Monday, September 30, 2019

Gabriel’s Epiphany in James Joyce’s “The Dead” Essay

In James Joyce’s â€Å"The Dead,† through an epiphany the main character, Gabriel, realizes the true relationship between him and his wife, Gretta. The epiphany Gabriel experiences is the direct effect of his wife’s confession to having a love before she met him. Not just a love, but a true love named Michael Furey. Before Gabriel had heard this story he continuously looks at his wife thinking about how much he loves her and how much he wishes they could only feel the excitement of their relationship. His emotions and feelings are shattered when he hears Gretta’s story of Michael Furey. At first he feels anger toward her. Anger at the fact that he was not her first love. He is also humiliated to feel as he did before, foolishly in love, when it was quite clear their relationship was not what he thought it was. He thinks about how she still carries so much fondness for her dead lover and he grows envious that she had found her one true love. After staring at his wife asleep on the bed, he feels deeply saddened that he will never experience a true love relationship in return from his wife. He wants her to be happy, and he knows she is actually devastated even after all these years of appearing to be content in their boring marriage. He decides then that he will make it up to her. He will be the man she always wanted and needed. Gabriel makes the decision to move to Ireland, the country he detests in the beginning of the story. This is a sacrifice he will make to show his true love to his wife, Gretta. A sacrifice which in no way would have been possible if he had not experienced the epiphany within the story.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Marketing research: assume you are developing

Mc Daniel and Gates (1999) have given a ten-point procedure for developing a questionnaire. This procedure can be adapted and used in designing a questionnaire for the newly developed sandwich by MacDonalds. These authors have emphasized the need for questionnaires to be developed properly, otherwise incomplete and inaccurate data shall be generated. They specifically stressed the need for three important questions to be answered adequately by the would-be questionnaire designer or developer. These questions are as follows: (a) Does the questionnaire to be developed for MacDonald’s sandwich provide the necessary decision-making information for management? For example, can it tell management about the ingredients that should make-up the sandwich and at what price it should be sold to the public? (b) Does it consider the respondent to whom the questionnaire shall be administered to? If respondents are taken into account, the questions would be tailored to their level of comprehension. (c)Does the questionnaire meet editing, coding and data processing needs? It behooves questionnaire developers to take these concerns into account before designing the questions. Ideally, the questionnaire should be pre-tested to see how the questions are understood by the respondents. Questionnaire development Processes According McDonald and Gates (1999) these ten steps should be followed in designing a questionnaire: 1. Set objectives of the study and consider resources and constraints of the study   (MacDonald’s sandwich )- Every study as such the one on sandwich must have a definite objective. This objective should be clearly spelt out. A meaningful objective is one which is attainable within the resources at the disposal of the company commissioning the research study. For example, an objective can be to establish how the newly developed sandwich should be priced. Possible constraints of the study also need to be identified and factored into the process of developing and administering the questionnaire. For example, if the intended market of the sandwich is noted for apparent difficulty in securing respondents to participate in research study, that constraint should be taken into account. In such situations, it may be needful to increase the incentives given to respondents to encourage participation. 2. Determine what data collection procedures to use  Ã‚   – Questionnaires can be administered by telephone, email, or in-person. Each approach employed influences the design used. It also has a cost implication, which must be taken into account. 3.Come out with the question response format – After zeroing in on the method for collecting the data, the actual format should be determined. Generally, three types of response formats can be used. These include open-ended questions, where the respondent is given freewill to respond to questions in his own words. There are also the close-ended questions, where   respondents are allowed to select from a list of answers. Thirdly, there is the scaled-response questions, where multiple-choice questions are given to respondents to pick answers from. 4. Make a decision on how the question should be worded – McDonald and Gates (1999) have given four guidelines that should govern this process. These are (a) the wording should be clear and to the point. (b) Select words that   do not preempt other answers over others or that systematically biase the research outputs. (c) consider the ability of the typical respondents to answer the questions and (d) take into account the willingness of the respondents to answer the questions. 5. Determine the arrangement of   the questions – The questions should be arranged in such a manner that establishes a flow. For example, questions that warm up the respondents should come before those considered difficult and complex. 6.   Assess the questionnaire – Determine the relevance and longevity of questions and the ability of questions to answer the research objectives. 7. Seek the consent of relevant stakeholders – Allow all relevant stakeholders to review the questionnaire and give their approval before administering it in the field. By this approach, their support and cooperation is gained. 8. Give it a trial and revise it accordingly – Before administering the questionnaire, it must be field tried or tested. Here, limited number of persons is allowed to answer the questions and how they understood or perceived the questions are evaluated. Their comments are then factored into the final questionnaire. 9.Develop the final copy of the questionnaire – At this juncture, a final copy of the questionnaire is developed. This copy incorporates both the comments of management, sponsors and respondents. 10. Administer the questionnaire – The questionnaire is given out to the intended population for which information is needed.   Instructions to guide   supervisors and interviewers should accompany the questionnaires prepared. Conclusion By adopting this ten-point approach to developing and implementing questionnaires, it should be possible for the needed information to guide managerial decision-making on the newly developed sandwich of MacDonald’s to be obtained. Reference McDaniel, C. and Gates, R. (1999). Contemporary Marketing Research, 4th Edition, South-Western College Publishing, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.            

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Teenage Drivers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Teenage Drivers - Essay Example Moreover driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs multiplies the risks of car accidents for these teenagers. Backed up by several statistical evidences, facts, and medical researches, most of the people are of the view that children should be at least 18 years old to get a driving license. (Davis, 2005) However, many people also believe that the sweeping statement blaming all young drivers should not be made as there are only a portion of the total teenage drivers that cause the major chunk of accidents (Davis, 2005). Several people, including parents, prefer having their children be able to drive as soon as possible so as to lessen their burden of having to drive their children to schools and universities and after school events such as parties and movies. The statistics show that every year about 5500 to 6000 teenagers lose their lives in car crashes proving it to be the most common way for a teenager to lose his life (valdes-dapena, 2005). There are many factors contributing to this. Teenagers are most likely to take risks. These risks might be influenced by various sources including emotions and peer group pressure. Other stresses caused by their busy schedules, considering that a lot of teenagers in many parts of the world attend school and universities and work at the same time, also contribute to taking risks (Ipp, 1997). Moreover, the young high school or college going children, are often under the influence of alcohol and marijuana while driving. Put bluntly, beginner drivers simply lack the experience and ability required to carry out the simple looking yet complex tasks associated with everyday driving and hence controlling the vehicle at high speeds especially in response to hazards that might be done quite easily by an experienced driver, may become very difficult for young drivers. As the sun sets, adolescents behind wheels become even riskier (Ipp, 1997). The Medical Aspect Scientists at the NIH campus in Bethesda, Md., have found that the careless attitudes and rash emotions that influence teenagers' decisions are due to a crucial part of the human brain that remains undeveloped until the age of 25. This part of the brain is responsible for influencing better decision making and impulse control and is among the latest to build up (davis, 2005). This NIH research was led by Jay Giedd, chief of brain imaging in the child psychiatric unit at the National Institute of Mental Health. Jay Giedd, along with a team of professional researchers, analyzed 4000 brain scans from 2000 volunteers to record how brains develop as children grow up and mature. His analysis illustrated a very important point. An area of the brain, called the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex, remains under developed until the age of 25 (Davis, 2005). This area helps a person to 'look further ahead' and make sound and mature decisions. Due to the slow process of this area's development, as the children's bodies grow physically, their hormones encourage more risk-taking and thrill-seeking. But as the hormones ignite the limbic system which is responsible for responding to pleasure, emotions run high. These emotions cause difficulty in making the intelligent judgments needed

Friday, September 27, 2019

Games & Simulations Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Games & Simulations - Research Paper Example For example, some visitors like highly exciting rides and can tolerate nausea to considerable levels while some cannot. If a crash occurs, park visors die translating into a decrease in the park’s rating, thus the popularity of the park will be lowered. Your job therefore is to build the park and ensure a steady flow of customers, by hiring the right staff to carry out the requisite tasks that ensure the smooth running of the amusement park (Straight 2012). Rollercoaster Tycoon affords the gamer an opportunity of managing close to every business aspect associated with owning a theme pack. The learning objectives ascribed to the simulation is to design numerous features of the park that impact the park’s on-going popularity as well as the income generated by it. This consequently has an influence on the flow of capital that the player has to maintain, improve, and expand the park. The game consists of twenty one scenarios. In order to complete a scenario and proceed to a new one, the main objective encompasses having a pre-defined minimum number of visitors within a period of between four and five years that defines the deadline of the scenario (Straight 2012). As such, the game highlights that the corpus of business management encompasses the facets of time management, careful planning, hiring the right personnel, considering the needs of all customers, and most importantly, ensuring that you have a steady flow of customers thro ughout the year. Straight, A. (2012). Roller Coaster Tycoon [solve] Walkthrough, FAQ, Hints, Cheats - Cheatbook. Cheatbook - Cheat Codes, Cheats, Cheatsbook, Hints, Tips. Retrieved October 23, 2012, from

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Managing the Supply Chain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Managing the Supply Chain - Essay Example Each of these factors related to Toyota have been discussed in the following sections. Background of Toyota Motor Corporation Toyota Motor Corporation was founded in 1927 by Kiichiro Toyoda and it is presently a multinational automaker employing 317,716 employees worldwide. The majority of the company’s sales are generated from the overseas regions. There are currently 15 companies under the Toyota Group including non-automotive companies Towa Real Estate and Toyota Housing Corporation (Appendix 1). The company has a large fleet of cars, MPVs, SUVs and hybrid models. Toyota’s global vision is to exceed the expectations and rewarded with a smile through its commitment to quality, respect for planet and constant innovation (Toyota Motor Corporation-a, 2012). Toyota has its operations worldwide including Canada, U.S.A., Latin America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and Middle East. Its regional headquarters are in U.S.A., Belgium, Thailand and Singapore whereas its major R&D centers are in U.S.A., Japan, France, Belgium, Thailand, Australia and China (Toyota Motor Corporation-b, 2012). ... The salaried supervisors are group leaders who support the functions of whole group. Figure 1 shows an organizational structure of Toyota in relation to support and responsibilities. The production employees are a part of groups of 20-30 people as per the needs of the work area. The group leaders i.e. supervisors are responsible for the groups and report to assistant managers each of whom is responsible for 4-6 supervisors and all production related activities. The manager above him/her is also responsible for the production activities but not the daily activities like the assistant managers. Depending on the number of employees in a department a number of managers report to the assistant general manager and so on. The production system in Toyota is based on JIT system based on elimination of activities which consume resources and which do not create values for customers, and keeping the inventories at minimum levels. Overall it is a method of cutting the time taken to convert orders from customers into deliveries. But as per Toyota all this can only be achieved by philosophy of continuous improvement and respect for its customers, suppliers, dealers and employees. The employees are given vague instructions and broad targets instead of rules to inculcate the habit of setting targets for self (Iyer, 2009, p.158-160). Figure 1: Toyota's Organizational Structure of one of its facilities in U.S.A. Source: (Liker & Meier, 2005, p.223) Product Development Process & SCM The new product development process at Toyota follows the following steps: 1. The product planning department conducts research and analysis, draws up product plan including line-ups and schedules for

INTERMED MACROECON Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

INTERMED MACROECON - Essay Example It basically measures output and thus is a totally different concept from GDY (Gross Domestic Income) because the latter measures incomes. Also, only domestic production is counted in GDP and no foreign or abroad output. The calculation of GDP is facilitated by the use of price indices whereby current prices are measured against the price of a base year and thus, changes in the level of output are measured every year. Output and GDP changes are positively correlated. GDP is not directly impacted by a change in the level of prices and interest rates but indirectly, they bring about changes in employment levels and therefore, GDP is indirectly affected by these variables. APE (Aggregate Planned Expenditure) APE is the measure of total goods and services demanded by all the sectors in a country. Because it is the demand which creates GDP in domestic market, APE in reality also includes foreign imports which tend to increase the APE. In order to arrive at the actual APE, all imports (F) are subtracted from the sum total of household consumption (C), business investment (I), government purchases (G) and exports (X). Mathematically, it is denoted by the following formula: APE= C + I + G + X –F Variables affecting the APE are GDP and the interest rate levels. For GDP, the change is positive, strong and quick while for interest rates, it is slow, negative and weak. However, APE is not directly affected by price level changes. ASF (Aggregate Supply of Funding) To measure and define ASF, it is first essential to understand the meaning of velocity of money (V). V is the number of time a dollar is used to purchase goods or services within a year. Also, funds in a country can be categorized in currency and coins (CC) and checking account balances (CA), the sum of which gives us the money supply (M). While M increases with the increase in bank lending, V increases with the increase in non-bank lending. As such, ASF comes out to be: ASF= (M * V) / p where p= price inde x Consequently, change in ASF is directly proportional to a change in interest rates while it is inversely proportional to change in price levels. ADF (Aggregate Demand for Funding) Concept of ADF creeps in when we establish equality between APE and GDP. In case of APE almost equal to GDP, ASF supports the funding of production as well as sales. However, when APE is less than GDP, producers and businessmen need additional revenues to compensate their bills and costs. It thus follows that ADF equals APE when APE equals GDP. However, ADF equals GDP when APE < GDP. Chapter 2 Plotting GDP on a graph When plotting the macroeconomics variables of GDP, APE, ASF and ADF, the vertical axis is the interest rate level (i) and the other three are shown on the horizontal axis. Since interest rate level has no direct impact upon GDP level, the GDP line goes vertical unaffected. It just moves right or left by the amount of change in GDP. Adding APE to the graph To plot APE line on the graph, use o f the following formula is done which has already been discussed above: APE= a + b (GDY) – ci. The slope of the APE line is always to the left and upwards because rise in interest rates signifies fall in APE. Another line called IS which is not a measuring unit, depicts all the combination of interest rate levels and GDP at which GDP equals APE. The Macroeconomic Coordination Process tends the three lines to intersect at common points whether they shift to the right or left

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Popular Music, Culture & Politics Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Popular Music, Culture & Politics - Article Example This shows how some isolated or marginal areas within Japan are capable of upholding authentic Japanese culture, characterized by composition of musical lyrics in Japanese. There is further emphasis on the fact that urban areas of Japan, unlike the isolated ones, are connected to and even compromised by Western influence, coupled with Japan’s troubled history. The association of Japanese popular music with the West is evident throughout the article, forming its greatest theme. For instance, Morris takes note of the fact that the country’s musical culture hence national identity is largely tied up with its 19th century occupation by Western Allied forces. It was as a result of the occupation that Japanese musicians were forced to embrace western styles of music composition and performance, in order to keep Allied soldiers entertained hence surviving the occupation. The author is keen to note that, since that time, music primarily reflects the country’s cultural pl acement hence national identity in connection and contrast to the West. The systematic review approach adopted by Morris adequately demonstrates that Japanese popular music adopts practices that allow it to capitalize on emerging trends. These include not just utilization of English in composition and performance, but also adoption of emergent trends such as those in media technology. This approach is, however, too broad to fully examine and effectively facilitate understanding of Japan’s national identity, as shaped by music and its resulting culture. There is extra focus on the nature of music, as influenced by the relationship between Japan and the West, especially the U.S., thus overlooking crucial cultural elements within the country. Other examples of broad or non-specific music associations with national identity include the association of rock and roll music with British

Monday, September 23, 2019

The Impact of Direct Digital Manufacturing on Supply Chains Essay

The Impact of Direct Digital Manufacturing on Supply Chains - Essay Example Eyebrows are getting raised over the potential of DDM in cutting the demand for logistics services, as products would be manufactured at the place of demand or use. Effect of DDM would be felt in all industry sectors for meeting urgent product needs, providing customized products and parts of products, which were earlier supplied in bulk through the logistics industry. The crucial question before the logistics businesses worldwide is whether DDM would affect the business of logistics industry for transporting goods from one location to another. Naturally future repercussions of the innovation in technology cannot be denied. When customized parts could be accessed from the local DDM in a cost-effective and faster way, who would like to order it through a logistics process? Possibility of getting parts supplied locally becomes more evident for implementing changes in the designs of products. Actually, the risk to logistics business is genuine because no company would like to pay airfre ight for getting a part from abroad when it can be produced locally but the business of DDM depends on innovation in concepts; only genius is not enough. If an idea is good enough, it will take time in proto-typing. 3D printing also requires time to process a concept into a product. It would start a war-like environment for safeguarding intellectual property. Imitators and innovators, both would make attempts to present their products fast to the market (â€Å"3D Printing† par. 27). For getting competitive edge from the given scenario, only those companies would get the leverage that would plan a long-term marketing strategy without considering the profit factor. Delivery of products would demand accuracy of timing in taking the products to the customer locations (â€Å"3D Printing† par. 30). A look at the business growth of DDM can help in evaluating the potential of new technology sweeping the stakes of supply chains. Seeing the latest market trends on manufacturing solid products by 3Dprinters, business in additive manufacturing reached $1.2 billion in 2008 and the possibility is that it could double in size by 2015. For understanding the impact of DDM business on logistics, some crucial data analysis is mandatory such as 75% of the sale of 3D printers has been registered for producing common sort of products while the balanced sale of the 3D printers has been made for producing industrial products. With the approaching time, there would be increase in the sale of cheap 3D printers, which can be to the tune of 90% market as price depreciates and functionality improves of 3D printers. Demand of the DDM machine is increasing not only for model-making and rapid prototyping, but for all types of machines for producing finished products as well (â€Å"A factory on your desk† par. 4). The only difference between the industrial revolution of the 1800s and the seeming-revolution of the future is that the manufacturing industry won’t be a ble to get the benefit of economies of scale that comes with bulk production. Another difference would be seen in the distribution of capital, employment, and intellectual property, thus, indirectly affecting the logistics business as any impact on various industries would get reflected in logistics, affecting its business potential (â€Å"Print me a Stradavarius† par. 9). Have a look at the success story of a U.S. company. Seeing the current status of rapid manufacturing (RM) in the business of making invisible dental braces, U.S. based Invisalign

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Problem Solution for TerraTech Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Problem Solution for TerraTech - Case Study Example The company is now at a point where they need to determine how they will move forward to meet not only the current, but future demands of the clients. In order to do this it will be important for the company to carefully implement a strategy to accomplish their goals. There is always the alternative to do nothing, but if TeraTech wishes to survive this is not an option. The current issues that have been identified are poor customer satisfaction reviews, slowing growth, and staffing concerns. Moving forward, the company will have to decide how to best address these issues. TeraTech is a major player in the CRM solutions arena for the pharmaceutical industry. However, after receiving feedback from their customer base they have found that their customers are overall unhappy with the level of support provided for their current CRM technology, nor are they satisfied with the results that the software is producing for them. It has been identified that the current technology lacks the analytical capabilities that their customers need to realize a return on their investment in the technology. TeraTech has the opportunity to develop a new technology that would better meet the needs of their clients and help them to obtain a competitive advantage. Proper execution of a new product development and launch is imperative to the success of the product (Kerin, 2006, ch. 10, pp. 15-20). It is evident that in order for TeraTech to remain competitive they will need to implement a new technology that will meet the needs of their customer base. There is a major issue facing the company at the present time in the area of staffing. Management feels that they do not have the necessary talent and skills available in order to "develop and support an analytical product" (UOP, 2008, Scenario). In fact, with the resources available at the current time they are not able keep up an acceptable level of customer satisfaction and stand to lose business. Since the human resource department is insisting that the company does not recruit any new talent within the next year, TerraTech has an obvious staffing issue that must be addressed. Maximizing current human resources capital will prove to be quite a challenge. Perhaps the most important issue facing TerraTech is the fact that their customers are not satisfied and that they stand to lose the customer base that they have worked so hard to acquire. As mentioned above the first issue is that the current technology is not meeting their needs, but in addition to this a good percentage of customers are reporting that they are not happy with the level of support and customer service that they have received from the company since they have began using the CRM system. TeraTech must address this issue and they have a good opportunity to improve the level of service and support they are providing their customers. Stakeholder Perspectives/Ethical Dilemmas Anytime that a company seeks to make changes or branch out into unknown territory, there will be doubt and conflict within the organization. A lot of this comes from the tendency of human nature to resist change coupled with the fear of failure. According to the UOP, Scenario One - TeraTech, research has revealed that most new products fail and this fact "increases anxiety amount the different groups who must

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Literary Genre Essay Example for Free

Literary Genre Essay What is Literature? Language Department IPGK Pendidikan Teknik Based on your experience learning literature, what is literature? What are the characteristics of literature? Do you need to learn literature? †¢? Traditionally, literature is â€Å"imaginative† writing. †¢? However, the distinction between â€Å"real† and â€Å"fake† or â€Å"fact† and â€Å"fiction† isn’t always a good distinction; many classical works were non-fiction. Literature is Subjective †¢? Since the 1980’s, the â€Å"literary canon† of works – a group of works â€Å"agreed upon† to be â€Å"the best† by well-known scholars and critics, has been disputed. Why do you think the â€Å"canon† was disputed? †¢? The â€Å"Canon† excluded most works that were not by white, European males. †¢? Works of literature by women, homosexuals, and works by individuals of varied races, classes and ethnicities were marginalised. How did this happen? †¢? There are many ways of â€Å"writing† – but those in power recognised only one, formal way of â€Å"writing†, and this was given the higher value. †¢? Thus, the literary â€Å"canon† is a construct; it was fashioned by particular people for particular reasons at a particular time. †¢? There is no literary work or tradition that has value in and of itself †¦ †¢? †¦. even Shakespeare! †¢? In his era, Shakespeare was regarded as a hack! †¢? Time and circumstance has offered the value to particular text; and this â€Å"value† is a transitive term – it will change as the people in power change and are altered, and according to the context of the reading of a particular text. 10 years ago †¦. †¢? BLOGS were stupid. †¢? NOW, Iraq War Veterans’ BLOGS are considered vital historic and â€Å"literary† documents! Revisioning the Canon: †¢? All â€Å"literary† works are unconsciously rewritten by the societies that read them. Context †¢? Readers interpret literary works in the  light of their own concerns. †¢? Readers interpret literary works in the light of a given circumstances. †¢? Readers interpret literary works in the light of a given time period. The Diary of Anne Frank: †¢? Literature? Or Not? I Have A Dream: †¢? Is this speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. Literature? Or Not? Literature and â€Å"value† †¢? Each of us is constructed by experiences and backgrounds and emotions and ideas and prejudices and knowledge and lack of knowledge †¦ †¢? How we each respond to a particular text is deeply entwined with our broader prejudices and belief systems. Basic Definition of Literature †¢? Latin – litterae (plural for letter) †¢? Literally means â€Å"acquaintance with letters† Why Do We Study Literature? †¢? To obtain a window of the world and other cultures. †¢? To understand ourselves (how? ). †¢? To gain insights into a character’s inner thoughts, con? icts, aspirations etc. †¢? To actively shape culture through the active and articulate constructions of sociocultural realities. So †¦ what is literature? †¢? What constitutes a â€Å"literary† text? †¢? What qualities will help me to determine the â€Å"literariness† of a text? †¢? Read â€Å"What is Literature† by Jim Meyer for our class discussion this Thursday.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Compare And Contrast Piaget And Vygotsky Education Essay

Compare And Contrast Piaget And Vygotsky Education Essay Research into the way a person learns can be explained by looking at the psychological perspective. Cognitive development is concern with the ways in which childrens thinking develops in stages of life to adulthood. One of the most well known researches that can be applied to today is Piaget. This can be compared and contrast to Vygotskys theory however it can contradict against behaviourlist psychologist who say childs knowledge is due to reinforcement or punishment. This essay will compare and contrast Piaget to Vygotsky and the application it has to education, with reference to strength and weaknesses. Piaget was a Swiss psychologist who provided a highly influential theory of cognitive development. Piaget was struck by the fact that younger children gave different answers than other children, not because they were less intelligent but because they were interpreting the questions differently. Piaget saw children as scientists, and the believed they should learn by themselves. Piaget believed that the childs knowledge of the world is organised into schemas, structured patterns of knowledge and action. From birth the child has action schemas, enabling the child to know the world through acting upon it. During the 2nd year, the child begins to think about actions, and mental schemas develop. At all times, the child is motivated to keep their schemas organised, to incorporate new experiences into existing schemas, and to develop new schemas. Piaget considers we are innately programmed to adapt to our environment. Piaget used the term adaptation, to refer to the way the child learns as a result to their encounters and interactions with their environment. Adaptation takes 2 possible forms, Assimilation; this is when the child learns something that readily slots into their existing schemas. Accommodation is when the child has to change their existing schemas in order to take in a new experience. A schema allows an individual to make sense of the world as scheme are experiences, memory and information. This shows that cognitive development in a child is the process of revising knowledge to fit the ideas into this world. Another important point in Piagets theory is the existence of a third functional invariant called equilibration to keep the whole system in balance. Any changes in any part of the system will cause imbalance or disequilibrium. Equilibration keeps assimilation and accommodation in balance. Piaget developed a model of self regulating interaction which showed a link between the natu re of the physical and social environment with the childs cognitive structure. Piagets view is that cognitive development happens in stages, and at each stage the child recognises the way they think. Piaget identified 4 stages of cognitive development. Stage 1 is the sensorimotor stage from birth to 2 years. This is when the child knows the world initially through sensation and action. Piaget studied the sensorimotor phase by observing his own children. There are 2 principle features of this stage. First, those children develop object permanence, the realisation that objects exist permanently even when the child cannot see them. Second, is action schemas, by which the child knows the world through sensation and action, are supplemented and superseded by mental representations. Piaget divided the sensorimotor phase into 6 sub-stages. However, not everyone agreed with Piagets claim about object permanence. Bower (1981) showed that if an object disappeared behind a screen and then the screen was lifted, babies as young as 5 months would show surprise if the object was not there. This suggests that they did except the object to be there. However, the issue is not so much at what age these changes occur, but that they could occur and Bowers evidence merely suggests that Piaget may have underestimated what infants could do. The pre-operational stage (2-7 years) is when the children understand the world through visual appearances and non-logical assumption. From the age of about 2 years, children have mental schemas and can symbolise objects and actions in the mind as representational thought. Thought can be expressed through fantasy, play, language and drawing. Piaget divided the pre-operational Piaget divided the pre-operational stage into 2 sub stages, the preconception stage- from 2-4 years and the intuitive stage- from 4-7 years. In the pre-conceptual phase, childrens grasp of concepts is vague. They may, for example, think that if a dog is small enough it becomes a cat. Egocentrism is perhaps the most serious limitation in pre-operational childrens thinking. Typically, preoperational children said that the scene would look just the same as from their own viewpoint The next stage is the concrete operational stage (7-11 years), the child develops a degree of logic and reason, but is limited to practical problems and specific examples. Children develop mental operations Egocentrism is left behind, children become decentred, and they master principles of classification and class inclusion, and eventually full conversation of volume, number and quality. Their understanding of the world is fact-based and practical rather than theoretical. The last stage is the formal operational stage (11 years), the child achieves mature thinking and is capable of abstract theorising and scientific reasoning therefore they are fully developed by the age of 15. Formal operational adolescents are scientific in their thinking, use abstract logical reasoning and theorising, make hypotheses and test them systematically, and deduce conclusions from premises. At this stage, language plays an important role in thinking, and this means that instruction can play a more direct role than in earlier stages. There are weaknesses to this theory. Piaget underestimated the age at which children could so things- this may be because he failed to distinguish between competence (what a child is capable of doing) and performance (how a child performs on a particular task). Piagets studies tested performance and then he assumed that a child who failed simply lacked underlying cognitive structures, that he believed were needed to succeed on that task. Piaget underplayed the role of language and social factors in cognitive development. In an earlier experiment she found that children who were non-conservers differed in terms of the language they used from children classed as conservers. Non-conservers mainly used absolute rather than comparative terms and single term for different dimensions such as small to mean short, thin, or few. These findings suggest that cognitive and linguistic development is tied together, but which comes first despite many shortcomings, the strengths of Piagets approach and theory should not be overlooked. Piaget produced the first comprehensive theory of childrens cognitive development. The theory has been more extensively developed than any other. It has changed our ideas about children and has had a general influence on educational practice. Like all good theories, it has also generated research. Vygotsky development is a social process which contributes to the cognitive development through social interaction. Vygotsky (1935- 1978) through social interactions with more experienced and knowledgeable member of society parent, teacherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦- children are able to acquire the knowledge and skills that culture deems to be important. Vygotsky believed that culture teach people how to think as well as what to think as he put a lot of emphasis on practical way of learn and remembering. He used the expression zone of proximal development (ZPD) to express the area between the level of performance a child can learn alone and of which the child can achieve with someone with knowledges help. Vygotsky believed that children cannot be accelerated beyond this zone. Therefore children learn little when left alone to struggle but neither do they learn when someone takes over their task. The term scaffolding can be used to express how a child learns according to Vygotsky. This can be d efined as support frame work for childrens learning. When the child becomes more capable and confident a gradual withdrawal of help with scaffolding is an important aspect. Roger (1990) argue children become better problem solver if they practise solving problems with their parent or more experience children. Vygotsky further believes that language is important; the use of speech influences their cognitive development. In early days, children talk to themselves when playing; this is referred as private speech. Berk (1994) demonstrate that private speech is important as it a child would use it more when doing a difficult task compare to a easier one. Piaget notice this as well and referred to this as egocentric speech, because of the inability at pre school level to think from another perspective, in comparison Vygotsky state children talk to themselves in power to help them with their level of behaviour, and how to reflect and organise their behaviour in certain situation. Like Piaget, Vygotsky believe children are active in their own learning, by exploring their environment which helped shape their own knowledge. Vygotsky theory can be applied to education as it is concern how a child is taught. Vygotsky emphasized that the most important force into a child development was the social environment unlike Piaget theory of development heavily focus on the evolutionary biology. Both psychologists took notice in children pretend playing and becoming roles of people in society. Vygotsky however noticed that pretend play places the children in a zone of proximal development in which the play in advance of their real capabilities as they take the role as doctors, parents, teachers, as pretend play is based on rules. This guide behaviour in these roles, indirect they learn norms of society and how people expect them to act.The main difference between both psychologist is the degree social and interpersonal interaction causes development. Piaget idea had a huge influence on British education. The Ploweden report was an prominent, influential and emphasised many of Piagetian principles such as development age, readiness and the developmental stages. This document was published in 1967 and principles it brought to education was that children should discover for themselves and being active learner. Teachers role if to ask question and provide material to provide the children in state of disequilbration that enable them to modify their schema. Piaget theory suggests child centre learning, as all children mature at different rates, this help create small group activity and different children learn in different way. Vygotskys theory has high implication for education; especially in the recent years as he stresses out the importance of social interaction with more experienced others as an essential, as education was a fundamental aspect of human development. Peer tutoring is a key concept as children learn little when on their own or from a teacher who so advance, but rather with children a year or two ahead of those being taught. This is seen to be scaffolding. The zone of proximal development helps as a guide to help children achieve according to their abilities. Finally as Piaget influences argues children should be active learner, Vygotsky believes children should learn through play, especially through role plays as children operate beyond their usual level of thinking. To conclude, both theories have an effect to education and different ways of learning to a certain extent, however they are both different in a significant way even though there are similarity such as a strong debate between nature and nurture. How this can be seen to an advantage as both theories put together help each other to explain cognitive education biological and environmental influences. As Vygotsky overemphasised the role of social factor, Piaget overestimated the difference between stages.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

the pigman/short plot Essay -- essays research papers

The Pigman They're all dead: Pigman's wife, Lorraine's father, John's Aunt Ahra, the Master sons, Lorraine's mother's patients, Bobo, and the Pigman himself. All the while, the living move about like baboons in cages they've made for themselves. Why? That's the big question. The answer is central to understanding Paul Zindel'sThe Pigman. We and our students can address this problem, all the while gaining insight into literature and the makeup of the novel. This article provides activities to acquaint students with literary elements, while building up to a dramatic presentation. During this process, the students can experience the dilemmas presented in The Pigman and come to an understanding of the main characters and themselves. The Story The Pigman is a story about John and Lorraine, high school sophomores who, not getting what they need from their families, must surreptitiously seek love, reassurance, and meaning on the outside. In each other and Mr. Pignati (the Pigman), owner of a porcelain pig collection, they find love and reassurance; the meaning they find in themselves, in the unfolding of their relationship with Mr. Pignati and the drama leading to his death. John, a handsome and wild boy, drinks and smokes excessively; and, as Lorraine points out, only his good looks have kept him out of reform school. Lorraine, a shy girl John's own age, has low self-esteem and mild paranoia. John becomes attracted to her because he sees in her the same spontaneous, crazy quality...

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

lord of flies :: essays research papers

The novel Lord of the flies by William Golding presents and defends a theme that human nature is essential evil, and that a person removed from society will be allowed to let their evil instincts to manifest themselves as the person becomes increasingly savage. In this novel, Golding presents a character (Jack) who takes on and exemplifies this transition to savagery through out the course of the book as the evil inside him is set free. We see Jack, who at first cannot even kill a pig caught in the creepers, fall deeper in deeper into his savage ways as his killing of one pig, and his focus on the hunt turns to bloodlust. Then as it progresses his bloodlust begins to drive more than just the hunt for food as he leaves the dead as sacrifice for the beast, and he begins to turn his violence out towards the other boys, not just his pray. As a final decent into the evil that has consumed him the pray becomes one of the boys as Ralph is hunted with the intent to kill, sacrifice and possibly even eat in an act of cannibalism. Before the evil began to grow in strength within Jack, he was a boy much like the others and like the others he found the concept of killing another living thing was not something easy to digest, but Jack learned. How ever hard it was for Jack to first kill a pig, spilling its blood on his bare hands, once he had first killed another living thing his path towards evil and savagery was well one its way. Early on in the novel we find Ralph, Simon and Jack walking through the forest when they come across a small pig tangled and caught in the creepers. Although Jack does have a knife with him his hesitation combined with the overwhelming reality of the situation keeps Jack stunned in his place and the pig escapes untouched. Jack swears to himself and the others that he will kill the next pig and this pressure to perform to prove himself a true and worthy hunter, leads him to obsession over the hunt. To Jack the hunt becomes more than just a game, or a source of food, it becomes his mission, duty and purpose on the island. When Jack makes his first kill he is spellbound by the power of life and death he exerts on the pig and is fascinated by the warm blood that pours from the wound he cuts to slit the pigs throat.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Reader-oriented Theories and Their Application to Ernest Hemingway’s Hi

Reader-oriented Theories and Their Application to Ernest Hemingway’s Hills like white elephants From the very beginning of the literature people tended to criticize the literary works according to some certain criteria. Some critics claimed that the text itself is important and some other said the author and his style is the thing that should be focused on. Form and content were the other significant elements in the history of the literary criticism. In addition, the social and political influences of the time that the work was written were also considered as important. However the reader who reads the work and his thoughts and his interpretations were not as valuable as the other criteria until late 19th and early 20th century. From then on we come up with a new approach, reader-response. The aim of the present paper is to give some basic tenets of the reader-oriented theories and their application to the work â€Å"Hills like white elephants† by Ernest Hemingway. We can say that Reader-oriented theories have no single or predominant philosophical starting point. There are quite different writers that commented on the reader response and they belong to different traditions of thought. They seriously challenge the predominance of the text-oriented theories of New Criticism and Formalism. As for them it is impossible to talk about the meaning of a text without considering the reader’s contribution to it. We see an interesting explanation about reader-response criticism by Tompkins. She claims that â€Å"reader response criticism is not a conceptually unified critical position, but a term that has come to be associated with the work of critics who use the words reader, the reading process, and response to mark out an area for investig... ...n and fertile part of the country was a symbol of the productive part of the woman and the barren part is the symbol of the man who did not want the baby. And the other readers stated that these two different parts of the land were a reflection of the inner part of the woman. The reason for the man not to want a baby was considered as an obstacle for him to travel. It was observed that the woman readers were supporting the woman in the story and the man readers were supporting the man’s part of the argument... Finally we can say that the discussion in the class and the differences in the interpretations showed us clearly the differences between the perceptions of the readers on the same work. In the lights of the reader-oriented theories one can claim that there is no single truth or meaning derived from the text, the responses will change as the readers change.

Fast Food Restaurants Essay

The blame for obesity is almost always placed on fast food restaurants alone. However, the rise in obesity is contributed by several factors – a change in lifestyle, less exercise, bigger food portions and targeted marketing. To be fair, the presence of fast food industry is fueled by a major change in the lifestyle of today’s generation. The advancement of technology and modern appliances has changed the way we live, harming us in some ways. We drive to work or school instead of walking or cycling. We sit in front of the computer or television for long hours instead of running at the neighborhood with friends. The same goes with our choice in diet. Rather than preparing meals in the kitchen, we would opt for a convenient and time-saving meal at the fast food restaurant (Nutracheck. co. uk, n. d. , para. 9). Eating at fast food restaurants eventually becomes an acceptable trend in the current society even though most people are well aware that fast food is bad for them (Whatscookingamerica. net, 2002, On the Other Hand section, para. 2). This comes down to a matter of choice and individual’s responsibility. For our part, we decide on what we eat and we are responsible for our choice (Nutracheck. co. k, n. d. , para. 10). We are responsible for the choice we made, not the company that provides the food (Whatscookingamerica. net, 2002, On the Other Hand section, para. 2). In a typical family setting, one would discover that both husband and wife are working. Otherwise, they would not be able to afford to buy a house or even fund their children’s higher education. With more women joining the workforce, they no longer have the luxury of shopping for fresh grocery at the local market and preparing healthy meals for the family (Whatscookingamerica. net, 2004, How We Got So Fat section, para. ). In order to feed their families, these women have not much choice left but to opt for buying fast food. This is the easiest, most convenient and most affordable option for most families. The children from these families grew up eating processed food and this would have influenced their eating choices as they become adults. Furthermore, most people are just not getting enough exercise to burn off the extra calories ingested daily (Whatscookingamerica. net, 2004, How We Got So Fat section, para. 7). Thirty minutes of daily vigorous activity is good enough to w ard off heart diseases. However, at least one hour of physical exercise is necessary to burn off the extra calories gained daily (Protraineronline. com, 2011, para. 10). Insufficient exercise coupled with a less physical lifestyle and high-calories diet would only mean that the population grows fatter each day. On the individual level, we are responsible on the amount of calories ingested and burned on a daily basis (Protraineronline. com, 2011, para. 18). If we willingly choose to consume high-caloric fast food yet we do not bother to burn off the extra calories, then we can only have ourselves to blame if we become obese. Having said all that, fast food restaurants deserve to take in a huge part of the blame for obesity. They made unhealthy food so cheaply and readily available to the population (Nutracheck. co. uk, n. d. , para. 3) and yet most of them do not bother to warn their customers of the unhealthy food served (Whatscookingamerica. net, 2002, On One Hand section, para. 3). Most consumers do not know what is being served to them – they are ignorant of the hazardously high sodium, sugar and fat content in the food served. To make matters worse, fast food restaurants are also serving bigger portions compared to a decade ago. The fast food industry is facing a stiff competition. Since it costs just a little bit more to serve a large portion compared to a medium portion, â€Å"supersizing† became a common practice especially for fast food chains like McDonalds, Burger King and Wendy’s (Whatscookingamerica. net, 2004, How We Got So Fat section, para. 5). The burgers served are oversized, fries come in extra-large servings and the soda drinks are bottomless (Whatscookingamerica. net, 2002, para. 2). Then again, even if fast food restaurants offer â€Å"super-size† portions, customers are not forced to double their potion (Nutracheck. o. uk, n. d. , para. 8). They can still opt for the normal size serving. Fast food restaurants are also to be blamed for disseminating wrong messages about diet and nutrition in television advertisement targeted towards children (Nutracheck. co. uk, n. d. , para. 7). In these television advertisements, children are convinced to eat processed food that is really bad for them. Fast food restaurants take advantage of the fact that children are more susceptible to marketing campaigns and they cannot decide on what is best for them to eat since they are not as well informed as adult consumers (Nutracheck. o. uk, n. d. , para. 7). Hence, the fast food industry is clearly the culprit of the growing obesity problem among children. In conclusion, the responsibility of choosing healthy food and getting daily exercises lies in every individual to tackle the obesity problem. Meanwhile, fast food restaurants have to bear the blame of serving unhealthy food to their customers, â€Å"super-sizing† portions to retain loyal customers and making children the target of their sinister television advertisement.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Renewable Energy

Fung Chi Hong (10549602) Summary Nowadays, some people who supported renewable energy have many questions for fully relying on renewable energy in the future. A factor why people do not consider renewable energy is economics. However, the fact is that renewable energy can solve many economic problems. Anna Leidreiter expresses that the benefits of traditional energy are shared in only a few stakeholders; renewable energy is owned by popular, so the big business do not agree renewable energy.If the benefits from the large enterprise can be shared to popular, a correct energy can transform, it was shown in the history. Also, Anna Leidreiter gives Denmark and Germany as the examples to show fully renewable energy. Finally, she suggests some policies are necessary to replace fossil fuel with renewable energy and countries should exchange the opinion with other countries. Comment: After reading this article about economics and renewable energy, I have follow comment. First, using renewabl e energy is an irresistible general trend.According to the Anna Leidreiter, we can see that using renewable energy can substitute for fossil fuel in the Denmark and Germany. Using renewable energy not only can increase the opportunity of jobs, but also can help the economics stable. However, I think we should not just look to the money. In order to maintain a clean environment to our offspring, we should lay stress on environment protection; one of the things we can do is using renewable energy. Referencing Leidreiter, Anna. â€Å"Local Development through Community-Led Renewable Energy† Renewable Energy World Magazine. 3 Apr. 2013. Web. 10 Apr. 2013 Renewable Energy Fung Chi Hong (10549602) Summary Nowadays, some people who supported renewable energy have many questions for fully relying on renewable energy in the future. A factor why people do not consider renewable energy is economics. However, the fact is that renewable energy can solve many economic problems. Anna Leidreiter expresses that the benefits of traditional energy are shared in only a few stakeholders; renewable energy is owned by popular, so the big business do not agree renewable energy.If the benefits from the large enterprise can be shared to popular, a correct energy can transform, it was shown in the history. Also, Anna Leidreiter gives Denmark and Germany as the examples to show fully renewable energy. Finally, she suggests some policies are necessary to replace fossil fuel with renewable energy and countries should exchange the opinion with other countries. Comment: After reading this article about economics and renewable energy, I have follow comment. First, using renewabl e energy is an irresistible general trend.According to the Anna Leidreiter, we can see that using renewable energy can substitute for fossil fuel in the Denmark and Germany. Using renewable energy not only can increase the opportunity of jobs, but also can help the economics stable. However, I think we should not just look to the money. In order to maintain a clean environment to our offspring, we should lay stress on environment protection; one of the things we can do is using renewable energy. Referencing Leidreiter, Anna. â€Å"Local Development through Community-Led Renewable Energy† Renewable Energy World Magazine. 3 Apr. 2013. Web. 10 Apr. 2013

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Parents Are the Primary Cause of Disturbed and Disturbing Behaviour in Their Children Essay

‘Parents are the primary cause of disturbed and disturbing behaviour in their children’ this essay will look at evidence for and against this claim. It will start by explaining the meaning of the phrase ‘disturbed and ‘disturbing behaviour’ and then move on to explain the role that parents play in the cause of ‘disturbed’ or ‘disturbing’ behaviour within their children. In the past theorists would have agreed with this phrase, having good evidence to support their theories. Nevertheless this is now considered by many to be a naive view of a child’s development. The essay will look at three different models, the medical model, the social environment model and the transactional model. It will conclude by looking at the role of the child in the process and looking at whether there is conclusive evidence to support this claim. There is a large minority of children who find certain circumstances difficult to adjust to and because of this; their behaviour is considered by others to be difficult, withdrawn, disturbed or even bizarre. Parents of these children may describe them as being ‘hard to manage’, ‘demanding’, and ‘aggressive’. People who work with these children for example teachers or health care workers could consider them to have ‘behavioural problems’. The expression ‘disturbed’ and ‘disturbing behaviour’ is very unclear, it can have several meanings at one time. One suggestion could be that the child is the victim of incompetent or abusive parenting. Then another suggestion is that the child is the cause of the problem with behaviour that needs to be contained. What is meant by a ‘problem’? ‘Childhood signs of psychological abnormality are, by and large, manifestations of behavioural, cognitive and emotional responses common to all children. Their quality of being dysfunctional lies in their inappropriate intensity, frequency and persistence (Herbert, 1991, p. 13). Children are said to present problems when their behaviour falls out of the range of tolerance and age-appropriateness. That range maybe more or less wide depending both on the context and the attitudes of those making such judgments. To put it bluntly, many children are only seen as having problems when they become a problem to others. So, whose problem is it? Where does the problem reside (Chapter, 2, p. 63)? Individuals have different perspectives of the ‘problem’. From the medical view the problem might be described in terms of ‘disorders’ which locates the problem firmly within the child as part of their psychological make-up. The approach to treatment was to prescribe medication or psychotherapy. This model was very prevalent during the 40’s and 50’s which came under much criticism. Emotional and behavioural difficulties were not considered within the medical model. The social environment model was careful not to put labels like ‘disturbed’ on to the child. As the medical model focuses the problem within the child the social environment model sees the problem as being outside the child for example a poor home situation, incompetent or abusive parental care or inadequate discipline at school. Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation is a good illustration of this perspective, which was highly influential in the 1950’s in the construction of post-war social policy on the functions of the family and especially the role of women, as mothers, in promoting children’s mental health (Chapter, 2, p. 8). Referring to children and their behaviour there is a very common phrase used in everyday life ‘I blame it on the parents’. This spanned many generations believing that the explanation for children’s bad or disruptive behaviour lay firmly within the home environment and the quality of parenting. Believing this removed the attention from the child themselves and the role that they might play in their behaviour and it also removed the attention from society and its responsibility for the welfare of the child. Most importantly, this belief is not just a feature of a particular ideology; it has become a foundation stone for some psychological theories about the processes of typical and disturbed development (Chapter 2 Pg 69). Kessen (1979) alerts us to the fact that some ideologies masquerade as psychological knowledge, information which is extremely important when taking into account research links between mother and child relationships and the development of disturbed behaviour. Many studies have suggested that disturbed/disturbing behaviour in children can be related to difficulties in the relationships with their mothers, which may reflect the mothers’ mental states (Murray and Stein, 1991; Garver, 1997; Wakschlag and Hans, 1999; Halligan et al. , 2004). Maternal responsiveness is important to an infant as is a mothers’ mind-mindedness (the ability to know what is going on in their infants mind) but this sensitive response can be affected by different factors. One example would be postnatal depression. A study done by Murray (1992) found that 18-month-old infants whose mothers had suffered from postnatal depression were more likely to be assessed as ‘insecurely attached’ in the ‘strange situation’. This was more prevalent in boys. Insecure attachment has been consistently linked with psychological difficulties (Greenberg et al. , 1993; Sund and Wichstrom, 2002). Murray also found that children of depressed mothers were more likely to have difficulties such as temper tantrums, eating problems, have trouble sleeping and be over clinging. This could suggest that infant temperament may also be causing problems. However not all depressed mothers develop difficulties in their relationships with their offspring (Cox et al. , 1987). Although maternal depression is one pathway to behavioural difficulties there is another; research has been carried out which traces the origins of antisocial behaviour to harsh and inconsistent discipline and ineffective parental control strategies which unwittingly reinforce the child’s negative, coercive behaviour (chapter, 2, P. 73). In disturbed relationships the people involved not only behave towards each other but they also think about each other. They both have an internal working model of the relationship which means that the cognitive as well as the social and emotional dimensions of the relationship need to be taken into account. In an Australian large-scale longitudinal study they found that mothers who had negative attitudes towards their infants at 6 months old were more likely to report behaviour problems when their children were 5 years old, especially for boys (Bor et al. 2003). The fathers also have a role in care giving. A father’s child-rearing beliefs, working hours, personality and age predicted fathers’ care giving activities. Fathers were more likely to assume care giving responsibilities if they had more positive personalities and were younger. They also assumed more care giving responsibilities when they contributed lower proportions of family income and were employed for fewer hours. Also marital intimacy predicted fathers’ care giving activities with fathers more involved when mothers reported more imitate marriages (Research summary 3, chapter, 2, p. 6). Much of the research which has explored fathers’ roles in shaping children’s behaviour has focused on the relationship between antisocial behaviour in fathers and children’s development. There is now strong evidence that there is a significant relationship between the two (Deklyen et al. 1998; Margolin and Gordis, 2000; Jaffee et al. 2003). Absence or low involvement of the father has been shown to be associated with poor outcomes for children (Scott, 1998; Carlson and Corcoran, 2001). Research shows that a father’s involvement at age 7 protected against psychological maladjustment in adolescents from disrupted families. For boys, early father involvement protected against later delinquency as measured by the child’s history of trouble with the police (Flouri and Buchanan, 2002) and for girls, father involvement at aged 16 protected against subsequent psychological distress (Flouri and Buchanan, 2003). Many studies have focused only on the amount of father involvement, neglecting the quality of the relationship (Research summary 4 pg 77). Although it is important to acknowledge the role of the parent’s involvement in their children’s adjustment we need to recognise that the child also has a role in the process. Attitudes about some styles of parenting as being the cause of atypical child behaviour, reflects a ‘social environment’ perception seeing the child as a passive victim of circumstances. Traditional questioning of the effects of environmental variables on children’s development and adjustment has been challenged through various researches. In a report from a study carried out by Sears et al. they offered a ‘social environment’ interpretation, arguing that it was the combination of parent’s permissiveness and punitiveness that caused their children to become aggressive. A highly permissive style means that children do not have clear guidance on appropriate behaviour, where as a highly punitive style means that, at the same time, they may have been frustrated by bouts of severe punishment (chapter, 2, p. 79). Bell (1968) argued persuasively for changing the direction of effect. He maintained that it was the child’s temperamental characteristics that determined how aggressive he or she was and that it is the parental disciplinary approach that attempts to adapt the child’s behaviour. Johnston et al. ’s research illustrates the dangers of presuming particular directions of causality. It would be wrong to assume that environmental risk factors would be in some sense causing children’s problems. There could be some circumstances where the characteristics of the child could add to family stress, changing parental attitudes and influencing maternal behaviour. The relative influence of parenting behaviour versus child behaviour will vary, according to the characteristics of the child and of the parent and the circumstances affecting both (chapter, 2, p. 80). It is clear that children can have both direct and indirect influences on their environment. Children and environments can also share transactional relationships. Consider a child who is easily upset and also hard to soothe, the so called ‘difficult’ temperament. Such a child with a parent who has a good social support network an a well-provided home and is relatively easily able to ‘contain’ the child’s distress and minimise upsetting experiences, may end up experiencing only brief and infrequent periods of upset and evoking a lot of supportive, sensitive care giving from ‘the environment’. The same child, however, might evoke a very different kind of care giving in a more stressed household with a parent who is less able to behave sensitively and protectively and reacts to the child’s distress in overly emotional ways. Thus environments can differ in their reactivity to children’s behaviour (Method and Skills Handbook pg 41). Chess and Thomson introduced the concept of ‘goodness of fit’ to describe the transactional relationship between child and environment. As they state, ‘goodness-of-fit results when the child’s capacities, motivations and temperament are adequate to master the demands, expectations and opportunities of the environment’ (Chess and Thomas, 1984, p. 80). Looking at the evidence presented above it is inconclusive that parents are the primary cause of disturbed and disturbing behaviour in their children; it is important to reaffirm that there are multiple pathways to disturbed behaviour and that maternal and paternal behaviour represent just two among a constellation of social context, family and parental risk factors that have been found to be associated with childhood difficulties (chapter, 2, p. 77). The evidence presented by Murray and Stein, 1991; Garver, 1997; Wakschlag and Hans, 1999; Halligan et al. , 2004 stating that disturbed/disturbing behaviour in children can be related to difficulties in the relationships with their mothers, is refuted by Cox et al. saying, not all depressed mothers develop difficulties in their relationships with their offspring. The issue is not about whether the direction of effect runs from child to mother or from mother to child; it is about their mutual influence as partners in a relationship. Children as well as parents play an active role in the process of development (chapter, 2, p. 80). In summary any particular ‘problems’ that a child might present need to be understood in terms of the demands of the context, the history of similar experiences faced by the child and the history of the adult who finds the child’s behaviour disturbing (chapter, 2, p. 64).

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Stefan’s Diaries: Origins Chapter 33

Pale moonlight danced over Alice's bright hair as I rushed toward the shack. I ran my tongue over my still-sharp fangs, reliving the sensation of my teeth pressing into her pliant, yielding neck. â€Å"You're a monster,† a voice somewhere in my mind whispered. But in the cloak of darkness, with Alice's blood coursing through my veins, the words held no meaning and were accompanied by no sting of guilt. I burst into the shack. It was quiet, but the fire was well-tended and burned brightly. I watched the flames, momentarily entranced by the violets, blacks, blues, and even greens within. Then I heard a faint breath in the corner of the room. â€Å"Damon?† I called, my voice echoing so loudly against the rough-hewn beams that I winced. I was still in hunting mode. â€Å"Brother?† I made out a figure hunched under a blanket. I observed Damon from a distance, as if I were a stranger. His dark hair was matted to his neck, and he had streaks of grime along his face. His lips were chapped, his eyes bloodshot. The air around him smelled acrid–like death. â€Å"Get up!† I said roughly, dropping Alice to the ground. Her almost-lifeless body fell heavily. Her red hair was matted with blood, and her eyes were half closed. Blood pooled around the two neat holes where I'd bitten her. I licked my lips but forced myself to leave the rest of her for Damon. â€Å"What? What have you †¦Ã¢â‚¬  Damon's gaze shifted from Alice to me, then back to Alice. â€Å"Y ou fed?† he asked, shrinking even farther into the corner and covering his eyes with his hands, as if he could somehow erase the image. â€Å"I brought her for you. Damon, you need to drink,† I urged, kneeling down next to him. Damon shook his head. â€Å"No. No,† he rasped, his breath labored as he drew nearer to death. â€Å"Just put your lips to her neck. It's easy,† I coaxed. â€Å"I won't do it, brother. Take her away,† he said, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes. I shook my head, already feeling a gnawing hunger in my belly. â€Å"Damon, listen to me. Katherine is gone, but you're alive. Watch me. Watch how simple it is,† I said as I carefully found the original wound I had made on Alice's neck. I sunk my teeth back into the holes and drank. The blood was cold, but still it sated me. I looked up toward Damon, not bothering to wipe the blood away from my mouth. â€Å"Drink,† I urged, pulling Alice's body along the floor so it was lying next to Damon. I grabbed Damon's back and forced him toward her body. He started to fight, then stopped, his eyes transfixed on the wound. I smiled, knowing how badly he wanted it, how he could smell the overpowering scent of desire. â€Å"Don't fight it.† I pushed his back so that his lips were mere inches from the blood and held him there. I felt him take a deep breath, and I knew he was already regaining strength, just from seeing the red richness, the possibility of the blood. â€Å"It's just us now. Forever. Brothers. There will be other Katherines, forever, for eternity. We can take on the world as we are.† I stopped, following Damon's gaze toward Alice's neck. Then he lunged and took a long, deep drink.

Friday, September 13, 2019

Leadership and management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Leadership and management - Essay Example Besides, the entire program should be tailored to be child-centered since they should be the main focus on the teaching and learning process. However, in order to achieve this, there should be an effective integration of early childhood education. This paper focuses on the role of integration as an important aspect of early childhood education. It is quite reflective, dynamic, inclusive and progressive to be adopted in the contemporary society (Gasper, M., 2009). The term integration, as used in the context of education, refers to the process of building collaborations and combining resources across the social, health, and educational in order to promote the wellbeing of learners. With the increasing demand for education, there need to be measures to ensure that different professionals involved in education provision should work as a team (Aubrey, C., 2011). Since schools act as agents of socialization in the society, they should be properly used to help in preparing children who can adequately comfortably be accommodated and be fruitful to the society upon a successful completion of their studies. However, in order to ensure that children are holistically prepared for this life, measures should be taken right from their time in the pre-school (Whalley, M.E., 2011). Therefore, there is a need to integrate the teaching and learning process. Meaning, all the stakeholders should be ready to collaboratively work as a team. If this happens, it will be easier for them to help their children to be adequately prepared in all spheres of life. As a matter of fact, education should be treated as a whole (Aubrey, C., 2011). When children are introduced to the appropriate social, religious and cultural aspects of their society, they will learn to understand and appreciate them from such a tender age. Therefore, they will eventually become informed people who have the right information about the dynamics of their society (Cleaver, H. et al., 2007). In this

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Logistics and operations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Logistics and operations - Essay Example According to Airman (n.d.), different companies use different types of inventory systems for inventory management and asset tracking. Inventory systems help managers in keeping track of assets and stocks, as well as in knowing where and when they have used their assets within companies. Some of the widely used inventory systems include information services inventory system, fixed asset inventory system, and information system (IS) for inventory management. All of these inventory systems are useful as they help companies keep an eye over stock and assets. In this paper, we will discuss IS-based inventory management system in order to know its effectiveness, as well as the way managers can use this to track deliveries. In today’s age of information technology, almost every company and organization is making a good use of technology based information services to carry out business activities. An information system (IS) based inventory system is one of such tools which helps managers keep track of incoming and outgoing stock. According to Kietzman (n.d.), inventory software is a specialized computer-based program that is used to keep track of the stock inventory, quantity, location, and current status. IS-based inventory management system deals with the use of information technology tools to help managers in doing information processing and management. An information system is a part of internal business control system that deals with a company’s inventory information, stock keeping procedures, and information technology. IS-based inventory systems help managers in tracking deliveries while improving efficiency and keeping control of business processes. A manufacturing or distribution company can never be successful without an IS-based inventory management system because IS keeps proper record of information related to inventory that managers can use for analysis and decision-making purposes. IS-based inventory management

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Graduate School Admission's Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Graduate School Admission's - Essay Example rsity Kampala, Uganda, where I made an attempt and succeeded in getting Bachelors in Business Administration/Accounting (2002-2005), I have been accumulating my experience in accounting. This was a long and a fruitful period of my life. During those times I developed my analytical and problem solving skills. Thus, I clearly realize how to make right decisions. I would like to talk a little bit about my professional experience. I am currently employed by Nile Cargo Carrier Inc Newton, MA (2006-2011) as an accounting assistant. I have been performing various actions and completing different tasks, such as management of accounts payable and receivable for the company, administration online banking functions on behalf of the company, keep records of company’s expenses, prepared annual company accounts and reports etc. Therefore, I develop my skills with the help of Internet and computer technologies, which is of crucial importance nowadays. Moreover, while keeping records of company’s expenses, I have been developing my attention to details, thus contributing to my self-organization. In the result of my accounting and technical skills development, I designed and implemented a database for the company’s new Payment Management System. This database system is a perfect means for a record keeping improvement. During this period (2009-2011) I have been also employed by Bridgewell Lynnfield, MA as a direct support professional. My function was to take care of people with mental and physical disabilities helping them in accessing resources and recreational facilities in the community. Every day I am pleased to perform a function worthy of respect, I think. I am not boasting. I just want to make an appeal for you, Dear Members of Committee, and my future classmates that performing humane functions and helping people remains the most important task for every citizen. Still, this personal and professional experience is only a top of an iceberg. During 2005-2006 I worked

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Describe the contributions of 'psychoanalytic theory' to film theory Essay

Describe the contributions of 'psychoanalytic theory' to film theory and visual culture in general. Be sure to discuss the effect of 'pleasure' and the 'gaze' i - Essay Example Psychoanalytic thought pointed to early films of the 1940s as examples, and stated that some of these films were aimed at particular groups of viewers/spectators, in this case women as the films of this era have become known as a genre of "women's films". The subject of women in these films was considered to provide real world women with an ideal subject in that they were the perfect spectator regardless of the meaning delivered by the film. Also the work of Foucault has been drawn upon to empahsise the use of institutional power to normalize the gaze. For example, how things are understood by a person is influenced by the society and institutions in which that person is embedded, as these social norms are presented within the visual images used by that society. In this way, visual culture becomes a body of knowledge that defines and limits what can be said about sexuality and gender relations as well as the identification of self. He considered issues of power and knowledge to be a cooperative state, not a coercive one, so that the maintenance of a dominant gendered, (i.e., male) over a subordinate one (i.e., female) was dependant on the acceptance of each gender as to the social norms that dictate such states. He considered docile bodies as presented on photographic film as conforming to the social norms of the ideal body and sexuality. Metz (1970) has characterised spectatorship as the process of the viewer suspending their disbelief of a fantasy on film and identifying with particular characters presented through the film. Especially, the spectator identifies with the underlying ideology of the film by way of identifying with the structure and visual points of view present within the film. The process of spectatorship initiates fantasy structures that are housed within the unconscious; for example, how to be the ideal woman, or to have the ideal marriage.In this way psychoanalytic theory described human functioning as a process of suppressing unconscious desires, fears and particular memories so as to maintain a socially acceptable lifestyle. In contrast to Lacan's later theories, Freud advocated that the unconscious was a phenomenon that existed within each individual and that drove current behaviours. The idea of the unconscious had a dramatic effect on how academics, philosophers and human psychology theorists approached the human psych. The reality of an unconscious deconstructed a humanist ideal that existed about the self at this time. Freud anticipated that making the knowledge of the unconscious conscious within each person that repression of desires and memories would be reduced, and so too experiences of neurosis which were seen to arise from repression. He emphasized that the "id" or unconscious would be the predominant response to life circumstances if repressed, and so replace the "I" or consciousness and self-identity. He summed this in his famous quote "Where It was, shall I be". In this sense the overall goal of Freud's psychoanalytic approach was to strengthen the "I" and to maintain a conscious and rational identity within people that could be more powerful than the unconscious.Later theories of Jaques Lancan (1978) and subjectivity, investigated film analysis of the 1970s. As such, the gaze was seen as representing a view of language and the language structures used in co mmunication that in turn reinforce culturally-bound experiences of subjectivity. Positional gazes refer to viewing

Monday, September 9, 2019

Psychological Testing and Assessment Paper Essay - 1

Psychological Testing and Assessment Paper - Essay Example Psychological tests are important in the entire field of psychology and human behavior including counseling, family therapy and marriage. In counseling, a counselor may use psychological testing in interviewing clients to understand hidden yet crucial information that can aid in the effective treatment of the given client. Testing can also help a counselor observe behaviors of a client and assist in devising of techniques to absolve imminent challenges or problems faced. In family therapy, therapists can use psychological tests to administer questionnaires to the members of the troubled family. In addition, a therapist can use psychological tests to explore interests and attitudes of each family member usually through direct interaction, and identify dysfunctional elements resulting instability in the family (Cohen, Swerdlik & Sturnam, 2013). Marriage counselors can also make use of psychology tests in executing their functions. Counselors can use the test to determine values of the individual partners by simply observing behaviors of the partners during interaction. With psychological tests, marriage counselors are able to interview couples about the challenges they have realized in the marriage and efforts attempted to stabilize

Sunday, September 8, 2019

Bridging the Global Digital Divide Research Paper

Bridging the Global Digital Divide - Research Paper Example The growth of information technology in a country highly depends on the extent to which policy makers in the country recognize the importance of information and communication technology to the country. The policy makers might come in handy when it comes to things like regulations, taxation, incentives and many others. Some developing countries impose a lot of taxes on ICT related companies thinking that, through taxation, the country’s economy is likely to grow (Brooks, Donovan & Rumble, 2005). One thing that they tend to forget that high taxation can hinder the entrance of new players into this industry. Therefore, the country’s economy lacks the contribution of ICT to its economy. Most developing countries lack the appropriate infrastructure that can enable effective application of information and communication technology in the country. This leads to low level of accessibility of services that ICT can offer to the countries’ economy. The ultimate result of thi s is a scenario in which developing countries are unable to have the complete advantage of ICT being used in their economic sectors. Poor infrastructure also leads to poor performance of the ICT related industries which in a way reflect to the general economic performance of the countries. ... The result of this is that their performance turns out to be lower than the performances of the same types of businesses in developed countries (Norris, 2003). The high prices not only affect the economic sector but also other sectors such education and even social life. Being that most developing countries are always in the struggle of trying to attain economic stability, financial resources that are required for development of ICT infrastructure might in some instances be unavailable. The unavailability is always makes it hard for developing countries to invest highly in ICT infrastructure. The eventual outcome of this is economic, educational, and social institutions that have limited or no access to ICT services and resources (Yu, 2006). The effect of this lack of access to ICT resources is heightened by the ignorance of the level to which ICT can improve the effectiveness of these institutions. In the developing countries, language can also be a hindrance to the application of I CT. Television programs, radio programs, computer software, and on line sites always use languages used in the countries in which these appliances have been developed. Given that very few of these appliances are developed in the developing countries, the local people might have a hard time trying to conform to technological assimilation. This factor makes the application of ICT in almost all aspects of human life in developing countries very hard. Studies have even proved that the low rate of growth of ICT is contributed to by stereotypes that have depicted ICT as a highly complex thing. People from developing countries have the tendency of associating ICT to people with affluence and not just everybody. In most developing countries, ICT

Interdisciplinary views, interventions& effectiveness Research Paper

Interdisciplinary views, interventions& effectiveness - Research Paper Example It affects how a person feels, think and act as they live daily. Furthermore, it helps in determination of how a person relates to others, handle stress and make choices (Kinnear, 1995). On the psychological perspective, child abuse and mental health portrays behavior problems such as posttraumatic stress disorder and separation anxiety. The abused children undergo difficult time in their lives in addition to parental substance abuse. The aftermath of sexual abuse can form the start of a child’s negative behaviors and negative experiences. According to Sgroi (1982), sexual abuse to a child is a mental disaster as it can cause a child to become an irreversible, unforgettable, pain in the subconscious mind. Psychologically, mental illness can affect mood, thinking and behavior. MacFarlane et al (1986) observed mental health is important but the disorder can arise due to family history, history of sexual abuse, life experiences. On the sociological perspective, Desai (2010) elaborates how social changes have affected child abuse problems. The children welfare and women’s movements has made the problem to rapidly rise in the public attention. Furthermore, patriarchal authority and socialization has resulted to the problems of mental health and child sexual abuse. The rising rate of divorce globally put the children at risk of these problems. However, Kinnear (1995) also suggest that it also assists the children to escape from intolerable and oppressive family situations. External controls erosion on sexual behavior and sexual revolution are also singled out as factors that have aggravated children sexual abuse and mental health. Childs sexual abuse treatment is a complex process. One of the challenges is its occurrence in the larger intervention contexts. Treatment which forms part of intervention should be handled by a team of professionals. A treatment approach as an intervention employed in a child sexual abuse should address the prerequisite

Saturday, September 7, 2019

Presentation of Self in Everyday Life Essay Example for Free

Presentation of Self in Everyday Life Essay A Canadian-American sociologist/writer named Erving Goffman, proposed the dramaturgical perspective or the theory of â€Å"dramaturgy† in his book: The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, in order to explain the behavior of people. The book catered the interest of many readers as it was published initially in 1956. Not only mentioning the successful integration of the dramaturgical approach as a major contribution in Sociology, Goffman, was also criticized for the detraction of such authentic-written style of research he used as compared to the conventional researches that was used by many researchers and proponents of some theories. Goffman, as a competent and keen observant, combined different theories related to support and create his new theory of dramaturgy (Sannicolas, 1997). Moreover, the focus of this paper then, is to discuss the relevance of dramaturgy in everyday scenario of a man’s real life. Body Dramaturgy is a term popularized by sociologist, Erving Goffman, pertaining to the study of mechanisms of man’s social interactions by means of communication and â€Å"face-to face† encounters. Dramaturgy emphasizes the creation or projection of â€Å"roles† attempting to be congruent and accepted in the norms of society where a particular man or â€Å"actor† belongs in order to avoid ostracism and harmful discrimination of the majority group at their backs (an example of backstage behavior). It also functions for man to rehearse and practice one’s ideal goals for the purpose of portraying those roles into the â€Å"stage† or real world (frontstage behavior), and to be viewed by perceived viewers or onlookers (audience). The dramaturgy or dramaturgical perspective can be best understood by showing an example in some personal and professional situations. For instance, in a particular scenario, a play, an act or a drama occurs; perhaps, a person encountering an acquaintance or friend, may be â€Å"forced† in the situation to greet the person coming nearby and may therefore reveal a phony or a fake smile in order for the other person not to think negatively about the person who is expected to greet. The second person on the other hand, would and might as well return the greetings back because of the perceived â€Å"rightness† of the act as implied by the social norms and equity rules. Moreover, these two different persons may perform and engage in a talk and communicate through non-verbal gestures and of course, verbal language; these persons then, may use or show a facial mask or a facade we call in psychology, the â€Å"persona†. In a professional situation however, a good example may be the HR interviewer and the applicant (interviewee): both would have to perform their assigned and implied roles as for the HR interviewer, has to appear intimidating, serious, and straightforward with less smiles, and for the applicant’s part, one has to act as the confident but not so arrogant and aggressive projected image to impress the interviewer and has to act that one knows what one is doing and the position applying for (Sannicolas, 1997). Conclusion Further, it is concluded that the theory of dramaturgy explains the tendency of people to project rehearsed roles for the purpose of perfecting their interpersonal social skills. Sincere or not, obsequious or assertive, man’s mechanism is explained as such dominated by those internal ideal roles that is projected and performed outwards by persons in social situations (Sannicolas, 1997). References Sannicolas, N. (1997). Erving Goffman, dramaturgy, and on-line relationships. Retrieved October 31, 2008, from, http://www. dinicola. it/sit/Cybersoc%20Issue%201%20-%20Erving%20Goffman,Dramaturgy,and%20On-Line%20Relationships. htm

Friday, September 6, 2019

Health and Social Care Essay Example for Free

Health and Social Care Essay People use different ways to communicate with other people, depending on the situation in a health and social care setting. Informal is mostly used between people who know each other very well and formal for individuals who do not know others to well or have not met before. People who are expected to talk in a formal language in a health and social care setting are the care workers. Care workers should ensure they know the difference between the two different conversational languages and use the correct one accordingly. For this essay I will be analysing the two different ways to communicate to people and give examples to why people use these ways to communicate. Formal conversations are mostly used between two individuals who are of a profession or who have not met before. Formal language doesn’t use contractions for example, He is going out now. NOT he’s going out now. Vocabulary is also different, please refrain from smoking (formal) please don’t smoke (informal). According to stretch and whitehouse (2010, p6) ‘formal communication is understood by a wide range of people.’ This means that people from different backgrounds/ ages can understand the concepts of formal language. Informal language is less strict on grammar and often uses shorter sentences. Informal language also uses slang instead of using the correct words for things. This type of language is normally spoken and not written. It is ok to talk to friends in an informal manner but you wouldn’t talk to your patients about their medical guidelines in this language you would talk to them in a formal way. In a health and social care setting informal language could be used when you’re giving a patient an update if you’re just walking down the hall way. People need to know when it is acceptable to use either formal or informal language in a health and social care setting. If an individual doesn’t know when they are supposed to be using formal language then they can make themselves look unprofessional and that they don’t know how to speak in a formal manner. Also if they use informal instead of formal then it’s harder for people to communicate back in the group. In summary, informal and formal communication are quite different to each other. If an individual was to use the wrong form of language in a health and social care setting then they can make that person feel disrespected, whereas if they were to use the correct form then they can communicate more effectively. Bibliography STRECH, B. WHITEHOUSE, N. (eds) Health and Social Care Level 3 Book1, Pearson, Harlow Essex

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Design Factors in a Modern Living or Working Space

Design Factors in a Modern Living or Working Space Executive summary The aim of this report is to outline the factors which should be taken into account in the design of a modern living or working space. The report discusses three factors related to design of an ideal office, Specifically Environmental, Affective and Practical factors. The report gives a number of recommendations, the main ones being: Allow natural airflow by using a cross ventilation system to create a fresh atmosphere. Decorate the office with Blue and Green colour to create a pleasant and productive atmosphere. Use fluorescent lights to create natural, warm or daylight colours of light to reduce eye tiredness and headache problems. Introduction The purpose of this report is to outline the factors which should be taken into account in the design of a modern living or working space, and to give recommendations regarding the ideal design of an office. It is written for Mr James Scott as part of the Academic English course requirements. The information was acquired through internet research and group discussion. Firstly, the report outlines the general factors related to design of a modern living or working space. Next, these factors are applied to the ideal design of an office. Subsequent to this, a conclusion is given followed by clear recommendations. 2.0 Design factors There are three factors to take into account when designing a modern living or work space, Specifically Environmental, Affective and Practical considerations. 2.0.1 Environmental factors Environmental factors relate to use of natural resource and the reduction of cost through the use of renewable energy sources. The ways to do this involve, Firstly, by using a cross ventilation design to keep living area cool, fresh and healthy. Secondly, by installing windows and doors on the east and west side, maximum natural light can be utilised. Third, by installing solar panel and photo-voltaic system, electricity can be generated for different purposes and its carbon free energy (Seminara, 2014). Hence, the use of natural resource in modern living or working space reduces pollution and energy consumption. 2.0.2 Affective factors Affective factors are to do with interior design and decoration of living or working space that affect people’s mood and attitudes. According to Sanders (2014), arrangement of accessories and furniture affect the human moods. For instance, by keeping a small table with cheerful and colourful flowers and decorative container next to drink coaster can uplift mood and create pleasant and friendly environment. Moreover, decorating space with bright colours and LED rope light gives energy and relaxation (Taylor, 2013). To conclude, interior design and decoration of living and working can create a more comfortable space. 2.0.3 Practical factors Practical factors in design are concerned with the health of humans. It includes aspects such as organic materials and comfortable chairs and desks. In order to reduce toxic gases in living or working space, organic materials should be used such as wood, wool, slate, cotton and gorgeous textiles (Gibson, 2013). Moreover, ergonomic chairs and desks should be used which gives relaxation and comfortable feeling. According to Aulenback (2013), proper adjustment of chair, desk dimensions and height of monitor can reduce back injuries and health risk of employees. In short, use ergonomic equipment and organic materials in modern design of living or working space is an important. 2.1 Designing an ideal office Having outlined the above factors relating to general design, it is now necessary to apply them to the design of an office. 2.1.1 Environmental factors in an office design Environmental factors in an office include energy reduction and natural ventilation. Regarding energy reduction, energy consumption can be reduced by using sunlight in the office environment, this affecting positive productivity and the moral of employees (Rayfield, 1997). As far as natural ventilation is concerned, a cross ventilation system would allow natural airflow throughout the office and corridors creating a fresh atmosphere in the office (Goodell, 2010). In short, low energy usage and natural ventilation would result in an eco-friendly office leading to increase productivity. 2.1.2 Affective factors in an office design Affective factors in an office design would involve the use of appropriate colours and an interior furniture design that positively affects the mood, stress levels and behaviour of workers. Regarding colours, the office could include blue and green, the Blue and Green colour stimulate the minds of employees (Akkan Design, 2014). Concerning interior furniture design, work can be performed in an efficient and creative manner when round shaped furniture is used. This is confirmed by a 2013 study showing that when employees were seated at a curved shape desk they were more likely to engage in meeting. (Australian government Comcare, 2002). In conclusion, appropriate colours and interior furniture design of an office creates a pleasant and productive atmosphere. 2.1.3 Practical factors in an office design Practical factors in an office design would include lighting and equipment, such as chairs and desks which affect the health of workers. Concerning lighting, use of fluorescent tubes in the office would provide different qualities of light, such as natural, warm or daylight colour. By using these, eyes tiredness and headache problems can be reduced (Hawary, 2011). Regarding desk design, a desk should have a smooth and flat surface, rounded corners and good access for the user’s legs. In addition, chairs should have different functions such as adjustment of height, rolling wheels and back tilt to reduce back pain problem (National Occupational Commission, 2011). Hence, proper lighting and comfortable chairs and desks are required to reduce health problems. Conclusion This report has outlined the factors relating to the design of a working or living space, Specifically Environmental, Affective and Practical aspects. It has also discussed the application of these factors in the ideal design of an office. 4.0 Recommendation Having discussed the factors involved in designing a living or working space, Specifically Environmental, Affective and Practical factors. The following recommendations are given for the design of an ideal office. Environmental factors Install windows on the west and east side to allow sunlight into the office. Allow natural airflow by using a cross ventilation system to create a fresh atmosphere. Affective factors Decorate the office with Blue and Green colour to create a pleasant and productive atmosphere. Create a pleasant and friendly environment by keeping decorative container on desk. Practical factors Use fluorescent lights to create natural, warm or daylight colours of light to reduce eye tiredness and headache problems. Fit comfortable desks which have smooth and flat surfaces and good access for user’s legs. Provide chairs with different functions, such as back tilt, rolling wheels and adjustment of height to reduce back pain problem. Reference List Akkan Design. (2014). How Colour Affects Mood in Office and Interior Design. Retrieved from http://www.akkan.com.au/index.php/Blogs/How-Colour-Affects-Mood-in-Office-and-Interior-Design Aulenback, S. (2013). 6 Ways to fight fatigue while using your standing desk. Retrieved from http://deskhacks.com/reduce-standing-desk-fatigue/ Australian Government Comcare. (2002). Officewise. ISBN 1 921160 17 9 Retrieved from http://www.comcare.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/39570/Officewise_OHS1_Apr_10.pdf Gibson, R. (2013). 10 Contemporary Elements that Every Home needs. Retrieved from http://freshome.com/2013/09/30/10-contemporary-elements-that-every-home-interior-needs/ Goodell, l. (2010). How to Create a Productive Office Environment. Retrieved from http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/05/create-productive-office-environment.html Hawary, S. (2011). Lighting principles in interior design of management spaces. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/1746322/lighting_principles_in_interior_design_of_managment_spaces National Occupational Health and Safety Commission. (2011). Ergonomic Principles and Checklists for the Selection of Office Furniture and Equipment. ISBN 0 644 24516 6 Rayfield, J. K. (1997). The office Interior Design Guide. Retrieved from http://www.books.google.com.au Sanders, A. (2014). How Does Room Decoration Affect Mood? Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4744309_room-decoration-affect-mood.html Seminara, D. (2014). Eco Housing Design. Retrieved from http://www.dsarchitecture.com.au/eco-housing-principles.html Taylor, J. (n.d). 8 Ways to Get Ambient Lighting. Retrieved from http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/6794787/list/8-ways-to-get-ambient-lighting-just-right