Abstract
The paper relates that the acquisition of literacy is the hallmark of education, however, not all students are able to achieve the basic standard of learning required for functional literacy. This paper examines three specific reasons for literacy learning difficulties: biological, cultural, and contextual. The conclusion is that, because there are many pathways to functional literacy, there are many policies and strategies, both in classroom and out of it, to overcome the challenges presented by learning difficulties.

From the Paper
"The acquisition of literacy is the hallmark of education. However, not all students are able to achieve the basic standard of learning required for functional literacy. This essay will examine three specific reasons for literacy learning difficulties: biological, cultural, and contextual. The conclusion is that, because there are many pathways to functional literacy, there are many policies and strategies, both in classroom and out of it, to overcome the challenges presented by learning difficulties. One definition of functional literacy, the first kind of literacy that..."

Tags:learning, difficulties, literacy

Abstract
This paper explains that one of the greatest challenges for any educator is dealing with a student with reading difficulties. However, a number of different programs exist to deal with the different forms of comprehension difficulties: Edmark Reading Program and Reading Matery programs. The author points out that the auditory and picture matching approach of Edmark has been shown to be helpful for students from developmentally and socially disabling backgrounds. The paper relates that since dyslexics often report grappling with frequently misused letters and miss substituting of vowels and consonants; the program Reading Matery,designed to underline the specific dyslexic's need for reinforcement in his or her word sorting capacity and to learn other decoding methods to compensate for potential cognitive decoding difficulties, is better than the overall reinforcement of pictures, words and sounds in Edmark.

From the Paper
"The experimental group students received 15 minutes per day of tutoring by America Reads Volunteers in the Edmark Reading Program, a highly structured sight word program; control group students were simply read aloud to for 15 minutes each day by the same volunteers. Results indicated a significant difference in the performance of experimental group of students on the WRMT-R Passage Comprehension subtest and Edmark posttest. Qualitative data indicated that more experimental group students than control group students exhibited significantly improved reading ability, attitudes toward reading, attitudes toward school, and attitudes toward self. Results suggested that schools should consider the use of volunteers to implement one-on-one tutoring in the Edmark Reading Program to teach a supplementary sight word vocabulary to at-risk first graders. Thus, Edmark's 'hands on' approach may be helpful for students from disadvantaged backgrounds as well."

Tags:dyslexic, developmental-disabled, decoding, social

Abstract
This paper evaluates the assessment approaches available to teachers in the detection of learning difficulties. The paper particularly discusses the need to detect dyslexia at an early stage, in order to prevent damage to the child's learning. It describes the various assessment approaches and screening tests available and how effective they are for teachers.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Learning Difficulties
Aims of Assessment
Assessment Approaches
Screening Test
Miscue Analysis
Non-word Reading Test
Evaluation and Conclusion

From the Paper
"Every self-respecting teacher should know how to recognize a dyslexic pupil and what remedial measures can be done so that the child involved is not effectively denied access to the curriculum. Teachers and nursery attendants need to be aware of the signs before a child gets formal schooling because the damage to be wrought by late recognition of dyslexia may be irreversible. Psychological and behavioral studies, however, warn against relying on signs and folk beliefs in detecting learning difficulties. If these patently unscientific methods are made as basis of instructional programs, it will create more harm than good. Thus, many state laws today compel the education sector to use systematic methods of assessment that would measure possible obstacles to learning with more confidence and accuracy. There is a good number of such assessment strategies now available to the classroom teacher in the detection of children's learning difficulties, especially dyslexia."

Tags:dyslexia, miscue, educators

Abstract
The paper relates that in the years following the abolition of slavery, the lives of African Americans, particularly in the American South, were not cleared of the hardships and tribulations which had filled them for the decades before. The paper reveals that in many ways, these people who had for so long been treated as almost subhuman were now mistreated just as badly as before. Using two primary documents, this paper details the difficulties that African Americans still faced after abolition.

From the Paper
"In the years following the abolition of slavery, the lives of African Americans, particularly in the American South, were not cleared of the hardships and tribulations which had filled them for the decades before. In many ways, these people who had for so long been treated as almost subhuman were now mistreated just as badly as before. Using two primary documents, "When We Worked on Shares, We Couldn't Make Nothing" by Henry Blake and "Ku Klux Klan Violence in Georgia, 1871" by Maria Carter, this paper will detail the difficulties that African Americans still faced after abolition, looking especially closely at the relationships between..."

Tags:african, americans, slavery

Abstract
This paper, Exporting Democracy: difficulties, Drawbacks, failures and Assessments of Future Democratic Endeavors does just that: goes over how the United States and other first world countries have not been successful in exporting their brand of democracy to developing nations. The paper also goes through how some democracies can be successful if perpetuated from the inside, out, and are unimposed upon.

From the Paper
Exporting Democracy: difficulties, Drawbacks, failures and Assessments of Future Democratic Endeavors "It is almost universally felt that when we call a country democratic we are praising it: consequently the defenders of every kind of rAfA(c)gime claim that it is a democracy, and fear that they might have to stop using the word if it were tied down to any one meaning. Words of this kind are often used in a consciously dishonest way. That is, the person who uses them has his own private definition, but allows his hearer to think he means something quite different" . George Orwell was right in assessing a version of democracy in this way- often, when countries export their brand

Tags:democracy, countries, foreign relations

Abstract
The paper discusses the social isolation faced by parents of children with severe disabilities and examines studies that focus on parental stress and support and their effects on the parents' psychological health. The paper concludes that a great deal of stress exists for parents of children with severe disabilities and social support factors are likely to have an effect upon parents of children with severe disabilities.

Outline:
Introduction
Isolation Common Among Children With Learning Difficulties
Review of Meta-Analysis Relating to Parental Stress and Support
Summary and Conclusion

From the Paper
"This study further demonstrated that the parents who actively sought social support were more likely to receive social support in dealing with the issue of having a child who is severely disabled. Family income was positively associated to the psychosocial adjustment of the parents in this study as was having a marital partner. It is likely that this is due to having the necessary resources to hire additional help to assist the parent with the child as well as having private transportation and other bonuses that go along with a good steady income and the activities that are required in resource-seeking and receiving medical care for a severely disabled child. Additionally the level of cognition of the parent was found to be a factor positively associated with the parents' psychological adjustment. A supportive family environment was also found to be positively associated with the parents' psychological adjustment in the study of Vermaes, Janssens, Bosman and Gerris (2005)."

Tags:isolation, stress, support

Abstract
This paper details some of the difficulties that African Americans continued to face after the abolition of slavery. It looks especially closely at the relationships between Black and White Southerners and the perceptions that these two groups had about one another. The paper discusses issues of ownership, perception, status and violence.

From the Paper
"After the end of slavery, Blake notes that it was also hard for blacks to have anything of value for their own. As slaves, they were allowed things like whiskey and food and other extra items. But as a hired person working as a sharecropper, "we couldn't make nothing, just overalls and something to eat" (Blake). It seems that the white man had become used to making so much from slaves, that he still found a way to make as much by making sure the blacks just made even less than they had before. Life after slavery found blacks with even less than they had materially as slaves."

Tags:status, ownership, perception

From the Paper
" Communication Difficulties and Autism
Introduction
Autism is a disorder that affects many different aspects of the child's development. Symptoms may shift and change as the individual grows older, with some appearing later in life and some gradually disappearing (Frith, 1996). The major difficulties affecting individuals with autism are categorized under four headings: (1) impaired relationships; (2) communication difficulties; (3) obsessions and right behaviour; and, (4) idiosyncratic development (Ellis, 1990). Diagnosis is generally performed by referring to Wing's triad of impairments which includes these major difficulties.

Each of these problems can have a major impact on the life of the child and adult affected by it. In this essay, the focus.."

From the Paper
"Though the above words were written in the opening decades of the 19th century, many present day readers find themselves agreeing with those "some critics"; while they cannot deny that Shakespeare's works are brilliant, they are by no means perfect or flawless. In Othello, the "beautiful flowers" that the aforementioned passage mentions might include the dramatic intensity of the play, or the rendering of Iago's character, but for present day readers a "weed" almost invariably sprouts up when the depiction of Desdemona is considered. How could a woman who knew she was completely blameless submit so easily to her death at Othello's hands? In Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale the "flowers" of the text might be the power of the final scene, or in the way the pastoral imagery in the fourth act is written. But once again a "weed" may grow for the reader who focuses on the tone of the play. Are the first three acts a tragedy or a comedy, and how does Hermione's death work to make the play seem like one or the other? Since both Desdemona and Hermione face essentially the same situation, the wrath of their irrationally jealous husbands, it is interesting to consider what would happen if their places were switched -- if Desdemona were a character in The Winter's Tale, and Hermione a character in Othello. By closely examining the problems presented by both Desdemona and Hermione and their effect on their respective plays, and then by conducting the thought experiment in which the two women are exchanged, it can be clearly seen that, while the inconsistencies are not "fixed," the character switch does bring a certain kind of unity to each play. "

Tags:desdemona, hermione, iago, shakespeare

From the Paper
"Government has always tried to be a "model employer": with job standards, protection against discrimination, proactive hiring for diversity and benefit to the citizens who tend to need the opportunity, and other considerations which might be better termed idealistic rather than from concern for productivity and efficiency. While government can never be judged in terms of profit, the basic function of jobs within organizations and agencies can be judged in terms of overall mission achievement and the peripheral benefits provided to the public and the employees involved. "

Tags:government, civil, rights, worker, rights, temporary, workers, manpower