Education System in Desperate need of Change Essay

Sir William Haley once said, â€Å"Education would be so much more effective if its purpose were to ensure that by the time they leave school every boy and girl should know how much they don’t know, and be imbued with a lifelong desire to know it†. If students were guaranteed to leave school with knowing of what they don’t know and the desire to continue learning, the method of learning will be correct. Today’s education system does not give students the opportunity to enjoy what they are learning. The banking method, where students are empty vessels which educators must deposit knowledge into, deprives them of creativity and the desire to learn. No child is given the chance to shine and be unique. Students today are simply being placed on a conveyer belt, sorted, and then labeled according to their so called intelligence. We need an education system that provides a slower learning method, a method where you focus on what is being learned instead of zipping through it, and the freedom to make mistakes as this will electrify and stimulate students to fulfill their potential. We must recognize students as individuals and keep in mind their diverse backgrounds. In â€Å"Lives on the Boundary,† Rose states, â€Å"The canon has intended to push to the margins much of the literature of our nation: from American Indian songs and chants to immigrant fiction to working-class narratives† (100). The messages that are received from the text are crucial. The students need to be able to relate to what they have before them. One of the problems with today’s education system is we are given material to read, memorize, and expected to repeat it back at the snap of a finger. But without the ability to relate and connect with the material, the learning doesn’t take place. Everything that is read or being said is just going through one ear and out the other. By adding relatable texts, you add life to learning. In â€Å"Learning in the Key of Life,† Jon Spayde states, â€Å"people cannot learn what they do not love† (69). When students are reading or learning about a subject they love, they are inspired and motivated to learn more. This alone can benefit the learning process for students. It becomes much easier to grasp concepts learned in class. Today’s education system does not allow all students to thrive in their own way. It is fast paced with limited space for creativeness. We are given large amounts of information at a time and attempt to move as quickly as possible through all that we can. There is never â€Å"time† to stay longer on a topic. The instructors try their hardest to keep the pace, but this way of teaching does not benefit any student. In â€Å"Learning in the Key of Life†, Jon Spayde states, â€Å"†¦we are focusing far too much of our energy and resources on fast knowledge, ignoring all the richness and meaning slow knowledge adds to our lives† (68). When the focus is on just getting through the material, we are skipping over the value and richness of slow knowledge. Instead of zipping through a lesson because it needs to be done by a certain day to move onto the next, the focus needs to be on what is being learned than making a time requirement. Spayde also states, â€Å"You can figure out what you can do pretty quickly, but the ethical understanding of what you ought to do comes slowly†. We need to adopt the slow learning method, without it we are missing out on more than we think. There is so much more to learning than getting through the material, the purpose of it is to benefit and gain from it. With slow knowledge we will achieve this. One of the most important changes that needs to be done is the view on mistakes. In the article, â€Å"How to Make Mistakes,† Dennett states, â€Å"Mistakes are not just golden opportunities for learning; they are, in an important sense, the only opportunity for learning something truly new†. When fear is being put into a student to never make a mistake, their education is stunted. They lose the ability to explore and take the chance of being wrong because they are repeatedly punished for being incorrect. When a mistake is made, students will learn where they went wrong and will then grow from it. The key to progress is making mistakes. The reason we are in school is to learn, but with this opportunity taken away from students their ability to learn is ripped from their grasp. Daniel C. Dennett also states, â€Å"You should seek out opportunities to make grand mistakes, just so you can then recover from them†. Instead of using all of their energy to attempt to be perfect and run from being inaccurate, every student should look for every opportunity to be wrong. Without errors, the students can not accomplish much. If you look at Todays’ education system is in desperate need of change. No student is given the opportunity to show what they are fully capable of. Instead they are told what they can do. They are simply labeled and placed where they â€Å"should be†. But when students begin to pursue their mistakes and soak in the richness of slow knowledge, they will begin to truly learn. Maria Montessori once said, â€Å"If education is always to be conceived along the same antiquated lines of a mere transmission of knowledge, there is little to be hoped from it in the bettering of man’s future. For what is the use of transmitting knowledge if the individual’s total development lags behind? †. If many students are having difficulty learning in the method we have created ages ago, why not change it? The time is now and there is no time to waste. We must refocus this outdated system to insure that the students will have a secure future and keep the standard of living that we have today.

David Walker’s Appeal Summary

David Walker was an abolitionist, orator, and author of David Walker's Appeal. Although David Walker's father, who died before his birth, was enslaved, his mother was a free woman; thus, when he was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, in September 1785, David Walker was also free, following the â€Å"condition† of his mother as prescribed by southern laws regulating slavery. Little is known about Walker's early life. He traveled widely in the South and probably spent time in Philadelphia. He developed early on an intense and abiding hatred of slavery, the result apparently of his travels and his firsthand knowledge of slavery. Relocating to Boston in the mid-1820s, he became a clothing retailer and in 1828 married a woman named Eliza. They had one son, Edward (or Edwin) Garrison Walker, born after David Walker's death in 1830. An active figure in Boston's African American community during the late 1820s, David Walker had a reputation as a generous, benevolent person who sheltered fugitives and frequently shared his in-come with the poor. He joined the Methodist Church and in 1827 became a general agent for Freedom's Journal, a newly established African American newspaper. During the two years of the newspaper's existence, he regularly supported the New York City-based publication, finding subscribers, distributing copies, and contributing articles. He was also a notable member of the Massachusetts General Colored Association, an antislavery and civil rights organization founded in 1826. In lectures before the association, Walker spoke out against slavery and colonization, while urging African American solidarity. In September 1829, he published David Walker's Appeal. In this pamphlet, which quickly went through three editions, he fiercely denounced slavery, colonization, and the institutional exclusion, oppression, and degradation of African peoples. His Appeal was a militant call for united action against the sources of the â€Å"wretchedness† of African Americans, enslaved and free. Often reprinted, widely circulated, and highly regarded by a number of African American readers, Walker's Appeal generated a vehement response from white Americans, especially in the South. Several southern state legislatures passed laws banning such â€Å"seditious† literature and reinforced legislation forbidding the education of slaves in reading and writing. The governors of Georgia and Virginia and the mayor of Savannah wrote letters to the mayor of Boston expressing outrage about the Appeal and demanding that Walker be arrested and punished. In Georgia, a bounty was offered on him, ten thousand dollars alive, and one thousand dollars dead. In the North, newspapers attacked the pamphlet, as did white abolitionists Benjamin Lundy and William Lloyd Garrison, who admired Walker's courage and intelligence but condemned the circulation of the Appeal as imprudent. Walker died in the summer of 1830. Although the cause and circumstances of his death are mysterious, many have suspected that he was poisoned. After his death, the Appeal continued to circulate in various editions, including Henry Highland Garnet's 1848 reprinting of the Appeal along with his own â€Å"Address to the Slaves† in a single volume. As one of the earliest and most compelling printed expressions of African American nationalism, militancy, and solidarity, the Appeal has remained a vital and influential text for successive generations of African American activists. Walker's Appeal circulated widely throughout the South and North. In 1830, members of North Carolina's General Assembly had the Appeal in mind as they tightened the state's laws dealing with slaves and free black citizens. The resulting new laws, sparked by Walker's work and fueled a year later by Nat Turner's rebellion, led to more policies that repressed African Americans, freed and slave alike. David Walker's Appeal addresses the African Americans and the European Americans, challenging each group to take action. He acknowledges the â€Å"wretchedness† of blacks, which he believes is a result of slavery and the whites' fears of freeing enslaved blacks. He continuously challenges Thomas Jefferson's Notes on Virginia and uses direct quotes to analyze, criticize, and mock Jefferson's work to the utmost, proving that Jefferson contradicts himself numerous of times. Walker believes that oppression will one day be lifted from the shoulders of black men and that they will rise together as one. He stresses the wrongdoings of the whites and uses the Declaration of Independence to contradict them and also, stresses the importance of the blacks to take a stand against their oppressors. Walker's attitude shifts throughout the text, displaying courage, contempt, disregard, and resentment towards the whites, and bravery, conviction, weariness, and hopefulness towards the blacks. The cruel and unusual punishment that whites inflicted on blacks through slavery cannot be compared to any other enslavement nor can it be refuted. Through his Appeal and the help of the Almighty, Walker hopes to â€Å"open your hearts to understand and believe the truth† so that blacks can act to remedy their â€Å"wretchedness† and replace it with happiness, life, and liberty.

Analysis of the American Reality, Possibility, and Dream found in “Nickel and Dimed” and “The Outsiders”

Analysis of the American Reality, Possibility, and Dream found in â€Å"Nickel and Dimed† and â€Å"The Outsiders† Every American is familiar with the concept of the American Dream. It is the social myth at the very core of the nation’s identity. Unlike other countries, the United States is not rooted in a shared ancestry, history, or language. Instead, Americans find their unity in a common aspiration—the hope of a better future for themselves and their children in the Land of Opportunity. This is the vision that drove the Puritans to brave the sea, inspired the founding fathers to sign the Declaration of Independence, and continues to bring immigrants teeming into the country. The American Dream is deeply rooted in the culture and psyche of the United States and its citizens. It is a common theme in literature as American authors struggle to interpret the social myth in light of reality. One of the most beloved discussions and deconstructions of the American Dream is a novel written by Susan Eloise Hinton when she was only sixteen. The Outsiders chronicles the story of seven boys and their struggle to overcome the stereotypes forced on them by their community. Through the eyes of adolescence, Hinton analyzes the American Dream by addressing the gulfs that separate the Dream from reality, and the reality from the possibility of achieving the Dream. Another book with a similar purpose is Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America. Unlike The Outsiders, Nickel and Dimed is a nonfictional account of Ehrenreich’s experiences as she attempts to support herself by working various blue collar jobs. Ehrenreich accuses America of abandoning the working poor who, she argues, are unable to support themselves on current minimum wage salaries. Furthermore, her expos? shows an economic system that encourages the abuse and dehumanization of its low-income workers. Even while she stresses the importance of financial stability to the fulfillment of the American Dream, Ehrenreich spends a large portion of the book illustrating how a lack of humanity, in the system and between the classes, is the root cause of the large gap between rich and poor. While Hinton and Ehrenreich approach the American Dream from two very different perspectives, both conclude that a mutual respect and understanding between all pe ople, regardless of class, is essential to fully restore the Dream for all Americans. The United States of America was founded on the notion that â€Å"life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness† should be available to every citizen. The belief that these rights are available to every citizen is a great American myth. In his book The American Dream: The Short History of an Idea that Shaped a Nation, Jim Cullen calls this â€Å"idea that individuals have control over the course of their lives†¦ the very core of the American Dream, the bedrock premise upon which all else depends† (10). Hinton and Ehrenreich both attack the validity of the myth that equal opportunity is a reality in America and identify it as a source of prejudice and misunderstanding between the classes. Ehrenreich’s opinions about poverty, before she began her undercover journalism research, correspond strongly with the way average middle and upper class Americans think. She describes how she â€Å"grew up hearing over and over, to the point of tedium, that ‘hard work’ was the secret of success† (Ehrenreich 220). When she attempts to support herself as a blue collar worker, however, she finds that â€Å"you [can] work hard—harder even than you ever thought possible—and still find yourself sinking ever deeper into poverty and debt† (Ehrenreich 220). In his book, Beyond the American Dream, Charles Hayes describes how the disconnection between the myth and reality stigmatizes the poor: The higher the level of social position reached†¦ the more the people on that level seem blinded by the relative advantage of their position. For example, the middle class expects the bottom level to simply go out and get a job, failing to see the dist inct advantage they themselves maintain through quality education and social connections. The typical middle-class businessman†¦ sees himself as deserving while he sees those at lower economic levels as being lazy and undeserving. (18-19) During her experience as a temporary member of working class America, Ehrenreich found the work exhausting, both physically and emotionally. Working as a maid, she describes the â€Å"exercise† as â€Å"totally asymmetrical, brutally repetitive, and as likely to destroy the musculoskeletal structure as to strengthen it† (Ehrenreich 90). Many of her coworkers work through pain, malnutrition, or pregnancy in order to keep their jobs and because they can’t afford to take unpaid days off. Several of the maids have injuries, treated and untreated, due to their work. Despite the prevalent idea that the poor can break free from poverty simply by working hard, Ehrenreich’s coworkers endure body-breaking work without having the opportunity to save enough to change their situation or seek out a different job. Like Ehrenreich, Hinton also argues that equal opportunity is a myth that contributes to prejudice. In The Outsiders, Ponyboy, the narrator, lives in a world divided by social class. The poor kids living on the East side, labeled â€Å"greasers† by the rest of the community, endure a multitude of stereotypes and stigmas. Ponyboy, and the other boys who make up his adopted family, or gang, know the labels well. On their way to a fight, they â€Å"embrace the stereotypes† (Inderbitzen 360), chanting: â€Å"‘I am a greaser†¦, I am a JD and a hood. I blacken the name of our fair city. I beat up people. I rob gas stations. I am a menace to society. Man, do I have fun O victim of environment, underprivileged, rotten, no-count hood!’† (Hinton 144). Despite their willingness to unite under these stereotypes, however, Ponyboy’s account of events brings the reader to a different understanding of the greasers. One member of the gang, in particular, allows the reader a fresh perspective on these dehumanizing stereotypes. Dally, who has â€Å"spent three years on the wild side of New York and had been arrested at the age of ten,† is the hardest kid of the group: â€Å"tougher, colder, meaner† (Hinton 19). Even Ponyboy, though he respects Dally, doesn’t like him. The tough fa?ade rapidly crumbles, however, when Johnny, Dally’s friend, dies from injuries sustained while rescuing children from a burning building. â€Å"‘That’s what you get for tryin’ to help people, you little punk,’ Dally blurts at Johnny’s body, ‘that’s what you get†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬  (Hinton 157). Dally’s own life circumstances have taught him that selflessness, such as Johnny’s heroic efforts, results only in personal disaster and pain. Since his childhood, Dally has learned to meet the world with a cold detachment in order to survive the harsh, inner-city streets. Whe n he loses the only person who had slipped past his defenses and grown close to him, the pain overwhelms Dally. He pulls an unloaded gun on the police, forcing them to shoot him. Though Dally embodied many of the stereotypes forced onto all greasers, ultimately he was just a child trying to protect himself in a world where no parent had ever cared for him. The great tragedy of his death is that Dally still had the potential to be an extraordinary person. In him, Johnny saw a strong, â€Å"gallant† hero (Hinton 84), someone to look up to. Dally’s efforts to save Johnny from the fire at the risk of his own life provide a glimpse into the person he might have become had the circumstances been different. Unlike the labels suggest, Dally was not ruined beyond repair or redemption by his environment. He was still a human being, and, as such, he still had the ability to choose who he might have become. The myth, therefore, perpetuates stereotypes that prevent empathy and guid ance from being given to kids because they are viewed as already beyond help. Despite the myth of equal opportunity, the American Dream is still carried in the hearts of poor and rich Americans alike. Ehrenreich and Hinton each comment on what the Dream looks like through the eyes of the poor and compare it to the Dream as interpreted by the middle and upper classes. After examining the Dream of each class, both authors conclude that the Dreams are complimentary, not antagonistic. In Nickel and Dimed, the viewpoints of those struggling with poverty come in the form of interviews with Ehrenreich’s coworkers. Near the end of her job as a maid, Ehrenreich asks the women who she was working with how they felt about the owners of the houses they clean, â€Å"who have so much while others, like themselves, barely get by† (118). Answers two of the women give shed light on a commonality in the Dream held by each person struggling with poverty. Lori responds, â€Å"All I can think of is like, wow, I’d like to have this stuff someday. It motivates me and I don’t feel the slightest resentment because, you know, it’s my goal to get to where they are† (Ehrenreich 118). Colleen’s answer is somewhat different: â€Å"I don’t mind, really, because I guess I’m a simple person, and I don’t want what they have. I mean, it’s nothing to me. But what I would like is to be able to take a day off now and then†¦ if I had to†¦ and still be able to buy groceries the next day† (Ehrenreich 119). Though Lori and Colleen have different Dreams, the need for economic security is common to both. Without enough income to begin saving, the poor are trapped in their current situation without hope of escape. Even the ability to find a higher paying job is severely limited by lack of time, energy, and transportation. The smallest disaster could push their delicately balanced lives over the edge and leave them without either a job or money. The Dream of the rich, as expressed in Nickel and Dimed, comes from the author’s own perspective. Both Ehrenreich’s desire to research and write the book, as well as comments she makes about her own state of mind, reveal her own, middle-class Dream. Reflecting upon her â€Å"savior complex,† Ehrenreich admits, â€Å"Even my motives seem murky at the moment. Yes, I want to help Holly and everyone else in need, on a worldwide basis if possible. I am a ‘good person,’†¦, but maybe I’m also just sick of my suddenly acquired insignificance. Maybe I want to ‘be somebody,’†¦, somebody generous, competent, brave, and perhaps, above all, noticeable† (Ehrenreich 99). The need to matter is one she constantly wrestles with while preforming the menial tasks required of her from the various blue collar jobs she works. In order to cope with each of her jobs, Ehrenreich either finds meaning in it or creates meaning from pure fanta sy. In what she calls a â€Å"psychic flotation device† (108), Ehrenreich pretends, â€Å"I am not working for a maid service; rather, I have joined a mystic order dedicated to performing the most despised of tasks, cheerfully and virtually for free—grateful, in fact, for this chance to earn grace through submission and toil† (108). Unlike those who risk going hungry day by day, with no foreseeable route of escape, Ehrenreich is not really in any danger of starvation. Her basic needs are met and her current situation is only a charade. Her Dream focuses much more heavily on the upper levels of Maslow’s hierarchy: belonging, esteem, and self-actualization (â€Å"Need-Hierarchy Theory†). It is, in fact, these needs that have driven her to spend time living as one of America’s working poor. By temporarily giving up her privileged position, Ehrenreich is fulfilling her own Dream of doing meaningful work and being somebody who matters. In The Outsiders, the Dream of the lower class is expressed through the narrator. Like Ehrenreich, Ponyboy also shares with the reader his own fantasy: I loved the country. I wanted to be out of towns and away from excitement. I only wanted to lie on my back under a tree and read a book or draw a picture, and not worry about being jumped or carrying a blade The gang could come out on weekends, and maybe Dallas would see that there was some good in the world after all, and Mom would talk to him and make him grin in spite of himself†¦ She could talk to Dallas and keep him from getting into a lot of trouble. (Hinton 56) Like Colleen and Lori, Ponyboy also desires a certain amount of economic stability and freedom, but his Dream goes much deeper than that; he also wants peace. In his neighborhood, torn apart by social class, the greasers cannot even walk alone without fear of being jumped by the socs, kids from wealthy families who â€Å"had so much spare time and money that they jumped [greasers] and each other for kicks, had beer blasts and river-bottom parties because they didn’t know what else to do† (Hinton 51). Ponyboy’s idyllic version of the country represents his Dream for the world: a place where nobody has so little money that they are â€Å"hardened beyond caring† (Hinton 67) like Dally or so much money that they have nothing left to work for, like the socs. In his Dream, he is once again cared for by his parents. He is allowed to enjoy his childhood rather than wrestling with adult problems in an adult-less world. The Dream of the upper class is related by the soc Cherry Valence who confides in Ponyboy, telling him that being rich isn’t all it’s made out to be: ‘We’re sophisticated—cool to the point of not feeling anything. Nothing is for real with us. You know, sometimes I’ll catch myself talking to a girl-friend, and realize I don’t mean half of what I’m saying †¦ Rat race is a perfect name for it,’ she said. ‘We’re always going and going and going, and never asking where. Did you ever hear of having more than you wanted? So that you couldn’t want anything else and then started looking for something else to want? It seems like we’re always searching for something to satisfy us, and never finding it. Maybe if we could lose our cool we could.’ (Hinton 46) Cherry’s Dream, ironically, is to have a Dream—something to strive for. Like Ponyboy, she lives in a world consumed by money, only, rather than having too little, she has too much. The class culture she grew up in demands she meet social expectations, never letting her true self shine through. In talking to Ponyboy, she is able to make a genuine connection with another human being because she does not have to worry about keeping up appearances or fitting into cultural stereotypes. Just as Ehrenreich was able to fulfill her Dream of bettering the world and doing something meaningful by entering into the world of the working class poor, Cherry also found her Dream fulfilled when she stepped outside of her own social class and befriended a greaser. For both Hinton and Ehrenreich, the only way to restore equal opportunity to America and allow each individual the possibility of living the American Dream is through mutual friendship and respect between social classes. Works Cited Cullen, Jim. The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea That Shaped a Nation. New York: Oxford, 2003. Print. Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. New York: Henry Holt, 2002. Print. Hayes, Charles, D. Beyond the American Dream: Lifelong Learning and the Search for Meaning in a Postmodern World. Wasilla, AK: Autodidactic Press, 1998. Print. Hinton, S. E. The Outsiders. New York: The Viking Press, 1967. Print. Inderbitzin, Michelle. â€Å"Outsiders and Justice Consciousness.† Contemporary Justice Review. 6.4 (2003): 357-352. Web. 29 Dec. 2011. Need-Hierarchy Theory.A Dictionary of Psychology. Oxford Reference Online. Web. 25 Jan. 2012.

History - Rwanda Genocide Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

History - Rwanda Genocide - Research Paper Example Though efforts are done, those harms do still happen in controlled settings. Mutual understanding among nations and people may have reduced the occurrences of conflicts and violence. Conflicts and violence may occur anytime and anywhere which means people must be aware of their surroundings at all time. Nobody knows when it may happen though there are some ways that people especially the government agencies can predict the occurrences of violence through patterns they get from the data of past events. One of the nations that experienced a significant violence and conflict is Rwanda. That country is located in the eastern part of Africa near Tanzania and Congo. The topography of the land of Rwanda is composed of mountains and valleys. Rwanda then has the highest peak at 4,324 meters which is the top of a volcano called Mount Karisimbi (King 2007, p. 7). The people then that live the mountains and valleys are generally called Rwandans and composed of the ethnic groups Pygmy, Hamitic an d Bantu. The population overall of the Rwandans is approximately 11 million and the size of population is attributed to high mortality rate. Many die because of diseases because of poor sanitation and major diseases like the dreaded Autoimmune Deficiency Syndrome or AIDS. They are mostly poor as only 19 percent of them are in the urban areas. They also lack potable water to cater the needs of everyone. In terms of religion, Rwandans are mostly Christians with majority of them are Catholic. When it comes to basic education, most of them know how to read and write by 15 years old and above (Streissguth 2007, p. 36). The government of Rwanda then became a parliament recently and its laws are patterned after France and Belgium. The constitution of Rwanda was then ratified in 2003. The said constitution pledges to protect the rights of the Rwandans, to provide peace among groups there and to prevent political party formations based on culture and race. The government then is divided into judicial, legislative and executive just like in the government form seen in Europe and USA. The people allowed to vote must be at least 18 years old. Once the election is finished, the president then has been decided and he is the one responsible to appoint the prime minister and the cabinet who will assist him in leading the country (King 2007, p. 43). Before the government of Rwanda has been patterned after the Western nations, the country started as a land roamed by Pygmy group called Twa but the said ethnic group is only one percent of the current population. It was known in the past that Twa had interactions and interrelationships with the other ethnic groups like Tutsi and Hutu. The two groups were very similar in traditions but they are differentiated for their source of livelihood as Tutsi are cattle growers while Hutu are crop growers. It was then in 1933 when Belgian people controlled Rwanda and commanded the Rwandans to wear identification cards to clearly separate them by races (Kalayjian and Paloutzian 2009, p. 73). Probably that decision of the Belgians had bred further conflicts and violence among the ethnic groups which became prevalent since the independence of Rwanda. Rwanda became occupied by Germany before. When the First World War came, Belgium took over Rwanda as the Belgians snatched it from the Germans. After the war, it became a joint-state with Burundi which was also a colony of Belgium. It was then under the custody of United Nations which also played a big role in giving those

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Scientific Revolution - Research Paper Example Therefore, the important figures of the development of scientific thinking appear to be the colleagues, who worked on common range of problems and were guided by the same set of rules. The detailed analysis of scientific history and philosophy found an extremely distorted and romanticized picture of the actual situation. It turned out that the history of science was not as straightforward as it had been represented before. Despite the technological successes, the science not necessarily brings us to more accurate description of the reality. The most famous representative of such views was an American physicist and historian of science Thomas Kuhn. The current paper makes an attempt to analyze Copernicus’ discoveries from the position of Kuhn’s theory and his concept of â€Å"scientific revolution†. We will also try to find the gaps in the theory to see if the claim for the universalism of his paradigm is legitimate. Kuhn’s interest in the development of sc ientific theories and scientific revolutions grew out from the consideration of the fundamental differences between social and natural sciences. During his investigations, Kuhn became convinced that, in historical perspective, the development of science is far from smoothness and uniqueness. ... The paradigm is as essential for science in terms of observation and experiment. Allegiance to the certain paradigm is a crucial condition of any serious scientific affair. Science cannot observe and recognize the diversity of a particular phenomenon, because it is not able to conduct all possible experiments and perform all laboratory and clinical tests. In this respect, the scientist has to reduce the studied problem to the working volume. His choice of the set of methodological tools and ideas will be dictated by the system of beliefs of the paradigm he belongs to (Marcum 61). When most of the scientific community accepts a paradigm, it becomes mandatory guide. Once the paradigm is taken, it grows as a powerful catalyst for scientific progress. Kuhn called this stage â€Å"normal science† (Marcum 59). Most of the scientists are engaged in normal science all the time, and that is why this particular part of scientific activity has become a synonymous of science in general. N ormal science is based on the assumption that the scientific community knows what the Universe is. While the existence of the paradigm is taken for granted, only the problems for which the solution can be assumed are considered legitimate. The latter guarantees the quick success of normal science. In such circumstances, the scientific community restraints and suppresses any novelty, because innovations are harmful to the main duty of the community. Paradigm determines the field of solved questions, imposes acceptable methods, and set of standard solutions. Normal science solves the problems, but produces a little new (Marcum 60). At the certain stages of development of science paradigm becomes a conceptual â€Å"straitjacket†

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Problem solving - Essay Example erience and judgement bias, facilitates easy assessment of situations, and allows the management to remain on the right track of organisational goals (Wilson 2000). There is a need to solve problems so that decisions can be made effectively. Young individuals between the age group of 16 and 24 years are valuable resources for a nations future. They are often overlooked instead of offered community support system to foster creativity, productivity and development. There is a misconception that youths are essentially bad whereas research indicates that (Godwin 1998) adolescents and youths of today come under much pressure from society such as stress, fast-paced lifestyles, responsibilities at home, emotional upheaval, victimisation, and peer pressures. This is why young people today more than before tend to engage in drinking alcohol, violent crimes, promiscuity, and offences against the law. The widespread risk behaviours have developed a generation of young delinquents who require extensive help from the community. Some of the risk factors include lack of education, poor parenting and drugs problems according to Adamsons report on youth crime (2003). The problem of youth risk behaviours can be analysed by using the Fishbone diagram (Wealleans 2001). In the following diagram one can observe that youth risk behaviours are caused by individual attitudes (man), poverty (material), lack of education (machine), poor parenting (management), and peer pressure and lifestyles (environment). These causes also have sub-causes such as the need to be recognised or to find excitement; lack of education may be due to dropping out of schools; poor parenting may be due to absent working parents or belonging to single parents; and peer pressure may include victimisation or gang bullying. As a result of these causes and sub-causes, youths engage in the above risk behaviours (effect). The Fishbone technique, a part of the cause-and-effect group, involves the identification of

Beneth the serface of developmental dyslexia Annotated Bibliography

Beneth the serface of developmental dyslexia - Annotated Bibliography Example In addition, the article presents the three strategies that constitute development of reading. The three strategies include logographic, orthographic and alphabetic skills. The logographic skills relate to the immediate recognition of familiar words. Frith explains that the process of recognizing words require component of salient graphic to serve as important cues. The article precisely defines orthographic skills as an instantaneous analysis of words into the orthographic units. On the other hand, alphabetic skills connote the use and knowledge of each grapheme and phoneme as well as their correspondences. The article extends to present the inherent failures that each of the three principles possesses. However, the article fails to provide a credible developmental model, which explains its limitation. Even though Frith presents substantial work in this article, a need still lies to present credible model, which can function to alert individuals to the existing fallacy that acquired and developmental disorders are

Race and Whiteness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Race and Whiteness - Essay Example From the discusses it is clear that a concept of whiteness is based on custom and tradition, but it greatly undermines social and scientific principles of race. Racism is a representation of a historical evolution and there is a great degree of the inferiority of an â€Å"other† â€Å"race†. Racial practices are usually degrading and representatives of ethnic minorities are afflicted by negative practices of racism. There are many factors influencing deepening of discrimination practices, such as customs, traditions, social and political factors and even law. Racism by intent in the run of time transformed different cultures and social practices and underlined the superiority of white ethnic groups. This paper stresses that the social construct of race and whiteness are considered in relation to Brazilians and Asian Americans. From the very beginning, Brazilians differed from native inhabitants by skin color and were often referred to as browns or blacks. Race classification on the basis of the skin color differed greatly from color of race. Starting from 2000 in Brazil there was a lot of complaints concerning discard of color of skin and there was a need to introduce numerous social and political changes in order to constrict social gap between native inhabitants and ethnic minorities. There are evident controversies between â€Å"ideological† and â€Å"scientific" positions and representations of race.

Evaluation of Websites Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Evaluation of Websites - Research Paper Example The ability to develop good quality content and deliver them is the main driver of marketing values. The content should be exceptional and stand out in a platform that already has hundreds of other content. Vodafone.com is committed to helping the users access credible and professionally written information about the mobile telecommunications industry. It provides a single platform where users can also view the company products and any services that are being offered by the company. The title is informative as it only lists the name of the service provider so that users can have a clue of what the website is about. Vodafone is a global brand and the name can be recognized in many places across the globe. It is also unique and easy to understand. Most of the articles on the website are from the Vodafone team and no single author has been listed. Due to this, there are no email addresses that can be used to contact the authors of the articles in case of any query. To make the website a ttractive, there are various illustrations. However, the dominant feature all through the website is the brand color which is red and appears in all the web pages. This makes it attractive and appealing to the viewers. The layout of the home page gives the users access to information from various sources of information and this makes it very informative. On the introductory page, there are link to articles that summarize the function of the website and make the users aware of what the website is all about.

Barn Burning by William Faulkner Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Barn Burning by William Faulkner - Essay Example However, equally powerful is Faulkner’s use of character to define, explain, and develop the conflicts that take place throughout the short story. As such, this author will work to examine these two specific aspects and draw inference on their interrelation and use within the story. The story itself opens amidst a trial that is set in the epitome of the rural dust-bowl of the mid-west. Abner Snopes stand accused of purposefully and intentionally burning the barn of his former employer. The reader is quickly made aware that the true nature of the crime is known by young Sartoris and it is soon incumbent upon him to lie to the court, as instructed by his father, in order to wrongfully acquit the accused. Unlike most stories where the denouement comes at the end, Faulkner uses this as a mechanism to provide a life-altering impression on the young Sartoris; an impression that categorically affects the way that the rest of the story progresses and has implications for how Abner Sno pes will eventually be undone (Swann 132). In a way, Faulkner’s development shows the reader that the story can essentially be broken in to three distinct components. Firstly, the reader is made aware of Abner Snopes treachery and his moral deviance. Secondly, Faulkner wanders about describing each scene to the fullest while alluding back to the effect that Sartoris has come to experience as a result of the lies that have been told and the type of life that is being led. Lastly, the tension is released by Sartoris making the difficult choice to right the wrong that he had previously done. Although few might consider this story a tale of redemption, for Sartoris, it is precisely this. Haunted by the wrongs that the father continues to perpetrate and fearful of what the future consequences of these might be, Sartoris has to make the most difficult of decisions and quickly pursue honesty in order that the opening sequence of the short story will not repeat itself with respect to Abner’s short employment with de Spain. Although this conflict exists early in the story, it is the feeling and sense of conscience that troubles the young boy and makes it difficult for him to accept the result of the trial as well as to accept his role in the acquittal and to a greater extent his role within such a family. Faulkner presents a young boy who even at the tender age of 10 is uniquely aware of what is right and what is wrong (Comprone 18). Masterfully fabricated elements within the story help to develop the fact that Abner Snopes is an absolute tyrant. These include but are not limited to the beating that Sartoris faces as the family is in the process of relocating, the fact that Abner curses at his wife and instructs her not to tend to Sartoris wounds, the incident with the rug in de Spain’s house, and the final incident concerning the lantern oil. Although these can be understood as elements of conflict, they are at the same time elements of character development with relation to the way that Sartoris views his surrounds, his role in the family, and the level to which he will allow these things to continue before making a stand based on his own convictions. What is intriguing about the development of both of these themes is the fact that they are so inexorably linked. Without Sartoris clearly defined conscience, there would be little if any of a conflict between Sartoris and Abner. Without a broken family suffering under the dictatorial rule of a maniacal father, there would be little room to development on the emotions of frustration, rage, anger, regret,

Discussion Board 2 - Apologetics Essay Example for Free

Discussion Board 2 Apologetics Essay 1. What are some ways the Christian gospel is perceived in our culture? To many individuals, the Christian gospel is seen as selective and intolerant. Although we are all free to accept the gift of salvation through Christ, He tells us in John 14:6 that He is â€Å"the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.† To many, this will seem intolerant and almost haughty. How can a God who wants nothing more than to have a relationship with us say that there is only one way to do so? 2. What are some specific moral reasons people may reject the Christian gospel? Many individuals who will reject the Christian gospel do so for moral reasons such as their sexual preferences (gay, bi, or straight), their marital status, or the apparent intolerant moral code found in the Word of God. People believe that you have to give up everything that is worldly to follow Christ, and that Christians think they are more righteous than others. The fact is, you will have to give up living in sin, and you will have to give up treasures of the world, but the heavenly treasures that you gain will outshine any possession that you will have on this earth. 3. What are some specific emotional reasons people may reject the Christian gospel? One specific emotional reason that people will reject the Christian gospel is that they cannot grasp the concept of God’s unconditional love. God loves each and every one of us, even the worst sinner, and tells us in His Word. People will say things like â€Å"God would not let me be poor, or God would not have let me be abused like I was.† Even though we are all loved by God, and He wants us to have a relationship with Him and be happy and well, even the most devout Christian has to go through trials and tribulations. 4. What are some specific intellectual reasons people may reject the Christian gospel? For most Christians, believing in God is â€Å"faith-based,† and that there is no room for science and fact in Christianity. Many non-Christians will say that the Bible is nothing more than a collection of fairy tales for those who are easily enchanted and to make the people who read them feel good. The intellectual non-believer’s insistence that the Bible has no basis in fact  is one reason that they will reject the message, even though there is historical proof to show that Christ lived, died, and was resurrected, as well as that many other Biblical places and people existed at one point in time, even if they do not anymore. 5. What can Christians do to address these objections and better communicate the Christian gospel? As Christians, when we approach someone and begin to talk about our faith, it may seem like they are a little frightened, or maybe just upset and unwilling to take a leap of faith. They maybe feel like we have come on too strong, even though we know that we are just eager to talk about our faith. It is important for Christians to learn that we need to be patient with others but also diligent as we share the gospel of Christ.

The disabled children Essay Example for Free

The disabled children Essay The truth is that inclusion, as a system has gained nationwide attention in the last thirty years. Inclusion advocates, such as The Association of Persons with Severe Handicaps, argue that all disabled children should be included. The National Council on Disability recently stated that most students with sensory impairment should be taught in regular classrooms (Special Education Report, 1993). At the very least deaf children education programs contemplating inclusion (IEP) must consider the following issues(U.S. Department of Education, 1992): communication needs and the childs preferred mode of communication; linguistic needs; severity of hearing loss and potential for using residual hearing; academic level; social, emotional, and cultural needs, including opportunity for peer interactions and communication. According to Irene Leigh, a deaf psychologist, the concept of inclusion is positive and useful for many children with disabilities, but a generalized application which does not take into consideration the special individual characteristics and needs mentioned above might have serious psychosocial repercussions for a considerable number of children and adolescents with hearing problems.(Leigh 73) One of the benefits inclusion brings is the opportunity for the student who is deaf to live at home. Deaf students who attend a special school that is beyond commuting distance must live at the school during the week. Students in an inclusion placement in their local school are able to be with their families during the week and the proximity to the area where they live provides opportunities to develop neighborhood friends. Daily association with hearing students in an inclusion setting also helps students who are deaf to develop their ability to communicate with hearing people, leading to skills they will need in later years. The study carried out by professor John Luckner, in the division of Special Education of the University of   Northern Colorado, identified  successful students who were deaf or hard of hearing and were receiving education in general education settings in order to examine the   factors contributing to their success. Students acknowledged five main factors: their own effort and perseverance, the support from their families, the high standards their school friends set for them, the use of a variety of equipment to socialize as well as to learn (FM systems, hearing aids, text telephones, computers and close captioning) and sports which were not only enjoyable from the socializing point of view but very useful as a way of learning life skills. Dr. Ann T. Halvorsen, Professor of Special Education assures that â€Å"Inclusive settings provide far more variety in activities, and stimuli are not so easily controlled.   The pace of a general education classroom is typically faster and more spontaneous.   Ensuring that students have the opportunity to practice skills sufficiently in such a dynamic environment is critical† (100). Inclusion also provides good opportunities for learning the standards of the hearing world. Students who are deaf and attend schools for children who hear may be able to master the norms of hearing society better than those who are immersed in the culture of a special school for students who are deaf. It’s important to take into account that the education of deaf children needs and benefits from the inclusion of deaf adults at all stages. In fact, some years ago, many children in integrated settings did not even realize adults existed. Harris Sterling wrote about some children who thought they would become hearing when they became adults, others thought they would die or just fade away somehow since they had never had an adult role model (cited in Stone 1994). The subject of the adult role model is a very important one. It is essential that the schools make every effort to attract adult people into the school system. But they must be careful not to employ them only as aides or assistants because children will notice that the deaf person is always in a lower status position than the hearing teacher. It is really positive for children to see deaf and hearing professionals sharing power and making decisions together, this avoids the feeling that they will grow up to be forever told what to do by hearing people in the hearing world (Stone 66). Another advantage of inclusion is the possibility deaf or hard of hearing students have to choose an academic or vocational program that suits them from a wider range of choices in their home school district than in their nearest special school. Although states differ in policy and practice, there is a model for broad programming that reaches beyond state borders. The National Agenda for Moving Forward on Achieving Educational Equality for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students (2005) offers a set of priorities designed to narrow the gap between deaf and hearing students based on the belief that communication access is a fundamental human right and that every deaf and hard of hearing child must have full access to all educational services. The goals of the National Agenda consider inclusion as a good option for deaf or hard of hearing students only when it constitutes the â€Å"least restrictive environment† for them, once each individual case has been evaluated and the best placement options have been considered. Deaf and hard of hearing students should count on placement options that provide for their language and communication needs. What constitutes the â€Å"least restrictive environment† (LRE) for deaf and hard of hearing students must be determined by considering their communication and linguistic needs as well as their educational, social, emotional, cognitive, and physical abilities and needs. For some deaf and hard of hearing children, a special school is truly â€Å"least restrictive,† just as for others a regular classroom is LRE. In either case, the child’s needs, not a generic concept of LRE, must determine what is truly LRE for each individual child. According to the National Agenda, deaf and hard of hearing children are entitled to access the general curriculum. Too often the concept of â€Å"general curriculum† is confused with â€Å"least restrictive environment† or with placement in a regular classroom. The two concepts are separate and distinct. Every deaf and hard of hearing child, whether in a regular classroom or a special school or program for the deaf, should have full access to the general curriculum as consistent with his or her needs. The National Agendas success in bringing attention to the need to achieve these goals has occurred as a result of the shared roles, responsibilities and commitments of professionals, parents, and consumers throughout the United States. Inclusive education was initially seen as a special education service, but the focus is now on creating inclusive schools which unify resources and integrate programs in such a way that all students in the general education classroom are benefited. Unlike integrated or mainstreamed students, students who receive inclusive education are members of the general education classroom community. According to Halvorsen Neary :â€Å"the single most identifiable characteristic of inclusive education is membership. Students who happen to have disabilities are seen first as kids who are a natural  part of the school and the age-appropriate general education classroom they   attend†(3)   Acceptance that the deaf students have social and educational skills and motives similar to those of their hearing partners may greatly stimulate the hearing majority to  develop a willingness to learn about deaf language and culture. Inclusion as equals can not be possible for deaf and hard of hearing students if it is only them who have to make all the accommodations (Connor 2006). The whole general education community as well as society will benefit from inclusion, if the concept is applied conscientiously. Inclusion provides opportunities to experience diversity of society on a small scale in a classroom, develops an appreciation that everyone has unique characteristics and abilities, develops respect for others with diverse characteristics, develops sensitivity toward others limitations, develops empathetic skills, helps teachers recognize that all students have strengths, increases ways of creatively addressing challenges, develops teamwork and collaborative problem solving skills, promotes the civil rights of all individuals and supports the social value of equality. The word inclusion for deaf and hard of hearing students cannot be seen simply as a placement decision. It must refer to a philosophy which maximizes the child’s abilities and potential, facilitates communication with others, permits the child to act as a full participant in his education and promotes the development of positive self-esteem. To be included, a child must feel included. Any program or school which calls itself inclusive must meet these criteria. References Connor, M.J. (2006) Mainstream Inclusion of Deaf Children and Young People.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Principles and Tensions. Retrieved March 2009 from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.sersen.uk.net/docs/deaf-inclusion.doc Halvorsen, A.T. Neary, T. (2001).   Building inclusive schools: Tools and strategies   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   for success.   Boston: Allyn Bacon, 3 Leigh, I.W (1994) Psychosocial Implications of Full Inclusion for Deaf Children and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Adolescents. Implications and Complications for Deaf Students of the Full   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Inclusion Movement, 94-2, 73 . Retrieved March 2009 from http://eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/13/c5/05.pdf The National Agenda Steering and Advisory Committees.(2005). The National Agenda   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   for Moving Forward on Achieving Educational Equality for Deaf and Hard of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hearing Students. Retrieved March 2009 from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.tsd.state.tx.us/outreach/pdf/national_agenda.pdf Nowell, R. Innes, J. (1997) Educating Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing:

The Operations Management In Hotel Equatorial Tourism Essay

The Operations Management In Hotel Equatorial Tourism Essay Operations management is a part of business concerned about the production of goods and services, and involves the responsibility of ensuring that business operations are efficient in terms of using as little resource as needed, and effective in terms of meeting customer requirements. It is concerned with managing the process that converts inputs, in the forms of materials, labor and energy into outputs, in the form of goods and services. Traditionally, operation refers to the production of goods and services separately, although the distinction between these two main types of operations is increasingly difficult to make as manufacturers tend to merge product and service offerings. Jobs in services are often less structured than in manufacturing. Customer contact is generally much higher in services compared to manufacturing. In many services, worker skill levels are low compared to those of manufacturing employees. Services are adding many new workers in low-skill, entry-level positions. Employee turnover is high in services, especially in low-skill jobs. Input variability tends to be higher in many service environments than in manufacturing. Service performance can be adversely affected by many factors outside of managers control, such as employee and customer attitudes. Operations managers are concerned with each step in providing a service or product. They determine what equipment, labor, tools, facilities, materials, energy, and information should go into an operating system and how these inputs can best be obtained and used to satisfy the requirements of the market place. Managers are also responsible for critical activities such as quality management and control, capacity planning, materials management, purchasing, and scheduling. Operations management is getting important dramatically in recent years. Significant foreign competition, shorter product and service life-cycles, better-educated and quality-conscious consumers, and the capabilities of new technology have placed increasing pressures on the operations function to improve productivity while providing a broader array of high-quality products and services. With the globalization of markets, firms are recognizing that the operations function can be used to strengthen their position in the market place. Managers in operations management play a strategic and tactical role in satisfying customer needs and making their firms strong international competitors. Hotel Equatorial In this assignment, we will discuss about the operations management in Hotel Equatorial. Hotel Equatorial Corporate has a presence in three major Asia Pacific countries with seven properties in the group, located in the regions gateway cities. These three countries are Malaysia, China and Vietnam. Those Hotel Equatorial in Malaysia are located at Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Malacca, Penang and Cameron Highlands. However, we only focus on the operation management of Hotel Equatorial Kuala Lumpur. Hotel Equatorial Kuala Lumpur is located at Jalan Sultan Ismail. It is an international business-class hotel that emphasises efficiency, comfort, security and value for money, the Equatorial Kuala Lumpur also delivers genuine Malaysian warmth and hospitality. Hotel Equatorial Kuala Lumpur is highly-regarded for its excellent food and beverage services. The 5-star Equatorial Kuala Lumpur is located in the heart of the citys commercial and entertainment district thats within walking distance to major offices, shopping malls, the Petronas Twin Towers or Suria KLCC and entertainment centers. There are total of 300 rooms inside Hotel Equatorial. All of them are equipped with modern amenities. The rooms are pleasantly appointed with details that will make guests feel at home. There are splendid suites that can provide customers ultimate privacy. Beside that customer also can have a choice of Presidential, Senator or Executive Suites to rises a level higher. There is also swimming pool inside Hotel Equatorial Kuala Lumpur. Beside that facilities and services for guest convenience at Hotel Equatorial also include business center with meeting rooms and broadband Internet access, 24-hour room service, laundry and valet service, limousine service, currency exchange, doctor on-call, shopping arcade and basement parking. The Equatorial Kuala Lumpur is also renowned in the city for its award-winning restaurants such as the signature Golden Phoenix Chinese and Kampachi Japanese restaurants. The various food and beverage outlets found here are among Kuala Lumpurs most popular places for corporate or personal entertainment. Hotel Equatorial Kuala Lumpur also provides professional conference facilities with the attentive backing of trained staff that attend to your individual meeting requirements. There are ballroom, function room and business center inside this hotel. Literature Review The hospitality industry today has been recognized as a global industry. Indeed, it has played a vital role in Malaysia in recent years in terms of the hospitality industry itself; to develop a better diversity environment and society, and even contributes to the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) Malaysia. There are several types of hotel that have been recognized all around the world, such as budget hotels, apartment hotels, luxury hotels, resorts, and etc. There are other classifications of hotels; however, most of them will fall into one of these or a combination of these. Hospitality usually refers to the hotel industry; it is consider as a service by combining the accommodations, food and beverages services, recreation, entertainment sectors and even for the business purposes. Apart from that, hospitality is actually playing the relationship between a host and a guest by the acting and being hospitable to the public. Hepple, Kipps and Thomson (1990) reviewed the existing literature f or definitions of hospitality, and identified four characteristics of hospitality in its modern sense: (a) It is conferred by a host on a guest who is away from home. (b) It is interactive, involving the coming together of a provider and receiver. (c) It is comprised of a blend of tangible and intangible factors. (d) The host provides for the guests security, psychological and physiological comfort. As a staff in hotel, they have to ensure that they are providing the best service with a good attitude to customers; it will be one of the main challenges facing by hospitality management in order to attract the attention of tourists in this competitive market. In 2006, Chang demonstrates that attitude of employees is correlated with front-line employees overall performance quality in international tourist hotels. According to Chen (1999), employee training must encompass cognitive, affective, and behavioural preparation in order for staff members to effectively address diverse customer needs. Researcher has asserts that employees must be inspired to provide service that exceeds guests expectations (Mayo, 1997). Since a customers satisfaction is influenced by the availability of customer services, the provision of quality customer service has become a major concern of all business (Berry and Parasuraman, 1991). Services provided play an important role in hotel industry while welcoming tourists who come from different places with different requirement might take place. Service quality is so intangible that objective measurement is impossible; the challenge lies mostly in managing appearances and perceptions (Harvey, 1998). Gronroos (1984) found that the perceived quality of a service is affected by the experience that the consumer went through for a service. Among the studies that have examined the relationship between perceived service quality and consumption emotions, Wong (2004) found that service quality in retail services was positively associated with emotional satisfaction. As Bei and Chiao (2001) demonstrate, it was noted that it is generally accepted that a positive relationship exists between perceived service quality and customer satisfaction. Arnauld et al., (2002b, p.327) defined perceived quality whether in reference to a product or service as the consumers evaluative judgment about an entitys overall excellence or superiority in providing desired benefits Growth in the number of tourists leads to higher hotel occupancy rates, rapid hotel development (Wan Yim King Penny, 2007), whereas, consumers will concern about the facilities that provide by hotel. For example, there is an increasing complexity of modern technology, buildings and systems, rising employee expectations regarding the quality of working life and conditions, mounting customer demand for value-added services, and increasing governmental legislation to ensure health and safety as well as a growing pressure for reducing operational costs and improving competitiveness (Alexander, 1996). These changes create new challenges and responsibilities for hotel industry in managing the workplace. According to Ahmed Hassanien and Erwin Losekoot (2002) declared that most of the owners and operators of luxury hotels understood the importance of facilities that should be provided in hotel in order to meet consumers expectations and competition pressures, yet, that appears the problem in strategy planning with regard to facilities management in hospitality. Due to managing facilities well, therefore, it can helps to improve a hotels efficiency and adds value to their performance and services (Okoroh et al., 2002, p. 239). The number of customers will increase because of the good environment that have provided in the hotel. Apart from that, many hotels are having difficulty increasing their market share because of rising international competition, slower growth rates, decreased population growth, and oversupplied and mature markets. Therefore, brand loyalty is very important to hotel industry. According to Reichheld and Sasser (1990), every 5% increasing in customer loyalty can increase the profitability from 25 % to 85%. To maintain customer relationship is one of the vital parts that a hotel wants to survive in hotel industry. Loyal customers are best for hospitality firms because they are easier to serve than non-loyal customers, and they provide higher profitability (Mustafa Tepeci, 1999). Hotels will increase sales and their market shares by decreasing prices, expanding their distribution channels, launching promotional campaigns, and retaining their current customers (Cravens, 1994) to compete with other competitors. In conclusion, as customers satisfaction is widely accepted, the market share of hotel industry will increase. However, low customer demand, lack of hotel managerial knowledge will affect the operation in the hotel. As hospitality firms also face strong competitor environment, therefore, managers may perceive strong customer relationships. It is worth noting, though, that as markets become more competitive firms may have to become more market-oriented simply to survive. With the globalization of the hospitality industry and rapid changes in technology, market turbulence is likely to increase. In the longer term, as hospitality firms become more market-oriented and customer-focused, they are likely to reap other benefits including improved brand awareness, customer satisfaction and loyalty. Operation Strategies Operation strategies means companies and organization making products or delivering services, be it for profit or not for profit relies on a handful of processes to get their products manufactured properly and delivered on time. Each of the process acts as an operation for the company. To the company this is essential. That is why managers find operations management more appealing. Therefore, Hotel Equatorial has their own unique operation strategies in operate their business. Advertising and Promotion Hotel Equatorial have a marketing team whereby they understand the hotel very well from the hotel mission, vision, goal to the products or services offer to the customers. Therefore, marketers or would able to explain well and with confident to the customers. Thus, it would able to attract customers as customers will feel more confident with the hotel services. When customers feel comfortable and confident with their services, they will continue come to hotel for next time tourism or trip and recommend it to their family and friends. Indirectly, Equatorial Hotel have free promotion from their customers to their family and friends as word-of-mouth are more useful and convincing other than promote by their marketers regarding their hotel services to the customers. Quick Respond Other than marketing team Equatorial Hotel have customers service team whereby they will answer all the customers enquires and complains regarding hotel services. The team will respond to the customers enquiries as fast as possible as it shows how efficient the hotels and it shows that our hotels appreciates the customers. They will also accept customers opinion because they know that the reason why customers give the hotel their opinion is because the hotel services and facilities provide by their hotel or some problem they face when they stay at our hotel. It is one of the ways to bring in or improve and update the hotel services to customer. Besides, quick respond to customer is one of the competitive advantages to Equatorial Hotel compare to other same industry competitor. Customer wants and needs Customers are hotel main priority. There are various ways for us to identify customers need and want such as through survey or research. Hotel Equatorial will be able to attract more customers to the hotel when their trip or other purpose when hotel understand their wants and needs. Thus, it is important for them to understand and identify customers need and wants. Hotel Quality Quality may refer to material, facilities, and customer service delivery. In Hotel Equatorial services, quality refers to the service that they offered to the customers. Standard of quality service will be stated clearly and will be well informed to all the employees from manager, marketing team to customer services team. The main purpose is to make sure the customers are satisfied with the service provided and the quality of the hotel services. Besides, Equatorial Hotel will provided training to the employees in order to make sure that the level of service is up-to-standard and keep the employee update and make sure customer satisfied with their hotel services. Management level There will be a hierarchy in all the work place and so do Equatorial Hotel services. It will be divided into Presidents which is the largest shareholder followed by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Going down would be the manager and assistant manager followed by the employees. Managers and worker which in this case will refer to the manager or supervisors are the one who deal with customers. Competent among the workers and motivation from the managers would able to increase the level of services offered. The employees would do their best as they want to be the most outstanding employees. Supply Chain Management There are various departments in Hotel Equatorial services. In order to be cost-effective, the company will have internal phone calls whereby the employees may used it for working purposes and internal extranet where they employees and the managers may contact each other through webcam or mail. Furthermore, internal phones and internet able to help the company save cost besides times. Forecasting Forecasting is the process of estimation about the future value of a variable of interest which actual outcome has not yet been know or observed. A forecast process is usually carried out in order to make a decision or planning the future of a company. Forecasting can let the company modify the behavior or strategy to be in a better position if they able to forecast the future of company. Forecasting is important and cannot be neglected in all industries. Thus, hotel industry is also not an exception. The hotel industry is sensitive to fluctuations in demand because of the structure of business. Forecasting in demand has become an important mission in hotel industry because of its nature of business and business characteristics. The crises of a hotel is always appear because of the unexpected in demand reducing. It is needed to predict demand in a hotel to increase occupancy rate not only because of fluctuations that will appear. Forecasting is important to the hotel industry to predict the customer demand in a period, the length of staying and hotel room demand over time. There is a need to know the qualitative and quantitative aspects of demand due to group customers because forecasting in a hotel has a different for group customers and individuals. The accuracy of a forecast will be higher as the hotel always repeats the forecasts during a month. The data that can used to forecast are when the room was consumed and when the reservations was made. The reservation of room and consumption of room can provide extra information for the hotel manager to update the forecast. If fail to do so, the manager only can rely on historical information on the room booked and daily number of guests. Weighted Moving Average There are many methods of forecasting in hotel industry. One of the forecasting methods is weighted moving average. This method is quite frequently used in hotel forecasting. Weighted moving average model is a time-series forecast. It is usually popular for a short term time series forecasting. Weighted moving average is a forecast method that the value for a given time period is replaced by the weighted mean of that value and the values for some number of preceding time periods based on an artificially constructed time series. The formula for weighted moving average is below: Weighted moving average method is able to clear up peaks and troughs in the observations. Moreover, weighed moving average can get a content result than other forecasting methods when the time series to be forecasted encompass trend. Thus, the hotel manager might obtain a better forecast result when there is a trend. It is very suitable to use weighted moving average in a forecast when the data indicates a cyclical pattern around constant trend. It tends to closer to the trend. The more accurate result can get to forecast the customer demand. It is reliable to use to predict few periods in the future. On the other hand, weighted moving average is less weight to the older data and prefers to weight the recent data. The hotel manager should emphasize more information of customer demand on recent period so that the forecasting can proceed smoothly. Weighted moving average method is more susceptible than other methods such as simple moving average because of it is emphasize on recent data. Rely heavily on recent data also allow weighted moving average to provide stronger and earlier signs to trend direction and reversal. Hence, it will manage to response more quickly to changes. The hotel manager needs to change the weighted factors as the time series pattern is changed. The weighting factors are the key in weighted moving average methods and the accuracy of forecast is relying largely on it. Weights are distributed to the previous periods in the weighted moving average. It is important to note that the sum of the weights must be equal to one and it is weights heavily on recent period . Weighted moving average can provide a better volatility in a forecast and it will able to increase the contribution and effect from recent data. Reason of Weighted Moving Average not suitable to forecast customer demand The weighted moving average is not suitable to use to forecast the customer demand because this method does not come out with an actual equation. Hence, this method is not very useful as a medium-long range forecasting tool to predict the customer demand. It is only credible to use to predict a few periods into the future. Weighted moving average method also has a more complicated calculation at each step of the procedure which may lead to intricate to manager in a forecast process. Moreover, it will always appear to lag behind either increases or decrease in the observed value or data since the forecast value for a period is a weighted average of the previous periods. It might cause the hotel manager unable to obtain the forecast result on time. The other reasons that weighted moving average are not suitable to predict customer demand is this method is not adaptive. Thus, it might affect the accuracy of the result. Improper selection of the weights will also have an effect on the re sult of customer demands with errors. The weighted moving average is difficult to construct. Hence, it is time-consuming for a manager to adopt it in forecast customer demand. In addition, weighted moving average is more suitable in short term time series forecasting. The result is unreliable if forecast in a long time horizon. NaÃÆ'Â ¯ve Forecast However, there is still a forecast method which is more suitable to predict the customer demand in a period, the length of staying and hotel room demand over time. NaÃÆ'Â ¯ve forecast is a techniques used to forecast future trends, for example the demand for a product. The result of naive forecast for a time period is equal to the previous time periods value. It is a simplest forecast method and use single previous value of a time series as the basis for a forecast. According to Fred Tolbert (2002), a simple forecasting techniques work better than complex ones. Typical naÃÆ'Â ¯ve models include the moving average, which forecast equals average of last year actual demand and the random walk, which forecast equals last weeks actual demand. Seasonal naÃÆ'Â ¯ve can be used with seasonal data and postulates that the next periods value is equal to the value of the same period in the previous month. The MAPE achieved by a naÃÆ'Â ¯ve forecasting method depends entirely on the volatil ity of the demand pattern it is applied to. Smooth patterns will have a lower MAPE than seasonal and erratic patterns. Performance of the naÃÆ'Â ¯ve forecast establishes the level of accuracy that is reasonable to expect for a given demand pattern. The naÃÆ'Â ¯ve forecast method is suitable to use to forecast the customer demand because this method does come out with an actual equation. It is an easiest method compare with weighted moving average method. NaÃÆ'Â ¯ve forecast do not involve any complicated calculation and make the managers work easier. Furthermore it consumes low cost and it is cost effective. It is best in short run forecasting. In conclusion, Equatorial Hotel should use naÃÆ'Â ¯ve forecast method to predict the customer demand in a period, the length of staying and hotel room demand over time, because naÃÆ'Â ¯ve approach is reliable, result is more accurate, simple to use and cost effective. Quality Matters Total Quality Management (TQM) is systematic management approaches that originated in the 1950s and has steadily become more popular since the early 1980s. Total Quality Management (TQM) is a structured quality method to organizational management that management philosophy seeks to improve the quality of products and services through ongoing refinements in response to continuous feedback. It is apparent that organizations need to use a TQM process and the critical success factors if they are to attain business quality (Zairi 2002). Hence, Total Quality Management can be used by several type of organization, it originated from the manufacturing sector and now it has been adapted for much organization such as schools, highway maintenance, and hotel management. Nowadays there is a focus of e-business, therefore as for hotel management, the online booking system through their website or check-in and check-out systems be done, Total Quality Management will be based on quality management from the customers point of view. From Hotel Equatorials website, it is apparent to see how the hotel presents the idea of quality, value, and comfort. It presence in three major Asia Pasific countries with seven properties in the group, located in the regions gateway cities, offering the quality accommodation and excellence in food and beverage services. In Hotel Equatorial, the website provides the category of leaving feedback and enquiries purpose. At Hotel Equatorial, customer feedback is very important, positive or otherwise, they willing to hear from customers about the experience of stay or any suggestion given to the hotel for improvement. Hotel Equatorial appreciated the comments from customers and will respond to the particular customer within 24 hou rs. Moreover, it is also with quality reports tracks that Loyal Guest Recognition Programme is available in Hotel Equatorial and guest preference reports are recorded in database. The key components of TQM include persistent enhancement, teamwork, quality being everybodys business, doing it right the first time, training, internal customer care and etc. Hotel Equatorial has actually put in effort to achieve industry-best clean room appearance. Also Equatorial Hotel Penang become known for comfort, value and the friendly attention of a welcoming staff that cares as the hotel staff is responsive and help out with your needs. Combining the flexibility and space options with the hotels unique ambiance and suitable location, have made the hotel a top choice for businessmen and conference organizers. Total Quality Management process included four sequential categories which are plan, do, study and act, which is also called as PDSA cycle. In the planning phase, management define the problem to be addressed, collect relevant data, analyze the data and decide upon a measurement to gauge its effectiveness. In the doing phase, management develop and implement solution, document any changes made, and collect data for analysis. In studying phase, management confirm their results through comparison of before-and-after data while in acting phase, if the results are successful, new method will be standardized and relevant personnel will be communicated, training will also be implemented for the new method. If the results turn out unsuccessful, the plan will be revised and the process will be repeated. Summary Growth in the number of tourists leads hotel occupancy rates increasing. Due to the rapid development of hospitality industry, it has been recognized as a global industry. To maintain good reputation of the hotel, management should to ensure that they are providing the best service with a good attitude to customers. Since a customers satisfaction is influenced by the availability of customer services, the provision of quality customer service has become a major concern of all business. In addition, consumers will concern about the facilities that provide by hotel. It can help to improve a hotels efficiency and adds value to their performance and services with good facilities. As hospitality firms also face strong competitor environment, it is essential to maintain a good relationship with customers. This is one of the vital parts that a hotel wants to survive in hospitality industry. Hotel Equatorial has their own operation strategy in operate their business in services industry. Equ atorial hotel has a well operation management to operate in a well condition. Hotel Equatorial also has their own well strategies in marketing and promotion and response to the customer wants and needs. Besides that, a well hotel quality let the Hotel Equatorial become more productive and profitable the services business. Equatorial Hotel should use naÃÆ'Â ¯ve forecast method to predict the customer demand in a period, the length of staying and hotel room demand over time, because naÃÆ'Â ¯ve approach is reliable, result is more accurate, simple to use and cost effective. Nowadays for hotel management, there is website available for online booking system or check-in and check-out systems to be done; therefore the present of Total Quality Management will be based on quality management from the customers point of view. From Hotel Equatorials website, it is apparent to see how the hotel presents the idea of quality, value, and comfort in offering the quality accommodation and excell ence in food and beverage services. Through Hotel Equatorials website, the category of leaving feedback and enquiries purpose are available as customer feedback is very important, positive or otherwise, they willing to hear from customers about the experience of stay or any suggestion given to the hotel for quality improvement. The key components of TQM include persistent enhancement, teamwork, quality being everybodys business, doing it right the first time, training, internal customer care and etc. Combining the flexibility and continuous improvement of hotels quality, Hotel Equatorial have made the hotel a top choice for businessmen and conference organizers.

The Central Processing Unit :: essays research papers

The Central Processing Unit Microprocessors, also called central processing units (CPUs), are frequently described as the "brains" of a computer, because they act as the central control for the processing of data in personal computers (PCs) and other computers. Chipsets perform logic functions in computers based on Intel processors. Motherboards combine Intel microprocessors and chipsets to form the basic subsystem of a PC. Because it's part of every one of your computer's functions, it takes a fast processor to make a fast PC. These processors are all made of transistors. The first transistor was created in 1947 by a team of scientists at Bell Laboratories in New Jersey. Ever since 1947 transistors have shrunk dramitically in size enabling more and more to be placed on each single chip. The transistor was not the only thing that had to be developed before a true CPU could be produced. There also had to be some type of surface to assemble the transistors together on. The first chip made of semiconducitve material or silicon was invented in 1958 by Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments. Now we have the major elements needed to produce a CPU. In 1965 a company by the name of Intel was formed and they began to produce CPU's shortly thereafter. Gordon Moore, one of the founders of Intel, predicted that the number of transistor placed on each CPU would double every 18 months or so. This sounds almost impossible, however this has been a very accutate estimation of the evolution of CPUs. Intel introduced their first processor, a 4004, in November of 1971. This first processor had a clock speed of 108 kilohertz and 2,300 transistors. It was used mainly for simple arithmetic manipulation such as in a calculator. Ever since this first processor was introduced the market has done nothing but soared to unbelievable highs. The first processor common in personal computers was the 8088. This processor was introduced in June of 1978. It could be purchased in three different clock speeds starting at 5 Megahertz and going up to 10 Megahertz. This CPU had 29,000 transistors. Then came the 80286 and 80386 processors. The 386 was the first processor to be introduced in the DX, SX, and SL versions. Next came the 80486 processors of which there were even more choices here. The first 486 processor had 1,200,000 transistors and the latest have 1.4 million transistors. There clock speeds varied any where from 16 MHz on the first ones to 100 MHz on the most recent 486 processors. Some of which are still in use in homes all around the country.

Developing an eBusiness :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

Developing an eBusiness Our Service PittsburghModel.com ( www.andrew.cmu.edu/~jrahimi/start.html ) is a database of men, women and children who are interested in modeling assignments in the Pittsburgh and surrounding areas. Some are professional models and others are either looking to make some extra money doing promotional work or are hoping to be discovered. Pittsburghmodel.com serves as an intermediary between agencies and aspiring models. The actual service we are selling works both ways. We are providing aspiring models with a hassle-free approach to becoming discovered while providing local modeling agencies with access to aspiring models, thus granting them more exposure. Referral fees and contract negotiations will be our major sources of revenue, and advertising on our web site will be our secondary source of revenue. PittsburghModel.com is the only web site of its kind in the Pittsburgh Area. Although there are thousands of modeling web sites on the Internet where one can submit pictures and profiles in order to be considered for modeling, PittsburghModel.com is different. We take into account that modeling is a very personal process, thus, our services are targeted for a local market, where we can build lasting relationships with our models and agencies. The fact that we are only working with aspiring models in the Western Pennsylvania area will make our business and services very exclusive. Models that submit their profile onto our web site will be treated as individuals, not statistics, and since we are putting forth a personal approach with our models, they will have confidence and trust in PittsburghModel.com. We generally accept men and women of all weights and heights as well as children of all ages. What most people don't realize is that there are modeling opportunities for everyone. Our potential customers are men, women, and children that are either professional models looking for more exposure, or aspiring models that want to give a shot at modeling. The fact that this is a hassle free environment, our primary customers will be aspiring models. On the other side of our business will be the local modeling agencies. We will work with all of the major agencies in Pittsburgh and guarantee them more exposure and access to models, in return for a referral fee and future contract negotiation fees. Each model has at least one picture and a profile which includes all of the model's vital information as well as other information about availability, experience and interests.

Baboons :: essays papers

Baboons Baboons belong to the Old World monkey family, Cercopithecidae. They are found in Africa, south of the Sahara as well as in the Saudi Arabia desert (Class Notes 6/12/01). There are five subspecies of baboons including the hamadryas, the Guinea, the yellow, the chacma, and the olive baboons. BABOONS AND THEIR HABITAT The baboon is the most widespread primate in Africa. Well-known for their remarkable ability to adapt, baboons can be found in a variety of habitats, ranging from semi-desert to rainforest, and from coastal areas to mountains. Their adaptability also extends to their feeding habits — baboons will eat just about anything. The baboon's diet includes a wide variety of plants, of which they eat every part: leaves, fruit, buds, flowers, roots, bulbs, tubers, seeds, shoots, bark and even sap. As for meat, these resourceful monkeys will eat insects, shellfish, small reptiles and amphibians, rodents, birds, fish, eggs and even young antelope or livestock. Several kinds of baboons live in Africa and southwestern Arabia. These include the hamadryas baboon, which lives on plains and rocky hills of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and eastern Africa near the Red Sea, and the chacma baboon, which inhabits rocky regions and open woodlands in southern Africa. Olive baboons inhabit the Kekopey cattle ranch located near the town of Gilgil, Kenya. â€Å"The central part of the ranch consists of open grassland studded with occasional patches of bushy shrub, scattered thornbush, and small groves of giant fever trees† (Smuts 17). They eat a wide variety of foods including insects, flowers, leaves, fruits of bushes and herbs, and most significant of all, the grass itself. â€Å"Baboons eat the green blades of grass during the rainy seasons and dig for corms-the underground storage organ of sedge grasses-when the ranch is dry† (Smuts 17-18). They can carry food in pouches inside their cheeks. Probably the most serious predators of baboons are the large carnivores such as cheetahs and leopards. Baboons live mostly on the ground but sleep in such places as trees or cliffs. â€Å"Throughout Africa baboons achieve some protection from nocturnal predators by sleeping in tall trees or on cliffs (Smuts 19). Usually each troop sleeps on a different cliff, but occasionally two troops will share a single sleeping site. In addition to the predators previously mentioned, baboons share their range with antelope as well as other large mammals including zebra, warthog, jackals, and African buffalo.

Organizational Behavior-Syllabus Essay

I. Course Information Intelligence and technical knowledge will only take you so far in your work and private lives. My goal is to introduce you to behavior in organization (and of organizations) in a way that stresses you personal behavioral skill development. In other words, the course should help you assess your strengths and weaknesses and will stress how you can enhance and improve your management skills. To that end, the course stresses a mix of assessment tests for each chapter to give you a personal point of departure for learning and skill development, along with basic theory and cases and role plays to examine examples of situations and skills that we are studying. This is a hands-on course. I expect students to come to class prepared to learn and to participate! Course Objectives: 1) To provide students with knowledge and understanding of the basic principles of organizational behavior (i.e. human behavior in organizations). 2) The course includes both theoretical and practical aspects of OB and is designed to offer introductory knowledge, skills, and perspectives in OB that can be useful for students’ professional and academic careers. II. Course Learning Outcomes: On completion of this course, students should be able to: 1ï ¼Å½ Understand the basic principles of organizational behavior (i.e. human behavior in organizations). 2ï ¼Å½ Be equipped with introductory knowledge, skills, and perspectives in OB that can be useful for students’ professional and academic careers. Teaching and Learning Activities: 1. Lecture 2. In class exercises, small group discussion 3. Team Presentations 4. Final Exam III. Assessment In addition to attendance and engagement in classroom discussion, all items discussed in class including all materials assigned as ‘Required’ reading may be used to assess students’ progress in the class. The methods of assessment include the following: Personal Journal A skills-based OB course centers upon assisting you to assess your strengths and weaknesses, developing a learning plan to redress these and regular reflection about how you can apply the skills and concepts learned outside the classroom. Keeping a journal is the best way to facilitate this. To ensure you get off to a timely start, I shall ask for some specific assignments that constitute part of the journal to be handed in for credit. Examples include the self- assessment of strengths and weaknesses based upon the online assessment (class 2), and other individual exercises in the textbook. You can fulfill the first assignment online at http://www.passovoy.com/assessment/sal/quick.html. You are required to complete a minimum of 8 assessments. In some cases, you will be surprised by what you learn about yourself – both positive and negative. Each student is required to write a maximum two-page single-spaced typed write-up regarding what you learned about yourself. Final Exam A written in-class exam will be given on May 14, 2012. The format of the exam is a combination of multiple-choice and/true-false questions, and are based on lecture and text materials. Many questions are applied and require you to analyze and synthesize OB concepts. Please prepare early for the exams and come to class with any questions or concerns you may have prior to the exam date. Do not feel uncomfortable asking questions. Other students will also benefit from the discussion. Top Five Take-Aways This assignment provides a final opportunity for you to synthesize and share your learning with the class. Reflect on your learning in this class and write up a list of your â€Å"Top Five Take-Aways† from the course. Explain why you chose each concept, how you have utilized it in your own life, and how you think it will help you in your future role as a leader. There is no set length of the paper. That depends on your learning. You are required to turn in a hard copy. Single-spacing, please. Obviously you will not be graded on whether your choice of a learning point is valid or not. Your learning is your learning. Your grade will be based on how well you explain that concept’s application to your life. Your presentation in class will be fairly informal. Each member of the class will have about a minute or so to share a point or two about your most important learning from the course. It is simply an opportunity to reflect on your learning with your peers. Sometimes hear ing what is important to other people can also contribute to your own learning. Group Project Learning to work effectively in groups is a critical work skill. On day one, you will be asked to form groups (final membership to be handed into me by the third meeting. With your group, you will have two assignments. The first is to develop a team learning notebook, recording team responses to case discussion questions throughout the semester. The team learning notebook will be collected during the mid-point of the course (6th week), as well as the end of the course (12th week) . The second assignment is to conduct a 20 minutes presentation on a topic of your choice related to the topic on the day selected by your group. Further information will be given in class and sign up is on a first-come first –serve basis. If any group member expresses displeasure with group process and contributions of others shall used a peer evaluation form. Each individual’s contribution will be identified on the peer evaluation form I will provide and that will be confidential (i.e., your group members will not see your evaluation of their participation). All group members should participate equally to obtain full credit for the assignment. For example, if the assignment receives a grade of 8.5 out of 10 and your group gives you 100% participation rate, then you will receive the total 8.5 points. If your group gives you less than 100% participation, your grade will be adjusted accordingly. Evaluation of your peers should help you maintain an appropriate level of participation from all of your group members. IV.Course Policies Academic Dishonesty: Assignments found to have been plagiarized or an exam in which cheating is found to have occurred will receive a grade of ‘zero’.