Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Change Yourself to Change Your World

CHANGE YOURSELF, TO CHANGE YOUR WORLD Often times I hear people say â€Å"if I am in his position or status, I will do better and change things for good†. This statement is made when people feel that their boss (es), employers, leaders and government officials are not performing or living up to expectation. They expect so much from these people and get less than they thought or envisaged. There is this axiom that says â€Å"you cannot give or offer something that you don’t have†.The gross indiscipline, misconduct, under-development or deficiency of any Nation or sphere of human endeavour is a sum total or directly proportional to the gross indiscipline, misconduct, under-development and deficiency of respective individuals in the Nation or sphere of human endeavour. People want to change things for good even when they are not changed themselves. How can you change, influence, or make impact in your world when you are not changed, influenced and impacted on your i nside?Everybody is crying for change, transformation and development when they are not changed, transformed and developed. How do you expect your leaders and bosses to help you and solve your problems when they themselves cannot help themselves and even solve their personal problems? A good reason is that majority of them have not developed the full mind potential to function effectively in that capacity.If you truly, sincerely, intentionally and passionately want to change and influence your world, you must truly, sincerely, intentionally and passionately desire to change your complete state (i. e. body, spirit and soul). How can you bring about growth and development to your world or the Nation, when you have not/ are not bringing about growth and development to yourself? The attitude and character you display or portray now will be synonymous with your character and attitude when you finally become a leader in any capacity or field (i. . , in Academics, Politics, Business, Minist ry, Sports, Entertainment, Tourism, Security, Arts and Culture). The truth is, and still remains that, if you don’t change yourself positively, you cannot change your world positively. In actual sense, you may even end up becoming worst than your Predecessors or perform badly than they did in their time. Leadership is all about changing and influencing people positively!I’m very much enlightened and aware that you have great future career aspirations and ambitions; but you’ve got to tell yourself the truth and ask yourself these simple but all important questions â€Å"are the things I am doing presently in consonance with my dreams, visions and aspirations in life? â€Å"Will I be able to make positive change in my world in 10 to 20 years from now, in cross examination with the things I am doing now? † â€Å"What skills, abilities and potentials do I have that will give me an added advantage over my predecessors and leaders†?Everybody is complain ing about bad roads; uncompleted or abandoned capital projects; poor regulation and maintenance of electricity; fraudsters invading our financial and economic sectors amassing wealth for themselves, detrimental to the growth of the people; fallen standard of our educational systems; insecurity in the Nation; poor sanitary conditions; poor response to capital projects from leaders; poor conditions of service for both public and private workers; moral decadence, gross indiscipline, misconduct and indecent dressing amongst the youth; projects completed with sub-standard and inferior materials and equipment; high rate of unemployment; poor remunerative service and fringe benefit for workers; poor standard of living of citizens, and others too numerous to mention: but only very few individuals are willing and ready to pay the prize; and really able to bring about positive change when they are elected or appointed into the different offices. If you are a Student or pupil, your level of su ccess in future will be a product or a reflection of your level of seriousness in your studies now.Why not suffer or bear the pain now to enjoy tomorrow, instead of playing prank and â€Å"enjoying† now to suffer or bear the pain tomorrow? Always have it in your conscious mind that, Success and Excellence come with a prize; you either pay now and play later or play now and pay later: either way, you must pay! Always endeavour to change yourself in order to change your world when the time comes. Ask yourself â€Å"will I do better than my Councilor; Local Government Chairman; Ministers and Commissioners in different capacities; Senators; Governors and even the President, if I am elected or appointed into their position(s)? † â€Å"Not until you are able to change yourself, you will not/may not be able to change your world†This is a clarion call for every individual irrespective of age, status, colour, family background and disposition to take responsibility in ch anging themselves before they think or talk about changing their world. Let’s all stop the pretence! Let’s all start building and developing our character from where we are. Let’s stop complaining of poor sanitation or environmental hazard when we are the ones throwing dirt on the streets and our environment. Let’s stop disobeying traffic lights and signals in order to avoid accident. Let’s stop crying because of high rate of unemployment, and acquire relevant human capital skills and abilities which will enable us to become self-employed, and become assets to our society/world. Let’s stop criticizing our leaders and bosses unconstructively.Let’s all join hands with the government and other bodies to make our Nation a better, comfortable and convenient place to live in. Let’s all look out for possible means, and harness the resources available in changing ourselves positively, in order to change our world. Let’s all deve lop positive mental attitude about our religious, political, academic, media and entertainment sectors; and take the bull by its horn in bringing about lasting peace, progress, harmony, growth, development and advancement in our world (spheres of endeavour). Remember, you cannot confidently talk about changing your world when you’ve not changed yourself. â€Å"Change yourself to change your world†!

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Creation of suspense is a characteristic feature of narrative in the gothic tradition Essay

‘Creation of suspense is a characteristic feature of narrative in the gothic tradition. Discuss the uses and effectiveness of this device in The Woman in Black and compare them with those that you have noted in one other gothic text. Susan Hill’s ‘The Woman in Black’ is the ultimate ghost story which relies on the use of suspense, intensity, atmosphere and drama, interwoven in a plot full of intrigue which keeps the reader eager with anticipation. Susan Hill has created a chilling novel which translates into a magnificently eerie and genuinely distressing read. Although everpresent, suspense is cleverly built slowly throughout to create a mounting atmosphere. Furthermore, atmosphere is built through place, strong narrative and dialogue. Hill’s calculated timing of events is also crucial in creating the mood of anxiety. The first hint of atmosphere building up was when Mr Kidd meets Mr Bentley for the job of sorting out Mrs Drablow’s papers. From the start of the dialogue between Arthur Kidd and Mr Bentley it is obvious that the latter is intent on seeing how much Mr Kidd knows about Eel Marsh House. There are many short questions, avoiding the reader’s attention. Then Mr. Kidd asks â€Å"Children?†, this demonstrates how Susan Hill spans the question out to draw the reader’s attention, and it is clear Mr Bentley most probably knows the answer but is reluctant to tell it. This hints that there might be something wrong or odd here. This withheld information is almost characteristic of the whole foundations of Dracula as character fail to share vital information with eachother which lead to fatal consequences. This technique is very powerful in stirring up emotions as the reader begins to almost urge the characters to share the information which they withold. In the passage from ‘Across The Causeway’, Kipps sees the Woman in Black for the second time however this time, she has a look of pure malevolence and evil on her face. Kipps begins to question whether the hatred is directed at himslef however he is soon afraid and eventually angry. Susan Hill builds up tension and suspense in this extract by controlling the pace, this gives the extract the required tension since events seem to go by slowly and gradually build to their climax. This can be linked back to Dracula as events surrounding Lucy and her dramatic death are steadily explained and her death comes a long time after her first encounter with Dracula. General events in Dracula can also be linked back to Susan Hill’s slow paced build up as Mina tries to put together the pieces of the puzzle throughout while characters often are shown to be naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve in there thinking and do not come to obvious conclusions so as to be able to sustain the tension of the novel. Even after Kipps has emotionally broken and he is being comforted by Spider, Kipps can still hear the wailing child across the marshes, This gives the reader an image of unrelenting pain and haunting which only succeeds in adding to the suspense and tension. This can also be clearly seen within Bram Stoker’s Dracula as Dracula’s attack on the individuals does not result in a sudden death or transformation but rather begins the cycle which is only completed later in the novel as Lucy is attacked multiple times until she is beyond the point of saving. The Woman in Black by Susan Hill, is indeed a successful ghost story, but what makes it so, is not violence, gore, or even bloodshed; It is the underlying, psychological fear of the unknown, which almost every person possess. From right at the beginning when Arthur Kipps strangely shows his anger in a sudden occurrence which is not made clear as to the reasons why, the reader is asked to try and anticipate consequently creating suspense. Such a theme can be seen Bram Stoker’s Dracula frequently particularly during the early stages of the novel as Harker visits the count. During these stages it is not made clear the full extent of the count’s objectives and the reader is only given slight hints through the characters viewpoint so that they are just as helpless as Harker. In Conclusion, Susan Hill has used a number of various techniques to invoke a sense of suspense into her novel. With these techniques she has created an immense atmosphere which is the foundation towards her chilling novel.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Structure of the Nucleus, Endoplasmic Reticulum, Ribosomes, Assignment

Structure of the Nucleus, Endoplasmic Reticulum, Ribosomes, Mitochondria, Golgi Dody, and Lysosomes - Assignment Example The main function of the cell is to control the expression of proteins (as directed by DNA and RNA). The nucleus itself is a membrane-bound organelle, which means that it is slightly separated by a thin membrane from the rest of the cell components (Tortora & Derrickson, 2008). However, this poses a challenge as messages need to be carried from the enclosed DNA found in chromosomes to the rest of the cell, which is why there are nuclear pores to allow the passage of water-soluble molecules (Campbell & Reece, 2005). The chromosomes themselves are mostly found tightly-packed as chromatin (except during replication), and this function allows the huge amount of human DNA to be contained within each cell (Campbell & Reece, 2005). The structure of these chromosomes changes throughout the cell cycle, particularly relating to cell division. During mitosis or meiosis (cell division), chromatin structures become more condensed and as a result of this change in structure, transcription stops. D uring mitosis, structures known as microtubules form, anchoring the chromatid to the cell wall. This attachment is what allows the cell to divide, splitting sister chromatids in two to form two haploid daughter cells (Campbell & Reece, 2005).... The ER itself is generally split into two sections, known as the rough endoplasmic reticulum and the smooth. The rough ER plays a part in the synthesis of proteins, which is why its surface is covered in ribosomes involved in the process (Tortora & Derrickson, 2008). The ribosomes themselves are bound to the rough ER on a transitory basis, depending on the signal from the nucleus (Tortora & Derrickson, 2008). In fact, the reason that the rough ER is so-called is because the fact that it is studded with these ribosomes makes it look rough under an electron microscope (Tortora & Derrickson, 2008). The ribosomes themselves only bind to the rough ER as required by the cell, and are associated with the initialization of protein-synthesis for part of a secretory pathway (Tortora & Derrickson, 2008). The smooth ER is involved in the synthesis of lipids required by the cell. It is the increased surface area created by the smooth ER that allows the action of enzymes involved in lipid and ster oid synthesis. Each part of the ER thus has a distinct function in regulating cell behavior. Ribosomes Ribosomes are found within all living cells and are primarily involved in protein synthesis, also known as translation (Tortora & Derrickson, 2008). To do this, the ribosomes link together amino acids (found within the cell) to a template specified from messenger RNA (mRNA). This message, in turn, has come from the DNA code found within the nucleus. There are two subunits which comprise a ribosome; the small unit which reads the mRNA template, and the larger unit which anchors small amino acid units together to create a larger, fully formed protein (Campbell & Reece, 2005).

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Research Paper on Exploring Advertising's Impact on Our Society

On Exploring Advertising's Impact on Our Society - Research Paper Example Moreover with the launch of face book and Twitter, the communication process has become more influencing than ever. The Advertising media’s influence on children has created a new social type in the society. Everywhere in the world, the largest audience of television is the children in young age group. â€Å"Children are a captive audience: The average American child watches an estimate between 25,000 to 40,000 television commercials per year. In the UK, it is about 10,000†.The Advertisers employ children who are popular in their advertisements in order to catch young people’s attention .The aim of advertisers is to develop a brand loyalty with the children as they can persuade the parents to buy their products .The brand loyalty once created with a child will remain throughout their lives. According to (O’reilly, pg.248)â€Å" Corporations spend approximately $ 17 billion each year for marketing to children†. The main reason for advertiser’s to target children is because of the influence they have on their father and mother. The Current Phenomenon of Advertising The concept of advertising emerged as a process to influence the behavior and attitudes of a person in favor of the products of a company. Nowadays, we can find advertisement in every place we come in contact with. The main point of channelizing advertisements is newspapers, television channels, internet and radio. The main objective of advertising is to create desire and interest in targeted people. Today the advertising which appear on internet and television are much shorter but extremely attention seeking. As per (Janoschka ,pg.12)â€Å" Today advertising must employ a variety of strategies in reactions to new conditions of communications, diversified markets and customers. Today the market is customer – oriented and advertisement is the sole method by which products enter the market. Now it is a normal practice to employ various gimmicks in adverti sement to widen the customer market and beat competition. At present the media is overloaded with information and people are suffocated with product knowledge. The overload of information means there is excess of information to be interpreted and processed .The information released by the advertising media is so wide- ranging and comprehensive that it becomes difficult for people to retrieve it.Morever, the emergence of internet has made advertising so rampant that it is difficult to ignore or avoid it. Due to increase in market segmentation the variety of products launched and marketed is enormous. The advertising instruments used to market products also get diversified and the primary source of advertisement is newspaper, then radio, television and internet. The Primary Target of Advertising At present, the advertising media is not targeted towards adults but on children who are aged 12 and under. The advertisers have discovered a huge potential in children and formulate much of t heir advertising strategies keeping them in mind. This surge in children – oriented marketing developed a couple of decades ago and now turned into a massive industry. The main reason behind it is that the children molded as a potential customer would later be loyal to the product continuously. It is easy for an advertiser to establish brand

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Research Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Research Paper - Essay Example The cycle of the livestock forms the key determinant of pastoralists’ daily and seasonal lives (Nowak & Laird, 2010). Among the Zulu and some other pastoral cultures, agriculture forms a supplement to developing animal products (Nowak & Laird, 2010). However, Gluckman (1963, p.81), argues that although â€Å"the Zulu, Tswana, Ankoke, Kavirondo, and Nuer are grouped as pastoral-agriculturalists†, complex patterns emerge from an interweaving of their ecological setting, the distribution of their settlements, division of labor, and other factors that form their culture. The Zulu utilise their animals not only for their own subsistence, but also in social and ritual occasions. Similar to the Masai of Kenya, although there is emphasis on music, dancing, elaborate beadwork, and oral narratives, there is little significance for the visual arts in the Zulu culture (Hatcher, 1999). Livestock represent wealth and prestige; they are exchanged as a part of marital gift-giving, and are used for settling disputes, as well as for ceremonial sacrifices. The community develops close emotional attachments to their livestock, and rarely slaughter their animals for food. Due to a lack of storage facilities and preservation techniques, pastoralists such as the Zulu have a reciporcal system of distributing the animals they butcher to other members of the group for immediate consumption (Nowak & Laird, 2010). Pastoralism as the primary mode of subsistence impacts several dimensions of cultural behavior among the Zulus. Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the pastoral mode of subsistence impacts different aspects of the cultural behavior of the Zulu tribe of Africa. In this context, their beliefs and values, gender relations, and political organization will be examined. Beliefs and Values of the Zulu Tribe The ancestor cult of the Zulus is based on the lineage and kinship system distinguishing Zulu life. Ritual sacrifices form an inherent pa rt of ceremonial rites among the tribe. Lambert (1993) attributes sacrifice to its origins in the ritualisation of the palaeolithic hunt. The contradictory features regarding people deeply attached to their animals is that there is no trace of guilt or anxiety at ritual killings among the Zulus. The author states that in both Zulu as well as ancient Greek sacrifices, misleading emotional factors are imbued, which may actually be absent from individual sacrifices. Hence, â€Å"explanations offered in terms of origins or formative antecedents are fraught with speculative problems and throw no light on the motivation for sacrifice† (Lambert, 1993, p.293) of livestock. The African cosmological understanding of life, death, and creation include the relationship of humankind with nature and the natural phenomena as their core issues (Monteiro-Ferreira, 2005). According to Asante (1998, p.89), â€Å"the organizing principle of human society, the creative spirit of phenomena, and th e eternal order of the universe† is Ma’at, which depicted the basic principle of creation as the equilibrium of opposites, the universe being regulated by the force of the perfectly established energy. Through the tradition of the oral narrative passed on from one generation to the next, these cosmological and ethical concepts were recreated to symbolize the spirit of the ancestors, which were considered very significant by the Zulus. Thus, Unkulunkulu is the ancient concept of a

Questions on Hans Selye's Stress Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Questions on Hans Selye's Stress Theory - Essay Example If situations are supposed by the human being as traumatic, then this assessment will set in action a chain of stress-impacts mechanisms comprised of integrated behavioral and physiological, hard work to get used to the environmental hassle (Van, 2004). Stress is the unpleasant response people have to extreme pressures or other types of challenge located on them. There is an apparent dissimilarity between stress, which can generate a buzz and be an inspiring issue, and stress, which can happen when this stress becomes extreme (Unamaka, 1995). Causes of stress According to Hans Selye's Stress Theory, workplace stress is tough to pact with at the optimum of era, but when joblessness is elevated, redundancies are ordinary and struggle for promotions is so ferocious it’s terrifying, workplace stress steps go all the way through the roof. The difficulty with workplace stress is that it is habitually tough to recognize other than a universal emotion of stressful life at work (Taffinder, 2006). Being Overworked This is possibly the most clear of all the stress factors. If one has too a good deal work to do, scarce time to do it in, and awkward stress on one to meet those deadlines, yet the most competent worker is going to sense the intensity. Being Underworked Not common as a clear stress feature, but in the existing situation where redundancies are still being completed, no one needs to be viewed to be shaking their thumbs and being paid to do zilch on the organization moment. This is particularly solid if you have no jurisdiction over your workflow (Stankard, 2002). Job Security Situations have been hazy for more than 50 years and job safety does not really survive any longer. Although, in an economic recession when workers are laid off and hiring are not, the stress of not getting job safety can be gravely overstated. Job Succession There is nobody who wishes to linger constant position, on equal salary for an unlimited time, however, numerous skills are at the present stifled by bazaar in which there exist no employment or endorsement is being completed. Even though, you might have a occupation, not being capable to obtain to your subsequently phase can make you deem bored and fascinated, which can be stressful. The Incorrect Job When one discovers that he is in an occupation that you have inadequate skills to deal with, you will feel like one who is plummeting from the start.   When you cannot ask for guidance since one does not desire to confess one is not the right candidate for the job the stress increases to open up (Ralph, 1981). Guilt Traditions The unlucky result of a being short of job safety is that no one needs to attach their head above the ramparts and confess to mistakes in a situation that it can cost them their work. Unluckily, in this type of traditions, if one cannot confess to mistakes that one is improbable to evolution and be trained. In addition, when it comes to indicative the reason of issues that have arisen can create an ambiance of terror and wariness that is extremely stressful to job in everyday situations. Bad Management Being deficient in durable and successful organization can make a team wandering and persons in a situation of muddle puzzlement that is awfully stressful. On the contrary, over-management and small administration are claustrophobically stressful for personnel and put down no space for originality or enlargement. Harassment One might believe that when you leave suddenly the playing field bullying becomes a thing of the

Friday, July 26, 2019

Transfer and Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Transfer and Studies - Essay Example I would be grateful to you if you would take my case on humanitarian grounds and take the necessary steps to sanction the transfer to a school at California as soon as possible. The situation that calls for a transfer is as follows. I could pursue my studies at the school in Seattle only till the third semester because I was expecting my child during that period. I finished the third semester while I was expecting the child. My family and the father of my child work and live in California. This made it difficult for me to attend the school, as I had to fly back and forth from southern California and Seattle on weekend all through my third semester. I had to take a year off from school afterward, as I gave birth to my child. As I continue to stay with my family at California, it puts me in a position to resume the pattern of flying back and forth between southern California and Seattle. This may not be an ideal situation for me and my infant. As a first generation American, I need to follow the family values in our culture that demands a situation where the child grows up among both the paternal and maternal relatives. The father of my child works at Southern California, and if I continue my studies at Seattle, it would mean that the family is separated. Moreover, the financial burden will be much heavier for us to handle, since I will have to use the flight more frequently. I am the first in my family to attend law school, and I realize the significance of my studies and am very keen on completing the course. Therefore, I would like to get a transfer to a school in California, where I can pursue my studies diligently, as it would not create any difficulty for me as a mother and a student. I hope you will try to understand my situation and necessitate a transfer as per my request. My grades were affected during the third semester when I had to travel a lot for attending the classes.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I put before you the humble request to consider my case on humanitarian grounds, as the decision to have a child at this stage was unavoidable due to some health reasons. At the same time, I am keen on pursuing my studies in the best way poss ible and look forward to developing a good career in law. I hope you will consider this matter seriously and comprehend the good intention and dedication that prompts me to request a transfer to a school in California.  

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Economic Distribution in the U.S. ,Why The Rich get richer Term Paper

Economic Distribution in the U.S. ,Why The Rich get richer - Term Paper Example This brings us to the basic question, and incidentally the title of this essay, why the rich get Richer? This paper strives to offer a basic understanding of the economic distribution of income and wealth in America and the reasons for such discrepancies, which further widen the gap between the rich and the poor, making the rich – richer in the process and at the same time, pushing the poor towards stark poverty. During the early 1980s era, several economists as well as researchers initiated reports concerning the average wages of American workers, and pointed out the fact that their wages were stagnant ever since the early 1970s and that the allocation of their earnings was, in fact, becoming more and more unequal, thereby widening the gap between the rich and the poor. Several explanations and suggestions were offered for such an occurrence. However one of the most significant of them was that the reason behind such a turn of events was the unemployment reallocation in the industrial composition of the country or the deindustrialization of the United States away from manufacturing industries to service oriented ones. It was believed that the average earnings of the workers in the service industry were relatively lower than that in the manufacturing industry. The repercussion of such a transformation with respect to the breadwinners belonging to the ‘middle – class’ hous eholds was evident, and the news of the steadily deteriorating American middle class, made headlines across the nation creating a great furore. Further apprehensions over mounting income disparity surfaced in the mid - 1980s with the publication of several books, reports and researches on the topic, which fuelled the anxiety that Americans were now facing an escalating disproportion of outlooks in accomplishing a stable middle class existence. The Economist stated that the gap between the rich and the poor is larger in the United States as

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Air and sea gas exchange in coastal zones Research Paper

Air and sea gas exchange in coastal zones - Research Paper Example There are inherent challenges in obtaining homogeneous data for coastal waters making the data available to be fully conclusive since it is difficult to accurately quantify the gas transfer velocity as, it is influenced by a wide range of environmental variables, most of which are strongly interlinked. Formal mathematical descriptions are being developed but they are not yet definitive. Gases are present in our atmosphere as well as in oceans. These gases get mixed with one another as an exchange takes place between the two mediums regarding the gases present in them. Our atmosphere contains a number of gases such as nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and many other gases (Tokoro, et al 2007). Likewise, the oceans also contain a number of different gases that get emitted into the air. Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere that is naturally created as well as fabricated because of man’s effort enters the seawaters and the oceans pay no hindrance in accepting the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (Tokoro, et al 2007). Just as carbon dioxide from the atmosphere enters the water of the oceans, similarly, the gases from oceans such as methyl iodide and dimethyl sulphide enter the atmosphere and affects the earth’s atmosphere (Tokoro, et al 2007). There are many factors that affect the exchange the gases between seawater and atmosphere such as wind speed and temperature (ABE, et al 2010). Speed and temperature play a crucial role in affecting the exchange of gases as it is due to these factors that the process of gas exchange between seawater and air gets started and even gets faster or lower. Coastal zones are important sites to notice the exchange of gases between atmosphere and seawater. A descriptive account of air and sea gas exchange in the coastal zones can be found in this paper, as the purpose of this paper is to inform about this exchange. Chemical oceanography encompasses both inorganic and organic chemistry and it involves the

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Dictatorships in the World Today Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Dictatorships in the World Today - Term Paper Example This has resulted in a global demand for capitalism, democracy, and individual rights. The 2010 and 2011 protests in the Middle East and North Africa corroborate this observation to the extent that those uprisings were motivated by, and carried out on behalf of, an opposition to dictatorial rule. Even one of the last few true dictatorships in the world, which is the reign of Muammar Al-Gaddafi, is under attack right now from American-supported rebels in the Libyan Civil War. This wave of change means that while dictatorships remain in the world in a few particular places, it seems that in only a decade the world may not have the problems associated with dictatorial rule. A poignant example of dictatorship in today’s world is the hereditary succession of Kim Il-Sung (â€Å"the Great Leader†) and Kim Jong-Il of North Korea (â€Å"the Dear Leader†). Kim Jong-Il represents dictatorship because of the cult of personality that he attracts from the citizens of North Kor ea. As opposed to modern democracies, which tend to rely on notions of politicians as pragmatic champions of the people, a cult of personality attracts an idealized or heroic public imagery to an individual. That is, instead of merely arguing for policies conducive to a better life for average citizens, a leader like Kim Il-Sung or Kim Jong-Il is thought to be directly responsible for a country’s success and he does this through absolute authority. Kim Jong-Il in particular is thought of having god-like powers, control of magic, and the ability to perform feats that no other men can (Kang & Rigoulot, 2005). In addition, nationwide celebrations are held for his birthdays. The motivations behind these celebrations are partly that the citizens of North Korean truly respect him, or that they fear punishment for not partaking (Mansourov, 2007). In this manner, the regime of North Korea truly represents a modern dictatorship. Like North Korea, the country of Libya is led by a dicta tor who commands instant respect from his people. Colonel Muammar Al-Gaddafi, who is the unofficial leader of the Libyan government, operates under the title of â€Å"Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution†, which refers to the late 1960s Socialist coup d’etat that Al-Gaddafi led. In many ways, Al-Gaddafi fits the mold of a 20th century dictator. Today, his regime is defined by condemnable acts, including the outlawing of dissent, removal of foreign languages from schools, censoring of the press, central planning of the economy, assassinations of foreign leaders abroad, the creation of weapons of mass destruction program, and sponsorship of the Lockerbie bombing incident (BBC, 2009). Unlike the North Korean regime, the Libyan government led by Al-Gaddafi has been challenged in the Libyan Civil War and as of 2011, the government controls only half of the country due to resistance from the uprising. Despite Al-Gaddafi’s explicitly and well-known dictatorial style, he has forged connections with a broad base of European and Asian powers to boost the status of Libya in the world. For instance, he brokered deals with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007 and met with Russian leaders in 2008 to discuss the supply of weapons to Libya (Reuters, 2008). In addition, the Chinese government has extensive economic interest tied with Libya with regard to the growing demand for oil in East Asia (Ford,

Monday, July 22, 2019

Tok Persuasion Essay Example for Free

Tok Persuasion Essay 1. Persuasion through images.(IV) Images are often not appealing to reason, but to emotions. This is not to say that a lot of thought does not go into graphical expression, but that the images are all ways aimed at moving the viewer visually. For example a form of visual theatre, burlesque will often attack something by representing it so as to look inane. In this case there is an interpreting process going on, but the audience must necessarily have an emotional response to what they see. Expression through images may have some interpreting process that the audience must make, but the final appeal will rely on our emotions. Another good example is political cartoons. Because political cartoons are able to make some aspect of an event look inane, they appeal to the audiences emotions so that they will adopt a certain political view. In this it relies on the audiences reason to interpret the relationship and consequences represented in the cartoon, but the final result it aims for is a emotional response. But some photos will appeal only to are straight visceral response. For example, the photos asking for charity will usually feature children, which we will naturally feel pity for. In this case the photograph is appealing straight to our pity and natural sympathy towards children. In other cases the appeal may be anger. And beyond that this emotion is often manipulated through association. For example there are, in my opinion, a bit too many images portraying Obama aside Stalin, or other prominent figures in the USSR. This is not reason, but an attempt to stir up a visceral response of hatred and distrust. 2.Persuasion through language. Language is our prime source of communication. We our so adept at communicating things through language that we may be able to change the meaning something has through the slightest change in words. This is because humans create connotations of words that can sometimes drift apart from people’s reaction towards the literal meaning of the word. In other words, people build an emotional reaction towards the words themselves. Using this, people that have the intention of manipulating other’s emotions may do so, through charging their language with words that will stir emotions. For example, when making a moving speech, people will often use phrases such as â€Å" our liberty and freedom† , â€Å"a mans right†. Because these words are  positively charged. On the converse of that, people may charge their language very negatively, in order to associate their opponent with those negative reactions. For example, when you compare someone to Hitler, that is usually not an appeal to reason, but a very strong statement associating the opponent with something that is abominated. The argument made through negative association may take the form of logic, ie a comparison, but is not an appeal to logic but to emotion. In other cases governments may introduce neutrally charged words to take the stead of the words that people appall. For example the government will call killing people neutralizing, because the word â€Å"kill† is completely saturated with the social abhorrence of murder. In other cases people may use language in a lawyerly fashion to make something sound like something without exactly saying such a thing. For example when a Politician represents his opponent he may often use ambiguous language which doesn’t quite state what is referred to, but makes the listener assume a particular thing, like when people talk of president Obama’s â€Å"dubious past† people are let to assume anything they want from him being an immigrant to him being involved in crime, while the speaker does not have to commit himself to making an explicit accusation. Sometimes assumptions people make based on language can be used to trick them in to assuming you’re innocents. For example if someone was to borrow a gun from a friend to kill another man, and that someone is asked if he killed a man, that someone may respond â€Å"I don’t even own a gun†. A common term for this is equivocation. The man is not telling a lie, but stating a fact in a very misleading way. 3 Macbeth is full of the milk of human kindness = What is full of the milk of human kindness is Macbeth. For a mortal to get all our homework done is as hard as a camel going through the eye of a needle.=Fot a camel to go through an eye of a needle is as hard as a mortal getting all of our homework done. 4. What are 5 emotional appeals? Appeals to emotions are made everyday and it is so pervasive that we are unaware of how people use our emotions to persuade us to act in a certain way. For example the charity campaigns that want to cajole us into helping the needy will necessarily use emotional appeals. These appeals maybe generally categorized into two types, the appeals to empathy, or the appeals to our concerns about self-identity. In the example of charity campaigns  there are often these two kinds of manipulation acting together. First of all the view will feel empathy for the starving children. Children are used because it is human nature to feel more compassion towards children. These ads are appealing to pity to try to get us to support their cause. And some will also use words which will attempt to guilt us into supporting the cause with campaigns that will call into question our morality with captions such as â€Å"would this happen in your country?†. Through this we are brought to think that not supporting this cause would contradict our sense of ethics. In this case the manipulation uses our concern over our self-image as moral people. The beauty industry is infamous for manipulations of our concern with self-image. In this case they will often make woman feel that their self worth is only in their appearance and that they must use products to achieve this. That is why the models displaying the products are impossibly beautiful regardless of the product, and they are further airbrushed to complete the unachievable image of perfection. These airbrushed models make woman feel inadequate as they are, and lead them to desperately try these products in attempt to assuage their feeling lack of confidence. In other cases they may use our alliance to a particular cause to make us do things. This takes advantage of our categorical way of thinking. For example political parties may appeal to our patriotism to justify wars. In fact in most wars it is claimed that their war is a defensive war to protect their people. When Japan invaded further north in China they said that the advancement of their army line was to protect their area from the Russians. This kind of concern for identity is also used to manipulate us because this causes us to be competitive.. Our competitive drive is manipulated in some campeigns, for example the NIS school pet bottle cap drive in order to make us collect more caps. These campaigns will place emphasis on what we did comparatively to others rather than letting us be content with the fact that we did the thing. 5.  I think this means that his accomplishments were capable because of the foundation that his predecessors created for him. I think that this is true, and that the construction of a collective of knowledge greatly facilitates scientific advancements. We can not give credit for the invention of computers to only one man, because the invention was only made possible by  all the men who helped advance the sciences hitherto. The collective of knowledge and the sharing of it is essential to the advancement of science, as we can see in the spurt of technological progress which came with globalization, or the stagnation of advancements in countries where the common people were illiterate. Paradigms are essential to scientific pursuit. 6.  A problematic premises are premises that are actually mere assumptions. These can edge their way into arguments without us noticing it because the premises are often not put under scrutiny. A statement made on a false premise will be true only if the premises are correct. Or in cases of circular argument the premise itself may be the conclusion, hence not having a premise even though it takes a form of an argument with reason. For example the argument â€Å"Teachers should use the shared NIS calendar when assigning work because its what they should do.† Is a completely absurd argument because the premise that supports the argument is the same as the proposition. Sometimes premises that don’t actually validate the claim may be used. For example the statement â€Å"you should be thankful for what you have because kids are starving in Africa.† In this there is no strong logical connection between the premises and the statement that we should not want to improve our situation. 7.  In this it is implied that the student was cheating before. Further more it is a satire against the support of competitive ethos in which the unscrupulous get ahead, and yet the same time condemning these amoralities. 8.  One is a generalization that targets a group. These generalizations will assume that an individual is a certain way because there is a certain stereotype of his group. For example one may think that all African-Americans like chicken. These types of stereotypes are particularly troublesome because people can have a way of only observing cases that prove the stereotype right. Other than that there are maxims that people create and use to assume something based on another thing that the person did do. For example if the statement â€Å"evil people don’t finish their homework† was  to be taken as a maxim then one might assume that a person who didn’t finish their homework is evil. Maxims necessarily do not encompass all people in all circumstances. And it is vary likely that a student could not finish the work because of her disregard of time, rather than being evil. Although it is also very likely that the student is deliberately trying to sabotage the class by getting to sleep before 3am. Then there are generalizations that oversimplify a persons belief. For example some people may attack left wingers for wanting a communist nation. Although Communists and the democratic party may both be further left than the republican party the beliefs of members in the democratic party vary greatly, and should not be summarized by terms such as â€Å"communist†, which would be making unwarranted associations. 9.  One area of study in which grayscale may be seen is Historiography. For example historians may take the same data, but view it under a completely different light. In academia today when all scholars have access to the same information, a liberal historian will take all of the incriminating evidence to support his thesis that Stalin was, or had close affiliations to Satan, whereas a revisionist would take almost the same evidence to make a conclusion that, I quote â€Å"Stalin liked children†. This may affect our plane judgments even though there are more ways of viewing things. For example one may say that the novel â€Å"fifty shades of gray† is completely vapid and shallow, whereas another may find deep meaning in it. Both are entitled to their own opinions, but the fact is that neither can be said to be the truth while both views are valid. It is not something with only one side to it, and the reader has the liberty to form their own interpretations. This can also be seen in religions. Religions take the same human experience of living and interpret it in completely different ways. One religion may see us as being born sinners in need of redemption, whereas another religion may view life as being an existence in which we try to become closer to god, and some people may think life is meaningless, and some may take a solipsistic view of humans. These are all valid, but the fact is that there is only one human existence, and these are different ways of interpreting it. It would be wrong to completely reject views different from that of your own. 10  One kind flawed clause is when the clause does not logical contribute to the conclusion, but makes the conclusion seem self evident. For example if I were to insert the word â€Å"obviously† into a statement before a clause it will give the assertion false credibility. The two sentences â€Å"If he committed a crime he is evil† and â€Å"If he committed a crime obviously he is evil† are an example of this. The clause â€Å"obviously† imputes that it is self evident, therefore leading the reader to accept the statement without scrutiny. Another kind could be when a clause is used to make an assertion of a causal relationship where there is none. For example in the sentence â€Å"I have periorbital dark circles because I have three assignments and four tests crammed into two days.† Although it is absolutely bizarre to think that sleep deprivation could possibly have any relation with dark circles under a student’s eyes, this sentence imputes that there is a causal relationship between black circles, sleep deprivation and the amount of work a student has. 11  Christ Hedges mainly believes that countries use the idea of patriotism to go to war. He believes that we glorify war by creating grand narratives. In this I think he is referring to the rationales countries provide. For example the â€Å"war against terror† has a name that makes it seam like they are a force of justice fighting evil, whereas in actuality they themselves are amoral, as they are committing mass carnage. 12  Although it is a hard distinction and there are many things that sit in the cross section between these two, if I were to make a clear differentiation I would say that propaganda necessarily persuades people to act in a certain way by controlling and taking away their choice of what information they have access to. Where as the term persuasion simply means to use any method to manipulate some one’s will.

Aboriginal Civil Rights Movement Essay Example for Free

Aboriginal Civil Rights Movement Essay 1. Why did four Indigenous activists erect a beach umbrella on the lawns of Old Parliament House? On Australia Day in 1972, Indigenous activists erected a beach umbrella on the lawns outside of Old Parliament House. They set this up to start a protest; they placed a sign that said â€Å"Embassy† to represent a displaced nation. The McMahon Liberal Government made a statement in which land rights were rejected in favour of 50-year leases to Aboriginal communities, the activists were against this and this was the reason that this protest started. The activists were repeatedly asked when the protest would end and they said that they would stay until Aboriginal Australians had land rights, which could be forever. 2. Is source 2 a primary or secondary source? Why?  Source 2 is a secondary source because it is not the original photo that was taken at that time. This photo would have been edited, copied and scanned so that it could be used for website and for other sources. 3. What sort of information can a photograph give historians about a past event? What might a photograph not tell us about the past? A photograph can give historians an idea about what the situation looked like and also the people involved and how they seemed to be feeling. A photograph cannot tell historians exactly how people were feeling because people may seem happy and content in a photograph when they are really going through a horrible time. A photograph also doesn’t show the full story and may only capture a small part of the past event. These points are proven in source 2 because in the photo there are two Aboriginal Australians sitting in a tent with signs saying â€Å"Aboriginal Embassy†, these two people seem quite relaxed and that’s how people that saw the photo would think they were feeling. Because of this reason you know that it doesn’t capture the full story as these people were protesting for land rights and the Government wanted them to be removed. These protesters also faced a lot of violence and you wouldn’t have known that from just this one source. 4. Read source 3. How does the government plan to respond to the Aboriginal Embassy? When the government realized what the Aboriginal protesters were doing they knew that they had to be removed because they were trespassing on Government land. They decided that that action should be taken to remove the campers which were on the lawn; it was put into place that it would be done with reasonable notice and tactfully with the least disturbance. * 5. Look at source 4. Do you think the cartoonist is critical of the Government or the Aboriginals? What other groups are represented in the cartoon? I think the cartoonist is critical of the Government because the writing under the cartoon is being said by the Aboriginals. In the cartoon it is stating that the white settlers have come to Australia and have taken over from the Aboriginal Australians and are taking away the right that the Aboriginals had. The people that are represented in this cartoon are the Aboriginals and the Politicians. I think the fighting would involve the Aboriginals and also the white people because you can see the people in the fight and you can see one person biting another’s leg in front of Parliament House. You can also see a sign which says ‘Aboriginal Embassy’ and a tent which may show that they are destroying the camper’s area. In the quote it states that ‘They’ own the place, I think that when they say ‘they’ it is referring to the White Settlers and the politicians. There are also two Aboriginals walking away from the fight looking very casual with the quote â€Å"They get stranded by some travel agency in 1770, then act like the own the place†¦!†. 6. Using all the sources, explain what happened to the Aboriginal Tent embassy in 1972. On Australia day 1972 four Indigenous activists, Michael Anderson, Billy Craigie, Bertie Williams and Tony Koorie erected a beach umbrella on the lawns of Parliament House. These four people set up a protest and placed signs which said ‘Embassy’, this was to represent a displaced nation. The protesters were against the McMahon Liberal Government’s statement in which land rights were rejected to Aboriginal communities. They issued a petition which had a detailed five point plan which addressed that Aboriginals had ownership of existing reserves and settlements. The Aboriginal protesters said that they would stay out on the lawns opposing until the Aboriginal Australians were granted their land rights. After a while the Government realized that they needed to get rid of the Aboriginals that were camped at Old Parliament House. They decided that they would be removed without any disturbance and with plenty of notice. The police pulled down and raided the tent embassy may times and many Aboriginals were arrested. Even through all of this and the support through the nation the embassy said that they would stay until they were granted their land rights.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Business Leadership: Chanda Kochar

Business Leadership: Chanda Kochar If one monitors much of the success that most recognized products have had in the past, one would realize that all these products have relied on proper financial planning to make it happen. It requires a style of its own, a craftsmanship that can aid in distinguishing a product from every other in the market. The role of the leader who manages this is very significant in making it happen. This raises the interest in me to pursue a career leading me to be the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of a company. The sort of leadership skills necessary in making it happen is exhaustive in nature. It covers areas related to sales management, product management, advertisement, promotions, channel management, financial planning and accountancy. With such diversity, a CFOs role is highly challenging from a leaders perspective. He is required to be highly analytical in his day-to-day approach as well as equally creative in planning his finances to lead the company to success. Even those areas which d o not have a direct impact on finance and accounting are in some manner associated with reaching the financial objectives. So, a CFO has to co-ordinate with even such departments including information technology, public affair, HR management, marketing management, production etc. This certainly helps in understanding the challenges that a CFO has to take care of. One can very well understand this in terms of co-ordination that the CFO needs to have with the information technology department. Every promotional ad that is made these days is dependent on the extent to which a company can afford it. As for example the famous zuzu ads given by Vodafone are highly technology dependent. In other words, a CFO, rite from the time he is chosen as one has to deal with the most complex of the challenges of the corporate world. (McGirt, 2007) As far as my personal leadership philosophy is concerned, a leader is required to be a system thinker. He is required to take care of all the people working under him. The entire organization should be worked as centralized and problems related to all need to be solved by a leader. This can be seen from all the leadership dimensions persistent in the company. As far as motivation is concerned, there should be no rivalry on grounds of favouritism in this regard. In terms of operations, a leader has to ensure that there is equal contribution from all. It is only a leader and his ways that can make this a possibility. Also, a leader should ensure that every individual works to the best of his abilities no matter what group or team he is working for. At the same time, he should keep the organizational strategy at the broader level in mind before taking any decisions. Precisely, a leader is supposed to take charge of resolving all brainstorming sessions resulting due to conflicts in views at the organizational level. Also, with strong domain knowledge, a leader is supposed to ensure that any deficiency in terms of talent and expertise in the organization is sorted with immediate effect. Another important parameter here is that a leader is expected to have integrity in his approach. This is because only then would he be able to set an example for his followers. Once the leader is honest in his own ways, his team would work to the best of its capabilities. This is expected to be truer for a job like that of a chief financial officer who has a big team to follow and integrity becomes the most essential part in all the team members. Five Most important leadership skills In the modern world of today, where one can just not afford to lose out on any grounds with the competitors, an organization has to do all that it can so as to turn out most effective. Under the conditions, effective leadership has been found to be the most significant trait to deal with the issues in the internal organization. This has been seen in case of a CFO and is viable for every other designation a person might hold. We are all aware of the fact that an organization can just not do with a half-hearted approach of the members. To make the organizations streamlined, a leader has to play an important role. Leader is a very common personality essential in every area of an organization. Leadership is the inherent quality which has to be possessed in abundance for effective leadership. The most important functionality of leadership is to motivate people to work so as to have enough efficiency from the organizations perspective. This is a characteristic which is common in all the sk ills that a leader carries. Leadership can also be said to be the process by which a leader has the social influence on the people by providing them support and aids who are working for the accomplishment of a common goal. It is leadership that draws maximum contribution from an individual. A leader must possess quality leadership. He could also provide people working for him the social security so that they feel secure under him and should also be able to motivate them for common beliefs. Also, leaders enjoy a number of powers in an organization. With these powers leaders are said to be engaged in power-politics that is using the authority for its own sake. Some authors reflect it to be unethical use of administrative power. Leaders face a lot of problems in an organization in terms of issues related to power and politics. The first one is favoring of own people in organization. Others are related to unethical use of the authority in business process. Looking at the diversities in which a CFO has to deal in, it is highly likely that there would be cases pertaining to power and politics. A leader has to be skilled enough to deal with the same. Considering all these different situations and responsibilities, it is certain that a leader requires having at least some basic skills in him so as to deal with corporate culture effectively. These traits have been listed as follows: (Mason, 2011) Systems Thinker: A leader should take the entire organization into account before addressing any issue. Considering the competition in every field, every corner of an organization needs to be checked of its operations so as to provide the best possible final services or products. This does not only include those areas that are internal to an organization. External interaction has included the outside stakeholders in the organization system as well. A leader has to take care of this region with equal zeal as he does of the internal region of the organization. Every bit of favouritism should be avoided and performance appraisal methods should felicitate only those employees who deserve. (Shead, 2010). From this, perspective, there are eight different traits required in a leader to be a systems thinker. These have been listed as follows: Forward looking: This guides the leader toward successful completion of the project or work. By having an optimistic idea of the entire organization, a leader is expected to raise the level of confidence in the team members as well as in him. Ultimately, it is the overall progress of the organization which is expected by a leader. Honest: This helps in building a non-partial and efficient relationship with both the upper administration and employees hence completing the entire internal organization. Having this approach would set examples for the team members to follow. This would be beneficial in the long run. So, this trait of a systems thinker increases a leaders probability of success. Broad-minded: It is necessary for a leader to be broad-minded so that small matters do not create hurdles during work. At times, a leader is expected to ignore a number of activities in the system for the ultimate benefit of the system. So, ignorance accompanied by patience helps in making this happen. Ambitious: An ambitious leader can handle new and creative projects more willingly. Being a systems thinker, a leader can very well distribute work load amongst the organizational members. This would make it easy for the new projects to be handled. A reason for the same is that only a leader who is a systems thinker would be able to know distinguished qualities of every individual within an organization, thus using his ambitious nature to work it best for overall success. Competent: There is competition in business everywhere. The leader must be competitive in order to survive. Only a systems thinker can afford to be competitive. He would thus know the areas which would serve as core competencies for his team and improve accordingly to beat the competitors in every respect. Caring: A caring leader motivates and manages workforce more efficiently. Here, caring does not only refer to the employees. It also relates to the reputation of the organization. This is where a systems approach comes into play. It is the emotion that a leader develops for the benefit of the organization that takes his team forward. Inspiring: A leader who inspires his workforce better can extract more from his employees. Here again, the mentioned workforce is in totality. The motivation appeals of systems thinker is highly significant in making it happen. Communication Skills: A leader should be able to communicate all his ideas and perspective so that it reaches even the bottom most classification of employees. In fact personal interaction should be most possible so that it is justifiable to all. Communication skills required in a leader can be better understood as follows: Interpersonal Role: This is a role of a leader that provides information to all the other parts of the organization. Also its purpose is to receive feedback from the rest of the organization. The following characteristics come under this: -Figurehead: A leader should create an impression amongst the organizational members so that his orders are respected and he is considered worthy enough to have the final say in organizational issues. This can be developed by giving equal opportunities to all the members. In other words, a leader has to be a common favorite for an organization to succeed. Here, the concept of election can be taken into account for getting the best results. One must understand that it is the job of a leader to create an employee friendly environment. This is much associated with the organizational success. The reason for the same is that once the employees are contented enough, they would be ready to deliver the best possible and hence make the best fortunes for the organization. (Communication skills for the Leader and Manager , 2011) -Liaison: Communication skills are not only handy within the organization. An equitable responsibility exists for maintaining outside relations. A leader is a representative of the organization. The ways in which he deals with the people external to the organization, decides the forward link. Patience as well as intelligence at the same time is extremely fruitful in making this a possibility. None of the functionalities in a system would be required if a leader lacks in this very requisite. Informational Role: This performs a processing on the information provided by the organization and gives it to decisional authority. Its basic functions are: -Monitor: There are numerous activities going around in the vicinity of an organization. A leader is expected to manage them all. But when the strength of an organization is big, monitoring every department would not be possible for a leader. Here team work becomes important. A leader would monitor the different teams in on organization by maintaining terms with the sub level leaders. -Disseminator: Every bit of information that originates from a leader should be disseminated at an appropriate time to all the departments of the organization. This has a number of benefits associated with it. The first is that once the shop floor staff knows the strategies of the organization, they would be able to incline themselves accordingly. Also, they would develop respect for the leader having been given the privilege to have access to vital information about the organization. This ultimately lifts the work spirit of the entire organization. The skill also lies in laying the boundary between the confidential information about the organization and access of the same to the employees. Every level should certainly have authenticity of information. So, a leader has to establish a trade-off between accessibility and security at the same time. This is where the disseminator quality of a leader comes into play. (Forster, 2010) -Spokesperson: This is another important communication skill of a leader. No matter who does the backhand work and the scripting, it is finally the leader who is the spokesperson. So, this trait determines the presentation skills of a leader. It marks the beginning of association of an organization with another. Good Listener: A leader should give equal opportunities to all his team members so that they can contribute to the organizations welfare. A direct interaction of a simple salesman with customers could be very useful for the leader to incorporate changes if required. The following are the common errors made by the leaders at the workplace which results in disturbed organization of employees and colleagues sometimes when a leader is not a good listener. This typically reduces the loyalty of employees towards the leader. It also makes the employees less satisfied by the job environment and thus results in increased job turnover and thus decreased productivity. Feeling that the leader alone is responsible for carrying out the responsibilities of an organization can widen the gap between the employees and the leader. All the skills that have been discussed so far would go for a waste if this persists in a system. If a leader wants everybody to like him, he would probably never be happy with his team. This would result in failure of substantial magnitude. Whenever there is a brainstorming session, there would have to be a solution. It is the job of a leader to be wise enough to get to the correct conclusion, but this is likely to create dissatisfaction for those speaking against the final solution. The leader has to make an attempt to convince the opposition but not waste resources in overdoing it. Until or unless there is no bit of favoritism involved in it, it would be safe for the organization. Excess socializing can also be a hindrance for the organization. It is a challenge for a leader to be able to draw the line between the organization and its external associations. An excess of socialization would reduce the bargaining power of the system. It can have a magnitude of affecting the core competency of the system as well. Also, if a leader is always in a spree to prove that he has the best solution, would go for nullifying his effect. A leader should always appreciate others solutions and only under suitable conditions he should discard others says. Becoming friend of the employees is never a good practice. A leader is supposed to create an interactive atmosphere but here again; there should always be a difference between the leader and the team members. If this does not persist, the team would lose accountability. There would be nobody reporting to the leader and the work discipline would vanish. Hence, here again a leader has to maintain a balance in the work culture. A leader is not supposed to do everything himself. This would increase the probability of dissatisfaction amongst the team members because of work scarcity. Also, a feeling of mistrust starts to exist under the conditions. So, a leader is supposed to trust his team mates and distribute work justifiably between each member. These are the common errors made by the leaders at the workplace which results in disturbed organization of employees and colleagues sometimes. This typically reduces the loyalty of employees towards the leader. Hence, a leader is expected to keep his ears open to every requirement of the organization and as seen in almost all the cases maintain a balance in communication. (POSNER, 2007) Innovation: In this world of today where demand lives on the direction of innovation, a leader is expected to be highly innovative in his means to be able to replace every function as soon as it becomes traditional no matter how quickly it happens. Innovation does not only relate to using new technology in improving the pace at which an organization works. (Forster, 2010) In fact every dimension of the system requires innovation. If one considers the human resource system for example, it would need innovation in its management. In the recent days, there used to trade unions in every organization. Today there is no room for such trade unions. As soon as the corporate world saw the need to put it to an end, it did so which has made todays smarter employees easy to be managed. Also, the style of leadership needs to be innovative these days. The old system of tall hierarchies should be removed completely. The degree of customization in this respect depends upon the perception of the lead er about his team members. Also, the degree of motivation in the employees suggests the type of organizational structure followed. For an organization where the employees are motivated from initial times, a flat hierarchy could be followed. For others it would be customized as required. Also, a leader is expected to show innovation in the manner in which he approaches the external world. Even in B2C businesses, the customers are smart enough to seek value addition whenever they are approached. Innovation in terms of technology, work process and delivery is highly material under the circumstances. If this does not take place, the organization is bound to succumb to competition. Also, managing a business requires innovation. The entire supply chain from procurement to customer service requires innovation. A very recent manner is the use of innovative IT solutions in the operational process. This can be possible by using innovative solutions of ERP, CRM etc. It would automate the proce ss as and when a leader feels that one should incorporate changes in the same, he should go for some innovative measures of doing it. (Lee, 2011) Decision-making abilities: A leader should have the prowess to be fast in decision making at the same time consider all the pros and cons of the decisions. A lot of the organizations effectiveness depends on the decision making capabilities of the leader. Here again, there should be consensus of the entire team before a decision is made. This means that whenever required, a leader should have the confidence to gather the entire team at work and reach to the most viable decision taking every constraint into account before reaching to conclusions. There a number if errors a leader is likely to incur in this area. They have been mentioned as follows: (Forster, 2010) Making natural decision-The world is changing every moment. Under such situations, it is not feasible for a leader to make natural decisions. There are a number of occasions where what seems likely is not what is suitable. This requires that a leader is not lethargic in his ways. A natural decision would never lead to accelerated progress. Current demands which are mostly latent in nature do not recommend such form of decision making. So, a leader should be appropriate rather than predictable which is also a threat from the competitive point of view. Being defensive when mistaken- A leaders confidence is seen during times when he is actually mistaken. Rather than becoming defensive under such conditions, a leader is expected to react in the best possible way so as to resurrect from this situation. This will test the leader of his ability to adapt to change in policy. Also, it is fact that learning comes from failures. A leader is expected to believe in this fact and follow the same so that his team members also get the inner strength to get over their mistakes hence improving the morale of their entire team. Giving praise to employees for their answers- There is always a difference between appreciation and praising. A leader is expected to maintain this difference so that none of his team mates develop an impression of favoritism in any of his deeds. Consistent appreciation for good work would result into a healthy competition within the organizational environment where as praising a person again and again can even lead to high attrition rates. Development of three leadership skills Communication Skills: This can be developed by consistently understanding the needs of the corporate both within and outside the organization. The reason for the same is that once there is sufficient understanding, communication would be made easier. It is not easy to develop communication skills in a system where there is substantial bit of diversity. We have seen the case of a Chief Financial Officer. The team or the group of teams that he has to handle is huge. So, understanding the needs of every person would be highly complex if one takes personal interviews. A consistent round of questionnaire should thus be distributed amongst all the team members from time to time. This questionnaire should include all aspects of work culture. Also, it should have a portion for personal views of each employee. This is highly important because better communication can only be established if a leader is able to understand the views of all the employees and the other team members who work under him. Even the factors which are taken into consideration in the questionnaire should depend on the type of situation existing in the industry at the time of survey. The reason for the same is that, it will fetch the latest problems that people have and be more effective in decision making. As for example, during the period of recession the requirements of team members would have been different from otherwise normal occasions. As such periods are highly critical; a leader needs to have even better communication with the team members. So, questionnaires need to be customized accordingly to reflect the time of distribution. Also, there should be training period to improve communication. Working with a diversity of people would mean that there would be different levels of communication between the team members. This could be with respect to language, motivation, level of understanding etc. This can be developed in a span of 4-5 years by getting across all the different situations of business that can arise in an organization. Communication can also be improved by shifting designations. In a span of around 4-5 years, if a person shifts his position in the company, he would get to interact with a greater diversity of population. As a result of this, he would be acquainted with more number of situations in hence develop into a better communicator of things. The position of a CFO should only be given to that person who has the experience of leading different categories of teams so that his experience can be put to use. If every coveted place of an organization is given on the basis of diversities in which a person has been under, it would not only increase the team spirit in the individuals but also make them better communicators. (Leadership Communication Skills The Importance of Connection, 2008) Innovation: Innovation is a part of the original thought-process of an individual. But, it can be developed with respect to an industry depending upon the experience and the honesty of work so that a leader is able to understand the marker better and come up with suitable ideas at the time it is required. It is never an easy task to develop a project or a product for a company. It is also true that this cant be done alone by practising any form of leadership. As it has been mentioned earlier, a leader is expected to have interactions with the research and development department of the company. This is one of the areas from where an innovation proceeds. A leader should be aware of all these innovations and make note of the reactions of the market after every new innovation made in the company. This would give him a better view of the corporate environment which in turn would develop his innovation skills in about 4 to 5 years time. This is a reactive approach towards innovation. A lea der can also look for some proactive approaches in this regard. As for example, if in about 2 years, a leader feels that he is capable enough to understand the latent demands of the customers, he can design products that have no relevance with the past. A lot of stress would have to be given on reliability tests of the product before it is launched. Here, again the communication skills of the leader are under scrutiny considering the challenge behind taking up the job. There could be various example of doing this. For example the introduction of i-phone was a complete innovation of its leader, Steve Jobs who has enough experience to go for such risky innovations. The basic factor for success of this gadget is that it completely satisfies the latent demand of the customers of the product. Similarly, when Reliance introduced a phone in India that was priced as low as 75 Dhms, it sent a wave of demand across the nation. Here again proactive form of leadership can be seen in use. Not only in the form of products, but innovation can be seen in the form of marketing to a large extent. As for example, the different forms of advertisements would largely follow innovation. We have all seen the latest zuzu ad given by Vodafone. This form of advertisement had never been seen before. But, no matter what age group one might belong to, it is highly appreciated by all. So, this teaches a lesson to all the leaders that one can make innovations not only in the form of introducing new products or services in a company. This can also be done by presenting the same product but in an innovative manner so as to attract the crowd even further. Innovation within the organization management has also become highly important these days. HR system would not work in the same manner as mentioned earlier. A company should always use measures like free shares of the company to its employees to show them a variety of benefits. This would raise the level of satisfaction. Benefits like holiday packages, free passes, increased breaks, special meals etc can add to innovative practices in increasing HR satisfaction. Only an experience of 4-5 years would make one understand the relevance of each of these approaches in the HR system. Decision-making capabilities: This trait can also be developed over time, concentrating more on the necessities of the customers and the requirements of the employees at the same time. Decision-making abilities develop as a result of confidence. One needs to be confident in his own mental abilities so that he can envision the situation around him which would give him the guts to take decisions. Being in the industry for about 4-5 years would mean that a leader would be able to analyse the world around him. One cant state the level of analysis that a leader would be able to do. It all depends on how much he can break down a situation, looking at the individual parts and then providing an overview of all of them. Also, decision making can be improved by thinking critically. This means that a leader must develop the ability to be an optimist and a pessimist at the same time. Years of experience would bring forward all the possible consequences and the good possibilities of a decision. A leader should be able to grasp those that are more likely to occur before he can make a decision. For example, for every movie that is released at the box office, there is always a critical review made. If in a span of 4-5 years time a leader can make such a critical review before even the release of a movie, he can consider himself a good decision maker. Development of decision-making skills would also come from being able to understand the value of research. Rather than wasting too much in a particular direction, a good decision maker would know exactly what would be most beneficial. Research conducted by Coke and Pepsi is a highly suitable example to showcase the developed leadership abilities in this respect. Also, a leader can develop decision making by being able to manage the conflicts that arise within him and in the world around him. All these characteristics make up the decisive behaviour techniques including all the assumptions of risk in it. The developed parameters of a capable decision making leader would be his self-awareness, skill acquisition and improved competence. Also, an ability to appreciate decentralized decision making developed over a period of 4-5 years with the above mentioned characteristics completes a leader in this context. (Lessons in Leadership: Decision Making A Must for Success, 2010) Woman Business Leader Here, I would talk about the highly capable Chanda Kochar who is the MD and CEO of ICICI Bank in India. This great business leader even without completing a half century of her life holds this herculean responsibility. Also, ICICI bank, that she leads is the largest private bank in India and on an overall basis, it is the second largest bank in the entire nation. She is the head of the Corporate Centre of this bank. She was born and brought up in a city called Jaipur in western Rajasthan in India. She received a bachelors degree from Jai Hind College in Mumbai and subsequently pursued Cost Accountancy in the year 1982. She has done her MBA from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai. She has a financial background. In her academic career itself, she received two of the most prestigious awards of all times. She was the proud winner of Wockhardt Gold Medal for Excellence in Management Studies and also the J.N. Bose Gold Medal in Cost Accountancy for being the topper in that very year. The best of all this is that both these awards come in the same year which just personifies her domain knowledge proficiency. Mrs. Kochar has consistently appeared in the Fortunes List of Most Powerful Women in Business from 2005. This is even before she got her current authority. Moreover, she started from the twentieth position in Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women list in 2009. She has also been dignified with Padma Bhushan award which is the third highest civilian award in India. (Directors Profile, 2010) Mrs. Kochars professional career started in the year 1984 and can be divided into 3 phases. The first phase is that from 1984-1993. It was in the year 1984 that she joined The Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India Ltd (ICICI Ltd.) as a management trainee. From the early years itself she got the herculean task of Project Appraisal and Monitoring. This shows the mark of leadership in an individual who is given such tasks also in diversified ranging from Petrochemicals to Cement including Textile and Paper. The second phase was that from 1993 to 2006. It was in this intermediate phase of her life that she was sent to be a part of the core team of the bank and set it right. After 10 years of working in the same bank she was given the responsibility to be the General Manager in 1994 followed by which she became the Deputy General Manager in the year 1996. At that time she was heading the Infrastructure Industry Group of the bank. Her basic focus was to create expertise in Power, Telecom and Transportation sectors. Then the major turn round in her career was seen in the year 1988 when she became the General Manager of the bank and was considered suitable enough to lead the Major Client Group. In about a decade from then she started to handle Strategy and E-Commerce divisions of the bank as well. It was under her leadership in the year 2000 that ICICI started Retail business and in only 5 years it became the largest retail finance in India. Then in 2001, her qualities gave her the position of Executive Director from where she heads the entire bank. Finally, the third phase started from 2006 and c

Saturday, July 20, 2019

The Greek Song Culture with Reference to Odyssey :: Homeric Epic Greek Literature Odyssey Essays

The Greek Song Culture with Reference to Odyssey The Homeric epic, Odyssey, begins with the invocation of the muse. The muses are the goddesses of total recall. Their name is â€Å"a reminder† since in earlier times, poets had to recall then recite events since the tales were not written down. The importance of memory and recognition is a central feature in Greek song culture. The film Chunhyang gives an insight to ancient Greek song culture. Although each of these stories is from a different culture, the themes and symbolism are the same and central in both cultures. Both of these tales sà ªmainà ´ in order to show the connection between lovers. The importance of recalling events is an integral aspect of Greek song culture. By watching the film Chunhyang, one can gain a deeper understanding of the meaning of metonymy. Metonymy is an expression by means of a connection. In the film, Chunhyang and Mongryong exchange gifts – Chunhyang gives him a jade ring and he gives her a mirror. These gifts are little memories of each other. The connection between two individuals is shown through sà ªma. The jade ring is one of the clearest symbols in the movie. Jade represents love in Eastern cultures. It is fitting that the ring is made from jade since the exchange of gifts is a symbol of the love they share for each other. In addition, jade was thought to preserve the body after death and could be found in the tombs of emperors. The jade ring given to Mongryong by Chunhyang is a sà ªma for both definitions of the word; it is a physical symbol of their trust and a physical representation of the tomb of a hero. Mongryong achieves his kleos by becoming a high ranking official and saving Chunhyang’s life. The mirror is another sà ªma. A mirror shows reflection and this reflection is of the memories that were shared between Chunhyang and Mongryong. A person can reflect on past events and build connections between places, objects, and people. The signs that people give to each other are important for recognition and building relationships The importance of sà ªma can be seen in the Odyssey as well: So you see I know all about this sign [sà ªma], and I desire to learn whether it is still there, or whether any one has been removing it by cutting down the olive tree at its roots.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Essay --

Pedro Ventura Mary Cook English 1302.54 13 February 2014 E1. Analysis Literary Analysis of â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find†- Worry about yourself instead of others!!! In today’s society, people are so concerned about others people life’s that they lose the real meaning to theirs. A Good Man is Hard to Find is a great example of that. The short story was about a grandmother that lived her life pointing out other people’s defects but had not realized her own. The short story was first published in 1959, and it all started with a family planning a road trip to Florida. Although, the grandmother wanted to go to Tennessee, her son, Bailey insisted in going to Florida. As they were traveling to Florida, the grandmother started to talk about an old house that she thought was close by. As a result, it caused the family to deviate the road they were on due to a tantrum the kids made. The grandmother then realized that the house was in Tennessee and not in Georgia, as a result it caused Bailey to lose control of the car and crash. As they were checking if everyone were okay a car pulled over besides them, and 3 men got out all carrying guns. Quickly, the grandmother recognizes the driver as The Misfit, as a result it led to everyone dying in the hands of the driver with his two accomplices. What I got from the literature is that life is too short to live pointing out others defects. Before people point out others defects, they might want to take into consideration and examine their defects. For example, the grandmother was too concerned about others defects that she did not realize that her defects were just as bad since she was selfish, racist, and arrogant. The grandmother showed many bad characteristics like her being racist. Throughout th... ...ave begged for her son and grandchildren life instead of trying save her life. The type of literary element shown here is conflict. The type of conflict that is shown is man versus man because the grandmother is constantly trying to convince someone in doing something else. It also shows conflict because the grandmother was begging for her life, but at the end that did not work because she ended up getting killed either way. All in all, there will always be people that will judge every move everyone else does in life just like the grandmother did in the story. As a result, people will just have to learn how to deal with it because if others decide to judge them they are probably doing something right. However, if you decide to judge someone else before you do it turn the critical eye on yourself and judge your personal life and ask yourself how is your life doing? Essay -- Pedro Ventura Mary Cook English 1302.54 13 February 2014 E1. Analysis Literary Analysis of â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find†- Worry about yourself instead of others!!! In today’s society, people are so concerned about others people life’s that they lose the real meaning to theirs. A Good Man is Hard to Find is a great example of that. The short story was about a grandmother that lived her life pointing out other people’s defects but had not realized her own. The short story was first published in 1959, and it all started with a family planning a road trip to Florida. Although, the grandmother wanted to go to Tennessee, her son, Bailey insisted in going to Florida. As they were traveling to Florida, the grandmother started to talk about an old house that she thought was close by. As a result, it caused the family to deviate the road they were on due to a tantrum the kids made. The grandmother then realized that the house was in Tennessee and not in Georgia, as a result it caused Bailey to lose control of the car and crash. As they were checking if everyone were okay a car pulled over besides them, and 3 men got out all carrying guns. Quickly, the grandmother recognizes the driver as The Misfit, as a result it led to everyone dying in the hands of the driver with his two accomplices. What I got from the literature is that life is too short to live pointing out others defects. Before people point out others defects, they might want to take into consideration and examine their defects. For example, the grandmother was too concerned about others defects that she did not realize that her defects were just as bad since she was selfish, racist, and arrogant. The grandmother showed many bad characteristics like her being racist. Throughout th... ...ave begged for her son and grandchildren life instead of trying save her life. The type of literary element shown here is conflict. The type of conflict that is shown is man versus man because the grandmother is constantly trying to convince someone in doing something else. It also shows conflict because the grandmother was begging for her life, but at the end that did not work because she ended up getting killed either way. All in all, there will always be people that will judge every move everyone else does in life just like the grandmother did in the story. As a result, people will just have to learn how to deal with it because if others decide to judge them they are probably doing something right. However, if you decide to judge someone else before you do it turn the critical eye on yourself and judge your personal life and ask yourself how is your life doing?

Poetry Assessment :: English Literature

Poetry Assessment 'Nothings Changed' is a powerful piece of poetic literature which portrays in a provocative way, the poverty and apartheid in Post-Nelson Mandela South Africa and how 'Nothings Changed' since he has been elected as president. It starts in a harsh abrupt way 'small round hard stones' quickly brings forth a strong image of a dirty pathway littered with stones, the next few lines 'cans trodden on, crunch' and 'tall, purple-flowering, amiable weeds' add to this picture and describes in greater detail the untidy, poorly maintained wasteland. The 'purple-flowering weeds' border the rocky causeway and give stark contrast to the ugliness of the area as it has been described insofar. The character in the poem goes into a 'Whites Only' area, where he feels very unwelcome. At first, he seems contented to walk through a familiar area and revisit the place where he had lived. However, this mood changes abruptly when he comes across a 'Whites Only' inn which makes him feel very angry and even violent. The rhythm of this poem is very slow and thoughtful and the stanzas act like paragraphs. This works well because it creates a sense of him crushing his growing anger and hostility as he remembers his childhood. There are however some striking short lines for effect, these represent a growing struggle inside him to keep his fury under control. Examples of this are 'Anger of my eyes' 'brash with glass' 'it's in the bone' 'hands burn' The poet uses these short lines because they are dramatic, simple but powerful and memorable. There are many examples of poetic devices in 'Nothings Changed', especially in the third stanza: my first choice is line 18, where the poet describes the name as 'flaring like a flag'. This simile is effective because 'flaring' suggests a fire and it is a provocative image. The restaurant 'squats in the grass and weeds'. I think the poet compares the restaurant to something lurking and sinister because this place represents everything that they are fighting against. In conclusion, I think that the poem does not really work well, it fails to truly break the surface of thought and although it tries to put across the poet's thoughts and feelings on racism it fails quite miserably because of the simple fact that the writing is bound by literary laws of poetry. 'In the greyness and drizzle of one despondent dawn, unstirred by harbingers of sun break.' Vultures (by Chinua Achebe) opens in a grandiose and portentous fashion that immediately fills the reader's mind with a sense of a macabre and unhappy morning, the grey skies do not encourage a sense of happiness or contentment nor does it give any indication that this

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Consider Some Key Theories and Concepts of Learning and Assessment Essay

In this assignment I will explore the concept of learning and application of some learning theories within the in the vocational further education sector. I will explore the application of theories to health and social vocational topics and how this assists in developing key attributes for learners on these programmes. I will identify assessment methods and provide a critique of the validity of these in different educational programmes. Definitions of learning vary drastically. This is primarily due to the differing conceptions of what learning actually is. Saljo (1979) identified five categories of learning. It is suggested that the five categories: â€Å"†¦increase in knowledge; memorising information; Acquiring facts, skills, and methods; making sense or abstracting meaning; interpreting and understanding reality in a different way† (Saljo, 1979), conceptualise learning as process. There has been extensive debate regarding the learner’s awareness of events whilst undergoing this process. Rogers (Weilbel, 2011) identified two categories of learning: Acquisition and formalised. Acquisition learning is activity or task based learning linked to a continuous, unconscious learning process that takes place throughout life, in education and personal experiences. As it is thought of as an unconscious process, Rogers approach emphasises the lack of learner awareness during learning. Formalised learning is generally facilitated by an education professional where the learner is actively conscious of learning taking place (Colley et al, 2003). Whilst many professionals agree there are differing types of learning, the more commonly referred to dimensions of learning are often categorised into five dimensions rather than the two categories identified by Rogers. The behaviourist approach argues that behaviour is a result of environmental stimulus and the experience following the behaviour of positive or negative consequence will determine responses to the same environmental stimulus in the future. Reinforcement of positive consequences by positive praise or feedback can accelerate learning by conditioning the learners in the pattern of behaviour response to environmental stimulus (Minton, 2005). Behaviourist view learning as a step by step process and this combined with sequential praise will enable learners to associate a positive experience with learning. These behaviourist concepts have a heavy influence over the whole education system and are embedded into regulatory guidelines however lend themselves well to vocational, competency based qualifications such as the BTEC given the modular nature of the programme. The modular layout enables regular opportunity for the stimuli: behaviour response relationship to be enforced through positive achievement. Although this passive learning approach is utilised within most educational establishments, where learners acquire knowledge, constructivists argue that learners take a more participatory role in their learning and there is scope that each learner will have a differing perception of a learning experience and draw upon their own interpretation of the knowledge presented to them. Unlike the behaviourist approach where the teacher is the knowledge base, the constructivist theory places the learner at the focus of a more meaningful learning experience (Driscoll, 1994). The constructivist approach lends itself to the teaching methods applied in vocational topics. It links learners’ experience of the wider world including their vocational experience with the topics being taught. It creates opportunity for the application of learner knowledge in real life situations which allows them to build their own constructs (Petty, 2004). This approach links heavily with the humanistic approach to teaching and learning in that experiential or applied knowledge concepts foster a positive learning environment. Rodgers identified cognitive and experiential as the two types of learning. According to Rodgers, cognitive learning is meaningless and often consists of learners reciting information given; it does not rely on understanding or the application of the knowledge. Experiential learning however is closely related to vocational education in that it relies on learner’s ability to apply knowledge to situations that they have a personal interest in. In doing this, it creates opportunity for valuable learner involvement and significant learning (Beard and Wilson, 2006) In 1984, Kolb highlighted the benefits of a learning cycle developed as a result of an experience and emphasised how this not only enables knowledge transfer but it also develops skill competencies. This is particularly important in the health and social care sector as application of knowledge and vocational competency are key to the future employability of learners. The social learning theory combines elements of cognitive and behavioural learning theories. Bandura developed an approach where these two theories integrated and formed four categories of learning: observation, retention, reproduction and motivation. This learning theory relies heavily on modelling behaviours and is utilised heavily in the health and social care sector through vocational placements and induction periods where appropriate behaviour is displayed for new employees to imitate. Vocational Health and Social Care course outcomes and preparation for employment in the sector require a particular set of learner attributes and as such, teachers in this sector need to be aware of the skills set to develop appropriate to the needs of the sector and leaner. Not all learning can rely on the conditioning of learners and the cognitive approach based on constructivism argues that learning is the acquisition of not only knowledge but also skill by mental and cognitive processes. Thus learning is an active process and as teachers we need to appreciate the restraints of the assumptions of the cognitive theory of multimedia learning to assist in creating an experience which maximises the potential for learning to take place. This would include considering the auditory and visual channels, the capacity of each channel and the stages of the learning process (Mayer, 2001) Mayer (2001) highlights the importance of transferable learning and the integration of new information with prior knowledge. This is vital in the BTEC courses as the module outcomes are usually sequential and rely on the extension and application of existing knowledge Atherton (2011) however suggested that the way in which students learn is hugely defined by their motivation. The model used identifies two types of learning: deep and surface. This model associates well with the Access to HE Diploma in that most leaners are mature and have re-engaged with education purely as a stepping stone to succeed in a given career pathway. The motivation of Access learners is usually high and as Atherton (2011) suggests, intrinsic motivation of the learners will likely trigger a deep learning strategy. Although plausible, some research suggests that learning is habitual and regardless of the motivation, past experiences and approaches to learning are more likely to inform current engagement with the learning process. Discuss the key principles and concepts of assessment According to Gravell’s (2011), assessment is used to â€Å"†¦ find out if learning has taken place†. Assessment methods should be used at regular intervals throughout a lesson and informs practice, it should be used to advise future lesson planning of the same topic and subsequent lessons within the scheme of work. This is vital as if learners fail to meet the assessment; alterations need to be made to the lesson plan and scheme of work to address this before further topics can be taught. The two main forms of assessment are summative and formative. The methods used for each type of assessment and their respective aims vary. Formative assessment is usually carried out on a regular basis. It allows constructive feedback based on assessment of learner knowledge or work and acknowledges that learner’s abilities can be challenged with motivational feedback which assists in development. Summative feedback is usually a final assessment of a learner which is rigid in structure and final. Within the Health and Social Care sector, vocational education is heavily targeted towards formative assessment and tutors are encouraged by the accreditation body to provide opportunity for leaners to develop their work using formative assessment given verbally and documented on pieces of work. The assessment, accreditation and regulatory procedures placed on educational establishments impose tight restrictions on the content of teaching, expected learning outcomes, and their perception of what learning is. There are quality and validity issues surrounding assessment in every educational establishment which has a direct effect on the achievement of learners. Linked with quality assurance, standardisation and verification procedures, the consistency of tutor assessment of learning and its reliability is placed under intense scrutiny. This ensures that all learners have the same expectations placed upon them and the work produced meets the required standards to achieve the award. The concept of effective feedback in education is one which is controversial and with the best efforts, can still be misinterpreted. It is vital for teachers to be aware and have existing knowledge of appropriate feedback models which suit both learner and the programme which is being delivered (Wiggins, 2012). Feedback can be given in many forms and an awareness of the impact of these on the learner, achievement, the teacher and the college is fundamental. Feedback given to an individual may be given formally, informally, verbally, written, and be formative or summative. Learning and Assessment in Practice According to Petty (2004), there are four stages of teaching: setting aims, planning to meet the aims, delivering the session and then evaluating it. Lesson aims are usually taken from a scheme of work which is formed using the accreditation body specification. The Scheme of Work I devised was for the Research Skills Unit of the Access to HE Diploma using OCN accreditation. The OCN specification gives teachers guidelines on which aspects of the topic are required to meet the learning outcomes and the assessment methods for them. The scheme of work in place for this unit was very informal in placement and so I prepared a new version which was approved for use by my mentor. I will discuss the scheme of work including evaluation of inclusion, differentiation, embedding of key skills and actual content. I will discuss and evaluate two lesson plans from the unit and reflect on whether they produced an inclusive learning environment where there were positive outcomes of assessment of learning. The scheme of work for the research project originally lacked any activity based learning and relied upon traditional didactic approaches of tutor led presentation style lectures. Whilst this is an Access to HE course which strives to prepare leaners for experiences they may encounter in FE, being more creative with the content may provide a more valuable learning experience for learners. James and Pollard, 2006) Throughout the scheme of work there are documented sessions on 1:1 support which are used to differentiate between students The original scheme of work demonstrated poor opportunity for inclusive learning and differentiation. During the first session, I felt that the group were struggling a little with the concept of a research project and the enormity of the task ahead of them. In an attempt to make the content more accessible and less daunting, I revised the scheme of work by planning tutor led approaches, group activities, peer feedback, nominated questions and a variety of resources with links to each subsection of the scheme of work: an example of this was the use of blurb on a book to identify the concept of a summary in research. This type of planning promotes an inclusive learning environment where each learner is involved (Ashmore et al, 2010). I had planned to separate social groups to promote inclusion by encouraging integration across peer groups. This assists in learners gaining the opportunity for peer learning and developing skills around recognising and respecting diversity which is a key attribute in all health and social care sectors. To assess learning and ensure I had planned for differentiation within the group I used nominated and open questions. This allowed me to identify learners who required scaffolding whilst stretching and challenging all learners appropriate to their ability. The first lesson included in this assignment is the first session based on the introduction and overview of the unit. In this session I introduced the Word Wall ( see appendix). This was a useful tool in introducing new academic jargon which was a requirement of the learning outcomes and therefore leaners were required to utilise throughout their project. This utilised the cognitive approach as it assisted learners to guide them to relevant words, and limit individual sensory overload. As the unit has strong links to more formal academia and will almost certainly appear in most learners’ further education, it was imperative that they had a good understanding of the basic knowledge required from the start. The second lesson included in this assignment is the workshop I delivered on conducting a literature review. The original scheme of work planned for the use of a SMART board and class discussion for this lesson however this did not allow me to assess the ability of learners to conduct a literature review relating to their research topic and therefore failed to fully ddress differentiation and inclusion. My lesson plan involved tutor led starter activity where a recap of the literature review would occur and nominated questions to assess learners understanding of the variety of techniques used to narrow down their results and identify research which was of use to them. I had prepared a print out of the power point which I was unable to present due to the room restrictions: the learning resource centre is a quiet zone and so no formal presentation of the information was appropriate. To accompany this, the learners were given a step by step guide of performing a literature review with an example to follow for those who required assistance (appendix). Throughout this lesson I embedded the use of ICT and literacy skills in the form of communication, writing and reading to ensure I was supporting the development of functional skills which are extremely important. Formative assessment, verbally and documented, was used throughout both lessons to support learning and create opportunity for learners to develop their work prior to summative assessment. Methods of assessment relevant to your specialist subject area For this section I will be using examples from practice that I have been involved in: the OCN Access to HE Diploma and Edexcel BTEC Level 3 Diploma. The original scheme of work for this OCN unit was heavily based around the accreditation requirements and in doing so, was primarily focused on summative assessment. Learners were not often given the opportunity of formative assessment however this has been identified by both the learners and I as a potential learning opportunity which is being missed. Formative assessment would allow learners to reflect on and action their feedback which would enable targeted performance improvement. This would assist in the learning process for the learner and possibly also be reflected in improved achievement in summative assessment. When compiling the new scheme of work, this was considered throughout and opportunities for formative assessment and informal feedback were embedded to improve learner’s ability to build on their strengths and learn from continuous feedback rather than rely purely on summative feedback. The Access course design lends itself to summative assessment however learners on this course are often placed under increasing pressure to gain Distinction mark criteria by Higher Education establishments. Given most learners on the course are returning to education after work/life experience, it is unusual that a learner would achieve a Distinction grade especially on the first few modules. Increasing formative assessment in the first term of the course would potentially enable greater differentiation of learning and opportunity for this to be a realistic possibility. The course design of the BTEC differs greatly from the Access to HE in terms of assessment. It is widely accepted that the BTEC learners have multiple opportunity to gain formative assessment and that summative assessment of learning almost merges into formative when required: a final submission of work can be referred back to the learner with feedback which will highlight areas the learner needs to address to meet the criteria. There are possible issues with the reliability and transferability of the award. BTEC in nature is modular with each unit have a set of outcomes achievable by gaining the pass criteria and for those able, the merit and distinction criteria also. Most of the work is coursework related with few incidences of presentations, this combined with multiple attempts at achieving the outcome criteria and some FE institutions teaching purely to assessment criteria rather than teaching to enable application of knowledge/skills in the sector could possibly lead to learners achieving the award without having developed the necessary knowledge and skills as relied upon in the sector. Conclusion I feel this module has provided me with an overview of delivery and learner expectations within the education sector. Not only have I been able to gain valuable experience in delivery of programmes, I have also been introduced into the complexities of the role of an FE teacher within a large organisation. My own attributes as a trainee teacher and desire to improve the learning experiences of those I deliver to have been met with some conflict within an institution environment where values, attitudes toward the learning process and increasing learner involvement are not shared. This has provided me with an opportunity to reflect on my own values and consider my future employment options. The scheme of work, lessons planned and lesson delivery within the placement has extended my knowledge and skills of effective learning within the classroom environment and how implementing theory affects the learning opportunities and achievements of the learners. I hope to continue developing these links throughout the course to inform a more effective delivery of learning and a higher standard of teaching.