Family Essay Essay

Bridge to Wiseman’s Cove – Freedom Essay by Callum Powell 8A The phrase to â€Å"set himself free† is used a lot throughout a bridge to Wiseman’s cove, whether it is to do with family issues or just common everyday tasks. Carl is constantly trying to let himself free and sometimes succeeds but other times doesn’t. Some examples are that if he’ll see his mother or every stop looking after his little brother Harley. Throughout â€Å"A bridge Wisemans cove† he goes through a mental journey facing evil family member (usually Beryl) and friends. An example of setting himself free is at the end of the novel where throughout the book where he has been looking after Harley, feeding him, caring for him and most importantly keeping him out of trouble. Such as when Harley is caught stealing from the local store, by the time he gets back to Aunt Beryl’s house she lashes out and threatens to kick Harley out but Carl intervenes and give Beryl some of the money that Sarah gave him earlier on in the book so that she can be kind to Harley. So by the end of the book when Harley moves in with the Duncan’s. Carl feels a sense of relief and freedom, because he no longer has the responsibility for Harley and he no longer has to worry about him. â€Å"â€Å"When Beryl chains Harley up, Carl finds the courage to confront her at the bowls club where she has been all day playing the pokies. If you’d stayed with him, kept an eye on him, if you cared about him, he wouldn’t get into trouble. † This is another part of the book where Carl â€Å"sets himself free† he finally sets free how much he despises aunt Beryl, she has been mean and cruel to them and trying to find any reason to kick them out. So this is when Carl sets free how he feels and puts his foot down. Another example of setting himself free is also at the end of the book when Carl finds out that whilst on her way home from her ‘holiday’ Kerry died in a bus crash. â€Å"Carl Matt opened up too, letting go and feeling a freedom flood into him †¦ he knew at last that he was alive to feel it† (page 241) this moment was probably one of the biggest revelations for Carl as he finally felt the sense of freedom as he was always wondering when his mum would return or if she would return. So when he finally finds out that his mother had died of course he felt sad and depressed but at the same time he felt closure and freedom as he didn’t have to worry about her or didn’t have to always be thinking of if she will come and pick him up. This is a very important part of the novel as the premise of the book is based on family and love but Carl and Harley don’t have either all they have is each other so when they find out their mum is dead it hits them hard but also sets them free. One last example of letting himself free is whilst Carl is working at Skips barge. Because working on the barge helps Carl get away from all his troubles and more importantly the people that don’t accept him such as Beryl. Whilst working on the barge Carl finds the freedom to try a lot of new things. â€Å"You love that barge, don’t you, Carl? †¦You’re the best thing that could have happened. † Finally people were starting to notice Carl, then he had the freedom to show himself. Throughout the book he was shown as a very shy, lonely and awkward kid who didn’t know many people and didn’t really talk or try to communicate with them. â€Å"Carl shared in†¦the freedom of the bird itself. Elation, freedom. He felt them both† (page 158) in some sense Carl wished that he was the bird so that he could fly away from all of his problems ad just leave them all behind. Although Carl keeps working at the barge by the end of the book he still senses a feel of freedom being away from everyone and having somewhere just to relax and forget all of your troubles. To conclude Carl found many ways to find freedom whether it was mental or emotional freedom. The ways he exampled freedom in the text were standing up to Aunt Beryl for Harleys sack, working at the local barge and finally he having the freedom to stop worrying about is mother as he didn’t know she died on her way back home. So by the end of the novel Carl found the freedom for a lot of things and didn’t regret any of the decisions he made.

Censorship and New York Times

Ans1) Susan Jacoby was a journalist since the age of seventeen and she is well known for her feminist writings. Susan Jacoby was referred as a â€Å"First Amendment junkie† by some other women for her personal views concerning the censorship of pornography in society. She gestated that censorship of any kind against pornography was wrong. Susan Jacoby did not necessarily agree with pornography, but still she felt that its rights guaranteed under the First Amendment should not be excluded. She is not advocating for off seen material but she is worried even important and vital issue for women may be censored. It takes away the choice of the individual, when government steps in and censors something. This is what she believed as there is no such thing as an overdose of the First amendment. Ans2) Though writer talks about some feminists who try to censor pornography that appeals to some heterosexual adult male but, in last two paragraphs she discuss about the television and children. Yes, in my opinion second last paragraph about television and children are connected with Jacoby’s overall argument. This is because, she relates the feminist porn opponents. She also believes that pornography is more harmful to women then other forms of hate or offensive speech. She disqualifies the â€Å"kiddy porn† argument as kiddy porn being an issue of child abuse, not an issue of free speech. She argues that women’s reactions to the same nude pictures are as varied as the women themselves. A main argument made was that censoring of porn could lead to the censoring of other women’s issues. She is even worried that if these kinds of issues are ignored or considered as a part of first amendment, the serious issues of women, such as; rape and other vital issues of women could be censored. So, in my opinion, her argument is correct as all her arguments are related and a serious issue. Ans3) In final paragraph she has specified that she is amendment junkie, because she has written in second paragraph of her article that she was called first amendment junkie by her friends and even by some booklovers. At the mean time, some other women tagged Susan Jacoby as a First Amendment junkie for her personal views regarding the censorship of pornography in organization. Hence, her views and ideas along with some examples of involvements in her life, she admits that she is the first amendment junkie. Ans4) Susan Jacoby, the writer of the article first appeared in the New York Times magazine, doesn’t believe that First Amendment is applicable in all terms and conditions. Well, the First Amendment includes the right to freedom of press, assembly, speech, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances and implied rights of beliefs and association. She is against mainly the kid porn and pornography, she clarify that these stuffs shouldn’t be published or censored. Therefore, some of the feminists and readers believe that she is the First Amendment Junkie and as well as she is often exaggerating. Ans5) The First Amendment, best known for liberties and securities, bans the establishment of a state-supported church, requires the split of church and state, and guarantees freedom of adoration, of speech and the press, the rights of amiable assembly, association and petition. But this amendment does not permit racket pointless on the road or spreading false news about others in the society or even hurting and offending the member of the society and disturbing them without any reason. Hence, this amendment as inferred by Supreme Court today does not authorize unnecessary claims but only supports in related and necessary claims. Ans6 ) Jacoby in the ninth paragraph of her essay implies that, permitting prosecution of persons on obscenity charges will lead eventually to censorship of â€Å"open discussion† of important issues such as â€Å"rape, abortion, menstruation, contraception, etc†. Yes, her fears are convincing in my view. Censoring pornography is a real threat to women. This issue can slowly reach to the height where it can destroy many things. She relates her fear with some of her experiences as evidence. She says, when she was a kid, her parents would turn off the television if some adult scenes were being censored but now she shares the incident of a movie theater, where she saw a women taking her daughter to watch such movie. Therefore, she is worried about these issues and thinks these issues would be under-estimated some day. This can really be a serious problem and can be offensive along with harmful act for women’s.

An Analysis of Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences Essay

The purpose of this paper is to explore Howard Gardner’s theory on multiple intelligences. I will focus on spatial and bodily-kinesthetic intelligences and how linguistic intelligence has an underlying effect on the other intelligences. Spatial and bodily-kinesthetic intelligences would seem to be very distant from linguistic intelligence, however I believe that they are more similar then one might expect. Spatial intelligence can be loosely defined as the ability to manipulate and recreated the physical work in ones mind. Artists often use this intelligence as they take an actual object and are able to manipulate it onto a canvas or piece of paper. Many IQ tests have a section that tests the ability of a person in their use of block design. Students who excel in spatial intelligence have the ability to recreate within their mind the things that they see visually. Gardner states, â€Å"The left hemisphere of the brain has, over the course of evolution, been selected as the pre-eminent site for linguistic processing, the right hemisphere of the brain, and in particular the posterior portions of the right hemisphere, proves to be the site most crucial for special processing† (Gardner, p. 181). Gardner is trying to show how separate in the brain spatial and linguistic intelligence really are. By isolating the intelligences, Gardner focuses on the idea of savants and brain damage to prove his theory that the intelligences are totally separate. Eliminating part of the brain would still allow for someone to be successful and intelligent at spatial abilities. His idea is that even if a person lost their ability to speak or the ability to use their hands, that their other intelligences could possibly still work at a high level. I agree with his theory, however I think the intelligences overlap more then he may believe. Linguistic intelligence seems to have a basis in spatial intelligence also. Many students might do just fine being able to read a word problem and then form the design in their head. Gardner gives an example, â€Å"Take a square piece of paper, fold it in one half, then fold it twice again in half. How many squares exist after this final fold? † (Gardner, p. 171). This idea shows how linguistic intelligence can be used when dealing with a student who has a greater spatial intelligence. Even without the student physically being able to fold the piece of paper they could still solve the problem due to their linguistic intelligence. Gardner shows this idea as he talks about people having distinct separate intelligences, but that each intelligence has the ability to overlap with another. I also decided to talk about his theory of bodily-kinesthetic intelligence because I feel this intelligence goes together well with spatial intelligence. Both of these intelligences are educated best by going away from the traditional teaching methods of reading and writing. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence is the ability for a person to use their body to solve a problem. This can be seen in many athletes and other people who are very active. Some people are born with a higher bodily-kinesthetic intelligence then others. Tests on reaction time have shown that some people are born with almost superhuman reaction time ability. This reaction time allows them to hit a baseball with such success that cannot be taught. Parts of this intelligence can be learned by studying similar to some of the more the academic intelligences, however bodily-kinesthetic intelligence is not viewed as an academic intelligence. Wayne Gretzky said, â€Å"Nine out of ten people think what I do is instinct†¦. It isn’t. Nobody would ever say a doctor had learned had profession by instinct: yet in my own way I’ve spent almost as much time studying hockey as a med student puts in studying medicine† (Gardner, p. 231). Both a hockey player and a surgeon rely on their body to perform at a high level. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence is just not brute force but the ability to read what is happening, and then adapt. In football, a player will tackle another player, although before that happens the tackling player must read the play to get a path take on the ball carrier. A surgeon can have perfect skills in using their hands to operate but they also need the ability to learn the correct procedures. These ideas show that a person can be above average in more then one intelligence and that is in fact fairly common. The traditional way of teaching is through reading and writing that puts an emphasis on linguistic intelligence. Gardner’s theory is to separate the intelligences by showing that even a person who loses the ability to use part of their brain will still be able to function at a high level at some other intelligences. Gardner points out that he believes the intelligences are separate, but that they rarely operate separately and more often then not there are several intelligences working together. This is how linguistic intelligence is so important to the overall learning of a student. Most tests such as IQ tests put an emphasis on how well a person does on verbal section of the test. Gardner said, â€Å"I have already noted that many retarded children display a surprising ability to master language†¦ Even more striking are those rare children who, despite retardation or autism, prove able to read at an astonishingly early age† (Gardner, p. 84-85). This is apparent when talking about a surgeon who loses the ability to use their hands and so they cannot operate on patients anymore. They may not have the ability to physically do the operation anymore but they can still instruct someone else to do the surgery. This surgeon has lost their ability to use their hands but their brain is still intact so they can use their linguistic intelligence to instruct another person to perform the operation. Gardner does not think linguistic intelligence is more important than any of the other intelligences, but I believe that linguistic intelligence sets the basis for the other intelligences. Without this intelligence the student will not be able to understand what that teacher is trying to convey in class. Language is important for the student to get through school, however a student could get though school without fully realizing their full spatial intelligence. Linguistic intelligence allows a student to gain the ability to study the concepts and then apply them to the other intelligences such as bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. One cannot expect someone to just learn all the intricate details of boxing and then to go into the ring and win a title. This can only happen with some intelligence that is born within the person. Intelligences are within everyone but it is hard for a person to know exactly what intelligence they posses the strongest. Howard Gardner’s idea of multiple intelligences stems from his belief that each person has different intelligences that they posses. These intelligences are inherently separate due to the fact that because of brain damage, a person can lose an intelligence while still being able to perform at a high level on other intelligences. Gardner does not believe that linguistic intelligence is more important then the others, however in our society we put such a great emphasis on linguistic intelligence. A student can fall behind in their linguistic development and due to our societies testing and basis in teaching the student might not attain high grades. This does not mean the student is not smart, it just means that they might excel at a different type of intelligence. Overall, Gardner explains how each person has many different forms of intelligence that they could be above average in.

Letters about Crisis Communication in Company Assignment

Letters about Crisis Communication in Company - Assignment Example Shareholders have lost trust in us but it is not all over. I believe the far we have come is the most difficult and that we will work to earn their trust back. Our employees are very instrumental towards us achieving this. As the managers in the various departments, am requesting you to hold meetings with members of your department and explain to them that the memorandum was wrong and pass my sincere apologies. I have a passion for the success of this company and am willing to work extra hard towards redeeming our success. I am working on time schedules to ensure that the employees are not overworked. More to that, I have designed a reward scheme that will award the best managers annually. This is in an attempt to bring back the hardworking company to its position. For us to succeed as an organization we, need to carry this burden together. Let us motivate our employees to continue working the same way they have been doing. As leaders, let us make plans of bringing together the broken pieces of our company so that we can continue working and competing with the other companies in the health care IT sector. It is with sincere apologies that am writing to all the employees in this organization. The email sent to your managers was wrongly written and the issue addressed in it was wrongly evaluated. .I take full responsibility for the mistake that occurred. I am sorry for being rude and releasing false information. Contrary to what it said, you have kept time and worked hard. I believe that the success of this organization to this level is because of your hard work and devotion. I acknowledge your commitment to bringing the organization to this level. Your responses from the email have shown your anger and dissatisfaction with what I wrote. Our organization has shown a drastic decrease in business activity to an extent of driving its stock down 20%.  Ã‚  

Marketing Plan ( Customer and Market Profile) Assignment

Marketing Plan ( Customer and Market Profile) - Assignment Example The US has stable political and economic conditions to support the development and marketing of niche products such as the Brain Reader. The socio-cultural and business situation of the country enhances prosperity of the market for this device. Financial aid by the government helps in further development of the product. Needs satisfied by the product The Brain Reader is a product of the twenty-first century, belonging to the new generation of â€Å"portable neural devices and algorithms† (Duncan, 2012) loaded with the capacity to read the different thoughts that go on in the complicated brains of human beings. The brain is a complicated chamber that generates various kinds of thoughts, feelings, desires and emotions. Till date scientists have been putting sincere efforts to develop ways in which the minds of people can be read; hypnosis is one of those methods, but none of these methods have been able to render complete success. It has been proved in various scientific studies that human beings are often unable to report their thoughts properly either naturally or due to some disability. This makes it difficult for them to communicate properly. This specific product has been devised with the aim of bringing immense benefit to a number of sectors. The commodity would have a simple design and would be user friendly. The person using it would be required to wear it on his or her head like a hair band and a small box attached to the band, which acts like a transmitter, would convert the signals generated in the brain into electronic waves that can be seen on a screen in the form of waves. These waves would be converted into words or commands via a software installed in a computer attached to the screen. Thus the thoughts of a person can be read by outside people that are communicating with that person. The transmitter works on a small battery installed within the box and no connection of electricity is required for running this new device. This data would be automatically updated with time and hence it would be easy to study and analyze the data at a later point of time. Market segmentation and target marketing Market segmentation Market segmentation is â€Å"the process of dividing a market into meaningful, relatively similar and identifiable segments or groups† (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel, 2011, p. 259). This is done with the purpose of enabling the marketer to tailor the marketing mixes so as to cater to each segment successfully. For the current product the market segments have been represented through the following pie chart: (Source: Author’s creation) The four market segments identified for the Brain Reader are criminal investigators, HR Departments in private companies, teachers and academicians and psychologists. While criminal investigators and human resource personnel are the target markets, it can also be used by school teachers to make the process of teaching and learning more efficient. Using the Brain Reader a t eacher would be able to measure the level of understanding of the pupils by evaluating their responses to the lessons imparted in a better way than conducting tests. The device would also ease

Equal Opportunity and the Law in the United Research Paper

Equal Opportunity and the Law in the United - Research Paper Example Every institution should set in place remedies to challenges that may impede learners of English language in educational institutions. Hillberry, 2008, identifies and a number of other provisions of law as in the education sector that aim at promoting equity among learners. Embracing models that ensure English Learner programs forms some of the common strategies to ensure equality in learning institutions. Equal opportunity laws condemn any conduct that shows discrimination against employees (Alaska Job Center Network, 2012). The labor department, in attempts to discourage discrimination, has set standards for fulfillment by employers and organizations to guarantee equal opportunity provision. There are diverse policy provisions in the United States including the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), passed in 1998. As a measure of ensuring equality and provision of basic human rights, the legislation cushions beneficiaries of diverse programs provided by the state. The law provides that t he beneficiaries of programs should not be subject to prejudice based on their status. In view of the law, beneficiaries of programs have equals opportunities that are free from discrimination. Opportunity provision to citizen of the United States should be guided by principles that contradict considerations based on the beneficiary’s gender, national origin, sex, age and religion. Mahagan and Sylvia, 2002, identify the role of WIA in ensuring equality in service provision to dislocated workers. This is among the measures in place to attain equality in service provision across the citizens of the United States. Any favor credited to a party based on color, religious affiliation and state regarding disability is illegal. Equality should be a core value of that tops among the various considerations concerning decision-making processes and protocols and participation of various parties in administration. The department of labor, in the United States, is keen to ensure fairness t hrough the different departments set to monitor the application of the laws related to the provision of equal opportunities (DOL, 2012). The civil rights center bears the mandate to supervise and monitor diverse programs supported by the finances from the federal assistance. In addition, the center plays a critical role of ascertaining equality regarding the allocation of assistance to applicants. To strengthen the realization of equal opportunity, monitoring of compliance to provisions of contracts using set programs is of sound importance. The commission, set to oversee equal opportunity provision in the United States, is independent and enjoys exclusive power to ensure equality in judicial proceedings. This ensures that judicial processes that promote the enforcement of individuals and organizations’ civil rights are set in place. Besides the provision technical awareness, the commission makes an immense contribution to enforcing equality through awareness provision. The c ivil rights act passed in the United States in 1964 provides a clear provision that anchors the enforcement of equal opportunities in the United States (EEOC, 2012). Title VII of the legislation condemns any form of discrimination on any person regarding the provision of employment. Any form of violation by any party against the provisions of the law

Human Services 322 Ideology and Policy Evolution (Rev.C2) Assignment

Human Services 322 Ideology and Policy Evolution (Rev.C2) - Assignment Example People learn from the society on what to believe and what to say and even how to act. When the society holds the belief that the disabled in society do not need to be accorded any justice or treated fairly because they are not the same as the rest of the people, then everybody else in society will follow suit in the oppression. The societal beliefs are also what makes the rest of the society consider the people living with various forms of disabilities as deserving to suffer whether from humiliation, being treated with hostility or being condemned and especially to those suffering from mental disabilities and do not have the power to fight for their rights (Lightman, 2003). The other cause of oppression to the disabled in society is brought about by a misunderstanding. This misunderstanding is spread through propaganda by the media which depicts the disables as being lazy and hence slow in doing their work. This is clearly a misunderstanding and a misconception because the disabled are slowed down by their significant impairment. A crippled man using clutches for example cannot be expected to work at a faster rate as a normal and abled individual. Some of these people with disabilities also suffer constant pain and hence have to rest every now and then. These are the signs that are misconstrued and regarded as being laziness and slowness while they are indeed trying out their best. The other disabled on the streets seeking assistance are another reason for being regarded as lazy but they are simply seeking help but this does not mean they are lazy (Tomlinson & Trew, 2005). The other cause of oppression is simply dislike for the disabled people because they are different from the rest of the people. The dislike is in such excess as to cause people to make the disabled suffer. The dislike is usually brought about by the fact that the disabled get the welfare assistance, are exempted from

Caja Mediterrneo Bank Insolvency Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Caja Mediterrneo Bank Insolvency - Case Study Example The trademark Caja Mediterrà ¡neo started being used in 2007. Initially the bank used the trademark Caja de Ahorros de Alicante y Murcia. Some of the institutions absorbed to form CAM include Caja de Ahorros de Torrent, which had been formed in 1906, and Caja de Ahorros Provincial de Alicante y Valencia which was absorbed in 1991 (‘Caja Mediterraneo and Accenture Deploy Alnova Core Banking Platform’ 2010, Web). By 1975, several other institutions had joined to form the current CAM. Such institutions included Caja Rural de Ahorros y Prà ©stamos del Sindicato Catà ³lico Agrà ­cola de Yecla, Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Alcoy, Caja de Ahorro y Monte de Piedad de Yecla, Caja de Ahorros de Nuestra Seà ±ora de los Dolores in Crevillent, Caja de Ahorro y Monte de Piedad de Elche, Caja de Ahorros de Novelda, Caja de Ahorros de Nuestra Seà ±ora de Monserrate, Caja de Ahorros del Sureste de Espaà ±a, Caja de Ahorro y Monte de Piedad de Alicante, and Caja de Ahorro y Monte de Piedad de Jumilla. Others include Caja de Ahorro y Monte de Piedad de Murcia, Caja de Ahorro y Monte de Piedad de Cartagena, and Caja Rural de Ahorros y Prà ©stamos del Sindicato Catà ³lico Agrà ­cola de El Progreso (‘Spain's central bank favors merger of Caja Madrid’ 2010, Web; manta 2012, Web). By December 2007, CAM Bank was considered the fourth largest Spanish savings Bank. The ranking was based on customer loans and deposits. Moreover, the Bank was ranked the third larger in term of market share and the number of office openings. The bank originated in Murcia and Alicante provinces and offered banking services across Spain. With a network of about 1,100 offices, the bank employed about 7,100 workers and served more than 3, 300, 000 clients. CAM was mainly involved in retail banking. The customers included Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and individuals. In addition, the bank was involved in the provision of services such as insurance as well as asset management (Anon 2011, Web).

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

Management seminar - Essay Example In 2004, there was a global spread of SNS after the invention of the Facebook fundamentally used as exclusive Harvard School social networking site. Facebook developed very fast becoming popular among the college students who would use it for inter-college social networking platform among students and lecturers. Facebook became a very reliable tool for both communication and marketing purposes with many members including professionals and the teenagers. It provides a platform for various marketing and recruitment activities and the largest storage of individual photos online (Peacock, 2011). LinkedIn created a social networking site for professionals to share their educational and work expertise and job postings. The career experts suggest that SNSs are a wonderful way to perform recruitment dialogs since the applicants extensively use them. Most recruiting organizations save many funds by using Social networking sites in hiring process as since it is affordable and pocket-friendly. There are some shortcomings associated with the SNSs. The organization, for instance, could get inaccurate information about the individuals. There are online propaganda and malice stirred by wrong information about colleagues when the business and personal relationships break. The incorrect information posted online creates permanent scar on the applicant forever causing individual Web phobia that may run for long time (Solove, 2008). The online application may also lead to privacy and legal issues emanating from posting irrelevant recruitment information online. SNSs connect the whole world through most popular three being Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn offering the same functions while used in different countries by different customers. Facebook is the largest SNS with about 500 million members globally, which started becoming popular in America and escalated internationally becoming the most sought after. Orkut became prominent in Brazil and India,

Parenting goals that must be generated Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Parenting goals that must be generated - Essay Example Kids need to watch their parents as they support their teacher. It is very important that this child watch what you do as a parent. They will establish and see the extent to which the school system is important. You as a parent have to support it and come over it. This must be done naturally; it should become part of your kids’ life. It is a simple, real deal such as telling the kids to do their homework, and thereafter, take two hours to play video games. As you do this, you will make a connection between the school and your kid’s education. II. Teach your child to feel Human Beings; it is important to deal with their feelings through stress management, which starts at 15 years of age. In the school environment; attend all child activities show you care If you do not want to deal with feeling, then you cannot teach your kids. God gave us feelings as a gift. III. Teach your child to be responsible When the child is, about 10 years old, he or she should carry out basic h ouse roles such as; Let the mother be where he or she is Organize the bed after waking up Not answering the door when he or she is alone in the house Not using the kitchen Not screaming, and other unwritten roles IV. Teach your child to like themselves and get along with other This is through loving themselves. 2. Responsibility connected to freedom If your kids say that, they are going to the library, as a parent it is important to go and check out if it is indeed true. ... In many cases, there should be a balanced side, at age 18 they can legally make a decision. In addition, let your children grow up do not mislead them. Give them responsibility for a real life. How much you give them, have let them to either fail or succeed. Some kids experience under maturity because of dilemma in parenting. In essence, parents have parenting skills for one to ten year olds, but they do not have parenting skills for eleven years and above. 3. Parenting Styles Each of your parents had parenting style. A lot of parenting styles are basic that is they seem to come from personal skills, and thus, they are passive. If my dad were aggressive, then I would develop same behavior as his. However, you are you cannot stick in a pattern you can learn and grow. In any case, if you are passive, you can bond more. Every parent should deal with roles. You have to create (save room) for our children through shaping then to distinguish between a good thing and a bad thing. When I do a right thing, I will take the positive side (master shaper), when I do a bad thing I will take the negative side. The child will know what drives you out, and this is child shaping. You have to start (shaping kids) it is very powerful. Shaping kids should be through infecting them with positive things. We should not fail as parents. Between a chaotic and rigid parenting style, a parent should be flexible, between best friends to a child and being alone, a parent should be connected, between being permissive and authoritarian, a parent should be democratic and between being passive and aggressive, a parent should be assertive. It is best for a parent to

Choose one of the lists Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Choose one of the lists - Assignment Example This has resulted in progression of disunity in the country causing extremist tendencies while indicating urgent need of a curriculum that can appreciate diversity as strength and inculcate expectations of an enlightened country and the enlightened globe. In this regard, it is very imperative that educators and leaders should have a sound knowledge and understanding of existing curriculum that will enable them to deal effectively with diversity issues that exist in curriculum. Discussion Curriculum has often been defined as the â€Å"planned interaction of students with instructional content, instructional resources, and instructional processes for the attainment of predetermined educational objectives† (Ashraf, n.d, pg. 69). This clearly indicates that the curriculum is not a confined document, and that many factors play around the aspects of curriculum that need consideration, as in this paper, diversity of learners is the main focus. Principally, the teaching and learning a ctivities are predominantly the notions that enable curriculum to include ‘how’ factor in its characteristics, and thus, I believe curriculum cannot exist in confinement but it always need presence of teaching, learning, as well as assessment to ensure its existence. In other words, the curriculum refers to ‘what is taught’, whereas, the teaching and learning can indicate ‘how it is taught’ that clearly signifies the interdependent relationship that exist between these notions and the curriculum and that will be very helpful in management of diversity issues in education. Traditionally, the curriculum was limited to the narrow scope of â€Å"set of courses, coursework, and their content, offered at a school of university† (Riehl & Firestone, 2005). However, after detailed analysis of different curriculum documents and from course readings and discussions, I admire the 1968 definition of Kerr, where curriculum exists as â€Å"All the lea rning which is planned and guided by the school, whether it is carried on in groups or individually, inside or outside the school† (Lawton, 2012). This definition has somehow exceeded the bounded vision of traditional perspective of curriculum that used to confine the curriculum as only course and content and this definition, thus, can act as a basis for educational leaders to recognize and resolve diversity issues in the curriculum. Kerr’s definition obviously acknowledges the importance of teaching and not keeping it in the mode of ‘jug and mug theory’ only but the usage of term ‘guided’ itself is an indication of the role of teacher as a facilitator that was also observed during the analysis. Moreover, while relating this definition once again, I came across the understanding that the knowledge is not limited to the range of content only. Rather, it goes beyond the levels of content producing a complex set of relationships that play their ro le during the processes of teaching and learning after the development of curriculum and its objectives. Briefly, one cannot remove the curriculum from these factors and their relationships, which falsify traditional definition of curriculum in which it was viewed as an â€Å"

The Great African Americans Migration 1910 to 1920s Essay Example for Free

The Great African Americans Migration 1910 to 1920s Essay By the turn of the nineteenth century, the number of African Americans living in the living in the United States was approximated at almost nine million. Of the estimated figures, ninety percent of the African Americans lived in the South where they constituted almost a third of the total population of the region. Around a fifth of them were said to live in the urban areas while four out of every five African Americans lived in the rural areas. At this point, they could be said to have been very much a closed population. They had not been significantly affected by either in or out migration but this status was soon to change from around 1910 when they embarked on a South to North (and West) migration, starting with a very slow place but steadily gaining speed as the years advanced 5. During the years of the First World War, the out- migration of African Americans from the South became increasingly apparent. Between 1910 and 1920, more than 800, 000 African Americans living on the South migrated to the north. This pace of outward migration was to slow down but still continue way into the 1930s and 1940s. Thus in a span of just three decades, from the 1910s to the 1930s, an estimated 1. 8 million African Americans living in the south migrated from the region to other areas. However, the South is said to have retained a sizable percentage of its native population of African Americans as almost eight out of ten African Americans still remained southerners by place of residence. All in all, the percentage of African Americans occupying the southern states and the entire region began to shrink steadily. This decline was estimated to be from thirty percent to twenty-four percent within a span of forty years (1910-1940). The individual states which suffered the biggest decline in African American population percentages were Florida, South Carolina, Georgia and Virginia. Those which registered the least number of declines were Mississippi and Alabama 5. Thus the closed African American population became more open with the out migrations towards the North and West. By the 1940s, the South had lost around 1. 5 million of African Americanss inhabiting the region; one of the most significant net migrations ever 5. This movement of African Americanss to the north from the 1910s to around the 1920s and 30s has been referred to as the Great African Americans migration. Most of the African Americans who were looking for a way to improve their life moved to the cities in the Northern states as well as the West. The migration patterns created by these movements were highly complex. Some of the rural southerners did not move to the North but looked for greater opportunities within the Southern region’s agriculture which was tenancy- dominated. Others moved to the urban regions of the South while still others migrated to the Northern states such as New York, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Philadelphia so as to escape the ‘barbarism’ of the southern states. The following section analyzes the factors leading to this great migration of the African Americanss 6. CAUSES OF THE GREAT AFRICAN AMERICANS MIGRATION Social reasons In 1914, approximately 90 percent of African Americans Southerners lived in the states that had been part of the former Confederacy. These states had legalized the Jim Crow statutes which allowed for racial segregation. In the 1890s, the Supreme Court had made a series of rulings which validated these statutes, thereby leading to the ‘separate but equal’ doctrine of 1896 by Plessy v. Ferguson which in effect, legalized segregation in the United States 3. Segregation had existed before though it was not systematically applied until the late part of the nineteenth century and the early part of the twentieth century. What brought about such systematic discrimination was the blur in the line separating the African Americans and the Whites. The Whites were particularly irked by the fact that a certain generation of African Americans who had grown up as free people were demanding respect and competing for the same jobs and public space as the Whites. The increasing African Americans’ independence made the Whites feel that the only way to put African Americans’ â€Å"back in their place† was through maintaining clear racial boundaries, hence the rise of the Jim Crow laws 4. African Americans were obviously on the loosing end from the legalization of these statues. They were treated unfairly and considered inferior to the White race which made them lose their dignity. The segregation was deeply entrenched in public institutions such as schools, restaurants, hotels and even in hospitals. African Americans were not supposed to be seen in areas frequented by Whites and were restricted to the African American dominated areas. They had their own institutions such as schools and hospitals built for them but these did not match in quality to those of the Whites. As a result of this outright and dehumanizing discrimination, many of them left the South in the hope that they would find better treatment in the North 1. Other than being discriminated against and segregated by the White populace, the African Americans also experienced open hostility and violence from the Whites, often times leading to death. There were widespread beatings of African Americans and in some cases, mutilation of various forms such as castrations. African Americans were frequently attacked by White mobs and murder of African Americans became a common occurrence. With time, lynching became the preferred means of killing African Americans and a popular means of racial control. The incidences of lynching became more and more regular mostly as a result of anxieties by the Whites over changes in the political, social as well as economic landscapes. In the 1890s, approximately two African Americans were lynched per week. However, there were some Whites who did not support it though all felt that it was a necessary means of maintaining racial order 4. From 1900 to 1914 alone, more than 1000 African Americans were killed by Whites, thereby necessitating a movement to the relatively safer North 1. Political reasons for migration In 1867, African Americans people were allowed to vote but they did not really get to practice their voting rights as the White southerners devised several methods to prevent them from exercising their rights. For instance, they made it a requirement for anyone wishing to exercise his voting right to pass a test on literacy before he or she could be allowed to vote. This was targeted at disenfranchising the African Americans since many of them were illiterate as they had been given no education at all. The White southerners also introduced a poll tax which meant that those wishing to vote would have to pay money first. This was also another move to disenfranchise the African American southerners since most of them were extremely poor and therefore could not manage to pay a voting fee each time they wanted to vote. Another move taken to bar African Americans from voting was the introduction of the ‘grandfather clause’ into many constitutions of the Southern States. The grandfather clause stated that people who were allowed to vote on or before the first of January 1867, or whose father or grandfather had voting rights were not subject to the literacy test as well as poll tax payment. This clause therefore successfully barred African Americans from voting and the Whites enjoyed the voting privilege by themselves. Generally, Whites had more civil as well as legal rights compared to the African Americans and were accorded more superiority. This led the African Americans to look for other places where they could be heard 1. Economic reasons Before the period of the great African Americans migration, African Americans practiced agricultural production as their means of earning their livelihood. This agriculture was based on tenancy, where the freedmen, having no ownership of land, would rent it and work as tenants; exercising complete control over the produce of the farmlands and the profits subsequently earned. The tenancy of the land was to be renewed every year. The most prevalent form of farming however, was sharecropping. Under this practice, the owners of the land subdivided it into smaller farms of about thirty acres or so which were then allocated to single families. In return, the resident families paid the land owners through a share of the crop, usually half by half. The terms of this agreement depended on a variety of things such as whether the tenant was known or if the owner of the farm provided tools and other farming requirements to the tenant. In this manner, the African Americans returned to the fields and provided labor to the land owners 4. In the 1910s, there was a major agricultural depression due to natural occurrences and the farmers, both African Americans and white, suffered greatly. The cotton fields in particular, were invaded by the boll weevil which devoured the crop in the entire African Americans belt. Another natural phenomenon which devastated the farmlands was flooding in the south. The summer of 1915 saw massive floods which destroyed the crops in the farms and left the African Americans destitute as well as homeless 2. As a result, the prices paid for agricultural products fell and the small farms such as the ones rented to the African Americans yielded negligible profits. The African Americans therefore sank further into poverty and led a very precarious existence 1. The wages paid to the farm laborers reduced significantly and life for the African Americans was once again hard. Ironically, the North at this time, were experiencing significant increases in production and were therefore in dire need of labor. This can be attributed to the First World War which increased demand for goods produced in the North but restricted immigrations into the U. S yet it is the immigrants who provided the biggest share of labor to the Northern cities. The laborers in the North were also increasingly taking part in Union activities as they demanded for an increase in wages as well as better conditions for working. Northern industrialists therefore looked to the South for new labor supply and recruited the displaced African Americans as well as white workers into their industries. African Americans saw this as an opportunity to improve their livelihoods and migrated to the North in search of greener pastures 2. Testimonies of African Americans living in the North Appalled by the living conditions of their people in the South, African Americans living in the North especially those who owned newspapers or operated them started editorial campaigns that were aimed at convincing the African American southerners to move to the North where life would be better for them. Examples of newspapers involved in such campaigns were the Chicago defender as well as the Christian Recorder. These editorial campaigns tended to portray the North as the Biblical ‘Promised Land’ and convinced the African Americans that there they would have better opportunities. Thus due to interplay of the social political and economic reasons for migration as well as urgings from the African Americans living in the North, the African Americans left the South in their droves for real or perceived better opportunities in the North and the West 2. CONCLUSION Some of the African Americans who migrated to the North were able to find better opportunities and improve their livelihood. They were able to secure employment in the Northern industries dealing with various production processes. However, most of the migrants soon found that life in the North was not too different from life in the South. They still faced racial prejudice and were discriminated against by the Whites. Where they were employed, they were paid less than Whites employed in the same positions and most found that they were given jobs that involved manual labor. The public facilities in the North were open to both races but housing remained segregated as Whites remained unwilling to share their space with the African Americans. All in all, the great migration did manage to somewhat improve the living conditions of African Americans 2. REFERENCES 1. â€Å"At Home with Art Industry: 1890-1920: The economic, political and social reasons behind the Great Migration†. Illinois State Museum, 31 Dec 2006 http://www. museum. state. il. us/exhibits/athome/1890/TeachR/south. htm 2. Baskerville, John D. â€Å"The rural to urban African Americans â€Å"Great migration†: A brief history http://ci. coe. uni. edu/facstaff/zeitz/museum/migrate. html (accessed Feb 20, 2009) 3. Great Migration, 1910-1920, Gale Encyclopedia of U. S Economic History 01 Jan 1999 http://www. accessmylibrary. com/coms2/summary_0193-13024_ITM (accessed 20 Feb 2009) 4. Harrell, David Edwin Jr, Gaustad Edwin S. , Boles, John B. , Griffith, Sally Foreman, Miller, Randall M. , Randall B. Woods. Unto a good land: A history of the American people Volume 1: To 1900. Eerdmans Publishing, 2005 5. Harrison, Alferdteen. African Americans Exodus: The Great Migration from the American South. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 1992. 6. Hurt, Douglas. African American Life in the Rural South, 1900-1950. Missouri: University of Missouri Press, 2003

Theories on early year curriculums

Theories on early year curriculums Only by listening to the questions (verbal and non-verbal) children ask we will be able to develop the perfect curriculum. Griffiths R. (1935).   This report has been set out to demonstrate a range of theories and their philosophy on four different curricular approaches, being; Reggio Emilia, Montessori, Steiner and Forest schools. As every child is unique, there are a number of factors that influence a childs learning. This report will discuss how these approaches have influenced current best practice, meeting every childs needs by having an effect on the curricular guidance in the UK. It will also make recommendations for development in the setting I work in, enabling effective learning and positive interaction, focusing on issues relating to inclusion and anti-discriminatory practice in order to provide them with equal opportunities that will create holistic development. As development occurs rapidly during the early years, every stage of development should control the learning they are offered, meeting each childs needs. Early years settings should focus on promoting care and learning opportunities for young children making it stimulating and rewarding. All the four approaches have taken into account that childrens brains thrive on stimulation and new experiences, and play can extend childrens development and learning. The findings of the EPPE project also suggest; that it is not enough to create a stimulating environment and simply let children play, as children learn best when staff actively teach them. This means modelling appropriate language and behaviour, sharing intelligent conversations, asking open-ended questions and using play to motivate and encourage them. The early years curriculum is based on key theories of how children learn and current early years practice has grown out of the work of early years educators. By incorporating their ideas into forming the curriculum, early years settings encourage learning through first-hand experience. We will look into the four approaches and see how they have been embedded into the Early Years Foundation Stage by setting the standards for learning, development and care for children from birth to five. Loris Malaguzzi (1920-1994) was the educational thinker who guided and inspired the Reggio Emilia approach in the Reggio Romagna region of Northern Italy. The approach requires children to be seen as competent, resourceful, curious, imaginative, inventive, and possess a desire to interact and communicate with others. Dr Loris Malaguzzi helped us understand that children shouldnt be expected to all have the same ways of expressing themselves, so he put forth the idea that there are 100 languages or ways of learning (paint, clay, music, drama, cooking, etc) in which expression and learning can take place. The Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education has been adopted in USA, UK, New Zealand, Australia and many other countries. The Reggio Emilia method is made possible through a carefully articulated and collaborative approach to the care and education of young children and has also influenced Te Wariki in New Zealand. Reggio is a way of thinking about how young children learn and is based on the philosophies of Dewey and Vygotsky that is a very large idea with many parts, not a curriculum that can be adopted and implemented. Malguzzi used this versatility of research and theory recognising the contributions to Reggios thinking by the great educators; Vygotsky, Piaget and Jerome Bruner and this concept is brought about in the Early Years Foundation Stage-Every Child Matters Framework. As stated by Bruner, (1995) We are researching children researching their world. Some of the key principles of Reggio are: Giving the child more autonomy. The Image of the Child. Education based on interaction and collaboration. The importance of time. The role of the environment. The role of the teacher. The role of parents, as it is all learning together. Some of the key features of Reggio Emilias early childhood programme are:- The environment is referred to as the third teacher. The aesthetic beauty is an important part of respecting the child and their learning environment. Childrens work and collections are displayed; at the childrens and adult eye level. The piazza and the atelier are at the heart of the preschool centre. Documenting and displaying are unique and is viewed as an important tool in the learning process. Learning and teaching are reciprocal processes. The teachers role is complex; as the teacher is seen as a reflective researcher and they stay with their class from the time they start to when they leave. The children are seen as capable and inquisitive adults. Programs in Reggio are family centred. Loriss vision of an education based on relationships supports childrens reciprocal relationships with other children, family, teachers, society, and the environment. Reggio approach is not a formal model with defined methods (such as Waldorf and Montessori), teacher certification standards and authorization. But, the educators in Reggio Emilia speak of their evolving experience and see themselves as a provocation and reference point, a way of engaging in dialogue starting from a strong and rich vision of the child. As cited by Brown,N (2004) According to the documentation produced in Reggio Emilia pre-schools it would appear that girls and boys tend to work in single-sex groups. Girls also prefer smaller groups than do boys, and girls tend to discuss and collaborate from the start rather than, as the boys do, work independently before working collaboratively. This suggests that there are differences between boys and girls which appears to start from the premise itself. There seems to be a view that these differences are rather accepted and nothing can be done about it except document them and accommodate the differences in future projects. This also gives an impression that Reggio educators view these differences as natural. Many who have reflected on gender issues in the Reggio approach have felt awkward about the lack of critical thought about observed gender differences. Practitioners should ponder on this difference and ensure that their provision supports gender equity. In a nutshell, the Reggio approach articulates children to acquire skills of critical thinking and collaboration. It is a prism, a crystal, for seeing all the things we have looked at: relationships with families, curriculum, time management, evaluation, etc. and it isnt something one can apply. It is an approach to thinking about programs for young children and accepting children from all walks of life; where children with special needs are given first preference, making it totally inclusive. The Bristol standard aims at promoting the concept of reflective practitioners where they can become part of a process that protects and celebrates the wonder of early childhood through well informed and reflective practice. All preschool operators ought to benchmark against the Reggio Emilia school. As children are developing physically, mentally and emotionally, Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) believed that education should be designed to meet their changing needs, helping a child to accomplish their full potential in overall development and learning, as well as academic progress. His technique was systematic, and was based on his own wide experience as a tutor and on his study of spiritual science. Edmunds (1979), portrays Steiner Education with these inspiring words To educate youthà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ is to ennoble the mind, to fire the imagination, to fortify the will and to quicken initiative for life. Waldorf nurseries all around the world endeavour to meet the needs of each individual child with the utmost care, providing a harmonious home life which children should enjoy up to the age of five or six, working with Rudolf Steiners key points which are: Encouraging play, drawing, story telling, environment study and natural things up to the age of seven. Children younger than seven should not be taught to read. Teaching a child to write before teaching them to read. Allowing only one teacher to teach the same class for seven years. (This concept is taken from Reggio Emilia). Letting the child focus on one subject at a time. Find links between subjects like art and science. Connect with the child to make sure that they are keen about the material being taught. Showing the child good values but not enforcing a specific set of beliefs. Encouraging knowledge for its own sake and not just working towards exams. Allowing children to work at their own pace to ease their learning as each child has its own tempo and thrives best when this is allowed for. (Edmunds, F. 1979: p22). Rudolf Steiner made specific curriculum suggestions for all subjects including handwork, gymnastics, painting, music, shorthand and many others. A Teacher was given the freedom to build up the curriculum according to his own perspective. In a Steiner pre-school, no formal schooling takes place but there is an ordered life in the way children are received and engaged in activities. There is an extreme case of a general and widespread tendency today to intellectualize children without counting the costs. By robbing the life of children we are stultifying the life of adults. (Edmunds, F. 1979: p23) There is too much emphasis on getting small children to read and write at an early age which leaves them little or no time to play. This gives vent to frustration making them incapable human beings unable to solve problems and to make compromises as adults. Rudolf Steiner realised the fact that premature educational demands on the child, sap the life forces needed for further development later. He was also not in favour of sitting children in front of the television or a computer as there was much more to be learnt by doing things practically and get first hand experience. According to Steiner, creative, imaginative forces spring from a healthy life of will like flowers from a meadow; they are crippled by clever toys invented by clever adults. (Edmunds, F. 1979: p24). The objects of play in Steiner schools are simple so that the child can dress them with his or her own imagination as a child sees everything to be alive and real. Even today Steiner schools exist, and they are distinctly different from other schools. In the 1970s, 80s and 90s, United Kingdom and other parts of the world saw the formation of new Steiner Schools. Its founder was so self-motivated that everyone concerned knows that he would not have allowed his school to stay as it was, but would have found new and creative ways to meet the changing needs of present times. Nowadays it seems difficult for the people involved to know what course to take, without losing the essence of education that was brought to the world by Rudolf Steiner. Education must no longer be regarded only as a matter of teaching children, but as a social question of the highest importance, because it is the one question that concerns all mankind. (Montessori M, date unknown) Born in Italy in 1870, Maria Montessori moved to Rome with her parents in 1875 at the age of five. Maria Montessori is often referred to as ahead of her time. Throughout her life Maria Montessori had a particular interest in the development of children, especially those with special needs. She learned from the work of others, but evolved her own theories and believed that the child was a truly miraculous being and later on Steiner adopted this fact from Montessori. In 1906, Maria Montessori founded the first Childrens House. Montessori discovered how naturally young children adapted and enjoyed learning everyday tasks. The Montessori Method focuses on the individuality of each child in respect of their needs or talents as its goal is to help the child maintain their natural joy of learning. Some of the inventions of Maria Montessori are:- Sand paper alphabets and the Spinda boxes. Phonics; this has been taken up by the National Curriculum. Furniture and equipment scaled down to the childs size. Encourages independence and freedom with limits and responsibility. Practical life skills: domestic skills and manners are emphasized with the goal of increasing attention spans, hand-eye coordination, and tenacity. The structure of work and constructive activity gives the children a sense of self-worth that they have never experienced before. The Montessori approach does not emphasise play or the free flow of ideas, neither are the children allowed to undertake creative activities until they have worked through all the graded learning activities. Montessori believed in the natural unfolding of the childs intelligence that follows a specific path which must be aided by the adult by observing, as she did not believe in forced learning by children. When young children feel confident their energy for curiosity and exploration is considerableà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ If to the children the practitioner feels detached or remote- not like a secure base- then their energy and curiosity is very reduced or disappears. Elfer (1996). Montessori did not think there was a need for adult correction and little parental involvement was encouraged. This concept would go against the principles of Vygotsky, who identified the zone of proximal development emphasising on the role of adults to intervene and help children learn, moving into the zone of actual development as adults provide the intellectual scaffolding to help children learn and progress through the different stages of development. The Montessori Method does not see children as part of a community, but are made to work largely on their own in a peaceful environment of total concentration. Current mainstream practice in the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework has not accepted this philosophy as it would not usually leave children to work through activities on their own. According to Lillard, P (1996) the Montessori theory is to adapt education for each developmental stage through materials especially designed for a childs exploration and self-discovery, encouraging children to be active rather than passive learners at all levels. This has been acknowledged by the recent curricular guidance and some Montessori materials and ideas are used, for example, graded sizes of particular shapes, such as small, medium, and large blocks. The Montessori theory allows children to acquire the skills to answer their own questions, learn to manage freedom with responsibility, and maintain a high level of intellectual curiosit y. Its teaching; aims for the fullest possible development of the whole child, ultimately preparing him for lifes many rich experiences. Maria Montessori realised that children pass through sensitive periods of development early in life, and said that education starts from birth. This is now recognised by the Early Years Foundation Stage. Dr. Montessori described the childs mind between the time of birth and six years of age as the absorbent mind and has written a book about it. It is during this stage that a child has a tremendous ability to learn and assimilate from the world around him, without conscious effort. During this time, children are particularly receptive to certain external stimuli. A Montessori teacher recognizes and takes advantage of these highly perceptive stages through the introduction of materials and activities which are specially designed to stimulate the intellect. If a person develops the ability to respect themselves, the people and the things around them, they will take an increased interest in the long-term effects of their actions on the environment and the people who live within it. (Director of Operations Archimedes) Forest Schools is an innovative educational approach to outdoor play and learning. It is a concept originally developed in Denmark for pre-school children (under seven years). The philosophy of Forest Schools is to encourage and inspire individuals of any age through positive experiences and participation in engaging and motivating achievable tasks and activities in a woodland environment, helping to develop personal, social and emotional skills which will lead to independence, self-discovery, confidence, communication skills and raised self-esteem. Each Forest School Site is unique, designed to meet the needs of the group making it inclusive. Children become comfortable with an outdoor approach to education and play in familiar surroundings. It allows a more child led outdoor curriculum with opportunities for projects to be taken back to the indoor setting to be continued. Forest Schools have demonstrated success with children of all ages through the following methods:- Learning takes place in the natural environment through play. Use of own initiative to handle risks and solve problems. Co-operate with others. Programmes are held throughout the year in all weathers. Children use full sized tools, play, learn boundaries of behaviour; both physical and social, grow in confidence, self-esteem and motivation. Use of tools in the wood promotes trust and self-confidence; it develops motor skills and fine motor skills. As children need time to thoroughly explore their thoughts, feelings and relationships this method encourages them to understand the world, the environment and everything within it through use of their emotions, imagination and senses. This principle has been adopted from Reggio Emilia which considers the environment to being the third teacher. Malguzzi (1996) We place enormous value on the role of the environment as a motivating and animating force in creating spaces for relations, options and emotional and cognitive situations that produce a sense of well-being and security. This ethos was introduced to the UK during the 1990s and has proved to be an effective educational tool in a variety of settings. Children attending Forest Schools were arriving at school with strong social skills, the ability to work in groups effectively, and generally children had high self-esteem and confidence in their own capabilities that proved to be an effective foundation and raised academic achievements. Since its introduction Forest Schools have developed opportunities in an outdoor setting for children of all ages to develop a variety of life skills. Participants gain confidence in their own ability. Kinaesthetic learners (learning by doing) are particularly suited to learning in this woodland outdoor environment. It aims at meeting childrens basic needs before any higher learning can take place. Children feel safe both physically and emotionally as care is taken to ensure that children have proper clothing and footwear, healthy meals and plenty of hydrated water and hot drinks. The Forest School sites are usually away from main entrances requiring the group to walk long distances and terrain, but all this depends on the abilities of the group. A hard surface approach may be necessary for wheel chairs and buggies making it as inclusive as possible. Each time the children leave the woods they take something with them to encourage parental interest and communicative interaction. All sessions are designed around the needs of the group, ensuring that they are learner-led. Sessions are designed around a theme, such as Romans, butterflies, spies, fairies or nature investigators. Many areas of the National Curriculum are intrinsically covered in the Forest Schools Experience without the programmes needing to be curriculum led. The activities are set up involving the capabilities of every person within the group. Teamwork skills are developed through games and activities such as hide and seek, shelter building, tool skills, lighting fires or environmental art. Each activity develops intra and inter-personal skills as well as practical and intellectual skills. Activities are constantly evaluated and re-adjusted through out the day to meet each the groups requirements. The children may be asked to shout out, draw, act or play a game to review the day they have just experienced, reflecting about what they have done during the day. Individuals progress is observed/monitored and a thorough evaluation process is used to ensure that aims and objectives are being met. All the four approaches have in a way had an effect on forming the current curriculum, as all the approaches have one thing in common which is to meet the needs of the child. The Early Years Foundation Stage Framework has realised the need to provide the materials, opportunities, interactions and experiences that allow children to pursue their own interests and be creative. This is done by stimulating them through motivation but not overloading them with the things we want them to be interested in. The concept of supporting childrens development through their interest has been outlined in Tender care and Early Learning from High Scope and is currently used by Birth to Three Matters focussing on childrens strengths and interests. Reggio Emilia and Forest Schools provide models of excellence in developing high quality physical environment and this has been taken up by the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework. The Living, Loving and Learning exhibition (1999) and the British Associat ion for Early Childhood Education explains the main principles and purpose of physical environment as it is essential in our work with young children that we consider the outdoors as a natural extension of our indoor learning environment, as very young children need to be offered the opportunity to move and think freely. This is vital for their physical growth and development of their minds. Advancing childrens physical and intellectual competence is the heart of much of the early childhood curriculum. Montessori and Steiner do not use display boards to celebrate childrens achievements and this would go against the principles of Reggio Emilia, who believe it to be an ideal way of communication with parents, who can view their childrens experiences and learning on wall panels in the form of annotated photographs and displayed work. It is an important documentation inviting parents to feel close to their childrens experiences in the setting. This approach has been considered by the setting and there are a number of display boards for different age groups.

Entrepreneurial Action Is Creative Action Commerce Essay

Entrepreneurial Action Is Creative Action Commerce Essay Entrepreneurs are the talk of the business town at this very moment. But, who exactly is an entrepreneur and more importantly, what is it about him that makes him so famous in the world today? Let us take a closer look at an entrepreneur and his world! An entrepreneur actually is a person who makes life easier for the world community at large. Schumpeter (1965) defined entrepreneurs as individuals, who exploit market opportunity through technical and/or organizational innovation. He sees an opportunity which others do not fully recognize, in order to meet an unsatisfied demand or to radically improve the performance of an existing business. It began when an entrepreneur empathized with a problem faced by an individual which could be addressed by introducing a particular product or service. The earliest companies in the world were started by entrepreneurs who saw this need and created a vision for fulfilling that need. Next, they took the risks associated with starting a company and then finally producing and releasing a product to solve that particular problem of the individual. Eventually, in the long run, companies established by entrepreneurs add to the competitive spirit of the economy. In doing so, they force the existing firms to compete with the ideas and methods of newer firms and to come up with efficient business strategies. Thus, having stated how an entrepreneur was brought into existence, it can now be established that not only are entrepreneurs the people who possess the vision to introduce innovative products, but also the ones who ensure that the market is updated at all times, at times also creating new markets along the process. In a way they form an interlink between the masses and the business world. This makes them the core element of the business sector. This work performed by an entrepreneur is together clubbed as entrepreneurship. It can be defined in terms of value creation by identifying opportunities for new products and services and realizing them through new firm formation, then it is the process of transforming identification to realization of opportunities that forms part of the entrepreneurs learning experience. Reference Mitra (2011) The natural course of this essay takes us to an interesting point where we know that an entrepreneur introduces a product based on a need. However, there are two vital aspects of this task. Firstly, there is no empirical result which can ascertain his decision to introduce a product which has never before been released. In effect, this makes entrepreneurship an intuitive task. The decision to go ahead with a particular product is to a large extent backed by his instinct that the product will indeed be accepted in the market. The entrepreneur thus, makes an uncertain but intuitive decision of giving a product the green signal. Secondly, the probability of the product being accepted in the market is very high when the product is creativity personified, that is, it is a product which hasnt yet found a place in market. It could be a modification of an existing product or better still, a whole new product created by the entrepreneur. So it is visible now that uncertainty and creativity ar e two primary elements of entrepreneurship. Frank Knight, threw some light on the uncertainty aspect of entrepreneurship. His theory states that uncertainty is distinguishable from risk. He says that risk is measureable, whereas, uncertainty is not calculable as it relies on probability which cannot be measured. It is uncertainty that is distinguished from risk that provides a return to the entrepreneur. In other words, an entrepreneurs income (residual income) i.e. profits, is a product of uncertainty and not risk. This implies that if an entrepreneur wants to earn a profit it is a given that he needs to willingly bear uncertainty. Thus entrepreneurs are distinguished between non entrepreneurs in their willingness to bear uncertainty in order to gain profit. Milliken went ahead and gave three types of uncertainty. His three types of uncertainty can be simplified into three questions asked by a prospective actor about his or her relationship to the environment: (1) Whats happening out there? (state uncertainty), (2) How will it impact me? (effect uncertainty), and (3) What am I going to do about it? (response uncertainty). Let us consider an example of a product introduced under uncertainty. Apple introduced iPod at a time when nothing like it was ever heard of. There were some Mp3 players and portable CD players in the market at the time. But, IPod was entirely a different product. The probable success or failure of iPod could not be calculated. With thick clouds of uncertainty, Apple released iPod! Lo and behold! After the first few months of gradual acceptance, iPod hit a golden run. It revolutionised the market for audio players and electronic goods at large. However, it must be noted that the decision to introduce iPod was indeed an uncertain one which eventually garnered great profits for the company and gave it a niche status. Thus knights theory stands true that it was uncertainty that reaped profits for late Steve Jobs. The evaluation of Knights theory of uncertainty reveals that it has some loopholes as well. His theory explicitly arises out of partial knowledge. . The essence of the situation is action according to opinion, of greater or less foundation and value, neither entire ignorance nor complete and perfect information, but partial knowledge[p. 1991. This can be viewed negatively as partial knowledge backfires. Also, it appears as though Knight has paid too much attention to uncertainty and neglected other functions of the entrepreneur which are also instrumental in him earning profits. He has also not accounted for differences and asymmetries that emerge between different companies. It is not rational for an entrepreneur to release his product under strict uncertainty. Surely, he does undertake a considerable market research prior to taking a decision about introducing the product. However, the presence of uncertainty is definitely a hard hitting aspect of an entrepreneurs job. In contrast to Knights theory about the willingness to bear uncertainty, Joseph Schumpeter in his theory argues that entrepreneurs function lies in an innovative act of creating a new combination. Believing that the potential for new combination is abundant and at times obvious, Schumpeter delineates entrepreneur from non-entrepreneur not by difference in knowledge or perception but by performance of innovative act itself. The history of entrepreneurship reflects its uncertain nature. Several examples such as introduction of Nano Car by TATA Motors in India, Mc Maharaja which is a burger introduced by McDonalds in the Indian market, HD TV show that all these products began from an atmosphere of uncertainty. Nothing is certain, surely not the performance of a new product or service in todays volatile markets. In the past, uncertainty would rise from the fact that the market were rigid and unwilling to open up. Today, the same uncertainty exists, but with a different nature. The uncertainty phenomenon today arises from the ever changing tastes and preferences of the public. This puts in added pressure on the product performance. Thus, uncertainty can indeed not be separated from entrepreneurship. In fact, it is practically engrained in it. As established above, the second aspect of entrepreneurship deals with creativity. Being creative is seeing the same thing as the world, but thinking of something differently. Creativity refers to the ability or power to create or to bring something new into existence, to invest into a new form and to produce using imaginative skill. Some theoretical work on creativity gives insight into understanding the concept. According to Weisberg (1999), knowledge and creativity are two competing positions that are positively related. Creativity is in a way an application of knowledge. As opposed to this, the person theory of creativity suggests that creativity is a reflection of an individuals personality. Some traits are culturally determined while other traits are more emotionally determined. These different traits serve as an inspiration for creativity. On account of this, individual personality differences result in a heterogeneous mix of creativity. Stress also plays a very important role in creativity. A person with low arousal has high creativity and person with high arousal tends to have low creativity. The more we define our creativity by identifying with specific sets of values, meanings, beliefs and symbols, the more our creativity will be focused and limited; the more we define our creativity by focusing on how values, meanings, beliefs and symbols are formed, the greater the chance that our creativity will become less restricted. Normally highly creative people tend to be highly focused. But too much knowledge also sometimes restricts creativity. Planning improves a persons genic idea, a person with futuristic thinking, is seen to be more creative. Entrepreneurship would have been non -existent if it werent for creativity, to the extent that creativity is often used as the middle name for entrepreneurship. The main aim of an entrepreneurs job is to create new products and thereby discover new opportunities. An entrepreneur ought to have a creative product or service in order to be successful. In the early days of entrepreneurship, creativity was grossly ignored. It wasnt believed to be a requisite quality for an entrepreneur. That notion was corrected eventually. It was then accepted that creativity is an essential ingredient for an entrepreneur to make a fortune. Entrepreneurship creativity has been known as the generation and implementation of novel appropriate ideas to acquire new ventures (Amabile 1997). Intuition can also been viewed as more business competency which influences the ability of creativity.Also for an entrepreneur to understand creativity he must think of personal attributes like person , place or product. Talking of creativity, probably the most creative idea to have come up in the last decade is that of facebook! Truly, Mark Zuckerberg came with the brainwave of the century when he thought of starting The Facebook. The creative genius that he was, he thought there was a way to socially and virtually connect people across the world. The idea of facebook is not as much inspired by need as it is inspired by creativity. It is indeed a shining illustration and reinstates what creativity can do to an entrepreneur. Needless to mention, that Mark is now a millionaire. Intuition can be viewed as a core business competency which is influenced by the ability to be creative. There are also a number of other contributing internal and external factors that impact creativity: entrepreneurial creativity requires a combination of intrinsic motivation and certain kinds of extrinsic motivation a motivational synergy that results when strong levels of personal interest and involvement are combined with the promise of rewards that confirm competence, support skill development, and enable future achievement (Amabile 1997:18). Entrepreneurship has played a major role in fostering economic growth and also in generating employment. Along this process, the impact of creativity has been substantial. Entrepreneurial creativity, however, exists before, during and after the lifetime of a particular business since it is shaped in part by the social world and by the individual decision maker (Fillis and Rentschler 2006). Uncertainty and creativity are in effect interlinked. Both together define an entrepreneur. The relationship between the two can be expressed in the following manner. An entrepreneur introduces a new product with creativity and then releases it under some uncertainty. The idea thus begins with creativity and then gets linked with uncertainty. Creativity can be used to deal with the ambiguity and uncertainty in decision-making by matching the nonlinear responses of the entrepreneur to that of the business world. Uncertainty has not tended to be modelled in investigations of creativity and social networks, although it is very much part of an entrepreneurs environment (Perry-Smith and Shalley 2003). However, within new product development processes, it does receive attention in terms of moves to reduce it in order to secure the desired commercial effects. Creativity can also contribute to dealing with ambiguity. While uncertainty refers to a lack of information, ambiguity refers to the existence of multiple and conflicting interpretations regarding an organisational situation (Kijkuit and van den Ende 2007): Creativity when practiced by the entrepreneur is called creative action. It is impossible for an entrepreneur to sustain his position in the market if his product is just like many others in the market. There is only room for the product which is different. Consumers today, are not willing to buy anything that is outdated. Thus an entrepreneur has to ensure that his product satisfies the need appropriately and also is up to date. It is this challenge that necessitates creative action. For instance, Apple had launched iPhone 2G. Then, they upgraded it to iPhone 3G, then to 3GS, then 4G , then 4GS and finally 5 as they know they need to change with time. This shows Apples persistent creative action in keeping up with the latest technology as the company is aware that if it fails to keep up with the world, it will lose its control over the market. Having entered a particular market, for an entrepreneur to maintain the position of his enterprise, he ought to keep up his creative action. It is widely said and people are made to believe that opportunities dont come knocking to your doorstep and more so if you are an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur has to seize an opportunity before some other entrepreneur finds it. Once again for this as well, he needs to put at work his creative talent. Also such kind of creativity normally comes out of a person when there is a problem being considered and due to which the entrepreneurs keep getting solutions for the problem and then idea is being generated related to the problem and finally creativity then plays a major role and it gives an opportunity to an entrepreneur. But its not always when a problem is being seen an entrepreneur finds the solution for it is not always certain as many times the entrepreneurial action leads to failure. As said by Schumpeter that innovation is a necessity as people demand different products as the time changes hence creativity and opportunity plays a major role during that time and creative becomes necessity for an entrepreneur without which he would not be successful. Creativity, problem solving and intuition interact in order to produce an appropriate strategic vision for the entrepreneurially led organisation (Markley 1988). Mainly entrepreneurial learning is the process by which an entrepreneur acquires knowledge related to the business by exploiting opportunities This learning of Entrepreneur is socially embedded and provides the entrepreneur with human and social knowledge resources. The main reason for entrepreneurial learning is constructing the ambiguous and individualised realistic ideas for an entrepreneur.it is also a way by which entrepreneur develop knowledge and skills and make a business model .Hence forth for entrepreneurship learning is very essential for all the entrepreneurs as without which uncertainty might be created instantly. Also entrepreneurial learning is a key mechanism for innovation, as through which new opportunities would be discovered. After having discussed the concepts of uncertainty, creativity and their interlink and relationship with entrepreneurship, it will also be insightful to discuss the economic theories of entrepreneurship. Economic theories overall tell us that entrepreneurship takes a birds eye view of human action. These theories explicitly tell us how an entrepreneur should allocate his resources in order to maximise his output. These all points are essential for an entrepreneur. Also there are mainly two kinds of historical theories which have been used they are the Classical and Neo Classical theories. And then later new modern economic theories were introduced regarding innovation as the key aspect. As an economic system, in his book The Wealth of Nations in 1776, Adam Smith perceived capitalists as owner-managers who combined the basic resources of land, labour, and capital into successful enterprises. The classical capitalistic economic system, based on the concept of private ownership of property, assumed the creation and distribution of wealth through the exchange of goods and services through open, uncontrolled markets open to all buyers and sellers. In the late 19th Century, Leon Walras (1874) and Alfred Marshall (1890), separately, developed similar models of capitalist economics that incorporated a logical framework capable of mathematical analysis (Kirchhoff, 1997). The key concept of the new models was that markets consist of many buyers and many sellers who interact so as to ensure that supply equals demand. This Neoclassical theory was designed to show that capitalism characterized by perfect markets and unfettered by outside interference distributes wealth among bu yers and sellers and creates wealth in the process. Joseph Schumpeter (1934), one of its early critics, saw innovation as the key for creating new demand for goods and services and entrepreneurs as owner-managers who started new, independent businesses to exploit innovation. To Schumpeter, an entrepreneur was a person who destroyed existing economic order by introducing new products and services, by creating new forms of organization, or by exploiting new raw materials. A classic example of all that is discussed above in the essay would be to consider the introduction of automatic cars by General Motors back in 1940s. It was a time when cars were not even seen world over but inspite of that, General Motors possessed the creative vision to innovate and develop the first ever automatic car of the world. As this was a new concept, it was a big risk on the part of General Motors to launch a car of such a high standard. Very obviously then, the uncertainty surrounding this newly made automatic car was enormous. However, their creative action proved fruitful and their vision was rewarded as today, the entire western world is seen zooming around in automatic cars. If this is not enough, to remain ahead of their rivals, the big car companies of BMW, Mercedes Benz are continuously introducing new features through creative action to maintain their position among the top bracket for car buyers. Entrepreneurs are evidently the most dynamic members of an economy. As we have seen, they are the ones who bring exciting new products and services to the market, create new demand which facilitates further supply and thereby further production and better returns to factors of production. All this in turn keeps the economy on its toes. Further, the less productive firms of the economy are induced to enhance their productivity and performance and thereby improve the quality of products in the market. All this, the entrepreneur does under strict uncertainty with heavy dependence on his instinct.

Assistive technology for the blind and visually impaired Essay examples

For this research project the topic I have chosen to cover is, â€Å"The impacts of assistive technology for the blind and visually impaired.† I will discuss the benefits and drawbacks to using advanced technology to promote development. I will also look at how assistive technology is being implemented and what effects it has on the visually impaired. There are approximately 10 to 11 million blind and visually impaired people in North America, and their visual abilities vary almost as much as their ethnic, racial, and personal characteristics do. The term "visual impairment" covers a wide range and variety of vision, from blindness and lack of usable sight; to low vision, which cannot be corrected to normal vision with standard eyeglasses or contact lenses; to moderate visual impairment and an inability to read the fine print in a daily newspaper. People who are visually impaired, like everyone else, pursue a great range of interests and careers and participate in the full range of daily activities. They may need to receive training in various adaptive techniques in order to do so, and educational and other services and products are designed and available for this purpose. Federal and state estimates used for planning educational services do not adequately account for the number of children in the United States who are blind or visually impaired. In some cases, only students who are legally blind are reported, ignoring those who have difficulty seeing but do not qualify as "legally" blind. In other instances, children who are visually impaired and have other disabilities such as mental retardation are not counted as visually impaired because they are reported in other federally defined categories, such as multiple disabilities. Tragically, because many 3 professionals lack the specialized skills necessary to recognize and address vision loss, there are also children with visual and multiple impairments whose vision loss remains undiagnosed throughout their school experience. The inadequate count of visually impaired children means that our nation lacks critical information about the need for specialized services for these children, and cannot correctly allocate the specialized resources and ... ...sts despite the fact that education experts agree that for some children, special schools are the best placement option, and that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act passed by the U.S. Congress makes access to all educational placement options, including special schools, every child's right. As a result of my research I have found that assistive technology is very helpful to blind or visually impaired people when used appropriately. Technology has set new standards and goals for the visually disabled and blind that were never within reach without these new break throughs. The main issues that still need to be dealt with is making sure the new technology is taught correctly to the people who need to use it, and that access to the latest technology is easily attainable. References Van Huijgevoort, Toos. (2002) Coping with a visual impairment through self- investigation. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 96, Abner, G. H. & Lahm, E. A. (2002) Implementation of assistive technology with students who are visually impaired: Teachers’ readiness. Journal of visual impairment and blindness, 96, Assistive technology for the blind and visually impaired Essay examples For this research project the topic I have chosen to cover is, â€Å"The impacts of assistive technology for the blind and visually impaired.† I will discuss the benefits and drawbacks to using advanced technology to promote development. I will also look at how assistive technology is being implemented and what effects it has on the visually impaired. There are approximately 10 to 11 million blind and visually impaired people in North America, and their visual abilities vary almost as much as their ethnic, racial, and personal characteristics do. The term "visual impairment" covers a wide range and variety of vision, from blindness and lack of usable sight; to low vision, which cannot be corrected to normal vision with standard eyeglasses or contact lenses; to moderate visual impairment and an inability to read the fine print in a daily newspaper. People who are visually impaired, like everyone else, pursue a great range of interests and careers and participate in the full range of daily activities. They may need to receive training in various adaptive techniques in order to do so, and educational and other services and products are designed and available for this purpose. Federal and state estimates used for planning educational services do not adequately account for the number of children in the United States who are blind or visually impaired. In some cases, only students who are legally blind are reported, ignoring those who have difficulty seeing but do not qualify as "legally" blind. In other instances, children who are visually impaired and have other disabilities such as mental retardation are not counted as visually impaired because they are reported in other federally defined categories, such as multiple disabilities. Tragically, because many 3 professionals lack the specialized skills necessary to recognize and address vision loss, there are also children with visual and multiple impairments whose vision loss remains undiagnosed throughout their school experience. The inadequate count of visually impaired children means that our nation lacks critical information about the need for specialized services for these children, and cannot correctly allocate the specialized resources and ... ...sts despite the fact that education experts agree that for some children, special schools are the best placement option, and that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act passed by the U.S. Congress makes access to all educational placement options, including special schools, every child's right. As a result of my research I have found that assistive technology is very helpful to blind or visually impaired people when used appropriately. Technology has set new standards and goals for the visually disabled and blind that were never within reach without these new break throughs. The main issues that still need to be dealt with is making sure the new technology is taught correctly to the people who need to use it, and that access to the latest technology is easily attainable. References Van Huijgevoort, Toos. (2002) Coping with a visual impairment through self- investigation. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 96, Abner, G. H. & Lahm, E. A. (2002) Implementation of assistive technology with students who are visually impaired: Teachers’ readiness. Journal of visual impairment and blindness, 96,