Monday, September 30, 2019

Defining Moments in the Canadian History Essay

All throughout Canada in the 20th Century there have been numerous events, actions and decisions that we call defining moments. Canada has been through many battles, very hard chosen decisions, and gone through many changes that have changed the way Canadians live today. The battle of Vimy Ridge, the life on the home front in World War One, the invasion of D-day, and the impact of immigration were the most important defining moments for Canada in the 20th Century. Vimy Ridge is now called a Canadian Milestone. It was one of the notable moments because it brought world recognition and a strong sense of patriotism towards Canada. The battle of Vimy Ridge took place at Vimy Ridge and was on Easter Monday, 1917. There had been more than just one battle over the Ridge. The French had tried to win the Ridge three different times, but they were not successful. In fact, none of the countries were. When it came time for Canada, they used a new and different approach. They combined careful pre paration, precise timing, and a great job of the gunners. Canada won the battle in a four day victory. Canada gained more land, more captured artillery than any other British offensive in the entire war, and more prisoners. The battle of Vimy Ridge was so very important because it was after this fight that people started to appreciate Canada and thought that Canadians could manage to be their own nation. Any time before the battle of Vimy Ridge, Canada had always been allied with Britain. With the winning of the Ridge, Canada got more independence that changed the way people thought of Canada. One Canadian soldier at the battle recalled: â€Å"The winning of the Ridge gave every man a feeling of pride. A national spirit was born; we were Canadian and could do a good job of paddling our own canoe.†1. The Canadians had won the only significant victory for the Allies in 1917. It was a turning point in the war for the Allies and for Canada as a nation. The beginning of World War One had a great impact on the living conditions back on the home front in Canada. While the war was goin g on, it was a totally different situation back at the home front in Canada. Since most of the men were at war fighting overseas for their country, things had to change for the women of Canada. They had to help out their country in different ways then 1. Evans, R., Fielding, J. Canada. (Canada: Nelson Thomas Learning, 2000), 82 fighting. Many of the women helped by knitting warm clothing and making bandages for the distribution by the military. They also contributed by organizing numerous committees and became unofficial military recruiters, pressed by posters appealing to wives and the patriotic mothers of the war. Many of the women took on jobs that had been considered men’s work before the war started. They started working in factories and took up all kinds of laboring jobs. The role of Canadian women in the war also gave them additional ammunition in their own campaign for their right to vote. Until 1917, the Canadian law stated that â€Å"No women, idiot, lunatic, or criminal shall vote.†2. Women winning the right to vote changed the way that people felt about women. Before the war, their job was to stay at home to cook, clean, look after their men and ch ildren. The men had always worked and supported their family. Without World One starting, women today may still be living the same way because they would have not had the chance to show everyone that they were capable of doing men’s jobs and have to the right to vote. D-day was considered as the turning point of World War Two to many people. Operation Overload took place June 6, 1944 in Normandy, France. The invasion was supposed to start June 5th, but got postponed due to weather. The Allies had learned from the disaster at Dieppe, that this time that they had to plan and rehearse the invasion down to the smallest detail. It was a long-awaited invasion that the Canadians knew they could do right and try to forget the tragic loss at Dieppe. They had managed to keep the whole invasion a secret from the Germans. The Normandy beach of northern France was the selected site for the invasion. Although Canadian forces were smaller then the other Allied forces, their contribution to the invasion of Operation Overload was critical. Most of the Canadian contributed by landing on Juno Beach, where the landing went pretty smooth. The invading force was supported by a large amount of artillery firepower given by Allied ships. There had also been a special land ing craft equipped to fire rockets on the Germans. The Canadians faced underwater obstacles, land mines, barbed wire, and heavy machine-gun fire from the Germans. Canadians managed to get through all this and move inland. This was a great victory for Canada because at the end of the day they had been the 2. Bain, C.M., DesRivieres, D., Flanerty, P., et al. Making History. (Toronto: Pearson, 2000), 33 only Allied troops to reach their D-day objectives. The terrific progress that was made from the landing on Juno Beach was the most important start that led other great things to start happening for D-day. Later on in D-day, Canadians were given the task to liberate the Netherlands. The Canadians did an extraordinary job on that order. Facing defeat, Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945 and Hitler then committed suicide. Most say that it was the turning point that signaled the end of the war. By doing such a great job during D-day it let Canadians liberate other countries and made Canadians really feel good about their country. One of the most important changes of all in Canada was the impact of immigration. In 1967, Canada had made a new immigration policy. Immigrates were chosen by a point system based on an education and employment perspective. Canada needed people with training and specific skills. Under this system, applicants were given points according to criteria such as age, education, ability to speak English or French, and the current demand for any specific job skills the applicant possessed. Those who received enough points were allowed to immigrate to Canada. Letting immigrants in the country really enriched Canadians lives with contributions to food, fashion, religion, education, and politics. Immigrants came in significant numbers from places varied as Pakistan, Hong Kong, India, China and the Caribbean. In 1976 the Immigration Act was changed to allow immigrants in Canada with family members to come to Canada and encourage independent immigrants who were bringing needed job skills. This really helped out Canada and used the immigrants to help work in Industry. Multiculturalism came into effect when immigrants starting coming to Canada. For some Canadians it made them feel uncomfortable at first, but later on became familiar with it. The Immigration Act was also a response to Canada’s economic needs. Canada’s birth rate and the size of Canadian families started to increase. The Immigration Act was a way for the federal government to keep Canada’s population and encourage economic growth. From the Act, Canada is now friends with a lot more different countries. Those counties are willing to help out Canada when in need of help and Canada will do the same. In conclusion, the four most significant, defining moments in Canada in the 20th Century were the battle of Vimy Ridge, the life on the home front during World War One, the invasion of D-day, and the Immigration Act. In the battle of Vimy Ridge, we grew to be our own nation, brought world recognition and gave Canadians their own thought of patriotism. The life on the home front during World War One was important because it was then when women had a new role to play. They got to vote and had all kinds of jobs that would usually be men’s work. The invasion of d-day was a signaled turning point to end the war. Canadians played a great role in the invasion. The impact of Immigration helped a lot by enriching Canada with their contributions to food, fashion, religion, education, business, politics and many more. All these moments were significant for Canada and changed the way that Canadians live today.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

KFC Case Study Essay

Introduction KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is one of the most popular and widely spread fast food chain spread across various countries. KFC has established in market as a specialist in fried chicken. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, US, KFC today is world’s second largest fast food chain after McDonalds with presence in several countries. As of December 2012, KFC had more than 18,000 outlets spread across 120 countries. Yum! Brands is the parent company which owns KFC along with other subsidiaries such as Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants chain (Liu, 2008). Founded by Harland Sanders in Corbin, Kentucky KFC clocked close to $11 billion in revenues by end of 2011. KFC can be credited for being a pioneer in popularizing chicken in fast foot industry. As a company KFC has been termed as one of the most innovative company in terms of marketing its product among customers. Over a period of time it has given a stiff competition to other fast food chains like McDonalds, Starbucks etc. thr ough its comprehensive and effective marketing strategy. LO1.1: Changing Perspectives in Marketing Planning Concept of Product: KFC founded in 1930, has always believed in the concept of product. Its primary product –fried chicken has remained the most sought after fast food product since its inception. With time KFC added range of fast food items catering to different taste buds and eating sensibilities. This approach reflected that how it has adapted itself in the changing and challenging environment by rival companies like McDonalds etc. Product development and adapting in the changing market perspective is crucial for a fast food chain like KFC (Ghanawi, 2012). Concept of Selling: KFC has kept its focus on ensuring that consumers favour the product which offers the best in terms of taste and quality. KFC has never comprised with the quality of the product it has offered to customer. Since inception it  has maintained its trademark taste of the fried chicken which has resulted into a loyal base of customer following. KFC has never taken its popularity for granted and has always believed in getting feedback from customer through various channels, which in return has helped it further to optimize the quality and other factors associated with its fast food products. Concept of Marketing: KFC has always been aggressive in terms of marketing its product. Even though it has established itself as leading player in fast food sector, despite of this fact it has never shied away from marketing efforts towards its product. This focus on marketing helps in creating brand awareness and customer satisfaction. Concept of Societal Marketing: Societal marketing is an important concept in marketing strategy of any company. KFC has always believed in reaching to its customer through various ways like customer surveys, feedbacks etc. This helps KFC in establishing a close bonding with its customer which eventually helps in increasing the sales. Through its feedback and survey it has launched geographic specific products as well in order to cater localized taste and sensibilities. L.O. 1.2: KFC’s Capability for Planning its Future Marketing Activity For KFC, capacity planning for its marketing activity is an extremely critical part of the business as complete business relies heavily on the future forecast and trend. This capacity planning strategy is focused on determining current and future requirement of a typical fast food specific market. Capability for planning its future marketing activity has several important points which need to be understood, they are as follows: Financial Capability: KFC earned revenue of nearly $11 billion in 2012 underlines the fact that it has enough financial capabilities to compete with other fast food chains like McDonalds etc. This has also ensured that with a strong revenue model it has sufficient marketing budget allotment for maintaining its market positioning. Technological Capability: KFC has always focused on supporting its marketing activity through use of superior technologies. These technologies helped in optimizing its operation as well as marketing activities. Popular Products: Like its other competitors, KFC has always maintained a wide range of popular fast food product. Its trademark chicken burger and other chicken fast food products has helped in maintaining a niche market in non-vegetarian fast food segment. Having a popular line of products always helps a company in establishing brand connectivity with the  end customer (Witkowski, Ma & Zheng, 2003). LO 1.3: Techniques Used by KFC for Organizational Auditing & for Analysing External factors that affect marketing planning Multinational companies like KFC are aware of the fact that effect marketing planning cannot be achieved without appl ication of techniques for organizational auditing and analyses of external factors. External factors for KFC comprises of Macro environment and Micro environment. Macro environment consists of aspects such as social, cultural, legal, economic, political and technological. These aspects further include other factors such as demographics, environmental limitations and broader societal factors. On other hand micro environment includes other constraints such as market structure, suppliers, customer, trend of the market, and competition. Organizational audit helps KFC to analyse and examine resources available and supplies suggestion related to strength and weakness of the company. Organizational considerations are controlled by KFC itself hence it is important that it should avoid any sort of issues from this area. It is vital for a company like KFC to consider organizational auditing and development of the SWOT analysis (Magrath, 1986). It is important especially to take advantage of its organizational strengths, reduce any limitation, and exploit market opportunities as they appear. External environment is critical since it gives direction to behaviour and overall marketing strategy of a multinational company like KFC. L.O. 1.4: Assume that you have just been promoted to the position of marketing manager in a Fast food organization. Carry out organizational auditing and analysis of external factors that affect marketing planning in your organization. As a marketing manager it is important to understand the role and importance of organizational audit and analysis of external factors. This is critical because it leads to a direct impact on the success of the marketing strategy of KFC and its goal to maintain its niche position of fried chicken fast food specialist. Organizational audit focuses on entire business, it focuses on the business objective, goal, mission, vision and all strategies being applied in the business. SWOT analysis is one popular and effective tool for audit of such factors. Following are the result for the SWOT analysis done for KFC: Audit focusing upon organizations marketing objective and strategy helps in  determining how well those strategies is suited to the current and forecasted market environment in fast food segment across various geographies. Organizational audit of marketing strategy is concerned specifically with a goal of evaluating organization’s structural capability and its preparedness for implementation of the strategy needed for further development of the business and fast food segment in general. Organizational audit helps in covering wide spectrum of functions like quality of organizational systems for analysis, control and planning. L.O. 2.1: Assess the main barriers to marketing planning Following barriers needs to be addressed: Lack of Vision: KFC has to be cautious while implanting its marketing plan. In order to ensure an effective implementation it is important to have a comprehensive plan. However marketing plan should ensure that it covers every aspect which it can face due to changing market environment (Christian & Gereffi, 2010). Poor future vision can result into an insufficient marketing plan which can lead to failure. Less focus on Innovation: Although fast food segment has been dominated by products which have not changed over a long period of time. However with changing customer taste and preference, it is critical for KFC to focus on innovation of new fast food items which can offer something new to customer. It has to innovate and customize its product based on various geographies it works in. Leadership issues: KFC comes under a single brand known as YUM! Brand, which operates other subsidiaries brands such as Pizza hut and Taco Bell. In order to ensure a smooth functioning of the business, it is important to segregate the leadership for a better focus on the individual brands. This will help in brand specific focus and other management related activities. L.O.2.2: Examine how organizations may overcome barriers to market planning KFC being an international chain of fast food joints, it has huge pressure in terms of ensuring that its market planning is always in sync with its business objectives. In order to achieve that KFC needs to ensure that irrespective of the geography it is operating in, it should take care of certain barriers which might become a road block in an effective marketing planning. First important barrier is confusing marketing tactic with strategic tactic, often organization end up getting confused between the  two. Hence KFC should ensure that it has clear demarcation of its operational tactic and its marketing tactic. Another aspect is overcoming organizational barriers, in way of effective market planning, organizational barriers like slow decision making process, unnecessary hierarchies etc. might create problem in effective market planning. Another important barrier is failure to prioritize the objectives to be achieved from the market plan. In order to achieve the maximum out of a market plan, it will be important for KFC to prioritize its requirements or goals. For example its expectation from Asia geography might be different as compared to European continent, in such circumstances it needs to accordingly prioritize its market plan activities and set the goal on those priorities. L.O.3.1.: Marketing plan (notes for power point presentation) S ituational Analysis: KFC is famous for its non-veg range fast food products Increasing trend towards vegetarian fast food products Demand for economic and quick snack vegetarian fast food products in growing countries such as India Campaigns from PETA are another reason why people from west are also moving away from non-veg fast food items. Market Segmentation: Total market of fast food market is around $15.2 billion (2011-12), important point to note that despite presence of various kind of fast food products there is hardly any presence of veg fast food products this highlights that there his huge scope for veg fast food products which are cheap but have superiors quality. Competition: Major competition for KFC veg Snacker is from veg products such as Subway’s veg sub, McDonald’s veg burger, McDonald’s veg wrap etc. and other local player specializing in veg fast food products Consumer Analysis: Population in growing economies seek cheap but tasty and good quality fast food item. In country such as India, there is huge vegetarian population which also like fast foods such as veg snacker bu rger offered by KFC. Marketing Challenges Faced: (S) Strength Second best global brand in fast food industry Famous and popular formula of original 11 herbs and spices recipe Support of popular subsidiaries such as combination of KFC – Pizza Hut and KFC – Taco Bell Leadership position among companies offering chicken as their primary product offering (W) Weakness includes Negative publicity from health conscious groups Row over quality of chicken used as raw material Vulnerable to downfall in business due to issues like bird-flu Lack of strong marketing efforts as compared to companies like McDonalds (O) Opportunities includes Increasing demand for healthier food Focus on home delivery of the products Scope of introducing new varieties in its chicken range of products (T) Threats includes Trend towards healthy food habits Currency fluctuations Various law suits from groups supporting green and vegetarian food Marketing Strategy: Product: Veg Snacker in a country like India is fulfilling the requirement of cheap, quick and tasty fast food. Veg Snacker also has better nutritional value as compared to other competitors such as McDonald’s veg burger, and cottage cheese burger and wraps Place: KFC should focus on markets dominated by veg population, its distribution channel should be in place for procurement of raw material for its veg products. Pricing: Unlike other KFC product, veg Snacker has been priced competitively to attract customer with low budget but are looking for quality veg fast food products. Promotion: KFC should focus on this aspect that being a famous brand for non-veg fast food products it is now focusing on veg items as well. It should focus on ensuring that quality of veg fast food items is equally good. Conclusion This marketing plan for veg products has to be implemented carefully because of risk due to brand image. Marketing plan for veg products has to be isolated from overall marketing plan, since main focus of KFC has been on non-veg fast food items. Pricing and Packaging of the product is critical for overall success of the veg line of fast food items. L.O.3.3: Examine techniques for new product development KFC can opt for eight stages of a product development which involves following process: Concept Generation of New Product: SWOT analysis can be used effectively for assisting basic research towards new concept generation of a fast food product. Concept Screening: KFC based on a new concept/idea can then screen and question the relevance of the concept. It is very important for KFC to understand that relevance of the product that should be implemented as per the market situation. Working on a concept which competitors have already launched might not be a logical business strategy. There should be clarity related to the target market as well. What customer base KFC will be targeting should be clear from the concept stage itself (Starvish, 2011). Concept Development and Product Testing: KFC should also focus on the proper testing of the new product for its market suitability and target customer segment. For example a spicy chicken burger might not be successful in market dominated by less spice loving population. Thus a product should be tested internally before it is launched on a wider scale. Beta Testing and Marketing Testing: KFC can understand a significant part of customer feedback through a selected launch of the product to a specific set of customers. With a proper feedback channel, valuable inputs regarding the product can be collected which can be further used to optimize the end product before it is launched. Technical Implementation: Technical implementation phase will include activities like all the logistical attributes which will be necessary for a producing the fast food product. Thus how a raw material will be procured? What raw material will be used? Availability of the manpower for the production and several other facts should be taken care by KFC in this particular phase of the product development. Commercialization: Commercialization is the critical phase, where post development of the product there has to be specific budget and time for product promotion and creating awareness about the product. Optimization of distribution channel and monetization of the product is also crucial part of this phase. Product Pricing: For a company like KFC which has operation in developed as well as developing countries, pricing is a critical aspect of the whole business. In price sensitive markets like Asia, any wrong pricing strategy can result into product failure. L.O.3.4 Pricing policy, distribution and communication mix for: Wrigley’s chewing gum: Wrigley’s chewing gum is a classic example of how a company can create  success through a product which is not a necessity for consumers. Through its aggressive strategy in pricing, distribution and communication it has ensured that it remains on top in chewing gum category. Rather than focus on creating a premium product, Wrigley’s focused on getting its basic correct through an economical pricing of the product which ensured that people adopted and started using the product. Through its intensive market research it strengthened its distribution channel and formed a strong relationship with retailers. With its innovative and aggressive marketing and communication strategy, it has ensured that consumers do not forget about the brand. Sky TV: Being one of the pioneers in direct- to-home concept, Sky TV always ensured a balanced approach in terms of pricing. It offered both segment of customers i.e. segment which was bothered about value delivery and segment which believed in cost of product. It bundled and offered them in various packs based on their popularity and subscription cost. Sky TV initially had been aggressive in its communication strategy to reach its customer, which paid off positively. With focus on acquiring new customer base, Sky TV has always been innovating in terms of its communication approach to actively engage with its customer base. BMW 7 Series: Keeping in with tradition, BMW has maintained a premium pricing over each of its product. Main reason behind this is to maintain an exclusivity of the brand along with a healthy margin on the product sold. Thus it never comprises with its pricing strategy to boost its sales volume. BMW 7 Series has been able to penetrate the upper class of the car buyers through its wide spread distribution channel, which not only sells the car, but also provides an effective after sales service to the vehicle. Communication mix for BMW has always been focused on the premium segment of society, for whom spending money is not an issue, but they are cautious about the premium attached to the product. Bentley Car : Similar to brands like BMW, Audi etc., Bentley has ensured that it is known as super premium car making company. That is why despite of slump in its car sales it never tweaked with its pricing strategy. It has always focused on the premium and high net worth individual who are more focused on the brand and the premium attached to it. Distribution channel of Bentley is not as strong as its competitors, but it does have presence in majority of the prime cities across globe. Its communication mix and marketing has always targeted rich customers who have  always believed in owning the best of every segment. Hilton Hotel Room: Hilton has always believed in providing best of the user experience to its end customer, even if it comes with an extra cost. That is why Hilton boasts of a loyal set of customers who always prefer Hilton over other hotel. Hilton has given preference to exclusivity over the pricing factor, with added luxuries as compared to other competitors and a personal touch in its services Hilton has always been able to justify its above average pricing structure. With a wide presence across the globe, it has been able to establish a brand name through which its customer can connect easily. Holiday Cruise from London to Florida: Cruise holidays have always been a popular product among tourists. Tours and travel companies have ensured that they capitalize on this craze. However with a holiday cruise as far as from London to Florida is concerned, it depends on the partner offering. Pricing strategy should be focused more on upper segment of the society, because they are the one who can afford a cruise travel. With various luxuries added, cruise holiday can justify its pricing strategy as well. Distribution has to be maintained through extensive network of tours and travel operators. With multiple holiday packages being promoted, a holiday cruise has to be promoted aggressively in order to ensure that it can be differentiated from other holiday packages. L.O.3.5: Explain how factors affecting the effective implementation of the marketing plan have been taken into account Various factors which affects the effective implementation of the marketing plan are as follows: Information about Target Segment: For KFC the target customer has always been the teen and post teen. Their advertising campaign has primarily revolved around college going students and working professionals. However with time, and competition from rival fast food companies, they have focused on various age groups (Roller, Voorhees & Lulnkenheimer, 2006). Important aspect is that whatever fast food product has been launched, it has been done with proper knowledge of its target customer. For effective implementation of marketing plan prior research about the target customer base is extremely critical. Measurable Goals and Objectives: Marketing team at KFC has to be clear about their end goals and organizational objectives. Clarity on these two aspects is important towards effective implementation of the marketing plan. In fast food segment, acceptance of the new product launched, and objective achieved  in terms of the expected sales helps towards effective implementation of the marketing plan. Proper techniques for forecasting of the expected sales and measurable goals helps in und erstanding the success of the product launched. Proper and Effective Communication Tactics: Fast food companies have to be very thoughtful with their communication strategy. Even a slight mistake in terms of improper communication can lead to disastrous result. With various lobbies opposing junk food or fast food segment, there is always a pressure on companies like KFC to come up with relevant and targeted communication. Thus what channel is being selected for communication also matters a lot. For example if target demography is vegetarian in nature then launching and creating campaign about a chicken burger will be a big mistake. Hence optimization of communication tactic is an important stepping stone towards effective implementation of the marketing plan. L.O.4.1: Explain how ethical issues influence marketing planning Fast food segment has to face several ethical issues, which eventually shape up their marketing plan. There are many countries which are extremely particular about the quality of the product and its raw material used. For example a country or area dominated by vegetarian population will never accept a chicken or beef burger. That is why in the stores there has to be strict check on what is being served to the customer. Recently there was a viral video on social networking site which highlighted how raw material for KFC is procured which highlighted several loop-holes in the procurement process. This issue exposed the hygiene and cleanliness standards in the procurement as well. Such kind of ethical issues many times results in lawsuit etc. (Schrà ¶der & McEachern, 2005). L.O.4.2: Analyse examples of how organizations respond to ethical issues KFC has witnessed an exponential growth across globe. But with this growth rate there are several instances of backlash against the brand as well. For example a slight negligence in a vegetarian dominated population can lead to ethical issues among the population and negative publicity for the brand. In any such instance where KFC has been on the defaulter side, it has always cooperated with the respective agencies and has proactively accepted its mistake wherever necessary. As a brand KFC has never ignored its social responsibility and accepting mistakes because of its negligence. In order to address any consumer complain they have dedicated complain cell which handles consumer grievances. L.O. 4.3: Analyse  examples of consumer ethics and the effect it has on the marketing planning Consumer ethics has major impact on designing of market strategy of a company. For example KFC avoids an aggressive marketing of non-vegetarian products in vegetarian dominated population. KFC also avoids targeting kids as their target segment since fast food are considered as unhealthy and greasy in nature In order to have a strong brand connect and brand value it is important to keep all the ethical issues in perspective while developing the market planning strategy (Parasuraman, Grewal & Krishnan, 2006). References: Liu, W. K. (2008). KFC in China: secret recipe for success. John Wiley & Sons (Asia). Ghanawi, N. (2012). The Internationalization of KFC. Witkowski, T. H., Ma, Y., & Zheng, D. (2003). Cross-cultural influences on brand identity impressions: KFC in China and the United States. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 15(1/2), 74-88. Magrath, A. J. (1986). When marketing services, 4 Ps are not enough. Business Horizons, 29(3), 44-50. Christian, M., & Gereffi, G. (2010). The marketing and distribution of fast food. InPediatric Obesity (pp. 439-450). Springer New York. Sophonsiri, S., & Polyorat, K. (2009). The impact of brand personality dimensions on brand association and brand attractiveness: the case study of kfc in thailand. Journal of Global Business & Technology, 5(2). Starvish, M. (2011). KFC’s explosive growth in China. HBS Working Knowledge. Roller, S. T., Voorhees Jr, T., & Lulnkenheimer, A. K. (2006). Obesity, food marketing and consumer litigation: threat or opportunity. Food & Drug LJ, 61, 419. Schrà ¶der, M. J., & McEachern, M. G. (2005). Fast foods and ethical consumer value: a focus on McDo nald’s and KFC. British Food Journal, 107(4), 212-224. Parasuraman, A., Grewal, D., & Krishnan, R. (2006). Marketing research. Cengage Learning.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Time Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Time Management - Essay Example Chris had to seek help on time management after failing in a job interview due to lateness. The head of the interviewing panel was particular to him that they would not like an employee who comes to work late. He therefore got time management skills from a management consultant to whom his brother recommended him. The consultant took him through a series of lessons on time management skills such as planning and prioritizing before testing him on the learned skills and finally subjecting him to a series of rigorous instances that required application of the skills. He was efficient in time management before the end of his scheduled exercises. Stacy however learnt her time management skills through observing her friend’s ability in time management. She severally visited her friend after learning of her efficiency in time management and helped the friend in undertaking her activities. It took her some time but she eventually adopted her friend’s potential in time managemen t (Marquis and Huston, p. 188). It is very difficult to manage time in college. This is because of scarcity of time relative to possible ventures such as attending classes, undertaking personal studies, and participating in extra curriculum

Friday, September 27, 2019

A230B Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

A230B - Essay Example Brontà « uses these characters in the novel to explore themes of evil versus good, rationality versus passion, punishment and crime, selfishness, culture and nature, revenge, sickness and health, the nature of love, and chaos and order. Brontà « exemplifies how class mobility is not always moving in the same direction. For instance, for Catherine, representing a lower class, social class plays a vital role when settling when to get married. This is the reason she cannot marry Heathcliff rather she agrees to marry Edgar. Brontà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s accurate and honest representation of life during an early era provides a hint of history. Brontà « reveals that even if the society of today is different from that of two centuries ago, individuals remain the same. Therefore, readers can still relate to the emotions and feelings of the main characters such as Catherine and Heathcliff and those of the supporting characters (Bronte, 2009). Since the novel’s characters are real, they are hum an subjects with human emotions. Thus, the novel is not just an affectionate romance novel but a presentation of life, a hint at relationships, and an essay on love. However, the vigorous antithesis or antagonism Brontà « presents in the novel tend to subvert. The novel’s realism in presenting life and Yorkshire landscape and the historical precision of hours, season, and dates co-exist with the dreamlike. Lastly, even towards the end of the novel, a crossover between romanticism and realism is evident. In many novels, endings are unsatisfactory and disturbing because most writers resist a definitive conclusion one which explains away any doubts and accounts for all loose ends (Watson, Towheed, & Open University, 2012). The fondness for open-endedness is an effort to resist place and time limit. Brontà « uses the effort to explain the importance of memories and dreams of other location and time, like Catherine’s memories of walks on the moors and childhood at

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Determination of Nitrous oxide in gases Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Determination of Nitrous oxide in gases - Essay Example The paper is a comparative review of a few of the methods used in determination of nitrous oxide in gases. It has been concluded after a time, quality and cost-benefit analysis, that the use of passive diffusion sampling methods followed by thermal desorption and analysis with an EC-GC may be the optimal choice. Ambient air bag sampling- Personnel are fitted with air bags that passively collect fumes of nitrous oxide. The gas is absorbed in an appropriate sorbant material. An active sampling involves filling a sampling bag by means of a personal pump provided with a driving device or another equivalent method. The major disadvantage of the method being that the bags can get punctured and cannot be airlifted unless they are stored in pressurized cabins. Besides the potential for leakage is higher and leak checks using the soap bubble technique have to be performed. (US Govt. NIOSH documents-http://www.cdc.gov/niosh ) Passive dosimeter badges- Workers exposed to Nitrous oxide wear the badges and these absorb the vapour by diffusion principles. The minimum time for exposure is one hour and the maximum is 40 hours (one work day). Sampling capacity 560ppm-hrs, detection limit- 2ppm-hrs, sampling rate- 0.75ml/min, functions between 10%-80% relative humidity, accuracy (Max. Total Error) 25%, functional temperature limits are between 0C-50C (affect result by 5%). The major advantages are that, "no sampling pump is required... The major disadvantage is that badges have to be analysed within one week after the sample period for accuracy. Badges must be used before the expiration date and are usually more expensive than diffusion tubes (http://www.assaytech.com; http://www.labsafety.com) Passive diffusion tubes- Steel tubes packed with molecular sieves and caped with diffusive caps. It has been found that the method is valid for detecting Nitrous oxide between 25 and 1000ppm. The quantitative detection limit is at 2 g. Passive monitors work accurate between 60-90% RH at 25C and can measure concentrations as high as 500ppm for 8 hours. The NIOSH declares the method as, "adequate," for measuring Nitrous Oxide in air as the method is not bulky, does not involve liquids and does not require pre and post calibration. Some types of tubes can be stored in temperatures between 20C-25C for a period of 30 days. Sample recoveries in 30 days were found to be 10% compared to results in day 2. Recovery rates were found to be 98%-100% is varying concentrations. The one disadvantage is because of reliance on samples being tested at the vendor site (http://www.cdc.gov/niosh) Active diffusion tubes- The sample is collected filling a sampling bag by means of a personal pump provided with a driving device or another equivalent method. They consist of a pump that pulls a constant amount of air (usually in l/min), the molecular sieve and a clip for attaching the device onto the breathing zone. No change in results were noted under a Relative Humidity (RH) of 90% under 25 C. Recovery rates were found to be between 99%-100% in varying concentration. The advantage of the method is that it is usually more

TQM in Higher Education Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

TQM in Higher Education - Literature review Example front, changes need to be made to ensure great campus, positive staff attitude, great spiritual environment, less bureaucracy and an enriching student life. According to Gary A. Berg 2008, a large amount of research on Total Quality Management has been focused on for private organizations. However, TQM has been widely used in student service and education fields. Lozier and Teeter (1993) were among the first researchers to focus on application of TQM to higher education. These researchers stress on stakeholder satisfaction as the most significant aspect of TQM in higher education. Juran defined quality as fitness for use and Crossby as conformance to requirements. However, Deming’s definition of is to follow quality as surpassing customer needs and expectations is the one that applies the most to higher education. One of the approaches to quality in higher education is to follow ISO 9000 in educational setup. According to this approach, the staff can be trained to control the behavior of the students (who are customers) rather than their ideas. A combination of responsive systems, implementation framework and staff empowerment would enable successful implementation of ISO 9000 in higher education system. However, some researchers have suggested a change in the education process by eliminating non-productive activities and hence improve the quality of higher education. According to H.J. De Jager & F.J. Nieuwenhuis 2005, there are three important features of TQM in educations according to a specific TQM model. These are leadership, scientific methods & tools and problem solving through teamwork. These three features are integrated to form a great organizational climate, a healthy training & education environment and provision of meaningful data. Customer service acts... This paper approves that the Australian universities brought improvements in their efficiency and accountability while realizing the benefits of economies of scale. These universities were provided additional funds by the government to enable quality assurance practices. However, most of the universities were self-accrediting and lacked external control. Australian Universities Quality Agency was formed to address this limitation. The author also gives example of the Swedish experience in implementing quality in higher education. Here the processes in the universities were decentralized and an improvement led model was followed. The funds were provided to institutions based on their performance and the quality models were customized as per the needs of each institution. This essay makes a conclusion that the quality initiatives in Canadian Universities remain limited to performance indication. This was also introduced with growing pressure from local magazines and government. Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada came up with performance indicators but they were not well accepted by the universities or the public. Most of the universities prefer to use their own list of performance indicators. Therefore, there has been an avoidance of public participation in quality assurance by Canadian universities.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Monopolies and Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Monopolies and Economics - Essay Example Economists have debated the value and the cost of monopolies for centuries and still have come to no clear consensus. Even our laws that protect the market from monopolistic practices have been viewed as incapable of defining the words 'market' and 'monopoly'. When does market share become a monopoly In the United States, the foul line is crossed when the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) interprets the anti-trust laws and rules that the actions are injurious to competition. The technical definition of a monopoly is a business that is the sole provider of a good or service that has no suitable substitute. Consumers are restricted to buying from the monopolist. Geographic limitations can also create a monopoly such as being the only doctor within a hundred miles. Monopolies can also exist where a firm manufactures a specialized product to a limited market. New innovations may become monopolistic due to patent restrictions or until the innovation becomes more widely available. Another characteristic of a monopoly is that there needs to be a barrier to entry into the market. This is usually due to high sunk-costs that prevent competitors from reaching an economy of scale. Though all these traits are seen in monopolies, many practices are labeled monopolistic because they restrict competition and are prohibited by law. Most of these practices serve to limit competition or drive competition out of business. Product dumping, price fixing, predatory pricing, and bid rigging are all considered monopolistic practices. In the United States corporations are occasionally allowed to engage in a monopoly or monopolistic practices. Professional sports, utilities, government institutions, and markets with a single producer are sometimes exempted or protected. These protected monopolies do not always benefit from their monopoly status, as they may still need to be competitive to keep new entrants from competing. Major League Baseball is sometimes seen as a monopoly. However, there are substitute products in the form of other sports and entertainment activities. Though they prevent any new entries into the market, they can't be called a true monopoly. Even the US Post Office, a protected monopoly, has come under increased competition with the advent of new technology and services. Though they were once the only provider for their services, failure to innovate left them vulnerable to alternate suppliers. A criticism often leveled at monopolies is that they are complacent and slow to innovate. . Monopolies can be destructive to the economy because they give the firm the opportunity to be a price maker rather than a price taker. The monopoly will reduce the supply, which increases the price to the point that it maximizes profits (Parkin 110). This point is almost always at a point above the price that would be available in a competitive market. According to Stigler, "the purely "economic" case against monopoly is that it reduces aggregate economic welfare". For example: If a firm can sell 100 units when the price is $5 it will generate $500 revenue. If they price them at $7 they can only sell 80 units, but will have generated $560 revenue. However, the loss to the economy is 20 unsold units at $5 each, or $100. Though the firm has gained $60, the market has lost $100. This aggregate loss is known as deadweight loss and is what the anti-trust laws are designed to

Monday, September 23, 2019

The Origins of First Stars Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

The Origins of First Stars - Essay Example Investigating how from the universe was created and how this led to the precise moment in time when these first stars could and did evolve was researched and presented. Through a thorough examination of years of research, how first stars were created and when they came into existence was answered. This research also yielded the fact that no first star still exists within our galaxy - the Milky Way. Although, I am satisfied with the findings of this research that the Milky Way contains no Population III Stars, I can not help but sit here and wonder if somewhere in the outermost areas of the universe, in areas we may not even know exist, there sits a first star, a remnant of the very creation of the universe, waiting for me Ever since the dawn of time, man has been fascinated by the stars in the heaven. From a child's first wonder at the twinkling lights in the night sky to throngs of people staying up late to watch a meteor shower, the celestial display never ceases to amaze us. However, there is so much more to stars than the glowing light they project to earth. They are the footprints to understanding the origins of space and time. Scientists have been in the process of unraveling these mysteries for centuries. ... The Big Bang Theory, the accepted theory of the creation of the universe, which will be detailed in subsequent paragraphs, lead to the later creation of first stars, called Population III Stars. Initially thought impossible to still exist, these first stars and the quest to understand them have led researchers to continue to search for their origins. The first detectable signs of these Population III stars have now been found. How were they created and do any still exist Background Understanding what is known about the creation of the universe is necessary consider how Population III stars were born and if they have survived to present day. The accepted theory of the creation of universe is the Big Bang Theory. Astronomers have determined through observation and scientific research that "the galaxies of the universe all seem to be moving away from us. It turned out that they are moving away not just from us but from one another-that is, the universe seems to be expanding." [1] The laws of physics, specifically Hubble's Law told scientists that if the universe is ever expanding. Hubble's Law explains that "the galaxies were receding from us at a velocity proportional to their distance. The more distant the galaxy, the greater its redshift, and therefore the higher the velocity." [2] Hubble's Law The above graph is a depiction of the Hubble constant explaining rate of expansion. [3] "The velocity v could be determined by multiplying the distance R by H, the Hubble constant, given by the slope of the line in the above graph, in units of kilometers per second per million light years. The Hubble constant describes the universe's rate of expansion. The galaxies are not moving away through space, they are moving away with space, as space

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Is Knowledge Closed Under Known Entailment Essay

Is Knowledge Closed Under Known Entailment - Essay Example This entails the skeptic hypothesis of falsity approach that suggests that such thoughts are false. The truth is that a person is a handless brain in a vat making all his experiences hallucinations. The falsity entailed within the skeptical hypotheses would be known by virtue of the fact that under the knowledge entailment is being closed. Since the skeptical hypothesis of falsity cannot be known as the skeptics support, the common sense truth must also not be known, which suggests that a person has hands. The anti-skeptics alternatively centralize around the possibility of the failure of people to be aware of the common sense truth proposition, and therefore, in the closure principle virtue, people can become aware of the entailed falsity within the approach of the skeptics. Although anti-skeptics sometimes use the closure principle, some view the closure rejection as the key to the skeptic’s reputation. The following case argument based on Fred Dretske work will help give a supposed closure counter example. At the zoo, Joe goes to a cage marked zebra. He looks at the caged stripped animal and believes it is a zebra. It seems, in fact, that Joe knows they are zebras. For the animal to be a zebra, then it cannot be a mule that has been cleverly disguised. Joe know what a zebra is, he is aware of this fact as well, which leaves the question if he knows that the animal right in front of him is not a mule, would that have been cleverly disguised? Dretske says, it does not and suggests that this answer is intuitive.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Reasons Why Parents Should Read Aloud with Children Essay Example for Free

Reasons Why Parents Should Read Aloud with Children Essay One of the greatest gifts that a parent can bestow upon a child is the gift of literacy. Reading is a wonderful pastime, and the key to unlocking many academic puzzles. Parents should read aloud to children as part of a regular routine, one that can be thoroughly enjoyed by both parties. Firstly, reading aloud to children poses the benefit of being quality time spent together. Parents need to have special time with their children, and reading to them is a great method for achieving this goal. Instead of plunking the children down in front of the television, sit them down on your lap and open up a book. As you begin to read to your children, marvel at their attention to detail, and use every opportunity to test their memory and knowledge. While reading, stop frequently and relate the story to an aspect of their everyday life. This will help them to see the correlation between themselves and their environment. While you are enjoying the quality time with your children as you read aloud, you will also be fostering a love of reading that transcends boundaries. Learning to love books at a young age will enhance the children’s desire to be an avid reader as they mature. A love of literature can take a child to unfathomable heights, allowing them to soar to faraway lands of make believe. Children that are read aloud to may use their creativity and imagination more often, building their different levels of intelligence. Being read aloud too can help them see the world, giving them an idea of their place in the world. Another great reason why parents should read aloud to children is to enhance their vocabulary skills. The parent should ensure that they read every word in a story verbatim, never glossing over words that they deem difficult. Children need to hear new words, and need to be explained to their meaning. This will boost their communicative skills. A child with a mastery of vocabulary will be able to orate and have himself or herself heard with a greater degree of efficiency than a counterpart saddled with a limited grasp of the language. When a parent reads aloud to their children, they are also teaching their children to read. As the pages turn, the children are intently watching, following every word on the page, learning that the words go from left to right and flow in a certain fashion. They will, through spoken osmosis, learn how to read on their own. The longer this continues, and with a great deal of frequency, the more proficient of a reader they will become. Parents also should read aloud to their children so that are heard enjoying the books, and the children. This bond will unite them, and the stories will also help them to learn things of importance. Books should be selected together, during regular visits to the local library or book store. This will give the child a sense of autonomy and ownership over the story, which may hold their attention for a longer period. Parents can help steer the children towards books that have strong morals, ethics, focus on manners and friendships, and interesting characters. Once the children begin to learn how to read, the roles can be reversed, and the children can become the readers while the parents become the attentive audience. This may give the children a jolt of confidence and self-esteem that will serve them well as they continue through the educational system. The only thing better than a good book is sharing it with a loved one. Nine Benefits for Parents Who Read Aloud Reading Aloud: 1. Creates bonding experience 2. Allows you to observe and share in your child’s interests. 3. Demonstrates your commitments to your child. 4. Provides an opportunity to model and transmit values. 5. Develops good communication skills. 6. Provide bibliotherapy* opportunities. 7. Gives children a chance to ask you questions. 8. Combats a passive, couch-potato, TV-viewing lifestyle. 9. Helps you build a storehouse of pleasant memories with your children. *Using stories and books to help Children deal with traumatic events such as death, divorce, loss of a pet, and adjusting to life-changing situations such as moving and entering school. Sources: Paticia A. Habada, Ph. D. Senior Editor of the SDA Life Series Reading textbooks Health and Home, Volume 38 Pages 45-47 Bobby Coles http://www.helium.com

Friday, September 20, 2019

Laws and Guidelines Regulating E-Commerce

Laws and Guidelines Regulating E-Commerce Laws and Guidelines regulating e Commerce http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ Use the link above and the course textbook to investigate the following legislation and guidelines Why it was introduced? What must an e commerce business do to avoid contravening these rules? Data Protection Act (1998) To allow the users data to be protected when they are using any website. To prevent people from gaining access to sensitive information when purchasing or signing into a business website. This .blocks users access into the systems database where the users personal and sensitive information is stored. A business should avoid breaking these laws by making sure that when a user enters sensitive information that they are protected from people being able to gain access to that information. Users should also be aware that the information is being stored on the website and ensured that their data is protected. Computer Misuse Act (1990) To prevent people from being able to gain access into peoples computers since the internet was becoming a large-scale application. It was introduced to prevent hackers from gaining access into computers and being able to get away with it. To avoid breaking the law a business must ensure that they have antivirus software to prevent hackers from getting into the system and being able to get access to users sensitive information. As well as to make sure that, the business does not use the clients details to gain access to their information. They should also be aware of the ways to get malware and other viruses. Consumer Credit Act (1974) To make sure that users where aware of what was happening with their data within an agreement and if they werent happy they would be able to break the contract/ decline the contract to prevent their data from being leaked it also ensures that payments will be made. This cooling off period is within a period of two weeks. In addition, retailers are guaranteed with  £25,000 worth of payments. A business must make sure that they disclose what the arrangements are for the user. Such as making sure users are aware of the period that they can return the product. Trading Standards Trading standards where introduced to prevent traders from providing their users with dodgy products and to make sure users got a high quality product. Local governments also decide on whether or not the trading company is u to the trade standards. A business needs to make sure that it is able to get approval to make sure that the product provided is up to trading standards. Freedom of Information Act (2000) The Act was introduced to allow people to view the activities that the business has been doing to make sure that users are aware of what the business has been doing. This can come under the form of a request from the company if the information is not public. This comes under peoples right of having the right to know. A business should make sure that they are able to provide the appropriate information to users about the companys activities and if a user request to see information that isnt public that the user is aware if they should be able to have access to that information. Copyright Legislation Copyright legislation was introduced to make sure that a persons property was protected from other people copying it and using it for their own product/idea. This was first introduced with the Copyright and design Act, which allowed companies to be able to protect their property such as logos or music this would then be able to go on for a set amount of time where it can then be renewed. As business, it is important that they are aware what pieces of work are an infringement of someones/another companys piece of work under the copyright conditions. E-commerce Regulations It was introduced to make sure that users are aware of the protection and use of their data and what their data might be used for. It also provides users with information about the company such as where their brick stores are located as well as the contact details to be able to get into contact with the business. It also allows sure to make amendments to orders if they were to mistype the order. It is important that the business makes sure that the users are protected and that their data isnt stored onto the site for people to use.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Naked and Free in The Awakening :: Chopin Awakening Essays

Naked and Free in The Awakening The Awakening, by Kate Chopin seems to fit neatly into twentieth century ideals. Chopin addresses psychological issues that must have been difficult for people of the late nineteenth century to grasp. Just as Edna died a premature death, Chopin's book died too. The rejection of this book, at the time, ironically demonstrates the pressure many women must have felt to conform to society. Chopin shows the reader, through Edna Pontellier, that society restricts women the right to individuality. This restriction by society can be seen in the clothing Victorian women wore during the time. For example, we see clothing used as an important metaphor in the story. Victorian women's clothing was extremely confining, much like their life. The clothing can be seen as a type of "cage" which is apparent when we see Edna and Adele walking to the beach in chapter seven. Adele wore a veil, "doe skin gloves, white gauntlets ... was dressed in pure white, with a fluffiness of ruffles that became her" (478). Adele was the ideal of beauty. Edna, on the other hand, "wore a cool muslin that morning ... a white linen collar and a big straw hat" (478). We learn that "a casual and indiscriminating observer ... might not cast a second glance" (478) towards Edna. The fact that Edna was simply dressed showed her non conformity towards society's standards. When the two women get to the beach, Edna removes her collar and unbuttons her dress at the throat. Her decision not to wear all the garments is a hint at the rebellion to come. Another obvious example of the symbolism of clothing is seen at the end of the novel when Edna removes all of her clothing before committing suicide. Chopin writes that when Edna was "there beside the sea, absolutely alone, she cast the unpleasant, prickling garments from her, and for the first time in her life stood naked in the open air" (558). Edna seems to be removing her final restrictions before finding her freedom in death. This last rebellion against society seems to give Edna her final "awakening". This awakening can be seen when Chopin writes, "She felt like some new born creature opening its eyes in a familiar world that it had never known" (558).

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Gender-Based Notions of Homoerotic Love: Sappho and Plato’s Symposium

Gender-Based Notions of Homoerotic Love: Sappho and Plato’s Symposium The poetry of Sappho, and the speeches in Plato’s Symposium both deal primarily with homoerotic love, although Sappho, one of the only female poets in Ancient Greece, speaks from the female perspective, while Plato’s work focuses on the nature of this love between men. There are several fundamental elements that are common to both perspectives, including similar ideals of youth and beauty, and the idea of desire as integral to both views on love. Despite these similarities, however, there is an important distinction, which can be understood in terms of Pausanias’ concepts of Common versus Celestial Love, where Sappho’s view represents Common Love, and the larger view of Symposium represents Celestial Love. While Sappho’s work is very much grounded in the physical realm, Plato emphasizes that true love is centralized in the mind, and that it is an intellectual and philosophical phenomenon. Pausanias, who delivers Symposium’s second speech, explains some of the societal norms governing male homoerotic affairs. The rules by which a lover (an older man) and his boyfriend (a young man who has probably not yet grown his beard) may behave are rigid, and strongly enforced by the society’s moral code. Pausanias reveals that the convention of this relationship is pursuer/pursued: â€Å"our society encourages the lovers to chase their boyfriends, and their boyfriends to run away: this enables us to find out whether a given lover and his beloved are good or bad† (184a). Pausanias emphasizes the moral element further when he discusses the circumstances under which it is acceptable to gratify a lover. It is acceptable when â€Å"the ... ...otional) need of a lover. Sappho, who represents female homoeroticism, and Plato, who’s Symposium addresses many aspects of male homoerotic love, share some fundamental aspects of love, but their views and objectives are largely different. The latter’s goal is essentially intellectual satisfaction, while the former’s is more directly linked with physical beauty and desire for physical closeness, not characterized by grand moral and intellectual ideals. This is not to say that the love between Sappho and her lovers, was solely based on sexual desire. It is certainly wrong to assume that, in light of the Symposium’s perspective, they were mindless, sex-driven lesbians. I would argue, rather, that this love, is more real, more common, and more universally accessible, whereas the love in Symposium is highly specialized, and accessible exclusively to men.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

The yellow wallpaper -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The plot of â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† comes from a moderation of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s personal experience. In 1887, just two years after the birth of her first child, Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell diagnosed Gilman with neurasthenia, an emotional disorder characterized by fatigue and depression. Mitchell decided that the best prescription would be a â€Å"rest cure†. Mitchell encouraged Gilman to â€Å"Live a domestic life as far as possible,† to â€Å"have two hours’ intellectual life each day,† and to â€Å"never touch a pen, brush or pencil again,†(Gilman 20) as long as she lived. After three months of isolation, abiding by Dr. Mitchell’s orders, Gilman realized she was becoming insane. She abandoned Dr. Mitchell’s advice and, after recovering, she wrote an exaggerated version of her experience. Written in 1892, â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† reflects the social mindset of United States’ citizens just after the Civil War. This was a time of cultural and economical growth, expansion, and development. Women received little political and social freedom; their actions were greatly influenced by their husbands’ wills. The wallpaper’s chaotic pattern represents the metaphorical bars that Jane feels trapped in as a woman. The woman in the paper represents Jane trying to escape and become free from the reigns of her husband. Women were not expected to have a career or a â€Å"public life;† instead, they were expected to focus on the upkeep of home and family. People in this time lived ... The yellow wallpaper -- essays research papers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The plot of â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† comes from a moderation of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s personal experience. In 1887, just two years after the birth of her first child, Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell diagnosed Gilman with neurasthenia, an emotional disorder characterized by fatigue and depression. Mitchell decided that the best prescription would be a â€Å"rest cure†. Mitchell encouraged Gilman to â€Å"Live a domestic life as far as possible,† to â€Å"have two hours’ intellectual life each day,† and to â€Å"never touch a pen, brush or pencil again,†(Gilman 20) as long as she lived. After three months of isolation, abiding by Dr. Mitchell’s orders, Gilman realized she was becoming insane. She abandoned Dr. Mitchell’s advice and, after recovering, she wrote an exaggerated version of her experience. Written in 1892, â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† reflects the social mindset of United States’ citizens just after the Civil War. This was a time of cultural and economical growth, expansion, and development. Women received little political and social freedom; their actions were greatly influenced by their husbands’ wills. The wallpaper’s chaotic pattern represents the metaphorical bars that Jane feels trapped in as a woman. The woman in the paper represents Jane trying to escape and become free from the reigns of her husband. Women were not expected to have a career or a â€Å"public life;† instead, they were expected to focus on the upkeep of home and family. People in this time lived ...

Historical King Arthur Essay

King Arthur is one of the most well known historical figures of all time. One of the most interesting debates surrounding the legends and tales of King Arthur is whether or not he truly existed. The debate has its roots in the Renaissance time when Arthur’s existence was defended as the basis for the Tudor monarchs to trace their ancestry back to King Arthur as a way to hold onto their reign. Modern historians argue that a King Arthur may have existed though he was not the same King Arthur in the much loved legends and tales that have been passed down from generation to generation. This debate will continue as there has been no logical proof that King Arthur did actually exist (The Camelot Project, 1). At the same time, the influence of King Arthur will remain an important part of history as well. King Arthur has had a significant influence on literature, art, music and society as far back as the Middle Ages. The legend of Arthur projects him as a great legendary British king born to Uther Pendragon and Igraine. Some versions of the legend also include information regarding three half sisters of Arthur. Arthur married Guinevere and legend says they had no children together although Arthur did father children. Some versions of the Arthur legend contend that Perlesvaus was fathered by Arthur and Guinevere but other versions say this is not so (Joe, 1). Further, in various versions of the legend, Arthur’s son had different names. One legend states that Arthur killed his son while another says his son died after being attacked by a wild boar (Joe, 1). These ancestorial facts are unclear and vary across different versions of the legends which is perhaps one reason why the existence of a real King Arthur is so heavily debated. There has been no archeological evidence that a real King Arthur ever existed. Without absolute proof it is difficult to separate potential facts from the many legends that surround King Arthur (Joe, 1). Perhaps the reason why the legend of King Arthur is so popular is because King Arthur was a bright light in the face of treachery and darkness (Snell, 1). King Arthur brought peace to his land by defending it from every danger and also expanding his empire to encompass great amounts of land. Under the command of King Arthur, a group of knights helped the helpless, battled evil and scoured the land for holy relics. The courageous nature of King Arthur makes him a true hero that many generations of people have looked up to. He gave people hope in sorrowful times by being the type of ruler that looked out for the weak and the poor. Despite the fact that King Arthur is so loved and admired, he remains a legend. There is no existing proof that can provide without a doubt that King Arthur is a true historical figure. Instead, the legend of King Arthur will remain a legend (Snell, 1). The vast amount of literature and other media that focus on King Arthur may cause some people to assume that these stories are based in part on fact. However, there is no evidence that any of the facts surrounding the legend of King Arthur are true. Part of the reason why so many people assume that King Arthur is a true historical figure may be based on The History of the Kings of Britain which details the life and rule of the exalted King Arthur (Snell, 1). This historical document provides so many in depth details about King Arthur that many find it hard to argue with. However, the reference for this document has never been found so the facts included within cannot be proven. Further, some are of the opinion that the author of this document, Geoffrey of Monmouth, wrote the history in order to make others view his people in a more positive light (Snell, 1). There are many scholarly facts that aid in disproving the actual existence of King Arthur. These are the facts that enable King Arthur to keep his place in history as one of the most noble and well loved kings of all time. Legend holds that King Arthur was able to single handedly lead an assault that left nine hundred dead and allowed him to reign as king for nearly one hundred years. Legend also holds that King Arthur fought giants and strange beasts and was led by a red dragon (Ogden-Korus, 1). Since none of these mythological creatures or fantastic feats are possible, it can be assumed that King Arthur is a legend as well. This leads to the goal of many scholars. They wish to uncover facts that may prove whether there really was a King Arthur behind all the folklore (Ogden-Korus, 1). So far, they have been unsuccessful in proving that King Arthur ever did exist so he remains a legend to this day. In order to find proof of King Arthur, many archeologists have attempted to find concrete evidence that can be directly traced to the legendary king. There is very little evidence in Britain that can be traced back to the time of King Arthur. For example, the primary building tool during King Arthur’s time was wood, which completely decomposes over time and would not provide any proof of the existence of King Arthur. Further, the field of archeology cannot deal with specifics (Ogden-Korus, 1). Instead, archeologists analyze existing evidence and make educated guesses regarding ancient history. With regards to the place and times of King Arthur, these educated guesses have led to the conclusion that King Arthur is simply a legend. One of the most common associations with King Arthur is Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table. However, this connection cannot be considered fact. The legend of King Arthur is said to have lived during the sixth century but the creation of Camelot did not come into existence until the twelfth century when it became a part of literature (Ogden-Korus, 1). There are other more compelling discoveries that have aided in spreading the opinion that King Arthur did once exist. However, this evidence, while compelling, is not concrete. For example, Tintagel Castle, the alleged birthplace of King Arthur was a thirteenth century castle so it could not have existed during the time of King Arthur. However, in 1998, an archeological dig at Tintagel Castle uncovered a sixth century fort underneath the castle (Giger, 1). This evidence alone does not point to the existence of King Arthur. There are many sixth century forts in England and Wales and the discovery of this one does not provide concrete evidence that King Arthur ever existed – only that a sixth century fort existed where legend says that King Arthur was born (Giger, 1). This type of evidence is exciting and motivates historians and scholars to continue their search for evidence that King Arthur did exist. However, at this time no concrete evidence has been discovered to prove the King Arthur was anything more than a legend. Despite the fact that there is no definitive proof that King Arthur ever existed, there have been many myths that surround his name. Camelot is the perhaps the most well known myth that surrounds the legend of King Arthur. As previously discussed, Camelot did not come into existence until it was included in literature in the twelfth century (Ogden-Korus, 1). Camelot is the most well known and famous castle associated with King Arthur. Experts agree that Camelot is most likely a fictional place because its exact location is unknown. â€Å"Camelot, located no where in particular, can be anywhere† (Lacy, 67). The myth of Camelot has been allowed to spread because of how much people respect and admire the legend of King Arthur. The various versions of the myths surrounding King Arthur often contradict one another but people are willing to overlook such discrepancies because the writings about King Arthur are so captivating and entertaining (Miller, 1). People want to believe that such a magnificent person could really have existed so they get caught up in the myths surrounding King Arthur and begin to believe that he was a real person. Another myth that the legend of King Arthur has influenced is the legend of Lancelot, one of the Knights of the Round Table. Sir Lancelot is considered one of the best and one of the worst knights in the court of King Arthur (Sir Lancelot Online, 1). Lancelot is a creation of literature that emerged at the same time that Camelot did. In this portrayal, Lancelot becomes the most valuable knight of King Arthur. He was chivalrous and brave and accomplished many important tasks including rescuing Guinevere from Meleagant and once again rescuing her from being burned to death for committing adultery with him (Sir Lancelot Online, 1). Sir Lancelot helped contribute to the myths surrounding King Arthur because his heroic deeds made King Arthur look good. Ultimately, Lancelot betrays King Arthur by committing adultery with Guinevere but this too makes King Arthur look good because people pity him for the wrongs committed against him. Another important and famous myth surrounding King Arthur that has contributed to the admiration of many is his sword, Excalibur. Excalibur is said to have magical powers. Part of the reason why the myth of Excalibur makes King Arthur so admired is because some versions of the myth discuss how King Arthur pulled the sword from a stone thus making himself appear magical and strong. However, other versions of the myth keep Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone separate. The myth that includes King Arthur pulling the sword from the stone provides some with evidence that he was a true king because only a true king would be able to even pull the sword out of the stone. Other versions say that Excalibur was a sword the King Arthur obtained through Merlin from the Lady of the Lake (Ford, 1). The fact that King Arthur used such powerful weapons also provides a compelling reason why so many people believe in the power of King Arthur. These weapons are also part of the reason why King Arthur has survived throughout history as one of the most revered kings of all time. One final aspect of the legend of King Arthur that has enabled him to live throughout history is the myth of Merlin. Merlin is a well known wizard that mentored King Arthur. Merlin had supernatural powers and abilities and is said to have engineered the birth of King Arthur through his magical powers (Briggs, 440). The magical powers that surrounded Merlin were of enormous benefit to King Arthur because they enabled him to accomplish great things. These great things are what has allowed King Arthur to become as legendary as he remains today. King Arthur is a real historical figure in that many people truly believe that he actually existed. This belief has been passed down from generation to generation so that the legend of King Arthur has become real to so many people. The fantastic accomplishments that are credited to King Arthur make him a much loved and respected ruler. At the same time, the magic and mystic that surround King Arthur provide a sense of mystery that captivates people into believing the myths. These myths have allowed King Arthur to rise in prestige and remain so popular. However, there is no historical or archeological proof that King Arthur ever existed. If such proof is out there it has yet to be discovered. The fact that the legend of King Arthur is so well known and loved has allowed the myths associated with the legendary king to become valid parts of the King Arthur legend. For example, most people do not realize that Camelot and Lancelot are fictional creations that came into existence some five hundred years after the time of King Arthur. These myths have provided King Arthur with a reputation of greatness that cannot be based on historical fact. At the same time, there is no harm in allowing people to believe that King Arthur was real because in the hearts of many King Arthur was real. There is no definitive data to back this assumption up but this does not deter many people from believing in the existence of King Arthur. In the end, history has not proven that King Arthur truly existed but literature and movies have created a character that is so loved that he has become â€Å"real† and he will remain â€Å"real† as long as people continue to be captivated by the legend of the King Arthur and the myths that surround him. Briggs, Katharine Mary. An Encyclopedia of Fairies, Hobgoblins, Brownies, Boogies and Other Supernatural Creatures. New York: Pantheon Books, 1976. 440. Ford, David Nash. â€Å"Excalibur. † Brittania. 2000. 17 Feb 2009 . Giger, Remus. â€Å"In Search of†¦ King Arthur. † Associated Content. 2007. 17 Feb 2009 . Joe, Jimmy. â€Å"King Arthur. † Timeless Myths. 1999. 17 Feb 2009 . Lacy, Norris J. â€Å"Camelot. † The New Arthurian Encyclopedia. New York: Garland, 1991. 67. Miller, Michael D. â€Å"The True Story. † Camelot: The True Story. Moffat, CO: Rideout Publishing, 2008. Ogden-Korus, Erin. â€Å"An Archeological Quest for the ‘Real’ King Arthur. 1999. 17 Feb 2009 . Sir Lancelot Online. â€Å"Sir Lancelot of the Lake. † 17 Feb 2009 . Snell, Melissa. â€Å"The Truth of Arthur. A Legendary King. † About. com: Medieval History. 1999. 17 Feb 2009 . The Camelot Project. â€Å"Historical Arthur. † King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. 2001. 17 Feb 2009 .

Monday, September 16, 2019

Critical Criminology

CHAPTER 1 CRIME THEORY: CRITICAL CRIMINOLOGY There could be different reasons of increasing crimes. One of the obvious reasons is poverty and social injustice. Most of the people engaged in crime either don’t have proper source of income or they are socially discriminated. So the main reason of crime is poverty and social injustice. Most of the places with high poverty and social injustice have high crime rate (Jerry, 1995). The most important policy implications that would be most successful in reducing crime and/or rehabilitating convicted offenders in long term are critical criminology theories. In critical criminology crimes are defined in terms of domination. That is if some class or group is dominant than they can make social concept lawful and unlawful. Lower class, single parent women, poor people and minorities mainly suffer due to domination factor by others (Hopkin, 2001). 1. 1 Broad Problem Area: â€Å"Importance of Critical Criminology in Reducing Crimes† Justice system around the world is not strong enough to reduce crimes. So we need alternative approach through which criminals can become useful and productive member of the society. It’s not easy to completely change justice system but it’s not difficult to make criminals better citizens as well. Critical criminology is an effective way to reduce social injustice and crimes. Concept of critical criminology came in late sixties and early seventies. It mainly deals with the dominative and differential relation between different groups on the basis of demographic factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, minorities, cultures, values and social groups. This culture and social diversity was created due to migrations and human nature. Social indifferences are another form of injustice. It’s important to support these peoples who are being discriminated (Bauman and Tester, 2001). According to Wikipedia Encyclopedia, in critical criminology the scope of crimes is defined differently on the basis of social circumstances and time period of their occurrence. Critical criminology is somewhat different from basic study of criminology that deals with criminals and their behaviors. The basic idea of critical criminology is that the social and past trends would define whether some thing is unlawful or not at given time. There could be different things that are considered to be unlawful in past but now they are lawful and same goes with those things which are lawful in past but now they are unlawful. Such as marriage of homosexuals was considered to be unlawful in past but now with the passage of time societies are accepting this and making laws to protect marriages of homosexuals. This is not possible that all the studies on crimes are dealing with modern social life but they are some way connected to the present (Garland, 1999). There could be different theories that could emerges from critical criminology such as conflict theories, feminist theories, & postmodern and peacemaking theories. A conflict theory of criminology is not accepted largely by criminologist because they think conflict theories don’t address the criminal activities in socialist and capitalist societies. Feminist theories define that crime done by males and crimes done by females should be viewed differently. They give new aspect to criminology on the basis of gender. Critical criminologists have different views and way of resolving crimes. These two theories are mainly recognized around the world. Main emphasis is given to relation between criminals and societies. Even feminist criminologists don’t properly represent gender prospective and take back their views after failure of other criminologists (Van, 1997). There is a difference between critical criminology and conventional criminology. Conventional criminology is not dealing with activities which are affecting life of thousands of people such as politicians’ decisions that could affect millions of people, corporate scandals that affected thousands of workers, stock market manipulations that affected thousand of investors and also discriminations of minorities that have no end. Conventional laws do not answer these structural disparities that helps dominate group to take advantage of it. Conventional criminology is dealing with state defined crimes but not the crimes that are harming society ocially (Stephen, 1983). Criminologists working to find ways to resolve or to reduce crimes are not able to identify or not able to provide any authentic procedures to resolve crimes (Braithwaite, 1998). And also they didn’t even give importance to issues or difference created due to power and state (Cunneen and White 1996). This is still a claim that critical craniologist are more inclined towards gaining some pos ition and recognition rather than actually doing some thing for society to protect human rights and to promote justice in society. Since 1960, activists in human rights and social justice are molding progress in critical criminology theory. There is a relation between criminologists and social & human right moments (Braithwaite, 1989). Critical criminologist overstates the crime problem in society. Instead of removing the mystery that crimes are not their and its media created etc. they should accept crimes as a dilemma of powerless. They must not criticize criminal system by keeping this fact in mind that it is created by undue protection given to the privileged class. There is a cause effect relationship between crimes and poverty, racism, discrimination, social injustice, racisms etc. Critical criminoloiges must keep this in mind while evaluating crimes. However, critical criminology and traditional criminology should not work in different ways rather they should work together in the same way. (Cohen, 1998). 1. 2 Problem Statement: â€Å"Is Critical thinking is helpful to reduce crimes and able to reduce social injustice from society†. 1. 3 Purpose & Significance of Study The main purpose of this study is to identify the importance of critical criminology in order to reduce crimes. This study will also identify other ways to reduce crimes and their effectiveness. And it will also explain what factors are responsible for crimes. This study will help policy makers and law enforcing agencies to avoid crimes by using proper critical criminology theories. 1. 4 Research Questions The aim of this research is to study, 1) How do people perceive that critical criminology can reduce crimes? 2) How do people perceive the role of critical criminology in order to reduce injustice from society? ) How do people perceive that critical criminology approach is better way to reduce crime rather than conventional criminology approach? 1. 5 Theoretical Diagram In this diagram crimes reduction is dependent variable which depend on critical criminology that is independent variable. Critical Criminology method that properly identify social injustices that could change offend er future behavior towards crime and society support to accept these people as a useful member of society are intervening variable. These variables can assure the effectiveness of counseling treatment to reduce crimes. Independent Variable Dependent Variable Intervening Variable CHAPTER 2 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY This chapter presents the basic methodology and requirement in research. It includes the methods of research, the respondents and their description, sources of data, the sets of research instruments that were used, the treatment of data, and the statistical tools, which were used in this study. 2. 1 Method of the Study: The research utilized the descriptive method in acquiring information for evaluation and analysis. The descriptive survey was the general rocedure employed in a study that has for its chief purposes the description of the phenomena that is importance of critical criminology theory in reducing crimes from society by providing social injustice. 2. 2 Sample, Type of Questionnaire, & Treatment of Data: The population for this research study was the general public. A random sample of 50 was taken from different places and different groups such as law enforcing agencies, c ommunity, criminologist etc. Researcher selected probability sampling, because every person had an equal chance of being selected. The survey questionnaire seeks the perception of the respondents with respect to factors important for crime reduction. In order to analyze the information given in the questionnaires, Likert scale had been applied in question 1 to question 9. The purpose is to evaluate effectiveness of counseling in crime reduction. 2. 3 Validation of the questionnaire: It was deemed necessary to revalidate the questionnaire to find out the clarity of the questions being asked as well as their relevance to the problems formulated. The validation of the questionnaire was done through the comments and suggestion by respondent. And also validation and reliability of research instrument used to get information that is questionnaire is done by implementing it to different places and same results were extracted from every place. 2. 4 Statistical Tools: Researcher used frequency and percentage distribution to determine the relationships of the variables and give clear and reliable analysis and interpretation of the data. The formula is; % = F/N ? 100 % = percentage F = frequency N = number of respondent CHAPTER 3 QUESTIONNAIRE ANALYSIS, FINDINGS & CONCLUSION 3. 1 Questionnaire Analysis: Respondent responded in the following way: Topic Based on Questionnaire |Highly Disagree | Disagree | Moderately | |Highly Agree | | | | | |Agree | | |Critical criminology is providing support to poor, minority |11% |18% |25% |42% |4% | |and low social class group | | | | | | |Critical criminology theory is important to reduce social |0% |0% |14% |57% |29% | |differences | | | | | | |Main reason of increasing crime rate is soci al injustice |3% |10% |21% |40% |26% | |Critical criminology is playing important role in order to |11% |28% |31% |26% |4% | |highlight social injustices | | | | | | |Critical criminology is different from conventional |29% |36% |19% |10% |6% | |criminology | | | | | | |There is a difference of opinion among critical criminologist |18% |24% |21% |30% |7% | |Critical criminologists are criticizing conventional justice |17% |19% |23% |35% |6% | |system that it supports to powerful class | | | | | | Social movement regarding human rights and social justice is |0% |0% |9% |55% |36% | |supporting critical criminologist | | | | | | |Critical criminologists are working for their recognition |26% |37% |21% |10% |6% | |rather than to support social injustice | | | | | | 3. 2 Findings & Conclusion: On the basis of the questionnaire, most of the respondent responded that critical criminology is providing support to poor, minority and low social class group and critical criminology theory is i mportant to reduce social differences †¢ On the basis of the questionnaire, most of the respondent agreed on a statement that main reason of increasing crime rate is social injustice and critical criminology is playing important role in order to highlight social injustices †¢ On the basis of the questionnaire, most of the respondent responded moderately agreed on a statement that critical criminology is different from conventional criminology and there is a difference of opinion among critical criminologist †¢ On the basis of the questionnaire, most of the respondent responded that critical criminologists are criticizing conventional justice system that it supports to powerful class and social movement regarding human rights and social justice is supporting critical criminologist. In these days societies are giving more focus to crime, victimization, regulation, punishment, with respect to human rights, equity, social justice, well being of the community, and globaliz ation. More activists are taking interest in decreasing discrimination and imbalances in societies. They are trying to gather more people to take action for the betterment of society and this will affect both antiestablishment and establishment criminologies. If model of Mutualism develops with the same pace than critical criminologists have to revise their studies and ways to resolve crimes. They have to establish the relation between antiestablishment and establishment criminologies not for individual but for the society. Now societies are moving from equal rights and equal justice to human rights and social justice due to social movement to protect rights. References: Bauman, Z. , & Tester, K. (2001). Conversations with Zygmunt Bauman. Cambridge: Polity Press. Braithwaite, J. 1989. Crime, Shame and Reintegration. Melbourne: Cambridge University Press. Braithwaite, J. 1998. Reducing the Crime Problem: A Not So Dismal Criminology. The New Criminology Revisited, London: Macmillan. Chan, J. 1996. Crime Prevention and the Lure of Relevance. Australian and New Zealand. Journal of Criminology, 27(1): 25-9. Cunneen, C. , and White, R. 1996. Juvenile Justice: An Australian Perspective. Melbourne: Cambridge University Press Garland, D. (1999). The Commonplace and the Catastrophic. Theoretical Criminology, 3(3), pp. 353-64. Hopkins, B. R. (2001). An Introduction to Criminological Theory. Cullompton: Willan pg. 173 Jerry, B. (1995). Crime Control: We the People. Radio broadcasts. North Coast XPress. Stephen, B. 1983. Power & Crime. Van, S. R. (1997). Critical Criminology: Visions from Europe. London: Sage Wikipedia Encyclopedia. Critical Criminology. 2008. Retrieved on 12 July 2008 from http:// en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Critical_criminology QUESTIONNAIRE: RESEARCH PAPER CRIME THEORY: CRITICAL CRIMINOLOGY Direction: Please indicate the degree of importance as perceived by you, by putting a tick mark opposite to each of the number item showing the degree of perception. Scale |Weights | |Highly Disagree |1 | |Disagree |2 | |Moderately |3 | |Agree |4 | |Highly Agree |5 | 1) At what extent do you think critical criminology is providing support to poor, minority and low social class group? Highly Disagree Highly Agree 1 2 3 4 5 2) At what extent do you think critical criminology theory is important to reduce so cial differences? Highly Disagree Highly Agree 1 2 3 4 5 3) At what extent do you think main reason of increasing crime rate is social injustice? Highly Disagree Highly Agree 1 2 3 4 5 4) At what extent do you think critical criminology is playing important role in order to highlight social injustices? Highly Disagree Highly Agree 1 2 3 4 5 5) At what extent do you think critical criminology is different from conventional criminology? Highly Disagree Highly Agree 1 2 3 4 5 6) At what extent do you think there is a difference of opinion among critical criminologist? Highly Disagree Highly Agree 1 2 3 4 5 7) At what extent do you think critical criminologists are criticizing conventional justice system that it supports to powerful class? Highly Disagree Highly Agree 1 2 3 4 5 ) At what extent do you think social movement regarding human rights and social justice is supporting critical criminologist? Highly Disagree Highly Agree 1 2 3 4 5 9) At what extent do you think critical criminologists are working for their recognition rather than to support social injustice? Highly Disagree Highly Agree 1 2 3 4 5 ———————– Critical Criminology CRIMES REDUCTION Feminist Theory Conflict Theory Postmodern & Peacemaking Theories

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Evaluate and Use Information and Communications Technology Essay

The purpose of this essay is to research a technological toy, I focused on Bee Bots, which I use in my setting, evaluate and critically analyse the effectiveness of that toy in promoting children’s learning. Later I will demonstrate my personal use of ICT and a record of use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) over a period of one month as a professional role in promoting children’s development in my setting. Finally, I will reflect on my tracking sheet and identify the opportunity to develop ICT in communication with parents. According to Siraj-Blatchford, Whitebread (2003) in supporting children in their development of an early understanding of ICT we are concerned to support them in learning about a wide range of products that are used to manipulate, store, retrieve, transmit or receive information not only computers. Most of the ICT applications that we are familiar with today are put to use in electronic products such as telephones, audio and video, CD player, recorders, computers, television. I am going to focus on a programmable toy – Bee Bot. I chose that particular piece of ICT toy as we use it quite often in our setting. Bee Bot is a bright and a colourful and multi-sensory programmable floor robot, suitable for use in Early Years. According to Morgan, Siraj-Blatchford (2009) the use of programmable toys in early years educational settings is based upon the constructionist teaching approach, which is underpinned by the idea that learning can happen most effectively when people are actively engaged with doing and making things in the real world and was first developed by Papert, in 1993. Bee Bot â€Å"enable young children to learn through play about control and directional language and provides a perfect ‘hands on’ introduction to robotics† (Sprainger, 2007). Sturdy construction and colourful, easy-to-operate design is a perfect tool for teaching alphabet, number recognition, fine motor skills by using the directional buttons, and social skills such as turn taking. Direction keys are used to enter up to forty commands which send Bee Bot forward, back, left and right. Pressing the green ‘Go’ button starts the toy on its way. â€Å" Bee Bot blinks and beeps at the conclusion of each command to allow children to follow Bee Bot through the program they have entered and then confirms its competition with lights and sound† (Terapine Software, no date). It works on rough or smooth surfaces and is small enough to be used on a table (Inclusive Technology, no date). Bee Bot moves in 6†steps and 90 degree turns and compact size as well as durable material make Bee Bot child and classroom friendly. Bee Bot is equally adaptable to home and school environment, it can be use both indoor and outdoor and operates on three AA batteries (Interactive Learning in the Early Phase, No date). In 2005, Bee Bot was awarded a Gold Award at the Practical Pre-School Award in London and in 2006 Bee Bot was a winner of an Education Resources Award in the Primary ICT category awarded by The British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA), (TTS: Educational Supplies for Schools, Nurseries & Childminders , No date). After an initial introduction to the toy Bee Bot help children to engage in playful exploratory activity which allows for numerous opportunities such as self-initiated activity, which provide opportunities for quality adult-child and child-child interactions (Siraj-Blatchford, Whitebread, 2003). According to Light and Butterworth, activities requiring ‘joint attention’ and which involve ‘children learning to share’ provide a better cognitive challenge for young children than activities were they work alone† (Developmentally Appropriate Technology in Early Childhood, No date). Learning with the Bee Bot is a highly social experience and support communication and social skill development, children learn about negotiating, taking turns, sharing and peer work. The Bee Bot has the capacity to support children to develop a broad range of essential skills across curriculum and the only limit is the practitioner and children imagination. It is available with across curriculum mats to enhance children learning in all area of their development, therefore in my work place we adapt the mats that we already have in our setting and I still feel that we did not use its full potential. So far we used Bee Bot with Alphabet mat, and alphabet flash cards to extend children letter sound recognition and oral language development for children with English as an Additional Language (EAL) to support their listening and recalling skills. Number and shape mat is used to expand children mathematical skills such as counting, number recognition, positional language, shape recognition. Road mat is used to develop children orientation as they need to manipulate, orientate, track and rotate the Bee Bot as well as road safety skills. Using a Bee Bot also introduce the children to a range of science skills as they interpret design challenges, generate possible solutions, make plans, test and evaluate and modifying the program were necessary (Sprainger, 2007). I founded as well as a number of eachers around the world (see teachers reviews in Appendix C) that Bee Bot are good value for money (manufacture instruction enclose in Appendix B) and the only disadvantage I can find is that after each activity program needs to be cleared in order to reprogrammed again. Although, it is clear that ICT should be used ‘to develop skills across all six areas of learning’ it is the ‘Knowledge and Understanding of the World ’ strand alone in the guidance that makes direct reference to ICT usage. â€Å"It is clear that young children are computer†¦ literate at an early age† (Keating, 2007, pg. 126). According to DATEC (No date) any application introduced to children in order to develop understanding and experience of ICT should not just be enjoyable, although this is important but more importantly should be educationally effective. Children need a variety of applications which encourage a range of development, including creativity, self-expression and language. From analysing my tracking sheet which recorded the use of ICT in my setting (details in Appendix A) I must admit that I was quite impressed with the amount of ICT equipment we use with children each day without even realising. From the tracking sheet I understood how important modelling and collaborative play is in Early Years. Programmable toys and many screen based applications offer the possibility of collaboration but adult intervention is frequently needed to gain the most from the ICT ‘equipment’. According to the UK Effective Provision of Preschool Education (EPPE) (Sylva et al, 2004), and Researching Effective Pedagogy in Early Childhood (REPEY) (Siraj-Blatchford et al, 2002) studies have found that the most effective foundation stage settings combined the provision of free play opportunities with more focused group work involving adult instruction. This approach appears to be most desirable model to promote ICT and I must proudly admitted that we are focusing on small group activities to meet all children’s needs, especially with EAL children. The relationship between cognitive strategies and language development is currently regarded as central to understanding children’s difficulties developing language as a first or additional language. Skinner emphasizes the roles of imitation, repetition, reward and reinforcement in formal language teaching situation (Lewis, Norwich, 2005). Adult-child interactions that involved some elements of ‘sustained shared thinking’ were especially valuable in terms of children’s early learning† (Siraj-Blatchford, and Siraj-Blatchford, No date). Activities I have provided for the children in my setting are differentiated according to their interest, age and learning style and were â€Å"targeted at learner’s educational needs and stage of understanding† (Hurst, 1997, pg. 82), as according to Miller, Devereoux (2004, pg155) â€Å"children need to be able to experiment, repeat activities in variety of ways and have some control over a pace of what they are doing†¦ ollaborate with adult and each other and share their discoveries and triumphs†. Furthermore, the work of Bruner and Vygotsky suggests that â€Å"we actually come to understand what it is we think through talk† (Moyles, 1995). â€Å"Bruner showed that children need to be reminded of previous experience†¦ by pictures, books†¦ he called this ‘iconic thinking’, he also felt that role of adult was important†¦ as†¦ adult provides support as children develop their competence and confidence† (Tassoni, H uccker, 2005, pg. 31). I believe that according to North, McKeown, (2005, pg. 72) â€Å"ICT meets all learners styles as it â€Å"lets pupils learn by looking, listening and doing†. â€Å"Although the evidence on gender differences in attitudes towards computer-related activities, levels of participation with computers,†¦ it appears that girls perform just as well as boys when they engage with computer-based learning† ( Bancroft, Carr, 1998, pg. 104) and it has been proved in my setting that girls get involved as equally often and well in ICT related equipment as boys. From my tracking I also realised that we are meeting entire requirement as Every Child Matter (2008) suggested relating to observation, assessment, planning, key person by using ICT equipments such as cameras, video recorder, Interactive White Board (IWB) and Fronter – School Blackboard (explained deeply in Appendix D), which is available through London Managed Learning Environment (MLE) (Ealing Grid for Learning, No date) and all the staff have been given training on it. Children from key stage one and two are able to access Fronter from home and share their school life with their parents. In the sector I work in – Early Years Foundation Stage parents are given individual logins and passwords to be able to track what is happening in our nursery each term, check any events that are taking place in school but in my opinion working with parents in relation of ICT is an area that needs improving. I discovered three main issues that must be improved in my opinion to develop a better communication and build better relationship with our parents. First of all, I must mention that even though as a school staff we have opportunities for professional development and ICT â€Å"supporting learning† (Teaching and Learning, No date). Training are usually organised by our school ICT co-ordinator. Insets quite frequently and I recognise myself as being a computer literate person thus we must consider that not all of our parents â€Å"can present barrier† (Plowman, Stephen, 2003, pg. 160) and perhaps school could extend ‘children Fronter club’ for ‘parents Fronter club’ to help parents overcome that barrier as â€Å"home school link and parents involvement is therefore a component of effective school† (Curriculum Guidance, 2001). Secondly, the language barrier could be one of the reasons why parents are not so keen on using our School Blackboard. To overcome this barrier after having an Inset with my manager we decided that the school news letter both in electronic form and hard copy could be translated in the most common spoken languages in our school, such as Tamil, Somali, Arabic and Farsi. As a Foundation Stage Practitioners we all agree that when â€Å"parents, teachers and children collaborate towards the same goals it leads to the improved academic performance of children† (Curriculum Guidance, 2001). Lastly, in my opinion the main issue could be, as the school is situated in low-income industrial area, that not all household might have an access to the computer. According to Morgan, Siraj-Blatchford (2009) research evidence has shown that the efforts of parents and preschools can make a considerable difference to children’s future educational achievements regardless of their socio-economic background and current national policy initiatives aim is to close the gap in educational achievement for children from disadvantaged background. â€Å"One of the ways in which this commitment has manifested itself has been in the Government’s three hundred million pounds Home Access project which provides computers and internet access to families to enhance learning at home† (Morgan, Siraj-Blatchford , 2009, pg. 13). Our school received the funding three years ago and designed the ‘parent computer room’ which was very popular at the begging but now seems to be forgotten. I think it is a good time to bring up that issue during the Inset to make use of that room again. When talking about ICT I must mention about a â€Å"number of queries and concerns regarding health and safety issues and other risks, which may be associated with technology routinely used by young children (Morgan, Siraj-Blatchford, 2009, pg. 39) , such as using electricity . Our children are thought not to â€Å"investigate or play with any equipment that uses mains electricity† (Creary, 2002, pg. 4) and all sockets are protected with socket protector to eliminate any hazards. According to Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) Portable Appliance Testing (PAT Testing and Portable Appliance, No date) is required once a year and our school has passed one two weeks ago. It is important that while children learn about ICT they also learn how to manage their own space and select the right tools when sitting at the computer. According to Morgan, Siraj-Blatchford (2009) it is therefore advisable that the regular use of any computer application by three years old child should not be longer than ten to twenty minutes. Young children, parents and practitioners are using ICT in novel and creative ways† (Morgan, Siraj-Blatchford, 2009, pg. 40) and it is important to use all available ICT equipment safely. Our school leaders with ICT co-ordinator â€Å"consider the issue of e-safety† (E-safety, No date) and drew Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) (See Appendix E). According to Every Child Matter (2008), suitable premises, environment and equipment our outdoor and indoor spaces, furniture, equipment and toys are safe as they are checked on regular basis and school is monitored by CCTV camera and locked.