Chivalry Essays - Chivalry, Virtue, Warrior Code, Excited And Scared

Chivalry Chivalry When I first think of chivalry, I think of knights and dragons and damsels in distress. It's not really something that I associate with the society that we live in today. You've heard it before, chivalry is dead. But I don't really believe that. It's too final, it doesn't leave any room for us to be better people again. Chivalry isn't dead, it's napping. And I think it's time for us to wake it up. To me, chivalry isn't just about brave knights coming to rescue helpless princesses. It's having the courage to always do what you know is right, regardless of what happens or what other people think. And it isn't only about the big things in life, it's also about the little choices we make everyday. Countless times during the course of a day, people are faced with situations where they are forced to choose between doing the right thing and the wrong thing. More often than not, there is a middle choice, it's not quite wrong, but it isn't exactly right either. Chances are, this middle choice will be easier and more tempting. Chivalry is doing the right thing just because you know it's right. Chivalry is holding the door open for old people and people with babies. It's loaning your favorite skirt to your best friend for that big party even though you know she's going to spill something on it. Chivalry is being the best person that you can be at all times. It's totally idealistic and as such unreachable. We will never be perfect, but we can always be better today than we were yesterday. I was at this website the other day and (I forgot to write down the address, and I'm not entirely sure if this is accurate, but it works so let's just go with it) I was reading about the virtues that were considered chivalrous by knights and kings and what have you back in the day. It said that they figured the five key virtues of chivalry were honor, loyalty, courage, generosity, and forgiveness, and I think that these are still things that every person should strive to be. Honor is doing what you say you will and treating other people fairly and with kindness, no matter how they have treated you. It means that when you do something wrong, you come right out and say so, you accept responsibility for it even if you know someone is going to be really mad about it. People who are honorable admit when they've made a mistake and then do everything they can to fix it. They ask to be forgiven, but they don't expect it and they accept whatever happens. Loyalty, to me, is the biggest thing. It's the quality I value most in other people and in myself. To me, being loyal to someone means that you will stick with someone through anything. Even if you think they're wrong, you recognize that it's their decision and you stay with them anyway. Knowing that you have someone you can count on is absolutely the most encouraging thing in any difficult situation. Which brings me to courage. Courage isn't not being afraid of anything; people who aren't afraid of anything are stupid. Courage is seeing what needs to be done and doing it even though it scares you. Real bravery is facing the things that scare you. I think that generosity is underrated. I don't necessarily mean giving people things, it's more than that. Generosity is going out of your way to do something for someone else just because you can, not because you have to. It's what you do for other people without getting anything in return, just to make things easier for them. Besides, doing something that makes someone else feel good will almost always make you feel good too. Forgiveness is something that I find surprisingly difficult to explain. To me, it's believing that no one ever really sets out with hurting someone else as their goal. It's automatically assuming that when someone does something to you, there wasn't any malice behind it and then being able to let it go because even if they haven't said so,

Patterns Design Essays - Software Design Pattern, Free Essays

Patterns Design Essays - Software Design Pattern, Free Essays Patterns Design Periodically, someone asks for examples of successful (or non-successful) uses of 'fill-in-the-blank' software engineering technology. In truth, this is a difficult, if not impossible, request to fulfill. Why? There are several reasons: - Small examples, which are easily understood, can be (and often are) handily dismissed as toy (as opposed to real) applications. - It is difficult to justify the cost of a large (significant) test case (e.g., [Aron, 1969] and [Baker and Mills, 1973]). When fill-in-the-blank software engineering technology is used on a real project, accurate and detailed records are seldom kept. Thus, the results are often anecdotal. Even if accurate and detailed records are kept, it may be difficult to make any meaningful comparisons, since there may be few, if any, statistics for other similar projects which did not use fill-in-the-blank technology. - The results of a large-scale use of fill-in-the-blank technology are seldom, if ever, all positive, or all negative. This allows different interpretations for the same information. [One of the major problems is that success (i.e., what must be specifically shown to declare the technology viable) is seldom defined before the project begins.] The all-too-regrettable, and all-too-frequent, language/technology jihads (holy wars) often result from different interpretations of the same information. - The example is for a particular application domain, e.g., real-time embedded systems. Those with differing domains (e.g., MIS) can assert that the example is irrelevant for their domains. - In the case of a technology which may be implemented using a number of different programming languages, the number of problems increases dramatically, e.g.: - Some will observe that the example uses a programming language which they do not, cannot, or will not use. Thus making the example worthless as far as they are concerned. Bibliography none

The Freedom of a Christian Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Freedom of a Christian - Essay Example This essay will review one of the Three Treatises by Martin Luther, titled as ‘The Freedom of A Christian’ which is considered to be the final treatise in the collection. Martin Luther in his treatise â€Å"The Freedom of the Christian† begins by making two inconsistent statements where he narrates that a Christian is not restricted from any external influences and is entitled to serve other community selflessly as a slave. It is quite interesting to take into consideration that a Christian is not only free but also a servant to the society as narrated by Luther. Luther further states that being the servant of the society it is significant to perform the good work that is vital to bind neighbour with neighbour facilitating peace within the community. In this context, it can be claimed that Luther contradicts himself by asserting that tasks or responsibilities bestowed are not needed for the purpose of good reason; however, it is important that a Christian needs to be both free and a servant. Stating precisely, he affirmed that until a person is servant to others he cannot be a Christian. Furthermore, to serve the society playing the role of a selfless and faithful servant, it is important to perform supportive and accountable responsibilities. Therefore, it can be affirmed that towards the end of the treatise, Luther’s position becomes similar to that of the Catholic position, since he also considers the responsibilities performed for the good of the society as an essential feature to be a Christian. Luther discusses that one particular thing which a person needs in life in order to become virtuous is the word of God, which he defines as Gospels. Luther also states that good work as well as good deeds is not so significant for an individual owing to the fact that they are external to the individual’s body. However, the author places greater emphasis upon faith and grace as they are related with the soul of the person and hence are attributed as internal. The author asserts that a person tends to build the quality of true faith from his devotion and acc ountability towards God which needs to be built internally rather than generating from external influences. At the end of the document the author unambiguously advocates that if God has failed to fill the individual’s soul with faith and grace, the nature is most likely to express disapproval of it. Section 3: Extended Analysis of the Document Martin Luther’s ‘Freedom of a Christian’ was first made available in the year 1520. It was considered as one of the important documents of the sixteenth-century, Protestant Reformation. In the present day context as well, his work remains one of the classic tracts of the Protestant culture. The book was written on the eve of Martin Luther’s excommunication from the Church, as his final ecumenical signal towards Rome prior to making his pretentious exit. The Tract was dedicated to Pope Leo X by Luther embellishing it with a strong preamble addressed to the ‘blessed father’. As can be observed, in t he later pages of the ‘Freedom of a Christian’ Luther aimed at considering other people who were basically exaggerated because of their ostensible dignity from being respected as a Christian similar to his discussions in other tracts published in the year 1520. It can further be learnt that Luther’s ‘Freedom of a Christian’ became his bold new announcement on human character and human autonomy that aimed at describing all Christians irrespective of their degree of solemnity as being traditionally defined. The influence of then external environmental factors such as society, politics, and cultural values can also be apparently witnessed in the treatises, which were documented during an age featured by considerable changeovers

Basic Summary of Elliot Aronson's 'Social Animal' Essay

Basic Summary of Elliot Aronson's 'Social Animal' - Essay Example Aronson has fundamentally asserted that people tend to move along with the mob in general because if they do not, they are offered social resistance. They may change their personal opinion in favor of the majority either to escape a punishment, seek a reward or else, because of lack of confidence in their personal judgment. Conformity is essentially compliance if the objective is reward/punishment centered. It is identification if the individual’s intention is to develop affiliation, and it is internalization, if the individual conforms if he/she actually thinks it is rational. Aronson has also discussed some personality variables like self esteem, courage and experience that determine the level of conformity in an individual’s attitude. Then Aronson discussed obedience in context of conformity, and finally, the role of an uninvolved bystander as that of a conformist, because he/she overlooks the tragedy because everybody else does the same. Overall, the article is a ve ry comprehensive and though provoking demonstration of

Exploration of policy contexts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Exploration of policy contexts - Essay Example The purpose of education should continue to support democratic practice. Museums need to consider not only the content of their exhibitions and programs; they also need to consider what kind of organization they are in. The major theoretical perspectives used here are Ulrich Beck’s and Antony Giddens’s theories of ‘risk society’. The author looks for strategies and reflections that might reflect the current situation, globalization, and sustainability in all the readings. Interviewing museum educators, reviewing existing policies and findings, and reading articles on education the author discerns a common policy or suspect that matches the keywords that were present at the National Assemble in Reykjavà ­k 2009, which is after the economic collapse. These words and phrases should be taken in value as a common reason for learning activity in schools and museums. The task is enormous. Teachers need all assistance possible, in curriculum, policies and praxis. Using three dimensional environment and objects, other kind of structure and settings than is common in the classroom seems to make many students relaxed and freer for learning. What support can be found in the curriculum, museum education policies and museum missions in Iceland? The author started an examination of the policy context in governmental run museums in Iceland and in the new curriculum for compulsory and elementary schools in Iceland. Museums have served as places for informal learning in from the very beginning. In a changing society we might ask where we are going rather where we come from or from the origin to the destination. Where are we going, where am I going? Rather than focus on where we come from, the origin as before. This is also relevant if we look at all the possibilities and alternatives we have today in modern society. All this raises certain questions for educators. Has the process of globalization eroded the autonomy of national education

Market analysis: Hydroponics in Mauritius

Market analysis: Hydroponics in Mauritius In essence, the job of a strategist is to understand and cope with competition. Often, managers define competition too narrowly, as if it occurred only among todays direct competitors. Lall, (2001, p. 6) stated that competitiveness in industrial activities means developing relative efficiency along with sustainable growth Moreover, agribusiness competitiveness has been defined as The sustained ability to profitably gain and maintain market share(Martin, Westgren, van Duren, 1991, p. 1456) or, in a more consumer-oriented way, as the ability of a firm or industry segment to offer products and services that meet or exceed the customer value currently or potentially offered by the products and services of rivals, substitutes, and possible market entrants (Kennedy, Harrison, Kalaitzandonakes, Peterson, Rindfuss, 1997). Yet, according to Michael E. Porter, the Harvard Business School professor, competition for profit goes beyond established industry rivals to include four other competitive forces as well as customers, suppliers, potential entrants and substitute products. Furthermore, the model of Five Competitive Forces was developed by Michael E. Porter in his book Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analysing Industries and Competitors in 1980. It draws upon Industrial Organisation (IO) to develop five forces that determine the competitive intensity and therefore attractiveness of a market. Attractiveness in the context of business environment refers to the overall industry profitability. An unattractive industry is one in which the combination of these five forces acts to drive down the overall profitability. A very unattractive industry would be one approaching pure competition, in which available profits for all firms are driven down to zero. The character, mix, and subtleties of competitive forces are never the same from one industry to another. A powerful and widely used tool for systematically diagnosing the principal competitive pressures in the hydroponics market and assessing the strength and importance of each is the five-forces model of competition.(see figure) Moreover, three of Porters five forces refer to competition from external sources. The remainders are internal threats. Therefore, it is important to use Porters five forces in conjunction with SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) and PEST Analysis (Political, Economical, Social and Technological). Porters Five Forces 2.2.1 Threat of new entrants One of the defining characteristics of competitive advantage is the industrys barrier to entry. It is very expensive for new firms to enter an industry where there is high barrier of entry. Furthermore, profitable markets that yield high returns will attract new firms. In this situation, these new entrants could change major determinants to the market environment (e.g. market shares, prices, customer loyalty) at any time. In the 1993 reprint of the first edition of Bain (1956, pp. 53-166), three main factors are considered as entry barriers: economies of scale, product differentiation advantages, and absolute cost advantages. Moreover, as more firms enter the market, you will see rivalry increase and profitability will fall to the point where there is no incentive for firms to enter the industry. Likewise, the threat of the new entrants will depend on the extent to which there are barriers to entry. These are typically: Economies of scale According to Kislev et al, it is generally accepted that agricultural production is characterized by increasing returns to scale. If economies of scale exist, it represents a high barrier of entry. Firms within the industry will have achieved these economies and if we enter this industry we will have to match their scale size of production in order to compete with them. Thus according to Michael Porter, since EOS does not exist in a tangible way, we need to prove their existence first before trying to compete with the existing firms. Capital requirements This refers to how much money should the firms have to tie up to keep the doors open. This is also a barrier to entry as if firms have to tie up large amounts of capital for daily operations; this will deter smaller firms from entering. Dr. Pieter A.Schippers said that hydroponics requires high-cost installations marketing gourmet vegetables at ritzy prices. According to AREU, the capital investment for hydroponics in Mauritius is up to three million rupees. Brand identity According to Erin Ferree ,Brand identity is the combination of consistent visual elements that are used in your marketing materials. A basic brand identity kit consists of a logo, business card, letterhead, and envelope. It can be extended to include a Web site Where there is brand identity there is high barrier to entry and regarding the hydroponics market in Mauritius, there are no such barriers in the field of hydroponics as it is a newly grown market. Access to Distribution The new entrant must, of course, secure distribution of its product or service. A new food item, for example, must displace others from the supermarket shelf via price breaks, promotions, intense selling efforts, or some other means. The more limited the wholesale or retail channels are and the more that existing competitors have tied them up, the tougher entry into an industry will be. Sometimes access to distribution is so high a barrier that new entrants must bypass distribution channels altogether or create their own. Switching cost Switching costs are fixed costs that buyers face when they change suppliers. Such costs may arise because a buyer who switches vendors must, for example, alter product specifications, retrain employees to use a new product, or modify processes or information systems. The larger the switching costs, the harder it will be for an entrant to gain customers. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is an example of a product with very high switching costs. Once a company has installed SAPs ERP system, for example, the costs of moving to a new vendor are astronomical because of embedded data, the fact that internal processes have been adapted to SAP, major retraining needs, and the mission-critical nature of the application. 2.2.2 Bargaining Power of suppliers The term suppliers comprises all sources for inputs that are needed in order to provide goods or services and bargaining power is the ability to influence the setting of prices. Therefore, bargaining power of suppliers will identify the extent to which your suppliers can choose to raise prices, reduce quality or reduce service without consequence. The more concentrated and controlled the supply, the more power it wields against the market. Monopolistic or quasi-monopolistic suppliers will use their power to extract better terms (higher profit margins or) at the expense of the market. Moreover, in a competitive market, no one supplier can set the prices. Likewise, suppliers can group to wield more bargaining power. The conditions making suppliers, as a group, powerful tend to mirror those making the buyers powerful are as follows: Differentiation of inputs A primary goal of the theory of product differentiation is the determination of market structure and conduct of firms that can choose the specifications of their products besides choosing output and price. Traditional models of product differentiation and marketing have focused on products that are defined by one characteristic only. ( See Hotelling (1929), Vickrey (1964), DAspremont, Gabszewicz and Thisse (1979), Salop (1979), Economides (1984), Anderson, de Palma, and Thisse (1992), among others in economics and Hauser and Shugan (1983), Moorthy (1988) and Kumar and Sudarshan (1988) in marketing.) Threat of forward integration The traditional market foreclosure theory, which was accepted in leading court cases in 1950s-70s, viewed vertical merger as harming competition by denying competitors access to either a supplier or a buyer. (Arrow, K., Vertical Integration and Communication, Bell Journal of Economics, 1975, 6, 173-183.) The critics argue that the theory is logically flawed, and a vertically integrated firm cannot benefit from excluding its rivals (e.g., Bork, 1978; and Posner, 1976). The paper by Salop and Sche ¤man (1987) forms the basis for this argument, and Ordover, Saloner, and Salop (1990, hereinafter OSS) is perhaps the best-known paper that pioneered the equilibrium approach to the analysis of vertical mergers. In this paper, I shall argue that the new theories on vertical mergers have ignored an important point, namely that vertical integration not only changes the integrated firms incentive to supply inputs to its downstream rivals, but it may also change the rivals incentives to purchase inputs from alternative suppliers. Once this is realized,an equilibrium theory of vertical mergers can be developed without some of the controversial assumptions made in the literature, and this theory can provide a framework in which the competitive effects of vertical mergers are measured and compared. The basic insight of my analysis is that vertical integration creates multimarket interaction between the integrated firm and its downstream rivals. A rival may recognize that if it purchases inputs from the integrated firm, the integrated firm may have less incentive to cut prices in the downstream market, which will benefit the rival. Therefore, vertical integration can change the incentive of a downst ream rival in selecting its input supplier, making it a strategic instead of a passive buyer in the input market. Supplier concentration relative to industry concentration Trade theory predicts that if trade costs go down or if productivity rises exogenously in a pool of potential suppliers with heterogeneous productivity levels, the number of suppliers will enlarge (Helpman, Melitz and Rubinstein 2008).An exogenous taste for variety, or a desire to limit monopoly positions, would also lead to a larger number of suppliers, although these forces are static. In the presence of heterogenous quality, however, the dynamics of diversification/concentration can be different. Access of labour According to Bertram,G. (1986), he assumes that output is governed by a well-behaved, continuous, constant returns to scale, aggregate production function involving two factor inputs, capital and labour.( Bertram, G. (1986), Sustainable development in Pacific micro-economies, World Development, Vol. 14 No. 7, pp. 809-22.) Importance of volume of supplier According to Hahn et al., 1990; Humphreys et al., 2004; Krause, 1997; Krause et al., 1998; Li et al., 2007; Watts and Hahn, 1993, buyer-supplier relationships are becoming increasingly important as buyers realize that their success is often tied to the capabilities and performance of suppliers. Many organizations engage in supplier development to assist suppliers in improving supply chain performance and capabilities. Bargaining power of buyer According to Inderst (2007), buyer power is the ability of buyers to obtain advantageous terms of trade from their suppliers. Monopsonistic or quasi- monopsonistic buyers will use their power to extract better terms at the expense of the market. In a truly competitive market, no one buyer can set the prices. Instead they are set by supply and demand. Prices are set by supply and demand and the market reaches the Pareto-optimal point where the highest possible number of buyers are satisfied at a price that still allow for the supplier to be profitable. Porter states that a buyer group is powerful if it: purchases large volumes relative to seller sales; learns low profits; the products it purchases from the industry represent a significant fraction of the buyers costs or purchases; the products are standard or undifferentiated and face few switching costs; the industrys product is unimportant to the quality of the buyers products or services; buyers pose a credible threat of backward integration; The buyer has full information. Additionally, with the bargaining power, buyers can impose on suppliers and thus can choose their suppliers. According to Ghodsypour and OBrien, (1998); Weber et al., (2000) and Dahel, (2003), this can be done by using the linear programming models. Moreover, the multi-objective programming model developed by Weber and Ellram (1993) can helps buyer to select a pool of suppliers and determine the purchasing units to be allocated among the suppliers. Buyer switching cost Buyer-supplier relationships play a key role in the success of a supply chain (Chen and Paulraj, 2004; Lin et al., 2001; Storey and Emberson, 2006); however, organizations often face the problem of choosing appropriate suppliers (Pagell and Sheu, 2001; Chen and Paulraj, 2004; Wadhwa et al., 2006; Phusavat et al., 2007). The problem of choosing suppliers so that profits can be maximized has become increasingly vital to an enterprises survival due to keen competition in the micro-profit era (Giunipero et al., 2006). Numerous studies have addressed the issue of the buyer-supplier relationship in supply chain management. One stream of research examines related variables, such as cooperation, satisfaction, trust, and commitment, which make the supply chain relationship successful (Byrd and Davidson, 2003; Fynes et al., 2005; Malhotra et al., 2005). Another stream focuses on the criteria for choosing suppliers, such as quality, on-time delivery, and costs (Chen and Paulraj, 2004; Blackhurs t et al., 2005; Gunasekaran and Kobu, 2006; Phusavat and Kanchana, 2008). Among these criteria, costs have received the most attention because they are considered the key factor in choosing suppliers (Noordewier et al., 1990; Kalwani and Narayandas, 1995; Dahlstrom and Nygaard, 1999; Zhao and Yang, 2007). Buyer information Another reason why buyers were in such a strong bargaining position was because they had full information about demand, actual market prices, and even manufacturer costs. The buyers comparative information was often better than what was available to manufacturers, and thus with such full information, retailers were able to ensure that they received the most favourable prices offered to others, and were able to oppose suppliers claims that their viability would be threatened if prices were reduced. Owing to all of the above reasons, one can see that the bargaining power of the Australian food retailers was so great in the early 1980s that they were perhaps in a unique position of strength even in a global sense. The current barriers for purchasing organic products mainly relates to price, availability, and consumer awareness. Moreover, offering customers and obtaining greater value added by creating, developing, and maintaining lasting customer-supplier relationships (Rexha,2000; Van der Haar et al., 2001), such that both parties benefit (Gro ¨nroos, 2000; Kothandaraman and Wilson, 2001; Sharma et al., 2001; Walter et al., 2001; Leek et al., 2003), is considered fundamental for guaranteeing the success and survival of companies in the market. Suppliers adapt to the customers needs in order to satisfy them. This adaptation can encourage the customer to behave opportunistically (Brown et al., 2000; Wathne and Heide, 2000). But if the supplier is able to adapt, and satisfy customer needs better than its competitors, enduring relationships can develop between both agents. Brand identity of buyer According to Aaker, (1991, 1996), brand identity is a message about a brand that a firm seeks to communicate with. This communication is undertaken via the product, the brand name, symbols and logos, historical roots, the brands creator, and advertising (Kapferer, 1998 Some organisations base their competitive advantage on physical assets such as a manufacturing facility, some on their employees, and some on their distribution networks (Kotler, 2000). Many others, however, seek to attain a competitive advantage from intangible assets such as their reputation or the brands that they own (Beverland, 2005; Keller, 1993; Low and Blois, 2002). Yet, research to date on branding in business and industrial marketing has been limited (Beverland et al., 2006; Low and Blois, 2002; Mudambi et al., 1997; Nilson, 1998). Price sensitivity Porter (1985) has defined two primary types of competitive strategy that can provide a source of competitive advantage: differentiation and low cost strategy. The low cost strategy, which may enable a price leader position, can lead to price wars and is therefore risky for all digital products and services, including retail banking. Ultimately only one company can be the price leader, thus all other companies should contemplate alternative strategies. Likewise, marketers and researchers are familiar with the concept of price elasticity, which describes changes in the quantity of demand for a product associated with changes in price of the product. If demand is elastic, changes in price level have a proportionally greater impact on demand. Inelastic demand describes the case where changes in price have little effect on demand. The concept of price elasticity describes the aggregate response of a market segment to price levels. Price sensitivity is an individual difference variable describing how individual consumers react to price levels and changes in price levels. A consumer high in price sensitivity will manifest much less demand as price goes up (or higher demand as price goes down), and consumers low in price sensitivity will not react as strongly to a price change. Standardize products A large majority of respondents believed that many retailers considered most food products to be fairly standard, and thus, as they could most often find alternative suppliers, they played one manufacturing company against another. It was the respondents view that such tactics also extended towards substituting house brands and generics for brand names, and these aspects will be considered later. Thus, unless a manufacturer had very strong end-user demand for its brand (e.g. Vegemite, Milo, Pal), it found that its product was capable of being substituted unless it succumbed to retailer pressure. Threat of substitute products All firms in an industry are competing, in a broad sense, with industries producing substitute products. The impact of substitutes affected certain segments of the food industry more than others, the obvious examples being the yellow fats segment (butter versus margarine), the sweeteners segment (sugar versus sugar substitutes) and the pet foods segment (canned versus dry). The food industry as a whole is, in fact, competing with other substitute expense categories such as entertainment and personal items. While expenditure on food will never fall below an essential base level. Research done by Ogilvy and Mather (1983) seems to suggest that more people cut back on food during the early 1980s, in order to cope with inflation, than on other expense categories. The following factors are being considered when analyzing the threat of substitute products: Buyer propensity to substitute For sellers, it is crucial to win a buyers trust, then nurture it over the course of a relationship. Trust enables the buyer to economize cognitive and emotional energy and rely on a seller before extensive information can be gathered (Luhmann, 1979; Jones and George, 1998; Yamagishi, 2002; Mayer et al., 1995). As trust matures, the buyer identifies with (Lewicki and Bunker, 1995) and feels affection and devotion for the seller (McAllister, 1995). Trust is therefore strongly linked to buyer commitment (Moorman et al., 1992) and loyalty (Morgan and Hunt, 1994). A sellers violation of trust occurs when the buyer perceives evidence that the seller failed to meet the buyers confident expectations (Tomlinson et al., 2004). Relative price/performance relationship of substitutes Shapiro (1992) argues that institutional investors, who normally trade in large quantities, are concerned with the opportunity costs involved in undertaking these large trades. Many suppliers, in turn, face a growing trend towards commoditization of products (Rangan and Bowman, 1992) and search for new ways of differentiating themselves through improved customer interactions (Vandenbosch and Dawar, 2002). From an academic perspective, there is a rich and growing body of research focusing on buyer-supplier relationships in business markets (Ulaga, 2001). More broadly, researchers have coined the term relationship quality which is typically assessed through some combination of commitment, satisfaction and trust (Crosby et al., 1990; Dorsch et al., 1998; Hewett et al., 2002). According to Wilson (1995, p. 337) trust is a fundamental relationship model building block and as such is included in most relationship models. In addition to trust, Morgan and Hunt (1994) identified commitment as another key-mediating variable of relationship marketing. Furthermore in their commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing, Morgan and Hunt (1994) establish trust as a key-mediating variable that is central to relational exchanges. Moreover, customer satisfaction is widely accepted among researchers as a strong predictor for behavioural variables such as repurchase intentions, word-of-mouth, or loyalty (Ravald and Gro ¨nroos, 1996; Liljander and Strandvik, 1995). Satisfaction research is mainly influenced by the disconfirmation paradigm (Parasuraman et al., 1988). Competitive Rivalry The rivalry amongst existing firms analysis will help you to understand the risk that your competitors may compete for market position and if their competitive tactics are likely to be effective. Furthermore, you will find that your competitors may compete for market position using tactics such as pricing competition, advertising as well as increasing customer service. To analyze industry rivalry in your industry, you will need to consider the following factors: Diversity among competitors The first point of departure is found in Miles et al.(1993)and Miles and Snow (1986) proposition that strategy in diversity and structure is normal in any industry, that it is good for and industry and furthermore that various configurations of strategy and structure may be equally effective in producing high performance. Industry growth rate When hydroponics industry is in a growth phase there will be room for the industry to grow, as a result there will be a low risk of competitor rivalry. Thompson et al., (2008) stated that rivalry becomes stronger if demand growth is slow. Exit barriers Powell (1995) incorporated entry barriers and industry rivalry in his research and found a significant correlation of firm performance with entry barriers (r  ¼ 0:29; p , 0:05) and industry rivalry (r  ¼ 20:32; p , 0:05). These results indicate the higher the entry barriers, the lower the threat of new entrants and the better the opportunities for improved performance; and similarly, the higher the industry rivalry, the tougher the industry competition which would mean the lower the firm performance. A critique of Porters model There are, however, several limitations to Porters framework, such as: It tends to over-stress macro analysis, i.e. at the industry level, as opposed to the analysis of more specific product-market segments at a micro level. It oversimplifies industry value chains: for example, invariably buyers may need to be both segmented and also differentiated between channels, intermediate buyers and end consumers. It fails to link directly to possible management action: for example, where companies have apparently low influence over any of the five forces, how can they set about dealing with them? It tends to encourage the mind-set of an industry as a specific entity with ongoing boundaries. This is perhaps less appropriate now where industry boundaries appear to be far more fluid. It appears to be self-contained, thus not being specifically related, for example, to PEST factors, or the dynamics of growth in a particular market. It is couched in economic terminology, which may be perceived to be too much jargon from a practising managers perspective and indeed, it could be argued that it is over-branded. SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis, which is originally introduced in 1969 by Harvard researchers (e.g. Learned et al., 1991), calls for an external assessment of the opportunities and threats that exist in a firms environment and an internal assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the organisation. The SWOT framework became popular during the 1970s because of its inherent assumption that managers can plan the alignment of a firms resources with its environment. Subsequently, during the decade of the 1980s, Porters (1980) introduction of the industrial organization paradigm with his five forces models gave primacy to a firms external environment, overshadowing the popularity of SWOT. More recently, at the start of the twenty-first century, SWOT is alive and well as the recommended framework for case analysis in many of the leading strategic management and marketing texts (Hitt et al., 2000; Anderson and Vince, 2002). However, despite its wide and enduring popularity, SWOT has remained an theoretica l framework, of limited prescriptive power for practice and minor significance for research (Dess, 1999). Generally, firms are asked to develop strategies to guide the organisation to ward opportunities that may be exploited using strengths of the organisation, push the organisation away from threats in the environment, maintain existing strengths and improve organisational weaknesses. Recently, Duncan, Ginter and Swayne (1998) suggested a four step model for assessing internal strengths and weaknesses. Their four steps include surveying, categorising, investigation, and evaluating. The tables below show the Strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of hydroponics in Mauritius. STENGTHS WEAKNESSES Growing demand for vegetables, both consumer and business markets. Environment-friendly practices favoured. Provide employment. Flexible in production. Poorly structured distribution channels. Finance: such project requires huge investments. Insufficient use of technology: growers in Mauritius cannot afford to adopt latest technology such as those used in Australia and USA due to high costs. Equipment and other materials have to be imported. Lack of trained trainers. OPPORTUNITIES THREATS Favoured business environment- laws and legislations have been modified so as to propel small business. Examples are the introduction of the Municipal Fee, replacing the Trade Licence, Special Tax Holiday Scheme, cancellation of customs duty on several products and Empowerment Programme. Incentives offered to registered enterprises by SEHDA, National Computer Board and so on. Examples are awards to the best business plans, business counselling and facilitation. Increasing cost of doing business. High inflation rate causing depreciation of the Mauritian Rupees. Favourable prices of the substitutes. PEST Analysis PEST (or political, economic, social and technological factors) is the most commonly used tool for environmental analysis (Beamish, 1996) and is possibly the second most widely known strategy technique after SWOT analysis. Political/ Legal Environment: in most countries, the government provides much needed support to those who want to invest in hydroponics technology. Examples are tax relieves on equipment, free counselling, training, incentives to set up small businesses, loan facilities and so on. Regarding the Economic Environment, these issues should be considered: Income is a major influencer of consumer purchasing power. For instance, a fall in income caused by an increase in the rate of inflation may result in a fall in purchasing power. Consumers may buy more of the organic vegetables, which are cheaper than the hydroponics vegetables. The reverse is also true. Changing consumer spending patterns influence the demand for hydroponics produce. It has been noted that there is an increasing tendency for consumers to spend more and more on leisure activities, transportation, medical-care and education rather than food. But with the new budget made by the finance minister, we can expect that the spending on education will decrease and ultimately result to and increase in food or other activities also. Social/ cultural Environment: a study by the NZ Vegetable Growers Federation (www.vegetables.co.nz) , found that nearly 40% of people who purchase organic food do so because they believe it is pesticide-free. Technological Environment: growers of hydroponics produce who do not adopt the best practice technology will be disadvantaged and gradually lose access to all but low margin residual markets. However, there is a profound gap between PEST and SWOT analysis, and this is only partly met by Porters five forces. A linking technique is that of Grundys growth drivers (Grundy, 2004). See the diagram below. Grundy gives an example of growth driver analysis, helping us to represent the forces that, directly or indirectly, cause or inhibit market growth over a particular time period. However, an important feature to note here is that it is part of a system. The system captures, in an onion model format, the key domains that need to be thought through, within the overall competitive climate, beginning with: _ PEST factors _ growth drivers _ Porters five competitive forces _ competitive position. These layers of the onion are highly interdependent, which might be a very useful phenomenon for managers to learn about and to apply. For example, where the PEST factors are generally hospitable, growth is encouraged and the full impact of the five competitive forces may not be felt and may thus be latent. However, where the PEST factors become inhospitable, this will clearly dampen the growth drivers, and if the growth drivers within a particular market are themselves tightening, for example due to life-cycle effects, then this will put a disproportionate and adverse pressure on Porters five forces, particularly in the bargaining power of buyers, and also upon rivalry. Furthermore, a high growth environment may encourage entrants and a low one will discourage these. The result can lead to a collapse in confidence and in prices unless there are lots of exits.

Romeo And Juliet :: essays research papers

Over the past four hundred years, the famous play, Romeo and Juliet, has inspired many readers across the globe. The classic play, written by famous playwright William Shakespeare has captured and will continue to capture people’s minds.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main question that rises is why this play has been read for so long. The story consists of two “ star- crossed '; lovers who fall in love at first sight. One of the main reasons why this play has been so popular is because stories in those times relied more on the life and spirit of the play. For generations people saw in this play a reflection of their own life and experiences.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another reason why this play has been successful is also because the hints of tragedy increased the suspense and irony of the play. For example, when Juliet looks upon Romeo and says;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  “O God, I have an ill-diving   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  soul!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Methinks I see them, now   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  thou art below   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As one dead in the bottom   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  of a thumb. '; (Act III, Scene V, lines 54-56) thus pointing out the hints of tragic death.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Romeo and Juliet is also a play which is full of anger, passion, and death. The secrecy of the marriage of Romeo and Juliet pointed out a form of dramatic irony. This is shown by Juliet’s “ double-edged ';phrases when Lady Capulet is denouncing Romeo. For example,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  “Ay madam, from the reach of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  these my hands:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  would none but I might verge   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  my cousin’s death.'; (Act III, Scene V, line 86) or when Juliet states in an awkward way,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  “indeed I never shall be satisfied with Romeo till I behold him -dead- ';   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  (Act III, Scene V, line 95)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  O there dramatic ironies included when Romeo falls in love with Juliet, Mercutio imagines he is still in love with Rosaline. “Ah that same pale hard-hearted wench, that torments him so that he will sure run mad. '; (Act II, Scene IV, Line 4). All the dramatic ironies caused a very lively presence throughout the play and has caught the eye of many readers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Last but not least, Shakespeare’ s writing style has also hypnotised people.

The Rise and Fall of Enron

The meteoric rise and fall of Enron is one of the most notorious tales in the history of corporate America. Enron was the seventh-largest company in the United States in 2000 and ‘Fortune' magazine had declared it as America's â€Å"most innovative company† for six straight years; its share price had climbed from $ 10 a share in 1991 to over $ 90 a share in August 2000 while its revenue jumped to more than $100 billion. (â€Å"Rise and Fall of an Energy Giant†) No one could have predicted that before the end of the following year the â€Å"rising star† of corporate America would be filing for bankruptcy, shaking investor confidence to the core and signalling the end of the longest bull-run in the American stock exchange's history. The ramifications of the dramatic collapse still reverberate in global financial and energy markets as well the U.S. courts, where a number of former Enron managers face serious criminal charges. This fairy tale rise and ignominious fall of Enron is the subject of this paper. The Pipeline and Energy Company: Enron Corporation was formed as a result of a 1985 merger of Houston Natural Gas (HNG) and InterNorth-a Nebraska based gas pipeline company. Kenneth Lay, CEO of HNG, became Enron's first CEO and proceeded to make it the first nationwide natural gas pipeline. Enron soon became involved in in the transmission and distribution of electricity in addition to gas in the US as well as the development, construction, and operation of power plants and pipelines worldwide. Its profits were, however, modest as in those days, energy was a government-sanctioned monopoly. (Lindstorm) Taking Advantage of Deregulation: Things began to change as the gas and electricity sectors were deregulated by the early 1990s. Kenneth Lay decided to take advantage of the deregulation and hired Jeffery Skilling a young consultant with a banking and liability management background, in 1990-making him the CEO of a new division in Enron- the Enron Finance Corp. The duo proceeded to transform Enron from a ‘boringly predictable' and regulated Gas Company into one of the largest energy traders in the US that would eventually dominate the trading of energy contracts and financial instruments known as derivatives. Trading Becomes the Mantra: As Enron's revenues sky-rocketed in its initial forays into wholesale buying and selling of gas and electricity, Skilling was emboldened to extend the trading concept into almost any commodity that could be traded, i.e., futures contracts in coal, paper, steel, water and even weather. Taking advantage of the growing use of the Internet, Enron started Enron Online (EOL) in October 1999-an electronic commodities trading Web site that was hugely successful almost overnight. Skilling hired the brightest talent from the top MBA schools and turned them into high-flying traders with incentives to â€Å"eat what they killed.† (Thomas, para on â€Å"The Best, the Brightest†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ) While the company grew rapidly through the 1990s, â€Å"some of the worst manifestations of its culture-obsessions with bonuses, the stock price and exotic accounting-were also growing, and out of control.† (Fowler, â€Å"Enron's Implosion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ) Enron did make huge profits for a short while due to highly volatile energy prices, and there was widespread perception in the company about the unlimited potential of online trade and technology innovations such as the broadband. Things started to change in the late 1990s. Other energy companies such as Dynergy, Duke Energy, and El Paso had entered the field of energy trading and the competition started to eat into the huge profit margins of Enron. Other factors such as falling energy prices in early 2001, the approaching worldwide recession and the broadband bubble burst began to work against Enron's ‘dream' run. The company, in the meantime, had embarked on a culture of cutting trading deals that had a momentum of its own that was hard to stop. Disregarding Ethics: Ethics at Enron was put on the back-burner as its corporate culture was focused on making â€Å"deals† and increasing Enron's share value. Skilling was relentless in his push for creativity and competitiveness, giving rise to â€Å"a growth-at-any-cost culture,† overriding all checks and balances, and suppressing all voices of caution. (Fowler) Its ‘ethics' was personified by Kenneth Lay's exercising of his stock options and pocketing profits, even as he was promoting Enron shares as a bargain to employees. It was also reflected in the action of some Enron executives who pressurized a brokerage company to take action against a broker who advised some Enron workers to sell their shares. (Wee, â€Å"Corporate Ethics†) Dubious Accounting: It was hardly surprising, therefore, that several Enron resorted to â€Å"innovative† accounting practices to show inflated profits and hiding their losses. Under Andrew Fastow (Enron's Chief Financial Officer) personal guidance, the company made use of thousands of Special Purpose Entities (SPEs), some of them owned by Fastow himself, to â€Å"park† its troubled assets that were falling in value, so that the balance sheet continued to show growing profits. Conflict of Interest: Despite serious accounting irregularities, no one was prepared to blow the whistle because of conflicts of interest of several key players. Enron's auditor, Arthur Anderson was also its consultant and stood to gain from ‘seeing no evil'; Kenneth Lay was busy exercising his stock options before the share value fell. J.P. Morgan, while underwriting bonds for Enron, was involved in trading derivatives contracts with the company and had a substantial share in Enron stock. Andrew Fastow was making millions in profits by doing business with the firm through secret limited partnerships. As a result, although the fall of Enron when it filed for bankruptcy in December 2001 seemed stunningly sudden to most people, conditions for the collapse had been brewing for a long time.

The eNotes Blog 15 Texts to Read in Honor of MLK,Jr.

15 Texts to Read in Honor of MLK,Jr. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., dedicated his life to advocating for racial equality and battling discrimination and injustice. His talents as an orator and his dedication to nonviolent resistance were remarkable. Most of us are familiar with his rhetorical masterpiece, the I Have a Dream speech, but far too many are less familiar with the history of racial inequality in the United States. Today, were sharing stories, poems, speeches, and essays that provide myriad voices on the African American experience in the United States. From 19th-century slave narratives to contemporary novels about racial inequality, each work provides an invaluable look at the social and racial inequalities that have shaped- and continue to shape- American society. In honor of Dr. Kings work, lets continue to share stories, read more diversely, and embrace the heartbreaking and hopeful narratives that push us to advocate for a more equitable, empathetic society. 1. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Adichies award-winning novel centers on Ifemelus experience with the American dream as she becomes Americanized, recounting her experiences as a non-American black and the racism, classism, and economic disparity she faces. 2. Becoming by Michelle Obama Celebrated for its refreshing honesty, powerful storytelling, and compelling message, Michelle Obamas memoir addresses not only the challenges she faced as a young black woman pursuing education and success but also the racial issues she faced as a First Lady. 3. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates Coates penned this three-part, book-length letter to his fifteen-year-old son, Samori in an attempt to explain what it means to be black in the United States- particularly in the aftermath of the deaths of Michael Brown Tamir Rice, and Eric Garner.   4. Fences by August Wilson Wilsons play is a powerful exploration of Troy Maxons life, family, aspirations, and failures amidst the limitations imposed through systemic discrimination in sports- all set against the backdrop of the rising racial tensions of the 1960s. 5. The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander Civil rights lawyer Michelle Alexander challenges readers to acknowledge how inequality persists within our legal system by arguing how the United States criminal justice system remains unfairly biased against African Americans. 6. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou A vivid retelling of her trauma, love of family, and coming of age, Maya Angelous autobiography represents a potent example of perseverance in spite of racial prejudice. 7. Still I Rise by Maya Angelou This poem contains a fascinating mix of tones- defiant yet playful, angry yet comical- while conveying a strong political and personal message of resilience in the face of racial discrimination. 8. Kindred by Octavia Butler Though in the realm of science fiction, Butlers early novel Kindred not only explores the privileges and power assigned to particular races and genders but also includes a thrilling tale of time travel. 9. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison Ellisons 1952 acerbic novel was immediately hailed as a literary masterpiece for delving into the harsh realities and truths about the effects of bigotry in American society on the eve of the civil rights movement. 10. Monster by Walter Dean Myers Written in the form of a screenplay by its main character, Monster contributes to the myriad stories of injustice perpetrated unfairly along racial lines in American law enforcement. 11. Native Son by Richard Wright With a new film adaptation arriving January 24, Richard Wrights novel remains a powerful reflection on the effects of poverty and the feelings of hopelessness experienced by those in inner cities across the United States. 12. A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry Hansberrys 1957 play took its title from a poem by Langston Hughes, Harlem, and tells a story of generational tension and ideological conflict amid the racial injustices the Younger family must face together. 13. What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? by Frederick Douglass Although many are familiar with Douglasss autobiography, his 1852 speech in Rochester, New York, endures not only as a testament to his oratory and rhetorical powers but also as an account of the hypocrisy and injustices that have and continue to endure in the United States. 14. The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis Curtiss historical novel not only follows, as you might guess, the Watsons on their trip to Birmingham in 1963 but also has much to say about family relationships and African American life in the 1960s. 15. Everyday Use by Alice Walker Perhaps Walkers most popular short story, Everyday Use provides a poignant look at an individuals relationship to her cultural roots, the influence of materialism on happiness, and the importance of community.

Effective Teaching and Learning Essays

Effective Teaching and Learning Essays Effective Teaching and Learning Essay Effective Teaching and Learning Essay EFFECTIVE TEACHING LEARNING Total word count : 1829 PGCE MFL French Assignment 1 Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. Benjamin Franklin Written Summary Activity 1 During my first week of induction, I had the opportunity to observe and sometimes take part in a wide range of language lessons in no less than the 4 different languages my placement school offers to its pupils. Being in a classroom with experimented MFL teachers not only inspired me even more to start delivering lessons myself but it also enabled me to reflect on a great number of issues discussed previously during the university course. Notwithstanding the importance of this experience, the pupil shadowing session was an even more revealing activity to some extent as I could , for the first time since I was myself a secondary school student, experience a full school day from a pupils point of view. Beyond the curricular aspect, what struck me the most was the great variety of teaching styles a Year 9 pupil can encounter in only a days time. Indeed, the level of involvement and autonomy of the pupils, the pace, the amount of cultural references or the behavior management were completely different from one lesson to another. This led me to the conclusion that the teacher is the utmost important element for the transmission of knowledge in the classroom and that radically different teaching styles lead themselves to completely different expectations, targets, and very different results in terms of behaviour, concentration, interest in the subjects and thus, overall achievement. Exploring subject Pedagogy Activity 2 Most educators agree that children need to be in supportive, friendly environments. (Hitz Driscoll, 1989) When observing a lesson, the most obvious thing one can observe a teacher doing to achieve such a goal is using praise. Praise in the classroom is a vast concept, and it can come in many forms, aim at different goals depending on the size of the class, the pupils age, their ability, their behaviour, their motivation or precisely their very attitude in response to praise and positive feedback. The two main types of praise are ability feedback and effort feedback. According to some research on the subject (Marsh, 1990) ability feedback is the generally the most valued kind of praise by the students, but effort feedback is the most efficient in actually improving their performances. (Dweck, 1999) Most MFL teachers in my placement school , a specialist language college, share their forms with another colleague from the department and thus end up teaching to a lot of different classes. To ensure continuity, they implemented a common feedback system for KS3 pupils which consists of giving stamp marks on their copybooks for good answers, and rewards after a certain number of stamps. I observed however that, as Meyer (1979) points out, certain kinds of praise [such as this one] may set up even the most capable students for failure. No student can always be good or nice or smart. In order to avoid negative evaluations, students may tend not to take chances and attempt difficult tasks. Hence the necessity of adding collective praise in order to instill a sense of togetherness as well as a collaborative atmosphere in the classroom and make sure that no pupils feel left behind. One of the teacher I observed often ends up her language lessons by praising collectively her class just before doing the plenary using expressions such as were all making progress or everybody did their best so that everyone is complimented. The idea behind this is that, regardless of their actual success in achieving the goals, all the learners should be given the same opportunity to improve themselves. Planning, delivery and evaluation of a learning episode Activity 3 The first learning episode I had the opportunity to teach was a plenary for a french year 11 top set class. There are 13 pupils, theyve already passed their GCSE and most of them with an A or above grade. Many of them have ,thus, high level speaking skills and can cope with high level listening activities. I took these facts into account while planning my plenary, which was aimed at introducing the topic they were about to start to work on the week after :La publicite. I wanted them to engage them from the start so I asked them to form pairs and to guess the nature of the topic only with the clues I gave them, one at a time to build up suspense. The aim was to get them interested and create a collaborative atmosphere, in teaching and MFL teaching specifically, activities have to be seen as useful and challenging, and what is more useful in the short term to actually know what the next topic youve got to prepare to work on will be. Although, even if I had planned that most o f the plenary would be in the target language, the hardest part was to actually stick to this and not be tempted to switch back too rapidly to English whenever a sentence or a concept wasnt understood well. Challenging the learners and having high expectation of them is one of the most important aspect of language teaching indeed. 1 Written reflection and synthesis Collaboration and contextualisation in the classroom Thorp et al. (1994) cited research indicating that students spend approximately 15,000 hours in the classroom environment during primary and secondary schooling. It is therefore important for students to have good experiences at school(Burnett, 2002) In comparison to academic success and attainment of targets, what actually is a good classroom environment is really hard to define as it can hardly be compared with figures and data. It is, though, an essential part of the teachers job to create an environment where pupils are at ease so it can become, as a result, a motivating and effective place to learn. Indeed, research suggests that a positive student-teacher relationship is an important aspect of a positive classroom environment (Birch Ladd, 1997) Collaboration in the classroom is multidimensional. Teachers collaborate with pupils by being supportive, encouraging and listening to their questions and problems; while pupils can collaborate with each other in group activities and with the teacher by making suggestions showing what are their own personal needs. Collective praise (cf. Activity 2) is one of the important aspects for a good classroom climate based on mutual understanding. By including the pupils by talking and giving feedback using the pronoun we instead of you , teachers can create a sense of shared endeavour; and , as I was able to observe during my induction, it seems to have a positive impact on the learners involvement in many cases, especially with KS3 pupils. The informal use of the target language itself during an MFL lesson can also be considered as a way of collaborating with pupils when greeting them or motivating so that they can do the same. On several occasions, I observed lessons where the teacher engaged themselves in an intellectual reflection with the pupils, fully involved themselves in the process and opened their lesson to pupils contributions and suggestions. In a top-set Year 9 German lesson, the teacher planned it with the goal of enabling the pupils to work on a new grammatical notion, the ultimate goal by the end of the lesson being to come to the conclusion of the existence of a clear pattern. During the whole lesson, the teacher wasnt in the role of the adult delivering its superior and wider knowledge to its classroom but more on the pupils side trying to team up with the whole class even if she obviously knew what was the outcome and had the knowledge of the notion. By doing this, she succeeded in creating a positive atmosphere and a certain sense of togetherness In a science lesson on genetics and cloning I attended during my pupil shadowing day, the teacher first introduced the topic and covered the subject from a scientific point of view during the first half hour and then involved the whole class in a debate over the ethical implications of cloning, while introducing new elements from the curriculum. The pupils really enjoyed exchanging their different point of view on this controversial topic and the teacher managed to challenge the pupils preconceptions by asking them why they came to such and such conclusion, how, and if it could be otherwise. (cf. Activity 1) She managed to fully engage the pupils while bringing a real-life context to her subject. Again, in MFL lessons, the use of the target language is a good way to bring a context to what is taught. Whether the learners are in the position of having to understand and respond to instructions in the target language, or when theyre involved in role-plays, they are implicitly putting their skills and knowledge in use and into context. The very presence of the target language in its written form in the classroom through displays, maps or revision posters is also very beneficial in immersing even more the learners in a language oriented environment. Some language lessons in my placement school are fully oriented towards cultural or historical topic. The promotion of and the understanding of other culture is indeed one of the most important aims of modern language studies. As an example, I observed a Chinese geography lesson aimed at revising some words and characters already learnt as well as learning more about Chinas cities and geographical features. Language assistants are especially helpful as well in that matter. Their very presence represents an amazing opportunity for pupils to practice the language and learn more about a foreign culture with a native speaker. There are 3 language assistants in my school and theyre indeed playing a very important role in adding meaning to learning. Exchanges and partnerships with foreign schools can also very beneficial as they enable even more pupils to have contacts with native speakers of their age and intercultural dialogue to take place. In my induction school, some Year 10 students hosted German pupils during and exchange weeks during which several activities were organised including a trip to York. This was a great opportunity for the German pupils to discover an historical city where they had never been before but also for the schools pupils to get an insight into their own culture and be able to make cross-cultural comparisons. The whole experience ,in fact, enabled them to develop a more objective view of their own local history but also their own customs and way of thinking. Beyond that, schools exchange whether its through correspondence or through actual travel to another country is a formidable way to get an insight in another countrys culture and way of life and , in many cases, the utmost source of motivation fo r learning a language which eventually is to be able to communicate and share with others. Whether it is through collaboration with the learners or proposing learning activities with the aim of developing cultural awareness, involvement in secondary education, and more specifically in language education, is a key to motivate learners to set themselves goals to attain. One of the role of a language teacher is to make sure that they seize any such occasion to challenge, fully engage their learners in the context of a relevant environment to eventually guide them toward success. Bibliography Meyer, W. Informational Value of Evaluative Behavior: Influences of Social Reinforcement on Achievement. JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 71(2) (1979): 259-268. Hitz, Randy Driscoll, Amy ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education Urbana IL. (1989) Marsh, H.W. (1990). The influences of internal and external factors of reference on the formation of English and math self-concepts. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 107â€Å"116. Dweck, C.S. (1999). Self-theories: Their role in motivation, personality, and development. Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press. Meyer, W. Informational Value of Evaluative Behavior: Influences of Social Reinforcement on Achievement. JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 71(2) (1979): 259-268. Paul C. Burnett, Centre for Research and Graduate Training, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, Australia Educational Psychology, Vol. 22, No. 1, 2002 Teacher Praise and Feedback and Studentsâ„ ¢ Perceptions of the Classroom Environment Thorp, H.S., Burden, R.L., Fraser, B.J. (1994). Assessing and improving classroom environment. School Science Review, 75, 107â€Å"113 Birch, S.H., Ladd, G.W. (1997). The teacher-child relationship and childrenâ„ ¢s early school adjustment. Journal of School Psychology, 35, 61â€Å"79. My key features for teaching School Larger than average size secondary school. The proportion of students known to be eligible for free school meals is well below average. The proportion of minority ethnic students is below average. The proportion of students with special educational needs and/or disabilities is well below average The proportion with a statement of special educational needs is broadly average. The school has a languages specialism. (OfSTED, 2010) Modern Foreign Languages : 13 teachers 3 language assistants 4 Modern foreign languages taught , + Latin Emphasis on and importance of grammar in the schemes of work A lot of resources available Language lab Exchanges with foreign schools French Available as a first or a second language First language in the school in terms of pupils learning it (Induction Block A school language classroom 03.10.2011) (Induction Block A school language classroom 03.10.2011) (Induction Block A school language classroom 03.10.2011)

Markets, marketing and strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Markets, marketing and strategy - Essay Example A PEST analysis is an analysis of the external macro-environment that affects all firms. P.E.S.T. is an acronym for the Political, Economic, Social and Technological factors of the external macro-environment. Such external factors usually are beyond the firm’s control and sometimes present themselves as threats. Speaking about the political factors of the merger to take place, the principal ones to consider are trade regulations and tariffs, as BHI performs business in the three different locations all over the world, as well as such merger may be taken as the striving of both company for creating a monopoly. Taxation should also be taken into account; however, as BHI itself used to successfully run all three businesses, and the European Commission has approved on the merger, these factors are not threats here, though should be kept under control. Economic factors are also present here, as the merger presupposes intervention into business in other countries; however, as far as the businesses perform successfully, there is no threat of getting into worse infrastructure quality or facing difficulties with employment; Reckitt Benckniser has to closely consider the skill level of workforce, especially in business unit operated by BHI in Thailand, which may appear an opportunity for quality improvements. Social and technological factors here don’t represent any significance, as the businesses have been performing for a certain period of time and have both acquired stable position on the market.

Pros and Cons of Bitcoin Digital Currency Research Paper

Pros and Cons of Bitcoin Digital Currency - Research Paper Example The security and networking for Bitcoin users is safe and they have complete control of their transactions. There are no extra fees charged by merchants without the user finding out. The user gets in touch first with the merchant before charging them any extra fees. In addition, Bitcoin protects the user’s personal information so it cannot be viewed by other people who could in-turn try and steal their identity (Cook, 2014). However, all payments in bitcoin cannot be transacted and finalized until the owner’s information is linkedtothe transaction. Therefore, the backing up and the encryption of the Bitcoin guarantees safety for the money. The user’s information is transparent by using the block chain, where all finalized transactions can be viewed by anyone, but your personal information is blocked or hidden from everyone. You can verify transactions anytime in the Bitcoin block chain. Due to Bitcoin being cryptographically secure, it cannot be changed by any organization, government or person. There are usually no fees or very low fees when making payments to Bitcoin unless you would like it done in a quick manner (Dumitrescu&FiricÄÆ', 2014). Then you can increase the fee so that the payment is processed faster. The Digital Currency converts bitcoin into flat currency, which helps the merchant process their transactions at lower fees than when using credit cards or PayPal. The risks are few for Merchant transactions due to bitcoin’s system being cryptographically secure, where fraud is not possible.