The influence and effects of JSR-170 on the Content Management Essay

The influence and effects of JSR-170 on the Content Management Industry - Essay Example For example business departments turning content into assets, that thus becomes a monetary value for the enterprise. The ECM market is rapidly growing. Regan (2005) quotes a Gartner study that estimates the value of ECM software at $2.5 billion by end of 2006 while Forrester are predicting 19% growth per annum to reach a value of $4 billion by 2008. The ECM market is predicted to rapidly grow in the next few years and will in all likelihood outstrip the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) market (Dschner et al, 2005). The content is currently locked in proprietary repositories or databases that only allow access with custom APIs. Attempting to have an application that can access information from different repositories is expensive since the application has to implement all the different combinations of repository APIs. As a consequence information that should be integrated remains isolated. This leads to vendor lock-in because the costs of changing a CM-vendor are high. The need for content access standards is obvious yet the content management industry has struggled to solve this problem. "[T]he ECM pure-play and infrastructure vendors are currently pushing their proprietary content repositories, hoping to grab as much market share as possible from rivals" (McNabb and Moore, 2005). Developing custom applications and services on top of a single vendor's proprietary API is an enterprise investment risk. Over time it is possible to lose the investment when the vendor goes out of business. That risk can be mitigated (but not entirely eliminated) through open standards, methodologies or documentation. The Java Specification Requests (JSRs) are documents within the Java Community Process (JCP) for defining new standards for the Java language. JSR-170, whose final version was released on June 17 2005, is expected to solve the above mentioned problem. It offers a standard, vendor-independent API to access data from a content repository and allows the required data flexibility that is needed for ECM to support additional business processes or applications. The concept of JSR-170 is explained in one sentence: "[JSR-170] specifies a standard API to access content repositories in Java 2 independently of implementation" (Nscheler, 2005) A proposed standard can only emerge to a standard if it is widely accepted and supported by the vendors and requested by clients of content management systems. The obvious problem is that while the standard is new not all vendors will have it implemented. This is akin to solving the proverbial problem of what comes first the chicken or the egg. With the standard not implemented the critical mass of customers demanding the implementation of the standard will not be easily achieved. The clients must first be aware of the new

Jane Cazneau Essay Example for Free

Jane Cazneau Essay Hudson posits a Native American grandmother, although there is no solid evidence of this. Her first marriage apparently dissolved, but there is no divorce record. She may or may not have had an affair with Aaron Burr, an early mentor. Hudsons most significant claim is that Jane Storm is the journalist who coined the phrase manifest destiny (pp. 60-62). Hudson argues that later historians have simply assumed that John OSullivan wrote the Democratic Reviews many unsigned editorials. But Hudsons computer analysis (Appendix B) of OSullivans and Storms signed works shows that the grammatical errors in the famous editorial that first contained the phrase exhibit a much closer correlation with those commonly made by Storm than with those made by OSullivan. What is certain is that she migrated to pre-revolutionary Texas and speculated in land grants and immigration schemes. Writing under the pen name Montgomery (later, Cora Montgomery), Storm became a regular correspondent of Moses Y. Beachs New York Sun. When war broke out, Storm accompanied Beach and his daughter on a covert peace mission to Mexico in late 1846. The Beach mission has long been clouded with uncertainty about its purposes and accomplishments, and so Storms role in it is similarly in doubt. Nonetheless, she was clearly an important element, as neither of the Beaches knew Spanish and President James K. Polk had a private interview with her after her return. After the war, Storm continued to favor U. S. xpansion into Latin America and the Caribbean, especially through annexation. Although Hudson maintains that Storm was not a strong proponent of All Mexico during the U. S. -Mexican War, some have credited her with leading the movement. She had contact with Cuban, Mexican, and Nicaraguan filibustering groups. She married diplomat Williams L. Cazneau in 1849 after a long acquaintance but still worked as a journalist for numerous publications, wrote about her travels, and remained active in Democratic P arty politics. She secured a diplomatic mission to the Dominican Republic for her husband and worked with him to gain U. S. access to Samana Bay. Jane Storm Cazneau died in a shipwreck during a storm at sea in 1878. Many questions about her activities and the extent of her influence remain unanswered. Barring the emergence of new documentary collections, Hudsons biography is the most complete picture of her life we are likely to have. As such it is a useful addition to the literature on nineteenth-century U. S. expansionism.

Disabled American Veterans Essay example -- History, War, Veterans

â€Å"Serving those who have served† (About Disabled American Veterans 1). This is the mission statement of the DAV, or the Disabled American Veterans. The DAV helps thousands of disabled American veterans in their life after war. A poll taken in 2009 found out that there are 21,900,000 American veterans. 5,500,000 of the American veterans are disabled (American Veterans By the Number 1). Only 1,200,000 disabled American veterans are members of the DAV (About Disabled American Veterans 1). â€Å"Building Better Lives for America's Disabled Veterans† (DAV 1). The DAV was founded when our country was struggling with the effects of World War I. American veterans that came home from World War I started the DAV in 1920. A lot has changed in the last ninety-one years, but the wounded and sick from the wars still need the DAV's help in life cope with their disabilities (Wars & Scars 1). In 1932 the DAV was deemed the official voice of the nation’s wartime disabled veterans (About Disabled American Veterans 1). The DAV have many missions in helping the veterans. Some mission statements are â€Å"Providing a structure through which disabled veterans can express their compassion for their fellow veterans through a variety of volunteer programs† (Mission Statement 1), â€Å"Extending DAV's mission of hope into the communities where these veterans and their families live through a network of state-level Departments and local Chapter† (Mission Statement 1), and â€Å"Representing the interests of disabled veterans, their f amilies, their widows and spouses, and their orphans before Congress, the White House, and the Judicial Branch, as well as state and local government†(Mission Statement 1). â€Å"Providing outreach concerning its program services to the Am... ... a Board of Directors and an Executive Committee. The Disabled American Veterans plans to provide health care, transportation, unique rehabilitation, and get the veterans a voice on Capital Hill. Both disabled American veterans and the families of the American veterans can receive help from the DAV. Volunteering is a big part of the funding of the DAV, and the volunteers can be nominated for the Jesse Brown Memorial Youth Scholarship. The Disabled American Veterans is partners with many other places to provide special events for the veterans like at Golden Corral give veterans free meals on Military Appreciation Mondays. Another way the DAV gets funding is through donates from people. With all the help the DAV gives to veterans, the DAV makes day to day life easier for the veterans. Of the five million disabled veterans, the DAV provides help to the veterans.

Interpersonal Communication Essay

I joined Eclairs Molders in 2003 immediately after I finished my studies. I had been attached to the organization for more than 3 months during my field attachment. Therefore I had a prior knowledge of the organization and had interacted with several people. When they considered my application for a job, I was happy to join an organization which I had the values oriented towards outcome achievement and had a high degree of people orientation. I was now part and parcel of the organization. When I joined the organization, I was lucky since I was put under the same department that I had served before. I was under the same supervisor who had supervised me during my field attachment. I did not have to be oriented much in the organization culture and other aspects of its operation since I had gone through the same socialization process before. But there was one person who had oriented me in the organization and who remained relevant to me even after I joined the organization for work. That was the secretary in the Production department where I was assigned as an assistant manager. She was still relevant to me as she showed me how I had to start my work and settled in my job. With time we became very close to one another. This was to end up in romantic relationship. In the development of our relationship, we had undergone the full Knapp’s relationship escalation model. I still remember the initiation stage of our relationship when I was directed to her office where she would orient me to the organization. The first 10 to 15 seconds were spent knowing about each other. There was a mutual attraction that developed between us that time as we observed each other’s appearance and manners. Our experimental phase was marked by the continuous interaction that we has as I worked with her guidance. I had a lot of uncertainties about her although I felt more attracted to her. I had to use several strategies in order to reduce this level of uncertainties. Under the uncertainty reduction theory it took on actives and interactive strategies in order to learn more about her. This helped me to gain knowledge and understanding about her. In active strategies, I enquired about her from her friends and also set up several situations under which I would observe her closely like enquiring a lot about work from her. In the interactive strategies, I talked with her most of the time often brining in other topics not related to work so that I would understand her more. Though our relationship remained at this phase when I was in my field attachment it dramatically changed its course when I started working in the company. Although I was assigned another secretary I would still rely on her most of the time and she was also supportive to orient my secretary to her work. We developed a liking for each other and she would spend some of her time in my office sometimes with no official attachment but just chatting with one another. We sure that our relationship had to go beyond business relationship but there was a sense of romance in the air. Our relationship grew and reached the intensification period. At this time we were closer with one another and we disclosed that were wanted to from a lasting romantic relationship. We knew that it would be hard for us to operate in the work place as lovers but we had to our best in order to keep our relationship rolling. Self disclosure was an important aspect that helped to cement our relationship. We developed from the hidden pane to the open pane of Johari window as we opened ourselves to one another. We came to understand our characters and helped each other to understand their characters as well. By undergoing several windows we were able to know each other. Mutual disclosure helped us to know each other well and the trust in our relationship deepened. Following the social penetration theory, we undertook several practices in order to gain closeness in our relationship. This helped our relationship to progress from superficial to intimate. Self disclosure was an important factor in this theory that helped our relationship to grow. We gave rewards from time to time. We all strived to achieve each others satisfaction to help gain stability in our relationship. At first I was not willing to disclosure myself to her. But with time she started disclosing herself and our trust grew. According other norm of reciprocity, I had to disclose myself to her since she had already disclosed herself to me. I found out that she felt better when I disclosed myself to her since she was able to know me well. In the intensifying phase we were able to disclose our love to one another. Our relationship grew and we found ourselves with each other most of the time. At tea break, she would be at my desk while I found myself entering the manager’s office more than office just to pays by her and greet her. Most of the workers around especially the manager and my secretary started noting that there was a growing relationship between us. We would go for lunch together. Slowly we started integrating with tone another. No one wanted to go for lunch or go home alone. After work, we would go to her house and we would have supper together. We started caring for one another. We were like one person. Mine was hers and hers was mine. With were simply inseparable. Most of the time we had to make personal sacrifice in order to accommodate each other. We involved several pro-social strategies in order to gain compromise with one another behavior. Like in any other relationship, we had to make sacrifices to accommodate the other. We made a lot of promises to one another in order to gain compliance. We expressed our positive and negative feelings in order to gain compliance with one another. This helped to build our relationship more and trust each other more. According to the Relationship Dialectics theory as far as connectedness-separateness is concerned with had to make a lot of personal sacrifice in our autonomy for the sake of our relationship. It is not that we did not experience conflict in our relationship but most of time we had to accommodation strategy in order to overcome our conflicts. Many times we accommodate each other but sometimes we had to compromise on a situation when it became too difficult for us to find a solution to the problem. Other time we had to collaborate with one another in order to find a mutually and completely satisfactory solution of our conflict in a win-win situation. At this stage of our relationship, we were sure that we needed each others in our life. Our parent started pressurizing us to get married and stay together. We though that we had the most romantic relationship on earth. We also felt the same need to get married and stay together. But there were other factors that we had to take into consideration before setting down for our marriage. We considered the fact that we had to take time to build ourselves and our relationship before deciding to get married. It was hectic at work to keep our relationship rolling. It was still more difficult to stay in the same department yet in different offices. I found myself delegating most of my secretary duties to my girlfriend and it was evident that she was not auguring well with it. The manager also felt that her secretary was being overburdened to handle his order and my orders as well. In most cases, it was my girlfriend who delegated her work to my secretary. It was like I had assumed her existence and her roles (West and Turner 2000, p. 32). However we did our best to manage our relationship. We had to set time to be together and time to stay at work and carry out our duties. Most of the time the manager complained we were not getting serious with our work and we seemed to value our relationship more than our work. These were some of the difficulties that we had expected from the begging when we decided to be together. Therefore we had to make a lot of sacrifices and commitment most of our time to our work rather than our relationship. But our relationship was not to stay for long. The more it became evident to coworkers that we were in love, the more it became difficult for us to handle our relationship. There were a lot of conflicts that we were able to go through but others became sticky with time. It was just one of such conflicts between maintaining our relationship and carrying out our duties as required that made our relationship difficult to continue with. The conflict As an assistant production manager, I handled most of the incoming production orders from the sales team. I had to vet those order and decide the one which had to be produced first before the others. The work of the manager was just of authorize the production of the orders. Therefore I acted as the main link between the sale department and the production department. On the other hand my secretary and my girlfriend who was the secretary to the production manager linked me with the manager. When I received the orders, I vetted them and gave them to my secretary who would then give them to the Managers secretary for them to be passed to the manager. After the manager signed them, they would follow the same route and come back to me where I would forward them to the production supervisor. This was a complicate change but there was nothing that I could do to make it simpler since that was the culture of the organization. One day, I received a call from the sales department and I was informed of orders that had to be produced within 24 hours. Although we used to handle such orders they were rare and most of our orders were produced within a period of one week. Therefore at this was an urgent order that had to be completed fast. In a normal condition, I was authorized to vet such an order and pass it direct the manager without involving the secretary so that it would be produced within the stipulated time. When I received the orders I decided to take them direct to the manager to be signed. I went to the manager office but I found that he was engaged with another client. For the past tow days, we had not been in good terms with my girlfriend but this was just a normal conflict in a relationship. Therefore when I found that the manager was engaged, we decided to talk with my girlfriend as we waited for the client to finish so that I would see the manager. But our conversation became deep and emotional and I forgot that I had urgent order to be attended to. I became very emotion as my girlfriend seemed to annoy me through the conversation. I just left the order on her table and hurried back to my office apparently very upset from the conversation we had. I did not remember about the orders again. I spent the day in my office attending to other work and I felt very low. The next day in the morning, I go a call from the sales department calling for the packaging of the products as the cline had come to collect them. This was the beginning of the conflict. I called the sales department and informed them that the manager had not signed the orders and therefore they had not been processed. According to the deception theory, I had to manipulate what had happened in order to shift the blame from my office to the manager office although I knew very well that there was a high level of apprehension about the deception in what I was saying. The sales department tried to assimilate the validity of my explanation and immediately it was clear that this as not true. There was some element of deceit in my message. Therefore the sales manager called the production managers office and enquired about the orders. The manager sought to be explained why production manager had not approved the production and yet the office did not communicate to the sales office in order to cancel the orders. The production manager was not aware of any such order and therefore he immediately called me in order to get to the bottom of what had happened. As per my explanation, I told the manager that I had taken a step of handing over the order sot here secretary so that they could be processed easily and I thought that he had not approved those orders. But the secretary had not handed in the order. Amid the conversation and conflict that we had with her, she had forgotten to hand in the order as a matter of urgency and therefore they had not bee approved. Therefore the conflict degraded to be a dyad conflict between me, my girlfriend and the production manager. I shifted the blame to my girlfriend that as the secretary of the manager she had the duty to hand in the orders. The manager on the other and blamed me since I did not treat order with the needed urgency. My girlfriend also blamed me since I did not inform her that the order was urgent and therefore she concentrated on finishing the work that was on her desk first. It ended up as a blame game but between me and her, it was more emotional and entwined to the other conflicts that we had before. Therefore it was a dyad conflict another it was far reaching as it involved deferent department. To me the conflict was more complicated by the emotional bond that I had with the person to who all the blame was falling. I blamed myself since I didn’t do what was right. I just found myself defending my position and forgot all the sacrifices that we had made in the past in our relationship in order to accommodate the other. There was power of love that was entwined in the conflict that made it difficult for me to come over it. At the same time there were office protocols that had to be followed in carrying out the needed activities. The cause of the conflict was vested in the misunderstanding in our relationship and lack of responsibility to my duties. The conflict was difficult to solve coupled with the emotional bond that was between us. In this case the more we tried to come up with solution on how the production could be achieved within hours in order to deliver the products the conflict went back to the start. With the full understanding of the relationship that was between me and his secretary, the production manager became harsher and his usual criticisms of neglecting our duties for the sake of our live escalated once again. There was just one condition that he put for us. It was either we took our relationship out of the work place or one or both of us resign from work and be left at home. His stance made it more difficult to resolve the conflict. But one again there was also the factor of my secretary who argued that she had been neglected in performance of her duties and she was considered to be under the manager’s secretary. With the full understating that both my office and the office of the manager had their own identify and freedom of operation, the manager could not understand how our relationship had fused the operation of both offices such that come of her office tasks were performed by my secretary and my work was performed by his secretary. We had to find a way out of the conflict. We were able to solve the immediate effect of the conflict and we ordered production of the order in a matter of hours. But there was still the problem our work and our relationship that could not be ignored. The manager wanted us to solve it once and for all. At the end the conflict had a destructive effect on our relationship. Coupled with the conflict that we had earlier with my girlfriend, it became difficult to go over the current conflict that we were facing. She accused me of deception and using her as a scape-goat in order to evade the responsibility of what had happened. The trust she had build on me had been deconstructed by one event and our relationship could not take off against or be the same as it had been before. We had entered into a conflict that we could hardly go over. Earlier we had revealed our conflict through accommodating each other and compromise on one situation. But this time she seemed to have taken an avoidance strategy in our conflict. She did not pay attention to what had happened and the ramification it had on our relationship but all she did was to avoid me altogether. She did not appear to pay close attention in order to match the strategies that we could use to solve the problem to the situation that was at our hand. I thought that with time we could recover from the time pressure that was affecting how we resolved our conflict. To me our relationship was more valued and thereof I was ready to compromise and sacrifice myself in order to overcome the conflict to match the situation. But I had used by relative power strategy in order to put the blame on her and I knew she would not forgive me for this. I realized that I was working and therefore I was ready to accommodate her for the sake of our relationship. But she had already reached interpscyhic phase where although she said noting she was more focused on my faults and show used may faults to withdraw from active participation in our relationship. She felt justified in withdrawing from the relationship. But it was over and our relationship entered the terminal stage. First we had differed as I had a ‘me’ stand instead of ‘we’ in the conflict. We were both responsible for the conflict but I had exempted myself from it and accused her. This had acted as the first warning sign that our relationship was just be ending. It had started to dissolve with our earlier conflict and this conflict as the last final strike that drove the nail in. Since that conflict happened we had less instance of communication. We had less interaction as we took to the workplace procedure. Suddenly we had developed different interests and what had our fun been before was not making sense to the other. Although we continued to be with one another from time to time and many thought that our relationships was normal, I knew inside myself that it was not working and non of us was working to save the situation. We reached as stagnation stage and none of us talked about our relationship again. Sometime we would be together and spend a lot of time without talking. In the office our interaction were reduced and even when we interacted, we talked about office matters most of the time. With time we started to avoid each other. There were efforts to reduce face to face conversation with the other and in case I needed something from the manager I would either send the secretary or if she was busy, I would use the office phone. I also noted that she had the same attitude and she reduced the number of trips she had been making to my office and the phone line became active as the main communication channel. At the end, the termination of our relationship was natural. We stopped seeing each. I used my secretary a lot when I wanted anything from the manager’s office. We simple ended our relationship like that and though with difficult, we tried our best to remain coworkers until the date she left the company for another. Up to date I feel that we didn’t hand our conflict the way it was supposed to have been handled. We didn’t pay attention to the fine details of our relationship and we were too emotional in trying to find a solution to it. But it was compounded by the fact that it had emanated from another conflict and this had the effect of an outsider who had more power than us. The nature of the conflict was also difficult as there were protocols or work procedures that had been overtaken by our emotional involvement.

Improving Communication Competence Essay

Interpersonal Communication is very important, whether it is in a business organization such as staff meetings, project discussion and the likes, marketing, or even the development of social skills. However, despite the importance of Interpersonal Communication, it is always taken for granted and never given much importance. It must be taken into account that all aspects of Interpersonal Communication play a very important role during communicating. If the aspects involved are employed in the right way, there wouldn’t be any problem when one wishes to share his or her ideas to those he or she is communicating with. Among all aspects, Proxemics, which is defined as the spatial separation in relation to both the social and physical environment, plays a very significant role in interpersonal communication (Darn, 2005). Depending on the distance of the speaker from his audience, if one has an unnecessary big amount of space between them which also depends on how many people there are in one’s audience, then, one might experience communication problems. If a group of people were to meet a person who keeps his distance, probably what comes first to their mind is that he is hesitating. A lot of other aspects of interpersonal communication follow Proxemics. If he is hesitant to keep a closer distance, then there is a possibility that he will not be making much eye contact, he would have mannerisms like tapping his feet or finger drumming, or maybe he would be speaking in a much lower voice which would be a great problem given the circumstance that he is keeping his distance or appearing to be somewhat aloof. Proxemics is the first sign one sees in a person who appears to be shy in speaking his mind. It is an aspect that should definitely be improved because it leads to far other more important parts of interpersonal communication. Indeed, first impression is significant. Even if one tries to give out the point he or she wishes to deliver, he or she may find it difficult to achieve because they may find him or her to be boring or uninteresting speaker. Proxemics should be an aspect a person gives great importance to. Uncertain Reduction Theory and Impression Formation Theory Uncertain Reduction Theory, or simply URT, is the way a person acts to reduce the uncertainty he or she has towards a person (Berger and Calabrese as cited in Uncertain Reduction Theory, 2002). This is mostly common with people who do not know much about each other, or who have just met. Of course, nobody wants to be awkward around other people, therefore he or she is trying to find ways to get more information from them. Normally, one starts to ask certain questions such as other people’s name, age, birth date, where they live, etc. then in the long run, when an individual and the people he interacts with already feel comfortable enough to talk about more personal things like beliefs, opinions, etc. t then gives an individual a chance to know other person better. On the other hand, Impression Formation is the way an individual puts information together about a certain person he or she is getting to know about, trying to come up or figure out what personality the other person possesses. The attitude the other person has, the information one might possibly gain out of talking to him, putting these together gives one an overview of how the person might actually be, without the need to know entirely everything about the person. Based on the researches made, URT and Information Formation go hand in hand. Initially, when one meets someone for the first time, he or she goes through the process of getting to know the other person better so the communication would be easier and without less tension. Without the need of getting the other person’s whole background information and merely basing the facts from the questions and small details drawn from a person, it would be of great help on how one should be acting towards the person. Then, after getting to know the person, one tries to put them all together, trying to come up with a main thought that would best describe the person one is dealing with. An individual tries to analyze what there is in that particular person, so that just like that in URT, he or she can act accordingly. One can adapt to his personality in some way, without having to guess or assume the wrong on the personality of the person. Without the help of these theories, it may result to communication problems between an individual and a particular type of audience. For example, you did not consider the possibility that the other person is shy and you completely have no idea whatsoever about the mode of speaking the other person has that when he or she later makes a conversation that may be hard to discern, you would probably end up getting annoyed, bored, and create a bad impression against him or her given that you didn’t see that fact coming. You might even act inappropriately towards that person. Knowing the people you encounter, especially in businesses, is of great importance, even if it only a first impression. At least you have an idea on how you get along with a particular type of person Symbolic Interaction Theory Symbolic Interactionism, as conceptualized by Herbert Blumer, is the process of interaction in the formation of meanings (Nelson, 1998). It is the way we understand what a person wishes to say depending on the meaning he gives to a certain word or symbol. It does not mean that the way he defines a certain word or thought would be the same as we perceive it to be. However, through interactions, there is a possibility than we can understand clearly what he wishes to say. Based on Nelson’s term paper, Symbolic Interactionism plays a very strong role in communication. In her paper, she used her own experience to apply the theory of symbolic interaction. Her mode of communication was E-mail. And because communication only took place over the web as compared to talking on the phone where at least one could hear the tone of the voice of the person, she found out that it was a great effect in their misunderstanding. What she meant for a certain word was defined differently for the other person. She only perceived what she believes to be the meaning for the certain symbols, ignoring the fact that it may mean different to the other person. Through symbolic interaction, we can determine what a person really tends to say. We do not assume what he has in mind but instead, we try to connect their way of defining them to the way we perceive the way we understand it. Therefore, it plays a very vital role in interpersonal communication. People should be more attentive to the way a person acts or responds. They should pay attention to the aspects of interpersonal communication. Through these aspects, you can somehow determine what message a person really means to impart, most especially in the tone of the voice because you can somehow understand what he really intends to say basing from it. All aspects should be taken into consideration, to make interpersonal communication effective. Conclusion  Learning the aspects of good interpersonal communication is very important especially in the business industry, where you constantly have to talk to a lot of different people every time By understanding these, you will see how it will make a big improvement on the way you talk in front of an audience because not only the words that come out of your mouth are enough. Even if you have a strong point you wish to share with your audience, lacking the important aspects of interpersonal communication would definitely affect the people who you wish to interact with.

Whats an Excellent SAT Score

What's an Excellent SAT Score SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The SAT score is one of the most important parts of your college applicationsbecause it’s one of the only things that’s standardized. When all student applicants are taking the same exam, admissions officers can use it as a barometer to compare students that come from different backgrounds, educations, strengths, weaknesses, and intellectual abilities. If all students take the same exam, and all admissions officers look at those exam scores in the same way, then it should be easy to figure out what an excellent SAT score is, right? Not necessarily. Like most things, an excellent SAT score is all relative. In this post, I’ll talk about different types of â€Å"excellent† scores in relation to the entire US, your general peer group, your prospective colleges, and (maybe most importantly) yourself. A Note Before We Get Started: Percentiles When we discuss exam scores when compared to other groups - groups as big as the US student population or as small as your high school English class - we use percentiles. Percentiles are different from percentages. A percent scoretells you what portion of the exam you got correct, whereas a percentile score tells you how you did on the exam compared to everyone else who took it.For example, a percent score of 80% on an exam means that you got 80% of the questions correct. An 80th percentile score would mean that you scored better than 80% of the students who took thesame test. Percentile scores are more meaningful than percentages when we talk about SAT scores, because what’s important is how you score when compared to other students.To give another example, let's say you take a very difficult exam in a large lecture course and only score a 50%. You might be disappointed because you'd assume you scored poorly. If you learned that everyone else in the class scored lower than 50% on their exam, you'd know that you scored in the 99th percentile - that changes your perception of your performance, right? Same thing goes for SAT scores. Excellent SAT Scores for the General US Population Talk about a big comparison group. If you’re new to the SAT and are unsure what SAT scores actually mean, comparing your scores to those of the general population isthe best place to start. The SAT score range isn’t necessarily intuitive, like an exam scored out of 100 points. Seeing how you â€Å"rank† relative to all students is the best way to start understanding your own performance. As you probably know, the SAT is scored out of a total of 1600 points.The average composite SAT score is about 1000 points - around the 50th percentile. An "excellent" score relative to the general population will ultimately depend on your own definition of excellence. For the sake of this post, we'll say that an excellent score sits at about the 75th percentile. This means that if you score at or above the 75th percentile, your score is higher than at least 3/4 of all test-takers. So how do these (and other) percentiles translate into SAT scores? 25th percentile about 840 composite score 50th percentile about 1000 composite score 75th percentile about 1200composite score You can get more detailed information on SAT scores and percentiles here. Given this information, where do you think you would set your "excellence" cutoff? Excellent SAT Scores for Your Peer Group What matters when you apply to colleges isn’t necessarily how your performance compares to that of the rest of the high school students in the nation. What matters is how you compare to kids who are similar to you - similar in terms of background, geographical area, high school type, grades, extracurriculars. You’ll have to stand out against your peers, not necessarily against a student who lives across the country from you with different interests, passions, and activities. In order to determine what SAT scores are considered "excellent" amongyour peers, you need to have a good general idea of what your peers' scores are. SAT scores can be a sensitive topic, so here are some tips for getting information on this: 1. Get average SAT scores for your high school.Some schools have a report available where you can see aggregated SAT scores from past students. If you're not sure about how to access this information, check in with a guidance counselor. They may have their own thoughts about what they consider excellent SAT scores for your school. 2. Get average SAT scores from your classmates. If you want to narrow down your comparative peer group even more, you could consider the average scores of other students in your classes. SAT scores from peers in honors classes should give you an even better idea of excellent peer scores. If you feel comfortable asking around, make an effort to do that - just make sure not to pressure anyone into sharing scores. Excellent SAT Scores for College So now that you have a good idea of how you compare to your peers, you can start figuring out your best target schools based on SAT scores. Now, SAT scores are important for getting you into college, but people don’t tend to care about them once you get in. Your SAT scores don’t have to be at the top of the range (e.g. at the 75th percentile) for the schools you’re interested in attending - that would mean 75% of attending students were accepted with lower scores. Ultimately, they just have to be good enough to get your application considered. (Exception:if you anticipate that your application will be weak in other areas, higher SAT scores than other applicants will help your admissions case.) The best way to figure out what SAT score is likely to get you into a particular school is to look up the school's "middle 50" SAT scores. The middle 50 is the range of student scores between the 25th percentile and the 75th percentile - so if you ranked all the students in a college's class by SAT scores, this would be the score range for the 50% of students standing right in the middle. You can find detailed instructions on figuring out a school's optimal SAT score range. If your SAT is in the top 25% of scores for schools that you're considering (and your application is otherwise strong),you may want to consider applying to more competitive schools. By more competitive, I mean schools with higher average SAT scores and lower admissions rates.There are many benefits to attending a better-ranked school: it's likely to be more intellectually challengingand to have a stronger student body due to a more selective admissions process. A more prestigious school also sends a better "signal" to graduate programs and future employers, potentially leading to better income and career outcomes. If you'd like more information about optimal application strategies, check out our guides on reach and safety schools. Excellent SAT Scores for Yourself Time for some realistic self-evaluation. So you've considered what "excellent" SAT scores are relative to the country, your peers, and your target schools. Although these are all helpful comparison groups, there's one very important factor we have yet to take into consideration: your own abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. Excellent scores by more objective standards may come easier to some students than others. Setting unrealistic goals for yourself based on these standards will be frustrating and unhelpful; setting "easy" goals for yourself based on these standards will mean that you sell yourself short. In order to come out of this process with both strong scores and your sanity intact, it's important to consider your own abilities when determining what SAT scores are "excellent." So how do you figure out what an excellent SAT score means for you? 1. Get a baseline score. Study for 10 hours in order to gain basic familiarity with the test and its content before taking a practice test. This will give you a baseline score to work from. Students can often improve 160+ points from baseline with additional test preparation. 2. Reach your own score maximum. Students usually reach a max limit after 40-80 hours of effective, focused studying. Getting that much prep in will mean you are dedicating yourself to excellence by your own standards. How Do You Prepare to Earn Excellent SAT Scores? You might have a roughrange in mind for those excellent scores you're hoping to earn. If not, you'll hopefully get a good baseline score to work from based on the guidelines above. Once you're ready to start working up towards that range, follow the guidelines here for an effective SAT preparation plan: 1. Set a timeline. If you're going to prepare for the SAT, you'll need a reasonable study plan based on how much time you have before the exam. Get instructions on how to do this here. 2. Set a goal score.You won't have anything to work towards if you don't set a challenging, but realistic, goal score for yourself. Start by looking up the "middle 50" SAT score ranges for target schools. You can get up-to-date information on these scores by Googling"[school name] PrepScholar admissions requirements." 3. Stick to a study plan. You can work from a study planspecifically for sophomores, juniors, or seniors, or you can come up withyour own. Try scheduling study sessions in your calendar ahead of time, or letting your parents in on your plan so they can hold you accountable. The better you stick to your plan, the more effective your studying will be. What's Next? Motivated to start bringing up those SAT scores? Here areguides to setting your timeline, SAT reading, SAT writing, and SAT math. If you are running out of time to improve your scores, not to worry - we have last-minute strategy guides as well! Disappointed with your scores? Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points?We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Forced Migration in Rwanda essays

Forced Migration in Rwanda essays Forced migration is a situation in which the liberty or life of individuals is taken away or threaten at the hands of another. The reasons behind forced migration are beyond the control of those being forced out of an area. Those who are displaced do so because it is the only possible way in which to survive. Often the conditions which cause forced migration include oppressive political regimes, war zones, and areas of famine. There are many recent examples of such forced migration throughout the modern world, specifically the example of mass movement from Rwanda in the mid 1990s. Between 1993 and 1994 over 900 000 were displaced by the war and living in refugee camps (Olsen 1995, 219). The Rwanda case tells us important things about the complexity of links between many different factors. In other words, there is no one reason behind migration of such magnitude. To understand the complex conflicts like the Rwandan genocide, one must be aware of the issues motivating the confl ict. What people do and what physical environment they do it in, but also why they do it must be examined. The forced migration in the African nation was initiated by many sources of insecurities ranging from ethnic insecurities of both distant past and more recent past origins, developmental and resource insecurities as well as geopolitical insecurities. Not only does a sense of threatened security result in involuntary migration, it also has broader implications for the future. Rwanda has been a nation plagued with ethnic insecurities reaching as far back as 1500 A.D. The two main ethnic groups in Rwanda, the Tutsi and Hutu, all spoke the same language, believed in the same god, shared the same culture and lived side by side throughout the country(Uvin 1996), but could agree on very little. Inequality between the Tutsi and Hutu was evident in the sixteenth century in which Tutsi and Hutu relations were dominated by the ...

5 situaciones migratorias que se pueden tener en USA

5 situaciones migratorias que se pueden tener en USA La situacià ³n migratoria que se tiene en Estados Unidos afecta a los derechos y obligaciones que se tienen segà ºn la ley. Muchas veces es posible cambiar de categorà ­a, mientras que en otros en prcticamente imposible.     Ciudadanos americanos La inmensa mayorà ­a de las personas que vivimos en Estados Unidos somos ciudadanos americanos. La ciudadanà ­a se puede obtener de cinco formas distintas. La mayorà ­a son ciudadanos desde el momento de su nacimiento pero tambià ©n se puede adquirir posteriormente.   Los ciudadanos tenemos el derecho de vivir y trabajar en Estados Unidos y todos los que nos reconocen las leyes. Pero tambià ©n tenemos obligaciones. Desde el punto de vista migratorio, ser ciudadano tiene importantes ventajas como: imposibilidad de ser deportadosà ³lo en casos extremos y concretos se pierde la ciudadanà ­ase pueden pedir los papeles para varias categorà ­as de familiares y en aplicacià ³n de DAPA los ciudadanos podrn extender proteccià ³n frente a la deportacià ³n a sus padres y madres. Por à ºltimo recordar que la ciudadanà ­a americana se extiende a los territorios de Estados Unidos como, por ejemplo, Puerto Rico (estos son los documentos que se necesitan para viajar a la Isla). Residentes permanentes legales (LPR por sus siglas en inglà ©s) Los residentes permanentes legales tienen a su nombre una green card, tambià ©n conocida como tarjeta de residencia. Pueden vivir y trabajar indefinidamente en Estados Unidos, pero no son ciudadanos, por los que sus derechos estn ms limitados y tienen obligaciones que sà ³lo aplican a a ellos. Estas son 13 diferencias entre ciudadanos y residentes que hay que tener presentes. Una vez que se tiene una tarjeta de residencia, en casos muy concretos es temporal (inversores y algunos casos de esposos de ciudadanos), convirtià ©ndose ms tarde en definitiva, si todo va bien y se cumplen con todos los requisitos legales. En todos los dems casos es permanente, debià ©ndose renovar antes de que expire.   Los inmigrantes con una green card pueden optar por conservar ese estatus de residentes permanentes o pueden solicitar convertirse en ciudadanos mediante el proceso que se conoce como naturalizacià ³n, una vez que transcurren los plazos mà ­nimos que tienen que esperar los residentes para aplicar por la ciudadanà ­a. Extranjeros con visa no inmigrante En esta categorà ­a entra un amplio grupo de personas. Cada una debe respetar las condiciones de su visado (o, en su caso del Programa de Exencià ³n de Visas).En là ­neas generales y para ilustrar las diferencias pueden establecerse las siguientes subcategorà ­as: Visas de doble intencià ³n Son las visas de trabajo H-1B para profesionales y modelos y la L-1 (versià ³n A y B) para ejecutivos, directivos y personal con conocimiento especializado que trabajan para multinacionales.  Son visados muy cotizados.Una de sus grandes ventajas es que son consideradas como visas de doble intencià ³n. Esto quiere decir que su titular no tiene que demostrar la intencià ³n de regresar a su paà ­s y que puede buscar activamente quedarse en Estados Unidos como inmigrante y que le patrocinen una green card. Visas especiales Como la K-3/K-4 para esposos/hijos de ciudadanos americanos, que es poco utilizada o la K-1/K-2 para novios/as de ciudadanos y sus hijos, que es ms utilizada. Particularmente la K-1 puede dar problemas si no se siguen sus reglas. Se otorga al novio o prometida de un ciudadano americano para que ingrese a Estados Unidos para casarse y a partir de ahà ­, mediante lo que se llama ajuste de estatus, solicitar la green card. Una vez que se ingresa a EEUU hay que seguir todos los requisitos de la visa. Es decir, no casarse a tiempo, de ninguna de las maneras o casarse con otra persona distinta a la que solicità ³ la visa es un error (grave).   Visas no inmigrante Son muchas y muy diversas entre sà ­, con distintas reglas. Pero tienen un elemento en comà ºn: se tiene que demostrar la intencià ³n de no quedarse en Estados Unidos y de tener lazos econà ³micos y/o familiares fuertes en el paà ­s de residencia habitual.   En esta categorà ­a entran visas como las de trabajo, las de estudiante o la de turista e incluso las de inversià ³n como la E-1 para casos de negocios de importacià ³n/exportacià ³n o la E-2 donde hay una inversià ³n sustancial de dinero.   En cuanto a los turistas, pueden ingresar a Estados Unidos con visa B2, en el caso de mexicanos en la frontera con la lser y chilenos  y espaà ±oles sin visado (si llegan por avià ³n necesitan una ESTA).   Todos los turistas deberà ­an tener en cuenta  con  cunta frecuencia se puede ingresar a EEUU como turista  y quà © pasa si una persona se queda en Estados Unidos ms tiempo del permitido. Es cierto que en circunstancias especiales es posible cambiar una visa no inmigrante por  otra visa o incluso una residencia. Pero no siempre. Hay que tener siempre presente las circunstancias y requisitos de la visa que se tiene (o no visa, en su caso) y cà ³mo se quiere hacer el cambio y si es posible y cà ³mo. Para evitar problemas siempre es aconsejable consultar con un abogado de inmigracià ³n e informarse sobre quà © tipo de visa se tiene. Situaciones especiales Algunas personas presentes en Estados Unidos tienen una situacià ³n especial debido a sus circunstancias personales, como por ejemplo: AsiloVisa U para và ­ctimas de violenciaVAWAVisa T para và ­ctimas de trata de personas En general, esas personas con el paso del tiempo y si se cumplen los requisitos acabarn obteniendo una tarjeta de residencia (green card).Especial mencià ³n merece el caso de los cubanos  que al  aà ±o y un dà ­a de ingresar legalmente pueden pedir la residencia permanente (green card) por  ley de ajuste cubano. Lo que ocurre es que esto à ºltimo suele suceder antes de que se resuelva el caso de asilo y asà ­ la residencia por ajuste cubano cancela al proceso de asilo. Indocumentados Se calcula que en Estados Unidos pueden vivir como indocumentados ms de 11 millones de personas. Los indocumentados pueden ser deportados, carecen de acceso a beneficios sociales excepto los ms bsicos como WIC, en la mayorà ­a de los estados no pueden obtener la licencia de manejar (aunque hay importantes excepciones), etc. Pero no todos los indocumentados son iguales desde el punto de la ley. En la actualidad los jà ³venes que llegaron a Estados Unidos siendo nià ±os pueden acogerse a DACA que les protege frente a la deportacià ³n y les permite obtener un permiso de trabajo por dos aà ±os. Para el resto de los indocumentados que no pueden beneficiarse de DACA las posibilidades de legalizacià ³n son escasas, siendo estos 15 posibles caminos. A tener en cuenta Ciudadanos, residentes permanentes e indocumentados que son jà ³venes y varones tienen todos una misma obligacià ³n: cumplir con el Servicio Selectivo. Y donde hay migrantes, desgraciadamente hay personas que intentan tomar ventaja de su situacià ³n y prometen beneficios migratorios que no son posibles a cambio de dinero. Si se es và ­ctima de un fraude migratorio, considerar reportarlo. Este es un artà ­culo informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal.

Heroines and Heroes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Heroines and Heroes - Essay Example In addition, they are also perceived as exotic, erotic and dangerous to males. It raised problems within the issues of globalization because it creates a bias against certain women and thus denies them the chance to be on an equal footing (Jiwani 186). The full text offers little indication that a hero can be globalized. Due to the stereotypes against minorities, there is always going to be a gap. This underrepresentation is mainly created by the media and its portrayal of the minorities. It is impossible for the hero to be disconnected from a particular culture. For example, in the example of the role of Tia Carrere, there is the discontinuity between her Asian roots and her western roots. Her education, connection to her farther and line of work endear her to the western culture and thus create a bias (Jiwani 187). There is a general portrayal of Asians, whether female or male, as scheming and untrustworthy or victims, but never neutral (Jiwani 188). The success of Eurasian heroes is problematic, because of their genealogy. They are descended from Caucasian males who have conquered the exotic Asian woman (Jiwani 187). In addition, the comparisons to the other members fuel the stereotypes against the Eurasian women. This is a problem because instead of illuminating the Eurasian woman in a positive light, the success creates more visibility for the stereotypes (Jiwani

Organisations, organising appealing and organisation effectiveness Essay

Organisations, organising appealing and organisation effectiveness - Essay Example Over the time, the study of how effective the organization is in achieving the goals that it intended has undergone an evolution due to the changes in the environment that took place as well as the fast pace at which these changes occurred. There has been a shift towards the adoption of more rational approaches to organizations. This paper reviews the reasons why managers prefer rational approaches. It also explores the open systems theory and how is it of benefit to managers. Scott proposed three concepts for defining organizations: rational, natural and open systems. Rational systems concept deals with the fact that organizations are created to function as effectively as possible to achieve a set of intended objectives. The goals of the organization are specific and have been defined explicitly. The rational system also encompasses the view that organizations have a lot of formalization. One of the variables governing a formalized structure is that rules regulate behavior and are accurately and clearly drawn. Another variable of the formalized structure is that roles and role relations are devised independently of the personal qualities and interaction between the individuals having different positions within the organization (Scott, 2001). Frederick Taylor was an engineer-turned-management consultant and was a strong advocate of the rational system theory. In his view, all organizations did not function with the accomplishment of a certain goal in mind ; however, this was a problem and needed to be dealt with. Managers nowadays prefer the rational systems approach for organizing. By regulating the behavior of the individuals through rules, the process of formalization can be carried out effectively. This will result in the mitigation of uncertainty. Uncertainty can lead to disorder, apprehension and disturbances in many

Analysis of the Marketing Communications Campaign of GAP (Clothing Essay

Analysis of the Marketing Communications Campaign of GAP (Clothing Brand) - Essay Example But Gap Inc. had to start somewhere and by identifying the steps of an integrated marketing communications campaign we will begin to see some similarities. Developing a model for a consumer IMC campaign involves a number of steps. These include identifying target audiences, analysing the situation, setting marketing communications objectives, developing strategies and tactics, setting a budget and evaluating the effectiveness of the campaign. For this assignment, we will look these steps in relation to a mock product and a mock IMC model, and compare them with the successful Gap Inc. clothing brand. Our mock product, to help us make the developed IMC model clear is titled â€Å"non-uniforms†. It is clothing for schoolchildren in western European countries whose schools do not expect students to wear uniforms. If marketed properly, the clothing for schoolchildren will be bought and worn for the same reasons uniforms are worn in schools in the United Kingdom. Only it will not be compulsory and the stock will not be identical. It will be sturdy, basic and strong, cheap, readily available from school and, ideally, promoted by schools. The product is likely to succeed because it is recreating, rebranding and redefining something that is successful in other like countries. According to Articlebase (Sep 2005) school uniforms reduce distraction, promote discipline, reduce fighting and violence, are cheaper and highlight that individuality is not determined by designer clothing. However, the cons are that uniforms stifle self-expression and can be uncomfortable, (Pros and Cons of School Uniforms 2009). By analysing the situation, we find that male primary school students, aged six to 10 do not purchase or choose their own clothing. Therefore, the target group is the parent or carer who chooses and purchases the clothing. Our marketing communications objective is to identify or create a buyer’s problem and solve it. One of the target group’s problems is

Media & Cultural Analysis Gender, Representation and Advertising Essay

Media & Cultural Analysis Gender, Representation and Advertising Images - Essay Example It has been noted that males are generally attracted to advertisements that are related with fast cars or fancy cigars or costly liquors, whereas females are attracted to advertisements that deal with decorating houses and make up kits among others. Therefore, the ad-makers before designing an advertisement campaign thoroughly judge the targeted gender and develop the advertisement accordingly. Thus, the objective of the paper would be to discuss the aspect that gender is performative while designing advertisements. Furthermore, the techniques used by the media firms and their way of organising the socio-cultural elements will be demonstrated. Moreover, the strengths and the weaknesses of semiotics used to convey message through visual meanings will also be critically analysed. Semiotics is the signs that are used to convey messages to the viewers. Advertisements play an imperative role in promotional activities. Therefore, the two examples of print media that will be discussed below will show how it appeals to the different genders. Theoretical Understanding of Media Forms and Genres According to Kress (1998), genre is a kind of text that is derived from a structure of a social occasion and characteristics and their purposes. It can further be said that genre may be considered as a realistic device which is used to help any gathering to produce efficiently and over and over again and to relate them to the customers’ expectations (Chandler, 2000). This aspect can be interpreted from an example of advertising image below: Source: (Mike’s Computer Marketing, 2004). From the image above, it can be interpreted that as the genre used in the advertisement of Jupiter Auto Spa, which depicts the unique offerings and discounts, may attract the male more than the female. Free car wash and other discounts will make the male feel that they are getting added value for the price they are paying. Moreover, the free service of pickup and delivery of the car will play on the mind of the male that will be a convenient factor (Mike’s Computer Marketing, 2004). The male genders usually are busy in working due to which the care towards their vehicle is being neglected. Thus, the added facility may encourage the male as their time is not spent uselessly whereas the desired task is done effectively. This print advertisement is expected to attract less to the women as they are more concerned about products that take care of their physical beauty and fitness. The discounts and the offerings will somewhat be attractive to women who have craze towards cars. As stated by Judith Butler (1995), desires are often intentional which are towards a given object or other, but at the same time it is also reflexive where it is a modality in which the subject is both improved and discovered. Thus, desire is the relationship between the image and the viewer, between object of desire and desiring matter, between product and customer. Therefore, in the above mentioned print advertisement the desire of the female genders towards the product is comparatively low than the male ones (Butler, 2011). Though the product is a part of luxury category, the added value and convenience offered to the customers will help the male genders to get attracted towards the service of Jupiter Auto Spa. According to Dines and Humez (2003), â€Å"

Alcohol Control Issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Alcohol Control Issue - Essay Example Heavy drinking causes lethal damage to the body where it is a risk factor for diseases like cancer, liver cirrhosis, and heart problems. Alcoholism and alcohol abuse also has negative and devastating social consequences. Alcoholics have high chances of getting divorced, are more vulnerable to domestic violence, struggle much with employment and live in absurd poverty (Boyle, 2013). One effect that an alcohol abuser cannot escape is the effect on personal relationships. The problem of alcoholism puts enormous strains to all the people surrounding the alcoholic. It mostly tasks family members and close friends with covering the alcoholic. The burden is covered between people who do not take alcohol and children suffer from trauma in case the alcoholic is a parent or caregiver. Alcohol abuse has damaging effects on the brain that include memory lapses, blackouts and other types of brain damage. With these adverse effects of alcoholism and alcohol abuse, alcohol control ways were established to minimize the effects on society (Boyle, 2013). Alcoholism is said to be a fatal illness whose medical cure is yet to be known. Alcohol control has been enacted right from its production, marketing as well as consumption. The control measures may also have effects on limiting competition and create a partial monopoly. This will in return increase profits for the ones that remain in the market. With some considerations, alcohol controls may, therefore, put some economic interests at stake. Professional means of alcohol control through rehab centers could also act effectively in reducing alcohol-related dangers (Boyle, 2013). The controls are therefore inevitable in this modern society. Some alcohol control methods include; Price of alcohol plays a major role in influencing the level of consumption and its subsequent related harm.

Media & Cultural Analysis Gender, Representation and Advertising Essay

Media & Cultural Analysis Gender, Representation and Advertising Images - Essay Example It has been noted that males are generally attracted to advertisements that are related with fast cars or fancy cigars or costly liquors, whereas females are attracted to advertisements that deal with decorating houses and make up kits among others. Therefore, the ad-makers before designing an advertisement campaign thoroughly judge the targeted gender and develop the advertisement accordingly. Thus, the objective of the paper would be to discuss the aspect that gender is performative while designing advertisements. Furthermore, the techniques used by the media firms and their way of organising the socio-cultural elements will be demonstrated. Moreover, the strengths and the weaknesses of semiotics used to convey message through visual meanings will also be critically analysed. Semiotics is the signs that are used to convey messages to the viewers. Advertisements play an imperative role in promotional activities. Therefore, the two examples of print media that will be discussed below will show how it appeals to the different genders. Theoretical Understanding of Media Forms and Genres According to Kress (1998), genre is a kind of text that is derived from a structure of a social occasion and characteristics and their purposes. It can further be said that genre may be considered as a realistic device which is used to help any gathering to produce efficiently and over and over again and to relate them to the customers’ expectations (Chandler, 2000). This aspect can be interpreted from an example of advertising image below: Source: (Mike’s Computer Marketing, 2004). From the image above, it can be interpreted that as the genre used in the advertisement of Jupiter Auto Spa, which depicts the unique offerings and discounts, may attract the male more than the female. Free car wash and other discounts will make the male feel that they are getting added value for the price they are paying. Moreover, the free service of pickup and delivery of the car will play on the mind of the male that will be a convenient factor (Mike’s Computer Marketing, 2004). The male genders usually are busy in working due to which the care towards their vehicle is being neglected. Thus, the added facility may encourage the male as their time is not spent uselessly whereas the desired task is done effectively. This print advertisement is expected to attract less to the women as they are more concerned about products that take care of their physical beauty and fitness. The discounts and the offerings will somewhat be attractive to women who have craze towards cars. As stated by Judith Butler (1995), desires are often intentional which are towards a given object or other, but at the same time it is also reflexive where it is a modality in which the subject is both improved and discovered. Thus, desire is the relationship between the image and the viewer, between object of desire and desiring matter, between product and customer. Therefore, in the above mentioned print advertisement the desire of the female genders towards the product is comparatively low than the male ones (Butler, 2011). Though the product is a part of luxury category, the added value and convenience offered to the customers will help the male genders to get attracted towards the service of Jupiter Auto Spa. According to Dines and Humez (2003), â€Å"

Macroeconomic Situation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Macroeconomic Situation - Essay Example Further, it was expected that the private consumption for the year 2010 and the year 2011 would be restrained at 2.5 percent. The rate of unemployment for the year 2010 and the year 2011 has been expected to be over 9% (United Nations, 2010). It was pointed out that with the fall in the prices of houses in the United States; there will be negative influence upon the balance sheets of the households. This would further slow down the rate of consumption and thus increase the rate of savings. The low interest rates and inefficient economic conditions have evened out the weakness in the household net value. Further, the long-term related ‘government bond yields’ have declined in the United States (OECD Economic Outlook, 2010). It has been estimated that the fiscal policy of the country has been identified by the stimulus spending. Further, the remaining $470 billion is expected to be paid out in the year 2010 and 2011 with a smooth decline of its effect upon the economy (Cor porate Executive Board, 2010). It has been assessed that the rate of the Dollar has declined by 11% against Euro that was worth $1.47. The manufacturing industry is expected to rise in the US (Bloomberg, 2011).

Compare and contrast essay Essay Example for Free

Compare and contrast essay Essay Brown Brothers; How Negative Stereotypes Affect Polynesian And Maori In New Zealand My demographic is: high school cleaning ladies, fast food burger-making, factory boxpacking, rubbish truck drivers, bus drivers, taxi drivers, sober drivers and living off the pension joy riders — I am a dropout. These are all ideas raised and challenged by Joshua Iosefos 2011 viral speech, Brown Brother. Brown Brother is one of three texts that will be examined, compared and contrasted in this essay. The second text, Manurewa, is a short film based on the South Auckland murder of Navtej Singh, a liquor shop owner. The third text is Fish Heads, a short story written by Aparina Taylor, that focuses on a group of Maori boys who live in the city. The media is a huge culprit for the negative stereotyping that has been brought upon pacifica people. Brown people are more than what they are portrayed to be through media. Films such as Manurewa reinforce many of the negative stereotypes that have been brought upon Pacific people. The stereotype of brown people is a negative one, one of unemployment, one of crime, one of violence. In Manurewa each one of these stereotypes were portrayed. The men in the short film were all unemployed, all committed crime and all showed violence. â€Å"Bro Town, Sione’s Wedding, and do I have to mention the GC? Now I dont mean to condescend I mean these shows are great, dont get me wrong but can anyone explain: will there ever be a time when our representation goes deeper than putting our own people to shame?† Joshua Iosefo, in his Brown Brother speech, spoke about this issue – how the media represents brown people in a negative light. He highlights how these types of shows create and enforce the stereotypes that brown people now have to live by. While these shows are meant to entertain, this negative reinforcement only show the bad side of Polynesian and Maori people. One of the major themes of the film Manurewa is about people being trapped by low expectations and invisible boundaries. People can become trapped from attaining success, trapped from fulfilling their potential, and trapped from being heard. The message in the film Manurewa is that not all brown  people are bad, but the expectations that their stereotypes have created for them along with the people that they are surrounded with often leads to them making horrific mistakes. In this true story, a good person has been surrounded with unemployed, violent people and ultimately ends up committing a murder. In the beginning of the film the boy shows that he does have love and passion in his heart through feeding and nurturing the horse. After the murder the three older men are happy and excited but the boy was completely distressed about what he had done. These two scenes clearly show that the boy is a good person who simply made a bad mistakes because of the people that he was surrounded by. When Joshua Iosefo performed Brown Brother at the Tedx conference, he explained how brown people are trapped because of expectations, and surroundings. Meaning that the expectations that have been set from the stereotypes as well as the people that they are surrounded by impact greatly and almost trap brown people from success. He used a box as an example, where he explained that each side of the box needs to be kicked down in order for Maori and Polynesian people to succeed. People need to make the change themselves through their own actions. Brown people need to stop being what the stereotypes expects them to be and need to start proving that they are better than the stereotype. In the short story, Fish Heads the Maori boys are short of money but they do not let this stop them. All four boys are employed, they all work for the little money that they have and they show that there is no reason to live the way that the stereotype expects them to live. They are not violent, they do not commit crimes and they do not drink alcohol excessively. They respect people and they are happy living a simple wholesome life. Similarly, Joshua Iosefo talks about beating the stereotype, about standing up and showing that you are better than the stereotype. â€Å"You can do all things through Christ, Philippians 4:13. You are more than capable. And I don’t say that just to make you feel better, I say that because I know. Cause your creator told me to tell you so. Yo u will go places, you will tell stories, so do not feel afraid or alone for your God and your family and your home will forever be inside the marrow of your bones. So do not fret, do not regret. For where you go, you take us with you. Brown brother, do not be afraid to be the first, the first to graduate, the first to climb, the first prime minister,  or the first good wife — brown brother, do not be afraid to be the change. Not in skin tone or colour, but a change in mindset. From one brown brother, to another†. These are the powerful words that Joshua pointed at people living under the expectations that the stereotype has set for them. This powerful message is aimed st those who have been beaten by the expectations that have been set by the stereotype. The three texts, Manurewa, Brown Brother and Fish Heads clearly illustrate that there are negative stereotypes and low expectations for Polynesians and Maori in New Zealand. These stereotypes can lead people to feel that they are stuck and defined by their stereotype. Joshua Iosefos speech, talked of the stereotype that was his demographic but also said that Polynesians needed to be responsible for overcoming or changing this stereotype. In the film Manurewa, the inability for Isaac to escape from this cycle of negativity lead the once caring teenager to associate with bad people and ultimately lead to him murdering an innocent man. Whereas in contrast, the text Fish Heads showed that if people are r emoved from negative environments and influences, they are able to live in a non-stereotypical way.

Criticisms Of Symbolic Interactionism Sociology Essay

Criticisms Of Symbolic Interactionism Sociology Essay This chapter will outline the research methods which are used to explain procedures for collecting data. In addition, it discusses literature which underlies the methods and reasons for the chosen data collection procedures. The chapter presents an outline of research methodology (qualitative approach) and the tools for data collection which are commonly used with each particular method. The chapter focuses on the research setting, instruments for data collection, data analysis, issues of validity and reliability, and ethical issues. This chapter will clearly define the research methods used to perform the study. The researcher will provide an explanation as to the collection methods of the data and information which was necessary to address the research objectives. As such, all data sources, instruments for research, data collection and analytical techniques, and research design, will be given. Research design There are many methodologies for collecting data, and it can be collected from many different sources. By research methodology, it is meant a set of techniques which are used in certain areas of research activity (Nachmias and Nachmias, 1996.) Methodologies do not fall into categories of right and wrong; it is the duty of the researcher to seek the most appropriate method, according to the questions being researched. Huberman and Miles, in 2002, in addition to Blaxter et al, in 2001, said that data collected is qualitative when it is in word and describes situations, circumstances of phenomenon, or individuals. Data are quantitative if they are represented in the form of numbers, counts, or measurements which attempt to provide precision to the observation set. Hence, the classification between quantitative and qualitative is most commonly used (Smeyers, 2002.) According to Denzin and Lincoln (1994) both quantitative and qualitative approaches can be applied within any philosophy of research. The approach that all genuine knowledge is ultimately grounded in sensory experience is called the positivist approach. This approach also says that knowledge can only be advanced through experimentation and observation. The interpretivist approach, in contrast, holds that only through the standpoint of individuals who are part of the action being investigated, can the social world be understood (Cohen et al. 2008.) Therefore, the nature of the problem being researched will have a direct effect on the choice of research methods being employed. Also, practical consideration, such as funding and time, may influence a researchers choices. Also, when applying the scientific method, the researcher must keep certain considerations in mind, such as the investigators own involvement in the usage of the results, the precision of measuring devices, time constrai nts for obtaining results, difficulty in designing experiments which adequately test hypotheses, and the relative complexity of the subject being investigated. In 1994, Gable reported that literature marked a distinction between the two approaches, but that the approaches are not mutually exclusive. Rather, sometimes researchers apply both. Qualitative and quantitative approaches and techniques may be conceptualized as opposite poles on a continuum (Gable, 1994.) The differences between the approaches are detailed on Table 4-1. Remenyi (1998) argued that the two approaches can be used together due to the complexity of answering how, why, and what questions. Selection Criteria Denzin and Lincoln (1994) defined qualitative research as follows: The word qualitative implies an emphasis on processes and meanings that are not rigorously examined or measured (if measured at all), in terms of quantitative, amount, intensity or frequency à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Qualitative researchers stress the socially constructed nature of reality, the intimate relationship between the researcher and what is studied and the situational constraints that shape inquiry. Such researchers emphasize the value-laden nature of inquiry. They seek answers to questions given meaning (p. 124). Qualitative research sits within the phenomenological viewpoint, and involves at least some interaction between the researcher and the situation or individual which is being researched (Hussey and Hussey, 2003.) According to Morgan and Smircich (1980) the qualitative approach to research is not a set of techniques but an approach. As such, the appropriateness of using it is based on the phenomena being studied, and the questions being asked. Additionally, Kirk and Miller (1986) set forth the following steps to describe the qualitative approach to research: invention, discovery, interpretation, and finally, explanation. Other views of the qualitative research approach note its possible design constraints. For example, an individuals own account of attitudes, motivations, and behaviours, may be an influencing factor (Hakim, 2000.) Qualitative research has the problem of subjectivity. This is because the researcher is involved personally in the operation of the measurement tools (Walter and Gall, 1989.) There are several features which distinguish the nature and design of studies which use the qualitative approach, such as a holistic investigation of a particular phenomenon and the understanding of the study itself in its natural setting (Walter and Gall, 1989.) The very nature of the qualitative approach allows for some flexibility and responsiveness to multiple realities and complexity. Purposely selecting the sample, rather than selecting it randomly, can help the researcher avoid missing sample data which could otherwise be considered as outliers, and hence unimportant. Purposive sampling can allow the researcher to enrich the outcome of their research by designing a study which will include both non-typical and typical subjects (Tashakkori and Teddlie, 1998.) Hakim (2000) indicates that the validity of the data being collected has a direct effect on the strength of the qualitative research itself. Data are usually collected in adequate detail so as to allow the results to be considered correct, complete, true, and believable accounts of the views and experiences of the participants. However, sample size continues to be a concern. A qualitative project will normally have a lower number of participants, which cannot be taken as representative (Hakim 2000.) This fact remains even when a fair cross-section of subjects has be carefully assembled. Qualitative design methods usually include: 1) a case study providing data which describes the subject of the study; b) a meta-analysis designed to analyse statistical outcomes of previous research from diverse sources; c) research analysis on relevant administrative records; d) a record of focus group discussions which serve to bring together a group of informants, serving the investigated issue; and d) unstructured, semi-structured, or structured in-depth interviews (Silverman,2000; Kruger, 2001). Qualitative research can be considered an independent field of inquiry, as it is focused on studying objects in their natural settings. It also attempts to make sense of various phenomena in terms of their meanings as related to a set field (Denzin and Lincoln, 1994.) This form of research examines activity which is situated, in which an opportunity is presents to both participate in, and then reflect on, the knowledge production process (Flick, 2002.) Denzin and Lincoln (2003) state that the potential for the interpretation of phenmoena is presented by qualitative research which takes place in a natural setting. The use of multi-methods may be used to provide interpretation and focus on individuals (Denzin and Lincoln,1998.) Additionally, qualitative research usually includes interviews, the practical components of a case study, a life story, observations, and personal experience. It can also involve descriptions of routines or moments which were problematic, and even the meaning in the lives of individuals (Denzin and Lincoln, 2003). Qualitative studies, then, are ultimately concerned with both how its participants fit into their environments, and how they make sense of their individual experiences. Symbolic interactionism The fundamentals of symbolic interactionism as a perspective have been shaped by the work of Mead (1932; 1934) who is acknowledged for his alternate views toward understanding human society (Blumer, 1969; Charon, 2004). Blumer (1969) expanded on Meads work to develop symbolic interactionism into a perspective with a methodology to investigate and interpret the interactions of individuals in a social context. Because we live in a complex, industrialized society, and come from different ethnic, racial, and social class backgrounds, it is unrealistic to think that we all share the same sets of norms, beliefs, and values. People will often have competing and conflicting beliefs rather than shared goals and interests. Instead of being the product of consensus, organized behavior may be the result of self-interested negotiations between two or more parties or the product of coercion on the part of more powerful individuals. Herman-Kinneys observation reflects the appropriateness of symbolic interaction as a suitable framework for this study: acknowledgement that social contexts are complex entities that involve complex interactions between individuals and groups of individuals. The context of a university in Japan that employs individuals with a range of cultural and social attributes reflects Herman-Kinneys intention that people within a specific context carry conflicting beliefs and values, yet can function effectively as a group. Symbolic interactionism provides greater scope to explore such complexity. While other perspectives have made significant contributions to our understanding of the concept of identity, a noticeable absence from analysis of identity formation is the notion of the self as a separate concept to identity (Herman-Kinney, 2003: p.708; Beijaard et al., 2004). One of the fundamentals of symbolic interactionism is its emphasis on the notion of self and its relationship to the concept of identity. The notion of self tends to be overlooked in the literature on teacher identity largely because self and identity can tend to be used interchangeably. Other perspectives imply that an individual is a composite of multiple identities, a view shared by symbolic interactionism. Symbolic interactionism further contends that behind the multiple identities is the notion of self: a core entity that in many ways gives life to those multiple identities. This study is limited to exploring the nature of professional identities and not the nature of self. However, the distinction needs to be made that symbolic interactionism views self and identity as two separate but related concepts. THE EMERGENCE OF SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM Symbolic interactionism is a down-to-earth approach to the scientific study of human group life and human conduct. (Blumer, 1969: p.47) Symbolic interactionism is a perspective that emerged chiefly from the work of American tradition of pragmatism, philosophy and social psychology (Fidishun, 2002; Charon, 2004: p.28). It challenged the mechanistic world view and dualistic assumption of classic rationalism (Shalin, 1991: p.223). One of the most recognised challengers was Mead (1932; 1934) who viewed human group life as the essential condition for the emergence of core attributes that characterise an individual. Blumer (1969) identified the core attributes as consciousness, the mind, a world of objects, human beings as organisms possessing selves, and human conduct in the form of constructed acts. From these core attributes, Blumer (1969: p.6) proposed a number of basic ideas or root images to frame human societies: human groups or societies, social interaction, objects, the human being as an actor, human action, and the interconnection of the lines of action. Together, these root images represent the way in which symb olic interactionism views human society and conduct. Symbolic interactionism is used in this study to focus on the interactions of teachers with objects in a specific context. Core to symbolic interactionist principles is a focus on social interaction and meanings that result from the process of interpreting these interactions. The significance of symbolic interactionism, according to Rosenberg and Turner (1981), is that it places emphasis on researching real-life events, such as the practice of teaching. Within an educational context, Hargreaves (1995: p.11) argues that symbolic interactionism helps clarify why teachers (and others) do what they do and that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ it addresses the practical realities rather than holding people to perspectives ideals or moral exhortation concerning human change and development. Exploring the identity of teachers who teach English in the context of this study lends itself well to the principles of symbolic interactionism, due to the highly interactive nature of the context that is rich in symbo ls: language, objects and social interactions. CORE IDEAS OF SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM As mentioned previously, symbolic interactionism emerged from the work of Mead who viewed human society differently from the traditionally held views of his time. Through his interpretation of Meads work of interpreting human society, Blumer developed three premises that characterise the fundamentals of symbolic interactionism. In his first of three premises, Blumer begins with the nature of meaning that human beings hold towards things that are socially defined. Human beings act toward things on the basis of the meanings that the things have for them (Blumer, 1969: p.2). According to Blumer, meaning is not implicit in humans at birth, instead emerges through social interactions and interpretations of those interactions. Meaning is established in communication (Mead, 1932). Blumers explanation illustrates a divergence from traditional approaches to explain meaning. By traditional, Blumer referred mainly to the fields of psychology and sociology, which were predominant at the time of his writing. From a psychological perspective, factors such as attitudes and conscious or unconscious motives were featured in attempts to understand human conduct, while sociological perspectives relied on factors such as social position, social pressures and cultural prescriptions in its attempt to explain human conduct (Blumer, 1969: p.3). According to Blumer (1969: p.3), the meanings that things have for human beings are central in their own right. That is, instead of focusing on factors that are alleged to produce behaviour, meaning is the focus of analysis itself. Th e process of meaning refers to the act of interpretation, which has implications on our understanding of human beings, human action and human association (Blumer, 1969: p.79). Blumer argues that other research traditions6 bypass a focus on meaning. It is either taken for granted and pushed aside as unimportant or it is regarded as a more neutral link between the factors responsible for human behaviour and the product of such factors (Blumer, 1969: p.3). According to Blumer, these perspectives are more concerned with the behaviour of individuals and with the factors regarded as producing the behaviour. However, while differences remain between symbolic interactionism and other research traditions, similarities are becoming more common, such as both stress the importance of language, the dynamic character of social and cultural life, and the unstable relations of difference (Dunn, 1997: p.689). The source of meaning emerges from social interactions between individuals and things within social contexts and situations. Blumers (ibid: p.3) explanation of things, or objects, reflects the down-to-earth nature of symbolic interactionism to include: physical objects (such as classrooms, office space, textbooks), other human beings (such as a wife, an officemate), categories of human beings (such as friends, management, students, native English-speaking teachers of English, native Japanese-speaking teachers of English), institutions (such as university, government), guiding ideals (such as individual independence, approach to teaching, university policy), activities of others (such as demands from management or requests from colleagues), THE APPROPRIATENESS OF SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM Symbolic interactionism is concerned with people, the meaning that people have towards things, and that these meanings are subjected to a process of interpretation within social contexts. Woods provides a convincing argument, claiming that: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the emphasis is upon the construction of meanings and perspective, the adaptation to circumstances, the management of interests in the ebb and flow of countless interactions containing many ambiguities and conflicts, the strategies devised to promote those interests, and the negotiation with others interests that is a common feature of all teaching situations. (Woods, 1996: p.7) Woods account of symbolic interaction reflects the complexity of social situations, viewing symbolic interaction as a perspective that offers flexibility to explore the mysteries of social interaction in educational contexts. Woods was attracted to symbolic interactionism because it offered the kind of intellectual equipment needed to explore some of the mysteries of social interaction in the school (Woods, 1996: p.7). This study recognises that other research perspectives are equally suitable to explore the concept of professional identity. Symbolic interaction, however, allows meanings to be explored in the richness of the context: individuals hailing from broad cultural, educational and personal backgrounds. If identity is formed through relationships and interactions in a social context, a symbolic interactionist perspective is appropriate for exploring the negotiating of identities of EFL teachers in a Japanese higher education context. The nature of teaching English in higher e ducation in Japan is highly interactive between students and colleagues within a context rich in symbols open to complex processes of interaction and interpretation. CRITICISMS OF SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM Symbolic interactionism has changed considerably since its emergence as a perspective, becoming fragmented at times as a result of conflict from different schools of thought and interpretation (Fine, 1993). It, however, is not without its imperfections or its critics, of which many emerged from within the perspective itself as well as from other research traditions. The criticisms toward symbolic interactionism were more intense earlier in its history than of late due to its perceived departure from scientific methodology that was dominant at the time of its emergence. Criticisms emerged at a time when qualitative research was seen to be unscientific, with positivist research dominating approaches to research (Meltzer et al., 1975). Rogers (1973) accused interactionists of examining human interaction in a vacuum, focusing on small-scale face-to-face interaction, with little concern for its historical or social setting. Skidmore (1975) found that interactionists failed to explain why people consistently chose to act in given ways in certain situations. While the criticisms are valid, they were made at a time when symbolic interactionism had barely established itself as a theoretical perspective. There is an argument developing that the differences between symbolic interactionism and other perspectives are narrowing (Dunn, 1997). The criticism from within symbolic interactionism is characterised by the four main schools of thought that have been identified under the umbrella of symbolic interactionism: the Chicago school, the Iowa/Indiana school, ethnomethodology, and dramaturgy. The differences are largely methodological, between preferences for more humanistic, qualitative approaches to researching social interactions and those that were more scientific and quantitative (Meltzer et al., 1975). Blumer (1969) argues the case for a distinctive methodology in the study of human behavior that made modern society more intelligible (Meltzer et al., 1975). Regardless of methodology or school of thought, however, symbolic interactionism encompasses both a qualitative and quantitative tradition, reflecting an approach that strives to understand human behavior, not to predict and control it, nor to have more statistical knowledge of it (Musolf, 2003: p.91). Kuhn (1964) argued symbolic interactionism should reflect quantitative methodology, stressing the importance of unity of method in all scientific disciplines. Reflecting on its short history at the time, Kuhn (ibid) identified a number of problems that stunted the growth of symbolic interactionism and its acceptance by other research traditions as a credible research perspective. One of the main issues was lack of scientific credibility, which characterised the schism between the two schools. Kuhn attempted to elaborate Meads view on social behaviorism in an effort to establish a theory of self that was both testable and usable. Kuhns 20-point test to measure the self reflected the leaning toward scientific quantitative methodology of exploring self. According to Dunn (1997) there are critics who claim that symbolic interactionism provides little indication of sources of meanings. While these criticisms are valid, they were made not long after symbolic interactionism emerged as its own perspective and had yet to fully utilise the way in which other perspectives have developed over the past few decades. Dunn (1997) documents recent comparisons between symbolic interactionism and other research traditions to illustrate narrowing differences and shared fundamentals, such as importance of language. Likewise, Callero (2003) argues that recent sociological approaches to self within a symbolic interactionist paradigm reflect emphases on power, reflexivity, and social constructionism. Recent literature on teachers professional identities provides evidence that symbolic interactionism has survived the criticisms to prosper and prove it to be a suitable framework for this area of research (Swann, 1987; Beijaard et al., 2000). Methods of data collection Primary data There are several types of collection methods involved in qualitative research. The Interview Method The definition of an interview is the interchange, between two or more persons, of views on a topic of mutual interest. This enables both the discussion of individual points of view, and the expression of points of view (Cohen et al., 2008.) Cohen et al. note that the interview serves three distinct purposes: 1) as the primary means for gathering information that directly affect research objectives; 2) for the purpose of either testing a hypothesis, or suggesting a new one, also, as an explanatory method for the identification of variables and their relationships; 3) for use in conjunction with other methods. The three types of interviews are: unstructured, semi-structured, and structured. The unstructured interview contains questions which are open-ended, allowing the question to be adapted, according to the intelligence, beliefs, and understanding of the respondent. These interviews are more flexible and may be used for probing issues in greater depth than the other interview types, though it can take more time and involve greater difficulty to analyse (Kidder et al., 1986.) In the semi-structured interview, both open-ended and close-ended questions are employed. This means that not all questions are designed in advance. The semi-structured interview technique has some of the advantages of the other two techniques (Kidder et al., 1986.) This technique has the flexibility of allowing the interviewer to formulate new questions during the interview, as a result of the respondents answers to previous questions. This allows the interviewer to seek additional illumination and information. The interviewer usually has a framework of themes to be explored in a semi-structured interview (Blackman, 2002.) The structured interview, also known as the standardized interview, employs closed ended questions, and a standard sequence which is used in every interview. This approach has the aim of presenting the very same questions, in the very same order, in every interviewing session, and for every interviewee. Though this approach is not very flexible, its data is more easily analysed, and is considered to be more objective (Nachmias and Nachmias, 1996.) Blackman (2002) cites three essential characteristics which can be used to distinguish between the unstructured and the structured interview. 1) A highly structured interview requires that all interviewers present the same set of questions to all interviewees, with use of follow-up questions being prohibited. 2) Structured interviews form the foundation for tighter analysis. 3) Interviewers are trained to use both a priori rules and a standardized rating form in order to strictly rate and score question responses. Researchers choose between several strategies when planning an interview, including (Thomas, 2003, p. 63): An approach of loose questioning, which is meant to elicit the respondents interpretation of a general situation or circumstance. An approach of tight-questions, using a limited number of options (e.g. Yes/no, like/dislike) to discover a respondents preferences. An approach of converging-questions. This is designed to blend the advantages of the loose method and the tight method. At first broad questions are asked, in an open-ended manner. These are followed up with additional questions to more thoroughly explore the interviewees opinions. An approach of response-guided questions. This approach includes the interviewer beginning with prepared questions, which are spontaneously follow-up by questions created as logical extensions of the given answer. This strategy allows the researcher to delve more deeply into the respondents opinions relating to the issues presented in the original question. Focus group interviews A focus group is a special type of group which has more involved as its purpose than simply getting people to have a conversation. It is special in terms of its purpose, composition, size, and procedures, which guides, through interaction, to outcomes and data (Cohen et al., 2008.) Listening to information, and gathering information, is the purpose of this interview, as well as to understand peoples thoughts and feelings about particular issues (Krueger and Casey, 2000.) Focus groups can encourage an environment which allows participants to share their points of view and perceptions without pressure. Researchers may be able to identify patterns and trends from the group discussion. This may lead to a systematic and careful analysis (Krueger and Casey, 2000.) According to Cohen et al. (2008,) focus groups are good for: Orienting to a specific field of focus. The development of topics, schedules, and themes which can be used in subsequent questionnaires or interviews. Use insights and data, collected from the group, to generate hypotheses. Producing and evaluating data relating to differing subgroups of a given population. Assembling feedback related to previous studies. Kruger and Casey (2000) specified some of the characteristics of a focus group. A focus group involves a limited quantity of participants, so that every person has a chance to share; participants should have similar characteristics, so that the researchers my accomplish the purpose of the study; collection of qualitative data, of interest to the researcher, is the primary purpose of the focus group usually to discover the range of opinions between several groups; the group must have a focused discussion; the group should ultimately help to understand the topic of interest. Researchers (Krueger and Casey, 2000; and Cohen et al., 2008) indicate that the data which is collected from a focus group may be negatively influenced by two kinds of participant: a) close friends who may inhibit free expression on a given topic; b) participants who may be difficult to join with others. For this reason, it is considered more useful when the data is triangulated by using traditional interviewing forms, observation, documentation, and questionnaires (Cohen et al., 2008.) Observation methods Observation is routinely used in everyday life (Frank, 1999,) but it is multi- faceted as a scientific method (Wajnryb, 1992.) Bohem and Weinberg (1987) stated that techniques for observation are key to the developments in the sciences, and this is because data which is collected is more likely to lead to decisions, conclusions, and new ideas. Obaidat et al (2002) made the claim that many phenomena and ideas, which are the subjects of study interviews and questionnaires, are selected because of the need to test them and understand them by field researchers. So, observation is considered a prime tool for the gaining of both information and experience. According to Cohen et al (2008,) observation enables researchers to gain understanding of the context which is being investigated, to be more inductive and open-ended, and to see certain aspects which otherwise may have been missed. It also allows for the discovery of issues that participants may not have wanted to discuss in their interviews. While observation in a social context can easily be accomplished, scientific observation may require more detailed planning, and defined recording protocols (Summerhill and Taylor, 1992.) Cohen et al (2008) refer to observations in many settings: physical, human, group or individual, gender, class, and even interaction in settings which may be formal or informal, planned or unplanned, verbal or non-verbal. Additional settings would include programme settings, such as school resources, curricula, and style. Secondary data The analysis of secondary data, involving the analysis of data collected by other institutions and researchers, will be part of the basis for this research. Additionally, by treating this undertaking with diligence and care, an efficient method or learning about research questions, which are both time saving and cost effective, will be gained. The major sources of secondary data, which are used in this research, are: Official stats. This comprises of statistics collected by various bureaus, departments, agencies, and the government. Because this information is easy to obtain and easy to comprehend, it is considered an important secondary data source. Scholarly Journals (Peer Reviewed) As they contain reports of both original research and reports of experimentation, scholarly journals are important to this study. Experts review scholarly journals in order to check their accuracy, originality, and hence relevance. Literature Review Articles these articles review and arrange original research about a particular subject of interest. For this research the researchers consulted online databases and the library, in order to find the requisite relevant pieces of data to be used in this research. Data analysis Qualitative research findings, methods, disciplinary orientation, and types of findings represent great diversity (Yardley 2000). Qualitative research has many traditions. These include, as a partial listing, cultural ethnography (Agar 1996; Quinn 2005), institutional ethnography (Campbell and Gregor 2004), analyses for historical comparison (Skocpol 2003), case studies (Yin 1994), focus groups (Krueger and Casey 2000), interviews (in-depth) (Glaser and Strauss 1967; McCracken 1988; Patton 2002;