Coyote Blue Chapter 10~11

CHAPTER 10 Over Easy, Politically Correct Santa Barbara Sam spent most of the night cleaning up the debris from Josh Spagnola's shooting exhibition. Exhausted from the overall strangeness of his day, he went to bed early, but lay awake until well after midnight, first worrying, then trying to understand what was happening to him, and finally fantasizing about the girl. Amid the misery he retained hope, although he could not logically figure out why. She was, after all, just a girl – the goofiest girl he had ever met. Still, the thought of seeing her again made him smile, and he was able to escape into dreamless sleep. When he awoke the next morning, the world seemed a much kinder place, as if during the night the calamities of the previous day had become distant and harmless. Order had returned. At one time he might have met such a day by looking to the rising sun and thanking the Great Spirit for returning his harmony with the world, as Pokey had taught him. He would have looked for rain clouds, felt the promise of the day's winds, smelled the dew and the sage, listened for the call of an eagle, the best of good-luck signs, and in that short time he would have confirmed that he and the world were of one spirit, balanced. Today he missed the rising sun by three hours. He met his day in the shower, washing his hair with shampoo that was guaranteed to have never been put in a bunny's eyes and from which ten percent of the profits went to save the whales. He lathered his face with shaving cream free of chlorofluorocarbons, thereby saving the ozone layer. He breakfasted on fertile eggs laid by sexually satisfied chickens that were allowed to range while listening to Brahms, and muffins made with pesticide-free grain, so no eagle-egg shells were weakened by his thoughtless consumption. He scrambled the eggs in margarine free of tropical oils, thus preserving the rain forest, and he added milk from a carton made of recycled paper and shipped from a small family farm. By the time he finished his second cup of coffee, which would presumably help to educate the children of a poor peasant farmer named Juan Valdez, Sam was on the verge of congratulating himself for single-handedly saving the planet just by getti ng up in the morning. He would have been surprised, however, if someone had told him that it had been two years since he had set foot on unpaved ground. He was writing a note to himself to put a new subliminal message on his computer, SAVE THE WORLD, BUY THIS POLICY, when Josh Spagnola called. â€Å"Sam, did you hear what happened at the association meeting last night?† â€Å"No, Josh, I've been cleaning up my place.† â€Å"The place, Sam. I think this will be an easier transition if you start referring to it as the place.† â€Å"You mean they voted to buy me out? Without even asking me? I can't believe it.† â€Å"I was actually very surprised myself. People seem to dislike you in the extreme, Sam. I think the dog was just their excuse for a general fuck-over.† â€Å"You told them it wasn't my dog, didn't you?† â€Å"I told them, but it didn't matter. They hate you, Sam. The doctors and lawyers hate you because you make enough money to live here. The married guys hate you because you're single. The married women hate you because you remind their husbands that they aren't single. The old people hate you because you're young, and the rest just hate you because you aren't Japanese. Oh, yeah, one bald guy hates you because you have hair. For a guy that maintains a low profile, you've built quite a little snowball of resentment.† Sam had never given his neighbors a second thought, never even spoken to most of them, so now the realization that they hated him enough to take away his home was a shock. â€Å"I've never done anything to hurt anybody in this complex.† â€Å"I wouldn't take it personally, Sam. Nothing brings people together like hate for profit. You didn't have a chance against the clay tennis courts.† â€Å"What does that mean? We don't have clay tennis courts.† â€Å"No, but when they buy your townhouse for what you paid for it, then sell it to someone more suitable at the market rate, the association will have enough profit to build clay tennis courts. We'll be the only complex in Santa Barbara with clay courts. Should raise the value of the property at least ten percent. Sorry, Sam.† â€Å"Isn't there anything I can do? Can't I bring legal action or something?† â€Å"This isn't an official call, Sam. I am calling as your friend and not on behalf of the association, so let me give you my best advice on taking legal action: it's suicide. Half the guys that voted you out are lawyers. In six months you'd be broke and they'd be drinking your blood over backgammon. The time for legal advice was eight years ago when you signed that agreement.† â€Å"Great. Where were you then?† â€Å"I was stealing your Rolex.† â€Å"You stole my Rolex? That was you? My gold Rolex? You dick!† â€Å"I didn't know you then, Sam. It was a professional thing. Besides, the statute of limitations has run out. It's time to forgive and forget.† â€Å"Fuck you, Josh. You'll get a bill for the damage you caused.† â€Å"Sam, do you know how concerned I am about your bill? I don't give a decaying damn, I don't-â€Å" Sam hung up on the security guard. The phone immediately rang and Sam stared at it for a minute. Should he let Josh get the satisfaction of the last word? He looked at the shattered remains of his television, picked up the phone, and shouted, â€Å"Look, you wormy little fuck, you're lucky I don't come down there and pop your head like a pimple!† â€Å"Sam, this is Julia, down at the office. I have Aaron on the line for you.† â€Å"Sorry, Julia, I was expecting someone else. Hang on a second.† He sat down on the couch and held the receiver to his chest while he tried to regain his composure. Too much change, too fast. He couldn't let Aaron catch him with his guard down. His good friend Aaron, his partner, his mentor. And Josh Spagnola was supposed to be his friend, too. What was the deal with Josh? He'd turned on Sam overnight. Why? Sam lit a cigarette and took a long drag, then blew the smoke out in a slow stream before speaking into the phone. â€Å"Julia, you caught me in the shower. Tell Aaron I'll be in the office in an hour. We'll talk then.† He hung up before she could respond. He dialed the number of the Cliffs' security office. Josh Spagnola answered. â€Å"Josh, this is Sam Hunter.† â€Å"Very rude, Sam. Hanging up when I am telling you how little I care is very rude.† â€Å"That's why I'm calling, Josh. I've heard your little speeches before. I want to know what you've got on me.† â€Å"Then you haven't seen the paper this morning?† â€Å"I told you before, I've been patching holes all fucking morning. What goes?† â€Å"Seems that Jim Cable, the diving mogul, was attacked by an Indian outside of his office and had a heart attack. They said he had just finished an appointment with an insurance agent.† â€Å"So, what's your point, Josh?† â€Å"The point is, Sam, that after I ran out of your place yesterday, I went through the apartment next door and ran out on the deck. I thought I could come in from behind the dog and get a shot at it. But when I got there I saw an Indian vaulting over the rail of your deck. The Indian was wearing black, just like the one they described in the paper. Interesting coincidence, huh?† Sam didn't know what to say. Spagnola had half the complex under his thumb for one reason or another, but Sam didn't know how the burglar used his information other than as a license to be rude. Sam didn't want to bring up blackmail when Spagnola might just be in this to watch him squirm. Sam had watched a thousand clients squirm under his own manipulation, but he wasn't sure how to go about it himself. He decided to take a direct approach. â€Å"Okay, Josh,† he said. â€Å"I'm squirming. Now what?† â€Å"Sammy, I love you, kid. You and I are like peas in a pod. You, me, and that Aaron guy at your office.† â€Å"You know Aaron?† â€Å"Just spoke to him this morning when I called your office. Your secretary said that you were no longer with the firm and Mr. Aaron was taking all your calls from now on. Aaron and I had a long talk.† â€Å"Did you tell him about the Indian?† â€Å"No, he told me. Strange thing, Sam, he seems to want you out of the business pretty badly, but not just for the profit. I think he's afraid of the attention you're going to get if it turns out that you're associated with the Indian who attacked Cable. Who do you think has more to lose: you or Aaron?† â€Å"Neither of us is losing anything, Josh. This whole thing is a mistake. I don't care what you saw, I don't know anything about any Indian, and I resent the veiled threat.† â€Å"No threat, Sam. Just information. It's the cleanest commodity, you know? No fingerprints, no fibers, no serial numbers. It's kind of ethereal – religious in a way. People will pay for something that they can't smell, or taste, or touch. It's fucking glorious, isn't it? I should have been a spy.† Sam listened to Spagnola sigh, then to the breathing over the line. Here it was again, the standoff. How many times had he backed down over the years? How many times had fear of discovery caused him to lie low and play the role of the victim? Too damn many. He always seemed to be running from the past and avoiding the future, but the future came anyway. Very softly, barely speaking over a whisper, Sam said, â€Å"Josh, before you become too enraptured, remember the information you don't have.† â€Å"What's that, old buddy?† â€Å"You have no idea who I am or what I'm capable of.† There was a silence on the line, as if Spagnola was considering what Sam had said. â€Å"Good-bye, Josh,† Sam whispered. He hung up the phone, grabbed his car keys, and headed out the door to the Mercedes. As he disarmed the alarm and climbed in the car he realized that he also had no idea who he was or what he was capable of, and for the first time in his life it didn't frighten him. In fact, it felt good. Coyote Gets His Powers One day, a long time ago, before there were any men or televisions, and only animal people walked the Earth, Great Spirit, the first worker, decided that he would give everyone a new name. He told the animal people to come to his lodge at sunrise and he would give each one a new name with all the powers that went with it. â€Å"To be fair,† Great Spirit said, â€Å"names will be given on a first-come, first-served basis.† The Earth was a pretty fair place in those days as long as you showed up on time. Coyote had a problem with this method, however. He liked to sleep until lunchtime and lie around thinking up tricks until late afternoon, so getting up at sunrise was a problem, but he really wanted to get a good name. â€Å"Eagle would be good,† he thought. â€Å"I would be swift and strong. Or if I take the name of Bear I will never be defeated by my enemies. Yep, I got to get me a good name even if I have to stay up all night.† When the sun went down Coyote looked all over for a good espresso bar, but even in those days they were full of pretentious pseudointellectual animal people who sat around in open-toed moccasins and whined about how unfair the world was, which it wasn't. â€Å"I don't have the stomach for that,† said Coyote. â€Å"I think I'll just score some magic wake-up powder and stay wired that way.† Coyote went to see Raven. It was well known among the animal people that Raven had a connection with a green bird from South America and was always good for some wake-up powder. â€Å"I'm sorry Coyote, my friend, but I cannot extend you any credit. I'll need three prairie dogs, up front, if you want the product. And remember, I like my prairie dogs squashed real flat.† Raven was a greasy little prick who thought he was cool because he wore sunglasses all the time, even at night. Who was he to act so high and mighty? Coyote was insulted. â€Å"Look, man, I'll have a new name tomorrow. I'm going to go for Eagle. Just advance me the gram now and I'll give you six prairie dogs in the morning.† Raven shook his head. Coyote slunk away. â€Å"I can stay awake without magic,† Coyote said. â€Å"I just have to concentrate.† Coyote tried to stay awake, but by the time the moon was high in the sky he started to doze off. â€Å"This isn't working,† he said. â€Å"I can't keep my eyes open.† Talking to himself often gave Coyote ideas, which was a good thing, because hardly anyone else would talk to him. He broke a couple of thorns from a cactus and used them to prop his eyes open. â€Å"I'm a genius,† he said. Then he fell asleep anyway. When Coyote finally awoke the sun was directly overhead. He rushed to Great Spirit's lodge and burst through the door flap. â€Å"Eagle! I want Eagle,† he said. His eyes were dry and cracked from being propped open and his fur was matted with blood where the thorns had pierced his eyelids. â€Å"Eagle was the first to go,† Great Spirit said. â€Å"What happened to you? You look like hammered shit.† â€Å"Bad night,† Coyote said. â€Å"What's left? Bear? Bear would be good.† â€Å"There's only one name left,† Great Spirit said. â€Å"Nobody wanted it.† â€Å"What is it?† â€Å"Coyote.† â€Å"You're shitting me.† â€Å"Great Spirit is not a shitter.† Coyote ran outside where the other animal people were laughing and talking about their new names and powers. He tried to get them to trade names, but even Dung Beetle told him to get lost. Great Spirit watched Coyote from his lodge and felt sorry for him. â€Å"Come here, kid,† Great Spirit said. â€Å"Look, you're stuck with a lousy name, but maybe I can make up for it. You have to keep the name, but from now on you are Chief of the Without Fires. And from now on you can take on any shape that you choose and wear it as long as you wish.† Coyote thought about it for a minute. It was a pretty good gift; maybe he should work this pity angle more often. â€Å"So that means that everyone has to do what I say?† â€Å"Sometimes,† Great Spirit said. â€Å"Sometimes?† Coyote asked. Great Spirit nodded and Coyote figured he'd better leave before Great Spirit changed his mind. â€Å"Thanks, G.S., I'm outta here. Got to see someone about some sunglasses.† Coyote loped off. CHAPTER 11 The God, the Bad, and the Ugly Santa Barbara During the short drive to his office Sam decided that if Gabriella gave him the least little bit of shit he would fire her on the spot. If his life was going to fall apart before his eyes there was no reason to suffer the slings and arrows of ungrateful employees. There were also twenty younger agents who worked under him, and as long as he held partnership in the agency he held the power to hire and fire. Let one of them mouth off, he thought. Let one of them look sideways at me and they're going to be a distant memory, taillights on the horizon, gone, out, shit-canned, pink-slipped, instantly unemployed. He walked into his office with his temper locked, loaded, and ready to fire, but was immediately disarmed when he saw Gabriella tilted back in her chair, skirt thrown up around her waist, her legs spread wide and high heels alternately pumping in the air and digging into the back of the naked Indian, who was on his knees in front of her, wheeling her chair back and forth, thrusting into her with greedy abandon and yipping with each stroke as counterpoint to the monkey noises that escaped Gabriella in rhythmic bursts. â€Å"Hey!† Sam shouted. Gabriella looked over the Indian's shoulder at Sam and held one finger in the air as if marking a point, then pointed to the message pad on the desk. â€Å"One call,† she gasped. The Indian pulled her to him in a particularly violent thrust and Gabriella grabbed his shoulder with both hands, popping her press-on nails off and across the room like tiddlywinks. Sam shook off his shock, ran forward, and caught the Indian around the neck in a choke hold. The Indian pumped wildly in the air as Sam dragged him off Gabriella and across the outer office. He fell over backward into his office with the Indian still squirming in his grasp and it occurred to him that unless things turned quickly to his advantage he was in serious danger of being humped. He rolled the Indian over on the carpet and pinned him, facedown, while he looked around for a weapon. The only thing in reach was the big multi-line phone on his desk. Sam released the choke hold and lunged for the phone, catching it by the cord. He swung around with it just in time to hit the Indian in the face as he was rising to his hands and knees. The phone exploded into a spray of electronic shrapnel and the Indian fell forward onto his face, unconscious but twitching against the carpet in petit-mal afterhumps. Sam looked at the broom of colored wires at the end of the cord where the phone used to be, then dropped it and staggered to his feet. Gabriella was standing by the door, smoothing her skirt down. Her lipstick was smeared across her face and her hair was spiked into a fright wig of hair spray and sweat. She started to speak, then noticed that one of her breasts was still peeking out of her dress. â€Å"Excuse me.† She turned and tucked herself in, then turned back to Sam. â€Å"I'll hold your calls,† she said officiously, then she pulled the door closed, leaving Sam alone in the office with the unconscious, naked Indian. â€Å"You're fired,† Sam whispered to the closed door. He looked down at the Indian and saw a bloodstain spreading around his head on the carpet. He didn't seem to be breathing. Sam fell to his knees and felt the Indian's neck for a pulse. Nothing. â€Å"Fuck, not again!† Sam paced around the desk four times before he fell back in his leather executive chair and clamped his hands on his temples as if trying to squeeze out a solution. Instead he thought of police and prison and felt hope running through his fingers like liquid light, leaving him dark with despair. A growling noise from the floor. Sam looked over the desk to see the body of the Indian moving. He started to breathe a sigh of relief when he realized that the body wasn't moving at all, it was changing. His eyes went wide with terror as the arms and legs shortened and grew fur, the face grew into a whiskered muzzle, and the spinal column lengthened and grew into a bushy tail. Before Sam could catch his breath again he was looking at the body of a huge black coyote. The coyote got to its feet and shook its head as if clearing its ears of water, then it leapt on the desk and growled at Sam, who rolled his chair back until it hit the wall behind his desk. Sam pushed himself up by the chair arms until he was almost standing against the wall, desperately trying to put even a millimeter more between himself and the snarling muzzle of the coyote. The coyote crawled forward on the desk until its face was only inches from Sam's. Sam could feel the coyote's moist breath on his face. It smelled of something familiar, something burnt. He wanted to turn his head away and close his eyes until the horror went away, but his gaze remained locked on the coyote's golden eyes. He wanted to scream but there was no breath for it and he found his jaw was moving but no sound was coming out. The coyote backed away and sat on the desk, then raised its lowered ears and tilted its head to the side as if perplexed. Sam felt himself take a breath and the strange urge to say â€Å"Good doggie† came over him, but he remained rigid and quiet. The coyote began to shake and Sam thought it would attack, but instead it threw back its head as if to howl. The skin on the coyote's neck began to undulate and surge and took on the shape of a human face. The fur receded from the face, then away from the front legs, which became arms, then down the back legs, which lengthened into crouching human legs. As the fur peeled it lost its black color, turning the burnt tan of a normal coyote. It was as if a human was literally crawling out of a cocoon of coyote skin, the black color becoming black buckskins trimmed with red feathers. A minute passed in what seemed a year as the transformation took place. When it was finished the Indian was crouched on Sam's desk wearing a coyote-skin headd ress that had once been his own skin. â€Å"Fuck,† Sam said, falling back into the chair, his eyes trained now on the golden eyes of the Indian. â€Å"Woof,† the Indian said with a grin. Sam shook his head, trying to get the image to go away. His mind was still rattling around in chaos trying to put this into some sort of meaningful context, but all he could do was wish that he would pass out and that his kneecaps would stop jumping with adrenaline. â€Å"Woof,† the Indian repeated. He jumped from the desk, adjusted the headdress that moments ago had been his skin, then sat in the chair opposite Sam. â€Å"Got a smoke?† he said. Sam felt his mind lock on to the request. Yes, he understood that. Yes, he could do that. A smoke. He reached into his shirt pocket for his cigarettes and lighter and fumbled them out, lost his grip, and sent them skittering across the desk. He was scrambling for them when the Indian reached out and patted his hand. Sam screamed, the high-pitched wail of a little girl, and jumped back into his chair, which rolled back until his head snapped against the wall. The Indian turned his head to the side quizzically, the same way the coyote had, then took the cigarettes from the desk and lit two with the lighter. He held one out to Sam, who remained pushed back in the chair. The Indian nodded for Sam to take the cigarette, then waited while Sam inched forward, snatched it out of his hand, and quickly retreated to his position by the back wall. The Indian took a deep drag on the cigarette, then turned his head and blew the smoke out in rings that crept across the desk like ghosts. Sam had curled into the fetal position in his chair and looked up only to cast a sideways glance at the Indian when he took a drag from his own cigarette. It occurred to him that he should feel silly, but he didn't. He was still too frightened to feel silly. When his cigarette was half gone he started to calm down. His fear was draining away, being replaced with indignant anger. The Indian sat calmly, smoking and looking around the office. Sam put his feet on the floor, scooted the chair back under the desk, and set what he hoped was a hard gaze on the Indian. â€Å"Who are you?† he asked. The Indian smiled and his eyes lit up like an excited child's. â€Å"I am the stink in your shoe, the buzz in your ear, the wind through the trees. I am the-â€Å" â€Å"Who are you?† Sam interrupted. â€Å"What is your name?† The Indian continued to grin while smoke trickled between his teeth. He said, â€Å"The Cheyenne call me Wihio, the Sioux, Iktome. The Blackfeet call me Napi Old Man. The Cree call me Saultaux, the Micmac, Glooscap. I am the Great Hare on the East Coast and Raven on the West. You know me, Samson Hunts Alone, I am your spirit helper.† Sam gulped. â€Å"Coyote?† â€Å"Yep.† â€Å"You're a myth.† â€Å"A legend,† the Indian said. â€Å"You are just a bunch of stories to teach children.† â€Å"True stories.† â€Å"No, just stories. Old Man Coyote is just a fairy tale.† â€Å"Should I change shapes again? You liked that.† â€Å"No! No, don't do that.† Sam had guessed the Indian's identity the day before when he'd opened the medicine bundle, but he had hoped it would all go away and he would find himself the victim of a childhood superstition. Religion was supposed to be a matter of faith. Gods were not supposed to jump on your desk and snarl at you. They weren't supposed to sit in your office smoking cigarettes. Gods didn't do anything. They were supposed to ignore you and let you suffer and die having never known whether your religion was a waste of time. Faith. Sure, the gods were a badly behaving lot in stories – jealous, impatient, selfish, vengeful, smiting whole races of people, raping virgins, sending plagues and pestilence – and even as gods went, Coyote was a particularly bad example, but they were supposed to stay in the damn stories, not show up and hump your homely secretary until she made monkey noises. â€Å"What are you doing here?† Sam asked. â€Å"I'm here to help you.† â€Å"Help? You ruined my business and got me kicked out of my home.† â€Å"You wanted to scare the diver so I scared him. You wanted the girl so I gave her to you.† â€Å"Well what about all the cats at my condo complex? What about my secretary? How did that help me?† â€Å"If I was not meant to have ugly women and cats they would not be so easy to catch.† It was the kind of backward, perverse logic that had irritated Sam as a child. Pokey Medicine Wing had been a master at it. It seemed to Sam at times as if the entire Crow Nation was trying to define a silicon-chip world with a Stone Age worldview. Sam thought he had escaped it. â€Å"Why me? Why not someone who believes?† â€Å"This is more fun.† Sam resisted the urge to leap over the desk and choke the Indian. It was still â€Å"the Indian† in his head. He hadn't yet accepted that he was talking to Coyote, Chief of the Without Fires. Even with the overwhelming evidence of the supernatural, he searched for a natural explanation for what was happening. A lifetime of disbelief is not easily shed. He tried to find some parallel experience that would put things in order, something he'd read or seen on PBS. Nothing was forthcoming, so he speculated. How would Aaron react if faced with this situation? Aaron didn't acknowledge his Irish heritage any more than Sam admitted his own Crow roots. What if a leprechaun suddenly appeared on Aaron's desk? He'd affect a brogue and try to talk the little fucker into putting his pot o' gold into tax-deferred annuities. No, Aaron was not the person to think of in a spiritual emergency. Coyote smiled as if he had read Sam's thoughts. â€Å"What do you want, Samson Hunts Alone?† Sam didn't even hesitate to think. â€Å"I want my old life back to the way it was before you fucked it up.† â€Å"Why?† Now Sam was forced to think. Why indeed? Every time Sam hired a new agent he glorified his and Aaron's lifestyles. He would take a bright, hungry young man for a ride in the Mercedes, buy him lunch at the Biltmore or another of Santa Barbara's finer restaurants, flash cash and gold cards and expensive suits – plant the seed of greed, as Aaron called it – then give the kid a means to pursue his germinating dream of material bliss while Sam collected ten percent on everything he sold. It was part of the show, one of the many roles he played, and the car, the clothes, the condo, and the clout were merely props. Without the props the show could not go on. â€Å"Why do you want your life back?† Coyote asked, as if Sam had forgotten the question. â€Å"It's safe,† Sam blurted out. â€Å"So safe,† Coyote said, â€Å"that you can lose it in a day? To be safe is to be afraid. Is that what you want: to be afraid?† â€Å"I'm not afraid.† â€Å"Then why do you lie? You want the girl.† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"I will help you get her.† â€Å"I don't need your help. I need you gone.† â€Å"I am very good with women.† â€Å"Like you're good with cats and couches?† â€Å"Great heroes have great horniness. You should feel what it is like to pleasure a falcon. You lock talons with her in the sky and do it while you both are falling like meteors. You would like it; they never complain if you come too fast.† â€Å"Get out of here.† â€Å"I will go, but I will be with you.† Coyote rose and walked to the door. As he opened it he said, â€Å"Don't be afraid.† He stepped out of his office and closed the door. Suddenly, Sam leapt to his feet and headed after him. â€Å"Stay off my secretary!† he shouted. He ripped open the door and looked into the outer office where Gabriella, her composure regained, was typing up a claim form. Coyote was gone. Gabriella looked up and raised a disapproving eyebrow. â€Å"Is there a problem, Mr. Hunter?† â€Å"No,† Sam said. â€Å"No problem.† â€Å"You sounded frightened.† â€Å"I'm not frightened, goddammit!† Sam slammed the door and went to the desk for a cigarette. His cigarettes and lighter were gone. He stood there for a moment, feeling a flush of anger rise in him until he thought he would scream, then he fell back into his chair and smiled as he remembered something Pokey Medicine Wing had once told him: â€Å"Anger is the spirits telling you that you are alive.†

Math in Early Childhood Article Review Essay

The purpose of this article was to explain the use and importance of programs such as the, â€Å"What’s the Big Idea† program instituted at the Bennington Library in Vermont. The â€Å"What’s the Big Idea† program aims to provide librarians with techniques and tools for introducing preschool and kindergarten students to science and math through literature. Picture books and stories are used a lot because stores are great conveyors to memorable messages about since and math. It also gives children the tools they need to be able to look at books and seek out math and science concepts and connections within the text. The program focuses on child directed and hands on explorations rather that adult directed instruction allowing the children to gain personal acts of discovery through play. â€Å"What’s the Big Idea† focuses on four main math and science concepts; numbers and operations, patterns and relationships, changes over time, and geometry and special sense. For each topic there are activities, projects, and books that correspond with the chosen topic. There are different activity centers that are also set up. Some are set up for large group and small group and some are set up for independent exploration. They offer things such as interactive graphs, geoboards, jars with small objects for sorting, blocks, and other manipulatives. Something new that I learned was that I didn’t know that libraries offered programs like that. I knew that had reading groups and programs but I didn’t realizes that there were also libraries that offered programs to also promote math and science concepts as well. I like how they use books first to gain an idea and then tie it into math and science by exploring the concepts in the story a little further to better their understanding not only of the story but of the math and/or science behind it. A way that I can see this information being useful in the future is to have programs like this available to all libraries nationwide. In the article it said that it started out in Vermont and spread to libraries in New York, Delaware, and Texas. With children having access to programs like this from the preschool level they will then enter kindergarten with a greater knowledge base and with deeper understanding of the math and science concepts that they will need for the rest of their lives.

Animated cartoons for early childhood science education

Animated cartoons for early childhood science education Teachers teaching methods change because of the new generation of children. For this reason, teachers should use contemporary teaching methods for improving the quality of learning. In this framework teaching innovations which can meet such expectations are needed. This paper is a report of work describing curriculum which involves cartoons as a basis for teaching science. Here we can picture young pupils gaining knowledge through texts, teacher lectures and cartoons. It is important to realize that one of the reasons why science is thought to be difficult by many students in elementary education is that it is viewed as dealing with concepts which are often difficult to be explained and understood. Some students feel that they have to learn a lot of theory without considering how this theory might apply to the real world they are living in. This study represents findings on the use of animated cartoons and how they are able to evaluate the effectiveness in supporting teaching and le arning in science. The research results provide evidence that the use of animated cartoons significantly increases the young students` knowledge and understanding of specific science concepts. The importance of cartoons in science education has been recognized in recent years as they received an increasing amount of research attention. The presentation of ideas in visual form has been proven to be particularly important as it helps the educational process in a very up-to-date way. Why are cartoons so popular among young children and how can they be used for the purposes of teaching as well as learning? Research evidence indicates that cartoons are widely used as innovative and supporting tools in science teaching. Actually, they represent a form of art that has been promoted into an important visual language, which influences the human feelings and transmit messages using symbols and pictures. They are a combination of humour , exaggeration and symbols but in a very simple way. Euli e/1969/ pointed out very successfully that cartons, contain messages and when they are selected carefully, they can easily provide information via the symbols and the exaggeration. Most important is that they use familiar pictures and objects from daily life. In addition, cartoons can be used effectively in the teaching process when they provide information with regard to concrete objects. They were used by many researches in the classroom in order to promote learning, esp. in teaching children./Madden,Chung$Dawson,2008;Peacock,1995;Tsou,Wang&Tzeng,2006/. More over, the most innovative use in the instructive practice is that they easily capture students’ attention and then they allow them to’ travel with their mind ‘in the world of imagination and amusement while they are learning. Not surprisingly, cartoons have rapidly become a popular teaching and learning approach. Keogh and Naylor /1999/ ,he creators of the ‘concept cartoon strategy, have used it incre asingly in both primary and secondary education. . Concept cartoons offer an innovative approach to gaining access to children’s ideas in science. They have been used in different ways and in different situations to teach science, to assess pupils’ levels of understanding of science matters and to involve them in scientific discussion as well as to promote children’ s argumentation in primary science /Naylor,Keogh and Downing,2007/.

Probable Difficulties and Risks Associated With Using a Public Assignment - 1

Probable Difficulties and Risks Associated With Using a Public Infrastructure - Assignment Example This paper illustrates that as revealed in the case scenario of ING, it also had to witness similar difficulties when incorporating technology initiatives in its business process. Consequently, the company incorporated a more advanced internet network by building an extranet to offer a Web-to-host service that would enable the brokers of ING to rapidly access the mainframe data ensuring a time-efficient process in responding to the brokers’ needs. The incorporation of an advanced extranet system in ING was also expected to help in accommodating new partners. However, the technology innovation in ING was also criticized to limit the security of confidential data owing to the fact that through its inbuilt extranet system, the private data of the company would be placed over the public internet which would become easily accessible by unknown users. Such intrusions are quite likely to affect the customers’ privacy which is quite likely to ultimately affect the company in it s long-run performance. Another important security concern for the company can be identified as the database level. Due to lack of configuration in the database maintenance system through the newly incorporated extranet framework, any unauthorized employee or external user can easily hack the system and access to all the private information about the company. In order to mitigate its security concerns as a consequence of incorporating an extranet system, ING has been using two NT servers, i.e. a (Private Internet eXchange) (PIX) firewall strategy and an SNA gateway system. It is worth mentioning in this context that the function of the PIX firewall is to prohibit illegal access from the external users to the company’s data acting as an Internet Protocol (IP) firewall. The PIX firewall delivers the advantages of a ‘stateful firewall safety’ system and secures Virtual Private Network (VPN) access to the extranet system applied. The security protection software also provides scalable safety solution with failover support for chosen models to offer maximum dependability within the technology communication system.

Renren website Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Renren website - Term Paper Example One such example is the social networking websites. It not only embraced large number of users, but also has been able to grab the attention of the marketers. This is the reason why we find several social networking websites operating in the market place. Nowadays organizations around the world make substantial investments in the social networking platforms and utilize it as a promotional medium. The report will therefore mainly focus on the happenings of social networking world. In this regards the Chinese social networking giant Renren will be used as the social networking website. Furthermore the report also proposes to offer a comparative analysis of Renren and Facebook. Now since the report will follow a ‘funnel format’, it will commence after defining the broader terms. Once the broader terms have been illuminated, the report will shed light on the main discussion area. The discussion area will therefore cover various aspects of Renren such as its risks, threats, o pportunities, strengths, weaknesses, competitors etc. Most importantly, the marketing aspect of social media and Renren will be also emphasized. The discussion part will end after comparing Renren with Facebook. Finally the report will conclude and will also offer few recommendations. Table of Contents Introduction 4 Social networking: A brief Overview 4 An introduction to Renren 4 An Introduction to Facebook 5 Discussion 5 SWOT Analysis 6 Risk Factors 7 Sources of Revenue 7 Competitor Analysis 8 Consumer Analysis 9 The Marketing aspect of Social Media and Renren 9 Renren Marketing Aspects 10 Differences between Facebook and Renren 11 Application Differences 11 Interface Differences 12 Recommendations 13 Conclusion 13 Introduction The concept of internet was initiated in the early 1950s when the electronic computers were developed. After the introduction it passed through various development stages and finally was commercialized in the year 1992 (Majumdar, Cave & Vogelsang, 2005, p. 346). The primary rationale behind the commercialization of internet was to enable the users to share information and resources over the networks. Also communication was an important aspect of the internet. Once it got commercialized, human being witnessed the rapid growth and use of internet throughout the world (Reynolds, 2004, p.5). The rapid expansion most occurred in parts such as Australia and Europe. They were the earliest adopters of internet. Since the year 1990 interned has been able to impact the daily life to a large extant. Mostly the culture and the trading activities were highly impacted. Some of the important applications of internet include instant messaging, e-mail, two-way interactive video calls, phone calls, social networking, World Wide Web with its conversation forums, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) blogs, and online shopping. Thus internet has now become important in all the facets of civic, political and social life. Among the aforementioned application , social networking has been able to drive huge number of users towards them. Hence before proceeding towards the main discussion of the project, a brief overview of social networking is presented below. Social networking: A brief Overview A social networking service is based on providing services through online platforms. Social networking services are also the websites that helps to build social relationship among the people. In

Pornography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Pornography - Essay Example Lynne uses his experience as a civil rights campaigner, and his understanding of the constitution, to argue that those who make and use pornography have unalienable constitutional rights. By approaching pornography in this manner, Lynn challenges previous defenses of this subject, who have mainly focused upon aspects of the Freedom of Speech. Lynn firstly addresses the issue of campaigns by groups attempting to challenge non-pornographic works: "All this is of concern because of the belief that speech, written or visual, has the power to alter (or at least reinforce), perceptionsthus to shape attitudes and in the long run, actions" (Lynn, page 366). Lynn points out that the First amendment prevents such efforts to coerce government into limiting free speech, while admitting that those who believe in free speech also believe in the ability of that speech to change people's minds, or alter their opinions. (Lynn, 366). This, then is Lynn's conception of the battleground between those who wish to ban pornography, and those who believe it should continue to be allowed: do words and images have enough power to permanently affect a person's attitude Lynn considers the position of certain groups of feminists (Lynn, 366), who have picketed pornographic films; and others which have used civil rights laws to make those who produce or sell pornography uncomfortable about doing so, resulting in a reduction in those making or selling such items. Lynn adds that these laws would include scenarios including those where women are "'presented as sexual objects who enjoy pain or humiliation' to those which depict women in 'posturesof servility or submission or display'". Of course, not all of those images involve women being treated badly, and it is this conception of pornography by those opposed which disturbs many who are not opposed. Lynn states that the definition of pornography is not objective, and that it is as much of a loaded phrases as other anti-pornography words and descriptions. Lynn does not believe that pornographic images or words are responsible for the behavior of those who make or watch them. In his view, pornographers are as entitled to constitutional speech, insisting that it is necessary to understand that pornography is a communication. While it may not communicate primarily though words, he says, this is no restriction to citing the constitution in its defense. Providing evidence that other laws have upheld this non-linguistic speech: "The courtupheld the claim that live nude dancing was "Speech", and lower courts have accorded First Amendment protection to the 'emotive'communication of rock and roll (Lynn, 368). Though Lynn's argument, the defense of the rights of pornographic communication is the defense of the rights of many other forms of communication which are similarly non-verbal. Lynn also uses another of speculative methods to suggest that pornography has a positive role to play in creating images of women, being especially important in revealing the sexual needs or desires of older women, differently abled women, and those of shape and size not usually depicted in films or novels, and even invokes feminists in support of this idea: "Depictions or ways of living and acting that are radically different from our own can enlarge the range of human possibilities open to us" (Lynn, 368). After arguing for the

Quality Measures Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Quality Measures - Research Paper Example John Hopkinson hospital is used as a primary hospital in the comparison. John Hopkinson Hospital when compared in different aspects of service delivery exhibits slight variation to Mercy Medical Center. Different data such as patient survey among other information clearly elaborate the variation. Brief overview of the quality comparison data is as follows, About 81 percent of patients in John Hopkinson Hospital reported a well nurse communication whereas in the Mercy Medical Clinic 80 percent gave the same report of well-communication from nurses. Mercy Medical clinic showed 83 percent well communication by doctors whereas in John Hopkinson Hospital, only 81 percent gave the same report. In pain control, 72 percent of the patients in both John Hopkinson and Mercy Medical Clinic reported that there was adequate control of their pain (Medicare Government, 2015). In both medical centers, 65 percent of patients confirmed that their doctors always explains to them the use of medication provided. The cleanliness of the rooms in both hospitals compared favorable at 69 percent. In general John Hopkinson Hospital and Mercy Medical Clinic have same star rating in their patients’ survey. In the context of after surgery care, John Hopkinson Hospital has 95 percent timely administration of antibiotic after surgery whereas Mercy Medical Clinic has 95 percent. Other records on the use of antibiotics after surgery such surgery whose antibiotics use was stopped at the correct time is not available. In regards to heart failure there is no quality comparison data on the same. John Hopkinson Hospital has a very small number of cases of readmission, complication and deaths from the hip and knee surgery. Mercy Medical Clinic also shows same small data on the readmission and deaths from surgery. No quality survey data is provided in both hospitals for serious complications and deaths (Medicare Government, 2015). The payment and value of

Decision Making Assessment (Synthesis) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Decision Making Assessment (Synthesis) - Essay Example The study deals in focusing on the decision making concept with reference to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Frame is defined as â€Å"the structural core of the paradigmatic mental model that brings to a problem† (Johnson & Russo, 1994, p. 290). In simple terms decision making frames creates its own ideas and focuses on the environment. By ideas it is meant that the environmental issues should be considered that are affected by the decision (Johnson & Russo, 1994, p. 290). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers considers environmental sustainability as their key principle. The Corp team diligently works to strengthen the security of the nation by developing and preserving the infrastructure of America and offering military facilities (About us, n.d.). Any type of decision making is backed by reasoning. A bad decision comes from distortion and biases, which creates a series of mental flaws and obstructs the sense of reasoning. So before coming to any decision reasoning should be done properly (The Hidden Traps in Decision Making, n.d.). Behind any decision taken by the organization, the main reason is to â€Å"strengthen the security system, energize the economy and reduce the risks from disasters† (Mission & Vision, n.d.). For this reason a group of trained individual is continuously working to provide innovative and sustainable solutions (Mission & Vision, n.d.). Declarative knowledge in decision making gives importance to the ordering of attributes and relative desirability of various levels within the attributes that are required to implement the strategy. Thus the experience and expertise of a decision maker is bound to be affected by the declarative and procedural memory in following a plan (Goldstain & Weber, 1995, p.116). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers always transform the ways they do their business based on the Campaign Plan. A set of experienced, trained and certified workers, work as per

Areas of Legal Liability for Advanced Practice Nurses Essay

Areas of Legal Liability for Advanced Practice Nurses - Essay Example The failures to follow standards of care may include failure to institute a protocol or failure to use proper procedure for a particular skill. Under such circumstances, nurses are liable for damages caused as a result of their failure to implement proper actions. Hence, management should be ready to take necessary actions against nurses who violated proper standards of care. Such a response may assist the management to limit the liability for managers and the facility. Failure to use equipment responsibly falls under the category of direct breach of care, standards and it can be more easily proved. If a nurse deploys a clinical equipment for any use other than it was actually intended, he/she is liable to face legal consequences. In addition, it is observed that nurses often use equipments that they have not been adequately trained to use. If the misuse of the equipment causes any harm to patients, the nurse is in legal jeopardy. Hence, the management must ensure that they have employed adequate number of skilled and experienced nursing staff to prevent nurses from risking the life of patients. An effective nurse-patient ratio would reduce equipment errors significantly. In most of the nurse malpractice suits, an element of poor communication between nurse and patient, nurse and physician, or nurse and other healthcare providers is identified. The communication failure cases may include nurses’ failure to communicate all relevant patient data to the physician or discharge information to the patient. In order to avoid such troubles, the management may insist nurses to record all matters concerning patient care appropriately. In addition, it is advisable for the management to establish an effective reporting system in the care facility so that the flow of communication between nurses and other parties would become effective. In the eyes of law, if a nurse fails to document something appropriately, the court will consider as it

Conscious Performance Analysis or CPA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Conscious Performance Analysis or CPA - Essay Example In fact, being a skeptic, I would say that there is plenty of evidence to support the notion that most people do not invest any time into going beyond the Wondering Operation that involves attending to what interests them and ignoring what is of no interest. Critical Operations follow for those who find CPA a useful exercise, but unfortunately, most people find interest only in superficiality of the bag of chips they are devouring while sitting on their couch in front of their big screen watching Dancing with the Stars. The popularity of such superficial and meaningless programming as well as the rising obesity rates proves this assertion, or at least makes a very strong argument in favor of the assertion. The real value in CPA comes from the fact that it can lead people out of that inattentive, lazy place into a more enlightened, more examined life that truly is worth living. Americans especially, but I am sure that it occurs in other countries too, are lazy. The effort required to perform CPA and to do so on a regular basis is much more than most people have in them. So, those who do actively seek meaning, objectivity, knowledge, truth, reality, and value, even if they do not realize that they are performing CPA, are few and far between. To me to assume that most people do want to find greater meaning in their lives seems optimistic. One would have to credit the general population with a lot more gumption than I am willing to credit them with, but only because I see the results of the general ennui of society. Nobody cares for each other and only in a genuine concern for each other can life actually have meaning. People only care about themselves and it is proven day in and day out. Take Black Friday for example. Shoppers stepped around and over a dying man and sprayed each other with pepper spray just to be first to get a cheap video game console so they can go home and resume being lazy in front of the television. These sorts of examples do not bode well fo r the future of humanity These pepper-spraying, bargain hunting people are only one kind of people, of course, and CPA does â€Å"distinguish types of subjects by the kinds of meaning they’re most interested in, the kinds of knowledge they most desire, the domains of reality they inhabit and in which they’re most comfortable, the kinds of values that concern them most† (87). Another kind of subject would be those at the other end of the spectrum, those who genuinely seek meaningful purpose in their lives through self-knowledge and self-possession. These people exhibit a basic commitment toward meaning, objectivity, knowledge, truth, reality, and value by wondering about the way they approach the events of their lives, and by critically analyzing not only the content and sequence of the events, but also their method of experiencing the events. Using CPA allows a person to experience life’s events more fully. After learning about CPA, I thought of some of t he past moments of my life and realized that some of them passed by and now I have few memories of them. For instance, I only vaguely remember my high school graduation. That is a pretty important day, but I just remember being nervous and not really wanting to walk across the stage in my clunky shoes to get my diploma. I thought for sure I was going to trip and fall. I do not remember being proud, just glad that I was finished with that portion of my life and ready to move on with the next. I do not remember any great feeling of achievement either. However, now looking back I see my high school graduation as a sign post in my life. When the principal of my school handed me that

Data and Assumption on New Technology Innovation Essay Example for Free

Data and Assumption on New Technology Innovation Essay Yesterday at the stroke of midnight a series of tragic events came to a closing when Othello, Venices most eminent and respected Moorish general, killed himself in his wifes bedchamber after smothering the young bellenone other than Venices coveted Desdemonawith a pillow. According to several witnesses of the bloody suicide, the mentally tormented general was under the notion that Desdemona had been illicitly tupping his first-in-command, Michael Cassio, a lie fed to him by the ironically misnamed Honest Iago. Iago, the villain responsible for the murder of his own wife as well as a Venetian gentleman, has been taken by Cyprian officials for questioning and possible torture. However, it is known that he orchestrated a plan to create conflict between General Othello and Lieutenant Cassio surrounding Desdemona that he hoped would result in the death of both Cassio and the lady. Witnesses to the blood bath describe the scene gravely and painfully. I walked into the room and there was Othello, with his wife Desdemona slain on the bed. It was really shocking. Her face was very pale, and though she was evidently dead, it seemed she was trying to say something, says Gratiano. Another witness describes Othellos suicide with great distress. He was very calm, but there was a wondrous rage in his face, like a monster. I had never seen him like that before. He took his sword and drove it into his chest before anyone could stop him. The only survivor of the discord is Lieutenant Cassio, who suffered a major injury in his leg from Iagos sword. When asked whether he was ever involved with lady Desdemona, Cassio responded, We were dear friends, and it pains me greatly that she is gone. But we never shared more than the touching of hands or a brief brush on the shoulder. As for the man who caused this, I will see to it that he pays for his cruelty with his own suffering. A funeral will be held in three days near the town square. Mourners are welcome, including former suitors of Desdemona. Michael Cassio asks that all that attend bring memorabilia of the lost ones such as locks of hair, clothing, letters, or embroidered handkerchiefs.

The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci | Painting Meaning

The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci | Painting Meaning By the end of the fourteenth century, the Black Death killed off a third of the European population. After the event, people were all set for a transformation. Gradually, new ideas and viewpoint started to spread from Florence Italy. All through the Renaissance, there was an upsurge of new ideas, attitudes, and art work of the new era. These new ideas stimulated new look on these artwork, literature, and judgment. Leonardo Da Vinci was a key figure in these new ideas and paintings during the Renaissance Period. The Renaissance is described as The humanistic revival of classical art, architecture, literature, and learning that originated in Italy in the 14th century and later spread throughout Europe. This movement lasted approximately from the 14th to 17th centuries. Commencing in Italy, this significant art movement rapidly expanded all through Western Europe. Historians consider that the humanist approach paused at a point halfway flanked by medieval supernaturalism and the modern scientific and critical manner. Medievalists perceive humanism as the terminal product of the Middle Ages. Humanism is regarded as a philosophy, not a religion. Humanism started as the traditionalist drifted clear of medieval Christianity and resulted in bold independence of the medieval tradition. Humanism was based on the idea that life on Earth had a point of its own; a person did not have to reside unhappily on the way to heaven. Humanists consider that life was filled with beauty, waiting to be discovered. In this paper I will be analyzing The Last Supper, by Leonardo Da Vinci. It is a fresco, signifying that it is directly painted on a wall. The Last Supper is fascinating in several ways. In its massive simplicity, the arrangement of the setting is masterful; the strength of its appearance hails from the eye-catching distinction in the attitudes of the twelve apostles as juxtaposed to Christ. Leonardo did not select the depiction of the traitor Judas long-established in the iconographic tradition; he depicted, rather, that instant of maximum nervousness as associated with the New Testament, One of you which eateth with me will betray me. Each and every one of the disciples-as human beings who do not comprehend what is about to take place-are disturbed, whereas Christ alone, mindful of his divine assignment, sits in lonesome, transfigured tranquility. Only one other person shares the undisclosed information: Judas, who is both part of and yet barred from the movement of his companions; in this seclusion he becomes the second lonely character- the guilty one-of the group. The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci All through history, numerous works of art are both produced and damaged, and it is only the real works of art that people commit to memory and hold on to for years following their creation. Leonardo Da Vincis The Last Supper is one of these pieces. It is more than five hundred years old, but still one of the most renowned and familiar paintings in the present day (Lewis and Susan, 1995). Nearly everyone is familiar with the Last Supper. As stated by the bible, significant events occurred during the Last Supper, including a declaration by Jesus that one of his disciples would deceive him and the first communion. In addition, the Last Supper was a profound Biblical event, in which Jesus shared a final banquet with his disciples. Even though this subject matter occurs in several works of art for instance, works by Tintoretto (Kren and Daniel, 2008), The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci is the most celebrated and has been the focus of many discussions. I chose Da Vincis The Last Supper is since its a work of art that I am familiar with. Ive spotted it before, and its very well known. You can ask any person about it, and virtually everyone has heard of it and is familiar with its description. Its very famed, and is an extremely well known piece of art. In actual fact, it is regarded as one of the most famous portrait and spiritual paintings of all time, together with The Mona Lisa and Michelangelos Creation of Adam (Kren and Daniel, 2008). In addition, it is a painting that is frequently seen in pop culture, for example in Mel Brooks History of the World, Part 1. In spite of seeing the painting repeatedly and in many different ways, I still wasnt familiar with the history behind the painting. I didnt know precisely at what time it was painted, where it was painted, what type of painting it is, and why Da Vinci decided to paint it. I thought it would be nice to write about this piece with the aim of learning more about it while writi ng my paper. As already acknowledged, The Last Supper was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci, an Italian artist from the town of Vinci. He is one of the most extraordinary painters, architects, and gifted philosophers of all time. Da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452, in the neighborhood of Vinci but spent a large part of his life in Florence where he started painting and after a particular period- painting. When he was fourteen, Leonardo began working as a studio boy to Andrea del Verrocchio, who at the time was one of the most acclaimed painters (Kenneth, 1939). He grew to be a self-dependent master in 1478, at which time he started being commissioned for a variety of works of art. Da Vinci commenced painting The Last Supper in 1495 for his patron Duke Ludovico Sforza (the Duke of Milan), whom he started to work for in 1482. Leonardos Last Supper is a priceless piece of art with a great deal of concealed meaning and noticeable talents  conferred upon a wall. He was capable of using hisskills in prod ucing a very comprehensive and naturalistic piece of work that would be kept in mind forhundreds of years. He was also capable   of creating persons with remarkable uniqueness. Not only was hisdepiction of the characters superb, but the symbolism he employed which lay emphasis on the story being toldin the Last Supper. The Last Supper was painted in the refectory of the Dominican Church of S. Maria delle Grazie in Milan, and was destined to be a symbol of religious devotion (Chubb, 1968). Some people maintain that that the painting took more than ten years to finalize, whereas many others say it was completed in two years. Its imperative to note that if finished in two years, it was quite an achievement for Da Vinci, who had a habit of procrastinating his work, and left several of his works incomplete. Leonardos Last Supper was in the past thought to be a fresco. Nevertheless, it is not a true fresco since it was painted on a dry plaster rather than a wet one. He wanted to make the painting as detailed comprehensive as possible, as he wanted to portray human appearance and feeling on the characters faces. Da Vinci was trying out new techniques of painting and, regrettably, his new technique was not of high-quality for protecting art over lengthy episodes. The masterpiece is painted on a layer of dry plaster. He chose this medium due to the need for more time to paint precise expressions, which was unworkable on wet plaster as he would get a very short duration (Kenneth, 1939). The Last Supper, painted on dry plaster is in reality Leonardo Da Vincis trial method of painting. Nevertheless, this technique is regarded a failure, as it has not endured the test of time. Prior to starting the painting, Leonardo covered the wall with a coating of resin, which is a mixture of pitch and mast ic. In addition, he utilized chalk in the process of coating. To cordon the painting he used tempra which permitted him to emphasize the particulars of human emotion. Unfortunately, the substance proved unsuccessful, and by 1517 the piece began to deteriorate (Edward, 1928). By 1556, the painting was by now regarded as ruined and unrecognizable- a painter Giovanni Batista Armenini said that the painting was so badly affected that not anything is noticeable but a mass of blots (Lewis and Susan, 1995). The painting has kept on decaying in the subsequent centuries. In fact, it was so unrecognizable due to additional damage made by careless artists who were trying to restore the painting and by the addition of an entrance way put in the lower part of the painting. It took many years of wide-ranging refurbishment so as to have the piece look as it was initially painted. The very last and the most successful restoration of the Last Supper painting occurred from 1978 to 1999 (Kren and Dani el, 2008). The dining room of the convent was cordoned off and the temperature settings inside the room were kept under control for the aim of restoration work. The life of the Last Supper painting has been significantly extended owing to the latest restorations. As previously mentioned, The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci is the primary great figure work of art of the High Renaissance and the ultimate understanding of its theme. The painting depicts Jesus and his twelve disciples at the last supper, right at the instant where Jesus informs them One of you shall betray me. They are seated at a long table that is parallel to the picture plane. The room is open and tranquil, and Christ has his arms held out in willing trust. The twelve apostles are all clustered into sets of three and all display expressions of shock upon hearing Jesus declaration except Judas, the one responsible for betraying Jesus. He is inclined back into the shadows, and is shown to be holding a bag of money to his chest (Chubb, 1968). Prior to Da Vincis era, it was customary for portrayal of the last supper to include Judas detached from the rest of the group. Da Vinci positions him in the painting right in the heart of things, yet he still manages to disconnect him from the rest of the disciples. The painting exactly conveys the story of the last supper in one setting. Presently, Leonardos Last Supper is still a significant work of art, as it was significant when it was first painted. Much like the way Judas was painted in with the rest of the disciples was an innovative thought; the look on the disciple faces was as well new. Several paintings of Jesus and his disciples at the last supper have been created, but by no means has one appeared quite as real. The looks on the disciples faces make them appear like real people acting in response to something they have listened to. The group is in deep and dramatic excitement, with their hands out in astonishment and question at Jesus words. They come out lifelike in the piece, similar to people who have in reality heard shocking news. The observer can just sense the anxious excitement sweeping through the group of disciples. The disciples are assembled into groups of three and attached all the groups together through their hand movements giving this piece a symmetrically aesthetic sensation. Furthermore, Da Vincis painting is a masterpiece due to his exceptional application of point perspective (Kenneth, 1939). The way it is painted on the wall makes it seem to be a continuation of the room. Jesus, the most important person in the painting, has been positioned in front of three windows that are in the rear of the room, and he is framed by the center window with an arched pediment. His head functions as the central and vanishing point of this piece, plus all lines lead right to him. The viewers eyes and attention is immediately attracted right to Jesus. It is apparent that Jesus functions as the vital magnet. The use of proper perspective was quite a novel idea when it came to painting, and Da Vinci utilized it superbly. A few individuals even argue that it is one of the greatest applications of one point perspective ever produced. Despite being such an extraordinary painting, The Last Supper is still very much talked about and viewed in the present day. Leonardos Last Supper has many theories behind it, such as the stories that the same model was utilized for painting Jesus and then years later used for Judas. Or that the apostle sitting to the left of Jesus is not really John, but rather a woman, Mary Magdalene (Edward, 1928). There are even some individuals who consider the dishes, food, and hands positioned on the table construct notes on a music staff, and that there is a song concealed in the painting. Also, the analysis of this painting by Dan Brown in The Da Vinci Code has generated a stir regarding the identity of Leonardo Da Vinci and in addition about his works as an artist (Kren and Daniel, 2008). From 1513, Leonardo began living in Rome where he was acknowledged along with one of the renowned artists of the time- Michelangelo and Rafael. Even though his early work of brilliance was Madonna and Child, which led to his more famous work The Last Supper, Leonardo also drew up plans for court festival arenas for the Duke (Chubb, 1968). In addition, he was very engrossed in his own research drafts which are, as we are familiar with presently, in various disciplines of biology as well as science and engineering. These rough drafts contain drawings on how the heart would impel the blood to the muscles. He also created amazing drawings of how humans could fly. By examining birds, he created the glider, parachute, and a machine that would later on permit humans to fly- the helicopter. Nevertheless, this part of his intelligence wasnt truly valued at his time since these inventions were too bold and impractical for his coevals (Edward, 1928). On the whole, Leonardo Da Vincis The Last Supper is a remarkable work of art, and has been for generations. Da Vinci sketched the first relaxed portraits with misty landscapes in the background. He utilized warm and passionate colors to produce the misty appearance on the landscapes. He had a unique way of painting with mixing colors and didnt put eyebrows on his paintings. Although it The Last Supper has disintegrated to the point of being unrecognizable, many people have worked very hard to make sure that it will stay put for upcoming generations to see. Da Vinci was a very accomplished artist, and it is illustrated through his works like The Last Supper. Even to this day, his painting The Last Supper is known far and wide and visited by many tourists each year. The memory of the Last Supper could be due to the holiness of the parting meal. Visual Image Title of artwork- The Last Supper Artist- Leonardo Da Vinci Media-Tempera and mixed media on plaster

Marketing Analysis and Planning at HSBC

Marketing Analysis and Planning at HSBC This report highlights the market segmentation of the HSBC credit card in India. The organisation segments the market on the basis of geographic locations and in view of income, lifestyle and behavioural traits. The product has been majorly targeted to the existing customers of the bank and the shopaholics at the Westside store. The bank also emphasises on increasing credit card-spends and customer satisfaction by offering distinct product types and elite additional benefits unlike its industry rivals. The brand image and service excellence of the organisation has positioned its credit card at an elevation. The marketing mix strategy executed by the bank coils strength to the market position of its credit card. HSBC has designed its credit card to satisfy the needs of every individual in the respective market segment by offering six different card types. The demand for credit card is increasing in the country as more people prefer plastic money over hard cash. Hence, they are willing to pay the optimum price for the card usage. The massive presence of the entity gives an advantage over the competitors and provides convenience to the customers. The report also emphasises on the success of cobrand association with the Westside store and the effective marketing strategies implemented by HSBC. The consumer engages in complex buying behaviour due to numerous similar product options. The effective and efficient marketing mix implemented by the bank echoes positivity on the buyers behaviour towards the credit card. The product satisfies the consumer needs and wants, cost, convenience and communication aspect enhancing the buyers inclination towards the product. Finally, the report critiques the marketing strategy executed by the organisation. It also sketches the key marketing facts and suggests future marketing plans which might help in accelerating growth. 1.1 Description of the Organisation The HSBC group in India was founded in October 1853 when the Mercantile Bank of India, China and London was established in Mumbai. With the authorised capital of INR 5 million, the mercantile bank opened branches in Chennai, London, Colombo and Kandy. By 1855, the bank expanded operations in Kolkata, Canton, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai. The HSBC Group serves around 100 million customers worldwide through around 8,000 offices in 87 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa. With assets of some USD 2,418 billion at 30 June 2010, HSBC is one of the worlds largest banking and financial services organisation. HSBC is marketed worldwide as the worlds local bank. (About us, www.hsbc.co.in) The HSBC Group is committed to the five core business principles of outstanding customer service: effective and efficient operations, strong capital and liquidity, prudent lending policy and strict expense discipline. 2. The market segment of HSBC credit card HSBC isolates the various broad segments within the market and follows segmented marketing. The company divides the market on the basis of creditability. It offers several card types to different market segment adopting clustered preferences. The chart below illustrates HSBCs bases for segmenting: C:UsersPrashantDesktopUntitledaa.jpg The consumer market has been classified on the grounds of different geographical units i.e. states, cities and regions. The main focus is to target urban and sub-urban markets needs and preferences. With the economic growth in the country, double income has become a common scenario in most families resulting in high spending power. HSBC divides the market on the basis of their income and the purchasing power, occupation and social class. Buyer under the common segment group may have different psychographic profiles bases personality and lifestyle. HSBC and Westside offer the cobranded card that is designed to supplement the lifestyle and is regarded as mark of prestige and recognition. The consumer market has further been segmented on the basis of the buyers attitude, knowledge, usage and response to the product. 2.1 Product Targeting HSBC targets the existing customers of the bank from Personal Banking, Assets and Investments and Personal Finance Services (PLB, AIQ PFS) through open market acquisition bases their creditability. HSBC amalgamates its customer base, while amplifying revenue from within the existing customers by majorly increasing their spending on the card instead of hunting for new prospects. The bank can afford new cards, but not at the expense of non-performing assets (NPA). The bank majorly engages in cleaning-up on credit card portfolio and emphasis on retained growth. The bank also considers the credit cards for upgradation to superior card types bases the income criteria. The chart below shows the income eligibility criteria (GBP) for its card types: Source- www.hsbc.co.in There is no income eligibility criterion for HSBC Premier credit card as the existing cards are upgraded to Premier bases card performance and creditability. Furthermore, HSBC targets the Westside store shoppers covering the entire age group in the market. With the acceleration in urbanisation, the rise in customer density area is evident thus enabling efficient utilisation of resources by reaching same number of consumers with minimum number of store outlets. The consumers are in the middle to high range income groups as the products in the store are moderately priced. HSBC Credit card operations, which keep a hawks eye on demographics, are swooping down on shopaholic consumers through the cobrand association with the Westside store. 2.2 Market Positioning and Major Competitors HSBC has a competitive advantage over its counterparts as it engages in offering better, cheaper and newer products and services. It incorporates the customer-benefit approach and product-class approach in order to position its product overcoming the industry rivals. Major Competitors: Citibank Credit Card Standard Chartered Credit Card SBI Credit Card ICICI Credit Card Axis Bank Credit Card HSBC differentiates its credit card from its competitors bases four dimensions: Product Differentiation The HSBC credit card provides special features like fuel surcharge waiver and exclusive rewards programme. The petrol fuel surcharge waiver is an elite feature on HSBC credit card which undermines the similar product offered by the market competitors. The rewards programme on HSBC credit card gives bonus points to the cardholder on every purchase that can be redeemed for annual fees, gifts, gift vouchers, charities and JPmiles (Jet Airways Jet privilege account). Along with these features, HSBC Westside Co-branded card is packed with benefits from both the HSBC and Westside. The card offers privileges and superior savings for a memorable shopping experience unlike its competitors. The HSBC credit card is globally accepted at over 18 million establishments worldwide and over 1 lakh establishments in India. The card has access to cash, round the clock, at over 700000 ATMs worldwide. HSBC endeavours password protected payment facility on the Internet at no additional cost. Moreover, the card comes with the zero lost card liability after the loss of card has been reported to the HSBC. Service Differentiation The cardholder is provided with the usage and service guide along with the credit card to safeguard consumer from any misuse of the product. Moreover, HSBCs international connectivity gives it competitive advantage over a similar product available in the market. The post-sale service is also an integral aspect that a consumer looks for before buying a product. HSBCs preamble is to ensure that the customer get the best of service. The cardholder may contact the customer service channels i.e. phone banking service, email or visit the nearest HSBC branch for any probes. The quality of service offered by HSBC provides a brink to its credit cards market position over the industry rivals in the market. Image Differentiation An established brand name is the result of HSBCs continuous identity building programs and service excellence. The logo of the bank signifies that the doors of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation are open for business. The symbol of hexagon representing the six quadrants has an instant recognition and bagged a distinct place in the target customers mind. The same has also worked into brand advertisements in conveying the company personality. At the same time, the banks focus is to create a professional and elegant unified ambience across establishments. There is an exclusive Premier Service desk in selected branches to ensure extra comfort and convenience for its valued customer. The organisation has always believed in playing an active role in the community it serves. At HSBC, corporate sustainability is not mere generosity. It takes its Corporate Sustainability (CS) role seriously and helps create an environment where business and nature can flourish hand in hand. Its MicroFinance lending initiative launched in April 2005 has already benefited almost 9000 poor households in Andhra Pradesh giving them the hope of a sustainable livelihood. (HSBC, www.superbrandsindia.com) Majorly, all the banks offer similar offers and features in the product though; it is HSBCs brand name that creates a difference. Personnel Differentiation HSBC has a strong competitive advantage through hiring and training the better individual that its competitors do. The market segment by HSBC is commendable and targeting market bases financial stability is opt for the industry type as there is huge risk involved. Since, the Indian economy to an extent has recovered from the recession; the bank can initiate offering credit cards to new customer bases. The New to Business (NTB) consumer group can be arbitrated bases their credit history and financial stability within formulated limitations using forecast based risk management. Otherwise, the bank ensures service excellence, local presence and strong market position that undermines its rivals. 3. Marketing Mix Developed by HSBC Supports Its Market Position for Credit Card HSBC devises marketing activities and instils the marketing-mix strategies to influence its business partners along with the prospect consumer. Marketing activities are aimed to create awareness, communication and deliver value to the consumer. 3.1 Product The bank offers different product types for every consumer with different needs and wants. The core product benefit of the credit card is the 52 days free credit period for repayment of purchases. The credit card also comes with the cash advance facility wherein the customer can withdraw cash within the specified cash credit limit. The HSBC credit card types currently in the market are as follows: HSBC Classic credit card HSBC Gold credit card HSBC Platinum credit card HSBC Premier credit card HSBC Westside Cobrand Classic credit card HSBC Westside Cobrand Gold credit card With the HSBC Credit Card the consumers can avail the Balance Transfer which allows them to transfer other credit card outstanding dues for repayment at lower interest rates. Furthermore, the HSBC credit card comes with the Loan on Phone facility to convert the purchase into easy instalments. The bank also has cobrand association with CPP Assistance Services Private Limited to safeguard the cardholders interest in event of card loss, theft and related fraud. The CPP (Card Protection Plan) shields the loss of important cards valuable documents including the other credit, debit, ATM, membership or loyalty cards. Furthermore, the role shoppers can also apply upto three additional credit cards for their spouse, parents, siblings and children. 3.2 Price The HSBC credit card has been priced high compared to the most of the competitors in the market. The consumer does not hesitate to opt for the card at offered price considering the brand name and the additional features of the product. The bank charges annual fee towards the card usage which is levied to the cardholders account in the anniversary month and a joining fee on some card types that is levied at point of sale. From time to time, the bank offer cards with no joining fee and cards free from annual fee for life to select customers. The bank may offer 50% discount on the fee bases the creditability of the prospect and the existing customer. 3.3 Place The enormous International presence of the bank ascertains to be a marketing advantage. It endeavours ease of access to bank services to the cardholder even on an international travel. The existing customers of the bank (PLB, AIQ, and PFS) can directly approach any of the branches for credit card application. However, the bank has also established various distribution channels across country i.e. Direct Selling Agents (DSAs) who generates business for the bank under a mutual agreement. Moreover, the banks cobrand association with Westside store has concentrated the target prospect of the bank and enriched its local presence. The consumer can apply for HSBC Westside credit card by visiting any of the Westside store in the region. The Westside store has an enormous presence in the country that ensures that prospect consumers are at ease to reach the product. 3.4 Promotion HSBC focuses on establishing sound communication with the consumer and implement Direct Marketing strategies. The bank advertises the credit card through various marketing means like Email Telemarketing, trade magazine advertising, hoardings, brochures and cobranding. The bank also attempts to create a positive image of the product to ensure word of mouth strategy works for the product. The Westside association has proved propitious for the bank in conquering the target market base. The card is being majorly marketed by cobranding with other business partners (e.g. pizza hut, movie theatres) in form of discounts and coupons to existing cardholders. From time to time, the bank launches the cash back scheme on card usage or on purchases with associated business partners to retain the existing cardholders and lure the prospect. E.g. the bank is offering 5% -10% cash back on purchase using HSBC credit card with the merchant MakeMyTrip (India) Pvt. Ltd. (Travel Agency). The strategy of offering different product types expands HSBCs market horizons and also ensures convenience and sound communication. HSBC views email marketing as a vital component of their overall marketing mix, enabling them to communicate with their customers in a highly targeted way.CPP insurance offered by the bank safeguards the consumer liability for misuse before reporting the card as lost. However, the bank can also offer a card type that requires a passcode on manual swipes like it offers secure pay for online purchases. This will enhance security and the bank would expand its customer base by attracting the consumer group who do not opt for credit card due to the risks involved. 4. Marketing Mix implemented by HSBC influences Buying Behaviour for its Credit Card As the product is one time buy and is long-term association, the consumer engages in complex buying behaviour. The studies show that similar social class exhibit similar buying behaviour. The banks strategy to offer different product types influences the buyers behaviour to opt for the respective product types. The basic core product is identical to the similar product being offered by the industry rivals. However, the distinct product type and additional exclusive features associated with HSBC credit card allures the esteem-seekers who look for class, brand and snootiness. CPP insurance on the credit card safeguards the buyer from the perceived financial risk. Also, the EMI facility towards purchase is more likely to generate magnetizing effect on the buyer. This is also a well-known fact that in spite of increased interest rate and annual fee levied, the demand for credit card is rising. In the last decade in India, the usage of plastic money encouraged the young middle class to defy the Hindi adage Dont stretch your feet beyond your sheet which is another way of saying, Live within your means. (The swipe and spend economy, p.4) Hence, the pricing strategy opted by HSBC has been quite successful to attract the target consumer who associate the product with prestige and reputation. The bank might fail to allure the consumers who look for cost benefit and whose interest is only in the cashless purchase and credit facility. However, the bank should offer a card type without any joining or annual fee with the core product benefit for full market coverage. Many people have a psychology to correlate the price of the product with its quality and brand name the costlier the better. Such consumers are likely to have positive approach while making a purchase decision. C:UsersPrashantDesktopaaa.jpg The 4 Cs associated with the 4 Ps As the HSBCs tagline goes the Worlds Local Bank the bank ensures the same substantiates to be true with its massive presence in the country and worldwide. The Marketing Mix variable Place has been designed by the bank as such it delivers customer benefit effectively. It provides ease of access to the consumers unlike any of the competitors in the Indian market. Hence, the contended comforters who ponder the convenience and service would consider the product over its substitutes. Thereafter, as the credit cardholders need continuous association and post-sale services, the self-actualizers would understand the benefit of massive presence of the entity. HSBC engages in personalized promotion through direct marketing that enhances effective communication with the consumer and develops loyalty and trust towards the brand. The Email and Telemarketing adopted by HSBC has been the wisest strategy to approach the existing customers of the bank. HSBC is a big brand name and a buyer will have a tendency to buy the HSBC credit card if the reference group or the influencer is currently using the same. The word of mouth strategy works well for these buyers. The family members or friends of the existing customers are likely to choose HSBC credit card over its rivals. The bank emphasises on associating with brands that is most popular by all in the target consumer group to expand its market horizon. There will be no market for product that everybody likes a little, only for products that somebody likes a lot. (Kotler.P, Marketing Management p.251) HSBCs association with popular brand develops a positive image for its product and the consumer having preference for the associated brand would develop positive image towards HSBC. 5. Conclusion HSBC credit cards are among the most popular and top-rated credit cards in India. The product has been designed as per the market requirement and caters to the needs and wants of every individual with different product attributes, brand image and additional benefits. Furthermore, the bank focuses on operational excellence, customer intimacy and product leadership to enhance its market position over its industry rivals. The product is moderately priced and ensures convenience to the buyer. HSBCs cobrand association with Westside and collaboration with strong business partners creates positive buyers approach towards the product.

Death of a Salesman Essay -- essays research papers fc

Death of a salesman The Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller is a controversial play of a typical American family and their desire to live the American dream â€Å"Rather than a tragedy or failure as the play is often described. Death of a Salesman dramatizes a failure of [that] dream† (Cohn 51). The story is told through the delusional eyes and mind of Willy Loman, a traveling salesman of 34 years, whose fantasy world of lies eventually causes him to suffer an emotional breakdown. Willy’s wife, Linda, loves and supports Willy despite all his problems, and continually believes in his success and that of their no good lazy sons, Biff and Happy. The play takes place in 1942, in Willy and Linda’s home, a dilapidated shack on the outskirts of a slum. Willy has spent his whole life teaching and believing that you can achieve success by your appearance and by making yourself as amiable as possible. Eventually Willy begins to fabricate stories at himself to be able to live with himself be cause he can’t meet his own expectations. He falls deeper into his lies, making himself and his family suffer for it. (Thesis). In the play Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller proves he is America’s social critic when he criticizes Willy’s relationship concerning his family, his lack of success in achieving his goals and his dreams along with his inner turmoil and personal collapse which result in suicide. In the onset of the play, Willy told Linda that you â€Å"work a lifetime to pay of a house. You finally own it, and there is nobody to live in it† (Cohn 56). This quote shows how Willy strives his whole life to make a home for his family and by the time he sees the realization of that one dream, his family has drifted apart and he is alone with his haunting thoughts and his ghosts. Willy has such high expectations for himself and his sons, and when they all failed to accomplish their dreams, they were unable to accept each other for what they truly were. Willy raised Biff with the idea that success depends on whether or not a person can sell himself and not how smart a person is. Biff’s tragic flaw is his acceptance of Willy’s values and not creating any of his own. When Biff realizes his father is a fake, he becomes a lost individual and he does not speak to his father for 14 years. In Willy’s family it is always Biff who receives recognition, however, H appy strives for attention too... ...sm CLC.2 . Detroit: Indiana University press. 1971. 68-96. Bibliography Bloom, Harold. Major Literary Characters: Willy Loman. New York: Chelsea House, 1991. Bloom, Harold. Modern Critical Interpretations: Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman. New York: Chelsea House, 1988. Cohn, Ruby. â€Å"The Articulate Victims of Arthur Miller†. Contemporary Literary Criticism CLC.2 . Detroit: Indiana University press. 1971. 68-96. Driver, Tom F. Saturday Review. Contemporary Literary Criticism. CLC.2.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Detroit: James Brown Associates. 1970. Magill, N Frank. â€Å"Arthur Miller.† Vol.4 of Magills Survey of American Literature.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  New York: Salem Press. Inc, 1991. Murray, Edward. â€Å"Arthur Miller.† Contemporary Literary Criticism.† Vol.6.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Detroit: Gak Research, 1987. Perkins, George, Barbara Perkins and Phillip Leiniger. â€Å"Arthur Miller.† Readers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Encyclopedia of American Literature. 1991. Simon, John. â€Å"Arthur Miller.† Contemporary Literacy Criticism. Vol.2. Detroit   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  NYM Corp. 1972.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Child’s Development is Influenced by Environmental and Cultural Influen

Attention to every stage of a child’s physical, emotional and educative development is â€Å"both critical and vital† (Alison Dunn, 2004). Research shows that the care young children receive has dramatic long-term effects on how children develop and learn, how they cope with stress, and how they react to the world around them. â€Å"Science tells us that consistently positive and stimulating experiences in their early years helps children’s brains to grow† (Frank Oberklaid, 2008); it can also affect how they continue to learn later on in life. This paper will discuss how a child’s development is influenced by environmental and cultural influences as well as parenting styles and education. This will be argued through four topics including environmental factors such as the socio economic environment in which a child is reared into, cultural influences, the effect of the four different parenting styles and how education from both the parent and teacher can also play a significant role. Environmental Factors There are many environmental factors that influence a child's early years of development (George G. Graham, 1972, pp. 1184-1188) For example issues such as the type of physical environment that a child is bought up within can impact on the development of that child. These factors, broadly divided into two areas, include their socio-economic status and state of the physical environment they grow up within. The socio-economic status of the immediate family and the wider community can have either a â€Å"positive or detrimental† (Understanding the Early Years, 1999) influence on the individuals development. For example research has shown that children brought up with parents that are poor and have limited educational qualifications wi... ...le, successful and happy children (Dr. F. Elahi, 2010, p. 16). Whereas the authoritarian parenting style can produce children that are obedient and competent but rate lower in the areas of self-esteem, social skills and happiness, and are more likely to be aggressive. The permissive parenting style does not involve following through with consequences for unacceptable behavior, these children will think they can get away with average effort, can be angry and demanding when they don't get their way. Children of uninvolved parents tend to lack self-esteem and the ability to regulate themselves; as a result, they are less capable and resilient than other children. An education is essential to early childhood academic development. Children who receive schooling at an early age are more likely to stay in school, and those children perform better later with academia.

Covenanted Governments :: essays research papers

The covenant is very dear to our modern world, being that many political philosophers that shaped our modern world based much of their theories on a covenanted government. When looking at the United States, the theory was considered important from the Mayflower Compact and on. The theory of â€Å"a covenanted people† is associated with Locke, Hobbes, and Rousseau. Our â€Å"framers† took all of the aforementioned history and philosophy in account to develop our virgin nation. The concept of a covenant and covenanted form of government has greatly metamorphisised over time into nations such as ours. The thoughts of its origins are also very electric and diverse. Despite all of these idiosyncrasies, there runs a common thread through a compact form of government, and that is power is in the hand of a sovereign and all involved in the government are there by tactic consent. Around the time the pilgrims rebelled against King James in England, philosophy was abundant, especially that influenced by the belief in god. A majority of the governments around the world were monarchies. As far as our country is concerned, the pilgrims were the first to establish a covenanted government with the Mayflower Compact. This compact stated that all aboard the ship headed for the â€Å"new city of God†, were under the rule of God. Here is the clincher: even though it was a government under the rule of God, the agreement was that the people in God’s name would run the institutions of government. People executed God’s will his â€Å"permission†. In these times, people believe that they were carrying out God’s name and very will. These people weren’t bound together by caprice and whim, but for and out of necessity and deep-rooted religious beliefs. They formed a civil body politics so they may increase their chances at survival. The next vital document that was created in the â€Å"New World† was the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut. This document was closely related to the Mayflower Compact in that it was made in the name of God, it established a theocracy. This document brought people together in a tacit agreement that they would obey the word of God, as interpreted by the people and the sovereign appointed (a magistrate). The fundamental Orders and the Mayflower Compact are very distinct from the Articles of Confederation and the US Constitution in that they are theocracies. The people governed the letter two of the aforementioned; religion played little or no importance.

Hrm Learning Log Essay

The first lecture that we had was basically explaining the module and gave a brief outline of what we are going to be studying throughout the year. We then went on to discuss this in the seminar. Obviously there was not much work done for this week as we were just taking everything in and coming to grips with what the module entailed. Lecture number two started off with a series of quotes with people defining organisational behaviour. I consider the ‘organisational behaviour is one of the most complex and perhaps least understood academic elements of modern general management but since it concerns the behaviour of people within organisations it is also one of the most central’ as one of the most accurate and appropriate ways to describe organisational behaviour. The other two quotes were by no means inaccurate, but they were a bit brief and wouldn’t really explain much if you were trying to tell somebody what organisational behaviour was. This then brought us to the organisational iceberg, this is an interesting and key point. I have found a diagram from the internet to illustrate the iceberg I found this model very fascinating and the quote about what sinks a ship is very clever, because so much that goes on in an organisation is not seen. It is simply that an informal organisation is a ‘looser’ structured flexible organisation with informal relationships and a formal organisation would be an opposite one with a planned structure with a hierarchy. Hugh put some definitions of organisational behaviour up and I read them and found that they were both fairly strong definitions although one was a lot more detailed than the other. The next lecture was very much defining what an organisation is, different types of organisations and how we define them. This was a fairly big lecture and there was quite a lot to take in I thought. What is an organisation? I agree with the definition of JD Mooney that organisation is the form of every human association for the attainment of a common purpose, as well as Huczynski & Buchanans ‘entity’ view because they are short yet strong and easy to understand and I feel that I would definitely be more likely to remember these definitions than Robbins’ definition for example, which sounds a bit more intricate. The next lecture brought us to something similar, giving us the chance to reflect on the organisational iceberg, and still defining organisational structure. I researched into tall and flat organisational structures this week and found this diagram on the internet which helps demonstrate how different organisations have different structures, and there is no better or worse structure, because each organisation requires a different structure. I found centralisation and decentralisation quite challenging, so I looked up the meanings to begin with on the internet. I found that centralisation is described as the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning decision-making, become concentrated within a particular location or group. Alternatively, decentralisation was defined as the process of dispersing decision-making governance closer to the people and citizen. It includes the dispersal of administration or governance in sectors or areas like engineering, management science, political science, political economy, sociology and economics. These definitions helped me understand the table in the lecture slides easier. The matrix structure was also covered in this lecture. This seemed a more complex structure where a lot of individuals are mixed together and each person may have to work under several managers at a time. For this week’s lecture we were given a SEMCO case study and some organisational charts to look at. We spoke about trying to define work and then got into small groups and came up with our own definition of work. It was very interesting how everyone’s opinions and definitions of work were so different. Although nearly everyone agreed that we work for money and for example in our group, we said that if you are not paid, for instance voluntary work, it is simply a hobby. We then went on to organisation theory and classical management. This focuses on then total design of the total organisation. This is different to scientific management because that focuses on the design and management of individual jobs. This was quite a difficult lecture to fully comprehend with again a lot of information to take in. Through research I found that Henri Fayol was the main classical theorist and he proposed the functions such as technical; commercial; financial; accounting; security and managerial. He believed the latter to be slightly different to all the rest. In our lecture it said that management is a process of planning, organisation, command, coordination and control. I found that Fayol was very influential to the modern concepts of management and proposed his own theory, called fayolism. I also discovered that there is a set of 14 principles of management that he devised and I found this quite thought-provoking. The lecture also told us about Taylorism, which is a scientific management theory. We then went on to Hawthorne studies, which I had previously learnt about in sociology at A level so I was fairly familiar with. Then it went on explaining that there is more to the work than just the pay, there needs to be a strong sense of belonging. I agree with this because I feel in today’s society too many people are driven by money and instead of opting for being happy in life, they would rather have more money. I feel that the media makes people feel that they should put money before a sense of belonging and I don’t think that is right. In this week’s seminar we went back to organisational structures and charts. Our group discussed that the needs of all organisations are very different so there will always be different structures suiting different organisations. Bureaucratic structures were brought up and we spoke about how they were suitable for larger organisations rather than smaller ones, also how they tend to stick to a tall rather than flat structure. I found other structures such as a divisional structure, where they group organisational functions into different divisions. I then looked back over earlier lectures about defining work, and the extrinsic purposes which are essential yet do not reap the same intrinsic rewards where workers should have a considerably high level of job satisfaction. The occupational structure- this is shaped by several factors like bureaucracy, technology and the economy. Watson’s patterns are key points for the subject of occupations and the structure of work because he points out the key elements. Mobility is seen as a key part of occupational structure and there are factors which positively and negatively affect mobility. The next lectures brought us to organisational culture; there was a good quote to start the lecture saying that â€Å"The ideologies, beliefs and deep-set values which occur in all firms†¦. and which are the prescriptions for the ways in which people should work in those organisations. † This got me thinking about organisation culture and what it was about. Organisational culture frequently refers to the collective patterns of behaviour, beliefs and values within an organisation. I also found a different definition of organisation culture saying that ‘organisation culture is a set of values, often taken for granted, that help people in an organisation understand which actions are considered acceptable and which actions are considered unacceptable. ’ Often these values are shaped in the course of stories. I feel that culture is significantly hard to define and measure. We covered socialisation in this lecture and it is quoted as ‘getting ones hands dirty’. I found that Socialization is the main way humans start to obtain the skills needed to carry out their task of being a member of society. The largely basic look of culture is set up at the individual level. Through both learning and teaching is the how cultural and social characteristics achieve permanence. I believe that the best quote of this lecture was that ‘to change an organisation in any significant or lasting way you need to change the values and beliefs that lie at the core. ’ This brings us to the iceberg and the onion. The onion illustrates that the core is shielded by many layers, and you have to change everything right down to the bottom to make a significant change for the organisation. Through my research I found some different information as to what was in our lectures on the several different types of culture, such as person cultures and task cultures. Person cultures are basically an organisational structure in a business which is constantly changing and has no permanent foundation, no real formal role and no sole objective. Where all the people involved believe themselves to be superior to the organisation, because of this some of these organisations struggle to cope, but can do because of the certain expertise each different individual possesses. On the other hand, task cultures are often found in a matrix type organisation, where employees tend to have similar roles and responsibilities, they solve problems as and it is often described as a business based around the high skills of an employee. More organisational cultures are power cultures, and role cultures. Power cultures I think are the most interesting because they are more or less based around one ultimate source, which everything revolves around and depends on. These are often found in small organisations and have little bureaucracy and a small number of rules. Role cultures is similar to that of a tall structure that I have spoken about earlier where there is a basic hierarchy of roles and power. In the seminar this week we spoke about different retailers and what kind of organisation structures they had. I found this seminar very enjoyable because we found out from each other in depth about what sort of organisations each company were and decided what frame they would be in and whether we would prefer to be in one or another. The next lecture was mostly on change, I found this fairly weird because there were not many things I could relate to or understand so I just had to try and take as much in as possible. Although it brought us to again this man Charles Handy. He said that â€Å"Less than half the workforce in the industrial world will be holding conventional full-time jobs in organisations by the beginning of the 21st century. Those full-timers, or insiders, will be the new minority. † This has obviously been proved correct to some extent, so Handy was right. Because of technology fewer and fewer people are needed from day to day in the industrial sector, because machines are replacing them. Today we again talked about the paradigm and how organisations all have different values and missions and how they go about them. I think the most powerful part of this lecture is the part where it says the only permanent thing is change. This is such a good quote because no matter change will never ever end, it can’t. Yet everything else can. This is another one of those quotes that gets you thinking. I liked the 7-S framework part because it helps me remember all the very important reasons of change. This week’s lecture was on organisational change. This was different to previous lectures because I didn’t feel there was much we could talk about. I researched more into organisational cultures again and found information on strong cultures and weak cultures. A strong culture is one where staff responds to stimulus because of their position to organisational values. In a strong culture, it is believed that the people do what they are told to do, because they think that is the right way to do things. In a weak culture things are fairly different. They do it their own way and things would be pretty much the opposite. Research suggests that organisations with a strong culture will achieve the companies’ goals a lot easier than a weak culture; they will also have higher levels of employee satisfaction, motivation and loyalty. We came on to leadership today, and spoke about management. It started with a man I was familiar with Max Weber again because of A level sociology so I was intrigued to how he linked in with this element. We then came on to Fayol’s 14 principles of management. I decided to research into these 14 principles out of curiosity and it is proved that Fayols principles still have a big relevance to contemporary management, so do his 6 functions that I mentioned earlier, however most people these days like to only talk about 4 of the 6 functions that Fayol originally proposed and they have been slightly tweaked into; planning; leading; organising and controlling. Taylorism popped up this week and we discussed the difference between the bosses and the workers, as Taylor says the bosses think as the workers do. Then onto other theorists such as Drucker, he proposed the five basic operations of a manager. I very much agree with these five operations because at my workplace it seems that the managers are trying to set objectives, organise, measure, motivate and develop people. I think that managers are different to leaders. Yes some managers are leaders, but they are two completely different things in my eyes. As it says in the lecture slides managers plan, organise, direct etc, leaders envision, inspire, influence, leaders effect people more emotionally than managers do. We also spoke about how hard it is to describe leadership, who would we call a leader? How do we become a leader? These are all questions that I do not know the answer to. Yukl says that â€Å"Most definitions of leadership reflect the assumption that it involves a process whereby intentional influence is exerted by one person over people†¦.. to guide, structure and facilitate activities and relationships in a group or organisation’ I don’t think that this is as good of a description as â€Å"Leadership is a process of giving purpose (meaningful direction) to collective effort, and causing willing effort to be expended to achieve purpose. By Jacob and Jacques because they seem to hit the nail on the head because I believe leadership is all about giving a meaningful purpose to effort and be willing to do anything to achieve your goal. I still very much agree with Yukls view on leadership because what he says is true but I don’t feel it would give me anythin g that I can learn or think about whereas Jacob and Jacques’ I can. There were a lot of quotes in today’s lecture, some I felt more powerful than others. They have taught me a lot about leadership, one being that it there is not a definition. I even googled it and there wasn’t one. Another being leadership is what you make of it, from what I think will be different to what the next guy thinks, so I can understand why it raises so many controversies and discussions. I can understand why it proved virtually impossible to identify the particular traits that separate leaders from non-leaders. I believe that leadership is based on many things, personality being the main one. Many people would think you have to be at the top of the hierarchy to be branded a leader, for instance they would think of a manager of a leader. But a leader can be anyone, some people just possess a trait that makes them a natural born leader, for example a footballer that steps on the pitch and instantly tells everyone what to do, they all listen to him without question. Even though he may not be captain, he is the leader. In today’s lecture we looked at technology, a new topic. Technology has played a massive part in how businesses operate as of recent years, I didn’t find this as interesting as the previous few weeks but there were still things I wanted to look up on. We also touched on leadership again this week. This week brings us onto personality. This lecture was one of the tougher ones because there was a lot of material I have never heard of before. I agree with everything Robertson and Smith have put forward because for instance if there was no variety in the tasks, or if there was no feedback given or no significance of the tasks, then the employees job satisfaction would surely be lower, and I think it would be a hard job to try and make someone completely satisfied with their job in every aspect because nearly everybody isnt happy with atleast one aspect of their job. Our lecture this week was on motivation, learning about motivation was quite enjoyable. I find the american and chinese needs hierarcies quite interesting and how they differ. The american hierarchy has self-actualisation in individual development at the top whereas the chinese hierarchy has self-actualisation in service to society. This goes back to the collectivist and individualist cultures. I have found a slightly more detailed diagram of a hierarchy here: Another big difference is that the sense of belonging is in the middle of the american hierarchy and it is right at the bottom of the chinese one, maybe because the chinese people see society as a whole more important. I also find Hertzbergs two factor theory quite interesting because of what he thinks motivates and de-motivates intrinsically and extrinsically. Today we looked at perception. I was quite amazed at how the mind perceives things and it sees what it wants to see instead of what it actually might be. The quote â€Å"You see, that’s the problem with you Jerry. You think we’re arguing, I think we’re finally communicating! † defines what perception is really about. You think you are doing one thing, yet you are doing another. Throughout this year my favourite topic has definitely been leadership. I feel genuinely interested in this subject because it is so intriguing and there are so many talking points about it. I think one of the most meaningful and intelligent quotes I have ever heard has come from the leadership topic, managers do things right, leaders do the right thing. It has made believe that being a leader is such a good thing. Most people probably think managers are leaders, but they are really nothing alike what so ever, when you look into it in detail you realise. I particularly like how Bennis describes both Managers and leaders, saying that Managers ask how and when, leaders and what and why. Managers rely on people, leaders inspire trust. Managers focus on systems and structure, leaders focus on people, and so on. It is strange how they seem so true yet every one is the completely different. This proves surely that there is a real big difference between a leader and a manager. I was quite amazed at the perception topic though because it enlightened me slightly on how our minds actually work. Like the non-standard shaped polygon, I would never think it is one of those, yet that is what it is. Also the x’s and o’s in alternating rows is clever. One of the least exciting topics I would say is organisational change. It was challenging yet quite boring and I didn’t really enjoy the content in the lectures or the seminars around this time. One of the more tricky subjects I found was motivation. Although it was more interesting than most of the others, it was one of the hardest to understand and I found it hard to relate to this lecture because it didn’t seem like there was much relevance to business in it. It is definitely an area I will need to revise more for my exam. I have also found writing this learning log challenging as I have never done anything like this before. But it is different I guess.