Thursday, October 31, 2019

Organizational Issues and Trends Questions Essay

Organizational Issues and Trends Questions - Essay Example Most employees perceive orgÐ °nizÐ °tionÐ °l politics Ð °s one of the most importÐ °nt fÐ °ctors which support positive climÐ °te Ð °nd morÐ °le. This dynÐ °mic interrelÐ °tionship provides one with the Ð °bility to tÐ °lk to oneself in terms of the community to which one belongs Ð °nd lÐ °y upon oneself the responsibilities thÐ °t belong to the community. OrgÐ °nizÐ °tionÐ °l politics involves Ð °ll importÐ °nt issues which help the society Ð °nd the orgÐ °nizÐ °tion to sÐ °ve nÐ °turÐ °l environment tÐ °king into Ð °ccount morÐ °l duties Ð °nd responsibilities for current Ð °nd future generÐ °tions. This politics cÐ °n be interpreted Ð °s Ð ° philosophy of the industry Ð °nd its morÐ °l guide. OrgÐ °nizÐ °tionÐ °l politics helps mÐ °nÐ °gement to creÐ °te positive Ð °ttitudes Ð °nd strong vÐ °lues, increÐ °se productivity Ð °nd improve performÐ °nce (Certo and Certo 2005). 2. MÐ °nÐ °gement of stress, Ð °n integrÐ °l pÐ °rt of orgÐ °nizÐ °tionÐ °l behÐ °vior, hÐ °s Ð °ssumed Ð ° vitÐ °l strÐ °tegic role Ð °s orgÐ °nizÐ °tionÐ °l Ð °ttempt to compete through people. The compÐ °ny creÐ °tes Ð ° competitive Ð °dvÐ °ntÐ °ge when it possesses or develops humÐ °n resources thÐ °t Ð °re psychologicÐ °lly strong, Ð °nd orgÐ °nized. My orgÐ °nizÐ °tion uses different techniques to help employees get out of stress. The most common techniques Ð °re identifying Ð °nd Ð °nÐ °lyzing the cÐ °uses of stress, etc. Ð  speciÐ °l Ð °ttention is pÐ °id to the seculÐ °r Ð °pproÐ °ch to stress mÐ °nÐ °gement. This Ð °pproÐ °ch is bÐ °sed on understÐ °nding the meÐ °ning Ð °nd purpose of live. In the field of orgÐ °nizÐ °tionÐ °l behÐ °vior, the seculÐ °r Ð °pproÐ °ch helps to understÐ °nd significÐ °nce of the work Ð °nd personÐ °l vÐ °lue. Using this Ð °pproÐ °ch, employees cÐ °n Ð °void stressful situÐ °tions, or better to sÐ °y, they chÐ °nge their Ð °ttitude towÐ °rds unpleÐ °sÐ °nt events Ð °t the work plÐ °ce, Ð °nd leÐ °rn how to reÐ °ct to externÐ °l chÐ °llenges. If Ð °n employee hÐ °s strong personÐ °l beliefs it helps him to

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Proposal to develop biosensor system for rapid diagnosis of infection Essay

Proposal to develop biosensor system for rapid diagnosis of infection with drug-resistant mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) in accident and ER in hospital - Essay Example It potentially kills more adults than any other infectious agent. Detection of infectious pulmonary cases at early stages of infection is imperative to gain control over the bacilli and also its spread. The most prevalent method of screening Mycobacterium tuberculosis is Mantoux TB test, where an injection is given under the patient’s skin and localised reaction is observed for up to 72 hrs. The test is slow, clumsy, requires specialist laboratory facilities and is only effective for detecting advanced disease, it is influenced by multiple factors and delivers false positive or false negative results and requires further testing and interpretations (News release). Research is going on constantly to develop rapid and accurate methodologies and techniques to detect the causal organism associated with tuberculosis. In the past two decades research is being carried out for the development of biosensors and biochips to understand the biological and medical fields and to quantify biomolecules (Vo-Dinh, 2000). It is manifested that organisms have some kind of bioreceptors; biosensors are developed as a means of chemical analysis with high selectivity (Vo-Dinh, 2000). Biosensors are chemical sensors that exploit the high selectivity and sensitivity of a biologically active material (Kumar, 2000). A biosensor can be defined as a device that consists of a biological recognition system called a bioreceptors and a transducer. When the analyte interacts with the bioreceptor (a molecular species e.g. an antibody, an enzyme, a protein, or a nucleic acid or cell, tissue or whole organism), it is measured by transducer as it converts information into an elect rical signal (Vo-Dinh, 2000). Biosensors have the advantage of being simple and low-cost instruments, fast response time, require less sample pre-treatment and display high sample throughput. With the advances in research in this area, novel treatments are required to provide

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Design and Build Contract in Project

Design and Build Contract in Project The term ‘procurement route considers all the activities undertaken by the client or clients representative, whether this is a sole decision or a decision made with the help of other parties, such as the various consultants or in some cases even the contractor, towards the goal of developing a construction project that the client is ultimately happy with.   There are various procurement routes, which can be categorized into three main procurement route contracts, a Traditional contract, a Design and Build contract, and a Management contract. A Traditional contract benefits in cost and quality, but at the expense of time.   It is not the fastest of methods, and with this procurement route it is desirable to have all the information at tender stage.   It is basically straightforward, but complications can arise if the client requires that certain sub-contractors are used.   With this procurement route the client requires certain standards to be shown or described, but the client is wholly responsible for achieving the stated quality on site, and controls the design and variations to a large extent.   It has certainty in cost and time before commitment to build, and requires clear accountability and cost monitoring at all stages.   Competitive tenders are possible for all items.   The risk is generally fair and balanced between all the parties.   (CLAMP, Hugh, COX, Stanley LUPTON, Sarah, 2003) A Design and Build contract benefits in cost and time, but at the expense of quality.   It is a relatively fast method. The pre-tender time largely depends on the amount of detail in the clients requirements, but the construction time can be reduced because the design and building phases proceed in parallel.   With this procurement route the client has no direct control over the contractors performance, has little say in the choice of specialist sub-contractors, and has virtually no flexibility once the contract is signed.   It has a guaranteed cost and completion date.   The risk with this procurement route lies almost entirely with the contractor. (CLAMP, Hugh, COX, Stanley LUPTON, Sarah, 2003) A Management contract benefits in time and quality, but at the expense of cost.   An early start on site is possible with this procurement route, long before tenders have been invited for some of the works packages.   It involves a complex management operation requiring sophisticated techniques.   The managing contractor is responsible for quality of work and materials on site and can easily adjust the programme and costs, meaning the client can also easily modify or develop design requirements during construction.   With this procurement route the client is committed to start building on only a cost plan, project drawings and a specification.   The risk lies mainly with the client in this method of procurement. (CLAMP, Hugh, COX, Stanley LUPTON, Sarah, 2003) For the purpose of this project we propose to use a Design and Build contract.   We have made this decision based on the project requiring cost and time to be prioritized, a guaranteed completion date being essential to minimise down time, and the benefit of having the responsibility of risk being taken away from the client. Tender Process Tendering is the name given to the process or procedure that is used to obtain offers leading to a contract between two parties.   The two main types of tender process are single stage tendering and two-stage tendering. Single stage tendering is suitable for small simple projects, where the key issues are speed and cost assurity.   It is considered by clients because of a need for greater cost certainty during the design and construction phases, the need for a well documented, fixed-price contract, the benefit from the discipline of completing the design before a contractor appointment takes place, and the use of commercial pressure to secure cost reductions for projects that might otherwise be unviable.   A single stage tendering process however offers limited scope for a team to develop a shared objective or for a contractor to contribute to design development, and changes introduced by the design team will undermine the certainty achieved with a lump sum tender. A two-stage tendering process is particularly suitable for large or complex projects, where a key factor is the close collaboration between the contractor and client, particularly during the design phase, as the contractor will endeavour to find the best solution for the project in terms of cost programme and design.   A two-stage tendering process is considered by clients because of its second stage being based on more complete information and therefore the contractor having a better understanding of the scope of works, which in turn should help obtain a final account that is closer to the contract sum, the ability to continue the development of the design during the second stage of the tender in conjunction with the main contractor and specialist sub contractors, and because it helps promote a specific focus on issues of buildability and economic construction during the later stages of design.   However the cost of second stage tenders tend to be higher because of negotiation p remiums and the inclusion of additional risk transfers, and not exceeding the cost and completion date are not binding prior to the finalisation of the contract. In two-stage tendering, like single stage tendering, the first stage is a competitive tender and it is usual to base these on the tenderers track records, preliminaries, overheads, an outline programme and the contractors pricing documents in relation to the preliminary design information.   Unlike a single stage tender, the first stage ends not with a contract being awarded but with the selection of a contractor for the second phase, in which the level of pricing provided in the first stage of the tender is used to open negotiations to produce a firmer price based on the drawings, bills of quantities and any other relevant documents that reflect the completed design. For the purposes of this project we propose to use a single stage tendering process.   We have made this decision based on the need for speed and cost assurity on the project, with the two key issues being time and cost. As early as possible during the design process we will propose a list of suitable contractors obtained from an electronic database containing a list of approved contractors.   The main criteria for selecting contractors for the initial tender list will include adequacy of available resources, adequacy of technical and management structure, financial stability and insurance cover, health and safety record, quality of work and adequacy of quality control, and performance record. We propose to issue preliminary enquiries to each contractor on the initial tender list 4-6 weeks before the tender documents are due to be issued, including a project information schedule and a questionnaire.   This will determine whether each contractor is both suited to the project and willing to submit a tender.   The contractors will be given 10 days from its original dispatch to return the completed questionnaire.    Once a short list of tenderers has been agreed and the tender documents are ready for release, they will be sent to the tenderers along with a Form of Invitation to Tender and a Form of Tender.   The latest time and date for submission of the tender will be included on both the Invitation to Tender and the Form of Tender, and will state that they are to remain open for acceptance for a period of 28 days from the bid submission date. When the tender return forms are received, the ones which are returned by the closing date will be analysed and a summary report will be written and sent to the client, and those which are returned after the closing date will remain unopened and be sent back to the sender.   As project managers we will offer advice upon the choice of appointed contractor, if the client requests so.   When we have received confirmation from the client regarding the chosen contractor we will notify them that they have won the work, and notify the unsuccessful tenderers that they have not. On Site Strategy Prior to work commencing on-site we propose to call a pre-start meeting, where the programme of works will be discussed and a letter of intent will be issued to the client.   When the contractor begins work on site we propose to take a monitoring roll.   On the first day of the work commencing on-site, as contract administrators, we will meet with the contractor and discuss site security, access, welfare facilities, deliveries and storage, and notify them of the time and date that snagging will be carried out. We propose to commence snagging 6 hours before the end of the construction phase, in order to give the contractor time to rectify any issues raised during the snagging process.   The snagging process will assess the quality of the work, the workmanship, and ensure all of the work complies with the clients specification.   We propose, as the contract administrators, to write the snagging list in conjunction with the foreman on site due to time constraints, of which a copy will be left with the foreman on site so that they can rectify any snags prior to the completion of the construction works. We propose to commence de-snagging once the contractor has informed us, as the contract administrators, that the construction work has been completed.   At this point, acting as the contract administrators, we will issue a certificate of practical completion and initialize the defects liability period, as determined in the contract.  Ã‚  Ã‚   References CLAMP, Hugh, COX, Stanley LUPTON, Sarah. (2003). Which Contract? Choosing the Appropriate Building Contract. 4th ed., London, RIBA Enterprises Ltd. Bibliography CHAPPELL, David. (2006). Construction Contracts, Questions Answers. Oxford, Taylor Francis. CHAPPELL, David. (2006). Contractual Correspondence for Architects Project Managers. 4th ed., Oxford, Blackwell Publishing Ltd. LUPTON, Sarah. (ed.) (2001). Architects Handbook Practice Management. 7th ed., London, R.I.B.A. Publications. LUPTON, Sarah. (ed.) (2000). Architects Job Book. 7th ed., London, R.I.B.A. Publications. ROY, Morledge, SMITH, Adrian KASHIWAGI, Dean T. (2006). Building Procurement. Oxford, Blackwell Publishing Ltd. MURDOCH, John HUGHES, Will. (2008). Construction Contracts, Law and Management. 4th ed., Oxon, Taylor Francis.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Leadership Esentials :: Leader Leading Management

Although some people treat the term's "manager ship" and "leadership" as synonyms, the two should be distinguished. As a matter of fact, there can be leaders of completely unorganized groups, but there can be managers, as conceived here, only where organized structures create roles. (Main, 1987) Separating leadership from manager ship has important analytical advantages. It permits leadership to be singled out for study without the encumbrance of qualifications relating to the more general issue of manager ship. Leadership is an important aspect of managing. (Kotler, 1990) As this paper will show the ability to lead effectively is one of the keys to being an effective manager, also, undertaking the other essentials of managing-doing the entire managerial job-has an important bearing on ensuring that a manager will be an effective leader. Managers must exercise all the function of their role in order to combine human and material resources to achieve objectives. The key to doing this is the existence of a clear role and a degree of discretion or authority to support manager's actions. The essence of leadership is follower ship. (Haller & Til, 1982) In other words, it is the willingness of people to follow that makes a person a leader. Moreover, people tend to follow those whom they see as providing a means of achieving their own desires, wants, and needs. Leadership and motivation are closely interconnected. By understanding motivation, one can appreciate better what people want and why they act as they do. Also, as noted in the previous chapter, leaders may not only respond to subordinates, motivations but also arouse or dampen them by means of the organizational climate they develop. Both these factors are as important to leadership as they are to manager ship. Defining Leadership: Leadership has different meaning to various authors. (Bass, 1981) Leadership is defined as influence, that is, the art or process of influencing people so that they will strive willingly and enthusiastically toward the achievement of group goals ideally, people should be encouraged to develop not only willingness to work but also willingness to work with zeal and confidence. Zeal is ardor, earnestness, and intensity in the execution of work; confidence reflects experience and technical ability. Leaders act to help a group attain objectives through the maximum application of its capabilities. They do not stand behind a group to push and prod, they place themselves before the group as they facilitate progress and inspire the group to accomplish organizational goals.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Bacteria Transformation in Biotechnology

Abstract Some bacteria are able to go through transformation making new combinations of genes. Transformation is a way of gene variability in bacteria. This experiment is based on the transformation mechanism of bacteria and gene regulation. The bacteria used for the experiment was Escherichia coli and the genes introduces for the transformation were: gfp and bla by a pGLOâ„ ¢ plasmid. After the insertion of the target genes and growing the bacteria on specialized LB media, it could be seen that the transformants were positive for the gene expression.The transformed E. coli on the media appeared fluorescent green under UV light. Introduction The bacteria used in this experiment is Escherichia coli which is not naturally competent. E. coli is a gram negative rod shaped bacteria and a facultative anaerobe. This bacteria forms part of the bacterial flora in the human intestine tract. The competence of a bacteria is based on its ability to take up naked DNA from the environment and in corporated on theirs, transformation. Alteration in the permeability of the membranes allows DNA to cross the cell envelope of E. oli. Since the outer membrane of the E. coli is mostly negatively charged and the DNA molecule also has a negative charge, then the addition of CaCl2 will neutralize the interaction so that the naked DNA molecule can enter the cell. (Microbe Library web) Another important factor on the competence of the bacteria is a procedure of alternating temperature between ice bucket and heat shocks. By the combination of this two procedures E. coli becomes competent. This procedure was first reported by Mandel and Higa. Singh 562) Even though it works it is only believed that CaCl2 helps DNA absorption to cell surface and the heat-shock step facilitates penetration of absorbed DNA into cell. (Panja 411) The main purpose of this experiment is to transform the bacteria to make it resistant to the antibiotic ampicillin. A secondary transformation is being made, and is to make the bacteria seem fluoresce green. The reason why the bacteria will fluoresce is because the gfp gene is being inserted under an ara promoter. The gfp gene encodes for the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP).The genes under the ara promoter will be expressed when the bacteria is in presence of the sugar Arabinose. When the transformed E. coli is in presence of Arabinose, the gfp will make the GFP and when the bacteria is placed under UV light it will fluoresce green. The gfp gene was found and extracted from a jellyfish, Aequorea victoria, and is being used as a visible reporter for gene expression. (Garcia-Cayuela 172) To introduce the gfp into the bacterial cell it was needed to be by a plasmid, as well as the gene to make the E. oli resistant to ampicillin, bla gene. The bla gene encodes for the protein beta lactamase which breaks down the ? -lactam ring in the structure of the ampicillin, therefore making it resistant to the antibiotic. Like already said to introduce this tw o genes to the E. coli it must be done through a plasmid. Both genes were introduced by the same one. In this case the one that was used was a pGLOâ„ ¢ plasmid. This is an engineered plasmid used as a vector to create genetically modified bacteria. This plasmid contains three specific genes: bla, gfp and araC.The  ¬araC is a promoter region that regulates the expression of the gfp only under the presence of arabinose sugar. Materials and Methods In this experiment a pGLOâ„ ¢ transformation kit was used. First we needed two eppie tubes, one pGLO positive and the other pGLO negative. This two eppies were then moved to an ice bucket. During, one loopful of the pGLO plasmid was transfer to the pGLO+ tube. The other tube will be the pGLO-, the Escherichia coli without the plasmid. The two tubes were moved into an ice bucket and left there for 10 minutes. Then the tubes were put into a 42?C water bath for 50 seconds and after back to the ice bucket for 2 minutes more. After the tw o minutes had passed, a 300 microliters aliquot of LB broth was added to the two test tubes. By adding the LB broth, the CaCl2 solution was also inserted in the tubes with the E. coli. Right after it the tubes were shook for ten minutes in a 37? C shaker. There were gather 4 petri plates, one with LB media, two with LB amp(ampicillin), and the last one with LB amp ara(arabinose sugar). After the 10 minutes each plate was given an aliquot of 100 microliters with one of the E. coli of the eppie tubes.The LB plate and LB amp had the pGLO- and the other two plates, LB amp ara and LB amp, had the pGLO+. After this step it’s done the plates are prepared to be incubated at 37? C for two days and reveal the results of the induced transformation. LAB 9: TRANSFORMATION PROCEDURE Results The results for this experiment were a bit ambiguous but still recognizable and pretty clear. All of these plates were seen under UV light. In the LB plate pGLO- , after the incubation, there was found a lawn of Escherichia coli colonies that looked green because of the light. The LB amp plate with the pGLO- bacteria, the E. oli did not seem like it grow on it, the media just looked green. A count of 172 colonies that looked green, was found in the LB amp pGLO+ plate, this plate had ampicillin. In the LB ara amp media plate there were found 251 colonies of E. coli. In this plate the colonies looked fluorescent green under the UV light, the only plate. In a scale of growth from larger to smaller, the first in line would be the LB, then LB ara amp, proceeds LB amp (pGLO+), and last one LB amp (pGLO-). Table 1. 1 Results oftransformationof E. coli withpGLO plasmid mediapGLO+pGLO-color(under UV light)growthLB -Yesgreenlawn of colonies LB amp-yesmedia look greenno growth LB ampyes-green172 colonies LB amp arayes-fluorescent green251 colonies -= n/a Discussion The results obtained in this experiment were as expected. The gfp should had been expressed under the presence of arabinose suga r and then under the UV light would fluoresce. The bla gene was expected to be expressed in the presence of ampicillin molecules. The LB pGLO- plate was a control plate meaning that this plate set a reference parameter to compare the results after the transformation. In this plate the growth of the E. oli was in a vast amount since this is a general media target for growth. In the LB amp pGLO- plate, the other control, the E. coli was not transformed with the plasmid, so in presence of the ampicillin the natural behavior of the bacteria is that is susceptible to it. In another hand, the plate of LB amp pGLO+ presented growth meaning that the bacteria took up the plasmid and was able to expressed the genes by an induce transformation. The result being that the transformed E. coli is now resistant to the ampicillin. The last plate, LB amp ara pGLO+, appeared with 251 fluorescent green colonies under the UV light.The reason for it is that the bacteria took up the pGLO plasmid and when the E. coli was in the presence of arabinose and ampicillin, the bacteria could fluoresce green and be resistant to ampicillin which naturally the E. coli does not possess this genes. When this last plate is compared with the control plates it can be confirmed that the procedure done in this experiment was effective as hoped. The arabinose sugar is the intriguer that turns on the genes under the ara promoter. So when the gfp under this promoter turns on, all the other genes under the same promoter will expressed in the cell also.No real noticeable source of error was found during the experiment since the results obtained were completely expected based in the information of the procedure. New studies are being made constantly and this transformation technique is widely used in the field of biotechnology. In the study of Plasmid DNA Transformation in Escherichia Coli: Effect of Heat Shock Temperature, Duration, and Cold Incubation of CaCl2 Treated Cells, the experiment was based on ho w much quantitative is the difference between different variables possible to reach for the best optimum environment to exploit to the maximum the use of this technique.These results suggest that a heat shock pulse of 30 sec at 42 °C followed by a 10 min ice incubation step are ideal parameters to obtain maximum transformation efficiency, also suggest that post heat shock cold incubation step is also an important factor and enhances transformation of E. coli significantly (Singh 561) The relevance of this paper on the experiment performed and discussed previously is big. The results of Singh’s experiment helps our experiment in enhancing the correctness of our results and lowering the possible errors that can surge.Also it can be a great reference of how to determine the optimum conditions of a specific bacteria which would contribute in other research fields. Citations Anh-Hue T. Tu. Transformation of Escherichia coli Made Competent by Calcium Chloride Protocol. Microbe Li brary. American Society of Microbiology. October 25, 2012. Web. November 10, 2012 Garcia-Cayuela, Tomas,. Fluorescent protein vectors for promoter analysis in lactic acid bacteria and Escherichia coli. 172. Applied Genetics and Molecular Biotechnology.Pdf Panja, Subrata,. Aich, Pulakesh,. Jana, Bimal,. Basu, Tarakdas. How does plasmid DNA penetrate cell membranes in arti? cial transformation process of Escherichia coli? 25(5): 411 Molecular Membrane Biology, August 2008. Pdf. Singh, Mahipal,. Yadav, Arpita. Ma, Xiaoling. Amoah, Eugene. Plasmid DNA Transformation in Escherichia Coli: Effect of Heat Shock Temperature, Duration, and Cold Incubation of CaCl2 Treated Cells. Volume 6 Number 4, 2010. 561– 562 International Journal of Biotechnology and Biochemistry. Pdf.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Dpe Paper

DPE and Goal Instruction If teaching were as simple as using the one best way to teach everything, it would be considered a science. However, there isn’t just one correct method to teach everything. That is the reason teaching is an art. If teaching meant to follow a text book and a â€Å"one size fits all† approach, then anyone would be a master teacher. That is why teachers and especially special educators unique and special.That is why teachers know that individual needs, strengths and weaknesses must be considered to make the instructional process successful and geared to equip the student to achieve his optimum skills and abilities to meet the challenges of daily living. Students come with their own individual packages and no two of them are alike. Even though the curriculum is the same, no two students learn the same way. Teachers are challenged to meet the students’ â€Å"package† and to create an approach at instruction that take into consideration the students’ differing abilities, strengths and needs are satisfied.To compound the challenges of instruction, the intellectually disabled (ID) student presents additional dynamics that impact the art of teaching. This paper presents the diagnostic/prescriptive/evaluation (DPE) strategy of instruction for ID students. The DPE is not a concept. Educators have been using it for decades (Mann and Phillips, 1967). During the past 40 years it has been improved and refined (Ewing & Brecht). The paper examines each of the components of DPE: diagnosis, prescription, and evaluation (Thomas, 1996). In conclusion it presents two applications of implementing the DPE with two students diagnosed with ID.The diagnostic process requires great skill and effort from the teacher. Alone the special educator cannot perform all the necessary functions of diagnosis. With the assistance of the other members of the Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) and other service personnel, they are able to determine the needs of individual learners and to specify instructional objectives that will help the student satisfy his educational needs (Eisele, 1967). During this phase the teacher is to determine the most demanding needs of the student. The entire diagnostic process depends upon the ccurate identification of these needs. The specialists on the MDT provide the teacher with the data, or means of acquiring the data, about the student that are necessary for determining the student’s needs. This takes the form of providing formal and informal testing services for testing students, supplying the data that has been acquired from the testing, and providing the testing batteries that could be used for this purpose (Eisele, 1967). This becomes the Present Levels of Performance (PLOP) of the Individualized Education Program (IEP).When the MDT has collected all of the significant data and determined the demanding needs of the student, then the teacher and the specialists develop the instruc tional goals and objectives appropriate for specific needs. These goals are selected from curriculum domains and the objectives can be selected from curriculum guides and resource units. Also the teacher and specialist can generate their own objectives. When talking to the teacher and specialists, I asked what type of instructional activities and materials they use for students with ID?The teacher and specialists stated that they prescribe instructional activities and materials suitable for the student to master his objectives. This constitutes the second step in the DPE process. Prescribed learning is based on short- and long-term goals that are established for the individual student and are based on the skills needed to be mastered. Within these goals are markers to establish where there are gaps in the learning process. Instruction that follows will teach only to what the student still needs to master to be successful. It capitalizes on the strength of the student to fill in the learning gaps.The prescriptive process can be applied to almost any subject area, academic and behavioral (Deschel, Susan, 2012). Three important teaching strategies for students diagnosed with ID: 1) tasks should be broken down into small component steps and learned in sequence, 2) teaching techniques should be experiential, concrete, visual and hands-on rather than cognitive, abstract and verbally delivered in lecture form, and 3) feedback should be immediate for the student to make a connection between his answer, behavior, or question and the teacher’s response.The third phase is the evaluation process. This is a two-pronged process for the teacher. First, evaluation is necessary to assess needs and, second, to evaluate the student’s progress toward achieving his objectives. Through the evaluation process teacher monitors the understanding and performance of students before teaching the lesson, while teaching, and after teaching the lesson. The evaluation process c an inform the teacher of the effectiveness of his lessons with individuals, small groups of students, or whole classes, depending on the instruments used (Guskey, 2003).Instruction and evaluation are interactive. The teacher may evaluate student learning on the spot, or collect data at different points in time and compare progress over units of instruction. Moment-by-moment assessments allow the teacher to tap into student’s developing understandings about the objective and to enable the teacher to correct misconceptions immediately. Observations recorded over time allow the teacher to identify patterns of development and document learning gains (Guskey, 2003). This can be accomplished in many ways.Devices appropriate for the evaluating progress are data keeping, checklists, logs, standardized tests, and paper and pencil tests. Now we consider the practical applications of DPE in a classroom. Antoine is a 12 year old, sixth grader, who is diagnosed with ID and is in a special education classroom. His MDT has completed their assessments and has developed his IEP. One of his goals includes math readiness. His objective is to be able to match manipulatives to numbers expressed on cards with verbal prompting.The teacher has developed prescriptive lesson plans to enable Antoine develop the needed skills to match the manipulatives to the numbers. His first lesson is to match manipulatives to the number expressed on a picture communication symbol (PCS). He encounters difficulty in matching the manipulatives to the number on the PCS. His teacher notes the difficulty evaluating Antoine’s learning skill gap. She introduces PCS with a number of manipulatives on it equal to a number on the top of the PCS. Antoine begins to associate the manipulative with the number on the card.As he experiences success in matching the manipulatives to the number, the teacher replaces the PCS with two cards, one with the number and the other with the manipulatives. After coll ecting data indicating Antoine’s progress, the teacher removes the manipulative card. Antoine now begins to match the manipulatives to the number on the PCS. For the second example we meet John. John is a 15 year old with a diagnosis of ID and behavioral issues. He has recently developed the habit, when he becomes frustrated, of head butting objects and individuals.His MTD has met and analyzed the situation and has developed a plan to extinguish this behavior and have John express his frustration in positive behaviors. They have listed the times when John has become frustrated, the antecedent(s), and indicators that precede his head butting. The prescriptive element is to develop initially plans for John to identify his feeling of frustration and to express his emotion to the teacher. As the staff observes John during class times, they begin to note those antecedents that indicate John is becoming frustrated. They plan interventions with John to alleviate his build up of frus tration.There is the constant interplay of the diagnostic, prescriptive and evaluation processes until John is able to identify the cause of his frustration and release it with positive behaviors. There are many specific techniques that can assist in teaching students with ID. They can be summarized into three, more, general strategies. First is to allow more time and practice for the students to successfully master the objective. Second is to embed the activities into daily living or functioning as much as possible. Third is to include the student both in the social and academic activities.Diagnostic/prescriptive/evaluation strategies have been employed in the classroom as an educational strategy to remedy learning deficits (Ewing & Brecht, 1977). After speaking with a teacher about the roles and procedures that plays in the daily class, she shared with me that the diagnostic process helps the educational team define the student’s abilities and deficits. The prescriptive pro cess provides a means to plan and teach the skills and concepts a student needs most. The evaluation process measures the learning increments of any magnitude. It enables the team to redefine the diagnostic and prescriptive as needed.The DPE strategy emphasizes and identifies a prioritized life goal curriculum planning approach to identify functional skills and concepts need by a student with ID to become as successful as possible in adult life. The DPE approach assesses each student’s abilities and progress toward those individual life goals (Thomas, 1996). References Dreschel, Susan. (2012). Prescriptive Learning. http://www. ehow. com. Eisele, James E. (1967). Diagnostic Teaching: Can the Curriculum Specialist Help? Educational Leadership, January 1967. Washington, DC. Ewing, Norma & Brecht, Richard. (1977).Diagnostic/Prescriptive Instruction: A Reconsideration of Some Issues. Journal of Special Education, vol. 11. Los Angeles CA: Sage Publications. Guskey, T. R. (2003). U sing Data to Improve Student Achievement. Educational Leadership. Kauffman, James M. & Hung, Li-Yu. (2009). Special Education for Intellectual Disability: Current Trends and Perspectives. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Inc. Thomas, Glen E. (1996) Teaching Students with Mental Retardation: A Life Goal Curriculum Planning Approach. Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.