Symbolism in The Jade Peony Essay

Symbolism is used in this story. Such like the wind chimes, the jade peony and the cat. The most significant symbol in this story is the white cat, with its red eyes, that appears outside the house. This â€Å"cat† symbolizes that grandma’s time has come, and that she must move on to her next life where she will be reunited with â€Å"the juggler†. This cat bring backs memories and old feelings she had for her lover, and is therefore a significant symbol in this story. At the end of the story the cat revels that he is the symbol of grandma’s old lover. Grandma said that the cat’s eyes were pink, and the pink was also the color of her spirit. She thought the cat was sent by her old lover to take her back. The cat was also the symbol of death. After grandma saw the cat, she was already prepared to die and refused to go to the hospital, because she was a very traditional person, the cat was to bring her back, so there was no way to stop her from dying. The symbolism also shows that the tradition of grandma. Wind chime is a symbol of freedom for the family, who together searched to find the pieces to put it back together. It represents something that can be passed down through the generations and symbolizes their Chinese culture. For example, before grandma died, she and the author made a wind chime and grandma told the author that hang it on the window, so the family will know that when she is coming back and visit the family. Grandmother treasured the jade peony, because she had lived the majority of her life in China and to her it would always be home. In addition, to the Chinese, the peony was regarded as a national flower. The same applied to jade that the historically prized was above gold and silver in Chinese’s mind. So grandmother might regard them as a symbolic reminder of their Chinese heritage and cultural roots.

Planet Organic Marketing Report

Through primary research we wish to study the marketing strategy for Planet Organic particularly in the use of interviews, questionnaires and in store visits. Having arranged an interview with the Store Manager of the Westbound Grove branch, we hope to ask questions that we feel could contribute towards our final marketing report. Through the use of the questionnaire this will give us particular help with looking into the demographics of our chosen retailer. We also expect to carry out secondary research with the help of Planet Organics newsletter, the Internet and the Planet Organic website.We will analyses newspapers such as The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian in which will enable us to view information on its retail competitors as well as general articles on organic farming. I nurturing ten process AT writing tons report we alma to nave regular contact Walt a spokesperson representing Planet Organic. This will help us gain both an informative insight into the marketing techniques and environment. To anchor our information on the micro/macro environment we will produce a SOOT analysis within our report, which highlights the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats ofPlanet Organic. 2. Micro Environmental 2. 1 Company â€Å"Planet Organics natural ethos also extends to our beliefs about health and how complementary therapies and remedies can prevent and cure illness. Nourishing our families with good wholesome home cooking combined with a complementary approach to well being is the foundation for a healthy, vital life now and for generations to come. † Renee Elliott 2000 Planet Organic is a unique supermarket dedicated to organic and other ethically sourced products.They have 4 stores spread across some of the most affluent areas of London and have a large target arrest of organic consumers looking for essentially chemical-free , fresh or minimally processed food. Their mission is to raise awareness of British farming and organic goods while fi ghting against genetically modified foods. Renee Elliott a former American wine Journalist opened her first Planet Organic store in 1995 in Noting Hill, with each restaurant containing a designated seating area where customers can purchase foods from the deli counter, offering a selection of fresh Organic Produce.The shelves in all four stores are aligned according to Meat, Dairy Products, Confectionery and Health and Beauty. When walking into a Planet Organic Store you have immediately stepped into what is set out to be like a market stall of fresh fruit and vegetables. The shop is very appealing to the eye with its color coordination and neatly stacked shelves. The smell of the fresh deli counter makes shopping in Planet Organic thoroughly enjoyable instead of the hustle and bustle that you may encounter when shopping in other supermarkets such as Testes and Kingsbury.This is why Planet Organic continue to have such a loyal sense of customer value, they want to make your food shop ping experience enjoyable and relaxing. More and more people are choosing to arches and look into eating organic food because they want to know what they are eating, the reassurance that the environment has not been harmed in the process of which their food has been produced This year Planet Organic are celebrating 1 5 years since they opened as the first organic and natural supermarket in the I-J.Planet Organic became the first Soil Association certified organic supermarket in the I-J when they first started in 1995, they were also the first to have an organic British meat and fish counter within a supermarket. I en company were also ten TLS London retailer to KICK start ongoing trend of replacing plastic bags with biodegradable bags, this has been picked up on with many other large retailers such as Waitress, Testes and Kingsbury. Planet Organic now have their own website (www. Planetarium. Com) in which consumers can purchase products online and have them home delivered.This is u seful to their loyal consumers, as unlike many supermarkets such as Waitress and Marks and Spencer, accessibility is limited due to such a limited amount of stores. The website entices customers with ‘gift ideas' and gives factual information in ‘Renee's blob (The company director of Planet Organic). In this blob she introduces ewe and innovative recipes such as ‘Soaked Cinnamon and Apricot Porridge' and ‘Parmesan Baked Asparagus', she also directly targets mothers with young children, for example what to put in their packed lunch or meals that both grown ups and children will enjoy.This blob is updated almost weekly and is full of informative and current news that makes an entertaining read. Planet Organic also send out a monthly newsletter with details of latest products, environmental and health issues and ‘Planet Organic News'. They do this to keep that close relationship that is needed between a retailer and its consumers thus creating brand loyalt y. Planet Organic is not Just a foods supermarket; â€Å"We believe the body can usually heal itself, not with medicines that often Just suppress or mask symptoms, but with natural remedies that support the body in the healing process† (Renee Elliott).They particularly specialize in herbal remedies, vitamins and minerals as well as providing consumers with organically produced cosmetics such as make up and body lotions. 2. 2 Suppliers The company sells over 27 different products within each category. Books, Vitamins, supplements, natural remedies, body, face care and make up are only a small part of the company's success. They sell organic free range eggs and organic meat (all animals are vegetarian). Planet Organic only sells natural, free range organic products. The business was the first to be part of the Soil Association Organic Standard in the I-J.The soil Association is a charity, which campaigns for planet friendly food and farming. They believe that the connection bet ween food, soil and health of people is very important, which is also very important within Planet Organic. Planet Organic are forever introducing new products into the market, by promoting conventional farming, home grown products and raising awareness about health. By sourcing organic food from sustainable producers this reduces the environmental impact of consumption of items brought through its stores.Planet Organic have a British policy on buying meat and British first for fruit and vegetables. Suppliers come from local areas in London and Planet Organic is always trying to promote local businesses. Planet Organic sources and sells seasonal produce, which therefore minimizes transport and thus the impact on the environment in which helps to reduce the carbon footprint. Planet Organic maintain regular contact with tenet suppliers Ana attend trace snows to Tina ten Test new products I nee are committed to British farmers, bakers, producers and manufacturers and continue to mainta in high standards.Planet Organic is also part of Fair-Trade, which is an organized social group that helps people in developing countries to earn a respectable wage and living. Fair- Trade also ensures that better prices are obtained, decent working conditions, local sustainability and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. Companies are required to pay sustainable prices, which must never fall below the market price. Fair-Trade helps to stop the injustice of trade; which in the sat has been unjust and discriminated against the poorest and weakest producers.Fair-Trade enables the workers to improve their position and have more control of their lives. 2. 3 Intermediaries The intermediaries, also know are wholesalers, the middlemen or distributors, are what fill out the gap between the point of production and the point of sale. They can help overcome the lack of compatibility between the suppliers and the end customers (being Planet Organic) by reducing t he number of contacts between the two. This would also help in reducing the costs of the distribution and selling.The organization must decide whether to involve an intermediary, this can be determined by its size or also whether they trust the resources and skills of the produces to successfully meet the needs of the consumer. Most often the intermediaries add value to an organization in different ways, firstly to the marketing side as long as they are effective to the producers goods and the distribution channel, as they most likely know their target market. Making sure that the goods are stocked appropriately so that the economic and life-style needs match the shoppers, for planet organic being natural, healthy, environmental friendly products.Planet Organic uses intermediaries for the majority of their products. Around 60% meaning 40% of their products are delivered directly from the suppliers. They use 4 major consolidators, The Health Store and The Tree of Life are cooperate w holesalers for natural and organic products. They are two of the leading health Food wholesalers in the I-J. The Health Store is based in Nottingham and has been trading over 76 years throughout the I-J, Ireland and Europe. A Dutch company called the Royal Weakens NV that is based in the Netherlands owns the company Tree of Life. They distribute food products throughout North America and Europe.Planet organic uses their Newcastle branch. Another 2 intermediaries used by Planet Organic are Marigold and Lingering Organic. Marigold health foods are only based in the UK and distribute their products within a 60-mile radius from their warehouse in Kings cross using refrigerated vehicles. 60% of their product lines are organic. Lingering Organic is based in New Covent Garden, London and specializes in the distribution of organic Truly Ana vegetables Language started In ten early Bus's supporting local UK Tarts however they have now growers throughout Europe and the rest of the world.Plane t Organic also has an online shopping and delivery service. Goods to their consumers bought from the website are distributed from their Westbound grove branch. They have their own van for fresh items delivered only to certain areas within London. All other orders such as non-fresh items or for delivery outside the UK are sent mainly through Parcel Force and are carbon neutral. All of their distributors from the store use echo-friendly packaging. The cardboard boxes used for packaging are 100% post-consumer recycled and are made within the I-J, even the printed ink is made from vegetables.They use gummed paper made from starch as tape, the bubble wrap is biodegradable, which is an organic material that will quickly brake down in landfill and be absorbed back into the soil harmlessly. For their fragile items instead of Styrofoam they use expanded corn, which are completely comfortable. Parcel Force is part of the Royal Mail Group, and for over 14 years there express delivery services have been covering 27 million addresses in the I-J. 2. 4 Customers We conducted a customer survey at planet organics Westbound grove branch.The main research objective of this study was to find out what type of customers shop at lane organic and why. To collect primary data a questionnaire asked customers about the main purposes of their visit. The questionnaire was made up of 15 closed questions with a pre-set list of possible answers and was conducted inside the store itself. The customers who participated in the survey completed the questionnaire in our presence. We used a convenient sampling approach and a total of 36 questionnaires were collected during a two hour time slot. We determined the size of the sample by the resources availability and the limited timescale.Due to the Westbound grove branch being the largest of the 4 planet organic stores, made it important to approach customers shopping in different sections and aisles of the store including customers sitting down and having lunch. This is so that we did not to concentrate on 1 particular type of customer who might only be shopping for 1 specific type of product. It goes without saying that the results shown in figure 1 and 2 are a clear majority. Many customers, when asked if they shopped online with planet organic, were surprised to find out that they had a website with home delivery.This also goes to how that in figure 3 only 5% heard about planet organic online, the 31% form word of mouth and the majority with 61% saw the store when passing by. The 19% of male customers were mostly with families; one man said ‘I'm only here because my wife gave me the shopping list, she's crazy for organic'. However there were a few men that were vegetarians or had special dietary needs. Figure 1 Figure 2 Hogue s Hogue 4 The results show in figure 4 that the majority of customers lived locally with 58% and secondly worked locally with 17%.The 8% who were Just visiting, did so, along with another custom er who lived around the area. The least amount of customers were tourists with only 6%, on the other hand the few tourists had specifically sort after organic products, whether planet organic had been suggested to them or searching themselves on the internet. Moving on to figure 5 and 6 below, we can point out that most customers walk (with 69%) to the store taking them generally 5 minuets or less (with 47%), where as only 3% use their private vehicles or motorbikes.This result proves to us that they are highly likely too live locally as seen once again in figure 4. Customs traveling the longest accounted for 19% though no customers travel time kook longer than 30 minuets. Figure 5 Figure 6 Results in figure 7 below show that planet organic attracts a large range of their customers between the ages of 25 and 44, Just over 60%, with 28% aged between 25 and 34 and 33% aged between 35 and 44. The minority of customers are aged between 18-24, various reasons for this were due to student life and funds, not being aware of the benefits with organic food, visiting or happen to pass by.The customers aged 65 or over stated mainly that their reason for shopping there simply because planet organic was the closest supermarket to them. Notice in figure number 8 the majority of shoppers with 36% are in pm or later mainly due to finishing work. Before 1 lam with 11%, again before work, 17% of customers shop at different times, 14% between 1 lam and pm and 22% that shop between pm and pm. Figure 7 Figure 8 Planet organic clearly appears to have loyal customers acting on the information given figure 9, customers shopping one a week with 36% and those who shop more than once a week with 25%.Very few were there as a one off with only 3%. It is obvious in figure 10 that when asked whether they visited other planet organic stores round London and if so where, the question was no with 67%, they keep to their local Westbound grove branch in Backwater. However 25% had been to the bra nch in by Darlington place Camden, 5% to planet organic in Isolation and least with 3% Mussels Hill. Looking at figure 11 the majority with 33% of planet organics customers shop at Marks and Spence's, they more or less have similar price ranges, quality food and Marks and Spence's hold a variety of free range and organic foods.Minority of customers with 6% said they shopped at Tests. Customer's second and third main supermarket choices were Kingsbury with 19% and Waitress with 22% , e believe this is mainly due to the fact that Kingsbury and Tests are conveniently close to planet organic, within the same area. Hogue Y Hogue Figure 11 Seeing as Planet Organic hold a wide range of organic, gluten free, dairy free, wheat free, vegan and vegetarian products, the question was asked whether they were vegetarian or vegan. 28% stated vegetarian, 8% vegan and 58% said neither.The remaining 6%, who stated other, had special dietary needs such as lactose or wheat intolerant. This lead to a que stion concentrating on what type of products they regularly bought from planet organic. The most popular products bought, shown in Geiger 13, with 47% were general groceries including beverages, home and household products. The least poplar products with only 6% of customers mainly bought bakery, 8% came for the fruit and vegetables, 11% for health and body care products, 22% for lunch/dinner or food on the go.Also with 6% were customers who came and bought a selection of everything. Figure 12 Figure 13 One of the most interesting questions in our opinion is the main reason why people purchase organic food. Precisely 50% of planet organics customer's motives for purchasing organic food are that they understood it is much healthier for them. They leveled that organic produce will not be full of man-made chemicals and that organic meat for example did not contain antibiotics or hormones.They also believed that organic fruit and vegetables had not been harmed by fungicides or pesticide s. Organic foods are mostly kept the same from the time they are grown until the time they are displayed in the store. Nothing is added and foods are not processed, as a result of this, for 22% of the customers this was the reason they thought organic food tasted better and believed that buying organic meant buying quality. Other customers at 9% shopped at planet organic because buying organic reduce meant being environmentally friendly.They knew that organic animals were treated better than conventional animals. There were 8% of customers who mainly needed dietary product such as gluten free, dairy free or wheat free products. The remaining 11% of customer didn't specify a reason for shopping at planet organic other than the store being the closest to them and for convenience. As seen earlier in figure 45 this category co in sides with customers that were age 60 or over. Figure 14 Overall planet organics customers were very sociable and welcoming. They liked to express their views. We also asked a 1 5th question, which entailed occupation, however instead of formulating the question into a closed question we collected each individual answer through a box question. Out of all 36 customers that participated in out questionnaire neither of them had the same occupation as another. They ranged Trot sculpture artists, Dustless consultants, pr collocates, grapnel gleaner, lecturers, site managers and antique dealers to unemployed, retired and entertainment or fashion industry workers. The male customers seemed to have creative occupations such as architects.Where as the women who shopped in the diddle of the day said they were unemployed or charity workers, this could mean they were house wives or had no necessitate making money. 2. 5 Competitors Planet Organic believes in ethical and sustainable farming, therefore the natural and wholesome food company has a highly competitive and volatile business field. We mainly believe that the key competitors for Planet Organic are actually the larger leading supermarkets who have recently expanded their companies and opened their market field to consumers who appreciate organic products.Recent statistics have confirmed that large Supermarkets are responding to their customer requests ND are making efforts to both stock organic and locally-grown produce which allows consumers to be ‘green' shoppers, choosing from locally grown, ethically sourced goods. [The Telegraph, 15th October 2007. ] The organic food market is rapidly increasing therefore the competition between supermarkets is rising dramatically. The increase of product availability and the expansion of purchaser interest in premium foods have fuelled sales.Figures illustrate that fruit and vegetables comprise to be the largest sector of organic foods and the main entry point to the market. From 2002 to 2008 organic dairy products have more than doubled in retail ales and Minute predicts that the market is set to grow by over 54%, from 2007-2 012. (Minute Report, 1st February 2008. ) Three of the major UK retail chains; Waitress, Kingsbury and Marks and Spencer are all examples of supermarkets that are direct competitors for Planet Organic.All three supermarket chains have been awarded ratings of grade B by the National Consumer Council (NC) for their stocking of environmentally friendly foods and goods. Waitress has made enormous efforts over the past years to increase their organic range and their business sales are dramatically increasing due to their quality of fresh produce. Moreover, Waitress's main target audience is middle-class consumers, which conflicts with Planet Organic as they both aim to appeal to a similar target market.Waitress offers fair trade products to consumers in order to ensure that workers in less developed countries get a fair wage and are treated in a fair manner. Likewise, Planet Organic proposes the idea of selling fair trade products, which increases the competitiveness between the two busi nesses. In addition, Waitress is known as the best chain retailer when it comes to trading practices, sourcing from I-J farmers and committing to smaller appliers allowing them to stock the largest range of organic fresh produce.Yet, sources confirm that consumers find that the fresh produce at Waitress is exceedingly cheaper than Planet Organic, which means that many customers would resort to Waitress over Planet Organic itself. However, sources did corroborate that Planet Organic do stock a high percentage of products that are not viable to find elsewhere, but the question is can we do without most of those if needs be? [Urban Path- Planet Organic Reviews, 2nd January 2008. ] Furthermore, Kingsbury is another K retail canal Tanat Is a Key competitor Tort Planet organic, as It offers ten most suitable range of organic products for their target market.Kingsbury organic range primarily focuses on goods such as fruit, vegetables, dairy products and meat. It has been shown that food sa fety scares have promoted consumers to seek greater guarantee about the value and quality of the meat they buy. Therefore, with Kingsbury stocking organic meats, profits and loyalty with customers will increase as the consumers know they are receiving produce that is fresh, making organic stores such as Planet Organic observe them as being great competitors.Kingsbury has been voted the number one organic food retailer in the UK by a panel of consumers therefore this highlights the success that the organic products have had upon the other retail stores. Kingsbury sales have significantly been increasing due to the growing popularity of its organic and premium food ranges, and Mr. King (Chief executive) implies that â€Å"Kingsbury strong quality food offer has helped it take customers away from rivals such as Tests and Sad. † [The telegraph, 20th June 2007. Moreover, this entails that Planet Organic has suffered a loss of profit due to key permeated chains increasing their pro duce of organic foods. A further example is Marks and Spencer and how they have improved there value of organic food with sales rising 48% this year, with their organic range doubling in size to almost 500 products. M&S, like Planet Organic focus on targeting the middle class audience, by producing organic food that meets the higher food standards.M&S believe strongly in sustainable farming and free range products therefore, since 2009 their entire fresh whole ducks, geese and majority of turkeys came from free range products because of response to customer requests. Similarly, Planet Organic offers the same free range assistance which again can cause rivalry between the companies. However, especially since the recession consumers have believed Planet Organic is too pricey for a regular food shop and therefore alternate to M&S as there organic produce is cheaper and still satisfies the consumers.Overall, the rising sales of organic products in larger supermarkets puts smaller food s tores I. E. Planet Organic in danger, as the smaller suppliers have to think of new ways in which they can attract there target audience to come to there shops instead of committing to the argue supermarkets. Due to the fact that all of the above UK retail chains offer a similar supplies as Planet Organic they are all seen as a psychical threat to the company. 2. 6 Publics Publics are groups that have an interest or could potentially have an impact on Planet Organics abilities to achieve their goals and objectives.The general publics are one of the groups that can have a great impact on a Planet Organic. Whether the change is positive or negative, a change in the general publics attitude can cause change within Planet Organics reputation and profitability. Another group of people ho can have an impact on Planet Organic are their employees; these are people who are employed within the company, this can range from its sales associates to the farmers. Companies that could affect Planet Organic are Fair trade, Ere sign and Organic Standards.We also found six main groups, which have a great impact on Planet organics adjectives Ana products * Soil Association * Green Providers Directory * I-J Organic Directory * Organic Food * Cycle Lifestyle * Fair Trade I nose SIX companies Include: Planet Organic support all of these companies by stocking and promoting their goods thin their store. Planet Organic also provides leaflets and details about these organizations for its consumers to find more information on, they work closely together in order to create public interest.The above companies main concerns of health implications are similar to Renee Elitist's, which is great publicity for Planet Organic being linked with them and vice versa. Organizations such as Soil Association is not funded by the government as it is a charity based company relying on donations and support from members as the public in order to continue to carry out their work. The Food Ethic Council al so retirees over 80% of organic food sold within the I-J, aiming to inform the public about the many benefits of organic food and farming, they also have a similar mission statement to that of Planet Organic.

The power of the past, Davinci Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The power of the past, Davinci - Essay Example Culture and religion are integral in shaping the way art is presented and features of the art. For instance, in Italy 1500 to 1600AD, the art presentation focused on religion and the depiction of the nature of human beings. The focus of the Italian art was on Christianity which was undergoing changes due to Protestantism which led to the development of different focus of especially on the beauty of humanity. During the era, Leonardo paintings included the last supper, virgin and child with St Anne including St John the Baptist and the Mona Lisa paintings (Kleiner 545). These paintings were oil based and mostly portrait. The influence of religion on the approach used by the artist of the era in the presentation of their ideas is evident from the type of pictures and paintings produced. Both the sculptures and painting of the era comprised of beautiful figures moving gracefully in multi-figure compositions conveying humanity and the perfection of God. The work of Davinci is not differe nt from other artists because it depicts the idea of the society. Art has an important role in the society because it shapes the ideology and customs of the society. In conclusion, Cone addresses the issue of artistic transition and use of portable materials. The art is important when evaluating the impact of material change in artwork. Therefore, artists in Europe were not influenced by the humanism approach employed in the art from Italy. Northern painters travelled to Rome and are known as Romanists.

Historical Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Historical Analysis - Essay Example These literary licenses do not majorly diminish the utility of the work as a historical record. To the contrary they condense and encapsulate British soldiers’ experiences. The book proves to be both intellectually engaging and technically satisfying, while not compromising on history. This essay will argue that while accommodating the imperatives of the novel form, Regeneration does not compromise on historical veracity. Firstly, an attractive feature of the novel is the manner in which it synthesizes real events across the realms of society, politics and the battlefield. For example, the renowned Dr. W.H.R. Rivers was the incumbent army psychiatrist at the Craiglockhart War Hospital during the war. It was true that he attended to poet Siegfried Sassoon as one of the patients. Sassoon had been diagnosed with ‘shell-shock’ - what in modern parlance would be Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). But there was a political conspiracy behind this event. Earlier, Sassoon had openly protested against the war and conscientiously objected to participating in it. Understanding the power and reach of a public intellectual like Sassoon, the powers that be sought to undermine his credibility by attributing a mental illness to him. But this would prove to be a blessing in disguise in retrospect, as Sassoon was able to mentor and inspire Wilfred Owen at Craiglockhart, where the latter was recuperatin g from war-related stress. Indeed, Owen would go on to overtake Sassoon as a legend of war poetry. These are real historical events that have shaped twentieth century culture, especially literary and political discourse. They have all been faithfully captured by Barker in her novel, albeit by taking some liberties over certain descriptive aspects of these events. In terms of shortcomings, Regeneration does not serve as a detailed biographical account of Sassoon’s or Owen’s life. Certain important facets of their

Origins of the Fortune Cookie Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Origins of the Fortune Cookie - Essay Example Increasingly, fortune cookies have been understood as having been introduced by the Japanese, made popular by the Chinese but enjoyed largely by the Americans in the numerous Chinese restaurants in the U.S. all over the world, the cookies are known by their English term â€Å"fortune cookies†.However, there is no consensus on any particular Chinese name for the cookies since the Chinese merely have several literary transitions of the English â€Å"fortune cookie† such as â€Å"good luck lot cookie† or â€Å"fortune words cookie†. Fortune cookies are a major cultural symbol in the American society, inspiring several other products such as fortune-cookie-shaped jewelry and the fortune-cookie-shaped magic 8 ball among others.There are nearly 3 billion fortune cookies manufactured each year, many of which are consumed in the U.S. and the leading manufacturers of the cookies are the Brooklyn-based firm Wonton Food Inc.It is an indubitable fact that America has more Chinese restaurants than McDonald's, Burger King, and Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets, in Lee’s words, which shares insights on the history of Chinese cuisines in the country. In her book, Lee advances the argument that despite popular belief, a vast proportion of what is commonly known as Chinese food is all American and little is known about them back in China.In that respect, it logically follows that common cuisines such as beef with broccoli (an Italian vegetable), egg rolls, General Tso’s chicken, chop suey, and fortune cookies are all American foods.

Building and Sustaining School culture Research Paper - 1

Building and Sustaining School culture - Research Paper Example In addition, it also discusses the inherent suppositions held by staff members coherent to the customs of schools. Creating awareness of culture within school settings can trigger scholars and tutors to take on tasks that promote growth. A school is an organization that has its own principles, values and norms. Culture is not a distinguishable aspect of a school setting. A school culture encloses teachers developing their attitudes and impacting their conclusions and deeds. Culture manipulates all facets of a school, as well as such aspects as teacher’s dressing, what the teachers talk about during their breaks, how the teachers decorate their class rooms and the teacher’s stress on definite facets of the program of study. This research paper will focus on the factors that can help in building and sustaining school culture within school settings and institutions and the key players. Sarason (1996) refers culture within a school setting as the set of beliefs and values coherent among the school leaders in steering the school, and interpreted by the students into proper conducts and armored through installation of discipline. School cultures are formed and transformed over time. Needless to say, there is a broad correspondence among authors and scholars on how school cultures reacts to and replicates community attributes held by the students. For this reason, school culture can be expressed as the air we breathe. It is hardly noticeable. Moreover, it also typifies the traits and values of its leaders (Sarason, 1996). School culture is a dynamic aspect that is continuously â€Å"being constructed and shaped through dealings with other and replications on life and the world in general† (Sarason, 1996, p 27). Culture in school grows as â€Å"teachers associate with each other, students and the community† (Barth, 1990, p. 123).Sarason (1996) argues that it â€Å"becomes the guide for behavior shared among members of the school at large†

A new challenge for Trnscraanial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Essay

A new challenge for Trnscraanial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) - Essay Example TMS is a procedure which induces magnetic fields to initiate the activities of the brain. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation is based on electromagnetic induction. When compared to the other medical procedures, TMS is safe as it does not cause any side effects. Similar to the concept of electrical and magnetic fields, a stimulating coil is used to treat the affected part of the human brain. The instrument used in TMS is generally designed in such a way that the current flows from both the direction. This ensures that they converge at a particular point where the current from both the sides come to a direct contact. This instrument is placed on the area near the cortex and electrical ray passes through the scalp through the skull. Then this ray reaches the intended area below or above the cortex of the brain. TMS is performed to stimulate the functioning of the brain by stimulating the neurons. Neurons in the human brain perform the activity in a serial fashion. This neuronal activity might get disturbed and TMS is done to enable the neurons to work in a normal manner. (Gerlach, 2007). TMS is generally used when people have problems like memory issues, vision disorders, movement disorders and depression. As TMS stimulates the neurons as well as the other important nerves in the brain, it is effective in treating any sort of mental or physical disorder. TMS can be combined with any other magnetic imaging techniques to get a clear cut picture of a person’s disorder. Picture of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (Depression Treatment, 2010). Benefits of TMS Psychological problems like depression often leave the patient in an agitated state. It has been proved that TMS reduces the level of agitation to a greater extent. People affected by memory problems, concentration issues and problems with paying attention to a particular task. (Desmond, 2006). It is declared as one of the most effective method in treating depression. TMS eradicates the need for relapse as the patients respond to the treatment even during the first week of the treatment phase. This eventually reduces the need for treating them for a longer time. The effects are more as the magnetic rays target the cortex; the neurons near the cortex also get activated. This stimulates the neurons that evoke the activity of other parts of the body. Patient with movement disorder can easily recover as the motor cortex of the brain is automatically activated. (Belmaker, 2007). The functioning of the muscles can also be activated by placing the instrument at a particular place where the respective neurons reside. TMS is also effective in treating other problems like ADHD. ADHD Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is mostly found in children and these children suffer from inattentiveness. Patients diagnosed with ADHD might also have problems like depression, behavioral problems and other disorders. (Levy, 2001). They exhibit inattentiveness to any sort of an activity and might h ave difficulty in concentrating on a particular task. Adults affected by ADHD are generally disorganized and they find it difficult to complete a task within the stipulated time. Forgetfulness is also a symptom of ADHD. (Wender, 2000). Some people suffer from emotional disorders as they do not have the ability to deal with frustration. Certain regions of their brain often showed delay in the process of growth and development. The ability to concentrate

From the streets to the libraries Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

From the streets to the libraries - Assignment Example History is important as it gives the people who relate to it a cultural identity. Among the major cons of this genre is the vulgarity of the language and too much sex and violence. It raises a conflict. Critics challenge the ill manner in which the genre strives to air the message. Vulgar language, sex and violence is purported to impact the readers and giving it a lot of priority erodes morality. It is also not ideal for people of tender ages as it exposes them to graphic sex and violence too soon. Therefore, it does not suit all ages or the conservative people. I support this statement. Basically, Miller means that the only concern is that people read and therefore have the chance to benefit from the lessons. This dismisses the claim of inappropriate ways of delivering the message. Despite having graphical sex, violence or vulgar language, what matters is the conclusion rather that the language, sex or violence. Given the nature of urban lifestyle, it is inevitable to include the inappropriate details. However, using the inappropriate details to deliver a strong message after reading is the main agenda. The authors of this genre get their work published by their own publishing companies that they have started. In addition, the popularity of the genre had persuaded other publishers to accept publishing urban fiction works. The popularity of this genre emerged from increased acceptance by libraries. Librarians began bringing them to the libraries where people would be interested in them (Barnard 1). The popularity of best sellers in this genre increased interest from people. There are lessons from urban fiction. They are not only real and interesting but also have a valid reason for their popularity. This genre proves useful and it deserves the audience it continues to enjoy. By addressing the real issue in the society, this genre keeps people aware at all times. They can live accordingly. It also impacts the

Phase 4 Individual Project 4 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Phase 4 Individual Project 4 - Coursework Example The first step would be to develop or at least design various initiatives that might help the local community. This way the company will show the acknowledgment of its role in the setting where it operates and will act accordingly (Mullerat, 2005). Furthermore, it will make connections with other companies in the local scene and this way becomes an integral part of the setting. The next step should focus on the environmental problems that the community experiences. There are several reasons for that. First of all, it is rather difficult to find a community that does not have environmental problems; that is why it often becomes one of the major concerns on the local level. Secondly, by paying its attention to the environmental problems of a community, a company will show its commitment to stay in it for quite a long period of time. The next step that a company should perform to improve its image is to become a role model for other, smaller companies. By doing so, the former will show that it is willing to cooperate and become a valuable contribution to the local scene. Of course, this step requires existence of successful programs that will inspire others. This might be regarded as a motivation for successful completion of the projects. Indeed, it is rather difficult to improve ones image without playing an active role as a leader. The last step should focus on explaining that the environment interest of the local community prevails over corporate interests of the company. This is a sure way to show commitment to sustainable development which is highly praised by the contemporary companies (Pearce & Barbier, 1990). This will be a statement which says that a company does not employ the old ideology of maximizing the return on investment at any cost, but acknowledges its potential impact on the local level, including the environment. Having examined all the points which were mentioned in

Benchmarking Microarchitecture Using Software Research Paper

Benchmarking Microarchitecture Using Software - Research Paper Example 327). These are defined by many parameters such as the instructions set, the instruction encoding and the rules for using these instructions. Some of the rules are mnemonics addressing modes and functionality. The details at this level are invisible to the user. This is known as abstraction. The implementation of MIPS is borne on the platform of Reduced Instruction Set Computers (RISC). Validation and Verification Validation in system design is concerned with the confirmation that the goals set are the right ones. This is to enable the proper implementation of the project. Validation is usually done during several different stages of development. It is essential at each level because it ensures that the preceding level is valid before proceeding to the next one. Validation is achieved in different ways. In the micro architecture, use of test inputs and checking on the result is the most common way of validation and verifying the system. So, before the development of the I/O functions , an algorithm is used to test various features if the microsystem. The benchmark program checks for the validity of many features of the micro architecture and verifies some of the features (Patterson, p. 47). Some of these features of the microsystem are illustrated below. The benchmark program used generates a quadratic residue from the integer inputs used by the algorithm. This program checks for functionality of different features mostly in computation. This is because it is the most important feature of the design. The instruction that will be fed into the system will need to be computed consistently. This makes the feature the basis of the design. This computation results in the output of the residue problem used. The program can be altered by using different quadratic residue problems to check for consistency in the system. This is also good for checking the range of values that the program can accept as input and compute without crashing. This is vital because then the desi gners can tell whether the system can accept the range of inputs specified in the requirements. They can also check whether it will need reprogramming. During this kind of testing, sometimes, wrong inputs are put to check how the system will react to them. The system should be able to handle wrong inputs without devastating consequences that will lead to system failure. The users are likely to enter wrong inputs from time to time and their handling should be factored in the design. The use of an 8-bit feedback register shows that the system has functionality for feedback. Feedback is described as the process where the system uses the output generated from a process as input for the same or a similar process. This is common in scenarios where complex computations are performed. These computations require the output of a process to be used as input. If this value has not been generated correctly, the system is likely to encounter an error. This is another feature, which is checked by the system. The application of this feedback is handled using a register. There are several other methods used for feedback systems such as logic circuits, but they are all used interchangeably. The program also has an increment functionality. This functionality is used to increase the value in the counter. The counter has many uses in the system, but is mostly utilized in checking the number of times a program performs a certain function. The increment functions increase the value

Study of Teachers Essay Example for Free

Study of Teachers Essay Teaching profession is always looked up as a noble and respectful occupation because the teachers impart knowledge for the nation. Something cliche, without them there would not be any doctors, engineers, astronauts, politicians and the list goes on. However, how many people realise that there are countless of obstacles in becoming an effective teacher? I will be discussing on todays apparent phenomena that involves the reality in teaching in our very own beloved country, Malaysia. Teachers face challenges in the school when they do not receive co-operation from the parents. It is obvious that parents support can be shown through the simplest action of attending the schools Parent Teacher Association meeting, providing generous amount of financial support for school fund, and supporting the effort of the school towards betterment. However, lately it has been reported in the national mass media about parents complaints and dissatisfaction towards teachers approach in punishing their children. The issue that raised their concern involved the way teachers exert punishment at school. In fact, some of them lodged police report and even filed a law suit on teachers. Compared to the good old days, parents allow teachers to apply any kind of punishment towards their children so they would be well educated and disciplined. Besides, there are parents who complain when they need to provide extra support which usually involves little amount of money to improve the quality of their childrens education at school. In addition, disciplinary problem, which is not a tale, really happens in school and the people who are involved are the students. Therefore, all of us have to be alert of students disciplinary problems that are becoming uncontrollable because students go to the extreme when they are involved in truancy, gangsterism, vandalism, attitude problem, disrespectful and other critical unthinkable behaviour problems. Parental guidance is very important because a child naturally observes and imitate the adults actions. However, when the students are at school, the adults who these teenagers are with are the teachers, while the parents attend work or complete house chores. It is relevant to add that peer pressure also adds up to the present disciplinary problems because they are easily influenced at this stage where they are in search for self-identity. The students who are less concerned about gaining knowledge usually lose their main objective of attending school. I will not say that their actions reflect their parents attitude and behaviour for this one reason. In my opinion, some overinvolved or uninvolved parents do not really know their children. The students wear different masks at home and at school, which means that they behave differently at home and at school. Hence, teachers are to be solely blamed when their children are punished or shall I say, literarily abused by the teachers when they commit disciplinary problem. How funny is that? If parents themselves are not convinved of the capability of the school as a whole, it is certainly impossible to successfully improve our countrys education system. The question to be asked here is why are the parents behaving weirdly? In relation to the countrys effort towards paradigm shift and global thinking, it is indeed surprising to witness some citizens who still lack of general knowledge and self-awareness although our country has been independent since year 1957. Anyhow, I am not 100% blaming the parents for this happening but these are some of the truths in our developing country. The next point is that being a teacher requires the person to be physically and psychologically ready to carry the idealistic image of a teacher. Once a person is a teacher, he or she is automatically seen as a role model. In other words, the teachers have to fulfill the expectations and demands from the public in terms of the specific way that teachers should behave, present themselves, and to some extent, pretend to be the figures that they are expected to be. Believe it or not, it happens. Practice what you preach made a discipline teacher at my previous school trimmed his hair until there was almost completely none because he wanted to show the right example to the fellow students. People should bear in mind that teachers are homosapiens that live like others of their kind. It means that they have their own daily routines to deal with such as themselves, family, friends, society and the environment. In this case, a teacher is always a teacher no matter if he or she is inside or outside the educational settings. Teachers are usually aware of the roles that they will play once they have decided to end up in this profession. Therefore, even if the teacher does not want it to happen, they have no other options but to accept the fact that they are public figures, in a way or so. It is not so bad afterall because teaching is very rewarding once the teachers discover that their students excel in their academics and succeed in their life as individuals who are able to contribute to the community. It would take years and centuries for an effective teacher to be forgotten by the students, considering their performance at school. Teaching should never be a last resort for desperate unhired post-graduates who are job hunting nor does it should be seen as a relaxing job because of the short working hours compared to other government professions. For example, the Malaysian government has introduced the Post-Graduate Teaching Course (Kursus Perguruan Lepasan Ijazah) to train the post-graduates for the teaching world. So now the questions are, What makes us so sure that they are really interested in teaching? and Are effective teachers born or made? . There are certain qualities and favourable types of personality that teachers should possess. I did a research on how students view teachers personality and classroom management in Malaysian secondary school. It was found that 90 out of 115 respondents (78%) mentioned that they are able to notice when teachers are not interested to teach in the classroom. Majority of the respondents agreed that they are able to do so by looking at teachers’ facial expressions and teaching style. In my personal opinion, we should never just let any individuals without sufficient knowledge and suitable personality to be a teacher. Students are not guinea pigs that should be constantly used in this kind of experiment, because this would imply a bad perspective on the teaching profession itself. Furthermore, students are able to think for themselves. If our education sector lacks of quality manpower in the teaching profession, try looking again because there are many other qualified candidates who are sincerely wanting to work with the children genuinely. Next, where on earth do people get the idea that teaching is a getaway or escapism to a more relaxing occupation. Todays teachers are not like yesterdays teachers, I am not being judgmental but it is apparent nowadays that teachers carry more responsibilities or burden, depending on how they perceive their tasks. Furthermore, they do not just have to teach but they  are given other responsibilities in the school administration too. I could still remember having a separate conversation with two different teachers in a school during practicum. The first teacher mentioned that teaching has now become the second importance for her after other school related activities because she has to handle co-curricular activities, school administrative work and other workloads. The next teacher who will be retiring in a few years mentioned that her passion level for teaching has decreased for the increase of new responsibilities in school other than teaching. Moreover, in todays globalisation world, teachers are required to get in touch with new technology, new knowledge and new skills to be incorporated in the classroom as well as for self-improvement. An example would be the ability to utilise the computer and the internet resources to assist them in teaching. They are very fortunate because the government is also providing them with free laptops to assist them in their work, and hopefully they are able to utilise them to their fullest. Several years ago, my friend whose mother is a teacher asked for my clarification if I really want to take up the teaching course because from her observation, all her mother does was basically routine work. Besides that, a tuition teacher expressed his surprise when I told him the same thing. Previously, I mentioned that teaching is indeed a noble job, and now whats with this clarification and surprise? It is not so bad afterall, isnt it? Maybe it should be mentioned over and over again that once a person becomes a teacher, he or she does not need to dream too much in changing the system. After few years they will be going with the flow and if they survive, thank God, whereas if they drown, just follow the light at the end of the tunnel. In other words, teachers still have to follow what the Ministry of Education has planned for the schools. In my Professional Development class discussion, I found out that not many educators are up there in the ministry to implement the changes and development in education. I think that we need real people who deal with the real school experience to be making the decisions in improving the school system. There was once an issue about placing the Excellent Teachers (Guru Cemerlang) in the Ministry of Education because it would shake the performance of the students and the school once they left. They should then be remained in the same school to benefit the teacher and students by sharing their ideas, experiences and knowledge so that they can improve. I hope to see that my country has a well structured plan that is workable, so that precious time for planning is saved and the people can start progressing instead of lagging behind, wondering about the already knowns. We have built the tallest building, became the best host for the Commonwealth Games, we claimed ourselves as a global community and there is no doubt that we should be able to improve our approaches in improving the educational system. In conclusion, teachers in Malaysia still face many kind of obstacles in this profession. In fact, teachers from all around the world might face the similar obstacles in the profession. The responsibilities, expectations, issues and happenings that relate to teachers really exist. Teachers play an important role in the society thus, everyone in the country should be aware of their contributions to the improvement of our national standard of education. Innovations IN THE CLASSROOM Efforts to make learning more interactive and more fun for students appear promising, but it may be too soon to judge if they are positively impacting childrens performance in standard tests and surveys. Meanwhile, teachers complain that these efforts have added to their already heavy burden. Padmalatha Ravi reports. 11 January 2007 The census of 2000-01 showed that the dropout rate from schools in Karnataka stood at 10. 5%. One of the main reasons cited for the dropouts was that teaching methods used in the schools are archaic, and do not sufficiently motivate students to remain in class. Educationists say that in addition to outdated teaching methods, inadequate teaching learning material (TLM) and laboratory equipment are also factors that contribute to dropouts. Taking heed of these observations the state government decided to revamp the education system in the state-run schools. Educationists and teachers were roped in to devise new teaching methods. An interesting curriculum, along with interactive learning, was the new mantra adopted. Chaitanya a special programme to train the teachers in adopting new interactive teaching methods, was designed. Chaitanya was an extension of the Nali Kali or joyful learning programme that was tested successfully in some of the schools in Heggadedevana Kote taluk in Mysore. Nali Kali was a collaborative effort of the state government and UNICEF. Both these programmes stress interactive learning methods. The teachers use colourful charts and stories to explain concepts from the textbooks. Picture: Students listening to a radio programme in a government school in Hebbagodi, near Bangalore. More than 50,000 teachers have undergone training under the Chaitanya programme in the last four years. Both primary and higher secondary students have benefited as a result. Dr. T Padmini, a retired Head of the Department of Education at Mysore University, who was part of the Chaitanyas design team says The states intended curriculum is very well designed, so what we needed was a child friendly way of teaching it. Boring teaching methods can cause cumulative deficiencies of interest in children, which may lead to dropouts. The Chaitanya programme teaches teachers to use stories, songs and even drama to teach concepts. Alongside government action, NGOs too are leading from the front in interactive learning. Pratham, in Mysore, is promoting Universal Elementary Education (UEE) by partnering with the Department of Public Instruction. The organisation works with government schools in the slums of the city. They run Balawadi and Balasakhi programmes in these areas. The Balawadi programme prepares children for formal education using play-way methods, ensuring the children enjoy their school-going experience. Balasakhi is a remedial education programme, in which the NGO appoints a special teacher at the government school who aids the children in learning languages and mathematics using the special packages developed by Pratham. The government also introduced the trimester system to reduce the burden on the students. †¢ An instruction set for teachers Mr. Chandrashekar, principal of government higher secondary school in Mysore says Prathams intervention has been very useful for us. The children have fun learning Kannada and arithmetic and because of that it becomes easier for us to teach them what is in the syllabus. The children too like the new way of learning. Salman, a Class 4 student from Mysore, says addition and subtraction is more fun now. Earlier I was scared of arithmetic problems. The language kit developed by Pratham along with Dr. Padmini is hot favourite among parents too. They say it is especially helpful to students who dont speak Kannada at home but have to learn it in school. The new method however is not without problems. Teachers say it has increased the burden on teachers. Meera Bai, headmistress of Sri Ramakrishna Education Society, Bangalore says It is true that the new method is good for students but we have to spend a great deal more time on preparing for the lessons and evaluating them. Giving individual attention becomes very difficult when there are more than 40 students in each class. Why is India still a developing country and what is stopping it from being a developed country? This particular question strikes me every time when I read something about India’s education system. I see India’s education system as a stumbling block towards its objectives of achieving inclusive growth. Let me inform you about certain startling facts. India is going to experience a paradox of nearly 90 million people joining the workforce but most of them will lack requiste skills and the mindset for productive employment according to a report in DNA. India has about 550 million people under the age of 25 years out of which only 11% are enrolled in tertiary institutions compared to the world average of 23%. I wouldn’t be laying too much emphasis on the drawbacks of India’s public education system because it has been an issue well debated over in the past and the main flaws have already been pointed out before. I will be focussing on how the education system’s failure is leading to another social issue of income inequality and hence, suggest certain policies to improve India’s education system and reduce inequality. The really critical aspect of Indian public education system is its low quality. The actual quantity of schooling that children experience and the quality of teaching they receive are extremely insufficient in government schools. A common feature in all government schools is the poor quality of education, with weak infrastructure and inadequate pedagogic attention. What the government is not realising right now is that education which is a source of human capital can create wide income inequalities. It will be surprising to see how income inequalities are created within the same group of educated people. Let me illustrate this with the help of an example: Let us take P be an individual who has had no primary or higher education. His human capital is zero and hence it bears no returns. Let Q be an individual who completed his MBA from S. P Jain college and let R be an individual who completed his MBA from IIM Ahmadabad. The average rate of return for an MBA student is 7. 5% (hypothetical). Q gets a rate of return of 5% and R gets a rate of return of 10% due to the difference in the reputation and quality of the management school. Let the income of P, Q and R be 1. In a period of 10 years, P will be having the same income as he does not possess human capital. For the same time period Q will earn an income of (1+0. 05)^10=1. 63 and R will earn an income of (1+0. 10)^10=2. 59. Now lets see what happens when the rate of return on human capital doubles. Earnings of P will not change since he does not have any human capital. Now Q is going to earn (1+0. 10)^10=1. 63 and R is going to earn (1+0. 20)^10=6. 19. Flabbergasting! As soon as return on human capital increases proportionately income inequality increases. With return on human capital doubling, Q’S income increases by 59% and R’s income increases by 139%. The above example just shows the effect of the quality of human capital n income inequality. So if the government does not improve education system particularly in rural areas the rich will become richer and the poor will get poorer. Hence, it is imperative for the government to correct the blemishes in India’s education system which will also be a step towards reducing income inequality. Certain policy measures need to be taken by the government. The basic thrust of government education spending today must surely be to ensure that all children have access to government schools and to raise the quality of education in those schools. One of the ways in which the problem of poor quality of education can be tackled is through common schooling. This essentially means sharing of resources between private and public schools. Shift system is one of the ways through which common schooling can be achieved. The private school can use the resources during the first half of the day and the government school can use it during the second half. It is important to remember that the quality of education is directly linked to the resources available and it is important for the government to improve resource allocation to bring about qualitative changes in the field of education. Common schooling is one of the ways in which government can use limited resources in an efficient way and thus improve resource allocation. Another reason for poor quality of education is the poor quality of teachers in government schools . Government schools are unable to attract good quality teachers due to inadequate teaching facilities and low salaries. The government currently spends only 3% of its GDP on education which is inadequate and insufficient. To improve the quality of education , the government needs to spend more money from its coffers on education. Most economists feel that the only panacea to the ills of the public schooling system is the voucher scheme. Under the voucher system, parents are allowed to choose a school for their children and they get full or partial reimbursement for the expenses from the government. But however, the voucher system will further aggravate the problem of poor quality of education in government schools. Such a system will shift resources from government schools to private schools. This will worsen the situation of government schools which are already under-funded. Moreover, if the same amount given as vouchers can be used to build infrastructure in schools then the government can realize economies of scale. For example- The centre for civil society is providing vouchers worth Rs 4000 per annum to 308 girls. This means that the total amount of money given as vouchers is Rs 1232000. If the same amount can be used to construct a school and employ high quality teachers who are paid well then a larger section of the society will enjoy the benefit of education. A school can definitely accommodate a minimum of 1000 students. I hope government takes certain appropriate policy measures to improve the education system otherwise inequalities are going to be widespread and India’s basic capabilities will remain stunted. Let us strengthen the case for a stronger education system. High School Teacher Requirements Prospective high school teachers should enroll in a bachelors degree program in secondary education with an area of concentration in the subject that they wish to teach. Alternatively, aspiring high school teachers may major in their content area and minor in secondary education. Most undergraduate programs in secondary education prepare students for licensure in the state in which the program is accredited. Students usually complete a student teaching requirement as part of the curriculum. High school teachers instruct students in subjects such as mathematics, history, English and science through classroom discussions, lectures and other methods. Also known as secondary school teachers, high school teachers evaluate a students progress in a subject through examinations and coursework. An individual interested in becoming a high school teacher needs to be proficient not only in the subject matter, but also in the administrative and technological aspects of the classroom. Teachers should also be able to communicate effectively with parents, students, and other staff members. Listed below are common requirements for becoming a high school teacher: Common Requirements Degree Level Bachelors degree* Degree Field Secondary education with a minor in subject area teaching or  major in subject area with a minor in education (also sometimes called a teacher education program). * Licensure and Certification Secondary or high school certification; private schools dont require licensure* Experience Student or mentorship teaching to obtain licensure* Key Skills Passion and a dynamic approach to the subject matter; ability to retain names; flexible teaching approaches specified to each students needs; coaching and development techniques; high level of organization*** Computer SkillsMaintaining a website and/or managing online discussion boards may be required**; instructional and video editing software*** Technical Skills Proficient in use of films/slides, overheads and other projectors and/or video cassette players and recorders, as well as photocopiers, scanners and other commonly used office equipment*** Additional Requirements Background checks Sources: *Teach. org, **U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ***O*Net Online. Step 1: Complete a Bachelors Degree and Teacher Preparation Program State requirements or preferred degree programs can vary. Generally, students will complete a major in the subject area they intend to teach with a minor in education or with concurrent enrollment in a teacher preparation program. However, some schools have students major in secondary education and minor in the particular subject area in which they plan to teach. Whether a student is enrolled in a teacher preparation program or another type of education degree, they generally complete a student teaching or mentorship teaching component in the program. Success Tips: Participate in internship and student teaching opportunities. Most teacher preparation programs (and their varying forms/names) include student teaching; however, there will likely be additional opportunities to gain field experience or complete volunteer work through the school or community. Students should consider these opportunities to gain an understanding of the subject matter as well as to round out and populate their resume for obtaining positions after graduation. Become a tutor. Students who show a proficiency in subject areas, demonstrated by grades in related classes and cumulative GPA, are likely eligible to tutor these subjects through the school or university. These positions are often paid and students can specialize in one subject area or tutor in several. Complete an alternative teacher program if applicable. Alternative teacher programs generally take 1-2 years to complete and are available to students who already possess a bachelors degree that is closely related to the subject area in which he or she wishes to teach. This can be an expedited route to begin teaching for students who already hold a relevant bachelors degree. Step 2: Earn Teaching Credentials  After bachelors degree attainment, there are additional exams and requirements necessary to complete in order for a student to obtain his or her initial teaching credentials. These also vary by state. Generally, the student will have a basic skills exam in addition to an exam specified to the subject in which they intend to teach. These test scores in conjunction with transcripts showing completion of the bachelors degree and teacher prep program as well as state and federal background checks must be submitted with a completed application to the State Board of Education. States also require teachers to complete several requirements to obtain permanent credentials. This can include additional coursework, exams and tests. Some teachers may be required to earn a masters degree, as well as a minimum amount of teaching experience. Success Tips: Complete additional coursework requirements online. There are online and hybrid online/on-campus courses available to complete state requirements for permanent credentials. This includes masters degree programs. Use development resources. Most teachers associations offer programs that teachers can utilize to gain additional teaching techniques and other skills in addition to staying current on technology commonly used in the classroom. Step 3: Pursue Voluntary Certification  According to the BLS, pursuing additional credentials, such as those offered by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), can increase job prospects for teachers. The NBPTS offers the National Board Certification, which is an advanced teaching credential. These certificates are available in a variety of areas, including health, library media, mathematics, physical education and science, for secondary teachers. Teacher workload In high schools, it is important to consider not only the number of students per class but the nature of the class, and the subject the teacher is teaching. For example, a math teacher might have no problem teaching an advanced math class, or several math classes, with 35-40 students. But an English teacher teaching four classes of 40 students would probably not be able to give the proper attention to written assignments from that many students, and might not give as many assignments because of the large number of students. Team teaching Some schools might have classes of 40 taught by a team of two teachers. The class size by itself is not necessarily an indication of the attention students are getting. Volunteers Some schools effectively use parents and upper-grade students as volunteers in the classroom. This type of instructional help may not appear in a schools data about class size. Teaching Methods in Indian Schools. An understanding of modern less formal methods of teaching is greatly needed in the Indian Service. Indian schools should at least reach the level of better public schools in this respect. This is especially necessary because the best modern teaching, especially with young children, takes into account the kind of personality problems that are basic in the education of Indians. Need for Knowledge of Modern Methods. Although there are some striking exceptions, principals and teachers in Indian schools as a rule are not acquainted with modern developments in teaching, though educational leave has brought some improvement. The impression a visitor almost inevitably gets upon entering the classroom of an Indian school is that here is a survival of methods and schoolroom organization belonging in the main to a former period. The nailed-down desks, in rows; the old-type recitation; the unnatural formality between teacher and pupil, the use of mechanistic words and devices, as class rise ! , class pass!; the lack of enriching materials, such as reading books and out-of-doors material, all suggest a type of school-keeping that still exists, of course, but has been greatly modified in most modern school systems, if not abandoned altogether, as the result of what has been made known in the past twenty-five years about learning and behavior. This condition is, of course, only what one would expect from what has already been said about personnel. If methods of teaching in Indian schools, with a few conspicuous exceptions, are old-fashioned, without, for the most part, the redeeming quality of thoroughness that some of the old-time teaching is supposed to have had, it is due almost entirely to the lack of training standards and professional personnel. An encouraging feature of the situation is that here and there one does find interesting and successful efforts to get away from the formal and routine in teaching; a first-grade teacher trained under Montessori getting a delightful spontaneous activity out of her little Indian children; young college women coming back from a summer-session demonstration school touched with the newer way and struggling to put the new ideas into practice; Still other teachers using the Indian interest and talent in art to give Indians a creative opportunity; a principal and group of boarding school teachers demonstrating that Navajo children, proverbially so shy that they hang their heads and will not speak in the presence of visitors, can in a few short months, with the abandonment of the stiff furniture and stiffer military routine characteristic of government boarding schools, become as lively human beings as any white children. These suggest the possibilities if personnel can be improved, if teachers can be helped by supervisors and staff specialists who know better methods, and if every effort is made to keep the education of the Indian in the stream of modern education development instead of isolated from it. Study of the Individual Child. Perhaps the most characteristic fact about modern education is the attention given to study of the individual child and the effort to meet his needs. This is the real justification for intelligence testing and for the whole measurement movement. Given more knowledge on the part of the school and teacher of the health of the child, of his abilities, of the home conditions from which he comes, it should be possible to help him more satisfactorily to capitalize on what he has for his own sake and for the sake of society. So little measurement work has been done in government Indian schools that one danger in the measurement movement has not developed to any extent, but it needs to be borne in mind: Testing, particularly intelligence testing, should never be used in a school as a means of denying opportunity, but only as a means of directing opportunities more wisely. Most of the talk about some Indian children not being worthy of an education beyond the grades is indefensible. It is based on a misconception of the reason why society furnishes schooling at all. Discovery of low mental ability in any child, white or Indian, no more relieves society of the responsibility of educating him than diagnosis of a weak heart by a physician would relieve society from giving the person thus diagnosed a chance at life—in both cases the diagnosis becomes the first step in a process of improvement.

The Biggest Bill in History and The Lessons of 193 Essay Example for Free

The Biggest Bill in History and The Lessons of 193 Essay Two articles on the current economic crisis—Pubic Debt: The Biggest Bill in History (The Economist, June 11, 2009) and The Lessons of 1937 (The Economist, June 18, 2009) both list down various points and issues that liken today’s financial crisis to that of the Great Depression of the 1930’s. Upon introduction, Romer writes that â€Å"policymakers must learn from the errors that prolonged the Depression (par. 1)†, while Ryder contrasts between â€Å"the right and wrong ways to deal with the rich world’s fiscal mess (par. 1). † The Lessons of 1937 In a guest article, Presidential Economic Adviser Christina Romer describes the barriers that economic recovery had to hurdle in the late 1930’s. She credits this downturn to the â€Å"unfortunate, and largely inadvertent, switch to contractionary fiscal and monetary policy (Romer, par. 3). † Romer stresses the importance of looking at the events of the 1937 Depression and learning from its mistakes. There is a strong urge today to declare victory and the return of fiscal stability at the slightest sign of economic improvement—Romer believes that today’s lawmakers should strongly avoid doing so until the employment rate closely approaches its highest degree. The lessons of the 1930’s should inspire us to â€Å"find constructive ways to respond to the natural pressure to cut back on stimulus (Romer, par. 7). † Public Debt: The Biggest Bill in History Brett Ryder’s opinion piece describes massive public debt as another potential â€Å"cloud†¦on the financial horizon (par. 1). As tax revenues are reduces and more money reserves are spent on bailouts, unemployment benefits and stimulus plans, international governments continue to borrow massive amounts of money. Ryder also writes that whatever damage this borrowing is doing, it is a necessary â€Å"antidote† to the current economic decline (par. 3). Governments should hold off on fiscal tightening until economies are much stronger. Works Cited Romer, Christina. â€Å"The Lessons of 1937. † Economist. com. 18 June 2009. 22 June 2009. http://www. economist. com/businessfinance/displaystory. cfm? story_id=13856176. Ryder, Brett. â€Å"Public Debt: The Biggest Bill in History. † Economist. com. 11 June 2009. 22 June 2009. http://www. economist. com/opinion/displaystory. cfm? story_id=13829461. The (Macro)Economic Crisis:

Anxiety and the effect on a golfers performance

Anxiety and the effect on a golfers performance Anxiety can be defined as a negative unpleasant emotional state in which feelings of apprehension, nervousness, worry, distress and uneasiness are felt (Weinberg Gould, 2007 and Reber Reber, 2001). This statement states that anxiety would seem to be a hindrance and generate negative feeling for a person. Woods also states that is a negative emotional state, caused because a situation can or may be perceived as being threatening to them. In relation to sport anxiety may be thought to be through out a competition however Hassmen (p.278) states sports psychology researchers have assumed that an individuals anxiety level experienced immediately before a competition (i.e. state anxiety) has a moderating effect on subsequent athletic performance Hassem raises the argument that the feelings before a sporting event for the athlete can have an impact on an athletes perfomance, (Martens, 1971) and relating this to Weinbergs definition it would seem to be a negative effect. This is however co ntradicted by Hanin(2000) who looked at this in more depth and who suggests that there is mounting evidence that indicates athletes vary significantly in the level of anxiety that benefits the athletes performance. This therefore suggests that anxiety is a individually measurable state and not toally a hinderance, as supported by Hassmen (2000 p.278) who proposed that the optimal level of anxiety for performance can vary considerably across athletes. This statement gives light to the fact of an optimal level of arousal that shall be addressed later on. However According to Maynard (1995) the general consensus of practitioners and researchers has been of the idea that anxiety impairs performance in sport. Therefore we have the identification of anxiety and what it is supposed to be, also the different factors that it can entail, it is stated as a negative (Weinberg Gould, 2007 and Reber Reber, 2001 Maynard 1995) and also as a positive with Hassmen (2000) suggesting that there is an optimal arousal level that will help the athlete. This is however contradicted by Jones (1991) that the precise identification of the relationship between anxiety and performance has proved elusive. This is therefore suggesting that more research needs to be conducted in to the area of anxiety and to try and determine the effects if any and the relationship between them, before conclusions can be drawn. Different types of anxiety Spielberger (1971) proposed that anxiety was influenced by peoples traits and states in response to certain situations. Trait anxiety is a predisposition to perceive certain environmental situations as threatening (Cox, 2007). Woods(1998) relates this to sport and claims that a person who is trait anxious and suffers form trait anxiety would worry about the condition of the ground for the next football match a month in advance. Relating this to golf , a trait anxious person would worry about the weather the people there well in advance of situation arising. State anxiety differs from trait anxiety in that it can be seen as a temporary emotional state characterised by feelings of apprehension and tension (Cox, 2007 and Weinberg Gould, 2007). In relation to golf this may the the reaction to standing on the first tee of a compettion it is environment injusied and a repsonse to a situation. It may also changew under circumstances for example when the round is under way, anxiety levels may drop. (Woods 1998) Martens et al (1990) proposed that anxiety not only included state and trait but was also multidimensional in its nature in that it also includes cognitive and somatic factors. Polman(2007 p.39) also agrees and states anxiety consists of three independent but also interacting components, somatic(emotionally), cognitive(worry), and behavioural. These are mainly associated with state anxiety, and the two different types of anxiety somatic and cognitive are not always oth present in a athlete. For example Woods (1998) suggests that some individuals may show signs of having high somatic state anxiety before an event, but however at the same time they may come across very calm and mentally strong, showing ow signs of cognitive state anxiety. Cognitive anxiety is the mental aspect of anxiety caused by fear of negative social evaluation, fear of failure and loss of self esteem (Cox, 2007). There are also cognitive trait and cognitive state types of anxiety which again are mental responses to anxiety which are either predisposed or in response to certain environments (Cox, 2007). Maynards (1995 p.52) Definition Cognitive anxiety is the mental component of anxiety caused by the negative expectations about successor negative self-evaluation, (Burton,1988.p.46) Somatic anxiety is the awareness of arousal in the body, for example when standing on the first tee of a large golf event some people may respond to the situation with an increase in heart rate and muscular tension (Cox, 2007 and Woods, 2004). This is supported by Maynards (1995) view somatic anxiety is the physiological or affective component of anxiety that is directly related to autonomic arousal (Burton,1988.p.46) this gives two different factors of anxiety that also can be broken in to there own sub categories which as stated earlier gives reasoning for the multi dimensional theory of anxiety. Maynard states with this intervention of multidimensional that there seems to be enough research to show that anxiety is a complex multidimensional construct that differentiates anxiety in to somatic and cognitive and the sub groups. This is based on the research of Borokvec (1976) and Davidson (1976) in to the development of the understanding of anxiety. Therefore Jones (1991) may be seen as irrelevant. Measurements of anxiety To test somatic anxiety measures such as monitoring breathing rate, monitoring heart rate using an electrocardiogram and muscle response using an electromyogram can be used (Woods, 2004), it is important to acknowledge however that although performers may exhibit physiological evidence of stress, they may not report feeling stressed, it is therefore advised that numerous physiological and psychological tests are carried out to measure anxiety (Woods, 2004). Somatic anxiety is also made up of somatic trait and somatic state which again are physical predisposed or responses to situations The multidimensional theory of anxiety proposed that cognitive anxiety has a negative linear relationship with performance, whereas somatic anxiety has an inverted U shaped relationship with performance (Hardy et al, 1996). There are two main sources of anxiety that affect performance (Woods, 2004 and Murphy, 2005), pre-competitive anxiety occurs in anticipation of competition (Martens et al, 1990) and competitive anxiety that occurs during competition. Weinberg and Genuchi (1980) found that precompetitive anxiety was higher in players during the competitive rounds of golf than during the practice rounds, Cook et al (1983) however concluded that players performance affected anxiety, not anxiety having an affecting performance. Endler (1978) determined that there are five specific factors that increase anxiety in anticipation of a competitive situation; fear of performance failure, fear of negative social evaluation, fear of physical harm, situation ambiguity and disruption of a well learned routine. Sub Categories to come? One of the test for anxiety that is the most renowned is the Sport Competitive Anxiety Test abbreviated to SCAT test, this is a derived to show the anxiety in a performer through a questionnaire, the SCAT test has been developed to asses competitive A-trait in performers (Martens) The competitive A-trait is defined in three ways the first being the individual differences that a person may have when perceiving a threat either physically or mentally to the state response to the threat. The last is the combination of the two. (Martens) This is different from A-State which focuses on a persons dealing with the situation as the event is occuring The SCAT test is a combination of questions that are given in such a manner to try and lead the participant away from guessing that, it is about anxiety. This is done by the introduction of questions that can be totally random, to make the participant think of an aspect of the game and hopefully add to the validity of the results. If not and the p articipant can guess that it is a study in relation to anxiety then they may feel the need not to be laboratory bias and put answers that are not true to them selves. Csai-2 stands for Competitive State Anxiety Inventory Anxiety optimal arousal The relationship between arousal and anxiety is thought to need one there so that the other can exist. Both Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety are closely Associated with the concept of arousal, which refers to the intensity and dimension of behaviour, the state of the organism varying on a continuum from deep sleep to intense excitement (Martens ) and arousal are very closely linked anxiety is seen to be one of the negative forces that can effect arousal.(Oxedine 1970) however according to woods(p.91) arousal is neither a positive nor a negative, it is the perception of arousal that may lead to stress and anxiety. Therefore this is the link between anxiety and arousal. According to wood it is the perception of arousal that people perceive differently and may lead them to feel uneasy, anxious or stressed. For example if two golfers are standing on the first tee and the are perfectly matched ability wise, but have pycholoigical differences when dealing with anxiety, and therefore effecting the arousal level of the player and visa versa, with the player dealing with arousal by being anxious, if the player does not deal with this as well as the other then this may have a detrimental effect on there performance . Anshel(1997) states that anxiety has a psychological basis and arousal is the physiological side therefore both are interlinked. When researching however it seems that stress anxiety pressure are all used interchangeable in this relationship, and needs to be taken in to consideration. For Example Kremer and Scully (1994) argue that separating arousal, anxiety and stress is too tidy and because there is considerable overlap and interaction between them. When relating this to sport then, they may be seen as being used overlapping, for example a golfer suffering form anxiety stress or pressure, may be seen as negative. However as we will see the right amount of any of these symptoms, can help an athlete in the right situations; there fore there may need to be some more clarification on these subtle difference between them and what they actually entail. Arousal is a blend of physiological and psychological activity in a person, and it refers to the intensity dimensions of motiviation at a particular moment. (Weinberg p.78) this contradicts Anshel statement of them being two parts to one symptom. Woods(p.90) finds that arousal refers to the state of alertness and anticipation that prepares the body for action: it involves physiological activity (such as increased heart rate and cognitive activity (such as increase in attention) This supports Weinberg theory and leaves the thought that arousal is taken in to consideration just before competing and, there does seem to be a direct link between anxiety and arousal, and this impact on the performance. Arousal is neither a positive nor a negative; it is the perception of arousal that may lead to stress and anxiety. Arousal is seen through many different measuring tools firstly is the drive theory this is the theory which was developed by Hull (1951) and Spence (1956) woods P.94. The drive theorys more focused at athletes that are highly skilled for example relating this to golf any one who is a single figure golfer. This entailing that have a grasp of technique and there skill is well learned and autonomous and can be repeated easily. The drive theory then goes on to state that with this ability level that the higher the pressure or arousal the better the performance, and will allow the athlete top perform the skill very successfully. (Woods) This theory is adapted in to a formula and highlighted by Anshel() who looks The Drive Theory has been criticised for the fact that it is not clear what a well learned skill is and can be defined as (woods), also research has shown that after a certain point arousal becomes a hindrance and detrimental( Weinberg Golud) this there fore leads to a system that would have an optimal arousal level. Which is incorporated in the in Inverted U theory. The inverted U theory is a theory that is developed a shows a curvilinear relationship between arousal and relationship. (Anshel) Starting off with low levels of arousal in relation to lower standard then normal, as arousal increases so does the performance, (Weinberg Gould) this is the same principle as the drive theory however it is curved at the optimal level of arousal and then begins to dip afterwards as seen below (Weinberg Gould) FIGXXX Therefore the more arousal and anxiety after this the performance will decrease. Thus the effect of arousal on performance is based on the optimal level given the particular skill.(Anshel p. 73) This theory was bought up to account for some of the criticism of the drive theory(Woods) In relation to the optimal level of arousal Hanin looked at the alternative view of individualized zones of optimal functioning. (Haninà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦w and g p.87) This view on arousal levels is different for two main reasons one of these being that the optimal level of arousal does not always occur in the middle of the continuum it can vary between different athletes (Weinberg Gould) some performances may peak at a very lowlevel of arousal and anxiety and others at a very high level of arousal. This is all to do with the type of person that they are. As stated before anxiety is the reaction to arousal levels and perceiving a situation as threatening therefore if an individual does not see a situation as a threat then there arousal and anxiety may be lower and it may take a certain situation to induce this peak performance and optimal arousal level. The other difference between the inverted U and the IZOF is that the, IZOF has not one singular point that is the optimal level of arous al however a bandwidth and continuum (Weinberg Gould) this therefore gives an easier range for an athlete or performer to aim at and to try and achieve rather than a specific point, which may seem very difficult. Catastrophe Model Supporting evidence for these and against these Methodology Pilot study The pilot study that was carried out involved the two questionnaires that were previously revised in the literature review the SCAT test to find trait anxiety and the CSAI-2 questionnaire to determine the amount of state anxiety. The test were administers and different stages one two days before and renamed and adapted and the other ten minutes before the game began. The first one administered was the CSAI-2 questionnaire on the recommendations of Martens (p.52) as he states that when the CSAI-2 test is delivered together with the SCAT test it recommended that the CSAI-2 test is delivered first as not to impact the results of the SCAT test. The tests were no longer then five minutes each and the questions in the SCAT tests that were not important, were adapted to be golf specific and related to other parts of the round and game, for example how often do you use a routine in your set up, and how often do you play to your handicap these are spurious items on the questionnaire. I used t o players one of a low handicap and one of a higher handicap; these two roughly encompass the range of my final sample group for testing. The two participants played 6 holes of golf with me the researcher watching and I informed them that I would be taking pictures and detailed notes of the round, for them and also to take there scores. This would be to see later on if there scores in the test would have any correlation between the state and trait anxiety, so if they are a generally anxious person or if they only getting anxious at threatening situations and how they deal with this. If they play the holes in a worse score then they would normally do relating to there handicap, and stroke index is going to have to be taken in to consideration, and if they scored highly on the CSAI-2 test or the SCAT test then there could be some correlation between the two scores, and this what we are going to be looking for. Copies of the questionnaires and the score cards for the rounds can be foun d in the appendices. Subjects The Subjects that were chosen are all from Bourn Golf club located in Cambridgeshire and are all members and have been for at least three years. They all play on average twice a week, therefore they no the course well and feel comfortable playing there. This should take away form any anxiety about the unknown and focus on the competitive anxiety and arousal. The players range from a Touring PGA professional to a 22 handicapper golfer with the average in the UK being 20 so the range is from elite player to beginner, there will be 8 participants ranging between the ages of 21 and 60. Therefore the adult version of the CSAI-2 shall be used rather than the child version. The participants that were found for the study were all volunteers and happy to undertake the study all consent and ethics forms are attached in the appendices. Materials The materials used in the study were largely questionnaire based. The first questionnaire used was the CSAI-2 test it is a test that is formed up of 27 questions and a scale of 1-4 is used with 1 being the response not at all and 4 is the response very much so. The CSAI-2 is used to measure anxiety scores and in particular state anxiety scores. This is the measuring tool that was redeveloped from the CSAI questionnaire it was redeveloped by Martens, Burton and Vealy 1990, there are different forms of the CSAI-2 one for children and one for adults, the questionnaire not only measures anxiety it has been adapted to look at the two different types of anxiety as stated before the cognitive side of anxiety the psychological side and the somatic side the physiological symptoms related to anxiety, these can be seen as sweaty palms, being uneasy and not relaxed. The second questionnaire that is going to be given is the SCAT test this will be given after the participants have had a practise and just before they go out to play there holes. The Scat test is used to measure trait anxiety, this is looking at the persons genetic make up if they are generally a anxious person regard less the situation they are in. The SCAT test consists of 15 questions with 5 spurious items with in it to prevent the participant from gathering that the questionnaire is looking at anxiety, also the questionnaires are going to renamed, the instructions shall be kept the same however the titles shall be Competing in sport 1 which will be the CSI-2 questionnaire and Competing in sport 2 which shall be the SCAT test. Procedure The procedure was started with the participant filling out the consent forms and reading the ethics forms. The next step was for the participants to go through the proceedings with the researcher and to make sure they fully understand and are content with what is going to be asked of them, the researcher then went on to inform the participant that they are going to be filmed, as this is an out side stressor that would normally be present on the golf course. However Ii is only the illusion they are going to be filmed there will be no tape in the came as it is data that is not useful or needed. With this it will add another component to the environment and the player may see it as an item to raise arousal and then consequently anxiety is an effect from this, this will give the basis for the results, will this rise in arousal and anxiety improve the players performance or be detrimental, for the participants. The next step is to go through a score card and in relation to there handicap put the scores down on the holes that they would normally have. This will be the basis of the results this is in comparison to a control group that the players normally perform to. This also is adding a target for the players, that may have the same effect as the camera After this they will be assigned the CSAI-2 questionnaire and asked to complete this, to break up the questionnaires as stated by Martens (1990), the participants shall be asked to take part in a warm up and hit a few balls to have a practise. This also reduces the risk of injury and gives the players time to get used to the researcher being there and the surroundings. The net step that was undertaken was to take players to first tee, and to mark the score card on each hole for the player. The study should last approximately