If You Let People Into Your Life a Little Bit, They Can Be Pretty Damn Amazing

If you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty damn amazing In this chapter, Arnold wears one of his dad’s old polyester suits and takes Penelope to the Winter Formal with only five dollars in his pocket. After the dance, a group of boys invite Arnold and Penelope for some foods. At the restaurant, Arnold orders lots of food for Penelope and himself, he thinks it’s his last meal before execution as he has no money at all to pay all the foods. Later Arnold asks to borrow some cash from Roger and pays for the foods. Penelope later asks Arnold if he is poor, and Arnold respond honestly. He says yes. Penelope kisses him on the cheek and cries. Have you ever met the situation when you tell someone about something, and they were totally excited because they have completely agreement with you in that case? Yes, I have. Once I was doing Summer School, I had no friend in my class, I didn’t know anybody. There was a girl sitting beside me, and we didn’t really talk to each other until the third week. None of us ever started a topic to talk about. So one day, I felt it’s really been a long time since Summer School starts, I need some friends indeed! So I started with some random topics to talk about, and when I ask her what she likes to do in her spare time, I was amazed. She has the totally same interest as me, she likes playing softball and golf, and also she’s a newbie at those sports, and so am I! So we ended up hang out with each and play sports together sometime in the weekend. I would not have her as my friend if I never started talking with a sentence like â€Å"Hello, how are you? † We become very close since then, and even now we are still in touch, we sometimes hang out, go to movies. We have a lot in common to talk about. Sometimes if you let yourself be a little bit active, and talk to some people about yourself, you may find you guys have a lot in common to talk about, and that person may have same interests as you do. You just need to be open-hearted to everyone, to accept everyone in your life, to be friendly with them, you may end up have lots of best friends. Imagine your world full of best friends who have a lot in common with you, have lots to talk about. Isn’t it pretty amazing?

The Good Shepherd, John 10

Jesus, Our One True Shepherd Tuesday, October 30, 2012 Introduction Throughout the Gospel of John, Jesus offers to those around Him, most specifically His Disciples, metaphors to help them understand who He is and what His purposes are. Jesus uses common phrases to illustrate His point. He does this twenty-three times in the Gospel of John Repeating important. He begins seven of those important statements with two exceptional words, â€Å"I AM†. These words illustrate his world-saving purpose.For example in John 6, Jesus makes the profound statement â€Å"I am the bread of life† right after feeding a huge crowd and speaking of Moses and the manna God gave from Heaven. Without the manna, the nation of Israel would not have survived their time in the desert. Later, in John 8 Jesus speaks of walking in light versus darkness, and makes the statement, â€Å"I am the Light of the world†¦Ã¢â‚¬  We know that a belief in Jesus allows us to walk in the light, to be out of the darkness of sin and death. By the time we reach chapter 10 in the Gospel of John, Jesus is going say again, twice, an â€Å"I AM† statement.The rest of this paper will focus on John 10:1-18. It is important however, to understand that what Jesus is doing in these verses is in the midst of a long line of hugely important moments between Him and those He came to save. In the tenth chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus makes two huge â€Å"I AM† statements. The first one Jesus speaks to is addressed in verses 1-10, and is spoken in vs. 7, â€Å"I AM the door of the sheep. † The second comes later in vs. 11, â€Å"I AM the good shepherd. † In John 10, the structure of the passage comes in two parts, yet concludes with one main theme, Jesus is our true Shepherd.The paper will take a look at the first part of the passage where Jesus talks about being the â€Å"gatekeeper†, and then will shift focus into what Jesus being the â€Å"Good Shepherd† means. While again, each could be looked at independently, the focus of this paper will be to demonstrate that each part works together to help Jesus’ followers then and people today understand what it means for Jesus to be the one true Shepherd. It is important to understand weight of each of the â€Å"I AM† statements that Jesus speaks in John 10. In order to gain a better understanding of the premise of Jesus as â€Å"Shepherd†, here are a few important things to note.First, sheep and goats were two of the most well known and spoken about animals in the Bible. Also, â€Å"sheep and goats require constant care, since they are practically defenseless† and such would require a Shepherd, someone to guard them, and provide a constant watch over them. So now, Shepherds became a pivotal part of God’s story. Shepherds not only tended to the feeding and providing of care for the sheep, they guarded and protected them against thieves and robbers. It was the Shepherd’s sole responsibility to care for and tend to his sheep – to make sure they were accounted for and maintained to the best of his ability.Second, even thought this is the first time in John that Shepherding is mentioned, the other Gospels also discus this ‘job’. It is also, as previously mentioned, seen a huge amount throughout the Old Testament. Think back to David or some of the great Prophets, like Ezekiel, Jeremiah, or Isaiah, and you find a vivid picture of what it means to be a Shepherd, one of the sheep, or part of the flock. In John Chapter 10, Jesus will identify Himself as a Shepherd, and the implications of this are great. Not only does Jesus speak about being the ‘gatekeeper’ of the sheep, He also says that he is the â€Å"Good Shepherd†.Both concepts help to illustrate Jesus’ purpose and one main idea, â€Å"Jesus is our one true Shepherd†. The Gatekeeper In the first part of the passage (John 10:1 -10), Jesus is going to identify Himself as the gatekeeper, the guard and protector of the sheep from thieves and robbers. To understand this properly, and to put the first part of this passage in context, we must go back to what the people would have understood as he said this, and why they would have understood its implications. Ezekiel 34 is the starting point for this analysis. The basic implication of Ezekiel 34 is the rebuking the false shepherds of Israel.Making note that one day He will gather the lost sheep and bring them to Himself, as promised. From Ezekiel, Verses 2, 4-5, and 11-12 â€Å"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord God, â€Å"Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? † 5 â€Å"They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered. † 11 For thus says the Lord God, â€Å"Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. 2 â€Å"As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day. The idea of false or evil shepherds can also be found in Jeremiah 23: 2-5. 2Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are tending My people: â€Å"You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them; behold, I am about to attend to you for the evil of your deeds,† declares the Lord. â€Å"Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply. 4â€Å"I will also raise up shepherds over them and they will tend them; and they will not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, nor will any be missing,† dec lares the Lord. What Jesus does by introducing the rightful gatekeeper in the first 10 verses of John is to open the door to Him being the true Shepherd for the sheep, His people.When looking at the passages in Ezekiel and Jeremiah, it is easy to see how the idea of false or evil shepherds was standard in this time. Up until this point, Jesus’ greatest adversaries had been the Pharisees, the ones who claimed to be the most righteous and Godly men around. They were the ‘gatekeepers’ to religious law and practice. They held the mandates and seemed to ultimately decide who was right, or â€Å"in† with the Father. The people also listened to them. They paid heed to everything the Pharisees said and did.When Jesus, in the opening verses of John 10 describes thieves and robbers, He is speaking to these individuals, and all the other leaders of the past that had led Israel astray. John 10:3 details how the doorkeeper recognizes the shepherd, and how the sheep hea r his voice and follow. This is such rich imagery. We may not value this as significant, because in the Western World most sheep are herded by a dog, or by the movement from a ranch hand from behind the flock. In the Near Eastern culture this is not the case. D. A.Carson describes it like this: â€Å"The Sheep listen to the shepherd’s voice†¦ Near-Eastern shepherds have been known to stand at different spots outside the enclosure and sound out their own peculiar calls, their own sheep responding and gathering around their shepherd. † Jesus is making a bold statement in verse 5 to say, â€Å"A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers. † Jesus is asserting that those who have come before Him, and who have pretended to be His people’s shepherds are nothing more than strangers.He shows that a time will be coming when He will call the names of those whom He loves, and they will know His voice, because they are already His. This moment links us directly to Jesus as Messiah – coming to save those who have been as scattered sheep. Only the one true Shepherd will call His sheep, and only then will the people hear the voice of the this Shepherd. Jesus being the ‘gatekeeper’ is so very important. So not only is the gatekeeper responsible for the sheep in the sense that he decides who will come and go from the fold, Jesus being the ‘gatekeeper’ or the ‘door’, is the means to eternal salvation.Only the one true Shepherd can be held responsible for those who come into the fold. In verse 7 Jesus makes the first â€Å"I AM† statement – He says, â€Å"I am the door of the sheep. † Not only now do the sheep recognize Him as the Shepherd, He now is their passage through the gate into the fold. Jesus points out again in verse 8 that those who came before Him were nothing but thieves and robbers, and that the sheep did not recognize them. The thieves and robbers were only out for their own interests (looking back to Ezekiel 34) and because of this, the sheep are eternally destroyed.But Jesus as the door to the fold, the gate itself, gives life, and does not take it away. Jesus as the one true Shepherd is the only door there is to the Father, the only true gate in which a sheep can enter into the fold. Up until this point, the passage has reflected on the Jewish nation. Jesus as â€Å"The Good Shepherd† will become an even bigger idea, also helping to verify Jesus as the one true Shepherd, and for all people. The Good Shepherd In this portion of the passage, Jesus makes several important claims about His role as the one true Shepherd of the flock.In the earlier verses, this same idea was true, but only for a certain subset of people. As we look through the following portion of the text we will see how Jesus is â€Å"The Good Shepherd† for all, and therefore is the one true Shephe rd of the flock. Right away, John points out something crucial to the passage, and that hints to earlier parts of the passage. He opens up by saying this: â€Å"I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. â€Å"He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. This mention of a hired hand again points to those who came before Jesus, who were even there at that time, pretending to be Israel’s shepherds. They, the religious leaders and Pharisees were nothing but hired hands, looking after the sheep yes, but in the sight of danger, they would flee. The ‘hired hand’ cares much more for his own interest than the interests of his flock. We know Jesus to be the complete opposite, and He truly hits it home when He says that as The Good Shepherd, not only will He protect His sheep, He will die for them.Only the one true Shepherd would do that for His sheep. The next portion of the text is also monumental in meaning when it comes to Jesus being the one true Shepherd. Right after Jesus emphasizes that He will know His sheep and His sheep will know Him, He makes a gesture not only to those who already know Him, but also to those who have yet to know Him. From John 10:16, â€Å"I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. The significance of this moment in scripture is profound.Jesus states here that He is the One who will bring all to the fold. That no longer will there be a division between Jews and Gentiles, but that there will only be one flock, with the one true Shepherd. Many times throughout the New Testament this same grand gesture is given to the Gentiles. See Galatians 3: 26-29: â€Å"26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were bapti zed into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 9And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise. † This moment says exactly this! Jesus is the one true Shepherd, fulfilling a long foretold promise that He and He alone will bring ALL the sheep into the fold and He will be the only Shepherd. The final portion of this text helps us to understand more clearly who â€Å"The Good Shepherd† is. As The Good Shepherd, Jesus makes some declarations about who He is in not only relation to His sheep but His Father, thus explaining His own sovereignty. Jesus’ life is not taken, it is given up by Him and Him alone.This is why God sent Him. The choice to watch over, guard, protect, and call-in His sheep was the plan, the plan of a great and sovereign Shepherd, who had to give His l ife so that His sheep could live, so that they could go through the gate. Jesus was not forced to be The Good Shepherd, the one true Shepherd, He choose to do this willingly. Conclusion Throughout the first 18 verses of John 10, John helps us to understand the implications and simple delight that Jesus is our one true Shepherd. He does this first by helping us to see Jesus as the â€Å"gatekeeper† or the â€Å"doorway† through which we enter into life eternal.John also tell us of the personal relationship that a Shepherd has with his sheep, and likewise that Jesus has with each of His sheep – He knows them, and they know Him. Furthermore, John points out that there have been and will probably always continue to be, false or evil shepherds that come like thieves or robbers in the night to try and steal or sway the sheep. But in regards to the text, the sheep shall not worry, but rather hear the voice of the true Shepherd and follow Him. The second portion of the text discusses the sovereignty of the one true Shepherd.Jesus, by choice is The Good Shepherd, and subsequently came to be the one true Shepherd for all. By His choice to lay down His life for all of His sheep, we are able to enter into the fold where He will reign as our Shepherd for eternity. If another shepherd offered this same promise, or was able to, then Jesus would not be The Good Shepherd, He would simply be like the rest before Him – thankfully this is not the case. The verses in John 10: 1-18 clearly demonstrate that Jesus is our one true Shepherd, by means that He is not only The Good Shepherd, but also the â€Å"door† that we must come through to have eternal life.There are some implications that come from knowing this. As followers of Christ in the modern age, we are prone to listen to other shepherds – often times even letting ourselves run and follow after other voices. It is in fact shameful how easy and accustomed we have become to listening to the other voices, which try and replace our one true Shepherd. We find it easier to place our faith in the hands of those hired and not the One high above. We become attuned to religious practice and not the stillness of the green pasture that He leads us to.We become fixated on practice and not righteousness, letting ourselves adhere to the rules put in place, rather than the standard in which the fold was formed. We forget that our one true Shepherd laid down His life for His sheep – doing this so that they might be able to live a life, which with Him alone is full. Knowing that Jesus is the one true Shepherd also helps us to know how to be good shepherds to those around us. It helps us to better understand how to tend to the flocks that we are a part of. It helps us to understand how to love on the weak and care for those who wander.Finally, it helps us to understand the importance of truly knowing our flocks. As is found later in John, Jesus commands of those who truly l ove and follow Him – â€Å"feed My lambs,† â€Å"love My sheep,† and â€Å"tend My sheep. † The one true Shepherd offers this for us, and in turn we are to offer it, as He has commanded us, to all. Jesus is our one true Shepherd, and the Shepherd of all. Sited Works: 1. The MacArthur Study Bible, NASB 2006. The Gospel of John, pg. 1557 2. The MacArthur Study Bible, NASB 2006. The Gospel of John, pg. 1564 3. Mattingly, G. L. (2000). Shepherd. In D. N. Freedman, A. C. Myers & A. B. Beck (Eds. , Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible (D. N. Freedman, A. C. Myers & A. B. Beck, Ed. ) (1208). Grand Rapids, MI: W. B. Eerdmans. 4. New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Eze 34:11–12). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation. 5. New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Je 23:2–4). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation. 6. D. A. Carson (1991) The Gospel According to John, Pg. 382 7. New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Jn 10:5). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation. 8. New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Jn 10:11–12). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation. 9. New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. 995 (Jn 10:16). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation. 10. New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Ga 3:26–29). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. The MacArthur Study Bible, NASB 2006. The Gospel of John, pg. 1557 [ 2 ]. The MacArthur Study Bible, NASB 2006. The Gospel of John, pg. 1564 [ 3 ]. Mattingly, G. L. (2000). Shepherd. In D. N. Freedman, A. C. Myers & A. B. Beck (Eds. ), Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible (D. N. Freedman, A. C. Myers & A. B. Beck, Ed. ) (1208). Grand Rapids, MI: W. B. Eerdmans. [ 4 ]. New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Eze 34:11–12).LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation. [ 5 ]. New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. 19 95 (Je 23:2–4). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation. [ 6 ]. D. A. Carson (1991) The Gospel According to John, Pg. 382 [ 7 ]. New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Jn 10:5). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation. [ 8 ]. New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Jn 10:11–12). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation. [ 9 ]. New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Jn 10:16). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation. [ 10 ]. New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Ga 3:26–29). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

Free Will in Experimental Philosophy Essay

Although the â€Å"free will† problem envelops a spectrum of ideas, I agree with the following belief: â€Å"The folk are compatibilists about free will. † While there are, of course, incompatibilists and indeterminists, for the most part, the general population consists of compatibilists. Now, I know experimental philosophy has a problem with the use of generalizations without actual statistics, but throughout this paper, I will explain exactly why the world revolves in a generally compatibilist manner. Firstly, to speak of compatibilism, you’d have to assume that the world is deterministic, meaning that everything that happens from here on out, including human action, is caused by the facts of everything that has happened before it. With that assumption in mind, compatibilist believe that we still have free will as long as we aren’t operating under external limitations. The problem with that is that although compatibilists believe we are free, there is still disagreement on just exactly how free we may be, which is the weak spot indeterminists and incompatibilists use to try to break the argument. One nature of compatibilism is referred to as classic compatibilism. This means that we’d be acting freely as long as we, without being impeded by any outside force, take a course of action that we personally choose for ourselves. These compatibilists believe that it is the presence of impediments such as â€Å"physical restraints, lack of opportunity, duress or coercion, physical or mental impairment, and the like† that would cause us to not act freely (Caruso, 2012). However, this line of reasoning is not accepted by those who support the Consequence Argument. In the simplest terms, this argument states that no one has power over the facts of the past and the laws of nature. Also, no one has power over the fact that the facts of the past and the laws of nature entail every fact of the future (i. e. , determinism is true). Because of that, no one has power over the facts of the future (McKenna, 2004). Compatibilists respond to this by saying that the focal point should be the differentiation between free and un-free, and not by the absence of causes. Other philosophers argue that we act freely when our first order and second order desires become aligned. Because our mental processes are more developed than those of younger children and simpler animals, we have the rationale to decide whether our instincts or raw desires should be acted upon. That rationale is referred to as the second order desires (Frankfurt, 1971). For example, Chris is at the bar with his girlfriend Ana. While Chris has stepped away to the restroom, Jose approaches Ana and flirts with her in a manner that she does not feel comfortable with. Once out of the bathroom, Chris sees this. Enraged, he initially wants to go and physically put Jose in his place. In spite of this, he remembers that he is up for a promotion at work, and getting into a bar fight probably won’t help his chances of receiving it. He tells Ana to collect her things. They leave. What we see here is the protagonist, Chris, experiencing first order desires that make him want to hurt Jose. His second order desires are what tell him that although he is feeling those first order desires, his second order desires are not in agreement and therefore, he shouldn’t act on them. Although some compatibilists seem to be satisfied with this reasoning because it justifies the causation of our actions, it doesn’t explain whether our thoughts and desires are consequences of the past as well. An example would be that Kate feels the desire to take a run in the park and does so. Yet, if determinism is true, which compatibilists believe it is, she is already determined to feel that way, and although she may want to feel that way, without any outside force acting on her she is not free (McKenna, 2004). Her first order and second order desires may even align, but without the ability to do otherwise, due to determinism, she would not be free. Even so, compatibilist Michael Levin says â€Å"minding or accepting one’s desires is as much an effect of past causes as the desires themselves,† but if our internal desires are causally determined, they cannot also be free. All it would be is a different form of causality (Caruso, 2012). Nevertheless, compatibilists argue that it isn’t necessary for an individual to have been able to do otherwise (Nahmias, Stephen, Nadelhoffer, & Turner, 2005). If there were the choices of A through Z and someone that could manipulate me into doing A that would do so if I didn’t do it on my own, I would still have free will if I picked A without the manipulation. In this case, compatibilist see me as having had free will because I chose A on my own. My 1st order desires were aligned with my 2nd and that is why A happened. If I had been manipulated to do so, then the problem of free will would once again come into question, but being that the manipulator is fairly irrelevant to the story since I acted on my own accord, and would have done the same thing without the potential manipulative factor. Also, there a couple of studies done to determine what relationship non-philosophers believed existed between free will, determinism, and moral responsibility. In Study 1, there were three scenarios. Scenario 1 was negative. Scenario 2 was positive, and Scenario 3 was neutral. In all three cases, between 68 – 79% of folk said there was free will. While there were some fluctuations in percentages when it came to the association between free will and the ability to choose otherwise, the amount of participants making judgments that disagreed with incompatibilism was two to three times greater than those that followed along with incompatibilist intuitions. This study was supported by their second study. In this study, they tell the subjects that everything in the universe is caused completely by their genes and environment. The scenario takes twins, Fred and Barney, and places Fred with the Jerksons and Barney with the Kindersons. One day they both find a wallet with $1000. Fred keeps it, while Barney returns it to its rightful owner. When polling the participants, 76% said they both acted on their own free will and could have done otherwise. This shows that the majority of folk believe that compatibilism is true, and while external factors and facts of the past might influence the choice making process, it does not define it; therefore we are free within the confines of a determined universe (Nahmias, Stephen, Nadelhoffer, & Turner, 2005). Now, why do I personally find â€Å"the folk are compatibilist about free will† to be true? Aside from the aforementioned statistics, the reason is that if we did not find a middle ground between free will and determinism, we wouldn’t do any of the things we do. Everything from the grading systems used in schools to receiving a promotion at work all the way to fighting wars is done in a compatibilist manner. The premise of all these concepts is the idea that if you choose do X, having the option of Y, Z will happen. If you work hard enough in school (X), you will receive good grades (Z), even though you can just be lazy (Y). If you are the most productive and pleasant at your job (X), you will receive a promotion (Z). If we go into a war (X), we have the chance of winning (Z). While all the factors in each of those scenarios might have also been determined, there is no reason for us to feel disappointment when we really studied but still managed to only get a B on a test or when we lose troops across seas. Though the previous paragraph does explain that folk believe in free will, it doesn’t explain why folk have the compatibilist view of free will. The reasoning for that is because while compatibilists believe that you can control some aspects of your life, you can’t control all of them. As Michael Levin said, â€Å"Compatibilist usually agree that free will does require behavior at least to be determined, since you cannot freely do what is beyond your control. † For example, we are born and we die. The sun rises. The sun sets. We inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. There are certain laws of physics that we must adhere to. Some will argue that we believe those to be stable laws of how the universe will operate, but only because that’s what it’s done until now. Tomorrow we might not have the sun rise, and tomorrow we might inhale carbon monoxide and exhale nitrogen. However, since certain things have been fixed for a trustworthy amount of time, we, the folk, have accepted it as determined facts of the universe. The determined factors of the universe are the skeleton upon which we place the flesh that is our free will. ? References Caruso, G. D. (2012). The Folk Psychology of Free Will: Arguement Against Compatibilism. Kriterion – Journal of Philosophy, 26, 56-89. Frankfurt, H. G. (1971, January 14). Freedom of the Will and the Concept of a Person. The Journal of Philosophy, 5-20. McKenna, M. (2004, April 26). Compatibilism. Retrieved from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/compatibilism/ Nahmias, E. , Stephen, M. , Nadelhoffer, T. , & Turner, J. (2005, October). Surverying Freedom: Folk Intuitions about Free Will and Moral Responsibility. Philosophical Psychology, 18(5), 561 – 584.

Current Purchasing and Supply Chain Practices in E-procurement Essay

Current Purchasing and Supply Chain Practices in E-procurement - Essay Example Indeed as e-commerce continues to gain root courtesy of the developments realized in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) it seems every single sector is being transformed. E-procurement therefore involves the use of Electronic Data Interchange and Enterprise Resource Planning. It is basically facilitated through the use of various software applications which enhance the process of supplier management and complex auctions. The value chain process of e-procurement consists of e-tendering, indent management, e-auctioning, catalogue management, order notice, e-invoicing, e-payment and contract management. It basically involves the conventional supply chain processes which are enhanced through the use of information systems. In public sector organizations, e-procurement is becoming a common affair given its increased benefits. Some of the benefits realized through e-procurement include increased efficiency and cost savings. Indeed, these have always been major concern in govern ment contracting. Similarly, e-procurement improves the transparency of the procurement process. Conventional procurement is normally characterized by rampant corruption especially in the public sector. A supply chain network enables the distribution options for the procurement of both raw material and finished products. In this regard, the major aim of a supply chain network is to satisfy the needs of the consumer as soon as they appear. This is certainly an important component of e-procurement (Ageshin, 2001). It should be realized that e-procurement is not simply a process of making online purchases. It must provide an open and effective communication line with all the potential suppliers throughout the business process (Waters, 2007). Research and New trends Businesses are today compelled to adapt and reconfigure their IT systems, assets and business operations in order to meet the increasingly changing demands of the customers. There is a growing need to compress the long busin ess cycles and to differentiate from the increased competition (2007). In this respect, new trends in e-procurement are constantly adopted with the major aim of enhancing operations through efficiency, costs reduction and output maximization. The systems are facilitated through the adoption of new architectural styles. The e-procurement and purchasing process involves the following steps (Dolgui, Soa, & Zaikin, 2005). Purchase approval and supplier evaluation The e-procurement supply chain process normally begins by the demand or need of the material by a user. In this respect, a number of electronic documents are normally used. They include forecasts and customer orders, purchase requisitions, stock checks and material requirements. The process of purchase approval involves a number of steps and will normally depend on the size of the purchase and whether the client is making first time purchases. Depending on the size of the purchase, there can be a need for supplier evaluation wh ich begins with from the determination of the purchase need (Forrest, 2006). Bidding and supplier selection The selection of suppliers is actually one of the most important activities in this respect. In any case, any mistakes or errors at this time can be very damaging and long-lasting. Once all the bids are received and the negotiation process has occurred, the sourcing team will then select an appropriate supplier and the approval is then authorized through the purchase approval step (Foust, 2013). Purchase approval Once the supplier has been selected, purchasing grants an authority or approval to purchase the product or service. This is facilitated through the use of an electronic drafting of a purchase order (PO). This is also

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Marketing - Essay Example Many people and especially the older generation is not for the idea and states that people ought to respect young children and ought not dress them up in manners that may spoil their young minds. A group of people that seeks to ensure that these padded bikinis remain in the market also exists. This group of people is majorly retailers who are out to accumulate high profits in the market. With these bikinis and with the increase in young mothers, these retailers are bound to get more customers and are one of the reasons why they do not want Primark to ban these commodities. This issue is the reason why Primark is facing a very large ethical dilemma. It is imperative for the company to make an appropriate decision as to whether to follow the needs of the retailers or to go with the urges pressed by the older people. Girls would walk dressed disrespectfully if the organization went with the needs of the retailers and this would hurt them

PRODUCTION AND COST Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

PRODUCTION AND COST - Term Paper Example ystems continue to drive costs of cross-border flows down, local and national economies continue to integrate, gradually or in shocks, into global economy. Clearly, present increasing integration into global economy in developing and developed nations alike is not a simple and direct result of communication and technological advances. This is, rather, a complex mosaic shaped by processes, institutions, and, more significantly, players. In present argument, a statement is made about globalization as a historical process which has immensely shaped international trade and global economy. Globalization is first discussed as an integrating process for national economies, leading to further integration of world’s economy as a whole. Then, a discussion of wider implications for globalization follows. Yet, since processes are not independent but are created, driven, or motivated via institutions and governing laws and rules, significance of international law, more specifically international economic law, is explored. Rules, laws, and regulations of World Trade Organization (WTO), as a unique international trade body, are given particular focus. [T]he process of greater interdependence among countries and their citizens. It consists of increased integration of product and resource markets across nations via, trade, immigration, and foreign investment – that is, via international flows of goods and services, of people, and of investment such as equipment, factories, stocks, and bonds. It also includes noneconomic elements such as culture and the environment. Simply put, globalization is political, technological, and cultural, as well as economic. (Carbaugh 2) As such, globalization accounts for increasing integration of national economies and, further still, for greater efficiencies in production as more and more jobs are outsourced globally (Carbaugh 6) and as more products are increasingly manufactured abroad (Carbaugh 14) for a host of reasons, not least lower

Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Movie Review Example I thought the story line to be very interesting because most Indian families are like how Jess’ family was shown. I watched the film by myself but later discussed it with my sister who had the same views as me. Jess was not given chances to be herself and her family was unable to accept that she was different. Her friend Jules mother also thought that Jess and Jules were in a lesbian relationship with each other because they never spent time with boys or doing other stereotypical things that girls are supposed to do. This tells us a lot about how society views a woman in not just the Indian culture but also developed western cultures. This movie is similar to a film called ‘She’s the Man’ set in America where again, a young girl is not given her break to play football and has to fight for her rights and prove to everyone that she is as good as anyone else. This film helps to understand that gender is a social construct and women are not made only for cookin g and cleaning the house; they can have other varied interests too which they should be given a chance to inculcate into their lifestyles and nurture. 39 minutes – Jess’s sister breaks up and Jess is trying to console her while practicing and then the coach comes to her house to talk to her parents 1.12 minutes – Jule’s family takes an interest in football and they’re having a breakfast conversation as her mom tries to learn the game; Jess’ mother prays that her results are good Persepolis, written and directed by Marjane Satrapi is a beautiful account of the life of a young girl as she grows up against the backdrop of the Iran war. As a young girl, she had a number of questions on her mind regarding the war and the consequences it would have on her family. Her parents and her grandmother always protected her so that she would not feel the atrocious effects of the war and later, in order for her to complete her education, they sent her to Fr ance. There, as she grows up into a young lady, she discovers many facets of life by herself with no one to answer her questions. She discovers love and sexuality and also experiments with different kinds of lifestyles, then realizing that she should not give up on her identity, no matter what. Frustrated with herself at times, she finds herself talking to her grandmother in her dreams who helps her get on the right path again. She goes back to Teheran and stays with her parents because she believes that is what will cure her depression. Marjane finds love in her family and soon even gets married. The marriage however ends up in a divorce and she feels that she has more time to study and educate herself and free women around her from the terrible clutches of the patriarchal society that persists in the country. The film ends on a happy note, with Marjane still figuring life out for herself and answering questions regarding why her Uncle gave up his life for the family during the rei gn of the Shah. I loved the manner in which the film was made and even though it was animated it was extremely realistic; Marjane as a woman goes through the journey of life as a vulnerable creature and is wounded many times, however she always gets back on her feet and manages to find answers. The movie was very inspiring and I am sure to suggest it as a must watch to others. 39 minutes – Marjane is sent to France, backdrop of the Teheran war is shown through her

Anthropology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Anthropology - Essay Example This topic is important because it will assist an anthropologist to analyze the theories of evolution with a better stand. It is also essential since it tells about the origin of humans and it will help in determining the similarities in biological and physical characteristics of the beings in association with their area of origin. It will also help in determining the changes that have occurred in the human beings from their time of existence. Answer: The author presented an argument supporting the Out of Africa theory which states that today’s human beings evolved basically from Africa and around 100,000 to 200,000 years back. A research was conducted by a group of researchers from the University of Maryland in 2003 in Tanzania. This is an area presenting a population with diverse phenotypic differences. The mitochondrial DNA was analyzed and the changes in their genes were kept constant and the time for their evolution resulted to around 170000 years back which supported the fact of the Out of Africa theory. Two skulls were also discovered from Ethiopia which also upheld this fact that the period of development of today’s beings dates back to around 100000 to 200000 years. Answer: The author also presented with the Multiregional theory which provides explanation that human beings basically evolved from not just one location but the modern human beings actually originated everywhere around the world and they spread and went distant apart which led to the development of different racial characteristics amongst them. This hypothesis claims that the earliest remains of human beings will not be restricted to one area but will rather be found all around the world and that the recent human beings have evolved long time back that is more than million years back. The author then explained his arguments in favor of the Out of Africa hypothesis with strong evidences to support this theory above the Multiregional

Rethorical anlysis of the smoker Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rethorical anlysis of the smoker - Essay Example Upon any further contemplation, a reader will stumble at the question whether choosing a life-partner is such a light matter as it is presented in the story. Schickler does not show any clear hints that the way Nicole chooses Douglas as her life-partner is wrong. Rather Schickler refers to the glaring flaws of traditional arranged marriage by presenting the ironies in a light tone. From the beginning to the end, the story flows at a smooth and easily palatable speed. But the readers cannot but raise their brows when they find Nicole’s father to propose Douglas at their first encounter. From here a reader’s reasoning starts and necessarily has to focus on Douglas’s and Nicole’s personality traits. Until then, a reader reads the story as a traditional story of a school girl’s romantic infatuation with her 12 years older teacher. What is disturbing in Samson’s approach to her daughter’s marriage with Douglass is that he makes its justifia ble depending on his own conjugal life. He refutes Douglass’s objection to the age gap on the ground that he has â€Å"got twelve years on Paulette† (Schickler 5). It essentially reveals that Samson’s judgment about the compatibility between his daughter and Douglass is self-centered.

Arabic Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Arabic Culture - Essay Example he gender division of roles, responsibilities and resources within the household play an important role in shaping what men and women are able to do beyond the household. Islamic texts and traditions lie at the heart of Arab cultural conventions. Critics have seized upon the way that the exact interpretation of religious doctrines varies from state to state, and stress that it is important to reflect on who is making the rules for gender roles and activities, namely men, and how little real choice women have. The definition of what is a matter of culture and religion, and what is a matter of human rights is contentious. Handrahan, for example, compares the human rights offences which occurred in apartheid South Africa with the treatment of women in Arabian culture and describes the Arabian situation as â€Å"gender apartheid† (Handrahan 9) The absence of equal voting rights for women is quite obviously matter of serious discrimination and it attracts condemnation from critics both inside and outside Arabia. A woman’s identity in Arabian culture and society is constructed, in the very first place, on the basis of men’s superiority. Such discriminated gender growth is justified on both cultural and religious basis. In a rigidly religious society, men’s superiority and women’s dependency on men are ratified by the following verse of the Holy Quran: â€Å"Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in (the husbands) absence what Allah would have them guard† (Quran  4:34). Indeed this verse is one of many from the Holy Quran that the clerics of the society manipulate to enact rules, regulations and laws that slaughter women’s equality to men. Some of these rules and regulations are male guardianships, Namus, Purdah, Dress codes, sexual segregation, etc. One of the common aftermaths

Fire Protection Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Fire Protection Management - Essay Example The local fire department usually provides fire protection for the rest of the airport. Airport fire trucks are equipped with water and a substance called aqueous film forming foam (AFFF). According to wikipedia "AFFF is a water based synthetic animal protein solution that is lighter than oil, alcohol, and petroleum products. When properly mixed and aerated into foam, it will create a floating film on flammable materials that prevents fumes from igniting or re-igniting after a fire. It has been in use by the military, airports, and fire departments for years and has always been an effective fire fighting agent. It is a biodegradable solution that leaves virtually no residue, and can safely be cleaned off with water." AFFF is used to combat aircraft fuel fires. The foam covers burning fuel more effectively than water alone and acts like a blanket to extinguish the fire. Foam is used to extinguish fires in combustible liquids, such as oil, petroleum, and tar, and for fighting fires at airports, refineries, and petroleum distribution facilities. According to a website "Understanding how foam works in extinguishing different types of fires, and the principles of making different foams correctly, are essential to successful foam fire fighting operations. All too often, foam fire streams fail to accomplish their objective due to a lack of understanding and training on the part of the operator. " It is proved that foam is an efficient firefighting tool that is gaining greater acceptance and use throughout the fire fighting community as of today. II. FIGHTING THE FIRE Most fire fighting consists of applying water to the burning material, cooling it to the point at which combustion is no longer self-sustaining. Fires involving flammable liquids, certain chemicals, and combustible metals often require special extinguishing agents and techniques. With some fuels the use of water may actually be dangerous. Foam extinguishers use an aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) agent that expels a layer of foam when it is discharged through a nozzle. It acts as a barrier to exclude oxygen from the fire. Foam extinguishers work well in fire fighting, proven not only on Class A fires which include those ordinary combustibles such as wood, cloth, and paper. But especially on fires involving flammable liquids, oils, and grease burning, generally known as class B fires. Each class of fire requires its own type of fire extinguisher. There are two kinds of foam extinguishers, so check which one best suits your needs. Aqueous film forming foam is now accepted to use as a fire fighting agent. III. HOW TO USE When applied directly to a burning liquid, the aqueous film forming foam has the capability to spread and form a thin, uniform duplex thin impervious film for about 10 to 30m thick that arrests flammable vapors and also keeps oxygen away. This film is tough and persistent and suppresses volatile vapors. In addition, it has reforming, and has self-sealing action which prevents the foam be disturbed. The water film forms under the foam bubbles which cool the liquid fuel which provides an effective fuel vapor barrier to the cooling and blanketing effect of the foam and thoroughly eliminate the formation of flammable vapors and provide a dramatic fire knockdown, an important factor in crash rescue fire fighting. Foam must be applied more gently so that it does not penetrate the liquid but, rather, spreads readily over it. According to a

MG420 DLC Labor Relations Essay Example for Free

MG420 DLC Labor Relations Essay 1. Define the term â€Å"collective bargaining† and list and describe four issues that are mandatory components of a collective bargaining agreement. Efficiency, equity, and voice, these are the three primary objectives of labor relations, of employees, and even of some management employees. Workers seem to lean more towards equity and voice at the workplace, while management usually prefers efficiency. The complicated part is attempting to balance all three for an overall idyllic medium at the workplace for both employers and employees. One of the most encouraging guidelines that should be taken in attaining this balancing act would be through collective bargaining. Collective bargaining is a process of negotiating an agreement regarding the terms and conditions of employment through a system of shared responsibility and decision-making between labor and management (Budd 11-12). During a collective bargaining period, workers representatives approach the employer and attempt to negotiate a contract which both sides can agree upon, terms can typically be about wages, hours, promotions, benefits, and other employment components as well as procedures for handling disputes arising under it. An example that can better explain the importance of a collective bargaining is in an article called â€Å"Teachers union sues Middleton-Cross Plains school district†, (http://host.madison.com/news/local/education/local_schools/teachers-union-sues-middleton-cross-plains-school-district/article_d169fd40-5996-11e0-9c87-001cc4c03286.html), the author discusses how the union representing teachers in the Middleton-Cross Plains School District sued the district Monday over their collective bargaining negotiations. According to the complaint filed in Dane County Circuit Court, the union said the district bargained in bad faith and proposed non-negotiable contract changes including removal of just cause for discipline and discharge, total district discretion of work  hours, elimination of seniority protections, elimination of fair share union dues, modifications/freezes on salary schedules and elimination of compensatory time off. The union also objected to the district proposal that the School Board be the final step in the grievance procedure as opposed to having a third-party arbitrator as the current agreement states (Kittner, 2011). In this article, we see how the teacher’s union could not effectively negotiate an agreement regarding the terms and conditions of employment with the Cross Plain school district and had to sue for a good-faith collective bargaining agreement. According to our textbook, four issues that are mandatory components of a collective bargaining agreement are a s follow: (Budd 11-12) Compensation: Wages and benefits Vacations and holidays Shift premiums Profit sharing Employee Rights and responsibilities: Seniority rights Job standards Workplace rules Employer rights and responsibilities: Management rights Just cause discipline and discharge Subcontracting and safety standard Dispute resolution and ongoing decision making: Grievance procedures Committees and consultation Renegotiation procedures The two mandatory components of a collective bargaining agreement I would like to discuss in more detail are employee rights and grievance procedures. According to our textbook one of the four types of employees’ rights frequently granted in union contract is â€Å"just cause discipline and discharge†, an employee can be disciplined and discharged only for â€Å"cause† or â€Å"just cause†. As such, employees have the right to insist there be valid, job-related for reasons for discipline and dismissal (Budd 310). In an  article called â€Å"Is Poor Performance â€Å"Just Cause† for Discharge?†, provides a good example of employees’ rights â€Å"just cause discipline and discharge. The article discusses how the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled in favor of an employer who had discharged an employee for poor performance. The court ruled that the employees’ poor performance constituted a â€Å"breach of duty reasonably owed the employer† which is one of the seven reasons that constitute â€Å"just cause† for discharge under Indiana law and contracts (Lyman, 2012). The article also discusses how employer tried to improve the employees’ behavior. â€Å"The employee’s supervisors repeatedly discussed with employee the mistakes†¦but the mistakes â€Å"would happen over, and over, and over again.† Co-workers had continuing problems with the employee where she would always blame others for her problems. Despite counseling on multiple occasions, she showed no improvement† (Lyman, 2012). The second mandatory component of a collective bargaining agreement I would like to discuss, is grievance procedures. According to our textbook, a grievance is generally defined as a claim by an employee that he or she is adversely affected by the misinterpretation or misapplication of a written company policy or collectively bargained agreement. To address grievances, employers typically implement a grievance procedure (Budd 321). Most collective bargaining agreements include procedures for filing and resolving grievances. An article from the Daily Freeman News called â€Å"Saugerties school board wants grievance discussion with teachers’ union instead of arbitration† (http://www.dailyfreeman.com/general-news/20140215/saugerties-school-board-wants-grievance-discussion-with-teachers-union-instead-of-arbitration), discusses a grievance raised during a Board of Education meeting which involves a guidance counselor in the junior high school who has 329 students, which exce eds the 250 maximum student load. The union, in filing its grievance, asked that the student load be reduced and the counselor receive additional pay for the period in which it exceeded 250 (Zangla, 2014). Within a union environment, the processes will typically involve the employee, union representatives and members of the employer’s management team. The article goes into detail how they will be meeting and try to avoid arbitration. â€Å"Board President George Heidcamp said trustees want to resolve  the grievance with the teachers’ union without going to arbitration, which could cost taxpayers $10,000 or more† (Zangla, 2014). In summary, collective bargaining centers on the basic components of the system where employees, employers and union members meet in order to find what works best and find a solution. A key note to successful collective bargaining is the state of affairs and persons who are entrusted to negotiate should have the traits of patience, trustworthiness, friendliness, integrity, and fairness. Collective bargaining through its mandatory components have enabled many unions and labor management to either agree or take the next steps in trying to get a fair and profitable agreement for both parties. Works Cited Budd, John W. Labor Relations: Striking a Balance. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2013. Print. Kittner, Gena. Teachers union sues Middleton-Cross Plains school district. 28 Mar 2011. Web. 19 Apr 2014. . Lyman, Stephen W. Is Poor Performance â€Å"Just Cause† for Discharge? 31 Aug 2012. Web. 19 Apr 2014. . Zangla, Ariel. Saugerties school board wants grievance discussion with teachers’ union instead of arbitration. 15 Feb 2014. Web. 19 Apr 2014. . 2. List and discuss three U.S. laws that support collective bargaining, and three examples of employer unfair labor practices. We have learned that collective bargaining is the negotiations involving the representatives of labor and management for terms and conditions of employment that will apply to the employee. It is also important to understand labor laws that support collective bargaining that protect union activity to balance efficiency, equity and voice. According to our textbook, the three U.S. laws that support collective bargaining between labor and management, are the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (The Wagner Act), the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 (The Taft-Hartley Act), and Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (The Landrum- Griffin Act) (Budd 109). The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) of 1935, also known as the Wagner Act builds upon previous legislative attempts to promote and protect workers’ abilities to unionize in the private sector if they so choose. It guarantees the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively with  their employers, and to engage in other protected organized activity. Employees covered by the Act are also protected from certain types of employer and union misconduct. (Budd 119). In an interesting Wall Street Journal article called â€Å"Volkswagens Union Gamble† (http://www.no2uaw.com/vws-gamble.html), provides a good example of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) at work. The article discusses how Volkswagen and the United Auto Workers union are trying to get workers from Chattanooga, TN plant to vote on unionizing. According to the article, â€Å"Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga are voting this week on whether to become the first foreign-owned unionized auto plant in the American South. The United Auto Workers union desperately needs the victory and is getting help from the National Labor Relations Board and even from Volkswagen, which may come to regret selling out their workers to the union† (WSJ, 2014). The editorial also goes into detail how the UAW tried to sidestep a secret-ballot election via a dubious card check. There logic for this was due to the fact that the Wagner Act allows a union to be certified if a majority of workers sign authorization cards and an employer acquiesces. Unfortunately, the workers argue that non-union plants have lower production costs, more workforce flexibility and less labor strife. They also argue â€Å"Volkswagens un-neutral neutrality agreement with the UAW is arguably a violation of Taft-Hartleys prohibition on employers giving a thing of value to a union seeking to organize its employees† and filed charges with the NLRB alleging that the UAW had lied to workers and bullied them into signing cards (WSJ, 2014). The debate about Volkswagen’s violation of the Taft-Hartley Act is ongoing and it takes us to our second U.S. laws that support collective bargaining. The Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, which is also known as the Taft-Hartley Act amends and adds to the Wagner Act in diverse and far-reaching ways and can be divided into three categories, â€Å"Restrictions on union actions, Enhanced rights of individuals and employers, and New dispute resolution procedures† (Budd 128). The purpose and policy of the Taft-Hartley Act was â€Å"to prescribe the legitimate rights of both employees and employers, to provide orderly and peaceful procedures for preventing the interference by either with the legitimate right of the other, to protect  the rights of individual employees in their relations with labor organizations and to protect the rights of the public in connection with labor disputes affecting commerce† (Budd 127). The act also empowers the U.S. president to petition a court to suspend a strike deemed a national security strike (Budd 128). In an article from the New York Times called â€Å"Dockworkers Strike Threatens to Close the East Coast Ports† (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/27/business/dockworkers-strike-threatens-to-close-east-coast-ports.html?_r=0), discusses how â€Å"dockworkers are flexing their muscles again, threatening a strike that would shut seaports from Massachusetts to Texas. It would be the first such coast wide strike since a two month walkout in 1977 that paralyzed the flow of tens of billions of dollars of imports – and the nation’s retailers and other businesses fear a painful replay if the 14,500 dockworkers make good on their threats† (Greenhouse, 2012). The strike threat has so alarmed corporate America that of more than 100 business groups which wrote to President Obama to urge him to intervene to push the two sides to settle – and, if need be, to invoke his emergency powers under the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act to bar a strike (Greenhouse, 2012). Eventually the strike was averted, the two sides agreed to sit down with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to discuss extending the long shore workers’ contract, during which time both negotiations and port operations would continue. Another U.S. law that supports collective bargaining is the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (The Landrum- Griffin Act) deals with the relationship between a union and its members. The Landrum- Griffin creates a bill of rights for union members that guarantees all union members equal rights of participation in internal union affairs, including voting and expressing views† (Budd 131). Part of the bill of rights of this act specifically mentions that all union members are entitled to receive a copy of the collective bargaining agreement. Additionally, the Landrum-Griffin Act tries to hinder corruption and racketeering in three ways. â€Å"First, unions and their officer are required to disclose financial records by filing reports with the U.S. Department of Labor. Second, the Landrum-Griffin act restricts the use of union trusteeships. Third, the Landrum-Griffin Act establishes the fiduciary responsibility of union leaders† (Budd 132-133). In a Wall Street Journal article titled â€Å"Obama Tries to Stop Union Disclosure† asserts how union membership peaked in the 1950s, when more than one-third of American workers belonged to a union. Approximately just about 7.6% of American private-sector workers belong to a union. A Rasmussen Research survey conducted in March found that 81% of nonunion members do not want to belong to a union. (WSJ, 2009). The response by union leaders and their Democratic allies to declining union membership is the Employee Free Choice Act. To increase unionization, it would deprive workers of private balloting in organizing elections, and it would substitute a signature-card process that would expose workers to coercion. The bill would also deny workers the right to ratify, or not ratify, labor contracts drafted by government arbitrators when negotiations in newly unionized workplaces exceed the bills rigid timetable (WSJ, 2009). Unfortunately, we see that instead of the democratic government abiding by the Landrum-Griffin Act, it is trying to create laws to appeal some of the current laws that protect union members from the unions or government. In the three above cases, the U.S. laws support collective bargaining, as well as protect from employer unfair practices. An unfair labor practices are defined according to our textbook as an illegal employers’ actions (Budd 122). The Wagner Act or the National Labor Relations Act has specific guidelines that both employees and employers must follow in order to maintain a positive work environment. At times, unfair labor practices do occur and place the workers in chaos. One of the unfair labor practice prohibits employers from interfering, restraining, or coercing employees who are exercising their Section 7 rights. Circulating antiunion petitions, using unnecessary surveillance to watch union activities, threatening employees with being fired, demoted, or causing physical harm, and bribing employees with wage increases are examples of Section 8(a)(1) known as the â€Å"universal enforcer† because it covers all employer violations of employee rights (Budd 123). The second unfair labor practice is known as Domination of a Labor Organization or Company Union Ban. Senator Wagner wanted to avoid management â€Å"handling† unions, preventing workers from forming legitimate, independent unions. Employers that initiate the formation of a union, provide financial support to a union, create a  nonunion employee representation plan, or create a labor-management committee that discusses wages and working conditions with some give and take with management is in direct violation of Section 8(a)(2) (Budd 123-124). The third unfair labor practice deals with employers discriminating to encourage or discourage union membership. Examples include firing a union supporter or someone trying to form a union, transferring a union supporter to a less desirable job or promoting an employee because of opposing a union, refusing to hire a potential employee because of past union participation or simply closing a part of a business because of antiunion reason s are examples of Section 8(a)(3) (Budd 123-124). A good example of two unfair labor practices is in an article called â€Å"1981 Strike Leaves Legacy for American Workers† (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5604656), in which the author discusses how over 30 years ago, former President Ronald Reagan set a defining moment in the history of the aviation, his presidency, and labor relations by firing thousands of unionized air traffic controllers for illegally going on strike. In February 1981, new contract negotiations open between Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which employs the air-traffic controllers. Citing safety concerns, PATCO calls for a reduced 32-hour work week, a $10,000 pay increase for all air-traffic controllers and a better benefits package for retirement. Contract negotiations with the FAA stall (Schalch, 2006). Then in August 1984, strike action began with 13,000 employees walking off the job in various locations, halting operations as busy airports including Dallas, Fort Worth, Atlanta, and Chicago. At that point, then President Reagan intervened sending a warning statement that anyone not returning to work within 48 hours would be terminated. Two days later most of the striking employees were fired. They were replaced by employees not participating the protests and military air traffic controllers (Schalch, 2006). As I understand the employer unfair practices, the firing of the unionizes traffic controllers and the hiring of new traffic controllers was a direct violation of Sections 8(a)(1) and (3), threatening employees with job loss, firing a union supporter, and promoting a union opponent to a better job. In conclusion, the three labor laws have shed some much needed light as to the rights of both employers and employees, not to mention has also set some much needed boundaries as to how far each side can go without treading into illegal or unfair territory. These laws must be put into place to regulate both sides equally and it also provides no confusion as to the right and wrong paths one must take when leading to collective bargaining. The examples of unfair labor practices by employers provide a clear view as to the lengths some employers will go to in an attempt to avoid or divert a union being organized. The Wagner Act has specific sections in its law that provides employers the knowledge of what is acceptable behavior and what is not. Works Cited Budd, John W. Labor Relations: Striking a Balance. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2013. Print. Greenhouse, Steven. Dockworkers Strike Threatens to Close East Coast Ports. 26 Dec 2012. Web. 22 Apr 2014. . Schalch, Kathleen. 1981 Strike Leaves Legacy for American Workers. 2006 Aug 2006. Web. 22 Apr 2014. . Wall Street Journal (Editorial): Volkswagens Union Gamble. 12 Feb 2014. Web. 20 Apr 2014. . 3. Describe the process of establishing and decertifying a collective bargaining unit in the workplace. As discussed earlier in this research paper, the definition of collective bargaining is technically when a group of employees negotiate as a unit with their employer over pay, benefits and working conditions. Chris Langford, a strategist and organizer at the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), (http://www.ifpte.org/news/details/Why-Collective-Bargaining-Rights-Are-Important), states that the principle stems from the idea that as a group, employees have more strength or bargaining power if they collaborate than they do if they try to negotiate with their employer individually. Because of its basis in collaboration, collective bargaining is inherently a democratic process since a majority of employees select the subjects they bargain over and vote on whether they agree to a contract (Langford, 2012). In our textbook the author, discusses how a bargaining unit is a group of several workers involved in a similar industry or occupational field that, on the determination of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), can engage in collective bargaining (Budd 199). This group also helps the union represent the other employees in the industry to handle any issues, improprieties, or unfair work ethics or practices that may come to light. To establish a bargaining unit, certain laws and doctrines must be strictly adhered to, the worker group must also have first established an organized union the deals with their specific industry. The union represents the group exclusively, and deals with all negotiations and discussions to further the workers causes. Once a union has been formed, the NLRB, looks at several criteria before allowing part of the worker group to be recognized as a bargaining unit. The NLRB reviews the workers mutual interests in working conditions, wages earned, training protocols, and number of hours in a work week. They also look at the management scope, the public interest factor, and the worker groups history of bargaining in the past through other associations (Budd 200). According to an article called â€Å"WNBA and Players Association Sign New Collective Bargaining Agreement† , the Womens National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the Womens National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) announced that they have entered into a new eight-year collective bargaining agreement. The new collective bargaining agreement includes an additional 12th roster spot, salary cap increases and reduced revenue sharing thresholds, making it more likely that the players will share in league revenue growth. In the article, we can see how an established a collective bargaining unit represent its specific employees (women basketball players) to conduct collective bar gaining with their employers (WNBA, 2014). So what happens if the collective bargaining unit (union) employees no longer want to be represented? To determine the wishes of the majority of the employees, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) allows employees to call for a special election to get rid of the union as their â€Å"exclusive representative.† This is called a Decertification election.

Age and gender influences on fashion

Age and gender influences on fashion Fashion orientation In our contemporary society, we may not understand fashion, you may not like fashion, but most of us can not not come into contact with fashion. Craik (1994) said that fashion is confusing, interesting, exciting, obsessive-compulsive. Whether we like it or not, it has greatly influenced with people even those who want to avoid it. What is the fashion? Fashion have experienced a serious of style popular during a specfic period of time(Nystrom,1928).Craik (1994) can divided into two ways: West High Fashion and Everyday Fashion; High Fashion refers haute coutureor elite designer fashion, Everyday Fashion is people everyday clothing, so everyday Fashion Street Fashion another similar statement. Fashion can be explained as psychology, sociology, and consumer behaviour studies. fashion will be described as a social and psychological response to the external environment (Westers,1966). What is the fashion orientation? Fashion Orientation defined wearing different style of clothing items make a gorgeous overall look(Evelyn,2005). Fashion orientation can be describes when consumer go shopping, they always look for fashionable items(Ko and Kincade 2007). consumer do not lost interested in fashion even time goes by. fashion orientation represents when it come out with fashion awareness, it can not ignore how important people’s life-style are. Because fashion comes from human daily life, life style includes people living and spending time and money† (Engel, Blackwell, Miniard, 1990, p. 342). People can be not mentioned about their values in their lifestyles and a life style has great impact on fashion orientation. Moreover, according to GutmanMills (1982) study, it described fashion orientation comprised of four dimensions: fashion interest, importance of being well dressed and anti-fashion attitude and fashion leadership. Darley johnson (1993) mentioned that fashion orientation is fashi on innovativeness together with fashion leadership. Both Jonathan and William defined fashion orientation is in relation to shopping orientation. a few studies analysis that fashion orientation should be separated from shopping orientation together. In this study, it consist of four dimensions based on Gunmans study: fashion interest, fashion leadership and importance of being well dressed and anti fashion attitude. Gutman and Mill theory According to Gutman and Mills(1982)mail survey with 6,261 female respondents, it created a fashion scale with its four dimensions: 1) fashion leadership, 2) fashion interest, 3) importance of being well-dressed, and 4) anti fashion attitude. This study was cited in many researches currently. Fashion Leadership The character of Fashion leadership is a good sense of fashion trends, knowledge of fashion trends and a self conscious concept of clothing.Many people think that if someone is very familiar for a product, and often ask them related questionsto this person can be called opinion leaders, the advantages of fashion leader is that they can influence people attitudes or behavior toward fashion due to the wealth of knowledge, expert ability and correctly filtering variety of product information. Because the new fashion styles need to be adopted for a period of time(Barber Lobel, 1952), fashion leaders should be very active in social activities and close to other people, they play a vital role in the community and make people accept style innovation by influential power.(Workman Johnson, 1993). Moreover, because fashion leaders affect not only customer purchase decision but also give the marketers fashion ideas and advice. Summers and King (1969) defined female clothing fashion opinion le aders are care about trying new products and building up fashion knowledge about new clothing collection. Similarly, Myers and Robertson (1972) examined opinion leadership should have wide range of fashion knowledge such as women’s clothing, fashion, cosmetics, and personal care and are willing to discuss fashion thing with people and spend lot of time women’s clothing and fashions. Because fashion leaders prefer share new fashion collection and propose a unique opinion, these features of fashion leader can good to develop the other aspects of fashion orientations such as fashion interest, importance of being-well dressed, and antifashion attitude (Evan, 1989; Morganosky Vreeman, 1986; Wilkie, 1990). Fashion interest According to Katz Lazarsfield (1960), the definition of fashion interest is that a person who is interested in clothes, makeup and hair styles. High level of fashion interest people prefer spend a large amount of time on exploring the latest fashion collections and trends such as reading fashion magazine and purchasing lastest clothes collection. Also, they collect widely various clothes associated with different events. The Importance of Being Well Dressed Importance of being well-dressed refers that standing out group with appropriate dressing, reflecting one’s good life, and dressing representing their opinion of themselves(Summers,Belleau Wozniak 992). For example, when people go to interview with a well dress, they think the clothes make people have good impression on them. Another example is that people with high attire believe their clothes show that the self-image is. The important part of goals is their self- satisfaction. When it is low, people do not care about their outfit. In other word, they think there is no correlation between their clothing and their self image. Anti-fashion attitude Anti-fashion attitude means that people do not care about fashion and not buy so-fashionable clothing. They think that buying fashion clothing is a way to waste money and they do not like listening so-called fashion expert what to wear. In other word, in term of their shopping process and attitudes, they are often apathetic. people who have the antifashion attitude do not regard current fashion and fashion leaders’ opinions when they make a decision on their clothes. Thus, those with antifashion attitudes tend to display unfavorable attitudes toward fashion. Fashion is a visual communication of one to others, and fashion orientation as a theory of fashion expresses the psychological aspects of self through a self-concept. An individual’s own ideas of self develop self-concept theory, and self-concept influences fashion orientation. Relevant studies on fashion orientation In this study, the authors intend to test the scale, originally developed for females, with current male and female fashion shoppers. Gender roles have greatly impact on fashion shopper in social environment.(Otnes and McGrath, 2001). According to Kwon(1987)research, it found that current male and female fashion shoppers.are affected by different motivating factors. For woman, their concept of clothing may in relation to self-enhancement, whereas man may have positive relationship between the concept of appeal and social status. Another research is that Kwon (1991) found that when woman chose their fashion clothing, they will affect by mood states more than man do. There are many conflict findings about fashion consciousness. Kinley, Conrad and Brown (2001) found that woman are more fashion awareness than men counterpart, other research findings show that young male shoppers are more fashion awareness than female young shoppers(Manrai et al. 2001). Another similar research is that fashion conscious for generation Y male shoppers in the UK were important but there is not clear relationship between fashion consciousn ess and new fashion style (Bakewell, Mitchell, and Rothwell2000). In terms of clothing-fashion lifestyle segment, Gutman and Mills (1982) proposed that there is correlation between the concept of fashion orientation and shopping orientation. According to some studies, it examined that people purchase product, shopping orientations will generate different preferences(Darden Reynolds, 1972). Gutman and Mills(1982) reported that fashion orientations consist of four major dimensions: fashion leadership, fashion interest, importance of being well dressed, and antifashion attitude which connect with shopping behavior, clothing-fashion lifestylesegment, and compulsive consumer purchase behaviour.(Chung, 1996; Darley Johnson, 1993; Huddleston, Ford, Bickle, 1993; Lee, Park, Chung, 2004; Park Burns, 2005). GutmanMills (1982) defined that fashion orientation to have three dimensions:fashion priority(fashion interest, importance of being well dressed and anti-fashion attitude), time frame and initiative (fashion leadership). Darley johnson (1993) defined fashion orientation to comprise of fashion innovativeness and fashion opinion leadership. Both Jonathan and William analyzed fashion orientation together with shopping orientation. Little work has been done on fashion orientation separately since many scholars consider fashion orientation and shopping orientation together. Although Huddleston (1993) used fashion orientation to identify lifestyle characteristics that directly related to shopping behavior and Lumpkin (1985) included it as a variable in identifying shopping orientation segments, it might still be necessary to indentify shopping orientation and fashionOrientation separately. In this thesis we define fashion orientation to consist of three dimensions based on Gunmans elimita tion: fashion interest, fashion leadership and importance of being well dressed. The younger, the more fashionable Rose (1989) indicated that in the nineteenth century, the difference between children and adult was officially appeared on legal and social, before that children are living with what adults think such as children clothing follow the footsteps of adult clothing. design the children wear was not special in the past. As long as adult clothing are immersed in fashion concept, they will be extended to the field of childrens clothing. This phenomenon from a historical point of view is quite reasonable. How do fashion enter the field of childrens clothing? Firstly, it is common global phenomenon that our birth rate is gradually dropping. In competitive society, people are busier and busier, the population are getting married at a more and more later age. Under the circumstances, salary figures are is out of proportion to the number of children. According to United Nations estimation, the worlds total fertility rate from 1950 to 1955 of 4.92 people, down to 2000 to 2005 of 2.67 people (United NationsPopulation Division, 2009); lower total fertility rate in Taiwan, Taiwans fertility rate of women in 2006 only 1.115 people, compared to 2.515 in 1980, and plentifully reduced by about 56% (Ministry of the Interior Department of Justice, 2007). Whether or not in Taiwan or other developing or developed countries, falling birthrates might lead to childrens products a considerable change on supply and demand market. In term of consumer demand , after the raise of quality of life the awaking of individual consciousness, parent are focus more on all aspects of their daily life quality for example, they see the children as their own unique treasure and they expect give them enjoyable ilfe in the material and spiritual life. In modern times, parents are willing to spend the money on their baby; therefore childrens clothing demand will be more and more branding and fashionable, meanwhile and also promote the development of brand management on childrens clothing. Moreover, going out with the well dressed children do not only show their parents own taste, but also meet their unique personal style. and even some parents want children go to school wearing designer clothing to care about their own and their children feeling. Consumer demand for childrens wear has entered emotional consumptionthe stage, high purchasing power family toward childrens wear is to meet childrens emotional and spiritual life. When parents chose the children wear, the clothing which is to meet social status of the family or to reflect the style and personality is very important factors for parents. brand clothing in Japan is expensive, but it is always able to break record of high sales figures in the annual Golden Week in Japan. Those fashionable and young Japanese female consumers who have children usually pursuit fashion, it will not stop because of the mothers identity, and even want to wear the same style of clothing as their children. These situation has expanded childrens wear market. In the market of supply aspect, due to a small number of children, the amount of consumers are naturally failing. In this case, the children industry wants to survive and trys to introduce high-priced goods to the market to get customers attention who has a small number of children and good economy. In Taiwan, there are lots of luxurious childrens wear reports, it refers a market phenomenon that in many countries high-priced adult clothing brands are starting to have to join with childrens wear. For instance, according to the Apple Daily news, it reported the famous Taiwan brand les Enphants decided to start selling Armani Junior childrens clothing; also liberty Times Holiday introduced many Hollywood celebritiess childrens fashion wear. Changes in consumer attitude and purchasing power lead high spending power on childrens market the important reason is that fashion concept fights into childrens market. Childrens clothing industry holdsof high spending power parents and focus on parent mind that care about childrens appearance so the industry introduce stylish clothing to childrens wear market. Fashion in contemporary world show how influential on childrens clothing. Moreover the word fashiona gradually emerges by many foreign magazines, designers and consumer society and so-called Kids Fashion Expertappears in response to childrens fashion trends. For example, a New York childrens fashion expert Michelle Kouzmine (2005) indicated that children fashion has begun to seriously attention in today.

Reflection of Independent Learning in the Classroom

Reflection of Independent Learning in the Classroom Reflecting on the approaches around the development of pupils independent learning and evidence and evaluate application in the classroom. Independent learning is when pupils set goals, monitor and evaluate their own academic development, so they can manage their own motivation towards learning (Mullings 2015). After looking into the research, one of the determining factors when it comes to independent learning, is getting a child to work on their own, with minimal direction and confidence. As I want my pupils to be able to manage their own learning and make independent decisions, I need to take a back seat and critically think about whether or not I need to intervene. Depending on the circumstances and the appropriateness of the situation, I will need to judge the relevance of my scaffolding, give students options and choices to encourage independency, and allow them to take responsibility for their own learning by also offering effective formative feedback. However, this cannot be done until I establish where they already are in their learning and how they actually learn. Knowing a childs zone of proximal development, will enable me to intervene at the most appropriate and effective stage. As Vygotskys theory implies, it is what a child can achieve by themselves and what they can achieve in collaboration with others (Vygotsky, 1978). According to Haring and Eastons instructional hierarchy (Fig 1), there are four phases of learning (Haring et al., 1978).   Ã‚   Fig 1. Most of the children I get to support are either at the acquisition stage or at the halting fluency stage, which determines the type of intervention they receive. Even if the intervention is set in line with the pupils ZPD, there is no guarantee that their work is appropriately differentiated back in the classroom, leading to a zone of anxiety. When I deliver Mind-the-Gap tutoring, the pupils I work with are at the acquisition stage and lack confidence. With sessions of repetitive practice and instructional techniques I am able to build upon their accuracy. I then focus on training the pupils to become more fluent. This is supported via precision teaching (e.g. times-tables) constant encouragement and instructional feedback to aid their self-motivation. Once the fluency is achieved and being maintained, I need to ensure it is being applied back in the classroom. The focus is then teaching them how to either apply the skill into meaningful contexts or not to confuse it with other similar skills. Finally, pupils can then be scaffolded on how to know how to adapt the target skill to and apply it to new challenges and situations. Communication is paramount and teamwork essential to ensure work is set at the right level by the teacher and that the newly acquired skills are being uitilised. the teacher should work closely with th e TA to planinterventions to how they can be linked to classroom teaching (SEN Code-of-Practice 6.52). I have started to introduce additional resources, such as a math mat and progressive success criteria to help promote independency. If successful, I will suggest it to other support staff within my year group, with the view to it being rolled out to all. I will need the full support of the SENCo and SLT to make sure this is consistently implemented. Carol Dweck deals with the theory that people view their intelligence in one of two ways; fixed and growths mindsets (Fig 2). Her findings also show that, rather than focusing on intelligence and innate achievement, it is far more important to reward effort, creative strategies, and perseverance. Becoming is better than being (Dweck 2006).    Fig 2. Upon reflection, I observed two children from the perspective of determining what type of learner each child was (Appendix 1). Initiating the change of learned helplessness to that of self-scaffolding with the SEN child will not happen overnight. I always aim to support pupils to become more independent. Van de Pol implies a key principle of scaffolding on which a TAs role should be based, is fading to develop the independence of the learner by reducing support and hand over responsibility to the child (Van de Pol et al., 2010). This is a strategy I have started to use with the pupils I work with, alongside roaming and roving around the classroom. My intention is purely to divorce myself from their learned attachment and their needing constant reassurance. I want them to adopt the concept of being able to assess what they can do independently first, before I intervene at the appropriate level (Fig 3). Blatchford defines the heuristic role as using a method of teaching that encourages learners to discover solutions for themselves (Blatchford et al., 2012). Fig 3. If there is any uncertainty, I encourage my pupils to ask a partner, throw their question out to the rest of the table or see what resources are available to help, before even thinking about asking an adult. Even then, I need to be aware of my questioning techniques. The more open ended questions that are asked, then the more emphasis is redirected back onto the pupil to provoke their own critical thinking skills. The cognitive domain involves knowledge and the development of intellectual skills (Bloom, 1956). Fig 4. Using Blooms Taxonomy questioning for critical thinking as a bench mark (Fig 4), I have tailored a more child friendly set of questioning cards as a pupil resource, helping to build upon their dialogic talk. I plan to share these with other support staff, with SLTs approval. Additionally, my school has implemented Talk 4 Learning strategies, which although at the early stages, have started to have a positive effect. Within one year group I observed, children were only provided with a learning objective and modelled WAGOLL. This seemed to be just enough to get by on with a majority of the class, but the lower attainers had no differentiated input, with the hope that the TA would offer that much needed support. The lower attainers had been given very little direction, so straight away looked to the TA for guidance. The TA aimed to guide the pupils through a series of open ended questions, praising when giving a correct answer. Some were prompted further with the aim of trying to refer back to previous lessons, but without the correct scaffolding and feedback little progress was made. John Hattie, famously analysed the effects of various educational innovations and methods and determined that feedback ranked highest, with an effect size of 1.13, whereas most innovations in schools sit around 0.4. Feedback needs to be formative to identify what pupils have achieved, what has been preventing them from achieving their learning goals and what they can do to improve further. It also needs to be progressive, done whilst pupils are still able to reflect upon the decisions they made. This can be effectively delivered when roaming and roving or fading in and out during a lesson, but after realising my own lack of informative feedback (appendix 2), I intend to ask SLT about CPD on feedback for TAs, as I see this as a needed area of improvement for us all. It has become quite apparent that processed success criteria is a much needed determiner when it comes to initiating the first stages of independent learning for the SEN child. I have recently been given a small group of lower attaining students to support with their maths work. After observing how these children were faltering when working their way to achieving the learning intention (appendix 3), I have now started to use process success criteria to help plug the gaps within their learning, which has been hindering achieving their overall objective. I not only aim to help break down their steps to success in written format but also where applicable, visually (Fig 5). Fig 5. So far, this has proved a successful strategy and has been fully embraced by the pupils, as they are now actively making progress independently, albeit resource supported. I will be trialing this as part of their assessment for learning, as success criteria should be linked to the learning, not the activity. Introducing AFL sheets will allow teachers to close the gap between current knowledge and new learning. Not only do they help clarify the learning objective and promote self-evaluation, they also act as a form of feedback. I have already liaised with an SLT member regarding the introduction of processed success criteria as a pre-requisite for all our lower attainers, to which he was in full agreement. Ironically, not long after our conversation, it was announced that as part of our high focus for this term that the school will be addressing how success criteria will be differentiated, so that they are appropriate for all children, and so that all groups make improved progress. It has been said that some people think that we have created a nanny state thats contributed to promoting fear of failure. John Cridland states that the education system must better prepare young people for life beyond the school gates. We need to take a step back to see the big picture and create a system that better reflects how well a schools culture nurtures the behaviours and attitudes young people need. This cannot be judged by exam results alone (Cridland 2014). I do agree, however, my concern is, given the expanding national curriculum and the focus on increased testing as a way to measure both teaching ability and pupil progression, how can time be found for the implementation of such productive concepts. Schools need to build a stronger foundation and utilise their support staff appropriately. I gave a copy of my first assignment on the role of the TA, to a member of SLT. The feedback I received initially was that it was very informative and provoked food for thought, so mu ch so, he planned to take it along to the next SLT meeting. I eagerly await further comment. Appendix 1 A always relies on the support of an adult to supply her with the answers. The first thing that she does is to look directly to the supporting adult in the room to come and work with her, without even attempting any independent work. A will always try to copy from whoever sits next to her, lacks confidence and fears making mistakes. She has a firm fixed mindset of learned helplessness which has resulted in her reliance on being spoon-fed. Z is self-initiated and not afraid to make any mistakes. He can work independently or collaboratively within a group. Z draws upon prior learning His growth mindset allows him the confidence to persevere, seeing any setbacks as a mini hurdle he needs to overcome, choosing which learner disposition he takes on board to aid his learning. His positive attitude feeds his hunger for knowledge. Appendix 2 Recorded Conversation After a basic skills assessment of using visual arrays, mastery questions on applying the written grid method were required for their next steps in multiplication. E:Miss, Im not sure how to do the grid method. TA:So, written method. Same scenario, but we are not going to draw the arrays. What is the calculation? E:13 x 9. TA:OK. What do you need to do first? E:Break the 13? TA:How? E:Into place value. TA:Correct. Show me how youll do that. E:One 10 and three 1s. TA:Good. Now what? E:First you times 3 by 9, then 10 x 9. TA:OK, off you go. E:(writes) 3 x 9 = 27 and 10 x 9 = 90. TA:Good, now what do I do with those two answers? E:Add them together. TA:See. You know what to do. What do we need to remember when we use column addition? E:Make sure everything is in line. TA:Yes. We need to make sure our place value is aligned correctly. Well done! Reflection: Upon evaluation, I believe that I succeeded when it came to asking the appropriate open questions to provoke their own thinking, which helped them achieve their learning objective but evidently lacked the necessary more informative feedback the child deserved to understand their next target. I hope that I will be able to address this better after some directed CPD training. Appendix 3 Child Y LO: To use the grid method to solve multiplication word problems. SC: R U C S A C CAN DO CANT DO Understood what had to be done for step 1 of question. Chose correct operation. Partitioned numbers correctly on the grid. Did not know all of 4x table. Used times table grid in classroom. Aware that all the answers had to be added together. Addition calculation was written incorrectly. (pv not aligned) Able to calculate once prompted to use correct pv alignment. References Blatchford, P., Russell, A., Webster, R. (2012) Reassessing the impact of teaching assistants: How research changes practice and policy. Oxon, UK: Routledge. Blooms Taxonomy Available at: http://www.bloomstaxonomy.org/Blooms%20Taxonomy%20questions.pdf Accessed: 1 January 2017. Cridland, J. (2014) Available at: http://31.222.129.40/media-centre/the-point/2014/07/jcs-education-blog/ Accessed: 07 December, 2016. Dweck, Carol S. Mindset: the new psychology of success New York: Random House, 2006. Haring, N.G., Lovitt, T.C., Eaton, M.D., Hansen, C.L. (1978). The fourth R: Research in the classroom (pg 23-40). Columbus, OH: Merrill. Hattie, J., Timperley, H. (2007). The Power of feedback. Review of Educational Research Mullings, C. (2015) Available at: http://blog.irisconnect.co.uk/9-tips-for-encouraging-students-to-become-independent-learners/ Accessed: 12 December, 2016. SEND Code of Practice (2015) Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/398815/SEND_Code_of_Practice_January_2015.pdf Accessed: 26 December, 2016. Van de Pol, J., Volman, M., Beishuizen, J. (2010) Scaffolding in teacher-student interaction: a decade of research. Educational Psychology Review, 22, 382-296. Vygotsky, L.S. (1978) Mind in society: The development of the higher psychological process. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.