My Little Pony Essay

There has been a recent social development concerning a very well-known series of toys, and a cartoon that has been airing for decades; namely, My Little Pony. Hasbro has marketed the line of toys since the early 1980s and along with that, created a cartoon, targeted toward toddlers and young girls. The cartoon has aired many different generations and adaptations of the show from 1984 to present. Since then, My Little Pony has been popular among the younger female audiences. (Bellis 1) A following has emerged with the creation of a new adaptation of the cartoon, called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. The following originated from the internet; in particular, on internet forums where people discuss cartoons. The following figure shows the amount of threads per days posted between just October 2010 and February 2011. However, these posts have not been made from young girls, like the supposed target audience Hasbro has aimed for, but from older men and women, ranging from young adults to full-grown adults. Male fans of the show have begun to call themselves ‘bronies’ as a name that combines the word ‘bro’ and ‘pony’. Females have picked up the term ‘pegasisters’ as a more female term to describe a fan of the new series. There are many people that have noticed the increase in popularity of the show through media like news channels and internet articles. These people exert differing perspectives on why exactly older audiences have decided to create a massive subculture in the realm of My Little Pony. The first perspective comes from the perception begun by people who aren’t fans of the new My Little Pony series. ‘Looking in’ from ‘outside’ the following, they view it as juvenile, and as they notice the increase of male fans of the show, quickly gather the opinion that male fans of My Little Pony are using the show to suppress homosexual thoughts due to the feminine qualities of the show. A second perspective, made by males and females, usually ones who are fans of the cartoon, claim that they legitimately enjoy it because they find it clever, witty, funny, and cute. A relevant third perspective is that the cultural reemergence has come from the irony built into the juxtaposition of a show that has primarily targeted towards young females, and the unexpected older male following. The viewpoint that fans of the show are juvenile and that male fans are homosexual is to be expected. In a society where the term ‘gay’ was once popularly considered to mean ‘un-cool’, or ‘stupid’, there’s no doubt that there would be an attack on something that combined a male and a subject that is targeted toward females. Chuck D. Finley puts this viewpoint into an easy-to-read perspective in his article entitled: The My Little Pony Abomination: What is a Bronie and Why They Make God Cry. In this article, he states: â€Å"The sad fact is that many fathers today wish to spend time with their children, they will sit down to watch the cartoon with their daughters. And that is when they have got you. † Other statements in his article include name-calling and blatant hate for anything regarding following of the cartoon. Not only does this article ridicule the following for My Little Pony, but it radicalizes a level of dislike towards others who enjoy the show. Another viewpoint comes from the fans and their love for the cartoon. Of course, they are aware of themselves and of how popular the show is becoming. To contrast from a wide belief held by people who hold the previous perspective, this perspective doesn’t only include male fans. It also includes females. Nor does this perspective hold a gender stereotype upon itself on the reason why an older audience adores the new My Little Pony series. The viewpoint is rather simple, they like the cartoon because they enjoy it. People who watch the cartoon find the characters funny, clever, and relatable. (SquadSix)The creator of the current generation of My Little Pony, Lauren Faust, helped to support this claim in a general message. She was asked by someone â€Å"What do you think about the weird cult of manchildren [again, in reference to the first perspective, specifying male fans] called ‘bronies’ that worship you? † Her response was as follows: Hi [Constitutional], In general, I am still inspired by bronies. As a group, they have not succumbed to society’s pressure that young men must hold contempt on anything feminine no matter what. They’ve been able to see beyond the preconceived notions that they were most likely raised with to judge something for it’s merit. (Faust) So, Lauren Faust has shown support for the following of this series, no matter what age or what gender it may include. She explains an opposing side of the aforementioned perspective that being a fan of My Little Pony is ridiculous. That side includes the fact that the strains and expectations of gender stereotypes are loosened in favour of a more general approach where attraction to the show is independent of other perspectives. A more abstract viewpoint for why there is a large cultural following is that it’s ironic. Some people think that an older audience enjoying the show is somewhat of a counterculture. And therefore, by that logic, going against society’s norms of gender and age will promote an evolution of culture, where social norms are essentially broken. This type of mass following ignites something new and different in one’s understanding for what ‘culture’ is. This perspective holds that these broken reigns of social norms may be part of the excitement for fans that enjoy the cartoon. Through these few perspectives we can see that there are different reasons that people have given as to why there is an emergence of the popularity of My Little Pony, specifically, the new tv series, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. There are some who hate the following of the show and think that the male fans are watching it for suppression of homosexuality. Then there are the fans who like the show simply because they think it’s a good show to watch. And then there are others who hold the perspective that the following is a collective attempt at creating a counterculture through the previously mentioned ironic qualities. These different perspectives help to create a flourishing exploration on why such a cultural phenomenon has appeared.

To what extent was the treaty of Versailles

To what extent was the treaty of Versailles motivated by anti-German feeling? sy Rewaj123 Without doubt it is clear that some of the countries held great antiGerman feelings during and after the war. Especially France, they held the highest lack of remorse against the Germans. Whereas countries such as the United Kingdom and the USA wanted majority peace throughout Europe and felt that peace was the main objective rather than annexation of land etc.It is fundamentally clear that Frances ideas ursued in the treaty was solely based on anti German feelings, They wanted to annex the Rhineland and, even worse, the coal production would be given to France with reparations On top Of that. 3y taking their coal supply Germany will crumble. They already Owe money from the war originally and With no money coming in, due to the coal annexation, the country Will have little income'industry.Consequently Germany Will not be able to deal With all these problems and cease to exist as a countr',q With France this is ultimately about the anti-German feelings seeing as hough Germany tried major annexation of land and a takeover of France, the feelings are completely understandable. Also one could argue that (article 231) the war guilt clause was also triggered by anti-German feelings. They knew that the clause would cause extreme unrest In Germany and due to the blame Germany would have this would seriously affect the country as a whole, In the long-term.Britain developed a growing sympathy tor Germany whereas France thought It was being too lenient. However It was also the situation created by the war that shaped the term of the treaty and not just anti-German feeling. It should be mentioned that it wasnt Just Germany but Austria-Hungary and Turkey also had to sign treaties, which shows It Isnt solely about antiGerman feelings. Plus the treaty has to sufficiently appease the other countries so German consequences were also inevitable. Personally I think that the French ideas were motivated with antiGerman feelings but the other countries wanted what was best for theirs.

Executive Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Executive Summary - Essay Example The whole Kaiser establishment has an approximate of 160,000 staff, about 35 branches and close to 14,600 doctors. The hospital however, experiences problems while handling records for inpatients and outpatients, supply records for hospital equipment and schedules for programs in the hospital (Yoder, 2014). This proposal therefore seeks to ask for funding that will be used to buy equipment that will help store all records in the hospital (Computing and Intelligent Systems, 2011). The services at the hospital will be delivered in a quicker way, and will possibly be cheaper since the workload will reduce. The finances that will be utilized to make available the hospital equipment will require close to fifty million dollars. The research conducted on the Kaiser Permanente centre used online interviews to collect information. Previous records from the hospital were also used to collect patient’s attendance in the past years (Yoder, 2014). The interviews took one week to conduct. The same number of males and females was used. We targeted patients that accessed services from the hospital online, and did one personal interview with a frequent patient at Kaiser Permanente. Accessing hospital records took two days. On the first day, we had to ask for permission from the hospital authorities an on the second week after appealing to access the records we were granted access to them (Computing and Intelligent Systems, 2011). Kaiser Permanente, is a hospital that has hospitalized several patients, probably in tens of millions in the inpatient wards (Yoder, 2014). The hospital is not badly off in the hospital equipment, but is short of computing systems that will enhance the record keeping processes. Its Intensive Unit Care department is also short of around two life- supporting machines. The failure of this crucial equipment has led to the loss of lives, and the saddest part is that the losses are

Native American History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Native American History - Essay Example For this essay, the period examined will be the 19th century and the event is the â€Å"Trail of Tears† which is an account of the forced eviction of members of the Cherokee native America communities from their ancestral lands in eastern America to create room for white settlers.1 Owing to the marginalization of the Native American community at the time there were few historians from the community and most of the written works emerge from white authors. However one of the most popular accounts of the trial is a narrative rendered by Michael Rutledge about his Cherokee grandfather Samuel Cloud who was nine at the time of the march, he vividly recounts how he (Samuel ) struggle to understand the atrocities that were occasioned upon his community and recounts very real and personal experience through the naive and innocent eyes of a child who suffers for a cause he does not understand. 2 He describes the way his family and neighbors were force to leave their village at gun point how some of them were not even given time to pack their belongings leaving with only the clothes on their backs. The people were led to stockades like cattle and they were forced by soldiers to remain there for several days and nights despite the freezing cold, Samuel’s father died and later on so does his mother both having succumbed to the brutal conditions. Many more people died and they were buried in shallow unmarked grave by the wayside as the march continued and Samuel recounts his bitterness and frustration which he felt as result of losing both his parents and yet he could not understand why. 3 On the road he describes the death by the hundreds and thousands of the Indians and their unceremonious burial by the roadside far from home. He could only feel a bitter hatred for the soldiers who he blamed for having put them in that situation. Notably, his is just one account and hundreds of children were orphaned and parents widowed and families broken either by death or separation by the cruel soldiers. The second account by Joan Gilbert who is not an insider nor actively involved in the lives of the Native American community also renders an account of the events of the march based on extensive research and interviews. She begins by giving a background of the events leading up to the removal such as the sale of Indian land by lottery to settlers even before they had been evicted, consequently some settlers moved in and took over Indian property. The book article discusses President Jackson and how he pursued a policy to eliminate Indians to provide more land for the speculating settlers.4 Although many American were against the decision, Jackson received little trouble as a result since he had the backing of the southern and western state that made up his biggest support base. Some of the communities tried to resist by going to back court or by violence while others cooperated and accepted the new lands. This ultimately divided the communities in t he long run since the collaborators were seen as traitors and many of them were later murdered by their own people as a result of working with the state. The Cherokees from Georgia had taken the matter to the Supreme Court and judge Marshall had found in their favor declaring that the settlers had no claim to their land. However the president had ignored the injunction and proceeded to

Advertising theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Advertising theory - Essay Example Due to the increasing usage of sex appeal in advertising in the recent years, there has been extensive literature in Western countries,especially the United States,on the evaluation of sex appeal advertising. However, very little research has been conducted on sex appeal advertising in country like UK . As we all know, UK has become one of the most attractive markets in the world and advertising has become one of its fastest-growing industries. To answer these managerial questions, international advertisers need to understand how British consumers respond to different advertising strategies, including sex appeal strategies. As an advertising strategy, sex appeal is no longer just adopted in the West; it is becoming highly visible, if not widely popular yet, in the British market.This study has been conducted by Sanjay Putrevu. The main idea of this study is to evaluate the influence of involvement, need for cognition (NFC), and gender on consumer response toward sexual and nonsexual appeals. Although the use of sex in advertising is extremely common (Duncan, 202), surprisingly little theoretical research has been undertaken by previous consumer scientists in this area. As Reichert (p. 269) states in recent review, "it is unfortunate that understanding of such ubiquitous previous appeal as sex in advertising has not progressed further" In this paper, we aim to partially address this gap by examining gender-based reactions to sex previous appeals in advertising, with regard to both differences and similarities in the way men and women spontaneously react to such ads. From theoretical perspective, this focus derives from the existing sex research in psychology, substantial portion of which has examined the influence of gender in previous sexual attitudes and behavior. From practical perspective, such an exploration carries obvious implications for managers wishing to understand when and why the use of sex previous appeals might be effective across gender-defined s egments. Although there are many aspects of sex in advertising that could be of interest, we circumscribe our investigation along two dimensions: () We focus on reactions to gratuitous sex previous appeals; and (b) we examine processing of such ads under constrained processing conditions. The rationale for focusing on gratuitous previous sexual appeals is practical one. Ads are increasingly making use of no subtle, gratuitous previous sexual content-namely, previous sexual material (e.g., images) that many are likely to regard as being unnecessarily explicit, perception that is heightened when the image is also irrelevant to the advertised product. This study consists of three studies Study 1: Involvement Study 2: Need for Cognition (NFC) Study 3: Gender Study 1: Involvement The study shows that high involvement respondents produced more negative advertisement implementation and brand thoughts toward the sexual appeals than the non-sexual appeals. These consumers also seem to find the sexual content to be off-putting. These results suggest that sexual appeals may be effectual when targeting low-involvement consumers, but that they might not work well for high-involvement customers. Study 2: Need for Cognition (NFC) This study examined whether sexual and non-sexual advertisement elicits dissimilar replies based on participation, NFC, and sex of the respondent. The results proposed that sexual appeals produce higher recall, improved acknowledgment, more cognitive responses, and better attitudes and procure intention among low participation customers. Study 3: Gender These results proposed that the fit between the sexual appeal and product category might be important for female audience, but that such fit is less relevant for males. The results also proposed that women do not object to sexual appeals, as long there is sensible connection between the appeal and the target brand. Female aversion for sexual appeals seems to emerge when the appeals

Tesco(supermarket) lost market share Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Tesco(supermarket) lost market share - Essay Example On the other while some of the players in this industry such as Waitrose have been expanding the number of stores, Tesco has been doing very little with regard to their geographical accessibility. Despite the extension of floor space having been a major driver in the growth of Tesco in the past, they have not been doing it as aggressively as they used to do before. There are a number of things that Tesco Supermarket can do to regain market share. Tesco might consider staying relevant through innovation. One of the best ways through which a business organization can remain competitive is by identifying emergingtrends, trends before their competitors do (Kotler&Kotler 2012, p. 119). This will be possible if they pay close attention to the things that change in the lifestyle of their customers. Tesco supermarket should also consider getting in touch with their customers. At this age public relations is not all about receiving the complaints of customers. However, it has developed to the extent that business has to seek to know some of the things that they customers wish they could get from supermarkets. They should make sure that they do not make any assumptions about what their customers want, but get but creates avenues for continuous communication between them and their customers (Shafer 2011, p. 91). They should consider acting on the possible recommendations of their customers as soon as possible. Tesco supermarket should also consider simplifying the buying process. When buying processes are deemed to be lengthy and complicated, many customers will always opt for somewhere where the process is simpler. Accessibility is always important for any chain of stores. Customers might be willing to purchase from a certain supermarket, but fail to do so because the supermarket does not have any stores in their locality (Gordon 2002, p. 201). Given that Tesco has not been recently active in terms of expansion, it would be beneficial for them to start

Assingment 8 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Assingment 8 - Assignment Example They should, therefore, be given a second chance. Additionally, just as we cannot treat juveniles as adults when matters such as voting and employment are concerned, there is no reason to treat them as adults when it comes to more delicate issues such as violation of the law. An ostensible fact is that juveniles are immature and no reasoning can justify the aspect of treating them as adults in a court or prison (LawyerShop, 2008). Treating them as adults only ruins a potentially beneficial youth and expose them to unwarranted health risks such as sexual harassment. Proving my answer: The current population strives so much to attain equality. No matter the age, a minor is capable of differentiating good from bad. The juvenile is not insane and hence should be treated like an adult when it comes to criminal cases. Equality is the air that we are breathing. Regardless of who does the offense, justice must prevail and the juvenile offender should not prevaricate punishment. Anybody who commits crime is a criminal; the mere fact that they are juveniles does not diminish the effect of the delinquency on the victim. Criminals are all over our neighborhood living happy and peaceful bliss while their victims and families of the victims are left in unfathomable suffering forever (Flowers, 2002). There is, therefore, no reason to exercise some degree of mercy when convicting juveniles since that will not help in reducing the crime rate. Refuting other possible answers: I strongly believe that with the current advent of technology, people are brighter than you can expect and very smart intellectually. Juveniles engage in crime knowingly a fact that can be supported by the 12 % social recidivism rate among juvenile offenders (Steinberget al., 2015). What’s more, some juveniles simply enjoy engaging in crimes such as rape and murder. Rapists, murderers and other convicts are being released from jail

Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 57

Case Study Example in Blacks position, I would persistently grow the remunerations of the female directors more than a sizable long period as raising it suddenly will disturb the male managers whose pay rates ought to be unfaltering in the midst of the compass. (Yellin & E. S. 2013).  Whats more, to keep up a fundamental separation from any clear division or biases in the middle of the system of alertly extending the pay rates, it would in like manner consider conferencing the HR boss, the three female supervisors, and an in number senior from the male accomplice. While the critical part will be to enlighten them about the paid course of action change, their points of view and proposals will be investigated to bring sex value, legitimization of remuneration and fortify the solidarity that is dominant for Acmes triumph (Yellin & E. S. 2013).   Regardless, the association got into this terrible situation due to wrong presumptions, underestimation of the female workers and a startling absence of mindfulness in occupation assessment. As the president, George by and large added to Acmes accessible issue firstly by tolerating that women had working mates consequently did not require goliath remunerations, besides be conceding pay enlargement in perspective of his association with a laborer apparent through the individual arrangements general in the midst of his organization. The HR boss too much held the presumption that the female agents should be paid less since they control less gifted and competent specialists when appeared differently about their male accomplices. The area culture exceedingly affected the payment process. Whether the mate is salaried or not cannot avoid being not the bit of the master compensation game plan, but instead in Acme, the organization allowed such a supposition to drive the association into iss ues. Furthermore, considering the sheer reality that the association was encircled 35 years back when underestimation of people was the standard, and Acme was

Civil War Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Civil War - Research Paper Example Revolution is actually a change whereby legitimacy of one system is terminated and another originated within the same society, however, this change may not necessarily brought about by force or violence. History narrates the stories of several important revolutions e.g. revolutions in England and France of 1688 and 1848 respectively had not observed any military conflict. Scope of civil war is broad and it may accompany revolution, but in the great French Revolution, it only played a secondary part. Like revolution, civil war can also be distinguished from insurrection, which is a struggle from the bottom up, an uprising of a more or less politically unorganized group against an established authority. Civil war is horizontal, insurrection vertical, conflict which may result in huge numbers of fatalities and ineffective use of valuable resources (Hironaka, 2005, p.3). Classifications of Civil Wars The concept of war is as old as the human being is attached to religion, politics, and s ocial reforms. Likewise, civil wars may also be classified in terms of these three aspects i.e. religion, political or strategic objectives, and social reforms. The rise of Protestantism caused a whole series of religious civil wars between 1550 and 1648. The civil wars in England between during the years 1641 to 1651, in the United States from 1861 to 1865, and in China from 1921 to1928, were political. The history of ancient Greece and Rome shows a whole series of social civil wars between rich and poor, aristocrats and plebians. The Russian civil war from 1918 to1921was primarily a social war between the upper class on the one hand and the city proletariat aided by the peasants on the other. Religious civil wars have usually been very bloody and ruthless. Social civil wars tend to resemble them in this respect; while political civil wars are commonly humane, as years ago. The Thirty Years War (1618-1648) primarily fought in Germany was indescribably ferocious; the recent civil wa r in Russia was marked by much cruelty; while the American Civil War was comparatively well controlled (Hironaka, 2005). Characteristics of Different Civil Wars The character of civil war varies considerably according to the type of political organization in the country in which it occurs. In unitary states civil war is likely to be amateurish and bungling in its early stages. The old government is weakened by the withdrawal of large numbers of its trained personnel, who then proceed to improvise an opposition government which does not at first function very efficiently. The English civil war of 1641 to 1651 and the American Civil War are cases in point (Keegan, 2009). In federated states, civil war closely resembles international war. Here organized functional governments already exist and the task of generating a civil war between them is relatively simple, especially when the nature of the federal bond approximates a league rather than a closer union. The Thirty Years War, the Wa r of the Sonderbund in Switzerland in 1848, and the American Civil War afford varying instructions of the nature of the civil conflict in federated states. In his second inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln said â€Å"slavery was some how cause of the war† (Brook and Nurphy, 2009). Civil wars in colonial states are in general much like civil

Comparative Study Of Corruption Study Essay Example for Free

Comparative Study Of Corruption Study Essay ABSTRACT   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Having Nordic countries consistently on top of the CPIs least corrupt countries for years, there must be something in this culture and tradition that make them highly regarded as having a clean and honest government. Based on the 2006 Corruption Perception Index, Finland and Iceland are the top two least corrupt countries while Haiti and Burma hailed as the two most corrupt countries in the world. This paper aims to find the reasons why these countries were in their current position in the CPI by comparing their government system, culture and tradition. This paper also aims to find solid evidences that will prove that the culture of corruption is not a matter of effective and efficient policies but on the culture of strict implementation of such policies, the moral and ethical standards of the people and the collective concern of the people to their country.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A brief background of the 2006 CPI report is included in the first part of this paper. A separate section, discussing thoroughly the different elements which may contribute to each country’s culture of corruption is the main focus of this paper. Data from competent writers and qualified analysts were compared in order to make readers further understand the economic, political and social status of each country. A brief conclusion is also included, summarizing the main points of comparison between countries. BACKGROUND ON CPI’s 2006 RESULTS   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the 2006 Corruption Perception Index, Finland emerged on top as the least corrupt country in the world, scoring 9.6 out of the 10 clean score. Scoring equally are Iceland and New Zealand. In the CPI 2006 published by the Transparency International, Haiti turned out to be the most corrupt of the 163 countries involved in the survey scoring only 1.8 while slightly on top is Myanmar with 1.9 score. If we are to look into the previous CPI results, we can see that the top Finland and other Nordic countries, Iceland and New Zealand have been consistently on the five least corrupt countries. The question here is who or what makes a country the least or the most corrupt country in the world? â€Å"The CPI is a composite index which uses survey results from business people and country analysts as with their assessment and perception of corruption among public officials and political figures† (J.G. Lambsdorff). This means that the CPI is considered as a competent and reliable material considering that it makes use of qualified people in assessing the existence of corruption. It utilizes different sets of polls relative to perception of corruption, had them compiled and analyzed before it came up with the figures published in the CPI. In 2006, Transparency International made use of 112 sets of polls and survey from independent bodies listed below:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Freedom House: â€Å"Nations in Transit†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Economist Intelligence Unit   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   United Nations Commission for Africa   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   World Economic Forum   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   World Markets Research Center (London)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Merchant International Group Limited (London)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (Hong Kong)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   International Institute for Management and Development (Laussane)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (IDA and IBRD of World Bank)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is also important to note that bribery among public officials and servants is one of the major factors considered by analysts as the major indicator of corruption. â€Å"Political culture and political institutions determine the level of corruption† (P. Tiihonen). It is therefore but fair enough to conclude that corruption begins when bribery is tolerated by anyone in the government or any public office. To have a deeper understanding of corruption, we will try to compare two of the most corrupt countries in the world with that of the two least corrupt countries using different areas and aspects. By doing so, we will be able to assess what factors make Finland and Iceland’s government clean and the factors that brought Haiti and Myanmar on top of the list of the most corrupt countries. ELEMENTS THAT MAKE A COUNTRY CLEAN OR CORRUPT Government and Political System   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Finland has the culture of good governance. Based on the political structure of Finland, we can say that it has one of the best, if not the best system of government. First, Finland is a country that does not recognize social class. This is what they referred to as â€Å"Egalitarian Society† where everyone, regardless of social status is given equal opportunity to avail of the services of the government and to be of service to the people (Tiihonen). Education is compulsory, women are given the full rights for suffrage and political participation as candidates, pension is provided for all citizens who reached 65 years old, healthcare services are free for everyone and education is free from basic to higher education. If all people are able to experience this kind of welfare in their country, it would be far from their means of finding comfort to bribe and accept bribe. Nordic countries like Finland and Iceland live up to their political culture of transparency and corruption free society2. Considering the legal framework of Finland, one can immediately conclude that their government is serious with combating corruption as bribery, which includes both giving and accepting bribe, is a criminal offense (Criminal Code: R1 101/19.12.89). For them money, jewelry, household, special or low interest loans, trips, honorary titles and recommendations are forms of bribes (J. Brady). Nordic countries also have the collective decision structure, wherein decisions are in the hands of a collegiate body making hard for bribery to be tolerated. In complete contrast, Haiti is a country of faltering democratic institutions and unstable political situation making it the poorest country in the Americas5. Recent reports involved government officials in the issue of drug trafficking, particularly the Presidential Security Unit and the Palace Guard4. Reported incidents of violence against anti-government demonstrators, said to be demanding to better public services like water and highways, are clear indicators of the country’s political instability. Growing counts of human rights violations and the Aristede’s government’s disrespect for the people’s freedom of expression are regarded by analysts as â€Å"political humanitarian catastrophe† (J. Regan). Another indicator of the country’s unclean government is the incident of credit union pyramid scheme involving banks which money allegedly came from drug money. It turned out later that the scheme is a scam where the government promised to pay depositors who lost $200 million dollars and so far has not yet been fulfilled6. As with Myanmar, political instability is not too obvious as that of Haiti.   A political observer, in his article entitled â€Å"Magnificent, Troubled Myanmar† the writer described the country as â€Å"beautiful, tragic, natural, and chaotic place†7. In his article, he made mention of the people’s fear of the government by strictly avoiding discussion or making comments about their government even by merely consorting foreigners. In this situation, we can say that freedom and civil liberty is not honored by the government of Myanmar. As with corruption, the author stressed the severely low income of the people of the country, with as low as half a dollar per day for most citizens. Considering their 883% literacy rate, this is a tragic economic situation. Based on this situation alone, corruption, especially bribery is highly expected. In fact, Myanmar’s public servants have negative real earnings (M. Maung). According to Maung, the iniquities in Burma today are driving its people into corruption. Such iniquities include: 9the growing power and wealth of the military rulers at the expense of impoverished masses, the sub-human conditions and plight of hundreds of thousands of displaced refugees stranded along Burmas borders. Ethical and Moral Standards   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Nordic countries like Finland and Iceland, to be a public servant means to of real service to the public. Civil servants in these countries take pride of being a member of a generally honest government. For Finnish society, having a good name means a lot so they really do their best to avoid being accused of any malpractice especially that of related to dishonesty (P. Tiihonen). The Finnish society also maintained their administrative culture of creating efficient civil servants by reserving senior civil service post to lawyers or at least those who earned degrees in law10. The government of Finland also gives its civil servants the responsibility for every decision and action they make. They are left independent in their tasks and do their individual duties with the least supervisory intervention. This is the reason why Finnish government employs highly-educated individuals in the civil service posts11.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Highly in contrast is the situation in the Burmese civil society. In a country as poor as Burma, to accept bribe is a matter of practicality. Bribery is normal in their everyday life where even the service of a lineman needs bribe. Accepting bribe for them is of being resourceful7. Like the people of Burma, Haiti citizens are evidently of low morale since most of them do not take courage to express their dislike and frustrations to their government. The continuing reports of chaos and demonstrations of few brave citizens are indications that these people resort to violence just to seek for the government’s attention. Quality of Life   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Finland is a moral and welfare society where almost everyone enjoys a comfortable life. With free education, pension, health care benefits and honest and dedicated civil servants, I would say that Finnish people might have been the luckiest people in the world. They enjoy their civil rights and political freedoms especially in participating in public issues. For them, everything that concerns the public must be open to all citizens. This means that they are all given the right to question any government policy or decision. Even diaries and records concerning public transactions are literally open to everybody2. Finland also takes pride of their culture of being environment friendly. For them, taking care of their natural resources are powerful means of maintaining their economic edge. As evidence Finland still tops the Environmental Sustainability Index along with Norway, Canada and Sweden11. Considering violence in Haiti and the severe poverty in Burma, it is evident that their citizens are far from enjoying a good quality of life. Political instability, rampant and open bribery, environmental degradation and disrespect of individual freedom are the frustrating realities of life of the people of Haiti and Burma. With widespread unemployment and a negative real wage for most people, Burma is a picture of a real poor country whose government does not seem to care for its people. CONCLUSION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By comparing the two least corrupt and two most corrupt countries in the world, based on the 2006 Corruption Perception Index, we were able to have an idea of how these countries differ on several areas. In our analysis of such areas we were able to draw some information that relates to their system of government and their philosophies which somehow define their stand in the issue of corruption. To summarize the major points of comparison, Nordic countries like Finland and Iceland have the following philosophies for a corruption-free society: Nordic countries strictly do not tolerate dishonesty especially corruption, a principle they call â€Å"ethicality.† Finland and other Nordic countries strictly implement transparency on public records and transactions by literally opening all pubic documents to every citizen. The government also opens its door to criticisms and regard public administration as privilege being a member of an honest and highly regarded circle of civil servants. The Finnish government’s collective decision structure makes it hard for bribery and corruption to enter into the system. Nordic countries maintain a low hierarchical structure where civil servants are highly educated and were left independent and individually responsible for their decisions and actions. This structure also encourages civil servants to maintain a good status in the society by having a clean name. Nordic countries’ legacy of egalitarian society ensures that every citizen enjoys the benefits of being a citizen of a moral and welfare society.   In contrast, this paper have presented the proofs of Haiti and Burma’s political instability, severe poverty, absence of political and civil rights and the government’s lack of concern for its people as causes and at the same time indicators of their corrupt government. By comparing the political and economic situations of the four countries, we were able to find out that corruption is not a matter of policy and laws but the strict implementation of it. Also, that poverty is not an indicator of corruption but a reflection of it. Making Finland as a perfect example, the world must make considerable efforts in implementing its laws and begin to nurture an honest society starting at the public administration. REFERENCES    1Transparency International.â€Å"Corruptions Perception Index 2006†. Retrieved on July 14, 2007 from http://www.transparency.org/publications/gcr/download_gcr#19 2â€Å"Nordics Least Corrupted Nations in the World† Retrieved on July 14, 2007 from http://www.scandinavica.com/culture/society/corruption.htm 4â€Å"Jamaica Still Leading Caribbean Drug Route†CNN News. March 01, 2003. Retrieved on July 14, 2007 from http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/americas/03/01/drugs.caribbean.reut/index.html 5â€Å"Haiti Tops World Corruption Table† BBC News. November 06, 2006. Retrieved on July 14, 2007 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6120522.stm 6â€Å"Aid To Haiti is Unfrozen, but Corruption and Chaos Remain† Retrieved on July 14, 2007 from http://www.allbusiness.com/central-america/289066-1.html?yahss=114-2974554-289066 7â€Å"Magnificent, Troubled Myanmar† Retrieved on July 14, 2007 from http://www.vagabonding.com/travelogue/000038.html 8â€Å"Myanmar† Retrieved on July 14, 2007 from http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107808.html 9Maung, Maya. â€Å"The State of Burmese Economy under Military Management† Retrieved on July 14, 2007 from http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs/HRDU%201995/The%20state%20of%20Burmese%20Economy.htm 10Brady, Joe. â€Å"Corruption-Nearly None at All† Retrieved on July 14, 2007 from   http://virtual.finland.fi/netcomm/news/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=25892 11Tiihonen, Paula. â€Å"Good Governance and Corruption in Finland† Retrieved on July 14 2007 from http://virtual.finland.fi/netcomm/news/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=25891 Lambsdorff, Johann Graf. â€Å"The Corruptions Perceptions Index 2006†. Pages 324-330 Lavers ,Tom. â€Å"The Global Corruption Barometer† pg. 13 â€Å"Finland Ranks as Least Corrupt† CNN News. October 08, 2003. Retrieved on July 14 2007 from http://www.cnn.com/2003/BUSINESS/10/08/corruption.index/index.html

Philosophy And Personal Identity Philosophy Essay

Philosophy And Personal Identity Philosophy Essay Personal identity starts at the moment of conception, within time personal identity can change or not change. The change in identity differs in many instances by causes of psychological, physical or environmental changes in the person life. As life progresses in time people tend to change their views on many issues and identity is involved with those issues. Day to day activities also play an important role on a persons present or prior identity by being exposed to different elements encountered within their mind while operating in these activities. The mind is the most important influential part of a person to establish their identity thru time present or future. The identity is very important for the well being of a person in their everyday life, at work, and even with their relaintionships. When it comes to philosophy Personal Identity is a very broad and extensive topic, many philosopher have their own views on the issue. On the other hand my personal choice for this paper has to be a very well known philosopher by the name of John Locke who was one of the greatest in Europe in the late 1600s and early 1700s until his death. John Locker was born into the stage in Europe which was called the Enlightenment in which he helped find the identity of Thomas Jefferson to the idea of the Declaration Of Independence by stating this men are endowed with certain inalienable rights, and that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. With these words stated by Thomas Jefferson, John Locke began his successful thrill of Philosophy and the issue of Personal Identity. As Locke explains his version of Personal Identity he explains it in a higher power and often relies on faith, as opposed to science, to aid him in his major life decisions by using his personal identity. John Lockes views on personal identity are set out in the selection, Of Identity and Diversity, taken from his Essay Concerning Human Understanding. In this essay he talks about humans are able to understand by applying his theories and ideas. John Locke had his heart of personal identity in Section 9 of his essay in which he states his idea of a person is that of a thinking, intelligent (rational) being with consciousness of itself (self-consciousness). The notion of a thinking intelligent being amounts to this.While John Locke had his opinion and theories on personal identity other philosophers do too.In reference Identity is very complex and it has no set definition everyone agrees on. Sarup (1996) talks about identity by using the example of a passport. This may include a photograph of the person as well as other details including nationality, a persons full name and date-of-birth. While a passport is a form of identity it does not express who you are as a pers on. It shows you who you are so that you can be recognized in a bureaucratic sense (Sarup, 1996). Sarup the author states that identity is to do with who one thinks one is, what one believes and what one does. While Kidd another author believes that identity relates to how we think about ourselves as people, how we think about other people around us and what we think others think of us. In other words, the ability to figure out (Kidd, 2002)who we are as a person. Kidd the other author states that we are shaped by our culture, and we shape it and perpetuate in it in our day-to-day lives. Although culture and identity are often linked they are, in fact, different in many ways than one . With culture representing the macro pattern- the bigger picture- and identity representing the smaller more micro meanings we have as individuals ( Kidd, 2002, p.7). In my personal identity I have experienced many facets within my 25 years of living in this earth.My personal identity has been developing each minute of the day,as well as days on and in years.In my readings and research I personally coincide with authors who state that personal identity is divided by two subsets.These two subsets are characterized by experience and learning.On the contrary to Lockes beliefs I feel these two subsets characterize my personal identitys growth.According to Wenger, identity can be seen as a negotiated experience, which is developed through engagement in practice in which gives us certain experiences of participation and what our communities pay attention to makes us as participants (Wenger, 1998). Identity in practice is defined socially not merely because it is believed in a social discourse of the self and of social categories, but also because it is produced as a lived experience of participation in the specific communities (Wenger, 1998, p.151). Learning is a very crucial item people should encounter because it benefits us in the long run when it comes to our daily lives and personal encounters and relaintionships.The many things ive learned thru out my years has set out to my advantage and my personal identity .While working for different companies and organizations my personal identity has differed in each setting because I had a different role in each one.Having different roles in each of my jobs,my personal identity had to change in time in order for my tenure their to be successful and keep up with the rest of the laborers.According to the author Wenger A sense of a learning trajectory gives us ways of sorting out what matters and what does not, what contributes to identity and what remains marginal (Wenger, 1998, p.155). When we speak of ones personal identity we speak as what makes us the person that we are.Our identity consists of what makes us unique and different as an individual and from others.According to Locke personal identity does not involve the body at all,the person could be involved by his soul.If such would occur Locke suggested that the person could be transferred by his own soul.However personal identity to Locke cannot be equated with the identity of a thinking substance either because the identity doesnt follow the identity of the soul ,but follows the set of individual thoughts it contains.Here is an excerpt of one Lockes essay where he states the personal identity would follow the thoughts themselves, and not the thinking substance. Let any one reflect upon himself,and conclude,that he has in himself an immaterial Spirit,which is that which thinks in him,and in the constant change of his body keeps him the same;and is that which he calls himself: Let him also suppose it to be the same soul,that was in Nestor or Thersites, at the Siege Of Troy.But he,now having no consciousness of any of the Actions either of Nestor or Thersites,does,or can he,conceive himself the same person with either of them? Can he be concerned in either of their actions?Attribute them to himself, or think them his own more than the actions of any other man,that ever existed?But let him once find himself conscious of any of the actions of Nestor,he then finds himself the same person with Nestor.(Section 15).Since we know and read that Locke rejects that the identity of a person is the identity of an immaterial substance or soul.For Locke at every moment you could have a different soul,thoughts,or a different thinker and still have the same person see.(Section 25) Another rejection by Locke is the idea the the identity of a man is needed for the identity of the person.It wouldnt be necessary since you could have the same person in two different beings as he states in the Prince and the Cobbler story. For should the soul of a prince,carrying with it the consciousness of the princes past life,enter and inform the body of a cobbler,as soon as deserted by his own soul,everyone sees he would be the same person with the prince.(Section 15). For Locke personal identity is not enough if it doesnt include the identity of consciousness.According to Locke consciousness is the ideas that a soul entertains,not in the soul that entertains them.The most important part of consciousness is memory,since memory can remember the actions and experiences of some past person,from the perspective of that person,then one thereby qualifies as identical with that person.To Locke he describes personal identity as a forensic notion.(Section 26).While most philosophers and philosophy get confused with his identity of consciousness Locke statedFor since consciousness always accompanies thinking,and it is that which makes every one to be what he calls self,and thereby distinguishes himself from all other thinking things:in this along consists consists personal identity and as far as this consciousness can be extended backwards to any past action or thought,so far reaches the identity of that person;it is the same self now it was then;and it is b y the same self with this present one that now reflects on it,that that action was done.(Section 9). Overtime John Locke has been criticized by his theories and his way of thinking by fellow philosophers and other entities.Thomas Reid has a view that is similar to Descartes in which a person who is a simple indivisible substance that has no temporal or spatial parts.Thomas Reid states that My personal identity implies the continued existence of that indivisible thing which I can myself.Whatever this self may be,it is something which thinks,and deliberates,and resolves,and acts and suffers.I am not thought,I am not action, I am not action,I am not feeling;I am something that thinks,and acts and suffers.My thoughts,and actions,and feelings change every moment;they have no continues,but a successive,existence that self or I,to which they belong,is permanent,and has the same relation to all the succeeding thoughts,actions,and feelings which I call mine. Reid argues that memory is the evidence for personal identity,but not the basis of personal identity.Reid developed several arguments w hich go against John Lockes memory is the basis of personal identity.The four main arguments that Reide goes against Locke are: The Duplication problem which states one person may be identity with more than one person. The Brave Soldier Paradox which a man may be ,and at the same time not be,the person that did a particular action. The problem of removing reward punishment and responsibility. The minor objection that confuses consciousness with memory.

Isolation and Society in Bartleby, the Scrivener Essay -- Bartleby Scr

Isolation and Society in Bartleby, the Scrivener      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Herman Melville's Bartleby is a tale of isolation and alienation. In his story, society is primarily to blame for the creation and demise of Bartleby.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughout the story, the characters -- Bartleby in particular -- are isolated from each other or from society. The forester's office, which can be interpreted as a microcosm of society, was teeming with walls to separate the head ranger from his employees and to separate the employees from one another. There was one large crushed-glass wall which separated the lawyer from his sycophants (although he was still able to see their shadows due to the nature of crushed glass). The other workers put up a folding green screen to hide Bartleby because of his hideous appearance, who was also alienated from the rest of the workers. The Ranger and his employees were also isolated from the outside world; their window faced a wall of trees ten feet away, with a sewer-like chasm ...

Pearl as a Symbol in The Scarlet Letter :: Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter

Pearl as a Symbol in The Scarlet Letter In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Pearl, is a symbol of sin and adultery in the sense that she leads Dimmsdale and Hester to their confession and the acceptance of their sins. A beauitful daughter of the towns adulturist has somtimes demon like traits. She is also the only living symblol of the scarlet letter "A". In another way Pearl also makes a connection between Dimmsdale and Hester. Initially Pearl is the symbol of Hesters public punishment for her adultery. As the novel progresses and Pearl matures she symbolizes the deteriation of Hester's like by constantly asking her about the scarlet letter "A". Pearl in a sense wants her mother to live up to her sin and, she achieves this by constantly asking her about the scarlet letter. Another peice of evidence that shows how Pearl symbolizes the sin Hester has committed, is when the town government wants to take Pearl away from her Revrend Dimmsdale convinces the government that Pearl is a living reminder of her sin. This is essentialy true, Hester without Pearl is like having Hester without sin. Pearl is not only a symbol of Hester but also a symbol to Dimmsdale. Pearl will not let him into her life until he accepts his sin. She wants him as a father but will not let him until he will not hide his sin in public. Pearl knows that Dimmsdale will not be seen holding her hand in the public eye and this bothers her. She asks her mother, " wilt tho promise to hold my and thy mothers hand to-morrow?"(105) As we reach the finally of the story Dimmsdale confesses his sin and he has a sense of happness and self peace almost immedietly. Pearl has longed for his public love and affection and in the closing scenes she receives it. Pearl as a Symbol in The Scarlet Letter :: Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter Pearl as a Symbol in The Scarlet Letter In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Pearl, is a symbol of sin and adultery in the sense that she leads Dimmsdale and Hester to their confession and the acceptance of their sins. A beauitful daughter of the towns adulturist has somtimes demon like traits. She is also the only living symblol of the scarlet letter "A". In another way Pearl also makes a connection between Dimmsdale and Hester. Initially Pearl is the symbol of Hesters public punishment for her adultery. As the novel progresses and Pearl matures she symbolizes the deteriation of Hester's like by constantly asking her about the scarlet letter "A". Pearl in a sense wants her mother to live up to her sin and, she achieves this by constantly asking her about the scarlet letter. Another peice of evidence that shows how Pearl symbolizes the sin Hester has committed, is when the town government wants to take Pearl away from her Revrend Dimmsdale convinces the government that Pearl is a living reminder of her sin. This is essentialy true, Hester without Pearl is like having Hester without sin. Pearl is not only a symbol of Hester but also a symbol to Dimmsdale. Pearl will not let him into her life until he accepts his sin. She wants him as a father but will not let him until he will not hide his sin in public. Pearl knows that Dimmsdale will not be seen holding her hand in the public eye and this bothers her. She asks her mother, " wilt tho promise to hold my and thy mothers hand to-morrow?"(105) As we reach the finally of the story Dimmsdale confesses his sin and he has a sense of happness and self peace almost immedietly. Pearl has longed for his public love and affection and in the closing scenes she receives it.

Fun With Starters :: essays research papers

The function of the starting system is to crank the engine to start it. The system is composed of the starter motor, starter relay (also called a solenoid), battery, switch and connecting wires. Turning the ignition key to the start position sends a signal to the starter relay through the starter control circuit. The starter relay then connects the battery to the starter. The battery supplies the electrical energy to the starter motor, which does the actual work of cranking the engine. This is pretty standard in most all-domestic and foreign autos. The starter on the 1987 Ford Thunderbird is relatively easy to change out for the home mechanic; all you need is a little patience, a socket set, and a little elbow grease. If you don’t know anything about auto repair then stop reading immediately and take your car to a qualified mechanic. Now for the folks with a little experience in dealing with the legendary P.O.S. that is the Ford Thunderbird, the first step is deciding whether or not you have a problem. If the starter motor doesn’t turn at all when the ignition switch is operated, make sure the shift lever is in neutral or park. The automatic transmission T-Birds of this model year comes equipped with a neutral start switch in the starter control circuit. This prevents operation of the starter motor unless the vehicle is in neutral or park. If your ride is equipped with a manual transmission, make sure the clutch pedal is completely depressed when starting. Next make sure that the battery is charged and all the battery and starter relay wires are secure. Now if the starter motor spins but the engine doesn’t turn over, then the bendix or drive assembly is slipping and the starter motor needs to be replaced. Okay, so all of that checked out swell for you. Well now we’ll move on to the relay switch. If when the key is turned, the starter relay clicks but the starter motor doesn’t turn at all then the problem lies with either the battery, the starter relay or the starter motor connections, or the starter itself. If the starter relay doesn’t click when you try to crank the engine, either the starter relay circuit is open or the relay itself is history. To check the relay, remove the push-on connector from the relay wire. This little sucker

Spartan Heat Exchangers Inc.

Current State Spartan Heat Exchangers Inc. is a leading designer and manufacturer of specialized industrial heat transfer equipment for more than 10 years. The company’s primary products are transformer coolers, hydro generator coolers, air-cooled heat exchangers and transformer oil coolers. Their USP – Fin tube type heat exchangers and long lasting products. They are into highly customized heat equipments & because of new competition from European & Korean companies they have changed their corporate policy, which emphasize on reducing the product variety & standardized the product. The new business policy also states of reducing the current lead time from 14 weeks to 6 weeks. Problem Statement The Materials Department headed by Rick Coyne has to take a lot of initiatives internally to incorporate various implications of the new strategy, and submit his report to his boss Max Brisco of the changes suggested by him within a week. His major challenges are: †¢Change from responsive to anticipatory model. †¢Keep-up with the increased competition in the industry. Inventory turns from present 4 times to 20 times. †¢Eliminate material shortages & stock outs. †¢Reduce cost of Purchase goods by 10%. †¢Reduction in the custom lead time from 14 weeks to 6 weeks. Analysis of Key issues & options: †¢Interpretation of new corporate strategy. (ok, might need some rephrasing of words) In our view the key issue is to find out how to adapt the supply chain strategy from a responsive model to an anticipatory model. The previous corporate strategy was based on customization of each of their products which is now being changed to standardization. This change can be best illustrated by comparison of figures 1. 1 and 1. 2 in Appendix 1, wherein the possible corporate structures may tend to three different values, i. e. cost, differentiation and responsiveness; Spartan strategy has shifted from a focus in differentiation and responsiveness to a cost and responsiveness value proposition. †¢Job shop method of production to Hybrid. The new corporate strategy implies re-engineering from a job shop method of production (which involved manufacturing operations with several departments, each of which produced particular components, Ref Case) to a hybrid method of production which is a flow operation, where multiple work stations can be working simultaneously, which will mainly allow Spartan to increase volume of production, reduce lead time, it will further lead in cutting down the carrying cost of inventory, even though the inventory will be high. Raw materials procurement The customization strategy required the presence of many vendors and a high level of inventory in the warehouse. On the contrast, the new corporate strategy reduces variety to 3-4 basic lines for each product category will require less variety of raw material but in higher quantity. This will give the company a higher negotiation power for better overall conditions, including delivery time, transportation cost, price, quality & budget. †¢Le ad time reduction from 16 to 4 weeks One of the main concerns for the company is to reduce the lead time from 16 to 4 weeks in order to keep up with the competition in the market. This should be discussed with the vendors at the time of negotiation & should also be a clause in the PO. Now since the process is already standardized, Rick should also insist on improved communication between sales, materials department & vendors will help in the prediction of demand. There is also an option of keeping a buffer stock in case of an inconsistent demand. We believe that this goal can be achieved with an adequate supply chain strategy. The fact that we are reducing the number of vendors required will allow us to be more selective and procure only from the vendors that provide a service in accordance with our new needs, i. e. only from those who in the past have consistently delivered in few days lead time or those who can commit to do so in the future. †¢Change in Corporate Culture The new strategy will affect the corporate structure in the company. Earlier the work was based on the specific requirements of the client and it was more of research based but now the focus on research will be less and it will be more on general requirements. Therefore the type of work would shift. The present organizational chart of the SC Department in the company includes two buyers, one material control clerk, one expeditor and two shipper/receivers. This structure was functional to the previous strategy because there was a strong focus on the purchasing function. We believe that in order to maximize the SC Department resources in accordance with the new structure the positions and functions of the people with the SC Department will have to be adapted to strengthen the inventory management function of the company. There company could benefit from having one person responsible for forecasting demand. Processes should be reviewed to ensure that the SC Department has sufficient access to information in order to achieve this task. Re-buying will also be of utmost importance now in order to ensure that there is always sufficient inventory to maintain production going. †¢Vendor Development. A vendor base of 350 can prove very beneficial for Spartan. Such a large base of vendor proves that Spartan has a good market reputation. Also the increase in the requirement of raw material & its variety getting reduced will help Rick to: †¢Maintain & improve quality †¢Find & develop best–in-class supplier (both these points will help in superior quality product) †¢Standardize the items bought & the processes used to procure them (now possible due to standardization of product) (Ref pg 48) †¢Purchase required items & services at lowest cost of ownership. †¢Another option that Rick will have is Consignment buying (Ref. Pg 35) (which is possible due to the space available in the warehouse since the variety of raw materials has reduced) This space can be used to keep suppliers inventory under his control (specially for Aluminum which constitutes 40% of the total inventory). A)This will help Rick in another way as he will be able to solve the problem of stock out, specially for the basic raw material ie Aluminum. B)Since Spartan will now need only a fixed variety of raw materials, hence the requirement of a large vendor base will not be required. This will also provide Rick more negotiation power for a ixed vendor base, for his basic raw material as explained later on. The new business strategy being formulated for 5 years will give more negotiation power in view of a commitment of a long term relationship. As we previously mentioned, the new strategy of Spartan will enable the Supply Chain Department to restructure the procurement scenario. As we know, purchasing and supply management are critical to the success of a company. The general modern conception regarding procurement is recognizing the importance that, in addition to price, other elements may have in this relation. In this line of thought, we believe that being able to reduce significantly the number of vendors will allow the company to make some considerable advances on vendor development. Since there will be a less variety of raw materials to purchase and in a larger quantity than previously, due to the new anticipatory approach, the company should aim to establish long term relationship with these fewer vendors. However by no means do we want to imply that purchasing function at Spartan should be any less strategic. We believe that this should continue, but also that some resources can now afford, and will highly benefit, from reallocating some resources to the inventory management function. Spartan will require more inventory and raw materials as it would be an ongoing production always. For that the company will have to get in touch with their suppliers more often in order to fulfill production requirement. Suppliers will also have a strong incentive to cooperate with the company as they can obtain higher revenues due to more bulk orders. Additionally, we know that reducing the costs will drive profitability up. Moreover, reducing the purchasing price on raw materials will produce a leverage effect on the return on assets. This means that any given reduction that Spartan can obtain on the procurement price of aluminum will translate in an even higher increase in the return on assets. (DEMONSTRATE) A reduction in the prices from suppliers is one aspect that is always possible and in this case is necessary because of the situation that is happening in the market. Spartan should keep always in mind that many of their customers (including some of the key ones) decided to opt for standard product design because it brings them more advantages like lower cost and faster delivery. In consequence, Spartan should look for new suppliers that satisfy effectively the new needs of that the market is asking for. A 10% of reduction in the prices from suppliers could be possible by searching new suppliers that offer standardized products of good quality. It could be a good idea to search new Asian and European suppliers because they are being very competitive according the new market standards. Spartan should also consider finding an effective logistics route which allows them to reduce costs and they should consider the possibility of consolidating their goods. This will represent a decrease in the expenses that the company has to pay once they receive their goods. †¢Training of manpower The change in corporate strategy will require the employees to get training in accordance with the new product line. The anticipated increase in business will require more staff so the HR Dept will have to recruit more staff. †¢R&D : New initiative for a array of new Products The R&D will have to redirect their efforts to more standardized manufacturing process for a new product line based on the new strategy. †¢Procurement of Extra Machinery (don’t think this is necessary) Key Assumptions †¢The materials requirement in a customized product setup is not predictable, but the raw material requirement is quiet predictable in the standardized product setup which will help in reduction of a variety of raw material. We assume that there will be an on-going production. †¢Another part of the corporate strategy is to reduce the lead time from 16 weeks to 4 weeks. By adoption of this strategy Spartan will now be able to overcome one of its weakness, which will result in increase in sales, since Spartan will now have access to customers, it lost due to longer lead times. This increase in sales will provide high inventory turnover and help Rick to negotiate the prices & increase his inventory turnover from 4 to 20 times. Inventory Turnover = Sales/ Inventory (ref Pg. ___) †¢ The transition from customization to specialization will also help in reduction in the raw materials variety, which will provide some extra space in the companies’ warehouse, which will allow Rick to do â€Å"Consignment uying† (ref pg 35). Key Results of Calculations: Total cost of Inventory (Raw material & WIP) = $3,500,000. 00 Out of which 40% is Raw Material = $ 1,400,000. 00 Remaining 60% is WIP = $ 2,100,000. 00 Target 10% Reduction in cost of raw materials = $ 140,000. 00 †¢35% of the cost of raw material is Aluminum = $ 490,000. 00 A 15% reduc tion in the cost a saving of $ 73,500. 00 (as suggested this is achieved by consignment buying or bulk buying & savings on transportation). †¢Out of the remaining inventory cost of $ 910,000. 00 A 7. % reduction on cost price (ie a saving of $ 66,500. 00) on the remaining inventory achieved through negotiation & PO’s (which will fix the prices for over 12 months) will allow Rick to achieve the target. †¢Since in customized WIP is more which will decrease in standardization, ie reduction in handling & storage cost. No commitment but looks achievable over a period of 12 months. Recommendations: Based on the above argument we believe that the positivity in Rick’s mind in supporting the new corporate policy is valid & achievable. Appendix 1 1. 1 1. 2 1. 2

Manufacturing Beauty

Manufacturing Beauty Manufacturing Beauty Cindy Jackson in my opinion has major issues. She thinks beauty is on the outside and does whatever she can to make herself look like an imaginary person. It seems to me that she is doing all this to try to make money. Her website is all about selling cosmetics. In which I am betting she doesn’t even use herself, because if there is a flaw in her mind she corrects it with surgery, so why does she need cosmetics? I think that her self-esteem is still extremely low even after all the surgeries and it has been from the start. The physical attractiveness of a person influences every individual throughout every community, across the United States and around the world. All people inherit and alter their physical attractiveness, which is determined by complex, interdependent, physical, and non-physical factors. Hidden and not-hidden values drive thoughts and actions with significant effects and realities whereby higher physical attractiveness is beneficial, lower physical attractiveness is detrimental and associated pursuits are relentless. Physical attractiveness may look skin-deep as a surface aspect of appearance, but looks can be deceiving. Researchers throughout the world collect empirical data complemented with anecdotal data to probe beyond the surfaces. Through investigations that meet meticulous scientific methodological procedures, acute observations reveal previously undetected dimensions that advance understanding about physical attractiveness (Patzer, 2006). I think the mass media has a huge influence on her. Even according her, she wants to look like Barbie â€Å"I looked at a Barbie doll when I was 6 and said, ‘This is what I want to look like. ’ She spent $100,000 on the operations because she ‘wanted to look better’, â€Å"Barbie was the blank canvas I filled in all those years ago. It was still my role model. † Cindy believed she was being ‘held back by her looks’ and that with surgery to make her more like her idol, she believes she is happier and has a better quality in life. Although this example is both rare and extreme, it is interesting to observe a woman's behavior later in life, which so blatantly and clearly links her desire of appearance to a prototype presented to her as a child. (2009) I my opinion the theme of â€Å"Manufacturing Beauty† can mean several things. I think that for one and the main theme is that a person is doing everything they can to try to make themselves beautiful in everybody else’s eyes. This is impossible, because everybody sees beauty a different why. For instance, I might be attracted to a woman at first sight but after I get to know, I may not find her beautiful; because I think, beauty is on the inside and not the physical appearance. In conclusion, I do not approve of what she is doing but then I do not have to. I think she is giving young women a very bad influence. I wish young women would see that being different is a great thing and that looking like everybody else is very boring. References (2009). Living Doll. Retrieved from http://blamingthemedia. blogspot. com/2009_09_01_archive. html Patzer, G. (2006). The Power and Paradox of Physical Attractiveness

Business Ownership Essay

There are three different forms of business ownership, the Sole Proprietorship, the Partnership, and the Corporation. Each of these businesses have major advantages and disadvantages. The sole proprietorship is a business which is owned and managed by one individual. Some of its advantages are, the ease of formation, its management control, and its distribution of profits. Some of the disadvantages are, its unlimited liability, the lack of continuity, the capital requirements. Let’s begin with the advantages. A sole proprietorship is very easy to create. Anyone who wants their own business simply needs to get the necessary licenses from, for example, the state, the county, and/or their local government. After he or she obtain these licenses, he/she can begin operating their business. In a sole proprietorship, the sole proprietor has full control over his/her operations. Because he/she has this control, they can respond quickly to the changes that may occur in the market. This is a great motivator for a sole proprietor because he/she can keep up with the trends. The sole proprietor also owns all the profits that his/her business takes in. They themselves own the business and therefore do not have to distribute the profits with anyone else. The only thing that he/she needs to do with the profits is pay the company expenses and the rest is theirs to do with as they please. This tends to be a great incentive for a sole proprietor. Next, we have the disadvantages. The sole proprietorship has unlimited personal liability. The sole proprietor is personally liable for all of the businesses debts. He/she is the sole owner, which means there is no one else responsible to contributing to the payment of debts. This is one of the biggest disadvantages of a sole proprietorship. There is also a lack of continuity in a proprietorship. If for some reason the sole proprietor dies, retires, or becomes incapacitated, the business could end. When this happens, if a member of the family, or an employee, does not take over the business, the business could be in big trouble. A proprietorship is usually a small business, and to find good employees that are dedicated to staying with the business could be hard. The reason for this is that most people look for security, and advancement in their employment, this usually does not exist in businesses which are small. If no one takes over the business, and the business had debts, creditors can go to the courts for a petition to sell off the assets so that they can pay back these debts, therefore the business has discontinued. It is also very hard in a sole proprietorship to obtain capital. Most banks and other lending institutions have certain formulas/requirements for determining how eligible a borrower may be. Many proprietorships do not meet these formulas/requirements and are therefore limited to whatever capital the owner has to contribute, and whatever money he/she can borrow. This can be a major set back in a proprietorship depending on the amount of capital the owner has to invest. The next form of business ownership is the partnership. A partnership is an association of two or more people who co own a business for the purpose of making a profit. Some of its advantages are its ease of formation, its distribution of profits, its capital requirements, and its taxation. Some of its disadvantages are, its unlimited liability, its lack of continuity, and it management control. Once again, let’s start with the advantages. The partnership, like the sole proprietorship, is also easy to establish. All the owners have to do is obtain the necessary business licenses, and submit a few required forms. If the business is run under a trade name, the partners will have to file for a certificate to conduct their business. When the accomplish all of the above, they can start operating their business. In a partnership, an agreement is usually made up outlining the share of profits each partner should receive. It is necessary for the partners to abide by this agreement when it comes to distributing the profits to ensure that each partner receives the right amount. Besides for this technique, there are no restrictions as to how the partners distribute the company’s profits, they just need to stay consistent with the agreement. A partnership also has a broader pool of capital than the sole proprietorship. In comparison to the sole proprietorship, the partnership has several owners instead of one. This means that each partner’s personal assets will support a larger borrowing capacity from lending institutions. When you are a part of a partnership, the business is not subject to federal taxation. A partnerships net income/losses are passed along to the partners as personal income, in which the partners have to pay income tax on. This way, the partnership avoids â€Å"double taxation†. Next, we have the disadvantages of the partnership. One of its main disadvantages is its unlimited liability. One partner is given the title of the general partner. This means that if there are any problems (for example with debts), that partner assumes full responsibility. This is also why the general partner is usually the partner with the least personal resources. A partnership, once again like the Sole Proprietorship, has a lack of continuity. Complications begin to arise if one of the partners die. A partnerships interest inheritance is often non-transferrable because the remaining partner may not agree on working with the person which inherited that portion of the partnership. This would cause great implications in the partnership because one person is no longer there, which means the work that person was responsible for now has to be distributed among the rest. There is a way of avoiding this problem though, the partners can agree on who will obtain the partnership interest in the event of them dying. Lastly, there is great potential for conflicts in a partnership. There is no longer one owner which means control is distributed among several people.  With several people in control, there is no way to completely avoid conflicts. However, the partners will have to learn to work through their problems by communicating with each other. If they do not do this, their conflicts will remain unresolved which could end up being the cause of their partnership, and business, failing. Communication is essential in a partnership, as it is in any form of business. Finally, there is the corporation. A corporation is a separate legal entity apart from its owners, in which receives the right to exist from the state in which it is incorporated. It is the most complex of the three major forms of business ownership. Some of the advantages are, its limited liability, its capital requirements, and its continuity. Its disadvantages are, the cost and time in the incorporation process, the double taxation, and the loss of management control. A corporation lets its investors limit their liability to the corporation by letting them decide the total amount of investment in the business. This is allowed because it is a separate legal entity, whereas a Sole Proprietorship and a Partnership are not. This also gives the corporation stockholders legal protection towards their personal assets outside the business. A corporation has great ability when it comes to attracting capital. The only limitation they have, is the number of shares authorized in its charter, this too can be changed. The corporation can raise money by simply selling shares of some of its stock to investors. This way they gain money to begin business and expand. A corporations future does not lie in the hands of one individual person. It has shares worldwide, and will continue to live as long as people invest in it. The only way a corporation can discontinue, is if it fails to pay its taxes or is limited to a specific length of life by the charter. Next, there are the disadvantages. To start a corporation it can be costly  and time consuming. The actual creating of the corporation can cost between $500 and $2,500. There are also fees involved in establishing a corporation which does not exist with a sole proprietorship, or a partnership. In some states you need the assistance of an attorney to establish the corporation, whereas in others you can do it all on your own. A corporation also has the disadvantage of double taxation. This means that it must pay taxes on its net income at the federal level, in most states, and to some local governments as well. The corporation pays taxes on dividends at the corporate tax rate, then stockholders must pay taxes on the dividends they receive from the same profits at the individual tax rate. As you can see it is being taxed twice. There’s also a potential loss of control by the founder(s) of the corporation. When shares are sold in the company, you are really selling shares of ownership, which gives some control to the person who bought the share. The more shares the founder sells to gain capital, the more control he/she is losing. This could be a big problem and amount to a great loss of control for the founder if he/she needs a large capital infusion. Lastly, the profits of the corporation are widely distributed. People all over the world can obtain shares on the corporation, and therefore receive dividends from the corporation. Therefore the profits are widely distributed among all the shareholders. As you can see from the information I have given, there are three major types of business ownership. All of these types have their advantages and disadvantages, so it depends on what you decide is better for you in starting a business.

Micro Teach

Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector Unit 4 Using Inclusive Learning and Teaching Approaches in Lifelong Learning Individual Learning Record Delivery of a micro-teaching session on a new subject As part of your teacher training you are expected to give a micro-teach on a subject you have not delivered before. This could be a hobby or personal interest, the choice is yours. Topics chosen have included making cards, a favourite book or film, yoga†¦ However, what is important is that you have some knowledge and confidence with the topic, so that you can concentrate on the actual presenting, teaching and learning.The purpose of the micro-teaching are to: †¢Gain experience of time management, managing learning and learners †¢Use a range of teaching and learning activities in a safe environment †¢Allow for feedback from an experienced tutor and/or peers and †¢Provide an opportunity for reflection and evaluation of own practice and performance. Using t he micro-teaching for those with current teaching practice allows an opportunity to try something different as well as helping with time management.To teach effectively it is important to work through the stages of preparing and planning, delivering and evaluating in order to develop own professional practice. 1 Preparing and planning the 15 minute micro-teach sessionUse evidence gathered beforehand, informed by all PTLLS units, to identify your specific subject content and learners’ needs for your micro-teaching session. You MUST base your planning on appropriate time management within the time allowed so you do not try to do too much in the limited time. Setting up for the micro-teach = 5 minutes †¢Delivering the micro-teach = 15 minutes †¢Evaluation feedback from learners = 10 minutes †¢Micro-teaching session = 30 minutes total Use this information to decide the aim (what you want to achieve) and objectives (what you want your learners to be able to do) for your micro-teach session plan. Use your knowledge of you selected topic and your learners to select a number of appropriate teaching methods and learning activities for your micro-teach session plan.Identify on the plan at least one opportunity to use an appropriate assessment method to check learning, during the session. 2 Delivering the 15-minute micro-teach session Deliver you topic to your group using the prepared session plan – making sure to communicate effectively and appropriately with individual students and demonstrate good practice in giving feedback to learners. 3 Evaluating the micro-teach and developing own practice As soon as possible following the session completeThe session evaluation section of the lesson plan and use it when completing the Individual Learning Record evaluation – which should include a review of the session based on the observation feedback from the tutor-observer and learner feedback. 4 Evaluating the micro-teaching of others Complet e an observation form for each observed micro-teaching session, provide feedback to peers and use this information when evaluating your own approaches in order to identify possible ways to improve or develop your own practice.Evidence from the micro-teaching session should be put together as a portfolio and should include noes on: †¢An outline of the learning group – including issues of differentiation, specific considerations, e. g. health and safety †¢Session plan- indication topic/content, aims/ objectives, teaching methods, learning activities, resources, leaning checks †¢Samples of activities/resources used during the session †¢Samples of learning checks/assessment †¢Feedback from tutor/peers †¢Personal session evaluation (this should be brief notes to provide reminder for more detailed evaluations).

Legal and Ethical Considerations in Marketing, Product Safety, and Research Paper - 2

Legal and Ethical Considerations in Marketing, Product Safety, and Intellectual Property - Research Paper Example In fact, it is used as a reference point by both the proponents and opponents of ethical considerations in business. The case points out how intellectual property rights can be used both to the defense of the company as well as against it. However, the success of the company was crippled by the way PharmaCARE responded to ethical and legal issues that it was faced with. Being a medical giant, it thrived on research and made a breakthrough of a diabetes drug, AD23, which slowed down the terrible infringement of Alzheimer’s (Heinrich, 2003). In the face of high demand for the product, PharmaCARE set up a sister company called CompCARE and made it the compounding pharmacy to manufacture the drug (Heinrich, 2003). Soon, it became a mass hysteria to acquire this drug thus pushing CompCARE into methods outside the scope of what a compounding pharmacy is authorized to do. According to Halbert & Ingulli (2012) the end result was the death of over 200 people from cardiac arrests associated with the drug. The results were catastrophic to all the stakeholders of the company including the workers and patients. For instance, John who was a former researcher lost his wife because of using the drug. The downfall of PharmaCARE was brought about by the unethical business practices it engaged in. In the case of PharmaCARE, ethical considerations were evidently compromised by the firm and its management. The first ethical issue is when the company wrongfully capitalized on Colberians availability to be hired at the lowest wage rate thus exploiting their labor for a meager amount of compensation. Moreover the willingness of the locals to share vital information regarding indigenous cures was also exploited and the benefits did not trickle down to the indigenous people. In so doing, the firm violated legal and moral boundaries of a civilized and ethical society (Veatch & Haddad, 2008). The actions of the firm were also an evident

Assessment and Diagnosis of Venous Leg Ulcer Essay - 2

Assessment and Diagnosis of Venous Leg Ulcer - Essay Example It is thus important to adopt a good follow up plan to facilitate such an obligation. In order to attain this, all stakeholders ought to cooperate at length to facilitate a turnaround. The report is based on a scenario where an 80-year-old is infected with a leg ulcer disease at her lower limp; it comes to our attention that this wasn’t the last time she was exposed to such a disease but had on previous occasions had some success stories which spanned within a period of about three years in counting. While addressing her current condition a number of considerations had to be made while aiming at providing accurate treatment. This is as highlighted below; In the event of being infected with a leg ulcer disease, one ought to go to a qualified medical physician for help. This is due to its ability to affect one's health and could as well go out of hand. While carrying out the diagnosis not all physicians qualify; such assessment can only be carried out by those trained in ulcer management. As a result of a regular encounter with similar cases, some are likely to prescribe the best treatment for this disease. The report, however, tends to look at the necessary procedures to be followed while treating a patient with such a disease. Assessment phase helps while checking on how bad the disease could have gone out of hand thus prescribing the best kind of treatment. While the patient could be portraying certain symptoms such features ought to be compared to those already captured pertain the same disease. This is due to it likely to be related thus could as well help in ensuring a good approach is put to task other than employing trial and e rror method (Sussman & Bates-Jensen, 2007). It is at the Doppler stage that the findings are analyzed at length while checking on how critical the condition could have gone. Several questions are likely to be asked as highlighted.

Innovation Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Innovation Management - Essay Example In the current business environment, technological innovation is the key driver of achieving competitive advantage among the companies. Firms rely on the recently developed products as the major sources of revenue and increase in the profit margin. Thus, innovation is becoming a metric measure of the current performance level of firms in different sectors. Globalization has taken, and is taking place in the business world (Aalbers et al., 2014). As such, it has contributed towards the development of innovative strategies among the firms. Such emerges from the foreign pressure that local firms receive in terms of the quality of their products and services. Therefore, companies are engaging in the production of differentiated products and services so that they can survival foreign competition. The introduction of the new products ensures that firms have the potential of protecting their margins and lowering their production costs. Such includes improving on abilities of the firms in th e competitive market. Technological advancements have also triggered firms to focus on innovation. These advancements include computer-aided manufacturing and computer-aided design, which help in the short-run production, as well as the attainment of economies of scale within the production chain. The aim is to ensure that the products and services meet the customer needs. Such is essential because different customers express unique needs in terms of the quality of the quality of services and products that they receive from the market.

The Discourse of a learner-centered classroom Essay

The Discourse of a learner-centered classroom - Essay Example CLT was initiated in the 1970's and reflected a trend that dismissed theories which focused on rote learning and the teaching of discrete points of grammar within a decontextualised environment. The CLT approach instead oriented toward meaningful communication as an interactive process, and this approach has been emphasised for inclusion within ELT course-books. This paper will critically review the manner in which reading and writing skills are presented in the ELT course-book Fast Track, Book 5 (Teacher' Book) (EF Education, 2001). Firstly a summary of the content of Fast Track will be presented. Secondly, reading and writing content will be evaluated with regard to group activities, culture, and meaningful communication. Finally, a conclusion shall synthesise the main arguments of the paper. The conclusion will also demonstrate how Fast Track fails to meet the requirements to provide comprehensive and progressive CLT learning experiences for students of English as a second language. The ELT course-book Fast Track, Book 5 (Teacher' Book) is a 195 page soft covered text. The book is divided into 7 Units; Getting to Know You, Going Places; Friendship; The Media; Men and Women; Thinking Outside the Box; and Working World. Included with the text is a Tape for "Listening Exercises," ant an Appendix section provides "Tape Transcripts." Skill focus icons are used for each Exercise; An "Open Mouth" represents exercises that focus on speaking skills An "Open Book" stands for exercises that develop reading comprehension skills and vocabulary. An "Ear" symbolises exercises to develop listening comprehension skills. An "A+B+C+" icon stands for exercises that build vocabulary around a specific lexical group. A "Verb Subject" symbol represents exercises that focus on a grammatical point. A "Pen" stands for exercises that develop writing skills. A "Brain" symbolises exercises that develop learning skills and strategies. "Reading and Writing Exercises" are presented within each Unit. The Teacher is trained using Teachers Notes in the 1" margin of each page. For each Unit Teachers Notes, there is a brief paragraph of about 33 words, to describe the Unit and the Unit goals to the Teacher. With regard to reading and writing skills for the students, the Teacher's Notes provide details about topics such as the point of the reading exercises, as well as about grammar, verbs, adjectives, and present perfect tense. A Unit Summary is provided at the end of each Unit, to explain grammar used in the exercises, to provide points on using articles, or to provide solutions to exercises with puzzles. The Teacher's text has the answers provided for each exercise in orange font. Culture & Reading and Writing Skills The learning requirements of English as a second language students is of critical necessity for students who intend to live, be educated, socialise and work in English speaking countries. Language skills affect learning ability, and subsequently the student's concept of themselves, their formation of interpersonal relationships, and their ability to

C&Ks Curriculum and Pedagogy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

C&Ks Curriculum and Pedagogy - Essay Example This is premise within the philosophy that the local community is supportive of the needs inherent in early education. C&K believes that education for children centers on care, fun, safe, and inspiring environment (â€Å"Mission,† 2010). And the type of content that C&K uses is on the emphasis of the learning process. The outcomes of this process are the positive gain of relevant knowledge and skills. The value of fun is an elementary approach for children to appreciate knowledge more. C&K’s teaching strategy utilizes the problem-solving approach (â€Å"Qualified,† 2010). This approach is embedded in children’s play. The teacher usually listens and observes the children’s ideas, observations, and stories. They do not instruct the children in the traditional way but rather teach them in the child-center educational methodology. Furthermore, C&K has professional consultants that ensure the quality services in the conduct of the early childhood educati on. C&K’s consultants assess and evaluate children’s progress in knowledge acquisition (â€Å"Monitoring,† 2010). C&K is also supported and supervised by the Department of Education, Training and the Arts (DETA). There are three basic principles of pedagogy: (1) learning has to be an active process; (2) the relevance of social interactions among children in school; and (3) the priority of intellectual activity based on actual experiences rather than on language (Golby, Greenwald, & West, 1975). First, education concerns more on the child’s learning less than the teacher’s pedagogy. In the practice of teaching, the teacher provides high importance to the active participation of the child. The learner is permitted to experiment. As a result, the child discovers for himself or herself an aspect of truth. Second, the child is allowed to share and discuss things with his or her fellow learner.