History Dbq Essay

Despite the common English backgrounds, societies in the New England and Chesapeake regions of Colonial America had split off into two incredibly different cultures: A very religiously focused New England and the more economic-oriented Chesapeake. Because these regions were settled for different purposes, the development of these societies led to the distinctions between them. One of the major causes for emigration from England to North America was religious persecution. Religious tolerance in Britain for other Christian sects besides the Anglican church was virtually nonexistent, resulting in many members of other sects to seek religious haven in the colonies. The vast majority of immigrants coming to New England were followers of Puritanism who traveled to North America for strictly religious reasons. As shown by Document B, the first member listed (and therefore most prominent figure) on of one of the ships bound for New England was a minister, underlining the importance aspiring New Englanders placed on their Puritan beliefs. Consequently, the cities created by these pilgrims were built with Puritan customs in mind, establishing towns under strict guidelines conforming to things such as a religious town leader and how much real estate is distributed among the residents (Document D). Desire to achieve the ideal Puritan city stretched out across all of New England, as shown by Boston, Massachusetts who’s mayor John Winthrop wanted it to model the ideal Christian city, a â€Å"city upon a hill† that provided other Puritan towns a perfect example of what to be like (Document A). This overarching religious influence defined every aspect of New England society from blatantly patriarchal domestic life to the superstitious paranoia that led to the misguided hunting of witches. New England towns also put an emphasis on education, mostly so people could be able to read the bible. Harvard, in fact, was established to train members of the clergy rather than providing educations in philosophy and science. New England immigrants arrived in North America with religious intent, and so it was that their society was defined by their religious customs. Contrary to the pilgrims of New England, those who settled in the Chesapeake area colonized the region for more economic purposes. Many people who settled in the Chesapeake were down-on-their-luck English citizens living in swamps and slums hoping to stake it out in the New World, because it couldn’t be much worse than the conditions they faced back in England. Most received their tickets to America through indentured servitude, paying for their trip with a few years of free labor for a wealthy master. Document C is a roster of indentured servants bound for Virginia who are all set to work for the same master. Indentured servitude had long lasting effects on the colonies, the most impactful being Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676 (Document H). This uprising was caused former indentured servants who had no land or property of their own once their work contracts expired. Because the land westward was populated by Natives and therefore almost impossible to acquire, the dissenters focused against the rich and powerful members of the colonies. The successful uprising led to reforms such as work regulations explained in Document E, as well a shift away from indentured servitude and towards slavery of blacks. Other settlers besides indentured servants were aspiring traders and gold-hunters mentioned in Document F. While traders had little success early on and treasure hunters definitely didn’t find their fields of gold, they did help establish a more economic focus in the Chesapeake region. One major result of this was the development of a merchant class that wasn’t seen in New England. These merchants were responsible for the large amounts of overseas trade done with Europe and the West Indies that occurred in the Chesapeake region. However with this trade-based society came boom & bust economy cycles and an attack on Virginia by Dutch pirates in 1673 (Document G). Education wasn’t nearly as important as it was up North since most young people learned a trade rather than going to school and learning to read scripture. Settlers in the Chesapeake area arrived with the intent of economic success, creating a more labor-based culture that made religion take a backseat to things like trade and property. Whereas the New England part of colonial America was settled by Puritans looking to model their cities after their religious beliefs, the Chesapeake area was populated by people looking out for their economic interests. The simple differences in intentions for immigration proved to be the reason for the formation of a fundamentalist society and a trading society.

International accounting standard IAS Essay

We say Impairment has taken place when an asset’s carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount. Carrying amount is the amount at which an asset is recognized in the balance sheet after deducting accumulated depreciation and accumulated impairment loss. And recoverable amount is the higher of an asset’s fair value less costs to sell (sometimes called net selling price) & its value in use. Also the fair value is the amount obtainable from the sale of an asset in a bargained trasction between knowledgeable; willing party’s . on the other hand value in use is the discounted present of estimated future cash flows expected to arise from the continuing use of an asset and from its disposal at the end of its useful life. Impairment of goodwill involves two steps: 1) Screening step 2) Computation step Impairment is calculated at a reporting unit level. Impairment is calculated when the carrying Amount of the goodwill for a reporting unit exceeds its implied fair value. A reporting unit is an operating segment, or one level below an operating segment. The Goodwill for one reporting unit may be impaired, while the goodwill for other reporting units may or may not be impaired Calculation of goodwill for impairment involves two major steps: Step 1: Identify impairment by comparing the fair value of each reporting unit with its carrying amount including goodwill. Assign assets acquired and liabilities assumed to the various reporting units. Assign goodwill to the reporting units. Determine the fair values of the reporting units and of the assets and liabilities of those reporting units. If the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, there is potential goodwill impairment. The impairment is assumed to be due to the reporting unit’ goodwill since any impairment in the other assets of the reporting unit will already have been determined and adjusted for.. If the fair value of a reporting unit is more than its carrying amount, there is no impairment goodwill and Step 2 can be avoided. But where the result is vice versa step two can not be avoided a since goodwill impairment as taken place. Step 2: measuring the value for both tangible and intangible assets (impairment of goodwill) Step 2 is more complex than step1 because it requires that the fair market values of each of the identified tangible and intangible assets and liabilities of a reporting unit be estimated first before calculation takes place Value of Reporting Unit = Value of Identified Assets + Value of Goodwill = (Value of Reporting Unit- Value of Liabilities) = (Value of Identified Assets-Value of Liabilities) + Value of Goodwill = Fair Market Value of Equity = Fair Market Value of Net Assets + Fair Market Value of Implied Goodwill Summary and Conclusions Financial Accounting Standard 142 requires that goodwill emerging from acquisitions be tested to determine whether it has impaired or not because FAS 142 requires firms to effectively undertake a market test to see if Goodwill has been impaired. This test is completed in two steps as mentioned above. Reference: 1. International accounting standard IAS 36 2. Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) 142.

Tibbat Bangladesh

Introduction The art of advertising is a tough job. It is not very easy to impress the mind of the target audience and create a good perception of your product. Creating a good perception takes the job to whole new level where advertisers must make the audience learn about the product. This instigates an even harder job, to pursue the audience to make the decision in your favor. The job is even harder when you have to pursue the audience about a product which has failed once in the past. Such is our mission in reestablishing one of our favorite food brands on the past, ‘Nocilla’. Grupo Nutrexpa’ is the mother company of ‘Nocilla’. The company is headquartered in Barcelona, and it was set up in the 1940s with a view to produce food which was â€Å"tasty and highly nutritious†. Nutrexpa offers five kinds of ‘Nocilla’ with different colors and taste which are ‘Nocilla Bokawa(cake)’; ‘Nocilla Postres (a liquid chocol ate which is used on ice-cream,burgers etc)’; ‘Nocilla sticks (flour sticks& chocolate)’; ‘Nocilla Vasos (red, green, light blue, glass jars)’; ‘Nocilla Tarrinas (two chocolate flavor)’. Basically ‘Nocilla Original’ was marketed in Bangladesh.At the beginning of the 1990’s it was available in our local market though a food importing company of Bangladesh called ‘Sajeeb Corporation’. For the sake of our project we are assuming that Nocilla is being re launched in Bangladesh and the hard task of advertising about this forgotten product has been handed to an advertising company managed by us. Advertising Objectives Sales Objective: It is obvious that Nocilla’s sales in Bangladesh have declined drastically over the last few years. So our main and prime objective as the advertising agency is to boost the sales of Nocilla.Since there are very little mearns of communicating Nocilla to the consumers, we ca n use advertising which is a dominant force in the marketing mix for Nocilla. Communication Objective: As we are repositioning Nocilla with the concept of both Taste and Nutrition, we need to communicate this information to the appropriate target consumers. Through our advertising, we have to make sure the kids get the sense of taste and the parent's get the essence of Nutrition. Audience Analysis As per our analysis, our audiences are our target consumers for whom Nocilla would be reestablished.Kids are very fond of chocolate and would very cheerfully grab the oopportunity to change their traditional breakfast with something more chocolaty and tasty. Teenagers always look for different types of taste in their breakfast. They prefer a fast and easily makeable breakfast that would quickly set them free to get busy with their activities. Also they may prefer the taste whenever they would like to have quick snacks. Paren'ts always look to provide the necessary nutrition to their childr en. Nocilla provides hassle free and quick nutritious breakfast for them.This behavior is also applicable for people with a busy life style and always on the go. Segmentation To better attract our target audience our advertising agency has decided to break down our consumers into sub group of consumers that have ssimilar needs, desired product benefits and purchase behavior. We have decided to segment our consumers by dividing them into Demographic, Geographic and Psychographic segments. Demographic Segmentation: Our target consumers would be of the age between 6 to 25 years. They are mainly kids, teenagers and grownups of that specific age category who share a love for a chocolaty breakfast.We can also include the household of parent's who likes a nutritious breakfast for their kids. Geographic Segmentation: As for the quality Nocilla is a premium product with a premium price. So our main target location will be the city areas like Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet and other major city cen tered regions. Psychographic Segmentation: Our segmentation also depends on the life style of the consumers who would like a ready and fast breakfast as they lead a very busy life. Nocilla only requires a little amount of time to be spread on bread and to prepare. TargetingWe are targeting our consumers based on differentiated marketing. We are targeting kids, teenagers, and grownups. Again, our target segments include parent's and other persons with busy life styles. Positioning We will position Nocilla as ‘A tasty and nutritious breakfast’. One of the prime causes for the fall of the Nocilla brand was its excessive focus on the taste of the product. As consumers became more concerned over nutrition Nocilla began to lose consumers and thus Nocilla began to lose its brand image in Bangladesh. That’s why we are also focusing on the Nutrition factor as equally as taste.Creative Strategy Art Direction: The artistic attributes of the ad-campaign will mainly focus on the positioning concept- ‘A tasty and nutritious breakfast’. In our campaign, all the advertisements will be directed in such a way so that they represent a creative mixture of both factors- Tasty & Nutritious. Also all the ads will indirectly communicate the quick preparation factor. Production Values: For our advertisement campaign, production values plays a very important role in order to convince completely different type segments.Firstly, to attract the kids we have to use our audio and video options in such a way so that our advertisements provide a childish representation. Again to attract the parent's and grown-ups, our visual representation should be in communicative style. Now, to maintain these objectives, we have developed our advertisements accompanied with a proper mixture of communicative style and childish appearance. To create an appropriate ad-campaign for the re establishment of the brand Nocilla we will need the following components of the copy platf orm: ) The sales of Nocilla have drastically declined due to the excessive attention drawn towards the taste criteria, instead of illustrating it as an ideal breakfast spread. b) Our primary objective would be to include the nutrition and quick prepare ability of a Nocilla breakfast along with the taste criteria. c) Unlike before Nocilla would be packaged in different sizes of glass jars and its coloring will differ with the contents of jar. There will be 4 varieties of Nocilla to be marketed in Bangladesh. Its packaging will also contain the nutrition chart which will be easily readable by the consumers. ) The profile of the target audience will be verified from our studies of the audience analysis and their behaviors. e) After a careful study of the Bangladesh Market we have come to see that there is quite a few numbers of competitors of Nocilla in the market. One of the prime competitors of Nocilla was found to be ‘Nutkao’. Originated from Italy, this product has off ered to competitors’ different shapes and sizes of the product according to the family needs. The vvariety of the jars and the illustrations visualized emphasizes on it being a family food to be eaten during any time of the day.Another competitor ‘Cokokrem’ comes from Turkey. This product doesn’t have any vvariety in the market but did illustrate a great taste appeal of cocoa which is rare compared to the others. ‘Alpella Krem’,’Nutella’ ; ‘New Cream’ are also some of the competitors. The mother companies of these products are yet to be recognized. But the nutrition factors of these products do pose a threat to Nocilla. While we have seen Nocilla being priced at only Tk 120/70 based on available sizes, all the other competitors are priced above Tk 200.This suggests that Nocilla have done a good job in keeping the price at a check compared to its competitors. f) The key consumer benefits of Nocilla are- Its tasty, ità ¢â‚¬â„¢s nutritious, and it’s quick to prepare. g) Support for the consumer benefits: The organization is providing us 4 varieties of the Nocilla products which support our notion of it being tasty. Again we are providing a nutrition chart to support claim of Nocilla being nutritious. The traditional packaging of Nocilla with a plastic cap makes it very easy to use thus further supporting our claim. ) Our recommendation for the organization for the selling strategy will be to use a combination of pull and push strategies. They can provide the retailers with trade promotions to push demand of the product while our advertisement will hopefully create a demand among the retailer to store Nocilla on their shelves. i) As for selling style we will go for the soft selling style that mearns we will create an impression in consumer’s mind which will lead them in taking the decision of purchasing Nocilla.Through our ad campaign we will include various kinds of appeals which are- quality appeal, star appeal and definitely sensory appeal. Media Strategy Determining Geographic Scope: As we are reestablishing Nocilla and don’t want to waste our advertisers resources by transmitting our advertisements in areas where the products had limited or no demand. So we are concentrating our advertising efforts in cities like: Dhaka, Chittagong, and Sylhet. After a few months of operations, we will use BDI and CDI to evaluate our performance.Scheduling the message: As an advertising agency, we plan to determine the timing of our message when the people in the target audience are very much receptive to the medium we are intending to use. We have decided on the continuity of our message by adopting â€Å"pulsing†. As our target audience are more receptive towards our ads during the â€Å"early fringe† i. e. ; 4-7 p. m. and during â€Å"prime time† i. e. ; 8-11 p. m. The size, length and position of our ads will be determined as per the advertisi ng objectives: creative strategy, budget, and reach ; frequency requirement.In case of TV, we picked Channel i and NTV for running our TV commercials. For NTV, we have selected a total of 22 spots for running our ads with duration of 30 seconds. In Channel i, 6 spots have been selected for running the same 30 seconds advertisement. For print media, we have decided to put on a total of 75 insertions, with a combination of full size, 40col-inch, 24col-inch ; 18col-inch ads. Selecting the media: After analyzing the media audiences, media environments and the competitor’s media usages, we have decided that our â€Å"Media Mix† will consist of print media ; electronic media (television).We will also be doing other out-of-home advertisements. Calculating the cost efficiency: The ‘media mix’ will be selected by calculating the Cost per Thousand (CPM) of that particular media according to the data available from the company. Print Strategy We plan to utilize the p rint media by advertising our product in the newspapers only. Magazines are not appropriate according to us for our food product. Thus by advertising in the daily newspapers in our limited budget would be the most cost effective strategy to reestablish Nocilla.We are basically advertising in ‘The Daily Star’ and ‘The Daily Prothom-Alo’. After initial advertisements in these two popular print media we will move on to other newspapers after analyzing the effectiveness of the advertisements. The detailed planned budgeting strategy for utilization is provided in the Appendix section. Headlines, Body copy and Slogan Headlines: We will introduce various types of Headlines to attract our consumers at separate time periods. First, we will use ‘news headlines’ which will describe the new arrival of Nocilla.Again to represent the product quality we will use ‘benefit headlines’. These headlines will be presented to our audience time to time. One example of our headlines is- â€Å"The new taste of breakfast†. Body Copy: A very important characteristic of the advertisements is they all will consist ‘picture and caption copy’. The main purpose of doing this is to visually attract our target segments. Sometimes there will be pictures of Nocilla jars providing product information. And some other times images of kids will be introduced accompanied with concrete messages.Slogan: As we are reestablishing Nocilla, we will introduce a new slogan- â€Å"Wake Up, Boost Up and Break Out†. This new slogan is necessary to create a new brand image. This slogan has been developed in such a way so that it is stylish enough to attract kids and teenagers; and it is encouraging enough for the parent's and grown-ups. Television Advertising As for television advertising we will go only for cable channels- Channel I, NTV. This is mainly because our target market is not the mass market. Infact, we are targeting only t he city centered consumers.So, they can be easily reached using the cable channels. Our advertising type will be both participation and spot announcement. This campaign will involve buying ad spots for some particular programs and also purchasing segments of commercial times from the TV. Our planning for Television advertising will include measuring the TV audience using ‘program rating’; selecting time periods that is early fringe and prime time; understanding TV ad rates using the formula of CPP; placing TV ads based on availability and using special TV services that is provided time to time by the TV channels.

The Demand for Money Like Inflation Leading Essay

The Demand for Money Like Inflation Leading - Essay Example I keep my savings in JP Morgan Chase & Co. I find the bank extremely reliable and the staff very amicable and helpful. Depositing money and withdrawal of money can be done conveniently since the staff is always eager to provide their services. Moreover, I stay in New York where the bank has its headquarters. I also have equity shares and for trading purpose, I use the brokerage firm ‘Fidelity Investments’. I have chosen this firm after strong recommendations from several of my friends and colleagues. The firm is completely reliable for making equity trades. They charge reasonable commissions and fees which suit my need. This brokerage firm which is based in the city of Boston ranks in the â€Å"top five in nine out of 12 categories including equity trading tools, research tools and customer service†. The customer service is extremely good, and its research tools help me to make comparisons of four stocks at a time using up to 147 different traits. Since I am an on line customer, I get facilities like a quarter of my mutual funds and 6 per cent of my equity trade is free of commission. I use Allied Insurance for my personal insurance. I find the premium easily affordable. I have insured my car with the American Automobile Association for its lucrative premium. I have a low velocity of circulation which means I have more money than I normally spend. This is because I have the habit of keeping aside some portion of my salary as precautions like sudden emergencies. Since such events do not happen in most months, therefore I can keep my velocity of circulation low.

Answer two question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Answer two question - Essay Example In the pursuit of the church to bring back to the faith in Christianity, the religious institution has hired artists to create artworks that are filled with intense emotions. This can be seen on how one of the premier painters, Michelangelo Caravaggio used diagonal lines and painterly techniques, especially the chiaroscuro, to provide depth, emotions and sensuality in his paintings. One of the noticeable paintings is the Supper at Emmaus. In this case, there is a realistic portrayal of the narrative of the last supper, which is a clear diversion from the traditional linear perspective presentation. In the paintings, it can be seen that the image is taken as a complete whole. If one of the elements is taken away, it loses it the essence. Another common property of these artworks is to extend the artworks confinement beyond the canvas. This can be seen also in the way sculpture and architecture interacted to convey the intensity of emotions that totally redefined views on art. Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s work Esctasy of St. Theresa is one the groundbreaking artworks of the said period that shows a religious subject matter that was conveyed in a highly emotional composition. In this sculpture, the light shows the angel’s role as messenger by carrying an arrow to be used as a piercer for St. Theresa’s heart. Inasmuch, the suspended emotions of St. Theresa, in a state of ecstasy creates awe because of her reclining form and expression of an intense emotion as a response to the angel’s gestures. At the same time, the sculpture interacts with the architecture because it can be seen as an altar. It can be seen that flow or movement present in the artworks, together with the way they are situated posits intense emotionality. The traditional, religious images (having halos and other divine attributes) have been converted into

The Geography of Bliss Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

The Geography of Bliss - Essay Example The gross national happiness index like the one in use in Bhutan is the real measure of happiness. Qataris wealth still fails to make them happy. Strong moral character has influence of the relationship and trust that people accord to individuals. Trust has been shown by studies to influence and increase happiness. Equally, stunted moral character compromises trust and as such reduces the index of happiness. United States of America would fit me for happiness. The idea that home is the place where happiness is found resonates with my sanguine nature. Travelling through the diverse economic and social landscape, the America presents would suffice in defining and making me happy. The fact that people quickly return to their state of happiness in spite of circumstance and condition keeps them from despair. This is made possible by the adaptation that people use in dealing with sad occurrences and in using the painful occurrences to inspire happiness. Iceland ranks the highest in happiness even in winter. The reason behind their happiness is their belief system that it is better for many people to share in suffering as it reduces the burden than few people to suffer intensely. Likewise, their belief that failure presents an opportunity to do something different inspires risk-taking, which is fun (Rich,

Plagerism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Plagerism - Essay Example Since this sentence is not a direct quote, it would need to read as follows: But it is hard to know if a conflict of interest between doctors, researchers, and the drug company stockholders has tainted the results (Crossen, 1994). Although this next sentence is cited, it is cited incorrectly and, therefore, can be considered plagiarizing. The sentence â€Å"Yet the resulting information can be warped for five reasons: ending a study too soon, not publishing negative results, publishing results too early, skimming over or ignoring drawbacks, and â€Å"buffing† the results by showing them in the best light (Crossen, 1994, p. 167)† is cited incorrectly because much of the verbiage is copied exactly from the Crossen passage and should be in quotation marks in addition to the citation. A better phrasing would be: The data gathered can be skewed due to the premature end of a study, disregarding disadvantages, presenting results prematurely, excluding undesirable results, and misrepresenting findings (Crossen, 1994). Recognizing plagiarism is the key to avoiding it. Plagiarism means knowing when and how to cite information from an outside source. References Crossen, C. (1994). Tainted: The manipulation of fact in America.

Managing People Through Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Managing People Through Change - Essay Example However, employees cannot be expected to perform to the highest standard without competent management. Problems such as low employee morale, high turnover rates, and poor performance of job duties can result from inadequate people management. People management, which encompasses both formal performance evaluation and compensation strategies and informal leadership practices and techniques, is one of the determining factors in employee morale and the resulting work quality, as well as determining other factors such as workplace loyalty. While there are many approaches to leadership, from Goleman's basis of leadership in primal intelligence to Wren's group dynamics view (Goethals and Sorensen, 3), all hold in common that leadership is one of the most basic elements of successful people management. However, people management practices in isolation are not enough to ensure the success of the firm or even of the management practice - the ideals that are embodied by the people management practice must be embedded in the corporate culture in order for them to be successful. In essence, people management theory argues that if management implements a specified set of employment as well as work practices, it is going to lead to better performance (Boxall and Purcell 47-70). A lot of the practices such as teamwork, redesigned jobs, employee participation, teamwork as well as communication and information sharing - have been shown to improve performance, but not in a consistent manner (Appelbaum et al. 737-775). Although there are various stakeholders in an organization, the chief strategic goal of any business is higher financial performance or maximization of wealth for the shareholders (Becker and Huselid, 53-101). Financial performance of an organization depends to a large extent on effective operational performance. The operational performance of an organization is a function of people, process and technology. 2.0 Qualities of a Leader A leader influences others by his qualities, viz. confidence, communicative ability, awareness of his impact on others as well as perceptions about the situation and his subordinates. The effect of a leader's background experiences, his communication ability, self-awareness, confidence, his perceptions of subordinates, the situation and the self are shown below (Prasad, 2006, p. 264). SOCIAL VALUES ECONOMIC CONDITIONS LEADER STRUCTURE FOLLOWERS POLITICAL CONSIDERATIONS [Source: Taken from, Prasad LM, (2006) Organizational Behavior, Fig 26.1 p 287] All these factors interact together to determine the leader's ability to influence others. 3.0 Leadership Styles in People Management A fundamental question that needs to be addressed

The reason why celebrities famous 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The reason why celebrities famous 1 - Essay Example Previously, fame was only achieved by those from royal families like Prince Charles. Research also point out that, talent and heroism was also a way of achieving the top visibility. Captain Sully Sullenberger is one of the famous heroes admired globally for landing a plane safely on the river. Celebrities also become famous by regularly appearing in public. Talent and skills are to the main aspects that drive their fame to such people. Study reveals that such approach is known as attributed celebrity. Some of the people who have become famous using such approach are Paris Hilton. She has neither talent nor skills, but she is famous. They use social media, magazines and TV shows to spread any information about their life and so they become famous. Others who have been on the public eye earlier engage on activities that make them increase their visibility. David Beckham is a well-known celebrity who has increased his fame by participating on programs that make them more famous. However, some have tried to take shortcut or do something extraordinary to become famous. Study talks about a 6-year-old boy who was thought to have floated on air balloon. Later he was found inside the garage, the authorities realized it was makeup case to make the family famous. In conclusion, fame or attention is that entire human race is trying to achieve at all cost. In addition, the study reveals that previous aspects such as talent and skills are not the only ways of achieving fame. People have devised other ways such as gossiping on social

Elementary Education Essay Example for Free

Elementary Education Essay Thesis: Elementary teachers may not have highest income, but they have one of the most fulfilling careers. Introduction: When thinking back to elementary school, what most people remember the best, are the teachers they had along the way. Elementary teachers not only introduce their students to the basic concepts of core subjects, they also help pave the path to each student’s future success. While the income may not be the highest available, watching students develop a new skill or grow an appreciation for learning can be very rewarding. I. What is the role of an elementary school teacher? a. Elementary teachers play an important part in not only the intellectual development but also the social development of their students. What students learn at a young age can affect the way they see themselves, others, and the world later in life. b. Elementary teachers have the responsibility of introducing their students to the core subjects of mathematics, language, science, and social studies. II. Education, Training, and Certification c. The normal route to becoming a teacher involves receiving a bachelor’s degree from a teacher education program, then obtaining a license. Teachers in private schools are not required to be licensed. d. Each state honors its own individual certifications. However, The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards offers a voluntary national certification, which is also honored by each state. Having a National Boards certification usually results in a higher income. III. Salary and Employment e. Teaching salaries vary by state, experience level, and location. f. Elementary teachers hold about 1. 5 million jobs. Employment is projected to grow about as fast as average, increasing 7-13% from 2008 to 2018. Elementary Education: Shaping the Minds of the Future When thinking back to elementary school, what most people remember the best, are the teachers they had along the way. Elementary teachers not only introduce their students to the basic concepts of core subjects, they also help pave the path to each student’s future success. Education to become a teacher is long and tedious, and while the income may not be the highest available, watching students develop a new skill or grow an appreciation for learning can be very rewarding. Because there will always be a need for education, even with the recent budget cuts, teaching jobs will always have to be available somewhere. Elementary teachers play an important part in the intellectual development as well as the social development of their students. The education of young children can affect the way they view themselves, other people, and the world, and their success throughout life. Usually, one elementary teacher will teach several subjects to one class, of about 20 students. However, some will work in teams with other teachers, depending on the type of school (â€Å"Career Information: Elementary School Teachers. †). Teachers are faced with the responsibility of nurturing their students as well as their education. In the early years of elementary school, teachers introduce their students to the concepts of reading, writing, and counting. In the later years of elementary, teachers have the task of introducing the concepts of mathematics, language, science, and social studies. Teachers also have multiple behind-the-scenes duties. Teachers have the duty of creating daily lesson plans based on state requirements, assigning homework and making tests. They must keep records of grades made on homework assignments and tests. Teachers develop the materials that help students learn solving and reasoning. They also meet with parents of their students to discuss progress, lack of progress, and any discipline problems that may be occurring (Elementary School Teachers. ). The traditional education route to becoming an elementary teacher involves earning a bachelor’s degree from a teacher education program, and then earning a license. A teacher’s education program normally includes courses such as the general mathematics, physical science, social science, music, art, and literature, as well as prescribed professional education courses, such as psychology of learning, and teaching methods. Normally, 4-year school schools require students to wait until their sophomore year before applying for admission to teacher education programs. Teacher education programs also require students to perform a student-teaching internship. It is not required to graduate from an accredited teacher education program to become a teacher, but it will make fulfilling license requirements easier. After receiving a bachelor’s degree, one should obtain a license from a teacher education program. The State Board of Education or a licensure advisory committee grants licensure. Teachers earn their degree in five different categories: the early childhood grades (preschool through third grade), the elementary grades (grades one through six or eight), the middle grades (grade five through eight), a specific secondary subject, or a special subject, such as music. Teaching in private schools does not require a license. The requirements for regular licenses vary by state. Each state individually issues and honors their teaching licenses. However, The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards offers a national certification. All 50 states honor this certification, and in some cases, teachers will receive special benefits for this certification. These benefits can include higher salaries, and reimbursement for continuing education and certification fees (Teachers Kindergarten, Elementary, Middle, and Secondary. ). The salaries of teachers can vary by school location, teacher experience, and level of education. Public school teachers in elementary schools earn an average of $47,602. Private school teachers earn anywhere between $43,580 and $48,690. However, there are a few ways to increase a salary. Teachers have the option to teach summer school, sponsor or coach extra-curricular activities, or take on other extra duties at the school. Despite being on the lower end of income, teachers do have a non-monetary compensation of fulfillment, while watching their students develop new skills and learn new concepts (â€Å"Teacher Career Salary Expectations. †). Elementary teachers hold around 1. 5 million jobs. As well as affecting a teacher’s salary, the subjects and grade levels one is capable of teaching, and location can affect job opportunities. Jobs in inner cities and rural areas will be easier to find compared to the suburban districts. Minority teachers will be in higher demand because of an increase in minority enrollment, and the lack of minority teachers. Due to a greater public interest in education as well as better pay prospects, the supply of teachers is expected to grow, and employment is expected to grow as fast as average, increasing 7-13%, in the next six years (â€Å"Career Information: Elementary School Teachers. †). Teachers will always be able to find jobs due to the fact that there will always be a demand for learning. Elementary teachers make a huge impact on the lives of young children. Some teachers are remembered as role models; some are remembered as more of a parental figure, and some may just provide fond memories. Either way, they are an important part of each student’s life. They help their students develop important skills that will lead them to success in their future. Works Cited Career Information: Elementary School Teachers. Campus Explorer. 2012. Web. 15 Jan. 2012. http://www. campusexplorer. com/careers/DE17C02B/elementary-school-teachers/. Elementary School Teachers. Oklahoma Career Information Center. 2011. Web. 12 Jan. 2012. http://www. okcis. intocareers. org/info2. aspx? FileID=OccFileNum=100309TopicNum=0. Teachers Kindergarten, Elementary, Middle, and Secondary. U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 17 Dec. 2009. Web. 12 Jan. 2012. http://www. bls. gov/oco/ocos318. htm. Teaching Career Salary Expectations. EduDecisions. com. Web. 12 Jan. 2012. http://www. edudecisions. com/articles/teaching/salaries. php.

Final Group Project Outline

Final Group Project Outline Final Group Project Outline Overview Working in groups of no more than four (4) students initially, your task is to research any industry and describe the top 3-5 competitors in that field. You should compare their marketing strategies and how they relate to each other. Your team will prepare a report and a class presentation that describes the key aspects of the companies and the industry in which they operate. You are required to work in teams of four (4); however a group may fire a team member if all are in agreement that the firing is warranted. That team member must then join another team. Students who work individually will receive a lowered grade for the project unless individual work is approved by Professor in advance. Format of Paper 1. 10-12 typed pages, double-spaced in Times New Roman 12 point font. 1† margins on all sides 2. Visual materials do not count as a part of the 10-12 pages 3. Use the most current information available 4. Late or handwritten papers will not be accepted. Papers will be accepted before the deadline. 5. Use the MLA Style of documentation throughout. 6. An electronic copy (MS Word) of your paper must be submitted in addition to hard copy. Writing Advice Plagiarism will result in a grade of zero for the project and possible disciplinary action. There is no need to restate the questions above just answer them 3. Dont describe each of their products mention product lines major categories. 4. Dont editorialize. Back up everything with facts. Your opinion, while very important to me, is not appropriate in this type of writing assignment. 5. Dont assume that â€Å"most people know† or â€Å"as everyone knows† Be explicit and cite your sources. 6. Avoid a conversational tone. Write as if you are submitting the paper for review in a magazine or journal. 7. Avoid the use of the first person. (I, me, we, us, etc.) 8. Do not hand in photocopied content. Your words are most important. 9. Cite appropriately or you will be penalized. 10. Use page numbers 11. Pay attention to formatting in all drafts font size, typeface, bold, etc. Make it uniform. 12. Use bullets where necessary use tables when presenting numerical or comparative data 13. Use section headings as shown in the outline above. 14. Be mindful of words like dominate, win, conquer, etc. 15. Do not get too granular; talk about the company and its strategy, not the warrantees on dishwashers, etc. This is an analysis of a company, not a product or product line. The structure of your paper should explicitly follow the outline below Outline I. Executive summary (1 page) To be written last it should include parts of each of the sections below. II. The Industry (1-2 pages) Briefly describe the industry in which the company operates. Who are the main competitors? What is the current state of the industry? Is this company a top player in the marketplace? If so, how do they differentiate themselves? III. The Companies (4-6 pages) Company 1 Address each of the four Ps (Price, Product, Place, and Promotion) Briefly describe their major product/service lines but do not describe individual products unless they only have one or two of them. What is their competitive marketing strategy? What is the overall image of the company in your opinion? How does this fir with the image they are trying to project? Global/international marketing issues -are there any? What do they do overseas? Other are there any other important facts that should be mentioned? Company 2 Address each of the four Ps (Price, Product, Place, and Promotion) Briefly describe their major product/service lines but do not describe individual products unless they only have one or two of them. What is their competitive marketing strategy? What is the overall image of the company in your opinion? How does this fir with the image they are trying to project? Global/international marketing issues -are there any? What do they do overseas? Other are there any other important facts that should be mentioned? IV. Social Responsibility (1-2 pages) Describe the companys social responsibility program or policy if they have one. Are there any significant current or past ethical issues as it relates to marketing? Is this firm both socially responsible and ethical in your opinion? Why or why not? V. Conclusion  © Richard Hyland 2009 Final Group Project 1-5-10

The Components Of Attitude Education Essay

The Components Of Attitude Education Essay Attitude influences the way in which an individual behaves towards an object, institution, or a person. Our attitude towards a particular object may be influenced by our parents, school, teachers and society in which as an individual we live. According to Thurton (1929) attitude may also be defined as the sum total of mans inclination, feelings, threats and conviction about any specific topic. Karlinger (1973) holds that attitude is an integral part of personality to think, to feel, and perceive to behave towards a referent and cognitive object. Attitude is very important as it decides the behavior pattern of a person. Attitudes can be implicit and explicit. Implicit attitudes are unconscious, but still have an effect on our beliefs and behaviors. Explicit attitudes are those about which we are consciously aware of and they clearly influence our behaviors and beliefs. In the opinion of Bain (1927), an attitude is the relatively overt behavior of a person which affects his status. Jung (1921) defines attitude as a readiness of the psyche to act or react in a certain way. Components of Attitude Harrison (1976) has identified three components in attitude as under: Beliefs are what one considers desirable and undesirable. Attitudes are accompanied by emotions and influence each other. The individual displays his attitude through his action (behavior). However, Wenden (1991) proposed a broader definition of the concept attitude. He has introduced these terms with a little change, although the theme is almost the same. He says that the term attitude includes three components as Cognitive Affective Behavioral Cognitive component is made up of the beliefs and ideas or opinions about the object of the attitude. Rosenberg and Hovland (1969) suggest that cognitions include perceptions, concepts, and beliefs about the attitude object and these are usually expressed by verbal questions. Ajzen (1988) categorizes cognitive components into verbal and non-verbal responses. Cognitive responses of a verbal nature are expressions of beliefs about an attitude object. According to him, cognitive responses of a nonverbal kind are more difficult to assess, and the information they provide about attitudes is usually more indirect. Baker (1992) believes that the cognitive component involves thoughts and beliefs. Affective component refers to the feelings and emotions that one has towards an object, likes or dislikes, with or against. Ajzen (1988) believes that affective responses involve evaluations of, and feelings towards, the attitude object. Verbal affective responses can be expressions of admiration or disgust, appreciation or disdain. On the other hand, facial expressions and other bodily reactions are assumed to show nonverbal affective responses. Baker (1992) suggests that the affective component concerns feelings towards the target language, which may be love or hate of the language, a passion for the poetry of the target language, or an anxiety about learning it. Also, Hermann-Brennecke (2000) defines the affective component as a feeling-based evaluative component. The behavioral component refers to ones consisting actions or behavioral intentions towards the object. Rosenberg and Hovland (1969) evaluate the behavioral component towards a situation with regard to a persons overt actions or verbal statements concerning behavior. These components of attitude consist of a tendency of an individual to behave in a particular way towards and object. Only this component of attitude is visible as the other two can only be inferred. Kinds of Attitude There are three kinds of attitude; Positive Attitude is a kind of attitude that people are likely to act consistently with. Negative Attitude is a kind of attitude where people act inconsistently with. Neutral Attitude refers to a situation where people feel themselves reluctant to take any definite decision and find it difficult to make a choice either to go with something or not. With respect to positive attitude, people may become respective to the said attitude and tend to understand every situation which corresponds to it. On the other hand, with a negative attitude a persons act will not be consistent due to the distortion he wanted to accomplish. Attitude Formation Attitudes may be learned from the experiences we have. These include mostly mundane events such as being praised by our parents for expounding liberal attitudes, but also major life and world events. Â  The basic processes through which we learn attitudes remain the same throughout life, though as we grow older the attitudes we learn may be more complex, and the ones we already hold may become more resistant to change. Attitudes are learned from our experience of the social context around us. Research has indicated that there are several ways in which attitudes are acquired. One of the earliest agents of attitude formation is parents. Later on world experience, interaction with the outer world plays a significance role in the formation of attitude. Some of the psychological factors which play a vital role in attitude formation are discussed below: Operant conditioning. It involves voluntary responses. It is usually involve with the behavioral component of attitude. Behaviors tend to be repeated if they are reinforced. Similarly behaviors tend to be stopped when they are punished. Direct instruction. The adoption of attitudes is directly told by the parents, schools, community, friends, as well as the impact of religion etc. Social learning. It is based on modeling and observation. We observe others, if they are rewarded and receive appreciation for certain behaviors, we are reinforced and it is more likely, that we behave in the way to express this attitude. Rational analysis. It involves the careful weighing of evidence for, and against, a particular attitude. In other words it involves the careful observation of the evidence in order to take the right decision. Language Attitude Language attitudes are the feelings people have about their own language or the languages of others (Crystal, 1992). Language attitude is different from other general attitudes in the sense that they are specifically about language. It is normally considered that language attitudes are related to the language itself, its variety, its sound system, its semantic quality so on and so forth. In fact, the term language attitude is applied by sociolinguists today, includes the outlook and our affiliation towards the speakers of a particular languages. Fasold (1984) suggests that attitudes towards a language are often a reflection of attitudes towards members of various ethnic groups. Language attitudes are changing all the time because the economic situation of a country may change, for the better or the worse, and so produce a different language attitude among its speakers or potential speakers. The same changing language attitude goes for the choice of a foreign language where the niche and the needs determine the language status. In this respect, Calvet (2006) states: Human beings are not always able to choose their languages, their choice is determined first and foremost by the milieu in which they find themselves, by the languages that coexist in this niche and then by their needs, and very little by the typological situation other coexisting languages. Second Language-Learning Strategies All language learners use language learning strategies either consciously or unconsciously when processing new information and performing tasks in the language classroom. Since language classroom is like a problem-solving environment in which language learners are likely to face new input and difficult tasks given by their instructors, learners attempts to find the quickest or easiest way to do what is required, that is, using language learning strategies is inescapable. The term language learning strategy has been defined by many researchers. Wenden and Rubin (1987) define learning strategies as any sets of operations, steps, plans, routines used by the learner to facilitate the obtaining, storage, retrieval, and use of information. Richards and Platt (1992) state that learning strategies are intentional behavior and thoughts used by learners during learning so as to better help them understand, learn, or remember new information. Faerch Claus and Casper (1983) stress that a learning strategy is an attempt to develop linguistic and sociolinguistic competence in the target language. Classification of Language Learning Strategies by OMalley OMalley (1985) divides language learning strategies into three main subcategories Metacognitive strategies. It can be stated that metacognitive is a term to express executive function, strategies which require planning for learning, thinking about the learning process as it is taking place, monitoring of ones production or comprehension, and evaluating learning after an activity is completed. Among the main metacognitive strategies, it is possible to include advance organizers, directed attention, selective attention, self-management, functional planning, self-monitoring, delayed production, self-evaluation. Cognitive strategies. Cognitive strategies are more limited to specific learning tasks and they involve more direct manipulation of the learning material itself. Repetition, resourcing, translation, grouping, note taking, deduction, recombination, imagery, auditory representation, key word, contextualization, elaboration, transfer, inference are among the most important cognitive strategies. Socioaffective strategies. As to the socio affective strategies, it can be stated that they are related with social-mediating activity and transacting with others. Cooperation and question for clarification are the main socioaffective strategies (Brown 1987). Attitude and Motivation in L2 Learning In the field of language attitudes, the term attitude and motivation are closely connected and related (Gardner, 1985). He believes that languages involve the acquisition of skills or behavior patterns which are characteristic of another cultural community. He discusses that the relative degree of success in second language acquisition depends, to a certain extent, on the individuals attitude towards the other community as well as the beliefs in the community, which are relevant to the language learning process. He believes that the acquisition of a second language is a long and tough task so that any concept of motivation must include in it an attitudinal foundation to sustain the motivation. He proposes that attitudes play a role in language learning through their influence on motivation. Educators accept that students have individual learning styles and vary in their attitudes towards learning in general (Deci, Flaste 1995). Two major clusters of motivation have been introduced by Gardner and Lambert (1972). Integrative Motivation Instrumental Motivation When students want to learn a language to become part of a speech community (integrate). People who immigrate to new countries are some examples of people who may want to identify with the community around them. An important aspect of this form of language learning is using language for social interaction. This form of motivation is thought to produce success in language learners. Learners may make efforts to learn an L2 for some functional reason; to pass the examination to get a better job, or to get a place at university. In some learner context an instrumental motivation seems to be the major force determining success in L2 learning. For example, in settings where students are motivated to learn an L2 because it opens the educational and economic opportunities for them (Ellis, 1997). . Starks Paltridge (1996) mention that learning a language is closely related to the attitudes towards the language. Karahan (2007) suggests that positive language attitude let learner have positive orientation towards learning English. As such, attitudes may play a very crucial role in language learning as they would appear to influence students success directly. Ellis (2000) mentions that positive attitudes towards the L2 and its speakers can be expected to enhance learning while negative attitudes impede it. So, attitudes have an impact on the level of L2 proficiency achieved by individual learners. The learners with positive attitudes, who experience success, will have these attitudes reinforced. Similarly, learners negative attitude may be strengthened by lack of success. Holmes (1992) states that people develop attitudes towards languages which reflect their views about those who speak the languages, and the contexts and functions with which they are associated. Hermann-Brennecke (2000) points out the relationship between language and attitude language does not consist only of forms, patterns and rules but is simultaneously bound up with the social, subjective and objective world, since it also carries the attitudes, habits and cultural characteristics of its speakers. The Status of English in Pakistan In Pakistani community where different languages co-exist, language attitudes play an important role in the lives of the users of these languages. Today there are more non-native than native users of English and English has become a world language. English language enjoys a high status in Pakistan as it is the language of education, law, science, technology, Government and a lingua franca among the provinces. It has become a status symbol, a refine medium of communication. English in Pakistan is used as an official and a second language. It is spoken and used by a relatively small but extremely influential portion of countrys population in the domain of government administration, law, the military, the higher education, commerce and mass media (Baumgardner 1993). According to Ghani (2003) English in Pakistan serves as a gateway to success, to further education and to white collar jobs. It is the language of higher education and wider education and not the home language of the population except in the upper strata of society where it is spoken as a status symbol. Socially, English adopted as a second language has had a significant impact both economically and educationally. It continues to play an important role in the countrys commercial and industrial development and outside the government sector. Attitude of Pakistani Students towards Learning English Language policies have frequently failed in Pakistan where students attitudes to English language learning and use are mainly neglected. It is, therefore, important to study attitudes of students because if the learners have unfavorable attitudes to a target language, language policy implementation is unlikely to be successful (Baker,1992). Shahid Siddiqui (2007) discusses the present scenario in Pakistan and states that every student up to Intermediate level has to study English as compulsory subject. He further states that there are a large number of students who question the very existence of English as a compulsory subject. He claims that most of the students who belong to the rural background are not motivated to learn English. In Many cases the parents are not educated and cannot appreciate the purpose of learning English. As a result the students feel that English is perhaps the privilege of the elitist class and only the bright students can acquire it. There is a small group of students who realize the importance of English as it is a passport to employment. Most of the students are willing to learn English just to get degrees instead of attempting to learn the language skills. As a result, they spend most of their time in rote memorization which is considered the best way of passing the examination. Rahman (1999), in his survey of students attitudes towards learning English has found that almost all the students, including the deeni madrassahs want to learn English. However, it seems that the reason for learning English is instrumental for them. Factors Affecting Attitude towards Learning English There are certain factors which can be attributed as to affect the attitude of students towards learning English. Role of Parents. Parents play an important role in the education of their children. Their involvement and encouragement can help a child excel. Alberta Education encourages parents to take an active role in the education of their children and provides resources to support their involvement. Parents are the major socialization agents who play a vital role in shaping childrens attitudes towards ethnic groups and language learning. Parents can also be actively involved in the learning process and promote success by encouraging children to study the foreign language, monitor their performance, correct mistakes, etc. On the other hand, if the parents are not literate in the second language, their children remain deprived in terms of the availability of interaction in a second language at home. Role of Personality Traits in L2 Learning. Personality is considered a very important category of individual differences since the individual is often judged depending on her/his personality. It has been frequently observed that different learners attain highly different levels of L2 proficiency even though the circumstances in which these learners acquire a target language are almost identical. This inter individual variation can be accounted for by learner-internal factors. Extroversion/Introversion. Extroversion and introversion are personality characteristics that can influence language learning in a positive or negative way depending on the measured aspect. It is believed that extroverts, who are sociable and open to other people, are more successful in learning languages than introverts, because they have more contact with L2. On the other hand, well-organized and serious introverts are seen as better learners as far as the systematic study is concerned. Anxiety. Krashen (1985) maintained that anxiety inhibits the learners ability to process incoming language. An interaction is often found among anxiety, task difficulty, and ability, which interferes at the input, processing, retrieval, and at the output level. If anxiety impairs cognitive function, students who are anxious may learn less and also may not be able to demonstrate what they have learned. Therefore, they may experience even more failure, which in turn raise their anexity level. Age. Age has often been considered a major, if not the primary, factor determining success in learning a second or foreign language. Children are generally considered capable of acquiring a new language rapidly and with little effort, whereas adults are believed to be doomed to failure. Although older learners are indeed less likely than young children to master an L2, a close examination of studies relating age to language acquisition reveals that age differences reflect differences in the situation of learning rather than in capacity to learn. They do not demonstrate any constraint on the possibility that adults can become highly proficient, even native like, speakers of L2 (TODD, Marshall 2000). Degree of Instrumentality vs. Integration. It is supposed that the degree of instrumentality is also a an important factor whicvh effect the process of L2 learning. When the learners are motivated to learn a second language for utilitarian purpose i.e, to get a good job the level of success is supposed to be higher as compared to those who learn a second language for integrative purpose. According to Gardner and Lambart (1972 ) when a language is learnt for utilitarian purpose , the success in second language is supposed to be lower than if it is learnt for the integrative purpose but Meenakshi Verma states that this claim seems to be doubtful as the instrumentally motivated students are effectively learning English. The reason seems to be that the instrumental motivation works as a force to get a good job. Role of Teacher in L2 Learning. The role of teacher in affecting the attitudes of students cannot be falsified. A teacher plays a vital role for the students. He can serve as a facilitator, a guide, a fellow traveler, an advisor etc. If a teacher does not provide sufficient exposure to the target language, does not motivate the students, or does not provide them an opportunity to communicate, such teacher proves himself a threat for students. In such circumstances, if the student is asked to interact, the threat of teacher may hinder students progress. As Dornyei (2001) notes, teacher skills in motivating learners should be seen as central to teaching effectiveness. Students need both ample opportunities to learn and steady encouragement and support of their learning efforts. Because such motivation is unlikely to develop in a chaotic classroom, it is important that the teacher organize and manage the classroom as an effective learning environment. Furthermore, because anxious students are unlikely to develop motivation to learn, it is important that learning occurs within a relaxed and supportive atmosphere (Good and Brophy, 1994). In short, attitude is the sum total of a mans instinctions and feelings, prejudice or bias, preconceived notions, fears threats and convictions about any specified topic (Gardner, 1980). It can be described in other words as a mirror through which the inner emotions, feelings, beliefs, liking, disliking can be depicted. As these are the inner as well as the overt behaviors of individuals, they have a strong impact on decision making and finding the way for further progress. In the same perspective, an attitude towards learning a language depicts the way in which the learner feels about second language. It highlights the beliefs, in relation to the language which is being learnt. An attitude can be influenced by parents, teachers as well as by the society including the religion. Our affiliations, our interest as well as our purpose behind learning L2, all play a vital role in forming attitude towards learning a language. Having a review of the related literature, it may be concluded that these factors have a strong influence on the beliefs, liking and disliking of students and have an impact on their overall achievement in the second language learning. Rationale of the Study This study aims to examine the students attitude towards learning English. It focuses on the relationship between students attitude and their achievements in English language. In the light of this study, it is possible to put forward those factors like students attitude towards teachers, curriculum, and teachers methodologies that can be the causes of students low achievements in exams or their disinterest in the language learning. This study will show students positive or negative attitude towards learning English and their proficiency in it. It will take into account students experience and motivation provided by the teachers. As the aim of this study is to investigate the students attitude towards learning English language, it will show that either students want to learn English for integrative or for instrumental purpose. In short, this study is designed to highlight the attitude of male and female students and also to investigate the difference between the attitude of male and female students towards learning English.

A Comparison of The Grapes of Wrath and Anthem Essay -- comparison com

Comparing The Grapes of Wrath and Anthem      Ã‚  Ã‚   Two great intellectuals of the early twentieth century wrote works of fiction that have become classics; they espoused polar-opposite views, however, of how society best functions. Their battle between communalism, as pictured in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, and individualism, as portrayed in Ayn Rand's Anthem, was played out in their novels, and still continues to this day. Based on Ayn Rand's book Anthem, Rand would definitely believe that there is a greater danger involved in communalism than in individualism. The book offers a vision of a distant retrograde future in which the candle is the newest invention; individualism has been completely suppressed; and one of the most commonly used words today, "I," is completely unheard of. The book celebrates the heroism of an individual - the main character, Equality 7-2521 - in his fight to promote individual achievement. Once banished for his individualistic beliefs, he and his girl, Liberty 5-3000, discover the wonders of human freedom and the word "I." With his newfound gift, Equality 7-2521 pledges to return to the civilization and destroy the oppression of the collective spirit, and liberate humanity into "a world in which each man will be free to exist for his own sake." It was mainly written as a response to the widening acceptance of philosophies of totalitarian governments, but also to the belief of sacrificing individual liberties for the public good, ever-present during the "Red Scare." In place of these ideas, Rand developed her theory of "Objectivism," which celebrates reason, capitalism, and individuality. Rand expresses these beliefs throughout the entirety of the book by showi... ... has to be both. Also, it is good to sacrifice a little bit for the greater good, but you can't sacrifice as much as you would in communalism or as little as in individualism. For example, the sacrificing of civil liberties during the now-present "War on Terrorism" is becoming too great of a sacrifice; also, in the case of Enron, they didn't sacrifice enough, and the result was devastating to many people. Ayn Rand and John Steinbeck, from the perspective of the very early twentieth century, have set forth in their novels opposing views that continue to be debated in the twenty-first century. Based on current events, it seems highly unlikely that the argument over Individualism and Collectivism will be resolved soon, if ever. Sources Rand, Ayn   Anthem New York: Signet 1961. Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin Books, 1978.

Romania Essay -- Sociology, Romanian Culture

Romanian Culture Introduction Culture can be defined as the way of life associated with a community or a group of people, including their beliefs, traditions, rituals, art, behavior, and thoughts. It describes the â€Å"shared patterns of belief, feeling, and adaptation, which people carry in their minds† (Storey 45). Thus, culture can be conceptualized as an organized set of ideas, habits, as well as conditioned responses shared by members of a given society. This paper discusses the concept of culture by focusing on the Romanian culture. The physical geography of Romania, its weather pattern, contributions and civil considerations will also be discussed by evaluating the factors of ASCOPE. Characteristics that Define Culture A typical culture has the following characteristics. Firstly, culture may be learned and acquired over time (Storey 56). The various beliefs, values, or traditions shared by the population can only be considered cultural, if they can be learned and shared. Culture can be learned or acquired through imitation, indoctrination, and conditioning. Secondly, culture may be transmitted in the society over time. This means that it must be passed on to future generations through communication and understanding. Thirdly, culture is a social phenomenon (Storey 61). It may be normally developed through the interaction of individuals within a large group, such as a society. Fourthly, culture can be developed through ideology. Ideas and symbols are indispensable tools that may be used to give meaning to individuals’ experiences and their environment in various cultures. Thus, individuals tend to perceive their world in accordance with the stand-point of their culture. Fifthly, culture faci litates the satisfaction of hu... ...omanian. The other common language is Hungarian, which is spoken by seven percent of the population. About 1.5 percent of the population speaks German and Romanian. Conclusion From the above discussion, culture can be described as an organized set of ideas, habits, as well as conditioned responses that are shared by members of a given society. Every community or country has a culture that is unique to it. The Romanian culture is characterized by rich tradition, ethnical artifacts, and folklore (Brace 24). The interactions between Romanians and the tribes that invaded the region helped in developing and shaping the Romanian culture. Despite the effect of such interactions, the main elements of Romanian culture, such as traditions and folklore should be preserved. Today, young Romanians, especially those living in the cities, tend to adopt the western lifestyle.

Valuing Project Achieve

Introduction After years as a teacher and principal frustrated by the inability to effectively track school and student progress, Stacey Boyd and HBS classmate Mandy Lee founded Project Achieve, an information management system for schools. In a quickly changing industry with fast-moving competitors, Project Achieve aimed to use leading-edge technology to reduce the workload of teachers and administrators while simultaneously keeping parents and students aware of performance. In an attempt to raise capital from an array of investors, Boyd needed to assess the firm’s value before moving forward. Project Achieve’s Competitive Advantage_ Project Achieve hopes to differentiate itself from its competitors via its emphasis on a completely web-based product and its founder’s knowledge of schools and teachers, its two main competitive advantages. As the first mover amongst entirely web-based products, Project Achieve hopes to gain significant market share before imitatio ns of its products appear. Being entirely web-based, the system was created in a standardized manner to allow numerous schools to have the capability to use the system and get support simultaneously. In short, the firm’s products are especially scalable. The company will also collect tremendous amounts of information on students, creating yet another potential revenue stream from advertisers and content providers. Potentially, Project Achieve could evolve into the nerve center for schools. With high switching costs, such a position could be attractive to content providers and other potential acquirers. Compared to NCS’s SASI and ABACUS, Project Achieve has a more integrated web-based design and most importantly, is cheaper. Additionally, Project Achieve features an easier template and user-friendly interface compared to similar systems like IMSeries. With the potential to be used by administrators, teachers, parents, and students, Project Achieve could possibly become the platform for distance learning and communication among the aforementioned parties. This partly rests upon Boyd’s ability to gauge the technology needs in academia. Luckily, Boyd’s knowledge of the space is one of the firm’s competitive advantages. Unfortunately, the company’s technological advantages will probably be short-lived after the product hits the market, since competitors are likely to imitate Project Achieve and also move to ntirely web-based products. Additionally, the firm’s marketing strategy depends heavily on the support of governors, but it is questionable whether the firm has the necessary lobbying resources to gain their support. We also question the firm’s ability to entice schools to buy its fee-based program without a sales force. Comparable Company Analysis Based on Exhibit 3 from the case, Project Achieve has nine public companies that can be indentified as comparable. Project Achieve’s closest comparable companies are Click2learn. com, Learn2. com, and Vcampus. These companies are most similar to Project Achieve in that they are all primarily online learning and training courseware. In addition, these three companies are relatively new in the marketplace with the oldest company, Learn2. com, going public mid-year 1994. Finally, these three companies have little to no debt, similar to Project Achieve’s reliance on internal funding. Boyd can use her research on comparable companies in her valuation of Project Achieve to calculate Project Achieve’s beta. The comparable companies could also be used in a multiples-based valuation analysis. Unfortunately we don’t have a complete set of data for each firm’s number of subscribers, otherwise we could have done a valuation based on value per subscriber. _Project Achieve’s Discount Rate_ Boyd should use a discount rate of 19. 0% in her valuation of Project Achieve. This rate was determined using Achieve’s three most comparable companies, Click2learn. com, Learn2. com, and Vcampus. These comparables’ equity betas were determined based on the movement of the market and company returns since their inception. We unlevered these betas and took the median to estimate an industry beta. We assumed an asset beta of 1. 15 (the median asset beta of the three comparable companies) and a debt beta of 0 (with no interest bearing debt) for Project Achieve. Using the 30-year treasury rate (5. 94%) as the risk-free rate because of Project Achieve’s expected life and a historical 7. 0% market risk premium, we calculated Project Achieve’s discount rate at 14. 0%. This discount rate values Achieve as a public company, comparable to its public counterparts. As a non-public start-up, however, Project Achieve is far more risky than the more established comparables discussed above. Thus, we added a 5% start-up risk premium to reach an appropriate 19% discount rate for the valuation of Project Achieve. (See Exhibit #1) Valuing Project Achieve In order to forecast the value provided by each customer type to Project Achieve, we must first identify the breakdown of customers based on the probabilities given in the case, and then forecast the cash flows associated with each type of customer. To determine the probability of a generic targeted school falling into any customer category, we created a decision tree. Exhibit #2) Per our analysis, there are five end user states – perpetual Achieve Express users, two-year users of Achieve Express, perpetual users of Achieve Express and Achieve Logic, two-year users of Achieve Express and Achieve Logic, and targeted schools that didn’t respond – all with varying probabilities. Now armed with the percentage breakdown of customers expected for Project Achieve, to determine the value of each customer we mus t forecast the cash flows associated with each type of customer. Exhibit #3) All of the costs and revenues associated with each type of customer are detailed in Exhibit #3. After calculating a WACC of 19. 00% and forecasting cash flows for each type of customer, it is easy to find the net present value of each customer. Not surprisingly, two-year Express users are the only loss makers for the firm, with a value of -$386. 63 per two-year Express user. Perpetual Express users, two-year Logic users, and perpetual Logic users are each worth $1,315. 79, $15,588. 16, and $44,659. 4 respectively. (Exhibit #3) Now that we have calculated the value per customer for all of our customer classifications (Exhibit #3), we can apply the probabilities found in our decision tree (Exhibit #2) to find the overall value per targeted customer. Doing so, we find that each targeted customer has a value of $5,102. 49. (Exhibit #4) Going one step farther, we matched the value per targeted customer with the forecasted number of customers targeted to find the total value of all of Project Achieve’s targeted customers. Discounted at WACC (19. 0%), all of the firm’s targeted customers are cumulatively worth $78,805,398. (Exhibit #5) Using the DCF method, the after tax value of Project Achieve is $11,991,608. (Exhibit #5) The valuation of Project Achieve is extremely risky considering the dependency of the company’s cash flows on customer acquisition and retention. In addition, Project Achieve’s tax rate along with its carry-forward loss of $1 million will significantly affect its value. The assumptions used in valuing Project Achieve are: Total estimated overhead costs 1999-2000 are $6,524,826 (case Table A) Total costs increase 20% per year for 4 years and after the fifth year costs rise in line with subscription base Revenues grow 2% annually after year 5 (rate of increase for target schools) No inflation taken into account on growth rate because downward pressure on prices with new market entrants will counter inflation $1 million loss incurred to date (will carry forward in tax burden and increase the value of Achieve) 35% tax rate (ignoring depreciation) The Role of Investors Given Project Achieve’s status as an early-stage start-up, its lack of a sales force, and its need to develop relationships with political authorities and schools, the firm requires investors that understand start-ups and can help market its products. Angel investors like Daniel Eliot don’t seem to fulfill either of these requirements. Venture capitalists deeply understand start up businesses and could provide a big chunk of capital, but they don’t know schools, their valuation is lower than Jostens’, and they would be no help in gaining traction for Project Achieve’s products. Additionally, a VC firm would likely require much more control than the other types of investors. Strategic investors are the most compelling. A strategic investor may wish to complement its own growth by integrating Project Achieve’s new technology into its business. Since strategic investors are almost always in the same industry as their targets, they can often help with industry contacts and business expertise. For example, Jostens knows schools, has a sales force in the field calling on schools, and offers the best valuation. We would go with Jostens now, perhaps bringing in a venture capitalist in a later round. We would also keep in mind the possibility of selling out to Jostens down the road if Project Achieve’s products gain traction. Potential investors have widely varying estimates of the value of Project Achieve because our valuation has many aspects. Primarily, different investors may have different forecasts of product adoption rates. As discussed earlier in the paper, we feel that Boyd is being excessively optimistic about the probability of schools purchasing her fee-based program without prompting from a sales force. Since our valuation is entirely dependent on the probabilities displayed in our decision tree (Exhibit 2), if different investors had different calculations for these probabilities, their valuations would be drastically different. Boyd needs to make sure she is realistic in her forecasts of product adoption, for they will set the stage for valuation discussions. Computing the explicit valuation, whether pre-money or post-money, is simple and unlikely to lead to disagreement. The valuations may differ, however, based on how big an investment is made. Since the three potential investors, Daniel Eliot, Jostens, and the angel investors, were all offering different amounts of capital, it makes sense that their valuations would differ slightly. Quantifying the implicit valuation is what makes valuing the firm particularly problematic. The implicit valuation includes valuing warrants, liquidation preferences, and dividends. Additionally, there are non-quantifiable valuation factors such as pre-emptive rights and anti-dilution provisions. To have a better deal, it is important for Boyd to present Project Achieve’s business opportunities thoroughly and disclose all useful information.

Foucauldian Studies and HRM Essay

When considering about human resource management (HRM) being understood as discourse, it is necessary to connect Foucault’ s theory on discourse with employee selection as a crucial part of human resource management. Though Foucault himself not a specialist in HRM, it appears that numerous organization studies scholars tend to drawn on Foucault’s ideas for the purpose of re-analyzing and re-understanding HRM. (Barrantt, 2001) The reason is that Foucault’s understanding of the relationship between discourse, truth and power implies how we should regard HRM from different perspective and put it into re-consideration. Generally, discourse could be understand as ‘ a set of concepts, expressions and statements that constitutes a way of talking or writing about an aspect of the world, thus framing the way people understand and act with regard to that aspect of the world’ (Watson, 2002: 118). And in Foucault’s view, discourse is a flexible term. In one of Foucault’ s book, The Archaeology of Knowledge, published in 1969, was an outstanding work of post-structuralism example. He believes that discourse is a statement unity. It talks about the statement (enonce), which is a rule for the discursive expression to become meaningful. In Foucault’ s view, the statement has some special archeological meanings. The rules give the meaning of its existence. The meaning of the statement is dependent on the context where it presents. So discursive framing provide a language to representing a topic (Foucault, 1969). So discourse is more than language. It is the way we understand or interpret the world. Due to discourse is shaped or unshaped by society and culture, there are various discourses. The same as for HRM, it can be understand and interpreted from a different perspective. There is no doubt that Foucaultdian studies give new understanding of HRM. This paper will analyze and critically think of three contributions of reframing HRM Foucaultdian studies give. The first part will analyze human resource management as discourse. It focuses on how Foucualtdiansm understand HRM in different perspectives. The second part will discuss the relationship between HRM and power, which includes how Foucault decodes power, its relationship with knowledge or truth, and how HRM associated with power. The third part will focus on one important aspect of HRM, employee selection, to explore how employee selection can be understood and interpret in different ways. Finally, a conclusion will be drawn based on previous discussion. HRM as Discourse Generally, HRM are treated as a set of practices that regard human as resource to achieve companies’ targets or interests. It is a product of modern society. From managerial perspective, human resource management featured with ‘rationality, optimism and authoritarianism’ (Legge, 1995). Numerous scholars have explored human resource management from Foucualdian perspective. Generally, the discourse in HRM is associated with power. Poole (1999) argued that it is probably happened that the discursive analysis contains the description of the HRM discourse related occasion. It will provoke the issue between the subjects who have the right to speak and its influence on employees. When it comes to Foucault, he did not study in HRM but attracts a number of scholars of HRM. Townley (1993) was a representative who put the relation between HRM and Foucault’ s disciplinary power into consideration. She argued that HRM could be best comprehended as a discourse and provides Foucauldian analyses of distinctive feature of HRM. Because Foucault provided a hint that there are interconnections between discourse, power and truth. So Foucault gave HRM discourse much place to be considered from new perspective (Du Gay et al, 1996). From Foucauldian perspective, HRM is to ‘impose order on the inherently undecidable-the employment contract’ (Legge, 2005:345). It is excising of power that allow managers to manage. Following Foucault’s theory, it is argued here that the subject plays a critical role in HRM. To support this, Foucauldian studies lay emphasis on the influence of the subject in HRM. In human resource management, ‘the subject plays a more active role’ (Barratt, 2003). The process of HR management witnessed examination and identification of the subject. Foucualt (1988) himself argued that individuals are influenced and influence others by their certain means. All aspects of HRM including employee selection, company’s culture and performance appraisal are the product of subjectivity. Take performance appraisal for example, employees have to subject to an authoritative appraisal system to confess their performance at work (Townley, 1993). It can be regarded as an action of subjective power. Emphasizing on subject gives space for diverse understandings and interpretations of HRM. Despite of the dominant understanding of HRM from managerial perspective, HRM can be something else because post-structuralism and Foucaudian studies propose that there is no definite understanding of a topic. For example, Nayab (2011) argued that HRM could be interpreted in five ways. The fist is normative perspective, which separates HRM as personnel management and strategic human resource management. The second is to consider HRM in a critical way. It is believed that the reality showed the contradiction between traditional HRM and the new one. The ‘behavioral Perspective’ is different from others. It put more emphasis on their performance. The purpose of HRM is to guide and manage employees in order to ‘attain the desired performance’ (Nayab, 2011). Seen from the systems perspective, HRM concerns about the outcome of human resource. It is a factory that using employees as material and producing organizational turnover. The last one is ‘agency or transaction cost perspective’ (Nayab, 2011). This understanding is putting HRM as a mediator of conflicts for the purpose of minimizing the cost. The five understandings of HRM are thinking HRM from different perspective, which inspire the new understandings or some changes against the dominant way of managing human resource. However, the most important stakeholder in HRM may be employee, because it is the opposite poison against managers also the employee’s voice is increasingly needed in modern HRM. The dominant understanding of HRM is hinking and defining from a managerial perspective. Actually, the employee’s view on HRM varied based on the HRM models (Whitener, 2001) Fiona Edgar and Alan J. Geare (2005) did some research on exploring employee’s voice on HRM. The result showed that employees tend to keep a positive attitude towards soft HRM model and resist the traditional and hard one. However, the current HRM needs so me change in order to meet employee’s need for self-development. It is possible that the different understandings of HRM push the revolution in both theoretical and practical field. HRM and power Michel Foucault is famous for his critical studies on power, knowledge and discourse. However, according to Foucault (1980), discourse has no definitive explanation. It could be understood in various perspectives. There is no definite truth in the world. People always impose their subjective consciousness upon the truth. So it is hard to keep the right way to the truth seeking. (Wetherall, 2001) Classical theory represented by Marx implied the traditional understanding the relationship between knowledge and power (Barratt, 2003). Ideology is regarded as a tool for power. It covers the truth so that people who are governed subject to managing without resistance (Braverman, 1976). However, one main defect of his theory is that he neglects the subject. He defined individuals at work as representation of economic or employment relations (Knights and Willmott, 1985, 1989). In Foucault’s theory, the connection between power and knowledge is complex. Power is everywhere. Also, we have to put human subject into consideration. The reason why discourse is important is that the point of Foucault’s theory not only lies in how the language expresses meanings but also in what is the relationship between the discourse and the objective behind, or what kind of power imposed (Luke, 1999). In the Order of Discourse, Foucault (1971) claimed that the notion of exclusion is well known in our society, but the most obvious one is prohibition. In other words, not all the topic is allowed in a certain occasion and not everyone is given the right to speak out everything. Discourse itself is not an important issue. However, the prohibition behind the discourse surprised us due to its connection with the desire and power. In addition, there is another kind of exclusion principle, which is the opposition between reason and madness. On one hand, the discourse of a madman no doubt will be regarded as invalid and unreliable. On the other hand, the madman is given the gift of predicting and revealing the truth. So in fact, there is no definite so-called â€Å"madness†(Foucault, 1971). The abnormal itself presents the control from a certain group of people. Or in other words, power defines the truth the madness to convince people. In terms of knowledge, Foucault (1971) argued that power create knowledge, they are connected with each other. Also, knowledge is only available to the public only when stated within discourse. He claimed that knowledge and truth are not independent and objective. They are connected closely with power and become the legitimate protection for power operating. As Foucault stated it in The History of Sexuality ‘Discourses are not once and for all subservient to power or raised up against it, and more than silences are. We must make allowances for the complex and unstable process whereby discourse can both an instrument and an effect of power, but also a hindrance, a stumbling-block, a point of resistance and a starting point for an opposing strategy. Discourse transmits and produces power: it reinforces it, but also undermines and exposes it, renders it fragile and makes it possible to thwart it. ’ (Foucault, 1980) Also, the power displayed in Discipline and Punish helps us to critically think about the self-regulation, which can be applied into workplace. It mentioned the disciplinary power. As Foucault (1977) observed, the prison designed by Jeremy Bentham is a technique of the panoptic gaze. The central tower makes prisoners to discipline themselves. So when it comes to the workplace, the panoptic gaze also normalizing individuals’ behavior. In 1950, Elton Mayo and Fritz Roethlisberger put forwarded the Hawthorne effect (French, 1953). They observed the performance of labors in an electric factory. They found that when the lights become brighter, workers tend to discipline themselves and the production will increase. This kind of self-regulation also can be seen in modern workplaces where CCTVs and call centers are facilitated. It is a sort of ‘info-normative control’ (Frenkel et al, 1995) that evaluates employees’ performance objectively. But also the monitoring may damage the culture of leaning form each other and lay too much stress on workers (Knights & McCabe, 2003). However, it seems that power is everywhere but it does not mean power is everything. Knights and McCabe also argued that power is not possessed by certain group of people, even the disciplinary power cannot decide the individual’s behavior. Foucault (1980) supposed that when individuals put power into action, they are given their own identity and meaning. Subjects are getting gradually split from the collective class, but it is neither individualism nor collectivism (Knights, 1994). It should be treated dialectically. So the power has its influence on knowledge and discourse. Or even the disciplinary power promotes self-regulation and make employees subject to the power. However, the impact of the subject cannot be neglected. It interacts with power and discourse.

People Naturally Resist Making Changes in Their Lives Essay

There is a sentence meaning: â€Å"Rivers have their smooth areas as well as their rough regions, and the life of human beings go up at this time and go down at another time†. Therefore, people have to renew themselves, keep learning new things to overcome challenges. People, however, naturally refuse to make changes in their lives. This leads them to be unable to adapt to new environments. Growing up, studying, making friends, and getting jobs†¦ are the important issues of everyone’s life. Every issue is put into different situations which have various difficulties and require some specific skills. For instance, the environment between high school and university is not the same. In high school, teachers pay full attention to you, make sure that you DEEPLY understand deeply subjects, do homework, and learn lessons by heart. On the contrary, you have to motivate yourself to study. That is not THE teachers’ duty. If you don’t make changes in your study methods, and still wait for help from the teachers, your study will decrease dramatically and you surely get bad results. Making changes is difficult but IT doesn’t mean that we can’t do it. In my opinion, there are some steps to help you to get into a new habit. First step is to change your mind. You should carefully consider advantages and drawbacks between new things and old ones. For example, sending mails through (I)nternet is quicker, cheaper, and more convenient than doing them by hand. Next, you should learn it a little everyday, ask the help of your family and your friends. Finally, you will be an expert. In conclusion, the world’s today doesn’t stand at the same point, but always changes every minute. If you don’t update, study new technologies, and skills continuously, you will SOON be out of touch with the world. Human’s life always changes day by day. Therefore, it sets requirements for us to change toward new conditions of living. However, many analyses have pointed out that most people naturally resist making change in their lives. This nature respond actually leads to many problems. On the one hand, many people consider avoiding changes as a way to avoid troubles. For example, a worker chooses to keep using the old machine instead of new one just because he or she does not want to learn how to use the new. They feel better when just working in familiar condition. This natural though is understandable because safety is one of the most important needs for everyone. On the other hand, changeable people claim that making changes is necessary to reach higher success in life. A successful business man said that if we just do what we have done, we just get what we have got. This statement partly implies important role of changes in human’s life. When we avoid making changes, we also by ourselves ignore all opportunities to go further in career. And in a rapid development society, this means that we become backward people. More seriously, what if young generation become passive, and is never ready to change? This will create a weak and low quality labor force in the near future. Of course, a weak labor force cannot help develop country as we desire. That is because they avoid changes, avoid new modern technology or other things, and so they cannot catch with rapid development of the world.