Planning in Early Childhood

The observation of children is performed by teachers and educators, to help understand each child, and their characteristics. Along with assessment and evaluation, educators are able to understand each child’s development, and make decisions about appropriate activities and experience to offer each child, to help foster their individual development. (Veale, A. and Piscitelli, B. 1988) This essay will discuss the Value of the Observation Process in Planning for early childhood settings, and the role of each teacher in facilitating children’s individual learning and development. Observation is a very valuable and important part of the planning process as each child is different. Observation and Record Keeping in Early Childhood Programs (Veale, A. and Piscitelli, B. 1988,) Suggests that in order for educators to provide proper learning experience for children, they must know each child’s strengths, weaknesses, interests, fears, joys, ideas and individual interests to plan stimulating and appropriate learning experiences. Through observation, Educators can gather this information on what each child is capable of, how each child behaves under a range of different circumstances and how the child interacts with other children, and adults. The information collected from observation helps educators to develop objectives and plans to â€Å"enhance children’s learning and development† (Planning and Learning, NZTC pg. 5). Effective Planning and developing of learning outcomes for children is a collaborated effort between colleagues, children, Parents/Whanau and the community. DOP 6 outlines that importance of collaboration between colleagues when it comes to forming an effective plan in the early childhood environment. Open relationships and free discussions amongst each other empowers educators to become reflective practitioners and to understand different perspectives (MoE, 1998) By collaborating with parents/ Whanau educators can increase their understanding of the child’s â€Å"thinking and learning, parents and carers become wiser about the child† (Stonehouse, cited in Hanna, 2006, p. 3) and planning becomes more effective and purposeful for the child. Te Whariki states under the principle of Family and Community, â€Å"The wellbeing of children is interdependent with the well-being and culture of local communities and neighborhoods. Children’s learning and development are fostered it the well-being of their family and community is supported. †(MoE, 1996, p. 42) Society is constantly changing, and children grow and change with the community, so educators need to plan for the growth and change. And most importantly the children need to be considered while planning. Children are individuals and their voice needs to be heard. Educators need to be aware of the child’s capabilities, interests and learning needs to provide efficient learning activities that will be effective and enjoyable for the child. â€Å"The purpose of assessment is to give useful information about children’s learning and development to the adults providing the program and to children and their families. † (MoE, 1996 pg. 9) Assessment of the effectiveness of the program and keeping track of the child’s development helps educators to make decisions so effective changes can be made as needed to help the child’s personal progress and learning objectives. Likewise with planning, assessment needs to consider the changes in the community, consider the needs of the child and the parents/whanau to be the most effective for the child’s learning. Evaluation is the final step in the on-going planning of children’s learning. The purpose of evaluation is to make informed judgments about the quality and effectiveness of the program. † (MoE, 1996 Pg. 29) Evaluation is a crucial part of the planning process as it gives educators a chance to assess and evaluate the effectiveness of their program planning and to be better informed for future planning. Educators need to use a range of methods to evaluate the program. This can be done by reflections, regularly updating what works well and monitoring effectiveness, consulting with patents/whanau, and most importantly making appropriate changes. Educators hold the important role of supporting and facilitating each child’s development, one method of facilitating for the child is by recognizing and providing an optimal learning environment. An optimal learning environment is a safe environment specifically designed to facilitate a child’s learning and developmental needs. Educators need to provide time and opportunity for children to respond and experience the world creatively, it also needs to offer exposure to a variety of experience, to be secure and offer stimulating experiences so children can take risks and investigate the world around them safely. Olds (2001) suggests that children need to feel comfortable in their environment for them to explore. Educators need to be vigilant in making sure that each individuals needs are met so the child feels safe and comfortable in the learning environment. Creating an optimal learning environment means educators need to consider the aspects that create this environment. Harris Helm suggests that the overall effectiveness of an early childhood program is dependant on quality of staff, suitable environment, consistent schedules and parent involvement. Another aspect educators need to consider while facilitating learning is the importance of the interpersonal environment. â€Å"Interpersonal environment refers to the relationships established in the environment. † (Planning and Learning, NZTC, 2009, pg 49. ) Educators need to provide an environment that will allow children to learn through responsive and reciprocal relationships with people (MoE, 1996). Children must feel comfortable safe and secure in order to engage in efficient and meaningful learning. Fu (2004) believes that establishing supportive, responsive relationships with children and parents/whanau helps with the development of knowledge, social skills and attitudes and reinforces learning. Building a relationship with the child and their family will help educators to have a clear understanding of the child’s development and the holistic needs of the child. Educators need to engage in constant interactions with parents to gain proper insight into the child’s individual beliefs, rituals, preference and values, so to build a personal and meaningful relationship with the child. Relationships are the heart of learning. By Building a close relationship with the child allows educators to respond sensitively to each child’s needs. By building this Positive and sensitive relationships, research has shown that it enhance a child’s development and is the base of early childhood education. Vygotsky social constructive theory of the Zone of Proximal Development can effectively help educators with providing the best support and to develop strategies to assist the learning and development of the children. The Zone of Proximal Development is described by Vygotsky as â€Å"the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable peer† (L. S. Vygotsky, p. 86) Vygotsky observed that when an individual was tested on tasks alone, they rarely did as well as when they were working in collaboration with an adult. The process of involvement by the adult enabled them to refine their thinking or their performance to make it more effective. James Atherton, 2009) by observing a child, educators can observe what a child needs individually, find out what is changeling for the child and work collaboratively alongside with the child and develop strategies to help further the child’s learning. From this theory the teaching strategy of Co-construction was developed. Con-construction is described as a â€Å"collabora tive process from which new understanding and concepts emerge. (Planning and Learning NZTC, 2009, Pg. 39)By collaborating together to find new understanding and concepts between the child, peers, and adults can develop strategies to offer new ideas and concepts to activities. Educators have the important role of providing a co-constructive environment by listening to the child, playing with the child, and have an active participation in their learning, to help develop a child’s interests in learning further. Educators also need to encourage children â€Å"to share what they think and know† (Planning and Learning, NZTC, 2009, pg. 39) . â€Å"Planning the curriculum should be a continuing process, involving careful observation, identification of needs and capabilities, provision of resources, assessment and evaluation† (MoE, 1996, p. 8) Observation, planning, assessment, and evaluation is an ongoing process that must be part of a daily routine. Every educator will be different in how they plan, but thru collaboration with colleagues, parents/whanau, the child, and consideration of the community will help educators to plan as effectively as they can for each individual and help them to grow and improve, and learn how to provide children with the best possible environment to learn and develop in.

King Lear †Analytical Monologue Essay

LEAR: It may be so, my lord. Hear, Nature, hear, dear goddess, hear!Suspend thy purpose if thou didst intend 270To make this creature fruitful. Into her womb convey sterility. Dry up in her the organs of increase,And from her derogate body never springA babe to honor her. If she must teem, 275Create her child of spleen, that it may liveAnd be a thwart disnatured torment to her. Let it stamp wrinkles in her brow of youth,With cadent tears fret channels in her cheeks,Turn all her mother’s pains and benefits 280To laughter and contempt, that she may feel-That she may feelHow sharper than a serpent’s tooth it isTo have a thankless child.-Away, away!In this particular monologue, it explores the theme, nature, immediately. Lear implores nature, to which he worships as a ‘goddess’ or deity to listen to his plea. He strongly believes that the god is capable of doing anything. For example, making her daughter sterile and drying up her womb so that no baby can come out. Before this monologue, Gonerill wishes that Lear would behave in an orderly manner and would listen to her. Lear then starts to question himself and he seems unable to believe that he is listening to his own daughter because he thinks he is their father and therefore should be able to do whatever he wants. â€Å"Are you our daughter?† Lear says. Later on, the Fool shows regret for Lear’s reduced status. Lear then becomes angry and declares he will go to Regan’s castle instead assuming she would welcome him. Lear attacks Gonerill’s ingratitude and defends his followers’ honour. After this, in rage, Lear curses Gonerill with no children and if she did have children, they would be disobedient and unloving. â€Å"Dry up in her the organs of increase, †¦ derogate body never spring †¦ Createher child of spleen, that it may live †¦ disnatured torment to her. Let it stamp wrinkles in her brow of youth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Lear curses. Shakespeare’s King Lear is a play revolving around the themes of human nature, madness and childishness. In the beginning of this play, King Lear is involved in a childish incident where an old king decides to give away his kingdom to the child who loves him the most based on a speech. â€Å"Now, that we have divided in three our kingdom †¦ tell me, my daughters, which of you shall we say doth love us most, that we our largest bounty may extend†Realistically, who would be so foolish ask their children to show their love on some bluffed words and base his will on what they say? (rhetorical question)The words ‘nature’ appear many times in the play. Why is ‘nature’ so important in the play? One major reason is that it is a powerful means of controlling people. Lear along with other characters think that what is ‘natural’ is right. For example, for much of the play, Lear believes everything he does is natural and any person who frustrates him is unnatural, because it is natural that everyone should obey him without question because he is king. Nature herself is a goddess to whom he can talk to. â€Å"Hear, Nature, hear, dear goddess, hear!† As Lear begs. There are two different views of nature in Shakespeare’s play, a good or a bad way. Characters are classified as good or evil accordingly to their view of nature. In this monologue, Lear is ‘mad’ and has the evil nature in him at the moment. An example of when nature is evil is with the characters, Edmund, Gonerill and Regan. The evil nature in them feeds and motivates them and make them behave like ruthless predatorial animals. A major type of image used in the play is that of animals. These are used mainly to compare the character’s behaviours and nature with animals. Animals are seen in the play to be insignificant creatures. In the play, Shakespeare suggests that sometimes humans can be as cruel and insignificant  as animals are. He uses metaphors about serpents and fanged animals to compare with the evil character in the play. â€Å"How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is,† as Lear would say to curse Gonerill. â€Å"Kind Lear†, William Shakespeare

Hong Kong's Hospitality Industry Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Hong Kong's Hospitality Industry - Assignment Example In a recent forum of human resource professional bodies of Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, in Malaysia, participants were unanimous in their view that Job hopping had became so rampant in these countries that it had become a culture (Asia-pacific management news, 1997). The hospitality industry in Hong Kong registered strong rebound during the year 2005. Visitors from America and Europe, Africa and Middle East grew 15.1% and 25.6% respectively. Growth rate of visitors from Australia, Newzeland and South Pacific was even higher at 31.8%. Visitors from North Asia, South and South East Asia increased 19.9% and 21.4% respectively (Hong Kong Hotels Association ED review, 2004-05). Based on the data provided by the Hong Kong office of China National Tourism Administration, China outbound Travelers reached 28 million in 2004 in which 12.25 million visited Hong Kong i.e., 43.75%. Hong Kong continues to be the single largest outbound destination for Chinese travelers also. In this way the hospitality industry in Hong Kong is passing through boom period. One of the biggest challenges the hospitality industry of Hong Kong is facing today, the rapidly grow... Based on the data provided by the Hong Kong office of China National Tourism Administration, China outbound Travelers reached 28 million in 2004 in which 12.25 million visited Hong Kong i.e., 43.75%. Hong Kong continues to be the single largest outbound destination for Chinese travelers also. In this way the hospitality industry in Hong Kong is passing through boom period.One of the biggest challenges the hospitality industry of Hong Kong is facing today, the rapidly growing demand for more hotel staff and acute shortage of manpower and talent. Higher staff turnover and the difficulty in retaining staff is primarily affecting the stability of the industry and high service standards. There are paucity of studies and researches regarding employees' turnover and lack of findings in terms of employees' interests and expectations. The economy i.e., the most common reasons given for leaving is the availability of higher paying jobs. In a better economy the availability of alternative jobs plays detrimental role in turnover but this tends to be over stated. The performance of the organization, the organizational culture, the characteristic of a job, unrealistic expectations, demographics and the person himself can be the reasons for higher turnover. It is important to note that the factors, which have been listed above, can be classified as being within or beyond the control of the employing organization. In order to actively participate in reducing costs associated with turnover, organizations need to identify those factors over which they do have some control and initiate necessary changes to reduce turnover attributable to these controllable factors. Therefore, the present study is planned and

Communication and Language Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Communication and Language - Essay Example He will now look at and reach rather than grasp an object as an adult presents it. He has also become more willing to perform familiar actions on an object without mouthing it but using his hands to hold and manipulate objects for longer. He has also shown greater attention to where objects move to or from during the activity. This has been particularly noticeable during our greeting sessions. At the beginning of September he needed adult coactive support to tap a drum to say ‘hello’, as he has become more familiar with activity where he begun to use both hands to tap a drum with adult verbal encouragement. Now he will reach instruments spontaneously to say ‘hello’ as adult moves around the circle asking ‘who want to say hello first’. He is also able to indicate if he wants to continue the tapping action or he finished saying ‘hello’ by clapping his hands to indicate more or pushing the drum away. He finds it amusing if an adult cop ies his simple drumming actions, responds with a smile, and listens to it. Interacting Pupil's progress Charlie has been working towards developing his interaction and playing skills with adult and peers. Charlie has made steady progress with developing his communication, social, and interactive skills with class staff and peers as the year has progressed. He has shown an increasing interest in trying to influence the adult actions during self-occupation time to get what he wants or during group session as mentioned above and one-to-one sessions such as interactive games focusing on communication, taking turns, interacting and responding to adult partner. For example, simple hand clapping games that requires him to form quick thinking, cooperation, and reaction to a game like clapping one's own hands, clapping both hands of a partner, and clapping one hand of a partner, generally across such as the right hand of each player at an appropriate junction.   During self-occupation time , he will move in the direction of the plasma screen and make brief eye contact with an adult to let them know what he wants. If the adult ignores his communication, he will walk around the plasma screen, look behind the speakers, turn on a socket plague and manipulate a key to open the box with laptop attached to the screen. During leisure time, when approached by an adult and asked, â€Å"what you want Charlie?† he will hold his hand and guide him in the direction of the plasma screen or balcony / class door to watch his friends playing or to go for a walk. He is now learning to transfer these learnt skills to class activities. Last year, Charlie preferred contact with adults to that with peers, but this year he has been starting to pay more attention to his class friends if he is engaged in a simple game with them or when they are exploring interesting things. For example, he will pay attention to an interesting object controlled by another pupil, and will come to him or h er, reach for the item and explore it for brief moment before giving it back to his peer. This term, Charlie has developed a friendship with two girls in class Huma and Aiashah. He responded with interest to social overtures from them and used some actions to prolong interaction with them. For example, he will sneeze on purpose to make Aaishah laugh or will allow her to hold his hand and move them in the rhythm of ‘

Selecting Variables into a Regression Equation Assignment

Selecting Variables into a Regression Equation - Assignment Example and $100,000p.a., Above $100,000), density of population in neighborhood (low, medium, or high). The data comprises of 31 observations for each variable. Using step wise approach to predicting the relationship between the dependent variable and independent variables, the correlations between these variables are determined as follows: From the above table, the significant relationships are indicated between number of injuries and parenting status and density of population. There is a positive relationship between number of injuries and parenting status and there is a negative relationship between number of injuries and density of population. Using MS Excel the following regression output is achieved. The regression model is only able to explain 5.8% of the total variations observed in 31 data entries (Kedem & Fokianos, 2002). The above table indicates coefficients of correlation between dependent variable and independent variables. The following regression equation is achieved: From the regression equation, it could be predicted that there is a negative relationship but not significant (p

Social Intervention Planning Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Social Intervention Planning - Assignment Example According to Howe (1997), a clear theoretical perspective guides and influences practice in five key areas: (1) observation, which tells us what to see, and what to look out for; (2) description, which provides a conceptual vocabulary and framework within which observations can be arranged and organized; (3) explanation, which suggests how different observations might be linked and connected, it offers possible casual relationships between one event and another; (4) prediction, which indicates what might happen next and (5) intervention, which suggests things to do to bring about change. Of course, different theories lead to different observations and explanations. Social Work practice theories provide explanations and/or guidance for practice. Social Work practice theory does not seek to explain, the world, individuals, communities or group dynamics. Social Work theories are concerned with understanding the individual in their context and promoting change with the individual and/or their context. What do we mean by crisis? †crisis is not stress, often these words are used interchangeably. Crisis contains a growth- promoting possibility – it can be a catalyst. Crisis disturbs old established patterns of responding†(Wright 1991). Crisis can be seen in at least three different forms; a hazardous event, a decision making event, or a danger and opportunity. Thus, crisis is a time for decision making in a situation presenting either danger or opportunity.... said that the family is not providing adequate child care, and is planning to remove one or more children, or (2) problems between parents and children have grown so severe that a parent is refusing to allow the child to remain in the home, or the child is running away. When parents feel unable to control children who are routinely disobedient, they sometimes turn to the government for help. Nationally, these juveniles are known as status offenders. Unlike juvenile delinquents, whose actions would be considered criminal if they were adults, a status offenders disobedient behavior is only an offence because of a person's age"(Weingartner, et al 2002) Most states offer these children and their parents a through needs assessment and referrals to agencies that can help them stay together and work through their problems. Not all families, however, are willing to engage in such a process. Parents at the breaking point may want the attention of a family court and may ask the judge to place their son or daughter outside the home. At least temporarily, expecting foster care to solve their problems"(Ibid) Professionals who are familiar with the needs of status offenders and their parents tend to agree that foster care is an inappropriate response because it does not respond to the needs which prompted parents to seek help. Traditionally, foster care is designed to keep children and parents apart, not to engage the family as a whole through services such as family counseling and mediation"(Russell et al) 3 "Around the country, parents grievances with their

Carrefour Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Carrefour - Assignment Example The other smaller stores include supermarkets, convenience stores, and gas stations. The first store was opened in 1997, in Lodz. It also has a mobile service known as Carrefour Mova (Hoovers, 2015). The hypermarket structure has contributed immensely to the success of Carrefour. The company deals mainly with grocery and retail items. The items are as follows; clothing, household items, hardware, perishable and non-perishable food items. The business networks of Carrefour include convenience stores, hypermarkets, online stores, discount stores, supermarkets and electronic commerce. The Carrefour hypermarkets offer a range of services which include: financial service, ATM, parcel holding, Carrefour optical, shopping center to name a few. Carrefour also faces stiff competition in this competitive industry of grocery and retailing from other businesses either locally or internationally based. These competitors include: convenience stores, Wal-Mart, Ahold, Auchan, Tesco, Aldi and grocery stores. What differentiates these chains is their marketing plans strategy. Thus, this report will analyze the strategies it has employed in venturing in this new foreign market, and that has enable it compete favorably and continue making profits. Also it will include a SLEPT analysis of how marketing mix elements and management issues influence its successful productivity (Businesscasestudies, 2015). The major strength of Carrefour is that it is a hypermarket store well stocked with diverse goods and services, and it is well-known globally. The creation of its brand name products is a probable weakness that Carrefour faces. This is because it is a tradition of customers to the belief that own-branded products are inferior and hence lose trust in the company. Carrefour has potential opportunities for exploring its online stores and expansion in overseas markets. Carrefour also experiences enormous threats and challenges such as it creates

Number and Apllication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Number and Apllication - Essay Example For class 02/03, the mean of 48.5 means that most of the scores falls somewhere near 48.5. Lastly, for Data Set 3, the median was measured. Both of the classes had a median of 3. This means that the rating of 3 is the middle score when the scores are arranged from lowest to highest or vice versa. Range was the measure of variability for Data Set 1. Since both classes had a highest mark of 5 and a lowest mark of 1, they had the same value for the range. This means that the jobs that the students in the classes being studied took jobs that range from those signified by 1 until 5. For Data Set 2, the standard deviation was measured. For class 01/02, this was calculated to be 20.85 while for class 02/03, it was 21.17. Since Class 01/02 has a smaller S.D. than Class 02/03, this means that there is more variation in scores for the latter. Although both classes had scores that were very distinct, the lesser S.D. signifies less variation. In Data Set 3, the semi-inter quartile was measured. The results of the measure mean that the values of Class 01/02 are from the X-axis than those of Class 02/03. The value of the SIQ refers to half the range, between Q1 and Q3. The pie graphs for data set 1 makes evident that in class 01/02, there is no individual who took up a pre-university or summer job as a skilled or semi-skilled worker. ... The value of the SIQ refers to half the range, between Q1 and Q3. III.A. Charts Data Set 1 Data Set 2 Data Set 3 III.B. Interpretation The pie graphs for data set 1 makes evident that in class 01/02, there is no individual who took up a pre-university or summer job as a skilled or semi-skilled worker. It also shows that majority of the class worked as manual workers. For class 02/03, the pie chart shows that there is no occupation that may be considered as the majority since each of the 5 occupations receive almost the same share. For data set two, the line graphs show how the modular ratings of the students in each class progress. Although there is not particular ranking, the histogram shows that in both classes, there are sharp increases or decreases in the ratings of the students. This maybe related to the high S.D. that was computed for both classes. Lastly, the bar graphs for data set 3 reveal which evaluation rating has the highest frequency. It is evident in both classes that the rating of 3 is the most common rating that students give to the learning they have acquired in the module. Also, the graph for class 02/03 almost demonstrates a bell-shape curve or what we know as a normal distribution. III.C. Standard Error S.E. for class 01/02 = 1.220655562 S.E. for class 02/03 = 0.9 Overall S.E =

Liberal Party's Split of 1886 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Liberal Party's Split of 1886 - Essay Example The 'classes', by which he meant 'the dukes ... the squires ... the Established clergy ... the officers of the army, or ... a number of other bodies of very respectable people', were against the 'masses', the remainder of the population. His point was that in all matters: where the leading and determining consideration that ought to lead to a conclusion are truth, justice, and humanity, there, gentlemen, all the world over, I will back the masses against the classes. (Matthew 1999, 348-9) But Gladstone faced an uphill task for all kinds of reasons were causing many of the previously Liberal voters to abstain or even to turn out and vote against them. Memories of Gordon and anti-Catholic prejudice erupted throughout the country, while his fiery rhetoric, as in Liverpool, might have scared off as many electors as it encouraged. The main problem for Gladstone and his friends was that there were two Liberal parties to vote for in 1886. The MPs who had opposed Gladstone in the Commons made no secret of their opposition to him in public, and these 'Liberal Unionists' actually formed an electoral pact with the Conservatives; by the time the elections were over there were seventy-eight of them in the House of Commons. The Conservative Party itself did very well, securing 314 seats, while the Gladstonian Liberals trailed well behind them, being reduced to just 181 MPs. Not even Parnell's Irish Nationalists, with eighty-five seats, could make a difference to the overall balance of power in this Parliament. 'The defeat', Gladstone ruefully recorded in his diary 'is a smash'. (Matthew 1990, 585) On 30 July he tendered his resignation to the Queen. The underlying cause of this disastrous split in the Liberal Party has been long debated. (Searle 1992, 1-5) Gladstone himself believed, and historians have long maintained, that it represented a ' revolt of the Whigs'. (Magnus 1954, 245) In general terms it is fair to say that most of the aristocratic 'Whig' elements in the party deserted Gladstone at this point over the Irish question, while the majority of the middle-class Radicals stayed loyal to him in spite of it. But it has more recently been stressed that many better-off 'Whig' members of the Liberal Party had been showing signs of disillusionment with it since the time of Gladstone's first ministry. It is also true that some 'moderate' Liberals, including some of those who might be considered 'better off', remained loyal to Gladstone even at this time, while, on the other hand, one of the leaders of the revolt was Joseph Chamberlain, the personification of middle-class radicalism. In any case, it does not seem to matter very much: enough voters had deserted Gladstone to give the Conservatives an overall majority in the Commons and put Lord Salisbury back into office, even without the Liberal Unionists' support. It was the Conservatives who were to dominate British politics until the twentieth century. (Pugh 2002, 7-8) When Gladstone resigned as prime minister in 1886 he had no intention of

Milgram’s experiment Essay Example for Free

Milgram’s experiment Essay Milgram’s experiment provided a logical answer to these questions: ‘is it possible that people will do things because they are merely obeying the orders of a person in authority or ‘what will motivate a decent person to do unethical acts? ’ The answer to these questions was very important during his time. During the World War II over 5 Million Jews were executed by the National Socialist Regime led by Adolf Hitler. Stanley Milgram, a Yale University Psychologist, theorized that it is very much possible that Adolf Eichmann executed these people because he was merely blindly obeying the orders of a superior authority. This means that he was not a principal in the crime but a mere accomplice. This also means that the execution may have been done against his will. Thus, he set up his experiment to test and determine how much pain an ordinary citizen is willing to inflict on another person simply because he was ordered to do so by a scientist, an authority figure. The result is that 60% to 65% of the participants were prepared to inflict fatal voltages against another person in obedience to the scientist’s order. In Milgram’s experiment, the authority figure represented the scientist. In our lives, a person in authority could be our parents, our professors, our boss in the office, the local policeman, the local priest, a fraternity or sorority senior, or any person in whom trust and respect is reposed. We consider a person to have authority over us because of their age, relationship, position, designation and even skill. I believe one reason why people obey a person in authority even if the latter’s order is against morality is because one thinks that by obeying a person in authority he no longer becomes the doer of the action but simply the agent. (â€Å"Milgram Experiment†) If he has done something wrong then he is not to be blamed. Thus, he rationalizes that any and all moral and legal responsibility for such action should not fall upon him and instead the responsibility should fall upon the shoulders of the person in authority. Another plausible reason why a person simply obeys a person in authority even if the deed is contrary to his sense of morality is moral ignorance. (â€Å"Milgram Experiment†) It is possible that the doer may not know what to do in such a situation as a result his only course of action would be to follow the commands of a person in authority. He may be unaware that there are better options. When people do not know what to do and how to act in a particular situation as a result we allow other person to make decisions for us whom we trust and respect to be capable of making the right decisions. II. I think children are socialized to obey authority figures primarily because the parents as the first authority figure were raised in the same culture and environment. As part of their socialization process, their own parents raised them in the similar manner where respect for authority figures was emphasized. Thus, they bring family culture and environment to their own families. Also, I think the parents, as the first authority figures in the child’s life want their children to obey them as they have obeyed their own parents. As part of the discipline process, parents want their children to give respect to them and to follow their wishes and instructions so that it will be easier for them to impose discipline on their own children. Further, from the perspective conforming to the social rules, the parents because of their vast experiences have learned how important it is for one member of the society to obey simple rules e. g. traffic rules, penal laws, company policies. They have also learned that there are times when there are rewards for obeying authority figure or the mere fact that one does not get into trouble is a reward in itself. As a result they want to pass on to their children that obedience and conformity is a social norm which everybody has to accept so that there will be order and harmony within the society. Thus, it is stated that conformity to social rules is so important that all its members must be inducted to into its moral norms, attitudes, values, motives, social roles, language and symbols because it is the only means by which social and cultural continuity are attained.

The Lifecycle Of Pidgins And Creoles English Language Essay

The Lifecycle Of Pidgins And Creoles English Language Essay In reference to Hall, normal languages do not have life cycles, however, defining normal can be quite a complex and challenging task, especially when correctly categorising what language is normal. Hall attempts to define normal language as follows: One handed down from generation to generation through transference to children who learn it as their first language. (Quoted in Romaine, 1988, p 115) Pidgins tend to differ from this particular definition as in contrast to normal languages a pidgin usually comes into existence for a specific reason, lasts just as long as the situation that called in into being and then quickly goes out of use (Hall, p 115). A pidgin has the potential to gain a longer lifespan by evolving into a native language or becoming creolized and therefore acquiring the status of a normal language. When studying pidgins and creoles in detail, it rapidly becomes apparent that it is much more testing to study pidgins and creoles as two separate processes, rather than as two aspects of the same linguistic process, just at different stages. It has proven to be quite problematic for many researchers to specify accurately when a pidgin becomes a fully developed creole with a significant community of nativized speakers; however academics have developed a fairly precise continuum which states that a pidgin must traditionally experience four phases of development before winning the status of a creole. Throughout each phase, the language becomes much more complex and sophisticated, indicating features of a normal language. The developmental continuum is as follows: Jargon Stable Pidgin Expanded Pidgin Creole The first phase of the developmental continuum is the Jargon stage or prepidgin stage where vocabulary is extremely limited. The Jargon phase is the very beginning of the life cycle, where the purpose of the makeshift language is to merely form communication between two incomprehensible languages and is used in very limited domains, commonly trade and labour. Robertson (1948, Quoted in Romaine, 1988, p 118) however, suggests the idea that there is a pre-jargon stage where makeshift languages are instantly constructed on the spot out of a combination of gestures and speech. The example given to demonstrate this theory is the arrival of a European trade ship in Tahiti in 1767; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦we made all the friendly signs that we could think of, and showed them several trinkets in order to get some of them on-boardà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦they paddled all round the ship and made signs of friendship to us by holding up Branches of Plantain trees, and making a long speech of near fifteen minutesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦but non of us could understand themà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦we made signs to them, to bring of Hogs, Fowls and fruit and showed them some coarse cloth, Knives sheers Beeds Ribons etc., and made them understand that we was willing to barter with them. (Robertson, 1948 as quoted in Romaine, 1988, p 118) The jargon phase itself is not a huge progression from the pre-jargon stage suggested by Robertson as sentences are only minimal; one or two words in length at maximum. Lexicon is exceptionally small and the sound system is very basic (Romaine, p 117). Labov (1970/1977) defines this phase as an ingenious and original mode of expression which combines knowledge of the native vernacular with an imperfect grasp of the other languages in the new environment (Labov, as quoted in Romaine, 1988, p 118-119). There is evidence of considerable variation throughout the jargon phase as it is a newly constructed pidgin with no set linguistic rules, often resulting in confusion and a near incomprehensible language. For example, instances have shown how different syntactical structures can be used to the lexical items employed. The illustration given by Romaine is one of a Japanese woman who travelled to Hawaii, speaking her own form of expression as quite an isolated individual, never acquiring th e Hawaii Pidgin English. The language which she chose to adopt under these circumstances consisted of a primarily Japanese syntax with both Japanese and English lexical items. Furthermore, in the jargon stage, there is what Silverstein (1972) (quoted by Romaine, 1988:120) labelled a double illusion a contact language relatable to both parties native languages. The example illustrated by Silverstein is as follows; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦there is a particular jargon between the French and the Indians, which is neither French nor Indian, and nevertheless when the French use it, they think they are speaking Indian, and the Indians in taking it up think they are speaking good French. (Jeune, 1633) This jargon is described by Silverstein as one with an unsystematic nature and lack[s] independent grammatical norms, (Silverstein, as quoted by Romaine, 1988:120) though other scholars disagreed with this somewhat negative interpretation and insisted that it was a vital trade component. The following period of the pidgin-creole lifecycle is the Stable Pidgin phase, where language is used not only for communication but for self-expression also. There is a stronger sense of linguistic complexity at this stage as both simple and complex sentences are applied. The most suitable example of a pidgin that falls under this category is Russenorsk (Russo-Norwegian); a trade pidgin which was used in Northern Norway by Russian merchants and Norwegian fisherman during the Pomor trade. (Romaine, 1988:124) Russenorsk is unique when compared against other pidgin languages, considering its lifespan. Generally speaking, a pidgin lasts as long as its required and then becomes obsolete. The alternative possibility is for the pidgin to become creolized and acquire a community of native speakers. However, Russenorsk is an exceptional instance and unlike normal pidgins has existed for such a long period of time without creolizing. The time between the first attested occurrence of the lang uage (in a lawsuit in 1785) until its extinction at the time of the First World War and the Russian revolution is 141 years (Romaine, p 125). The most obvious cause for this anomaly is the fact that it was merely used as a seasonal trade language in the summer months; it never became a fully-functioning native language, nor did it fall out of use (until WW1). A stable pidgins lexicon remains fairly small in size; Russenorsks vocabulary consisted of a total of approximately 390 words, however, half of which only occurred once, resulting in a key vocabulary of about 150-200 words. It was a very concise language, showing no signs of any inflections or categories such as gender, number or tense. Also absent is the verb to have. As a result of this and the fact that terminology remarkably originated from a wide variety of languages such as Dutch, German, French, Swedish and Lappish as well as Russian and Norwegian, there was evidence of many doublets or parallel forms. For example; good/well could be spoken as bra, good, dobra, dobro or korosjo further adding confusion (Fox, 1973, as quoted by Romaine, 1988:126-7). Fascinatingly, Slobin (1977, as quoted by Romaine, p 129) uses Russenorsk as a prime example of a language extremely close to universal grammar. Universal grammar is a linguistic concept proposed by Chomsky that suggests the idea that the capability to learn and understand grammar can happen without being taught that it is a cognitive process that happens naturally. According to Bickertons language bioprogram theory (1996), the principle of Universal Grammar is linked to pidgin and creole languages because specific characteristics are common in all different languages, allowing foreign speakers of language to interact and form a new language (pidgin). One of the characteristics, given by example by Bickerton, is the way in which an interrogative sentence can be transformed into a declarative sentence through purely altering intonation. Like the jargon phase, there is still a degree of variation in the stable pidgin stage, especially in pronunciation, according to Broch and Jahr (1984, quoted by Romaine, p 129) who said that pronunciation varied depending on the language and dialect background of individual speakers. The penultimate stage of the pidgin-creole lifecycle is the Expanded Pidgin phase. Here, grammar becomes much more complex and speech tempo is increased. Language and discourse becomes evidently much more cohesive and consistent. It is used not only as a simple means of communication for trade purposes, but in everyday life for self-expression and literature. (Romaine 1988:138) Sankoff (1977, as quoted by Romaine, p 139) was interested in the comparison between normal languages and pidgins when investigating speech tempo. Her data showed that pidgins are vocalized at a slower rate than normal languages, largely due to the fact that pidgins are used merely as a second language to users and not as a first. It is only when a speaker becomes fluent in the language, does the tempo increase. Data that explores features of Tok Pisin (perhaps one of the most well-known expanded pidgins) shows that one of the features that separate a childs speech from adults is phonology. For instance, a child might condense syllables. The example given by Sankoff and Laberge (1973) is the phrase Mi go long haus (pronounced using four syllables by adults). However, they noticed that in comparison, a child is more likely to say Mi go l:aus, using only three syllable by shifting stress patterns. The concluding stage of the life-cycle is when the pidgin becomes creolized and takes on the identity of its dominant parent. However, according to Muhlhausler (1980), creolization does not necessarily have to take place at the final stage of the life-cycle, but can occur at any stage in the developmental continuum from jargon to expanded pidgin (as quoted by Romaine, p 154). He suggests that there are three possible varieties of creolization: Type 1: Jargon Creole Type 2: Jargon Stabilized pidgin Creole Type 3: Jargon Stabilized pidgin Expanded pidgin Creole Most known instances fall under Type 3 and are wide-spread creoles that are still fully-functioning and in use today such as Tok Pisin (spoken largely in Papua New Guinea as an official language and the most broadly used in that country) and West African Pidgin English. Some known instances fall under Type 2, however is much less common. Examples of Type 2 creoles include North Australian creoles and Torres Strait creoles (Romaine, p. 155). Cases of Type 1 creoles are currently non-existent. In contrast, Bickerton proposes an alternate view and suggests that creolization after stabilization of a pidgin is rare and in the majority of circumstances, pidgins have creolized whilst still being highly unstable in the early stages of development. So far, we have discussed the idea that creoles are formed from a pidgin which stabilizes. However, Bickerton goes even further to controversially suggest that there is no such link between pidgin and creole and that the development of a creole has more to do with the innate devices of a first language acquisition than with a gradual evolution from a pidgin. For example; Tok Pisin the lingua franca of Papua New Guinea had developed whilst co-existing alongside another language, therefore integrating many of its characteristics. However, what Bickerton labels the classic creole situation (where creole-speakers have been torn from their native cultures) differs from Tok Pisin as the majority of speakers could still rely on another langu age. (Bickerton, 1981, as quoted by Singh, 2000:52-53) DeCamp (1971) focuses his research on the fate of a creole upon reaching the end of the creole continuum. This particular area is not as thoroughly researched as earlier stages; however, DeCamp makes some attempt at outlining the potential routes a creole may take. These are: May well continue its status as a creole and remain unaffected, much like the Haitian Creole seems to have done. It may become obsolete. It may take on the identity of its dominant parent as a normal language. It may progressively combine with the national language as is happening in Jamaica (decreolization). (DeCamp, 1971, as quoted by Romaine, p 157). The post-creole continuum is as follows: Basilect Mesolect Acrolect The creole is what is meant by basilect, the national corresponding language is what is meant by acrolect and any transitional varieties in-between is what is referred to as the mesolect (Romaine, p 158). To go back to the question of the entire paper, is there a point at which a creole stops being a creole and takes on the identity of its dominant parent? We must look at the work of ODonnell and Todd (1980, as quoted by Romaine, p158), who points out that at the end of the continuum, we are not dealing with two distinct systems, but an unbroken spectrum between the pidgin or creole on the one hand, and the prestigious standard on the other. There is no point of the continuum where we find a sharp break between the varieties. Word Count: 2,120

Home Schooling :: Free Essay Writer

Home Schooling Is home schooling a better option for our children? I believe that the author’s main point is that there are two dissimilar types of group’s that home school, and additionally that parents can customize there children’s schooling is a â€Å"Consumer mentality†. The two categories of home schooling have â€Å"Emerged†, both of which is complicated about customization.† The superior of the grouping is the â€Å"Christian right†, although home schooling has grow to be a much more diverse endeavors in the past 10 years†. The â€Å"Strength as a social movement and the majority of is practitioners are conservative Christians.† Both kinds of home schooled as in the, â€Å"Family unit who instructs the child exclusively at home and the family unit who inquires about some interface with the community school organization is practicing customizing in education.† In addition, home schooling is supplementary than an, â€Å"Education alternative.† It is also a societal interest group, in 1986; approximately 50,000 offspring were being sophisticate at there dwelling. â€Å"In 2002, at slightest 1 million offspring’s is being home school; with some approximation attach the quantity at 2 million, and amplify of 20†. I believe that the instigator purpose of the commentary is that, â€Å"Parents view their child’s education on a matter of properly under their control, and no one else’s†. In addition, that some of the parents feel that they are, â€Å"Entitled to purchase the education of their child from the market place of learning material†. I consider that all parents should have the chose to customize their child’s education, to their own characteristics. If parents want to protect their children from diverse things in the world, in that case they should be capable to. In addition, I concur with that how home schooling parents are so dedicated to their children having an excellent education. I agree with the author stated that home schooling seems to be â€Å"Wonderful if people think about education as a consumption tool†. My position of the commentary is that I concur with what the author declared in the entire article. I believe parents that home school their children are significantly worried about how their children obtain their education, and that they would do anything for there child to have an excellent education. Residency is the societal adhesive that unites the diverse people together; to be a national is to contribute to something in common with one’s fellow citizens. As the legal scholar Sunstein (2001) has argue, a â€Å"Heterogeneous society† with out some share experiences and some common values.

Polar Bears :: essays papers

Polar Bears â€Å"Saving the White Beast† The Polar Bear males can measure up to nine feet long, and can weigh 770-1430 lbs. The fur of the Polar Bear covers their entire body except their nose and pads of their feet. The Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) is the largest living carnivore on the planet earth. (National Parks Service). The polar bear lives in a small place on the top of the globe called the Arctic Circle. At an average the polar bears have about five million square miles of living space. The Polar ears have gotten close to 150 ft. from the North Pole. (WWF 1). These white creatures do not hibernate in the winter like other bears, instead they hunt. The bears main diet is the ringed and bearded seal. These bears have a great sense of smell. They can smell seals kilometers away, and detect one under three feet of snow. This helps them find the food they need during winter months when the seals migrate south to get warm. The bears are patient when it comes to food. They need two kilograms of fat a day to survive. A seal can provide five days worth of food. If the bears are starving they eat the whole seal; otherwise, they just eat the blubber and entrails for protein (National Parks Service). The bears live in Canada or above. They rarely go below Canada since it is too warm there. The giant bears have thick white fur, which helps the bear survive the cold, and it has a thick layer of blubber all around its body where it stores up food when needed. They can go with out food for 2 weeks if necessary (Larsen 7). Their fur is what helps retain the heat inside their bodies. The fur looks white but it is actually clear colored. The sun shines through the clear fur to the bear’s black skin, which absorbs the heat and retains it. Actually it does such a good job that the bears have to jump in icy water, and even roll in the snow to cool off. Fredtjoj Nansen gives this description of the polar bear, â€Å"Elegant body, big neck, small head, and short ears give it a ferocious look† (6). When its time for the bears to reproduce, the male approaches the female. The males have many mates in their lifetime. When the females are pregnant, they dig a den in which they stay until after pregnancy for a while with the bears can survive the cold.

Resolving the Global Warming Problem Essay -- Climate Change, Greenhou

Resolving the Global Warming Problem "It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else will effect the outcome." Global Warming according to Microsoft Bookshelf nineteen ninety eight edition is " A conjectural greenhouse effect on earth that is attributed to deforestation and industrial air emissions"(MS Bookshelf 98). Global Warming could be one of the most important issues of the century. As global warming becomes more and more of an issue, the factors surrounding global warming need to be dealt with. The world is beginning to show that if something is not done about global warming serious side effects can occur. At first impression someone might think that global warming does not effect everyday life, but the current situation with global warming cannot be ignored. Humans could be in serious danger because global warming destroys the earth?s ecology and effects everyday life by creating an unhealthy environment. The important issue of global warming is that the greenhouse problem is recognized and we try to do our best to solve the problem. The effects of global warming could create an ecological disaster. The underlying fact that the greenhouse effect will have serious effects on humans is very relevant. During the next century the earth?s atmospheric temperature is expected to rise between one and nine degrees. The problems with the rise in the earth?s temperature could be extraordinary. Several things could happen when the earth?s temperature rises. A major problem would be the melting of the polar ice caps. If the ice caps melt the current sea level could be raised by as much as "six to thirty seven inches," during a one hundred-year period (FORTUNE 129). When the sea rises th... ...ruary 1998: 67- 73. Parrish, Michael. "Meteorological Mayhem; So, What?s Behind All this Weird Weather." Playboy December 1998: 118-122, 210-211. Reynolds, Patrick. "Solar Power Players." Time 5 October, 1998. Scott, Alex. "BP Experiments with CO2 Emissions Trading." 28 October, 1998. Stripp, David. "Trouble in the Air." Fortune 8 December1997: 113-120 Schelling, Thomas C. Some Economics of Global Warming. The American Economic Review 82. 1-14. Ward, Peter D. "The Greenhouse Extiction; Evidence of Greenhouse Effect on Dinosaur Fossils." Discover August 1998: 54-58 Wilson, Jim. "Global Warming Wildcard; Science; connection between sunspots and Earth?s Climate." Popular Mechanics September 1998: 44-45. Zimmer, Carl; Kunzig Robert. "Carbon Cuts and Techno-fixes: 10 things to do about the Greenhouse Effect Some of Which Aren?t Crazy." Discover June 1998: 60-68.

Musical Analysis Essay

The first piece I chose was Frederic Chopin’s Prelude in E-Minor (op. 28 no. 4). It was performed by Aldona Dvarionaite (2009). Chopin was a composer in the Romantic period. This is a sad piano piece. Chopin wrote primarily for the piano. The piece range was almost monotone in nature. The sound was in scale rising and lowering using the same melody throughout the piece. The tones were kept uniform repeating over and over again. I found this piece of music one dimensional. It was dark and depressing in nature. It is not music that I would seek out to relax and enjoy. Piece number two was composed by Johannes Brahms – OP. 49 No. 4 Wiegenlied / Lullaby written in the romantic period. This piece was performed by Das Slovakische Kammerochester (2007), I found this music comforting an familiar. Kammerochester performed this from the original composition on the violin. I played this music to my children and my grandchildren to relax them and put them to sleep, singing the lyrics, as my mother sang to me. The melody was rythmatic and soothing to my ears. Johannes Brahms repeated the same tones in the beginning, middle, ending. I was able to discern both the violin and harp in the music, mimicking each other. The lullaby has so many precious memories for me, I cannot help feeling joy with this music. Moving on to the Classical Period I chose to listen to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Requiem, conducted by Karl Bohm (2007). This piece had much more depth in texture and tonality. Mozart raised and lowered the power of the piece using both instrumental diversity and note volume to emphasize the piece. Listening to this piece brought me memories of going to the cathedral with my Grandmother. The entire mass was sung in Latin, so it was the music that led you to understanding the mass. The beginning of the piece was sad changing the tone to almost a jubilation or celebration of life. I enjoyed this piece immensely. My second classical selection is Ludwig Von Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, performed by Elisso Bolkvadeze (2010). This is a piano piece with complexity in the melody I find myself feeling melancholy. I cannot help but feel that there was deep sorrow in the person who wrote this music. It is almost that the person was lost amidst his sorrow. The melody repeats itself but is different though out the performance. I almost wanted to find this person and hug them to remove such pain from their life. I was strangely mesmerize, unsure whether to enjoy the music or turn away from the pain. From the Baroque Period I selected one of my favorite pieces, Sebastian Bach Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 (2011). There is a complexity in Bach’s compositions that I have not heard in the other composures. I felt energized and excited by this rendition. Bach uses Texture, tonality, melody, and complexity in this piece. The range of emotions changes from moment to moment. It is whimsical at one moment, changing veracity in a moment notice. One does not have to do anything but allow themselves to get lost in the music. There are distinct differences in styles, each with their own merits and shortcomings. In order to appreciate music, one only needs to listen, and let the emotions go through them. I may have my preferences to what I enjoy, but a person needs to make that decision on their own. Music would not be what it is today, if we did not have artist with the imagination and passion to bring it to the public.

On the amtrak from Boston to New York City Essay

The situation of the poem is described in the title â€Å"On the Amtrak from Boston to New York City,† was about a white woman and a person with a Native American background who were on a train together. What was being taken place when the speaker is meditating about the â€Å"white† woman they were having a conversations with other passengers, including an older white woman about the brief history of the city as they pass landmarks of the Native American Culture. The subject of the conversation had to do with the frustration the man had with the woman being ignorant about what land was taken away from him and his ancestors. He had brought her orange juice because it was stated right after in the next sentence he respects all elders it could have been out of kindness. That shows that the character is being bigger than himself he himself knows that being rude to this woman will now solve anything. The idea of Don Henley really made Alexie mad do to the fact that Native Americans inhabited the lands long before anyone else. Throughout the poem Alexie continues to talk to himself and use profanity whenever the white women would bring up the â€Å"white† men. For instance, when the woman asks him about Walden Pond. He says, â€Å"‘I don’t give a shit about Walden. I know the Indians were living stories around that pond before Walden’s grandparents were born†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Using profanity here represents Alexie’s outrage at the woman’s ignorance. He continues: â€Å"I’m tired of hearing about Don-fucking-Henley saving it, too†¦ If Don Henley’s family hadn’t come here in the first place then nothing would need to be saved.† Again, the use of profanity shows Alexie’s anger as a Native American whose family had been pushed out of their land. The perspective the speaker makes his judgment about the historicity and values of Thoreau’s Pond from first person from his perspective. The speakers opinion of what he thinks of the â€Å"white† history is that his peoples stories and land were taken away from them they were over powered by the white man and were not able to continue there history. Along with what they had created historically the white man would take credit for it. The poem â€Å"On the Amtrak from Boston to New York City,† by Sherman Alexie was about a white woman and a person with a Native American background who were on a train together. This is an interesting poem, because it provides a new outlook on our country as it is today, from a Native American. Alexie appears to wish other races would leave his country. He refers to all other races as, â€Å"the enemy† and believes his biggest challenge every day is simply dealing with â€Å"the enemy.† Due to all that happened to the Native Americans in the past Alexie believes his people were treated harshly, which I agree with. â€Å"Blue Winds Dancing† The story tells of a young Native American’s struggle with growing up in America. The struggle of the character exists because of the ancient Indian thought conflicting with our American expectations. The attitudes the speakers expresses are frustration or anger and how they both wish they could have there home back but it was taken away by the â€Å"whites.† For blue winds dancing the internal monologues as the narrator searches for his identity and copes with society, respectively. As for â€Å"On the Amtrak from Boston to New York City† the internal monlogues is expressed through frutration from the whites taking away land.

Friendship: Interpersonal Relationship and Friendships

Friends and Friendships in Emerging Adulthood Carolyn Manager Barry* Loyola University Maryland Stephanie D. Madsen McDaniel College â€Å"I'll be there for you, when the rain starts to pour. â€Å"l These lyrics began each episode of the popular sitcom Friends. The trials and tribulations of these six â€Å"20-something† friends captivated the American public for a decade until Ross, Monica, Joey, Phoebe, Chandler, and Rachel eventually transitioned to adulthood at the shows closure.Perhaps the shows popularity was due to having some truth in the fiction: (a) friends can be a proxy family for young people, offering invaluable advice, support, and musicianship; (b) friends can be of the same or opposite sex, but these two types of friendship work differently; (c) friends may engage in casual sex, but may also become involved romantically; (d) friendships are central to the lives of emerging adults, especially those who are single and not in a serious romantic relationship; a nd (e) friends help people to figure themselves out and influence their behavior, potentially for both good and bad.As is the case with all TV shows, there is also pure fiction in this sitcom: these six friends lived in the same apartments in the same city ND often held down the same Job for over a decade. Instead, instability is more the norm among realize emerging adults. Also, most American young people get married and become parent's in their late ass rather than the ass (as the sitcom depicted). So while close friendships are critical to emerging adults' happiness, search for their identities, and true loves, friends become less important once they've figured out the big questions of life and â€Å"settle down† in marriage, parenthood, and careers.Still, for emerging adults, friends can fill the growing gap between the time when they leave he families they grew * Carolyn Manager Barry is an associate professor of psychology at Loyola University Maryland. Stephanie Madsen is an associate professor of psychology at McDaniel College. 2 Changing Spirituality of Emerging Adults up in and when they establish families of their own. Can Men and Women Be Friends? With persons of the same or opposite sex. Children need same-sex friendships in order to develop into socially skilled, moral, and empathetic adults.From the teen years on, it is common to make friends with both sexes, and these friendships can be f good quality, as seen in Rachel and Joeys friendship?they regularly shared problems, offered support, and simply enjoyed each other's company. Still, people most prefer same-sex friendships throughout their lives, and it is less common for men and women to be friends beyond college or after one friend marries. Friendships between men and women differ in some ways from those between people of the same sex. Men's friendships with women are more emotionally intimate than their friendships with men.And heterosexual men often seek friendships with women to w hom they are sexually attracted. Not surprisingly then, approximately Alfa of opposite-sex friends in college report that they have engaged in sexual behavior, which has the potential to hurt the relationship. However, many college students believe that sex enhances a friendship's quality and helps them to consider whether they want to remain â€Å"Just friends† or move on to something more. What Are Friendships Like? There appears to be some truth to the old adage â€Å"birds of a feather flock together. Certainly we saw this portrayed in the six characters on Friends. All shared the same ethnicity (European American), enjoyed the same activities (sipping coffee at Central Perk), and had similar levels of social skills (though Joey seemed more adept at getting dates than Ross or Chandler). Such similarities offer a common ground that strengthens friendships and helps them to endure. Women's friendships are often communal?offering companionship, intimacy, emotional security, and affection. Friends Rachel and Monica supported each other with late-night chats.Men's friendships emphasize competition and are more gigantic? providing help, a reliable alliance, and self-validation. Friends Joey and Chandler 3 competed in videotapes from matching recliners. Still, men and women value friendships with all of these features (perhaps placing greater importance on the communal). From the teen years on, intimacy becomes the hallmark of friendships and is related to how close we feel toward our friends. Emerging adults' friendships are even more emotionally intimate than their friendships of Just a few years earlier. Relationship quality depends not only on what you give friends, but also what you get.In addition to the healthy dimensions we described above, friendships can also have negative aspects, such as frequent conflict, power inequities, and antagonism. Women's friendships, in particular, can fall prey to co-rumination, where women obsess over problems in t heir lives in conversations with friends instead of taking fruitful action. In one episode of Friends, Chandler sought support from the girls following a break-up; they urged him to talk about his feelings (adding, â€Å"if you want to lead to depression. Thankfully, positive friendship qualities can help buffer negative ones.Friends focused on one particular cultural and ethnic group. Likewise, current research on emerging-adult friendships largely ignores cultural influences on friendships, though important differences exist. For example, different ethnic groups seek different friendship qualities. Asian Americans emphasize an amicable exchange of ideas, African Americans seek acceptance and respect, Latino Americans highlight the importance of relational support, and European Americans focus on meeting individual needs of each friend. How Do Friendships Change across Emerging Adulthood?Given the many transitions that emerging adults face, it is not surprising that their friendsh ips change as well. Transformations in friendships and friendship networks relate to life stage rather than age. So knowing that a person is 20 versus 26 does not ell us much about their friendships. Instead, knowing whether they are romantically involved or have children is much more informative than age alone. Friends are frequent companions, getting together at least once a week for no specific purpose (for example, gathering at Central Perk Just to talk) and less frequently 4 for events such as movies, parties, and concerts.Friends find less time to get together as they progress toward adulthood. Despite these overall changes in approaches to friendship networks, emerging adults keep their individual patterns of interacting with friends. So a very social or very shy teen will adopt the same approach to friendship networks as an emerging adult. The small friendship network on Friends remained stable over 10 years?not at all typical of most emerging adults' networks. Instead, emer ging adults become increasingly flexible in whom they include in friendship networks and how they maintain these networks.They grow more accepting of opposite-sex friendships, even keeping former boyfriends or girlfriends on as friends. European American emerging adults' friendship networks become more diverse (especially if they are exposed to more diverse social networks through allege or work), but the networks of African American, Latino American, and Asian American emerging adults become less diverse (especially if they invest in activities and groups linked to their ethnicity). Relative to the rest of the lifespan, friendship networks are the largest during early emerging adulthood and get smaller later on in emerging adulthood.Although women have more close friends than do men on average, men's and women's friendship networks are of equal size. Still, the friendship network on Friends did illustrate the density that is typical of emerging adults' friends. It is common for man y network members to share common links (working at the same place, living in the same building) or even to be friends with each other. People tend to form relationships with others in their same social situation. True to life, the characters in Friends shared roughly the same place in life when their group formed.They were single, had no or few childcare responsibilities, and were still searching for meaningful careers. More on the side of fiction, the friendship network of these television friends did not change in response to their own life changes, as is happily. Friends seldom featured the workplace, but many emerging adults find friends there as they explore career pathways and settle into adult work roles. Career stage influences the lives of single emerging-adult men, especially.These men often have large 5 friendship networks preparer, but have few friends who provide emotional or instrumental support; the time constraints inherent in beginning a career bring friendship net works down to a more manageable size. Career transitions don't seem to alter single women's friendship networks in the same way?women maintain ironsides networks during their careers that are similar in size to those they had while in their late teens and early ass. The characters on Friends had many romantic involvements, and whether emerging adults are single, dating, or married affects friendship networks.Single and dating people are strongly attached to friends, naming friends as their top companions and confidants. In contrast, romantically involved emerging adults change the time they spend with friends. Early in their relationships, emerging-adult couples spend more time with friends to introduce them to their new romantic interest. But as the relationship gets serious, the couple withdraws from the circle of friends. This was shown in the final season of Friends. By then Monica and Chandler had hooked up, fallen in love, and gotten married.When the group of friends gathered to celebrate Earache's daughter's first birthday, Monica and Chandler instead opted to sneak away for a romantic weekend alone. Typically, withdrawal is selective, with couples spending less time with peripheral friends and more time with friends who support their relationship. A few Friends characters became parent's, an event that typically happens at the end of?or even after?emerging adulthood. Although their tight friendship network remained stable, parenthood normally reorganizes friendship networks.New parent's report fewer friends following the birth of a child, and fathers, especially, report less satisfying and supportive friendships than they experienced beforehand. Family members generally do not try (and in truth feel that they should not try) to influence who emerging adults' friends are or what they do with these friends. And friendships don't often influence family relationships. Instead, some emerging adults view their friends as â€Å"being† family. Sexual-mi nority emerging adults whose families reject them sometimes adopt a family of choice from a network of supportive friends.Other emerging adults do this too, as shown when Friends characters spent Thanksgiving together instead of Joining their families. Likewise, it is common to hear emerging 6 emerging adults sometimes consider family members (especially siblings or cousins) to be friends. For example, Ross and Monica were siblings who offered each other companionship and emotional intimacy. Finding close ties among family members provides a ready source of support, but being more involved with peers helps merging adults weather some transitions better (for example, moving away from home).Friends and friendship networks also influence romantic relationships. For example, emerging adults often find new romantic partners within their existing friendship networks. This meaner that the diversity found within an emerging adult's friendship network influences the likelihood that he or she will date someone of a different race. Friends complain loudly when too much time is spent with a romantic partner (but they are likely to support the romantic relationship if they know the boyfriend or girlfriend well).Friends' support (or lack of support) for a romantic relationship affects the couple's level of commitment to the relationship. Perhaps knowing this, emerging adults are sometimes selective about the friends to whom they introduce a new romantic partner. Friends can influence break-ups, but they do so infrequently. Couples don't stay together for the sake of their friends, even though there can be a high cost to breaking up with a romantic partner when they share the same friends. For example, throughout the series, Ross and Rachel had an on-again, off-again relationship.Each time they broke up, it disrupted their friendship network. Why Do Friendships Matter to Emerging Adults? From toddlers to old age, we have friends. But why are they so important in the lives of emerging adults? First, friends support emerging adults' identity development. Friendships provide feelings of worth as well as opportunities for story telling and frank discussions about religion, life aspirations, moral dilemmas, and relationships. Certainly, friends' banter at Central Perk not only rehashed the weeks events, but also tried to make sense of the world around them.The intimacy forged wrought these heartfelt discussions not only helps with finding oneself, but also nurtures close friendships. Second, friendships contribute to how emerging adults feel about themselves; feeling good (or bad) about your friendships coincides with feeling good (or bad) about 7 yourself. Emerging adults who rarely spend time with their friends are lonely. But spending time with friends who validate their feelings brings happiness (perhaps this explains why Joey was perpetually happy, despite not having much success as a which are useful during the many?and at times anxiety-inducing?trans itions that merging adults face.Third, friendships support emerging adults' understandings of how relationships work, and, in fact, many discussions center on these ties. Friendships provide occasions to see things from someone else's point of view. This, in turn, helps emerging adults to think through issues more critically and carefully. Fourth, friendships offer companionship?both in person and from afar?during what can be a lonely time. Over the past decade, emerging adults have increasingly relied upon cell phones, testing, instant messaging, and social networking sites like Faceable to communicate with friends.Online friendships can be good ones, especially when they last long enough to develop into emotionally close and supportive relationships that supplement existing friendships. On the other hand, having 800 â€Å"online friends† is not equivalent to having friends you see regularly. In the coming years, maybe we'll know what benefits online-only friendships serve a nd when it is that technologies improve?rather than undermine?friendships. For now it is safe to say that most emerging adults use technology to enhance existing friendships rather than to replace them.Lastly, friendships involve intimacy and interdependence, and the development of these skills supports ongoing and future romantic relationships. Same-sex friends regularly discuss their romantic relationships?especially problems. Given that men find the most intimacy in their friendships with women, these friendships probably help them to develop emotional intimacy skills they'll need for other close relationships. Can Birds of a Feather Shape a Flock? Emerging adults report that friends affect their major life decisions.In fact, friends' behaviors affect emerging adults' positive outcomes, including church attendance. Friends' behaviors also influence more negative outcomes (e. . , those with aggressive 8 friends are more likely to abuse their romantic partners). Besides friends' be havior, the quality of the friendship matters, with â€Å"better† friendships promoting positive adjustment and reducing problem behaviors. We don't yet know whether these effects are due to choosing a bird with similar feathers or birds shaping each other's behavior? likely it is a bit of both. What Does Friends Teach Us about Friends?Friends went off the air in 2005, but through DVD releases and syndication it continues to illustrate core concepts about emerging-adult friendships today. This show offers key implications for practitioners working with actual 20-something friends. 1 . Friendships are important in emerging adulthood, but their importance changes as romantic relationships become more salient and stable. Amid emerging- adults' numerous transitions, practitioners should ask troubled young people about and (mostly) platonic opposite-sex friendships, in reality these are less common than same-sex ones.As seen in Ross and Earache's relationship, the line between a f riend and a romantic/sexual partner is often fuzzy, creating feelings of anticipation and disappointment. Practitioners should be careful not to assume that opposite-sex friendships among heterosexuals are platonic or romantic. 3. Practitioners should strive to create environments that support friendships with diverse peoples. For many young people, moving out on their own provides their first exposure to individuals with substantially different backgrounds and ideas from their own. Interactions with these individuals can support growing maturity. . Friends are influential for better and for worse. Helping emerging adults form friendships with people who show positive behaviors (e. G. Ammonia's career success) will, in turn, promote successful development. Likewise, emerging adults whose friends are making poor life decisions may find it helpful to distance themselves from these friends and align themselves with other friends who are making better decisions. 9 5. Friendships are par ticularly important for marginalia peoples (ethnic or sexual minorities), and efforts to form friendships with allies and similar others will serve these young people well.For some, friendship and family networks overlap. Friends may be close enough to be considered â€Å"family'; likewise, some emerging adults insider family members to fulfill friendship needs as well, as Monica and Ross clearly did. 6. Although Friends' characters were limited to cell phone use, modern- day emerging adults are as'. N. Y with technologies such as testing and social networking sites to support existing friendships rather than supplant them. This appears to be a positive dimension of friendships that makes sense given that they are always on the move.But practitioners should encourage face-to-face interactions, particularly for very personal and life-transforming discussions?not all of life's battles can be won or lost via Faceable. . Emerging adults weather transitions best when they maintain exist ing friendships but are open to forming new friendships. For example, upon moving to the city, Rachel rekindled her old friendship with Monica but established new friendships with the other four. This may be challenging for some emerging adults who prefer to stick close to family, but making friends in new settings benefits them in the long run.Throughout our whole lives?but especially in emerging adulthood, it seems?we need friends who will â€Å"be there† for Notes The Rembrandt (1995), â€Å"I'll Be There for You,† Atlantic Records. Episode 14; â€Å"The One with the Cake,† season 10, episode 4; â€Å"The One with All the Thanksgivings,† season 5, episode 8; â€Å"The Pilot† (â€Å"The One Where Monica Gets a Roommate†), season 1, episode 1 . 10 Annotated Bibliography Fall, W. A. , and Faulkner, S. L. (2000). On being â€Å"Just friends†: The frequency and impact of sexual activity in cross-sex friendships. Journal of Social and Pe rsonal Relationships, 17, 205-222.Can women and men be â€Å"Just friends†? These authors sampled American university students and found that some emerging adults can have platonic friendships with the opposite sex. However, approximately half of heterosexual college students have had sex with opposite-sex friends. Among those who added â€Å"benefits† to their friendships, some did so frequently and others only every few years. The overwhelming majority of these friends were single when sexual encounters occurred, but a third of these friendships included at least one romantically involved friend.Having sex with a friend was relationship-enhancing in some cases and quite damaging in others. Allan, G. (2008). Flexibility, friendship, and family. Personal Relationships, 15, 1-16. In a comprehensive and current overview of reindeer's (including friendships in emerging adulthood), this author highlights instances where friendship and family overlap, support each other, an d are in conflict with each other. A sociologist, Dry. Allan especially focuses on societal changes over the past 40 years that have allowed people to enjoy greater freedom and flexibility in forming their own personal relationships.He reflects on suffusion in relationships (the merging family and friend relationships) but emphasizes that people have distinct understanding of these two types of relationships. Bagel, C. L. , Bender, S. E. Andresen's, C. L. , Kinshasa, T. L. , Monticello, S. A. , and Mueller, J. G. (2005). Friendship quality and perceived relationship changes predict psychosocial adjustment in early adulthood. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 22, 235- 254. 11 It seems that although friends agree about the quality of their relationship, each person has a slightly different view of the relationship.When friends disagreed about their relationship, they felt less satisfied about the friendship and were more hostile. So while having friendships with positive d imensions is important, noting the extent f negative dimensions in the relationship matters as well, particularly as it can shape an individual's well-being. Barry, C. M. , Madsen, S. D. , Nelson, L. J. , Carroll,J. S. , adulthood: Differential associations with identity development and achieved adulthood criteria. Journal of Adult Development, 16, 209-222. How do friendships change as emerging adults move toward adulthood?In a study of over 700 emerging adults, these authors found that people who were more â€Å"adulteries† actually had poorer quality friendships than did those who had not yet made adult commitments. In contrast, adulteries emerging adults had better romantic relationships. It seems that some of the steps toward becoming an adult (settling into a career, avoiding risky behavior, etc. ) might happen because of romantic partners more than because of friends. Boost, K. K. , Cox, M. J. , Brunching, M. R. , and Payne, C. (2002).Structural and supportive changes i n couples' family and friendship networks across the transition to parenthood. Journal of Marriage and Family, 64, 517-531. Having a baby changes everything?including friendship networks. These authors followed 137 couples from he time they were expecting to their children's second birthdays. Close friendships were especially important to new mothers over this time period, while their husbands' friendship networks declined and became less satisfying. For all parent's, having close friendships protected against feelings of depression during this transition.Crabber, J. , and Burgomaster, D. (1998). Friendship and need fulfillment during three phases of young adulthood. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 15, 393-409. 12 Changing Spirituality of Emerging Adults These scholars examined how friendship lays out in different phases of emerging adulthood defined by family roles rather than by age: the single phase, the meritorious-children phase, and the parenthood phase. Emerging adults rely on friends to meet social needs the most during the single phase, slowing down their reliance as they move to the married and parenthood phases.Women call on friends for emotional support more than men do across all three phases. Deck', E. L. , Laggardly, J. G. , Miller, A. C. , schemer, M. J. , and Ryan, R. M. (2006). On the benefits of giving as well as receiving autonomy support: Mutuality in close friendships. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32, 313-327. Is it better to give than to receive support? The originators of Self-Determination Theory (Decide and Ryan, 2000) showed that receiving support from authority figures makes a big difference in people's motivation and satisfaction.This study extends their findings to friendships, where each partner is equal in terms of their authority. Indeed, people benefit by giving and receiving autonomy support to/from their friends, but it is the giving of such support to a close friend that matters more to a person 's well-being. Admire, M. , Oxidize, M. , and Whitecap, L. A. (2007). Looking to happy tomorrows with friends: Best and close friendships as they predict happiness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 8, 243-271. While friendship and happiness seem like a natural fit, the story is more complicated.Do all friends make people happy? The scholars find that spending time with a best friend makes people happy, especially when they also spend time with a person's happiness. Female, D. H. (2001). No couple is an island: A social network perspective on dyadic stability. Social Forces, 79, 1259-1287. How do friends affect emerging adults' romantic relationships? Interestingly, this study finds that thinking hat friends support a romantic relationship matters more 13 than how much they actually support it.These perceptions of support from friends lead to more stable relationships, but at the same time, having a really close best friendship makes it less likely that a romantic relationship will endu re (perhaps because the friendship competes with the romantic partnership for one's time). It seems that friendships can have both positive and negative effects on emerging adults' romantic relationships. Grief, G. L. (2009). Buddy system: Understanding male friendships. New York: Oxford University Press. Considerable emphasis has been given to women's friendships with their hallmark high levels of emotional intimacy.The author levels the playing field in this book by summarizing extensive interviews with 400 men to describe what makes their friendships tick, affirming the importance of friendships for the well-being of men and communities. Additional interviews with women allow for appropriate contrast between the two genders. The author presents a typology of different kinds of male friendships: must (friends with whom it is critical to share important news), trust (highly liked friends, but not as useful as a must reined), Just (acquaintances who are companions), and rust friends (long-time friends).Lastly, characteristics of male friendships from early to late adulthood are described and interwoven with meaningful life events that shape these close relationships. Hearth, W. W. , and Stevens, N. (1997). Friendships and adaptation in the life course. Psychological Bulletin, 121, 355-370. These scholars show that friendships add considerable value throughout the lifespan. People's expectations and descriptions of their friends change throughout life, which makes sense given that people's thinking becomes more sophisticated. Regardless of these changes, people of all ages agree that friendships should involve both give and take.How friends engage with one another does change with age and situation. While having friends generally is a good thing for people, it depends upon the identity of friends and the quality of these relationships. 14 Letterer, A. M. , Griffin, E. M. , and Sparks, G. G. (2007). Forecasting â€Å"friends forever†: A longitudinal inves tigation of sustained closeness between best friends. Personal Relationships, 14, 343-350. Following a cohort of university students from 1983 until 2002, these scholars examine which college friendship characteristics matter in

Develop market research plan Essay

In this assessment you are required to establish guidelines for researching and gathering information and work with your staff to gather and evaluate the data. Assessment description You need to review existing policy and procedure documents (in the appendices of your Student Workbook) and develop guidelines for managing the process of gathering research information. You also need to identify and plan to acquire all resources necessary for supporting the project. Procedure From the case study provided you are required to complete the following steps: 1. Develop guidelines reflecting organisational policy and procedures to be used for conducting research. These guidelines for research must provide information and guidance under the following headings: OHS Data privacy Staff involvement KPIs Quality of data. 2. Meet with and commission a staff member (your assessor) to develop detailed work plans for how research will be undertaken, using the guidelines you have established. Make sure you agree on the format of the materials (print/electronic/oral, etc.) and a date for the provision of these materials. When the staff member returns the plans to you, you will need to review the plans to identify the following and providing a written Work Plan Summary (document) – the steps below should be the main sections of your summary: 1. Resources: Identify all required resources to support the implementation of the plans by: a. creating a list of all required resources b. completing the Resource requisition/acquisition form provided for each resource. 2. Consultants: Identify preferred consultants by: a. describing requirements for external consultants within the project plan b. detailing selection criteria for selection of external consultants c. identifying which consultant/s from the preapproved list is/are suitable. 3.  Providers and suppliers: Identify preferred providers and suppliers by: describing requirements for goods and services within the project plan detailing selection criteria for selection of providers and suppliers identifying which providers and suppliers from the preapproved list is/are suitable. Adjustment for distance-based learners: No variation of the task is required. Specifications You must provide: A written Organisational Guidelines for Conducting Research (Step 1) A brief written summary of your meeting with the staff member you commissioned for research (Step 2) A written Work Plan Summary (Steps 3-5) with completed acquisition forms. Your assessor will be looking for: Evidence that you have examined the case study and reviewed organisational requirements to develop market research plans. Distance-based learners: Complete assessment as per instructions, except the meeting with your staff member (the assessor) will be via phone or Skype or other live telephone or video medium. Case study Your are the marketing manager for a 15 store chain of homeware stores in Brisbane called Houzit. The stores specialise in bathroom fittings, bedroom fittings, mirrors and decorative items. As part of the strategic plans of the business, the board want to broaden the store offer by including lighting fixtures in the assortment mix. The board identified the need to carry out market research to determine the market feasibility of adding the lighting fixtures category to Houzit’s assortment. The board have requested that this work be undertaken by a specialist market research firm with extensive knowledge of the target market and who can undertake a wide variety of research methods and complete the process in a timely manner. The CEO has asked you to manage the entire market research process for the board. You are asked to liaise with the general manager of store operations and the group buying manager. Initially you are required to develop the guidelines for conducting the market research which must adhere with Houzit’s policy and procedures. The scope of research to be undertaken encompasses the greater Brisbane area. The CEO explained that the market  research report together with your summary must be ready to be presented to the board in 8 weeks time. You have been allocated a budget for the project of $15,000 to cover external consultants and associated external material costs. You are required to stay within this budget. Houzit’s policy and procedures requires that you submit a Resource Usage application for all resources required in the project both internal and external. Your marketing team consists of Tony (search engine optimisation and website maintenance), Marie (advertising and public relations) and Joanne an administration officer. You have asked Tony to take responsibility for the operational aspects of the project and estimate that it will take up 50% of his time over the next 11 weeks. Joanne will also be involved for about 20% of her time in attending to administration matters. You estimate that you will need to allocate 30% of your time to manage the overall project. According to Houzit’s policy and procedures the following detailed Work Plan Summary needs to be undertaken: Definition/scope phase Define research objectives Define research requirements Determine in-house resource Compile a list of preferred consultants/suppliers. Consultant/supplier selection phase Define consultant/supplier selection criteria Develop consultant/supplier selection questionnaire Develop Statement of Work Evaluate proposals Select consultant/supplier. Research phase Monitor milestone achievements Consultant/supplier performance management. Reporting phase Review Market Research report with stakeholders Prepare summary report. The CEO meets with you and you and Tony to discuss the plans. The CEO explained that it is Houzit’s policy to always engage external consultants when deciding on major category changes because it provided some objectivity  to the decision making process. The three preferred consultants are: 1. Acworth Accounting: 27 Pitt Street, Hawthorne QLD, who prepared the business plan for Houzit but who don’t have specialist market research staff 2. Lombard Consulting: 78 Queen Street, Brisbane QLD, who are a local specialist market research firm based in Brisbane specializing in home accessory products and markets. 3. Holt & Burrows: 58 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne Vic, a national marketing firm based in Melbourne who consult on all issues relating to branding and marketing for all industries. They specialise in fashion, cosmetics and consumables. The CEO explained that there was extensive information available in the company archives concerning customer feedback and surveys that has been collected by the stores over the past few years. This could prove useful in the research. The CEO also explained that you would need to have a member from head office do the information extraction work and could take up to 20 hours to complete. The CEO would like to see a report that covered five main areas: 1. industry overview 2. target category and market 3. business environment 4. competitors 5. conclusion. Tony prepared a list of preferred suppliers together with the products and services that they supplied to help determine the materials needed in accordance with the CEO’s directive that it be a credible source, within the budget and easily accessible. These materials could be included in the project if required and it is within budget: Homeware Trade association has an Australian wide industry report for $1,000 Australian Bureau of Statistics has Census data for the target area the is mostly free but will costs about $250 in search fees IBIS market report covers each major market in Australia including the greater Brisbane area – $1,200 Australian Chamber of Commerce has Australia wide surveys on industries $1,450 Homeware Magazines and Publications is an international magazine covering innovations in home wares $250 per quarter Newspaper subscriptions covering local issues $100 per quarter. Resource usage application Resource description Resource quantity Internal or external External resource costs You and Tony meet with each of the consultants identified by the CEO and explain to the need to meet the time frame set by the board. You know that the Definition/Scope Phase together with the Consultant/Supplier Selection Phase will take 2 weeks. You also realise that you will need a week at the end to prepare your reports. Tony explains that there is an expectation that they will be able to complete the following tasks in the time frame allowed: Develop market research information needs questionnaire Document information needs Identify information to be gathered in research Identify source of information Identify research participant Identify research technique Identify timing requirements and budget Conduct research Primary Market Research including customer surveys, focus groups and interviews with Houzit staff/managers and customers. Secondary Market Research including the materials provided by Houzit. Document research findings Develop research report. A week and a half into the project you receive the following responses from the preferred consultants. Acworth Accounting quote: $11,500. Will need to engage external research staff. Will need ten weeks to complete the report. Cannot do focus groups. Lombards quote: $12,000. Have specialist staff available in the home-wares field. Can complete the work within eight weeks. Can apply all methods of research. Holt & Burrows quote: $14,500. Will send research staff from Melbourne. Can complete the work within eight weeks. Can apply all methods of research. TASK 2 Market research Performance objective In this assessment you are required to contract and manage an external consultant to complete research for your organisation, and monitor work activities in regard to the research project. Assessment description You need to meet with a consultant and complete a contract to secure their services for the required research activities. You also need to monitor, manage and report on work activities, to ensure that the research project remains in alignment with the research plan. Procedure From the case study provided you are required to complete the following steps: 3. With the supplied generic external consultants contract, you need to meet with the identified consultant (your assessor) from the case study and revise the contract to suit your requirements as the manager of the market research. 4. Using the supplied work activity information, develop weekly monitoring reports that: Progress of project: describes the progress of the market research project Adherence to plan: describes the adherence of work activities to the research plan Contractor performance: describes whether performance of external contractors is in line with expectations and contractual requirements. Specifications You must provide: A revised signed contract for the identified consultant (Step 1) A series of written Weekly Monitoring Reports (Step 2) Your assessor will be looking for: Evidence that you have examined the case study and have understood the requirements of contract research consultants for the organisation. Distance-based learners: Complete assessment as per instructions, except the meeting with the consultant (the assessor) will be via phone or Skype or other live telephone or video medium. Case study The CEO has decided to use Lombards Consulting to carry out the market  research work in relation to Houzit’s plan to add the lighting fittings category to the assortment offer. Working from head office as 12 Clarence street Hendra Queensland, you organise to have a contract drawn up that covers all the areas of agreement in relation to the work including milestones. The following activities occurred during the market research project. The phases Definition/Scope and Consultant/Supplier Selection were completed by the 2nd week of the project. 5% complete Develop market research information needs questionnaire – on time Document information needs – one week late – 10% complete Identify information to be gathered in research – one week late Identify source of information – one week late – 15% complete Consultant requests Houzit purchase all research materials – You approve everything except for the Australian Chambers of Commerce, Australia wide surveys costing $1,450 Identify research participant – on time Identify research technique – one week late Identify timing requirements and budget – two week late – 30% complete Consultant requests more time – You do not grant it. Primary Market Research including customer surveys, focus groups and interviews with Houzit staff/managers and customers. – Completed on time except for interviews with all Houzit managers and group buyer – 50% complete Consultant report difficulty working with store managers Secondary Market Research including the materials provided by Houzit.- Consultant requested internal customer data be taken off-site – You do not grant it – Completed on time – 70% complete Document research findings – on time Develop research report – two days late – 100% complete. TASK 3 Research project evaluation Performance objective This assessment task requires you to review the market research project and evaluate the findings that have been presented, as well as evaluating and  recommending improvements to the research approaches and processes used. Assessment description You need to develop a report describing and evaluating the research undertaken and the findings presented. As part of this report you need to review the project performance against the initial research project plan, and review the process for future improvements. Procedure From the case study provided you are required to prepare a final report on the market research process including information under the following headings: 1. Findings: A review of the research report provided to you by the consultant including: a brief summary of the report findings  a description of how you confirmed the validity of information and data included in the report a statement assessing the relevance and usefulness of findings against research objectives. 2. Performance: assess the project performance against the research plan. 3. Review: A review of the feedback provided to you from various stakeholders, and any changes to the process required by this feedback. Also review all of the monitoring reports and monitoring activities completed throughout the project (in AT2) and make recommendations for changes or improvements to the research process. With your completed report you also need to submit a revised set of research guidelines (from Assessment Task 1) incorporating the changes noted in your report for use in the next market research project. Adjustment for distance-based learners: No variation of the task is required. Specifications You must provide: A written Final Report (Steps 1-3) Written revised Research Guidelines for the organisation. Your assessor will be looking for: Evidence that you have examined the case study and have reviewed the market research process for the organisation. Distance-based learners: Complete assessment as per instructions. Case study You receive a market research report from Lombards Consulting (see following pages). You sent out the market research report as well as your variance summary of the marketing activities taken to key stakeholders and asked them to reply by email. Later, in discussion with the principals of Lombards Consulting, you are made aware of the location and availability of source data on which the report was based. These include the original responses to the customer surveys, taped interviews and focus groups (with signed participant consent forms) and notes taken during conversations with staff, with Houzit staff/managers and customers. Copies of secondary data was also available, crossed referenced and physically identified in the report and source document. Where possible Lombards Consulting used the scientific method of careful observation, formulation of hypotheses, prediction, and testing in their research. They also spoke of using multiple methods to ensure greater confidence in the findings. When asked about the lack of time spent with the Houzit managers, Lombards consulting spoke about the healthy scepticism they have built toward assumptions made by managers about how the markets work. They also said that the intellectual divergences between the mental styles of line managers and marketing researchers often got in the way of productive relationships. The marketing researcher’s report may seem abstract, complicated, and tentative, while the line manager wants concreteness, simplicity, and certainty. Lombards suggested they be involved in the earliest part of the planning process, in fact why not make them permanent feature in the marketing strategy team. Emails from stakeholders The general manager said in an email â€Å"I was disappointed that Lombards did not speak to the store managers more. They have real ‘day to day’ contact with customers and have much knowledge about what customers want. Perhaps next time they could be involved formally in the process† The group buying manager said in an email â€Å"The report confirms what we thought about the new category. I would have liked to see more opinion from the consultants describing what they believed that the business environment data meant in terms of the business opportunity.† The CEO said that the â€Å"feedback from the board was to pass on their congratulations to you on a job well done given  the short time frame.† You replied that a research of that magnitude would normally require a 12-14 week turn around. The CEO agreed.