Mechanics at Its Finest: An Annotated Bibliography Essay

â€Å"According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job prospects for mechanics who complete postsecondary education training programs, such as those offered by trade schools and community colleges, should be good, while those with only a high school education will have a more difficult time†. Joseph, Chris â€Å"Benefits to an Auto Mechanic.† Demand Media. Ehow, 15 Aug. 2003. Web. The Bureau of Labor suggests that the benefits of becoming and automobile mechanic are much higher as you proceed to college. A credible and educated mechanic is going to get hired over an aspiring mechanic. College makes the chances of you getting a higher paying career more likely. Being educated in this type of field is critical to the work environment. If you are not educated the likely hood of a mistake is extreme which could cost you or the company that you are working for a large amount of money. College is recommended when going into mechanics but is not always a necessity depending on the shop or company hiring you. â€Å"Mechanics with five to nine years of experience earn between $13.98 and $20.40 per hour. Those with 20 or more years of experience can earn from $17.81 to $24.94 per hour as of 2010. Joseph, Chris â€Å"Benefits to an Auto Mechanic.† Demand Media. Ehow, 15 Aug. 2003. Web. Like any job opportunity the more experience that one has will aid your ability to find a higher paying job. Mechanics pay is off of an hourly wage and the shop fee. If you are a mechanic and you have experience then you can get jobs done quicker which in turn makes you a higher profit compared to an inexperienced mechanic who takes longer to complete tasks. The mechanics field is like a ladder. The faster you get the more money you make so the more equipment you can buy. By having your own shop and high end equipment you will become better known to the community and you will rece ive more clients. â€Å"One of the best things about being a mechanic is that you are doing something new every day†. Cahn, Jeff â€Å"Reasons to Become a Mechanic† List My Five. Auto Repair, 21 Oct. 2011. Web. If you are a person that craves to always be doing something new this is the job for you. Day to day you are always working on cars but you are not always working on the same cars or replacing the same parts on a car. This career choice comes along with a lot of problem solving. If something does not go as planned you have to figure out a way around it but still be able to fix the problem. â€Å"In order to succeed as a mechanic, you have to be constantly learning. This is not a field where you can just sit back and hope for the best. There is always something new to learn. Mechanics have always had to grow and adapt, from carburetors to fuel injection and now to hybrids. Now they have laser ignition systems in the works. If you stop learning, you stop earning†. Cahn, Jeff â€Å"Reasons to Become a Mechanic† List My Five. Auto Repair, 21 Oct. 2011. Web. Cars have evolved over time as mechanics have been forced to evolve. A repair might be presented to you that you have never accomplished before or that you are not familiar with but you still have to fix dilemma that is purposed to you. If you decided that you can’t do the work because you stopped learning or you don’t want to make the mistake you are losing money and some other shop is going to get the business. You have to keep an open mind and learn constantly as cars get more complex. In this field of interest you need to have a good memory on how to resolve predicaments. In turn if you do not remember how to resolve a particular problem, the time you spend trying to remember or trying to learn again is money that you are wasting, because shops basically operate off of a flat rate. This is the amount of money paid by the customer up front, for a certain amount of hours. The only way to make a profit is to finish within or before the set amount of time is up. â€Å"There is a great satisfaction in seeing a car come in on a tow truck and leaving the shop with the customer driving it home because you fixed it. As they say, â€Å"Enjoy what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life†. Cahn, Jeff â€Å"Reasons to Become a Mechanic† List My Five. Auto Repair, 21 Oct. 2011. Web. If you enjoy helping people and making their life easier than this is a good job for you. When you help someone that needs their car for daily activities it is a great feeling knowing that their life was put on hold and you are the one that made if resume. To be a mechanic you need to have good communication with people. If customers come is and aren’t able to pay the flat rate you have to be able to compromise and not lose business or the trust of you custome rs. If you earn the trust of the customers and show them that this is your passion and it’s not all about the money they will most likely come back to you instead of another shop. â€Å"While most shops don’t offer the normal benefits — medical/dental/vision/401K, etc. — you do get the benefit of being able to work on your vehicles at a discount. You pay the shop cost for parts and you are the labor. You can keep your family’s vehicles up and running cheap. Cahn, Jeff† â€Å"Reasons to Become a Mechanic† List My Five. Auto Repair, 21 Oct. 2011. Web. Most jobs come with the benefit of health and medical insurance. Mechanics does not have that option. Although a high risk job of getting injured it is not a complete deal breaker. Mechanics have the advantage to help friends and family out with maintaining their cars to save them money. With the money that you save on car repairs for your family you can buy separate insurance for about the same cost. Perhaps you own your own shop you will have the option of getting and supply medical coverage for you and your employees. Even though mechanics doesn’t have a fantastic insurance plan it is not a deal breaker for people with a passion for cars. Not to mention when you get credibility in the industry, nicer and more expensive cars will come in to be worked on. This job is definitely not the most beneficial but is not the least either. Mechanics make decent money according to how well they work and how fast they get the job done. If you feel like you have to do something different every day or you feel like you need to always be busy this is the career for you. This career is all about learning and fixing. Mechanics is a great deal of manual labor, lifting, replacing, and fixing everyday problems that are presented to you. There will always be a demand for Auto mechanics because of the growing car market. More and more cars are made every day which creates a demand for mechanics. Mechanics is my passion and my love and with all my knowledge I hope to help the community.

The Colonial Experience in West Africa

The Twentieth Century brought with it vast changes for the peoples of West Africa. The yoke of colonialism bound them together into a new political, economic, and social order. It was as if hundreds of years of history had suddenly ended, and begun again anew. In the wake of the Berlin West Africa Conference, in 1885, the great powers of Europe – Britain, France, Germany, and even Portugal and Belgium – had carved up West Africa among themselves. European overlords either completely replaced, or else adopted a â€Å"supervisory† position over the native African authorities. Proud kingdoms, like those of the Asante, Benin, and Dahomey, found themselves forced to adapt or disappear, as West Africans struggled to make sense of a world that had been turned completely upside down and inside out. For â€Å"inside out,† could easily describe the reversal of economic roles that came along with European conquest. Formerly, European traders had stayed close to the coast, allowing the African rulers and merchants to supply Europe and her New World colonies with slaves and other â€Å"merchandise. The British had finally succeeded in ending the slave trade some years before, and many of the coastal kingdoms of West Africa had languished as a result. Some had been almost wholly dependent upon the trade in human beings – now there would have to be new sources of revenue. For the most part, these new sources of income would be developed by Europeans who would exploit West Africa's people and resources for the benefit of their home countries. However, the Africans would also learn from their new masters. Some of them would obtain a Western education, or work to introduce the ideas of the modern industrial world to Africa. European science, technology, education, political, economic, cultural, and religious ideas would all have a profound impact on West Africa. The pre-colonial relationship between Europeans and West Africans was one of mutual trade. In the first half of the Nineteenth Century, Europeans vastly increased their purchases of palm oil, and also continued to buy tropical hardwoods, while Africans received the products of Europe's industrial revolution: cotton and woolen textiles and iron. 1 It was only as direct European influence began to increase that economic conditions were gradually modified. The introduction of cocoa by European missionaries in the 1860s, led to its becoming a major cash crop and primary export by the earliest period of European colonial domination, around 1900. Gold and coca were the mainstays of the economy in the Gold Coast (now Ghana). To keep up with their seemingly insatiable demands for these and other products, the British, French, and other others, introduced more modern techniques of production. In particular, they employed industrial methods of mining, and built railroads and port facilities to enable a vastly increased flow of goods. Yet it would be wrong to think that was no African response to changed economic conditions. Already, in the late 1800s, African merchant families, such as the Sarbahs, began to encourage rubber production: In contrast to the palm oil trade, the rubber trade, because of a greater monetary return per unit of labour input and weight, drew into its orbit thousands of producers from the deep interior, including Sefwi, Kwahu, Asante and the distant states of Brong-Ahafo, all more than 100 miles from the coast. The rubber trade also gave rise to a new group of middle-men or broken from the Fanti states, Asin, Denkyera, and Akim, who carried the trade to the further limits of the forest zone and in so doing accelerated the extension of the cash economy. Rubber became a major export with shipments totalling well over one million pounds volume in 1886; and by 1893, the Gold Coast ranked first among the rubber exporting countries of the British Empire and third in the world. 3 Africans were, therefore, fully able to adapt themselves to European conditions in order to increase the size and extent of their markets, even if this necessitated adopting new techniques, and even entirely new crops, like rubber. On the down side, an economy based on growing and harvesting rubber latex caused significant social upheavals. The influence of the coastal mercantile families and kingdoms waned in favor of inland economic interests. 4 Families like the Sarbahs expanded their trading networks deep into the Interior, opening up branch story, cajoling purchasers, and further turning economic focus toward the one paramount crop. They also became increasingly dependent on fluctuations in the European market. 5 Furthermore, the conflict between European sponsored economic development, and meddlesome European control can be seen in the 1920's Gold Coast, where British Governor Guggisberg pursued a policy that was in many ways detrimental to the future of the African peoples under his control: Anti-modernisation, anti-urban, and anti-development. Regulations and barriers against innovation proliferated†¦. Official policy did nothing to encourage the emergence of a commercial middle class. Its effect instead was to establish a highly formidable machinery of bureaucratic control†¦. The most damaging effect of colonial policy on the ground was the way in which it hindered the emergence of a ‘native modernizing cadre', one result of which ‘was to divert into long and bitter anti-colonial struggles much brilliant talent which could have been used creatively in development sectors'. 6 The subordination of African interests to European profits condemned West Africans to economic backwards through lack of skills and genuine opportunities. The lack of skill and opportunity open to native West Africans leads naturally to a discussion of European education and the new horizons it presented. Prior to the era of colonial domination, West Africa's peoples had had little contact with Western ideas, except for he occasional interactions with Christian missionaries. The states, large and small, of West Africa had been universally pre-industrial, and had possessed nothing in the way of modern communications, transportation, or even the kind of complex educational and political institutions that existed in the Christian and Muslim worlds. Missionaries were the first to introduce Western educational methods into West Africa: For them education took place in schools, where obedient pupils listened to teachers, took examinations, and received diplomas certifying knowledge. Discipline was important, not only to make the children study, but also to mold desirable habits and (that was usually considered to be even more important than learning itself). 7 On the whole, Western education extended only to teaching subjects that Europeans thought would be useful to their â€Å"charges. Vocational training was sufficient for people who would never have to govern themselves. 8 Nevertheless, an exposure to the Western academic tradition inspired many African families to push for a higher level of education for their children. â€Å"Few pupils wanted to undergo the cost and the hardship of study, only to be prepared for a rural life and a low living standard. † 9 In the 1930's, in French West Africa, Colonial Government officials began to formulate a new approach that appeared to look forward to a synthesis of the European and Native traditions. France's redefined mission civilisatrice [civilizing mission] was to be fulfilled†¦ by teaching the subject populations how to live according to â€Å"authentic African traditions,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ This vision of France's role overseas as the protector of indigenous cultures in the colonies challenged earlier presentations of the colonial mission that had presented France as the bearer of â€Å"European civilization† and â€Å"French culture† destined to bring Africa out of the â€Å"darkness† in which many late-nineteenth-century colonizers claimed its people lived. 10 The French administrators went so far as to strongly encourage African arts and crafts, sponsor African festivals – even to teach Africans â€Å"how to be African†(! ). In order to avoid contamination by native teachers already trained in the earlier European methods, the French actually brought in teachers from France to lead the Africans in the study of their native West African culture; these teachers being observed leading Natives in local folk dances, etc. 11 Such plans represented an interesting attempt to keep Native elites loyal to France, while at the same time, well-rooted in their Native lands and cultures. Ostensibly, such practices would avoid the â€Å"stateless† quality of Africans educated under the earlier system. Nonetheless, exposure to European educational and economic ideas – even when those ideas were fused with African traditions – could not forestall an African thirst for greater freedom and opportunity along European lines. Colonial rulers often imposed a dual system of justice – a European one for major offenses, and a Native one for those offenses deemed minor by the Colonial Authorities. The French, early on, abolished the Native courts and legal system, except in rare cases, while even under the British, it was quite clear that Native justice was distinctly secondary to the â€Å"real† justice of the Europeans. 12 Dichotomies such as these further entrenched notions of West African inferiority. The French instituted a policy of not interfering in African customs and culture, as long as those customs did not conflict with the French aim of achieving some sort of â€Å"evolution† among Africans. 13 It was taken utterly for granted that African culture was inherently inferior to French civilization. By contrast, the British authorities endeavored to maintain equilibrium by combining traditional African smallholder society with the demands of the British Cocoa Board. Rural West African society was to be maintained at all costs to prevent a breakdown of the social order, such as occurred when jobs were scarce and peasants left for the cities in the hope of finding work. There, oddly enough, the British actually encouraged the growth of an urban petit bourgeoisie in the dream of preventing rebellion. With the collapse of world markets during the Great Depression, urban and peasant unrest increased – with the noticeable difference that now a radicalized bourgeoisie was available to lead that unrest. 14 In short, the European colonial administrations of West Africa both helped and exploited Africans. With their thirst for profits, and a belief in the superiority of their own institutions, technology, and culture, they dreamed of â€Å"advancing† the native population while at the same time keeping that population economically productive, and under firm European control. Yet in so doing, they introduced many attributes of the modern world to the peoples of West Africa. European notions of development, education, and justice split traditional African life into separate public and private spheres – especially for those who embraced European learning and techniques. 15 The divide that grew up between Europeanized Africans, and those who have remained closer to their traditional ways of life remains a problem even today. One of the lasting legacies of European Colonization in West Africa was this impartial transformation; this creation of a society existing in two worlds, trained properly for neither. Once opened to the full force of the industrial (and later post-industrial) economy, the traditional African economy could not compete. At the same time, not enough West Africans were educated, in the European sense, to provide the skills and leadership to easily lead their people into a new era. European rule has left West Africa with many choices, not all of them good.

What is art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

What is art - Essay Example It is difficult for an ordinary person to understand the essence of the pictures and the idea of Witkin. My gut reaction to the series of the pictures was quite emotional, because it comprises much dark colors and strange combinations. The pictures seem quite weird to me and my emotional response was more negative than positive, though there was something in them, which attracted my attention. It made me feel that way, because it had very strong symbolic meaning. The obvious thematic and formal qualities of the works are people, darkness and suffering. The pictures also contain symbolic combinations of different items, for example fruits and cut arm (â€Å"Anna Akhmatova†), a unique combination of skeleton and arrows in it (â€Å"Queer Saint†), representation of naked woman with cut legs and fingers (â€Å"Humor and fear†) and so forth. There are some elements, which make the pictures significant. The people, represented on the pictures by the author are always n aked. It greatly contributed to these works, because they represent the native spirit of the human being, his origination. The method, used by the author, makes the works more real and sensual. The works of Witkin are very alike with the pictures of such famous painters as Francisco Goya, Frida Kahlo, Botticelli and others. The visual sense of the works is revealed through the religious influence. The word â€Å"Redemption† expresses the act of forgiveness, which clears everybody from the past sins. â€Å"Love and Redemption† belongs to the fine art, photography. The compositions are influenced by the Baroque style. They can be described as religious, informative, confusing and distracting, because the main (usually dark) plan of the photo distracts the attention of the viewer from the main idea. I associate these photos with the following metaphors â€Å"body constriction†, â€Å"travelling pain†. It reminds me

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Procrassss - Essay Example Another procrastination problem I might face is meeting the deadline for this semester. Looking at the past, I have had to postpone critical deadlines. The other problem I have is socializing a lot in school which makes me push forward my revision time, mostly during lunch breaks and in the evenings (Learning Empowerment & Achieving Potential, 2010). Learning, empowerment, and achieving stipulated goals may help to overcome procrastination problems as discussed. The first thing is to reduce over-socializing at school since it minimizes accomplishment of tasks. Secondly, is to prepare myself to be productive and industrious. Further, it may motivate me to wake up early in the morning so that I can revise. Finally, always do what is right at the right time, and I will be able to accomplish my goal (Learning Empowerment & Achieving Potential, 2010). In conclusion, Procrastination is the thief of time. Since we are not victims of circumstances, anyone can overcome it. By learning from the above problems and solutions of procrastination, it is upon me to do, what is necessary at the right time (Learning Empowerment & Achieving Potential,

Pr 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Pr 3 - Essay Example Although all the above qualities are desired in a school leader, I believe it is not fair to expect one person to be good at so many aspects of work. This is the reason why â€Å"shared leadership† seems to be an effective idea to me. In shared leadership, the leader passes around the command to the team according to the demand of the job. This is according to Burns theory of Transformational Leadership, which he defined as the â€Å"ability to empower others â€Å".In other areas as well, it is known that after a limit, benefits like salary hike do not motivate the employees any more. The trick beyond that limit is to give them decision making power. The same is true in education as well. An effective school leader helps staff members by providing personal attention, encourages them to think out of the box and shows trust in them by making them a part of important decision making. Another theory that seems to be very appealing to me especially in education is the Servant Leader theory. Educational institutions in our world are generally seen as institutions made to serve the community. Although education is big business nowadays, still people like to think of it as a place which is not for profit but for the welfare of students. In countries like India, schools are considered sacred just like a place of worship. Keeping in mind this mindset of the society, servant leaders are very suitable for schools. These leaders want to serve first, and in the process of serving, they acquire the wisdom, skills and authority of a leader. They are caring, helpful and sensitive to the needs of both the teachers and students of their school and work towards their success by doing constant labor themselves. The leader that has had a major impact on me can be considered as belonging to the servant leader class. Just as the theory describes, this leader was not the principal or top official of the school but was at the center of the

No Topic No Style No Sources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

No Topic No Style No Sources - Essay Example For instance, as children, nature and nurture took its course by helping us graduate into reasonable and mature adults. A famous psychologist, Carl Jung once wrote about the concept of collective unconsciousness. It involved having the same view and memory on certain matters that were fundamental to the society. This relates to graduation in that it is a present day representation of the collective memories. It drives us to the next chapter in our lives. Every graduation converts students into adults in preparation for their next step in life. The vision in every graduation is to instill proper values such critical thinking and fair judgment which prepare them face different challenges in life. Graduation is a happy day for the people involved because their hard work is appreciated and rewarded. Besides, the community still has a role to play in guiding and welcoming the new graduates. It is a historical day as the graduate is able to reflect on his achievements and smile about them. Graduation marks the date most people are molded into better human beings as compared to the beginning of their

AS Unit F911- Communication in care settings Coursework - 1

AS Unit F911- Communication in care settings - Coursework Example This will include a detailed discussion of the reasons for using each skill. There will also be a discussion as to how care values are applied and integrated with the appropriate use of communication skills to show how service users are valued in the setting. In the previous report, it was commented that Meath (2006) cites Dozier from 1995 as saying the most effective means of communication is a two-way model that includes give and take. But what happens when the individuals who are participating in the care center activities are potentially frail, experiencing health problems, and may be unable to hear, see or truly communicate in response to a message given to them? Further research shows four communication skills recommended for use by service users and care workers. These skills go well beyond the simple two-way communications method cited by Meath (2006). The four communication skills are communication competence and confidence, communication skills for dealing with individuals age 65 and over, skills dealing with those cognitively impaired, skills for dealing with those with Alzheimer’s or dementia, and general communication guidelines for clients in a facility as referenced by Schockley-Zabalak (2002); Tam, IP, & Chan (2000). First, both Schockley-Zalabak (2002) and Tam, IP, & Chan (2000) point out that each party in the communication process needs to be equipped with communication competency. ... If the care giver is more of a shy person and the client is more out-going, there may not be an issue. Conversely, if the client is shy and the care giver is out-going, there will be no issue. But if a quiet or shy client is teamed with a quiet or shy care giver or either party is lacking confidence in their own communication skills this can lead to frustration or anger. The client may not return to the care center. With awareness comes personal growth. Reviewing the provided information can assist the care giver with communications tips and pointers on the common methods to use with those that may be in attendance at the day center. Second, Meath (2006) and PHAC (2009) provide communications guidelines to ensure specific steps are taken when communicating with seniors in care facilities of any type. This guide serves as an overall template for communicating with all clients. When in doubt as to the communications methods to use, or if there is no special health requirement or concer n, this would be the method to follow: Treat the client with respect and dignity. Involve the client in decisions as much as possible regarding activities. Do not talk about a client or family member if that person is present even if they seem unable to understand. Dialogue one-on-one with clients on a regular basis. If a client does not seem to understand what is happening or why, discuss the days’ activities in full as though they do. Provide opportunities for clients to give feedback and to ask questions. Listen to clients and repeat back to them your understanding of what you think you heard them say to ensure message given and message received. The third

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Scholarship Statement - Rail Club - Essay Example Visit me during my office hours when you can because I would like for you to learn about the operations program we have at Cal Poly.† That encounter caused a 180 degree turn in my academic orientation, resulting in a change of my major to operations management and finance. The study of operations management enabled me to find my true passion for a professional career. Upon completing the Long Beach masters program in May 2012, I will be qualified to work for in the transportation industry. My penultimate goal is to have my own logistics conglomerate so that I can provide services to small and medium size companies that have worthy products ready to make a presence at the international level. My choice to major in operations management emerged logically out of a number of drives and passions. Operations management suffuses my whole being with passion because it is an industry where one as a manager or executive is confronted with daily challenges to meet operational goals, which requires being open to constant innovation of the system. I personally like to challenge myself and solve problems because it allows for growth as a professional within the job. A fast-paced, innovative, constantly changing workplace appeals to me and resonates with me psychically. Operations management is also a place where inefficiencies can be found.

Theory without practice is fantasy but practice without theory is Research Paper

Theory without practice is fantasy but practice without theory is blind. Internships in organizations - Research Paper Example This could be the reason that students in universities and colleges are usually encouraged to apply for internships in organizations dealing with their various courses of study during school breaks over the vacation periods. Indeed, many students find it difficult to relate what they study in school and what they have to do in the real world of corporates. On the one hand, there are academicians who study trends and historical data to come up with solutions to problems in the real world, which can be adopted and used in practice. On the other hand are business executives and their workers who usually criticize academicians for coming up with solutions that are either too ideal, complex or which have too many assumptions to be applied in real businesses (March, 1994). This group approaches problem-solving through past experiences or by applying what is appropriate with the prevailing economic, political an social conditions. However, the reality of the matter is that none can exist wi thout the other, as summarized by Professor Vincent Ostrom in the above phrase. One important aspect that organizations’ managers usually deal with is decision-making. Many companies usually operate with the sole reason of making profits. This can only be possible by maximizing revenue while keeping costs down. The management of companies is usually tasked with the duty of making decisions that will lead to the above. However, decision-making is a very complex activity that requires more than just the basic knowledge of how the economic conditions prevail (Scott and Davis, 2007). In addition, wrong decision-making could deal a severe blow to a company which would take years to undo, failure of which the said company would go under. In this sense, decision-making requires the use of theories set out by people who have studied the process in order to be effective. Decision-making is further complicated by the fact that human beings are not always rational; hence they are prone to make decisions that are subjective rather than objective. One theory put forward to try to explain the decision making process is one called ‘Bounded Rationality’ put forward by Nobel Price winner, Herbert A. Simon in his paper Administrative Behavior which he wrote in 1947. In this theory, Simon points out that there are several reasons as to why it may not be easy for executives to make the most rational decision. One reason is due to the uncertainty of the future. Every decision made has a consequence which might be beneficial or harmful to an organization. Some of these consequences can be anticipated, but many more cannot be known at the time of the decision-making. Therefore, managers make what they perceive to be the best decision with the information they have at hand at the period, taking into consideration known risks (Herbert, 1947). Relating to this is the fact that decision makers cannot fully evaluate the worth of their decisions in the future, but only in the present. The third impediment to rational decision making is that decision makers need to be aware of all alternatives to the decision they are about to make (March and Herbert, 1958). This is not always available, making it difficult to choose the most optimal decision. With such theoretical knowledge, decision makers are in a better position to understand the decision-making process, hence be in a better position to defend their actions. Another illustration of Professor Vincent Ostrom’s phrase is applicable in the normal operations of a company. Companies usually spend large sums of money to train their employees and managers to

Paniqui Water Essay Example for Free

Paniqui Water Essay Dried water lily stalks woven into fine handicrafts became the livelihood of women, housewives, out-of-school youths, and senior citizens of Paniqui, Tarlac, Philippines. A wide range of products like shoes, sandals, slippers, bags, baskets, wallets, pouches, belts, trays, placemats, boxes, tissue holders and many others can be crafted by Paniqui folks using stalks of dried water hyacinths. The ample visibility and fast growth of this plant caused a problem of obstructing the flow of water as the region is traversed with many rivers, swamps, and creeks, causing flooding during heavy rains. The local government started this project with 25 weavers which increased to 50 within 12 months as demand from local and foreign tourists poured out. The BusinessOver a wide variety of handicrafts can be made from dried water hyacinths. It’s light yet strong fiber property can be woven to different products according to the clients’ preferences. Because it is organic, it can be used for packaging of goods which will substitute plastics that are non-biodegradable. The abundant yield of high quality dried water lily straws with the hard-working weaving skills mean that the plant harvesters and weavers of Paniqui have very good potential to enter the market of producing high quality hand-made water lily handicrafts in different designs and products. Furthermore, the same raw materials and weaving techniques can be applied to develop a range of good quality and attractive water lily fashion ware like slippers and handbags. The production of the water lily baskets and boxes would be undertaken by the Paniqui Women Association and the PAGASA Youth Association both recognized and supported by the local government. High quality fabric materials for fastenings, linings, gloss, water-proofing, and highlights were sourced from the locality. Production of water lily mats, trays and other handicrafts would enhance the quality and value of products produced by the local groups and should give in a major income increase for their own households. The target market for water lily handicrafts would be predominately the local market of wealthier Filipinos, overseas Filipino workers, expats and foreigners. The local government unit of Paniqui plans to engage on supplying water lily handicrafts for wholesale to a number of domestic distributors and retail networks. The aim of water lily boxes, baskets, and handbags will primarily be environment conscious consumers who do not use plastic bags or plastic containers. These consumers and other unaware consumers will be targeted through direct marketing and direct and indirect advertising campaigns backed up by the local government unit of Paniqui, the Provincial Government of Tarlac, and the Department of Trade and Industry. There are three main market targets for the water lily handicrafts. The target for the water lily fashion items (mostly handbags, slippers, wallet, etc.) will be established domestic handicraft wholesalers and retailers in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, as well as exporters for the United States, Japan, and European markets. It is anticipated that domestic sales to cater to the large tourism market all over the Philippine islands will make up the majority of water lily fashion item sales. The target market for water lily handicrafts (mostly lampshade, decorative household products, placemats, etc.) will initially be the Filipino community living abroad. This embodies a significant market, as there are many Filipinos working around the world-over 860,000 not mentioning Filipino immigrants, so the overall potential market size is large. The main potential competitors would be other communities all over the country who also started this water lily weaving project, as this is promoted by the Department of Trade and Industry to local government units with trouble with the pesky water plant. Another is handicrafts made of other indigenous materials. Water lily products could compete well on the basis of price with other indigenous materials as the raw materials are freely harvested. The distinctive promotion about the water lily products is that they are well crafted by hand utilizing indigenous materials and the designs are decorative emphasizing the Filipino heritage. Also, the use of the product is very helpful to the environment as it substitutes the use of plastic materials and at the same time ceases the clogging of flow of water on rivers and creeks. However, the selling price of the handicrafts is very reasonable. The handicrafts could also be made to order. The Entrepreneur Management The water lily project started as a livelihood program for the Paniqui women, out-of-school youths, and senior citizens organized by the Local Government Unit of Paniqui. Management is directed by the Municipal Mayor with the help of the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office. The Program is in coordination with the Provincial Government of Tarlac which also gives the needed promotional and advertising campaign with the national agency, the Department of Trade and Industry who assist the weavers for needed training and development. Development It started from 12 housewives to 25 women and youths and then to 50 within a year. Handcrafting eventually became a constructive activity for people who were once dawdling outside their homes playing cards and getting drunk the every day. Some weavers take their work at home with the whole family joining the making of the water lily handicrafts. While others chooses to work at the Paniqui Livelihood Center were materials are readily available. A household would earn roughly around three hundred pesos (Php 300) weekly during slack season and about six hundred pesos (Php 600) weekly during peak season. Before it became a livelihood program last August 2008, the conceptions for these water lilies are pests to the community as it hampers the flow of water in rivers and creeks during heavy rains causing flooding in the area. It is projected that by the fourth year of operation the total income for the workers from handcrafting activities could increase roughly 3 times by the year 2012.| Starting out as a backyard industry nearly a decade ago, the water lily handicraft business especially in Las Pià ±as City is booming as more people take notice of the wide range of products that can be made out of the plant that grow in abundance even in urban waterways. Some of these products were put on display at the 7th Water Lily Festival held on Thursday at Carnival Court, BF Resort Village, Las Pià ±as City, a brainchild of former Rep. Cynthia Villar that promotes water lily-based livelihood projects. These included baskets, trays, chests, bags, traditional bags (bayongs), hampers, cabinets, lamp shades of different shapes and sizes—and even a dining table complete with chairs. The smaller items range from coasters to slippers. But as an added demonstration of the plant’s artistic and commercial uses, the festival also featured a beauty pageant wherein contestants donned gowns fashioned completely from dried water lily stalks and leaves. â€Å"This goes to show that with creativity, you can do a lot with water lilies,† Villar said at the sidelines of the event. Villar noted that aside from providing livelihood for hundreds of families in Las Pià ±as, the water lily business has also cleaned up the city’s waterways. â€Å"The industry has become so successful our Zapote River is now free of water lilies and fish have begun breeding here again. We are now getting our water lilies from the Laguna de Bay, and I hope the lake will also be cleared of water lilies because of this business,† she said. Holiday season demand Sales go up during the holiday season when orders for popular Christmas gifts like baskets, trays, and ornamental pots shoot up. To cope with demand, the foundation hires about 100 more workers, in addition to the 50 who work during off-peak seasons. â€Å"It’s a very profitable business, especially since you really don’t need a big capital to start this up. You just need to harvest water lilies, dry them, and start working on them. So many workers become interested in this livelihood,† Torres said. How it works The recycling process is straightforward. Once harvested, the plants are dried under the sun and then cured in an oven. Then they cut, and bent around a wire frame and dyed before they are woven into craft articles. Step 1 Water Lily Stalk Harvesting Step 2 Sun drying Step 3 Oven drying Step 4 Wire cutting Step 5 Wire bending Step 6 Wire frame welding Step 7 Weaving Step 8 Trimming Step 9 Blow torching Step 10 Glue application Step 11 Varnishing Step 12 Finished product The finished items are tissue holders, baskets, hampers, and other products. Each item is sold per piece and the amount of money one takes home depends on one’s diligence. Because output is directly rewarded, workers are motivated to be more productive. Cynthia Villar highlighted the importance of water lily in improving the lives of Las Pià ±as residents by declaring the 27th of July as the day of the Water Lily Festival.

A Strong Corporate Brand Communications Essay

A Strong Corporate Brand Communications Essay 3. Explain how you might involve stakeholders in the development of a corporate brand, drawing on at least two instrumental approaches to stakeholder management and incorporatingunderstandings of authenticity in your answer. How would you evaluate the success of their involvement? â€Å"A strong corporate brand acts as a focal point for the attention, interest and activity stakeholders bring to a corporation† (Hatch and Schultz, 2001, P 1046). This essay will suggest that strategies to develop strong and sustainable relationships with stakeholders should at the heart of a brand development strategy that is focussed on enhancing reputation and ultimately the sustainability of a company. It will explain how analysis of stakeholder groups is critical to the success of this process. Two instrumental stakeholder tools will then be used to illustrate how such information may be gathered. The essay will then go on to explain that the information garnered from such an analysis could be used to inform stakeholder engagement strategies and the overall brand development strategy. The essay will conclude with a discussion about how issues with authenticity could jeopardise the development of these relationships and how, in the light of such problems, you can measur e the success and strength of such relationships in order to inform future efforts. Although this is not an essay exploring theories around the process of brand development, it is however important to begin by defining what is meant by a corporate brand if we are to understand how relationships with stakeholders can help in its development. My understanding of corporate branding is highly influenced by the work of Hatch and Schultz (2001) and (2003) and Schultz (2005) who describe a brand as a mindset that captures the essence of an organisations identity and what it stands for. They promote the idea that the focus of building a successful brand should be on developing relationships with all stakeholders, engaging them in defining who the organisation is and what it aspires to be( Hatch, 2005). Corporate branding can be best described as the process of creating, nurturing and sustaining mutually rewarding relationships between company, its employees and external stakeholders (Hatch and Schultz, 2001 and Schultz, 2005).By developing these relationships an organisatio n will be able to understand any incoherent parts of the brand that are weakening development efforts to achieve business goals (Hatch and Schultz, 2003). â€Å"When corporate branding works, it is because it expresses the values and /or sources of desire that attract key stakeholders to the organisation and encourage them to feel as sense of belonging to it. It is this attraction and sense of belonging that affects the decisions and behaviours on which a company is built. A strong corporate brand taps into attractive force and offers symbols that help stakeholders experience and express their value and thereby keep them active† (Hatch and Schultz , 2003, p.P1046). It not just theorists such as Hatch and Schultz (2001) that believe stakeholder relationship building activity is key is achieving a strong corporate identity. In the field of Corporate Communications Cornelissen (2004) stated that developing strong and sustainable stakeholder relationships can establish favourable corporate images and reputations will get these groups to behave in a way that furthers the organisations businesses objectives, such as getting customers to make a purchase or successfully convincing investors to grant financial resources. This essay draws on the research above as a foundation for arguing that the development of relationships with stakeholders should be at the very heart of any successful brand strategy. But how should one begin developing these relationships? The start of constructing any strategy involving the development of relationships with stakeholders should begin with an analysis of who they are, the nature of their stake and the values and beliefs underlying their own decision-making processes (Friedman and Miles, 2006). â€Å"In particular, the compatibility or incompatibility of values, identities, and belief systems between managers in focal organizations and stakeholder decisions-makers, and between different stakeholder groups† (Friedman and Miles, 2006, p.133). Starting from the point that the characteristics of stakeholders need be ascertained before any strategies for engagement pursued it is important to find the tools that allow us to do this. Cornelissen (2004) suggests two possible tools to help with this process: stakeholder mapping and reputation research. These not only uncover the identity of stakeholder groups and their relationships with the organisation but are able to display primary relationships and the patterns of interdependence between them (Cornelissen, 2004). Let us first look at stakeholder mapping. This is an area explored by instrumental stakeholder theory, which suggests how managers should act towards stakeholders if they want to further the interests of an organisation, which can be described as profit maximization and the maximisation of stockholder value( Friedman and Miles, 2006).This type of theorising supports the ideas espoused by Hatch and Schultz (2001), Hatch and Schultz (2003) and Hatch (2005) at the beginning of the essay and for this reason we will look in depth at how two specific instrumental stakeholder theories, developed by Mitchell Angle and Wood (1997) and Frooman (1999), can help organisations get to know more about their stakeholders and how to approach them. I would like to begin with the model developed by Mitchell Agle and Wood (1999) which suggests that different strategic responses to stakeholders can be chosen based on an analysis of the characteristics that these groups exhibit. The major contribution of this theory is its explanation of who stakeholders are and who they arent and why relationships with certain stakeholders should be prioritised over others (Friedman and Miles, 2006). Mitchell, Agle and Wood (1999) rate stakeholder groups using three criteria, power, legitimacy and urgency and the unique combination of these attributes then leads them to create seven different types of stakeholders, which vary in their level of importance to the organisation and therefore brand development strategy. Frooman (1999) supplements this work by looking at what might happen when there is conflict between a stakeholder group and an organisation and his models explains the strategies employed by stakeholders who want to change corporate policy (Friedman and Miles, 2006). Frooman (1999) suggests that during conflict power is the dominant attribute that will decide the outcome of any conflict, especially when an organisation is unwilling to compromise.   However, he does not define power in the same as Mitchell, Agle and Wood (1999). Instead of power through coercive, utilitarian or economic means (Mitchell, Agle and Wood, 1999), he believes power is defined by resource dependency theory (Frooman, 1999), as made famous by Pfeffer (1972) and Salancik (1979).   Pfeffer (1972) and Salancik (1979), cited in Friedman and Miles (2006), suggest that that it is a companies dependence of external stakeholders for resources that will determine stakeholders power and how they will use it to force their claims to be addressed. Using this as the basis of his thinking Frooman (1999) created a four way model of usage (continues to provide a resource but with strings) or withholding (where a stakeholder group withholds a resource) strategies, which can be executed directly or indirectly, when dependency of the stakeholder resources is low. Using both these two models you could start to create a picture of the identity of stakeholders, the nature of their stake, how to prioritise them and how they would behave when in conflict with the firm. But according to Cornelissen (2004) what is equally important to do at this analysis stage is to identify what reputation the organisation has with the groups you have identified. Although he doesnt present a theoretical model to achieve this he does suggest using practical quantitative and qualitative research techniques, such as focus groups. The result of this work will give the organisation a good idea of what stakeholders think of the organisation and how this matches with the organisations own views of its identity (Cornelissen, 2004). This would then suggest that an organisation uses the knowledge gained during the entire analysis phase to inform the development of focused stakeholder relationship programmes and the brand development strategy as a whole. Cornelissen (2004) suggests that the stakeholder analysis will help organisations understand whether current strategy is capable of dealing with the needs of current stakeholders and, if so, if the suggested direction proposed will deliver the desired results. From here the organisation can decide which stakeholders to address and develop engagement strategies that either change or consolidate their present position with them, according to any mismatches found. A similar process can be used in relation to the brand strategy. Hatch and Schultz (2001) explain that the images stakeholders have of who a company is and what it stands for can become part of what they can the strategic envisioning process. They suggest that the present views, behaviour, values and identi ties of stakeholders are likely to effect the direction of desired change and strategic vision of the organisation. Whether the results of the stakeholder analysis support the organisations current identity can have serious effects on any subsequent strategy as without such alignment efforts could be perceived as inauthentic Hatch and Schultz, 2003). At this point I would like to highlight how the issue of authenticity can affect an organisations assessment of its strategic options. ‘To be authentic commercially is to tap into the ‘geist of a particular group of people so that you, or the claims you make are accepted, trusted, and the consumers you appeal to are convinced (Fachet, 2009). Therefore, stakeholders ‘geist, which should have been identified during the stakeholder analysis, needs to be reflected in the core elements of a brand development strategy if stakeholders are going to engage with the organisation and carry out the desired behaviours needed by the organisation. Authenticity is the opposite to counterfeit and in an increasing unreal world consumers purchase based on how genuine they perceive an offering to be (Gilmore and Pine, 2007). Without this alignment between stakeholder expectations and the brand strategy, efforts are likely to be seen as inauthentic and therefore desired behaviours not o ccur. There is also a second but equally important aspect of authenticity that should be discussed at this stage within the planning process and that is whether the brand development strategy and the values promoted within it match the experience the stakeholder will have of the product, the service or the culture within the organisation. Edwards (2009) explains that authenticity is both communicated by an organisation as well as attributed by the consumers who digest this communication. Therefore, if the brand promise doesnt match reality then an organisation may be danger of being seen as inauthentic. Representation is likely to result in communications and products and the symbols that represent them that arent connected to their original context and by definition inauthentic (Goldman and Papson, 1998, cited in Edwards, 2009). To give an example, if a product or service is positioned as specialist when in reality it is not and the staff are presented as specialists when in fact their kn owledge is just around average then incompatibilities occur and the brand could be perceived as inauthentic. A perceived lack of authenticity is just one of the issues that could affect a brand and therefore it is important that all stakeholder relationships and brand development strategies are continually assessed to determine their impact. Cornelisson (2004) states that tracking and evaluation should be the final element of any strategy, showing how efforts have progressed the organisations goals. In light of what has been discussed in this essay the suggestion is that this should be done in two parts; a brand audit to find out what the brand actually stands for and an analysis of the extent and quality of stakeholder relationships. Keller (2008) developed a model for a brand audit which takes place in two parts; a brand inventory and the brand exploratory. The brand inventory is basically research into what a brand says it is and the exploratory finds out what stakeholders say it is. His model brings these elements together to show the difference between current brand experience and brand promise, if there is any. But equally important is an assessment of the quality of the relationships an organisation has with its key stakeholders. Many theorists have developed criteria by which to assess quality and extent of stakeholder relations, including Strong, Ringer and Taylor (2001), Zoller (1999) and Zadek and Raynard (2002).   However this essay would like to look at unusual approaches that arent covered by the theorists above; the principles developed by the Clarkson Center for Business Ethics (1999) and the Ladder of Stakeholder Engagement (Friedman and Miles, 2006). Firstly to the principles set out by the Clarkson Center for Business Ethics (1999). Researchers at this centre developed a list of seven principles of good stakeholder relations, beginning with recognising stakeholders and ending with acknowledging conflicts between their roles as corporate stakeholders and their legal and moral responsibilities to stakeholders. These principles are highly respected within literature on the subject and could therefore provide a useful guidance document for businesses (Friedman and Miles, 2006). It is for this reason that this essay suggests they would be a useful day to day tool to assess quality of engagement, offering guidance for how organisations can continue to improve practice. In contrast (Friedman and Miles, 2006) developed a 12 rung ladder of engagement that looks at the quality of stakeholder relationships from a stakeholder perspective. On the very bottom of the ladder is manipulation and at the very top is stakeholder control. â€Å"This can be used as a guide to match intention and what approach to use as well as moderating intention with the degree of influence that stakeholders have†. (Friedman and Miles, 2006). As demonstrated in this essay strong and sustainable relationships with stakeholders should be at the core of a brand development strategy. Their views and interests should be taken into account throughout every phase of the brand development strategy process; including the analysis, goal setting, and evaluation. Such consideration and engagement will help the brand to successfully enhance its reputation with these groups increasing the likehood of them carrying out the actions desired by the company. References Cornelissen, J. (2004) Corporate Communications: Theory and Practice. London. Sage Publications Ltd. Clarkson Center for Business Ethics (1999/2002) Principles of Stakeholder Management. Toronto: University of Toronto. Reproduced in 2002, Business Ethics Quarterly, 12/1: 256-64. Fachet, N (2009,) Authentic communications: Breaking the halo of distrust [Internet blog].Available from: http://text100.com/hypertext/2009/06/authentic-communications-breaking-the-halo-of-distrust/> [Accessed December 2009]. Friedman, A. and Miles, S. (2006) Stakeholders: Theory and Practice. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Frooman, J. (1999) Stakeholder influence strategies. Academy of Management Review, 24(2): pp.191-205. Gilmore, J.H. and Pine II, B. J. (2007) Authenticity: What consumers really want. Boston, MA. Harvard Business School Press. Cited in: Edwards L. (2009) Authenticity in Organisational Context: Fragmentation, Contradiction and Loss of Control.   In: Proceedings of the 59th Annual International Communications Association Conference, May 21-25, 2009, Chicago, USA , Ill, pp 1-15. Schultz, M. (2005) A cross disciplinary perspective of corporate branding. In: Schultz, M., Antorini, Y.M. and Csaba, F.F.   (2005) Corporate Branding: purposes, people, processes: towards the second wave of corporate branding. Denmark. Copenhagen Business School Press, pp. 23-57. Hatch, M. and Schultz, M. (2001) Are the strategic stars aligned for your corporate brand? Harvard Business Review, February, pp. 128-134. Hatch, M and Schultz, M (2003) Bringing the corporation into corporate branding. European Journal of Marketing, 37(7/8), pp.1041-1064 Keller, K.L. (2003) Strategic Brand Management-Building, Measuring and Managing Brand Equity. 2nd ed, New Jersey. Prentice Hall. Mitchell, R.K., Agle, B.R., and Wood, D.J. (1997) Towards a theory of Stakeholder identification and salience: Defining the principle of who and what really counts. Academy of Management Review, 22(4), pp. 853-86. Pfeffer, J. (1972). Interorganizational Influence and Managerial Attitudes. Academy of Management Journal, 15, pp. 775-790. Salancik, G.R. (1979). Interorganizational Dependence and Responsiveness to Affirmative Action; The Case of Women and Defense Contractors. Academy of Management Journal, 22/2, pp. 375-394. Strong, K.C., Ringer, R.C. and Taylor, S.A. (2001)THE* Rules of Stakeholder Satisfaction (*Timeliness, Honesty and Empathy). Journal of Business Ethics, 32/3. Pp. 219-230. Van Riel, C (1995), Principles of Corporate Communication. Hertfordshire. Prentice Hall. Zadek, S. and Raynard, P. (2002) Stakeholder Engagement: Measuring and Communicating the Quality. Accountability Quarterly, 19, pp.8-17. Zoller, K. (1999) Growing Credibility Through Dialogue: Experiences in Germany and the USA. In: Charter, M. and Polonsky, M.J. (eds.), Greener Marketing: A Global Perspective on Greening Marketing Practice. Sheffield. Greenleaf Publishing, pp.196-206.

Biography of Willa Cather Essay -- Biographies Authors Writers Essays

Biography of Willa Cather Willa Cather was born December 7th, 1873 in the Back Creek Valley of Northern Neck, Virginia. Her parents, Charles Cather and Virginia Bloak, both came from families that had lived in the region for generations. Their house was described as â€Å"full of bustling and many-colored life† (E.K. Brown 18) including Willa’s three siblings, neighbors, and the friends of the family who came around often. The people of the town were eager to help one another out. Willa spent much of her time divided between her father, whom she helped in the fields tending to the sheep, and going with her grandmother and friend Margie Anderson â€Å"on errands of mercy and medicine, or [with] her mother on visits to cousins, neighbors or dependents† (21). At age nine, however, Charles Cather decided to move the family and join his father and brother near Red Cloud, Nebraska. The moves were difficult for Willa, but in later years she never regretted the change. Red Cloud was a small, settled prairie town whose population was constantly growing from European immigration. The town was made up of primarily Scandinavian, Bohemian, and French immigrants who had come to work the land. The Cather family grew to include seven children while there, but Cather’s strongest influences came from older people in town: schoolteachers and neighbors who read with her and shared their libraries. Cather also met people like Annie Sadilek, a Bohemian woman credited with the inspiration for the character Antonia of Cather’s My Antonia. The entire town and atmosphere of Red Cloud served as the backdrop for most of Cather’s novels and short stories. She said herself that â€Å"the years from eight to fifteen are the formative period in ... ... Her life’s contribution to society is remembered and praise. Cather was a modernist, but more than that, she was an amazing writer whose novels and writings are relevant and still touch readers today as they did when she had first written them. Resource Page Great Websites: www.unl.edu/Cather : The Willa Cather Electronic Archive http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap7/cather.html : Perspectives in American Literature, a Research and Reference Guide www.ibiblio.org http://www.gradesaver.com/ClassicNotes/Authors/about_willa_cather.html Bibliography Brown, E.K. Willa Cather: A Critical Biography. Alfred A Knopf; New York: 1953. Jessup, Josephine Lurie. The Faith of Our Fathers. Richard R. Smith; New York: 1950. www.gustavus.edu, Scott Newstron, January 6, 2996, Harvard University, last updated March 5 2002.

A Brief History of Clocks: From Thales to Ptolemy :: Expository Essays Research Papers

A Brief History of Clocks: From Thales to Ptolemy The clock is one of the most influential discoveries in the history of western science. The division of time into regular, predictable units is fundamental to the operation of society. Even in ancient times, humanity recognized the necessity of an orderly system of chronology. Hesiod, writing in the 8th century BC., used celestial bodies to indicate agricultural cycles: "When the Pleiads, Atlas' daughters, start to rise begin your harvest; plough when they go down" ( Hesiod 71). Later Greek scientists, such as Archimedes, developed complicated models of the heavens-celestial spheres-that illustrated the "wandering" of the sun, the moon, and the planets against the fixed position of the stars. Shortly after Archimedes, Ctesibus created the Clepsydra in the 2nd century BC. A more elaborate version of the common water clock, the Clepsydra was quite popular in ancient Greece. However, the development of stereography by Hipparchos in 150 BC. radically altered physical representations of t he heavens. By integrating stereography with the Clepsydra and the celestial sphere, humanity was capable of creating more practical and accurate devices for measuring time-the anaphoric clock and the astrolabe. Although Ptolemy was familiar with both the anaphoric clock and the astrolabe, I believe that the development of the anaphoric clock preceded the development of the astrolabe. The earliest example, in western culture, of a celestial sphere is attributed to the presocratic philosopher Thales. Unfortunately, little is known about Thales' sphere beyond Cicero's description in the De re publica: For Gallus told us that the other kind of celestial globe, which was solid and contained no hollow space, was a very early invention, the first one of that kind having been constructed by Thales of Mileus, and later marked by Eudoxus with the constellations and stars which are fixed in the sky. (Price 56) This description is helpful for understanding the basic form of Thales' sphere, and for pinpointing its creation at a specific point in time. However, it is clearly a simplification of events that occurred several hundred years before Cicero's lifetime. Why would Thales' create a spherical representation of the heavens and neglect to indicate the stars? Of what use is a bowling ball for locating celestial bodies? Considering Eudoxus' preoccupation with systems of concentric spheres, a more logical explanation is that Thales marked his sphere with stars, and Eudoxus later traced the ecliptic and the paths of the planets on the exterior.

Motives for Iraq War through Realism and Neo-Conservatism Lenses Essay

The invasion on Iraq by the United States in 2003 has become the biggest, lengthiest, and most expensive use of armed force since the Vietnam War. It is the first major post-Cold War U.S. military action taken unilaterally, without an international coalition, and the first U.S. experience as an occupying power in a Middle Eastern country. Although the invasion decision was distinctive (U.S. military connection in an Arab or Muslim country), the argument here is that the Iraqi invasion deals with motives related to natural security, power, and resources. Both realism and neo-conservatism claim to capture the motives behind the war, but only through a comprehensive comparison of the two can a synthesis be achieved. On March 20th, 2003, the United States military invaded Iraq with the ground campaign lasting almost three months. According to then-President of the United States, George W. Bush, and then-Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, stated reasons for the invasion included the disarmament of â€Å"Iraq, especially with respect to weapons of mass destruction; the ending of Saddam Hussein's support for terrorism; and the liberation of the Iraqi people† (White House Archives). On May 1, the end of major combat operations was declared, ending the invasion period and beginning the military occupation period. However, was this war really needed to put an end to Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq—a regime that, at that time, had been considered a threat to the United States, as the neo-conservatives claim? Moreover, did Iraq really possess weapons of mass destruction, or was control of Iraq's oil the reason for the United States to invade it, as realists may posit? Often termed the â€Å"pessimistic view† of international politics... ...ospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_road_to_aqaba>. Lieberfeld, Daniel. "THEORIES OF CONFLICT AND THE IRAQ WAR." International Journal of Peace Studies 10.2 (2005): 1-20. Print. Lowbeer-Lewis, Nathaniel. "A Neo World? NEOCONSERVATISM, INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND THE IRAQ WAR." Diplomat & International Canada 2009: 72-75.Diplomat & International Canada. 2009. Web. 4 Dec. 2010. . "President Discusses Beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom." White House Archives. 22 Mar. 2003. Web. 04 Dec. 2010. whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030322.html>. Walt, Stephen. â€Å"International Relations: One World, Many Theories.† Foreign Policy. Spring 1998: pg. 29-45. Waltz, Kenneth. â€Å"The Anarchic Structure of World Politics† International Politics. New York: Pearson, 2009. 37-58.

Dulce et Decorum est by Wilfred Owen: Experiences

In his time he also composed some war poetry. His incredible works also Inspired others to write war poetry e. g. Siegfried Sassoon. However the most famous poem that Owen is renowned for is ‘Dulce et Decorum Est' ‘Dulce et decorum Est' Is a poem written by Wilfred Owen describing his experiences of WWI.The poem is titled ‘Dulce et decorum est' meaning â€Å"it is sweet and fitting to die for one's country' though the poem talks about something very opposite thus mocking the statement and making it a sarcastic comment focused on those who ncourage conflict and proclaim It as being glorious. ‘Dulce et Decorum Est' reveals the truth behind conflict the grief and suffering It causes. The author with the use of graphic imagery and diction tries to convey the horrors of conflict and war. It also shows the futility of conflict and in a quite explicit manner the true reality of death!The ideas the poet wants us to consider are the horrors of war and Its sheer and ut ter futility. Owen also wants us to think about the propaganda that is put forward by the government and how it differs from the exact reality of conflict. The poet is trying to say if you do get through the war you must experience mental torture and live with guilt ALL your life long! We know this when Owen writes â€Å"In all my dreams. before my helpless sight he plunges at me guttering, choking, drowning†. Owen is telling us that he is haunted by the men that died in the gas attack and he can't help them no matter how much he wants to.This poem has a miserable and gloomy atmosphere to it Just like the earth which has an ozone layer around it. In this war poem the mood is very grim and poignant too. There is an effective use of simile†¦ â€Å"like a devil's sick of sin† because it compares the situation to the devil. The devil Is known to be first cause of sin but even If he Is â€Å"sick† of it then it MUST be very catastrophic! There is also a great us e of sibilance. This is effective because when said it will put emphasis on â€Å"sick† to explain how awful of a level the conflict had escalated to.There is a deathly air of resignation around which makes the reader lament the death of the soldiers. Owen's choice of diction is used to create great effect. When he uses a simile in the irst line â€Å"like old beggars under sacks†. Soldiers are supposed to be fit men and a comparison with old beggars indicates that they have been brought down to such a level that they are now equal of hunched, tired, unfed, homeless and old people. Even their uniforms have lost their militaristic crispness, as Owen describes them as â€Å"sacks. † This picture is a definite contrast to the idealized marching formations of ‘OF3 mood.Owen again shows the tiredness of the soldiers in the last line of that stanza when he say â€Å"Of gas shells dropping softly behind† which is very contrasting from ow gas shells actuall y drop. They make a loud hissing noise and can be heard from far. Thus Owen shows that the soldiers' senses had dulled. Only a completely exhausted soldier with no strength could be in this state of mind to not have heard the gas shells. Another rather unusual choice of diction is†¦ â€Å"coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge†. The simile coughing like hags suggests the men were unhealthy.The fact that Owen compares them to hags who are old ugly women suggests that the war has made youthful and healthy into good for nothing women ho have a permanent coughing fit due to old age and illness. â€Å"But limped on, blood- shod. All went lame; all blind;† gives the feeling that these men have become dehumanized and are reduced to an animal-like state. Thus arousing the question as to how could this is glorious. A side theme is highlighted in the first stanza: as to how do young and robust men with bright futures reduced to old ragged men benefit the nation!The gr aphic and vivid imagery used by Owen in the poem, gives the reader a feeling of horror and makes them question as to how humans could do such atrocities. In lines 9-14 there is a change of pace. First the repetition of the monosyllabic word/ onomatopoeia â€Å"gas† which echoes the sound of gun fire and then the oxymoron,† ecstasy of fumbling†, seems a odd choice of diction, but later turns out to be perfect, as Owen uses it to describe the controlled panic instantly awakened with keen awareness- of youthful men with Just seconds to find a gas mask. Owen uses a metaphor when he says â€Å"As under a green sea I saw him drowning†.This is an extended metaphor which is used to a great extent because it enhances the reader's nderstanding of the feeling of being trapped by poisonous gas. This man dies gruesomely after he inhales the gas, ironically showing how helpless and powerless a human is against a man made weapon. In the next stanza Owen uses a metaphor â €Å"guttering, choking, drowning†. This is a very gruesome image for life flickering out. These graphic images are very disturbing but play a very effective role in the persuasion of readers to think that conflict is very futile and horrific.Owen uses one of the most descriptive, gruesome and horrifying imagery in the last stanza. When he ses phrases like â€Å"white eyes writhing in his face,†, â€Å"at every Jolt the blood†, â€Å"come gargling from the froth corrupted lungs/ obscene as cancer bitter as cud†. Phrases like these can scare the hardest of men. The graphic images displayed are profoundly affecting and can never be forgotten. Owen's use of excellent imagery can sway many readers into believing that wars are the worst things that can happen and how dreadful a death a human could face.Owen ties the poem when he says in the last two lines â€Å"the Old lie: Dulce et Decorum est pro patria mort†. When Owen has inished his sentence, we und erstand that there is nothing â€Å"sweet and fitting† to die for ones country. Owen thus creates a Juxtapose, leaving the reader with the feeling of disgust and repulsion. And also shows that conflict can lead to such horrendous and tragic consequences. poem, making war seem absolutely horrid and revolting, which is Just what Owen wanted to do. Reading this poem left me gasping and shocked. The fact that Owen talks about the illnesses the men endure, within the simile â€Å"coughing like hags†.This helps me to see that the men were in horrendous conditions. The poem shows the harshness of war and absolutely condemns the saying that â€Å"it is sweet and fitting to fight for one's country'. Owen's graphic vivid imagery and diction completely ousts all positive words and feelings towards conflict. The fact that I know that Owen was killed one week before the completion of WWI makes it all the poignant as well as the fact that many people are currently indulged in confl ict, as we speak, around the world. It makes me ponder on the fact that war will always be glorified and unfortunately, there will always be conflict!

Greatest Gift You Can Give Essay

As I sat and observed the ticking clock, as I saw yet another day come to an end†¦ just like the ones before it had, I understood how precious time is. Here are a couple reasons why I think that; I’ve always believed that the greatest gift we can share with those we love is time. There are some things money just cannot buy, and in the long run our memories are far more valuable than any material goods we receive. There’s a reason why I always believed that the greatest gift we can share with those we love is time because memories have sentimental value that lasts you a lifetime. Having a Lamborghini and enjoying it one your own is only half as rewarding as having someone enjoy it with you. Sharing time with your loved ones, on the other hand, creates lasting memories that will always accompany you. After all, it is all about quality, not the quantity of the time with spend with others. There’s a reason people say money can’t buy happiness or money just cannot buy everything. Time is the greatest gift to give out because you can always make more money, but the people you care about won’t be around forever. Therefore, it is important to make the time for your loved ones. Once a person starts working full-time you can lose yourself in your job and begin living to work instead of working to live. This might result in you becoming rich but you miss out on the time you could’ve spent with the people you truly care about. To prevent this from happening it is crucial to have a balance between work and family life. To be truly happy and to have a fulfilling life you must pay close attention to time you spend accumulating material things and how much you spend with family and friends. â€Å"The greatest gift you can give someone is your time because when you are giving someone your time, you are giving them a portion of your life that you will never get back. † – Anonymous

Using Play Activities to Increase Comprehension

For my undertaking I wanted to concentrate on an country that involved some kind of pupil play/interaction. I teach Pre-K so most of what my pupils do is through geographic expedition utilizing haptic procedures. My pupils truly bask books and I can state when I ‘m reading that they are wholly engaged in what ‘s to come. Through observation of my pupils I besides know that they enjoy moving out assorted things while they are at centres. Since some of my childs seem to hold problem with comprehension and retrieving cardinal information from the book I thought that conveying the book to life might be helpful for those fighting.Background/Class Information:I teach at SGA Elementary School in Sardis, GA which is located in Burke County. This school has grades Pre-K through 5th. There is 1 principal, 1 frailty principal, 1 instructional coordinator, 1 counsellor, 1 medical helper, 1 office director and 2 office forces. The school is comprised of 33 schoolrooms, including the r esources: art, physical instruction, and music. Grades Pre-K through 3rd all have a paraprofessional in each room and 4th and 5th portion a drifting paraprofessional between the grades/classes. This school is in a really rural portion of the county. Income degrees are really low and most parents suffer from high unemployment. If parents do work it is for a low paying/minimum pay occupation. Because of this factor all pupils are served a free breakfast and tiffin everyday at school. Pre-k besides receives a bite at the terminal of the twenty-four hours that is provided by our lunchroom. At this school there are 401 entire pupils. There are a sum of 186 females with the cultural dislocation including: 3 Hispanic, 4 multi-racial, 71 White, and 108 Black. For the males, there are a sum of 215 including: 4 Hispanic, 4 Multi-racial, 77 White, and 130 Black. Since we do hold several households in our school that are Latino the school recognizes that there is a linguistic communication barrier. We have a transcriber who can be used in order to assist do communicating easier for them every bit good as ourselves. Most households have household members who can assist and they will come to events in order to help them. In my schoolroom I have 1 Latino pupil. She began the twelvemonth talking broken English and has now progressed, but still gets hung up on a few thoughts. Her male parent speaks really small English with a strong speech pattern and her female parent speaks no English at all. When he needs to talk to me or I need to talk to him about his kid they prefer to utiliz e their girl to assist with interlingual rendition. The parents said that made them more comfy to utilize her so I have ne'er had to use the services of our transcriber, but the linguistic communication barrier truly has n't been excessively large of an issue. In my schoolroom I have 20 pupils. It consists of 11 misss and 9 male childs. For the misss I have 3 White, 7 Black, and 1 Hispanic. I have 6 White male childs and 3 Black male childs. In my schoolroom it is myself and a paraprofessional. She has been in a Pre-K schoolroom for 5 old ages. We reasonably much have an equal distribution as to what we do, how we do it, and how things get accomplished. I teach the bulk of the clip, but there are times in which she will learn calendar. She ever assists when we are in a big group puting and making an activity during that clip. We portion a joint function in carry oning little group. I have created groups based on degree. We decide what needs the pupils have and seek to come up with activities to assist them pattern so they can get down acquiring better at them. This is the country in which I can see the pupils profiting from the most because they are able to acquire our one-on-one attending and we, in bend, are able to truly concentrate on them and assist them where they struggle. Or if we see that they can make a undertaking with easiness we give them something to dispute them. Needs are tweaked harmonizing to the groups .Action Research Question:The focal point of my undertaking was based on the inquiry: if after reading narratives aloud to my pupils I give them different avenues to research the narratives during centre clip will this assist them develop a better apprehension for what is read? As I mentioned earlier, I knew this was the country I needed to concentrate on since some of my pupils had problem with comprehension. I do n't cognize really many childs who do n't bask playing either so integrating it with something active seemed best. Even while carry oning my research I did n't hold any countries of my inquiry that needed to be changed.Supporting Datas:Description:Students ‘ chief exposure to books in a pre-k schoolroom is to nursery rimes and authoritative narratives. Nursery rhymes present the footing for a narrative: a character, an event and an stoping ( GSU, 2008 ) . Students besides gain understanding through the beat and repeat. With authoritative narratives, pupils are able to larn the difference between fact and phantasy every bit good as understanding the construction of a book ( GSU, 2008 ) . This manner, there is a clear beginning, center and terminal for the pupils. A instructor should learn one rime a hebdomad, highlight one a month, integrate a rime into a unit and promote kids to move out the narrative or rime by supplying chances at big group and/or centre clip ( GSU, 2008 ) . To advance narrative comprehension and enjoyment, pulling and treatment are widely practiced and accepted in simple schools, but a 3rd less frequently adept manner to follow up reading to kids is dramatic drama ( Galda, 1982 ) . Children connect books to play by actively seeking for book-related playthings and props in order to back up comprehension through set uping a more concrete appreciation on thoughts. Book-related make-believe drama represents a richer method of supervising pupils ‘ apprehension of narratives, traveling beyond the typical inquiries and simpl e retellings ( Welsch, 2008 ) . A focal point on drama around familiar narratives and literature capitalizes on the plot lines that define pretend strategies ( Welsch, 2008 ) . Literacy related activities allow kids to polish their turning constructs of the maps of written linguistic communication and supply valuable, extremely meaningful pattern with emergent reading and authorship ( Christie, 1991 ) . Within an early childhood schoolroom, book-related make-believe drama could be considered an equal chance experience, in which every pupil can set on the chapeau, pick up the fork, travel in the house, and enter the universe of the narrative ( Welsch, 2008 ) . Recognizing that a kid acquires linguistic communication through active engagement and that literature provides rich linguistic communication theoretical accounts, storytelling and retellings is an first-class technique for furthering growing in linguistic communication and increasing comprehension ( Biegler, 1998 ) .Implementa tion Ideas:â€Å" Preschool and kindergarten schoolrooms, even those specifically designed as intercessions for kids at hazard of reading troubles, must be designed to back up cognitive, linguistic communication, and societal development, including exciting verbal interaction and enriching kids ‘s vocabularies. Play affords kids chances to develop physical, societal, and cognitive abilities that will function them subsequently in non-play state of affairss † ( Christensen and Kelly, 2003 ) . There are a figure of things that can be done in a schoolroom to increase a pupil ‘s comprehension. The chief manner is through dramatic drama. Using props and other stuffs makes the narratives come to life. Teachers can first supply a assortment of rereading experiences: spouse reading, Readers Theatre, echo reading, choral reading, shared reading, single reading ( Hicks, 2009-2010 ) . All of these things help with eloquence and increase comprehension. Play activities are the centre of immature pupils ‘ zones of proximal development, where new cognition is gained through societal interactions with more competent participants and, while feigning, pupils translate their perceptual experiences of the existent universe into the actions that create and define the universe of drama ( Welsch, 2008 ) . On their ain and by their ain choosing, pupils may utilize this type of drama to research the most cardinal intent of literacy, the building of significance ( Welsch, 2008 ) . High-level drama is widely recognized as an instructional scheme that builds linguistic communication, vocabulary, and underlying cognitive accomplishments necessary for kids to go successful readers and authors ( Christensen and Kelly, 2003 ) . Children pattern verbal and narrative accomplishments that are of import to the development of reading comprehension and instructors can help the linguistic communication and literacy development through high-ranking drama in the undermentione d ways: 1. ) triping or developing kids ‘s background cognition for the drama scene, 2. ) scaffolding the building of scenarios and retellings, 3. ) going involved in drama scenes to steer the kids ‘s attending and larning through mold and interaction, 4. ) supplying the appropriate sum of unequivocal and narrative props, and 5. ) supplying clip and infinite for high-ranking drama ( Christensen and Kelly, 2003 ) . Research has demonstrated that use of the schoolroom drama environment through physical agreement of drama centres, inclusion of literacy-related stuffs ( pencils, paper, typewriter, etc. ) , and dramatic drama props can impact the quality and assortment of a kid ‘s unwritten linguistic communication usage, battle in literacy behaviours, and narrative comprehension ( Monson and Nielsen, 1996 ) . Some narratives lend themselves to the usage of marionettes, felt-boards and still others can be developed as prop narratives which make storytelling semen alive, exciting the imaginativeness and affecting the hearer ( Biegler, 1998 ) .Research Findingss:Assorted surveies have been done as to whether or non these signifiers of active engagement work. Analysiss of cases where drama was related to the significances of the books the kids had read indicated that each case of book-related dramatic drama could be described in footings of six belongingss including ( a ) the range of drama, ( B ) the type of connexion constructed between books and drama books, ( degree Celsius ) kids ‘s intents for drama, ( vitamin D ) the position or point of position explored, ( vitamin E ) the mark systems used and their relation to book reading events, and ( degree Fahrenheit ) the sorts of societal interaction involved ( Rowe, 1998 ) . Rowe ( 1998 ) besides noted that analyses demonstrated that the kids created direct linkages between their book and drama experiences. Children ‘s book-to-play connexions involved: linking books to the universe of obj ects by turn uping and keeping book-related playthings and props, personal response to books through dramatic passages of feelings and actions, take parting in book-reading events through the character of a make-believe character, aesthetic reenactments of book events, screening out the writer ‘s significances through drama, character surveies and utilizing book subjects and characters as springboards for personal enquiries about the universe ( Roskos and Christie, 2000 ) . Authors Pellegrini and Galda noted the importance of the equal interaction and the good facets of make-believe as lending to pupils ‘ increased ability to understand the narrative ( Welsch, 2008 ) . The Committee on the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Young Children clearly saw high-ranking drama as an instructional scheme that Fosters literacy development and future reading success in which kids reflect on state of affairss through dramatisation ( Christensen and Kelly, 2003 ) . In a survey don e by Deborah Rowe she suggested that there are a figure of features of the drama observed in her survey that may hold provided both motive and chance for the immature kids ‘s literacy acquisition: connexion, ownership, flexibleness, openness, multiple mark systems, transmediation and community ( Rowe, 1998 ) . The consequences from Bieglers ‘ survey was that kids exhibited greater comprehension and narrative memory by utilizing dramatic narrative reenactment than those who reconstructed narratives in instructor led direction and art activities and narrative related comprehension was most efficaciously facilitated by prosecuting in fantasy drama and retellings ( Biegler, 1998 ) . Jodi Welsch wrote an article in 2008 entitled, Playing within and beyond the narrative: encouraging book-related make-believe drama. In this article there are many good points covering with pupils playing and groking information. Welsch ( 2008 ) stated that kids connect books to play by actively seeking for book-related playthings and props in order to back up comprehension through set uping a more concrete appreciation on thoughts. Book-related make-believe drama represents a richer method of supervising pupils ‘ apprehension of narratives, traveling beyond the typical inquiries and simple retellings because a focal point on drama around familiar narratives and literature capitalizes on the plot lines that define pretend strategies ( Welsch, 2008 ) . Two writers, Pellegrini and Galda are quoted in Welsch ( 2008 ) observing the importance of the equal interaction and the good facets of make-believe drama as lending to pupils ‘ increased ability to understand the narrative . Play activities are the centre of immature pupils ‘ zones of proximal development, where new cognition is gained through societal interactions with more competent participants and, while feigning, pupils translate their perceptual experiences of the existent universe into the actions that create and define the universe of drama ( Welsch, 2008 ) . On their ain and by their ain choosing, pupils may utilize this type of drama to research the most cardinal intent of literacy, the building of significance ( Welsch, 2008 ) .Plan and Timeline:Execution of this scheme took topographic point over a 10 twenty-four hours span in my schoolroom from February 1st through the 12th. I taught a unit on nursery rimes one hebdomad and faery tales/tall narratives during the other hebdomad. I eased my category into the alterations during our unit clip as we discussed the narratives. The manner it was introduced to my pupils and carried out is as follows: -Monday ( 2/1 ) : The unit for the hebdomad is Nursery Rhymes. I introduced what a baby's room rime was, elements that it contained, and talked about riming words. -Tuesday ( 2/2 ) : I read â€Å" Humpty Dumpty † to my category. We talked about all the words that sounded likewise in the verse form. They so did an activity where they drew what Humpty Dumpty might ‘ve been if he had n't fallen off of the wall. I added this felt board narrative to our marionette centre in the loft. -Wednesday ( 2/3 ) : Today we talked about â€Å" Mary had a Small Lamb. † I foremost played the vocal and most of the childs recognized it and sang along. I so read it to them and added the book and music to the hearing centre. -Thursday ( 2/4 ) : I talked about the baby's room rime, â€Å" Jack be Agile. † I had a little taper holder with a taper in it and I had my childs take bends stating the rime and jumping over the candle stick. After the lesson was over I put the candle holder in our dramatic drama country. -Friday ( 2.5 ) : The concluding baby's room rime we covered was â€Å" 5 Small Ducks. † We discussed how this utilised math and numbering backwards/down. As we read the narrative I had 5 pupils keeping a duck and each clip one went off I had the pupil sit down. I besides played this on a Cadmium and the pupils took turns moving it out with the ducks. The Cadmium was added to the music centre. Five ducks were placed in music as props and the other ducks were placed in math as manipulatives. -Monday ( 2/8 ) : This started the hebdomad in which I introduced fairy narratives and tall narratives. I started out by giving different scenarios and the pupils had to assist me calculate out if it was the truth or a story. I so explained the elements of these types of narratives and had the pupils create one of their ain through a drawing. My paraprofessional and myself dictated their responses. -Tuesday ( 2/9 ) : I started by reading Cinderella. I wanted pupils to assist me foretell what would go on following since I figured this was a familiar narrative to them. I added a Cinderella costume and a suit coat to the dramatic drama country. -Wednesday ( 2/10 ) : Today I read â€Å" The Elvess and the Shoemaker. † After discoursing the book I had pupils pull what they would make to assist people if they were charming elves. My paraprofessional and myself dictated their responses. -Thursday ( 2/11 ) : â€Å" Small Red Riding Hood † was discussed today. I talked about aliens and asked pupils if they thought this could truly go on. The book and tape for this narrative was placed in the hearing centre. -Friday ( 2/12 ) : To stop the hebdomad I read â€Å" The 3 Small Pigs. † I had the pupils help me foretell what would go on to each house and each hog as we went through the book. I added gum elastic hog noses to the dramatic drama country every bit good as the felt board narrative to the marionette centre in the loft. -*All books from both hebdomads were kept out on my bookcase so pupils could utilize them during independent clip or if they chose the reading centre.Consequences:During this procedure I monitored pupils as I read and as they chose centres. While watching them as I read I looked to see if they were reacting to voices, certain parts of the book and if they were replying the inquiries I asked at different points throughout reading. This helped me cognize right off the chiropteran if they were groking or non. This besides helped me do note of who I could watch during centres to see if they utilized any of the points I placed around the room after reading the books. I was surprised because the bulk of those that seemed lost during me reading the book frequently selected reading or hearing and selected those books we had talked about. I could hear them reading out loud and utilizing the images in the book to assist steer them so they could state what was go oning. They would acquire excit ed when they would acknowledge that was something I had shared with them and it seemed to intend more to them than merely picking a book at random. It was amusing to watch pupils at the hearing centre excessively because they would hold their earphones on and be in the quiet zone, but all of a sudden you would hear them get down stating the narrative out loud. In the dramatic drama country all of the props and costumes were the first things anyone grabbed. There were a few who would set on the Cinderella costume and say that she was a princess and drama in it, but there were others who would have on it and truly acquire into moving out the narrative. I do n't hold many male childs that go to the dramatic drama country because aside from dress-up apparels it is largely used by the misss as the housekeeping country. There was one male child that struggles to grok narratives and he selected dramatic drama everyday after we read Cinderella and he would travel over at that place and set on the suit and feign to be Prince Charming. He did a great occupation at reciting assorted things that happened so he truly benefited from the excess support. The last country I added things in was our marionette centre in the loft. The pupils truly enjoyed the felt board narratives. I have had felt board stories up at that place all twelvemonth and I can merely remember two times in which they have been used. After reading the narratives and adding them to that centre everyone that went up at that place used the pieces to recite the narratives. It was incredible to me since it had seldom been used in the yesteryear that they would utilize it every bit much as they did and every bit efficaciously as they did. One thing that truly stood out to me was pupils who would choose the authorship and art centres. While in these centres about all of the pupils over the two hebdomad span brought me something they had created and told me it was a certain portion from one of the books we had di scussed. I thought that was neat because even though I had n't added anything new for them to utilize they still utilized the stuffs they had to demo their enjoyment and comprehension of the narratives.Artifacts:Throughout this procedure I did several things in order to roll up informations and do observations. As I mentioned in the subdivision above, I foremost watched the pupils as I read/introduced the book and made a mental note of who I was most funny to watch during halfway clip. Then during centre clip I circulated the room and listened to student treatments as they played. The bulk of them, at least for a part of the clip exhausted playing, related in some manner to the books we had discussed. If I saw pupils dressed up as a character, stating a felt board narrative or listening/reading one of the books we had talked about I would acquire my camera and snarl some images. I video recorded several pupils reciting nursery rhymes on the felt board every bit good as a group in dr amatic drama re-enacting the ball from â€Å" Cinderella. †Decision:I feel that this procedure was an utmost success and thoroughly replies a resonant yes to my research inquiry. I was really pleased at the overpowering response by my pupils to the props that were accessible to them. The chief intent of my end was to see if this helped more with comprehension and I can state that it truly did. I have several pupils who ca n't state me anything about a narrative after it is read and those are some of the 1s I focused on watching. They all, at some point or another, chose a centre and selected an activity within that centre entirely because they recognized it from our readings. All of them were able to state at least a portion of the narrative, if non all of a narrative, when utilizing the props. This is decidedly something that I will go on to make every bit much as possible in order to go on to assist those pupils who struggle to grok. For those that can grok good it will go on to function as added support for their content cognition.