Fascism and generation of 1914 an Example of the Topic All Posts by

Fascism and generation of 1914 A generation conscious is a common frame of reference that provides a sense of connection with the past and later distinguishes members from two different generations. What Robert Wohl meant by generation consciousness is that Europeans born between 1881 and 1900 viewed themselves as a distinct generation. This is because it is during their youth that the twentieth century was opened and their life was during the war. The life of those who followed were divided into before, during and after war categories hence those generations were different. The 1914 generation was bound together by the experiences of the war. (Whol, 1979). Need essay sample on "Fascism and generation of 1914" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed The fact that they grew up and made their first ideas into the world which were issued by the war was another bond for the 1914 generation. It is from this bond that they began to live their historic life conscious of their generation. The image of the 1914 generation before the war broke was the reverse of what they feared in their parents generation. They viewed themselves as the doers and the previous generation as thinkers. They wanted to be strong and vital when they thought the past generation was weak and indecisive. They were couscous about everything in their generation and wanted to be different from the previous generation hence generation consciousness (Whol, 1979). Fascism was described as an action and thought in which the doctrine was immanent. The doctrines come from a certain system of historical forces in which it was inserted. Fascism can be looked into as way of enforcing certain rules and regulations to certain organization and on the system of the education. According to the meaning of the word fascism, people should be more responsible and get involved in various actions with all their strengths. This would prepare people on what kind of the difficulties that they might go through in their lives. Fascism had various conflicts with the individuals, the materialism and they do not consider the happiness of the people. (Gentile, 1932) This was because they believe that fascism means liberty of the state and the people who are living in State. They believe that no human or spiritual values could exist outside the State and there are no political parties, economic unions and the social classes whom are outside the State. This implies that fascism was opposed to socialism. The Fascist State functions could not be limited to the people who are responsible for making the law in for them to maintain peace as the liberal doctrine had it. The Fascism was the founder of the institutions, made the laws and was an educator and promoter of the spiritual life. In the year 1915 the Fasci had only the doctrine of socialism and the doctrine of action. (Gentile, 1932) The year 1919 the doctrine of socialism had already failed where by it continues to exist after a grudge in Italy. These made all the doctrines which had been made before to be incompatible with the Fascism. The resolution of the Fascism according to the doctrines which were known as the scientific and Marxian socialism, there are so many histories of the mankind in way they were struggling and improving the development in various places. Fascism aims at making a strong and firm States and the will to exercise power and to command in a country like Italy. (Gentile, 1932) One of the themes evident in Whols essay is the theme of change. The change that young people saw in the world of 1900 and 1914 was that it was being transformed by technology. Europeans were leaving their traditional ways. Life was becoming safer cleaner and comfortable. Death bearing diseases were declining and the engineers and the physicians were operating under new civilization. Life was becoming secure and people no longer felt distanced from each other. The invention of the automobile, motor cycle and the airplane were the greatest events of the era. It is then evident that theme of change is dominant. Revolutionary change in the prewar world is evident. There was change in political and social structures. Old empires were attacked in Europe, oppressed people were claiming statehood, peasants were asking for land and the lowly paid were asking for more theme of change was every where before the war during the war and after the war. (Whol,1979). The themes of rebellion and politics are also evident in the essay. During prewar period the scramble for change made people rebellious. Every where in Europe there were movements on political participation. Systems of defense were under attack. Authority either exercised by the landlords, factory owner, clergymen or even fathers in their own families were disputed angrily. People were no longer satisfied with what they had and wanted more. A political movement of socialism was formed. It was to later play a major role in the twentieth century. Socialist leaders were committed to democracy and peace. (Whol, 1979). The young generation of 1914 was also rebellious. They viewed the previous generation and thinker and they wanted to be doers. They wanted to be strong and vital and viewed the previous generation as weak and indecisive. This quickened the pace of life and weakened the authority of fathers over their sons the society became more complex. The young did not need to seek authority from their fathers to travel or do things they were determined to be a different generation from the generation of their parents. The theme of rebellion is then evident. (Whol, 1979). According to the Generation of 1914, there two themes which had made them have the type of leadership and the government they have now. The themes were dictatorship and the policies. The theme of dictatorship could come out where by there were very prominent people who comes from the State that were very much authoritative. Dictatorship in this generation of 1914 made very many people to be able to get training about democratic ideologies and how to implement them. It denies many people the right to govern their societies. (Gentile, 1932) The theme of doctrines or the policies like the socialism which was in the year 1914 had made many people to have a chance to explore their knowledge. The policies were implemented when the war was still going on in the country. The policies enable the people of Italy to have a better government with a strong foundation. Therefore the prominent people from the State made clearly that Fascism or a dictatorship was defined as the doctrines or the policies. (Gentile, 1932) List of references Gentile, G. 1932, Fascism, Doctrines and Institution, Howard Fertig, New York. Whol, R. 1979, A generation of 1914, .mass Harvard University press, Cambridge

Free Essays on Hopeless Ambition

During the late 1800’s immigrants flocked to America in record numbers. They came to America with high hopes of freedom and opportunity. Freedoms they could not have enjoyed in the countries they formerly called home. They came to America looking for the chance to rise above the common man and make a name for themselves. America’s capitalist system is based on that very idea. However, this system was set up for the common man, by the common man and issues such as racism were not initially taken into account. Race can keep you from being treated with respect, keep you from getting a job or even keep you from renting a house. Because of this George, Mike and Elena are forced to live in a country that although brags of freedom, the circumstances of their freedom are not ideal. There is no better example of racism in Braddock than at the steel mill. There is not one Slovak ever mentioned in Out of This Furnace that had a management position at the mill. Almost every one of them worked at the mill from the day they were old enough until the day they died without any hope of ever receiving higher pay than people just starting out. â€Å"I’ve seen them hire Irish, Johnny Bulls, Scotties, just off the boat and knowing no more about a steel mill than Mikie there, and in a year they’re giving me orders. Not once or twice but many times†¦ But I’m a Hunky and they don’t give good jobs to Hunkies.† (Bell 184). It’s understandable that mike would be frustrated after 20 years of service and no raise, especially when people who only worked there for a few years were making more money than him. This is not the only time Mike spoke of the hopelessness of working at the mill. He lived his whole life deserving more tha n he was given, but never received anything because of the country he was from. George felt the same sense of hopelessness towards his job as Mike and everyone else in Braddock, but he was one of the few peopl... Free Essays on Hopeless Ambition Free Essays on Hopeless Ambition During the late 1800’s immigrants flocked to America in record numbers. They came to America with high hopes of freedom and opportunity. Freedoms they could not have enjoyed in the countries they formerly called home. They came to America looking for the chance to rise above the common man and make a name for themselves. America’s capitalist system is based on that very idea. However, this system was set up for the common man, by the common man and issues such as racism were not initially taken into account. Race can keep you from being treated with respect, keep you from getting a job or even keep you from renting a house. Because of this George, Mike and Elena are forced to live in a country that although brags of freedom, the circumstances of their freedom are not ideal. There is no better example of racism in Braddock than at the steel mill. There is not one Slovak ever mentioned in Out of This Furnace that had a management position at the mill. Almost every one of them worked at the mill from the day they were old enough until the day they died without any hope of ever receiving higher pay than people just starting out. â€Å"I’ve seen them hire Irish, Johnny Bulls, Scotties, just off the boat and knowing no more about a steel mill than Mikie there, and in a year they’re giving me orders. Not once or twice but many times†¦ But I’m a Hunky and they don’t give good jobs to Hunkies.† (Bell 184). It’s understandable that mike would be frustrated after 20 years of service and no raise, especially when people who only worked there for a few years were making more money than him. This is not the only time Mike spoke of the hopelessness of working at the mill. He lived his whole life deserving more tha n he was given, but never received anything because of the country he was from. George felt the same sense of hopelessness towards his job as Mike and everyone else in Braddock, but he was one of the few peopl...

PTSD 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

PTSD 2 - Essay Example tic criteria demands that the diagnosed symptoms last for more than a month and must cause a significant social or occupational impairment (Ursano, 2004). The causes of PTSD are believed to originate from experiences of any event that produce intense pessimistic feeling of helplessness, fear or horror to the victim. Some of the sources of such experiences may include: witnessing adult or childhood sexual or physical abuse, physical assault or sexual assault, occupations related to war and disaster, and being diagnosed with an illness that threatens life. PTSD may impact adversely on the victims. Some of its outcomes may include terror, fear, loss of memory among others (Acierno, 1999). Diagnosis criteria of PTSD as mentioned above demands that the diagnosed symptoms last for more than a month and must cause a significant social or occupational impairment. The diagnosis can be categorized into the following: exposure to a traumatic event involving risk of death or serious injury, loss of physical integrity and intense negative feeling of fear, helplessness or horror; persistent re-experiencing of the events resulting into flashback memories, subjective re-experiencing of the trauma, reappearance of distressing dreams, and intense negative physiological or psychological response to any subjective or objective reminder of the events; persistent emotional numbing and avoidance of stimuli that is associated with the traumatic event, inability to remember the main parts of the trauma, and avoidance of people or places that may bring back the distressing memories; persistent increase of arousal symptoms that were initially absent; symptoms lasting for more than one month ; and significant social or occupational impairment (Cahill, 2004). Prevention and intervention strategies of PTSD are needed in order to prevent the adverse effects of this condition to the victims. Experts have suggested cognitive behavioral therapy and critical incident stress management as

Marketing Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Marketing Planning - Essay Example The marketing planning is thus required to first inspect the mission and vision objectives in the light of data obtained from changing external scenario through conducting marketing surveys. Use of information technology is also considered as an effective tool to gain potential data about changes in consumer preference patterns. With such data in hand analysis should be made pertaining to the internal strengths and weaknesses of the concern to help counter the external changes. Further the marketing plans for a company are required to encompass several strategic models to analyse the potential of the company in gaining on in changing market opportunities. Similarly the product, pricing, distribution and communication strategies need also be developed to effectively penetrate the consumer sphere. Finally owing to the changes being brought in the strategic marketing sphere the company needs to design an effective budget to help meet the needed changes. The business corporation is also required to render effective controls over the activities and modifications brought about in the managerial implications to render effectiveness in meeting changed objectives (Neves, 2003, p.9-10). An evaluation of Nokia’s capability for future marketing planning (LO 1.2) Nokia to compete in the international gaming market and thereby to counter competitive threat from companies like Sony and Nintendo came out with a product development venture. The product developed was named as N-Gage which penetrated the consumer gaming market through working on high quality gaming software. However the initial product was launched in the market by the company without conduct a pre-test of consumer and market ideologies. N-Gage in the initial stage gained a rapid market acceptance for having highly innovative features that at that time exceeded expectations of the consumers. However of late Nokia started facing criticisms from the consumer sphere in that they wanted a more customised gamin g product that wound render larger number of gaming variants at highly affordable prices. Again, the N-Gage failed to satisfy the communication features of a phone for it required to be held in a lateral position to the face while talking which made the whole process quite cumbersome. Nokia honoured the criticisms from the consumers and thereby focused on designing and modifying the N-Gage into N-Gage QD. This product launched reflected a better battery life with a wide and bright screen. It also reflected better controls over the game by the consumer. However the initial failure of Nokia to gauge the needs and desires of the consumers led the other competitors to design and modify their own products and this led in enhancing the competitiveness of Nokia in the gaming market (Parasuraman, Grewal and Krishnan, 2009, p.6). Details of techniques for organisational auditing and analysis of external factors that may affect marketing planning (LO 1.3) Techniques for Organisational Auditin g Organisational auditing is conducted by an auditor through some specific techniques or

Alternatives to Additional Transmission Lines To Meet Escalating Assignment

Alternatives to Additional Transmission Lines To Meet Escalating Demand in Northland and Auckland - Assignment Example As the operator of the national electricity grid in New Zealand, Transpower has the responsibility to ensure that adequate power reaches those areas of the country that need it. As things stand, the rising demand for electricity in the above-mentioned areas has necessitated Transpower coming up with a proposal to erect additional transmission lines, to the tune of $1.5 billion. This proposed investment is up for approval before the Electricity Commission, and the approval rests on Transpower proving that there are no viable alternatives to such an investment. There is the matter of alternatives that need to be explored, as indicated in the case, that negates the need for massive infrastructure investments in transmission and power generation, via distributed power generation facilities, for instance, that are erected close to the demand, in this case, close to the areas that need them. There are also ideas floated with regard to the reduction of so-called peak demand, and the possibl e construction of additional power stations to meet the increased needs of some areas, notably Northland and Auckland. The paper discusses these and other alternatives, and evaluates their feasibility alongside the proposed investment in additional transmission lines (Daniels 2004). II. ... e trend for power consumption ought to be positive in the long term, given the steady growth in the economy over the past few decades, and prospects for continued growth. It is ranked as the 65th largest economy in the world in 2011, with PPP GDP at $123.3 billion, and per capita GDP at $27,900, which places New Zealand at the 48th spot in terms of GDP per person. Services make up close to 72 percent of GDP, followed by the industrial sector at 24 percent. Key industries are the processing of wood, food, paper, and textiles; mining; tourism; banking and finance; and the manufacture of transport and other machinery and equipment. In terms of production of electricity, New Zealand production was pegged at 42 billion kWh, ranked 54th in the world in 2009, while consumption was 39.02 billion kWh in 2008, ranked 54th as well globally, making New Zealand self-sufficient in terms of power generation, with its net power generation greater than demand as of 2009. It consumes all of the natura l gas that it produces, at 4.481 billion cubic meters in 2011, ranked 5oth worldwide in terms of production and 68th worldwide in terms of consumption of natural gas. The country has proven oil reserves of 112.5 billion barrels, ranked 68th in the world, and oil consumption is pegged at 149,700 barrels a day, versus production of about 60,480 barrels a day in 2010, making the country a net importer of oil. These latter figures for natural gas and oil are relevant in terms of the fuel inputs to power generation (Central Intelligence Agency 2012). III. Industry Overview, Transmission Infrastructure There is merit likewise in a general overview of the power industry in New Zealand, in order to map out where and how alternatives to massive investments in transmission lines can be had and done.

Changing Nature Of The Psychological Contract Management Essay

Changing Nature Of The Psychological Contract Management Essay The mutual expectations people have from one another in a relationship of employer employees are commonly referred to as a psychological contract. The content of these contracts can be changed over time and can affect the behavior of the two. The origins of these psychological contracts go beyond thousands of years back. Amidah (1998) was one of the initial writers who used the term psychological contract as the mutual understanding between employees and their employers. The psychological contract between employers and employees related to job security has been facing changes due to the economic down grading. The increasing rates of short term and contractual employment have forced employees to seek self actualization sort of psychological contracts. The changing nature of psychological contracts of generation Y has certain implications on organizations which have always been interested in having workforce committed to the organizational goals and objectives. According to recent literature, psychological contract is an individuals beliefs necessary to perform commitment that may exist between the employee and the organization (Lester, Turnleyet.al. 2002). Individuals perception and expectations from the organization in terms of receiving benefits, wages and opportunities against the services provided to the organization by the employee used to form the foundation of any psychological contract (Lester, Turnley et.al. 2002). The inherent perceptual nature of the psychological contract between employers and employees may have contrasting implication about obligations of the contract (Lester and Kickul, 2001). Nowadays companies are more focused on the achievement of corporate goals and profit margins while noticing stock market prices because of the competitive business environment all around the world (De Meuse, Bergmann et. Al., 2001). This is because of the fact that the world has seen the problem of corporate downsizing, restructuring and mergers since 1980s and 1990s (De Meuse, Bergmann et. al 2001). This current scenario of doing business has absolutely changed the nature of employee and employer contract and the demand of this relationship. In the past, these psychological contracts were of long term where employees were committed with an organization where they continued to learn as well as they got high job ranking but now the psychology of the contract has seen changing nature because of the availability of short term employment with upscale designation for technical and professionals workers (Smithson and Lewis, 2000, Lester and Kickul, 2001). Hiring of high skilled professional(s) for a specific task completion is one of the emerging trends in the business community (Lester and Kickul, 2001) and consequent termination of the staff with the attainment of work objectives. This phenomena has made the modern workplace a source of stress and extra work load and job insecurity and decreased commitment to organizational goals and objectives in return (De Meuse, Bergmann et. al). The need of personal growth, development of transferable skills, networking opportunities and career management for immediate job has been gaining potential among professionals due to the current scenarios of job insecurity (De Meuse, Bergmann et.al., 2001, Lester and Kickul, 2001). The changing environment of employment has considered another driver of the change in nature of psychological contracts of generation Y. The previous employees to employer psychological contracts were relational in nature and their specific features were trust, respect and loyalty between the employee and the employer, but, this new insecure job environment has randomly changed the nature of the psychological contract from relational to transactional nature. This transactional exchange has been defined by De Meuse and Begmann et.al (2001) as an explicit or an implicit promise having the capacity of maintaining information about monetary remuneration available to employee against his services to the organization. This periodical change in nature of the psychological contract was predicted by Rousseau and Parks in a research conducted during 1993 with an explanation of change in the nature of contract from relational to transactional in case of occurrence of any violation of the contract. However, it is important to maintain the equilibrium of trust between the employee and the employer either in relational psychological contract or in transactional psychological contract, but, in the present situation of job insecurity it is hard to have any trust on the employer or employee. Therefore, the lack of job security has brought the concentration of employees to acquire transferable skills and techniques and contracts of transactional type (De Meuse, Bergmann et al). Impacts of the changing nature of the psychological contract of generation Y on organizations With the emergence of new markets, competitors and technologies have been increasingly changing the behavior of organizations towards the hiring of skilled and well trained employees at every level of the organization (Lester and Kickul, 2001). Businesses of today are only selecting skillful employees for short term periods to make their projects accomplished by utilizing the skills and expertise of professionals (Lester and Kickul, 2001). It is because of the use of new technologies in business processes and to get a competitive edge in the market. To achieve this desired level, organizations have to keep track of professionals and motivated and committed workforce to efficiently achieve their goals. It has been studied that the changing nature of psychological contracts is because of the reducing commitment of employees due to job insecurity and enhanced competition faced by todays employers (Bunderson 2001, Lester and Kickul, 2001). However, high level of commitment and satisfaction is enjoyed by employees who have long term psychological contract as per studies conducted during 1998. There are certain measures that should be taken by the organization to retain and motivate their employees even on the presence of economic pressure and new organizational structure (Lester and Kickul, 2001). The level can be achieved by just understanding the elements of psychological contracts as well as the fact that it is an evolving and continually changing contract and organizations have the right of making a choice regarding an employee to get committed and motivated workforce and employment. According to Maslows hierarchy theory, the highest need for humans is self-actualization. Lester and Kickul (2001) states that today  employees are  becoming increasingly aware of the non-monetary rewards which the firms are willing to provide  in exchange for their skills. It entails that employees have now reached at a certain point in time; where theyre able to seek out the self-actualization. Self-esteem or self actualization is the highest need of humans as stated by Maslows hierarchy theory. Employees are increasingly getting awareness of the behavior of organizations of giving non-monetary rewards to employees against the skills of professionals and technical persons (Lester, Kickul, 2001). This is the time when it can be suggested that employees are gradually heeding towards the state of self actualization. Stalker (2000) stated that successful companies of the day are keeping balance between the needs of the employee and the needs of the organization. To achieve this, companies are needed to maintain a balance between their efforts and time investment. Managers are responsible to achieve this balance while keeping the workforce committed and motivated (Lester, Turnleyet, al., 2002). It is a fact that nowadays job insecurity has made psychological contracts a dynamic and evolving one and can be handled by the organization by just understanding the causes of changes and timely changes in the contract according to the needs and demand of the sources (Lester and Kickul, 2001). Lester and Kickul (2001) shows that a  proactive approach to the psychological contracts can reduce employees intentions to leave since their needs can be fulfilled by the organization. The other step that can be an effective support to minimize the gap of the psychological contract is communication. Better and timely communication between the contracting bodies can reduce the conflict and can reduce the gap of psychological contracts (Lester and Kickul, 2001). Open book management techniques are an effective communication tool between the organization and employees and help in the formation of an effective communication frameworkfor the organizations. Successful organizations are required to startworking on the psychological contract before the hiring of the employee. The organizations publications, interview processes, contract negotiation and orientation processes are some of the ways that can help organizations to make better changes in the psychological contract and keep it up to date (Niehoff and Paul 2001). Organizations literature and publications create the first impression of all the values espoused by the employers.  The interview process then helps in establishing the image of the organization for potential employees (Niehoff, Paul, 2001), while promoting expectations  ranging from the tangibles  such as pay and benefits,  to the intangibles such as  treatment of employees or degree of empowerment etc (Niehoff, Paul, 2001). As suggested by Niehoff and Paul (2001), by  providing Realistic Job Previews like Cisco Systems  (Lester and Kickul, 2001), candidates can be given a realistic and clear view of the actual expectations of the work hours, duties and performance levels  (Niehoff and Paul, 2001).  The negotiation process (after an offer is made to a candidate)  provides a further  opportunity to clarify the specific details regarding the expectations of both parties  (Niehoff, Paul, 2001). Finally, the orientation program gives an opportunity to re-enforce the psychological contract which has been formed. Once all of these are in line with each other and also in line with the companys expectations, the company can form a contract that is expected to be clearly understood by both parties and has less chances of being breached. Conclusion Changed psychological contract is the demand of the modern economic environment. It is the demand of both the organization and employees. The psychological contracts of generation Y are more transactional and related to self actualization. This change in the nature of the contract has been considered by the management of an organization and employees with the increasing demand of giving more time and effort in the formation of the psychological contract acceptable to the organization and employees. As it has been seen that psychological contracts are formed on the basis of trust, but it can be strengthened by the two following factors: Internal factors External factors Internal factors can be the individuals perception that can be the outcome of his or her cultural behavior, but external factors include situations that how organizations are shaping their policies in the interest of employees and how much they are acknowledging the perceived obligations according to the formal contract of employment with those professionals or skilled technicians. These measures can be used to determine the commitment of employees to the organizational goals and objectives and any violations can lead to the job satisfaction depletions actions. However, the choice to be in the employment contract can be up to individual employee. The long lasting employer to employee relationship can only be possible if there is a strong build up credibility between employer and employee. This credibility can give the contract more and more reliance and can be effective to build up a long lasting relationship. Psychological contract will remain strong till the time they remain in fa vor of the employees orientation towards life and can be the source of strong commitment of individuals to be or not to be part of an organization. But with the change and any amendments in organizational structure, strategy and the job role, the individual can shift to new works and job roles and this new work role can be the source of better return on relationship (ROR) than on return on investment (ROI). Strong and reliable psychological contract can provide the organization with a healthy and fruitful relationship between the employee and employer that would be helpful in the sustainability of the organization. Whatsoever it can be better concluded in a way that the changing nature of the psychological contract of generation Y is only the result of changing nature of job environment and increasing insecurity to jobs, therefore, employees have transformed their interest from signing relational contract to transactional contract. This transformation of contract nature has caused t he organization to bear the loss of committed and loyal workforce for a long period of time on one hand while getting the benefit of having highly skilled professionals for the completion of their project within a short period of time.

Professional Learning Communities Essay -- teacher collaboration and s

INTRODUCTION Traditionally, teacher development typically occurs through trial and error in the isolated confinements of each teacher’s classroom with some periodic whole-group professional development (Goddard & Goddard, 2007). Within the past few decades, many schools and districts, including ours, have considered and experimented with Professional Learning Communities (PLC) as an alternative framework in guiding a more efficient development program for their teachers. PLCs are focused on enhancing student learning through developing teacher practices. The concept of PLC relies on using structured collaborative sessions amongst teachers within the school to build internal capacity. Through PLCs, teachers critically reflect on current practices, brainstorm solutions, and obtain help and advice from others in a supportive growth-oriented environment over an extended period of time (Vescio, Ross, & Adams, 2008; Nelson, 2009; Scher & O'Reilly, 2009; Bolam, McMahon, Stoll, Thomas, & Wallace, 2005). The theory of change guiding PLCs holds that by providing teachers with targeted support from within the school community, as oppose to hiring additional outside experts, professional developments can become for efficient. Implementation of effective PLCs requires intentional effort, school-wide and possibly district-wide restructuring of teacher schedules, and additional resources. For schools considering implementing PLCs, it is important to understand the logic of action and the benefits of PLCs as it relates to teacher improvement and increased student achievement. Analysis of the underlying logic of action and evidence from empirical studies show that developing Professional Learning Communities within schools can lead to increas... ...Nelson, T. H. (2009). Teachers' collaborative inquiry and professional growth: Should we be optimistic? Science Education , 93 (3), 548-580. Phillips, J. (2003). Powerful learning: Creating learning communities in urban school reform. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision , 18 (3), 240-258. Scher, L., & O'Reilly, F. (2009). Professional Development for K–12 Math and Science Teachers: What Do We Really Know? Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness , 2 (3), 209-249. Strahan, D. (2003). Promoting a collaborative professional culture in three elementary schools that have beaten the odds. The Elementary School Journal , 104 (2), 127–146. Vescio, V., Ross, D., & Adams, A. (2008). A review of research on the impact of professional learning communities on teaching practice and student learning. Teaching and Teacher Education , 24 (1), 80-91.