Poetry Analysis- A Litany In The Time Of Plague Essay

Context Nashe is most famous as a pamphleteer. an odd career that now would see him working for some Chinese restaurant or another. In Elizabethan times a pamphleteer was a bit more prominent as pamphlets were one of the most effective ways to spread ideas or news across the country. Nashe’s pamphlets were apparently pretty controversial in theme and his poetry also caused a bit of a stir, see if you can work out why!: And make me happie, stealing by degrees. First bare hir legs, then creepe up to her knees †¦ â€Å"Unhappyie me,† quoth she, â€Å"and wilt not stand? Com, let me rubb and chafe it with my hand!† Do you really need to know this? No, but has it made you smile? No? Well, on with the relevant stuff then! So, we’ve established he was a naughty boy and in no way deserving of salvation, now let’s talk about the Black Death. It was a plague that swept around Europe for hundreds of years and is estimated to have killed 200 million people. At the time people were particularly put out by it because they had no idea what was causing it and there was seemingly no cure and people from all reaches of life were effected equally: Queen Elizabeth I was really scared of the plague and devised various quarantine measures to protect herself. You can imagine how an unexplained fatal disease killing everyone around you would make you a little terrified for your own life, feeling like the sword of Damocles is hanging over you head and making you seriously contemplate what happens next. Themes The big one here is obviously mortality, but it closely associated with salvations and therefore religious faith could be considered here too. Content Right, it’s six stanzas and it’ll take forever to do if I go through in too much detail so you’re going to have to be satisfied with an overview. Let’s start with the title. The word litany is now quite commonly used, but at the time was derived from and focused on a service in a church. We can take a litany to be a series of prayers or the whole service, which aims to convey a message to a congregation listening to the priest or preacher delivering it. The first stanza gives us an overview of what’s on Nashe’s mind; he’s a bit fixated on what he sees as the certainty of his approaching death. He mentions how much fun and joy there is in the world, but sees them as being overshadowed and made to seem inconsequential by the shadow of death (‘Death proves them [our joys] all but toys’) and our mortality. He tells us that ‘none from his darts can fly’ indicating the inevitability of death; we all know we’ll die, but he seems to be implying that none can escape from death from the plague as he says ‘I am sick, I must die’ as one inevitably leads to the other. The following four stanzas effectively say the same thing: no one is safe from the plague and nothing will protect you. He starts off by addressing the wealthy and assures them ‘Gold cannot buy your health’. He’s a little bit wrong here as wealth probably would ensure a bit of distance from the plague and the wealthy wouldn’t live in the crowded, filthy and rat infested confines of the cities, so would probably be less likely. However, this is besides the point, he’s telling them their money won’t keep them safe. Stanza 3 next addresses the beautiful and warns them that ‘wrinkles will devour’ them and their looks and that even beautiful Queens have died young. He uses a classical allusion in Helen (the face that launched a thousand ships†¦ because she was so pretty the Greeks went to rescue her from her Trojan captors) as well to convey the idea of beauties dying young and thus telling the young that even they are not safe from the plague. Strength and intelligence (‘wit’) are the next two subjects. Even the most powerful will eventually ‘feed’ for the worms, or rotting in the grave, again demonstrated with a classical allusion, this time to Hector (the Trojan hero). The intelligent are unable to argue their way out of their fate as ‘Hell’s executioner’, or the plague, has ‘no ears’ for them to appeal to. So basically he’s saying that everyone is screwed and there is nothing you can do to avoid the plague. That should give you an impression of people felt at the time; this plague was almost like a sign of judgement day as they didn’t know what caused it, it punished everyone equally and it a particularly unpleasant way to die. But hang on! There is one way we can be saved†¦ unfortunately it still requires us to die. Our only salvation is in heaven and Nashe is telling us to embrace our death, but make sure we have lived our lives in a way that will mean we can ‘mount†¦ unto the sky’ and head off to heaven. Lovely†¦ Hmm†¦ Language and techniques Hundreds of things to talk about, so don’t feel confined to the few examples I’ve chosen to zoom in on. First of all I’d analyse the language used to describe the plague. We are told that ‘none’ can escape its ‘darts’ making our death seem like a certainty; it travels ‘full swift by’ as if it is an unstoppable wind; and once we’re sick, we die confirming that once affected there is no hope. These associations suggest that humanity has no chance of survival against this mysterious and unexplained disease. Then we have the really disturbing imagery about how people die. There is certainly no glory in death as we might believe as ‘wrinkles devour’ beauty or consumed and distort it, while the strong are reduced to pathetic  weaknesses as ‘worms feed’ upon their flesh with them unable to fight back. These images both have a literal association with the plague as huge blisters often formed on victims making them quite repulsive, while victims were reduced to extremely frail conditions thanks to fever and sickness (also suggested by the fact the strong ‘stoop to the grave’, almost unable to stand). However, these images are meant to shock us and make us scared of the disease and for our mortality. I’d also mention how fatalistic the poet is. The plague did not effect everyone and yet we have an almost apocalyptic expression of the certainty of death that recurs throughout the poem again and again and again. Each stanza repeats the final two lines that link sickness absolutely with death and then beg for divine mercy, but we also get a unique element of the certainty of demise in each stanza: 1st – ‘None from his darts can fly’ – no one can escape from death/the plague. 2nd – ‘All things to end are made’ – everything dies! 3rd – ‘wrinkles will devour’ – no uncertainty about decay. 4th – ‘Swords may not fight with fate’ – you cannot fight fate, death is inevitable. 5th – the first two lines†¦ less convincing here – intelligence certain to be overcome by the bitterness of death. Then you’ve got that last stanza and the last line of each stanza. ‘Lord, have mercy on us!’ is a desperate plea to a higher power to make things better the next place they go, a plea for salvation and against being damned to hell. The whole of this stanza seems to indicate the importance of faith as we’re told ‘To welcome destiny’ presumably by being morally good to please the lord, and that earth is just ‘a player’s stage’ meaning that it is sort of a rehearsal or an audition for the real deal of life in either heaven ‘our heritage’ or hell. Structure Well, the first thing to say is that this is a litany. It is set out as a prayer and deliberately sounds like one of those religious fables telling us how to live our lives – ultimately with God and faith at the centre. We get the opening stanza setting the scene for the devastating impact of the  plague as if it is actually destroying the whole world, as if it is beckoning judgement day. The middle stanzas show us things that people rely on while on earth, but proves how useless these things are against death/the plague. Finally, we are given the message about how we can defeat this certain death†¦ by dying as good Christians and going to heaven. I’ve already mentioned it above, but you could also discuss why the last two lines repeat in each stanza. Yes, it makes it like a prayer, but also it emphasises the certainty of death and the poet cannot escape this preoccupation with the end being nigh! Tone Pretty sombre as at every turn this guy wants to remind us and himself that he is certain to die†¦ and in a pretty gruesome and debilitating way. However, there is also an element on preaching here as he is trying to tell us what we have to do – be good and die horrible, but live on in heaven.

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Socrates is one of the founders of Western philosophy. The dialogues, written by many of his students, such as Plato, represent a unique way of questioning how we should live our lives, and who do we aspire to become. He was a very intelligent man who was very concerned about ethics, being a good Athenian, and doing what is just. In Plato’s Apology the reader experiences all of Socrates characteristics as if they where sitting right there with all the other five hundred men representing the jury. Socrates is trying to persuade the jury by defending himself against accusations made by fellow Athenian, Meletus. He accuses Socrates of corrupting the youth and of not believing in the gods the city of Athens believes in (Apology, 24 b-c).Socrates, not being familiar with courts, attempts at defending himself stating that is most likely to engage in a defense not using the language of lawyers, but in the way he is used to speak to the public. Even though Socrates was found guilty in the court of law, hence being sentenced to death, he still persuaded one of the jury men that was not present that day in to believing he was not guilty. I believe that Socrates defended himself more than well against his accusations, and the lack of evidence presented by his accusers gives more than enough reason that he was indeed not guilty. But there are two things I do not agree with Socrates: One being that he says he is not a wise man, and the other being that if someone does wrong to another person unwillingly, is a good enough reason for the wrongdoer to not have repercussions for his acts.It is Important to see that during the entire defense Socrates is attacking his accusers, mainly Meletus and he shows this right away when he goes through the first accusation of supposedly corrupting the youth. He says that most of the kids that follow him around are kids of very rich parents who just enjoy hearing people being questioned. Socrates states that every time his accusers ar e asked what he does and what is he teaching that corrupts the young, they have no answer for the question, and that most of the men are just angry because he questioned them on their supposed more than human wisdom (Apology, 23c-d).The great Socrates was known for going to every man who said was wise and ridiculing them in front of other spectators, in which he made a lot of enemies. It is very important to state that Socrates has been accused before; actually he has been receiving accusations since he was very young. Socrates says that he has two types of accusers: the earlier ones, and the recent ones, which he says listened to what the older accusers said about him making it easier to create a disliking for him. For me this is a very important point, because it is just another reason to believe that the accusations made are just repressed anger and disliking for a man who does not believe in committing any wrongdoing.Socrates continues his defense attacking Meletus and asking hi m who is allowed to improve and educate the youth, and he answers that everyone including the jurymen, the audience, the members of the council, the assembly, all Athenians except for Socrates himself (Apology, 24e-25a). This leads him to conclude that Meletus, using an analogy of horses and horse breeders, does not really care about the youth, because he believes that only one man in Athens can corrupt the youth while he goes on thinking that every other Athenian is educating and improving them (Apology, 25b-c). Socrates once again questions Meletus evidence.In another excerpt of the Apology, Socrates says how can so many people enjoy being around him and listening him questioning others. He then invites all of the supposedly men he has corrupted to stand up as witnesses, but he only finds all of the people that love him and follow him in the audience (Apology, 33c-34b). As you go through the first defense it just keeps on demonstrating the lack of evidence by the part of the accus ers, who could not even bring a single person to the stand that has been corrupted. This leads us to Socrates second part of the defense. In the affidavit it says that Socrates is charged for not believing in the cities gods, but when Meletus is questioned he says: â€Å"This is what I mean, that you do not believe in gods at all† (Apology, 26c).This completely changes is early accusation, and it certainly makes it clear that he is contradicting himself. Socrates continues to question Meletus about believing in spirits. Meletus answers a question that made by Socrates, in which he asked, â€Å"Do we not believe spirits to be either gods or the children of gods†, Meletus answers â€Å"Of course†(Apology, 27c-d). This leads me to my second point; does Socrates really believe in any supernatural being? I believe that he actually does.One small observation I made was that he mentions the god Zeus more than once during the trial (Apology, 17c, 25c, 35d). But more imp ortantly he talks about A* god who has put him in earth to do the work he does, to be a philosopher, to question what others do not dare. He states that they are treating a gift from god unjustly (Apology 30e-31b). He really persuaded me when he talked about a â€Å"divine or spiritual sign† that speaks to him when he needs to be turned away from something (Apology, 31d).Some jurymen would say he is just talking about this to get away with not being sentenced to death, but I say to those people why would a man who clearly says he does not fear death will lie in the court of law, which he has respected his entire life, because that is how he was brought up. But even if I agree with Socrates defense, there are two things I do not agree with. The first is that he says he is not a wise man, which I find to be completely absurd. In a sense I see it as his way for people taking him for a humble man.Early in the trial he expresses how he visited all the men who said they were wise, but he never says he questioned who said they were not wise. For Socrates being wise is someone who has knowledge and the more arrogant you are about knowing something the less of a wise man you are. To make my point Socrates never thinks of himself as a wise man, so by using his own explanation of a wise person makes him a wise man if not the wisest in Athens. (Santi remember that he believed that you truly do not understand anything until you understand yourself and your own beliefs. Socrates at least knows this truth about himself.)The second argument I do not agree with Socrates that if someone does something wrong unwillingly is exempt from being accused or even punished from his acts. I do believe in doing what is just, and I do believe Socrates was prosecuted unjustly. But just because you do wrong unwillingly does not give the state to let you go freely. Take this for example you are in a bar and you are carrying a weapon with you, for precaution measures. The gun accidental ly goes of and you injure a person. This would go under unwillingly causing harm to another person, but it does not mean that you should not receive any punishment for acting carelessly while carrying a fire weapon. I arrived at the conclusion that Socrates was never to be punished in any sort of way.The main reason is because the accusations were vague and were not backed up by any type of evidence. These accusers were blinded by a hatred that was born when they were young and  continued to build up when they see the man named Socrates walking through the streets of Athens questioning everything. The city of Athens and the people who lived there were taught everything they know and believe, and those things were never to be questioned because that is what they were taught. Then came Socrates, a wise man, and questioned everything, but I do not believe he ever intended, and surely did not, to corrupt the youth. I strongly believe that he was helping every single human being he spo ke to.Socrates was teaching the people of Athens to question things, to be curious and question everything, and that is the basis of philosophy: to question. One could say that Socrates prophecy was fulfilled his conviction will be shameful for Athens because there will be others to take his place. By reading the Apology I felt a one more jurymen, and I definitely found this man to not be guilty on any of the charges.

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Economics - Essay Example In doing, economic analysis equally considers the assumptions and constraints in application. At the same time, it considers opportunity costs, probable benefits, and social costs related to a certain economic venture. However, the main objective of an economic analysis is to determine how to allocate goods and services using the most accurate economic tools. Additionally, economic analysis defines how government policies and changes in standard rules in the market can affect the stakeholders. Economic analysis involves cost-benefit analysis to ascertain the level of the gains compared to the losses with an aim of maximizing the gains. Economic analysis equally involves welfare analysis that seeks to foster cost-benefit analysis in relation to promoting social responsibility. Therefore, it establishes the viability of a project, the fiscal impact, the possibility of recovering costs, social welfare, and environmental compliance. As such, economic analysis is most beneficial if it tak es place at the initial stages since at later stages it can only determine the going concern of the project2. To achieve this, economic analysis relies on various economic theories, economic models, and economic concepts as articulated by various economists. In arriving at conclusive answers, it uses measurable monetary terms like profits and losses as well as no measurable terms like human suffering and effects on the environment. This paper will carry out an economic analysis on an economic article using relevant economic theories/concepts. Economic theories/concepts Different economists have taken time to research and come up with respective economic theories. Some of the famous economic theorists include Karl Marx, Adam Smith, Friedrich Hayek, John Maynard Keynes, and Milton Friedman3. Indeed, Adam Smith came up with the modern economic theory that sought to establish that individuals pursue their own interests in producing the required goods and services in the market. He concl uded that an invisible hand, competition, supply and demand, and self-interest are responsible for allocating scarce resources in the society4. Karl Max on the other hand invented the modern communism theory by incorporation politics in economics. He concluded that workers are part of the production and should thus own part of the production process. However, this theory did not consider profit sharing, incentive, and worker safety standards. On the other hand, Milton Friedman came up with the consumption theory, that later became the monetarism theory. According to him, the government can modulate a natural rate of unemployment at the expense of inflation. He was thus against government regulation and advocated for free market economics. Other theories include classical economics, Keynesian economics, and market socialism theories. We equally have economic concepts that have significant application in economic analysis. Economic concepts include Scarcity that leads to opportunity c ost. We also have limits on production that include capital, labor, and natural resources. Then we have globalization that generates costs and benefits. Additionally, there is the Economic growth that emanates from future investments. Moreover, we have the forces of demand and supply that determine market equilibrium. Furthermore, we have unemployment that defines underutilization of available resources. In addition, Government, business, and individuals gauge the costs and benefits of a given project. Indeed,

The power of language Essay Example for Free

The power of language Essay Although Susanne Langer did a study on humans and animals to show signs vs. symbols in understanding language, Helen Keller and Malcolm X took different paths on discovering the power of language. Langer brings up how there is a difference between symbols and signs, which most people consider them one in the same. For Keller she was deaf and blind from the age of 19 months, where she had difficulty learning how to communicate and understand language. In Malcolm X’s case, he was a street hustler who didn’t get proper education and was frustrated when he couldn’t get his point across through his letters he wrote. In â€Å"Language and thought† it was said, â€Å"A sign is anything that announces the existence or the imminence of some event, the presence of a thing or a person, or a change in the state of affairs† (Langer, Pg. 28). Where both humans and animals use signs all the time. For both of us sounds, smells, and motions could be signs of food, danger, the presence of others around us, or of a storm approaching. For animals they use signs for defense, to call out for others, signs of feelings or intentions to be reckoned with or just to let them in. Humans use signs way more than animals in their everyday life. We answer calls, read other peoples expressions, watch the sky or animals for coming storms, cross streets when there’s a walk man, or wait when it says, stop at red lights and go at green. â€Å"In every case a sign is closely bound up with something to be noted or expected in experience† (Langer, Pg. 28). â€Å"A symbol differs from a sign in that it does not announce the presence of the object, the being, condition, or whatnot, which is its meaning, but merely brings this thing to mind. † (Langer, Pg. 28). The difference between sign and symbol is that a sign generates us â€Å"to think or act in the face of the thing signified†, and a symbol is people’s concept of the thing symbolized. There are many things that are considered symbols, including words, pictures and memories. For example a heart is a symbol of love and a picture of a smiley face is a symbol of happiness. There are symbols everywhere with great significance or little value. But, according to Langer â€Å"The essence of language is symbolic, not signific. † (Langer, Pg. 31) Since Helen Keller was deaf and blind from a very young age, she didn’t know how to communicate her wants, needs and connect with the people around her. So finally at the age of seven her parents reached out to a teacher familiar with teaching the blind and deaf. Her teachers name was Miss Sullivan who taught her how to communicate by writing the words in Helens hand and letting her feel or touch the object to grasp exactly what it was. It started of with small inanimate objects like doll, hat and cup. Each time they would progress to more difficult words like sit, stand, walk and water. They went from words to sentences to trying to figure out how to explain the word love. Once she understood miss Sullivan’s definition of love, Keller â€Å"felt that there were invisible lines stretched between her spirit and the spirits of others† (Keller Pg. 68) She came to the realization that the deaf and blind have a more difficult time acquiring the amenities of conversation, which she accepts and understands. Malcolm X grew up in the hustler kind of environment, where he never had a good education and didn’t have to really communicate properly. Soon after Malcolm got arrested for burglary and was in jail, he became obsessed with the written word and books. He would send letters to people he had known in the hustling world, the mayor of Boston, the Governor of Massachusetts and harry S. Truman. Not one of them would write back, which made Malcolm more and more frustrated. He started off trying to read books to gain knowledge but it was useless because Malcolm didn’t understand most of the words in the books. So he decided the best thing was for him to read a dictionary, to study and learn more adequate words to add to his vocabulary. It started by copying and handwriting every word into his tablet, with every punctuation mark. After he wrote the words he would read them over and over, aloud and wake up thinking about those words. This continued until Malcolm copied the whole dictionary and knew almost every word he could. When he was done he picked up a book and could now understand what it was about. Malcolm said â€Å"I never had been so truly free in my life† (Malcolm Pg. 64). From signs and symbols having different meanings in life to finding enlightenment through a dictionary. All three of these authors have come a long way on their paths of discovering and understanding the power of language and communication. With curiosity, research, self-determination, persistence and keeping an open mind, the world of language can be explored to great measures into understanding its meaning and value.

CPT Literary Significance Notes Essay Example for Free

CPT Literary Significance Notes Essay Plot * Liesel, her mother and her brother Werner are all travelling on a train, to greet Werner’s and Liesels foster parents. * Liesel, illiterate has a dream o Adolf Hitler and speaks to him in broken German. * As she is half awake, Liesels brother dies, and there were two Nazi soldiers who argue on weather they leave the body there or take it with them. * Both Liesel and her mother are traumatized by his sudden death and 2 days later he is buried. * After the ceremony finishes Liesel digs at his grave but is dragged away by her mother, but before getting on another train Liesel steals a book she is unable to even read the title of. * She is taken to a place in Munich called Himmel -Heaven to meet Rosa and Hans Hubermann, her foster parents. * She refuses to meet or get out of the car with her suitcase that only contains her clothes and the book she stole from her brother’s gravesite. * The only person that manages to get her out of the care is her foster father. * Liesel feels abandoned by her mother, but understands that it’s better for her to live there and be protected from the poverty; she also learns that her father was a communist, but she doesn’t yet know the meaning of that word. * Liesels foster mother acts harshly upon her and calls her a pig girl when she refuses to bathe, but claims to loves her. * Her foster father, Hans develops a closer relationship with her and teaches her how to roll cigarettes. she starts calling them mama and papa * Liesel got terrible nightmares about her brother the first few months and was accompanied by Hans, who she kept the book hidden from. * She kept the book as a symbol reminding her the last time she saw her brother, and the last time she saw her mother. * Liesel is put in school but has to stay with a much younger grade, just learning the alphabet. When she turns ten she joins the Hitler Youth. * Liesel makes a friend names Rudy who stands up for her when other kids call her stupid. * They always pass Rudy’s fathers tailor shop and a street with broken homes with yellows stars (Star of David) on them. * Jesse Owens is a black runner Rudy is obsessed with, he colours himself black with charcoal and is dragged and lectured at home by his father, saying not to pretend to be black or Jewish because of the racist Nazis * Hans discovers the stolen book and agrees to teach her how to read, even though he himself is a poor reader. * Hans teaches Liesel every night, and continues to comfort her after her nightmares. * Liesel is later put into a class of her own level, but is not asked to perform same tasks because of her teacher, Sister Maria. * the whole class but Liesel is asked to read in front of the class, Liesel insists and is embarrassed in front of the whole class when she is unable to read and beaten by Sister Maria. * Liesel is made fun of by many students but get angry to a point where she beats Tommy and Ludwig up. She is upset about being called stupid and remembering her brother, Rudy walks her home and comforts her. | Character * Death- narrator * Liesel Meminger-(The book thief) a nine year old, steals books even though she doesn’t know how to read. Liesels love for words is incredible. Forced to move in with foster parents, because her mother is unable to keep her safe or take care of her needs. She is determined to be able to read and write. She doesn’t know what is actually happening around her, and the fact that the Nazis and Hitler are taking control and using their power for evil. * Hans Hubermann- Liesel papa, her foster father. She describes him as a very mellow and genuinely nice man, his kindness and gentleness is what makes Liesel close to him, we are told that he is the one that Liesel loves most. Protecting and helping others is what he does, he is a painter and used to be a part in the army. He doesn’t support Hitler or the Nazi but in order to protect his family and show loyalty to his people he applies for a membership multiple times. He is well known and like in the town but some people call him Jew lover He teaches Liesel how to read even though he himself is at 4th grade ability. He makes her feel safe and their relationship becomes very strong. * Rosa Hubermann- Liesels foster mother, her job is to do the ironing and washing for the wealthy people from the town, she is a very cold woman with a very foul mouth. Death tells us that even though she is very harsh towards her husband and Liesel she loves them both very much and deep inside actually has a very big and worm heart. * Rudy Steiner- Is one of Liesel very first and only true friend. He loves Liesel and stands up for her, he keeps her company and is able to cheer her up when she is down, just like how Hans is able to. He was also referred to as the boy who was obsessed with the black American athlete Jesse Owens. * Alex Steiner- Rudy’s father was a part of the Nazi part, only to protect his family. He had nothing against Jews, he found his son coloured black in order to represent Jesse Owens and gave him a lecture that he should be proud to be white, not black. an be proud that he has beautiful blonde hair and big blue eyes, and he should want to be like a black person or a Jew * Hans Junior and Trudy Hubermann- The Hubermanns children, Hans and his father don’t have a close relationship because he does not think his father tries hard enough to join the Nazi party which he supports greatly, and Trudy is a maid and babysitter for the wealthy. * Frau Holtzapel- A neighbour that spit on the Hubermanns door every time she walked past * Sister Maria- A halo surrounded the grim reaper nun beat Liesel for wanting to read in front of the class which she was unable to do, made fun and didn’t believe in Liesel. * | Theme Discrimination- Hitler effected and killed many people, Liesel did not know that, she was unaware of what was happening around her because she was so young, In their town all the Jews were getting their homes and stores shut down and taken away from them. Even if you didn’t support the Nazi party you would have to apply to it to protect your family and yourself from being questioned and killed.Jesse Owens had just completed the 4x100m relay and won his fourth gold medal. Talk that he was subhuman because he was black and Hitler’s refusal to shake his hand were touted around the world. Even the most racist Germans were amazed with the efforts of Owens. Love and Friendship-Liesel and her father bonded and she felt closest to him right away, she was sent to him and his wife because her mother was unable to take care of her, she was mad at her but understood that it was the right thing to do, her love for her mother and brother was indescribable, when her brother died it was as if her world had collapsed, she had constant nightmares about being at his grave site for a long time. Somewhere in all the snow, she could see her broken heart, in two pieces. Each half was glowing, and beating under all that white. | Style/ Literary Devices Discrimination-But you’ve got beautiful bond hair and big SAFE blue eyes, you should be happy with that, is that clear? Metaphor- Rudy’s dad was telling him he should be glad he is neither black nor Jewish, and be thankful that he has blond hair and blue eyes, Hitler’s preference that kept him safe.Love and Friendship-Like cigarettes and kerosene. Sitting in the water, she imagined the smell of it, mapped out on her papas clothes. More than anything, it was the smell of friendship, and she could find it on herself, too. Liesel loved that smell. She would sniff her arm and smile as the water cooled around her. Metaphor- Liesel loved her papa just as much as he loved her, his scent made her feel safe and she felt comfortable, she loved it. She knew that her papa would keep her safe and they would do anything for each other.|

Company analysis for Zara

Company analysis for Zara Strengths Zara is a very powerful brand and influential in overseas markets as America, Asia, Europe and Africa (according to article Best Global Brands 2010, 14 Sep 2010).Zara needs 2 weeks to design a new product and to bring in stores by meeting costumers preferences, meantime its competitors need 6-8weeks(chapter11-The strategy of international business). Competitive advantage of Zara is because didnt transfer all production to low cost countries, but kept most of them in Spain and Portugal where wages are lower than Western Europe. With this, it cuts shipping costs, and has more flexibility to answer the consumers demands for new products in quick way because of location than its competitors that have factories in low cost countries. According to a statement by Louis Vuitton Zara is Possibly the most innovative and devastating retailer in the world. The company applied Instant Fashion in order to meet costumers demands by new designs and new trends in manufacturing and distribution, also by keeping prices low. Zara used group of designers instead of individuals in comparison with GAP, HM and others. Zaras stores are company owned, and it is vertically integrated retailer. It does designs, production and distribution by itself and controls everything. In comparison with competitors it doesnt promote its designs via fashion shows, but is delivering they direct to costumers through the stores to understand their need, thats why the company doesnt do advertising (article-the Secret of Zaras Success, Store Magazine, fall 2004). Another advantage is that the company has one of the highest numbers of products in the world that produces annually 11.000 and its key competitors 2000-4000.The company keep low inventory in stock because each new product is supposed to be sold within 10 days, if not is replaced after 2 weeks. By this measure the company keeps low cost of inventory. Every store in Spain is supposed to be visited on average 3 times a year, but Zara 17 times(according to article Zara a Spanish Success Story, CNN, 15 June 2001). Also this year the company will enter Australian market. The company has a core concept in information technology to support its international logistics system and online selling where return and exchange is the same as the store system(Wikipedia). Also in some location people can buy Zara products by IPod, I Phone application. Zara model have more flexibility in production sales, and stock management and its stores managers report back every day to designers in La Coruna for sells which shows a nice coordination between departments in order to meet costumers needs(Zara website). Zara is part of Spanish group Inditex is expanded worldwide in 77 countries with 5000 stores. Net Income was increased by 42% for the first 9 months of 2010 and share price 57.60 euro (Inditex Group). The company has Strong relationship between wholesalers, stores, management and costumers. Also, the use of the highest quality of materials for clothing. Zara revenue for 2009 was 7.071 billion Euros and operating profit is 15% higher than HM and GAP, but working capital is the lowest(Wikipedia). Weaknesses Zara is one of the largest clothing retailers in the world and this can cause its weakness in different parts of business, and is too difficult to control. The company is global but has presence in 77 countries (Wikipedia).Also Zaras greatest advantage lies in  its ability to provide the most interesting cutting-edge items, risk free.  Normally the more cutting edge the design, the greatest the risk. Clothes do not always last long (Zara 2.0- Fashion index.com). Zara has a reputation for new design product development and creativity, but is the risk that their innovation may stumble in future. Costs of doing business with Albanian stores, while the Zara is located in La Coruna Spain. Although ZARA has a successful business model it also have some weaknesses which could limit its scalability and ambitious growth. ZARA constitutes around 80% of Inditex business (8 companies) which means a failure in ZARA can put the whole group at a risk (Inditex group). Advertisement is becoming an important part of the business and it reflects directly to the sales. Zaras in-store advertisement model may not work going forward (Zara). Another weakness for the company in Albanian market is that, most of people are low income and could be difficult for the Zara to keep the growth. Opportunities Merge with Inditex group has created more possibilities to invest in emerging markets (Wikipedia). Zara stores are located in 77 countries and are lot of opportunities to invest and expanding the market as in India and China (Inditex). Albania is a nice opportunity for the company to open stores because people like high fashion brands. New location and stores offer the company opportunities to exploit market development. Grow into new markets/consumer segments Albanian Consumer Taste Albanian consumer view ZARA as fashionable house. If ZARA needs to grow in Albanian it needs to address specifically the Albanian needs and perception of fashion. Threats The biggest threats are its competitors as HM, GAP and Benetton and new entries in market that want to recapitalize their profits in new markets as Albanian.  Rising production cost because of labor and raw materials. As economic crisis is striking back costumers are trended to spend less. Imitation of companys logo by people that do not have permission to use it. Increase in Euro Rate An increase in Euro rate will increase the consumer selling price, consequently Zara will lose price advantage against relative competitors outsourcing in Albanian lek. Zara sales are increasing 25% over the past 5 years it has become one of the worlds fastest growing retailers, and to keep this growth has to invest in emerging markets. Zara strategy is growth through diversification with both horizontal and vertical integration, and brings new fashion (Zara website). The company controls all distribution channels, and invests a lot in Real Estate business in order to buy prime locations for new stores. This risk for Zara because its net cash flow is less than its competitors. Although ZARA has a successful business model it also has some weaknesses which could limit its ambitious growth, Inditex over dependence on ZARA (Wikipedia) Zaras business model is based by bringing new designs models in market every two weeks. For countries like Albania, where people are less fashion forward, it may be a challenge for Zara to sustain its presence. Other threat for the company in Albania is the politic stability that is still fragile because of disagreements between two main political forces. Petrol prices are very expensive in comparison with other countries and will affect the cost of products by increasing their prices. Situational Analysis (TOWS) Weaknesses and Threats (WTH) The weaknesses of Zara is to be part of Inditex group which has 8 companies and means failure of one of them can put Zara at a risk too(Inditex group). The company has to find a strategy in order to overcome weaknesses and developed them into strengths. As you see from the chart the direction shows the strength- opportunity position (so). The strategy is to reduce the competitive threat by developing in market flexible new designs in order to meet costumers preferences on time. Weaknesses Opportunities (WO) Another weakness of Zara is raising production costs in Spain and Portugal with introduction of Euro in 2002. Products became more expensive for export. To overcome this Zara started to invest globally and new mergers in order to keep prices down as its competitors. If Zara enters in Albanian markets, it doesnt have experience with Albanian laws and their culture for clothing but could overcome those barriers by creating franchise with local partners. Strengths Threats (ST) One of the greatest threats to Zara is the continuing an appreciation of the Euro against other currencies this means higher prices for the buyer and less competitive posture. To reduce threats of competition and exchange rate Zara has built factories in North Africa and emerging markets. Economic crisis that started in 2008 and still goes on has obliged costumers to spend less on clothing items, and the company must bring new designs with affordable prices in order to handle this situation. Strengths Opportunities (SO) In order to be a successful retailer Zara has to build on its strengths and to take advantage of opportunities by using its RD. It brings in market each year 11.000 new products more than its competitors and this evident by its growth rate by 25% each year. In order to keep that growth rate Zara is investing its profits to buy new real estate location, technologies and to open new plants in low costs countries. Internal strengths 1) Strong Rd and designers. 2) Strong sales and global network. 3) Efficient products. Internal Weaknesses 1) Strong reliance in Europe. 2) Rising costs in Spain because of Euro. 3) No experience with Albanian laws. External opportunities-O 1) Growing market demands for fashion. 2) Will open new stores in Australia in 2011. 3) Low costs products to cope the competition. SO- Strategies 1) To develop and produce new designs with different prices. 2) To go global by using its RD and capital. 3) Increase efficiency by using new technologies in production. WO- Strategies 1) To develop existing products for different price model. 2) To cope with rising costs in Spain and Portugal by building new plants and stores in emerging markets. 3) To stay in touch with new technologies. Threats-T 1) Exchange rate risk, devaluation of euro in relation to other currencies. 2) Competition from HM, GAP, Benetton act. 3)Economic crisis ST-Strategies 1) To reduce the effect of exchange rate by building plants in countries outside the euro area. 2) Meet competition with advanced designs. 3) Bring new designs in market with lower prices. WT-strategies 1) Overcome weaknesses by making them strengths. 2) Reduce threat of competition by developing flexible product lines. 3) Engage in joint operation with other firms.TOWS Matrix for Zara Marketing Strategy Zara marketing strategy for Albanian market will include the use of targeted print media advertising and direct selling to Tirana and Durres area. The company will also use a website to keep costumers in touch with new designs and to sell products online.  In order to be successful as a new Zara store in Albanian market we have to beef up our relationship with corporate headquarters. Also we have to put our franchise in position to provide the highest quality of clothing in Albania market by bringing new brand and new designs. Our marketing strategy is to communicate this to our customers and to build a good relationship with them. Target Markets The potential customers for Zara are: Albanian costumers of Zara products: Market research suggests that there are approximately 50% of populations which are trended by fashion. All products for our franchise that would be able to handle the quantities of Zaras shipments and are in their target market. Inditex group wholesalers: This market serves as a safety for our import business. By maintaining relationships with Spanish wholesalers we have an alternative market with established distribution channels. As Zara moves in Albanian market need to be more aggressive in order to target this audience. Positioning Zara will position as the high end quality fashion distributor in Albanian market. Zara will only sell the highest quality of designs and recognizing that fashion is a commodity.   The company will leverage their competitive edges to achieve the desired positioning (Inditex group). We have established relationships with Zara, and Inditex group, in order to sustain our competitive edge. Our franchise has received affirmation of the demand for their product in the form of requests from Zara for larger product shipments. Our designs will be superior because of the larger average size of the Zara products 11.000 a year and low price and shipping cost will be less because Albanian market is too close from Spain. Strategies The single objective is to position Zara in our market as the premier in fashion field, and to create customer awareness in connection with designs offered, and to build good relationship to costumers in order to have their loyalty. The message that our store seeks to communicate is that our name is synonymous with the highest quality Zara designs available in Albanian market.   This message will be communicated through a variety of methods.   The first method will be the use of printed sales material.   The material will detail all of the different products that Zara sells. Another method of communication is through the development of strategic relationships with buyers and sellers of our (Zara) products.   As we are aware a nice communicative relationships with our clients is essential for our business.   Our franchise will also use advertisements, in TV, radio, newspapers, magazine and Email to increase brand awareness.    The use of the website will allow different people around Albania to view a lot of information regarding Zaras products in our store, their production methods, and other information. Marketing Mix Marketing mix is comprised of the following approaches to pricing and distribution, advertising and promotion and costumers service. The product can be distributed throughout the Tirana and Durres area. Several different methods will be used for advertising and promotions; we will use the same advertising methods as I meant it above. With regard to promotion we will offer as discount price, rebate Zara credit cards and other methods in order to keep loyal customers and to get new ones. Customer service is our priority in order to build good relationship with them.

Education Essay -- essays research papers

School the great Equalizer In his essay, “I should have never quit school';, D. DeMott rejects the myth that all social classes receive the same education. He supports his essay by denying that the stating line is the same for all students in the American educational system. DeMott begins his essay by giving us an example of the mythological belief that school is a fair institution where everyone begins at the same starting line. Next, DeMott gives general ideas about the American publics denials, and the educational system, provides for students. To support these denials DeMott gives us some assumptions of the general public’s beliefs on education.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first assumption is about intelligence, an individual is college material, intellectual because he/she was born smart and it’s up them to take advantage of it, and that teachers see this genetic trait. According to your intellectual level the school system will see this and place you in the proper educational training which best sues you.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next assumption is that your community motivates lower class students to attend institutions of higher education by providing them with financial assistance. The difference of the social economic level of the community abilities to provide for the st...

The Dilemma of Cloning Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Topics

The Dilemma of Cloning      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Man is quickly approaching the reality of cloning a human being. Once regarded as a fantastic vision dreamed up by imaginative novelists, the possibility of creating a person in the absence of sexual intercourse has crossed over the boundaries of science fiction and into our lives. While genetic engineering has helped improve the quality of life for many people, it poses many ethical and moral questions that few are prepared to answer. The most current and volatile debate surrounding human cloning seemed to surface when the existence of Dolly, a clone-sheep, was announced on February 23, 1997 by Ian Wilmut and colleagues at the Roslin Institute in Scotland. The cloning technique, which had never been successfully performed in mammals before, involved transplanting the genes of an adult male sheep with a differentiated somatic cell and transferring them into a female sheep's egg, of which the nucleus had been removed. Since Dolly contained the DNA of only one parent, she was deemed the "delayed" genetic twin of a single adult sheep (1). Since the spring of 1998, several other genetic clones have been announced, including the Massachusetts cell research firm's claim of "designer cattle" and the talk of a cloned mouse in June (2). Skeptics wondered, if such animals as mice and sheep can be cloned, what frontiers remains except for.....us? Recent legislation by the Clinton Administration, following the announcement of Dolly's birth put a ban on any funding whatsoever in support of science dictated toward human cloning. "Personally, I believe that human cloning raises deep concerns, given our cherished concepts of faith and humanity", the President said in a June 1997 national radio address (3)... ... of doing so, and the prospect of cloning a human being is an issue which must be carefully weighed by scientists and legislators alike. It is an event that can shape the history of mankind, but it is also an event that can create history in itself.    Works Cited (1) http://bioethics.gov/pubs/cloning1/executive.htm (2) http://www.reason. com/biclone.html (3) http://www.reson.com/biclone.html (4) http://www.reason.com/opeds/eibert.html (5) http://www.nejm.org/content/1998/0338/0013/0905.asp#tref-6 (6) http://www.nejm.org/content/1998/0338/0013/0905.asp#ref-6 (7) "Cloning: Legal, Medical, Ethical, and Social Issues". Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Health and Environment of the Committee on Commerce. Serial n. 105-70. February 12, 1998. Pp. 14 (8) http://cgi.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/articles/0,3266,17681,00.html

working good :: essays research papers

Related Articles Boost efficiency in your workplace Could a private Web site help your business? 10 tips for using instant messaging for business Related Resources Create an e-mail community Collaborate privately online Upgrade your accounting software Every office harbors inefficiencies — fax machines that don't work properly, files disorganized or missing, high-traffic areas that make productive work impossible. But the number of businesses that simply adapt to poor setups, rather than eliminating them, is surprising. Look around your office for these common office-productivity drains, and follow these eight tips to address them. Outdated technology Computers, printers, software and other technology that have outlived their usefulness can quickly eat into productivity. For example, a graphic designer who works on an underpowered PC may have to wait 20-30 seconds each time an image loads or is saved. Employees who access the Internet with slow dial-up connections face similar problems when Web pages can't be loaded or, worse, crash their PCs. How do you know your technology is dated? As a general rule, if your computer can't run the latest version of a key program, it is probably time for an upgrade. Your investment in new equipment may quickly be recouped in increased workflow. Poorly designed workspace Spend a few days monitoring work patterns to highlight inefficiencies built into the way you work. For instance, you might move to another room anytime you need to lay out papers because you lack enough desktop room. Or maybe you type up notes after finishing a conference call because your phone is too far away from your computer, preventing you from taking notes during the call. Fixing these kinds of productivity saps is often a matter of reorganizing physical workspace. It may be as simple as transferring books away from a countertop or getting a phone extension cord. Inefficient filing systems Disorganized files make it harder to find the information you need when you need it, which can double the amount of time spent on a paper chase. To fix messy filing practices, make sure you and your staffers have the necessary supplies to keep files organized. Assess whether or not you need additional file cabinets to allow all staff members to have easy access to the papers they need. Finally, consider moving inactive files to a storeroom to make it easier for workers to find active files. Untamed information flow The increasing availability of technology such as e-mail and cell phones has inundated the work environment with news, marketing messages, junk mail, and personal communications. working good :: essays research papers Related Articles Boost efficiency in your workplace Could a private Web site help your business? 10 tips for using instant messaging for business Related Resources Create an e-mail community Collaborate privately online Upgrade your accounting software Every office harbors inefficiencies — fax machines that don't work properly, files disorganized or missing, high-traffic areas that make productive work impossible. But the number of businesses that simply adapt to poor setups, rather than eliminating them, is surprising. Look around your office for these common office-productivity drains, and follow these eight tips to address them. Outdated technology Computers, printers, software and other technology that have outlived their usefulness can quickly eat into productivity. For example, a graphic designer who works on an underpowered PC may have to wait 20-30 seconds each time an image loads or is saved. Employees who access the Internet with slow dial-up connections face similar problems when Web pages can't be loaded or, worse, crash their PCs. How do you know your technology is dated? As a general rule, if your computer can't run the latest version of a key program, it is probably time for an upgrade. Your investment in new equipment may quickly be recouped in increased workflow. Poorly designed workspace Spend a few days monitoring work patterns to highlight inefficiencies built into the way you work. For instance, you might move to another room anytime you need to lay out papers because you lack enough desktop room. Or maybe you type up notes after finishing a conference call because your phone is too far away from your computer, preventing you from taking notes during the call. Fixing these kinds of productivity saps is often a matter of reorganizing physical workspace. It may be as simple as transferring books away from a countertop or getting a phone extension cord. Inefficient filing systems Disorganized files make it harder to find the information you need when you need it, which can double the amount of time spent on a paper chase. To fix messy filing practices, make sure you and your staffers have the necessary supplies to keep files organized. Assess whether or not you need additional file cabinets to allow all staff members to have easy access to the papers they need. Finally, consider moving inactive files to a storeroom to make it easier for workers to find active files. Untamed information flow The increasing availability of technology such as e-mail and cell phones has inundated the work environment with news, marketing messages, junk mail, and personal communications.

Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes Essay

Online gaming is big business these days, with thousands of people connected to each other every minute. Games like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft connect massive numbers of players, sending both data and voice communications back and forth in real-time. In a 1-2 page paper, discuss HOW the data gets sent from a computer or gaming system to the computer/gaming system of all of the people with whom one is playing. Specifically, focus on the local exchange interfaces – access, regional, metro, long haul and ocean networks. Include in your paper a diagram showing the communication, labeling any important stops along the way (central offices, repeaters, etc.) Note: You don’t have to list EVERY repeater you’d need, but be creative and show that you understand the process. Submission Requirements Submit a 1-2 page Word document; double-spaced; Times New Roman 12 pt font. Cite all sources used. Local Exchange Online gaming is big business these days, with thousands of people connected to each other every minute. Games like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft connect massive numbers of players, sending both data and voice communications back and forth in real-time Considering that video game consoles are almost computers; then it is clear that they can communicate as  computers does; and that is through TCP/IP networks. Therefore, it is possible to exchange data between gaming consoles. But let’s examine the aspects that are involved on this process. First, there is a physical connection running between two computers that want to connect. This could be phone lines that run from houses to switches to other houses that the phone company lets dial to each other. Or it could be network cables going to hubs and other computers. Or it could be cable lines running to fiber optic lines, through routers. Or it could be radio waves that computers can broadcast and receive. Second, there is a physical device that connects the computer to the network of lines he is communicating over. It could be a modem, a network card, a radio transmitter, or a router. Third, there is a set of software that allows the computer to send data across this network. There are a lot of layers to this software. At the top level, the computer sends some type of â€Å"packet† of data to the device and across the network. Typically, this is a TCP/IP packet. This basically tells you what the format of the data has to be, and what pieces of software computers need to have to send this kind of data. Finally, at the game layer, the game determines what other computer it needs to connect to, sends a request to the network device to establish the connection, and then sends data to the device so it can be sent. The network layer, when it receives data on a given connection, doesn’t just store it, it sends it on to the application who has the connection. So the connection is essentially between two applications. Focusing on the physical access; the possibility that data can be send to players around the globe is all thanks to the infrastructure of telecom companies. Starting with the local access, which is provided by the local telephone companies (Local Exchange Carriers). These entities are responsible for ensuring the necessary access to the network and the reliable transportation of the information. The Local Exchange Carriers provide the interface for  the users to connect to the internet. Behind the scene, the network access plays a vital role in this process; which is the part of the network that reaches the end users and â€Å"connects them†. This services are brought to the consumer through a cabling link between the consumer and the Local Exchange. This network pf cabling is also referred as â€Å"Distribution Network† At the transportation level, the data is handled by the regional/metro networks (MAN) is responsible for aggregating information from the local exchanges of a specific service provider and sending that information to the regional and long haul/core network. A regional network is responsible for aggregation of information from metro networks. It is typically the last point before information traffic is put onto the core network. Core network is responsible for transporting large amounts of information from metro and regional networks in one part of the geography over very long distances to the regional and metro networks of another part of the geography. An important part of the infrastructure are the ocean networks; these are the most demanding and technically advance networks in existence. There are a multitude of optical fiber cables underwater connecting continents and countries together; therefore, vital for internet communications. As you may imagine, there a multitude of devices and equipment involved within each network to make all this process (data exchange) possible.

Guide For Oral Health Care Health And Social Care Essay

A tooth abscess is pus enclosed in the tissues of the jaw bone at the tip of an septic tooth. Normally the abscess originates from a bacterial infection that has accumulated in the soft mush of the tooth. Abscesses typically originate from dead mush tissue, normally caused by untreated tooth decay, cracked dentitions or extended periodontic disease. A failed root canal intervention may besides make a similar abscess. There are three types of dental abscess. A gingival abscess involves merely the gum tissue, without impacting either the tooth or the periodontic ligament. A periapical abscess starts in the dental mush. A periodontic abscess begins in the back uping bone and tissue constructions of the dentition. An abscessed tooth is really painful. The tooth and environing gums are infected, and a root canal or extraction is normally recommended. An abscess tooth may be light with simply a little infection, or it may be speed uping – occupying non merely the oral cavity, but the full organic structure. The first phase of an abscess begins on the external beds of the dentitions along the protective coating named enamel. Bacteria which of course occur inside the oral cavity Begin to strike at the enamel and might later weaken, and cleft in a little hole. There might be merely minor tenderness at this period. Sensitivity to hot and cold contents, along with tenderness whether the tooth is tapped may be frequent marks. 2. About Oral Chelation for High Blood Pressure The term chelation describes a procedure whereby substances named chelating agents bind to metals or toxins to enable the organic structure to safely egest them in the piss or fecal matters. While the scientific community by and large validates the usage of chelation for heavy metal detoxification, its usage in high blood pressure remains controversial. Oral chelation therapy cleans your arterias. It besides cleans the riddance piece of land and builds up your general opposition for longer life and a better ( healthful ) feeling. Chelation therapy can assist lower blood force per unit area. These include the decalcification ( decrease ) of plaque, decrease of free groups and lowering of blood cholesterin. Oral Chelation Therapy takes a few months the first clip. Oral chelation is besides effectual because chelating agents, such as EDTA, can go through through the tummy and enter the blood stream unaffected. Oral chelation interventions exist in the signifier of liquids, pills or capsules and by and large last for several hebdomads. 3. About Oral Surgery Oral Surgery is a accepted international specializer developing class in dental medicine. It is the forte of dental medicine that includes the diagnosing, surgical and related intervention of diseases, hurts and defects affecting both the functional and esthetic facets of the difficult and soft tissues of the caput, oral cavity, dentition, gums and jaws. A figure of conditions may necessitate unwritten surgery, including: Impacted Teeth Wisdom dentitions, sometimes emerge from the gum line and the jaw is non big plenty to let room for them. Often one or more of these 3rd grinders fails to emerge in proper alliance or fails to to the full emerge through the gum line and becomes entrapped or â€Å" impacted † between the lower jaw and the gum tissue. Tooth Loss Dental implants are an option for tooth loss due to an accident or infection or as an option to dental plates. The implants are tooth root replacements that are surgically anchored in topographic point in the lower jaw and act to stabilise the unreal dentition to which they are attached. Jaw-Related Problems Unequal jaw growing: In some persons, the upper and lower Jaw fails to turn decently. This can do trouble in speech production, eating, get downing, and take a breathing. While some of these jobs — like improper teeth alliance — can be corrected with braces and other orthodontic contraptions, more serious jobs require unwritten surgery to travel all or portion of the upper jaw, lower jaw, or both into a new place that is more balanced, functional, and healthy. Improve tantrum of dental plates: For first-time dental plate wearers, unwritten surgery can be done to rectify any abnormalities of the jaws prior to making the dental plates to guarantee a better tantrum. 4. About the Benefits of Bing a Dentist The demand of dentist profession is turning. The profession of being a tooth doctor has many good things that can be of import considerations for you. If you give good services to your patients, you will be able to acquire clients, so your concern in dental pattern will run good. Dentists have a certain sum of prestigiousness within their communities. It is besides an easy field for adult females and minorities to win in. On top of the pecuniary benefits and flexibleness of being your ain foreman ( You besides get to be after on your ain hours ) , there is a great trade of personal satisfaction that can be found in a calling in dental medicine. You get the personal satisfaction of seting a smiling on a individual ‘s face and cut downing their hurting. Most people get into callings so that they can acquire a steady income and with dental medicine, you are assured of acquiring a batch of money. With the occupation if you have practiced for many old ages you can acquire to detect how to cover with or forestall dentition complaints which would be a good add-on to the society. You besides acquire to be a instructor by giving people advice on the best ways to keep their dentitions and maintain them healthy. Making a positive alteration in the lives of people is one of the greatest benefits a dentist gets. 5. Activities for Teaching Children Oral Hygiene Teaching kids how to brush, floss and rinse their oral cavity in order to maintain their teeth clean and prevent pits is of import. Teaching good hygiene when kids are immature can forestall dental jobs down the route. Use merriment activities to do brushing, flossing and sing the tooth doctor appealing. Teaching Children to Brush Their Teeth Childs can be conditioned to brush their dentitions merely as they ‘re taught to rinse their custodies and face. Parents can pattern the behaviour by leting kids to come into the bathroom with them to brush their dentitions. Invent your ain memorable small vocal or chant to sing as you ‘re brushing your babe ‘s dentition, make certain the words define the country you ‘re scouring ; so that one time the vocal is memorized they remember to brush each surface. Brush the kid ‘s dentition before you brush your ain, and so let the kid to brush theirs while you ‘re brushing yours ; yearlings love to copy. Tooth Decay Activity Use a digital camera to take a image of each kid, smiling and demoing their glistening white dentitions. Print each kid ‘s exposure twice and hold them colourise the dentitions brown in one of the smilings. Use black and brown washable markers to imitate tooth decay and pits. Have them hang it in the bathroom or utilize it as a reminder to brush their dentitions more frequently. Painting Activity Using xanthous building paper cut out several big tooth forms. Show the forms to your kid and speak about how dentitions can go xanthous if you do non brush them or if you eat a batch of things that can harm your dentitions. Give your kid white pigment to utilize and state him to feign that it is toothpaste. Let him utilize the â€Å" toothpaste † and a paintbrush to do the teeth clean and white once more. Dramatic Play Gather all of the stuffs necessary to do a make-believe tooth doctor office. You will necessitate a chair, toothbrush, mirror, and anything else that can do the scene more realistic and merriment, such as a white shirt to have on as a tooth doctor ‘s coat. Lie back in the chair and allow your child make-believe to be a tooth doctor as he examines your oral cavity, pretends to brush your dentitions and Tells you if your dentitions are healthy. Acting out this scenario may assist your kid to understand the importance of traveling to the tooth doctor and do the existent visit more appealing. 6. Basic Hygiene Dental Instruments Several instruments should be used daily to clean dentitions and gums. Toothbrush A toothbrush removes nutrient and plaque left on the dentition and gums. Toothpaste Toothpaste is available in gels, pulverizations or pastes that aid take plaque on the dentition and gums. Toothpaste can incorporate agents that can whiten dentitions, strengthen gums, and abolish bad breath. Floss Floss is created utilizing thin strands of nylon or plastic. Floss removes nutrient that ‘s trapped between dentitions, every bit good as the little movie of bacteriums that covers dentitions. The American Dental Association recommends that people floss daily. Gargle Mouthwash contains H2O, intoxicant and cleansing agents as the primary ingredients. Mouthwash helps cut down plaque, mask and control bad olfactory property, whiten dentition, and minimise gingivitis. Your tooth doctor may rede you to utilize mouthwash day-to-day depending on your dental demands. 7. Brushing Your Dentitions Correctly: Dental Care & A ; Oral Hygiene: How to†¦ You should brush your dentitions at least twice a twenty-four hours. A soft bristle toothbrush will clean without damaging the gums. Be careful non to be in an over-abundant manner. 2 proceedingss of proper brushing is good plenty. Clean the outer surfaces of your upper dentition, so your lower dentition Clean the interior surfaces of your upper dentition, so your lower dentition Clean the mastication surfaces For fresher breath, be certain to brush your lingua, excessively Tilt the coppice at a 45A ° angle against the gumline and expanse or turn over the coppice off from the gumline. Gently brush the exterior, indoors and masticating surface of each tooth utilizing short back-and-forth shots. Gently brush your lingua to take bacteriums and refresh your breath. 8. Causes of Very Dry Mouth: Oral Health There are several causes of dry oral cavity, besides called dry mouth. Peoples get dry oral cavity when the secretory organs in the oral cavity that make spits are non working decently. Because of this, there might non be plenty saliva to maintain your oral cavity moisture. There are several grounds why these secretory organs ( called salivary secretory organs ) might non work right. Side effects of certain medications- more than 400 medical specialties can do the salivary secretory organs to do less spit. Medicines for high blood force per unit area and depression frequently cause dry oral cavity Side consequence of certain diseases and infections. Dry oral cavity can be a side consequence of medical conditions, including Sjogren ‘s syndrome, HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer ‘s disease, diabetes, anaemia, cystic fibrosis, arthritic arthritis, high blood pressure, Parkinson ‘s disease, shot, and epidemic parotitiss. Radiation therapy – the salivary secretory organs can be damaged if they are exposed to radiation during malignant neoplastic disease intervention Chemotherapy – drugs used to handle malignant neoplastic disease can do saliva thicker, doing the oral cavity to experience dry. Nerve harm – hurt to the caput or cervix can damage the nervousnesss that tell salivary secretory organs to do spit. Dehydration – Conditionss that lead to desiccation, such as febrility, inordinate perspiration, purging, diarrhoea, blood loss, and Burnss can do dry oral cavity. Surgical remotion of the salivary secretory organs. Lifestyle – Smoke or masticating baccy can impact saliva production and aggravate dry oral cavity. Continuously take a breathing with your oral cavity unfastened can besides lend to the job.

Interview Questions and Answers

How are you qualified for this position? I believe that I am qualified for this position because of my knowledge and skills within the networking and database fields. I have developed these skills through previous work experiences and also by completing my bachelor's degree program in Network Communications Management. 2. What are your strengths? I have many strengths and skills that I have acquired through life experiences, job history, and from school.I think the major strengths that I have acquired are loyalty, dedicated work ethic, and patience. 3. What are your weaknesses? The current weakness or challenges I face in a work environment is my kindness. Sometimes people can take advantage of a person who Is too kind, which can be difficult in a work environment. I am working on resolving this problem by identifying those who are trying to take advantage of me and resolving the issue by confronting them. 4. What are your short-term goals? The most Important short-term goal right no w Is to establish a great work environment where I received employment.I also want to be sure I am exceeding expectations in order to receive great responsibility and growth within the company. 5. What are your long-term goals? My long term goal is to continue to expand my knowledge in the database and networking fields. I would like to be at a place where I am able to manage and train other coworkers in order to help grow my company. 6. What can you contribute to this company? I can contribute all of the skills I have learned In my previous database and networking environments.Also, I will be sure that my work, projects, and assignments re all done professionally and in a timely matter. 7. Why are you interested In working for our firm? I am interested in growing my experiences and knowledge in the database and networking fields. I feel that this company will help nourish my skills and keep myself actively learning new technologies. 8. Why are you applying for this position? I am a pplying tort this position because I know that I nave what I t takes to get the work required completed. I will also be able to contribute the skills I have learned in the database and networking fields.

Islamic Finance & Critical Success Factors Essay

I Would like to take this opportunity to thank all those people who contributed their time and effort and provided their insight in enabling the compilation of this report, it is with much regret that all of their names cannot be mentioned individually here, however special mention needs to be made of certain individuals, without whose input this report would have not been possible. Mr Baratha Devanarayana course coordinator and project supervisor of the Advanced Diploma in Business Management programme at the National Institute of Business Management (NIBM) for the support and advice given in content structuring and format design of the report. Would also like to mention Mrs Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia and Mrs Shamshed Akhtar, Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan whose knowledge and valuable insight on the Islamic finance industry as leading professionals in the field have provided the basis on which the compilation of this report has been made possible. Executive Summary Islamic finance is a financial system based on Shariah law or Islamic law which mandates the prohibition of charging or payment of interest encourages risk and profit sharing between all parties to a contract and emphasizes the need of ethical investment which contributes to the greater good of society as a whole. Islamic finance is now one of the fastest growing financial segments in the international financial system today with an estimated annual growth rate of 15 to 20%. Industry assets worldwide are currently estimated to be between $1. 3 trillion and its industry assets and overseas portfolios are estimated to reach 4 trillion in the medium term. Diverse financial products and services, progress in developing regulatory frameworks and enhanced international linkages are driving industry growth. The critical success factors for Islamic finance to foster the growth of the industry, the application of these critical success factors and there potential applicability in the Sri Lankan context will be analysed, a comparison between Islamic finance and the conventional system on some basic indicators for competitiveness, social development and development finance will be made and the Sri Lankan and regional potential of Islamic finance will be analysed as the research undertaking of this study. The progress that has been made on certain aspects of the Islamic financial system both locally and globally, the importance of Sri Lanka fostering the growth of the Islamic finance industry are some of the issues discussed in this study. As a prelude to the research part of this study the recent developments of Islamic finance both globally and locally and the historical development of Islamic finance will be looked at to facilitate an understanding on how the system has evolved from a single institution a few decades ago to a global industry with a global presence spreading from the Middle East to Asia and the West.

The Role of Ict in Enhancing Education in Developing Countries

Journal of Education for International Development 4:2 December 2009 The Role of ICT in Enhancing Education in Developing Countries: Findings from an Evaluation of The Intel Teach Essentials Course in India, Turkey, and Chile Daniel Light Education Development Center This paper presents findings from case studies of the introduction of the Intel ® Teach Essentials Course—a professional development program focused on integrating information and communication technologies (ICT) into project-based learning—into six schools in Chile, India, and Turkey. We describe four common dimensions of change in learning environments that emerged across the countries: changes in teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes; changes in how students engage with content; changes in relationships among students, teachers, and parents; and changes in the use of ICT tools to promote students’ learning. Three of these dimensions relate to shifts in pedagogical paradigms that appear to be prerequisites to effectively using ICT to support students’ learning. Our findings indicate that these shifts must not just occur at the teacher level, but must take hold throughout the educational system and must accompany sustained investment in infrastructure, human resources, curricular frameworks, and assessment. Key Words: ICT, developing countries, education reform I. Introduction Understanding how technology fits into the complex realities of classrooms has been a critical factor in creating real change in schools in the industrialized nations (Cuban, 1993; Honey, McMillan Culp, & Carrigg, 2000; Somekh et al. 2003), yet little is known about educational technology projects in the classrooms of the developing world. This paper examines the influence of an information and communication technologies (ICT)-focused professional development program—the Intel ® Teach Essentials Course—on classroom learning environments in six schools in Chile, India, and Turkey. Over the years, program evaluations have found that teachers across a variety of countries value their experience in the Essentials Course and report using ICT and/or making changes in their teaching practice following the program (Light, McMillan Culp, Menon, & Shulman, 2006; Light, Menon, & Shulman, 2007). However, the evaluations have also suggested that the ways in which teachers in different countries follow up vary, depending largely on factors in their school contexts. The research presented in this paper sought to examine more deeply the nature of the changes that schools in different contexts have made to integrate ICT and student-centered practices and how these changes affect the classroom (Light, Polin, & Strother, 2009). In all three countries, we found that the educators we interviewed and observed felt they had been able to implement new ICT activities and teaching approaches with their students after the Course. We also identified a consistent set of programs and policies that, combined with the motivation and skills of educators, enabled these schools to innovate. We selected the six schools in the study (two from each country) which key local stakeholders—the training agencies, the ministries of education, and the Intel Education Managers—considered to be â€Å"good examples† of using the Essentials Course to create school-level change within their national Light 1 Journal of Education for International Development 4:2 December 2009 contexts. In pursuit of the ideals established by their ministries, the teachers and administrators in these schools are attempting to transform the instructional strategies and the educational tools they use. Although each country is unique and each school is at a different starting place, all are moving toward more student-centered, project-based, and ICT-rich classroom learning activities. Across the diversity of their situations, educators in each school connected the ideas and tools offered in the Essentials Course with their own needs. From our case studies of the six schools, we identified four common dimensions of changes that are emerging to support more project-based and ICT-rich activities in the classroom: changes in teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes; changes in how students engage with content; changes in relationships among students, teachers, and parents; and changes in the use of ICT tools to promote students’ learning. Three of these dimensions of change that emerged across schools are pedagogical in nature, supporting the idea that an appropriate pedagogical context is key to successful ICT integration. II. Theoretical Perspective When effectively integrated into a high-quality learning environment, researchers have demonstrated that ICT can help deepen students’ content knowledge, engage them in constructing their own knowledge, and support the development of complex thinking skills (Kozma, 2005; Kulik, 2003; Webb & Cox, 2004). However, ICT alone cannot create this kind of teaching and learning environment. Teachers must know how to structure lessons, select resources, guide activities, and support this learning process; many traditionally-trained teachers are not prepared to take on these tasks. As Bransford, Brown, and Cocking (2000) point out, to use technology effectively, the pedagogical paradigm needs to shift toward more student-centered learning. This shift is not trivial or easily accomplished, particularly in countries with teacher-centered educational traditions. The literature suggests that four broad sets of changes should accompany the integration of ICT and the move toward a constructivist model of teaching and learning. 1. Changes in teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes: The literature on education reform highlights the importance of changing teachers’ beliefs and attitudes to create long-term sustainable change (Fullan, 1993). Many studies on ICT integration find that projects fall short of expectations because the educators continue working within a traditional vision of rote learning (Gersten, Chard, & Baker, 2000; Honey & Moeller, 1990; Teacher Foundation, 2005). Teachers need to believe that new approaches to teaching are effective and will make a difference for their students in order for them to continue using new approaches. Teachers’ understanding and commitment are particularly important to sustain changes in areas such as project-based learning or student-centered techniques, which require core changes to a teacher’s instructional practice (Gersten et al. , 2000). 2. Changes in how students engage with content: Research in the learning sciences has established that constructivist theories of learning provide a more reliable understanding of how humans learn than previous behaviorist frameworks (Bransford et al. , 2000). Studies have identified a variety of constructivist learning strategies (e. . , students work in collaborative groups or students create products that represent what they are learning) that can change the way students interact with the content (Windschitl, 2002). The introduction of ICT into schools and project-based approaches should change how students interact with the content through new types of learning activities. 3. Changes in relationships among teachers, student s, and parents: Recent studies suggest that, specifically, a supportive and cooperative relationship with the teacher can be very important Light 2 Journal of Education for International Development 4:2 December 2009 for learning (Marzano, 2007). Research in many different countries has found that the introduction of technology into learning environments changes teachers’ and students’ roles and relationships (Hennessy, Deaney, & Ruthven, 2003; Kozma & McGhee, 2003). 4. Changes in the use of ICT tools to promote students’ learning: The ICT integration in developing country classrooms is challenging (Akbaba-Altun, 2006; Comenius, 2008; Grant, Ross, Weiping, & Potter, 2005; Light & Rockman, 2008; Somekh et al. 2003; Vyasulu Reddi & Sinha, 2003). A number of factors—such as teacher knowledge, time, access to ICT tools, and the alignment of ICT use with pedagogical goals—appear to help teachers integrate ICT and to support students’ increased use of ICT tools for learning (Light & Manso, 2006; Perez et al. , 2003). III. Overview of the Three National Contexts A. India Of the three countries, India is perhaps the country that has most recently begun reforms to promote new teaching approaches and ICT. Across India’s decentralized education system, national and state leaders face big challenges in their efforts to support an education system that must reach so many students (Cheney, Ruzzi, & Muralidharan, 2005; PROBE Team, 1999). Efforts to shift curricula from behaviorist approaches to learning to a constructivist approach that emphasizes the personal experiences of learners are recent (India—National Council of Educational Research and Training, 2006; Pandley, 2007). A growing number of policies support ICT integration, but one expert review (Vyasulu & Sinha, 2003) found that there is still great variation in implementation of these policies and access to ICT is still limited for most students. Although there is variation by state, the duration of the standard school day is five hours, divided into 35-minute lessons. The class sizes tend to be large; the classes we visited ranged from 45 to 60 students. Indian teachers are expected to cover a lot of content, and the textbook often becomes the center of the learning process (PROBE Team, 1999; Rampal, 2002). The state curriculum varies, but in Maharashtra State, for example, the students have a very full schedule by the upper grades and study 11 compulsory subjects. B. Chile Since 1990, successive Chilean governments have pursued a consistent reform effort to modernize teaching and learning, improve and expand school infrastructure, promote student-centered curricula, institute full-day schooling, develop a national examination, invest heavily in teacher professional development, and integrate ICT into schools (Cox, 2004; Ferrer, 2004; Valenzuela, Labarrera, & Rodriguez, 2008). The Chilean school day is eight hours, with the amount of time students spend in core areas (math, language, and science) twice that spent on other disciplines, and there is reserved time for students to engage in enrichment activities or project-based learning experiences. Class periods are typically 50 minutes, with two-hour classes in core content areas. Every school is required to have a Unidad Tecnica Pedagogica (UTP—the Technical Pedagogical Unit) that provides pedagogical support to improve teachers’ practice. Chile also has an ICT program, Enlaces (Links) that, by 2007, had provided hardware, software, and connectivity to 94% of schools in Chile and trained 110,000 teachers (Cancino & Donoso Diaz, 2004; Chile—Ministerio de Educacion, 2008). Thus, most schools have a certain level of ICT infrastructure available in computer labs. Light 3 Journal of Education for International Development 4:2 December 2009 C. Turkey Turkey has been instituting educational reforms to modernize and expand its school system and align it with European Union norms since the late 1990s (Baki & Gokcek, 2005). The reforms include the expansion of compulsory education, efforts to decrease class size, introduction of a new curricular approach and materials, the use of ICT, and efforts to provide teachers with professional development. Announced in 2005, the new curriculum draws upon constructivist pedagogical principles and the theory of multiple intelligences and promotes more student-centered techniques— such as individual and group work—to encourage students to explore and develop skills (Gomleksiz, 2005). As Phase 1 of the Basic Education Program, 1998–2003, the government distributed thousands of computers to schools (Akbaba-Altun, 2006), and many schools now have labs. Turkey is moving toward full-day schooling, but many schools—including the two we visited—still have two, five-hour shifts because they cannot otherwise meet their communities’ demand. The demand for schools also means that Turkey has not yet reduced class size to 30 students. Nationally, the average primary school class size is 38. 6 students (Otaran, Sayn, Guven, Gurkaynak, & Satakul, 2003) but in the schools we observed classes ranged from 50 to 60 students. IV. Overview of the Essentials Course The core goal of the Essentials Course is to prepare teachers to integrate ICT across the curricula as a tool for learning and to design and implement inquiry-driven, project-based learning activities. The Essentials Course involves teachers in a process of developing a complete unit plan that utilizes a project-based approach, engages students in a variety of ICT activities, and organizes learning around an â€Å"essential question† that guides students’ inquiry and exploration of a given topic. Teachers are encouraged to designate time in their unit plans for students to use ICT to conduct research and to create a final product to share their research findings. The Essentials Course also discusses crucial factors for creating high-quality, issues in student-centered learning environments (e. g. , classroom management issues with technology), and approaches to assessing students’ technology products. During the unit plan development process, teachers expand their technical skills and prepare to implement their units back in the classroom. This is a vital feature of the Essentials Course, as it allows teachers to experience and evaluate the new teaching approaches (Guskey, 2002). In addition to Web resources, the Essentials Course uses commonly available software, primarily word processing software and presentation software, to support students in creating presentations, Web pages, brochures, reports, and newsletters. Figure 1: Core Components of the Intel Teach Essentials Course Content Linking ICT use to deeper learning Essential Questions or curricular framing questions Project-based approaches Student created products Internet resources Group work Holistic assessment strategies Structural Features 40 to 60 hour training Focus on commonly available software Teachers create a sample unit plan Teachers learn by doing Trainer is in the same school Emphasis on building communities of trained teachers Light 4 Journal of Education for International Development 4:2 December 2009 Intel, in collaboration with ministries of education worldwide, has offered the Essentials Course to more than 6 million teachers in 45 countries. The collaborative approach to course delivery is important. Although the core messages and goals of the program do not change, Intel works with the ministries and local educational experts to adapt Essentials Course materials to fit local needs; a local agency in each country implements the Course. In Chile, the ministry created a network of universities throughout the country that offers the Course in their regions, and the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile in Santiago oversees the network. In India, the non-profit Learning Links Foundation oversees the program in the participating states. In Turkey, the Ministry of National Education (MNE) oversees the program, and trainers are based at the provincial education directorates and in larger towns. In this study, we used an instrumental case study approach (Stake, 1995) to examine how successful schools and teachers have been able to integrate ICT and new teaching strategies into their classrooms. This approach allowed us to work directly with schools that have been making changes, talk with teachers about the aspects of the Essentials Course that are useful to their practice, and develop an understanding of what teachers are actually able to do in typical schools in each country. During a two- to four-day site visit at each of the six schools, we interviewed school leaders, the Essentials Senior Trainer (ST) or Master Teacher (MT), technology-using teachers, students, and representatives of students’ parents whenever possible. As shown in Table 1, classroom observations of both typical classrooms and students engaged in the computer lab or ICT activities complemented the interviews. Table 1: Data Collected India Mumbai School Interviews Observations Focus groups Interviews Observations Focus groups Interviews Observations Focus groups Interviews Observations Focus groups Interviews Observations Focus groups Interviews Observations Focus groups 2 school leaders; 5 teachers 5 classes 14 parents; 37 students; 12 teachers 4 school leaders; 3 teachers 5 classes 3 parents; 5 students 2 school leaders; 3 teachers 4 classes 7 students 3 school leaders; 2 teachers 3 classes 5 students 2 school leaders; 8 teachers 3 classes 3 parents; 5 students 5 school leaders; 7 teachers 5 classes 5 arents; 19 students Village School Chile Santiago School Village School Turkey Ankara School Village School Light 5 Journal of Education for International Development 4:2 December 2009 As noted, to identify a sample of exemplary schools, we gained input from local stakeholders. We requested that the local training agency, the ministries, and the Intel Education Managers in each country comp ile a list of schools. We asked that they exclude schools with privileged access to resources, technology, or funds. Success was defined by the local stakeholders to represent what they felt would be reasonable expectations for schools and teachers in their country. From the list of schools, the research team made a final selection of two schools in each country. To carry out the fieldwork, we collaborated with local partners. In Chile, we worked with researchers from the Centro Costadigital at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso, and in Turkey, we teamed with GLOKAL Research Consulting. Unfortunately, the arrangements for a local research partner in India fell through. V. Sites A. India We selected a private school in a middle-class neighborhood of Mumbai and a government school in a Gujarati village. The Mumbai school, with 2,000 students, is an English-medium private school from pre-K to Grade 10 and the village school is a Grade 1 to 8 Gujarati-medium public school with 309 students. In the Mumbai school, every classroom has a computer connected to a TV, there are two computer laboratories each with 60 computers, and there is a computer in the library. The labs have broadband Internet. The Gujarati village school has a lab with 14 computers and a computer on a wheeled table with an LCD projector. The lab is connected to the Internet through a dial-up modem. B. Chile We selected a government-subsidized private school in a lower middle class neighborhood of Santiago Chile and a small municipal school in a rural town. The private school has 2,500 students from pre-K to Grade 12, and the municipal school serves 97 students from pre-K to Grade 8. The private school has five ICT labs, some with as many as 20 computers. The municipal school has a lab with 15 computers, plus four laptops, a digital camera, a TV, a printer, two LCD projectors, and a wireless network. C. Turkey We selected two public schools that serve students from K to Grade 8. One school, in an outlying neighborhood of Ankara, serves 2,300 students. The second school, located in a small provincial capital on the Anatolian Plateau, serves 1,410 neighborhood children and has a population of female boarding students from villages in the province. The school in Ankara has one computer laboratory with 21 computers, 15 classrooms have a computer, and there are 350 Classmate PCs donated by Intel. The lab has broadband Internet and a wireless hub. The Anatolian school has three computer labs with 15 computers each, and five or six teachers also have a computer in their classrooms. The labs have wireless connectivity. VI. Findings: Three Common Themes The Essentials Course was not the only source of information or support for the new student-centered practices and ICT-based activities we observed in these schools, as all three ministries of education are engaged in reform with various changes such as new curricula, new standards, and new in-service Light 6 Journal of Education for International Development 4:2 December 2009 training programs. Education reform is a long and complex process that needs to be supported with multiple strategies, and our findings suggest that the Essentials Course can be one part of that puzzle. A. Changes in Teachers’ Knowledge, Beliefs, and Attitudes Because all schools in the study were considered successful, we explored what teachers had changed in their own practice. In the interviews, we asked teachers to discuss what they had learned from the Essentials Course that was useful for their classroom practice. Three themes emerged across all six schools as the teachers spoke about what they found to be valuable for their teaching: (a) their beliefs about how students learn were shifting; (b) they had a deeper understanding of new teaching strategies; and (c) they had improved their knowledge of how to use ICT as a learning tool, as well as strengthening their ICT skills. a. Teachers’ beliefs shifted to a constructivist paradigm of teaching and learning. Teachers expressed a growing belief that students can learn through exploration and discovery. The Essentials Course and, more importantly, the experience of implementing a project-based or ICT-rich learning activity appear to influence teachers’ understanding of how children learn. The interviews suggested the teachers began to value learning as different from memorization and to see that students can learn by exploring content, conducting research, and applying knowledge to real problems. For example, a Chilean history teacher remarked upon the difference from the traditional approaches of having students memorize information: â€Å"By following a question, the students acquire a lot f content through research. † In all six schools, teachers also expressed their belief that students learn more than just content with projects and Internet research. Many teachers recounted what they did â€Å"before† and â€Å"after Intel,† and their descriptions consistently included how students â€Å"learn more deeply,† â€Å"have more confidence,† and â€Å"are more motivated† by the new ways of learning. They reported that students were developing skills and attitudes such as self-assurance, curiosity, collaboration and teamwork skills, presentation skills, and organizational skills. In appreciating how effective group work had been, a teacher in Turkey reported that, â€Å"Before Intel, students did not do teamwork. [†¦] In Turkey—kids want to learn from teachers, now they have to do research on their own and can learn more deeply. Otherwise students aren’t motivated to learn. † A second Turkish teacher commented that students â€Å"were sharing ideas and thoughts with each other† and learning to â€Å"trust themselves. † B. Teachers deepened their understanding of student-centered practices. Teachers reported improving their skills with innovative teaching practices. Although some countries had more experience than others, across the board, nearly all the teachers we interviewed valued project-based approaches and reported doing projects with their students. Teachers had very clear ideas about how project-based approaches can support student learning by allowing students to explore content as they respond to a research question or problem posed by the teacher. They felt the project approaches made the content more relevant to students and required greater intellectual effort for students to find and synthesize information, which led to students learning and retaining more information. At schools in Turkey and India, principals and teachers credited the Essentials Course with helping them learn how to do projects for the first time. In Turkey, teachers told us the Course helped them better utilize the project ideas offered in their new national curricula. One school in India had been experimenting with projects prior to participation in the Essentials Course, but the teachers reported that this professional development experience gave them a solid template and a set of strategies for Light 7 Journal of Education for International Development 4:2 December 2009 project-based approaches. In Chile, teachers told us that the Course helped them learn about inquirydriven project-based strategies in addition to the problem-based approach supported by their ministry. While teachers from all three countries agreed that the Essentials Course supported their use of student-centered practices, each country’s context and educational goals influenced which topics were of most interest to teachers. For example, while all the teachers spoke about using group work and collaborative learning, the teachers in Turkey were very excited about the collaboration strategies presented in the Essentials Course. Turkey’s traditional approach to teaching is lecturebased and emphasizes individual student activities, and teachers reported that they did not have any previous experience with collaborative learning. Group work and collaboration are, however, part of the new Turkish curriculum and reform efforts and teachers expressed appreciation for how the two programs supported each other. The curriculum contains many group activities, and the Essentials Course offers strategies to facilitate group work, as well as follow-up support to practice these strategies with coaching from their MT. In India, teachers found the â€Å"Essential Questions† strategy to be compelling. Essential Questions (e. g. , â€Å"Why do we need others? †) are intriguing, open-ended questions that organize a project and are an effective way to encourage students to think deeply and to provide them with a meaningful context for learning (Wiggins & McTighe, 2001). The Indian curriculum is very demanding and the school day is crowded, so teachers felt that they could not easily integrate project work into every class. While they could not do projects during the class period, they were, however, exploring the use of questioning strategies to push students’ critical thinking and to allow students to share their perspectives and formulate their own conceptual understandings of the content. For example, one teacher asked her students what they thought the impacts of British Colonial policies were on the farmers, and a social studies teacher asked students what they valued about their community. Teachers felt that asking for student input was a significant change. As one teacher commented, they no longer just â€Å"stand and teach,† but facilitate iscussions and encourage children to share their knowledge. The teachers we visited felt the open-ended questions and ensuing dialogue between teachers and students might be the foundation of a new relationship between teachers and students. One of the schools in Chile, which already had a lot of experience with ICT and projects, focused on the use of rubric assessments presented in the Essentials Course. The principal noted that teachers were facing increasing challenges in assessing students’ work as the school moved toward complex, technology-rich student products such as presentations and websites. Through these products, students master more than just content and teachers wanted to value all aspects of students’ learning. They considered the rubrics—designed to capture the range of skills, attitudes, and content that students develop—as a key way to address these challenges. The teachers were also using rubrics to put students more directly in control of their learning process; students know from the beginning which aspects of the content teachers will evaluate. C. Teachers improved their ICT knowledge and skills. Teachers reported that they had developed the skills needed to initiate or increase the use of ICT with students. Most of the teachers in India and Turkey reported little ICT experience before Essentials, whereas most Chilean teachers had previous trainings and experience using ICT. Regardless of their experience with ICT, all teachers we interviewed who took the Essentials Course reported they increased their knowledge of how to use ICT as an educational tool. For teachers with no prior experience, the Course helped them acquire basic skills. However, all of the teachers commented on Light 8 Journal of Education for International Development 4:2 December 2009 how the Course helped them see ICT as a pedagogical tool. The strategy of having teachers design a model unit of their own choice appears to allow teachers to work on skills and areas that are new and challenging for them. VII. Changes in How Students Engage with Content The introduction of ICT into schools and the use of project-based approaches and Internet research have changed how students interact with the content in a number of ways. In the site visits, teachers and students spoke about three types of new learning activities that would, according to the literature, contribute to a constructivist learning environment: (a) learning through projects; (b) conducting Internet research; and (c) connecting school content to students’ lives (Windschitl, 2002). A. Project-based work gave students a chance to collaborate, use multiple resources, and direct their own learning. In all the schools, student projects were fundamental to bringing student-centered instructional strategies into the classrooms. The Essentials-trained teachers we interviewed spoke of doing projects with their students. Despite variations among project designs, a few core features emerged. In almost every site, projects gave students chances to work collaboratively and challenged them to take on new roles and responsibilities; students worked in groups and often had to coordinate efforts to complete the projects. Also, all of the projects described included research and culminated in a final product that required students to synthesize and share what they learned. For example, in the Gujarati village, the students did a project about water use and irrigation. They visited local experts, surveyed the community, collected data, and researched solutions. As a result of the students’ examination of drip irrigation, and their proposal of how farmers could use this new strategy, the village converted to drip irrigation. Again, the teachers in India could not fit the project into the class time, so students did a lot of the work before and after school. The municipal school in Chile did a multi-grade project on insects in which the younger grades collected bugs and wrote reports and the older grades helped them create a website. B. Independent Internet research gave students autonomy and a chance to develop and share their own perspectives. Internet research was a constant theme in these schools. Teachers, students, and parents all spoke about having students do Internet research for homework and as part of the projects. Teachers often asked students to bring in additional information on topics in the textbook (e. . , in a Turkish project students researched systems of the human body). Or, teachers asked students to research additional topics or themes (e. g. , after a lesson on farmers under the British Empire, a history teacher in India asked students to research the condition of Indian farmers today). C. Connecting school content to students’ lives made learning more meaningful to students. We found that many of the projec ts teachers designed connected students’ school work to their home life and the community more broadly. In a very simple sense, the increased use of practices such as open-ended questions and group work allowed students to share the perspectives and knowledge they bring from home. For example, a teacher in India asked her students what they had eaten for breakfast and then used this as the start of a nutrition lesson, and a Turkish teacher had his first grade students discuss how an animated story related to their own families and lives. Light 9 Journal of Education for International Development 4:2 December 2009 Yet many of the project topics also engaged students in examining real-world issues or concerns that gave them an opportunity to connect â€Å"school learning† with the real world and allowed them to develop their own opinions and perspectives about the issues. For example, the Indian village that did the irrigation project mentioned above also did projects on clean water and public health. Other projects were less ambitious, but still meaningful, such as the Chilean school where students collected stories and images from the community to publish in a booklet for their families. Our interviews ith parents in the Indian and Turkish sites also supported the perception that students were becoming a source of new information for their families. Parents credited their children’s increased use of Internet research with providing them with current information to which they would not otherwise have had access. Students are generally more excited by information they find themsel ves than the contents of a textbook, and parents reported that their children were rushing home, eager to share what they had discovered. VIII. Changes in Relationships among Teachers, Students, and Parents In keeping with the new activities and roles for students, the teachers and students in the schools we visited reported that they were transforming how they interact. The changes in teaching practices in these schools are part of a broader change in relationships within the school and between the school and the community. The educators and students described changes in the ways they collaborate with each other that grew out of the new teaching practices (e. g. , project-based approaches, open-ended questions), integrating ICT into the schools (e. g. Internet research or presentations), or both. We noticed that teachers, students, and parents reported changes in three sets of relationships: (a) among the students; (b) between students and teachers; and (c) between the school, the parents, and sometimes the community. A. Projects and ICT activities fostered collaborative relationships among students. Many of the teachers and parents interviewed said that students were developing a rang e of social and interpersonal skills that they attributed to the projects and the new roles that students were taking on. As noted, students in every school were taking on new responsibilities as they worked on projects—leading teams, conducting research, writing reports, debating with peers, and making presentations to peers, teachers, and parents. A Chilean fifth grade teacher explained how her students were developing the skills and maturity to work as a team, even across grade levels, because of the collaborative techniques she learned in the Essentials Course. Some of the parents also commented on their children’s maturity and responsibility. A Turkish father noticed a change in his daughter’s attitudes since doing the â€Å"Intel projects. † He observed that before teachers participated in the Essentials Course, his daughter did not share her things with anyone. After her teachers participated in the Course, his daughter began to share more with friends and she enjoyed working in teams. The father also said that, as a result of her involvement in projects and team work, his daughter completed her school assignments independently at home and no longer asked him for help. B. New teaching strategies allowed teachers to develop more collaborative and interactive relationships with their students. The teachers reported that, as their teaching practices changed, their relationships with their students also became more open and supportive. Teachers began to allow more intellectual discussions between themselves and their students, and students were more willing to approach teachers and share concerns and opinions. The teachers and parents in Mumbai were, perhaps, the most eloquent. One group of teachers commented that, as children, they had been afraid of their teachers and they Light 10 Journal of Education for International Development 4:2 December 2009 were happy that their students no longer â€Å"fear the teacher† but gladly ask questions and give opinions. The students we interviewed echoed these sentiments. A group of high school students from the school in Santiago, Chile explained that a good teacher is one who encourages students to disagree when they have a well-reasoned argument. A student from Mumbai shared a similar perspective: â€Å"I like that whenever I do a report I can include my own critical opinion—it is not just cut and paste. And I can learn many things outside of the textbook. † C. Innovating with projects and ICT strengthened the relationships between the school, parents, and the community. The parents we interviewed were excited by the introduction of community-focused projects and student research, and they expressed pride in what the schools were doing for their children with technology. A group of parents in India praised their school â€Å"because of the new technology, [the school] is innovative. They have very high performance, but it is not just academics-oriented. † In the four public schools we visited, parents and the community had also initiated efforts to bring additional ICT resources to the schools by donating equipment or paying for improved Internet connections. However, the parents also remarked on the new teaching practices and what these changes mean for their children. All of the parents we interviewed commented on how the school was developing the whole child since the project work was supporting teamwork, independence, and self–confidence. Parents in India and Turkey highlighted their children’s growing confidence and independence to do research or make public presentations, and they also noted the caring relationships between students and teachers. IX. Changes in the Use of ICT Tools to Promote Students’ Learning A core aim of the Essentials Course and a central objective for the ministries in Chile, Turkey, and India is to encourage the use of ICT as a learning aid for students. Although the administrators and teachers we interviewed in all six schools told us they wished they could do more, to the extent permitted by resources, space, and time, students were using ICT for learning activities. PowerPoint presentations and Internet research were, by far, the most common ICT tools that students used. All six schools promoted student use of ICT, but each adopted different strategies to realize its goals. In Turkey and India, with short school days and tight schedules, the teachers had to strategically make time—either by working outside of class, or rationing access—for students to complete their ICT projects. For example, the teachers at the Anatolian school in Turkey told us that they meet as a team each semester to decide which classes will do long-term projects to ensure every student gets a chance each year. The Chilean teachers had more flexibility to schedule lab time during school hours, although they also did afterschool activities. Perhaps the clearest change is that, in all six schools, teachers gave students Internet research activities for homework. For instance, a math teacher in India assigned students to calculate average rainfall in different parts of the world using online databases, and a Chilean history teacher had students analyze online photos for life conditions in 1900s Chile. X. Conclusion This paper presents the findings from our fieldwork that describe the nature of the changes taking place in the classrooms in these six schools as they integrate ICT activities. Since the governments point to these schools as positive examples, their experiences can help contribute to an understanding Light 11 Journal of Education for International Development 4:2 December 2009 of the process of integrating ICT into the schools of developing countries. While some educators we observed are more skilled than others, and some changes in practice are just emerging, all six schools are making changes beyond just the use of new tools. They are developing: new beliefs about learning and new practices, new ways to engage with content, changing relationships, and new ICT tools for learning. That three of the four common dimensions of change are pedagogical shifts, and that they are changes in pedagogy that are supported by the ICT, illustrate the paradigm shift required for effective ICT integration (Bransford et al. , 1999; Hepp et al. , 2004). These findings illustrate the complex sets of changes that have to occur for ICT to be deeply and meaningfully used to support student learning. This would explain why technology integration is so difficult to achieve but also points the way forward. Our findings suggest that necessary changes are much broader than just the introduction of a new tool or one new ractice. Instead, change begins by deeply reshaping life in the classrooms—from educators’ beliefs about learning to the relationships that make up the school community. In each context, the teachers found points of engagement between the model of ICT use and teaching in the Essentials Course and the possibilities and limits of their context. For Indian teac hers, it was most feasible to integrate aspects of the teaching model (i. e. , open-ended questions) into their classroom and the ICT into after-class time. In Turkey, schools brought ICT activities into scheduled lab time and group work into their class activities. And, Chilean teachers used holistic assessment strategies and inquiry-based projects in class because their school day provides a block of time for projects. But, the responsibility for change cannot rest solely on the shoulders of the teachers; bringing about these changes is a long-term, incremental process. Effective reform requires sustained investment and support along multiple dimensions of the educational system, including physical and technical infrastructure, human resources, curricular frameworks, standards, and assessment. 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