Fi515

Final Exam Page 1 1. (TCO A) Which of the following does NOT always increase a company's market value? (Points : 5) Increasing the expected growth rate of sales Increasing the expected operating profitability (NOPAT/Sales) Decreasing the capital requirements (Capital/Sales) Decreasing the weighted average cost of capital Increasing the expected rate of return on invested capital| 2. (TCO F) Which of the following statements is correct? (Points : 5) For a project with normal cash flows, any change in the WACC will change both the NPV and the IRR.To find the MIRR, we first compound cash flows at the regular IRR to find the TV, and then we discount the TV at the WACC to find the PV. The NPV and IRR methods both assume that cash flows can be reinvested at the WACC. However, the MIRR method assumes reinvestment at the MIRR itself. If two projects have the same cost, and if their NPV profiles cross in the upper right quadrant, then the project with the higher IRR probably has more of its c ash flows coming in the later years.If two projects have the same cost, and if their NPV profiles cross in the upper right quadrant, then the project with the lower IRR probably has more of its cash flows coming in the later years. | 3. (TCO D) The Ramirez Company's last dividend was $1. 75. Its dividend growth rate is expected to be constant at 25% for 2 years, after which dividends are expected to grow at a rate of 6% forever. Its required return (rs) is 12%. What is the best estimate of the current stock price? a. $41. 58 b. $42. 64 c. $43. 71 d. $44. 80 e. $45. 92(Points : 20) | 4. TCO G) The ABC Corporation's budgeted monthly sales are $4,000. In the first month, 40% of its customers pay and take the 3% discount. The remaining 60% pay in the month following the sale and don't receive a discount. ABC's bad debts are very small and are excluded from this analysis. Purchases for next month's sales are constant each month at $2,000. Other payments for wages, rent, and taxes are con stant at $500 per month. Construct a single month's cash budget with the information given. What is the average cash gain or (loss) during a typical month for the ABC Corporation? (Points : 20) | 5. TCO G) Clayton Industries is planning its operations for next year, and Ronnie Clayton, the CEO, wants you to forecast the firm's additional funds needed (AFN). The firm is operating at full capacity. Data for use in your forecast are shown below. Based on the AFN equation, what is the AFN for the coming year? Dollars are in millions. Last year's sales = S0| $350| | Last year's accounts payable| $40| Sales growth rate = g| 30%| | Last year's notes payable| $50| Last year's total assets = A0*| $500| | Last year's accruals| $30| Last year's profit margin = PM| 5%| | Target payout ratio| 60%| a. $102. b. $108. 2 c. $113. 9 d. $119. 9 e. $125. 9 (Points : 30) | | Final Exam Page 2 1. (TCO H) Desai Inc. has the following data, in thousands. Assuming a 365-day year, what is the firm's cash con version cycle? Annual sales = Annual cost of goods sold = Inventory = Accounts receivable = Accounts payable =| $45,000 $30,000 $4,500 $1,800 $2,500| a. 28 days b. 32 days c. 35 days d. 39 days e. 43 days (Points : 30) | 2. (TCO C) A firm buys on terms of 2/8, net 45 days, it does not take discounts, and it actually pays after 58 days. What is the effective annual percentage cost of its nonfree trade credit? Use a 365-day year. ) a. 14. 34% b. 15. 10% c. 15. 89% d. 16. 69% e. 17. 52%(Points : 30) | 3. (TCO E) Daves Inc. recently hired you as a consultant to estimate the company's WACC. You have obtained the following information. (1) The firm's noncallable bonds mature in 20 years, have an 8. 00% annual coupon, a par value of $1,000, and a market price of $1,050. 00. (2) The company's tax rate is 40%. (3) The risk-free rate is 4. 50%, the market risk premium is 5. 50%, and the stock's beta is 1. 20. (4) The target capital structure consists of 35% debt and the balance is common equi ty.The firm uses the CAPM to estimate the cost of common stock, and it does not expect to issue any new shares. What is its WACC? a. 7. 16% b. 7. 54% c. 7. 93% d. 8. 35% e. 8. 79%(Points : 30) | 4. (TCO B) Leak Inc. forecasts the free cash flows (in millions) shown below. If the weighted average cost of capital is 11% and FCF is expected to grow at a rate of 5% after Year 2, what is the Year 0 value of operations, in millions? Assume that the ROIC is expected to remain constant in Year 2 and beyond (and do not make any half-year adjustments). Year: 1 2 Free cash flow: -$50 $100 a. $1,456 b. 1,529 c. $1,606 d. $1,686 e. $1,770(Points : 35) | 5. (TCO G) Based on the corporate valuation model, Hunsader's value of operations is $300 million. The balance sheet shows $20 million of short-term investments that are unrelated to operations, $50 million of accounts payable, $90 million of notes payable, $30 million of long-term debt, $40 million of preferred stock, and $100 million of common equity. The company has 10 million shares of stock outstanding. What is the best estimate of the stock's price per share? a. $13. 72 b. $14. 44 c. $15. 20 d. $16. 00 e. $16. 80(Points : 35) | |

Britian And France Over Educational Practices Essay

The existence of mass education is a common feature of industrial societies. It is agreed by sociologists that the education system accepts some responsibility in preparing young people for the world of work. It is viewed as an institution where socialisation takes place, involving acquisition of knowledge and skills. It with or without intent also helps to shape beliefs and moral values. Education is an issue that plays an essential role in all aspects of society and sparks debates in issues of national economic competitiveness, national identity, and social justice. It is viewed as protecting the status quo and is a crucial element of personal growth and social transformation. The education system has existed since the early 19th century and appears o expand as society progresses. Education in general appears to be shaped by four educational traditions. The first view is known as Encyclopaedism, it is very strongly inherent with the ideas from the â€Å"ËÅ"enlightenment’ period. It has been a very influential frame, especially for European countries such as France. This view promotes the idea that valid knowledge should be categorised, codified, and learnt. It promotes the concept that education provides the ability to think rationally, to reason, which leads to a better society with â€Å"ËÅ"enlightened’ people who, from education have the ability to use knowledge and reasoning with situations they encounter throughout their lives. The second traditional view is based from a philosophical root known as humanism. It highlights the concept that education creates a â€Å"ËÅ"virtuous individual’ who posses high qualities of moral values, and high levels of intelligence. The humanism belief is strongly developed from English public schools and universities. This approach strongly emphasises the role of the academic tutor who in some ways acts as a â€Å"ËÅ"role model’ and though their guidance and example results in the pupil becoming a well rounded individual. The third view is Vocationalism, which is orientated around the national economy. Its objective is to meet the needs of the national economy for skilled labourers who possess the suitable attitude towards work. The fourth tradition is a recent philosophy in education known as Naturalism. This has developed from a combination of psychology, sociology, and philosophy. It highlights the significance of an individual child, its needs, ability knowledge, and its social world. It is based on the ideology of learning, influences, and interaction from the environment. It is a skill based approach, focusing on â€Å"ËÅ"learning how to learn’* and how the child interacts with its environment, education and other institutions, from which the child develops into a whole person. Although the education systems may have been adapted as time progresses and vary slightly from country to country, the root of education originates from these four views. Therefore similarities can be seen in the education system in Britian and France. (* Extracted from Spyby; line 10 pg 222) In both countries France and Britain, majority of children attend preschool. Their compulsory schooling begins around the age of 4/5.The pre-school stage is a period where children in Britain are encouraged to mostly play and develop rather than being taught any academic subjects, where as in France, children at pre school stage encounter formal teaching of subjects such as mathematics and reading and writing. In general there is a higher level of participation in preschool in France than Britain. It appears that the France system bases its pre school system on the Naturalism approach, where by the child’s personality, creativity, intellect and socialisation is developed external to the family. From around the age of 5 children in both countries enter primary education. At this stage it is apparent that the naturalism ideology concludes and other traditional views become evident. In primary education there is similarity in the subjects studied throughout Europe, such as Maths, science, their language, P.E, arts. The History of the France and Britain were similar in the changes they experienced in the 19th century. The primary education in England and Wales was originally based on the humanist tradition in the early 19th century. From the late 18th century,  large amounts of children had access to free elementary education from which basic values were conveyed. The Hadow reports 1931 and 1933 changed the structure of schools to form primary and secondary sectors. Primary school was based around developmental psychology, which then advances the child onto highly differentiated secondary school. The Hadow report was also the basis of the education act in 1944. There had also been a change in the ideology of teachers after war where childcentered learning became an issue with primary school teachers in Britain. In the 70’s education in Britain became strongly associated with economic issues thus having a large impact in aspects of education. In turn an Education reform act had been produces in 1988, which imposed the National Curriculum. The national curriculum was strongly based on an encyclopaedism view. It arose problems for teachers as it restricted teachers from having the capacity to apply their professional judgement, and resulted teachers as being messengers of the curriculum to submissive learners. The French system also went through changes around this time. Like Britain the education system primarily prepared labouring class children for the world of work. In the early 90’s issues were highlighted where teachers were regarded more as â€Å"ËÅ"cultural emitters’ rather than a â€Å"ËÅ"teacher’ especially secondary school teahers . Primary school teachers focused on the development of children rather than academic development. The educateion system in both France and Britiain share a common factor of taking interst in the childs devlopment and both have a nationaal curriculum to follow. The French system however differs compared to Britian in their child centered approach.The French very strongly follow the tradtion of equality, where everyove achieves at the same rate and every individual is treated the same. Therefore a dtrucutres learning programme has been implemented where pupils learn at the same rate and achieve at the samt rate. Teachers on France play a crucial role in assisting every individual pupil to a similar stage as each other and unlike the British teachers do not view their professional role as involving curriculum development. There is generally a diffrenc ein the way children are taught in France and Britain. As evident from a study conducted by Sharpe (92) the French primary schools tend to adopt a less child centred approach compared to Britain, they have a formal setting with blackboards and chalk, with desks faced towards the black board where as in Brtian there is more diversity in the way the National curriculum is taught, through working in groups, existence of play corners and there is a much more bright colourful displays of childrens work. Another difference in the French and British system is the concept of equality which is promoted on scholls. In the British system there os a emphasis in schools to reseocet multicultural values and other tradtions and cultures each being unique and individual. Whereas in the French system the ideology of a single nation culture is strongly promoted. The next stage from primary school is secondary school (in france refered to as lycÃÆ' ¨es professionelles), which the typical age for in both countries is between 10-12. [more recently there has been debates amongst the british overment about the way children are taught in primary schools and the very â€Å"ËÅ"child centered â€Å"ËÅ" approach has been critised. There has been speculation that the educational practices in Britiain may somewhat resmble the France system in the instructive and the extensive use and structure of the whole class. However these practices can only be implemented in the eduacational system through doverment intervention as unlike Britain, such practices in France are more â€Å"ËÅ"teachers professional culture (Mclean 199

Systems Approach Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Systems Approach - Essay Example [Kelly, G., p.204]. According to this, the laws governing the parts determine or cause the behavior of the whole. That’s why the client’s behavior needs to be viewed as a whole, being determined by the complex of influences from inner and outer surroundings to the organism. General Systems Theory is based on the assumption that there are universal principles of organization, which hold all the systems, be they physical, chemical, biological, mental or social. In this case, while treating a client there is an urgent need to appreciate his behavior as being influenced by a complicated list of determinates, which could be very different, but at the same time, due to the Systems Approach, are similar to all the human organisms. According to G.A.Kelly, the person-as-clent is ‘what he does’, and the therapist is primary interested in the client’s overall personal construction system within which he structures his world, and builds his relations to such a world. Primary diagnostic work in this case include an outline of the client’s existing channels of movement, the prediction of the development of a way how a person will behave, and what factors this behavior is determined by. The reasons for this emerge from the client’s inner problems, hidden in his childhood (this is the case of study for psychoanalysis, when the behavioral patterns of a client are the shadows of the events happened to him in the past), or are determined by the conditions of the present surrounding, and his personal behavioral constructs. Kelly stresses, that ‘by seeing a client’s constructs and their opposites as channels of potential movement for him, the therapist has some basis for forecasting what adjustments will appear to the client to be available when he finds himself up to his ears in people’. [Kelly, G., p.187] To view a client and to make an appropriate diagnosis the therapist must point of all the influences which have a certain impact on the

Economic Suspense Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Economic Suspense - Essay Example Thus, being occasionally boring makes the audience to anticipate something from you which makes you thrilling. However, the capacity to surprise an audience is a scarce resource because it is impossible to fool many people at all times. In addition to this, it is apparent that surprise happens when a specific outcome is different from your initial thought. Knowing the initial thought of a person is impossible, thus, making surprise a scarce resource (Ely, Frankel & Kamenica, 2015). Movies, as well as games, become interesting because of the unpredictable nature of the unraveled information. In support of this assertion, the article asserts that people are interested mainly in learning the result at a slow pace. Information unraveled in a certain period generates suspense and surprise which are the main contributing factors for entertainment (Ely, Frankel & Kamenica, 2015). According to the article, we can maximize our entertainment by generating the most suspense as well as the most surprise. Achievement of this will involve ensuring that we are occasionally boring in addition to keeping unpredictable plot twists (Ely, Frankel & Kamenica, 2015). Yes, economic approach is a comprehensive as well as an applicable approach to all human behavior. The human behavior introduced by Becker involves participants who not only maximize their utility but also accumulate a significant amount of information in different markets. In addition to this, the approach provides a unified outline for human behavior.

Why are there different perspectives on change within organizations Essay

Why are there different perspectives on change within organizations - Essay Example Bateman and Zaithaml (1990) assert that organizations must change because the environment within which they operate is constantly changing. They need to incorporate and implement change not only survive but also to maintain a competitive advantage within the industry. The various internal and external drivers of changes are intrinsically linked to performance outcome of the firm. They also influence the perspectives of people in the organization and therefore, directly or indirectly impact the performance of the organization. Therefore, they become vital factors to be evaluated and analysed for efficient exploitation by the managerial leadership. But at the same time, it is equally true that changes are perceived differently by different people and therefore, there is always an element of resistance within a group of people in the organization. Indeed, the different views on change within the organization can be explained because organizations have different goals, structures and org anizational culture that may necessitate different response to the defined change. The perception to change therefore is often influenced by multitude of issues which can be defined by individual ideologies and beliefs; group representation; individual and organizational competencies; power dynamics within the organizations; inter-cultural compulsions etc. ... The organizations, in totem, also have wide ranging reaction to the environmental changes. They adapt and exploit them to improve and improvise productivity. The people therefore become major factors within the organizations whose perceived value of the changes can have considerable impact on the outcome. The organizational perception to change needs to be evaluated and analyzed for gaining leverage in the highly competitive business environment. Thus, the diversity of issues and factors that promote different outlook to changes within the organizations would be discussed for developing more effective strategy of change management in the organization. Many social scientists have proposed four major determinants of change: the structural-functional, multiple constituencies, organizational development, and creativity and volition perspective (Jackson, 2003; Cyert & March, 1963; Shafritz and Ott, 1991; Pfeffer, 1981). The various propellants are primarily focused on optimal performance by changing inputs into desired output by the organizations. The structural-functional paradigm promotes changes that increase the productivity through increase in functional efficiency and structural modification. The Fordism highlights the increase of productivity through standardization of process. Change intervention becomes essential part of business strategy. Thus, businesses constantly look out for processes and means that would enhance their productivity and financial benefits. Multiple constituencies primarily focus on various stakeholders of the business which can have significant influence on the performance of the organization. The various linkages within and outside the organizational purview

Graffiti the illegal art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Graffiti the illegal art - Essay Example The typically subversive nature of this art thus becomes a tool for the anti-hegemonic resistance, speaking on an individual level with those who live at the street level and perceive that they are being asked to adapt to a world-view that is outside of or in opposition to their own sphere of experience. The excitement of moving outside of the circles of the officially sanctioned, government approved and corporately supported dominant viewpoint of the fabulously wealthy is captured in the graffiti artist’s ability to capture a sense of the observations and triumphs of the common man, beginning to re-establish connections and re-enforcing personal observations that strike against the claims of the powers that be. This ability to speak to the concerns of the common man has re-asserted their impression that their voices are important, too. It is commonly accepted that the graffiti artist is saying something that most of his contemporaries on the street have been prevented from sa ying for any number of reasons – lack of confidence, fear of reprisal, etc. Again, this is accomplished not just through the subject of the art, but also in the way in which the art is practiced. Their message cannot be separated from the art form because of the nature of placing the art upon the unsanctioned spaces of the city. This felonious act screams defiance at the establishment even as do many of the images presented. Graffiti has similarly been demonstrated in case after case to have the kind of individual element.

Unit 5 Min Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Unit 5 Min - Coursework Example Besides, this may raise the initial budget of entertainment from $50 to $100. For instance, if the project manager intended to hire an excellent decorator with a tight schedule, he or she may settle for alternative personnel who may not produce the much needed outfit decoration as earlier planned. However, in a situation when the program schedule is crashed, one may miss out on the essential items during the planning because time would not allow extensive coverage of everyone’s needs for entertainment. Lengthy planning gives the manager in charge of the project enough time to bargain and find cheap yet quality equipments for the party. This has a direct impact on the amount spent to see the event to fruition without incurring unnecessary costs. Attendance for the party is very important. When the birthday party is rushed through a crashed program, it has a general impact on the number of people invited who may finally attend. People have busy schedule, they require enough time to plan other activities to create time to attend the party. Crashed schedule may mean reduced attendance to the birthday party. Besides, one would have no alternative than to purchase readily available equipments like tents for the party, which may cost more than $100. This makes the party expensive and unrealistic. The rushing of the project will have a severe impact on the cost, selection of appropriate equipments for the party, and the number of invited guests who may attend the party. When the attendance is not guaranteed on the material day, losses will be incurred because food items and other drinks incurred will go into waste. Besides, a larger tent may have been procured yet fewer number of the invited guests may attend the event. This makes the party expensive to the

Summary and Analysis No Name Woman by Maxine Hong Kingston, Both Ain't Essay

Summary and Analysis No Name Woman by Maxine Hong Kingston, Both Ain't I A Woman by Sojourner Truth and No Name Woman - Essay Example But I do know what it is like to be excluded from the sisterhood and I do know what it's like to know that the plans around my birth were very different from the reality. She delivered her speech at the Woman's Convention in Akron. Women were beginning to respond to the mistreatments of chivalry and the way that they were infantilized by the dominant rhetoric, but Truth pointed out that both white men and white women assumed things that excluded systematically a black perspective. Truth had never known chivalry from men, at least white men: She had known the lash and starvation. She had never known being a domesticated baby factory: Instead, she was a career woman because she was a slave and she was not a mother of a troupe of children not because she didn't have those children but because they were sold into slavery. One could point out, bitterly, that even a black male slave would prefer to live like a white woman. The truth was making an appeal for the sisterhood, the emerging fem inist movement, to represent all women, and to bear in mind that what women need varies from group to group. I have known many a time where I felt excluded from a sisterhood that portrayed them as the archetype of femininity. Whether cheerleaders or well-meaning young feminists, I've seen people repeatedly act as if they were advancing â€Å"just us girls† when they were, in fact, trampling over me. She feels possessed by a ghost, the ghost of her aunt, who feels that Kingston should take her place. It wasn't the raid by the villagers.

Lease and licence problem question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Lease and licence problem question - Essay Example He thinks of selling the property and moving away in future. Two weeks ago, while his wife was away visiting his elderly mother and Peter was on a business trip, he found a buyer, David Matthews who was prepared to offer cash for quick sale. The Fate of Alice and Peter According to Legal Principles and Authorities A licence is a contractual right to use a property particularly land that would otherwise be illegal. Conversely, a lease is an interest of land that is given by the lesser to a lessee for a defined period of time while granting exclusive possession. In light of this, it is clear that Jeffrey has the legal rights over the property at Georgetown, and hence has title to the property. Needless to mention, Jeffrey is among the people who have indefeasibility of title. According to property law, this means that Jeffrey is included in the title as the owner who has an indefeasible or unquestionable title of the property. Besides, the state guarantees the correctness of the inform ation contained on the title and is, therefore, liable to provide compensation under assurance fund. Thus, legal interests are solely concerned with ownership of property as in the case of Jeffrey who has control that is associated with the ownership.1 With this regard, it is entirely challenging for his wife Alice to claim any legal right for the property even though she is married to him. The fact that Alice moved into the property in 2005, and has continually spent a considerable amount of her savings in renovating the property to an extent of converting the top floor into an apartment, which Jeffrey later leases out to Peter, a businessman for five years, a situation that does not recognise her as an exclusive or shared possessor. Simply, Alice could only be recognised by Law, only if she was registered as one with ‘equitable interest’ to the property. This way Alice would be entitled to the benefits of the property. None the less, individuals with ‘equitable interests’ are not in a position to lay claims against an innocent third party who purchases the legal interest of the property. Apparently, the quick sale of the property of Jeffrey to Matthews leaves Alice with no right of ownership or claim for ownership even if she had ‘equitable interest’ for the property. Jeffrey then leases part of the property to Peter, an international businessman for a period of five years even though, Peter is an absentee lessee for a certain period of the year. According to Law, leasehold interest on the property is created by a formation of lease, which mainly comprises of lessor (Jeffrey) and lessee (Peter). A lease (Jeffrey) gives the lessee (Peter) exclusive possession of property for a specific period of time which in this case is five years in exchange for payment or rent. Of important note is that, a lease can be registered on the title, for a set period.2 This gives the right to sublet, assign or sell unexpired portion with th e landlord’s consent, right to exclusive possession, over and above, the right to sue in case of trespass. Indeed, business that exist between Jeffery and Peter is recognised as leasing according to Property Law for the reason that it exceeds three years and therefore a deed is necessary to conform its validity. Additionally, the

The colonisation of Southern Africa Essay Example for Free

The colonisation of Southern Africa Essay To what extent did the colonisation of Southern Africa benefit the indigenous people of these territories? It is arguable as to whether the imperialism was of benefit to the indigenous people. However it would be false to say they gained nothing. The Africans had a culture totally different to the Europeans and less technologically advanced. The Europeans brought with them their culture, values and ideas, yet at the same time oppressed and demolished the original culture of the natives. They considered themselves to be superior and therefore correct. The indigenous people didnt consider themselves to be inadequate. David Livingstone was a more sympathetic missionary and once said The English are the most philanthropic people in the world.-David and Charles Livingstone, Narrative of an Expedition to the Zambesi. They thought themselves better than the Africans so that made it their duty to god to impose their own religious and cultural beliefs. Desire to bring civilisation to the African peoples, by furnishing the native with the means of instruction. The indigenous people benefited from new ideas and technology brought over from Europe such as medicine. Some were even educated in Western ways, learning administration and English, new laws were introduced. Voting and administration were also initiated. The Africans could learn from the Europeans and become more advanced. the most remarkable contribution of colonialism in Africa was in ideas and techniques- the ideas of justice, freedom of speech, worship, travel, the rule of law, and the techniques of voting and administration.-Kofi Busia, a native person. Some indigenous people did benefit from the colonialisation of Africa. Of course it was not all admirable, there were also detriments. The Africans were not treated as equals, they were exploited and were even enslaved to help the foreigners execute their desires. Infrastructure resulted in forced labour. Taxes were introduced, and so the Africans had to work. Railways were built and cities developed, all by the sweat and blood of the Africans. Land was stolen in order for the Europeans to build and mine, like Cecil Rhodes. Borders were rearranged, and so families were split and authority lost. Many died and some were forced to migrate. Only the males were educated and communicated with, the women who once played an important role in society were not equal to males. The white man killed my father; the white man, his hands red with black blood, with lordly voice, turned to me: hey boy, a drink, a napkin, water-David DIOP, A Sengalese poet. The attitude that the natives had was of hate and fear. They were treated terribly worse than animals, as animals dont have beliefs and are allowed to spend the day grazing. Weve become their inferiors from an Arabic poem. This also conveys feelings of animosity. They may have gained but they also lost. In the opinions of most Africans they benefited nothing. Africa did benefit slightly, though when juxtaposed to the impairment, one can conclude that there was more harm than gain. For what they benefited, they lost much more and had no choice in it. The indigenous people pf South Africa had little or no say in what went on. They didnt send for Europeans to come and design railways or tax them.

Management Practices and Performance of SACCOs

Management Practices and Performance of SACCOs INTRODUCTION The background gives a brief history of the savings and credit cooperative societies, highlights its importance to the society and touches on the problems that have influenced its performance of its roles and finally on the possible solutions or causes of actions. This preambles the statement of the problem, the purpose, significance, scope and limitations of the study together with the research questions. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY One of the basic principles of Cooperative Savings and Credit Movement is the belief in co-operation and mutual self help for the uplifting of members standards of living. Kussco(2006). Members with a common bond join hands to form those quasi-banks institutions. With finances mobilized through such joint efforts the savings and credit society members build up the capital which they can use through local arrangements to finance their own social as well as economic development. The traditional form of cooperation involved working together on farms, hunting and gathering. All people have basic needs of food, shelter, security and belonging. People would invite neighbors to come and give a hand. Also people did not have money and resources, which enables individuals to employ people or machinery to do the work for them. In any community cooperation usually exists in the form of associations of people who come together as a group driven by their social and economic needs in order to cope with their problems and improve their conditions of living MOCD (2006) According to Odepo and Nyawinda ( 2004) , savings and credit cooperatives societies ( commonly referred to as SACCOs), accept monthly payments for shares from which, members may borrow an amount equivalent to two or three times their own savings if they can get other members to guarantee them. They say that growth in SACCOs in the last twenty years has been spectacular. According to statistics from Kenya Union Of Savings and Credit Cooperative societies (KUSCCO), the number of SACCOs rose from 630 in 1978 to 3,870 by the end of October 2002 while savings and share capital rose from Kshs. 375 million in 1978 to Kshs. 80billion by 2003. Credit outreach similarly recorded significantly, having risen from 357 million in 1978 to kshs. 70 billion by 2003. Saccos active members numbered over 1.5 million by 2002 having risen from 378,500 members in 1978. Their rapid growth indicate that they have filled a need which had not been made by the financial institutions. Of the Kshs. 110 billion in the current share capital and deposits held by cooperatives, the statistics show that Kshs. 90 billion has been lent out to customers. However, the recent statistics from the ministry of cooperative development and marketing shows the position as below The internal management principles need to be enforced strongly to improve efficiency of collections, and even perhaps consider insuring the loans in case of demise of member loaned. The Sacco movement has the capacity to propel the economic lives of the citizens if indeed it is well managed. Its principles of democratic management, voluntary membership and common bond give it the base to take its members to new heights. The movement has been a boon for this country and many people would not be where they are now were it not for the harvests of the opportunities sowed in the garden of the movement. It mobilizes savings and finance and penetrates to areas not valued by other financial institutions, while serving special needs of members. The prospects for the industry are so huge. By identifying the fact that the easiest source of funding is the locally mobilized savings, the saccos should come up with innovative ideas to encourage the members of the common bond to save, as a first step. Other sources of funds like the cooperative bank, which all the saccos have a stake in, should be considered exhaustively. Besides they should think outside the box and get organi zations willing to empower members economically by allowing loans at a rate less than what saccos offer to its members. The saccos umbrella body- Kussco- has a fund to assist the member saccos when they are in need of the funds. Saccos face numerous challenges that hinder the exploitation of their full potential. Mudibo(2005) raised concerns on the calibre of leaders who run saccos noting that since these are voluntary organizations, members can elect anybody they like, who may not necessarily have the skills to run a sacco. He suggested that before a member is elected, he should have certain number of shares so that he has something to loose if he mismanages the sacco. Non remittance and delayed remittance of cooperative dues by employers has led to inconveniences and loss of income by the societies. New rules have however provided stiff penalties for errant employers. Members are also at risk due to HIV/AIDS and ways to attract new members are required. Ngumo (2005), in his article the cooperative movement in Kenya; the eagle that wont fly Nairobi, Kenya institute of management raises several unsettled issues affecting the saccos. First the government should decide on whether to control or facilitate the cooperatives. Cooperative roles should be re-emphasized. One member one vote should be questioned. Instead he suggests the policy of one share one vote. Still, ownership and control should be de-linked for good corporate governance. Then business strategies need further scrutiny before implementation. He concludes that it will be sad for Kenyans to compose a eulogy for the movement after all this time. He said; We cannot milk a cow, refuse to feed it, cry that it was wonderful cow and blame God for its demise. According to National Micro and Small Enterprise (MSE) Baseline Survey (1999/2000), Kenya has a relatively well developed banking and formal financial sector. This consists of the Central Bank, 43 commercial banks, 16 non-bank financial institutions, 2 mortgage finance companies, 4 building societies , 8 developed financial institutions about 3870 cooperative savings and credit societies, 38 insurance companies, the Nairobi stock exchange and venture capital companies. The survey further indicates that nearly 89.6% of MSEs had never received credit and other financial services. The unserved credit needs portrayed by the statistics in the table 1.2 in the background section above signifies a wealth of opportunities untapped by all the financial institutions. The proof of the existence of market implies that a lot needs to be done to raise what it takes to serve a market. The most basic need is the finance to lend in a discipline way. Voluntary savings from members is therefore imperative. Saccos abilities to improve their members wealth is determined by a number of factors, among them is the funding levels due to members marginal propensity to save, contributions; remittance by the employers, legal and regulatory framework, internal management principles and practices (e.g customer service, marketing, dividend / interest payment etc) amongst other factors. These factors level of influence on saccos ability to perform captured the attention of the researcher. It was the intention of the researcher to examine them and possibly recommend on the best way to miti gate the underlying challenges and take advantage of the available opportunities by exploiting existing strengths. Voluntary deposits / savings as a source of commercial finance for micro credit institution have generated a lot of interest and debate in recent years. Locally mobilized voluntary savings is potentially the largest and the most immediately available source of finance for some micro credit institutions, most of all the saccos. Bearing this in mind, one is left to wonder what is hindering the saccos from prosperity, given the access to its resources and the wealth of its opportunities. The purpose of this research is to broaden the discussion of what, when, why and how a sacco should use its resources, get the right framework, apply effective policies for improvement of the wealth of its members. Getting these elements right is a crucial part of meeting the demand for the unmet credit needs. The researcher will also seek to bridge the gap that exist between Saccos that have exemplary performance in their services to members and excellent returns and some others which barely afford to offer loans, leave alone dividends. According to Armstrong, performance is often defined in output terms the achievement of quantified objectives. But performance is a matter not only of what people achieve but how they achieve it. High performance result from appropriate behaviour, especially discretionary behaviour, and the effective use of the required knowledge, skills and competencies. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Quite a number of Saccos e.g TENA sacco, have a long string of pending loan applications from members SACCO star ( 2006) . Some saccos pay out little or no dividends/ interests on members savings. Some others still have a low loan multiplier and / or limited concurrent loans compared to some well performing counterparts e.g Stima Sacco, Sacco star,(2006)- which has even started ATM services for FOSA customers and manages to advance more that three times the members deposits, can give up to four concurrent loans without closing any applications for the year and gives loans almost immediately it is applied for by the member , (mwaura (2004). Among the major problems hindering this is the unavailability of much needed cash to lend, when it is required. This therefore causes a mismatch in the availability of funds and the demand for loans. Other reasons could be poor investment decisions or lack of investment opportunities or delayed cash flow from employers/ members among others. Rutherford (1999) wrote that funding these large sums of money is the main management problem. The only reliable and sustainable way is to build them from savings. Saving- making a choice not to consume- is thus the fundamental and unavoidable first step in money management, without which financial services cannot operate. The poor themselves recognize the need to build savings into lump sums and contrary to the popular belief, the poor want to save and try to save, and all poor people except those who are entirely outside the cash economy can save something, no matter how small, When poor people do not save, it is for luck of opportunity rather for lack of understanding or of will. Most of the saccos have succeeded in mobilization of savings from members. Inspite of this, still they have a huge backlog in terms of loans advanced to members (Sacco star, 2005). Furthermore, most of the saccos pay little dividends/interests on deposits or none at all, in-spite of trading with the deposits/savings. It was therefore the intention of the researcher to seek to establish the determinants of saccos capabilities to improve its members well being. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY Main Objective The main purpose of this study was to investigate and refine our understanding of the major factors that determine the performance of SACCOs to enable them maximize their members wealth. Specific objective Specifically, the study sought: To find out the extend to which the nature of business/ check off system affects performance of SACCOs To establish the relationship between management practices and performance of SACCOs To examine the level of education and training of general members, committee members staff and their effects on performance of SACCOs To determine if long term investment affects performance of SACCOs RESEARCH QUESTIONS To what extend does the nature of business/ check off system affect performance of SACCOs? Do management practices affect performance of SACCOs? Is education and training of general members, committee members staff a factor that affects the performance of SACCOs? Does long term investment affect the performance of SACCOs? SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY This study is aimed at developing an understanding on major factors determining the accessibility to funds to process and dispense all loan requisitions in time by saccos in Kenya. It is seeking to examine and underscore the salient principles that have a bearing in the success in similar or related areas of focus, and hence suggest ways and means of overcoming failure. The study is aimed at benefiting, among others, the management teams. These are the people entrusted by the members to take care of their interests in saccos. They will study to understand and improve on policy setting and implementation for overall sustainability of the sector. The entire sacco membership will also get enlightened. The members of the common bond will appreciate their role in sustaining their welfare through sacco as a vehicle. They will be more willing to take a center role instead of quiting when they feel their interests are not being taken care of by the people they entrusted them with. It will also benefit the sacco staff/secretariate; these are the people who get their daily bread from the sacco. They will understand their role in the growth of the organization, hence acting to secure their source of livelihood. It will also be of good use to the government department in charge of cooperatives. The report will bring to light issues requiring framework and only them can attend to for the overall sustainability of the sacco industry. Finally other researchers in this area will find this useful. They will get recommendations for further research from this study. The beneficiaries will have access to the information on the findings from the compiled report. The final report will be available in selected major libraries, organized groups, especially the respondents will get a copy of the report on the findings. SCOPE OF THE STUDY This studys scope was the saccos based in Eldoret. The researcher selected a suitable sample from the population by purposive convenience sampling. According to the statistics from MOCD/M, there are about 10 such saccos within Eldoret town. About 40 % of the population (4 saccos) were covered by the study. The study targeted the members of the central management committee (CMC) in the selected SACCOs. LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction to literature review This section contains literature that has been reviewed and continues to be reviewed relating to the problem. Literature review involves locating, reading and evaluating reports of previous studies, observations and opinions relating to the planned study. It therefore enables the researcher to know what has been done in the particular field of study, makes one aware of what has been made and what challenges remain, and gives suggestions on the variables and procedures that could be used. Literature review logically leads to objectives on the study. Past studies in the area Background information According to Mwaura (2005) sessional paper No. 4 of 1987 on renewed growth through the cooperative movement highlighted the significance of the movement in national development. By this time there were 3500 registered cooperatives with more than 2million members and an annual turnover greater than 6billion. The paper noted that one in every two Kenyans derived its livelihood from the cooperative either directly or indirectly. The cooperative movement in Kenya is reputed to be the most advanced in the African continent. The Kenya Nordic agreement of 1967led to the establishment of the Cooperative college of Kenya at Langata, which is the main training ground for both ministry staff and the movement employees. According to MOCD (2002) the first Savings and credit Cooperatives in Kenya were started in the sixties. The Government annual economic survey shows that as at December 2002 there were more than 2,400 active SACCOS with membership in excess of 1.5 million people. Share capital stood at Kshs. 65 billion while outstanding loans were Kshs. 59 billion.. The structure of the cooperative movement in Kenya comprises of four tiers. These include the primary societies, secondary cooperatives, tertiary cooperatives and nationwide cooperatives. The Kenya Federal of Cooperatives (KNFC) is the only apex society in the movement. It was formed with an objective of promoting, developing, guiding, assisting and upholding ideas of the cooperative principles. KNFC is the link between cooperatives in Kenya and the international cooperative alliance. Of special mention here is the African Confederation of Cooperative Savings and Credit Associations (ACCOSCA), which is registered under the Societies Act, Chapter 108 of the laws of Kenya. Its area of operation is Africa and the adjacent islands. Its head-quarters is in Nairobi. It has twenty five affiliated organizations. It is affiliated to the International Cooperative Alliance through its members in the world council of Credit Unions (WOCCU). According to the cooperative Societies Act (Cap 490), persons desirous of forming a cooperative society must fill the prescribed form from the commissioner for cooperatives. It requires that at least ten members will sign the form, though for savings and credit the commissioner has been asked for more people. The form requires that the society makes its by-laws. For ease of convenience the commissioner has prepared model by-laws for the cooperative societies. The societies are nevertheless free to change these or come up with their own by-laws. The by-laws must detail the following; the name of the society, objects of the society, purposes to which its funds may be applied, disposal of surplus funds, qualifications for membership and terms and conditions of admission of members. For savings and credit cooperatives, the following are also includes, the rate of interest, the maximum amount loan-able, extension, renewal and recovery of loans and the consequences of default in the repayment of any sums due. On receipt of the application form the office of the commissioner will register the cooperative society on the advice of the cooperative officer in charge of the area of operation. Chapter 490 provides that no companies registered under the companys Act or any un-incorporated body of persons shall become a member of a registered society except with the written permission of the commissioner. It also provides that no person can join more than one cooperative society with unlimited liability. A member may nevertheless be allowed to join two or more cooperatives with limited liability if the two are in different areas of operation. A cooperative society just like a company, may be registered with or without limited liability. The commissioner has power to refuse to register a cooperative society. Nevertheless, the refusal must be given to the applicants in writing. Applicants can appeal to the minister for cooperative developments and finally to the high court. The commissioner may register the cooperative either provisionally or fully. A provision registration is given where some requirements for registration have not been met. The applicants are given a period o f one year to satisfy all conditions. A provisionally registered cooperative society may act as a fully registered in all ways. Upon registration such a cooperative society is deemed to have been registered on the date of the provisional registration. Upon registration a society becomes a body of corporate. According to Ouma(1980), the term cooperative in its widest sense simply means working together. In this context cooperation is as old as mankind and exists wherever the human family is found. Indeed such cooperation exists among animals, insects, bees and ants. Thus cooperation generally means working together for a common purpose. Thus group effort through traditional form of cooperation may be traced in all communities of the world. However its narrow sense as a movement, it means an association of people whose purpose for group work yields good results not only for the members but to the community in general and even to the humanity at large. Cooperative is a business organization by profit, but rather the result of mutual association whose objective is equitable economic betterment of man and the society in which he lives. According to the MOCD, cooperatives are regulated by a set of principals. These principles were formulated by a group of people who lived in a village in England known as Rochdale, and they are therefore referred to as Rochdale pioneers. They formed the first successful cooperative society in 1884. This society which was a consumer cooperative society was formed in 1844 when Britain was undergoing industrial revolution. As a result of the revolution, a lot of people lost their jobs in the factories as machines were introduced to replace them. In addition to this there was general lack of credit and supply of essential commodities like salt, sugar, flour and cooking fat. Businessmen also took advantage of this situation and started offering impure products at high prices. It is against this background that Rochdale Pioneers decided to draw up some sort of principles which would guide their operation as cooperative society. These principles were intended for the regulation of cooperative society as indicated by the great stress on the sale of pure products and the sale of goods for cash only. It was therefore found necessary to formulate the principles for adoption by other types of cooperatives. The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) Commission of 1966 adopted the following principles which are genuine for the running of a genuine cooperative society:- Open and voluntary membership, democratic administration (one man, one vote), limited interest on share capital, payments of dividends and bonuses to members, promotion of education and cooperation with other cooperatives at local national and international levels. According to Ouma (1980), the traditional cooperatives have been in existence in Kenya, as it has been elsewhere, from time immemorial. Examples of such cooperative practices are to be found in Kenya. The group association is normally based on lineage according to the natural geographic environment in which the members of the group are born. This is usually based on clan or people who live within the same village. It can be stated with fair amount of certainty that the traditional forms of cooperation do generally speaking, form the basis for the establishment of modern cooperative organizations. There is for instance in Luo, Saga whereby a group of people do ploughing, weeding or harvest for each member of the group in turn. In Kwath, members of the group look after their cattle together for three or more days consecutively, in turn. In Kikuyu there is what is called ngwatio (Mwethya in Kamba) whereby members of the group get together to build houses for themselves, each member of t he group breinging what is required for the construction e.g. grass and poles. When the first house is completed then the members start on the next one. In Kisii, there is what is called obituary wherby men go on a job hunting exercise, and when they kill an animal, they will either divide it or take it home (village) where it mis cooked and eaten communally by all the villagers. Among the Kalenjin there is the practice of Kokwet wherby a group of people would go out to harvest or weed the garden of their members in turn. The Kalenjin also have Loget whereby the men go in a joint effort to kill animals for food. According to Ouma(1980), practically all the ethnic groups in this country, whether small or big, has since time immemorial practiced mutual association in order to satisfy their needs socially, economically or otherwise. It is also necessary to point out that in the traditional forms of cooperatives, in contrast to the modern cooperatives, members had a great sense of commitment and belonging.. They had mutual trust and were voluntarily involved in their activities and affairs.. It is of course not possible and it may not be expected that with the development of cosmopolitan populations consisting of different ethnic groups and tribes that members can still hold together without some form of regulations. Hence the necessity to resort to legal reinforcement and education in order to develop efficient cooperative organizations. Although these associations of group effort could be deemed self help which is infect a for of cooperative , it is nevertheless true to say that the modern cooperative movement, born in Kenya during the beginning of twentieth century owed much of the cooperative idea to these earlier practices. It is also true that the modern cooperative associations in this country took a different approach and mainly because of expediency. Its founders the British settlers- merely wanted to use it as a cheap means of business for easy profit making. They never spontaneously involved the indigenous people who already were familiar with cooperative effort. The early settlers were beset by very many problems as regards their agricultural activities. For instance prices for Agricultural products were very low, transport of the agricultural inputs and outputs to the markets by each individual settler were classical nightmares. Therefore this new system of farming with its large scale production caused the needs for associations by the few European farmers who undoubtedly had conceived the cooperative idea from the British cooperative movement back home. It will of course be recalled that the formal and successful cooperative organisations started in Britain in 1844. In 1908, they resolved to join together at a place called Lumbwa and formed Lumbwa cooperative Society Ltd. Although not registered as such under any cooperative Societies Act, it is deemed to be one of the modern cooperatives in Kenya. The main objective was to purchase merchandise; i.e. fertilizers, chemical seeds, and other agricultural inputs through collective effort, and to market their produce collectively thus taking advantage of the economy of scale. It would appear quite clear at this point that cooperatives in Kenya did not start as a poor mans defensive weapon against the exploitation by the middlemen, as it had started in Europe and elsewhere. It was on the contrary an easier means to enable the white settlers to receive high returns from their agricultural produce. Thus it was rather an economic necessity for the well to do and not the ordinary man with little or no means at all. It will be remembered that during this time, there was no cooperative societies ordinance to regulate and to assist the management of these cooperative efforts in Kenya. It is also not clear whether or not Lumbwa Cooperative society ltd was registered even under the companies Act, otherwise calling it a co-operative society was misleading. However one thing remains certain, and that is that the settlers wanted to maximize their profits by trading under the pretext of a co-operative organisation, thereby enjoying its privileges. According to Ouma (1980) many self help groups, most of which were very small and un-economic, were started all over the country. But these were not economically viable and consequently had to be amalgamated into larger economic units. These were for instance Kenya farmers association (co-operatives), Kenya planters co-operative union, Kenya cooperative creameries and Horticultural cooperative union. It is a fact that these institutions formed the backbone and the base for formal cooperative movement in this country. These initial cooperative ventures in Kenya were unfortunately not quite in the spirit of the Rochdale Pioneer Cooperative Society. They never for example, observed the principle of membership, for no African could participate in it until later. The need to form formal cooperative organisations arose when some African peasant farmers realized that they were being exploited, especially by the Asian traders who were paying very low prices for their agricultural produce. As early as in the 1930s there were attempts to form cooperatives by the indigenous people of Kenya, in spite of lack of proper guidance. Of these early attempts two examples can be mentioned here, The Taita vegetable company and the Kisii coffee Growers cooperative. The farmers had 239 members and bought 3 lorries at the cost of $1170 out of the profits made from the operations. The group was producing, grading, transporting and selling on the mombasa market over 900,000Lbs of vegetables a year and the growers received over $4,500 out of a gross selling price of $ 6300. This was indeed too substantial an enterprise to be left without a legal basis. It was later registered as cooperative society. The Kisii coffee growers Association which was able to raise from the sale of its coffee a sum of $2470 of which $1240 was paid out to the 251 members who had cultivated only 159 acres, but had already accumulated a surplus of $1065. In 1994, the British Colonial Office in London appointed Mr. W.K.H Campbell to come to investigate the possibilities of African participation in the cooperative organisations. He carried out his investigations by touring and visiting many towns and districts in the republic of Kenya and talking to the people. After all his investigations Mr. Campbell submitted his recommendations that subject to availability of capable staff attempts to organise cooperatives were worth while. It was also during this time that the first African Mr. Eliud Mathu was nominated to the legislative assembly, as the Kenya parliament was called then. He demanded in parliament and such people as Ex chief Koinange from outside, that the Government should come out openly to encourage African participation in the cooperative movement. It was as a result of Campbells recommendation that the cooperative societies (Registration) Amendment, Ordinance of 1932 was repealed and the cooperative societies Ordinance of 1945 was enacted under Cap. 287. It was as a result of this new ordinance that the department of cooperatives was created, although it was placed under different ministries at various times. Consequent to the establishment of the department, a registrar ( now called commissioner for cooperative Development) was appointed and together with his staff was responsible for registration and promotion of cooperative societies in the country. The 1945 cooperative societies ordinance further gave the registrar certain powers over cooperative societies, for example refusal to register a cooperative society, cancellation of certificate of registration, to audit societys books of accounts, authority to inspect books of society, authority to settle disputes in cooperatives only to mention but a few examples. The new cooperative societies ordinance thus subsequently enabled the Government to establish the department of cooperative development. The department was charged with the responsibility of promoting, controlling and educating the members as well as the public on the need and usefulness of cooperative efforts, with particular emphasis on the rural areas. The Registrar of cooperative Societies as the head of cooperative department was designed then and was given staff in ranks of Assistant Registrars and cooperative inspectors, though very limited in number. The assistant registrars worked very closely with the department of Agriculture, in organizing cooperatives which served as the nucleus for the introduction and expansion of various types of cooperatives such as Pyrethrum, Maize, vegetables, dairy, cotton, consumer thrifts and others. According to Ouma (1980), traditionally, people of different nations used barter methods of exchange. That is the exchange of goods for goods. It therefore requires a change of attitude and new outlook towards life in order to be able to accommodate and apply this new mode of economy usefully and

Steve Wozniak Essay -- essays research papers

Steve Wozniak's childhood had a big effect on his revolutionary developments in the computer world. Wozniak grew up in Sunnyvale California. His family lived in a development built for Lockheed engineers like his father. (Rose, 26) As a teenager he w During his high school years, Wozniak was a prankster and was once suspended for placing a metronome disguised as a bomb in a friends locker. (Brodhagen, 1) The more serious side of Wozniak loved electronics and spent one day a week working at Sylvania Electronics, where Wozniak's love for computers grew. Wozniak was working with electronics from an early age. In 1962 Wozniak built a calculator using a few electronic components and entered it in a local science fair. (Brodhagen, 1) It won him a prize. In 1971 Wozniak and his friend Bill Fernandez built a computer in FernandezÕs garage. (Rose,25-26) They called it t Wozniak decided to go the University of California at Berkeley after he returned from C! olorado State. While he was there, his mother sent him an article about a mysterious person who called himself ÒCaptain Crunch.Ó (Rose, 27) Crunch would build electronic boxes, known as blue boxes, that mimicked the tones governing telephone company switching equipment. This allowed him to make free long distance phone calls. Apparently Crunch was the leader of an underground group who called themselves the Òphone phreaks.Ó They would use technology to get what they wanted, but they wope by staying one step ahead of the police. Wozniak was extremely interested and called his friend from high school, Steven Jobs. (Rose, 27) They decided to go into business selling them. Wozniak managed to make one which only used forty dollars worth of parts, instead of the 1,500 dollars it cost Captain Crunch. Wozniak and Jobs then went to college campuses and sold them to dorms for 150 dollars and up. Wozniak became obsessed with ÒphreakingÓ and almost forgot about school. This is! the first example of WozniakÕs In 1975 personal computers became a reality. The Altair 8800 was released. (Rose, 31) It was a computer kit. It came with all the pieces that were needed to build it, and it was then assembled by the consumer who bought it. It was really designed for computer hobbyists, who loved the fact that they were able to build it. It had its down side though. Once it was assembled, there wasnÕt much that it could do. The... ...nd something that the consumer would buy. Wozniak changed the computer industry because once he made his computer and Steve WozniakÕs prankster nature changed the world for ever. Since he tended not to listen to what people say, he didnÕt get discouraged when people told him he was wrong or that he would fail. He just kept on working. The result of all his work was that the personal computer became a reality. He is one of the greatest men alive. His work effects tens-of-millions of people every In researching this paper I looked in a recent MacMall (a mail order catalog that specializes in selling Apple products) and there were twelve different computers made by Apple. Ranging in price from 499.99 dollars to 4,199 dollars and from ! one that will fit in your pocket to one that will cover your whole desk. Apple also had a wide range of printers, scanners, drives and monitors. In my phone interview with Jim Harper he summed it up this way: ÒSince 1984 Apple has sold twenty-six million Macintoshes. The Macintosh in your home is more powerful and faster than the computer that put the man on the moon. It all started back in 1976 with Steve WozniakÕs Apple I.Ó Performa User $Ú &

Tori Amos :: essays papers

Tori Amos body: Tori Amos And Her Archetypes The lyrics of Tori Amos are some of the most complicated in music today. They remain the primary focus of her dedicated fans, as well as her detractors, despite the media's fixation on her past history of rape and abuse. They are complicated on many levels, and Tori Amos' lyrics demand a mythological approach to scratch the surface of her artistic vision. In several interviews, she has admitted to being much influenced by numerous books of symbology and others of Jungian psychology and their archetypal insights. "I don't fall in love much. I mean, I fall in love every five seconds with something but I don't go from boy to boy. I go from archetype to archetype" (Rogers 33). Most dominantly, her lyrics rely on concept of the archetypal woman in all of her aspects. Motifs of creation and destruction are also represented in her work. Her ideals of balance for herself and femininity in general have propelled her into stardom; her uses of archetypes have led the way. The allusions to Christian mythology and obscure references in "Father Lucifer" delve deeper than the casual listener may recognize. Even Toriphiles, her avid fans like to affectionately refer to themselves in this way, are pushed to the edge of their comprehension in attempting to come up with a meaning for every image. Applying a critical mythological approach works best with "Father Lucifer's" imagery because the archetypes lurk just below the surface. The title of this song aids the audience in being able to place the situation -as does the song's tranquil melody; the speaker treats the Lucifer character with compassion and appreciation. Lucifer represents more than just the idea of the Christian Devil; he is the Jungian shadow. "The shadow is the invisible saurian tail that man still drags behind him" (Guerin 180). He is not unlike other symbolic representations of this archetype in literature, namely Milton's Satan. "Father Lucifer" begins with questions and infe! rences from the speaker that seem encouraging: "Tell me that you're still in love with that Milkmaid/ how's the Lizzies/ how's your Jesus Christ been hanging" (Amos, Boys for Pele). Toriphiles and new listeners alike might concede that picking out who or what "the Lizzies" are is a daunting task. It is clear that they represent something and that their connection is more than likely appropriate, however, the reference is just not available. Who "the Milkmaid" may be remains another reference on the same cryptic plane. We might just be able to expect that the Milkmaid was simply a

Crisis Counseling: an Overview

Psychology in the Schools, Vol. 46(3), 2009 Published online in Wiley InterScience (www. interscience. wiley. com) C 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. DOI: 10. 1002/pits. 20370 CRISIS COUNSELING: AN OVERVIEW JONATHAN SANDOVAL, AMY NICOLE SCOTT, AND IRENE PADILLA University of the Paci? c Psychologists working in schools are often the ? rst contacts for children experiencing a potentially traumatizing event or change in status. This article reviews basic concepts in crisis counseling and describes the components of psychological ? rst aid.This form of counseling must be developmentally and culturally appropriate as well as individualized. Effective intervention can prevent post-traumatic stress syndrome and facilitate normal mourning processes associated with any losses experienced. These prevention activities are also discussed. Some children may need resources beyond those that the school can provide, and appropriate referrals can link children and adults to a variety of treatments such as psychotherapy and medication, also brie? y outlined. C 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Most children and adults are resilient and have ways of coping with stressful events. In fact, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH; 2001), recovery from crisis exposure is the norm. Children usually need minimal assistance from family members, teachers, clergy, or other caring adults. Others, particularly those with few social supports, enter into a crisis state (Barenbaum, Ruchkin, & Schwab-Stone, 2004; Caffo & Belaise, 2003; Litz, Gray, Bryant, & Adler, 2002; Ozer, Best, Lipsey, & Weiss, 2003). People in crisis are in what Caplan (1964) terms a state of psychological disequilibrium.This disequilibrium occurs when a hazardous event challenges normal psychological adaptation and coping. Individuals often behave irrationally and withdraw from normal social contacts. They cannot be helped using usual counseling or teaching techniques. Nevertheless, children in crisis are usuall y also in school. School psychologists and other guidance personnel must be able to support teachers, parents, and the children themselves during periods of crisis. The primary goal in helping an individual who is undergoing a crisis is to intervene in such a way as to restore the individual to a previous level of functioning.For children, this means returning to the status of learner. Although it may be possible to use the situation to enhance personal growth, the immediate goal is not to reorganize completely the individual’s major dimensions of personality, but to restore the individual to creative problem solving and adaptive coping. Of course, by successfully resolving a crisis an individual will most likely acquire new coping skills that will lead to improved functioning in new situations, but that is only a desired, possible outcome, not the sole objective of the process (Caplan, 1964).Because failure to cope is at the heart of a crisis, the promotion of coping is an o verall objective of crisis intervention. P SYCHOLOGICAL F IRST A ID School psychologists and other mental health personnel working in schools are in a position to offer psychological ? rst aid (Parker, Everly, Barnett, & Links, 2006). Analogous to medical ? rst aid, the idea is to intervene early when a hazardous event occurs for an individual, and offer compassionate support to facilitate adaptive coping. At the same time, the need for further intervention may be assessed and planned.According to The National Child Traumatic Stress Network and National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (2006) there are eight core psychological ? rst aid actions. Of course, the exact actions taken need to be tailored to the particular circumstances of crisis victims. Correspondence to: Jonathan Sandoval, Department of Educational and School Psychology, Benerd School of Education, 3601 Paci? c Avenue, Stockton, CA 95211. E-mail: [email  protected]? c. edu 246 Crisis Counseling Overvi ew 247 Making Contact The ? st action is to establish a relationship through verbal and nonverbal means with the child. Generally speaking, the sooner contact is made the better. By simply being physically present with the child and supporting nonverbal behavior alone, anxiety can be lessened. Providing Safety It is important to protect children from further harm by moving them to a secure location and attending to their basic needs for food, drink, sleep, shelter, or freedom from further danger. To relieve tension, it is also helpful to provide a place for play and relaxation.Children need to be protected from the eyes of strangers and the curious, and they need to be spared watching scenes of a traumatic event in the media (Young, Ford, Ruzek, Friedman, & Gusman, 1999). Stabilizing Affect Counselors must demonstrate nonverbally that they are able to be calm and composed. Adults modeling calmness and competence can communicate that problems may be solved and emotions can be control led in time. A counseling relationship will be important to help the child manage fear, anxiety, panic, and grief. Nondirective listening skills are most effective.However, it is also important not to offer unrealistic reassurance or to encourage denial as a defense or coping mechanism (Sandoval, 2002a). Addressing Needs and Concerns Once the crisis worker has been able to formulate an accurate, comprehensive statement about the student’s perception of the situation by identifying all of the sources of concern, it will be possible to begin the process of exploring potential strategies to improve or resolve the emotionally hazardous situation. Jointly, the crisis worker and pupil review the strategies explored and select one for trial. The outcome should be an action plan.This is much like the problem solving that occurs in conventional counseling, but must be preceded by the steps previously mentioned. Moving too quickly to problem solving is a common mistake of novices. Howe ver effective the problem solution is, the very process of turning attention to the future and away from the past is bene? cial in and of itself. Provide Practical Assistance Helpers need to be direct with children and take an active role in managing their environment. Because parents may be disabled by the disaster, it is comforting to see some adult taking control and making decisions.Some solutions may involve actions by others, such as teachers or school administrators. To the extent necessary, the crisis worker may act as an intermediary communicating with authorities on the child’s behalf. When working in schools, a task will be to reunite children with their parents or loved ones. Plans need to be in place to communicate with parents and track children should a disaster occur at a school site (Brock, Sandoval, & Lewis, 2001). Facilitate Connections with Social Supports Finding social supports may be particularly dif? cult during times of crisis.In a disaster, for examp le, whole communities are affected. There is a disruption of both schools and social services. There is often an absence of adults with whom children can process feelings of loss, dread, and vulnerability. Psychology in the Schools DOI: 10. 1002/pits 248 Sandoval, Scott, and Padilla Nevertheless, it is usually possible to ? nd either a group of peers or family members who can provide emotional support and temporary physical assistance during the crisis. In this way the pupil’s energies may be devoted to coping with the crisis.Being with and sharing crisis experiences with positive social support systems facilitates recovery. Conversely, lower levels of social support often predicts traumatic stress reactions (Barenbaum et al. , 2004; Caffo & Belaise, 2003; Litz et al. , 2002; Ozer et al. , 2003). If family is not available, there are often community resources that may substitute and the crisis worker should be knowledgeable about them. Facilitating Coping During the process o f crisis intervention, the student will have temporarily become dependent on the crisis counselor for direct advice, for stimulating action, and for supplying hope.This situation is temporary and before the crisis intervention interviews are over, the crisis counselor must spend some time planning ways to restore the student to selfreliance and self-con? dence. This restoration may be accomplished by consciously moving into a position of equality with the student, sharing the responsibility and authority. Although earlier the crisis counselor may have been very directive, eventually he or she strives to return to a more democratic stance.Techniques such as one-downsmanship [where the counselor acknowledges the pupil’s contribution to problem solving, while minimizing the counselor’s own contribution (Caplan, 1970)] permit the counselee to leave the crisis intervention with a sense of accomplishment. Helping individuals to ? nd alternative rewards and sources of satisfa ction using problemfocused coping (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) is most helpful. Providing anticipatory guidance involves connecting children to knowledge and resources, and involves providing information about stress reactions and future challenges that the client will face.It acts to reduce distress and promote adaptive functioning. Any action strategies must be implemented in the context of what the student thinks is possible to accomplish. Crisis ? rst aid providers can emphasize what positive there is in the situation, even if it seems relatively minor. For example, even the victim of a sexual assault can be congratulated for at least surviving physically. The crisis situation often leads to a diminution in self-esteem and the acceptance of blame for the crisis.With an emphasis on how the child coped well given the situation so far, and how the person has arrived at a strategy for moving forward, there can be a restoration of the damaged view of the self. Drawing from the self-conc ept literature, it may also be important to emphasize positive views of the self in speci? c areas, as self-concept has been theorized to be a hierarchical and multidimensional construct (Marsh & Shavelson, 1985; Shavelson, Hubner, & Stanton, 1976). According to the compensatory model (Marsh, Byrne, & Shavelson, 1988), which holds that selfconcept in different domains may be additive, it may be bene? ial for students to increase their self-concept in one area if it has been diminished in another area as a result of a traumatic event. Helping children recognize competence in other areas besides the ones affected by the trauma will protect feelings of self-worth. This notion of building up other branches of self concept, such as academic self-concept, is also supported by Shavelson’s hierarchical model (Shavelson et al. , 1976). Create Linkages with Needed Collaborative Services Prime candidates for resources in many cultures are clergy, but these resources may also be an in? e ntial neighborhood leader or politician. In non-western (and western) cultures the family is an important system of support during times of crisis. Keep in mind that de? nitions of â€Å"family† do differ considerably. Psychology in the Schools DOI: 10. 1002/pits Crisis Counseling Overview 249 In many non-western cultures when individuals enter a crisis state, they turn to individuals (shaman) who are acknowledged within their communities as possessing special insight and helping skills. Their helping skills often emphasize non-ordinary reality and the psychospiritual realm of personality (Lee and Armstrong, 1995).Referral Although this is not one of the core psychological ? rst aid actions, as the ? rst and perhaps only person on the scene, the school psychologist should be helpful. Attend to physical needs, offer appropriate reassurance and anticipatory guidance, and help those in a crisis state to take positive action to facilitate coping (Sandoval, 2002a). As soon as poss ible, however, facilitate an appropriate referral to a culturally appropriate helper and/or to community-based services, and follow-up to determine that a connection has been made.D EVELOPMENTAL I SSUES I N C RISIS C OUNSELING A child of 5 and an adolescent of 16 have radically different faculties for dealing with information and reacting to events. Differences in cognitive, social, and emotional development mean that they will respond differently to hazards and will need to be counseled differently should they develop a crisis reaction (Marans & Adelman, 1997). The same event (e. g. , the death of a parent) may be a crisis for a preschooler as well as a high-school senior, but each will react and cope with the event differently.Counseling with younger children often involves the use of nonverbal materials, many more directive leads to elicit and re? ect feelings, and a focus on concrete concerns as well as fantasy. The use of drawing, for example, has proved very effective in getti ng children to express what has happened to them (Hansen, 2006; Morgan & White, 2003). In terms of increasing self-concept with children after a crisis, one must consider the dimensionality of self-concept as it relates to cognitive, language, and social factors (Byrne, 1996; Harter, 1999). Self-concept dimensions tend to increase with age.That is, young children are able to make judgments about themselves in terms of concrete and observable behaviors and tend to display all-or-none thinking. Thus, self-concept at this age tends to have few dimensions. Children at this age describe themselves in relation to certain categories, such as â€Å"I am 5† or â€Å"I have blond hair,† and are able to make simple comparisons such as â€Å"I am crying and he is not crying† (Harter, 1999). Although young children tend to have very positive descriptions of the self, negative life experiences, such as a traumatic event, may cause them to view themselves negatively.During mid dle childhood, self-concept dimensionality increases and children are able to make more global statements about their self-concept. However, they will often overestimate their abilities. Their descriptions change from being concrete to traitlike. Children during this stage also begin to use social comparison as they judge themselves and they can make social comparison statements, such as â€Å"I am more shy than most kids† or â€Å"I’m good at (one subject) and not (other subjects). † All-or-none thinking may continue at this stage, which may cause children to view themselves negatively (Harter, 1999).Traditional talk therapies such as nondirective counseling capitalize on a client’s capacity for rational thought and high level of moral development and are more likely to be effective with adolescents. With adolescents, the school psychologist can also acknowledge and use the ageappropriate crisis of establishing an identity. During adolescence, more diffe rentiation of the self occurs and peers may be used for social comparisons. Abstract concepts are used to describe the self, and there is an awareness of â€Å"multiple selves,† where they may behave or act differently in different contexts.Adolescents begin to make statements with interpersonal implications, such as, Psychology in the Schools DOI: 10. 1002/pits 250 Sandoval, Scott, and Padilla â€Å"Because I am shy I do not have many friends† or â€Å"People trust me because I am an honest person† (Harter, 1999). In reviewing the crisis intervention principles and procedures just outlined, it seems reasonable to expect that younger children would have a greater dif? culty acknowledging a crisis, and would be more prone to use immature defenses such as denial and projection to avoid coping with a crisis (Allen, Dlugokinski, Cohen, & Walker, 1999).In contrast, an adolescent might use more advanced defenses such as rationalization and intellectualization. In coun seling children, more time might be spent on exploring reactions and feelings to the crisis situation and establishing support systems that engage in lengthy problem solving. With older adolescents, then, it may be possible to focus much more on establishing reasonable expectations and avoiding false reassurance, as well as spending more time on focused problem-solving activities. ATTENDING TO C ULTURAL D IFFERENCESMany events that frequently stimulate a crisis reaction in the dominant culture, such as a death, a suicide, or a natural disaster, may or may not have a similar effect on members of other cultures (Sandoval, 2002b). Sometimes a reaction to a traumatic event will be culturally appropriate but will seem to western eyes to be a breakdown of ordinary coping. Extreme outward expression of grief by wailing and crying followed by self-mutilation and threats of suicide following the death of a loved one may be normal coping behavior expected of a survivor in a particular culture (Klingman, 1986).A cultural informant will be useful in indicating what normal reactions to various traumatic events are for a particular culture. One of the most important manifestations of culture is language. Many important cultural concepts cannot be satisfactorily translated from one language to another, because the meaning is so bound up in cultural values and worldview. If possible, crisis interveners should speak the same language as their client and be familiar with their cultural perspective.In an emergency, this kind of match of counselor and client may not be possible, so school psychologists need to be prepared to work with interpreters and cultural informants. Attention to nonverbal communication is also important during a time of crisis. A number of behaviors including form of eye contact, physical contact, and proximity can be different between members of different cultures (Hall, 1959). Because these behaviors are subtle, counselors may easily miss them without hel p. Training in cross-cultural work may be delivered through workshops or by consultation with an experienced psychologist.A ? rst step in working with children from different cultures will be to learn the extent to which the client has become acculturated to the dominant culture. One cannot assume that a child is fully a member of either the culture of the family’s origin or of the American mainstream. Working with the child and family will be individualized on the basis of culturally appropriate intervention. P REVENTING PTSD The common goal of responding to children experiencing situational crises is to prevent the formation of PTSD. This syndrome, ? st identi? ed among military combat veterans, also manifests itself in children. Their reaction is similar to that in adults, although their reactions may be somewhat different and the symptoms will vary with age (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). To be diagnosed with PTSD, a person who has been exposed to trauma must ha ve symptoms in three different areas: persistent reexperiencing of the traumatic stressor, persistent avoidance of reminders of the traumatic event, and persistent symptoms of increased arousal.These symptoms must be present for at least one month, and cause clinically signi? cant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Children are more likely than adults to have symptomatology related to aggression, anxiety, depression, and regression (Mazza & Overstreet, 2000). As noted earlier, traumatic stress reactions Psychology in the Schools DOI: 10. 1002/pits Crisis Counseling Overview 251 are to a signi? ant extent dependent on the child’s level of development (Joshi & Lewin, 2004). Especially among younger children, traumatic stress reactions are less connected to the stressor and more likely to take the form of generalized fear and anxiety. It is certainly not true that all children, if untr eated, will develop PTSD. In fact, recovery is the norm (NIMH, 2001). Recent studies regarding the prevalence of PTSD in children and adolescents estimates that about 15% –43% of children have experienced at least one traumatic event in their lifetime.Although estimates vary by extent and type of trauma, a conservative estimate is that 12% –15% of children may develop PTSD six or more months following a disaster (La Greca, Silverman, Vernberg, & Prinstein, 1996; McDermott & Palmer, 1999). In a review of the literature, Saigh, Yasik, Sack, & Koplewicz (1999) report that rates of psychological trauma among children and adolescents (as indicated by the presence of PTSD) vary considerably both within and between types of crisis events (with rates of PTSD ranging from 0% to 95%).Some may even develop longterm characterological patterns of behavior following a disaster, such as fearfulness (Honig, Grace, Lindy, Newman, & Titchener, 1999). These character traits, exhibited la ter in life, may originate as negative coping responses to the trauma. Severity of symptoms is related to the magnitude of exposure to the event itself, and the degree of psychological distress experienced by children in response to trauma is measured by several factors. The closer a child is to the location of the event (physical proximity), or the longer the exposure, the greater likelihood of severe distress.Having a relationship with the victim of trauma also increases the risk (emotional proximity). A third factor is the child’s initial reaction; those who display more severe reactions, such as becoming hysterical or panicking, are at greater risk for needing mental health assistance later on. The child’s subjective understanding of the traumatic event can sometimes be more important than the event itself. That is, the more the child perceives an event as threatening or frightening, the greater the chance of increased psychological distress.Additionally, children who experience the following family factors are at an increased risk: those who do not live with a nuclear family member, have been exposed to family violence, have a family history of mental illness, or have caregivers who are severely distressed themselves (Fletcher, 2003). Children who face a disaster without the support of a nurturing friend or relative appear to suffer more than those who do have that support available to them. Symptoms in children may be more severe if there is parental discord or distress and if there are subsequent stressors, such as lack of housing following a disaster (La Greca et al. 1996). The traumatic death of a family member also increases the risk of stress reactions (Applied Research and Consulting, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, & New York Psychiatric Institute, 2002; Bradach & Jordan, 1995). Finally, children who have preexisting mental health problems or previous exposure to threatening or frightening events are more likely to experience more severe reactions to trauma than are others. Symptoms may also be heightened among ethnic minorities (La Greca et al. , 1996). La Greca and her colleagues (1996) discuss ? e factors related to the development of severe symptomatology: 1) exposure to disaster-related experiences, including perceived life threats; 2) preexisting child characteristics such as poverty and illness; 3) the recovery environment including social support; 4) the child’s coping skills; and 5) intervening stressful life event during recovery. These factors may interact with biological factors that make the child particularly vulnerable, such as genetically based premorbid psychopathology and temperament (Cook-Cottone, 2004).Clearly intervention must supply an appropriate recovery environment that is suited to a child’s characteristics and facilitates coping. Determination of what intervention is appropriate for a given student should be based on assessment of risk for psychologi cal traumatization. Nevertheless, school is an important environment where prevention and healing can take place. Cook-Cottone (2004), drawing from the literature on children with cancer, has outlined a protocol for reintegrating children into school following a traumatic experience that has led to their absence from school.Psychology in the Schools DOI: 10. 1002/pits 252 Sandoval, Scott, and Padilla FACILITATING THE G RIEVING P ROCESS Grieving, and mourning the losses common to most potentially traumatic events, will be among the counseling objectives. Losses may include those of signi? cant others as well as loss of status. However, emotional numbing and avoidance of trauma reminders that accompany trauma can greatly interfere with the process of grieving. Trauma work often takes precedence over grief work; nevertheless, ultimately appropriate mourning must be facilitated (Hawkins, 2002). Worden (2002) has identi? d four tasks of mourning. The ? rst task is to accept the reality o f the loss and neither deny it has occurred nor minimize the impact on the child’s life. It is common for children to fantasize about a reunion or that there has been a mistake about the loss, or that divorced parents will reunite. Before a child can progress to the second task, there must be a reduction in spiritual, magical, or distorted thinking (Hawkins, 2002). Worden’s second task is to experience the pain of grief. There are many pressures, both cultural and familial, to not express or feel sadness at a loss.Children are told not to be a â€Å"crybaby† and to â€Å"act like an adult. † However, if the emotional pain is not experienced, there may be a manifestation in psychosomatic symptoms or maladaptive thinking or behaving (Hawkins, 2002). The third task of coping with a loss is to adjust to a new environment that does not include the lost status or relationship. The child must learn to create a new set of behaviors and relationships to replace th ose lost. The goal is to build a meaningful and authentic new lifestyle and identity.A failure to accomplish this task leaves a child feeling immobilized and helpless, clinging to an idealized past. The ? nal task of mourning is to withdraw emotional energy from the lost status and reinvest it in other relationships and endeavors. By holding on to the past, lost attachments rather than forming new ones, a child may become stuck. Instead, the trauma victim must eventually embrace a new status. Worden (2002) believes that, when the tasks of mourning are accomplished, the individual will be able to think of the loss without powerful pain, although perhaps with a sense of nostalgia and perhaps some sadness.In addition, the child or adolescent will be able to reinvest emotions in new relationships without guilt or remorse (Hawkins, 2002). T REATMENT School-based Counseling Galante and Foa (1986) worked in groups with children in one school throughout the school year following a major Ita lian earthquake. The children were encouraged to explore fears, mistaken understandings, and feelings connected to death and injury from the disaster using discussion, drawing, and role playing. Most participants, except those who experienced a death in the family, showed a reduction in symptoms.Another feature of disasters and terrorist acts is a lowered sense of control over one’s destiny and heightened fear of the unknown. Thus, a focus on returning a sense of empowerment to children will be important. If children can be directed to participate in restorative activities and take some actions to mitigate the results of the disaster, no matter how small, they can begin to rebuild an important sense of ef? cacy. Finally, there may be issues of survivor guilt, if there is widespread loss of life or property. Survivor guilt is a strong feeling of culpability often nduced among individuals who survive a situation that results in the death of valued others. Those individuals spar ed, but witnessing the devastation of others, may have extreme feelings of guilt that will need to be dealt with. Children, particularly, ascribe fantastical causes to the effects they see. Consequently, some may Psychology in the Schools DOI: 10. 1002/pits Crisis Counseling Overview 253 need to explore their magical thinking in counseling or play therapy about why they escaped injury or loss. School community–based support groups can provide one vehicle for feeling connected to others and working through these feelings.Ceballo (2000) describes a short-term supportive intervention group based in the school for children exposed to urban violence. Her groups are designed to 1) validate and normalize children’s emotional reactions to violence, 2) help children restore a sense of control over certain aspects of their environment, 3) develop safety skills for dealing with the environment in the future, 4) understand the process of grief and mourning, and 5) minimize the in? uence of PTSD symptoms on educational tasks and other daily life events. Such structured support groups can promote resiliency and promote constructive coping with problems.Depending on training and supervision, the school psychologist might also engage in therapies validated for the treatment of PTSD. These therapies are reviewed in the section on community-based therapy. Time and other constraints often make outside referral necessary. Bibliotherapy Bibliotherapy may also be useful following a disaster. A particularly useful resource for children is a book entitled I’ll Know What to Do: A Kid’s Guide to Natural Disasters by Mark, Layton, and Chesworth (1997). The authors focus on four concepts they view as fundamental to recovery: information, communication, reassurance, and the reestablishment of routine.They explore children’s feelings that often emerge in the aftermath of a disaster, and offer useful techniques to help young people cope with them. Another technique in which the child is an active participant in the creation of a book about personal experiences is called the resolution scrapbook (Lowenstein, 1995). Here the child is guided through a set of experiences and activities designed to help the child reprocess traumatic experiences and place completed work in a scrapbook. Evidence for the effectiveness of this technique is largely anecdotal to date. Other Adults in CrisisAn important feature of a traumatic event is the fact that the adults in the school as well as the children are affected. The teachers, administrators, and guidance staff would be as traumatized as children by an earthquake, terrorism, or an airplane crashing into the school. They will need assistance in coping with the aftermath of the crisis as much as the children will (Daniels, Bradley, & Hays, 2007). It is likely that outside crisis response assistance will be needed to help an entire community deal with disaster and mayhem associated with violence. Comm unity-based PsychotherapyCognitive behavior therapy. There are many treatments being studied for their effectiveness in the area of PTSD. Currently, much of the research suggests that cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) may be the most promising treatment for PTSD (Jones & Stewart, 2007). CBT is a structured, symptom-focused therapy that includes a wide variety of skill-building techniques. All are based on the premise that thoughts and behaviors can cause negative emotions and patterns of interactions with others. Making maladaptive thoughts and behaviors more functional is the goal of CBT (Jaycox, 2004).CBT uses techniques that integrate elements of cognitive information processing associated with anxiety with behavioral techniques—such as relaxation, imaginal or in vivo exposure, and role playing—that are known to be useful in the reduction of anxiety (Cook-Cottone, 2004). Psychology in the Schools DOI: 10. 1002/pits 254 Sandoval, Scott, and Padilla Another protocol fo r dealing with treating PTSD is eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). It includes many of the same elements as CBT, with the exception of in vivo exposure, and includes rhythmic eye and other tracking exercises (Greenwald, 1998).It has been successfully used with school-age populations (Chemtob, Nakashima, & Carlson, 2002). Play and art therapy. Play and art therapy are also being studied to determine their effectiveness on PTSD symptoms, especially in young children because of issues in language development (Cole & Piercy, 2007). Because play is a child’s natural method of developing mastery over the environment and because many symptoms of PTSD are seen in children’s play, this is a natural course of treatment (Kaduson, 2006). The use of art therapy has also shown to be effective in group work (Hansen, 2006). Medication.As a measure of last resort, medication may be used to treat severe PTSD. Often the symptoms of anxiety or depression that have resul ted from exposure to a traumatic experience are treated. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in particular are often prescribed to treat the symptoms of anxiety and depression, including sertraline, paroxetine, and ? uoxetine (Foa, Davidson, & Frances, 1999). In the adult population, antipsychotic, antiepileptic, and other psychotropic medications have been explored and may be effective depending on the symptoms of the individual (Davis, Frazier, Williford, & and Newell, 2006).If medications are prescribed to a student, it is important that there be a liaison between the school and the treating physician or psychiatrist to monitor effectiveness and deleterious side effects. C ONCLUSIONS School psychologists are often the contacts in schools when there is a traumatizing event. School psychologists should be ready to administer psychological ? rst aid that is individualized and developmentally and culturally appropriate. By intervening and facilitating coping processes and the grieving process, it may be possible to prevent or minimize the development of PTSD.School-based protocols have been developed to respond to children in crisis. 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