Nike Competitive Advantage

* 1. MGMT65000 – Strategic Management – spring 2011 Test 1 By: Divya Mishra School of Management Purdue University Calumet Submitted to: Dr. Arifin Angriawan1|Page * 2. Company profile & backgroundNIKE, Inc. is engaged in the design, development and worldwide marketing of footwear,apparel, equipment and accessory products. . It sells its products to around 18,000 retail accountsin the United States and through a mix of independent distributors, licensees and subsidiaries innearly 200 countries. NIKE is the largest seller of athletic footwear and athletic apparel in the world. The Company creates designs for men, women and children.The top selling product categoryincludes running, basketball, childrens, cross-training and womens shoes. It also designs shoesfor outdoor activities like tennis, golf, soccer, baseball, football, bicycling, volleyball, wrestling,cheerleading, aquatic activities, hiking and other athletic and recreational uses. Index membership Sector Industry EmployeesS&P 500 Consumer Cyclical Footwear 23,300ProductsNIKE sells sports attire and accessories relevant to each sport mentioned above as well as othersports-inspired lifestyle apparel, like bags, socks, sport balls, eyewear, protective equipment,basic sport equipment, etc.In addition to NIKE’s footwear, apparel, and accessories businesses, the Company sells productsunder other brand names in particular markets. NIKE wholly-owns five footwear and apparelcompanies that specialize in different sports: Cole Haan, Converse Inc. , Hurley InternationalLLC, Umbro Ltd. , and NIKE Golf. These subsidiaries combined together account for 13% oftotal revenues, $2. 5 billion, in fiscal 2009. Manufacturing Footwear & ApparelAll of NIKE’s footwear is manufactured outside the United States in the factories of China,Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand and account for 98 percent of total NIKE brand footwear in2009.The main raw materials used in NIKE footwear are rubber, plastic compound s, and foamcushioning materials, nylon, leather, canvas, and polyurethane films used for cushioningcomponents. NIKE brand apparel is also manufactured almost entirely outside of the United States, in 34different countries. The main materials used in NIKE apparel are natural and synthetic fabricsand threads, plastic and metal hardware, and water and heat resistant fabrics. Marketing and AdvertisingNIKE places a significant weight on marketing the company and its products.NIKE aggressivelybonds the contracts with highly successful and influential athletes, coaches, teams, and leagueslike Michael Jordan, Serena Williams, and Tiger Woods to popularize its footwear, apparel andsports accessories. In order to sustain its dominance in the industry and stay competitive stay, NIKE activelyresponds to trends and changes in consumer preferences by adjusting the mix of existing productofferings, developing new products, styles and categories, and influencing sports and fitnesspreferences throug h aggressive marketing.Its primary areas of marketing remain Net TV andmagazines. 2|Page * 3. CompetitorsThe rivalry in the sports wear industry is very high. NIKE competes with numerous athletic andleisure shoe companies worldwide. It faces fierce competition in product offerings, technologies,marketing expenditures, pricing, costs of production, and customer services. The maincompetitors are Adidas, Reebok, Timberland, Woodland, and Puma.SWOT Analysis for NIKE Strengths Weaknesses Brand recognition Overseas manufacturing High product quality dependency Effective marketing Decreasing United States strategy market share Capacity of innovation High product price Strong distribution chain compared to Adidas Strong R&D Currency exposure Strong customer Medium retail presence relationship/satisfaction SWOT Analysis Opportunities Threats Expansion into emerging Fierce industry competition markets Revenue relies on Increased demand in product consumers’ discretionary innovation inc ome Growing segment of women Economic rescission athletes Fluctuation in the currency Increase in the number of sports events like Olympic, FIFA3|Page * 4.NIKE Innovations NIKE with Apple: The NIKE+ package consists of a pair of specially designed NIKE+ running shoes, an iPod nano, and a NIKE + iPod sport kit. The kit consists of a sensor that fits into a built-in pocket beneath the insole of the left shoe and a receiver that fits into the iPod nano dock connector. As a person runs, iPod tells the distance, pace, and calories burned via voice feedback that adjusts music volume as it plays. (Google image) Design your own shoes: NIKE allows customers to design their own shoes from a catalogue of predefined designs. Customers can choose their own colors and mascots to create shoes which define their personality.It provides Touch screen technology in store allowing customers to design shoes of choice. (Google image) Nike self lacing automatic shoes: NIKE is also coming up with the new a utomatic self lacing sneakers. The automatic lacing system provides a set of straps that can be automatically opened and closed to switch between a loosened and tightened position. 4|Page * 5. Critical data of Nike Annual Report$ Millions 2010Net Income 1,906. 7Current Liability 3,364. 2Total Assets 14419. 3Tax Rate 24. 2%Interest Rate 6. 35%Long-Term Debt 445. 8Return on Equity 19. 54%Total Equity 9753. 7Weighted Average Cost of Capital 8. 9%Capital Employed 11055. 1Interest Expense 6. EBIT 2516. 9NOPAT 1907. 81Return On Capital Employed 20. 7%Economic Value Added 1267. 25Cash Flow From Operations* 3164. 2Capital expenditure* 335. 1Free Cash Flow 2045. 31Five year Nike stock performance vs. S&P500* (Fiscal year 2006-2010) 2% Nike S&P500 90%5|Page * 6. 2010Nike revenue growth 2006-2010 Nike Revenue 25000 20000 Revenue 15000 10000 5000 0 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 YearNike revenue generation by product 2010 Revenue Generation by Product 6% 34% Footwear 60% Apparel Equipment6|Page * 7. 1. Please use Figure 2. 3 page 53 (Grant’s textbook, 7th edition) as your overall guide to draw a balanced scorecard for the firm.Please draw a balanced scorecard for the firm that you choose. Identify all four perspectives, each perspective’s objectives and their relationships. See example in the appendix. Feel free to modify it. On the other pages please elaborate on the four perspectives and their elements. For the financial performance perspective, at least you need to discuss: ROCE, EVA, and FCF. Conclude what the numbers mean to you as a manager (e. g. Good, bad, or neutral; and why). Why do firms need to prepare a balanced scorecard? (20 points) Balance Scorecard for NIKE 2010FINANCIAL GOOD–NEUTRAL †¢ ROCE : 17. 8% Neutral †¢ EVA: 1267. 25 millions Good †¢ FCF : 2045. 1 millions Good †¢ ROE : 19. 54% Good †¢ Profit Margin :10. 03% Good †¢ NIKE growth: 7% vs. industry growth Good 4. 5% Bad †¢ High advertising cost Good â € ¢ Better COGS% than competitorsCUSTOMER GOOD-NEUTRAL †¢ Customer Satisfaction Good †¢ Customer Loyalty Good †¢ Customer retention ratio Good †¢ Market Share Good †¢ Competitive Price Bad †¢ Number of Customers Good Good †¢ Design own shoes optionINTERNAL GOOD †¢ Marketing Innovative Products Good Celebrity endorsement Good Diversity of online product Good †¢ R&D Integrated researches Good Product technology Good High quality product design Good †¢ Good supplier relation Good †¢ IT for inventory control Good7|Page

The Decline of Literacy and Education in America

The Decline of Literacy and Education in America Attention Getter: One of the major problems in America today is the decline of literacy and education. A recent study found that only 50% of high school students in major cities graduate. A 2007 study by the National Endowment for the Arts proved that Americans read less and not as well as previous generations. Americans teenagers are ranked behind countries such as Poland, Korea, France and Canada in reading. Many educators believe illiteracy is to blame for negative teen endeavors.Literate, educated people are more like to partake in positive activities because they are more confident. Psychological Orientation: Education is taken for granted in America. Americans are worried about all the wrong things and that is why our country is suffering. Speaking correctly is laughed at. Memorizing historical events and multiplication tables is outdated because we have Google and calculators. We would rather read pre-digested textbooks than ori ginal sources. We spend more time on our phones and watching reality shows than visiting libraries.We are not concerned with spelling because we have auto-correct. It has become difficult to put in the hard work of literature because we spend our time writing in 140 characters. We believe school should be entertaining, if learning is not fun it is not effective. That education is the job of the professionals and not the parents. Statistics don’t lie. Our modern education system is not working. We are failing to demand the best in students we let them get by instead of making them do what they are capable of. Resulting in our failure to compete in the global economy.We are far less literate and educated than our competitors. Logical Orientation: There are many reasons for the decline of literacy and education in America but I believe technology, parents, and unqualified teachers hold the biggest responsibility. Body I. What impact does technology have on literacy and education ? A. New media- radio, cinema, television, computer are making writing obsolete. B. Lack of reading causes our brains not to decipher the meaning of words. II. What impact do parents have on literacy and education?A. Today’s parent does not work with their child. B. They use technology as a baby sitter instead of using it to educate their children. III. What impact does people with learning disabilities not being taught properly have on literacy and education? A. The teachers do not care are not qualified. B. Their parents feel it is professionals job to help their child learn and not theirs. Logical Closure: I believe that the way for Americans to increase literacy is to stop taking education for granted. Technology is not all bad.Parents should use technology to educate their children instead of using it as a baby sitter. Teachers should truly care and Truancy laws should be enforced. Psychological Closure: Instead of being brainwashed with fashion, reality tv, and cell pho nes we need to be brainwashed with math, reading, and science. Clincher: It was Clive Lewis that said â€Å"We all want progress but if you are on the wrong word, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road. † It is not to late to stop the decrease in literacy. Promote education not entertainment.

An Introduction to Native American Literature

American literatures embrace the memories of creation stories, the tragic wisdom of native ceremonies, trickster narratives, and the outcome of chance and other occurrences in the most diverse cultures in the world. These distinctive literatures, eminent in both oral performances and in the imagination of written narratives, cannot be discovered in reductive social science translations or altogether understood in the historical constructions of culture in one common name. Vizenor 1) Since the end of the 15th century, the migration of Europeans to America, and their importation of Africans as slaves, has led to centuries of conflict and adjustment between Old and New World societies. Europeans created most of the early written historical record about Native Americans after the colonists immigration to the Americas. 3 Many Native cultures were matrilineal; the people occupied lands for use of the entire community, for hunting or agriculture. Europeans at that time had patriarchal cultures and had developed concepts of individual property rights with respect to land that were extremely different. The differences in cultures between the established Native Americans and immigrant Europeans, as well as shifting alliances among different nations of each culture through the centuries, caused extensive political tension, ethnic violence and social disruption. The Native Americans suffered high fatalities from the contact with infectious Eurasian diseases, to which they had no acquired immunity. Epidemics after European contact caused the greatest loss of life for indigenous populations. In 1830, the U. S. Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, authorizing the government to relocate Native Americans from their homelands within established states to lands west of the Mississippi River, accommodating European-American expansion. Perhaps the most important moment of governmental detribalization came with the passing of the Dawes Act in 1887 which set aside 160 acres for each Indian on the reservation, and opened the â€Å"leftovers† up for settlement. According to the U. S. Bureau of the Census (1894), the Indian wars under the government of the United States have been more than 40 in number. They have cost the lives of about 19,000 white men, women and children, including those killed in individual combats, and the lives of about 30,000 Indians. Native Americans were thus pushed out from their own lands and were forced to live in small reservations assigned by the federal government who claimed that setting the Indians on the course to civilisation best ensured their survival. Tribal customs were then forcibly altered and nomadic tribes became sedentary. All Native Americans felt the impact of the new reservation policies, which sought to isolate and contain Indians to make room for an expanding American nation. At the same time that Native Americans were being excluded from the nation, white Americans began to look to them as the source of a unique national identity and literature, distinct from European traditions. Literature from the period depicting Indian characters was incredibly popular, and many works are still celebrated as classics, including James Fenimore Coopers The Last of the Mohicans (1826), Catharine Maria Sedgwicks Hope Leslie (1827), and Henry Wadsworth Longfellows Song of Hiawatha (1855), to name only a few. These texts employ the trope of the disappearing Indian, which represents the deaths of Indians as natural, similar to the changing of the seasons or the setting of the sun, rather than the result of political exclusion or social discrimination. Thus the disappearance of Indians from the American social landscape was not only depicted within this body of writing but also implicitly approved of. At the same time the government sponsored authors and art programs; the proletarian themes of discovery, regionalism, and tourism were new forms of dominance over Native Americans. Therefore, early Native American authors wrote within a hostile political climate and in response to a dominant literary tradition that sentimentalized and condoned the death of Indians. But they found the means to engage with their detractors by authoring their own accounts of Indians that challenged stereotypical beliefs, demanded equal political rights, and proved that Indians were neither disappearing nor silent. Native American authors have faithfully presented some of these issues of inherent native rights, the duplicities of federal policies, and the burdens of racial identities in their short stories and novels. Wynema by Sophia Alice Callahan published in 1891, was the first novel attributed to a Native American author. Callahan, who was a mixedblood Creek, was aware of tribal issues at the time and therefore devoted most of her novel to native issues. Since then many novels by distinguished Native American authors have been published. One of the most important writers among Native Americans in the 1930’s was D’Arcy McNickle, a member of the Flathead tribe of Montana. His first novel The Surrounded was published in 1936, two years after the Indian Reorganization Act was passed near the end of the Depression in the United States. His novel is the poignant story of a mix-breed family and the tragedy of their exclusion from both the red and the white worlds. Because of cultural misunderstandings, which begin between the Indian mother and Spanish father, suspicion, fear, and finally death take their children. The novel is a history of alienation. Kenneth Lincoln who coined the term Native American Rennaissance pointed out that in the late-1960s and early-1970s, a generation of Native Americans were coming of age who were the first of their tribe to receive a substantial English-language education, particularly outside of standard Indian boarding schools and in universities. Conditions for Native people, while still very harsh, had moved beyond the survival conditions of the early half of the century. The beginnings of a project of historical revisionism, which attempted to document—from a Native perspective—the history of the invasion and colonization of the North American continent had inspired a great deal of public interest in Native cultures. During this time of change, a group of Native writers emerged, both poets and novelists, who in only a few years expanded the Native American literary canon.

Operation Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Operation Plan - Essay Example Operations plan should also put into consideration economic constraints. Poor financial governance in a new operation plan may be hindrance to its success. Strategy Before expanding its business to serving breakfast, the organization should completely stabilize its former operations. This is because the initial operations form the identity of the business. In an argument by Grant (2005) the identity of a business venture is the most important thing in a business even in the consideration of increasing its operations venture. In case of any incidence of risk, the former operations will be used as a mitigations tool. According to Schermerhorn (2009) once an organization is identified with a particular business operation, it is more likely to prosper in it than when venturing in other operations. However, in this case the operations are similar and involve similar operations. The staff in the restaurant should be tuned so that they accommodate breakfast schedules their activities. Diffe rent from serving other meals, breakfast served to walk in consumers requires appropriate time management. Time barrier may hinder the restaurant from offering reliable breakfast services. The restaurant transition from serving breakfast to serving other meals should also be well structured (Ferrell & Hartline, 2010). Considering it as a new activity the restaurant should adapt indulging into two shifts of serving meal. In making the new operations the organizations efficient, the management should consider training of the staff. Training of the staff will increase their efficiency in serving a new set of meal. In this serving also includes packaging of contents in breakfast. As new venture the restaurant needs new staff training procedures which would incorporate new activities in the venture. For instance, the restaurant will have to add trained chefs who are experienced in the preparation of breakfast meals. Apart from employment of new cooking staff the restaurant should conside r training the already existing staff. These will the cut the cost on the implementation of the new operation plan. The restaurant should also consider implementation of a good marketing plan. In the consumer population the restaurant is famous only for other meals rather than breakfast meals. To increase their significance in the market, the restaurant should employ very informative marketing strategies. The marketing strategy should be in consideration of other competitors SWOT analysis (Johnson, Scholes & Whittington, 2008). Processes The process of a business transformation is generally referred to as a project. In this case, the restaurant should view this operational change as a project. To make the project successful the restaurant need to separate the operations of serving breakfast from the rest of the restaurant setting. In this way the breakfast operations will be handled as lone projects. According to Strategic Direction (2007) in this way the project will have enough at tention and attention to launch to full operation. Launching a new line of operation in an existing business should be free from influence from an already existing company. If the two lines of operations are different it becomes more than impossible to launch a successive new line of operations. For instance, a breakfast line in a fast food setting requires a well structured new management an operational strategy. The designing of the project should not

Madison and the War of 1812 -was the war of 1812 the first war for Research Paper - 1

Madison and the War of 1812 -was the war of 1812 the first war for manifest destiny - Research Paper Example The strategy for attacking Britain was through Canada which by then was Britain’s colony. American officials were very optimistic about the success of the invasion 1. However, America was to suffer a humiliating defeat at the hands of Sir Isaac Brock, British soldier and administrator in charge of upper Canada(modern Ontario) on the August of 16th,1812.On September 13th,1814, Baltimore’s Fort McHenry after withstanding several hours of Bombardment by the British Navy, the following morning hoisted the American flag, a sight that inspired Francis Scott Key to write a poem called â€Å"The star-Spangled Banner† which would later be adopted as the U.S. national anthem. Notably, Kentucky made contribution of approximately 18,000 troops to the war as a result suffered a very high proportion of the nation’s casualties in the war. However, saw an end to the war and the atrocities through a negotiated settlement which was referred to as the Treaty of Ghent, on Dec ember 24th 1814.Kentucky once again was to feature in a major way through statesman Henry Clay who played an important part in the efforts. By then he was already the house speaker. James Madison’s tenure were particularly dominated by foreign dilemmas especially since they marked the last years of the Napoleonic wars. Noteworthy, when the Embargo Act was repelled, subsequent attempts to reduce tensions at sea included the Non-Intercourse Act, which took effect from March 1809 to May 1810.Importantly, it set the grounds for non-importation or exportation against belligerent nations including France and England as trade with these nations was prohibited. Therefore under the Act trade with all other nations was permissible. But as far as France and Great Britain, trade would resume with whichever nations dropped its restrictions against U.S. but American ships would go wherever they wanted. Furthermore, under the terms

The cost of capital Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The cost of capital - Assignment Example Another problem which may appear by considering the cost of new debt as the hurdle rate is the difficulty of quantifying this cost because debt is often not traded, and also yield to maturity is not available because there is no market price for the debt. Moreover, in the case of bank loans, the interest rates may be subject to reconsiderations over the life of the new investment due to changes in firm’s financial statements or general deterioration of its financial condition. So, it would not be in the interest of shareholders to not take into account all this issues when considering capital budgeting decisions. Furthermore, considering this approach of taking into account only the cost of new debt used to fund the investment, it would be a disproportionate allocation to the new investment, which would result in overestimating the shareholders wealth. The cost of capital should play an important role in the committee’s work and in their decision making process. This committee must decide the best alternatives to finance the firm, at the minimum cost of capital in order to maximize the shareholders’ wealth (Reilly & Brown, 2002). This concept is also related to capital budgeting because the cost of capital is an opportunity cost, a hurdle rate used for comparison with rates of return and also a discount rate used for evaluating projects. Estimation of the cost of capital is a central issue for investment decision making. If a firm is investing in projects with rates of return higher than the cost of capital, the firm has created value, whereas if the firm is investing in projects with rates of return lower than the cost of capital has actually destroyed value. An increase in the capital budget of the firm determines an increase in the WACC due to the following reasons. If the new investment is financed by issuing new equity, this involves additional flotation costs,

Marketing in fashion business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Marketing in fashion business - Essay Example This research will begin with the definition of marketing as the process of determining the products or services which are been wanted by customers and also laying down strategies of making the sale and improving the communications with the customers. Marketing is such an important aspect of any business if maximum profits are to be made and many customers reached. There are many methods of marketing which will at most times be determined by the type of products or services to be marketed. In fashion businesses marketing is very important. It will determine the rate of which your commodities will be sold. There are many approaches you can use in reaching the customers but before it all, you must ensure that there well laid down strategies. Without marketing strategies, your business will not achieve anything since it is repeatedly said that ‘failing to plan is planning to fail.’ In the marketing of fashion designs, you must make sure that the market is broad and that the products or services satisfy the customers. Satisfaction in itself is a tool for marketing since when you meet the demands of the customers to the letter they will influence others extrinsically to like your fashion. Fashion is a big industry and it can be very risky to venture into if you are not ready to market your products or services. You have to make sure that you reach customers from all corners of the world or the intended area. The sale does not matter much in this kind of marketing but what will matter more is the satisfaction of customers.... In planning you ought to be realistic by comparing the plan with previous plans (White and Grifftiths, 2000 p.36). Strategies in fashion marketing One of the marketing strategies you have to employ in fashion marketing is use of the internet. This is very quick since a photograph posted on the internet will be seen by people from all parts of the world. This is very important since this fashion industry requires fast marketing before the fashion becomes outdated. You have to reach the customers that quick when their desires of the fashion are high. In the websites the customers will analyze the product or service. Therefore t should be done with a lot expertise so as to lure the customers very quickly (Vogt and Wojak, 2007 p.124). You should make use of the media in fashion marketing. This is a quick method to reach many people in a short time. In televisions you should market your produces or services. In radios it can also be done. In areas where magazines are quickly sold like in the developed countries you can use them to advertise your commodity. For marketing of fashion cloths like dresses this is one best tool you can use. You can portray varieties of features of models wearing the dresses. This has been used by the Tony Company in US and their fashion dresses are in sale unlike the situation with other fashion industries who are seated back to wait for customers. Another method of marketing in fashion industry is online advertising. In this you can post a lot of articles and photographs on your commodities (Tungate, 2008 p.98). You can also use other blogs like the email blogs to market. For those who are fans of browsing then you will reach them very fast.

Study need and rationale, research questions and rationale, testable Essay

Study need and rationale, research questions and rationale, testable hypothesis or hypotheses annotated bibliography - Essay Example 41, 6755-6786. Habib CHaudhury, Atiya Mahmood, and Maria Valente are all Professors at reputed Universities. This research studies the effect of environmental design on reducing nursing errors and increasing efficiency in acute care settings. They concluded in their study that variables such as, noise levels, ergonomics, lighting, and design can increase errors at work place. This study is relevant to the current research as the current research also focuses on the efficiency of employees at a hospital and the effect of variable i.e. music, on their productivity. 3. Furnham, A. & Strbac, L. (2002). Music is as distracting as noise: The differential distraction of background music and noise on the cognitive test performance of introverts and extraverts. Ergonomics. 45, 203-217. Furnham and Strbac are Professors at the Department of Psychology, University College London. They conducted the research to study the effects of background noise on the performance of individuals who were both introverts and extraverts and found that the noise has a negative impact on their performance and concluded that music has different impact on people with different personalities. This study is similar to the current research as it also studies the impact of music on the performance of employees at a hospital. Dr. Tim Gilmor is an organizational psychologist who specializes in assessment and development of management teams. He conducted the meta-analysis of data which was conducted from five different research studies evaluating the efficacy of Tomatis Method. He concluded that affect sizes that favoured the children being studied were in compliance with the clinician’s report. This study is relevant to the present research because of its evaluation of effect of auditory sensation on learning of children with learning and communication disorders. Hallam, Price, and Katsaru conducted this research to study the effects of background music on the task performance of Primary

Film Analysis with Historical Themes Research Proposal

Film Analysis with Historical Themes - Research Proposal Example This portion also facilitates a viewer’s understanding of class divisions which are apparently based on racial differences such as the attributes that distinguish Tenoch, son of a Harvard Economist and Secretary of State, from Julio, son of a single mother whose average line of work does not stand a chance at promotion despite tenure in a firm as a secretary. By adding relevant information regarding the participation of his sister in the leftist movement, the story further clarifies that Julio belongs to the ordinary working class whereas Tenoch opulently indulges being in the ruling class as a ‘criollo’. More evidently, the racial context featured in the film may be traced back to ancestral European and Indian colonists which correspondingly manifest in the white color of Tenoch and the dark complexion of Julio. Though this situation reflects struggle with racial discrimination, the special inseparable bond between Tenoch and Julio who appear to treat each other with brotherly fondness symbolizes union between European and Indian races which altogether form Mexico as a nation. ... remarkably strong civilizations, the Aztec, and Tenoch, having derived his name from ‘Tenochlitian’ of the Aztecs, bears its vivacious character prior to colonization by the west. The length of the road trip taken by the boys is meant to present encounters that would signify how the majority of the population and environment have barely coped on moving forward from extreme poverty especially in rural areas. An adequate number of shots on momentous journeys have been taken at a view from the inside of the moving vehicle for the purpose of boldly illustrating the life of the indigenous Indians whose preference to remain in an ethnic way of living has by far separated them from the country’s behavior in combating the Third World status. One of the movie’s implications is that by start of the new millennium, the landed aristocracy that was for long Mexico's ruling class had been replaced by a plutocracy whose wealth derives from manufacturing, commerce, and fin ance--but rapid growth of the urban lower classes reveals the failure of the Mexican Revolution and subsequent agrarian reform to produce a middle-class majority (Nutini & Isaac, 2009). An event in which Tenoch and Julio witnessed a man by the name of Marcelino Escutia who is dead on the spot after being hit by a speeding bus. The point is, as a migrant brick worker coming from the countryside, he represents the marginal class which, due to unbearable poverty, have crossed certain borders and gone extra miles in order to attain a better standard of living or survive at the least. In a matrimonial ceremony, Tenoch and Julio meet Luisa Cortes, a Spanish woman from Madrid in approximately her 30s and wife of Jano, cousin of Tenoch, whose infidelity to Luisa would draw the latter to find solace in the company and

Mother Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mother - Essay Example These suggestions used to appear awkward to me and I used to regard them as useless and boring. I never paid heed to her advice and continued hanging out with my friends whom I used to trust more than my mother. Then one fine day everything changed; my views about her changed and my heart got sunk in a state of regret. It was a chilled, stormy day and apparently the last day of our school. Everyone was excited about the party at night and there were celebrations all over our school. However, the weather gradually started getting worse and most of the people I knew cancelled their plans for the night. I got several calls from my mom as she was worried as to when I would get back home. The sky grew darker and was overshadowed with clouds. Lightening struck and it started raining in no time. Since I was with my high school friends, I did not find it appropriate to attend to my mother’s phone calls simply because I was worried what my friends would think of me. I tried to ignore the calls by not attending to them but soon my friends found out that my mom had been calling. Never had I felt as embarrassed as I did at that time. I switched off my phone and headed for the beach with my friends. The downpour was heavy and all the streets were choked with traffic. I started feeling scared and helples s as warnings were issued on the radio calling people to head towards their homes. The windscreen started losing clarity and the road ahead was barely visible. In a matter of seconds our car got sidetracked, hit another car and crashed into a pit. In a flash of time the cops came and took us to the hospital. I had been unconscious all that time and when the first time I opened my eyes I saw my mother standing right in front of me with tears in her eyes. I did not know what to say; I was speechless. My heart filled with regret all of a sudden and I could

Discuss Dickens portrayal Essay Example for Free

Discuss Dickens portrayal Essay Charles Dickens wrote Great Expectations in 1860. He wrote it about attitudes in Victorian England, towards children especially. Children were highly disciplined, and the main character in Great Expectations, Pip, was a typical example of a child of this time. Society in England at this time was built into two main classes- upper and lower. The middle class society, that is most common today, was just beginning to break through. Pip and his family, consisting of his sister, Mrs Joe Gargery, and her husband, Mr Joe Gargery, were a typical lower class family. They had a very normal lifestyle, with little or no education, a small house, with very little money, and a simple life. Great Expectations was set in Southern England, in the marsh country, within, as the river wound, twenty miles from the sea. From this sentence, you can begin to build up a picture of Pips surroundings. Dickens uses harsh adjectives, such as bleak, dismal, dark and savage to describe Pips world. By doing this, we get a real picture of how Pip lives. In a way, Dickens uses the environment around Pip, and compares it to Pips life. This brings me onto my next point. Pip must have had a very lonely childhood. His mother, father, and five brothers all died, and his sister, Mrs Joe, has unwillingly bought him up. She makes it blatantly obvious she doesnt want him throughout his life, by making certain comments. I may truly say Ive never had this apron of mine off me, since born you were. Its bas enough to be a blacksmiths wife (and him being a Gargery) without being your mother. Pips only friend is Biddy, and he also has a strong bond with Mr. Joe. Both him and Mr Joe are fellow sufferers of Mrs. Joes strict ways, and this brings them closer together. They can confide in each other, and Joe is like Pips mentor. Ever the best of friends, ant us, Pip? Despite Mrs. Joes image of being harsh, a very, very independent, it is obvious she could not live without Mr. Joe, because, as with all households at this time, he is the breadwinner and as she does not work, she could not survive without him. Pip is a very innocent, nai ve young boy. He does not understand things that happen in his life, he simply accepts them. Why Mrs Joe uses the tickler on him, he does not know. When the reader gets to the part about the convict and the hulks, he doesnt know why people are locked up, and cannot see the bad side of people. He fears Mrs.Joe, but he knows without her he would be dead, and she makes a point of telling him this. If it warnt for me youd have been to the churchyard long ago, and stayed there. When Pip meets the convict, he is understandably terrified. He immediately intimidates Pip, but although Pip is scared, he still treats him with respect, and calls him sir. The convict threatens Pip, but still Pip is polite. If you would kindly please to let me keep upright, sir, perhaps I shouldnt be sick, and perhaps I could attend more. This gives the reader the impression that Pip is very polite, and respectful to everyone, and he hides his feelings. For example, on Christmas day, when Mr Wopsle and uncle Pumblechook are saying how ungrateful he is, he does not retaliate and simply bites his tongue, because he does not want to be disrespectful to his elders. I think that this is the way Dickens wanted to portray Pip, so we would believe what Pip is saying, and see him as being innocent, and not really capable of lying to us. Pip and the convict can be seen as fairly similar, in a strange way. Once the convict learns of Pips background he begins to feel sorry for him, and I think that Pip feels sorry for the convict, because of his situation. It is also obvious that the convict trusts Pip, because he sends him for food, even when he knows Pip could easily tell on him, and he could get recaptured and sent back to the prison ship. Pip doesnt tell on him, however, and returns with food. When the convict is finally recaptured, he makes up a story about breaking into the forge, and stealing the food, and he does not say Pip stole the food for him. Although the meetings between the two were short, they developed an understanding, and trusted each other. The way Dickens portrays the convict and Pips friendship gives us an idea as to how trusting Pip is, and his kind nature and personality. Something clicked in his throat, , as if he had works in him like a clock, and was going to strike. Then he smeared his ragged rough sleeve over his eyes. The something that I had noticed before, clicked in the mans throat again, and he turned his back. I think this click Pip refers is the convict having a lump in his throat, and showing emotion, and the click is him swallowing this lump. This shows that although the convict could be dangerous, he has emotions, and Pip can tap into this emotion. As the novel develops, Miss Haversham and Estella are introduced. Mrs. Joe is very pleased when Pip is given the chance to go to Miss Havershams house and play. She believes it will give him the chance to become a gentleman and make something of his life. If this boy ant grateful this night, he never will be! Pip goes off to Miss Havershams, and although the house in which she lives in decrepit, and in a very bad state, he is very impressed because it is so large, and unlike what he is used to. He is continually polite, even when Estella is rude to him. He calls the knaves, Jacks, this boy! Said Estella with disdain, before our first game was out. And what coarse hands he has! And what thick boots! She patronises him, and it dents Pips confidence, and he begins to feel he is not good enough for anything. This makes him insecure, and he wants to go home. Dickens makes the reader see his insecurity by saying Her contempt was so strong, that it became infectious, and I caught it. This makes the reader see that before the meeting, Pip is fairly content with himself, and his life, be it a lonely one, but after Estellas comments he realises he is not as good as her, and he probably will never make anything of his life. When he realises this, you can gradually see his ambitions growing, and whereas before he was perfectly happy to become Joes apprentice, he knows he wont be happy, and wants to become someone who is respected. To sum all of this up, Pip is disciplined, and fearful of certain things. He can be intimated easily, but is still respectful. He has ambitions, and plans to make something of his life, but he is also insecure about his background, and whether he has the strength of character to pull himself out of the lower class society. He is very innocent, and gets bewildered easily. Dickens shows all of this by making Pip seem a lonely young boy, with no real family or friends, and he uses imagery to portray this. We watch Pip grow up, and learn about life, and try to make sense of things that are happening around him. Dickens makes the reader feel sorry for Pip, and lets us see we can trust Pip, because he himself trusts everyone and does not doubt anyone. We can read this book and see life through a nai ve young boys eyes, and feel we are being told the absolute truth. This is the power of Dickens writing- we believe the protagonist, and feel it would wrong not to believe him.

Causes of Dyslexia

Causes of Dyslexia Possible Causes of Dyslexia Dyslexia is a learning disability that causes reading and language difficulties, in terms of spoken or written. Today, there are many researches actively taking place regarding the fundamental causes of dyslexia (Temple, 2002; Ramus 2001; 2003) and a number of possibilities are beginning to emerge but the specific cause is yet to be discovered. However, there are several theories proposed by specialist doctors and researchers and also some evidence which can help in clarifying the origin of this condition and they believed that these are the possible causes which are genetic inheritance, neurological differences, phonological disorder and last but not least, hearing problem. Genetic Inheritance Dyslexia is inherited in families, and is often accompanied by left-handedness which believed by most of the researchers. However, it also cannot be generalized that all dyslexic parent will have a dyslexic child or a left-handed child will have dyslexia, yet according to them, it can identified that between a third and a half of children who have learning difficulties’ history and more than half who have a family member who is left-handed are dyslexic people. That inherited genes run in the family have a defect that will cause a problem with the development of a particular kind of nerve cell in the brain. The defects in that genes which associated with problems in reading performance are known as DCDC2. It was found by a team at the Yale School of Medicine which also reported that this defective gene appears to interact with KIAA0319, a second dyslexia gene. In the journal Dyslexia, Dutch scientists reported that dyslexia is a highly heritable learning disorder that has a complex genetic architecture. They also added that they can identified several candidate genes which related to the reading performance that may contribute to dyslexia susceptibility. Fortunately, there are many researches are carried out in the recent years due to the advancement of technology in brain-scanning. With that, they are able to examine and compare the brain of dyslexic and non-dyslexic children. For comparison, the researchers have detected that bunch of cells are found beneath the surface of dyslexic children’s brain which lie on the surface in the brain of non-dyslexic children. These cells are supposedly moving when the brain was developing in the foetus which is to the surface of the brain but they failed and these defected cells are known as ectopic cells (like an ectopic pregnancy, where the egg fails to reach the womb and is fertilized in the Fallopian tube). They can be found mostly in the front and left area of the brain which are very important for reading and writing ability. Besides that, they also traced that an area of the brain named magno-cellular system is smaller where it deals with the ability to see moving images. Due to thi s, dyslexic children will have difficulties in reading process, where the brain has to interpret the different letters and words at a faster rate as they scan words and sentences with their eyes. Neurological Differences Neurological or brain differences is the cause of dyslexia where right hemisphere of the brain is larger than non-dyslexic children and they are having strong activity in the right side of their brain. Due to that, dyslexic children are always known to have significant strengths in areas which controlled by the right side of the brain such as musical talent, artistic, athletic and many more. Because of that, they are engaging this area frequently while performing language tasks. However, language tasks are known to be most efficiently performed in the left side of the brain. These differences lead to dyslexia which consists of structural and functional brain differences. Firstly, in structural, the brain is made up mainly of two types of material which are gray matter and white matter. Gray matter can be found at the lower part of the brain whereas white matter is within the deeper parts of the brain. Gray and white matter are composed of nerve cells and connective fibers covered in myelin, the coating designed to facilitate communication between nerves respectively. The primary function of gray matter is processing information while white matter is responsible for transferring information around the brain. According to Booth and Burman (2001), they found that children with dyslexia have less gray matter in the left parietotemporal area than non-dyslexic individuals. This could lead to problems processing of the sound structure of language (phonological awareness). Furthermore, it can be said that dyslexic children who have less white matter in this same area, which is important as more white matter is correlated with increased reading skill (Deutsch, Dougherty, Bammer, Siok, Gabrieli, Wandell, 2005). If the white matter is less, the ability or efficiency of the regions of the brain to communicate with one another is less as well. In functional brain differences, Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) is known as a method that measures physiological signs of neural activation using a strong magnet to pinpoint blood flow. This technique is called functional because participants perform tasks while in (or under) the magnet, allowing measurement of the functioning brain rather than the activity of the brain at rest. Several studies using functional imaging techniques that compared the brain activation patterns of readers with and without dyslexia show potentially important patterns of differences. For example, a research is carried out by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Boston Childrens’ Hospital where 40 children had their brains’ scanned using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). They also had their pre-reading skills assessed. The children are at the age where they are the beginners in reading process. The brain scans were looking at the arcuate fasciculus (a junction that connects the areas of the brain responsible for written and spoken language). From the study, it can be identified that the more robust this brain section in children, the more likely they are to perform well on the pre-reading test of phonological awareness. Phonological Disorder Usually, for regular children, they have the ability to understand spoken language which can be acquired easily and naturally from a very early age. Regular children are able to recognize the letters that make up a word, and then use them to identify the phonemes, and put them together to make sense of the word in terms of reading and writing. However, according to theNational Health Service, reading and writing is difficult for dyslexic children because of phonological processing impairment. They have troubles in recognizing phonemes and therefore, they have to struggle in order to connect the sound and the letter symbol for that sound and also to blend sounds into words. It is most prominent in their native languages with a great deal of irregularity of spelling, such as Malay, English and others. For example, the word ‘dog’ can be broken down into three phonemes. This is, of course, a three letter word made up of three phonemes. However the word ‘read’ is a four letter word that only has three phonemes. This creates confusion when dealing with the smallest units of speech sound (phonemes). Moreover, dyslexic children mostly have poor short term verbal memory which is a very common cognitive difficulty. Usually, regular children use verbal memory to blend sounds in words together when reading them for the first time. This is why an inability to read non-words (made up words) is one of the strongest signs of phonological dyslexia. Problems with short term verbal memory naturally lead to difficulties with long-term verbal memory. For example, dyslexics may often forget the names of people they have met before or the words that they learned in two days before. This shown that short-term memory also influences their phonological processing. Besides that, it can be seen that for a children with dyslexia, it takes them a lot of time to sound out a word. They are typically have trouble in spelling and expressing themselves in writing and even speaking. The phonological disorder theory is one of explanation for possible cause of dyslexia. The fact that the majority of dyslexic children have problems with verbal short term memory adds weight to the theory of phonological disorder. Indeed, they are struggling in phonological processing. Hearing Problem Hearing problem is one of the least possible causes of dyslexia. The researchers believed that if a child suffers frequent colds and throat infections during their early age, range from 1 to 5 year, the ears will be blocked from time to time and eventually it leads to hearing problem. This condition is known as glue ear or conductive hearing loss. The parents of the child should take this into account as it will affect the developing brain that links the sound it hears. At this point, the learning of sounds and words are essential in developing their ability to handle and link the sound to language and text as well. If they cannot hear clearly, they will be unable to hear the difference between words like pin and thin, or fan and van. The lack of clear hearing will also delay the childs phonemic awareness the ability to hear that words are made up of smaller sounds and syllables, like c-a-t, or in-ter-est-ing. Therefore, to be safe, a corrective action should be taken at a very early age to prevent the phonemic problem of their children as it causes lifelong difficulties which may lead to dyslexia. Conclusion In this research study, it can be concluded that working memory skills affect dyslexic children in terms of reading, writing and spelling as there is research that stated children who have problem in reading may have severe working memory deficits. They are unable to store the informations for a long time but for dyslexic children, they may forget about it the next day. However, teaching methods or strategies are employed by the educator in Pacific Speech Therapy and Learning Centre in order to attract their attentions such as playing games, reading from books, guessing based on pictures, constructing sentences and recognizing syllables. The children are also taught individually which is between the teacher and the student only. The instructions for students with learning differences are to be explicit, systematic, structured and multisensory. There are many researches carried out by specialist doctors and researchers regarding dyslexia which lead to possible causes of dyslexia. There are four possible causes where they believed that these are the famous and found by most of the researchers which are genetic inheritance, neurological differences, phonological disorder and last but not least, hearing problem. These are connected to each other as the genetic inheritance are the root of the cause as it plays an important role of brain development and it goes on and on to hearing problem which is certainly true. However, the specific cause is yet to be discovered and still remains unclear. Regarding to the effects of dyslexia, it may varies according to the severity of dyslexia and success of the therapy followed by them. There is no cure for dyslexia as it is a specific learning disorder which need supports from educational institutes to improve on their reading, learning and spelling skills, it can be done in a special educations lessons and with the right and appropriate therapeutic methods bound with differences of each dyslexic individual, the difficulties faced by them can be reduced. References Kaufman, Lorna N., PH.D., and Pamela Hook, PH.D.,The Dyslexia Puzzle: Putting The Pieces Together, Newton, Mass. International Dyslexia Society, New England branch, 1998. Carrion-Castillo, A., Franke, B. and Fisher, S. E. (2013), Molecular Genetics of Dyslexia: An Overview. Dyslexia, 19:214–240. Snowling, M. J. (2000).Dyslexia. Blackwell Publishing. http://www.solasbt7.com/Causes-of-Dyslexia-6809.html Appendix Figure 1 Figure 2

Activist Reflector Theorist And Pragmatist Education Essay

Activist Reflector Theorist And Pragmatist Education Essay First of all, activists learning style engage oneself totally without unfairness in fresh ideals. It makes them passionate concerning everything new. They like to have a go, plenty of variety and try things out and participate. Theorists always like concepts and models. They choose to be perfectionists who will not take it easy until things are well organised. They like to see the overall picture and structure. Moreover, pragmatists are eager on experimenting ideas, skills and theories to see if that will work in practice. They completely look out for new ideas and acquire the first chance toward testing applications. Lastly, reflectors are fond of reserved to deliberate on experiences and examine them from numerous perspectives. They gather information first hand and like to reflect about it carefully prior to conclusion (Honey and Mumford 2006). Furthermore, majority of people have a preference in relating to participating in, taking in and processing report to permit individuals to learn. People take on diverse learning styles where best allows them to learn more excellent way. So far, there has been a huge test with the aim to change a persons learning style. Conversely, students and a lot of professionals note down that, learning achieved from practical experience are far better than in lectures. Making certain that, any student that has a good learning outcome, it is imperative that the learning setting is sensibly and competently helpful to everyone learning within it. Nursing training adds high price on knowledge in the clinical environment; the quality of these clinical setting has a considerable influence on learning process for student nurses (Fritz 2002). Honey and Mumford (2006) added that, though lots of individual had two or more learning styles, they may also have a one preference style. To guarantee myself a good learning experience on placement, it is essential for me as student nurse to be conscious about all preferred learning style, as this is crucial element for nursing program. When I was in placement, I observe my mentor, like to work as an activist and as student nurse, I adept her learning style. Seeing that in placement, the mentor acts as a teacher. It is then required for a student nurse to mature into the progress of their learning needs (Morton-Cooper and Palmer 2000). Having said that, the Honey and Mumford questionnaire scoreà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s me as someone with a high reflector mindset. I consent with the greater part of the report of a reflector, which totally confirms me. For Reflectors, before action is taking, they think about things very cautiously. Due to the style of my learning, I like to listen and observe my colleagues in groups but would not get myself involve with any kind of groupà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s sessions. For me to learn effectively and successfully on this programme, I have some assurance that, if I change some of my ways and practice a style likes an activist, it will help me approach things differently and overcome some of my weakness. Hence, encourage me to get involved in any forms group sessions (Honey and Mumford, 2006). In spite of my weakness, I am a very attentive person, as this is one of the potentials of a reflector. I totally consent along this because I constantly akin to pay attention to each person in the group attentively. The opportunity of gaining from diverse viewpoint and different angles has help with my findings. Nonetheless, a likely weakness that I have found within me as a reflector is that, I take too long in doing certain duties. For instance, all through my previous assignment, I spent lengthy time to finish it, because my preparation stage took me a long time to get ready. I used up a long time in searching for ideas prior to starting my assignment, this may be due to me, being extra careful on how am going to write this assignment. Even though, this brings out my careful mindset, I do not have the same opinion with the report that someone who is reflector does not take risks. I sometimes like to tread out of my ease to experience new things I have never done before to expand my knowledge. For instance, I chose to leave my home and common environment in London to study in Hertfordshire. The more relaxed and secure a student feels inside the surroundings, there is expectation that the learning outcome, become successful (Kenworthy and Nicklin 2000). On the other hand, as a student nurse, it is essential to know that, at present we have diverse learning theories and styles to think about. There has been writing down concerning the means in which people learn and many theories on the ways of effectively learning. The talk was that, Behaviorism, Cognitive and Humanism are the key theories. In terms of Humanistic theory, it is build on faith that individual possess two essential desires, a call for development and a call for good view through others. It also shows as the most holistic approach because it is interested in the way in which it compels and inspires a person to learn. These theories too relay on largely on the pressure of the surroundings that might hold back or assist the learning path. Behaviorism theory, the learning surroundings is essential to knowledge, and if these surroundings are perfect, learning comes, as links are made with encouragement, feedback and support. The Cognitive theory indicate learning like an in ternal procedure that include high order rational actions like remembrance, thoughts, analytic, insight and way of thinking (Reece and Walker 2003). However, as it is vital for me to enhance my learning skill as a reflector. I have planned a number of ways to help me succeed on this programme. As my weaker style is activist, the initial part of my plan is to create opportunities to initiate and to participate and have fun in group discussion in class. These will give me a head up, as to situation that will possibly require action without planning in lectures. It has been noted that discovery of learning strategies in union with person learner preferences is key action in keeping and developing the value of learning programme. The improved potential learning opportunity and result gain from such discovery might have a supportive impact on me as a student nurse (Bastable 2003). Besides, when I become conscious of my preferred learning style and the teaching style of my mentor in practice is different. I work out an action plan to support myself and to go on to succeed in this practice, I have to support my weaker style to get used to classroom environment by accepting my preferred learning style, though I am Reflector learner. Nevertheless, research establishes that, growing variety of tuition means used, have not been connected with an enhancement knowledge result. However, the truth is that, throughout developing studentsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ understanding of their individual learning style, student are enhanced to take charge for their own learning, which improved their learning results (Fritz 2002). Upon reflection, I think learning styles assist me to recognise myself and allow me to identify how to develop myself. With the assessment outcome, I discern and know myself better and have learned from different learning styles. This has thought me why understanding of learning styles is useful to me as a student nurse. Reflection can be use to evaluate, realisation and study through our live experience. Reflective practice is another means you can gain knowledge from experience. In terms of training for healthcare professions, it is identified as a fundamental instrument intended for students to build the relations connecting theory and practice. As a student nurse, it is important for me to realise the worth of reflecting upon my experiences in learning to enhance my prospect studies (Jasper 2003). In conclusion, all the way through this module, I boast of higher comprehension and important consciousness of different learning styles. I have been confident towards my own prefer learning style; hence enable me toward completely support myself in my weaker style. Understanding learning styles has undoubtedly revealed the force that it can have on me as student nurse. I currently believe that, I am more prepared to incorporate my preferred learning styles into practice.

Society’s Expectations of a Female’s Body Image Essay -- Media Health

Society’s Expectations of a Female’s Body Image Society plays many roles in peoples’ lives. The biggest role that society plays with females is how they should appear. All over the television, movies, and different magazine covers, females come into view as looking very thin and beautiful. People that see these famous females begin to idealize that body image. The male gender also visualizes these famous females and thinks that all females should have this slender appearance. As the year 2000 rolled in, actresses and models’ body weight decreased, and their waiflike bodies became more noticeable in the public’s eyes. Many little girls grow up idealizing the people in the public eye, giving them the idea that they must look a certain way, which is not a healthy way. These little girls grow up to become teenagers and then discover adulthood. The image that they grew up visualizing only worsens when they hit puberty and their bodies go through drastic changes, which makes them realize their bodies do not look like the people they grew up bearing in mind. When females realize they will not be able to accomplish the same body that the famous acquire, they become very self-conscious and some even develop eating disorders. The media’s role in self-images has greatly affected the way people perceive themselves in today’s society. In this paper, I will discuss the different rhetorical techniques that six diverse authors use to get their point across to the reader. All of the articles that I had analyzed used pathos as a technique. There were two of the six articles that used ethos as a method. These two articles were Slim Pickings by David Butler and Do You Have a Body Image Problem? by Dr. Katharine A... ...beartoe.com/Brandi/Essay.htm>. â€Å"Expectation of a Fashion Model† discusses the aspects of how a model must look in order to get hired and how it plays a role in society’s aspects of how a female should look. The author mainly uses the social side of the pathos appeal. She discusses the social aspects of being thin. This article will play a role in my paper because it gives another social appeal to this topic. Thompson, Colleen. "Society and Eating Disorders." Mirror-Mirror. February 15, 2000. <http://www.mirror-mirror.org/society.htm. Thompson’s article discusses how society instills the image that females must look a certain way and it then leads to an eating disorder. The author also uses pathos to get her point across to the reader. This article will help by also discussing different eating disorders and how people end up having them.

Essay --

Manufacturing process of CLAY BRICKS Most bricks are formed by one of two basic processes. Extrusion Fairly stiffed texture is mixed with clay body which is loaded into extruder worm screw force it into a die through pushing it along a barrel .depending upon how much clay will shrink in drying and firing process the die is made larger considering this The clay emerges as a continuous brick shaped column. Initially this is smooth but it can be modified by removing a thin sliver from the top and sides using a taught wire to produce a ‘wiredrag’ effect or by placing textured rollers over the column to create a rusticated effect or even by blasting the column with sand. The clay column is then cut into single bricks and palletised ready for the dryers or in some factories, are loaded directly onto kiln cars. Extruded bricks can be solid but cannot be frogged & are generally perforated. Soft mud moulding Soft mud moulding Bricks are constituted in mould boxes through some number of processes . Many methods can be applied but all have a common theme. A mould release medium stops the clay from sticking to the box (sand, oil or water) when soft clay is thrown into a mould,. The bricks are turned out & the excess clay is stuck off from the top of the mould. This is done by hand by a craftsman who would create one brick at a moment. This is slow, expensive & labour intensive used In these days only for generating special shapes or decorative bricks. For standard bricks large automated machines can be replicated the hand-making procedure much quicker by taking use of banks of mould boxes on a circuit where the boxes are filled with pre sanded clots of clay, washed, sanded struck off level and the formed brick turned out.... ...re than 60 F/h by introducing steam standard weight is generally cured at 150-165 F , whereas light weight at 170-185F . After reaching curing temperature steam flow is shut down .blocks are then left for soak in moist hot air for 12 – 18 hours. After this block is left for drying by exhausting moist air and further increasing the temperature of kiln which took about 24 hours. 2) High pressure kiln pressure (autoclave) –temperature is generally higher about 300-375 F and pressure is 80-185 psi block is left to soak for 10 hours , pressure is then decreased rapidly , because of which trapped moisture of block is released quickly. It is more costly process but it takes less time. References http://www.madehow.com/Volume-3/Concrete-Block.html http://dcmsme.gov.in/reports/glass/HollowBricks.pdf http://www.ibstock.com/pdfs/technical-support/TIS16Howbricksaremade.pdf

Management and Leadership Skills Essay -- Business, Conflicts, Leaders

Introduction Management and leadership skills in nursing and other healthcare professions are becoming a more and more widely spoken of subject, as they are essential skills for everyday practice in delivering care (Gopee and Galloway, 2009). Effective management requires the nurse to be able to draw on evidence based knowledge and experience to develop the ability to manage competently during practice. Skills without knowledge, appropriate attitude and understanding will not equate to competency (Watson, 2002). This piece of work will critically explore the theories about management and leadership in health care. At the beginning it will provide a base understanding of both topics and accountability importance. It will then concentrate on management of conflict, which could be seen in the clinical setting scenario from my current placement area. It will demonstrate how the use of conflict management theories can be helpful and how I behaved in the role of a manager. Also different leadership styles involved during this conflict situation will be analysed with use of evidence-based literature. To address the subject of confidentiality as per the Nursing & Midwifery Council guidelines (NMC, 2008), no names or exact location of the hospital placement will be mentioned. Conflict management and leadership Murray and Dicroce (2003) suggest that management is a process that uses resources to achieve specific goals effectively; basic management functions including planning, organising, coordinating, directing and controlling. The term of manager can be appointed to the person to plan, organise, coordinate, supervise, negotiate, evaluate and use resources available in the best way possible to achieve the best service. Alternativ... ...ively, nurses should not only have sufficient evidence-based knowledge and skills, but also a caring and compassionate attitude. This essay presented a scenario, which at first, may have seemed to be trivial. However, it offered a clear presentation of conflict between two members of staff, manager and staff nurse, with me being a learner manager trying to resolve the issue. I have developed knowledge about conflict management theory, especially the importance of trying to achieve a win-win situation between the two different leadership styles, to be precise, autocratic and democratic. It was not an easy task to manage a conflict situation as a learner, but acquiring this new knowledge and experience has helped me to build my confidence and identify not only my strengths, but also weaknesses, which I am going to work on in the future as a newly qualified nurse.

My Lord the Baby – a Story by Rabindra Nath Tagore on the Case of Rai Charann

I Raicharan was twelve years old when he came as a servant to his master's house. He belonged to the same caste as his master, and was given his master's little son to nurse. As time went on the boy left Raicharan's arms to go to school. From school he went on to college, and after college he entered the judicial service. Always, until he married, Raicharan was his sole attendant. But, when a mistress came into the house, Raicharan found two masters instead of one. All his former influence passed to the new mistress. This was compensated for by a fresh arrival. Anukul had a son born to him, and Raicharan by his unsparing attentions soon got a complete hold over the child. He used to toss him up in his arms, call to him in absurd baby language, put his face close to the baby's and draw it away again with a grin. Presently the child was able to crawl and cross the doorway. When Raicharan went to catch him, he would scream with mischievous laughter and make for safety. Raicharan was amazed at the profound skill and exact judgment the baby showed when pursued. He would say to his mistress with a look of awe and mystery: â€Å"Your son will be a judge some day. † New wonders came in their turn. When the baby began to toddle, that was to Raicharan an epoch in human history. When he called his father Ba-ba and his mother Ma-ma and Raicharan Chan-na, then Raicharan's ecstasy knew no bounds. He went out to tell the news to all the world. After a while Raicharan was asked to show his ingenuity in other ways. He had, for instance, to play the part of a horse, holding the reins between his teeth and prancing with his feet. He had also to wrestle with his little charge, and if he could not, by a wrestler's trick, fall on his back defeated at the end, a great outcry was certain. About this time Anukul was transferred to a district on the banks of the Padma. On his way through Calcutta he bought his son a little go-cart. He bought him also a yellow satin waistcoat, a gold-laced cap, and some gold bracelets and anklets. Raicharan was wont to take these out, and put them on his little charge with ceremonial pride, whenever they went for a walk. Then came the rainy season, and day after day the rain poured down in torrents. The hungry river, like an enormous serpent, swallowed down terraces, villages, cornfields, and covered with its flood the tall grasses and wild casuarinas on the sand-banks. From time to time there was a deep thud, as the river-banks crumbled. The unceasing roar of the rain current could be beard from far away. Masses of foam, carried swiftly past, proved to the eye the swiftness of the stream. One afternoon the rain cleared. It was cloudy, but cool and bright. Raicharan's little despot did not want to stay in on such a fine afternoon. His lordship climbed into the go-cart. Raicharan, between the shafts, dragged him slowly along till he reached the rice-fields on the banks of the river. There was no one in the fields, and no boat on the stream. Across the water, on the farther side, the clouds were rifted in the west. The silent ceremonial of the setting sun was revealed in all its glowing splendour. In the midst of that stillness the child, all of a sudden, pointed with his finger in front of him and cried: â€Å"Chan-nal Pitty fow. † Close by on a mud-flat stood a large Kadamba tree in full flower. My lord, the baby, looked at it with greedy eyes, and Raicharan knew his meaning. Only a short time before he had made, out of these very flower balls, a small go-cart; and the child had been so entirely happy dragging it about with a string, that for the whole day Raicharan was not made to put on the reins at all. He was promoted from a horse into a groom. But Raicharan had no wish that evening to go splashing knee-deep through the mud to reach the flowers. So he quickly pointed his finger in the opposite direction, calling out: â€Å"Oh, look, baby, look! Look at the bird. † And with all sorts of curious noises he pushed the go-cart rapidly away from the tree. But a child, destined to be a judge, cannot be put off so easily. And besides, there was at the time nothing to attract his eyes. And you cannot keep up for ever the pretence of an imaginary bird. The little Master's mind was made up, and Raicharan was at his wits' end. â€Å"Very well, baby,† he said at last, â€Å"you sit still in the cart, and I'll go and get you the pretty flower. Only mind you don't go near the water. † As he said this, he made his legs bare to the knee, and waded through the oozing mud towards the tree. The moment Raicharan had gone, his little Master went off at racing speed to the forbidden water. The baby saw the river rushing by, splashing and gurgling as it went. It seemed as though the disobedient wavelets themselves were running away from some greater Raicharan with the laughter of a thousand children. At the sight of their mischief, the heart of the human child grew excited and restless. He got down stealthily from the go-cart and toddled off towards the river. On his way he picked up a small stick, and leant over the bank of the stream pretending to fish. The mischievous fairies of the river with their mysterious voices seemed inviting him into their play-house. Raicharan had plucked a handful of flowers from the tree, and was carrying them back in the end of his cloth, with his face wreathed in smiles. But when he reached the go-cart, there was no one there. He looked on all sides and there was no one there. He looked back at the cart and there was no one there. In that first terrible moment his blood froze within him. Before his eyes the whole universe swam round like a dark mist. From the depth of his broken heart he gave one piercing cry; â€Å"Master, Master, little Master. † But no voice answered â€Å"Chan-na. † No child laughed mischievously back; no scream of baby delight welcomed his return. Only the river ran on, with its splashing, gurgling noise as before,–as though it knew nothing at all, and had no time to attend to such a tiny human event as the death of a child. As the evening passed by Raicharan's mistress became very anxious. She sent men out on all sides to search. They went with lanterns in their hands, and reached at last the banks of the Padma. There they found Raicharan rushing up and down the fields, like a stormy wind, shouting the cry of despair: â€Å"Master, Master, little Master! † When they got Raicharan home at last, he fell prostrate at his mistress's feet. They shook him, and questioned him, and asked him repeatedly where he had left the child; but all he could say was, that he knew nothing. Though every one held the opinion that the Padma had swallowed the child, there was a lurking doubt left in the mind. For a band of gipsies had been noticed outside the village that afternoon, and some suspicion rested on them. The mother went so far in her wild grief as to think it possible that Raicharan himself had stolen the child. She called him aside with piteous entreaty and said: â€Å"Raicharan, give me back my baby. Oh ! ive me back my child. Take from me any money you ask, but give me back my child! † Raicharan only beat his forehead in reply. His mistress ordered him out of the house. Artukul tried to reason his wife out of this wholly unjust suspicion: â€Å"Why on earth,† he said, â€Å"should he commit such a crime as that? † The mother only replied: â€Å"The baby had gold ornaments on his body. Who knows? â₠¬  It was impossible to reason with her after that. II Raicharan went back to his own village. Up to this time he had had no son, and there was no hope that any child would now be born to him. But it came about before the end of a year that his wife gave birth to a son and died. All overwhelming resentment at first grew up in Raicharan's heart at the sight of this new baby. At the back of his mind was resentful suspicion that it had come as a usurper in place of the little Master. He also thought it would be a grave offence to be happy with a son of his own after what had happened to his master's little child. Indeed, if it had not been for a widowed sister, who mothered the new baby, it would not have lived long. But a change gradually came over Raicharan's mind. A wonderful thing happened. This new baby in turn began to crawl about, and cross the doorway with mischief in its face. It also showed an amusing cleverness in making its escape to safety. Its voice, its sounds of laughter and tears, its gestures, were those of the little Master. On some days, when Raicharan listened to its crying, his heart suddenly began thumping wildly against his ribs, and it seemed to him that his former little Master was crying somewhere in the unknown land of death because he had lost his Chan-na. Phailna (for that was the name Raicharan's sister gave to the new baby) soon began to talk. It learnt to say Ba-ba and Ma-ma with a baby accent. When Raicharan heard those familiar sounds the mystery suddenly became clear. The little Master could not cast off the spell of his Chan-na, and therefore he had been reborn in his own house. The arguments in favour of this were, to Raicharan, altogether beyond dispute: (i. ) The new baby was born soon after his little master's death. (ii. ) His wife could never have accumulated such merit as to give birth to a son in middle age. (iii. ) The new baby walked with a toddle and called out Ba-ba and Ma- ma. There was no sign lacking which marked out the future judge. Then suddenly Raicharan remembered that terrible accusation of the mother. â€Å"Ah,† he said to himself with amazement, â€Å"the mother's heart was right. She knew I had stolen her child. † When once he had come to this conclusion, he was filled with remorse for his past neglect. He now gave himself over, body and soul, to the new baby, and became its devoted attendant. He began to bring it up, as if it were the son of a rich man. He bought a go-cart, a yellow satin waistcoat, and a gold- embroidered cap. He melted down the ornaments of his dead wife, and made gold bangles and anklets. He refused to let the little child play with any one of the neighbourhood, and became himself its sole companion day and night. As the baby grew up to boyhood, he was so petted and spoilt and clad in such finery that the village children would call him â€Å"Your Lordship,† and jeer at him; and older people regarded Raicharan as unaccountably crazy about the child. At last the time came for the boy to go to school. Raicharan sold his small piece of land, and went to Calcutta. There he got employment with great difficulty as a servant, and sent Phailna to school. He spared no pains to give him the best education, the best clothes, the best food. Meanwhile he lived himself on a mere handful of rice, and would say in secret: â€Å"Ah! my little Master, my dear little Master, you loved me so much that you came back to my house. You shall never suffer from any neglect of mine. † Twelve years passed away in this manner. The boy was able to read and write well. He was bright and healthy and good-looking. He paid a great deal of attention to his personal appearance, and was specially careful in parting his hair. He was inclined to extravagance and finery, and spent money freely. He could never quite look on Raicharan as a father, because, though fatherly in affection, he had the manner of a servant. A further fault was this, that Raicharan kept secret from every one that himself was the father of the child. The students of the hostel, where Phailna was a boarder, were greatly amused by Raicharan's country manners, and I have to confess that behind his father's back Phailna joined in their fun. But, in the bottom of their hearts, all the students loved the innocent and tender-hearted old man, and Phailna was very fond of him also. But, as I have said before, he loved him with a kind of condescension. Raicharan grew older and older, and his employer was continually finding fault with him for his incompetent work. He had been starving himself for the boy's sake. So he had grown physically weak, and no longer up to his work. He would forget things, and his mind became dull and stupid. But his employer expected a full servant's work out of him, and would not brook excuses. The money that Raicharan had brought with him from the sale of his land was exhausted. The boy was continually grumbling about his clothes, and asking for more money. Raicharan made up his mind. He gave up the situation where he was working as a servant, and left some money with Phailna and said: â€Å"I have some business to do at home in my village, and shall be back soon. † He went off at once to Baraset where Anukul was magistrate. Anukul's wife was still broken down with grief. She had had no other child. One day Anukul was resting after a long and weary day in court. His wife was buying, at an exorbitant price, a herb from a mendicant quack, which was said to ensure the birth of a child. A voice of greeting was heard in the courtyard. Anukul went out to see who was there. It was Raicharan. Anukul's heart was softened when he saw his old servant. He asked him many questions, and offered to take him back into service. Raicharan smiled faintly, and said in reply; â€Å"I want to make obeisance to my mistress. † Anukul went with Raicharan into the house, where the mistress did not receive him as warmly as his old master. Raicharan took no notice of this, but folded his hands, and said: â€Å"It was not the Padma that stole your baby. It was I. † Anukul exclaimed: â€Å"Great God! Eh! What! Where is he ? â€Å"Raicharan replied: â€Å"He is with me, I will bring him the day after to-morrow. † It was Sunday. There was no magistrate's court sitting. Both husband and wife were looking expectantly along the road, waiting from early morning for Raicharan's appearance. At ten o'clock he came, leading Phailna by the hand. Anukul's wife, without a question, took the boy into her lap, and was wild with ex citement, sometimes laughing, sometimes weeping, touching him, kissing his hair and his forehead, and gazing into his face with hungry, eager eyes. The boy was very good-looking and dressed like a gentleman's son. The heart of Anukul brimmed over with a sudden rush of affection. Nevertheless the magistrate in him asked: â€Å"Have you any proofs? â€Å"Raicharan said: â€Å"How could there be any proof of such a deed? God alone knows that I stole your boy, and no one else in the world. † When Anukul saw how eagerly his wife was clinging to the boy, he realised the futility of asking for proofs. It would be wiser to believe. And then–where could an old man like Raicharan get such a boy from? And why should his faithful servant deceive him for nothing? â€Å"But,† he added severely, â€Å"Raicharan, you must not stay here. † â€Å"Where shall I go, Master? † said Raicharan, in a choking voice, folding his hands; â€Å"I am old. Who will take in an old man as a servant? † The mistress said: â€Å"Let him stay. My child will be pleased. I forgive him. † But Anukul's magisterial conscience would not allow him. â€Å"No,† he said, â€Å"he cannot be forgiven for what he has done. † Raicharan bowed to the ground, and clasped Anukul's feet. â€Å"Master,† he cried, â€Å"let me stay. It was not I who did it. It was God. Anukul's conscience was worse stricken than ever, when Raicharan tried to put the blame on God's shoulders. â€Å"No,† he said, â€Å"I could not allow it. I cannot trust you any more. You have done an act of treachery. † Raicharan rose to his feet and said: â€Å"It was not I who did it. â €  â€Å"Who was it then? † asked Anukul. Raicharan replied: â€Å"It was my fate. † But no educated man could take this for an excuse. Anukul remained obdurate. When Phailna saw that he was the wealthy magistrate's son, and not Raicharan's, be was angry at first, thinking that he had been cheated all this time of his birthright. But seeing Raicharan in distress, he generously said to his father: â€Å"Father, forgive him. Even if you don't let him live with us, let him have a small monthly pension. † After hearing this, Raicharan did not utter another word. He looked for the last time on the face of his son; he made obeisance to his old master and mistress. Then he went out, and was mingled with the numberless people of the world. At the end of the month Anukul sent him some money to his village. But the money came back. There was no one there of the name of Raicharan.

How can we overcome the limitations of financial statements?

Financial statements are an important source of information to multiple groups of people. These people may belong within the organization or they may be outsiders. The internal users of financial statement include managers, financial analysts, CFOs and accountants. Whereas external users may include government agencies, such as tax agencies and the securities and exchange commission, financial consultants, investors, creditors, etc. Now there are certain limitations that financial statements have, and this may cause problems in making intra and inter-company comparisons. In order to minimize or overcome the short-comings of financial statements investors, accountants, CFOs have all developed different analytical tools and techniques. For internal users, especially managers, performance measures have played a significant role in minimizing the effects of these limitations. Analysts now use tools that aid in valuing company’s performance beyond financial results, bringing factors like leadership, patents, specialized workforce, brands and human resources into the picture. Technology has removed a lot of barriers, especially with respect to finance, as companies today are also implementing financial data warehouses the use of which makes it a lot easier for organizations and individuals to make decisions that are logical and in most cases correct. Moreover, some companies are also voluntarily disclosing information about their strategy, key success factors and their management objectives in supplements to their financial statements. This gives the investors, creditors, and other external users of financial statements more of an idea of what the firm is about and where it may be standing in a couple of years from now. REFERENCE Helfert, Erich A. (2001). Financial Analysis Tools and Techniques: A Guide For Managers. McGraw-Hill. Â  

History of biomaterials

Earlier surgical procedures, whether they Involved bimetallism or not, were generally unsuccessful as a result of infection Bimetallism, Joyce Y Wong and Joseph D Brannon (Deeds), CRY press, Boca Orator, FL, 2007 3 asses: Bone plates were Introduced to lad In the fixation of long-bone fractures. Many of these early plates broke as a result of unsophisticated mechanical design; they were too thin and had stress-concentrating corners.Also, materials such as indium steel, which was chosen for its good mechanical properties corroded rapidly in the body and caused adverse effects on the healing processes asses: Stainless steels and cobalt chromium alloys were introduced and great success was achieved In fracture fixation, and soon Joint replacement surgeries were Bimetallism, Joyce Y Wong and Joseph D Bronzing (Deeds), CRY Press, Boca Orator, FL, 4 MAMA asses: During the World War II, it was found that pilots injured by fragments of plastic MAMA (polymath matriculate) aircraft canopy did not suffer adverse chronic reactions from the presence of the fragments in the body.MAMA became ideal used after that time for corneal replacement and for replacements of sections of damaged skull bones 1950-asses: Following further advances in materials and in surgical technique, blood vessel replacements were tried in asses and heart valve replacements and cemented Joint replacements in asses 5 Year Investigators Late 18-19th century Development Metal devices to fix bone fractures; wires and century pins from Fee, Au, Gag, and Opt 1860-1870 J. Leister Aseptic surgical techniques 1886 H.Huntsman 1893-1912 W. A. Lane Steel screws and plates (Lane fracture plate) 1912 W. D. Sherman Vanadium steel plates, first developed or medical use; lesser stress concentration and corrosion (Sherman 1924 A. A. Zeroed Introduced [email  protected] (Corm alloy) 1926 M. Z. Lange Introduced 18-cosmos stainless steel, better than 18-8 stainless steel 6 Used carpenter's screw for femoral neck fracture 1931 M. N. Smithereens First femoral neck fracture fixation device made of stainless steel 1936 C.S. Venerable, W. G. Stuck Introduced [email  protected] (19-9 stainless steel), later changed the material to Coir alloys 1938 P. Wiles First total hip replacement prosthesis 1939 J. C. Burch Introduced tantalum (Ta) ASSES M. J. Doreen, A. Franchisee First used replacement 1946 J. And R. Jude First phonemically designed femoral head replacement prosthesis. First plastics (MAMA) used acrylics (MAMA) corneal 7 1947 J. Cotton Introduced It and its alloys 1952 A.A leaflet in heart valve must flex 60 timer per minutes without tearing for the life time of a patient (10 years or more) 0 Bulk physical properties: The dialysis membrane has a specified permeability, the reticular cup of the hip Joint has a lubricity, and the intraocular lens has clarity and refraction requirements 13 Absorbability 0 Absorbability is the ability of a material to perform with an appropriate host response in a sp ecific application (Williams, 1987) 0 Thus, absorbability is the acceptance of a material by the surrounding tissues ND by the body as a whole. A objectionable material should not do exhibit following characteristics: (1) irritate the surrounding structures (2) provoke an abnormal inflammatory response (3) incite allergic or immunologic reactions (4) cause cancer 14 15 Performance of bimetallism the material properties, design, and absorbability of the material used, as well as other factors not under the control of the engineer, including the technique used by the surgeon, the health and condition of the patient, and the activities of the patient.If we can assign a numerical value f to the probability of allure of an implant, then the reliability can be expressed as r=l -f If, as is usually the case, there are multiple modes of failure, the total reliability art is given by the product of the individual reliabilities RL =(1 -FL),etc. Art=RL re 16 Inert and evocative bimetallism 0 I nitially (asses-asses) the bimetallic designed were inert (not reactive with the body) to decrease the potential for negative immune response to the implant 0 Later (asses), the concept of inert bimetallic was replaced with that of evocative bimetallism. The evocative material interact with the body in a positive manner to remote localized healing Bimetallism – The Intersection of Biology and Materials Science,AS Tenement and GAG Mikes, Prentice Hall, 2009 17 Hard and Soft tissue replacement bimetallism 0 Bimetallism scientists must have an appreciation of material science.A wide range of materials are routinely used and no researcher will be comfortable in synthesizing and designing with all these materials and therefore specialization is the rule 0 There is tendency to group bimetallism into hard tissue replacement bimetallism (metals, ceramics for use in orthopedic and dental materials) and soft tissue placement bimetallism (polymers) for cardiovascular and general plastic surgery 0 Division is arbitrary though 18 Market perspectives (2008) 0 Mostly used devices are replacement heart valves, synthetic vascular grafts, hip and knee replacement, heart lung machine, renal dialysis equipment, and bone and dental implants 0 About 100,000 replacement heart valves; 300,000 vascular grafts; and 500,000 artificial Joint replacements are carried out in the United States every year 19 Do it yourself? 0 Assume that a bone implant (bone plate) leads to calcification. Will you consider it an appropriate or inappropriate host response? 20

Public Examination Should Not Be Abolished Essay

While several states are implementing some form of standards-based reform, there is very little empirical evidence to prove that standards, assessment, and high-stakes accountability programs are effective in improving public schools. In many states, such as California, attempts to implement standards-based reform are inconsistently or carelessly aligned with quality research. The following are some of the shortcomings of standards-based reform. 1. Recent reports on the standards-based reform movement in New York suggest that in many schools the careless implementation of standards and assessment may have negative consequences for students. Vague and unclear standards in several subject areas in several states complicate matters and do not serve as concrete standards defining what students should know and be able to do. 3. Top-down standards imposed by the federal or state government are also problematic. They impose content specifications without taking into account the different needs, opportunities to learn, and skills that may be appropriate for specific districts or regions. Table 1: Advantages of SBA compared with external examinations Point Characteristics of SBA Characteristics of Exams Scope Extends the range and diversity of assessment collection opportunities, task types and assessors Much narrower range of assessment opportunities: less diverse assessment; one exam per year Authenticity Assessment done by students’ own teacher; less possibility of cheating as teacher knows student capabilities; assessments more likely to be realistic Removes assessment entirely from teaching and learning; stressful conditions may lead to students not demonstrating real capacities Validity Improves validity through assessing factors that cannot be included in public exam settings Limits validity by limiting scope of assessment, e. g. difficult to assess interaction skills in exam environment Reliability Improves reliability by having more than one assessment by a teacher who is familiar with the student; allows for multiple opportunities for assessor reflection/standardisation Even with double marking, examiners’ judgments can be affected by various factors (task difficulty, topic, interest level, tiredness, etc); little opportunity for assessor reflection / review Fairness Fairness is achieved by following commonly-agreed processes, outcomes and standards; teacher assumptions about students and their oral language levels is made explicit through collaborative sharing and discussion with other teachers Fairness can only be achieved by treating everyone the same, i. e. setting the same task at the same time for all students. Feedback Students can receive constructive feedback immediately after the assessment has finished, hence improving learning The only feedback is usually a grade at the end of the course; no opportunities for interaction with assessor; no chance to ask how to improve Positive washback (beneficial influence on teaching and learning) Ongoing assessment encourages students to work consistently; provides important data for evaluation of teaching and assessment practices in general Examination is purely summative, and does not serve any teaching-related purpose; effects on teaching and learning may even be negative; may encourage teaching to the test and a focus on exam technique, rather than outcomes. Teacher and student empowerment Teachers and students become part of the assessment process; collaboration and sharing of expertise take place within and across schools Teachers play little to no role in assessment of their students and have no opportunity to share their expertise or knowledge of their students; students treated as numbers Professional development Builds teacher assessment skills, which can be transferred to other areas of the curriculum Teachers have no opportunity to build their assessment skills; get little or no feedback on how to improve as teachers

The Future of Qualitative Research Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Future of Qualitative Research - Article Example Qualitative research has two tensions at the same time. Qualitative research is drawn in a broad, postmodern, feminist, interpretive and critical sensibility. Conversely, it can be drawn to a narrowly defined positivist, post-positivist, naturalistic and humanistic conceptions of human experiences and analysis.   There is a challenge of coping with the present. Salient features of critique are known very well. The fifth moment addresses problems in three approaches. Firstly, it continues to sharpen the critique and corrects its excesses. Like other scholarly domains, qualitative research has a tendency of moving from one intellectual design to another, from positivism to post-positivism, post-structuralism and postmodernism, semiotics and structuralism and so on.   Postmodern and poststructural arguments move away from textual authority and post-positivist model. The crisis of legitimation arose when social scientists and anthropologists addressed the authority of the text. Three quotes â€Å" Qualitative research is an interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary and sometimes counterdisciplinary field† â€Å"Qualitative research is many things at the same time† â€Å"Qualitative research embraces two tensions at the same time†   Applications for the education system, teaching, and learning The important philosophical issues the work raise is that the problem of representation will not go away. Since, at its center is an inner tension, contradiction, and continuous dialectic which not be resolved. Conversely, there is a concern for certainty or validity in the text as a type of authenticity and isomorphism.