Strategy and Competition of Swissair Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Strategy and Competition of Swissair - Essay Example The rapid expansion which was supposed to bring Swissair out of its financial worries only served to make the situation worse eventually leading to liquidity problems for the company. Further, the manner in which Swissair spent money and made investments clearly shows that the management often had other interests in mind rather than the best interests of the company. Â  The SWOT Analysis of the company shows that while the strengths of the business were exploited, the weaknesses and were not accounted for and those weaknesses eventually led to the threats to the company becoming realities. The SWOT analysis created with the information presented in the case study shows the elements as follows. Â  Porter’s 5 Forces shows an interesting picture for the airline industry and it is clear that it is not easy to be a new entrant into a market which is dominated by heavy competition and rising costs. Profit margins for many airlines are becoming thinner as fuel costs and taxes are increased internationally which means the only determinant of new entrants is how easy or difficult it is for them to secure significant lines of capital. Even with price competition, an airline which has a strong brand name might be able to charge a premium for the same services as other airlines. Getting that brand name, however, requires continued service quality and a long history of excellence. The power of suppliers is also quite high since Boeing and Airbus dominate the supply side while the power of the buyers is quite low with regard to them simply needing planes if they are to call themselves as an airline. The threat of substitutes becomes low when we consider international travel but it remains quite high when local and regional travel is considered.

Operations Process Design Essay Example for Free

Operations Process Design Essay Operations process design 1. Introduction The assignment will be on the manufacturing of concrete stone paving. This product has been chosen because its demand is growing rapidly as most people are concerned about the need for decorating their homes, businesses, municipalities are involved in small town regeneration programmes and there is growth in development buildings and malls in the Eastern Cape. Concrete stone paving is preferred instead of other forms because it is versatile, aesthetically attractive, functional, cost effective and requires little or no maintenance if correctly manufactured and laid. Sellers of concrete stone paving in East London are sourcing it from other provinces or countries, there are very few manufacturers and yet the demand is high. The company which will be started for the manufacturing of stone paving will develop a business strategy and mission and the operations mission and objectives will be aligned to them. The operations’ mission will be to provide quality and value for money stone paving in an effective and efficient way. The distinctive competence is the fact the local manufacturing that will offer customer opportunity to order desired designs instead of choosing from the available designs. The company will also capitalise short lead times as the product is locally manufactured and has highly skilled and experienced cross functional team that is innovative. 2. Product/service design In designing the product the company will adopt an inter-functional view, meaning that a product must meet the market needs and also have a technical advantage. This will be easily accomplished by the company as it possess a team of highly experienced specialists. Strategy for the stone paving is to differentiation and a product in which a customer finds value for money. In designing that product a cross functional team will be formed as this will benefit the organisation to make  the product a success. The team will be composed of all relevant representatives who have expertise in different fields like marketing, operations, engineering and supply chain management. Suppliers and customers will be included in the design phase of the product. Similar criteria will be used for selection of suppliers that will be involved in the project. The criteria to be used will be technical expertise, capability, capacity and low risk, thus only suppliers who demonstrate these attributes will be considered. Shruder, et al. (2013) suggests that collaboration with customers in the design process is essential as it results in a smooth running of the processes. The collaboration with customers will be considered for the development of the stone paving and different methods will be used to encourage participation like aligning incentives for customers to share knowledge and including them as advisors in the design team. While the stone paving is developed the manufacturability and value engineering activities which are concerned with improvement of design and specification at the research, development, design and production stages of product development will be considered. The foreseen benefits of implementing manufacturability and value engineering are cost reduction, reduced complexity of the paving, reduction of environmental impact and additional standardisation amongst others (Heizer and Render, 2011). Literature suggests different techniques that can be used in the design of products throughout the product life cycle, for the stone paving product techniques that will be used are: o robust design – this will allow small variations in the production of the paving to be done without affecting the product. o computer aided design – the computer will be used to develop and document the different types of paving. o value analysis successful products will be reviewed during the production process to ensure improvements. The aspects of design for paving that will be considered include the sizes, types and colours of paving to be manufactured. Further consideration will  be how the product must be manufactured, its quality and market acceptance. The specifications of the product will be meticulous in order to ensure efficient production. Heizer and Render (2011) states that it is vital to define, design and document a product as it determines the equipment, the layout and human resources required. Engineering drawings will be prepared for the stone paving to show dimensions tolerances, materials and finishes of components. Then a bill of material will list the components, their description and the quantity to make one unit of each type of stone paving. The assembly drawings, assembly charts, route sheets and work orders will be used to assist in the actual production of the paving. The laws and industry standards applicable to the product will be adhered and the product will be produced and delivered in an ethical and environmentally sound and sustainable way. 3. Process design According to Schroeder, et al. (2013) there are different types of processes (batch, assembly line, continuous, job shop, and project) each being suitable for a specific product produced. The concrete paving slabs are a low to moderate volume and will be produced in different types, sizes and colours, therefore the batch process will be more suitable. The factory layout will be designed such that it increases the efficiency and reduces the bottlenecks in the process. As different types of paving will be manufactured, e.g. budget manufactured stone, standard manufactured stone, premium manufactured stone and premium natural stone amongst others, the type of order fulfilment which will be appropriate is the make to order so as to reduce the costs of inventory, storage and damage. The suppliers will also be arranged such that the orders for supply like concrete and aggregates are delivered just in time for manufacturing. The process for the manufacturing of paving will be according to the stages detailed below. 3.1 Batching Aggregates will be used for making the various types of paving. The different aggregate types will be stored separately and so that they are well drained at all times. They will be protected from rain so as to stay dry before being mixed with the cement, thus ensuring that the optimum moisture content is not exceeded. The cement will be weighed to an accuracy of 1% except when batched by whole bags. Aggregates will be weighed to an accuracy of 2%. The weight of the aggregate batched will be adjusted in order to make allowance for moisture contained in the aggregates. 3.2 Mixing After batching, the aggregates and binder will be discharged separately or simultaneously, together with pigment if required, into the mixer and thoroughly mixed before any additional water is added. If a mix has high fines contents it may require longer mixing. Based on measurement of the variable moisture content of the aggregates or visual assessment by operators, water must be added to the mixture to bring it to optimum moisture content. Uniformity is important because differences in water content from batch to batch will result in differences in quality. After mixing, the mixture is stored in hoppers ready for dispensing into the moulds. 3.3 Filling of moulds Two basic principles will be applied for the production machines. The first method takes an amount of mixture and progressively compacts it under vibration until a predetermined height has been reached. In the second method, a gauged quantity of mixture is compacted for a set period. Care has to be taken for variations in density which may result if the gauged quantities are not consistent or the mixture is not uniformly distributed within the mould. Previbration is often used to facilitate filling and any gaps in moulds are thereafter topped up with a second filling of mixture. 3.4 Compaction The standard optimum period of vibration is 3 to 12 seconds and the same standard will be applied when compacting. Concrete pavers with a thickness greater than 80 mm will not be manufactured. Frequency and amplitude of vibration will be optimised for the specific materials being used and the number of blocks being moulded per cycle. 3.5 Curing The quality of concrete pavers is improved by water curing. Curing can be effected in one of three ways: moisture retention, steam curing and thermal insulation. The methods that will be used are detailed below: Moisture retention This is the least sophisticated method, is effective for blocks that are less dense and thus tend to lose moisture rapidly. Loss of moisture from newly made blocks is prevented by wrapping them in plastic sheeting. Thermal curing Newly moulded paving blocks are placed in an insulated chamber for a period of 24 hours. Temperature is increased by the heat of hydration of the cement and no additional heat is provided. The method is therefore inexpensive. 3.6 Quality control Control measures will be implemented at various critical points during the process and specific tests will be undertaken so as to ensure that the end product is of high quality. 4. Layout The company will have a layout strategy that will support its differentiation and value for money strategy. The layout strategy is aimed at developing an effective and efficient layout that will meet the organisation’s competitive requirements. According to (Slack, et al., 1998)  the layout design must consider the achievement of the following:- o maximum utilisation of space, equipment and people o improved flow of information, people or material o improved employee morale and safer working conditions o improved customer interaction, and o flexibility to accommodate changes and innovation 4.1 Manufacturing equipment Batching equipment Weight batching will be performed to ensure that a uniform product is obtained and for smaller projects, whole bags of cement will be used if the sizes of batch and mixer are compatible. Mixer Because a semi-dry mixture is used to mould concrete paving blocks, effective mixing will be done with pan and trough mixers. The size of the pan mixer will be related to production so that batches are used up within a reasonable time. Moulding machine Paving blocks must have fullest possible compaction achieved therefore the equipment must be capable of a high degree of compaction and satisfactory output. Stationary plants using the pallet system will be used as they provide the necessary high levels of vibration and pressure. LINE 1LINE 2LINE 3 5. Staffing If an organisation is to achieve it’s corporate as well as operations strategy and objectives, machines and equipment are not enough. People are needed to perform the operations of the business so that ultimately a product is produced and sold to the customers, thereby making money for the business. Important decisions have to be made regarding the jobs to be performed and the type of skills and competencies people who perform those  jobs should have. The development of the organizational structure should follow after the development of the strategy and the Human Resource department in collaboration with other departments should ensure that the right people are employed and retained for the productivity and sustainability of the business. This business‘s structure will be composed of the core business functions which are engineering, operations/manufacturing, marketing and sales, finance, human resources and administration as well as information communication technology. Below is a typical organizational structure that will ensure that the organization fully functions and cross functional teams will be used to ensure utilization of skills and contribution by many towards achievement of the organizational goals. Organisational Structure 6. Capacity planning Capacity refers to the number of units that the organisation can hold, receive store or produce in a period of time, this assist in assessing whether the demand will be satisfied or whether facilities will be idle. It is critical to determine the size of the business with the aim of achieving high levels of utilisation and high return on investment. The choice of equipment and the capacity decisions must be aligned to the organisation’s mission and strategy. Nigel, et al. (1998) suggests that the following factors be considered in order to obtain good capacity planning, o accurately forecasting the demand,  o understanding the equipment, processes and capacity increments, o finding the optimum operating size, and  o ensuring the flexibility needed for adjustments in technology, product features and mix as well as volumes. A number of techniques are available and useful for making capacity decisions and those are bottleneck analysis, good forecasting, breakeven analysis, cashflow and net present value amongst others. Currently the trends show that in East London in the Eastern Cape, the demand for the paving tiles exceeds the supply as a result the prices charged are very high compared to other cities or to other provinces. The places that are selling the tiles only buy them from other provinces or countries there is only one manufacturer. Therefore by maximising on the location economies and focusing at the Eastern Cape market, one could be able to have the desired market share. A risk management plan has to be in place and an aggressive marketing strategy will be designed to ensure customers become aware of our products and the value that can be derived from sourcing paving locally. Bottleneck management will be paid attention to by the Operations Manager as this will impact on the efficiency of the system and utilisation of resources. The four principles of bottleneck management will be taken cognisance of, the principles are: o release work order to the system at the pace set by the bottleneck’s capacity. o the bottlenecks should always be kept busy with work. o Non-bottlenecks should have planned idle time, as increasing their capacity has no impact on the system’s overall capacity. o Increasing capacity of the bottleneck increases capacity for the whole system. Illustration of capacity analysis with parallel processes 30 min60 min60 min60 min 28days 1 day Break –even analysis The break-even analysis will be calculated to determine how many products must be produced before profit can be made. Efforts to reduce the variable costs will be undertaken so that production can be maximised. 7. Location choice Location is the geographical positioning of an operation relative to the input resources, other operations or the customers with which it interacts (Slack, et al., 1998). The objective of a location strategy is to maximise the benefits of location of the organisation. The strategies used can either be location and costs or location and innovation, for this paving manufacturing company the location and costs strategy will be the focus, innovation will be a long-term factor to be considered. The manufacturing of concrete paving slabs requires cement, aggregates, water chemical admixtures, pigments and people amongst other factors. The company will have to identify all the necessary factors that may impact on the business financially and otherwise in order to select the location for manufacturing. A number of methods of evaluating location alternatives can be used to reach an informed decision, the table below shows the factor rating method used to select an appropriate site. Based on the scoring for factors considered important for the site, site A will be the best choice. Factor rating method for two sites |Key success factor |Weight |Site |Site | | | |A |B | |Proximity to suppliers |0.3 |60 |50 | |Proximity to customers |0.3 |65 |70 | |Labour pool |0.2 |45 |52 | |Climate |0.05 |60 |45 | |Wage rates |0.05 |73 |66 | |Community factors |0.1 |50 |30 | |TOTAL | |58.2 |54.9 | The optimum choice will have to be a balance of supply side and demand site factors that are considered important by the organisation for it to maximise its profits. The centre-of gravity method, locational break-even analysis which is a cost-volume analysis to make economic comparison of location alternatives and transportation model can also be used to assist in the choice of location (Heizer and Render, 2011). The company will be located in South Africa and within the Eastern Cape and the above analysis will assist with choosing the specific site. 8. Supply chain design According to Heizer and Render (2011) competition is no longer between companies but with supply chains. A range of suppliers will be interacted with in the manufacturing and marketing of the product and therefore an integrated approach to supply chain management must be used. Supply chain is determining factor of the product’s product costs, quality, responsiveness and differentiation. A number of supply chain strategies can be used like many or few suppliers, joint ventures, vertical integration, virtual companies amongst others. The company must should strategies that will support its objectives, provide competitive advantage and ensure satisfaction of its customers. 9. Quality management In order to offer quality products to the customers thereby improve revenues and reduce costs, the organization will ensure that quality is managed and continuous improvement efforts are implemented. A variety of techniques can be used to ensure quality is managed, this will start with ensuring that suppliers provide products that meet required standard e.g. cement should comply with SABS EN 197-1 . This will be the norm for other products as well in order minimise the risk of a poor end product. The ISO 9000 process certification, inspections and statistical process control will be implemented. The Operators and Quality Assurers will have to be trained on quality standards and methods for checking. The company like other companies will adopt the both the lean and six sigma process improvement approaches as  these have proved to assist most organizations. Quality control Quality control is defined as the stabilisation and maintenance of a process to produce consistent output (Schroeder, et al, 2013, p210). Throughout the processes critical control points will be defined to control and improve the processes. Control measures will be implemented to:- o Monitor changes in materials so that timely changes can be implemented in manufacture. The control measure will be regularly monitoring of changes in grading and moisture content of aggregates, monitoring mix consistence and measuring wet density of blocks. The causes for a change in density will be investigated in order to ensure correction of the root cause. o Routinely monitor the quality of the product for compliance with the specification. The more routine quality and compliance tests will be the checking on dimensions of blocks, testing strength of blocks and carrying out abrasion tests at an appropriate age. 10. Conclusion The company will achieve its business strategy and maximise profits if it has a clear and well defined operations strategy that is aligned to the business strategy. The use of cross-functional teams and supply chain strategy will assist it to gain competitive advantage and continuous improvement. The product design, process design, layout and supply chain should also support the operations of the company and lead to maximisation of profits. Quality must be managed throughout the processes and risks should be mitigated as the environment internally and externally is rapidly changing and technological advancement results in introduction of new products. 11. References Heizer, J. and Render, B., 2011. Operations Management. 10th Ed. London: Prentice Hall. Schoeder, R.G., Goldstein, S., and Rungtusanatham, M.J., Operations Management in Supply Chain. 2013. 6th Ed. New York: MacGraw-Hill. Slack, N., Chambers, S., Harland, C., Harrison, A., and Johnston, R., 1998. Operations Management. 2nd Ed. London: Pitman Publishing. Samples of products to be manufactured [pic][pic] START BATCHING MIXING MOULDING COMPACTION CURING PACKAGING CEO Marketing and Sales Specialist Human Resource and Administration Specialist Financial Specialist Operations Specialist Engineering Specialist Sales representatives x 2 Engineering Technician Supervisors x 2 Packers/ Loaders x 4 Quality Assurers x 3 ICT Technician Machine Operators x 4 Maintenance x 2 Drivers x 2 Packagingg Curing Compaction Moulding Mixing Batching Storage Order Packaging Curing Compactionnnn Mixing Moulding Batching STORAGE Administrator

The Use of Heritage in Everyday Use and A Pair of Tickets :: Alice Walker Amy Tan Papers

The Use of Heritage in Everyday Use and A Pair of Tickets A key factor in Alice Walker’s â€Å"Everyday Use,† and Amy Tan’s â€Å"A Pair of Tickets,† is heritage. Throughout both stories the use of heritage can be seen easily. Walker’s avoidance of heritage in her writings and Tan’s understanding of heritage in her writing. Through this readers can see the true meaning of heritage. Understanding both sides of these two stories gives readers a chance to explore their own heritage and reflect on how they accept their past. By contrasting the family characters in â€Å"Everyday Use,† Walker illustrates lost heritage by placing the significance of heritage solely on material objects. Walker presents Mama and Maggie, the younger daughter, as an example that heritage in both knowledge and form passing from one generation to another through a learning experience connection. However, by a broken connection, Dee the older daughter, represents a misconception of heritage as material. Dee, the â€Å"heritage queen† portrays a rags to riches daughter who does not understand what heritage is all about. Her definition of heritage hangs on a wall to show off, not to be used. Dee’s avoidance of heritage becomes clear when she is talking to Mama about changing her name, she says, â€Å"I couldn’t bear it any longer being named after the people who oppress me† (Walker 75). Thus resembling that Dee just takes another name without even understanding what her original name means. She tr ies to explain to Mama that her name now has meaning, quality, and heritage; never realizing that the new name means nothing. Changing her name bothers Mama and Maggie because Dee’s name is a fourth generation name, truly giving it heritage. Dee likes to gloat to her friends about how she was raised, so she tries to show off by decorating her house with useful items from her past. Her argument with Mama about taking quilts that were hand stitched as opposed to sewn by machine gives readers a chance to see Dee’s outlook of heritage is short lived. Dee says to Mama, â€Å"But they’re priceless. . . Maggie would put them on the bed and in five years they’d be in rags. Less than that!† (Walker 77). Mama will not allow her daughter to take the quilts because she has been saving them for Dee’s sister, Maggie, and she wants the quilts to be put into everyday use. By helping

Court System Structure

The state court system and the federal court system have similar codes of conduct, but they do have their differences. The state court system hears way more cases than the federal courts, and get more personally involved due to the issues being right in their own backyard. The state of California has 58 superior courts (trial courts) which reside in each of the 58 counties. It is here where any, and all, issues pertaining to civil and criminal cases, as well as family, probate, and juvenile cases are heard. This is where the bulk of California’s judiciary justice is served. If a case is appealed it is taken up the ladder to one of California’s six Courts of Appeal. According to courtinfo. ca. gov (2011), â€Å"The State legislature divided the state geographically into six appellate districts, each containing a Court of Appeal. † (About California Courts, para. 2). The Supreme Court of California sits at the apex of authority in the state's judicial system (courtinfo. a. gov, 2011). Cases that have been questioned in the Court of Appeal must be reviewed by the Supreme Court, as well as any case in which a trial court has issued the death penalty. The federal court system has a similar structure to the state court system. The lowest level is the federal district court. The district court hears the civil and criminal cases that pertain to the potential unconstitutionality or impartiality of a specific state court. Federal accusations of fraud and drug crimes can also be seen here. The next level, similar to the state court system, is the U. S. Court of Appeals. This is the intermediary appellate court level where cases that have been appealed are reviewed. Atop this is the United States Supreme Court, the highest form of authority in the country. It is here where few cases are officially sent to trial, but instead cases may be reviewed by one or a group of the justices and sent back down the line.

Ethics Case Study Essay

Utilitarianism Utilitarianism would not qualify Tom falsifying data as unethical, as it would have the greatest benefits to the larger quantity of stakeholders whilst only bringing a limited amount of harm. This can be seen through the stakeholders who benefit from Tom gaining full-time employment such as; his parents, the child receiving the life-saving sponsorship, the charity and the government, as Tom could start paying his HECS debt. One stakeholder who would be harmed by Toms dilemma is the small accounting firm in Milton. Ultimately the risk of this actually harming the business due to his lack of experience would be minimised due to Tom being tightly supervised for the first year of work. Egoism also maintains that the agent should do whatever they ought to do if it benefits themselves. In Toms moral dilemma, if he falsifies his CV in order to achieve full time work, he is acting on the natural instinct of self promotion that egoism sees as ethical. Kantian ethics Kantian ethics maintains that there are some things that are deemed wrong in themselves, apart from their consequences. This means that Tom should regard the act of lying as wrong; regardless whether it brings about good results. Kants categorical imperative states â€Å"I should never act except in such a way that I can also will that my maxim should become a universal good† (Kant, 1996). In universalising a law that is not in relation to specific circumstances, it allows moral issues to be solved by pure rationality. When applying Toms situation to Kants universalisation theory, a maxim for Toms situation could be â€Å"one should falsify data if it benefits them†. This could not be accepted as a law universally as falsifying data could not be consistent, as eventually all data would be deemed tainted and therefore unusable, leading to the act of giving information to its own demise. If it  were ethical for Tom to falsify data, Tom would have to accept that it would therefore be ethical for everyone to do so. If everyone was free to fake data, universal lying would weaken trust in communication. Kant also states â€Å"act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of another, always at the same time as an end and never simply means† (Kant, 1996). If Tom falsified his CV, it would result in disrespect as the owners of the accounting firm are basing crucial business decisions on inaccurate data, which is unethical. Virtue ethics Applying virtue ethics is based on evaluating how virtuous Tom is, not just the actions or consequences of his moral situation. A virtue that can be applied from Aristotle’s Doctrine of the Mean is ‘indifference’ meaning good deeds are done for their own sake and not for personal recognition. The two vices of indifference are false modesty (deficiency) and careerist (excess). Assuming Tom decided to fake his CV he would display characteristics in the vice of excess meaning he is a careerist and would not be classified as virtuous, and therefore unethical. Ranking of Ethical Theories 1. Utilitarianism/Egoism Utilitarianism is in line with many fundamental morals that society intends for us to adopt. For example, two fundamental ethical principles are that we must avoid doing harm to others and aim to do good. When I consider certain actions or decisions, I usually evaluate them in terms of their consequences. Although it disregards the ethical element of an action, it looks at the benefits it can cause in solving my moral dilemmas. Egoism also  usually takes part in most of my moral decision making. I usually base many of my decisions on the consequences I can achieve, therefore find this most useful. 2. Virtue Ethics I use virtue ethics to solve some moral issues due to the benefit of gaining insight into emotional and personal values in relation to the action. I believe people are emotionally involved in ethical reasoning making virtue ethics a better way to assess whether an action is ethical or not. I find this theory somewhat useful as I believe every situation cannot be branded under absolute rules, as in Kantian Ethics. 3. Kantian Ethics Although Kantian seems like the ‘right’ moral structure to follow it is extremely idealistic and would not necessarily result in good outcomes for me or the greater good of everyone. I think due to it being a rigid system, in certain situations for my moral dilemmas, it could not be used as Kantian ethics does not factor the importance of character and motivation in making ethical judgements. Therefore I don’t believe I would assess the ethics of a dilemma accurately, finding this least useful. PART B Socially responsible organisations should aim to minimise their negative impacts, but the fast food industry faces extreme public criticism due to the effects it is having on some main stakeholders; consumers and communities. Fast food consumption is potentially harmful and if businesses adopt Friedmans’ shareholder theory by only focusing on short-term profit goals, the long-term welfare of customers is compromised. For example, Bowman, Gortmaker & Ebbeling (2004), indicate that â€Å"energy derived from fast  food is  10% of a child’s average recommended daily intake, 5 times more than the 1970’s†. This highlights the need for somebody to not only take responsibility but action. â€Å"Advertisers spend 100s of billions of dollars a year worldwide encouraging, persuading and manipulating children into a consumer lifestyle† (Beder, 1998), leading to devastating consequences. The narrow view by Friedman, where businesses adopt the ‘let the government do it’ theory is criticised as society now has a greater concern for a better quality of life which businesses could help achieve. Supporters of Freeman maintain that fast food corporations have a responsibility to their stakeholders and should acknowledge potential health risks associated with consuming fast food. Highly advertised food corporations should have responsibilities beyond enhancing their profits, because they have great social and economic power in society. This undeniable power discounts Friedman’s theory that the ‘business can’t handle it’. If corporations have such power, they should also take responsibility for its actions in these areas. Nature Neuroscience published a study linking â€Å"effects of fast food to those of addictive substances such as cocaine, heroin and nicotine† (Klein, 2010). If tobacco packaging in many countries legally have to display health warnings due to smoking being addictive, why does fast food packaging not have responsibility to do the same? Businesses who adopt a narrow view on CSR compromise stakeholders welfare. For example, on January 1954 in the US â€Å"main tobacco companies published a statement named ‘A Frank Statement to Cigarette Smokers’ reaching an estimated 43,245,000 Americans† (Cummings, 2002). The advertisement promised consumers that cigarettes were safe and denied all health risks to consumers. This resulted in millions of people dying due to lacking concern stemming from the companies understating health effects in a blind effort to create profit. This scenario could almost determine the future of fast food industries being irresponsible about  marketing to addicted consumers. If major food corporations don’t undertake measures to outweigh unhealthy promotion to children and society, they might too face the same consequences.

The Noun is Plea, the Verb is Plead

The Noun is Plea, the Verb is Plead The Noun is â€Å"Plea,† the Verb is â€Å"Plead† The Noun is â€Å"Plea,† the Verb is â€Å"Plead† By Maeve Maddox Some writers are using plead as a noun. Its a verb. One meaning of the verb plead as a legal term is To put forward any allegation or formal statement forming part of the proceedings in an action at law. In general use, the verb plead means to make an earnest appeal, entreaty, or supplication; to beg, implore. The noun plea has similar legal and general meanings: plea: 1. A suit or action at law; the presentation of an action in court. An urgent, emotional request, an entreaty; (also) an unarticulated appeal. Used as a verb in place of plead, plea can be regarded as a regionalism (Chiefly Eng. regional [north.], and Sc. Now also U.S.): If you plea guilty and then later in another hearing say th(at you didnt do it, can you be charged with perjury? example of U.S. usage in OED Using the verb form plead for the noun plea, however, is jarringly nonstandard: A Plead to Sinners title of a poem on a religious site A plead to ban homophobia headline on a college site A plead for help part of a blog title In each of these examples, the word wanted is plea. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Has vs. Had80 Idioms with the Word Time20 Classic Novels You Can Read in One Sitting

The Periodic Properties of the Elements

The Periodic Properties of the Elements The periodic table arranges the elements  by periodic properties, which are recurring trends in physical and chemical characteristics. These trends can be predicted merely by examing the periodic table and can be explained and understood by analyzing the electron configurations of the elements. Elements tend to gain or lose valence electrons to achieve stable octet formation. Stable octets are seen in the inert gases, or noble gases, of Group VIII of the periodic table. In addition to this activity, there are two other important trends. First, electrons are added one at a time moving from left to right across a period. As this happens, the electrons of the outermost shell experience increasingly strong nuclear attraction, so the electrons become closer to the nucleus and more tightly bound to it. Second, moving down a column in the periodic table, the outermost electrons become less tightly bound to the nucleus. This happens because the number of filled principal energy levels (whi ch shield the outermost electrons from attraction to the nucleus) increases downward within each group. These trends explain the periodicity observed in the elemental properties of atomic radius, ionization energy, electron affinity, and electronegativity. Atomic Radius The atomic radius of an element is half of the distance between the centers of two atoms of that element that are just touching each other. Generally, the atomic radius decreases across a period from left to right and increases down a given group. The atoms with the largest atomic radii are located in Group I and at the bottom of groups. Moving from left to right across a period, electrons are added one at a time to the outer energy shell. Electrons within a shell cannot shield each other from the attraction to protons. Since the number of protons is also increasing, the effective nuclear charge increases across a period. This causes the atomic radius to decrease. Moving down a group in the periodic table, the number of electrons and filled electron shells increases, but the number of valence electrons remains the same. The outermost electrons in a group are exposed to the same effective nuclear charge, but electrons are found farther from the nucleus as the number of filled energy shells increases. Therefore, the atomic radii increase. Ionization Energy The ionization energy, or ionization potential, is the energy required to remove an electron from a gaseous atom or ion completely. The closer and more tightly bound an electron is to the nucleus, the more difficult it will be to remove, and the higher its ionization energy will be. The first ionization energy is the energy required to remove one electron from the parent atom. The second ionization energy is the energy required to remove a second valence electron from the univalent ion to form the divalent ion, and so on. Successive ionization energies increase. The second ionization energy is always greater than the first ionization energy. Ionization energies increase moving from left to right across a period (decreasing atomic radius). Ionization energy decreases moving down a group (increasing atomic radius). Group  I elements have low ionization energies because the loss of an electron forms a stable octet. Electron Affinity Electron affinity reflects the ability of an atom to accept an electron. It is the energy change that occurs when an electron is added to a gaseous atom. Atoms with stronger effective nuclear charge have greater electron affinity. Some generalizations can be made about the electron affinities of certain groups in the periodic table. The Group IIA elements, the alkaline earths, have low electron affinity values. These elements are relatively stable because they have filled s subshells. Group VIIA elements, the halogens, have high electron affinities because the addition of an electron to an atom results in a completely filled shell. Group VIII elements, noble gases, have electron affinities near zero since each atom possesses a stable octet and will not accept an electron readily. Elements of other groups have low electron affinities. In a period, the halogen will have the highest electron affinity, while the noble gas will have the lowest electron affinity. Electron affinity decreases moving down a group because a new electron would be further from the nucleus of a large atom. Electronegativity Electronegativity is a measure of the attraction of an atom for the electrons in a chemical bond. The higher the electronegativity of an atom, the greater its attraction for bonding electrons. Electronegativity is related to ionization energy. Electrons with low ionization energies have low electronegativities because their nuclei do not exert a strong attractive force on electrons. Elements with high ionization energies have high electronegativities due to the strong pull exerted on electrons by the nucleus. In a group, the electronegativity decreases as the atomic number increases, as a result of the increased distance between the valence electron and nucleus (greater atomic radius). An example of an electropositive (i.e., low electronegativity) element is cesium; an example of a highly electronegative element is fluorine. Summary of Periodic Table Properties of Elements Moving Left → Right Atomic Radius DecreasesIonization Energy IncreasesElectron Affinity Generally Increases (except Noble Gas Electron Affinity Near Zero)Electronegativity Increases Moving Top → Bottom Atomic Radius IncreasesIonization Energy DecreasesElectron Affinity Generally Decreases Moving Down a GroupElectronegativity Decreases

How to Handle Awkward Situations at Work

How to Handle Awkward Situations at Work It’s always nice to get as friendly as you can with the people you’ll spend so much of your waking adult life working alongside. But building personal relationships at work can create a few sticky situations. Here are a few of them, and what to do when you find yourself in trouble. 1.  When You Get Promoted and Your Coworker Doesn’tYou get one, your friend in the same position doesn’t. Now there’s resentment and a new power dynamic to negotiate. You can’t share your work drama with the same abandon anymore, because you’re in different roles. The kind of belly-aching you’re accustomed to is no longer appropriate. Also be prepared to withstand some initial resentment.Either way, it’s best to talk about it once out in the open. Be proactive. Address the aspects of your relationship that have to change according to your work functions, but emphasize what aspects of your friendship do not have to change. Check in, be humble, and be honest. It’ll help you both navigate the new situation if you’re still on the same page and can express some solidarity.2. When  You Become Friends With Your BossYou and your boss have become close outside of work. You get in a fight. It makes things†¦ awkward at the office. This is normal. All friends fight. The only tricky bit is not compromising either of your jobs. Keep things civil and professional, and try not to be too defensive. If it’s a minor thing, take a bit of distance, cool off, then send an olive branch email to smooth it over. If it’s major, make it clear that it will not impact your daily office routines, but make a plan to chat outside the office after work.3. When You want Skip Out on a Social EventYour coworker wants you to double date! Fun, right!? But you don’t want to. That’s totally fine. You’re under no obligation to do so. Trouble is, turning it down can be a little tricky. You’ll want t o be as firm as possible, without being mean. When in doubt, try to downshift. Say you’re super busy and would prefer to have some one-on-one time, maybe coffee or lunch! Eventually, she’ll get the hint.4. When You’re  Fighting With Your CoworkerThis is the same as fighting with your boss, just that the stakes are slightly lower. Though you also have the potential to damage the other’s reputation in the office. Be careful not let the fight spill over into the work day and make either of you act unprofessionally. Otherwise, the same rules apply.5.When  You Don’t Want to Make Friends With EveryoneYou’re close with a couple of your coworkers, but not another. You’re under no obligation to let this other coworker into your clique. People have the right to chose their friends and you are not required to be friends with people just because you work together. But do be sensitive to the feelings of the person you are not including. Avoid talking about all the fun stuff you and your pals are going to do in front of this other coworker. It’s the kind way to behave.6.  When You Don’t Fit in at WorkIf you’re the one on the outside of the cool kids clique at work, don’t worry. It doesn’t say anything about you necessarily. And you certainly shouldn’t take it personally. Be warm and civil with your coworkers, and then divert your friendship-forging attention elsewhere. Make sure you maintain an active and fulfilling social life outside of the office so you don’t get discouraged by not being part of the crowd. The upside here is that you’ll focus more on your work and not be as easily distracted by office banter.7. When You Overhear Hurtful GossipYou overhear your coworkers talking about you behind your back. Resist the temptation to throttle them. You don’t have to confront them, but you shouldn’t hide and pretend you didn’t hear either. Take t ime to cool off and give them the space to do the adult thing and apologize. If they don’t, they’re probably not worth talking to.8. When Your Coworkers are Mooching Off of YouAre you always paying for the coffee trip? The happy hour round? Rather than quietly resenting this state of affairs, give your coworkers the benefit of the doubt and the opportunity to set things right. Try saying, â€Å"Hey, you mind grabbing this round? I got the last few.† Or something equally casual. It’s awkward the first couple of times, but you’ll be glad you got better at asking. It’s better than slowly going broke!

Exploring Transgender Troubles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Exploring Transgender Troubles - Essay Example Over the years many people have thought and associated transgender to gays or lesbianism. Being a gay would therefore mean that one is transgendered, deep study has however proved otherwise. Since the formal definition of lesbianism and gay, reports have claimed both contemporary and historical transgendered people as gay and lesbians. It is worth noting that transgender people have for long been unclaimed or unrecognized as homosexual. Since time immemorial, transgender troubles has been a topic of discussion with many arguing that, even homosexuality was not personhood until the late nineteenth century. Although transgender is a good term, not everyone talks good about transgender people, different societies, cultures and institutions have continually viewed it as an immoral and non acceptable. There is therefore, a lot of criticisms and hatred to individuals who exhibit transgender traits. How then can we define transgender people? Through many writers, a comprehensive understandi ng of the term has been made and thus transgender people are individuals who in one way or the other may fail to develop their gender identity that keep up a correspondence to identity as to whether male or female. In these people, it is not a surprise to find a male who exhibits a female characteristic and vice versa. These people may not as well respond to their gender roles appropriately as imposed by the society in which they come from. This aspect has thus lead to transgender troubles with many societies considering transgender behavior as a serious crime which ought to have a capital punishment, a good example is a country like Saudi Arabia. Transgender troubles are also apparent in its contents. It is unclear about what is contained in transgender. According to the general understanding of transgender, it is basically gender variance. Therefore, the question remains, what are factors considered in gender variance. The answer remains unclear and contradictory. It is therefore not easy to establish who is to be included in the transgender bracket and who is to be left out. Transgender behavior has sparked troubles in many countries, take for example, European and in North America, there are certain forms of violent behavior against these group. Many people have even gone ahead and considered this behavior as one of the major psychiatric illness is so serious that even justifies institutionalization. In trying to avoid all these discrimination and transgender troubles, communities with these restrictions have forced victims with transgender behavior to conform to their birth sex norm to avoid stigma and social violence surrounding them (Meyerowitz and Meyerowitz 24). Their attempt to achieve a new sex reassignment will not be allowed or supported. For authorities which only accept heterosexual marriages, official transgender changes can result to serious implications related to privileges and rights like inheritance, medical decision-making or even child c ustody. Another transgender trouble appears during classification. It becomes very difficult to classify these individuals because generally many countries or organizations only recognize two classes of people: male or a female. Doctors, transsexuals and journalists

The positive effects of video games on society Essay

The positive effects of video games on society - Essay Example These changes have made video games realistic, complex, diverse and social and have resulted in an emergence of research on the positive effects of these games (Ferguson, 2007). In this regard, this essay will consider the positive effects of video games on society. The association of violence to violent video games has amplified the view that video games have negative effects on the society. It is for this reason that a vast majority of research conducted on this topic has concentrated on the negative effects of these games on society. Despite the lack of extensive research on the positive effects of video games, the benefits associated with play can be linked to video games. The general benefits associated with play include the ability to experiment social experiences while simulating possible emotional consequences and the opportunity to reproduce real life situations and find solutions. This is essential in the development of social skills (Durkin and Barber, 20002). However, unl ike traditional games, video games are interactive and may not allow physical involvement in the game. Video games allow users to interact with gaming systems and these systems react to the behavior of the player. Video games can be played alone with the physical presence of other players or can be played online with other numerous players. These games can also be played alone, competitively or cooperatively. The games also take various genres and allow the players to interact in different contexts.

Intel Question Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Intel Question - Assignment Example In accordance with Hill et al. (2009) in order for a firm to be considered as having a competitive advantage towards the other firms operating in the same industry it is necessary that ‘its profitability is greater than the average profitability and profit growth of its rivals’ (Hill et al. 6). In the case of Intel, there is no doubt that the firm has achieved to build a competitive advantage in microprocessors – taking into consideration the firm’s position in the particular industry over the years. The factors that helped the firm to build this advantage are related to different parts of the internal and external organizational environment. One of key characteristics of the firm’s strategic policies is flexibility; this characteristic allowed the firm’s managers to develop radical updates of the firm’s practices – without delay, a fact that is considered one of the reasons that led Intel to develop a competitive advantage in mi croprocessors. In the study of Lewis et al. ... Another aspect of the firm’s strategies for achieving a competitive advantage is described in the study of Tallman (2010); the above researcher notes that Intel managed to build a competitive advantage by establishing the center or its activities in Silicon Valley, ‘the worldwide center for the microprocessors industry’ (Tallman 54). In other words, the competitive advantage of the firm has been primarily related to its location. At the next level, it is explained that the firm managed to keep this advantage by establishing manufacturing units in China and India – where the operational costs are extremely low and allow the standardization of the firm’s profitability. Apart from its location, the development by the firm of a competitive advantage seems to be related to other elements/ characteristics of its strategic processes. This issue is highlighted in the study of Argyris (1999); in the specific study emphasis is given on the firm’s abilit y to learn fast – reference is made to the rapid response of the firm towards the ‘technological opportunities that come about’ (Argyris 26). It was in this context that the potentials of the microprocessors industry were early identified by managers in Intel; moreover, measures were taken in order for the firm’s entrance in this market to be developed rapidly – with no delays in replacing the manufacturing technology and techniques used by the firm in the past, i.e. before its involvement in the microprocessors industry. In accordance with the above view, Intel managed to build a competitive advantage not because of the location of its facilities but because of its strategic choices and its ability to

Public Relations Marketing Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Public Relations Marketing - Coursework Example This particular study focuses on the strategic PR practice as a measure in the Department of Transport in London intending to implement campaigns addressing road accident deaths. Strategic PR: A Theoretical Background: The need for PR arises from the various problems that might arise in an organization in dealing with the PR and understanding of the organizational activities. Community relations are extremely necessary in this context. The practitioners of PR encounter various problems that require the need for strategic management. The primary role of PR practice is to manage and develop the different relations in association with an organization. This may include relation with the employees, with the general public and with any stakeholder of the organization. It has been observed through earlier studies that the usefulness of the PR is not clearly understood by the managers and that a strategic and planned technique is required in order to solve the problems. With time, the resear ch and understanding have led to successful understanding of strategic PR practice. Now, organizations are more involved with the incorporation of the PR measures and enhancing successful relationships (Austin & Pinkleton, 2006, pp.2-7). ... e might be a decline in the records of the road deaths in the city, yet the number seems to be high that requires sufficient measures to curtail the effects of drinking and drugs to take the toll on human lives. Particularly during occasions, the intake of alcohol and drugs increase creating more difficult situations to be handled. Thus based on the nature of this problem, the Department of Transport (DoT) in London requires taking measures appropriate to the needs in solving the issues and preventing such road deaths in the city. Concerned Objectives: The DoT has seriously taken up the concerns of preventing road deaths in London. As the Director of Communication at the DoT, I have plans to set up a PR firm to design and implement a public information campaign prior to the festival of Christmas and address the issues of road deaths occurring as a result of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The HM treasury has agreed to provide a budget of ?2m for the purpose. I plan t o utilize the amount in involving start-up agencies to set up for the account of Dot. The purpose of choosing start-up agencies is to restrict the excess expenditure of funds. The agencies selected are mostly comprised of postgraduates who have recently majored in the strategic communication management. The startup agencies have been selected such that the objectives are fulfilled through specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound manner. The four agencies I plan to invite are: (i) Broadgate Mainland, (ii) Diffusion PR and Communications Ltd, (iii) Startup PR, and (iv) Parys Communication. A Brief Overview: Broadgate Mainland: It is a UK based multiple awards winning independent PR agency performing their activities in several areas of PR development. The team working

Red Capitalism Book Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Red Capitalism Book Review - Essay Example It also gives readers an idea of how government runs China’s financial system and state-owned enterprises. It is interesting to note that unlike other developed countries, China tends to have a political system that is not stable. Renminbi is also not a convertible and internationally recognized currency. Chinese is also known for its high-context culture. It is hard to control and manage businesses without intervention by the party or government. It is claimed, â€Å"The Party is able to ensure its control over China’s most powerful business groups by having the power to appoint their top management† (Walter and Howie 193). The authors also point out how China wants to reform its financial systems in order to connect with other international firms and banks to attract investors to come by implementing international reporting standard. China’s economy in past 30 years definitely has grown from the primitive one to a more modernized and internalized one with effort of American investment bankers and implementation of international accounting, financial, legal system. Indeed, China is now proudly represented by 44 companies on the Fortune Global 500 list (Walter and Howie 11). The financial system is dominated by four big banks, which include Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, and Industrial, and Commercial Bank of China. These four banks also control 45% of China’s total financial assets. The Party wants these banks to support the SOEs in all circumstances (Walter and Howie 47). Banks are the main tools for the party to facilitate country’s economy growth. Bank lending and indirect financing seems to be the only way to achieve GDP growth and attract foreign investors. Surprisingly, the Big 4 banks increase their lending at nearly 20% per annum (Walter and Howie 51). The Party tells the bank to loan to the SOEs, but it seems that it is unable to tell the SOEs to repay the loans (Walter and Howie 47). Therefore, the balance

Public Relations Marketing Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Public Relations Marketing - Coursework Example This particular study focuses on the strategic PR practice as a measure in the Department of Transport in London intending to implement campaigns addressing road accident deaths. Strategic PR: A Theoretical Background: The need for PR arises from the various problems that might arise in an organization in dealing with the PR and understanding of the organizational activities. Community relations are extremely necessary in this context. The practitioners of PR encounter various problems that require the need for strategic management. The primary role of PR practice is to manage and develop the different relations in association with an organization. This may include relation with the employees, with the general public and with any stakeholder of the organization. It has been observed through earlier studies that the usefulness of the PR is not clearly understood by the managers and that a strategic and planned technique is required in order to solve the problems. With time, the resear ch and understanding have led to successful understanding of strategic PR practice. Now, organizations are more involved with the incorporation of the PR measures and enhancing successful relationships (Austin & Pinkleton, 2006, pp.2-7). ... e might be a decline in the records of the road deaths in the city, yet the number seems to be high that requires sufficient measures to curtail the effects of drinking and drugs to take the toll on human lives. Particularly during occasions, the intake of alcohol and drugs increase creating more difficult situations to be handled. Thus based on the nature of this problem, the Department of Transport (DoT) in London requires taking measures appropriate to the needs in solving the issues and preventing such road deaths in the city. Concerned Objectives: The DoT has seriously taken up the concerns of preventing road deaths in London. As the Director of Communication at the DoT, I have plans to set up a PR firm to design and implement a public information campaign prior to the festival of Christmas and address the issues of road deaths occurring as a result of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The HM treasury has agreed to provide a budget of ?2m for the purpose. I plan t o utilize the amount in involving start-up agencies to set up for the account of Dot. The purpose of choosing start-up agencies is to restrict the excess expenditure of funds. The agencies selected are mostly comprised of postgraduates who have recently majored in the strategic communication management. The startup agencies have been selected such that the objectives are fulfilled through specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound manner. The four agencies I plan to invite are: (i) Broadgate Mainland, (ii) Diffusion PR and Communications Ltd, (iii) Startup PR, and (iv) Parys Communication. A Brief Overview: Broadgate Mainland: It is a UK based multiple awards winning independent PR agency performing their activities in several areas of PR development. The team working

Evaluation of how Market-Based Policies deal with Global Environmental Essay

Evaluation of how Market-Based Policies deal with Global Environmental Problems - Essay Example According to the paper findings most policy makers are advocating for the reduction of regulations in an effort to make sure that the market fully protects the environment. One of the main market instruments or policies is the discharge fee system, which considers a tax or fee on the generated pollution. This method is effective in a situation whereby the costs of reducing pollution is equal to the amount of charges paid. As the report stresses the instrument is beneficial in guaranteeing substantial savings on the costs incurred to control pollution as compared to other instruments such as the Command and Control that forces companies to reduce their rate of pollution at the same rate or use similar equipment. The tax or discharge programs have been in use in an effort to reduce the production of toxic chemicals and enhance sound mechanisms of dealing with solid wastes through charging people based on the garbage they discard. There is a downside to adopting the discharge fee instrument in curbing environmental problems. This is a conventional method that has been proposed by various economists since they are not necessarily concerned with the level or rate of pollution but are focused on determining its impacts. This approach has numerous limitations, considering that calculating of the costs incurred as a result of the negative impacts of pollution is a strenuous task. This means that choosing the suitable level of tax can be tedious and complex.

Prosperity of Australia Essay Example for Free

Prosperity of Australia Essay Presently there are about 3. 6 million people who are living on less than $A400 per week. Around two million Australians are living in poor conditions with only one earning person in a single family. Nearly 700,000 children growing in families where none of both the parents have a full time job. Among the poorest only 20 per cent of population hold government service. The Democrats are debating on the issue of poverty in Australia, with a concrete fact that over the past decades there has been a continuous economic growth in Australia despite of which the poor were worst effected and the prosperity of Australia has not reached the poor. This has been further supported by Government by reducing the incomes of many single parents and of disabled people, which has contributed to the growth of higher poverty. Living in poverty is a struggle and affects families in physical and mental health. It can even be stated here that ‘healthy families make a healthy society’ and societies make a state and healthy states make a healthy nation. The importance and significance of healthy families is much larger and plays a pivotal role in making a happier and prosperous nation. There are segregations about class living and style such as ‘middle class’ ‘upper middle class’, ‘luxurious class’ and last, not least ‘poor class’ which receive a minute attention in all aspects of health care, nutrition and in efforting to make both ends meet which is a great responsibility of governments to provide food and shelter as a basic need for living. The pestilence of poverty is tiresome and requires a great amount of effort and hard work from the end of governments to create job opportunities, encouraging new small and big industries, encouraging basic education and providing some discounted facilities for further advancement in education, creating new and innovative career and job opportunities or self-employment schemes by providing small amount of financial loans from banks to make a living for poor. As a matter of fact, how much ever new jobs are created either in government, public or private sector, many people are still left not having a seat for job which means that public bodies cannot create jobs till the number of zero and it is for the unemployed to seek and find an area of source through which income can be generated on one side and on the other side, make a happy family. In this regard, computer technology offers a multiplex opportunities and with basic knowledge of computer, unemployed can offer services of various kinds and can make a living by setting SOHO (Small office Home office) Such as this, there are many other professional methods to reduce poverty line and introduce better standards of living among poor people, viz., computer technical jobs, software jobs, application jobs and other electronic communication jobs and even industrial and public sector labor jobs can be advantageous to create job opportunities wherein with minimum education, jobs can be suitably found which would at least enable most of the family members to stay in jobs and endeavor to grow further for hike in salaries. However, these are not as easy as stated and it requires more efforts, job and employment schemes from Governments in the interest and prestige of nation. Otherwise, this would further deteriorate the standards of living of children, elderly and ageing couple, single parented families, young people and students and migrants. According to the survey conducted in the year 2001, there are 100,000 people who are homeless and looking for home assistance. Poverty rate in cities is 10. 5 per cent and it is 12 per cent in other states and territories. It is also to be noted that 6 out of 10 poor Australians are living in capital cities which concludes a fact that both regional areas along with cities have to be equally assisted in development of strategies to remove poverty. In March 2004, there were stringent efforts by Senate Community Affairs Committee has issued a report on poverty and financial hardship which stated that â€Å"â€Å"These key findings presented below serve to illustrate a compelling case that Australia will face a crisis of poverty and disadvantage in the coming years. They carry with them the implication that Australians are increasingly at risk of falling into poverty and indeed more so now than at anytime during the post-war era. What is most disturbing however is the common theme that while poverty is becoming more entrenched and more intractable, the Commonwealth is increasingly abrogating its responsibility to tackle this great indignity inflicted on the Australian people. † The Senate Committee further recommended 95 strategies to be implemented in Australia. Some of the important recommendations are viz. , development of a strategy for providing national jobs, focusing on school education, work and training and how to advance in education without deviating from work, research on skills, wages, where the shortage exists, the reasons for low-pay jobs, the problem of casual workers and job insecurity, a guaranteed work experience of six months for those who were without employment for a period of two years, provision of employment security and social security to casual workers by strengthening work environments and poverty proof wage system which has an economic measuring scale for adequate and satisfied living.

Debate on Free Will Vs Determinism

Debate on Free Will Vs Determinism The debate over free will and determinism has been going on for centuries from the time of great thinkers like Thomas Hobbes and Isaac Newton and therefore these debates have been the part of political and economic theories. Centuries back, majority adopted the notion of determinism and destiny which never allowed individuals to think out of the box. It restricted the individuals then to their resources and their philosophy permitted them to want for more. If it was not for free will then a person born disabled would give up all the hopes in life and would not find cure to make his life better, populations would accept oppression and ignore the fact of a revolution. Along with this, law and justice could not be enforced as the judgements would be made on destiny. Although determination is deeply rooted from centuries asit dictates the life of disabled people like Tatyana McFadden and luck plays its part as it did for Justin Bieber, however free will is the ideology of modern world be cause it has given birth to the concept of accountability, struggle, hard work, courage, planning, and therefore effecting norms of social responsibility and renaissance. Free will is making decisions based on desires and then being accountable for the fact that whether it is a bad or good decision. The theory of free will suggests that the individual makes decisions according to his preferences and is responsible for it, i.e. the individual is rational and is not bounded by any external factors and what he chooses is best for him. Doctor Herald Shipman portrays this theory as he first chose to be a doctor and then later used his profession to be a murderer. After witnessing his mother’s sufferings from lung cancer Shipman motivated himself to be a doctor. After graduating as a doctor in 1970, Shipman changed his priorities and chose to kill his patients. He was sent to a rehab when it was found that he is addicted to a painkiller which he used to obtain from his patient’s prescriptions and suffered constant blackouts due to it. However, after two years he was declared fit and got his license reissued. After getting a second chance Shipm an never changed his priorities and ended up killing 250 of his patients intentionally. When proven guilty, Shipman was jailed where he chose to commit suicide. Hence individuals like Shipman chose what they seek are best for them and are held completely responsible for it. Along with this free will has its cons too and it can lead an individual to ignore all the limits and end up in bad acts. It all depends on the personal responsible that how he treats it. Free will can be devastating for a person as in the case of Malcolm X who indulged in larceny, drugs and prostitution before he found the purpose of his life. Malcolm X had a turbulent early life, his house was burnt down. His father died when Malcolm was six years old and his mother suffered emotional breakdown and was sent to rehab. Malcolm had to live in an orphanage for few years. Later he got to know gangsters, thieves, pimps and drug dealers. He ended up being a drug addict and adopted burglary as means of earning; some biographies even say that sometimes he had sex with other men to earn money. He was arrested for burglary at the age of twenty and was imprisoned for seven years. Malcolm X is a great example of free will in itself however he chose activities which disintegrated his life. Furthermore free will impacts the decision making power of an individual as it governs one’s aptitude to struggle, recognize their abilities and ponder over how to make use of them. It empowers one to motivate them and not give up in life. For example Oprah Winfrey had to face harsh realities very early in her life but she never thought of giving up and ended up being an inspirational figure for women all over the world. Winfrey suffered from sexual harassment in her childhood and all the tensions forced her to run from her house in her teen age. However she chose a better life for herself and with her free will and spirit she made decisions which helped her improving her life. Her willpower can be seen from the fact that after such a disappointing childhood Oprah never gave up and sought way in education; winning scholarship at a university. She recognized her abilities as a motivational speaker and joined a radio station at the age of seventeen and later she hosted The Oprah Winfrey show and became the voice of thousands of people. This reflects that her passion and commitment with her work and will to not give up made her one of the most influential personalities in the world. On the contrary, the concept of predestined has a major part as some characteristics are determined by birth and they structure one’s future, i.e. whether that individual gives up or fight hard against the odds. Tatyana McFadden is a great example of the later as she was born with a paralyzed lower part of body but still ended up being gold medallist in Paralympics. When her mother got to know of her daughter’s disability she abandoned her and McFadden lived in an orphanage for six years. McFadden however was optimistic and had to walk on her hands because she was not able to afford a wheelchair. She never got discouraged by her illness and after her adoption she took part in many sports like gymnastics and wheelchair basketball. At the age of eight she won two medals in Athens and since then McFadden hasn’t looked back and went on going to win sixteen medals, including nine gold medals in her career. Hence it can be implicated that free will is the answer to hur dles set by what is determined at the start of one’s life and how that individual wants to go along the life. Along with this destiny determines success for some and over shadow the free will, the very pattern worked for Justin Bieber as his career began through cyber fame. Destiny determined Justin Bieber to be where he is today, it casted away his free will. Bieber’s career started when he uploaded his music videos on You Tube to show his friends and family. He was lucky when Ushers agency contacted him and signed him up for Hollywood. It’s destiny that can change people’s lives in seconds and can ruin it at the same time. There are so many talented people who upload videos on You Tube but all do not have the luck to be famous. Free will does not only direct the life of an individual but thrives the success of many great nations and teams. From all the success stories of independence, fights, revolutions and renaissance it can be seen that it is the will of the people constituting that notion and uniting themselves to bring success. Manchester United is a living model of such teams who combat what is determined for them. On the sixth of February 1958, United’s squad was returning to The UK when their plane crashed at Munich Airport after it was refuelled and out of forty four passengers, twenty one died instantly and many of the team members died later. Nonetheless, United never gave up and the depleted team went on Semi Finals of the European cup the same year. The staff and players together supported each other and were eager to regain their status as champions. This willingness to succeed and not to give up resulted in United becoming the English Champions nineteen times and the European Champions thrice since then. This verifies that free will can lead to hard work and can overturn the routes laid by what is predestined and of that what is to come in future. Free will and determinism are two concepts which are very much different from each other but also related at the same time. Stephen Hawking, an active member at Cambridge University is quoted as saying â€Å"I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road.† Apart from this, success stories of Winfrey, McFadden and Manchester United reflect how individuals are masters of their own ships and they never let the circumstances, determinism or destiny take over them. These people choose their own destiny and outcomes. It is true that determinism exists but if the concept of free will is eliminated then the models of social responsibility, accountability, law and justice, morality, hard work and planning will all fail and life will have no meaning. Therefore it can be concluded that free will navigates the life of individuals as it allows them to tress pass determinism.

Restricting the Production, Distribution, and Sale of Pornography in Ca

Many women have been mistreated at one point or another in their lives.   This form of abuse assumes many forms and is not always visible to the naked eye.   One of these such hardships that women of the 20th century have had to face is the struggle for equality.   In Canada, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms affords women full equality before and under law and equal protection and benefit of the law.1   But yet, this society openly contributions to the production, sale, and distribution of pornography which implies that women are second class citizens.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Destroying these stereotypes which portray women as slaves, objects, toys, and mindless, sex-driven beings must be accomplished in order for women to attain true equality.   The censorship of pornography is not in violation of the Freedom of Expression guaranteed in section 2 (b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms since pornography drastically compromises a woman's right to equal treatment as was pro ven by the R v. Butler ruling of 1992, it makes those portrayed in pornography subject to acts of violence, and it corrupts the moral fiber of society. During the 1960's and 70's, North America saw the rise of a counterculture movement which instigated societal change.   During this time period, the Women's Liberation movement was able to establish females as being equal to males in virtually every aspect.   It is this movement that educated society about the role of women in society being equal to the role of man.   Many people however, now consider that women's liberation has been achieved;   but this is far from the case.   Despite being officially recognised as contributing members of society (achieved in 1982 with the final draft of the Constitution Act), as section 28 of... ... 11 Ibid.   Pg. 793 12 Ibid.   Pg. 793 13 Ibid.   Pg.   793 14 Baird, Robert M. and Stuart E Rosenbaum.   Pornography - Private Right or Public Menace.   Pg. 51 15 Ibid.   Pg. 52 16 Ibid.   Pg. 52 17 Kaihla, Paul.   Sex and the Law.   MacLean's.   Pg. 31 18 Statistics obtained from Angus Reid Website.   See Works Cited List 19 Ibid. 20 Orr, Lisa.   Censorship:   Opposing Viewpoints   Pg. 186 21 Ibid.   Pg. 191 22 Ellen Harris, Lesley.   Highlights of Bill C-128 - Child Pornography 23 Kaihla, Paul.   Sex and the Law.   MacLean's.   Pg. 32 24 Ibid.   Pg. 32 25 Ibid.   Pg. 33 26 Ibid.   Pg. 33 27 Baird, Robert M. and Stuart E Rosenbaum.   Pornography - Private Right or Public Menace   Pg. 52 28 Ibid.   Pg. 52 29 Canadian Government Report.   Report of the Special Committee on Pornography and Prostitution. 30 Ibid.    Restricting the Production, Distribution, and Sale of Pornography in Ca Many women have been mistreated at one point or another in their lives.   This form of abuse assumes many forms and is not always visible to the naked eye.   One of these such hardships that women of the 20th century have had to face is the struggle for equality.   In Canada, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms affords women full equality before and under law and equal protection and benefit of the law.1   But yet, this society openly contributions to the production, sale, and distribution of pornography which implies that women are second class citizens.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Destroying these stereotypes which portray women as slaves, objects, toys, and mindless, sex-driven beings must be accomplished in order for women to attain true equality.   The censorship of pornography is not in violation of the Freedom of Expression guaranteed in section 2 (b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms since pornography drastically compromises a woman's right to equal treatment as was pro ven by the R v. Butler ruling of 1992, it makes those portrayed in pornography subject to acts of violence, and it corrupts the moral fiber of society. During the 1960's and 70's, North America saw the rise of a counterculture movement which instigated societal change.   During this time period, the Women's Liberation movement was able to establish females as being equal to males in virtually every aspect.   It is this movement that educated society about the role of women in society being equal to the role of man.   Many people however, now consider that women's liberation has been achieved;   but this is far from the case.   Despite being officially recognised as contributing members of society (achieved in 1982 with the final draft of the Constitution Act), as section 28 of... ... 11 Ibid.   Pg. 793 12 Ibid.   Pg. 793 13 Ibid.   Pg.   793 14 Baird, Robert M. and Stuart E Rosenbaum.   Pornography - Private Right or Public Menace.   Pg. 51 15 Ibid.   Pg. 52 16 Ibid.   Pg. 52 17 Kaihla, Paul.   Sex and the Law.   MacLean's.   Pg. 31 18 Statistics obtained from Angus Reid Website.   See Works Cited List 19 Ibid. 20 Orr, Lisa.   Censorship:   Opposing Viewpoints   Pg. 186 21 Ibid.   Pg. 191 22 Ellen Harris, Lesley.   Highlights of Bill C-128 - Child Pornography 23 Kaihla, Paul.   Sex and the Law.   MacLean's.   Pg. 32 24 Ibid.   Pg. 32 25 Ibid.   Pg. 33 26 Ibid.   Pg. 33 27 Baird, Robert M. and Stuart E Rosenbaum.   Pornography - Private Right or Public Menace   Pg. 52 28 Ibid.   Pg. 52 29 Canadian Government Report.   Report of the Special Committee on Pornography and Prostitution. 30 Ibid.   

Airframe by Michael Crichton Essay

Michael Crichton’s 1996 literary work takes its audience into a flight adventure of suspense with a dash of humor. As the title suggests, Crichton’s audience might deduce a frame which could be found in the air. In more accurate terms, speculate about the structure of a plane. As the audience read’s it, this deduction is further strengthened with the illustration of a plane â€Å"accident† that results to an investigation on the quality on a Norton Aircraft-manufactured N-22, followed by media frenzy. For some, the event of an airplane accident which eventually results to tedious and cumbersome investigation is quite uninteresting and dull. However, readers of this book are still compelled to continuously read it because of the twists, thought-provoking exploration of a plane’s structure, high tension issues and jitters. Moreover, Michael Crichton’s style and themes informs and teaches several factual issues and concerns to its audience while entertaining them. By looking into the history and flight events, it can be said that Michael Crichton’s accounted problems in his book indeed portray real-life scenarios. Michael Crichton’s novel starts at the Transpacific Airlines flight 545, said to be a Hong Kong based transportation. In addition to this, it was also illustrated that the plane, as mentioned before, a Norton Aircraft-manufactured N-22, that is expected to arrive at Denver. However, severe turbulences occur at the California Coastline, resulting to an emergency landing at the Los Angeles airport. From the pilot’s report on the status inside the plane, there were already several injured passengers and two dead passengers. The dilemma rises from the fact, as the book states, that the plain’s history never showed or experienced poor safety record or performance. In addition to this, the pilot who was maneuvering the plane was highly trained, which takes the possibilities of human error out of the question. As such, the story tediously proceeds and revolves around the investigation regarding this â€Å"anomaly† on the plane’s condition or on the question of its safety records, and generally about how the whole incident happened. In this novel, the aircraft manufacturers in this novel responded in a way that imitates what â€Å"real† aircraft manufacturers would show or usually do after such accidents. There are cases where manufacturers are held liable or not liable to certain accidents by the jury. If the jury was impressed with the overall save rate, the manufacturer is not considered liable, resulting to the acknowledgment of the whole design utility being optimized for the majority to the detriment of a few. On the contrary, if the jury would inspect the high-speed aspects of risk in contrasts to the high-speed save rate, the manufacturer can be considered liable. As such, it is â€Å"factual† or logical that manufacturers would react in ways that Crichton describes it. On the other hand, the actions or events which follow the media hype on the airplane accident seem exaggerated, though again, convincingly true. Several scenes or illustrations regarding the media generally show that they tend to scrutinize whatever links they find regarding a certain topic which could boost their ratings. In addition to this, there is generally a persistence of the media crowd to grab whatever fact they could get a hold on to, and sometimes create stories to build or form the bits of information that they have into a persuasive story, which can either be true or partly-true. In his accounts of both the airplane problems, media and manufacturer investigations there are convincing facts which are laid to the audience by the author. In addition this are critical observations which shows Crichton’s style and manufactured tensions that keeps his readers stuck on the book, without boring their selves (just like what I felt). Crichton is like giving an ice cream, with a sprinkle of reality and fiction, mounted on a cone, coated with information and served in a plate garnished with humor that definitely keeps its audience from wanting more. References Crichton, Michael. (1996). Airframe. Alfred Knopf Publishers.

President’s Narrative Report (Infinite Minds Club)

Under the supervision of the club moderator, Mr. Fhelmar I. Rondillas, the club has indulged herself to many activities that allow development and collaboration among the members and the officers. Infinite Minds Club eventually became a wholesome environment for everyone with the help of the different activities. The club has engaged into series of activities/programs. First, it was held last June __ 2012. Students were obliged to have different clubs with their own choice. As expected of what the club has to offer, a number of students outgrew as they gathered to the club’s assigned place. Our club organization included the elections of officers. Last June __ 2012, we had the induction of officers together with the officers of the different organizations. Second, July __ 2012, we had our club meeting. Third, August __ 2012, we had our Environmental Rehabilitation/Mangrove Planting and revisit at Valderama, Sta. Felomina, Iligan City. The said event was participated by some other clubs. The annual MASCI quiz bee also commenced at this month. Fourth, we had witnessed the launching of the Math and Science month. As one of the sponsors of the month, we had been into series of activities. We also had the 3rd Mother Ignacia Invitational Quiz Show together with the (sir, katung science club gali? Hahaha), Math teachers, and Science teachers and with the support of the administration. We also had the annual MASCI fair that was held at the Old chapel. A lot math related and science related were exhibited and posted. Works from the different students of the different year levels were presented. Lastly, October 2012, we had a club meeting. The meeting opened its way for the possibilities of the upcoming Indigay. This school year, we did sponsored masses. Those were the activities that my club underwent and accomplished. With everybody’s support and cooperation, everything was made possible.

Contex and Principles for Early Year Learning Essay

Question: An explanation of the legal status and principle of the relevant Early Years Framework and why the early year frameworks emphasise a personal and individual approach to learning and development 1. 1 The statutory framework for the EYFS sets out the legal requirements relating to learning and development and the legal requirements relating to welfare. The EYFS framework has statutory force by virtue of Section 44 of the Childcare Act 2006. The EYFS is a central part of the ten year childcare strategy Choice for parents, the best start for children and the landmark Childcare Act 2006. This Act, which regulates the childcare in England, formalise the important strategic role local authorities play, through a set of duties. These duties require authorities to †¢ work with their NHS and Jobcentre Plus partners to improve the outcomes of all children up to five years of age and reduce inequalities between them †¢ secure sufficient childcare for working parents †¢ provide a parental information service †¢ provide information, advice and training for childcare providers. The act also lays out registration and inspection arrangements, providing for an integrated education and care framework for the Early Years and general childcare registers. The sufficiency, information and outcomes duties came into effect on 1 April 2008 and the remaining provisions came into effect from September 2008. The revised, simpler framework for the EYFS was published on 27 March 2012, for implementation from 1 September 2012. This is an integral part of the Government’s wider vision for families in the foundation years. It demonstrates our commitment to freeing professionals from bureaucracy to focus on supporting children. Together with a more flexible, free early education entitlement and new streamlined inspection arrangements, this is a step towards a lighter touch regulatory regime. The Government will continue to seek to reduce burdens and remove unnecessary regulation and paperwork, which undermine professionals’ ability to protect children and promote their development. The new EYFS framework makes a number of improvements: †¢ Reducing bureaucracy for professionals, simplifying the statutory assessment of children’s development at age five. †¢ Simplifying the learning and development requirements by reducing the number of early learning goals from 69 to 17. †¢ Stronger emphasis on the three prime areas which are most essential for children’s healthy development. These three areas are: communication and language; physical; and personal, social and emotional development. †¢ For parents, a new progress check at age two on their child’s development. This links with the Healthy Child review carried out by health visitors, so that children get any additional support they need before they start school. †¢ Strengthening partnerships between professionals and parents, ensuring that the new framework uses clear language. The Early Years Register (EYR) and the General Childcare Register (GCR) provide a regulatory framework for childcare under the act. Ofsted regulates the two registers – the EYR for people caring for children aged from birth to 31 August after their fifth birthday and the GCR for childcare over this age. The GCR has two parts: the compulsory part (for providers of childcare for children aged five to seven) and a voluntary part (for providers of childcare for children aged eight and over or childcare that is exempt from registering on a compulsory basis). The EYFS has replaced three precedent frameworks: Curriculum Guidance for Foundation Stage, the Birth to Three Matters frameworks, and the National Standards for Under 8s Day-care and Childminding. The EYFS is given legal force through an Order and Regulations made under the Act. From September 2008 it will be mandatory for all schools and early years providers in Ofsted registered settings attended by young children – that is children from birth to the end of the academic year in which a child has their fifth birthday. All early years providers are required to meet the EYFS requirements. From September 2008 it is the legal responsibility of these providers to ensure that their provision meets the learning and development requirements, and complies with the welfare regulations. The Early Years Foundation Stage 2012 (EYFS) sets the standards that all early years providers must meet to ensure that children learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe. It promotes teaching and learning to ensure children’s ‘school readiness’ and gives children the broad range of knowledge and skills that provide the right foundation for good future progress through school and life. Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their potential. Children develop quickly in the early years and a child’s experiences between birth and age five have a major impact on their future life chances. A secure, safe and happy childhood is important in its own right. Good parenting and high quality early learning together provide the foundation children need to make the most of their abilities and talents as they grow up. The EYFS seeks to provide: †¢ quality and consistency in all early years settings, so that every child makes good progress and no child gets left behind; †¢ a secure foundation through learning and development opportunities which are planned around the needs and interests of each individual child and are assessed and reviewed regularly; †¢ partnership working between practitioners and with parents and/or carers; †¢ equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice, ensuring that every child is included and supported. The EYFS specifies requirements for learning and development and for safeguarding children and promoting their welfare. The learning and development requirements cover: †¢ the areas of learning and development which must shape activities and experiences (educational programmes) for children in all early years settings; †¢ the early learning goals that providers must help children work towards (the knowledge, skills and understanding children should have at the end of the academic year in which they turn five); and †¢ assessment arrangements for measuring progress (and requirements for reporting to parents and/or carers). The safeguarding and welfare requirements cover the steps that providers must take to keep children safe and promote their welfare. Four guiding principles should shape practice in early years settings. These are: †¢ every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured; †¢ children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships; †¢ children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers; and †¢ children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates. The framework covers the education and care of all children in early years provision, including children with special educational needs and disabilities. The aim of the EYFS is to help young children achieve the five Every Child Matters outcomes of staying safe, being healthy, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution, and achieving economic well-being by: 1. setting the standards for the learning, development and care, ensuring that every child makes progress and that no child gets left behind. Parents, providers should deliver individualised learning, development and care that enhances the development of the children in their care and gives those children the best possible start in life. Every child should be supported individually to make progress at their own pace and children who need extra support to fulfil their potential should receive special consideration. All providers have an equally important role to play in children’s early years experiences and they have to ensure that the provision they deliver is both appropriate to children’ needs and complementary to the education and care provided in child’s other settings. 2. providing for equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice and ensuring that every child is included and not disadvantaged because of ethnicity, culture or religion, home language, family background, learning difficulties or disabilities, gender or ability. Practitioners should focus on each child’s individual learning, development and care needs by: removing or helping to overcome barriers for children, being alert to the early signs of needs that could lead to later difficulties and responding quickly and appropriately, stretching and challenging children because all of them should have the opportunity to experience an enjoyable programme of learning and development. 3. creating the framework for partnership working between parents and professionals, and between all the settings that the child attends. Working with children means working in partnership with a lot of people, for this reason is important that practitioners ensure continuity and coherence by sharing relevant information with each other and with parents. Parents and families are central to a child’s well-being and learning’s needs. For this reason practitioners should support this important relationship by sharing information and offering support for extending learning in the home. 4. improving quality and consistency in the early years sector through a universal set of standards which apply to all settings and providing the basis for the inspection and regulation regime. 5. laying a secure foundation for future learning through learning and development that is planned around the individual needs and interests of the child, and informed by the use of ongoing observational assessment. It is important to their future success that children’ earliest experience help to build a secure foundation for learning throughout their school years and beyond. Practitioners must sensitive to the individual development of each child to ensure that activities they undertake are suitable for the stage that they have reached. Children need to be stretched, but not pushed beyond their capabilities, so that they can continue enjoy learning. Practitioners must observe assessment planning for each child’s continuing development through play-based activities, and respond quickly to children’s learning and development needs. There are a lot of important aspects on the early years’ provision in the EYFS framework. These principles are: 1. There should be a variety of provision for children under five in any locality. 2. All groups should operate in safe, healthy premises and should register with the local social services department. 3. Groups should be of manageable size and have a high adult to child ratio. 4. Groups should comply with al employment legislation and pay adequate salaries and expenses to volunteers. 5. Staff should be trained and experienced, and with volunteers and parents, should be given the opportunity to further their learning. 6. Groups should have opening times that reflect the needs of parents and children. 7. Groups should have clear policies and procedures for admission and attendance of children 8. Groups should consider children’s dietary needs to ensure that any food or drink provided is appropriate, acceptable and nutritious. In the provision of any refreshment, groups should respect individual, cultural, religious and medical requirements. 9. Groups should have appropriate and adequate insurance cover. 10. Parents are the main educators of their children and should be involved in all aspects of the group including management. 11. Groups should have sound management procedures. 12. Groups should be recognised by, and have contact with, other local providers of education and care for young children. 13. Groups should provide for children and adults with disabilities and learning difficulties including â€Å"children in need† as defined by the Children Act 1989. 14. Groups should be well organised, with carefully planned activities. 15. Groups should provide good quality educational equipment and play activities appropriate ages and stages of development. 16. The quality in any group is ultimately dependent upon the skills, attitudes and commitment of adults, and groups should build upon these. 17. There should be equal opportunities, in all aspects of the group’s work, for adults and children. All children in England between ages 5 and 16 must receive a full-time education. For children under age 5, publicly-funded nurseries and pre-schools are available for a limited number of hours each week. After the age of 16, students can attend sixth form colleges or other further education institutions. There are different types of child settings but all of them should follow The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 that sets out two main duties for childcare providers: †¢ not to treat a disabled child ‘less favourably’ †¢ to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ for disabled children Registered day nurseries Children are normally admitted from age 18 months to 3? years. They usually have fixed opening times and are usually open all day and during the school holidays to meet the needs of working parents. They may also offer before and after school childcare and holiday care for school aged children. Local authority nursery schools and nursery classes They are funded by the local authority. Children can start a nursery school or nursery class attached to a primary school from the age of three. Some nursery places are for a half-day (either a morning or an afternoon), others are for the whole school day. Pre-schools and Playgroups Pre-schools and playgroups provide care, play and learning opportunities for children aged two to five years. They usually offer half day sessions, term time only, although some may offer extended hours. Primary school Primary schools are for children aged from four or five until the age of 11. Secondary school Secondary schools are for children aged 11, until the age of 16 but often also include sixth form centres or colleges which have pupils until the age of 18. Special schools Special schools educate children or young people aged 5 and upwards almost always with statements of special educational need. Childminders Provide care, play and learning opportunities within the childminders own home. They may be able to work flexible hours and periods. Will often take or collect children from playgroup or school. Can care for a maximum of six children under 8 years of age, depending on the play space available, but no more than three under 5 years of age and not normally more than one under 12 months Question: An explanation of how national and local guidance materials are used in setting 1. 2 UK’s current provision to work with early years children has been influenced by many different theories. FRIEDRICH FROEBEL (1782-1852) Froebel founded his first kindergarten in 1840. He believed in outdoor and indoor play and invented finger play, songs and rhymes. He valued symbolic behaviour through play: this is where children understand that they can make one thing stand for – or symbolise – something else – for example, a yoghurt pot can symbolise a cup of tea. He felt that children were able to learn at their highest level through imaginative play. He was also well known for encouraging block play which he called gift – encouraging children to understand a variety of mathematical concepts and relationship through play with various wooden blocks. His theory start with the concept that humans are creative beings, for this reason true education must help children to understand their true nature as creative beings. Froebel believed that play is the engine that drives true learning. Play is not idle behaviour. It is a biological imperative to discover how things work. It is happy work, but definitely purposeful. Froebel sought to harness this impulse and focus the child’s play energy on specific activities designed to lead them to create meaning from this experience. In his opinion children can only learn what they are ready to learn. Each child is unique and develops according to their own schedule. Nothing can be more wasteful or frustrating than to try to force a child to march to a different beat. Froebel works with each child’s own rhythm but makes it purposeful and guides the child toward the group. Froebel recognized that you cannot control the child so he controlled everything else. A prepared environment provides the teacher with the proper tools and gives children the experiences that the teacher feels are most beneficial, leading the child’s mind to the subject at hand. It feels less structured or forced, but it is actually extremely efficient. After his death the idea of his child-centred kindergarten became popular in both Germany and the rest of Europe. MARIA MONTESSORI (1870-1952) Maria Montessori was a doctor in poor areas of Rome in the early twentieth century. During this time she observed children’s development and saw them as active learners. She did not believe in imaginative play but she felt that children needed to experience concepts such as shape, size and order through structured play. She also felt that, at different stages of their development, children are particularly receptive to certain area of learning and that the adult must guide them through these. Montessori believed that children would become independent learners if they worked on their own. She did not encourage sequence of exercises often using specifically designed didactic (instructional) materials. (Penny Tassoni, 368)These are materials that involve sensory experiences and are self-correcting. Montessori materials are designed to be aesthetically pleasing, yet sturdy and were developed by Maria Montessori to help children develop organization. Montessori believed that the environment should be prepared by matching the child to the corresponding didactic material. The environment should be comfortable for children (e. g. , child-sized chairs that are lightweight). The environment should be homelike, so child can learn practical life issues. For example, there should be a place for children to practice proper self-help skills, such as hand washing. Since Montessori believed beauty helped with concentration, the setting is aesthetically pleasing. The â€Å"Montessori method† consists in a carefully developed set of materials which create the proper environment for children at each stage of their development. In this environment and with the guidance of trained teachers, they can develop their intellects and acquire all the skills and content of human civilization. Over sixty years of experience with children around the world proved Dr. Montessori’s theory that children can learn to read, write and calculate as easily and naturally as they learn to walk and talk. Her methods are still popular in Montessori schools around the world. The High/Scope approach The High/Scope Approach has roots in constructivist theory. Constructivists believe that we learn by mentally and physically interacting with the environment and with others. Although errors may be made during these interactions, they are considered just another part of the learning process. Although both Constructivism and the Montessori Method involve learning by doing, there are significant differences. In Montessori, for instance, the didactic, self-correcting materials are specifically designed to help prevent errors. Children learn by repetition, instead of by trial and error. The role of pretend play is also different in the two methods. In High/Scope, children’s creative exploration is encouraged, and this sometimes leads to pretend play, while in Montessori, â€Å"practical life work† that relates to the real world is stressed. Although Constructivism is a theory of learning, as opposed to a theory of teaching, High/Scope has exemplified an approach of teaching that supports Constructivist beliefs. Thus, children learn through active involvement with people, materials, events, and ideas. What Are High/Scope’s Main Components? Social †¢ One of the fundamental points in the High/Scope approach is that children are encouraged to be active in their learning through supportive adult interactions. †¢ The High/Scope approach includes times for various grouping experiences in the classroom. There are specific periods in each day for small group times, large group times, and for children to play independently in learning centres throughout the classroom. †¢ Children are encouraged to share their thinking with teachers and peers. †¢ Social interactions in the classroom community are encouraged. Teachers facilitate work on problem resolution with children as conflicts arise. †¢ When a child talks, the teachers listen and ask open-ended questions; they seek to ask questions that encourage children to express their thoughts and be creative rather than a â€Å"closed† question that would elicit more of a yes/no or simplistic answer. †¢ Each day the High/Scope teacher observes and records what the children are doing. During the year, teachers complete a High/Scope Child Observation Record from the daily observations they have collected. Curriculum †¢ â€Å"Key experiences† were designed specifically for this approach. The following is a brief summary of key experiences taken from Kostelnik, Soderman, & Whiren (1999, p. 32). The key experiences for preschool children are: -Creative representation -Classification -Language and literacy -Seriation -Initiative and social relation -Number -Movement -Space -Music -Time †¢ â€Å"Plan-do-review† is another major component of the High/Scope framework. Children are encouraged to: 1) plan the area, materials, and methods they are going to work with; 2) do, actually carry out their plan; and 3) review, articulate with the class-room community what they actually did during work time. The review time helps children bring closure to their work and link their actual work to their plan. †¢ Cleanup time is a natural part of plan-do-review. Children are given a sense of control by cleaning up. Representative labels help children return materials to appropriate places (Roopnarine & Johnson, 1993). †¢ The High/Scope classroom has a consistent routine. The purpose of the resulting predictability is to help children understand what will happen next and encourage them to have more control in their classroom. Environmental Set-Up †¢ The High/Scope ® classroom is a materials-rich learning environment. Usually, the locations for classroom materials are labelled to help children learn organizational skills. †¢ Materials are set-up so that they are easily accessible at a child’s level. This helps facilitate children’s active exploration. †¢ Teachers set up the classroom areas purposefully for children to explore and build social relationships, often with well-defined areas for different activities. Reggio Emilia Approach Reggio Emilia is a small town of northern Italy. The approach has become so popular in the early childhood field because it offers many unique curriculum ideas, because of the strong infrastructure for the Reggio schools, and because of the attention to co-construction. What Are the Reggio Emilia Approach’s Main Components? Social †¢ Cooperation and collaboration are terms that stress the value of revisiting social learning. First, children must become members of a community that is working together (cooperation). Once there is a foundation of trust between the children and adults, constructive conflict may be helpful in gaining new insights (collaboration). †¢ Co-construction refers to the fact that the meaning of an experience often is built in a social context. †¢ An atelierista is a teacher who has a special training that supports the curriculum development of the children and other faculty members. There is an atelierista in each of the Reggio Emilia pre-primary schools. †¢ Pedagogistas are built in as part of the carefully planned support system of the Reggio Emilia schools. The word pedagogista is difficult to translate into English. They are educational consultants that strive to implement the philosophy of the system and advocate for seeing children as the competent and capable people they are. They also make critical connections between families, schools, and community. Curriculum †¢ One of the special features of the Reggio Emilia approach is called â€Å"documentation. † Documentation is a sophisticated approach to purposefully using the environment to explain the history of projects and the school community. It does not simply refer to the beautiful classroom artwork commonly found throughout schools following Reggio Emilia Approach. And, even though it often incorporates concrete examples of both the processes and products that are part of a child’s education, it is more than just that. It is a fundamental way of building connections. Documentation is discussed in more detail in the next section that describes the uniqueness of the Reggio Emilia Approach. †¢ Co-construction increases the level of knowledge being developed. This occurs when active learning happens in conjunction with working with others (e. g.having opportunities for work to be discussed, questioned, and explored). Having to explain ideas to someone else clarifies these ideas. In addition, conflicts and questions facilitate more connections and extensions. There is an opportunity to bring in different expertise. Thus, to facilitate co-construction, teachers need to â€Å"aggressively listen† and foster collaboration between all the members of the community whenever possible. Real learning takes place when they check, evaluate, and then possibly add to each other’s work. †¢ Long-term projects are studies that encompass the explorations of teachers and children. †¢ Flowcharts are an organized system of recording curriculum planning and assessment based on ongoing collaboration and careful review. †¢ Portfolios are a collection of a child’s work that demonstrates the child’s efforts, progress, and achievements over time. Environmental Set-Up †¢ In Reggio Emilia, the environment is similar to that found in Montessori schools. However, the environmental set-up as a â€Å"third teacher† has been enhanced and extended in the Reggio Emilia approach. †¢ Like Montessori, it is believed beauty helps with concentration; the setting is aesthetically pleasing. †¢ Reggio Emilia schools create homelike environments. In Reggio, the homelike atmosphere is designed to help make children feel comfortable and learn practical life issues. †¢ Each child is provided a place to keep her own belongings. †¢ Documentation is a major part of the environmental set-up. Documentation illustrates both the process and the product. In documentation, the child is seen as an individual but also in relation to a group, with various possibilities for the individual. Question: An explanation of how different approaches to work with children in early years have affected current provision. 1. 3 Early years frameworks emphasize a personal and individual approach to learning and development because every child is unique and they develop and learn in different ways and at different rates, for this reason all areas of learning and development are equally important and inter-connected. Another reason is that experiences during the early years strongly influence a child’s future development. This means that the care and education that babies and young children receive to support their growth, development and learning must be of high quality and appropriate to their individual needs. Therefore, all practitioners should look carefully at the children in their care, consider their needs, their interests, and their stage of development and use all this information to help plan a challenging and enjoyable experience across all the areas of learning and development. In fact EYFS’s aim is to reflect the rich and personalised experience that many parents give their children at home. Like parents, providers should deliver individualised learning, development and care that enhances the development of the children in their care and gives those children the best possible start in life. Every child should be supported individually to make progress at their own pace and children who need extra support to fulfil their potential should receive special consideration. All providers have an equally important role to play in children’s early years experiences and they have to ensure that the provision they deliver is both appropriate to children’ needs. Question: An explanation of the Partnership model of working with carers 3. 1 Working with children means have a lot of responsibilities and one of the main ones is to have a positive partnership within the child setting’s staff and parents/carers. For this reason every child setting has its own policy to regulate relations between carers and carers and families. Positive partnership calls for: †¢ mutual respect and trust †¢ a recognition of equality between parents and professionals †¢ awareness of cultural and ethnic diversity †¢ partners to share information and skills. This means that good communication is essential to working with children, young people, families and carers. It helps build trust, and encourages them to seek advice and use services. It is key to establishing and maintaining relationships, and is an active process that involves listening, questioning, understanding and responding. †¢ an acknowledgement and sharing of feelings †¢ all parties to play a role in the decision making process. Question: A review of the Potential barriers to participation for carers, and an explanations of how these barriers may be overcome 3. 2 Barriers to partnership working There are many potential barriers to establishing a working partnership with parents, which can apply to both parties. Here are some of them: Time and availability. †¢ Finding a mutually convenient time and venue to meet †¢ Other demands from family and work †¢ Access and transport for some parents Language, culture and religion Cultural and/or religious attitudes towards disability †¢ Language barriers (there are no words for Down’s syndrome in Punjabi or Urdu) †¢ What is culturally acceptable Parents own education †¢ Negative feelings towards school and authority †¢ Feelings of inadequacy †¢ Fear of being judged Communication †¢ Poor communication channels (e. g. through the child only) †¢ Poor information sharing (what does go on in school? ) †¢ Automatic use of jargon. †¢ Shyness †¢ Lack of confidence School and staff †¢ Personal relationships between teacher and parent †¢ Limited facilities for meeting with parents †¢ Lack of empathy with the role of parent †¢ Lack of staff skills and confidence †¢ Access to relevant information †¢ An unwelcoming environment Parent and school †¢ Who to talk to? †¢ Lack of acceptance or awareness of child’s difficulties †¢ The value placed on education †¢ Young people not wanting parents involved †¢ Lack of information around transition periods (from one school to the next) †¢ Disinterest/lack of clear responsibility. †¢ Lack of consensus between parents Previous experience †¢ Negative previous experience †¢ Feelings of being judged †¢ Lack of action or follow up †¢ Being patronised Some ideas for overcoming barriers Communication †¢ Use regular newsletters to improve information flow †¢ Have a central information point e. g. regularly updated notice board †¢ Have a central contact point †¢ Exploit technology – web sites, email, blogs, text messaging †¢ Provide up to date information and a jargon buster †¢ Create regular meeting slots †¢ Create opportunities for informal as well as formal contact e.g. parents assemblies, social events. †¢ Collect parents views e. g. suggestion box, parent forum, parents’ spokesperson †¢ Involve parents in school activities †¢ Use home/school books and diaries †¢ Use email or phone if there is sensitivity about keeping a written record School and staff †¢ Develop staff skills in communication and listening †¢ Increase availability of staff and head teacher e. g. regular meeting slots, surgery times for 1-1 meetings †¢ Improve the range of activities in which parents can participate †¢ Make direct personal contact with parents †¢ Provide creche.