In our time – An exquisite combination of literary technique and absurd realism

Through an exquisite combination of literary technique and absurd realism, Flannery O'Connor reveals to the reader a grotesque underside of life in the rural south of the United States. By combining a certain flare for dialogue, an intense and primal understanding of human nature, and the constant use of irony, O'Connor paints a vivid image of the world she witnessed around her while commenting on society and the importance of traditional values. O'Connor transfers the vulnerability of one into many, and her mastery of shifting control within the cast of characters, ensures the uncertainty of the outcome and in the process. This reminds us that none of the roles in our lives are stagnant and that by intentionally blinding ourselves to what we do not wish to see or recognize, takes away more than just a view. Through the unique verisimilitude of her stories, she reveals to us that what we attempt to disregard inevitably emerges again and again. One of the most distinguishing aspects of O'Connor's literature are the characters she portrays and develops. Each represent philosophies and personalities, which are derived through the mid 20th century southern lifestyle. Their response to diversity and adversity eventually leads to horrific sadness, tragedy and death, or the exposure of bizarre and atrocious values. With the constant use of religious imagery, tragic foreshadowing and humorous irony, the stories â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† and â€Å"Everything that Rises must Converge† clearly demonstrate and portray O'Connor's ideology of the gradual breakdown of society as a whole with the internal collapse of traditional values. Predominant themes such as religion and racism provide a powerful statement on O'Connor's perspective of society. Through the effectiveness of these techniques, Flannery O'Connor successfully analyzes the existential plight of human existence and its conflict with traditional and religious conviction. In both stories, the antagonist is always a representation of traditional values, whether it is of strong Christian belief or of racial bigotry, whereas the protagonist is seen to take the form of modern scientific beliefs. In the story â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find,† the antagonist is the Grandmother; she remains nameless throughout the story. The Misfit is the protagonist. Though it appears that the Grandmother is extremely manipulative and deceitful during the course of the story, as she was responsible for the deaths of the entire family, one must consider and observe the treatment she receives from her relatives. In the majority of the story, she is either ignored by her son and daughter in law, or rudely criticized by her grandchildren. The grandchildren are representative of the breakdown of respect and filial dependence seen throughout society. However, O'Connor also wanted to demonstrate the counterbalance to this concept: In my time,' said the grandmother, folding her thin veined fingers, ‘children were more respectful of their native states and their parents and everything else. People did right then. Oh look at that cute little pickaninny! ‘ she said and pointed to a Negro child standing in the door of a shack†¦ (Pg. 119) The idea that the grandmother refers to the Negro child as a ‘pickaninny' not only demonstrates blatant and unintentional racism, it subverts the lines of the respect that the hypocritical grandmother was previously referring to. Similarly, in the story â€Å"Everything that Rises†¦ , O'Connor demonstrates the breakdown of respect and dependence and generational confliction. The antagonist is played by Mrs. Chestny, who is similar to the grandmother in the sense that both mean well and both women hold strongly to their traditional beliefs. Julian Chestny, her son, takes the role of the protagonist, a smug and selfish young man who also represents a similar collapse. ‘They don't give a damn for your graciousness,' Julian said savagely. ‘Knowing who you are is good for one generation only. You haven't got the foggiest idea where you stand now or who you are. (Pg. 407) The fact that Julian has the right to question his own mother's authority and her wisdom and knowledge is direct evidence not only of his protagonistic, but of the lack of respect he has for this woman who obviously has seen and known much more than he has. O'Connor also exhibits the issue of racism in our society. Not only does she demonstrate it, but she executes the theme in such a way that it is obvious to the reader that she believes racial segregation will be witnessed in and around our society for many generations to come. One example of this is the fact that Julian does not realize that he himself is a racist. Being a hypocritical idealist, he displays an acute sense of anti-racism, but formulated in such exquisite irony, we find that he indeed is a racist due to his constant need to attempt to be anti-racist. Julian does not wish to accept the fact the descendant is unable to sever its bond with the ancestor. A generation cannot function without an impact from generations past. This is similarly found in â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find,† and evidence can be found within the quote presented earlier. The grandmother is openly racist in front of the children, even though she does not realize that her comments were racist, thereby supporting her racism as a whole. It is due to previous generations that succeeding generations remain true to and hold on to traditional beliefs and values. Ironically in the case that O'Connor depicts, is the value of racism. O'Connor shows to the reader that racism is an organic being: it is able to sustain itself and survive through generational passage of culture and tradition. However, this is where the importance of Christianity comes into focus in O'Connor's stories. Being a devout Christian, she believed that the sole path to redemption and absolution was through religion. According to O'Connor, the only way to redeem oneself was through grace. Though this is seen to a lesser extent in both these stories as compared to several others, O'Connor demonstrates several aspects of religious allusion and symbolic image. The breakdown of society is further emphasized with the use of religious symbol in ‘Everything that Rises†¦ â€Å". She was almost ready to go, standing before the hall mirror, putting on her hat, while he, his hands beside him, appeared pinned to the door frame, waiting like Saint Sebastian for the arrows to begin piercing him. (Pg. 405) The allusion made in this quote is that of Saint Sebastian, a Roman martyr and an officer of the Praetorian Guard until Diocletian discovered his Christianity. His life lay in the hands of Roman archers, which is often the subject of many paintings. The arrows are frequently seen piercing his back, and in the case of Julian and his mother, represent the burden placed upon Julian. The idea that Julian perceives his own mother as a burden is remarkable. Julian does not have a job and lives with his mother at her home. Not only is he ruthless and critical of her thoughts and beliefs, he does not even consider that he might be the burden. Julian's idealistic hypocrisy is countered and revealed in the conclusion of the story. The title itself is a foreshadowing quality of the story, as one can expect inevitable conflict and perhaps, concession and compromise. Julian's hypocrisy is ironic, as he claims to know the real world better than anyone else. In the end, he is forced to understand the real world with the passing of his mother, revealing his weakness and vulnerability and the extent of dependence that he has on his mother. A tide of darkness seemed to be sweeping her away from him. ‘Mother! ‘ he cried. ‘Darling sweetheart, wait! ‘ Crumpling, she fell to the pavement. He dashed forward and fell to her side, crying, ‘Mamma, Mamma! ‘ (Pg. 420) This is the only point in the story in which Julian actually calls his mother a ‘mother' and a ‘mamma', revealing a glimpse of his past childhood. On the same page O'Connor writes, The tide of darkness seemed to sweep him back to her, postponing moment to moment his entry into the world of guilt and sorrow. (Pg. 420) It is interesting that in the first quote, the tide sweeps Mrs. Chestny to Julian, and in the second it sweeps Julian to Mrs. Chestny. This further demonstrates Julian's dependence on his mother. He has finally been able to enter the real world, the world he claims to understand and recognize. In â€Å"A Good Man†¦ â€Å", O'Connor uses certain forms of foreshadowing in the early passages of the story to ‘warn' the readers of future occurrences, and of certain religious aspects. They passed a large cotton field with five or six graves fenced in the middle of it, like a small island. (Pg. 119) The presence of five or six graves stimulates a period of realization for the reader, as the family consists of six people, giving an eerie sense or prescience of events yet to take place. This gives the reader the impression that the conclusion to the story will be shrouded with death and despair. Though this example of foreshadowing does not directly relate to O'Connor's theme of religion in her stories, it does in a sense foreshadow a further foreshadowing. .. In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady. (Pg. 118) This quote is interesting, since it is because of her, that the family strays off their original path leading to Florida to one that heads for Georgia. It is also interestingly ironic as they do in fact have an accident, and the person who finds her does not see her as a lady. O'Connor uses the symbol of the path/road to identify the paths we take in life, or in this case, the proper path of religion. If the Grandmother had been the lady she claimed herself to be and if she remained true to the righteous path of Christianity (that of truth, virtue, honest, etc. ), the family would not have ‘strayed off path', and the proper path would not have led them to death. With the encounter with the Misfit, we find him to exemplify the contemporary world, exposing his protagonistic qualities. ‘I wasn't there so I can't say He didn't,' the Misfit said. ‘I wisht I had of been there,' he said, hitting the ground with his fist. It ain't right I wasn't there because if I had of been there I would of known†¦ if I had of been there I would of known and I wouldn't be like I am now†¦ ‘ (Pg. 132) We find the Misfit not only questioning the existence of a Supreme Being, but also addressing a common dilemma of the human consciousness. Though we are aware and mindful of our own existence, we remain primitive animals with violent and primal qualities and nature. The clash between our primal and animalistic instincts is in constant confliction with our metaphysical human nature. The development that develops between the Misfit and the Grandmother is amazing. We find belief to be anything beyond what we can see, hear, touch, smell, etc. Accordingly, any form of spiritual or anti-spiritual ideology is a leap of faith. O'Connor shows the reader that what the Misfit realizes, and what the Grandmother eventually realizes is the fact that sacred dogma and religious belief can no longer compete with the scientific and methodical views and the immorality of the modern world. O'Connor personifies the contemporary views dominating the modern world with her use of the Misfit. As society evolves, it begins to ignore traditional values, and according to O'Connor, acts as a catalyst for the eventual total breakdown of society. In our time, there are misfits and there are lost souls, many of whom unexpectedly play the roles in O'Connor's stories as ‘prophets', searching for faith and absolution, the messengers of ‘lost conscientiousness'. These prophets are used as tools to not only expose the truths and cruelties of the modern world, but also ushers the readers into a psyche of dark and desperate thoughts and feelings which engulf the human soul, imbuing them with a state of utter helplessness in view of the imminent doom in which the reader can foresee during the story. This exposed darkness, which is a prominent figure in the human condition, takes the concept of the human condition itself to a particularly unnatural level and undesired truth of human understanding. From a grandmother who indirectly destroys her own family through her acts of attempted good will, to a non-existent and unresolved mother – son relationship united and divided under the influence and reality of racism and the tragedy that concludes the story, Flannery O'Connor makes a statement on the affiliation between the justification of religious and traditional values, and the corruption and destruction of society, ranging from the 40s / 50s era of black prejudice to an almost ludicrous extent of religious fanaticism. O'Connor's main statement was that humanity as a whole has strayed off its path, just as the Grandmother and her family did in â€Å"A Good Man†¦ â€Å". This story can arguably be labeled as a form of foreshadowing itself, as it shows what would happen if humanity continues on its irregular path. Just as the Grandmother and her family met brutal and untimely death as a result, O'Connor is showing us that we too, will experience this, should we continue life this way. Her numerous statements on the dark realities of our world are reminders of what we have to overcome. She demonstrates the constant clash between the modern and the traditional. We must understand that we contain and determine our fate. It seems plain that O'Connor feels that the eventual outcome will be the death of society. In the stories â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† and â€Å"Everything that Rises must Converge†, Flannery O'Connor uses her prophetic characters in combination with Christian imagery, apocalyptic foreshadowing, and the ubiquitous evils permeating society to this particular level, and leaves the reader closing the book with a feeling of complete despondency for the future of mankind.

Compare the short story “Flowers for Algernon” Essay

The differences between â€Å"Flowers for Algernon† as a short story and as a movie represent the differences between the two media. In my essay I am going to show, from the differences between the short story and the movie, the differences between the two media, coming up with the conclusion that the short story is the better medium by which to tell this story. One of the most significant differences between the short story and the movie is the developing of Charlie’s character in the story. In the book for example, is nothing said about his family, whereas in the movie is told a lot about his childhood and in the end he also sees his mother. When we see Charlie in the movie identifying himself as lonely, he becomes a more described character than he is in the book. This shows the difference that in a short story we have to develop a character ourselves, but in a movie only throughout one picture of a person we already get a description of this character we would never have got in a short story. In the movie we have seen the information about Charlie we immediately get it supported by information about his family. There are also different kinds of pathos in short story and movie. With the identification of Charlie Ms Kinnian and indirectly Algernon with the loneliness in the movie, they identify themselves as sad. This makes the movie much more pathetic than the short story, because in the short story only the identifying between Charlie and Algernon takes place, which is much less pathetic. What also support the pathos in the movie is the whole emotion around the relationship between Charlie and Ms Kinnian. This could represent the fact that a movie has to be more emotional than a short story, so that the people want to see it. But it could also show that someone who is making a movie has to bring in more pathos in his story, because he shows the story omniscient. That means he has not the chance to tell the story in diary-form and so directly out of the brain of the main character which is much more personal. With short story as diary-form you can see everything through the eyes of the diary writer. To compare the roles of the doctors, doing the operation, also brings up a big difference. In the movie there is no Dr. Nemur, who plays a big role in  the short story. In the short story Dr. Nemur represents the scientific world, which is not always human. Dr. Strauss plays the good, personal and human guy, which also cares about Charlie’s feelings and his psychology. Now in the movie there is only Dr. Strauss, who then has to represent the scientific world but also has to be the good guy. So two flat characters from the short story can be put into one character in the movie. Because Dr. Strauss is representing two characters, he becomes a grotesque person. This happens, because he has to represent a scientific society, which does not have ethics as basis but also has to represent a world of humanity and ethics, which in the short story represent Dr. Nemur. In my opinion the short story is the more successful medium by which to tell the story, because the movie creates you through a lot of emotions one specific opinion about what happens to Charlie. Whereas in the short story you have more chance to create your own opinion about the story, which is a very important thing in stories but also in your life.

Response to Buckley Essay Essay

According to William F. Buckley, American people everywhere have refrained from Trying to rectify irrational vexations (32). In Buckley essay, Why Dont We Complain? he explains some situations that he was involved in where no one would complain to repair an uncomfortable situation. Through out the essay, Buckley gives three reasons why he believes that the American people do not complain. I agree strongly with Buckley theories. I think that American people do not complain in situations where a complaint is needed. The first theory that he stated is that everyone expects someone else to complain (33). One of the worst ways to solve a dilemma is to expect someone else to do it prior to you. Situations come up all the time where someone is needed to stand out above the rest of the people to get the problem solved. However, what if no one is willing to be the one who attempts to solve the situation? Does this mean the situation will not get fixed? I believe this type of situation happens more than people notice. Expecting someone else to solve the problem was one of the powerful points I felt that Buckley explained in his essay. An example that he used demonstrated this point very well. He was on a train where the temperature was very uncomfortable. It was 85 degrees in the train when the temperature was below freezing outside. He knew that everyone was suffering from the heat, including himself, but no one asked to get the temperature altered (31-32). He then stated this is because people have given up trying to rectify irrational vexations (32). They expect someone else to complain about an unpleasant situation. One example that I recall where this had occurred to me was at work while I was putting in place underground cable. It was an extremely hot day and a very hard day of work. By 4:00 in the afternoon, the water cooler was empty and I was very thirsty. I thought that everyone else was dehydrated also, so I did not pronounce anything to foreman about the empty cooler. By the end of the long day, around 9:00 at night, it was time to go home. Over that entire period, the water cooler never was filled because everyone expected someone else to tell the foreman, who was not accepted by many of my co-workers. The second theory that Buckley used is that people are afraid to state their mind (33). Are people apprehensive to complain? Buckley thinks that people can be afraid to complain. He stated that we are all increasingly anxious in America to be unobtrusive, we are reluctant to make our voices heard, hesitant about claiming our rights; we are afraid that our cause is unjust, or that if it is not unjust, that it is ambiguous, or if not even that, that it is too trivial to justify the horrors of a confrontation with Authority (33). I feel that people sometimes can be scared to fight for their cause. They are afraid what result may come from it. Sometimes I am worried to complain. I think that the cause is not worth the complaint or I may be terrified of what someone may think of me if I complain. An example that I recall where I was afraid to complain happened to me just recently. I took my truck in to a repair shop to get some work done on it. I would call every day to see if it was done, but each time I spoke to the service guy, he would tell me that the mechanic could not find the problem. He placed many new parts in my truck and still did not solve the problem. After two weeks of work, I got my truck back. It was merely a simple problem the mechanic could not locate because of his inexperience. I wanted to complain about the time-consuming service and the lousy mechanic, but I thought that maybe it was unjust because they were busy. I agree with the theory that Buckley includes because I can think of many times where I have felt this way. Should people be afraid to complain or should they always be free minded about an unjust cause? The third point that was made in the essay by Buckley states that the high-powered government is taking rights away from the people. He states, very year, whether the Republican or the Democratic Party is in office, more and more power drains away from the individual to feed vast reservoirs in far-off places; and we have less and less say about the shape of events which shape our future (36). He also says that we accept the government power to hold upon us (36). The government is responsible for the great number of American deaths in Korea and is now responsible for billions of tax dollars spent every year. However, only a few Americans are willing to stand up against the government and strive for what they feel is right. Is this because of the high-powered government? I feel that this may result in  decreasing complaints, but I do not agree completely. The government may have a lot of power over America but I think that Buckley other points support his case stronger. After analyzing Buckley essay, I started to focus on situations like those that he used as examples in the essay. I found many of the same incidents that Buckley stated in the essay true. I thought that the reasons that he uses had significance in the essay. People are expecting someone else to complain, people being afraid, and people not complaining because of the government increase in power all seem like strong-based theories to me.

The Beginnings of Race, Culture, and Sexuality in Colonialism Essay

The Beginnings of Race, Culture, and Sexuality in Colonialism - Essay Example In terms of Foucaults argument, we can see that as a modern society, we still consider certain topics such as discussions about sex, a taboo topic and therefore, should not be discussed in public. Pretty much like it was for most couples during the Victorian era. We still live by the mindset that children should not be allowed to hear sexual discussions simply because the children are not having sex. But these days, the children are exposed early on to the topic of sexuality and gender. Yet we refuse to let them partcipate in the discussion because we have managed to carry over the Victorian mindset throughout the generations, culminating in the taboo discussion of our modern era. It is however nice to see that just like in the Victorian era, there are quite a number of 21st century experts who are opting to help open the minds of people pertaining to the matters or gender, race, and sexuality as it applies to the 21st century generation. The link between the Victorian era beliefs pertaining to the morality and virtue of the society still exists in our era. However, we are slowly coming out of this recessive argument in order to create a deeper understanding of sexuality in terms of the sexual act and its relation to gender role acceptance. With over three centuries of social transformation, I will have to say that we have move quite slowly and as such, have a society whose beliefs about race, culture, and sexuality during colonial times can still find itself going strong. We are still held back by the Victorian era beliefs that any discussion pertaining to sexuality, race, and gender must be addressed within the relationship of the couple rather than openly discussing it in order to achieve an acceptable end result. The Victorian era represented a time of going back to the privacy and elegance of previous eras. Prior to this era, our society was openly crude and under educated, characteristics which, at the time proved to be beneficial to creating a more mature society where no topic was taboo and cultural sensitivity began to find its footing. By bringing the sense of privacy into the discussion and requiring society to become more respectable by setting ground rules for certain discussions, we unwittingly set the standards by which our modern day society works. In fact, the experiences of Victorian era society could be considered to be a throwback to the time of Christopher Colombus when women were seen as the mother of the planet. A cosmic breath from whom the infant males yearn to feed on her warmth and love. This era fed the imagination of the people with open images of men and women cavorting in sexual pleasure pretty much similar to the era before the Victorian dawn. This was the era of t he porno - tropic traditions that lay the basis and foundation for the pornographic minds and stories that now exist. With women of the era being portrayed as more sexually active and needy than men, we can see that very little has changed in our modern times when considering the story basis for most female sexual fantasies as worked out in various forms of modern

Stem cell research and why it should have more funding Paper

Stem cell and why it should have more funding - Research Paper Example The decision was affirmed by President Bush but recently most of the restrictions were lifted by President Obama. I think that although majority of the people present all around the world do not support the research on the embryonic stem cells, it should still be funded by the Federal because of the potential health benefits related to it, opportunity for lifting the regulation for ethical research and also for the purpose of defining human beings (Stem Cell Research). The wide range of perspectives that are being used for the stem cells are constantly improving the wellbeing and health of the people. In the treatment of stem cells, the undifferentiated cells are programmed in a way that they form specific type of cells that can be later on transplanted to the afflicted area of the body. Stem cells can be used for treating afflictions such as the injuries related to the spinal cord, burns, strokes, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis (Murnaghan). Stem cell is also being used for drug testing. Different untested drugs are first used on the stem cells, which later develop into different target tissues before directly using it on human beings. This improves safety and saves the precious lives of human beings. The transplantation of organs that are formed from the stem cells would eradicate the need of human donors. Embryonic stem cell is considered to be the most promising one because it is undifferentiated and it can easily develop into the targeted tissue. As stem cells has the ability to form specific cells; therefore they have the greatest potential for the treating some major ailments in future. One of the recent developments in the researches related to stem cells is creation of the induced pluripotent cells, which are considered to be the adult cells that become undifferentiated after a series of different treatments.

PROBABILITY Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

PROBABILITY - Coursework Example Let the probability of at least one component of B, C and D is working is given by P(BW), P(CW) and P(DW), respectively. Therefore, All tasks (A1, BW, CW, and DW) are independent tasks. Therefore, the probability that the machine completes its process from start to finish after incorporating duplicate set of components for tasks B, C and D is iii. The machine efficiency heavily depends on the first component, as the first component cannot be duplicated. Therefore, first component should be with highest possible efficiency. The probability of the component C is 10/11, which is highest among all components. Therefore, suggested improved order to achieve the highest efficiency possible for the machine is given below: All tasks (C1, BW, AW, and DW) are independent tasks. Therefore, the probability that the machine completes its process from start to finish after incorporating duplicate set of components for tasks B, A and D

New adventure creation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

New adventure creation - Essay Example 146). The following new adventure creation ideas will be necessary to ensure success of the business as well as making it profitable. The name of the business will be XYZ car body and paint shop. The present paper discuses the venture of a new business idea starting a car body and paint shop. The business will be engaged in repairing and painting car bodies of all models. This is a good business idea for the type of business seems not to be affected, by any economic changes since everybody currently seems to own his or her own car. The idea of the business is to provide high quality products and services to the potential customers (Grossman 2005, p. 150). Being the owner of the business, I will ensure that the business keeps every kind of current technique, products, and services to enable it to offer quality services and products, which is the most customers’ demand in todays world. The business and the workers will be dedicated to carrying out all services on time and sustaining every car owner to be a long-term customer of the shop. XYZ car body and paint shop will be selling and replacing worn-out car bodies and offering painting services to the damaged car bodies. This will involve complete restoration of car frames for all types and makes of cars, body repairs, and paints including electrical repair, rust repair, custom engine building, and metal fabrication and paint. The business will specialize in all the current Spain cars and trucks makes. The average body repair and painting will take a minimum of two days, therefore the average labour for repairing and painting one car will cost an approximation of $100. The customers will also incur extra cost for any other extra part that we will buy for the purpose of the car repair. The XYZ car body and paint shop will also carry out any other relevant car services

VISUAL ANALYSIS PAPER Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

VISUAL ANALYSIS PAPER - Assignment Example In addition, the meaning of an artwork can be explained. In conducting a visual analysis, aspects such as color, perspective, forms, balance, frame, and overall appearance are used to mention but a few. In this paper, Lorenzo di Credi’s Madonna and Child painting will be used to conduct a visual analysis. The analysis will seek to explain the painting in-detail and most importantly explain why it stands out as a perfect painting that appeals to the eye than other versions of the Madonna and child works. Lorenzo di Credi was born in Italy in 1459. His time of birth places was midway through the Florence and Italian Renaissance period. During his early artist life, he worked with Andrea del Verrocchio in his workshop. He got to work with the famous Leonardo da Vinci and it is said that the two artists inspired each other greatly. Most of his works were based on religious themes, and he used several Renaissance paintings to create his own. The Madonna and Child painting is one of his famous pieces. The first (original) autograph of The Madonna and Child painting was done by Rogier van der Weyden, a Flemish artist, in the early 1450s. Lorenzo di Credi drew inspiration from this piece to come up with his own version thirty years later. It is rectangular oil on wood painting with dimensions of 71.1 cm (height), and 49.5 cm (width). It is estimated to have been created around 1480 to 1485 and is currently on display at the National Gallery in London. The main focus of the painting is the Madonna (virgin) with a child seated on her lap. They both have halos above their heads. The Madonna has a silk veil over her golden hair and is staring down at the child who sits on her right held at the waist in her right hand. She has a deep blue robe over a red dress. The child is staring towards the bottom left corner of the painting, away from the Madonna’s gaze. The child is only clad in a waistcloth. Both of its hands clasps around the

Racial Diversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Racial Diversity - Essay Example Furthermore, Farley (2005) argues that Dave Chappelle deals with racial divisions by confronting his audience with it in a comedic way. Consequently, his audience laughs at the use of racial stereotypes in his jokes, but the issue of racial divisions is talked about and not ignored. The thesis of this paper is that the use of racial stereotypes in comedy shows, such as â€Å"The Chapelle Show† helps to overcome them. It might seem as if the use of stereotypes actually perpetuates them, because stereotypes are repeated on a regular basis. However, it is important to note that although stereotypes are repeated in certain comedy shows, it is not necessarily negative, because it helps us to deal with the issue and thereby overcoming racial tensions. Racial stereotypes are used frequently by various comedy shows, such as the â€Å"Chappelle Show†, however, the use of them in a comedy setting helps us, as a society, to approach the issue. For instance, from an educational point of view, the fact that the topic has been dealt with in school, supports that thesis. On the one hand, we are repeating stereotypes by talking about them, but on the other hand, we are dealing with the topic of racial division, which will help us to overcome them in the long run. Dave Chappelle’s show was wildly known for the use of the â€Å"N† word, which is a term that is not politically correct. By using stereotypes and a certain vocabulary which is often not socially accepted, the audience is confronted with a topic that many people prefer to ignore: racial issue in America. The show became very popular and as a consequence, many people were confronted with the issue and dealt with stereotypes and racial divisions. Moreover, the media picked up the controversial topic as well and dealt with the implications. It is probably fair to say that â€Å"Chappelle’s Show† took away the â€Å"scariness† of the topic, which made it more

Natural selection Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Natural selection - Assignment Example Evidently, the process of natural selection has been shown to play a role in seasonal variations in homozygotes and heterozygotes. To this end, it has been ascertained that carriers for different chromosomal variations occur at different frequencies at different seasons. Such genetic constitutions can be passed on to offsprings. This leads to some offsprings that are better suited to environmental disparities, while others are least suited to prevailing environmental conditions. In this article, the variations in seasonal adaptability among natural populations of Drosophila pseudoobscura are analyzed. Basically, the article unveils a study targeted towards determination of the impact of the gene combinations on the third chromosome of Drosophila pseudoobscura in their adaptation to varied environmental setup. It aims to show that natural selection plays an integral role in determining the survival of organisms with specific gene combinations. The study was prompted by the observations that seasonal variations occurred within the populations of the organisms. More specifically, it was observed that while certain seasons favored heterozygotes, other seasons were more favorable to homozygotes. To test the hypothesis to ascertain the heritability of seasonal adaptation, the research uses experimental designs which involved parent-offspring comparisons under artificial environment, in a population cage. Through this comparison, the study was able to show differential death rates with inversion heterozygotes more favored than homozygotes. Further, this study involved use of specifically selected eggs representative of heterozygote or homozygote states exclusively. Such eggs were produced through well-programmed breeding. Despite the conduct of the experiment in artificial setting, the study confidently outlines that the determination of the artificial experiment is an accurate account of the developments in natural habitat. It

Reality Shows Should Be Banned Essay Example for Free

Reality Shows Should Be Banned Essay The main essence of reality shows is to put ordinary people in a social confined setting with extraordinary environment and activities with the aim of entertaining audiences with the illusion that what is going on is not scripted nor rehearsed. Most reality shows attempt to convince the audience that the participants of the show are being pushed to their physical, emotional or physiological limits in order to complete a specific task or attain a certain goal of which audience cheer on their favorite participant. With the change in times and technology most reality shows have gone over board and have forgotten the basic concept of reality shows and are now focusing more on entertainment than reality that has lead to increase in sexual exposure, humiliation and immorality. Reality shows have lost their way from original series like survivor to the new mediocre series of two celebrities living in a farm yard for a week. Reality TV has joined the ranks of day time entertainment and has lost the spark of spontaneous originality from other forms of scripted entertainment. Additionally, the most famous reality shows worldwide are big brother and Idols; these two are examples of scripted and well rehearsed reality shows. In the just concluded episode of idols a judge was dared to sing out of the blue and it so happened just by â€Å"coincidence† that the band started playing a song which the judge joined in emphatically without hesitation. The crowed cheered and applauded for the â€Å"unexpected† performance by the judge. Such reality T.V. shows give viewers and more so children false hope of a â€Å"happily ever after† reality were heroes and heroines live thus insulting the intelligence of the viewers. In the case of big brother viewers are subjected to sex as a form of entertainment. Relationships formed in the big brother house give the participant a better chance of winning the competition and increase his/her ratings thus the audience spends time and money voting for the participant so they can enjoy seeing the participants relationship grow. And due to the full disclosure nature of the show all activities are broadcasted and shown live on our T.V. sets exposing and encouraging our youths, young adults and children to sex, immorality and promiscuous behaviors. Furthermore, the common comic saying â€Å"its funny until someone gets hurt, then its hilarious† comes to life in most reality shows. Producers of reality shows capitalize  on the demise and misfortunes of participants. When a contestant falls down or gets hurt in anyway it is taken as a form of entertainment or comedy not knowing the humiliation and psychological trauma they instill in the participant. Examples of such shows are â€Å"show me the funny† â€Å"Real T.V.† and â€Å"Fear factor†. Show me the funny capitalizes on bloopers of home made videos which show family member having accidents such as hitting each other being bitten by a snake or having a ball hit them on their faces. Turning such perilous or even fatal accidents to o form of humor encourages children to view violence and accidents as vivacious events and not the precarious activities they are. Producers also capitalize on the eviction or the inability of a participant to complete a certain assignment. The humiliation and reaction of a participant being evicted or accepting defeat is a high point of most reality T.V. which is morally and ethically wrong. The failure of a fellow human being should be frowned upon and not celebrated. 2) Here are plenty of reality shows which are being shown on television channels world wide, in which one can see lots of aspirants taking to the stunts and heroic acts as they want to win the coveted title and they did some shots which amaze the audiances and keep them on their tender nooks, its also done to increase the rating of the channel in the tele shows. There are plenty of reality shows which are being shown on television channels world wide, in which one can see lots of aspirants taking to the stunts and heroic acts as they want to win the coveted title and they did some shots which amaze the audiences and keep them on their tender nooks, its also done to increase the rating of the channel in the tele shows. I am not sure if they are there in your part of the world, channels like Sony and Zee TV they show lot of enthusiasm in such things. The weird things they shown on the small screen are hair raising and put a lot of questions in viewers minds as to such things can be accomplished in real life or not. But the stunt mania grips the minds of innocent public and kids alike. They all want feats and also want to show off to their genre of friends and foes. In the process they might hurt themselves badly. Although there are several reports of teen-aged children being hurt in the process of macho man image building but to no avail as the generation is fast and furious, they just want their way and life to be left to them. I am not sure about consequences and impact  they could have but it is for sure, every one wants his part of fame and attention in public, for we are mortal beings and success is our ambition in life. Effect on teenagers Social cognitive theory suggests that meaningful sources of identity can be discovered by people in their teens who feel connected to what they’re viewing. Thus, when attempting to understand media’s role in the development of teenagers, it is crucial to be aware of the time they devote to their shows like reality television due to this strong influence[48] America’s Next Top Model is often criticized for it’s portrayal of women and poor body image. When faced with the image of a thin, beautiful, successful models, young girls may feel inferior, leading to low self-esteem and eating disorders. Likewise, Jersey Shore is denounced for it’s representation of being a single, young adult. Young people idolize the show’s cast, making them susceptible to imitate their actions, such as promiscuity, violence, and binge drinking.[citation needed]

A Fully Qualified Domain Name Essay Example for Free

A Fully Qualified Domain Name Essay A Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) is sometimes also called an absolute domain name because it contains specific information about the exact location of the domain, relative to the tree hierarchy of the Domain Name System (DNS). The DNS system resolves Internet Protocol (IP) addresses to names of specific domains, and is the standard naming system for any computers connected to the internet. The FQDN system specifies where in the domain structure the particular referenced domain resides. Therefore the FQDN will show the top-level domain and how it relates to the root domain. For example, in a theoretical domain system, the personal computer of the boss is called bosscomputer, which resides in a domain which is named companydomain. com. Therefore the fully qualified domain name for the personal computer of the boss is bosscomputer. companydomain. com. This is because there may be many different bosscomputers in the world, but there will be only one computer in the world with a FQDN of bosscomputer. companydomain. com. However, if there is more than one boss in the company, the FQDN system is able to be expanded to deal with this problem. Again, using this example, if there is a boss who is the head of marketing, and another boss who is the head of accounting, then two separate domains can be setup within the companydomain. com architecture to deal with this problem. If a domain is added as marketing, and another added for accounting, then the FQDN of the boss of marketing becomes bosscomputer. marketing. companydomain. com, and the boss of accounting becomes bosscomputer. accounting. companydomain. com. The beauty of the domain name system, and subsequently the fully qualified domain name system is that it makes naming computers easy, meaningful and independent of physical location. The DNS server which is working in the example above will only need to hold local records for the local domain but will be able to communicate with external DNS servers and will be able to differentiate the two bosscomputer machines.

Challenges to the LEGO Group

Challenges to the LEGO Group In the recent times worldwide economy has become highly volatile and was vulnerable to a multitude issues. One such example is the latest financial crisis. Such volatility creates a variety of challenges to small and large enterprises around the globe. One of the biggest challenges for manufacturing companies is to deal with rapidly increasing globalization and competition. The solutions require the development of agile and rapid supply networks in order to cut costs and meet demand. Producers are becoming more aware of supply chain management. This awareness shifts the focus from internal logistics efficiency to the external network of relationships between various parties in the supply chain. The well-known Danish toy manufacturer LEGO has not been insusceptible to these changes. LEGO has faced major challenges, which required drastic changes within the organization. This included a transformation of the companys supply chain management system. LEGO Group had to deal with probably the most significant financial crisis since the company was founded in 1932. LEGOs crisis was not clearly visible from the outside. In fact LEGO had maintained brand recognition. This earned them the title Toy of the Century from the British Association of Toy Retailers and Fortune magazine. LEGO was the fourth largest toy manufacturer in the word and had sold US$1.35 billion worth of toys in 2004. In spite of this success, the company was losing money since 1998. LEGO had various internal operational issues. This included a complex and ineffective supply chain, which at one stage consisted of 11,000 contractors. In an attempt to address this problem, in 2004 LEGO board of directors set a goal t o cut 20 percent of logistic costs. This resulted in the risky decision to outsource a major part of the production to Flextronics, a Singaporean electronics manufacturing services provider. LEGO also established a single distribution center in the Czech Republic operated by DHL. (M. M. Larsen, T. Pedersen, D. Slepniov 2010; K. Oliver, E. Samakh, P. Heckmann 2007; J. A. Cooke 2009) Such a risky decision involved a long-term relationship with Flextronics that was not without challenges. In this research paper an overview of challenges and solutions of the case company LEGO Group will be presented. The main focus will be on LEGOs supply chain management system transformation, which was a major step towards success. The following research questions will serve as guidelines for this paper: What challenges did LEGO Group face and what decisions were made to address those problems? How did Supply Chain Management transformation helped to deal with these issues? In this paper we will first explore the Supply Chain Management (SCM) concepts. Next the case company LEGO Group will be introduced. We will then present overview of the challenges that LEGO Group has faced. The focus of this paper will be the SCM decisions that were made to deal with these problems. SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT CONCEPT The globalization is increasing competition and forming new conditions for conducting business. This requires companies worldwide to rapidly respond to their customers demands and develop products. These companies must also apply information technologies in supply chain collaboration (J. S. Arlbjà ¸rn et al. 2006) Such conditions increased the importance of logistics and SCM role within organizations as it can become a major competitive advantage. Commonly, the major improvements in logistical functions may not be needed within the organization itself. It may be more beneficial to analyze the organizations supply chain. This involves various interdependent parties. SCM co-operation is gaining in major strategic importance and usually includes such characteristics: co-operating is based on end user requirements, long term co-operation and high trust between actors in the supply chains or networks, shared risks and benefits, cross coordination on various levels between companies, shared visions and similar company cultures. The advantage of such close co-operation is a more transparent supply chain. This can lead to reduced lead-time, lower uncertainty, optimization of stocks and higher capacity utilization. (T. Skjoett-Larsen 2000) The concept of SCM often represents the broader view of logistics as its main function is to ensure the smooth flow of materials from suppliers to organization and then out to customers through the operations within the organization (D. Waters 2003). The purpose of SCM can be described as to remove redundancies and communication barriers through coordination, monitoring and control functions (D. Power 2005). The supply chain usually consists of different organizations and processes, which are aimed to ensure the smooth flow of materials from the initial supplier to the end customer. In many cases, manufacturers get their materials from a large number of suppliers and sell to different customers, which is the case with LEGO Group. In figure 1, you can see an example of the supply chain around a manufacturer. Materials move from several tiers of suppliers though organization to several tiers of customers, such as wholesalers, retailers and end users. Figure 1: Supply chain of manufacturer (D. Waters 2003, 9) The toy industry is one of the oldest creative industries in the word. However, C. Y. Wong, J. S. Arlbjà ¸rnand J. Johansen in their study named Supply chain management practices in toy supply chains(2005) state that such creative business is very seasonal and volatile with strongly fluctuating demands, very short and specified selling windows as well as short product life cycles. Moreover, the toy industry can be described as intensely competitive on pricing and innovation, where retailers often start competing with their suppliers. The authors conclude that most retailers and manufacturers use a push business model. This model includes low utilization of technology and information sharing as well as slow implementation of supply chain initiatives. INTRODUCTION TO THE CASE COMPANY: LEGO GROUP LEGO can be certainly defined as one of the most famous brands in the toy industry. The Danish companys toys are enjoyed worldwide by children and adults alike, who use thousands of different pieces to construct buildings, robots and other toy. In 1932, Ole Kirk Christiansen, a Danish carpenter founded a company named LEGO (Danish words Leg and Godt, meaning play well). Originally a woodworking business for furniture, LEGO began producing childrens toys in 1934. The company presents itself by stating: It is LEGO philosophy that good play enriches a childs life and its subsequent adulthood. With this in mind, the LEGO Group has developed and marketed a wide range of products, all founded on the same basic philosophy of learning and developing through play. In figure 2 the core building blocks of LEGO Group are presented. (M. M. Larsen et al. 2010; LEGO Group, Corporate Communications 2009) Figure 2: The LEGO Company (LEGO Group 2010) Pursuing such a philosophy, LEGO has grown tremendously since its establishment. By 2009 the company was the worlds fifth largest toy manufacturer in terms of sale with 290 Million US Dollars in revenues and approximately 7000 employees around the globe. The LEGO brick which is possibly the best known toy was first introduced and patented in 1958. It has since then represented the core success and image of this company. With two just bricks there are 24 different combinations and with six there are 915 million possibilities. This enables limitless creativity. As previously stated, before LEGO brick was named as Toy of the century by Fortune magazine and later by British Association of Toy Retailers as well. (M. M. Larsen et al. 2010; J. Tidd, J. Bessant 2009) http://cache.lego.com/r/aboutus/-/media/About%20Us/Media%20Assets%20Library/Logos%20Bricks%20and%20Generic%20images/ts.20120125T101709.2x4brick_red.jpg Picture 1: Lego brick (source lego.com) Segmented product categories include: Pre-school products for the youngest children, who had not started the school yet, includes LEGO DUPLO products. Creative building sets or buckets of LEGO bricks without instructions. Play themes products the products with particular stories, such as airports, racing tracks and hospitals, including LEGO City line and BIONICLE. Licensed products related to movies and books, such Harry Potter, Star Wars and Indiana Jones. MINDSTORM NXT programmable robot kit. LEGO education products that are developed for educational purposes. LEGO Games new product line started in 2009 for board games. LEGO operates in over 130 countries worldwide. The companys largest market in the U.S., with together Australia, New Zealand and UK accounted for 30 percent of revenue in 2007. Despite constant challenges and growing popularity of consumer electronics, LEGO is continuing to expand. (M. M. Larsen et al. 2010) Crisis and solutions In the late 1990s, the company started to have difficulties. This resulted in a major crisis and almost ended in bankruptcy by 2004. LEGO was losing huge sums of money every day, estimated at economic losses of 375.4 thousand U.S. dollars per day since 1998. When sales dropped 40 percent in 2004, it was clear that radical changes had to take place. There are many speculations, why such a well-known and previously successful company started running on tremendous losses. (M. M. Larsen et al. 2010) One possible reason was increasing competition in their main product area. This was disruptive at its nature. One such example is the Canadian company Megabloks. This company offers a wide range of building toys at a highly competitive price. Also, the increasing popularity of computer games reduced the demand for traditional toys. Another possible factor was the over diversification of product line as LEGO moved into more areas like theme parks ,apparel, clothing, television and even computer games. Such diversification was a result of, as the company claims, a loss of confidence in their core product the Lego brick. The increased complexity of product portfolio confused not just the customers, but employees as well. (M. M. Larsen et al. 2010; J. Tidd, J. Bessant 2009; K. Oliver et al. 2007) It was mentioned before that LEGO GROUP had around 11,000 suppliers, which was twice the number that Boeing used to build its aircraft. Such inefficiency and inflexibility was soon recognized and attention was directed to the supply chain, which was 10 years out of date. Moreover, low quality customer service and product availability decreased the value of companys franchise. Jà ¸rgen Vig Knudstorp, newly appointed CEO, stated: From my perspective, the supply chain is a companys circulation system. You have to fix it to keep the blood flowing. (M. M. Larsen et al. 2010; K. Oliver et al. 2007) It was acknowledged that solving problems related to global supply chain could build a strong base for major changes in the organization. This could also be the needed step forward towards cost-effectiveness and an improved business model. However, such big changes are not easy to implement and presented significant challenges for LEGO Group Transformation of supply chain management LEGO Group decided to optimize their supply chain in order to deal with the most significant crisis in the companys history. LEGO realized that it was dragging behind retail giants such as Wal-Mart and Carrefour. These companies had invested huge amounts of recourses into sophisticated and efficient supply chain management systems. LEGO Group started losing the competition to companies, which optimized their costs and provided just-in-time services to its customers (K. Oliver et al. 2007). Transforming such a gigantic and complex supply chain as well as removing the inefficiencies was a very challenging goal. Keep in mind that by 2004 company had around 7000 employees working mainly in two factories and three packaging centers, located in different countries. Further issues and changes within different areas of supply chain management will be discussed, including product development, distribution and manufacturing. Product development Product development and innovation was extremely important for LEGO as it presented the core of what this company was really about. Changes in this field were difficult to implement. This was in part because of its delicate nature and inside resistance from employees. LEGOs development lab called Kitchen was steadily producing new innovative products and ideas. However, management realized that new products were returning less profit and cost more to produce. Developers and designers did not account for production and supply chain issues, in their designs. Consequently, the variety of various components and features as well as product complexity became overwhelming and started to cause major problems in manufacturing and distribution. LEGO bricks and other elements came in more than 100 color tones. LEGO sets became increasingly elaborate with thousands of different figures. (M. M. Larsen et al. 2010; K. Oliver et al. 2007) Such cost ineffective creativity caused problems like large stocks. This was because of seasonal demand fluctuations and short delivery times. Moreover, large amount of components and products required large investments in molds, while just 30 products generated 80 percent of companys sales. Therefore, LEGO decided to drastically cut down the number of components and features. This reduced costs in the supply chain and created a better opportunity for production outsourcing. Management revised a number of daily solutions in order to cut the costs, simplify production and eliminate inefficiencies. The palette was decreased to around 50 colors. A major reduction in variety of pirates, police officers and other figures was recommended as well. Moreover, resin-sourcing analyzes helped to cut its resin costs in half and reduce supplier number by 80 percent. Simultaneously, LEGO Groups operational team created cost matrixes and revised set of rules concerning creation of new colors, compon ents and ordering of new materials. Such step helped product developers to choose more cost-effective solutions and recognize the limitations. (M. M. Larsen et al. 2010; K. Oliver et al. 2007) Distribution Another area of LEGOs supply chain that required major improvements and cost reductions was distribution. At that time LEGO served thousands of smaller stores with a great responsibility. This came at a very high price, although those shops accounted just for one third of its revenue. Company had increasing amount of inventory and lost sales, because of multiple-tier inventory system to serve smaller customers from different distribution centers. The redefined distribution policies had to be developed in order to avoid costly small deliveries and labor costs associated with pick-packing in the distribution centers. (M. M. Larsen et al. 2010; K. Oliver et al. 2007) In order to serve customers in 130 countries around the world, LEGO had 11 warehouses and distribution centers in high-cost countries like Denmark, France, Germany and Switzerland. LEGO also employed 55 transportation providers for inbound and outbound shipments. In order to move its distributions closer to the customer and reduce exploding transportation costs, the company defined clear service policies. This helped to shift the focus to major retail chains. This also provided for more accurate demand forecasts, reduced complexity and certainly the costs of distribution. Furthermore, LEGO Group decided to centralize its distribution by closing five distribution centers in Europe, and creating a single distribution center near Prague in the Check Republic. The country was mainly chosen because of a high availability of skilled low cost labor. LEGO leased large buildings from the commercial realtor ProLogis. LEGO also decided to outsource operations to third-party logistics company D HL supply chain. (M. M. Larsen et al. 2010; K. Oliver et al. 2007; J. A. Cooke 2009) By 2007 a newly consolidated distribution center was serving all of LEGOs markets except the U.S., where Exel Inc. was responsible for distribution operations. Such changes reduced the complexity of supply chain, simplified the inventory optimization and reduced average distances to the market. This lead to increased customer satisfaction and significantly reduced overall logistics costs. Despite the outsourcing, LEGO maintained close collaboration with its carriers and still makes many decisions. The results of such collaboration are reduced negative effects of market seasonality. Moreover, by applying developed Web-based transportation management system LEGO was able to change the shipment scheduling and improve load consolidation. (M. M. Larsen et al. 2010; J. A. Cooke 2009) Manufacturing The improved production in the supply chain was probably the most important and complicated step. The challenges came from the way LEGO organized its production facilities and the complexity of manufacturing operations. In some way chaotic production operations resulted in low 70 percent of overall capacity utilization. There were hundreds of independent production units within the facilities that could place their orders in any manner. This was often without balancing supply capabilities, inventory levels and demand needs. Consequently, such fragmented system did not support long-term planning and resulted in high costs and low efficiency. Moreover, the production sites were located in high-cost countries as Denmark, United States and Switzerland, while just 10 percent of production was outsourced to China. Production sites mainly operated according the branding strategy, where, for example, Swiss factories only manufactured DUPLO and Technic products. (M. M. Larsen et al. 2010; K. Oliver et al. 2007) One of the first steps was to set clear production cycles for machines instead of having them available to produce any element at any time. This approach helped to reduce constant and costly retooling as well as balance production operations. Furthermore, orders were set in the monthly meetings in that way eliminating the number of changeovers (K. Oliver et al. 2007). However, the major decision concerning production operations was to outsource large part of the production to external packaging and manufacturing service providers. One of the reasons was to cut the costs by moving the production from high-cost countries. Another reason was to reduce the number of subcontractors and utilize the economies of scale, having in mind that LEGO was producing about 24 billion bricks per year (M. M. Larsen et al. 2010). Consequently, the production capacity in Denmark was reduced and sites in Korea and Switzerland closed. LEGO Group engaged into cooperation with packaging service suppliers: Sonoco, Greiner, Weldenhammer and 2B Pack. The most risky and complex partnership was made in 2006 with Flextronics, a Singaporean based electronics manufacturer. Several product lines, like Bionicle and Technic was still mainly retained by LEGO, but the higher volume and more simple Duplo and System lines were handed to Flextronics production sites in Hungary, Czech Republic and Mexico. This helped to reduce the distance to customers. However, the relationship was not successful and contract with Flextronics was terminated from January 1, 2009, while LEGO continued with smaller outsourcing contracts. The main reasons for the failure are connected with delicate nature of toy industry and could be described in short (H. B. Dinitzen, D. Bohlbro 2010, 71-72; M. M. Larsen et al. 2010): 65% percent of production had to be done during the third quarter of the year main holiday season. Products have a lifetime of 16-18 month. Sales uncertainty is around 30%. In figure 3, the timeline of LEGO and Flextronics cooperation is presented, including goals and challenges. Despite the failure, LEGO Group has learned a lot from this outsourcing attempt, which had a positive impact in the end. Figure 3: The timeline of LEGO and Flextronics collaboration (M. M. Larsen et al. 2010, 16) In 2008 LEGO started the process of sourcing back the production, while the first factory in the Czech Republic was taken over, followed by Hungarian and Mexican facilities. In Mexico, LEGO Group eventually moved the production to a new plant, which started operating in first quarter of 2009. The final benefits of collaboration were connected mainly with gained experience in various operational fields. It helped to establish new facilities in Mexico and Hungary, while production units were no longer following branded approach, but instead serving its respective markets. Moreover, LEGO significantly improved documentation and standardization of business processes. Standardization resulted in almost halved size of components, from 12,000 in 2004 to 6000 in 2008. This enabled more flexible, efficient and smoothly running supply chain. (M. M. Larsen et al. 2010) CONCLUSIONS In the end it can be stated that by taking clearly defined and harsh restructuring strategy, LEGO Group was able to defeat the crisis and become one of the successful and largest toy producers again. This statement can be backed up by financial figures, which indicate that in 2008 and 2009 company reached profit of DKK 315.6 million and 375 million U.S. Dollars, respectively. This was the highest in LEGO Groups history. (M. M. Larsen et al. 2010) A significantly restructured supply chain helped to increase the efficiency of major business operations as well as increase the overall customer satisfaction. LEGO managed to reach and, in some levels, even pass its competitors, while still cooperating with biggest retailers in such fields as joint forecasting, inventory management and mass customization. However, such transformations required dealing with many challenges, including terminated cooperation with Flextronics. Nevertheless, it gave LEGO valuable knowledge about outsourcing operations and its inner characteristics. In the end, unsuccessful outsourcing practice resulted in factories in Denmark, Czech Republic, Mexico and Hungary, which gave the needed supply chain flexibility in order to meet the global demands. Improved parts of supply chain such as product development, sourcing, distribution and manufacturing creates a well developed business model that serves as a major competitive advantage. Finally, after successful supply chain transformation, LEGO Group can shift more attention to increasing the satisfaction of its customers by developing well-liked toys for children and adults.

The Achievement Gap and Education Essays -- Race Educational Educating

The achievement gap facing low income, African American, and Latino populations is undoubtedly a complicated problem. It is defined as the â€Å"disparity between the academic performances of different groups of students†. Most of the data on the achievement gap is gathered from the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), also known as the â€Å"nation’s report card†. Some reports suggest that these students arrive at disadvantage, which is then perpetuated through their schooling (Learning Point Associates, 2003). This paper will explore some of the factors correlated with low achievement and more importantly the strategies that might work towards closing the gap. The solution is not easy and will require a range of approaches as well as efforts from the national government, states, local districts, schools, families and students. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 2002 requires achievement data to be reported by group, both racially and economically. Schools must now track the performance progress of groups, rather than on a general school average. This probably didn’t spark much discussion in states like California, because they have already been doing this for decades. However, there are many states that had never made such reports, which resulted in the first-ever public acknowledgement of group differences in performance (Haycock, 2002). The racial and economic achievement gap has now been accepted and well documented for high poverty and high minority schools. A school in which at least half of the students qualify for subsidized school meals is classified as a high poverty school. A high minority school is one in which at least half of the student body are minorities (Olsen, 2003). Over the pa... ...15, No.4 (2001). Haycock, Kati. â€Å"State Policy Levers: Closing the Achievement Gap.† The State Education Standard. Winter 2002: 6-13. Learning Points Associates. North Central Regional Educational Library. 2003. Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. â€Å"Closing the Achievement Gap Requires Multiple Solutions.† 2001. Olsen, Lynn â€Å"The Great Divide.† Education Week on the Web. 9 Jan 2003. Quality Counts. â€Å"To Close the Gap, Quality Counts† Education Week on the Web. 9 Jan 2003. Rips, Geoff. â€Å"Runn Also Rises† Texas Monthly. October 1999: 56-71. U.S. Department of Education. â€Å"Closing the Achievement Gap in America’s Public Schools.† 2003.

Television and Media Essay - Dangers of Censorship :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

Dangers of Censorship Imagine yourself as a journalist today who is frozen and wakes up in the United States 100 years from now. The country has changed quite a bit from what you remember. Technology has definitely advanced, language seems to have evolved a bit, and nothing looks the same, except fashion. Due to a recent trend that brought back the 90's you are strangely up on the recent fashion trends. As you roam the streets, you try to gain a bearing on this advanced country so you pick up a newspaper. You notice something rather peculiar about every article - the only source is the United States Government. As you read further, you notice very little information is given at all, and the details that are given are always in favor of the government. Thinking back to 1999, you remember that high school publications were already censored and college censorship was not far behind. Could that trend have moved all the way to professional journalistic organizations? While this is merely a fictitious projection into the future, it portrays the likely outcome of the precedents that are being set today. If nothing is done, trends in high school and college censorship may lead to total press censorship in the United States, thus violating the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. This would, in turn, exterminate journalism and leave an assorted field of public relations. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution clearly states that "congress shall pass no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." A journalist, whether he or she is a writer, editor, photographer or artist, believes in this right and has an obligation to use it to inform the public. So, the First Amendment not only protects journalists' rights to free speech, but it also protects the public's right to information. However, the courts have begun to take away these rights. It began with high school publications in 1988. During the case Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, the U.S. Supreme Court decided against students and gave school officials the ability to censor student publications without violating the First Amendment. High school journalists now have the right to only print what the officials deem appropriate.

Essay --

Simon Bolivar is one of the most powerful and influential figures in the history of Latin America, a hero who led the movement for independence for several Latin American nations, a military and political leader with his own personal story full of tragic and dramatic moments. During his lifetime he helped to liberate people of Venezuela, Colombia, Perà º, Ecuador and Bolivia from Spanish domination, played a big role in foundation of Gran Colombia and setting the principles of democracy. Even though Bolivar was not very well-known around the world, he was always held in respect among people in Latin America and remembered as a man who had an authority and power. Bolivar’s integrity, high moral standards, and perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds made him a role model to many people. Simon Bolivar is a brave character whose leadership and risks turn against him when he least expects it. Bolà ­var's dream had always been to cause an American Revolution-style federation among all the newly independent republics in Latin America, where with a new government set up solely to recognize and support the rights of the individual. Gabriel Garcia Marquez in his book â€Å"The General in His Labyrinth† changes or â€Å"twists† a little the representation of the Latin American hero. First of all, Marquez never really references Simon Bolivar by his name, but only as â€Å"The Liberator†. His idea behind the book was to change the traditional heroic portrayal of Simon Bolivar and show an old man who is suffering through his illness and mental exhaustion. This dark brooding story covers the last 7 month of Simon Bolivar’s life. South American Liberator has spent many years in opposition to Spanish presence, he swept the Spaniards from their former colonie... ...the nations, commits actions that he regrets about later in his life. His whole life he is haunted by the guilt of ordering summary executions of former comrades, his fall from power, and the depression of perceived failure. And in the final and most significant scene of the story, just before he dies, Bolivar finally sees the truth: â€Å"The headlong race between his misfortunes and his dreams was at that moment reaching the finish line. The rest was darkness.† It’s a book that lends itself to a lot of contemplation – about history and the men who make it and what happens to every man when their glory is past. This story about Bolivar is about one way in which such men live the last days – things which are not easily recorded in history since we like to remember our heroes unblemished and perfect. This story is about when each one of us becomes human and all too mortal.

How Stalin rose to the top of the USSR Essay

Following the death of Lenin on 22nd January 1924, Stalin, ‘man of steel’, rose to the top of the USSR through a combination of luck and by using his political skills. Therefore by Stalin’s fiftieth birthday he had now achieved for himself complete control over the USSR. Stalin’s rise to power can be put down to his ruthlessness; he would not have gained power had it not been for his brutal nature, however there were many factors that contributed to Stalin’s success. Stalin had the characteristics of a dictator from childhood, in the sense that he was unable to cope with defeat or admit that he was wrong. This definitely assisted him in his quest to become ruler of the USSR. Stalin first became noticed in 1905 after he first joined the communists and helped to raise funds by robbing banks and looting trains. During the civil war Stalin stayed loyal and during this time he forcibly seized grain from farmers in the South in order to feed the workers in the North. As a reward for this Lenin then made him responsible for the Red Army in the south during the Civil War. This brought him into conflict with Trotsky. This meant that already Stalin had made a name for himself and had been recognised by Lenin as someone who was reliable and who had impressive dictatorship skills, this is why Lenin gave him a job as Commander in Chief during the civil war. Later on in 1922 Stalin then achieved promotion to General Secretary, this was a fairly boring job, however it was still within the politburo and it keep Stalin busy every day. As this was not really a position of authority using his manipulative skills Stalin makes the job have a greater political influence, which thus wins himself a good level of authority. Stalin wanted to do all of the poor organisations jobs that everyone else thought were boring, this was the first manipulative move that Stalin took and by having small jobs and by making them sound better Stalin was now becoming more noticed by the people and he was getting some respect, which he eventually used to help him rise to power. If Stalin was to be leader of the USSR then this meant that Lenin would have to be out the way. Lenin suffered several strokes in 1922 and 1923 that left him paralysed and eventually in 1924 he died. If Stalin was to become leader he had to overcome his main opposition for power, which was Trotsky. The funeral of Lenin was organised by Stalin and he also lead the mourning. This was to create an image to the public that Stalin was close to the deceased however in hindsight we know that he only did this to boost his chance of becoming the next leader. Trotsky was nowhere to be seen at Lenin’s funeral and had nothing to do with the preparations and many people saw this move by Trotsky as a sign of disrespect and the public now saw Stalin as the better of the two. However Stalin was thought to have told Trotsky the wrong date for the funeral and Trotsky said that he was away at his holiday home recovering from an illness. Whether this was true or not either way it was a strange move by Trotsky not to turn up, as that now put Stalin in the driving seat for the power of the USSR. Before Lenin died, he wrote a letter to the Party Congress that outlined his ideas for the future. In this letter he also gave his opinions on the members of the Politburo including Stalin and Trotsky, the two main contenders for the leadership of the USSR. After Lenin had died, the letter became know as Lenin’s Testament. Had it been made public at the time it had the potential to destroy Stalin’s claim to power as this document showed exactly what Lenin thought of Stalin. At the time Lenin obviously felt that Trotsky was the most suitable successor for the reign as in his testament Lenin described Trotsky as ‘a man with outstanding ability’ and he also thought Trotsky was ‘perhaps the most capable man in the Central Committee’. Lenin saw Stalin as ‘too rude’ and he wanted Stalin to ‘be removed from his post as General Secretary’. Meanwhile Stalin must have been shaken when he heard about what Lenin had to say about him. What Lenin thought of these two candidates was crucial, as the public would not want an enemy of Lenin’s to be the next leader. This is why Stalin appeared to be very close to Lenin and stand by him. However in spite of these comments the Testament was not made public. The Leftists – Zinoviev and Kanenev protested that it was out of date and so a visibly disturbed Stalin was rescued and the truth did not reach the Soviet people. Because the public did not know what Lenin really thought of Stalin, they still saw Stalin as a commendable replacement to Lenin. What Zinoviev and Kanenev did was an important part of Stalin’s pursuit to get to power because had the testament been released, the public would have disliked Stalin as they worshiped Lenin. The two main contenders for the leadership of the USSR, Stalin and Trotsky were now involved in a feud with each other. This help Stalin claim power in the way that now the public were on his side and Trotsky now frightened many people in the USSR. Trotsky had the idea of spreading socialism across the world; he argued that the future security of the USSR lay in trying to spread permanent revolution across the world until the whole globe was Communist. Many people in the USSR believed that Trotsky would involve them in future wars and conflicts. Stalin emerged as Lenin’s successor because of his policies, these were met with greater approval than Trotsky’s ideas, as Stalin argued that in future, the Party should try to establish Socialism in One Country rather than Trotsky’s idea which was to try to spread revolution worldwide, this was very popular. Socialism in one country was the idea that communism shouldn’t be spread across the world but that the politburo should concentrate on just having it in Russia. As the Soviet people were scared of years of war and revolution Stalin seemed to be the man who understood their feeling and did what the public wanted. In 1925, Trotsky gave up his only symbol of power when he resigned from his position as Commissar for War. He now had nothing and because the war was over, the future was looking bleaker for him. Stalin, because of this, was now the favourite to become the next controller of the USSR. With Trotsky now out of the way, Stalin was now on course to take the leadership of the USSR, he uses his relationship and his positions of authority with other members of the Politburo extremely well. Stalin successfully played both the leftists and the rightist in the Politburo; he did this by using his friends who owed him favours. In 1927 Stalin first joined the rightists and attacked the left removing all the important members from the office, then a year later he joined the leftists and attacked the right, forcing out his opponents and bringing in some of his own allies who would support him. By doing this Stalin was now the most senior member of the Politburo. This was a huge step towards his aim and put him in pole position to become the next dictator. In conclusion I believe that Stalin achieved total power over the USSR through a combination of political scheming, luck, the mistakes of his opponents and the clever way in which he built up his power base. Each event that leads up to Stalin’s dictatorship was just as important as the next; he got to power through a combination of all of these. If any of the steps to his reign had been missing, there is no doubt that he would not have been in control of the USSR and been able to cause the damage he did.

Political Contention Essay

Solita Collas-Monsod is a professor at the University of the Philippines: Diliman and a writer in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Solita Collas-Monsod’s article entitled â€Å"The Trillanes Myth† was published or appeared in the Philippine Daily Inquirer and was last updated in September 3, 2007. The author was able to catch the attention of its audience, and she was able to effectively use the title of her article to give a bird’s eye view of what is stored for the readers. She also starts her column through a statement of her stand regarding the issue being discussed. The author wanted to show or inform the audience and or the readers of the Philippine Daily Inquirer about the Trillanes group which started a coup d’ etat in Oakwood Hotel, or the well known â€Å"Oakwood ‘Mutiny†, wherein there were 300 uniformed military officers and men who were guided or led by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV. Her arguments also state that the Court, led by July 25 order of RTC Judge Oscar B. Pimentel, should continue its firm stand with regards to imposing the necessary law or exercise government authority, without validation of the badges of inequality. She assumed that the world, more specifically the sympathizers of the Trillanes group or the military officers, should not be deranged or persuaded by the â€Å"idealisms and principles† of the Trillanes group. She also states that the audience, we, should not be blinded by the myths or lies which the Trillanes group gives us, and that we should stick or be firm with our government rules about coup d’etats. Solita Collas-Monsod values the truth and in seeking proper justice for such violators of the law. She strongly believes that proper justice or punishment in accordance with the government laws should be imposed on the Trillanes group, and we should do this objectively, not subjectively. Monsod was able to define terms clearly in her article. Solita Collas-Monsod did her assignment or did basic research, thus, she was able to support her arguments with ample and enough facts. The argument for me is successful, and it does convince me. There are facts or sufficient supporting statements used by Monsod in her article and these facts or statements seem really reliable. My beliefs and line of thinking was the same as Monsod with regards to the â€Å"Oakwood ‘Mutiny†, more specifically about the Trillanes group. Monsod’s argument strengthened my former belief about proper government execution of its laws . Politically speaking, this is really an eye-opening article not only to the public but to the government and its officials as well, more specifically to the Judicial Court. There are times when I had small doubts with regards the Judiciary system of the Philippines before, but because of Monsod’s article, and facts that she stated about the actions taken by the Court, led by Judge Pimentel, these doubts are not gone. I believe that indeed, the political world still has its â€Å"impartiality. † Solita Collas-Monsod’s article affects the political process by simply strengthening the implementation of Judicial law and in informing the public about the Trillanes group. The government and the public, or the audience, are at the advantage, whereas the Trillanes group is definitely in the losing end. Work Cited: Collas-Monsod, Solita. â€Å"The Trillanes Myth. † The Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2007.

Dttls Unit 5

Part 2 A critical Analysis of my own approach to reflective practice and exploration of potential continuing personal and professional development. Introduction This report provides a critical self analysis of my approach to reflective practice and exploration of continuing personal and professional practice. To research this report I have had to undertake a profound and honest dissection and evaluation of my own working practice.For research I partook in discussions with my peers, attended a master class in learning on reflection, and explored the internet and relevant books. This includes examining theories of reflective practice and how they relate to my own reflective practice and development. To clarify what I needed to examine I started by finding definitions of the key phrases. More in-depth analysis of the definitions and the meanings attached by others are developed throughout the report.Reflective Practice- ‘a set of abilities and skills, to indicate the taking of a c ritical stance, an orientation to problem solving or state of mind. ’ (Moon 1999 cited on www. ukle. ac. uk 2009) Continual Personal and Professional Development- ‘maintaining, improving and broadening relevant knowledge and skills in your subject specialism and your teaching and training, so that it has a positive impact on practice and the learner development. (www. ifl. ac. uk 2009) MethodologyWhilst preparing this assignment my Primary research was collated by using both personal observation and informal personal interviews with fellow peer groups, I conducted my Secondary research by colleting existing data gathered from both my Primary research as well as using the internet in order to access reviews, government statements and information as well as theories and principles used and developed by educational experts, I have also used the Doncaster College library to access reference material in the form of books and the e-library and as an additional reference metho d.I also adopted various ideas gained by conducting semi structured interviews and focus groups using other teachers as my target group. Once evaluating the collected data I then developed an Action Plan in order to achieve my desired goals. Theories of reflective practice. The Common Sense Theory Philosopher and educationalist John Dewey pioneered the concept of reflective practice in 1933 as the literal notion of ‘thinking about thinking’ (cited in www. educ. uats. org 2010) He was primarily interested in problem solving.When a bad incident occurs you feel upset or disconcerted and set out to identify and rectify the issue. This basic approach to reflective practice was further developed as the ‘common sense view’ by Moon (1999). She took the stance ’reflection is akin to thinking but with more added to this. ’ (cited in Roffey-Barentsen and Malthouse 2009, p8) This is reflection in its purest form. After a lesson that that went badly it is natural that you will think about what went wrong and why. The sheer basic nature of the theory leads to problems of lack of organization and documentation.The solitary nature of simply thinking cause limitations when there is no one to provide feedback. There is more consideration given to the past than the future and provides limited outlets for developing practice. Reflective Practice Donald Schon (1983) developed two concepts in relation to reflective practice: Reflection in action – A person reflects on behavior as it occurs. For example if you are using a classroom activity with learners that is clearly not working you would quickly reflect on this can find a suitable alternative immediately rather than waiting for the next session.Reflection on action -this type of reflection occurs after the event allowing time for scrutiny and analysis of the situation and time to plan further development. Kolb (1984) created his four stage model of leaning. This encompasses the cont inued cycle of learning. It outlines the basic concept of doing something. Reflecting on it. Researching ways of improving upon it and planning how to implement this. This brings you right back to the doing stage and so the cycle continues. This can be joined at any stage but needs to be followed in sequence to be effective.Graham Gibbs further developed this cycle in 1988. Like Kolb, his cycle of self reflection is simple to use and follows a continuous cycle. Gibbs Model for Reflection (www,qmu. ac. uk 2009) Stephen Brookfield (1995) believes critically reflective teaching happens when we identify and scrutinize assumptions that under grid how we work. For this the occur we must see our teaching from the view of the â€Å"four critical lenses†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢(cited in Roffey-Barentsen and Malthouse 2009,p10 ). The four lenses being: 1. The teacher 2. The learners 3. Our Colleagues . The view of literature and theories. Although time consuming this theory provides a thorough reflect ion on our practice through feedback and research rather than just our own thoughts. Professional Reflective Practice This theory combines the personal achievements generated via reflective practice with the benefits of CPD where teachers improve skills and knowledge enhances their professional performance. Tummons (2007, p89) describes this as ‘A constant critical appraisal of teaching and learning, and of the work of the tutor generally. Ideals from Schon, Kolb, Gibbs and other theorists can be encompassed in professional reflective practice this ideal would include seminars, workshops, conferences, meetings, training days, 1. 1 reviews, observations and general conversations. Having identified what you could do to benefit your practice you would create an action plan clearly defining SMART targets My approach to reflective practice I have in the past relied too heavily on Moon's ‘common sense’ theory. Thinking is a natural process we have little or no control o ver.I have often delivered a session with my head buzzing with thoughts and ideas; these would take on the form of what went well? What did’t goes well? Why? What can I do instead? This thought process of ideas has its benefits. I was analyzing my teaching practice rather than simply carrying on with no consideration to its merits. The main problems being that I rarely wrote my reflections down. There was no organization or structure to the reflective practice. This form of reflection is too insular and self reliant.When I first started teaching I think I probably lacked the confidence to actively seek the views of others and accept constructive criticism. Since undertaking the DTLLS course I have as a prerequisite of learning kept a reflective journal. This method of reflection links in with Schon’s ‘Reflection on Action. ’ Actually taking time to stop and write down reflection has been very beneficial This allows time for greater and more structured eval uation identifying what went well and want didn’t’ go so well. From here I am able to plan what I need to improve upon. Schon (1983) also outlines ‘action in practice. I found this concept of ‘thinking on your feet’ a necessity of teaching. A session plan may sometimes no longer be valid. I have in the past had to a change activities that require certain numbers due to poor attendance. Similarly if I unexpectedly have a small group I may not use planned resources such as flipchart which seem impersonal for only four learners. As my teaching experience has developed so has my capacity for reflection. Drawing on Brookfield’s critical lenses. I am now more confident and aware of the benefit of feedback to seek the views of learners, peers, mentors etc.This creates a greater spectrum of reflection rather than simply my own to learn from. Gibbs reflective cycle (1988) has become a natural part of my teaching and reflective practice. This is especia lly beneficial with one day courses I teach again and again. In this situation it is easy to become complacent and lazy and stick with same session plan. Actively reflecting with feedback from others enables me find methods of improving the session. I then can try out the new plan. Once tried I then reflect on the new plan and so the cycle continues.Of course I wouldn’t make change for change sake. The out come of the reflection could be that it all went well in that session. Continual Personal and Professional Development As a teacher when considering CPPD I have two consider what The IFL defines as the ‘Model of Dual Professionalism’ (www. ilf. co. uk) Your subject specialsim Your teaching In both instances I need to undertake an analysis to identify training and development needs. I am still a teacher in training so my professionalism is continually developing through my college studies which includes much research.In my work place I have attended training day s on relevant teaching areas such as coaching your team and Giving and Receiving Feedback and conferences such as E-Leaning and Final Lap Mentoring. Once my training is complete I will need to actively seek development opportunities in this area. I could do this through the ILF, College network, educational websites, publications and productions. The opportunities for personal and professional development in the Health and Social Care Profession are considerable. Keeping up to date with relevant legislation is paramount.Generally literature is provided on this by the Care Quality Commission or MHA Head office. For instance I recently went on a training day on delivering e-learning. However as an educationalist it is vital I don't just assume there are no changes if no one has informed me other wise. The QCC website is the best reference point on legislation. Specific area of my role such as manual handling, Fire Safety and First aid require me to update my trainer’s skills wi th a refresher course every two or three years.As I teach in a company that specializes in Dementia care it is vital I actively seek new knowledge in this area. Ideas and Theories on Dementia and Dementia care are constantly progressing and it is vital I progress inline with them. To aid this read the Dementia Care magazine, Alzheimer’s Society website, Bradford and Stirling University both research in dementia care. A positive example of this is an article I read on the benefits of Doll Therapy. Some of the residents in the home carry dolls around which some cares found inappropriate.Having a professional theory to discuss with staff/Learners was highly beneficial. All development I do for my work has an effect on my personal development. The increase in skills and knowledge gives me more confidence and expands my creativity. In my free time I enjoy reading and creative writing and have taken relevant courses for pleasure. I have in the past been to work obsessed and taking on to many courses at once. This resulted stress and affected all areas of my life. I now can prioritise my CPPD to allow me time to relax and spend time on other things that are important.When I started DTLLS I was also doing an Open University course. I found it too hard to juggle both and working. I made a decision to complete the OU module I was studying and put my university studies on hold until I have completed DTLLS. Conclusion I can link my reflective practice to most of the theorists. The common sense view' of quite literally thinking is something I do constantly but I have learnt the benefits of taking a more structured and creative approach to reflection. Working through a cycle of doing, reflecting, researching, planning and doing means my teaching practice can only improve.This has given me more confidence and benefits the learners. Linking in reflective practice with CPPD ensures my development as a teacher and a subject specialist. Through my work place I am able to identify training and development needs with my manager. As an autonomous learner is vital I constantly Seek new avenues to ensure my Health and Social Care knowledge is up-to-date and relevant. 1. Report Introduction For this report I have provided a critical analysis which summarises the following aspects of my ongoing personal and professional development in the following areas: Teaching roles and contexts within the lifelong learning sector * Impact of own beliefs, assumptions and behaviours on learners and others * Impact of own professional, personal and interpersonal skills, including Literacy, Numeracy and ICT skills on learners and others. To carry out this report I have used my personal reflective journal. I have also drawn on past assignments, observations, peer group discussions. I researched books, journals and the internet to gain a wider perspective. Analysing my own role as Trainer and comparing it with others such lecturers nd tutors highlights the similarities as w ell as exploring the unique aspects that define each role. As an individual and a teacher it is difficult to recognise and at times accept that your personal beliefs, assumptions and behaviours may impinge on learners. In this report I recognise my ‘teaching schemata’ and explore both positive and negative effects this may have on learners and others. This links in with the analysis I have made on how my personal, professional and interpersonal skills will have an impact on learners and others. Part 3 A Teaching roles and contexts within the lifelong learning sectorThe table below explores the different roles and contexts within the lifelong learning sector, analysing their similarities and differences. All definitions of roles are taken form: The Chambers Dictionary 10th Edition (2006) Job Role| Contexts| Duties| Same as| Difference| Trainer‘A person who teaches skills to people or animals and prepares them for a job, activity or sport’ | The workplaceComm unity Learning CentresTraining companies| * Identifying company training needs. * Designing, delivering and evaluating training. * Developing induction and appraisal schemes. Coaching and assessing individuals or small groups * * | Similarities to teacher, tutor, lecturer in terms of planning and delivering learning. Also assessments. | A trainer is generally work based as apposed to teachers or lecturers who are college or school based. | Teacher‘A person whose profession is to impart knowledge practical skill or understanding’| SchoolsSixth form colleges| * Panning sessions * Delivering learning * Evaluation of teaching and learning * Setting and marking working * Monitoring and dealing with behavioural issues. Tutor, trainer and lecturer in terms of planning and delivering learning. Dealing with behaviour is most akin to lecturers. | Different to most in that a teacher is generally associated with schools and children. Some sixth form colleges may have teachers. | Tu tor‘A person who teaches a single person or very small group’| Colleges Community Learning CentresDistance and online learning. | * Planning and delivering learning to individual or small groups. * Providing feedback on assessments * Tutor may be a mentor for learning development such as a form tutor or individual tutor. Similarities to teacher, trainer, lecturer in terms of planning and delivering learning. | More 1-1 work than lecturersDifferent from all if online or distance learning. | LecturerA person who teaches at college or university| CollegeUniversities| * Teaching, lectures, seminars and fieldwork. Preparing teaching sessions and developing teaching materials. Setting and marking work. | Similarities to teacher, trainer, lecturer in terms of planning and delivering learning. | Different to NVQ and Trainer in context.Lecturers would not be found in workplace| Assessor‘Person who assesses’| CollegeWorkplace| * Plan and deliver NVQ workshops * Obser ve and assess candidates * Examine candidates’ evidence| Similar to trainer in that learning is work based. | Different to teacher and lecturer as an assessor will not deliver learning to large groups. | Part 3 b My role and responsibilities as a Trainer in Health and Social Care work-based learning Through discussions in the DTTLS course I have identified two major differences between my role as a Trainer and my peers as Lecturers.The first being that of context . My teaching is carried out in individual’s own workplace. Learning is delivered in a training room and in the care environment. Lecturers deliver learning in a college in a traditional classroom setting. The two do at times overlap, workplace learners may work towards vocational qualifications through local colleges. In this case I may arrange for learners to undertake this learning and support them through their work. The other main variation is in purpose. I facilitate learners with skills and knowledge to enable them to function in the workplace.Learners gain company certification or in some cases nationally recognised awards, however they are not working for one or two years towards an educational or vocational qualification as they would in a college. In unit 15 I explored the difference between teaching and training. Gary Pollice, Professor of Practice Worchester University noted this main difference. In his article Teaching Versus Training (2003). He stated training ‘focuses on skill’ whereas teaching ‘implies deeper knowledge and a longer time frame. ’ This effectively sums up one of the major differences I identified.As a trainer in Health and Social Care it is my responsibilities to ensure my knowledge is kept up-to-date and in line with current legislation, polices, procedures and changing views and ideas within the care sector. Not doing so would have a detrimental effect on learning and the working practice of learners. I am constantly aware that my CPPD will have a direct impact on the quality of training I provide. In unit 5 I examined the aims and philosophical issues associated with my subject specialism. These were derived mainly from CQC and MHA care group.The ultimate aim being to provide the best possible person centred care for service users. I work closely as part of a team to ensure this is provided. I liaise with senior staff to discuss any new developments within care and the impact they will have on learning and working practice. I often attend the same training, seminars and conferences as senior staff. This ensures we all have the same knowledge and skills Transference of skills has a major influence on how I and others measure the quality of the training I provide.Howarth and Morrison (2005, p295) observed how effective transfers are ‘affected by a range of factors beyond the design and delivery of a training event. ’ I work with key people to make sure skills and knowledge are effectively passe d on to staff and reflected in the care provided. If this is not the case then I may need to reassess my own skills and knowledge. Part 3 C The Impact of my own beliefs, assumptions and behaviours on learners and others. As an individual it is difficult to recognize our own ingrained beliefs, assumptions let alone comprehend the impact these may have an others.As a teacher the impact can be magnified as others look to us to learn. In an article Focus on Teacher thinking it was stated Everything a teacher says and does springs from the teacher’s inner reality – the worldview, beliefs, values and other thinking processes that are so familiar they become invisible (www. teachersinmind. com) When I enter a classroom/training room I like to think I put my professional hat on and leave my personal influences behind. Williams and Burden ((1997, p57) however would disagree ‘Teachers beliefs about learning will affect everything they do in the classroom. To identify my ow n personal influences I have examined some elements of my unique ‘Teaching Schemata’ (wwww,prodait,org 2006) . This is the amalgam of beliefs , knowledge and assumptions held by the individual teacher. Elements of my personal ‘Teaching Schemata’ | * I believe it is important to have basic ICT, Literacy and numeracy skills * Reading is fun * Learning enriches your life * ICT is an inevitable part of day to day life * I think everyone should want to reach their full potential * Adults should naturally adhere to a certain code of conduct in a learning environment. Adults want to learn * Music has positive benefits on your mental well being * I love anything outdoors. * I’m a vegetarian and animals are an important part of my life * I was brought up C of E but no longer practice or believe. * Monogamy is important * I used to be shy at school but now I’m outgoing * I tend to adopt a ‘ce la vive’ attitude to life. If it makes you happy then do it! * I’m very easy going and rarely loose my temper. * People should always see the best in others and try to understand why they behave the way they do. The list above is by no means exhaustive but includes what I consider to be my main belief system. I would generally consider my positive and friendly personality to have a constructive benefit on learners. I’m proud of the fact that learners enjoy their learning and in all my observation it was commented that I had an excellent rapport with learners. In unit 15 I drew on an element of my reflective journal where this rapport had a negative effect. Four learners failed to turn up when I was being observed. I took his a personal insult, but it was pointed out to me by a colleague that it was because I was so easy going that they probably thought I wouldn’t be annoyed. The concept of achieving an equal balance between my natural friendly personality and adopting a more professional persona when necessar y is an area I have developed but need to continue to do so. I have attended courses in assertiveness and influencing and negotiating to aid my development in this area. Discussing ideas with other teachers has helped significantly. In my very initial stages of teaching I made a basic mistake due to my somewhat supercilious assumptions.When setting up a learner, a lady of around 50yrs, on E-Learning I simply gave her the laptop, password and username and told her to log on to the Aims Perform site. I went off to sort out some paperwork while she did this. When I returned I found an embarrassed learner who hadn’t even switched the laptop on. She sheepishly told me she’d never used a computer before. The impact for the learner was that of humiliation and a failure to learn. For myself it was an early learning curve in never making assumptions about learners existing abilities.Although I’m still surprised how many people don’t have their own computer and hav e little or no ICT skills I have learnt to adjust my perception and address the situation in a manner that does not embarrass or humiliate the learner. Gaining an awareness of the extent to which adult learners may lack basic skills has had an effect on my professional development. I have actively sought ways to integrate key skills into learning. Care for Skills agency provide extensive resources and information on enabling teachers to embed key skills into the care induction programme.The impact on learners is that I, as a teacher am more in tune to learning needs and an increased opportunity to improve their key skills through work based learning. Also I taught a fully integrated course with New College which improved my skills in key skills teaching. Part 3 D The impact of my own Professional, Personal and Interpersonal skills including Literacy, Numeracy and ICT Skills on Learners and others Trainer/Teacher My teaching qualifications PTTLS and year 2 DTTLS have given me signifi cant skills and knowledge in this area. This impacts on what I am able to offer my place of work and learners.This includes planning, delivering and evaluating individual sessions and schemes of work. Also carrying out diagnostic assessments, assessing learning, being aware learning styles and learning theories, designing and using resources. The more skills I have as a teaching professional the greater opportunity I will have to maximise the learning potential of the workplace learner at MHA. Management will have greater confidence in giving me greater responsibilities such as designing courses. I have also joined the Institute For Learning (IFL) as an affiliate member whilst working towards qualified teacher status.The IFL gives members support in continuing professional development. The IFL state: CPD gives the public, learners, the teaching community and the sector confidence that teachers, trainers, tutors and assessors are continuously improving skills and knowledge and expert ise (www. ilf. ac. uk, 2009) Health and Social Care Professional As I have a dual profession there is little point in me solely focussing on my teaching skills. It is equally as important that I monitor my knowledge of my subject specialism. My learners need to have confidence that I have a higher level of knowledge of the subject than they do.The care provider I work for need to know that I am facilitating training that is current and relevant. In unit 15 I stated that one of my best assets was having what Skills for Care (2009) describe as ‘experts by experience. ’ Having years of hands on experience in the care sector not only equips me we a high level of skills and knowledge but also gives learners confidence that I know what they experience in the workplace. To keep my care skills current and relevant I attend the same training, conferences and seminars I would as if I still worked in the field. Personal DevelopmentMy personal development can also have an affect on learners. Having a good level of work and life balance make me a calmer and more rounded person. Much of my personal development such as creative writing enhances my creative abilities as a teacher. I initially started my degree with the Open University for personal development rather than professional. I started with a course I knew I would enjoy – Level 2 Creative Writing. This required me to post my work on an online tutorial for others to give feedback on. Similarly I was required to give feedback on the work of others.This enhanced my ability to accept feedback from managers, teachers, college peers and learners. This in turn assisted me to provide constructive feedback to my peers and learners which is something I have difficulty with. Interpersonal Skills My interpersonal skills have developed as my confidence has grown. Looking back on my reflective journal from last year I can see there were times when I lost deportment in sessions when learners asked questions I wa s unsure of, didn’t participate in sessions or were deliberately awkward as they didn’t want to be in the session.This had a detrimental effect on learners and myself as I felt they would loose confidence in my ability to teach them. I over come this through feedback, talking to other teachers and simply by gaining experience. My most recent observation demonstrated how much my confidence has improved. This reflects on the quality of learning learners receive. On a general level I feel I have good interpersonal skills. Working in the care sector for years has given me strong emotional intelligence. I am easily able to empathize with other. I am able to actively listen, thus making me an effective communicator.I have been able to develop appropriate communication skills. Initially I was too much of a friend to learners and didn’t want to offend anyone. I found sugar coating feedback was non productive. I have managed to improve my balance my as a teacher, giving constructive feedback and delivering enjoyable sessions. Numeracy Numeracy is not my strongest point. I have GCSE grade C which I achieved 18 years ago. When I worked at Penhill Community learning centre working 1-1 with learners to gain entry level 3 and level 1;2 numeracy awards I was concerned about my own numeracy levels and ability to help others.I went on the Move On website to test and improve my abilities. When I started the PTTLS course I was required to take an assessment on the computer to check for skills fade. Thankfully I had a clear level 2 pass. Although numeracy is not a strong element in Health and Social care it is still important to maintain my skills in this area. I embed numeracy in areas where learners will uses it in their workplace such as weights, measurements, BMIs and statistics. This will impact on their ability to perform everyday tasks at work. ICT I have fairly good ICT skills.This has enabled me to facilitate e-learning confidently. This has helped l earners to access and undertake courses they may not have had access to otherwise. e-learning enhances learners own ICT skills which will benefit them in the workplace and wider society. One area I had to develop was using ICT in presentations. My workplace did not have facilities for this so I had little opportunity to practice. I felt this limited my resources and didn’t account for exclusivity with regards to learning styles. My first attempt at PowerPoint presentation was for my presentation was to my peers at college.I was pleased to have produced and presented a presentation even if I did forget to put it on slide show! Feedback from my peers and my own reflection identified this as an area of weakness. I have since convinced my workplace to buy more equipment. I am now confident in using the projector for presentations. This enhances learners experience including participating in e learning in groups. Literacy Literacy is an area I am quite proficient in and had passed university modules in with good grades. I enjoy reading and creative writing in my free time.I do however have to be aware of the language I use and the levels I expect of others. Many of my learners will be at entry level 3 or lower so I need to keep language in resources simple. Through initial assessments I can identify what level learners are at. I embed literacy into learning. The Skills for Care Base have excellent resources I have used to enable learners with literacy. The fact that I enjoy reading means I am always keen to research my subject this will enrich the knowledge I can impart on learners. ConclusionMy dual role as a teacher and a Health and Social Care Professional effectively means I I have two areas where I need to actively monitor, evaluate and accomplish continuing personal and professional development. Clearly identifying my role and responsibilities can enable me to pursue relevant avenues. Being aware of my own beliefs, assumptions and behaviours and the im pact they may have on learners and others is difficult but essential. Through course of action I realised my assumptions about adult learners existing skills was having a detrimental effect on their learning.As a teacher my own personal, professional and interpersonal skills have a major impact on learners, as they are looking to me to facilitate knowledge and skills. The organization I work for is trusting in my skills to carry out my role efficiently. Not doing so could have a damaging effect on the care service users receive and the reputation of the establishment. This highlights the importance of CPPD. Words 3116 Bibliography Books Gray, G. Cundell, S. Hay, D. O’Neill, J. (2004) Learning Through the Workplace. Nelsonthorne: Cheltenham Horwath, J. Morrisson T. 2004) Effective Staff Training in Social Care Routledge: Abingdon Roffey-Barentsen, J and R ,Malthouse. Reflective Practice in the Lifelong Learning Sector. Learning Matters: Exeter Tummons, J. (2007) Becoming a Tut or in the Lifelong Learning Sector. Learning Matters: Exeter Wallace, S. Teaching and Tutoring in The Lifelong Learning Sector. 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