An Analysis of the Stubbies Advertisement by Coca-Cola Essay

The 2005 ‘Stubbies† advertisement by Coke-Cola owned soft drink company Lemon and Paeroa (L&P) is constructed in such manner to produce ‘New Zealand’ within it text. The advertisement has been produced with particular attention and reference to New Zealand and New Zealanders, subjugating a sense of nationalism among viewers. This essay analyses and explains how L&P creates and fosters a sense of national identity among viewers through elements of; nationalism, banal nationalism, and symbolism. The 1970s styled advertisement for L&P was created by the production company Sliversceen Auckland. The storyline shows a formally dressed suited male entering a tailor shop and becoming acquainted with the casual clothing item of ‘stubbies’ shorts (Vist4ads 2005). These are an iconic clothing item associated with rural New Zealand and are coupled with values such as practicality and comfort. A range of men are then shown in variety of situations depicting the versatility of the stubbies shorts. Although a great deal of focus is given to the stubbies shorts, the item being advertised is the soft drink L&P. It is drunk throughout the commercial, and the advertisement suggests that both stubbies shorts and L&P are essential items of iconic ‘kiwi’ culture. This is reinforced through catchphrase ‘You were there and so was L&P.’ The use of personal pro-noun ‘You’ connects and involves the audience with advertisement through the nationalistic branding technique of ‘co-creation (ZALA VOLCIC and MARK ANDREJEVIC 2011).’The reliance as brand placed upon consumers to build and disseminate the brands identity. The brand L&P has constructed their advertisement in a particular way which leaves a reliance on consumers to reflect, build and distribute brand identity of being an iconic ‘kiwi’ favourite soft drink through dra wing on their proud heritage and positive pastimes which make up New Zealand identity and culture. The consciousness of a space as a nation requires a level of imagination: a sense of people affiliating to the same state who negotiate and construct meanings. The definition of a nation requires a construction of representation of an image (Bell 1996). L&P strives to be an iconic image which in turn encapsulates the embodiment of what it means to part of the nation of New Zealand. Media scholar Claudia Bell states that the building of a nation is not all natural, rather facilitated through socialisation mechanisms that guide us a citizens (Bell 1996). The advertisement aims to guide viewers to reflect on time when men wore ‘stubbies’ and ‘everyone just left their keys in the car anyway’. The portrayal by L&P of these events is suggestive that these were ‘the good times’ for New Zealanders. The viewing population of New Zealand absorbs these values, reflections and associations with L&P as assumptions of identity, which are unconscious taken on board. The connective association with L&P and New Zealand national identity is an is an implicit marketing tool by Cola-Cola in order the present L&P as New Ze aland’s drink of choice and a natural feature of a nation as summarized through the slogan â€Å"world famous in New Zealand since ages ago.† This reminds the viewer that a nation can only be formed through history which makes us unique as a nation. Production and construction of ‘New Zealand’ in the advertisement occurs through the advertising construction and production of banal nationalism. Banal nationalism is a concept founded by Michael billig which argues that the consistent reference to the everyday representations of the nation conceptually forms expressions of nationalism such as forming an imagined sense of national solidarity and belonging among those united in a national sense. Billing claims that everyday expressions of nationalism can be as important and reactivate as the representational flag-waving of nations. (PRIDEAUX 2009) Banal nationalism is repeated throughout the L&P advertisement in a variety of ways. Firstly the sense of implied unity through the advertisements plotlines desires to be ‘our’ story and a snapshot of everyday New Zealand in the summer time of the 1970s. This is achieved through the voice-over language and popular expressions throughput the advertisement such as the colloquiums â€Å"back in the day† and ‘Kiwi’s.’ The casualness of the phrases projects a sense of understanding and unity among the New Zealand audience. The L&P drinking New Zealanders shown the advertisement embody characters which are portrayed as typical ‘Kiwis’ in 1970s such as the small Maori boy with a large afro hairstyle posed next to his bike and the characteristic rural New Zealand bloke complete with singlet, jandals, and a mullet. Banal nationalism also occurs through the advertisement portrayal of typical New Zealand scenes which are familiar with such as the dairy, the rural country side, and a summer barbeque. These are relatable settings to almost any New Zealander and enables personal reflection. The symbols of banal nationalism symbols are most effective because of their constant repetition, and almost subliminal nature, therefore a very powerful marketing and advertising tool. The production of ‘New Zealand’ occurs in the L&P advertisement through the placement of a range of symbols which are an attempt to reference and embody New Zealand as a nation. The repeated image of the kiwi bird along the window in scene when a stubbies clad male is impressing a pretty girl is not a coincidence. The kiwi bird is the product of New Zealand and being used to repeatedly remind viewers of their place in the nation, a process Michael billing describes as being ‘flagged,’ a term coined by nations overuse flying nation flags. The kiwi is iconic since the bird is native to New Zealand. The advertisement also couples the kiwi with other iconic symbols associated with New Zealand and national pride such jandals, and the act of a large summer barbeque which are symbolic of deeper meanings to the New Zealander such as relaxation and family. New Zealand indigenous symbols such as the kiwi bird that are distinctively New Zealand are particular important in the production of nationalism within advertisement simply as they are not British. Historically New Zealand derived symbols of national identity from the motherland such as Britannia (Bell 1996). The kiwi build nationality as it is naturally occurring and guides New Zealanders as citizens. Symbols are closely interlinked with national identity as they draw associations among viewers. The production of national symbols like the kiwi into this advertisement that is selling bottled soft drink is not random, rather an attempt to associate the idealised images associated with the symbol and merge with the marketed product o f L&P. The advertisers wish to make L&P symbolic and iconic and to naturally compel viewers to place L&P into their symbolic category of what embodies New Zealand as a nation and what it is to be a New Zealander. New Zealand is multicultural nation and this has been understood by the advertiser by portraying a range of different New Zealander within the thirty second video clip. This is most effectively portrayed in the end scene of summer barbeque. The barbeque is made up both Pakeha and Maori attendees who seen chatting, relaxing, and drinking L&P. The use of people who literally look like they are New Zealanders localises the advertisement for effective absorption of values. Although New Zealand has many cultural issues such as regular Treaty of Waitangi disputes, these are brushed aside and New Zealand mixed culture is produced and perceived as positive. Although L&P is part of a global multinational company Coke-Cola this is ignored and the advertisement is produced with a distinct New Zealand feel leading consumers to believe the drink is of local origin, in particular the small town of Paeora which the drink shares its name. The advertiser claim ‘world famous in New Zealand’ also slants towards the projection the soft drink is locally produced and therefore competes on a level international soft drinks cannot. (Bell 1996). A key component of nationalism is an understanding of history and the intermingled of both of New Zealand major ethnic races pays homage to New Zealand colonial past and assimilating cultures. L&P understands that the world is rapidly changing and globalisation is rapidly expanding and increasing the dominance of transnational marketplace therefore produced affirmation of ‘New Zealand† and nationalism with their stubbies advertisement to showcase and assert distinctiveness of the nation’s unique local, regional, and national identity (Bell 1996). â€Å"Any nation’s existence relies on some sense of loyalty to that nation, on patriotic sentiment, on awareness of nationalism. A sense of shared purpose, a pride in a place, acknowledgment of national success. All these combine in a sense of belonging (Bell 1996)†. Michael Billing noted that Billing noted that every day we are reminded that we belong to a nation through routine occurrences including using passports, the language of political speakers, the media and academia (Billing 1995 ). However through examination it has become apparent that nationalism has become a tool by advertisers to foster nationalist feelings to their audience. The advertisement establishes and produces New Zealand as a nation and then reproduces and represents New Zealand as an L&P loving nation. In advertising, the power of recognition is manipulated for economic ends. The ‘stubbies’ advertisement shows an idealised version of New Zealand is order to create a collective inte rest in the product. Bibliography Bell, Claudia. Inventing NZ: Everyday Myths of Pakeha Identity. Auckland: Penguin Books, 1996. Billig, Michael. Banal Nationlism . London : Sage Publishing , 1995 . PRIDEAUX, JILLIAN. â€Å"Consuming icons: nationalism and advertising in Australia.† Nations and Nationlism (School of Political Science and International Studies, The University of Queensland) 15, no. 4 (2009): 616–635. Vist4ads. L&P stubbies. 2005. http://www.visit4ads.com/details.cfm?adid=20954 (accessed 08 2, 2013). ZALA VOLCIC and MARK ANDREJEVIC. â€Å"Nation Branding in the Era of Commercial Nationalism.† International Journal of Communication 5, 2011: 598–618.

Irrational Beliefs Essay

Report on some of your own irrational beliefs that have gotten you off course and lowered your self-esteem. Offer rational beliefs that you can take on to dispute your stinkin’ thinkin’. How will changing your irrational beliefs help you to achieve your academic goals? Our upsets are caused not so much by our problems as by what we think about our problems. When our thinking is full of irrational beliefs, what Ellis calls â€Å"stinkin’ thinkin'†, we feel awful even when the circumstances don’t warrant it, and how we think about the issue in our lives is the real issue. I have a few irrational beliefs myself. These include my fear of public speaking, my fear of how people perceive me, and my personal appearance. In high school I enrolled in a speech class that was required for my diploma. My problem wasn’t remembering what to say but being able to speak in front of a classroom full of people. I shouldn’t have had a problem with it at a ll, considering the classroom was full of people I’ve known my whole life, people I’ve grown up with. I got up in front of the class ready to go, I managed to spit out two sentences then my mind went blank. I was embarrassed, scared of what they would think about me if I were to mess up. Would they call me names? Would they think I wasn’t prepared? Would they think I was dumb, powerless, uncreative, and weak? The only thing I could think to do was run to the nearest exit, so out I went. My teacher had followed me but at that point I had tears in my eyes, I was shaking with sweaty palms. She managed to calm me down, she gave me the rational beliefs that I needed, and she believed in me exactly how I should have believed in myself. It all tied into how I am obsessive over what others think of me, my clothes, my hair, and my shoes. I have the irrational belief that everyone needs to look at me and think that I have everything together. In reality my life is usually a mess but I have those materialist things to hide behind. My weight has always been another irrational belief of mine, constantly calling myself fat, not wearing the clothes I want, looking in a mirror and talking myself down. I gained forty pounds in almost two years. I wasn’t the small delicate girl I used to be and I didn’t think I would ever get back to the point of being happy with my body. In order to change these irrational beliefs I need to fill my mind with rational beliefs, such as I am a great public speaker when I am prepared, I am beautiful and smart with or without materialist things, and lastly if I am unhappy with my body then  I have every right to change it. According to psychologist Ellis, a key to correcting irrational thinking is changing a â€Å"must† into a preference. I can always distract myself from negative, judgmental thoughts by simply telling myself, â€Å"STOP!† Then replace my blaming, complaining, or excusing with something positive. Wisely choosing the thoughts that occupy my mind, as well as avoiding automatic, negative thoughts that undermine my self-esteem will also help. Changing my irrational beliefs will help me achieve my academic goals by giving me the confidence to organize my schedule, and be able to speak in front of people as well as with others.

An Analysis of the Different Economic Bodies and Their Impact in Different Countries in the Book, Why Nations Fail, Written By Doran Acemoglu and James Robinson

An Analysis of the Different Economic Bodies and Their Impact in Different Countries in the Book, Why Nations Fail, Written By Doran Acemoglu and James Robinson Why Nations Fail Why some nations fail while others succeed have become a mysterious question to many. However, in their book named Why Nations Fail, authors Acemoglu and Robinson have finally revealed to their readers what truly causes nations to fail, which are extractive economic institutions that certain governments have. This paper will be exploring the current type of economic institutions in three different nations by using knowledge from the book Why Nations Fail, as well as historical facts to support the given statements. The countries’ economic institutions that will be explored are Venezuela, Mexico, and Haiti. These countries will also be put into comparison with the United States, a country that has inclusive economic institutions. Venezuela has been experiencing an economic decline for a long time. According to the article, â€Å"Venezuela is in its third year of recession and according to the International Monetary Fund, its economy is expected to contract 10% this year† (Gillespie, 2016). The main cause of this recession can be tracked down to the leader of the government in Venezuela, Chavez, who focuses government spending excessively on extractive economic institutions. In the book Why Nations Fail by Acemoglu and Robinson, it’s stated that it’s the economic institutions that are the foundation of economic development which is evident through the fact that economic institutions allow people to trade and build their own businesses comfortably. The topic of economic institutions being the heart of economic growth takes us to the topic of trade. Venezuela, as aforementioned, was a thriving country only a decade ago. This was mainly due to Venezuela being an oil-rich country. The point of trade is for the countries to specialize in whatever they’re doing best and export that while importing what they lack in. The problem with Venezuela was although they were successfully specializing in producing oil, they weren’t really producing anything else or importing any goods from other countries. Additionally, Venezuela wasn’t exporting any of the tremendous amount of oil it’s producing. Through the article, one can discover that Venezuela’s main oil company, which is run by the government, is the main reason why any of these exports or imports aren’t taking place. This again is evidence how extractive economic institutions can ruin a nation. Because of the economic recession and the lack of trade in Venezuela, inflation has become a tangible problem. Prices are soaring high, and Venezuela has a staggering increase in inflation in 2016 with a 475% (Gillespie, 2016). Not only are prices high, but producers aren’t able to produce because of the lack of trade. This ultimately results in food shortages and suffering citizens. While the citizens of United States can freely go into any Publix or Winn Dixie and shop at their leisure, the citizens of Venezuela wait in long lines outside of super markets only to find out that the last bottle of milk had already been bought 2 hours ago. The food shortages are causing the mortality rates of Venezuela to go up, with more and more children and elderly being malnourished. Mexico is the second country that is under the exploration of economic institutions. As explained in Why Nations Fail, the reason that Mexico currently has extractive economic institutions is because it’s a country founded up on extractive economic institutions. Historical facts and how a country began its government have a lot to do with its current economic institutions. For example, the reason Mexico is the way it is has to do with how Spanish conquistadors invaded that region and discovered large amounts of gold. Realizing the gold’s worth and seeing how it can be useful to them, they used the region’s natives, forcefully, to mine more gold and silver for them so they can be better off. There an extractive economic institution was created; the Spanish conquistadors were extracting the native’s wealth from them by using the native’ labor to make themselves better off. Even right now Mexico has many extractive institutions. For example, in the 2013 article, Why Nations Fail What Can be Done by David Sasaki, it speaks of how the infamous telecommunications monopolist of Mexico, Carlos Slim, have cost Mexico $129 billion (Sasaki, 2013). Although Mexico has one of the slowest and most costly internet speeds, they â€Å"lose $130 billion and Carlos Slim personally gains $80 billion† (Sasaki, 2013). Carlos Slim’s actions are the epitome of extractive economic institutions, and it because of people like Chavez and Slim and the Spanish conquistadors that are the ones who make sure that extractive economic institutions will continue on. As can be seen, the root of why nations fail lies within their economic institutions. Nations that are successful have mainly inclusive economic institutions. China, a country with extractive economic institutions had a horrible economy only until recently ago. The only reason their economy improved is because they decided to accept technology and trade with foreign countries, instead of pushing them away and secluding themselves. However, China still does have extractive economic institutions, and if other countries don’t wish to trade with them anymore, their economy will return to where it started. As can be seen with Venezuela, Haiti, and Mexico, extractive economic institutions take away from the general public to help the elite. These type of institutions aren’t only bad for the nation, but are immoral and unethical as it leaves people in a chaotic turmoil.

Happiness and Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Happiness and Religion - Essay Example This study discusses that the happiness of individuals can range from their religious background, activities, culture and aspects of life.   Religious groups have a belief that their happiness comes from the relationship between them and their God. The theory of happiness attempts to explain the ultimate reason for humankind existence is happiness. â€Å"happiness is this feeling of existence".This quote reveals how happiness is a major determinant of the future of human kind.From this paper it is clear that human kind happiness is affected by many other factors that revolve around him. Psychological happiness can be determined by three components. Happiness can be due to genetic factors, circumstances, and activities. A large percentage of the human beings happiness is due to genetic factors where some of the individuals are joyful than others. Some individuals are born as good comedians, which reveal their state of mind as positive or jovial. Demographic factors like age, gender , culture and geographic factors affect the happiness of individuals. Happiness can be affected by age where you find children are happy than their parents. Responsibilities as parents affect the happiness comparing to children who do not even realize the meaning of responsibilities. The activities that individuals involve themselves in also determine of their state of their minds. According to psychologists, individual careers can affect their happiness since some of the careers tend to be stressful.... Islam’s belief that as believers who love their God Allah and have faith in Him should be contented with his verdict (Gulla, 84). All Gods commandments according to Muslims focus on bringing happiness to believers. The Muslims belief that there is nothing too big or small that is not clearly covered in the Islam teachings. Islamic religion is said to be the complete way of life. The Quran teaches individuals to be optimists in life, always be at peace, rejoice and be joyful in all aspects of life (Chittister, 24). Religions have specific holy days, which are the most important days in their religious life. Christians have Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter Monday as their hold days. These specific days are happy moments for all Christians worldwide. Muslims also have their Eid ul fitr as their holy day. The religious groups use these special days to make peace with God and seek for spiritual guidance. They believe that making peace with God is a path to inner happiness, which in turn lead to success. According to the holy books teachings marriage is considered as holy union. The holy books are used to educate couples on their biblical roles of husband and wife. The Bible teaches us on the secrets of happy marriage. In addition, Christian’s couples who follow the holy book teachings and guidance are assured that they in the path of success. In real life, the non-religious are not welcome in religious countries and are believed to be perpetrators of evil deeds. On the other hand, in the non-religious countries all individuals regardless of their religious background they are welcome. Religious individuals are believed to have a happy life than the non-believers since they have no

Andy Griffin show vs I love Lufy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Andy Griffin show vs I love Lufy - Essay Example Though Andy Griffith Show was telecasted in the 60s, yet the primary intention of this show came out as attracting the audience of the 60s, by presenting a Utopia that appealed to their sense of nostalgia. The highly fictionalized Mayberry in which the show unraveled, no way affiliated to the predominant social and civil concerns of the 60s. Instead, it represented a fancy locale defined by values like honesty, friendship, loyalty, compassion and kindness, totally antithetical to the unrestrained ambition and individualism marking the postwar America. The world of Mayberry happened to be essentially moralistic, where individual aspirations, contradictions, personality quirks and human foibles eventually aspired to approach a benign harmony and acceptance. Thereby, it would not be wrong to say that Andy Griffith Show unfolded amidst a setting that instead of appealing to the salient norms of the America of the 60s, rather presented an idea of America that most of the Americans happene d to cherish and miss. It presented a setting that happened to be benign, safe, cozy, soft and predictable. In contrast, I Love Lucy accrued attention by presenting a setting that adhered to the altering social and gender norms of the late 50s. New York City, where the show is set, typically stands out as a modern American metropolitan, a home to social and civil upheavals, fast altering moral norms and a quick paced life. It is not a surprise that if on the one side, I Love Lucy, beats conventional gender expectations, on the other side it presented a more racially diverse character profile. If Andy Griffith Show had a predominantly white, middle class character profile, in I Love Lucy one comes across characters like Ricky Ricardo, who is a Cuban American. The other interesting thing about these two shows was that their central characters that are Sheriff Andy Taylor and Lucy Ricardo happened to be totally different and disparate. Andy Taylor in Andy Griffith

Research paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 10

Research paper - Essay Example Therefore, the given paper will examine some of the public and official responses, as well as some of the most important applications on human cloning, and its potential promises. Firstly, the two major cloning techniques will be analyzed in order to understand what cloning involves, and clarify the meaning of the term itself. Secondly, various opinions about the issues, moral and ethical problems it evokes will be presented and analyzed in order to clarify the fact that cloning is not actually immoral or unethical, as many prefer to claim. Cell mass division is the only technique that has been used on human beings. It was first used to multiply human embryos in October 1993, by Robert Stillman and Jerry Hall at George Washington Medical Center (Stock, 2000). They cloned human embryos by splitting early two- to eight-cell embryos into single embryo cells. Each embryo cell will grow up to create a distinct individual, completely separated from the other embryo cells. Therefore, cloning using the cell mass division does not produce copies of an individual. It only produces one more individual with the same genotype. We should never forget that cloning will only produce twins with the same genotype which means that each individual will be a distinct person. This technique is based on the idea that nuclei from cells derived from an adult could be reprogrammed, or that the full genetic complement of such a cell could be reactivated well into the chronological life of the cell. To date, there has been only a single reported case of cloning using this technique on a higher animal. It is important to recognize that this procedure has a great number of important applications in research. One of these applications is to clone genetically engineered animals to produce large quantities of powerful pharmacological agents or to produce

The various strategies adopted by those who mobilized to resist the Essay

The various strategies adopted by those who mobilized to resist the ambitions of colonialists and imperialists - Essay Example II. Modes of Resistance A. Example 1 There are so many methods that countries used to resist imperialism. The first method was by collaborating with other imperialists. The imperialists or the bourgeois also fought for the control of territories. The resisting countries took advantage of this and sought the protection of another imperialist country in case of invasion. One such example is in Lenin’s letter to American workers when he says that he sought the help of France when the German forces invaded Russia. The French army had explosive experts and they were to be used to blow up railway lines in order to make it hard for German forces to invade Russia. Lenin knew very well that France was also an imperialist nation but he used it for the benefit of his people. France assisted Russia because it wanted to prevail over Germany. Lenin says that by using Russia to prevent Germany invasion, he had reduced the bourgeois power and assisted in preservation of the rights of the work ing class. This mode of resistance was also adopted by America when it was fighting for liberation from British colonization. The Spanish and the French had also invaded the northern part of America. The Spanish, French, and the British were always in conflict. The United States took advantage of this and sometimes fought on the side of Spanish and French forces against the British. Lenin says that they (USA) collaborated with the oppressors for the benefit of their people. B. Example 2 Another mode of resistance that was adopted was armed resistance. Example of this was when European countries invaded the Asian countries (Panikkar 231). These countries responded by armed resistance. This led to destruction of institutions that had been established by the colonizers. Since such revolutions would erupt in many of their colonies, it was hard to suppress them leading to weakening of the imperialists. This resulted in the imperialists granting independence to their colonies. Even though this strategy is criticized for leading to much causality, Lenin claims that it saves many people from oppression by sacrificing a few. In fact, Lenin claims that the imperialists during their own struggles normally killed many innocent citizens. C. Example 3 Another mode of imperialist resistance is refusing to depend on the imperialists. This is when a country decided not to depend on the products of the colonizers. The country enhanced its own industries and endeavored to solve its own problems. It was sometimes hard because these were non-industrialized countries but Lenin in his letter to American workers says that it is through mistakes that people learn how to do things right. This strategy was meant to incapacitate the imperialists economically and it was achieved through boycotting their products or not accepting employment in their industries. Through this, the workers would be able establish and strengthen their own national industries and learn how to manage them. They will establish new working rules and have a say in their trade unions. This frees them from the manacles of imperialism. D. Example 4 The last strategy of resisting imperialism was through stepping on the rights of imperialists. The imperialists may have the right to own property, but the property that they held was grabbed from the indigenous population. When power went back to the citizens of the colonized states these properties were taken from

Close-Reading Xala Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Close-Reading Xala - Essay Example Close-Reading Xala Sembene has used his life to reveal the period of transition in Africa shedding light upon the corruption and greed that persisted in the African society. The story commences from the success of El Hadji and ends at the note where he is humiliated owing to his own acts and wrongdoings. El Hadji lived a life of pride and attained financial successes even through wrong means to fulfill his greed. He lived a lavish life and had two wives named Adja Awa Astou and Oumi N’Doye respectively. But he decided to marry a third woman, N'Gone and this was a matter of pride for him as he believed this symbolized his manhood and his capability of fulfilling the demands of three wives both physically and financially. His first two wives are not very happy with this decision but to uphold the African traditions of submissiveness for women, they obey his command and attend his wedding ceremony. El Hadji is very happy with his marriage but his marriage proves to be the commencement of his downfa ll. He is unable to consummate his marriage owing to the loss of potency on the first of his marriage. On the path of attaining the cure for his problem, he loses his wealth and he is deserted by his wives as well except for Awa. He is looked down upon by his colleagues who also leave him and continue with their financial projects. It is later that El Hadji finds out that he lost his potency owing to â€Å"xala† which was a curse of impotency that was spelled on him by a beggar as he had been unfair and had unjustly taken over the piece of land of the beggar. The only way that remained for him to regain his manhood was by taking off his clothes and by being spit by all the beggars. The author has interwoven the happenings in the life of El Hadji to reflect upon the wrongdoings in the African society. El Hadjis first wife is a traditional African woman who sticks by him till the end. She is submissive and follows the commands of her husband. Her character reveals the strength of an African woman who is patient and loyal. She converses with her husband in Wolof revealing that she wills to uphold the tradition of the African society. Their daughter Rama is used by the writer to portray the new generation of Africa who knew that they had fought their way out of colonialism and had to work towards upholding their culture and traditions. She was a strong character who argued with his father against his wrongdoings and atrocities. She also talked with her father in Wolof and did not wish to utilize the French traditions and products until and unless needed. It is seen that despite of her disapproval for her father’s acts, she still loved her father which is revealed when she stands by him and converses with the police officer when the beggars at their house for the ritual of spitting El Hadji for regaining his manhood. She also cries on seeing her father being disgraced. Africa was in a transitional phase and Oumi who is El Hadji’s second wife sy mbolizes as a character that is stuck between the French and the African traditions. Oumi is not patient and devoted like Awa. She highly disapproves of El Hadji’s third marriage. She was not completely over the French period of colonialism and preferred using their language and dressing. She adopted a more western style and her character denoted the existence of the French remnants in the African society. Oumi is materialistic and leaves El Hadji during his period of downfall and

Compare and Contrast___how technology is changing the way we live and Essay

Compare and Contrast___how technology is changing the way we live and the way we think - Essay Example Claudia Wallis in her article, â€Å"Gen M: The Multitasking Generation,† and Nicholas Carr’s â€Å"Is Google Making Us Stupid?† both argue against much of the way people interact and rely upon the technology both physically, emotionally, mentally, and socially in a few unpleasant ways. He focuses more on the intellectual laziness access to fast internet answers can breed and she focuses more on the social and interpersonal communicational perspective when people persistently interact and multitask with technology and how that can have a negative effects; both of these authors are absolutely right. Claudia Wallis discusses children are perpetually interacting with technology and that parents think there multitasking is a product and a credit to the presence of that technology and their minds, Unfortunately, that is little better than a â€Å"wives tale† that people may tells themselves to justify children’s excessive technological interactions. â€Å"Human beings have always had a capacity to attend to several things at once. Mothers have done it since the hunter-gatherer era--picking berries while suckling an infant, stirring the pot with one eye on the toddler† (Wallis p. 1). Many biologists and anthropologists would easily agree the things that defines us as human is our curiosity, ability to learn and adapt, and our ability to multitask and process multiple information at once; this did not evolve as a side effect of technological advancement. In truth, excessive interaction with technology leads to anti-social in face-to-face antisocial that belies th e communal and communicative nature of our species. The interactions online and the relationships we make are shallow and superficial, based on the shared likes and dislikes of other things posted on sites. There is also a misconception that the presence of all of this sophisticated

BAN - A Logic of Authentication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

BAN - A Logic of Authentication - Essay Example As a result, Borrows, Abadi and Needham formulated a logic of belief and action, to address these errors. The logic allows people to formally describe the beliefs of trustworthy parties involved in these authentication protocols, thus uncovering subtleties, redundancies and flaws through an analysis of the protocols’ syntax and semantics. Borrows, Abadi and Needham take four published protocols into account, in order to show how they illustrate the appropriateness of this logical method of analysis. But how sound is the logic that they are proposing? How far can a vague and ambiguous logic take us? This paper aims to introduce the famous BAN (Borrows, Abadi and Needham) logic and it’s use on one of the published protocols (i.e. Kerberos), to discuss the logic’s success, its successors, and to review the critiques made on the logic. This paper is based on the article †A Logic of Authentication† published in 1989 by the authors Michael Burrows, Martin A badi and Roger Needham, University of Cambridge. The paper was nominated for publication in TOCS by the Program Committee for the ACM SIGOPS Symposium on Operating Systems Principles, December 1989. The three authors completed part of this work at Digital Equipment Corporation and part at the University of Cambridge. 2 Chapter 2 Introduction In this chapter a brief introduction to the basic principles of the BAN logic is discussed as well as a short section about security protocols. 2.1 An Introduction to Borrows, Abadi, Need- ham (BAN) Logic The BAN Logic is named after Borrows, Abadi and Needham. The logic is, as they stated, a logic of belief and action. It contains no logical inversions; therefore it cannot be used to prove that a protocol is flawed. But when proof, that a protocol is correct, cannot be obtained, that protocol deserves to be treated with suspicion [?]. In other words BAN logic does not aim to prove the security of a protocol; it can only catch certain kinds of s ubtle errors, help us to reason about the protocol, and help us identify and formalize our assumptions and analysis. Details of the BAN logic such as the idealization of protocol transactions, along with the various inference rules, will be discussed on the later sections. The authors of †A Logic of Authentication† introduce the BAN logic to protocol designers whom they believe are inappropriately copying available techniques; thus coming up with protocols containing many security flows. The authors explain the basic notation of the logic and five rules that are applied to analyze protocols. Afterwards, they move on to actually idealize different existing protocols to conclude that such a simple logic can capture subtle differences between protocols. If there is one thing that the authors forgot to mention, that would be the basic definitions of frequently used terms. So in this paper I will try my best to define those terms. 3 CHAPTER 2. INTRODUCTION 4 2.1.1 Security Pr otocols A security protocol usually uses cryptography to distribute messages, authenticate the communicating parties and protects data over an insecure network. It can be defined as a set of transactions or traces. Each transaction consists of a series of communication events, some of which are perhaps interleaved protocol runs. Every desirable

Interdisciplinary approach in understanding suicide syndrome Essay Example for Free

Interdisciplinary approach in understanding suicide syndrome Essay The data and research on suicide provided us a lot of statistics which is intellectually inviting to package into a neat conceptual frame from different disciplines so we can see possible interrelationships and more important we can view the coincidental everyday events follow certain trends. Suicide which is a complex act could for example be viewed not in isolation with group behavioral patterns and is tied up with the social institutions. We can explore further and go case specific and explore suicide in the internal psychological and physiological turmoil involved in suicide or what makes life. The religious view underlines not the meaning of life but the value of life. Intellectual challenge of unifying different perspectives Going into particular view points and unifying them is not as easy as it seems. A fine statement taken from different point of views summing what suicide is all about may not hold water and not tenable. There possibilities opposing viewpoints at some level on questions such the dividing line between psychology and religion. Will a peek at the soul the same as peeking at the subconscious? The matter of approach and method are areas which needed reconciliation if it would be useful in understanding suicidal actions and ideation. Coming up with the criteria for selecting appropriate approach and method becomes critical. Could a balance be struck between the objective and subjective? Analytical or the introspective? We confront then each discipline with a specificity of purpose while exploring the nuances of each discipline. The exploration must yield an intellectual map of how suicide could be contextualized and understood, meaning the map or the conceptual frame must be able to account for the myriad of statistics and findings of the subject matter of suicide. CONVERGING DISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES Interdisciplinary approach is a search for convergence both in substance and in methods and coming up with a unified perspective on the issue at hand. It is in such a convergence that the power of interdisciplinary research strategies could be best appreciated. Domain of psychology Human behavior or why we act the way we do reflects opposing viewpoints of objectivism and subjectivism. Apparently, it is difficult to separate the body and one of its products, the mind. The mind could be perhaps viewed as an indicator of prescience, an attribute of being capable of conscious act, of being aware. The working of the mind has been research and has been debated across time. And time and again, unifying objectivism and subjectivism remained a touchy issue. But nonetheless a unified interdisciplinary perspective must account for the dynamic relationship of objective and subjective factors in human behavior. Bruner’s theory of the evolution of the mind offered the insight that the representation systems used by children as they develop parallels the history of human inventions and the theory suggests that such evolution is manifested in three stages of inventions which serves as amplifiers of motor, sensory and ratiocinative human capacities. Broadly speaking, technology and science made people stronger, keener on their environment and with amplified intellectual capacities through symbol systems and theories.

Literacy Instruction and Difficulties with Reading Essay Example for Free

Literacy Instruction and Difficulties with Reading Essay In today’s world the consequences of having students attain low achievement scores in reading can be very detrimental to both individuals and society. Students who are attaining low achievement records in literacy often correlate with the school dropout rate, poverty, and unemployment. Also the gap between reading achievement of poor and middle class students is substantial, calling for a federal regulation to ensure equal opportunities for all students no matter where they may be attending school. The standards movement and evidence-based research can have a great impact on how literacy programs are used in the classroom. Evidence-based reading instruction means that a particular reading program has a record of success. The program was tested with a group of students and there is data to show the result of the research conducted. These programs are reliable and valid in saying that the children can be expected to make adequate gains in reading achievement. Evidence-based research can be very helpful when trying to find the right literacy program to use. As there are many different types of students who learn in different ways, there will never be one single successful method of teaching children to read. When teachers are looking for literacy programs to use they should be investigating how old the students were, their current reading level, what type of setting it took place in, and if it was conducted on a one-on-one or group basis. Teachers want to find programs that have been successful and relate to their own current setting. It is crucial to make sure that the program is applicable to the students and their situation in order to have an opportunity for the program to work. Another great idea is to use this research to create your own programs based on your findings. The teacher is now becoming a teacher-researcher in order to test their own situation with their created program. This is a great way to create a program for your unique students and still have the support of research that has been shown to work. If the program is successful, it is a great idea to share it with other colleagues because it may be affective for them as well. As with any type of instruction method there are always positives and negatives. Evidence-based reading instruction promotes the fact that that particular method has had a record of being successful. Teachers can look into studies that have been tested on students similar to their own, and give these programs a try. They have been shown to be successful and provide instruction that lead to a higher literacy achievement for that group of similar students. In doing this, you know there is a good chance that the method can work with your students, as opposed to trying something new that has no research to back it up. These research studies show why and how the program works, along with providing data showing the difference it has made with the students. As stated earlier, not every child has the capacity to learn the same way. What works for one student, may not work for another. So even though these programs have been shown to work, they are not guaranteed to work for your students. As teachers in the United States we will be teaching students that come from many different cultural backgrounds. Different cultures have different opinions on the best way to educate students, however they all place great value on education for children. Some of these students may just be learning to speak English, while others have lived in the United States for their whole lives. It is important, as the teacher, to get to know each student and their cultural background. This allows you to understand the needs of the child and how they can be met. Discover the child’s strengths and weaknesses and create a plan that can be used to help that child. It is important to know what is important to each student and what may be stressed in the home. The teacher needs to take into consideration how different cultural backgrounds of students may affect the classroom dynamics and learning. Students may also have certain behaviors that are taking place in the classroom, but it could be a cultural reason for why that is taking place. The largest student group identified receiving special education services is students with learning disabilities. A learning disability is a general term that refers to a group of disorders where students may face difficulty. These disorders include learning to read, write, speak, listen, or do math. Out of all the students with learning disabilities about 80% have been diagnosed with having a reading problem. The goal for students with learning disabilities, especially reading disorders, is to be on the same academic level as our general education students. For some this is an attainable goal, where for others it is not. There are many ways we can help these students improve their literacy skills. Since many of these students are reading below grade level we need to provide them with reading materials that are at their current level. If it is too difficult they will become frustrated and may give up. These students need high interest, easy to read books so that they can begin to enjoy reading and see themselves as readers and learners. In today’s schools more than 20% of school aged children speak languages other than English at home. Many of these children have difficulty speaking English and the majority of these students having difficulty are speaking Spanish in their homes. English Language Learners need to be able to read, write and understand the English language in order to become successful in today’s classrooms. We should be focusing on the student’s strengths in order to help them understand English. One strategy is allowing students to read in their native language if they are literate in that language. This allows them to understand the same reading as another child who may be reading it in English. Many times these students are seen as reading on a lower level, but it is only because of a language barrier. They don’t understand how to read in English. There are also many books that come with translations. Having students read a book in their language and then trying to read it in English can be helpful because they understand and know what the story is about, so when they face difficulty understanding the English version they can compare and figure it out. In doing this they can also make connections to many words in their own language by using cognates. This can foster comprehension by activating prior knowledge in both languages. It is important to allow them the opportunity to read in their native language because it offers a sense of comfort and success to the student.

Child Friendly School Policies

Child Friendly School Policies The purpose of this essay is to explore what Child Friendly School policies could learn from Comparative and International Research. Reference to CFSs in Kenya will be made with emphasis on the background of CFSs, current practices and emerging critics, success stories, problems and pitfalls and what CIR can do to subjugate some of these challenges. I will start by examining the rationale for exploring CFSs, based on literature and my professional experience. Following this background will be literature surrounding the concepts of CIR and CFSs in relation to global agendas, exploring how CFSs came into existence and the driving forces behind it. I then go on to focus on a case study of CFS in Kenya, discussing the role of CIR in the Kenyas CFS, arguing that CIR is used as a political tool in creating educational policy, rather than a research method or an intellectual inquiry. I will further critically analyze challenges facing CFSs and how knowledge on CIR can contribute more effect ively to successful implementation of CFS policies. A conclusion based on the literature and authors experience will then be drawn. Throughout the essay, I build a case in favour of CIR arguing that CIR stimulates critical reflections about our educational systems by investigating commonalities and differences across national borders. Background and Rationale Comparative and international education is one of the main fields of education with many benefits, judged by the volume of studies reported in the literature. Central to this is that many countries around the world have formulated some of their educational policies based on knowledge and research from CIR. With the current wave of globalization, researchers and experts, especially in the field of education, are always trying to find ways of streamlining their educational policies with the global trends. According to Giddens (1990:64), globalization is the intensification of worldwide social relations which link distance localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa. Global forces therefore have an impact on shaping local practices at grass root levels. In order to do this tactically and critically, comparative and internal research remains cutting edge in informing people about the realities, the challenges and the possible effects of uncritical transfer of ideas. One of the key developments in education has been the prioritisation of basic education as opposed to adult education or higher education. In Africa, this would be probably because, as Oketch (2004) points out, basic education yields higher rates of returns compared to higher education. This has subsequently influenced government and non-governmental organizations to focus more on improving the quality of basic education. Child-friendly schools (CFSs) in Kenya is an example of a initiative sponsored by UNICEF with the aim of not just providing children right to education but the right to the right education. In other words, CFSs are more concerned with the quality of basic education in addition to its access. The emergence of CFSs in Kenya was catapulted by the forces of agendas 1 and 2 of Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) which emphasizes on the provision of basic education. One of the six Education For All (EFA) goals agreed by the World Education Forum (2002) concerns education q uality. The term quality in education is dynamic because of the social, political and economic context at which it is used. Milligan (2011:276) adds that quality has, thus, been placed as an integral cog in the educational development machine although how educational quality is defined is a matter of great contention. Because of differences in contexts, it is imperative that knowledge of comparative and international research be used in designing policies and pedagogy in CFSs that fit that particular context. Furthermore, with the fear that some countries may lag behind as others move forward, countries from sub-Sahara Africa are now engaging in various practices in order to achieve these educational goals, a race against the 2015 set deadline for attainment of EFA goals. As the clock ticks towards the year 2015, priority goals in education may change for post-2015 and the worry is further elevated. One of the efforts the government of Kenya is doing to improve the quality of education is by integrating CFS model into the basic education system. Two major questions arise here: First, how is CFS realistic considering myriad challenges facing the FPE policy in Kenya? Secondly, if integrating CFS model into basic education will help in improving the quality of education, what lessons can CFS policies learn from CIR? It is against this background that the purpose of this essay hinges. Literature Review In this section, I will look at the concepts of Comparative and International Research (CIR) and Child Friendly School (CFS) based on the literature and merge them with the global forces that influenced the emergence of CFS with an attempt to unveil the voices behind the introduction of CFS in Kenya. In addition, I will use an example of PRISM experience in Kenya to reinforce the understanding of the role of international bodies in promoting quality through well strategized and executed projects, arguing that lessons from PRISM experience can be used as insights to successful implementation of CFS policies. Concepts of Comparative and International Research (CIR) and Child Friendly School (CFS) CIR is a fusion of two broad areas of research: Comparative Research and International Research. To understand its full meaning, it is important we define the two areas of research separately. In his definition of comparative research, Mills et al (2006:621) argue that: Comparative research is a broad term that includes both quantitative and qualitative comparison of social entities. Social entities may be based on many lines, such as geographical or political ones in the form of cross-national or regional comparisons. A similar perception was echoed by Noah and Eckstein (1969:127), who viewed comparative education as an intersection of the social sciences, education and cross-national study [which] attempts to use cross-national data to test propositions about the relationships between education and society and between teaching practices and learning outcomes. In light of this definition, comparative research in the context of education can be defined as a study of two or more entities or events (Crossley Watson, 2003) with the underlying goal of searching for similarity and variance. Cross-national or regional comparisons may include comparing educational policies, pedagogy, educational leadership and so on. According to Mills et al (2006: 621), the search for variance places more emphasis on context and difference in order to understand specificities. International education, on the other hand, can be defined as the application of descriptions, analyses and insights learned in one or more nations to the problems of developing educational systems and institutions in other countries (Wilson 2000a: 116). Therefore, international research is concerned with research carried out across two or more countries, often with the purpose of comparing responses between them. This might be done in order to devise strategies that work well across both or all these cultures or to suggest local adjustments to a global strategy There is a close relationship between comparative and international education. Epstein (1994: 918) points out, that international educators use findings derived from comparative education to understand better the processes they examine, and thus, to enhance their ability to make policy. We can therefore draw from the above two definitions that CIR in education as a method of comparing both qualitative and quantitative entities in education across different countries, societies or cultures with the aim of identifying similarities and differences. It is however important to note that not all international research is comparative, and not all comparative research is international or cross-national. According to UNICEF (2007), a child-friendly school is both a child seeking school and a child-centred school: It is child seeking because it actively identifying excluded children to get them enrolled in school. It is a child-centred school because it acts in the best interests of the child leading to the realization of the childs full potential, is concerned about the whole child: her health, nutritional status, and well-being and concerned about what happens to children before they enter school and after they leave school. A CFS system recognizes and respects childrens right and responsibilities; it provides the enabling environment to realize childrens right not only in schools, but also in childrens home and their communities. These include children from conflict zones, street children and children with disabilities. According to UNICEF Global Education Strategy (2007) the Child-Friendly Schools model (see fig 1) is based on simple, rights-based concepts as described in Table 1. Concept of CFS Description Rights Based School CFS proactively seeks out-of-school children and encourages them to enrol, irrespective of gender, race, ability, social status, etc. Gender Sensitive School CFS promotes equality and equity in enrolment and achievement among girls and boys. Safe and Protective School CFS ensures that all children can learn in a safe and inclusive environment. Community Engaged School CFS encourages partnership among schools, communities, parents and children in all aspects of the education process. Academically Effective School CFS provides children with relevant knowledge and skills for surviving and thriving in life. Health Promoting School CFS promotes the physical and emotional health of children by meeting key nutritional and health care needs within schools. Table 1: Description of a CFS Fig 1: Model of the Child-Friendly School Source: UNICEF, Global Education Strategy (2007:1) The CFS model provides a framework for planning (and monitoring the effectiveness of) strategies for increasing access to quality basic education with the specific focus on the development of strategies to include those children hitherto excluded from education (UNICEF, Global Education Strategy, 2007). It is important to note that CFS model is not a one-size-fits-all model. The model may differ from country to country depending on the context. International and Local Pressures and their influences to formation of CFS in Kenya Education in sub-Sahara Africa, and indeed in Kenya, is crafted from both influences by global trends in education and the legacies of colonialism. Chisholm and Leyenderker (2008) observe that: Since 1990, the goals and purpose of education in sub-Sahara Africa has been reshaped by four interconnected developments: globalisation, the changed focus of international aid agencies towards development assistance, the adaptation of sub-Sahara African countries to the new world order with its new political emphases, and the spilling over of new pedagogical ideas from the USA and Europe into sub-Sahara Africa. (p 198) Kenya is a signatory to a number of conventions in education, including the Convention to the Rights of the Child (1989), the World Declaration on Education for All (Jomtien, 1990), the Dakar accord and the Millenium Development Goals (2000). In achievement of education development goals, Kenya is bound to, among other things, quality education by MDGs. The Jomtien call for access for access, equity, quality and democracy in education appeared to promise both social and economic development (Chisholm and Leyenderker, 2008). Social and economic development, and continues to be believed, requires educational change and educational change is necessary for social and economic development (ibid:). Educational change, in turn, is perceived to depend on, amongst other things, the input from relevant development assistance projects. These projects, in the arena of education, are typically formulated with reference to internationally negotiated development agendas (like the MDGs) and priority (Crossley Watson, 2003). An example of these projects in Kenya is CFSs which are supported by United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF). The Education Section of UNICEFs Programme Division introduced the Child Friendly Schools (CFS) framework for schools that serve the whole child in 1999 (Chabbott, 2004). Rationale for introducing CFS framework in Kenya The increased reliance of foreign aid to support education reform in Kenya has been accompanied by a transition, from understanding education as a human right and the general good to viewing it primarily in terms of its contribution to national growth and well-being through the development of the knowledge and skills societies are deemed to need (Arnove Torres 2007:359). Occasional voices continue insisting that education is liberating, that learning is inherently developmental (ibid: 359). With the global concern that Sub-sahara Africa countries may not achieve Universal Primary Education (UPE) by 2015 unless the progress is accelerated (Carceles et al., 2001; Bennel, 2002), Kenya responded by introducing Free Primary Education (FPE) policy in 2003 with both local and global pressure. The rationale behind introducing FPE was (apart from the pressure from global and international agendas) to alleviate poverty attributed to lack of literacy skills. The success story behind implementation of FPE policy is increased enrolment at primary school level by approximately 50% from 5.9 million in 2003 to 9.38 million pupils according to the Kenya Economic Survey 2011. However, there are myriad challenges facing the implementation of FPE policy which include high teacher-pupil ratio, inadequate infrastructure, overcrowded classroom, inadequate textbooks and many schools lacking sanitation facilities. All of these challenges militate against the provision of quality teaching. There is no magic wand for fixing this problem of quality in education. In response to this CFS were introduced in Kenya. According to UNICEF Child-friendly Schools Manual (2006:1): The challenge in education is not simply to get children into school, but also to improve the overall quality of schooling and address threats to participation. If both quality and access are tackled, children who are enrolled in primary school are likely to continue, complete the full cycle, and achieve expected learning outcomes and successfully transition to secondary school. The CFS framework (see appendix 3) aims at promoting child-seeking, child-centred, gender-sensitive, inclusive, community-involved, protective and healthy approaches to schooling and out-of-school education with a general goal of improving the quality of learning. Since CFSs are concerned with the quality of learning, it is important we look at the meaning of quality. The national examinations to obtain the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) at the end of primary cycle and the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) at the end of secondary cycle are designed to evaluate the extent to which the primary and secondary graduates master the curriculum content. In other words, the national test scores are used as the indicators of quality. The limitation of this indicator is that it does not take into account the context at which learning takes place i.e. the learning environment, learners unique characteristics etc. There are many definitions of quality but one of the descriptions of quality which emphasizes on the context was by Tikly (2011:10) who argued that: A good quality education is one that enables all learners to realise the capabilities they require to become economically productive, develop sustainable livelihoods, contribute to peaceful and democratic societies and enhance wellbeing. The learning outcomes that are required vary according to context but at the end of the basic education cycle must include threshold levels of literacy and numeracy and life skills including awareness and prevention of disease. In his description, Tikly believes that a good quality education arises from interactions between three overlapping environments, namely the policy, the school and the home/community environments. In his perception of quality education, Tikly puts context into consideration i.e. needs of the learner, cultural and political contexts. In addition, he emphasizes on the relevance of what is taught and learned and how it fits the nature of particular learners in question. This encourages policy makers to take cognisance of changing national development needs, the kinds of schools that different learners attend and the forms of educational disadvantage faced by different groups of learners when considering policy options'(ibid:11). The fact that CFS emphasizes on learner-centered pedagogy and puts the child at the centre or focal point in the learning process raises the idea of what is regarded as valuable knowledge and how this knowledge is acquired in this particular context. This leads us to the inquiry on the school of thought or paradigm behind introducing a contextualized CFS framework. CFS as an approach to education is premised on constructivism, a theory of knowledge arguing that humans generate knowledge and meaning from interaction between ideas and real experiences. According to constructivists, the notions of reality and truth are socially constructed and in different context with the understanding that knowledge is subjective and embedded in multiple realities. Thus, quality of learning should be viewed in the context in which it is occurs. Towards Quality Basic Education In Kenya: Developing Research Capacity and Evaluation Before we acknowledge the contribution of CFS in providing quality education to the children at Primary school level, it will be prudent to review some of other contributions that has been made by international organizations in collaborations with the local government in promoting quality of education at grassroot levels in building research capacity. Kenya has had a history of benefiting from international assistance in its education sector. One of the programmes is the Primary Schools Management (PRISM), an initiative of DfID through the Ministry of Education, which places a lot of emphasis on participatory approaches and emphasis on mobilising community support, resource management and utilisation, supporting learning of pupils and developing action plans. It targeted teacher training and management and the impact of this is overall effectiveness of an education system which has a direct bearing on quality of education. According to Otieno Colclough (2009:26), PRISM is regarded as one of donor-funded programmes which had most positive impact on quality of basic education and CFS can learn from it. As Crossley et al (2005) note, the main objective of PRISM was to improve the quality of primary education through the training and support of head teachers in practical management skills. Borrowing from the PRISM experience it is wo rthy learning that well planned and organized CFSs policies involving community participation at grass root level could help amplify local voices and lead to successful implementation of educational policies not only in Kenya but also other parts of African contexts. Challenges in implementing CFS in Kenya In this section I will explore common challenges associated with the CFSs with an aim of illuminating and critiquing the gap between policy and practice in CFSs. Access and Quality Dilemma: Which one should be first priority? As I mentioned earlier, one of the role of CFS in Kenya is to improve the quality of learning. But the access to education is still a challenge in Kenya and there is fear that Kenya will not have achieved EFA goals 1 and 2 by the year 2015. Many comparative researchers argue that different countries have different educational problems and it is the countrys obligation to identify what should be the priority and why. Aksoy (2008: 218) observes that: While developed countries are mainly engaged in activities to increase the quality of education, or they practice and seek new techniques and methods of learning and teaching, developing countries struggle to provide equal opportunities for education, trying to increase the rate of participation of all citizens in basic education, which is actually compulsory. To deal with its educational problems, each country works out countrywide or local solutions, depending on the nature of the problem. The tone of such statement is more closely allied to the question of priority. Priority in one country may not be a priority in another. In Kenya, the major problem basic education is facing is of access while higher education is facing the problem of quality. CFS focus more on quality, but in the Kenyan context, access to education is still a problem in basic education even after the introduction of FPE. The CFS concept of quality can however suit very well in some small state commonwealth countries which have almost universal access to basic education. It has been noted that small sates have now shifted education priorities towards focus in school effectiveness, quality and inclusion (Crossley, 2002) after ensuring that all children have accessed basic education and CFSs in Kenya should learn from small states that the priority should now be on access to basic education before shifting to quality. Atomizing the child: is child-centred the solution to quality CFS? A key feature of a right-based, CFS system is that it is linked tightly to the child-centred learning process. CFS advocates for child-centred learning where a child is treated as a single entity or an atom in learning processes. The idea of atomizing a child has its drawbacks derived from child-centred learning. First, there is an oversight on early year development behaviour of the child. Psychologists believe children undergo various levels of development and their learning behaviours are different at each level. For instant, Vygotskys (1978) concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) implies that a child cannot ordinary create ZPD by himself; he needs the more expert individual to bridge the gap between his current development level and his proximal level of development. Secondly, a child-friendly, democratic learning environment may not work successful in overcrowded classrooms and school with limited resources like it is the case in Kenya. Thirdly, child-centred learning weakens the role of the teacher. The idea that a child must be active in construction of knowledge is often understood to imply a diminishing role for the teacher in learning process who now becomes a coach or a facilitator. A call for paradigm renovation, from an exclusively child-centred learning to a combination of both child-centred learning and teacher-centred learning approach is important so that the weakness of one method is complemented by the other method. What Lessons can Kenya learn from other Countries in Implementing CFS? A Review on the Contribution of Comparative Research King (2007) emphasizes the need to explore the tension between the national and the international policy agendas in Kenya in order to make informed decisions when crafting educational policies. Clearly, this is a view that acknowledges the contribution of CIR researchers in bridging theories, policies and practices with both local and global minds (Crossley, 2000) in trying to identify betters grounds to critically reflect and determine appropriate course of action. Apparently, the term that is commonly used in Kenya and indeed many Africa countries in the initial processes of designing an educational policy is benchmarking. Essentially, this is usually a comparative study which is carried out locally and/or internationally in trying to compare different models of policy framework with the aim of critical adaption or adoption. Lessons are well learnt when a comparisons are made, and this underscores the strength and significance of comparative research. Moreover, since problems transcend national borders, it is prudent to seek possible solutions by learning from a similar experience in another country, and this explains why international research is important. Kenya can learn from other countries that are either progressing or failing to implement CFS policies because lessons can either identify opportunities or gaps, based on comparative analysis. In these respect therefore, I have identified two key elements of CIR which could help implementat ion of CFS. The first element is on identification of the gap between policy and practice. Documenting the emerging good practices and lessons learned within the regions is useful in informing evidence based programming and advocacy to enable us to achieve better results. For example, a Global Evaluation Report published by UNICEF in 2009 on comparative studies of how to six countries (Guyana, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand) with different experiences implementing CFS, demonstrated the following: CFSs in varying contexts successfully apply the three key principles of CFS models-inclusiveness, child-centredness and democratic participation. Schools operating in very different national contexts, with different levels of resources and serving populations with different needs have succeeded in being child-centred, promoting democratic participation, and being inclusive. Schools that had high levels of family and community participation and use of child-centred pedagogical approaches had stronger conditions for learning, that is, students felt safer, supported and engaged, and believed that the adults in the school supported the inclusion and success of each student. (UNESCO, 2009) Kenya can use this success report to assist in providing a broader perspective on the ways in which CFSs can contribute to quality in the countrys unique context. The caution should however be that any steps taken should have hindsight of the current context in the country to avoid uncritical transfer of practice which may end up opening a Pandoras box. Secondly, through CIR, studies of educational systems from countries that share similar problems or pitfalls can provide information for learning possible consequences. A recent comparative evaluation research conducted by UNESCO in Nigeria, Gunaya, Thailand and the Philippines on CFS pedagogy gave different findings. While teachers in Nigeria and Guyana mainly focused on meeting basic instructional material needs (textbooks, paper), many teachers in Thailand and the Philippines focused on having greater access to information and communication technology (UNESCO 2009). Kenya experiences the same challenge as Nigeria and Gunaya, and data from these countries can be used to learn how they coping with inadequate basic instructional material. The caution here should be, that common problems may prevail in different countries, but common model cannot be applied because every country has different culture/context (Crossley Watson, 2003: 39). This provides invaluable information of what to adopt, modify or avoid. Conclusion It is worthy reiterating Crossley'(2003) emphasis that context matters and different countries have different needs and priorities even if they are faced with the same challenges. The value of CIR is studying foreign systems of education in order to become better fitted to study and understand our own (Sadler 1900, reprinted 1964:310) and CIR can be used as a lense to focus on adaptable or adoptable practices. UNICEF repeatedly emphasises that CFS is a pathway to educational quality rather than a blueprint and that it is counterproductive to regard the CFS model as rigid, with a present number of defining characteristics or key components (2009c, Ch. 1, p. 9). Thus, the essay sought to present an overview in favour of the contribution of CIR by highlighting what CFS policies in the Kenyan context could learn from CIR. As such, the essay acknowledges the role of CIR in stimulating critical thinking and reflections about CFSs system by evaluating its success and failures, strengths and weaknesses. This critical reflection facilitates self evaluation in our own context and the basis for determining appropriate courses of action. The essay also hints that CIR helps us understand global agendas and how they shape educational development projects from organizations and development agencies.

Essay --

Hollar1 Mrs. Ledbetter English I 13 December 2013 The Mysteries of Area 51 Area 51 has been the center of controversy for many years. Its existence was denied by the government , but it cannot be explained why 200 or more jeeps patrol a nonexistent area. Many factors contribute to the mystery of the place known as area 51. Aliens and aircrafts are two main theories that encompass the mystery of area 51. Area 51 is the unofficial name for the United States military installation popular for UFO folklore. it has been stated that â€Å"UFOlogists have speculated that the government uses area 51 to experiment with extraterrestrials and their space craft’s†(What goes on in area 51?). The mysterious area 51 is located in Nevada about 85 miles northwest of Las Vegas. (Hodeirne). This is a very remote and secretive area with not much around it. this explains why many rumors circulate about the area. It lies within a U.S. air force installation known as The Nevada test and training range.(Hodeirne). They admit to the existence of the area but no information is leaked of the secrets that lie inside. Many people question if they are developing futuristic technology, like death rays, flying cars, or solar panels to generate electricity at a cheaper price.(National review). although people speculate, no one really knows the areas purpose. Not much is known about the are a but, the government has admitted area 51 existing, and revealed some details about what its used for.(National Review). This has eased some speculation of the area and quieted some of the rumors surrounding it. this was also done by the government stating that highly classified... ...era program, also known as oxcart, tried to develop a spy plane that would be undetectable in the air. (what goes on in area 51?). as well as this, research showed no evidence of alien life, the only thought was that area 51 was a secret base used to test spy planes.(New York times). some even believe area 51 is alleged to be a UFO landing site where flying saucers land for lack of spare parts.(What goes on in area 51?). Area 51 puzzles many people. The mystery behind area 51 can be summed up in two theories: aliens and aircrafts. aircrafts being tested in the area most likely account for â€Å"spaceship â€Å" sightings in the area. along with this, though many people believe aliens are associated with abductions, missing people, etc. no true proof is given. No one really knows the true purpose of area 51, aliens or not area 51 is full of mystery and controversy.

Mathematics of Microscope Resolving Power :: Math

Missing Figures Imagine this, you are walking through the forest when all of a sudden you come across the most fascinating insect (perhaps insects may not seem too fascinating at first but once you learn a little about them they are the most fascinating creatures). Well, back to the story, so you find this insect and you realize that it seems very different from those you've previously encountered. Well, being the curious scientist that you are, you take out your trusty magnifying glass and take a look. You move the lens back and forth until you find the perfect image. You see the insect's wonderful colours and patterns which you would not be able to see with your naked eye. What just happened? You simply placed a piece of glass between you and the insect and all of a sudden you get this wonderful view of nature which would otherwise be missed. Well, if you are at all curious as to know how magnifying glasses and microscopes work, then read on and find out. An Introduction to Microscopes The two types of microscopes that will be focused on in this webpage are the simple microscope and the compound microscope. The simple microscope, also known as the magnifying glass, is composed of a single converging lens. The compound microscope is composed of at least two lenses and is generally referred to as a microscope. There are two main purposes of a microscope: 1) to increase the magnification of an object 2) to have a high resolving power Both of these will be examined; however, a greater emphasis will be placed on the resolving power. Magnifying Power (brief overview) Magnifying power: is also called angular magnification. Figure 1a shows an object y in front of a lens. Rays of light reflect off the object through the lens and a now larger image, y', of y can be seen. Once, the image is brought further from the lens, as in figure 1b, the image, y', is even larger. (So as to no discrepency: in figures 1a and 1b, the observer is on the right of the lens looking towards the image y') The magnifying power, M, is given by the following: M = 1 + d/f, where f is the focal distance and d is the distance between the object and the lens Proof of M = 1 + d/f: Figure 1c is the view of the object Y from point C without a magnifying glass. Mathematics of Microscope Resolving Power :: Math Missing Figures Imagine this, you are walking through the forest when all of a sudden you come across the most fascinating insect (perhaps insects may not seem too fascinating at first but once you learn a little about them they are the most fascinating creatures). Well, back to the story, so you find this insect and you realize that it seems very different from those you've previously encountered. Well, being the curious scientist that you are, you take out your trusty magnifying glass and take a look. You move the lens back and forth until you find the perfect image. You see the insect's wonderful colours and patterns which you would not be able to see with your naked eye. What just happened? You simply placed a piece of glass between you and the insect and all of a sudden you get this wonderful view of nature which would otherwise be missed. Well, if you are at all curious as to know how magnifying glasses and microscopes work, then read on and find out. An Introduction to Microscopes The two types of microscopes that will be focused on in this webpage are the simple microscope and the compound microscope. The simple microscope, also known as the magnifying glass, is composed of a single converging lens. The compound microscope is composed of at least two lenses and is generally referred to as a microscope. There are two main purposes of a microscope: 1) to increase the magnification of an object 2) to have a high resolving power Both of these will be examined; however, a greater emphasis will be placed on the resolving power. Magnifying Power (brief overview) Magnifying power: is also called angular magnification. Figure 1a shows an object y in front of a lens. Rays of light reflect off the object through the lens and a now larger image, y', of y can be seen. Once, the image is brought further from the lens, as in figure 1b, the image, y', is even larger. (So as to no discrepency: in figures 1a and 1b, the observer is on the right of the lens looking towards the image y') The magnifying power, M, is given by the following: M = 1 + d/f, where f is the focal distance and d is the distance between the object and the lens Proof of M = 1 + d/f: Figure 1c is the view of the object Y from point C without a magnifying glass.

Mystery and Suspense in Sir Arthur Conan Doyles Literature :: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Literature Essays

Mystery and Suspense in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Literature In this essay, I will compare and analyse how Sir Arthur Conan Doyle creates mystery and suspense in three short stories. In retrospect, mystery and suspense go together. If one of the two is present in a story, so is another. Both of these elements are evident in the three short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I intend to go into the intriguing world of this master of mystery and explore the methods used by the writer. I aim to analyze the stories and highlight common traits in the way in which he creates mystery and suspense. In order to fully grasp the essence of the stories, we must first know some background information about the writer and the period in which the characters involved in the stories lived. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle studied medicine in Edinburgh and graduated in 1881. He set up practice soon afterwards but unfortunately his patients were far and few between. He then turned to writing. In the duration of his stay in Edinburgh, he met Joseph Bell who was a professor at the University that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle attended. Bell had an intriguing hobby of deducing people's characters from their appearance. Bell became the model for the protagonist of the Sherlock Holmes stories, which were introduced in 1887. In these stories, Doyle portrays himself as Dr. Watson, a friend of Holmes who spends a great amount of time with him. The story of "The Engineer's Thumb'; starts in a way that is typical of many of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Dr Watson is recalling one of the numerous mysteries that he and his friend have solved and he explains which story he is going to tell and why he is going to tell the story. By telling us the reasons for telling the story, the author is provoking the interest of the reader. He also makes the story seem realistic thus gaining the readers belief, which is vital in a story because people prefer not to read stories that develop no sense of credibility. The reader feels that they must read on and find out more about the details offered by the writer. This method is simultaneously setting the story whilst gaining the reader's attention. Another way he builds of the inquisitiveness of the reader is by showing the impacts of the event such as "The Engineers Thumb'; and where he states the effect the case made on him.

Mestiza Whitening Soap Essay

Whitening Soap have the distinct smell and have usually and orange color. Papaya also contains enzyme that will give our skin more refreshing. Papaya soap contains three main ingredients; papaya extract, papaya juice, and pulp. The three ingredients will be combine during the soap manufacturing. Vitamins C and A are highly concentrated in most papaya fruits, along with beta carotene and an enzyme called papain, an enzyme that helps digest proteins. The vitamins in papaya are often nourishing for the skin, especially for those with blemishes and scars. The antioxidants in these vitamins purportedly helps wash away dead and dry skin cells very quickly, promoting the growth of new, healthy skin. This quick turnover of skin growth typically helps fade scars, heal blemishes, and helps scabbed-over wounds become soft and pliable again more quickly. The papain enzyme helps the vitamins in the papaya soap to do their work, in addition to performing several functions of its own. Papaya also helps to keep the skin soft, pliable, and new-looking, making it a popular facial soap. Its exfoliating properties promote smooth skin and may help remove uneven coloring and dark spots over time. Some manufacturers advertise very fast spot correction with papaya soap, but papaya alone will not usually remove spots quickly. Several months of using the soap may show results in this area. Those with food allergies should read labels closely to make sure they won’t have an adverse reaction to their chosen soap. Core benefit of the product: 1. Fade scars and black stain Papaya Soap can get rid of scars as Papaya soap contains Papain which will removes sore and injured skin. Papaya soap can also be used to eliminate black spots of the skin, to fade scars, stimulate the formation of new skin cells and it should constant use until the skin return to normal. 2. Overcome the problem of acne Acne arises usually caused by cell exfoliation of dead skin cells that clog the pores of the skin. This resulted in the formation of dead skin cells and when met with excessive oil production will cause instances of causes acne. Therefore, Papaya soap act effectively to peel the dead skin cells so that acne will not popup, and at the same time it will remove the scars of acne overtime. 3. Whitening and Skin Whitening Equipped with Cocoa extract to soften new skin cells, soap also contains papaya enzyme papain to regenerate new skin cells. With regular application, your skin will become bright, white, and stain-free. Picture of Location The location of the business is in 1570 Dela Paz Bldg. Dapitan St. Sampaloc, Manila Measurement As we know there’s a lot of Papaya soap that have been produce in market now days such as Likas Papaya Soap, Silka Papaya soap, Royale Beauty Kojic Papaya Soap and ect. So for our Papaya soap brand name, we choose to use MESTISA (whitening soap). We choose this name because as we can see after using this Papaya Soap we can see the differences after using it. Rough skin, flake skin, oily skin and so on can become smooth, fresh and the oily skin will be decrease after using this papaya soap. So that’s why we choose Pure White and it is also shows the consumers about the naturality if they used our product. Price List Small- P600 Big- P800 Logo Front view: Back view: This example of our product packaging. In front of our soap box as we can see there’s our product name Mestiza, which picture of girl and Papaya fruit which mean, if we use this soap then our skin will be look more white and become natural like the girl in the picture and the green circle and the star mean is made by 100% papaya fruit. We also choose the orange color because it is show the originality of the papaya fruit. On the top of the packaging the sentence is explaining briefly about our product. â€Å"Bathing your skin with a new young beauty MESTIZA (whitening soap). It is made to gently cleanse and deeply nourish your skin, leaving it soft, smooth and refreshed. 100% derived from the papaya fruit extracts that help to whiten skin and smoothens for all kind’s of skin. † On back of this box customer can see the ingredients of our product. The ingredient of our product is Coconut Nucifera, RicinusCommunis, Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Glycerin and another substan ces that have been allowed. How to use this soap: lather in the palm of our hand. Apply on wet face and gently massage, concentrating on forehead, nose and chin. Avoid eye contour areas, in case of contact with the eyes, rinse immediately. Suitable for daily usage. You can use it for shower and face, massage your body 2-3 minute then wash it with water. And as we see there’s â€Å"Halal† logo, this product can be used for any people (can be used whether muslim and non-muslim). We also put our company logo there which the blue circle means that our product will be sell around the world and the good sign is customer will satisfied and will not disappointed about our product. Benefit of this product 1. Papaya Soap for Dark Spots and Skin Whitening As we know, papaya soap is quite famous because of its can make our skin  lightening. Using these papaya soap, dark spots will disappear in just a few weeks. It can minimize the body’s production of melanin which is the main cause of the darkening of our skin. Papaya soap not only lighten your skin’s complexion but more importantly is evens it out so that you don’t have dark areas in your face, dark underarms or elbows and minimize the discoloration caused by scars. 2. Papaya Soap for Acne and Skin Exfoliation As you use papaya soap, the papaya enzyme that’s a natural substance found in the papaya fruit, promotes the removal of dead skin. Dean skin can dry up your skin leaving it itchy and rough. Skin exfoliation is also important so that no other elements like dirt and dust particles are trapped in your skin which can cause pimples and blackheads. Through daily use of papaya soap, Acne and scars will be minimized and you’ll exfoliate your skin making it softer, whiter and pimple free. 3. Leaves your Skin Healthy and Smooth One of the signs of an unhealthy skin is dryness. If you are scratching often or have noticed cracked on skin patches, then you may already have dry skin. Papaya soap is one of the more effective treatments to dry skin as it rejuvenates the skin. 4. Papaya Soap Heals Acne and Pimple Scars Since Papaya soap mainly flake the skin, it can unclog pores that have been backed up by dead skin cells and over production of sebum, the natural oil that our skin secretes. Pimples appear when dead skin and sebum are not immediately washed away. This is why, we should regular use of papaya soap, acne can be avoided and you can prevent any breakouts of those embarrassing rashes and pimples. 5. Relieves Pain from Insect Bites A fact about the papaya enzyme is that it can breakdown proteins and the toxins left by an insect bite. Rinsing and washing a bug bite and stings with papaya soap and water can relieve the pain and itching. This can be a very welcome idea especially if medical creams are unavailable. Variety of the product line 1. Shapes We just make our product into rectangle shape. This is because if we make it like that it will be easy to hold and can be divides by for easy use if needed, depending on customer convenience. 2. Color We used orange as our primary color for our product because it will shows the originality of product that it has been made of 100% from the fruit itself. Plus, we also make it orange to make sure customers are not confused. If we make our soap from papaya, we should try to make the product exactly the same color as the fruit, otherwise the customers will not even bother buying it. 3. Scent and Flavor The scent and flavors of course, we used the papaya’s natural ingredient to make our soap, not only for facial use but at the same time for aromatherapy. The customers will feel relax and refresh after each use of our product. Target market/customer for the cosmetic product Our target market is men and women between 18-30 who are still students or recent graduate. They are most likely the target group who really wanted to care of their appearance. They are energetic, like going out with their friends and wanted to look elegant in the public. We also focus on a woman who already married with an age between 30-50. Even though they are married, they really wanted to look beautiful for their husband. Young men and women who are still a student are really focused on studying and most of them do not have at least a part-time job. They rely on their parents to send them money. Their budget is limited for food and some other expenses to cover up. Rather than purchase an expensive cosmetics products, they probably turn to some cheap products that have the same effect. Lastly, we also focus on customers who have severe acne problem. People with acne problem tend to avoid going out in the public because there are too ashamed of their appearance. Sometime commercial product does not work at all and some branded goods are expensive. The marketing mix/4P application 1. Product Our traditional cosmetics focus on customers who wanted their facial skin to be free of black spot and look radiant. They do not need to spend their money on some expensive facial whitening product. Nowadays, women are not the only one who worried about appearances, even men wanted to be beautiful for their own image. In order to meet customer’s expectation, we introduced product that gives them the same effect as other expensive cosmetic products in form of a soap that is easy to use with just a cheap price. 2. Price The suggested retail price of P60.00 each which is the cheapest whitening product in market yet. Those who cannot afford to purchase an expensive cosmetic product, the customers can turn to this product as an alternative for their facial problems. 3. Promotion The promotion aspect for this product only apply to advertising, we make advertisement using internet, poster sites and newspapers. Other promotional methods include sales promotions, direct mail, and demonstration. In overseeing the product’s success, we will offer a special promotion for the products before integrating it into normal inventory. 4. Place Our products will be most likely to be sold in place where other cosmetics products are sold, but we will also put the product in a supermarket of grocery store. This way the customer would not have the problem to buy the product because it is easy to find. Most of facial product or cosmetics product have the same purpose, and that is to be used by customers and gain profit from it. The companies or certain organization claiming that their product is better that the others and vice versa. At the end of the day, customers are the only people who will decide which product is better. Customers nowadays like cosmetics product that will show the result faster. So, it will be natural that the customers will try to avail variety among the different brands, which is the reason why different brands or products give discounts and launch new stuff. Brand Decision process depends on economic view such that if a buyer knew about any cosmetic products in less price and more benefits then definitely he or she will consume it, therefore  our product offer more benefits in reasonable price for consumer to make a favorable decision. Consumers search for goods that fulfill their needs and enrich their lives. Our products go beyond delivery of a commodity or service; they pursue the development of a long term profitable relationship with their customers.Customers will buy our product mainly because of three factors fragrance, package and ingredients. Computation (Income Statement) Reference 1. http://www.stylecraze.com/articles/benefits-of-papaya-for-skin-and-hair/ 2. http://www.sabunpepaya.net/ 3. http://khasiatdaunpepaya.blogspot.com/2013/05/manfaat-sabun-pepaya-untuk-kecantikan.html 4. http://www.ehow.com/about_6783990_papaya-soap-skin-whitening.html 5. http://www.livestrong.com/article/230286-what-are-the-benefits-of-papaya-soap/ 6. http://www.info.com/papaya%20soap?cb=63&cmp=2884