Monday, September 30, 2019

Causes and Consequences of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu

Causes and consequences of the battle of Dien Bien Phu Examine the causes and consequences and consequences of the battle of Dien Bien Phu, 1954, which affected the lives of the Vietnamese until the 1960's. Dien Bien Phu, 1954, was the final battle of the first Indo-China war. Lasting 55 days, the battle had French troops attempt to hold an armed camp against the Viet Minh, who greatly out-numbered them. Dien Bien Phu was situated in a valley in Northern Vietnam, surrounded by mountains.The French believed this strategic setting would give them an advantage, but the Viet Minh were clever. They tunnelled their way into the the French camp and after seven weeks of brutal, intense fighting the French commander; Henri Navarre, ordered a ceasefire. The causes of this event are; the division of Vietnam, 1946 and the first Indo-China war, 1946-54. The battle of Dien Bien Phu also had important consequences that affected the lives of the Vietnamese. These are; the Geneva conference, 1954 and the appointing of Ngo Dinh Diem as Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam.The first cause of the battle of Dien Bien Phu was the division of Vietnam in 1946. After thousands of years of occupation, Vietnam and it's people had developed a strong sense of nationalism. During World War II, it was once again occupied, this time by the Japanese. When Japan surrendered in 1945, Vietnam was free for the first time. Ho Chi Minh and his fighting force; The Viet Minh, took control of the country. On September 2, 1945, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. However, their happy independence did not last long.The Allies of WWII agreed that Indo-China should be occupied by the Chinese nationalists, who were fighting the communists at the time, with the South being controlled by the British. When the British arrived, their general, Gracey, began to organise the return of the French. With the Chinese nationalists busy fighting a civil war at home in China, Ho Chi Minh's democr atic republic was allowed to continue, however, in February 1946, the Chinese nationalists handed northern Vietnam back to the French. Things were once again how they had been before the Japanese occupation in WWII.This lead to the battle of Dien Bien Phu, as the Viet Minh were angered that their newly gained independence had been stripped away. The French were back in control of the entire country of Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh's forces were prepared to fight to regain the independence they had yearned for for centuries. The second cause of the battle of Dien Bien Phu was the first Indo-China war, 1946-54. With the French back in control of Vietnam, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was crushed. Neither the French nor the Viet Minh like the others' presence in Vietnam.Tensions were high and war was coming. Finally on 23 November, 1946, the French planes and ships bombed the Vietnamese section of the Haiphong Port. This attack killed approximately 6,000 people. For a few weeks there we re acts of revenge from the Vietnamese, and counter-revenge by the French, until war began on 19 December. The Viet Minh's tactic was guerrilla warfare, while the French tried to proceed with a more traditional style of fighting. The French decided to put the former emperor; Bao Dai, back on the throne, to placate to Vietnamese people.This lead to two opposing groups of Vietnamese fighters. By 1949, Mao Zedong won the civil war in China, meaning Ho Chi Minh now had an ally on the northern border. With Mao's influence, the Viet Minh's tactic changed from guerilla warfare to mobile warfare, meaning they now launched larger, deadlier offensive attacks. Chinese materials supported their assault, while the US sent materials to the French. When China became involved in the Korean War in 1950, materials ceased to flow into Vietnam, although the Viet Minh were persistant and despite their lack of resources, they continued to fight back.By this point, war had been on for a duration of six ye ars. The French began to recruit Vietnamese soldiers, although they distrusted them greatly. Even so, it became apparent that the Viet Minh vastly outnumbered them. By 1953, the French knew the war had to end, fast. General Navarre devised a plan to trap the Viet Minh into attacking the village of Dien Bien Phu. The first Indo-China war was a cause of the battle of Dien Bien Phu, as it was set up by the French as a way to end the war, although this didn't exactly go to plan.The first consequence of the battle of Dien Bien Phu was the Geneva conference. In February 1954, Britain, France, the USSR and the United States planned a conference to decide the fate of Korea and Indo-China. On April 26, 1954 the conference opened. Korea was the main focus of the conference until the day after the battle of Dien Bien Phu, at which point the focus changed to Vietnam. Besides the four main powers, others attending the conference included; China, Cambodia, Laos, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the State of Vietnam.The US was strongly opposed to the idea of a united, communist Vietnam, due to plans such as the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. It was decide that Vietnam would be split at the seventeenth parallel, with Ho Chi Minh controlling the communist North and Bao Dai in charge of the capitalist South. The people of Vietnam had 200 days to choose which side of the border to move to and the Viet Minh had 300 days to move back to the North. The idea was that a general election would be held in July 1956, at which point the people of Vietnam would vote to decide its fate.This declaration was never signed, but was simply a verbal agreement, which was opposed by both the US and the State of Vietnam. This conference was a consequence of the battle of Dien Bien Phu, as it signalled the end of French control in Indo-China. A second consequence of the battle of Dien Bien Phu was the appointing of Nga Dinh Diem as Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam. Due to the com munist control in the North, Vietnam had gained the express attention of the United States.Due to their strong anti-communist stance, the US decided to back to back Ngo Dinh Diem as Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam. This was due to the fact that Diem was a devout Catholic and ardent anti-Communist. Diem took office on 1 July 1954, he had heavy financial support from the US to help fix Vietnam, much of which has been destroyed in the war. His immediate task was to crush his rivals; this included two religious sects; the Cao Dai and Hoa Hao, which he destroyed with military offensives and bribes. Also his firing line was emperor Bao Dai, who he got rid of by rigging a referendum.Diem promoted members of his family into high government positions, which lead to more of a mess than an organised government. In 1956, Diem felt strong enough to refuse the planned elections to untie Vietnam. He had gained many enemies, and decided to isolate himself, relying on his family for informati on. In response to the hatred of Diem, a South-Vietnamese communist movement was organised, they were named the Viet Cong. They gathered support from the people of South-Vietnam by using brain-washing techniques; they also launched a guerrilla attack against the enemy.As the Viet Cong's powers grew, so did the American support. But Diem became even less popular, and his number of enemies grew. In October 1963, the American government cut off some of its aid to Diem’s government. On 1 November Diem and his brother fled the presidential palace, but were captured and shot by their own generals. This was the end of Diem. His appointment was a consequence of the battle of Dien Bien Phu, as it is was a solution to the strong communist presence in the country that resulted from the success of the Viet Minh in the battle.The battle of Dien Bien Phu was a monumental event in Vietnam which decided the fate of Vietnam for the next 50 years. The causes of which were the division of Vietn am in 1946, and the first Indo-China war, 1946-54. There were also consequences that affected the people of Vietnam, such as; the Geneva conference, 1954 and the appointment of Ngo Dinh Diem as Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam. These consequences are not directly linked to the battle, but they are consequences of it nonetheless. Without the battle of Dien Bien Phu, who knows how Vietnam would have turned out.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Assessment and its important part of education process

Recently, research workers have progressively recognised the importance of formative appraisal in bettering kids ‘s advancement and attainment ( Bone, 1999 ; Wiliam et al. , 2004 ) . Although groundss provided in this work suggest that policies have underestimated the complexness of this sort of assessment- and that some instructors find it hard to do- the benefits of formative appraisal can far outweigh the disadvantages. Appraisal has become a really of import portion of instruction procedure and it has advanced well over the past old ages ( Johnston et al. , 2009 ; Hall and Burk, 2004 ) and, as our instruction system becomes more course of study focused, the accent moves progressively to how instructors teach and how kids are taught ( Butt, 2010 ) . In this position, acquisition is concerned with the building of apprehension, accomplishments and attitudes ( Johnston, 1996 ; Pritchard, 2005 ) . In other words, it is concerned with the type of larning pupils become involved with. In add-on, why and how we assess students has an tremendous impact on their educational experience and accordingly on how and what they learn ( Wynne, 2007 ) . In the visible radiation of these, this work aims to specify what appraisal is, puting peculiar focal point in the formative appraisal. It will besides critically analyze how formative appraisal may back up students ‘ acquisition, back uping the analysis with theories on kid development and kids ‘s acquisition, every bit good as observations and grounds from school experiences. Appraisal ‘ The appraisal of kids has to function a assortment of intent, but it is chiefly to inform determinations made by the instructor about what work a kid is capable of pull offing ‘ . Hayes ( 2006 ) Assessment means different things in different contexts and it is besides carried out for different intents ( Arthur et al. , 2006 ) . During my preliminary fond regard I noticed that instructors were measuring all the clip and some of those appraisals were traveling on besides during learning. For illustration, while learning, instructors picked up information about kids ‘s cognition through eavesdropping ( where in group treatment, the instructor would stand by a tabular array, but listening to the other table treatment alternatively ) or oppugning and they besides assessed the degree of apprehension of the category through a speedy quiz or game at the beginning or terminal of the lesson. Those appraisals have helped instructors to see what works and what does non in footings of pupil acquisition. However, they normally used this information to measure their ain lesson and/or the degree of cognition and apprehension of the category, instead than to do formal appraisals which could be fed back to students ( Preliminary Attachment, 2010 ) . From reflecting in illustrations from theory and pattern, it is possible to state that appraisal in instruction involves doing opinions about students ‘ attainments ( Alexander, 2010 ; Preliminary Attachment, 2010 ) . In other words, it involves instructors make up one's minding on how they will roll up information, what information is relevant, how they will come to a opinion and so how to describe and notice a judgement to those who want to cognize how students are accomplishing ( Arthur et al. , 2006 ; Aldgate et al. , 2006 ; Hayes, 2006 ; Hughes, 2008 ) . In add-on, appraisal is frequently divided into summational and formative classs for the intent of sing different aims for appraisal patterns ( Pollard et al. , 2005 ; Arthur, et al. , 2006 ; Butt, 2010 ) . Yet, argument continues over whether and how summational and formative appraisal should be distinguished ( Threlfall, 2005 ; Wynne, 2005 ) . In its summational function, the intent of appraisal is to judge students ‘ quality and features, summarizing these in a clear and widely acceptable format. Summational appraisal is besides known as appraisal of acquisition ( Threlfall, 2005 ; Arthur et al. , 2006 ) and grounds for this type of appraisal may come from formal testing of what has been learnt, taking to bring forth Markss or classs which may be used for different intents, such as studies of assorted types ( Pollard et al. , 2008 ) . Furthermore, surveies indicate that summational appraisal can hold a negative impact on pupils ‘ motive for larning, as instead than adv ancing ‘intrinsic ‘ motivation- in which they perform because they are interested and engaged with the work, summational appraisal is believed to advance ‘extrinsic ‘ motive, in which pupils merely react to the promise of some sort of wages ( Crooks, 1988 ; Sansome and Harackiewicz, 2000 ; Wynne, 2001 ) . On the other manus, appraisal besides has a formative map. In this function, appraisal is closely linked with pupils ‘ acquisition procedures, naming pupils ‘ strengths and failings, assisting pupils to develop self-awareness ; supplying feedback on countries of larning necessitating farther work ; assisting to steer them in their surveies and by and large actuating them and advancing the coveted acquisition result ( Pollard et al. , 2008 ; Alexander, 2010 ) . FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT AND PUPILS ‘ Learning ‘Assessment for acquisition is any appraisal for which the first precedence in its design and pattern is to function the intent of advancing students ‘ acquisition. It therefore differs from appraisal designed chiefly to function the intents of answerability, or of superior, or of attesting competency ‘ . ( Black et al. , 2002, p.7 ) Furthermore, harmonizing to researches, some of the cardinal elements of formative appraisal include the designation by instructors and pupils of larning ends, purposes or results and standards for accomplishment ; conversations, with feedback, between instructors and pupils that build on what is known and what is to be learned ; active engagement of pupils in their ain acquisition and besides instructors reacting to identified larning demands and strengths by modifying and/or accommodating instruction schemes, stuffs and attacks ( Stiggins, 1992 ; Stiggins and Conklin, 1992 ; Fontana and Fernandes, 1994 ; Fredrickson and White, 1997 ; Black and Wiliam, 1998a ; Shepard, 2000 ; Boston, 2002 ; Guskey, 2003 ; Liang and Creasy, 2004 ) . In the visible radiation of these, instructors can utilize the information of where pupils are holding problem and how they are come oning, to do necessary accommodations, such as re-teaching and seeking alternate instructional attacks. These activities c an take to improved students success. Harmonizing to Pryor and Crossouard ( 2005, p. 2 ) formative appraisal occupies a ‘curious and somewhat self-contradictory ‘ place within educational theory. Although may be argued that formative appraisal has ever been a cardinal portion of educational pattern it was merely in the late sixtiess and seventiess that the term was invented ( Black and Wiliam, 2003 ) . Furthermore, as a consequence of a turning international dissatisfaction with current signifiers of appraisal, formative appraisal was one of a figure of thoughts that attracted the attending of educational research workers ( Bloom et al. , 1971 ) . Since the beginning of the 1990s it has enjoyed considerable attending, particularly in schools, under the rubric of Assessment for Learning, following Caroline Gipps ‘s differentiation from appraisal of acquisition ( Gipps, 1994 ) . Part of this involvement has involved a acknowledgment that dominant signifiers of summational appraisal did non hold a good tan trum with constructivist larning theories, whereas formative appraisal seemed to offer distinguishable possibilities. Since so a significant figure of surveies, peculiarly in the UK, at all degrees of instruction have attempted to aline formative appraisal with modern-day psychological theories of acquisition ( Gipps et al.,1995 ; Boud 1995 ; Black et al. , 2002 ; Hall and Burke 2003 ) and others have besides taken history of sociological positions ( Torrance and Pryor 1998 ; Filer and Pollard 2000 ; Ecclestone 2002 ) . In add-on, in order to incorporate formative appraisal into schoolroom pattern, a scope of appraisal schemes and techniques are presently in topographic point taking to better students ‘ acquisition. Some of those schemes, which I have had the chance to detect and critically analyse during my preliminary fond regard, are: feedback, self- appraisal and schoolroom treatment. Feedback ‘Unless pupils are able to utilize the feedback to bring forth improved work, neither they nor those giving the feedback will cognize that it has been effectual ‘ . ( Boud, 2000, p.158 ) Black and Wiliam ( 1998a ) research on whether formative appraisal raises academic criterions in the schoolroom, shows that attempts to beef up formative appraisal can bring forth important acquisition additions ( Black and Wiliam, 1998b ) and their analysis of these surveies has shown that feedback resulted in positive benefits on acquisition and accomplishment across all content countries, cognition and accomplishment types and degrees of instruction ( Black and Wiliam, 1998a ) . Furthermore, when feedback is given as portion of formative appraisal, it helps to steer students through the actions they need to accomplish their end, doing them cognizant of any gaps existent between their current cognition, understanding or accomplishment and their coveted end ( Ramaprasad, 1983 ; Sadler, 1989 ) . Besides, it is taken for granted by constructivist theory that supplying information or feedback to pupils in an ongoing mode, such as that which formative appraisal should supply, will bring forth positive consequences ( Shepard, 2000 ) . Yet, during my preliminary fond regard, I have observed a twelvemonth 2 instructor giving pupils feedback information on their work. The scheme in topographic point was called ‘two stars and a wish ‘ , where the instructor collected students ‘ work and compared their public presentation to the acquisition ends, foregrounding two good points about their work and one point necessitating betterment. The instructor gave students their work back, bespeaking students to set their initials below the feedback to show that they have understood what needed to be improved. However, I have observed that some students, who put their initials below the feedback, found the feedback hard to understand, particularly when the acquisition ends had non been assimilated in first topographic point. For illustration, a peculiar student had the feedback: ‘Make certain you use two adjectives in your sentence to depict people and topographic points ‘ ( Preliminary Attachment, 2010 ) . This feedback given by the instructor was non sufficient to assist this peculiar student to shut the spread, as he did non to the full understand what adjectives were in first topographic point and was still unable to use this cognition in his hereafter work. Black and Wiliam ( 1998a ) farther elaborate on this communicating issue when they discuss the links between the manner a feedback message is received and what pupils do w ith that message. Besides, Hayes ( 2006 ) argues that in offering feedback, instructors must utilize remarks which guarantee that students understand their significance. He besides suggests that, ideally, kids should be given clip to believe and react to the instructor ‘s remark and be involved in the appraisal procedure, instead than inactive receivers, as these give them a sense of ownership in their acquisition. This position is shared by Piaget, who is concerned with the cognition and apprehension and the manner which new information is dealt with by immature scholars ( Sullivan, 1969 ) . Furthermore, the larning theory of Piaget and Inhelder ( McCarthy Gallagher and Reid, 2002 ) , which is the first effort to garner together constructs and research surveies of Piaget ‘s cognitive theory that direct relates to larning theories, besides suggest that the growing in cognition is frequently sparkled by a feedback procedure that consequences from oppugning, contradictions and accordingly reorganization. This manner, it is important that any theoretical account of feedback must take history of the manner pupils make sense of, and usage, feedback information, as suggested by Black and Wiliam ( 1998a ) . On the other manus, another observation on instructor ‘s feedback, evidenced during my preliminary fond regard, in a twelvemonth 6 category, had a more positive result. The instructor sat beside the student while giving him feedback and she explained to the student what needed improving, clear uping any misconceptions. Besides, when written feedback was given, kids were encouraged to react with a written remark of their ain. It was observed that this scheme has helped kids to make full the spreads and advancement in their acquisition, as the feedback to pupils was focused on accomplishment and had identified the following stairss in acquisition, in ways that students could understand and move upon ( Preliminary Attachment, 2010 ) . This is supported by Duschl and Gitomer ( 1997 ) , who argue that aggregations of pupil work may besides be used formatively if pupils every bit good as instructors annotate their remarks and continually detect their advancement. These show that the most helpful type of feedback on prep and trials are the 1s which instructors provide students with specific remarks sing to mistakes, offering specific suggestions for betterment and besides promoting students to concentrate their attending on their undertaking, instead than merely being concerned if their replies are right ( Bangert-Drowns et al.,1991 ; Elawar and Corno, 1985 ; Irons, 2007 ) . SELF- ASSESSMENT ‘It is clear that self-esteem, so cardinal to success both in school and in life more by and large, harmonizing to recent research, is all excessively frequently eroded by the experience of negative ratings. ( Weeden et al. , 2002, p. 152 ) Learners can besides play an of import function in formative appraisal through self-evaluation. This position is supported by experimental research surveies which have shown that when pupils understand the acquisition aims and assessment standards and are given chances to reflect on their work, they normally show greater betterment when comparing with those who do non ( Fontana and Fernandes, 1994 ; Frederikson and White, 1997 ) . In add-on, surveies show that public presentation additions were besides witnessed among pupils with larning disablements who are taught to utilize self-monitoring schemes related to their apprehension of reading and composing undertakings ( McCurdy and Shapiro, 1992 ; Sawyer et al. , 1992 ) . During my preliminary fond regard, twelvemonth 6 students were encouraged to measure their work by composing a remark saying if they found their work easily, mean or difficult. Students were besides encouraged to put marks for themselves and observe what aspects needed betterment. In this juncture, students demonstrated to be actively engaged with their self-assessment and were able to build their cognition and set challenges for themselves in order to accomplish their ends ( Preliminary Attachment, 2010 ) . Piaget suggests that kids should be free to work in different ways and learn through active geographic expedition and personal find ( Sullivan, 1969 ) and from a constructivist point of position, acquisition is non a inactive procedure and so, battle must be at the start of the procedure of acquisition ( Pritchard, 2005 ) . In other words, pupils learn most efficaciously when they actively construct their ain cognition, understanding and accomplishments based on their ain explora tory activities and contemplation. In add-on to this, active battle is an index that existent acquisition takes topographic point and cognizing that they can get by with troubles makes students seek challenges and get the better of farther jobs ( Clark, 2008 ) . Besides, Vygotsky ‘s Zone of Proximal Development ( Vygotsky, 1978 ; Smidt, 2006 ) shows that students learn best when they have a somewhat hard undertaking which they have to work at and which leads them to a province of ‘flow ‘ . Claxton ( 2002 ) suggests that ‘flow ‘ describes how engaged a individual is in an activity, the degree of soaking up and how engaged they are in their acquisition. However, in the same school, twelvemonth 1 students were asked to measure their work by seting their work in the several trays: smiley face if the work was easy, impersonal face if the work was all right and sad face if the work was difficult. While standing beside the trays, detecting the students while they assessed their work, I notice a kid stating: ‘I found this work hard, but I do n't wish sad faces! ‘ The kid them put her work in the tray with a smiley face ( Preliminary Attachment, 2010 ) . Over the last decennary there has been an increasing involvement in schemes that encourage pupils to take a more active function in the direction of their ain acquisition ( Falkchikov, 1995 ; Hyland, 2000 ) . Black and Wiliam ( 1998a, p.54 ) make the statement that ‘a pupil who automatically follows the diagnostic prescription of a instructor without apprehension of its intent will non larn ‘ , while Sadler ( 1989 ) argues that the intent of formative appraisal should be to fit pupils bit by bit with the appraising accomplishments that their instructors ‘ possess. On the other manus, the fact that the pupil found the work hard, yet placed it inside the smiley face tray, can be related to the kid ‘s self-esteem. Clark ( 2008 ) argues that kids love to be praised for their intelligence and endowment, but if this is the norm, the minute they encounter an obstruction, their assurance beads. If success means that they are clever, than, failure can merely intend the y are non. In the visible radiation of this, students can non work with the message that they can accomplish their marks by seting things right when they are clouded by overtones about ability, competition and comparing with others ( Black and Wiliam, 1998b ; Miller and Lavin, 2007 ) . Studies show ( Elliot and Dwenck, 1988 ; Dwenck, 1989 ) that schemes based on public presentation ends, such as smiley faces, adversely affects public presentation and they tend to take students to impute trouble to low ability and go disquieted when faced with trouble or failure ( Clark, 2008 ) . Miller and Lavin ( 2007, p.6 ) argue that there is limited research grounds which shows that formative appraisal will non needfully hold good effects on self-pride. However, they suggest that there is a demand to look into contexts where instructors are doing usage of formative appraisal as an built-in portion of their daily instruction, such as: ‘in busy primary schoolrooms, over longer periods of clip and utilizing a scope of different schemes and techniques presently endorsed as ‘good pattern ‘ , in order to happen out whether formative appraisal procedures might impact kids to different grades or in different ways. CLASSROOM DISCUSSION ‘What a kid can make in co-operation today, he will be able to make entirely tomorrow ‘ . ( Vygotsky, 1962 ) Since the end of formative appraisal is to give instructors an apprehension of what pupils know, or do n't cognize, and utilize this information to do antiphonal alterations in instruction and acquisition, schemes such as schoolroom treatment and instructor observation have an of import topographic point alongside analysis of trials and prep ( Spendlove, 2009 ) . Furthermore, the usage of oppugning and schoolroom treatment as chances to better students understanding and increase their cognition is besides encouraged by Black and Wiliam ( 1998b ) . However, they caution that instructors need to guarantee that thoughtful and brooding inquiries are asked, instead than simple and factual 1s, and pupils must be given equal clip to react. During my preliminary fond regard I had the chance to detect two categories where the instructors had in topographic point a scheme called think-pair-share, where the instructors gave the category a subject and asked kids to discourse their thought in brace or in groups of four. If in groups, students had to take one representative to portion the thought with the category. The instructors took into history kids ‘s old cognition of the topic and built on it to scaffold kids ‘s acquisition. Sing to cognitive development, the treatment was really productive and led to higher quality authorship, a higher degree of speech production and hearing and it has besides increased students assurance in their ability to lend. However, although some instructors in the school acknowledged that treatment and scaffold duologue have a great cognitive potency, they found this scheme really hard, as it demanded much on instructors ‘ accomplishments and capable cognition ( Preliminary At tachment, 2010 ) . Spendlove ( 2009 ) argues that although the think-pair-share scheme requires readying from the instructor, when used efficaciously, it engages the whole category in thought, speech production and listening through treatment and sharing co-operative acquisition with equals. In add-on, Torrance and Pryor ( 1998, p. 131 ) suggest that a focal point group appraisal can bring forth a great trade of information about kids ‘s cognition accomplishments and understanding piece at the same clip contribute to the procedure of making apprehension. Every kid is alone ( DfES, 2004 ) , develops in different gait ( DCSF, 2008 ) and has his/her ain storage of cognition ( Fisher, 1995 ) . Children can make a batch of speaking when given clip and infinite by a instructor prepared to listen and detect ( Robson, 2006 ) . Such talk provides grounds of kids ‘s advancement to day of the month but besides scaffolds the acquisition of the group as they interrogate each other about the nature of th e undertaking and collaborate to carry through it ( Hill and Hill, 1996 ; Shepard, 2005 ) . Furthermore, for Vygotsky, societal interaction has a critical function in a kid ‘s instruction ( Vygotsky 1962 ; 1978 ; Daniels, 1996 ) . Besides, Bruner states that ‘making sense is a societal procedure ‘ ( Bruner and Haste, 1987 ) .This means that we become who we are through take parting in the communities around us and our acquisition is reconstructed through battle with others ( Lave and Wenger, 1991 ; Kehily, 2005 ; Smidt, 2006 ) . This is because, with others, we can make more and achieve more than we can make on our ain. Furthermore, Shepard ( 2000 ) links this type of schoolroom appraisal with the constructivist motion, which suggests that larning is an active procedure, constructing on old cognition, experience, accomplishments and involvements. So, since acquisition is extremely individualized, constructivism recognises that learning must be adaptative to the context, affecting complex decision-making, and necessitating that a instructor draws upon a scope of techniques ( Giebelhaus and Bowman, 2002 ) . Besides, Fisher ( 1995 ) argues that kids should be provided with challenges that extend their cognitive potency. For Vygotsky ( 1978 ) , this possible ( Zone of Proximal Development ) exists non merely in the kid ‘s head, but it besides lies in the accomplishments, thoughts, experiences and from the kid ‘s societal interaction with his/her equals. Decision ‘When instructors ‘ schoolroom appraisals become an built-in portion of the instructional procedure and a cardinal ingredient in their attempts to assist pupils larn, the benefits of appraisal for both pupils and instructors will be unbounded ‘ . Guskey, ( 2003, p. 11 ) Evidence from researches clearly indicates that good, well-developed and effectual formative appraisal does hold a powerful impact on pupil acquisition and can be a critical constituent in our attempts to better instruction ( Assessment Reform Group, 1999 ; Guskey, 2003 ) . Further, formative appraisal changes the rhythm ‘s consequence where students attribute hapless public presentation a deficiency of ability, which discourages them to put in their hereafter acquisition. It besides supports the outlook that all can larn to high degrees ( Ames, 1992 ; Vispoel and Austin, 1995 ) . Yet, some instructors argue that measuring pupils for the intent of informing future planning and instruction can non be easy accommodated alongside measuring students for the intent of class/school answerability. This is because, in order to describe classs and meet answerability, instructors by and large need to take portion in or set about some summational appraisal. This manner, the intent of summ ational appraisal remains rather different from the intent of formative appraisal in monitoring and bettering advancement ( Herman et al. , 1992 ) . In add-on, groundss in this work suggest that considerable sweetenings in pupil accomplishment are possible when instructors use assessment, daily, to set their instruction to run into their pupils ‘ acquisition demands. However, it is besides clear that doing such alterations is much more than merely adding a few modus operandis to one ‘s normal pattern. It involves a alteration of focal point from what the instructor is seting into the procedure and to what the scholar is acquiring out of it. Besides, the extremist nature of the alterations means that instructors need extra support for detecting and/or developing formative appraisal tools, which non merely inform pupils and instructors about advancement, but provide aid on where the spreads are and how to continue. Furthermore, it is important that instructors acknowledge that every kid is alone ( DfES, 2004 ; Aldgate et al. , 2006 ; DCSF, 2008 ) and that development is a procedure which involves interaction between the turning kid and his/her societal environment ( Vygotsky, 1978 ) . So, if acquisition is to take topographic point, it is indispensable that instructors take kid development and larning theories earnestly and use this cognition in their appraisal and intercessions ( Department of Health et al. , 2000 ) .

Saturday, September 28, 2019

To what extent does an understanding of power enhance our appreciation Essay

To what extent does an understanding of power enhance our appreciation of the problems and paradoxes confronting the would-be ra - Essay Example The common people were but adherents of the rules set forth by those in charge, and remonstrations were subject to adverse sentences. For this reason, power was wholly desired, and at the same time a basis for apprehensions of those under it. However, when pluralism came into the picture and the United States of America initiated the crusade for democracy, many believed that power was dispersed among qualified citizens of a territory. Pluralism is the view that â€Å"in liberal democracies power is dispersed among a variety of economic and ideological pressure groups and is not held by a single elite or group of elites. Pluralism assumes that diversity is beneficial to society and that autonomy should be enjoyed by disparate functional or cultural groups within a society, including religious groups, trade unions, professional organizations, and ethnic minorities† (Encyclopaedia Britannica 2011). The above notion proposes that power is but a diminutive piece of a puzzle that wa rrants connection with the rest of its kind before it can make an influence. Power has no real value if the parties concerned do not consent its amalgamation. This tends to imply that political power is of modest roots, contrary to the general impression that the same is abusive and overbearing. In effect, political leaders are also called public servants, as they require consensus of the majority of their constituents before any legislation is put into operation. In a corporate perspective, power is bestowed upon organizational managers, not for the mere purpose of implementing policies or taking control of the employees. They are not identified as rulers, but rather leaders who are expected to set good examples to their subordinates, to facilitate coordination among all levels of the organization, to formulate decisions when the need arises, and initiate alternative courses of actions at the presence of setbacks. In other words, organizational power in the corporate world is but a ccountability in its most prestigious form. Henry Minztburg, author of The Succesful Managers, defines ten managerial roles; all embracing interpersonal, social, and decisional aspects. They include figurehead, leader, liaison, monitor, disseminator, spokesperson, entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator and negotiator (Management.atwork.com 2008). All of these roles are what makes managers a figure of power in a corporate environment with the employees acting as contributors to the cause. In his work â€Å"Top Performance†, Zig Ziglar points out that â€Å"you won’t be an effective leader or manager unless you gain the willing cooperation of others. Cooperation is not getting others to do what you want, but getting others to want to do what you want† (Business Summaries 2009). In other words, a manager or a leader is unable to exemplify true power if support from subordinates is not given at will. Renowned author Stephen Covey suggests that there a re four ingredients to a good leader: inspire trust, clarify purpose, align system, and unleashed talent (Covey 2007). He (2007) expounds that fine leadership is a product of combined character and competence demonstrated towards the benefit of not just the organization but also the people; that, an open communication is a conduit to an objective best identified. Should a leader be merited trust for the display of outstanding qualities, it is equally imperative that

Friday, September 27, 2019

MUSIC HISTORY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

MUSIC HISTORY - Essay Example , freedom in intonation and inflection and a combination of style depending on the artist and the audience and the historical orientations, regarding social class and music preference. Medieval Music is the first style known to music historians and was found in the early 12th Century as secular music. Most music notes originated from Church music, giving it religious basis. They had rigid rules regarding rhythm and melody. The style is majorly a simple vocal and little instrumentation exists. Hildegard von Bingen is one of the musicians known from the medieval period; despite no record history, existing that may give details regarding the nature of the compositions of the medieval music. Renaissance is another style of music that took over after the medieval music. It originated from 1400 to 1600. The style had its origin in the sacred and secular vocals of the early musicians of the medieval days. The music had more freedom regarding harmony and rhythm. The composers were good choral writers, few instruments existed, and their vocals played a big role over the words. The instrument is played most of the time, words are few, and this makes it sound boring to the listener. The late stage had more harmony with strong sensation for each. The choral compositions enjoyed variety such as acapella anthems with many variations and dance movements. These made the music richer and more entertaining. Thomas Tallis and Josquin de Prez are musicians of this genre who enthralled the audiences although the music was still undergoing development. Baroque style of Music came after the Renaissance style and was common from 1600 to 1750, and is where the modern orchestra was born, along with operas, choruses, and recitals. Baroque music is heavily recitative in style especially opera and basso continuo. The soft string instruments were replaced by a violin, viola and cello. This was advancement in the music instruments. The instruments played a great role in the song as words are

Thursday, September 26, 2019

The soccer team Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

The soccer team - Essay Example the chosen group is indeed a discourse community when the characteristics are presented and qualified through the lens being used which is the aforementioned six characteristics. One can never know all the necessary information just by observing the group because there might still be other information that are not observable. Therefore, in addition to observing, this writer also used interview to gather the necessary information used in the analysis. The interview was done with a member of the group, Sharon Simons. Swales says that, â€Å"A discourse community has a broadly agreed set of common public goals† (471). The interviewee says that as a team, their goal is to win the Atlantic 10 Season, the Atlantic 10 championship and the National Collegiate Athletic Association Women’s Soccer Championship. Obviously, the group does not just exist to perform or play but they have a goal that they are trying to reach. Secondly, â€Å"A discourse community has mechanism of intercommunication among its members† (471). Asked about this, the interviewee says that thee team does not communicate in the field only but the members also talk off field to bridge the gap in their communications. She also claims that they do their planning during practices which often happen two to three times a week. Moreover, they do immediate planning during games and half-time breaks or whenever there are substitutes in the game. They do the talking and planning throughout the game because as it is observ ed in soccer games, there may be changes that might affect what could have been planned before the game or accidents that may cause change in plans. The third characteristic mentioned by Swales is, â€Å"A discourse community uses its participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback† (472). True enough, the soccer team reflects this. As mentioned earlier, the team meets for practice, two to three times a week which is a fairly good number of times for good communication to

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Change project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Change project - Essay Example It is in this regard that this essay is written to present pertinent changes in organizational processes or systems to adjust to the requirements of efficiency in assuring compliance to attendance protocols of a Security Company. At a Security Company in the country, attendance is being monitored by a system of logging in and out utilizing time cards that allow you to punch in and out and are needed as a basis for salary payments. In addition, an access card is used to enter buildings. The problem is many personnel are punching other employees out when they already left hours earlier. Personnel are punching other colleagues in when they never came to work. This is an on going issue and there really is no way to detect it. This system is prone to loopholes and dishonesty because as peers develop teambuilding, employees belonging in the same department or team are susceptible to connivance in relation to attendance and payment requirements. It was initially established that change is a necessary component in an organization in order to respond to inefficiencies, conflicts and changes in the environment. It was precisely identified that in this particular Security Company, an immediate innovative response to their problem in the system of tracking down and monitoring attendance of personnel is eminent. According to Martires & Fule (2000) â€Å"change, no matter how elegant it appears to be on paper, becomes effective only when it results in people and group actually improving their collective performance†. Lewin (1951) in his book on Frontiers in Group Dynamics identified three steps in the process of change, to wit: (1) unfreezing; (2) changing; and (3) refreezing. The unfreezing stage is the initial step involving awareness and recognition of the need to change certain aspects in the current situation. The changing stage involves the introduction and application of the new patterns of behavior

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Inflation and Deflation in the Czech Republic since 1998 Essay

Inflation and Deflation in the Czech Republic since 1998 - Essay Example Czechoslovak was famous for export industries, especially automotive ones then. But the major policy change stopped the export growth of the state. Even though the following governments tried some measures to keep economy strong, nothing could help. The Communist Regime allowed only state owned enterprises and state lead economic planning. It relied more on artificial pricing of commodities. No political, cultural or economic liberalization was allowed. Year after year the situation became worse only and it led to a total tragedy within a few decades. By 1980s, Czechoslovakia started facing deep crisis and people started protesting. In the initial days the protests were not so strong and the Government tried to suppress it. But it was not possible. Protests gathered momentum and by 1989 the Communist Government resigned. It was followed by democratic election which was the beginning of a new era as far as the history of Czechoslovakia is concerned. The major policy change in USSR allowing liberalization at to a limited extent and the weakening of power of Communists in neighboring states like East Germany and Poland also influenced the developments which led to the situation of Communists loosing power in Czechoslovakia. In the elections conducted in 1990, Vclav Havel got elected as President. The new Government formed under his leadership decided anyway to march away from the track of Communism. Policy was framed to strengthen economy following the footsteps of the already developed economies. Free market and privatization were introduced in the state for the first time. This change could create some positive signs in economy. Both Czech and Slovakia got independent prime ministers according to federal structure and later they decided to part and remain two separate independent states. Thus on 1993 January First Czech became a sovereign republic. Soon the state started making remarkable growth in its economy. But unfortunately good days didn't last long. By 1997 Prime Minister was ousted from power and this political stability along with other issues took the state to a deep economic crisis. The speculative attack on Koruna in May 1997 stopped the growth signs of economy. This made the Czech econom y 'stagflant' which led to major issues like loss of employment, lesser production, acceleration of deflation, etc. But the political leadership continued the attempt to lead the state to prosperity. They made a shift in the nature of foreign trading. More concentration was put in trade with the Western countries whereas it was towards the East earlier. For creating enough fund for various activities, Czech relied on international funding agencies. They could successfully manage to get both grants and loans from institutions like World Ban, International Monetary Fund, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, etc. External debt in 1999 was about 24.3 billion Dollars. Since major share of this loan amount was used for nothing but building up the nation's economy itself, indirectly the loan burden was supporting the prosperity of the state. The fact that Czech could repay some loans before schedule makes it undoubtedly clear that the policy change was going in the right direction. In 1999 inflation was very less, average rate being 2.1 % only. The significant fall in inflation cannot be seen just as the after effect of internal policies or situation alone. The deflation in other

Monday, September 23, 2019

Is 'green capitalism' resistance to change Essay

Is 'green capitalism' resistance to change - Essay Example This can be exemplified by the fact that if news of organizations committing illegal and harmful activities is aired, hoards of activists and scores of NGOs and environment protecting organizations unanimously raise an outcry against the alleged misdemeanor. The roads are swamped with local residents carrying banners and signs to decry the gutless and unethical practices of the organizations. This comes to establish that the notion of ecologically sustainable development has been replaced by a much more comprehensive concept i.e. economically sustainable development (Green 1999). The damage that has been rendered to the environment as a result of unchecked business activities has driven countries towards the adoption of new concept i.e. green capitalism. This paper looks into the notion of green capitalism and evaluates how well is it faring in the capitalist market. The paper explores the parties that oppose green capitalism and the debates that have arisen out of it. So the questio n arises that what exactly is green capitalism? Green capitalism has seeped through both the market and the culture, and one can see organizations engaged in promoting a more socially responsible image of themselves. ... n capitalism refers to an approach that buttresses the view that levers of the market can be used to fix the damage that has been caused to the environment in the past (Rogers 2010). There are different views that have arisen regarding green capitalism. Proponents of green capitalism are of the perspective that fossil fuels constitute scare resources and are not going to last forever. These natural resources are going to finish eventually and will also become more expensive as that time approaches. This follows that businesses have to adjust themselves to accomplish more through the limited amount of resources at their disposal. According to green capitalism, usage of lesser resources by both the governments and the businesses would provide benefits not only to the environment but would also have a positive effect on the profits that the companies make. This can be exemplified from the fact that if a company expends less on inputs while trying to make the production process more effi cient, the organization can make better outputs and greater margins. Thus, being ‘being ecologically prudent is a surefire way to boost the bottom line’ (Rogers 2010). Governments are starting to trace a link between the progress of the country and the pursuit of green activities by businesses. Don Henry, executive director of the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF), observes that businesses must realign their practices in accordance with the economically sustainable development to facilitate the movement towards a clean, green economy. He regards that the creation and promotion of a clean green economy would contribute towards the Australia acquiring its fair share of jobs in the future while at the same time bestowing the country with an assortment of economical benefits (Green

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Issues In Corrections Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Issues In Corrections - Research Paper Example In America, prisons are overcrowded with a large number of people from different races and cultures. Statistics and researches show that America has the highest number of prisoners in the world. Vicini (2006) states, â€Å"The U.S. incarceration rate of 737 per 100,000 people in the highest, followed by 611 in Russia and 547 for St. Kitts and Nevis†. Almost 25 percent of the world’s total imprisoned population belongs to the United States of America, which is really a very high percentage. Some prisons are overcrowded as much as 33 percent higher than their actual capacities (Montaldo, n.d.). On the other hand, the number of prisons in the United States is not big enough to meet the requirements of the incarcerated population. A couple of issues associated with overcrowding include increased costs and less number of proficient prison officers. Increased Costs An increased cost of prison management is one of the major problems associated with the issue of overcrowding or overpopulation in the American correctional system. It is a fact that, in prisons, costs increase with increase in the number of people incarcerated in the prisons. Costs, which include provision of appropriate living conditions, proper meal, and clothing of the prisoners, exceed the normal budgeted cost when the number of prisoners exceeds the calculated number of total prisoners a prison can accommodate. It is very big issue in the United States because it puts a direct impact on the overall economy of the country. Less Number of Prison Officers Another issue associated with overcrowding in prisons is the availability of professional prison officers. The problem is that a prison is sometimes unable to find proficient officers when the demand for officers increases. This gives rise to the issue of delayed and improper rehabilitation of the prisoners. Overcrowding gives rise to violence in prisons. Overcrowding also creates stress and tension among the prisoners. Prison officers ha ve the responsibility to take care of the prisoners’ activities and rehabilitation process. When less experienced officers are hired to manage the prisoners, rehabilitation process is affected and prisoners do not get the facilities that they need to develop good behaviors. How to Overcome the Issue of Overcrowding Let us now discuss the ways, which can be used to overcome the issue of overcrowding associated with the American correctional system. First, the administration should take steps to reduce noise pollution caused due to overcrowding. Carpet and acoustic tiles should be used instead of hard surface floors. Cushioned chairs and wall decorations can also be used in the correctional settings to reduce noise. Housing units should be built within the prison areas, which should accommodate 6 to 7 prisoners instead of accommodating 40 to 50 prisoners in a single unit. Increase in the number of private prisons is also an outcome of overpopulation in the state and federal pri sons. In America, the number of private prisons is increasing because the state and federal prisons are being unable to meet the requirements and costs of holding large number of prisoners. To reduce the costs of prison management, proper training and rehabilitation centers should be built which should be able to eradicate negative behaviors and promote positive behaviors among the prisone

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Process Proposal Essay Example for Free

Process Proposal Essay The process that is being analyzed is the payroll process at a firm. The process can be viewed as a series of steps done on a daily basis and then at month end when salaries are to be distributed. Their process flow along with diagrams is given below. Daily: The work of the system starts as soon as an employee enters and checks in for the days work. Every employee owns a magnetic swipe card which is given to him/her upon employment at dollar. The swipe card machine notes and stores the time of entry and exit for every employee along with other necessary information such as employee number, name etc. at the day end, this data is imported to the current system database (running on FoxPro) using a third party software. Issues such as total time worked per day (depending on employee type), overtime, absences and leaves are resolved then and there. Every employee, in case of over time put in, is handed a sheet at the day end called the ‘Overtime Sheet’. Records of it are maintained by respective supervisors as well as the current system. Monthly: At month end, the data that has been accumulated over the whole period along with the overtime sheets that every employee submits is used to calculate total salaries of the employees and then paid to them in the form of payslips. All deductions and additions regarding overtimes, absences, leaves etc. are resolved and then sent to the supervisors for verification. Upon verification, deductions regarding gratuities and additions such as benefits, allowances etc. are verified from the HR system records and then forwarded to the account system for tax deductions. The final process is then to transfer funds to each employee’s personal account and distribute payslips to each one of them. The transfer is carried out by the accounts department in co-ordination with the HR system and the payslips are distributed via supervisors. A diagram that illustrates this process is given below: As it can be seen, the process has various repetitive steps that can easily be eliminated if a computerized system is used. Especially the processes at month end, these can be shortened a lot if redesigned and enabled with IT.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Effect of Social Media on the Umbrella Movement

Effect of Social Media on the Umbrella Movement Wong Wing Man Would the Umbrella Movement have occurred if social media platforms did not exist? Introduction In response to the NPCSC decision regarding the Chief Executive electoral reform of HKSAR on 31 August 2014, two student-led groups the Scholarism and Hong Kong Federation of Students began boycotting class and protesting outside the government headquarters in Admiralty since late September. Benny Tai announced to join the students with the Occupy Central Movement, which had been suggested since 2012. This mass civil disobedience movement was named the Umbrella movement after the use of umbrellas by protestors to defend police’s attempts of protest sites clearance using tear gas. Before the last clearance was completed by the police on 15 December, protest activities had been spread across districts to Causeway Bay and Mongkok. Its scale was claimed to be the largest ever in the history of Hong Kong. With observation of substantial use of social media platforms such as social networking sites Facebook and Twitter, Cyber-utopians believe that social media platforms, which perform functions such as text messaging, photo sharing and social networking, are revolutionary tools that give rise to the Umbrella Movement. On the other hand, cyber-realists believe that social media platforms are only tools that facilitate mobilization of protestors, while social changes entail long term social and political reforms (Morozov, 2011). This essay aims to argue from the perspective of cyber-realists that the Umbrella Movement was a result of long term effort from political leaders. Social media was only a catalyst but not a fundamental cause of the movement. The essay will justify that social media coverage was not a prerequisite for the movement by addressing the real cause of the movement, and defining the function of social media as simply a complementary but not revolutionary tool. Causality between the Umbrella Movement and social media usage Pre-existing social conditions for emergence of the Umbrella Movement The notion that democratic movements have occurred all around the globe before social media existed in the recent decade can be explained by the Modernization Theory and concept of relative deprivation. The former suggests that people would strive to overthrow and replace inadequate political institutions, while the latter explains the growth of social grievance when the gap between public expectations and actual attainment widens (Lopes, 2014). In the context of the Umbrella Movement, it is the long term demand from local communities for a genuine universal suffrage of the Chief Executive, as well as the shared grievance regarding the recent NPCSC decision on the formation of the nomination committee that triggered the occupying movements (Chan, 2014). Despite high correlation between frequency of social media usage and protest activities, Morozov (2011) believes that Arab Spring was fundamentally attributed to cyber-activism in the Middle East which had been evolving before mass demonstrations occurred in Tunisia and Egypt. He emphasizes that formation of online protest groups are not random events organized by random people. In fact, discussions on occupying central and civil disobedience movement had been continuing since 2012 among scholars and politicians led by Benny Tai. Student groups such as Scholarism were also experienced leaders which had been actively participated in demonstrations to strive against the government on issues such as civic education. Although social media played an important role in mobilizing young population to protest, the Umbrella Movement would remain leaderless without prior actions from political activists (Howard et al., 2011). Social media platforms were only tools for political leaders to organ ize protests. Politics-media-politics (PMP) principle The PMP principle suggests a three-phase process in which surge of social media usage during the Umbrella Movement was likely to be the result of increase in protest activities instead of a preceding factor (Wolfsfeld et al., 2013), while this change in media environment would eventually bring new dynamics to the political situation. Chronologically, protests in Admiralty broke out in the first phase was followed by increasing social media usage in the second phase, as the public turned to various channels for timely information at protest sites. For instance, onsite news was updated day and night on Facebook pages such as SocREC and VJMedia after police’s first tear gas shot on 28 September. Downloads of Firechat, an application that allows instant messaging without Internet, increased by 460,000 times one week after the first protest activity occurred outside the government headquarter, with fear of Internet blockade in nearby areas (Peterson, 2014). Moving towards the third phase, social media platforms gradually developed into a vital tool for disseminating information and organizing protest activities. It enhanced the scale and strengthened the impact of the Umbrella Movement. For example, 1.3 million messages posted in Twitter from 26 to 30 September made the Umbrella Movement the most heated issue among Tweets around the world (Lee, 2014), allowing protestors to bargain with the authority with support from international community. In the final stage, failure in sustaining the Umbrella Movement was fundamentally attributed to mass civil disobedience and occupying movements that provoke criticisms from the public due to long-period road blockage and incompliance with the injunction order (Chan, 2014). These follow the PMP principle that social media was neither an initiator nor terminator of the movement. In other words, the Umbrella Movement would have occurred even without social media platforms, though might be at a smaller scale with limited influence. Role of social media as a complementary tool The Mobilization Theory suggests that social media was essential for the Umbrella Movement in actualizing shared grievance into collective actions. Despite its prominent role, it is worth noting that social media was only a catalyst for the Umbrella Movement to grow and expand its influence. Without this complementary tool, the movement would still emerge with the pre-existing social conditions as described in the last section, though its scale and impact in striving for a genuine universal suffrage would be greatly reduced. 3.1 To organize fragmented forces and form coalition Social media allowed pro-protestor groups to go beyond limitations of traditional media and unite fragmented forces (Howard et al., 2011). Networking functions in social media platforms such as ‘like’ and sharing functions in Facebook and ‘hashtag’ function in Twitter or Instagram allowed people who share common goals and values to build solidarity. It was particularly important to the Umbrella Movement because targeted participants of ‘class boycott’ were the younger population who are the most frequent social media users. A larger-scale movement was thus created by involving segmented pro-protest forces to join the mass protest activities led by the two student groups. 3.2 To provide new opportunities for creating social capital Social media provided new opportunities for pro-protestor groups to mobilize citizens by creating social capital, and for commoners to produce political content as if they were social elites (Howard et al., 2011). Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter became important channels for citizen journalists to broadcast stories that were not covered in mainstream media, for instance, injuries at protest sites caused by tear gas or police’s violence. Violent response towards peaceful protestors generated sympathy from initially unengaged citizens (Dobson, 2001), mobilizing more angry people to go on streets and spread protest activities beyond the initial stronghold in Admiralty to new areas in Causeway Bay and Mongkok. 3.3 To arouse international awareness Social media platforms such as Twitter allowed information about the Umbrella Movement to be disseminated rapidly across border through Internet. Major newspapers around the globe reported the protests in Hong Kong, whilst student leader Joshua Wong was selected as one of the most influential teens of 2014 by a world renowned magazine TIME (Campbell, 2015). Recognition from international community empowered protestors and exerted greater pressure on the government to defer clearance plans and agree on a meeting with student leaders on 21 October. Conclusion In spite of the high correlation between frequency of social media usage and protest activities during the Umbrella Movement, one should be cautious when deriving their causal relationship. Rejecting the notion regarding social media platforms being a prerequisite for the Umbrella Movement, cyber-realists point out their reverse causality using the politics-media-politics principle. The principle emphasizes on the chronological order that it is protest activities in Admiralty that first emerged, causing increase in access to social media platforms for more timely and unreported information about the movement, and eventually creating new political dynamics with the changing media environment. Focusing on the first phase of the principle, protest activities emerged because of the pre-existing social demand for a genuine universal suffrage in local communities and common grievance regarding the NPCSC decision, as well as the prior discussion in organizing mass demonstrations and civil disobedience movements among political activists such as Scholarism and Benny Tai. Acting as a tool for mobilizing people and drawing international awareness, social media was only a catalyst to foster growth and expand influence of the movement. In other words, the Umbrella Movement would have occurred even social media platforms did not exist. (Word Count: 1470) Reference Campbell, Charlie. (2015). Hong Kong Student Leader Joshua Wong Questioned Over Pro-Democracy Protests. Retrieved from TIME website http://time.com/3671211/hong- kong-occupy-central-umbrella-revolution-joshua-wong-students-charged/ Chan, Johannes. (2014). Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement. The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs. 103:6, 571-580, DOI: 10.1080/00358533.2014.985465 Dobson, Charles. (2001). Social Movements: A Summary of What Works. The Citizens Handbook: A Guide to Building Community in Vancouver. Retrieved from http://www.vcn.bc.ca/citizens-handbook Howard, P.N., Duffy, A., Freelon, D., Hussain, M., Mari, W. Mazaid, M. (2011). Opening Closed Regimes: What Was the Role of Social Media During the Arab Spring?. Project on Information Technology Political Islam. Retrieved from http://pitpi.org/index.php/2011/09/11/opening-closed-regimes-what-was-the-role-of-social-media-during-the-arab-spring/ Lee, Danny. (2014). The role of social media in Occupy protests, on the ground and around the world. Retrieved from SCMP website http://www.scmp.com/news/hong- kong/article/1628305/role-social-media-occupy-protests-ground-and-around-world Lopes, A. R. (2014). The Impact of Social Media on Social Movements: The New Opportunity and Mobilizing Structure. Journal of Political Science Research. Creighton University. Retrieved from https://www.creighton.edu/fileadmin/user/CCAS/ departments/PoliticalScience/Journal_of_Political_Research__JPR_/2014_JSP_papers/Lopes_JPR.pdf Morozov. Evgeny. (2011). Facebook and Twitter are just places revolutionaries go. Retrieved from The Guardian website http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011 /mar/07/facebook-twitter-revolutionaries-cyber-utopians Peterson, Andrea. (2014). Protesters in Hong Kong must weigh the promise and risks of mesh networking. Retrieved from The Washington Post website http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/10/06/protesters-in-hong-kong-must-weigh-the-promise-and-risks-of-mesh-networking/ Wolfsfeld, G., Segev, E. Sheafer, T. (2013). Social Media and the Arab Spring: Politics Comes First. The International Journal of Press/Politics. 18(2) 115–137. Doi: 10.1177/1940161212471716

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Student Assesment :: Assessing Student Learning

Strengths: Rob Geis is a respectful and polite student. When he interacts with others his verbal abilities are excellent, he looks like a clever student. Rob seems very responsible because his attendance is consistent and his homework is stable. Needs: He may need to increase his social skills and interact more with others. He needs to ask for help when he does not understand the math concepts. In addition, it is imperative that he builds his self-esteem, experiments success, and feels that he is a valuable member of the class. Rob needs to be encouraged to achieve success relative to his personal potential in a positive learning environment. Interests: Rob has an interest in mechanics; he works at a car dealership after school that seems not interfering with school homework. Therefore, Rob interests are kinesthetic and physical. Preferred Way of Learning: Rob learns and process information in a kinesthetic manner. He likes to use graphics and visual objects such as graphs in math. He might learn better watching how to resolve math in presentations than lectures. Rob is a tactile student and he likes mechanics; therefore, his preferred way of learning is personal. Rob may respond positively to one-on-one attention by the teacher and he may definitely respond to an instruction when he can use grids, graphs, or other tools. Given the data provided about this student which of the family of models of teaching and / or theorist would you primarily draw on for help? Why? Support your ideas with citations from your text, and from other materials you have read. First, I will apply the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, â€Å"Maslow (1970) suggested that humans have a hierarchy of needs ranging from lower-level needs for survival and safety to higher-level needs for intellectual achievement and finally self-actualization†¦ each of the lower needs must be met before the next higher need can be addressed† (Woolfolk, 2013, p. 434). Consequently, I have to discover why Rob is not engaged in learning or why his motivation in school is so low; besides, I would like to know why he has a job after school. Are his physiological, safety, and social needs not met with his family? Why his self-esteem and lack of belonging in school are not in place? That is why, I need to investigate his family roots, and I will interview them to learn more about Rob .

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Components of Compensation paid to Employees Essay -- wages salary inc

A rigorous review of compensation and all its components Compensation is what is paid to an employee, whether in the form of wages, salary or incentives by the employer for a specific amount of time, skill and effort made available by the employee in fulfilling specific job requirements (Biesheuval, 1984). Compensation is important in organisations as it conveys information to an employee about their relative importance to the organisation and provides a scale to identify how much recognition they are receiving for their contribution (Harley and Stephenson, 1992). Compensation shows employees how much they are appreciated and worth. The most important differentiating element between jobs is the effort involved in performing a job (Biesheuval, 1985). †¢ Objectives of pay systems (Harzing and Van Ruysseveld, 1999): Objective: How to achieve it. To attract employees: Job salary To keep qualified employees: Bonus or incentive to stay e.g. shares To stimulate effective performance: Payment by results To teach employees new behaviours at work: Multi-skill bonus To compensate for inconvenient working conditions: A separate allowance †¢ Monetary and non-monetary compensation Compensation is made up of many parts. Although money (extrinsic compensation) is the most recognised, other factors can be just as rewarding. Employee benefits are one type of non-monetary compensation and are intended to improve the quality of work life of an organisations labour force (Sherman and Bohlander, 1992). These benefits make up a significant portion of the wage bill. Although benefits were initially introduced as a bonus to employees, they have since come to be expected in the workplace (ibid). Employee input is integral in determining the type of non-monetary compensation that is the most desired (ibid). Benefits (Sherman and Bohlander, 1992): †¢ Medical aid funds including health and dental plans †¢ Pension funds where the employer also contributes a percentage. †¢ Employee assistance programs where counselling and assistance are provided with day-to-day issues such as career planning and emotional trauma. †¢ Education assistance plans where the employer pays a portion towards further study. This often benefits the employer as the employee becomes more multi-skilled and efficient at their job. †¢ Child and elder care ... ...e company’s overall strategy before determining the compensation structure. The way an organisation uses compensation can drive an organisation in specific directions (Noe et al, 2003). Therefore, great thought should go into deciding what type of compensation structure to use in terms of the whole organisations strategy and the chosen method should contribute to furthering the overall objectives of the organisation (Sherman and Bohlander, 1992). E.g., individual incentives will not fit into an organisation that wants to further a team-based approach to work (ibid). Compensation sends a message about what an organisation feels is important and the types of activities it encourages (Sherman and Bohlander, 1992). Compensation tailoring is an integral method of maintaining the budget (ibid). For this reason, many companies resort to retrenchments in economic downturns (Venter, 2003). An organisations compensation program determines the type of employees that it will attract a s well as either increase or decrease the applicant pool (Sherman and Bohlander, 1992). 2295 Works Cited Work Motivation and Compensation By Simon Biesheuvel Published 1984 McGraw-Hill ISBN:0074507184

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

The Economics of Illicit Drugs Essay -- Crime and Drugs

In this essay I will define drug abuse and show the economic impact of the sales of illicit drugs. I will introduce an argument for legalization and the impact to the economy. Next I will discuss some of the economic cost from lack of productivity, health care cost and other cost associated with Drug abuse. In order to understand the economic impact of illicit drugs we must first define what a drug is. A drug is defined as any substance other than food that affects the way your mind or body works. Abuse is defined as the wrong use or misuse of something. So drug abuse would be defined as the wrong use of drugs. As a D.A.R.E. officer, this definition has been ingrained into my mind for the past eighteen years. During my twenty years of Law Enforcement I have learned how dangerous drugs are to the economy. They damage your body and drug abuse also has a huge economic impact on the country. In the United States there are two types of drugs legal and illegal. The legal drugs have two subcategories, prescription and over the counter. Prescription drugs are placed into different categories called schedules. The ones that have a highest chance for abuse or addiction have a higher place in the schedule. Schedule I drugs are the drugs that have no safe or accepted medical use in the United States. Examples are heroin, marijuana, LSD, PCP, and crack cocaine. As you go down the schedule the drugs become less addictive and have a small potential for abuse, but are still controlled by the Drug Enforcement Agency. Schedule V are the lowest controlled drugs. Examples are codeine, valium and xanax Non prescription drugs are those that are sold over the counter and you do not need a prescription to purchase. The illegal o... ...0,000,000 on the health care, productivity and other cost, yet in the same time period we only spent $150 Billion on enforcing the drug laws. If we focused on the treatment and rehabilitation of drug abusers, I feel a substantial portion of the trillion dollars could be used for other things. The economic benefit could possibly be unmeasurable. Works Cited Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) . (n.d.). Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) . Retrieved April 10, 2011, from http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/ Moomaw, R. L., Olson, K. W., & Edgmand, M. R. (2007). Crime and Drugs a Modern Delima. Economics and contemporary issues (7th ed., pp. 201-216). Mason, OH: Thomson/South-Western. THE ECONOMIC COSTS OF DRUG. (2001, September 1). National Criminal Justice Reference Service. Retrieved April 7, 2011, from www.ncjrs.gov/ondcppubs/publications/pdf/economic_costs98.pdf

Monday, September 16, 2019

Does Ineffective Leadership Affect the Functioning of an Organization?

Introduction: Leaders are considered an integral resource in an organization and it is often said that the leader’s personality and caliber affect the manner in which an organization is managed and the organization’s overall performance. The main role of leaders is to guide, supervise, and manage the employees of an organization and make integral and critical decisions related to the organization’s operations. Thus, it is highly important for leaders to possess a variety of essential skills. Some of the skills that leaders must possess include problem-solving techniques, critical thinking, quick and efficient decision making, patience and human resource management techniques, amongst other expertise. Leaders hold major responsibility for the way they manage their decisions and the manner in which they guide the employees of an organization. Mistakes or obliviousness to vital information can lead to disastrous affects for organizations or a major loss in revenues (Northouse, 20 12). Accordingly, it is important for leaders to have a proper plan for managing a firm and leaders usually possess a certain leadership style. There are various leadership styles that leaders adopt when managing an organization and these leadership styles include the autocratic leadership style, charismatic leadership style, and situational leadership style amongst many others. Some leaders prefer to deal with an iron hand and are highly autocratic in their leadership style. Such leaders are highly authoritative and prefer to give commands rather than attain the opinion of their subordinates. However, some leaders are highly informal and involved in their leadership role and adopt a charismatic style of leadership. Such leaders prefer to involve their employees in the decision making process, prefer an informal environment, and reduce barriers to communication (Carmelli et al, 2010). However, the appropriate leadership style may vary from organization to organization and from situa tion to situation. It is the leader’s duty to understand the type of leadership necessary for a particular situation and implement it effectively (Brown & Mitchell, 2010). This research paper will seek to explore how ineffective leadership affects the functioning of an organization and whether it has a highly adverse affect upon the organization’s performance. The paper will seek to explore topics such as different management styles, responsibilities of managers/leaders, examples of ineffective leadership, and their consecutive effects on the functioning of the organization. This outline will commence with a brief literature review, formation of research questions, research methodology, and a conclusion. Literature Review: Many scholars believe that ineffective leadership leads to disastrous consequences for an organization. In the same manner, effective leadership can also lead to highly beneficial results for an organization and its employees. There are various examp les of highly successful leaders who have brought their organization’s numerous benefits such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and many others. These leaders were able to effectively make decisions in times of crisis, keep their workforce motivated and efficient, and form effective marketing strategies for the promotion of their organization (Hind et al, 2009). Leaders often possess certain leadership styles and it is regarded that ineffective leadership occurs because of the adoption of the inappropriate leadership style. Thus, leaders who adopt the wrong leadership style or who possess a personality which is not able to adapt to certain situations are likely to cause severe disruptions or inefficiency in the functioning of their organization. Leaders who adopt inappropriate leadership styles or who are ineffective leaders may cause problems such as increasing communication barriers, disrupt the proper dissemination of information, be oblivious to vital information concerning the organization, and lead to the de-motivation of employees. Examples are found in organizations where leaders are highly authoritative, consider their opinion to be correct, and remain distant from subordinates and employees and consequently, employees are unable to disseminate vital information to the leader and fail to help the leader make better decisions (King, 2013). However, there are also examples of organizations where the authoritative nature of leaders is working for the organization’s benefit rather than causing the organization losses. Hence, it is obvious that the leadership style that must be adopted by a leader must vary according to the organization’s situation and the manner in which the leader implements and conveys his/her message (Becker, 2009). This concept and other concepts related to the effects of ineffective leadership on the organization will be analyzed in this research paper. Research Questions: Does ineffective leadership affect the functioning of an organization? What leadership styles are appropriate for various organizational situations? How can ineffective leadership be defined and what are its consequences? Research Data: The research data that will be used will be both primary and secondary in nature. The data and information that will be gathered will be qualitative in nature and will be of exploratory in order to explore the topic in depth. Data Sources: Primary data will be gathered from the interview while secondary data will be obtained from journal articles, books, online sources, online databases, websites, newspapers, and other academic sources of information Data Collection Method: After obtaining permission from a specific organization (yet to be chosen), the manager or leader of that organization will be interviewed. Other information for the study will be derived from secondary sources for which library access and access to online databases is essential. D ata Analysis Method: As the data is qualitative in nature, the data gathered through secondary sources and the data gathered from the interview will be analyzed through the method of content analysis. The content of the literature reviewed will be compared to the content of the interview and then will be analyzed for relevancy a the key points are extracted from both sources to conduct the analysis Conclusion: Leadership is one of the most important topics in the study of management and through the analysis of the data obtained, this research paper aims to recognize, analyze, and evaluate the effects of ineffective leadership on an organization. References Becker, G. (2009) â€Å"Moral leadership in Business.† Journal of International Business Ethics. Vol. 2:1 pp. 7-19 Brown, M. & Mitchell, M. (2010) â€Å"Ethical and Unethical Leadership: Exploring New Avenues for Future Research. Business Ethics Quarterly. Vol. 20:4 pp. 583-616 Carmeli, A., Gelbard, R. & Gefen, D. (2010) â€Å"The importance of innovation leadership in cultivating strategic fit and enhancing firm performance†. The Leadership Quarterly. Vol. 21:3 pp. 339-349 Hind, P., Wilson, A., & Lenssen, G. (2009) â€Å"Developing Leaders for Sustainable Business.† Corporate Governance. Vol. 9:1 pp.7-20 King, C. (2013) â€Å"The Importance of Leadership and Management in Process Safety†. Process Safety Progress. Northouse, PG. (2012) Leadership: Theory and Practice. Sage Publications.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

PEACE BUILDING PROCESS Essay

Conflict refers to the state of opposition, disagreement or incompatibility between two or more people which is sometimes characterized by physical violence. Conflict occur in different forms such as boundary and territorial conflicts, civil wars and internal conflicts having international repercussions, succession conflicts in territories decolonized and political ideological conflicts. In the other hand post conflict is the situation in which open warfare has come to an end. Such situation remains tense for years and can easily relapse into large scale violence. Peace building describes interventions that are designed to prevent the start of violent conflict by creating sustainable peace. This start before conflict starts or it ends. Post conflict peace building means action to identify and support structures which will tend to strengthen and solidify peace in order to avoid relapse into conflict. Peace building process takes different dimensions according to scholars. According to Barnett et al. post peace building process follows three dimensions that is stabilizing post conflict zone; restoring state institutions and dealing with social and economic issues. Stabilizing post conflict; Peace building activities directly attempt to reduce the means available, and the incentives, for actors to return to conflict. They include disarmament (taking away weapons), demobilization, reintegration programs (re-integrating former combatants into civil society), security sector reform, and arms control for light and heavy weapons systems. The first three activities (Disarmament, Demobilization, Re-integrating or DDR) are comprehensive process at the core of peace building as DDR is uses as preventive intervention that is the core component of peace agreement. Practitioners should be cautioned in using DDR approach because it does not provide panacea and it must be understood that just as situations vary, so do possible solutions differ. Restoring state institutions; this dimension tends to reinforce building state capacity to provide basic public goods and increase state legitimacy. Activities involved in this dimension involving rebuilding basic facilities, transportation and communication network, utilities; building health and education infrastructure. But because international actors do not envisag e playing state-like functions long into the future, they also provide some degree of technical and capacity building assistance for state institutions—even as they support parallel NGO’s or private sector structures that may operate outside of or duplicate state functions. For instance, international financial institutions typically provide technical assistance so that state institutions can develop the capacity to build, monitor, and regulate basic economic and financial activities. Dealing with social and economic issues, programs in this context attempt to build not only the state’s but also society’s ability to manage conflict peacefully and develop the socioeconomic infrastructure necessary to underpin economic development. Activities include trauma counseling; transitional justice and restoration; community dialogue; building bridges between communities; increasing peace adherence of human rights; gender empowerment; raising environmental awareness; promoting economic development and developing a civil society and private sector that can represent diverse interests and challenges the state peacefully (Barnett,2007). In general, it takes time to address fragility and building peace and it is done best from the bottom up especially th rough civil society and local government but many post conflict countries have weak local structures which require support. Sri Lanka is an example of the critical country that government has in a post-conflict situation and where it needs to work in partnership with national agencies, commonwealth and international partners. These institutions may function to restore local infrastructure, provide new houses, ensure basic services and encourage local economic development. Major organizations that work worldwide UN Peace-building Commission (PBC), UN Peace-building Fund (PBF), World Bank, International Monetary Fund and European Commission. In the same line of thought the supports provided by particular organizations are not enough as they are undertaking supply driven than the demand driven that is they provide peace building service in which their organizations specializes, not necessary that the recipient most needs. References Barnett, M., Kim, H., O’Donnell, M. and Sitea, L. (2007). â€Å"Peace building: What is in a name?†. Global governance. 13:35-38 Muggah, R. (2006). â€Å"Managing post conflict zones: DDR and weapons reduction.† In small arms survey year book 2005: weapons at war (small arms survey), 21 Schirch, L. (2013). Conflict Assessment & Peacebuilding Planning. CO: Lynn Reinner Press. UN General assembly (n.d). Disarmament, Demobilization and Re-intergration. para 9-10 Wright, C. Peace-building in post-conflict states. London, 2013

American Providentialism Through Eras

American Providentialism through Eras Centuries ago John Winthrop preached on board Arbella to the people full of hopes and desires for their new life. He talked about the beautiful Promised Land and the new paradise on earth. Winthrop’s motivational speech â€Å"A Model of Christian Charity† was supposed to encourage people on board Arbella to fulfill their destiny and create a pure society just like God intended them to. The inhabitants of the New World were chosen by God to create a new society which will serve as an example for the rest of the world.John Winthrop insisted on people being united as one body in Christ through brotherly love for one another and through love for God. â€Å"[T]rue Christians are of one body in Christ (1 Cor. 12). Ye are the body of Christ and members of their part. All the parts of this body being thus united are made so contiguous in a special relation as they must needs partake of each other's strength and infirmity; joy and sorrow, w eal and woe. If one member suffers, all suffer with it, if one be in honor, all rejoice with it. [T]he ligaments of this body which knit together are love. (Winthrop, 4) At the very beginning of existing of America, the main task of its inhabitants was to be united. Religion was their knitting thread. Since they had not yet formed their laws, they lived according to laws of the Church. America’s destiny was to be â€Å"one nation under God† and God was leading them closer to the fulfillment of this destiny. â€Å"[W]hile the law did not abrogate [their] institutions, and the theocracy to be inaugurated did not supercede them, God was all the time educating them to broader views of their destiny †¦ they were to perform as a chosen people among the nations of the earth. (Pierce, 3) God has chosen the people abroad Arbella to create a nation of all nations and He was along their side in all times. During the Civil War the knitting thread between the people was lost because of different views on the issue of slavery. The northern states wanted to abolish slavery while the southern states were against it. Since Americans could fulfill their destiny only if they are united, they saw the Civil War as the wrath of God towards them for being separated.America was separated into the United States, or the Union, and Confederate States of America, or the Confederacy. â€Å"Both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came. † (Lincoln, 1) Lincoln thought that northern states wanted to destroy the Union and that they were ready to fight a war for that cause, while the southern states would do anything to keep the nation united, so they accepted the war to preserve the Union.Lincoln believed that the war was the wrath sent from God because the nation was separated. Americans were supposed to be â€Å"one nation under God† and the war was the punishment for their separation. Lincoln believed in the destiny of his nation and was ready to do anything to unite it again. He agreed on abolishing the slavery to put the nation on the right track again so it can continue on fulfilling its destiny. Providentialism was America’s way of making people to be moral and to do good deeds. It was America’s way of keeping its states united.From Winthrop, through Pierce, to Lincoln American scholars and politicians were promoting providentialism. Some of them maybe really believed America is a nation chosen by God, while some of them just used religion to promote their own politics. 628 Works Cited Lincoln, Abraham. (1865, March). Second Inaugural Address. Pdf. Pierce, George Foster. (1862, March). The Word of God a Nation’s Life: A Sermon, Preached before the Bible Convention of the Confederate States. Augusta, Georgia. Pdf. Winthrop, John. A Model of Christian Charity. 1630. Pdf.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

M3- How Sales Techniques and Good Customer Service Have Evolved in the Organization

M3- how sales techniques and good customer service have evolved in the organization Sales techniques and good customer service have changed so much that customers are getting the right support they need with the product. In the last few years, Currys did not train its staff to a high level of standard but now it is expected that when a customer directly goes into a store, the staff will do their best to deliver good customer service using knowledge of what they already know about the product. Product knowledge is most essential in customer service as customers may need to know how a product will benefit them and the features it has. Signage above each section is a valuable sales technique used by Currys which directs the customer to where the product is placed. Not only is this a simple method but ensures that customers are able to find the right product in the most convenient way. This particular strategy of Currys was recently invented and it has been an improvement to customer service now on from the previous years. Some new features have been provided at Currys like the ‘Playtables and improved merchandising’ for example, which gets customers into trying the product and help them make informed choices about what tends to be worth buying. If customers would like to get in touch with a member of staff and discuss the complaints they may have, the Currys team of colleagues are its best in dealing with problems brilliantly. Before, the Automated System was not beneficial to customers as they had to leave a message and took time for them to respond quickly, so what Currys tends to do now is they recruit a set of colleagues and train them to use a service where responsibility is taken for the customer’s issue and they try to resolve the problem quickly. Price promise helps Curry’s to distinguish itself from their competitors; Comet, John Lewis, Argos, Staples, and Tesco. Other stores may have the same product, but Curry’s offer a 10% discount on their competitor’s price. Their tactic is to check what sort of prices different competitors may have and come up with the most unbeatable value to offer their customers with. However, whilst in the last several years customers had not been given an option of price promise, now Curry’s is under pressure from online retailers so they have to make sure the cheapest products are provided online for the customers. Curry’s tend to install and repair the products which are broken or damaged and as far as I have seen from the customer’s side of the view through their complaints on the online review; it seems that there are both positive and negative remarks from customer towards their customer service. One says that they had waited for a replacement of the product but the team told the customer that the part will not be in until 28 days. Whilst others thought the customer service was impressive with helpful staff to assist you with anything with the product itself. However, the team of colleagues may use the information provided by customers on the online review and make efficient improvements to the way sales techniques and good customer service was delivered in the last couple of years.

Friday, September 13, 2019

Possible Change of Teachers Attitudes throughout their Career Research Paper

Possible Change of Teachers Attitudes throughout their Career - Research Paper Example Freedman & Carver (2007) iterate that personally-held values and beliefs of the teacher have significant influence on in-class teaching practices. Hall (2005) supports this notion, opining that it is the personal beliefs of teachers that â€Å"inform their professional attitudes and conduct in the classroom.† There is, then, an undeniable link between personal value systems and the evolution of teaching style over time which could, theoretically, have significant impact on the decision to, initially, seek a career as a high school teacher. According to Morris & Maisto (2005), the complexities associated with teaching require a self-actualized individual that finds significant psycho-social rewards for promoting higher learning and educational development in students. Under most models of psychology and sociology, self-actualization is the state of emotional being in which an individual actively seeks to pursue their maximum utility and the pinnacle of their abilities gained on ce self-confidence and self-esteem have been developed within the individual. When a high school teacher first lands their position, they often seek to break the proverbial mold of teaching by attempting to create unique and differentiated classroom content and teaching styles. Filled with fresh ideas, the teacher seeks to create a sense of personal belonging with teaching peers and with students which influences initial teaching styles. Teachers will often seek out alliances with other teaching facilitators and administrators in an educational scenario referred to as communities of practice, a collection of skilled individuals that collaborate to promote learning about a specific skill or practice (Wenger, 2005). However, it is not long into career where such activities will often meet with centralized hierarchies of control where bureaucracy and budget issues prevent effective facilitation of these communities of practice. Many teachers will attempt to create more contemporary and innovative curriculum content, using assistive technologies to facilitate modern learning concepts and principles (Bausch & Hasselbring, 2004). Other teachers in an effort to establish a positive name for themselves in the academic environment attempt experiential learning curriculum, a form of hands-on learning to facilitate a genuine and innovative learning experience (Merriam, Caffarella & Baumgartner, 2007). However, what is unclear is whether these preliminary and initial needs and values remain constant throughout the evolution of the teaching career. A Qualitative Study To determine what impacts attitudes of high school teachers early in career and throughout the evolution of practice, it was necessary to conduct a small-scale qualitative study utilizing a small sample of high school teachers as participants. Qualitative research was the most viable and reliable methodology for this study as measuring complex attitudes in a range of psycho-social principles cannot accurately be measured statistically. It was necessary to conduct semi-structured interviews with currently practicing high school