Sunday, December 29, 2019

Preparing to Teach Grammar in an ESL Class

Teaching grammar in an ESL / EFL setting is quite different from teaching grammar to native speakers. This short guide points to important questions that you should ask yourself to prepare to teach grammar in your own classes. Important Questions to Address The important question that needs to be answered is: how do I teach grammar? In other words, how do I help students learn the grammar they need. This question is deceptively easy. At first look, you might think that teaching grammar is just a matter of explaining grammar rules to students. However, teaching grammar effectively is a much more complicated matter. There are a number of questions that  need to be addressed for each class: What are the objectives of this class?Is the class preparing for an exam? Is the class improving their English for business purposes? Is the class preparing for summer holidays? etc.The answer to this question is important as it will help you decide on how much grammar really needs to be taught. If students are preparing for a Cambridge Exam then grammar will play a large role in your lesson plans. On the other hand, if you are teaching a business class, linguistic formulas may play a larger role as you provide the learners with standard phrases for written documents, participating in meetings, etc.What type of learning background do the learners have?Are the students at school? Have they not studied for a number of years? Are they familiar with grammar terminology?Adults who have not been attending school for a number of years are likely to find grammar explanations confusing while as students who are currently studying will probably be much more adept at understanding grammar chart s, expressions, etc.What learning materials and resources are available?Do you have the latest student workbooks? Do you have no workbooks at all? Is there a computer in the classroom?The more learning resources you have the easier it will be for you to employ different strategies when teaching your students grammar. For example, a group of students who like using computers could use the computer to study a certain grammar task while another group who prefers spoken explanations might prefer to have you explain the point with a number of examples. Obviously, the more varieties of learning opportunities the better your chances are that each student will be able to learn the grammar point well.What kind of learning style does each student have?Is the learner comfortable with standard right brain learning techniques (logical charts, study sheets, etc.)? Does the learner work better with listening and repeating exercises?This is one of the most difficult aspects of teaching - especially teaching grammar. If you have a class of learners with similar learning styles, you can afford to use a similar approach. However, if you have a class of mixed learning styles then you need to try to provide instruction using as many different methods as possible. Once you have answered these questions you can more expertly approach the question of how you are going to provide the class with the grammar they need. In other words, each class is going to have different grammar needs and goals and it is up to the teacher to determine these goals and provide the means with which to meet them. Inductive and Deductive First, a quick definition: Inductive is known as a bottom-up approach. In other words, students discovering grammar rules while working through exercises. For example, a  reading comprehension which includes a number of sentences describing what a person has done up to that period in time. After doing the reading comprehension, the teacher could begin to ask questions such as: How long has he done this or that? Has he ever been to Paris? etc. and then follow with When did he go to Paris? To help the students inductively understand the difference between the simple past and the present perfect, these questions could be followed with which questions spoke about a definite time in the past? Which questions asked about the persons general experience? etc. Deductive is known as a top-down approach. This is the standard teaching approach that has a teacher explaining rules to the students. For example, the present perfect is made up of the auxiliary verb have plus the past participle. It is used to express an action which has begun in the past and continues to the present moment,  etc. Grammar Lesson Outline A teacher needs in the first place to facilitate learning. That is why we recommend providing students with inductive learning exercises. However, there are certainly moments when the teacher needs to explain grammar concepts to the class. Generally, we recommend the following class structure when teaching grammar skills: Begin with an exercise, game, listening, etc. that introduces the grammar concept.Ask students questions that will help them identify the grammar concept to be discussed.Follow with another exercise that more specifically focuses on the grammar concept, but takes an inductive approach. This could be a reading exercise with questions and responses in the structures that are being taught.Check responses, ask students to explain the grammar concept that has been introduced.At this point introduce teaching explanations as a way of clearing up misunderstandings.Provide an exercise which focuses on the correct construction of the grammar point. This could be an exercise such as a fill the gap, cloze or tense conjugation activity.Ask students to once again explain the concept. As you can see, the teacher is facilitating students to do their own learning rather than using the top-down approach of dictating rules to the class.

Saturday, December 21, 2019

What Causes Eating Disorders in Teens Essay - 2331 Words

Introduction This research plan is about the causes of eating disorders among teenagers. Environmental and personal factors play important roles in determining eating patterns and these need to be examined in order to understand how they are related or not to eating disorders. In so doing, it will also be possible to determine the significance of this research and apply it to the modern-day context. Literature review Introduction Recent studies have shown that eating disorders, termed EDs, are gradually taking on a great significance in the modern world. It would perhaps be best to determine the causes of EDs in general and then find out the type of ED they lead to consequently. Several reasons have been forward as causes of EDs, and†¦show more content†¦S., 2003) Eating disorders can be broadly defined as any of a series of psychological imbalances that involve excessive or insufficient food intake or their associates. They can be classed mainly into four categories namely ‘anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and eating disorder not otherwise specified’ (Treasure, Claudino Zucker, 2010). In order to understand what leads to EDs, it is necessary to understand what each disorder is about. ‘Eating disorders involve self-critical, negative thoughts and feelings about appearance and food, and eating behaviour that harms normal body composition and functioning’ (Health Insite, 2010). Understanding briefly what the different EDs, especially AN and BN are about could also help in determining their causes. Anorexia nervosa, or AN, is a condition in which loss of appetite results from severe emotional disturbance. It is life-threatening in that it can lead to extremely low body weight. BN, on the other hand, is ‘characterised by periods of binge eating, which is eating large amounts of food in a rapid, automatic and powerless fashion. Binges are then compensated for by dieting, purging behaviours - such as vomiting or taking laxatives - and over-exercising’ (The Australian Psychological Society, 2010). Unlike AN though, BN is not life-threatening. Biological factors as possible causes of eating disorders EDs may have as causes inherited factors. Some studiesShow MoreRelatedCauses of Eating Disorders Eating disorders are several types of severe eating illnesses that700 Words   |  3 PagesCauses of Eating Disorders Eating disorders are several types of severe eating illnesses that cause people to maintain focus on only their diet and weight. Some prime examples of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating. Anorexia nervosa is a type of eating disorder where people are so focused on their weight that they refuse to eat or eat as little as possible, bulimia nervosa is similar to anorexia except instead of eating so little people binge eat and then forceRead MoreEating Disorders Destroy Lives Essay777 Words   |  4 PagesTitle Eating Disorder – a combination of 14 letters that has the power to rock the life of the person who has it. Some of the most common eating conditions are anorexia, bulimia, and binge-eating disorder. According to the LA Times, â€Å"In 2009 the government published data that showed that kids under 12 were the fastest-growing population of patients hospitalized for eating disorders.† Not only are eating disorders becoming more popular and not in a positive way, but also the teens who have themRead MorePeer Pressure And Media Cause Eating Disorders1743 Words   |  7 PagesPeer Pressure and Media Cause Eating Disorders A USA Today article reported, â€Å"According to a 2011 study in Archives of General Psychiatry about 6% of youths suffer from eating disorders. The report went on to say the 55% of high school girls and 30% of boys had eating disorder symptoms. They used diet pills, vomiting, laxatives, fasting and binge-eating to help them lose weight (Healy). Going along with the previous statistic, The Random House Dictionary defines peer pressure as a social pressureRead MoreMedia Eating Disorders1607 Words   |  7 Pagesreview is to describe the main causes of eating disorders among teenagers aged 12 to 18 years old in high schools globally, and to also explain to what extend do some of these causes influence eating disoders. Recent studies have indicated a major increase in the eating disorder habits and body dissatisfaction in adolescence over the past few decades. This crisis seems most prevalent in females`` than males with 20 percent high school females exhibiting poor eating habits and about 60 percent undergoneRead MoreAnorexia Bulimia: Why Are American Teens Starving Themselves?1533 Words   |  7 PagesAmerican Teens Starving Themselves? Dina Males Mr. James Wieber English 111 Image is very crucial for a teenager; the pressure of school and fitting in with there classmates and friends can be very difficult for a teenager. It is when a teenager starts taking image to the extreme and starts harming themselves by starving themselves. More and more teenagers are becoming anorexic and bulimic and it is not only affecting girls but boys are starting to come out and say they have an eating disorderRead MorePromotion Of Eating Disorders And Social Medi Research Prospectus1110 Words   |  5 PagesPromotion of Eating Disorders in Social Media: Research Prospectus Background Eating disorders are defined as any range of psychological disorders, characterized by abnormal or disturbed eating habits. And in today’s society these disorders are fairly common. Anorexia is a disorder characterized by a desire to lose weight by refusing to eat. And bulimia is a disorder involving distortion of body image, and an obsessive desire to lose weight, in which bouts of extreme overeating are followed by depressionRead MoreBad Messages of Magazine Advertisements873 Words   |  4 Pagesthinner and look prettier, but the truth is that the models in teen magazine advertisements have unhealthy body images. The bodies seen in magazine advertisements force girls and boys to put their own bodies at risk, and go beyond what is healthy to achieve that certain image of perfection. Teen magazines should ban advertisements with models who have unhealthy body images, perhaps causing teens to doubt their own self-worth. Teen magazines should have healthy and realistic looking models inRead MoreTaking a Look at Teenagers and Anorexia Essay1078 Words   |  5 Pagesthe modern day. Teens, especially girls, are the most self-conscious group of people so it is not surprising that eating disorders are most likely to develop when a girl or boy becomes a teenager. Anorexia is the most common eating disorder in American teenage girls along with the most deadly of all psychological illnesses. Anorexia is an emotional disorder when one has an obsessive desire to lose weight by refusing to eat. Girls set an unrealistic standard in their mind of what they think a â€Å"perfect†Read More Cause of Eating Disorders Essays877 Words   |  4 PagesCause of Eating Disorders In America, today we often hear of people who suffer from illness such as cancer, aids etc. what we often don’t hear about is the illness that effects a lot of people each year that being eating disorders. Whenever I hear about eating disorders it remains me of one of my cousin who had suffered from anorexia. It all started when her family and acquaintances started to say that she was fat and chubby. In her family everyone is very slim and tall so her brothersRead MoreHelping Teens Avoid Bulimia And Anorexia1028 Words   |  5 PagesEnglish 3 05 April 2017 How to Help Teens Avoid Bulimia and Anorexia Even though some teens have health conditions that make them very skinny or problems going on at home does not mean they have to hurt themselves. Teens need to avoid bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa. Some teens do not have self confidence in themselves. Many teens have died or get other medical conditions for becoming bulimic or anorexic. Bulimia nervosa is a life threatening eating disorder. Bulimia nervosa is where an individual

Friday, December 13, 2019

What representation of American Social Class is there in the first four scenes of Falling Down Free Essays

The opening scene of Falling Down immediately establishes the location of the film, America; this is obvious to the audience with the American cars and yellow school bus with the stars and stripes hanging on the side. The lead character played by Michael Douglas is established as a white, Anglo-Saxon, protestant (WASP) who is supposedly the most privileged class in American society. He is meant to represent the typical American white-collar worker. We will write a custom essay sample on What representation of American Social Class is there in the first four scenes of Falling Down? or any similar topic only for you Order Now The audience gets this impression of D-Fens (Michael Douglas) because he is smartly dressed with a white shirt and tie, he wears glasses, he’s cleanly shaven and is driving a typical American family sedan. This first impression of D-Fens is subsequently taken apart throughout the film and the audience later finds out that he is unemployed and discontent with American society. D-Fens’ car and the way he acts give the audience a early clue that he is not all that he seems. D-Fens is stuck in a traffic jam and getting more and more frustrated by the things around him, he reacts very violently to the fly in his car and thrashes around trying to kill it, this gives the audience an indication that he is quite a violent person when he gets annoyed. Another indication is when D-Fens tries to cool himself down and his air conditioning system doesn’t work, so he tries to open the window but the handle is broken, the car is like a metaphor for D-Fens’ life shabby, worn out and not like it used to be. There is quite a range of different social classes represented in the opening scene all seen from D-Fens’ point of view. In the back seat of the car in front of D-Fens is a young Hispanic girl who is staring impassively at him watching his frustration and breakdown unfold. D-Fens seems uneasy about this maybe because it reminds him of his own daughter and he feels ashamed that he can’t drive her to school anymore. This girl is shown in contrast to the children on the bus who are noisy and happy whereas she is silent. She is sad looking and the car she’s in is also old these things make the audience think she also doesn’t have the happy life that the American dream is supposed to offer. This immediately brings up the question of race in the film and whether people from minority ethnic groups have the same opportunities as WASP’s. The camera then pans across to show another white-collar worker, a middle-aged woman putting on bright lipstick and trying to make herself look younger, this gives the impression that she feels threatened perhaps by younger women in her work place. The next vehicle that comes into shot is the typical American school bus the children are very noisy and annoying, there is also a mixture of races represented and they appear to be getting along with each other. There is a black boy that is staring at D-Fens in much the same way as the Hispanic girl and it appears that non-WASPs are more of a threat to D-Fens and this perhaps suggests he is racist. Next to the school bus is a new sporty, convertible with two yuppies in the front seats. They can be categorized like this because they have mobile phones, a nice car, and smart suits. They are represented as aggressive and impatient as the driver is honking his horn for no apparent reason. They are rude and loud on the phone and they appear arrogant because they don’t feel that they should be stuck in the traffic jam with everyone else. They seem to epitomise capitalism in America and the type of people that become rich and successful in a capitalist society. There are also representations of American society shown on the three bumper stickers that D-Fens looks at. The first one says â€Å"Financial Freedom phone †¦ † this also shows capitalism in America and that fact that many people live in debt and see themselves as being trapped with only money being the way out. The next sticker says â€Å"He died for our sins† and this shows how religious orientated American society is. The last one says â€Å"How’s my driving? Phone 1-800 EAT SHIT! † this just shows how uncaring American society has become with many people being stuck in poverty, whilst many others are living in luxury. The flashing ‘Delay’ lights, the heat, noise and smoke all come together and the quick straight edits from each of these elements build up the sense of desperation and threat until D-Fens finally has enough and gets out of his car and tells the man behind him that he’s â€Å"going home†. This phrase is repeated throughout the film and it becomes D-Fens’ quest. ‘Home’ is not literally his house but back to a time when D-Fens felt less threatened from foreign immigrants or non-WASPs, a time when his role in society was more defined and he was a family man and a breadwinner, a time when he felt proud of America and its people. In the next scene the second main character, Prendergast, is introduced. He also appears to be a white-collar worker and a WASP but he is slightly older than D-Fens, his reaction to the traffic jam is in contrast to D-Fens’ because he is more relaxed and doesn’t let it frustrate him. He is represented as a wise old cop who is from the old school of policing and he is contrasted with the young arrogant policeman on the motorbike who enjoys his power but turns out to be a less competent cop than Prendergast. There is also a smarmy salesman on the scene trying to offer the young cop help, which he rejects. He talks about his trade and how he gives discounts for officers of the law, this suggests that money can influence police and that they are corrupt. The third scene represents a single mother who turns out to be D-Fens’ ex-wife, she is shown as stressed and overworked having to get the groceries, walk the dog and look after the child all at once. The house appears to be nice, quite large with a garden and white picket fence and it seems to represent the ideal American family home, although there are signs of it starting to fall into disrepair with the paint on the house peeling off and the front garden being untidy. This shows how D-Fens used to have a nice traditional family life and the suburban idyllic house that went with it, that’s when it used to be ‘home’. There is also a sign of how gun culture is very much part of American society with D-Fens’ young daughter playing with a realistic looking toy gun and learning from a young age the power that you can have by possessing a gun. The fourth scene represents an immigrant shopkeepers in particular a Korean man. It opens with the well dressed, white D-Fens walking into a poor area of the city, this is shown by the graffiti on the walls, the rubbish on the streets and the fact that there are metal bars over the windows to keep the small shop secure. The Korean shopkeeper is dressed in old, unfashionable clothes and he appears quite impoverished because his till is very old fashioned and he is wary of a WASP coming into his shop in this area. This shows the separation of communities in America and the lack of trust between them. D-Fens is very racist towards the shopkeeper in this scene and he shows no respect for him when he marches in and asks for change without even having eye contact with the shopkeeper. D-Fens sees himself as being dominant over the Korean man and he sets the price of 50cents for the can of Coke and he takes control. He sees the immigrant as inferior to him because he is a WASP and he still has the ideals of the time before. D-Fens is racist because he mocks the Korean mans accent and the fact that he can’t pronounce the ‘V’ in five, then because the man is Asian he immediately assumes that he’s Chinese and this is a typical ignorant view of an American who are traditionally insular in their views. This is shown again later on in the film when Prendergast immediately assumes that his fellow Japanese cop can understand the Korean man. When D-Fens finds out the man is Korean he says about the foreign aid that his country has given to Korea and he therefore feels that this man owes him and in saying ‘my country’ he implies that the Korean man doesn’t belong there. The image of the American flag is used once again in this scene when the container full of flags is smashed on the floor in a struggle between the two characters. This shows how immigrants feel that they have to be visibly patriotic towards America to fit in with society. The broken glass container could also be a symbol for how communities are now broken in America. Or it could symbolise how the American dream is broken for this shopkeeper and also significantly for D-Fens. D-Fens then says that he is â€Å"going to take prices back to 1965† before violently smashing up the shop. This period of time is what D-Fens associates with â€Å"home† because at this time WASPs were the dominating group in society and there was prejudice against other ethnic groups, this was a time when he felt accepted and valued in society and he was a happy family man living the American dream and this is a time he wants to return to. The Korean shopkeeper is obviously used to violence and robberies living in the area that he does because he gets on the floor and shouts â€Å"Take the money! this is seen as a major insult to D-Fens because he sees himself as middle-class and in his opinion robbery is a thing that poor working class people do. He also feels that he is justified in terrorising this shop because all he wanted was some change for the phone. This scene has been interpreted by many people as being racist and this is an understandable view because the Korean man is represented in a negative way. He is rude and scruffy whereas D-Fens is represented almost like a hero figure with traditional Hollywood hero lines and he appears to be fighting for consumer rights. How to cite What representation of American Social Class is there in the first four scenes of Falling Down?, Papers

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Corporate Decision Making of a Company-Free-Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about the Corporate Decision. Answer: Introduction Corporate decision making is seen as one of the most important elements of a company and organizational management. Due to its essential nature, it takes place at every level of a company and is undertaken by every individual. Every person involved in the administration of a firm is tasked with making a decision that pertains to the running of the branch of a company under his control. The process of decision making is expansive and includes the implementation of those decisions. The purpose of this paper will be to provide for an analysis of three articles that address issues of organizational decision making and how it affects the general performance of or organizations. The articles under consideration are Brynjolfsson, Hitt, and Kim (2011); Velasquez, and Hester (2013); and Wong, Ormiston, and Tetlock (2011). The analysis of these articles will be looking at the decision-making process which includes the identification of problems, information gathering, synthesis of information, choosing among alternatives and implementation of the decision. It will also pay close attention to the different types of decision and their effectiveness. Similarities of perspectives and the application of the propositions of the articles will be considered. Definition Based on Wong, Ormiston, and Tetlocks (2011) explanation decision making can be described as the process undertaken by a person in deciding about an important matter or element especially when that decision relates and affect the lives or the running of individual affairs in an organization. Popovi?, Hackney, Coelho, and Jakli? (2012) argued that involves choosing the course of action from more than one possible alternative, with the aim of solving a particular problem or attaining certain results. Wong, Ormiston, and Tetlock (2011) stated that from this point, decision making could be a consultative process that involves several individuals with the requisite knowledge on the issue at hand. Brynjolfsson, Hitt, and Kim (2011) explained that the decision-making process that involves several individuals can act described as the checks and balances put in place to ensure organizational growth in both linear and vertical states. Such decisions are said to be aimed achieve certain goals t hat have been set by the organization (Lunenburg 2011). Velasquez and Hester (2013) agrees with the formerly mentioned articles that the decision making process involves and starts with the definition of the problem and is then followed by the gathering of the relevant information and data; developing and weighing the options available and then choosing the best option (Hwang and Yoon 2012). The subsequent steps include planning and execution of the best choice, and finally making a follow up on the action taken. The need to follow this procedure makes decision-making process time-consuming due to the need for enough time to meditate on the effects of the action. However, Velasquez and Hester (2013) claims that the longevity of a decision-making process ensures that the best result will be achieved. It has to be appreciated that in an organizational setting they are need to develop a coherent, right and complete data that can be synthesize made sense of for a decision to be good (Co lquitt, Lepine, and Wesson 2011). Theoretical perspectives, similarities, and difference Brynjolfsson, Hitt, and Kim (2011) state that it is important for any management team to have sufficient data that will aid them in making a decision on a certain problem. From their perspective, they explain that it is good to apply the information theory and the information-processing perceptions of organizations which provide that accurate information helps in reaching a proper decision. Based on this theory, decisions that are made upon reliance on enough data are more likely to increase organization performance when it comes to problem solution (Lunenburg 2011). Brynjolfsson, Hitt, and Kim (2011) established that a study of 179 public trade firms in the US that used data-driven decision making record high performance in financially, technologically and investment-wise. Such firm can make a proper decision for the long-term purpose (Colquitt, Lepine, and Wesson, 2011). Brynjolfsson, Hitt, and Kim (2011) found that about data-driven decisions in organizations were responsible for about 5-6% of the increases in firm output and productivity when compared to the traditional methods of decision making. The need for more information according to Blackwell (19530 as cited by Brynjolfsson, Hitt, and Kim (2011) is used in ascertaining the state of nature in an organization which is later used to determine the action to be taken. Velasquez and Hester (2013) applied several theories of decision making that experts used. They explained the Case-Based Theory that provides that companies will make given decisions depending on the situation at hand. It encourages human preference-oriented predictions and the data-oriented prediction to ascertain the occurrence of a problem hence the ability to decide on how to solve it. There is the Fuzzy set theory which is based on the classical set theory that endorses solving problems by tackling imprecise and uncertain data. Unlike the information theory, it takes account of the fact there may not be enough information needed to solve a given problem hence utilizing few rules that solve complex problems. The acknowledgment of the fact that information may not be sufficient equips managers with the ability to tackle any arising issue promptly. Thichallengess theory is suited for the solving of short-term problems and challenges that are very agent yet there is little informati on on how they have been addressed in the past (Tzeng and Huang 2011). The other approach used by Brynjolfsson, Hitt, and Kim (2011) is the Analytic Hierarchy Process which heavily relies on the propositions of experts. This method seems to be in line with that of the information theory that is proposed by Brynjolfsson, Hitt, and Kim (2011). The AHP require that there should be sufficient information that is to be assessed by the expert for him or her to reach a proper decision. However, the MAUT is more data intensive and therefore highly compatible with the information theory. According to Wong, Ormiston, and Tetlock (2011) researchers have found that the integrative complexity approach is good for making the decisions that are uniformly acceptable and practical to use in running organization. However, the integrative process is complex ant time consuming since much time is needed for one to reach a given decision. The requirement is that all stakeholders be involved in the decision-making process so as to ensure efficiency availability of data (Tzeng and Huang 2011). It presupposes that corporate social performance is a model incorporating the social responsibility and the entire process of corporate social responsibility as well as behaviour. The decision made based on this mode requires maximum consultation. It recognizes that decisions affecting a group of individuals cannot be made solely by looking at the views of a small group of people. All persons that relate to an organization are equally important. The basis of this theory is that is based on th e ability to evaluate the differences among people and being able to accommodate them (Elwyn 2012). Like the MAUT, the Information Theory and the AHP, it encourages the gathering of sufficient information, and evaluation several outcomes before settling on a given decision. Velasquez and Hester (2013) explained that managers who use integrated complexity in their decision making had been observed to yield high-performance results for their organization. According to Lunenburg (2011), decisions that involve every individual will obvious touch on their interests and as such be able to address wider concerns. The result will be that every person in the organization gets satisfied with the decision made. Furthermore, integrative decision making acts as a tool for many employees. It gives them the spirit and feeling that they are part and parcel of the organization and thereby awakening a hard-work spirit. As a result, they get motivate hence better results for the organization. Giving a person a feeling of a sense of belonging may at times work a fire that fuels their commitment to work. Literary speaking, integrative complexity is all about decentralization of decision making. It presupposes that individuals at the different levels of an organization have the ability to make a proper decision that affects their respective areas of work. This helps to ease the burden placed on the top management and therefore making work easier and enjoyable. The only problem with decentralization is that it is time-consuming. Making a uniform decision becomes difficult because much of the information is scattered in different departments. Every organ of the organization is responsible for its duties and functioning. On the other hand, in a centralized decision-making system, the information is contained and therefore readily available if need to make a decision that should be common to all in an organization. The group involved in the decision making is also small hence reducing issues of conflicting ideas. It is easy to reach an understanding, especially where agent decisions are needed. This view can be seen to be in line with the Fuzzy set theory as explained by Velasquez and Hester (2013), especially on the issues of inaccurate data. However, whe re much information is needed the decentralized decision-making process is compatible with the information theory explained by Brynjolfsson, Nicklin, and Kim (2011). Reconciliation of Opposing views The analysis of the three articles provides a mixed view. At one point, the position seems to be the same but different at another. Velasquez and Hester (2013)s various theories of decision making seemingly address all the issues that are central to decision making. According to Zimmerman and Yahya-Zadeh (2011), a good decision should be made after having assessed all the risks and ensuring that the benefits of adopting it outweigh the downsides. Zsambok and Klein (2014) acknowledged that such decision and information needed to reach it would be reached after proper consultation as proposed by Wong, Ormiston, and Tetlock (2011); and Brynjolfsson, Hitt, and Kim (2011). A similar stand can be found in the integrative complexity approach proposed by Wong, Ormiston, and Kim (2011). The Case-Based theory as proposed by Velasquez and Hester (2013) is an acknowledgment that there is no uniform way that organization is used to reach the decision. It shows that there are situations where data may not be available and that the organizational problems are different at times hence the need to address situations as they arise. However, the proposition of Velasquez and Hester (2013)s MAUT and Brynjolfsson, Hitt, and Kim (2011) information theory is highly compatible with the centralized approach of decision making. The three approaches agree that proper decision requires a lot of information. Integrate Perspective and Its Application As explained above, there are various areas agreements in the articles. The information theory, the MAUT and the integrated approach believe in the gathering of a lot of information for a proper decision on a matter to be reached. Decisions are seen as covering broad groups of people and therefore inclusive (Ford and Richardson 2013). As such, the kinds of decisions made based on these theories are long term. Colquitt, Lepine, and Wesson (2011) explained that not all theories could be used to solve all kinds of decision. Short term and agent decision are to be addressed by flexible approaches. The best examples of flexible theories are the Case-Based theory and the Fuzzy set theory. As explained by Velasquez and Hester (2013), these two are highly adaptable. Zsambok and Klein (2014) found that good decision should be ones that the employees can easily adapt and will not cause any unnecessary hardship. Such decisions can be made out of a decentralized system. Decentralized systems app ly to large organization and are effective in making decisions on unexpected problems. These kinds of problems do not have to be considered by the top management team especially when they affect the functioning of a small part of the organization. According to Hwang and Yoon (2012), the mere fact that there may be no sufficient information on a certain problem does not mean that it should not be solved. The management has to adopt a system that best addresses the issue in question. Goetsch and Davis (2014) explain that it is the duty of a manager to make decisions and solve problems. Govindan, Rajendran, Sarkis, and Murugesan (2015) believes that the changing world is a recipe for organizational problems hence the need to adapt. Even though Brynjolfsson, Hitt, and Kim (2011) believe that sufficient information is needed to solve organizational issues, they submit that not all issues will be solved in the same way. Slotegraaf and Atuahene-Gima (2011); Bergman et al. (2012) explained that companies that have shown flexibility in their decision making processes record high profits particularly when the process is inclusive. Such practices help to fill the lapse of information that arises out of limited data availability. Conclusion In a nutshell, decision making is a multifactor process that requires the gathering and synthesis of information. Regardless of the agency required to solve a problem, one must first identify the problem then accumulate all the information necessary to solve it. The decision maker must also be adaptable because some lack sufficient data to solve them. There is no universal way of decision making, and multi-criteria approach should be taken in such cases. The three articles agree that every decision requires information, however, little it may be. Reference Bergman, J.Z., Rentsch, J.R., Small, E.E., Davenport, S.W. and Bergman, S.M., 2012. The shared leadership process in decision-making teams. The Journal of social psychology, 152(1), pp.17-42 Brynjolfsson, E., Hitt, L.M. and Kim, H.H., 2011. Strength in numbers: How does data-driven decision-making affect firm performance? Colquitt, J., Lepine, J.A. and Wesson, M.J., 2011. Organizational behavior: Improving performance and commitment in the workplace. McGraw-Hill Irwin Elwyn, G., Frosch, D., Thomson, R., Joseph-Williams, N., Lloyd, A., Kinnersley, P., Cording, E., Tomson, D., Dodd, C., Rollnick, S. and Edwards, A., 2012. Shared decision making: a model for clinical practice. Journal of general internal medicine, 27(10), pp.1361-1367 Ford, R.C. and Richardson, W.D., 2013. Ethical decision making: A review of the empirical literature. In Citation classics from the Journal of Business Ethics (pp. 19-44). Springer Netherlands Goetsch, D.L. and Davis, S.B., 2014. Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: pearson. Govindan, K., Rajendran, S., Sarkis, J. and Murugesan, P., 2015. Multi criteria decision making approaches for green supplier evaluation and selection: a literature review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 98, pp.66-83 Hwang, C.L. and Yoon, K., 2012. Multiple attribute decision making: methods and applications a state-of-the-art survey (Vol. 186). Springer Science Business Media Lunenburg, F.C., 2011. Decision making in organizations. International journal of management, business and administration, 15(1), pp.1-9 Popovi?, A., Hackney, R., Coelho, P.S. and Jakli?, J., 2012. Towards business intelligence systems success: Effects of maturity and culture on analytical decision making. Decision Support Systems, 54(1), pp.729-739 Slotegraaf, R.J. and Atuahene-Gima, K., 2011. Product development team stability and new product advantage: The role of decision-making processes. Journal of marketing, 75(1), pp.96-108 Tzeng, G.H. and Huang, J.J., 2011. Multiple attribute decision making. Methods and applications Velasquez, M. and Hester, P.T., 2013. An analysis of multi-criteria decision making methods. International Journal of Operations Research, 10(2), pp.56-66 Wong, E.M., Ormiston, M.E. and Tetlock, P.E., 2011. The effects of top management team integrative complexity and decentralized decision making on corporate social performance. Academy of Management Journal, 54(6), pp.1207-1228 Zimmerman, J.L. and Yahya-Zadeh, M., 2011. Accounting for decision making and control. Issues in Accounting Education, 26(1), pp.258-259 Zsambok, C.E. and Klein, G., 2014. Naturalistic decision making. Psychology Press

Thursday, November 28, 2019

AS Biology Coursework

AS Biology Coursework AS Biology Coursework Below is a short excerpt from an AS biology coursework written on the topic of biological species. The topic is rather broad and serves as an introduction to a narrowed research. Reading the following biology coursework sample, pay special attention to the sentence structure, use of terms, and format. writers are online 24/7 to help you with your coursework writing assignments. Moreover, our free writing blog is full of excellent sample essays and papers. If you need an expertmotivation coursework just follow this link: Species represents a biological balance, and an individual is also a balance or system in equilibrium. Within a species itself, individuals are similar but not identical. The differences are called variations, and when numbers of individuals exhibit the same variation they form a variety. A variety is distinguished from a race because the latter has greater constancy, whereas the former fluctuates in general and tends to disappear, whilst individuals showing such variation engender a line which continues over a larger or smaller number of generations and becomes approximated to the specific type. This is what Galton in 1889 termed "filial regression." Specific characters do exist representing a middle term, and on one side or the other of this average, we find variations which arithmetically follow Gauss's Law, or the Law of Mean Errors of the Calculus of Probabilities. This can be confirmed by taking the more distinctive characters. Thus height, weight, colour of eyes, basic intensity of metabolism, pulse, blood pressure, and so on. In species other than the human we can take for instance the weight of certain seeds, the height of a plant, the number of vertebrae in certain fish, and so forth. The graph showing such variations quantitatively is called a "Galton's curve," and demonstrates that individuals showing typical average characters of the species are the most numerous, whilst divergencies above and below such average diminish in proportion to the degree of variation of the character from the average type. Thus, for instance, the height of individuals: there is an average height, a distinctive feature for each species and t his will be the height of the majority of specimens. There are taller individuals and shorter ones, and the numbers of these outsiders decreases as their height differs more and more from the standard. There is furthermore, as we have repeatedly mentioned, a tendency to revert to the specific standard. Short parents and tall usually have offspring whose height is different from their own and more or less in accordance with the variance of the parents from the average standard. In all of these cases the tendency for "reversion to type," to "balance" in the species, is evident. There may well exist primitive species with a certain degree of stability, fairly constant in form, such as those distinguished by Jordan in 1848 as between the plants and the midpoint of the limits of a Linnaean species. Thus, for instance, in Viola tricolor, Jordan distinguished several dozen various species, independent and stable as regards the transmission of their characters through the seeds: with large, small and middling blossoms respectively identifiable through particular features of the component parts of the blossoms, seeds, and so on. AS Biology Coursework Writing Service AS biology coursework can be a pleasure for some students while it is a real nightmare for the rest. As a result, thousands of students turn to professional coursework writing service offered at our site to get help with their challenging assignments. Our biology writers are able to write customized (written from scratch) coursework on a wide array of topics. We guarantee no plagiarism and no copy/paste! Only original writing! Read also: Expository Essay Essay Writing Tips English Essay Writing Outline Conclusion Writing Cold War History Essay

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Winslow Homer essays

Winslow Homer essays Winslow Homer is regarded by many as one of North America's best painters. His work was enjoyed in the late 1800's and is still popular today. Winslow's use of colour, perspective, and subject matter is still intriguing. Winslow Homer was born in Boston, Massachusetts on February 24, 1836 and was the first of four children in his family. In 1842, his family moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where Winslow became an apprentice to a lithographer, J.H. Bufford. After he completed his apprenticeship in 1854, he left home to become a free lance illustrator. In 1859, Homer moved to New York and became a student at the National Academy of Design in New York City. There he studied painting with Fredric Rondel. Later he covered Abraham Lincoln's inauguration, and visited the Potomac outside of Washington in October, until 1862. In 1862, Winslow Homer attended a campaign in Virginia, were he painted his first oil paintings. These would be the first of many that would make him famous. For two years, he made trips to the Civil War front where he produced paintings and illustrations. These paintings were of soldiers, horses, and prisoners. Instead of painting scenes of fighting during the war, he painted the casual times, which was unique to the other paintings of the painters at that time. After the war paintings, he went to France to paint the countryside, and to Paris, until 1867, when he came back with prisoners from the front. From 1868 to 1870, he visited the White Mountains in New Hampshire and the Adirondack Mountains painting wilderness scenes. Most of these paintings included wildlife, hunters, and hunts. Winslow spent most of his time doing these types of paintings. In 1872, he moved to Tenth Street Studios in New York to paint privately. That following summer in Gloucester, Massachusetts he did his first water colour series and engravings of the seaside. Two years later, he did his last illustrations for Harper's Week...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Explain the issues in natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies Coursework

Explain the issues in natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies that China faces and propose solutions that you feel may be - Coursework Example Again, Chinese regulations require their buildings to be earthquake-resistant. However, the collapses of schools, hospitals, and factories during natural disasters raise questions about the country’s enforcement of building codes (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, n.d.). The Ministry of Science and Technology of China has established a few monitoring and early warning systems around Mount Ailao in southwest China’s Yunnan Province, the southeast China’s Fujian Province and the reservoir region of the Three Gorges Project on the Yangtze River. However, these structural systems are not sufficient given the vast topography of the country (Xinhua, 2011). In order to address these issues, the government of China needs to invest considerably towards the expansion of the public health system to provide shelter, potable water, food, medical care and sanitation. Secondly, the country can work in collaboration with international agencies to develop and impl ement frameworks for disaster response, risk assessment, evacuation measures and public education. Finally, the government also needs to ensure that building codes and policies are implemented within their country.