Compare a picture and a phograph

What is similar and what is different about paintings and photographs? Write an essay for your teacher, in which you compare and contrast paintings and photographs. Be sure to write about your ideas in detail. Paintings and photographs share many similarities, but they are also different. I'm sure that Anne Geodes, the famous photographer of babies, may have a completely different view of her subjects than Leonardo ad Vulcan had of Mona Lisa.Still, both ways of producing pictures can have Incredible results. Photographs and paintings are alike In many ways. First of all, both amateurs and professionals can make them. Professional photographers often create breathtaking images, and collectors will pay a high price to display such works in their homes. On the other hand, an amateur with a camera can simply point and click. Before you know it, the person fills photo album after photo album with exciting shots of family and friends.Similarly, a famous painter may spend years developing h is or her unique style and finally become famous. Even though most amateurs will never be famous, they still can have fun with oils or watercolors. They will enjoy expressing themselves and giving their paintings away as gifts. It Is wonderful that both forms of art can be enjoyed by many people. Also, both photographers and painters can fix mistakes. Photographers Copyright C) Houghton Mellon Company. All rights reserved. Can change images by airbrushing and by the way they develop film.For example, photographs of fashion models are sometimes airbrushed to make the models look flawless. A photographer can also develop a photo to look shadowy or bright. Likewise, painters can paint over an error or even scrape off certain kinds of paint. Though both types of artists aim for perfection, they might not reach it on the first try. Despite these similarities, photographs and paintings defer. For one thing, they require different equipment and materials. To create a painting, you need pai nt, brushes, and canvas or paper.Some artists also use a pencil to make a sketch before they apply paint. Photographers, on the other hand, need a camera and film. Professional photographers use different lenses and cameras for different kinds of photographs. They may also have Grade 8 Blacking Master (continued) darkroom equipment to develop their own photos. As you can see, the two types of strictures are made with very different tools. Last of all, photographers and painters make different use of time as they work.Photographers must capture an image in a split second. Even if they take several shots of one scene or object, each is made in a snap. Painters, however, have a choice. They can work very quickly or spend years perfecting Just one painting. As you can see, paintings and photographs are both similar and different. I have both in my home, and I appreciate the work done by the artists who Copyright Houghton Muffling Company. All rights reserved. Made them. These images hav e added a lot to my life.

Out of My Comfort Zone

The whole month my friends have been continuously asking me to come ice skate with them. I had denied them several times, because I felt very uneasy going on a low friction surface on metal skates and was almost sure I would fall flat on my face. Public skate bothered me even more because I knew there would be several people there watching me, and potentially getting in the way of my skating. When the group decided to each get out of our comfort zones, I realized I should go with my friends this weekend, even though I felt very uncomfortable. Upon putting my skates on, I wasn’t sure what I was doing, and it took me a couple minutes to finally step out onto the ice. I held on to the railing for a long time, and my friend told me that was no way to learn something new, and that I should go in head first without being scared of failure. I felt ridiculous for caring so much, and let go and started skating around. I came to realize it was extremely similar to roller skating, and started enjoying it. When small children or fast skaters came by me, I was still a bit uneasy and would stop or slow down, but I realized it wasn’t as bad as I made it. Having everyone support me and show me tricks to go faster or make turns was very encouraging. I realized there were actually very many beginners during public skate that were going even slower than me. I didn’t feel so alone and realized I shouldn’t have chickened out for so long. My main fears were being out of control, that I would fail, or be embarrassed. Sometimes these things would pop up a bit, but in the end the experience gave me motivation to try new things and to wipe away the fear. It’s hard to grow and learn without taking risks, so I was proud I did it. To many it may have seemed like a small situation, but for me personally it was a bold step. Taking small bold steps may lead me to take larger more uncomfortable steps to get ahead. I realized that very few of the decisions or actions that you take are life or death. If you look at challenges through that lens it becomes much easier to step out of your comfort zone. As a concluding thought, I feel that if people don’t challenge themselves, chances are they will be drifting. If you want to be known as a leader, you need to be the first one to step outside of the box.

Have race relations changed among different races today Essay

Have race relations changed among different races today - Essay Example e higher among minority groups when compared to Caucasians, but these groups have been shown to earn much less than what their Caucasian counterparts earn. There tends to be very little likelihood of either African American or Latino men to be given employment as managers or as professionals and they are more likely to only get jobs, which involve labor. This also applies to women from minorities who have to work much harder and for lesser pay than their counterparts do in order to get positions of authority (Phelan, 376). While there are still instances of discrimination, there have been changes in the racial relations between the different races in the United States today. This can be seen through the increasing levels of intermarriage as well as the formation of strong friendships between them. It can therefore be said that despite the fact that the racial relations in the United States still have a long way to go before they are equal, there have been enough changes to put this process on the right

HR Magazine Article Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

HR Magazine Article Summary - Essay Example There are a few reasons this could happen. First is the fact that many firms, especially in Europe, have retained many of their employees as part-time employees rather than retrenching them. As growth continues, these part-time employees will be brought back to full time status first. New jobs will not begin to be created until the economic growth outpaces the rising productivity caused by turning part-time employees back into full time employees. A second reason the recovery could be viewed as a â€Å"jobless† one is the historical precedent set by the recovery from the 1991 recession. What economists found is that the economic recovery was slowed because jobs lagged behind other sectors of the economy. For example, consumer spending will not increase at a rapid rate if unemployment remains high. This drag on the economy works as a negative feedback. Few new jobs mean less growth, which means new job growth, is stymied. As a HR professional, offering insight into the job market is a key part of your professional responsibilities. Feedback from HR professionals actually predicted this most recent downturn in the economy. HR professionals release a report called the Leading Indicators of National Employment (LINE). In December of 2007, the LINE report indicated that the national employment indicators had turned into negative territory. A year later the National Bureau of Economic Statistics confirmed that December of 2007 was the start of the recession. One troubling labor market report being gathered by HR professionals deals with wage trends. Due to the high rate of unemployment, many HR professionals feel that wages will begin to trend lower, even as the broader economy recovers. This could lead to a lost generation of young employees being stuck in low wage jobs with little prospects for breaking out. Other possible ways firms or individuals may compensate for lower wages is by increasing the amount of telecommuting. This saves on

Marketing Strategy of Vodafone Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Marketing Strategy of Vodafone - Research Paper Example Strategies of an organization should well be able to detail themselves as per the needs of the environment while planning for the future. A framework for any program can well be preferred if it is deeply affinitive to the generalization of a venture or enterprise keeping in mind the quality of methodizing. The one concept firmly oriented towards the creation of values for its customers will conclude with excellence in the target market. Vodafone uses its familiar red logo and retains themes of togetherness, fashion joy, and enjoyment throughout its marketing communications. The same uniformity is maintained and followed by Fanta, Microsoft, Nike, Sony and host of other companies. What should be the rationale behind this Is it for fun Integrated marketing communications see the elements of the communications mix 'integrated' into a coherent whole. As the fight of market shares and a quest for product success continue, marketers are employing all the necessary tactics, and methods to g ive their product a breakthrough, or remain competitive (Brennan, Baines, and Garneau, 2003, Rowley J 2004). One way of doing this is through differentiation, making your product outstanding, by having your values and image (Zineldin M., and Philipson S., 2007). This is known as the marketing communications mix and forms the basis of marketing (Pelsmacher& Kitchen., 2005) This paper examined the importance of marketing to Vodafone, it current and future market challenges using certain analytical tools and models. Part one of the paper lay emphasis on these models while part three looks at the resources and capabilities that distinguished Vodafone from its competitors.     The PESTEL framework can only be used to look at the future impact of environmental factors and that this impact might be different from the past. Thus an understanding of how the factors in the above framework may drive change is only a starting point1.There is a need for an understanding of the key change dri vers and this will be explained below. Looking at the PESTEL framework shown above one can observe that the Vodafone is affected by all the environmental factors in the framework. Under political factors, Vodafone is affected by both taxation and social welfare policies.

The Jubilee Debt Campaign Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Jubilee Debt Campaign - Essay Example This paper suggests that while reckless or self-interested lending by the rich world is indeed a factor, one significant aspect that must be neglected is the weakness of the developing countries with regard to its democratic institutions and regulatory mechanisms. In many, if not most, instances, it is the leaders of the developing countries themselves that subvert the development trajectory of the respective nations and compromise the well-being of their citizens. Domestic policy has played a big, if not key role, in the debt crisis of the third world. Leftwich suggests that official Western aid policy and development thinking is dominated by a new orthodoxy that good governance and democracy is not only desirable but also necessary. In many aid and loan agreements, however, precisely what is being taken advantage of is the dismal lack of democratic structures and glaring issues of governance. The point is that it is impossible to work out an economic recovery program while followin g the debt-repayment schedule of the creditors. Despite two decades of death relief efforts, the problem still remains. Hardships are evident, and many mass protests have taken place as a result of these hardships. A very good example of this is when precious government resources are channeled to debt restructuring instead of capital expenditures. The researcher takes a look at the example of Asian countries during the period of 1985 to 1995. Contrary to doctrinaire free-market economics, institutional economists argue that government financial resources devoted to building physical or social infrastructure or shoring up domestic demand â€Å"crowd in† rather than â€Å"crowd out† private investment, including foreign investment. For instance, one key study of a panel of developing economies from1980 to 1997 found that public investment, complemented private investment, and that, on average, a 10-percent increase in public investment was associated with a 2-percent inc rease in private investment.

Water shortage in place of Abundance Assignment

Water shortage in place of Abundance - Assignment Example Water has been always scarce in the Middle East from the earliest recorded human civilizations in this region. However, over the past few decades, the problem of water shortage has escalated to great levels in the region Despite the fact that the Middle Eastern region represents almost 6 percent of the total world’s population, the region only owns less than 1 percent of the world’s overall water resources. In fact, statistics reveal that the demand for desalinated water is growing at an average annual rate of over 7 percent in the Middle Eastern countries which almost the double of the global average (Earle, Jagerskog & Ojendal, pp. 103-104, 2010). Poverty, mass unemployment, political suppression, injustice, inflation and others were cited as the major reasons behind the recent revolutions and revolts in the Middle East, however, a less cited but extremely important reasons behind the turmoil in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Algeria, Syria and others countries, is the rising food prices caused by the water shortage. Many studies by other NGOs, political and international organisations have repeatedly identified that the region would be suffering with severe water crisis in the coming decades.Growing population (World Bank predicts that the population would be more than 600 million in the next couple of decades), rising temperatures and political instability is like a dynamite in the region which will burst will only a little spark (Shuval & Dwiek, pp. 147-149, 2007). Many of the autocratic rulers of oil-rich Middle Eastern countries have been able to put a lid on this turmoil by using their wealth from oil to subsidized food prices and import grains and sell them for cheap prices in the country, however, it appears that this pattern will not last for long (Holst-Warhaft & Steenhuis, pp. 238-239, 2010). Quite understandably, one obvious reason for water shortage in the Middle Eastern countries is the recent increase in demand in these countries. Lately, these countries have shown almost impeccable economic growth that has stunned its critics. State of the art buildings, skyscrapers, modern infrastructure, facilities with the latest technologies and abundant job opportunities are attracting many people from different Asian countries to try their luck in these Middle Eastern countries (Shuval & Dwiek, pp. 147-149, 2007). Algeria, Morocco, Iran, Iraq, Tunisia, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Yemen, Jordan, Israel and Libya are all running in water deficits and according to the recent Water Stress Index, all of these countries have been identified with â€Å"extreme risk†. Turkey is the only country that has water surplus in the region but up until this point is not willing to share its resources. Libya is spending 20 billion US dollars every year to use its deep-water reserves. UAE has expressed his tensions as all of his water reserves being derived from ancient fossils fuels will run out in less than four decades (Raouf, pp. 5-10, 2010). Statement of the problem Therefore, the statement of problem or the research question for this particular study would be as follows: - â€Å"To explore short term and long term solutions for the problem of water shortage in various Middle Eastern countries† Research Goals Following are the research goals of this particular research. To shed light on the causes and reasons behind water shortage and scarcity in the Middle Eastern region To explore and evaluate the possible

The Stamp Act The Coming of the American Revolution Essay

The Stamp Act The Coming of the American Revolution - Essay Example Resistance also increasingly arose when the British attempted to raise more revenue from the colonialists. The unity of the colonies in violence against the British increased as they resisted the colonial ideas of raising more revenue from taxes. Violence become regular and eventually the now united colonies voiced their grievances from a central legislature. This resistance led to rebellion that consequently led to war (Williams 120). The colonialists formed a national congress through which they expanded their rebellion against Great Britain. The result of such unity was the creation of the colonial military that fought to see declaration of independence in 1776 to establish the United States of America. The British underestimated the political consensus existing among the colonialists about the essence of republican government. They also underestimated the ability of the colonialists to organize and inform one another and work together to build bounds of national community. This ignorance boosted the American rebellion since they organized themselves across the different regions, ethnics and economic conditions (Williams 234). The colonials used newspapers, committees, pamphlets, group protests and community organizations to discover their shared concerns and to foster a new American identity of independence against the British. Communities must not just be local to form a nation. There can be national, regional or international communities that form a nation. This is the philosophy the binds the United States of America as a nation. This was the message that saw the realization of an American dream to move away from the British Empire to declare their independence (Great Britain public records office

Teligius Reformation, Europe and Martin Luther Essay

Teligius Reformation, Europe and Martin Luther - Essay Example Luther’s main contention was that Christians need to be saved through faith and not their actions or repentance. He subsequently initiated a series of reforms in the Church through his prolific writings across Europe. His famous words, ‘only blood turns the wheels of history’ was uttered when he believed that bloodshed in war has become important part of history and reforms within the Church are needed for peace. These words become highly pertinent because the 100 years of war between France and England were highlighted by total disregard for the welfare of the common man and focused on establishing the supremacy of English Monarchy over France. The unnecessary bloodshed must have been the major reason for Luther to say those words in anguish and his beliefs that individual greed for power often ‘turns the wheels of history’. Indeed, the Church’s support to the Crown and exoneration of their sins through repentance and confession was seen as wr ong by Luther. He strongly believed that faith alone should have been the major objective of man’s actions and one should therefore be reaping the results of his/her actions as such. Martin Luther’s writings were the basis for Protestant reformation in Europe during sixteenth century. He was born on 10 November, 1483 in Eisleben, Germany to a miner’s family. ... ‘Only blood turns the wheels of history’ could have another interpretation: Luther, probably saw that personal sacrifices and reforms within the Church could also become vital inputs for making history rather than bloodshed based on vested interests of some human-beings. Martin Luther’s interpretation of Bible was more radical than the traditional papal’s version. It started the most important religious revolution that offered the common man to choose between the traditional Catholic Christianity or Protestant Christianity that was inspired by the reforms suggested by Luther. Luther was aghast at the seemingly corrupt practices of Catholics clergy who use to ‘sell’ indulgences. He believed that good actions of people would have no relevance until they believed in the goodness of the Lord. Thus according to him, faith superseded any actions. On the other hand, Catholic beliefs that actions can be repented and fate of believers could be revered i f they followed rituals etc. Indulgences were primarily Catholic doctrines that sought forgiveness of one’s sins through buying indulgences from church through donation etc. which were subsequently used by Church to meet its expenses. Luther compared them to common trade practices and said that indulgences could only reduce time in purgatory as sinners could have some stored merits. His 95 Theses is a comprehensive discourse on the corruption of indulgence system and how it defiles the basic doctrine of religion which fundamentally relies on faith and supremacy of God. He believed that Christian Clergy, including Pope has no authority to redeem the sins of individuals and exempt him/her from purgatory. Path to purgatory could have been one of the reasons for Luther to say that

Press Release Essay Example for Free

Press Release Essay LOUISIANA- Amnesty International has called for the release of Louisiana inmate and Angola 3 member Albert Woodfox after a federal appeals court ruled on Thursday (Nov. 20) in Woodfox’s favor. The major human right organization, stated in a press release Friday (Nov. 21) that Woodfox spending over forty years in solitary confinement, â€Å"raises serious human rights concerns.† The decision from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district judge’s ruling that overturned Woodfox’s conviction of murder in 1972 of an Angola guard. According to court documents, a three judge panel all agreed that Woodfox did not receive a fair trial in 1998 when his case was tried a second time do to racial discrimination in the selection of a grand jury foreperson. â€Å"It is time for Albert Woodfox to walk free, and it is unconscionable to hold him for a single day longer, â€Å"said Jasmine Heiss, Senior Campaiger at Amnesty International USA. â€Å"The Fifth Circuit’s ruling in Albert’s favor only adds more weight to our call on the State of Louisiana to stop standing in the way of Albert Woodfox’s freedom.† According to Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell, his office plans to put up a fight to prevent Woodfox from being released. Caldwell statement below: While we are still reviewing the 5th Circuits opinion to determine the appropriate action, the important thing to note is that this decision in no way exonerates Albert Woodfox in the brutal 1972 murder of Angola  Correctional Officer Brent Miller. The Appeals Court decision focused on a technicality with the grand jury selection process from as far back as 30 years ago. No court decision, including this one, has ever made a finding which disputes the fact that Albert Woodfox murdered Brent Miller at Angola in 1972. Those facts will always remain true. We respectfully disagree with the Courts ruling, and remain committed to seeing that the trial jurys judgment finding Albert Woodfox guilty of murdering Officer Brent Miller is upheld. Woodfox 67, is the only member of the Angola 3 still behind bars. Angola 3 was derive from a group of supporters who believed that Woodfox and two other prisoners were wrongfully convicted of prison murders for the sole purpose of silencing their activism. The International Coalition to Free the Angola Three is convinced that the men were targeted due to their formation of the Black Panther Party chapter inside the prison. References www.amnestyinternational.com Retrieved on November 22, 2014 www.nola.com Retrieved on November 22,2014

UK Alcohol Prevention Programs in Schools: Critique

UK Alcohol Prevention Programs in Schools: Critique A critique of a particular method of prevention or intervention with reference to alcohol Drug and alcohol abuse is a major concern for governments in most Western countries. Each year significant amounts of funds are designated to try and tackle the problems that alcohol abuse causes. In Britain we are constantly reminded of our so called binge drinking culture and the damaging effect this is having on our society. Between 1993 and 2005, mortality rates from alcohol related diseases increased by 99% among males and 67% amongst females. Figures from the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit show that the financial cost to the country of alcohol misuse is somewhere in the region of  £20 billion a year (2004). None of this has been aided by longer opening times, alcohol being more readily available from a variety of sources and for much cheaper than it has ever been before. The UK government is aiming to devolve responsibility for dealing with alcohol related problems to a local level. In a recent white paper entitled Our Health, Our Care, Our Say (2006), there is a clear expectation that local agencies have to work in partnership to tackle the problems caused by alcohol misuse. This means that there is more pressure on local stakeholders such as schools to take on the responsibility of introducing programs to prevent alcohol abuse. This essay will attempt to provide a critique of schools-based intervention programs. It is widely accepted that schools-based intervention programs can lead to a better understanding of substances such as alcohol and can therefore result in better attitudes when it comes to the use of those particular substances. Studies have also shown that well designed programs can lead to reduced usage of alcohol in the long term as well. This essay will provide a rather broad look at schools-based programs and provide a more general critique rather than focussing in one on particular program. It is hoped that by doing this, it will be possible to utilize more of the academic research that exists and provide a more complete picture of the successes and the problems that these particular programs encounter. Because there is such a wealth of academic research in this area, this essay will be broken into 3 separate parts. The first will provide a meta-analyses where different types of programs are compared against each other. The second part of this essay will look very briefly at which mediators or characteristics of the programs are leading to a reduction in alcohol use. The final part of the analysis will look at studies that compare different programs and determine which are the most successful programs. It is important to note that this study will not be location specific because of the wealth of research there is into other countries. The essay will end with a conclusion that will use all the research gathered to form a critique of schools-based intervention programs. Perhaps the most useful meta-analyses comes from Tobler et al (2000) who looked at 144 separate studies involving 207 schools-based programs. They found that the most effective way of reducing substance use was by employing interactive methods which encouraged the participants to exchange ideas and learn refusal skills. Cuijpers (2002) states that, â€Å"receiving feedback and constructive criticism in a no threatening atmosphere enables students to practice newly acquired refusal skills† (p. 1012). The least successful programs according to Tobler et al (2000) were those that used non-interactive methods such as those that looked at the knowledge of the harm alcohol can do. The interactive programs used methods based on social influence. Donaldson et al (2002) state that this is, â€Å"enhancing an adolescents ability to resist passive social pressure†. (p. 291). These particular programs were found to be more effective and superior to programs utilizing non-interactiv e methods. However, Tobler et al (2000) are not able to identify what specific components of the interactive programs are most successful at limiting substance use. Another useful meta-analyses was conducted by White and Pitts (1998). Although they looked at far fewer studies than Tobler et al (2000), they still came up with some interesting findings. They found that the effectiveness of such programs could be improved if there were additional components that weren’t necessarily school related such as a mass media campaign or booster sessions. They go on to argue that another factor that can affect schools-based intervention programs is the intensity of the program. They found that the most effective programs had 10 or more sessions. A final meta-analyses comes from Rooney and Murray (1996). They came to many of the same conclusions as White and Pitts (1998) such as the intensity of the program. They also found that combining lots of different components could have a significant impact on the success of program. For example, the use of booster sessions and using trained teachers side by side with same-age peer leaders. Programs that did this were more likely to have success in limiting alcohol use amongst those young people participating. It would now be useful to look at the particular characteristics, or mediators, of these programs. As Cuijpers (2002) states it is important to know, â€Å"whether drug use is reduced by the intervention, whether the mediating variables are influenced by the intervention, and whether the mediating variables do have a mediating role in the reduction of substance use† (p. 1016). It is possible to identify several key mediators across many of the studies conducted in schools-based intervention programs. Wyn et al (2000) argue that key mediators are based around social influence factors such as those aimed at the acceptability of the use of alcohol, knowledge about how prevalent the misuse of alcohol is and how peers would perceive the use of alcohol. This essay will now focus on three mediators and look at how effective they are in schools-based intervention programs. These mediators will be booster sessions, peer versus adult led programs and the use of community involvement in addition to schools-based intervention programs. Booster sessions are those sessions taken on after the initial program has ended. There seems to be little conclusion in the research if booster sessions are an effective addition to intervention programs. Botvin et al (1983) and Dijkstra et al (1999) argue that they are where as Shope et al (1992) state that they have no effect at all. However, it should be noted that those in agreement state that these booster sessions are only effective if they are peer led rather than teacher led. One has to take into account other mediating factors when considering booster sessions as an effective method of intervention. Cuipers (2002) argues that peer led sessions are more likely to be effective versus adult or teacher led sessions. In her study of the existing research she finds that peer led programs are more effective in the short-term but that after a year the difference in effectiveness between peer and adult led programs is negligible. She goes on to argue that the, â€Å"research suggests that the effectiveness of a prevention  program is determined by several characteristics of the programs. The leader may constitute  one of those characteristics† (p. 1018). Community involvement is a very interesting area of study and one that has been widely covered. In the past few years there has been a realisation that for any form of social change there has to be involvement from more than one source. There is also a realisation that individual communities know how to best deal with their own problems. This is why the UK government has devolved so much to a local level, from the creation of Primary Care Trusts to dealing with the problems that alcohol abuse causes, there is an understanding that communities know best how to tackle their problems. The methods used can vary considerable from community to community but they may include media campaigns, community task forces and parental intervention (Holder, 2004). It might be helpful to look at one such example of a community led intervention program in the UK. The Broad Street Business Improvement District (BID) in Birmingham is one such example of a community led intervention program. This program was initiated in 2005 as a response to anti-social problems caused by the large number of bars and clubs on Broad Street and also the disproportionately high number of alcohol related deaths in the region (Rao and Kemm, 2006). This partnership is made up of many local agencies such as property owners/developers, business representatives, the city council, the police, the leisure forum, and the city centre neighbourhood forum. The BID have undertaken several projects which according to their annual report included, â€Å"(a) street wardens (b) additional street cleansing (c) floral dressing (d) marketing programme (e) communication and public relations (f) safer business area (g) lighting and gateway features (h) a business led partnership†. The results from this community led intervention have been largely positive. Crime has dropped in t he Broad Street area by almost 60% between June 2005 and May 2006. A survey conducted in 2006 found that 78% of respondents felt that safety was good and 27% felt that it was safer than 2005. Although the Broad Street BID doesn’t completely relate to schools-based programs, it would be fair to assume that schools in the area will be benefiting from this improvement. Any sort of community involvement creates a greater sense of responsibility and even though this particular scheme is not directly targeting young people, it is surely having an impact on schools-based intervention programs. This essay has provided a broad look at schools-based intervention programs as a method of prevention of alcohol abuse. There is no doubt that this is an important role that schools play. However, some programs can be ineffective and have little or no impact. This essay has highlighted some of the characteristics of programs that are most likely to succeed. They should use interactive delivery methods, they should be based on the social influence model, they should be supported by the wider community and they should use peer leaders in conjunction with trained teachers. It is clear that in the UK we need to be doing more in our schools. The school is an important battleground when it comes to preventing alcohol and drug based abuse in the future. However, government figures would suggest that not enough is being done or if it is being done, it is being done in the wrong way. What this essay has hopefully demonstrated as well is that we shouldn’t just leave it to the schools to run these programs. Families and the wider community should also share some of the responsibility. All agencies involved need to be working in a co-ordinated fashion to try and support the work that the schools are doing. Although this critique has been rather broad in scope and not specifically related to the UK, it was felt that in order to give a more complete picture of the problems and opportunities encountered by schools-based programs it was best to utilize as much of the research as possible. As has been hopefully demonstrated, the schools-based approach does present with numerous problems, especially if done in the wrong way. However, with the right mix of components, these programs can have a lasting impact on children and young people and their attitudes to alcohol use. Perhaps it should be left to individual communities to decide what mix works best for them. The governments role should be supporting that through funding, training and providing additional components such as a media campaign. Bibliography and References: Botvin, G. J., Renick, N. L., Baker, E. (1983). The effects of scheduling format and booster sessions on a broad spectrum psychosocial approach to smoking prevention. Journal of Behavioural Medicine, 6, pp. 359–379. Broad Street BID, A brighter, safer, cleaner, the story so far, Annual Report, 05-06 Cuijpers, P. (2002). Effective ingredients of school-based drug prevention programs: A systematic review, Addictive Behaviours, 27, pp. 1009-1023. Dijkstra, M., Mesters, I., De Vries, H., van Breukelen, G., Parcel, G. S. (1999). Effectiveness of a social  influence approach and boosters to smoking prevention. Health Education Research, 14, pp. 791–802. Holder, H.D. (2004). Community action from an international perspective. In R. Muller and H. Klingemann (Eds.) From Science to Action? 100 Years Later, Alcohol Policies Revisited, pp. 101-112. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic. Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit. (2004). Alcohol harm reduction strategy for England.  London: Prime Ministers Strategy Unit Rao, J. Kemm, J. (2006). Alcohol in the West Midlands, a review of alcohol and alcohol services in the West Midlands. West Midlands Public Health Group. Rooney, B. L., Murray, D. M. (1996). A meta-analysis of smoking prevention programs after adjustment for errors in the unit of analysis. Health Education Quarterly, 23, pp. 48–64. Shope, J. T., Dielman, T. E., Butchart, A. T., Campanelli, P. C., Kloska, D. D. (1992). An elementary schoolbased  alcohol misuse prevention program: a follow-up evaluation. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 53,  106–121. Tobler, N. S., Roona, M. R., Ochshorn, P., Marshall, D. G., Streke, A. V., Stackpole, K. M. (2000). Schoolbased adolescent drug prevention programs: 1998 meta-analysis. Journal of Primary Prevention, 20, pp. 275–336. White, D., Pitts, M. (1998). Educating young people about drugs: a systematic review. Addiction, 93, pp. 1475–1487. Wynn, S., Schulenberg, J., Maggs, J. L., Zucker, R. A. (2000). Preventing alcohol misuse: the impact of refusal skills and norms. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 14, pp. 36–47.

The Problem of Teen Alcoholism in the United States Essay -- essays re

General View: It's very interesting that I find myself writing about something that not only is commonsense, but what is more, something that every one knows about in general but may not in particular. Alcohol use among teenagers is a serious problem and is responsible for death and injury in automobile accidents, physical and emotional disability, deterioration of academic performances, aggressive behavior that causes a number of other sociological problems in families and among friends. It is also the primary cause of criminal behavior and a leading cause of broken marriages. As we know it's a broad topic therefore I'll look at the role that alcohol plays in the society and it's impact on teenage addiction. MATTER OF CONCERN (Causes and effects) The age when young people are taking their first drink is becoming lower each year. Many studies show that preteens are experimenting with alcohol and many are already heavy drinkers (Cahalan 1997). It may be difficult for parents and teachers to believe that a seventh grade student can have an alcohol problem, but a study of student drinking practices shows that 5% of seventh-grade boys and 4.4% of seventh-grade girls are seriously abusing alcohol (Royce 1996). That's why we see the consequences in terms of antisocial behavior, school failure, attention deficit, learning disabilities and road accidents among the teenagers. THE MAIN CAUSE †¦..MEDIA. Despite the problems caused to young and old by alcohol, society sends mixed signals to its youth. Media presents alcohol drinking with peers as not only acceptable but also to insure friendship and as a romantic beverage. Movies present a realistic picture of alcohol abuse. A report by "scientific analysis corporation" examined drinking practices on television and found that out of 225 programs 701 alcoholic drinking acts were recorded which were against the voluntary code (Jean Lennane,1995) of the liquor industry. The code states that: a) Any actor shown drinking must be over the age sixty. a) Any drinking shown should be natural, sensible and responsible. a) Ads should not suggest that drinking alcohol contributes toward social, sexual or supporting success or as being a pre-requisite of relaxation. a) Ads should not challenge or dare people to consume alcohol. We can see the ads any night and judge rather how many don't... ...ries in traffic accidents, loss of productivity, child abuse, broken homes and other serious societal problems linked to alcohol. REMEDY: In my suggestion, an intensive education program supported by the community with qualified persons and also supported by the government in terms of financial support can positively change the attitudes and cause significant change in knowledge about alcohol. Schools can play an important role to initiate education and preventive efforts because they reach more students than any other place. It also involves complete commitment with extensive planning. ********************************************************************* REFERENCES  · Grant 1996,adolescent drug abuse, vol 76, pgg 84,85.  · Cahalan 1997, underage use and abuse of alcohol, pg 87  · Royce 1996, alcohol,the national hangover, pg 44  · Jean Lennane 1995, alcohol, pg 56  · Alcohol, the facts, 1997, Australian government publishing service,pg148  · Key Healey, 1997,Alcohol, The facts, pg 176 ADDITIONAL READINGS  · Gall T.L., 1996 , Statistics on alcohol use,gale research inc.  · Alcoholism, 1998,vol 64, Neil kessel and Henry Walton.

The Three Unique Characters of Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher Es

The Three Unique Characters of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher In Edgar Allan Poe’s, â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher,† the three characters are the unknown narrator, the narrators old time friend Roderick Usher, and Roderick’s sister Madeline Usher. The three characters are unique people with distinct characteristics, but they are tied together by the same type of â€Å"mental disorder†. They all suffer from insanity but they each respond to it differently. Roderick and his sister seem to have a spiritual attatchment, and the narrator begins to get sucked into it. The narrator is called for help by his old time friend Roderick Usher. There is a split feeling in the narrator’s mind between the rational and the supernatural. When he first arrives to the house, he sees a face in the tarn, a split crack in the house and the double image of his own face on the image of the house. Unlike Roderick, the narrator appears to be a man of common sense. He seems to have a good heart in that he comes to help a friend from his boyhood. Being educated and analytical, he observes that his friend Roderick has a mental disorder. The narrator tries to find scientific explanations for what Roderick senses, but when he can’t find one, he criticizes Roderick for his fantasies, and claims that Roderick is â€Å"enchained by certain superstitious impressions in regard to the dwelling which he tenated†. The narrator tries his hardest to help but he can’t because he ...

LINDA TRIPP: I’m you. . . I’m just like you. Really Linda? I don’t think so! :: Essays Papers

LINDA TRIPP: "I’m you. . . I’m just like you." Really Linda? I don’t think so! Linda Tripp, due to her key role in the Impeachment Scandal has become one of the most controversial figures in current politics. Is she a villain or is she a hero? Looking at Tripp’s actions before, during, and after the Impeachment Scandal the question arises; were these actions legitimate or were they improper? An important factor in answering this question is the audience’s reaction to Tripp’s behavior along with an analyzation and critique of her actions. "Psychological criticism" is the method that will be used to evaluate Linda Tripp. This "attempts to analyze the effects of the rhetorician’s character, intelligence, and sincerity as perceived by the audience." (Campbell, Critiques of Contemporary Rhetoric. 1972, pg. 29) One must look at how Tripp portrays her image to the audience, how Tripp attempts to put herself in a favorable light, how Tripp blames her opponents, how Tripp creates an impression of sincerity, how Tripp identifies herself with the "experiences, values and attitudes of his [her] audience" (Campbell, Critiques of Contemporary Rhetoric. 1972, pg. 30) and the way in which Tripp discounts personal biases and interests. Based on these questions and the opinions of the audience one can judge Tripp’s role in the Impeachment Scandal. Tripp portrays her image to the public by identifying herself as the normal, average, American citizen. When speaking with the press on July 29, 1998 Tripp repeats the statement, "I am you" in four slightly different forms. Tripp speaks about how she ended up in her current predicament and her response is, "I’m you." This is immediately followed by, "I’m just like you. . . I never asked to be placed in this position. Because I am just like you." At the end of her statement she says, "I am no different than you" (Text of Linda Tripp’s Remarks, July 29, 1998, Washington Post, pg. 1&3) This technique removes Tripp for the spotlight for a moment. It asks the audience to relate her to the "girl next door" or in her case just your, "everyday single mom trying to do the right thing." The taping of the phone conversations amongst her Lewinsky can easily be explained by Tripp. "I [even] thought of it as my patriotic duty." (NBC, Today Show, "Linda Tripp Speaks About her Motives in Recording Monica Lewinsky’s Phone Conversations" February 12, 1999) LINDA TRIPP: "I’m you. . . I’m just like you." Really Linda? I don’t think so! :: Essays Papers LINDA TRIPP: "I’m you. . . I’m just like you." Really Linda? I don’t think so! Linda Tripp, due to her key role in the Impeachment Scandal has become one of the most controversial figures in current politics. Is she a villain or is she a hero? Looking at Tripp’s actions before, during, and after the Impeachment Scandal the question arises; were these actions legitimate or were they improper? An important factor in answering this question is the audience’s reaction to Tripp’s behavior along with an analyzation and critique of her actions. "Psychological criticism" is the method that will be used to evaluate Linda Tripp. This "attempts to analyze the effects of the rhetorician’s character, intelligence, and sincerity as perceived by the audience." (Campbell, Critiques of Contemporary Rhetoric. 1972, pg. 29) One must look at how Tripp portrays her image to the audience, how Tripp attempts to put herself in a favorable light, how Tripp blames her opponents, how Tripp creates an impression of sincerity, how Tripp identifies herself with the "experiences, values and attitudes of his [her] audience" (Campbell, Critiques of Contemporary Rhetoric. 1972, pg. 30) and the way in which Tripp discounts personal biases and interests. Based on these questions and the opinions of the audience one can judge Tripp’s role in the Impeachment Scandal. Tripp portrays her image to the public by identifying herself as the normal, average, American citizen. When speaking with the press on July 29, 1998 Tripp repeats the statement, "I am you" in four slightly different forms. Tripp speaks about how she ended up in her current predicament and her response is, "I’m you." This is immediately followed by, "I’m just like you. . . I never asked to be placed in this position. Because I am just like you." At the end of her statement she says, "I am no different than you" (Text of Linda Tripp’s Remarks, July 29, 1998, Washington Post, pg. 1&3) This technique removes Tripp for the spotlight for a moment. It asks the audience to relate her to the "girl next door" or in her case just your, "everyday single mom trying to do the right thing." The taping of the phone conversations amongst her Lewinsky can easily be explained by Tripp. "I [even] thought of it as my patriotic duty." (NBC, Today Show, "Linda Tripp Speaks About her Motives in Recording Monica Lewinsky’s Phone Conversations" February 12, 1999)

Explain and assess Haidt’s ‘moral foundations’ theory

Introduction This essay will explain and assess Moral Foundations Theory (MFT), which was originally developed by Haidt, and which he has since worked on with a number of collaborators. The first part of this essay will outline the philosophical background of the theory, especially its relationship to Continental rationalism and British empiricism. This will be followed by an explanation and description of Haidt’s Social Intuitionist Model (SIM), which provides the essential mechanism by which MFT functions. Next will come an unpacking and explanation of the general claims of MFT, and the specific foundations it postulates. Finally, there will be an assessment of some of the various critiques of the theory, during which its strengths and weaknesses will be considered. It will be concluded that MFT is a strong theory on the whole, which builds on firm philosophical and scientific foundations and provides good descriptive representation of moral systems. MFT rejects the rationalist notion th at morality can be accessed by a priori reason. Put simply, there are four main justifications for this: (1) there are two cognitive processes that occur in humans – reasoning and intuition – the former of which has been overemphasized; (2) reasoning is frequently motivated by other concerns; (3) the reasoning process tends to construct post hoc justifications, even though we experience the illusion of objective reasoning; and (4) moral action covaries with moral emotion more frequently than with moral reasoning. This is the heritage of Continental philosophy, whose champions were figures such as Descartes and Kant. The philosophical forerunners to MFT were the British empiricist philosophers, especially Shaftesbury, Hutcheson, Hume, and Smith. These men believed, to quote Hume, ‘that Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them.’ In philosophy, this position now falls with in the school of intuitionism. This ‘refers to the view that there are moral truths and that when people grasp these truths they do so not by a process of ratiocination and reflection but rather by a process more akin to perception.’ The social element comes in because intuition occurs in relation to other people. As Haidt puts it, ‘when faced with a social demand for a verbal justification, one becomes a lawyer trying to build a case rather than a judge searching for the truth’. Based on this intellectual heritage, Haidt developed the ‘Social Intuitionist Model’ (SIM). It is important to explain this properly because the ‘SIM is the prequel to MFT’, and provides the mechanism by which the latter works. There are a series of links in the SIM that explain how people relate to moral problems. The first is the intuitive judgement link. ‘The model proposes that moral judgments appear in consciousness automatically and effortlessl y as the result of moral intuitions’. The second is post hoc reasoning. This entails moral reasoning (rather than judgement), which is an ‘effortful’ process in which individuals search for support for an existing, intuitive moral judgement. Research has revealed that ‘everyday reasoning is heavily marred by the biased search only for reasons that support one’s already-stated hypothesis.’ The third is the reasoned persuasion link. This is the process by which the individual verbalises their reasoning in an attempt to persuade others of the validity of their already-made position. This reasoning can sometimes affect the views of others, but this rarely happens because moral judgements are not based on logical arguments but on intuition. It has been hypothesised that persuasion, when it occurs, is effective because it elicits new intuitive judgements in the listener. The importance of using affective persuasion to change affectively based attitu des has been demonstrated by Edwards and von Hippel. The fourth is the social persuasion link. Due to the fact that people are so receptive to the development of group norms, ‘the mere fact that friends, allies, and acquaintances have made a moral judgment exerts a direct influence on others, even if no reasoned persuasion is used’. This may indicate only outward conformity on occasion, but researchers have shown that private judgements can often be directly influenced by the views of others. There are two additional links that are hypothesised. One is the ‘reasoned judgment link’ by which people may at times reason their way to a judgment by sheer force of logic, overriding their initial intuition’. This tends to occur, however, when the ‘initial intuition is weak and processing capacity is high’. In other cases, it frequently leads to a kind of dualist way of thinking, where reasoned judgment is revealed verbally but the intuition cont inues to operate. Interestingly, on this point MFT diverges from the moral theory of Hume and the argument from pure intuition. If this link does exists, there is no explanation of how one can reason their way to a set of premises or axioms that can be used to support logic argument – unless, of course, they reason in a circle. The other link is the ‘private reflection link’, through which moral reasoning can have an indirect causal effect on moral judgement by triggering a new intuition. This is said to be why role-taking is so effective in creating new moral judgments. As Haidt puts it, ‘Simply by putting oneself into the shoes of another person, one may instantly feel pain, sympathy, or other vicarious emotional responses.’ MFT makes several broad claims, which will be presented here in no particular order. Firstly, it rejects the assumption of monism that all moral systems are ultimately reducible to a single goal or principle, most commonly gene ralised as forms of ‘justice’, ‘pleasure’ or ‘happiness’. Instead, it is pluralist and contends that there are numerous (but finite) basic values or virtues. As Isaiah Berlin put it, ‘there is a plurality of ideals, as there is a plurality of cultures and of temperaments.’ This is derived from the fact that it is heavily influenced by evolutionary biology, especially the concepts of kin selection and reciprocal altruism. It also builds on more recent work by de Waal (1996), Ridley (1996), among others. As there are a multitude of adaptive challenges faced by human beings, it seems likely that there are also many different mental tools fitted for a variety of purposes. The second claim is intuitionism, which has already been discussed at some length. To reiterate briefly, it is the assertion that ‘moral judgments, like other evaluative judgments, tend to happen quickly’, without any considerable regard for reasoning or drawn out evaluation. This aspect is encapsulated by Haidt’s (2001) SIM. Moral reasoning (as opposed to moral judgment) is generally utilised for strategic purposes in order to ‘to explain, defend and justify our intuitive moral reactions to others’. The third claim is nativism, which is the belief that there is a set of innate predispositions within human beings (‘innate’ in this case means ‘organized in advance of experience’). These are determined by genetic inheritance, but the ‘first draft’ of moral development is malleable and is changed during childhood and to an extent even during adulthood. Graham et al. employ the metaphor of writing a book, distinguishing between nature’s ‘first draft’ and the ‘editing process’ that begins with experience. Morality, therefore, ‘is innate and highly dependent on environmental influences’. The belief that nature has installed a kind of à ¢â‚¬Ëœpreparedness’ in certain species, one of which is humans, is suggested by studies of rhesus monkeys conducted by Mineka and Cook (1988). Graham et al. (2012) ‘think of this innate organization as being implemented by sets of related modules which work together to guide and constrain responses to each particular problem.’ The final claim is that morality is influenced by cultural learning. This takes places through a set of ‘learning modules’, which are innate and can be used to build on one’s genetic inheritance. For example, the tendency to bow in deference or respect is common to many cultures, but this is adapted to locally-specific cultural contexts and by ‘the time a Hindu girl reaches adulthood, she will have developed culturally-specific knowledge that makes her automatically initiate bowing movements when she encounters, say, a respected politician for the first time.’ In an American household, however, this foundati on might be dropped early on. Despite both girls starting off with the ‘same sets of universal learning modules†¦.the universal (and incomplete) first draft of the moral mind gets filled in and revised so that the child can successfully navigate the moral â€Å"matrix† he or she actually experiences.’ Different societies use different foundations to build their moralities, and some use all of them. MFT, therefore, is an intuitionist theory contending that human moral systems are the combination of innate predispositions and cultural learning. Additionally, judgements are made rapidly on the basis of a plurality of in-built mechanisms, which have been ‘hardwired’ into humans over the course of our species’ evolution. The rest of this essay will present, explain, and assess, in no particular order, the specific foundations postulated by MFT. There are supposedly five or six empirically supported ‘foundations’ for moral judgemen ts, but MFT allows for others being discovered in the future. The first is the care/harm foundation. Human offspring ‘are unusually dependent, and for an unusually long time’ and the intuitive reactions of females have been ‘optimized to detect signs of suffering, distress, or neediness’ for the purpose of raising more offspring. ‘The original triggers of the Care/harm foundation are ‘visual and auditory signs of suffering, distress, or neediness expressed by one’s own child’, but they can be activated by other children, baby animals, stuffed toys with childlike qualities, or descriptions of suffering. This foundation leads to the creation of terms such as ‘kind’ and ‘cruel’, which are valued differently by different cultures (e.g., classical Sparta vs. Buddhist societies). The second is the fairness/cheating foundation. Social animals face non-zero-sum games in which it is advantageous to cooperate. Creat ures ‘whose minds are organized in advance of experience to be highly sensitive to evidence of cheating and cooperation, and to react with emotions that compel them to play â€Å"tit for tat†, had an advantage over those who had to figure out their next move using their general intelligence.’ Social partners with reputations for certain types of behaviour are therefore labelled with words such as ‘fair’, ‘just’, and ‘trustworthy’. The third is the loyalty/betrayal foundation. It was advantageous for our ancestors to form cohesive groups when competing for territory and resources. This same behaviour can be seen in troops of chimpanzees. So humans have developed an innate predisposition to form groups. This manifests today in numerous areas, from nationalism to sports and brand loyalty. The fourth is the authority/subversion foundation. Dominance hierarchies are common among many primates, and the ability to recognise and rea ct by forming strategic relationships yielded an evolutionary advantage. Modules of the human mind in this foundation explain why we submit to many useful but constraining societal structures, such as the police force and political leaders. The varied development of this foundation explains why different societies (modern-day China vs. America) or groups (social conservatives vs. liberals) value authority in different ways. The fifth is the sanctity/degradation foundation. Human evolution carried adaptive challenges, such as moving from tree-based to ground-based living, living in larger, denser groups, and eating more meat, some of which was scavenged. This exposed us to a greater number of pathogens and parasites, and we therefore developed a pre-emptory, in-built sensitivity to factors other than the ‘sensory properties of potential foods, friends, and mates.’ ‘Disgust and the behavioral immune system have come to undergird a variety of moral reactions, e.g., t o immigrants and sexual deviants’ There are numerous criticisms of MFT, most of which are directed at one of the four main claims undergirding it: nativism, plurality, cultural learning, and intuitionism. One problem with nativism, for example, is that it is difficult to determine the extent to which the mind is ‘hardwired’. As Graham et al., put it: ‘opinions range widely from minimalist positions, which say that there is hardly any writing on the â€Å"first draft† of the mind, to maximalist positions such as massive modularity’ Indeed, the ambiguity here has led some to criticise MFT, and nativism in general, on the grounds that it lacks empirical neuroscientific evidence for the existence of modules. However, this is not reasonable at present. Given that the field is yet to ‘find a set of genes that, collectively, explains 5% of the variance in how tall people are what chance is there that anyone will find a set of genes that code fo r mental modules (such as loyalty or sanctity) whose expression is far more subject to cultural influence than is height?’ There is also considerable criticism of the emphasis MFT places on intuitionism. For example, some argue ‘that that intuition and reasoning are best seen as partners in a dance, in which either partner can lead and the other will follow.’ However, whatever the prominent role of reason, this seems misleading at the very least. As has been referenced already in this essay, and as Hume showed in his Treatise, it is not clear how reason can establish the first principles from which logical argument follows. Moral axioms cannot be given a logical foundation, and to the extent that they exist in nature and are ‘hardwired’, they cannot be expressed. Therefore, they are beyond realm of reason by their very nature. To say that reasoning can lead when it is necessarily guided by intuitive first principles is therefore unsupportable. Intere sting critiques come from the monists, who disagree with the pluralism hypothesis. Gray et al. believe that the care/harm foundation is the only one that is truly foundational. Graham et al. (2012) call this Procrustean, citing the fact that certain moral judgements, such as disgust, appear not to be accounted for by the care/harm foundation. Their confidence in this matter, however, is arguably misplaced. Disgust over, say, a dirty environment could be seen as a cause of harm. Perhaps those creatures with a predisposition to avoid unclean environments encountered fewer pathogens, for example, or were at less risk of being exposed to small but dangerous creatures such as spiders and snakes. Clearly, emotions, such as disgust, can potentially be explained by the care/harm foundation. The difficulty here arises in attempting to make bold comment about the way our ancestors perceived the links between various phenomena and their effects. While it is possible to argue that matters of di sgust have little to do with harm, perhaps there is link that has not yet been discovered. Some critics suggest that there should also be an oppression/liberty foundation. This is the potential sixth foundation being worked on by Haidt. Others point to the fact that MFT might be missing a waste/inefficiency foundation. These critiques focus on the particular pluralisms chosen for MFT. This is really a matter of fine-tuning, rather than any fundamental. This essay has sought to explain and assess Haidt’s MTF. It has emerged that its central claims are extremely well-founded. The SIM has strong roots that date back to the empirical tradition in Britain and which still have not been successfully overturned. With the developments in psychology, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology, both intuitionism and nativism rest on firm foundations. There are philosophical and other objections that can be targeted at the pluralism element of MFT. This is not to say that it is incorrect but rather that the confidence with which the claim is made is not justified. This essay has not sought to address deontological critiques of the MFT. There are those who would argue that MFT is asking the wrong questions, namely what morality is rather than what it should be. However, given that this problem was so adequately dealt with by Hume in his Treatise, it seems appropriate that scholars building on his legacy should develop a descriptive moral theory instead. Bibliography Berlin, Isaiah, ‘My intellectual path’ in H. Hardy (ed.), The Power of Ideas 1-23, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001 Bruner, Jerome, The process of education, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1960 Davis, Jody L.., & Rusbult, Caryl, E. ‘Attitude alignment in close relationships’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81 (2001), pp. 65-84 Edwards, Kari., & von Hippel, William, ‘Hearts and minds: The priority of affective versus cognitive factors in person perception’, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21 (1995), pp. 996-1011. Graham, Jesse, Haidt, Jonathan, Koleva, Sena., Motyl, Matt., Iyer, Ravi, Wojcik, Sean P. and Ditto, Peter. H, ‘Moral Foundations Theory: The Pragmatic Validity of Moral Pluralism’, Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (2012) Gray, Kurt, Young, Liana, and Waytz, Adam, ‘Mind perception is the essence of morality’, Psychological Inquiry, 23, (2012), pp. 101-124 Greenwald, Anthony. G., and Banaji, Mahzarin. R, ‘Implicit social cognition’, Psychological Review, 102, (1995), pp. 4-27 Haidt, Jonathan, The righteous mind: Why good people are divided by politics and religion. New York: Pantheon, 2012 Haidt, Jonathan, ‘The Emotional Dog and Its Rational Tail: A Social Intuitionist Approach to Moral Judgment’, Psychological Review, Vol. 108. No. 4 (2001), pp. 814-834 Joyce, Richard, The Evolution of Morality, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2005 Mineka, Susan, & Cook, M., ‘Social learning and the acquisition of snake fear in monkeys’, in Thomas. R. Zentall & John. B. G. Galef (Eds.), Social learning: Psychological and biological perspectives (pp. 51-74). Hillsdale, N. J.: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1988 Narvaez, Darcia, ‘Moral complexity: The fatal attraction of truthiness and the importance of mature moral functioning’, Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5 (2010), pp. 163-181 Perkins, David. N., Farady, Mike., & Bushey, B., ‘Everyday reasoning and the roots of intelligence’ in Voss, James F., Perkins, David N., and J. W. Segal (Eds.), Informal reasoning and education (pp. 83-105). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1991 Skitka, Linda J. ‘The psychological foundations of moral conviction†, in Wright, Jennifer and Sarkissian Ryan H (eds) Advances in Moral Psychology (pp.267-281), Bloomsbury Academic Press, 2010 [Accessed 09/03/2014] http://tigger.uic.edu/~lskitka/Foundations.pdf Suhler, Christopher. L., & Churchland, Patricia, ‘Can innate, modular â€Å"foundations† explain moralityChallenges for Haidt’s moral foundations theory’, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 23(9) (2011), pp. 2103-2116 Williams, Bernard, ‘Rationalism’ in P. Edwards (Ed.) The encyclopedia of philosophy (Vols. 7-8, pp. 69-75) New York: Macmillan, 1967

Customer Service Strategy of British Airways Essay

British Airways is one of the worlds leading airlines with a network that provides passenger and freight services to 149 destinations in 72 countries. Its airline network is centered on the United Kingdom where 85% of its 47,500 workforce is based. The mission of the company is to deliver services that matter for people and how to fly. In order to achieve or realize this mission; British Airways recognizes the importance of working in partnership with its stakeholders. This has significantly influenced its approach to corporate social responsibility. The main reason why the company has decided to engage CR is to help it achieve its long-term strategic goals in providing growth opportunities around the health airport Today most companies are redesigning their operations and management style in order to increase customers satisfaction and productivity. With the introduction of the new technology, a lot of changes have been brought in the business environments. Different companies are coming up with various types of new information and technology in order to improve their businesses. This paper therefore utilizes the various tools  Ã‚   of writing a research proposal to investigate how the new technology has made British airways company to improve the way it serves its customers what should be noted is that the success of any organization will depend on the quality of customer service skills employees have. The company has not been left out in coming up with new method s of satisfying its customers. Communication more efficiently If we consider the number of immigrants (passengers) visiting United Kingdom from east and central Europe, it can be said that the company has realized a lot of benefits. However the company needs to do a lot in order to attract more passengers and tourists into the region. To date many tourists are raising questions about security measures and long lines made when booking for flights movements from major cities to the air ports has also not been possible. This research proposal has therefore been developed to investigate the efforts the company has put forward to improve customer satisfaction which covers the area of booking, traveling to the Airport in order to catch up with time and finally security measures that have been taken. This is because terrorism and drug trafficking has been mentioned as public enemy number one in the region. Passengers or tourists would not like to risk their lives when cases of terrorism are high. This means that the company needs to address the issues of tight security to ensure that its customers are protected.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In any research proposal there must be an area dealing with significant of study that is the rationale of the study (Gill and Johnson, 1997). The company to make some adjustment in order to improve their services and attract more customers will use the information on the study. The government will also use the information to address areas that needs provision of services such as upgrading public transport system, security and provision of social amenities. Research question   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The research question in this study will focus on the way the British airways company has improved its services to attract more customers and serve its customers better (Veal, 1997) .The following research questions will be used to assist in directing the study in this given area. The questions are as follows. Are there changes in the way passengers are served at airports?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2) What measures should be taken to ensure that security and safety of passengers  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   are provided by British Airways? 3) Is there any link between public transport and airports to improve passengers’ satisfaction in order to reduce congestion? 4) What should British airways do in order to grab the biggest share of this growing market? Objectives of the study   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This research proposal is on investigating how British Airways has tried to improve the service to passengers. According to Clark (1998) the objectives of any study should be specific, smart, realistic and time bound.   The specific objectives on the study will be: To evaluate the safety and security measures taken by airports and airlines security department to ensure passenger are protected. To find out the measures taken to promote easy movement of passengers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   (3) To investigate how the company has tried to address the issue of customer satisfaction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   especially passengers. Hypothesis of the study   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hypothesis developed in this paper will be used to provide a general answer to the problems being searched on. However these hypotheses are subjected to clarification where by they will be tested to confirm whether they are true or not (Johns and Lee-ross,1998). The following alternative hypotheses therefore have been constructed to achieve objectives stated above. H2: Online booking of tickets has been developed to improve services offered to passengers. H3: Public transport has been established to help in easy movement of passengers from and to the airports. H4: Security has been increased to ensure that passengers are protected from any threats. Literature review Literature review is one of the most important aspects of a research proposal (Hart, 1998). It involves reviewing the existing literature in order to a void wasteful duplication of work other researchers had previously done. It is divided into three sections whereby the first section deals with online booking, second section deals with modification on transport and last one on security measures. Online ticketing   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The effects of the new technology have been seen in the air transport sector. To date it can be said that online shopping has become a feature of modern life. Passengers who are traveling using air transport can now take or find their tickets through the use of Internet (Debra and Colin, 2003,p7). They can further customize their tickets by adding meal preferences and self selected seat numbers to make them feel satisfied. The new technology has also made it easier for airlines to communicate information to passengers very easily about conditions attached to fares and about general conditions of carriage (Arnold, 2004). This has led to reduction of cases of inconveniency during travel (Finn, Elliot and Walton, 2000)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A number of airlines are now shifting from traditional way of obtaining tickets to modern way where online shopping is encouraged. For instance easy Jet has ensured that over 98% of its bookings are made online (Rigas, 2002,p31). The Internet according to passengers has made booking of air tickets much easier than ever before. Among the advantage it has include saving time, and money since passengers will tend to avoid agents premiums and booking fees. Passengers therefore have time to make their decision on what to pick on. Online ticket sales by region Region    Own Airline Web-site All online Channels E-tickets issued             Industry average 11.0% 14.5% 19.1% North America 29.5% 37.1% 41.4% Europe 15.2% 16.0% 20.7% Asia Pacific 7.6% 10.2% 16.5% Source: Airline Business, July 2004 The table above shows the increase in passengers using online tickets during travel by British Airways. Travel to airports   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Must of the passengers using air transport have not recognized the need to use public transport in order to get to and from the airport. This has led to congestion on surrounding roads. To reduce the congestion on the roads passengers are encouraged to use pubic transport to avoid being late. Many passengers do have bulky luggage and at the same time they will be required to be at the airport at a given time (Magalia, 2000). Use of surface access links should therefore be encouraged especially by travelers undertaking inter-urban journeys for business, non-work/leisure community and freight that are using links which are not directly connected with the ports or airport (Stabler, 1997,p17).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Managing directors and chief executive officers of the various airlines and airports have also encouraged the use of Buses and coach services to airports in order to reduce congestion and provide a public transport service to those for whom rail is not available option. These services are offered twenty four seven to increase efficiency and effectiveness when handling customers (Danny and Barbara, 2002,p11). The bus and coach services are made easily accessible and available from the airport and drop-off points, which are also well placed at strategic points. The Transport for London (TFL) for instance had agreed that bus stops and bus stations were to be located as close as possible to passenger objectives, including terminals and work places. The investment in coach and bus facilities that are well placed will attract more passengers to use the air transport more frequently, which in turn will lead to improved development of airline business (David, 1995). Airport officials currently are working with public transport operators to harmonize the linkage between airports and other cities and towns in the country (Fredrick, 2006,p25). Good infrastructure development is one of the indicators of economic growth of a given country. When links to the airports are many well established those who will be traveling will also be many.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The use of Rail transport has also led to some significant improvement but still premature. The breakdown of modes of transport used by migrants from UK airports shows low levels of rail use. However the low level of rail use can seriously change when new facilities are provided. For example the building of Docklands light Rail link into city Airport has resulted in 49% of passengers using Dhr therefore leading to an increase in public transport usage from 31% in 2003 to 50% in 2007 which off course was recognized as one of the highest rail mode-shares at any airport in the UK (Danny and Barbar, 2002,p9). Security and Safety issues   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The need for strong and tight security measures was realized on 10 August 2006 when police officers tried to stop a suspected plot to blow up several planes leaving the UK, possibly using liquid explosives carried on board in hand luggage (Fredrick, 2006,p28). Around twenty people were arrested but the greatest challenge was to introduce a new technology that could detect any dangerous weapon carried by passengers. Restrictions on hand luggage were introduced whereby passengers were only allowed to carry a small range of essential items such as prescription medicines in but in recommended quality. In the beginning the introduction of these restrictions led to the widespread disruption to flights departing from all UK airports including the cancellation of many flights. Passengers are only to carry one small bag without any liquid or gels onto their flight (Frank, 2005,p16).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When we talk of security, most passengers have developed negative attitude towards using air transport because of security threats. The security issue has affected airline business and it is now the major problem that airlines should address (Melanie, 2003). Among the problems include longer queues, increased waiting times to go through security and increasing intrusion for passengers. In UK the situation is even worse in airports with large numbers of transferring passengers. Most of the airlines have been forced to cancel their flights because of security threats. For example British Airways announced in September 2006 that the August alert had cost them â‚ ¤40 million losses from the business (Joby, 2003). Further losses were also experienced since more funds were to be used in coming up or implementing effective measures. The airlines are everyday becoming more frustrated at the continuing difficulties at security points (Stephen, 2002,p84). This calls for the assistance of Government and airport operators in order to ensure that UK airports are able and capable of handling unexpected events (Harold and Evra, 1994,p7).            . Data Collection method.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This chapter deals with how data on study will be conducted. Basically two methods will be used that is administering questionnaires and interviews. Five students in one of the universities in London will be selected taking a degree in airline and airport management to assist in collection of data. These students will be given a thorough training for two days in relevant questions in the questionnaire. A total of five passengers will be interviewed. The CEO, transport manager and security officer will also be interviewed. The sampling method for picking passengers will be randomized clustered sampling. Data collection method and techniques   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Interviews will be conducted where the interviewers will have with themselves a set of questions to be asked and answered. They will be expected to have undergone thorough training on both the method and meaning of each item on the questionnaire. The students will also be expected to be familiar with the different airports and airlines in UK and piloting of the questionnaires will be done first to test for construct validity. Data collection procedures.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Data collection procedure will be through questionnaire and interviews. The interviewers in order to carry out the study will be trained on the topic of study will conduct direct face to face interviewers with the sample population stated above with the assistance of a well prepared questionnaire to elicit response and ensure consistency. Four categories of responses ranging from very satisfied (VS), neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (NS), very/fairly dissatisfied (VD) and don’t know (DN) will be used. Limitation of the study   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The survey will deal with different people from different cultural background. The interviewers may have problem of winning the attention and trust of passengers. Difficulties in convincing them to be free and honest may arise. Lack of adequate funds may also hinder the success of the study for it to be completed in time. Work Plan Phase Activity Time 1 Choosing study topic and looking for objectives and hypothesis 10/11/2007 – 20/11/2007 2 Research design Developing, questionnaires 25/11/2007 – 30/11/2007 3 Developing literature review chapter and reading books 02/12/2007 – 04/12/2007 4 Writing chapter on research methodologies 07/12/2007 – 15/12/2007 5 Finding the relevant research tools 20/12/2007-24/12/2007 6 Preparation and presentation of finding 25/12/2007 – 30/12/2007 7 Write up of the report 01/01/2008 – 05/01/2008 Structure of the questionnaire    Very/ fair satisfied (%) Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (%) (ND) Very dissatisfied (%) (VD) Don’t know (%) (DN) Public transport link to airport             Number of destination served             Cost of flight             Airport security             Airport facilities             Level of flight delays             Information about flight at airport             Check in times             Local services provision and Access             Bibliography Arnold, D.C (2004). Lt. Gen, Forests. S Mc Cartney. The First Space Professional; Air power History, Vol 51 Clark, M (1998) Researching and Writing Dissertations in Hospitality and Tourism. London. Thompson Business press David, J (1995) Filling up The British Experience, 1896 – 1940, Journal of Design History, Vol.8 Douglas G.P. & Richard, W. B. (1999).   Contemporary Issues in Tourism.   New York: Routledge. Debra J. & Colin, T. (2003).   Issues in cultural Tourism.   New York:   Routledge Danny, M. & Barbara, D (2002) Public Relations Cases:   International Perspectives. New York: Routledge Frank, P. Harvey. (2005).   Canada Addition to American Security; The Illusion of Choice in the War on Terrorism (1,2); American Review of Canadian Studies, Vol. 35 Fredrick. M. Burkale Jr. (2006). Globalization and Disaster, Issues of public health, state capacity and political Action, journal of international Affairs, Vol. 59 Finn, M., Elliot-White, M. and Walton. (2000). Tourism And Leisure Research   Ã‚   Methods. Harlow, Essex: Pearson education. Gill, J & Johnson, P. (1997). Research Methods For Managers 2nd ed. London:   Ã‚   Paul Chapman Harold, F. O. & Evra, L.B. (1994).   Technology Assessment in software Application.    London Lawrence Earl Baum Association. Hart, C (1998). Doing A Literature Review. London Gage Publication Johns, N & Lee –ross, D (1998). Research Methods in Service industry Management. London Cassel Joby, J. (2003). Fundamental of Customer – Focused Management; Competing through service; Westport CT: Praeger Magalia, D. (2000). Barrier and Incentives to the Adoption of ISO 14001 firms in the United States, Duke Environmental law & Policy Forum, Vol.11 Melanie, K.S. (2003). Issues in cultural Tourism. New York. Routledge. Rigas, D. (2002). Flying off Course:   The Economic of International Airlines. New York: Routledge. Stabler, M.C. (1997). The economics of Tourism. New York: Routledge. Stephen L. Baird. (2002).   Biometrics â€Å"Security Technology: It is important for students to understand that Technology can be used as part of a solution to a problem. The technology Teacher Vol. 61 Veal, A.J. (1997). Research In Tourism And Leisure: practical Guide. London: Financial   Ã‚  Ã‚   Times, pitman

The Debate

Catrin, a schoolgirl, 15 years of age enters. â€Å"My mind just gives me a headache! Why cant life just be simple, with no worries, yeah, I'm talking to you up there. You know what I'm saying! Why cant you give me some thanks once in a while. I'm still alive, I think I deserve some gratification for that, don't you think? It's really hard work living with that evil brother of mine and putting up with mum's winging, but I'm sure you know that, because your always watching over me, apparently. Don't you get bored up there watching everyone all day? (Sits down to think) I wonder what it's like up there, you know, in heaven? I don't suppose I'll ever go there anyway, because I'm a naughty girl, really. My mum has said it so many times that I'm starting to believe it! Mind you I'm not as naughty as my brother, my naughtiness is just fun and harmless, but I'm sure that my brother has malice in his naughtiness! He plays his shooting games on the computer as if he were actually enjoying blowing somebody's brains out! Sick, really sick, I always annoy him by chanting, â€Å"You're a mental psychopathic murderer!† And then his eyes glow a fierce red and my legs start to quiver and my brain hurts because its ashamed of the mistake it has just done. My mum seems to always stop the fighting just before it gets going; she has this talent, after all that's what parents are for! (Gets up and puts her hand on her head, moving position every now and then) Oh, why does life have to be so unfair! Why can't I win the lottery or become famous? I would absolutely love to be the next Faith Hill or the next Madonna, but there's no hope I suppose, after all I'm hopeless! I can't sing to save my life! I'm useless, let's face it brain. I'm thinking whether to sit (and be a swot) and work or sit and be a couch potato and watch telly all night? Such a hard decision, isn't it brain. What shall I do? My conscience says ‘Cats, sit and write with pride your English homework!' While the devil inside me says ‘Cats man, live life to the full, chill and relax in front of the box!' My head hurts and it feels as if its been torn in two, oh! ‘Chill', ‘Work!' ‘Chill', ‘Work!' Oh god, help! Ok, let's try a different approach. What would mum want me to do? She would definitely want me to do my homework; she always says how important my education is, just because she wasted hers as a child. My answer to her is that you learn from your mistakes, and so if I make a mistake and waste my education, then I'll learn! Clever isn't it! Well-done brain! (Sits with legs crossed, leaning back on the chair) I wonder if other people sit and debate their lives with themselves like I do. Maybe I'm the only one, I could be famous and I don't know it! Imagine the headlines ‘Girl debates with her own brain!' Wow, what a thought! What was I thinking of before going off on some wild tangent? Ah, yes I remember, am I to do my homework or go and watch telly, I still haven't decided! I know, I'll try another different approach, what would Grandma want me to do? Definitely, without a doubt she would want me to do my homework. That's two against one, now! Ok, what would my friends want me to do? They would say go and watch the telly, much more educational in their view. Now it's all-square again, mum and grandma against my friends and me! Oh, why cant life just be simple! I know I'll just go to bed!

Professional Abilities Essay

There are several organizations for each professional for example: teachers, social workers, accountants and business owners just to name a few. Then there are sororities and fraternities which consist of all of these professionals in one melting pot. The professional organization which I will describe in the paper is the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). As an employee in a Child Care Facility being apart of this organization can help improve my career if I choose to become the director in a few months. The following paragraph describes the history of the organization and what it has done for the early childhood program. As a mother of 5 with 4 attending school in the public school system this organization is in the public eye and moving forward with efforts to improve the early childhood system and help teachers, parents and congress to understand how important our children’s education should be to us. I can join this organization and help to change laws that can have an impact for not only my children but also grandchildren, nieces, nephews and the children that attend my Childcare facility my eyes could be open to new information, meeting people from all aspects of life at the national meetings and even go to Washington DC to help influence them to increase the funding, or make changes to existing policies regarding early childhood education. NAEYC’s mission is to serve and act on behalf of the needs, rights and well-being of all young children with primary focus on the provision of educational and developmental services and resources. National Association for the Education of Young Children has become the nation’s premier organization for early childhood professionals—setting research-based standards and providing resources to improve early childhood program quality, enhance the professional development and working conditions of program staff, and to help families learn about and understand the need for high quality early childhood education. Through position statements, work with other organizations, and its national voluntary accreditation system, NAEYC has been the leader in promoting excellence in early childhood education for all young children from birth through age 8. NAEYC’s roots extend to the 1920s when professional researchers and educators began organizing nursery schools for young children. Concerned about the quality of the proliferating programs, Patty Smith Hill identified a multidisciplinary group of 25 individuals, among them Arnold Gesell, Lois Meek (Stolz), and Abigail Eliot, to consider the need for a new association. A public conference was held in Washington, DC in 1926. By 1929, the group was organized as the National Association for Nursery Education (NANE) and had published its first book—Minimum Essentials for Nursery Education. In 1964, NANE was reorganized as the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Also that year, the federal Head Start program was launched, focusing public attention on preschool education. In the early 1980s, concern about the quality of early childhood services available to the burgeoning numbers of families seeking child care and preschool programs for their young children led NAEYC to begin planning a national voluntary accreditation system for early childhood programs. NAEYC’s work in developing position statements and setting standards for different aspects of early childhood education continued throughout the 1990s. The National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development focuses attention on improving the quality of preparation and ongoing professional development for teachers of young children by providing a place to learn from researchers about new developments and evaluations of pedagogy, curriculum, assessment, and teacher education. By its 75th anniversary in 2001, the association was engaged in a project to reinvent its accreditation system (scheduled to be fully implemented in 2006). Funding provided by a variety of contributors has been instrumental to the success of this effort. In addition, a comprehensive restructuring of its affiliate groups (most of which successfully re-affiliated in 2004) had also been launched. Interest Forums were established as a membership benefit in 2001 to encourage communities of learning on issues related to the NAEYC mission. Funding provided by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation enabled NAEYC to establish the Supporting Teachers, Strengthening Families project to prevent child abuse and promote children’s healthy social development by helping teachers better communicate with families on difficult issues. The Association also adopted standards for professional preparation associate degree programs in early childhood education and launched plans to develop an accreditation system for these institutions. This effort has been generously supported by a number of contributors. The results of earlier efforts to build the Association’s policy presence are clearly visible in 2004. Affiliates and members receive training, technical assistance and resources to help them improve the capacity of their efforts to promote good public policies and investments in affordable, high quality early childhood education programs. NAEYC is recognized as a leading voice in Congress and in state capitols on what is needed to help improve early childhood programs and services for all young children and their families, ranging from child care and Head Start, to early elementary grade reading programs and appropriate assessment. Early childhood educators look to NAEYC for journals, books, and other resources that combine a solid research base and information and features that make them highly accessible and useful for practitioners, teacher educators, and policy makers. NAEYC Conferences continue to be the meetings that just can’t be missed, serving a critical convening function for the early childhood profession and providing a valuable professional development opportunity. Approaching its 80th anniversary, NAEYC is proud of its traditions, but also looks to the future. The Association is committed to becoming an ever more high performing inclusive organization that invites all individuals, families, communities and organizations to work together to improve the lives of all young children. They offer an Associate Degree Accreditation Program too many Universities that have programs in Early Childhood to make sure they are preparing their students for their career. They also offer Early Childhood professionals resources to improve their practice through training and professional development. After reading all the above information we should all be apart of this type of organization that cares greatly for the education system that our child (ren) participate in on a daily basis.

Marketing Communications & Branding Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Marketing Communications & Branding - Essay Example As part of analyzing the success story of ALDI, the company’s target market will be identified followed by examining the type of marketing communication tools the company is using to promote the corporate brand. After discussing the key external factors that may have affected ALDI’s brand, ways on how these factors could alter the company’s decision to select the best marketing communication tools will be tackled in details. The target market of ALDI includes people of all gender who are the price conscious, decision-maker, and purchaser of grocery products. Regardless of sexual orientation, financial standing in life, or educational background, the target market of ALDI includes people of all ages. In order to promote the ALDI brand to its target consumers, ALDI is using a wide-range of personal and non-personal communication channels such as company website, social networking sites, and mobile advertising (Grill, 2008). With the use of the company website, ALDI regularly reminds the people that ALDI as a company is a brand that offers affordable consumer products. This particular marketing strategy is effective in terms of keeping price conscious individuals loyal to the brand ALDI. As a result of having a positive experience with regards to the company’s product prices and the quality of customer services, it is the customers who share their personal experiences with other people. With regards to the company logo, initial ‘A’ in ALDI’s logo reminds the people that they can easily purchase a wide-range of affordable products simply by visiting the company’s store sites (ALDI, 2010 a). (See Logo below) Establishing a strong brand is important in terms of making the ALDI’s target consumers feel more associated and stay loyal with the brand. In line with this, public news report could either help increase or decrease the reputation of a brand such that a good publicity could encourage more buyers to stay loyal with the brand