Creating a Science Center Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Creating a Science Center - Essay Example The following information is derived from assessments that were conducted on three separate elementary classrooms. These evaluations were performed on the science centers of a Kindergarten, Third, and Fifth grade classroom. The first classroom science center that was evaluated was for a Kindergarten class at a local school. Kindergarten The Kindergarten classroom assessed had math centers and writing centers; however, no specified center for science. Even though there were several posters and charts on the wall pertaining to scientific information there were no project tables or observation areas, other than the window sill and a teacher’s work table. Several books on plants, animals, the Earth, and so forth were present; however, they were located in the same area as the other reading materials for other subjects and/or general reading. Materials such as magnifying glasses and measuring cups were in the classroom, but again, not in a specified science area. Although, the science material was minimal in this classroom and there was no science center, the student’s needs were still met by the materials that were brought in by the teacher on an â€Å"as needed†

1. What advantages or disadvantages will bring globalization to any Essay

1. What advantages or disadvantages will bring globalization to any small business To any large business To you as a citizen - Essay Example Globalisation in the 21st century is believed to have the ability to transform the political, economic and social environment of all member countries in the coming years. Thus, the paper tries to bring out the activities, both advantageous and disadvantageous, that result in general globalisation i.e. globalisation to both small and large businesses as well as citizens. This is the act of bringing together different people with different political, social and economic backgrounds and forming of one global community (Ghoshal and Bartlett, 2000). Behind the success of the process lies the economics of international trade, free market frameworks and investment. As earlier mentioned, globalisation encompasses integrating people from different settings, thus it bridges the gap between developing and developed nations as well as creates new cultural exchanges, business models, considerations and experiences within the participating nations (Ghoshal and Bartlett, 2000). The globalisation process began during World War II when Britain and USA leaders helped to establish the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) so as to encourage a capitalist world that is liberal and eliminate the Socialism and Marxism world (Nayyar 2000). Nayyar further affirms that the borrower of the loan from these organisations automatically qualified to follow the preset conditions i.e. reduce import barriers, eliminate financial backing for local-based industries, devalue their currency, put emphasis on export production as opposed to production for local consumption and reduce wages and expenditure on social wellbeing. These conditions resulted in a number of open economies developing a mechanism for integrating with other economies which led to the formation of the World Trade Organisation. Small businesses, small and medium enterprises or simply SME’s as referred to in the European Union (EU) and by other

Marketing Managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marketing Managment - Essay Example This step of strategic planning process involves strategic thinking i.e. what the firm needs to do ten to fifteen years from now. The mission is followed by analysis, which involves environmental scan this analysis is important because a business strategy should be congruent with the capabilities of the firm and its external environment. This scan involves industry and competitive analysis, company analysis and identification of competitive strategy. For analysing the industry environment porter’s five forces model is used. The rivalry among firms identifies the extent of competiveness, strength of barriers to entry, buyer power, supplier power and the threat of substitute all are analysed and listed as a part of the industry analysis. In the company analysis the present strategy is assessed based on the performance indicator and financial analysis. A SWOT analysis is conducted identifying the strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the firm. Also PEST analysis, in volving the political, environmental, social and technological changes affecting the firm, is also conducted. Lastly identifying competitive advantage involves core competency and benchmarking. Core competence is what a firm does best and benchmarking is comparing ones products and services with that of the customer in order to add any improvement to the existing product and services. After the situation analysis is the step of goals and objectives. The goal setting and objectives formation is a crucial part of the strategic process. Goals are broad target of what is to be achieved which are then translated in to more measurable, workable, achievable and specific targets know as objectives. After this step comes the grand strategy... This paper approves that studying the industry through porter’s five forces model gives a good picture of the automotive industry. The rivalry among firms in this industry is high due to the great diversity of rivals culture, slow market growth, high fixed costs and low switching costs for the customer. The threat of substitute to this industry is low because all other transportation vehicles don’t offer the same utility, convenience and independence. The industry has high barriers to entry due to high capital requirements and the specialized nature of the industry. The power of supplier is less as compared to that of the buyer. The buyer of the automotive industry is very high. This essay makes a conclusion that the goal for Volkswagen is to bring diversity and new models to their product line. The objective is to introduce newer models like the hands free driving and bring technological advancement in their product line. The corporate strategy for this company is a combination of growth and stability. The company plans to use concentration strategy and bring new models to the same customers. Also in order to grow they will maintain their sales and grow slowly out of their declining profits. The product marketing strategy for VW is affordable price car for everyone so as to increase it market share from the existing one. The company has carried out focus group researches to identify the needs of customers and develop a price that adds value to the customer purchase as a part of VW’s value proposition.

The Wages of Maturity Essay Example for Free

The Wages of Maturity Essay Joyce Carol Oates had distinctively portrayed the harmful consequences that teens may experience when they act much older than their ages. In the story â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been†, Oates tells the story of a 15-year old girl who behaves more mature than kids of her age. Oates based this story on a Life Magazine story of a young man killing several girls in Arizona and in it she clearly wants to impart that maturity has its own time and rushing it up will only lead to unfavorable things.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Such thing happened to Connie, the main character of the story, whose ways are a lot more grown-up than her 24-year old sister, June. June was simple and plain looking, whereas Connie is obsessed with her appearance and the need to always look good. Oates describes Connie to have â€Å"a quick, nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was all right† (1). She goes out with friends who possess the same behavior and together they love going to the mall, restaurants, and movies houses up until an hour before midnight. One can never see them hang out in places where girls of their age usually are. Connie thinks that the sprees of a typical teenager are boring. And that’s the reason why she goes out in places where young adults spend time. She loves mingling with older boys and her mother never approved to any of those. Connie then, covers what she is doing outside her house by acting differently when she is at home. This is how Connie gets away with her need to show others that she isn’t an ordinary 15-year old with regular hobbies. She wants to show all the people that she was somebody different – somebody far more classy and superior to others.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   At 15, Connie was adventurous and has cars and older boys enlivening her. She lives a wild and thrilling life when she’s outside. Her haven outside was the drive-in restaurant across the busy road where a lot of older kids normally hung out. It was a fly-infested restaurant, but Connie and her friends are pleased and expectant of the place as if it were a sacred building when they are inside it   (Oates 1). Connie’s love to live a mature life is exemplified by her preference for loud music and shiny cars. She chooses to talk to boys older than her when she’s inside the restaurant and ignores the ones who merely came from school. Connie is obviously caught in a world not apt for her, and she is yet to know how harmful that could be for her.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      Connie never liked family affairs because she believes her personality wasn’t apt for those gatherings. She never liked household chores and doesn’t clean even her own room. One Sunday her whole family was invited to a barbeque at an aunt’s house. Connie, being uninterested about the matter, rolled her eyes to her mother and said she’d rather stay home. And that’s when her maturity pretense is going to catch up on her. Arnold Friend, a guy whom she encountered in the same restaurant she frequents, suddenly drove into their garage in his newly painted car. He looks much older than 18 years old, which he claims to be. He is enticing Connie to come and ride away with him, together with another friend Ellie, who is to sit in the car’s back seat. Connie was more than hesitant. But Arnold is clear that she doesn’t have any other choice but to go out with him. Arnold has something inside him that was both weird and scary – and something had made Connie totally helpless with the situation. She knew she was headed for trouble, but she can’t scream or run or do anything about it because Arnold has this supernatural power of disorienting her and making her house feel like a box of carton that is unable to protect her from the harm that he can do to her. Arnold was not merely human. In him is an evil soul and his physical appearance is merely a disguise of what he really is. Connie, unable to think right and is defenseless, have no other choice but to go to him and follow.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Maturity has its wages. People come to age when the right time comes. Rushing it up doesn’t make us more mature than what we really are. Posing to be mature won’t cause people to respect us more. Instead, doing so openly shows our insecurity and vulnerability to them. And that is something they can use against us. Acting mature doesn’t make us mature. It makes us weaker than we should be.

Symbolism in Alice Walkers Everyday Use Essay -- Alice Walker Everyda

Symbolism in Alice Walker's Everyday Use History in the Making Heritage is something that comes to or belongs to one by reason of birth. This may be the way it is defined in the dictionary, but everyone has their own beliefs and ideas of what shapes their heritage. In the story â€Å"Everyday Use† by Alice Walker, these different views are very evident by the way Dee (Wangero) and Mrs. Johnson (Mama) see the world and the discrepancy of who will inherit the family’s quilts. Symbolism such as certain objects, their front yard, and the different characters, are all used to represent the main theme that heritage is something to always be proud of. The main objects of topic throughout the story are the quilts that symbolize the African American Woman’s history. Susan Farrell, a critic of many short stories, describes the everyday lives of African American Women by saying â€Å"weaving and sewing has often been mandatory labor, women have historically endowed their work with special meanings and significance† and have now embraced this as a part of their culture. The two quilts that Dee wanted â€Å"had been pieced together by Grandma Dee and then Big Dee and me [Mother] had hung them on the quilt frames on the front porch and quilted them† (par. 55) showing that these quilts were more valuable as memories than they were just blankets. The fabrics in the quilts â€Å"were scraps of dresses Grandma Dee had worn fifty and more years ago. Bits and pieces of Grandpa Jarrell’s paisley shirts. And one teeny faded blue piece, about the piece of a penny matchbox, that was from Great Grandpa Ezra’s uniform that he wore in the Civil War† (par. 55) putting forth more evidence that these are not just scraps, but have become pieces of family history. The q... ...big yard, and the characters are all symbols that have gotten the theme across that you must always cherish your heritage. Dee will go back to the city and support her more broad perspective of all blacks as Mama will stick to her tighter confines of family history. The one young lady (Maggie) that has yet to be engulfed by others opinions will be the one to press on both histories as one: When Maggie finally smiles ‘a real smile’ at the end of the story as she and her mother watch Dee’s car disappear in a cloud of dust, it is because she knows her ‘mother holy recognition of the scarred daughter’s sacred status as quilter is the best gift if a hard-pressed womankind to the fragmented goddess of the present.’ (Piedmont-Marton) This story full of symbols will carry on generation to generation because as things change so will the people and their outlooks on life.

Competitive Strategy and Competitive Advantages Essay

1- Innovation is important because it allows differentiation from competitors, manufacturing is easier and more flexible, the bar for competition is raised, and there is greater market segmentation. 2- Some advantages of technological innovation are: a wider range of products and services can be delivered to people, GDP has increased, people can communicate in every part of the world, the production of food has become more efficient, and it has yield medical treatments to improve medical conditions. The quality of life has improved. It has created new knowledge to solve practical problems. Disadvantages include: harmful pollution to surrounding communities, erosion from fishing and agricultural technologies, elimination of natural habitats, genetic modification, and antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria. 3- Many innovations projects fail to generate an economic return because it takes a long time to research and develop the innovation. Once this product comes out on the market, it has already become obsolete because a new technology is already being researched as technology is constantly changing. Also, clear strategies are not developed by a firm and poor management of the innovation occurs. Chpt 2 – Sources of Innovation 1(a) Advantages of individuals as innovators: deep understanding of their unmet needs and the incentive to find ways to fulfill them, users have no initial intention to profit from their inventions, new industries can be created. A disadvantage include lack of entrepreneurial traits. 1(b) Advantages of firms as innovators include alliances with stakeholders, absorptive capacity is built via the firm’s in-house R&D. A disadvantage is when firms collaborate with complementors, the firms produce a range of goods and the line between the firm and the complementors becomes blurred. 1(c) Advantages of universities: staff is encouraged to engage in research that may lead to innovations. If an invention is commercialized, the income is shared with the individual inventor. The disadvantage to this is the university has the sole discretion to commercialize the invention and not the inventor. 1(d) Advantages of government institutions as innovators include: the government grants innovative small businesses funding, it develops science parks and incubators. The disadvantage to this is, since the government support so much R&D and funds firms, the government spends less money on R&D as the years passes. 1(e) Non profit organizations perform their own research and development activities and also fund the development efforts of others. 2- Traits include: unconventional thinking, analytic skills, articulation of ideas, self- efficacy, tolerance for ambiguity, and a willingness to to overcome obstacles and take reasonable risks. These traits do not necessarily lead to successful inventions because the inventor may know too little or too much about the field. Also, at times the inventor may not have enough support to think creatively. 3- Firms can look at where individuals have worked before and what they have invented/created. Their past background can indicate they have potential to be more creative. 4- If a firm’s culture, structure, routines, etc supports creativity, then it can perhaps encourage creativity in individuals. These things can inspire an individual to be creative because they are being supported by their employer. Google supports creativity; the firm allows employees to have their own creative workspaces and also gives them the employees great independence. This inspires creativity. 5- Collaborative research develops relationships and networks where people can share information, resources, and ideas to develop something that is innovative. Results can be achieved better this way rather than individually. Chpt 3- Types and Patterns of Innovation 1- Some reasons are: R&D costs can be very high, the innovation can probably take years to develop, technology performance can decrease fast depending on how much effort was put into it, the new technology is threatened by discontinuous technologies, the market for the technology is not large enough, people are unwilling to adopt to the new technology, the technology does not fit in with the firm’s current abilities, and products and services relating to the new technology may be unreliable and/or expensive. 2- Well developed firms are likely to adopt to new technologies instead of developing them because new technologies does not have a dominant design. Established firms are very familiar with the dominant design and do not experiment with new technologies. Instead, the established firms focuses on new knowledge/understanding of existing technologies. It tries to improve products and make production more efficient. New entrants are eager to experiment with new technologies because they are introducing something new into the market; they can perhaps build on that to develop market share. 3- The invention of a laptop with Internet is a radical innovation. It is portable, users can access internet on the go without wires, and work can be done from anywhere. The laptop is competence enhancing as it has built the way for other technologies (e.g. tablets). 4- S-Curve technology improvement: in the early stages, the technology is not understood and effort is put into understanding the technology, when the understanding of the technology is better, improvements are accelerated. The technology begins to gain legitimacy, more improvements are made and the performance begins to increase rapidly. When the limits if the technology is reached, diminishing returns is seen. S-Curve technology diffusion: the adoption of a new technology is slow initially because people are unfamiliar with it. As the technology is better understood, it is utilized by the mass market. When the market has become saturated, the rate if new adoptions declines. 5- Customers are slow to adopt new technologies if there is no trend or demand in the market; technology changes everyday, thus improvements are faster and customers may or may no know about technological trends. If a firm develops a technology beyond the current state of the market need, it has a high competitive advantage, considered innovative ( the firm can build on this) and profit can be made. However, if there is no demand for this technology and the firm cannot penetrate the market, the firm’s costs can become very high and it will lose profit. 6- Short technology cycles: IT, software, social networking, engineering, food, music Long technology cycles: medical, auto, energy, finance, Factors: customer needs, demand, competition, markets, R&D, government, laws Chpt 4- Standards Battles and Design Dominance 1- Sources: learning effects- the more a technology is used, the better it is understood and the more efficient and effective it becomes. Performance is increased and costs are reduced because of these factors. Network externalities- the value/benefit of a good increases because other users in large numbers utilize this particular good. 2- Industries with increasing returns to adoption: Internet software/services, e-commerce, banking, security systems, social networking 3- Increase R&D research, patents, market the properly, hire the best and the brightest from all over the world, increase the industry standard and absorptive capacity, develop more complementary technologies. 4- Network externalities and the stand alone functionality 5- Consumers: yes; they can rely on one firm for the technology because the standard is high and the product is good Competitor: no; they do not have the market share, customers, or profit Complementors: yes; more profit and customers

Globalization in Australia Essay

Globalization literally means the process by which the local phenomenon is transformed into global ones where every person in the world is united into a single society and work together as dependent partners. For a country to be globalized, it has to coordinate its economic, social, cultural, political and political aspects. Basically, the term Globalization has been used to refer to only the financial aspect of Economic Globalization which is the transformation of National Economy into International Economy through Technology, Capital Flow, Foreign Investment, Migration and Trade (Hirst and Thompson, 247). According to the UN-ESCWA , the term means, elimination or minimizing of national boarders so that the flow of goods, services, capital and labor can be facilitated. As globalization continues to sweep every nation, it has had its ups and downs. While on one side it helps in opening up of new markets and wealth creation, on the other end, it is a major contributor to the world disorder and unrest. Economic globalization can be measured using mainly four economic flows:- goods and Services, Technology, Capital and Labor (Bracer and Costello, pp. 19). This essay will look at the features of Globalization in Australia, How the process is driven, the effect that it has had on political scene of the country and finally it will look at how it has affected Australian relationship with other countries. Political Perspective of Globalization Australian Globalization has taken effect on its political system, research resented in (Gupta, pp. 37) show that, apart from concerning itself with the issues of the national governments like security and economic welfare of its people, the Australian government has taken into pursuing political matters in the global arena. They have joined the member groups of known World institutions like the European Union, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization and the World Bank among others to help them in this effect. The influence of the Australian Government through these institutions has managed to transcend even beyond its boarders. By using the Central national government, many NGOs with their origin in Australia have been established to help in numerous global issues like the human right concerns, environmental concerns and civil society matters. Domestic Aspect of Politics of Globalization Globalization effect in Australia has seen the gap between the rich and the poor fall by nearly Ten Percent in less than three decades. And not only did that happen, but there was also a notable reduction in the number of undernourished children. The average life expectancy in the same period of time shot to 66 from 58 years while the infant survival per every 1000 rose to 67 from 44. As the country’s economy grows, say by for instance 10%, so do the poorest people in the country by the same margin, thanks to the liberalization of Trade and high technology(Oxley,2003). Since it started expanding, Australia has done so without any sign of recession. It has been so good in doubling the countries wealth and cutting down on unemployment. This big boom has seen the prime minister, John Howard bolster his political fortune with great confidence. The Australian market which was once an isolated market, has undergone great transformations to the point where it can comfortably take advantage of the global market. Australia’s Domestic and International Economy Australia’s economic system is one of the most open in the globe that is; in terms of foreign investment and tariffs. The positive effects of globalization to this country are numerous, some of which are; the Reduction in the transport cost, Easy communication and Cheap offshore production. While it is apparent that globalization can either bring blessings or curses, to Australia it has brought blessings in abundance, The Australian government, through the labor unions have secured great productivity gains. The labor unions which were held in a high state demanded for high pay to their members†¦ they were granted this wish and the results of it was astounding. It saw a dramatic gain in productivity (Arnoldy. pp. 13). Relationship Between Australia and other Developed and Developing Countries The relationship that Australia has had with different nations is shaped by its position as the leading nation in trade and more so its role as being a major donor of humanitarian aid. It has a strong bilateral tie with all its allies and there keen concern regarding the debated on terrorism, free trade and other economic cooperation strategies ( Croucher, pp. 10). Their active participation in the affairs of Commonwealth Nations and United Nations put them in a position of being a darling of every sovereign state. Australia has also joined several of such world organizations like the Economic and Social Funding in 1994, Security Council in 1986 and Cairns Group of Countries (to press for Agricultural trade reforms). It focuses most of its attention to developing countries like Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Brunei. On the other hand developed nations like the United States, United Kingdom, Japan and China are not left behind. Australia’s major import partners include China Japan, Germany, and Singapore while its export partners are Japan, China, New Zealand and South Korea (www. worldgrowth. org). The future of Australia seems to be quiet bright as far as globalization is concerned. If the current trend continues, then we will witness a lot more fragmentation, personal freedom, Emergence of bigger organizations and wider connectivity. Works Cited Alan Oxley. (2003) â€Å"Globalization and Australia†. Australian APEC Center, Monash from www. worldgrowth. org Retrieved on 09-02-2009. Ben Arnoldy. (2006). â€Å"Australia at the crossroads of globalization †. The Christian Science Monitor. Sydney, Australia. pp. 12-19. Bhagwati, Jagdish. (2004). â€Å"In Defense of Globalization†. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 51-87. Hirst and Thompson. (2002) â€Å"The Future of Globalization†. Published: Cooperation and Conflict, Vol. 37, No. 3, pp. 247-265. Jeremy Brecher and Tim Costello. (1994): â€Å"Global Village or Global Pillage: Economic Reconstruction From the Bottom Up†. Boston, South End. pp. 19-23. Satya Dev Gupta. (1997): â€Å"The Political Economy of Globalization†. Boston, Zed Books. pp 29-64. Sheila L. Croucher. (2004). â€Å"Globalization and Belonging: The Politics of Identity in a Changing World†. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 10.