Essay on Depreciation Methods

Memorandum To: From: Subject: Depreciation Value of your Special Purpose Machine Date: Congratulations on your purchase of this special purpose machine. With every purchase of a new machinery comes the depreciation value of the machine. In order to report the value of this machine, we first must figure out the total amount paid for your machine. It says here you purchased the machine for an invoice price of $1,200,000 and the freight cost was $6000 and the cost for installation was $64000.We would add all that up and get a total machine cost of $1,270,000. There are 3 types of depreciation methods we can use to figure out the annual depreciation value of your machine: Straight Line Method, Units of productions Method, and Double Declining Method. The Straight Line Method is plain and simple. This will tell us what to report at the end of every year for the depreciation value of your machine. First we would take the cost of the machine minus the salvage value divided by the useful lif e of the machine.I believe the salvage value would be the use of the machine in that year. For example: the total cost of machine is 1270000-200000/5=214000: 200000 would be the salvage life and 5 would be the useful life of the machine and 214000 would be our depreciation value for the year. So after the first year of use the book value of the machine would be 1270000-214000=1056000. Every year we would subtract 214000 from the previous book value. The Units of Productions Method is a little more complicated.This will tell us the estimate depreciation value of the machine. First we would take the cost of the machine minus estimated salvage value divided by the predicted units of production that your machine would produce and we would get a cost per unit (depreciable). After we get the cost per unit (CPU), we would multiply it by the units produced in the period and we will get the depreciation for the period, also in the last year of the useful life of the machinery we would deprec iate to the estimated salvage value and never depreciate below the value.For example: the cost of the machine is 1270000 minus the salvage 200000 divided by the expected units that your machine would produce in its useful life which is 1000000. 1270000-200000/1000000 = $1. 07 per unit, this would be the cost per unit. Let’s say your machine will produce 200000 in its first year, so we would take the depreciation per unit multiply the number of units produced in the period, 1. 07Ãâ€"200000=214000. 214000 would be the depreciation expense for the first year and we would minus that from the beginning book value of the machine.If the machine produced 250000 the next year, we would go thru the same process again but this time we would subtract the depreciation value from the previous year book value and not the beginning book value. The Double Declining Method is the last method we would use to figure of the depreciation value of the machine. First we need to figure the straight- line rate and in order to do that we need the percent life of the machine and the useful life of the machine.We would divide each other and come up with the Straight-line rate. For example: 100% divided by 5 years equals 20% that the machine would depreciate very year if we should the straight-line rate. Second step we would double that rate, 20% x 2 = 40%. 40% would be the double declining balance rate (ddb). The final step we take the double declining balance rate multiply by the beginning period book value. For example: 40%x1270000=508000. 08000 would be the first year depreciation expense. The book value at the end of the first year would be 1270000-580000=762000. The next year we would take 40% of 762000 and come up with the depreciation expense for that year. In its final year of useful life the machine would never depreciate below the estimated salvage value and we would just have to adjust our books. Mr. Abella, now you know how to depreciate the value of your machine. Once again I congratulate you on your purchase.

Back to the Dreamtime : Relationship of Richard and Joe

The two main characters that I choose were Richard and Joe. Joe was the father to Richard. Richard was adopted by the McDonalds and lives together with his brother and sister and their names are Tom and Judy and his mother who called Sonya. Richard was a teenage Aboriginal raise in white Australian society. Richard always get a dream about a spirit calling him and give him some scenes or direction to do something, but he can’t understand what the message trying to be carry out by the dream.Furthermore, Richard had scored a very good school grades and he wish to choose history as his study next year at university. Joe was a very good father and householder because he takes a very good care to his family members. Joe liked holding family meetings because he believed they were a good way to get the family together and discuss things. As for examples, Joe had call for family meeting and tells the children about the tjurunga that they found in the attic.Richard and his father Joe w ere having a good relationship, we can prove this by the situation that had been happened. Richard never made angry to his parent on hiding his father tjurunga from him for being so long. In turn, he worried to his parent because he felt his parent was felt responsible for the whole situation and shaken about this matter.Next, although Richard was trying to find his real father tjurunga and burial ground but Joe was never disagree with what Richard was planning to do. Joe was fully support to Richard by giving his opinion and help to Richard on what he was going to do. Finally, Richard finds his father’s burial ground and buries the tjurunga there. Richard also found his role that he need to record and analysis this rich oral culture and preserve it for future generations.

Make a convincing argument for BOTH sides of an issue that has been Essay

Make a convincing argument for BOTH sides of an issue that has been considered by the U.S. Supreme Court or a U.S. Court of Appeals within the past twenty years or so - Essay Example The United States Supreme Court has enunciated a number of ways that student athlete drug testing does not infringe the Fourth Amendment Right or any other that various students have filed suits on, especially the high school athletes. The first case that attracted a lot of attention was the Vernonia v. Acton where student athletes, in support of their parents, accused their school in court for violating their rights through the drug tests. However, the United States Supreme Court ruled against the students by allowing the public school to continue with the administration of the drug tests. From this verdict, it is clear that the students do not have the option of evading the tests and the public schools have the permission of using force; moreover, this could apply even when the school administration does not have any reason suggesting that the student may have abused drugs. Based on the results of this, public schools in different parts of United States initiated drug-testing programs for every student participating in other supplementary undertakings including being members of certain clubs. A few years later, the Supreme Court experienced another case of Board of Education v. Earls where the court supported the general practice giving all public schools the mandate to administer drug tests to all scholars who engaged in any activities sanctioned by the school administration. Additionally, the Supreme Court also went further to permit the subjecting of drug tests even the rest of the students that did not participate in extracurricular activities. Essentially, even before the Vernonia v. Acton case, the United States Court of Appeal had made it clear that it is not necessary that public schools have an apparent reason to frisk scholars in the New Jersey v. TLO case. All the same, the public schools required a rational notion of the student engaging in unauthorized actions; relatively, this

Nike Fuel Band Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nike Fuel Band - Assignment Example As such, this paper seeks to describe how Nike Fuel Band is currently utilizing each of the components of the IMC mix mentioned above. Nike, a giant in manufacturing and selling athletic and other sporting related products has announced a new and more colourful Nike+ FuelBand SE that will be available on 6th November 2013. According to Berg (2013), â€Å"this product enables users to track individual sessions and see the points earned in real time. The band is still largely based around Fuel points.† The image below shows how the fuel band looks like. Given that this is a new product in the market, Nike ought to utilize the IMC Promotional Mix in order to successfully market the product to the targeted audiences. Advertising is a very effective strategy that can be used by Nike in order to market this new product. As stated by Kotler & Armstrong (2010), advertising can reach masses of geographically dispersed people at low cost and it enables the seller to repeat messages. For instance, television advertising can reach huge audiences and this is the reason why this strategy is ideal for this new product. Nike is also given the opportunity to say something positive about the brand and it can use integrated media such as print as well as broadcasting services to advertise this product to the targeted customers across the globe. Direct marketing involves the use of SMS, direct mail, online marketing as well as telephone and it is designed to promote dialogue between the marketing team and the consumer (Kotler & Armstrong, 2010). In order for Nike to successfully utilise this strategy, the marketers need to identify the people they can target in the first place and then compile a list. This can be a very effective strategy since it is intended to build one to one relationships between the marketers and the customers of this product. The other strategy that can be used is that Nike can target institutions of learning or other important gatherings specifically meant for sport and try to create personal contacts with enthusiasts in sporting activities. This contact list can then be used to send direct messages to the targeted customers so that they may be attracted to buy this new product. The other effective strategy is the use of internet marketing. â€Å"This is the application of the internet and related digital technologies to achieve marketing objectives,† (Strydom, 2004, p. 240). The main advantage of using this particular strategy is that the company can be in a position to reach a wide range of people located in diverse backgrounds. The internet is fast and it enhances marketing communication in various ways. It enables the company to carry out market research and it can also enable the marketers to interact directly with their customers regardless of the distance that may exist between them. Through the use of specially designed website, Nike can appeal to the interests of as many people as possible since research has sho wn that online business has significantly gained prominence over the past years. The other advantage for Nike in using this strategy is that it has a two way communication channel such that the marketers can get feedback from the customers about their perceptions towards the new Nike FuelBand. Sales promotion is a strategy that seeks to attract the customers and offers them strong incentives to buy the product (Kotler &

Health and safety in construction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Health and safety in construction - Essay Example The introductory section of the discussion give general information concerning the application of occupational health and safety rules in the contemporary society. The discussion is extended in the second section which describes of the statute laws applicable in occupational health and safety, its key requirements as well as the strategies that were applied to gather the information. The third section of the discussion discusses a legislation that has been applied in the United States of America to guide issues of occupational health and safety; modes of information retrieval are also described in this section. Moreover, examples of case laws are provided in the fourth section of the discussion together with the modes of information retrieval. Consequently, the second last section comprehensively discusses the strategies that were applied by the group to solve conflicts that might have emerged in the group. Meanwhile, the last provides a conclusion of the overall discussion. Key Word s Statute Law Occupational Health and Safety Conflicts Introduction The concept of occupational health and safety is usually overlooked especially in the construction

Answer one simple guiding questions sheet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Answer one simple guiding questions sheet - Essay Example ch is different from the political approach in the sense that it is more contextual and identifies a broad system in this issue rather than blaming the proximate and local forces ( as in the case the political approach). The apolitical approach is not devoid of a political stance since acknowledges the effects of human activities on a natural wildlife setting but denies their isolation from it as they are regarded part of the biodiversity Ecoscarcty account shows that a crisis due to scarcity of natural resources in the human-environment-relationship affects the whole biodiversity system and this means there is clever use of substitutes and new technologies and techniques are put in place to increase efficiency thus more alternative ways of sustaining the growing population. This results to infinite resource production bringing an ecological balance in the whole system. The Modernization account shows how modern technologies can guide natural resource management; exploitation and conservation through taming resource degradation and environmental destruction. The two accounts are apolitical since they view the human-environment relation as being interdependent. The political Ecology as a hatchet prunes away methods, stories and policies that create pernicious environmental and social outcomes. It is also an hatchet to stories and myths that seek to explain the influence of the accounts on political and ecological change.( Davis, 2007,p.10).On the other hand the political ecology as a seed is progressive and not retrospective and reactive since does local knowledge documentation and seeks to recover disappearing knowledge and practices and how they became part of the alternative development strategies. The first thesis is the Degradation and Marginalization shows how overexploitation on local production systems can lead to poverty and this can occur in a cyclic manner leading to a sustainable community management and a decrease in the equity of resource

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

Cyberbullying - Essay Example The website stopcyberbullying.org defines cyberbullying or online bullying as â€Å"when a child, preteen or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones.†The site further states cyberbullying involves minors; otherwise, if adults are involved it is labeled as cyber-harassment or cyberstalking. There are several ways how a minor is cyberbullied. These include pretending to be someone else to trick the other person, spreading lies and rumors about the victim, deceiving people to provide personal information, sending cruel or malicious messages and posting pictures of the victims without their knowledge.2 There are a number of measures which can be done to prevent cyberbullying. â€Å"Education and awareness is the key. Parents and teachers need to understand the problem, and understand the technology.† Since it is next to i mpossible to limit the access of kids to electronic technologies, parents can purchase software programs which can monitor their children’s communications and the websites they visit. On the other hand, schools should educate their students regarding cyber ethics, discuss cyberbullying, advice students how to stay away from it and talk about its negative effects. Among the other institutions, it is the schools that play an important role in stopping and remedying cyberbullying. They should promulgate policies that will discipline students who engage in such acts, whether inside or outside the campus, especially if it adversely affects other kids in school. Schools, however, should be careful not to exceed their authority, lest they be sued. They should encourage their students to report to their teachers or other school authorities if they are victims or are aware of cyberbullying incidents. Schools can also provide pamphlets which could give advice on how to be â€Å"cyber- safe†, such as not sharing or posting personal information online; not divulging internet passwords with anyone except their parents; not personally meeting anyone whom they just know through the net and to always remember to talk to their parents on what activities they do online.4 As of February 2011, there are already 44 states that have cyberbullying laws according to the Cyberbullying Research Center.The Center goes on to specify that of these 44 states, six states specifically mention â€Å"cyberbullying† while 31 states specifically mention â€Å"electronic harassment†. These legislations are indeed a welcome improvement in the status of prevention of cyberbullying. In an article written by O’Neil, he suggested that it is difficult to pursue a civil or criminal case on cyberbullying because of the high standards that the Supreme Court has established for incitement.6 He pointed out further that although the Tort and Libel Laws are in place, they are inadequate to protect an individual from cyberbullying. I believe that legislation against cyberbullying have a long way to go. The state should not be reactive in introducing new laws against cyberbullying; rather it should be proactive and not wait for more tragedies to happen before it begins to act. Aside from government policies, the business sector also has a responsibility in barring cyberbullying.  

Credit Crisis(Subprime) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Credit Crisis(Subprime) - Essay Example However, when interest rates began to rise and housing prices started to decline, refinancing became more difficult and subprime borrowers were unable to make their mortgage payments, which resulted in a continuous subprime cycle throughout all markets in the United States. Subprime borrowers were unable to pay their mortgage payments, so several financial institutions made the effective financing approach by issuing financial agreements called Collaterized Debt Obligation (CDO), mortgaged-backed securities (MBS) and a form of credit insurance called Credit Default Swaps (CDS) to sell to investors across the world to invest in the U.S. Graph 1 illustrates that the growth of CDOs issued increased dramatically from 2004 to 2006, then dropped slightly in 2007. These types of financial innovations derived value from increasing in mortgage payments and housing prices, becoming popular. The usages of the product expanded dramatically. The financial innovation was carried out by firms whose activities were not regulated. The transactions became too complex and the policies were inclined to support deregulation of the financial market, sometimes being loose of supervision. The subprime mortgage crisis thus became a full-fledged financial crisis, and turned to a collapse in financial markets. As the subprime crisis intensified, financial institutions faced difficulties in raising capital forced default protection, and sellers (such as Northern Rock and American International Group (AIG) were reducing credit ratings. This left depositors with no confidence in the stability of financial institutions and they began to withdraw their deposits, which was the main cause of bankruptcy of financial institutions. For example, due to the bankruptcy of one major institution like the AIG, it brought down the whole financial system. In the beginning of 2008, â€Å"The Bear Stearns Companies,

The United States' Invasion of Afghanistan Assignment

The United States' Invasion of Afghanistan - Assignment Example As a superpower, the United States interferes with the affairs of Afghanistan though it is a sovereign nation. Machiavelli’s theory on moral tradition condemns immoral practices that States use to maintain power. The theory advocates for diplomacy because morality is the basis of constituting governments. Based on a realist perspective, the US was not strategic when invading Afghanistan making their invasion qualify as intimidation as noted by Fiscus (1969). The US did not adhere to the principles of diplomacy that Machiavelli advocated for in his literary works. Instead, they focus on Machiavellism while carrying out their mission. Machiavelli believed that morals should guide nations in their pursuit. Therefore, it was unethical for the United States to use force though they claim that they are merchants of peace. It would have been better for the United States to refrain from using force while promoting stability in different places around the globe (Fiscus 2001). Politics should not be divorced from ethics as evident during invasion of

What Will Iris Have on Her To-do-list Case Study - 35

What Will Iris Have on Her To-do-list - Case Study Example Iris should have a lot of tasks on her to-do-list that would required to be managed and handled by her in order to achieve her objective. As per the discussion of Iris with Mike regarding revising the risk management documentation, I believe that the tasks on her to-do-list should include but not limited to a complete analysis of risk management including identification of risks / treats to the assets, specification of vulnerable assets, evaluating the risks by assessing the probability of happening the risk, assigning the value of probability and impact of the risks, risk reporting and communication, selection of responses (risk treatment) like preventing, reducing, transferring, accepting and contingency plans. Moreover, the planning and organizing the processes so that a common or uniform input can be taken and evaluated company wide, development of asset inventory, and one of the most important tasks is to document all the findings and assessments. I believe that the Iris should not rely only on the higher management and team members, but she should also involve all the stakeholders and end users, as they are always helpful resources. Moreover, it is required that the Iris should also do a little bit research over the internet (major resource after the stakeholders) to find out and follow the best practices, standards and guidelines to develop, manage, organize / categorize the tangible and intangible, moreover, prioritizing the assets along with their values to the organization.  

The Impacts of Poor Parental Responsibility on Future Criminality Essay Example for Free

The Impacts of Poor Parental Responsibility on Future Criminality Essay Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Criminality is one of the most alarming social issues today. Despite efforts of the government and private organizations to minimize the occurrence of violence and offense, the statistics cease to decline. The age of offenders, on the contrary, continues to drop. (Asher 2006) reports that of the 9.6 million arrested by the FBI Uniform Crime Report in 2003, 16% were under the age of 18. Five percent barely reached 15 years of age. Studies have continuously pointed to many different causes and risk factors leading to juvenile offense and adult delinquency. Childhood factors, on the other hand, remains to be an essential point of many of these studies. One of these conditions in childhood is parenting.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Management of parental responsibilities and parenting styles differ significantly depending on the family structure and the societal conditions in which the family is in. As such, one parent’s reaction to a behavior manifested by a child may vary from another parent’s response. Likewise, factors surrounding a child can affect how he is going to respond to the actions and reactions of his parents. However, it is important to note that the child spends his formative years at home. This validates saying that management of parental responsibility affects the behavior of children, and can be a good indicator and intervention for a child’s risk for future criminality. Good and Bad Parenting   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Parenting is a lifetime career, and it is a job that each parent should strive to be good at. When couples practice positive parenting, it shields their children from the likelihood of becoming a delinquent later in life. (Asher 2006) It is the parents, not the neighborhood, who establish the conditions at home. One, in fact, does not affect the other. (Thornberry and Hall 2005) These circumstances directly affect the growth of the children. (Eklund and af Klinteberg 2006) claims that poor parenting can lead to the development of antisocial behavior in children which they can carry to adulthood. (Huesmann 2002) agrees, saying that when a family is deprived of interaction and nurturing children are more prone to be aggressive—a trait which may lead to criminality. Having two parents at home is not the sole requirement. The involvement of both parents to take on the roles of rearing the children and the relationship of the mother and the father with the children are equally important. (Eklund and af Klinteberg 2006) Both the mother and father or the figures playing these roles have different parenting perspectives that can shape their children. These perspectives should be agreed upon and communicated about, establishing a clear parenting system. The parenting system can be divided into three styles as formulated by Baumrind. The authoritarian parenting style puts control over the child and initiates a set of rules which the child should follow. Often, punishment is given if the child fails to abide by the rules. Authoritative, sometimes called equalitarian parenting, makes the child a part of the decision-making process. It exercises open communication with the child and sorts out circumstances before punishments, if applicable, are given. Permissive parenting, on the other hand, puts little control over the child and often lets the child decide for himself. (Parenting n.d.) (Smith 2004) claims that parenting styles may affect a teenager’s risk to be involved in deviant behavior and criminality. When parents neglect their children, impose harsh disciplinary measures, and create situations that lead to transitions in the family structure such as divorce or separation, the children are at a high risk of delinquency later in life. In a survey conducted to 39 parents of juvenile offenders, 46% were authoritarian, 29% were authoritative (equalitarian), and 25% were permissive. (Asher, 2006) This establishes a link in the likelihood of criminality among children who grew up in a controlling parenting style. This is not surprising because authoritarian parents have a hard time monitoring the activities of their children, who may not trust them with information of their activities for fear of rejection or being scolded. (Smith 2004) Permissive parenting, however, results in children who lack self control because they grew up in a family environment where little control is put over them. The best parenting style may be said to be the authoritative (equalitarian) parenting style which produces confident children with good social skills. (Parenting n.d.) But apart from parenting style, other factors may affect the risk of a child’s involvement in criminality. Linking Parental Responsibility and Delinquency   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Even if parents practice authoritative parenting and strive to raise the perfect kids, several other aspects of the home can make or break a growing up child. Divorce, child abuse, exposure to substance abuse, religious orientation, and the family climate as a whole are family occurrences that may contribute to a child’s likelihood to be involved in crimes and offenses later in life. Divorce   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ideally, children should have a mother and a father, or persons who will take on the roles of the parents. When one parent is absent, it produces a family setting that differs from the standard, creating an environment for a child that deviates from the family setting that he knows and/or hears about. Children should grow up with a mother to nurture them and a father to support their emotional and social development. Without a father or a father figure, kids have a tendency to be aggressive, and lack patience and sense of responsibility. (Asher 2006)   (Thornberry et al 1999) claims that children whose families often go through transitions are more likely to be violent and be delinquents. A significant portion of the population studied in Rochester, Denver, and Pittsburgh also manifested drug use and abuse. The study showed that the more disruptions the family go through, the more likely the child is going to be delinquent later on. (Asher 2006) further proves this by quoting Chapman in saying that 53% of convicts grew up in homes without two-parent setups. Child Abuse and Maltreatment   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sometimes, it takes the rod to discipline a child; but using the rod too often may defeat the purpose and lead otherwise. When children are punished physically, they develop fear or much worse anger that leads to avoidance. (Parenting n.d.)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Parents may go out of control and unconsciously abuse the children physically, and raise criminals without knowing it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sixty eight percent of juvenile delinquents have been abused or neglected in their childhood. What the parents of these teenagers never knew is that child abuse increases a child’s risk to become a criminal later in life by as much as 40%. Exposure to violence can lead a child to become violent to others himself, as violence and aggression is learned early in life. This may later on result in offenses and criminality. (Love our Children USA 2005) In fact, in a study of 388 white males in Idaho, (Heck and Walsh 2000) proved that maltreatment in children accounted for the likelihood of violent delinquencies later on. (Huesmann 2002) agrees, saying that children who are rejected by their parents and received harsh punishments grow up aggressive, putting them at a high risk of being arrested when they grow up. Exposure to Substance Abuse   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A study developed by (Eklund and af Klinteberg 2006) proved that alcohol abuse at home contributed as a major factor for persistent criminality in children. The study also showed that children reared in households where there is alcohol abuse had a tendency to abuse alcohol themselves. Today, alcohol is not the only culprit that parents should watch for. Variations of illegal drugs and drug alternatives are also widely available, and the children will most likely be exposed to them especially when parents abuse them. This becomes a risk factor for them to have violent behavior and to get involved in criminal activities at the worst. Religious Orientation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is a challenge to every couple to raise their children in an environment that believes in a supreme being, no matter what sect or religion the couple belongs to. This proves to be a protective factor for children, defending them from becoming delinquents later in life. Parents who attended church more when their children were at their formative years, which is before the age of eight, had little or no problems with their children becoming arrested or convicted. They also find it easier to communicate with their children and discuss problems, a factor that helps the children be expressive and avoids them from having violent tendencies and committing offenses. (Huesmann 2002) Family Climate   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The condition of the family as a whole can be a major indicator of later delinquency in children. According to (McCord 1991), couples should properly manage maternal competence, paternal interaction, and family expectations as these can be directly linked to juvenile delinquency. The poorer these factors were managed, the more likely delinquency can occur.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mothers should be able to handle the household and manage it with authority yet compassion. Fathers should have more interaction with the other members of the family, especially with the children, instead of becoming the quiet stereotype that old media has portrayed the paternal role. Family expectations should be moderated—not too high and strict nor too low and permissive—so that the children can grow up goal oriented. In a study, only 5% of boys raised in this ideal family setting were involved in criminality, while 47% of those who grew up under the contrary circumstances became delinquents. (McCord 1991) Parental Responsibilities and Liabilities   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The parents’ role in rearing their children does not stop when the children leave the house. Unless the children are more than 18 years of age, parents are held responsible in supervising them. Education is one of the most sensitive responsibilities that parents have over their children, as parents are tasked to ensure that their children go to school until the age of 16. Likewise, parents are held liable when children go astray and make offenses towards other people and the law. (Governor’s Crime Commission 2000)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Juvenile delinquency does not only affect the well-being of the child but the parents as well. As parents, they are responsible in attending the hearings and make efforts in speaking with the attorney and the judge to be informed about the development of the case. Parents may also be asked by victims to be responsible and pay for the damages caused by their children. (Governor’s Crime Commission 2000) In certain instances, parents may also have to accomplish community service sentences with their children, attend seminars to improve parental responsibility, or worse lose custody of their children when the court finds that they cannot responsibly handle them. (Colorado Judicial Branch 2001)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To avoid such inconveniences, it is wise for parents to take charge of the children. The younger the children are disciplined, the less likely that they will develop problems with delinquency and criminality when they grow older. Even before the children enter school, parents should start educating themselves and accessing training programs that will help them be responsible parents. They should learn how to detect problems and solve them proactively, and promote openness of communication with their children to lessen the risk of future criminality. Discussion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Rearing children can be a difficult task, and a sensitive one at that. A child’s experiences in his early age can greatly affect his perception of life, of people, and of the society. Therefore, it is important that parents or people taking on the role of parents be attentive enough to the emotional, social, psychological, and physiological needs of the children they are raising.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Parenting can be any of three styles, and it is dependent on the parents and the background of the family to choose which style works best for them. However, studies have repeatedly proven that authoritative, otherwise known as equalitarian parenting, is the style that gets the best results. As it is a positive parenting approach and involves the children in the process of parenting and decision making, this style opens the communication lines between the parents and the child, making the child more comfortable to interact with them. This contradicts authoritarian parenting which assumes full control of the child, creating hostility between the parents and the child. On the other hand, authoritative (equalitarian) parenting corrects the improper management and imposition of discipline carried out with permissive parenting. The choice of parenting style, though, is not enough. Parents should also take care of their choices, which affect the occurrences at home. Divorce, child abuse and maltreatment, substance abuse, religious orientation, and the family climate are other indicators of good parenting.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While divorce is a choice for the couples to make, couples should consider the effects of the separation to their children. The same intervention applies especially if new people will be involved in the relationship after the divorce. The preparedness of the children in accepting the family transition can spell the impact for them in the future. Child abuse and maltreatment should also be avoided, and induction of punishment should be put under control as this exposes the child to violence and other psychological effects that can lead him to be violent as well when he becomes an adult. Substance abuse in parents can also greatly affect substance abuse among children; and even if parents do not abuse drugs or alcohol their perception and management of these issues among their children can pretty much put a certain level of control over the children’s choice to abuse substances later on. Religious orientation and family climate should also be as positive as possible, to help raise kids that are not prone to delinquency.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Parents are responsible for their children until they reach the age of 18. Thus, it is important that parents impose discipline among their children and prevent future criminality. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The statistics of crime rates and criminals are on the rise, and a good starting point in curtailing the growth of the statistics can be found at home. Poor parenting puts children at risk to becoming criminals. In effect, if parents observe good parenting practices and manage the growth of their children properly, there is less chance for their children to become delinquents, and more chance in raising productive members of the society.       References Asher, J. â€Å"Exploring the Relationship Between Parenting Styles and Juvenile Delinquency.† 2006. http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/view.cgi?miami1165594171 (27 April 2007) Colorado Judicial Branch. â€Å"Answers to Your Questions About Juvenile Delinquency.† 2001. http://www.courts.state.co.us/exec/pubed/brochures/juvenile.pdf (2 May 2007) Eklund, J. and af Klinteberg, B. â€Å"Stability of and Change in Criminal Behavior: A Prospective Study of Young Male Lawbreakers and Controls.† 2006. http://www.iafmhs.org/files/Eklundspring06.pdf (27 April 2007) Governor’s Crime Commission. â€Å"You and the Juvenile Justice System: A Guide for Youths, Parents, and Victims.† 2000. http://www.doa.state.nc.us/yaio/documents/justice.pdf (2 May 2007) Heck, C. and Walsh, A. â€Å"The Effects of Maltreatment and Family Structure on Minor and Serious Delinquency.† 2000. http://www.sagepub.com/martin/Heck.pdf (27 April 2007) Huesmann, L. R. â€Å"Childhood Predictors of Adult Criminality: Are All Risk Factors Reflected in Childhood Aggressiveness?† 2002. http://www.andrews.edu/~rbailey/Chapter%2016/10133509.pdf (27 April 2007) Love our Children USA. â€Å"Teen Violence Prevention.† 2005. http://www.loveourchildrenusa.org/parent_preventteenviolence.php (27 April 2007) McCord, J. â€Å"Family Relationships, Juvenile Delinquency, and Adult Criminality.† 1991.   http://courses.missouristate.edu/KarlKunkel/SOC540/mccord.pdf (27 April 2007) Parenting. â€Å"Parenting.† N.d. www.radford.edu/~dhall/parenting.ppt (27 April 2007) Smith, D. â€Å"Parenting and Delinquency at Ages 12 to 15.† 2004. http://www.law.ed.ac.uk/cls/esytc/findings/digest3.pdf (27 April 2007) Thornberry, T. and Hall, G. â€Å"The Joint Impact of Family and Community Structure on Violent Delinquency.† 2005. http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/grants/215999.pdf (27 April 2007) Thornberry, T. et al. â€Å"Family Disruption and Delinquency.† 1999. http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/178285.pdf (27 April 2007)

REMEDIAL WRITING PROGRAMME FOR ELEMENTARY STUDENTS

REMEDIAL WRITING PROGRAMME FOR ELEMENTARY STUDENTS The purpose of this study programme is to determine if students from the elementary level of Hin Hua High School (Chinese Independent School) improved in their ability to write in English after having studied specifically developed curriculum. The 7-hour remedial programme is to be conducted once the academic department releases the final assessment grades. Fifteen students with the lowest score were selected using the criterion method to undergo the remedial programme. the importance of all six major aspects of writing measured in the English Test which comprises mainly punctuation, grammar and usage, sentence structure, strategy, organization, and style. It is believed by attending the remedial programme selected students would be able to show the ability to make and articulate judgments by taking position on an issue or problem. Besides sustaining a position by focusing on the topic throughout the writing. They are alson expected to develop a position by presenting support or evidence using specific details and make inferences based on support or evidence. Most importantly, they should be able to organize and present ideas in a logical way by logically grouping and sequencing ideas. Hence communicate clearly by using language effectively and by observing the conventions of standard written English INTRODUCTION As a language teacher, I often select writing tasks from language textbooks to help students improve their writing ability. Behaviorists, communicative, cognitive, and discourse theories could influence writing approaches in language textbooks. Each theoretical framework has provided us with a better understanding of the multiple dimensions and purposes of teaching writing. A review of the developments in writing pedagogy leads us to conclude that we could teach writing as a means to improve linguistic, rhetorical and communicative competence or as a discovery and cognitive process. The writing tasks that we select from language textbooks and assign to students could reflect one or some of these pedagogical purposes. As teachers, we need to question and understand the pedagogical assumptions of textbook writing tasks so that we can select tasks that will help our students become confident writers and independent thinkers. Primary students entering the secondary school level (high School) are challenged not only to learn new content in the disciplines but also to communicate this. A significant number of students will not have adequate academic literacy levels to be able to do this successfully (Jones and Bonanno, 1995 (1). Atlhough traditionally students were expected to develop academic literacy skills without any explicit teaching of these skills, schools now recognize the increasingly diverse backgrounds of their student populations and have put in place mechanisms for helping students develop their academic literacy. These have included the establishment of literacy and learning units as well as the requirement for school curricula to address the teaching of writing skills including communication skills. English Learning Centre of Hin Hua High School Klang, like other literacy and learning units, has been involved in a number of collaborative projects with teachers involved in teaching Junior One to integrate the teaching of communication skills into the curriculum (Webb et al, 1995, Taylor and Drury, 1996). These initiatives have resulted in the development of new teaching materials and approaches as well as new practices of assessment and feedback. However, as subject area curricula are being adapted to computer-based forms of learning, it is also necessary to consider how the teaching of communication skills can be integrated into these programs or how the teaching of communication skills can be contextualized within the learning of subject area knowledge. With the current demand for propheciuency in English Language great importance has been given to developing programs to instill good writing modes to the elementary learners which aims to help students become successful editors of their own writing. 1.1 LITERATURE REVIEW Writing skills have been identified as to improve students thinking. Moffett and a few others have developed cognitively sequenced curricula for elementary and secondary writing, college composition, when it is sequenced at all, tends to rely on structural or rhetorical arrangements, which are neither sequential nor cumulative. Progressions from word to sentence to paragraph to theme confuse quantitative with qualitative growth, while rhetorical sequences confront students with cognitive problems of different but equal complexity. In short, from a cognitive perspective, most writing instruction in higher education is consistent with that in secondary education: what Stephen Judy described as Advanced Hodgepodge in high school gives way to Arrogant Hodgepodge in college. A large and growing body of research, however, shows that cognitive development follows a hierarchical sequence of stages and suggests that a curriculum can be sequentially organized to promote cognitive development. Blooms Taxonomy of Educational Objectives provides some essential connections between the cognitive abilities we expect of college students and a curriculum that can stimulate those abilities Blooms Taxonomy is one solution to the cognitive hodgepodge of the writing curriculum. It allows us to sequence instruction and assignments in ways that speak directly to students developmental needs. From least to most complex, For writing instruction the taxonomy provides a flexible model of what happens cognitively in the learning process Bloom described a six stage sequence: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation. (See Figure 1) Figure 1.0 The flow chart of Blooms Taxonomy At each new level, thought processes build on and encompass previous levels. Implicit in this structure is the assumption of an ascending scale of difficulty and comprehensiveness. Thinking at the comprehension level is more demanding than at the knowledge level; cognitive problems requiring synthesis or evaluation encompass all the preceding levels. A review of Blooms definitions for each taxonomic level suggests what such a cognitively-based writing course might entail. Although the focus of each level is cognitive, rhetorical issues of audience and purpose are equally appropriate and can be specified for any assignment. Most of all, the taxonomy allows us to contemplate the value and feasibility of a cognition-based curriculum in writing. Such a curriculum would reflect the hierarchical relations of the various thought processes and would help to control for cognitive complexity in writing and thinking about distorting natural discourse. In this form, writing or writing-intensive courses would systematically develop students thinking skills rather than leaving them to chance or, worse, blunting the writers still-developing ability to explore and express ideas. In short, a cognition-based curriculum ensures that students participate fully in using writing as a mode of learning. 2.0 INTENDED PURPOSE The remedial programme is targeted for the elementary learners who are in the process of upgrading their writing skills to the pre -intermediate level. A total of 15 students are selected from the age group of 13 years old based on the final semester examination results. The examination basically structured in accordance to the textbook currently used in the school curriculum ,New Opportunities (Pearson Longman-Cambridge). Basically the (Stiggins to highlight achievement differences between and among students to produce a , 1994). School systems might want to classify students in this way so that they can be enhance their competency level even further. The major reason for using a norm-referenced test (NRT) is to classify students. NRTs are designed on dependable rank order of students across a continuum of achievement from high achievers to low achievers be properly placed in remedial or gifted programs. These types of tests are also used to help teachers select students for differe nt ability level reading or mathematics instructional groups. As the selected students fall under the below average group in Paper 1(Writing Assessment) whereby there are two parts that the had to complete here: SECTION A Notes Expansion and SECTION B Continuous Writing (Choose one topic out of five given) From the academic analysis it was found that majority students failed in Section B where it consists of 25% of the total marks of 40% of the Writing paper. Thus they are required to attend a 7 hour remedial programme to improve their writing skills by at least 85%. 3.0 PURPOSE OF REMEDIAL WRITING PROGRAMME The reasons for the remedial program to be initiated is to better the learners in their writing skills and strengthen it so that they have all capabilities to be promoted to the next level but due to certain minute factors they fail to adhere to the standards of the pre-intermediate level. Thus these students are carefully selected using the criterion method to undergo the 7 hour remedial programme. In order to drill and motivate these students in the remedial programme an enriching lesson plan is formulated to create a positive outcome at the end of the the 7 hour remedial programme. The purposes for emphasizing writing skills are to produce who can comprehend teaching and learning in a positive mental attributes. There is a wide body of research suggesting that assessing students written performance is a valuable undertaking. Not only is an instructor able to help a students progress, but also the instructor can facilitate the learning process and the learning outcomes by being aware of student performance throughout the academic session. Figure 2.0: The Purpose for Teaching Writing Undeniably, 3R skills are important and necessary in daily living. They are also needed to support the development of a knowledge-based economy. Recognizing these needs, the school has initiated and implemented programmes to identify students who have not mastered the 3Rs. These programmes are designed to specifically address and overcome the inability of students to master the 3Rs. This is in line with the essentialism which instills students with academic knowledge and character development. Among the programmes that have been implemented in schools are the Early Inter ­vention Reading and Writing Class, Basic Skills for Reading, Writing and Counting Programme and the Literacy and Numeracy Programme at Level One. 3.1 Sub-skills of Writing Besides drilling and enriching the remedial learners with the core writing skills , there are also exposed to the importance of sub-skills in their learning such as: I Manipulating the script of the language: handwriting, spelling and punctuation. II Expressing grammatical [syntactic and morphological] relationships at the sentence level III Expressing information or knowledge in writing: explicitly implicitly IV Enrichment of Vocabulary PART B 4.0 Objectives of the 7-hour remedial programme The main aim in introducing and implementing the remedial programme particularly in the aspect of writing skills is to mainly: to develop competencies in writing skills among learners to move from a teacher-centered didactic model to a student-centered constructivist model to acquire the ability to write in a more clear, concise and acceptable manner 5.0 Instructional Design : Using the ADDIE Model to Build Writing Competency Among Remedial Learners Table 2.0 ADDIEs Model 5.1 Framework The generic term for the five-phase instructional design model consisting of Analysis,Design,Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. Each step has an outcome that feeds into the next step in the sequence. There are probably over 100+ different variations of the generic ADDIE model. Instructional design aim for a learner -centered rather than a traditional teacher-centered approach to instruction, so that effective learning can take place. This means that every component of the instruction is governed by the learning outcomes, which have been determined after a thorough analysis of the learners needs. This phases sometimes overlap and can be interrelated; however they provide a dynamic, flexible guideline for developing effective and efficient instruction. Figure 3.0 Instructional Design: Using the ADDIE Model 5.2 ADDIES Theory The ADDIE instruction model for this desin is outlined by Smith and Ragan(1995) in their book entitiled Instructional design. The focus is n 5 points Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation. From this theory the analysis has proved that there was a need to conduct remedial programme for the elementary low scorers where an opportunty was given to learn and develop basic essay writing skills. 6.0 Remedial Education Programme In Malaysia, the importance of remedial education gained attention in the 1960s. Results of a pilot project in nine schools between 1967 and 1970 showed a need for remedial education, especially for pupils in rural areas. This paved the way for remedial education programmes in primary schools. The pioneers in the field attended a two-year intensive course on remedial education in the United Kingdom. Subsequently, a national series of seminars and workshops on remedial teaching were organized. With the exception of small schools or under-enrolled schools, every school is allocated one remedial education teacher. At the school level, a Remedial Education Committee is formed, comprising the headmaster, remedial education teacher, class teacher, subject teacher, resource centre coordinator, and other teachers as members. The introduction of a new curriculum for primary schools in 1983 implied a return to the basics in education. The ultimate goal was to ensure that no pupil is illiterate by the year 2000. The implementation of the remedial education programme for children in Primary 1-3 is to ensure that they master the 3Rs. Children who have been recommended for remedial education are required to attend remedial classes. As of 1999, 54,000 primary school children have undergone the intervention programme. In addition to improving and enhancing teacher development, the Malaysian government also works towards improving the curriculum at school to meet the changing needs of the economy. During the Fourth Malaysia Plan, the primary school curriculum was revised with the aim of providing and establishing a firm education in reading, writing, and arithmetic. This led to the development of a new curriculum emphasizing the 3Rs. Studies looking at the returns to education in Malaysia have found positive results in those who have had some form of formal education, thereby providing support to the government guidelines on the primary curriculum which emphasizes the acquisition of basic skills.Education in Malaysia , changing very rapidly responding to the emerging focus of lifelong learning; the growing emphasis on learning; as opposed to reaching and the development of the new delivery systems 6.1 The Educational, Philosophical and Psychological foundation Elementary education shall aim to develop the spiritual, moral, mental and physical capabilities of the child, provide him with experiences in the democratic way of life, and inculcate ideas and attitude necessary for enlightened, patriotic, upright and useful citizenship. To achieve these objectives, elementary education curriculum shall provide for the: inculcation of spiritual and civic values and the development of a good citizen based on an abiding faith in God and genuine love of country; training of the young citizen in his rights, duties and responsibilities in a democratic society for active participation, in a progressive and productive home and community life; development of basic understanding about Malaysian culture, the desirable tradition and virtues of our people as essential requisites in attaining national consciousness and solidarity; teaching of basic health knowledge and the formation of desirable health habits and practices; development of functional literacy in English as basic tools for further learning; and acquisition of fundamental knowledge, attitudes, habits, and skills in science, civics, culture, history, geography, mathematics, arts, and home economics and livelihood education and their intelligent application in appropriate life situations. The Elementary Basic Education Curriculum focuses on the tool learning areas for an adequate development of competencies for learning how to learn. The goal of Instructional design is to support the cognitive processes that result in learning (McGriff). The expected outcome of instructional design is to provide knowledge and skills to people. The three major learning theories are Constructivism, Behaviorism, and Cognitive. Instructional Design is based on constructivist principles. Instructional design is associated with instructional systems development (Leshin et al, 1992). An Instructional System is the arrangement of resources and procedures to promote learning (Berger and Kam). 6.2 Programme Design: ADDIE Model ADDIE is a general-purpose model, which can be used to create instructional products and program design. ADDIE is the acronym for Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement and Evaluate and summarizes the five steps in the Instructional Design process. The instructional designer makes decisions critical to ensuring the effectiveness of the educational experience in each phase of the process. In accordance with the process improvement model, the five phases are a loop, with the improvement of learning outcomes as the goal. Dick and Carey and Kemp (Kemp, et .al, 1998) expanded the ADDIE Model into nine elements. The Dick and Carey Model uses a Reductionist approach in breaking instruction down into smaller segments targeting sub skills. The learner is required to master of sub skills, which are aggregated to achieve overall skill mastery and learned behavior. It provides a systematic approach to curriculum and program design. Teaching is essentially a philosophical endeavor and therefore educational activity can be conceived within the context of a philosophy or worldview. The curricukum refelects the art and craft of teaching. Educational technology can provide diversity of thinking regarding curriculum and instruction which would be curriculum theorizing. 6.2.1 Analysis Basically the nature of the students whom the remedial programme to be conducted are students who learn English Language as a second language. They are originally from Chinese speaking families with a minimum exposure to English Language. Due to the expectation of the school and the educational needs in adhering English as one of the core subjects in school these students are required to have in depth knowledge and skill in it. All of them have been educated in the Chinese primary school education system. Based on the final semester examination results 15 students are selected to undergo remedial programme as they fall in the border line cases .The students acquire poor writing skills, while being able to construct sentences fairly well, they seem to have great difficulty in organizing and developing their ideas into the form of an essay that has an introduction, body and conclusion. In order to promote these students to the next level that is the pre-intermediate phase from their origin elementary level the English Language Department found it vital for them to attend a 7-hour remedial programme in order to find solution to this situation. All of them need to further develop their writing skills in term of cohesion and coherence; time and practice. 6.2.2 Design The main design goal for our programme would be on the cognitive strategies of being able to develop an idea for writing since all of them com e from a very similar background and have basic sentence writing skills. Besides the development of language in the mechanics of sentence construction such as syntax, grammar, structure, etc given priority. R.Gagne(1965) divided learning into 5 categories: Verbal or declarative knowledge, intellectual skills, cognitive strategies, attitudes and psychomotor skills. The learning goals are also in connection to these categories to try to put educational value behind our goals. At the same time the goal also reflects competences outlines by Benjamin Bloom (Bloom,1956). These include: Knowledge, Conprehension , Application, Analysis, Synthesis an Evaluation. These give our goals validity whereby competencies are incorporated in bringing about concrete task for learners that we assign in order to achieve their goals. Hence in the evaluation phase, we can use this aspect to find out the validity and the accomplishment of the learners in implementing the programme. Learning Goals and Type of Learning OBJECTIVE STANDARD GAGNES DOMAIN BLOOMS TAXANOMY Learners will identify an essay topic and 3 sub-topics Criteria established by Hin Hua High School, English Language Department Cognitive strategies Synthesis Learners will be able to write a 3 paragraph essay with an introduction, 2 sub topics to include their opinions, ideas and conclusion Criteria established by Hin Hua High School, English Language Department Declaration Knowledge Intellectual Skills Synthesis Evaluation Application Learners will be able to use the library and Handouts to research printed information on their topics Criteria established by Hin Hua High School, English Language Department Procedural knowledge (declaration knowledge) Knowledge Learners will be able to use proper mechanics of grammar syntax Criteria established by Hin Hua High School, English Language Department Intellectual Skills Application Learners will be able to present their topics in class Criteria established by Hin Hua High School, English Language Department Declaration knowledge Comprehension Table 3.0 Learning Goals and Type of Learning 6.2.3 Development In order to establish a approachable remedial programme for the elementary learners , we English teachers have developed a remedial programme which will undertake a 7 hour learning process. The teachers from the same level have brainstormed and come up with a course content for the 7-hour teaching and learning programme. The teachers from the same teaching level are the best person to create the lesson as they deal with the same competency level of students all the time and are considered experts in their area. Besides this, they will be able to make he printed and computer materials and added step of getting the right content for the level. On top of that since they have already been teaching in the same scope so they will be undoubtedly familiar in the process of teaching and guiding the learners in order to make the remedial programme a success. 6.2.3.(1) Procedure The remedial programme would be in the English medium since the main objective is to improve writing skills among elementary learners. The programme consists of 6 regular sessions and followed by a review and a test day. Each hour is scheduled to be conducted for 60 minutes ***Details on the whole programme given on Part D 6.2.4 Implementation Further to the development to the development the teachers would be equipped with intact course content for he programme. The module would be prepared in balance with the time frame allotted for the programme. Any teacher who is selected for this task should be ready to undertake the teaching process based on the scheme that has been prepared. Al l 15 students will be instructed to attend the programme for 7 hours. These are the various aspect of implementation emphasized in the learning process: Table 4.0 Learning Process Implementation 6.2.5 Evaluation The evaluation phase consists of two parts: formative and summative. Formative evaluation is present in each stage of the ADDIE process. Summative evaluation consists of tests designed for domain specific criterion-related referenced items and providing opportunities for feedback from the users. Primarily the evaluation is done in two parts. The first phase will be the evaluation of student work based on the objectives in the Learning goals and type of learning listed above. Students will be rated by their teacher based on the A,B,C,F criteria set by the English Department. An A is excellent work, B is average, and C will mean student needs improvement. An F would mean that student failed the writing assessment with below 60% of mark. Students will be evaluated at each stage of the course. The department will use this evaluation in order to find out how they might need to modify the programme in the future. A summative evaluation will be conducted as outlined by Smith and Ragan(1999,p.352). Those authors explain that in order to evaluate the effectiveness, appeal, and efficiency of instruction, a collection, analysis and summary of data on students ia essential. In our designed programme an exam is built to access students of their mastery on the abilities taught during the programme.Students are to show their capabilities in their understanding and knowledge taught to them by completing the set of homework targeted to them. Students will be graded on from 1 to 5 for their abilities in each of the following sections: Student name Student able to choose a topic n sub-topics Student able to use handouts information Student able to complete the essay Score dated from 1 to 5 1 : poor 2 : Able to understand the writing concept with some guidance 3 : Able to complete the task with help and support 4 : Able to understand the concept and complete the task individually A pre-test and post-test can measure how well learners achieved the learning objectives. However, it usually takes more time and effort to measure things such as whether the learners will use their training. This evaluation phase can extend for months. Upon completion of the programme the students feedback will be collected to further gauge the success of the programme. Questions are also answered on a scale of 1 to 5. 1 is low and 5 is high. The standard questions constructed are as below: Were you satisfied with the content of this course? Were you able to understand the teachers explanation? Were you able to put into practice elements that you learnt? Did you fond the course interesting? On a scale of 1 to 5, what is your general feeling about the course? PART C 7.0 REVIEWERS COMMENTS Below is the summary of the feedback received from two of the Senior Teachers from the English Language Department of Hin Hua High School regarding the 7hour remedial programme on writing skills. Reviewer 1: Mdm Annaletchumy Reviewer 2: Ms Sastina The strengths and weaknesses of the newly developed Remedial Programme for Elementary Students Strengths 1. Learning by actively participating in group discussion 2. Encouraging students to construct their own ideas and knowledge of the topic 3. Student-centered rather than teacher or subject-centered 4. Teaching aid contributed to students visualization on the topic given 5. Suitable to students development level 6. Group work enables students to self express, to be self-confident and self- awareness 7. Encourage teacher to develop students creative thinking abilities 8. Emphasizing the concept of group work and peer evaluation where no student Is left behind 9. Encouraging the co-operation among students and teacher positively 10. Enables student to have a positive mindset in creative writing Weaknesses 1. Unsuitability of activities for crowded room 2. Lack of materials used as aid for pre-writing task 3. Lack of teachers evaluation on the first phase of writing 4. Certain task may take more time than the planned time 5. Peer evaluation on writing inappropriate approach for elementary learners 8.0 Summary of Review Summarized below are some of the accomplishments and challenges I personally went through in construction the remedial programme: 8.1 Strengths 8.1.1 Improved students attitude and motivation Students are mentally prepared to participate in the programme because students agree to a particular pace, workload, and learning environment from the beginning. 8.1.2 Creating Learning Communities: Classes function as teach communities both teacher and their students benefit in both social and academic areas from working with each other over a entire programme. 8.1.3 Eliminating Stigma of Dependency: The concept group work and peer evaluation removed the stigma of being too dependent on the teacher Writing materials. 8.2 Weaknesses 8.2.1 Students participation Some learners will not contribute in due to the lack of interest or proficiency 8.2.2 Stipulated Time The period allotted might not be sufficient for certain task. Thus this will delay or sometimes interrupt the whole programme structure. 8.2.3 Genuinely in peer marking Some learners will not adhere by the rules set in peer marking when it comes to assessment. Favoritisms and self -centered will influence the observation 9.0 Conclusion It is expected that by attending this model of English remedial instruction it will be beneficial to low English achievers. Students will gain substantially in grammar and vocabulary and they will also gradually improve in their overall English competence. Based on the comments from the reviewers it can be concluded that learners will be effectively improve their English writing skills through the prepared course module for the remedial programme. A well-designed course will definitely give them encouragement and support to elevate their English proficiency and be prepared for the next level , pre=intermediate. 10.0 PART D 7 HOUR LESSON PLAN REMEDIAL PROGRAMME ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEVEL: ELEMENTARY LENGTH:420m LESSON TYPE: WRITING SKILLS Aim: by the end of my lesson, students will be able to write a full-length essay on Endangered Species and improve their approach of writing strategies. Subsidiary aim: students will be able to improve their use of linking words in controlled and less controlled writing activities on Endangered Species Evidence: (How will I know I have achieved the aim?) Students will be able to complete gist and short writing strat

Accessing Health and Social Care in the UK

Accessing Health and Social Care in the UK When the National Health Services (NHS) was founded in 1948, one of the principles was to provide complete services to all and free at the time of need in UK (nursing times.net 2009). Access to healthcare services is based on clinical needs of an individual and not the ability to pay the services. This means everyone has the rights of accessing to health and social care, although it is still a major problem for low social group and ethnic minority who are facing personal, socio economic, cultural and problems happening as results of the structure of health and social care processes (POSTNOTE 2007). In this essay, a case study will be used to demonstrate a patient with learning disability who faces various problems during his access to health and social care services and factors that contributed to these problems. Also it will focus on how nurses could support these individuals to make decisions about their care. The meaning of learning disability will be explained. The assignment will also look at major cultural and social economic influencing the health and health choices of individuals. Also it will analyze the differences between health education and health promotion and with their importance in individual in accessing health and social care. The challenges inherent in meeting the needs of people of varying abilities and social backgrounds will be look at as well as the factors that trigger the accessing of multi-professional health and social service. The essay will also discuss the understanding of the legislation related to the provision of health and social care, as a nu rse why are we needed to be aware of the inequalities in provision. A name mentioned in the case study has been changed in order to comply with the code of NMC (2008) and consent was obtained from the patient and the name Anil will be used in stead. Anil is a boy of eighteen years old who came to UK from South East Asia seven years ago. He lives with his parents in the housing estate of East London where majority are ethnic from South Asia. His father who earns minimum wages works in a food factory in six days a week, speaks English and his mother is a fulltime housewife and does not speak English, only Hindu. Anil was born with Asperger syndrome, a lifelong disability that affects how a person makes sense of the world, processes information and relates to other people. People with Asperger can find difficult to communicate and interacts with other (NAS 2010). Anil had never been to hospital in India and he was treated by traditional healers. He only started seeks medical assistance when he moved to UK. Anil physical condition has deteriorated recently. He does not eat well; look tired, sometimes suffered headache and finding difficult in sleeping. Since he came to UK, he had been to school for three years only and he never had friends. He does not mix well with other people and his parents do not bother about this. At times he lets himself become a little neglected. Anil represents a small and vulnerable group in a society who find difficulty in accessing and using health and social care because of the greater health care needs they have than general population. Motor and sensory disabilities, Epilepsy, hypertension and Alzheimers disease are some of the conditions that are common in this group (NURSING STANDARD 2010). The MENCAP report (DEATH IN DEFFERENCES 2007) states that people with learning disability are being treated wrongly in all part of healthcare provision and they are not equally valued in the health services. The government also revealed that people with learning disabilities are poorer particularly uptake of invitations on primary care and hospital provisions such as access screening services (ALD 200/01). Because of their greater needs of healthcare, they are more prone to a wide variety of additional physical and mental health problems as it shows to Anil. According to Tudor- Hart (cited in Hart 1985) there is an increasing in e vidence of an inverse care law where those who needs are greatest get the least. Learning Disability is a life long condition which has a significantly reduced ability to understand new or complex information and it is vary from one person to another. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines learning disability as impairment of the body function which limits the activity of an individual in performing a task or action (WHO 2010) According to Thomas and Woods in their book Working with people with learning disabilities 11(2003), a learning disability is a terminology used to label people with lower level of intellectual that is lower than the average to normal people in the society. The term itself was widely accepted in England following a speech in 1996 to MENCAP by Stephen Dorrell, the then secretary for Health. From time to time the title and labels have changed and this has been driven by several influences. The term used to cover children with specific learning problems that may arises from a number of different things like emotional problems, medical problems and language impairment (BILD 2004). In the past, many people with learning disability were lived in institutions and have been labeled differently by their generations. Many different forms of terms have been used before. Terminology such as menace, sub- human organism, unspeakable objects of dread, holy innocent, diseased organism, eternal child and many more (WOLFENSBERGER,1972). There are about 1.5 million people with learning disability in UK who require different levels of support (MENCAP). It has been identified that approximately 26.5% of people who have learning disability as being associated with genetic factors (Craft et al 1985). Learning Disabilities is caused by problems during brain development before, during and after birth (RCSLT 2009). There are different types of learning disabilities some of which are Asperger syndrome (a specific type of Autism) which affect a person the way interact to the world, reading disabilities, writing disabilities, non verbal learning disabilities (NVLD) and many more (ALD 2000-2010), reading disability (dyslexia), speech and listening disability, and auditory processing disorder. It is often detected in early childhood. In UK there are laws and policies which describe how the needs of people with learning disabilities should be met. The purpose of these laws and policies is to improve quality of life and based on empowerment, making choices and decision, having the same opportunity and rights as other people and social inclusion. Policy such as` valuing people which explain how the government will provide same opportunity and choice for people with learning disabilities and their families to live full and independent lives as part of their local communities and to ensure they gain maximum life chance benefit ( DOH 2010). The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 which is a piece of legislation promotes the rights of people with learning disabilities to access healthcare and other care services. Healthcare providers must respect, support them and their families and conforms to professional standard (NHS 2006). It is the NHS duty to make sure they provide an equal service that can be easily accessed by anyone according to this Act. Most of the people with learning disabilities have sensory and physical impairment that make it hard to make their choices and to understand by others. A piece of legislation which protects them in England is Mental Capacity Act 2005 which is empowers and protects vulnerable people who are not able to make their own decision. People with learning disability will still have the right to give their consent for daily living and accessing the services despite of having significantly reduced ability to understand new learning skills (NURSING STANDARD 2010). If the person lack a capacity of giving or refusing consent, it is still possible for care providers to provide care and treatments for the best interest of the person (DOH 2003). A survey showed that nearly 62%of all people with learning disabilities depend on their parents and other caregivers (EMERSON et al 2005). However, healthcare providers have a duty to understand and recognize the needs of a person with learning disabilities and make sure their needs are met. It is a nursing role to work in partnership with the clients to overcome barriers by identifying what management and decision to represent the person mostly professionally although clients and their cares may make their own decision. People with learning disabilities in lower social classes are particularly disadvantage relative to the higher social classes in accessing healthcare services because of physical, social, psychological and economic barriers that limit their full participation in society. Acheson (1998) identified the links between inequalities and poor health. He noted that health inequalities were widening with the poorest in society being more affected than those who are well off. The post code lottery which depends on where you might live is a big issue in NHS. The availability of better treatment, drugs and waiting time in a deprived area where people depend on state healthcare provisions will carry on experience poor access to services and treatment than those who have the power of buying services in private services (GUARDIAN 2000). People from ethnic backgrounds experience healthcare service differently due to their lack of knowledge which can be limited by the ability to communicate in English. They may find challenge to enter healthcare services because it may require, for example making a telephone call, appointment, coping with a queuing system and complex procedures ( NHS 2006). Different in cultures attitude and stigma between where they came from and UK can impact Anils health. It is believed that South Asian parents dont have positive attitudes towards disabilities because religious and superstitious beliefs (ROYAL COLLEGE OF PSYCHIATRIC 2003). Anils parents might not take his problem seriously because of their background and social stigma of having a child with disability (AUTISM-INDIA 2008). According to the report of Department of Health (2009) a review in development in tackling health inequalities of Acheson, recommended the improvement of living standards of people with lower income than average. Among the people in this group are people living in a deprived area and depend on social housing. Also people with learning disability may fail to get the necessary services because of lack of understanding about health issues articulating their needs based on their poor experiences of education system (Mathews 1996). Research carried out by Cartwright Obrien1976 found that General Practitioners spend far less time with their patients from lower classes ( cited in Hart 1985,p59). The situation may be more complex for service users who have little or no verbal communication and those with learning disability. A learning disability person may be unable to identify and describe the signs and symptoms requiring accurate medical attention. The information may not be presented in accessible format and the staffs may ask questions which can not understand (NURSING STANDARD 2010). Unavailability of an experience interpreter in the healthcare settings can be barrier. It can affect the sensitivity of patients values and attitudes. To use a professional interpreter can reassure patients to communicate and feel freer when describing their religious beliefs and unsatisfactory environment conditions but to healthcare professionals may feel disempowerment and may depend on interpreters in order to carry out their roles (ROYAL COLLEGE OF PSYCHTRIC 2003). Sometimes physical access may be an issue for people with learning disability; they find their appointment times are often too short to understand the system because of their difficulties and transport needs to access healthcare facilities are more distant. Practitioners may be given job in deprived areas with all facility available but they may be in the risks of vandalism, theft and anti social behavior (Thomson J et al 2003 p59). The aims of the government today in UK is convince individuals to be more involved in their health. But the problems with availability of health promotion services and involvements are some of concern due to the restructuring of health and social care for people with learning disabilities has been accelerated by NHS and community care Act (DOH 1990, Emerson Et al 1996 chap 11). For example, most of the health promotion discussion and activities to accessing suitable primary healthcare is focus on medical involvements such as immunization (Stanley et al 1998 p71). Some of this medical approach can lead to reinforced dependency for people with learning disabilities. Those with severe learning disabilities, their needs are becoming known to service providers through secondary and tertiary care after being referred by primary care. Among health promotion is prevention which is focusing on decrease of risk occurrence of diseases, disabilities and handicap. These activities occur in health care settings. Primary prevention is to prevent from risk factors such as obesity through education, exercise and diet. Primary prevention produces information on various health issues in pictorial and easily understandable format such as cancer. On secondary prevention, it involves identifies early signs of diseases occurring such as cancer screening and tertiary prevention is involves reducing the impact of the disease and promoting quality of life through active rehabilitation (Thomson et al 2003). Anils state of confusion may be caused a number of factors which might need further investigation. It is the duty of his General Practitioner (primary prevention) to refer him to hospital (secondary prevention) for investigation. A consultant may decide whether Anil has physical or mental illness. To deal with and removing barriers such as difficulty with interpersonal communication, health promotion will need to promote inclusion and reduce inequalities in service provision (Thomson et al 2003 p129). World Health Organization (2010) has made it clear that health promotion is the process of enabling individual to improve and increase control of their health. Many primary healthcare professional do not have skills to overcome this problem as results those people who have learning disabilities are less likely to receive lifestyle advice than those who do not have learning disabilities (Fitzsimmons Barr 1997). Learning disability nurses have a variety of skills in communication and observations which could be useful to teach other healthcare professionals in health and social care settings (Thomson et al 2003 p131) Health education as a part of health promotion is defined as a planned communication activities designed to attract well being and ill health in individuals and group through influencing the knowledge, belief, attitudes and behavior of those in power of the community at large (Tannahill 1985p167-8). For people with learning disabilities, health education might promote social inclusion through decreasing negative stereotyping by valuing and respecting their needs. On a more individual level, people who receive health education messages have a choice to decide whether to follow or not the message given (Thomson J et al 2003). Building partnerships between nurses, careers, other professional and people with learning disabilities is essential in order to promote and educating health by identifying their physical and mental health condition (DOH 1995). A partnership is not only the way to bring up to date statutory services but also is about developing and acknowledging the collective responsibility for the health and wellbeing of the community which they belong (Thomson J et al 2003, p102). Having the opportunity to make choice about their healthcare is critical to their sense of inclusion in society. It is also a key factor in allowing individual like Anil to feel in control of his life. The NMC (National Midwifery Council) code of 2008sets out number of responsibilities on nurses to promote choice and respect the decisions of those they care. Nurses need to help them making their choice by making some simple adaptations. The first step can be taking a little more time to explain something and giving the person with learning disability more time to understand what is being said (NURSING STANDARDS 2010, P53). Other approach could be the involvement of relative or paid career not to make choice on behalf of the person with learning disability but to use their knowledge of the person to help the care professional interpret or to explain treatment options. In all this processes, nurses need to ensure that they obtain consent before they begin assessment and treatment. Any decision to be taken by the staff must be in the interests of the person and must regard to his or her human rights. To conclude, the essay has set out key difficulties experienced by people with learning disabilities in accessing healthcare services and the gap between rich and poor who are accessing healthcare appear to be widening. People who have learning disabilities are generally underestimated and find themselves failure to succeed their expectation. They experience more health problems than any other group in a society but use healthcare services less than the general population (RODGER 1996). Inequalities in health for people with learning disabilities must be dealt with by healthcare providers in health care provision with the aim of closing the division between the general public experiences and this group. By using good quality of health care and respecting peoples rights to access, and making reasonable adjustment, the lives of people with learning disabilities can be changed. Healthcare providers have a duty to ensure that people with learning disabilities are offered regular checking and are included in health screening program.

Test-Oriented or Ability-Oriented Essay -- China Education Chinese Arg

Test-Oriented or Ability-Oriented It is known to the world that China has thousands of years of culture, and education is always an important part of carrying on and developing culture in Chinese history. With the changing of time, the content of education and the method of education have changed a lot. And now in the twentieth century, what does education look like in China after thousands of years of development? There are some kinds of problems existing in the current Test-Oriented Education system, and therefore, another more scientific education system, Ability-Oriented, is needed. However, applying another kind of education system should take many factors into consideration, which involve an argument of doing it. This study will mainly explore the situation of Test-Oriented Education, and the reason why the argument exists. For students in China, the most important thing in their education process is taking tests. And the most important tests are the College Entrance Examinations which now include 9 subjects: Chinese, English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Politics, History and Geography. The scores of this series of exams will decide what kind of university or college to which they can apply and in what major they will be. Other words, the scores can decide students’ futures. These exams also mean a lot to high schools. The percentage of students being admitted into college is the standard for judging whether a school is good or not. And therefore, students study for gaining a high score, and teachers teach for gaining a high number of students being admitted. When tests become the final target of the education, it is called Test-Oriented Education. Although it is true as it is said that Chinese stude... ... the number of people from the countries exceeded that from the cities for the first time. Shanxi News Web. December 1, 2004 http://www.daynews.com.cn/mag6/20040606/ca38007.htm WeiQuan LunTan. Facing teenagers who are at the edge of committing suicide, what should we do? December 1, 2004 http://www.ccc.org.cn/6.1/Weiquan/WeiquanqinZS.htm Xinhua Web News. Students are lacking sleep and becoming the most â€Å"poor† people. December 1, 2004 http://edu.beelink.com.cn/20041114/1723941.shtml Yan, Pin. 1292 survey answer sheets show the problems about educating minors. Xinhua Web News. December 1, 2004 http://news.xinhuanet.com/focus/2004-11/30/content_2264703.htm Zhejiang Online News. Wenzhou â€Å"reducing burden† survey: teachers have no confidence, students cannot play. December 1, 2004 http://www.zjol.com.cn/gb/node2/node138669/userobject15ai2229949.html

How We Find Meaning in Life Through Love Essay -- Essays Papers

How We Find Meaning in Life Through Love Life’s offerings such as: interests, talents, jobs, religion, or relationships are the catalysts through which we put meaning into our lives. When we find someone or something that we love or feel passionate about that puts meaning into life. It makes people feel as though they are fulfilling a want or desire, which would also lead to feeling very accomplished and happy. Finding a passion gives life a purpose. Jay Earley said it best when he wrote, â€Å"I define life purpose as a contribution to the world that uses your whole self fully and gives your life passion, fulfillment, and meaning through dedication to something larger than yourself† (Early 6). We are able to feel that we are here for a reason. Everyone needs something in their life that they strive for or love to execute. If we weren’t to look for these passions then there would be no purpose in living. We don’t want to go through life not caring about anything and having nothing that br ings great joy to our life. Not having a passion would put a void in one’s life and a feeling of emptiness. There are many ways to achieve this love or to find a passion. Many people obtain their purpose in life by seeing their interests or talents and pursuing them. Other people find meaning through their job. Many people turn to religion, primarily I would say that people find meaning in life through relationships. Finding love or fulfilling a passion in an interest or talent is an easy thing to do. Lots of people are able to find meaning through their interests. Collecting coins, stamps, comic books, porcelain dolls, magazine articles, spoons ect. are interests that some love to pursue. The spoons, or other collections, are a ... ...ave some one else’s company and having them to talk to makes life easier. Close friends that are with a people through everything give them a purpose in life. Whether people have a hobby, a talent, a job, religion, or if they have a close relationship with another person there is something that they are passionate about or love to do. It could even be finding a support structure or finding something that helps you escape from reality. Finding a passion or interest in life fulfills your purpose. There is a meaning in life and something that contains value for each person. Others might not understand what you think brings meaning to your life, while you might not understand how they find meaning in their life. That is why you have to know what you love hold that close and make it important in life, and this will help you with a more pleasant enjoyable life.

Tender is the Night Essay -- Fitzgerald Literature Essays

Tender is the Night â€Å"Servant trouble†¦political worries†¦almost neurosis†¦drinking increased†¦arguments with Scottie†¦quarrel with Hemingway†¦quarrel with Bunny Wilson†¦quarrel with Gerald Murphy†¦breakdown of car†¦tight at Eddie Poe’s†¦sick again†¦first borrowing from mother†¦sick†¦ ‘The Fire’†¦Zelda weakens and goes to Hopkins†¦one servant and eating out.† (Mayfield 207) A short excerpt from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Ledger provides a small sample of the many hurdles Fitzgerald struggled to overcome while slaving away nine years with Tender is the Night. The labor which accompanied Fitzgerald’s fourth novel was not anticipated by the author. He had first envisioned Tender is the Night to be â€Å"something really new in form, idea, and structure—the model for the age that Joyce and Stein are searching for, that Conrad didn’t find†(Scribner 1). But disease, relative poverty, and heartbreak plagued Fitzgerald and repeatedly interrupted his work on the novel. Tender is the Night finally appeared on April 12, 1934. But despite Fitzgerald’s high expectations of hot reviews, the reception was, at best, luke warm. The novel sold only thirteen thousand copies and left Fitzgerald’s ego bruised and his hopes of its estimable success unfulfilled. Ernest Hemingway offered little praise. The characters, he believed, were â€Å"beautifully faked case histories rather than people† (Mayfield 209). Similarly unimpressed, Hal Borland of the Philadelphia Ledger remarked on April 13, 1934, â€Å"Most of the themes [of Tender is the Night] seem better fitted for clinical studies than for fiction. Fitzgerald’s novel is admirably done, and its dozens of cross-currents are well handled. But it is not the important nov... ...the critics’ reception of Tender is the Night. Though short in length, Scribner reveals several excerpts from Fitzgerald’s letters and personal writings which present for the readers a more personal view of Fitzgerald, the author. http://people.brandeis.edu/~teuber/fitzgeraldbio.html This website lists Fitzgerald’s published works and offers a detailed biography of the author himself. The highlighted texts serve to differentiate different eras in Fitzgerald’s life. The site also offers several links wherein additional information regarding influential people and events can be researched. http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald.com This website summarizes Fitzgerald’s life as well as the general reception of his novels. It also touches on the many hurdles Fitzgerald came across during his nine years of struggling with his fourth novel, Tender is the Night.

Krispy Kreme Case Analysis Essay

Krispy Kreme does not have one particular target market and are not  categorized as one business type; they have various tactics to appeal to various markets. They also target school, local organizations and businesses. He primary market, those ranging from the ages 20-30 years old, are Krispy Kreme’s main focus. This is where the majority of their business comes from. These are your everyday commuters who desire a sweet treat, or coffee to help outlast a long day at work. Their purchases may be small or cheap, but business is usually consistent, as are sales. Krispy Kreme appeals to schools as a fundraising opportunity. Doughnuts are very inexpensive when purchased in bulk, and easy to sell. Krispy Kreme offers certificates, coffee, partnership cards, and doughnuts to schools to raise money. Gift certificates are less of a burden, and those selling them don’t have to deal with ordering and delivering doughnuts after you’ve made the sale. This makes things easi er for both the customer and fundraiser. Offering fundraisers to schools increases awareness of Krispy Kreme, serves as sales promotion, whilst building a relationship with schools and the community. The money earned from these fundraisers are usually used to improve the school or purchase uniforms as shown on Krispy Kreme’s â€Å"Fundraising† page on their site. Local organizations and businesses purchase Krispy Kreme’s products for retailing. Competitors Competitors Competitors Starbucks McDonalds Nestles Dunkin Donuts Einstein Bagels Panera bread Starbucks Bruegges Enterprise Dunkin Donuts Yum! Brand Starbucks International Dairy Queen Starbucks target Audience- Affluent customers Well educated customers White Collar Patterns The age of the target market was between 25 and 44. Eventually, the company decided to expand its target market to include young, less-educated and low-income consumers. A large portion of coffee drinkers is found in urban areas of the United States. It is because most of educated and working professionals live in the urban areas. It is because most of educated and working professionals live in the urban areas. With the rapid expansion, Starbucks targeted customers of every age group. Einstein Bagels That target market is younger than other coffee shops and is aimed at people between age 25 and 50. Dunkin Donuts Dunkin Donuts target market is the blue collar workers (18-60) of America who likes the quick service that Dunkin Donuts provides. Also within its target market are kids, highly due to its name. Recently Dunkin Donuts has been targeting the market of affluent women and professionals Krispy Kreme Strengths 1. Company brand image and reputation. 2. Proprietary doughnut-making equipment, and capability to supply to  franchises at profitable prices. Krispy Kreme Weakness 1. Competitors are larger and well established in their markets, tougher to compete head to head once newness is over. 2. Core product does not incorporate health/weight conscious consumers. Krispy Kreme Opportunities 1. Add more stores in current target markets to make it convenient for all areas. 2. Attract a broader range of customers and sell more products to existing customers by enhancing present menu offerings, esp in coffee and coffee drinks. Krispy Kreme Threats 1. Competitors concerned about KK rapid growth and market share gains and erosion of their own market positions, may well be compelled to rejuvenate their product menus, this would be costly battle for KK. 2. Consumer habits changing One strategy alternative in each cell matrix would be One strategy in strengths/ Opportunity would be to increase marketing, incorporating social networks One strategy in Weakness/Opportunity would be growing new markets or increase the product line to incorporate healthier choices. One strategy in Strength/Threats promoting healthier product line One strategy in Weaknesses/Threats would be to avoid developing existing markets by existing products Strategic issues with supporting data: 1. Krispy Kreme management should meet with franchisees and explore again the  plans for opening new stores, it would seem to make sense to accelerate the pace of new stores openings at least in those areas where the enthusiasm for the products has been so great. 2. Adapt to consumer desires. Increase product development, i.e., healthier choices. 3. Lack of corporate governance. Matching the Strengths of franchise opportunities, Krispy Kreme is highly favorable. Its resource strengths and competitive assets easily outweigh its resource weaknesses and competitive liabilities. The company has plenty of opportunities it can pursue to continue to grow more rapidly, the company should have little difficulty opening several hundred more stores, Dunkin Donuts has 3,600 in the US alone versus just over 180 for KK. Their strategy is a solid one, with competitive advantages in product quality, product appeal, brand reputation, and ability to attract high caliber franchises because of vertical integration into doughnut making equipment, doughnut mixes and coffee. The threats are still in the foreground, the product excitement being created by Krispy Kreme could end up helping grow the market for doughnuts and help over come the relatively flat demand for doughnuts that has prevailed. A costly battle for market share can be avoided. #4 Three of Krispy Kreme’s strategic issues using SMART format: According to Return on Assets, there has been an increase from 1998, with a slight decrease due to further investment of assets in 2002. The company is converting money into net income, therefore, quickly enough to add more stores in the mix. Return on Equity offers a profit generating efficiency for investors. The decrease in 2002 is because of improvements in company’s operations. Intangible assets are also excluded like the brand name. SMART goal: Specific: To create shareholder wealth through an ambitious growth strategy meanwhile, using a thorough marketing strategy Measurement: increasing brand awareness through strong positioning and optimizing distribution channels, therefore, creating brand loyalty Aggressive: maintain a healthy increase in net sales, 10-20%, while optimizing efficiency. Realistic: Increase the number of franchise stores to bring brand awareness and loyalty Time-bound: capitalizing on the growth of the market, increase store  franchises over the next three years