Global Warming Fact or Fiction Essay Example

Global Warming: Fact or Fiction Paper It will address the same description and signs from the viewpoint of those that state global warming is a myth. Additional arguments will be presented from both believers and non-believers with regard to contributing factors. Many people believe global warming exists and many believe it is all hysterical hype. Arguments for and against the phenomena thrive in the media, government venues, the workplace and around dinner tables. The one thing that proponents and detractors agree on is that the debate is ongoing and that there is no single fact that will decide the outcome. Explanation of Global Warming Everyday there are changes in the earths atmosphere that affect the climate. They can include precipitation, oceanic movement or human inhabitation. These everyday occurrences are known as climate change (EPA. Gob, 2010). Global warming falls under the umbrella of climate change. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) global warming is described as: average increase in the temperature of the atmosphere near the Earths surface and in the troposphere, which can contribute to changes in global climate patterns. Global warming can occur from a variety of causes, both natural and human induced. In common usage, global warming often refers to the warming that can occur as a result of increased emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities (2010). The Peas description lends credence to arguments for and against the threat of global warming and supports the purpose of this paper. Signs of global warming The greenhouse gas effect is the term used for specific gases that enter the earths atmosphere and lock in heat. It is similar to sunlight hitting glass in an airtight room ultimately causing the room temperature to rise at an escalated pace (national geographic, 2010). We will write a custom essay sample on Global Warming: Fact or Fiction specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Global Warming: Fact or Fiction specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Global Warming: Fact or Fiction specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Using the Peas common usage definition s it applies to human activity, signs that indicate global warming is a valid threat includes rapidly rising sea levels, extended periods of heat waves and the melting of polar ice caps (national geographic, 2010). Supporting Evidence Some of the most striking evidence presented to support the argument that global warming exists can be found on the Peas website. The Site reports that greenhouse gas emissions in the U. S. Have increased by 14% from 1 990 to 2008 and by 26%, globally, from 1990 to 2005. The report also States that acidity in our oceans, which have an effect on some sea life, has risen in the sat 20 years (2010). In addition, the Peas report provides statistical data on the signs of global warming as it relates to the shrinking of polar ice caps in arctic regions and warming of our CEO-system (2010). Skepticism Just as supporters of global warming as fact can point to arguments made by former Vice President AY Gore, skeptics can refer to facts in opposing arguments presented by Senator James Infer in 2006. According to Seen. Infer, the hockey stick, a graph developed by scientist Michael Mann to demonstrate a verifiable increase in global warming, was proved unreliable y two Canadian researchers and then refuted by the National Academy of Science in 2006 (absentee. Gob, 2009). The Senator also cited the Medieval Warm Period, 900 A. D. To 1300 AD. And the Little Ice Age, approximately 1500 A. D. 1 850 A. D. As proof that global warming is a natural occurrence (2009). Effects of global warming Scientists call the trends observed in global warming fingerprints. The effects of global warming are referred to as harbingers (warnings of future events) indicative of future impact to earth and humanity (national geographic, 2010). The harbingers of global warming have been noted as: roots in disease rates; changes in animals migration and habitats; frequent and strengthening storm activity and increased wild fires related to decreased precipitation (2010). Contributors to Global Warming Greenhouse gases and the earths temperature have fluctuated at a steady pace throughout scientific history, except in recent decades. Many believe that the advances of the industrial age contributed to the greenhouse effect (national geographic, 2010). This argument is rooted in the belief that global warming is man-made and caused by such things as air pollution and industrial waste (2010). Man-made What has humanity done to pollute the air and our CEO-system? Humans use coal, oil, gas and other organic compounds to produce energy. Burning these resources, called fossil fuels, increase the temperature of the earths atmosphere. This is what makes them contributors to global warming (national geographic, 2010). Natural The detractors of global warming as a fact can also provide reasons to support their belief that global warming is a natural event. Using historical trending data, provided by scientists throughout the years, they note natural happenings that contribute to heat increases in the earths atmosphere. These events include sun spots, massive volcanoes, meteors and changes in the earths rotation (Peer Curriculum, 2003).

100 Idioms About Numbers

100 Idioms About Numbers 100 Idioms About Numbers 100 Idioms About Numbers By Mark Nichol Last week, I offered a post about idioms pertaining to the number one (I limited the scope because there’s only so much space on the Internet.) Here’s the sequel, with expressions that mention all other numbers. 1. (a number) (something) short of a (something): said euphemistically of someone who is mentally deficient or unstable (as in â€Å"one slice short of a loaf†) 2–3. $64,000 question/million-dollar question: a very important question (from game shows that offered such an amount to contestants who answered increasingly difficult quiz questions) 4. a dime a dozen: cheap and/or plentiful 5. a million miles away: distracted 6. a stitch in time saves nine: a proverb that refers to the importance of precaution 7. as easy as one-two-three: said of something as simple as counting 8. at sixes and sevens: confused 9. at the eleventh hour: at a late stage or the last possible moment 10. bat a thousand: be very successful (from the batting average in baseball: one who bats 1.000- or, in this context, â€Å"a thousand†- gets a hit every time) 11. behind the eight-ball: in a difficult situation (from the pool ball numbered 8 as an obstacle) 12. catch-22: a no-win situation 13. deep-six: dispose of or get rid of (from a nautical measurement of depth; compare to â€Å"six feet under†) 14: dressed to the nines: very well dressed 15. eight-hundred-pound gorilla: any formidable obstacle 16. eighty-six: to 86 someone is to eject or get rid of them, or to refuse them service 17–20: feel/look like a million bucks/dollars: said in reference to being in an excellent state of emotional or physical health or to having the appearance of being in excellent condition 21: fifteen minutes of fame: brief, superficial celebrity (based on Andy Warhol’s observation about ephemeral celebrity) 22. fifty-fifty: said of dividing something equally 23. five-finger discount: shoplifting 24. five will get you ten: in all likelihood (from the results of gambling on even odds) 25. fiver: five-dollar bill 26. four-bagger: a home run in baseball (from the batter touching all four bags, or bases) 27. four corners of the earth: all the parts of the world 28. four-eyes: a mocking term for someone who wears eyeglasses 29. four-leaf clover: an allusion to good luck because of the notion that finding a clover with four leaves, which is rare, will bring good fortune 30. four-letter word: an obscene or vulgar word, from the fact that several such words have four letters 31. forty winks: a nap 32. give me five: an exclamation prompting someone to slap another’s hand as greeting or acknowledgment 33. give two hoots about: said of someone, preceded by one or more names or a pronoun and doesn’t or don’t, to express a lack of concern 34. hang ten: a greeting referring to the surfing challenge of hanging all one’s toes over the front end of the surfboard 35. high-five: a gesture two people exchange by slapping hands with their arms extended upward 36–39. hundred-to-one/million-to-one chance/shot: said in reference to a low probability of success 40–41. hundred/thousand and one: said in reference to an indeterminate but large number of conditions or reasons something may fail or not turn out well 42. it takes two to tango: said of a situation in which two parties are both responsible 43. Joe Six-Pack: the average man (from the notion that he’s just a regular guy who likes to drink beer) 44. kill two birds with one stone: achieve two goals with one action 45. know a trick or two: said when one has an unorthodox solution to a problem 46. lesser of two evils: something that is bad but not as bad as something else 47. nine lives: a reference to having good luck (from the notion that cats have nine lives) 48. nine times out of ten: almost always 49. nine-day wonder: a briefly famous or attention-getting person or thing (see also â€Å"seven-day wonder†) 50. nine-to-five attitude: an approach to work in which an employee does the minimum required to remain employed (compare to â€Å"nine-to-five job†) 51. nine-to-five job: full-time employment during daytime hours, or, broadly, conventional office employment (compare to â€Å"nine-to-five attitude†) 52. no two ways about it: said to express certainty or inflexibility 53. of two minds: undecided 54. on all fours: on hands and knees 55. on cloud nine: very happy 56. phony as a three-dollar bill: said in reference to something patently fake 57. possession is nine-tenths of the law: a reference to the notion that someone who possesses something has a stronger legal claim to it than someone who merely asserts ownership 58. put two and two together: said of correctly figuring out or solving a problem, as compared with computation 59. queer as a three-dollar bill: said in reference to something very peculiar 60. scattered to the four winds: widely dispersed 61. seven-day wonder: sarcastic reference to someone or something supposedly made perfect in seven days (alluding to the biblical account of creation) 62. seven-year itch: a desire to cheat on one’s spouse said to manifest after seven years of marriage 63. six feet under: dead and buried (from the traditional burial depth of six feet; compare to â€Å"deep-six†) 64. six of one and half a dozen of the other: said in reference to little difference between two things 65–66. six-pack: while away the time drinking beer, or a reference to a well-toned abdomen (because the contours of the muscles resemble the adjacent curves of a set of beverage cans); see also â€Å"Joe Six-Pack† 67. six ways from Sunday: every possible way 68. slip me five: shake my hand 69. stand on (one’s) own two feet: be self-sufficient 70. take five: rest briefly 71. tell (someone) a thing or two: scold 72. ten: excellent or perfect (alluding to a 1-to-10 scale of quality) 73. ten-four: yes (from a radio code) 74. ten-spot: ten-dollar bill 75. ten to one: used as an introductory phrase to express one’s believe that the odds of something happening are favorable 76. that makes two of us: we agree, or something is true of the speaker or writer and another person 77. three-alarm fire: said of something as exciting as a major structural fire (the number referenced may vary) 78. three cheers: praise (also used sarcastically) 79. three hots and a cot: a slang reference to jail or prison as a place where three hot meals and a bed are provided 80. three squares a day: a reference to three complete meals 81. three R’s: reading, writing, and arithmetic (alluding to the first consonant sound of each word) 82. three-ring circus: said of a confused or noisy activity 83. three sheets to the wind: drunk (from nautical slang referring to sheets, or ropes that hold sails taut, coming loose, causing a sailing ship to move erratically) 84. three strikes: said in reference to having three chances before suffering a consequence (see also â€Å"two strikes†) 85. twenty-four seven: all the time, from the count of twenty-four hours and seven days (usually written 24/7 and sometimes extended to 24/7/365 to refer to the number of days in a year) 86. twentysomething: in one’s twenties (also thirtysomething, etc.) 87. two can play that game: refers to the possibility that one who has treated another badly may be treated that way in return 88. two cents’ worth: advice 89. two heads are better than one: collaboration will produce a better outcome than individual effort 90. two left feet: said of an awkward dancer 91–92. two of a kind/two peas in a pod: said of two people who are very similar (or, in the case of the second expression, often in each other’s company) 93. two shakes of a lamb’s tail: a very brief period 94. two strikes: said of someone or something that has two disadvantages or obstacles, with the implication that a third strike, as in baseball, will put someone or something out of action 95. two wrongs don’t make a right: doing something wrong in response to another wrong is not justified 96. two-timer: someone who cheats on a partner 97. two’s company: part of a proverb (followed by the counterpoint â€Å"three’s a crowd†) to express that often, a third person is unwelcome 98. up to eleven: to a great degree (an allusion to a volume dial going past the usual 1-to-10 scale) 99. whole nine yards: as far as possible, or the entire amount 100. wouldn’t touch (someone or something) with a ten-foot pole: a reference to assiduously avoiding something Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? 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The Personal Reasons for Joining the Group Essay - 8

The Personal Reasons for Joining the Group - Essay Example The main issue in the story is the value of truth and hard work. The struggle to raise a family with a child suffering from disability compounded the problem. In the article, the challenge is on how to raise a better family and the power of finance in shaping the personal decisions. The effect of poverty on decision making is evident in the choices made and the level of understanding of the choices. However, in the conclusion of the article, the author addresses the issues that led to him leaving the group. The group focused on white supremacy and their focus was more on gang actions rather than offering support to its members. In making the decision, the author acknowledges that joining the group did not add value to his life, but make it worse. In conclusion, the author joined the Klan for sustenance. The response is fairly precise in addressing the moral view of Ellis while handling the problem of moral choices and family upbringing. The response indicates the understanding of the writer the stories and the needs of the main character and the impact of joining the group. Even though he rose to the rank of president, the choice to quit was driven by moral value, which is captured in the response. However, the response does not give a conclusive account of the events that led to joining and quitting. In writing the power of moral bringing on choice, the response covers the power of upright family development and poverty. Poverty drives a person to make difficult choices, but the choices can be altered because of the moral conviction. The other issue addressed in the response is the power of the family in shaping the future of a person. Having experience poverty during his upbringing, the choices made by Ellis indicate the personal struggle to address the issues of confidence.  

Reed Solomon Code Applications Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reed Solomon Code Applications - Essay Example The applications of Reed Solomon codes are mainly obtained in data storage and digital communications. The following major applications can be listed for Reed Solomon codes –†¢ Data Storage – In case of both CDs, and DVDs, it is possible to apply codes for correction of errors and measure the raw errors before correcting them. The application is in holographic data storage or optical storage and the two major schemes that are applicable include Cross-Interleaved Reed-Solomon Code (CIRC) for CDs and a Reed-Solomon Product Code (RS-PC) for DVDs. Each bit of data is considered for a firm decision by both these codes to understand if the bit is 1 or 0. Following this, the correction scheme of the codes can fix the errors in the data storage devices (Curtis et al, 2011).  The application is most effective in cases where error occurs in bursts. Reed Solomon codes are capable of correcting up to 2 byte errors per 32 byte block. Up to 4000 bits of error bursts can be cor rected by CIRC as a result of the features and applications of the codes.  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Data Transmission – Reed Solomon codes can be used in several applications for the purpose of transmission of data. Data can be transmitted from the receiver to the transmitter. The applications include transmission systems for mobile data, and for highly reliable military systems of communications. There are specialized forms of RS codes enabling data transmission, such as Caucy-RS and Vandermonde-RS where the code performing the task is an RS(n,k) code.

Changes in UAE Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Changes in UAE Culture - Essay Example The major contributing factor toward the multiculturalism of the UAE is the massive in-pour of foreigners specially Westerners in the UAE. Another contributing factor is government’s flexible policies and frequent efforts to modify the country’s environment so as to match the needs of the foreigners. The main reason the government is doing this is that the government wants to provide the foreigners with a homely environment so that more and more foreigners work in the UAE and contribute to the strength of its economy. The positive effect of multiculturalism of the UAE is that it has provided the indigenous people with an opportunity to easily integrate into the contemporary lifestyle. For centuries, the Arabs have lived the life of nomadic tribes that were totally unaware of technology or the fundamentals of the modern lifestyle. Living with the foreigners in their own country has enabled the people to live and work in the foreign countries. The negative effect of multi culturalism of the UAE is primarily the concerns of the indigenous population to preserve its original culture as it is readily merging into the whole range of cultures that are dwelling together in the UAE. Preserving the indigenous culture of the UAE is primarily the government’s responsibility. To achieve this, the government can take initiatives that describe the indigenous culture of the UAE, for example, making films, theatres, and songs that reflect the original values of the UAE culture. The government has taken certain steps to preserve the indigenous culture e.g. â€Å"To act as repositories of this heritage and a source of information for both visitors and the younger generation who have not experienced a traditional lifestyle, museums and heritage centres have been developed throughout the UAE† (UAE Interact, n.d.), but objective measures need to be taken to actually sustain this culture in a time where it is threatened by external cultures. Change 2 Increa se in the Number of English-Speaking Indigenous People of the UAE I have chosen this area of change because there is a considerably increase in the number of the indigenous people of the UAE who know and can speak and understand English today than there were 40 years before. Today, there is a very large population of foreigners in the UAE and though many of them are not Americans and have arrived there from such South-East Asian countries as Indian, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, yet they commonly communicate with one another in English. Owing to the omnipresence of the English-speaking foreigners in the UAE, the indigenous people feel the need to learn to speak English because they have to encounter the English-speaking foreigners on daily basis and everywhere, be it market or workplace. For centuries, the people in all of the Arab countries including the UAE have not felt the need to learn English, but now they have. The main contributing factor behind increase in the number of English -speaking indigenous people in the UAE is the fact that they have to interact, live, and work with the foreigners on daily basis whether or not English is the first language for the foreigners. Since a vast majority of the foreigners from the South East Asian countries cannot speak Arabic, so English has been established as a standard language for communication with

Early literacy support programme

Early literacy support programme This small-scale research project focuses on The Early Literacy Support (ELS) Programme (DfES, 2007) within an urban primary school. Over the past few years there has been a large amount of investment provided by the Government to help raise childrens attainment in literacy. As a result, additional support programmes and interventions have been developed. The ELS Programme is an intervention produced by the National Strategies aimed at Year 1 children, who with additional support, should reach or exceed age related expectations in literacy. Aims This research aimed to study the ELS programme to identify how children are selected to participate in in the programme and to investigate the staff and childrens perceptions of the intervention and impacts as a result of the programme. This research examined three key questions; How is Early Literacy Support supporting childrens specific needs? What are the perceptions of teaching staff on how Early Literacy Support has impacted on childrens enjoyment, development and attainment in literacy? What are the perceptions of the children on Early Literacy Support and their enjoyment and development in literacy? Rationale I have a keen interest in literacy and am interested in learning about different ways to support children who struggle to easily acquire literacy skills within the mainstream classroom. The main reason for conducting research into this area was to enable me to gain a better awareness of literacy interventions for young children, which will ultimately increase my understanding and inform my future practice as a teacher. The class where I was on placement had a large number of children who required additional literacy support, so it seemed the ideal opportunity to further investigate the literacy interventions that children were involved in. Furthermore, although research has previously identified the positive impact of ELS and other phonics interventions, there is no documented research assessing childrens or adults views on the programme. The present research aimed to address this literature gap. Literature Review Learning to read, write and spell are among the most critically important and empowering skills that children will learn at school (Pumfrey Elliott, 1990, p. ix). Literacy skills provide the grounding for education and future life, however, a large proportion of children in the education system experience literacy difficulties. Children who struggle to acquire literacy skills are a continuing educational concern in todays modern society (Pumfrey Elliott, 1990). Browne (2009) identifies that teachers largest concern is surrounding children who fail to make progress in reading and writing. There are a wide variety of possible causes of childrens literacy difficulties, for example language delay, visual impairment, absence of books at home and general learning difficulties (Browne, 2009). It is therefore essential for teachers to assess the pupils difficulties and identify underlying causes in order to provide support that is tailored towards their individual needs. At Key Stage 1 in 2009, 84% of children achieved level 2 or above in reading and 81% of children achieved level 2 or above in writing (DfCSF, 2009). These figures remained relatively stable between 2007 and 2009. Although the majority of children are achieving age-expected levels, there is still a proportion of children who are under-achieving in literacy during their early school years. The gap between children who are struggling in literacy during their early years of schooling and their progressing peers will widen as children continue through their school life, which will have a negative impact on their self-esteem as well as educational attainment (Moore Wade, 1995; Rose, 2006). Graham (2008) states that approximately 35,000 children (6% of Year 6s) each year are leaving primary school with literacy levels below their age expected potential. Moore and Wade (1995) highlight that difficulties in literacy will also impact attainment in other areas of the curriculum, as reading and writing are crucial skills. It is therefore essential that children receive suitable, individualised support as early as possible to prevent later, exacerbated difficulties (Moore Wade, 1995; Graham, 2008). Rose (2006) argues that childrens reading and writing difficulties can be avoided through early assessment and by implementing appropriate interventions to support their individual needs. The use of early interventions can be seen as a preventative approach to avoid later difficulties (Burroughs-Lange Douetil, 2007; Savage Carless, 2008). This view has been recognised by the Government and schools are now formally required to provide focused support to children before Year 3 (Graham, 2008). Following the introduction of the National Literacy Strategy in 1998, the Government introduced additional initiatives with the aim of alleviating literacy difficulties in todays young population, in order to raise attainment (Shiel, 2003; Soler Paige-Smith, 2005; Graham, 2008). The Government instigated three waves of support to help schools plan and implement adequate provision for every child (DfES, 2007; Graham, 2008). Wave 1 describes the provision of Quality First Teaching which consists of systematic phonics and a rich language environment that all children should receive within whole-class literacy lessons. The DfES (2007) argues that good teaching is the most effective way to raise childrens achievement (p.9). Wave 2 is designed to help children who have experienced quality teaching but are still behind their peers, although they have the potential to reach age related expectations. This level of support is in addition to daily literacy lessons and usually consists of group work following a structured programme that is delivered by a teaching assistant. Wave 3 is designed for children who have Special Educational Needs and require personalised one-to-one support (DfES, 2007; Graham, 2008). A recent focus in schools has been on Wave 2 interventions, with the aim of helping children to make progress in literacy (Rose, 2006). A commonly implemented Wave 2 intervention is The Early Literacy Support (ELS) Programme (DfES, 2007) produced by the National Strategies. The approach is used for children in Year 1 (age 5-6 years) whose literacy skills are developing slower than expected during their first term in Key Stage 1 (Shiel, 2003; Graham, 2008). The children identified to participate in ELS are expected to progress to, and possibly exceed, age-related expectations following small, focused group sessions (DfES, 2007; Hatcher et al. 2006a). A teaching assistant delivers the group sessions in close collaboration with the class teacher, which is essential for successful application of the programme (DfES, 2007). The ELS programme consists of planned, systematic sessions that work alongside the Primary Literacy Strategy and incorporates aspects of Letters and Sounds (DfES, 2007). The sessions focus on supporting and developing childrens phonological skills, helping them to link sounds to graphemes, decode words and subsequently improve their reading, spelling and writing (Hatcher et al. 2006a). This is essential, as studies assessing a variety of interventions have repeatedly identified that successful literacy interventions focus on phonological knowledge as a starting point to reading and writing (Hatcher et al. 2006b; Savage Carless, 2008). Ehri et al. (2001) conducted a meta-analysis of 52 intervention studies and concluded that phonemic awareness was the most significant contributor to reading and writing development. Rose (2006) stresses that effective interventions must build upon phonic work that the children have experienced within the mainstream classroom. Furthermore, he argues th at interventions will only be successful if the work completed in the sessions is sustained and built upon back in the classroom when the intervention finishes (Rose, 2006). Research has shown that the ELS programme has positive impacts in improving childrens literacy skills, particularly reading (Burroughs-Lange Douetil, 2007). Soler and Paige-Smith (2005) documented that children who were experiencing mild difficulties in acquiring literacy skills, progressed in literacy following the ELS programme. Further evidence comes from Hatcher et al. (2006a), who evaluated the effectiveness of the ELS programme compared to another reading intervention. They found that the reading skills of 6 year olds were raised in line with their peers by the time they had finished the programme. However, in this study there was no unseen control group, so results cannot be compared to children with low literacy skills who did not engage in the programme (Hatcher et al. 2006a). On the negative side, a constraint with the ELS programme is that the sessions are delivered by teaching assistants, rather than trained teachers. Researchers have argued that children who are struggling should be taught by skilled professionals who have knowledge of how to support and improve childrens attainment (Stainthorp, 2000) However, research has consistently shown that interventions delivered by teaching assistants can be effective in improving childrens literacy attainment (Hatcher et al., 2006b; Savage Carless, 2008). Rose (2006) highlighted that successful interventions were regularly carried out by teaching assistants who worked effectively with groups of children. Evidence comes from Hatcher et al. (2006b) who assessed the effectiveness of a reading intervention and found that the majority of children had caught up with their peers by the end of the programme, although a proportion of children still required extra support. They concluded that teaching assistants are mo re than capable of successfully teaching a group intervention in order to raise attainment. Additional support comes from a longitudinal study conducted by Savage and Carless (2008). They found that the majority of pupils who had engaged in teaching assistant directed interventions in Year 1, achieved national average results at the end of Year 2. Research to date stresses the importance of early interventions and highlights the success of teaching assistant directed group sessions. However, an important consideration regarding additional support is ensuring that the type of intervention given is related to the childs specific needs in order to raise attainment (Bradley, 1990). Furthermore, although research has previously investigated the effectiveness of ELS, there is a lack of research that has examined the teachers, teaching assistants or childrens perceptions of the intervention and subsequent impacts. The present research aimed to further examine the ELS programme to address this literature gap by studying the intervention in an urban primary school, where staff had recently implemented the programme in order to raise literacy skills for a group of Year 1 children (see Appendix 1 for project plan). The research aimed to investigate: How is Early Literacy Support supporting childrens specific needs? What are the perceptions of teaching staff on how Early Literacy Support has impacted on childrens enjoyment, development and attainment in literacy? What are the perceptions of the children on Early Literacy Support and their enjoyment and development in literacy? In order to answer the above research questions, ELS sessions were observed and staff and children were interviewed. Furthermore, childrens literacy targets were obtained and their reading and writing levels were compared from before and during participation in ELS. Methodology Design This small-scale research project employed a case-study design, examining the ELS intervention within one urban primary school. Demetriou (2009) identifies that case studies enable researchers to collect and record in-depth data within a real-life context. Participants A purposive sample (Burton et al. 2009) of three Year 1 children from an urban primary school were recruited for the study as they had been selected by their class teacher to participate in the ELS programme. The sample also consisted of the Year 1 class teacher and teaching assistant who delivered the programme. Data collection methods A mixture of qualitative and quantitative data collection methods was used in this study. Mason (2006) recommends using a mixture of qualitative and quantitative research methods to enable a clear view of the data. Furthermore, Evans (2009) highlights that using different categories of participants (teachers, teaching assistants and students), alongside a range of data collection methods enables triangulation and therefore increases validity and reliability of the methods and data collected. The majority of the data collection involved qualitative research methods, in order to gain rich, detailed data regarding individuals beliefs and opinions surrounding the ELS programme (Evans, 2009). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the class teacher, teaching assistant and three children who participated in ELS. This form of interview enables the researcher to respond to interviewees answers to gain more detailed information (Burton et al. 2009). A set of key questions were planned (Appendix 5, 6 and 7) and additional questions were asked during the interviews depending on the participants response. Open-ended questions were asked to enable participants to express their own opinions, leading to more detailed, in-depth data (Burton et al. 2009). All interviews were recorded using a dictaphone and later transcribed. Three sequential ELS sessions were directly observed, with the observer as a non-participant. Although this is a time consuming method, Burton et al. (2009) argue that observation can be one of the most powerful tools in research (p. 95) as it can yield rich, real-life data that can be essential for the research. The observations were noted using a continuous narrative and were also recorded using a dictaphone to ensure objectivity. Quantitative methods were used to examine childrens literacy targets and attainment levels. Childrens literacy levels before participating in ELS (Autumn Term 2010) were compared to levels after completing a few weeks of the programme (Spring Term 2011). This data was also compared to adults and childrens perceived improvements as a result of the programme. Data analysis Observations and interviews were transcribed and coded using the open coding method, by identifying emerging codes from the data related to the key research questions (Burton et al. 2009). The observations were transcribed and coded according to the ELS session activities that the children engaged in, such as sounds, spelling and writing sentences (Appendix 8). All interviews were transcribed and systematically coded according to themes related to the key questions, for example childrens needs, development, enjoyment and attainment (Appendix 9). Ethical considerations Before conducting the research, an ethical consideration form was completed (Appendix 2) using Bera (2004) guidelines, which was signed off by my MA Tutor. As the research was being completed in a school, the research proposal was explained to the Head Teacher and she gave informed consent for the research to be carried out in her school (Appendix 3). As the research involved children under 16 years of age, parents of the three children involved were sent a letter explaining the research and asking for their permission for their child to be interviewed and observed. All parents returned the letters signed (Appendix 4). The research was also briefly explained to the children and they were informed that they didnt have to answer any questions if they didnt want to. Interviews with both staff and children were completed at a convenient time for the participants and were kept short so as to not impact on their usual school/work routine. Interviews with children were conducted in a quiet room that children were familiar with to ensure that they were comfortable. Furthermore, observations of ELS sessions were conducted during normal timetabled sessions to minimise intrusion or distress for children. All data collected was coded to ensure confidentiality and anonymity. Once the data was transcribed and reported, all interview recordings were deleted (Bera, 2004). Results Observations of ELS sessions are shown in Appendix 8. Interview transcripts with the class teacher (CT), teaching assistant (TA) and three children (A, D, and E) are shown in Appendix 9. The three childrens writing targets are shown in Appendix 10 and their literacy levels from September 2010 to April 2011 are shown in Appendix 11. How is Early Literacy Support supporting childrens specific needs? Childrens needs During the interview, the class teacher (CT) stated that the ELS programme was implemented at the school as there was a need in Year 1, particularly to raise the levels in writing. The three children were selected to participate in ELS as they were working on a W level in literacy and they lacked confidence in reading and writing. She said they all have potential, they are beginning to use their sounds but need more input with decoding words to read and sounding out words to spellà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.independently they werent able to produce a sentence on their own. Furthermore, child E had a lot of time off school so was selected in order to fill the gaps in his learning that he had missed. The childrens writing targets prior to starting the programme (Table 1), were all focused towards using sounds to spell and writing a simple sentence with correct punctuation independently. The teaching assistant (TA) said she was unaware of the childrens literacy targets, but knew the children has been selected for the programme to increase their confidence in reading and writing. Table 1 Childrens writing targets. Writing Targets January 2011 Child A To use full stops and capital letters in my sentences. Child D To use a Thrass chart to help me spell. Child E To write a sentence on my own. ELS session activities During a typical ELS session, the TA stated that they look at letter sounds, apply an action to each sound, learn key words and write simple sentences using the key words. She said a lot of the sounds and words we use in the sessions are also Thrass words, and the children often recognise that. During ELS observations (Appendix 8), the majority of the activities observed were focused on sounds and spelling. Session 18 incorporated writing simple sentences using the sounds and spellings that they had learnt in the previous sessions. Children were occasionally required to read key words, however there wasnt a specific reading activity incorporated into the observed sessions. Both the CT and TA stated that the ELS programme is followed strictly and not tailored according to the childrens specific needs or individual progress. However, the CT said that a feedback and assessment procedure is currently being implemented whereby the TA records a brief summary of the sessions to pass on to t he CT. What are the perceptions of teaching staff on how Early Literacy Support has impacted on childrens enjoyment, development and attainment in literacy? Enjoyment The CT and TA both identified that the largest impact of the ELS programme has been on the childrens confidence in reading and writing, both in the ELS sessions, whole class lessons and at home, which has increased their enjoyment in the subject. CT said they now believe they can write and seem to enjoy writing. Furthermore, she stated that the children are also starting to write things at home and show them to the rest of the class, which they never used to do. Within whole class lessons, she has also observed that the children are more involved during discussions and are definitely more positive towards their work, especially child A. The majority of the children seem to enjoy their extra literacy sessions. However, the TA noted that child A sometimes seems frustrated because she is missing out on class work, but otherwise she is enthusiastic in the sessions. The CT said that the children always come back from the session with a big smile on their face, which highlights their enjoyment of the ELS sessions. Furthermore, when in the classroom, the children are now showing pride and pleasure in their literacy work. The TA stated that children come over and say look at all the work Ive done, or can you read my writing. Development During interviews, both the CT and TA were very positive regarding the impact that ELS has had on the childrens literacy skills since starting the programme in January. Children are now confidently answering questions, they are able to write sentences independently and use their sound knowledge to spell and read words. CT stated they can now write a sentence independently without getting stressed out and they are beginning to spell all the simple words correctly. She also identified that children are more focused on their class work and are able to confidently complete writing tasks independently. CT described child E who was previously not focused on his work, whereas this week when he wrote about the school trip he wrote half a page on his own, which he would never have done before. This development has also been noted by the TA during ELS sessions, with child A now willing to try any activity, child D can correctly sound out words and child E has caught up with peers after a lot o f time off. The TA stated that all children have definitely benefitted from the programme already. Attainment As shown in Table 2, all of the three childrens levels in reading and writing have increased from W levels (not yet accessing the Year 1 curriculum, so assessed against P scales) in November 2010, to at least a level 1c in April 2011 during the period that ELS was implemented. The greatest improvement has been in writing, with child A and E achieving a level 1c+. What are the perceptions of the children on Early Literacy Support and their enjoyment and development in literacy? Enjoyment During interviews with the children, it was clear that all children enjoy the ELS sessions, however child A stated that she didnt want to be in the group anymore as she doesnt think she needs to be in it. All three children stated that they enjoy sounding out letters in the sessions and described how much they enjoy helping Pip the puppet with her sounds. Child D said I like it when we talk to Pip and help her sound out letters and likewise child E stated I like sounding out letters and reading things. Writing was consistently the activity that children enjoyed the least as they found it the most difficult. However, when describing her favourite piece of writing, child A stated I enjoy writing lots of things because I know how to write now. Development When describing what the children thought they had improved at in literacy, all the children identified that they can now sound out letters to help them with their reading and writing. Child A felt that she had got better at sounding out letters and stated this was because she had been practising with the TA. She also talked about finding writing difficult in Foundation Stage and said now I just remember how to write a word and can write it down. Child D said Ive got better at my reading because I can now sound out words to help me read. I am on List 9 hotwords already. Child E stated I have got better at writing. I always make the sounds for the letters and words to help me to write. Discussion This research aimed to investigate how the ELS programme is supporting childrens needs and assess adults and childrens perceptions of the programme. Interviews, observations and obtaining childrens targets revealed that the ELS programme is at present supporting the childrens specific needs. Furthermore, overall both staff and children expressed positive opinions regarding the ELS programme. The ELS session activities focused mainly on sounds and spelling, with writing a simple sentence incorporated into some sessions. This links directly with childrens needs before starting the programme and their individual writing targets, which Bradley (1990) argues is crucial in order for an intervention to be successful. Furthermore, the phonics covered in the session was linked to Thrass, which is the phonics programme that children experience in the mainstream classroom. This is crucial, as Rose (2006) argues that it is essential for children to have continuity to enable them to transfer their skills from the classroom into the session and vice versa. Although the sessions at present are supporting childrens needs, their targets will change over time and it cannot be concluded that the sessions will continue to support their needs. The ELS programme is followed strictly, with no room for incorporating work to specifically target the childrens individual needs if they are not cove red by the programme. This is therefore in contrast to the view held by Bradley (1990). Although the programme must be followed, it might be beneficial if the TA knew the childrens targets so she could focus on those particular skills, within the planned sessions. Both the adults and childrens perceptions of the programme were very positive. The adults have seen improvements in childrens literacy skills during the past few months, particularly with the childrens confidence in all aspects of literacy. The adults stated that the children are now more confident at sounding out words and will independently complete writing tasks that previously they struggled with. The children were able to identify what they felt they had improved at, which were in line with the adults opinions of the childrens development. This increase in confidence appears to have had an impact on the childrens enjoyment in aspects of literacy, although writing was consistently their least favourite aspect. Only one child expressed her frustration with being involved in the group as she felt she was missing out on class work. The ELS sessions are timetabled for 20 minutes at the same time each day, meaning children are always missing foundation subjects as part of their topic work. Although the intervention is clearly aiding childrens development, the children are potentially missing out on crucial learning experiences within the mainstream classroom. It would be interesting to investigate whether childrens opinions of the intervention were more positive if the interventions were timetabled on a rotational basis to ensure that children were not always missing the same lessons. The adults positive opinions surrounding the impact of ELS are supported by the increase in childrens progress and attainment in literacy. The childrens attainment in both reading and writing had increased from W levels, to at least a 1c during the period that ELS was implemented. The current research therefore supports previous findings that have documented improvements in childrens literacy skills and attainment following participation in the ELS programme (Soler Paige-Smith, 2005; Hatcher et al. 2006a; Burroughs-Lange Douetil, 2007). However in this study, it cannot be concluded that increase in literacy attainment is solely attributed to the ELS programme, because other variables were not controlled. Alongside the intervention, children were also experiencing quality teaching during their whole class sessions, with reading and writing supported across the timetable. Furthermore, the school has recently implemented the Read Write Inc. phonics scheme to use during the literacy le ssons, which focuses heavily on sounds and spellings. Therefore, it may be a combination of the ELS intervention, quality first teaching and literacy phonics schemes that have led to an improvement in literacy skills and subsequently an increase in reading and writing attainment. Further, controlled studies need to be conducted to assess the specific impact that the ELS intervention has on childrens literacy skills. Additionally, the present research only assessed a snap shot of the intervention and did not assess the impact of the programme on literacy skills and attainment in the longer term. Although the research documents an increase in skills and attainment, it cannot be concluded that the programme helped children to reach or go beyond age expected levels in literacy by the end of a school year. It would be interesting to conduct longitudinal research to see whether children participating in ELS during the spring term of Year 1, achieve age-related expectations of at least a level 1b by the time they finish Year 1. Although Savage and Carless (2008) conducted a longitudinal study of ELS and assessed results at the end of Year 2, research has yet to assess childrens attainment across the whole of Year 1. The current research also supports the literature that suggests that teaching assistants can deliver interventions successfully in order to raise attainment (Hatcher et al. 2006b; Savage Carless, 2008). However, prior to starting the programme the teaching assistant received no training and simply had to deliver the programme following the session plans. She was not confident in using Thrass as she had had no phonics training. In agreement with Savage and Carless (2008), it can be argued that to further improve childrens attainment, teaching assistants who are delivering interventions need to be trained in phonics programmes and should be aware of approaches to support childrens learning. As this was a small-scale case study conducted in one urban primary school, the findings from this research cannot be generalised to other children or schools (Demetriou, 2009). Furthermore, case study designs have been criticised for being influenced by the researchers subjectivity (Demetriou, 2009). However, to overcome this issue, the present research adopted multiple research methods and recording approaches in order to ensure objectivity, which therefore increases the validity and reliability of the findings (Burton et al. 2009). A strength of the research was that observations of ELS sessions were conducted sequentially over a 3 day period in order to increase reliability and observations were noted and recorded to ensure objectivity. However, the researchers presence may have influenced the children and staffs behaviour, meaning the observed sessions may not have been a true reflection of typical intervention sessions (Wilson Fox, 2009). Furthermore, the interviews yielded hi ghly valid, in-depth data, however once again the results cannot be generalised as the answers were specific to the children and staff interviewed (Wilson Fox, 2009). Conclusion In conclusion, this small-scale study revealed the positive benefits that the ELS programme has had both on the childrens confidence and their attainment in literacy. The research has increased my understanding of literacy interventions to support childrens learning and increase their attainment. Interventions would be something I would consider implementing in my own classroom if there was a need to boost childrens literacy skills. Furthermore, I would carefully consider the timing of the interventions so as not to greatly impact of their learning in other subjects that the children may enjoy. The recent changes being proposed in the Education Bill currently going through Parliament, has led to a period of uncertainty with regards to the curriculum, National Strategies,

Price Discrimination Essay -- Economics Economy Profit Finances Essays

Price Discrimination Prices are based upon the price elasticity of demand in each given market. In other terms, this means that during ladies night at the local bar, it costs more for men to have a beer than women simply because these bars find it o.k. to charge females less, as a way to draw more females to the business on a specific night. Price discrimination is part of the commercial and business world. Movie theaters, magazines, computer software companies, and thousands of other businesses have discounted prices for students, children, or the elderly. One important note though, is that price discrimination is only present when the exact same product is sold to different people for different prices. First class vs. coach in an airline (though sometimes just differing in how many free drinks you can get) is not an example of price discrimination because the two tickets, though comparable, are not identical. Price discrimination is based upon the economic thoughts and practice of marginal analysis. This process deals specifically with the differences in revenue and costs as choices and/or decisions are made. Profit maximization is achieved not when the number of products sold is the highest, nor when the price is the highest. Profitability price discrimination is only profitable if and when the given target groups price elasticity of demand differs to the point where the separate prices yield to profit maximization for each given group in question (where marginal revenue equals marginal cost). Groups that are more sensitive to prices, (students and senior citizens for example), have a lower price elasticity of demand and are the ones that are often charged the lower prices for the identical goods or services. The key to price discrimination and using it to fully compliment other economic practices, ultimately achieving the total profit maximization, is the ability to effectively and efficiently collect, analyze, and act upon data gathered about the different groups. First of all, the groups must be accurately identified and the differences between groups must be thought of ahead of time. Children, genders, and senior citizens are easily singled-out by appearance, while military personnel, college students, and other groups must carry some sort of identification. Firms typically will quote the highest prices in advertisements,... ...portunity cost. Price discrimination is a significant and influential practice on the market in the modern economic world. It aids in a firm's profit maximization scheme, it allows certain consumers with more scarce resources the opportunity to purchase goods or services that would otherwise be usable, and it aids firms in balancing what is and what is not sold. Price discrimination is an effective means by which a firm can sell a higher quantity of goods, make a higher profit margin on the goods it sells, and builds a broader consumer base due to differing price elasticity of demand for given goods and services. Price discrimination ultimately equalizes price and value for both the consumer and the firm, creating a more ideal situation for both entities in terms of preference and opportunity cost. Bibliography http://www.wired.com/news/story/18656.html infousa.com/toolkit/home/text/po3_5230.htm www.researchinfo.com/wwwboard/messages/7633.html www.mhht.com/economics/frank4/student/appendixes/appendix4.html agriculture.house.gov/glossary/price_elasticity_of_demand.htm www.nets.kz/ilia.nets.kz/p_text.html www.nd.edu/keating/textbook/chap2/chap2.html

Legal and Professional Issues – Manager of an IT company

You are a manager with an IT company supplying information management systems to medical practices. A company marketing health-related products (complementary medicines, books on diets and ‘miracle' cures of various kinds) has approached you. They suggest that you jointly offer doctors incentives to accept a feature in your system that will print out advertisements for their products on documents for patients and target different categories of patients with mailings. Content Page Title Page Content Page Ethical Issues it raises for; * The individuals- doctors, IT manager 4 * The groups – marketing company, patients 4-5 Enquires which may be carried out in order to understand the problem better 5 Proposed ‘solution' for the problem 5-6 Bibliography 7 Appendices 8-11 Manager of an IT company Ethical Issues it raises for; IT Manager * Data Protection Act 1998- â€Å"sensitive personal data† within the act states that ‘his physical or mental health or condition'1 should not be disclosed. See Appendices. * Human rights act 1998 * The act of ‘Bribery', illegal in the UK. * Company should have made a legal binding to the medical practice to secure data leakage. * Ethics and Information Technology. See Bernhard Debatin in Appendices. * In relation to Mills theory- the consequences could lead to higher monitoring of privacy if the activity is disclosed. See Appendices. Doctors * Following the principle of Mills, again, the consequences could be increased monitoring of doctoring practice locally or through the UK. * Data protection act 1998 * Human rights act 1998 * Unspoken confidentiality agreement with patient (doctor/ patient relationship) * Medical ethical practices, as laid out by the General Medical Council http://www.gmc-uk.org/standards/default.htm. * Breaking position of patient/ doctor authority * Misinforming patients/ disclosing information about a product he/she may know little about i.e. not knowing the side affects and misinforming patients claiming a ‘miracle cure'. * Accepting a personal ‘incentive' on behalf of patient confidentiality * Viewed as a high profile in society- should set a high ethical example * Potential- under Mills theory, of loosing the Doctor Status, respect and trust of the patients. Marketing Company * The British Code of Advertising Practice * Marketing ethical practices * Freedom of Information Act 2000 – could be viewed as ‘ethical' for such medical information to be disclosed in Europe. Patients * Unspoken confidentiality agreement with doctor (doctor/ patient relationship) * Date protection Act 1998 as before * Human Rights Act 1998 as before * Doctor- medical professional, patient- not a medical professional, thus the acceptance of something neither may no much about would potentially occur * Names/ Address/ disabilities and/or illnesses being disclosed; private and personal information which could be very sensitive to the individual. Enquires which may be carried out in order to understand the problem better It would be beneficial to do all the following in order to understand the situation better: * Contact the marketing company to gain a comprehensive understanding of the products; if not, the manufacturer. * Conduct research to find out if the product(s) have been used elsewhere, and if so, what the results were. * Contact the NHS; what are the regulations behind the marketing of products within medical practises. As the governing body, has research been previously carried out on these products? * Contact the General Medical Council who protect/ guide doctors and patients. With thorough knowledge of ethical guidance procedures for doctors and patients, they claim doctors should along with many other things; o â€Å"Respect and protect confidential information [about patients] o Respect patients' dignity and privacy o Avoid abusing your position as a doctor†2 * Speak to the doctors, ask them about the product and for them to speak to their peers in regard to the product- has others heard/used them. Proposed ‘solution' for the problem There are a couple of steps that can be carried out in order to minimise the ethical dilemmas that are concealed within this problem; 1. The IT Manager [myself] could give the doctors details obtained from the company marketing health-related products so that they have the choice as to whether they carry out the advertising- it would then be their responsibility to ensure date protection. 2. The idea of disclosing patient information in my view [acting as the manager] is totally unethical, and will not even be taken into consideration; even with an incentive- it would put my profession as well as the medical practice under legal scrutiny. 3. The NHS could be contacted to see if it would be possible for the marketing company to operate through them, ensuring that nothing illegal/unethical is taking place, and thus increasing the financial position of the NHS, again, leaving the IT company out of the equation

L’oreal’s Way to Success in the European Haircare Products Industry Essays

L’oreal’s Way to Success in the European Haircare Products Industry Essays L’oreal’s Way to Success in the European Haircare Products Industry Essay L’oreal’s Way to Success in the European Haircare Products Industry Essay L’oreal’s Way to Success in the European Haircare Products Industry Introduction: L’oreal, the name of the cosmetics giant, appears with high frequency in nearly all world-class newspapers and magazines in recent times. There is a striking headline in the Independent (London, England) on Feb 21, 2004 p54, â€Å"LOreal builds on two decades of growth as profits soar. † The news is â€Å"Loreal has set its sights on notching up two decades of consecutive annual double-digit growth after reporting a 13. 5 per cent rise in profit last year. † Lindsay Owen-Jones, chairman, showed his confidence for the rate of internal sales growth next year. Maybe it is not too difficult for a company to rank first of its annual sales growth. But it seems a mystery for a company to keep its position of market-leader in the world with annual double-digit growth for 19 years and even more enigmatical for a company in the cosmetics industry. How can L’oreal compete against its rivals and gain today’s success? Let’s go back to 1997. At that time, L’oreal was the market leader in France and at the end of June, after considerable coordination between company headquarters and subsidiaries, Lindsay, stated the company’s new mission : Make L’oreal Elseve a leader throughout Europe. Though shampoo was used by 83. 5% of the population, there was little brand loyalty and it was extremely difficult to create any. A widespread belief in Europe is that changing shampoos frequently was good for the hair because otherwise it would get used to a particular shampoo and the result would not be so satisfactory. The important reason is that shampoo is a product which can help L’oreal penetrate into all households by all kinds of people. Leadership in the shampoo could give L’oreal a considerable boost in its brand recognition and make it accessible to the young customers and males. The ardousness ahead of L’oreal was obvious. This article will base on L’oreal, the pilgrim’s progress, to analyze what critical success factors of L’oreal are to create its competitive advantage and how L’oreal has successfully sustained its advantage with the marketing strategy to underpin its position step by step in the European haircare market. Critical Success Factors of an Organization Critical Success Factors in General Johnson Scholes states (p. 151) that critical success factors (CSFs) are those product features that are particularly valued by a group of customers and, therefore, where the organization must excel outperform competition. † Hooley et al (1998, p. 45) thought that â€Å" The essential factors in choosing how to create the competitive advantage are that it must be on a basis of value to the customer (lower prices, superior quality, better service). ?Core Competences: Hamel and Prahalad (cited Lynch 2003, p. 235) said t hat â€Å"Core competence are a group of production skills and technologies that enable an organization to provide a particular benefit to consumers †¦. hey act as a fundamental resource of the organization. † Johnson Scholes (2002, p. 156) thought that the most important feature of core competence is robust, i. e. being difficult to imitate. The aim can only be obtained through the constant innovation. The following is the analysis of L’oreal’s critical successful factors. ?Resources Creating Competitive Advantage 1. Processes, Products, Services 2. Human Resources 3. Information 4. Financial Resources Porter (1985) suggests that the above four kinds of resources can create a competitive advantage and that cost leadership and differentiation strategies could be adopted. The analysis of L’oreal’s success will be illustrated as follows. L’oreal’s critical successful Factors ?Core competences: Constant research and innovation- the determinant of L’oreal’s competitive position 1. Historical analysis: L’oreal was founded in 1907 by the chemist Eugene Schuller, since then the Group carried on the tradition that put research at the centre of his development strategy. From the review of L’oreal’s history, it is obvious that result of research and innovation is the determinant of its competitive position. . 978: Elseve had a positioning as a shampoo for damaged hair and was seen as too rich, too nourish and too heavy to be used on a daily basis. But at this time, the frequency in the use of shampoos increased dramatically and shampoos which has the hasteristic of being gentle and mild enough to be used every day became more appealing to consumers. Timotei, Ultra Doux and MIxa baby a baby shampoo became the market leader because it was as so mild that it can be used every day. When planning Elseve’s brand extension, L’oreal decided to offer separate products for frequent and less- frequent shampooing. This gave rise to products such as Elseve Baslsam, Elseve Frewuence, Elseve Volume Nd Elseve for oily hair. But the positioning has not made much improvement. 1987: Following a new product launched by Timoei, the market had its new trend: active ingredients were in fashion and products started to introduce natural ingredients. The Elseve products were renewed and L’oreal decided to target new market segments. The idea was to offer products for all types of hair, enriching the formula with a different active ingredient for each type of hair. 994: L’oreal developed a silicone-based formula which treated each stand of hair individually, leaving it very soft and easy to comb as it was thoroughly detangled. Consumers noticed this immediately and Elseve successfully enter the normal hair segment of the market. Thereafter, L’oreal profited from the advantage of polyesters and silicone. The successful combination of the two ingredients in the shampoo formula gave Lâ€⠄¢oreal a major advantage over its competitors and escalated its competitive position. 1995: The company launched Elseve Multicitamines and added the Technicare line to the Elseve product range. Elseve Multivitamines used a silicone-based formula that tested better than the composition of Procter Gamble’s silicone-based Pantene which at the time was the European market leader. Launching Elseve Multivitamines enabled Elseve to increase its target segments, addressing not only consumers with damaged hair or other hair care problems bur also people with normal hair. The new formula was the milestone of L’oreal’s shampoo battle. The innovation of research brought a series of good results: increase of sales and so did prices. The high revenue made it possible to increase the advertising budget, further increased its market share. Since then, with the leading position of the new skills and constant development as well as successful implementation of marketing strategy, L’oreal went steadily towards its No 1 position. 2. Panorama of Research Development in today’s L’oreal: The continuous innovation has helped L’oreal gain its competitive advantage and kept on escalation of its competitive position, from a French leader to be a European Leader and now the world leader. L’oreal regards research as the heart of the business. The investment in research is much higher than that of its rivals. 1)Delicate combination of Research and Marketing: a)A balance between the creative RD and marketing-led RD has kept L’oreal launching new viable products continuously. i. Advanced research: this is a long-term research with the aim of developing new ingredients, better understanding and improving the effectiveness of new ingredients and products as well as better understanding its toxicological effects. For example, marketers wanted a natural fruit-based shampoo range for the European market. It took 10 years of hard RD to develop the formulae for the Fructis range. L’oreal is reasonable to give scientist freedom to work on their long-term ideas. Ultimately, in July 1996 in France tests showed spectacular results of the Fructis range on the quality of hair. Within the first six months alone, it had sold nearly 5 million units and since then it has helped L’oreal capture 28 percent of the European shampoo market by being rolled out into not only European market but also in Scandinavia, Russia and Chile. On the health front, an International Safety Assessment Department of L’oreal looks in-depth at the toxicological profile of all the ingredients used and assesses the safety and tolerance of all formulations before they are used and put on the market. ii. Applied research: this level takes over ideas from both L’oreal’s own advanced research and from what has been done outside the company to refine new materials and put them into practice. It will take a long time to evaluate its effectiveness, its acceptance in use. For example, Research Institute in Chicago is dedicated to advanced research to improve understanding of the properties and specific requirements of the skin and hair of people of African descent.. 2)During the development work of new product, it is quite important of the researchers not lose sight of industrial reality. There more formal contacts between scientists and marketers which is unusual in other companies. Some formal meeting held usually including the contents such as: one day per month to discuss the progress of current projects; two or three meetings per year for the scientists to reveal their goodies to the marketers. )Renovating faster than competitors: In the hypercompetitive market conditions, it is no longer enough to plan for sustainable positions. In order to gain advantages, firms must be prepared to pre-empt imitation by others. With continuous launch of new products and brands, L’oreal hopes to make a strong and immediate impact on the market. ?Resources Creating Competitive advantages: Companies can add value by creating competitive advantage through the incremental management of the following resources. 1. Processes, Products , Services: )Selecting Raw materials and close relationship with suppliers: L’oreal pay much attention on the selection of the raw materials. With the aim of product safety and effectiveness, all the 2,800 raw materials used are continuously being renewed at a rate of 150 a year. The suppliers all over the world manage L’oreal to obtain the highest natural ingredients. L’oreal set out to promote and develop the use of raw materials from natural, renewable sources. In 2002, 39. 7% of their raw materials in volume terms came from plants. These new raw materials are the product either of LOreal Research or of research carried out by suppliers. A constructive ongoing dialogue with its suppliers plays an important role during the process. Using this diversified approach, progress has already been made in raw material selection. Partnerships allow them to establish a close, long-term relationship with suppliers based on innovation, safety and quality. 2)Reducing operating cost of products: It streamlines packaging, gains economies of scale in the aggressive management of the top performing brands. Elseve (Elvive, ElVital) shampoo bottles have been improved and now require almost 25% less material, which equates to almost 450 tons of polyethylene a year saved. In addition to this reduction, the indirect effects on transport and recycling are also minimized. 3)Address possible segments: L’oreal has made an elaborate and deep study so as to address possible market segments. It has divided up the total European market according to the geographic segmentation, age, gender, typology, nature of hair, washing frequency, and amount used (See Appendices 1 to 4). The aim of L’oreal is to â€Å"seeks to make accessible to women and men all over the world†. L’oreal launched the brand L’oreal’s Studio Line for men and P’tit Dop for children. 4) Market Targeting: L’oreal makes deep and thorough survey about the people’s attractiveness of different European countries. For example, Germany was more price-oriented than other countries, so using the strategy of price reduction can increase Elvital’s market share increased significantly. Another example is that Spain was the European country with the most greasy and least straight hair. The market accepted the introduction of new products that contained technological innovations. Natural ingredients were very well accepted. 5)Umbrella brand strategy: Competing with a number of different L’oreal brands enabled the company to position its products in more market segments and compete for market leadership by adding all together sales for its different brands. At the same time, product cannibalism was avoided by designing different positioning strategies: every single product invested in creating its own personality. )Broadest Distribution channels: L’oreal is able to make its most advanced technologies available to a large number of people. All the Group’s brands, particularly those whose purpose is to provide a wide group of people with the most innovative products at affordable prices, make the latest discoveries more accessible. 7)Communications Srategy: L’oreal’s communications strategy involves signing contracts with major intern ational stars from the world of show business and fashion to make them the spokespersons for specific items. In the UK, Jennifer Anniston, an actress on the leading TV sitcom â€Å"Friends† was chosen as the brand spokeswoman. Jennifer Anniston transmitted a modern, powerful image because she was a famous actress and very popular among generations aged 15 to 35. She was also very admired for her beautiful, stylish hair. The Ceramide R molecule , which was able to â€Å"Wash the strength back into your hair. † , was claimed by its advertising for the entire range in the UK. Delicate design of the advertising helped Elvive capture more than a 6% market share in 1997, and rose to 8% in the following year, making it the second –ranked brand on the market. Another example is about the leading brand Elvive. Elvive tries to capture the essence of pleasure using advertisements that sound tempting: â€Å"Because I’m worth it. †, says L’oreal. (Principle, Kotler, p. 459) 2. Human Resources: 1)Implement the best possible working conditions and try to make employee relations as personal as possible. 2)Recruit talented people from multicultural backgrounds and develop diversity. 3)Offer Sharing achievements: In 2003, LOreal paid a total of â‚ ¬43 million in bonuses under the WPS scheme for the 2002 financial year, equivalent to an average of two weeks salaray. 4)Motivate people, particularly through a highly dynamic approach to remuneration and mobility. )Promote personal and professional development through the training programs offered by the Continuing Education and by comparing experiences. 6)Developing partnerships with Universities: The Groups involvement with universities has been stepped up and it now maintains 120 close partnerships all over the world. These ta ke different forms, including: financial backing for chairs, such as those at Oxford (Business School) 3. Information Resources: Information is one of the most basic ingredients of a successful marketing strategy. (Keegan, p. 189) Another job for applied research mentioned above in L’oreal is to watch the competition. About 20 people in L’oreal do nothing else but surfing the web and getting hold of 1,000 new products of other companies. Between 700 and 800 of them are examined in minute detail. 4. Financial Resources: Strategy is influenced and constrained by the financial resources of a company. John Scholes said (p. 348), â€Å"The advantage of ‘deep pockets’ is that a competitor can withstand an intensive competitive war. The organizer can gain competitive knowledge worldwide and also move resources wherever they are necessary either to preserve their own interests or to tackle competition. L’oreal’s success in the European started after it created its competitive advantage in its financial resource. In 1995, the success of new formula allowed L’oreal to increase the price of Elseve products by 20%. Increased revenue meant that Elseve could spent more on advertising. This enabled Elseve to address more segments with differentiated messages, thereby further increasing its market share. The Marketing Environment Kotler et al (1997, p. 64) stated that â€Å"Managing the marketing functions would be hard enough if the marketer had to deal only with the controllable marketing-mix variables. The company operates in a complex environment (macro- and micro- )which consists of uncontrollable forces and actors which affect the company’s ability to perform well. Successful company is able to analyze its environment and so that it can avoid the threats and take advantage of the opportunities. ?The Macro-Environment This consists of a number of broader f orces that affect the company, which are largely uncontrollable, a new product or marketing program is likely to be more successful if it is in-line with strong macro environmental trends rather than opposing them. 1. Political: Political changes in the 1990s meant that almost all trading nations function with market –based economies and their trade policies have tended to encourage free markets between nations. (Johnson , p. 105) Governments are breaking up monopolies and introducing more pro-consumer legislation concerned with making the customer the ultimate decider on what will and will not to be produced. (Wright, p. 5) 2. Economical: With the adoption of the euro as a standard currency, many political boundaries will fall. By removing currency conversion hurdles, the switch will likely increase cross-border trade. (Kotler, et al , p. 59) 3. Social cultural/Natural: There is an increasing convergence of markets world. In some markets, customer needs and preferences are becoming similar 4. Technological: The fast development of technology is the key characteristic of environmental turbulence. It brings the high innovation turbulence. New technology creates new markets and opportunities and also ma kes markets and companies obsolete. ?The Micro-Environment: It includes the company itself, suppliers, customers, and competitors as well as public. The above analysis of L’oreal’s critical successful sectors has made relevant detailed statement. SWOT Analysis: Understanding the environment, taking good advantage of the opportunities and avoiding the threats are important elements of L’oreal’s success. SWOT analysis is useful for a good understand of L’oreal. Strength: L’oreal’s high speed of renovation (over 3,000 new formulas) and the absolute competitive advantage of technology provide solid barriers for the potential entrants to entry. Its products cover all possible segments. The aim of L’oreal is to â€Å"seeks to make accessible to women and men all over the world†. L’oreal is able to make its most advanced technologies available to a large number of people in all areas of products. All the Group’s brands , particularly those whose purpose is to provide a wider group of people with the most innovative products at affordable prices, make the latest discoveries more accessible. It can be said that L’oreal has managed to satisfy the desire of different segments of buyers. All these strength made it quite difficult to be substituted, at least provide the delay of being substituted. L’oreal is adept at continuously bringing innovation to the marketplace and maximizing the use of established brand names with new products targetd at these subsegments and niches. The advanced research result make many promising question marks become stars. Based on the solid financial resources, the stars will become cash cows as their markers mature. So many stars and cash cows of L’oreal shine actively in the world. Every product’s advantage is temporary, and will be eroded. However, long-term advantage of L’oreal maybe sustained through a series of temporary advantages. Weakness: L’oreal is present in 130 countries, has 290 subsidiaries. Because of social and cultural difference, it is not easy to make the management is efficient in each subsidiary. The large distribution may meet unexpected trade trouble because of political risks, such as loosing all control, ownership of assets and market access. (Bradley, p. 133) Opportunities: In 1995, the French haircare products market was saturated at that time. The success of the new fomula made L’oreal occupy the capability to enter the European market. The opportunities to enter the European market gave L’oreal a shot in the arm. Globalization and deregulation as well as the emerging of European Union speeded up the entry. In haircare industry product, customers’ needs and preferences of different countries are becoming more similar. The trend of healthy and shiny hair has gained popularity. All these opportunities offered L’oreal more space to develop. Threats: Facing powerful threat from world famous brands of Procter Gamble, Unilever etc, L’oreal has had to invest heavily in innovation. The Group has 3 percent of consolidated sales devoted to research, 2823 people engaged in cosmetics and dermatological research, 501 patents registered in 2002. By comparison, Procter Gamble, Unilever, spend only 1. 7 percent and 1. 5 percent respectively of their cosmetics turnover (which is 20 percent lower than that of L’oreal in any case. The threat can be low if L’oreal can keep on developing patents and launching new formulas faster than other Group. (Brassington Pettitt, p. 385) Conclusion: L’oreal’s opportunities outperformed the rivals’ threats and its weakness seemed much less important than its strength. The whole trend of environment is in favor of L’orealâ €™s progress. It can be convincible that L’oreal’s powerful core competence of constant innovation and flexible, efficient marketing strategy has forged and sustained L’oreal’s success and bring it a bright future. References: . Kotler, P. , and Armstrong, G. , 1997. Marketing: an Introduction. 4th ed. Harlow: Prentice Hall. 2. Wright, R. , 1999. Marketing: Origins, concepts, Rnvironment. 1st ed. London: Thomson Learning. 3. Doyle, P. , 2000. Value-based Marketing: Marketing Strategies for Corporate Growth and Shareholder Value. 1st ed. Chichester: John Wiley Sons, Ltd. 4. Keegan, W, J. , 2002. Global Marketing Management. 7th ed. Person Education, Inc. 5. Bradley, F. , 2002. International Marketing Strategy. 4th ed. Harlow: Prentice Hall. 6. Brassington,F. , and Pettitt, S. 2003. Principles of Marketing. 3rd ed. Harlow: Pearson education limited. . 7. Kotler, P. et al . 2001. Principles of Marketing. 3rd European ed. Harlow: Pearson education limite d. . 8. Johnson, G. , and Scholes, k. , 2002. Exploring Corporate Strategy. 6th ed. Harlow: Prentice Hall. 9. Hooley, G. J. , et al. 1998. Marketing Strategy Competitive Positioning. 10. Porter, M. E. , 1985. Competitive Advantage. Free Press. 11. Prahalad, C. K. , and Hamel, G. , The core Competence of the Corporation. Harvard Business Review (May/June 1990), p. 79-91.

Empires Rise and Fall †History Essay

Empires Rise and Fall – History Essay Free Online Research Papers When history is viewed like a fast forwarded movie clip, it can be easily seen that history repeats itself. Empires rise and fall, power changes hands over and over again. The reason that the study of history plays such a prominent role in all forms of education is that history can be used to predict the future. As civilization and human intelligence advance beyond all boundaries of imagination, it is crucial for people to learn from mistakes of the past, and thus to prevent tragedies of the past to recur and create a true utopia for future generations. The society of Canada is a great example of a well-rounded society built upon the awareness of historical faults. Canada is one of the most peaceful nations on earth, with no significant conflicts since its confederation. The major reasons for this are social equality and relative neutrality on the international stage. Canadians are well aware that the major causes of wars in history are social inequality and political hatred. Therefore, the leaders of Canada have constructed sophisticated social welfare programs and strict taxation laws to close the gap and harmonize relationships among the Upper, Middle and Lower classes. In addition, Canada maintains a neutral stance on international conflicts, notably the crises in Iraq and Afghanistan. This, in effect, makes Canada a less likely target for retaliation in the form of terrorist attacks. The implementations of Canada’s internal and external policies have served well to shape Canada into one of the most suitable places to liv e in the world. As human civilization ventures into the unchartered territories of the future, it is absolutely necessary to look back into the depths of history to learn the invaluable lessons of success and failure. Research Papers on Empires Rise and Fall - History EssayQuebec and CanadaThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationBringing Democracy to AfricaPETSTEL analysis of IndiaRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeWhere Wild and West MeetAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Portfolio Management Master Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Portfolio Management Master - Essay Example Thereafter the effects on smaller securities will be masked by those of larger portfolio. (Gruber 26). This is not to imply that returns will increase with sensitivity to the said factors. Because some factor that are prices cannot be diversified yet are persuasive, they will definitely affect the price returns as opposed to those that are unpriced yet can be diversified. Therefore the distinction of priced and unpriced factors defines the first role of APT in portfolio management. An example of this role in deciding to buy steels that are not persuasive to current prices, is for the APT manager to decide how to buy knowing they will not get extra returns. (Gruber 26), (Anonymous 337 - 352) Secondly, the manager must ensure that there is enough knowledge of choosing steel stocks to cover the extended risks and must also ensures that this risk is spread across several securities. Thus, the APT process must guarantee trade offs as prices make returns sensitive. This means that there is neither a good or bad decision, rather, risk return aim are the most guiding factors. (Gruber 26). Thirdly, APT will influence choice of portfolio depending on income. ... (Gruber 26) Therefore by use of Arbitrage Pricing Theory, the management will lay out a portfolio that considers several factors of influence under the prevailing market conditions. Thereafter priced risks will persuade the investor to take the greatest risk similar to CAPM. Risk will vary with sensitivity of the influences. However the market portfolio has no significance role in the decision of market performance. (Gruber 27). Hypothesis: Whenever the CEO of a company retires, an excess return can be made by buying the company's stock. This hypothesis can be tested by research into the retirement of famous CEO of companies that are listed in the stock exchange markets. Examples of key CEOs who have retired are Lee Raymond from Exxon Mobil (XOM), John Kanas from North Folk Bancorp, Robert Nardelli from Home Depot, Stan O'Neal from Merrill Lynch. A list of up to 50 CEOs who have retired from listed companies will need to be made to make up study of individual retirement and stock sale cases. (Oduma 1) Next research will need to be done to establish which which stocks sales went up or down as soon as the CEO of the respective companies retired from the listed companies. The assumptions to be held are that the stock quantities are stable as well as there price fluctuations. If more than 50% of these results reflect this statement, then the hypothesis can be said to hold. If not then the hypothesis in null. (Oduma 1) A long side this research, there will be need to identify factors that have previously led to increased buying of company stock. In this case, the issue of CEO's retirement will need to

Biographical approach to antheap Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Biographical approach to antheap - Essay Example The main theme of the story focuses on how the two boys are able to sustain their friendship despite the tribulations that occur. According to Lessing (13), Macintosh who is a goldmine owner oppresses the Africans who work in their mines. The eviroment in which the Africans work are deplorable and the state of the mine continues to get dangerous (Lessing 20). Tommy, who is white, plays with black children despite the refutation from his mother. Tommy’s parents who are immediate neighbors to Macintosh refrain their sin from engaging with the black children ( Lessing 25). â€Å"New Historicism† is a technique that critics utilize to examine skeptically the writers content. Critics tend to associate the books content to the authors character, which is not a concrete basis. The writer’s mannerisms can be autonomous of the information of his work. The happenings of an autobiographical subject, for example, Doris Lessing describes of the racial experience of black peop le in Zimbabwe through the troubles of small boys, while this is not reflective of the experiences of the author. She is of British descent and has spent a large fraction o her life in Europe away from the impediments that exist in Africa particularly Zimbabwe. This further emphasizes that the expression of the author cannot determine his character since she may utilize expressive language to sweeten the story. This approach of critics is speculative and no concrete authentication to the views the critic proposes can be verified. The language of a writer is not credible enough to warrant the biography as prejudicial. The biographical details should not be an estimation of the writer’s opinions on the written issues. In addition, some critics utilize less credible sources to disregard the information put forth by the author. Doris has written numerous fictional articles