Role of technology and Cultural Competence Essay

Role of technology and Cultural Competence - Essay Example Teaching practices have become more efficient and effective, alongside enhancing creativity and innovativeness in the application of these technologies by students. Moreover, shifts in teaching paradigms have been realized (Bates & Poole, 2003), allowing both teachers and students to counter emerging negativities related to technology in the teaching and learning context. Cultural, social, economic, and political factors influence education in variant ways. In this respect, the assertion that public education responds primarily to political, not economic forces generates a critically arguable statement. Personally, public education addresses more than just the political factor. There are many and different stakeholders involved in the operationalization of the education sector (Prensky, 2008). On the same note, the teaching and learning environment is characterized by diverse players that exhibit differentiated interests in an education context. It is hardly arguable that all these stakeholders are politically motivated. Therefore, public education encompasses many forces, both political and economic included. The contemporary classroom environment within and across countries is characterized by cultural diversity. Multiculturalism in the global context has become essential as the internet breaks local, regional, national, and international boundaries (Montgomery, 2001). Teaching and learning practices are increasingly becoming influenced by multiculturalism, following the opening up of education to the international community. In American context, the classroom environment is made up of domestic and international students (Irvine & York, 2001). Their coexistence is coherent when multiculturalism in play. Multiculturalism informs the manner in which global diversity is being dealt with. (Paley, 1992; Gurian & Kathy, 2004) contends that the internet has enhanced global interconnectedness, thereby raising the significance of

Organisations culture Essay Example for Free

Organisations culture Essay 1.Executive summary In this paper I look at how organisations develop culture and how this culture can be created, manipulated and changed my management. I also look at what other factors can change and affect a companies culture. The paper will take the following format. A definition of culture and the problems associated with its definition. I then look at how organisationl culture develops, with an explanation of the levels of cultural analysis, a look at the various different types of culture, and the role of the leader/manager in creating the organisations culture. How culture can be changed and the skills and actions needed by management to successfully implement a cultural change. I then finish with a conclusion. 2.Defining organisational culture What is organisational culture? This it has been found, is not an easy question to answer. The concept of culture has its roots in anthropology, the study of human affairs. In this context, culture has been used to designate two different things. A tribe or a social group is studied as a culture that produces and may have cultural artefacts. The second use of the term refers to aspects within a given culture, such as customs, rituals, knowledge and so on. (Sackman, S, 1991). In the context of organisational culture it is largely the second approach that is studied. Although people may not be aware consciously of culture, it still has a persuasive influence over their behaviour and actions. (Mullins, L, 2002). This statement explains that although we may not have the knowledge that we belong to a certain cultural group it will still have an impact on our behaviour and in an organisational sense, our working lives. The culture concept began to affect organisational thinking in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Although is it evident in ideas from a number of earlier writers, for example Bernard (1938) and Jacques (1952). If we look at a number of different of organisations it is clear to see that things are done differently. This idea applies to all organisations, even in similar companies that are operating in the same industry. Tesco provides  much the same service as Sainsburys, but on close inspection we would be able to see the differences in which the two companies operate. It is more difficult however to describe how things are done differently, or why the company feels different. A major problem with the concept of culture is the degree to which individuals, organisations or entire communities display characteristics which are consistent within it. (Martin, J, 2001). Do all British people display characteristics that are consistent with British culture? It is clear that although there are many similarities in the behaviour of people within a defined culture, that individual differences provide some variety. The same must also be assumed in the context of organisational culture. Another problem with finding a definition for organisational culture is the sheer number of definitions that already exist. Kroeber and Kluckhorn list more than 250 definitions of culture, that include components such as ideas, concepts, ideologies values, attitudes, goals, norms, learned behaviours, symbols, rites, rituals, customs, myths, habits or artefacts such as tools and other material representations. (Sackman, S, 1991). This inevitably leads to confusion amongst researchers as to a universal definition of organisational culture. The term the way we do things around here (Deal and Kennedy, 1988) is often accepted as an operational definition of organisational culture. However this offers little in terms of the content of culture. Kilman et al. (1985) suggests culture is the reflects the ideologies, shared philosophies, values beliefs, assumptions, attitudes, expectations, and norms of an organisation 3.Levels of culture Now we have looked at a definition of organisational culture we should look deeper into what develops and makes up an organisations culture. According to Schein (1985), organisational culture is made up of three levels. Visible organisational structures and processes (Hard to decipher) Strategies, goals, philosophies (Espoused justification) Unconscious, taken for granted beliefs, habits of perception, thought thought and feeling (Ultimate source of values and action) The Levels of Organizational Culture, Schein, E (1985) Artefacts These form the surface level of culture. They include all the things that a person sees, hears and has contact with. In an organisation it would be the architecture of the environment such as the management hierarchy, its technology, its creations and products and its style in terms of manners of address both up and down the hierarchy, dress codes and formal procedures. Schein identifies the most important point of this level being that artefacts are easy to identify but hard to decipher. Two organisations may well have the same system in operation but they can mean different things in terms of the culture of the organisation. Schein puts his point into an example by saying both the Egyptians and Mayas built large pyramids, but they were tombs in one culture and temples in the other. This point is contradicted by Gagliardi (1990) who says ones own response to physical artefacts such as buildings and other office layouts can lead to the identification of major images and root metaphors that reflect the deepest levels of culture. This is supported by my own experience. I have worked in a supermarket, an  organisation with a tall management hierarchy. Many of the artefacts of the organisation gave the impression of a very formal culture. A strict uniformed dress code was in place, with management wearing different colours from subordinates, and formal forms of address being used. The company was also largely bureaucratic with countless forms to be filled out a large numbers of standard procedures in place. One person however may look at a very informal organisation and class it as inefficient and unproductive, while another may class it as innovative and free from unnecessary bureaucracy, this depends on the individuals previous preconceptions about the artefacts that are present. Values Values are usually one persons beliefs about a given situation. If a manager believes that at a certain time of the year his/her company should run at a lower capacity due to demand etc. This is attributed to his personal values. Only once these values are acted on, successfully implemented and accepted by the organisation do they become transformed into underlying assumptions. From a marketing perspective, some of these values may remain conscious and may be explicitly stated in a companys mission statement as the dominant values of the organisation (Deal and Kennedy, 1982). Only values that are concrete that can be physically and socially validated, they are confirmed by the groups experiences, go through his transformation process. Underlying assumptions If a solution to a problem works frequently then it is often accepted as a rule for solving the given problem. The power of culture comes forth because these assumptions are shared within the group and are therefore mutually reinforced. These assumptions can often cause problems when someone new, with a different set of underlying assumptions from a previous culture, joins the organisation. As humans we like stability. Any decision which challenges or questions an underlying assumption, such as changing a costing method, or a method of production, will likely lead to anxiety and defensiveness within the organisation. A skill required by managers wishing to change aspects of an organisations culture is to recognise this connection, to get to the deeper levels of culture, and to deal with the anxiety that results when these assumptions are changed. The three stages are linked constantly together. Basic assumptions are treated as the essence- what culture really is; and values and behaviours are treated as observed manifestations of the culture essence. (Mullins, 2002). We are able to see now how culture is developed in term of values being acted upon and accepted by the organisation, these values being transformed into underlying assumptions and the artefacts of the organisation being formed by the interpretation of these underlying assumptions. 4.Types of organisational culture Handy (1993) identifies four types of organisational culture. Power culture Power cultures revolve around a focal person or small group, this person or group has absolute power throughout the entire organisation. It is often found in small entrepreneurial companies, and relies largely on trust and communication. It is normally non-bureaucratic with few formal procedures. The success of the organisation depends largely on the skill of the focal person or group. Role culture Role cultures are often largely bureaucratic, it is often described as a small number of senior managers resting on the strong pillars of the various functions of the organisation. Each person has a specified role within a function of the organisation which in turn has a specified role within  organisation as a whole. These roles are expected to be adhered to and it is rare for an individual or function to deviate into different areas of the business. Predictability and stability are two main themes within this type of culture. This type of culture often develops in large companies with large numbers of staff and a tall management hierarchy. Companies with this type of culture tend to have steady objectives and operate in largely predictive markets. Again this relates back my own experience as this type of culture is largely prevalent in supermarket chains. Task culture Task cultures recognise the objectives and goals of the organisation as being paramount. Handy describes this as a net or matrix culture. Power is often shared by a team of experts who are highly manoeuvrable to suit the needs of the organisation. It largely found in team or project based organisations such as consultancy firms or engineers. Person Culture Person cultures are largely individual orientated. Any structure is solely suited to aid the individuals within the organisation. There is no specific power structure with individuals having complete power over their own operations. Examples of this would be barristers chambers, architects, business consultants, individuals that have come together to share resources such as office space and admin support. Some people are more suited to different types of cultures than others. Where one person will be happy working in an organisation with a task culture, he/she may feel constricted and undervalued in a role culture environment. Another person may be the opposite and may feel secure within a largely role orientated company. An important skill for managers is being able firstly to identify the type of culture his/her organisation is operating in and then to hire the correct people for that culture, this helps in reducing any anxiety caused by  changes to underlying assumptions previously discussed. There are many other models of the types of organisational culture available to the researcher. Writings by Deal and Kennedy on the generic cultures, Ouchis type Z companies, and several more. The focus of this paper however is on the development and change of culture and this will be explored in the following sections. 5. Factors affecting the development of culture The role of the founder Organisations do not form accidentally or spontaneously. They are created because one or more individuals perceive that the coordinated and concerted action of a number of people can accomplish something that an individual cannot (Frost,p et al. 1991) At the beginning of an organisations life the founder often has complete control over the organisation. He/she will make most of not all of the important decisions over all areas of the organisations operations. Because they had the original idea, founders will typically have their own notion, based on their own cultural history and personality of how to get the idea fulfilled. (Schein, 1985). Since the founder started the group it is natural to assume that he/she also impose their thoughts, values and assumptions on the group. As new members enter the group the founders assumption will be changed and modified to suit the new organisation, but will always have the biggest impact on what becomes the organisational culture. This has large implications for the future of the organisation. If the company was founded by an informal, easy going type of person then this is the type of organisational culture that is likely to develop. Similarly if the organisation is founded by a formal, autocratic person, the company will likely develop this kind of organisational culture. This will continue to form the organisations culture and have a large influence on the actions of the company even if new leaders are brought in to the organisation. The assumptions of the founder will already be deep routed and form the basis of  the culture. Size Size affects an organisation because of the formality that is often required in larger companies. A large company with many levels of management and a large number of functions or even businesses cannot realistically operate on an informal level. This has implications for the culture of the organisation. Technology If the company uses highly technological systems and procedures in its operations ie pharmaceuticals, the cultural emphasis will be on the technical skills of its employees. A company in the service sector may have a cultural slant towards customer service. Goals and objectives What the organisation wants to achieve will also affect culture. An organisation that wishes to become a market leader may inherit cultural values that reflect that attitude, i.e. company image focused, or have a heavy marketing orientation. Environment There are many environmental factors that can affect an organisations culture, stakeholders, competitors, government etc. etc. How a company chooses to interact with each of these environmental forces will determine how the organisations culture develops. People The preferred style of work amongst both senior management and employees has a large effect on the organisations culture. If senior management attempt to implement a culture that is unacceptable to employees a reaction will  follow, industrial action, low motivation, poor productivity etc. Likewise if employees attempt to force management into following their own culture then a negative reaction will also result. i.e. relocation or the replacement of workers. (Section taken from Martin, J, Organizational Behaviour, 2001) Senior management need to realise the factors that affect an organisations culture and attempt to you analyse the likely impact major business decisions may have. Failure to do may have negative consequences for the culture and hence the success of the company. 6.Cultural change, the role of management There is some considerable debate as to whether changing something as deep-seated as corporate culture is possible Writers with this view usually focus on the deeper levels of culture, the underlying assumptions. Turner (1986) supports this view by suggesting that it would not be possible to manipulate it accurately because it becomes such an integral part of the organisations fabric. Because these are taken for granted assumptions about organisational life, members cannot envision any other way of operating. Those advocating corporate culture usually focus on the surface elements of culture, the artefacts. These are more easily changed than the deeper routed assumptions. Some writers have argued that unless the deeper assumptions are changed that the company will revert back to old ways of operating. Despite these arguments there is wide consensus that cultural change should only be attempted as a last resort and after other avenues have been sought. (Cummings, Worley, 1993) A primary task of management is to control the activity of employees to best serve defined organizational interests. They can achieve this control using formalized rules (bureaucratic mechanisms), economic rewards and sanctions or values and norms about how the work is to be done (clan or cultural  mechanisms) (Wilkins and Ouchi, 1983; cited by Sinclair, A, 1993). This statement reflects the common view that organisational culture needs to be aligned with organisational strategy if the company is to be successful. Many companies have now realised the importance of developing strategies harmonious with the organisations culture. Sometimes however culture needs to be changed, if circumstances require an organisation to follow a particular strategic route or a significant change affects the organisation i.e. market forces, government action, rapid growth etc. then the culture will have to be adjusted to suit the strategy and external environment. Managers require many skills in order to successfully change an organisations culture. It is a lengthy process that is full of danger. Staff need to be reassured and convinced that the new culture will work, otherwise defence mechanisms and the problems discussed earlier may begin show. The following guidelines to changing culture have been cited in (Cummings, T, Worley, C, Organization development and change, 1993) 1.Clear strategic vision- the firm needs to have a clear view of its operational strategy if culture is to be changed. Managers need to know where the company is now and where it is planning on going. 2.Top-management commitment- cultural change must be managed from the top of the organisation. Senior managers need to be committed to the new culture. They must have the staying to see the changes through. 3.Symbolic leadership- executives must communicate the new culture through their own actions. Their behaviour needs to symbolise the behaviours and actions that are being sought in the entire organisation. In an example given in the text, the CEO of Dana Corporation Rene McPherson threw the companies multi-volume policy manuals into a waste paper basket during a meeting and replaced them with a one page set of principles. 4.Supporting organisational change- the culture change must also be supported by changes in the organisational structure and operations, the artefacts as have already been discussed. They can get people aware of the behaviours required in the new culture for the organisation to be successful. 5.Selection and socialization of newcomers and termination of deviants. One of the most important methods in changing an organisations culture is hiring the right people. This is particularly prominent in management positions where the manager has influence over the behaviour of subordinates. 6.Ethical and legal sensibility- sometimes when culture change happens some employees feel they are being hard done by, maybe due to a change in roles, due a promise made during the transition that has been fulfilled. This may lead to legal battles and or resignations from the company. These steps demonstrate some of the ways that managers can influence and successfully change an organisations culture. There is of course no universal solution to changing or influencing culture, all companies are different and individual approaches are more than likely necessary for cultural change to be successful. An example of cultural change is given in (Martin, J, Organizational Behaviour, 2001). In this case study of a motor car dealership in the UK, the newly appointed managing director wanted to change the company culture. The existing culture was largely autocratic with instructions coming down the hierarchy and staff carrying out these instructions. She wanted to change the culture so that the company has a more had team based approach with decision making at team level and initiative being used at all levels of the organisation. To do this she had to use drastic tactics such as showing staff a video of disappointed customers and even accepting a loss in revenue while the changes were being made. Along with this approach she introduced many changed such as more staff training, revision of pay schemes, continuous improvement groups, multi-functional teams etc. After three years the culture change was deemed complete and she could turn her hand to the future of the company. This case study highlights the often drastic measures and level of commitment that is required by managers to introduce a culture change to an organisation. 7.Conclusion It is relatively clear that organisational culture exists and that it plays a huge part in an organisations actions and the behaviour of its employees. Very few writers now argue with this point. I have discussed how culture develops in an organisation and the different levels and types of culture that emerge. Referring back to the second part of the original question, we have seen how managers can influence and attempt to change an organisations culture and the various problems that are encountered in this process. Although there are debates as to whether an organisations culture can or cannot be changed it would seem that there is a mid-point between the two arguments. There are examples of successful culture changes and I have given one in the text. It is clear that if properly organised and implemented a cultural change can be achieved. However we cannot assume that the culture has been changed all together. If the underlying assumptions are as strong as Schein and other writers claim then these will always affect the company culture in some shape or form. If the new culture is not carefully controlled could reappear. To conclude I would say, although cultural can be changed to suit the environment and organisational strategy, that managers should be cautious take into account the underlying principles that govern the organisational culture. 8.References Martin, J, (2001), Organizational Behaviour, 2nd edn, Thomson Learning Mullins, L, (2002), Management and Organisational Behaviour, 2nd edn, Financial Times, Prentice Hall Schein, E, (1992), Organizational Culture and Leadership, 2nd edn, Jossey-Bass Inc. Cummings, T and Worley, C, (1993), Organization Development and Change, 5th edn , West Publishing Company Sackman, S, (1991), Cultural knowledge in Organizations Exploring the Collective Mind, Sage Publications Frost, P et al. (1991), Reframing Organizational Culture, Sage Publications Sinclair, A, (1993), Approaches to organisational culture and ethics, Journal of Business Ethics, Dordrecht: Jan 1993. Vol. 12, Iss. 1; pg. 63, 11 pgs Wilson, A (2001), Understanding organisational culture and the implications for corporatemarketing, European Journal of Marketing, Bradford, Vol. 35, Iss. 3/4; pg. 353

Insights on Style :: Style Writing Styles Essays

Insights on Style A writer sits down on his hickory brown leather upholstered chair in a lowered den of a cape-cod house in the country. He slips his bifocals up the ridge of his nose and pulls his typewriter with both arms to a comfortable typing distance. He is now ready to write and write with style. He has in mind that his certain eloquence will provide cohesion, concision and elegance that will be clear and concise so the reader will be able to determine exactly the message he is portraying. He begins with the intent to be clear, concise and understood. Making an impression on a reader is the idea I have about style. When a completed composition is read, there should be a feeling of understanding and comprehension about a certain idea, thought or consciousness. But, â€Å"Who can confidently say what ignites a certain combination of words, causing them to explode in the mind (Strunk and White, pg. 66)?† This is true in most cases; it is not the combination of words that cause a mind to stir but the way it creates thought and stimulus that create an explosion. There is a conscious effort required to give a work of writing style. Two major contributions to the subject of â€Å"good writing† are the books Style: toward Clarity and Grace by Joseph M. Williams and The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White. Before I explain about what it is I gained from these two books about style I want you to get an overall, summed-up insight to the books. Strunk Jr. and White have an idea and knowledge of â€Å"g ood writing† and call it style. In their book, The elements of Style, I can depict it like this: they give you the paint, paintbrush, canvas and the tools and say â€Å"This is what style is made of.† Williams, in his book paints a picture and says â€Å"this is style,† leaving the color out and letting that be determined by the reader. â€Å"We visibly organize essays, articles, reports, memoranda into paragraphs, subsections and major sections to signal readers that we have finished developing one part of an idea and are moving to another, to a new thought.

Four Steps to Forecast Total Market Demand Essay

Such forecasts are crucial since companies must begin building new generating plants five to ten years before they are to come on line. But during the 1975–1985 period, load actually grew at only a 2% rate. Despite the postponement or cancellation of many projects, the excess generating capacity has hurt the industry financial situation and led to higher customer rates. ? The petroleum industry invested $500 billion worldwide in 1980 and 1981 because it expected oil prices to rise 50% by 1985. The estimate was based on forecasts that the market would grow from 52 million barrels of oil a day in 1979 to 60 million barrels in 1985. Instead, demand had fallen to 46 million barrels by 1985. Prices collapsed, creating huge losses in drilling, production, refining, and shipping investments. Bill Barnett is a principal in the Atlanta office of McKinsey & Company. He is a leader of the firm’s Microeconomics Center, and his client work has focused on business unit and corporate strategy. ? In 1983 and 1984, 67 new types of business personal computers were introduced to the U. S. market, and most companies were expecting explosive growth. One industry forecasting service projected an installed base of 27 million units by 1988; another predicted 28 million units by 1987. In fact, only 15 million units had been shipped by 1986. By then, many manufacturers had abandoned the PC market or gone out of business altogether. The inaccurate suppositions did not stem from a lack of forecasting techniques; regression analysis, historical trend smoothing, and others were available to all the players. Instead, they shared a mistaken fundamental assumption: that relationships driving demand in the past would continue unaltered. The companies didn’t foresee changes in end-user behavior or understand their market’s saturation point. None realized that history can be an unreliable guide as domestic economies become more international, new technologies emerge, and industries evolve. As a result of changes like these, many managers have come to distrust traditional techniques. Some even throw up their hands and assume that business planning must proceed without good demand forecasts. I disagree. It is possible to develop valuable insights into future market conditions and demand levels based on a deep understanding of the forces behind total-market demand. These insights can Copyright 1988 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. sometimes make the difference between a winning strategy and one that flounders. A forecast of total-market demand won’t guarantee a successful strategy. But without it, decisions on investment, marketing support, and other resource allocations will be based on hidden, unconscious assumptions about industrywide requirements, and they’ll often be wrong. By gauging total-market demand explicitly, you have a better chance of controlling your company’s destiny. Merely going through the process has merit for a management team. Instead of just coming out with pat answers, numbers, and targets, the team is forced to rethink the competitive environment. Total-market forecasting is only the first stage in creating a strategy. When you’ve finished your forecast, you’re not done with the planning process by any means. There are four steps in any total-market forecast: 1. Define the market. 2. Divide total industry demand into its main components. 3. Forecast the drivers of demand in each segment and project how they are likely to change. . Conduct sensitivity analyses to understand the most critical assumptions and to gauge risks to the baseline forecast. Defining the Market At the outset, it’s best to be overly inclusive in defining the total market. Define it broadly enough to include all potential end users so that you can both identify the appropriate drivers of demand and reduce the risk of surprise product substitutions. The factors that drive forecasts of total-market size differ markedly from those that determine a particular product’s market share or product-category share. For example, total-market demand for office telecommunications products nationally depends in part on the number of people in offices and their needs and habits, while total demand for PBX systems depends on how they compare on price and benefits with substitute products like the local telephone company’s central office switching service. Beyond this, demand for a particular PBX is a function of price and benefit comparisons with other PBXs. In defining the market, an understanding of product substitution is critical. Customers might behave differently if the price or performance of potential substitute products changes. One company studying total demand for industrial paper tubes had to consider closely related uses of metal and plastic tubes 4 to prevent customer switching among tubes from biasing the results. Understand, too, that a completely new product could displace one that hitherto had comprised the entire market—like the electronic calculator, which eliminated the slide rule. For a while after AT&T’s divestiture, the Bell telephone companies continued to forecast volume of long-distance calls by using historical trend lines of their revenues—as if they were still part of a monopoly. Naturally, these forecasts grew more inaccurate with time as end users were presented with new choices. The companies are now broadening their market definitions to take account of heightened competition from other longdistance carriers. There are several ways you can make sure you include all important substitute products (both current and potential). From interviews with industrial customers you can learn about substitutes they are studying or about product usage patterns that imply future switching opportunities. Moreover, market research can lead to insights about consumer products. Speaking with experts in the relevant technologies or reviewing technological literature can help you identify potential developments that could threaten your industry. Finally, careful quantification of the economic value of alternative products to different customers can yield deep insights into potential switching behavior—for example, how oil price movements would affect plastics prices, which in turn would affect plastic products’ ability to substitute for metal or paper. Analyses like these can lead to the construction of industry demand curves—graphs representing the relationship between price and volume. With an appropriate definition, the total-industry demand curves will often be steeper than demand curves for individual products in the industry. Consumers, for example, are far more likely to switch from Maxwell House to Folgers coffee if Maxwell House’s prices increase than they are to stop buying coffee if all coffee prices rise. In some cases, managers can make quick judgments about market definition. In other cases, they’ll have to give their market considerable thought and analysis. A total-market forecast may not be critical to business strategy if market definition is very difficult or the products under study have small market shares. Instead, your principal challenge may be to understand product substitution and competitiveness. One company analyzed the potential market for new consumer food cans, and it concluded that growth trends in food product markets were not critical to the strategy question. What was critical was knowing the value positions of the new packagesJuly–August 1988 elative to metal cans, glass jars, and composite cans. So the company spent time on that subject. Dividing Demand into Component Parts The second step in forecasting is to divide total demand into its main components for separate analysis. There are two criteria to keep in mind when choosing segments: make each category small and homogeneous enough so that the drivers of demand will apply consistently across its various elements; make each large enough so that the analysis will be worth the effort. Of course, this is a matter of judgment. You may find it useful in aking this judgment to imagine alternative segmentations (based on enduse customer groups, for example, or type of purchase). Then hypothesize their key drivers of demand (discussed later) and decide how much detail is required to capture the true situation. As the assessment continues, managers can return to this stage and reexamine whether the initial decisions still stand up. Managers may wish to use a ‘‘tree’’ diagram like the accompanying one constructed by a management team in 1985 to study demand for paper. In this disguised example, industry data permitted the division of demand into 12 end-use categories. Some categories, like business forms and reprographic paper, were big contributors to total consumption; others, such as labels, were not. One (other converting) was fairly large but too diverse for deep analysis. The team focused on the four segments that accounted for 80% of 1985 demand. It then developed secondary branches of the tree to further dissect these categories and to determine their drivers of demand. It analyzed the remaining segments less completely (that is, via a regression against broad macroeconomic trends). Other companies have used similar methods to segment total demand. One company divided demand for maritime satellite terminals by type of ship (e. g. , seismic ships, bulk/cargo/container ships). Another divided demand for long-distance telephone service into business and residential customers and then subdivided it by usage level. And a third segmented consumer appliances into three purchase types—appliances used in new home construction, replacement appliance sales in existing homes, and appliance penetration in existing homes. In thinking about market divisions, managers need to decide whether to use existing data on segment sizes or to commission research to get an independent estimate. Reliable public information on historHARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW July–August 1988 ical demand levels by segment is available for many big U. S. industries (like steel, automobiles, and natural gas) from industry associations, the federal government, off-the-shelf studies by industry experts, or ongoing market data services. For some foreign markets and less well-researched industries in the United States, like the labels industry, you may have to get independent estimates. Even with good data sources, however, the readily available information may not be divided into the best categories to support an insightful analysis. In these cases, managers must decide whether to develop their forecasts based on the available historical data or to undertake their own market research programs, which can be timeconsuming and expensive. Note that while such segmentation is sufficient for forecasting total demand, it may not create categories useful for developing a marketing strategy. A single product may be driven by entirely different factors. One study of industrial components found that consumer industry categories provided a good basis for projecting total-market demand but gave only limited help in formulating a strategy based on customer preferences: distinguishing those who buy on price from those who buy on service, product quality, or other benefits. Such buying-factor categories generally do not correlate with the customer industry categories used for forecasting. A strong sales force, however, can identify customer preferences and develop appropriate account tactics for each one. Forecasting the Drivers of Demand The third step is to understand and forecast the drivers of demand in each category. Here you can make good use of regressions and other statistical techniques to find some causes for changes in historical demand. But this is only a start. The tougher challenge is to look beyond the data on which regressions can easily be based to other factors where data are much harder to find. Then you need to develop a point of view on how those other factors may themselves change in the future. An end-use analysis from the commodity paper example, reprographic paper, is shown in the accompanying chart. The management team, using available data, divided reprographic paper into two categories: plain-paper copier paper and nonimpact page printer paper. Without this important differentiation, the drivers of demand would have been masked, making it hard to forecast effectively. In most cases, managers can safely assume that demand is affected both by macroeconomic vari5 Components of Uncoated White Paper Making Up Total Demand (thousands of tons) End-Use Category Business Forms Commercial Printing Reprographics Envelopes Other Converting Total Demand Stationery and Tablet Books Directories Catalogs Magazines Inserts Labels Reviewed in Depth Percent of Total 1985 Demand 25% 25 20 10 5 5 5 1 or less ables and by industry-specific developments. In looking at plain-paper copier paper, the team used simple and multiple regression analyses to test relationships with macroeconomic factors like white-collar workers, population, and economic performance. Most of the factors had a significant effect on demand. Intuitively, it also made sense to the team that the level of business activity would relate to paper consumption levels. Economists sometimes refer to growth in demand due to factors like these as an ‘‘outward shift’’ in the demand curve—toward a greater quantity demanded at a given price. ) Demand growth for copy paper, however, had exceeded the real rate of economic growth and the challenge was to find what other factors had been causing this. The team hypothesized that declining copy costs had caused this increased usage. The relationship was proved by estimating the substantial cost reductions that had occurred, combining those with numbers of tons produced over time, and then fashioning an indicative demand curve for copy paper. See the chart ‘‘Understanding Copy Paper Demand Drivers. ’’) The clear relationship between cost and volume meant that cost reductions had been an important cause of past demand growth. (Economists sometimes describe this as a downward-shifting supply curve leading to movement down the demand curve. ) Further major declines in cost per copy seemed unlikely because paper costs were expected to remain flat, and the data indicated little increase in 6 price elasticity, even if cost per copy fell further. So the team concluded that usage growth (per level of economic performance) was likely to continue the flattening trend begun in 1983: growth in copy paper consumption would be largely a function of economic growth, not cost declines as in the past. The team then reviewed several econometric services forecasts to develop a base case economic forecast. Similar studies have been performed in other industries. A simple one was the industrial components analysis mentioned before, a case where the total forecast was used as background but was not critical to the company’s strategy decision. Here the team divided demand into its consuming industries and then asked experts in each industry for production forecasts. Total demand for components was projected on the assumption that it would move parallel to a weight-averaged forecast of these customer industries. Actual demand three years later was 2% above the team’s prediction, probably because the industry experts underestimated the impact of the economic recovery of 1984 and 1985. In another example, a team forecasting demand for maritime satellite terminals extrapolated past penetration curves for each of five categories of ships.

Biofuel Versus Global Food Security Environmental Sciences Essay

With the planetary menace of wash uping our dodo fuel energy resources, a major focal point on biofuel as a renewable energy option has slightly shifted into the spotlight together with the desire to cut down dependence on oil and besides the emanation of nursery gases from transit. However, the development of biofuels from harvests has raised many concerns to the environment particularly refering to ‘sustainable development ‘ . A major issue is the struggle between biofuel development and planetary nutrient security as both peruse environmental resources for its production such as land, H2O and energy visual perception as both are dependant on similar resources. Switching to the usage of biofuels as an option to fossil fuels is a good attempt towards sustainable development but nutrient security is besides an component which is critical in the same topic as good. Hence, the inquiry: harvests for nutrient or harvests for fuel? This paper will analyze how the issue of biofuel versus planetary nutrient security is evaluated from the position of both strong and weak terminals of the sustainable development spectrum. This is followed by a reappraisal of the current scenario between the struggle of biofuel development and nutrient security together with the trade-offs that are built-in in the declaration and stakeholders involved. The potencies of which this issue can be resolved in a affair that can be considered truly sustainable, both short term and long term, will be discussed. Finally, the concluding subdivision would be a reappraisal of the attacks that are indispensable to accomplish advancement in both the development of biofuel and planetary nutrient security. This paper concludes that biofuel as a ‘weak ‘ signifier of sustainability can be developed in analogue with stableness in planetary nutrient security. Ethical reading of sustainable development has resulted in constructs of sustainability that give precedence to either economic or environmental aims, for illustration, there are the opposing paradigms of â€Å" weak † and â€Å" strong † sustainability ( Hediger, 2006 ) . Weak sustainable development, adopts an anthropocentric or a more human-centered focal point and discourse on the relationship between people and nature whereby the thought chiefly comprises of three positions that are the perceptual experience that people are separate from nature, the thought that nature is a ‘resource ‘ to be used for the benefit of society or persons and the position that we have the right to rule nature ( Williams and Millington, 2004 ) . On the other side of the philosophical spectrum of sustainable development, the stronger sustainability views the Earth as finite and that no habitable hereafter is possible unless the demand-side of the equation radically alters by r ethinking our attitude towards nature ( Williams and Millington, 2004 ) . It is normally viewed that the stronger sustainability stance is less outstanding now than it was in the earlier yearss of the environmental motion. Most likely because in the universe that we live in today, the use of natural resources for the benefits of homo is something that is a given as it would besides be an unconceivable impression to non encompass development at all. From a point of position, biofuel development can be seen slightly at a first glimpse as a ‘weak ‘ type of sustainable development. The development of biofuel as an alternate beginning of energy in the transit industry still uses natural resources such as land and H2O and does non represent the change of the flush life style that comes with it the use of private vehicles that is one of the perpetrators for nursery gas emanations into the ambiance. This is in line with the sentiment that â€Å" weak sustainability † requires that the public assistance potency of the overall capital base remains integral and is non restricted to prolonging a material criterion of life or ingestion, but besides includes values that are related to non-consumptive utilizations and the public good character ( agreeableness and recreational values ) of the environment ( Williams and Millington, 2004 ) . The current demand for biofuel is derived from several developed state ‘s displacement to replacing fossil fuels and lessens the dependance on imported oil. Linearly, this demand offers an chance for the developing states to run into the demands while at the same time bridging the spreads between hapless and rich states. However, biofuel harvests are traditionally used as nutrient beginning which besides competes with the use of land and H2O ( Bodigger, 2007 ) . This competition is said to upset the equilibrium between the supply and demand of nutrient harvests. A displacement from excess to shortage is due to the fact of lifting gasoline monetary values and a monolithic roar of biofuel produced from major harvests such as corn, maize and sugar harvests. Because of this, husbandmans from states of the universe ‘s manufacturers of the bulk of biofuel harvest production will bask the promise of higher incomes. However, the chance of prosperity through the demand of biofuel is said to merely be enjoyed by a minority few. Biofuel development is alleged as the major perpetrator to the drastic addition in the monetary value of nutrient stock. A World Bank policy research working paper ( Mitchell, 2008 ) concluded that biofuels have raised nutrient monetary values between 70 to 75 per centum. The study debates that the EU and US chase for biofuels has had the biggest impact on nutrient supply and monetary value displacements due to the increased production of biofuels in the US and EU that were supported by subsidies and duties on imports. While higher nutrient monetary values will be profitable for nutrient exporting states and big husbandmans, they will endanger the economic systems of nutrient importation states, the supports of their husbandmans every bit good as the nutrient available to the urban hapless in these states ( Sahai, 2010 ) . The chart below shows the addition in monetary valu es of major nutrient harvests in the universe from 1990 to 2006. selected nutrient monetary value increase.jpg Chart 1 Food Price Indices, Beginning: ( International Monetary Fund, 2007b ) Because if this, the hapless in food-importing states will hold to confront the chance of holding to pay much higher monetary values for basic basic nutrient and this besides means less grain to be provided for by planetary human-centered AIDSs. The chart below from International Monetary Fund ( IMF ) shows how hapless people who tend to pass comparatively more of their income for nutrient will hold to pay more if the monetary value of nutrient rises. hapless disbursement more on food.gif Chart 2- Paying More, Beginning: ( International Monetary Fund, 2007a ) Another position is that the addition in use of biofuels does farther damage the planetary environment that is to the universe nutrient system and besides through the emanation of nursery gases during the existent procedure of bring forthing biofuels particularly from nutrient harvests such as maize. The nutritionary value of major universe nutrient harvests are altered and reduced with the release of big measures of C dioxide from the processing of works stuffs for biofuels ( Pimentel et al. , 2009 ) . Meanwhile, corn-based ethyl alcohol as a type of biofuel outputs 1.5 times more energy than the fossil energy required to bring forth it ( Da Silva, 2008 ) . This shows that there non much significance of a difference in the lessening of fossil fuels to follow corn-based ethyl alcohol as a outstanding beginning of biofuel. Biofuel growing and its compatibility with sustainable development still remain questionable without a significant addition in research that specifically targets on the best environmental patterns for bring forthing crop-based feedstock. There are besides other inquiries that add to the uncertainness of the planetary economic system kineticss as the biofuel market blooms such as will hapless, little husbandman benefit from the addition of higher monetary values. ( Naylor et al. , 2007 ) . Bing on the ‘weak ‘ terminal of the spectrum in the sustainability construct, the biofuel versus the nutrient security issue can be resolved through the agencies of better adjustment of environmental concerns. The ‘weak ‘ sustainability attack advocate developments such as the proviso of environmental direction bureaus, more efficient usage of resources, better undertaking assessment techniques to measure the environmental impacts of proposals, and economic accommodations to take into history environmental costs ( Williams and Millington, 2004 ) . An of import attack as to which shows the potency of deciding this struggle between biofuel and planetary nutrient security would be the creative activity and design of policies that ensures that the development of biofuel industries â€Å" run into the aims on security of supply and clime alteration while guaranting sustainable development and non merely by merely switching environmental jobs from one sector to another or from one continent to another † ( Bodigger, 2007 ) . Free trade in the biofuel market should be allowed due to the current subsidies and duties which make it hard for low-priced biofuel such as sugar cane ethyl alcohol to vie with maize ethyl alcohol. If these barriers were eliminated, biofuel can profit the environment and be more economically feasible to be produced by developing states. This attack involves the caput of authoritiess who are the determination and policy shapers as the stakeholders involved. Since biofuel is derived from agricultural green goods, it is critical in order to decrease the struggle between biofuel and nutrient security to increase the output and multiply agribusiness productiveness growing. Researches for biofuel feedstock potency is presently done by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analyst ( IIASA ) and the Food and Agriculture Organization ( FAO ) in measuring biofuel production capacity and constellation of the potency of different parts to spread out agricultural harvest production through two chief agencies: extensification through conveying extra land into cultivation or intensification through irrigation, multiple cropping and other output heightening techniques ( Pingali et al. , 2008 ) . Agricultural end product can be increased via multiple cropping, irrigation and the acceptance of other methods of agricultural intensification which besides includes the acceptance of modern cultivars, plague and alimentary direction and other impro ved engineerings. The development of 2nd and 3rd coevals biofuel that uses not nutrient based beginnings such as Jatropha, algae, residuary wastes from harvests and besides industrial wastes should be encouraged to spread out therefore cut downing the demand for the use of harvest and cultivable land that is better off used for nutrient production in the long tally. Here in lies the function of research workers and scientists to escalate research as a â€Å" push for farther and faster all-out development of 2nd coevals biofuel that do non straight endanger nutrient harvests production and requires less H2O † ( Bodigger, 2007 ) . Another stakeholder involved would be the husbandmans and their pick between cultivating harvests for nutrient or harvests for fuel. The jurisprudence of â€Å" supply and demand † can foretell that the pick would be for the 1 that brings in higher income at lesser inputs and costs. Therefore, it is besides imperative that there is an internationally determined monetary value cap for biofuel and besides nutrient harvests to assist control and prevent higher monetary value rush. Another indispensable attack would be to set up a planetary monitoring model than can be a standard theoretical account in the rating and appraisal of biofuel development and its impacts from changing angles. The design and execution of sustainability audits is critical as the biofuel industry develops, with a clear prosodies for measuring the environment and societal effects of biofuels and feedstock production and for guaranting that direction and authorities patterns are compatible with pre-determined sustainability ends ( Naylor et al. , 2007 ) . Global major agribusiness pudding stones can besides play their portion by guaranting that investings in biofuels do back up agricultural betterments across the board as this benefits nutrient production, speed up rural economic development and alleviate poorness and migration to metropoliss ( Bodigger, 2007 ) . More investing needs to be pumped into the research and development of 2nd and 3rd coevals biofuel from non-food beginnings every bit good as alternate harvests for basic nutrient ingestion. The struggle between biofuel development and planetary nutrient security has escalated these yearss due to a generation of demand for the former. The development of biofuel is seen as a signifier of ‘weak ‘ sustainability in the philosophical spectrum of sustainable development. This is due to the fact that natural resources such as land, H2O and energy are used in the production of biofuels for the benefit of the developed and rich states in their quest to decrease nursery gas emanations and dependence on fossil fuels. However, struggle arises when hapless states that depend on importing of nutrient supply have to confront higher monetary values due to the recreation of traditional nutrient harvest such as maize and manioc for the transition into biofuel. As such, the state of affairs is worsen with the competition of resources by biofuel and nutrient harvest agribusiness as both vie for the same resources and based on the tendency of the addition of nutrient monetary va lues, it can be seen that harvests for nutrient is on the losing terminal as compared to harvests for fuel. However, there are a few attacks that can be seen as a method of paving the manner for the parallel development of both biofuels and stableness in planetary nutrient security, provided that there is concrete support from all stakeholders involved every bit discussed as above. If decently implemented and monitored, biofuels can be the solution towards the battle against planetary heating while at the same clip play a major subscriber towards the economic and societal development of hapless states.

DIMENSIONAL FUND ADVISORS Essays - Ensanche Libertad, Free Essays

DIMENSIONAL FUND ADVISORS Essays - Ensanche Libertad, Free Essays DIMENSIONAL FUND ADVISORS Indique en que consisten las siguientes estrategias de inversion seguidas por este fondo, cuales fueron sus resultados y si esta de acuerdo con alguna de ellas, mencionando sus razones: Inversion en acciones de empresas pequenas ( Size effect ): Consistia en comprar acciones en empresas pequenas con poco interes en el mercado que no perteneces al indice de Standard and Poor's 500 (SP 500). La principal idea era mantener acciones con un costo menor y esperar a que estas crecieran, tomando siempre en cuenta de que los costos de transaccion por comprar muchas acciones pequenas no afectara a las ganancias que el fondo pudiera generar. Estas empresas tienen mayor riesgo, que es lo mismo que tener mayores betas, y entre mas alta sea la beta el rendimiento sera mayor. Ademas en algunos estudios se comenta que tener inversiones en acciones mas pequenas han presentado mejores rendimientos que los que se presentan invirtiendo en acciones mas grandes, aunque las pequenas son mas sensibles a las grandes caidas, y se espera que asi continue. Tambien es importante tener en cuenta que cuando se invierte en un tipo de activo con menor liquidez requiere una mayor tasa libre de riesgo o mayor premio, lo que hace que la tasa de rendimiento total ajustada sea mucho mas atractiva en el futuro en comparacion de la que se espera en el caso de las acciones de empresas mas grandes. Desde nuestro punto de vista creemos que la estrategia de DFA de invertir en acciones de empresas pequenas tiene argumentos importantes y relevantes que hacen mucho mas atractivo invertir en acciones de empresas pequenas que en acciones de empresas mas grandes, lo unico que habria que tomar en cuenta seria que los costos de transaccion no superaran el beneficio adicional que este tipo de inversiones representa. Valor en libros vs Valor de mercado ( Value and growth ): Las acciones de alto valor en el mercado favorecidas por la estrategia se conocieron en la literatura academica como acciones de "valor", mientras que las acciones bajas de valor contable del patrimonio con el valor contable del patrimonio neto (BE/ME) que DFA evito se convirtieron en acciones de "crecimiento" tambien llamadas como acciones de "glamour". DFA prefirio a las acciones con el apodo de " crecimiento", como la idea de que los valores bajos de BE/ME tuvieron un desempeno pobre debido a que estos fueron sobrevalorados y " glamorized " no encajaba con sus ideas de mercado eficiente. DFA argumento que las acciones de valor superan a las acciones de crecimiento,por la unica razon de que cualquier activo siempre supera en un mercado racional y eficiente porque son mas riesgosas. Los autores argumentaron que el buen desempeno de las acciones de valor podria simplemente ser casualidad o podria haber sido debido a los problemas con los datos utilizados por los investigadores academicos. Primero Fama Y French encontraron un efecto de libro a mercado: las acciones de valor superaron a las acciones de crecimiento durante los primeros anos, asi como tambien al periodo mas reciente, mas tarde Fama Y French analizaron algunos datos y encontraron una vez mas que el efecto de libro a mercado fue robusto. Las existencias de libros de alto valor en el mercado se han reducido en practicamente en todos los paises estudiados. Basandose en estos descubrimientos, DFA amplio su oferta de productos introduciendo fondos internacionales de valor, asi como habia introducido fondos internacionales de pequenas acciones en anos anteriores. Para terminar, Fama Y French encontraron otro hecho intrigante: cuando las acciones de valor tuvieron un buen ano en relacion con las acciones de crecimiento en el pais, lo mismo ocurrio en muchos otros paises. este alto nivel de correlacion entre las carteras de crecimiento de valor se ve como una buena noticia para los teoricos del mercado eficiente y una mala noticia para aquellos que esperan vencer a los mercados. Fama y French tambien descubrieron que mientras que el "valor" hizo bien en promedio, en ciertos anos las carteras de valor fueron superadas por las carteras de crecimiento a traves de una alta gama de paises. Este descubrimiento fue consistente con la idea de invertir en acciones de valor realmente era riesgoso,

What Is an Alternative High School Is It Right for You

What Is an Alternative High School Is It Right for You SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Will you be attending an alternative high school or are you wondering if it’s the right choice for you or your child?For some students, alternative high schools fit their personality and learning style much better than traditional high schools, and they can be a way for these students to achieve success. What are alternative high schools? How are they different from traditional high schools? Is attending one the right choice for you? How can you find the right alternative high school? Read on for answers to each of these questions and more. What Are Alternative High Schools? An alternative high school is simply a school that doesn’t provide a completely traditional learning experience.This is a very broad definition, and, because of that, alternative high schools can vary widely. They can be public or private and can include magnet, charter, and online schools (although not every school in these categories would be considered an alternative high school). Some alternative schools are offered throughthe student’s regular school district, while others, such as magnet, charter, or private schools, operate independently of the public school system. Classes at online schools are conducted primarily or completely over the internet.There is no official â€Å"alternative school† designation or requirements a school must meet in order to be considered alternative. An alternative high school will usually include the word â€Å"alternative† in its name or mention it in its mission statement or website homepage. Alternative schools were first created to help â€Å"troubled† students who had behavioral problems that traditional publicschools were ill-equipped to handle. However, today students attend alternative schools for a variety of reasons which are discussed in more detail below.In general, alternative high schools exist to give students who do not do well in a traditional academic environment an opportunity to succeed in high school and earn a high school diploma. How Are Alternative Schools Different From Regular High Schools? As mentioned above, there can be large variations between alternative high schools.Some alternative high schools don’t give out grades, some allow students to develop their own graduation requirements, some include a significant work component, some take place during non-traditional hours, and more. Common features of manyalternative high schools include: Smaller Class Sizes:Smaller classes allow teachers to give students more individual attention and make it easier to tailor lessons to specific student needs. More Flexible Schedules and Graduation Requirements:Some alternative high schools offer classes at night, which can be helpful for students with jobs or children. Others have flexible graduation requirements and give students more choice in the classes they must take (as opposed to one math class, one science class, one English class, etc. each semester). This can give students the opportunity to study a subject of particular interest to them. Wider Variety of Teaching Methods:Alternative high schools often use numerous teaching methods that emphasize creativity and interaction. This can help students who struggle with sitting in a classroom and taking notes all day. Non-Traditional Evaluation Methods:Some alternative schools don’t give out grades, instead they provide written evaluations. Others offer academic credit for work experiences or internships. Address Social, Mental, and Emotional Needs of the Student: In addition to addressing academic needs, alternative schools often have additional resources, such as counseling and support groups, available for students. You can also research specific alternative schools to get a better idea of what they can offer. For example, City-As-Schoolin New York City, has no grades, exams, or class years. Students complete projects and papers which are added to their portfolio, and they spend about half of each week at an internship instead of in the classroom. It's also easy to find student testimonials of alternative schools online. One former student of an alternative high school credits the school with saving her life.You can read these to get a better idea of the typesof students alternative schools have helped and how they overcame their difficulties. Even if you never wanted to show up to class at your old school, an alternative high school may have teaching methods that work for you. Why Do Students Attend Alternative High Schools? There are multiple reasons why someone may begin attending an alternative high school, but they usually relate to the student not thriving in a traditional school. Specific reasons include: Trouble Learning in a Traditional Classroom One of the main reasons students attend alternative schools is because they don’t learn well in a traditional school. They may have learning disabilities that make it challenging for them to sit in a classroom all day, they may struggle to retain information learned this way, or their classes may interest them so little that they have no desire to attend school or complete homework. Alternative schools specialize in using varied and creative ways to teach the material, and their teaching methods are often much more tailored to each student’s learning preferences. Need More Support/Guidance Some students also need more guidance than traditional schools can provide. This can be academic support or emotional support/counseling. They can benefit from the smaller classes of alternative schools as well as the increased access to counselors and support groups. Many alternative schools also often have regular meetings with a student’s teachers, parents, and counselors to make sure the student is on track, which can also be beneficial for many students. Bored or Not Challenged at Their Current School Alternative high school may also be an option if you don’t feel challenged or interested at a traditional school. This may be the case if you don’t find yourself caring about your classes, struggle with sitting at a desk all day, find the coursework too easy, or want to focus your studies on a subject your school doesn’t offer. Alternative schools often use a wider variety of teaching methods, including hands-on, interactive, and self-directed work, which can benefit you. Social or Behavioral Difficulties A student might also have issues with classmates or teachers. This can include being bullied, struggling to make friends, befriending the wrong crowd, or coming into conflict with teachers and students. A student’s social network is a huge part of their high school experience, and if they don’t feel included or welcomed at their school, or don’t contribute to an inclusive and welcoming environment, it can be very difficult for them to do well. Attending a new school with new classmates as well asteachers and counselors who can better meet their needs can have a significant improvement on their high school performance. Difficult Life Circumstances Additionally, some students have experiences that make attending traditional high school challenging. These can include pregnancy, serious illness, family problems, and more. Circumstances like these can make it difficult for a student to concentrate on classes, and they may need more individual support and flexible scheduling. Is an Alternative High School the Right Choice for You? So, should you attend an alternative high school? The answer varies depending on the person, but, in general, if you are very unhappy or performing poorly at your current high school, some major changes need to happen for you to get on track to graduate high school and set yourself up for success in the future. Transferring to an alternative school that useslearning styles that suit you better than your current school can help youdo well and even begin to enjoy high school if you didn't before. The new school, teachers, and classmates can help give you a fresh start with high school. However, some students prefer to stay in their current high school and aren’t receptive to the idea of attending a new, â€Å"different† high school.Making a student transfer to a new school when they are against it can make them even less likely to succeed in school, so, if they are extremely opposed to the idea of transferring schools, and it is possible for them to stay at their current school, you could try letting them remain â€Å"on probation† at their current school. If they make required changes that are laid out beforehand (improving grades, meeting attendance requirements, disassociating with a badcrowd, etc.) they can be allowed to remain at that school, but, if they do not, they will have to transfer to an alternative school. If you do decide that attending an alternative high school is the right choice, or even if you just want more information on what your options are, read the next section on how to select the best alternative high school for you. Choosing whether to attend an alternative high school can take a lot of thought in order to make the right decision. How to Choose the Right Alternative High School Selecting the right alternative school is an important undertaking; you have to make sure you choose a school that fits with your personality and learning style. Attending an alternative school that isn’t a good fit won’t help you do any better in high school than you were doing before. Choosing which school to attend requires more work than simply finding the alternative school that’s closest to you. Follow these three steps to make an informed choice and give yourself the best chance of success in high school. Step 1: Identify the Issues With Your Current School Before you do anything else, you should figure out exactly why your current school is not working for you.Make a list of all the reasons you are switching schools. Was it due to problems with classmates? Boredom with traditional education? A need for more guidance and support? Really think about all the reasons you aren’t happy with your current school. The more complete and specific your list the better your chances of finding the best alternative school for you are. If you're unsure of whether or not you want to change schools, this is also a good time to see if you can solve these problems while remaining at your current school. You may be able to make changes to your class schedule, join a program that includes more non-traditional learning, or a different option. If you'd like the option of staying at your current school, set up a meeting with your guidance counselor and possibly some of your teachers. They'll be able to go over all your options with you so you can make the best decision. Step 2: Make a List of the Qualities Your New School ShouldHave Next, use the list you made in the previous step to come up with a new list of things your new alternative high school should have for you to do well there.Research different alternative schools online to get a better understanding of what alternative schools can offer. Perhaps you want an alternative school with smaller class sizes, non-traditional teaching methods, the opportunity to earn academic credit through a job/internship, or other qualities.You should use your list from step one to develop this second list. For example, if one of the reasons you were unhappy with your current school is because you get bored sitting at a desk all day, your second list should mention that you’d like an alternative school that offers more hands-on work. Step 3: Research Nearby Schools Now that you know what you’re looking for, start looking at potential alternative schools you can attend.Most students will be limited to schools that are close to them because they will still be living at home, but if that isn’t a requirement for you, you can look at alternative schools in a wider area that offer boarding options. You should also take cost into consideration. Some alternative high schools are free or low-cost while others can have large price tags attached. There are often ways to reduce costs through grants or scholarships. If you find an alternative school you’re interested in but is out of your price range, talk to someone at the school’s office. They should be able to give you advice on financial aid options. Once you find a school you’re interested in, research it thoroughly before applying for enrollment. Talk to teachers and staff, research the school and its goals, and see if you can speak with past or current students to get their opinion.Many alternative schools offer potential students the chance to attend classes for a day or a few days to get a feel for the school and see if it will be a good fit for them. Definitely take advantage of this if it’s an option because it’s a great way to decide if the school is really the right one for you. Once you’ve decided on a school, contact the office to learnhow you can enroll or apply for enrollment. Not all alternative schools can accept everyone who wants to attend, especially smaller schools, so be aware that it’s not guaranteed that you’ll get in. Talk to staff and teachers to get a better idea of what you need to do to get enrolled at the school. Once you've foundyour ideal alternative high school, you can begin the enrollment process! How Do Colleges View Alternative High Schools? Will attending an alternative high school hurt your chances of getting into college? Will it make colleges think you’re a â€Å"bad† kid who will have a negative impact on their school? In short, no. Colleges understand that there are many reasons why a student may attend an alternative school, and there are multiple areas on your application for you to put your alternative school experience in a positive light. If you don’t have any behavioral issues (like suspensions or expulsions) on your transcript and your attendance record is good, that is a huge benefit for you when you apply to college. You can use your personal statement to discuss why you attended an alternative school, how it helped you, and how it has prepared you for the future.Even if your grades from your first few years of high school aren’t great, showing significant improvement and being able to clearly discuss how you’ve overcome difficulties will put your alternative education in a positive light and show colleges that you’re able to overcome challenges and still be successful. If you do have a record of behavioral issues and/or truancy, convincing colleges that you should attend their school will be a bit more difficult, but you should still follow the above steps. In your personal statement (some schools also have an area on their application where you can provide them with additional information on yourself), mention that you had problems before, then clearly and specifically discuss how you’ve worked to overcome them and the progress you’ve made since then. Obviously, this is much easier to do when you've made a lot of progress, so keep staying on track in order to make the best impression. If you’re worried that colleges will think that your non-traditional learning environment hasn’t prepared you enough for college, taking the SAT or ACT and receiving strong scores will help show them that you have the knowledge necessaryto do well in college. Summary Alternative high schools can be a great, and even life-changing, option for students who haven’t thrived in traditional high schools.A wide variety of alternative high schools exist, but, in general, they use more non-traditional methods of teaching and are able to be more flexible in accommodating student needs than traditional high schools. Some alternative high schools use grades, some allow students to work part-time for class credit, some allow students to develop their own class schedule, and more.Students attend alternative high schools for a variety of reasons, but, in general, it’s because they are unhappy at, not challenged by, or uninterested in a traditional high school environment.If you decide to attend an alternative high school, be sure to research potential schools thoroughly to find one that fits you well. What's Next? Have you decided to attend an alternative school and will now be transferring schools? Our complete guide to transferring high schools will walk you through each step of the process and help you make sure you've completed each requirementyou need to! Considering online high school? They're becoming increasingly popular, but it's important to be well-informed before you make the decision to attend school online. 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Hysteron Proteron - Definition and Examples of the Figure of Speech

Hysteron Proteron s of the Figure of Speech A figure of speech in which the natural or conventional order of words, actions, or ideas is reversed. Hysteron proteron is generally regarded as a type of hyperbaton. The figure of hysteron proteron has also been called inverted order or putting the cart before the horse.  Eighteenth-century lexicographer Nathan Bailey defined the figure as a preposterous way of speaking, putting that first which should be last.  Hysteron proteron most often involves inverted syntax  and is used primarily for emphasis. However, the term has also been applied to inversions of narrative  events in nonlinear plots: that is, what happens earlier in time is presented later in the text.   Etymology From the Greek hysteros  and  proteros , latter first Examples and Observations He began to walk barefoot across the meadow, but the sharp dry grass hurt his feet. He sat down to put on his shoes and socks.(Iris Murdoch, Nuns and Soldiers, 1980)That time of year thou mayst in me beholdWhen yellow leaves, or none, or few do hang ...(William Shakespeare, Sonnet 73)Muammar Gaddafi Killed, Captured In Sirte(Headline in Huffington Post, Oct. 20, 2011)Im going to kill that magician. Ill dismember him and then Ill sue him.(Woody Allen, Oedipus Wrecks in New York Stories, 1989) Yoda-Speak One of the most common and effective forms of hyperbaton is  hysteron proteron  (roughly, last things first). Let’s take two examples from a master of the technique: Powerful you have become. The Dark Side I sense in you and Patience you must have, my young padawan. For Yoda in  Star Wars, hysteron proteron is a linguistic trademark. The key concepts in those three sentences are power, the Dark Side and patience. Their placement underlines them.   (Sam Leith, Much to Learn From Yoda, Public Speakers Still Have. Financial Times [UK], June 10, 2015) Hysteron Proteron in Don DeLillos Cosmopolis (2003) So attuned is [Eric] Packer to the future that he repeatedly literalizes the rhetorical trope known as hysteron proteron; that is, as he scans the several digital monitors mounted in his limousine, he experiences an effect before its cause. Among Packers premonitions is observing himself onscreen recoiling in shock from the Nasdaq bombing before the actual blast occurs.   (Joseph M. Conte, Writing Amid the Ruins: 9/11 and Cosmopolis. The Cambridge Companion to Don DeLillo, ed. by John N. Duvall. Cambridge University Press, 2008) Puttenham on Hysteron Proteron (16th century) Ye have another manner of disordered speech, when ye misplace your words or clauses, and set that before which should be behind. We call it in English proverb, the cart before the horse, the Greeks call it Histeron proteron, we name it the Preposterous, and if be not too much used is tolerable enough, and many times scarce perceivable, unless the sense be thereby made very absurd.   (George Puttenham, The Arte of English Poesie, 1589) Hysteron Proteron in Rhetoric and in Logic Hysteron proteron was thus a term from the discourse of rhetoric for a reversion that reversed the order of things themselves, including in both temporal and logical sequence. In this sense, it appeared across a broad range of early-modern writing, as both a blemish and an exploited license of order and style...In the field of formal logic, hysteron proteron simultaneously denoted a preposterous inversion, in this case the logical fallacy of assuming as true and using as a premise a proposition that is yet to be proved, or the proving of a proposition by reference to another one that presupposes it.(Patricia Parker, Hysteron Proteron: Or the Presposterous, in Renaissance Figures of Speech, ed. by Sylvia Adamson, et al., Cambridge University Press, 2007) Pronunciation: HIST-eh-ron PROT-eh-ron

The Impacts of Digital Technologies on the Political Economy of the Essay

The Impacts of Digital Technologies on the Political Economy of the United States Movie Industry - Essay Example On the other hand, new movies by established film producers draw attention even before they are officially released to the market. As a result, the independent film makers have resorted to digital technologies and social networking sites to promote and distribute their movies. Owing to the current situation, this research paper investigates the benefits and challenges which are experienced by independent film producers whenever they are using the latest digital technologies to promote and distribute their films to their fans. The paper would emphasize the impacts of digital revolution on the independent filmmakers’ ability to reach international consumers. The role of technology in the film industry cannot be ignored. Technology changed the operations and activities of the film industry in a major way, altering the way people interacted, the nature of the operations, and the marketing strategies for the films. However, the specific area of film affected has always been debatable with researchers focusing on the social aspects of the technological effects. Focus on the political aspect of the film industry environment is important as it helps create even more insights for the people. Kim et al 194 states that the digital technologies in the United States of America have enhanced communication and modernization in most of the sectors. In the film industry, the digital technology has yielded both positive and negative results in equal measure. Digital technologies have reduced the live shows for the films. Most of the films are bought on digital media instead of people attending the live shows (Kim et al 194). According to Kim et al 194, the purchase of the films on digital media is enhanced by a number of factors. First, the ability to produce digital storages like hard drives has enhanced the portability of the films making people to buy and use them in home appliances. More so, the development of digital transmission in the United States of America has

Glass as a symbol of panoptical ideology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Glass as a symbol of panoptical ideology - Essay Example Glass as a symbol of panoptical ideology-especially as utilized in Paxton's Crystal Palace-is especially open to interpretation; often interpretation that oversteps the boundaries of intention. The complete opacity of glass offers the spectator a glimpse into another room, yet also leaves the viewer vulnerable to becoming an object of voyeurism. This analytical line of reasoning is perfectly exemplified by Graeme Davison who writes about the Crystal Palace that it "reversed the panoptical principle by fixing the eyes of the multitude upon an assemblage of glamorous commodities. The Panopticon was designed so that everyone could be seen; the Crystal Palace was designed so that everyone could see" (Davison 1982). Although that statement sounds really intelligent and well-considered, the fact remains that the Panopticon was designed with a purpose of surveillance in mind; the Crystal Palace was designed merely to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. ... Kahn even positions her argument from the viewpoint that the political functions of architecture are covert, and yet still manages to tie this ideological meaning to a very utilitarian description: "the structure was suited to its park site, quickly designed, and easily assembled" (Kahn 1991). Paxton's sketches were quickly designed, almost offhandedly, giving him doubtless little time to think about such things as the ideological meanings behind using glass as a building material. For Paxton, glass was simply available and experiential: he had worked in the medium before. For Paxton glass held no deeper meaning, the call had gone out for a building in which to house an exhibition. An exhibition was something that by its very nature needed to engender an ease with which it could be viewed. It is not difficult to suppose that Camille Pissarro viewed the great glass structure in much the same way. Pissaro's painting of the Crystal Palace, a subject he went back to twelve times (Nochlin 1989), do not frame the subject of a glass building in a way that presupposes its function as an emblem of modernity or as an ideological statement. For Pissarro, like Paxton, the glass functions in a predominantly utilitarian way. For Paxton, glass functioned as the best way to achieve exhibition; for Pissarro the glass functioned in much the same was as the haystacks functioned for Monet, as an interesting subject for capturing the unique differences in the behavior of light. For the Impressionists, nothing matter more than light. Monet painted haystacks over and over at different times of day, capturing the effects of light upon his subject. Pissarro return to the Crystal Palace because he saw it as a perfect subject for capturing the effects of light. Architecture can and

Evaluate Auditing Processes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Evaluate Auditing Processes - Essay Example The essay will also evaluate the various accounting processes that are being adopted by the federal government in a succinct manner. It is evident that there lay certain specific criteria, which need to be adhered while complying with a standard auditing process. This aspect is also evident in the case of auditing a town or a city. The audit, which has been conducted for the Town of Maywood can be evaluated based on the requirements of GAAS. Theoretically, GAAS is a particular framework, which provides a set of guidelines to be followed by auditors for ensuring accuracy, reliability as well as fairness in the auditing process. The audit conducted for the Town of Maywood was executed with proper observations of the activities performed by the people who were involved with the preparation of its financial statements. It can be affirmed that this particular auditing procedure adhered to the guidelines of GAAS (Kinney Jr, 1986). Notably, the audit report also presented the reason for not considering the financial reports of other towns with which Maywood is associated. This particular aspect also shows compliance of the audit report with the GAAS framework (Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, 2014). Through analyzing the audit report, it can be determined that the audit conducted for the Town of Maywood is in alignment with most of the requirements of the GAAS framework and very little has been omitted or not complied with the same. Prior to the preparation of an audit report, individuals interested both in public administration as well as working as accountants for governmental units must possess an in-depth knowledge about the objectives along with the standards to be followed while preparing an audit report. This may be owing to the reason that the effectiveness of public administration is directly relevant with appropriate

Criminal Law involuntary manslaughter; corporate homicide Essay

Criminal Law involuntary manslaughter; corporate homicide - Essay Example Corporate crimes have been and still continue to be in existence in all the organizations across all sectors and yet, until now, there hasnt been any statutory regulation that prohibits companies from indulging in such crimes and holds them accountable for any damage to an individuals life. Until now companies were required by law to pay civil damages in the form of compensation or fines as a gesture of acknowledgement of the loss suffered by the aggrieved party. However, considering the widespread existence of incidences of corporate manslaughter there is an urgent need for law to implement policies and legal restrictions on corporate organizations that act as a deterrent and help in preventing and controlling such crimes to a significant extent. This paper on Criminal law attempts to study, analyze, investigate and discuss various aspects related to corporate homicide and corporate manslaughter in reference to the recent Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act, 2007. Recently, in the U.K. a new act called the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act, 2007 has been passed with an intention of transferring additional liability on the organizations and in turn safeguarding the interests of the society as a whole by preventing and controlling corporate misbehavior. The new bill on Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide, intends to bring companies and other similar corporate bodies in England and Wales under corporate jurisdiction, to be tried and prosecuted for misconduct and negligence towards duties, which leads to a death of any individual working for such organizations, in the same manner as any individual who is charged with criminal offence. The bill once passed would allow the prosecution of corporate entities for breach of health and safety laws in the specified regions1. There has been widespread

Evaluate returns predictability Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Evaluate returns predictability - Coursework Example This paper has two sections; in the first section it discusses empirical evidence on the predictability of excess of returns by the technical analysis method, the second section is devoted to evaluating whether return predictability is a good test for market efficiency. Gustafsson (2012) conducted a research on how the stock market performed relatively to the predictions by the technical analysis method in the Swedish stock market. According to technical analysis assumed that successive returns were related. In other words, positive returns in a given time period would be followed by equally positive returns in the same period of the subsequent year. On the basis of the above assumption, Gustafsson (2012) wanted to test the hypothesis that successes in the stock market were independent. Among other tests, the research summarized results from various trading rules to test whether a technical analysis would have been used to accurately predict recurring price patterns and hence returns. The research found out that the comparison between 2001-12-28 and 2011-12-30, the average daily return was 0.0184% for the buy and hold strategy, with a standard deviation of 0.016 and the total number of trading days was 2517. With this statistic, the t-statistic for the buy and hold strategy was 0.58. This study made reached some interesting conclusions from the data. Interestingly, it found out that the introduction of RSI and the RSIstoch that indicates the directional strength of price changes had an impact on the return predictability. Further, the findings lend to the support of the assumption that technical analysis can be used to predict future price movements. This is because; average daily buy-day returns were significantly larger than average daily-sell returns. As such, it meant that the technical trading rules also had a

Computer History Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Computer History - Term Paper Example The classification is based on certain periods of time the computers was improved during. Every generation is characterized by the new invention. The first period is 1937 – 1946. It is characterized by the creation of the first computer. It was electronic digital devise created by Clifford Berry and John V. Atanasoff. The machine was named after its creators - Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC). Certainly, this computer and other machines created in its image and likeness were not perfect, they could not perform complicated tasks and had no operating system. There is an interesting fact that when one of the first computers was switched on, the nearby regions were out of power for some time. The second period lasted from 1947 till 1962. During this period the computers were improved as vacuum tubes was changed for transistors. These computers were already used in the business world and there were many programming languages created for them. Computers became powerful and capable of performing different tasks at once. Third generation is 1963-present. It is characterized the by the creation of integrated circuit. This improvement made the computers more compact, gave them more power and hundreds of different functions including the availability to run several programs at once. Microsoft Disk Operating System was developed in 1980 and the operating system Windows that is used now was born in 1990s. In 1980 Japanese experts created a ten-year plan. They planned to develop the new generation of computers with new functions. â€Å"This was an interesting plan for two reasons. Firstly, it is not at all really clear what the fourth generation is, or even whether the third generation had finished yet. Secondly, it was an attempt to define a generation of computers before they had come into existence. The main requirements of the 5G machines was that they incorporate the features of Artificial Intelligence, Expert Systems, and Natural Language† (Mannell). The pl an was promising because it was aimed at producing computers with certain capacities. Japanese experts wanted new computers to be able to perform the tasks, which humans can perform. They were planned to be able to learn and communicate with people. These functions are especially interesting and beneficial for linguists. Though these goals have not been reached yet, constant development of computers makes it possible to reach them in future. Speaking about computers it is impossible not to mention parallel computing. It is an idea aimed at improving computers’ capacity. At the beginning all the computers were serial with only one processor, however then it was decided to invent computers with several processors as they would be able to perform several tasks at once more efficiently and the programs would run faster. â€Å"Having multiple processors does not necessarily mean that parallel computing will work automatically. The operating system must be able to distribute progr ams between the processors (eg. recent versions of Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X can do this). An individual program will only be able to take advantage of multiple processors if the computer language it's written in is able to distribute tasks within a program between multiple processors. For example, OpenMP supports parallel programming in Fortran and C/C++† (Mannell). The constant improvement of a computer made it perfect and

Evaluate returns predictability Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Evaluate returns predictability - Coursework Example This paper has two sections; in the first section it discusses empirical evidence on the predictability of excess of returns by the technical analysis method, the second section is devoted to evaluating whether return predictability is a good test for market efficiency. Gustafsson (2012) conducted a research on how the stock market performed relatively to the predictions by the technical analysis method in the Swedish stock market. According to technical analysis assumed that successive returns were related. In other words, positive returns in a given time period would be followed by equally positive returns in the same period of the subsequent year. On the basis of the above assumption, Gustafsson (2012) wanted to test the hypothesis that successes in the stock market were independent. Among other tests, the research summarized results from various trading rules to test whether a technical analysis would have been used to accurately predict recurring price patterns and hence returns. The research found out that the comparison between 2001-12-28 and 2011-12-30, the average daily return was 0.0184% for the buy and hold strategy, with a standard deviation of 0.016 and the total number of trading days was 2517. With this statistic, the t-statistic for the buy and hold strategy was 0.58. This study made reached some interesting conclusions from the data. Interestingly, it found out that the introduction of RSI and the RSIstoch that indicates the directional strength of price changes had an impact on the return predictability. Further, the findings lend to the support of the assumption that technical analysis can be used to predict future price movements. This is because; average daily buy-day returns were significantly larger than average daily-sell returns. As such, it meant that the technical trading rules also had a

The Wage setting model of unemployment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Wage setting model of unemployment - Essay Example Wage setters cannot factually set the actual wage. In fact, the real wage weighs the purchasing power of those earning wages and is thus equivalent to the cash wage divided by the level of consumer prices. Wage setters can therefore set the money in their firm or in their economic sector. These wage setters set cash wage as per their expectation of the price level of consumers. Consequently, they set an expected actual wage in relation to the level of unemployment. Using the wage setting model of unemployment to explain and discuss the following statements: a). Competition between the employed and the unemployed is critical in Maintaining a low natural rate of unemployment A natural rate of employment refers to the unemployment rate when the labour market is at its equilibrium. NRU can also be the difference between people who would wish to get a job at the present wage rate and the people who are willing and at the same time, able to take a job. It is caused by supply side factors a s opposed to demand side factors. In connection to the wage setting model, it can be argued that, competition between the employed and the unemployed is critical in maintain a low natural rate of unemployment because it enables the wage negotiations to be more decentralized. This takes place at a smaller economic unit level. The lower the specified unit, the more competition it faces, which makes the labour demand more flexible (Blanchard & Katz 1970). To maintain law natural rate of unemployment, there must be competition of the unemployed and unemployed so that there can be at one end, an individual’s level and infinite elasticity on the other. Since an employed person fears the risk of being replaced with another person who is ready and willing to take up the job, thus lowering the equilibrium wage. If the centralization level of wage bargains goes up and if trade unions are inclusive, then an economy that is highly unionized can attain low unemployment rates. Nations with very decentralized wage-setting obtain a low rate of employment because of competition in the labour market. In an economy without competition the employed and unemployed, there might be a two-tier society, having a class of unstable workers who may be forced to wonder between poor-waged jobs and unemployment. As far as this is concerned, the bottle tends to be half full/half empty. While the labour market is actually dual when one looks solely at the jobs, one should also look at the unemployed individuals. At one extreme, this may imply that only specific people would always hold specific jobs, but on the other hand, the unemployed may have better skills and ready to work but with no opportunity to do so. Competition is therefore important in maintaining low natural rates of unemployment because it gives firms an opportunity to effectively screen and pick employees, an option that is vital in determining the amount of wages to be allocated in accordance to the work experience and skills, thus ensuring that there is a balance between the employed and unemployed (Burda & Wyplosz, 2013). It is also important to note that competition is crucial for the reason that, the employed personnel working on contract terms may wield pressure on the benefit systems of the unemployed, in case they are eligible to do so. The increase in job turnover may adversely raise the number of qualified claimants and place wage pressure on the unemployment benefit administration.