Speech Fast Food

McDunn Persuasive speech outline Eating Fast Food Introduction Relevance: You all have probably experienced fast food sometime throughout your life. Credibility: The first thing that comes to mind when mentioning fast food is greasy, oily, unhealthy garb, yet most of us consume junk food on a daily basis anyway. There are over 300,000 different fast food restaurants in the US. People frequent them because of convenience (quick and usually cheap). In such a fast-paced society, people are eating more fast food than ever before (Stefanov, Sebastien).Purpose: To persuade people not to eat fast food. Preview: I am now going to inform you about what fast food is, what a typical meal contains, why fast food is unhealthy. Body I. A. What is fast food? 1. Fast food is any food that is quick, convenient, and usually inexpensive (Fast Food Facts). a. Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. The term â€Å"fast food† refers to precooked foods such as fries or pizza that typically must be used within a few hours, or they become dried out and unpalatable (Ali, Sam). b.Fast food places like McDonalds, Burger King, Jack-in-the-box, Wendy’s, Whataburger, etc. , are all considered fast food restaurants. II. A. A typical meal and some facts 1. According to the â€Å"Nutritional Facts† that are posted on McDonald's web site, one Big Mac contains 540 calories and 29 grams of fat, which is 45 percent of the national recommended daily value based on a 2,000-calorie diet, according to McDonald's. One large order of fries contains 500 calories and 25 grams of fat, which is 38 percent of the recommended daily value. The 32-ounce Coca-Cola Classic adds another 310 calories (Ali, Sam). . Harvested potatoes contain about 80 percent water. What makes them into fries is when most of this water is removed and replaced with fat. Americans, on average, eat 30 pounds of these fat-enriched potatoes per year (Ali, Sam). b. The new KFC D ouble Down sandwich, which debuted in April, features two fried chicken filets in place of bread, two pieces of bacon, two melted slices of Monterey Jack and pepper jack cheese and Colonel's Sauce. The Double Down contains 540 calories and 32 grams of fat. It also has 1,380 milligrams of sodium (1,430 milligrams grilled).That's approaching the American Heart Association's recommended daily limit for adults of 1,500 milligrams of sodium (Ali, Sam). 2. Facts about fast food a. Did you know that most Americans eat three burgers a week and that 81% of Americans consume junk food while driving? It comes as no surprise, since people spend more time on the road nowadays (Stefanov, Sebastien). b. Each day, 1 in 4 Americans visits a fast food restaurant (Fast food facts). c. McDonald's feeds more than 46 million people a day – more than the entire population of Spain (Fast food facts).Transition Sentence: Fast food is very dangerous towards your health and can lead to many harmful eff ects. III. A. Why fast food is unhealthy 1. However, while these products might look appealing and tasty, they contain a wealth of hidden heath hazards which are not only dangerous if eaten in large quantities but are a major cause of obesity, especially in children (White, Janice). a. You are doing the following things to your body by consuming fast food (White, Janice): †¢ Raising your blood pressure Increasing the levels of bad (LDL) cholesterol †¢ Delaying your metabolic rate (the rate at which you digest, process and eliminate food) †¢ Weakening your immune system †¢ Destabilizing your blood sugar levels †¢ Reducing the ability of your colon to function properly b. The effects of fast food include nutritional deficiencies, obesity, increased cholesterol levels, cardiac problems and many other threatening heath hazards (Manohar, Uttara). c. Eating fast foods can also lead to an unhealthy lifestyle. d.Eating fast food and leading a sedentary lifestyle lea ds to obesity. Obesity leads to other complications like increase in the cholesterol level, blocking of the arteries, the increased risk of coronary diseases, in addition to the general physical discomfort posed by the extra weight. Fast food is also addictive and hence it is very difficult to give up on their greasy and fatty foods and carbonated drinks and switch to healthier options (Manohar, Uttara). Transition sentence: Fast food can cause many concerns to your body and lead to a unhealthy life.Summary: Overall, fast food can damage your health and shorten your life. Eating fast food can lead to clogged arteries, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and many other health concerns you could not even think of. Concluding Device: If you are on the road, and want to stop to get a bite to eat, try to protect your health and not eat fast food. Works Cited Sam Ali – Apr, and 2010. â€Å"What Is Fast Food? – DiversityInc. com. † DiversityInc – Cultural Dive rsity – Diversity Management – Workplace Diversity – Workforce Diversity. N. p. , n. d. Web. 23 Apr. 2011. â€Å"Fast Food Facts. † Center for Young Women's Health. N. p. , n. d. Web. 23 Apr. 2011. . â€Å"Fast food facts from the Super Size Me Web site . † The VivaVegie Society, Inc. . N. p. , n. d. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. Manohar, Uttara. â€Å"Fast Food Facts: Effects of Fast Food. † Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web. N. p. , n. d. Web. 23 Apr. 2011. . Stefanov, Sebastien. â€Å"fast food calories – AskMen. † AskMen – Men's Online Magazine. N. p. , n. d. Web. 23 Apr. 2011. . White, Janice. â€Å"Why Fast Food is Bad for You. † HubPages. N. p. , n. d. Web. 23 Apr. 2011. .

Wuthering Heights in Relation to Bronte’s Life

Wuthering Heights Relation to Emily Bronte’s life Characterization: 1. Hindley- Bronte used the character of Hindley to represent her brother. Emily Bronte’s brother drank himself to death just as Hindley did. 2. Edgar- When Catherine died, Edgar became exceedingly private and quiet. Edgar represents Emily Bronte’s own father. When Bronte’s mother died, her father followed the same pattern that Edgar did by secluding himself and becoming very quiet. 3. Catherine- Emily Bronte personifies her dislike for women’s position in society through Catherine’s love for Heathcliff.Because women are not listened to, Bronte represents herself as a man, Heathcliff, in order to be listened to. 4. Catherine’ Cold- Emily Bronte caught a cold at her brother’s funeral. Setting: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Emily lived in an isolated area called Haworth in the West Riding area of Yorkshire. Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange both reflect the isolated area where she lived. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Because they were isolated socially by there geographical location, Emily and her siblings created fictional worlds.Emily and her sister Anne created Gondal which is a land of moors, and the world is reflected in moors surrounding the two houses. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Wuthering Heights literally means stormy heights. Emily’s life had many hardships or â€Å"storms† throughout her life, such as, her brother’s alcoholism and some of her family dying from tuberculosis. †¢   Ã‚  Ã‚   Emily was home schooled because she easily became homesick when away at normal schools. This can be seen through young Catherine because Catherine is home schooled and not aloud to see the outside world without her father’s supervision.Mood: I. Tragic A. Death in Wuthering Heights B. Death during Emily’s lifetime C. Tuberculosis-caused death of characters D. Tuberculosis-caused death of family E. Drunkeness of Hindley Earnshaw F. Drunkeness of Bronte’s brother II. Isolated 1. Cathy and her father 2. Bronte and her father 3. Characters and their reading 4. Emily and her reading Tone: 1. Defiant tone: Book: Catherine is naughty, does not behave. She is against society â€Å"They both promised fair to grow up as rude as savages†¦ † (46, chapter 6). She also believed she could do what she wanted. †¦ if I marry Linton I can aid Heathcliff to rise, and place him out of my brother’s power† (82, chapter 9). Life: Emily was persistent in her goals and beliefs. She and her sisters attempted to open a school, but it failed because of isolation. Before setting the school up she attended an academy to finish studying French and German. In addition, the three sisters published their works under false names because women writers were discriminated against during the time. 2. Humorous tone: Book: Both Catherine and Cathy have a â€Å"humorous tone† in some scenes.The two have the tendency to not take everything seriously all of the time. â€Å"Her spirits were always at high-water mark, her tongue always going-singing, laughing, and plaguing everybody who would not do the same† (42, chapter 5). Cathy has a joyful mood in many instances; the first talking about the Crags. Life: Emily had two imaginary worlds, although she broke off from the first when she was 13 (Angria) The second one, Gondal, she kept on with until she died. 3. Dark, depressing tone: Both Emily’s life and the novel are filled with the â€Å"dark† tone.Death is consistent and parallels with one another. Structure: Symbolism: The cold dark kitchen that is described at the beginning of the book is a symbol of the hatred Emily had for the woman’s â€Å"station† that is symbolized by a kitchen. Heathcliffs starving of himself symbolizes his hunger for life, and in his case his life is Catherine. This relates to Bronte through her own hunger for greater expe riences, love, and happiness. She was also anorexic, so heathcliffs physical starvation relates to her own.

A Report Evaluating ICT and its Implementation for Distance Learners Essay

a) Evaluate how to maintain effective communication with your tutor. As this is a self-study course, the answer to this question is a little complex. Although there is an actual physical tutor to mark assignments and give feedback, a vital part of gaining a good grade on my assignments is to demonstrate my independent work ability with minimal guidance from my tutor1. Lessons are delivered via the online website, so in a sense the most important skill set necessary is to read, re-read, search the internet to understand any terms which aren’t clear, and then re-read again. There are two tutors on my course. I sent a note of introduction, stating who I am and giving a brief synopsis of why I am studying this course. Although I am sure that I will have study related questions to ask later, and possibly requests for more information regarding assignment feedback, I think that at the moment our communication falls within the bounds of regular courtesy. As the course progresses I think checking my messages regularly, respecting and listening to my t utors feedback, sending a note of acknowledgement on receipt of any messages, and perhaps if appropriate sending a note if I think there will be an unusual amount of delay in finishing the modules, are about as far as the bounds of the course allows for communication. b) Evaluate how technological tools will help you study. The first thing to establish here is what technological tools are both available and relevant to me as a distance learner. Essentially the only tools I will be using are my computer and the internet. My computer will be for collating information in my ePortfolio, writing essays, and accessing the internet. I have divided my ePorfolio into four sections: coursework, reflective notes, research, and self-assessment activities. The necessary ICT skills here are: word processing, scanning and printing, drawing charts and diagrams. I completed a course in word processing and data analysis so I am relatively competent at this. However I have also been refreshing my knowledge via the Microsoft Office ‘Help, Training and Tutorials’ page2, particularly for drawing diagrams, an area I haven’t had much use for recently. Remembering to organise and file relevant information and tasks into the appropriate folders, and ensuring that at the end of each unit I  have created a co mprehensive review of my study methods and what I have learnt are the most essential components here. In completing this course the internet is my greatest tool, and can be broken down into many sub-categories. Below is a basic system diagram of how I am accessing the internet to complete my course assignments: To help me research and study, I can go online and use: electronic books, journals, articles, videos, podcasts, and publications from governments and respected counselling organisations. I will go into greater detail later, on exactly which websites I am utilising. However as a brief example: Exploring counselling skills with an emphasis on ICT. I did a basic search for â€Å"counselling resources† online. I discovered a website run by a qualified, practicing, experienced, counsellor in the UK.3 This website provided me with general information, a PDF ebook on training to be a counsellor,4 and links videos providing online lessons on counselling skills and concepts.5 I returned to my original search and followed a link to resources offered by a UK university for its students doing a comparable course.6 This gave me a list of books and journals that undergraduates would be using to explore counselling skills.7 I looked at the recommended books on amazon and ordered sample content of those available as ebooks . I then did web searches on the various authors, and contributors to chapters, to both check their credentials and see if they offered any resources on their practice / university / personal website. I went back to the recommended reading list and looked at the recommended journals and found links to them, eg. British Journal of Psychology.8 I returned to my original search and started investigating counselling organisations and their publications including: UKCP,9 BPS,10 the BACP,11 and the CPCAB12 I went to the UN,13 and EU,14 websites to check their publications regarding counselling. Finally I checked the PubMed15 website to find more links to relevant journals. I noted all of these links for use when researching other more specific aspects of counselling. c) Evaluate how performing a SWOT analysis can help you study. I was unfamiliar with the idea of SWOT analysis before beginning this unit so initially I did some background research on the concept16 and looked at a summary of Authur  Humphrey’s, the inventor of SWOT, main principles and conclusions.17 I then searched the internet for ideas on exactly how to identify my own particular strengths and weaknesses. I found mindtools18 particularly helpful because it gave me ideas to consider as I looked at each section. I also performed a personality test19, to see the strengths and weaknesses of my particular personality type. This was less useful, because it was more to do with me personally than with my ability to study, although it gave me several things to consider. I created this chart: At first glance I actually found it quite demoralising – the weaknesses and threats seemed to be considerably more extensive than the strengths and opportunities. However as I analysed it more closely, I quickly realised this was unfounded. I think although I certainly need to consider the threats and weaknesses, they have a lot less weight in comparison to the strengths and opportunities section. So far as I can see my weaknesses are things I can compensate for and take into account as I study. These are my thoughts and solutions for each of them: 1) Limited prior experience of the subject being studied: This is only a temporary problem. I am doing a great deal of background research for this assignment’s part two, and looking into books which might supplement my knowledge. I think I will feel caught up in the near future. 2) Sometimes overly perfectionist (i.e. I can struggle to remember that â€Å"done† is better than â€Å"perfect†): I am setting myself time limits on how long I can edit and re-edit my work. I am consciously writing things that I know may well be deleted or completely revised later, simply to make sure I have a base to work from. 3) Can become over-involved in studying to the point that other areas of my life suffer: I have compiled a detailed schedule for myself, to ensure that I can maintain a balance in my life. I have made sure to keep time free, in particular the weekends when my children are not in school, and to allow time to keep up with my domestic responsibilities. 4) Not having a classroom of other students to bounce idea around with may limit potential: I have been investigating groups of other trainee counsellors and mature students. I have also made sure to check-in on the Oxford College forum20 so I have the potential of meeting other  people. I also found the process of self-assessment useful in countering this weakness, I give more detailed thoughts on that later in this report. 5) Sudden loss of enthusiasm – if I overload myself with unrealistic goals I tend to want to quit: In part this is covered by my solution for weakness 6), however I have also been carefully breaking down each unit and each assignment so it is in bite size, manageable chunks. If I can focus on simply completing each section within each unit, without getting overwhelmed by the whole, and in particular with the word count, I can complete everything without any panic. The threats I identified are largely out of my control. I am estimating that it will take me four to six weeks to complete each unit to the best of my ability. This leaves me with a minimum of six weeks free at the end of the two year time limit. I think that this should be enough to compensate for any slowing down in my pace due to unforeseen circumstances. Listing my strengths and investigating my opportunities was a very positive experience for me. Knowing that I am good at research, experienced in distance study, and that I also have access to a university library has made me feel a lot more confident of my abilities. However acknowledging my weaknesses and proactively coming up with plans to counter them has been the most helpful part of the exercise. d) Evaluate the practice of Reflective Writing. Reflective Writing is the process used to: Consider what you originally thought and what you have learnt. Analyse its implications and outcomes.  Consider what you could do differently, what more you could learn, how what you have learnt will affect you. It is a vital skill for learners at any level, and considered a necessary practise for health professionals at all levels. When you write reflectively you use a unique mixture of both academic analytical skills and apply them to your own personal situation. It was a concept I was previously unfamiliar with. I looked at the general theory behind it on several university websites, I found the Exeter University guide particularly helpful21, and then more specifically at the  Faculty of Public Health website and how it is used by health professionals.22 Throughout this course it is a good way to look at the learning outcomes of each unit. To assess what you originally believed, what you have learnt, and how you can put things into practice. It is also a useful way to keep track of things you think deserve further consideration. So for instance when I was researching SWOT, I came across an interesting theory by Athur Humphrey saying that that the level of people’s work and the effort they put into it is strongly related to reward23. Later on as I was researching what makes effective learners, I came across a scientific study by behaviour economist Dan Ariely that proved this same theory24. Although this information seems interesting, I decided it was not actually directly relevant to what I was being asked to evaluate. It was however something to note and consider in my reflective writing as something that might possibly be relevant later on and something I could learn from. e) Evaluate the practice of Self-Assessment Self assessment, is one of the most important and vital skills in this course. One aspect of it is reflective writing, (detailed previously) but there are several other components. When I do the self-assessment activities in the units I am provided with a baseline of my current knowledge. When I look up the answers at the end of the text this gives me feedback on how much I know, and also helps me to identify what I should be researching to improve my current knowledge level. This is a basic diagram of how I am using the self assessment activities: Essentially, once I know the level of my own knowledge, I can see what I need to work on. A large part of self-assessment seems to be organisation and understanding. The Black Box Report25 on self assessment in British schools noted that the main barrier to student self assessment, is being unsure of exactly what you should be achieving. If you can establish that you have a platform from which to work. Through my SWOT assessment, I established my own personal areas I need to work on. Through the subject specific learning objectives, and self-assessment activities I can establish what I know and what I need to learn. As knowledge is cumulative, organisation is key here – writing up my reflections, with particular reference to the learning  objectives of each unit, and collating them in my ePortfolio to provide a body of reference specific to my needs and learning preferences. f) Consider the Principles of an ePortfolio. ePortfolios are widely used, and an integral component of many online courses. The promotion of ePortfolios is also an EU policy26 as a way of â€Å"valuing and celebrating the achievements of the individual.27† From under graduate to doctoral study28 in counselling ePortfolios are now prevalent. The Inter/National Coalition for Electronic Portfolio Research29 says they are a way for students to both generate and document learning. â€Å"It’s important†¦ to think of an ePortfolio as both a product -a digital collection of artefacts- and as a process – of reflecting on those artefacts and what they represent.30† There are three main goals when creating an ePortfolio. Firstly, mapping my progress as a student, to clearly set out my research, plans, essays, and self reflection. Doing this allows me to not only clearly see my progress, but to critically assess and reflect on what I have learnt. Secondly, my ePortfolio allows me to document my own personal growth, goals, and achievements; to be able to look at what I have done, how I have viewed challenges and worked through them, and perhaps use those methods again in the future. One of the most important pre-requisites to being a counsellor is empathy; having a clear view of myself, the challenges I have gone through, and my reactions as I went through them is a relevant way of helping me remember and being able to relate. Thirdly my ePortfolio provides a body of information that I can use to help me format a CV – both by showing what learning goals I have achieved and how I have achieved then, and by providing evidence of continuous learning. At a later date it can also provide me with the basis for constructing a professional website. Task 2. Collate Web Resources Relevant to Counselling Studies, and Reflect on What Has Been Learnt. As detailed in section b) I have evaluated counselling resources based on their credibility, i.e whether they are peer reviewed, produced by a national or worldwide organisation, and the qualifications of the author. I have only included resources that meet these guidelines fully or in part. I concentrated my web searches on these websites (in alphabetical order): Bielefeld Academic Search Engine – BASE.31 BASE is a  search engine for academic related articles, and journals. A lot of resources related to counselling studies can be found there. British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy – BACP.32 The BACP is a professional organisation for counsellors and psychotherapists in the UK. It sets guidelines for good practice and has various resources and information booklets for counsellors and psychotherapists. It has recently become the first government accredited register for counsellors and psychotherapists in the UK. CogPrints33 – is an online archive of journals and articles with a large psychology section. It is run by Southampton University UK. Columbia University Academic Commons34 gives access to a large number of articles and research papers including many related to counselling psychology. Counselling and Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body – CPCAB.35 The CPCAB provides standards for counsellors and psychotherapists. It also has a large amount of reference information, including videos on counselling practice. European Union – EU.36 The EU sets standards and makes laws for the whole of Europe. They have a database with a large number of reports, many concerning counselling and it’s implementation. Falmouth University Library*3738 – has a large selection of articles and journals related to counselling and psychology. FreeMedicalJournals39 – a website providing access to journals and their articles that have passed their embargo period. Google Scholar40 – a search engine for scholarly articles and journals. PubMed41 – is a website run by The United States National Library of Medicine. It gives access to journals, articles, and reports concerning health. RELATE42 – is the UK based organisation specifically set up to provide counselling for couples. It has a wide range of publications relating to this. This website will be particularly useful when studying the ‘Relationship Counselling’ unit. Science Direct (the replacement for the now retired SCIRUS)43 Science Direct is a website that allows you to search for science related articles and journals. The Directory of Open Access Journals – DOAJ.44 The DOAJ is a search engine for journals and articles, many related to counselling and psychology and it’s worldwide implementation. UK Council for Psychotherapy – UKCP45 The UKCP brings together counselling psychotherapists with a broad range of specialisations throughout the UK. It is nationally recognised and accredited. It has a range of free publications for counsellors. UN university46 – has a large collection of research, articles and publications  including many regarding mental health. United Nations Children’s Fund – UNICEF.47 UNICEF deals with the rights of children and mothers throughout the world. They have a large databa se of reports concerning the physical and mental wellbeing of children and young people. This website will be particularly useful when studying the ‘Child Counselling’ unit. United Nations –UN.48 The UN sets world standards for human rights and health care. They have a large database of articles and reports making recommendations for international well being, including a significant number regarding psychological health. This is a fairly extensive list of resources, and many of the websites listed gives access to reports and articles which number in the tens of thousands. I have listed only those website which have a very good search procedure – this means that when I look for information I can cut down on as many generalisations as possible and find articles that specifically deal with the topics in each unit. My preference is to first search for articles in well regarded journals, and then to move onto lesser known or new reports and findings. So for example to find information on Counselling Studies I went to the Falmouth Library Database and checked for the three main journals related to counselling in Europe: The European Journal of Counselling Psychology, Counselling Psychology Review, and Counselling Psychology Quarterly. I then searched within these publications for articles on Counselling Studies and Therapeutic Person Centred Counselling in particular. I read the BACP and UKCP guidelines and policy for counsellors and for their training. I made notes and considered what I had learnt. Before I began my research I made some brief notes on what I thought Counselling Studies consists of: A practical study of people and their needs in times of crisis, and how a counsellor can best help them; combined with a minimal but still significant grasp of counselling theory and philosophy. Having conducted independent research on this I think my ideas were accurate though necessarily very basic. Counselling Studies is such a huge subject it is difficult to sum up briefly all the necessary qualities a counsellor needs – the prerequisite role of empathy and the difference between empathy and sympathy, the need for acceptance rather than advice, could fill up several pages alone. However I think that I have a basic idea of who a counsellor should be and very much look forward to learning in greater detail how to be that person. Bibliography. BACP (2014) British Association for Counselling Psychotherapy,Available at: http://www.bacp.co.uk/ (Accessed: 25th February 2014). Black, Paul; Dylan Wiliam (2001) Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards Through Classroom Assessment. , Available at:http://weaeducation.typepad.co.uk/files/blackbox-1.pdf (Accessed: 25th February 2014). BPS (2014) The British Psychological Society, Available at:http://www.bps.org.uk/publications (Accessed: 25th February 2014). British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (2010) BACP Publications and Journals, Available at:http://www.bacp.co.uk/publications/JOURNALS/index.php(Accessed: 25th February 2014). BSM Consulting Inc. (2014) Portrait of an ISFP, Available at:https://www.personalitypage.com/ISFP.html (Accessed: 25th February 2014). Columbia University (2014) Academic Commons, Available at:http://academiccommons.columbia.edu/ (Accessed: 25th February 2014). CPCAB (2014) Counselling and Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body, Available at: http://www.cpcab.co.uk/ (Accessed: 25th February 2014). DOAJ (2014) DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals, Available at:http://doaj.org/ (Accessed: 25th February 2014). ElfEL (2014) Memorandum of Understanding: ePortfolio for all, Available at:http://www.eife-l.org/activities/campaigns/epmou (Accessed: 31st March 2014). Elsevier (2014) Science Direct, Available at:http://www.sciencedirect.com/ (Accessed: 25th February 2014). Europa (2014) European Union: Index, Available at:http://europa.eu/index_en.htm (Accessed: 25th February 2014). European Union (Europa) (2014) Official Documents of the European Union, Available at: http://europa.eu/publications/official-documents/index_en.htm (Accessed: 25th February 2014). Fair, Boyd ed. Albert S. Humphrey (2005) SRI International December 2005 Newsletter, History Corner p7, Available at:http://www.sri.com/sites/default/files/brochures/dec-05.pdf(Accessed: 25th February 2014). Falmouth University and The University of Exeter Library (2014)Falmouth University Resources, Available at:https://shibboleth.falmouth.ac.uk/ (Accessed: 25th February 2014). Google Scholar (2014) Google Scholar, Available at: http://scholar.google.com/(Accessed: 25th February 2014). Gross, Jessica (2013) What Motivates Us at Work? 7 Fascinating Studies That Give Insights., Available at:http://blog.ted.com/2013/04/10/what-motivates-us-at-work-7-fascinating-studies-that-give-insights/ (Accessed: 25th February 2014). Inter/National Coalition For Electronic Portfolio Research (2014) Inter/National Coalition For Electronic Portfolio Research, Available at: http://ncepr.org/ (Accessed: 31st March 2014). Lees-Oakes, Rory (2013) Counselling Tutor, Available at:http://www.counsellingtutor.com/ (Accessed: 25th February 2014). Lees-Oakes, Rory (2013) How To Survive Counselling Training!,Available at:https://s3.amazonaws.com/CounsellingTutor/How_to_Survive_Counselling_+Training+by+Rory+Lees+Oakes.pdf(Accessed: 25th February 2014). Microsoft Corporation (2014) Office Support, Available at:http://office.microsoft.com/en-001/support/ (Accessed: 25th February 2014). Mind Tools (2014) Personal SWOT Analysis: Making the Most of Your Talents and Opportunities. , Available at:http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_05_1.htm(Accessed: 25th February 2014). Montenegro, Manuel; Bernard Sebastian Kemps (2013) Free Medical Journals, Available at: http://www.freemedicaljournals.com/(Accessed: 25th February 2014). Oxford College (ODL) (2014) Oxford College Forum BTEC HND,Available at: http://campus.oxfordcollege.ac/forum/default.aspx?g=topics&f=17 (Accessed: 25th February 2014). Oxford Learning (2013) PCC Unit 1 Assessment UD, Available at:file:///C:/Users/Casper/Downloads/COUN_UNIT_1_ASSESSMENT_UD2013%20(3).pdf(Accessed: 20th February 2014). PubMed (2014) PubMed Database, Available at:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed (Accessed: 25th February 2014). Relate (2014) RELATE: The Relationship People, Available at:http://www.relate.org.uk/ (Accessed: 25th February 2014). Syed, Naveed; Anne Scoular, Liz Reaney (2012) Faculty of Public Health: Tips on Writing Effective Reflective Notes, Available at:http://www.fph.org.uk/uploads/FPH%20Tips%20on%20Writing%20Effective%20Reflective%20Notes.pdf(Accessed: 25th February 2014). UKCP (2013) UK Council for Psychotherapy, Available at:http://www.psychotherapy.org.uk/ (Accessed: 25th February 2014). UN (2014) United Nations, Available at: http://www.un.org/en/(Accessed: 25th February 2014). United Nations (2014) United Nations Publications and Reports, Available at: http://unbisnet.un.org:8080/ipac20/ipac.jsp?profile=bib&menu=search#focus (Accessed: 25th February 2014). United Nations Children’s Fund (2014) UNICEF, Available at:http://www.unicef.org/ (Accessed: 25th February 2014). Universitat Bielefeld (2014) BASE: Bielefeld Academic Search Engine, Available at: http://www.base-search.net/ (Accessed: 25th February 2014). University of Waterloo: Centre for Teaching Excellence (2012) ePortfolios: What, Why, and How, Available at: https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/resources/integrative-learning/eportfolios-what-why-and-how (Accessed: 31st March 2014). University Southampton (2014) CogPrints: Cognitive Sciences Eprints Archive, Available at: http://cogprints.org/ (Accessed: 25th February 2014). UNU Office of Communications (2014) United Nations University, Available at: http://unu.edu/ (Accessed: 25th February 2014). 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An Effective Teacher Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 51

An Effective Teacher - Essay Example From this paper it kis clear that students are similarly encouraged to be regularly present in class to listen and perform in a stimulating atmosphere fostered by a teacher who demonstrates skillfulness in classroom management. Along with this characteristic comes the equivalent potential of promoting interactive discussions among students who eventually yield to the confidence of developing critical way of thinking and expressing their viewpoints on various sensible matters besides the main course. It is also a notable characteristic of an effective instructor to possess a genuine concern for the formation and development of values in every student aside from the typical acquisitithe reporter   believes he would be able to determine the areas in my teaching which I ought to adjust in order that each type of student is addressed according to capacity or manner of coping and general interests. Certain course activities have been capable of teaching him to be further contemplative as he observes myself at depth in relation to others.

Do you agree with Dave Eggers that community service should be Essay

Do you agree with Dave Eggers that community service should be required for college students Why or why not - Essay Example As the saying goes, "get the leader and the masses will follow". I personally agree with Dave Eggers community development strategy, as it will not only benefit the community and the students but the nation as a whole. Students are like droplets of water and when gathered together to perform useful community activities they can be compared to enriching the ocean that surrounds them. These droplets should be used to enrich the community, for example even with a modest 9 hours a year requirement (the equivalent of less than two mornings a year), America would gain 54 million volunteer hours to invigorate the nation's nonprofit organizations such as churches, environment protection groups and college outreach programs; if the community service requirement is made compulsory for all private colleges. In other words, American is wasting 54 million precious volunteer hours a year. The next question to be answered is; would if the college students would like serve the community That is said to be the million dollar question, as they say, "you can take the horse to the water, but can't make it drink". I agree with this quote, but this statement is only true when the horse isn't thirsty. Using the "carrot and stick" method proposed by Dave Eggers, where the students are awarded up to three credits for community service, would get the majority of the students motivated. There are many advantages for the college students to become involved in community service, such as: Community service also helps enhance learning by allowing students to integrate course material with actual issues in a community setting. Community service also takes out the "curiosity" which many students have about the "real world" and would help the students gain valuable practical life experiences or even valuable history lessons, like meeting a World War II veteran. Another valuable ingredient for the idea of community service to be a long-term success that is needed is instilling patriotism amongst the students. Community service should be showcased as something to be proud of like when you high grades in the exam. This would remove the temptation to quit halfway through, which was the case for Dave Eggers. Prevention is better than cure; thus community service can prove to be the answer to many problems like drug addition, gangs, etc. Doing something constructive, like community services will stop the students from getting into destructive activities like drugs. Community service plays an important role in personality development. Volunteering will him the student be balanced and indulge in activities that will be to help others. Community service will also help the students develop and hone, "soft skills" that are very much in demand in today's job market. Community service can also act as an anti-depressant by being of service to others. At the same time, it is also important for the student to volunteer in that activity or activities that he or she likes, for example if a person is religious he or she should rather volunteer to help out at a church than at a conservation group. Programs such as the, President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, launched in 2006, recognizes institutions of higher education that support exemplary student community service and service-learning programs,

Station Nightclub fire Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Station Nightclub fire - Research Paper Example The building that constitutes the Station Nightclub was conceived in 1949 when it comprised a restaurant, a tavern and a nightclub. Back in 1972, a fire hit the building due to which it was kept closed until 1974. In 1974, it was re-opened as a restaurant however it saw an ownership change in 1985 when it was again re-opened as a pub. The interiors and the roofs were made out of wood and the pub was divided into a bar and a club. The wall at the western side of the club constituted a raised platform which was used by the bands to perform. The walls as well as the platform were insulated with polyurethane foam to control the volume of the music. There were four exits in the room, out of which only one of them was used by the crowd to regress. This was the main front door of the club. Fire alarms and heat detectors were also present but there was no mechanism to sync them with any nearby fire station. (Duval 2006). There were many other incidents similar to the station nightclub fire that took place prior to this one. Rhythm Club fire 1940, Coconut Groove Boston 1942 and Beverley Hills Supper Club South Gate 1977 are the three major nightclub fires that had occurred during the century (Duval 2006). These accidents paved way for different codes that were designed for the safety of people. The paper will aim at analyzing the affectivity of these codes at the same time discussing the extent to which these codes were followed in the construction of this night club. Furthermore, the new codes were conceived as a result of this incident that took away the lives of many people. Moreover, different suggestions and recommendations will be proposed by the end of the paper. A timeline of the events has been specified by the NIST investigation department, according to which the band took its place and lights were dimmed 11:07 PM that night. Soon after that, four pyrotechnics present at the stage

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 183

Summary - Essay Example Theorists expected the opposite to happen i.e. they expected the wealth gap between countries to reduce as a result of technological exchange and globalization. But the wealth gap increased because the rich in the poor countries invested their money in richer countries for security, thus making the poor countries poorer. The rich in any society benefit from new technology the most because of their capacity to absorb the risks it entails. Likewise, richer countries benefit more from technological development compared to poor countries, most of which have a higher rate of population growth than the rate of economic development. Although the wealth gap between the rich and the poor countries has overall increased ever since the Industrial Revolution, yet people generally enjoy a better lifestyle than people did in the past. The human development index computed by the United Nations suggests that from 1970 to 2010, almost all countries have experienced improvement and greater equality wi ll bring further improvement in the future. The vast expanse of the Amazon Forest sustains many indigenous cultures and 20% of the world’s flora and fauna. The Amazon Forest reduces global warming and contributes to moisture in the atmosphere. The reduction in rainfall caused by global warming will endanger the Amazon Forest. Human intervention has caused many tropical forests as well as many Amazon forests to disappear. The hardwood trees in large number in the Amazon forest are very desirable for domestic and commercial purposes which has led to rapid cutting off of the trees. Not only the depletion of forests in Asia and Africa has increased the load for the Amazon forest, but also the Amazon Development Agency in Brazil has encouraged cattle ranching to facilitate fast-food restaurant business. Although the rapidly reducing land has endangered the indigenous tribes and their traditional economies, yet the idea of

Develop a business idea Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Develop a business idea - Assignment Example However, Joparadise Flower Shop intends to do things differently to create a strong customer base and meet their needs and expectations. Therefore, the Joparadise Flower Shop will demonstrate expertise in flower arrangement and give clients great offers (Chadwick 2015, p. 62). The flower shop will focus on fresh cut flowers as well as the artificial ones and focus on occasions such as birthdays, weddings, funerals, debuts, anniversaries and other special occasions. The Joparadise Flower Shop will give its esteemed customers special offers and discounts. As mentioned above, Joparadise Flower Shop intends to do things differently. Therefore, the business will exhibit expertise in creating unique flower arrangement for customers while offering them quality flowers at reasonable prices (Daniel 2004, p. 54). Flowers by Rosemary offers expensive deals and the Joparadise Flower Shop will offer quality at a reduced price. Moreover, the Joparadise Flower Shop will combine both cut and artificial flowers in order to have a diverse customer base (Desch 2011, p. 34). Without a doubt, the Joparadise Flower Shop flower shop will surpass the expectations of customers. A close analysis of the market reveals that Joparadise Flower Shop can focus on males between the age of 20 and 60 who are likely to buy flowers for different occasions. Some of the identified occasions are weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, valentines, funerals, and other special occasions (dpala@metroland.com 2015, p. 4). Women are also potential customers, especially for funerals and anniversaries. Individuals who buy flowers are more likely to belong to the middle or upper-class society with high incomes. Therefore, they can spare a part of their income and invest in expensive flowers (Flower shops braces for busy season, 2015, p. 23). Mostly, men who purchase flowers are either married, engaged, or on committed relationships. For this reason, they are likely to buy flowers for their

A social or cultural phenomenon or aspect of Chinese contemporary Research Paper

A social or cultural phenomenon or aspect of Chinese contemporary society (since 1949) - Research Paper Example My focus will remain largely on the effects and defects of these past and present trends urbanization and village-to-city migration defection. In this context, I will also give particular focus upon the relatively new research done on the position and plight of migrant women in the social structure of the modern, urbanized, industrial China, in broad reference to the central issue of migration. My topic will refer particularly to the works of contemporary urban and social theorists like Martin King Whyte, Wu Jieh-Min, Arianne M. Gaetano and Tamara Acka, among others. I will also consult authoritative government demographic reports and journals to expand the purview of my research and present a comprehensive analysis of the same. Urban-Rural Relations: A Brief Look into the Past The Maoist revolution of China, spanning the 1950s, led by the dynamic leader Mao Zedong, as well as the related economic reforms of 1966-78, had aimed to create a society of equals replacing a dense capitalis t system of greed, corruption and exploitation. One the iconic and historically significant socialist uprisings, it had ventured to establish a communist and ‘egalitarian social order’(Whyte 2010). There existed, however a large gap between theory and reality. Instead, of stabilizing and equalizing the various social strata by creating an economic and cultural balance of sorts, the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution deepened the gulf between the social classes and created a kind of politicized ‘serfdom’ that kept China away from an ideal communist reconfiguration of the society. (Whyte 2010) Migration and Intra-social Disparities The post-Mao era saw an unprecedented influx of rural migrants to the rapidly developing cities and urban centers of flourishing business, creating a cheap labor force. This rural to urban defection of poor Chinese laborers, especially during the 1980s, can be cited as the most extensive labor flow in the history of the world (Z hao 1999) This proved to be both an economic blessing as well as an indicator of social upheaval. The Rural migration to the urban area of China has been the focus of several social, cultural as well as demographic and anthropological studies. In 1992, records indicate that a staggering 150,000 people were stranded in the railway stations of the Sichuan and Hunan provinces during the ‘Spring Festival Migration’. (Bakken 1998) Laborers from flooded and poverty-stricken rural regions also defected for shelter and jobs to Shanghai, Fujian or other wealthy cities. Under the strict social and political system of hukou or householder registration, they existed mainly as second-class citizens, even outcasts, as Wu Jieh-min pertinently points out in her essay â€Å"Rural Migrant Workers and China’s Differential Citizenship† (2010). Due to the government restriction on rural to urban migration, a deep economic disparity developed between the two. As a result, a tre nd of added incentives attracted rural migrants illegally to the large industrial cities. While the labor source was fully utilized by the greedy and profit driven industries, factories, conglomerates and corporations, however, the socio-cultural history as well as economic and political evidence suggest systematic marginalization. The differential system of perception is a sad reality in the lives of the Chinese migrant families. Case in point, the unequal system of hukou

Shapers Family Shop Sales Inventory System Essay Example for Free

Shapers Family Shop Sales Inventory System Essay CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION AND ITS BACKGROUND Introduction: Computers make works easier and faster. With this thing, you can create anything like programs that may help you make your work easy. Now, we have Sales Inventory System which can be consider a big help when it comes to large businesses. It can make your work more detailed, faster, accurate and less error. The researchers conduct an interview with the owner of Shapers Family Shop at 10518 Grove Street, Lopez Avenue, Brgy. Batong Malake, Lopez Avenue, Los Baà ±os, Philippines. (Abdul Hakeem Esmail, 2011) Manual inventory is a handmade list of materials or goods used in certain business. Like in Shapers Family Shop, they are still using a manual inventory. With this process, they might encounter some problems or difficulty. Manual inventory relies heavily on the actions of people, which increases the possibility of human error. People might forget to record a transaction or simply miscount the number of goods. This may results in needless additional orders that increase the companys inventory carrying costs, meaning the business could run out of a crucial item at the wrong time. (Chris Joseph, 2011) Meanwhile, there is this thing called sales and inventory system. This system can replace the cost and time consuming processes that were once completed by hand while providing companies with more accurate data. This system is used to track the merchandise and goods of retail stores, grocery stores, hardware stores, etc. Automated inventory systems play a large role in today’s businesses, especially the retail industry. This is because businesses want the ability to access and organize data in a quick and efficient manner. (Lexi Hartman, 2005) Background of the Study In the year August 1, 1990, Mr. Vital started a business named, Shapers Family Shop at 10518 Grove Street, Lopez Avenue, Brgy. Batong Malake, Lopez Avenue, Los Baà ±os, Philippines . This shop has 3 components; Computer shop, Boutique Shop and Parlor Shop. It provides the customers t-shirt printing, renting of computers, body accessories, document or thesis printing, scanning and hair treatments. Shapers Family Shop uses a manual inventory  system that causes some human error and time consuming for the transactions. The other problem is that, they only have limited staff who helped them handling the inventory. After hearing the background of the business and the common problems that they have encountered, the proponents planned to help them to lessen the errors and the time consumed by providing a sales and inventory system. Sales and Inventory System is a kind of software that allows businesses to input their inventory, track and manage the incoming and outgoing products that were delivered and sold. This research study aims to create a sales and inventory system for Shapers Family Shop that the owner and the staff may use to make the records of their sales and products accurate. It can also make their work easier and more detailed because it will lessen the time they use in recording the goods or merchandises. PROBLEM DEFINITION This section states the main and specific problems that basically point to the need of an advance method of montoring the sales and inventory system of Shapers Family Shop. It also cites the inconvinience and problems identified on the current system Main problem of the study: Shapers Family Shop is using a manual inventory system that encounters unorganized list of products and sales, unknown total income at the end of the day and time consuming for listing and counting manually the products sold and sales. It does not update at the end of the day with updated inventory counts. This means you must go through the inventory items each time you need to place an order for new products or supplies for the inventory. The specific problem of the study: The study, therefore, sought to answer the following questions 1.How much is the estimated income in one day? 2.How can the employee list the items sold during a single work day? 3.How many is the estimated sold products in one day? 4.How can the owner view the list of all products? Objectives of the Study This section discusses the main and specific objectives of the study that will solve the problems which has been identified. Main Objective of the study: The main objective of the project is to design and develop a Sales and Inventory System that will show the list of sold products, compute the income for the day, lessen the consumed time in recording the sales and minimize the possibility of having an error while recording the sales. The specific objectives of the study: Specifically, the study aims to 1.To make the computation of daily income accurate. 2.To lessen the difficulty in listing the products sold. 3.To make it easy to count the list of products sold. 4.To make it easy to view and search the products. RESEARCH FRAMEWORK This section discusses the theories that the proponents came up from the related studies that they gathered. This help the proponents to understand better and analyze the different dimensions of the study. Theoretical Framework This table shows the Tangible benefits of the Shapers Sales Inventory System. Tangible Benefits Worksheet Shapers Sales Inventory System (Year 1-5) A.Cost Reduction or Avoidance30, 000 B.Error Reduction 5,000 C.Increased Flexibility10,000 D.Increased Speed of Activity10,000 E.Improvement of the Management35,500 Planning or Control F.Other ______________________0 TOTAL Tangible Benefits P90, 500 This table shows the One-Time cost of Shapers Sales Inventory System. One-Time Cost Worksheet Shapers Sales Inventory System (Year 1-5) A.System Development50,000 B.New Hardware And Software purchase65,000 C.User Training5,000 D.Site Preparation0 E.Data or System conversion0 TOTAL One-Time CostP120, 000 This table shows Recurring Cost of Shapers Sales Inventory System. Recurring Cost Worksheet Shapers Sales Inventory System (Year 1-5) A.Application software maintenance10,000 B.Incremental data storage expense 5,000 C.Incremental Communications 5,000 D.New Software and Hardware leases 0 E.Supplies and other expenses10,000 TOTAL Recurring Cost P30, 000 This table shows the Cost –Benefit Analysis of Shapers Sales Inventory System. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY Scope and Limitation The study focused mainly on the sales inventory system of Shapers Family Shop. The proposed system has the modules containing all the information about their sales and the items being process. All information is stored in the database which contains security features in order to protect the data from the unauthorized use. This study will be conducted in Los Baà ±os, Laguna. It involves interviews to the owner of the shop and observations of their process and lifestyle that may help to identify problems on their business. This study intends to resolve the following problems that were mentioned in Main and Specific Problems of the Study. It will also help them to have a consistent and organized process for their business. The respondents of this study are the owner of the shop and their staff. This study will be conducted for a week only. The first day will be the interview to the respondents and the next day/s will be the thesis proposal. The researchers will be using VB.Net and MYSQL. Significance of the Study The proponents decided to develop a sales inventory system for Shapers Family Shop. It specifically aimed to resolve each problem and lessen the difficulties of the business and its staff. There are several beneficiaries of this study and these include the Shapers Family Shop itself. With the functions catered by this system, the performance of the work inside the business may improve. The expenses of the company which are reserved for the materials to be used in the current manual system will be minimized because this system does not require massive amount of papers for the filing and documentation. This system is regarded to be very useful to the owner of Shapers Family Shop. Since they are the ones who will use the system, it will make their work fast and error-free. There is a huge difference between the usage of their current system and the usage of this system, because this system features some functionality that reduces time and effort in placing items  and sales description, easily monitor the sales and generate reports for improving their works. The primary beneficiaries also include future researchers, in which they can use this study as a reference material. This study shares information to future researchers about the sales monitoring, as well as the inventory system of the said business. Lastly the proponents benefitted in this study, especially during the data assessment process and system development. The proponents acquired several skills that can be used for their future jobs in terms of dealing with clients, as well as developing a system that may contribute to the IT industry.

Challenges Faced By General Motors

Challenges Faced By General Motors The United States (U.S) Multi National Enterprise (MNE) General Motors (GM) is one of the worlds largest automakers, tracing its roots back to 1908. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 235,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in some 140 countries. GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 34 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Golden, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saturn, Opel Vauxhall and Saab. In 2006 it sold over 9 million cars and trucks globally in 5 continents with a global market share of 13.5 %. GM has been involved in a range of global ventures aimed at extending their penetration in the carmakers market and has also increased its share of the market as well as sales. GM uses exports, acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliances to enter foreign markets based on business considerations. GM has also expanded its capabilities in manufacturing through technological competences. This was achieved by forming subsidiaries, strategic alliances and joint ventures with other automobile companies in different parts of the world. According to (GM Press Release, 2006), the company has been involved in a range of global ventures throughout its history, each of which has aimed at extending its market penetration. Partnering enables GM to rapidly expand its technical fields and brings that knowledge in-house transferring it to multiple levels within the business, even extending it sometimes to corporate issues. Through the various stages of internationalisation, GM was able to enl arge its distribution and provide access to essential materials. Additionally, the company developed and improved its operations, facilities and processes all of which have provided access to new technologies and a rich database of knowledge and new capabilities. The American automobile industry is the biggest in the world in terms of number of cars manufactured and sold. The U.S. automobile market is saturated with the global car manufacturing companies however; the majority of the market share is occupied by domestic and Japanese companies. The outcome of this is a drop in the level of consumption as there are too many entrants competing in the same industry. Because of this decrease in consumption, the automobile industry leaders have been offering attractive incentives and lower prices leading to a loss in profitability. The world-class automakers are gradually expanding into foreign markets, as new emerging markets in China, South East Asia and South America are showing signs of sustainable economic growth. GM overseas operations were a method of diversifying themselves against the risks and uncertainties in their domestic market life cycle, by setting up new operations abroad multinationals can diminish adverse economic downturns. Most MNEs also follow a pattern that has often been laid out in front of them by competitors or similar sized companies that have adopted or mimicked behaviour that has been tested and proven to be success, if the right measures are taken when adopting it. For instance, it has been argued that organizations tend to imitate actions that have been taken by large numbers of organizations, because such practices are legitimized or their success is taken for granted (Fligstein; Haunschild; Haveman; Kraatz; Lewitt). This can also have an adverse affect on an MNE when entering a new market, leaving them less cautious and with a diminished aspiration towards growth, knowing that the chances of that market already being saturated and that the first come first served knowledge is already guaranteed not to be in their possession. This often happens when the specific market they enter does not suit their domain of expertise and experience, resulting in them investing much faster and with a lesser de gree of uncertainty that they would have usually applied. GMs move to internationalise was mainly to reduce costs, attract a larger market and the creation of strategic alliances. The company strategically allied with Fiat in 2000 by acquiring 20 percent of Fiats equity to establish a joint procurement venture. With a split of 50 percent of the capital each, giving them a concentrated purchasing power of about $32 billion per annum, this alliance has the capacity to strengthen their bargaining power as well as reducing the supplier management cost. GM also moved production overseas, as the number of internal competitors grew too high in most of the emerging country home markets. GM needed to find a new incentive to manage a new market while remaining at low cost. GM is a good example of an MNE which underwent internationalization whilst maintaining its position as one of the leading carmakers. It has also followed the theories laid out about internationalisation such as the typical way a company proceeds to penetrate and enter a foreign market. Firstly it will look at the options available and analyse what will be best suited for them considering the high degree of uncertainty and risk associated with entering an unknown market. One such option is licensing but it has to be assessed in a precautious way, due to the fact that they might be risking firm specific advantages by engaging in premature licensing agreements, this is also the least preferred of all three options due to the fact that there is a risk of knowledge dissipation. The only instance when licensing will be considered as a viable option is if the revenue generated from the licensee exceeds the cost of policing it. But also, if they do choose go for an early licensing agreement it may be because their firms specific advantage is hard to duplicate or they have a tight control over the licensee, meaning that they would find it very hard and potentially dangerous to resell any kind of sensitive material to any potential competitor or a third party of any kind. The second option is the possibility that the MNE might only be willing to export at first if the demand of the local market is not high enough for them to want to engage in foreign direct investment and set up an overseas subsidiary, or they may also consider this as a possibly a bit longer down the line depending on the potential growth generated from initial sale patterns and the profitability a larger scale operation would yield. The exporting option also depends on the trade agreements, tariff barriers, taxes, transportation costs and quotas between the two countries involved which sub sequentially determine if the operation will be profitable or maybe another option should be considered. There are two strong examples of how this has been reproduced by GM. The first is the case of General Motors do Brasil, which is GMs third largest operation outside of the U.S after being recently overtaken by China. In the beginning, the activities were in the assembly of vehicles imported from the United States. After five years, GMB officially opened its first plant in 1930 in Sà £o Paulo. Here we can see that exporting lead to the full scale creation of a production facility which was so successful a second one was opened 28 years later, thus resulting in Brasil being the main exporter of GM automobiles in the whole of South America. Breaking out of their domestic market and becoming an exporter themselves in a very short space of time and for such a large operation really does provide evidence that internationalisation does not spread from one point outwards with only one epicentre at its core but rather creates and distributes smaller nodes that in time expand themselves and r epeat the process so on, just as how it is described in the network approach. Once the firm has passed the cultural barriers and had its first experience of foreign operations, it is generally willing to conquer one market after another (Carlson, 1966). The second example is when the Cadillac brand was introduced to China in 2004, starting with imports from the U.S, which then lead to the Chevrolet making its first appearance on the Chinese market one year later. They were then able to move production operations to their Shanghai GM plant which opened as a joint venture with SAIC in 1997, initially created for the Buick brand that is especially strong in China. In this case exporting was clearly used as a testing method for foreign products penetrating the Chinese domestic market, market-specific knowledge and general knowledge are important for firms internationalization (Johanson and Vahlne, 1977). Dunnings Eclectic theory which sets out to explain that foreign direct investment as a theory can be unified as long as the firms applying it consider the ownership, location and internalisation of the process that will produce substantial benefits if applied accordingly. This is also the case if the extent, the form and pattern of international production is founded on the juxtaposition of the ownership to specific advantages that a firms posses when contemplating foreign production. This is reflected in GMs move to manufacture most of its China-market vehicles locally, through its Shanghai GM joint venture, GM also plans to create a research facility in Shanghai for $250m to develop hybrid cars and alternative energy vehicles. Therefore GM follows a path suggested by Dunning to gain advantage in terms of competitiveness and cost by ownership in foreign market and aim to expand. The Network Approach emphasises the industry as a system of networks, each firm within network has relationships with customers, suppliers etc†¦ These relations are important competitive advantages which the Network model also suggests the firm needs to take into account and evaluate not only its own position in the market in relation to its customers, but also the environment of that market in relation to others such as competitors, new entrants etc†¦ GM and Fiat formed a strategic alliance, with GM owning a 20% share in Fiat and Fiat SpA receiving 5.1% of GMs shares in exchange. Production and ownership have both been improved when a recent alliance took place under the form of two joint ventures (owned 50% by Fiat and 50% by GM). The first will conduct purchasing activities, while the second will produce engines and gear equipment which is mainly aimed at cutting expenses. Hence GM has followed the network model to some degree as their joint venture come in terms of rela tions with Fiat. By collaborating they have reduced the cost and the innovation has resulted in new production techniques. Which gave both of them some degree of competitiveness as they have gained purchasing power as well as reduced cost in terms of purchasing from the suppliers.

National Innovation System Concept

National Innovation System Concept In a globalising world, is there any value in the concept of a â€Å"National Innovation System†? INTRODUCTION The progressive advancements in the different scientific fields and their applications in technology have become one of the most important corner stones for any nation’s wealth and economic growth. For technology and scientific research to be successful in all aspects, including the organisation and the collaboration between the different players in each technological camp, different governments and public and private organizations reached the conclusion that a whole structure of communication and cooperation should be established in order to reach the desired successes in what concerns research, development and the technological objectives that are ultimately the driving force for any economy and societal well-being within a state. One of the most important problems facing the policy making process was the lack of information regarding specific fields and the lack of knowledge in other fields. The need to have a certain kind of a long and constructive relationship between scientists and the technology specialists, on one side, and the policy makers, on the other, became more evident in the twentieth century as technological advancements (in all industrial fields and in sectors related to information technology) grew in extremely high speeds and in extremely high amounts. A stable and continuous flow of information concerning the ongoing changes that were (and still are) taking place in the research and development arena had to be maintained. This gave birth to the concept of National Innovation Systems which, in theory, should be the solution to the above mentioned problem. The idea behind the concept that was evolving is thoroughly explained by Mytelka as she stated that The 1970s and 1980s marked the passage from an era in which technological change was mainly incremental. Time was available to either amortize heavy tangible and intangible investments in new products and processes, or to catch up with a slowly moving technological frontier by mastering processes of production and distribution for what were relatively stable products. Protected national environments were both a blessing and a curse in that earlier period, since they provided time and space for infant industries to emerge but frequently little incentive for them to become competitive whether at home or abroad. At the same time, within the markets of developing countries, high levels of protection created the potential for oligopolistic market behavior by large, mainly foreign firms, which raised prices to local consumers and made exporting difficult. (15) National Innovation Systems The concept of ‘National Innovation System’ appeared as a prospective response to the necessity of having clear policies that shape the work and the interconnectedness between research, organisations, industries and governments in regards to science and technology research and the products that are expected to be received from that research. An innovation system is the result of the processes of research and development in any science and technology related field. In this context, we can understand that the innovation system involves the distribution, or spreading, of the needed information and knowledge bases regarding a given technology between the various entities that require having them. This should cover the governmental organisations, the interested centres of research, the universities, the industries and even the individuals. The need to create innovation systems on national levels became important in the 1970s and the 1980s. This is explained by Nelson and Rosenberg as they state the following: The slowdown of growth since the early 1970s in all of the advanced industrial nations, the rise of Japan as a major economic and technological power, the relative decline of the United States, and widespread concerns in Europe about being behind both have led to a rash of writing and policy concerned with supporting the technical innovative prowess of national firms. At the same time, the enhanced technical sophistication of Korea, Taiwan, and other NICs (Newly Industrialized Countries) has broadened the range of nations whose firms are competitive players in fields that used to be the preserve of a few and has led other nations who today have a weak manufacturing sector to wonder how they might emulate the performance of the successful NICs. There clearly is a new spirit of what might be called technonationalism in the air, combining a strong belief that the technological capabilities of a nations firms are a key source of their competitive prowess, with a belief that these capabil ities are in a sense national, and can be built by national action. (Nelson 3) It is evident that the concept was originally created in order to give more advantageous steps to science and technology related entities in what concerns competitiveness and the ability to survive and grow both inside the borders of the country itself and as a strong product export bridge to other countries. The main objective in this regard is economical; each country is required to establish the most suitable environment for scientific research and technological structures to flourish and, by doing so, to strengthen the economy of the country and the living standards of its people. The National Research Council defines ‘National Innovation System’ by stating that it â€Å"refers to the collection of institutions and policies that affect the creation, development, commercialization, and adoption of new technologies within an economy† (105). Another definition is that â€Å"the National Innovation System is a systemic model that shows dynamic interactions and pattern of processes that facilitate technology flow in the system, incorporating variables and players from all directions that affect the innovation process† (Hulsink 16). It must be noted here that the above mentioned process should contain, within it, all the elements leading to influence the whole technological sector within a country and this is specifically why there should be clear policies and laws regulating the way in which the system should function and how it should present the required results. Factors leading to the creation of a successful national innovation system are presented by Biegelbauer and Borras: â€Å"A national innovation system is a whole set of factors influencing the development and utilisation of new knowledge and know-how†. The authors emphasise the fact that education is an important element in the process of creating and implementing the system in question (84). For a national innovation system to be structured correctly, a thorough and comprehensive analysis should be performed on a national scale; this is because the system should be able to determine which elements are needed for growth and which policies are the most adequate. â€Å"National profiles are too complex and diverse to derive a unified representation of the system, posing the problem of defining and modelling the NIS. One useful way to deal with heterogeneous profiles of NISs is a taxonomic approach where national systems are classified into several categories† such as â€Å"large high-income countries, smaller high-income countries, and lower-income countries† or â€Å"large/rich countries, small/rich countries, and developing countries† (Park, Y. and Park, G. 403-404). According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, there are different policy making problems in what concerns the operational side of the national innovation system. â€Å"In General, the attention of policy makers moved away from an overall priority to fund the RD input to the economy, with additions along the way to the market to enhance technology transfer† and a special care was given in what concerns encouraging the collaboration and the methods of networked work and â€Å"the flows of knowledge into spin-offs and industrial use, institutional change, entrepreneurship, and improved market oriented financial systems† (14-15). The document of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development also explains that policy makers should take important factors into consideration, such as the relations and inter-dependences between a variety of market sectors, such as labour, capital, and product markets because they are the source of innovation and growth. Another important factor is that policies should also cover sectors that are not considered as related to markets, this can include partnerships in research and development activities (16). The policies in what concerns the system in question, for it to be successful on a national level, should take into consideration a variety of elements and keep them under continuous scrutiny. These elements include the amount and the quality of the performed innovation, the continuous growth in manpower (for what concerns the technological production process) and in the population (in what concerns the use of the produce), the level of growth of the economy itself with all what comes with that concerning new challenges in regards to raw materials and the human factor, the ability of firms to move from one sector into the other, according to the changes in scientific and technological advancements, independently. This creates a huge amount of work for policy makers and scientists and technology experts alike in order to keep policies efficient and effective, on one hand, and in continuous evolution and change, on the other, according to the changes on the ground and according to the changes forced by outside factors. National Innovation Systems Globalisation As clear from the concept’s name itself, the most important point to note is that it was created, and originally thought of, around the concept of a limited political and geographic entity; the country. It focuses on the ‘national’ aspect of the economical, scientific and technological sectors. In today’s world, that is certainly different from that of the 1950s and the 1960s, many changes have occurred that transformed our lives because of the tremendous advancements in science and its direct applications in technology; this includes the way we make business, the way we create products and offer new services, the way the manufacturing processes of certain products take place, and the way information and knowledge are being distributed and reached. It is now more obvious than any point in time in the past that a national system in relation to science, technology, research and industry, no matter how policies are accurately prepared and implemented, cannot survive if the international (or the global) element is not taken into consideration and if it is not dealt with adequately. Much less agreement exists†¦ on how precisely globalization and innovation interact, and what this implies for industrial dynamics and a policy-oriented theory of innovation systems An important weakness of innovation system theory is a neglect of the international dimension. There is a tendency to define a NIS as a relatively closed system, even when dealing explicitly with the impact of globalization. A central proposition rests on dynamic agglomeration economies: interactive learning requires co-location, hence a preference for national linkages. (Ernst 1) Ernst illustrates his point of view around the most developed (and the most developing) sector of industry in the world today, which is information technology. He asserts that electronics equipment and components, software and information services, audio and video, and communication technologies (this includes e-commerce and web services) are all beyond the rigid understanding of the traditional national innovation system as was originally conceived by individuals, institutions, and governments. The changes that happened in the last 25 years have brought new problems for the concept of national innovation system. According to Mytelk, this is due to two main factors: â€Å"First, over the past two decades, production has become more knowledge intensive across a broad spectrum of industries from the shrimp and salmon fisheries in the Philippines and Chile, the forestry and flower enterprises in Kenya and Colombia, to the furniture, textile and clothing firms of Denmark, Taiwan and Thailand. Second, competition has both globalized and become more innovation-based† (15-16). It is, on the other hand, important to note that firms benefit from â€Å"sharing knowledge and reduce costs by jointly sourcing services and suppliers† This on-going process of knowledge exchange will always have a positive influence on all the procedures and results of the flow of information and knowledge and will create more opportunities for co-operation in research and developments experiences and projects. â€Å"Local training institutions and a sound infrastructure can provide further benefits for companies. Moreover, rivalry between firms can stimulate competitiveness. To note also that life quality and other non economic factors can be just as important in determining growth† (Carrin et al. 24). It is necessary for the innovation systems to evolve according to the evolution of the various elements that shape research and technology today. For the concept of innovation system to survive with success, new factors should be introduced within its structure in order to enable it to keep its competitiveness and growth, keeping in mind that this should be done in a way that turns the changes that occurred because of globalization into advantages, not disadvantages. Ernst draws our attention to the bright side, stating that â€Å"globalization enhances the dispersion of knowledge across firm boundaries and national borders. Such dispersion however has remained concentrated, due to the continuous impact of agglomeration economies† (30). CONCLUSION The idea behind the concept of national innovation system, just as anything other theory or structure, should evolve†¦ And this is exactly what happened. Scientific research, technological endeavours, and industrial successes do not depend on the organisation of institutions and on the flow of information within the national boundary alone, they interact with realities created and introduced by a newly shaping world with no borders and no geopolitical boundaries. The policies that deal with the flow and exchange of information and knowledge should deal with international effects and beyond-the-borders factors that can, and will, ultimately influence the national realities. Since the time of the concept’s first presentation by Freeman (1987) and Dosi et al (1988), many changes took place in what concerns the analysis and the policies regarding its methods and implementation; this is due to the enormous changes that happened in the various scientific and technological fields. The concept of national innovation system is a precious tool that should not be dropped because of globalisation; instead, it should be reshaped to cover the elements that did not exist previously. It should encourage the collaboration and the continuous flow and distribution of information and knowledge within the country itself, and then within the regional and international space. NIS should be re-developed to cover national, regional, and multi-national corporational level. Works Cited Mytelka, Lynn K. â€Å"Local Systems of Innovation in a Globalized World Economy.† Industry and Innovation, 7.1 (2000): 15-32. Park, Yongtae and Gwangman Park. When does a national innovation system start to exhibit systemic behavior? Industry and Innovation 10.4 (2003): 403 414. Nelson, Richard and Nathan Rosenberg. Technical Innovation and National Systems. National Innovation Systems: A Comparative Analysis. Ed. Richard Nelson. New York, U.S.A.: Oxford University Press, 1993 3. National Research Council. Harnessing Science and Technology for Americas Economic Future. Washington, D.C. U.S.A.: National Academy Press, 1999. Biegelbauer, Peter and Susana Borras. Innovation Policies in Europe and the Us: The New Agenda Hampshire, England: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2003. Hulsink, Willem. Regional Clusters in ICT. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Boom Publishers, 2002. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Dynamising National Innovation Systems. France: OECD Publications, 2002. Ernst, Dieter. How globalization reshapes the geography of innovation systems. 24 May 1999. 06 September 2006. http://geein.fclar.unesp.br/reunioes/quinta/arquivos/140306_Ernst_99_globalization_1_.p df>. Carrin, Bart, et al. Science-Technology-Industry Network. September 2004. 07 September 2006. .

Oliver Twist: The Anchor Of Character Development Essay -- essays rese

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Oliver Twist: the Anchor of Character Development   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Charles Dickens novel, Oliver Twist, centers itself around the life of the young, orphan Oliver, but he is not a deeply developed character. He stays the same throughout the entire novel. He has a desire to be protected, he wants to be in a safe and secure environment, and he shows unconditional love and acceptance to the people around him. These are the only character traits that the reader knows of Oliver. He is an archetype of goodness and innocence. His innocence draws many people close to him. Each character is attracted to his innocence for different reasons, some to destroy it and others to build it. Their relationships with Oliver reveal nothing more about his personality. They reveal more about their own personalities. Therefore, Oliver is used not as the protagonist of the story, but as the anchor for the development of the other characters.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As the anchor of character development, Oliver helps reveal the redeeming qualities of Dickens’ Mr. Brownlow. Dickens moves through a series of developments with Mr. Brownlow and it is only when he comes into contact with Oliver that his character is fully developed. He is initially described by Dickens as an â€Å"old gentlemen† with a â€Å"very respectable-looking personage, with a powdered head and gold spectacles† (114). The reader is left to draw their own conclusions about him as he is only described one dimensionally. When Mr. Brownlow gives chase to Oliver after being robbed by Olivers’ associates, it seems as though Mr. Brownlow might have little respect or mercy for the lower class. Instead, the reader finds that Mr. Brownlow is a kind and merciful man. He takes pity on Oliver, telling the policeman not to hurt him and arguing for his release inside the court house. Mr. Brownlow takes Oliver to his house where he is very well cared for by Mrs. Bedwin. When Oliver recovers from his fever, he goes to speak with Mr. Brownlow. During their meeting Mr. Brownlows character is further developed. He reveals a sad past to Oliver saying,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å" I have been deceived, before, in objects whom I have endeavored to   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  &... ...pe from the filth and crime that she was pushed into as a child. Dickens develops Nancys character to show that people in poverty can not always help their situations. They might live a life of crime, but do they have any other choices? Nancys development as a character gives the reader an interesting perspective on the lower class and their situations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Oliver Twist is a novel about the adventures and the life of Oliver yet, his character is not as developed as some of the others. He is not the protagonist, which leads one to ask, what purpose does he serve? Oliver has the most important role in the novel, he links everyone together. He is the anchor, not the hero. He develops the characters. The characters whom he becomes the closest with are the characters that the reader comes to know and love. He might be deemed a symbol rather than a character. A symbol of innocence. Innocence reveals so much about a person because it is so pure. Does the character want to destroy his innocence or does he want to make it grow? The way that each character interacts with Oliver tells the reader about their nature. This is Dickens method for character development.

Law of Nature - Wordsworth Essay -- William Wordsworth

Nature is freedom, it knows no boundaries. Bronislaw Malinowski wrote, "Freedom is a symbol which stands for a sublime and powerful ideal.† The state of nature is a term in political philosophy that describes a circumstance prior to the state and society's establishment. John Locke, whose work influenced the American Declaration of Independence, believes that the state of nature is the state where are individuals are completely equal, natural law regulates, and every human being has the executive power of the natural law. Nature is the very essence of freedom, and freedom is the essence of singularity. An Infinite and Unbound Singularity would require infinite and unbound degrees of freedom. Each individual mind represents an infinite degree of freedom separated by Nothing but its own Perspective. Just as there is Nothing that separates one spatial dimension from the other but the perspective view. The height, weight, and depth of our spatial dimensions are interchangeable, and are only defined by our current point of view. Rotate them by 90 or 180 degrees in any direction and one be...

John Proctor Essay

This description adds an air of mystery to him – he seems subversive and breeds paranoia, which is bound to encourage the audience to dislike him. This unpleasantness about him rubs off on the characters who side with him such as Parris, Danforth and Abigail, and hence rubs off on the society that gets caught up in his hysterical witch-hunt. Similarly to Proctor therefore, we feel alienated from this society, so different to our own. So while characters such as Hale may be portrayed as popular in the community, and therefore as good citizens following the teachings of their society, the audience sees Proctor as a good man. Furthermore, as the audience comes to dislike this society more and more, partly due to Hale’s influence upon it, and as the events of the play become more serious, our disgust with Salem as a society grows. This leads us to side even more with the characters that are portrayed as ‘good people’ (not only Proctor, but those accused of witchcraft more generally such as Rebecca Nurse and Elizabeth Proctor) and against the ‘good citizens’. This is simply due to the fact that the ‘good citizens’ chose to distinguish themselves from the ‘good people’ in the eyes of the audience by accusing them of witchcraft, thus forcing us to side against them. However, the audience’s sympathy with Proctor is perhaps not absolute. In his relationship/interaction with Elizabeth, we may find a darker, less appealing side to Proctor. When we first meet her, Elizabeth is â€Å"softly singing to the children†. She obeys John’s orders, seeming mild, sweet and gentle. This serves to instantly ingratiate her with the audience. But similarly, she gains our sympathy. She has the air of a repressed housewife. In obeying John’s every command, Elizabeth appeals to the hearts of the modern liberal audience living in an age of comparative equality. Everything down to the way she laments â€Å"Pray God. I hurt my heart to strip her, poor rabbit† makes her ever more sweet and sensitive and worthy of sympathy in the eyes of the audience. Because of the audience’s sympathies with Elizabeth, when Proctor begins to grow angry and shout at her, for the first time we are encouraged to side against Proctor. Elizabeth, seeming weak and sensitive plays on our sympathies, so when John shouts â€Å"Woman †¦ I’ll not have your suspicion any more†, the audience sees her as the victim of the ‘bully’, John. Even then however, John manages to redeem himself. Elizabeth’s sweetness does seem to have an effect on him. Eventually, he recognises Elizabeth for the good woman she is, and when he comes to resolve his inner battle between truth and life, he values her opinion above all others. He appears therefore, to be a man of some compassion. He begs her to judge him, something that he had rejected bitterly before then, and was the source of their original argument. In his own words â€Å"You are a – marvel, Elizabeth†. In Proctor’s struggle at the end of the play – his choice between a virtuous death and a haunted life – we see open, frank and emotional expressions of his goodness and compassion. Indeed, it is here that we see the true evidence that John Proctor really is a good man. Here, for the first time, he openly recognises his flaws – â€Å"I cannot mount the gibbet a saint †¦ Nothing’s spoiled by giving them this lie that wasn’t rotten long before†. The audience now recognises him as a man of great humanity, who will own up to his past sins. Furthermore, his benevolence shines through in his recognition of Elizabeth as a better person than he. This is most prominently displayed in his desperation to be judged by her. He recognises her goodness and begs forgiveness, and when she sullies her own name his pain is most apparent: â€Å"PROCTOR (In great pain): Enough, enough – ELIZABETH (Now pouring out her heart): Better you should know me! PROCTOR: I will not hear it! I know you! † Never before has Proctor used such emotion as this, denoted by the short sentences, exclamation marks and short bursts of pained speech. It is clear that he loves Elizabeth above all other things, and would willingly die for her to think better of him. He is a man of true compassion and love. But most revealing of his good nature is Proctor’s ultimate choice. When it comes down to it, he cannot lie. As he tries to give the confession, he has great trouble in physically saying it. His jaws lock, we are told, as if God himself were intervening to stop a good Christian from sullying his name. His confession is short, pained and brief. He cannot bear to elaborate, simply uttering â€Å"I did †¦ He did† in answer to the charges against him. It is too much for this good man. He cannot darken his soul to save his life. He would rather die a good and honest Christian, than live a lie and stoop so low as those who interrogate and imprison him. It is here that he proves himself truly heroic, as he rises above the hypocrisy of Salem and dies a martyr to the cause of good and truth, and this he recognises himself – â€Å"I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor. † Clearly then, John Proctor is absolutely the central character of ‘The Crucible’. He is purposely detached from Salem society and moulded into the key to a play with a deeper underlying meaning. In many ways he represents Miller himself, and shares a viewpoint with the modern audience, providing a window into a very different world. In order to do this it is vital that the audience sympathises entirely with his plight. His respectable and likeable character draws the audience to him, before Miller pits both him and us against the misguided witch-hunters – Miller’s own House Un-American Activities Committee. We side and sympathise with Proctor, just as Miller requires us to side and sympathise with him, before a greater evil. 6 1 Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Miller section. Download this essay Print Save Not the one?

The Negatives of Technology in the Classroom

Why Technology in the Classroom Is a Negative For schools and universities, both have experienced many changes with the technology that is available. Instead of students having to go to the library to complete their work, most can now just walk into their classroom filled with new desktops and laptops. With the increase of technology in most schools, it is almost becoming a necessity for classrooms to have up to date technology for students. Students that have been able to work with laptops ever since elementary school get so used to the technology available that most find it just standard in classrooms today.In the classroom it does not stop with the computers, now teachers are having smart boards made and put into classrooms. But do these smart boards really help the students learn better? I highly doubt that a smart board in the classroom is going to help a student want to pay attention to another boring lecture of some moment of time in our history. Frankly, that smart board is a ll but making the teacher’s job easier. Or is it? What if that teacher or professor is a little older than some of us?Someone who is not used to having the high amounts of technology in today’s classrooms may not know how to work that smart board. All that does is waste time. The same can go for students who grew up in low income areas who are not used to working with computers. While others in the classroom are busy typing a paper, this student is probably sitting in the back wondering how to change his font. The fact is too much technology in the classroom can cause negatives for both the student and teacher in many ways. Imagine an English class walking in to their room filled with new laptops.Everyone sits down and waits for the teacher. The teacher comes in and tells them to continue working on their paper. Unfortunately one student in there is using this word program for the first time. While his peers are busy writing their papers, he is still trying to figure o ut how to save his document. My first issue with technology in the classroom is that it takes away from valuable learning time. While this student could be starting his paper, he must be aided by his teacher multiple times during class for his technical issues.Not everyone in a classroom may have had the opportunity that most students have had of growing up with computers in the classroom. Everyone comes in at a different skill level which makes it hard for students to actually learn something on a lesson based on using the computer. The same can be for the teacher. Not all teachers are used to the new technology in classrooms today. When it comes time for a lesson to be taught through using a computer and the teacher doesn’t even know how to load the document needed, it just becomes wasted time for the students.A teacher who posted his experience about new technology on A Novel Idea writes â€Å"I looked down at my iPad and it had gone dark. So I slid my finger across the f ace of the tablet to wake up the screen, then punched in my password, then flipped through the electronic pages until I found the place where I left off. This was not only distracting to the kids, but it also added frustration to the problem, making me anxious in front of a crowd† (A Novel Idea). This teacher shared his experience of new technology being brought into the class and how it took away from the valuable learning time that was available.Instead of technology being a part of the curriculum in schools, it is now becoming the center of attention. My second reason for the negatives of technology in the classroom is the overuse of it. Many students learn best by physically and mentally interacting with what they are studying. If most teaching is done using a computer, these students’ needs are not being met. For example, a class could be playing a review game for math using PowerPoint. The teacher would have the problems on the board while the students race to ans wer it.But what about some of the students who have really struggled this year in math, this review is pointless for them because they cannot even figure out how to solve the problem. Also, while the teacher is busy changing the problems it is hard for the student who is struggling to ask for help because that takes away from the lesson plan for that class. The issue with overuse is that overtime it will just become boring for students who are excelling in that particular class, and seem like a pointless strategy for students who are struggling.Charlene Kamper states in her article of the overuse of technology that â€Å"With information and answers just a click away, today’s teens are falling short when it comes to deductive reasoning and problem-solving on their own† (Kamper). The availability of technology causes students to not be able to learn information on their own but be able to type something into Google and find the answer. In a class where the lesson for to day is researching topics for the next research paper, some students will take advantage of that time in class.However, some students will use this time to get and twitter and tweet about how English class is lame (in 160 characters or less of course). Distraction in a technology filled classroom is a huge issue. In some classes where the teacher gives the students the freedom to get on the computers and research, some will misuse it and just go web surfing. This issue does not just apply to the middle and high school levels, even in elementary. In Matt Richtel’s article about technology in the class room, he writes about a young student playing a math game.He writes â€Å"Xavier Diaz, 6, sits quietly, chair pulled close to his dell laptop playing Alien Addition†¦Xavier’s goal is to shoot only the spaceship with the correct answer but he is just shooting every target in sight† (Richtel). While this math game is supposed to be helping Xavier improve his math skills, he just sees it as another video game he would play at home. It’s hard to stop the distractions with technology available in most classes. Imagine walking into history class. It’s just another average day. You sit down, say hey to some of your friends and possibly send out a tweet.Then your teacher pulls up a PowerPoint. You automatically know that your teacher is going to be reading off the PowerPoint for the whole class and it’s just going to be another period of taking long notes. My final issue with technology in the class room is the misuse of it. â€Å"PowerPoint works best for things that are presented visually, not verbally. It helps when you need to draw a picture† (Kaminski). Too many teachers today use PowerPoint as a verbal aid for lectures. The use of PowerPoint is best used as a visual aid in the classroom setting.For years students have had to deal with the long PowerPoints with the endless notes. How do these long PowerPoints help students? The only thing that it does is that it will help cause arthritis in your wrist before age fifty. Also, these long PowerPoint’s just make students not wanting to pay attention. These students are unable to play an active role in their education. Then when a teacher complains and how the students are unresponsive and unwilling to participate, that teacher needs to look in the mirror along with their teaching strategies.Jeffrey Young states in his article When Good Technology Means Bad Teaching â€Å"Colleges have spent millions on â€Å"smart classrooms† packed with the latest gadgets to assist teaching†¦But colleges have spent far less time and money giving professors the skills to use even the simplest technology effectively† (Young). Colleges and schools can spend as much money as they want for state of the art classes, but if you don’t have an instructor that knows how to use that technology available it just becomes a waste of money. Al so, it becomes the students that suffer the most. In today’s world, technology is going to be improving all the time.No matter what schools are going to be updating the technology available for students. Now, it is important for the libraries to be up to date with the computers available because that is a useful are for students to help complete work when they want too. But at some point, we must put up the stop sign with how much technology is integrated in the classroom. Sixty minutes without a computer screen in front of you is not going to kill us. But instead could help us. While we do need technology in our everyday lives, we do not need excessive amounts in our classrooms.