Philosophy Statement :: Education Teaching Teachers Essays

Philosophy Statement Education is the window to the world. It can be possibly described as the eyes, the ears, the heart and the soul of every person who has entered a classroom. Why is education important? For me, it is important because it helps develop a student intellectually, socially, and emotionally. It encompasses a wide range of talents that is essential to the every day world. Education is a universal concept due to the fact that it is widely available to every child in the United State. However, that does not make education a success for every child. Ultimately, the success rate of education rests with a child’s teacher and that is what should motivate every teacher in the classroom. As a teacher, I plan to motivate my students using the following philosophies if essentialism, existentialism, and progressivism. The following use of these philosophies in my classroom can result in a positive and enlightening atmosphere in the intermediate and secondary level classrooms. Essentialism backs up the traditional role of teaching that many students will experience in the intermediate or secondary English classroom. I am a firm believer in this philosophy because it has been tried and tested throughout the years. In fact, it is the main philosophy that my teachers used in the classroom. I believe that all students come with a basic knowledge but need guidance from teachers. In fact, teachers are the core center of education in the essentialist classroom and they need to direct students in the areas of math, science, literature, English, foreign language, and history. As an English teacher, I plan to use essentialism in teaching the basic skills of grammar and writing and choosing appropriate literature that I believe will help students as they further their education. Also, the choice of literature will help students develop morally and socially. The nest philosophy that I plan to use is centered on the idea of existentialism because it focuses on a student-centered classroom. I believe that students should have a voice in their classroom and I plan to be democratic and allow students a limited amount of freedom and free will. In light of this philosophy, I plan to allow students freedom in selecting literature and the decision to evaluate their progress through book reports, presentations, and group work.

Global Pollution Essay -- Environment, Environmental Issues

Pollution is a growing issue in the world and is the major cause that contributes to many environmental problems. What is usually classified as pollution, what kind of pollution is present in the world, and what the people are doing to deal with this pollution issue in the world. There are several problems with world pollution that are associated with global warming and include waste disposal, water pollution, and air pollution. These things are usually caused by people on the planet who produce waste. This has been a growing complication and is (omit) now been taken as a serious issue. Solutions to these situations have been considered to keep the Earth and all the things in it. One of the situations that are involved with world pollution is waste disposal. There are many ways in which garbage or other materials are disposed of, which involves the most obvious solution, and the one most commonly used, is simply to bury those wastes underground, often in metal drums or concrete containers. This method of disposal has any several drawbacks, however. For example, drums and containers break open, leaking hazardous chemicals into the groundwater. People living near hazardous waste sites are then exposed to those chemicals in their drinking water, through food grown on the land, or in other ways. Since people of color and low-income people tend to live near hazardous waste sites far more often than do more affluent white people, hazardous waste disposal is a problem of special concern to those communities (Newton). Another way used to dispose of waste is through incineration. This method requires very close monitoring, since the ashes and smoke can still be just as hazardous as its physical form. Burning wastes at very high ... ...e environment that have had an influence on the habitats of many organisms. Most of these pollution incidents have a negative effect on both our environment and economy, which deals with how food is produced and how it is affected by pollution. Water has also been influenced negatively by the overcoming waste that is manufactured by people and certain businesses and when it is polluted by garbage, there is nothing that is done until it becomes a problem. Everyone in the world contributes to pollution, every single nation, person, and establishment, has some contribution to pollution. The only solution to the widespread of pollution can only be to produce better and more efficient ways of providing power for our everyday needs. The resources used mainly cause’s pollution, since every nation uses their own resources that (omit) have an influence on the environment.

Analyzing the role of Strategic Entrepreneurship in forming temporary Competitive Advantage that leads to Value Creation

Introduction Globalization and the rapid pace of development, combined with intense competition, have pushed firms to seek ways to survive and thrive in today’s highly volatile business environment. As such, entrepreneurs are primarily concerned with building competitive advantage and creating value for their firms. Recent studies point out the significance of strategic entrepreneurship as a way for businesses to develop a ‘more entrepreneurial orientation for sustained competitive advantage’ (Olusola, 2012). Strategic entrepreneurship essentially involves concurrent opportunity-seeking and advantage-seeking behaviors, which result in better performance of the firm (Ireland, Hitt & Sirmon, 2003). This research is interested in conducting a similar investigation and seeks to analyze the role of strategic entrepreneurship in forming temporary competitive advantage, which leads to the creation of value for the firm. Research Questions This dissertation is interested in determining whether firms, which engage in strategic entrepreneurship, are able to establish temporal competitive advantage in a dynamic environment, especially whilst competing with other firms and within the context of creating value for the firm. Below are the specific questions to be addressed in this dissertation: What benefits would a firm obtain by successfully employing strategic entrepreneurship in the current competitive market What temporary competitive advantage results from employing strategic entrepreneurship Does strategic entrepreneurship create value Aims and Objectives The primary aim of this research is to analyze the role of strategic entrepreneurship in building competitive advantage and creating value for the firm. Based on the research questions given above, the objectives of this dissertation are as follows: To find out the benefits of employing strategic entrepreneurship To understand what competitive advantages are the result of utilising strategic entrepreneurship To investigate whether strategic entrepreneurship creates value for the firm Rationale This dissertation will provide insights on the significance of strategic entrepreneurship, especially within the context of forming temporary competitive advantage, in pursuit of creating value for the firm. This research seeks to address some of the gaps in literature, such as understanding the balance between the opportunity-seeking behavior associated with entrepreneurship and the advantage-seeking behavior of strategic management (Hitt et al., 2011). Moreover, a Strategic Entrepreneurship Theoretical Tree will be utilized in order to analyze the various components of strategic entrepreneurship. The theoretical tree is created based from the different studies conducted on the subject. Literature Review (Preliminary) Strategic entrepreneurship is associated with firm’s objective of achieving superior performance through the simultaneous application of both opportunity-seeking and advantage-seeking activities (Ketchen, Ireland, & Snow, 2007). Various researchers have identified different components of strategic entrepreneurship, which can lead to superior performance of the firm. Ireland, Hitt & Sirmon (2003) proposes four dimensions for the successful implementation of strategic entrepreneurship: (a) entrepreneurial mindset; (b) entrepreneurial culture and leadership; (c) strategic management of resources; and (d) applying creativity to develop innovations. At the business level, value creation is usually reflected in the expansion and growth of a firm. Welter & Smallbone (2004) found that Institutional Economic Theory highlights the institutional embeddedness and path dependence of entrepreneurial behavior. This, in turn, influences the degree and nature of value creation for the firm. A number of authors have identified the factors that influence value creation and competitive advantage. Pongpearchan (2011, p.5) found that ‘operational innovation efficiency and business practice effectiveness have a significant positive effect on value creation excellence.’ On the other hand, Rindova & Fombrun (1999) argue that competitive advantage is a systemic outcome which develops as firms engage in processes that involve the use and exchange of resources, as well as the communication that occurs in these exchanges. Therefore, the fluctuations on the interpretations and evaluations of a firm affect its resources and its competitive advantage in the marketplace. Below is the model of the Strategic Entrepreneurship Theoretical Tree which will be used as the main theoretical framework of this research. Each of the components of this model is based on different studies. These will be discussed in more detail during the full dissertation document. Methodology This research will use quantitative research methodology in addressing the objectives of the study. Quantitative survey will be used in gathering data from respondents. Quantitative methodology is chosen for this study because it will allow the researcher to utilize the opinions of respondents in explaining the phenomena being studied. The survey will be administered to employees and managers of SMEs and large commercial firms in the UK to find out their views on the subject. The survey will asks questions such as how respondents perceive the role of strategic entrepreneurship in forming creative temporary competitive advantage; what are the benefits of strategic entrepreneurship; how can firms create value; etc. The target number of respondents for the survey is 100. In anticipation of the fact that some potential respondents might refuse to participate in the survey, around 175 to 200 questionnaires will be distributed to ensure that 100 responses will be gathered. The survey will be administered face-to-face, via post, though emails, and online. This is done to allow respondents to choose how they want to answer the survey. After data gathering is completed, statistical analysis will be used in analyzing the data. SPSS and Excel will be used as the primary software for analysis. References Hitt, M, Ireland, D, Sirman, G, & Trahms, C. (2011). Strategic Entrepreneurship: Creating value for individuals, organizations and society. Academy of Management Perspective. p.57-75. Ireland, D, Hitt, M, & Sirmon, D. (2003). A Model of Strategic Entrepreneurship: The Construct and its Dimensions. Journal of Management. 29(6), p.963-989 Ketchen, D, Ireland, D, & Snow, C. (2007). Strategic entrepreneurship, collaborative innovation, and wealth creation. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal. 1(3-4), p.371-385. Olusola, A. (2012). Strategic Entrepreneurial Skills’ Influence on Small Businesses’ Performance in Oyo and Osun Western States-Nigeria. Research Journal in Organizational Psychology and Educational Studies.1 (6), p.345-352. Pongpearchan, P. (2011). Strategic entrepreneurship management competency and firm success: a comparative study of SMEs in auto and electronic parts in Thailand. International Journal of Business Strategy. 11(2). Rindova, V & Fombrun, C. (1999). Constructing competitive advantage: the role of firm-constituent interactions. Strategic Management Journal. 20(8), p.691-710.

Kingdom of matthias

Kingdom of Matthias is one of the literary works that gives focus to an important part of American history, the great age of democratic revivals in the country. The book is an attempt to find meaning and relevance in the Kingdom of Matthias. The authors of the book, Paul Johnson and Sean Wiletnz assert that the Kingdom of Matthias cannot simply be called an evangelical movement for a closer analysis of the movement will reveal that Matthias’ religious vision does not run in parallel with the new evangelicals of the time. Instead, his religious movement ran largely in contrast and in opposition to the evangelicals of the First and Second Great Awakenings. The book is the authors’ attempt to tell the tale of the national scandal that grew out of the Kingdom of Matthias. The authors weave a tale that integrates the three elements that made the Kingdom of Matthias prominent in American history. That is salvation, sex, and murder. The said literary piece is enjoyable to read despite its gruesome and eerie topic for the authors were able to turn the story into a novel. By using the lives of several characters, Johnson and Wilentz were able to reveal the facets of the evangelical movement through the lives of the said characters. This was vital to the story for it prevented the book from being a mere historical account of events by giving it a personal touch. Recounting the personal tales of each of the characters enabled the authors to tell the events in a story-telling manner. The book must also be commended for its ability to relate the events of the past to those of the present. This is vital especially since the book is often times used by students who want to see the relevance of what they are reading to their lives today. However, there are certain cases when the authors were seemingly exhausting the story too much. By doing so, they were clouding the story with tedium to certain extents. For instance, I do not see the need to discuss and expound on the Matthew’s brothers involvement in the anti-masonic hysteria in Rochester. Since the focal point of the book is a evangelical movement, it should be expected that much of the discussion will be centered on the intricacies of the religion and the beliefs it tries to promulgate. However, the authors were not able to give that much focus on the religious beliefs. Instead, the discussion was centered on how the Kingdom of Matthias was at the edge of religious respectability and how its teachings led to the scandal it saw itself in. Finally, the community played a very relevant role in the novel for the authors defined the lives of the main characters based on how the community reacted to them. In each of the stories that were recounted, the community’s role was largely explored. From the denial of certain evangelical movements of the membership of certain characters, to the reactions of the community to the practices of the Kingdom of Matthias, the authors continuously discussed the role and relevance of the community to the story. Kingdom of Matthias is a historical novel that explores the scandal of the evangelical movement of the same name. It tackles the relevance of how radical evangelism helped shaped the country into what it is today.

Inkwell Ltd Intro Essay

Introduction Inkwell Ltd like every other company will need to use accounting in their business. Inkwell are a printer cartridge company who recycle old ones, but then re-manufactures them to give them back to their customers. They are well known for high quality products, with a 100% guarantee product. Obviously they will need a good accounting system to be able to maximise profits, like every other company. With Inkwell working on a just in time system and being a company boasting in the quality of their products, it is essential that they have good relationships with their external stakeholders. Due to working a JIT system, Inkwell will need to maintain a good relationship with suppliers, because if one supplier is late or delays or has reduced quality goods, Inkwells production and be slowed or disrupted very easily. This stall in production can then have a knock on effect to the customers, because the quality of Inkwells cartridges may be reduced. Accounting systems will be affected by the organisational structure, because if a company has a complex structure, it may be very hard and time consuming to get things approved for accounting (investment etc.) which can cause the business to lose out. Also, again the JIT procedure/system can affect the accounting department, because Inkwell will need to make sure the suppliers are paid on time so no disruption to JIT will take place. Business transactions will need to all be done correctly and noted, so they can be placed into the purchase ledger etc. correctly. Accounting plays a vital and pivotal role in the success of every company. The purpose of accounting is to be able to make decisions on where to invest money into the company and which areas to focus on to make costs as low as possible, to be able to maximise profits for the company. This is done by using financial data within in the company to be able to create reports about the company to show the financial position and strength of a company. Also, these reports can show which areas of the company needs investment, improvement or focus. This will have effects on other parts of the company,  because the accounting department and decide where and what amount of money etc. can and will be allocated to different parts of the company. This will then have an effect on these parts of the company, because if the accounting side do not allocate enough resources to other parts of the company, then the company itself may not operate to its full potential. There are many external regulations that affect the accounting practice, such as HMRC regulations which can affect payroll/PAYE, VAT and customs. Also, there can be local authority regulations which can affect planning permission and health and safety, and H&S being more and more worldwide. There are also minimum wage laws and safe disposal regulations which can link into these. This can affect accounting systems and the users, because you will need to abide by these regulations/laws so you do not incur fines etc.. For example, if the VAT rates change, the sales people at the company will need to make sure that when they are preparing for the sale, they take into account the new VAT rate. Payroll will need to be monitored, due to PAYE regulations. Inkwell will need to ensure that they pay everyone for the correct amount of hours they work, as they pay employees per hour. Inkwell are not doing this as yet, as they do not have a clocking in and out system, and the hours are written dow n by the employee, which relies a lot on trusting the employee. Business will use Income statements, cash flows and statement of financial position for many reasons. Cash flows for example will be used so that a rough value of how much cash is available in the business, which can influence whether or not payments will be have to be delayed or debts chased up quicker. Income statements and financial positions can be used to work out various formulas to work out how well a business is operating, and where the business can improve. For example, some costs in parts of the business which are high compared to elsewhere/other businesses could be cut.

Outline and Evaluate Factors Influencing Eye Witness Testimony Essay

The term ‘eye witness testimony’ refers to an area of research into the accuracy of memory concerning significant events, it is legally considered to be a reliable account of events. However, research into eye witness testimony has found that it can be affected by many psychological factors such as, anxiety and stress, reconstructive memory, selective attention and leading questions. Anxiety and stress can be associated with many factors such as, violence and crime. Clifford and Scott (1978) found that participants who saw a film of a violent event remembered less of the information than a control group who saw a less stressful version. However, Yuile and Cutshall (1986) found that witnesses of a real event had accurate memories of what happened. The police interviewed witnesses and thirteen of them were interviewed five months later. Recall was found to be accurate, even after a long period of time. One weakness of this study was that the witnesses who experienced the highest levels of stress where actually present at the event, instead of watching second hand from a film, and this may have helped with the accuracy of their memory recall. Selective attention is when the witness is able to describe one detail, giving them less time to pay attention to other details. It can also be because the witness is more likely to focus on a detail with more emotional significance, such as a weapon. Loftus et al. (1987) showed participants a series of slides of a customer at a restaurant. In on version the customer was holding a gun, in the other the customer held a chequebook. Participants who had been shown the version with the gun present tended to focus on the gun itself and not much else. As a result they were less likely to identify the customer as appose to those who had seen the chequebook version. Bartlett (1932) showed that memory is not just a factual recording of what has occurred, but that we make â€Å"effort after meaning†. By this, Bartlett meant that we try to fit what we remember with what we really know and understand. As a result, we quite often change our memories so they become more sensible to us. He had participants play ‘Chinese Whispers’ and when asked to recall the detail of the story, each person seemed to tell it in their own individual way. With repeating telling, the passages became shorter, puzzling ideas were rationalised or forgotten altogether and details changed to become more familiar or conventional. For this research Bartlett concluded, â€Å"memory is not exact and is distorted by existing preconceptions. It seems, therefore, that each of us ‘reconstructs’ our memories to conform to our personal beliefs about the world. † This clearly indicates that our memories are anything but reliable records of events. They are individual recollections, which have been shaped and constructed according to our stereotypes, beliefs, expectations etc. Loftus and Palmer (1974) tested their hypothesis that the language used in eye witness testimony can alter and change memory. They aimed to show that leading questions could distort eye witness testimony accounts, as the account would become distorted by reminders provided in the question. To test this, they asked people to estimate the speed of motor vehicles using different forms of questions. Participants were shown slides of a car accident involving a number of cars and asked to describe what had happened as if they were eye witnesses. They were then asked specific questions, including the question â€Å"About how fast were the cars going when they (hit/smashed/collided/ bumped/contacted) each other? The estimated speed was affected by the verb used. The verb implied information about the speed, which affected the participants’ memory of the accident. Participants who were asked the â€Å"smashed† question thought the cars were going faster than those who were asked the â€Å"hit† question. When people were asked a week after viewing the film whether they saw any broken glass at the scene (there was none), people in the smashed group were more likely to say yes. Therefore, a leading question that encouraged them to remember the vehicles going faster also encouraged them to remember that they saw non-existent broken glass. This suggests that memory is easily distorted by questioning technique and information acquired after the event can merge with original memory causing inaccurate memory. The addition of false details to a memory of an event is referred to as confabulation. This has important implications for the questions used in police interviews of eye witnesses. In conclusion, eye witness testimony can be influenced by a number of factors, including, anxiety and stress, selective attention, reconstructive memory and leading questions. They all have a large effect on eye witness testimony and affected the results in many different ways.

Stereotypes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Stereotypes - Essay Example The common stereotype for such students is that they are children who are either orphaned, adopted or have no biological parents for some reason, or generally that they come from abusive and broken homes. Family problems are therefore the first stereotype to be formed for such isolated students. Research shows that this type of stereotyping may be actually founded on facts. It shows that more than fifty percent of the students, especially teenagers, who exhibited the aforementioned signs, came from families with a history of abuse and divorce. Majority of these teenagers were comprised of families whose fathers had walked out on them (Dennis and Erdos, 2000). The effect of this therefore is that the student becomes distant, anti-social and depressed. This leads to poor performance in school and anti-social behavioral patterns (Teenage outcasts, 2011). The preceding argument is not entirely true as it is based on existing misconceptions about teenage outcasts. This is because not all teenage students who tend to exhibit behavioral isolation came from problematic families. In fact, in some instances such students came from good and well of families, and the isolation may have been caused by psychological factors such as shyness (Mosser, 2011). All that such students may be in need of is just some company so as to make them feel wanted and as part and parcel of the society. Stereotyping them thus only leads to long term negative impacts that would always place them at a disadvantage, one that they may wholly never recover from (U.S News Science, 2010). The second common stereotype revolves around the gay community. Majority of the people perceive gay people as having a tendency of exhibiting feminine traits. Any person who walks, talks, or engages in activities that are considered a preserve of the female gender are out rightly labeled as gay. It is not uncommon to hear of most people referring male fashion designers, stylists, or male hair dressers as gay. The st ereotype here is that all persons of the male gender who engage in professions that are considered feminine are gay. The stereotype here is even extended to ordinary male persons who exhibit feminine tendencies, or tend to lean more on female behavioral characteristics. This stereotype has been largely perpetuated by the media, which portrays all gay men as being extremely effeminate. So, are these stereotypes about gay men being effeminate true? Research suggests that gay men actually do prefer some professions like interior designing, fashion and hair coloring (Stossel and Binkley, 2006). In fact, professions like dancing and fashion require the creative touches of the gay people, and it is no wonder that such professions are flooded with gay men. Michael Bailey, a psychology professor, argues that these stereotypes of the gay men are actually true. He argues that gay men exhibited feminine tendencies during childhood and had a preference for feminine sex roles (Bailey, 2003). How ever, it is such stereotyping of the gay people that has led to homophobic attacks and discrimination among the gay community. This form of stereotyping has long-term negative impacts on the perception of the gay community in the society (Pre-existing notions, 2011). This form of stereotyping is not entirely true. This is because it is merely a generalization that lacks in elaborate research as to the accuracy of this hypothesis. The members of the gay commun