Responce to Barthes Essay Camera Lucida †Photography Essay

Responce to Barthes Essay Camera Lucida – Photography Essay Free Online Research Papers Responce to Barthes Essay Camera Lucida English In Barthe’s essay â€Å"Camera Lucida†, we see an analysis of the photo in terms of the studium and the punctum. The studium for the most part produces the unary photo, which merely reproduces ‘reality’ or a single uniform idea, whereas the presence of a punctum means this cohesiveness is fragmented, disturbed. This punctum may be something outside the control of the photographer, which escapes the encompassing ‘meaning’ of the photo and adds more to it in our subjective view. The punctum, then, is very personal, and could be different for everyone. So in say Timothy O’Sullivan’s Desert Sand Hills, the punctum is the sets of footprints that lead towards me and signal the presence of the person behind the camera, breaking up the unary ‘reality’ of the photo and bringing the method of its production to the fore the fact that it is not unadulterated ‘reality’ but is a recreation, a representation, carefully set up and staged maybe more than once. It exposes the falsity, the ‘staginess’ of the image, and makes it more interesting, maybe more likeable and accessible, and make s me think or critique, not just observe. Research Papers on Responce to Barthe's Essay Camera Lucida - Photography EssayAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementWhere Wild and West MeetMind TravelIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalBringing Democracy to AfricaEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenRiordan Manufacturing Production PlanThe Spring and AutumnAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of Self

Essay on HIV and AIDS

Essay on HIV and AIDS Writing an essay on AIDS and HIV is a common experience of graduates and university students in the faculties of science, medicine, sociology, humanities and other social sciences. When you need to write an essay on AIDS and HIV, you need to be quite proficient in related terminology and their global image. AIDS is the abbreviated word use for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and HIV is the name of virus causing AIDS. People who are HIV positive or who are career of HIV virus may not have AIDS, but they are more prone to get the disease in the years to come if HIV virus becomes active. When you teacher asks you to write an essay on AIDS and HIV, you should do the following step by step: Essay on AIDS and HIV needs a clear conceptual understanding of the subject. You need to do a little research on what is AIDS, what is HIV at first. Then you need to know the causes and methods of disease spread. People have a limited understanding about this disease globally, there is a need to add  explanatory concepts in your essay on AIDS and HIV. When you write an essay on HIV you   need to focus on virus only, dont talk much about AIDS. When you are writing an essay on AIDS, just focus on AIDS and its related issues after introducing the HIV. When you need to do an essay on AIDS and HIV topics, you can refer to medical journals too. Aids essay and HIV essay are two different things leading to the same discussion; you need to differentiate while writing. Essay on Aids and essay on HIV require a little understanding of medical principles as well. Essay on AIDS and HIV can be written with a little understanding and comprehension of the concept. You can get help on Essay on AIDS and HIV from different sources including online sources. You can also acquire good custom Essays on HIV and AIDS from different online sources. The best way to find a quality Essay on AIDS and HIV is to see for the reliable companies. Reliable companies have a proven success record of custom writing. One of the reliable companies in custom writing business is CustomWritings.com. Writers at our company have expertise in writing Essay on AIDS and HIV   in MLA, APA, Harvard, Turabian, or Oxford style . They know the complexity of referencing and in text citation. Company has fool proof plagiarism control and prevention system. When you need any HIV and AIDS essay help or you need to buy a good quality original Essay on AIDS and HIV, you must visit us and place your order for a trouble free quality service.

Thinking and Decision Making Paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Thinking and Decision Making - Term Paper Example Generally, the reasoning put emphasis on the intellectual aspect of thinking. In addition, reasoning using ideas and meanings enables people to come to conclusions in the form of decisions. In thinking, analyzing the ideas and meanings in different ways involves elements of thought, generating reasoning, and leading to conclusion. The elements of thought include purpose, problem, conclusions, facts, assumptions, concepts, implications, and point of view (Paul & Elder, 2006). People think differently with some thinking systematically being referred to as analytical thinkers, whereas others think intuitively. Generally, people think with either the right or left hemisphere of brain dominance, though scholars encourage use of both hemispheres. According to Marquis & Huston (2008), people with the upper-left- brain dominance are analytical thinkers who like to work with factual data and numbers solving problems in a logical and rational way, while people with the lower-left-brain dominan ce are very organized and detail oriented, and like to work in a stable environment, value safety and security over risking. (p. 16) Based on the brain dominance, four different thinking styles exist, but this paper will discuss only three. Logical Thinking Thinking logically and selecting reasoning fallacies from one’s thinking and other’s thinking is the basis of critical thinking. ... Deductive reasoning involves use of syllogism, which is a three-step form of reasoning with two premises and a conclusion. There are three classes of syllogisms: the categorical, the hypothetical, and the disjunctive syllogisms. Categorical Syllogisms A categorical syllogism is an argument that involves statements that either affirm or deny that a subject is a member of a certain class or has certain property (Kirby & Goodpaster, 2007, Pg.157). An example of categorical syllogism is as follows: MAJOR PREMISE—All our teachers are tall MINOR PREMISE—Tom is one of our teachers CONCLUSION—Tom is tall. Tall is the predicate in this case because it is the property or class given to the subject found in premise and conclusion. Indeed, syllogisms are valid when the argument from premises to conclusion is accurate. Hypothetical Syllogisms A pure hypothetical syllogism is one in which the two premises, and the conclusion are hypothetical or conditional, and they normally t ake the form â€Å"if-then statements† (Kirby & Goodpaster, 2007, P.184). Disjunctive Syllogisms This is the kind of syllogism that involves use of â€Å"either† or â€Å"or† statements. Reasoning error of affirming a nonexclusive disjunct using â€Å"or† in a nonexclusive manner sometimes involves disjunctive syllogism. Inductive thinking normally â€Å"begins with a set of evidence or observations about some members of a class, or about some events† (Kirby & Goodpaster, 2007, P.197). Based on the evidence or observations, one makes a conclusion regarding other members of the class or about some events. The conclusion of inductive reasoning is normally highly probable, as they do not follow the observations with certainty. Scientific thinking Scientific thinking involves a structured way of reasoning

Small business taxation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Small business taxation - Essay Example Similarly, some activities of the incorporated may be economically similar to those of the unincorporated small businesses. These activities may be similar in economic terms but they are different legally and in terms of rights and obligations. Crawford and Freedman suggest that these different types of entities could be treated in the same way for tax purposes, but it may not be achievable to do so in a straight forward manner because differences in legal forms between such entities have significant practical implications on taxation. Some of the treatments of taxation of employees and self-employed people may be based on receipts and tax rates. Providing the same tax treatment in relation to receipts may not be possible because receipts vary in nature (Crawford & Freedman, 2008). Business receipts cannot be equated to employees’ receipts. Business receipts need to be treated under rules that may derive profit figure. Furthermore, receipts of companies still require to be deducted for the payment of salaries or shareholders’ dividends. In terms of similar tax rate across the small business spectrum, aligning tax rates to on different levels of income across the incorporated and unincorporated small businesse s requires the analysis of tax charged at both corporate and personal level. This is structurally difficult. The second reason why it is not possible to treat the two types of entities similarly in terms of tax rates and receipts for taxation purposes is because there is a trend in which labour is taxed differently from capital. Higher taxes are often levied on labour than on capital. This causes differentials in tax treatment for different small businesses. Due to this differential in tax rates, there is an incentive of reduced taxes for converting labour income into capital income if possible (Crawford & Freedman, 2008). Incorporation of a small or big business leads to higher scope of conversion of labour income such

Choosing a Right University Essay Example for Free

Choosing a Right University Essay Choosing a university is a serious life-decision, because a university is a model of the real world and a place to stay for four years. In a university, we can chase for genuine knowledge, expand social networking, and learn about how to interact with people, etc. If we choose the wrong school, we might miss a lot of opportunities to learn and experience. In order to choose the right university, we have three important factors to consider: academic resources, activity resources, and accessibility. Since studying is the first priority for a university student, there is no doubt that we should first consider whether the school contains the academic resources that fit our interest . On one hand, if the students have interests in disciplinary fields, then they should choose a comprehensive university instead of a single field university. On the other hand, for students who have interest in specific field, they should choose the school that is dominant in that particular field. That is to say, to investigate whether the school owns the academic capability of the field that we are curious about is vital. Besides studying, how the students spend their free time is the second important factor to think about. Do the students spend all their spare time fooling around, or play on-line games? Or do they have various opportunities to experience life? In other words, we have to know whether the school offers chances of meaningful experiences for student to explore the world, such as international conferences, enlightened speeches, exchange programs, volunteering works and student clubs, etc. After viewing academic and extracurricular resources provided by the school, we can then take a look at the accessibility of the school. The reason why the accessibility of school need to be considered carefully is because there are still lots of things happen out of the campus. For example, exhibitions, intern, and speeches etc. all take place in the city center. As a result, we need to check whether we have the convenient access to the city center, for having chances to get connection with the real world. Choosing an ideal university is a complicated matter, but follow the factors which mentioned above might help us cross out some unsuitable options. To conclude, first is to know about the academic background of the school, then to see what extracurricular opportunities the school offers, and finally to know whether the access from to the real world is convenient or not.

Essay on Obsession in Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Obsession in Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Webster defines obsession to be "Compulsive, often anxious preoccupation with a fixed idea or unwanted emotion." Or, "A compulsive, usually irrational idea or emotion." The strange thing about obsession is the absolute inability of the person, once obsessed, to understand their own actions in retrospect. Both Victor Frankenstien, of Marry Shelley’s Frankenstein, and Henry Jekyll, of Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde fit the criteria of one who is obsessed. With Victor Frankenstien, obsession came in the form of a lust for fame. Victor’s own word reflect his inability to understand or control his own actions. "a groan burst from his heaving breast. †¦ he spoke, in broken accents: Unhappy man! Do you share my madness? Have you drunk also of the intoxicating draught? Hear me; let me reveal my tale, and you will dash the cup from your lips!" Victor describes his actions as those of a man possessed by "madness," or one who is "intoxicated." In his refusal to take personal responsibility for his actions, he blames (four times ) destiny or fate. Victor’s actions are those of a man possessed by his own desires, turning a blind eye to the possible consequences of his actions until the completion of the event by which he was obsessed. Upon succeeding in reanimating a dead body, or more accurately the composition of parts from various dead bodies from both human and animal bodies, Victor recoils in horro r. "How can I describe my emotions at ... ...f for, are of no concern when compared to those of Victor and Henry. And yet, I think of them as being quite destructive in my own world. I suppose that by reading these novels, I can learn from their mistakes. Or, perhaps more honestly, I am obsessed with the vicarious thrill and terror that I experience through them. I hope, for my sake, that the former is true. Perhaps the reason I enjoyed these readings so much is that I identify with both Victor and Henry to a small extent. I know from experience that I am capable of being captured by an idea or desire. Perhaps the reason I so vehemently abhor the actions of these two characters is that I secretly fear that I would be susceptible to the same weaknesses that they were. Indeed, perhaps we all are.

Health Care Access Options Essay

Community can be defined as a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage (Dictionary.com, 2015). The health care needs of a community are contingent upon age, gender, race, and social class. This paper will address the marketing strategy of a web-based resource, walk-in clinic, and a retail clinic within one community. Research will cover the audience in which the organizations wish to target, how they market to The target audience, the effectiveness, and what could be done differently to improve marketing strategies. The Health Resources and Services Administration Maternal and Child Health web page is dedicated to helping women improve the health and wellness of their communities. The wealth of information provided allows women to educate themselves on a variety of topics. The mission of the Bright Futures for Women’s Health and Wellness Initiative (BFWHW) is to plan, develo p, implement, and evaluate a variety of culturally competent, evidence-based consumer, provider, and community tools for women across their lifespan. Materials help women of all ages achieve better physical, emotional, social, and spiritual health by encouraging healthy practices (US Health Resources & Services Administration, 2015). By providing easily downloaded toolkits or an 800 number if internet is not available, BFWHW targets the female audience effectively. By choosing to target only women, the site narrows its market. To improve and broaden their market, the site might add information that target men to educate first time fathers, suggest helpful tips for helping around the house, and provide information or links to support groups for men and teenagers. Cigna Urgent Care is the community walk in clinic. The featured services provided include primary care and pediatrics. Specialty services include outpatient surgery, podiatry, neurology, pharmacy, Health for seniors, imagery, and vision  centers (Cigna HealthCare of Arizona, 2015). The clinic provides care for every age, infants to seniors. Open to the public 365 days ou t of the year, and staff board certified doctors to treat a wide variety of conditions. One Saturday a month, the clinic offers well check-up appointments for women only. Targeting all audiences, with a focus on women’s health for convenience. Cigna also targets senior health, providing health education classes. The website allows easy access to information and is user-friendly. The marketing strategy is effective with olive branches extended to all generations, easy access to information, and several locations. Individuals can now receive health care services while shopping for groceries. CVS introduced minute clinic over a decade ago and now have over 800 locations nationwide (CVSHealth, 1999-2014). Targeting audiences that have very little time to schedule an appointment with a primary care physician, the minute clinics offer walk-in services for a variety of health care needs. Staffed by nurse practitioners and physicians assistants that specialize in family health care (CVSHealth, 1999-2014). The minute clinics accept most health insurance and offer flexible and affordable payment options to individuals with no health insurance or those who are underinsured (CVSHealth, 1999-2014). Practitioners diagnose, treat and write prescriptions for common family illnesses such as strep throat, bladder infections, pink eye, and infections of the ears, nose, and throat (CVSHealth, 1999-2014). Provide common vaccinations for flu, pneumonia, pertussis and hepatitis. (CVSHealth, 1999-2014). Treat minor wounds, abrasions, joint sprains, and skin conditions such as poison ivy, ringworm, lice, and acne. Provide a broad range of wellness services including TB testing, sports and camp physicals, and lifestyle programs such as smoking cessation and a medically based weight loss programs (CVSHealth, 1999-2014). Offer routine lab tests, instant results and education for those with diabetes, high cholesterol or high blood pressure (CVSHealth, 1999-2014). Provide care for adults and children 18 months and older for most services and share records with primary care provider with patient permission (CVSHealth, 1999-2014). The website offers a price list for all services provided, as well as educational information for a variety of health care issues. Being the official sports physical provider of Pop Warner Football, and official retail medical clinic of USA Football (CVSHealth, 1999-2014). is an  effective marketing strategy to target sports organizations in the community. The CVS minute clinic is successful in reaching all target audiences. The three health care organizations researched used effective marketing strategies to reach the target audience. Without research and effective marketing, an organization will set itself for failure. Targeting the desirable audience is the key to successf ul community clinics. References Cigna HealthCare of Arizona. (2015). Cigna Medical Group. Retrieved from http://www.cigna.com Communities. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved January 30, 2015, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/communities CVS.com. (1999-2014). Retrieved from http://www.cvs.com/minuteclinic/services CVSHealth. (1999-2014). Minute Clinic. Retrieved from http://www.cvs.com For Kids To Do. (2015). Retrieved from http://forkidstodo.net US Health Resources & Services Administration. (2015). HRSA. Retrieved from http://mchb.hrsa.gov/womenshealth/resources

Pure High Note Essay

A Pure, High Note of Anguish† by: Barbara Kingsolver Barbara Kingsolver’s â€Å"A Pure, High Note of Anguish,† expresses her painful grief in seeing innocent people die without having done anything to deserve it. To Americans, Kingsolver says â€Å"There are no worse days, it seems,† referring that 9/11 is the worst thing that’s ever happened in the world. Kingsolver symbolizes the children dancing in the street as the hatred that other countries have against the United States. Kingsolver believes asking, â€Å"Will this happen to me? is the wrong question because almost always people die without having done anything to deserve it. To Kingsolver, people almost always die without having done anything to deserve it. To this I agree. Over 3,000 people were killed during the attacks in New York City and Washington, D. C. , including more than 400 police officers and firefighters (History). As of June 2006, 1577 Louisiana residents had been confirmed as deceased as a result of Katina (Sharkey). Motor vehicle crashes in the United States result in more than 40,000 deaths per year (Hitti). Each year globally, 12. million people learn they have cancer, and 7. 6 million people die from the disease (CDC). As most people would think, every one of these victims are innocent people who do not deserve to die. As seen above, these causes of deaths can be from attacks, natural disasters, accidents, and diseases. Death is something that occurs in nature and it is both inevitable and final (Cole). No one knows when, where or how they will die. The only thing that is certain is no one deserves to die. Kingsolver states â€Å"There are no worst days, it seems,† meaning that this is the worst thing that has ever happened in the world. Maybe it was the worst thing to happen in the world at that time, but for all of history no. On December 26th, 2004, in Southeast Asia an earthquake occurred out at sea in the Indian Ocean, which immediately caused a deadly tsunami to happen. An estimated 230,000 people died (Wikramanayake). Do we Americans believe that is the worst thing to ever happen in the world? Of course not because we think 9/11 is the worst thing to ever happen to us. â€Å"September 11, 2001, stands as the defining event of the 21st century. It was the worst day of my life and the best day. It was the worst day because of the incomprehensible death, destruction and evil. September 11 was also the best day because it put on display the very finest human instincts — compassion, courage, kindness, selflessness† (Giuliani). These are the words of former New York Mayor Rudi Giuliani, who was the mayor during 9/11. Kingsolver’s child was wondering why there were children dancing in the streets after the news of 9/11. I actually thought the same and remember vividly watching when this occurred on the news. Kingsolver symbolizes these children dancing in the streets as people showing their hatred towards the United States. Everybody knows there has been much anti-Americanism in the Middle East (Tooley). Yet it is undeniable that many Middle Easterners have good reason, from their perspective, to hate the USA (Tooley). In Iraq, for example, it would be amazing indeed if the ferocious death rate among civilians — especially children — since the embargo and the steady number of civilian casualties from our continued bombing had not created feelings of hatred which would give cause for celebration now (Tooley). Kingsolver and others believe that our country needed to learn how to hurt from these attacks. I believe that is true and that we have also overcome the hurt. Al Qaeda’s intentions of these attacks were to break the United States down. But I believe that it only made the United States stronger as a nation and more aware of threats against us. Psychologically, the nation joined together in a unity that had not been seen since the end of World War II (Jensen). When it comes to our national security and our awareness of the threat from Islamic extremists, we are better prepared than we were but not as prepared as we should be. Our intelligence base is better and our airport security is better, for all its frustrations,† (Giuliani). â€Å"Will this happen to me? is the wrong question, I’m sad to say. † The question should really be, when will this happen to me? That question is unknown to everyone. No one can predict the moment of death (Scott). People wake up each day and have no clue what will happen to them.

The Body Shop strategy Essays

The Body Shop strategy Essays The Body Shop strategy Paper The Body Shop strategy Paper Essay Topic: Marketing On March 26th 1976 a young lady of 33 by the name of Anita Roddick who had a deep rooted passion for environmental activism and no prior business knowledge decided to open a small store in Brighton by the name of The Body Shop selling natural based, self mixed beauty produce that she had discovered from her travels throughout the South Pacific and Africa. Her main aim at the time was to support her husband who was travelling around America and their 2 young children. With the advice to try and earn  £300 a week from Gordon her husband she set about The Body Shops raise to global fame and influence. With just 25 hand mixed products in her Brighton store in 1976 and each product having 5 different bottle sizes to simply bulk up the shops shelves she has managed to transform the organisation to be harbouring over 1,954 stores world wide today. (Mintel : 03) The question has to be asked how has a woman with no prior business knowledge or education managed to achieve such a feat? Is Business knowledge meaningless? Were Body Shop simply headless and happen to stumble along the correct path? Or has The Body Shop operated cleverly and adopted unique strategies to differentiate themselves away from the norm? Throughout the following text we will discover the way in which The Body Shops historic strategy brought about its rise to world wide status and then later its decline. We will see the way the company has adjusted its strategy to try and halt this. This will then be followed by the evaluation of how both Porters five forces and SWOT analysis models may account for their success and the way in which they deal with the esoteric aspect of the body shops way of doing business. Corporate Strategy is concerned with the overall purpose and scope of the organisation to meet the expectations of owners or major stakeholders and add value to the different parts of the enterprise (Johnson, Scholes: 11) Since the early days of The Body Shop its strategy has always been to stand out and be different from the rest, the company statement alone portrays this The Body Shop International, A company with a difference (Company Statement) In fact The Body Shop was so different it was the first company to open up a new niche market with its natural based products. This strategy of going against the motion of traditional business practices was fundamental toward the rise of Body Shop. The body Shop was and still is based on the following business ethics as shown in figure one. In figure one we can see that The Body Shops aims differ substantially from most organisations in that it places emphasis on its ethical, social and environmental responsibility. This is shown by Anita Roddick saying: I would rather be measured by how I treat weaker and frailer communities I trade with than by how great are my profits (Body Shop international case Mintzberg, Quinn, Ghoshol : 99, 451) Many companies simply do not operate on this level and this one stance alone that differentiates Body Shop from the rest of its market. Consumers are fully aware of companies desires to obtain the biggest profits at almost any legal cost to the environment or society. Anita opened The Body Shop at a time when Europe was becoming greener, organisations such as green peace were being founded, knowledge and media interest were also on the rise so a company promoting good environmental ethics that concerned consumers brought about a large interest in the company. Therefore timing was also a key component of their strategy and this is acknowledged by Anita I am aware that success is more than a good idea. It is timing too. The Body Shop arrived just as Europe was going green (AnitaRoddick.com) Another key component for the company was Anita Roddicks ability to handle the media. Since the beginning of Body Shop she has used the media as her major tool of strategy in her search for success. Ever since she opened her shop in Brighton next door to two Funeral companies and was sued for her ironic choice of name she has used the media masterfully and to great advantage. The Body Shop never advertised in the conventional way. Usually advertising took place in an indirect way, not through the company but by word of mouth or through editorial coverage in magazines and newspapers. Roddick herself estimates that she generated around 2 million pound a year of free publicity (Body Shop international case Mintzberg, Quinn, Ghoshol : 99, 453) The press liked Anita and being forward with her opinions made her very quotable, in a sense they worked off each other. For the consumer this lack of conventional marketing really went against the usual ways of the beauty and cosmetics industry. Over 85 percent of its costs are packaging and advertising, The Body Shop simply ignores this. Charles Revlon founder of Revlon said In the store we sell hope, We are a dream machine (Body Shop international case Mintzberg, Quinn, Ghoshol : 99, 453) The Body Shop simply say There are no magic potions, no miracle cures, no rejuvenating creams, skin care products can do nothing more than cleanse, polish and protects thats it end of story! (Body Shop international case Mintzberg, Quinn, Ghoshol : 99, 448) This educates its consumers to know what to expect when purchasing Body Shop produce. No false hopes just the notion to simply to inform, usually via products labels, media. However as the early nineties arrived this strategy came under threat. Questions arose regarding the authenticity of The Body Shop claims of using natural products. Body Shop stepped down from this stance and acknowledged that some ingredients were in fact synthetic preservatives. They also had to step down from the claim that they didnt test their products on animals as they could not guarantee that this was the case with some third world suppliers. Instead they Are against animal testing These cases along with becoming the victim of its own success with ever increasing competition in its market we have seen Body Shops power and sales decline. Operating profits in the UK were just 4.9 Million with an operating profit margin of just 8.4% this was down by 57.0% since 1994 and the international profit margin was also down by 18.7% between 94-99. Shown in figure 2 (source: Mintel) These results brought about a large stimulus for change of strategy. In 1999 The Body Shop underwent an organisational and management shake-up which intended to reposition the group and rejuvenate its performance. Out went Anita Roddick and in came the likes of A. Bellamy (Executive Chairman), A Murray (Finance director) P. Saunders (Chief Executive Officer). Their new strategy started to run itself round cutting costs and improving efficiency. No longer were they manufacturing their own goods as they began to outsource to cut company costs. By February 2000 they had sold its Littlehampton manufacturing business to COSi. (Mintel: 03) It also saw of change of strategy regarding its marketing. They have moved from it stance against marketing and have now advertised through strategic advertising in select media and in terms of posters and billboards. They are slowing down the fast global expansion of The Body Shop through franchising and building to place resources in existing stores and buy existing franchises. This falls into the strategy of tighter control, costs and working capital to increase the profitability and cash generation. Its appears that despite core competences remaining with regards to ethics and social responsibility, well on the outside at least, Body Shop are trying to steady themselves among the raising competition whilst still trying to differentiate their selves. Theoretical and decision making models are a responsible way of accounting for an over view of the Body Shops success and Failure. I will discuss the following two frame works of SWOT (Design school, Mintzberg, Andrews) linked with the resource based ideology and Porters five forces (Positioning School, Porter: 85) we will over look the Body Shops Strategy by inserting the relative data into each frame work and then discussing it with reference to how the model deals with the esoteric aspects of body shops way of doing business. A swot analysis summarises the key issues from an analysis of the business environment and strategic capability of an organisation (Johnson, Scholes: 190) From SWOT analysis as written above a company is able to get an idea of its external environment and thus be able to exploit its competitors. Looking in Figure three we can see the SWOT analysis for The Body Shop in its current state. The SWOT analysis is spilt into four sections of analysis Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats and from this we can see the some of the strategies that have taken the Body Shop forward yet we can also assume the factors that have held it back. Take for example in the strengths section we can see most of the key historic and current strategies that have propelled Body Shop to its world wide status. The focus on its strong ethical and environmental credentials as well as its franchising schemes is seen as its major strengths. These have been with the company since the start and the companies strong ethical and environmental stance can be seen as its core competency that raises the company above its competition. The Weaknesses and threats in the analysis chart bring forth the concerns and challenges that face The Body Shop today. Suffering from its earlier success it shows how the competition has increased. An earlier SWOT analysis would have contained more capital and expansion threats and weaknesses as they were a new company starting in a new niche market now as Body Shop become Mature and its market exposed many firms have joined the band wagon of going green and being environmentally friendly. Most natural beauty retailers such as boots, LOreal are against animal testing and competition of natural products is ever increasing with supermarkets now producing their own brands. So how The body Shop differentiates itself, manages its weaknesses and exploits its opportunities is a now dilemma that Body Shop must face. Five forces analysis is a means of identifying the forces which affect the level of competition in an industry (Johnson, Scholes: 1998) M. Porter sees competition as the core of the success or failure of firms (Wit, Meyer : 345) and that the essence of formulating competitive strategy is by relating a company to its environment (Porter: 3) Therefore he designed a frame workforce to that shows state of competition in an industry which is based around five forces. We can see these five forces and what they involve in figure 4. As we can see it is in a rather simplified format regarding the amount of the detail it goes into. Porter actually goes into more depth and detail regarding his texts, therefore simplified models of the five forces are not as informative as it could possibly be so should be considered as a framework for further analysis. However for use in the case of Body Shop and the word constraint it still can provide us with a useful knowledge of the environment that Body Shop is facing and how it accounts for it success and failings Firstly considering the threat of substitution for Body Shop products we can consider this to be high. Body Shop is in direct competition with the beauty industry both natural and unnatural. As competition in its niche market increases substitution becomes a bigger threat. This is certainty is a hindrance to Body Shop currently. However the threat of substitutes has actually helped in this case, Porter asks the question of whether or not a substitute poses the threat of obsolescence to a firms product or service, or actually provides a higher perceived benefit or value (wit, meyer : 120) This covers the case of the Body Shop actually providing beauty products but actually only providing natural ones. This means that Body Shop in the case of this model have been able to add value by offering a natural alternative to typical ones, this has been one of the key factors of The Body Shops success. Therefore this section of the model accounts for both success and failure for the Body Shop. The potential entrants force also provides an account of the success of the Body Shop. Porter states that the treat on entry is dependant on barriers to entry. Within the six major forces that affect the barriers we can account for the product differentiation of Body Shop acting as an entry barrier. During the 80s Body Shop had established itself as the original and leading retailer of natural based cosmetics with a good brand image. This formed a consumer loyalty base and has acted as a deterrent for potential entrants, as building a brand up is very costly especially against the flow of success that the Body Shop were experiencing. This barrier is perhaps the most important entry barrier for baby products, over the counter drugs, cosmetics (Porter :9) All of which are connected also with the SWOT analysis of the firm. However as the nineties came forth Body Shop suffered some damaging anti natural claims as well an apparent lack of ability to re-invent itself possibly saw the consumer become accustomed to Body Shop as well as possibly becoming down hearted with body shops reversal on some of its claims. Then seemed a good time for more competitors to try and enter the market. Larger cosmetics companies such as LOreal, Boots had resources to be able to defeat another major barrier of Porters in regards to distribution channels. These competitors already had secure logical forms of distribution in terms for their numerous stores both nationally and globally. This gives them a substantial starting base to promote their selves within a new product market. Supermarkets are now also using distribution channels as a means of entering the natural cosmetics sectors. Both Asda and Sainsburys have their own ranges already as well a massive store base.

How Depth of Knowledge Drives Learning and Assessment

How Depth of Knowledge Drives Learning and Assessment Depth of Knowledge- also referred to as DOK- refers to the depth of understanding required to answer or explain an assessment-related item or a classroom activity. The concept of depth of knowledge was developed in the 1990s through research by Norman L. Webb,  a scientist at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research. DOK Background Webb originally developed depth of knowledge for mathematics and science standards. However, the model has been expanded and used in language arts, mathematics, science, and history/social studies. His model has increasingly become more popular in state assessment circles. The complexity of an assessment task is increasingly more difficult because the level often increases requiring multiple steps to complete. Does this mean that learning and assessment should not include level 1 tasks? On the contrary, learning and assessment should include a diversified set of tasks requiring students to exhibit a range of problem-solving skills within each level of complexity.  Webb identified four distinct depth of knowledge levels. Level 1 Level 1 includes basic recall of facts, concepts, information, or procedures- the rote learning or memorization of facts- an essential component of learning. Without a strong foundation of basic knowledge, students find it difficult to perform more complex tasks. Mastering level 1 tasks builds a foundation allowing students to attempt to complete higher-level tasks successfully. An example of level 1 knowledge would be: Grover Cleveland was the 22nd president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889. Cleveland was also the 24th president from 1893 to 1897. Level 2 Level 2 depth of knowledge  includes skills and concepts such as the use of information (graphs) or solving problems that require two or more steps with decision points along the way. The foundation of level 2 is that it often requires multiple steps to solve. You must be able to take what is there and fill in certain gaps. Students cannot simply recall the answer though some prior knowledge, as is the case with level 1. Students must be able to explain how or why in level 2 items. An example of a level 2 DOK would be: Compare and contrast a composite, cinder cone, and shield volcano. Level 3 Level 3 DOK includes strategic thinking that requires reasoning and is abstract and complex. Students must analyze and evaluate complex real-world problems with predictable outcomes. They must be able to reason their way through the problem logically.  Level 3 questions often require students to pull from multiple subject areas using a range of skills to come up with a solution that works. An example would be: Write a persuasive essay, citing evidence from other sources such as text, to convince your school principal to allow students to have and use their cell phones in class. Level 4 Level 4 includes extended thinking such as an investigation or application to solve complex real-world problems with unpredictable outcomes. Students must strategically analyze, evaluate, and reflect over time often having to change their approach on their way to coming up with an amicable solution. An  example of this level of knowledge would be: Invent a new product or create a solution that solves a problem or helps make things easier for someone within the confines of your school. DOK in the Classroom Most classroom assessments consist of level 1 or level 2 type questions. Level 3 and 4 assessments are more complex to develop, and they are also more difficult for teachers to score.  Yet, students need to be exposed to a variety of tasks at differing levels of complexity to learn and grow. Level 3 and 4 activities are challenging in different ways for both students and teachers, but they also offer many benefits that level 1 and level 2 activities cannot provide. Teachers would be best served by using a balanced approach when deciding how to implement depth of knowledge into their classrooms.

Graduation Speech of Pupils Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Graduation Speech of Pupils - Essay Example Indeed the education is expensive but it is even more expensive to play ignorant. Our parents have done everything not just pay our school fees but also provide us with the basic needs and see us to through our studies in a smooth manner. Teachers on their part have on a daily basis held our hands as we walk past the many milestones that define our eleven year journey of education. You taught us in class, you taught us out of class, offered moral support and encouraged us never to give up on our dreams. Surely, you teachers and parents have denied yourselves a lot and given to us more than enough. We have no better words thank you. I want to say that as we graduate, we need not be awarded with medals so as to prove that there is something very special within us. We are all blessed, talented and are worth a part on the back. This day is all about celebrating the talents and knowledge that walk away with as we graduate. I guess all for a long time have been imagining what the graduation day would look like. I admit that personally, I have vivid memories of every imagined scene about this day. To my fellow classmates, I must emphasize that this has been long journey marked with hard work so as to come out of here as changed persons. We did not imagine surviving the roller coaster ride of schooling and being here to celebrate eventually. Indeed this has been a long journey. As I come to the end, I must say what we are now through with is just but a milestone and it that time for us to move on to even bigger fights for our lives. All we learned in class and out of class while here will give us the base to stand on as get through the next stages of education. We learned not only formulas, poems, and other things in class but also life skills outside class. We learned how to work independently, in teams and more importantly to appreciate our friends in their uniqueness. Everything we

Self assessment paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Self assessment paper - Essay Example This shows that I am a people - focused individual living in a world of people possibilities and do have excellent people skills. Analysis My BIG 5 Personality Test also shows that I am an extrovert who shows concern with other people’s needs. It shows that I am a person who sets clear goals and ultimately pursues them with zeal and determination. People often regard me as a hardworking and a reliable person. This works very well with me as a team leader. I am also exceptionally calm, unflappable and composed and I do not retort with extreme emotions, even to situations that a good number people would depict as stressful. I also like thinking in plain terms and not in complexities. People consider me as conservative, practical and down-to-earth. This is ideal for my team as I am able to mingle and work well with other members to achieve good results. Personal Needs Description After a thorough self-assessment on my personal needs, I have extensively done a lot of soul-searchin g of myself and I have done a comprehensive analysis of who I am and a better understanding of myself. Analysis I have good listening skills, which I rely on to ensure that workers are more productive. My good listening skills have enabled me to better understand my team of workers and to know their expectations of me as a team leader. It helps me to build a rapport with my team and my superiors. Since I work better in a team-based environment, my listening skills have enabled me to show support, resolve problems with my team, answer questions correctly and find underlying meaning in what others say. I have tips that enable me to listen well which include maintaining eye contact, being attentive, nodding my head, leaning towards the speaker, never interrupting the speaker, always replicating instructions and soliciting suitable questions when the speaker has closed his address. As a good listener, I know that being attentive to what the speaker does not say is as important as being attentive to what he does say. I also look for non-verbal cues such as facial expressions and posture to get the full glimpse of what the speaker is telling me. I know I am a good listener since I know how to minimize external distractions in order to concentrate fully on what I am being told. I respond fully to the person speaking to me and focus solely on the main topic under discussion with an open mind to draw sufficient information from what is being said. I never take offense or become defensive even where the speaker criticizes me. Instead, I do take criticism positively and totally engage myself as I seek clarification (K Singh, 2012). Motivation is the reason for my actions. Motivation is the feelings and thoughts that make us covet to do something, persist in wanting to do it and turn our wishes into action. A number of factors that motivate me include money, bonuses, future promotion, my job, good working relationships, job security and a favorable working environment. I also do get a lot of motivation when I see satisfied team working under happy customers and me. I thrive in meeting my given deadlines and surpassing my targets. An enabling environment is essential to achieve desired goals; given that environment, I can and do surpass almost any work related target placed before me (Singh, 2012). Team Preference Roles Description On the team preference roles, I am both a gatekeeper and a moderate encourager since I have a strong tendency of encouraging my team