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Monday, September 30, 2019

Case Study of Personality Theories Essay

Abdul Hnnan a 12 year old boy, who has been presented with language, academic and behavior difficulties. Hnnan had a traumatic delivery and suffered from hypoxia. Hnnan’s early motor and language milestones were grossly delayed. He sat and crawled at 2.6 years of age and walked after 3 years. His language was delayed and he spoke his first words at 4.6 years to 5 years and in sentences after 5 years. His speech was unclear and could be understood by his parents at age 6 years. However, even now outsiders understood 75% of what he said. His gross motor skills and fine motor skills were poor. He started climbing stairs at 4 to 5 years and started pedaling at 5 years. He still could not pedal a bicycle, tie his shoelaces and button his shirt. Hnnan was a placid baby who did not respond, had no eye contact and had a squint. He slept for long hours and had to be force-fed. He was hyperactive, destructive and aggressive after 3 years. He banged his head. He disliked visitors and could get very distressed. He hated any object in the house being displaced and insisted on having everything in order. He was very difficult to manage. He liked to spin around and jump. At the age of 4 to 5 years, he started noticing other children and started taking interest in them. He became less hyperactive, less aggressive and was more amenable to instructions. However, presently he was still restless and jumped a lot. He could still spin around for hours. He liked being on his own but also could be talkative, over friendly and odd. He repeatedly asked the same questions and was naive. For example, during the interview he repeatedly asked â€Å"Can a cow hurt or not? What if I play with it, will it hurt me or not?† He had writing problems because of his hand tremors. He was always restless and distractible and could not sit for more than a few minutes. His memory was very good but his understanding was weak. His mother has to sit with him for hours to teach him language and concepts. He has difficulty with understanding complex or abstract concepts. He did not have problems in social interaction but had difficulties in social communication and imaginative and flexible thinking. Difficulties with self control is presenting as restlessness, inability to follow adult agenda and paying attention to other people, to what they might be saying, thinking or feeling. SOCIAL HISTORY Abdul Hnnan was born in Lahore, Pakistan by Pakistani parents. He was the first child in the family. His mother, Wajiha, had a positive family history. One of her cousins was mentally retarded. Hnnan was born at term. His mother had high blood pressure. The labour was prolonged, 11 hours and a caesarean was suggested but refused. He was born limp and blue. He had hypoxia. He was in NICU for 5 days. His birth weight was 2.54 kilos. He cried well after 15 days of life. Hnnan’s early motor and language milestones were grossly delayed. He started noticing children at 4 or 5 years and started taking interest in them. Hnnan’s younger sister, Amen, 3 years of age was very sociable and talkative. Hnnan’s father was more patient and his mother more irritable. Hnnan was very difficult till age 6 years and was aggressive, non-compliant and unreasonably demanding. As he grew older he became more co-operative and could be rationalized with. Whenever his mother asked him to do something he ignored 5 to 6 times. After that he started to argue. His mother used reprimands, bribes, threats and force to make him do things. Hnnan did not go to school. The family moved to Saudi Arabia when he was 7 years old. His parents took him to a Neuro-Developmental Pediatrician when he was 9 years old. His mother reported that he did not like to play with toys. All he did was jump on a bed or spin around. He was very restless and distracted and had a short attention span. He could be very stubborn and insisted on doing things his way. He was generally cheerful and friendly. He repeatedly asked the same questions and insisted that his parents answer them in the same way or he answered them himself. He watched the same cartoons repeatedly. He constantly jumped or spun around. He used to grab things from strangers. He ignored a child crying till age 5 years but after that he gradually became more empathetic. Hnnan avoided staying in crowds as he knew that he was different from others and that’s why people were laughing at him. After that his condition got better. Following difficulties may become apparent in early childhood: Problems performing subtle movements, such as tying shoelaces, doing up buttons and zip, using cutlery, handwriting. Many will have difficulties getting dressed. They have problems carrying out playground movements, such as jumping, playing hopscotch, catching a ball, kicking a ball, hopping and skipping. They have a higher tendency to bump into things, to fall over and to drop things. Some find it hard to go up and down stairs. Some have problems with using scissors, coloring, drawing, playing jigsaw games.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

John Locke on Tacit and Unintended Consent Essay

In his Second Treatise on Law and Government, John Locke outlines clear and coherent standards for what constitutes a legitimate government and what persons one such government would have authority over. Both are determined by citizens’ acts of consenting to relinquish to the government part of their natural authority over their own conduct. Unfortunately, the situation becomes much less clear once we consider how his standards would apply to the political situation existing in the real world today. If we continue to subscribe to Locke’s account without altering its standards, we would see a precipitous drop in the number of people whose interests existing governments are responsible for serving. In this paper I will show that with certain changes and clarifications to Locke’s standards, the responsibilities of existing governments need not be allowed to shrink so drastically. This creates a tradeoff, however. Changing the standards to apply more closely to actual functioning governments has the consequence of making it more difficult to determine the legitimacy of those governments. Some of the clarity of Locke’s theoretical model is lost in translating it to apply to actual instances of government. A cornerstone of Locke’s political philosophy is the idea that a government holds power legitimately only through the consent of the governed. A civil society consents to grant a particular government rule over it, and each person chooses on an individual basis to become a member of a particular civil society (II, 117). As giving such consent has far-reaching consequences over a person’s life, Locke provides further explanation of what â€Å"consent† entails in this context. Only one way exists to become a member of a civil society: express consent. From Locke’s account this would have to be a fairly formal business, which the individual enters â€Å"by positive Engagement, and express Promise and Compact† (II, 122). Locke’s original wording is important because it seems to imply that unless a person actually makes a public agreement to submit to government law in return for protection of person, liberty, and property, she has not expressly consented. He makes it clear that there are no alternatives to this official process if one is to become part of a civil society, (II, 122). Even if one is not considered part of a particular civil society, she must submit to its authority to the extent of her involvement in that society. Someone who owns land within the territory occupied by a civil society is obligated to obey the law of whatever body has ruling authority in that territory as it applies to ownership and use of property. Someone merely travelling on a public road through a country will have less contact with the civil society of that area and so fewer laws of that society will have application to her behavior. Still, those laws that do cover what activities she carries out have binding force on her (II, 120-121). These people incur the obligation to submit to local authority because that authority is protecting them, perhaps by preventing the citizens of the area from acting in ways that would harm other people including the outsider. For the outsider to be free of those restraints and take advantage of the area’s citizens would be unjust; therefore she is obligated to comply with the legal restraints observed by citizens the area. In neither of these cases would the person in question be considered a member of the civil society whose laws she is obeying unless she expressly consented to join that society in addition to her tacit consent to follow its laws. An immediate criticism of Locke’s account thus far is that in practice, hardly anyone expressly gives consent to join any civil society. Even in most real-world cases where a person does announce submission to a particular government, the declaration would not meet Locke’s conditions of consent that would give legitimacy to the rule of government over that person. Oaths such as the U. S. Pledge of Allegiance are usually only indications that the speaker is prepared to obey directives from the government of a particular state. Consent in the strict sense would have to make explicit what the person is consenting to. Someone joining a civil society under Locke’s conception would need to spell out that she is giving up the right to make and enforce her own judgments to the government of that society, in return for that government’s protection of her interests. Even promises of blind obedience are far from universally practiced, and in most countries are the practice of reciting such pledges is confined to schools and youth groups as a form of education rather than contractual agreement. (The idea that most civil societies do not consider young people mature enough to consent to become members is discussed later in this paper). Explicit contractual consent is far rarer than these questionably binding declarations. If most people fail to give explicit consent to trade away some of their natural rights, under Locke’s terms they have not joined any civil society, and so should not be counted as the citizens of any state or the subjects of any government. This has profound significance because of the relation between civil society and government. The agreement of a civil society is the force and justification behind its government’s authority (II, 149); in return for the mandate that grants it power, the government exists to protect the interests of that particular group of people. Anyone not the member of a particular civil society has no legitimate voice in the form or operation of the government that society creates, and she has no right to expect that government to protect her interests. This does not mean that the government will not take any actions that are to her benefit; the laws of that nation which prevent its citizens from killing and robbing may also prevent them from killing or robbing her. When the government enacts laws, however, it need only do so with the interests of its constituency in mind, and has no obligation to create laws conducive to the interests of an outsider. Any benefits the outsider enjoys as a result of the laws of a particular country are purely coincidental to those laws’ intent. Someone who is not a member of any civil society at all will accordingly have no power over any government, and her interests will deserve the consideration of no government. Since the vast majority of people have not given express consent to join a particular society, the majority of humanity has no right to expect its interests to be served or protected by any of the governments existing on earth. Everyone, however, is required to submit to the control of one government or another depending of where they live, since basically every part of the earth inhabited by humans is under the dominion of one state or another. Rule is solely in the hands of those few people who have actually signed some kind of formal social contract, and needs only to consider their interests. Any government with which no living person has made a formal consent agreement rules illegitimately. The fact that Locke’s model leads to an implication that most of humanity is neither the legitimate authors nor the deserving beneficiaries of government does not prove the model is logically flawed. However, the very great majority of people consider themselves members of a civil society, and are considered as such by other people and, most importantly, by governments. However real governments define their constituency, few if any set express consent as the standard. Enslavement of the tacitly consenting masses by the expressly contracted few thus fails to provide an accurate theoretical model of governmental institutions in the real world. Locke himself describes of the formation of government as an action taken by and for the â€Å"community† (II, 149); this wording suggests that he would have disagreed with the idea that citizenship by express consent leading to dictatorship by a de facto minority is, in practice, the most typical form of legitimate government. It is possible that those without citizenship (the majority of people under our present definition) actually benefit by not being contractually bound to any particular civil society. As long as someone who is not an official citizen resides within the territory of an existing government which fulfills the duties expected of government (II, 131), its laws discourage both citizens of the civil society and other â€Å"outsiders† from threatening her life, liberty, and property. Thus someone could enjoy much of the security that membership in a civil society would provide simply by living in a well-governed area without joining in civil society. In PHI 309 lecture, Prof. Sreenivasan pointed out a possible advantage that such a living arrangement could provide for the unaffiliated: in cases where it was in one’s best interests to abandon a country beset by war, pestilence, or economic or other disaster, noncitizens could jump ship without that act being considered an injustice. Those who had by express consent tied themselves to the civil society might well be obligated to remain with the community, and would not have the option of fleeing the war or hardship. Yet in most of the world, nomadic living is considered the exception, not the rule. Citizens of the world’s various nations must be considering factors not included in Locke’s account. One of the most significant of these is a convention that has introduced a new kind of consent enabling people to become citizens of particular states. Most civil societies have found it desirable to designate officially who is a member of that society, i. e. a member of that state. As a government’s power depends on its constituency, government function is expedited by the government’s having accurate knowledge of the extent of its power base, that is to say the extent of its citizenry. At the same time, concern for its own integrity and distrust of outsiders drives a civil society to delineate who is and is not a member. These and perhaps other factors have led to the creation of conventions (usually expressed as laws passed by governments) by which a person is declared to be a member of a particular civil society (i. e. citizen of a country) regardless of whether or not that person has actually expressed consent to what such membership entails. The most typical example is a law declaring that anyone born in the territory of a particular nation is a citizen of that nation. When still a juvenile, that person of course has not actively consented to anything, and so is usually considered not complete member of civil society; although part of a community, the juvenile generally lacks certain rights and powers given to full members of the society. Upon reaching the age when she can make her own decisions, laws indicate what society the person is considered a member of in the absence of active consent by that person. The person continues to hold that default membership until she makes an active decision to join another civil society. The conventional reflection of this active decision is generally a naturalization process by which someone can become a citizen of a country she did not belong to by default. By going through the naturalization process, a person is understood to consent to the tradeoff which would make her a member of that civil society. It could be objected that being considered the member of a civil society by default is another matter entirely from consenting to join that society and willingly relinquish one’s rights. Where is the consent in this instance? This question is less troubling before the person has come of age, because most would agree that a juvenile generally lacks the judgment to be signing any kind of binding social contract. But can a government legitimately assert that a person has consented to cede her rights to it simply because she has not actively protested? This question could be answered affirmatively. A person can choose not to consent to membership in her default civil society, or give up her membership in a civil society she already belongs to, by joining another civil society through a more active process such as naturalization. This means that if she does not take such an action, she is accepting the convention that interprets her inaction as an expression of consent to join the civil society she was assigned to by default. By systematizing and codifying standards for consent, then, states in actual practice ensure that the great majority of people are not lone agents. One might still question how conscious most people are that they are held to be making this sort of contract, even in the most open societies. A case can be made that essentially, they are aware. No one is unaware of what society she belongs to. Each person is effectively the member of whatever civil society exerts control over her, usually through its government. As soon as that person is conscious of the control being exerted over her, she is made unmistakably aware of what her citizenship is. With the realization of what government she is under comes the option to change her membership. The final and most damaging criticism of the consent model is the question of what happens when a person does not have the option to move to a new territory and join a new civil society. This may occur because of a person’s own lack of means to carry out or simple ignorance of the options ostensibly available to her. It may also be the result of oppression by the government, preventing citizens of the country from leaving. Any of these conditions can force a person to remain an official member of a particular civil society. However, the standard of â€Å"conventionalized explicit consent† introduced above is only able to maintain that most people consent to join a civil society because it assumes those people have options besides their initial citizenship. If people are not being given other options, the model is still not logically flawed. Rather, it suggests a situation similar to that originally introduced as the consequence of applying Locke’s model to the real world: the people in such situations are not really part of the civil society that created the government to whose control they are forced to submit. As such, they retain undiminished the right to join another civil society through a new social contract. If they do so, they may create a new government to follow instead of the one they currently submit to by tacit consent. Of course, there is no guarantee that the government ruling them in the status quo will allow them to replace its control. If it retains control over them by force, Locke’s model would still hold them to be tacitly consenting to its authority by â€Å"enjoyment† of its dominion. This counterintuitive conclusion is avoided by the model requiring choice for real consent. If we follow that paradigm, we come to the conclusion that the government is ruling without any consent from the governed in those cases. According to Locke, such government is mere enslavement and so is illegitimate. To say that a government is wholly illegitimate if it hold power over even one person without her consent is clearly excessive; probably no government could ever achieve legitimacy under that criterion. However, we can say that a government is legitimate to the extent that its citizens are aware of other options and consider membership in their current civil society with its ruling government preferable to those options. The problem with such a standard is that it depends on what is thought by the citizens of a country, and to ascertain a person’s mentality is difficult. The most reliable test is to provide citizens with realistic options and observe whether they remain with the status quo or seek a change in their situation. That change may involve leaving their current civil society, or it may mean seeking to change the structure or behavior of that society’s government. The country’s citizens can be said to consent to the government ruling them to the extent that they posses the power to change their situation, but still maintain the status quo. Thus, the legitimacy of a government can be measured by the effective options available to its citizens. If we had held to Locke’s standards for consent to membership in a civil society and submission to government rule, we would have concluded that most people in the world are tacitly consenting to the rule of governments created by very small groups of explicit signers of social contracts. This would lead to a bizarre picture of the political landscape very much at odds with intuition and with modern reality. By changing standards for consent to mean compliance with official requirements for citizenship when other options are available, we are able to account for those who consider themselves and are considered members of a civil society without having given explicit consent, while at the same time freeing those not given a choice from the appearance of having given consent. A government is then legitimate to the extent that its citizens have given consent according to these standards. It is one of those rare examples where laws have made the situation clearer. Sources: Locke, John. Second Treatise. From Two Treatises of Government, Laslett, Peter, ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Learning management system Essay

Introduction The internet has now become a part of the 21st century world. Everything and everyone is getting online. And those who are not doing so are missing out on the power of this modern age. Can the field of education be any far behind? Indeed not, as is evident from the introduction of E-learning! Learning is a complex process where student’s motivation, teacher, learning material and several other aspects interact with each other. Nowadays, the traditional classroom teaching has changed more and more into a virtual environment where different issues about learning has to be taken into account. Learning has dramatically changed over recent decades when technical revolution has brought different opportunities to learn via the Internet. E-learning is a term that is used to refer to computer-based learning. It uses computer based training and teaching materials, online conferencing, discussion boards, e-mail, computer-aided assessment, and other related methods. AdU E-learning has been introduced to the students of Adamson University. Each student has his/her own account. Their student number would be the username for the account and their initial password will be given through the ITC (Information Technology Center). This Learning Management System has clearly become one of the most adopted learning frameworks for education. AdU E-learning has become one of the innovations of learning and teaching for educational institution and it clearly defines a vast advantage of providing a newer form of learning environment for students and a great supplement for teachers. This will further enhance learning capability on a new better environment, providing student-enhanced learning method and for teachers with enhanced delivery and management for lessons. We chose this kind of topic for our thesis because we are aware of the benefits we can get from the E-learning. The most attractive feature of E-learning is that it is student-centered. Since most of the students are inclined to social networking sites, using E-learning is just a piece of cake. This software also accommodates individual preferences and needs. At the same time, it empowers students of various backgrounds to have equal access to the best resources and referral material, lecture sessions, and tutoring. The set-up of E-learning allows students to learn easily for the standardized tests by downloading the study material they want, rather than paying hefty bills to tuitions. In other words, the online environment allows a learning atmosphere where there is a better focus on study due to the effect of saved efforts, time and lesser hassles. E-learning opens up a new world of studying comfortably and with better results. Statement of the Problem Major Problem: How can AdU E-learning improve students’ learning ability? Minor Problems: 1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of: a. Course b. Year level c. Age d. Frequency of using AdU E-learning e. Accessibility to the internet 2. How effective is AdU E-learning in terms of: a. Academic performance b. Dissemination of information c. Submission of projects d. Enrollment e. Grading f. Accessibility to lessons and discussions g. General graphical user interface h. Management of students’ records Scope and Limitations This study is all about improving students’ learning ability through AdU E-learning. We will study about how AdU E-learning helps students on different aspects. This also intends to sum up all the features of the said learning management system that aids on the easy accessibility Significance of the Study The study on the effectiveness of AdU E-learning on the improvement of students’learning ability is beneficial to the following: 1. Adamson University administrators will know how E-learning helps in the awareness of the students on information and updates about the school. This will also help them review on how helpful does the posting of grades online on the students’ assessment of his/her performance. 2. Adamson University Professors / Instructors can review a student’s scores and identify any areas that need additional teaching. Bringing a lot of school projects to be checked at home is a hassle but with the aid of E-learning they will have a convenient way of checking his/her student’s project. AdU E-learning can be updated easily and quickly. It is easy to keep up-to-date because the updated materials are simply uploaded to a server. Professors can also disseminate information through the software. 3. Adamson University students will be informed about updates and current events in Adamson University. E-learning is very beneficial when it comes to subject enlistment because through this the students can avoid crowded and long lines during enrollment. It also aids for a faster way of submitting any requirements to their professors. Through the posting of grades online, students can monitor their  academic performances. They will be aware on what subjects they need to focus on. It also saves paper because instead of printing or photocopying you can have an access to reading materials through PDFs and Powerpoint presentations. This is also a user-friendly software. Definition of Terms The following terms were used in the study: 1. Adamson University. It is a catholic university in Manila, Philippines wherein the researchers will conduct their survey. 2. AdU E-learning. It is an electronic learning software or a learning management system exclusive for Adamsonians that helps them have a convenient accessibility  to lectures and announcements. 3. Academic performance. This is one of the factors considered on how effective AdU E-learning is. It is the outcome of education — the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has achieved their educational goals. 4. Engineering students. They are the respondents of this study. They’re the ones who take up any engineering courses in Adamson University. 5. General Graphical User interface. It is a program interface that takes advantage of the computer’s graphics capabilities to make the program easier to use. 6. Information. These are the facts provided or learned about something or someone. 7. Internet access. It is the means by which individual terminals, computers, mobile devices, and local area networks are connected to the global Internet. 8. Learning. It is a process where a human absorbs information, memorizes and processes it for further use. 9. Learning ability. It is the student’s mental ability. 10. Learning style. This refers to how a learner prefers to learn. 11. Online reservation of subjects. It is an easier way of enlisting or reserving the subjects the students want to take up for the next semester. 12. Technology. It refers to the making, modification, usage, and knowledge of tools,  machines, techniques, crafts, systems, and methods of organization, in order to solve a problem, improve a preexisting solution to a problem, achieve a goal, handle an applied input/output relation or perform a specific function. CHAPTER 2 Review of the Related Literature and Studies What are the processes that can improve students’ learning ability? According to Pashler, et. al. (2007), much of teaching is about helping students master new knowledge and skills and then helping students not to forget what they have learned. The recommendations are intended to provide teachers with specific strategies for organizing both  instruction and students’ studying of material to facilitate learning and remembering information, and to enable students to use what they have learned in new situations. We recommend a set of actions that teachers can take that reflect the process of teaching and learning, and that recognizes the ways in which instruction must respond to the state of the learner. It also reflects our central organizing principle that learning depends upon memory, and that memory of skills and concepts can be strengthened by relatively concrete—and in some cases quite non-obvious strategies. Furthermore, on www.collegeatlas. org, struggling to become a successful college student, some people erroneously believe that studying a lot is the answer. While increasing the amount of time you dedicated to your studies may be important, the key to becoming a successful college student is learning to studying smart. In college, time quickly becomes a rare commodity, course work is lengthy, competition is intense, and the level of expectation is quite a bit higher than it was when you were in high school. Sometimes you’re going to feel there aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done, and done correctly. And you know what? You’ll be right! There will never be enough hours in the day to get everything done, if you don’t learn how to study smart. Our study skills guides for college students were designed with college students in mind. Time management, note taking, reading comprehension, essay writing, test taking, active listening, stress management, researching, and memorization are only a few of the topics addressed in our study skills guides for college students. If you’ll take the time to learn and apply the concepts, principles, and skills taught in our study guides and tutorials, you’ll not only  improve your academic performance and ability to learn, but you may even find that at the end of the day you have a little free time on your hands. (www. collegeatlas. org) According to the website, www. academictips. org, reviewing your chosen study topic is one of the techniques you have to do to improve one’s learning ability. The steps are as follows. After your five-minute rest, read the same information again. Concentrate only on those points that are most important. Then take another five-minute break and re-read once more, fitting all the bits of information together. Both of these reviews would be made even better by note-taking in whatever way you find easy and helpful. Make sure that the notes you make are well organized! One week and two weeks later review the topic again using your notes. By now you should have found that there has been a huge improvement in your ability to remember, understand and use that information. Finally, you must revise. This is simply a way of drawing loose ends together with the same study method but this time using your notes only. If you use the above methods while you are still following a course of study, your final revision will be  made much easier. Some students who have used these methods early find that very little final revision is necessary. They became so good at remembering the work during the course of the year that they didn’t need to do anymore! What are the effects of E-learning to students? According to â€Å"A Study Into The Effects Of E- Learning On Higher Education† by Singh, et. al. (2005), e-learning could have potentially major effects on the way higher education is designed, implemented and delivered. Until now, universities have been static in their structure and delivery of higher education courses. However, demand for learning has never been so high, and this in conjunction with the need to geographically broaden learning may prompt universities to introduce e-learning initiatives. The same demands for learning and the increased revenue of independent educational providers, has produced a real threat to the very existence of the traditional university. e-learning may provide universities with a means of exceeding the newly formed competition, by taking full advantage of their traditional, already established reputations. For students, e-learning can provide an educationally-superior alternative to traditional  lectures, in which learning can take place outside the lecture hall. e- learning can also provide a model for students on how to become self directed independent learners, which may assist them to become ‘life long learners’. For lecturers, networked learning may cause changes in work patterns and even change their professional role, but in addition, e-learning provides them with the opportunity to test students in real business situations and new methods to evaluate each student’s learning. The role of the lecturer is predominant in the successful delivery of networked  learning initiatives, as lecturers have the influence to eliminate student’s technical frustrations, make students feel empowered and encourage students to interact with one another. (Singh, et. al. , 2005) Based from the results of the study â€Å"The Effect of E-learning Approach on Students’ Achievement in Biomedical Instrumentation Course at Palestine Polytechnic University† by Arman, et. al (2009), the goal of any learning activity is for learning to take place. A common way to measure the effectiveness of instruction is to measure learner achievement. Measuring  learner achievement in e-learning environments requires special attention. In fact, traditional methods for measuring learner achievement can be applied to e-learning courses with some forethought and modification. Quizzes, exams, team and individual projects, as well as written assignments, can all be used in e-learning courses. The use of electronic mediums can even make grading of tests and quizzes easier because scores can be tabulated immediately following the completion of a quiz or test, providing quick and accurate feedback to learners. From their discussion, it is clear that e-learning approach has good efficiency in learning  and improves the students’ achievement and attitudes toward this new systematic way of learning using the new technology based on computer and multimedia tools. After the results of the research have been lighted, the researcher would like to suggest the following: The e-learning approach should be used in our universities, especially occupation military barriers are usual; execute practical sessions for students of all levels concerning use of LMS; encourage instructors to practice the e-learning approach and use LMS; and establish an authoring unit for e-learning of different courses with different experts. (Arman, et. al. , 2009) Moreover, on Rodgers’, â€Å"Student Engagement in the E-Learning Process and the Impact on Their Grades† (2008), after controlling for student personal characteristics, it was found that one extra hour of e-learning engagement increase the module mark by 1. 035%. Given a sample standard deviation of 5. 61 hours, differences in e-learning engagement can be viewed as accounting for 5. 81% of the variation in student marks. These findings suggest that academic performance could potentially be improved by developing teaching strategies that encourage  greater student engagement in the e-learning process. The paper also provides evidence of the impact on academic performance of mismatches between e-teaching styles and e-learning styles. Evidence is found of personal-characteristic related differences in the effectiveness of the online teaching process. It is found that, after controlling for other factors, female students benefited less from e-learning than did their male counterparts. The study also found some tentative evidence to suggest that there was an interaction effect between a student’s country of origin and e-learning effectiveness. (Rodgers,2008) If it is eventually possible to find e-teaching methods that can accommodate different e- learning styles then we are likely to see an improvement in overall student academic achievement on e-learning based courses. (Rodgers,2008) According to â€Å"The Impact of E-Learning on StudentsPerformance in Tertiary Institutions† by Oye, et. al. (2012), e-learning has become an increasingly popular learning approach in higher educational institutions due to the rapid growth of Internet technologies. E- learning is the use of information and communication technology to enhance and facilitate teaching and learning. This study examines the application of e-learning model to explain acceptance of the e-learning technology within the academic settings. The study confirms that in order to foster individuals’ intention to use an e-learning, positive perception on e-learning use is crucial. By using linear regression analysis, the study verified that, while attitudes have influence on intention to use, the actual e-learning use has significant effect on students’ academic performance. E-learning use is associated with increased students’ academic performance. Recommendation was that, training and information sessions on e-learning need to focus  primarily on how the e-learning technology can help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of students’ learning process. (Oye, et. al, 2012) CHAPTER 3 Methodology Research Design The study about Improving Students’ Learning Ability through AdU E-learning uses descriptive research. Instrumentation This study uses survey form as its instrument. Sampling Technique CHAPTER 3 Methodology Research Design The study about Improving Students’ Learning Ability through AdU E-learning uses descriptive research. Instrumentation This study uses survey form as its instrument. Sampling Technique  Respondents were chosen using non-probability sampling technique. Statistical Treatment CHAPTER 4 Presentation of Data This chapter presents the data collected from the survey. Demographic Profile of the Respondents Course Frequency Percent (%) B. S. Computer Engineering 9 30 B. S. Electronics and Communications Engineering 21 70 B. S. Electrical Engineering 0 0 B. S. Civil Engineering 0 0 B. S. Industrial Engineering 0 0 B. S. Mechanical Engineering 0 0 B. S. Chemical Engineering 0 0 Total 30 100 Figure 1. Course of the Respondents Figure 1 explains the course of the respondents. 9 out of 30 or 30% of the respondents are taking B. S. Computer Engineering. 21 out of 30 or 70% of the respondents are taking B. S. Electronics and Communication Engineering. There were no respondents who take up the courses: B. S. Electric Engineering, B. S. Civil Engineering, B. S. Industrial Engineering, B. S. Mechanical Engineering, and B. S. Chemical Engineering. Year Frequency Percent(%) 1st Year 13 43. 33 2nd Year 1 3. 33 3rd Year 8 26. 67 4th Year 8 26. 67 5th Year 0 0 Total 30 100 Figure 2. Year Level of Respondents Figure 2 gives explanations on the year level of respondents. 13 out of 30 or 43. 33% ofthe respondents are on the 1st year level. 1 out of 30 or 3. 33% of the respondents are on the 2nd year level. 8 out of 30 or 26. 67% of the respondents are on the 3rd year level. 8 out of 30 or 26. 67% of the respondents are on the 4th year level. There were no respondents on the 5th year level. Age Frequency Percent (%) 16 years old or below 3 10 17-19 years old 22 73. 34 20-22 years old 4 13. 33 23 years old or above 1 3. 33 Total 30 100 Figure 3. Age of the Respondents Figure 3 gives details on the age of the respondents. 3 out of 30 or 10% of the respondents are 16 years old or below. 22 out of 30 or 73. 34% of the respondents are 17-19 years old. 4 out of 30 or 13. 33% of the respondents are 20-22 years old and 1 out of 30 or 3. 33% of the respondents are 23 years old or above. Frequency of using AdU E-learning Frequency Percent (%) Always 3 10 Seldom 15 50 Sometimes 12 40 Never 0 0 Total 30 100 Figure 4. Frequency of using AdU E-learning Figure 4 shows the frequency of using AdU E-learning. 3 out of 30 or 10% of the respondents are always using AdU E-learning. 15 out of 30 or 50% of the respondents are seldom using AdU E-learning. 12 out of 30 or 40% of the respondents are sometimes using AdU E-learning. There were no respondents who never used AdU E-learning. Devices used to access AdU E-learning Frequency Percent (%) Personal Computers 12 40 Computer Rentals 1 3. 33 Laptop 14 46. 67 Tablet 0 0 Android 3 10 Total 30 100 Figure 5. Devices used to access AdU E-learning Figure 5 shows the devices used by the respondents to access AdU E-learning. 12 out of 30 or 40% of the respondents are using personal computers to access AdU E-learning. 1 out of 30 or 3. 33% of the respondents are using computer rentals to access AdU E-learning. 14 out of 30 or 46. 67% of the respondents are using laptops to access AdU E-learning. 3 out of 30 or 10% of the respondents are using androids to access AdU E-learning. There were no respondents who use tablets to access AdU E-learning. Survey proper Academic Performances Frequency Percent (%) Yes 26 86. 67 No 4 13. 33 Total 30 100 Figure 6. Academic Performance Figure 6 shows that 26 out of 30 or 86. 67% of the respondents use AdU E-learning to help on their studies while 4 out of 30 or 13. 33% of the respondents stated that AdU E-learning does not help on their studies. Thus, AdU E-learning can help the students on their studies. Dissemination of Information Frequency Percent (%). Yes 16 53. 33 No 14 46. 67 Total 30 100 Figure 7. Dissemination of Information Figure 7 presents that 16 out of 30 or 53. 33% of the respondents are well-updated about the announcements, agendas and currents events happening in the school through the aid of AdU E-learning while 14 out of 30 or 46. 67% of the respondents are not well-updated about the announcements, agendas and currents events in the school through the aid of AdU E-learning. Thus, AdU E-learning is an efficient aid for keeping the students well-updated about the announcements, agendas and currents events happening in the school. Submission of Requirements Frequency Percent (%) Yes 13 43. 33 No 17 56. 67 Total 30 100 Figure 8. Submission of Requirements (projects, assignments and others) Figure 8 exhibits that 13 out of 30 or 43. 33% of the respondents use AdU E-learning to submit requirements to their professors while 17 out of 30 or 56. 67% of the respondents don’t use AdU E-learning to submit requirements to their professors. Thus, AdU E-learning as a means of submitting requirements to the professors is notyet introduced to most students of Adamson University. Reservation of Subjects Frequency Percent(%) Yes 22 73. 33 No 8 26. 67 Total 30 100 Figure 9. Reservation of Subjects Figure 9 shows that 22 out of 30 or 73. 33% of the respondents stated that reservation of subjects through the AdU E-learning is more convenient while 8 out of 30 or 26. 67% stated that reservation of subjects through AdU E-learning is not convenient. Thus, AdU E-learning makes it more convenient for the students to reserve subjects. Online Posting of Grades Frequency Percent(%) Yes 30 100 No 0 0 Total 30 100 Figure 10. Posting of Grades Figure 10 shows that 30 out of 30 or 100% affirm that posting of grades through AdU E-learning is helpful. There were no respondents who affirm that AdU E-learning’s posting of grades is not helpful. Thus, AdU E-learning’s posting of grades is very helpful to the students of Adamson University. Accessibility to Lessons and Discussions Frequency Percent(%) Yes 20 66. 67 No 10 33. 33 Total 30 100 Figure 11. Accessibility to Lessons and Discussions Figure 10 presents that 20 out of 30 or 66. 67% of the respondents use AdU E-learning as reference for their lessons in class while 10 out of 30 or 33. 33% of the respondents don’t use AdU E-learning as reference for their lessons in class. Thus, AdU E-learning is an effective reference for students’ lessons in class. Accessibility to AdU E-learning Frequency Percent(%) Yes 27 90 No 3 10 Total 30 100 Figure 12. Easy accessibility to AdU E-learning Figure 12 shows that 27 out of 30 or 90% of the respondents have an easy accessibility to AdU E-learning while 3 out of 30 or 10% of the respondents don’t have an easy accessibility to AdU E-learning. Thus, AdU E-learning can be easily accessed by the students. Effectiveness of Keeping Records Frequency Percent(%) Yes 27 90 No 3 10 Total 30 100 Figure 13. Effectiveness of Keeping Records. Figure 13 shows that 27 out of 30 or 90% of the respondents find AdU E-learning as an effective aid for keeping students’ records while 3 out of 30 or 10% of the respondents don’t find AdU E-learning as effective aid for keeping students’ records Thus, AdU E-learning is as an effective aid for keeping students’ record. CHAPTER 5 Conclusions and Recommendations Conclusions: In this study, the following conclusions are derived: 1. Adamson University E-learning is very helpful to the students when it comes to their studies. 2. Adamson University E-learning is a useful means for disseminating information to the students. 3. Adamson University E-learning as a means for online submission of requirements is not yet introduced to most of the students in Adamson University. 4. Adamson University E-learning makes it easier and convenient for the students to reserve their subjects. 5. Posting of grades through Adamson University E-learning is very helpful for the students’ academic awareness. 6. Lectures, may be it a pdf file or a powerpoint presentation, uploaded in Adamson University E-learning by the instructors are of big help for the students. 7. Students find it easy to access Adamson University E-learning because of its user- friendly interface. 8. Adamson University E-learning is an effective aid for keeping students’ record. Recommendations Based on the mentioned conclusions, the following are recommended: 1. The professors should introduce the online submission of requirements through Adamson University E-learning so that it will make things easier and faster. 2. The maintenance of Adamson University E-learning should be focused on so that technical errors and problems can be avoided. 3. Dissemination of information through Adamson University E-learning should also be improved. Bibliography  Books, magazines and encyclopedias Pashler, H. , et. al. (2007). Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning . IES Practice Guide. NCER 2007-2004. National Center for Education Research, 63. Available from: ED Pubs. PO Box 1398Jessup. Singh, G. , et. al. (2005). A Study into the Effects of E-Learning on Higher Education. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice. Arman, A. , et. al. (2009). Effect of E-learning Approach on Students’ Achievement in Biomedical Instrumentation Course at Palestine Polytechnic University. Innovation and Knowledge. Management in Twin Track Economies: Challenges & Solutions, Vols 1-3. K. S. Soliman. Norristown, Int Business Information Management Assoc-Ibima: 1553-1557. Rodgers, T. (2008). Student Engagement in the E-Learning Process and the Impact on Their Grades. International: Journal of Cyber Society and Education. Oye, N. D. (2012). The Impact of E-Learning on StudentsPerformance in Tertiary Institutions. IRACST – International Journal of Computer Networks and Wireless Communications (IJCNWC), ISSN: 2250-3501. Internet www. collegeatlas. org www. academictips. org

Friday, September 27, 2019

Given that users prefer redress mechanisms to be independent, what Essay

Given that users prefer redress mechanisms to be independent, what justifications explain why some parts of redress mechanism are independent and others are not - Essay Example A good example is the tribunals that are managed by independent tribunals that automatically have to be independent. This is for the reason that they function in a quasi-judicial approach that needs no influence from other forces. These tribunals would, therefore, make it easier for implementation of policies of the tribunals. The Ombudsmen services are yet other independent bodies2. They are run under the leadership of independent Ombudsmen, mostly referred to as commissioners. These bodies need to be independent for the reason that they are charged with the responsibility of investigating various complaints from the citizens. In the case of poor administration, or even offering of poor services to the citizens, these organizations ought to operate independently, if the results have to be free and fair. The Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman Offices are the most common in

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Advertising Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 2

Advertising - Essay Example By the calculated market value, it was declared as the 17th largest company in the world. It is also the largest mobile phone service provider in the world with more than 100 million customers around the United States (Belch, G. E., & Belch, M. A. 2001). The markets in which the company is working are diverse inside the United States. The major regions of operations are California, Nevada, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Connecticut. The founder of the company is Alexander Graham Bell who found the corporation after his invention of telephone. Initially its name was set as Bell Telephone Company. Under its subsidiaries, there was a company which was known as American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) which was incorporated in 1885. It acquired Bell Company in 1899 and the main name was set up as AT&T Company instead of Bell Company. After this major acquisition, AT&T attained the monopoly services of telephone in United States by further opening the subsidiaries of company throughout the countries. For a long time period, it remained a monopolistic market leader in telephone services in United States of America. After a long time of enjoyment the monopoly, the US regulators required from the company that they must break their monopoly by turning the whole company in to smaller region based companies individually (John, P. & Watson, W. P. 1986). The new companies were named as Bell operating companies or som etimes they were referred to as baby bells. Because of the act of breaking up, the parent company had to face heavy competition that opened the door for flexibility and creativity in the telephone services in United States. It cleared the new avenues to get the services of telephone more creatively. The competitive edge of the above listed product portfolio provides the main stream points upon which American Telephone and Telegraph Company has earned highest market share. It provides highest

Mental Health Incident Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Mental Health Incident - Essay Example The Driscoll model shall be used as the reflection tool for this paper. Body: Driscoll reflective model What? A description of the event The purpose in returning to this situation is to review my actions and to evaluate whether or not these actions were in accordance with the standards of the practice. I also returned to this situation in order to establish areas of improvement and to evaluate how well I performed in the actual clinical setting. During one of my shifts in my mental health placement, I encountered an aggressive patient, who shall be referred to as Mr. Y, in order to protect his identity and maintain patient confidentiality. He was a 22 year old male patient diagnosed recently with schizophrenia. When I first approached him, he was very wary and nervous. I initially introduced myself to him and maintained a comfortable distance of about 4 feet. He was sitting on a stool looking angrily at anyone who approached him. His medication was due and I was tasked with administe ring it. Accompanied by my mentor, I approached the patient, introduced myself and said that his oral medication was due and I was there to help him take it. As I was talking, I noted that he was on the verge of aggression so I kept a safe distance from him. I waited for him to respond, but then he suddenly stood up and tried to lunge at me. I stepped away from him before he could grab me and my mentor and the other staff nurses immediately grabbed him before he could inflict any physical harm. The staff told me to proceed in giving him the medication. Since, it was an oral medication, it was difficult to administer as he clenched his jaw and tried to bite off my fingers. With some assistance from the staff members I was able to administer the medication. After the incident, he was immediately restrained and strapped to the bed. During the incident, I observed that I physically prepared myself for a possible attack from an aggressive patient, and that based on the quick response of the staff and my mentor, they were also expecting aggression from the patient. They also sensed possible aggression based on the demeanour of the patient before the incident. The assistance which was given to me during the incident was very much welcome because I would not have been able to handle the aggressive patient on my own. The main element I observed in the situation is the period of escalation from a possibly aggressive patient. The study by Beech and Leather (2003) indicate that the escalation of aggression can often be observed from the patient’s demeanour, his failure to cooperate with the staff and then finally his actual physical act of aggression. Dunn and colleagues (2007) discuss that there may be various interventions which could have been done to de-escalate his aggression and prevent the actual act of aggression. Dunn, et.al., (2007) also point out that the act of physically restraining the patient is often commonly used for these aggressive patients. Chem ical restraints could have been administered however, the staff explained that chemical restraints might not interact well with his current medications. Melillo and Houde (2011) discuss the chemical restraints administered alongside psychopharmacological drugs can have adverse interactions and can cause further agitation and confusion. Stewart, et.al., (2009) also discuss that maintaining a therapeutic distance from mental health patients is crucial in the protection of one’

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Have services closed the gap in delivering appropriate support in dual Literature review

Have services closed the gap in delivering appropriate support in dual diagnosis working - Literature review Example Likewise, patients that suffer from mental illness are quite likely to sustain their substance use habits throughout their life as compared to people who are mentally healthy (Mueser, Noordsy, and Drake 6). Therefore, it can be said that the disorders of an individual’s mood serve as the risk factor for other disorders that are related to the use of substance and vice versa (Westermeyer, Weiss, and Ziedonis 69). Depression, anxiety and tension are some of the types of upsets in the mental health (Department of Health cited in The Scottish Government). Substances most commonly abused are marijuana, heroin, tobacco, alcohol and alcoholic medicines. Treatment of such people requires the medical practitioner to study the history of the individual and find out which of the two occurred with the individual first. Either he/she acquired the mental illness first which probably caused him/her to consume drugs in order to relieve the tension, or else, he/she first became addicted to dru gs which later led the individual to the deteriorated mental health and low self esteem. There are many ways this can happen. For instance, some people get the psychotic episode triggered upon smoking marijuana (â€Å"Dual Diagnosis†). ... Once someone gets addicted to a substance, he/she starts taking it more frequently than others would mostly do. In such circumstances, all an intervention can do is to reduce the frequency with which the substance is consumed by the client. Thus, a service provider may effectively reduce the quantity of substance consumption, though the achievement of quality in intervention requires consideration of the problem at a much detailed and deeper level. Many service providers resort to such methods of treatment as counseling, prescribing substitutes for substances and encouraging group work. Mostly, these are the only techniques available to most practitioners, and their usability is limited. Reaching the correct underlying factors is extremely essential for appropriate treatment, which can not be achieved unless the addiction has been reduced to a considerably lower level. â€Å"If your client has chronic substance dependence, making substance treatment successful has to be the goal ove r accessing mental health services† (Thomas). The service of mental health assumes the main responsibility of offering comprehensive care to the people that suffer from such mental problems as co-morbid substance use problems and schizophrenia. Mental health service can be used to provide people with long term care and supervision than most services related to substance misuse can offer. According to results of the research conducted by (Menezes cited in Hughes 5), one third of the total number of users of mental health service are individuals that have combined problems of mental health. Cannabis, alcohol and other stimulants are some of the most widely consumed things

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

American International Group (AIG) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

American International Group (AIG) - Essay Example These resulted when AIG was encountered with ratings downgrades. The company underwent demands of tens of billions of dollars for cash collateral on the credit default swops that were written by financial products and assured by the investing company. Some of the world’s biggest financial institutions managed to hedge their contribution in the risky credit default swap business living AIG struggling on its own (Roth and Buchwalter, 1). AIG selected the federal office of Thrift supervision (OTS) after purchasing a saving’s loan in 1999, which was an agency charged with supervision of savings, loan banks and economy associations. OTS became the primary regulator of the company. Notably AIG financial products are not a licensed insurance agency; therefore, it was not synchronized by the states. The financial product is primarily an investment that is based in London. It managed to evade control, as provided by the British financial services authority, principally because O TS, which was an equivalent regulator of the British regulatory body, had registered the AIG holding company. Nonetheless, even though OTS accepted its part as the holding company regulator, it should be understood that credit swaps were exempted from regulation by British policies thus preventing the states from regulating these instruments (Dinallo, 4). Collateralized Death Obligations Most people buy life insurance for the profit off their family members or those that rely on their on their earnings. Banks would buy a large number of life settlements to create the collateral pool which they would expect to begin making payment as earlier as probable. However, risks arise when the insurer fails to meet the death gain claim. This policy entails that investors will persist in paying out premiums on insurance and will eventually get the payout once a person dies. If the policyholder encounters his death earlier, this will entail that the returns will be immense. However, if there is a greater increase in life expectancy for a certain segment of the populace. Companies such as AIG lose money in downturns when claims mount which at times may result in bankruptcy (Lewitt, 183). Recently AIG has sought to garner support among investors and credit ratings companies for a deal that is highly viewed as controversial. This is the sale of securities supported by insurance guidelines of the aging people. However, this has gained few customers as critics refer to these deals as death bonds because they principally pay once the insured person has demised. The giant insurer’s life-settlements portfolio overall sum is $18 billion in anticipated death benefits. This is in regard to the company’s financial filings which has witnessed an approximation of over $45 billion traded since the market started over a decade ago. The AIG activity in a way depicts the company’s entrepreneurial culture as well as exhibiting hoe the company has fallen in last few years as it strived to raise funds to repay the government bailout, thus resulting on it making little profits (Sullivan, 1). Credit Default Swaps (CDS)

Monday, September 23, 2019

Original topic in Advanced MAcroeconomics Essay

Original topic in Advanced MAcroeconomics - Essay Example The balance of payments is usually in deficit. (Adams, 2002, pp. 53-55) A country’s fiscal policy is the mix of government expenditure and revenue collection mechanism in an economy. Historically, governments collect revenues from taxes and their expenditures include public sector expenditures. (Auerbach, 1997, p. 88) A country’s monetary policy is a combination of activities by the state bank or central bank, the government and other financial institutions to control the demand and supply of money and interest rates in an economy. In a nutshell, the effect of each is dependent on the other and that is what the monetary policy aims to control. (Walsh, 2003, pp. 9-12) This case focuses on primarily on monetary policy. To gain a better understanding of how a monetary policy works, we first need to understand its two components i.e. money supply and interest rates. Money supply is generally divided into M1 and M2. Further classifications may also exist. The divisions are based on liquidity of the funds. M1 funds are the most liquid funds and include cash, very short term securities or securities equivalent to cash. M2 funds include those funds which are slightly less liquid than cash like current account deposits. As the liquidity decreases, the number after M increases. In my opinion interest rate is basically the cost of money. It is also the cost of borrowing or the return on investment. Interest rates have two components. The discount rate which is set by the central bank and is the rate at which the central bank lends to commercial banks. The other component is the market interest rate. I believe it differs because of bank’s spreads and their portfolio of customers. In my opinion, the developed nations have always moved towards a relaxed monetary policy as they promote free trade and trade liberalization. In addition the existing well defined systems in these economies allowed for and

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Developing Oral Language Summary Essay Example for Free

Developing Oral Language Summary Essay Oral language and written language are essential skills that are needed for comprehension. Comprehension is defined as an understanding of oral and written language. In order for a child to comprehend what they are reading, several factors must come into play. Reading and decoding the words effortlessly without errors is the main step toward comprehension. When a child is reading text, they are experiencing phonemic awareness by sounding out the words in their mind. Writing is the next step toward comprehension. Writing goes hand in hand with reading. When a child is writing, they are also sounding out the words in their mind. Adults play a huge role in how children develop oral language skills. Automatic language is part of our everyday routines and children learn by â€Å"listening and speaking, phonological awareness and alphabetic knowledge, print awareness, comprehension, and writing† (Virginia.gov, n.d.). When students are learning to read and write, they do so simultaneously. It used to be thought that students should learn how to read first and then learn how to write. However, research has shown that learning to write while learning to read is important and vital in the development of reading (Pearson, D. 2007). A student needs to be able to read and write fluently in order to comprehend the material. In order to comprehend academic language, which is what students will use in school, there are certain concepts that a student must learn. Students need to learn syntax which is how words are formed to be able to create sentences void of errors. Students need to semantics which is defined as the meaning of language. Students should be able to cognitively understand and think about what they are reading. They also need to know how to use the language which is known as pragmatics. Through the use of various resources, students build up their vocabulary and strengthen their abilities to read fluently. â€Å"†¦the larger the reader’s vocabulary (either oral or print), the easier it is to make sense of the text† (National Institute,.n.d.). At this point, they will learn text structure and how sentences are strewn together. Of course, this all depends on what genre of text they are attempting to read and how complex the text in regards to the grade specific text they are reading. Being able to comprehend what one is reading all depends on what mood the student is in at the time. The student should be motivated and interested in the reading material. They need to understand the purpose of the reading; is it for enjoyment or for a school assignment? All of these are key factors that lead to comprehension. Another element of comprehension is cognitive targets. Cognitive targets are defined as the way a person comprehends or thinks about what is being read. The targets are locate and recall, integrate and interpret, and critique and evaluate. Locate and recall refers to locating or recalling something specific, such as the main idea, about the text they have read. Integrate and interpret refers to how a student can explain or compare what they have read. Critique and evaluate refers to how a student exams the text or evaluates certain parts of the text. Students practice these cognitive targets in both literary and informational texts. Examples of literary text include poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. â€Å"Informational texts include three broad categories: exposition; argumentation and persuasive text; and procedural text and documents texts† (NAEP). There are specific forms of instruction to improve comprehension and are most effective when taught together if possible. Comprehension monitoring is when a person is aware that they understand what is being read. Cooperative learning is when a group of students learn to read together. Graphic and semantic organizers are tools that readers use to represent material so that it is easier to comprehend. Question generation and question answering is when a reader asks themselves questions about the text and answers questions from the teacher. Story structure is when students are able to remember the main part of the story and answer questions about the story. Summarization is when a student reads text material and is able to generalize the entire text into a shorter passage. According to the article, Writing to Read, â€Å"instructional recommendations have shown clear results for improving students’ reading† (Graham S., Hebert. M., 2010). When these are other instructional methods are implemented into the reading process, comprehension can be very effective. This is especially true if these methods are built on top of an already developed language, strong background knowledge, and a high vocabulary. When teaching students comprehension through oral language and writing, teachers need to incorporate English language learners into their curriculum. English language learners may have linguistic issues and cultural background issues that are not only preventing comprehension, but also preventing reading and writing to begin with. As a teacher, it is crucial to first assess the ELL’s reading status to find out exactly where they are in the reading process. If so, what strategies can be implemented to better teacher the ELL’s. Also, a teacher needs to assess whether the student’s cultural background is preventing them from understanding the language. If this is the case, the teacher needs to learn the student’s background in order to assess where they are coming from academically. Not unlike native English learners, socioeconomic background can have an effect on how an ELL student is doing in school. According to the article, Cultural and Linguistic Impact, Patricia C. Salazar explains, â€Å"A student who comes from an educated middle-class family will have a different approach to learning than one who comes from a war-torn region of the world where food is scarce, and tragedy and trauma are daily occurrences† (Salazar, PC. 2009). Teaching an ELL student how to develop oral and written language will come from a successful assessment of the student. In order for a student to be successful at comprehension, oral language and written language skills must be mastered first. Reading is enhanced by written language and writing is enhanced by oral language. To facilitate a child’s learning, parents and teachers should provide as many resources as possible to accomplish this. In order to comprehend oral and written language, the student needs to be motivated and be reading grade specific text in order for the student to retain what they are reading. Cognitive targets are useful in facilitating comprehension and used regularly. Teachers also use different forms of instruction when teaching students how to build oral and written language. Finally, when teaching English language learners how to develop oral and written language, it is imperative that the teacher first learn of any linguistic or background issues and adjust their curriculum accordingly. It is crucial that educators teach students how to develop oral and written language in order to be successful academically. References Graham, S. Hebert, M. (2010). Writing to Read: Evidence for how Writing can Improve Reading. Vanderbilt University. Carnegie Corporation, NY. Retrieved from: http://carnegie.org/fileadmin/Media/Publications/WritingToRead_01.pdf Language Development. (n.d.). Retrieved from: http://languagedevelopment.tripod.com/id11.html Language and Literacy Language. (n.d.). Retrieved from: and Literacy http://www.dss.virginia.gov/files/division/cc/provider_training_development/intro_page/publications/milestones/milestones_individually/05.pdf National Center for Education Statistics. (n.d.). National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Retrieved from: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/reading/whatmeasure.asp National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2000). What Works in Comprehension Instruction. Retrieved from: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/105/ Pearson, D.P. (2007). Reading Researcher Advocates Strengthening Literacy Programs Through Reading-Writing Synergy. Retrieved from: https://portal.flsouthern.edu/ICS/icsfs/reading_writing_synergy.pdf?target=7fde5bd4-34ca-4c2a-9b7b-3cf7f64718b8

Saturday, September 21, 2019

E-marketing strategies for Nestle

E-marketing strategies for Nestle Consumers buying behaviour and want often changed rapidly as the trend of the market and the current fad had worked closely with the advancement of technology. Marketing has also moved to helping the buyer to buy rather than the traditional way of advertising that more towards to helping seller to sell which lead to companies to use the Internet as the effective tool to provide the customer with information and gained their buying decision whilst develop a lasting relationship. (Charlesworth, 2009). There are numerous of companies set up their business online, as a result, each business owner has to come out with new and appropriate e-marketing strategies in order for their company to be one step further or stay competitive with its rivals. As in the food manufacturer industry, Nestlà © (M) Bhd. had growth and made expansion throughout Malaysian which became the trusted names in every household from generation to generation. As to move along with the current fab, Nestlà © (M) Bhd a lso breaking its traditional ways of advertising and penetrate into the Internet world in order to stay on top of the summit of food manufacturer leader in the country and increase the company Return on Investment. 2.0 Introduction E-business has become in vogue because of it benefits such as cost effective, enable better customer relationship, gaining competitive advantage and etc. By making the appropriate and critical use of e-marketing strategies and practices through Internet, companies can achieve their objectives and sustain competitive advantage over its rivals. As for this report, Nestlà © (M) Bhd. will be chosen as the case study. Nestlà © Malaysia is the food manufacturer which manufactures its products in 7 factories and operates from its head office in Mutiara Damansara, and 6 other offices in Malaysia. Nestlà © Malaysia manufactures more than 300 Halal products with the brand name such as MILO, NESCAFÉ, MAGGI, NESPRAY, KIT KAT and etc. (See Appendix 1 for Nestlà © Malaysias history) In this business report, it illustrates e-marketing strategies of Nestlà © (M) Bhd. that can be adopted to achieve the objective of the company, which are likely to produce the best of Return on Investment (ROI). In order to achieve this objective, Nestlà © (M) Bhd. can: Build and market Nestlà © Brand via internet Advertise and attract more online users to Nestlà ©s website Improve online sales and boost business profit Develop and build relationship with customer base The e-marketing strategies recommended to Nestlà © (M) Bhd. to implement to achieve the company Return of Investment (ROI) as mentioned above are website development, viral marketing, affiliate marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), domain name, online advertising and email marketing. 3.0 E-marketing Strategies Nestlà © Malaysia can be Adopted to Achieve the best of Return on Investment (ROI) 3.1 Website Development To achieve the objective of Nestlà © Malaysia to produce the best of Return on Investment (ROI), developing and designing a good website is the most important and initial stage in the e-marketing strategies. Based on the Internet World Stats (Figure 1), Asia has the highest percentage of Internet users in the world; this shows that Asia is an Internet-mature country among the world and this indicates a potential online market whereby Internet is currently a fad tool for them to look for information, therefore, a quality website design is a key to attract more online users to Nestlà © Malaysias website. 3.1.1 Presentation Based on Dr. Wilson (2003), the splash pages which is the home pages with dancing logos powered by Macromedia Flash technology designed to annoy and turn away visitors before they reach the real home page. Charlesworth, (2009) states that a website should be designed for its target readership and is easy to find information. In the case of Nestlà © Malaysia, some of the webpage of it brands such as NESLAC, MAGGIE are designed with Flash type technologies. Nestlà © Malaysia can improve on this area because a web page is designed for key audience and sending messages around their needs and glossy graphic form the Flash will grabs attention and brand association from the audience. (Tobin, 2008). Nestlà © Malaysia also has to ensure that the entire site is consistent, with every page in the site is follow the same layout and structure. Besides, in terms of the subject of the page width, the site should be user printed friendly by setting the page width not more than the maximum width of 750 pixels to conveniences the visitors when they want to do print-out from the site. The site also should avoid using the large images especially on the front page as this will slower down the download time of the site and simply turn away the impatient web users. (Charlesworth, 2009). 3.1.2 Usability According to Charlesworth (2009), website usability is to aid visitor to achieve their objectives for visiting the site in the simplest as easiest way. Most of the Internet users are used to a certain user interface elements where they usually reluctant to learn or adapt new thing with just to use the website. Nestlà © Malaysia should design its sites with a clear categorization of its brands. In a case of a user would like to look for the information regarding Growing Up Milk, the site should easily link to the user, e.g. Brands > Milk > Growing Up Milk > NESPRAY. This is vital as a smooth visitors flow will definitely adding percentage of turning an Internet browser into e-shopper. As Nestlà © Malaysias website comes along with many pages with its myriad of product brands, the navigation of the site should be taking into account. This is because some of the users might not arrive on the front page when they enter the site, so there is a possible risk for this potential users might not aware of other content from the site. Nestlà © Malaysia should ensure that the in-site search facility they provided will offer a marketing message, i.e. search again, whenever there are no matching products for the users particular search. 3.1.3 Content According to Chen Barnes (2007), shoppers make purchase decisions based on the information provided by the sites. Besides, content is being recognized by the users where a successful Internet presence has always been about effectively delivery of the information of the visitors wants Content is king!. Nestlà © Malaysia should always -update the content of its site by providing the latest and useful information of the product for each of its brands. Nestlà © Malaysia also can give a description of ingredients used, dietary exchange per serving and allergen information such as eggs, milk, soy to steer clear of consequences of customers who are allergic to certain ingredients of each of its brand products. By adopting the web as a commercial medium, Nestlà © Malaysia can benefited in a way that it can deliver its products such as products promotion, newly launched products through a direct and information oriented manner to the web users. This can help Nestlà © Malaysia to lower their cost for postage, printing cost, television commercial cost that incur when using the traditional advertising. 3.2 Viral Marketing Viral marketing have the extremely powerful effect in the form of word-of-mouth advertising techniques which utilizes the popularity of online social networks, forums, email, blogs and other resources to deliver marketing message and hence bring exponential business growth. Nestlà © Malaysia can market and build its brands through these channels such as Facebook, MySpace, Tagged, Twitter. According to Figure 2, more than 30 billion pieces of content such as web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc had been shared each month in Facebook. Nestlà © Malaysia can use Facebook to build the brand of its products as the company can target these number of users in Facebook to promote the brands. For instance, Jane a Facebook user who shared her newly experiences on the taste of Nestlà © new products, MAGGI ® TASTYLITEà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ Atta Whole Wheat Instant Noodle by uploading pictures of her having the noodles will certainly draw the attention of her Facebook users friends to browse on the Nestlà ©s website. This can lead to the increase of sales of Nestlà © and helps Nestlà © to achieve the Return on Investment. Based on the graph above (Figure 3), the numbers of visitors to Twitter.com in May are exceeding 20 million. The users of Twitter often post their daily status on their account and many user of Twitter will follow their friends tweets. This can help Nestlà © if for instance, Alan a Twitter user who satisfy after experienced with Nestlà © products and posted the review on his Twitter account, this will more likely to let his friend who follow his tweet will make purchase of Nestlà ©s product if they have read positive comments from the tweet. 3.2.1 Criteria that requires for Successful Viral Campaign Nestlà © Malaysia has to ensure that the information on its site is: Easy to forward For instance, Nestlà © should making sure that its website enhance a good usability techniques that will make the receiver to pass the information of the sites on to others. The Nestlà © site can add in the email to a friend button on every product so the visitors can easily share the information with their friends. (Charlesworth, 2009) Right target audience Nestlà © Malaysia can provide more details information regarding the products so that the receiver will realize which message are suitable to forward to their friends. Take for example, the dairy products from Nestlà © Malaysia can be range from growing up milk to adult milk, therefore, Nestlà © should categorized its products accordingly so that the consumers will only forward the message to their friends in accordance to their needs. (Charlesworth, 2009) Message is placed where it can be seen Nestlà © Malaysia not only can target its products information message and ads on mailing list but it only can place them on an appropriate website, blog. For instance, Nestlà © Malaysia can place its product on the local famous food blog such as Criz Bon Appetite blog because there were many blog viewers who followed the blog and therefore they will also notice on Nestlà ©s ads. (Charlesworth, 2009) 3.3 Affiliate Marketing There were many types of affiliate marketing such as Pay-Per-Click (PPC), Pay-Per-Sale (PPS) advertising, loyalty websites, email lists and etc. Nestlà © Malaysia can use affiliate marketing as one of its marketing strategy to improve its sales while build up its brand and finally lead to produce the best of Return on Investment. For example, Nestlà © Malaysia can advertise its products in ClickBank.com where Nestlà © Malaysia itself become the vendor in ClickBank and wait for the affiliate marketers in ClickBank to promotes its products. Then, the marketers in ClickBank will promote the Nestlà © products on the Internet, if any buyers who click and browse on the marketers link, ClickBank will charge on Nestlà © in the share profits basis upon a successful purchase. This type of charging are knows as Pay-Per-Click (PPC). One of the advantages of Nestlà © through this strategy is that it will have a wider place to sell its products and the more websites that publish by the marketers will naturally provide more customers and create more sales. As through this strategy, it will help Nestlà © to build up the brand name of and at the same time increase sales volume and achieve time efficiency. 3.4 Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Search engine optimization is one of the very potent e-marketing approaches that can help Nestlà © Malaysia in achieving its objective of producing the best of Return on Investment by increase the traffic to its website. This can be done by enhancing the visibility and accessibility to Nestlà © Malaysia website from search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, Baidu and etc. According to the Jupiter Media Metrix, surveyed resulted that 47% of web users said that the most common way they find products or online stores is through search engines. The top 10 results to the search query get 78% more web traffic as compared to the subsequent listing. (Strauss, El-ansary, and Frost, 2003). 3.4.1 Comparison of daily traffic rank trend between Nestle Malaysia Berhad Unilever Malaysia from Jun-Aug10 of both Based on Figure 4 5, Nestle Malaysia ranked number 205,070 while Unilever Malaysia ranked number 1,199,354 in the world according to the alexa traffic rank. This indicates that Nestle Malaysia had a very low percentages visitors visit on their sites as compared to its competitor, Unilever Malaysia. The fraction of visits to the site referred by search engines for Nestle Malaysia is roughly 11% while approximately 45% for Unilever Malaysia. Unilever Malaysia is relatively popular among users in the city of Kuala Lumpur which ranked #14,163. Figure 6 illustrates that Google dominated the market share of search engine in Asia which is about 86.30 percent out of the total market share. In order to gain competitive advantage and to increase the website traffic, Nestlà © Malaysia should adopt search engine optimization strategy through the famous search engines Google. Besides, Ottos Cookies also can place their advertisement in Google AdSense so that online users will aware of Ottos Cookies website that appeared on the various websites of Google. This also can help Nestlà © Malaysia to gain more visitors to their websites. 3.4.2 Advantages of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) The advantage of search engine optimization is that it can deliver Nestlà © Malaysia website among the top ranked sites in the web. There will be a greater likelihood of internet users visiting Nestlà © Malaysia website if it is ranked on top of the first page as compared to the website ranked at third or latter page of search engines. Moreover, search engine optimization also aids Nestlà © Malaysia in promoting the brand on the related award Nestlà © Malaysia has won such as the Asian Marketing Effectiveness Awards (AMEA) 2007 from the NESCAFÉ Kick-Start category. This will definitely lead to the visitors decision and assist visitors to come up o purchasing Nestlà © Malaysia products. 3.5 Domain Name The domain name of the company is the fundamental when considering the website as the company brand. According to Murphy and Scharl (2007), an effective online presence is crucial to a brands internet success whereby a successful online presence came in place. This can be successful when customers can found the brand name when they type the brand name followed by the global or the country suffix in the search engines. By using the company trademark or its brand name can certainly helps consumers to quickly find the site and adds power to the brands. (Strauss, El-Ansary, and Frost, 2006). This is added-value to Nestlà © Malaysia which registered the domain name with the local country suffix as nestle.com.my. Besides, Nestlà © Malaysia also can create multiple domain names to cover variations of it products brand as well by using the top search engines- Google to promote its domain name. This can help Nestlà © Malaysia to promote its websites and attain more online users to its site. 3.6 Online Advertising Nestlà © Malaysia objective is to produce greater Return on Investment by creating brand awareness of the public through the medium of Internet. As for this, Nestlà © Malaysia can use the online advertising as it is the powerful tool to start and strengthen relationships with customers in brand promotion. Nestlà © Malaysia can place their advertisements of their various brand of product through the web. For instance, Nestlà © Malaysia can apply one of the forms of paid advertising models such as Pay-Per-Click (PPC). (Charlesworth, 2009). By using Pay-Per-Click advertising, Nestlà © Malaysia can place their advertisement in Google AdWords whereby Nestlà © Malaysia advertisement will appear in the search results of Google when people search on Google using one of its keywords. For instance, the keywords of good food, good life will immediately link Nestlà © site on top of the search engines. Nestlà © Malaysia will only have to pay to Google on performance when the users click on the advertisement of Nestlà © Malaysia. However, the keyword bid in Google also might be affected by the Clickthrough rate (CTR). The keyword bid of Google are depends on its quality score. If the previous ads of Nestlà © Malaysia had been attracting many clicks from the users, naturally this good track of record will gain more credit. This is a disadvantage for the first time advertisers as they will be penalized as they do not have record of history. (Charlesworth, 2009). With the increase number of information, people and time spend on Internet; Nestlà © Malaysia can easily promote its brand through online advertising. Besides, by using the Pay-Per-Click advertising, Nestlà © Malaysia can easily track the number of people who gets to know their advertisement and this can help them to trace the popularity of their brand in the Internet and also the effectiveness of their advertisement. Moreover, Nestlà © Malaysia also can advertise its brands on the blog and forum in the form of banner ads. For instance, the famous social media sites such as Blogger, Lowyat.net forum and etc. There is also community websites where Nestlà © Malaysia can post its ads as the content of the community websites is decided by the community members. (Charlesworth, 2009). In addition, online advertising also has greater range as compared to publications such as TV advertising which cater to a particular geographical area. As Internet can reach people around the world, Nestlà © Malaysia brand will be recognized globally and hence this can create business opportunity by bringing Nestlà © Malaysia out of the country. 3.7 Email Marketing Nestlà © Malaysia can specially create lists of consumers who agree to receive email to have the privileges to redeemed special rewards such as gift certificate from Nestlà © Malaysia to attract consumers to give them permission to email them on relevant news from Nestlà © Malaysia. This can attract more consumers to visit their website and at the same time brush up Nestlà © Malaysia brand name. Additionally, Nestlà © Malaysia can request the consumers email address and information used to registers a site when they make an online or offline purchase. By doing so, Nestlà © Malaysia actually can give online memberships to their customers who register to their websites and for every new registered customers will entitle extra discounts when make purchase on their products. This can help Nestlà © Malaysia to targets their consumers based on geography, age, income, spending powers and etc. Nestlà © Malaysia gets to build and maintain the relationship through a variety of communications such as newsletters, special offers or promotions to members, and customer services. With email marketing, Nestlà © Malaysia can transmit their email about the company products and services promotions instantly to the potential customers with literally just the click of a mouse and this factor already make email marketing strategy an extremely cost effective. In addition, as compared to offline normal postage, email advertising is faster and convenient. There are also no printing and postage charges required for email advertising. 4.0 Conclusion and Recommendation It is important to Nestlà © Malaysia to have a better understanding on how the e-marketing strategies will bring effects towards achieving the company objective of producing the best of Return on Investment. Applying the appropriate strategies based on the company needs will help the company to stay competitive and stand strong in the market. In order to be better and having more opportunities than the rivals, the e-marketing strategies that chosen by the company also must compatible with current fad of the market and be creative from others in the sense that it also should applicable to the company. (3310 words) 5.0 Harvard Referencing 5.1 Book Resources Charlesworth, A., 2009. Internet marketing: a practical approach. Slovenia: Butterworth-Heinemann. Strauss, J., El-Ansary, A. and Frost, R., 2006. E-marketing. 4th ed. United States of America: Pearson Prentice Hall. Turban, E., King, D., Viehland, D. and Lee, J., 2006. Electronic Commerce A Managerial Perspective. 4th ed., United States of America: Pearson Prentice Hall. 5.2 Electronic Resources Alexa Internet, 2010. Nestle Malaysia Berhad. [Online] Available at: http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/nestle.com.my# [Accessed 20 August 2010]. Alexa Internet, 2010. Unilever-static Version. [Online] Available at: http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/unilever.com.my [Accessed 20 August 2010]. Available at: http://www.crizfood.com/ [Accessed 15 August 2010]. ClickBank, 2010. [Online] Available at: http://www.clickbank.com/index.html [Accessed 16 August 2010]. Facebook ,2010. Press room: Statistics. [Online]. Available at: http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics [Accessed 18 August 2010]. Folio Snap, 2010. Twelve reasons not to have flash website. [Online] Available at: http://www.foliosnap.com/whynotflash.php [Accessed 10 August 2010]. Google AdSense. Maximize revenue from your online content. [Online] Available at: https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?service=adsenserm=hidefpui=3nui=15alwf=trueltmpl=adsensepassive=truecontinue=https://www.google.com/adsense/gaiaauth2followup=https://www.google.com/adsense/gaiaauth2hl=en_US [Accessed 22 August 2010]. Google Adwords. Advertise your business on Google. [Online] Available at: https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?service=adwordshl=en_USltmpl=adwordspassive=trueifr=falsealwf=truecontinue=https://adwords.google.com/um/gaiaauth%3Fapt%3DNone%26ugl%3Dtruegsessionid=dv6snIDEoVr750b7WVNf8g [Accessed 25 August 2010]. Internet World Stats, 2010. Internet Users in the World Distribution by World Regions 2010. [Online] (Updated 30 June 2010) Available at: http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm [Accessed 9 August 2010]. Maggie, 2010. Lets masak-masak. [Online] Available at: http://www.maggi.com.my/ [Accessed 9 August 2010]. Murphy, J., Scharl, A., 2007. An investigation of global versus local online branding. International Marketing Review, [Online] 24(3), pp. 297-312. Available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/02651330710755302 [Accessed 8 August 2010]. Nestlà ©, 2010. Neslac excella gold. [Online] Available at: http://www.excellencebeginsyoung.com.my/ [Accessed 8 August 2010]. Nestlà ©, 2010. Nestlà © insights: Awards and Recognition. [Online] Available at: http://www.nestle.com.my/Nestle+Insights/Corporate+Information/awards.htm [Accessed 23 August 2010]. Nestlà ©, 2010. Nestlà © insights: Awards and Recognition. [Online] Available at: http://www.nestle.com.my/Nestle+Insights/Corporate+Information/awards.htm [Accessed 23 August 2010]. Nestlà ©, 2010. Nestlà © insights: Nestlà © in Malaysia. [Online] Available at: http://www.nestle.com.my/nestle+insights/corporate+information/nestleinmalaysia [Accessed 8 August 2010]. StatCounter Global Stats, 2010. Top 5 search engines in Asia from Jan 10 to Aug 10. [Online] Available at: http://gs.statcounter.com/#search_engine-as-monthly-201001-201008-bar [Accessed 21 August 2010]. TechCrunch, 2010. Costolo:Twitter now has 190 million users tweeting 64 million times a day. [Online] Available at: http://techcrunch.com/2010/06/08/twitter-190-million-users/ [Accessed 15 August 2010].

Friday, September 20, 2019

Economics of Energy: Shale Oil

Economics of Energy: Shale Oil Economics of Energy As every nation endures the global recession, countries invest on various types of energy sources that offer the maximum benefits. There are many variations on energy that can be used such as solar energy, nuclear energy, wind-generated energy and shale oil reserves. Each type of energy has different economic benefits. At present times, shale oil reserves are to watch out for. Shale oil reserves are usually undeveloped given that the process of extracting its oil is a difficult process. However, the latest technology unfolds the overwhelming potential of shale oil exploration. The accessibility of shale oil resources across the globe and the effect of increased shale oil production have influence that extends further than the rest of competitors in energy industry. In contrast, other sources of energy offer economic benefits as well but only differ with costs incurred. Among all energy sources, nuclear energy helps to reduce air pollution, balance the Earths weather, avoid acid rain, and depletion of ozone layer. Nuclear power plants are environment-friendly source of energy. There are many economic benefits of using nuclear power plants. Nuclear power plants are a good source of income while it incurs low costs on operation. In the United States, it is their second largest source of power. Aside from stability in future price, it also avoids the import on fuel. Although the economic benefits of nuclear power are great, the hype on shale oil exploration overshadows the nuclear industry. As many nuclear power plants are offline, most of them would find it easier to build new turbines for gas exploration than repair nuclear reactors. According to the Climate News Network in London, most of the nuclear reactors in the United States and Canada are shutting down since shale gas produces cheaper power (Brown, 2013, para.1). Moreover, the investment costs required for nuclear power plant is higher compared to shale oil exploration. Hence, the economic benefits of shale gas are better than nuclear power. Another source of energy is the solar power. This type of energy captures the photovoltaic cells that transform sunlight into electrical energy. Its edge among other sources of energy is that sunlight is free; hence, its energy is infinitely renewable. In the future, the cost of solar power is expected to decline below market price. To compare solar energy and shale gas, the latter has many variables to consider on its relevant costs such as land costs, drilling costs, corporate overhead and others. Hence, solar energy is more economic than shale gas when it comes to expenditures. Lastly, wind-generated energy is also an alternative source of electricity. Wind turbines convert the wind that passes through the blades into electricity. One of the challenges on wind energy industry is its disadvantage on costs. Its technology needs a hi gher amount of initial outlay than fossil fuels. Hence, shale gas is more cost-competitive compared to wind-generated electricity. Economic Costs and Profits of Shale Oil Exploration Computation for economic costs basically includes explicit costs, real costs and opportunity costs (EconomicConcepts.com, 2012, n.p.). On the other hand, economic profit is the difference between revenue and costs incurred. In this section, the economic costs are cash outlays, opportunity costs, transportation expense to China and Beijing Costs, Insurance and Freight (CFI). Below is a table of the writer’s own model of economic costs and profits of shale exploration (Figure 1). The figures are rounded off to the nearest whole number. Economic Costs and Profit for Shale Oil Exploration Total Revenue $ 12,000,000,000.00 Explicit Costs Pipeline costs Materials $ 8,000,000.00 Miscellaneous Expenses $ 1,000,000.00 $ 9,000,000.00 Land (934400 acres x $ 5000 per acre) $ 4,600,000,000.00 Well Cost (50 wells x $5,000,000 rate per well) $ 250,000,000.00 Drilling Costs $ 14,000,000.00 Transportations Costs (Cost Insurance Freight to Beijing, China) (6000 trucks x $8000 rate per truck) $ 48,000,000.00 $ 4,921,000,000.00 Total Explicit Costs Real Costs Labor $ 11,500,000.00 Total Real Cost $ 11,500,000.00 Opportunity Costs Opportunity Costs $ 50,000,000.00 Total Opportunity Costs $ 50,000,000.00 Total Economic Costs $ 4,982,500,000.00 Total Economic Profit $ 7,017,500,000.00 Figure 1. Sample Model of Total Economic Costs and Profit for Shale Oil Exploration In Figure 1, the figures indicated are merely estimates through extensive research. In the explicit costs, the costs incurred are for pipeline, land, well, drilling and transportations. These are costs that are directly attributed to the shale gas exploration. The estimates used for rate per acre, well, and truck are average computation for each account. Secondly, real cost includes all the labor costs incurred to extract oil from the shale. Lastly, the opportunity cost pertains to the amount which could have been earned using other alternatives such as nuclear power plant and so on. In the illustration, total revenue exceeds the total costs incurred which results to an economic profit of $7 Billion. Hence, the model shows a cash-generating shale oil exploration. The next illustration (Figure 2) shows the extended model of Figure 1. Expanded Computation for Economic Cost and Profit of Shale Oil Exploration Total Revenue $ 12,000,000,000.00 Total Economic Costs $ 4,982,500,000.00 Other Costs Decommission Cost Waste Disposal costs $ 384,500,000.00 Labor $ 568,050,000.00 Used-fuel Storage costs $ 211,230,000.00 $ 1,163,780,000.00 Operation or Fracking Expense $ 1,230,500,000.00 Construction Expense $ 805,080,000.00 Total Economic Cost $ 8,181,860,000.00 Total Economic Profit $ 3,818,140,000.00 Figure 2. Expanded Computation for Economic Cost and Profit of Shale Oil Exploration In Figure 2, the amounts from Figure 1 are retained and only the other costs account is added as well as operation or fracking cost and construction expense. The marginal cost is computed by dividing the change in total cost by change in total quantity of shale oil (AmosWEB, 2014, para.4). Hence, $ 8,181,860,000.00 $ 4,982,500,000.00 is $3199360000. Change in total quantity pertains to the change in output of shale oil extraction. For instance, a company can extract 100,000 tons of shale oil in a year and doubles for the succeeding years. Below is the computation for marginal cost per year. Change in Costs Change in Quantity Marginal Cost 1st year 3199360000 100,000 31993 2nd year 3199360000 200,000 15996 3rd year 3199360000 400,000 7998 4th year 3199360000 800,000 3999 5th year 3199360000 1,600,000 1999 Figure 3. Computation for Marginal Cost Figure 3 is a chart on computing for marginal cost. The numerator is the change in costs divided by the denominator which is the change in tons of shale oil. Energy Forecast Energy Forecast on UAE from 2014 to 2020 Year Dollar Price per Oil Barrel Year Dollar Price per Oil Barrel 2003 26.74 2014 120.76 2004 33.46 2015 128.86 2005 49.49 2016 136.97 2006 61.43 2017 145.07 2007 68.37 2018 153.17 2008 93.78 2019 161.28 2009 61.75 2020 169.38 2010 78.06 2011 106.03 2012 108.9 2013 105.43 Figure 4. Energy Forecast on UAE from 2014 to 2020 In Figure 4, the amounts from the year 2003 up to 2013 are data released by World Bank Commodity Price Data (Knoema, 2013). Following the past trends on Dubai’s oil prices, the next 6 six years are forecasts through the Microsoft Excel’s trend function. The illustration shows a forecast of the increasing oil price in the next 6 years. UAE’s oil price is to increase by $7-$9. Comparative Energy Forecast on UAE, UK and US UAE UK United States Year Dollar Price per Oil Barrel 2003 26.74 28.85 31.11 2004 33.46 38.3 41.44 2005 49.49 54.43 56.44 2006 61.43 65.39 66.04 2007 68.37 72.7 72.28 2008 93.78 97.64 99.56 2009 61.75 61.86 61.65 2010 78.06 79.64 79.43 2011 106.03 110.94 95.05 2012 108.9 111.97 94.16 2013 105.43 108.86 97.94 2014 120.76 123.61 109.21 2015 128.86 131.63 115.36 2016 136.97 139.65 121.52 2017 145.07 147.66 127.67 2018 153.17 155.68 133.83 2019 161.28 163.70 139.98 2020 169.38 171.72 146.14 Figure 5. Comparative Energy Forecast on UAE, UK and US Figure 6.Bar Graph of Energy Forecast on UAE, UK and US Figure 5 illustrates the past and future forecasts on the oil prices of UAE, UK and the United States. Using the past trends on oil prices of these countries, a forecast for the next 6 years is made. The same method of computation has been made similar to Figure 5. Its summary on Figure 6, UK has the highest amount of oil price in the next 6 years while UAE falls second. Although United States has usually the highest price of oil in the last 10 years, UK started to lead starting 2012 until now. Hence, both United States and UAE has to improve more in terms of their energy economics to surpass UK’s performance in energy industry. References Brown, P. (2013, February 13).Shale gas kills nuclear power | Climate News Network. Retrieved from http://www.climatenewsnetwork.net/2013/02/shale-gas-kills-nuclear-power/> EconomicConcepts.com (2012).Concept of Economic Costs Explict Cost Implict Cost- Real Cost Oppotunity Cost Definition and Example Economicsconcepts.com. RetrievedJanuary24, 2014, from http://economicsconcepts.com/concepts_of_economic_costs.htm> Knoema (2013, October).Crude Oil Prices Forecast: Long Term to 2025 | Data and Charts knoema.com. RetrievedJanuary25, 2014, from http://knoema.com/yxptpab/crude-oil-prices-forecast-long-term-to-2025-data-and-charts> Marginal Cost, AmosWEB Encyclonomic WEB*pedia, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2014. Retrieved January 24, 2014>. Theory of mind: Autism Theory of mind: Autism The term theory of mind in cognitive psychology allows individuals to describe and understanding of other individuals metal state about their beliefs or thoughts no individual can be certain what another individual is thinking but can have a good understand in what they may believe what they are thinking or about their thoughts Baron-Cohen (1997) theory of mind is exclusive to humans and allows humans to have a better understanding about the social world around and allows individuals to interact with other individuals in appropriate way Baron-Cohen (2003) Autism is a developmental disorder which occurs in the first 2 years of the Childs life and can affect approximately four in every ten thousand children (Baron-Cohen, Leslie Frith, 1985), the disorder is more four times more likely for a boy to have the disorder than a girl (Gilberg and Coleman, 1992; Rapin, 1997). An individual who has the disorder may find it hard to interact with another individuals and find it hard to understand what they are saying or understand the emotion of behaviour from another individual that also cannot understand their inner self and the other individuals thoughts and believes. Early signs of autism in a child cannot keep eye-to eye contact with another individual for a long period of time. (Swettenham et al., 1998) Also they cannot spontaneously play with a toy because it may be the fact their disorder cannot let them understand what the toy does. A study took place where individuals where ask to sort out pictures giving to the by category, children wi th the artistic disorder sorted the pictures out by objects example hat scarf (weeks and Hobson, 1987) this shows that not all social communication is impaired but they have little understanding of what is being asked of them. The Reading the Mind in the Eyes Task(Baron-Cohen et al., 1997). Baron-Cohen et al. (1997, 2001a, 2001b) showed some individuals pictures of peoples eyes and where giving four different type of words describing emotion this study was allocated to individuals with autism and also individuals without the disorder but show some signs of the autistic disorder. Baron-Cohen et al. (1997) believes that is a pure test of theory of mind and believes that the results from this study can be an in sight to see if an individual has got the autistic disorder. Children without the disorder start to use the terms think and want this shows they have some understanding of their inner self Most autistics children are delayed in learning a langue which can lead them to make new words up which is called neologising this make it harder for them understand communication and participate in social chat with other individuals Rutter (1987). An autistic individual finds it hard to keep up with the subject of conversation and also shows in ability to use feedback which (Bailey et al., 1996). Children at the age 2 Â ½ can to understand pretend play and the thoughts of other people when as children with autism have mind blindness this is an inability for them to understand social interactions which the individual finds it hard to develop a loving relationship with another individual. The disorder makes the individual find it hard to understand how some else is feeling and its difficult for the autistic individual to interact with another individual with out warning and may feel cold or distant towards other individuals. (Karmiloff-Smith, 1988, 1992) believes that all children explore the environment around them and automatically think of hypothesis and testing them this allows them. The social problems which under go in everyday life which autistic individuals have to face in everyday life, there has been studies which have been created to see if the problems they occur are related to the theory of mind. The Sally- Ann test false belief task was created to see if the individual on going the task had theory of mind skills or not. A child was introduced to two dolls called sally and Ann and where allocated with their own box with a marble hidden inside of it. The child was then told that sally has to go for a minute removing her from the scene and leaving her box behind this. The child is then told Ann is going to play a trick on sally and removes the marble from sallys box. Sally is then returned and the child is then asked where sally should look for the marble. A child with theory of mind will remember that sally doesnt know where her marble is and unaware that it is missing and will look it sallys box by using worlds for example he thinks however a child lacki ng theory of mind skills will only see it from her point of view and would look in Anns box Baron-Cohen, Leslie, and Frith (1985) Many children passed this false belief test which have the autism disorder. Nearly 80 percent of artistic children failed this task which shows that most of the children taking part have not got the inner ability to understand other peoples thought and emotions. Baron- Cohen et als (1992 brought out a checklist for autism to see if any children have the autistic disorder to allow parents or guardians to find out in case of the risk of developing the disorder. The most common signs of autism is mental retardation is most common with 75% of all cases (Rutter, 1979; Rapin, 1997) there is no strong evidence to prove autism is inherited disorder (Rutter, 1994) Autism is clearly understood as a developmental disorder which makes it difficult for that individual to express him/her self and find it hard to understand any other individuals feelings or understand that they can feel emotions and think thoughts. There is not enough evidence to suggest that theory of mind can allow us to understand about autism to its full potential and that theory of mind describes the disorder to where it is completely understood.