5th grade was going. With a big smile he said â€Å"fine, I like it.† I proceeded to ask about his friends and who was a best friend. Many times he said â€Å"I have lots of friends†, but no mention of a best friend. Louise Bates Ames state’s in her book Your Ten-to-Fourteen-Year-Old that some ten-year-old boys have a â€Å"gang† of friends whom they seem to like about equally: â€Å"To me they aren’t best friends. They’re all my friends† (p262). In my observations I noticed  that Archie gravitates to specific friends during recess, while chatting in the classroom during transition or in the morning before classes. These friends are nearly always boys. He initiates conversation often in these circumstances; most times extremely enthusiastic about whatever it is he would like to share. On the playground, it’s most common for him to choose 2-3 boys to hang out with and have conversations throughout the entire recess, preferring that to any sport or activity. The fact that he only chooses to socialize with other boys is consistent for his age group. Nearing the end of the middle years, the majority of girls and boys are not interested in the opposite sex†¦yet. However, they are aware that boy-girl relationships lie ahead of them (Ames, 1989, p38). Erikson describes the crisis of this period as industry vs. inferiority saying that children are aware and eager to acquire information about sex (Stone & Church, 1984, p451) Though I am not there for their sexual education classes on Fridays, I did observe during a field trip that Archie was joking around about those types of relationships, teasing a few of the girls, and making jokes of bladder infections. It was good natured and harmless, this indicates to me that he is aware of the future potential, though clearly not ready for it himself. Play touches on every aspect of development and learning (Rogers & Sawyer, 1988, pvii). Due to his common choices at recess, I have not adequately been able to observe Archie’s choices of play. It is common for this age group to move from symbolic play into an interest in games with rules. This transition period roughly corresponds to Piaget’s concrete operational period of cognitive development (Rogers & Sawyer, 1988, p20). An exception in Archie’s recess choices was a time for a few days where there was a group of about 20 children of all ages who created a game using the used tires on the playground. I watched the interaction for two days in a row and was quite impressed with the level of creativity they all displayed in the rules of this game and how well they self monitored it’s progression. Archie was actively involved as one of the referees. He did not ever participate in the competitive aspect of the races, but immensely enjoyed being the keeper of the rules, telling others where to go, start the race and call the winner. He even ran inside once to get a camera to capture the â€Å"photo finish† (see picture#3b in Appendix A). Piaget outlined two criteria for games with rules: competition and mutually agreed upon or  formal rules to govern the activity (Rogers & Sawyer, 1988, p50). This playground game certainly fits that criterion. I think it is interesting to note that he chose a role where there was no competitive motivation, but allowed him to be in charge and step into a leadership role. I loved seeing this for Archie because leadership is an area I don’t think he has much experience with. This game gave him the opportunity for success! Research tells us that play contributes to learning and cognitive maturity in so many ways, I do wonder what impact the lack of play has on his social development. When working in groups, Archie is often supportive of the others and contributes, however is rarely the leader. Often he will get off task and interject humor becoming a disrupter. This happens especially when grouped with certain other boys in the room. He seems to work better independently or with one other partner, especially when he is interested and there are hands on activities. Though he knows who these students are that trigger his inappropriate behavior, he still needs to work on making better choices. Therefore, it is paramount to help him facilitate good choices when choosing partners or groups. We actively remind him and others to make good choices, and if that is not displayed I quietly pull him aside and ask if that was his best choice of partner or behavior. He immediately get’s a sheepish grin saying â€Å"no†, looking down in humility. In any intervention of behavior that I’ve observed with another adult, myself included, he is consistently respectful and more than willing to listen, including the ability to quickly admit when his is wrong. Ames (1989) says â€Å"Ten’s usually respect the teacher and often accept her word as law even more than that of their parents.† (p41) Overall, Archie is a well-integrated, happy child who is learning and developing socially and emotionally. He gets along with others, displays caring and empathy, is happy with the friends he has and enjoys a positive experience of school. Any shortcoming he has is easily explained by the affect ADHD has on his executive functioning skills and general maturity. It has been helpful to learn that I need to focus on helping Archie implement tactics that help him make better choices in the future, and not focus on bad behavior. Clearly, his impulse control gets the better of him, so any way to help him to increase his awareness around others is imperative. Summary Archie is a great kid, with lots of potential along with some unique learning needs. His sense of humor and excitement is contagious, making him quite a likable child. He has the combination of many factors influencing all aspects of his development. It is exciting to hear the feedback of previous teachers and therapists; his development has come a long way since entering the school in preschool. He has shown consistent improvement in his academic abilities from year to year and marked improvement from second grade until fifth since being medicated for ADHD. In my observation of him in the classroom, it seems that his behavior has much to do with his level of interest he has in the topic and who he is surrounded by. We are actively looking for ways to help him succeed and give him the right environment to promote his learning. Giving children many modalities of input and experience is key to tapping into all the intelligences of both right and left-brain learners. Visual, verbal, kinesthetic, and artistic aspects must be incorporated into lessons to support all learners. Archie has consistently displayed higher than average intelligence when he is actively engaged and fully understands what is expected of him. It has been such a privilege to take a closer look at someone else’s life in an attempt to learn them better so that you may then be better. He has helped me create empathy for him and others that have learning impediments like ADHD, poor executive functioning skills or social/emotional deficits. It is fascinating to look back and review my initial questions posed for this study and see that I have been able to answer them all to some degree! Not only do I have a greater understanding of this specific child and his development, but an increased knowledge of what is going on for students with special needs and how I may help them. As teachers, our understanding of where a student is at and how to get them to the next level is essential to our children’s learning. Vygotsky says that through observation, we can know a child’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) (Pawlina, 2011). In this space of what a child can do independently and what they can do with adult support, lies the opportunity of learning and development. This child study has provided that opportunity for acute observation and questioning of what a child with ADHD and right brained learning tendencies needs. We as educators need to adapt to the needs of our individual learners. Archie is lucky to be in a school where social emotional needs are a strong focus in  the classroom. This allows him the support he needs to accommodate his reduced executive function skills, yet the space to express his creativities and unique personality. Gardner says in his 1993 book Multiple Intelligences: In my view, the purpose of school should be to develop intelligences and to help people reach vocational and avocational goals that are appropriate to their particular spectrum of intelligences. People who are helped to do so, I believe, feel more engaged and competent, and therefore more inclined to serve the society in a constructive way† (p9). I completely agree with Gardner and see myself as a liaison to learning. Maybe Alexandra K. Trenfor said it best â€Å"The best teachers are those who show you where to look but don’t tell you what to see†. Works Cited Adesman, Andrew (2012) Expert advice: ADHD and Adoption. Retrieved October 21, 2012, from http://www.parents.com/parenting/adoption/parenting/adhd-adopted-child/ American Psychiatric Association (2000) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-IV-TR. Washington: American Psychiatric Association. Ames, Louise Bates. (1988) Your ten-to fourteen-year-old. New York, NY: Dell Publishing. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2000, May 30). Retrieved October 21, 2012, from http://www.cc.gov/growthcharts Connell, J.D. The Connell Multiple Intelligence Questionnaire for Children. Scholastic Teaching Resources Retrieved October 21, 2012, from http://printables.scholastic.com/ Connell, Pam. (2012) ADHD and Adopted Children. Retrieved October 21, 2012, from http://adoption.families.com/blog/adhd-and-adopted-children Freed, Jeffrey & Parson, Laurie. (1997) Right-brained children in a left-brained world: unlocking the potential of your ADD child. New York, NY: Fireside. Gardner, Howard. (1993) Multiple intelligences: the theory in practice. New York, NY: Basic Books. Hart, S. & Hodson, V. (2004). The compassionate classroom: relationship based teaching and learning. Encinitas, CA: PuddleDancer Press. Kunz, Marnie. (2010, March 23) Adoption & ADHD. Retrieved October 21, 2012, from http://www.livestrong.com/article/83314-adoption-adhd/ Pawlina, S. (2011, September 16) Developmental Theorists – Piaget, Vygotsky, Erikson, Gardner and Dewey [Overview handouts] The Premier Tutors (2012, April) Are You Right-brained or Left-brained? That Is the Question. Retrieved October 22, 2012 from http://thepremiertutors.org/ Rogers, Cosby S. & Sawyers, Janet K. (1988) Play in the lives of children. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children. Stone, L. Joseph and Church, Joseph. (1984) Childhood and adolescence: a psychology of the growing person (5th Edition). New York, NY: Random-House. Zeiger, S. (2012). Multiple Intelligence Test for Children. Retrieved October 21, 2012, from http://kids.lovetoknow.com/

Important technical development Essay

The most important technical development was the unitization of the liner shipping business. The shipping industry has been so successful at exploiting this technical development that the cost of sea transport has hardly increased. Coal and Oil cost little more to transport in the mid 1990s than in 1940s. Those important causes which are mostly affecting the demand for sea transport are 8 The World Economy : As it was discussed before that world economy with its output and trade is the most important single factor to generate demand for shipping and any crisis in the world economy reflects in the demand for shipping. In table 01 its clear that ups and downs of shipping demand is also proportionate to world trade. There are 03 different aspects of the world economy that may bring about change in the demand for sea transport ,which are- The Business Cycle: The business cycle lays the foundation for freight cycles. Fluctuation in the rate of economic growth work through in to the sea borne trade, creating a cycle pattern of demand for ships. For example, two major recession in shipping business in 1975 and 1981-1983 ,which co-incited with the recession of the world economy. This economic cycles arise from a combination of external and internal factors. The external factors include events such as wars or sudden changes in commodity prices such as crude oil, which cause a sudden change in demand. Internal factors refer to the dynamic structure of the world economy itself, which it is argued, leads naturally to a cyclical rather than linear growth path. Five of the most common business cycles are- I. The Multiplier and accelerator : The main internal mechanism which creates cycles is the interplay between consumption and investment. II. Time-lags: The delays between economic decision and their implementation can make cyclical fluctuation more extreme. The shipping markets provides and excellent example for this. During a shipping market boom, ship owners order ships that are not delivered until the market has gone into recession. When the arrival of the new ships at a time when there is already a surplus, further discourages new ordering just at the time when shipbuilders are running out of work. The result of their time lags is to make booms and recession more extreme and cyclical. III. Stock building : It produces sudden burst of demand as industries adjust their stocks during the business cycle. On several occasion shipping boom have been driven by short-term stock building by industry in anticipation of future shortage or price rises. Examples are the Korean war in 1952-53, the dry cargo boom of 1974-75, mini tankers boom in 1979 and summer 1986. Tanker booms were caused by temporary stock building by the world oil industry. IV. Mass psychology : If people act in an imitative manner a particular trend will build up to a level where they can affect the whole economic system. Their periods of optimism and pessimism become self fulfilling through the medium of stock exchanges, financial booms and the behaviour of investment. V. Random shocks : Random shocks such as wars, weather changes, new resources, commodity price changes, which upset the stability of economic system may contribute to the cyclical process. Its impact on the shipping market is often very severe ,for example ,1930s depression which followed by the wall street crash of 1929. Other two aspects are The ‘trade elasticity’ and The ‘trade development cycle’-which are correlated to business cycle. Other factors which have very strong influence on shipping demand are Transport cost. Transport cost are an element in the costs of production and If transport Costs are low ,its possible for domestic commodities to be substituted for the cheaper goods supplied over great distances, which will create business opportunities for shipping. The globalisation of the world economy has reinforced the inherent and unique internationalism and fluidity of the shipping industry, while over the same period the industry has become vastly more productive, with very much larger, faster ships and new techniques such as containerisation. By understanding and exploiting world economic activities and trade pattern along with all the other factors stated above, which are mostly controlling the shipping demand, ship owners and shipping management can achieve maximum business profit. From table one it is clear that the future growth of world trade and out put will definitely create more demand for shipping. Thus the ‘derived demand’ nature of ‘shipping demand’ creating huge opportunity for ship owners and shipping management to profit from the ups and downs of world trade. References 1. whitepaper of DTLR on British Shipping Charting a New Course ,para-9,obtained from www. shipping. dtlr. gov. uk/cnc/index. html ,or menu-whitepaper, october2001. 2. Chrzanowski I, 1985, An Introduction To Shipping Economics, Fairplay Publications. 3. Abrahamsson B J, 1980,International Ocean Shipping: Current Concepts and Principal, WestView Press. 4. McConville J,1999,Economics of Maritime Tansport,p42,The Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, London  www.isl.org

Auditing Maintenance Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Auditing Maintenance Systems - Essay Example This report contains the description of the steps that were done in the process of maintenance auditing of the plant. It also provides recommendations to increase the output of the plant. The main objective of conducting this audit is to identify and then eliminate the reasons behind the downtime of the plant activities in order to acquire further improvements in performance of the plants. This study is primarily concerned with the evaluation of the cause behind the low income and the low productivity from the H-Acid plant. It includes an assessment of all vital elements of operation, maintenance and production activities as commencing at H-Acid chemical plant which further encompasses minor installations, statutory inspections, management of the work force and other practices. Interviews were taken from all the involved persons who include Plant Manager, Plant Engineer, Planner, Supervisor, Buyer, Operator and Electrician. The study took into consideration all the 14 stages involved in the manufacturing of the final product that is the H-Acid. This study also focuses on the quality of the parts used in the chemical plant. It also highlights the toxic and flammable na ture of the chemicals used in the plant which have caused severe injuries and accidents. Various personnel including Plant Manager, Plant Engineer, Planner, Supervisor, Buyer, Operator and Electrician who are involved in the chemical plant were interviewed in order to assess their point of views on the current output, problems faced by them in carrying out their work, etc.

Food Insecurity and Soup Kitchens Research Paper

Food Insecurity and Soup Kitchens - Research Paper Example Introduction Food security is the â€Å"consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life† according to Nord, Hooper & Hopwood (p.1). On the other hand, â€Å"very low food security† refers to a reduction of food intake and disruption of eating patterns in households due to a lack of money and other resources for food during particular times of the year (Nord, Andrews & Carlson 5). Adequate food is essential for good health and good nutrition. Economic policy and program regimes that support the fundamental factors related to food security are capable of reducing health inequalities. On comparing Canada and the United States on the impact of food insecurity, it was found that in Canada’s levels of food insecurity are lower than that of the U.S., indicating that Canada’s is more food secure as a result of various measures, and the success of governmental and private programs in alleviating hunger. Further, problems and solutions related to food i nsecurity conceptualized for Binghamton area of New York will be conceptualized on the basis of a survey conducted and census information. Food Insecurity in Canada and in the United States Canada and the United States significantly differ in the proportions of their populations that have consistent access to sufficient food for active, healthy living. ... households twice as likely to be food insecure in relation to Canadian households with children. The important parameters that impact food insecurity across the world include income adequacy, education, household structure, presence or absence of children, residence area, and other factors. Nord et al (p.16) state that these parameters should be considered in the context of the different social, economic, program and policy systems of Canada and the United States, to achieve a better understanding of the impact of these factors on household food security. Canada’s Action Plan for Food Security in response to the World Food Summit commitment to reduce food insecurity by 2015, builds on several existing international commitments which affect food security. These emerge from current domestic programs such as Canada’s own â€Å"Nutrition for Health: An Agenda for Action; Gathering Strength: Canada’s Aboriginal Action Plan; revisions to legislation including the Fish eries Act† (Agriculture and Agri-Food, Canada 5) and Canada’s evolving economic, social and environmental programs and policies. A Joint Consultative Group (JCG) composed of both government and civil society representatives have developed the Action Plan. In 2009 the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) â€Å"announced food security as a priority theme and pledged an additional $600 million over 3 years in support of this theme† (CFSPG 1). The government’s program has been successful to a certain extent. To augment the work of the government, there have been private organizers rallying forces under the banner of food security. Thus, local efforts in Canada include the setting up of food pantries, treatment of chronic diseases related to malnutrition,

Racial disparity Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Racial disparity - Research Paper Example This paper shall discuss the racial disparities in health in the United States. It shall discuss what researchers have found as causes for such disparities. This paper is being carried out in order to establish a clear and comprehensive discussion of the subject matter and to establish reasons for the existence of the phenomenon. Discussion The racial disparities in the United States in relation to health are considered significant. For one, the current death rate for blacks registers at about 100,000 blacks dying each year (Levine, et.al., 2001). The different diseases or health issues as well as causes for mortality shall be specifically discussed by this paper. Death rates for coronary heart disease have registered at a higher rate for blacks as compared to whites, with about 30% of blacks more likely to die from the disease. Cancers now register at a higher rate for blacks as compared to whites. Cancer death rates have also been higher for blacks as compared to whites with lung a nd ovarian cancer increasing for both blacks and whites, and colorectal, breast, and prostate cancer increasing among blacks and remaining stable for whites (Piffath, et.al., 2001). The various causes for such racial disparity shall be assessed in terms of socioeconomic status, residential conditions, and medical care. Socioeconomic status is a definite predictor of health with those in the lower classes likely to experience more illnesses and higher rates of death. Such health status is also influenced by race with those in the minority races likely to experience lower economic conditions and consequently compromised health status (Williams and Jackson, 2005). Education is also a factor in racial disparities in health. The homicide rates among African-American males not having completed high school registers at a rate five times higher as compared to black males having completed college. Moreover, there is also a â€Å"ninefold difference in homicide rates by education for white m ales, a fourfold difference for black females, and a sixfold difference for white females† (Williams and Jackson, 2005). The rate for homicides among African-American males with higher education is eleven times higher than their white counterparts. Income disparities also impact on racial differences in health, especially in terms of coronary heart disease and cancer mortality (Williams and Jackson, 2005). Studies claim that death rates for these two diseases are higher among low income blacks and whites as compared to those in the middle class (Williams and Jackson, 2005). Moreover, blacks also have higher rates of mortality from heart diseases as compared to whites. In the low and middle income female blacks, they incur higher rates of mortality for heart diseases as compared to the white low and middle income white females (Williams and Jackson, 2005). The above picture portrays a clear racial disparity in the health care system of the United States. This disparity is large ly disadvantageous for African-American men and women who mostly belong to the lower income group who are often uninsured and who do not have as much access to health care as their higher income and their white counterparts. Some analysts claim that the cause of racial discrimination may be credited to residential segregation and neighborhood quality (Williams and Collins, 2001). Segregation has caused the middle-class African-Americans to reside

Karl Marx Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Karl Marx - Essay Example Karl Marx saw religion as being used to console the poor and to give them false promises thus making them forget the challenges that they were going through in life. The bourgeois was using religion in this consolatory manner so as to make the proletariat not to rise against them in protest for the injustices that they were undergoing. Karl Marx, therefore, saw religion as the opiate of the masses that was making the poor to have a passive approach to the challenges that they were going through in life. The second idea that I love about Karl Marx is his idea of human history and class conflict. Karl Marx claimed that in the history of human beings, every historical epoch is marked by two classes of people, i.e. the bourgeois and the proletarians. The bourgeois is the rich and the owners of the means of production. The proletariats, on the other hand, are the poor people who provide labor to the bourgeois. Karl Marx said that besides the bourgeois being the owners of the means of production, they also constitute the ruling class, political power and authority reside with them. Carl Marx claimed that because of this glaring inequality between these two classes of people, conflict is bound to arise in such a society. This is because the proletariat will always feel short changed and as a result, they will strive to overthrow the bourgeois from power so that they would also have an opportunity to be rich and to own the means of production. The bourgeois, on the other hand, will strive t o ward off the resistance of the proletariat.... The new proletariats will in turn start protesting against the bourgeois and this will lead to a new conflict in an attempt to overthrow the bourgeois from the reins of power. This process will continue on and on, in a dialectic way, till when it will come such a time when classes in the society will be completely abolished, i.e., when all the people in a society will be able to communally own the means of production. This kind of society will be a socialist or a communist society. Karl Marx believed that through this theory of class struggle he had explained the history of humanity and the law behind the history. Karl Marx was strongly convinced that without equal distribution of resources in a society, conflict is bound to arise. For Karl Marx material is the ultimate reality and the history of human beings can be explained as a constant and dialectic struggle for the material resources. Karl Marx envisioned a time when there will be equality in the distribution of resources and wh en the means of production of a society will be communally owned. He envisioned a time when the resources of a country will be divided not according to one’s ability but according to one’s needs. But this is not possible in a capitalist society; it is possible only in a socialist or communist society. This is because in a capitalist society, the distribution of resources is not based on one’s needs, but rather on one’s ability to acquire the resources. I really love this idea of Karl Marx because a critical look at the many conflicts in our societies and the world at large can be attributed to class struggle. Our capitalist economies have created a wide economic

PROPOSAL FOR A DOUBLE-LINE VENTURE Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

PROPOSAL FOR A DOUBLE-LINE VENTURE - Assignment Example However, the business venture must assess and scrutinize the progress of the initiative to determine potential strengths and weaknesses. Meanwhile, inefficiencies and market failures will arguably contribute to emergence of numerous opportunities vital for growth and expansion of the double-line venture. Despite the numerous risks and potential challenges, the business venture will continue to capture the imagination of nonprofits and funders alike. The essay primarily focuses on a proposal for double-line venture. Entrepreneurial ventures pursue opportunities regardless of the resources they have and control. However, discovering the opportunities that lie outside of the current market structures remains a significant challenge to virtually all entrepreneurial ventures worldwide. A number of such opportunities in new and existing markets focus primarily on the needs of underprivileged or underserved customer segments. In most cases, inefficiencies and market failures contribute to the emergence of numerous opportunities. Entrepreneurs can successfully mobilize resources to help in resolving market failures in particular sectors of the economy and provide a viable solution to specific social problems. The primary objective of the double-line venture should be to create a new socially valuable product or service that will ultimately address the aforementioned challenges. In addition, the business venture, through its double-line program (second bottom line), is committed to measuring performanc e in relation to potential positive impacts on local communities. It also uses the power of business to bring about environmental and social change through various social enterprises and initiatives. This paper main purpose is to analyze the entrepreneurship in the global perspective; and specifically to highlight the concept of double line business concept. The idea of measuring conventional financial accounting concurrent with the social return will be

The Influence of Capoeira on Hip Hop Dance Forms Research Paper

The Influence of Capoeira on Hip Hop Dance Forms - Research Paper Example This Afro-Brazilian form is called capoeira, a game of movement in which the intent is to mimic fighting moves to outdo an opponent. Capoeira is uniquely suited for the origins of Hip Hop and aspects of it can be found throughout the culture. According to Emmett George Price, hip-hop evolved in the 1970’s as a reactionary cultural movement based on concepts that evolved from the civil rights movements of the 1960’s (1). Price says that the movement is considered to have begun in the Bronx in New York where the neighborhood had developed into an impoverished, gang-based culture that thrived through violence and criminal behavior (9). The gangs provided a sort of â€Å"family’ for the displaced youths that suffered from inadequacies of all types from low-quality nutrition, poor educational opportunities, and a bleak future outlook. Under the leadership of Afrika Bambaataa who rose to lead a gang named the Black Spades, an alternative to violent conflict between the gangs arose to fill the needs of the adversarial youths. Hip-hop developed from a need to find respect and honor without entering into a battlefield of bloodshed. Hip-hop culture developed through a need to find a way to save a culture from its own violent destruction. As ‘crews’ developed rap and movements intended to outdo rival groups, the appeal began to spread and become commercialized. Where the origins of the music developed for private purposes, the commercial potential began to find its way into the music industry. With the release of Sugar Hill’s Gang’s work titled â€Å"Rapper’s Delight†, the revolution of the music industry began. As the music industry developed, so did the dance associated with the music and the culture worked its way into mainstream American entertainment (Fitzgerald 42). Hip-hop is urban and global, a representation from the poor inner-city youth that has expanded into a multi-million dollar financial benefit.

The Current State Economy Essay Example for Free

The Current State Economy Essay It is known that the economy is intensively damaged and that it needs to be restructured. The current fiscal policy that are in place are good, but measures must be taken to avoid a crash of the market, get the unemployment rate down, and stimulate the economy in the hopes of increasing the gross domestic product and bringing about a surge in the aggregate demand. Although it may take some time for all of these events to take place, this is what needs to be done to get the economy to rise. The consumers and government must also do their parts in order for this economy to rise above the recession it is in now. The primary root cause of the current recession and economic crisis is largely in part due to the huge increase in the issuance of subprime adjustable-rate mortgages and the collateralized debt obligations that they made up. The amount of subprime mortgages issued in 2005 and 2006 increased drastically, while the issuance of prime mortgages actually decreased. Basically, banks loaned money to people who would obviously default on those loans. People bought houses with these loans expecting housing prices to increase, but that didn’t happen. Although, this was the route caused it is not the only reason we continue to be in a poor state. Below you will find the over view of our current economy. The current economy expanding or contracting is contracting. Our current prime rate is 3.25% The current interest rate on credit cards is 15.4% The current unemployment rate is 9% (2011 est.) and 9.6% in (2010 est.). The unemployment, youth age 15-24 total 17.6% that includes male 20.1% and female 14.9%(2009). The current inflation rate is CPI measures inflation rate 2%. The current Gross Domestic Product (GDP) are: GDP (purchasing power parity) $15.04 trillion (2011 est.), $14.82 trillion (2010 est.) $14.38(2009 est.). The data are in 2011 US dollars.

Human Resource Management in the Tea Industry

Human Resource Management in the Tea Industry Tea industry is one of the most mature industries in Bangladesh and till today it is bearing its heritage. In Bangladesh tea cultivation began in 1857 and Malnicherra is the first tea garden in Bangladesh. Though globalization and economic liberalization contributed greatly to set up new industries in Bangladesh, a large portion of our national income comes from this industry. In our country huge amount of human resources are involved in the Garments industry and Tea industry. In Sylhet there is large number of T.E. that is why we select T.E. for our study and in this report we will try to cover one T.E from Moulavibazer, and two from Sylhet district and one from the sreemangle. In this report we give emphasis on the present practices of human resources in the some selected T.E of greater Sylhet and through this research we will make us acquainted with the real Human Resource Management operations in the tea garden of Sylhet, Moulavibazer. Some organizations are violating the human rights. Usually violation occurs at the bottom level- labors do not get sufficient wages, compensation, training facility, good working condition, and other facilities. As a result output or productions are not increasing according to expectation and the overall development is being sluggish. The owner, authority, and stakeholder should realize that neglecting the human resources in the work place a sustainable development is not possible. Execitive Summary The colonial British administration took up tea plantation in the Indian subcontinent at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Since then, the sub-continents tea industry has slowly established its position as a major producer of tea in the world. At present, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka account for 52 per cent of the world tea production. At the global level, the tea industry is increasingly finding it difficult to meet ends caught between rising costs on the one hand and stagnant, sometimes even declining prices of tea on the other. Globalization and economic liberalization contributed greatly to these factors since more and more countries are undertaking tea plantation. Moreover, globalization links labor standards to trade policy. This also contributed greatly to the rising cost since tea plantation is a very labour intensive activity. It requires workers round the year. Hence, labour standards gain more importance for the tea plantation to be competitive in the world marke t. Improvement of labour productivity is acknowledged as an essential means of raising level of competitiveness of the tea industry in the world market despite its low price. It has been found that besides technology and skills training, labour productivity itself is dependent on maintaining fair labour standards relating to working conditions, wages, health and nutrition status, housing and education facilities. Thus maintaining a fair labour standard is one of the key factors affecting the competitive viability of the tea industry in the world market. In India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, labour legislation for the tea plantation sector is more than 50 years old. In addition to the labor laws of 1995 and the Factory Rules of 1979, Which are applicable to all work places in general, the government of Bangladesh has exacted several legislations, namely (a) Maternity Benefit (Tea Estates) Act. 1950, (b) Plantation Employees Provident Fund Rules, 1960, (c) Tea Plantation Labour Ordinanc e, 1962, (d) Tea Plantation Labor Rules, 1977, (e) The Tea (amendment) Ordinance, 1986 and (f) Bangladesh Cha Sramik Kalyan Fund Ordinance, 1986 particularly for the tea plantation sector to ensure workers, right to safe, secure and hygienic working conditions. However, even after the enactment of all these legislations, tea workers, right of safe, secure and hygienic working conciliations have not yet been ensured. Very few micro-level studies on tea plantation workers have been done so far. Still the findings of these studies show that the tea plantation workers are living a subhuman life both in the terms of working conditions, living conditions and health security. It is mainly due to the fact that workers organization representing the workers right in the social dialogue is not strong enough to negotiate with the employers. Hence, there is an acute necessity of first organizing the tea plantation workers, particularly women workers so that they can attain the power of collectiv e bargaining and thereby strengthen their organization. A workers organization is an essential factor not only for promoting workers well being but also an important factor affecting efficient use of the labour force. The Global market for tea is becoming increasingly competitive since more and more countries are entering into this sector. This competition is challenging the comparative advantage of Bangladeshs cheap labour. Hence, to meet the challenges of globalization, the unit labour cost of production needs to be reduced by raising labour productivity. An organized labour force is the most essential factor affecting labour productivity. Learning Objective of Human Resource Management We, the students of BBA in Leading University, are undertaking a course on à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Human Resource Management. There must be some objective of this study. There is no exception in our study. The main objective is to focus on different things, which are given below- To know about their HRM strategies, weaknesses, opportunity and threats. INTRODUCTION Bangladesh is a small tea producing country sharing 2% of the worlds Tea production. Tea is an agro based, lab our intensive and export oriented sector and plays an important role in the national economy through export earnings, trade balancing and employment generation. Our Tea industry dates back to 1857 when the first tea garden was established at Malnicherra in Sylhet District. Today we have 163 Tea Gardens with a grant area of 1,15,757.41 hal of which 52,317.21 hal or 45% is under cultivation. Though our tea industry suffered a serious setback in 1971 but we could succeed in reversing with the help of the government, foreign assistance and hard work of our planters. It is hoping to increase our production to an average of over 1500 Kg per hal in a few years time. We have undertaken measures to improve our quality of tea by extending the area with new varieties of hybrid clone, modernizing factories and improving infrastructure. We now annually produce 60 million Kg of Tea and we hope to increase our production to 90 million Kg in the next 15 years. This paper attempts to devise a strategy to promote effective social dialogues between the tea plantation workers and their employers. It also attempts to determine the practicality of providing social protection to women workers through their own organizations and thereby enhances their labor productivity. Systematic training for the members of the workers organization has proved to be a breakthrough in terms of skill development, consciousness rising, and blossoming of self -confidence. Hence, the possibility of providing skill training to the workers, particularly women workers through their organization, has also been explored in this paper. The art of tea cultivation in Bangladesh began over a century and a half ago in the 1840s near the Chittagong Club. The first tea garden to be established was Malnicherra in Sylhet in 1854. Its commercial production began shortly thereafter in 1857. Today, the main tea-growing areas lie to the east of the Ganga-Jumma flood plain in the hill areas bordering Indias Cachar tea-growing district. Most of Bangladesh tea grows at only 80-300 ft. above sea level northeast of Sylhet in the country. During its initial stage, plantation in Bangladesh faced acute shortage of labor. No local workers were willing to do this job since it is very hard and labor intensive. The colonial British Government deployed indentured immigrants to meet this shortage. Tea plantation workers in Bangladesh came mostly from the backward class and tribal areas of central India and regions of Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh. The present work force in the tea plantation sector of Bangladesh is the fourth generation of those indentured immigrants. Indentured immigrants were in fact new forms of bonded labor. Their bonded nature revealed in their geographical confinement within the boundary of the tea estate. For more than a century they were confined within the same geographical boundary; most still are. CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Human resource management defined as the process of accomplishing organizational objectives by acquiring, retaining, terminating, developing and properly using the human resources in an organization. Organizations have to work with different resources like physical, financial, organizational, and information resources but proper utilization of all other resources largely depend on human resources. Accomplishing objectives is a major focus of any form of management. Unless objectives are met, the organization eases to exist. Experiencing the Dutch à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Tavern garden teasà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?, the English developed the idea of Tea Gardens. Here ladies and gentlemen took their tea out of doors surrounded by entertainment such as orchestras, hidden arbors, flowered walks, bowling greens, concerts, gambling, or fireworks at night. It was at just such a Tea Garden that Lord Nelson, who defeated Napoleon by sea, met the great love of his life, Emma, later lady Hamilton. Women were permitted to enter a mixed, public gathering for the first time without social criticism. As the gardens were public, British society mixed here freely for the first time, cutting across lines of class and birth. Tipping as a response to proper service developed in the Tea Gardens of England. Small, locked wooden boxes were placed on the tables throughout the Garden. Inscribed on each were the letters à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“T.I.P.Sà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? which stood for the sentence à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“To Insure Prompt Serviceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. If a guest wi shed the water to hurry he dropped a coin into the box on being seated à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“to insure prompt serviceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. Hence the custom of tipping server was created. The success of any human resource management program requires the cooperation of managers, who must interpret and implement policies and procedures. Line managers must translate into action what a human resource management department provides. Without managerial support at the top, middle and lower levels, human resource management programs cannot succeed. Therefore manager need to understand clearly how to mesh their responsibilities with those of the human resource department. In Theory à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Yà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? it is supposed that people do not dislike work, work is natural part of their lives, they are potential, and the have the capability to perform the works effectively. If people are properly trained, guided, and motivated they can excel the organizational goals. Acquiring skilled, talented and motivated employees is an important part of human recourse management. Each company develops its own human recourse management program after considering such factors as size, type of skills needed, number of employees required, unionization, clients and customers, financial posture and graphical, location. Developing human resources involves training, educating, appraising and generally preparing personnel for present or future jobs. These activities are important for the employees economic and psychological growth. Self-realization needs cannot be satisfied in an organization that does not have an efficient set of development activities. The proper use of people involves under standing both individual and organizational needs so that the full potential of human resources can be employed. This aspect of personnel management suggests the importance of matching individuals over time to shifts is organizational and human needs. The contribution of human resource management to organization effectiveness is so important that managers must use the knowledge and skills of human resource management specialist. In context of Bangladesh Human Resource Management have many things to do. Human Resources can be trump card for the overall development of the country only when these large populations will be ready to utilize and when they will be utilized. In case of some industries like à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Garments and Teaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? human resources are not being treated as human rather they are being treated as machine. Some organization is violating the human rights. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The story of tea began in ancient China over 5,000 years ago. According to legend, Shen, Nug, an early emperor was skilled ruler, creative scientist and patron of the arts. His farsighted edicts required, among other things, that all drinking water be boiled as a hygienic precaution. One summer day while visiting a distant region of his realm, he and the court stopped to rest. In accordance with his ruling, the servants began to boil water for the court to drink. Dried leaves from the near by bush fell into the boiling water, and a brown liquid was infused into the water. As a scientist, the Emperor was interested in the new liquid, drank some, and found it very refreshing. And so, according to legend, tea was created. Because of the success of the Dutch navy in the pacific, tea became very fashionable in the Dutch capita, The Hague. This was due in part to the high cost of the tea (over $100 per pound), which immediately made it the domain of the wealthy. Slowly, as the amount of tea imported increased, the price fell as the volume of sale expanded. Initially available to the public in apothecaries along with such rare and new spices as ginger and sugar, by 1675 it was available in common food shops throughout Holland. As the consumption of tea increased dramatically in Dutch society, doctors and university authorities argued back and forth as to the negative and/or positive benefits of tea, known as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“tea hereticsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?, the public largely ignored the scholarly debate and continued to enjoy their new beverage though the controversy lasted from 1635 to roughly 1657. Through this period France and Holland led Europe in the use of tea. By 1650 the Dutch were actively involved in trade throughout the Western world. Peter Stuyvesant brought the first tea to America to the colonists in the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam (later re-named New York by the English). Settlers here were confirmed tea drinkers. And indeed, on acquiring the colony, the English found that the small settlement consumed more tea at that time then all of England put together. Great Britain was the last of the three great sea-faring nations to break into the Chinese and East Indian trade routes. This was due in part to the unsteady ascension to the throne of the Stuarts and the Cromwellian Civil War. The first samples of tea reached England between 1652 and 1654. Tea quickly proved popular enough to replace ale as the national drink of England. JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY Human resource Management most of the times deals with the external environment (political, Economical, Social, Technological). We have studied many theoretical aspects in our classes. To get more knowledge about actual conditions we need to study in practical. We tried to find out the sectors, where human resources are largely involved. In Bangladesh, there are many tea gardens, cannels, sugar gardens; etc where human resources are very much necessary for the organization and its implementation as well. In Sylhet district, there are huge amount of tea gardens that is why, we have selected tea gardens for our study. We were assigned to cover some tea gardens from Sylhet, Moulavibazer, and Sreemangle district. We have considered the significance of different tea gardens in case of historical value, communication system, management system, labor management process, remuneration system and some other issues. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY This research was aimed to make us acquainted with the real Human Resource Management operations in the selected tea gardens of Sylhet, Moulavibazer and Srimongal. Some other objectives are as follows: To become familiar with the human resources available in the tea gardens in Sylhet Moulavibazer and srimangal. Understand the goals of their tea garden and know their role in accomplishing these goals. Forecasting the demand for labor. To analyze the history and development of tea garden. To investigate the contribution to the economy of tea garden sector in Bangladesh. To know about the problem and barriers management department and labors are facing from different sources. To know what are the benefit and services the employees are expecting from the tea companies. To have some practical exposures that will be helpful for my Job experience. To recommend some suggestions to overcome the problem of tea garden. Assessing the working and living conditions of the tea plantation workers in Bangladesh. Identifying the major problems faced by the tea plantation workers. Assessing the organizing capability of the tea plantation workers. SCOPE OF THE STUDY In our report, we gave emphasis on compensation program of human resources of the tea estates. We also tried to find out the selection process, recruiting process and training process of the human resources. In selection process many steps is here but tea estates follow only interview process. In executive level they give training to improve their performance. We also focused on their remunerations and living conditions. In fact every organization needs the right people, at the right time in the right position and in this case Human Resource Management can assist the organization. We have also tried to find whether they are enjoying their human rights or not. METHODOLOGY Our present study is basically based on the human resource management. Whatever we studies in the Subject of HRM, now we try to find out its impact on practical field (specifically in the field of tea garden). What types of rules and regulation, a procedure does the management follow for their lower level employee and how they manage their employee, how much effective is it. The main objective of this survey is to collect information regarding awareness of the tea workers about their right and their involvement in trade unionism. Along with this survey data, this study brings together quantitative data drawn from combination surveys of the tea industry in Bangladesh. It will be collected through dept interview and fieldwork. All the data will be collected through researching web site, some data we have collected from the journal, and newsletter of each tea garden. The rest was based on observations. We also take the interview both manger and employee. SOURCES OF DATA Analysis in this study primarily depends on qualitative data drawn from in-depth interviews and discussions with the members of tea plantation workers at the grass root level as well as the management level. Qualitative data have also been collected from focus group discussions with the tea plantation workers. For making this project we have used both the primary and secondary data. The primary data are collected from the selected tea gardens by asking different types of questions to the labor and the employees available at the gardens. The secondary data collected from different journals on tea gardens published in newspapers (namely Sylhet-er Dak), and other publication provided by different gardens and Governmental organizations (namely Project Development Unit), and also by searching some web sites (namely virtualsylhet.com, google.com, etc.).To collect information from the workers, four tea gardens were randomly selected. Among these four gardens, tow belongs to A category, two belong to B category and the other one belongs to C category of gardens. A total of 100 workers (40 female and 40 male lower level employee and 20 management level employee) were interviewed through a structured questionnaire. The main objective of this survey is to collect information regarding awareness of the tea workers about their right and their involvement in trade unionism. Along with this survey data, this study brings together quantitative data drawn from a combination of existing empirical research and surveys of the tea industry in Bangladesh. AN OVERVIEW OF THE GROWTH OF TEAPLANTATION INDUSTRY IN BANGLADESH Tea occupies an important place in the national economy of Bangladesh. It accounts for 0.81 per cent of her GDP. About four lakh people live on the plantation industry of Bangladesh. This sector provides employment to 0.15 million people, which accounts for nearly 3.3 per cent of the total industrial employment in the country. Tea is also an important commodity in the international trade since it is an important export item of Bangladesh. During the 1970s and 1980s, this item earned a large portion of her foreign exchange. But after the emergence of the garment industry, tea lost its dominance in the foreign exchange earning. In 1998, it earned only 0.80 per cent of the total foreign exchange earnings of Bangladesh. However, at present, Bangladesh earns a substantial amount of revenue in terms of s consumption of tea is increasing at the rate of about 1 million kg per annum. Revenue is also earned in terms of excise duty. Tea plantation in Bangladesh is concentrated mainly in her hilly zones of four districts namely Sylhet, Maulovibazar, Habigong and Chittagong. Now there is a tea estate in the district of Brahmanbaria also. In total, there are 158 gardens of which only 25 gardens are situated in Chittagong, Sylhet, Maulovibazar, Habigonj (which constitute the greater Sylhet District) and Brahmanbaria accommodate the rest 133 gardens and contribute about 96 per cent of the annual production. Out of the total number of gardens, Bangladeshi companies and individual proprietors own 132 gardens. However, among these gardens, individual proprietors own only a little more than 20 per cent of them. All gardens are divided into three categories namely A, B, and C depending on amount of production and percentage of land under tea plantation. About two-fifths of the total gardens belong to each of A and B category of gardens, while the remaining one-fifth belong to C category. All the gardens belonging to Sterl ing Companies are A category gardens and occupy about 39 per cent of total land under tea plantation. But Sterling companies occupying only 39 per cent of land produce more than 49 per cent of total tea production of Bangladesh. Thus, productivity of Sterling Companies gardens is far more than that of the gardens of Bangladeshi Companies. Production of tea per hectare is 1,437 kg. Whereas the same for the Bangladeshi companies and proprietary estate is only 961 kg. Total acreage under tea plantation has not increased much over time. As can be noticed from Table 1.1, that over the period of 1990-1998 land under tea plantation increased only by 4.39 per cent, whereas total production rose by 23.61 per cent. As a result, production per hectare rose significantly from 967 kg in 1990 to 1,145 kg in 1998 accounting for about 18.41 per cent increase over nine years time. During the same period, total production of Bangladesh rose from 45,160 metric tons to 55,824 metric tons made tea. It i s encouraging to notice from table 1.2, that the growth of total tea production in Bangladesh over this nine years period is higher compared to the major tea producing countries in South Asia like India, China and Sri-Lanka (see Table 1.2). But still Bangladesh could not increase her share in the world market since her domestic consumption has also increased significantly. It can be observed from table 1.1 that, in 1990, a little more than 40 per cent of total production of tea in Bangladesh was consumed domestically. But this share of consumption increased to more than 60 percent in 1998. Figure 1.1 clearly shows how domestic consumption of tea increases sharply and exceeds total exports of tea in 1994 and 1998. Due to high rate of domestic consumption, her export dropped from 26,970 thousand kg in 1990 to 22,220 thousand kg in 1998. TEA PLANTATION WORKERS AND THEIR SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND HEALTH CONDITIONS Tea Plantation Workers Results of our survey of 100 plantation workers reveal that only a little more than 46 per cent of the workers had visited the nearby Thana headquarter of Srimangal at least once in their life. Among the women, only 35 per cent had visited Srimangal. They do not know anything about what is happening outside their boundary and are isolated from the rest of the country. As a result, their aspiration is very low. With low aspiration they cannot demand anything big. Through our survey we collected information about their aspiration regarding their childrens education and career. It was interesting to find out that only about 2 per cent of tea workers aspire that their boy child would study more than SSC. None of them aspire for their girl child to study beyond SSC. It is even more interesting to know that about 37 per cent do not want their children to go out of their tea garden area. The highest aspiration they hold is that their boy child should be a clerk (Babu) in the garden office. Capital field development involves three activities: new planting, replanting and filling of vacancies. Generally men are employed in all these activities. But the extent of all these activities is marginal. It can be noticed from Table 4.1 that over a nine-year period (1990- 1998), total area under tea production increased by only 4.39 per cent. Annually, only 160 hectares are newly planted. Also in India and Sri Lanka, new plantation is marginal. Replanting in South Asia, particularly in Bangladesh is also very slow. As against a targeted rate of 1.5 to 2 per cent per annum, it is only about 0.4 per cent in Bangladesh and India and 0.7 per cent in Sri Lanka. Filling, which is carried on to increase plant density per unit area, is also very slow. But male labor absorption in the plantation industry is much higher than that of female workers over the last few years (Table 1.4). It can be noticed from Table 4.5 that over the period of three years (1996-98), employment of men increased far more than their population growth. But employment of women increased less than their population growth. During the last few years, more and more men are employed in the plantation sector since being geographically isolated they do not get any job opportunity elsewhere. The table shows that both adolescents and children are increasingly being thrown out of the labor market as time passes on, although the right to employment for heirs is ensured by an agreement. The problem of unemployment between adolescent and children is very acute. During our survey many respondents reported that their children are forced to get involved in illegal activities due to unemployment. Moreover, because of this unemployment, dependency ratio is very high among the tea plantation workers. As can be seen from Table 1.4, of the total population of 3, 53,407 persons, 1, 12,251 are employed representing around 68 per cent dependents. It means that one earning member has to maintain more than two persons . Socio-economic and Health Conditions of the Tea Plantation Workers Socio-economic and health conditions of tea plantation workers have important bearings on their productivity. Analysis of these conditions also gives an idea whether the tea worker are enjoying there right to decent work and living. Social dialogue to improve the conditions of tea plantation workers cannot be promoted without having an idea of the socio-economic conditions of the tea workers. Therefore, an attempt has been made in this section to examine the socio-economic conditions of tea plantation workers. Socio-economic and health conditions of tea plantation workers have important bearings on their productivity. Analysis of these conditions also gives an idea whether the tea worker are enjoying there right to decent work and living. Social dialogue to improve the conditions of tea plantation workers cannot be promoted without having an idea of the socio-economic conditions of the tea workers. Therefore, an attempt has been made in this section to examine the socio-economic conditions of tea plantation workers. Age and experience have direct bearing on the pluckers productivity. Findings of a study show that good pluckers have over 20 years of experience and their age is seen as a helpful attribute. To have 20 years of experience a workers must be at least 35 years old since a tea worker does not start work before the age of 15 years as child labor is almost absent in the tea sector. Findings of our survey show that about 51 per cent of the workers are below 35 years old. The average age of the female worker is a little more than 33 years, while that of the male workers is about 37 years. Hence, efficiency of male workers is supposed to be more than that of female workers. For young workers, training is a means of improving their productivity. A BRIEF DISSCUSION ABOUT OUR SELECTED TEA GAERDEN Parkul tea estate- Parkul tea estate is one of the gardens in Bangladesh from the163 gardens. It is situated in the habigong district, chunarughat Thana. It is more profitable garden that starts its journey in Bangladesh from 1858. It is a national tea company (NTC) where the owner is recognized on the basis of shares, however the owner of 51% shares of that garden is government and 49% shares are for the public. The area of this garden is about 1550 hector that involves several villages. This garden is consisting of 803 permanent labors, 3 executive and 26 staffs. More than 300 temporary workers are also working in this garden. By consulting with the authority the annual plan is prepared here, however in this current year the garden is producing 350, 000 kg in average and the production cost for per kg is 70 tk. It is one of the efficient branches of NTC that maintain a good management system. This garden follow the argument in case of fixing the salary of management level, clerical level as well as l ower level employee. Each worker can harvest 60 to 70 kg of lives per day which costing per kg 1.30 tk. Normally their plaguing task is 23 kg for earning 30 tk. Plaguing season starts from the April to December and during January to March is the time for odd work. During this time they plant, mulching in the young tea plant, drain work, a sardar is appointed to aid them in work. The number of sardar is varying from the garden to garden. In the Parkul tea estate, one sardar is elected for per 25 workers while in the Daragon tea estate for per 50 workers one sardar is appointed. All the employee and clerical staffs are sent to BRTI for getting training, which is situated, in sreemangal. Employee also has their union in sreemangal that create pressure to the management of this garden for the fulfillment of the demand of the labors. Lackatoorah tea estate- The lackatoorah tea estate has started its journey in Bangladesh from 1875 A.C. This tea garden is situated in the airport road of sylhet. This tea garden is one of the most profitable tea garden in our country. The name Lackatoorah is derived from the wood collection of Shajalal shrine. For the annual festival of Shajalal shrine, people collect the wood from this tea estate. The firewood is locally called Lakri and this Lakri becomes Lackatoorah once upon a time. The total area of this tea garden is 1293 hector, but all the area is not only under the tea plantation but also many other things like (rubber garden, cannel, ponds, blank area etc. ). The total number of registered labors in this garden is approximately 1200 but the number of temporary labors is more than 3500-4000. Most officials have chosen this job because of the facilities, as, more salaries, li