In My Fathers Den Essay

In my Fathers Den, a brilliant example of subjective filmmaking and credit should be given to the director Brad McGann for successfully developing a character who takes a journey through regression. McGann uses a series of flashbacks for Paul to revisit the traumatic past and then back to the obscure present to deal with the outcome of his memories. Brad McGann develops the character Paul, as a man who is lonely and isolated yet mystifying and secretive. He blocks out his emotions completely which makes the audience intrigued to find out what has happened in his past that has made him the enclosed character he is today. The story includes themes found familiar to many New Zealand films, dark family secrets, small-town claustrophobia, the lure of the outside world. â€Å"It’s not so much a whodunit† said McGann, â€Å"but a whydunit†. The film is as much about tone as plot, eloquently describing a world of emotionally damaged characters isolated from each other in stark landscapes. The theme of escapism is consistently grabbing the audiences attention throughout McGann releases details sparingly, constructing his film as a kind of puzzle assembled from pieces of the past and present, with Prior’s attempts to forget his younger days. His use of camera movement adds new information, as flashbacks play a large role in this film. McGanns ability to stitch material together is significant as he doesn’t signal the shift between time periods heavy-handedly, and yet its always clear what is happening and how each new snippet of information contributes to the complex. McGanns use of cinematography is a great example of successful director skills. The use of camera angles and lighting effeteness on the film help create a mood to demand the audiences attention to discover the true identity of each character. McGanns panning of the den, prepares the audience with a flashback, and as a small boy (Paul) with his father the lighting of warmth is portrayed with the effeteness of connection and close feeling with the young boy and his father. Celia’s grief as she console’s Paul for the truth, the warmth of the fire light against Paul’s face makes the audience devoted to feel sorry for him and feel his pain. McGanns successful use of director skills impacts the audiences views on the film â€Å"In my Fathers Den†. This film is carefully crafted, as it is a dialogue for ironic social comment and characters.

Adventure in pisay

Bachelor of Secondary Education major in Biological Science Year and Section: AAA Resource Teacher 1: Mrs.. Minute Date: August 4, 2014 Cooperating School: Philippine Science High School – Bucolic Region Campus Instructional materials are designed for use by students and teachers as a earning resource for students to acquire essential knowledge, skills, abilities and dispositions.This includes print and non-print materials, including comprehensive/ core textbooks, supplemental materials, web-based and electronic textbooks, and other type of Instructional materials being use by teachers in a classroom. Topic: Culture Media Preparation Instructional Material used: Power point presentation and Textbook Instructions: use the checklist below to evaluate the instructional material (s) use by our resource teacher.Place a (0 mark on the blank before each item If the instructional material (s) fit the description or an (x) mark If It does not fit the description. 1. The instructional m aterials used by the teacher align with the learning objectives. Lesson. 2. The instructional material is appropriate for the content of the 3. It supports self-directed learning. 4. The Instructional material is flexible In Its use. 5.The Instructional trials reinforce the learning and stimulate Interest of the learners. 6. It commensurate with student's learning abilities. Active learning. 7. It engages student in 8. Real-world application is relevant to students. 9. Instructional material provides access to or demonstrates concepts in multiple ways, allowing for a variety of students responses. Of skills and concepts at grade level. 10. Instructional material Includes application 11. The Instructional material present

Proposed Solutions for Working Together Essay

â€Å"Most would agree that trait represents a disposition to behave expressing itself in consistent patterns of functioning across a range of situations† (Pervin, 1994). Many things play into the traits that we end up with as adults. These traits have a profound effect on how we interact with groups. Difficulty can always be found when a group is attempting to work together due to variances in personality traits. The key to working together as a group is to understand the differences and similarities that each group member possesses in order to reach the wanted outcome of the group. According to the personality assessments based on the Big Five taken by Team B the similarities in common are vast and the differences are minimal so working together should be easy. As the tests suggest, the team members are mostly agreeable and dependable so when a plan for action is reached then the team will fall in line to handle what needs to be done in order to reach the agreed upon goal. Even though the Big Five can be looked at as limiting the personality to only a five dimensional plane, the basis of the dimensions that are there can tell about the personality of individuals. â€Å"Just as stereotypes bias our perceptions of an out-group, implicit personality theories may bias our perceptions of others† (Friedman & Schustack, 2012). In Team B there seems to be no evidence that there would be limitations to achieving their goals.

Expatriate Training Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Expatriate Training - Research Paper Example This will require them to be trained on diplomatic and negotiation skills to enable them to have a niche over the rival firms such like eBay and especially in those countries where technology is in its penetration phase. Since environment is likely to change, the expatriates also need to be trained on ways to mitigate any negative effect and to capitalize on any opportunity that may come from shift in the external business environmental factors. These will include involving issues like building a strong customer relations and developing towards conforming to different situations of government policies that may affect their business in different countries. With Amazon being an online purchasing store, it is required that its employees should be able to work around the clock as orders come to process them for further ordering from the supplying firms and also to process payments for the orders. In this case, expatriate training will help to enhance the few interactions which employees will have with customers and in addressing governmental issues posed at different times during operation. The bulk of this work will require employees to be flexible, to work with minimum supervision and also to be self-driven. The expatriate training should focus on the qualities and skills that will enable them to be able to achieve the above goals and within the shortest time possible. This will require the expatriates to be taught on ways and tricks to process the orders within the shortest time possible and with minimal effort. Online businesses also require people who are enthusiastic with technology and the various software and application that are used. Amazon however has its own software and applications that it uses and the expatriates will be trained on how to use this software that are allowed in the country of deployment without putting at risk the security of any of the data belonging to Amazon (http://www.ukessays.co.uk/essays/business/amazon-external-environment.php) . An internal environment in any business organization is core to its success and Amazon is not an exemption. Thus to achieve the set targets, relationships between employees, and the clients and also with the management is very important to the organization. In Amazon, that culture, which is performance-based, must be upheld to ensure smooth running of all departments of the organization and that the company’s objectives are met. The employees should have an induction workshop to be briefed and informed about the organizations policy and culture; it is in that forum that they get to seek any clarification on any matters that they may wish to know about the organization. It is here that the expatriates should have some bonding sessions with their colleagues as they exchange ideas and share experiences. Jeff Bezos, the owner of Amazon, envisioned an online shopping where one can buy anything and everything at the convenience of one click of a computer. In line with this, the e xpatriates have to be encouraged to be innovative and help with this long-term vision of Amazon and spread it globally with excellent results and within a record timeframe. The training the expat are given should enhance their involvement by introducing

Ophthalmic Care Delivery in Saudi Arabia Assignment - 70

Ophthalmic Care Delivery in Saudi Arabia - Assignment Example   Statistics indicate that this institution has considerably decreased the prevalence of blindness and other eye-related health problems, in the elderly, by over 10 percent in the past few decades (Alwadani et al. 2010). However, it has been noted that there are certain regions and communities with relative surpluses in the delivery of quality ophthalmic care and short put of ophthalmologists and ophthalmic subspecialists. These researchers employed written survey to collect data from ophthalmology residence. The written survey contained questions on medical education, demographic information, residency training, and career goals that affect their career choice (Alwadani et al. 2010). The results of this study indicated that the majority of ophthalmology respondents preferred practicing in urban settings (63%) such as Jeddah, Makkah, Riyadh, and Eastern area to rural settings (37%) such as Jizan, Hail, Asir, Madinah, Qassim and Baha (Alwadani et al. 2010). Additionally, 75% and 77% of the respondents were interested in practicing interactive research and surgery respectively (Alwadani et al. 2010). Research results summarize that most respondents are willing to practice in private sectors rather than public institutions. In this context, these authors recommend that the government should make an effort to encourage adoption of the ophthalmic practice in public institutions other than in the private sec tor (Alwadani, 2010). Additionally, training in sidelined ophthalmic subspecialties should be encouraged to ensure optimum ophthalmic care delivery to all Saudi Arabia citizens (Alwadani et al. 2010).

Contemporary International Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Contemporary International Art - Essay Example 13). People have to reassess and recreate their roles in protecting nature. This is the most challenging mission for artists today. Stankiewicz and Krug (1997) explained that â€Å"some ecological artists attempt to alert viewers to environmental issues through shock, humour, or educational documentation. Others seek to educate the public to the systemic character of bioregions through ritual, performance, and process drama† (p. 4). Some environmental artists, like Andy Goldsworthy and Nils-Udo, try to raise environmental awareness by taking part and encouraging community involvement in ecological art projects. This essay discusses the eco-friendly art projects of two contemporary artists, the Three Cairns by Andy Goldsworthy and the Clemson Clay Nest by Nils-Udo. Andy Goldsworthy: A Representation of Ecological Eccentricity Andy Goldsworthy only uses materials available in nature. Using leaves, stones, and other natural materials, he creates masterpieces which encourage his a udiences to view nature with stronger passion and interest. His masterpieces do not exactly or literally mimic the natural environment (Malpas 2010, p. 13). For instance, a leaf art does not really look like a leaf, but look more like a nest or other objects. The creations of Goldsworthy are natural subjects without trying to be natural. In contrast, his art is very non-natural that orients the audiences to the natural. Goldsworthy decided to abandon city life and live close to nature. Artists struggle to provide a physical depiction of their intangible ideas. Goldsworthy’s art conceals its layers and convinces the audience to ignore its pretences (Donovan et al. 2010, p. 22). His art has encouraged a dialogue among individuals who had been uninvolved in the past, broadening the horizon of the arts. Goldsworthy depicts sympathy, beauty, and perfection through his art works that explain how individuals should understand the huge role of nature in their lives. His project Three Cairns is inspired by his plan to bring about a complex artistic project that runs along the entire American nation by linking the West and East coasts. This project transcends the limitations of the abstract. This clearly architectural work spans an entire continent (Malpas 2010, p. 74). Cairns, or headstones, are a figurative stone work which could have ritualistic or collective meaning. Goldsworthy is realizing his idea in stages by building exceptional, sturdy enormous monuments at the three involved places, namely, San Diego, California, Des Moines, Iowa, and Purchase, New York (Binkly 2012, pp. 8-9). The Midwest, particularly its connection to the East and West coasts, mesmerized Goldsworthy. At every place, Midwest, East coast, and West Coast, he constructed an Iowa cairn that characterised a particular site of importance. He constructed the East Coast Cairn near New York’s Neuberger Museum of Art (Binkly 2012, pp. 8-9). Lubowsky explained the allegorical significance of Goldsworthy’s project: â€Å"Life, death, and regeneration, the underlying principles of Goldsworthy’s art, took on a profound and unexpected new meaning with the unimaginable events of September 11, 2001; for Andy the meaning was personal as well, for his father had recently died† (Binkly 2012, p. 9). On the other hand, the West Coast Cairn was built near California’s San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art. The origin of the Iowan limestone was quite distant that it preserves remnants

Identify and describe the major problems of domestic violence by Essay

Identify and describe the major problems of domestic violence by comparing present-day American society to that of at least 2 ot - Essay Example The problems related with domestic violence are numerous, and these issues are managed in different cultures in different ways. In the United States, the problems of domestic violence are frightening and it is established in several studies that, on an average, four women are murdered by male partner on a daily basis in the nation and the number of women killed due to domestic violence is alarmingly high. Whereas the magnitude of domestic violence in the U.S. is shocking, this appalling social evil is not confined to the U.S. alone and it is a global phenomenon. â€Å"Increasingly, domestic violence is being recognized as a very serious social problem in most countries around the world. Perhaps through studying the problem in other countries, we can continue to make progress in our own.† (Summers, xvi) Therefore, this paper makes a comparative analysis of the major problems of domestic violence in the present-day American society with those of other cultures such as Australian , Russian, Jamaican, and Japanese in order to offer a greater insight into problems related with it. ... In the United States, family or domestic violence is a reality happening on a frequent and frightening level. Several studies on the topic have maintained that sixty percent of the families in the U.S. use violence on a regular basis, while the rate of child abuse in the nation is more than ninety percent. â€Å"Further statistics indicate that 1 in 4 young American women will be raped, and 50 percent of all women will be beaten at least once in a relationship†¦ In the United States, 2,000 children a year are killed at the hands of their parents or guardians. The estimates of physical child abuse are between 2000,000 and 2.8 million a year†¦ Sexual abuse estimates range from 130,000 to 1.3 million cases a year.† (Leeder, 238) Therefore, it is essential to realize that domestic violence in the United States has been a major threat to social stability and gender equality. Several social security policies and legislations such as the Violence against Women Act in 1994 h ave been adopted in the nation to fight against the increasing number of domestic violence. A careful analysis of the current trends in the country indicates that domestic violence has been recognized as a tragic and costly phenomenon. â€Å"Since the 1970s, more accurate methods of measuring its incidence have been developed, new laws have been enacted, and a plethora of agencies have been established to not only support victims but also prevent its occurrence.† (Summers, 170) However, domestic violence has not been confined to the U.S. alone, and nations across the globe are affected by the results of this social plague. An understanding of the extend of the problems of

How Safe are Federal Regulations on Occupational Alcohol Use Essay - 1

How Safe are Federal Regulations on Occupational Alcohol Use - Essay Example There are various rules and regulations that have been set by the federal system to control alcohol consumption among workers in different social and economic sectors. For instance: Specific rules and regulations to control alcohol use in the transportation sector, construction sector, manufacturing, and military as well as among the police. However, previous research show that the normal and legalized alcohol consumption has presented accidents at work places as well as poor productivity which in most cases are not identified by employees and their employers. Occupational accidents resulting from alcohol consumption by workers and their employers usually go unnoticed due to the fact that; there has not been proper research conducted in order to depict performance among employees working under the influence of alcohol. Alcohol consumption has various effects on the performance and the safety of workers which can be extant or can occur the next day after consumption. These effects are categorized according to the pattern in which they affect the workers: Residual effects which can exhibits different patterns of impacts. It generally connotes the physiological, behavioral and characteristics that may result from heavy alcohol consumption after episodes of heavy drinking and when the Blood Alcohol Concentration is at zero. There are also acute effects of heavy drinking that may occur immediately or after long periods of time such as cancer, weight loss and severe impacts of the reproductive system (Howland, J et al.2006). The effects of alcohol may be notice from several physiological and psychological abnormalities such as headache, fatigue and nausea. Residual effects of alcohol affect various organizations at different levels for instance; among the aircraft and automobile operators, researches have shown that: Decreased performances among pilots and military jet operators have been noticed after periods of heavy

How engineering has a negative impact on the natural environment Essay

How engineering has a negative impact on the natural environment - Essay Example Conferring to Balaban (2012), constructions are huge contributors to ecological deterioration. Moreover, it is quite clear that additional actions are required in order to make the building activities and the built environment ecological. Construction activities are among the major exploiters of both non-renewable and renewable natural resources. It depends profoundly on the natural environment to acquire raw materials that are used in these activities. These raw materials comprise of sand, timber, and aggregate for the construction process. According to Horvath (2004), the construction activities devours 40% of the globe’s sand, gravel, and raw stones and 25% of the virgin timber annually. Additionally, it devours 16% of water and 40% of the energy. The mining of these natural resources brings about permanent alterations to the natural ecology of the coastal areas and the countryside, both from a scenic and an ecological point of view. The following transformation of these zones into geographically dispersed locations not only brings about extra consumption of energy, but also upsurges the volume of particulate matter into the air. Construction activities and the extraction of raw materials also contribute to the build-up of pollutants in the air. The United States construction activities done by engineers is responsible for 20% of the waste found in water, 40% of the emissions to the atmosphere and 13% comprise of further releases. Dust and other releases comprise of particular poisonous substances such as sulp hur oxides and nitrogen. They are released in the course of transportation and production of materials along with from site activities. They have triggered serious dangers to the natural ecology. Further, dangerous materials like chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are applied in fire-fighting systems, refrigeration plants, air conditioning, and insulation and have serious effects on the ozone layer. The ozone is a vapour

High School and Selecting Main Ideas Essay Example for Free

High School and Selecting Main Ideas Essay My 3 highest scores are: Information Processing (85), Study Aids (95), and Time Management (60).The 3 areas I scored the lowest on are: Attitude (5), Motivation (5), and Selecting Main Ideas (20). Im going to work more on my attitude, because its important to me that I graduate and get the degree in the career that I want to purse, so that I can prove to all the people who told me that I wouldnt be nothing, or had doubt in me, because my parents didn’t finish High School, nor graduated. Motivation is probably one of the hardest one for me, because I’m a huge procrastinator, especially when it comes to math, which is the subject I dislike the most. I think if I’m motivated to do the math I will get better grades. I think it’s going to happen because Mr.Norrgran makes it interesting, he tends to joke around to wake us up if we’re not participating, or shows us little tricks so we can get the problem better. On Selecting Main Ideas, the reason why I got a 5 is because when writing notes down, I tend to write everything, even though it’s not needed. The reason why I do that is because to me, if I don’t write everything down, I always have this voice in the back of my head, â€Å"What if that word, sentence, vocabulary is in the test† something like that, so I feel better if I just write it ALL down, just in case it’s use full. I think it’s an OCD habit. At the end of the fall semester, I hope to have my attitude at 100, motivation 100, and main ideas 100, because I know that will make me a better student on achieving my goals, to prove to not only those who would shut me down, but to prove to myself.

Primary Education The First Stage Of Compulsory Schooling Education Essay

Primary Education The First Stage Of Compulsory Schooling Education Essay Primary education is the first stage of compulsory schooling. The primary phase is split into key stages one and two. Key-Stage one is orchestrated for children 5-7 years of age. Key-Stage two covers the age range of 7-11 years of age. Following Key-Stage two children progress to secondary school and undertake Key-Stage three learning. Thus Primary education must prepare children for KS3, and beyond. Considering the diversity of the age range and ability range of children within the Primary phase, there are a number of theories about the purpose(s) of primary education and how they should be delivered to best suit children (toward Q10). However, all theories for best practice concur that children of primary school age are at a crucial stage of learning which can drastically affect their future learning and experiences. Thankfully the idea of primary school being a place where children are told stories and draw on their own with crayons as a transition to proper school is history. Primary education is now viewed as a valuable opportunity to teach children a number of complex skills which will form the foundations for a lifetime of future learning. The knowledge and skills taught in the early years of life will directly influence the childs success as an adult in a now multicultural society (Q18; affect of social influences). Thus, the thrust of primary education must be to create a rounded experience for all children, through a range of subjects, delivered in an enriched environment by a knowledgeable, dynamic teacher with an effective pedagogy (towards Q14). To begin this process, learning content and method of delivery of this must be appropriately designed for the individual child as part of a larger group. As with all activities, it is critical to gain and retain the interest of those involved to maximise the effectiveness of the activity. It is up to the teacher and team of staff to collaborate efficiently to deliver this successfully (toward Q6). The complex skills taught in primary education are delivered through three main areas; learning to read, learning to write (as part of literacy) and learning to manipulate numbers and all related content e.g. shape and space (numeracy). Since 2008 personal, social, health and economic (PHSE) has been added to the strategy for primary education. Through these topics, enhanced by interaction with peers and adults, children are able to learn the knowledge, attitudes and range of skills required to cope with the vast range of issues that they are likely to face throughout their maturation into and during adulthood. Of equal importance during this period is that children develop the schemas required to acquire skills and are able to recognise opportunities for development. Parents, teachers and other adults can provide the required guidance. By providing exceptional care throughout Primary education it is clear that potential can be maximised and utilised for the benefit of the individual and society (toward Q1). Therefore a programme for education is required. This was introduced as part of the Education Reform Act 1988 as the National Curriculum. The concept of key stages and educational objectives relating to these were also introduced. Furthermore the element of choice was also introduced to allow parents to specify their preferred choice of school for their child; league tables provided the necessary information for parents to choose. This inclusive approach signalled directly the importance of parental involvement and influence on the well-being, education and potential future attainment of their child. However, the introduction of league tables may have paradoxically shifted the focus from childrens attainment to getting results (following emphasis on exam results used as a measure of understanding of the prescribed Curriculum content). The prescription of the National Curriculum is under the direction and control of the Government advised by educational specialists guided by research into the ways in which children learn and what it is believed will be most beneficial throughout adulthood. The National Curriculum thus offers a list of the knowledge a child must gain. This approach provides consistency, guidance for educational institutions and a framework for future assessment of attainment. The content of the Curriculum is impacted by its two aims and four purposes. The first aim is that the school curriculum should aim to provide opportunities for all pupils to learn and achieve. (National Curriculum handbook). The second aim is the school curriculum should aim to promote pupils spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and prepare all pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life. These concepts clearly link closely with the invaluable objectives of the Every Child Matters policy. The four purposes of the National Curriculum are to establish an entitlement, to establish standards, to promote continuity and coherence and to promote public understanding (knowledge for Q15). The core statutory subjects of a national curriculum under the education act of 2002 are English, Maths, Science, Art and Design, Geography, History, ICT, Music and Physical Education. Additionally to this, all maintained schools have to teach Religious Education, which should reflect the Christian history of Great Britain. However, Religious Education should also consider practices and ideas of other religions represented in the UK; due to the movement of people, particularly to the UK, and the resultant shift in the majority, this teaching is and should be ever expanding. This is positive as Religious Education develops morals, spirituality and acceptance of others. Within a developing culture this acceptance and understanding should be encouraged, especially during the foundation-setting Primary phase. The school must be responsible through their ethos to highlight and harness the benefits of understanding and co-operation (toward Q2). For these reasons children should be encourag ed to mix with one another where possible. In September 2010, modern foreign languages will become an additional statutory requirement for delivery at Key Stage 2. The Department of children, schools and families suggests that children should also be taught personal, social and health education (PSHE). Ed Balls, of the previous Labour government confirmed that PSHE will become a statutory part of the national curriculum in 2011, but as we now have a new government this may change. PHSE can include a range of topics which aid children in their future lives. A number of beneficial topics can include drugs and alcohol education (DARE), emotional health and well-being, sex and relationship education, nutrition and physical activity, finance, safety and career education. Many of these topics are linked with the valuable outcomes of the Every Child Matters policy and allow the child to be healthy, to achieve and be safe. By learning about these topics, children can be encouraged to consider one another and the world that they live in (teaching toward Q19; promoting equality). Following this community cohesion can become possible, demonstrating clearl y the benefits of teaching PHSE. The notion of delivering PHSE through the Primary phase, rather than commencing during Secondary education, is a positive step as a preventative measure to avoid the current generation making the mistakes of previous generations. Whilst the National Curriculum sets out guidelines, each individual school is responsible for determining how they deliver the programmes of study for each of the subjects specified. The programme of study is prescribed for each subject and indicates what children should learn, as defined by the Education Act 1996, section 353b. This guide also provides a useful basis from which schedules can be planned. It is up to the teacher to decide upon the delivery to give maximum benefit to the pupils in their care. It is important for the school and teacher to deliver National Curriculum study programmes in imaginative ways (toward Q10) but not be constrained by the necessities of the Curriculum itself. Attainment targets define the expected standards of knowledge, skills and understanding for pupils in each key stage for each of the specified subjects and allows for appropriate assessment tools to be developed (http://curriculum.qcda.gov.uk/key-stages-1-and-2/Values-aims-and-purposes/about-the-primary-curriculum/index.aspx). As attainment is not static and isolated to specific intervals, it is necessary for the teacher to monitor the developing achievements of the individual child, the child in the context of their peer group and relative to descriptors of attainment-level. With this in mind, it would be appropriate to ensure that class sizes do not exceed the maximal number of pupils beyond which the teacher cannot effectively plan for, teach and assess. As suggested, it is important to continually assess the abilities of pupils, and therefore their progress (towards Q12) and to report this to all involved in the education of the child, especially parents. I believe that the benefit of parental involvement cannot be overestimated; parents have an established relationship with the child and are therefore ideally placed to provide extra or remedial learning at this critical phase of education (facilitating Q5). Whilst the stipulated content of a National Curriculum aims to cater for all, it cannot always achieve this, especially if those children who fall both above and below the average are not considered. Furthermore providing a list of required learning content may be restrictive upon the ability of teaching staff and schools to provide suitably varied lessons for the group(s) of learning needs they are responsible for. Following the change of Government in May we cannot say if the National Curriculum, or even the notion of one, will remain consistent due to the difference in the ideas of Government ideology. This is particularly dynamic if the Educational Minister and her advisors of educational best-practice change (knowledge for Q15; remain aware of curriculum). For example, the Rose review (commissioned by the leaving government) and it suggestions for educational best practice for KS 1 and 2 may become obsolete. The Rose review considered the National Curriculum and the ability of teachers to effectively deliver learning content to children. Furthermore the review considers whether the curriculum needs to be altered to achieve the aforementioned key objective; in other words, what should children learn and how should this be delivered to facilitate successful learning. The Rose review states that too much time is spent revising and practising for exams rather than making sure that children have a love for learning. Teaching staff must be responsible for ensuring that children enjoy Primary school, especially as this will encourage enjoyment of further educational phases. To do this, the new curriculum must understand the way that children learn and develop physically, intellectually, emotionally, socially, culturally, morally and spiritually. Furthermore Rose indicates that the current three core subjects (English, Maths and Science) should be replaced by four skills for learning and life (Literacy, Numeracy, ICT and Personal Development). The following areas of learning should feature within the Primary curriculum: understanding English, communication and languages mathematical understanding scientific and technological understanding historical, geographical and social understanding understanding physical development, health and well-being understanding the arts (Rose Review 2008 P17 Section 31) The above revised aims for the primary curriculum take influence from the values issued under the every child matters policy of the Education Act 2002. The new curriculum must also be well-planned and fun to ensure children have the opportunity to learn independently as well as be challenged and engage in practical activities (Q22). Giving children the opportunity to learn more about the world around them, through experiences in art, literature, and religious education and much more will facilitate this. The curriculum should allow many opportunities to use learned knowledge through cross curricular studies. With the Primary years in mind, the review recommends that high-quality play-based learning would benefit young children immensely as well as teaching parents the importance of play and read to/with their child (Q5 Q30). It is also critical that opportunities for spoken communication are taken to maximise the childs ability to learn to read and write. Phonics sessions will further aid development in this critical area. Encouraging use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) is important to allow children to use a number of the tools often needed to find employment and be financially healthy in todays technologically advanced society. Generally, the review pronounces that there needs to be more continuity through the stages of learning e.g. from EYFS to Key stage one and beyond to maintain success; the DCSF should give primary schools one extra in that day in 2010 to train/understand the new curriculum and transition between key stages. As stated by Rose, the curriculum should aim to teach pupils how to learn as well as the learning content. Having outstanding teachers in any education centre is crucial for pupils success here. Therefore, it is critical to consider ways that teachers can improve their pedagogy to deliver the required content (in whatever form it takes), for the benefit of the children in their class (toward Q10). Significantly, the review also suggests that it may be appropriate to restructure Key Stage 1 to include the Early Years Foundation Stage i.e. begin schooling and reap the rewards as early as possible, especially if parental involvement is successfully encouraged. Another research based review of the Curriculum, and ways to realise successful learning, is provided by the Cambridge report. The report suggests that a new primary curriculum be introduced which is broad, deep, balanced and offers high standards in all subjects; by separating literacy and numeracy they are afforded a higher level of emphasis and importance. Furthermore, new aims and values should be adopted within modern primary education. The 12 aims of the report focus on: The individual Well-being including mental, emotional and physical welfare (in line with Every Child Matters) Ensuring children have a thirst for engagement in their learning Empowering children with knowledge to meet and be adaptive to the changing challenges of the world Autonomy to promote aspirational thought (satisfying Q1) Self, others and the wider world Promote self-respect, respect for others, respect for diversity and difference as well as acceptance of others ideas and values (awareness for Q19, satisfying Q25) Promoting interdependence to develop sustainable positive relationships. Empowering local, national and global citizenship, encouraging children to make decisions in the world around them e.g. school council, as well as knowing about human rights, conflict resolution and social justice. Celebrating culture and community; schools should strive to become the centre of the community life and culture. Learning, knowing and doing Exploring, knowing, understanding and making sense, giving children the opportunity to actively experience the world around them (towards Q25). Fostering skills to make sure that pupils have the skills which learning, employment and rewarding life depend on. This includes all customary subjects in the curriculum as well as communication, creativity, intervention, problem solving, critical practice and human relations. Exciting imagination, giving children the opportunity to extend their knowledge outside the limits of their experiences. Enacting dialogue, to help children understand the need for communication and collaboration between teacher and pupils, and among pupil whilst becoming aware that knowledge is not just given but negotiated and recreated. This form of dialogue is central to effective pedagogy (facilitating Q2). It is highlighted that language, literacy and oracy (the capacity to express oneself in and understand speech) are critical to accomplishing these aims, as well as allowing aims to drive rather than follow the curriculum. Significantly, the report advocates extending the foundation stage to the age of six. Therefore the primary phase would include children 6-11 years of age, eliminating key stages one and two. Extending the foundation stage to 6 years old gives children the opportunity to develop personally, and learn to interact, before they embark on a journey harvesting knowledge. This can only work if there is the correct cooperation, communication and cohesion between foundation stage and the primary phase and their curricula (working toward Q32; development of effective team practice). This must be embraced by the teacher with pedagogy that is centred on personal accountability for effective teaching. This is obviously aided by providing adequate space, equipment and resources to ensure that pupils EYFS education provides solid foundations for the future. To aid the process it is imperative to ensure that disadvantaged and vulnerable children are given the help they need swiftly and successfully. To begin this, eradicating child poverty must be prioritised. Equally, opportunities must be provided for pupils with SEN, EAL or disability to progress to the same degree as their peers (Q19). Based on continuing research, the new Government has released a white paper for reform of the education system and the curriculum. The paper reflects much of the aforementioned, noting that the most important factor upon attainment is the quality of teaching/teachers. In order to help schools and their staff to deliver high quality teaching, the bureaucratic burden must be removed to allow focus on what is necessary for the children in their care. This burden is largely caused by the restrictive nature of the current Curriculum and the focus upon the attainment of qualifications which have the highest value in performance tables; often Primary schools over-rehearse teaching for the test (Q12, understand the value of assessment). I have experienced this with year 6 pupils preparing for SATs I felt that other subjects had been put aside to make way for the tests. The enjoyment of learning had been forgotten because of the pressures of ensuring each child passed. It was necessary to teach the children how to interpret and understand the questions rather suggesting that the assessment method may be unreliable. There appears to be a disparity between assessment, curriculum and the prescribed method of teaching i.e. utilising practical activities does not seem to match the way the children are tested. Furthermore, the National Curriculum should be tightened to contain less non-essential knowledge, especially in core subjects. By reducing the prescribed content and giving back decision making power to the school (about what, and more importantly how, to teach) it will be possible for children to gain the knowledge they to reflect the high standards expected of children in other nations. In order to improve, schools must be freed from compliance with Government initiatives to become self-improving. To aid this programme, schools should have access to regional league tables to identify and seek guidance from those schools from which they can learn (working toward Q5). In conclusion, Primary education must be grounded upon the needs of children as individuals. From this, guidelines for the content to be taught can be established. It is important that whilst the value of these guidelines is embraced, they do not become restrictive upon the imaginative element of pedagogy, allowing teaching staff to cater for all children as unique and valuable individuals. In doing so, children can learn how to be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve and in doing so allow the child to make a positive contribution and achieve economic-well-being which are crucial to acceptance of the diverse culture we live in. Furthermore with guidance the child/growing adult will be free to develop social understanding/sensitivity to behave appropriately with others in numerous and changing social situations (Q1, Q19 and Q25). Adaptability and accountability of the teachers who mould young minds are paramount to childrens on-going success. As part of this group, I must strive to develop a pedagogy and effective relations with other members of the school which allows me to deliver teaching which enables children to maximise their potential (Q14, Q6, Q1). To continue to deliver this I must continue to embrace my desire for Continuous Professional Development (Q9).

The Necessity Of Computer Security :: essays research papers

The Necessity Of Computer Security When the first electronic computers emerged from university and military laboratories in the late 1940s and early 1950s, visionaries proclaimed them the harbingers of a second industrial revolution that would transform business, government and industry. But few laymen, even if they were aware of the machines, could see the connection. Experts too, were sceptical. Not only were computers huge, expensive, one-of-a-kind devices designed for performing abstruse scientific and military calculations, such as cracking codes and calculations missile trajectories, they were also extremely difficult to handle. Now, it is clear that computers are not only here to stay, but they have a profound effect on society as well. As John McCarthy, Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University, speculated in 1966: "The computer gives signs of becoming the contemporary counterpart of the steam engine that brought on the industrial revolution - one that is still gathering momentum and whose true nature had yet to be seen." Today's applications of computers are vast. They are used to run ordinary household appliances such as televisions and microwaves, to being tools in the workplaces through word processing, spreadsheets, and graphics software, to running monumental tasks such as being the heart and soul of the nations tax processing department, and managing the project timetables of the Space Shuttle. It is obvious that the computer is now and always will be inexorably linked to our lives, and we have no choice but to accept this technology and learn how to harness its total potential. With any progressing technology, an unauthorized application can almost be found for it. A computer could and has been used for theft and fraud - for example, as a database and manager of illegal activities such as drug trafficking and pornography. However, we must not just consider the harmful applications of the computer, but also take into account the good that they have caused. When society embraced the computer technology, we have to treat this as an extension of what we already have at hand. This means that some problems that we had before the computer era may also arise now, in the form where computers are an accessory to a crime. One of the problems that society has faced ever since the dawn of civilization is privacy. The issue of privacy on the Internet has risen many arguments for and against having it. The issue of privacy has gotten to the point where the government of the United States has placed a bill promoting a single chip to encrypt all private material on the Internet. Why is privacy so important? Hiding confidential material from intruders

The Important Role of News Reporters Essay -- Exploratory Essays Resea

The Important Role of News Reporters Every morning when I get up, the very first thing I do is turn on the TV--but not for cartoons or MTV. It has become a habit for me to watch the news in the morning. I feel the need to know what is going on because I know that no matter where the news happens, 99 percent of the time it will, directly or indirectly, affect me or people I care about. The broadcast media has become a part of my life and the lives of almost everyone in the Western world. We may not know the names of our senators, but Katie Couric or Tom Brokaw are familiar names in every American household. Not many of us realize, however, that the job of the news reporter is not as glorious as we imagine. This paper will offer you a closer look on what goes on behind the TV screen or radio microphone. Like all other discourse communities, news reporters have their own jargon. It consists mostly of technical terms describing different aspects of news production. In radio, there are voicers, readers, Q&A's, and packages--all of these are types of stories. Voicer is a news story voiced by a reporter; reader is a script of a news story read by a news anchor; Q&A is an interview; and package is a news story produced and read by a reporter that also includes parts of interviews or natural sound. A particular feature of a news reporter's jargon is that very often there are a couple of different terms for one concept. For example, other words for "package" are "wrap" and "feature"; "cut," "bite" (or "soundbite") and "actuality" all refer to a part of an interview. But in most cases, the jargon of the news reporters is much more understandable to an outsider than, for example, the specialized language of chemists. The goal of repo... ...oofness hurt press credibility, ABC's Cokie Roberts says." Freedom Forum Online News. http://www.freedomforum.org/freedomforum/news/971003ca.html (9 October 1997). Germer, Fawn. "How Do You Feel?" American Journalism Review June 1995: 36-42. Kemkes, Michelle. " 'If it bleeds it leads,' isn't the motto at KVUE-TV." Minnesota News Council Newsletter, Summer 1996. http://www.mtn.org/newscouncil/Summer96/KVUE.html (9 October 1997). Rather, Dan. "Journalism and the Public Trust." Humanist Nov./Dec. 1990: 5-8. Scanlan, Frank. Personal interview. 10 October, 1997. Shaw, David. "Beyond Skepticism: A Negative Spin on the News." Los Angeles Times 17 April 1996: Al. Shook, Frederick, et al. The Broadcast News Process. 5th ed. Englewood: Morton Publishing, 1996. Valente, Judith. "Do You Believe What Newspeople Tell You?" Parade 2 March 1997: 4-6.

Essay --

Realms of Cognition in Middle Childhood Realms of Cognition in Middle School How has technology impacted cognitive development in middle childhood? What practical advice should helping professionals give to parents who want to protect their children from harm but also proved them with the advantages of technology? â€Å"For children at the start of middle school years, school and its peer group structure represents a new frontier† (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 176). â€Å"Another problems with children’s very early use of electronic media is that it displaces, or takes time away from, other activities that are more critical for positive development† (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 182). How has technology impacted cognitive development in middle childhood? Televisions, video games, and computer has impact on cognitive development. Children needs some form of activities outside of the home. Riding bikes, and play with their friends. Playing video games, and watching televisions requires no exercise. Televisions is ok for educational programs to watch. ...

Past formal or informal language learning experiences.(any language which is not your first language. Essay

My mother tongue is Bengali which is being spoken in our house since my childhood. I have done my preliminary education from Doon. While schooling I’ve studied in English as my first language and Hindi being the second. Thereafter after completing my secondary education I came to Kolkata where in I got a chance to learn Bengali i.e. my mother tongue. As I didn’t like the language I didn’t learn it very sincerely also. As English was my favourite subject during my school days. After finishing my higher secondary, I applied for my Graduation in Communicative English where my subjects were Functional English, Business English, Alternative English & General English .We never had general classes or so called text books but main emphasis was given on communicative language based teaching. CLT is usually characterized as a broad approach to teaching, rather than as a teaching method with a clearly defined set of classroom practices. We were made to interact more and more by giving different situations based topic to discuss so as to practice group discussion in class; authentic texts were used to make the learning meaningful like reading newspaper headlines and describing the situations to the class. We were given role plays based on situation practice. For e.g a visit to a doctor for treatment of any disease. Then we were made to practice speaking, listening skills with audio/video aids. The objective of the course was to express yourself fluently in different communicative contexts (both professional and everyday usage).It taught me English Grammar along with speaking, reading, writing as well as listening skills. I was able to improve my pronunciation and intonation and where to stress on syllables. It also helped me learn business communication; call centre English, report writing for mass communication. It also helped me enhance my public speaking skills, preparing me for job market. Hence I would say consider this aspect of teaching more effective rather than traditional mode of teaching

The Alcatel Lucent Merger

Running Head: THE ALCATEL-LUCENT MERGER ! The Alcatel-Lucent Merger-What went wrong? American Public University 1 THE ALCATEL-LUCENT MERGER ! 2 The Alcatel-Lucent Merger-What went wrong? Referring to the case and this chapter, discuss what conditions and negotiation factors pushed forth the merger in 2006 that were not present in 2001. In 1999, as the Internet boom was approaching its apex, Lucent Technologies was the world’s largest telecommunications equipment company (Lazonick & March, 2011). With revenues of $38. 3 billion, net income of $4. billion, and 153,000 employees for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1999, Lucent was larger and more profitable than Nortel, Alcatel, and Ericsson, its three major global competitors (Lazonick & March, 2011). Unfortunately for Lucent, as quickly as it rose to the top, it began to fall to the bottom. Lucent recognized, and so did its competitors, that something had to be done to sustain profitability in its market. In 2001, Alcatel of France, the communications equipment maker in Paris, and Lucent Technologies, the U. S. telecommunications giant, began negotiations for a merger of the two companies (Deresky, 2011, p. 76). In 2001, many communications companies began to see a fall in sales due to an internet crash. Companies like Lucent that were just years prior at the top of its game in the market were now quickly loosing sales and on the brink of bankruptcy (Lazonick & March, 2011). Creating a merger was a choice that Lucent had to again gain power and profitability, but mergers rarely go easily. As in this case there are two competitors attempting to come together and negotiate for a mutually acceptable agreement that affects the future of both companies and the employees.THE ALCATEL-LUCENT MERGER ! 3 By the mid-2000s it became evident that Lucent was faced with the choice of becoming merely a â€Å"niche† player in the communications technology industry or finding a partner to supplement its resourc es so that it could compete once again as a â€Å"full line† supplier. In May 2001, Alcatel and Lucent held initial merger talks with a view to creating a $50 billion global firm. A year earlier Lucent would have dominated such a combination. By May 2001, however, Lucent had already been severely damaged by the downturn in the telecommunications industry.In contrast, Alcatel sales and profits remained strong at the time of those merger talks. If the merger had gone through, Alcatel shareholders would have owned 58 percent of the combined company. It had been agreed that the new headquarters would be in Murray Hill, New Jersey and that Alcatel Chairman Serge Tchuruk would run the company. In the end, the 2001 merger failed when Alcatel insisted that because of its stronger position it would select 8 of the 14 board members, while Lucent Chairman Henry Schacht insisted that his company send two more members for an even split (Sorkin and Romero 2001).The 2001 merger was not succ essful because negotiations were not successful. For longterm positive relations, the goal should be to set up a win-win situation-that is to bring about a settlement beneficial to all parties concerned (Deresky, 2011, p. 152). Unfortunately, that was not the case with this merger. The two companies could not agree on how much control the French company would have. Lucent’s executives apparently wanted the deal as a â€Å"merger of equals,† rather than a takeover by Aslcatel (Deresky, 2011, p. 176).Furthermore, according to Deresky (2011), the negotiation process should encompass fives stages: preparation, relationship building, exchange of task-related information, persuasion, and concessions and agreement (p. 153). The entire negotiation process in 2001 had flaws. THE ALCATEL-LUCENT MERGER ! 4 Research the status of the merged company at the time of your reading this case. What has happened in the industry since the merger, and how is the company faring? In 2006, Alc atel was almost twice the size of Lucent in terms of revenues and employes when the merger that created Alcatel-Lucent took place (Lazonick & March, 2011).Since then, the merger has proven to be successful overall. To support this, in February 2013, a five year managed services agreement was announced by Alcatel-Lucent with KPN, the leading telecommunications service provider in the Netherlands (Mena Report, 2013). According to the report, Alcatel-Lucent will plan, design and implement an end-to-end solution to provide KPNs network with increased capacity, upgraded equipment, and best-in-class customer service processes.Alcatel-Lucent will also help KPN transform its existing multi-vendor voice and core networks enabling its customers to access and share multimedia content from wherever they are or using the device of their choice be it a smartphone, computer or tablet (Mena Report, 2013). Two years after the merger, Alcatel-Lucent University received a certificate of quality from t he European Foundation for Management Development, an honor bestowed on only 14 corporate universities throughout Europe (Alcatel-Lucent University, 2010).Evaluate the comment that the merger is â€Å"a giant transatlantic experiment in multicultural diversity. † What evidence is there that the company has run into cross-cultural problems since the merger took place in 2006? THE ALCATEL-LUCENT MERGER ! The comment was made because there were so many multicultural and diversity issues surrounding the merger. While Lucent was an American company that conducted its business within the borders of the United States, Alcatel was already a global business before the merger.Alcatel â€Å"already operated as an international company with a wide mix of nationalities† (Deresky, 2011, p. 176). The question was raised by many during the merger, â€Å"how will the merged company deal with cross-cultural conflicts? †, but Tchuruk said that, while cultural issues could arise, e verything is under way to make sure this human factor is dealt with (Deresky, 2011, p. 176). This statement of confidence was actually part of the reason why the merger was actually somewhat ironically poised with problems because there were indeed many problems related to multicultural diversity.Some of these problems included language barriers between members of the merged companies, their stockholders, and other stakeholders. Analysts quickly suggested that the corporate culture of Lucent clashed with Alcatel’s French business model (Deresky, 2011, p. 177). This was coupled with Russo’s inability to work well with Tchuruk and it soon became clear that it was a poor decision to appoint leaders based on their nationality rather than their skills. Russo was also the first woman to run a company listed on the CAC 40 in the male dominated world where French business and politics overlap (Deresky, 2011, p. 77). Chinese rivals were also at Alcatel-Lucent’s doorstep providing similar service and technology for less money. According to Deresky (2011), a Barron’s article in August 2008 noted that â€Å"while it might have been helpful if outgoing CEO Patricia Russo had spoken French, that’s not why she and Chairman Serge Tchuruk failed to make a go of the 2006 merger of Alcatel and Lucent Technologies (p. 177). 5 THE ALCATEL-LUCENT MERGER ! 6 How much of the decline do you attribute to leadership problems, as opposed to industry factors?I think the majority of the decline was attributed to leadership problems. The structure of the organization is only effective if the leaders within it are committed to achieving company objectives and working with each other as a team. They must perform their roles and responsibilities knowledgeably and creatively when necessary. The cultural change that was required to create an entrepreneurial sprit throughout the company began with executives being willing to relinquish some of their existing co ntrol to drive decision making downward through the organization.The purpose was to enable faster and better decisions and more competitive responses to market conditions and customer desires (Lazonick & March, 2010). What, if any, factors should have been negotiated differently? Just about everything should have been done differently during the attempted first merger in 2001, but both companies did learn a lot from that merger and they were better prepared in 2006, although still a far cry from being as ready as they should have been.The executives of both companies really did not take cultural values and differences into consideration as much as they should have and as it turned out they had a difficult time communicating with each other, not only due to language barriers, but also just because business was conducted so differently between the French and American cultures. THE ALCATEL-LUCENT MERGER ! 7 References Alcatel-lucent to transform KPN s fixed network operations in the ne therlands over next five years. (2013). MENA Report, Retrieved from http://search. roquest. com/docview/ 1313279184? accountid=8289 Alcatel-lucent university. (2010). Development and Learning in Organizations, 24(2), 31-32. doi: http://dx. doi. org/10. 1108/14777281011019515 Lazonick, W. , & March, E. (2011). The rise and demise of lucent technologies. Journal of Strategic Management Education, 7(4), 201-270. Retrieved from http:// search. proquest. com/docview/1015336210? accountid=8289 Sorkin, Andrew Ross, and Simon Romero, 2001, Alcatel and Lucent call off negotiations toward a merger. New York Times, May 30. The Alcatel Lucent Merger Running Head: THE ALCATEL-LUCENT MERGER ! The Alcatel-Lucent Merger-What went wrong? American Public University 1 THE ALCATEL-LUCENT MERGER ! 2 The Alcatel-Lucent Merger-What went wrong? Referring to the case and this chapter, discuss what conditions and negotiation factors pushed forth the merger in 2006 that were not present in 2001. In 1999, as the Internet boom was approaching its apex, Lucent Technologies was the world’s largest telecommunications equipment company (Lazonick & March, 2011). With revenues of $38. 3 billion, net income of $4. billion, and 153,000 employees for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1999, Lucent was larger and more profitable than Nortel, Alcatel, and Ericsson, its three major global competitors (Lazonick & March, 2011). Unfortunately for Lucent, as quickly as it rose to the top, it began to fall to the bottom. Lucent recognized, and so did its competitors, that something had to be done to sustain profitability in its market. In 2001, Alcatel of France, the communications equipment maker in Paris, and Lucent Technologies, the U. S. telecommunications giant, began negotiations for a merger of the two companies (Deresky, 2011, p. 76). In 2001, many communications companies began to see a fall in sales due to an internet crash. Companies like Lucent that were just years prior at the top of its game in the market were now quickly loosing sales and on the brink of bankruptcy (Lazonick & March, 2011). Creating a merger was a choice that Lucent had to again gain power and profitability, but mergers rarely go easily. As in this case there are two competitors attempting to come together and negotiate for a mutually acceptable agreement that affects the future of both companies and the employees.THE ALCATEL-LUCENT MERGER ! 3 By the mid-2000s it became evident that Lucent was faced with the choice of becoming merely a â€Å"niche† player in the communications technology industry or finding a partner to supplement its resourc es so that it could compete once again as a â€Å"full line† supplier. In May 2001, Alcatel and Lucent held initial merger talks with a view to creating a $50 billion global firm. A year earlier Lucent would have dominated such a combination. By May 2001, however, Lucent had already been severely damaged by the downturn in the telecommunications industry.In contrast, Alcatel sales and profits remained strong at the time of those merger talks. If the merger had gone through, Alcatel shareholders would have owned 58 percent of the combined company. It had been agreed that the new headquarters would be in Murray Hill, New Jersey and that Alcatel Chairman Serge Tchuruk would run the company. In the end, the 2001 merger failed when Alcatel insisted that because of its stronger position it would select 8 of the 14 board members, while Lucent Chairman Henry Schacht insisted that his company send two more members for an even split (Sorkin and Romero 2001).The 2001 merger was not succ essful because negotiations were not successful. For longterm positive relations, the goal should be to set up a win-win situation-that is to bring about a settlement beneficial to all parties concerned (Deresky, 2011, p. 152). Unfortunately, that was not the case with this merger. The two companies could not agree on how much control the French company would have. Lucent’s executives apparently wanted the deal as a â€Å"merger of equals,† rather than a takeover by Aslcatel (Deresky, 2011, p. 176).Furthermore, according to Deresky (2011), the negotiation process should encompass fives stages: preparation, relationship building, exchange of task-related information, persuasion, and concessions and agreement (p. 153). The entire negotiation process in 2001 had flaws. THE ALCATEL-LUCENT MERGER ! 4 Research the status of the merged company at the time of your reading this case. What has happened in the industry since the merger, and how is the company faring? In 2006, Alc atel was almost twice the size of Lucent in terms of revenues and employes when the merger that created Alcatel-Lucent took place (Lazonick & March, 2011).Since then, the merger has proven to be successful overall. To support this, in February 2013, a five year managed services agreement was announced by Alcatel-Lucent with KPN, the leading telecommunications service provider in the Netherlands (Mena Report, 2013). According to the report, Alcatel-Lucent will plan, design and implement an end-to-end solution to provide KPNs network with increased capacity, upgraded equipment, and best-in-class customer service processes.Alcatel-Lucent will also help KPN transform its existing multi-vendor voice and core networks enabling its customers to access and share multimedia content from wherever they are or using the device of their choice be it a smartphone, computer or tablet (Mena Report, 2013). Two years after the merger, Alcatel-Lucent University received a certificate of quality from t he European Foundation for Management Development, an honor bestowed on only 14 corporate universities throughout Europe (Alcatel-Lucent University, 2010).Evaluate the comment that the merger is â€Å"a giant transatlantic experiment in multicultural diversity. † What evidence is there that the company has run into cross-cultural problems since the merger took place in 2006? THE ALCATEL-LUCENT MERGER ! The comment was made because there were so many multicultural and diversity issues surrounding the merger. While Lucent was an American company that conducted its business within the borders of the United States, Alcatel was already a global business before the merger.Alcatel â€Å"already operated as an international company with a wide mix of nationalities† (Deresky, 2011, p. 176). The question was raised by many during the merger, â€Å"how will the merged company deal with cross-cultural conflicts? †, but Tchuruk said that, while cultural issues could arise, e verything is under way to make sure this human factor is dealt with (Deresky, 2011, p. 176). This statement of confidence was actually part of the reason why the merger was actually somewhat ironically poised with problems because there were indeed many problems related to multicultural diversity.Some of these problems included language barriers between members of the merged companies, their stockholders, and other stakeholders. Analysts quickly suggested that the corporate culture of Lucent clashed with Alcatel’s French business model (Deresky, 2011, p. 177). This was coupled with Russo’s inability to work well with Tchuruk and it soon became clear that it was a poor decision to appoint leaders based on their nationality rather than their skills. Russo was also the first woman to run a company listed on the CAC 40 in the male dominated world where French business and politics overlap (Deresky, 2011, p. 77). Chinese rivals were also at Alcatel-Lucent’s doorstep providing similar service and technology for less money. According to Deresky (2011), a Barron’s article in August 2008 noted that â€Å"while it might have been helpful if outgoing CEO Patricia Russo had spoken French, that’s not why she and Chairman Serge Tchuruk failed to make a go of the 2006 merger of Alcatel and Lucent Technologies (p. 177). 5 THE ALCATEL-LUCENT MERGER ! 6 How much of the decline do you attribute to leadership problems, as opposed to industry factors?I think the majority of the decline was attributed to leadership problems. The structure of the organization is only effective if the leaders within it are committed to achieving company objectives and working with each other as a team. They must perform their roles and responsibilities knowledgeably and creatively when necessary. The cultural change that was required to create an entrepreneurial sprit throughout the company began with executives being willing to relinquish some of their existing co ntrol to drive decision making downward through the organization.The purpose was to enable faster and better decisions and more competitive responses to market conditions and customer desires (Lazonick & March, 2010). What, if any, factors should have been negotiated differently? Just about everything should have been done differently during the attempted first merger in 2001, but both companies did learn a lot from that merger and they were better prepared in 2006, although still a far cry from being as ready as they should have been.The executives of both companies really did not take cultural values and differences into consideration as much as they should have and as it turned out they had a difficult time communicating with each other, not only due to language barriers, but also just because business was conducted so differently between the French and American cultures. THE ALCATEL-LUCENT MERGER ! 7 References Alcatel-lucent to transform KPN s fixed network operations in the ne therlands over next five years. (2013). MENA Report, Retrieved from http://search. roquest. com/docview/ 1313279184? accountid=8289 Alcatel-lucent university. (2010). Development and Learning in Organizations, 24(2), 31-32. doi: http://dx. doi. org/10. 1108/14777281011019515 Lazonick, W. , & March, E. (2011). The rise and demise of lucent technologies. Journal of Strategic Management Education, 7(4), 201-270. Retrieved from http:// search. proquest. com/docview/1015336210? accountid=8289 Sorkin, Andrew Ross, and Simon Romero, 2001, Alcatel and Lucent call off negotiations toward a merger. New York Times, May 30.

Lyca Mobile

London, UK, 11th June 2012 Lycamobile UK gets the larger piece of the international mobile calls pie. Lycamobile, the global leader for low cost international mobile calls, affirms its position as the most used MVNO in the UK leading the way in brand awareness and usage according to research. Sample research conducted by YouGov revealed Lycamobile as the number one consumer brand for international mobile calls across the globe.In the research study conducted for Lycamobile it was established that over 50% of respondents made international calls and in the category â€Å"International calls with a separate mobile phone† Lycamobile scored highest for awareness and usage. The high level of awareness and usage which Lycamobile has achieved since launch in 2008 is driven by its strong brand, a compelling value proposition, high quality service and extensive retail distribution. Subaskaran Allirajah, Lycamobile Chairman commented, â€Å"This is great news for Lycamobile and our cus tomers.Coupled with the recent growth figures in Spain where Lycamobile is the number one MVNO this continues to consolidate our position as the global leader in low cost international mobile calls. Over the past 5 years the Lycamobile team have worked tremendously hard to launch into 14 countries and to be the dominant global MVNO player. We are extremely pleased with these findings and look forward to increasing our global footprint this year†. Milind Kangle, CEO of Lycamobile, added â€Å"I am delighted with the initial results. The brand awareness and usage shows that every 4 seconds a new customer joins the Lycamobile family.This success we have had is down to the vision on our Chairman Subaskaran Allirajah and the hard work, commitment and enterprise of our 4000 employees in the UK and across the world. Lycamobile will continue to invest in high quality of service and value proposition ensuring that customers can stay in touch with their friends and family during these times of austerity. † – End About Lycamobile Lycamobile is a prepaid mobile SIM card provider that provides low-cost, high-quality international and national calls to over 8. million customers across 14 countries (UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Australia, France, Germany, Poland and Ireland). Lycamobile is available through an extensive network of more than 500,000 retail outlets. The brand was initially introduced in 2006 and is already Europe’s largest pre-pay MVNO. Lycamobile continues to grow rapidly with further market launches planned throughout 2012. www. lycamobile. co. uk Notes to Editor: 1. Anchor tags: Lycamobile: free calls! 2. Contact person: [email  protected] com

Analysis: Computer Repair Shop

A computer repair shop chooses to back up the users data if there is an issue with the owners computer software. Then they just reinstall the operating system. What the computer repair shop doesnt do is reinstall the users applications.There are good and bad things about doing business this way. Some of the pros are it is less time consuming, all of the users pictures, music, videos, and documents will be backed up, and the computer will end up getting fixed. Doing it this way is less time consuming and that is both good for the computer repair shop and for the customer. Having everything backed up and the computer getting fixed are probably the two most important things to the owner of the computer.Despite all of the good things of fixing the computer of software problems by backing up the computer and reinstalling the operating system there still are some cons. There is not really any cons for the computer repair shop. However, for the user they might not like the fact that the per son repairing the computer will not reinstall the users applications and programs.A user who just uses their pc for browsing the internet and checking emails wont need a backup or any applications reinstalled. Someone who needs their documents for work will need all of them backed up but will probably not need their applications installed for them because they can just do it them selves.

Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 25

Leadership - Essay Example An important skill that leaders must possess is communication skills. A good leader must have superb verbal and written communication skills. Verbal communication skills are required to inspire others to achieve a higher level of performance. Managers are responsible over the performance of the company and its entire staff. Excellent communication skills are needed by managers because they are require to submit different reports to a variety of stakeholder groups which include lenders, employees, suppliers, government, board of directors, and investors. Active listening skills are important for leaders to possess. The use of active listening implies fully concentrating on what is being said rather than just passively ‘hearing’ the message of the speaker (Skillsyouneed). A leader must have excellent analytical abilities due to the fact that leaders are exposed to vast amounts of information. He must be able to dissect information in order to make good operating decisions. Since leaders have to interact with lots of persons the leader must have good people and interpersonal skills. â€Å"Interpersonal skills are measures of how adept you are at interacting with others† (Ncsu). Leaders are assertive and have confidence in themselves. Two important abilities that leaders have are collaboration and teamwork. Teamwork has become a critical success factor in the 21st century. Leadership skills can be enhanced through the use of teamwork. Negotiation skills are also a part of the skill set of a leader. An important role that a leader must perform is to motivate others. A technique that leaders such as managers can use to motivate others is intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. An example of an extrinsic reward is offering financial incentives such as bon uses, while an intrinsic reward could be giving an employee a pad in the back for a job well done. Using teamwork can help develop the leadership, communication, and problem solving skills of the staff. A

Philosophy of Art Monroe Beardsley's Aesthetic Definition of Art Essay

Philosophy of Art Monroe Beardsley's Aesthetic Definition of Art - Essay Example The paper will review the min concepts and definitions of art proposed by Monroe Beardsley, and then, critically review the proposed concepts. In this, its ultimate role is to provide a critique of its own conditions of possibility. And, as is well known, for Beardsley this became a matter of artists acknowledging the flatness of the picture plane as a way of asserting what they took to be the essential fact about the nature of painting. Beardsley defines artwork as: "something produced with the intension of giving it the capacity to satisfy the authentic interest" (Beardsley 57). Beardsley has in mind such audience responses as noticing details, recognizing patterns, making interpretations, filling in the work, etc (Beardsley 55). It is against this understanding of avant-garde art, the genuine art of the contemporary world, that Beardsley articulates his understanding of modern art. Avant-garde art is abstract, whereas modern art ostensibly favors representation. Avant-garde art is reflexive, whereas modern art is generally imitative. Avant-garde art is introverted -- it is about itself (it is about its medium). Modern art is extroverted; it is about the world. Moreover, in being introverted, avant-garde art is detached from practical affairs and disinterested, whereas by representing the world, modern art is implicated in practical concerns (Beardsley 55). In order to accomplish this, genuine art must be difficult, whereas Beardsley believes that modern art can be enjoyed without effort. Moreover, this emphasis on the active response of the spectator in genuine art is what leads Beardsley to nominate avant-garde art as the genuine art of our times, since avant-garde art requires an active spectator to fill in its open structures. Thus, avant-garde art can be said to preserve the central value of art properly so-called. For art properly so-called has always been dedicated to engendering active spectatorship. Indeed, commitment to this role, it would appear, is a necessary feature of art for Beardsley, as it is for many other modern theorists of art. On the other hand, Beardsley maintains that art involves 'unreflective enjoyment'. It abets passive spectatorship -- of the sort putatively evinced by 'couch potatoes' -- whereas Beardsley, with the authority of a long tradition behind him, presumes that a necessary feature of genuine art in volves a commitment to active vowing (Beardsley 56). Avant-garde art accords with this profile. In order to appreciate it, a certain sort of knowledge and background information will have to come into play, if, for example, one is to identify the reflexive comment that an abstract array makes on the nature of painting. Beardsley argues: "once we know what things are artworks in a particular society, we can identify artistic activities by discovering which activities involve interaction with artworks" (Beardsley 57). To interpret such a work one must be initiated into a certain discourse and, even after one assimilates the relevant art discourse, a great deal of cogitation will still be required in order to apply that discourse with understanding to the painting at hand. Such painting demands intellectual work from the spectator because of its hermetic structure, which serves as a difficult obstacle, or puzzle,

Participation Exercise #9 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Participation Exercise #9 - Assignment Example Activity Based Costing is more efficient to manufacturing companies and provides a more efficient, effective and economical costing system. The different manufacturing companies have different activities that together make up the overheads that the company incurs in their operations. Its application to manufacturing companies will provide an easy accounting and costing system that will aid in providing more accurate accounting in an efficient manner. The costing system also considers the application of overheads to the different products produced in a manner more logical hence successfully compared to the traditional means that allocate costs to the different machine hours employed. The ability of the system to consider each activity and its costs makes it more efficient for manufacturing companies due to their approach to costing and operations. It bases on the different activities that prove to be the real cause of the

Timeline of Gendered Movements Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Timeline of Gendered Movements - Assignment Example This paper aims to discuss major events in the American history that lead to movement for the Women’s Right. It shall further discuss the significance and the interrelationship of these events. Though there have been several events contributing to the women movement, but the major four events that led to the acceptance and acknowledgement women’s rights shall be discussed in detail. Declaration of Sentiments (1848) The civil war was the origin of the women movement. Women played a major role in the antislavery crusade. The Declaration of the Sentiment and Resolution (1848) was a petition by women to gain rights and privileges (Burgan, 2006). It aims to provide justification and equality to women and to bring change in the sexist society (Keller, 2003). The document plays a significant role in the providing social, civil and religious and rights of women. The document was signed by 68 women and 32 men out of the 300 people for the women’s right convention (Keller, 2003). The principle author of the Declaration was Elizabeth Cady Stanton (Burgan, 2006). She made use of symbolism, allusion, metaphors and hyperboles to achieve the purpose of Declaration. Though the neglecting of women’s right were noted and mentioned by several authors but the Declaration of Sentiments provided a legal status for this, it further provided platform and laid foundation for the movement of women. Formation of Women Suffrage Association (1869) The other major event was the formation of Women Suffrage Association (1869). Elizabeth Candy Stanton joined Susan B. Anthony to form an association named National Women’s Suffrage Association for rights to vote women (Burgan, 2006). It also advocated the easier divorce and to eliminate discrimination in employment and pay. It secured the rights of women from the Federal Constitutional Amendment (fourteenth and fifteenth). After the Declaration the Sentiments the formation of National Women Suffrage Association provided an entity that could fight for the rights of women (Keller, 2003). The 19th Amendment (1920) Nineteenth amendment took place on June 14, 1919 when the nineteenth amendment was passed in the constitution by congress (Burgan, 2006). This was one of the largest steps for women in America, though the amendment was proposed 40 years but in 1920 it provided a legal right for women of America to achieve national reorganization for right to vote. It allowed women in certain states to vote during 1912 but it took eight more years to gain official national amendment (Burgan, 2006). It states, â€Å"The right of citizen of United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State o account of sex† (Burgan, 2006). For the fist time in the American history women were given a legal status to caste their votes. Through the continuous efforts of the National Suffrage Women Association, the nineteenth amendment was approved (Burgan, 2006). This was fo r the first time in the American history that women enjoyed participating in the election and to caste their votes. The amendment can be determined as a point, where women were treated as an equal citizen. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) In 1948, United Nation passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This plays a significant role in the movement of women as it declared women right for women around the world. The Universal Declaration states that all people around the world should have same rights with

Business Analysis of Coca Cola International company Research Paper

Business Analysis of Coca Cola International company - Research Paper Example By 1896, Coca-Cola successfully spread across the American border to Canada, Hawaii and Mexico. It is a multi-billion dollar company which is operating in more than 200 countries and offering more than 3,500 beverages. It is recognized as the world`s best known brand and has the world`s largest distribution network. Its products are the most widely known and most commonly used in the entire world. It has such a widespread network that the consumers enjoy Coca-Cola’s products at a rate of more than 300 million servings per day. It has subsidiaries and franchises in every country where it is operating. Coca-Cola is also the leading cola drink in the beverage industry throughout the world (Coca-Cola Company, n.d.). The mission of Coca-Cola is to create value for all the shareholders, customers and stakeholder by creating superior value and making profitable relations with the customers as well. Their mission is to â€Å"To refresh the world...to inspire moments of optimism and h appiness... and to create value and make a difference.† They try to refresh the world by using the advantage that they have as being the world’s largest beverage company. Coca-Cola develops high quality beverages, which itself creates value for the company and helps strengthen its image, contributing to its overall success. Their vision is to work on every aspect of their company in order to achieve sustainable growth. The primary stakeholders of Coca-Cola include employees, customers, partners, society, shareholders and the company itself. They believe that in order to be successful, they must look ahead and plan for the future, using the resources in the most efficient way. Its product, satisfied customers, excellent leadership and, most importantly, a strong brand name further contribute to the overall success of this company (â€Å"Mission, Vision & Values†, n.d.) Porter`s five forces are a set of forces formulated by Michael E. Porter who proposed that strat egies of any company are formulated based on the threat of potential entrants and substitute products, the bargaining power of both buyers and sellers prevailing in the market, as well as the level of rivalry among competitors (Daft & Lane, 2009, p. 196). The amount of capital required by any soft drink company is really high, which acts as a barrier to entry for new entrants. Also, Coca-Cola has such a strong brand name with a huge amount spent on selling and promotion. In order to maintain its market share, Coca-Cola will have to spend a huge amount on advertising to ensure that its message is being carried forward to its customers all over the world. This is also one of the ways through which this company can compete with its rival companies, especially Pepsi. Coca-Cola and Pepsi dominate the soft drink industry and therefore, Coco-Cola will have to come up with new ideas in order to compete effectively and maintain its position in the market. The pricing done by this company wil l also depend on the type of market, whether it is customer oriented or seller oriented. SWOT Analysis: Strengths: The biggest strength that Coca-Cola has is its Coke itself. It has been able to maintain its original taste for years and this is the reason why its customers are always loyal. It has the strongest brand across the globe with a brand equity of over $50 billion. The quality and taste are the major strengths of Coca-Cola and one of the reasons for its overall success. In order to main

Building and ethical organization procedure and characteristics the Essay

Building and ethical organization procedure and characteristics the case of Medicare Services Ltd - Essay Example The organization has been divided into two major parts, the Human Needs section and the Medical Needs section. The first one refers exclusively to the provision of psychological support in various cases including mental illnesses of temporary or permanent character. The above support is provided without a differentiation between the mental illnesses that have a genetic cause and those that have been developed gradually or by accident after a severe psychological pressure. As for the pure Medical department, this can handle all types of medical problems even severe injuries. The reason for such an extended area of activity is that the institute’s human resources department decided to include a multi – skills element when deciding the structure, the roles and the knowledge of the organizational workforce. The only problem seems to be the absence of sufficient space for a long-term ‘residence’ of patients. At the moment, in both departments only a short term residence is available, however, there is a plan for the extension of the institute’s space through the‘re-construction’ of a near-by building which is also included in the institute’s property.

SCADA Worm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

SCADA Worm - Essay Example n facilities ranging from power plants to petroleum refineries, SCADA Worms can rapidly affect large scale industrial computer networks and IT operations. Moreover, SCADA Worms are highly sophisticated and capable of braking through different firewalls. These computer viruses infect Windows based operating systems and server environments, which are one of the most commonly used IT infrastructure equipment in USA. Next, SCADA Worms generally attack the Siemens based IT applications, which are again highly common in most of the US industrial automation and information environments. (Cherry and Langner, 2010; Kline and Krachenfels, 2010) According to most IT experts (e.g. Kim and Solomon, 2010) information security involves seven major domains. These are user domain, workstation domain, LAN domain, LAN-to-WAN domain, remote access domain, WAN domain, and system/application domain. General arrangement of these domains is shown in Figure – 1: Presently, industrial control systems are physically guarded at the workstation domain. User authentication systems and password policies are implemented at user domain. Anti-virus and Firewall software are used at the interface between the workstation domain (e.g. client side computers) and the remote access, LAN, or LAN-to-WAN domains (e.g. server side routers). But reports from Iran, India, and Indonesia show that these arrangements are essential but not enough to stop SCADA Worm (Kline and Krachenfels, 2010). Scientists like Coppolino et al (2012) suggest that Markov model based intrusion detection systems deployed at the system/application domain can be a useful deterrent against the SCADA Worm. The detection system at the industrial control engine must be both undetectable and modifiable. On the other hand, security providers like GarretCom put forward the idea of assimilating security tools from â€Å"a lot of disciplines working together to create industrial environments in a world that is increasingly connected† (Kline

Understanding of the material presented on social learning and general Essay

Understanding of the material presented on social learning and general strain theories - Essay Example The general strain theory is a criminology branch that has a perspective that criminal behavior is a result of pressure by negative emotions such as anger which results to negative or strain relationships with others. The social learning and the general strain theories have some similarities and differences that explain more concerning them. The difference between the two that, general strain theory puts emphases on the negative relationships with others while the theory of social learning focuses much on the cognitive information acquired through the learning process. The general strain theory involves a motivational element of emotions that are negative while social learning involve a general learning process of either negative or positive things around the human beings (Agnew 67). For general strain theory, motivation occurs before the negative performance, but for social learning theory, motivation occurs when the desired behavior is achieved, although reinforcement is applied whenever a learner shows undesirable action. The social learning theory has some general similarities with the theory of general strain. Both of the two theories focus on the behavior one acquires from their environment they live. Both theories influence the development of a human being under any specified circumstances. They both explain how the human surrounding influences the relationship that he will have to the people around or even objects (Agnew 68). The two theories have motivation and reinforcement as the key factor that influence the action one engage in. They are both behaviors centered as compared to the other theories. The two theories propose that both behaviors of conformance and criminal like behavior are some kind of behaviors that one acquire and maintain, or even change through interaction with others. The most convincing theory between the two mentioned theories is the social learning theory. This theory can easily handle behavior

Chemistry and Society Essay Example for Free

Chemistry and Society Essay Chemistry is a vast quantity of a person’s everyday life. A person can find chemistry in his or her daily life in the foods that a person eats, air a person breathes, soap, and accurately everything a person comes in contact with. Chemistry is significant in everyday life because chemicals make up everything in life. For example, a person’s body, pet, a desk, the sun, food, and drugs a person may take, to name a few. A person can observe changes in chemistry caused by chemical reactions, such as leaves changing colors, cooking food, and mixing a cleaning product. Knowing chemistry can help a person make day-to-day choices that affect his or her life. For example, if a person should mix certain household chemicals together. Accuracy is the magnitude in which a certain measurement agrees with the standard worth for that measurement (Dictionary, 2011). Precision is how close the measured standards are to each other (Math is fun, 2011). Society depends on accuracy and precision in everyday life. These two relationships are often substituted freely, but both have crucial differences. Businesses entail both accurate and precise measurements to stay in business. Accuracy states that something is constant with an identified rate, whereas precision is the volume of detail something delivers. Society depends on accuracy and precision in many places. One instance is the gas pumps. The gas pump can show accuracy when the gas is flowing, but this is not a precise measurement of how much gas is pumping through the pumps. Gas pumps must not only know how much gas is pumping through the pumps but also how precise the measurement of gas pumped. The gas companies need to know how much is pumped so that the company can charge the right amount for the gas. Sometimes in everyday life a person does not want to be precise. For example, if someone stops and asks for directions to the nearest gas station a person may say that the next gas station is about 10 minutes down the road. Providing directions to someone is a way a person can give accurate information. Another example is, when measuring a room in the house to paint and needing to know how much paint to provide. A person can either measure and provide a precise measurement or provide an accurate measurement on the room to paint. Another precision and accuracy a person may use in every day is how long it takes his or her child to finish the homework. An accurate answer is 20 minutes, but the precise answer would be 20 minutes and 20 seconds. Time is an excellent way to be accurate or precise. References Dictionary.com. (2011). Accuracy. Retrieved November 3, 2011 from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/accuracy Math is fun. (2011). Accuracy and Precision. Retrieved November 3, 2011 from http://www.mathsisfun.com/accuracy-precision.html

Forensic Techniques for Wildlife Crime

Forensic Techniques for Wildlife Crime Lady Monet Buchanan Evaluate the use of current forensic and analytical techniques in the investigation and control of crimes against animals, wildlife and the environment Introduction Wildlife crime has in recent years become a major problem. Many wildlife/animals are being illegally killed, traded and smuggled every day. Illegal smuggling of animals and plants are typically smuggled for medicine, food and antiques. Wildlife trade is predominately done with items such as skin, ivory, horn, eggs, meat, and feathers (Singh et al., 2006). Examples of crimes against wildlife are poaching and illegal hunting of bears, tigers, rhino’s and elephant’s. Whilst all wildlife trade is not illegal, there are still trades such as buying and selling African elephant ivory pre-1947 (Wwf.org.uk, 2009) that are illegal and still despite the laws, are still being traded throughout the world. Items can be smuggled across many different borders and through many different trade routes (Wasser et al., 2007). The convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora (CITES) in 1989, ban the international trade of elephant ivory (Singh et al., 2006) , however it is still a major problem today. This essay will focus on three important forensic analytical techniques; radiocarbon dating, stable isotope analysis and X-ray fluorescence analysis, which all aid in distinguishing whether ivory traded is legal or illegal and where the ivory may have come from. Case study’s using these techniques to help combat the illegal trade in elephant ivory will also be discussed and evaluated. Background about elephant ivory and analytical techniques used African elephant ivory trading was ban by CITES in 1989 (Singh et al., 2006) due to the serious threat of global elephant population (Wozney and Wilson, 2012). Although the ban has been put into place, there is still an increase with the amount of elephant ivory being traded. There are many cases where officers around the world have seized tons of ivory and with the help of analytical techniques, have been able to identify they have originated from illegal sources. In 2011 the 13th largest seizure was made involving 23 metric tons of illegal elephant ivory (Worldwildlife.org, 2015). Analytical techniques can be used to detect the type ivory and what specie it may have came from, the geographical identification of ivory and whether the ivory was obtained pre 1947 (legal) or post 1947 (illegal), for example DNA profiling, microscopic analysis, stable isotope analysis and radiocarbon dating. Analytical technique: Radiocarbon dating Aging ivory is crucial to determine its legality of trade and by measuring radioactive carbon-14, for example in ivory antiques, this can determine whether the trade of an item is legal (Uno et al., 2013). Radiocarbon dating can estimate the year the elephant died (ivory being obtained) which then determines whether this was pre or post 1947. This identifies whether the ivory was legally or illegally obtained. Carbon-14 was placed into the earth’s atmosphere between 1945 and 1980 due to a nuclear fallout (Schmied et al., 2011), this meant that there was a significant rise in the levels of carbon-14 in the atmosphere and due to this more being absorbed by plants and animals. The method of radiocarbon dating uses the ‘bomb curve’ dating graph (Smith, 2015) as a reference to the levels of carbon-14 in the atmosphere from around 1940-2000 (Schmied et al., 2011). Levels found in ivory show whether it was taken from an elephant before or after the bomb explosion. One way of using this technique is to extract carbon from a sample as carbon dioxide and add this to calcium carbonate. The release of carbon-14 from the calcium carbonate is then measured (Brunnermeier et al., 2012). Another way is to use an accelerator mass spectrometer machine and bombard the sample with cesium atoms. These atoms are used to split carbon into two lots with a ratio of carbon-14/carbon-12. The comparison of carbon-14 to carbon-12 is then measured to find the significant difference between the two carbons (Phys.org, 2015). The accelerator mass spectrometer counts the amount of carbon-14 present within the sample and figures are plotted on to the bomb curve graph (Smith, 2015). This shows the difference in carbon-14 levels in the sample to the levels in the atmosphere. Using an accelerator mass spectrometer is seen as a more improved and prà ©cised way, as small pieces of worked ivory can be tested (Phys.org, 2015). Researchers used this method to test the accuracy of radiocarbon dating. They acquired samples from an elephant which died in Kenya in 2006 and samples from an African elephant in Utah in 2008 (Phys.org, 2015). The ivory samples, presented the same amount of carbon-14 as those found in grass and plants taken in the same years. As they acquired accurate results, they went on to analyse 29 samples which resulted in minimal carbon-14 levels consistent with the atmospheric levels of carbon-14 before the nuclear bomb. They were able to assign the tusks, to have been legally taken as carbon-14 levels support this (Phys.org, 2015). The benefit of this technique is that it is a quick, simple and affordable test. One of the problems with this technique is that to gain the most accurate results, the samples most likely should be taken from the base of the tusk, as this part has the most recent carbon-14 levels present in the atmosphere just before death. To help aid in more accurate aging results, tests determining the strontium-90 levels within a sample can also be measured. Strontium-90 was also placed in the atmosphere at the time of the nuclear fall-out. Any ivory grown before 1955 would not have any signs of strontium-90 present, so along with naturally occurring levels of carbon-14 before 1955, this would give an exact determination that the ivory samples tested are in fact legal (Schmied et al., 2011). However carbon-14 dating alone in may cases is a precise enough technique (Brunnermeier et al., 2012) and can complement DNA analysis of ivory (Smith, 2015). Analytical technique: Stable isotope analysis Stable isotope analysis is the chemical elements found within chemical compounds such as food, which can determine the diet and trophic levels within a sample. This technique in relation to determining where ivory shipments have possibly come from provides a history of an elephant and what regions the ivory could possibly have come from. Nitrogen, carbon, oxygen and lead can be tested in the ivory samples to find the isotopic compositions gained from foods the elephant ate and therefore compare it to isotopic compositions found in the soils which the food (plants) grew (Aggarwal, Habicht-Mauche and Juarez, 2008). From this the region in which the elephant originated from can be distinguished. As different regions within the world have different levels of nitrogen, carbon, oxygen and lead present, the levels can be tested and compared to the levels found within samples. The ratios of stable isotopes found in ivory samples can be compared to the levels found in the soil and plants in d ifferent regions of Africa or Asia. To determine the stable isotopes present, ivory samples are powdered and treated with hydrogen peroxide and tested to insure there is an isotopic shift (Cerling, Omondi and Macharia, 2007). The instrument used to measure stable isotope analysis is mass spectrometry. This measure’s the levels within the ivory sample and can be compared to the levels found in the soil and food samples from specific regions (Aggarwal, Habicht-Mauche and Juarez, 2008). Results produced can be plotted on graphs showing the different levels of isotopes taken from samples and soils and the different variations of ratios of each isotope. Also maps of different regions for example Ethiopia can show which isotope levels are higher than others in another region such as Zimbabwe. In a case in Kenya, elephant tusks were analysed from different regions in Kenya and central Africa, the carbon-12 and carbon-13 along with the oxygen-16 and oxygen-18, ratios were compared to results found in ivory samples confiscated by Kenyan customs. To help track down the poachers, they wanted to find out whether the ivory samples where obtained locally or from somewhere else in Africa or Asia (Cerling, Omondi and Macharia, 2007). From using stable isotope analysis they was able to distinguish where these confiscated pieces may have possibly come from. Comparing the carbon and oxygen levels found with sample soils taken from Kenya and central Africa, five of the carvings were found to have indistinguishable carbon and oxygen results to central Africa, whilst two carvings were very similar to the Kenyan forest (Cerling, Omondi and Macharia, 2007). In this analysis the limited number of samples from central Africa meant that the results taken from the carvings could not give a prà ƒ ©cised location. Stable isotope analysis found accurate levels of carbon and oxygen consistent with two carvings from the forest mountain elephant bred in Kenya and so was able to link this ivory shipment back to Kenya. Although in studies dating back to 1990, found stable isotope analysis useful as nitrogen and strontium helped scientists in connecting confiscated ivory to three parks in south Africa, there is a belief that this technique still has a number of problems associated with it. One of the problems associated with stable isotope analysis is that this technique uses instrumentation that is very expensive to buy and run and the chemical separation techniques can be time consuming (Aggarwal, Habicht-Mauche and Juarez, 2008). Although this technique can track regions of where samples may originate from, if there is an unsufficient amount of data from previous studies of different regions, samples have nothing to be compared to. The strontium isotope itself has had success in helping in investigations of smuggled ivory, but the cost and time that is required to prepare samples, may slow down the commercial application of using this technique in years to come in the forensic industry (Aggarwal, Habicht-Mauche and Juarez, 2008). Analytical technique: X-ray fluorescence analysis X-ray fluorescence analysis is a technique which reveals the chemical elements present within a sample (Singh et al., 2006). This technique can provide preliminary data to the analytical techniques mentioned above. X-ray fluorescence can distinguish ivory from a range of elephant populations in various regions of Africa and Asia (Kautenburger, Wannemacher and Mà ¼ller, 2004). To undergo this analysis, samples of ivory are polished and dried overnight and a small section of the sample is used for direct analysis (Kautenburger, Wannemacher and Mà ¼ller, 2004). The instrument used for analysis is an X-ray spectrometer. When the sample is dried and examined, intensity peaks are given in a spectrum which shows various elements present and at what concentrations they appear at (Singh et al., 2006). The different elements and their concentrations shown in the spectra for example are iron (Fe), silicon (Si), sulphur (S), strontium (Sr) and hafnium (Hf) (Singh et al., 2006). Different samples will present different peaks of elements and different concentrations which can be use to distinguish between different breeds of elephants in different regions such as Africa and Asia. In a study done by researchers to characterize elephant ivory between regions of Africa and Asia, results found elements of Sr and Hf to have longer intensity peaks and therefore higher concentrations in African ivory than in Asian ivory (Singh et al., 2006). Another study carried out was able differentiate the ivory samples of two different elephant species within African, by the intensity peaks of elements such as Sr, Fe, Si and S and comparing them against reference samples taken from the same specie (Kautenburger, Wannemacher and Mà ¼ller, 2004). One of the main benefits of this technique is that it is a quick and cheap, non destructive technique that can be used for both quantitative and qualitative analysis (Kautenburger, Wannemacher and Mà ¼ller, 2004). Given that the studies above both were able to conclude with positives outcomes, this technique however does have limitations. One of the problems of this technique is that there can be marginable differences/similarities in intensity element peaks, which can make characterizing ivory from different regions or different species quite challenging (Singh et al., 2006). Another problem is with large numbers of ivory samples, validity of results may not always be achieved (Kautenburger, Wannemacher and Mà ¼ller, 2004). On the other hand this technique is used as preliminary data and such analytical techniques like DNA and radiocarbon dating can help support findings. Conclusion From examining three various analytical techniques used in the illegal trade of elephant ivory, it is possible to say that these techniques along with other analytical techniques such as DNA can aid in finding the year ivory was obtained and therefore assign whether samples being traded are legal (antique) or illegal (modern). Although radiocarbon dating is one of the most recent techniques, out of the three, it has become one the most successful techniques as it can pin point the exact year ivory was obtained from an accurate reading of carbon-14 in a sample and comparing it to the bomb curve data. Although it has a short half-life, hopefully in the future another test will be discovered. Unlike X-ray fluorescence which needs confirmatory tests such as DNA and radiocarbon dating for results to coincide with, stable isotopes with more research can lead to more precise and accurate results. Nevertheless all techniques have and will be continually used in the forensic industry. References Aggarwal, J., Habicht-Mauche, J. and Juarez, C. (2008). Application of heavy stable isotopes  in forensic isotope geochemistry: A review.Applied Geochemistry, 23(9), pp.2658-2666. Brunnermeier, M., Schmied, S., Mà ¼ller-Boge, M. and Schupfner, R. (2012). Dating of ivory from 20th century by determination of 14C by the direct absorption method.Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 70(8), pp.1595-1602. Cerling, T., Omondi, P. and Macharia, A. (2007). Diets of Kenyan elephants from stable isotopes and the origin of confiscated ivory in Kenya.African Journal of Ecology, 45(4), pp.614-623. Kautenburger, R., Wannemacher, J. and Mà ¼ller, P. (2004). Multi element analysis by X-ray fluorescence: A powerful tool of ivory identification from various origins.Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 260(2), pp.399-404. Phys.org, (2015).Age and legality of ivory revealed by carbon-14 dating can fight poachers. [online] Available at: http://phys.org/news/2013-07-age-legality-ivory-revealed-carbon-.html [Accessed 7 Jan. 2015]. Schmied, S., Brunnermeier, M., Schupfner, R. and Wolfbeis, O. (2011). Age assessment of ivory by analysis of 14C and 90Sr to determine whether there is an antique on hand.Forensic Science International, 207(1-3), pp.e1-e4. Singh, R., Goyal, S., Khanna, P., Mukherjee, P. and Sukumar, R. (2006). Using morphometric and analytical techniques to characterize elephant ivory.Forensic Science International, 162(1-3), pp.144-151. Smith, R. (2015).Cold War Radioactivity Can Date Illegal Elephant Ivory. [online] National Geographic. 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