Unit 9 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Unit 9 - Assignment Example There is a basic difference between management accounting and financial accounting. While the former provides necessary information to the management so that they can make right decisions for the company, the latter provides financial data to the shareholders, creditors and other stakeholders so that they can get information about past and present conditions of the company. Management accounting provides information about future trend of the company as managers need this information to make long term decisions while financial accounting provides factual data to shareholders and creditors so that they assess the performance of the company as their funds are in stake. One major purpose of management accounting is to provide cost information about products and services. Costs are classified into five broad groups – behavior, traceability, controllability, relevance, and function. Behavior costs can be fixed, variable or mixed. Fixed costs do not change with increase in the volume of production like rent, variable costs can increase with increase in the volume of production like wages and cost of raw materials, and mixed costs are combination of both fixed and variable costs. Traceability costs can be direct costs that are incurred specifically for production like wages of factory workers, and indirect costs that cannot be specified as specific cost of production like salaries of office employees. Controllability costs can be controllable like wages of workers since number of labors can be reduced with proper management, and uncontrollable costs like house rent has to be paid irrespective of the volume of production. Costs of relevance can be sunk, out-of-pocket, and opportunity costs. Sunk costs are those expenses that have been made and cannot be recovered like costs incurred in installing a machinery which turns out to be unproductive.

God - Religion Essay Example for Free

God Religion Essay 1. Metaphysics Metaphysics is the study of â€Å"reality. † More specifically it is the study of reality that is beyond the scientific or mathematical realms. The term â€Å"metaphysics† itself literally means â€Å"beyond the physical. † The metaphysical issues most discussed are the existence of God, the soul, and the afterlife. 2. Epistemology This philosophy study concerns human knowledge: what knowledge is, what the conditions are which make human knowledge possible and the extent to which human knowledge can grasp or reach. 3. Morality is the differentiation of intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and those that are bad. Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of conduct from a particular philosophy, religion, culture, etc. , or it can derive from a standard that a person believes should be universal. 4. Philosophy of God God is characterized as the metaphysically ultimate being (the first, timeless, absolutely simple, and sovereign being, who is devoid of any anthropomorphic qualities), in distinction to other conceptions such as Theistic Personalism, Open Theism, and Process Theism. Despite extensive writing on the nature of God, these classical theists did not believe that God could be defined. They believed that it would contradict the transcendent nature of God for mere humans to define him. 5. Philosophy of Religion is the branch of philosophy that is concerned with the philosophical study of religion, including arguments over the nature and existence of God, religious language, miracles, prayer, the problem of evil, and the relationship between religion and other value-systems such as science and ethics. Philosophy of Religion is the branch of philosophy that is concerned with the philosophical study of religion, including arguments over the nature and existence of God, religious language, miracles, prayer, the problem of evil, and the relationship between religion and other value-systems such as science and ethics.

Coaching Session Using the GROW Model

Coaching Session Using the GROW Model This study looks to conduct a coaching session with one individual. In order to do this effectively, a range of coaching techniques will be drawn upon using empirical research. As this study cannot cover all areas of coaching research, we will only focus on areas that will directly influence the implementation of the coaching session and therefore topics have been carefully chosen to suit the GROW model and the coaching relationship. Once a good base of literature is collected, the paper will then apply these guidelines to develop an evidence-based framework to implement. In order to assess the success of this framework, a self-reflection log and client feedback will be documented to evaluate the impact of the session on a more personal level. A discussion will also be formed to critical assess the data collected. This will help to understand any implications and improvements for future practice. GROW is arguably the most well-known approach used in coaching (Palmer Whybrow, 2007; 2009; Palmer, 2011; Grant, 2011). Although the GROW model has been around since the early 1990s (Whitmore, 1992), it has only been empirically measured over the last decade (Alexander Renshaw, 2005). It is a behavioural model that focuses on external behaviour and how it is adapted. The coaching relationship is one that is similar to Socrates and Plato, where the coach uses open-ended questions to help move the coachee through each of the four steps. By moving through these four steps the coachee enhances their performance and moves closer towards achieving their self-chosen goal. These four interrelated steps are: Goals; Reality; Options; and Way Forward. The definitions of these can be found in table 1. Goal setting is seen as the start of a â€Å"GROW journey† which then moves into reality which helps the coach gain understanding of where they are currently (Grant, 2011). GROW description table with example questions. Sourced: Grant Greene, 2004; Whitmore, 1992. Although research suggests that having a basic structure like GROW in place is effective, many would argue that GROW alone is incomplete. McKenna and Davis (2009) developed four ‘active ingredients’ that directly affect the success of the coaching outcome. These include: Client factors (40%) The relationship (30%) Placebo or hope (15%) Theory and technique (15%) These percentages suggest that the success of coaching largely due to the coachee’s own processes and the coach’s ability to develop and maintain a robust coaching relationship. It further argues that applying GROW to the session will only contribute a small part to the coaching outcome. Therefore, a primary focus on building the relationship as the coach cannot control intrinsic factors of the coachee. Since these findings, more research has been published to argue the importance of the relationship (De Haan, 2011; 2013) and linking it to outcomes (Ianiro et al., 2012). Passmore (2007) suggests that a coach needs to invest more into the relationship when the group of participants is smaller. Passmore (2007) further states that the relationship is most fragile at the beginning because this is when coachees are unsure whether they trust or like their coach. A relationship built on trust and respect is not a new concept to psychology. To build a relationship effectively, Rogers (1957), a humanistic writer, suggested that a successful therapeutic relationship relies on a series of factors. Firstly, the coach needs to hold a positive self-image. This implies that coaches with high self-esteem construct stronger relationships. This may reflect â€Å"I’m ok† from the Transactional Analysis model (TA). Secondly, the coach must believe that the coachee is able to find the answers to their own problems. This may reflect the â€Å"you’re ok† in TA. Passmore (2007) adds that a coachee’s self-esteem rises when they feel that their coach believes in their ability. Thirdly, the coach must be able to empathise with the coachee throughout their relationship. Fourthly, the coach needs to act with integrity in the relationship. Lastly, the coach must work with the sole objective of meeting the needs of the coachee. Rodgers (1957) meta-research findings were written over 70 years ago, but still have an impact on recent theory and practice (Passmore, 2007). More recently, Passmore (2007) also added that the coach must be non-judgemental of the coachee for the coaching relationship to be successful. These findings are potentially a good framework for developing the coaching relationship, however are not sufficient to maintain it. Passmore (2006) published a study looking at whether executives value the outcome of coaching. They found that a coaching relationship is not solely based on trust and respect. The coach must be able to create an environment that optimises achieving goals. In order to do this effectively, the coach must be able to firstly monitor their own behaviours and feelings. Secondly, monitor the behaviours and feelings of the coachee and the coach needs to manage his or her emotions. Lastly, adapt behaviours appropriately to maintain both professional detachment and empathetic supp ort. These are all key components of emotional intelligence (EI) which have been linked to forming and maintaining effective relationships (Stein Book, 2000). If a highly effective coach is one that uses transference and countertransference effectively (able to transfer or redirect feelings from one to another), then a coach needs to be aware of the dangers of an unbalanced power dynamic forming (Pezet, 2007). Instead, a successful power dynamic that surrounds the relationship must have the best interests of the coachee at heart. Otherwise, the coach may be seen as a â€Å"superhero or supervillian† neither of which fit into the â€Å"I’m ok, you’re ok† approach mentioned earlier. An approach to reduce the likelihood of an unbalanced power dynamic forming is to set all expectations at the start of the relationship. This allows the coachee and the coach to know what to expect from the relationship. There are also guidelines available for coaces which are provided by their chosen professional association. There is a range of coaching associations available. Popular associations include International Coaching Federation (ICF), Association for Coaching (AC) and the British Psychological Society Special Group of Coaching Psychology (SGCP). The ICF and AC are popular associations within the industry, but they do not align with the practice of SP. SGCP are one of the few associations where SP as a primary focus. As a result, this report abides to the SGCP ethical regulations, as the practice of SP is essential when working as an Organisational Psychologist. Please see appendix C for a clear understanding of all the SCGP guidelines considerations needed when designing and implementing a coaching session. In order to create an effective coaching session, a coach must firstly set expectations with the coachee to reduce any conflict or power dynamic forming. The coach must further create a relationship based on trust and respect. This can be achieved by adopting an EI approach to coaching, as well as being high in self-efficacy and able to put any agenda they have aside. Lastly, in order to be an effective coach psychologist, one should follow the ethical guidelines of SGCP. Methodology Participant- 93 The participant involved in this study has been recruited online from a Social Media advert posted on a social media site. In order to achieve a coaching relationship with no power dynamic, the participant is an individual that is not close to me. However, as I am not insured nor am I officially signed to SGCP, the client I have chosen is someone that is in my network. I have chosen these specifics as this participant is the safest option and still allows enough distance to prevent any pre-determined dynamic effecting the session. Establishing the Coaching Relationship- 243 In order to set expectations effectively, a welcome pack (appendix C) and a coaching contract (appendix D) was generated explaining what coaching is and asked the coachee a few questions about their: Expectations of the coaching process Expectations of the coach Expectations of the coachee Experience of therapeutic relationships (what they found to be a good/poor approach) How they would like to be treated within the coaching relationship if challenged A coaching contract is also a part of the welcome pack. The contract further sets expectations of the coaching relationship, e.g. logistics of the coaching session and set expectations of coaching and the coachee. Both the contract and the welcome pack state clearly that an SGCP ethics guideline sheet will be provided if requested. It should be noted that, the contract will state that all details about the coachee will be kept anonymous. Once these questions have been answered, a follow-up phone call will be arranged with the client. This helps to cement expectations by both parties answering any questions. We will then arrange a time and date for a session that is suitable for both parties. For my own record keeping, I will also keep a confidential record online of the coachee’s details and create a spreadsheet log of my coaching (Appendix D) Conducting the Coaching Session- 139 The session will be conducted in a meeting room in City University Library. This location is neutral to both parties to keep the power dynamic balanced and the session undisturbed. Both parties will have their phones switched off to ensure no interruptions. I will further arrange the chairs so that they are sitting next to one another is a less intimidating stance for both parties (STUDY). The coach and coachee will be provided with a pen and paper for note taking. As a means of gauging the success of the session, the client will fill in a short Likert scale questionnaire before and after the session (See appendix E). Diagram 1: Seating positions of coach and coachee In the 60-minute session, the coach will follow the GROW model (see Diagram 2) using the framework set in table 1. The session will commence with a tighter structure at the beginning, but the structure of the session will become less tight as the session moves in ‘R’ and ‘O’. However, once heading into ‘W’, the session will become tighter again. Allowing flexibility in ‘R’ and ‘O’ gives the client creative freedom to explore their situation and their options. Please see Diagram 3 for a clear understanding. Diagram 2: GROW MODEL PROCESS Diagram 3: Dimensions of Session Structure Once the session is complete, the client will be advised to email a week later with any homework and feedback from the session. This aims to give the client accountability and give leverage their self-chosen goal. A final questionnaire will be sent to the coachee to see whether their motivation has fluctuated from the previous. Follow-up from client 480 â€Å"Coaching was an overall good experience. I particularly liked being given permission to speak about my passion! I also enjoyed breaking things down into small manageable goals- smaller than I usually would. I further enjoyed indentifying where motivations like, or is enjoyable about work. The questions were sometime difficult but they were thought-provoking and forced me to consider things from a different perspective. However, a little more input would have been helpful. I realise the point is for you to get me thinking, but possibly some suggestions of your own, or things that other people have tried might help when Im stuck on finding an answer for something. I am happy with the general dynamic. I think the style of a semi-structured conversation works well, it let us explore things as they came up but also felt like there was a clear process. As a person I think youre very approachable and friendly but you keep a strong focus at the same time so that works well.† Self-Reflection- 308 I have written a self-reflection report to clear my thoughts on the session and improve my self-awareness and skill set. In this session, the client initially came into the session with a long-term goal and so most of the session was spent breaking it down. I did my best to help the client find their tangible first step that they can achieve in the short term and provided the coachee with homework to research and evaluate different options. However, I felt that more work could have been done to add value to the goal. For instance, I could have spoken about the benefits and consequences of achievement more. I could have also done more work on drawing out client’s strengths and highlighting previous success strategies. This would build on their ‘can-do’ attitude, which could increase the quality of actions they may generate in their homework and make it much more likely to leave with a specific idea of what resources to research when completing their homework. Nonetheless, I feel that I was able to challenge my coachee and was unafraid to question their commitment to action, their motivation and the possible consequences of inaction. Additionally, I feel that I was able to active listen without having the urge to interrupt or give advice, with only the urge to interrupt once to provide a suggestion. I tackled this by asking the client’s permission to give the suggestion and provided two other options alongside it. I did not so that the choice of action was still in their hands. Lastly, I made sure to paraphrase and summarise using the client’s words (i.e. habit, energy, focus) at every milestone in the session. I did this by writing down key words being said by the coachee. This helps both the coachee and I gain understanding and reflection on what was previously said.

Revolution Girl-style Now! Essay -- essays research papers fc

Revolution Girl-Style Now! Riot Grrrls were originally born out of the â€Å"Punk† scene where rebellion was expressed in attitude, appearance, style, and music. Defining Riot Grrrl is much like defining Punk. There is no central organization, no authoritive definition, just an attitude concerned with pointing out social hypocrisy and empowering people to â€Å"do it yourself†, creating a culture of their own when they see that the mainstream media does not reflect their concerns or provide outlets for their efforts. Riot Grrrl is a supportive environment for girls and young women which is concerned with feminist issues such as rape, abortion rights, bulimia/anorexia, sexism, sexuality, double standards, self-defense, fat oppression, classism, and racism. Riot Grrrl is a network of fanzines that are produced by the angry â€Å"girl revolutionaries† who identify with the music that is associated with Riot Grrrl. The fanzines, self-designed and self-written, uncensored and uninhibited photocopied publications, are often intensely personal. That personal outlet is translated to larger political action when the fanzines are available to the public, bringing people together for conventions and other consciousness-raising activities. The ethos is about supporting each other and empowering each other. In actuality, Riot Grrrl is a frame of mind. It's a way for them to come together in a common cause: â€Å"Revolution Girl-Style Now!†. Since no specific person or people claim they created it, Riot Grrrl has meant many things to many people. Most girls do not attempt to define it anymore. â€Å"EVERY GRRRL IS A RIOT GRRRL. All you need is a healthy dose of pissed-of-ness at the treatment of womyn in our society. We are NOT all punk, all white, all lesbians, all musicians, all fanzine editors, all vegetarians, all victims of abuse, all straight edge. There is no ‘stereotypical' Riot Grrrl.† (Knight 9) The early Riot Grrrl scene was a â€Å"loose-knit† affiliation of feminist Punks, formed circa 1991 in Olympia, Washington and Washington D.C. The philosophy of â€Å" do it yourself† and â€Å"you can do anything† seemed to apply mostly to boys, who were the ones making the music and dictating the styles. By the early ‘90s, more and more girl bands started springing up, but ironically they found themselves battling sexism and discrimination within a movement originally based in a consciousness about youth ... ...ther in a common cause: â€Å"Revolution Girl-Style Now!†. Bibliography Carlip, Hillary. Girl Power: Young women speak out. New York: Warner Books, Inc., 1995 "Grrrls kick ass!". Online. Available HTTP: http://www. Micoks.net:80/~ tiffani/girl.html Hanok, Emily. The Girl Within. New York:Fawcett Books, 1989 Knight, Zain. Luster fanzine. San Fransisco. Madhu.. "Riot Grrrl". Online. Available HTTP: http://www.angelfire.com/nj/alienshe/grrrl.html Orviro, Rachel. "I Am a Girl". Online. Available HTTP: http://www. voiceofwomen.com/sac/girl.html. Pipher, Mary, Ph.D. Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls. New York: Ballantine Books, 1995 "REVOLUTION GIRL STYLE NOW!". Online. Available HTTP: http://www. Smu.edu/~hnovales/girl.html Sam. "I AM XL & PROUD". Kingfish fanzine. SanDiego. Spirit. "What is a Riot Grrrl anyway?". Online. Available HTTP: http://www. columbia.edu:80/~ril 3/music-html/bikini kill/girl.html "So What the heck is Riot Grrrl?". Online. Available HTTP: http://www. indieweb.com/riotgrrrl/rg-perplexed.html Wilson, Jodi. Crisco fanzine. San Fransisco.

Opinions and Social Pressure Essay

In â€Å"Opinions and Social Pressure â€Å"(Solomon E. Asch), author shows that: Group pressure can Influence an Individual to deny the evidence of their own senses. The author supports the main Idea , by using experimental studies with individuals and showing that when put in group settings and asked to answer questions, which make their answers the minority answer. In the first study seven to nine college students gathered for a â€Å"psychological experiment†. The students were informed that they would be comparing the lengths of lines tended to surrender their own judgment to the others, in the same experiment. In the first experiment all the students choose the same matching line. Again in the second experiment the students are unanimous. The third experiment took on a surprise. As the group continued to answer unanimously one student disagrees. Even though this single student answers all his questions correctly he begins to to worry and second guesses his own answers. What the student didn’t know ,is that all the other students in the group were told to give incorrect answers. When the majority size decreases, the individual in the minority tends to contribute independently out of his own experiences, rather than conforming with the majority. The next experiment consisted of 123 subjects from three different colleges. two of them allowed the subject to act independently. Normally subjects made a mistake 1 % of the time and went with the majority and the minority mislead the majority’s judgement in 36. 8% of the time. The study provided evidence that when an individual’s resistance to group pressure, depends on the degree on how wrong the majority is. The study also brought up concern that in a society that requires consensus as a indispensable condition, it also requires society to have each individual to contribute independently.

Fascism essays

Fascism essays Fascism is defined as a system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism. Fascism takes many forms, but despite the many forms that fascism takes, all fascist movements are rooted in two major historical trends. First, in late 19th-century Europe mass political movements developed as a challenge to the control of government and politics by small groups of social elites or ruling classes. For the first time, many countries saw the growth of political organizations with membership numbering in the thousands or even millions. Second, fascism gained popularity because many intellectuals, artists, and political thinkers in the late 19th century began to reject the philosophical emphasis on wisdom and progress that had emerged from the 18th-century intellectual movement, called the Enlightenment. Adolf Hitler was Chancellor of Germany during World War II. He transformed Germany into a military state, based on the beliefs of Nazism, making Germany an Anti-Semitic, Nationalist state. During his rule, he expanded his empire, conquering most of Europe, and some African states, in an effort to conquer the world. His Germany was a state of racial purity. Millions of Jews, Gypsies, Slavs, and non-Germanic people were slaughtered, because they were considered inferior. The slaughter of the millions of people became known as the Holocaust. Germany and the axes lost World War II, and Hitler committed suicide in 1945. Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) Benito Mussolini was dictator of Italy from 1922 to 1943. He was the founder and leader of Il Duce, or Italian Fascism. Mussolini joined the Germans in the Second World War, and following their example, he also had millions of Jews slaughtere ...

Social ontology Essay Example

Social ontology Essay Example Social ontology Essay Social ontology Essay Ontology is concerned with the nature of the reality to a greater extent than epistemological considerations, this raises questions of the assumptions researchers have about the way the world operates and commitment held to particular views. Questions of social ontology are concerned with the nature of social entities. The central point of orientation here is the question of whether social entities can and should be considered objective entities that have a reality external to social factors or whether they can and should be considered social constructions built up from the perceptions and actions of social actors. (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2006, p.108). Objectivism; and Constructivism are examples of ontological positions. Objectivism is an ontological position that asserts that social phenomena and their meanings have an existence that is independent of social actors (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2006, p.108).  Constructivism is an ontological position that asserts that social phenomena and their meanings are continually being accomplished by social actors (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2006, p.108). EPISTEMOLOGY Epistemology is defined as a branch of philosophy that studies the nature of knowledge and what constitutes acceptable knowledge in a field of study. (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2006, p.102). There are primarily two constracting research approaches- Positivist and Interpretivist.  A positivist researcher has a belief that the world conforms to fixed laws of causation; that there is a complexity that can be tackled by reductionism; and that asserts an emphasis on objectivity, measurement, and repeatability. These researchers have both a realist and an objective view of the world. The methodologies most often used by positivist researchers include quantitative analysis, confirmatory analysis, deduction, laboratory experiments, and nomothetic experiments (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2006, p.103). An interpretivist researcher believes there is no universal truth. This type of researcher understands and interprets from his/her own frame of reference. He/She believes that uncommitted neutrality is impossible and realism of context is important. These researchers have both a relativist and a subjective view of the world. The methodologies most often used by interpretivist researchers include qualitative analysis, exploratory analysis, induction, field experiments, and idiographic experiments (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2006, p.106).  Ã‚  Nomothetic methodology focuses on an examination of regularities and relationship to universal laws, while ideographic approaches centre on reason why indivudual create and interpret their world in a particular way (Putnam, 1983; 41). HUMAN NATURE Assumptions about human nature are deterministic or voluntarist. One views individuals as product of their environment; the other believes individuals create their own environment (Putnam, 1983; 36).  My Ontological are based on constructivism because I think that knowledge is socially constructed. My research is very much interpretivist in terms of epistemology because of the fact that this study is subjective and it might vary from one student to another. My research is Qualitative in nature. 3. RESEARCH STRATEGY Research strategy can be used for explanatory, descriptive and explanatory research (Yin, 2003). As my assumption are based on constructivism and interpretivism so my research is qualitative in nature because it involves analysis and experience of International Students who have been the victim of crime and does it affect them mentally and in their studies? And to those students who have not experienced this but how do they feel even if they think about it and whether they find this country safe or not. The data that I have generated from this study is completely interpretive and not Quantitative in nature. From the constructionist point of view we get all the facts from the people, they are the actual one where anyone can get the truth. Hence, it is meaningful to make this choice. In Quantitative method the researchers:  1) Review conceptual framework and relationships to be studied. 2) Prepare data for analysis.  3) Determine if research involves descriptive analysis or hypothesis testing.  4) Conduct analysis.  5) Evaluate findings to assess whether they are meaningful. (Hair, Money, Samouel and Page, 2007; p.304)  And this is clearly not my area in what I am doing my research on.  There are many approaches to conduct qualitative research, but four of them are widely used which includes Phenomenology, Ethnography, Grounded Theory and Case Study. (Hair, Money, Samouel and Page, 2007; p.289). I used Phenomenology approach in my research strategy as I intend to interpret the experience in relation to those students who have been the victim to crime and to those students who are scared and have not experienced this and I also want to know that how does it affect them mentally and in their studies. When I am doing this research I as a researcher should set aside my feelings and ideas that I have on this issue. PHENOMENOLOGY is a qualitative research method that studies human experiences and consciousness. It is the study of phenomena, or how things appear in our experiences, the way we experience things and therefore the meanings things have in our experiences. Phenomenological studies examine conscious experiences from the first person (interviewer or observer) point of view, ranges from experiences involving perception thoughts, desires, memories, emotions and imagination to bodily awareness and social interactions. These studies sometimes are referred to as lived experiences because they focus on how human behaviour is shaped by relationships with ones physical environment, including objects, people and situations. A specialized field of phenomenology is hermeneutics, which attempts to understand and explain human behaviour based on an analysis of stories people tell about themselves. (Hair, Money, Samouel and Page, 2007; p.289).

How effective was Henry VII as a Monarch Essay Example

How effective was Henry VII as a Monarch Essay Example How effective was Henry VII as a Monarch Essay How effective was Henry VII as a Monarch Essay Throughout the course of Henrys reign, there were various uprisings against him, not only because he was a usurper to the throne, but also because he had very little history in England. In 1485-86 there were few minor risings in the Midlands and the North, which were of little significance and were dealt with efficiently; Henry showed his seriousness through the execution of Humphrey Stafford after his treacherousness. A more serious threat than the aforementioned was the situation surrounding Lambert Simnel, which was potentially very serious as it led to the Battle of Stoke in 1487.However, after three hours of intense battle the Kings army had the Yorkists surrounded, and most of the key leaders were killed. Again, to show his seriousness Henry charged 28 of the opposing nobles with attainder and sentenced Symonds, the orchestrator, to life imprisonment. In 1489 there was a rebellion in York which was a relatively small tax opposed rebellion which Henry was able to deal with, aide d by the Earl of Surrey, who defeated the rebels. Here the King used calculated clemency, as he issued pardons to many of the prisoners as a gesture of conciliation to prevent further uprisings. In 1491, Perkin Warbeck emerged as a threat, pretending to be Richard, Duke of York whose assumed murder in the tower had never been proved.The threat from Warbeck was possibly the greatest that the King faced during his reign, as it lasted for 8 years, and drew much international recognition from areas of Ireland, Scotland and France. This situation, combined with the Cornish Rebellion of 1497, set Henry in a particularly troubled position. Warbeck was under the care of James IV of Scotland; whilst at the same time was under threat from the grieved Cornish who managed to march to London unopposed. However, James did not take this opportunity to invade and the Kings army were victorious against the Cornish. The Warbeck situation came to a close in 1497, after the efficient work of Henrys s pies had unpicked the conspiracy and support for the pretender had diminished. In 1499 both Warbeck and the Earl of Warwick were hanged.In 1501 Henry faced further threats, particularly from the Earl of Suffolk who had a strong Yorkist claim to the throne and gathered support abroad in Flanders. Henrys insecurity was evident through his rash behaviour; the King imprisoned Suffolks relations in England and charged 51 men who had connections to the Earl with of attainder. In 1506 a storm caused Philip of Burgundy, who had Suffolk in his care, to take refuge off Weymouth with his wife. Henry took this opportunity to persuade Philip to surrender Suffolk in return for sanctuary, and on the condition that Suffolks life would be spared. Overall, Henry dealt with the threats he faced rather well; they were never able to progress quite to the point where the crown was in serious jeopardy, although Simnel did get close. Henrys ability to use clemency enabled him to prevent further uprisings a nd his opportunistic nature enabled him to use a situation to his advantage and squander the last among the Yorkist threats.With regard to foreign policy, Henry had three main aims these were to further the interest of English merchants, to achieve an effective security system through preventing war, and to be recognised as the rightful King of England. The first major treaty that Henry signed was the Medina del Campo with Spain in 1489, which has been described by Rogers and Turvey as the most significant achievement of Henry VIIs foreign policy, and rightly so; Henry achieved all of his main aims with this treaty. The King gained recognition through the treaty as the Spanish Monarchs, who had emerged as a giant power in Europe, recognised him as a peer.Additionally, he was able to secure a marriage between his son Arthur and Ferdinand and Isabellas daughter, Catherine of Aragon. Furthermore, he achieved peace and security through diplomacy, the joint pact between Spain and Englan d, against France, ensured that both countries were protected against their French enemies should they go to war. As well as this, Henry achieved prosperity for his merchants as the trade tariffs between England and Spain were removed. Whilst the treaty of Medina del Campo did have its drawbacks, for example Henry having the worst of the bargain, as regaining Normandy and Aquitaine was impractical and unrealistic, he was willing to ignore this so he could reap the benefits of being recognised as an equal by the Catholic Monarchs.The second major treaty was the Treaty of Etaples, signed in 1492 with France. Again, Henry was able to achieve his main aims; security through Charles promise to no longer aid any English rebels, money through the sizeable annual pension from à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5000, and recognition as a good monarch, as he was able to establish good terms with France, who had been a traditional enemy of England. The third major treaty was signed with Scotland in 1497, the Truce of Ayton established good terms between England and Scotland, who, like France, had been traditional English enemies for centuries.The main outcomes of this truce were that Henry was able to secure his position, through James IVs promise not to aid any more rebels, and through a marriage seal between James and Henrys eldest daughter, Margaret. Recognition as a good monarch also came with this truce, as previously mentioned, this was major progress with Scotland, whom England had not had good relations with since 1328. Overall, Henry was able to reach his three main aim, and although there were few drawbacks, the King was able to establish the Tudors as a powerful dynasty overseas, particularly through recognition and security, the latter being the most important, as shown by the Magnus Intercursus in 1496.A potentially dangerous group that traditionally threatened the throne was the nobility. Henry had a number of ways of attempting to deal with the powerful nobles. Firstly, from t he beginning of his reign he limited the number of new Lords, as it was easier to control a smaller number of nobles, and this would save more money for the crown, with less money and land being handed over to nobles. This measure also meant that when he did make somebody a peer, it was more prestigious as it was a rare occasion. As an alternative to peerage, Henry introduced the Order of the Garter which was an ancient honour bestowed on the most important knights; this was a valuable alternative as it involved no financial obligations from the crown but acknowledged nobles as seniors.Similarly, the nobility were not to expect patronage from the King, it would have to be earned before Henrys support would be granted. Another method of curbing the nobilitys power was to control marriage between powerful families to prevent a further threat to the throne. Henry also used wardship to prevent abuses from the nobles, as the King would step in and interfere to look after inheritances in young male heirs, until they were of age and had proved their loyalty to the Tudor dynasty. Additionally, Henry and his agents kept a close eye on any potentially over mighty families that may attempt to abuse their power, and would step in if they thought this was the case. For example, the King used financial threats to make sure the nobles were loyal and behaved well, the use of bonds and recognisances meant that nobles would have to pay large sums of money as a promise of good behaviour.Henry also used acts of attainder to make examples of opposing Yorkist magnates, such as those who were supporters of the Earl of Suffolk. Henry did not only punish people though, he did forgive people if they showed loyalty to the crown, the King was willing to forget past problems if this was shown, for example Thomas Howard, who did not take the opportunity to escape from the tower when he could. As well as this, Henry had a strict policy on retaining, unlike his predecessors, he made sure to treat everybody the same when it came to punishment for retaining. This was evident when Henry even punished his close relatives such as his mother for the crime.All of these policies that were put in place may suggest that Henry had an agenda to deliberately quell the nobility, however it has been argued that nobles still enjoyed much wealth and not much changed for them. I support the view that Henry was conscious of the nobles threat and took the appropriate measures to make sure that they did not step out of line, however, I do not believe that he followed an anti-noble policy as such. In terms of effectiveness, Henry certainly managed to curb the nobilitys power, through these various policies, the most important, perhaps, being his financial threats against the nobles, which acted as an example to anybody else who was thinking of abusing their position.In conclusion, the King managed to effectively deal with all rebellions that he came across; although some threats were potent ially dangerous he was able to deal these, overall, in a very efficient manner. Similarly, Henrys foreign policy was able to achieve his main aims, with security being the most important of these. Lastly, the King developed several policies that effectively limited the power of the nobility in such a manner that he was able to diminish potential threats. These points being considered, Henry was a very efficient monarch when taking into consideration the instability of his position.

Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King, Jr Research Paper

Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King, Jr - Research Paper Example He especially appreciated Gandhi’s non-violent means of standing against civil misconduct. Martin Luther was inspired by Gandhi’s principles. The principles of championing for liberation based on love and not violence. Hence, he championed for resistance against racial segregation without the use of violence. He urged his followers not to use violence against the white perpetrators. Instead, he used his inspirational speeches to motivate them with his faith in God. Instilling hope in them that God was with them, and they should keep fighting (Moldovan 1). Martin Luther was a founding member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference that he utilized to champion for civil rights. He used the Christian body to stand against the segregation and discrimination that the black people were subjected to. Through it, his national fame grew. Martin Luther King used the Christian body to organize peaceful and non-violent demonstrations in various states. Their peaceful nature can be attributed to Gandhi’s principles of non-violence. He used his great oratory skills to champion for Christian like virtues that disregarded discrimination (Moldovan 2). Douglass also had religious convictions that guided him. How do these religious convictions compare? The religious faith that Douglass had was described by a friend of his who did not believe in God. The friend said that it was his faith in God that prevented them from having a long-lasting friendship. Hence, it was outstanding. Douglass utilized the faith to spur the people. He utilized it to instill hope in the people. Hope that the oppression they all faced due to their race and slavery would come to an end. He believed that God would change the world, that God would change the predicament faced by black people and redeem them. Through his faith, Douglass viewed himself as a prophet. A prophet who was following God’s instructions (Stauffer). Hence, by utilizing the prophet in him, he was able

Crafting and executing a winning strategy Essay

Crafting and executing a winning strategy - Essay Example However, as big corporations are being washed out with the erosion of public/stakeholder trust due to unethical and socially irresponsible behavior, today, corporate strategists realize that a perceptible commitment to ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) has clear implications for the corporate bottom line, and integrating it as a part of corporate strategy would significantly improve business performance. [Hopkins, 2003; Houck and William, 1996] The paper examines the linkage between company's effort to craft and execute a winning strategy and its social responsibility - the company's duties to conduct its activities in an ethical manner and demonstrate socially responsible behavior as a committed corporate citizen, attending to the needs of all the stakeholders. In doing so, it shall attempt to analyze what ethics and social responsibility means in the corporate strategy context, the debates surrounding the relevance of social responsibility, and also examines the significance of ethical and socially responsible behavior by corporations for survival and success. It shall also look at ways to incorporate ethics and social responsibility into corporate strategies for ensuring long-term success of corporations. The environmental movement of the 1980s and 1990s, which exposed many unethical corporate practices by companies such as Nestle, Shell and the rising cases of corporate scandals in the recent years signifying unethical and irresponsible behavior by top officials, such as those at Enron, WorldCom etc., have brought about the significance of ethics and social responsibility as a legitimate topic in the formulation and implementation of business strategy. [Hopkins, 2003] While the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably, as management imperatives, business ethics and corporate social responsibility are distinct concepts, though with inevitable overlaps. It may be worthwhile to clearly understand the two precepts before attempting to analyze their significance in creating winning strategies. Ethics in business, an age-old concept, advocates ethically appropriate behavior by businesses to the stakeholders directly concerned with the business enterprise, viz. managers, consumers, investors/owners and employees. [Hopkins, 2003] Ethical behavior in business extends to all segments of business management at the enterprise level including finance and accounting, human resources management, sales and marketing, production and intellectual property. While a consensus on the definition has not been achieved, corporate social responsibility is stated to be "concerned with treating the stakeholders of the firm ethically or in a responsible manner." [Hopkins, 2003; p.1] Corporate social responsibility, a more inclusive concept business ethics, extends beyond the enterprise level to all stakeholders, what Hopkins describes as, "the seven azimuths", within which the enterprises trade and operate viz.: owners/investors (shareholders or stockholders); management; employees; customers; t he natural environment; the wider community (including government); contractors/suppliers. [Hopkins, 2003, p. 3] CSR as a winning business strategy concerns with the responsibility of the company to each of these seven groups; it may include responsibility to competitors as well.

BAE Systems-EADS Merger Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

BAE Systems-EADS Merger Plan - Essay Example However, unification of two struggling companies may not always guarantee their resurrection. This paper will specifically discuss whether or not mergers make economic sense with particular focus given to the reaction of UK, French, and German governments to the BAE/EADS merger. BAE Systems-EADS merger plan In the last year, Britain’s BAE Systems planned a â‚ ¬38bn (?30.4bn) merger with its rival European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co (Franco-German maker of Airbus civilian jets). According to a Telegraph report by Ebrahimi and Monaghan (2012), the planned merger would have formed the world’s second biggest aerospace and defence company after Boeing. If the merger had become successful, the merged entity would have achieved combined sales of ?60bn and employed 220,000 people worldwide (ibid). In addition, the planned venture would have contributed to Europe’s military efforts, developed British nuclear submarines and own airbus, and attained the status of bigg est plane manufacturer in the world (ibid). Many industry analysts supported this deal as they believed that the planned merger would provide the companies with the synergies of combined operations. Proponents of this strategic plan pointed out that BAE systems have strong presence in the US market where the government is one of the largest and potential customers. Hence, EADS can take advantage of this potential strength of BAE Systems. At the same time, the planned deal might also benefit BAE Systems to improve its earnings by spreading its operational area to commercial aircraft and space satellites. The shrinking Western Defence market was also cited to justify the planned merger. The 60/40 split in favour of EADS was a major controversial term of this merger. From another view point, â€Å"the mathematical flipside for BAE shareholders is that the merger is a no-brainer at 60/40† (Boland & Kirk 2012). Anyhow, the talks over the BAE-EADS merger did not reach a mutual agre ement and hence the initiative was called off later. Reaction of UK, French, and German governments UK and French governments took a favourable stand toward the BAE Systems-EADS merger whereas the German government opposed this strategic move. According to a BBC report (2012), while evaluating the approach of Britain toward this merger deal, the country particularly wanted its counterparts to restrict their influence in the new company so as to keep the strong relations with the US government. Hence, the British government needed to obtain a dominant position in the merged company. However, it must be noted that Britain’s officials took huge efforts to make this deal a reality. In a close observation, it seems that the British government emphasised more on its personal interests rather than the continent-wide interests. To illustrate, the British government particularly wanted to maintain BAE’s strong position in the huge US market and the country was never willing to spoil its good relationship with the US. The British government believed that obtaining a strategic control over the merged company would assist the country to continue its strong business relationship with US. In sum, Britain tried to decrease other countries’ political influence over the new venture. While analyzing the stance of France in the BAE-EADS merger, it seems that France was interested to make this deal

HI Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

HI - Essay Example cerning this controversial issue shows that most Americans support the death penalty, although the presence of strong opposition to it should not be ignored. It is also found that some individuals support this form of capital punishment only under certain circumstances. Each group to augment their support or opposition to death penalty usually cites several reasons. This essay aims to discuss some of the most prominent arguments usually put forth either for or against the continued application of death penalty in the countries penal laws. The main argument put forth by supporters of the death penalty is that it is a way of preventing future murders from taking place. The argument is that given that the society generally applies punishments as discouragements to would-be criminals, and that the society is highly concerned with prevention of murder, it is only prudent that the same society uses the most severe means of punishment available to deter murder. Moreover, the death penalty is considered the most efficient way of deterring future murders since people generally have a strong fear for death. In the same vein, it is not only the would-be murderers that are deterred by the death penalty, but the actual murderer is permanently ‘deterred’ from committing any further murders by being executed. Just like a robber is imprisoned to prevent him from robbing on the streets, a murderer should be killed to prevent them from committing the same crimes (Bedau and Cassel, 2004). Another line of argument in support of the death penalty posits that in a just world, taking of a life can only be penalized by a death sentence. This is because murdering somebody creates an imbalance of justice, which can only be restored through a death penalty. This is only in tandem with the religious backing on retribution, which advocates for ‘an eye for an eye’ (Kaufman, 2012). The most prominent reason that is usually cited by those calling for the abolition of the death penalty

Course of negotiants Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5250 words

Course of negotiants - Case Study Example Organizations feel the need for negotiations depending on three different perspectives. The first is when the parties involved are interested in establishing a relationship on a particular front and work towards reaching a common understanding on the connected parameters and constraints. The other case when negotiations usually take place is in the case of disagreements over a number of issues and this usually occurs on a wide range of issues right from economic to military/nuclear based decisions. The other form of negotiations or bargaining is used by organizations when they are supposed to make a decision on or whose future course of operation is dependent on the decision by another organization. Typical examples of the last form are common case when a nation is deciding the amount of subsidies to be offered to a country from the third world (Muthoo, 1999). A lot of the negotiations are based on economic related issues and the most usual cases at an organizational level pertain to issues such as salaries, work conditions, promotions etc. in the present case, the dispute between the AUT (Association of University Teachers) and the Universities in the UK during 2005-06 shall be discussed and an attempt shall be made to analyze the course of the negotiations by assessing against them against the various negotiation and bargaining theories that shall be discussed in the coming chapters. In 2006, the AUT was involved in a wage dispute with UK universities as their salaries had not been increased despite a rise in the amount of tuition fees. As a result of the dispute in wages, the AUT was forced to observe a strike and this prompted the need for negotiations in order to settle the connected issues. The most important requirement to press ahead with the negotiations was the fact that the universities were concerned that if no proper action was taken, then the students' schedule would get affected as a result of the increase in the agitation on the part of the AUT. As the specifics of the negotiations are discussed, it will become clear that there was a lot of progress on a number of issues and a number of key decisions were taken during the course of the negotiations on issues such as increased wages and revised work schedules.The dissertation will work towards analyzing a number of options that arose during the course of the AUT-university negotiations and this shall be done by analyzing the variables that determined the resulting outcome of the negotiations. The paper will also work towards establishing the various fa ctors that influenced the course of the negotiations in the long run. It is also deemed important that the research also focus on assessing how things could have improved during the negotiation process and will attempt to analyze each of the possibilities. The next section will comprise the literature review of the dissertation and will attempt to discuss the various theories by looking up at the various literatures available. LITERATURE REVIEWThe previous section has provided a brief introduction about the purpose of dissertation and the basic issues that the research will cover as part of the current case study. However, the analysis is being performed by basing upon a number of theories that are an inherent part of negotiation and b

Emerging Issues in Product Development Term Paper - 4

Emerging Issues in Product Development - Term Paper Example Companies and organizations have turned to product development as a means of staying relevant in the market. The essence of product development is to have customers get enhanced products that are capable of meeting their needs. Murad Ahmed, a senior technology journalist recently wrote an article concerning Microsoft is modifying the latest version of its software called the windows 8 (Ahmed 2014, p. 1). The story as reported by Ahmed detailed some of the reasons why Microsoft had decided to modify its latest product (Ahmed 2014, p. 1). The gist of the matter as reported by Ahmed was that customers world over were finding it difficult to use the product as it bore some sought of complications. The issue as reported in March 2014 by Ahmed seemed to have taken a number of people by surprise (Ahmed 2014, p. 1). Even though the giant software company has plans to incorporate the previous features in the newly introduced product, the actions should be well thought of as appropriate. It is just under 16 months since Windows 8 was introduced into the market (Ahmed 2014, p. 1). Pundits argued that this new development was by far the biggest thing that had ever happened in the software industry. The software product has gained a number of positive feedbacks since the time of inception. However, the company has reported that through its feedback system, a number of customers think otherwise about the product. Some think that the new software is not user-friendly and, therefore, provides a challenge in its use. This has prompted the Microsoft Company to announce its intention to return earlier features in the new product. While the company, maybe by right and well within its jurisdiction to satisfy its customers there are a number of issues that can be drawn from the company’s latest move. One of the issues that remain clear is that the company may not have done its homework properly. Before introducing a product into the market, it is incumbent upon a company to carry out the market survey so as to know what a majority of customers want.

HI Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

HI - Essay Example cerning this controversial issue shows that most Americans support the death penalty, although the presence of strong opposition to it should not be ignored. It is also found that some individuals support this form of capital punishment only under certain circumstances. Each group to augment their support or opposition to death penalty usually cites several reasons. This essay aims to discuss some of the most prominent arguments usually put forth either for or against the continued application of death penalty in the countries penal laws. The main argument put forth by supporters of the death penalty is that it is a way of preventing future murders from taking place. The argument is that given that the society generally applies punishments as discouragements to would-be criminals, and that the society is highly concerned with prevention of murder, it is only prudent that the same society uses the most severe means of punishment available to deter murder. Moreover, the death penalty is considered the most efficient way of deterring future murders since people generally have a strong fear for death. In the same vein, it is not only the would-be murderers that are deterred by the death penalty, but the actual murderer is permanently ‘deterred’ from committing any further murders by being executed. Just like a robber is imprisoned to prevent him from robbing on the streets, a murderer should be killed to prevent them from committing the same crimes (Bedau and Cassel, 2004). Another line of argument in support of the death penalty posits that in a just world, taking of a life can only be penalized by a death sentence. This is because murdering somebody creates an imbalance of justice, which can only be restored through a death penalty. This is only in tandem with the religious backing on retribution, which advocates for ‘an eye for an eye’ (Kaufman, 2012). The most prominent reason that is usually cited by those calling for the abolition of the death penalty

Emerging Issues in Product Development Term Paper - 4

Emerging Issues in Product Development - Term Paper Example Companies and organizations have turned to product development as a means of staying relevant in the market. The essence of product development is to have customers get enhanced products that are capable of meeting their needs. Murad Ahmed, a senior technology journalist recently wrote an article concerning Microsoft is modifying the latest version of its software called the windows 8 (Ahmed 2014, p. 1). The story as reported by Ahmed detailed some of the reasons why Microsoft had decided to modify its latest product (Ahmed 2014, p. 1). The gist of the matter as reported by Ahmed was that customers world over were finding it difficult to use the product as it bore some sought of complications. The issue as reported in March 2014 by Ahmed seemed to have taken a number of people by surprise (Ahmed 2014, p. 1). Even though the giant software company has plans to incorporate the previous features in the newly introduced product, the actions should be well thought of as appropriate. It is just under 16 months since Windows 8 was introduced into the market (Ahmed 2014, p. 1). Pundits argued that this new development was by far the biggest thing that had ever happened in the software industry. The software product has gained a number of positive feedbacks since the time of inception. However, the company has reported that through its feedback system, a number of customers think otherwise about the product. Some think that the new software is not user-friendly and, therefore, provides a challenge in its use. This has prompted the Microsoft Company to announce its intention to return earlier features in the new product. While the company, maybe by right and well within its jurisdiction to satisfy its customers there are a number of issues that can be drawn from the company’s latest move. One of the issues that remain clear is that the company may not have done its homework properly. Before introducing a product into the market, it is incumbent upon a company to carry out the market survey so as to know what a majority of customers want.

The Simpsons Analysis Essay Example for Free

The Simpsons Analysis Essay The animated sitcom The Simpsons subverts our views about a nuclear family. Instead we learn by watching a dysfunctional family. We see the ups and downs and humour of family life in various episodes and typical family situations. The Simpsons to some degree follow the conventions of a stereotypical sitcom. I will be analysing the episode Bart gets an F to support my thoughts. In this paragraph I will be referring to what a sitcom is, how it has changed throughout the years and why sitcoms are so popular. A sitcom is a 22 minute long show, which presents the viewer with a world within the show. A sitcom also follows the narrative structure of orientation, complication, resolution, evaluation and re-orientation. The creators of The Simpsons satirize stereotypes to create humour. In the 1950s sitcoms, the families would get along, listen to each other, take care of each other and they would be smartly dressed at all times. However, after the 1950s it all seemed to change: no-one would get along, they will always argue, the mother and father would always fight and they would do whatever they wished. Sitcoms are very popular as they provide us with entertainment including laughter, which helps people get away from their daily routine life. Sitcoms provide us with entertainment for all ages and typical family situations. I believe sitcoms are popular because they are humorous and give us an alternative to our lives. The nuclear family and the dysfunctional yellow-skinned, four-fingered Simpson family are shown through the opening of The Simpsons. We are firstly introduced to Bart, the most confrontational, funny, naughty and disrespectful kid in school. We see him in school; however, this is dysfunctional as he is in detention writing on the board I will not teach others to fly. This shows us satirise as a normal child will not be that often in detention. The creator also changes the quotes of the writing to show that he is in detention all the time. Secondly, we are introduced to Homer; the clumsy, dumb and often drunk father, who is at work. This is typical of a dad, but then it is subverted when he is shown carelessly working in the power plant. Next is Marge, the hard working, sensible, caring mother who is shopping and losing her child, Maggie. Maggie is the 3rd child, who is a dummy sucking 1-year-old. And finally, Lisa, the brainiest gifted child in the school. We see her playing an instrument in school. However she is playing her own tune. By watching the opening sequence we know that the situations that occur in the Simpsons are subverted. Through the opening sequence we see some stereotypical behaviour as well as some subverted behaviour. In the episode Bart gets a F, we can tell from the title who the episode is based on and a bit about the plot. Through the episode we get to see the orientation (the 1st shot and 1st character introduced), the complication (problem that arises), the resolution (how the complication is resolved), the evaluation (how the family come together) and the re-orientation (how it is back to the way it started). We firstly hear the voice of Bart and see the setting of the school, so we straightaway know it is based on Bart (orientation). The main plot is after failing a history test, Bart strikes a deal with Martin Prince to make Martin cool in return for tutoring Bart, if Bart doesnt improve, he will be held back in his grade (complication). Bart successfully transforms Martin from the clever, caring, sensitive, high-quality boy into a rude, playful naughty and regular kid, bur Martin fails on his side of the bargain and Bart is once again in danger of failing. After an all-night study session, Bart still fails but he manages to impress Mrs. Krabappel with his grasp of history (resolution) and she gives him a D-minus. Homer is proud to hang this grade up on the fridge (evaluation). After the excitement, Bart kisses the teacher and then after realizes what he has done and starts to spit on the floor with disgust (re-orientation). In this episode we see both sides of a traditional family and a dysfunctional family. Expectations of characters are satirised. An example of this is the parents. We expect the parents to praise, support, care and teach their children. But in The Simpsons we see the parents encouraging their son not to study. They show that they have no faith in Bart as they call him Dim. We see the same situations occurring to different characters, for example the teacher. The expectation of the teacher is satirised as we expect teachers to be understanding, helpful, caring and faithful to their students. This is again satirised when the teacher quotes, I thought youd be used to failing. This shows us she has no faith in her pupil, Bart. In this episode of The Simpsons we see typical stereotyped situations satirised and changed according to characters and their beliefs. The Simpsons fulfils various stereotypes of a sitcom genre but generally subverts them. I will examine the extent to which they do this by referring to the episode Bart gets a F. The first situation that occurs is when the psychiatrist comes to talk to the parents about Barts grades. It is satirised as we see Homer not listening and not paying attention. They show this as they quote, bla bla bla bla bla bla bla. Another stereotypical situation that occurs is when the family sits down to eat dinner and father and son sit down to watch TV, but the stereotypical situation is satirised as Bart wants to study but Homer encourages him to watch TV with him. We wouldnt expect a father to act the way Homer does. Additionally we see the father putting his son to bed but this is then again is subverted as we hear Homer call his son Dim. We would not expect a father to say this to his child. As a result, we see stereotypical situations that are subverted. The Simpsons uses various comic devices to create humour. The also uses different comic forms. They would use parody, gags, comedy of the absurd and slapstick. A good way in which they create humour is by satirising situations where the way we expect people to act is changed. They also satirise stereotypes. In The Simpsons the audience can predict what is going to happen next. The audiences are interested in the Simpsons as it exaggerates the animation. The Simpsons have four fingers and they are yellow skinned. The characters of The Simpsons create humour by using repeated catch phrases, example Doh! Dont have a cow man! We find the various actions of the characters humorous, as they are well known for example Homer strangles Bart when he is frustrated. Overall, I believe The Simpsons are popular because of all the types of humour used during the episodes. This humour appeals to a wide range of audiences. The Simpsons is a very popular and well-known sitcom. The appeal of the Simpsons is greatly due to the fact that it appeals to all types of people. People of all ages find humour in it because of the fact that the characters never grow older, the use of flashbacks and flashfowards, the variety of episodes and the characters always turn back to the way they started. A reason why we can tell it is a true sitcom is because they always have a complication that occurs which is later resolved. The Simpsons as a sitcom, is well known worldwide. It is broadcast in 100 countries. The influence of The Simpsons has created programs like South Park, Ren and Stimpy and Fresh Prince of Bel Air. The Simpsons are not a stereotypical family, they are dysfunctional and are satirized, and this is the main reason why they have remained so popular.

The Inclusion For Special Education Needs Students Education Essay

The Inclusion For Special Education Needs Students Education Essay Introduction This essay is divided in to three main parts: the first part discusses the inclusion for special education needs students and specified on inclusion for students with ASD and discuss the role of inclusive policies in school, school managers and staff in generating a positive experience for autistic students; the second part discusses some of the barriers to learning that students with autism might have: including their social impairments, language development and some of other symptoms they might have such as obsession with routine. The third part illustrates how these barriers might be overcome and gives more then one solution such as training for skills and attitude for teachers and students. Making the school experience a positive one for all students with learning difficulties and practically for students with ASD Inclusion is the right for all students regardless of their background or disability and to be given an equal opportunity with non-disabled people in the society inclusion is a process of meshing general and special education reform initiative and strategies to achieve in order to achieve a unified system of public education that incorporates all children and youth as active, fully participating members of the school community, that views diversity as the and that achieve a high quality education for each student by assuring meaningful effective teaching, and necessary support for each student (Ceri,1997, p.53) . Including students with learning difficulties requires supporting them with the services they need to enable them to be included successfully in school. The supporting efforts included forming inclusive policy in schools to give the right for each individual to be included and have equal opportunities (Armstrong, Armstrong, Barton, 2000); trained teachers in dealing with student with learning difficulties; taking into consideration the individuals needs and try to meet them (Lewis, Norwich 2005); having an additional support team in place with an adequate supportive framework, including regular special education assessments in order to assess the progress of the student and to adjust, as necessary, their educational need and the additional support they receive. Managers in schools play a significant role as well in making the school more positive experience for pupils with learning difficulties (Homas, Walker, Webb, 1998). In a line with that, each school should include encouraging p olicy for involving parents in the learning process for their children as this a crucial factor to ensure successful inclusion and then successful leaning to the students (Hornby, 1995;Ceri, 1997). Policy and curriculum Regarding to the school policy, the aim of inclusive policy is to prevent the marginalization for people who experience unfavourable circumstances in life (Vitello, Mithaug, 1998, p24). The role of Inclusive policy in school is to offer educational opportunities to each individual, taking into consideration all their different needs and regardless of their disability, culture or race. . Educations system should be formed on the basis of meeting each individual needs as some students are vary in their needs. A school policy should take into consideration how to address the need for the entire student in the classroom such as gifted and talented students or student with learning difficulties such as children with ASD and apply inclusive curriculum to meet such these students need. In terms of inclusive curriculum the national curriculum council (1990) defined three main roles for developing inclusive curriculum: setting suitable learning challenges. This means that the teacher should facilitate an experience of success by providing students suitable learning for their abilities, not harder and not easier: Responding to pupils diversity learning needs; teacher have to recognize their students need and try to meet all of them; Overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups for pupils: some individuals have a special requirement for learning and assessment and if such requirements have not been addressed then students may fail in their learning which could create barriers to learning for them. Therefore, teachers have to meet all these requirements and assess the students progression in the learning process. (National curriculum council, 1990, p.18). The role of school managers To implement inclusion in schools, schools have to consider inclusion as one of the main goal that school have to achieve, with the importance of principals leading the school toward inclusive setting. The school managers have a huge responsibility to ensure inclusion practice in school. They have to make sure that; the inclusion procedures are followed in schools and all the inclusive policies are applied in the classroom. They have to assess whether their staff needs for any further training in order to create a positive learning experience for student with learning difficulties (Eaney, 2006). In line with that, managers have to support the communication between the stockholders inside the school such as between special education coordinator and the subject teacher as it is key element in successful inclusion, as one student stated: It is the teachers [that] are rubbish they know about their subject but they know nothing about us with Aspergers syndrome (Umphrey, Lewis, 2008, p.1 35) this expression from a student in mainstream school who felt that teacher does not understand him. In this case the teachers lack of experience and information may cause the problem. However, this would not put the responsibility away from the teacher but it shows the importance of the communication between the staff in the school for better understanding for students with learning difficulties ((Eaney, 2006; Umphrey, et al., 2008). (Kugelmass, Ainscow, 2005) argued, head teachers and other school managers as leaders are expected to make commitments to all their students, Educating every child is not just about SATs or GCSEs or all of that standards written agenda that the government is so obsessed with, its about turning them [out] as human beings and developing of the skills to enable them to go on learning through their lives and what it is to be a member of the community and so on and so on. (Umphrey,et al., 2008, p.134) for example. A school leader made this commitment. As such, this attitude for school mangers reflects a positive attitude toward inclusion and it is encouraging for school staff to meet their students needs which would lead to here they treat me just like all the other pupils, but also provide the backup that I need to (Thomas, Vaughan, 2004, p.180). A student with learning difficulties in mainstream school made this statement, as it is the main aim for inclusion to give the all the students equal opportunities for learning. As such, school managers are fundamental in determining the success of any mainstreaming school experience for a student with learning difficulties. On the other hand, the opposite is true, If a school manager, or head teacher shows any sign of a negative attitude towards special needs students, this will reflect this negative attitude in the inclusion for student with learning difficulties in school, I think one of the major difficulties is that the senior management team dont really understand about these childrens needs(Umphrey, et al., 2008, p134). This statement was taken from special education coordinator in mainstream school when the head teacher has a negative attitude toward inclusion, indeed in such condition this may lead to exclusion and not inclusion (Umphrey, et al., 2008). Concerning the head teacher negative attitude toward inclusion and special for children with ASD, Praisner (2003) illustrates that such negative attitudes for school leaders could lead him to fail to provide a suitable educational programme and fail to provide the students with the additional services they might need such as, support staff. As co nsequences a negative learning experience for children with learning difficulties might develop. The role of teachers In line with head teacher attitude toward children with learning difficulties, Campbell (2006) argued that, attitude of teachers toward children with learning difficulties is an important in creating a positive learning experience in the school for them. This is for several reasons such as the influence that teachers have over the students attitude and their academic attainment. Indeed, Teachers hold a huge responsibility in making inclusion a successful experience for children with learning difficulties. (Riseser, 2004) summaries teachers responsibilities as followed; teacher have to plan their lessons in a advance in order to ensure a satisfactory improvement for each child in the class room; making the atmosphere of the classroom challenging, encouraging and enjoyable for all the students; seeking each student needs and adapting a suitable teaching methods for individuals; providing easy access to the learning resources and encouraging the student to engage in school activities to gether; monitoring students progressions. In summary, including an inclusive policy in school is significant in making school a positive learning experience for pupils with learning difficulties. Thomas, Loxley (2007) claim that it is important to reform educational policy to ensure it dictates that all members of society should be treated in the same manner and offered the same opportunities in life and this policy should be applied in schools as a part of the society. However I firmly believe developing and maintaining an inclusive policy in schools is a crucial for the inclusion process but that would be conditional upon the practitioner attitude toward students with learning difficulties in the school such as and the degree of training they have had to dealing with these students. They may accept students with learning difficulties in the school physically but do not fully include them Some teachers ignore kids with learning disabilities altogether even though they are in the lessons they are stood separately(Umphrey, et al., 2008, p.134) this statement was taken from learning support assistance in mainstream school. Therefore the responsibility falls on the managers, teachers and all the stockholders in the school in their attitude and training to meet all students needs and to make their inclusion a successful learning experience for them. Inclusion for students with ASD Inclusion for students with ASD is not different from inclusion for students with learning difficulties, which was discussed in the previous part. However, taking into consideration their specific characteristics is important in making schools a positive learning experience for them. ASD is a lifelong developmental disability that affects the way in which a person communicates and related to people around them (Wall, 2010.p.7). The term autism derived form Greek word autos which means self and it was first identified by Kanner in 1943 and then by Hans Asperger in 1944 while they were studying children behaviours (Worth, Rynolds, 2008) and both of these researchers believed that children are born with it. The cause for this disorders is wildly believe to have a biological basis, however the research in this area is still ongoing (Sugden, 2010). (Barnard, Prior, Potter, 2000) carried out a study about the notion of inclusion for autism and they examined this idea in wider context, which include the society and arrived to inclusion can not rely on the interest, commitment and enthusiasm of one or two individuals (Barnard et al, 2000, p.12). They emphasised the essential role for every individual who involved with the child to support the inclusion process. However, that does not mean involving some of the individuals and not all of them would result failing in including for students with ASD. Sugden (2010) stated that involving and training each individual in the school or in the society in which the child is involved in some manner, in a real situation may seem hard to achieve. In terms of education for children with ASD, Moore (2007) stated that autistic children are academically able to learn. As a consequence, he assumed that autistic students should have the ability to cope in mainstream schools. Furthermore, Jordan (2008) added that education should be a useful therapeutic approach for children with ASD, however that would depend on many factors such as, training teacher to teach student with ASD which could make mainstream schools positive learning experiences for children with ASD; using Information and communication technologies (ICT) in teaching pupils with ASD, which could help students with ASD to learn; for students with severe autism, providing them with specialist support may be useful, but that should not segregate them; a suitable curriculum and teaching methods for students with ASD. However, Jordan (2008) claimed that, teaching autistic students is not an easy task for the teacher, as it is, learning for them in our school system is hard and that would be for some of the difficulties they have which will be illustrated in the next part of the assignment such as, difficulties in communication with other people (Umphrey, et al., 2008); the preference for routine (Moore, 2007), predictability and low sensory stimulation; preferred learning style which is sometimes challenging for teachers to teach these students some skills (Jordan, 2005). The next paragraphs will illustrate these symptoms in details. Barriers to inclusion for students with ASD ASD is a lifelong developmental disability as it was illustrated in the definition in the previous part and it is characterised by impairments in social interaction, social imagination and social communication, with these impairments occurring to different degrees in different individuals, leading Wing and Gould (1979) to the establishment of term autistic spectrum disorder to describe a wide range of abilities and disabilities caused by deficiencies in these areas (Umphrey, et al., 2008; Good Schools Guide, 2010). ASD influences individuals in many ways, such as their language development, their ability to interact with other people and the ways in which they deal with routines. They may experience impairment in their language, and it is likely that children with ASD may have delays when they start to speak compared to typically developed children. Even in the usage of language, once their language is developed, it may be not as typically developed child in term of vocabulary they use and in the way they speak (Worth, et al., 2008; Good Schools Guide, 2010). Children with Autism have a problem in developing social relationships, as they can fail to understand the social interaction. Moreover, It is difficult for autistic children to use or even understand, what do social cues are such as non-verbal signals or eye contact mean. This may cause the children with ASD to misunderstand the others and may react improperly to them. Furthermore, children with autism have a deficit in empathy, which is the ability to understand peoples feeling and understand their problem (Moore, 2007; Baron, Cohen, 2008; Umphrey, et al , 2008; Good Schools Guide, 2010) In regarding to the lack of communication skills in children with ASD which could affect their interaction with the people around them, Batten (2005) stated that the inequalities in social interaction and communication between children with ASD and their peers can lead to frustration, bullying and low self-esteem (Batten, 2005, p.93). Since, their lack of understanding of normal forms of communication, such as verbal, non-verbal and cues, it is necessary to communicate with these children in very literal ways in order to avoid any misunderstanding to them, which may cause confusion for them and then might lead to anxiety or frustration. As consequences for this frustration or anxiety, students with ASD may demonstrate different types of behaviours than other children exhibit such as self-injurious behaviours or repetitive movement behaviours, which may affect their interaction with the others and then their inclusion in the school (Batten, 2005). In addition, children with ASD are bound by routines and sameness, such as their need for routine in their everyday lifes activities, such as in playing or in educational time. They do not like the routine to be absent from their activities as they resist any change even to their physical environment such as, in bedroom or classroom and if that happens for any reasons, this may cause for them frustration and distress. Autistic children have imagination impairment and they may engage in doing the same activities such as playing in the same game, repetitively, without showing any lack of interest (Moore, 2007; Baron, et al, 2008; Umphrey, et al, 2008). These kind of characteristics for children with Autism which may lead them to prefer some particular subjects in schools such as since and mathematics for the natural of this subject. Since they have some rules need be followed, at the same time this may lead them to dislike some interpretive subjects such as history (Good Schools Guide, 2010). All of these symptoms for Autistic children verify that they may experience difficulties in learning in the school, beside the fact that some Autistic children also have concurrent attention deficit disorders and/or other conditions, such as epilepsy or dyspraxia, which means that they are faced with significant barriers to their learning (Reid, 2005). However, a huge improvement can be made with autistic children and this improvement can be made through educating them and providing them the suitable learning environment which will require removing the barriers they may face in their learning, which may contribute to their development (Sugden , 2010). On the other hand, students with ASD have strengths and not only weakness. In terms of education some individuals with Aspergers syndrome show a unique performance in particular subjects such as Mathematics or Computer since, and not only in education but also in working life, some companies prefer employees with Aspegers syndrome for their stickiness with routines and obeying the rules. Therefore, educators have to take that into consideration and try to support their talents (Sugden , 2010). The next section will look at the ways in which a child living with ASD can be helped to overcome the barriers that they might face in schools. Overcoming the barriers to learning faced by students with ASD There are multiple issues relating to include children with autism in school, In the top of what have been mentioned about their characteristics, teachers understanding of the disability and their capability to work with children with ASD has a significant impact on including children with ASD (Batten,2005; Reid,2005). An autistic child goes to the front of the dinner queue. A teacher standing nearby tells him not to barge in. The pupil becomes anxious but does not move. The teacher insists that the pupil must not jump the queue. The pupil becomes more and more agitated and hits the teacher (Batten, 2005, p.94), This student was excluded from the school for his behaviour, whereas, this kind of behaviour would be as a result for the students inability to manage and understand this kind of social situation. To avoid exclusion for children with ASD from schools, Schools managers and staff may have to equip themselves and their students by sufficient knowledge to deal with this kind of s ituation in a suitable way. That may happen by training the staff skills and attitude to understand the ASD and how to deal with children with autism in any situation and training the student in how to behave in the classroom and in a social situation (Batten, 2005; Reid, 2005). This could promote their learning and overcome the barriers they may face in mainstream schools. Teachers attitude and training Inclusion for student with ASD requires teachers with an inclusive attitude because they play an important role in including children with learning difficulties such as ASD (Ried, 2007). Some school administrators and teachers are in disagreement with the idea of including pupils with ASD as they claim that, the characteristics that children with ASD demonstrate such as, their inappropriate behaviours would not make their mainstreaming a positive learning experience for them (Connor, 2000, 2006). However, Waddington and Reed, (2005) argue that, it is the teachers negative attitude rather than the students capability to study in mainstream school or the school ability to include them. 2006). It is, therefore, essential that teachers have a positive attitude toward children with ASD. As Cook (2001) argues, however, this can be influenced by different aspects, such as the amount of experience that teachers have in dealing with autistic students, the level of training the teachers have received, the preparation that teachers do in order to meet their autistic students needs in the class room and also the severity with which the autistic child presents themselves. Teachers attitudes to students with ASD is, thus, made up of a variety of different factors, each of which determines how, overall, the teacher deals with the presence of a student with ASD in their classroom. Training teachers is an essential factor for including children with autism, as many teachers are not aware about the spectrum and dont have the ability to deal with children in the spectrum. Indeed, children with autism are varied in their needs (Sugden, 2010), it is, thus, important that teachers are trained to meet all the needs for students with ASD, and in the skills that they may need to deal with these special needs, in order that they can offer a good teaching to these students. In regard to teachers training, Reid (2005) stated that One of the key aspects to ensuring that inclusion is effective in terms of practice is to ensure the tasks that are set for students and the objectives that have to be met actually match the students needs and, importantly, that students have the means to achieve these needs and outcomes (Reid, 2005.P107). Indeed, teachers would be required to have certain skills in order to deal with children with ASD as they have to identify the individuals needs in order to meet them and then, making schools a positive leaning experience for pupils with ASD as they have different needs then the other students do. (Lewis, et al., 2005) put forward three forms of educational needs, the first one is common needs, which are the needs that are shared by all the students; second one, specific needs, which means the needs for groups of students have the same characteristics; third one, unique needs, which are the needs for each individual and not s imilar to any other one. As the idea of individual needs or what is so called distinct needs position in terms of mainstream educational provision for students with ASD is gathering support (Hmphrey, et al , 2008, p.133). Considering the teachers skills, Marks, Shaw-Hegwer, Schrader, Longaker, Peters, Powers, Levine, (2003) argued that the use of antecedent management strategies in the classroom can make it as a positive learning environment for student with ASD and assisting the teacher to increase the chance for learning and reduce the students challenging behaviours. Indeed, by addressing the problems that prevent students with ASD from learning in the classroom such as their challenging behaviour, their chance of leaning in the classroom would increase. As Market et al. (2003) argued, most of autistic students would be able to understand the content of the lessons when their problem are accommodated. In addition, students with ASD can be easily become overwhelmed by the large amount of knowledge and information they may receive in the classroom and they may not be able to recognise the most important information during the lesson in the classroom. Therefore, it is fundamental that teachers have to stress and repeat the important part of the lesson for them (Marks et al., 2003). There are many methods teachers could use to overcome this problem for these students, for example, teachers may use electronic equipment such as a recording machine and videotaping, as it enables the students to access the information as many times as they want. Moreover, teachers may use visual aids such as graphics or mind maps, to help the student visualise the information of the lesson, which can lead to better understanding for the students (Marks et al., 2003). Providing ASD students with some electronic equipment or other methods for learning such as visual aids can be very useful for students living with ASD and may help them to perform better in the classroom (Marks et al., 2003). However, teachers should ensure not to place a very high expectation on Autistic students, because if they could not meet these expectation, this may lead them to anxiety and frustration, which could lead them to demonstrate some impropriate reaction such as, self- injury behaviours or anxiety as a student with ASD once said when he faced anxiety in mainstream school Im upset every second, every second Ive got tears in my eyes (Humphrey, 2008, p.43). One of the major issues that autistic students may face is becoming familiar with the routine of the lesson as students with ASD require always a specific stricter to their activities, which requires that all information is presented in a controlled manner (Marks et al., 2003). Reducing ambiguity is the key element to mange any negative behaviour that might arise as a consequence of the ASD and so lesson planning in a detailed manner can allow the symptoms of the ASD to be controlled, as students know what will be coming in the lesson and what is expected of them (Marks et al., 2003). Training for students with ASD In addition, training students with autism to cope in school is an important for them to experience a positive inclusion in mainstream school setting. This may happen by priming Autistic students to what they could expect in their school time and providing them a timetable of what they should expect every day, every week and every term, which is a good technique of providing these students with antecedent management. Preparing students with ASD to position themselves and assimilate the required information before the beginning of the lesson may allow them to be symptom-free, as this preparation would give them time to recognise and understand what is required from them to do, which may enable them to come to the class, and their school experience, relatively anxiety-free (Marks et al., 2003). Indeed, preparing students with ASD in this way could be important and fruitful in managing their symptom and as consequences that may contribute to a positive learning experience for student wi th ASD. Moreover, as it has been discussed that, individuals with ASD have a social impairment, which can become main barriers for their inclusion in school. As they find social cues are not understandable for them such as body language. Myles and Simpson (2001) called these cues a hidden curriculum. Students have to be trained to understand these social cues and how to understand and respond to any social interaction. (Humphrey, 2008) illustrated one popular method to help autistic students to cope in social situations, which is social stories. The social skills simply describes a situation, skill, or concept in terms of relevant social cues, perspectives, and common responses in a specifically defined style and format (Humphrey, 2008, p.44) and the goal for these stories is to enhance children (change to childrens) understanding to social cues and interaction as it equips the children by some skills, which they can use them in interaction with other people (Humphrey, 2008). The role of school managers Furthermore, school managers have a crucial role to play in including children with autism as it was discussed earlier in this assignment. (Beaney, 2006) classified the school leaders responsibility and put them into four groups. The first one would be the leader positive attitude and their commitment toward inclusion, which can influence the staff and other students as well; communication, empower the school staff and give them the confidence to deal with students with ASD is an important factor in making the school a good learning experience for them, as some school leaders state that Give confidence teachers flourish when they know they are doing well. (Beaney, 2006, p.20); Approach which is the responsibility for school leaders to be in the front position in implementing inclusion and not only just to supervise it; development implementing inclusion in school and providing children with ASD the service they need is really important, however, developing these services, when it is required, as some of the students may develop their symptoms and then developing the degree of training that the teacher has in order to cope with mainstreaming autistic students successfully (Beaney, 2006). In terms of development, school managers should support continuously training courses for their staff, a week every year for example, to ensure a positive attitude for teachers toward children with ASD and to develop their basic skills in dealing with students with ASD, and support any special courses for particular teachers, special education teachers for example, in the schools which enable the teachers to be highly skilled in dealing with autistic students and keep the other staff always up to date with latest information about this spectrum and how to deal with it (Sugden, 2010). All-in-all Cutler (2000) discuss, in order to make the inclusion for autistic children a positive learning experience, a wide range of criteria need to be followed by the school, including a positive commitment made by the managers and the staff to include autistic children in regular classes; an awareness of the managers and staff about the need for the autistic students, ongoing, training for the staff to deal with these needs and continuous training for the student to enable them to overcome their barriers to learning (Humphrey, 2008) ; making links with the family and additional support staff as to the objectives and need of the student (Connor, 1996) as a parent for autistic child state Its good for parents and practitioners to come together and to hear each others views and frustrations. (Beaney, 2006, p.37). When theses conditions are achieved then inclusion for student with ASD is more likely to happen. Inclusion Firstly this essay discusses how the school experience can be made a positive one for students with ASD, including a discussion of the role of inclusive policies in school, school managers and staff in generating this positive experience and It was shown the important of them in making school a positive learning experience for student with learning difficulties such as those with ASD. Then the barriers to learning for autistic students as a result of their condition were discussed, such as difficulties in social interactions, with communication and problems with frustration and anxiety, which may lead the child to demonstrate some extreme behaviours such as self-injury which would be disruptive to their learning in the school. For these barriers some solutions were put forward such as training attitude and skills for teacher and students, accommodating the needs of students with ASD via antecedent management and training the student how to overcome some of the barriers they may face.