Free Essays on After School Activities

After-School: Parental Involvement in Low-Income Neighborhoods Introduction: This document is in support of after-school activities in low-income neighborhoods that benefit from parental participation. After school programs that have parental involvement; are more successful, as indicated through psychological research (and ethnographies) that convey the significance of parenting styles and practices- especially in impoverished urban neighborhoods. It is in these seamlessly â€Å"impossible† settings, parents chosen rearing styles for children; determine the child’s eventual outcome and role in society. In western society, parenting styles differ from that of other cultures; however, it is the western society parenting styles in rough crime ridden neighborhoods whose parents face the toughest of obstacles. To assist in overcoming the tasks that low-income parenting presents, a child should participate in out-of-school activities that will be enriching in the child’s development. In impoverished neighborhoods, it is more of a need for both parental involvement (strategies) utilizing after-school programming, in overcoming the (negative) impoverished environment a child lives in; probably intensified and more difficult via single parenting. Of equal significance is social policy (geared toward after-school programming) in a Euro-American public educational system. In deed the role that the American government and politics plays, is major. In low-income neighborhoods where â€Å"at-risk† youth become involved in gangs or selling drugs in cities such as South East, Washington, D.C., after school programs- more specifically extra-curricular activities, prevent children from falling astray. If they don’t have alternative activities, children who are considered to be low-income school-aged-children are unlikely to develop into high school graduates, followed by college graduation, and even more importantly keep kids invo... Free Essays on After School Activities Free Essays on After School Activities After-School: Parental Involvement in Low-Income Neighborhoods Introduction: This document is in support of after-school activities in low-income neighborhoods that benefit from parental participation. After school programs that have parental involvement; are more successful, as indicated through psychological research (and ethnographies) that convey the significance of parenting styles and practices- especially in impoverished urban neighborhoods. It is in these seamlessly â€Å"impossible† settings, parents chosen rearing styles for children; determine the child’s eventual outcome and role in society. In western society, parenting styles differ from that of other cultures; however, it is the western society parenting styles in rough crime ridden neighborhoods whose parents face the toughest of obstacles. To assist in overcoming the tasks that low-income parenting presents, a child should participate in out-of-school activities that will be enriching in the child’s development. In impoverished neighborhoods, it is more of a need for both parental involvement (strategies) utilizing after-school programming, in overcoming the (negative) impoverished environment a child lives in; probably intensified and more difficult via single parenting. Of equal significance is social policy (geared toward after-school programming) in a Euro-American public educational system. In deed the role that the American government and politics plays, is major. In low-income neighborhoods where â€Å"at-risk† youth become involved in gangs or selling drugs in cities such as South East, Washington, D.C., after school programs- more specifically extra-curricular activities, prevent children from falling astray. If they don’t have alternative activities, children who are considered to be low-income school-aged-children are unlikely to develop into high school graduates, followed by college graduation, and even more importantly keep kids invo...

Difference Between Form1.Hide and Unload Me in VB 6

Difference Between Form1.Hide and Unload Me in VB 6 Hide and Unload are techniques in Visual  Basic 6- VB.NET does things differently. In VB6, you can see the difference clearly by creating a form with a CommandButton component and a test statement in the Click event. Note that these two statements are mutually exclusive, so only one can be tested at a time. Visual Basic 6 Unload Statement The Unload statement removes the form from memory. In most simple VB6 projects, Form1 is the startup object so the program stops running too. To prove this, code the first program with Unload. Private Sub Command1_Click()  Ã‚  Ã‚  Unload MeEnd Sub When the button is clicked in this project, the program stops. Visual Basic 6Hide Statement To demonstrate  Hide, run this code in VB6 so the Hide method of Form1 is executed. Private Sub Command1_Click()  Ã‚  Ã‚  Form1.HideEnd Sub Notice that Form1 disappears from the screen, but the square End icon on the Debug toolbar shows  the project is still active. If youre in doubt, the Windows Task Manager that is displayed with CtrlAltDel shows the project is still in Run mode. Communicating With a Hidden Form The Hide method only removes the form from the screen. Nothing else changes. For example, another process can still communicate with objects on the form after the Hide method is called. Heres a program that demonstrates that. Add another form to the VB6 project and then add a Timer component  and this code to Form1: Private Sub Command1_Click()  Ã‚  Ã‚  Form1.Hide  Ã‚  Ã‚  Form2.ShowEnd Sub Private Sub Timer1_Timer()  Ã‚  Ã‚  Form2.Hide  Ã‚  Ã‚  Form1.ShowEnd Sub In Form2, add a Command button control and this code: Private Sub Command1_Click()  Ã‚  Ã‚  Form1.Timer1.Interval 10000 10 seconds  Ã‚  Ã‚  Form1.Timer1.Enabled TrueEnd Sub When you run the project, clicking the button on Form1 makes Form1 disappear and Form2 appear. However, clicking the button on Form2 uses the Timer component on Form1 to wait 10 seconds before making Form2 disappear and Form1 appear again even though Form1 isnt visible. Since the project is still running, Form1 keeps appearing every 10 seconds- a technique you might use to drive a coworker batty one day.

Identify three ways that diversity impacts organizational policies Research Paper

Identify three ways that diversity impacts organizational policies - Research Paper Example This class of diversity can be defined in terms of â€Å"gender, race and ethnicity, and whether or not one is disabled† (Davidson, 2004, p. 4). Each of the classes has minorities that requires special treatment such as protection in an organization. Similarly, the need to recruit human resource with the organization’s most desired qualities encourages organizations to develop avenues of attracting both the majority and minority social groups. Organizations therefore develop policies that protects and encourage participation of minority groups. Such would include special consideration in procedures for recruitment, selection, and even employee management. Diversity in an organization also reflects on the organization’s image in the society, a factor that can influence market control due to the society’s reaction to the organization’s composition by social factors. This means that organization’s policies will aim at promoting diversity in orde r to obtain a diversified quality human resource and a strong corporate image that is representative of the organization’s market. Social aspects therefore influence an organization’s policy through the need for quality input that may be hidden in a minority social class or through the need to relate with different social classes for corporate image (Davidson, 2004). Diversity also influences an organization’s policies through legal requirements to which organizations are bound. Anti discrimination laws for instance protects groups from discrimination based on their nature such as gender, race, sex and age among others. As a result, an organization’s policy must be consistent with legal provisions for fair treatment of individuals from different social groups. Formulation and implementation of policies must therefore take care of interest of every group in an organization in order to

Psych research paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Psych research paper - Essay Example If we would listen to our physical and inner emotional needs more maybe we would not always be sick with the problems associated with stress. I say this only because I have had my share of anxiety and stress, and know that it can take a toll on a person if not taken care of properly. Lisa is a friend of mine that I have not seen since she became a L.P.N. this past summer. We started to catch up on life and even some gossip. This is when I noticed something was not quite right with her. We talked a little more and I still had a feeling she was not telling me something. Later in the week I spoke to a mutual friend and asked her if she had spoken to Lisa. It was then that I found out she had been having anger issues. Our friend told me of a couple of different incidences that Lisa was involved with. Both times she got very anger, very quickly at things that should not have mattered. The friend also told me she was drinking a little more often and when out she was either quiet or very loud to the point of being obnoxious. This was not the person that I knew at all. This was a person who always seemed to have things together. I had asked if anything was going on that I did not know about that would make her this way. The friend told me about her switching positions a t the hospital because of her being a nurse now, and said she was not handling the stress of that very well. That was all she told me about. Again I knew that this still was not her to be like this over something like a new job that I knew she was anxiously waiting to do. Later in the week I called Lisa to see if see was home. When I spoke with her again I could tell she still was not herself. I came out and asked if there was something wrong with her and she then started to cry on the phone. She then told me how the new job was not all what she thought it was going to be. It turns out to be a very stressful job with lots of patients to care for and very

Five Social Insurances and One Housing Fund Essay Example for Free

Five Social Insurances and One Housing Fund Essay According to figure 1, it showed that the pay ratio of Shanghai enterprise was higher than Beijing and Guangzhou while the ratio for individuals were the same. The reason of the high ratio fee is to protect the workers income, so that the workers would not need to pay half of their income for insurance payment. Therefore, the living standards for the workers would  keep in average. In this few years, the development of other cities in China was being fast and the insurance package was attractive to workers. So there was a competitive existed between Shanghai and the developing cities. The Shanghai enterprise wanted to retain their workers to stay in Shanghai for work and keep the quality and quantity of the business. Therefore, the standard for the percentage pay of enterprise would be higher than others. Once a worker reach the retire age, the worker will be entitled to receive the insurance premium. This policy would be one of the methods to attract and retain the local worker to work. On the other hand, as the housing provident fund was not a legal payment in the Labor Act. So the percentage for both enterprise and individuals in Shanghai was the same, 7% each. In the view of HR, the cost for the enterprise would be lower and the intense pressure would be less. And for the individual, they would save the money to buy a property. Lastly, Shanghai has done a good job in the 5 insurance and housing fund than other cities like Guangzhou. Although the enterprise need pay more than other cities, the workers would take the greatest benefits and be more loyal to the company. CHAPTER 3: IMPACTS ON EMPLOYER The social insurance system has implemented for several years, it is time to review its impacts on local enterprises in Shanghai, China. The most seriously the system imposed a heavy burden on operating cost of business. According to the Social Insurance Policy, enterprises should make a contribution to each of these types of social security on behalf of their employees. Employees are also required to make contribution to some of them. A Taiwaness enterprise in Shanghai reported the Law has increased its labour cost on insurance participation by 50 percent, which is mainly due to the extension of insurance coverage that leads to the rise in premium payment and related expenses. In 2010, urban pension, medical, unemployment, occupational injury and maternity insurance altogether recorded a person-time of 1.108 billion, 84 million more than that of 2009. The total income and expenditure of the National Social Insurance Fund reached RMB1.86 trillion and RMB1.48 trillion, increased by15.7% and 20.4% respectively when compared with those of 2009. 2 Professor Wang Yanzhong, Director, Labour and Socail Security Research Centre Chinese Academy of Social Science, Prospects and Impacts of Social Insurance Law Implementation, Road to China, Spring 2011 A significant part of the increased expenses came from the upsurge of enterprises expenses which lowered competitiveness of enterprises as most of the capital resource would constitute the main part of the payment system. Also, there were rise in the labour cost of enterprises, especially in those labour-intensive ones, and thus employers may force to lay off workers or cut wages in order to keep the company alive. However, in the long term, the expansion in social insurance coverage would establish a more standardized and stable employment environment, which is important in maintaining employers trust in their enterprises and reinforcing their sense of responsibility and cohesion. CHAPTER 4: IMPACTS ON EMPLOYEE For the impact of employee, In order to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of employees and building a harmonious society , the government not only vigorously promotes the social security work and expanding the coverage of the five insurance in China. This policy is large extend to gain the recognition and support by the all sectors of the community . Some socially responsible company also believes that the implementation of this policy will be benefit to employees for future and so many companies  actively to purchase of five insurance for their employees . The implementation of social insurance for employees with long-term benefits , such as when an employee reaches retirement age , he or she can receive monthly pension until his death ; under the social security . If women employees pay maternity insurance can obtain limits reimbursement of expenses including prenatal examination and surgical expenses . Beside, under the employment, employees can earn 2 to 3 monthly compensation through unemployment insurance, it can effectively to solve and protection of employees living expenses during periods of unemployment . Employee also can extract the housing provident funds for housing related expenditure purposes . However, due to some local government in the development the standard payment of five insurance that requires enterprise according to the average wage to pay, rather than the actual amount of wage subject to each industry. Since the majority of employees wages is less than the average wage , if the government accordance with average wage as a payment standard, the result is employer would deduct a large sum of money in the employees their wage, eventually employees wage they earn is less. In addition, due to the policy and standard of purchases social insurance is diversity by different province in china, when foreign employees return to home town from local, Employees need require the Ministry of Labor to end of the social security relationship before they can get back the balance on the personal account. Thus, it would lead to employees on future retirement not be protected ; On the other hand , the company pay for employees social security fees cannot bring the benefit to employees ,the result that would reduce the enthusiasm of enterprises to participate in social insurance An ol d-age insurance can be interrupt ed. If the employees pay more, he will get more pensions. However, the q uality of life cannot be guaranteed after retirement . Many employees think that social security has been considered  and it is so comprehensive . Therefore they are no need to have other financial In fact, the pension formula is quite complex, but generally can be calculated as follows: 20% of the average wages of individual accounts a total of 120. Obviously, the social security pensions cannot guarantee the quality of life after retirement. Therefore, the HR of the company can choose to commercial insurance for pension supplement and provide it to the employees. For example, it can include the health protection and accident protection. Also, if the pension plan of the commercial insurance is expired, the employees will get some money as a pension supplement. Those insurance are suitable for young people such as some recently married, capital investment is not enough. Therefore, it will help to attract and retain the people to join the company. Moreover, the Health insurance is more important because i f it is interrupted for more than three months, it will lose effectiveness . There are many requirement of using the health insurance such as many restrictions about use in other p rovince . It is difficult to move and use in other province. Finally, not all medical practices have access to insurance, such as: plastic surgery, increased myopia correction and other medical expenses. Therefore the HR can design to buy some inpatient medical allowance to the employees . Those politics can help to provide the security, attract, retain and motivate to the employees.

Free Macbeth Essays: Importance of the Last Two Scenes :: GCSE Coursework Macbeth Essays

The Importance of the Last Two Scenes in Macbeth The last two scenes are a very important part of the play. They are the last two scenes in the play in which Macbeth is alive. They are also a very effective part of the play; the audience will have already realized that something will happen which will decide the ending of the play. This awareness that something is about to happen is made so by the commotion of the two great armies as they prepare to fight and by Macbeth's eagerness and confidence to win. These scenes remind the audience of Macbeth's true character. Early on in the play he was portrayed as a fierce and brave warrior, however, as the play developed the audience began to get the impression that Macbeth was not all that he had been made out to be. He was seen as a selfish man who got what he wanted by murdering his rivals. This was intentional on the part of the playwright as the entire play is focusing in on how a man as powerful as the king of Scotland can do whatever his "vaulting ambition" wants him to. These scenes re-iterate Macbeth's original character. All of the scenes leading up to these two have been advancing the plot in such a way that scenes seven and eight are able to take the audience completely by surprise. For example, the supernatural plays a large role in this play and the audience knows that it will have something to do with the destiny of Macbeth and the outcome of the story. It is this prediction that makes the audience remember what the witches said to Macbeth: "The power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth." These phrases baffle the audience, and so as the end of the play approaches they become interested to find out what they mean. Scene seven begins with a short soliloquy from Macbeth, he says "They have tied me to a stake, I cannot fly, but bear-like I must fight the course." This tells the audience that Macbeth doesn't want to fight, and he doesn't, but later it is revealed that he is very confident to win. The first man that Macbeth fights with is Young Siward. Macbeth soon kills him "for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth." Scene eight follows, with the fight between Macbeth and Macduff.

Personal Ethics Development Paper

Trevino and Nelson (2007), define ethics as â€Å"the principles, norms, and standards of conduct governing an individual or organization. † I was influenced the way I determine different actions or behavior in a particular situation since I was a child. Growing up with a single Catholic mother made me value different things and behave in a particular way. In addition, this made me a have a particular ethical system that influences the way I work and act as an individual. At the corporation level, ethics is important because they set the rules and regulations. In this paper, I will explain the developmental aspects of my ethics as well as my ethical system, the effects of my ethics at my workplace, and importance of ethics in an organization to achieve its goals. My ethical system was shaped since I was a child. Growing up with a catholic single mother, definitely influence the way I value the family. Also, some of my decisions are influenced by this catholic background, which I do not genuinely practice but follow to some extent. Other factors that shaped my ethics were my family, school, and personal events. My family always corrected me whenever I did something that they consider wrong, which could be something simple as taking a flower from my neighbor’s garden. My family saw this little example as stealing, but as I child I saw this as taking the flower for my mother. School taught me what was legally wrong or right. I learn that some people simply don’t care too much about the actions and consequences of their actions and act impulsively. When making decisions, my ethical system influences they way I act because tend to be bias by what my mom, my family, school, or personal events taught me. Time has taught me to value the importance of learning form other mistakes and advices. This had leaded me to draw conclusions from specific examples. For example, when considering any issue, I usually use inductive reasoning and go from the very specific problem to the general conclusion. At the workplace, my ethical system influences the way I behave and perform in a positive and negative way. Based on the nature of the work, my ethical system at the workplace tends to be a combination of duty-based and goal-based. Duty-based is an â€Å"a moral obligation or commitment to act in a certain manner. For example, I work for the United States Postal Service and I am commitment to my work, which includes several tasks determined by the Postal Service rules and regulations. If I fail with one of this laws or rules I could be on probation or lose my job. Therefore, it is important that I obey those rules. In addition, all this tends to be influenced by the actual goal of the company and my personal goal. The company goal is to complete my assigned tasks in a timely manner, which is to deliver the mail. My personal goal is to produce money to sustain my family and pay my expenses. This personal goal drives me to be ethical and the do the right thing at my workplace because I do not want to put in jeopardy my job. This puts into play my personal family values. Therefore, my ethical system could be considered individualistic and very very competitive, which could impact my workplace in a negative way. On the other hand, this could turn out to be very positive because I am very reliable and undependable at work. Business ethics (2009) is defined as â€Å"moral principles defining how businesses and business professionals should act towards each other, employees, and the public. In other words, ethics are needed in an organization because they determine the company norms and principles for its employees and customers. To determine the company ethics its important because based on this, the company will be perceived nationally or internationally. Business ethics play such as important role today that the government forces companies to pay attention to corporate re sponsibility and business ethics. This norms, rules, and regulations also play an important role to achieve the company goals and direction. The effects of the application of these ethics influence consumers, employers, other businesses, and the society in a positive way. In order words, not only this company teaches other companies what is the right thing to do, but it also acts as an example for individuals who work there or purchase their items or services. In conclusion, ethics are rules, norms or regulations that influence the way people or corporation act. These influences could be either positive or negative and there is shape early in our lives or at the early stages of a corporation. In this paper, I explained that my personal ethics were shaped since I was a child. My ethics and values have changed based on personal events, religion, and family values. My ethical system influences the way I perform my job to achieve my personal goals. Based on these factors, ethics play an important role in corporations because companies are run by individuals who have their own ethical systems. In addition, ethics determine who the company is and how it is perceived in the society. Personal Ethics Development Paper Trevino and Nelson (2007), define ethics as â€Å"the principles, norms, and standards of conduct governing an individual or organization. † I was influenced the way I determine different actions or behavior in a particular situation since I was a child. Growing up with a single Catholic mother made me value different things and behave in a particular way. In addition, this made me a have a particular ethical system that influences the way I work and act as an individual. At the corporation level, ethics is important because they set the rules and regulations. In this paper, I will explain the developmental aspects of my ethics as well as my ethical system, the effects of my ethics at my workplace, and importance of ethics in an organization to achieve its goals. My ethical system was shaped since I was a child. Growing up with a catholic single mother, definitely influence the way I value the family. Also, some of my decisions are influenced by this catholic background, which I do not genuinely practice but follow to some extent. Other factors that shaped my ethics were my family, school, and personal events. My family always corrected me whenever I did something that they consider wrong, which could be something simple as taking a flower from my neighbor’s garden. My family saw this little example as stealing, but as I child I saw this as taking the flower for my mother. School taught me what was legally wrong or right. I learn that some people simply don’t care too much about the actions and consequences of their actions and act impulsively. When making decisions, my ethical system influences they way I act because tend to be bias by what my mom, my family, school, or personal events taught me. Time has taught me to value the importance of learning form other mistakes and advices. This had leaded me to draw conclusions from specific examples. For example, when considering any issue, I usually use inductive reasoning and go from the very specific problem to the general conclusion. At the workplace, my ethical system influences the way I behave and perform in a positive and negative way. Based on the nature of the work, my ethical system at the workplace tends to be a combination of duty-based and goal-based. Duty-based is an â€Å"a moral obligation or commitment to act in a certain manner. For example, I work for the United States Postal Service and I am commitment to my work, which includes several tasks determined by the Postal Service rules and regulations. If I fail with one of this laws or rules I could be on probation or lose my job. Therefore, it is important that I obey those rules. In addition, all this tends to be influenced by the actual goal of the company and my personal goal. The company goal is to complete my assigned tasks in a timely manner, which is to deliver the mail. My personal goal is to produce money to sustain my family and pay my expenses. This personal goal drives me to be ethical and the do the right thing at my workplace because I do not want to put in jeopardy my job. This puts into play my personal family values. Therefore, my ethical system could be considered individualistic and very very competitive, which could impact my workplace in a negative way. On the other hand, this could turn out to be very positive because I am very reliable and undependable at work. Business ethics (2009) is defined as â€Å"moral principles defining how businesses and business professionals should act towards each other, employees, and the public. In other words, ethics are needed in an organization because they determine the company norms and principles for its employees and customers. To determine the company ethics its important because based on this, the company will be perceived nationally or internationally. Business ethics play such as important role today that the government forces companies to pay attention to corporate re sponsibility and business ethics. This norms, rules, and regulations also play an important role to achieve the company goals and direction. The effects of the application of these ethics influence consumers, employers, other businesses, and the society in a positive way. In order words, not only this company teaches other companies what is the right thing to do, but it also acts as an example for individuals who work there or purchase their items or services. In conclusion, ethics are rules, norms or regulations that influence the way people or corporation act. These influences could be either positive or negative and there is shape early in our lives or at the early stages of a corporation. In this paper, I explained that my personal ethics were shaped since I was a child. My ethics and values have changed based on personal events, religion, and family values. My ethical system influences the way I perform my job to achieve my personal goals. Based on these factors, ethics play an important role in corporations because companies are run by individuals who have their own ethical systems. In addition, ethics determine who the company is and how it is perceived in the society.

Medea Greek Mythology Essay

When Medea decides to take matters in to her own hands, about punishing the people who have done wrong to her, she is accused of wanting not justice—vengeance. Because I am not a native of neither Corinth nor Colchis, I have my own view about her motives. However, I would agree with the Corinthian Women, Medea is seeking vengeance; not justice. Some people might argue that Medea is seeking justice. When in actuality, Medea wants vengeance. The opposition would say justice took place because the Gods allowed Medea the time to perform her various acts. Although these things happened Medea turned to vengeance when she took it upon herself to kill Creon and his daughter Creusa. Even the chorus, the â€Å"ideal spectators†, implies that Creon is a poor king when, after he banishes Medea, the First Corinthian Woman sympathizes, â€Å"I am of Corinth and I say that Corinth is not well ruled. †(1. 214-216). This quote gives us proof that Medea has some sort of reason to seek revenge on Creon. However she lets her hatred exceed its boundaries and allows herself to take the lives of the King of Corinth and its Princess all because they chose Jason over her. In addition, her actions all prove that she wants Jason to do more than pay for hurting her. She wants him to suffer at the fate of her own children. Her revenge was selfish. Medea involved the two things she knew would hurt Jason the most—her own children. According to the First Corinthian Woman, â€Å"It would be better for you, Medea if the earth opened her jaws and took you down into darkness. But one thing you will not do, for you cannot, you will not hurt your own children, though wrath like plague-boils aches, your mind in a fire-haze bites the purple apples of pain. No blood-lapping beast of the field, she-bear nor lioness, nor the lean wolf-bitch, hurts her own tender whelps; nor the yellow-eyed, seythe-beaked, and storm shouldered eagle that tears the lambs has ever made prey of the fruit of her own tree. †(2. 115-126). Keep in mind that the Corinthian Women are the conscious of Corinth. Through this quote the First Corinthian Women has stated that Medea could not harm her own children. She even gives examples of the most dangerous predators that don’t even harm their own young. This is evidence that Medea went beyond the state of justice; but she went well into the state of vengeance. Medea knew what she was doing and quite frankly she could care less about anything other than what she thought of what was seeking revenge on Jason. In conclusion, vengeance was sought by Medea. She went above the fact of teaching Jason a lesson; she even stated she hated Jason more than she loved her children. Answer this question is what Medea has done entertaining or morally instructive?

Proposal. Impact of Recession on Buying Behaviour of Ethical Consumers The WritePass Journal

Proposal. Impact of Recession on Buying Behaviour of Ethical Consumers Introduction Proposal. Impact of Recession on Buying Behaviour of Ethical Consumers Introduction1. Proposed Working Title3. Research Aims4. Research Questions / ObjectivesThe primary objective of this research is to evaluate the impact of the economic downturn on the purchasing behaviour of ethical consumers. Other key objectives include –6. Methodology7. Project ScheduleBIBLIOGRAPHYRelated Introduction 1. Proposed Working Title Impact of the Recession on the Buying Behaviour of Ethical Consumers in the UK food industry 2. Research Background According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, an economy is said to be in a recession when there is a decline in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for two successive quarters. The recent economic downturn which commenced in 2007 has hit UK in a huge way. The recent recession is described as the worst recession to have hit the country since the Second World War, with GDP declining up to 3.8% in 2009 and unemployment having risen to its highest point in sixteen years. The credit crunch has undoubtedly has had a significant impact on consumer trends and behaviour. With many households facing unemployment, there has been a major cut back in consumer spending. The areas where consumers were found to cut back on spending are personal durables (e.g. clothing), indulgences (e.g. premium coffee), household durables (.g. electronics) and services (e.g. salon treatment). Alongside alterations have also been found in consumer preferences and purchase behaviour. Numerous studies have found that consumer behaviour during the recession is characterised by an increased sensitivity to price, marking a shift to lower cost products. Studies have also found that there is an increased focus on quality during the recession period, implying that consumers are increasingly looking for products that are of good quality, yet affordable. With retailers facing increasing cost of production during the economic downturn, to make a profit it is necessary for retailer to push the increase in prices to customers. This may prove to be an even greater challenge for ethical goods producers. In line, Carrigan et al state that it is all very well asking people to spend a little more to save the planet while everyone is rolling in and times are good, but once things turn sour and people start tightening their belts then things may be a little different. The credit crunch is bound to pose the biggest challenges ever for ethical consumerism. In this context, it is high ly relevant to study the impact of the recession on ethical consumer behaviour. This research will focus on evaluating the impact of recession on ethical consumer behaviour in the food sector. Specifically, the study will focus on ethical retailers in the food industry in the UK. Gaining a good understanding of how consumers are responding to the prolonged economic downturn in regard to ethical purchase behaviour is crucial in leading both ethical and non ethical companies in making changes to their fundamental business model in order to ensure success. Although there are signs that the economy is improving, which might question the relevance of this research, it is important to note that changes in consumer behaviour caused by a recession are likely to remain for a long period. So whilst economists may signal that the recession has ended and recovery has begun, consumers are unlikely to reflect this in their buying behaviour immediately. 3. Research Aims The aim of this research is to evaluate the impact of the recent recession on the buying behaviour of ethical consumers. 4. Research Questions / Objectives The most important question that this research proposes is: How does the economic downturn impact ethical consumer behaviour? This question in turn provokes us to find answers to other significant questions such as: What challenges does the recent recession present to consumers wishing to consume sustainably and ethically? Does price factor outweigh ethical values during the recession? What challenges does the recent recession present to marketers in the food industry to produce sustainable and ethical goods? The primary objective of this research is to evaluate the impact of the economic downturn on the purchasing behaviour of ethical consumers. Other key objectives include – 1. To evaluate the impact of the economic downturn on marketers of ethical goods 2. To explore ways in which ethical retailers can engage consumers with social responsibility attitudes and retain their loyalty during and after the recession 5. Literature Review The Ethical Consumer Researcher Association (ECRA) describe ethical consumerism in its truest sense as purchasing goods or services which do not harmful to the environment and society, and are made without harming the environment or exploiting workers. Consumers can express their ethical values and feelings of responsibility towards society by either buying products for their positive ethical qualities (e.g. free trade, organic etc) or by boycotting products for their perceived unethical characteristics (e.g. products produced using child labour). Ethical consumerism has been a growing trend globally and particularly in the UK. Cooperative Bank 2009 Ethical Consumerism Report revealed that the total sales of ethical products in the UK has grown almost threefold in the past ten years. The ethical market in the UK was worth 13.5 billion pounds in 1999 and in 2008 was estimated to be worth 36 billion pounds. The growth in ethical consumerism during the last decade has been in the 2005 – 2007 periods and primarily in the food and finance sectors. The report further highlights that there is a significant rise in Britons holding socially responsible attitudes and this growth has not been affected by the recession. However, Carrigan et al caution that this picture is not very encouraging as firstly reality is far from how it is pictured, describing it as the 30:3 syndrome. According to Carrigan et al, while a third of consumers admit to care about companies social responsibility and sustainability initiatives, it is important to note that ethical goods rarely achieve more than 3 per cent of the market share. Carrigan et al note that even though the idea of ethical consumerism is better understood by customers today and they hold more socially responsible attitudes, it does not necessarily mean that these attitudes are translated into ethical purchases. The findings of some researches suggest that except among a minority of consumers, ethical values and principles hold third stand in purchase decisions, with factors such as price and quality holding the greatest priority. The cause for this substantial gap in between consumer attitude towards ethical purchases and actual purchase of ethical products is that consumers consider several product attributes jointly when making a purchase decision, such as, price, quality, attitude and brand knowledge. When evaluating an ethical product, consumers are influenced by several relevant product and marketing attributes. These can be divided into three categories. Fi rstly, consumers are faced to choose between different types of ethical claims. Second, their purchase decision will depend upon the credibility of the brand and third marketing efforts and advertisements will influence consumer purchase decision. Thus clearly ethical consumer behaviour like all other attributes of consumer behaviour is exposed to the risks of recession and can be highly unpredictable. Although the Ethical Consumerism Report highlights a consistent growth in the ethical market in the last ten years, it is forecasted that the value of the ethical sector would slow down until 2012 owing to the sluggish economy with price being the most important factor influencing consumer purchase decisions. The ethical market is expected to pick up again in 2012 as the economy becomes more favourable. With some surveys revealing that in the context of the recession, consumer ethical behaviours are being limited by cost as people are less likely to pay a premium price for goods produced ethically, some other survey findings reveal that consumers are willing to pay more for ethically produced goods and services during the recession period. A major limitation of these studies is that they have not focused on any one particular se ctor. 6. Methodology The proposed research is guided by the philosophy of positivism. According to logical positivism the world simply consists of observable empirical regularities and science should restrict itself to describing these in the form of objectives, falsifiable propositions. The nature of the proposed research is exploratory in order to develop deep insights and ideas about the underlying nature of the research topic and in turn generate a hypothesis. The exploratory research will begin with a study of the reported findings of other researchers. This process is called literature review. For conducting the literature review, Hart six step process will be employed. The six steps for conducting the literature review are Begin general reading to define the topic Establish the scope of the research topic and locate major themes Establish objectives for the literature search Plan the structure of the literature search, including codes and cross referencing Plan sources to be read Begin reading of selected sources In addition to helping gain deep insights into the research topic, the literature review is also used for evaluating the research methods selected for the recent research. The main sources of the literature review will be core marketing textbooks and professional journals from online databases such as Emerald and JSTOR. Stemming from the deductive nature of positivist researches, both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection will be used. Specifically, semi structured face to face interviews will be used for gathering data from key respondents of the selected ethical retail firms in the food industry; and survey questionnaire will be used for gathering data from consumers. Interviewing is selected for gathering data from the ethical retail firms as it stands out as the best method for gathering rich and holistic information quickly from a relatively small sample[12]. A list of topics to be covered will be prepared to help ensure that important points are not overlooked and that the interview follows a logical progression. Survey method is the technique of gathering data by asking questions from people who are thought to have the desired information. Survey method is chosen for gathering data from customers because compared to other primary data collection techniques, questionnaires he lp gather data from a large sample with lesser cost and time. In addition, questionnaires also provide participants the chance to submit thoughtful responses, since they have time to look up information and reflect before responding, plus there is a high contact rate. Questions will be crafted carefully so that it will stimulate unambiguous answers from the respondents. The questionnaires will be administered directly to consumers. 7. Project Schedule Research Gantt Chart (Week commencing 11 July 2010) BIBLIOGRAPHY    Bhattacharyya, D.K., 2003. Research Methodology. New Delhi: Excel Books.   Carrigan, M. and Pelsmacker, P., 2009. Will ethical consumers sustain their values in the global credit crunch? International Marketing Review, Vol 26, Issue 6, pp. 674 – 687 Carrigan, M., Marinova, S., Szmigin, I., 2005. Ethics and international marketing. International Marketing Review, Vol 22, No 5.   Harrison, R., Newholm, T. and Shaw, D., 2005. The ethical consumer. Sage Publications. Interbrand, 2009. Consumer spending in a recession. Available online: www.interbrand.com [accessed on 21 May 2010   Keinert, C., 2008. Corporate social responsibility as an international strategy. Springer.   Gill, J. and Johnson, P., 2002. Research Methods for Managers. 3rd ed. London: SAGE publications.   Patton, M.Q., 2002. Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods. 3rd ed. USA: SAGE publications   Varey, R.J., 2002. Marketing communication: principles and practice. Routledge.   UK Cooperative Bank, 2009. Ethical Consumer Report 2009. Available online: www.ethicalconsumer.org [accessed on 21 May 2010

Peer to Peer Assessment Strategy for Groups

Peer to Peer Assessment Strategy for Groups Group work is a great strategy to use in the secondary classroom in order to to improve student learning.  But group work sometimes requires a form of problem solving on its own. While the goal in these classroom collaborations is to equally distribute the work to solve a problem or produce a product, there maybe a student (or two) who does not contribute as much as the other members of the group. This student may let his or her fellow students do the bulk of the work, and this student may even share the group grade. This student is the  slacker  in the group, a member who can frustrate the other members of the group. This is especially a problem if the some of the group work is done outside the classroom. So what can a teacher do about assessing this slacker student who does not collaborate with others or who contributes little to the finished product? How can a teacher be fair and award the appropriate grade to those members of a group who have worked effectively? Is equal participation in group work even possible?   The Reasons for Using Group Work in Class While these concerns might make a teacher think about giving up group work entirely, there are still powerful reasons for using groups in class: Students take ownership of the subject matter.Students develop communication and teamwork skills.Students work together and teach each other.   Students can bring   individual skill sets  to a group.Students learn to plan more effectively and manage their time. Here is one more reason to use groups Students can learn to how to assess their work and the work of others. At the secondary level, the success of group work can be measured in many different ways, but the most common is through a grade or points. Instead of having the teacher determine how a groups participation or project will be scored, teachers can grade the project as a whole and then turn the individual participant grades over to the group as a lesson in negotiation. Turning this responsibility over to the students can address the problem of grading the slacker in the group by having student peers distribute points based on the evidence of work contributed. Designing the Point or Grade System: If the teacher chooses to use peer to peer grade distribution, the teacher must be clear that the project under review will be graded to meet standards outlined in a rubric. The total number of points available for the completed project, however, would be based on the number of people in each group. For example, the top score (or an A) awarded to a student for a project or participation that meets the highest standard could be set at 50 points. If there are 4 students in the group, the project would be worth 200 points (4 students X 50 points each).If there are 3 students in the group,   the project would be worth 150 points  (3 students X 50 points each). If there are 2 members of the group,   the project would be worth 100 points  (2 students X 50 points each). Peer to Peer Grading and Student Negotiation Each student would be be awarded points using the following formula: 1. The teacher would first grade the project  as anA or B or C, etc.   based on the criteria established in the rubric. 2. The teacher would convert that grade into its numerical equivalent:   For example, the teacher may determine that the project should be awarded  the equivalent of a B: ​If the project had four students and was worth 200 points, the project would receive 172  points;   ​  if the project had three students and was worth 150 points, the project would receive  130 points; if the project had two students and was worth 100 points, the project would be awarded 86 points. 3.   After the project receives a grade from the teacher, the students in the group would negotiate on how to divide these points for a grade. Each student must have evidence of what he or she did to  earn points.  Students   could equitably divide the points:   172 points (4 students) or130 points (3 students) or 86 points (two students) ​If all students worked equally and have the evidence to show they should all get the same grade, then each student would receive 43   points out of the original 50 points available.  Each student would receive an 86%. However,  in the group of three students, if two students have the evidence that that they did the bulk of the work, they could negotiate for more points.   They could negotiate for 48 points each (96%) and leave the  slacker with 34 points (68%).   4. Students confer with the teacher for the distribution of points supported by evidence. Results of Peer to Peer Grading Having students participate in how they are graded makes the assessment process transparent. In these negotiations, all students are responsible for providing evidence of the work they did in completing the project.   Peer to peer assessment can be a motivating experience. When teachers may not be able to motivate students, this form of peer pressure may get the desired results. It is recommended that the negotiations for awarding points be supervised by the teacher to ensure fairness. The teacher can retain the ability to override a groups decision. Using this strategy can provide students an opportunity advocate for themselves, a real world skill they will need after they leave school.

The Impact of Human Resource Development Programs on Employee Essay

The Impact of Human Resource Development Programs on Employee Performance - Essay Example In this research, primary data was gathered through the use of a survey questionnaire and interviews administered to two sample groups, namely managers and rank-and-file employees of ARAMCO. The 100 respondents were selected through stratified random sampling, comprising 80 rank-and-file employees and 20 managerial employees. Secondary data were gathered from existing literature on ARAMCO, particularly its annual report and documents existing in the public domain. The study determined that Saudi ARAMCO employs a best-fit approach to its human resources management, allowing for the gradual and continuous development of HRD policies and practices in the areas of motivation, rewards management, and performance management and appraisal. There are a number of gaps that exist between management and employee perceptions on these sensitive aspects of HRM; however, there are also a number of areas where the two parties commonly agree. The study concludes that a more effective HRM strategy may be arrived at by a refinement of the policies and practices currently evolving in the different internal environments of ARAMCO’s vast structure.SAUDI ARAMCO officially titled the ‘Saudi Arabian Oil Company’, is a unique organization on the global business landscape. It is the world’s singularly most valuable company, with assets currently valued (in 2010) at between $2.2 - $7 trillion. This value is likely to increase, however, as the company also presides over the world’s largest known oil reserves, an increasingly important commodity and the single most important driving factor for global business.