Relationship between Politics and Religion in India

Indian politics has an important relationship with Religion. Religion fulfills the role of an ideology in a situation of transition when there is a plethora of new demands and constant adjustments have to be made. Both Islam and Hinduism in the late nineteenth century were trying to accommodate the new demands. This ruptured their earlier accommodations and led to conflict with the necessity of a complex interaction between nationalism and Religion. This is where the clash started. India failed on this front leading to conflicts and division between two competing utopia visions.The clash of egos over basis and minor disagreements made this division inevitable. The importance of religion, in spite of such conflicts can be clarified in the words of Gandhiji who said that those who assert that Religion has nothing to do with Politics, have no understanding of either Politics or Religion. That the Hindu majority were more tolerant and absorbent of others’ viewpoint, is nothing new . The religion itself is distinguished because of its fundamental component of tolerance which separates it from other religion viewpoint.Anslie embree in his book on Utopias in Conflict states that â€Å"Tolerance is not merely an academic question. It is intrinsically linked with the minority. The Islamic community in India wanted neither to be absorbed or tolerated and this seems to have occurred to very few exponents of Hindu tolerance†. Tolerance is also a matter of perception and over the centuries as India met with three different civilizations, the society evaluated. The coming of Islam in the eighth century, to the major power at the center, in the form of nearly 500 years of their mainstay, did not change any fundamental value in the Hindu religion.The coming of the Portugese and the French also did not lead to any changes in our social structure, the reason being the apathy similar to the earlier Muslim period when views were articulated in a religious vocabulary. The coming of the British was different as â€Å"they did not articulate their views and attitudes of their culture in religious terms†. The Hindu intelligential were definitely more receptive to the cultural and religious ideas as contrasted by the ‘keep aloof’ behavior in response to Muslim, French and Portugese ideologies.However the elaboration of the national movement’s ideal by Gandhiji in â€Å"vocabulary of Neo-Hinduism† lay the seeds of religious conflict in India which led to separatism. One of the important omissions in this Neo-Hindu perception was its inability to comprehend the belief structure of Muslims and the differences with Hindus. Salvation in Hinduism is of an individual whereas the Muslims and Christians find their salvation as a part of a large religious community. The politics of the nineteenth century and the strength of nationalism has gone missing today but religion appears to be as strong as ever and a fundamental pillar in our politics.Secularism has been re-defined and pseudo-secularism seems to be the order of the day where massacre of the majority community hardly draws a reaction publicly except in private. The Politics of Religion is as strong as ever and there is only a change of perception. Our politicians never miss an opportunity to exploit the use of religion, be it the Hindu view or the Muslim angle and India politics would continue to use Religion and the Caste system for their survival.

Explain Externalities and Public Gods

With the aid of examples explain the terms: i) Externality ii) Public Good Externality Externalities, or transaction  spillovers, arise when a third party who is not involved in the consumption of a product incur certain costs and benefits that are not compensated for by the generators of those externalities. They exist due to the price system’s (The Invisible Hand) inability to deal with products that have no market or price, such as clean air, peace, quiet, pollution and more. In a broader sense, externalities involve interdependence of utility due to the fact that one person’s action will affect the welfare of another.Externalities can be classified into two types: positive externalities and negative externalities. Positive externalities exist when an externality-generating activity raises the production or utility of the third party receiving these externalities. These economic activities provide incidental benefits to others for whom they aren’t specifical ly intended. Negative externalities exist when an externality-generating activity decreases the production or utility of the third party receiving these externalities.These economic activities impose a cost onto others for whom they aren’t specifically intended. The undesirable effects on the allocation of resources by an externality can be explained by using the concept of Marginal Social Cost (MSC). In Economics, the MSC is defined as the sum of Marginal Private Cost (MPC), the marginal cost caused by an activity that is compensated for by the generators, and Marginal External Cost, which is the share of external effects borne by the rest. When a firm’s activities generate negative externalities, its MSC is greater than its MPC.In equilibrium, the Marginal Private Benefit (MPB) will be equal to the firm’s MPC, and hence the MPB < MSC. Hence, the final output for the consumer yields less to the society than what it costs to society. Thus, it can be deduced that production is inefficient and that these externalities can be reduced if the production of that particular product is reduced. For example, the construction of roads to facilitate the transport of goods for a factory that produces staplers will benefit residents in that area because they now have greater road accessibility.This is said to be the positive externality arising from this economic activity. On the flip side, this same factory that instigated the construction of roads may discharge a toxic amount of by-products such as soot and toxins into the air and rivers, hence greatly reducing the quality of air and water in that area. This is because factory owners wish to maximize profits and hence will only take into account their MPC and ignore the wider social costs of their activities – MSC will be greater than MPC.In conclusion, it can be said that when positive externalities exist, the MSB > MPB, and when negative externalities exist, the MSC > MPC. Public Good In eco nomic theory, a good is a tangible or intangible item that gives utility to people when consumed. Goods can be classified into free and economic goods. The former entails no opportunity cost to the consumer, meaning that no one is made worse off by the consumption of a free good. Examples are desert sand, air and seawater. An economic good, on the other hand, entails an opportunity cost.This is because some other good has to be forgone in order to produce an economic good. The root of this opportunity cost is scarcity – a situation in which unlimited human wants exceed the lack of resources that we have in order to meet that demand. Economic goods can then be further subdivided into two: public and private goods. Public goods are collectively consumed and the market may simply not supply them. Examples of public goods are such as defense of the country (a police force and army), a fire brigade, street lighting, or lighthouses. The market system does not work well in this area .One of the jobs of government, both central and local, is to supply public goods or services that are needed but otherwise would not be made available by the market. Some goods are â€Å"semi-public goods†, â€Å"quasi public goods† or â€Å"collective consumption goods†, for instance roads. These are often supplied by the state, but in principle they can be privately supplied, and sometimes are. Examples include the British Toll Roads in the Nineteenth Century or the peage motorways in France today; when you use them, you pay. In some countries, such as Thailand, the fire brigade falls in this area.People insure with a private fire brigade and call them when the house is burning. If you are not insured and you still call them, the market swings into action and they negotiate a rate on the spot for putting out the fire – given the urgency of the event, the demand by the burning house owner is highly inelastic and the price can be very high. There are two key characteristics of a public good. Firstly, public goods are non-excludable, meaning that the producer is unable to separate the non-paying consumers from the paying consumers that are benefitting from the good.As a result, the payer will eventually refuse to pay for the good too. Consequently, markets will refuse to produce public goods and this will result in a market failure. For example, if an entrepreneur stages a fireworks show, people can watch the show from their windows or backyards. Because the entrepreneur cannot charge a fee for consumption, the fireworks show may go unproduced, even if demand for the show is strong. To illustrate the public good’s inability to exclude, here’s an example: In the provision of national defense, if one citizen of defended, so are the rest of the citizens. Secondly, public goods are non-exhaustible.This means that the use of the good by one person does not reduce the amount available to others. Hence, rivalry does not exist in the consumption of this product and another consumer will incur no opportunity cost. For example, the exchange of  MP3  music files on the Internet. The use of these files by any one person does not restrict the use by anyone else and there is little effective control over the exchange of these music files and photo files. In a nutshell, public goods are economic goods that are non-excludable and non-exhaustible, and can be subdivided into public goods and â€Å"semi† public goods. Explain Externalities and Public Gods With the aid of examples explain the terms: i) Externality ii) Public Good Externality Externalities, or transaction  spillovers, arise when a third party who is not involved in the consumption of a product incur certain costs and benefits that are not compensated for by the generators of those externalities. They exist due to the price system’s (The Invisible Hand) inability to deal with products that have no market or price, such as clean air, peace, quiet, pollution and more. In a broader sense, externalities involve interdependence of utility due to the fact that one person’s action will affect the welfare of another.Externalities can be classified into two types: positive externalities and negative externalities. Positive externalities exist when an externality-generating activity raises the production or utility of the third party receiving these externalities. These economic activities provide incidental benefits to others for whom they aren’t specifical ly intended. Negative externalities exist when an externality-generating activity decreases the production or utility of the third party receiving these externalities.These economic activities impose a cost onto others for whom they aren’t specifically intended. The undesirable effects on the allocation of resources by an externality can be explained by using the concept of Marginal Social Cost (MSC). In Economics, the MSC is defined as the sum of Marginal Private Cost (MPC), the marginal cost caused by an activity that is compensated for by the generators, and Marginal External Cost, which is the share of external effects borne by the rest. When a firm’s activities generate negative externalities, its MSC is greater than its MPC.In equilibrium, the Marginal Private Benefit (MPB) will be equal to the firm’s MPC, and hence the MPB < MSC. Hence, the final output for the consumer yields less to the society than what it costs to society. Thus, it can be deduced that production is inefficient and that these externalities can be reduced if the production of that particular product is reduced. For example, the construction of roads to facilitate the transport of goods for a factory that produces staplers will benefit residents in that area because they now have greater road accessibility.This is said to be the positive externality arising from this economic activity. On the flip side, this same factory that instigated the construction of roads may discharge a toxic amount of by-products such as soot and toxins into the air and rivers, hence greatly reducing the quality of air and water in that area. This is because factory owners wish to maximize profits and hence will only take into account their MPC and ignore the wider social costs of their activities – MSC will be greater than MPC.In conclusion, it can be said that when positive externalities exist, the MSB > MPB, and when negative externalities exist, the MSC > MPC. Public Good In eco nomic theory, a good is a tangible or intangible item that gives utility to people when consumed. Goods can be classified into free and economic goods. The former entails no opportunity cost to the consumer, meaning that no one is made worse off by the consumption of a free good. Examples are desert sand, air and seawater. An economic good, on the other hand, entails an opportunity cost.This is because some other good has to be forgone in order to produce an economic good. The root of this opportunity cost is scarcity – a situation in which unlimited human wants exceed the lack of resources that we have in order to meet that demand. Economic goods can then be further subdivided into two: public and private goods. Public goods are collectively consumed and the market may simply not supply them. Examples of public goods are such as defense of the country (a police force and army), a fire brigade, street lighting, or lighthouses. The market system does not work well in this area .One of the jobs of government, both central and local, is to supply public goods or services that are needed but otherwise would not be made available by the market. Some goods are â€Å"semi-public goods†, â€Å"quasi public goods† or â€Å"collective consumption goods†, for instance roads. These are often supplied by the state, but in principle they can be privately supplied, and sometimes are. Examples include the British Toll Roads in the Nineteenth Century or the peage motorways in France today; when you use them, you pay. In some countries, such as Thailand, the fire brigade falls in this area.People insure with a private fire brigade and call them when the house is burning. If you are not insured and you still call them, the market swings into action and they negotiate a rate on the spot for putting out the fire – given the urgency of the event, the demand by the burning house owner is highly inelastic and the price can be very high. There are two key characteristics of a public good. Firstly, public goods are non-excludable, meaning that the producer is unable to separate the non-paying consumers from the paying consumers that are benefitting from the good.As a result, the payer will eventually refuse to pay for the good too. Consequently, markets will refuse to produce public goods and this will result in a market failure. For example, if an entrepreneur stages a fireworks show, people can watch the show from their windows or backyards. Because the entrepreneur cannot charge a fee for consumption, the fireworks show may go unproduced, even if demand for the show is strong. To illustrate the public good’s inability to exclude, here’s an example: In the provision of national defense, if one citizen of defended, so are the rest of the citizens. Secondly, public goods are non-exhaustible.This means that the use of the good by one person does not reduce the amount available to others. Hence, rivalry does not exist in the consumption of this product and another consumer will incur no opportunity cost. For example, the exchange of  MP3  music files on the Internet. The use of these files by any one person does not restrict the use by anyone else and there is little effective control over the exchange of these music files and photo files. In a nutshell, public goods are economic goods that are non-excludable and non-exhaustible, and can be subdivided into public goods and â€Å"semi† public goods.

Compare and Contrast High Fidelity Novel and Film Essay

High Fidelity, the novel written by Nick Hornby, and the film adaptation, directed by Stephen Frears, both portrayed the vital information for the plot however, Hornby was able to convey the ideas better through literary techniques. The novel was adapted into a feature film in 2000 starring John Cusack as Rob and directed by Stephen Frears. The movie was accurate in portraying the novel to a certain extent. The film was able to successfully represent the main ideas of the original novel but when it came to the minute details, it was lacking the contributions of the story that gave it a certain tone that the Hornby, was trying to convey to his audience. The most noticeable differences are: the importance, or the unnecessary significance, described of Rob’s previous girls other than Laura; the visual similarities of the characters of the novel to the characters of the film; and the use of literary techniques and filming techniques that add emphasis to the story in different ways from the novel and the film’s perspectives. The opening prologue that sets the tone for the novel describes the top five break-ups that Rob has encountered in his life, making a point not to include Laura, his recently ex-girlfriend, because â€Å"those places are reserved for the kind of humiliations and heart breaks that [she is] just not capable of delivering† (13) . Rob spends the opening of the book talking about his top five break-ups, but after that he only references them again when he was trying to figure out what went wrong in each of his relationships prior to Laura. This is different in the film. The film tries to place more importance on his previous break-ups and relationships than is absolutely necessary. The novel talks briefly about the break-ups in the prologue, but the film draws out Rob’s explanation of the failed relationships trying to give the perception that they are incorporated into Rob’s everyday life. In the film, Rob narrates about his failed relationships while going through his daily routine. He narrates to the audience of each of his top five worst break-ups in times throughout the day where a normal person would carryout their daily routines. Doing this in the film gives the audience the impression that the ex-girlfriends are going to pose as important characters throughout the main character’s journey, which is not in true accordance with the novel. Along with the remembrance of Rob’s top five worst break-ups, the films also imposes emphasis upon Marie LaSalle, an exotic and mysterious artist that Rob has a one night stand with. The novel speaks of Marie in passing, only recognizing her as an artist that Rob had a one night stand with who was the deciding factor in Rob’s wanting to be Laura because he loved her. On the contrary, the representation of Marie LaSalle in the film is that of a potential fling of Rob’s that almost created a love triangle between Rob, Marie, and Laura, a different plot line than what was intended by the novel. Nick Hornby went into great detail about how the characters looked, specifically referencing Rob’s relationships. When comparing the descriptions Hornby gives of each woman that Rob was in a relationship with in the novel to the actresses that were cast to play those roles in the film, there are no similarities other than the lines they spoke. In the novel, Rob describes Laura to have â€Å"her hair cut, same as usual, very short, sixties short, like Mia Farrow, except – and [he’s] not just being creepy – she’s better suited to this sort of cut that Mia. It’s because her hair is so dark, nearly black, that when it’s short her eyes seem to take up most of her face† (121). In the film, however, the actress cast to play Laura, Iben Hjejle, is a blonde with shoulder length hair that does not have big eyes, rather, she has a very strong jaw bone and small eyes. Although the novel was only written a short five years previous to the making of the film, changing the look of Laura in the film may have been done to better suit the style of the early 2000s rather than that of the mid 1990s and to also make a better distinction of the different settings in the novel and film. The looks of London in 1995 were much different than those of Chicago in 2000. The novel wanted to better capture Laura’s style of the 1995 skinhead movement of the European fads, as described in the novel, whereas the film was trying to portray Laura as being more of a punk in modern society trying to break into the working class. Laura was not the only woman in Rob’s life that was not translated correctly from the novel to the film; the description of Maria LaSalle was also lost in translation when trying to create her to be an on screen character. In the novel, Rob describes that â€Å"Marie is pretty, in the that nearly cross-eyed American way – she looks like a slightly plumper, post Partridge Family, pre-L. A. law Susan Dey – and if you were going to develop a spontaneous and pointless crush on somebody, you could do a lot worse† (77). Describing Marie as being similar to an actress from the American television show the Partridge Family gives the impression that she is an all-American woman, given that the audience has an already perceived knowledge for American television shows. Rob is interested in Marie not only for the fact that she is a musician, but also that she is an exotic figure in the eyes of a British man. American women in Europe are just as exotic and mysterious as a non-American woman coming to the United States; men are infatuated with the unfamiliar, thus drawing Rob to Marie. The novel intertextualizes Marie to have looks similar to Susan Dey, who is a white female with a sort of free-spirited style closely related to that of a hippie, leading the audience to believe that Marie LaSalle was an average American, white woman with an Indie style. In the film, however, Lisa Bonet is cast to play Marie LaSalle; she has mixed skin and the style that is closely relatable to Alanis Morissette, who also has a free-spirited style but in a darker manner than Susan Dey. Because the film was not set in Britain, there was a need to find an actress who had exotic looks from the perception of the average American. The film was successful in portraying Marie as an exotic and mysterious character to the American culture thanks in large part to the acting of Lisa Bonet, but the film was not fully able to portray Marie LaSalle as being as unfamiliar to the American culture unlike the portrayal of her in the novel. What made the novel relatable to the audience was the intertextuality that was used to help portray Rob’s ideas so that the audience better understood what he was thinking and relating his situations to. Being that a film is not able to have a continual background of narration, it used music to help portray Rob’s ideas. Using background music as a character in the film helped to better translate the ideas and inner dialogue of Rob that cannot fully be portrayed in the film. In both the novel and the film, he was such a big believer as music being an essential part to a person’s life so this also bettered the adaption of Rob’s character from the printed version to the film. The intertextuality in the novel that was not easily noticeable in the cinematic version was Hornby’s instances of relating Rob’s life to major films easily identifiable to the audience, for instance, when Rob relates his life to the movie When Harry Met Sally. At one point in the novel, Rob is questioning happiness and says that: â€Å"surely people who are happy should look happy, at all times, no matter how much money they have or how uncomfortable their shoes are or how little their child is sleeping; and people who are doing OK but have still not found their soul mate should look, I don’t know, well but anxious, like Billy Crystal in When Harry Met Sally† (257). In the film, music becomes an aid to better understand the tone and storyline of the scene. I Want Candy† is playing in the background when the film is flashing back to show Rob’s first relationship with Alison Ashworth. This is done to try to express the immaturity that Rob is stuck in at that moment. Since the film cannot have a continuous narrator and the novel does not have a soundtrack, each uses what the other cannot in order to enhance the intended tone and original ideas portrayed in the novel. In conclusion, the fact that the film changed the setting was a major contributing factor of the differences and misconnections of the novel to film. Because the setting was not in England, there was a need to make a transition from British pop-culture and British perceptions to American pop-culture and perception so that the film could be more relatable to its American audience. The use of techniques that can only be used in certain artistic mediums, such as soundtracks and intertextuality, helped to better translate the novel to a film. In all, the film was able to present the ideas and plot in a restricted way but still in an entirety that Nick Hornby was able to do with more detail in his novel.

Personal development plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Personal development plan - Essay Example Part 1 This is what I call the Records part. It deals with my curriculum vitae including educational qualifications, experience, specific training etc and my likes and dislikes. I will round off the section with a SWOT analysis of my-self. Part 2 This is the Analysis part. I will reflect upon and analyze some of my experiences to ascertain the best strategy for me to further develop my personality. This Section is based mainly on a number of theories. Just for future reference I have listed the crux of few of these theories which I have used in my analysis. PART 1 - RECORD Curriculum Vitae Personal Details HAIDER KAMAL Address 7 / A, Fleetwood Street, Macintosh Towers, London Date of Birth 27 February 1983 Nationality British e-mail address hk@hotmail.com Mobile Number 0638 12345678 Marital Status Single Home telephone 44.171.5678900 Personal Profile Key Skills Working under pressure to meet short deadlines Adapting quickly and effectively to changing circumstances and objectives Working independently or as part of a project team Career Profile Employer Appointment Duration Role Mavis & Deacon HR Consultants Section Supervisor Jan 2004 - May 2005 Assist manager in survey of client company J&J Pharma Ltd Assistant to Deputy HR Manager Jun 2005 - Jan 2007 All aspects of day to day working Academic Achievements Course Institution Result Year MBA (HRM) Greenwich Management School Ongoing 2007 BS (HRM) " 1st Class 2004 A Level St. John's College 4 A's ; 4 B's 2001 O Level " 5 A's ; 3 B's 1999 Interests Field sports like football, hockey, and cricket. Reading history, especially ancient Greek history. Music, movies and swimming. Training Received I attended a number of work-shops during my tenure at J&J.... To excel in what one does and to be better at it than others is the cherished desire of all persons. However, the measure of success depends upon the effort one puts in to constantly develop and improve his / her skills and personality. Stephen R Covey in his book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People suggests that to start the process of self improvement one should write down how he or she would like to be remembered after their death and then work to achieve that ideal. Meyer – Briggs Type Indicator ( MBTI ) is a personality test designed to identify significant personal preferences. Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers developed the Indicator during World War II, and its criteria follow from Carl Jung's theories in his work Psychological Types. According to Myers-Briggs Theory, while types and traits are both inborn, traits can be improved akin to skills, whereas types, if supported by a healthy environment, naturally differentiate over time. The ind icator attempts to tell the order in which this occurs in each person, and it is that information that the complete descriptions are based on. The indicator is like an arrow which attempts to point in the direction of the proper description. To learn about one's inborn traits is to create the opportunity to improve how one applies them in different contexts. In that sense, the MBTI can yield much personal change and growth.The main sorts of MBTI are known as Dichotomies.

Research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 4

Research Paper Example For many, that realization is quite difficult to accept and admit. In the case of driving motor vehicles this can sometimes create an issue. Not everyone ages the same rate and not every aging driver is a potential menace on the road, because of age; however, at the same time, the number of car accidents involving elderly drivers, that had nothing to do with alcohol, drugs, or speeding, is sky-rocketing and the only variable is that they were in fact elderly. (Davis, and DeBarros 1) This alludes to the fact that there does become a point when aging drivers are no longer capable of operating a motor vehicle with the same optimum efficiency that they once did. That deficit is not going to improve with age. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to require drivers over a certain age, ideally 70, to commit to yearly driver’s tests to maintain their licenses. Background Age does not necessarily equal poor driving skills. Human beings age differently, some individuals driving compete nce may be impaired before the age of 70, while others may be well capable of driving well into their 80s. Also, not every instance of accidents is due to an aging driver’s mental illness. Many of the accidents related to the elderly have to do with much more common concerns, like deteriorating vision and decreased response times to physical limitations. That said, not every grey-haired driver that you pass on the road is an accident waiting to happen. Statistically elderly drivers drive less often and shorter distances than younger drivers, and yet can have accident ratio that makes them even more of a threat than teenage drivers. In fact, the federal statistics show that drivers 85 and older are involved in traffic accidents that result in fatalities an average of three per day.(Davis, and DeBarros 1) Recently instances of elderly drivers involved in accidents has been highlighted in the news and it sparks some serious social and public issues. A feasible and ethical soluti on must be reached as the number of driving Americans 65 and older will increase to an estimated 69 million by the year 2030.(Copeland 1) The suggestion to require yearly testing of drivers over a certain age has been met with support and criticism. While many see the need for such measures, others are less impressed with the idea and equate it to a form of age discrimination. Finding the best possible solution is becoming quite necessary and important. Discussion As we stated, because all individuals do not age in the same way at the same rate an arbitrary regulation that applies to every driver that would require an automatic license suspension at a certain age would be genuinely unethical. Sometimes accidents happen. Just because one of the driver’s is elderly, the blame cannot not be placed on him, simply, because of his age. Elderly drivers are seldom speeding, drive at night, or take the risks in driving in bad weather.("FoxNews.com: Associated Press" 1) They, also, aga in are unlikely to be involved in accidents caused by their taking of illegal drugs or alcohol. That said, it is the impairments that come with age that the senior may not be aware of that could be making them a risk and they are, often, not aware of it. The aging population faces many natural psychological issues as they grow older. As they potentially lose their mobility, they may face internal health issues and are less able to do things as easily on their own as they once did. With that,

Strategic Management Analysis of Starbucks Essay

Strategic Management Analysis of Starbucks - Essay Example The scope of this report has been limited to the exploring the strategic fit of the Starbucks in the International segment and the market selected for the purpose is China. The reason for this is Starbucks being declared a success story in China in contrast to other entrants’ failure (Szabo, 2012). Starbucks’ world revolved around coffee, in fact premium coffee. Broadly, Starbucks’ operations can be categorized in three domains that are: United States (â€Å"US†), International, and Global Consumer Products Group (â€Å"CPG†) (Rein, 2012). Along with premium coffee servings, Starbucks offers tea beverages and fresh food with large variety in their store (Rein, 2012). Operations (under company owned or licensed store) are under their flagship brand of Starbucks with other portfolio components include: Tazo  Ã‚ ®Ã‚  Tea, Seattle’s Best Coffee  Ã‚ ®, and Starbucks VIA  Ã‚ ®Ã‚  Ready Brew (Rein, 2012). Starbucks entered in China in the year 1998 with its first store in Taipei, Taiwan (Starbucks Newsroom, 2012) and currently it holds more than 570 stores in 48 cities (Wang, 2012). Chinese market has been dominated by tea drinking habits and it was an exception considered that Chinese welcome bitter and expensive drink of Starbucks (Szabo, 2012). On contrary to this notion, China has become Starbucks biggest market after US (Szabo, 2012), hence, made scope of the study. EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS China has taken driving seat of the world’s economic van. Businesses to achieve the status of being global take China on the checklist of success foremost. Chinese external environment is discussed below: PESTEL ANALYSIS RANKING ( from 1to 5 with 1 rating least and 5 rating best) ENVIRONMENT RANK COMMENT POLITICAL China is politically driven by capital state model but the country has mixed in its recipe the success driving elements of capitalism as well as socialism (The Economists, 2012). The democratic system of Chi na is more flexible than US and has been providing leadership more adaptable to growing challenges of the world (Li, 2011). More importantly, US-China relations are constantly growing vertically as well as horizontally (U. S. Department of State, 2012). It has been rated 4 out of 5 for overall positive conditions China mainly to support the business environment. Moreover, since the country has managed to transform the power war with super power China chances of any further discrepancy in this environmental factor is least expected. ECONOMIC Economically it’s enough to state that China is everywhere in the air. Though growth momentum has declined and expected to further slowdown, still the prospects are most attractive to big giants like Wal-mart, Siemens, Air France KLM, and Daimler etc (China Daily, 2012). Highest GDP average growth rate among BRIC countries (Global Sherpa, n.d.). Controlled CPI to 2.8% after going high to 5.5% in year 2011 (OECD, 2012)

Unit 6 management of information systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Unit 6 management of information systems - Essay Example 3 years tracking duration, use two sales tracking methods, and promise being able to be part of an ‘exclusive group of affiliates’ so that affiliates can â€Å"be happy and earn money†. There is no cost to join, and participation is open to everyone but subject to review. Program Details: Monthly payments by paypal or wire transfer with a minimum payout of $100. Joining the program requires filling in a registration form, after which the website will be evaluated for suitability. No other promises are made. Program Details: Site promises to give 50% of any income it receives from visitors referred. Payment is monthly as long as the amount exceeds $25 otherwise it gets carried over to the next. No further promises are made. Choose a topic in which you are interested. Select three different search engines (e.g., Google, Yahoo!, and MSN) and use them to look for information about the subject. Rank the performance of each site. A long list of sites that provide too broad a range of information is bad; a shorter list of sites that provide more narrowly defined information is good. Explain your ranking. The topic selected to test the search engines was ‘making a solar powered water heater’. The aim was to obtain detailed information with clear instruction on how to make such a device on one’s own. The search engines tested were Google, Yahoo and MSN accessed on 10 August 2009, and only the first page of results were analyzed. After entering the key terms ‘make’, ‘solar’, ‘power’, ‘water’ and ‘heater’, the following results were obtained: Google returned about 545,000 results displaying the first 10 (as standard) in 0.25 seconds, plus a further 11 sponsored links. The top link in the list was http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/WaterHeating/water_heating.htm. This is an excellent collection of copious information and links (with summaries) to other sites rightly deserving its position at no.1. Yahoo’s top result was at no. 2 on

Continuous improvement on the free-throw line Coursework

Continuous improvement on the free-throw line - Coursework Example and recording the current process and identification of the causes of variation from the ideal and the current situation is conducted through analysis of a cause and effect diagram. Understanding the causes of variation allowed Timothy to seek alternatives for his son including standing at centre of the free-throw line, bouncing the ball four times, focussing on the middle part of the ring and aiming for a perfect shot, and shoot. Developing an action plan incorporating the alternatives forms the second phase of the cycle. Implementing the alternatives in a real time situation and making comparison with expected results is the last part of the cycle, which in the case involve the improvement of Andrew’s free-throw percentage to 69% from 42% in 1994 season and 71% in 1995 season and an average of 60% in-game practice. Changing the technique resulted in a fall of the throws for the 1996 season with a shooting percentage fall to 50% and reinstallation seeing an increase to 70% in gamer practice and 75% in 1996 and 1997 seasons. Benefits from the (PSDA) include improved results in practice and games, augmented confidence, and profound knowledge of the determination of changes in shooting technique resulting in

1. Leadership and Transformation 2. Reflective Journal Assignment

1. Leadership and Transformation 2. Reflective Journal - Assignment Example My transformation has significantly been impacted by this unit. I have realized that a leader should be someone who acts as a role model to other members of his team. Thus, my focus has been to come up with effective strategies that encompass the contribution of all the team members. In this way, I have modeled them in such a way that once they attain a position of becoming a leader they will also create a strong team (Hemphill, 1949). Based on my objective of creating a strong team work, my communication with members of my team has always been open. This implies that I provide my team members with opportunities to provide feedback. In this way, I have been transformed from talking too much to a good listener (Schultz, et al. 2010). In this way, other members of the team can comment and possibly give an idea on how to address a certain issue either affecting the entire team or an individual member (Robert, 2002). As indicated in this unit, a good leader should recognize and reward ha rdworking team members who attain their goals. Individually, I have been transformed in the sense that I can set my own goal as well as those of the other team members (House, 1971). I promote and reward any member who achieves his or her goals while those who do not perform I train them on how to undertake their duties. As a leader, the transformational experience will influence me as a leader and a manager in various ways. First, my management strategy will now be democratic. In this way, I will be in a position to provide my team members with ample ground whereby they will be part and parcel of the organization (Montana and Bruce, 2008). Another aspect that I will emulate as a manager is to provide the team members with an opportunity to develop (Lussier and Achua, 2010). Apart from allowing them to attend part time leadership courses, I will initiate an in

Technical proposal assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Technical proposal - Assignment Example In this regard, my institution is not able to accurately and timely analyze students’ data to inform future planning, strategy and service provision. As Campbell (2007) states, students’ intake and new admissions continue to increase while new programs continue to be adopted day by day by the college. The ever increasing records are difficult to handle just by a filing system, hence there is need to develop an effective, accurate and efficient way of managing students record. The students’ record management system that is automated is the right technical change for the college. Students’ record management system is a computerized students’ record management platform that allows students, institution, teachers and administrators to interact. Students’ records help in enhancing students and institution relationship, providing services, facilities and support to the students, measuring and controlling students academic achievement at the institution and subsequently and support to the alumni. The automation of the students’ record system is expected to improve on accuracy and effectiveness of information capturing retrieval and generation of reports for each student. This would eliminate the loss of data improve services in the administration since accessing information would be within a short time. The proposed students’ record management system refers to the computerized network distribution system that allows for the management of records involving the students in college or a learning institution. This technology will enhance a number of functions within the administration concerning the students’ records including registration of students in their respective programs, manage their fee data bases, manage their examination records and manage their accommodation booking and allocation as shown in figure 1. This is a software program application that is intended to provide timely information about all the

Profile of Honda Motor Company Ltd Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Profile of Honda Motor Company Ltd - Essay Example Japan was a fuel and transport starved nation after the Second World War. Soichiro Honda seized this opportunity to provide cheap transport from small two-stroke motorcycle engines developed in the Honda Technical Research Institute in Japan. (History). This resulted in the launch of Dream D 98cc motorcycle in 1949 (Honda). From then on there has been no looking back for this multi-national company leading to a wide range of products, and a presence in nearly every part of the world. It is the leading manufacturer of motorcycles in the world, and an automobile manufacturer of repute. The name Honda in the modern era has been equated with value for money. The business activities of Honda Motor Company Ltd. include the development, production and manufacture of motor products in many places around the world. The motorcycle business activity consists of the manufacture of motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, and personal watercraft. The engine capacities of the motorcycles manufactured by Honda have a range from as low as 50cc to as high as 1800cc cylinder displacement. The models of Honda motorcycles consist of sports, business, and commuter models. Passenger cars in the automobile range of Honda consist of the Legend, Accord, Civic, City, and Acura brands. Honda also offers multi-wagons, sports utility vehicles, sports coupes, and mini-vehicles under different brand names. Financial services to customers and dealers also form a part of the business activities of Honda. This activity facilitates the purchase of vehicles by the dealers and the customers. Honda also manufactures a range of other power products, which include power tillers, portable generators, general-purpose engines, grass cutters, outboard engines, water pumps, snow throwers, power carriers, power sprayers, lawn mowers, and lawn tractors. The products of Honda are made available to its customers through various outlets, wholesalers, and independent retail dealers (Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (HMC)).

Risky Behaviors in Teens Essay Example for Free

Risky Behaviors in Teens Essay â€Å"Teens are at high behavioral risk for acquiring most STDs. Teenagers and young adults are more likely than other age groups to have multiple sex partners, to engage in unprotected sex, and, for young women, to choose sexual partners older than themselves. Moreover, young women are biologically more susceptible to chlamydia, gonorrhea and HIV. † (http://www. cdc. gov/std/Trends2000/trends2000. pd). In the United States alone teen births are extremely high, they represent about 10 percent of 4 million births each year. Not only does having a child during the teenage years causes social, emotional, and physical problems it also cost the United States 9 billion dollars a year. When having unprotected sex, not only pregnancy is a concern but receiving a sexually transmitted disease is a huge concern as well. In order to treat STDs in America it cost the government $17 million a year. The two most common STDs that teenagers catch are chlamydia, and gonorrhea. As a public health official it is important to know why do teenagers continually put themselves in situations that can alter their lives. Another thing public officials need to look into is the adolescents psychosexual health. There have been so many studies looking at the vantage point on the amount STDs, abortions, and pregnancies teens have. Now that depression is a growing concern in adolescents today, looking into the correlation between sexual activity and depression will be of great help to the public health community (Kosunen,Heino, Rimpela, and Laippala). In order to find these answers we must first examine two human behavioral theories: 1) Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory and 2) the attachment theory. Once we have the answers to the question of why, then we can start the prevention of teen pregnancies and the spread of STDs amongst our youth. Bronfenbrenner is the leading contributor to the ecological systems theory. The ecological theory uses four types of roles and norms that shape children’s development. In order to make the theory is easy-to-understand Bronfenbrenner described it as the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macro system. It is stated that, â€Å"This theory looks at a child’s development within the context of the system of relationships that form his or her environment. Bronfenbrenner’s theory defines complex â€Å"layers† of environment, each having an effect on a child’s development. This theory has recently been renamed â€Å"bio ecological systems theory† to emphasize that a child’s own biology is a primary environment fueling her development. The interaction between factors in the child’s maturing biology, his immediate family/community environment, and the societal landscape fuels and steers his development. Changes or conflict in any one layer will ripple throughout other layers. To study a child’s development then, we must look not only at the child and her immediate environment, but also at the interaction of the larger environment as well† (http://pt3. nl. edu/paquetteryanwebquest. pdf). The microsystem is where the child has direct daily contact with certain structures. The microsystem includes the child’s family, school, daycare, and the child’s neighborhood. Since this is the most important part of the ecological system the relationships have an impact that can go into different directions(both away from the child and towards the child). For example, a child’s parents may affect his beliefs and behavior; however, the child also affects the behavior and beliefs of the parent. Bronfenbrenner calls these bi-directional influences, and he shows how they occur among all levels of environment. The interaction of structures within a layer and interactions of structures between layers is key to this theory. At the microsystem level, bi-directional influences are strongest and have the greatest impact on the child. However, interactions at outer levels can still impact the inner structures. † ((http://pt3. nl. edu/paquetteryanwebquest. pdf). The mesosystem is the connection between the child’s microsystems. This can be the connection between the teacher and the child’s parents. The exosystem is the layer where the child does not function directly. This could be the parent’s work place or work schedule; even though the child does not function directly in this atmosphere the child can still feel the positive or negative consequences associated with the interaction. The macrosystem consists of the child’s culture, values, customs, and laws. For example if the child’s culture believes that it takes a village to raise a child, not only will mom and dad punish you but Ms.  Susie the next door neighbor will too. This gives the parent’s many more resources in order to raise their child in the appropriate way. â€Å"Attachment theory describes the dynamics of long-term relationships between humans especially as within families and between life-long friends. Its most important tenet is that an infant needs to develop a relationship with at least one primary caregiver for social and emotional development to occur normally, and that further relationships build on the patterns developed in the first relationships. Attachment theory is an interdisciplinary study encompassing the fields of psychological, evolution , and ethological theory. † (http://www. absoluteastronomy. com/topics/Attachment_theory). For a lot of adolescents, going into the teen years can be a very stressful transition. This met with a lot of intense challenges and changes. During this time the teen is moving away from his or her parents as their primary attachments figure and are looking towards their friends to be their primary attachment theory. If the teen’s friends are engaging in risky behaviors such as having more than one sexual partners, having unprotected sex, and etc. he teen is more likely to engage in the same type of behavior(Tracey and Shaver p. 2). â€Å"Adolescents interact simultaneously in several social spheressuch as family, peer, and neighborhood systemsthat can serve to either restrain or promote individual behaviors† (DiClemente, Salazar, Crosby, Rosenthalp. 1). The roles of the parents are very important; studies have shown that if parents are more focused on their child’s wellbeing and know the whereabouts of their child, the adolescent is less likely to engage in risky behaviors (Voisin and DiClemente p. ). in understanding how the ecological theory works, if the child or adolescent is surrounded by teen pregnancy, risky behaviors, and the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases this adolescent will believe that this behavior is okay. It is important for the adolescent to have support inside and outside of his or hers home. It is a belief that teen pregnancy and STDs can be prevented, but the question is how do public health officials began to combat these problems? In January 2011 Frayser high school made national news because 90 girls were pregnant who currently attended the school. â€Å"In Memphis, the teen pregnancy rate is between 15 percent and 20 percent – and in Frayser, the rate is 26 percent, said Deborah Hester Harrison, executive director of Memphis’ Girls Inc. It’s no surprise that Harrison places at least part of the blame on the media, such as the popular MTV shows â€Å"16 and Pregnant† and â€Å"Teen Mom. † (http://fieldnotes. msnbc. msn. com/_news/2011/01/14/5841767-90-pregnancies-at-o ne-high-school). In order for Memphis to fight this epidemic, they have received funding from the Center of Disease Control (CDC) in order to conduct a youth risk behaviors survey and implement effective policies, programs, and practices to avoid, prevent, and reduce sexual risk behaviors among students that contribute to HIV infection, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and pregnancy. (http://www. cdc. gov/healthyyouth/states/locals/tn-memphis. htm). The youth risk behavior survey shows that 90% of teenagers in Memphis do not use protection when having intercourse. The survey also shows that over 60% of teens have had sex are sexually active. Memphis City Schools are implementing a lot of different programs that will teach teens the importance of using protection during sex and the different effects that STDs and pregnancy can have on their lives (http://www. cdc. gov/healthyyouth/states/locals/tn-memphis. htm#1). It is a well-known fact that parents play an important part in their child’s development, there should be a free parenting class to parents that will teach them how to deal with their teens risky behaviors. Also teachers need to be better trained on how they deal with a student’s situation. Schools represent another socializing agent for adolescents and can be a significant source of support. This may be particularly important for many high-risk teenagers, whose families may lack adequate resources and parental support. Adolescents who believe that they are receiving high levels of support in school and feel that they are connected to teachers are less likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors compared with peers reporting less school support or teacher connectedness† (DiClemente, Salazar, Crosby, Rosenthal, p. 1). By involving the parents and teachers into the preventive process teen pregnancy and STDs will decline.

Media Interpretation on Health Promotion Research

Media Interpretation on Health Promotion Research Dwayne Potenteau A Critique of Marilynn Marchione (February 12, 2014) The Associated Press. Study ties weather to stroke rates: risk may rise with high humidity, cold, temperature swings Summary The purpose of the new article was to report on findings from a study claiming that extreme variances in seasonal weather patterns correlate to higher stroke rates. The focus on the information presented was from a study done by Judith H Lichtman and others at the Yale school of Public Health in New Haven Connecticut. In the article, the journalist Marilynn Marchione from the Associated Press, reports that through data analysis of two national databases the researchers, using a non experimental design, have found correlation between large changes in daily temperature and the risk of suffering a stroke. Elements that Influence Believability The article effectively states the main objective of the article stating the correlation between extreme variances in weather, humidity, and risk of a stroke. The next sentence incorporates data from the research to reinforce the article’s main claim stating â€Å"As it got warmer, risk fell – 3 percent for every 5 degrees, the study found†(Marchione, 2014, p.1). To further the credibility of the article, the author names and quotes Judy Lichtman, who is one of the study’s lead researchers. Marchione also adds numerous quotes throughout her article. By quoting the responses of physicians, Maricione does not infer, but relays the opinions of medical professional. Another factor that adds to the plausibility is what physiologically happens to the body during extreme warm and cold variances. The author incorporates explanations from different physicians on the effect weather has on the body. She adds the comments from several physicians, such as Dr Larry Gold stein who was part of the study, along with other physicians not associated with the research. Having multiple viewpoints from medical personnel who explain causation of stroke due to weather conditions strengthens her article and gives the reader further confidence in what she is saying. In addition to the explanations are some specific limitations of the study. Marchione notes limitations such as the omission participants due to a stroke caused by bleeding or aneurysm, and threshold values for temperatures.(Marchione, 2014, p.1). In commenting on the key omissions of the study, Marchione helps define the relationships of the study to the participants. Limitations in Generalizability and Hypothesis Loiselle, Profetto-McGrath, Polit, and Beck(2011, p.37) define generalizability as â€Å"the criterion used in a quantitative study to assess the extent to which study findings can be applied to other groups and settings†. The author’s first line in the article emphasizes a generality that is not found in any of the research findings. â€Å"There may be a link between weather and the risk of suffering a stroke, say researchers who analyzed climate trends and hospital records on millions of Americans† (Marchione, 2014, p.1). The opening sentence is an example of what philosophers define as a hasty generalization. The lack of relevant and specific information has the author rushing to a conclusion prior to obtaining and evaluating all the gathered data (Weber, Brizee, 2013). Contrary to the title, the objective of the research was to determine if there was an association between temperature, and Ischemic stroke hospitalization rates and in hospital mortality in a r epresentative sample. In addition, the hypothesis of the study was not clearly stated in the article. Loiselle defines the hypothesis as the predicted answer to expectations about relationships between study variables (Loiselle et al, p. 46). Coughlan, Cronin, and Ryan furthers the idea by stating that objectives, questions, and any hypothesis should be clearly stated in order to connect the purpose and any processes (Coughlan, Cronin, Ryan, 2007, p.660). By incorporating the hypothesis into the article, the author would have informed readers of what the researches methods were and help understand the results of their study. Limitations in Sample Size and Sample Plan Loiselle defines sample as a subset of the population under study (Loiselle et al, p. 47). The sample size is not mentioned in the article. Instead of millions, the sample size used was 157 130(Marchione, 2014, p.1). While a larger sample size better represents a target population, the misrepresentation of the sample size may give the reader a false account of the participants in the study. In addition to giving a false sample size, the article also does not mention that models were adjusted to match patient demographics. Age, sex, and race, along with seasonal changes, and comorbidity conditions were modified to fit with the target population. As a reader, the omission on selective criteria for the study participants can create uncertainty in understanding what population is susceptible. Another factor that was omitted from the article were specifics of the sampling plans. Loiselle defines sample plans as the specifics on how the sample will be selected and how many participants there will be† (Loiselle et all, p. 47). Nowhere in the article is there information that defines the mean average age of the target population mentioned was selected. In fact, the mean age was 71.6 years, and the article alludes to no age specific target. By omitting variables key to the research, the author inadvertently may lead to assumptions made by the reader on the age of population. Additional information was missing on how the sample plan specifically selected participants. The author claims that the research obtained from a national database, is the most detailed research on the issue but does not elaborate on any specifics. The researchers qualitative data was extracted from Nationwide Inpatient Sample database with a stratified sample of 20% . The article also provides no me ntion of data and the relationship to the results in the article. The researcher’s primary outcome was for discharged patients with ischemic stroke (ICN-9-CM 433, 434, 436), and death during the index hospitalization(Lichtman Wang, Leifheit-Limson Goldstein, p. 1). This missing information can misplace the context of the stud for the reader. Limitations in Validity/Reliability Loiselle defines validity as the ability to accurately assess the observations, and reliability refers to the ability to measure with different participants with consistency (Loiselle et all, p. 34). While information on the number of stroke patients, and quotes from the accredited individuals does add some credibility, the author fails to add any data on how or what processes were used. There is no mention of the desired outcome which was to determine if there were associations between temperature and ischemic stroke hospitalization rates and in hospital mortality within a U.S. population (Lichtman et al, p. 1). In addition, the reliability of data collection and was missing from the article. The information was collected from cohort and data sources (Litchman, et al, p. 1). The author provides only 2 sentences of statistical data to inform the reader. The lack of primary information which is favored over secondary or anecdotal data was another missing factor. Secondary data may lead to opinion, and have less credibility. While most information was presented in an interview type process, the overall empirical meaningful data was omitted. Limitations in Non Experimental Study Loiselle defines non experimental study as the way which researchers collect data without making changes or introducing treatments†(Loiselle et al, p. 44). Loiselle further contends that experimental studies are explicitly designed to test causal relationships (Loiselle et al, p. 44). The author did not mention the non experimental approach used by Judith Lichtman and her colleagues. Cohort studies were implemented using a retrospective study to select a specific population. Stamler and Yu confirm this by stating that cohort studies look at individual histories of people with a specific disease to identify commonalities and differences (Stamler Yu, p.150). The study is retrospective because the data was collected between 2010 – 2011. Stamler and Yu state that â€Å"These studies focus on individual s exposed to a particular health problem or potential stressor over time†(Stamler, Yu, 2012, p.150). While the article does comment on the data set extracted from 2010 to 2011, the author omitted the reasons for choosing the test population and did not add any clarity or expansion of the operational definitions. In omitting the basic defining characteristics of the quantitative study, the author did not inform the reader on give insight into the causal relationships between stroke, and varying climate. Since the Most of the information given in the article comes in the form of quotes from researchers. In the article, the author claims that â€Å"It is the largest and most detailed research on this issue†, but does not list the specifics of the target population(Marchione, p.1). The author over generalized the study, when in fact a specific population and target group had been selected. She is quoted as saying â€Å"The new study looked at stroke hospitalization, not just deaths, in a wider population using a federal database†(Marchione, 2014, p.1). The results in fact could not be generalized outside of the 157 130 patients that were age 71.6 or older, half being women, and 66.6% were of Caucasian ethnicity. Freiberger confirms the need for accuracy by stating that clarity not only on how the research was conducted, but who and how participants involved in the study must be present(Freiberger, p.1). Defining characteristics were also omitted in the article. Common cha racteristics of the test population included hypertension, diabetes, prior stroke, and cardiovascular disease. This lack of information in the article lends itself to reduced representativeness of the population and may lead a reader to not know the actual studied population. Discussion/Conclusion While the article does add information, the information presented, does not provide enough detailed elements of the study to clearly identify objectives, and any predictive hypothesis. First of all the objectives and hypothesis are never accurately stated in the article. Secondly the author does not include detailed sample plans or specify the correct sample size. Third, the validity and reliability specifics on where and how the data was obtained. Finally the author failed to expand on the non experimental study specifics. If these elements had been address to any breadth or depth within the article, the audience would have been better informed. General Public Paragraph Overall the study failed to give an accurate description of what the study’s research was trying to achieve. The author has over generalized to the point where most of the information in the article can be taken out of context. The amount of people in the study, the age group of people in the study, the ways in which the study was performed, and along with the overall results were omitted from the article. Therefore the reader is left up to their own phenomenology to decipher and interpret what the author was trying to get across. A person reading this article may be lead to conclusions that variances in temperature may lead an average person to develop a stroke. This type of incorrect representation of the study can be misleading as the author does not give false information but omits so much that errors in interpretation are inevitable. References Coughlan, M, Cronin, P, Ryan, F.(2007). Step-by-step guide to critiquing research. Part 1: quantitative research. British Journal of Nursing 16(11):658-663 Devane, D, Begley, C, Clarke, M. (2004). How many do I need? Basic principles of sample size estimation. Journal of Advanced Nursing 47(3), 297 – 302 Freiberger, M. (2010). Medical research plagued by bad reporting. .Plus magazine, Retrieved from http://plus.maths.org/content/os/latestnews/jan-apr10/reporting/index Litchman, J, Wang, Y, Leifheit-Limson, E, Goldstein, L. (2014). Association of average temperature and dew point with stroke hospitalization and mortality. Manuscript submitted for publication. Loiselle, C, Profetto-McGrath, J, Polit, D, Beck, C.(2011) Canadian essentials of nursing research (3rd Canadian ed.).Philadelphia,PA:Lippincott,Williams Wilkins. Marchione, M. (2014, February 12). Study ties weather to stroke rates; risk may rise with high humidity, cold, temperature swings. The associated press, Retrieved from http://ca.news.yahoo.com/study-ties-weather-stroke-rates-risk-may-rise-155625598.html Stamler, L, Yu, L. (2012). Community health nursing; A canadian perspective (3rd ed). Toronto. On: Pearson Weber, R. Brizee, A. (2013).Logical fallacies. The Owl at Purdue University. Retrieved from https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/659/03/

Essay --

In the United States there has been a big increase in obesity in the last 50 years. There has been much controversy on who is to blame for the increase of obesity people or fast food restaurants. Many think that it is the fast food companies fault but they are mistaking the only person to blame is people themselves not McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, etc. People take advantage of the privilege of fast food to the point that they can’t take responsibility for their own actions so they have to blame everyone else but themselves. If people would control themselves, stop being lazy, and have more responsible parents there would be much less obesity. People need to start taking responsibility for their own actions and stop blaming fast food for their obesity. People have free will; no one is forcing them to eat a big greasy burger from the fast foods restaurant with large fries and a large soda. People choose to eat that no one puts a gun to their head and forces them to make a purchase of an unhealthy meal. They buy it at their own risk knowing what can come from eating fast food all the...

Essay --

The Solutions to Note-Taking Problems for Students By: Timothy Cooks 12/3/2013 Learning Challenge/Solution Project Dr. Samuelson Note taking is a process that involves the writing down of information that has been received from another source such as a professor or boss. Note taking provides the user with reference material to use for future use. Note taking is one of the most important and useful study skills to have while in college. Students must expect to take a lot of notes in college. Professors will expect their students to take notes during lectures in order to go back and review at home alone or with other classmates. Note taking is a skill, so in order to make this skill efficient, we must develop multiple techniques in order to make note taking more profitable. Chapter 6 in our textbooks gives us plenty of techniques of note taking to improve our note taking skills. But before that lets point out that note taking has two basic functions that note taking serves. Note taking serves as a way to help you store or encode the material and a way to keep the information in written form until you need it for later reference (Pintrich & VanderStoep, 137). Chapter 6 serves as a good guide in presenting students with strategies for effective note taking. The chapter focus is on strategies instead of style in order to help us think about the process of note taking while we are in class. Before we begin note taking we should ask ourselves these questions: What should I pay attention to? What should I write down? How should I organize my notes? We are now at the beginning stages of improving the process of taking notes (Pintrich & VanderStoep, 137). This will help being organized while taking notes. Remember that good note ... ...es. In result, my quiz and exam scores dramatically increased. When I enter anatomy I used the more the same method but I needed to incorporate more techniques such as comparing notes with other students in my class because we had less instruction from the professor. Exchanging notes with other students helped me not fall behind or miss out on important information. In my current semester, I have learned more techniques and methods to include with what I already know. The results are fulfilling allowing me to potentially have straight A’s. I learned that it’s beneficial for every student to become a stronger note taker because it’s necessary for successful studying and researching. I recommend anyone who read this to become proficient in note taking for one main reason which is, to remember important information such as dates, times, key points or facts.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee :: To Kill a Mockingbird Essays

People have different perceptions of courage all the time; some think it is a man with a gun in hand; some see courage as mental strength to persevere and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty; others think courage is an ordinary person, doing extraordinary things; or even standing up for what is right, even if you are standing alone. In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, courage is illustrated through the characters of Atticus Finch, Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose, and Bob Ewell. Atticus and Mrs.Dubose share some of the same characteristics of courage. They both begin an impossible task but give it their all until the end, even if they don't succeed. On the other hand, Bob Ewell shows an immense lack of courage throughout the book by not having the courage to accept the consequences of his own wrong doing. Atticus, Bob Ewell, and Mrs.Dubose each reveal courage in different ways, even if that way is not showing any courage at all. Atticus Finch feels true courage is when " you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through to the end no matter what." (p.112) With this definition of courage, Atticus would be considered an extremely courageous man. Tom Robinson was being accused of raping a white girl during the 1930s in Alabama. Because of the way blacks were treated then, obviously the chances of Tom Robinson walking out of the courthouse innocent were slim to none. When Atticus takes the case of Tom Robinson he says it is the "one case in his lifetime that affects him personally." (p. 76) If he didn't take this case, he felt he couldn't "represent this country in legislature" additionally he said, "I couldn't hold up my head in town I couldn't even tell you and Jem not to do something again."(75) Taking this case took a great deal of courage and made Atticus a target of ridicule for Maycomb County. He was standing up for what he felt was right, and he was almost standing solo. The majority of Maycomb's citizens do not agree with Atticus's actions whatsoever. He was "running a still" in Maycomb, he was referred to as a "nigger lover" which was not accepted in society of Alabama in the 1930s(75). In Atticus's own home he was put down for defending a black man. Although Mrs. Merriweather never stated it, she did make her point clear that she felt there were "some good but

Challenges and Opportunities for Ob

ORB PQ Chapter 3 : Attitudes and Job Satisfaction1. Which of the following answer choices is the best definition of attitude? a. Attitudes indicate how one will react to a given event. b. Attitudes are the yardstick by which one measures one’s actions. c. Attitudes are the emotional part of an evaluation of some person, object or event. d. Attitudes are evaluative statements concerning objects, people or events e. Attitudes are a measure of how the worth of an object, person or event is evaluated. 2. The belief that â€Å"violence is wrong† is a evaluative statement. Such an opinion constitutes the component of an attitude. . cognitive b. affective c. reflective d. behavioral e. reactive 3. The _____ component of an attitude is the emotional or feeling component of that attitude. a. affective b. cognitive c. behavioral d. evaluative e. reaffective 4. The following are possible actions that an individual may take if they behave in a way that is inconsistent with an attitude that they hold: I: change the behavior II: change the attitude III: rationalize the behavior IV: ignore the inconstancy Which of these actions are the most likely to be taken? a. Either I, or II b. Either III or IV c. One of I, II or III . One of I, III or IV e. One of II, III or IV 5. Any incompatibility between two or more attitudes or between behavior and attitudes results in _____. a. organizational dissonance b. cognitive dissonance c. attitudinal clarification d. values clarification e. affective reactance 6. The theory of cognitive dissonance was proposed by ______________. a. Maslow b. Festinger c. Hofstede d. Skinner e. Pavlov 7. â€Å"Dissonance† means ______________. a. reactance b. constance c. resistance d. consistency e. inconsistency 8. According to Festinger, people will seek a(an) ________________________. a. ariable state with variable dissonance b. stable state with maximal dissonance c. unstable state with maximal dissonance d. unstable state with minimal dissonance e. stable state with minimal dissonance 9. Festinger proposed that the desire to reduce dissonance is determined by three factors including the_________________. a. values of the elements creating the dissonance b. degree of influence the individual believes he or she has over the elements c. degree of positive affect the person has toward the behavior d. fact that values and attitudes will vary over the short term e. wareness that dissonance exists 10. The primary organizational implication of cognitive dissonance theory is that it helps to predict _____. a. overall job satisfaction for employees b. the likelihood of a given employee engaging in impression management c. the overall level to which the workforce will accept gender, racial or other types of bias d. the willingness of the workforce to accept company rules and work practices e. the propensity to engage in attitude and behavioral change of the workforce 11. Which of the following is not a moderating variable of the A-B relationship? . direct experience b. consistency c. specificity d. accessibility e. importance 12. The theory that attitudes are used, after the fact, to make sense out of action that has already occurred is best explained by ______________. a. cognitive dissonance b. escalation of commitment c. self perception theory d. uncertainty avoidance e. organizational commitment 13. The E. M. Foster quote, â€Å"How can I know what I think ‘til I see what I say? † reflects the notions captured by ______________ theory. a. cognitive dissonance b. escalation of commitment c. self perception d. ncertainty avoidance e. social affirmation 14. The degree to which a person identifies with his or her job, actively participates in it, and considers his or her performance as being important to self-worth is _________________. a. job satisfaction b. job involvement c. job stability d. organizational commitment e. social embeddedness 15. ________________ can be defined as a positive feeling about one’s job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics. a. Job satisfaction b. Job involvement c. Job stability d. Organizational commitment e. Social investment 16.In her work in the publishing industry, Vera seeks out new authors who she considers promising. In the past two years she has found a number of new writers whose work she thought was exceptional, and immersed herself in the task of helping them shape their manuscripts for submission to her managers for publishing. Although she was extremely proud of the results, none of the authors she worked with were chosen for publication. Vera believes that the decision not to publish these authors was based on personal rivalries within management, rather than the quality of her writers’ work.She is extremely frustrated, dreads coming into work each morning and is seriously thinking of resigning. How can Vera’s job attitudes best be described? a. low job satisfaction and low job involvement b. low job satisfaction and high job involvement c. high job satisfaction and low job involvement d. high job satisfaction and high job involvement e. low organizational commitment17. Organiza tional commitment is defined as ___________________________. a. the degree to which an employee identifies with the organization they work for and its goals b. n employee’s belief that the organization they work for will go to considerable lengths to ensure that its employees are treated fairly c. the degree to which an employee’s sense of fulfillment and self worth is related to their job d. the amount of effort an employee will make in order to keep or advance their position in an organization e. the degree to which an employee believes their work impacts their organization18. Of the following, the best predictor of turnover is ______________. a. job satisfaction b. job involvement c. organizational commitment d. cognitive dissonance e. ffective dissonance19. The following are methods of measuring employee attitudes: I. a one-question global rating II. a summation score made up of a number of job facets III. a 360? battery Which of these methods are the best to use i n order to measure job satisfaction? a. I only b. II only c. III only dI and II are equally as good e. II or III are equally as good20. The following statements are about the relationship between job satisfaction and customer satisfaction for frontline employees who have regular customer contact: I. employee satisfaction is positively correlated to customer satisfaction II. employee satisfaction has no correlation to customer satisfaction III. satisfied customers tend to raise employee satisfaction Which of these statements are true? a. I only b. II only c. III only d. I and III e. II and III21. Actively and constructively attempting to improve conditions, including suggesting improvements and discussing problems with superiors would be what type of response? a. exit b. voice c. loyalty d. neglect e. reification22. Quietly continuing to do your work when you know things won’t improve, is what type of response to dissatisfaction? a. exit b. oice c. loyalty d. neglect e. social voice23. Maria is dissatisfied with the way that her manager treats her. She has quit her job and found a new position with another firm. She has expressed her dissatisfaction through __________. a. exit b. voice c. loyalty d. neglect e. social voice24. Henry is dissatisfied with his job but believes that his supervisor is a good man who will do the right thing. Henry has decided that if he just waits, conditions will improve. Henry’s approach to this problem is termed ________. a. exit b. voice c. loyalty d. neglect e. reificationSCENARIO-BASED QUESTIONSMrs. Jonas believes strongly that it is important that worker’s rights be respected, and that one of the more important ways of doing this is to ensure that all workers be properly documented. She is supervising a contracting company that is building a new warehouse for her company. While doing this she discovers that many of the workers employed by the contractor are undocumented aliens working for well below minimum wage.25. Mrs. Jonas is likely experiencing _____. a. cognitive dissonance b. unresolved anger c. ethical evasion d. uncertainty avoidance e. social pressure 6. In this situation Mrs. Jonas has a/an _____ that is in conflict with a/an _____. a. behavior; behavior b. attitude; attitude c. social need; social interest d. social need; social need e. behavior; attitude27. Mrs. Jonas can be expected to relieve the discomfort she is experiencing by _____. a. deciding this issue is unimportant b. rationalizing that it is not her problem since she is not the contractor c. attempting to stop the contractor using undocumented workers d. coming to accept that using undocumented workers does not harm workers’ rights e. any of the aboveEmployees at Acme Express are dissatisfied with working conditions, salary, and the general attitude of management. Mark, Susan, and Toni are good friends who work at Acme, yet each seem to be reacting differently to the problems at work.28. Toni has decide d that she’ll just get a new job and get away from the problem. Toni is dealing with her dissatisfaction through _____. a. exit b. voice c. loyalty d. neglect e. acceptance29. Susan has composed a list of concerns along with her suggestions for improving conditions. Susan is dealing with her dissatisfaction through ________. a. exit b. voice c. oyalty d. neglect e. acceptance30. Mark believes that his manager is a good person and will work things out if Mark just gives him time to do so. Mark is dealing with his dissatisfaction through _____. a. exit b. voice c. loyalty d. neglect e. acceptanceDESCRIPTIVE QUESTIONS1. Explain the concept of job satisfaction and discuss how job satisfaction can impact employee productivity, absenteeism and turnover.1. Discuss Cognitive dissonance and Self – Perception Theories and examine their significance in understanding relationship between Attitude and Behavior ( A – B Relationship) ___________________ Challenges and Opportunities for Ob International Review of Social Sciences and Humanities Vol. 3, No. 2 (2012), pp. 139-147 www. irssh. com ISSN 2248-9010 (Online), ISSN 2250-0715 (Print) The Constructivist Theory in Mathematics: The Case of Botswana Primary Schools Thenjiwe Emily Major (Corresponding Author) Department of Educational Foundations University of Botswana Private Bag- 00702, Gaborone Botswana- 00267 E-mail: [email  protected] ub. bw Boitumelo Mangope Department of Educational Foundations University of Botswana Private Bag- 00702, Gaborone Botswana- 00267 E-mail: [email  protected] ub. w (Received: 13-10-11 / Accepted: 12-4-12) Abstract This paper is based on a large research study that compared teacher quality and student performance in Southern Africa countries of Botswana and South Africa. In this paper we explore the extent to which the primary school teachers in Botswana use the constructivist approach in the teaching and learning of mathematics. Data was collected through classroom videotaping. Sixty out of the 64 mathematics teachers teaching at least one mathematics lesson, and more than one third of the teachers were videotaped twice.A total of 83 mathematics lessons were videotaped. The results of the study indicated that a large percentage of lessons observed required learners to simply recall rules, while a very small percentage of the lessons observed required learners to investigate or explore relationships between mathematical ideas. Keywords: Constructivism, mathematics, active learning, Botswana, passive learning. Introduction Constructivism is a learning theory describing the process of knowledge construction.Knowledge construction is an active, rather than a passive process. Constructivists believe that knowledge should not be just deposited into the learners’ minds; instead it should be constructed by the learners through active involvement in the learning process. Hausfather (2001) noted that, Constructivism is not a method. It is a theory of knowledg e and learning that should inform practice but not prescribe practice. By its very nature, constructivism emphasizes the Thenjiwe Emily Major et al. 140 mportance of the teaching context, student prior knowledge, and active interaction between the learner and the content to be learned. (p. 18). In the constructivist perspective, knowledge is constructed by the individual through his/her interactions with the environment. Unlike the traditional mode of learning whereby the teacher plays an active role in the teaching/learning environment, and learners passively receive the content, constructivists believe the learning should be centered on the learner.This has been acknowledged by Simon (1995) that â€Å"we construct our knowledge of our world from our perceptions and experiences, which are themselves mediated through our previous knowledge† (p. 115). When teachers believe that learners are empty vessels to be filled with the information from the authority, then teacher domina tion will always exist in the teaching learning environment. According to Freire (1970) the domination of the teacher is referred to as the ‘banking concept’ education.The banking concept sees the teacher as the only source of information. It is important that teachers should actively involve learners in their teaching to enable the students to construct knowledge. According to the Educational Broadcasting Corporation (2004) â€Å" in the classroom teaching, constructivist view of learning can point towards a number of different teaching practices†¦it means encouraging students to use active techniques (experiments, real-world problem solving)† (p. 1).Kennedy (1997) also noted that â€Å"what students learn is greatly influenced by how they are taught† (p. 2). Mathematics by nature is a subject that requires learners to be fully engaged in order for learning to take place. Therefore, this paper explores the extent to which learners were given the oppo rtunity to construct their own knowledge in the mathematics lessons. Statement of the Problem Botswana students need to learn mathematics differently than the current practices employed. Research has revealed that most teachers in Botswana end to present mathematics knowledge to the learners to swallow and regurgitate when needed, and not with the aim of helping them to develop independent skills to construct their own mathematics knowledge (The Report on the process of learning in Botswana: An in-depth study of the quality of mathematics teaching in sixth grade classrooms and its effect on learner achievement, 2011). Teachers have also been discovered to have insufficient skills to present maths skills to learners (The Report on the process of learning in Botswana, 2011).Teachers, therefore, must change their instructional techniques for learners to be actively engaged in their own learning and not passive recipients. Learners must learn to communicate and think mathematically. For future educational growth, , Botswana needs learners who are creative, analytic, problem solvers. Such skills can be promoted at the school level through the constructivist approach. Review of Literature Constructivism The constructivist theory to teaching and learning has been broadly addressed in a number of researches in mathematics education (Katic, Hmelo-Silver & Weber, 2009; Steele, 1995).According to this theory, students do not just passively receive information but constantly create new knowledge based on prior knowledge in conjunction with new experiences. As opposed to the traditional approaches where students learn by copying â€Å"word for word† what teachers say, constructivism has shifted to a more radical conception of teaching and learning whereby learners’ fresh ideas are brought to class, acknowledged, and enhanced through a variety of teaching and learning techniques that actively engage them.A number of studies have shown the effectiveness of the constructivist approach in teaching and learning in contrast to the traditional drilling and reciting approach (Hmelo-Silver, Duncan, & Chinn, 2007; Steele, 1995). A study by Steele, (1995) on â€Å"A construct visit Approach to mathematics teaching and learning†¦.. † revealed that using constructivist International Review of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol. 3, No. 2 (2012), 139-147 141 learning strategies has positive gains. For example, such strategies tend to create an exciting environment for students to learn mathematics and enhance their self-esteem.According to this study, when students learn to construct their own knowledge, they tend to have control of mathematical concepts and think mathematically. Another study by Katic, Hmelo-Silver & Weber, (2009) on Material Mediation, suggest that materials can help to motivate and mediate the participants’ collaborative problem solving discussions. In this study, Katic, et al. , teachers used a variety of resou rces to solve a mathematics problem and construct explanations about the learning process; they, then, posed questions about the problem to clarify their solutions.This is a method that is encouraged in social theories like constructivism, as it generally assists in keeping the learners on task. Although constructivist learning theory does not tell us how to teach mathematics, a teacher with a constructivist background can facilitate learners’ construction of knowledge by applying different constructivist teaching approaches that are in aligned with this learning theory. This type of mathematics teaching forms the basis of this study.Nevertheless, a number of studies in Botswana on teacher centered versus learner centered approaches have revealed that teacher centered approaches are dominant in Botswana classrooms (Prophet, Rowell, 1993; Republic of Botswana, 1993; Tabulawa, 1997, 1998). For example a study By Tabulawa, (1997), on Pedagogical Classroom Practice†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ has indicated that students in the classrooms have been shown to be passive recipients of knowledge, which means that they are not given the opportunity to construct their own knowledge.The commission on Education (1977) has also highlighted this as a major concern in the education system of Botswana. According to this policy, teachers have a tendency to dominate in the classroom as most of the information transmitted to students is often too abstract and mostly requires them to memorize. This policy in a way was calling for a radical change in the classroom practices to allow for students’ growth through teaching and learning that is learner driven.Tabulawa, (1998) has also indicated a concern on the perceptions that teachers have that influence their classroom practices. In addition, Tabulawa, noted that there are certain factors that influence teachers to be dominant in the classrooms such as â€Å"teachers’ assumptions about the nature of knowledge and the ways it ought to be transmitted and the perceptions of students†. These factors are worrisome as they tend to perpetuate teacher centered approaches as opposed to learner centered practices.The study is out to find out the extent to which teachers apply the constructivist theory of teaching and learning when teaching mathematics. This is a theory that has been proven beyond reasonable doubt to enhance students’ independent learning. Methodology Sampling To address the objective of the study, the researcher used data from Human Research Science Council (HRSC) -Stanford- University of Botswana Regional Education Study that was conducted in 2009/10 as a comparative study on teacher quality and student performance in Botswana and South Africa.Out of 60 sampled schools in Botswana, data was obtained from 58 schools and 64 classrooms (two math classrooms in six of the schools taught by the same teacher in each school). The sample focused on 5 districts in Botswana, namely; low-incom e schools in five districts within 50 kilometers of the South African border, Gaborone (18 schools, 617 students), Kgatleng (16 schools, 495 students), Lobatse (6 schools, 152 students), South East (10 schools, 305 students), and Southern (8 schools, 205 students). InstrumentationData was collected through videotaping 83 standard six mathematics teachers teaching at least one mathematics lesson. More than one-third of the teachers were videotaped twice. The filming was done at the middle and towards the end of the year by trained personnel of the Thenjiwe Emily Major et al. 142 Botswana team from the University of Botswana. Teachers whose classes were videotaped were informed in advance about the research team visits. They were further told that the videos will only be used for the study. Data AnalysisThe videotape analysis was also done by well trained personnel from the University of Botswana and the U. S. A. From various video analyses conducted, the levels of cognitive demand we re selected based on the relevance of this paper since the focus was on the thinking process in which the learner was engaged. The ‘level(s) of cognitive demand’ in which learners were engaged in during the lesson were derived from a rubric in Stein et al. ’s (2000) classification of higher and lower cognitive demand. These are: Lower Level Demand 1.Memorization: Memorization recollection of facts, formulae, or definitions 2. Task requires the recall of previously learned material. Or the committing of facts, formulas or definitions to memory. Task cannot be solved using procedures because procedures do not exist or the time frame in which task is to be completed is too short to use a procedure. Tasks involve exact reproduction of previously seen material and what is reproduced is clearly and directly stated. Task has no connection to concept or meaning that underlies the facts, rules, formula, or definition being learned or reproduced.Processes without Connectio ns: Performing algorithmic type of problems and have no connection to the underlying concept or meaning Task is algorithmic. Use of procedures either is specifically stated or its use is evident based on prior instruction, experience, or placement of task. Task leaves little ambiguity about what needs to be done and how to do it. No connection or explanation of the concept is needed. Task focuses on producing correct answers rather than developing mathematical understanding. Higher Level Demand 3.Processes with Connections: Use of procedures with the purpose of developing deeper levels of understanding concepts or ideas Task requires use of procedures to develop deeper understanding of the concept. Task suggests pathways to follow that are broad general procedures rather than algorithms that are opaque with respect to underlying concepts. Tasks are usually represented in multiple ways (e. g. visual diagrams, manipulatives, symbols, problem situations) Connections among the represent ations builds meaning to concept. Tasks require some thinking, although using a procedure t cannot be followed mindlessly. Students need to engage in conceptual ideas to successfully complete the task. Doing Concepts and Processes: Doing mathematics complex and non-algorithmic thinking, students explore and investigate the nature of the concepts and relationships Task requires access of relevant knowledge, self-reflection on actions, exploring concepts, processes and relationships in non-algorithmic activity. Task demands self-monitoring or self-regulation of thinking. – 4. – International Review of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol. 3, No. 2 (2012 139-147 (2012), 147 143 –Task requires analysis of constraints that may limit possible solution strategies and solutions. Task is unpredictable due to nature of solution process required. The focus in this component (the levels of cognitive demand) is the thinking processes in cognitive which learners engage in the observed lessons. In a constructivist classroom, learners are expected to think at a very high level, – as they are actively involved in their own learning. Apart from the analysis of the levels of cognitive demand, the data analysis members also s made some observations on how students interacted with the teacher.They made notes on these observations. Findings Levels of cognitive demand in classroom teaching in a sample of Botswana School 90 80 70 Percent of Lessons 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Memorization Procedures without connections Procedures with connections Doing mathematics The findings of the study indicated that 7. 3. 5% of the lessons required learners to recall a fact which in fact is memorization, 85% of the lessons do procedures without connections, and 23% do procedures with connections and only 3% students explore and investigate the nature of the concepts and relationships.From the video note observations, the data indicates that in most lessons teachers asked the s tudents questions and allowed the whole class to call out the answers. These findings concur with Arthur’s (1998), that â€Å"I observed many teacher dominated classroom procedures, in teacher-dominated particular lengthy recitations of questions by teacher and answers by individual or whole class† (p. 314). When teachers are the only ones asking questions and students being the s† respondents, learning is no longer centered on the learner but more on the teacher.Discussions From the findings it is evident that teachers used the procedural teaching and students learned by memorizing facts. When learners do the rote learning they are not encouraged to think critically and to construct their own knowledge as the teacher is the one who provides the one content for them. Memorization in Botswana classrooms is very common as evidenced by previous researchers such as Fuller and Snyder (1991), Arthur (1998), Tabulawa (2004, 1998, Thenjiwe Emily Major et al. 144 and 1997 ).Arthur and Martin (2006) in their study on comparative classroom teaching and learning found that most teachers in Botswana â€Å"ask low-level factual questions, with few opportunities for pupils†¦learners do not exercise their reasoning powers or imaginations† (p. 195). As data has indicated that lessons were predominately recalling of facts and procedures without any application to real life situations, one may assume that learners were not constructing their own knowledge but were simply spoon-fed by teachers. The National Commission on Education of Botswana (1977) also oncurs with this study that learning is mostly memorizing and recalling of facts which, in a way, does not add any value to the learning process. One of the goals of vision 2016 is for the education system of Botswana to provide quality education that would enable Batswana to adapt to the changing needs of the country as well as the global changes. This vision goal can be achieved if teachers adapt to theories such as constructivism that allow learners to explore and come up with their own solutions to the problems.Memorization and imitating teachers will not give Botswana learners sufficient wisdom to survive independently in this world of socio-political and economic unrest. From the data, one concludes that learners were not given tasks that challenged their thinking and the construction of their own knowledge. Henningsen and Stein (1997) noted that Mathematical tasks are central to students' learning because â€Å"tasks convey messages about what mathematics is and what doing mathematics entails†(NCTM, 1 991, p. 24). The tasks in which students engage provide the contexts in which they learn to think about subject students. p. 525) matter, and different tasks may place differing cognitive demands on Indeed if learners are given tasks that encourage memorization of ideas, according to Stein et al. ’s (2000) levels of cognitive demands, the learners are at the lowest level. In this level students are given formulas to memorize and just follow procedures without making any connections to real life situations. For example, in one of the videos the teacher was teaching the topic â€Å"area†. This is how she taught the lesson; first she asked the learners the meaning of the word area.Learners could not define the word, and instead of the teacher defining it, she gave the learners the formula for solving the area of a square. She then drew some shapes on the board, solved one as an example and then asked the learners to use the formula to find areas of the rest shapes. Indeed using the formula given, most learners were able to find the areas of the shapes drawn by their teacher. But can the learners apply the idea to real life? The procedure may be correct. However, did the learners make any connections to real life?From the analysis of the data it is evident that most tasks given to the learners only concentrated on the low levels of c ognitive demand. The task focused on producing correct answers rather than developing mathematical understanding. Various reasons such as examination driven curriculum may have contributed to Botswana teachers delivering facts (giving lower level tasks) to learners rather than allowing learners to think and construct their own knowledge. The centralized curriculum as well as examinations does contribute to teacher-domination as teachers are more concerned with completion of the syllabus at a given period.Arthur and Martin (2006) acknowledged that â€Å"pupils examination success provides access to further education in Botswana† (p. 192) forcing teachers to rush through the syllabus. This has also been confirmed by Tabulawa, (1998), that teachers’ perceptions of students and the goals of schooling have a direct influence in the way teachers teach because teachers see themselves as the main transmitters of knowledge, while students are passive recipients who must memoriz e and produce during examinations.Another reason may be the large numbers of teacher to students’ ratio which then encourages delivering of facts rather than allowing learners to construct their own knowledge. In a constructivist learning environment, learners learn best by discovering their own knowledge. Teachers encourage higher – level thinking so that students can reach beyond the simple factual response. Moreover, in a constructivist classroom, learners are encouraged to summarize concepts by analyzing, predicting, justifying, and defending their ideas.Cobb (1999) noted that â€Å"constructivist learning theory predicts that knowledge encoded from data by learners themselves will be more flexible, transferable, and useful than knowledge encoded for them by experts and transmitted to them by an instructor or other delivery agent† (p. 15). International Review of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol. 3, No. 2 (2012), 139-147 145 In constructivism knowledge co nstruction is emphasized rather than knowledge reproduction. Knowledge construction helps the learners to remember what they have learned.The second highest level of cognitive demand encourages ‘use of procedures with the purpose of developing deeper levels of understanding concepts or ideas’. For learners to master the content, constructivist believe that higher order thinking skills and deeper understanding should be emphasized in the learning environment. Learners develop into critical thinkers if they are actively involved in the learning process and are encouraged to apply the concepts to real life situation. By this, learners are making meaningful connections.Learners can use their experiences to construct new information if given the opportunity to practice in the teaching/learning environment rather than having facts poured into them by the one in authority. The role of the teacher is to serve as a facilitator. The highest level of cognitive demand calls for doi ng mathematics complex and nonalgorithmic thinking, students explore and investigate the nature of the concepts and relationships. Tasks that learners are supposed to be engaged in should help them explore the relationship between concepts they are learning and reality.For, example, if learners are doing ‘area’ as a topic of study, let them explore the idea and find out how the topic can be applied in real life situations. Teachers should provide tasks that will lead the learners to explore, discover, and apply the concepts. Richard cited by Simon (1995) noted that It is necessary [for t he mathematics teacher] to provide a structure and a set of plans that support the development of informed exploration and reflective inquiry without taking initiative or control away from the student. The teacher must design tasks and projects that stimulate student to ask questions pose, problems, and set goals.Students will not become active learners by accident but by design through the use of the plans that we structure to guide exploration and inquiry. (118) It is, therefore, the responsibility of every teacher to plan activities that require high level of cognitive demand. It is important to note that high levels of cognitive demand require students to use their prior knowledge as advocated by the constructivists. Henningsen and Stein (1997) contended that â€Å"connections with what students already know and understand also play an important role in engaging students in high-level thought processes† (p. 27). For students to perform tasks that require critical thinking and applying of concepts, experience or prior knowledge used as a base is crucial. The findings in this study indicate that teachers did not engage the learners on tasks that required them to use higher levels of cognitive demand. These findings concur with what Prophet and Rowell cited by Fuller and Snyder (1991) that teachers in Botswana classrooms â€Å"ask for factual information through sentence completion exercise with pupils individual or in chorus simply adding the missing word.Students are rarely asked to explain the process or the interrelation between two or more event† (p. 276). This is a clear indication that teachers in Botswana classroom give learners tasks that are mostly associated with the low level of cognitive demand of which the constructivist theory does not encourage. The theory of constructivism also values the uniqueness of every learner. Students learn differently. The teacher, as the facilitator, should appreciate every learner’s strengths and weaknesses. Each learner should be given the opportunity to construct knowledge from his/her own experiences.Summary DeVries, Zan, Hildebrandt, Edmiaston, and Sales ( 2002) asserted that â€Å"teacherswho have been accustomed to teaching by telling and directing children’s work must shift from seeing themselves as central in producing learning to seeing thechild as centralâ⠂¬ (p. 36). From the study one concluded that there was a lot of spoon-feeding in most classes. Students were not given tasks that encouraged them to be doers and thinkers of mathematics, but rather to be consumers of mathematics concepts. Knowledge construction was very limited in most classes making learning more teacher-centered.Thenjiwe Emily Major et al. 146 The continued teacher domination in the Botswana teaching/learning environment will result in learners who cannot think deeply and critically. Knowledge is not passively received, but actively built up by the learners. 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