Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Customer Satisfaction Essay

Filipino’s have been given a chance to finally choose groceries business and minimart across the country. One of the pioneer groceries in town is the Consumers Minimart Inc. formerly named Caragan. Ever since Consumers Minimart Inc. experienced a lot of competitors on their times, minimart is still existing and alive.At this time many establishments exist like CSI, Royal Mall, Save More, but the Consumers Minimart Inc. is still having a profit and their loyal customers were always remained.Bayambang is one of the town with the largest number of barangays in Pangasinan, a largest place to establish a business. Business opportunity is increasing like mini grocery market, malls, fast food chains, banks, water refilling station and other small and big enterprises. This business establishment where very profitable and have impact to the customers especially here, is the groceries stores because customer or people can get or buy their daily needs into this kind of business, and one of that business is the Consumers Minimart Inc.Consumers Minimart Inc. is owned and manage by Jovita De Leon. It was established last March 18, 2010. They established their business in Bayambang because this place is very promising town, has 77 barangays and there is a lot of nearby town, and prospect customers such as Bautista, Alcala, Urbiztondo, and Malasiqui.Caragan was became Consumers Minimart Inc. because of being long term industry and the owners were became stockholders. The standard monthly income has been reach also by the said business. The formerly competitors were Lita’s grocery, old Royal mall stores and some local stores located at the market of Bayambang.But there are things that this business needs to improve, including the satisfaction of the customers. Consumers Minimart Inc. need additional effort in making their service much better including in queueing system or waiting time, delivery service, visual merchandising and physical set-up, and add to the strategies of the business. This will be used as strategy to makes their customer more satisfy in their service, it will add to have more customers and become more profitable, more improvement in their services. Consumers Minimart Inc. also need to improve their marketing strategy because it is a part of over all plan of the said business by establishing another branch in the province of Pangasinan for expansion for them to become more popular in terms of selling diffirent kinds of product. According to Peng Shao and Zeliang Sun (2012), Groceries today have to deal with the more dynamic and competitive environments than before. The frequent mergers and acquisitions among the groceries suppliers and retailers made industry structure strongly concentrated and competitive.And the limited retail stores are being increasingly standardized and homogenized. Facing the Bayambang market which only has 96,609 population, the three major competitors grocery, CSI, Savemore and Royal Mall need to differentiate themselves. Thus maintaining long-term relationship with customers is important, in order to keep their good organizational performance and profits. Identifying the key attributes influencing customer satisfaction during customers’ purchasing in their stores is critical. Groceries need to explore their resources and internal capabilities, so that they can make proper strategies to remain competitive. Unique attributes and sub-attributes are the important resources and internal capabilities of each grocer, which can help grocer to differentiate themselves from its competitors, and maximize the level of customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction means that customer needs are fulfilled when doing the purchases. So the groceries must understand what the customers want and provide customers with what they need. A large number of studies have demonstrated a positive relationship between organization performance and customer satisfaction. Keeping long-term customer satisfaction is seen as a critical success factor for grocery retailers, because the competition in the groceries industry is strong and margins are becoming limited. There is a straight forward and simple link between customer satisfaction and profits. Retailers used to shape customers’ shopping habit, without listening much to consumers’ needs and desires. However, as the industry has been changing, customers change their shopping behavior. For example, the proximity between home and stores become less concerned, so retailers should adapt to new change of customers’ shopping behavior. Retailers must concern about the attributes, including quality of product, assortment, customer attention, additional service, store atmosphere, store location and price and discount, so that they can shorten the customers’ perception gap. In the future, the company will have applied its best practices especially to the customer satisfaction in their service not only in the province, but also in the entire Philippines. These Best Practices will not only consist of the most efficient systems, but also consider human elements such as local knowledge and relationship building which are equally essential in attaining great satisfaction. Statement of the problemThis study focused on the extent of customer satisfaction of Consumers Minimart Inc. located in Bayambang, Pangasinan. Specifically, this study sought to answer the following questions: 1. What is the profile of customers in terms of : a) Types of customers ; and b) Average purchased per transaction 2. What is the extent of customer satisfaction in terms of : a) Queueing system or Waiting timec) Visual merchandising b) Delivery systemd) Physical set-up 3. What are the problems encountered by the customer in terms of: a) Availability of product b) Parking area c) Sanitation d) Ventilation e) Services Accuracy f) Facilities g) Physical set-up h) Distribution i) Inventory j) Pricing Scope and Delimitation of the Study This study determined the extent of customers satisfaction of Consumers Minimart Inc. in the Municipality of Bayambang. The respondents of this study have the total of 100 respondents in a random basis like owners of sari-sari store or retailers, and end users who purchased in the Consumers Minimart Inc., regarding in their types of customers and average purchased per transaction, queueing system or waiting time, delivering system, visual merchandising, physical set-up, availability of product, parking area, sanitation, ventalition, services accuracy, pricin, inventory, distribution and facilities. Significance of the Study The researchers believed that the result of this study would benefit the following. The Manager. This study will enhance competence in the management and operation of the business and will provide with additional knowledge on how to improve business and to get customers satisfaction and loyalty. The Customers. The result of this study will serve as the source of affordable and easy buying decision. They would also be informed and be guided about the different services and existing prices that the business render to the public which the people will appreciate. The Government. This study will bring about additional income to the local government in the form of taxes and they will be provided with some needed basis to come up with rules and regulations to prevent cheating on the suggested retail price. The Future Entrepreneurs. This study will serve as a guide to those future entrepreneurs who wants to establish this kind of business. Definition of Terms To facilitate understanding of this study, the following terms were defined operationally. Consumers Minimart Inc. It is the name of the mini grocery business in the Municipality of Bayambang, that we are studying in our research. Satisfaction. Is an attitude of a person of being happy of the products and services offer. Suppliers. Is a person, company or organization that sells or supplies something such as goods or equipments to business. Customers. They are the retailers and end-users who consumed or use the products and services. Product. Something that is made or created by the manufacturer or supplier. It is offered to customers. Services. A product of human activity meant to satisfy a human need but not constituting item of goods. Queueing System. The queuing discipline describes the order in which arrivals are serviced. Visual Merchandising. Is a form of store presentation of all forms of advertising and marketing. Physical Set-up. Is a form of displaying the products. Delivering System. process for conveying a product or service to a customer. Chapter 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES This chapter present a review of professional literature and related studies relevant to the present study. This literature and studies have given the researchers more information and clearer view of the problem in this study. Those that are relevant to this research are presented in the following discussion. RELATED LITERATURE This section presents the both foreign and local related literature relevant to the study. This relevance is shown by the proponents in order to give more reason and understanding of the proposition. Customer Satisfaction Customer satisfaction provides a leading indicator of consumer purchase intentions and loyalty. Customer satisfaction data are among the most frequently collected indicators of market perceptions. Organizations need to retain existing customers while targeting non-customers. Measuring customer satisfaction provides an indication of how successful the organization is at providing products and/or services to the marketplace. Customer satisfaction is an ambiguous and abstract concept and the actual manifestation of the state of satisfaction will vary from person to person and product/service to product/service. The state of satisfaction depends on a number of both psychological and physical variables which correlate with satisfaction behaviors such as return and recommend rate. The level of satisfaction can also vary depending on other options the customer may have and other products against which the customer can compare the organization’s products. In retailing, consumers typically patronize multiple outlets. Thus, an important issue is why consumers vary in how they divide their purchases across outlets and how outlets can get a greater share of consumer expenditures. Two potential avenues for increasing customer share are to raise customer satisfaction, and increase repeat purchase through loyalty cards. This study examines the effects of customer satisfaction and loyalty cards as well as consumer characteristics on customer share spent on the primary grocery store. The findings suggest that customer satisfaction has a positive, albeit modest, effect on share while consumer economic shopping orientation has a negative direct effect on share. The economic orientation of shoppers, their felt importance of a personal relationship with store personnel, and the level of their aggregate purchase volume moderate the effect of satisfaction on customer share. Finally, the results provide mixed support for the impact of loyalty cards on customer behavior. Customer Satisfaction in Queuing Systems Companies have to increase their customers’ satisfaction to keep their competitiveness. In services, waiting has great impact on service level and customer satisfaction. Consequently, in time-based competition, one of the main objectives of service companies is to minimize customer waiting. Waiting can be defined in several ways; however, the ultimate management objective should be the maximization of customer satisfaction. The paper shows how customer satisfaction can be approximated with utility functions and establishes a theoretical background for utility transformation of waiting time. The case study of the checkout system of a real do-it-yourself superstore is used to illustrate the application of the suggested method. The results show that utility related objective function may justify queuing system changes even if the average waiting time does not improve. Elements of Queueing Systems Population of Customers can be considered either limited (closed systems) or unlimited (open systems). Unlimited population represents a theoretical model of systems with a large number of possible customers (a bank on a busy street, a motorway petrol station). Example of a limited population may be a number of processes to be run (served) by a computer or a certain number of machines to be repaired by a service man. It is necessary to take the term â€Å"customer† very generally. Customers may be people, machines of various nature, computer processes, telephone calls, etc. Arrival defines the way customers enter the system. Mostly the arrivals are random with random intervals between two adjacent arrivals. Typically the arrival is described by a random distribution of intervals also called Arrival Pattern. Queue represents a certain number of customers waiting for service (of course the queue may be empty). Typically the customer being served is considered not to be in the queue. Sometimes the customers form a queue literally (people waiting in a line for a bank teller). Sometimes the queue is an abstraction (planes waiting for a runway to land). There are two important properties of a queue: Maximum Size and Queuing Discipline. Maximum Queue Size (also called System capacity) is the maximum number of customers that may wait in the queue (plus the one(s) being served). Queue is always limited, but some theoretical models assume an unlimited queue length. If the queue length is limited, some customers are forced to renounce without being served. Queuing Discipline represents the way the queue is organised (rules of inserting and removing customers to/from the queue). There are these ways: 1) FIFO (First In First Out) also called FCFS (First Come First Serve) – orderly queue; 2) LIFO (Last In First Out) also called LCFS (Last Come First Serve) – stack; 3) SIRO (Serve In Random Order); 4) Priority Queue, that may be viewed as a number of queues for various priorities; and 5) Many other more complex queuing methods that typically change the customer’s position in the queue according to the time spent already in the queue, expected service duration, and/or priority. These methods are typical for computer multi-access systems. Most quantitative parameters (like average queue length, average time spent in the system) do not depend on the queuing discipline. That’s why most models either do not take the queuing discipline into account at all or assume the normal FIFO ( First In First Out) queue. In fact the only parameter that depends on the queuing discipline is the variance (or standard deviation) of the waiting time. There is this important rule (that may be used for example to verify results of a simulation experiment). The two extreme values of the waiting time variance are for the FIFO (First In First Out) queue (minimum) and the LIFO (Last In First Out) queue (maximum). Theoretical models (without priorities) assume only one queue. This is not considered as a limiting factor because practical systems with more queues (bank with several tellers with separate queues) may be viewed as a system with one queue, because the customers always select the shortest queue. Of course, it is assumed that the customers leave after being served. Systems with more queues (and more servers) where the customers may be served more times are called Queuing Networks. Service represents some activity that takes time and that the customers are waiting for. Again take it very generally. It may be a real service carried on persons or machines, but it may be a CPU time slice, connection created for a telephone call, be ing shot down for an enemy plane, etc. Typically a service takes random time. Theoretical models are based on random distribution of service duration also called Service Pattern. Another important parameter is the number of servers. Systems with one server only are called Single Channel Systems, systems with more servers are called Multi Channel Systems. Output represents the way customers leave the system. Output is mostly ignored by theoretical models, but sometimes the customers leaving the server enter the queue again (â€Å"round robin† time-sharing systems). Queuing Theory is a collection of mathematical models of various queuing systems that take as inputs parameters of the above elements and that provide quantitative parameters describing the system performance. Because of random nature of the processes involved the queuing theory is rather demanding and all models are based on very strong assumptions (not always satisfied in practice). Many systems (especially queuing networks) are not soluble at all, so the only technique that may be applied is simulation. Nevertheless queuing systems are practically very important because of the typical trade-off between the various costs of providing service and the costs associated with waiting for the service (or leaving the system without being served). High quality fast service is expensive, but costs caused by customers waiting in the queue are minimum. On the other hand long queues may cost a lot because customers (machines e.g.) do not work while waiting in the queue or customers leave because of long queues. So a typical problem is to find an optimum system configuration (e.g. the optimum number of servers). The solution may be found by applying queuing theory or by simulation.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Explain the Operational Issues in Relation to the Use of Business Information

In this assignment I will be explaining the operational issues in relation to the use of business information. Businesses have to store and manage lots of information. All information systems have two fundamental issues of ensuring that, one is the organisation receive information it requires and the other is that appropriate members of staff receive the information. A number of policies and procedures have to be put in place concerning security of information, backups, health and safety, organisational policies, business continuance plans, costs and increasing sophistication.Security of information can be an operational issue. It is all about maintaining the integrity and availability of organisational information and knowledge. Managers need to have the right information available at the right time to make good decisions. The reliance on technology to store information increases which means the risk posed by system failure and malicious attack from viruses also increases. IT securi ty policy should take into account common risks to information the business relies upon. This policy should include secure login id for IT systems and controls that limit access to information.Backups are also an operational issue these are stores on separate hardware from the live versions of the information. Health and safety can be an operational issue. There are many regulations concerning health and safety. The Health & Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 this is the minimum requirements for work stations and includes the extent to which employers must ensure that workstations meet the requirements laid down in this schedules, the equipment, the environment and the interface between the computer and operator.Another is the Management of Health & Safety At Work Regulations 1992 this is that every employer shall provide his employees with comprehensible and relevant information on the risks to their health and safety, the preventative and protective measures and th e identity of the persons nominated by him in accordance with regulation. Another possible operational issue is organisation policies. These relate to the use of business information that can help make sure decisions affecting staff are understandable and consistent, they meet legal requirements, they take full account of their mpact and they contribute to productive working relationships.Manual Handling Training policies help make sure staff have guidance to help them comply with legislation. Business continuance plans can be an operational issue. These are the steps to make sure a company can survive a worst case scenario ensuring essential backups are kept. The business must consider natural disasters for example fires or floods or accidents for example malicious attacks or human error.As a result of the plan employees may need to change the way they work for example instead of saving on the company hard drive they should save it to a USB or external hard drive. Costs to the busi ness can be an operational issue. Many aspects of information can cost money; businesses must consider costs v benefits when deciding what policies to adopt and measures to take and whether the benefits are going to be worth the cost of it.They must take into consideration the cost of development and the additional resources needed. Another possible operational issue is increasing sophistication. Increasing reliance on technology and increasing complexity of technology means employees need to be trained to use equipment and software required to do their job. Without training, staff might not record customer contact correctly or may miss out information making a new system less effective.

Bad Influence Cartoon

Life is a learning experience; we live, we learn, and we grow. Sometimes I like to look at life on the monkey see, monkey do saying. Kids especially are known to do this. They tend to mimic everything that they see, and this is how they learn new things. On today’s television there are so many different shows and cartoons that kids learn things from some of the things they learn are great and other things are not so good for children viewing such as the cartoon Family Guy.People may look at Family Guy as a very funny cartoon but in all it’s actually a very rude show. When the creator came up with it I do not think that he/she thought that children would be into this show and I do not think that this cartoon was even made for children viewing because of its contents; but the fact still remains that they are looking at this show. Family Guy is not your ordinary cartoon. It has a lot of violence, sex, bad language, drinking, drugs, and smoking.Majority of the time either s omething has a bad influence or it has a good influence whether it be the friends we surround ourselves around, or the music we listen to but mainly what we visually encounter is what has the greater effect on who what we do and who we become. There is nothing good about Family Guy that would influence a child to head into the right direction. It does not teach children to be respectful in any way. The children that are watching this cartoon begin to mimic the baby whose name is Stewie and the dog named Brian.It does not help the show in anyway with making the dog and the baby the smartest family members of the show. Sometimes parents may be driving or cleaning for example and their child may say something that they never thought their child would say such as â€Å"damn†, and then, they may wonder where they get that from. Parents need to monitor the shows that their children watch because it’s a proven fact that kids imitate what they see.A lot of parents do overlook Family Guy because they may glance at what the kids are watching and just because they see cartoon characters they assume that it is ok. But it is a very rude, nasty, and degrading carton for kids to be viewing. In my opinion cartoons that are rated in the manner that Family Guy is, should not be allowed to be introduced on television as a cartoon. I know that’s what makes the show funny as it is for the adult viewers, but the oint is children are watching this. It’s very misleading to the adults and children that may have never saw the show before. Also since it is a cartoon and on national air, it should come on at very early morning hours such as 3am when kids are sleeping. So parents, take time out to sit down and watch what your children are watching to ensure that its child friendly, and that they are learning positive things, otherwise you will be amazed daily at what your children do and begin to say.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Project mangment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Project mangment - Essay Example The ideal required wind energy can be found at high altitudes where continuous wind speeds occur. In general the sea coastal areas and / or hilly areas are more preferred locations to establish the wind mills because of uninterrupted flow of wind. Wind – movement of air is called wind. The wind moves everything whatsoever comes in its way. Wind turbines or wind generators, like propeller blades of aircraft, turn and power electric generator generates an electric current. In more simplified it is stated that a wind turbine is opposite of a home fan. Instead of using electricity to make wind in fan, a wind turbine uses wind to make electricity. The wind turns the blades on the tower and spins a shaft which is connected to a generator to generate electricity. This production of electricity mainly depends on the velocity of the wind. Only higher wind velocity throughout the year makes the wind mill project viable. The wind turbine system consisting of blades, shafts, gears and generator is operated through a sophisticated computer controlled system installed at the base of the tower which also have sensors to sense the wind speed and its direction to switch on and off the wind turbine generator. Generally the user company gives a time limit or schedule for building and operation of wind mill project and the supplier (s) and / or contractor (s) should abide by the given time table as much as possible. However in certain cases the delivery time of many materials is long which delays for completion of project. Prevalent circumstances like human factors, whether or other natural calamity also sometimes create late completion. Ideal time for completion of project could be 3-4 months. Most countries maintain whether, oceanic and atmospheric records for different purposes including future prediction, study, educational research, etc. These information are

Sunday, July 28, 2019

ELITES AND DEVELOPMENT IN CIS COUNTRIES Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

ELITES AND DEVELOPMENT IN CIS COUNTRIES - Essay Example In fact the changes perceived in the structure of the various political elite groups in this region which was stimulated by the changes brought in by democracy, did not essentially lead to the renewal of the political elite, primarily in the nature and manner of their conscription and commissioning. The fragile nature of the democratic institutions were revealed when the actors in the new political order that came into power during the first democratic elections, instead of aiming at creating a better socio-economic future for their respective countries, used the new positions for amassing personal wealth and strengthening their personal power. The result of the plans adopted for orienting all governmental organizations towards a system of Presidential domination that would democratically control the executive, legislative and judiciary, failed. In its place, there was the rapid emergence of a group of hybrid political elites, where the authoritarian power was well in vogue, albeit b ehind the facade of democratic institutions. ... Other international and regional bodies that provide corruption survey figures based on perceptions and experience in this sub-region, present a very analogous picture that portrays a ‘systemic’ form of corruption, having disastrous effects on the lives of the common citizens of these states. A study of these reports make it very clear that the political elites of these regions are creating a hindrance in the developmental strategy of these regions, and in order to initiate growth and development in the CIS countries one must make a thorough study of the elites that run these countries. One must take heed of their perception of national development and personal power, and also comprehend how the elites analyze the role of various international development bodies like ‘The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development’ (EBRD). The research project primarily aims to study these issues in order to identify in which CIS countries the political elites are deter mined to act in a manner that has positive economic and social implications, and thereby aiming to create a favourable climate for investments. Objectives The target of this research paper is to propose various recommendations that are based on strong and logical evidences, for the increase in the EBRD’s investments within the CIS countries. Since this international developmental body is supporting a research project and providing ?5 million for investigating the role of political elites in the development of CIS countries, it necessary for the researcher to study in detail the various notions and ideals practiced by the ruling political elites that are mainly responsible

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Private Placements and Public Offerings Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Private Placements and Public Offerings - Essay Example When it comes to securities, two types of basic methods are used by companies to offer those to investors. One of the methods used for this is called Initial Public Offering (IPO) or Public Offering. In this particular method securities are offered for sale to general public. Any one can be an investor in the case of initial public offering. Actually it is the first time when a corporation starts to offer a registered security to public. This practice helps companies to get immediate cash to increase their equity base along with positively affecting the stock value appreciation (Initial Public Offering (IPO). Private Placement is the other method used to offer securities. The basic difference in this particular method as compared to the other one is about selling the shares without the involvement of intermediary of a stockbroker. Both these methods are used in real world to achieve different types of objectives. Actually, the use of a particular method is directly related to the situations being faced by a corporation. By contemplating more on the details related to both these methods, it becomes quite evident that there are quite a few differences, advantages and disadvantages of using a particular method. A critical comparison of both these methods will help you to understand those advantages and disadvantages in a much better way. Let's start off with Public or Initial Public... It is the duty of SEC to set regulations and specific standards for the investment market to function in a right way. Due to these standards and regulations, it is essential for a corporation to reveal a lot of information before making any offering. The information may be about inner workings of a corporation and the plan about using the funds obtained through the offering. Here, a corporation has to wait for the approval of SEC after setting a sales price for the offering along with providing the other necessary information. Now when you will compare this particular aspect of providing extensive information to SEC with the other method of Private Placement, you will understand why this other method is preferred by most of the corporations. Herein, such securities can be offered which may not be registered with SEC. What it means is that there will be no need to provide extensive information to Securities and Exchange Commission, which is unlike IPO. Since companies making use of this method exploits Securities Act of 1933, there remains no need to follow the rule of quarterly reporting. But, it is significant to mention that a Private Placement Memorandum (PPM) is not exempt from Anti-fraud provisions and state law. It implies the fact that though there will be no need to provide as much details as required in Public Offering but you will have to disclose enough information so an investor may become able to make an informed and rational decision. Apart from this particular aspect, it is important to compare the basic way in which both these methods actually work. While comparing the working process of both these methods, it is easy to see few important differences. For Private Placement, it is obligatory for a company to use Private Placement Memorandum which

Friday, July 26, 2019

International HRM PowerPoint Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

International HRM - PowerPoint Presentation Example Other studies suggest that there are certain aspects to business organisations like technology, structure and other common practices that transcend culture and form a commonality between how businesses operate across cultures (Kerr et al, 1973 & Hickson et al, 1979 cited in Mullins, 1999). In Hofstede’s words, â€Å"effective multinationals have created practices that bridge the national value differences† (1997). This suggests that uniformity in organisational structure may in fact help the organisation create its own culture regardless of national culture differences. These common practices are what help international managers operate effectively beyond their own cultures. Identifying Cultural Differences and Prejudices: â€Å"One’s own culture provides the ‘lens’ through which we view the world; the ‘logic’ by which we order it; and the ‘grammar’ by which it makes sense† (Avruch and Black, 1991) Hofstede (1994, 199 7), argues that ethnocentrism, the behaviour where one considers their own culture to be superior over others, has no place in a world that is getting smaller due to globalisation. The same applies to management, as Evans et al (1989) suggest that managerial styles designed in one culture may not easily translate to another because of the differences in traditions and values of the management and workforce. Globalisation has increased pressure upon firms to invest across cultures to maintain their competitive advantage and to be open for new opportunities. This calls for international managers to be prepared for the challenges they may face as they venture into unknown cultures. Understanding people requires understanding their background, as their background has provided them with their culture and would help one predict their present and future behaviour (Hofstede, 1991 cited in Tulder & Zwart, 2006; Scullion and Linehan, 2005). This calls for an understanding of historical origin s of culture in terms of religious beliefs, values and norms (Hofstede and Bond, 1988). In most cases cultural traits can be identified through culture-specific literature, for example, the Holy Bible, which has historic significance in the evolution of both American and British cultures. Both cultures, argues Cleary (1991), are derived from belief in Biblical texts, which suggest an absolute truth outside of oneself, and as a consequence, one evaluates issues in terms of absolutes and fixed goals. So both Brits and Americans, or westerners in the general sense, according to Trompenaars (1993), tend to be goal oriented and tend to rely on legal contracts during business negotiations. Also, as multicultural nations, both offer a weak culture (Robbins, 2003), which is flexible to change. People in both cultures also tend to be more short-term oriented in their association with organisations. Evans et al (1989) suggest that in the west in general, â€Å"workers ‘sell’ the ir time to the company for wages and do not owe any allegiance to the company in their own time† (pg130). The Five Cultural Dimensions: Hofstede’s five dimensions of cultural values can be now applied to both cultures to better understand the challenges of cross-cultural management, and to derive suggestions for the International

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Motivation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Motivation - Assignment Example A school scenario is the best example whereby students will be forced to learn something by their teachers whether they like it or not. Another case scenario can be applied at work. Self employed individuals require no external forces to trigger them to work hard. On the other hand, casual employees must be pushed so that they can work. ICON product and marketing mix motivation must put emphasis on the fact that both elements must achieve great results. Health and product motivation should be structured to meet the consumer’s attention of various health products. Consumer motivation ensures that the ICON products are identified in the market. This can be aimed through various ideologies like the use of motivational levels and Product advertisement. Marketing mix will be achieved through the product pricing, distribution to the target market and also promotion through product campaigns like penetration scheme where a product is introduced in the market at a very low price. Health product motivation can have an effect on information owned by the people. A good example is the drug sector where customers prefer more brands than others depending on the package of each drug

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethics-Case Study Essay

Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethics-Case Study - Essay Example This has brought forth the term Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) implying the moral and social welfare promoting aspects that a modern day corporate must posses besides its financial or profit making goals. In a single sentence Corporate Social Responsibility is the culmination of the duties towards the stakeholders that encompasses promotion of social welfare, moral development and sustainable environmental safety. Brief analysis of Bhopal Gas Disaster: The majority of the Indian population lies under the poverty line and are technologically backward. 26 years earlier when the disaster took place the situation was even worse. Furthermore the concerned state Madhya Pradesh was regarded as one of the least developed states of India where the labourers were equipped with little technical expertise. This background does not confer the mentioned state as an ideal place to establish a plant that would eventually be handling a substance as toxic as Methyl Isocyanides. The concerned co mpany Union Carbide ignored these technical issues and made a grave mistake in terms of the strategic management and planning. However, the mistakes made that way become the outcome of greedy business steps when the availability of cheap labours that were hired in the process is taken into account. Ignoring technological impediments regarding the poor standards of the knowledge base of the labourers along with the ignorance of environmental standard those were needed to set a plant of such a complex technology at that place in search of financial gain is the brief but ultimate verdict of the Bhopal disaster. Ans 1 An issue dependent and logical reasoning of blaming Mr. Warren Anderson Once the dreadful early December (December 2 and 3) of 1984 was passed claiming thousands of lives, the famous or infamous chairman of Union Carbide Mr. Warren Anderson was immediately taken into custody in charge of sheer negligence of corporate responsibility. Ironically the person who was responsibl e for thousands of death soon got a personal bail of only USD3000 and came out of custody. Anderson then carried out some sort of investigation that came out with dubious results. On one instance Anderson blamed the entire management team of the company for their negligence that brought the catastrophe and on another instance he gave a much narrowed version while blaming the local plant operation manager alone. (Camino, 1989, p 3; Peterson, 1985, pp. 196-197) Whatever doubtful is the explanation of Mr. Anderson; owing to a political-corporate nexus that is like any other country is operative in India as well; Mr. Anderson was protected and managed to get back to his country USA. Questions had been raised against the then Prime Minister of India Mr. Rajiv Gandhi for protecting and eventually helping him to get back to his country. 26 years later of that event, Mr. Arjun Singh the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh though turned down all these allegations against the late Prime Minister Mr. Rajiv Gandhi; yet pleaded against the heinous acts of Anderson and raised his voice for the immediate arrest of him. Mr. Singh requested the present Prime Minister Mr. Manmohan Singh to initiate a talk with the USA President Mr. Barrack Obama regarding the extradition of Anderson to India where he can be prosecuted for killing of thousands of Indians in front of an Indian court. (Arjun Singh breaks silence on Bhopal gas tragedy, Aug 11, 2010) Owing to the growing agitation regarding

Journal Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Journal Report - Essay Example She went to school for her masters in education and while in school, the educator position was vacant so she applied and she was hired. She said she normally starts her day-by-day work in the unit to see how everyone was doing. Then she at times goes to meetings or works on educational projects. Some of the things she does as an educator include attending to quality control meetings, making sure all the staff members in the unit are up to date on their skills, and plans and organizes programs such as yearly competency skill days. She teaches preceptor classes for the hospital staffs, NRP and pere-natal classes. As a nurse educator she works very close with the unit manager and the other educators in the hospital. She also helps provide the OB unit with Researches on best practice to help improve their patient care. My preceptor is modeling the role of MSN or APN which is to influence the practice of the nurses/care providers by disseminating evidence through education and training, to facilitate the clinical nurses to give evidence-based care to their clients and based on my observations; I believe I can see myself transitioning into that role by the end of graduation in my program. At this point I would not know what kind of strength I would need to develop or anything I would like to do differently since I just started my practicum. 2. Placenta Ingestion: Is there Evidence-based on any health benefits of eating a placenta. Is it best practice or safe to give patient their placenta to take home per request and if so what measures should a hospital take before releasing the placenta to

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Strategic Management Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Strategic Management Paper - Essay Example The strengths that are associated with the New York Times are based on the concept of diversity that has been incorporated into the main part of the platform. The main creation of news is one that is based on providing diversity at three levels, including the local, national and international realms. More important, the New York Times has expanded into a new market that is able to incorporate several concepts and applications that are a part of the main strengths. The main platform has developed into a news arena that is able to focus on several target markets while providing general news that was a part of the foundation of the company. The weaknesses that are associated with the New York Times are based on the sense of production and research and development that is associated with the company. Instead of creating a specific association with a specific type of production, there is a building into diversity that is all in one newspaper. The production is limited to the multimedia, trends and demands that are from the market. However, there isn’t a niche market or a specific association with diversifying the market in an alternative manner. At the same time, there is a broader range of the market to cover because of the move into globalization with a focus specifically that comes from New York. For the production to continue to work effectively, they will have to continue working toward diversifying the market, working with the changing media and building branches within the business. The internal factors that are associated with the strengths and weaknesses begin with the management. The management is able to provide strength because of the diversity of the company as well as the association with the global market. The internal management compliments this with changing the portfolio that is within the company through news reports and digital media. The association is based on diversity for local

Monday, July 22, 2019

Ancient Egyptian Religion Seen Through Art and Architecture Essay Example for Free

Ancient Egyptian Religion Seen Through Art and Architecture Essay These compositions demonstrated not only a style of art never before seen, but they also showed innovative techniques that have been duplicated for centuries. Although these works, which consisted mostly of pottery and wall murals, seem to be quite simple to the untrained eye, they were what most consider to be a stylized portrait of the times. J. R. Harris comments on this in his book, The Legacy of Egypt, purported lack of grace and charm, unnatural stylizationthese were not shortcomings, but essential manifestations of Ancient Egyptian arts specific nature (194). Another unique aspect of the Ancient Egyptian culture was the construction of elaborate, and sometimes enormous, works of architecture. This is due to the great care that the Ancient Egyptian populace took in constructing the temples, tombs, and halls of their period. In construction, the perfect knowledge of geometry of the architects is fully demonstrated (Howell 41). Ancient Egypt’s buildings were, in their time, the most remarkable landmarks known to man. Also, the ability of the architects of Ancient Egypt to include decorations into the edifices they constructed was highly developed. Tombs and temples alike were greatly adorned with colorful paintings, hieroglyphs, and symbols that added to their beauty. The earliest known art of the Ancient Egyptians was believed to have been very undefined and unskilled, according to Elizabeth Payne in her book, The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. Crudely at first, they began drawing the duck and the fish on the sides of their pottery bowls. Then, little by little, over the long years, their skill as artists increased and their everyday objects became as beautiful as they were useful (27). After this eventual increase in the artistic talent of the people, new practices came in to use by which Ancient Egyptians expressed themselves. For example, tombs went from being mere pits and hollows in the sand to being quite complex. These structures have become what the world knows today as the Pyramids of Giza. A main characteristic of their religion was the fact that they believed in numerous gods which each had a special power or purpose. The gods personified everything the Egyptians wondered about or feared or hoped for. Reigning supreme over this multitude was Ra, the great god of the sun (Howell 51). Each entity was constructed his or her own temple so that the people could worship there. Also, the priests made sacrifices to the entities and bathed and anointed golden figures of them. The gods were often represented by animals and specialized symbols. The religion, art, and architecture of the Ancient Egyptians were so closely tied to one another that it is sometimes hard to distinguish between them. In fact, the Ancient Egyptians religion was the most common subject matter of their sculptures, paintings, and structures. For example, the prominent area of construction was that for temples and tombs. Such edifices were skillfully painted with murals to depict the purpose of the room or section; a temple would have pictures of the gods, and a tomb would have art showing a burial or death. In addition, ancient mythological texts were beautifully carved and painted on these walls. Although these were all applications of art and architecture in religion, the most prominent is most likely the funerary art of the Ancient Egyptians. Although the Ancient Egyptians religion has been fully demonstrated through Egyptian art and architecture the influence of their beliefs has extended far beyond what is imaginable. According to Noel Q. King, author of Religions of Africa, Egyptian religion of old has had one of the greatest effects upon Africa’s modern religions (47-48). For example, the multiple gods that the Ancient Egyptians adopted into their theism so long ago are still today present in many African tribes. In addition, the methods used in ancient mummification are the root of corpse preservation in modern society. Such contributions of the Ancient Egyptians have been adapted into methods used by today’s populace in many instances. This is because the culture of Ancient Egypt has provided a stimulus which creates the desire to live, to succeed, and to be remembered in history (Showker 156). ? Works Cited Harris, J. R. The Legacy of Egypt. 2nd ed. Glasgow: Oxford University Press, 1971. Howell, J. Morton. Egypt’s Past, Present and Future. Ohio: Service Publishing Company, 1929. King, Noel Q. Religions of Africa. New York: Harper and Row Publishing Company, 1970. Payne, Elizabeth. The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. New York: Random House Publishing Company, 1964. Showker, Kay. Egypt: A Complete Guide with Nile Cruises and Visits to the Pyramids. New York: Fodor’s, 1992.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Terrorism and Religion in Kenya

Terrorism and Religion in Kenya EXPLORATION OF THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN TERRORISM RELIGION AND THE IMPACT ON PEACE STABILITY IN KENYA 1. Introduction 1.1 Background to the Research The growing trends of terrorism in Africa, and in the region of Inter-Governmental Authority on Development [IGAD] in particular within which Kenya finds itself, have become a serious concern for security. Its impact on peace and economic development is significantly negative. Many lives have been lost, and fear and anxiety in the people is slowly creeping in. Kenya serves as an epitome of the phenomenon of terrorism taking place in the globe, and the IGAD region in particular. All these reasons necessitated the undertaking of this research at the micro level (i.e., Kenya). Through this study, the authors hope to present a complete grasp of the nature of terrorism and its development in Kenya, with a view to making contributions towards the knowledge of terrorism and addressing it. It is difficult to give a universally acceptable definition of terrorism. Because of its dependence on the historical contexts it appears, its definition is embedded in one’s political position and ideological or religiousviews. What one may call terrorism in one context another may consider it a legitimate action. This poses a challenge to term an actor a ‘terrorist’.Some governments, groups and individuals use terrorising activities for different purposes. For these reasons, here the term ‘terrorism’ rather than ‘terrorist’ is preferred. Terrorism is, therefore, a set of premeditated actions or strategies adopted by non-state (groups or individuals) or state actors against ordinary and targeted notable people to further certain political, social, or religious purposes (Sandler, 2011; Ramsbotham, Woodhouse and Miall, 2011). Without prejudice to state and government terrorist activities existing in some non-democratic countries, this research will focus more on the violent activities perpetrated by the non-state actors. The actors in terrorism use strategies intended to causeextreme anxiety and fear in a wider population, who – theactors hope – wouldin turn pressurize their governments into acceding to the perpetrator/s’ demands. We consider ‘terrorist act’ any form of action that intentionally force people into submission to the will and wish of the actor under the pain of physical and psychological harm (including destruction of life and property). Terrorist activities are not recent phenomenon, although the magnitude of its violence and casualties of our time is impressive. Today, at the dawn of the 21st century, the world experiences the era of the politico-religious wave terrorism. Putting aside the harrowing and terrorizing local experiences of terrorist activities in individual countries throughout the world (e.g., pogroms, criminal activities of groups, of drag cartels and gangs, and state sponsored activities in some countries), the major â€Å"waves of terrorism†(Rapoport, 2008) indicate the growing trends of terrorism globally. Today’s form of terrorism has grown more complicated and transnational, which the IGAD region and Kenya in particular experiences. The experience of Africa of the politico-religious terrorism is recent and growing phenomenon. It is continuing in some countries and emerging in other countries of the Continent. In Northern Africa, it has been off and on: Algeria Mali, Niger and Mauritania have been struggling with Al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb since 2001, with another break away branch â€Å"Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa† (MOJWA) in mid-2011 led by a black African, perhaps in reaction to Algerian Arab domination. It remains an al Qaida inspired group. Egypt has a long experience of on-and-off attacks. Somalia in Eastern Africa has been a place for the new breed of terrorism, Al Shabab with links to Al Quida. The Boko Haram, a Sunni Islamic fundamentalist sect began in 2002 with one Mohammed Yusuf in Maiduguri, the capital of the north-eastern state of Borno, Nigeria, with a complex religious school that attracted young people from the country and its neighbours. The students came mainly fr om poor Muslim families. It has moved to a radical militant Islamist movement, a salafist jihadi group with the influence of Wahhabi creed, with expressed claim of commitment to the propagation of the teaching of Prophet and Jihad, and strict adherence to sharia law, and with vision of changingNigeria into an Islamic state. It is continuing with devastating activities in Nigeria, particularly since 2009,and now (in 2014) expanding even into northern Cameroon. The IGAD region of Africa is rife with terrorism perpetrated by the non-state actors.IGAD region comprises eight countries, namely Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda, with its headquarters in Djibouti City. It was founded in 1986 to address the serious sufferings and challenges caused by famine, natural disasters, and economic hardships in the Eastern Africa Region. Today, with its new organisational structure, the member countries cooperate in the areas of foodsecurity and environmental protection; promotion and maintenance of peace and security and humanitarian affairs; and economic cooperation and integration (IGAD, http://igad.int/). The region has an estimated population of 242,226,382 according to the July 2014 CIA’s The World Factbook, and suffers constant threat of terrorism, the experience of which is being deeply felt in Kenya Kenya’s population, according The World Factbook, is estimated to be 45,010,056.The Christians account for the majority of the population (82.5%), followed by Muslims (11.1%) according to the Population and Housing Census of 2009. In the IGAD region, Kenya it has been the host of the largest refugee population, although at the moment with the flow of South Sudanese refugees Ethiopia contains slightly more refugee population. Kenya has experienced terrorism by non-state actors since 1950s. The shifta activities in the northern Kenya, and the ensuing state actions were forms of terrorism. Today, Kenya suffers from both national and transnational acts of politico-religious terrorism. The country has been employing different mechanisms of addressing the problem of non-state form of terrorism, mainly focusing on military means but also in recent times through constitutional reforms to address the sources. These have not shown reduction in terrorism; the experience of nationalist form of terrorism is continuing; the politico-religious form of terrorism is rising. Globally, the period starting from the 2004 pick of terrorism incidents to 2008 showed a considerable decline in international terrorist attacks(Ramsbotham et al., 2011, p. 80). But the situations today in the Middle East, the Persian Gulf, northern Africa, and the IGAD regionare no consolation to us. It shows the exponential rise of terrorism in these parts of the regions of the world. The 2014 Global Peace Index Report concludes: â€Å"The world has become less peaceful every year since 2008† (p. 2). This indicates the importance of better understanding of the nature of the conflict and its trends to be able to face the challenge. 1.2 Statement of the Problem Kenya faces a more aggressive, dynamic and destructive form of terrorism with tactics causing a great physical, psychological, and economic damages to the society. The approaches that have been used so far appear to be ineffective. There is a need to assess the nature of terrorism and the mechanisms that have been applied in addressing it. 1.3 Purpose of the Study This research explores the nature of terrorism and mechanisms available in addressing it. 1.4 Objectives of the Study To determine the relationship between terrorism and religion To document trends in terrorism in Kenya To determine the effect of terrorism on peace and development To determine feasibility conditions of terrorism To determine mechanisms of combating terrorism 1.5 Research Questions What is the relationship between terrorism and religion? Are there trends in terrorism in Kenya? What effects does terrorism have on peace and development? What are the feasibility conditions of terrorism? What mechanisms are available in combating terrorism? 1.6 Theoretical Framework This research uses two complementary theories: theory of good governance and theory of strong state. (The assumptions of these theories will be added). 1.7 Justification of the Study To make contribution towards the knowledge of terrorism Offer comprehensive analysis on terrorism in Kenya for policy makers Offer recommendations relevant for the process of addressing the problem 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Understanding the Link between Religion and Terrorism In the literature, there seem to be two broad categories into which the scholars argue: those who consider religion as not being the cause of terrorism, but instead argue that the causes for violence are due to politics or societal problems (extreme poverty, hunger, etc.) (Jackson, 2007; Mamdani, 2002; Ehrlich Liu 2002; Frisch, 2005;Mousseau, 2002). The second category includes scholars who argue that religion is among the main driving forces of terror(Crenshaw, 2000; Pearce, 2005;Silberman, Higgins Dweck,2005;Cliteur, 2010; Rid, 2010; KruglanskiFishman, 2006; Horowitz, 2009). Both groups agree that that religion is not ‘the’ cause of terrorism. However, these authors have not investigated specific religious motivations involved in the terrorism. This research tries to examine more specifically the religious motivations provided by Islam that draws recruits in Kenya, so as to better understand and address the issue. 2.2 Feasibility conditions of Terrorism A number of factors breed terrorism. The most common factors cited in most of the literature include external support (Pillar, 2001; Campbell Flournoy, 2001), repressive governments (Regan, 2005;Bjoro, 2003; Netanyahu, 2001; Carson, 2005), extremist religious ideologies (CilliersSturman 2002;Moustapha, 2002), and socio-economic conditions among the Muslim populations (Campbell Flournoy, 2001; Pillar, 2001 ;Carson ,2005). 2.3 Impact of terrorism in Kenya Despite Kenya being a victim of repeated terrorist attacks, not much literature is available covering the impact the threat has had on the country in terms of peace and security. Some literature relevant to this research highlight the socioeconomic impacts of the threat (Lecey, 2004;Barkan Cooke, 2001; Muhula, 2007; Downing, 2006 ). This research to determine the extent to which terrorism has affected Kenya. 2.4 Combating Terrorism Some elements of an effective counterterrorism strategy relevant to this research, cited by various authors, are public diplomacy and information campaigns(Pillar, 2001); legislation; financial controls (Pillar, 2001;Thomas et al. 2004) and socioeconomic development (Lee, 2004;Campbell Flournoy, 2001); use of military force (Netanyahu, 2001;Juergensmeyer, 2001); and creation of a specialized judicial system for terrorism suspects (Hoffman and Morrison, 2000; Netanyahu, 2001; Shapiro Benedict, 2003). International collaboration is also another aspect that has been underscored (Ramsbotham et al., 2011). How much these will be effective in addressing Terrorism in Kenya will be discussed. 3. METHODOLOGY The research plan hopes to achieve the objectives through multiple answering of the research questions thereby coming up with answers that are social science empirical research knowledge. This knowledge will not only make a contribution to what is already known about the nature and dynamics of terrorism in Kenya, but also be valuable in terms of informing policy in Kenya as is synoptically described below. Research Site Areas of Eastern and Northern Kenya and also selected urban places of the country as a whole Population Adult men and women who are knowledgeable direct (experience based) or indirect (Secondary source based) about terrorist and terrorism in Kenya. Strategy One- off cross-sectional survey will be used. Specifically, because the research will be guided by questions and not hypotheses, descriptive rather than analytic cross-sectional survey will be employed in the collection of data from the sampled population. Thus the prime purpose will be to provide descriptive estimates of the purview of actors in terrorism, terror acts and terrorism. Sampling Due in part to opting to be guided by research questions rather than hypotheses, the probability sampling principle will be relaxed in large measure but not totally dispensed with because of the need to provide estimates of parameters of dynamics of terrorism in Kenya, taking into account Kenyas neighbours ( Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda). The Sample will be constructed from individuals well selected purposefully to meet quotas deemed to be important or salient to getting to know and understand terroristic phenomena what they mean, what they entail, what they imply, what they deny, and what to do about them solely in the interest of socio-economic development praxis in Kenya. Data Collection Procedures Quantitative and qualitative data will be collected from respondents through questionnaire, structured and unstructured interview and focus group discussions. Tentative Budget Budget lines Amount in USD Preparation and Development of Research tools 800 Training of Research Assistants 1,200 Field Research 4,500 Technical Assistance for Data Analysis 1,200 Report Writing 400 Validation Workshop 1,000 Printing Binding and Distribution 900 Logistics (Stationary, Communication, Internet) 1,500 Allowance for Lead researcher and Research Assistants 3,500 Grand Total 15,000 Bibligography Barkan, Joel D., and Jennifer G. Cooke.2001. U.S. Policy Towards Kenya in the Wake of September 11, Can Antiterrorist Imperatives be Reconciled with Enduring U.S. Foreign Policy Goals? Africa Center for Strategic Studies web page article on-line. http://csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/anotes_0112.pdf. Internet.Accessed December 2014. Bjorgo, Tore. 2003. Finding for an International Expert Meeting in Oslo on Terrorism. Conference, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs 9-11 June. Norway. Campbell, Kurt M., and Michele A. Flournoy. 2001. To Prevail, An America Strategy for the Campaign against Terrorism. Washington, DC: Center for Africa Strategic Studies. Carson, Johnnie. (2005). Kenya the Struggle Against Terrorism. inRotberg, I. Robert (ed). Battling Terrorism in the Horn of Africa. World Peace Foundation, Brookings Institution Press, Washington DC CIA.The World Factbook.https://www.cia.gov/index.html Cilliers, Jakkie, and Kathryn Sturman. 2002. Africa and Terrorism, Joining the Global Campaign, Monograph 74, July. Pretoria. Institute for Security Studies. Article on web page.Available online from www.iss.co.za/ PUBS/MONOGRAPHS/NO74 /Chap1.html.Internet.Accessed December, 2014. Cliteur, Paul B.(2010) â€Å"Religion and Violence or the Reluctance to Study This Relationship.† Forum Philosophicum15. Crenshaw, Martha.(2000) â€Å"The Psychology of Terrorism: An Agenda for the 21st Century.† Political Psychology 21.2. Downing Wyne.( 2006). Al Qaidas (Mis) Adventures in The Horn of Africa. Harmony Project, Combating Terrorism Centre, Westpoint, USA Ehrlich, Paul R. and Jianguo Liu. (2002)â€Å"Some Roots of Terrorism.†Population and Environment 24.2. Frisch, Hillel. (2005) â€Å"Has the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Become Islamic?Fatah, Islam, and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades.†Terrorism and Political Conflict 17.3. Horowitz, Michael C. (2009)â€Å"Long Time Going: Religion and the Duration of Crusading.† International Security 34.2. IGAD.http://igad.int/ Institute for Economics and Peace. (2004). Five Key Questions Answered on the Link between Peace and Religion. http://www.ecomomicsand peace.org Jackson, Richard. (2007) â€Å"Constructing Enemies: ‘Islamic Terrorism’ in Political and Academic Discourse.†Government and Opposition 42.3 Kruglanski, Arie and Shira Fishman. (2006) â€Å"The Psychology of Terrorism: â€Å"Syndrome† Versus â€Å"Tool† Perspectives.† Terrorism and Political Violence 18 Lecey, Marc. (2004). Threat of Terrorism Hurts Kenya Tourism. The New York Times, January. Available on-line from http://proquest.umi/pqdweb? Mamdani,Mahmood. (2002) â€Å"Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: A Political Perspective on Culture and Terrorism.† American Anthropologist 104.3. Mousseau, Michael (2002). â€Å"Market Civilization and its Clash With Terror.† International Security 27.3 Moustapha, Hassouna. (2002). Why Radicals Find Fertile Ground in Moderate Kenya, President Bush met with Kenya President Moi to Discuss Security issues. The Christian Science Monitor, 6 December. Article on-line. Available from http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/1206/p07s02-woaf.html.Internet.Accessed December 2014. Muhula, Raymond. (2007). Kenya and the Global war on Terrorism: Searching for a New Role in a New War in Davis, John (ed). Africa on the War on Terrorism, Ashgate, Burlington, USA Netanyahu, Benjamin. (2001). Fighting Terrorism: How Democracies can Defeat the International Terrorist Network. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Pearce, Susanna. â€Å"Religious Rage: A Quantitative Analysis of the Intensity of Religious Conflicts.† Terrorism and Political Conflict 17.3 (2005). Pillar, Paul. (2001). Terrorism and U.S. Foreign Policy. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press. Ramsbotham, O., Woodhouse, T., Miall, H.( 2011) Contemporary Conflict Resolution (3rdedition). Cambridge: Polity Press Rapoport, D. C. (2008).Terrorism.In Lester Kurtz (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace, Conflict (2nd edition), Vol. 3 (pp. 2087 – 2104). London, New York, and Amsterdam: Elsevier. Rid, Thomas (2010). â€Å"Cracks in the Jihad.†ASPJ-Africa and Francophonie 1.3 Sandler, T. (2011). New frontiers of terrorism research: An introduction. Journal of Peace Research, 48(3), 279–286. Shapiro, Jeremy, and Benedict Susan. (2003). The French Experience of Counterterrorism. Washington, DC: The International Institute for Strategic Studies. Silberman, Israela,E. Tory Higgins, and Carol S. Dweck (2005). â€Å"Religion and World Change: Violence and Terrorism versus Peace.† Journal of Social Issues 61.4 Thomas, Kean H., Lee H. Hamilton, Ben-Veniste Richard, Kerrey Bob, Lehman F. John, Fielding F. Fred, Roemer J. Timothy, Gorelick S. Jamie, Gorton Slade, and Thomson R. James. (2004). The September 11-Commission Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States Executive Summary. Washington DC: United State Congress. 1

Importance Of Physical Activity In Schools Education Essay

Importance Of Physical Activity In Schools Education Essay Engaging in acts of physical activity from a young age is very important for both the mental and physical health of a child; the habits learnt in youth tend to continue onto adulthood thus having an effect on the prevalence of obesity and related illnesses in society. So why is physical activity so important for children and what age is instilling positive habits most beneficial? What roles do teachers of today play in addressing and preventing obesity in our children and what are effective strategies to do this? The benefits of physical activity are vast. Physical activity has been associated with a lowered risk of cardiovascular disease and also an increased life expectancy so its importance is obvious but its value in children sometimes needs to be justified. It is never too early to start teaching a child positive behaviours and habits, however, in middle childhood (ages 6-10) children tend to be in a stage of development where they think very literally they will absorb everything you teach, do, and say and are incredibly influential. It is t this stage of development that their most likely to be taught healthy eating habits, develop exercise programs and have an interest in organised sports. Young people will carry established healthy behaviours throughout their lives such as better eating habits and decreased likelihood of smoking (Shilton, T. and Naughton, G. 2001). Through physical activity children of middle childhood develop healthy muscles, bones and joints; they develop a healthy heart and lungs and they also develop a higher neuromuscular awareness which influences their co-ordination, how they control movement and the development of fine and gross motor skills. Most obviously it enables them to maintain a healthy body weight. Physical activity has also been linked to psychological benefits by improving the control children have over the symptoms of anxiety and depression. Studies have also shown that the participation in physical activity can assist in the social development of children aged 6-10 by providing the opportunity for expression, building confidence and social interaction. Physically active young people have been noted to more readily adopt other healthy lifestyle behaviours (avoidance of tobacco, alcohol and drugs) and demonstrate higher academic performance at school. Children of the ages six to ten spend the majority of their time at school so naturally an effective tool in addressing the problems associated with physical activity and obesity is having teachers play an active role in promoting healthy lifestyles. Schools have been recognized as an appropriate setting for the prevention of eating disorders and child obesity due to the continual and concentrated access to a large number of individuals at a developmentally appropriate age (Neumark-Sztainer, 1996). Research has shown that well-designed and implemented school programs can effectively promote physical activity, healthy eating, and reduction of television viewing and time spent using the computer and computer games. Teachers have access to a great number of young people in an environment that allows debate and lessons about body image, nutrition, and weight These teachers also have the chance to initiate the reinforcement of prevention pro- grams using the whole school approach (Neumark -Sztainer, 1996; ODea Maloney, 2000). Home Economics, Science, Dance, and English teachers have opportunities to become involved in preventive activities within their appropriate curriculum areas as well as through involvement in pastoral care roles such as advisors, student welfare coordinators, and head teachers. (Neumark-Sztainer, Story, Harris, 1999). One strategy teachers can use in the classroom to address and treat the occurrence of obesity in children is to discontinue the use of food as a reward. Food has been used to reward children for good behaviour and performance. Its a very easy, powerful and inexpensive tool in bringing about immediate behavioural changes in children of thee ages six to ten. However, using food as reward often encourages overeating of unhealthy foods high in fat, sugar and little or no nutritional value whatsoever. Rewarding with food can interfere with children of these ages learning to eat in response to hunger and teaches them to eat when they are not hungry. Finding alternatives to food rewards is an important part of providing a healthy school environment. Rewarding children with unhealthy foods in school undermines our efforts to teach them about good nutrition. Its like teaching children a lesson on the importance of not smoking, and then handing out ashtrays and lighters to the kids who did the best job listening. (Schwartz, M.B, Brownell, K.D. 2007). Alternatives to food as a reward include; Social rewards like praise and attention (in front of others). Recognition with certificates and letters of congratulation to parents or caregivers. Privileges of going first, choosing a class activities or sitting by friends. Another way teachers can positively assist the prevention of obesity is to make exercise fun and incorporate it into the daily routine. Forcing children to participate in activities they do not enjoy could have a negative effect on how the child views physical activity in the future. Often sport in school is repetitive and favours the more athletic students in a class. Variety is very important and teachers should seek input from students to which game should be played, it could even be used as a reward allowing the child who has performed best to choose the activity. Incorporating fitness to the daily classroom regime can also be effective. For children attention can begin to wander if activities are too long and for some being sedentary for too long is difficult. At the beginning or end of lessons encourage children to dance, jump and use basic movement. Fun activities like hopping to the bathroom, skipping to other activities around the classroom can also be incorporated and can a id in childrens refinement of fine and gross motor skills. Additionally exercise shouldnt be used as punishment. Children learn to dislike things used as punishments. Penalizing children with physical activity might lead them to avoid activities that are important for maintaining their health. Integrate nutrition education lessons into the curriculum. You can apply nutrition education information into science, maths, language art and health lessons. Along with students collect pictures of healthy nutritional foods and junk foods from magazines, and newspapers. Have the students help to categorize the foods on posters healthy food and junk food. Display this in the classroom where everyone can see and use it at a reference for children to set realistic, well-defined, measurable goals for themselves regarding healthy eating and physical activity. As an example a child might plan to eat five servings of vegetables and two servings of fruit every day or they will play for half an hour after school at least four days a week. Have students record their progress over time. These goals can be graphed and incorporated into certain lessons. Teachers have a valuable contribution to make in the domain of physical activity and the prevention of childhood obesity. In the past they have been underutilized as successful agents of change. This may be because school professionals are uneducated about nutrition and methods of prevention. In order for future prevention of obesity to be a success, perseverance and ongoing training for teachers and schools involved is required. Training must increase knowledge of nutrition, physical activity, obesity, and preventive techniques. Finally, teacher-training programs should stress the importance of development and age specific strategies in the education of children in this area in order to fully utilize schools as an effective setting for prevention and to improve future prevention initiatives, and to promote the health of our young people. Source: Obesity Prevention in Children: Strategies for Parents and School Personnel, National Association of School Psychologists; www.nasponline.org; (301) 657-0270. Printed with permission and provided by the St. Vrain Valley School Districts Public Information Office. Shilton, T. and Naughton, G. (2001). Physical activity and children: a statement of importance and call to action from the Heart Foundation. National Heart Foundation of Australia. Retrieved from http://www.heartfoundation.com.au/downloads/physical%20activity%20and%20%20children.htm Neumark-Sztainer, D. (1996). School based programs for preventing eating distur- bances. Journal of School Health, 66, 64-71. Neumark-Sztainer, D., Story, M., Coller, T. (1999). Perceptions of secondary school staff toward the implementation of school-based activities to prevent weight-related disorders: A needs assessment. American Journal of Health Promotion, 13(3),153-156. Neumark-Sztainer, D., Story, M., Harris, T. R. (1999). Beliefs and attitudes about obesity among teachers and school health care providers working with adolescents. Journal of Nutrition Education, 31(1),3-9. ODea, J. (2000). School based interventions to prevent eating problems: First do no harm. Eating Disorders, 8, 123-130. ODea, J. (2004) Child obesity prevention: First, do no harm. Health Education Research: Theory and Practice. 20, 259-265. ODea, J. Abraham, S. F. (2000). Improving the body image, eating attitudes, and behaviours of young male and female adolescents: A new educational approach that focuses on self-esteem. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 28, 43-57. ODea, J. Abraham, S. F. (2001). Knowledge, beliefs, attitudes and behaviours related to weight control, eating disorders, and body image in Australian trainee home economics and physical education teachers. Journal of Nutrition Education, 33, 332-340. ODea, J. Maloney, D. (2000) Preventing eating and body image problems in children and adolescents using the health promoting schools framework. Journal of School Health, 70(1),18-21. Neumark-Sztainer, D. (1996). School based programs for preventing eating disturbances. Journal of School Health, 66, 64-71. Hill, A. and Silver, E. Fat, friendliness and Unhealthy: 9 year old childrens perceptions of body shape and stereotypes. International Journal of Obesity Related metabolic Disorders 1995; 19(6), 423-30. Government of Western Australia. Keep it fun: supporting youth sport. Clubs guide to encouraging positive parent behaviour. op. cit. Government of Western Australia. Keep it fun: supporting youth sport. Clubs guide to encouraging positive parent behaviour. Perth, Western Australia: Department of Sport and Recreation. http://www.dsr.wa.gov.au Schwartz, M.B., Brownell, K.D. (2007). Actions Necessary to Prevent Childhood Obesity: Creating the Climate for Change. Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics, 78-89. Schwartz, M.B. Brownell, K.D. (2005). Future directions for preventive action on obesity. In Obesity prevention in the 21st century: Public health approaches to tackle the obesity pandemic. Crawford, D. Jeffrey, R. (Eds.) Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 307-330 2 Puhl R. and Schwartz, MB (2003). If you are good you can have a cookie: The link between childhood food rules and adult eating behaviours. 283-293 http://kids.nsw.gov.au/uploads/documents/obesityactionplan.pdf

Saturday, July 20, 2019

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LIFE STRESS AND HEALTH INVENTORY SCORES IN A COLLEGIATE POPULATION :: essays research papers

ABSTRACT Scientific literature is replete with studies examining the relationship between stressful life events and the occurrence of compromised immune function as suggested by the presence of various illnesses. Forty college students answered questionnaires regarding the presence of stressful life events and the presence or absence of recent illnesses. The relationship between these scores was examined. Life stress scores were significantly positively related to scores indicating illnesses on a health inventory. As scores indicating the presence of stressful life experiences increased, scores suggesting the presence of illness also increased. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Each bodily physiological system has an individual established set point, or level of balance; however, some fluctuations in these levels are tolerated. The balance of any system can be, and regularly is disturbed by internal and/or external events of the mechanical, physical, chemical, biological, and/or social types. When this balance is disrupted, and involuntary mobilizations of biological processes are not able to re-establish it, an alarm reaction is activated (Schedlowski and Tewes, 1999). This reaction is referred to as a stress response, and the activating agent is the stressor (Selye, 1936).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Recently, studies of stress have shifted from demonstrating relationships between psychological factors and somatic outcomes, to investigations of the mediational pathways involved in these associations. For example, (Cohen and Williamson, 1991) have built on the work of Lazarus’ model by suggesting that once an environmental event is encountered, it is appraised, and an affective response is made. After this response is made, a cascade of behavioral and physiological processes is activated. Behavioral factors such as increased alcohol use, reduced exercise, changes in sleep quantity/quality, and changes in diet, have shown to be related to stress. In turn, stress-related changes are associated with many hormonal fluctuations known to influence susceptibility to disease (Schedlowski and Tewes, 1999). There is overwhelming evidence that daily stress may be harmful to the overall health of humans (Cohen, Tyrrell, and Smith, 1991; Glaser, Rice, and Sheridan, 1987; and Schleifer, and Keller, 1991). The mechanism by which stress influences health outcomes is thought to involve the immune system. Rationale As reviewed, research has examined the interaction between stressful life events and the overall health of humans. This investigation will examine this relationship in a collegiate population, using two pen and paper surveys. Hypothesis Scores on the College Life Stress Inventory (CLSI) (Renner and Mackin, 1998) will be positively related to scores on the Health Inventory (HI) (Holmes and Rahe, 1967).

Friday, July 19, 2019

John Keats :: essays research papers

John Keats was one of the greatest poets of the Romantic Era. He wrote poetry of great sensual beauty and had a unique passion for details. In his lifetime he was not recognized with the senior poets. He didn’t receive the respect he deserved. He didn’t fit into the respected group because of his age, nor in the younger group because he was neither a lord nor in the upper class. He was in the middle class and at that time people were treated differently because of their social status. John Keats was born in London on October 31, 1795. He was educated at Clarke’s School in Enfield. He enjoyed a liberal education that mainly reflected on his poetry. His father died when he was eight and his mother died when he was fourteen. After his mother died, his maternal grandmother granted two London merchants, John Rowland Sandell and Richard Abbey, guardianship. Abbey played a major roll in the development of Keats, as Sandell only played a minor one. These circumstances drew him extremely close to his two brothers, George and Tom, and his sister Fanny. When he 15, Abbey removed him from the Clarke School, as he became an apothecary-surgeon’s apprentice. Then in 1815, he became a student at Guy’s Hospital. He registered for a six- month course to become a licensed surgeon. Soon after he decided he was going to be a doctor he realized his true passion was in poetry. So he decided he would try to excel in poetry also. His poetry that he wrote six years before his death was not very good. As his life progressed his poetry became more mature and amazing. He looked up to Shakespeare and Milton. He studied a lot of there poetry and imitated these two writers. His work resembled Shakespeare. Soon after medical school, he returned to London and met Leigh Hunt. They began to write the Examiner, which was love poetry. In his lifetime he published three books of verse: Poems (1817), Endymion (1818), Lamia Isabella and other poems including two famous poems “Odes'; and “Hyperion.';   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hunt then introduced him to a circle of literary men, including Percy Bysshe Shelley and William Wordsworth. These men influenced him to create his first volume of verses, called Poems by John Keats. Shelly persisted that he needed to develop a stronger body of work before publishing.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

21st Century Technologies and Their Relationship to Student Achievement Essay

The Holy Grail in education today is to link an educational strategy, program, initiative or technology to student achievement. There are numerous organizations advocating for Technology Literacy, Information Literacy, 21st Century Learning Skills, and any number of other titles for literacy in a modern context. In all sectors of human society, the technology of the 21st Century has revolutionized and enhanced our way of life. From medicine to the military and from business to the arts, the technologies of today have made our lives better. It is not surprising then, that the public expects technology to have a similar revolutionary effect on education. After all, the biggest advancements of the last 20 years have been in the realm of information and the tools of human knowledge; this is Education’s back-yard. Yet, when people look at our schools they see many classrooms that seem to have been immune to these advances. There are obstacles that education faces in implementing a 21st Century approach to education not the least of which is finding a definition and a clear picture of what it really looks like and whether it will be more effective for students. Costs to implement technology-rich programs quickly seem prohibitive when scaling to an entire school system, particularly so in a state that lags the nation in educational funding. Teachers are our biggest asset and are known to be the single largest influence on student achievement the district can provide, so professional development is crucial and fundamental. The measure of success, the CSAP, is a paper and pencil test which will be unable to measure all the positive effects technology can have for student learning. Indeed, a 20th Century test method will be unable to properly assess (and may even inhibit) the skills development of a 21st Century learner. And then, are we just about the content and helping students master it, or is education about something more as well? Therefore, making the case that investment in technology will increase student achievement can be fraught with pitfalls and obstacles. To attempt to tackle this issue, the authors of this paper will review quality research and commentary in an array of areas where technology-related tools and strategies have been implemented with positive effects for students. A strict filter of studies that produce higher test results will not be used because of the limitations current paper and pencil tests have in assessment of 21st Century skills. In addition to improved assessment performances, the reader is encouraged to consider the context of a global workplace and education’s duty to prepare students to thrive in a highly digital, interactive knowledge workforce. Research that shows increased student achievement on assessments, studies that point to ways education can successfully prepare students for a modern workforce and our own experiences in Littleton Public Schools shall all be considered positive correlations between technology and student achievement in this paper. The Challenge Inherent in Determining the Effectiveness of Technologies via Research The following is an excerpt that addresses a gestalt view of technology and its correlation to student achievement: When we try to determine the effectiveness of educational technologies, we are confronted by a number of methodological and practical issues. First, we need to remember that technology is only one component of an instructional activity. Assessments of the impact of technology are really assessments of instruction enabled by technology, and the outcomes are highly dependent on the quality of the implementation of the instructional design. According to Roy Pea, director of SRI Center for Technology in Learning in Menlo Park, California, the â€Å"social contexts† of how technology is used are crucial to understanding how technology might influence teaching and learning. Educational technologies cannot be effective by themselves. The social contexts are all-important. This means more attention should be paid to the teaching strategies used both â€Å"in† the software and â€Å"around it† in the classroom, and to the classroom environment itself. It is a recurrent finding that the effects of the best software can be neutralized through improper use, and that even poorly designed software can be creatively extended to serve important learning goals. There are also a host of methodological issues to confront. First, standardized achievement tests might not measure the types of changes in students that educational technology reformers are looking for. New measures, some of which are currently under development, would assess areas, such as higher order thinking skills, that many believe can be particularly affected by using new technologies. There is also a need to include outcome measures that go beyond student achievement, because student achievement might be affected by students’ attitudes about themselves, their schools, the types of interactions that go on in schools, and the very idea of learning. Another consideration is pointed out by the U. S. Office of Technology Assessment’s Teachers and Technology: Making the Connection: Technological changes are likely to be nonlinear, and might show effects not only on student learning, but also on the curriculum, the nature of instruction, the school culture, and the fundamental ways that teachers do their jobs. Coley, 1997). Instant Response Systems Data-driven decision making is an educational approach that requires educators to decide on instructional strategies and activities based on what they know about how well students have grasped a concept. Whereas before, this might be done with mini quizzes, homework or performances at the chalk board, todayâ€⠄¢s technologies provide another avenue. Using handheld devices in Modesto City Schools classrooms, teachers can pose questions to students who use wireless remotes for real-time responses. Such engagement enables the teachers to immediately determine if students are grasping concepts and decide whether more time is needed on a topic or whether the group can move on. Item banks of standards-aligned questions make teacher’s jobs easier in developing such review materials (Hines, 2005). Another similar technology is the graphing calculator which can be used in math and science classrooms to enable every student to participate and have the power of a modern computing tool. Classrooms that make use of the graphing calculator exhibit better questioning and feedback behaviors; goal-oriented instruction becomes more attainable and more common; activities result in better student engagement and students tend to demonstrate more collaborative learning behaviors (Whitehurst, 2003). In Littleton Public Schools, a definitive interest is rising for these technologies as several classroom sets are deployed in schools across the district. Results are largely anecdotal and preliminary, but math coordinators are seeing the Texas Instruments graphing calculator as a valuable tool that will reach beyond just math class. Technology Education Littleton Public Schools has a strong tradition in the realm of technology education. Our Middle and High Schools are all equipped with curricula that introduce a wide array of technologies to students. LPS technology education students and teachers have won national recognition for their work. A relatively small amount of research has been done on students’ understandings of design and technology concepts, or technical knowledge. This limited research sometimes makes it difficult to capitalize on such an ever evolving subject as Technology Education. The findings from the Australian study state that an increasing awareness of students’ understandings of design and technology concepts can have an impact on the teaching and learning of design and technology in elementary schools similar to that experienced in elementary science education (Davis, Ginns, & McRobbie, 2002). Called Career and Technical Education in Virginia, CTE correlations to curricular areas have been documented on a state web site (http://www. valinkages. net/) and are considered a key component to preparing students for End-Of-Course tests. A study was conducted in 2002–2003 on Illustration and Design Technology coursework, an example of CTE student performance on Standards of Learning (SOL), the Virginia equivalent of CSAP tests. The results showed that 78 percent of CTE students passed the mathematics SOL test while only 72 percent of non-CTE enrolled students pass the test (Dyer, Reed, & Berry, 2006). Authors on the subject advocate for providing students with opportunities to synthesize their learning in other subjects in technology-related programs. The opportunity to apply and reinforce learning from content areas in technology programs is essential if learning is to be meaningful to students (Lewis, 1999). In our own experiences in LPS, we find that the Technology Education courses generate excitement and interest for learning among both male and female students which must have an impact on their learning. Recent research has shown that Technology Education courses appeal to both genders equally (McCarthy & Moss, 1994). Although girls appeared to enjoy required technology education courses, they were less likely to continue taking such courses as electives(Silverman & Pritchard, 1996). Certainly motivation and application of knowledge help to improve student achievement. And while recent results do not conclusively prove that these courses impact student achievement at a higher level than other programs we implement in schools, it would be imprudent to think that these programs do not have a very positive effect. This is one of the limitations of research on students: it is almost impossible to create a true control group. When asked, students currently enrolled in LPS Technology Education courses reported their thoughts of technology to include: computers, iPods, video games, music media, email, and tools in general. Recent legislation supports the concept that education’s technology initiatives need to go beyond thinking about computers. Rather, Technology Education is about teaching innovation; providing opportunity for practical application of knowledge gained in school; mastery of abstraction and problem solving. Technology Education programs at LPS include a broad scope of tools that human beings use to master their environment including manufacturing, construction, power and energy, communication, transportation, and biotechnology. While research that clearly correlates higher student achievement on standardized tests is lacking, the skills that students learn in such courses clearly match what employers, from engineering firms to manufacturing companies, indicate they seek in their applicant pools. Simulations and Video Games â€Å"Dad, did you know that a Prefect in ancient Rome was both a firefighter AND a policeman? † was a question that arose from the back of my (Dan Maas) car during a long road trip with my son, Calvin. He described, in quite accurate detail, the pantheon of Roman gods, the basic elements of Roman society and then abruptly ended the question and answer period that arose from his initial question so he could fend off the Carthaginians. How did he know they were Carthaginians? â€Å"Hannibal always attacks with elephants† was his reply. The boy had learned all this about Rome playing a video game at age five. Video games have long been the bane of the parent and teacher’s existence, but there’s something here that may be of some use to us. Some have picked up on the possibilities. A multi-user virtual environment (MUVE) is a kind of video game. Schools like Harvard University are creating MUVEs that are patterned after video games with a few critical differences. Video games typically have goals like collecting points, defeating enemies or gathering gold. On the other hand, MUVEs have the goal of learning. By creating virtual environments, problems can be posed, research can be collected, theories tested and outcomes achieved. One MUVE example begins with an outbreak of a disease in a small town that players must investigate, determine the pathogens involved, develop theories on how o treat the illness and test methods to resolve the crisis. The simulation is highly visual, interactive, and highly engaging to the students. See   Studies show that children whose teachers use technology for simulations and application of knowledge tend to develop higher order thinking skills and tend to score higher on tests like the National Assessment for Educational Progress. Conversely, technology use that focuses on drill-and-practice tends to correlate to lower performance (Archer, 1998). In another pilot, students who participated in computer-assisted literacy instruction earned higher scores on a Stanford Culture-Free Self-Esteem Inventory and on a Test of Written Spelling (Bottege, Daley, Goin, Hasselbring, & Taylor, 1997). In a 2005 study on a gaming system called an Intelligent Tutoring System, results showed increased educational interest and motivation among students. Students showed statistically significant gains educationally, but of particular note was the very significant effect on students who had performed poorly previous to the pilot (Virvou, Katsionis, & Manos, 2005). When one thinks about games, it seems as if there is a clear opportunity for using this tool for advancing educational skills. Students solve problems, learn languages and master virtual world rules while playing video games for entertainment. This pattern was examined in a Newark, New Jersey study using Lightspan educational video games where 47 pre-school age children played 40 minutes per day for 11 weeks and demonstrated significant gains over the control group on the Wide Range Achievement Test R-3. The scores for spelling and decoding were significantly improved for the experimental group over the control while no significant difference was detected in math (Calao & Din, 2001). The Pokemon video game is also interesting to consider. By the time the first draft of this document is completed for the Board of Education, the country will celebrate Dr. Suess’ birthday. His children’s books help young people to learn to read by creating simple, repetitive language constructs that reveal patterns to students and help them improve their decoding and phonic awareness. He even made up nonsense words to press the student’s phonetic ability. Pokemon has many similar traits. Text on the handheld game appears in small, five word chunks that only proceed when the reader is done. The reading is meaningful in that comprehension is required to solve the puzzles of the game. And the story line is filled with imaginary creatures with made-up names†¦ each phonetically accurate. Did the makers of Pokemon intend to create a game that might help children learn to read or did the creators use phonics to create the English language equivalents of their native Japanese? Who knows, but perhaps this game, or something like it, could be helpful. In speaking informally at several buildings in LPS, students at the middle level indicated that they would check out educational video games to play on their home gaming systems. Could video games, tuned to education by eliminating violence and other objectionable themes, become a new tool educators can use to engage students both during and after school? More research is certainly warranted but the existing results and intuitive logic leads one to think that there is promise here. At-Risk/Intervention An ever present emphasis in education is how to intervene for students with at-risk characteristics. We see educational and economic gaps forming for students at-risk and our public system is always focused on closing gaps and providing bridges for students. Can technology-integrated interventions be part of the answer? In a recent study published by North Carolina State University’s Meridian, journal on middle school technology, students repeating eighth grade were isolated into a focused 27-week program that used hypermedia, online resources and Power Point as integrated technologies. Students demonstrated statistically significant gains (29 percentile points) in reading and language arts. Additionally students demonstrated marked improvements (23 percentile points) in writing performances (Little, 2006). Within LPS, the Center for Online Studies is a partnership with Arapahoe Community College (ACC). Students come to ACC to take online coursework supplied by Class. com and supervised by a certified teacher. The students enrolled have had difficulty succeeding in their traditional high schools and reported to the Board of Education in January, 2007 that the program has made a difference in their academic pursuits. The principles in use here that are making this first year program a success are having a quality content source, a certified teacher and a supportive learning environment. 1:1 Initiatives One-to-one computing is an industry term of one computing device allocated to one person. This essentially is an initiative to end shared computing resources based on the idea that such learning tools are so essential that every student needs one all the time. This view is something akin to the status that textbooks have enjoyed for some time. When the public hears about classroom textbooks, meaning students can’t take their own book home, there is usually concern or even outcry to increase the resource. Proponents of 1:1 computing believe that the 21st Century represents a time when that status held by textbooks transfers to the computer. Indeed, if we are to shift from paper-based learning materials to electronic sources, a 1:1 initiative of some sort of computing device will be a pre-requisite. Some school districts and even states have begun to explore this concept. In Maine, a state-wide initiative began nine years ago to provide every seventh grade student with a laptop. The program is called the Main Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI) and it is having an impact on teaching and learning in their public schools. After five years, researchers reported that teachers were more effective at helping students meet state standards. Also students were more motivated, learned more, and mastered concepts to deeper levels. Finally, students appeared to be learning new skills for the 21st Century (Lane, 2003). Further research into the MLTI project showed that students who had used laptops in 7th and 8th grade, but no longer had school supplied laptops in 9th grade reported that the quantity and quality of their school work had dropped since losing access to school-provided laptops (Pitler, Flynn, & Gaddy, 2004). A 1:1 project is the initiative in Henrico County, Virginia which began in 2001. Prior to the project, 78 percent of the district schools were accredited based on the student achievement on the Virginia Standards of Learning test. By the end of the school year in 2003, all schools had earned accreditation meaning that a satisfactory percentage of students passed the state test (Pitler, Flynn, & Gaddy, 2004). In Canada, a 1:1 effort entitled the Wireless Writing Project begun in 2002 started in Peace River North with 6th and 7th grade students. In pre and post-test results on writing assessments, researchers found that the percentage of students who met or exceeded the performance standards of the test increased from 70 percent to 92 percent (Pitler, Flynn, & Gaddy, 2004). Another 1:1 initiative is underway in New Hampshire where initial results reflect other studies of similar efforts. Students and teachers are demonstrating increased technology use across the curricular areas. Student engagement and motivation is improving and student-teacher interactions are on the rise. Initial reports of teacher judgment of student achievement (that is, basing achievement on grades rather than standardized tests) indicate that students are doing better than before (Bebell, 2004). In our own experiences in LPS, we see classrooms with laptop access achieving a 1:1 ratio for the class period exhibiting much improved academic behaviors. Working in this manner, students demonstrate a tendency to return to previous homework and revise, edit and reuse to far greater degrees than the classroom teacher was accustomed to seeing. Students more often compare their writing samples with peers and seem more likely to collaborate. Using blogs, wikis and other online tools, students expand on the usefulness of word processors by working collaboratively and ubiquitously. Collaboration through Technology A strong theme through the research and observations in this paper is how technologies are used to improve student achievement and general practices. This section is dedicated to the art of collaboration and how various tools allow people to reach across distances and through time like never before. iPods and other MP3 playing devices have opened up a very convenient and powerful pathway for information to be produced, accessed and archived. San Diego State University is leveraging this technology in science teacher preparation. Podcasting is a method of recording digital audio and video files and posting them online for others to access. This method can be used to bring distant experts to students, provide opportunities to review material at leisure, grant unprecedented access to students to research material and extend the learning opportunities for students well beyond the classroom. Surveys of pre-service science teachers who used iPods and podcasting in their preparation reported time savings, increased interest in subject matter, and declared that they would use podcasting in their own teaching methods in the future (Yerrick, 2006). The presence of global networks, the affordability of a wide array of information technology and the reality that connected people create an integrated whole have drastically impacted how we work, and learn today. Learning theories of the previous century including behaviorism, cognitivism and constructivism were developed, prior to the current way our lives are organized, as a result of technology. Siemens proposes a new theory of learning based on the new human condition: Connectivism. In this view, knowledge resides in people and on devices. Learning and knowing rest on diverse opinions from a wide array of sources. Learning becomes a process of connecting nodes of information. Continual learning is maintained by nurturing connections. Learners find connections between different ideas, fields of study, and basic concepts. Being current is of paramount importance. And decision-making is actually a learning process, meaning choosing what to learn and being able to deal with the shifting nature of information. Learners must become comfortable with the reality that what is considered correct today might be proven wrong tomorrow. This theory of learning represents a massive shift in thinking: that learning is not an individual pursuit, but is a collaborative, dynamic and never-ending activity (Siemens, 2005). In LPS, the blog and the wiki has become a fascinating collaborative learning tool. In a Language Arts classroom, students no longer just check out a book, write some sticky-note annotations, and have one-at-a-time discussions prompted by the teacher. Rather, students copy Macbeth from a web resource into a word processor and annotate electronically, keeping their work on personally owned USB memory keys. While some students discuss a scene with the teacher, others are free to blog commentary on the topic of verbal discussion or other interests in the subject-matter at hand. Suddenly, a dozen conversation threads are happening all at once and the teacher only has control of one. The participation rate of students has risen and students return to the blog after school to continue their dialog. Students report that the conversation via blog makes them more reflective and yet more confident because of the lack of a public speaking component to the classroom discussion. In one discussion, the number of postings became so frequent over a short period of time that the free blogging service shut down the account because the activity resembled a malicious electronic attack on the blog server. A wiki supporting another Language Arts class is being used to connect students to young people in other countries like South Korea. Students reading Arabian Nights have opportunities to share their insights with others from around the United States and even in foreign countries. Other opportunities include the use of SKYPE for toll-free calls around the globe to other connected classrooms and instant messages allowing free-form, high speed conversation on topics of study. And in a Foreign Language classroom, chat and Voice Over IP systems allow students to practice their second language acquisition with their teacher, with each other, and even with students outside the classroom. The lesson is that the art of collaboration has no boundaries today. Time and space are no longer the limiters they once were and the list of technologies in this section only scratches the surface of what is available. And like the learning theory of Connectivism points out, this too will change. Education must take note and prepare students to succeed in an environment that thrives on collaboration while constantly changing and improving the tools that support it. Word Processing and Writing For decades now, research has been conducted on the effect word processing has on writing skills for students. In a 1997 study, Owston and Wideman cite a considerable body of work on this topic as part of their research project that studied 3rd grade students using word processors for writing. They concluded in their own study that use of word processors that were readily available to students and were an integrated part of their daily activities resulted in considerably higher quality and quantity of writing as compared to a similar student group without access and support for such tools (1997). In a more recent qualitative study, the use of word processors with seven 3rd grade students over a six week period led to significantly more creative, more comprehensive and improved style. This study of five girls and two boys also reported higher motivation to work with the writing process as compared to paper and pencil methods (Beck & Fetherston, 2003). In LPS, Anne Smith reports that students are more engaged when using classroom laptops. The students take advantage of the ease of use to manipulate text to show various sentence structures. While these studies definitely point to improved writing volume and quality from young students, research also suggests that young students need to be exposed to handwritten learning as well, which has been a point of discussion for some time. An article by Balajthy et al points out that students need a diverse writing experience and that word processors should be part of the experience rather than replacing handwritten work (Balajthy, McKeveny, & Lacitignola, 1986). At this developmental level, the various tools for writing are most effective for learners when they are used in an integrated approach with the overall instructional program rather than taught separately (MacArthur, 1988). There are studies that show little or no impact of word processors on the quality of student writing, however, a meta-analysis in 1993 showed that these studies tend to have a number of limitations not the least of which is the use of text-based word processors rather than the Graphical User Interface (GUI) systems in use today. Additionally, the analysis revealed that such studies often involve students who have sporadic access to the technology and were not accomplished with the tool (Bangert-Drowns, 1993). The process of mastering writing is very important and there is research that shows how emphasis on writing skills positively improves student achievement across the curriculum. Writing Across the Curriculum initiatives have over twenty years of professional practice and anecdotal evidence to support this claim. Strong research has been hard to come by, however, to truly evidence the effects. One of the biggest obstacles is the ability to truly have a strong control group for any study as such would require a population of students who did not use writing as part of their learning process (Railsback, 2004). Some studies have been able to document positive effects. In a 1992 study, Van Allen was able to conclude that school-wide efforts in Writing Across the Curriculum in five middle schools over a five year period resulted in better writing and better overall student achievement on assessments (1991). What we have found essential in LPS is to have students write frequently and in a variety of forms including wikis and blogs as well as word processors. We wish to note here that we must be careful about using research that is old, even though some of it is unavoidable. The technology tools of today are very different than when computers first entered schools. As an example, the word processing research from the 1980s may not be completely irrelevant, but the software of today bears so little resemblance to the software of the late 1980s. In addition, increased student (and teacher) familiarity with these tools will also have an effect on the impact these tools have on achievement. A key question is â€Å"How do we measure the impact of tools that change so quickly that by the time you measure their impact, the tools have changed? In other words, by the time most research is done (and published in â€Å"reputable† sources), the technology has changed so much that the research loses at least some of its relevance. This will be a significant hurdle to overcome. In a comprehensive peer-reviewed report, Bangert-Drowns conducted another meta-analysis with Hurley and Wilkinson on the impact of writing across the curriculum in 2004. This analysis, which reviewed 48 studies, produced three major findings. First, writing for learning produced positive effects on school achievement in the studies reviewed. The second finding was that grade levels, minutes per task, and writing prompts had significant impact on results. The study found that programs implemented in Grades 6–8 actually had reduced performances, possibly due to the loss of time on the more differentiated content covered at the secondary level. Longer tasks also depressed results perhaps for similar time constraint issues and motivational issues among students. The use of writing prompts concerning students’ current understandings and confusion were very effective while prompts for personal writing showed no effect. The third finding concerned the length of treatment. The analysis revealed the intuitive conclusion that students who have longer exposure to writing for learning strategies experience a cumulative effect that is very positive (2004). The research continues today and can be seen in an article published in Education Week on February 14, 2007, where the National Assessment of Educational Progress has been piloting a computerized test for assessing writing. This move recognizes the research that is showing how students write more often, of better quality, and with more consistency (between both genders) when using these writing tools. And preliminary results are showing that students tend to write better on the tests when using the word processor (Cavanagh, 2007). What can be drawn from these studies is that writing, being an active learning process, has been shown to positively impact student achievement in all subject areas. It can also be stated that students who have ample access to word processing in conjunction with skillful instruction in a school that is emphasizing Writing Across the Curriculum can be reasonably expected to produce higher achievement results. Streaming Video In four Los Angeles public schools, a study was conducted on the effectiveness of United Streaming video in supporting 6th through 8th grade mathematics achievement. Students were pre and post-tested to provide the source data for the study which revealed that the experimental group using streaming video outperformed the control group by 4. 7 percent among sixth grade students. This differential was shown to be statistically significant. Eighth grade students showed a more modest 2. 2 percent advantage which still registered as significant (Boster et al. , 2004). In LPS, the same United Streaming resources were secured for all schools at the beginning of the 2006–2007 school year. Additional digital projection and speaker equipment was provided to schools along with a concerted orientation effort to help teachers access and use the material. Prior to the introduction of United Streaming video, the Internet connection for the district was peaking at 26 megabits of demand. Within two months of the introduction of United Streaming, the peak demand had reached 100 megabits which represented the maximum throughput the connection was able to sustain. This 400 percent increase in Internet demand was traced directly to streaming video services requested by the schools demonstrating the value teachers immediately saw in this technology. Today, LPS is deploying a locally hosted server to present the streaming video to meet the growing demand for both quantity and quality of the content. Laptops for Teachers The following is an observation of technology use at Lenski Elementary School by Assistant Director of Instructional Technology, Boni Hamilton. As part of the Technology Grants from Plan for Social Excellence (www. pfse. org). schools provided laptops for teachers in the first year of the three year grants. PFSE didn’t collect hard data about the impact, but at Lenski Elementary School, I saw firsthand the effects on teachers and instruction. Some observations: 1. Teachers who had been least confident about their technology skills increased their confidence and competence with technology skills to equal that of the more tech-savvy staff members within four months. While the classroom teachers had regular access to technology skills when they co-taught in the lab and so were fairly confident with technology skills, the non-classroom staff such as specialists received training only when it was scheduled for the staff. This was too infrequent to give them the level of competence they needed. The portability of the laptops allowed the specialists to get help from peers, family members, and friends. A couple of teachers even signed up for computer classes outside the school because they finally had computers they could take home and practice on. One teacher who had been only moderately comfortable with technology learned how to make tables in MSWord and began showing everyone on staff — she became the staff expert. 2. Teachers improved in their trouble-shooting skills. Trouble-shooting is difficult to teach because problems happen at inconvenient times and are hard to reproduce during a training session. However, when teachers were carting their laptops home and had problems, they had to solve the problems themselves. They either used family members to help or they ‘fooled around’ until it did what they wanted. Because they knew the computers could be restored, they no longer worried about what would happen if they took a risk and pushed a button. 3. Teachers grew more relaxed about problems. Before laptops, teachers often got stressed when some technology failed. As they learned to problem-solve laptop problems, they had less tendency to get up-tight when something went wrong. They were then able to think about problem-solving strategies, consult a peer, or cart the laptop to a computer coach for help. 4. Teachers increased the level of student use of technology. As teachers gained confidence, they became more willing to risk using computers in the classroom. It wasn’t as scary to let kids try projects on classroom computers because they trusted that either they or their students could solve problems. 5. The demand for student computers in classrooms has increased dramatically annually. Even though teachers felt their classrooms were too small to handle clusters of computers, six months after they received laptops, they made room for computer clusters because they began to depend on computers to enable students to continue projects, collaborate on learning, and practice skills. The number of desktop computers in classrooms went from an average of three per room to an average of five to six per room. Lenski also bought two 15-computer laptop carts, but demand was so heavy that the school added two more carts in the following year. Then the library’s demand for computers increased so dramatically that the school had to buy a fifth cart. In the third year of having laptop carts, teachers are now complaining that there are too few carts available for the library and 16 classrooms (Grades 2-5). 6. After three years of having laptops, most teachers opted to return to desktop computers. There seemed to be several causes for this: 1) They purchased home computers and found they could use USB drives to cart files; 2) The school had enough wireless laptops for student use that teachers could get on a laptop; or even borrow one overnight, if they needed; 3) They preferred larger screens, faster processors, and standard mice. Based on these observations, I advocate strongly for giving teachers experience with laptops before buying laptops for students. Concluding Remarks The following is a summative commentary from Karl Fisch, Edublog Nominee and Finalist for the Best Blog of 2006: We’re not going to find a whole lot of really good research to support this at this time. I can summarize what the research generally says. The use of technology in appropriate ways has a small, positive effect on student achievement. It also has a larger, but still small, positive effect on student and teacher motivation, engagement and satisfaction. That’s about it. But I would strongly argue that – to a certain extent – this is missing the point. I would also suggest that many of our current practices are in direct contradiction to what the research says we should do, but we do them anyway because it’s convenient for the adults. How come nobody is demanding to see the research to support those practices? But I digress. ) I do not think that if we infuse technology into our schools, even putting in a 1:1 program at the high schools, that we will see student achievement – as we currently measure it – skyrocket. I think we may see a small positive effect, with possibly a slightly larger effect among those students who typically have not done very well in our schools. But the basic problem with looking for research that supports growth in student achievement is that – by necessity – research has to look at fixed, testable content to try to determine growth. Now I’m not saying that content knowledge isn’t valuable, it is. But I think the skills and abilities and habits of mind that ubiquitous access to technology would help us develop in our students are ones that are really hard to measure. How do you measure creativity? Or the ability to collaborate with others, both in the same room or across the planet (or beyond)? Or the ability to take in information from an almost inexhaustible supply, synthesizes it, remix it, and then produce something that is of value to others? How do you measure imagination? How do you measure the ability to function in a flat, globally interconnected, technology-enabled, rapidly changing world? How do we measure the ability to learn how to learn? To know how to adapt, to reinvent yourself over and over again to meet the needs of a world that is changing at an exponential pace. How do you measure the ability to function in a world where all of human factual knowledge will be available practically instantaneously? Knowledge is good. Having content knowledge is necessary, but not sufficient, to be successful in the 21st century. The research – at best – is only going to tell us about content knowledge. The power of the technology is to transform teaching and learning as we know it. To make it more student-centered, more individualized (yet also more community-based), more relevant, more meaningful. It allows each student to connect to each other, to the world, to knowledge, to learning, in the way(s) that works best for that student. I guess I fear we are asking the wrong questions . . . Where does all this leave us? And what use does this document provide? Clearly, more research is needed, but our efforts can no longer await the coming of comprehensive research studies. Not having solid research behind us will not be an adequate excuse for failing to prepare our students for the 21st Century. Therefore, we must be on the constant look-out for research that will help us light the way while we move ahead in the modernization of our public schools and our methods. We must become students of our own society and allow our own observations and action-research to influence our decisions. We must model for our students the creativity and risk-taking that will be defining characteristics of the next age. In short, educators must come out of the comfort zone, release some control and join the wave of seemingly chaotic global empowerment. Daniel Pink describes the next age of society which might give us some clues. He defines an age by the type of worker that is most commonly found among the population. During the Agricultural Age, the common person was some sort of farmer. During the Industrial Age, it was the factory worker. And during the Information Age, which he describes as beginning in the 1960’s, it was the Knowledge Worker. But the end of each age is preceded by an out-sourcing and off-shoring of the common worker prompting the rise of the next age. So what does Daniel Pink suggest is next? The Conceptual Age. This economy maintains the necessity of strong left-brain skills (reading, writing, math and science) while adding the right brain skills (aesthetics, intuition, value and play). Daniel Pink would advise us to continue our left-brain pursuits, but introduce the richness of meaning and value. It is no longer sufficient to create a well engineered product; now the product must be appealing as well (2005). References: http://www.bc.edu/research/intasc/PDF/NH1to1_2004.pdf