Managing People-Exam Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Managing People-Exam Questions - Essay Example More specifically, in small businesses; like that of Specialist Computers, the employee satisfaction is an important factor because if the employees do not feel catered or motivated they would prefer to switch or quit their job. And losing employees is a big issue for an organization that is operating in a small scale. The processes or theories of motivation can be divided into two main categories. By applying these two theories, employees can be persuaded to work effectively which would be beneficial for the company (Oppapers, 2008): The content theories define and argue that the employee or an organization possesses the same needs and feelings. It emphasizes on the factors that motivate an employee. The content theories basically and more specifically deal with the individual needs and aspirations of an employee. By gaining sight and understanding of one’s needs, it becomes easy for the managers or authorities to make the work place environment a better place for their co-workers and for the employees of the company. In 1943, Maslow represented his theory of needs. According to him, it is important to identify the needs of an employee one by one, and not collectively. It means that one should try to overcome the needs one by one because when one level of need is acquired then it will no longer remain a need but will become a motivation for the employees to work. As soon as one need or level of need is managed than it is important to look for another so that it can be satisfied. For him, the level of need varies from physiological to self actualization. If we analyze his theory, the facts that come before us would be the needs that are preferred less, like the thirst or hunger should be dealt first because when these needs are fulfilled then the bigger issue will be easy to handle (Beck, 2003). The theories of both, Aldefer and Maslow are considered to be the best among all the presented for the organizational behavioral. As these belong to

Chagall’s Apocalypse in Lilac, Capriccio Essay Example for Free

Chagall’s Apocalypse in Lilac, Capriccio Essay This painting was done by Marc Chagall, a Russian artist. It is a painting of Christ shouting at a Nazi soldier while also witnessing other forms of violence from his view. While He is being crucified, others were hanged, stabbed and crucified like him while an inverted clock falls from the sky. It was a response in the increasing number of casualties from the Holocaust. It was his tribute to the Jewish community. His art pieces, upon reaching the shores of Germany were prohibited by the Nazis by the order of Adolf Hitler himself, just like what happened to other modernist art pieces. (Chipp, 1968) The color scheme is black and white; it means that the artist conveys in the art piece that it is a grim incident which he wanted to record before he passes on. A set of symbols from different elements have been depicted in the art piece. First is the crucifixion of Christ, most of us have acknowledged that Christ is the redeemer of mankind. But here, He was depicted as a powerless man only capable of screaming at a soldier to stop the violence. The next symbol in this art piece is the violence around Christ; it was like the people forgetting that a God or His son exists. The violence goes on, while an inverted clock which spins in the other way, the last symbol, tells us that man is in reverse evolution at that time. We are slaughtering each other like animals for survival. Interpretation The location and the people centered on the art piece impacts me in a way that any other artworks with similar themes do. This is a humanist approach to telling people that â€Å"peace is in our hands. † I could say that after Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People, the next piece a person would want to see is this artwork by Chagall. Comparing the two, the former is looking forward to progress, while the latter is looking forward to a series of regression, symbolized by the inverted clock in the sky. War became the motivation of Chagall in order to create this work. There are many artists who have been affected by war, Chagall was one example. It gave them an intense emotion, an intense desire to break free. Like in war, natural calamities also give artists a certain feeling of sadness. One example of this was Edvard Munch and his work The Scream, which he created during the time when the Krakatoa volcano erupted and claimed many lives. Chagall has been very open about his perspective on the war that is going on in Germany, how the Nazis seized the political power from the Weimar republic, and how it oppressed the Jewish people. He has viewed the society under a time of war. This was his answer, to paint propaganda about how God feels seeing that the race of his likeness is slaying each other. Chagall was also known as a chronicler of biblical events. He was fond of using The Bible as a reference for his works. But in the Apocalypse, he blended real-life events and the ones that happened in the Bible. For art historians, the Apocalypse was a rare Chagall painting. Through the symbols, I have interpreted it as propaganda against the Nazi rule on Germany. Others may interpret the artwork as a continuation of the peoples’ suffering in the time of Christ. Or putting it simply, Christ as the people is at its weakest and can do nothing to stop the violence around him. Though we may have different interpretations on Chagall’s painting, we all share a common view that the people depicted in the painting is suffering. In addition, with the inverted clock may be interpreted by others as a person peeking through history, or the past. It tells the person or the clock that â€Å"this is us in this time of day†. At exactly the same time and the same date, this is what is going on. Social Judgment I believe that moving the art in another setting would be just the same. But there are certain elements that can be replaced like the Nazis; it can be replaced with soldiers who have invaded powerless, poor countries. The violence can be replaced with soldiers who are torturing and killing innocent people who fought for the freedom of their country. These people who they claimed to be smaller than the invasive soldiers have been fighting a war for freedom with and without the use of weapons. Many times the weak and the small were not heard by the powerful. Many times the human rights have been violated. Many people are suffering today with their own wars, combating hunger, homelessness, ignorance and many other deficiencies due to the rights that were withheld from them. Today, the London Jewish Museum bought the painting for $43,000. It was exhibited in the museum in remembrance of the Jews who were killed, persecuted, tortured and subjected to forced labor by the Nazis. The painting fits the The last question is if I like this work. Yes, I do. I give the highest form of adoration in the work. It is because rare are the times that artists have a nationalist or humanist emotion when it comes to painting their work. Chagall belongs to the line of artists who believe that peace can still be achieved. Rare are the artists who used their skills not for commercial purposes, but rather to express what they feel in the current situation of their world. Rare are the chances that a person would see an artist concerned not only about his country but also for the countries of his brothers, especially in these times. Chagall was more than intelligent; he was proven a genius with the creation of his masterpiece. Conclusion Many scholars believe that art does not exist for its own sake. Rather, art has political, ethical, social values. Aesthetics is only a bonus. For a painting like the Apocalypse in Lilac, this also holds true. As long as there are human beings struggling for power, there will always be politics. Chagall was an artist concerned about the welfare of his European brothers. He was a humanist. Seeing the war through his eyes, he got inspired. He gathered his brushes and gave the first few strokes on his work. He was fond of using Biblical figures. For him, Christ was the most fitting of them all, for He is the people. Anyone who betrays the people betrays Him. It was a powerful symbol to convey. The artwork was a critique of the war, its illogic and its costs to the people. He also described the rule of Hitler through the painting, being ungodly and grim to the people who are part of his country. The innocent, being pained by the nooses of death and knives of the soldiers are his descriptions of Hitler’s approach to leadership. Because of this, Hitler banned Chagall and so are other modern artists who conveyed their feelings about Nazi Germany and the people who are not fraternal with the Jews they have forced into labor. Moving the setting of the painting, say in contemporary times, it would be just the same. It won’t change everything because this is exactly how the people feel when they are working under large corporations, when they are giving their maximum output while only earning their minimum wage. Hitler may be gone, but the repercussions that his spiritual successors have done still echo and can still be felt by the people. I recommend a viewing of Chagall’s work, which is timeless because we can still relate to it, we are living in a society like these, and the only difference is that the hierarchy has legal bases for their existence. Liking the painting is not enough like I’ve said. It is recommended to view it again and again and compare our societies with the one depicted in the art. This is to have a clear view of what we are and what we are to expect in the future. References: Chagall, M. , Owen, P. (2003). My Life. Cambridge, Masachussetts: Da Capo Press. Chipp, H. B. (1968). Theories of Modern Art: A Source Book by Artists and Critics. Los Angeles, California: University of California Press. Hopkins, D. (2000). After Modern Art: 1945-2000. New York, New York: Oxford University Press.

Operant Conditioning in Psychology Essays -- science

Operant Conditioning in Psychology An Example of Operant Conditioning As a student at USC, one can assume that I’ve always taken schoolwork seriously and may even infer that I partake a considerable degree of enjoyment from it, which is by all means an accurate assumption. However, in my early childhood I was often characterized as unruly, uncooperative and impulsive in nature. At that age I had been more interested in social endeavors more so than anything relating to studying or doing schoolwork. It was always a negative issue when I brought it up in a conversation, and that assumption was reinforced through subsequent agreement amongst my peers. Coupled with negative criticism from my teachers of the purported â€Å"attitude† I had in regards to school and my elders, the environment in which I was situated made me all the more indifferent towards academics in general. Instead of studying after school, I would spend most of my time watching TV at home or playing with friends before walking home. At that point in my life my father and mo ther had been pursuing their careers in bio-medical engineering and audiology respectively, so I did not receive as much encouragement or parental monitoring as many of my friends did: In fact my dad would often leave home for weeks at a time to make presentations in other countries about the advancements in biomedical engineering concerning his specialized field and my mom would come back from work in the early evening. The only immediate source of encouragement came from my grandparents who were living with us at the time. Yet because they could only speak Spanish and knew so little about schools in general, they were unable to really help me out with any problems that I would have. One day my parents, after reviewing my report card with another assortment of â€Å"unsatisfactory† grades, decided to take two steps to try and encourage me to get better grades. The first was a transfer to a different school, and the second was a little system they set up: For every â€Å"A† I received on my next progress report I would receive $15 and for every â€Å"B† $5. While I was upset because I would not get to see any of my old friends at the new school, the second part surprised me a little. The fact that the prospective cash out for grabs was an enormous amount for a 7 year made me anticipate all the things I could do with that money. Even ... ...ivation declines which translates to harder work while the reward is in place and conversely to a lower frequency of work when the reward is withdrawn. I must also point that something interesting happened as soon as the material reward was withdrawn and replaced with praise: The act of studying and finalizing my homework then became an intrinsic motivation as my association of it with forced work changed to one of enjoyment, which was reinforced by my success academically. Final Word: Conclusion From then on I began to observe those who were likewise excelling in academics and began to imitate them. What probably drove me was a strong sense of self-efficacy or my perception that I could perform as successfully as they were. This self-efficacy persists to this day, where I now have a strong need for self-actualization, or the need to achieve my full potential. In recent years I have also learned of both self-reinforcement and self-punishment, and how to associate the motivation behind my academic progress not extrinsically as most people do, but intrinsically, something that I am doing just for the sake of doing it. This way I can derive the most from my college experience.

Classroom Management

school and classroom management Researchers have pointed out the importance of assisting students in positive behaviors. In planning classroom management, teachers should consider using an assertive communication style and behavior. In addition, they should always know what they want their students to do and involve them in the respective learning activities, under the general conditions of clearly and explicitly stated school wide and classroom rules. An effective conduct management plan should also refer to teacher control and administration of consequences. The following components of such a plan are focused on in this summary: acknowledging responsible behaviors, correcting irresponsible and inappropriate behavior, ignoring, proximity control, gentle verbal reprimands, delaying, preferential seating, time owed, time-out, notification of parents/guardians, written behavioral contract, setting limits outside the classroom, and reinforcement systems. All of these components are presented so they can be identified in examples of best teaching practices. Covenant management stresses the classroom group as a social system. Covenant management focuses on the classroom group as a social system that has its own features that teachers have to take into account when managing interpersonal relationships in the classroom† (Froyen & Iverson, 1999). Teachers and students’ role and expectations shape the classroom into an environment conducive to learning. In other words, the culture of any given school is unique to that school. However, it is directly influenced by the culture of the larger community whose educational goals are to be met. A strong connection between school and community must be constantly revised and modified according to the requirements of societal dynamism. As schools become very diverse, teachers and students should become aware of how to use diversity to strengthen the classroom social group. Reference Brophy, Jere E. 1983. â€Å"Classroom Organization and Management. † The Elementary School Journal 83 (4):265 – 285. Brophy, Jere E. 1998. Motivating Students to Learn. Boston: McGraw Hill. Brophy, Jere E. , and Evertson, Carolyn M. 1976. Learning from Teaching: A Developmental Perspective. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Bossert, Steven T. 1979. Tasks and Social Relationships in Classrooms. Cambridge, Eng. : Cambridge University Press. Doyle, Walter. 1986. â€Å"Classroom Organization and Management. † In Handbook of Research on Teaching, 3rd edition, ed. Merlin Wittrock. New York: Macmillan. Doyle, Walter. 1990. â€Å"Classroom Management Techniques. † In Student Discipline Strategies, Ed. Oliver C. Moles. Albany: State University of New York Press. Doyle, Walter, and Carter, Kathy. 1984. â€Å"Academic Tasks in Classrooms. † Curriculum Inquiry 14 (2):129 – 149. Duke, Daniel, ed. 1979. Classroom Management. Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Emmer, Edmund T. ; Evertson, Carolyn M. ; and Anderson, Linda M. 1980. â€Å"Effective Classroom Management at the Beginning of the School Year. † The Elementary School Journal 80 (5):219 – 231. Evertson, Carolyn M. 1985. â€Å"Training Teachers in Classroom Management: An Experiment in Secondary Classrooms. † Journal of Educational Research 79:51 – 58. Evertson, Carolyn M. 1989. â€Å"Improving Elementary Classroom Management: A School-Based Training Program for Beginning the Year. † Journal of Educational Research 83:82 – 90. Classroom Management Classroom management is a term used by teachers to describe the process of ensuring that classroom lessons run smoothly despite disruptive behavior by students. The term also implies the prevention of disruptive behavior. It is possibly the most difficult aspect of teaching for many teachers; indeed experiencing problems in this area causes some to leave teaching altogether. In 1981 the US National Educational Association reported that 36% of teachers said they would probably not go into teaching if they had to decide again.A major reason was â€Å"negative student attitudes and discipline†. Solving Discipline Problems Charles H Wolfgang and Carl D Glickman 1986 (Allyn and Bacon) According to Moskowitz & Hayman (1976), once a teacher loses control of their classroom, it becomes increasingly more difficult for them to regain that control. Moskowitz, G. , & Hayman, J. L. , Jr. (1976). Success strategies of inner-city teachers: A year-long study. Journal of Educational Research, 69, 283-289.Also, research from Berliner (1988) and Brophy & Good (1986) shows that the time that teacher has to take to correct misbehavior caused by poor classroom management skills results in a lower rate of academic engagement in the classroom. Berliner, D. C. (1988). Effective classroom management and instruction: A knowledge base for consultation. In J. L. Graden, J. E. Zins, & M. J. Curtis (Eds. ), Alternative educational delivery systems: Enhancing instructional options for all students (pp. 309-325).Washington, DC: National Association of School Psychologists. Brophy, J. E. , & Good, T. L. (1986). Teacher behavior and student achievement. In M. C. Wittrock (Ed. ), Handbook of research on teaching (3rd ed. , pp. 328-375). New York: Macmillan. From the student’s perspective, effective classroom management involves clear communication of behavioral and academic expectations as well as a cooperative learning environment. Allen, J. D. (1986). Classroom management: student s' perspectives, goals, and strategies.American Educational Research Journal, 23, 437-459. Classroom management is closely linked to issues of motivation, discipline and respect. Methodologies remain a matter of passionate debate amongst teachers; approaches vary depending on the beliefs a teacher holds regarding educational psychology. A large part of traditional classroom management involves behavior modification, although many teachers see using behavioral approaches alone as overly simplistic. Many teachers establish rules and procedures at the beginning of the school year.According to Gootman (2008), rules give students concrete direction to ensure that our expectation becomes a reality. Gootman, Marilyn E. The caring teacher's guide to discipline : helping students learn self-control, responsibility, and respect, K-6. 2008, p. 36 They also try to be consistent in enforcing these rules and procedures. Many would also argue for positive consequences when rules are followed, and negative consequences when rules are broken. There are newer perspectives on classroom management that attempt to be holistic.One example is affirmation teaching, which attempts to guide students toward success by helping them see how their effort pays off in the classroom. It relies upon creating an environment where students are successful as a result of their own efforts. Pintrich, P. R. , & De Groot E. V. (1990). Motivational and self-regulated learning components of classroom academic performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 33-40. By creating this type of environment, students are much more likely to want to do well. This transforms a classroom into a community of well-behaved and self-directed learners.

PWU FORMAT FOR THESIS PROPOSAL Essay

Hypothesis The following hypotheses are (or hypothesis is) formulated for acceptance or rejection: (use null hypothesis) Scope and Limitation of the Study Should include: 1. Focus/ areas/ scope to be assesses/ investigated/ determine/ analyze & where to conduct research 2. Participants( subject or respondents or population) of the study including sampling technique to be used, total number of population/ exclusion/ inclusion/ criteria used if purposive 3. Instrument/s to be used for data gathering (example: questionnaire, interview, observation, etc. One or combination of any chosen tool/s) 4. Statistical treatment of data to use 5. When to conduct the study Significance of the Study Findings and recommendations of this study could be beneficial to the following: School Administrators. Blah†¦.. School of Nursing. Blah†¦ Nursing Students. Blah†¦. Etc†¦ Future Researchers (should be the last) NOTE: Identify who will benefit from your study and how will they benefit from the results of the study Definitions of Terms The following terms are operationally defined within the scope of the study: (Key words can be identified from the title and variables that need to be defined in relation to your study. Remember operational, not conceptual definition.) Chapter 2 (on separate sheet) REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES This chapter provides review of related literature and studies, both local and foreign which are related to the study. This chapter should be arranged by topic, integrating both local and foreign literatures and studies. Local Literature – includes primary or secondary related literatures from reference materials such as books, journals/ periodicals, websites, newspaper, speeches, encyclopedia, patient’s medical records, handouts, manuals, etc†¦ Local or Filipino authors Foreign Literature – includes primary or secondary related literatures from reference materials such as books, journals/ periodicals, websites, newspaper, speeches, encyclopedia, nursing literatures, etc with foreign authors, nursing theorists or other theorists from different fields of studies- medicine, psychology, sociology, education, etc that are relevant to your study Local Studies- includes research studies, undergraduate/ graduate theses or doctoral dissertations from Filipino students or researchers, thesis review, abstract of studies, published or unpublished Foreign Studies – as above but with foreign authors, published or unpublished, internet sources (Arranged by topic with sources – author/s and year of publication only ; proper citation ) Synthesis Includes the summary of related literatures and studies, pointing their similarities and differences from your present studies. 1 – 2 pages only. Theoretical Framework If research paradigm is I-P-O (Input- Process- Output), use the General Systems Theory (research on this). If you will use Independent Variables- Dependent Variables, use conceptual theory that will best support your research paradigm. (Figure 1. Research Paradigm (illustration of your research study) must be in one whole sheet, placed at the last page of chapter 2. Explanation of your paradigm or model must be under theoretical framework after the discussion of the framework you will use . Chapter 3 (separate sheet) METHODOLOGY Research Design This study will use the _________________________ research design to (state purpose of the study), (You may define or state the purpose of the study†¦ you may quote the definition from the book and cite your source/s). Participants of the Study Include here the subject/ population of the study†¦ you may copy this part from your scope and limitation. Instrumentation Construction. Include here the type of data gathering tool or method you will use, how are you going to construct your questionnaire, source/s to use or your reference for constructing your tool. Description of the tool†¦ Part I will include †¦..; Part II will consists of†¦. Validity. Mention here who will validate your questionnaire ( at least 3 experts), if you’re going to pretest or conduct pilot test prior to actual study. Data gathering Procedure Include here how you will conduct the study – letter of consent requesting permission to conduct study: Dean, Director of Hosp, Chief Nurse, participants; When to conduct study, manner on how to conduct study – distribution and retrieval of questionnaires. Statistical Treatment of Data What statistical instrument to use†¦ frequency distribution for profile, percentage, measures of central tendencies. What statistical treatment to use for test of hypothesis: t-test, Chi square, Pearson r correlation coefficient, ANOVA, etc†¦ BIBLIOGRAPHY (Separate sheet, center) A. BOOKS (center) Grodner, M., Roth, S. (2005). Foundations and Clinical application of Nutrition: A Nursing Approach. Singapore: Elsevier Pte Ltd., Health Services Asia B. JOURNALS/ PERIODICALS(center) Hughes, A. (2007). â€Å"Pragmatism Rules: The Interventions and Prevention Strategies Used by Psychiatric Nurses Working With Non-Suicidal Self-harming Individuals†. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. Vol. 9, No. 17, pp. 64- 71 C. ELECTRONIC SOURCES (complete website/ internet ad/title/ author and date of retrieval; center) D. UNPUBLISHED MATERIALS (Undergrad or grad theses. Doctoral dissertations†¦center) Salang, F. (2009). Determinants of Stressors and Coping Mechanism: Their Relationships. Master’s Thesis, Asia-Pacific College of Advanced Studies, Balanga City E. OTHERS (Handouts, speeches, manuals, hosp/ school manual of policy and procedures, etc.) APPENDICES (separate sheet) Include Sample letters to the Dean, Director of Hosp., etc.., participants, questionnaire/ interview questions, etc. CURRICULUM VITAE (separate sheet) Brief resume with picture NOTE: 1. ALL ENTRIES SHOULD BE ARIAL, FONT SIZE 12, DOUBLE SPACE, JUSTIFY. FOLLOW THE STYLE IN THIS FORMAT. 2. PAGE SHOULD APPEAR ON THE RIGHT UPPER CORNER, NO PAGING ON SHEET WITH â€Å"CHAPTER 1, 2, 3† BUT INCLUDED IN COUNTING OF PAGES (EXAMPLE- Chapter 1 is page 1 but â€Å"1† should not appear in the paper, next page will be the page 2), PAGING SHOULD BE CONTINUOUS UP TO APPENDICES EXCEPT FOR CV. 3. Follow the correct format for Bibliography 4. Related Literature and Studies should be from 2006 up, or otherwise rephrase if your related lit is â€Å"old†. 5. MARGIN: 1.27 INCHES ON TOP, 1.5 LEFT; 1 INCH RIGHT & BOTTOM. 6. EVERY CHAPTER SHOULD START ON A NEW SHEET. 7. SINCE THIS IS A PROPOSAL, DO NOT USE PAST TENSE. 8. Do not use 1st person account such as I, you, me, our..Refer to yourself as the researcher. 9. Do not use block style; 1st sentence for each paragraph must be indented. 10. Appendix should include: 1. Sample Letter : a) Letter of Request to __________ (to request permission to conduct study) ;b) Letter to heads (nurse/ records section, etc..) if needed; c) Letter to Participants (for consent); d) Letter to Validators (if needed) 2. Sample questionnaire

Free Essays on Hacker

† (CandyMan). Most of these crackers are merely â€Å"young teenage punks† who just wish to get a â€Å"kick† out of â€Å"destroying or alternating data† (CandyMan). Yet, a hacker is only â€Å"an individual who yearns for knowledge† (CandyMan), which fits Mentor’s statement that hackers â€Å"seek after knowledge.† So, why is it that we see headlines and news reports on cyber warfare and cyber terrorism in which the word most repeated is â€Å"hacker?† According to Joel Snyder, columnist for Internet World magazine, true hacking â€Å"used to exist† and what prevails now is â€Å"the new digital terrorism.† Therefore, what is there to say about hackers? Should we be blaming these acts of cyber terrorism on crackers instead? Or are they the same as hackers? The truth is that it doesn’t matter that much since the importance is to end these cyber crimes, but is this possible? Cyber terrorism began appearing since the dawn of the Internet. It has only been a couple of years since it has become a subculture, an actual problem. An article in the Washington Times spoke of the new warfare, not nuclear warfare, but cyber warfare. There is â€Å"evidence that Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, India, and Azerbaijan† (Maier) have tried to enter US computer systems in search of information useful for their countries. A... Free Essays on Hacker Free Essays on Hacker â€Å"I am a hacker, enter my world now† (Mentor). These are the words of The Mentor, one of the most famous anonymous hackers in history. He is known for forming several hacker groups and his famous â€Å"Hacker’s Manifesto.† In this infamous document he states the principles of the hacker, the way they think, and how they came to being. Which brings up the question, what do they think? What principles do they live by? Why are they who they are? It is hard to explain it, but for starters it would be recommended to differentiate a hacker from a cracker. A cracker is â€Å"one who attempts to break into a system via crack/guessing user passwords† (CandyMan). Most of these crackers are merely â€Å"young teenage punks† who just wish to get a â€Å"kick† out of â€Å"destroying or alternating data† (CandyMan). Yet, a hacker is only â€Å"an individual who yearns for knowledge† (CandyMan), which fits Mentor’s statement that h ackers â€Å"seek after knowledge.† So, why is it that we see headlines and news reports on cyber warfare and cyber terrorism in which the word most repeated is â€Å"hacker?† According to Joel Snyder, columnist for Internet World magazine, true hacking â€Å"used to exist† and what prevails now is â€Å"the new digital terrorism.† Therefore, what is there to say about hackers? Should we be blaming these acts of cyber terrorism on crackers instead? Or are they the same as hackers? The truth is that it doesn’t matter that much since the importance is to end these cyber crimes, but is this possible? Cyber terrorism began appearing since the dawn of the Internet. It has only been a couple of years since it has become a subculture, an actual problem. An article in the Washington Times spoke of the new warfare, not nuclear warfare, but cyber warfare. There is â€Å"evidence that Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, India, and Azerbaijan† (Maier) have tried to enter US computer systems in search of information useful for their countries. A...

Vlsi Implementation of Array Based Fir Filter Folding Essays

Vlsi Implementation of Array Based Fir Filter Folding Essays Vlsi Implementation of Array Based Fir Filter Folding Essay Vlsi Implementation of Array Based Fir Filter Folding Essay We are grateful to our Principal, Prof. K. Venkataramani for his support and direction in the course of the project. We take great pleasure in thanking our Head of the Department, Dr. S. Jayashri who has always been a source of inspiration. Her constant motivation has been a driving force for the successful completion of the project. This project was made possible due to the proficient and prompt guidance given by our Project Guide, Mr. J. Selvakumar. We take this opportunity to express our gratitude for the encouragement he has provided us. We are indebted to him for spending his valuable time with us.We thank our project coordinator, Mrs. M. Susila for conducting periodic reviews and giving us valuable suggestions. We also thank the lab technicians for their help and cooperation. ABSTRACT This project aims to implement finite impulse response (FIR) filter based on multiplier arrays in Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) and intends to show the reduction of the hardware complexity t hat result out of folding techniques. FIR filter being one of the fundamental components of digital signal processing (DSP) has a vital role to play in communication and signal processing.The advantages of FIR filter are stability and easy implementation but these are undermined by its hardware complexity due to large number of filter-taps. Thus, processes such as folding are used to reduce the hardware complexity of FIR filters because they involve repetitive multiplications. This project deals with the implementation of an 8 tap FIR filter in unfolded, folded and two-stage cascaded folded filter. Cascading combines the merits of folded and unfolded schemes. The filters are implemented with four multipliers- Braun array, Ripple carry, carry save and Wallace tree.The performance of the structures with the four multipliers is compared in terms of hardware complexity and combinational path delay. The advantages of VLSI such as low cost, low power, high reliability, small size and high functionality are to be exploited in this project. The hardware descriptive language used is verilog HDL. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER NO. TITLE PAGE NO. ABSTRACT LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES LIST OF SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS iv x xi xiii 1. INTRODUCTION 1 1. 1 DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING 1. 1. 1 Analog and digital signals 1. 1. 2 Signal processing 1. 1. 3 Digital signal processors 1. 1. Applications of DSP 1 1 1 2 2 2. LITERATURE OVERVIEW 2. 1 2. 2 2. 3 FILTERS ANALOG FILTERS DIGITAL FILTERS 2. 3. 1 Advantages of digital filter 2. 3. 2 Operation of digital filter 2. 3. 3 FIR and IIR filters 2. 3. 4 FIR filter 2. 3. 4. 1 Terms used in FIR filter 4 4 4 4 5 6 7 7 7 2. 3. 4. 2 Advantages of FIR filter 2. 3. 4. 3 Disadvantages of FIR filter 2. 4 FOLDING 8 9 9 3. ARCHITECTURES OF FIR FILTER 10 3. 1 3. 2 UNFOLDED ARCHITECTURE FOLDED ARCHITECTURE OF K TAP FIR FILTER 10 11 3. 3 CASCADED ARCHITECTURE OF FIR FILTER 13 4. MULTIPLIERS 4. 1 4. 2 BASICS OF DIGITAL MULTIPLICATION ARRAY MULTIPLIER 4. . 1 Braun array multiplier 4. 2. 2 Ripple carry multiplier 4. 2. 3 Carry save multiplier 4. 3 TREE MULTIPLIER 4. 3. 1 Wallace tree multiplier 16 16 16 17 18 19 20 20 5. SOURCE CODE 5. 1 UNFOLDED FILTER 5. 1. 1 Top module 5. 1. 2 16 bit adder 5. 1. 3 17 bit adder 5. 1. 4 18 bit adder 5. 1. 5 D flip flop 5. 1. 6 Multiplier 5. 2 FOLDED FILTER 5. 2. 1 Top module 5. 2. 2 Adder module 5. 2. 3 D-R module 5. 2. 4 D flip flop 22 22 22 23 23 23 23 24 24 24 25 25 26 5. 2. 5 Multiplier adder unit 5. 2. 6 Multiplier 5. 2. 7 Multiplexer 5. 2. 8 C-R module 5. 3 CASCADED FIR FILTER 5. 3. 1 Top module 5. 3. Adder module 5. 3. 3 D-R module 5. 3. 4 D flip flop 5. 3. 5 Filter stage 1 26 27 28 28 28 28 29 29 29 30 31 32 33 34 34 35 35 35 36 37 39 40 40 40 5. 3. 6 Filter stage 2 5. 3. 7 Multiplier adder unit 1 5. 3. 8 Multiplier adder unit 2 5. 3. 9 Multiplier 5. 3. 10 Multiplexer 5. 3. 11 C-R module 5. 4 MULTIPLIERS 5. 4. 1 Braun array multiplier 5. 4. 2 Carry save multiplier 5. 4. 3 Ripple carry multi plier 5. 4. 4 Wallace tree multiplier 5. 5 ADDERS 5. 5. 1 Full adder 5. 5. 2 Half adder 6. SIMULATION RESULTS 6. 1 6. 2 6. 3 UNFOLDED FOLDED CASCADED 41 41 42 43 7. XILINX SYNTEHSIS AND POWER REPORT: 7. UNFOLDED FIR FILTER 7. 1. 1 Synthesis report 7. 1. 2 Power report 44 44 44 46 7. 2 FOLDED FIR FILTER WITH BRAUN ARRAY MULTIPLIER 7. 2. 1 Synthesis report 7. 2. 2 Power report 47 47 49 7. 3 FOLDED FIR FILTER WITH CARRY SAVE MULTIPLIER 7. 3. 1 Synthesis report 7. 3. 2 Power report 49 49 52 7. 4 FOLDED FIR FILTER WITH RIPPLE CARRY MULTIPLIER 7. 4. 1 Synthesis report 7. 4. 2 Power report 52 52 54 7. 5 FOLDED FIR FILTER WITH WALLACE TREE MULTIPLIER 7. 5. 1 Synthesis report 7. 5. 2 Power report 55 55 57 7. 6 CASCADED FIR FILTER WITH BRAUN ARRAY MULTIPLIER 7. 6. 1 Synthesis report 7. 6. 2 Power report 58 58 60 . 7 CASCADED FIR FILTER WITH CARRY SAVE MULTIPLIER 7. 7. 1 Synthesis report 7. 7. 2 Power report 60 60 63 7. 8 CASCADED FIR FILTER WITH RIPPLE CARRY MULTIPLIER 7. 8. 1 Synthesis repor t 7. 8. 2 Power report 63 63 66 7. 9 FOLDED FIR FILTER WITH WALLACE TREE MULTIPLIER 7. 9. 1 Synthesis report 7. 9. 2 Power report 66 66 68 8. RTL SCHEMATICS 8. 1 8. 2 8. 3 UNFOLDED FIR FILTER FOLDED FIR FILTER CASCADED FIR FILTER 70 70 71 71 9. FPGA EDITOR DIAGRAMS: 9. 1 9. 2 9. 3 UNFOLDED FIR FILTER FOLDED FIR FILTER CASCADED FIR FILTER 72 72 73 74 10. COMPARISON 10. 1 COMPARISON OF MULTIPLIERS 10. 1. 1 Charts 10. COMPARISON OF THE THREE ARCHITECTURES OF FIR FILTER 10. 2. 1 Charts 10. 2. 2 Tables 75 75 75 76 76 77 11. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE ENHANCEMENTS 79 APPENDICES A B XILINX SPARTAN II FPGA FAMILY VERILOG 80 80 84 REFERENCES 87 LIST OF TABLES: S. NO TABLE TITLE PAGE NO 1. Table10. 1. Comparison of the gate count of architectures 77 2. Table10. 2. Comparison of the different structures 78 3. Table10. 3. Comparison of the gate count of the structures with different multipliers 78 LIST OF FIGURES: S. NO FIGURE TITLE PAGE NO 1. Fig2. 1. Filtering operation 4 2. Fig2. 2. Signal Proces sing system 5 . Fig2. 3. FIR filter 7 4. Fig3. 1. FIR filter in direct form 10 5. Fig3. 2. Folded architecture of k tap FIR filter 12 6. 7. Fig3. 3. Fig3. 4. Timing diagram 8-tap direct form FIR filter divided into two filter stages 12 13 8. Fig3. 5. Cascaded structure of two folded filter stages 14 9. Fig3. 6. Timing diagram 15 10. Fig4. 1. Multiplier cell 16 11. Fig4. 2. Braun Array Multiplier 17 12. Fig4. 3. Ripple Carry Array multiplier 18 13. Fig4. 5 Carry Save Array Multiplier 19 14. Fig4. 6. Flowchart of a tree multiplier 20 15. Fig4. 7. Transforming a partial product tree into a wallace tree 1 16. Fig4. 8. Wallace tree multiplier 21 17. Fig6. 1. Model Sim Output of unfolded FIR filter 41 18. Fig6. 2. Model Sim Output of folded FIR filter 42 19. Fig6. 3. Model Sim Output of cascaded FIR filter 43 20. 21. Fig 7. 1. Fig8. 1. Project properties RTL schematic of unfolded FIR filter 44 70 22. Fig8. 2. RTL schematic of folded FIR filter 71 23. Fig8. 3. RTL schematic of cascaded FIR filter 71 24. Fig9. 1 Fpga editor diagram of unfolded fir filter 72 25. Fig9. 2 Fpga editor diagram of folded fir filter 73 26. Fig9. 3 Fpga editor diagram of cascaded fir filter 74 27. Fig10. 1Combinational delay of the multipliers 75 28. Fig10. 2 Hardware complexity of the multipliers 75 29. Fig10. 3 Hardware complexity of the three architectures of fir filter 76 30. Fig10. 4 No of clock cycles to obtain output 76 31. Fig10. 5 Combinational delay 77 32. Fig10. 6 No of slices 77 LIST OF SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS: ADC : Analog to Digital Converter ALU : Arithmetic and Logic Unit ASIC : Application Specific Integrated Circuit BAM : Braun Array Multiplier CSM : Carry Save Multiplier DAC : Digital To Analog converter FA FFT FIR : Full Adder : Fast Fourier Transform : Finite Impulse ResponseFPGA : Field Programmable Gate Arrays GCLK : Global Clock HA : Half Adder HDL : Hardware Descriptive Language IEEE : Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IIR IOB LSB : Infinite Impulse Response : Input Output Buffer : Least Significant Bit LUT : Look Up Table MAC : Multiply Accumulate MSB : Most Significant Bit RCM : Ripple Carry Multiplier RTL : Register Transfer Level VHDL : VHSIC Hardware Descriptive Language VLSI : Very Large Scale Integration 1. INTRODUCTION: 1. 1 DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING: Digital Signal Processing, as the term suggests, is the processing of signals by digital means.A signal in this context can mean a number of different things. Historically the origins of signal processing are in electrical engineering, and a signal here means an electrical signal carried by a wire or telephone line, or perhaps by a radio wave. More generally, however, a signal is a stream of information representing anything from stock prices to data from a remote-sensing satellite. The term digital comes from digit, meaning a number (you count with your fingers your digits), so digital literally means numerical; the French word for digital is ‘numerique’.A d igital signal consists of a stream of numbers, usually (but not necessarily) in binary form. The processing of a digital signal is done by performing numerical calculations. 1. 1. 1 ANALOG AND DIGITAL SIGNALS: In many cases, the signal of interest is initially in the form of an analog electrical voltage or current, produced for example by a microphone or some other type of transducer. In some situations, such as the output from the readout system of a CD (compact disc) player, the data is already in digital form.An analog signal must be converted into digital form before DSP techniques can be applied. An analog electrical voltage signal, for example, can be digitized using an electronic circuit called an analog-to-digital converter or ADC. This generates a digital output as a stream of binary numbers whose values represent the electrical voltage input to the device at each sampling instant. 1. 1. 2 SIGNAL PROCESSING: Signals commonly need to be processed in a variety of ways. For ex ample, the output signal from a transducer may well be contaminated with unwanted electrical noise.The electrodes attached to a patients chest when an ECG is taken measure tiny electrical voltage changes due to the activity of the heart and other muscles. The signal is often strongly affected by mains pickup due to electrical interference from the mains supply. Processing the signal using a filter circuit can remove or at least reduce the unwanted part of the signal. Increasingly nowadays, the filtering of signals to improve signal quality or to extract important information is done by DSP techniques rather than by analog electronics.The development of digital signal processing dates from the 1960s with the use of mainframe digital computers for number-crunching applications such as the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), which allows the frequency spectrum of a signal to be computed rapidly. These techniques were not widely used at that time, because suitable computing equipment was gene rally available only in universities and other scientific research institutions. 1. 1. 3 DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSORS: The introduction of the microprocessor in the late 1970s and early 1980s made it possible for DSP techniques to be used in a much wider range of applications.However, general-purpose microprocessors such as the Intel x86 family are not ideally suited to the numerically-intensive requirements of DSP, and during the 1980s the increasing importance of DSP led several major electronics manufacturers (such as Texas Instruments, Analog Devices and Motorola) to develop Digital Signal Processor chips specialized microprocessors with architectures designed specifically for the types of operations required in digital signal processing. Like a general-purpose microprocessor, a Digital Signal Processor is a programmable device, with its own native instruction code.DSP chips are capable of carrying out millions of floating point operations per second, and like their better-known g eneral-purpose cousins, faster and more powerful versions are continually being introduced. DSPs can also be embedded within complex system-on-chip devices, often containing both analog and digital circuitry. 1. 1. 4 APPLICATIONS OF DSP: DSP technology is nowadays commonplace in such devices as mobile phones, multimedia computers, video recorders, CD players, hard disc drive controllers and modems, and will soon replace analog circuitry in TV sets and telephones.An important application of DSP is in signal compression and decompression. Signal compression is used in digital cellular phones to allow a greater number of calls to be handled simultaneously within each local cell. DSP signal compression technology allows people not only to talk to one another but also to see one another on their computer screens, using small video cameras mounted on the computer monitors, with only a conventional telephone line linking them together. In audio CD systems, DSP technology is used to perform complex error detection and correction on the raw data as it is read from the CD.Although some of the mathematical theory underlying DSP techniques, such as Fourier and Hilbert Transforms, digital filter design and signal compression, can be fairly complex, the numerical operations required actually to implement these techniques are very simple, consisting mainly of operations that could be done on a cheap four-function calculator. The architecture of a DSP chip is designed to carry out such operations incredibly fast, processing hundreds of millions of samples very second, to provide real-time performance: that is, the ability to process a signal live as it is sampled and then output the processed signal, for example to a loudspeaker or video display. All of the practical examples of DSP applications mentioned earlier, such as hard disc drives and mobile phones, demand real-time operation. The major electronics manufacturers have invested heavily in DSP technology. Because they no w find application in mass-market products, DSP chips account for a substantial proportion of the world market for electronic devices.Sales amount to billions of dollars annually, and seem likely to continue to increase rapidly. 2. LITERATURE OVERVIEW: 2. 1 FILTERS: In signal processing, the function of a filter is to remove unwanted parts of the signal, such as random noise, or to extract useful parts of the signal, such as the components lying within a certain frequency range. The following block diagram illustrates the basic idea. Fig2. 1. Filtering operation There are two main kinds of filter, analog and digital. They are quite different in their physical makeup and in how they work. 2. ANALOG FILTERS: An analog filter uses analog electronic circuits made up from components such as resistors, capacitors and op amps to produce the required filtering effect. Such filter circuits are widely used in such applications as noise reduction, video signal enhancement, graphic equalizers i n hi-fi systems, and many other areas. There are well-established standard techniques for designing an analog filter circuit for a given requirement. At all stages, the signal being filtered is an electrical voltage or current, which is the direct analogue of the physical quantity (e. . a sound or video signal or transducer output) involved. 2. 3 DIGITAL FILTER: A digital filter is any electronic filter that works by performing digital math operations on an intermediate form of a signal. This is in contrast with older analog filters which work entirely in the analog realm and must rely on physical networks of electronic components (such as resistors, capacitors, transistors, etc. ) to achieve a desired filtering effect. Digital filters can achieve virtually any filtering effect that can be expressed as a mathematical algorithm. The two primary limitations of igital filters are their speed (the filter cant operate any faster than the computer at the heart of the filter), and their co st. However as the cost of integrated circuits have continued to drop over time, digital filters have become increasingly commonplace and are now an essential element of many everyday objects such as radios, cellphones, and stereo receivers. The analog input signal must first be sampled and digitized using an ADC (analog to digital converter). The resulting binary numbers, representing successive sampled values of the input signal, are transferred to the processor, which carries out numerical calculations on them.These calculations typically involve multiplying the input values by constants and adding the products together. If necessary, the results of these calculations, which now represent sampled values of the filtered signal, are output through a DAC (digital to analog converter) to convert the signal back to analog form. Note that in a digital filter, the signal is represented by a sequence of numbers, rather than a voltage or current. Fig2. 2 Signal processing system 2. 3. 1 A DVANTAGES OF DIGITAL FILTERS: The following list gives some of the main advantages of digital over analog filters. A digital filter is programmable, i. . its operation is determined by a program stored in the processors memory. This means the digital filter can easily be changed without affecting the circuitry (hardware). Redesigning the filter circuit can only change an analog filter. Digital filters are easily designed, tested and implemented on a general-purpose computer or workstation. The characteristics of analog filter circuits (particularly those containing active components) are subject to drift and are dependent on temperature. Digital filters do not suffer from these problems, and so are extremely stable with respect both to time and temperature.Unlike their analog counterparts, digital filters can handle low frequency signals accurately. As the speed of DSP technology continues to increase, digital filters are being applied to high frequency signals in the RF (radio freq uency) domain, which in the past was the exclusive preserve of analog technology. Digital filters are very much more versatile in their ability to process signals in a variety of ways; this includes the ability of some types of digital filter to adapt to changes in the characteristics of the signal. 2. 3. OPERATION OF DIGITAL FILTERS: Suppose the raw signal, which is to be digitally filtered, is in the form of a voltage waveform described by the function V = x (t) where t is time. This signal is sampled at time intervals h (the sampling interval). The sampled value at time t = ih is xi = x (ih) Thus the digital values transferred from the ADC to the processor can be represented by the sequence x0, x1, x2, x3, Corresponding to the values of the signal waveform at times t = 0, h, 2h, 3h, (where t = 0 is the instant at which sampling begins).At time t = nh (where n is some positive integer), the values available to the processor, stored in memory, are x0, x1, x2, x3, , xn Note that the sampled values xn+1, xn+2 etc. are not available, as they havent happened yet! The digital output from the processor to the DAC consists of the sequence of values y0, y1, y2, y3, , yn In general, the value of yn is calculated from the values x0, x1, x2, x3, , xn. The way in which the ys are calculated from the xs determines the filtering action of the digital filter. 2. 3. FIR AND IIR FILTERS: The impulse response of a digital filter is the output sequence from the filter when a unit impulse is applied at its input. (A unit impulse is a very simple input sequence consisting of a single value of 1 at time t = 0, followed by zeros at all subsequent sampling instants). An FIR filter is one whose impulse response is of finite duration. An IIR filter is one whose impulse response (theoretically) continues forever, because the recursive (previous output) terms feed back energy into the filter input and keep it going.Impulse Response The impulse response of a FIR filter is actually just the set of FIR coefficients. (If you put an impulse into a FIR filter which consists of a 1 sample followed by many 0 samples, the output of the filter will be the set of coefficients, as the 1 sample moves past each coefficient in turn to form the output. ) The term IIR is not very accurate, because the actual impulse responses of nearly all IIR filters reduce virtually to zero in a finite time. 2. 3. 4 FIRFILTER: Fig2. 3. FIR filter 2. 3. 4. 1 TERMS USED IN DESCRIBING FIR FILTERS: Tap A FIR tap is simply a coefficient/delay pair.The number of FIR taps, (often designated as N) is an indication of 1) the amount of memory required to implement the filter, 2) the number of calculations required, and 3) the amount of filtering the filter can do; in effect, more taps means more stop band attenuation, less ripple, narrower filters, etc. ) Multiply-Accumulate (MAC) In a FIR context, a MAC is the operation of multiplying a coefficient by the corresponding delayed data sample and acc umulating the result. FIRs usually require one MAC per tap. Most DSP microprocessors implement the MAC operation in a single instruction cycle.Transition Band The band of frequencies between pass band and stop band edges. The narrower the transition band, the more taps are required to implement the filter. (A small transition band results in a sharp filter. ) Delay Line The set of memory elements that implement the Z^-1 delay elements of the FIR calculation. Circular Buffer A special buffer which is circular because incrementing at the end causes it to wrap around to the beginning, or because decrementing from the beginning causes it to wrap around to the end.Circular buffers are often provided by DSP microprocessors to implement the movement of the samples through the FIR delay-line without having to literally move the data in memory. When a new sample is added to the buffer, it automatically replaces the oldest one. 2. 3. 4. 2 ADVANTAGES OF FIR FILTERS: Compared to IIR filters, FIR filters offer the following advantages: They can easily be designed to be linear phase (and usually are). Put simply, linear-phase filters delay the input signal, but don’t distort its phase. They are simple to implement.On most DSP microprocessors, the FIR calculation can be done by looping a single instruction. They are suited to multi-rate applications. By multi-rate, we mean decimation (reducing the sampling rate), interpolation (increasing the sampling rate), or both. Whether decimating or interpolating, the use of FIR filters allows some of the calculations to be omitted, thus providing an important computational efficiency. In contrast, if IIR filters are used, each output must be individually calculated, even if it that output will be discarded (so the feedback will be incorporated into the filter).They have desirable numeric properties. In practice, all DSP filters must be implemented using finite-precision arithmetic, that is, a limited number of bits. The use of finiteprecision arithmetic in IIR filters can cause significant problems due to the use of feedback, but FIR filters have no feedback, so they can usually be implemented using fewer bits, and the designer has fewer practical problems to solve related to non-ideal arithmetic. They can be implemented using fractional arithmetic. Unlike IIR filters, it is always possible to implement a FIR filter using coefficients with magnitude of less than 1. . (The overall gain of the FIR filter can be adjusted at its output, if desired. ) This is an important consideration when using fixed-point DSPs, because it makes the implementation much simpler. FIR filters inherently stable. Since hey have no feedback elements, any bounded input results in a bounded output. 2. 3. 4. 3 DISADVANTAGES OF FIR FILTERS: Compared to IIR filters, FIR filters sometimes have the disadvantage that they require more memory and/or calculation to achieve a given filter response characteristic. Also, certain responses a re not practical to implement with FIR filters 2. FOLDING: Folding transformation is used to systematically determine the control circuits in DSP architectures where multiple algorithm operations such as addition operations are time-multiplexed to a single functional unit. Thus the number of functional units in the implementation is reduced resulting in an IC with low silicon area. This is an important aspect in synthesizing DSP architectures. In general, folding can be used to reduce the number of hardware functional units by a factor of N at the expense of increasing the computational time by a factor of N (number of algorithm operations executed on a single functional unit in hardware).Folding transformation may also lead to an architecture that uses a large number of registers. To overcome this drawback, techniques can be used to compute the minimum number of registers required to implement a folded DSP architecture and to allocate data to these registers. Using register minimiz ation techniques along with the folding transformation not only reduces the number of functional units but also keeps the area consumed by memory in the folded architecture to a minimum. 3. ARCHITECTURES OF FIR FILTER: The direct form structure consists of a large number of filter taps that lead to excessive hardware complexity.Folding techniques have been proposed as a means of reducing the hardware complexity when the processing throughput required by the application is less than the throughput at which the circuit can operate. FIR filters are ideal candidates for folding since they are essentially a repetition of multiplications. The main drawback of folded FIR filter scheme is that while they achieve significant hardware reduction, they also reduce the sample rate. A way to combine the merits of folded and unfolded filters is to cascade a number of folded FIR filter units.The partially folded filter is an intermediate form between the folded and unfolded form of a filter, featur ing higher throughput than the folded and requiring less hardware than the unfolded. Partially folded filter consists of a number of modules, each of them being a fully folded filter. Cascading p such modules increases the sample rate by p. 3. 1 DIRECT FORM ARCHITECTURE: The unfolded architecture consists of delays, multipliers and adders. The output is obtained every clock cycle. A k-tap filter consists of k multipliers, k-1 adders and k-1 delays.The input sample x is delayed and multiplied with filter coefficients and accumulated to get the output. Fig4. shows a k-tap direct FIR filter. Fig3. 1. FIR filter in direct form 3. 2 FOLDED ARCHITECTURE OF K-TAP FIR FILTER: The folded architecture consists of a multiplier and adder unit, which performs one multiplication, addition operation every clock cycle. So it requires k-clock cycles to perform k such operations in production of single output of a k-tap filter. The cyclic shift registers C-R store the filter coefficients in the desce nding order and k-1 input samples are stored in the D-R cyclic shift registers in the descending order.These shift registers account for the delay elements present in the direct form of the unfolded architecture of an FIR filter. The C-R registers correspond to the data latches where the filter coefficients are stored when the filter is programmed. Fig5. shows the architecture of the folded FIR filter. The convolution output is produced in k-clock cycles. The term x (n-k-1) hk-1 is computed first and the term x(n)h0 is computed last. The multiplexer set; mux1 is used to input the filter coefficients to the multiplier-add unit (mac).The select signal ‘sel’ is used to select between the two inputs, one being the external input ‘hc’ and the other is the data out of the shift register C-R. During the first k clock cycles hc is selected and for the remaining computations output from C-R is selected. Multiplexer set, mux2 is used to obtain a new input every kth c lock cycle which then gets stored in the D-R shift register. The third multiplexer set, mux3 is used to obtain the sum of products through accumulation in the mac unit and to clear the accumulator every kth clock cycle. The select signal for the second and the third multiplexer sets is ‘s’.The signal ‘s’ is made high every kth clock cycle. Tristate buffers, which are enabled by signal ‘s’, are used to obtain the final output. The circuit operates at clock frequency ‘fc’. An input sample is processed every k clock cycles and therefore the filter operation frequency is fs=fc/k. The frequency of the control signal ‘s’ is ‘fs’. Fig6. shows the timing diagram of the operation. Fig3. 2. Folded architecture of k-tap FIR filter Fig3. 3. Timing diagram 3. 3 CASCADED ARCHITECTURE OF FIR FILTER: A cascaded structure is obtained by dividing the k-tap filter into many stages. Fig7. hows a twostage structure obtained by dividing an 8-tap FIR filter and introducing a delay between the two stages. Each stage is partially folded and cascaded. Fig8. shows the cascaded architecture using two folded FIR filters in direct form. The first four filter coefficients are stored in the C-R register of stage 1 and the next four coefficients are stored in the C-R register of stage 2. The input sample to the second stage comes from the delay register D-R. The output of the second stage ‘yp’ is used to initialize the accumulator of the first stage. The final output ‘y’ is obtained from the first stage.A delay exists in the sum line from the output of stage 2 to the input of the adder of stage 1 in the Fig. 3. This corresponds to the delay in the input of adder of stage 1 in Fig4. The operation of each stage is similar to that of a normal folded FIR filter. The select signal ‘s’ of both the stages are synchronized. The select signal ‘sel’ to the multiplexer set, m ux1 is used to select the output of the C-R register after four clock cycles as only four coefficients are used by each stage. The second stage produces a partial output ‘yp’ in one sample cycle, which is used by the first stage in the next sample cycle.Fig3. 4. 8-tap direct form FIR filter divided into two filter stages Fig8. Cascaded structure of two folded filter stages The timing diagram, shown in Fig9. clarifies the operation of the circuit. In this diagram y(n), yp(n) and the filter terms accumulated after every clock cycle by both stages is shown. The Computation of the result y(n) lasts to x(n) sample cycles. During the first cycle, stage 2 computes yp(n). This is available in the last clock cycle and is used as an initial value for the accumulation performed by stage 1 in the second sample cycle.During this cycle stage 1 computes y(n) and stage2 computes yp(n+1) of the next result. Thus the computations of two results y(n) and yp(n+1) are overlapped and we obta in a result every four clock cycles. The select signal ‘s’ is made high every fourth clock cycle to get the output. Fig3. 5. Timing diagram 4. MULTIPLIERS: The most critical function carried out by ALU is multiplication Digital multiplication is not the most fundamentally complex operation, but is the most extensively used operation (especially in signal processing) Innumerable schemes have been proposed for realization of the operation 4. BASICS OF DIGITAL MULTIPLICATION: Digital multiplication entails a sequence of additions carried out on partial products The method by which this partial product array is summed to give the final product is the key distinguishing factor amongst the numerous multiplication schemes A 4. 2 ARRAY MULTIPLIER: Partial products are independently computed in parallel Consider two binary numbers A and B, of m and n bits, respectively: Pk is known as the partial product term, also called the summand. Fig4. 1. Multiplier cell 4. 2. 1 BRAUN ARRAY MULTIPLIER: Simplest parallel multiplier. Suited only for positive operands.The partial products are computed in parallel and then collected through a series of carry save adders. The completion time is limited by the depth of the carry save and by the carry propagation in the adder. Fig4. 2. Braun array multiplier 4. 2. 2 RIPPLE CARRY ARRAY MULTIPLIERS: Row ripple form Unrolled shift-add algorithm Delay is proportional to N A ripple carry array multiplier (also called row ripple form) is an unrolled embodiment of the classic shift-add multiplication algorithm. The illustration shows the adder structure used to combine all the bit products in a 44 multiplier.The bit products are the logical and of the bits from each input. They are shown in the form x, y in the drawing. The maximum delay is the path from either LSB input to the MSB of the product, and is the same (ignoring routing delays) regardless of the path taken. The delay is approximately 2*n. Fig4. 3. Ripple carry array mult iplier 4. 2. 3 CARRY SAVE ARRAY MULTIPLIERS: Column ripple form Fundamentally same delay and gate count as row ripple form Gate level speed ups available for ASICs Ripple adder can be replaced with faster carry tree adder Regular routing patternFig4. 5. Carry save array multiplier 4. 3 TREE MULTIPLIER: Offers potential for multiplication in time O (logn) Once partial product array is formed, bits are passed to reduction network Here column-wise compression of the bits takes place, yielding two final partial products Final product is obtained by addition of these two partial products Considered to be irregular in form and does not permit efficient VLSI realization Fig4. 6. Flowchart of a tree multiplier 4. 3. 1 WALLACE TREE MULTIPLIER: Partial Sum adders can be re-arranged in a ree-like fashion, reducing the critical path and the number of cells needed. Fig. (a) Only column 3 has to add 4 bits. All others are less complex Fig. (b) Half Adders (HA) in column 3 ; 4. Fig. (c) Full Adder s (FA) in column 3, 4, and 5; HA in column 2. Fig. (d) Finally, HA from column 1 to 6. Fig4. 7. Transforming a partial product tree into a wallace tree Wallace Tree multiplier implementation. Substantial saving on larger multiplier. Fig4. 8. Wallace tree multiplier 5. SOURCE CODE: 5. 1 UNFOLDED FIR FILTER: 5. 1. TOP MODULE: module FIR_filter(x,h0,h1,h2,h3, h4,h5,h6,h7,clk,y); input[7:0]x,h0,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,h7; input clk; output[18:0]y; wire[7:0]x0,x1,x2,x3,x4,x5,x6,x7; wire[7:0]x0_bar,x1_bar,x2_bar,x3_bar,x4_bar,x5_bar,x6_bar,x7_bar; wire [15:0]p0,p1,p2,p3,p4,p5,p6,p7; wire[16:0]s0,s1,s2,s3; wire[17:0]s4,s5; delay d0(x,clk,reset,x0,x0_bar); delay d1(x0,clk,reset,x1,x1_bar); delay d2(x1,clk,reset,x2,x2_bar); delay d3(x2,clk,reset,x3,x3_bar); delay d4(x3,clk,reset,x4,x4_bar); delay d5(x4,clk,reset,x5,x5_bar); delay d6(x5,clk,reset,x6,x6_bar); delay d7(x6,clk,reset,x7,x7_bar); mul_8x8 m0(x0,h0,p0); mul_8x8 m1(x1,h1,p1); mul_8x8 m2(x2,h2,p2); mul_8x8 m3(x3,h3,p3); mul_8x8 m4(x4,h4,p4) ; mul_8x8 m5(x5,h5,p5); mul_8x8 m6(x6,h6,p6); mul_8x8 m7(x7,h7,p7); adder_16bit a0(p0,p1,s0), a1(p2,p3,s1), a2(p4,p5,s2), a3(p6,p7,s3); adder_17bit a4(s0,s1,s4), a5(s2,s3,s5); adder_18bit a6(s4,s5,y); endmodule 5. 1. 2 16-BIT ADDER: module adder_16bit(A,B,sum); input [15:0] A,B; output [16:0]sum; assign sum=A+B; endmodule 5. 1. 3 17-BIT ADDER: module adder_17bit(A,B,sum); input[16:0]A,B; input[17:0]sum; assign sum=A+B; endmodule 5. 1. 4 18-BIT ADDER: module adder_18bit(A,B,sum); input[17:0]A,B; output[18:0]sum; assign sum=A+B; endmodule 5. 1. 5 D FLIPFLOP: module delay(D,CLK,reset,Q,Q_bar); input [7:0] D; input CLK,reset; output[7:0] Q; output[7:0]Q_bar; reg [7:0] Q; assign Q_bar=~Q; always @(posedge CLK or negedge reset) if(reset==0)Q

How Does the Cell Membrane Function

How Does the Cell Membrane Function SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips All living things are made of cells and all cells have different parts that perform specific functions. One of the parts present in every cell is called the cell membrane. In this article, we’ll discuss the cell membrane structure and function, answering the questions â€Å"what does the cell membrane do?† and â€Å"why is the cell membrane important?† What Does the Cell Membrane Do? The main cell membrane function is to protect the inside of a cell. The cell membrane surrounds the cytoplasm of a cell (both plant and animal cells). As a thin, semi-permeable substance, the cell membrane lets some things pass through into the cell while keeping others out. The cell membrane is extremely important for keeping the cell safe. Because the cell membrane has a semi-permeable structure, it also gives a bit of shape to the cell. While not as thick or sturdy as the cell wall found in plant cells, the cell membrane does help support and give structure to the cell. The cell membrane is also responsible for helping cells grow through two processes known as endocytosis and exocytosis. What Is Endocytosis? During endocytosis, materials from outside of a cell are brought into the cell and then absorbed. Endocytosis helps cells get materials they need. There are three types of endocytosis. In pinocytosis, cells take in small amounts of extracellular fluids to help them hydrate. In receptor-mediated endocytosis, a large extracellular molecule, like a protein, is bound to a receptor on the cell membrane. In phagocytosis, cells ingest large objects, like chunks of dead organic matter, and seal them off into large vacuoles and digest the material. What Is Exocytosis? In exocytosis, a cell releases substances into its environment. During exocytosis, vesicles that contain substances are moved to the cell membrane and fuse with it. This cell membrane function has three results: the total surface of the membrane increases, toxins or waste products are eliminated, and proteins become part of the plasma membrane. Cell Membrane Structure Cell membranes are made up of mainly lipids and proteins. A lipid is a type of organic molecule found in living things. Lipids are oily or waxy. Fats are made from lipid molecules. Proteins are large, complex molecules found in living things. They are made up of amino acids and do work related to the structure, function, and regulation of the body’s tissues and organs. There are three types of lipids and two types of proteins found in cell membranes. Cell Membrane Lipids There are three types of lipids found in cell membranes: Phospholipids are the main component of cell membranes. They line up and form a double layer that all cell membranes have. The double layer phospholipids form helps to protect the cell by only allowing certain materials to pass through. Cholesterol is a lipid that helps cell membranes from becoming too stiff. Cholesterol acts a bit like a sheepdog - it herds the phospholipids and prevents them from crowding together. Glycolipids are found on the surface of the cell membrane and help the cell recognize other cells in the body. Cell Membrane Proteins Cell membranes have two main types of proteins that then have specific functions within the categories. Peripheral proteins are proteins that are attached to the outside of the cell membrane. They are involved with the cell membrane because of interactions with other types of proteins. Integral membrane proteins pass through the membrane itself. Classes of Peripheral and Integral Membrane Proteins There are four different classes of peripheral and integral membrane proteins. Both peripheral and integral membrane proteins have structural, receptor, transport molecule, and glycoproteins. First, there are structural proteins, which, as their name suggests, help give the cell its structure. Next, there are receptor proteins. These proteins help the cell communicate to other cells (think cell phone reception). They use hormones, neurotransmitters and other things to talk to other cells. Transport molecules are like ferryboats. They help carry material through the cell membrane. Finally, glycoproteins also help in communication and transportation. Cell Membrane Function: Key Takeaways There are many parts of the cell, like the chromosomes, nucleus, Golgi apparatus, and cell membrane. The cell membrane structure and function is to act as the gatekeeper to the cell. The cell membrane gives the cell its shape and helps keep bad material out while also ferrying good material in. All cells have cell membranes, which are composed mainly of lipids and proteins. 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Impact of Malaysia Budget 2013 on Small and Medium Enterprises Assignment

Impact of Malaysia Budget 2013 on Small and Medium Enterprises - Assignment Example Small and medium-sized enterprises have had bigger challenges in their business performance, incursion, and marketing, compared to the large enterprises. The Malaysian 2013 budget has given indicated considerable efforts to emphasize on the need of SMEs in economic development, and vision 2020 of attaining an industrialized nation-state (â€Å"Budget 2013,† 2012). The government policies through the 2013 budget initiatives provided financial support for the enterprises straddling across large and small enterprises, focusing on the youth and women through loans and financial support in investments across the local regions. The loans and funds have subsidized charges on interest rates, which the government is collaborating with financial institutions for easy access to the SMEs. The tax and non-tax incentives will reduce the expense of operation in enterprises consequently saving money channeled by enterprises from incentives (â€Å"Budget 2013,† 2012). The budget could a lso influence the SMEs through ICT infrastructure, entrepreneurship training to improve national GDP, revenue, investment, and enhance economic growth. The small and medium scale enterprises form the backbone of the majority of the developing nations’ economy. These enterprises play a significant role in facilitating the considerable growth of the economy; however, financial constraints and inhibiting the competitiveness nature, which pushes every entrepreneur and businessperson, to improve the worth and quantity of market goods and services remains a significant obstacle (â€Å"Budget 2013,† 2012). In the past, Malaysian SMEs have been struggling to expand beyond their national boundaries, so that they can compete internationally, especially in the current wave of globalization.  

Zidane's Last Red Card Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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Parkinson disease - Essay Example The disease causes severe disability and is associated with high morbidity and mortality if untreated (Wirdefeldt, 2). Introduction of levodopa has decreased deaths and disability associated with the disease significantly. In this project, the clinical presentation, epidemiology, risk factors, treatment options and public education of Parkinson disease will be discussed with reference to recent literature. The exact etiology of the disease is yet unclear. It is likely that both genetic and environmental factors play a role in the development of the disease. In about 10 percent of the cases, genetic factors account for the disease development (Bekris, 228). Environmental risk factors include rural environment, exposure to pesticides and herbicides, well water consumption and living in proximity to quarries and industrial plants. Biochemical mechanisms of disease development include 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) accumulation in mitochondria and free radical damage due to dopamines oxidative metabolism (Wirdefeldt, 3). Genetic factors are important in early onset Parkinsons disease rather than in late onset disease type (Bekris, 229). Parkinson disease is a disease of basal ganglia. The main neuropathological findings in this condition are presence of Lewy bodies and loss of dopaminergic neurons that are pigmented in the substantia nigra (Wirdefeldt, 3). The first clinical signs in Parkinson disease are motor signs. The signs are asymmetric. The first clinical symptom in most individuals is asymmetric resting tremor in the upper extremity. Eventually, the patients develop progressive bradykinesia, rigidity and difficulty in gait. Gradually, the axial posture flexes progressively and the strides progressively become shorter. Non-motor clinical symptoms include decrease in olfactory function, rapid eye movement behavior disorder, sleep disturbances, slowness in thinking,

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Grammar and composition Pet peeve Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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Discussion question only Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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Grammar and composition Pet peeve Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Grammar and composition Pet peeve - Essay Example Just a few minutes will not hurt you at all. I am ___ and I will talk about my pet peeve. If you suddenly interrupt me when I am saying something, or when I am obviously concentrated on a particular task, you will get killed by poisoned arrows from my gaze or receive sarcastic responses to brainless questions. I think hard before and even as I speak. I do not throw words carelessly like crumpled paper missing the trash as its target. The thinking-before-and-while-speaking process is an arduous and sophisticated process for me. It needs and involves order, analysis, and reflection. I frequently speak because I want to say something important. Oftentimes, I want to defend my ideas or claims, or give instructions to others. These arguments and instructions are from my consciousness and subconsciousness, so it is important for these words to flow out continuously. Interruptions are the bane of my creative juices. Attention and concentration will be gone, and I will be loss for words. When I am also doing something, I devote my whole body and mind on it. I remember I was writing a complaint letter to a company, when my dear cousin interrupted me. I forgot a very important detail, which I believed was crucial to my complaint. I could not remember that lost detail up to now. And up to now, that complaint remains unresolved. Point 2: I admit that I have memory retrieval problems, so interruptions stress me to the point that my look alone will feel like arrows on your skin, or my responses to thoughtless questions will result to sarcasm. Interrupt me and arrows will come from my eyes. You will feel yourself shrinking, as I say: â€Å"Can you not wait? I am speaking and you will have your turn. Now that you have interrupted me, you twisted my sanity and dislodged me from humanity.† And then I will smile to dissipate tension. After that, I will say, â€Å"Please do not interrupt me again. What do you have to say that is

Ethical implications and theories about a new technology Essay

Ethical implications and theories about a new technology - Essay Example Sample (2007) reports that scientists working in the field of neurology have developed a system with which they are able to look into a person’s mind and see their intentions even before they are carried out. Essentially, it allows them to bug the mind of an individual much like a telephone can be bugged. The methodology is based on taking high resolution scans of the brain to identify the activity in certain areas of the brain which can be translated into the actual thoughts of the person. A brain image of this kind could reveal a person who is lying, having violent thoughts, has racial prejudices, or any other negative or positive emotions. While the process can be used to help in interrogation and crime solving it could easily turn into an Orwellian tool much like the thought police. Of course the brain scan could also be used to prove the innocence of an individual who has not committed a crime but the invasion of privacy and the violation of civil rights certainly bring up interesting questions. The technology is still several years away from being perfected but it is going towards a direction where hiding thoughts might be impossible. In a few years, scientists will be able to tell if an individual is lying or not simply by looking at their brain activity. In fact, we might even be able to know a person’s emotional state, background thoughts as well as their hopes and dreams with a good enough scan of their brain. The idea does have its positive applications since computers could be controlled with the brain and machinery could also be controlled with thought alone to provide the disabled with an unprecedented degree of movement. Thought controlled wheelchairs or artificial appendages could make losing an arm or a leg less debilitating than it is now. Clearly, there are both positive and negative sides to the debate on the reading of thoughts. To better grasp the situation in ethical terms,

Shifting Trends in Special Education Essay Example for Free

Shifting Trends in Special Education Essay The Thomas B. Fordham Institute. is. the. nations. leader. in. advancing. educational. excellence. for. every. child. through. quality. research,. analysis,. and. commentary,. as. well. as. on-the-ground. action. and. advocacy. in. Ohio.. It. is. affiliated. with. the. Thomas.. B.. Fordham. Foundation,. and. this. publication. is. a.. joint. project. of. the. Foundation. and. the. Institute For. further. information,. please. visit. our. website. at. www. edexcellence. net. or. write. to. the. Institute. at.. 1016. 16th. St.. NW,. 8th. Floor,. Washington,. D. C.. 20036 The. Institute. is. neither. connected. with. nor..sponsored. by. Fordham. University. A. big. thank. you. goes. out. to. the. whole. Fordham. team. for. their. assistance. on. this. project,. especially. Michael. Petrilli. and. Chester. E.. Finn,. Jr.. for. their. project. guidance. and. astute. feedback,. to. Daniela. Fairchild. for. production. management,. to.  ©istockphoto. com/ AnithaCumming. for. the. snappy. cover. image,. and.. to. Amy. Fagan. for. dissemination.. The. smart. layout. design. is. the. work. of. Alton. Creative. and. the.. â€Å"Ed. Shorts†. logo. of. Laura. Elizabeth. Pohl. Conclusion.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Appendix A.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Figure. A1:. Proportion. of. the. National. Student.. Population. with. Disabilities,. 1976-77. to. 2009-10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Table. A1:. National. Number. of. Students.. with. Disabilities. by. Category,. 2000-01. to. 2009-10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Table. A2:. Students. with. Disabilities. by. State,.. 2000-01. to. 2009-10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18. Appendix B. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Federal. Disability. Definitions.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Endnotes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21. SH I FTI NG TREN DS I N SPECIAL EDUCATION EXECUTIVE SUMM ARY Executive Summary Special. education. is. a. field. in. flux.. After. decades. of. steady. increases,. the. population. of. students. with. disabilities. peaked. in. 2004-05. with. 6. 72. million. youngsters,. comprising. 13. 8. percent. of. the. nation’s. student. population.. The. following. year. marked. the. first. time. since. the. enactment. of. the. Individuals. with. Disabilities. Education. Act. (IDEA). that. special-education. participation. numbers. declined—and. they. have. continued. to. do. so,. falling. to. 6. 48. million. students. by. 2009-10,. or. 13. 1. percent. of. all. students. nationwide. This. report. examines. trends. in. the. number. of. special-education. students. and. personnel. at. both. the. national. and. state. levels. from. 2000-01. to. 2009-10.. It. finds. that. the. overall. population. of. special-education. students,. after. decades. of. increases,. peaked. in. the.2004-05. school. year. and. has. declined. since.. But. within. this. population,. individual. categories. of. students. with. disabilities. differed. markedly. in. thei r. trajectories:  ». . he. population. of. students. identified. as. having. â€Å"specific. learning. disabilities,†. the. most. prevalent. of. all. T dis. bility. types,. declined. considerably. throughout. the. decade,. falling. from. 2. 86. million. to. 2. 43. million. a students,. or. from. 6. 1. to. 4. 9. percent. of. all. students. nationwide.  ». . ther. shrinking. disability. categories. included. mental. retardation,. which. dropped. from. 624,000. to. 463,000. O students,. or. from. 1. 3. to. 0. 9. percent. of. all. pupils,. and. emotional. disturbances,. which. fell. from. 480,000. to. 407,000. students,. or. from. 1. 0. to. 0. 8. percent.  ». . utism. and. â€Å"other. health. impairment†. (OHI). populations. increased. dramatically.. The. number. of. autisA tic. students. quadrupled. from. 93,000. to. 378,000,. while. OHI. numbers. more. than. doubled. from. 303,000. to. 689,000.. Even. so,. autistic. and. OHI. populations. constituted. only. 0. 8. and. 1. 4. percent,. respectively,. of. all. students. in. 2009-10. In. addition,. state-level. special-education. trends. varied. dramatically:  ».. hode. Island,. New. York,. and. Massachusetts. reported. the. highest. rates. of. disability. identification. in. 2009R 10;. Rhode. Island. was. the. only. state. with. more. than. 18. percent. of. its. student. body. receiving.. special-education. services.  ». . exas,. Idaho,. and. Colorado. reported. the. lowest. rates. of. disability. identification. in. 2009-10.. Adjusting.. T for. overall. population. size,. Texas. identified. just. half. as. many. students. with. disabilities. as. Rhode. Island:. 9. 1. percent. of. its. total. student. body. States. also. varied. in. their. special-education. personnel. practices,. so. much. so. that. the. accuracy. of. the. data. they. report. to. Washington. is. in. question.. Nationally,. schools. ostensibly. employed. 129. special-education. teachers. and. paraprofessionals. for. every. thousand. special-education. students. in. 2008-09,. up. from. 117. per. thousand. in. 2000-01.. At. the. state. level,. this. ranged. from. a. reported. 320. per. thousand. in. New. Hampshire,. to. thirty-eight. per. thousand. in. Mississippi.. (We. appreciate. the. implausibility. of. these. numbers,. which. come. from. the. only. available. official. source. ) 1 SH I FTI NG TREN DS I N SPECIAL EDUCATION I NTRODUCTION  Introduction Last. summer,. New. Jersey’s. Star-Ledger. ran. a. hard-hitting. piece. about. the. condition. of. education. finance. in. the. Garden. State.. It. bemoaned. a. dismal. school-system. budget. in. which. teachers. had. been. laid. off,. extracurricular. activities. scrapped,. and. free. transportation. curtailed.. But. one. budgetary. category. had. been. spared:. special. education. â€Å"This. is. an. area. that. is. completely. out. of. control. and. in. desperate. need. of. reform,†. said. Larrie. Reynolds,. superintendent. in. the. Mount. Olive. School. District,. where. special-education. spending. rose. 17. percent.this. year.. â€Å"Everything. else. has. a. finite. limit.. Special. education—in. this. state,. at. least—is. similar. to. the. universe.. It. has. no. end.. It. is. the. untold. story. of. what. every. school. district. is. dealing. with. † 1 And. so. it. is.. Special. education. consumes. a. hefty. slice. of. the. education. pie,. comprising. an. estimated. 21. percent. of. all. education. spending. in. 2005.. That. slice. is. growing,. too.. Forty-one. percent. of. all. increases. in. education. spending. between. 1996. and. 2005. went. to. fund. it. 2 As. Superintendent. Reynolds. indicated,. special. education. is. a. field.in. urgent. need. of. reform.. Not. only. is. its. funding. widely. seen. as. sacrosanct—due. to. federal. â€Å"maintenance. of. effort†. requirements,. strong. special-education. lobbies,. nervous. superintendents,. entrenched. traditions,. and. inertia,. as. well. as. a. collective. sense. that. we. should. do. right. by. these. kids—but. America’s. approach. to. it. is. also. antiquated.. Despite. good. intentions. and. some. reform. efforts,. the. field. is. still. beset. by. a. compliance-oriented. mindset. that. values. process. over. outcomes.. Thirty-six. years. after. Congress. passed. the. Education. for. All. Handicapped. Chil dren. Act. (now. the. Individuals. with. Disabilities. Education. Act. or. IDEA),. the. rigidities. and. shortcomings. of. yesterday’s. approach. have. become. overwhelming,. as. have. the. dollar. costs.. There. has. to. be. a. better. way. We. at. the. Thomas. B.. Fordham. Institute. seek. to. help. chart. a. different. path,. doing. right. by. children. with. special. needs. while. recognizing. both. that. every. youngster. is. special. in. some. way. and. that. the. taxpayer’s. pocket. is. not. bottomless.. This. is. the. first. of. several. special-education. eye. openers. that. we’re. undertaking. 3. Ten. years. ago,.we. dipped. our. toes. into. the. turbid. waters. of. special-education. policy. via. a. set. of. thought-provoking. papers. in. a. volume. titled. Rethinking Special Education for a New Century. 4. The. fundamental. shift. from. compliance. to. outcomes. that. we. advocated. in. that. volume. has,. for. the. most. part,. not. come. to. pass. (though. we. may. see. a. glimmer. of. hope. in. the. implementation. of. Response. to. Intervention. [RTI]. programs).. Still,. someday—probably. after. the. delayed. reauthorization. of. the. Elementary. and. Secondary. Education. Act—Congress. will. again. take. up. IDEA.. Methodologypecial-education. student-population. data. (referred. to. in. federal. reporting. requirements. as. â€Å"child. count†). and. personnel. data. were. drawn. from. the. Data. Accountability. Center,. funded. by. the. Office. of. Special. Education. Programs. in. the. U. S.. Department. of. Education. and. located. at. ideadata. org. 5. Child-count. totals. are. reported. each. year. by. states. and. include. all. children. ages. three. to. twenty-one. identified. with. disabilities. 6. Thus,. the. term. â€Å"students. with. disabilities†. in. this. report. refers. to. the. number. of. students. that. the. education. system. recognizes.as. having. disabilities.. Variation. among. the. states’. disability. incidence. rates. almost. surely. has. more. to. S do. with. how. a. state. defines. and. identifies. special-needs. students. (i. e. ,. whether. a. state. over-. or. under-identifies. disabilities). than. with. the. true. population. of. disabled. children. in. that. state. . To. calculate. each. state’s. disability. incidence. rate,. child-count. numbers. were. divided. by. total. state. enrollment. figures. 7. State. enrollment. data. were. drawn. from. the. Digest of Education Statistics.. Total. student. enrollment. data. for. the. 2009-10. school. year.had. not. been. released. as. of. publication;. thus. 2009-10. figures. are. based. on. projections. published. in. the. Digest. 2 SH I FTI NG TREN DS I N SPECIAL EDUCATION I NTRODUCTION It’s. our. hope. that. the. next. iteration. of. that. law. will. benefit. from. fresh. thinking. amid. changed. realities. But. that. day. has. not. yet. dawned.. And. before. we. can. seriously. re-imagine. the. field. of. special. education. and. how. it. should. be. funded,. we. need. a. basic. understanding. of. the. state. of. special. education. today—and. how. it’s. changed. over. the. past. decade.. Many. are. aware,. for. instance,.that. the. number. of. students. who. received. specialeducation. services. rose. steadily. between. IDEA’s. enactment. in. 1975. and. the. turn. of. the. century.. But. is. this. population. still. growing?. Are. particular. types. of. disabilities. responsible. for. overall. trends?. What. types. of. personnel. do. schools. employ. to. teach. these. students?. Accurate. descriptive. data. on. questions. like. these. are. a. scarce. commodity. (more. on. that. later),. but. we. desperately. need. them. if. we’re. to. wrestle. with. the. more. complex. questions. that. vex. the. field,. such. as:. Have. rising. numbers. of.special-education. students. driven. up. costs?. Which. states. are. spending. more. and. which. are. spending. less. per. special-education. student. than. others?. Are. states. correctly. identifying. students. and. providing. them. with. appropriate. services?. What. types .of. interventions. are. most. effective. with. special-needs. children? This. report. sets. forth. the. number. of. children. identified. with. disabilities. in. our. nation’s. schools. by. disability. type,. nationally. and. by. state,. examining. how. those. patterns. have. changed. over. the. past. decade.. It. also. addresses:  ». Which. states. have. the.largest. and. smallest. proportions. of. children. judged. to. have. disabilities;  ». The. extent. to. which. the. numbers. of. students. with. specific. learning. disabilities. have. changed. over. the. last. ten. years;. and  ». The. number. of. special-education. personnel. employed. nationally. and. how. this. varies. by. state. We. also. dig. into. a. couple. of. outliers—Massachusetts. and. Texas—and. attempt. to. explain. why. their. data. look. like. they. do.. We. close. with. a. few. takeaways. and. next. steps.. 3 SH I FTI NG TREN DS I N SPECIAL EDUCATION FI N DI NGS Findings Students with Disabilities across America. After. decades. of. steady. increases,. the. population. of. students. with. disabilities. peaked. in. 2004-05. with. 6. 72. million. youngsters,. comprising. 13. 8. percent. of. the. national. student. body. (see. Figure. 1).. The. following. year. marked. the. first. time. since. the. enactment. of. IDEA. in. 1975. that. special-education. participation. numbers. declined.. (For. a. long-term. trend. analysis. of. the. special-education. population,. see. Appendix. A. ). Since. then,. the. number. and. proportion. of. students. with. disabilities. has. decreased. steadily,. falling. to. 13. 1. percent. of. the. national. student.body. by. 2009-10,. or. 6. 48. million. students.. 1 13. 8 13. 6 13. 4 13. 2 13. 0 Proportion of the National Student Population with Disabilities, 2000-01 to 2009-10 This. national. trend. is. driven. by. shifting. populations. of. particular. disability. types.. The. federal. government. requires. all. states. to. report. studentpopulation. numbers. across. twelve. categories. of. disability. (the. reporting. of. a. thirteenth,. termed. â€Å"developmental. delay,†. is. optional):. autism;. deafblindness;. emotional. disturbance;. hearing. impairments;. mental. retardation;. multiple. disabilities;. orthopedic. impairments;. other.health. impairments;. specific. learning. disabilities;. speech. or. language. impairments;. traumatic. brain. injuries;. and. visual. impairments.. (For. the. full. federal. definition. of. each. category,. see. Appendix. B. ). 1 2 4 6 7 3 5 8 9. Much. of. the. recent. decrease. in. the. overall. specialeducation. population. can. be. attributed. to. the. shrinking. population. of. students. identified. with. specific. learning. disabilities. (SLDs).. After. decades. of. growth,. the. proportion. of. students. with. SLDs. peaked. in. 2000-01. and. declined. thereafter,. falling. from. 2. 86. million. to. 2. 43. million. students.between. 2000-01. and. 2009-10,. or. from. 6. 1. to. 4. 9. percent. of. the. national. student. body. 8. -0 -0 -0 -0 -0 07 -0 -0 -0 00 -0 04 02 06 03 05. Other. disability. categories. declined. as. well.. The. population. of. students. with. mental. retardation. dropped. from. A Caveat on Disability Types T he. federal. government. requires. states. to. report. child-count. numbers. across. twelve. disability. categories. each. year. (a. thirteenth. category. is. optional),. but. does. not. require. that. states. actually. use. those. categories. for. their. own. within-state. identification. and. data-collection. purposes.. Thus,.state-specific. nuances. in. disability. definitions. abound.. For. example,. many. states. employ. their. own. unique. definitions. for. each. of. the. thirteen. categories. and/or. combine. and. eliminate. categories.. At. least. one. state. goes. so. far. as. to. identify. no. individual. categories,. opting. instead. for. a. single. â€Å"eligible. individual†. classification. for. students. with. disabilities. (see. Iowa’s SLD Trend: True or False? ).. To. meet. federal. reporting. requirements,. these. states. must. estimate. the. number. of. students. with. disabilities. within. each. federal. category.. And. in. some. cases,.federal. reporting. requirements. allow. states. to. report. one. category. within. another—for. example,. seven. states. report. students. with. multiple. disabilities. in. their. primary-disability. categories. rather. than. in. the. â€Å"multiple. disabilities†. 08 09 01 -10 category.. The. lack. of. consistency. in. defining. and. reporting. data. across. all. fifty. states. renders. any. state-level. comparison. of. students. with. disabilities. inherently. imprecise. . Take,. for. example,. recent. categorization. changes. in. Ohio.. Prior. to. 2007-08,. preschoolers. (three-. to. five-yearolds). with. disabilities. in. the. Buckeye. State. were. lumped. together. in. a. single. disability. category.. In. that. year,. however,. Ohio. first. required. preschoolers. to. be. sorted. into. distinct. categories.. To. ease. the. transition,. districts. classified. all. existing. preschoolers. with. disabilities. as. having. developmental. delays;. thereafter,. all. new. preschoolers. with. disabilities. were. to. be. categorized. by. disability.. As. could. be. expected,. the. number. of. students. with. developmental. delays. reported. to. the. federal. government. suddenly. grew. from. 0. to. 19,000. in. 2007-08,. and. then. fell. by. half. in. 2008-09.and. again. slightly. in. 2009-10. 9. Such. inconsistencies—this. is. just. one. example. of. myriad. state. eccentricities. and. idiosyncrasies—confuse. trend. analyses. at. both. the. state. and. national. level. 4 SH I FTI NG TREN DS I N SPECIAL EDUCATION FI N DI NGS 624,000. to. 463,000. in. that. time,. or. from. 1. 3. percent. to. 0. 9. percent. of. all. students.. The. number. identified. with. emotional. disturbances. fell. from. near. 480,000. in. 2000-01. to. 407,000. by. 2009-10. (after. peaking. at. 489,000. students. in. 2003-04),. or. from. 1. 0. to. 0. 8. percent. of. all. students.. Offsetting. a. portion. of.the. decline. in. these. disability. categories. were. sharp. increases. in. the. populations. of. students. with. autism. and. other. health. impairm ents. (OHIs). over. the. last. decade.. The. number. of. autistic. students. quadrupled. between. 2000-01. and. 2009-10,. rising. from. 93,000. to. 378,000,. while. the. number. of. OHI. students. more. than. doubled. from. 303,000. to. 689,000.. Still,. the. autistic. and. OHI. populations. constituted. only. 0. 8. and. 1. 4. percent,. respectively,. of. all. students. in. 2009-10. The. category. of. developmental. delay,. which. often. serves. as. a. general. disability. category.for. young. students. (typically. ages. three. to. five. or. three. to. nine),. grew. as. well,. from. 213,000. students. in. 2000-01. to. 368,000. in. 2009-10,. or. from. 0. 5. to. 0. 7. percent. of. all. students. The. incidence. of. other. disability. types. (which,. other. than. speech. or. language. impairments,. comprise. a. small. fraction. of. the. total). either. remained. stable. or. declined. slightly. during. this. time.. Figure. 2. shows. in. â€Å"pie. chart†. form. how. the. composition. of. the. special-education. population. has. changed. over. the. past. decade.. While. SLD. students. constituted. 45. 4. percent. of.all. students. with. disabilities. in. 2000-01,. that. percentage. had. shrunk. to. 37. 5. percent. by. 2009-10.. Autism,. on. the. other. hand,. increased. from. 1. 5. percent. of. all. identified. disabilities. to. 5. 8. percent.. OHI. identifications. doubled. from. 4. 8. to. 10. 6. percent,. while. cases. of. both. emotional. disturbance. and. mental. retardation. decreased. relative. to. other. identifications. 2 Special-Education Population by Disability 2000-01 and 2009-10 3. 4% 1. 5% 4. 8% 5. 3% 7. 6% 9. 9% 5. 1% 5. 8% 21. 8% 5. 7% 10. 6% 6. 3% 37. 5% 7. 1% 22. 0% 45. 4% n = 6. 30 million students ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 1. 5% 3.4% 4. 8% 7. 6% 9. 9% 45. 4% 22. 0% 5. 3% Autism Developmental Delay Other Health Impairment Emotional Disturbance Mental Retardation Specific Learning Disability Speech or Language Impairment Other Disabilities ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 2000-01 n = 6. 48 million students 5. 8% 5. 7% 10. 6% 6. 3% 7. 1% 37. 5% 21. 8% 5. 1% Autism Developmental Delay Other Health Impairment Emotional Disturbance Mental Retardation Specific Learning Disability Speech or Language Impairment Other Disabilities 2009-10 Note:. The. special-education. population. in. 2009-10. was. slightly. larger. in. raw. numbers. than. it. was. in. 2000-01,. but. the. proportion.of. students. with. disabilities. among. all. students. declined. from. 13. 3. percent. in. 2000-01. to. 13. 1. percent. in. 2009-10.. 5 SH I FTI NG TREN DS I N SPECIAL EDUCATION FI N DI NGS Students with Disabilities by State The. national. figures. mask. stark. variation. among. the. states.. As. Figure. 3. shows,. Rhode. Island,. New. York,. and. Massachusetts. topped. the. list. with. the. highest. rates. of. disability. identification. in. 2009-10;. Rhode. Island. was. the. only. state. to. have. more. than. 18. percent. of. its. student. body. enrolled. in. special. education.. At. the. other. end. of. the. spectrum. were. Texas,. Idaho,. and. Colorado.. Texas’s. rate. of. disability. identification. was. less. than. half. of. Rhode. Island’s,. at. just. 9. 1. percent. (see. Figure. 4. for. complete. state. identification. rates).. These. vast. disparities. call. into. question. the. extent. to. which. true. incidences. of. disability. vary. among. state. populations,. or. to. which. some. states. over-identify. or. under-identify. students. with. disabilities. 10 3 Identification Rates of Students with Disabilities, by State 2009-10 WA MT OR ID WY NE NV CA UT CO KS IA IL MO TN AR MS TX LA FL AL GA SC IN OH WV KY NC AZ NM OK VA SD ND MN WI NY MI PA. VT ME NH MA RI CT NJ DE MD D. C. ? 9. 0? –? 10. 99% ? 11. 0? –? 12. 99% ? 13. 0? –? 14. 99% ? 15. 0? –? 16. 99% ? 17. 0? –? 18. 99% AK US AVERAGE HI About. half. of. the. states. saw. increases. in. their. rates. of. special-education. identification. between. 2000-01. and. 2009-10,. while. the. other. half. saw. decreases. (see. Figure. 5).. The. national. proportion. of. students. with. disabilities. rose. and. fell. over. that. time. period,. landing. 0. 2. percentage. points. lower. in. 2009-10. (at. 13. 1. percent). than. in. 2000-01. (at. 13. 3. percent).. Texas’s. rate. of. identification. fell. from. 12. 1. percent. to. 9. 1. percent—in. raw. numbers,. a. decrease. of. about. 47,000. students.. Pennsylvania,. on. the. other. hand,. saw. an. increase. in. students. with. disabilities. from. 13. 4. percent. of. the. student. body. in. 2000-01. to. 16. 7. percent. in. 2009-10—or,. in. raw. numbers,. an. increase. of. 52,000. students. 6 SH I FTI NG TREN DS I N SPECIAL EDUCATION FI N DI NGS 4 Identification Rate of Students with Disabilities, by State 2009-10 18. 68 17. 80 17. 36 17. 25 17. 16 Massachusetts Maine Rhode Island New York 5 Percentage-point Change in Identification Rate, by State 2000-01 to 2009-10 3. 29 2. 39 2. 05 1. 80 1. 80 1.76 1. 35 1. 16 1. 14 1. 12 1. 72 2. 53. Pennsylvania Wyoming Vermont West Virginia Vermont Pennsylvania Indiana New Jersey Wyoming New York Minnesota Ohio 16. 66 16. 84 16. 55 16. 52 15. 60 15. 55 15. 57 15. 74 South Dakota North Dakota Kentucky New Hampshire Delaware Kentucky Illinois New Hampshire Michigan Massachusetts Nebraska South Dakota Oklahoma Wisconsin Missouri Ohio 14. 80 14. 75 14. 71 14. 97 15. 04 Oklahoma Indiana Alaska Delaware Kansas 0. 99 0. 98 0. 71 0. 71 1. 10 Minnesota 14. 66 Mississippi Washington Oregon Illinois D. C. 14. 64 14. 34 14. 15 14. 58 0. 46 0. 52 Wisconsin Arizona Utah 0. 39 0. 38 0. 14 0. 42. North Dakota Oregon Kansas 14. 26 14. 12 Nebraska California New Jersey Maine 0. 09 0. 08 0. 03 0. 07 South Carolina Michigan Alaska Iowa Florida 14. 09 14. 06 13. 98 13. 79 13. 55 13. 14 13. 99 13. 94 United States -0. 04 -0. 26 -0. 28 -0. 53 -0. 61 -0. 61 -0. 20 New Mexico Arkansas Virginia Montana Nevada Arkansas Colorado United States Mississippi Louisiana 13. 42 13. 03 12. 53 12. 30 12. 25 11. 94 11. 28 11. 28 11. 13 11. 17 12. 21 12. 41 12. 57 Maryland Missouri Virginia Iowa Louisiana -0. 60 Washington Connecticut Tennessee Maryland -0. 70 -0. 74 -0. 85 -0. 85 -1. 03 -1. 03 -1. 43 -1. 43 -1. 54 -1. 72 -1. 41 -0. 75 -0. 72 D. C. North Carolina Hawaii Utah Montana West Virginia Georgia Florida Rhode Island Connecticut Alabama Arizona Nevada California 10. 67 Colorado Georgia 10. 45 10. 27 9. 89 9. 13 10. 58 South Carolina Hawaii Idaho North Carolina Tennessee Idaho Texas 0 5 10 15 20 New Mexico Texas Alabama -2. 32 -2. 98 -3. 5 -1. 75 0 1. 75 3. 5 -2. 52 -2. 01 DISABILITY IDENTIFICATION RATE (%). PERCENTAGE-POINT CHANGE IN IDENTIFICATION RATE 7 SH I FTI NG TREN DS I N SPECIAL EDUCATION FI N DI NGS Specific Learning Disabilities As. the. most. prevalent. of. all. disability. types,. the. category. of. specific. learning. disabilities. (SLDs). provides.a. unique. look. into. shifting. disability. populations.. The. nationwide. population. of. students. with. specific. learning. disabilities. shrank. at. a. notable. rate. over. the. decade. leading. to. 2009-10:. SLD. numbers. fell. from. 2. 86. million. students. and. 6. 1. percent. of. the. national. student. body. in. 2000-01. to. 2. 43. million. students. and. 4. 9. percent. of. the. student. body. in. 2009-10. 11. Some. of. this. drop. was. likely. due. to. an. increasing. national. awareness. of. autism. and. a. subsequent. shift. from. incorrect. SLD. identification. to. autism. identification.. A. few. other. hypotheses.are. worth. mentioning.. First,. growing. populations. of. students. with. developmental. delays,. which. may. in. some. states. substitute. for. autism. diagnoses. of. three-. to. five-year-olds,. and. with. OHIs,. which. has. become. somewhat. of. a. â€Å"catch. all†. category,. may. be. responsible. for. some. of. the. SLD. decrease,. in. addition. to. growth. in. autism.. Second,. SLD. numbers. may. have. dropped. due. to. the. proliferation. of. Response. to. Intervention. (RTI)—a. method. of. providing. targeted. assistance. to. young. children. who. have. difficulty. learning—and. other. early-reading. interventions. (see. Response to Intervention).. Lastly,. the. identification. of. SLDs,. though. strictly. outlined. in. policy,. appears. more. subjective. and. prone. to. human. error. than. the. identification. of. most. other. disabilities;. thus,. SLD. identification. is. perhaps. more. affected. by. related. changes. in. policy,. budget,. personnel,. etc. Rates. of. SLD. identification. varied. across. the. fifty. states. in. 2009-10.. As. shown. in. Figure. 6,. just. 2. percent. of. the. student. body. in. Kentucky. was. labeled. SLD. in. 2009-10,. while. over. 8. 4. percent. o f. Iowa’s. student. body. was. classified. as. such.. Similarly,. in.2009-10,. Kentucky’s. SLD. students. comprised. only. 13. 1. percent. of. the. state’s. entire. special-education. student. body,. while. in. Iowa. they. accounted. for. 60. 4. percent.. Across. the. entire. United. States,. SLD. students. comprised. 4. 9. percent. of. all. students. and. 37. 5. percent. of. all. students. with. disabilities. in. 2009-10.. Massachusetts. saw. the. greatest. percentage-point. decrease. in. its. SLD. population. between. 2000-01. and. 200910.. There,. SLD. students. fell. from. 9. 8. to. 5. 9. percent. of. all. students. during. that. time.. As. a. slice. of. the. specialeducation. pie,. in. fact,. Massachusetts’s. SLD. students. went. from. 58. 7. percent. of. all. special-education. students. to. just. 33. 3. percent.. Despite. this. declining. proportion,. however,. Massachusetts. still. identifies. the. second. overall. highest. rate. of. disability. in. the. nation. (see. Behind the Numbers in Outlier States. on. page. 13). Response to Intervention esponse. to. Intervention. (RTI). is. a. method. of. providing. targeted. and. increasingly. intensive. assistance. to. young. children. who. have. difficulty. learning.. RTI. began. to. gain. ground. with. the. enactment. of. the. No. Child. Left. Behind. Act. (NCLB). in. 2001,. which. provided. schools. with. Reading. First. grants. to. introduce. it. and. other. early-reading. strategies. into. general. education.. But. the. program. spread. more. rapidly. in. the. aftermath. of. the. 2004. reauthorization. of. IDEA,. which. allowed. districts. to. spend. 15. percent. of. the. law’s. Part. B. funds. on. RTI. and. other. early-intervening. services,. and. to. use. RTI. as. one. part. of. a. comprehensive. evaluation. process. for. identifying. students. with. SLDs.. In. 2007,. just. 24. percent. of. R districts. reported. that. they. had. implemented. or. were. in. the. process. of. implementing. RTI;. by. 2010,. this. had. risen. to. 61. percent. of. districts. 12 . Indeed,. SLD. may. be. the. disability. population. most. affected. by. early. interventions. like. RTI,. because. such. interventions. can. help. prevent. the. misidentification. and. mislabeling. of. struggling. students—who. may. simply. learn. better. with. enhanced,. tailored. instruction—as. students. with. SLDs.. At. the. same. time,. modifications. in. pedagogical. approach. and. lesson. planning. can. help. to. offset. the. challenges. faced. by. those. students. with. true. but. mild. SLDs.. 8 SH I FTI NG TREN DS I N SPECIAL EDUCATION FI N DI NGS 6. SLD as a Proportion of All Students and All Students with Disabilities, by State 2009-10 ALL STUDENTS Iowa 8. 42 7. 63 7. 41 STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES Nevada Iowa 60. 37 47. 47 45. 06 42. 92 42. 78 42. 73 42. 11 42. 74 44. 25 45. 81 48. 11 Pennsylvania Rhode Island New Jersey Delaware Oklahoma New York 6. 43 6. 29 6. 17 6. 85 Pennsylvania Alabama Arizona Delaware Iowa’s SLD Trend: True or False? New Hampshire South Carolina D. C. 6. 05 5. 99 5. 96 5. 92 5. 85 5. 73 5. 95 5. 97 South Carolina Oklahoma California Texas Utah I Florida Massachusetts Illinois Florida 42. 40 42. 09 41. 87 41. 21 Alaska Ohio Hawaii Montana Alaska D. C. New Mexico South Dakota Alabama Nevada Indiana 5. 48 5. 36 5. 13 5. 11 New Mexico New Hampshire United States New Jersey Ohio Illinois 40. 92 38. 88 38. 46 38. 16 37. 51 38. 87 39. 76 Michigan Montana 5. 03 5. 03 4. 97 5. 01 5. 05 Wyoming United States Arizona Oregon Utah Kansas Maine Rhode Island Tennessee New York Colorado 36. 68 Nebraska Hawaii 4. 89 4. 92 4. 93 4. 95 36. 43 36. 28 35. 53 36. 11 Michigan Washington 4. 82 4. 82 4. 75 Virginia South Dakota Oregon Kansas 34. 94 34. 53 33. 25 32. 06 31. 93 31. 36 31. 51 33. 16 34. 15 34. 57 35. 07 35. 22 West Virginia Vermont Virginia 4. 69 4. 59 4. 61 Massachusetts North Carolina Indiana. North Dakota Washington Wisconsin Missouri Tennessee California 4. 50 4. 38 4. 11 4. 47 4. 52 4. 31 North Dakota Mississippi Wisconsin Arkansas Vermont Georgia Maine Idaho Connecticut Maryland Nebraska North Carolina Connecticut Mississippi Maryland Arkansas 4. 08 4. 00 3. 99 3. 85 3. 70 3. 74 3. 87 4. 04 29. 99 29. 94 29. 36 29. 02 29. 15 29. 81 30. 63 Minnesota Colorado Texas Wyoming Louisiana Georgia Idaho 3. 60 3. 07 2. 97. West Virginia Minnesota Kentucky Louisiana Missouri 28. 69 28. 66 27. 86 13. 10 28. 94 owa. was. a. notable. exception. to. the. general. SLD. trend,. as. one. of. only. four. states. that. reported. an.increase. in. its. proportion. of. SLD. students. from. 2000-01. to. 2009-10.. The. Hawkeye. State. illustrates. the. extent. to. which. data. reporting—rather. than. actual. shifts. in. disability. incidence—may. affect. the. numbers. reported. to. the. public.. . At. 8. 4. percent,. Iowa. had. the. highest. rate. of. SLD. in. the. nation. for. 2009-10.. However,. the. state. does. not. assign. particular. disability. categories. to. its. specialeducation. students;. instead,. it. uses. a. single. â€Å"eligible. individual†. designation. for. all. students. with. disabilities.. To. meet. federal. disability. reporting. requirements,.which. call. for. population. counts. disaggregated. by. disability. category,. Iowa. examines. a. random. sample. of. Individualized. Education. Programs. (IEPs). each. year.. Reviewers. decide,. based. on. the. services. described. therein,. which. type. of. disability. is. likely. being. served. 13. Thus. Iowa’s. high. rate. of. SLD. relative. to. other. states. may. result. from. judgment. errors. made. by. IEP. reviewers,. who. examine. student. services. rather. than. symptoms.. Further. inaccuracy. could. arise. from. outdated. expectations. that. SLD. students. should. comprise. a. large. proportion. of. all. students.with. disabilities:. Beyond. Iowa’s. high. SLD. rate,. the. state. also. reports. low. rates. of. autism. and. OHI,. and. each. of. these. rates. has. remained. relatively. stable. in. the. state. over. the. last. decade.. Given. that. national. SLD. numbers. have. been. dropping. considerably,. while. autism. and. OHI. numbers. are. rising. quickly,. Iowa’s. incidence. rates. may. simply. be. based. on. old. assumptions. Kentucky 0 2 4 6 8 10 2. 04 25. 25 0 20 40 60 80 SLD IDENTIFICATION RATE (%) SLD IDENTIFICATION RATE (%) 9 SH I FTI NG TREN DS I N SPECIAL EDUCATION FI N DI NGS Personnel As. special-education. numbers. have.increased. over. the. last. few. decades,. only. recently. declining. for. the. first. time,. the. cost. of. educating. these. students. has. continued. to. increase. at. a. fast. rate. 14. Because. 85. percent. of. special-education. spending. supports. personnel,. special-education. staff. is. obviously. the. main. source. of. swelling. expenditures. 15 Schools. employ. a. diverse. range. of. professionals. to. teach,. support,. and. assist. their. students. with. disabilities.. In. addition. to. special-education. teachers. and. paraprofessionals—employees. who. might. provide. one-on-one. tutoring,. assist. with. classroom.  management,. conduct. parental-involvement. activities,. or. provide. instructional. support. under. the. supervision. of. a. teacher—a. school. might. retain. a. number. of. more. specialized. professionals. such. as. Audiologists,. speech. and. language. pathologists,. psychologists,. occupational. therapists,. physical. therapists,. social. workers,. and. more. 16. Because. shifts. in. these. populations. are. difficult. to. trace. over. time. (mostly. due. to. changes. in. federal. reporting. requirements),. this. analysis. focuses. on. teachers. and. paraprofessionals,. which. together. constitute. over. 80. percent. of. all.  special-education. personnel. 17 The. ratio. of. teachers. to. students. fluctuated. over. the. last. decade,. reaching. its. peak. in. 2005-06. and. declining. quickly. thereafter. (see. Figure. 7).. Public. schools. employed. sixty-five. special-education. teachers. per. thousand. special-education. students. in. 2000-01—or. 412,000. teachers. overall;. that. ratio. rose. to. seventy. per. thousand. in. 2005-06,. and. then. fell. to. sixty-three. per. thousand—or. 405,000. teachers. overall—by. 2008-09.. (Personnel. data. were. not. available. for. 2009-10. as. of. publication. ) In. contrast,. the. number. of. special-educati.