How relevant are pluralist theories of the state in todays world Essay

How relevant are pluralist theories of the state in todays world - Essay Example With the practice of democracy in the United States as the principal basis of such a claim by pluralists, is it safe to say that equality under the law is enforced in the face of political, social, and religious diversity among men, and the conflicting interests of their representatives? Common sense, defined by Cambridge Dictionaries, as the â€Å"basic level of practical knowledge and judgment that we all need to help us live in a reasonable and safe way† is deemed the starting point of pluralism. As our forefathers labored their way towards civilization, they became conscious of the diversity among men in terms of philosophical and religious concepts, and learned the ways to make use of such reality in the acquisition of their basic needs and protection from the forces that they had no control over (Chaurasia 2001). With the assortment of interests taken into consideration, they began to acknowledge the role of each group representing those interests, and endeavored to pursue a common good. Religion is one aspect that confirmed the separate inclinations of men, and in fact a subject of many confrontations among races today. Although it introduces the supremacy of one God, Protestantism encompasses several denominations as a result of variations in the method its followers demonstrate the faith. Even Islam of the Arab communities, although practiced in almost uniformed way by the devotees, encompasses doctrines that are somehow construed inconsistently. However, even before their advent, pluralism of the deities has been prevalent amongst the indigenous population of the American territory. Professor Catherine Albanese of the University of California asserts that â€Å"the colonial period in U.S. history was marked by religious pluralism, as Native Americans, African slaves, and European settlers practiced their own diverse forms of religion†

Eth125 Diversity Worksheet Essay Example for Free

Eth125 Diversity Worksheet Essay 1. What is diversity? Why is diversity valued? Diversity is having variety. Diversity is valued because there are all sorts of ethnic groups, races, household income ranges, etc. Diversity can be classified as basically what runs our countries economy in a way if you just think about it. All these races and ethnic groups with a various range of incomes and the more money made, the more money spent, which in return boosts our economy. 2. What is ethnocentrism? In what ways can ethnocentrism be detrimental to a society? Ethnocentrism is the belief in the superiority of the nation or group to which someone belongs. It can be detrimental to society because there are groups and people out there that don’t believe that the nation is superior and that everyone just needs to live their own lives not caring about anyone else. Some people have a negative attitude towards superiority in the nation and it’s government as a result of what our government does and what it doesn’t do also. Like people think the government is trying to take everyones homes away from them as a result of the government raising property taxes which is just plain stupid because there are so many low income families that can’t afford property taxes as it is and there’s going to end up being a lot of bank owned homes all over the U.S. if they keep raising taxes and what not. That’s the perspective I have on it. 3. Define emigration and immigration. Emigration is when someone intentionally moves from their home country to permanently settle in another. Immigration is when someone or a group of people move into another country or region to which they are not native in order to settle there. 4. What are some of the ways groups of people are identified? Ways groups are identified are race, ethnicity, religion and gender. 5. Why do people label and group other people? People label and group other people in order to give them a distinct identity in the society. Labeling can be both positive and negative to the individual that is being labeled. 6. Define culture. Is culture limited to racial and ethnic backgrounds? Explain. Culture is the behaviors and beliefs that are characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group. No, culture is not limited to racial and ethnic backgrounds as its a multi-layered property of our societies and people from other cultures are also influenced by the many groups of people that make up the country.

History of the Internet :: Computer Network

A Free Net The Internet has revolutionized the communication world in unprecedented ways. It allows worldwide broadcasting, global distribution of information, and it is a medium for the interaction and communication of individuals without regard for geographic location. Thirty years ago, America?s principal Cold War think-tank, the RAND Corporation, faced a strategic dilemma: how could the United States authorities successfully communicate after a nuclear war? The solution was a network of individual nodes, computer units that would send and receive information in a random manner. If one area of nodes were destroyed the message would bounce between the others. After the Cold War ended, and the threat of nuclear war subsided, the potential for this ?internet? was realized. Of course, in the beginning, it was small and difficult to make use of, but as more corporations and different social groups began to possess powerful computers, the network grew and became more useful. As with the growth of fax machines in the early 1990?s, the Internet was only practical if someone else had one to communicate with. Today, the Internet has moved out of its original base in the military and research institutions and into schools and learning centers, public libraries and commercial sectors. It is now a vast system of millions of computers, not only corporate and military, but personal as well. The Internet can be used for the purpose of gathering information and communicating. The Internet enables users to surpass the distance barrier and Page 2 communicate with anyone on the face of the planet, provided that they have access to a computer. According to recent research, the world?s Internet population is only expanding. By the year 2002, it is estimated that 490 million people will have Internet access. At the end of this year, the United States will have 135.7 million users - that?s 36.2% of the total world users (CyberAtlas). Lately there has been another addition to the usefulness of the Internet, the sales of products and services. These transactions are known as e-commerce, the ?e? standing for electronic. In 1998 a three-year moratorium banned the taxing of Internet use and on- line spending. Currently, a new law is looking to extend this ban another five years. There are currently 7,500 state and local tax systems throughout the United States. These numbers could be significantly increased if state and local governments were able to tax e-commerce. On-line businesses would be buried in costly paperwork trying to meet the terms of conflicting tax clauses. Under the current system, it is difficult to determine the locality from which an order was placed and it is unclear where an Internet

The Standardized Testing Debate Essay -- High-Stakes Standardized Testi

Standardized testing is one of the most hotly debated topics in education. Experts in education have different views on the topic. Standardized testing refers to a testing method whereby students are subjected to the same assessment procedures set by examiners that intend to examine and score them as part of a wider student’s body. Standardized tests are of two kinds, the aptitude tests and the achievement tests. The aptitude test examines the students’ advanced skills or competency. Achievement tests evaluate students’ understanding in a formal educational institution and reviews their performance and understanding of key concepts. While evaluating the pros and cons of standard testing, it is evident that researchers and educators question whether it measures how effective the school taught the concepts to the student or whether it asses the students’ comprehension of the basic concepts taught. The articles under review define and explain the pros and co ns but fail to offer an alternative method of assessing students. Standardized testing brings a sense of accountability to both the teachers and the students. According to Derrick Meador, an industry expert, teachers have to deliver effectively in preparing students for the standardized testing. He also states that there is also the advantage of the results of the students going public. This puts pressure on the school as a whole because the results will be a reflection of how much effort they put in their schoolwork. This publicity also ensures that a teachers performance is evaluated and poses the risk of a teacher losing their job or the school being closed and given to the state (Meador, n.d.). Standardized testing makes it possible to create a clear qualitative compar... ...mprehension. Educators must standardize their curriculum however, a standardized universal curriculum does not consider each individual student’s environment. Researchers have show that the student’s comprehension is pegged on their environment. In addition, the pedagogy style employed is also dependent on the environment, which standardized testing does not consider. Works Cited Meador, Derrick . "Standardized Testing."About.com Teaching. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. . Popham, W. James. "Why standardized tests don't measure educational quality." Educational Leadership 56 (1999): 8-16. Ravitch, Diane.. "Ravitch: Standardized Testing Undermines Teaching." NPR. NPR, 11 Apr. 2011. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. .

Beauty and the Beast Essay

The very popular children’s movie â€Å"Beauty and the Beast† was originally a fairy tale written by Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont. While the movie holds true to many of the themes displayed in the fairy tale, it falls short in other aspects. In the original fairy tale, the deal between the merchant and Beast is that one of the merchants daughter die in place of the merchant. However in the Disney movie the deal that takes place between Belle and Beast is only that Belle stays in the castle as his prisoner instead of her father. I feel that this takes away from the overall drama of the fairy tale as death seems a much harsher fate than being held prisoner in a mansion. This is of course excluding the fact that Beast never actually intended on killing Belle, although we don’t know what fate would have had in store for the merchant if Belle didn’t volunteer to die in her father’s place. In the original fairy tale, Belle is portrayed as a sort of hero by volunteering to die in her father’s place, but in the movie is portrayed as just a normal woman. In a book written by Betsy Hearne, she wrote â€Å"Structurally, we’ve lost Beauty as hero†¦she who almost killed the Beast with her lack of perception but instead saved him by developing perception becomes an observer of two guys fighting over a girl.† In the original fairy tale, Belle has control over almost everything she does and throughout the story changes how she perceives the Beast. Essentially since Belle controls her emotions and actions, most readers look at her as a type of hero. In the Disney classic there are a lot of situations that Belle does not have control over such as the fight at the end when Gaston and Beast are fighting outside the mansion. Instead of a hero controlling the situation and the outcome of the story, Belle is just left outside watching helplessly. This is also what Hearne believes is happening in society as chauvinism plays a role in day to day life.

Communication by Multi-Cultural Approach essays

Communication by Multi-Cultural Approach essays Different from traditional focusing on scientific, bureaucracy or administrative perspectives of management, now people began to more and more realize the importance of culture issues of the modern business. Now, many of the modern companies have stepped out of the local areas and enhanced their business toward the global extent. As a result, managing culturally diverse workforce has been discovered as a major factor, which is the key business issue of this century and is one of the basic and serious challenges that the managers are going to face. Culture is fundamental to our self-concept, social relationships and communication. Of all the human characteristics, that signal diversity. (Sligo, Fountaine, O ¡Ã‚ ¯Neill, Sayers, 2000, P.256) Management involves allowing cultural differences to become part and parcel of the way we manage. (Inkson First of all, we need to equip ourselves with essential knowledge on cultural diversity to prevent misunderstanding. The most direct and common problem due to the ignorance of cultural diversity is that it could lead to misunderstanding, which stands in the way of perception. Our experience, value system, education, etc., comprise a frame of reference, a uniquely individual (and therefore subjective) standard by which we assess and evaluate all the messages we receive. (Sligo, Fountaine, O ¡Ã‚ ¯Neill, Sayers, 2000, P.44) This frame of reference could be particularly different between people who come from variable cultural backgrounds, which lead to inevitable communi...

7 Steps to Getting Enough Sleep in College

7 Steps to Getting Enough Sleep in College Theres a reason most college students sleep in whenever they have the chance: theyre exhausted, sleep-deprived, and in desperate need of some sleep at any given time. And yet, finding time to sleep in college can be quite challenging. Sleep is often the first thing to get cut when stress levels and workloads pile up. So just how can you find time to sleep in college? 7 Steps to Getting Enough Sleep in College Step #1: Do your best to make sure you get a certain amount every night. This one is admittedly common sense, but theres a reason why its listed first. If you get 7 hours on Monday, 2 hours on Tuesday, etc., this pattern can wreak havoc on your bodys (and minds) ability to really rest and recover as you sleep. Getting a decent and consistent amount of sleep each night is your best bet for not feeling exhausted during your entire 4 (or 5 or 6) years of college. Try to set up a sleep pattern that works for your schedule and do your best to stick to it. Step #2:  Take naps. The reality of college life, of course, often gets in the way of the previous suggestion. So what can you do? Take naps, whether they be 20-minute power naps or a nice, 2-hour nap between classes in the afternoon. The sleep will let you rest and recover while still allowing you to take on the remainder of your day. Step #3:  Exercise. Besides keeping you healthy, exercise helps you sleep better. While your schedule may be packed, finding time to exercise is easier than you think and can definitely help increase your energy level and decrease your exhaustion. Step #4:  Eat well. Also in the I know I should do that, but ... category, eating well can help make your sleep more restful and productive. Think about how you feel if you eat a good breakfast, a healthy lunch, and a not-too-crazy dinner. Eating well makes during your waking hours, and the same applies to your sleeping hours. Healthier meals really do mean healthier sleep. Choose wisely! Step #5:  Dont pull all-nighters. Yes, the dreaded all-nighter is a rite of passage for many, if not most, college students. Yet they are positively dreadful on your body (and mind and spirit and everything else). Do your best to figure out how not to procrastinate in the first place so you dont have to pull all-nighters during your time in school. Step #6:  Make sure your sleep is restful. Falling asleep with the TV on, the lights on, your roommates music on, and tons of people popping in and out all night may look like a normal night for you but it is not a normal and healthy way to get restful sleep each night. Sleeping in a non-restful environment can sometimes leave you feeling more sleepy than refreshed in the morning, so do your best to make sure that when you go to sleep you can actually, you know, sleep. Step #7:  Watch your caffeine intake. College life requires a lot of energy which sometimes means that students walk around drinking coffee all day, every day. But that cup of coffee you drank after dinner may very well keep you up until breakfast tomorrow. Try to avoid having too much caffeine  during the later hours of the day so that you can actually rest (instead of fight the last of your caffeine buzz) when you finally go to sleep at night.

Funny Good Morning Quotes to Wake up Smiling To

Funny Good Morning Quotes to Wake up Smiling To The alarm goes off. You put it on snooze, trying to grab some shut-eye for the last time. And then you wake up with a start, as you realize that you are already late for work. Does this scenario sound familiar?  Many of us wake up every day under a dark cloud. We sleepwalk through the morning routine of bath and breakfast. Even after getting fully dressed, we look longingly at the bed.If its typical for you feel woozy and barely able to open your eyelids before your morning dose of caffeine, read these funny good morning quotes and start your day with smiles and giggles. A hearty laugh can fill you up with enough endorphin to recharge you for the day ahead. Famous Morning-Themed Quotes Winston ChurchillI may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly.Robert FrostThe brain is a wonderful organ; it starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office.William FeatherEarly morning cheerfulness can be extremely obnoxious.Steven WrightI got up one morning and couldnt find my socks, so I called Information. She said, Hello, Information. I said, I cant find my socks. She said, Theyre behind the couch. And they were!:Bob DoleYou feel a little older in the morning. By noon I feel about 55.Dale EarnhardtI woke up this morning, and I still don’t believe I won the Daytona 500.Henry David ThoreauThere is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast.Groucho MarxOne morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got into my pajamas I’ll never know.Benjamin FranklinI wake up every morning at nine and grab for the morning paper. Then I look at the obituary page. If my name is not on it , I get up. Will RogersThe man with the best job in the country is the vice-president. All he has to do is get up every morning and say, How is the president?Mitch HedbergI recently took up ice sculpting. Last night I made an ice cube. This morning I made 12, I was prolific.Steven WrightWhen I woke up this morning my girlfriend asked me, Did you sleep good? I said No, I made a few mistakes.Bill GatesJust in terms of allocation of time resources, religion is not very efficient. There’s a lot more I could be doing on a Sunday morning.Henry David ThoreauI have a great deal of company in the house, especially in the morning when nobody calls.Rodney DangerfieldMy mother had morning sickness after I was born.Rodney DangerfieldThis morning when I put on my underwear I could hear the fruit-of-the-loom guys laughing at me.Colin PowellIt ain’t as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning.Frank SinatraI feel sorry for people who don’t drink. When they wake up in the morning, that’s as good as they’re going to feel all day. Lyndon B. JohnsonIf one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac River, the headline that afternoon would read: President Can’t Swim.Jim CarreyThat’s the trouble with being me. At this point, nobody gives a damn what my problem is. I could literally have a tumor on the side of my head and they’d be like, ‘Yeah, big deal. I’d eat a tumor every morning for the kinda money you’re pulling down.’Ray BradburyEvery morning I jump out of bed and step on a landmine. The landmine is me. After the explosion, I spent the rest of the day putting the pieces together.Jeff FoxworthyMy father-in-law gets up at 5 o’clock in the morning and watches the Discovery Channel. I don’t know why there’s this big rush to do this.Gabriel Garcia MarquezThe problem with marriage is that it ends every night after making love, and it must be rebuilt every morning before breakfast.Ozzy OsbourneSomebody said to me this morning, ‘ To what do you attribute your longevity?’ I don’t know. I mean, I couldn’t have planned my life out better. By all accounts, I should be dead! The abuse I put my body through the drugs, the alcohol, the lifestyle I’ve lived the last 30 years! Seth MacFarlaneSome of those more out-there jokes were written in the wee hours of the morning. Somehow, they remained funny the next day.Zora Neale HurstonIt seems to me that trying to live without friends is like milking a bear to get cream for your morning coffee. It is a whole lot of trouble, and then not worth much after you get it.Mick JaggerYou wake up in the morning and you look at your old spoon, and you say to yourself, ‘Mick, it’s time to get yourself a new spoon.’ And you do.Carl SandburgIn these times you have to be an optimist to open your eyes when you awake in the morning.Emo PhilipsWhen I wake up in the morning, I just can’t get started until I’ve had that first, piping hot pot of coffee. Oh, I’ve tried other enemas.Bob DoleYou feel a little older in the morning. By noon I feel about 55.Michael J. FoxI’m going to marry a Jewish woman because I like the idea of getting up Sunday morning and going to the deli.Rose Kennedy Make sure you never, never argue at night. You just lose a good night’s sleep, and you can’t settle anything until morning anyway. Honore de BalzacA good husband is never the first to go to sleep at night or the last to awake in the morning.Robert OrbenEvery morning I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America. If I’m not there, I go to work.

The legalization of gay marriage Research Proposal

The legalization of gay marriage - Research Proposal Example The primary reasons for banning gay marriage in the USA are religious, ethical, and moral. â€Å"American freedom... is attached to a set of communal responsibilities and dependant on the individual’s ability to confirm in compliance with a moral, ethical and religious standard.† Thus the freedom of self shall not come in clash with the freedom of America, which comes with a set of responsibilities of individuals towards community. The issue of legalizing gay marriage might be a personal problem faced by many gays living together and seeking some sort of state-sanctioned marriage. The community can no way benefit from their marriage- in fact, it has created a cultural war in America between those that believe in the traditional form of marriage and those that are proponents of gay marriage. People from different social and political backgrounds have mixed views regarding the legalization of gay marriage and they can influence the decision of the courts through ballot ca mpaigns against gay marriages. In Washington this year, a ballot campaign will be held and if the required numbers of votes are gathered, the move would be nullified and gay marriage will be banned in Washington. â€Å"There is precedent in California for handling such a situation. California's Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in 2008, only for voters to approve a constitutional amendment six months later defining marriage as between a man and a woman.†

The Zachman Framework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Zachman Framework - Essay Example Despite numerous achievements, many information systems leave sufficient room for improvement. Less than a decade ago, John A. Zachman (1996) wrote that information technologies and systems in most of Fortune 500 enterprises were in the state of deep frustration. Today’s information technologies are much better than those in the middle of the 1990s, but there are no limits to excellence. The Zachman framework exemplifies a successful attempt to revolutionize enterprise architecture principles and solve the centuries old problem of inefficient enterprise architecture, which hinders the development of relevant business frameworks. The beginning of the 1980s was marked with the rapid advancement of information technologies and systems. However, it was not before the end of the 1980s-the beginning of the 1990s that enterprise engineering ideas became popular and relevant. Throughout of the 1980s, most enterprise modeling ideas were limited to simplified application development, with no attention given to the concept of architecture and its implications for information systems evolution (Zachman, 1993). The lack of attention to enterprise architecture and reengineering precipitated the development of the Zachman framework. In today’s information systems practice, the Zachman framework is believed to be the most comprehensive and practical of all enterprise architecture systems known to the public (Urbaczewski & Mrdalj, 2006). The Zachman framework represents a logical structure that helps to clarify, classify, and organize the main descriptive representations of enterprise architecture (Zachman, 1993). ... The Zachman framework represents a logical structure that helps to clarify, classify, and organize the main descriptive representations of enterprise architecture (Zachman, 1993). The Zachman framework â€Å"comprises descriptive representations that are essential to successful management of enterprises and future development of information systems† (Zachman, 1993). The framework is built on previous models of architecture and engineering, used to organize processes and decisions in complex manufacturing processes (Zachman, 1993). The main goal of the framework is to simplify and facilitate the development of complex enterprise architecture solutions (Zachman, 1993). The Zachman framework is a bi-dimensional scheme of classifying all descriptive representations of any enterprise (Frankel et al, 2003). The framework comprises one vertical and one horizontal dimension; the former describes all perspectives of those who use the descriptions and models in the cells, whereas the la tter helps to answer â€Å"the basic questions of enterprise architecture – what, how, where, who, when, and why† (Frankel et al, 2003). Models represented in the Zachman framework include (from the top to the bottom) â€Å"scope, business model, system model, technology model, detailed representations, and the functioning enterprise† (Frankel et al, 2003). The scope sets the boundaries of enterprise architecture and creates a general picture of enterprise architecture to be considered by managers (Frankel et al, 2003). The business model incorporates all types of architectures and frameworks used by corporate owners (Frankel et al, 2003). The system model is devoted to architectures and systems used by architects and engineers,

Valuation of property Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Valuation of property - Article Example A real estate appraisal is performed by a licensed or certified appraiser (in many countries known as a property valuer or land valuer and in British English as a surveyor). If the appraiser's opinion is based on Market Value, then it must also be based on the Highest and Best Use of the real property. For mortgage valuations of improved residential property in the US, the appraisal is most often reported on a standardized form, such as the Uniform Residential Appraisal Report. Appraisals of more complex property (e.g. -- income producing, raw land) are usually reported in a narrative appraisal report. agents and supplied as part of the negotiations relating to the sale of the site was seen to contain a series of calculative errors on checking the calculations. The site value provided by the landowners is found to be 'excessive'. Thus, we see that the corrected valuation of the site is closer to 7.5 million pounds and not 8.5 million pounds as suggested by the landowners' agents in their appraisal. So their appraisal is found to be faulty and the inherent errors and series of calculative errors are identified and corrected. The significance of a sale of a similar nearby property for 5,000,000 pounds is relatively significant in the appraisal and ca... The rate of interest for a short term housing loan is closer to 13%. Calculative errors: This is the appraisal as submitted by the landowners' agents which was found to contain a series of calculative errors and inherent flaws. Detailed Residual Valuation Development Income Shops 800m2 *95% 760 * 250m2 '190,000 Offices 6,750m2 *90% 6,075 * 200m2 '1,215,000 Total Income '1,405,000 YP in 2 years 7% 14.28 Gross Development Value '20,063,400 Development Costs Building Cost Shops 800m2 * '500m2 '284,000 Offices 5,400m2 * '850m2 '4,590,000 Subtotal '4,990,000 Ancillary Costs ' 150,000 Subtotal '5,140,000 Professional Fees 12.50% '642,500 Subtotal '5,782,500 Short Term Finance say 12% on ' total costs for 24 months '2,891,250 *(1.12)^2 - '2,891,250 '735,533 Subtotal '6,518,033 Letting Fees 15% of Income '210,750 Subtotal '6,518,033 Developers Profit, 20% of '5,782,500 '1,156,500 Total Development Costs '7,674,533 Residual Value '12,388,867 Site Value on completion: Site Value Calculation 1.03x (1.12)^3 = 1.45 12,388,867 / 1.45 '8,544,046 Corrected Calculations: This is the alternative 'more accurate' valuation of the site. Detailed Residual Valuation Development Income Shops 800m2 *95% 760 * 250/m2 '190,000 Offices 6,750m2 *90% 6,075 * 200/m2 '1,215,000 Total Income '1,405,000 YP in 2 years 7% 14.28 Gross Development Value '20,063,400 Development Costs Building Cost Shops 800m2 * '550m2 '440,000 Offices 5,400m2 * '900m2

Questions & answers Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Questions & answers - Assignment Example As the CMO, Dr. Yeasted is on the finance body making suggestions and approvals for any budgeting to be carried out. In his role, he has to prioritize issues in order for the most important and necessary at the moment to take precedence in the budget and also have to explain the same to the staff. The strategic plan at the moment in the hospital is that of trying to streamline the hospital activities and quality with the new health care policies such as the managed care and affordable care act. This is still what he worked on and the success is starting to be evident. Prior to him becoming a CMO, Dr. Yeasted was a Board member of the same hospital and hence has a cordial relationship with the board members including the chairman. This relationship is free of tension as they have known each other for long and have also worked together as physicians. The most enjoyable thing is that he gets to change the life of the community by simply making the correct decisions and implementation of the policies which is part of his job as a CMO. The least enjoyable is attending and participating in meetings which take up majority of his time (Kassel, 2015). I was surprised that the CMO had many roles up their sleeves and sometimes even did not find to practice medicine. I thought their life was just easy as there were other administrators and the Board in the hospital and hence he only had to do the approving and nothing else. According to Dr. Yeasted, in as much a health care administrator is busy with office work and meetings, he or she needs to set aside side time to visit the patients and interact on an informal basis with the staff to not only create rapport but learn more about the hospital. The CMO advices the students who wish to become administrators to become conversant with the issues of finance and take precaution about it. The finances are different from other organizations and hence need different strategies to handle them as well as know how to

Company Strategic Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Company Strategic Analysis - Essay Example Starbucks employed approximately 142,000 employees around the world including 111,000 people from US only, according to the statistics up to 27th September, 2009. (Annual Report, 2009) 2.0 Company Analysis Starbucks is in the Coffeehouse or Coffee Shop Industry. Sometimes, it is said to be in Leisure or Specialty Eatery Industry. The company owned an ROI of 22.80% and net income of 945.60 million USD in 2009. (www.marketwatch.com) Starbucks was ranked as Fortune magazine’s #1 most innovative company in the food services industry in 2001. (Fortune Magazine) The major competitors of Starbucks in the industry are Caribou Coffee, Tully’s, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and Java Centrale. (Student Resources) Starbucks is also facing the intense competition of coffee manufacturers such as Kraft and Procter & Gamble and distributers like Nestle. Moreover, the brewing battle with McDonald’s has been intensified in recent years. 2.1 External Environment Starbucks’ external environment can be learned better by analyzing its socioeconomic or macro environment covering political, economical, sociological and technological factors as well as opportunities and threats. Political Because of the growing tensions between the United States and the rest of the world, especially in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, the business environment has been becoming increasingly volatile. In July 2002, Arab students from five states initiated a boycott of American goods and service to the alleged close relationships between the US and Israel. (Fisk, 2002) That movement targeted mainly to Starbucks, Burger King, Coca-Cola and Estee Lauder. Moreover, Starbucks is facing class litigation against it. Economical Unfavorable economic situations in the market can negatively affect consumer spending. (Hill, 2008) Starbucks faced criticism from Non-governmental Organizations urging the company to acquire certified coffee bean to make sure that those coffee beans were grown and marketed under certain economic and social conditions. Trading in countries which were in economic recession such as Switzerland, Germany and Japan made Starbucks experienced sales and revenue declines. Social Social factors can also create opportunities or threats for Starbucks. For example, a regional or global health pandemic, an outbreak of infective diseases, could seriously have effects on Starbucks business. (Annual Report, 2009) But, the company’s willingness to make sure its effects on the environment to be as positive as possible can help in building a good name. Technological The company is dependent on its information technology system to perform functions of operational and management level tasks including supply chain, point-of-sale and other transactions. If failure of its system may occur, there are a lot of delays and losses in sales and business process which will finally drive to reduce the efficiency of the company. The technological advancements such as SAP systems offer Starbucks opportunities in managing and controlling its business processes while an abrupt technological shift or security attacks may play an adverse effect on its information system. Opportunities Opportunities are conditions in the external environment through which a company can get benefits to become more profitable. (Hill, 2008) For Starbucks, new products and services can be

Questions & answers Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Questions & answers - Assignment Example As the CMO, Dr. Yeasted is on the finance body making suggestions and approvals for any budgeting to be carried out. In his role, he has to prioritize issues in order for the most important and necessary at the moment to take precedence in the budget and also have to explain the same to the staff. The strategic plan at the moment in the hospital is that of trying to streamline the hospital activities and quality with the new health care policies such as the managed care and affordable care act. This is still what he worked on and the success is starting to be evident. Prior to him becoming a CMO, Dr. Yeasted was a Board member of the same hospital and hence has a cordial relationship with the board members including the chairman. This relationship is free of tension as they have known each other for long and have also worked together as physicians. The most enjoyable thing is that he gets to change the life of the community by simply making the correct decisions and implementation of the policies which is part of his job as a CMO. The least enjoyable is attending and participating in meetings which take up majority of his time (Kassel, 2015). I was surprised that the CMO had many roles up their sleeves and sometimes even did not find to practice medicine. I thought their life was just easy as there were other administrators and the Board in the hospital and hence he only had to do the approving and nothing else. According to Dr. Yeasted, in as much a health care administrator is busy with office work and meetings, he or she needs to set aside side time to visit the patients and interact on an informal basis with the staff to not only create rapport but learn more about the hospital. The CMO advices the students who wish to become administrators to become conversant with the issues of finance and take precaution about it. The finances are different from other organizations and hence need different strategies to handle them as well as know how to

Law and Ethics in Healthcare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Law and Ethics in Healthcare - Essay Example Therefore, this paper examines HIV/AIDS and confidentiality, which are healthcare issues arising from the conflict between law and ethic values. Salient ethical and legal concerns associated with HIV/AIDS and Confidentiality Safken & Frewer (2007) indicate that law and ethics postulate that medical information demands confidential treatment; thus, the law focuses on protecting such information. Consequently, care providers have an compulsion of promoting confidentiality in their activities. Indeed, HIV-related information has been subject to additional protections because of their sensitiveness. Care providers can only reveal such information based on court orders or the patient’s own will. Initially, patients are protected by regulations that promote personal privacy; hence, a care provider who releases such information infringes into one’s privacy. Although this is important in protecting patient against social exploitation, the process creates health concerns (McLean & Mason, 2003). This apparent since holding information is sometimes not rational as the practice may invite detrimental effects on other parties. According to McLean (2006), the responsibility of countering the harm from spreading to other parties binds care providers. For instance, care providers have a duty of protecting persons with high threats of infection. Additionally, concerns of promoting public health may demand a disclosure of such information. It is worth noting that disclosing information may be essential for individuals who engage in duties that present risks to their clients. These principles present strong moral and legal concerns to care providers in healthcare. Important primary ethical principles for managing the presented issues Healthcare providers can utilize concepts presented by some primary ethical principles in addressing this case. An ideal scheme that can inform healthcare providers is the standard of beneficence. Beneficence advocates for an idea of do ing good that demands one to analyze the matter critically to institute the best position of addressing the concerns (McLean, 2006). Importantly, the beneficence demands one to adopt the most genuine position while considering the necessity of bettering the condition of the involved parties. Since the HIV/AIDS and confidentiality subject, present a controversial environment, genuine assessment is the only solution to the case. This means that healthcare providers should access the implication of each procedure to identify the best approach to accord to the matter (Leslie & Bernard, 2001). Additionally the ideology of concert could be beneficial in addressing the concerns. This principle binds competent individuals with a responsibility of presenting their professional advice to the society (McLean & Mason, 2003). Professionals may adopt the knowledge of the principle in situations where parties involved fail to present genuine decision due to their state (Leslie & Bernard, 2001).The issues presented by the HIV/AIDS confidentiality do not entirely mean that the patients may not be in position of adopting reasonable decision as per the demands of the principle of consent. However, the rationality of the practice emerges by the fact that, the environment presented by the health issues raised may demand informed advice (Kaur, 2008). Consequently, healthcare provid

Anita Roddick (The Body Shop) Essay Example for Free

Anita Roddick (The Body Shop) Essay Inspiring profiles and best practices for entrepreneurs Twenty-six years ago the Brighton Evening Argus ran a story on a dispute between two funeral parlour owners who were upset about a new cosmetics boutique which had opened up next door. It wasnt the nature of the business they were getting hot under the collar about, but its name. They thought the green shop front emblazoned with the words Body Shop in gold leaf might put off prospective customers. They wanted me to change my shop front which I had just spent  £870 of my  £4,000 loan on, recalls Roddick. My smart move was to call the Argus and tell them I was being threatened by Mafia undertakers who wanted to close me down. The press loved it. The story of the beleaguered single mum with the house in hock trying to support her two kids with a bootstrapping start-up worked a treat. The small splash made Body Shop a cause celebre, won plenty of local support and won an important battle to get the business off the ground. The anecdote is a small aside, recounted with a chuckle and a hint of outrage in a long interview. But although the battles got much bigger as Roddick grew her business into the multinational retailer it is today, anyone with even a passing familiarity with the Body Shop story will instantly recognise the defining characteristics of its fiery feisty founder in those early days of the business: Ethical Anita versus the big bad world. There has never been any compromise in Roddicks views on how business should be done: this is why her husband Gordon was tasked with handling the City suits (they didnt like me talking about sexual tension at work) and why she stepped away from the business in 1998 when the shareholders said a campaigning chief executive was not what they wanted for Body Shop. You might think after thirty years of business and the comfort of a healthy shareholding and a wedge of cash in the bank Roddicks hunger for campaigning might have diminished. But little has changed since 1976. Her latest venture, a publishing start-up, produces books on ethical matters. It promotes her on the speaking circuit and all the profits going into campaigning. The only difference is now she occupies the position of an icon for women and female entrepreneurs: something I dont take lightly And there is still plenty to shout about when it comes to what she sees as an ethical vacuum in business today. Suffocation She rails against the suffocation of UK businesses as we outsource to cheaper countries; the failure to preserve the needs of shareholders in public companies; the lack of respect for the responsibility of business to the community at large; the ongoing need for women to conform to a male template in order to succeed; the lack of recognition of the value that employees bring to a business. Being ethical in business is not about giving stuff away Roddick is emphatic about what this means in practice: not sandals, beards and group hugs in the boardroom but the adoption of simple moral values. People use the excuse of business to leave their morals at the front door and I dont know how they get away with it. But can ethical business really fit in with the cut-throat world of today? Her business, she says, is living proof. She describes Body Shop as a great business experiment which is still proving a point: you can run an entrepreneurial business, provide a return to shareholders while campaigning on ethical issues and placing a high value on human capital. Being ethical in business is not about giving stuff away. Its about your relationship with your employees, its about the aesthetics of the workplace and its about communication, says Roddick. There is no reason why the workplace cant be a genuine creative place, why there cant be flexitime, why there cant be transparency and even good manners. If Roddick doesnt sound like a business woman its because she has never claimed to be one. She puts her success down to a need for a livelihood and sees herself as the accidental entrepreneur.

Freedom of Speech and Media

Freedom of Speech and Media The freedom of speech is defined as the right of a person to express thoughts, ideas, and personal opinions through a desired media without any restrictions unless restriction is necessary such as where exercising the right infringes upon the rights of others or where national security is at threat. Advocacy for freedom of speech has taken centuries of soldiering on in the background of repression by authoritarian regimes, culminating in the UN General Assembly adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948. Hesiod writes a theological work challenging some religious matters in 700 BC. Cleisthenes introduces the Isegoria in the Greek political chambers in 508 BC. Socrates is tried and sentenced to death by an Athenian jury in 399 BC. John Milton writes the Areopagitica in 1644, which strongly talked against restrictions of freedom of the press in England. The UN General Assembly adopts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948. Freedom of Speech and the Mass Media are inseparable. International human rights documents outline Freedom of Speech as including: the freedom of thought, and freedom to seek, acquire, and give ideas and information through any chosen media. The mass media, having the role of covering events, gathering and spreading information, and controlling state authority activities needs to exercise responsibility in carrying out its duties. Media bias is a problem affecting freedom to information which is a component part of freedom of speech. The western mainstream media has been accused of giving biased reports on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Censorship of Media is necessary. The ICCPR identifies two key areas where restrictions must be enforced on the freedom of speech as: respect to the rights of others and protection of national security or public order or morals. The Rwanda genocide of 1994 is an example of unrestricted media. Freedom of speech in Kenya has gradually evolved through spirited advocacy from extreme repression in the first about three decades since its independence to acceptable standards as contained in international human rights documents. Foreign and local press particularly in the Moi regime, periodically went through censorship in the form of expulsion from the country, detention of journalists and confiscation of publication. Parliamentary debates were restricted with certain topics such as voting procedures almost being banned by the executive after the coup attempt of August 1982. Ford-Kenya Chairman Jaramogi Oginga Odinga in 1992, challenged in the High Court, the unfair advantage that the incumbent was receiving over the other parties in the state owned Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC). The media act was enacted in 2007, which placed more restrictions on the media. The Waki report which highlights key issues to be implemented in order to avoid a repetition of the post election violence, gives no special address to the media. Advocacy for freedom of speech has been a long historical struggle in the world involving torture and bloodshed and should be upheld and defended at all costs. Mass Media and the Freedom of Speech Freedom of speech is one of the basic human rights commonly contained in international human rights documents. Also referred to as freedom of expression, it is an important element of a democratic society. Precisely, the other side to freedom of expression is freedom to information, which makes it possible for people to make informed decisions about their lives. The Freedom of Speech as a human right carries with it responsibility and is therefore exercised within certain restrictions enforceable through Mass Media. The freedom of speech can be defined as the right of a person to express thoughts, ideas, and personal opinions through a desired media without any restrictions unless restriction is necessary such as where exercising the right infringes upon the rights of others or where national security is at threat. Throughout history, man has sought to exercise freedom of speech within his social habitation. The earliest concept dates back to around 700 BC in Ancient Greece, where matters of speech freedom then, were close to the heart than any other place on earth. Hesiod, a non-cleric, wrote a theological work challenging some religious matters. This was in defiance of the norm because such matters were only addressed by those in high status (Allsop, Quadrant Online: The Difficult History of Free Speech). A historical landmark in the fight for freedom of speech is the 508 BC introduction of the Isegoria, meaning Free Speech, by Cleisthenes in the Greek political chambers. (Allsop, Quadrant Online: The Difficult History of Free Speech) This probably laid the foundation for Freedom of Speech in Athens and also the whole world because it was the first time laws on free speech were formally recognized by a democracy. Socrates trial and death in 399 BC effectively marked the death of the isegoria because for the next about 2000 years freedom of speech declined. Socrates may as well be regarded as the martyr and father of freedom of speech because he defiantly stood for what he believed even with the option of freedom if he changed his stand (Owens). For years after his death, his teachings and ideals remained in the hearts of proponents of free speech after him. The rebirth of free speech 1500 after Socrates in England had so much to reflect on Socrates ideology. John Miltons famous pamph let written in 1644, Areopagitica, which talked extensively against restrictions of freedom of the press had Greek influence, even its naming was after a hill in Athens the site of courts in ancient Greece. (Allsop, Quadrant Online: The Difficult History of Free Speech). The fight for speech freedom culminated in the UN general assembly adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948. Article 19 of the UDHR is clear that freedom of speech and opinion is a human right, which includes freedom of thought, freedom to seek, acquire and give ideas and information through any chosen media. (Youthmedia:What is the Role of Speech in a Democratic Society) Other international documents such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) also express similar precepts. To be able to transmit and receive information, people need to access mass media. In any given state, the role of mass media is so important that it is many times considered as the fourth arm of government. The mass media covers events, gathers and spreads information and controls activities of state authorities (Youthmedia:What is the Role of Speech in a Democratic Society). Being an independent sector, the mass media has the power to influence society either favorably or destructively. It therefore has to be responsible and accurate in its dissemination of information. The media is sometimes not accurate. The western mainstream media, for example, has been accused of giving biased reports on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, where the reporters use language that influences the readers to favor Israeli attacks and de-taste Palestinian aggression (Walsh). The fact that a reporter is likely to take sides when covering particularly emotive matter begs the question whether we can get purely un-biased reporting from them. Such kind of bias is difficult to control and people may just have to live with it. Open and obvious bias, on the other hand, may develop its own control by the mare fact that the reader has recognized it, thereby avoiding being influenced by it. Censorship of Media is necessary. The society needs to be protected from information which is morally wrong, an infringement on the rights of others, or a threat to national security. The ICCPR identifies two key areas where restrictions must be enforced on the freedom of speech. These are respect to the rights of others, and protection of national security or public order or morals (Youthmedia:What is the Role of Speech in a Democratic Society). The Rwanda genocide of 1994 is an example of unrestricted radio use. Thompson (43) puts it clearly that radio played a central role in the build-up, during and after the genocide. Kenyas media enjoys freedom under the new constitution promulgated in 2010, Chapter 4 of the constitution contains an extensive bill of rights built around the standards of the UDHR and other international documents (Lwanga). Low moments in Kenyas democratic rights were from the countrys indepence in 1963 to the mid-Moi regime about three decades ago. As Cited by Gathu(7), Widner says that foreign and local press particularly in the Moi regime, periodically went through censorship in the form of expulsion from the country, detention of journalists and confiscation of publication. Parliamentary debates were restricted as certain topics such as voting procedures were almost banned by the executive after the coup attempt of August 1982. Such repressions were carried on until the beginning of multi-party politics in December 1991 where new opposition forces were legalized and they pressed for more freedom of expression. The weekly review, for example, points out that the then Ford-Kenya Chairman Jaramogi Oginga Odinga in 1992, challenged in the High Court, the unfair advantage that the incumbent was receiving over the other parties in the state owned Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (qtd. In Gathu 7). The new-found speech freedom in Kenya later began exhibiting incitement problems. For instance, the run-up to the 2005 referendum on the constitution was marred with political incitement. This led to the enactment of the media act in 2007, which placed more restrictions on the media (Lwanga). Even though Certain broadcasters were accused of using the media to incite people prior to the 2008 post election violence in Kenya, the Waki report which highlights key issues to be implemented in order to avoid a repetition of the post election violence, gives no special address to the media. The Mass media in Kenya has exercised responsible reporting since 2007 especially taking into account the recently concluded peaceful general elections on March 4, 2013; which were the first to be held under the new constitution. The desire for free speech has been deeply entrenched in the heart of man as an unwritten law since time immemorial, even before formal recognition by any authority. It has soldiered through history in the background of strong and sometimes brutal repression to be one of the key elements of human rights today. As freedom of speech is enjoyed today, the contributions of its great early crusaders such as Hesiod in the 700s BC, Socrates in 430 BC, and John Milton in 1644, cannot go unnoticed. Countless other brave advocates have endured persecution for what they strongly believed in. Now recognized worldwide and entrenched in international documents such as the UDHR and ICCPR this basic human right needs to be upheld and defended at all costs.

Iago in William Shakespeares Othello Essay -- William shakespeare Oth

Iago in William Shakespeare's Othello William Shakespeare, born: 1564 died: 1616, is considered one of the greatest writers who has ever lived. He had a unique way of putting things into words. All of his plays, sonnets, and poems have gotten great recognition. But when Shakespeare wrote Othello he created one of the most controversial villains of all times; Iago. He is best described as disturbing, ruthless, and amoral. No other character can even come close to his evil (Iago: The 1). Iago, in the play Othello, is a very intriguing villain. Even though he is often referred to as "Honest" Iago, he lies, cheats, steals, bullies, and even kills just to get what he wants (Iago as 1). Iago starts off being evil when he finds out that Othello gave Cassio the position of lieutenant that he felt he deserved. To take this position from Cassio he must not let his conscience get in his way. This is not a problem with Iago because he has no conscience. Iago is able to manipulate anyone who gets in the way of his goals. He does this over and over during the course of the play. He uses all the characters to destroy Othello. He used the tension that was already existent to bring him down. And he also uses his intense sense of intuition. Iago is an excellent judge of character. He also makes it seem like he posseses characteristics that he really doesn’t have. Iago often wonders why someone would pretend to be something they are not, when in fact that is exactly what he represents. He has many fronts that he can put up. Every character in Othello had a relationship with the different sides of his personality. He uses this to his advantage in the case of Roderigo loving Desdemona. By knowing that Roderigo is madly in love with her, he knows he will do anything to be with Desdemona. Iago says about Roderigo, " Thus do I ever make a fool of my purse;" (1.3.353). By going on what he knows about Roderigo, he is able to get money and jewels from him. He doesn’t even think twice before taking things from someone who supposedly considers Iago to be his friend. Iago is also capable of thinking very quickly in any situation. This makes him able to handle himself when something he does not expect happens. He can recognize the advantages of trust and uses it to gain what he wants. He has it in his mind that if he has everyone's trust no one will ever expect him to be at... ...ll the people that are in a higher position and are more powerful than he is. Iago refuses to cooperate with those people that do posses more power than he does. This is just one of the many examples of Iago’s distorted ways of thinking.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Considering all the hatred and jealousy Iago possesses, how could anyone see good in such a ruthless, merciless sociopath. When William Shakespeare created Iago, he could not have made such an ideal villain. Iago stands for the eponymy of evil. He represents hatred and all that is bad. He lacks any credibility for his motives and takes great pleasure in his ability to destroy the lives of Othello, Desdemona, Cassio, and Emilia. He created all the madness in the play but was never caught until the end finally arrived. Iago said it himself, â€Å" I am not what I am† (1.1.62). He proves this clearly that he seems like he is always watching out for people when really he is out to devastate the lives of so many. Even though Iago was successful in eliminating Othello and the others, he was not victorious in the end because the problems he caused, deaths especially, cannot be resolved. Ironically everything that Iago pretended to be led to his end.

Human Variations in High Altitude Populations :: Tibet Himalayans Adaptation Essays

Human Variations in High Altitude Populations Thesis:The purpose of this paper is to describe the high altitude stresses and the general adaptations made by the Tibetan population in the Himalayas and the Quechua in the Andes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   II Background   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A Quechua People   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  B Tibetan People   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   III General Adaptations   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A Physical   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1 Growth   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2 Development   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3 Core temperature   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4 Extremity temperature   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  B Non- Physical   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1 Clothing   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2 Houses   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3 Schedule   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  V Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Some ten to twenty-five million people (that is less than 1% of the earth’s population) currently make it[high altitude zones] their home(Moran,143).† The adjustment high altitude populations must make are firstly physical and secondly cultural. Although most people adapt culturally to their surroundings, in a high altitude environment these cultural changes alone aren’t enough. Many physical adaptations that reflect â€Å"the genetic plasticity common to all of mankind(Molinar,219)† have to be made to survive and even more than that thrive in this type of environment. In this paper I will describe the high altitude stresses. Along with adaptations made by the populations living in them. The two high altitude populations which I will examine in this paper are the Tibetan people of the Asian Himalayas and the Quechua of the South American Andes. The Quechua are an Indian people who inhabit the highlands of Peru and Bolivia. They speak Quechua, which is a branch of the Andean-Equitorial stock. They show many remnants of Inca heritage by their houses, music, and religion which has pagan rites under the Roman-Catholic surface. Their villages consist of kin groups . Their marriage partners are taken from within each village. Agriculture is the dominant subsistence pattern in the central Andean region but the Nunoa region where the Quechua reside can only support a few frost-resistant crops. Which include bitter potato, sweet potato, and a few grain crops of quinoa and canihua. The rest of the fruits and vegetables of the Quechua come from the eastern mountains on it’s way to the markets. The most important subsistence pattern for the Quechua is stock raising. Which is limited to the few animals that do well in the high altitudes. Their stock include alpacas,llamas and sheep.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the Himalayas only â€Å"5% of the geographical area(Baker,36)† can be used for agriculture. The main crops are barley, wheat and buckwheat. The crops are grown between 3,500 and 4,300 meters. These few crops are threatened by drought, hail, frost, snow and erosion. The Himalayas also have extensive pasture areas which are used by the nomadic and sedentary peoples. The higher regions have pastures where yak, sheep, and goats are the main animals used.

Topographic Map

MS 217 Dennis Borzakov Class 723 January 15, 2013 Problem HOW IS A TOPOGRAPHIC MAP MADE Hypothesis I think that to make a topographic map you have to see the form of the object from up top. To do this you need a satellite image. These images are called aerial photographs. Using elevation calculators and ground measures cartographers then make topographic maps. Materials †¢ Clay model landform †¢ Water tinted with food coloring †¢ Transparency †¢ Clear plastic storage box with lid †¢ Beaker †¢ Metric ruler †¢ Tape †¢ Transparency marker Procedure 1.Using the ruler and the transparency marker, make marks up the side of the storage box one centimeter apart. 2. Place the clay model into the storage box. The bottom of the box will be zero elevation. 3. Secure the transparency to the top of the storage box with tape. 4. Using the beaker, pour water into the box to a height of one cm. 5. Use the transparency marker to trace the top of the water line o n the transparency. 6. Using the scale 1cm=10m, mark the elevation on the line. 7. Remove the transparency and add water until a depth of 2cm is reached. 8. Map this level on the transparency and record the elevation. . Repeat the process of adding water and tracing until you have the hill mapped on the transparency. 10. Transfer the tracing of the hill onto a white sheet of paper. 11. Use the ruler to transfer the hill from the white sheet of paper to graph paper. Analysis The counter interval of this topographic map is 1cm is equal to 10 m. The distance between contour lines on the map show steepness of a slope on the landform model because the closer the lines are the steeper the hill is, the farther apart the lines are the more the gentle the rising of the hill will be.The elevation of Hill A is 80 meters and the elevation of Hill B is 90 meters. Elevation was presented on the map by the number of counter lines. The one with the most counter lines is the taller one. Conclusion I n this experiment we took on the job of a cartographer. We graphed clay model hills to express elevation. We traced images of the forms from the transparency to the white sheet of paper to express the difference in counter lines.

Human hand catching an object Essay

ANALYSING From this experiment I have found out that there are different factors that affect the resistance of a wire. The factors that I have investigated are the length and thickness of a wire. In the experiment, as the wire got shorter, the resistance decreased, and if the wire were increased then the resistance would increase too. If the thickness of a wire were to be changed then the thicker the wire, the less resistance and the thinner the wire the more resistance it will have. I have also found out that the resistance is calculated by dividing the voltage by the current. This calculation was used in my experiment and showed that the resistance is roughly constant. If some odd results were obtained, it was because at a low voltage the power packs are inaccurate and at a high current, we might gain a heating effect. Ohm’s law can be proved by the graph due to the fact that the graph has a straight line; therefore it has a constant gradient, meaning a constant resistance whatever current is passing through it, providing the temperature is constant. If the graph were a curved, then that would mean that the resistance was changing. If that were the case the resistance could be found for any point by taking the pair of values (V, I) from the graph and sticking them in the formula R= V/I. (Information obtained from physics revision guide. ) That would be disobeying Ohm’s law. In my opinion, the resistance of the 32- copper wire seemed odd since the thinnest wire is supposed to have the highest resistance. However a good conductor, which is what copper is, will allow current to flow through it easily. Therefore that’s why the ammeter reading for the copper wire, which measures the current, was very high, compared to the reading of the other types of wire. A nichrome wire would have more resistance than a copper wire of the same size, because less current flows through it, making it not such a good conductor. We can also conclude that the thickest wire, type 26, had the highest resistance because less current could flow through it. EVALUATING: This investigation was conducted following the method above. By following those steps, I managed to obtain more than enough readings to plot a graph with and I managed to obtain accurate results, until the wire reached 30cm (TABLE 1). However my previous readings were fairly accurate, which were more enough for me to plot a graph with. I had seven readings when only 6 are needed to plot a graph. The results of the first experiment my group conducted, (TABLE 2) were much more accurate than the second one (TABLE 1). The resistance was very constant, however we did not complete the experiment. We planned to carry it on the next lesson, but it would not have been a fair test because we used a different power pack and the voltage was not the same. We found out that we were getting odd results to our previous ones; therefore we had to start the whole thing again. We made sure we finished that experiment and even had time to conduct another: an investigation to find out whether the thickness of a wire would affect the resistance. Since I only had to investigate five different wires, obtaining five results, this investigation was easier to conduct because there were fewer to do and I knew exactly what I was doing. It took me less time to set up the circuit and it was definitely a fair test. However when it came to the 32-copper wire the resistance was very high. I expected it to be high because it was one of the thinnest wires, however not that high. I suspect I either recorded the wrong reading or because at low voltage the power pack was inaccurate and at high current there was a heating effect. However, as I mentioned in the analysing section, there was a simpler explanation. From previous work, I remembered copper is a very good conductor, therefore the high current reading. In future if I conduct another similar experiment to this one there are some improvements that could be made: I could compare my results with other people to see if they got the same or near enough results. That way I would know whether I was on the right tracks. If I am stuck on connecting the circuit, I could draw a diagram first and follow that. I should finish every experiment the same day; so that I get more accurate results and can compare the results to the results of another experiment, on the same subject and would not have waste time having to start the same experiment again. I could have done some further research and find out what and if there are any other factors that affect the resistance of a wire and then I could have conducted an experiment.

Deciding whether to use flexible staffing Case Study

Deciding whether to use flexible staffing - Case Study Example Flexible Staffing Services, FFC, is a late entrant into the staffing industry priding itself in the provision of qualified human resource. Kaiser Manufacturing Company on the other hand is an experienced company operating in the manufacture and sale of agricultural products. The company that has operated for the past fifty ears remained stuck in the traditional system of managing human resource thus resulting in the modern operational stalemate in the company. Kaiser Manufacturing Company, KMC, continues to experience diminish demand for its products while the labor costs in the company continues to rise owing to the fact that the company has an older workforce. Such a workforce boasts a well of experience in the traditional mechanisms of both production and marketing but do not appreciate the changes in the market a feature that validates the company’s dwindling fortunes. The company therefore requires the services of a contemporary staffing company, one that understands the industry and will sustain the provision and effective management of employees at the organization thus enhancing the company’s profitability. Flexible Staffing services provide employees in unique packages that safeguard the interests of the client. The situation at KMC requires a pool of employees hired in appropriate mechanisms in order to low the escalating cost of labor at the company. The Flexible Staffing Services promise the diverse workforce that the company require. The company furnishes its clients with numerous classes of employees qualified in varied sections of an organization including production, management, technical and clerical. KMC requires such a wide range of employees a feature that makes the staffing company essential. The company promises a group of unified employees besides the fact that the company will provide KMC with a large pool of possible employees to choose from (Klemmer, 2009). Among the primary

Project Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

Project Management - Assignment Example product developed through the project will provide the necessary support in line with the quality standards set within the jurisdiction that the company operates. The compatibility of the system to Microsoft and Apple provides a platform of operations for the product that embraces technologies by Microsoft and Apple to result into a positive product for the market. These provide the background to project management. All these levels require commitment of resources, which need management and control hence the need for project management. Project management bases on various backgrounds based on the needs of the project developers and company that the project is to serve. Project management relies on three basic principles also considered objectives. These include the objectives of the project, the constraints and the lifecycle under which the project is operational. These guide project managers in planning, scheduling, control and execution of the project. The use of two major techniques hat is the project evaluation technique applicable in review too and the critical path method all depending on the aspects of objectivity, constraint sand lifecycle. As HP aims at delving into the project, the need to consider the objectives of the project, the constraints to expect and the project lifecycle proves vital. A clear definition of project objectives and goals at the beginning of the project provides the project managers with the necessary direction through which the project proceeds. The objectives of the HP project are to develop a tablet whose programs prove compatible with Microsoft and Apple systems to serve elementary school students in various purposes. The objectives draw the line and set the pace under which the project operates. The success of the project depends on the understanding of the project objectives by all members handing the project to ease understanding and execution. Each person needs to understand his or her role in the project development

Final Assignment Chapters 9 & 10 Research Paper

Final Assignment Chapters 9 & 10 - Research Paper Example ees as an opportunity to belittle her boss by stating it was too early to make such an early assessment yet she had not fully understood how politics had been used by Kathryn. It was very clear that everyone was trying safeguard his wellbeing but not the work of the organization’s development (Lencioni, p.25). The tech decision team also lacks significant communication in the sense that when Nick the chief operating officer suggests they acquire the green banana firm in Boston. Upon being questioned by Kathryn about the timing of the project, he responds with arrogance about her role in team building and not industrial technology (Lencioni, p.56). Another essential attribute missing from the tech Decision team that was a necessary for its effectiveness was lack of extensive collaboration. Lack of collaboration is when JR the sales head resigns and cities wasteful meetings as his reason for calling it quits with the company. Also by Mickey deciding to leave as a result of direct criticism for her focus in personal reputation rather than contribution to the team further exhibited lack of active collaboration (Lencioni, p.36). The Decision tech team experienced only the first three of the four stages of team development since we don’t see them working in respect to performing. Kathryn was effective in enabling the team moves through each phase in the following ways. In the forming stage the dominant human relationships are silence, dependence, self-consciousness, and superficiality. These are during the first week upon taking her new position as the C.E.O. She spent most of her early week walking in the halls, holding brief conversations with staff members and direct contacts and maintaining silence in majority of the meetings she attended. Since she was not well accustomed to her new job and proved her dependence by requesting Jeff Shanley to proceed with the weekly staff meetings as the head. She only maintained brief contacts with other employees and walked

Humanitarian Ethics System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Humanitarian Ethics System - Essay Example According to a recent report by the World Federation of International Societies of the Red Cross and Red Crescent is no longer defensible humanitarian intervention before certain disaster without addressing its causes. This paper 2000 humanitarian ethics system in a concise and comprehensive way. Speaking in the context of twenty first century, humanitarian action is consisted on strong values, norms and standards of 'humanity', from which its name is taken. Humanity, thus, appears as the unshakable link that unites and cements all human beings: a feeling, emotion and a sense that push each person to recognize the other as his or her equal and fellow human being. Most ethical theories in the ancient world were forms of virtue ethics, but in the era of 2000 there have, until recently, been few virtue ethicists. Most moral theories of 2000 treat rightness as a matter of producing good results or conforming to moral rules or principles, but virtue ethics specifies what is moral in relation to such inner factors as character and motive, and unlike most modern views, it treats aretaic notions like "admirable" and "excellent" - rather than deontic concepts like "ought," "right," and "obligatory" - as fundamental to the enterprise of ethics (Slote, 2007). Slote (2007) mentions that in its 2003 report on disasters, the International Federation of Societies of Red Cross and Red Crescent, in addition to analyzing some timely topics such as famine in southern Africa, the conflict between power and ethics in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, the phenomenon of forced migration, framed conceptually ethics humanitarian disasters and wars, reflect on the measurement of disasters (challenges, opportunities and ethics) and provide data on disasters and refugees. Regarding the famine in early 2003 affected 15 million people in southern Africa, the document denounces lack of foresight, inefficiency and delay in implementing the aid. The combination of this disaster with the HIV / AIDS and poverty dramatically complicates the situation and generates questions about the relevance of certain intervene in conflicts without attacking its structural causes (Slote, 2007). Jacques (2003) discusses that another example of the difficulties of international aid to solve basic problems is the situation in Afghanistan, where in many aspects of security and human rights were compounded since the invasion of the allied troops led by the United States. Also the phenomenon of forced migration (175 million people living outside their homeland) raises ethical and legal problems related to humanitarian aid and citizenship and their rights. The humanitarian ethics is guided by two principles: neutrality and independence. These are the basis of a code of conduct for humanitarian aid which has acceded to over 200 organizations worldwide. However, the Federation of Societies of Red Cross and Red Crescent noted that compliance with these principles has been uneven. Humanitarian assistance tends to

Literatrure Review Research Paper on Teen Pregnancy in the UK Case Study

Literatrure Review Research Paper on Teen Pregnancy in the UK - Case Study Example These contraceptives have been found to be used only after the individuals have become sexually active, and this has created a situation where unwanted pregnancies are barely prevented in this state. It has further been found that of all the pregnancies that take place in the United Kingdom, nearly half of them are unplanned and of these, almost a quarter are terminated, while thirty eight percent end up being unwanted children (DiCenso, Guyatt, Willan & Griffith 2002, p.1426). The abortion rate in the United Kingdom is among the highest in the developed world, only being surpassed by Canada and the United States; a fact which can be said to be serious indeed. Despite the fact that Britain takes for granted its progress in maternal health, because of its substantial improvement over the years, it still has the challenge of teenage pregnancies to consider. Teenage pregnancy in the United Kingdom can be considered an area that is a very serious public health problem that has to be effe ctively tackled if prevention is to be achieved. The detrimental social and health results that tend to accompany unplanned teenage pregnancy have over the years come to be realised in the United Kingdom. Despite the fact that birth rates amongst teenagers have dropped considerably in many areas of Europe, the opposite has been taking place in Britain, whose rates are considered the highest in Europe. ... It has therefore become necessary to make a study of the causes and effects of teenage pregnancies in the United Kingdom since it is an ideal environment where such a study can be conducted in the developed world. Literature Review The growing problem of teenage pregnancies, most of them unwanted, in the United Kingdom, has come to raise a lot of concern to such an extent where plenty of literature is being written about. Most of the new literature about this phenomenon not only focuses on the development of statistics, but they also focus on the causes, effects, as well as the possible solutions that can be developed to curb this problem. In previous years, the literature written concerning teen pregnancies often ignored the psychosocial problems that these cases often cause for those teenage mothers involved. Among the psychosocial problems that often plague teenage mothers are the following; the interruption of their education, the limitation of their job opportunities, the separa tion that develops between the teenage mother and her child’s father, and finally, the increased risk of repeat pregnancies (Silles 2011, p.766). It has been recognised that the causes of teenage pregnancies are quite diverse and complex in a number of ways which include pressure from older partners, a lack of sex education, a delay of the use of contraceptives, as well as the failure of contraceptives after they have been used (Chevalier & Viitanen 2003, p.325). In Britain, it has been found that there is extensive geographical disparity, with the highest rate of teenage pregnancies being among girls in Barnsley, Doncaster, and southeast London. This case can be distinguished from that in eastern Surrey, which has for the most part, low

Oral Script About Titanic Essay Example for Free

Oral Script About Titanic Essay Good morning to my teacher and fellow friends. Today I want to talk about the sinking of Titanic. RMS Titanic was a passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. The sinking of Titanic caused the deaths of 1,514 people in history. She was the largest ship afloat at the time of her maiden voyage. One of three liners operated by the White Star Line, she was built between 1909-11 by the Harland and Wolff Shipyard in Belfast. Her passengers included some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as over a thousand emigrants from Britain,  Ireland,  Scandinavia  and elsewhere seeking a new life in North America. The ship was designed to be the last word in comfort and luxury, with an on-board gymnasium, swimming pool, libraries, high-class restaurants and opulent cabins. She also had a powerful wireless telegraph provided for the convenience of passengers as well as for operational use. Though she had advanced safety features such as watertight compartments and remotely activated watertight doors, she lacked enough lifeboats to accommodate all of those aboard. Due to outdated maritime safety regulations, she carried only enough lifeboats for 1,178  people – a third of her total passenger and crew capacity. After leaving Southampton, England on 10  April 1912,  Titanic  called at  France  and Ireland before heading westwards towards New York. On 14 April 1912, four days into the crossing and about 375 miles south of Newfoundland, she hit an iceberg at 11:40  pm. The glancing collision caused  Titanics hull plates to buckle inwards in a number of locations on her  starboard  side and opened five of her sixteen watertight compartments to the sea. Over the next two and a half hours, the ship gradually filled with water and sank. Passengers and some crew members were evacuated in lifeboats, many of which were launched only partly filled. Just before 2:20  am  Titanic  broke up and sank bow-first with over a thousand people still on board. Those in the water died within minutes from  hypothermia  caused by immersion in the freezing ocean. The 710 survivors were taken aboard from the lifeboats by the  RMS Carpathia  a few hours later. The disaster was greeted with worldwide shock and outrage at the huge loss of life and the regulatory and operational failures that had led to it. Many of the survivors lost all of their money and possessions and were left destitute; many families, particularly those of crew members from Southampton, lost their primary bread-winners. They were helped by an outpouring of public sympathy and charitable donations. Some of the male survivors, notably the White Star Lines chairman,  J.Bruce Ismay, were accused of cowardice for leaving the ship while people were still on board, and they faced social ostracism. The  wreck of the  Titanic  remains on the seabed, gradually disintegrating at a depth of 12,415 feet (3,784  m). Since its rediscovery in 1985, thousands of artifacts have been recovered from the sea bed and put on display at museums around the world. Titanic  has become one of the most famous ships in history, her memory kept alive by numerous  books, films, exhibits and memorials. That’s all. Thank you.

Importance of Monitoring Assessment Record keeping and Reporting

Importance of Monitoring Assessment Record keeping and Reporting Over the course of the previous 30 years assessment has been a major focus of educational discussion and research. It is generally accepted that assessment is a vital part of a teachers role which needs to be carefully considered. According to Kellough and Kellough (1999, p. 417), Teaching and learning are reciprocal processes that depend on and affect one another. Thus, the assessment component deals with how well the students are learning and how well the teacher is teaching. Haydn (2009 cited in Capel et al 2009 page 329) defines assessment as all those activities which are undertaken by teachers, and others, to measure the effectiveness of teaching and learning. Although this is a fairly broad definition, it does allude to the wider importance of assessment. Assessment is used to measure teaching and learning and to inform future practice by individuals on various levels related to education: Pupils to identify current achievement, attainment and areas for progression. Parents / carers can identify and aid student progression; additionally understanding individual and school performance compared to national standards. Teachers to identify areas of strength and weakness in their pupils skills and knowledge, thus informing planning, providing work of an appropriate challenge, covering the national curriculum and ensuring progression. Senior Leaders / Governors to identify schools areas of strength and areas of development with regard to national standards and additionally to local issues and demographics thus informing the school development plan. Government can use a variety assessment data and statistical testing to measure school performance, identifying good / best practice or areas which may need closer monitoring and support. The assessment process clearly provides an extensive range of uses for many people associated with education and schools. It is important to break the assessment process down into two widely accepted strands, assessment of learning (AOL) and assessment for learning (AFL). AOL is characterised by the use of tests, targets and exams whereby pupils receive a fixed mark, grade or exam result (e.g. the end result of a GCSE exam) (ONeill Ockmore, 2006). In comparison, AFL is concerned more with the process of collecting information from pupils so that both they and the teacher can identify the current stage of learning taking place and therefore highlight what needs to be done next for learning to continue (Assessment Reform Group, 1999; 2002). The purpose of AOL is to report on the achievement and attainment of pupils at a given time or stage within their learning (Harlen 2007), the term summative assessment is commonly used. Summative assessment refers to measuring the total sum of learning at a given point in time. It uses end of topic, end of key stage or end of qualification assessments to provide data which can be used to assess learning or to compare performance to national standards. These comparisons can be in different areas such as comparison to peers (normative assessment), pupils past achievements (ipsative) or set criteria (criterion referenced e.g. National Curriculum level descriptors) (Riding and Butterfield 1990). Clearly, assessing achievement encompasses ipsative assessment, assessing pupils progression form previous grades and assessments to their most recent activity. This can be done at the student, school and LA level. Students can record end of unit grades to understand and identify their own progression made (this can be linked to AFL); the school and Local Authority (LA) can use the assessment as performance indicators i.e. has the child made appropriate 3 levels of progress, is the school adding value to the child. Adding value can be an important factor; even though a child may not compare well to national averages, the child may have made significant progress in particular areas showing great ipsative improvements. For a school in a deprived area with fourth generation unemployment (such as my second school) this can show teachers, students and LA that progression and improvements are being made, even if these improvements are not reflected in the schools exam results or league tab les. Normative assessment is the assessment of a student compared to their peers (Browning 1997). Normative assessment is used frequently by many in education: by schools to place students in pathways / sets, by teachers to differentiate work and provide challenge and by LA / Government to compare schools and groups of students. Normative assessment does require students to be taking the same assessment. Potential problems arise via alternative / vocational qualifications or teacher judgement and discretion of which tests students in their class may sit if the assessment is not a school-wide focus or policy. Criterion referenced assessment is a common feature of most summative / AOL tasks now employed. Students are marked and ranked against a given criteria, a set benchmark; this may be a mark scheme for a GCSE or National Curriculum level descriptors correlated to specific year group for key stage 3 (National Curriculum testing). Criterion referenced assessments are believed to be much fairer and more objective than normative assessment (Dunn et al 2002) as all students are measured against the criterion given. This however provides some positive and negative features for those involved; teachers will become familiar with content to cover allowing adaption of teaching and experimentation to find best practice and hopefully improve learning. Students should be aware of standards and expectations that they must meet (linking with AFL) allowing for focus and attention to be paid to particular areas. Both teachers and students can familiarise with grade boundaries and nature of questions as ked. Finally at a LA or Government level an objective comparison can be made from school to school, town to town or demographic to demographic. Unfortunately the positives can have a negative aspect. Teachers and students may teach and learn to the test resulting in a poor understanding of the subject but excellent grades being attained by coached pupils. This can lead to inaccurate or insignificant comparisons being made by LA or Government and incorrect inferences being made. Coaching or teaching to the test is somewhat of a topical issue within keys stage 2 and 3 education; with many schools choosing not to entre students into Standard Assessment Tests (SATS) at the end of key stage 2 and 3 because of aforementioned issues. As mentioned coaching for a test can provide weakness in subject knowledge resulting in overinflated expectations of a pupils ability causing problems for teachers and senior leaders. Firstly teachers will have to retest or find true baseline information allowing for effective provision and challenge of work; later difficulties can be created due to students having over estimated predicted grades or potential. This is an obvious concern for senior leadership as school results may be affected by a child not achieving potential, a potential which may be unrealistic before intervention and provision. For senior leaders at key stage 2 and 4 the figures could produce a rather insignificant league table of results affecting reputation and i ntake. Such problems are trying to be resolved with alternative forms of testing. The Middle Years Information System (MidYis) test is now commonly used. Midyis tests are sat with no prior preparation and are designed to test ability and aptitude for learning rather than achievement (http://www.cemcentre.org/midyis). The tests are available for students at the end of key stage 2 and 3 and have good correlations with attainment. The test measures a whole host of skills including reading, writing, maths, perception and skills such as visualisation, block counting and spatial awareness. As no prior preparation is involved, teaching to the test is removed. Many schools now deploy assessment points throughout the year to monitor progression of pupils. There are many ways of collecting this data to monitor progression. Some schools may use the discretion of the teacher to produce a level based on their professional judgement; this can be done for academic ability / achievements and also personal qualities such as effort level. Additionally data can be produced from blanket assessments across faculties for particular year groups; or again with discretion of teachers to provide an assessment for their particular classes. Both rationales have merits and drawbacks to be considered before advancing with a particular methodology. Indeed at key stage 4, summative assessments are mainly produced by or with reference to qualifications being studied by pupils. Qualification boards provide the criteria to judge students objectively within cohorts studying the same qualification; however differences in qualification expectations are vast. There is great provision set aside for young people in an attempt to ensure every child can achieve, make a positive contribution and ultimately develop and become employed. Depending on demographics and catchment the provision made by the school will vary greatly. A more affluent catchment area consisting of employed families with a higher regard for education is more likely to encourage academic achievement and qualifications, such as triple award science and GCSE qualifications; providing a more academic qualification base instead of a more skills, practical base. From limited experience these differences have been apparent; with a more affluent lead school offering a wider ran ge of academic qualifications and GCSEs compared to a more deprived second school which provided a whole host of alternative qualifications such as BTEC, OCR National or applied GCSEs. Indeed this reflects engagement and choice from students but also shows the judgments which must be made by schools to match students to appropriate qualifications and assessments. Due to the nature of KS4 assessment teaching to the test is not an option. Skills based, practical qualifications often involve students producing evidence of meeting benchmark standards or gaining experience. The more academic qualifications ask questions in a variety of ways, including open questions, forcing students to understand their subjects. There is some discrepancy and controversy in data being produced at the end of key stage 4 due to GCSE equivalent qualifications. Schools currently use equivalents as a part of the data produced for Key stage 4 A-C grades; with many arguing that equivalents do not have the same rigour as GCSEs, an issue currently being reviewed at Government level by Professor Alison Wolf on behalf of the Department of Education. The data being produced at the end of key stage 4 via summative assessment plays a vital role in school performance. RAISEonline provides analysis of school and pupil performance data with aims of allowing school to better self evaluate, provide common data analysis for schools, LA, inspectors and school improvement partners and better support teaching and learning; it will enable schools to examine context, attainment and value added data explore hypotheses about pupil performance and moderate pupil targets (https://www.raiseonline.org/About.asp). The subjects mainly covered by RAISEonline are English, Maths and Science with some information on all GCSE subjects at the end of Key Stage 4. The document can provide a comparative of the school relative to national standards not only on attainment but also context and demographics. It is possible to see percentage of pupils on free school meals indicating deprivation, looked after children, percentage of pupils from ethnic backgrounds or that has Special Educational Needs status; all of which bring about varied challenges for schools. This allows schools to be put into to context in terms of pupils, catchment and demographics. Additionally prior attainment can be considered. Those schools with a higher than average number of pupils achieving a level 4 (on average) and a lower than average achieving a level 5 at the end of Key Stage 3 will find it more difficult to achieve a higher percentage of A-C grades (as with second school experience). This may result in more intervention being made for a larger number of students on C/D borderline to help increase attainment levels. RAISEonline uses an average point score (each level given an equivalent number to allow for statistical testing) to provide a picture of the attainment of pupils of all abilities. This can be used as mentioned above or it can be used to identify groups which may need more assistance e.g. a high score for GCSE points but low A-C points would suggest many students received qualifications for GCSE or equivalents but only managed 4 or less and not 5. This may suggest that middle ability students need to be extended further to achieve a C or that equal opportunities could be better promoted as other schools on average attain more C grades. At the lead school, average point score for English, Maths and Science is consistent with the national average however A*-C score is higher, this may suggest that middle ability students are focused on more for the core subjects with optional subjects being better resourced and focused to achieving higher grades. The final piece of RAISEonline data I will consider is the Contextual Vale Added (CVA) score. CVA is a prediction of attainment that accounts for pupil background, prior attainment, demographical or situational difficulties (as mentioned). If a school has a high CVA score (as with second school) it would suggest that the school is making very good progress with students, this may not be reflected in the average point score for A-C grades; but catchment area of pupils will limit that potential. If a school is very high in CVA it would suggest that the pupils are making more progress than predicted compared to national average. If this is not the case, further investigation can be complete to determine areas which need more attention and support to raise attainment, thus affecting the school development plan; an area which should continually evolve with the use of RAISEonline data. Over the next few months and years RAISEonline itself is likely to be adapted and evolved as current gove rnment reviews will change how schools and education is measured. The aforementioned Wolf Review will focus on vocational qualifications to determine which are sufficiently rigorous and useful to students and economic society. The recently released White Paper The Importance of Teaching is set to change how schools are measured; with an inclusion of Science to English and Maths as a floor target. The paper also outlines the importance of GCSEs and the movement away from vocational qualifications; rendering such vocational or alternative qualifications as obsolete and ineffectual. Within the exploration of summative assessment, there have been improvements in my knowledge of the range of assessments (Q12 appendix 2), which have incorporated the assessment requirements for those who I need to teach and their qualifications (Q11 appendix 1). The range is vast and importance must be placed on suiting the student to the qualification, considering rigour of qualification, strengths of the student and their aspirations. This is particularly important for student attainment and achievement and also school performance. Due too much of the data generated in summative assessment being used to provide data for statistical analysis (Q13 appendix 3); its importance must not be undervalued. Having accurate information on student ability, school context and issues can only serve as a benefit for teachers, a benefit which should be maximised. The information can be used coherently as part of the teaching and learning process, raising standards and levels of attainment. The second strand of assessment, Assessment For Learning (AFL), is very different to AOL. AFL is more concerned with the process of collecting information from pupils so that both they and the teacher can identify the current stage of learning taking place and therefore highlight what needs to be done next for learning to continue, rather than assess the learning taken place Assessment Reform Group, 1999; 2002). The term formative assessment is commonly used in place of AFL being described by Bell and Cowie (2001) as assessment which is intended to enhance teaching and learning. An analogy of making soup describes the difference most clearly; when a soup is being prepared, the cook tastes the soup, adjusting amounts of ingredients and determining what needs to be added, this is formative assessment. When the soup is served and tasted by customer that is summative assessment (Guskey 2000, cited in Lund and Tannehill 2010 p86). AFL is usually an informal process, entrenched in all facets of teaching and learning (Black et al 2003). As figure 1 illustrates, formative assessment can be best described as an ongoing process that interlinks with other elements such as planning, teaching and learning (Casbon and Spackman, 2005) Figure 1. The plan-teach-learn-assess cycle (cited Bailey, 2001 p141) The cycle illustrated reflects the relentless approach needed by teachers to meet best practice. Assessment must be used in order for the teacher to glean understanding of ability and set appropriately challenging work. This clearly links to planning to organise such work, allowing effective teaching and progressive learning. As teachers glean this knowledge of the group, they often require baseline data to assist their own judgments. Diagnostic Assessment (DA) is often used; it involves teachers assessing pupils progress against a given criteria (a potentially summative task), allowing them to become informed about their next steps in planning for effective learning (a largely formative task). There is debate over DA forming a part of formative assessment, summative assessment or being an individual, separate entity. In my opinion, due to its very nature of ascertaining previous knowledge, strengths, weaknesses and skills to inform planning, it is a part of the assessment for learni ng process. Indeed the DA may be an overlapping area of the 2 strands of assessment; completed in a more summative or formative way, largely depending on teaching style and preference. Upon completion of DA, the continual cycle mentioned above will become an inherent focus for the teacher. As emphasised by ONeill Ockmore (2006), assessment should not be viewed as a separate entity, but rather an imbedded principle as the other elements are dependent on this to develop and progress effectively. Using the levels ascertained in summative or diagnostic assessment, the teacher can then enhance learning and future attainment. An influential paper by Black and Wiliam (1998) Inside The Black Box; raising standards through classroom assessment showed formative assessment to have a pivotal role in raising standards, particularly when students are actively involved in the assessment process; and the results of assessments are used to inform planning. This information is invaluable to teachers. As mentioned via the learning cycle assessment is vital to inform planning and thus facilitating effective teaching and learning. By incorporating students into the process, focusing o n quality of learning and feedback, educational and learning standards can be raised. Additionally, Black and Wiliam (1998) explored developmental areas for improvement; providing some indication of evidence to support particular improvements of formative assessment methodology; indicating that the process requires further developments. The Assessment Reform Group (ARG) attempted to provide such developments; as a follow up to Inside The Black Box, the ARG produced Assessment For Learning: Beyond The Black Box (1999) identifying five key factors in effective AFL: providing effective feedback to pupils; actively involving pupils in their own learning; adjusting teaching to take account of assessment results; recognise the influence of assessment on pupil motivation and self-esteem, both vital to learning considering the need for pupils to be able to assess themselves and to understand how to improve. In practice, for educators, the factors clearly allude to facilitating understanding of what good learning or work is to students; they can therefore identify their stage of learning, areas to develop and how to improve. The ARG (1999) also provided risk factors with regard to assessment, factors which undermine the AFL process and should be avoided, these include; having an emphasis on quantity and presentation rather than valuing quality of learning; lowering confidence / self-esteem by concentrating on judgements and thus not providing advice for improvement; providing feedback to serve managerial / social purposes rather than helping pupils learn more effectively; working without a sufficient understanding of pupil learning needs. Building on the ARGs work and their own work in developing formative assessment Black and Wiliam et al (2002) produced Working Inside The Black Box; Assessment For Learning In The Classroom; hoping to pick up where they had left off and further develop AFL pedagogy under four main headings: Questioning To develop educators questioning skills, asking pertinent questions, allowing thought and response time for students, having follow up activities that are meaningful, and finally, only asking questions for which the teacher requires information or that the students need to think about. These are fairly simple points and a concept which can be considered and introduced to teaching practice quickly and efficiently; improving teaching and learning with a fairly immediate effect. Peer and Self Assessment Criteria for evaluating learning must be shared with and be clear to pupils; thus facilitating a clear overview of the aims of the work and what it means to be completed successfully. Pupils should be taught the habits and skills of self and peer assessment so that students can keep in mind the aims of the work and assess progress as they proceed. This will hopefully allow pupils to develop learning in a unique way which cannot be achieved in any other way. Practically this means sharing learning objectives and outcomes of lessons and activities and making self and peer assessment a common process. Revisiting aims of learning and assessing success can then be used to guide learning both for the teacher and by the student, promoting independence. Feedback Through Marking Written tasks should encourage pupils to develop and show understanding of key features of the subject studied. Written feedback should identify areas of strength, improvement and how to make that improvement; additionally providing opportunity for the improvements to be made. And finally to be effective, feedback should stimulate thinking to take place. In an area often rushed, it is clearly invaluable for teachers to consider their comments. Providing effective feedback empowers the student and allows for independent improvement; indeed, opportunities for learners to make the improvements are vital. The effective feedback concept is one which can be closely linked to peer and self evaluation. Having a consistent approach with clear criteria, making assessment and feedback a habitual process, will assist all feedback to be thought about and considered by the learner. Formative Use Of Summative Tests Summative tests should be seen to be a positive part of the learning process. Pupils should be engaged in a reflective way of the work they have done to revise effectively. This may and should involve students setting and marking questions within given criteria, to help them understand how the assessment process works and ways to improve. This can be linked closely to peer and self assessment and effective feedback once again promoting self ownership to students. It is imperative that teachers consider the formative assessment process and apply principles effectively and frequently. Teaching and learning goes hand in hand emphatically underlying the need for an open, clear process, which involves the student to think and consider at every possible opportunity. At the lead school many different activities have been engaged as part of the formative assessment process; many of which reflect the aforementioned principles and features of AFL. There is however a clear scope for improvement; especially in providing a transparent criteria for students to understand in completing their work. This does not reflect coaching to the test as mentioned in summative assessment, more of an understanding of what is expected to classify excellent work and how expectations can be met. To improve practice it is important to habitually employ the features of good AFL technique; this will assist students in becoming very aware of the learning process and their own learning needs whilst allowing teachers to facilitate the learning to maximal effect and efficiency. Within my exploration of AFL there have been vast improvements to my pedagogy and practice of assessment. The formative assessment process has immense importance to ensure effective teaching and learning (Q12 appendix 2). The AFL process can encapsulate all other forms of assessment to make the purpose more beneficial to the student; enhancing the learning cycle and thus teaching and learning. Statistical data and national information (Q13 appendix 3) can be used to inform the AFL process; likewise AFL can be used to enhance the summative process. In my opinion, AFL is one the most important aspect of classroom practice. It will allow further knowledge of students and ability, both by the student themselves and the teacher; leading to better planning, teaching and learning. This can only better serve the student and facilitate improvements in attainment. An area for development at the lead and second school was the recording of AFL. Formative assessment can provide a far more holistic picture of a child, the learning journey and performance comparatively to summative assessment. It removes individualised responses to the test condition and pressure felt at the time. Additionally, recording the formative assessment process enables teacher reflections of the learning taken place; ensuring all range and content is covered whilst facilitating better planning and enhancing the active learning cycle. This is an area which has little focus but could play a vital part in best practice for teaching and learning. A particularly important area for me is to ensure improved links between the formative and summative process. The summative process must be used in a more engaged, learning centred way stimulating thought and encompassing more AFL ideology. Thus making the learning journey more meaningful and enjoyable for students; hopefully promoting confident, motivated, independent, life long learners; of which all reach their full potential. In conclusion, all forms of assessment have merits and advantages. It is however the skill and knowledge of the teacher, in selecting the best suited assessment for the task, student ability and aims of learning which is most vital. The assessment process for the student must be transparent and informed allowing for though and reflection thus facilitating higher standards and superior learning. Appendices Appendix 1 Q11 Know the assessment requirements and arrangements for the subjects/curriculum areas in the age ranges they are trained to teach, including those relating to public examinations and qualifications. Appendix 2 Q12 Know a range of approaches to assessment, including the importance of formative assessment. Appendix 3 Q13 Know how to use local and national statistical information to evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching, to monitor the progress of those they teach and to raise levels of attainment.