Monday, September 30, 2019

Project Management Ethical Issues

Melwin Fernandes 200083225 Ethics and Other Management Issues (CIS 485) Duncan Jeffries Project Management Issues What is Project Management? Project management  is the  discipline  of  planning,  organizing, and  managing  resources  to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives. It is often closely related to program management (Wikipedia). A  project  is a temporary endeavour, undertaken to meet particular goals and objectives, having a defined beginning and end, usually to bring about beneficial change or added value.The temporary nature of projects stands in contrast to, which are repetitive, permanent or semi-permanent functional work to produce products or services. In practice, the  management  of these two systems is often found to be quite different, and as such requires the development of distinct technical skills and the adoption of separate management. The primary challenge of project management is to achieve al l of the project goals  and objectives while honouring the preconceived project constraints. Typical constraints are  scope, time, and  budget.The secondary challenge is to  optimize  the  allocation  and integration of inputs necessary to meet pre-defined objectives. Project Management Approach There are a number of approaches to managing project activities: 1. The Traditional Approach: A traditional phased approach identifies a sequence of steps to be completed. 2. Critical Chain Project Management  (CCPM): It is a method of planning and managing projects that puts more emphasis on the resources (physical and human) needed in order to execute project tasks. . Extreme Programming: It is used in combination with the process modeling  and management principles of  human interaction management. 4. Event chain methodology: It  is another method that complements  critical path method  and  critical chain  project management methodologies. 5. PRINCE2: It   is a structured approach to project management 6. Agile Project Management: It is based on the principles of  human interaction management  are founded on a process view of human collaboration. Project Management Development StageProject development includes a number of elements: five stages and a control system. Regardless of the methodology used, the project development process will have the same major stages. Major stages generally include: ? Initiation ? Planning or development ? Production or execution ? Monitoring and controlling ? Closing The Use and Misuse of Security Technology The misuse of security Technology is one of the main issues in project management. There are a large number of people over the world with very little or no knowledge of security technology which is why certain projects fail.It is a subject which is under discussed but in today's world with relatively low cost, trusted, security technology is readily available and easy to use. It has become a cult ure among people who are not sufficiently educated with the tools of security technology as it is easy to use and has somewhat become a fashionable trend. Some consider technology to be bad for the society. People have to understand that this is only because of its misuse. Technology does not threaten the society, instead it is humans who are the users who use technology to threaten society.So technology itself is not at fault. In the field of information, technology has increased the speed, quantity and communication with co-workers and clients. Advancements in technology have also contributed to work being completed at home which imbalances their work and life. Lost revenue and productivity has become a reason for an increased need and demand for surveillance techniques to monitor employees. Employers have resorted to creating separate computer security departments or divisions to deal with both the internal and external threats.All companies weather large or small have the pressu re to maintain access to critical information in order to run the business and remain competitive. A corporation with hundreds of offices and thousands of employees would have the same pressure of holding critical information as any other small enterprise. A comprehensive data protection solution is going to involve a lot of consideration and contingencies. There are many things can go wrong with your data and you need to be able to respond to them.There are many companies that have opted to purchase solutions from different vendors to fully address these challenges but can be an extremely expensive approach in terms of acquisition, integration and ongoing management costs. There have also been companies who decided the cost is too high and taken their chances, which is an approach that has often resulted in disaster. In the business world today, the loss of important data can cause significant damage and lead to the demise of your business.The same complex and expensive solutions a s the major players in your industry can be cost-prohibitive and unnecessary. Software and People in Project Management The most comprehensive software solution for assessing security of web application, network systems, end point systems and email users is CORE IMPACT Pro. It allows you to take security testing to the next level by safely replicating a broad range of threats to your organization’s sensitive data and critical infrastructure. You gain extensive visibility into the ause, effect and prevention of data breaches, enabling you to drive effective risk mitigation enterprise-wise. Impact enables you to safely assess an organization's security posture against the attack methods that jeopardize data today. Exploitation of network defenses in operating systems and services, client applications that run on desktop systems, attacks on employees, contractors and other end users via social engineering, manipulation of web applications to access backend data via cross-site sc ripting (XSS), SQL injection and remote file inclusion techniques only.It allows you to utilize penetration testing to assess your information security in such an integrated, comprehensive, in-depth andseamless fashion. CORE IMPACT Pro gives confidence in your security infrastructure by enabling you to validate network vulnerability, end-user threat response and web application exposure on a regular basis. You not only identify but also distinguish critical network vulnerabilities from false positives, identify where your organization is at risk from social engineering threats such as spam, validate security exposure in web applications.With all this you can intelligently plan, prioritize and execute policy adjustments, ensuring cost-effective use of security and development resources while improving overall security posture. Next-generation data protection, or NGDP, is a term that describes a large number of disk-based backup and recovery technologies, including disk-to-disk (D2D), virtual tape library (VTL), snapshots, continuous data protection (CDP), remote office backup consolidation (ROBC), bare machine recovery (BMR), disaster recovery (DR), wide area file services (WAFS) and others.The Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack It integrates to provide organizations with a complete data protection, archive, and retention and recovery solution. It also extends disk-based, block-level incremental data capture to a repository in another location, sending changed blocks of data over a WAN or Internet connection. Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack was designed to be bandwidth efficient to help minimize the impact on other applications that rely on WAN and Internet links.It can be set individually for each location to meet specific needs of the business while avoiding unnecessary costs in bandwidth and storage.. The features also include data differencing (sending only the changes from the previous job run), compression, bundling of small files to help reduce TCP/IP overh ead, bandwidth throttling and multi-threading. There have been a wide variety of industries who have taken Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack to improve backup and recovery performance across a diverse set of support tasks. It helps organizations: Reduce server backup times from hours or days to a few minutes. †¢ Reduce server volume restoration times from hours or days to a few minutes. †¢ Increase backup frequencies from once per week to multiple times per day, without disrupting operations. †¢ Enable rapid recovery of granular Exchange objects that are typically too difficult to recover. With next-generation data protection and recovery solution set at mid-market prices, these solutions can help companies reduce operational risk and costs, increase productivity and resiliency, and improve levels of service.It delivers a common foundation for managing both business and technology requirements and is designed to quickly address most pressing service management needs to changing business demands. The Tivoli portfolio is backed by world-class IBM Services, IBM Support and an active ecosystem of IBM Business Partners. Project Management Software It is a key tool in your effort to consistently finish projects on time and within budget. It allows you to do the critical steps Project Managers must do efficiently.There are a number of benefits that Project Management Software can provide such as spotting problems before it’s too late to fix them, optimizing the use of resources so you can finish early, updating the plan each week so you know where you are and updating everyone’s schedule when things change. These are the basic tools that every Project manager should have. Ideally Project Management Software provides managers with time-saving scheduling and analysis tools as well as archive data for use on future projects.Unfortunately Project Management trainings do not include practical skills in using Project Management Software nor the v alue that comes from archiving data on every project. Tasks like scheduling skills to optimize the use of resources to finish as early as possible and project software to identify problems early are best done with Project Management Software which otherwise can waste a considerable amount of time if done manually. With the appropriate Project Management Software, tracking actual performance in terms of hours of work and completion dates builds a database for estimating on the next project.Practically, there are far too many Project Managers who do not have the training or the tools to optimize their schedule or make efficient use of their resources resulting in projects that are guided by guesses. Project Management Software does not make the managers more effective, it just makes them more efficient. Project Management Software does not teach you how to define scope, communicate to the Project sponsor but just lets you accomplish these tasks more efficiently. There are three genera l classes of software available: Statistical Software: To blend in one direction with relational database software such as Oracle or Sybase. †¢ Mathematical Software: MATLAB in the other direction exhibits not only statistical capabilities flowing from code for matrix manipulation, but also optimization and symbolic manipulation useful for statistical purposes. †¢ Visualization Software: Overlaps to some extent with software intended for exploratory data analysis. The user interfaces common range from command line to graphical user interfaces (GUI) to hybrid drag and drop system interfaces.The Statistical Analysis System is available on PC and UNIX based platforms, as well as on mainframe computers. This modern database technique with queries is very easy to use and also accomplished easily. System for Statistical Analysis among the products are for management of large data bases, time series and most classical statistical problems including multivariate analysis, linear m odels (as well as generalized linear models), and clustering; data visualization and plotting.Users with a need to write an applications program using a matrix language, the product SAS/IML provides the ability to program using matrices as objects. SAS is to a large extent an industry standard statistical software package. The demand for students with SAS skills is greater than with skills other than statistical packages. Other statistical of the same general vintage as SAS are MINITAB, BMDP and SPSS. All of these systems began as mainframe systems, but have evolved to smaller scale systems as computing have evolved.MINITAB Inc was formed more than 20 years ago around its flagship product, MINITAB statistical software. MINITAB Statistical Software provides tools to analyze data across a variety of disciplines, and is targeted for users at every level i. e. Scientists, business and industrial users, faculty, and students. It has broadened the scope of its products to include quality control, designed experiments, chemo metrics and an array of general statistics from the original software that helped faculty to teach basic statistics.MINITAB is available on the most widely-used computer platforms, including Windows, DOS, Macintosh, OpenVMS, and UNIX. BMDP features a comprehensive library of over forty statistical routines and has set the standard for high-end statistical analysis software. It has its roots as a bio-medical analysis package from the late 1960’s and each statistical routine has been thoroughly time-tested based on the most advanced algorithms available. Current versions come in several flavors including the BMDP New System Personal Edition.The Professional Edition combines the full suite of BMDP Classic for PCs Release 7 statistics with the powerful data management and front-end data exploration features of the BMDP New System Personal Edition. SPSS Software products run on most models of all major computers and statistical analysis can now be done on the desktop. It is a multinational software company that provides statistical product and service solution for survey research, marketing and sales analysis, quality scientific research, government reporting and education. e SPSS products are a modular system and includes SPSS Professional Statistics, SPSS Advanced Statistics, SPSS Tables, SPSS Trends, SPSS Categories, SPSS CHAID, SPSS LISREL 7, SPSS Developer's Kit, Exact Tests, Teleform, and MapInfo. S-PLUS is a supported extension of the statistical analysis language. It was originally developed at AT;T Bell labs manufactured and supported by the Statistical Sciences Corporation, now a division of Mathsoft. Some of the code has been contributed by prominent individuals from the academic and industrial communities.MATLAB is an interactive computing environment used for scientific and statistical data analysis and visualization. The basic data object in MATLAB is the matrix with functions for basic data analysis and gra phics which are text files that the user can read and adapt for other uses, giving the ability to create their own M-files functions and script files, thus making MATLAB a programming language. The most useful capability is the tool available for visualizing data. It also provides Handle Graphic and there is a considerable amount of contributed MATLAB code available on the internet.The above descriptions of statistical software cover the most well-established commercially available software packages and among them the most extensively used mathematical packages is MATLAB. MINITAB is used in the educational community for introductory courses. BMDP and SPSS find users among communities in which they originated respectively the biomedical and social sciences community. Mainstream applied statisticians tend to use SAS more extensively whereas on the other hand S-plus seems to be a package that is highly regarded among the more research oriented particularly those interested in computati onal statistics.JAVA is a programming language which represents an extension of the World Wide Web capabilities. Basic documents on the web are constructed using HTML, in the sense that once the server delivers the HTML text to the browser, the server has done its job and the static text is interpreted and displayed by the client’s browser. It is a fully distributed, object oriented programming language which allows for creation of a fully interactive web-based system. The data and tools can be sent to the clients’ browser and allows attributes and methods to be linked together.In particular, JAVA allows applets, small applications or subroutines, to be created and transmitted across the web just as static HTML documents are now transmitted. JAVA is intended to be a secure system although security problems do exist with present implementation. However, access to local data is restricted and the JAVA is a secure environment. JAVA has been declared as is related to stati stical data analysis software of the future because it is a practical implementation of a new paradigm in distributed computing.It allows not only the distribution of text and multimedia but also of computing applications and data. It is a response to the enormous popularity of the World Wide Web and under this framework, new statistical, data analytic and other methodologies could be made available and tried out by practitioners in other research fields on their own data and their own computer. Considering the possibility of extending the web in a natural way to acquire data in the same way we acquire human-consumable information, new mechanisms must be sought to provide for the distribution of that data.Best Practices in Project Planning Project managers deal with sponsors who are organizational levels above them and sign their paychecks so Project Managers can’t really argue about the best way to do the project. Having data to quantify the impact of changes and model alter native ways of solving problems gives them much more credibility to give their executives a solid data on which to make their Project decisions rather than having due dates and budgets plucked out of the air.The ethical issue and its consequences, its resolution and its effect on Management In project management, timing is everything. Justifying, Planning, Activating, Controlling and Ending it the right way is the key to a successful Project. It is a disciplined process and a full circle project management that holds every development project together. The project plan, schedule, budget, resources, risk, scope, motivating the players and launching all project activities with communication play a very essential role in project management.It must be constructed in a way that reaches a busy, important audience with the right amount of the right information, a strategic marketing entity in a tight package that must be backed up with well-researched facts and figures that speak directly to the needs, goals, and problem-solving missions of the business. Present them with the business case report and explain it via a well-crafted, well-rehearsed presentation, accompanied by the sponsors. Starting off with a strong solid foundation of research and a creative solution to a business need do the utmost to obtain approval and present justification for the project.Plan Project produces the detailed project plan, project schedule, project organization, and resources. The approved project plan includes understanding the potential risks and the actions that are necessary to manage them. The goal of every project is to drive it to a successful and appropriate conclusion. Controlling a project is imposed not to create a bureaucratic layer, but to ensure that the project proceeds to its planned and scheduled ending. The activity of the project rests with the Project Manager. He controls, monitors, makes decisions ensuring that the project proceeds as planned taking corrective ac tions when necessary.End Project tasks archive the project materials and release the project resources for use on other projects. Conclusion Project management and project planning processes can contribute to an organization's survival and success, while the absence of project management and project planning processes can lead to an organization's demise. This helps in developing the concept for the project, which in turn is used to secure approvals to proceed to the execution phase of a project. Collectively these five steps form the life-cycle phases of project management, and all steps require adequate attention to ensure that a project is adequately managed.Costs, time-frames, quality targets, and other relevant factors are very essential while considering the planning process. Project management ensures that organizations are able to achieve strategic initiatives that extend beyond normal operations through a recognized process, thus aiding organizations in fulfilling strategic objectives such as new product development, process re-engineering, organizational change or financial growth. In conclusion, project management is needed within organizations to support temporary endeavors that create unique products or services.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

James Baldwin’s Sonny’s Blues Essay

In James Baldwin’s â€Å"Sonny’s Blues,† the unsaid brotherly relationship amongst the speaker and his younger brother Sonny is illustrated throughout the narrator’s point of view. The two brothers have not spoken in time until the narrator receives a note from Sonny following his daughter’s death. He takes this moment as a vital indication from Sonny and feels the need to act in response. Despite the fact that both Sonny and the narrator reside in separate worlds, all Sonny desires is a brother to care for him while the narrator finds himself in the past, ultimately learning his responsibility as an older brother. The speaker and Sonny at last get a chance to have a word with each other following many years, they begin to gradually open up to each other the dismal reality that they faced. ’But there’s no way not to suffer–is there Sonny?’ ‘I believe not,’ he said and smiled, ‘but that’s never st opped anyone from trying.’ He looked at me. ‘Has it?’ I realized, with this mocking look, that there stood between us, forever, beyond the power of time of forgiveness, the fact that I had held silence†¦. so long! — When he had needed human speech to help him. (848) The narrator realizes that it was his responsibility to be at hand for his younger brother for all the years that Sonny looked for him, even if it was just to talk or listen. He doesn’t know if Sonny will be capable of forgiving him, or if too much time has passed to be any forgiveness. Even though the narrator is there for his brother now, he could have been an authority figure to him for his entire life, just as any brother should be. The two characters come to the appreciation that they do share a brotherly acquaintance, and that the narrator cares immensely for his brother, even after all the time of detachment. The narrator says, â€Å"I don’t give a damn what other people do, I don’t even care how they suffer. I just care how you suffer.’ And he looked at me, ‘Please believe me,’ I said, ‘I don’t want to see you–die–trying not to suffer†(848). He knows his brother has a drug addiction, but he does not de sire to witness him give up without a fight. He cares about his brother, which is what Sonny has desired all this time, an elder brother to tell him that he ought to not give up, that he must make smart decisions and make something of himself. Sonny’s brother is trying to make up for all the time apart from Sonny during his time of need. This will be his way of making himself feel better for abandoning his younger brother countless years beforehand. Sonny has had trouble with drugs for some time, which leads him having to serve a prison term. Sonny’s brother tries to stay unaware, which is part of the reason he turned his back on his younger brother for numerous years. â€Å"I couldn’t believe it: but what I mean by that is that I couldn’t find any room for it anywhere inside of me. I had kept it outside me for a long time. I hadn’t wanted to know. I had had suspicions, but I didn’t name them, I kept putting them away†(831). The way that he dealt with his younger brother’s problems was by turning his back on them. He knew that Sonny was dealing with heavy problems, but chose to look past them and live his own life. He also knows that leaving his brother during the time he needed him the most was wrong of him to do. The narrator goes on to say, â€Å"I didn’t wa nt to believe that I’d ever see my brother going down, coming to nothing, all that light in his face gone out, in the condition I’d already seen so many others†(831). The narrator has seen many kids around him in Harlem that went down the wrong road, but tried to convince himself that that would never happen to his brother. He was never there to steer him in the right direction, which could have possibly lead Sonny past drugs and jail, and onto a promising future. He knows that Sonny lives in a place where many kids make bad decisions with drugs and crime, but by turning his back on Sonny he was never there to protect him like an older brother should. Sonny tells the narrator that he has always had a dream of becoming a musician. As a natural instinct, the narrator objects by saying that he should finish school first. This important part in the story shows dialog from a protective older brother, a brother that Sonny has never had the chance to have in his life before and desperately needs now more than ever. ‘Sonny.’ I said, ‘I know how you feel. But if you don’t finish school now, you’re going to be sorry later th at you didn’t.’ I grabbed him by the shoulders. ‘And you only got another year. It isn’t so bad. And I’ll comeback and I swear I’ll help you do whatever you want to do. Just try to put up with it till I come back, Will you please do that? For me? (843). The narrator is finally coming to his senses; he knows that his younger brother needs him to be a role model and guide to set his life in the right path. The moment the narrator finally remembers that Sonny is a person who should be an important part of his life, not just a past memory, was the moment he saw a story in the newspaper about Sonny being arrested for peddling and using heroin. â€Å"Then perhaps I just started at it, at the newsprint spelling out his name, spelling out the story.† He goes on to say, â€Å"And at the same time I couldn’t doubt it. I was scared, scared for Sonny. He became real to me again†(830). This turning point in the narrator’s life is a crucial aspect of the story because it is the moment when he remembers his past, and the fact that his younger brother is dealing with serious problems. The reality of the imperfections of the world, especially the dangers of his hometown of Harlem come back to haunt him. He has put his pas t behind him for so many years that the reality of his brother being arrested for drugs to him is like â€Å"great block of ice got settled in my belly and kept melting there slowly all day long†(831). He began wondering what Sonny looked like, and if he still had his bright face. Although he does not respond to his brother right away, this moment strikes the beginning of the narrator’s memory of his younger brother. Harlem plays a major role in the narrator’s life and his relationship with Sonny because it is where they were both born and raised. It is not the best neighborhood for children to grow up in, which is associated with the reasons for Sonny’s poor decisions. â€Å"All this was carrying me some place I didn’t want to go. I certainly didn’t want to know how it felt. It filled everything, the people, the houses, the music, the dark, the quicksilver barmaid, with menace; and this menace was their reality†(833). The narrator realizes that Harlem is a main reason for why Sonny is going through such struggles. He does not want to go back and face his past life. He brings Sonny into his house, which reminds him of the house in which the y grew up in. â€Å"The same things happen, they’ll have the same things to remember. The moment Sonny and I started into the house I had the feeling that I was simply bringing him back into the danger he had almost died trying to escape†(836). The narrator is acting like the protective older brother that he should have been all along. After the narrator’s daughter dies he receives a condolence letter from Sonny, which leads him to keep in touch with him as often as possible and eventually see him. â€Å"When I saw him many things I thought I had forgotten came flooding back to me.† He goes on to say, â€Å"He looked very unlike my baby brother. Yet, when he smiled, when we shook hands, the baby brother I’d never known looked out from the depths of his private life, like an animal waiting to be coaxed into the light†(835). The narrator describes Sonny as somebody he has never known. All the years apart has turned the two brothers into complete strangers. This moment between the two men is very important to the central theme of the story, which is the importance of a bond between brothers. Throughout the story, the narrator learns how important it is to Sonny for him to care and listen to him. Sonny is vulnerable and in a state where he is getting into trouble with drugs and alcohol perhaps because he feels as though no one cares enough to help him. The narrator lives his life as a teacher while Sonny spends his days using drugs hoping someday to pursue his dreams of music. Both characters end up in a place they are meant to be; acting as family and leaning on each other for support, which is the true importance of an older brother.

Friday, September 27, 2019

International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

International Business - Essay Example What can describe corporate governance is a structure of responsibilities and rights shared within parties who posses a stake in a company. According to the article, researchers direct too much of focus on corporate governance on developed countries leaving emerging economies like China and India with relatively too little focus on research (53). Due to their weak governance, firms in developed countries tend to discount firms in emerging economies. As such, it will be of paramount importance if policy makers could employ corporate governance reforms since they would in turn increase firms in emerging economies access to capital as well as enhance investors’ confidence in these firms. Given the perspective of most foreign investors that emerging economies of China and India are increasingly growing to be of great importance in terms of investment opportunities and source of growth, there should be availability of reforms set to revolutionize the systems of governance in firms in these economies (55). The four challenges include lack of incentives, power in the hands of dominant shareholders, and inadequate number of qualified independent directors deters growth in these emerging economies as well as underdeveloped systems of external monitoring. The main driving forces Arguably, even though there many other factors that are contributing to corporate governance reforms, it is clear that globalization and privatization take the biggest part. There are a number of effects that privatization has on corporate governance reforms. For instance, documented evidence shows that, since when emerging economies started privatizing state owned enterprises a few years ago, there emerged a huge volume of privatization cases ranging from $8 billion in 1990 to more that $65 billion in 1997 (57). In privatization, transfer of ownership is from the sate to new private owners in which it may include local individuals, management, employees, and institutions as well as foreig n investors. Following this state of ownership, the new and diversified structure of ownership renders corporate governance a vital aspect in emerging economies. In the vein of privatization, however, challenges and obstacles occur when a few dominant executives resolve to foster their self-interests by maximizing on their private interests as opposed to owner’s interests. This creates the old or traditional agency problems that in turn make the emerging economies rigid in terms of exercise of authority (59). Additionally, the aspect of privatization led to creation of principle-to-principle agency problems that appear unique and different to emerging economies. As a result, within these indifferent contexts of agency, the majority or large number of shareholders end up controlling the firm and on the other side expropriate the interest of the minority shareholders in the firm. Both China and India became increasingly integrative into the international business at a time when they started reforming their economies with India embarking on liberalism in the wake of 1990s. Globalization led to great and tremendous contributions towards reforming corporate governance of both China and India. This is because, 2002 witnessed China replace the US as the world’

Social Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

Social Policy - Essay Example Specifically, it was understood that preventive measures could improve the health of the populace. In addition, the Health for all campaign launched by the World Health Organization in the year 1981, had a deep influence on the thinking of European countries (Birt, Gunning-Schepers, Hayes, & Joyce, 1997: 262). This was reflected in their public health policies. The National Health Service served to provide a uniform and integrated system of medical care to the denizens of the UK. Prior to the formation of this organisation, the health care system had been provided by the combined efforts of divers entities. Some of these providers of health care were voluntary and commercial organisations (Baggott, 1994: 76). Moreover, the health care system entails considerable expenditure, and this was satisfied to some extent by the philanthropic organisations and the insurance companies. A major role was enacted, in this commendable effort, by the voluntary organisations, which were actively engaged in making community health services available. These organisations worked in tandem with the local authorities, especially in the areas of maternity, child welfare, aftercare, nursing at the district level, and mental and physical impairment (Baggott, 1994: 76). The economic and societal security of the nation relates to the degree to which individuals or groups are provided with access to, permitted to utilise and the successful results obtained, with respect to a wide range of resources. Some of these resources could connote healthcare, employment, education, housing and finance. These factors have a major bearing on the inequities that exist in healthcare (Ward, Redgrave, & Read, 2006: 10). In addition, biological and environmental factors, nutrition and the standard of living contribute to health. Thus, health constitutes a function of welfare. It can be surmised that the issues that prove detrimental to health are in general the province of

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Bibliography of the history of the world football cup Annotated

Of the history of the world football cup - Annotated Bibliography Example The first world cup was held in Uruguay in 1930. Since it was a turbulent period in international politics, many countries which initially planned to participate could not do so. Austria, for example was set to play the world cup, but it was annexed into Germany. The first trophy was called the Jules Rimet Cup. It was awarded to Brazil after they won the competition three times (the trophy was stolen in 1983 and has never been found since). Since 1930 the world cup has been held 19 times. Italy has won the competition four times, Germany thrice and Argentina twice. Brazil have won it a record 5 times. Spain, France, England and Uruguay have all won the world cup once. The 1974 Holland team is often cited as their best. Johan Cruyff, their star player, was one of the greatest in the history of football. He put into practice â€Å"Total Football†, which back then was a novel philosophy of playing football. This style is still practiced by some teams (notably, FC Barcelona). In 1978 the same core of players that impressed the world in 1974, put on a great show once again. That year they also showed the ability to threaten their opponents with some dangerous long shots, and this skill won them a lot of success. The 1978 team beat an excellent Austrian side by the decisive margin of 5-1, owing mainly to superb performances from their star wingers Rob Rensenbrink and Johnny Rep. The author believes that performance was one of the finest he has ever seen at a world cup. Similarly in 1994 (in the US) they would have performed a lot better.... The 1974 Holland team is often cited as their best. Johan Cruyff, their star player, was one of the greatest in the history of football. He put into practice â€Å"Total Football†, which back then was a novel philosophy of playing football. This style is still practiced by some teams (notably, FC Barcelona). In 1978 the same core of players that impressed the world in 1974, put on a great show once again. That year they also showed the ability to threaten their opponents with some dangerous long shots, and this skill won them a lot of success. The 1978 team beat an excellent Austrian side by the decisive margin of 5-1, owing mainly to superb performances from their star wingers Rob Rensenbrink and Johnny Rep. The author believes that performance was one of the finest he has ever seen at a world cup. Clearly, the absence of Johan Cruyff from their side in Argentina contributed to their failure to win the cup. In 1988 they again failed to win in Italy. The author believes that h ad they used the services of the 37-year-old Arnold Muhren, the graceful, talented midfielder, their team would have performed a lot better. Similarly in 1994 (in the US) they would have performed a lot better (and might have come back from 2-0 down against Brazil) if their star player Ruud Gullit was part of the squad. It is worth noting that Brazil’s second goal was clearly the result of an offside, which the linesman failed to spot. However, the author feels, the most unfortunate incident in Holland’s world cup history was their elimination in the 1998 world cup in France. They had strikers like Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Kluvert. In midfield they had the likes of Edgar Davids, Ronald de Boer, Phillip Cocu and Wim Jonk. Ronald’s penalty

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Marketing Plan Report - Introducing Five Guys Burger to Kuwait Assignment

Marketing Plan Report - Introducing Five Guys Burger to Kuwait - Assignment Example Using promotion aligned with psychographic traits related to the consumer behaviour, Five Guys can gain brand recognition and, ultimately, brand preference with its focus on integrated marketing communications and positioning on quality. Five Guys Burger Restaurants is a casual, fast food restaurant headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia in the United States. The company maintains a menu that is focused on hamburgers, kosher hot dogs and a variety of different sandwiches. Between 2010 and 2011, the company experienced revenue growth of over 32 percent (York 2012). In the United States, Five Guys Burger is positioned as being a better burger, with a high level of emphasis on quality ingredients to differentiate the business from domestic American competition. However, the U.S. marketplace, in terms of fast food restaurants, is highly saturated and it is difficult to achieve growth in a rapidly maturing market. As a result, Five Guys Burger Restaurants is seeking new market opportunities in foreign markets where there is less competitive saturation and where consumer characteristics are favourable for achieving market growth and building a positive brand reputation. This report identifies potential market opportunities in Kuwait, a developing nation, for Five Guys Burger to establish a potent competitive identity. The report provides justification for market entry in this country, an analysis of competitors in the region, the cultural profile for viable consumer segments in Kuwait, and an appropriate targeting strategy and positioning strategy to achieve the objectives of growth for the company. Additionally, the report provides appropriate recommendations, based on market conditions, for ensuring success in this new foreign investment. Five Guys differs from its other American competitors, offering only fresh beef and promoting that the company does not maintain any freezers in its

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Managing Uncertainty- How does the dollar affect the diamond industry Essay

Managing Uncertainty- How does the dollar affect the diamond industry in India - Essay Example In 2011, the amount of uncut diamonds was 120 million carats; as compared to the 150 million carats in 2007. This decline is alarming and is an issue of concern that needs to be addressed. The impact of the dollar on the diamond market in India Based on the complicated and complex forms of uncertainties, one can conduct an analysis of the impact that the fluctuation of the dollar has had on the diamond market in the United States. Before the 1990s, the Forex system used to be fixed; however, after the 90s, the Indian government changed the system to a model based on floating rate. The purpose of the fixed rate system was to ensure that rupee fared well against other major world currencies such as Euro, Dollar, as well as GBP. Under the floating rate, the market forces can be regarded as the determinants of supply, as well as demand of the currency. In this case, there is a decline in the value of the currency when demand is less than its supply. When the supply is less than the deman d of the currency, there is an increase in the value of the currency. ... When there are more payments made using dollars as compared to the amount of foreign currency received, what results is a huge supply of the dollar in foreign markets. Consequently, the value of the dollar will fluctuate compared to other world currencies. This has affected the diamond industry in India, which exports some of its diamond products to the United States (Poros 2011, p.65). The other reason why the dollar has witnessed massive fluctuation is because of the huge amounts of U.S dollars in foreign markets such as India. This high amount of the currency has led to its fluctuation, thus affecting the diamond market in India, which uses the US dollar as one of the major currencies while conducting trade. The fluctuation in the value of the dollar also emanates from the huge gap created by the balance of payments deficit. Over time, the U.S dollar has weakened, thus resulting to a huge BOP deficit. The fluctuation in the value of the dollar has also resulted to the reduction in the Foreign Direct Investment in India. This has significantly affected the diamond industry in India since few people wish to invest in the country. The decline in FDI does not attract investors; rather it keeps them away, thus resulting to low investments and little trade in precious commodities such as diamond (Eskeland et al 2003, p.73). The fluctuation of the dollar has also had an impact on traders who either supply the commodity to India, or import it from India after processing. The diamond market in India has also been affected by the diamond industry in China. Whereas India uses the dollar as a primary currency, China does not highly depend on the dollar. As a result, the Indian

Monday, September 23, 2019

Sales Presentation Report Speech or Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Sales Report - Speech or Presentation Example From then on marketing has also been introduced to the academe and has since evolved to become the driving force companies usually rely on today. With the advent of the information age, marketing have drastically increased its contribution to the growth of the company. Thus, sales presentations have seen various improvements and different styles of prospecting, presentation and closing have been mixed up to provide a strong selling proposition. Aside from the technological improvements that revolutionized communication, marketers are now more informed since clients themselves have found the very potent use of websites for their products. Thus, sales representatives nowadays are more informed when they meet up with clients. However, it is important for them to note that their competitors likewise have basically the same preparation. Thus, it is important for the sales representatives to be able to clearly grasp the selling techniques that they will be using. As illustrated in the case , being SMART about the objective of the sales call is also key to making a successful sales presentation. Product: Major Oil, Inc Heating Oil: Supply and Service Prospecting Method: Cold Calling Prospect Company Description and Sales Call: The sales presentation will be a follow-up for a previous phone call that initially introduced the product, company and has set a meeting for formally presenting the products and services of Major Oil Inc and probably closing the deal. Thomas Automotive is a vehicle service and repair shop that has been in existence for about two and a half decades already. The business is owned by Mr. Ed Thomas and is a sole proprietorship. Initially, the business was known as Torringford Automotive and had an initial business address at 1795 East Main Street, Torrington and was there until the mid 90’s. After which, the business moved out of Torrington area to Main Street and likewise changed their business name to adeptly present the change as they are no longer in the area. Thomas Automotive stayed there for a little less than a decade and subsequently moved on to their current address. Being a sole proprietorship, Thomas Automotive do not advertise much but relies on customer feedbacks to spread the word of the quality of their work. Likewise, the business puts in a little extra by giving customers a ride to and from the shop and even picks up their vehicles for repairs so that those that are working need not worry about bringing their vehicles to the shop for repairs. Furthermore, Thomas Automotive ensures that the work they do substantiate their claim of quality through the retest they provide. Likewise, their business is also certified for emission repairs by the State of Connecticut. We pride ourselves on doing the little extras for our customers. We do very little actual advertising but have a large customer base due to all the word-of-mouth advertising by our other satisfied customers. We take our customers home within a t en-mile radius, pick them up also. We even pick up the vehicle at your place of business so we can repair it while you are at work. We are certified by the State of Connecticut for Emission Repairs. When we complete the required repairs we take it back for retest for our customers. Customer Profile: Business Name: Thomas Automotive â€Å"Service and Repair at a Price that’s Fair† Address: 54 Brook St. Torrington, CT 06790 Website: www.thomasautomotive.com Contact Person: Mr. Jason Odell, Sr. Buyer The

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Of Morality and Spirituality Essay Example for Free

Of Morality and Spirituality Essay The moral sacred Philippines started from a dream, and now that it continues to progress it can be one good evidence that as long as someone believes in an idea, it can be possible. As long as its aim is for the goodness of the citizens, it can be a reality. This concept does not want to create a world of perfection but rather a world of morality and spirituality. That world is where we can clearly distinguish the right ones from the bad. It is where we can not only think about ourselves but also the community, the government, and the nation. This dream can all be possible if we just go and believe that the land where we stand can be a better habitat of mankind. From Genesis 1:27, God created mankind in His own image. This verse proves that each of us is spiritual at heart. We just have to go and find the path through our hearts. We are created in His likeness which gives us the realization that all living things have something good in the inside. If we believe, make something to make this work, the moral sacred Philippines will make sense. A. WRITING AS A SOCIAL ACT The event connects with how writing can be a social act. In the said event, one does not only think about himself but also for the people around him. As for writing, a writer does not only write for him or for him to understand but also for his readers and audience. You write alone, but you always write for others. Readers matter. Once a writer sets his or her thoughts to any medium, whether paper, blog, status update, there is the potential for audience interaction. Ideas and creativity are created outside ourselves. Writers can never be more creative without the experiences and thoughts the people have. They continue to interact with people. Writing is a social act. Writers choose to see the beauty and brilliance of the world around them. Writing is nothing without the world and mind that surrounds them. B. WRITING AS A MORAL ACT Morality and spirituality is what the event focuses on. As for writing, writers do not only write everything that flows from their thinking, he must be careful. Something that anyone who writes words of any kind would do well to remember. Words have their moral consequences. The responsibility is particularly great for writers who deal with spiritual issues. Every word they write leaves its mark upon their soul and upon the souls of those who read their work. Their words may become sacraments, visible signs of an invisible grace, or they may turn to poison and ashes. It may signify the abyss or nothing at all. Writers must strive against mediocrity in one’s work, aiming always higher for lucidity of thought and beauty of expression with still being careful with the words they use. Every piece they make has an effect in this world. They are part of our moral conversation as a society. They weigh in. The creation of literature worthy not only its high artistic calling but of his stature as a creature created in the image and likeness of God.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Silkwood Essay Example for Free

Silkwood Essay Silkwood took a big risk when she decided to blow the whistle on Kerr-McGee in 1946 for health and safety violations. Silkwood was concerned about her and her coworkers’ health and safety as she witnessed various health and safety violation acts that management ignored. Whistle blowing can be very dangerous for the one that is blowing the whistle as witnessed by the mysterious death of Karen Silkwood on the night of November 13th. Up until her job with Kerr – McGee, Silkwood lived a normal life and didn’t do anything in her life to make her stand out. It wasn’t until her investigation began, that Silkwood was starting to become more noticeable. According to friends that were close to her, Silkwood became more and more involved in the investigation and wouldn’t let the investigation go until all evidence and facts had been reported. However, Silkwood’s evidence and findings never did make it to the appropriate people due to the mysterious car crash that led to her death. Officers and scene investigators never did find the manila envelope containing the evidence, but Silkwood’s death brought to light the seriousness of the investigation and eventually, the closing of the Kerr-McGee Cimarron plant where Silkwood was last employed. While there are many rewards to whistle blowing, there are also many risks to whistle blowing as well. One of the rewards of whistle blowing is that the laws or acts being violated will be corrected by the correct regulation agencies. Whistleblowers are even able to submit a confidential report online through National Whistleblowers Center website where attorneys review the information and give advice on the best ways to proceed with the investigation. There are also information and additional resources available for those who are thinking about blowing the whistle on their company. A risk of whistleblowing on the company can lead to alienation between the whistleblower and their employer, boss, and co-workers. Some may fear retaliation if seen helping those gain evidence against the company or organization practicing unethical practices. They may also lose their job by blowing the whistle and family and friends may also be affected by the act as well because of their relationship to the whistleblower. As employees, it is our responsibility to protect the company or organization values while at the same time, also following our own moral values as well. Every company and organization has their own morals and values that they established, but if an employee witnesses or comes across evidence that does not uphold those values, than the employee has a responsibility to report those unethical practices. Employees also have their own person moral values that they usually use as standards when finding a company or organization to work for. When dealing with unethical practices, an employee bases their decision to report the company against their own personal moral values. It is than the employee’s responsibility to make that tough decision on reporting their company’s unethical practices and risking everything or leaving it up to someone else to make that decision. References Karen Silkwood. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 05:47, Apr 28, 2013, from http://www. biography. com/people/karen-silkwood-9542402.

Friday, September 20, 2019

My Personal And Professional Development Education Essay

My Personal And Professional Development Education Essay In this essay I will critically evaluate my personal and professional development with relation to QTS standards for classroom management. Using current theories and research I will identify problems and put forward possible solutions to improve my future practice. This will be achieved through reflective practice, in which I will keep a journal of my progression and identify key areas for development. Using this record of my developing class management, I will critically evaluate my own progression. If acting is the art of stopping people coughing, teaching is the art of stopping them throwing things around (McManus 1995) During my first placement in school, I was able to experiment with a variety of teaching techniques for all aspects of teaching. Due to the type of school I was placed at, the key factor I had to address was classroom management. The school had extensive problems with pupil behaviour, therefore before any meaningful learning could take place classroom management had to be dealt with. By the end of the placement my tutor gave me some extremely positive comments about my progress in this area and advised that I must continue to focus on classroom management to achieve outstanding lesson observations in the future. She explained that once I no longer had to think about discipline in the classroom and it became more natural, I would then be able to spend more time on other aspects of teaching. The importance of behaviour management to all aspiring teachers has been highlighted by many theorists over the years, effective classroom management is essential to effective teaching (Capel et al , 2005). With this focus in mind I began my second placement with a strong motivation to develop my management techniques using all the resources available. This was an ideal area of development for me to use in my learning journal, where I could record my problems, try out new techniques and critically evaluate my progression. This would then provide me with a wealth of strong evidence to prove I had met the appropriate standards required to achieve Qualified Teaching Status (QTS). These standards, set by the government, cover the range of skills a teacher must have in order to teach satisfactory lessons. Several of these cover classroom management and through this assignment I will be able to asses how successfully I have achieved these standards. Before I can begin to evaluate my practice I first need to set a clear definition of classroom management and what it will encompass. A clear and straightforward definition is given by Wragg (1993) Class management is what teachers do to ensure that children engage in the task in hand, whatever that may be'. Although simplistic this is essentially what all teachers must address every lesson. Before any meaningful teaching can take place, students behaviour in the classroom must be acceptable for all pupils to be able to learn. However, this essential concept then opens up a wide variety of variables which affect a students behaviour in lessons. It is these aspects of behaviour management which I will focus on in my reflective practice. When studying classroom behaviour teachers of often talk about poor or bad behaviour shown by pupils but this can vary depending on the teachers point of view. Bad behaviour is therefore defined by the level of disruption caused to a childs learning. Lawrence (1984) is quoted, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦disruption amounted to anything which prevented the teacher from achieving worthwhile results with the pupils. Describing disruptive behaviour as, a general refusal to be taught, doing no work or refusal to obey'. Knowing what is bad behaviour then allows the teachers establish techniques to anticipate and reduce its occurrence. All student teachers hoping to develop their class management must accept the responsibility they have for all pupils behaviour. Many teachers are understandably reluctant to acknowledge that the reason for pupils misbehaviour may be found as often in their teaching as in the pupils inability or failure to learn (Charlton David, 1989). Therefore teachers must understand that it is not solely the child or their background that is to blame for misbehaving. The teachers actions and decisions are possibly the most important factor effecting a pupils behaviour in their class. Having this in mind, a trainee teacher should take a greater responsibility of their management techniques and focus on improvements. Effective classroom management is based on these basic principles; expressing authority, conveying enthusiasm, proactivity and preparation. (Bryson 1998). These four principles are the basic structure for establishing classroom management on which teachers can build their practice. However, developing these skills, especially as a student teacher, are notoriously complicated as they are often hard to practice. List of qualities for those working with troublesome children: teachers must be stable, compassionate, sensitive, intelligent, resilient, mature and physically fit. (Houghughi 1978) Behaviour management relies heavily on a teachers personality, mannerisms, acting ability and particulary confidence. Teaching skills are difficult to get a purchase on because they are dynamic rather then mechanistic in character (Eisner 1982). Yet there are many theorists who have developed techniques which can enhance and improve these skills. I will put into practice many of these theories durin g my placement and evaluate them in my reflective log. I will record the success or failure of these strategies and suggest ways in which they have enabled me to meet any QTS standards. In order to achieve this I must first establish an effective way to record and evaluate my classroom management using a reflective practice model. Although we all learn from experience, more and more experience does not guarantee more and more learning. We should not rely solely on our natural process of reflecting on experience, but actively seek ways to ensure that reflection itself become a habit. (Beaty 1997). Thus, to ensure progression is optimal a structured and focused method of reflection must be carried out by learners. During my time in placement B I will keep a journal describing my progress in improving classroom management during half a term. This will focus on one single year 8 class, who I have observed as having many behavioural issues. By recording the problems I faced and the successful and unsuccessful management techniques I used, I will have a detailed account of my teaching development. I will use this journal as a key source when relating classroom management theories to real life practice. This reflective procedure is essential for trainee teachers and is the key focus of this assignment. Dewey (1933) is acknowledged as a major instigator in the twentieth century of the concept of reflection, drawing on the ideas of many classical theologians such as Plato, Aristotle, Confucius and Buddha (Houston, 1988). Since then several models of reflection have been presented in the last thirty years. Gibbs (1988), John (2000), Atkins Murphy (1994) and Kolb (1984) have all produced differing models which offer different methods of reflection. David Kolb (1984) believed that learning occurs in a cycle in which learners engage in and then observe and reflect on experiences. The learner can then integrate reflections into their own theory, allowing them to estimate how to react in the future. This basic outline is a good structure on which to base my journal but a more detailed and specific model for reflection would be of greater use. Gibbss (1988) reflective cycle developed Kolbs theories but adapted them into a more user-friendly model (appendix 1). Gibbs model suggests the learner describes what happens, explains their feelings at the time and then evaluates the positives and negatives of the experience. From this information the practitioner can then analyse the situation and make conclusions about what needs to be changed and what should remain. This allows the learner to set action plans to suggest what could be done in a similar situation in the future. This is a very accessible method for reflection which offers the learners opportunity to reflect on the key aspects of their learning and then use this information to set realistic targets. Christopher Johns (2000) is more critical of Gibbss cycle quoting This might be useful for the novice reflective practitioner but remember, within a reflective perspective such structures are merely devices to help you reflect rather then impose a prescription of what ref lection is. Although I agree with Johns argument I believe I am still a novice reflective practitioner and so feel comfortable adopting Gibbs model. Johns (1994) model for structured reflection (MSR) can be used as a guide for analysis or reflection on an experience and would be useful for more complex decision making and analysis. MSR supports the need for the learner to work with a supervisor throughout their learning experience. He refers to this as guided reflection, and recommends that students use a structured diary. Platzer et al (1997) identify this as a strength of the model, as it is one of the few models of reflection that refers to the development of supervisor based reflections. Rolfe et al (2001) criticises the MSR, as it only responds to a situation, which has been resolved. It does not give enough flexibility for the practitioner to evolve their practice as the situation changes. However I will incorporate the need for a learner to work with a supervisor, such as my subject tutor, into my own reflective practice as it gives me an experienced perspective on my development (see LDJ). I will predominantly use Gibbss reflective cycle when evaluating my progression in classroom management but also incorporate Christopher Johns theory of supervisor supported reflection. I will organise it following Hollys (1989) Log Diary Journal (LDJ) pro forma to structure each entry of my reflections. This will allow me to clearly state my lesson information, objectives, activities and dates in one column labelled Log. The second column, headed Diary, will contain a description of what occurred, my feelings on what had happened and evaluations of this experience, i.e. one half of Gibbs cycle. The final column, labelled Journal, will contain the second half of the cycle, analysing situations, drawing conclusions and setting targets. This section will also contain the comments and suggestions made by my subject tutor and supervisor. This model of reflection should then give me a sufficient amount of information to make significant progress in the classroom. On arrival at Placement B I was given a timetable of the classes I would be teaching, giving me the opportunity to observe each class with their regular teacher over several weeks. Knowing the areas of development I needed to focus on during this placement I was aware that behaviour was going to be a key target. One group I was required to teach were a bottom set year 8 class. From the first lesson I observed with this group it was abundantly clear that the classroom management needed to be addressed. The class contained 18 pupils all with varying Special Educational Needs (SEN). These ranged from severe physical and mental disabilities to strong social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. This large array of barriers to learning meant the teacher had to differentiate each lesson in a very wide ranging way. Attainment levels were set comparatively high compared to children with similar learning difficulties and the class had not met their target grades as a group since joining th e school. However after talking to the head of science the reason for the weak performance seemed to be caused by the poor behaviour shown in the classroom. During three weeks of observing the group classroom behaviour was the worst I have ever seen (LDJ log 1). The majority of students left their seats and often ran around the class arguing or fighting with other pupils. Equipment was continually thrown around the room and work torn up or dropped on the floor and ignored. Many pupils refused to even take their coats off in the classroom. Around 4 or 5 students were behaving very well and concentrated on the work set by the teacher. However the rest were at this point so accustomed to spending each science lesson misbehaving that they did not seam to know that this was not how to behave in a lab. The reason for this poor behaviour was not simply caused by the pupils SEN and disabilities. Since beginning school a year and a half earlier the class have not had the same science teacher for more than a few months. The science department has had a lot of staff absences and so this class has had a lot of supply cover as their main teacher has been absent for 8 months. This lack of consistency has meant pupils have not yet learnt how to behave appropriately in a science lesson. This class therefore gave me the perfect opportunity to log my progression of classroom management in Placement B, with the hope of helping this class to begin some actual science learning. With this in mind I prepared for my first lesson with this group. Classroom management starts well before the students reach the classroom itself, involving careful preparation of both teaching and the room, alongside detailed planning. Dymoke Harrison (2008). After several weeks of observations I felt I was well prepared for my first lesson with 8E4. Yet after the first hours lesson I realised how unprepared I had been (Log 1). Although I had collected all the available data on each pupil and had observed the class with different supply teachers the behaviour was still far below what I had expected. One factor which I believe caused this was the time it took students to set up at the start of the session. Rutter et al (1979) reported that where teachers were waiting for classes and able to supervise their entry there was less school disorder. At the beginning of the first lesson I had trouble with the ICT equipment and so was unable to greet the students as they entered the room. I asked students to line up at the back of the room then sat studen ts in a random order. This did not set the tone of the lesson well as it took far too long to organise and students were bored and easily distracted. The start of a lesson is vital in establishing the pace for the rest of the session but also informs students on what they should expect from the new teacher. Wragg (1984) showed that experienced teachers, when compared with students, were more likely to greet the pupils, occupy a central position in the room, wait for silence before speaking, issue directions authoritatively and use eye contact. Therefore I must always ensure that I have prepared for the start of each lesson and I set the tone I want for the following sessions in terms of behaviour. Marland (1975) points out that a straightforward start to lessons, with something that occupies pupils at their desk, allows the teacher to cope with interruptions and late-comers. I will try wherever possible to prepare fully for lessons and anticipate any behavioural problems in my plann ing to stop any issues arising. We believe that the most effective way to manage behaviour problems is to prevent, or at lease minimise, their occurrence. Successful teachers were noted to be far more adept at preventing them. (Charlton David, 1989) The first activity I had planned with this class was to create a set of simple classroom rules which students will design and follow (LP1).This was based on the work of McManus (1995) One way of proceeding with classes that are already out offhand is to draw up jointly a short list of rules and make up some sort of bargain with the class. Suggesting, It is more effective to express the rules positively, so pupils know what they have to do rather then not do. I had seen this done before and felt is was suitable for this already disruptive class. However when I asked the class to suggest their own classroom rules they gave knowingly silly or inappropriate suggestions. I had anticipated this happening and so had my own pre prepared rules. However when evaluating my lesson I now realise I should not have given in as quickly as I did in providing the class with some rules. If I had pushed students to state their own rules they would have produced a much more powerful management tool. Givi ng the students ownership of rule setting allows the teacher to transfer extra responsibility on those breaking the rules as they had agreed on how they should behave in the class. I will therefore ensure pupils always decide their own classroom regulations, giving myself more ways to manage behaviour. Since the rules were set I have continually been reinforcing them at the beginning of each lesson. Bull and Solity (1987) note the importance of stressing to the class the natural consequences of keeping the rules, making it easier to withdraw the artificial system. This has been an area that my subject tutor suggested I need to improve (Log 1). Now that the classroom rules are known, when they are not followed by students I must show the consequences of pupils misbehaving. I had set out to use the whole school system of 2 warning then a room removal. However in the first few lessons I continued to give out warnings even when students should have been removed to a different class. In future I must be consistent with the schools discipline procedures and show to students I will follow through with my threats. After the unsuccessful first lesson I had decided to set up a reward system for those in the class who do behave well in lessons. This would then act as an incentive for the rest of the group to change their own behaviour for the chance to earn a reward (Log 2). Bull Solity (1987) suggest Token rewards such as points are also useful as immediate rewards because they can be given for different behaviours and are relatively easy to administer at the time they are earned. The raffle ticket system I set up did work very well. Though not successful enough to improve every childs behaviour instantly, a large section of the class were visibly motivated by the reward. I was able to use the incentive of gaining a prize to ensure students sat at their desks and attempted the work set. Over the following lessons I continued the raffle system and it became an increasingly powerful tool for classroom management, especially when students saw others who had behaved well collecting their prizes (Lo g 6). This raffle ticket system has also worked well with slightly older classes I have taught and I will continue to use it in the future. This is a very useful technique for effective behaviour management. In Log 3 I noted that By teaching a more interesting and exciting topic I believe pupils are more likely to be engaged in the lesson and behaviour will improve. My tutor had suggested in the previous lesson that the activities and success criteria set were not suitable for all the students in the class and that this could have been a reason for the poor behaviour. Gannaway (1984) found that pupils were less likely to co-operate in lessons, especially ones judged boring, if there was too much writing. With this in mind I planned lessons that I hoped would be more engaging to the students and therefore reduce behavioural issues. I spoke to the Head of Science in school who gave me permission to try a different subject topic with 8E4, as the planned scheme of work was very abstract and difficult to understand for students of this ability. Log 4 showed that students were interested as soon as they entered the room and did not want to be removed from the lesson. The lesson was maintained in short chunks to keep the pace up and reduce the amount of disruption. By choosing a subject (CSI) that was more exciting and accessible students behaviour did improve. Although this worked well for this class I will not have the luxury of picking my own scheme of work with other groups I teach. I therefore need to find ways of making the more boring and disengaging science topics more interesting for students. Studies have shown that pupils behave better and complete more work in rows. Further, pupils seated in the front and centre of the room are said to be more attentive. (McManus 1995) Log 3 highlighted the need for a more structured seating plan. Rather then using the random collection from the first lesson I sat down and drew up a more considered plan. I put students into groups of 3 or 4 of mixed ability and equal gender. Based on the advice from my tutor this would mean those who struggle academically would be supported by the brighter pupils. Rewards would be awarded to groups, meaning the pupils had to work together and learn how to co-operate. This was a major issue in the class as many of the pupils are violent and hostile towards each other (Log 1,2,3). The new seating arrangements worked a lot better then the previous plan. I had intentionally placed the 3 most disruptive pupils at the front and centre of the room where I could constantly watch their actions. I maintained thes e groups over the next lessons and most groups eventually started to work together cohesively. Even though they still do not work together harmoniously, when compared to the first two lessons the behaviour has vastly improved. After slowly building on the small steps of successful previous lessons Log 5 showed how it can all fall apart again. I attempted a practical experiment with the group which did not go as planned. As soon as the practical began, students began messing around and acting in an unsafe manner. 3 pupils had to be removed and I also ended the practical early for safety reasons. (Log 5) This experience highlighted to me that I need to develop a better awareness of what is occurring in my classrooms. Marland (1975) coined the term lighthouse effect in which successful teachers frequently scan the class and regularly make remarks to show they are missing nothing. I do this too infrequently in my lessons and it is an area that needs to be strengthened as I progress. After the lesson 5 disaster (Log 5) I planned a far more regimented practical for lesson 6 (LP6) based on classroom management theory. Partington and Hinchcliffe (1979) noted that effective classroom managers prepared effectively and extensively; as well as the content they planned for organisational matters such as movement, time and the task of particular jobs. With this in mind I structured the practical activity of lesson 6 extremely tightly. We completed the practical together as a group, doing one little step at a time. This meant all students knew exactly what to do and did not get confused or left behind. We did not move on to the next step until all students were ready. All behavioural issues could be dealt with much easier as students were keen to be involved and work at the same pace as the rest of the group. I was surprised at how well this structured approach worked and it will be the template for all future practicals. At the end of my first half term at Placement B I had a detailed review meeting with my subject tutor. I asked about my progress in terms of classroom management and the areas I need to improve. The main target he suggested was to look at my own body language and research some theories on this subject. Kohl (1986) gave a very fitting description of his teacher training. In one short week I went from informal Herb, with an open collar and sweater, to Mr Kohl with a suit and tie, a very controlled manner and an unnatural, stern look. My students had taught me that I had to establish my authority before I could teach them anything. I need to follow Kohls lead and adapt my presence and demeanour in the classroom. Rather then appearing fragile or weak I need to portray my authority over the students. This can be achieved not only through my voice or my threats but in my gestures, stance and position in the classroom. Goffman (1968) observed that impressions given off, as distinct from tho se deliberately given, are normally taken as a more accurate guide to a persons inner state. I must constantly be aware of the signals I am portraying to the class and try to ensure they are the signs I want to give to the room. Having experimented with several different classroom management techniques I have highlighted those which have improved my own practice and those which have not. Throughout these evaluations I have often felt that many strategies which I have observed or attempted often have the opposite effect. Teachers control strategies can sometimes exacerbate rather than alleviate situations (Cooper 1993). I do not necessarily believe that just because a class is well behaved or quiet that their learning is improved. Docking (1992) builds on this feeling, arguing The word control has mechanistic connotations, implying that teachers order their charges around without respecting their personhood. There is little room for discourse, listening to and trying to understand the voice of the pupil. The best way for pupils to learn is most often when they are arguing or discussing a subject. To an observer this may appear to be bad behaviour and poor classroom management. Yet it is only when students are allowed to apply their knowledge in discussions with others that effective learning can really take place. I therefore need to focus my attention not on ensuing a classroom is silent and all pupils follow my commands but that students are making as much progression as possible. Word Count 4, 323

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Such A Good Boy: How A Pampered Sons Greed Led To Murder: Summary Essay

Such A Good Boy: How A Pampered Son's Greed Led to Murder: Summary 18 year old Darren Huenemann of Saanich, British Columbia seemed to be a model student, friend, son and grandson. His mother Sharon called him the "perfect gentleman", as did most of the community around him. When his grandmother Doris made out her will in 1989, she made it so her daughter Sharon would receive half of her $4 million dollar estate, and Darren the other half. At the same time Sharon updated her will to include Darren as the beneficiary of her estate. If they ever came to harm and died, he would be a very rich young man. In the fall of 1989, Darren Huenemann decided that he wanted to be that very rich young man now. The book, Such A Good Boy: How A Pampered Son's Greed Led to Murder, written by Lisa Hobbs Birnie, starts out with a profile of the characters involved in the brutal tale. First is Doris Kryciak Leatherbarrow, born in Calder, Saskatchewan in 1920. Doris grew up in poverty, the oldest of seven children in the farming family. Doris was a good student when she went to school, but quit at fifteen and worked at school. She married George Artemenko, a shipyard worker, and became pregnant soon after. She gave birth to Sharon Doreen in March of 1943. This daughter never knew her father; George died in a fall at work three months after the birth of his child. This left Doris alone and knowing that she needed to do something to support her child. After the war, she landed a job with the newly formed Unemployment Services in the Vancouver area, where she raised enough money to complete one of her dreams: own her own dress shop. She married again to Rene Leatherbarrow, and expanded her dress shop to a large fashion warehouse with four stores. Next explained in the book is Sharon Doreen Leatherbarrow. She grew up under a mother that was always working, and a father that was usually away on business excursions. She learned how to manipulate her mother using guilt to receive what her young heart desired. She married three times: the second wedding yielding a son named Darren Charles, and the third wedding to Ralph Huenemann lasted until her death. Sharon usually lived off her mother's wealth, but was later put on the payroll by Doris when Doris needed assistance in her work.  ... ...nt of their power to deliver a jurisprudent sentence, one of justice and fairness. Also a power sentence will show that the youth, knowing exactly what they were doing, are not above the law in their rights. Huenemann's money and influence also was shown to be ineffective in his attempts to become above the law. Finally, this case gives an example of the motive of greed, purely and as evil as it gets. Conclusions This case shows that pampering a child, showering him with wealth, and flaunting the idea that "it will all be his someday", is a formula for disaster. The child does not have a chance to develop his own personality, therefore puts up "masks" and his real personality broods and grows to resent his elders. The book, Such A Good Boy: How A Pampered Son's Greed Led To Murder, written by Lisa Hobbs Birnie, is a well written case review, with very little bias or contrary opinion. It strictly relates the facts in almost every aspect. This would be a good book for a senior law class to read and relate their ideas on the evidence, the judgment, and the inside of the criminal mind of Darren Huenemann. Such A Good Boy: How A Pampered Sons Greed Led To Murder: Summary Essay Such A Good Boy: How A Pampered Son's Greed Led to Murder: Summary 18 year old Darren Huenemann of Saanich, British Columbia seemed to be a model student, friend, son and grandson. His mother Sharon called him the "perfect gentleman", as did most of the community around him. When his grandmother Doris made out her will in 1989, she made it so her daughter Sharon would receive half of her $4 million dollar estate, and Darren the other half. At the same time Sharon updated her will to include Darren as the beneficiary of her estate. If they ever came to harm and died, he would be a very rich young man. In the fall of 1989, Darren Huenemann decided that he wanted to be that very rich young man now. The book, Such A Good Boy: How A Pampered Son's Greed Led to Murder, written by Lisa Hobbs Birnie, starts out with a profile of the characters involved in the brutal tale. First is Doris Kryciak Leatherbarrow, born in Calder, Saskatchewan in 1920. Doris grew up in poverty, the oldest of seven children in the farming family. Doris was a good student when she went to school, but quit at fifteen and worked at school. She married George Artemenko, a shipyard worker, and became pregnant soon after. She gave birth to Sharon Doreen in March of 1943. This daughter never knew her father; George died in a fall at work three months after the birth of his child. This left Doris alone and knowing that she needed to do something to support her child. After the war, she landed a job with the newly formed Unemployment Services in the Vancouver area, where she raised enough money to complete one of her dreams: own her own dress shop. She married again to Rene Leatherbarrow, and expanded her dress shop to a large fashion warehouse with four stores. Next explained in the book is Sharon Doreen Leatherbarrow. She grew up under a mother that was always working, and a father that was usually away on business excursions. She learned how to manipulate her mother using guilt to receive what her young heart desired. She married three times: the second wedding yielding a son named Darren Charles, and the third wedding to Ralph Huenemann lasted until her death. Sharon usually lived off her mother's wealth, but was later put on the payroll by Doris when Doris needed assistance in her work.  ... ...nt of their power to deliver a jurisprudent sentence, one of justice and fairness. Also a power sentence will show that the youth, knowing exactly what they were doing, are not above the law in their rights. Huenemann's money and influence also was shown to be ineffective in his attempts to become above the law. Finally, this case gives an example of the motive of greed, purely and as evil as it gets. Conclusions This case shows that pampering a child, showering him with wealth, and flaunting the idea that "it will all be his someday", is a formula for disaster. The child does not have a chance to develop his own personality, therefore puts up "masks" and his real personality broods and grows to resent his elders. The book, Such A Good Boy: How A Pampered Son's Greed Led To Murder, written by Lisa Hobbs Birnie, is a well written case review, with very little bias or contrary opinion. It strictly relates the facts in almost every aspect. This would be a good book for a senior law class to read and relate their ideas on the evidence, the judgment, and the inside of the criminal mind of Darren Huenemann.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

The Red Badge of Courage :: essays research papers

Chapter 1 Analysis: Stephen Crane begins a new course of realism in The Red Badge of Courage. Many critics point to him as one of the first American authors of a modern style, and The Red Badge as a fine example of this. The novel is built on a coming-of-age theme, and many of its descriptive elements, such as its concentration on nature and character's actions, are in the realist style, most popularized in America by William Dean Howells and Frank Norris. However, Crane's style in this book has some slight differences from earlier styles. The narrator does not name the characters. In the first chapter, we discover the names of Henry and Jim only through their dialogue with other characters. The narrator only refers to them by descriptors†¹"the tall soldier" in Jim's case and, most importantly, "the young soldier" in Henry's case. Calling Henry "the youth" is the most important indicator that this novel is about his maturity. In this first chapter, he is unproven even to himself. Before enlisting, Henry's thoughts of war and battle are those of valiant struggles for life and death; the possibility of cowardice does not arise in his initial thoughts of battle. However, his mother's speech leaves much more room for interpreting his own future struggles. Rather than give him the advice of the Spartans of ancient Greece to "return carrying your shield or on top of it" (meaning either victorious or killed in combat, not having dropped it fleeing), his mother tells him that, when faced with a situation of kill or be killed, he has to do what he thinks is right, and only that. This is a critical moment in the plot of the book. Henry's actions when facing battle are unknown, even to him. His convictions were strong enough to join the army. Yet these were not because of patriotism or a will to simpl y fight; the narrator shows Henry to be fantasizing of heroic deeds instead. His mother's farewell speech shows that no one, not even Henry or the narrator, is sure what he will do when faced with battle. Even Jim's answers, while they calm Henry's fears, still are so vague that they do not lead to any concrete predictions for their future actions in battle. Yet Crane has written into this novel a way to tell certain characteristics even without explicit direction from the narrator†¹the use of color metaphors.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Achieve dramatic effect Essay

Act three is the boiling point of the crucible. How does Arthur Miller create tension and suspense to achieve dramatic effect?  The crucible was written in 1953 to highlight the atrocities of ‘McCarthyism’, the modern parallel to the Salem witch-hunts. Senator Joseph McCarthy was as determined to hunt out communists, as the Salem judges had been to hunt out witches. Like the Salem judges he sought to extract first confessions and then named of alleged associates. Refusal to denounce others in both communities could be punished as contempt of the committee or court therefore many were forced into self-preservation and started to blame others to save themselves. Most of the crucible is centered on the court and theocracy. It was these strong religious beliefs that made the ‘town’ of Salem, Massachusetts, particularly disrupted by the rumour of witchcraft. Salem was an intensely Puritan village whose religion frowned upon fun; Christmas festivities were forbidden and holidays only meant that they must focus even more time upon prayer and the church. This strict upbringing, without any fun, was partly to blame for the children’s ‘crying out’. The boredom they must have suffered led to their accusations so that they may be at the centre of attention. The puritan religion at that time throve on fear of the devil and had an obsession with sin and damnation. Therefore any other justification for the girls’ behaviour was seen as contempt of the court. It wasn’t until much later that mass-hysteria was considered and concluded to be the explanation if the girls’ behaviour. The cause of Mass-hysteria in this case was the group of children’s boredom; the reason for this is twofold. Firstly it led to dancing and ‘conjuring’ of spirits in the wood and secondly Abigail William’s boredom gave her a need for attention. Abigail’s accusing of several ‘witches’ caused Betty to believe she saw the Devil and a baseless belief, such as this, is often the cause of Mass-hysteria; it begins small with one person in hysteria (Abigail) but travels and inflicts more people and more people. Abigail Williams, a teenage girl, is the most powerful character in The Crucible. During the play she manages to gain control over all but one of the community. However, this person, John Proctor, subjected to Abigail’s power in the past as we find out later on and is the cause of much irony in act three. Abigail is Reverend Parris’ niece, his beliefs and his views of witchcraft change as the play progresses. He goes from being totally against witchcraft and tries in to avoid the subject to trying to convict many witches and those who try to stop the accusations in act three. I think that Parris does this is mainly for self-preservation. The first act of self-preservation in the play was made by Abigail, she accused Tituba, Parris’ slave. I think that she blamed Tituba because she saw it as a way out. I think that when Hale grabbed her up close and asked if she ‘called the Devil’ she replied ‘I never called him! Tituba, Tituba†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ because it released the pressure off of her. The pressure being released and put onto Tituba meant that Abigail was free and was not under questioning. The courts procedures were very strict in Salem. There were two judges, judge Hathorne and deputy-governor Danforth. Danforth strongly believes in the court and is stubborn in his beliefs; he thinks that people are scared of the court because they are guilty. He won’t listen to any reason that may lead him off his path. When Giles Corey’ proposes his deposition to save his wife (which said that Putnam manipulated the girls) is proposed in act three, Danforth sticks to the way he believes is right, the court. He says that he must go through the proper procedure and that he must ‘submit his evidence in proper affidavit’. Miller puts Giles’ deposition in the play for two reasons. I think that the first is to show how difficult it is to be heard and that they could not protest their innocence, this foreshadows the later events. I think the second reason is to create time for the judges to read it. This time creates tension as the audience are waiting to see what will happen with Mary Warren’s deposition, which we know about from act two. Arthur Miller builds up the tension in act three, he uses the tension of the conflict between Danforth, Parris and Hale near the begin and throughout. Theses are three men with different beliefs, rules and procedures, to achieve dramatic effects. He does this by using the conflict to give hope in the audience that the court will crumble.  Later on in act three Miller creates tension by putting Danforth on the spot. He does this by putting Proctor on the scene with his deposition of the evidence of Mary Warren. Again Miller creates tension because we already know from act one about Mary’s character. She is a shy, naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve and subservient girl who wanted to be honest from the start. In act one she says ‘Abby, we’ve got to tell. †¦ We must tell the truth, Abby!’ however Abigail’s strong, threatening behaviour stopped her from owning up, we wonder whether Abigail will do this again.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Responding To The Wii Essay

Executive summary: Given the current market scenario, Sony will have to fight on both fronts. The Wii has unlocked a new segment of the market. Sony should adapt its strategy to address this new market. But Sony must not lose sight of the big picture, to win the long term race for the â€Å"center of the living room†. Sony should leverage its relation with game developers to introduce simpler games for the casual gamer. It has to keep targeting the hardcore gamer and it must continue to provide additional value as a single device for gaming, streaming movies and television, internet surfing, video conferencing etc. How attractive does the video game industry look in late 2008? By 2008, the industry situation has become intense, with four of Porter’s five forces showing high threat (See Exhibit 1 in Appendix). However, the industry does hold the promise that the winner will occupy the â€Å"center of the living room† position, could potentially create a stranglehold on the entire entertainment industry and could reap profits. Therefore, the stakes in this battle are high. Why did Nintendo delay introducing its 16 bit video game system? Nintendo delayed introducing its 16 bit video game system in order to avoid cannibalizing sales of the 8-bit NES. But competitors came up with new value propositions to take away market share. For example Sega employed the Judo strategy to garner market by introducing its 16-bit version, Genesis, while Nintendo was concentrating on the 8-bit market. Sony, with its PlayStation and PlayStation 2 product lines took this game further. They expanded the target customer base to include grown-ups by creating games fit for all ages and combining forces with game developers. Did Sega use any elements of Judo Strategy? Sega effectively implemented Judo strategy by preventing its strong competitor Nintendo to come at it with full strength. Sega attacked the pieces of the play with various small steps. It started with leveraging the 16-bit opportunity, and setting lower prices for its Genesis to that of Super NES. Then it introduced its popular version of Sonic, the Hedgehog. It also hurt Nintendo by luring in third party developers with its low royalty strategy and built up twice the number of titles Nintendo had. In 3 years  Sega Genesis took over the market. How did PlayStation and PlayStation 2 win in their respective generations? With the industry becoming attractive, Sony entered the market with its 32-bit icon product ‘Play Station’ targeting a larger and mature audience. Sony, contrary to its competitors built up on the outsourcing strategy, by allowing developers more freedom, tools and income. Despite lagging on software titles, it was unstoppable in the hardware segment overpowering Sega. As leader of the industry, Sony launched its Play station 2 at 128-bit gearing up for the next revolution. Why did Microsoft get into the game? With the console games becoming attractive and multi capable compared to PC games, the PC giant Microsoft was concerned if the console platform takes over the PC platform. So it entered the video game console business with Xbox as a bet against Sony’s Play station. It was hoping to become successful in the video game business as it has been in the PC software business. Surprisingly the same recipes didn’t cook well with the developers in this segment and Sony took over the throne by 2005. How was Nintendo able to regain the lead in videogames? With Microsoft and Xbox as strong contenders in the field, Nintendo was gearing up for the launch of its next generation console. While Microsoft was trying to leverage the early release of Xbox 360, Sony was dealing with its internal technicalities. Both the competitors had incorporated superior technological features in to their products. While Xbox had Digital Amplification, Play station had the most powerful console. The technology prowess was so much that the products were HD-DVD and Blu-ray compatible and had online gaming features. On the other hand, Nintendo’s machine was less advanced across all features of processing, compatibility, sound and memory. However, Nintendo could made Wii special with its user friendliness and targeted a larger audience of not avid gamers. Its innovative motion sensitivity and customizable features helped Wii overtake its rivals by 2008. Despite its low performing hardware or performance, it was its reachability to the large customer segment that generated its value proposition. What should Sony do now? Sony should work with game developers to create simple games that target the Wii’s audience. However, Sony’s gaming console should still be high tech to maintain its hold on the hard core gamer. Sony should market the new PlayStation line as a value add product that is the one stop source for the entire family’s entertainment needs. This way, Sony can counter Wii’s threat while also staying in the long term race for the â€Å"center of the living room† position. This position is essential for thwarting Microsoft’s plan of creating a stranglehold on the entire entertainment industry by being the electronic platform of choice in the home.