Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Question response Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4
Question response - Coursework Example Interference of the church leader will complicate the decision making process. The opinions of the Church leaders are not public opinion, as they are not legally elected representatives of the people. It is another issue if some political leaders solicit the opinion of the Church leaders on some important social issues like divorce, abortion, single mother parenting etc. to enable the government to address these issues from the moral angle. Moral approach to political matters appears fine in principle. But often Church leaders have conflicting views amongst themselves on moral issues. As such the government leaders would not like to take risk by patronizing any one faction of the Church. â€Å"The Family†is secretive group which articulates Christian fundamentalism. Any sect/group that relies on fundamentalism for spreading the message and for the alleged growth of the religion will end up in doom. Christian fundamentalists have cross on their necks but not Christ in their hearts. The other name for fundamentalism is envy and hatred for other religions. How that could be the trait that contributes to the welfare of humankind? As such the legislators need to be free from religious bias before making policy decisions. Legislators do not represent a particular religion. A legislator is the elected representative of a multi-cultural society as such religion is his private matter. He needs to work for the welfare of
Monday, October 28, 2019
The Sense in Organisational Learning, Knowing and Sense making Essay Example for Free
The Sense in Organisational Learning, Knowing and Sense making Essay Experience in Learning            Learning is the acquisition of knowledge, ideas, concepts, experience and any other kind of element that can be acquired. Learning is the retention of knowledge. It is also a skill such as using tools, creating crafts or simply driving a car. Learning involves practice. Practice is a way of retaining learning. But most of all, learning is a change in behaviour.            As far as I could remember, I learned to walk, speak and do many types of activities in the house by the acquisition of these knowledge and experiences. Either I would learn by following and mimicking gestures that the elder people would show me or I would engage into the experience of the concept. For example, I learned not to run fast down the stairs because one time that I did, I fell three flights and bumped my head. I learned how to remember the names of many relatives by repeatedly seeing them in family gatherings. Conversing with these people required me to utter their names and so that helped me remember their names and how I was related to them.            As I entered formal learning, other tools where available for me to increase knowledge and experience. Reading books was a way to learn how to know things. Before operating machines such as household appliances or laboratory machines, it is imperative to read instruction manuals so that I could transform myself into someone who did not know how to operate the machine into someone who knew how. And therefore there was a definite change in behaviour because of this. Learning things on your own is different when learning inside an organization. Experience in Participating in an Organization            There are two general kinds of participants in an organization or in a group endeavour. One can either be an active or a passive participant. Active participation involves doing different roles at different times depending on the need of the organization. In group discussions for example, one can be an initiator, regulator, informer, supporter or an evaluator. All these roles must be found in the whole group embodied by its participants in order for the group to develop and evolve its visions.            Another insight I gathered from participating in organizations is that one can learn fully if one keeps an open mind and heart. Each participant has his unique person moulded from a definitive history. Each person has his own ideas and learning style. If participants do not cooperate in the organizations, it will be harder to achieve objectives. Sometimes, participating in an organization requires one to compromise some comfort zones. There will be moments when a co-participants’ idea does not match your own. Sometimes, this will be cause of conflict. However, after the exchange and debate on the idea, conflict is soon resolved. Even at times when breakdown of the organization occurs, this will also signify that the conflict was resolved.            I cannot be half part of an organization. Participation in an organization must be whole for it to be worthwhile. Being a part of an organization means adhering to its vision, mission and goals. If a person cannot embrace the organization’s objectives, then his participation will be futile. From what I observed, when organizations have members that are half believers of the organization’s goals, their participation in the organization are half done as well. Their motivations to act on the organization’s needs are also superficial and the tendency to protect one’s self interest over the group’s interest is stronger. Four Learning Theories            Learning whether it involves an individual or a group is possible. Four theories of learning guide many teachers, managers and leaders into helping their constituents acquire knowledge and experience. The behaviourists, cognitive, humanist and situational orientation of learning are four theories that have been developed in the field of learning. The Behaviourist theory developed by practitioners of psychology believes that a person learns according to how the environment gives it instructions. Experimental procedures have been used to study behaviour in this discourse.            The Cognitive orientation does not believe so. Scholars of the cognitive theory believe that the individual learns due to its mental abilities. The process of knowing or â€Å"cognition†was the one leading the act of learning therefore learning relied much on an individual’s thinking capacity. The Humanist approach followed a certain process of growth patterned from human growth. Learning for these theorists involves a person’s evolution of needs that Maslow and Rogers have defined. The Situational orientation in learning relies on the involvement of a person to different community events and practices. Through individual’s participation to these frameworks, learning is experienced and thereby achieved. The Organization’s capability of learning, sensing and knowing            The individuals that constitute the organization bring all their learning abilities into the organization thereby helping the organization achieve goals. When organizations are able to achieve their goals, learning, sense making and knowledge achieved is not only claimed by each participant in the organization but the organization as a single entity as well.            Organizational knowing creates three kinds of knowledge. Tacit knowledge is found the experience and expertise of participants. Explicit knowledge is visualized as rules and routines that participants undergo. Cultural knowledge can be found in the organization’s assumptions, beliefs and values. The ‘corporate culture’ idiom has been coined due to the effort to package cultural knowledge of the organization so that it can be taught to employees. New knowledge is achieved by sharing and integrating these three types of knowledge. With new knowledge, the organization has the capacity to act on decisions that help the organization transform their potentials. Although new alternatives are achieved, new uncertainties are also acquired but essential to the organization’s ability to form new knowledge is the capacity of the organization to evolve facing challenges of its industry and ever changing environment. â€Å"The central argument is that any organization is the way it runs through the processes of organizing This means that we must define organization in terms of organizing. Organizing consists of the resolving of equivocality in an enacted environment by means of interlocked behaviors embedded in conditionally related processes. To summarize these components in a less terse manner, organizing is directed toward information processing in general, and more specifically, toward removing equivocality from informational inputs.†(Weick 1979:90-91)            Besides knowledge making, the organization also goes through the process of sense making. If decision making leads to decisions, sense making leads to the sense of the organizations’ existence of its decisions thereby breaking all kinds of elements that leads to ambiguity and confusion in the organizations’ processes. Sense making is essentially answering Weick’s question, â€Å"How can I know what I think until I see what I say?†. â€Å"In dealing with organizational issues, sense making requires us to look for explanations and answers in terms of how people see things rather than rather than structures or systems. Sense making suggests that organizational issues strategies, breakdowns, change, goals, plans, tasks, teams, and so on are not things that one can find out in the world or that exist in the organization. Rather, their source is peoples way of thinking.†(Universiteit Twente, 2004)            Sense making is a better tool in arriving at information for use in the workplace. Studies have proved that sense making has been successful in understanding deaf culture, in reflective thinking in the nursing practice, has been experienced in media education in classrooms with students, and proven beneficial for hard discourses such as sexism, racism and the like.            While Weick emphasize sense making in the retroactive context, Gioia and Mehra deemed the importance of prospective sense making as well. These two approaches further cement the invaluability of sense making in organizations. Each time that participants work towards a common goal, they are compelled to gather past knowledge, experience and facts, make sense out of it collaboratively to learn a new tool that will help the organization achieve their prospects that they envision in the future. Conceptualization of the future in organizations therefore is facilitated by sense making.            In this light, sense making further becomes a strategic tool that helps organizations articulate their common visions which can be called prospective ‘sense-giving’ while the tools that helps organizations decipher differences in actions so the that their selection may work well for their group can be termed as retrospective â€Å"sense-discovering†. Furthermore, the notion of sense making being partly deliberate and part emergent makes it a powerful tool for organization management, leadership and organizational learning. At best, sense making is an on-going process much like what learning is. There is no limit to learning. The fact that man has yet to use 97% of his brain capacity, that there is much need for compassion in the world tells many scholars that there is much sense in the notion of sense-making. Summary            Learning is the ability that sets man apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. Although there is learning in other animal species, organizational learning has captured man’s ability to prove himself as an intelligent animal in the social context. When a person enters and organization, he sets himself as a member of a whole. As a participant of the whole, the individual synergizes his learning capacities, styles and objectives with other members of the whole. Learning of the individual found in the whole is made possible only if the organization is able to learn first.            With the learning tools of sense making, the organization is able to form new knowledge. The knowledge formed has characteristics not found in individual learning. The knowledge formed from sense making in organizations hold both retrospective and prospective senses of the organization as a whole. Elements that form this knowledge is derived from the collective behaviour, cognition, experience and growth patterns of each individual making the collective acquire its own behaviour, experience, growth pattern and intelligence.            Reflecting on my own learning capacities including development of my own senses, I can prepare myself as I become a part of an organization. Many people enter organizations thinking that they are social institutions fully inorganic. With further understanding of sense making, I have become fully aware that organizations are alive because not only do they reproduce (forming other sub organizations, become global organizations and multinationals), react to stimulus (such as currency fluctuations, technological breakthroughs), grows (such as increase in revenue, increase in employees), they also essentially learn, produce knowledge and ultimately try to make sense in this world. References: Argyris, C. and Schon, D. (1978) Organizational Learning: a theory of action perspective, Addison-Wesley, Reading MA. Brookfield, S. (1987) Developing Critical Thinkers: Challenging Adults to Explore Alternative Ways of Thinking and Acting, Open University Press, Milton Keynes. Burke, P. (2000) A Social History of Knowledge, Polity Press, Cambridge. Choo, Chun Wei (2006) The Knowing Organization: How organizations use information to construct meaning, create knowledge and make decisions, Oxford Uni. Press, Oxford. Dimitrov, V., Kuhn, L. and Woog, R. (2002) Complexity Thinking: A Catalyst for Creativity, School of Social Ecology and Lifelong Learning, UWS Printery. Easterby-Smith, M., Burgoyne, J. and Araujo, L. (1999) (Eds.). Organizational Learning and the Learning Organization: developments in theory and practice, London, Sage. Field, L. and Ford, B. (1995) Managing Organizational Learning: From Rhetoric to Reality, Longman, Melbourne. Fitzgerald, A. and Teal, G. (2003) Organizational Learning and Development Reader, Mc Graw-Hill, North Ryde. Fineman, S., Sims D.and Gabriel, Y. (2006) Organizing and Organizations, SAGE Pub., London. Flood, R.L. (1999) Rethinking the fifth discipline: Learning with the unknowable. Routledge, New York. Foley, G. (Ed) (1995) Understanding adult education and training, Allen Unwin, St Leonards, NSW Glassop, L. and Waddell, D. (2005) Managing the Family Business, Heidelberg Press, Heidelberg, Victoria. Harvard Business Review (2001) Organizational Learning. McGraw-Hill, New York. Lassey, P. (1998) Developing a Learning Organization, Kogan Page, London. Nonaka, I. (1991) The Knowledge Creating Company, Harvard Business School Press, Boston. Pearn, M., Roderick, C., Mulrooney, C. (1995) Learning organizations in practice. McGraw-Hill, London. Polanyi, M. (1962) Personal Knowing; Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy, University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Senge, P. (1992) Fifth Discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization, Random House, Milsons Point. Senge, P., Kleiner, A., Roberts, C., Ross, R., Smith, B. (1994). The fifth discipline fieldbook: Strategies and tools for building a learning organization, Double Bay Dell Publishing, New York. Senge, P. (1999) The dance of change: the challenges of sustaining momentum in learning organizations, Random House, Milsons Point. Shaw, P. (2002) Changing the Conversations in Organizations London: Routledge. Stacey, R., Griffin, D. and Shaw, P. (2000) Complexity and Management, London: Routledge. Stacey, R. (1996) Complexity and Creativity in Organizations, San Francisco: Berret-Koehler. Summers, J. and Smith, B. (2004) Communication Skills Handbook, Wiley and Sons, Milton, Qld. Wenger, E. (1998) Communities of Practice; Learning, Meaning and Identity, Cambridge University Press, N.Y. Weick, Karl E. 1979. The Social Psychology of Organizing. 2nd ed. Random House: New York. Weick, K. L. (1995) Sensemaking in Organizations, SAGE Pub., London Universiteit Twente. 2004. Sense Making. [http://www.tcw.utwente.nl/theorieenoverzicht/Theory%20clusters/Organizational%20Communication/Sensemaking.doc/]
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Homeless Children and the Educational System Essay -- Family Poor Pape
Homeless Children and the Educational System Many people still think of homeless transients as alcoholics and/or mentally disabled. The truth is, the current homeless population consists of runaway adolescents, single adult males or females, battered women and over one million homeless families with children – typically headed by a female parent. To be homeless means that one’s primary residence is a public or private shelter, emergency housing, hotel, motel, living with family or friends or any public space – like parks, automobiles, aqueducts or abandoned buildings (Pawlas, 1996). Statement of the Problem With the number of homeless students on the rise, schools encounter new educational challenges that include: establishing and maintaining enrollment procedures that would not discourage school attendance; lack of teacher-training/awareness in the special needs of homeless children; the non-existence of a school transfer system for homeless children that would be least destructive to a child's education, while all the time not overlooking the basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, security and medical care that homeless families with children require immediately. Framing Question Homelessness is now a major problem in the United States, with the growing population being homeless families or single mothers and their children. Due to the rapid growth and obvious presence (shelters, visibility) of homeless families in the United States – Are the legally mandated educational rights of homeless children being fulfilled? If so, how? If not, why not? Review of Literature The plight of homeless families with children was initially addressed in 1987. Congress passed the... ... http://www.ed.gov/database/Eric.Digest/ed308276.html Wells, Amy Stuart: Education Provisions of the McKinney Act (1989) http://www.ed.gov/database/Eric.Digest/ed.308276.html Wells, Amy Stuart: Problems Facing Local Educators (1989) http://www.ed.gov/database/Eric.Digest/ed.308276.html Eddowes, A (1994). Schools Providing Safer Environments for Homeless Children. Childhood Education Nunez, R., Collignon, K. (1997). Creating a Community of Learning for Homeless Children. Educational Leadership Pawles, G. West, G. Brookes, C. Russell (1994). A Safety Net for Homeless Students. Educational Leadership Rafferty, Y. (1998). Meeting the Educational Needs of Homeless Children. Educational Leadership Yon, M. (1994). Educating Homeless Children in the United States. Equity and Excellence in Education
Thursday, October 24, 2019
From Marketing Mix to Relationship Marketing Essay
This report discusses how the marketing mix management paradigm has dominated the marketing thought, research and practice since it was introduced almost 40 years ago, but today new marketing approaches are being introduced and used. The globalization of business and the evolving recognition of the importance of customer retention and market economies and of customer relationship economics, among other trends, reinforce the change in mainstream marketing. Marketing Mix The term â€Å"marketing mix†is probably one of the most famous marketing terms used by millions of people. Its elements are known as the Four P’s, which are price, place, product, and promotion. These four variables are the variables that marketing managers can control in order to best satisfy customers in the target market. Figure 1: Marketing Mix Model – 4Ps Marketing the way most textbooks treat it today was introduced around 1960. The concept of the marketing mix and the Four Ps of marketing – product, price, place and promotion – entered the marketing textbooks at that time. Quickly they also became treated as the unchallenged basic model of marketing, so totally overpowering previous models and approaches, such as, for example, the organic functionalist approach advocated by Wroe Alderson as well as other systems-oriented approaches and parameter theory developed by the Copenhagen School in Europe that these are hardly remembered, even with a footnote in most textbooks of today. (Gronroos, Toward a Relationship Marketing Paradigm, 1994) The marketing mix refers to variables that a marketing manager can control to influence a brand’s sales or market share. Traditionally, these variables are summarized as the Four Ps of marketing: product, price, promotion, and place (i. e. , distribution). Product refers to aspects such as the firm’s portfolio of products, the newness of those products, their differentiation from competitors, or their superiority to rivals’ products in terms of quality. Promotion refers to advertising, detailing, or informative sales promotions such as features and displays. Price refers to the product’s list price or any incentive sales promotion such as quantity discounts, temporary price cuts, or deals. Place refers to delivery of the product measured by variables such as distribution, availability, and shelf space. The 4Ps model is just one of many marketing mix lists that have been developed over the years. And, whilst the questions we have listed above are keys, they are just a subset of the detailed probing that may be required to optimize your marketing mix. Amongst the other marketing mix models have been developed over the years is the 7Ps, sometimes called the extended marketing mix, which include the first 4 Ps, plus people, processes and physical layout decisions. Another marketing mix approach is Lauterborn’s 4Cs, which presents the elements of the marketing mix from the buyer’s, rather than the seller’s, perspective. It is made up of Customer needs and wants (the equivalent of product), Cost (price), Convenience (place) and Communication (promotion). Cultural policies to promote diversity of cultural expressions today must deal with numerous factors and needs, some of which concern the right of all groups to their forms of expression, and others strictly with business feasibility and the possibility of marketing on a global scale. These different factors may be difficult to reconcile but they are complementary as none can survive and be managed without referring to or involving the other. From the perspective of production development, it is frequently stated that cultural expressions need to find their market in order to survive, but it is also the case that the sacrificing of cultural content with little market value lowers the value of cultural production overall. From the perspective of rights to and processes of identity construction, culture generates services that cannot be governed exclusively by the market, especially in view of the marginality of subaltern groups. Nevertheless, it is almost impossible to think of cultural practices and consumption today without involving the market in some way. For marketers in the cultural industry it is important to identify the factors influencing consumers’ purchasing. Cultural factors are essentially important in selection of the two elements of â€Å"place†and â€Å"product†. For example, someone brought p in an environment that values art would be more likely to buy artistic products. Even it may be important considering customers in terms of their sub-culture. One may be surrounded by people who not only value art but place a higher priority on paintings as opposed to the music. As a result, they will be more likely to buy paintings rather than musical instrument. â€Å"Pr icing†the artistic products and activities should also follow a logic trend. This practice may be done through some standards set among artists of the same class or by the very artist creator of his work. In general, as it can be seen, due to the difference. (Shahhosseini & Ardahaey, 2011) The Four Ps of the marketing mix became an indisputable paradigm in academic research, the validity of which was taken for granted. For most marketing researchers in large parts of the academic world it seems to remain the marketing truth even today. The Four Ps of the marketing mix had been even referred to as â€Å"the holy quadruple†¦of the marketing faith written in tablets of stone. (Gronroos, Toward a Relationship Marketing Paradigm, 1994) The marketer plans various means of competition and blends them into a â€Å"marketing mix†so that a profit function is optimized, or rather satisfied. The â€Å"marketing mix†, concept was introduced by Neil Borden in the 1950s, and the mix of different means of competitions was soon labeled the Four Ps. (Gronroos, Toward a Relationship Marketing Paradigm, 1994) Any marketing paradigm should be well set to fulfill the marketing concept, i. e. the notion that the firm is best off by designing and directing its activities according to the needs and desires of customers in chosen target markets. Gronroos, Toward a Relationship Marketing Paradigm, 1994) American Marketing Association, in its most recent definition states that â€Å"marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchange and satisfy individual and organizational objectives†(emphasis added) (Gronroos, From Marketing Mix to Relationship Marketing: Towards a Paradigm Shift in Marketing, 1994) The problem with the Marketing Mix One can easily argue that the four Ps of the marketing mix are not well able to fulfill the requirements of the marketing concept. As Dixon and Blois put it, â€Å"†¦indeed it would not be unfair to suggest that far from being concerned with a customer’s interests (i. e. somebody for whom something is done) the views implicit in the Four P approach is that the customer is somebody to whom something is done! †(emphasis added) . To use a marketing metaphor, the marketing mix and its four Ps constitute a production-oriented definition of marketing, and not a market-oriented or customer oriented one. Moreover, although the interactive nature of the Ps is recognized, the model itself does not explicitly include any interactive elements. Furthermore, it does not indicate the nature and scope of such interactions. (Gronroos, Toward a Relationship Marketing Paradigm, 1994) Van Waterschoot and Van den Bulte recognize three flaws in the Four P model: * â€Å"The properties or characteristics that are the basis for classification have not been identified. * The categories are not mutually exclusive. * There is a catch-all subcategory that is continually growing†. Many marketing-related phenomena are not included. Moreover, as Johan Arndt has concluded, marketing research remains narrow in scope and even myopic, and methodological issues become more important than substance matters. Gronroos, From Marketing Mix to Relationship Marketing: Towards a Paradigm Shift in Marketing, 1994) The Nature of the Marketing Mix The usefulness of the Four Ps as a general marketing theory for practical purposes is, to say the least, highly questionable. Originally, although they were largely based on empirical induction and earlier lists of marketing functions of the functional school of marketing, they were probably developed under the influence of microeconomic theory and specially the theory of monopolistic competition of the 1930s, in order to add more realism to that theory. However, very soon the connection to microeconomic theory was cut off and subsequently totally forgotten. Theoretically, the marketing mix became just a list of Ps without roots. (Gronroos, Toward a Relationship Marketing Paradigm, 1994) Managing the marketing mix makes marketing seem too easy to handle and organize. Marketing is separated from other activities of the firm and delegated to specialists who take care of the analysis, planning and implementation of various marketing tasks, such as market analysis, marketing planning, advertising, sales promotion, sales, pricing, distribution and product packaging. Marketing departments are created to take responsibility for the marketing function of the firm, The marketing department approach to organizing the marketing function has isolated marketing from design, production, deliveries, technical service, complaints handling, invoicing and other activities of the firm. As a consequence, the rest of the organization has been alienated from marketing. Therefore, it has made it difficult, often even impossible, to turn marketing into the â€Å"integrative function†that would provide other departments with the market-related input needed in order to make the organization truly market oriented and reach a stage of â€Å"co-ordinated marketing†the marketing specialists organized in a marketing department may get alienated from the customers. Managing the marketing mix means relying on mass marketing. Customers become numbers for the marketing specialists, whose actions, therefore, typically are based on surface information obtained from market research reports and market share statistics. Frequently such marketers act without ever having encountered a real customer. The marketing department concept is obsolete and has to be replaced by some other way of organizing the marketing function, so that the organization will have a chance to become market-oriented. A traditional marketing department will always, in the final analysis, stand in the way of spreading market orientation. The use of the marketing mix management paradigm and the Four Ps has made it very difficult for the marketing function to earn credibility. Some firms have solved this problem not only by downscaling or altogether terminating their marketing departments but also by banning the use of the term marketing for the marketing function. (Gronroos, Toward a Relationship Marketing Paradigm, 1994) What is the History of the Marketing Mix? A paradigm like this has to be well founded by theoretical deduction and empirical research; otherwise much of marketing research is based on a loose foundation and the results of it questionable. Let us look at the history of the marketing mix paradigm and the four P’s. The marketing mix developed from a notion of the marketer as a â€Å"mixer of ingredients†, which was an expression originally used by James Culliton (1948) in a study of marketing costs in 1947 and 1948. The marketer plans various means of competitions and blends them into a â€Å"marketing mix†, so that a profit function is optimized, or rather satisfied. The marketing mix is actually a list of categories of marketing variables, and to begin with, this way of defining or describing a phenomenon can never be considered a very valid one. A list never includes all relevant elements, it does not fit every situation, and it becomes obsolete. And indeed, marketing academics every now and then offer additional P’s to the list, once they have found the standard â€Å"tablet of faith†too limited. (Gronroos, Toward a Relationship Marketing Paradigm, 1994) Kotler has, in the context of megamarketing, added public relations and politics, thus expanding the list to six P’s. In service marketing. Booms and Bitner (1982) have suggested three additional P’s, people, physical evidence and process. Judd (1987) among others, has argued for just one new P, people. Advocators of the marketing mix paradigm sometimes have suggested that service should be added to the list of P’s (e. g. Lambert and Harrington 1989 and Collier 1991). J It is, by the way, interesting to notice that after the four P’s were definitely canonized sometime in the early 1970s new items to the list are almost exclusively put in the form of P’s It is also noteworthy that Borden’s original marketing mix included 12 elements, and that this list was not intended to be a definition at all. Borden considered it guidelines only, which the marketer probably would have to reconsider in any given situation. In line with the â€Å"mixer of ingredients†metaphor he also implied that the marketer would blend the various ingredients or variables of the mix into an integrated marketing program. This is a fact that advocators of the four P’s (or five, six, seven or more P’s) and of today’s marketing mix approach seem to have totally forgotten. In fact, the four P’s represent a significant oversimplification of Borden’s original concept. McCarthy either misunderstood the meaning of Borden’s marketing mix when he reformulated the original list in the shape of the rigid mnemonic of the four P’s where no blending of the P’s is explicitly included; or his followers misinterpreted McCarthy’s intentions. In many marketing textbooks organized around the marketing mix, such as Philip Kotler’s well-known Marketing Management (e. g. 991), the blending aspect and the need for integration of the four P’s are discussed, even in depth, but such discussions are always limited due to the fact that the model does not explicitly include an integrative dimension. (Gronroos, Toward a Relationship Marketing Paradigm, 1994) Contemporary Theories of Marketing In most marketing textbooks the marketing mix management paradigm and its Four Ps are still considered the theory of marketing. Indeed , this is the case in much of the academic research into marketing; however, since the 1960s alternative theories of marketing have been developed. As Moller observes in a recent overview of research traditions in marketing, â€Å"from the functional view of marketing ‘mix’ management our focus has extended to the strategic role of marketing, aspects of service marketing, political dimensions of channel management, interactions in industrial networks; to mention just a few evolving trends. The interaction/network approach to industrial marketing was originated in Sweden at Uppsala University during the 1960s and has since spread to a large number of countries. Between the parties in a network various interactions take place, where exchanges and adaptations to each other occur. A flow of goods and information as well as financial and social exchanges takes place in the network. In such a network the role and forms of marketing are not very clear. All exchanges, all sorts of interactions have an impact on the position of the parties in the network. The interactions are not necessarily initiated by the seller – the marketer according to the marketing mix management paradigm – and they may continue over a long period of time, for example, for several years. The seller, who at the same time may be the buyer in a reciprocal setting, may of course employ marketing specialists, such as sales representatives, market communication people and market analysts but in addition to them a large number of persons in functions which according to the marketing mix management paradigm are non-marketing, such as research and development, design, deliveries, customer training, invoicing and credit management, has a decisive impact on the marketing success of the â€Å"seller†in the network. In the early 1970s the marketing of services started to emerge as a separate area of marketing with concepts and models of its own geared to typical characteristics of services. In Scandinavia and Finland the Nordic School of Services more than research into this field elsewhere looked at the marketing of services as something that cannot be separated from overall management. (Gronroos, Toward a Relationship Marketing Paradigm, 1994) The New Approaches and the Marketing Mix The interaction and network approach of industrial marketing and modern service marketing approaches, especially the one by the Nordic School, clearly views marketing as an interactive process in a social context where relationship building and management is a vital cornerstone. They are in some respects clearly related to the systems-based approaches to marketing of the 1950s (compare, for example, Alderson 1957). The marketing mix paradigm and its four P’s, on the other hand, is a much more clinical approach, which makes the seller the active part and the buyer and consumer passive. No personalized relationship with the producer and marketer of a product is supposed to exist, other than with professional sales representatives in some case. The development of innovative theories, models and concepts of industrial marketing (interaction/network approach) and service marketing has clearly demonstrated that the marketing mix paradigm and its four P’s finally have reached the end of the road as the universal marketing theory. From a management point of view the four P’s, undoubtedly, may have been helpful. The use of various means of competition became more organized. However, the four P’s were never applicable to all markets and to all types of marketing situations. The development of alternative marketing theories discussed above demonstrate that even from a management perspective, the marketing mix and its four P’s became a problem. Their pedagogic elegance and deceiving sense of simplicity made practical marketing management look all too clinical and straightforward even for actors in the consumer packaged goods field where they were originally intended to be used. Consumer goods amounts to a considerable business, and there the four P’s could still fulfill a function. However, many of the customer relationships of manufacturers of consumer goods are industrial-type relationships with wholesalers and retailers, and the retailers of consumer goods more and more consider themselves service providers. In such situations the four P’s have less to offer even in the consumer goods field. Moreover, as far as the marketing of consumer goods from the manufacturer to the ultimate consumers is concerned, there is a growing debate whether one can continue to apply marketing in the traditional mass marketing way. Gronroos, Toward a Relationship Marketing Paradigm, 1994) The Future: The Relationship Marketing Concept In the relationship marketing concept to be presented here the core variables are relationships, networks and interaction. The choice is not arbitrary; these variables recurrently emerge in the new marketing theories that have challenged the reigning marketing management paradigm during the past twenty-five years. These variables are not new; they were there thousands of years ago and they present themselves ‘‘here and now. ’ They will be here in the future, no matter if they are represented by relationship marketing or something else. They are part of society. In fact, society is nothing less than a network of relationships within which we interact, and marketing is a dimension of society. Research and education in business have only recently begun to acknowledge the existence of relationships, but have not as yet understood their omnipresence and deep impact on marketing. Although it is encouraging that relationships have been made visible and that the interest in them is soaring, major problems follow. One is that those who start to explore and implement relationship marketing techniques are often not sufficiently familiar with the foundations of relationship marketing, its paradigm. Furthermore, relationship marketing is put under siege by the traditional marketing management paradigm, and the techniques used in relationship marketing implementation are often more grounded in marketing management values than in relationship marketing values. (Gummesson, 2002) An integral element of the relationship marketing approach is the promise concept, which has been strongly emphasized by Henrik Calonius According to him the responsibilities of marketing do not only, or predominantly, including giving promises and thus persuading customers as passive counterparts on the marketplace to act in a given way. Fulfilling promises that have been given is equally important as means of achieving customer satisfaction, retention of the customer base and long-term profitability (compare also Reichheld and Sasser). He also stresses the fact that promises are mutually given and fulfilled. (Gronroos, Toward a Relationship Marketing Paradigm, 1994) Relationship Marketing There are many definitions of relationship marketing, most of them stressing the development and maintenance of long term relationships with customers and sometimes with other stakeholders. Total relationship marketing is marketing based on relationships, networks and interaction, recognizing that marketing is embedded in the total management of the networks of the selling organization, the market and society. It is directed to long term win-win relationships with individual customers, and value is jointly created between the parties involved. It transcends the boundaries between specialist functions and disciplines. Total relationship marketing embraces not just the supplier-customer dyad as does one-to-one marketing and CRM (customer relationship management) but also relationships to a supplier’s own suppliers, to competitors and to middlemen; these are all market relationships. (Gummesson, 2002) Is There a Paradigm Shift in Marketing? Relationships do not function by themselves. As McInnes said already three decades ago, â€Å"the existence of a market relation is the foundation of exchange not a substitute for it†. Only in extreme situations, for example when the computer systems of a buyer and a materials provider are connected to each other in order to initiate and execute purchase decisions automatically, the relationship, at least for some time, may function by itself. In such situations one comes close to what Johan rndt called â€Å"domesticated markets†, where â€Å"transactions†¦are usually handled by administrative processes on the basis of negotiated rules of exchange†. Normally, advertising, distribution and product branding, for example, will still be needed, but along with a host of other activities and resources. (Gummesson, 2002) However, what marketing deserves is new perspectives, which are more market-oriented and less manipulative, and where the customer indeed is the focal point as suggested by the marketing concept. Conclusion Marketing mix as a general perspective evolved because at one time it was an effective way of describing and managing many marketing situations. Before the marketing mix there were other approaches. Now time has made this approach less helpful other than in specific situations. New paradigms have to come. After all, we live in the 1990s, and we cannot for ever continue to live with a paradigm from the 1950s and 1960s. However, bearing in mind the long-term damages of the marketing mix as the universal truth, we are going to need several approaches or paradigms Relationship marketing will be one of them.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Multiculturalism in Children’s Writing in the US in the 1980s
Introduction This essay will firstly give an overview of the history of multicultural children’s literature. Secondly, it will map out key theories and debates surrounding multicultural children’s literature in the United States. Thirdly the essay will analyse two books set within the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that were published in the United States in the late 1980s – The Flag Balloon and Israel Is. The essay will analyse if and how multiculturalism is presented in the text and the images and identify how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is informed in the books. Each analysis will also assess whether the multiculturalism in the text and the images seems imposed or natural. The analysis of each book will also briefly assess whether the multiculturalism is natural or imposed in the society at the time each book was published. THE HISTORY OF MULTICUTURALISM IN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE According to Gopalakrishnan (2010), there is limited evidence and much debate as to when multicultural children’s literature began. For example, certain theorists argue that multicultural literature predates the 20th century (Norton and Norton 2003; Sims Bishop 2007). Regardless of when multicultural children’s writing was created, most theorists agree that before 1965, the number of multicultural children’s books was limited (Gopalakrishnan 2010). The year 1965 is described as the turning point for multicultural literature when a widely published article entitled ‘The All White World of Children’s Books’ (Larrick 1965) sparked a flurry of activity in the years following it. In the article, Larrick (1965) describes a survey she conducted, where she found that of 5206 books published in 1962, 1963 and 1964, only 349 or 6.7% included African American characters in their text or illustrations. After this article was published, two significant groups formed: the Council on Interracial Books for Children (in 1965/1966) and the Coretta Scott King Award, established for authors and illustrators of African American and Black descent in 1972 (Gopalakrishnan 2010). After the formation of these groups, another study similar to that of Larrick (1965) was conducted in 1979 by Jeanne Chall and her colleagues. In this survey Chall found that there was over an 100% increase in the number of children’s books that featured an African American character (14.4% of all children’s multicultural literature in the United States) (Cohen and Cowen 2008). According to Cohen and Cowan (2008) in the late 1980s and early 1990s multicultural children’s publishing experienced a spurt. Almost all major publishers increased their multicultural book lists and the number of smaller publishers specialising in multicultural books increased. This increase was due to sensitivity and growing awareness on the publisher’s part and also the need to purchase these books as the school demographics and requirements changed. Since multicultural children’s books now form a more significant part of the literary landscape, the subject has attracted a number of theorists and scholars who have developed their own theories surrounding children’s multicultural literature Banks and Banks (2001). Although theorists of multicultural children’s literature attempt to theorise and analyse a myriad of topics surrounding the subject of multicultural children’s literature, one of the main theoretical debates surrounds the question, what defines multicultural children’s literature? There are three theoretical approaches surrounding the definition of multicultural literature. The first approach is the all inclusive approach. Advocates of this approach argue that all literature should be defined as multicultural since, in their opinion, every human being is multicultural and each individual may describe their identity in a variety of ways (Shannon 1994; Schwartz 1995; Fisherman 1995). The second approach is the multiple + culture approach. This approaches argues that multicultural children’s writing is defined as books that are simply about more than one culture in a society regardless of who is the dominant group and who is the dominated (Cai 1998). Bloor’s (2010) definition of multiculturalism expands one step further from the multiple + cultures definition and describes a multicultural society as not one where multiple cultures merely exist, but one where diversity is promoted and the mosaic of cultures is celebrated and encouraged. The third approach is the exclusive approach. This approach is one where the theorists believe that children’s multicultural literature should only be defined as literature that is about populations that have experienced marginalisation and oppression. Some proponents of this approach state that multicultural children’s literature should only be defined as literature by and/or about people of colour since this form of literature gives people of colour the opportunity to have a voice. (Lindgren 1991; Harris as cited in Cai, 2002). In addition to the different approaches to defining multicultural children’s literature, Sims Bishop has provided us with a theoretical classification of multicultural books. Sims Bishop (1982, 2007) divides multicultural children’s literature into three sub groups: melting pot literature, socially conscious literature and culturally conscious literature. Melting pot books are characterised by those where aside from skin colour or a cultural definition, the story could apply to any character in the United States (Gopalakrishnan 2010). The second sub group of children’s multicultural literature is categorised as socially conscious books. According to Sims Bishop (2007), socially conscious books introduce one cultural group and its unique experiences to the mainstream to make â€Å"socially conscious†or to educate the larger group about the trials and tribulations of a unique cultural group. The main purpose of socially conscious books is â€Å"to engender empathy and sympathy [and] to promote tolerance for racial desegregation or integration†(Sims Bishop 2007: 61). Thirdly, culturally conscious books, according to Sims Bishop (1982), are those that depict the languages and cultural traditions of a group’s experiences most often from an insider’s perspective. The working definition of multiculturalism in this essay will be the second approach, the multiple + culture definition where there is more than one culture in a society regardless of who is the dominant group and the dominated. The analysis will also explore whether the books expand to Bloor’s (2010) version of multiculturalism where the mosaic of culture is encouraged and celebrated. While analysing how multiculturalism is presented in each book, Sims Bishop (1982, 2007) classification of multicultural children’s literature may be applied to the analysis. THE FLAG BALLOONHOW IS MULTICULTURALISM PRESENTED IN THE TEXT AND THE IMAGES OF THE FLAG BALLOONMulticulturalism is demonstrated immediately on the cover of this book and in the second line of text. The cover of the book has been illustrated in the colours of the Palestinian flag. Flags are a means of representing an identity, and there can only be an ‘identity’ if there is an ‘other’ (Berreby 2008). Although flags tend be representative of a country, state or nation, the second line of text in the book tells us that this flag is certainly not for a country. The narrator asserts ‘I have a flag but no country’ (Stickles and Townsley 1988: 7). The narrator continues to say ‘the soldiers who occupy my town and make all the laws say it is wrong to fly my flag’ (Stickles and Townsley 1988: 7). From this text we can deduce that these are a group of people who are a part of a country where their culture, customs and even identity may not b e accepted. Nonetheless, this text clearly demonstrates that this a society in which the law makers have different ideological beliefs to those representing the cultural minority. In summary, using Cai’s (1998) definition of multiculturalism, multiple cultures living in one society, the cover page and first page of text depicts a multicultural, albeit uncomfortable society. Multiculturalism is further demonstrated in the text, while simultaneously informing the reader about the Israeli-Palestinian. For example, the father of the narrator says he is ‘making bread for the family whose house was destroyed by the soldiers’ (Stickles and Townsley 1988: 11). We are informed that ‘the soldiers shut down the school’ (Stickles and Townsley 1988: 15) and the narrator’s brother is ‘beaten up by soldiers’ (Stickles and Townsley 1988: 15). The text is educating the reader about the trials and difficulties experienced by the Palestinians in the town. This is a clear example of Sims Bishop’s (1982, 2007) sub category of socially conscious, multicultural, children’s literature where the reader is informed of the trials and tribulations of the community (Gopalakrishnan 2010). The images of flag day further emphasise the difficulties faced by the Palestinians and encourages the reader to feel empathy and sympathy for their situation. This is a further demonstration that this book is an example of socially conscious multicultural literature. There are three images depicting how happy, joyful and cheerful the Palestinians are on flag day. Firstly, on page 23, in the square where the festivities of flag day are due to take place, each person has a smile on their face. Secondly, on page 25 there are six Palestinian men playing a series of instruments; while playing the instruments they have smiles on their faces. Thirdly, page 25 depicts five people holding Palestinian flags and smiling (Stickles and Townsley 1988). These images are sharp contrasts to the next three images, which depict the arrival and the after-effects of the opposing force. Firstly, on the image on page 26 we see three angry looking men with rifles in a car. The text informs us that these are the soldiers. Secondly, on page 27 are five soldiers carrying guns. Finally, on page 29 the image shows us the square where the festivities were taking place. All the decorations have been destroyed. In this image we see the ultimate clash of the two cultures, who live together in one society. Although inharmonious, this image demonstrates two groups living in one society (Stickles and Townsley 1988). These images fit the multiple + culture definition (Cai 1998), where two cultures live together within one society regardless of who is dominating and who is dominated. The dichotomy is emphasised further when we see the narrator of the book release her balloon bearing the Palestinian flag into the air. This image is followed by an image of a soldier attempting to shoot the balloon down. The penultimate image speaks volumes regarding the dichotomy between Israel and Palestine. The image shows four Palestinian children cheering, with a look of satisfaction on their faces that the balloon bearing the Palestinian flag is flying free. In contrast to this, the Israeli soldier is looking towards the balloon, holding his gun and frowning. The final image shows the balloon bearing the Palestinian flag flying high above the land (Stickles and Townsley 1988). In summary, multiculturalism is depicted throughout the text and images in the book however the multiculturalism found in this book is characterised by the basic definition of multiculturalism, that is multiple cultures living in one society (Cai 1998). The book does not expand to Bloor’s (2010) version of multiculturalism where the mosaic of cultures is celebrated in the society. Although, the book demonstrates the most basic definition of multiculturalism, the book does fit into Sims Bishop’s (2007) category of social and cultural consciousness, where we learn about the Israel and Palestinian conflict from one cultural perspective and where the reader is encouraged to empathise and sympathise with the narrator, her family and the town’s people.. In essence this book does demonstrate a multicultural society at its most basic level and the book does inform us, albeit from only one perspective of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict The book is effective in conveying multiple cultures living in one society since throughout the book the contrast can be seen between the Palestinians and the Israeli soldiers. DOES THE MULTICULTURALISM PRESENTED IN THE BOOK SEEM IMPOSED OR NATURAL The interpretation of the book by the reader is highly subjective (as demonstrated by a variety of reader-response theorists (Rosenblatt 1978; Bleich 1978) and to a large extent, the answer to this question depends on a variety of factors including the ideological beliefs of the reader and the knowledge and experiences of the reader. For these reasons, it is problematic to prescribe whether or not the multiculturalism in the text and illustrations is imposed or natural. Each reader will interpret this differently. It may be safer to look at the text and illustrations from both angles. One may argue that the images and the text of the book is imposed, forced and unnatural. After all, it is clear from the text and images as described in the examples that the Israeli soldiers do not want the Palestinians to raise the Palestinian Flag and the Palestinians do not want their territory to be occupied by the Israeli soldiers, implying that the multiculturalism is forced, unnatural and unwanted. On the other hand, one might argue that the multiculturalism presented in the text and images is natural and that regardless of the reasons behind these cultures living side by side, both groups live in the same society regardless of who is dominating and who is dominated. This argument would insist that if the reader ignores reasons or circumstance, multiculturalism is natural in the text and images. At the time the book was written, the world was protesting against the treatment of the Palestinians including people in the United States (Neff 1997), thus to these people the multiculturalism would appeared imposed. In fact, regardless of political affiliation it is doubtful that one would describe the society as a natural multicultural one since the multiculturalism was a result of war.ISRAEL ISHOW IS MULTICULTURALISM PRESENTED IN THE TEXT AND IMAGES IN ISRAEL IS From the cover page of this book, we see a striking image of multiculturalism. Three children appear to be on a Muslim prayer rug (Encyclopaedia Britannica 2008) hovering above Jerusalem. The boy is wearing a Kippah; Observant Jewish men keep their heads covered by wearing a skull cap (Kippah) (Board of deputies of British Jews 2006)) indicating that he is Jewish. The second child on the prayer rug has black braided hair in pigtails. While there is no confirmation on the cover, this girl may be Palestinian. Interestingly both the Jewish boy and the girl who may be Palestinian have taken their shoes off, indicating that the Jewish boy is showing respect for the Muslim prayer rug (Encyclopaedia Britannica 2008). There is another girl who is kneeling on the prayer rug. She has her shoes on, however her shoes are not on the prayer rug. Again could she be showing respect for the other culturesThe prayer rug is hovering in the air and in the background are scene depicts Jerusalem. We see t he Dome of the Rock which is known to be symbolic to the Jewish, Muslim and Christian faiths (Petersen 1994). In summary, the cover page surely demonstrates multiculturalism in Israel as we have three children from different cultures together on the prayer rug. This represents three cultures in one society (multiple + cultures) (Cai 1998). The image described is significant as it represents harmony between cultures when at the time (late 1980s), there were hostilities between Israelis and Palestinians (Neff 1997). The second page most definitely represents a society of multiple cultures living harmoniously together. In this illustration there a number of images that demonstrate multiculturalism. Firstly there is a Jewish woman, identified by the fact that she is wearing a Tichel; Observant orthodox married women cover their hair in public (Board of Deputies of British Jews 2006). Interestingly, she is purchasing some products from a woman that is dressed in the colours of the Palestinian flag – black, green and red. In the background there is a man wearing a Kippah but also wearing non- traditional clothes. He may represent a more liberal approach to Judaism. He and his wife (who is not wearing Tichel) are purchasing items from a man wearing traditional Arab attire. In this scene people who seem to interacting with each other are smiling with one another indicating peaceful, harmonious relations between each culture (Topek and Kahn 1988). Not only do these images depict multiple culture s living together in one society, the images are also congruent with Bloor’s (2010) definition of multiculturalism, where the mosaic is celebrated. One interesting scene demonstrating multiculturalism and the comparison between Palestine and Israel is the scene on page 6, which contains the text ‘big farms’ (Topek and Kahn 1988: 6). The farm appears to a Kibbutz demonstrated by the houses towards the left hand side of the page. What is interesting is that although this a Jewish Kibbutz, in the middle of the page there is a large chicken, illustrated in red, green and outlined in black, the colours of the Palestinian flag. The image shows the backdrop of a Jewish Kibbutz and in the foreground a chicken coloured in the Palestinian colours peacefully standing on a cow. Again this image demonstrates peaceful relations between Israel and Palestine and two cultures living together harmoniously side by side. This is Bloor’s (2010) definition of multiculturalism. In the penultimate page, there are dove (a symbol of peace (Soucek 2006)) above a group of people. From the far left is a woman without a Tichel, standing next to a man who is wearing a Kippah, but also western clothes. This family may represent a more liberal attitude to Judaism. He is standing next to a man with a beard, who is wearing a long black coat, black trousers and a black hat. His wife is also wearing a Tichel and his daughter’s skirt below her knees. This family appears to be an observant Orthodox Jewish family. Next to the more conservative Jewish family is what might be assumed to be a more liberal Palestinian family. They are happily standing next to a family who are dressed in a more traditional Palestinian outfit. The son of the more conservative Jewish family is wearing blue and white and the son of the family is also wearing blue (the colours of the Israeli flag). The Jewish boy has his arm extended to the Palestinian liberal boy indicating a desire for a pe aceful multicultural society. The different cultures together on one page fit both the definition of multiple cultures in one society (Cai 1998) and also Bloor’s (2010) definition of multiculturalism where cultures are living together harmoniously. In summary, the book Israel Is certainly demonstrates a multicultural society, both in the most basic of definitions where there are multiple cultures living together in one society and in more advanced definitions; this book also fulfils Bloor’s (2010) definition of multiculturalism where the mosaic is celebrated and encouraged. The intent of the authors seems to be to encourage peace and harmony between all cultures in Israel. The only way this book informs us of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is its underlying insistence on peace. There are no images of war, only images of different cultures living in harmony. DOES THE MULTICULTURALISM PRESENTED IN THE BOOK SEEM IMPOSED OR NATURAL The answer to this question is subjective and an insider’s perspective may be very different from an outsider’s perspective. From an outsider perspective, nothing appears unnatural about the illustrations; however an individual who lived in Israel during the late 1980s may have differing opinion. For example, an individual who may have experienced hostility from another cultural group may argue that the images presented are unnatural and have been imposed by the authors. Given the events that took place in the late 1980s in Israel (the First Infatida) (Neff 1997) one may argue that the multiculturalism presented in the text is imposed and unnatural due to the hostilities between Palestinians and Israelis. Again, this is very subjective and each individual may have their own interpretation of events based on their own experience and knowledge. Bibliography Au, K. H. (1993) Literacy instruction in multicultural settings. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers. Banks, J. A., & Banks, C. M. (2001) (Eds.). Handbook of research on multicultural education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Berreby, D. (2008) Us and Them: The Science of Identity. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Bleich, D. (1978) Subjective criticism. London: The John Hopkins University Press. . Bloor, K. (2010) The definitive guide to political ideologies. Milton Keynes: AuthorHouse BOARD OF DEPUTIES OF BRITISH JEWS. (2006) Jewish Family Life and Customs: a practical guide. Available from: http://www.bjpa.org/Publications/details.cfm?PublicationID=14876 [Accessed 11th October 2014]. Cai, M. (1998) Multiple definitions of multicultural literature: Is the debate really just â€Å"ivory tower bickering†. The New Advocate, 11(4), 311–324. Cai, M. (2002) Multicultural literature for children and young adults: Reflections on critical issues. Milton Keynes: Lightning Source. Cohen, V., and Cowen J. (2008) Literacy for Children in an Information Age: Teaching Reading, Writing, and thinking. Bedmont: Thompson Wadsworth. Encyclop?dia Britannica. (2008) Prayer Rug. [Online] Available from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/474169/prayer-rug [Accessed 11th October 2014]. Fisherman, A. R. (1995) Finding ways in: Redefining multicultural literature. The English Journal, 84(6), 73–79. Gopalakrishnan, A. (2010) Multicultural Children’s Literature: A critical approach. California State University, Los Angeles: Sage Publications Larrick, N. (1965, September). The all white world of children’s books. The Saturday Review, 63–65, 84–85. Norton, E., & Norton, S. E. (with McClure, A.). (2003) Through the eyes of a child: An introduction to children’s literature. Upper Saddle Fiver, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall. Lindgren, M. V. (1991) The multicolored mirror: Cultural substance in literature for children and young adults. Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin: Highsmith. Neff D., (1997) The Intifada Erupts, Forcing Israel to Recognize Palestinians Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. December 1997, p. 81-83. Peterson, A. (1994) Dictionary of Islamic Architecture. London: Routledge Rosenblatt, L. M. (1978). The reader the text the poem: The transactional theory of the literary work. Carbondale & Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press. Schwartz, E. G. (1995). Crossing borders / shifting paradigms: Multiculturalism and children’s literature. Harvard Educational Review, 65(4), p. 634–651. Shannon, P. (1994). I am the canon: Finding ourselves in multiculturalism. Journal of Children’s Literature, 20(1), p 1–5. Sims Bishop, R. (1982) Shadow and substance: Afro-American experience in contemporary children’s fiction. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. Sims Bishop, R. (2007). Free within ourselves: The development of African American children’s literature. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Soucek, G. A., (2006) Doves (Complete Pet Owner’s Manual). New York: Barron’s Educational Servies Inc Stevens C. A., (1989) Turkey & Palestine: Both Middle Eastern Secular Democracies Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. March 1989, p 17. Stickles, F.C., and Townsley J. (1988) The Flag Balloon. Washington: Amer Educational Trust Topek, S. R., and Kahn, K. J. (1988) Israel Is. United States: Kar-Ben Pub
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Mixed Cropping Agriculture Technique
Mixed Cropping Agriculture Technique Mixed cropping, also known as polyculture, inter-cropping, or co-cultivation, is a type of agriculture that involves planting two or more plants simultaneously in the same field, interdigitating the crops so that they grow together. In general, the theory is that planting multiple crops at once saves space since crops in the same field might ripen at different seasons, and provides a wealth of environmental benefits. Documented benefits of mixed cropping include the balance of input and outgo of soil nutrients, the suppression of weeds and insect pests, the resistance of climate extremes (wet, dry, hot, cold), the suppression of plant diseases, the increase in overall productivity, and the management of scarce resources (land) to the fullest degree. Mixed Cropping in Prehistory Planting enormous fields with single crops is called monocultural agriculture, and it is a recent invention of the industrial agricultural complex. Most agricultural field systems of the past involved some form of mixed cropping, although unambiguous archaeological evidence of this is difficult to come by. Even if botanical evidence of the plant residues (such as starches or phytoliths) of multiple crops is discovered within an ancient field, it has proven difficult to differentiate between the results of mixed cropping and rotation cropping. Both methods are believed to have been used in the past. The primary reason for prehistoric multi-cropping probably had more to do with the needs of the farmers family, rather than any recognition that mixed cropping was a good idea. It is possible that certain plants adapted to multi-cropping over time, as a result of the domestication process. Classic Mixed Cropping: Three Sisters The classic example of mixed cropping is that of the American three sisters: maize, beans, and cucurbits (squash and pumpkins). The three sisters were domesticated at different times but eventually were combined together to form an important component of Native American agriculture and cuisine. The mixed cropping of the three sisters is historically documented by the Seneca and Iroquois tribes in the US northeast and probably began sometime after 1000 C.E. The method consists of planting all three seeds in the same hole. As they grow, the maize provides a stalk for the beans to climb on, the beans are nutrient-rich to offset that taken out by the maize, and the squash grows low to the ground to keep weeds down and keep water from evaporating from the soil in the heat. Modern Mixed Cropping Agronomists studying mixed crops have had mixed results determining if yield differences can be achieved with mixed versus monoculture crops. For example, a combination wheat and chickpeas might work in one part of the world, but it might not work in another. But, overall it appears that measurably good effects result when the right combination of crops are cropped together. Mixed cropping is best suited for small-scale farming where harvesting is by hand. It has been used to improve income and food production for small farmers and lessen the likelihood of total crop failure- even if one of the crops fail, the same field might still produce other crop successes. Mixed cropping also requires fewer nutrient inputs such as fertilizers, pruning, pest control, and irrigation than does monoculture farming. Benefits There seems to be no doubt that the practice provides a rich biodiverse environment, fostering habitat and species richness for animals and insects such as butterflies and bees. Some evidence suggests that polycultural fields do produce high yields compared to monocultural fields in certain situations, and almost always increase biomass richness over time. Polyculture in forests, heathlands, grasslands, and marshes has been particularly important for the regrowth of biodiversity in Europe. A recent study (Pech-Hoil and colleagues) was conducted on the tropical American perennial achiote (Bixa orellana), a rapidly growing tree that has a high carotenoid content, and a food dye and spice in small farming cultures in Mexico. The experiment looked at achiote as it is grown in different agronomic systems- intercropped polyculture, backyard cultivation including poultry farming, and a wide range of plants, and monoculture. Achiote adapted its mating system depending on which type of system it was planted in, specifically the amount of outcrossing that is seen. Further research is required to identify the forces at work. Sources: Cardoso EJBN, Nogueira MA, and Ferraz SMG. 2007. Biological N2 fixation and mineral N in common bean–maize intercropping or sole cropping in southeastern Brazil. Experimental Agriculture 43(03):319-330. Daellenbach GC, Kerridge PC, Wolfe MS, Frossard E, and Finckh MR. 2005. Plant productivity in cassava-based mixed cropping systems in Colombian hillside farms. Agriculture, Ecosystems Environment 105(4):595-614. Pech-Hoil R, Ferrer MM, Aguilar-Espinosa M, Valdez-Ojeda R, Garza-Caligaris LE, and Rivera-Madrid R. 2017. Variation in the mating system of Bixa orellana L. (achiote) under three different agronomic systems. Scientia Horticulturae 223(Supplement C):31-37. Picasso VD, Brummer EC, Liebman M, Dixon PM, and Wilsey BJ. 2008. Crop Species Diversity Affects Productivity and Weed Suppression in Perennial Polycultures under Two Management Strategies. Crop Science 48(1):331-342. Plieninger T, Hà ¶chtl F, and Spek T. 2006. Traditional land-use and nature conservation in European rural landscapes. Environmental Science Policy 9(4):317-321.
Monday, October 21, 2019
What means does Alan Bennett use to help us to understand the truth about Lesley in Her Big Chance Essays
What means does Alan Bennett use to help us to understand the truth about Lesley in Her Big Chance Essays What means does Alan Bennett use to help us to understand the truth about Lesley in Her Big Chance Essay What means does Alan Bennett use to help us to understand the truth about Lesley in Her Big Chance Essay Talking heads was a BBC drama television series produced in the late 1980s. The first six monologues were screened in 1987 and a further six were broadcasted in 1998. The monologues give us access to peoples most private thoughts. The individual tells their side of the story. Sometimes they reveal a lot more than they mean to, leaving the audience to investigate their lives further and piece together clues from what they say to create a character in their mind. Each monologue shows us a varied life. They are all melancholy and dramatic. These monologues also give us an insight of everyday British lives in the 80s. Her Big Chance is about young imprudent women named Lesley. Her obsessive career as a professional actress takes over her whole life so it becomes not just a job, but her world. She ends up being seduced by many men and manipulated into things she doesnt really want to do, leading to her acting in an abominable manner. The most tragic element being her acceptance of this treatment, believing it is part of her much admired career. These twelve monologues were written by Alan Bennett, born in 1934. He went to Oxford University and by 1960 he was at his prime. Aspects of Bennetts life can be found in his monologues. During the 30s Britain had a strong sense of community. The nation was hard working but was also male dominated. There were strict morals such as girls having to be married before sexual intercourse. We can see some opinions from the 30s reflected in Her Big Chance. For example, Lesley sees it as normal for men to push her around and abuse her. Bennetts early years were spent during World War Two. This harsh upbringing means he would have encountered shortages, caution, great fear and perhaps at times boredom. The audience will notice that young Lesleys life in the beginning is merriment and over exaggerated. This could represent what Bennetts childhood lacked, and the things he desperately wanted in his younger years. Bennett says at the begging of talking heads he has met many Lesleys, evoking the idea that the monologues are semi-auto biographies. The monologues were cheap to produce. During the 80s the BBC was cutting back their drama budget; therefore Talking Heads was the perfect series to put on air. The series was produced using just two cameras and each monologue took only six hours studio time to create. Compared to earlier high quality dramas, Talking Heads was a successful drama on a tight budget. Thatcherism played an immense influential role in peoples lives in the 80s. When Margaret Thatcher became the first women prime minister in 1979, the idea of community was beginning to break down. People became more independent. We see the feeling of independence in Lesleys character at times. The feeling of freedom spread and with it raised the divorce rate. Society became hard working but selfish. It was now believed that you could do anything if you tried hard enough. The idea of fame became exceedingly popular. Lesleys opinions and morals are linked to this reforming society and culture. She believes that if you give a lot you get a lot. She also thinks she is famous. Although the equal rights act being introduced a few years before Thatchers rise to power, Britain still held many aspects of a male dominated nation. We can see this when the men in Her Big Chance manipulate Lesley into doing things she is reluctant to do. However, she still obeys them. This drama is called Her Big Chance, but why did Bennett choose this title? I believe the purpose of this title is to mislead the audience. Bennett has used irony here to get our brains thinking about various meanings within the title. It holds many meanings and represents both Bennetts and Lesleys view of the situation in the monologue. When the audience first read the title, they presume this drama will be about a person, who has come across an opportunity that could change their life forever in a positive way. Once we have read the monologue thoroughly and understood Lesleys character, the titles hidden meanings are revealed. As we see in the monologue, due to her lack of understanding, Lesley always considers her role in the pornographic movie as a useful experience and never regrets coming across the job ( as we see when Lesley tells us shes glad she went to the party because thats how she got the part). So the title, if taken literally, represents Lesleys interpretation of the monologue. She really did see this as Her Big Chance and still does. However, Bennett could have written the title with the intention of a sarcastic meaning. This would be supporting both Bennetts and the audiences personal view of the situation. This wasnt really Her (Lesleys) Big Chance, his just making fun of her. This title gets the audience thinking like Lesley, in the beginning. By the end of the drama, we see the true Lesley, and think like Bennett. This is what happens in reality when we build a relationship with someone. Firstly we go by the persons opinion of them self. We then begin to find out their true personality and our view of them as they reveal more about their past and we watch their behaviour and interaction with others in general. Bennett begins this monologue with a dramatic and highly shocking opening. This rather bizarre comment by Lesley helps the audience understand more about her ludicrously stupid character. The first line she says is, I shot a man last week. In the back. I miss it now, it was really interesting. Its only the first line, and the audience has already been drawn in. I think Bennett wrote this cold and peculiar opening line to get the audience interested in this mysterious character encouraging us to read on and find more about this situation and this persons psychotic and sadistic personality. The word interesting evokes this image. The frequent use of fall stops and comers in this sentence builds up the tension even more so. However, the audience still have more unemotional and evil comments in store. This stone- hearted person then says Still, Im not going to get depressed about. Bennett seems to be turning the audience against Lesley by infuriating us and inflicting hatred towards her character. The idea that someone could be so heartless about a murder they just committed is almost unbelievable. She continues with the story, telling is more unwelcoming comments. Suddenly she talks about crossroads and her acting career, this disappoints the audience a little but without this opening, we would miss out on many aspects of Lesleys character. The audience see this being about a woman whose life is life is action filled and exciting. When we encounter Lesley getting a part in a pornographic, we are just bewildered; this was not what we were expecting after reading this opening about a cold-blooded murder. As we read further on we find out the truth, and the opening reveals some of Lesleys hidden characteristics. Lesley revels the truth about this opening. The audience see that this murder was acted out by Lesleys character, Travis, He spins round. Travis fires the harpoon and you see the spear come out of his back. This over exaggerated opening shows us Lesleys incapability of drawing a line between home life and work. She appears to be trying to intimidate the audience giving her the feeling she has authority over us, and all the characters in the monologue, reassuring herself. She is abused so much in the monologue, that maybe she doesnt want to risk being mistreated in this way again. She believes this threatening opening is the way to stop this. Bennett could also be trying to tell us that Lesley is ashamed; shes covering up and manipulating the immoral truth so it doesnt look as negative. Throughout the monologue, the audience will notice Lesley insulting other characters. Lesley rarely sees when she is being mistreated, but when she does recognise this foul treatment she snipes back with a harsh insult. Not only does she snipe when she feels bullied, but also when she feels her authority has been overruled by someone else. This can be seen when Lesleys water skiing role is given to another women. She tells us she is Pleasant enough, but doesnt look a bit like me (her), clearly bettering herself. She then makes comparisons between the new girl and herself. Im quite petite, only she is on the large side and whereas my hair is auburn, hers is defiantly ginger. Lesley emphasised the fact the new girl is ginger, which is clearly an insult. Its obvious Lesley is jealous of this woman for getting her much wanted role, because she is bettering herself by insulting her. If Lesley was really a professional like she says she is, she wouldnt be sulking about a small part like this. Bennett is showing us here her immaturity. Maybe Lesley has glimpsed the truth that she is not really a great actress and so makes nasty comments about the womens appearance, reassuring herself that although she may be the better actress, she has the better appearance. Lesley never, even at the end of the monologue understands her role in this movie. Bennett is showing us here her stupidity. At the beginning of the monologue when she is talking about the party, she tells us that shes glad I (she) did (went) because thats how I (she) got the audition This just sums- up Lesleys ridiculously stupid personality. She has had a week to think this over and still, she doesnt understand that she was used and manipulated into acting in a pornographic film. The director Simon asked to see her in her bra and panties They forced her to apply sun-tan lotion while topless, and yet has failed to see the film for what it is. But why? I believe that Bennett is not just showing her stupidity here, but her almost identical personality with Travis. Travis goes around topless and draws male attention, Lesley sleeps with three men during the monologue. This is just one similarity. Travis is abused by men in the monologue, Lesley tells us that Travis was hit my her boyfriend at an earlier junction Lesley is always mistreated by men, by saying you knew he was my boyfriend because at an earlier junction youd see him hit me across the face she is really telling us that in her eyes thats how men treat woman, and that its a fact of life. Could Bennett be highlighting the problem of sexist men in the 80s and how Britain was male dominated? Being so like Travis means that all of this seems normal to Lesley. There was nothing suspicious about having to act someone sleeping around and filming sexual intercourse scenes. Lesley does this in real life, sleeps around. As the audience sees, Lesley is constantly manipulated and abused such as the comment from Scot Lets face it, dear. Youre not used to working. Why dont you bring you knitting? and many other insults throughout the monologue. Lesley also tells us that Travis is a good-time girl, although you never see me having a good time. This is just like Lesley, she tells us about this part and how she shot a man in the beginning, but we never see her having any fun. This is why Lesley fails to see anything wrong with this film, she doesnt draw a line between acting and real life as Scot says to Lesley when she says it back to real life he replies some of us never left it. Showing, characters in the monologue also see this. This conversation also shows us that Lesley, although she constantly tells us she is, is not a professional. Professional actresses do not live their part. They dont go around sleeping with their directors like Lesley. However we can see why Lesley fails to see the film for what it is. If we was to get an acting job, and our character we played was like us, we wouldnt see anything wrong in it because we would be insulting our self if we said anything negative about the character. Lesley agrees with Gi nter that the film is very moral She wouldnt want to say it isnt because that would be calling herself immoral. Although that is exactly what she is, she wants to hide away form the truth, she only likes to hear what she wants to hear. Lesley manipulates information to help us understand more about her character. The audience can see Lesley manipulating information when she goes to a distant friends party. She tells us that she surprise(s) her friends by not being much of a party goer. She uses the excuse that she would rather curl up in a book The audience never see these friends and she gives no names, and it is clear that Lesley is extremely lonely and has no one. Lying in this way shows us she is ashamed and embarrassed of who she is and desperate to make new friends. She goes up to Spud as soon as she sees him. Why isnt she talking to her friends? If she had any she wouldnt have been on her own in the first place. She uses the excuse would rather curl up in a book, because she probably never been to a party. Lesley goes into so much detail about it that its obvious she is excited about it proving she has probably never been to one before in her life. Lesley being manipulated by so many men proves she is too trusting, but still thinks shes better than them. We can see this when she sleeps with Spud after the party. Spud and Lesley get talking about a film project Spud is working on. He asks Lesley if she is an actress, Lesley replies Interesting you should ask because as a matter of fact I am. The audience have just herd about her past experience on crossroads. She seemed interested in anything except acting out her part as an extra. Even this small role witch did not involve any speech, was too difficult it seems for Lesley to manage. All she spoke about was the layout and the props. This just proves to the audience she is not a Professional actress like she says she is. She is just an extra and she cant even sit and eat a meal. If Lesley was a professional she would have gone into detail with Spud about her possible role but she doesnt, evoking the idea she is far too trusting and an easy target. When Spud comes back, he tells Lesley that the director is seeing possible replacements at an address in west London. He tells Lesley that he is based in Ealing which is also west London. Although he has just pointed out, Lesleys stupidity has got the better of her and still hasnt worked out why Spud is telling her this. The audience by now are beginning to see what he is after. Lesley tells him that her stamping ground is Bromley for her sins. He replies with thats a fairish cry. Why not bed down at my place The audience automatically knows what he wants and now, so does Lesley. The audience are thankful and relived when she says Thank you kind sir, but I didnt fall of a Christmas tree yesterday, meaning I am not stupid. This quote can also represent Lesleys humorous language. These over exaggerated terms clearly show that Lesley is trying to appear well-educated and sophisticated. Maybe to gain authority over Spud? It seems that its a constant battle with Lesley too be better and higher than everyone, she does this through her language and snipes. But we and Spud see right through this. He covers this accusation up by telling her he has a son in hotel management and a daughter with one kidney and he has his sister-in-law staying. Most women by now would have walked away. Most people wouldnt even sleep at a strangers house. But this is Lesley, and she does. Then we are then told His vest had electrician all over it. She dont see the sister-in-law, and she comes up with the conclusion that she is still tracing around Olympia Why, didnt Lesley walk out when she noticed that these were all lies being told? This shows us both her stupidity and her trustworthy attitude are negative characteristics. Saying his vest had electrician all over it is heightening her status. She is associating him as a person from the lower class. Showing she feels guilty and needs to make herself appear better than him, even though she has just been tricked into having sexual intercourse with a complete stranger. This lack of understanding makes the audience cringe with embarrassment. Gi nter soon learns how to manipulate Lesley. Throughout the monologue he pressures her into doing many things she is reluctant to do. At the end of the monologue, Lesley asks Gi nter if she was Travis? And whether he was pleased with (her) my performance? Its the next line that revels and basically sums up Lesleys exceedingly foolish and immoral personality. Gi nter reassures Lesley that if someone is a bad actress (he) I cant sleep with them. The audience find this quotation exasperating. We have given so many chances to Lesley, forgiving her. However, she continues acting in this disgraceful manner. Here, Gi nter is manipulating Lesley with complements; once Lesley feels part of a group she will do anything. This shows the audience that what Lesley is really lacking, is the feeling she wanted. After this, she tells us Gi nter is a real artist even though she has just been manipulated for the third time into sleeping with a man. She usually insults men after they have tricked her. Gi nter is an exception, now she feels wanted by someone, she is nice to them. Lesley is so unintelligent that she fails to see what Gi nter is doing to her. Bennett has shown us here that Lesley will do anything if complemented. Bennett manages to get a serious message across, and still make this a comedy at the same time. He does this by Lesleys use of film parlance and pretentious use of language. Not only does it add humour into the monologue, it also helps us understand yet more about Lesleys complicated character. An example of unintentional humorous language is when Nigel says were cooking on gas. He says this as a metaphor. Lesley takes this literally and replies oh. I prefer electricity. By doing this Bennett is entertaining the audience and stopping us from feeling tedious. It shows us Lesleys persistent failure to understand everyday terms. Lesleys ability to slip in a few specialist film words in her everyday speech such as we slated for the part and we wrapped about six show audience that acting is part of Lesleys everyday life and is her only real interest. She explains what each term means. When she says (thats film parlance for packed up) she is patronising and insulting the audiences intelligence. Her ability to be able to slip in these technical terms s also tells us she is very dedicated her career. Bennett then makes the audience see this is not the case. When Lesley is talking about her experience on crossroads, we can see that acting is not her main priority. She discusses toilet and food preparations. She then wonders why people dont give her serious parts. The truth is she is not a great actress people just say it to win her over. The audience find Lesleys over exaggerated terms such as Thank you kind sir also quite amusing. This use of language clearly shows that Lesley does not get out much. This monologue has helped me understand more about the abuse everyday British women suffered in 1980s. By using these techniques, Bennett has revealed Lesleys darkest secrets and taught us her true personality. The dramatic opening shows the audience that women wanted to escape this treatment. They acted as if everything was fine and that they werent being mistreated by men. Lesleys character is representing many British women at this time. We feel sorry for Lesley at first, but her stupidity turns us against her. The monologue is quite upsetting; the audience laugh at Lesley because of her pretentious use of language and over exaggerated terms as well as all the characters. Sometimes we cant help but feel sorry for her. Its when she shows little sign of regret we start loosing sympathy. Even a week later she still doesnt regret being part of this film. Bennett defiantly succeeded at showing us this. He does in a clever way; he doesnt quote these ideas in directly but adds a few hints in throughout the monologue.
Sunday, October 20, 2019
John Lewis, Civil Rights Activist and Elected Politician
John Lewis, Civil Rights Activist and Elected Politician John Lewis is currently a United States Representative for the Fifth Congressional District in Georgia. But during the 1960s, Lewis was a college student and served as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Working first with other college students and later with prominent civil rights leaders, Lewis helped to end segregation and discrimination during the Civil Rights Movement. Early Life and Education John Robert Lewis was born in Troy, Ala., on February 21, 1940. His parents, Eddie and Willie Mae both worked as sharecroppers to support their ten children. Lewis attended the Pike County Training High School in Brundidge, Ala., When Lewis was a teenager, he became inspired by the words of Martin Luther King Jr by listening to his sermons on the radio. Lewis was so inspired by Kings work that he began preaching at local churches. When he graduated from high school, Lewis attended the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville. In 1958, Lewis traveled to Montgomery and met King for the first time. Lewis wanted to attend the all-white Troy State University and sought the civil rights leaders help in suing the institution. Although King, Fred Gray, and Ralph Abernathy offered Lewis legal and financial assistance, his parents were against the lawsuit. As a result, Lewis returned to American Baptist Theological Seminary. That fall, Lewis began attending direct action workshops organized by James Lawson. Lewis also began to follow the Gandhian philosophy of nonviolence, becoming involved in student sit-ins to integrate movie theaters, restaurants, and businesses organized by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). Lewis graduated from American Baptist Theological Seminary in 1961. The SCLC considered Lewis one of the most dedicated young men in our movement. Lewis was elected to the board of SCLC in 1962 to encourage more young people to join the organization. And by 1963, Lewis was named chairman of SNCC. Lewis married Lillian Miles in 1968. The couple had one son, John Miles. His wife died in December of 2012. Civil Rights Activist At the height of the Civil Rights Movement, Lewis was the chairman of SNCC. Lewis established Freedom Schools and the Freedom Summer. By 1963, Lewis was considered on the Big Six leaders of the Civil Rights Movement which included Whitney Young, A. Philip Randolph, James Farmer Jr., and Roy Wilkins. That same year, Lewis helped plan the March on Washington and was the youngest speaker at the event. When Lewis left SNCC in 1966, he worked with several community organizations before becoming community affairs director for the National Consumer Co-Op Bank in Atlanta. Lewis' Career in Politics In 1981, Lewis was elected to the Atlanta City Council. In 1986, Lewis was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Since his election, he has been reelected 13 times. During his tenure, Lewis ran unopposed in 1996, 2004 and 2008. He is considered a liberal member of the House and in 1998, The Washington Post said that Lewis was a fiercely partisan Democrat but†¦also fiercely independent. Atlanta Journal-Constitution said that Lewis was the only former major civil rights leader who extended his fight for human rights and racial reconciliation to the halls of Congress. And those who know him, from U.S. Senators to 20-something congressional aides, call him conscience of Congress. Lewis serves on the Committee on Ways and Means. He is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Progressive Caucus and Congressional Caucus on Global Road Safety. Lewis' Awards Lewis was awarded the Wallenberg Medal from the University of Michigan in 1999 for his work as an activist of civil and human rights. In 2001, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation awarded Lewis with the Profile in Courage Award. The following year Lewis received the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP. In 2012, Lewis was awarded LL.D degrees from Brown University, Harvard University and the University of Connecticut School of Law.
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Happy earth 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Happy earth 1 - Essay Example A young learner at level A1 should be able to comprehend and use common and everyday words or expressions at a satisfactory level. For instance, a young learner should be able to construct a simple- sentence structure using the words provided in Happy Earth 1 book. He or she should be able to construct a sentence using the words ‘flamingo, ‘fly. ‘fast. (Bowler,2001)Hence, he or she should combine the words and form a simple sentence. ‘flamingos fly fast. At this level, the young learner should be able to introduce, ask and answer questions about themselves. About Happy Earth 1, a young learner should be able to write their name, for example, my name is Trevor. Their favourite physical exercise (P.E), a young learner should be able to read and write, for instance, I jump high. In the music section, a young learner should be able to say, for example, I sing loudly. Moreover, he or she should be able to say or write ‘I speak English very well.’ Level A2 learners under basic level can also cope with Happy Earth 1 book. A learner in A2 should be able to understand simple sentences and words related to their environment. For instance, under animal action (Happy Earth 1) when the author refers to an animal with a big tail, strong legs and jumps a lot, a learner at this level A2 should be able to relate the simple description to a kangaroo. This shows that he or she can relate to his environment and also comprehend the words big, strong and jumps.
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