A. G. Lafley Innovating PG’s Innovations - 3273 Words

A. G. Lafley: Innovating PG’s Innovations Table of Contents Synopsis 4 Which Industry does PG compete? 4 What are the Tangible and Intangible Resources? 4 Tangible Resources 4 Intangible Resources 4 Major Issues 5 PG’s Strategic Health in 2005 5 Mission 5 External Environment Analysis 5 Porter’s Five Forces 5 Internal Characteristics 6 SWOT Analysis 8 Key Success Factors 9 Critical Development Factors 10 What factors are critical for success? 10 Strategic Objectives 11 Corporate Level Strategy 12 Business Level Strategy 12 Function Level Strategy 12 General Difference in Strategic Direction 13 References 14 Synopsis PG, one of the world’s largest†¦show more content†¦This was apparent with the case of Colgate Palmolive introducing a new toothpaste that fights not only cavities but bad breath, yellowing teeth, sensitive gums and also gingivitis. Rivalry among competitors This market is a well established market and PG would have competition from existing companies and businesses since they include similar resources and advertising techniques. The competing companies and firms produce similar products and as such new ideas and innovation is necessary for the survival of PG. Internal Characteristics Success in terms of an internal analysis of PG resources, capabilities, core competencies and their relationship to strategy PG is now one of the ten most valuable companies in the United States. During Mr. Lafley’s watch since the year 2000, sales have grown to more than $80B in 2008, from less than $40B when he took over, and earnings have tripled, topping $10B in 2007. The company has 24 brands generating more than $1B each, more than twice the number in 2000. And that number is likely to increase with close to 20 more brands with sales greater than $500M and growing. PG’s stock, which was trading at about $28 per share when Mr. Lafley took over, now exceeds $70. There were several core problems that were interrelated around the strategy, organization, and structure of the company. Strategically, they were trying to do too many things. It wasn’t clear what the core businesses were,Show MoreRelatedThe Procter Gamble Business Strategy1587 Words   |  7 Pagesbeing the best in branding, innovation and scale. This is what sets this company apart from many of its competitors. The Proctor and Gamble are the global leader in all of their core businesses within the company which consists of laundry, baby care, hair care and feminine protection. This report is designed to understand the company’s business model and strategies, and analysis how the PG has formulated its business-level strategies to pursue its business model. PG’s Product Differentiation TheRead MoreBlue Ocean Strategy1148 Words   |  5 PagesMany times, they commit a product innovation on continual basis as a means to position Gillette as a leading company in the razor and blades market. Unfortunately, their main competitor, Schick-Wilkinson Sword, also responds the competition by innovating products in terms of number of blades in a single razor. As Gillette makes more profits from the blade sales rather than initial razor purchase, the company needs marketing innovation rather than product innovation. Concerning this issue, this paperRead MoreExample4792 Words   |  20 Pagesgrown to be a leader of its industry. It has over 800 brands worldwide, 25 of which generate more than 1 billion dollars in sales, including Tide, Downy, Always, Oral B, Crest, Gillette, Febreze, Swiffer, and Duracell. However, in the last 10 years, Pamp;G has experienced a loss of sales. Through an analysis of the company and its history, its visions and goals, a SWOT analysis, and the Porter’s Five Forces Model, the problems Procter amp; Gamble face will be identified, discussed, and possible solutionsRead MorePG Strategic Analysis4489 Words   |  18 Pages4 Stakeholders 5 Internal Analysis 5 External Analysis 7 Competitive Forces 8 Macro Environment 8 Strategic Options 10 Strategy 1: Market Penetration 10 Strategy 2: Product Innovation and New Product Development 10 Strategy 3: Status Quo 11 Executive Summary Procter amp; Gamble (Pamp;G) is a world-leading producer of consumer goods. Today, it consists of over 20 million dollar brands (like Gillette) and operates in 42 countries (Wikipedia, 2012). The company has achievedRead MorePG Corparate10304 Words   |  42 PagesStatement (Actual) 4 Mission Statement (Proposed) 4 Vision Statement (Proposed) 5 Slogan (Proposed) 5 The CPM Matrix of Pamp;G Company 6 External Factor Evaluation (EFE) Matrix for Procter and Gamble (Pamp;G) 9 The I/E matrix for Procter and Gamble (Pamp;G) 14 Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE) Matrix for Procter and Gamble (Pamp;G) 16 A SWOT Matrix of Pamp;G Company 21 Strengths 23 Weaknesses 23 Opportunities 24 Threats 24 The FOUR strategies 25 The SPACE Matrix 26 CalculationRead MoreInnovation in Cosmetic Industry8686 Words   |  35 PagesABSTRACT : Innovation is one of the most important issues in business research today. It has been studied in many independent research traditions. Our understanding and study of innovation can benefit from an integrative review of these research traditions. In so doing, various topics of consideration have been identified and studied. Consumer response to innovation, Organizations and innovation, which are increasingly important as product development becomes more complex and tools more effectiveRead MoreInnovators Dna84615 Words   |  339 Pages1996–2006. is a professor of leadership at INSEAD. He consults to organizations around the world on innovation, globalization, and transformation and has published extensively in leading academic and business journals. is the Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and the architect of and the world’s foremost authority on disruptive innovation. â€Å"Businesses worldwide have been guided and in uenced by e Innovator’s Dilemma and e Innovator’sRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesOrganizational Behavior This page intentionally left blank Organizational Behavior EDITION 15 Stephen P. 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Textual Analysis - 1180 Words

Towards a better and cleaner textile industry [Textual Analysis] Written Assignment 4 This assignment is through an analysis of appeal forms, speech acts, move structures, text functions, text types and relevant rhetorical strategies going to determine the genre and purpose of the text ‘Towards a better and cleaner textile industry’, which was posted on Novozymes website on March 30, 2011. Appeal Forms The text consists of a number of logical arguments that promote the use of enzymes in the textile industry, which means the dominating appeal form is logos. This is supported by the use of numbers (l. 1-3), scientific terms as polycarboxylates, enzymes and molecule and the reference to the special trial method; LCA (l. 18-23). This†¦show more content†¦17-38) and at last the peroration (l. 40-45). This is supported by the common known subject i.e. that Novozymes produces enzymes and the use of both logos and ethos appeal. In addition, the move structure more specifically follows the news-report move structure as it uses the inverted pyramid, where the most important information is in the beginning. The moves are: Event (l. 1-3), then interpretation (l.4-8) followed by background (l. 10-15), details of the event (l. 17-23), background (25-42) and at last comments from people involved (l. 42-43). As the text comes from Novozymes, it would though be characterized as a press rel ease which often bears resemblance to the news-report move structure. Though as mentioned in the paragraph about appeal forms, the use of ethos indicates that the text is not only made for an informative purpose. Text Functions At first sight, the function of the text is the informative text function, as it seeks to express something about the referent. This is supported by the dominant use of logos appeal, representative speech acts and the move structure being press release. Though, as the commissive speech act and indirect directive speech acts are also present, there is evidence that the text also has an indirect directive text function as it tries to affect the receiver to use enzymes. In combination with the use of ethos, this indicates that the text has a character of argumentation. Text Types As stated aboveShow MoreRelatedTextual Rhetorical Analysis949 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿Textual Rhetorical Analysis John Fire Lame Deer was a Sioux Indian tribal leader, medicine man, rodeo clown, and storyteller amongst other things. A selection from his autobiography Seeker Of Visions: The Life Of A Sioux Medicine Man titled â€Å"Talking to the Owls and Butterflies† is a short piece regarding nature and man’s relationship with it. The piece was intended to make an impression on white people in order to help salvage what is remaining in the environment. 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Altamirano ENG 101 Jon LaGuardia 7 September 2016 Textual Analysis You awake with a breeze twirling with the fragments of hair left on your scalp; a dance known only to friends of the oncoming light. You open your eyes only to see the endless ocean in the sky. You do not see your family, nor your friends. You demand your legs and arms to function, they do not. You beg them to work the one time you need them to, and in defiance to the groan of your bones, you stand. You begin to wonderRead MoreKnocked Up Textual Analysis1885 Words   |  8 PagesAurora O’Bryan Prof. Kaufman 11/6/2007 Textual Analysis Knocked Up Intended for the enjoyment of the present-day youth generation, the 2007 comedy film Knocked Up deals with more than just comedic issues. Technically introduced as a romantic comedy, this film serves more to its comedic orientation. With awkward romance and stoner mannerisms, the laughs are plentiful for the intentional audience of Knocked Up. However, as the audience is served its fill of laughter, issues are presented that rarelyRead MoreExtant Textual Analysis Essay715 Words   |  3 Pagesas a time frame for the analysis. This time frame has varied in duration from 3.5 years (Livne, et al. 2011) to one week (Sang Bos 2012) before Election Day. Analysis Using both content and thematic analyses, all the tweets about these candidates posted from the date of the call for declaring candidacy until the day of the election were examined. Content analysis was used to describe the data numerically and to examine the reliability of the analysis; textual analysis was applied to determineRead MoreTextual Analysis: Accidental Billionaire898 Words   |  4 PagesFontaine Lkops February 13, 2011 Textual Analysis- Paper 2. An Emotional Creation According to Ben Mezrich, Mark Zuckerberg’s relationship to facebook changed his life with difficult emotional struggles throughout the process. In the book â€Å"The Accidental Billionaires: A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal†, Mark Zuckerberg studied at Harvard University and went through many obstacles to reach his achievement of a social network that many people are aware of: ‘Facebook’. The key issue thatRead MoreTextual Analysis of the Perpetual Adolescent1970 Words   |  8 PagesTextual Analysis â€Å"The Perpetual Adolescent† is an observational piece by Joseph Epstein. He suggests that modern adult acts much more childish than the previous generations of middle aged people. A big part of acting like a younger person is dressing like a younger person. According to Epstein, the dressed down adult is the immature adult, which in turn leads to many adults trying to copy the modern and hip youth culture. This in turn created more relaxed environments across all career fieldsRead MoreTextual Analysis Essay on Fight Club1250 Words   |  5 PagesGina Ferrari Eric Netterlund Fall 2011 Textual Analysis Essay The classic 1996 film Fight Club is a social commentary about our generation, which is in many ways devoid of spirit and marked by consumerism. It is the story of a mans spiritual journey towards enlightenment in modern society and his attempt to find his place in the world. It stresses a post-modern consumer society, reveals the loss of masculine identity amongst gray-collar workers, and examines the social stratification marked

The Human Resource Practices-Free-Samples-Myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Choose two of the following HR Practices and Explain how Cultural differences may have an Impact. Answer: Introduction Currently, International human resource management is a key aspect for consideration for the multi-national companies. Different nations have different cultures, political states and social-economic positions which affect the businesses in many different ways. Thus, application of one of the human resource management practice in one country may produce different results when applied to another nation. Therefore, unlike the domestic human resource management, it is hard to manage human resource at a global level which necessitates the application of strategies that are likely to handle these differences in the nations (Kundu, Divya Pardeep, 2007). The USA is a federal state that is made up of fifty states, five governing territories and also a federal district. USA has over 324 millions of people living I these states which cover about 9.8 million square kilometers. It country ranks the third in the world by total area. It has one of the most powerful economies in the world. On the other hand, India is a south Asian country with federal governance, large enough at position seven in the world by area. Currently, India is one of the word's fastest growing economies. Amazon has ventured into both USA and India and currently active in these countries (Chow, Huang, Liu, 2008). Recruitment is one of the key aspects of the organization that must be handled with care. When done at international level, the agencies involved usually take appropriate strategies for effectiveness. Internationally, recruitment can be done at parent country nation, host country or third country nation (Birasnav Rangnekar, 2009). On the other hand, career development entails all the activities that are involved in developing the skills and experiences that are required to help one handle both the current and the future career roles. People in different nations develop their careers differently due to different cultures (Adnan, Abdullah, Ahmad, 2011). The purpose of this report is to bring out the differences that exist in various aspects of the international human resource due to differences in culture of the countries under consideration. It establishes how Amazon recruitment and selection is done differently by Amazon and India due to the cultural differences that exist between the two countries. Also, the essay targets to establish the differences that exist in the career development as one of the aspects of the international human resource. Therefore, this essay exposes the international human resource management differences that exist in different countries due to differences in cultural contexts. Recruitment and Selection Recruitment refers to the process through which a given company uses to identify, screen, shortlist and hire the potential right people to take up job vacancies in a given organization. It is a very critical step in the every organization and must be done with minimum mistakes to get the best skill and talent for the organization. It entails all the activities that are undertaken to attract, select and get the potential candidates that who have the right qualifications to take up the job positions in the organization (Absar, 2012). Selection entails the activities that are undertaken to identify the most qualified people from those that have been attracted for a given job position in the organization. Selection can be done through interviews, checking in the referees and also testing them. Recruitment and selection have a different perception at the international level. Amazon being of the multinational organizations employs different recruitment and selection strategies (Zhu, Warner Rowley, 2007). The way the organization conducts recruitment and selection in one country is different from the other. This is because the recruitment strategies employed in one country cannot necessarily yield fruits in the other country. This fact is attributed to the fact that different nations have different cultural dimensions (Deloitte, 2011). Comparing the recruitment at USA and India, there are differences and similarities that come out. India is one of the countries with high uncertainty index according to Hofstedes cultural dimension, the state adopted strategies that emphasize on testing and monitoring the processes of recruitment. The process is profoundly influenced by the traditional management. This is different from the USA which has a low uncertainty index. These differences make the force organizations that operation in USA and India to employ different strategies to conduct recruitment and selection. Amazon as a multinational company operates in both countries and has employed different strategies in the two countries for effective management of the human resource of the organization. Also, India is a high power distance country. Thus there is a lot of emphasis on the connections rather than recruitment and selection (Effron and Shanley, 2011). This is different from the USA which is a low power distance country that emphasizes on the advertising, recruiting and selection. Therefore, the cultural differences in cultural dimensions between the USA and India bring about differences in recruitment and selection processes (Gusdorf, 2008). Career Management Career management is defined as a continuous learning process that entails planning and the shaping of the individuals in acquiring the skills that are necessary for the helping an employee to achieve the future goals and expectations of the career market. Career management is a human resource practice that demands the contribution of both the employer and the employees themselves (Benko and Weisberg, 2007). The employee needs to do self-assessment and make efforts to work towards achieving the future market goals and expectations in the field. Different countries have different ways in which people manage their careers depending on the prevailing nations culture (Cheese, 2008). Usually, career management entails three main steps that guide an individual to grow in their lines. Firstly, there must be career planning which is the process of identifying the goals that need to be achieved (Bharathi, 2009). It entails self-assessment practices that helps one know their interests and the development needs and analyzing the strengths and weaknesses in ones life. Secondly, there is career channeling where one identifies the routes in the career to follow depending on the goals. The last step is career development which is a continuous process throughout one's life. The organization plays a critical role in the career management of a given employee because of their support (Benett, 2013). The role of the organization in the career of employees in India and the US has various similarities and differences in the two nations. Usually, the companies consider training and development, mentoring programs, lateral growth and the performance evaluation. India offers minimal training and development to its employees, unlike the US which advocates for pieces of training and believes that it is a way to help employees and increase productivity in the organization (Singh Mohanty, 2011). Also, India has little emphasis on the mentoring programs for its employees as compared to the USA which has promoted these programs to help its employees increase the career management. Regarding the performance evaluation, both countries advocate practice this aspect as a way to establish the level of productivity and effectiveness of the employees in the organizations (Warner, 2008). It is evident that a similar organization running business in the USA and India is forced to differently handle the career management as one of functions of the human resource in business. Amazon is a player in both the US and India. The career management practices that company employs in India is totally different from that it uses in the US. This is mainly because of the two countries have different cultural dimesions. Conclusion In conclusion, the international human resource has various aspects that need to be considered for effectiveness. Multinational companies find challenges in the practices that they should employ in the subsidiaries operating in different nations. This is mainly because similar practices yield different results when applied in the various countries. Recruitment and selection in India and USA depict differences in the way they are done. Also, career management as one of the aspects of human resource is done differently in the two countries, and only a few similarities exist in practice. The explanation for the differences in the international human resource management practices is greatly attributed to the cultural differences that exist among various countries. According to Hofstedes cultural dimensions, states have varied aspects of culture which is the primary cause of the differences in business activity practices that exist. Therefore, the prevailing culture, political state, and social, economic positions have influence not only recruitment and career development but also on the entire organizations human resource practices of the organization in different countries. References Absar M. (2012). Recruitment and the Selection practices in the Manufacturing Firms in Bangladesh. The Indian journal of Industrial Relations, 436-448. Adnan, Z., Abdullah, H. Ahmad, J. (2011). "Direct Influence of the Human Resource Management Practices on the Financial Performance of Malaysian RD Companies," World Review of Business Research, 1(3), 61-77. Benett, A. (2013). The Talent Mandate: Why smart companies put people first. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. Benko, C. and Weisberg, A. (2007). Mass Career Customization: Aligning workplace with today's non?traditional workforce. Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston Bharathi N. (2009). Employees Engagement Practices In the Spinning Mills- An Empirical Study," Prabandhan: Indian Journal of Management, Vol. 2:4 Birasnav, M. Rangnekar, S. (2009). "Structure of human capital enhancing the human resource management practices in India" International Journal of Business and Management; 4(5): 226-238 Cheese, P. (2008). Driving high performance in the talent powered organization. Strategic HR Review, 7(4). Chow, I., Huang, J., Liu, S. (2008). "Strategic HRM in China: Configurations and the Competitive Advantage," Human Resource Management, 47(4), 687-706. Deloitte (2011). The global talent challenge?getting new people in new jobs in new place Effron, M. and Shanley, J. (2011). What qualities make a world class talent management leader? In: The Talent Management Handbook, L. Berger and D. Berger (eds). McGraw?Hill, New York. Gusdorf M. (2008). Recruitment and Selection: Hiring the Right Person. USA: Society for Human Resource Management. Singh, R., Mohanty, R. (2011). Performance Appraisal Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment: Moderating Role of Employees' Cultural Values," International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management, 4(3), 272-297. Warner, M. (2008). Reassessing human resource management with the Chinese characteristics. An overview. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 19(5), 771-801. Zhu, Y., Warner, M., Rowley, C. (2007). Human resource management with Asian characteristics: A hybrid people-management system in East Asia. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18(5), 745-768. Kundu, S., Divya, M. Pardeep K. (2007), Human Resource Management Practices in Shipping Companies, Delhi Business Review, Vol.8, No.1

Overrated Fitness Industry Essay Essay Example

Overrated Fitness Industry Essay Essay Health nine rank gross revenues is among the most useless of services available today. The potency of personal trainers and aerophilic teachers are extremely overrated. A twosome of thousand dollars and 8 months subsequently for a service that cost merely $ 20. 00 per month. in the beginning. has non put the client any closer to his or her ends. Of class. there are no refunds or warrants. There are so many alibis in the fittingness industry as to why the individual did non acquire the consequences they wanted. The individual did non follow a low fat diet. the person’s metamorphosis is slow. the individual has bad genetic sciences. We will write a custom essay sample on Overrated Fitness Industry Essay specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Overrated Fitness Industry Essay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Overrated Fitness Industry Essay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Now the fittingness industry speaks of something call metabolic harm. This. and other invented wellness jobs coming up out of nowhere. is more alibis as to why a individual can non accomplish their fittingness ends. The wellness nine industry remains overrated. Peoples think these fittingness professionals are fabulous for go throughing on all this useless information. Health nines and fittingness professionals are overrated because it offers a service that people can non purchase. No 1 can purchase motive. Anyone motivated to force their physical capacity in a gym. run on the route in forepart of their house. They do non let money. or lack there of. to stand in their manner. In the 1970ss and early 1880ss. people did non necessitate interior decorator places ; do non hold bad dorsums from running on pavings. or making crunches and so on. Teaching childs they can non run without a 100 dollar brace of Nikes is stating them they can non be physically fit without money. Oprah Winfrey is a millionaire. She can afford to hold her chef accompany her 24 hours a twenty-four hours. She can afford the best personal trainers the fittingness industry has to offer. Oprah had antic consequences. Oprah. as so many others. gives all the recognition to her personal trainer and cook. Many people recognition Oprah’s weight loss to her ability to afford a personal trainer. She gained the weight back. Her fiscal position stayed the same. or possibly increased. Anyone can help person through an exercising modus operandi. Madonna on the other manus. corsets tantrum. Her weight does non fluctuate. Madonna and the populace over evaluate her personal trainers. She is quoted for stating everyone needs a personal trainer. Madonna’s dedication to pattern yoga for an hr. Pilates for another hr. exercise in the gym for another hr. so do aerophilic activity for another hr has nil bash with her personal trainer. Most personal trainers and fittingness professionals say that is making manner excessively much. Aerobic teachers and personal trainers really rarely come from an athletic background. They are mindlessly go throughing on information they acquired through a class they had to be certified through to acquire employed. The industry is set up for people to acquire no consequences. There is no go oning money coming in when people get what they pay for. Approximately 90 % of the overestimate of fittingness services is psychological. Peoples were in form when low fat diets were popular ; they were in form when low fat diets were neer heard of. Peoples were physically fit with high saccharide diet. The same people who switched to a high protein did non alter physically. Millions of people continue to pay for fittingness professionals to state them it is their mistake. or their genetic sciences why they are fleshy. to decelerate. to old. and have limited flexibleness. These same people truly believe these people who have a certification on the wall are great for stating them about their physical restrictions.

I Have a Dream essays

I Have a Dream essays Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote, I Have a Dream in 1963 and delivered it at Lincoln Memorial, in Washington, D.C., on the hundredth anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. The speech utilizes quite a number of colorful metaphors that relate to the topic, as well as a diverse range of literary techniques, such as alliteration, parallelism, and poetry. Martin Luther King discusses a number of issues that all relate to the same topic freedom of Negroes. His speech is based on his dream a dream of freedom and equality. Martin Luther King mentions the fact that still, after a hundred years of signing the Emancipation Proclamation, the Negro still is not free. He draws the parallel between the event at which he speaks and cashing a check, on which ...America has defaulted.... A check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. Those are the two topics are most mentioned and brought up within Kings speech freedom and justice for Negroes. He insists on persistence of the Negro cause and calls upon America to open the doors of opportunity to all of Gods children. Martin Luther King in his second part of the speech mentions his dream. I have a dream...- and a long list of values that are dear to the principles of justice and equality follow: not to give up under the persecution; to keep the faith; the belief that this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed...That all men are created equal; brotherhood of all colors will emerge; oasis of freedom and justice will be established; people will be judged by who they are instead of what color they are; and freedom and equality will exist in reality in America. At the same time he calls upon the peaceful resolution of this struggle. ...

A Brief History of Slot Machines

A Brief History of Slot Machines According to Legal Slots, the term slot machines was originally used for all automatic vending machines as well as for the gambling devices, it was not until the 20th century that the term became restricted to the latter. A fruit machine is one British term for a slot machine. The one-armed bandit is another popular nickname. Charles Fey Liberty Bell The first mechanical slot machine was the Liberty Bell, invented in 1895 by car mechanic, Charles Fey (1862–1944) of San Francisco. The Liberty Bell slot machine had three spinning reels. Diamond, spade, and heart symbols were painted around each reel, plus the image of a cracked Liberty Bell. A spin resulting in three Liberty Bells in a row gave the biggest payoff, a grand total of fifty cents or ten nickels. The original Liberty Bell slot machine can still be seen be at the Liberty Belle Saloon Restaurant in Reno, Nevada. Other Charles Fey machines include the Draw Power, and Three Spindle and the Klondike. In 1901, Charles Fey invented the first draw poker machine. Charles Fey was also the inventor of the trade check separator, which was used in the Liberty Bell. The hole in the middle of the trade check allowed a detecting pin to distinguish fake nickels or slugs from real nickels. Fey rented his machines to saloons and bars based on a 50/50 split of the profits.​ Demand for Slot Machines Grows The demand for Liberty Bell slot machines was huge. Fey could not build them fast enough in his small shop. Gambling supply manufacturers tried to buy the manufacturing and distribution rights to the Liberty Bell, however, Charles Fey refused to sell. As a result in 1907, Herbert Mills, a Chicago manufacturer of arcade machines, began production of a slot machine, a knock-off of Feys Liberty Bell, called the Operator Bell. Mills was the first person to place fruit symbols: i.e. lemons, plums, and cherries on machines. How The Original Slots Worked Inside each cast iron slot machine there were three metal hoops called reels. Each reel had ten symbols painted on it. A lever was pulled that spun the reels. When the reels stopped, a jackpot was awarded if three of a kind of symbol lined up. The payoff in coinage was then dispensed from the machine. Age of Electronics The first popular electric gambling machine was the 1934 animated horse race machine called PACES RACES. In 1964, the first all-electronic gambling machine was built by Nevada Electronic called the 21 machine. Other all electronic versions of gambling games followed including ones for dice, roulette, horse racing, and poker (Dale Electronics Poker-Matic was very popular). In 1975, the first electronic slot machine was built by the Fortune Coin Company.

JetBlue Airways and WestJet Airlines Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

JetBlue Airways and WestJet Airlines - Case Study Example Furthermore, long waits and booking difficulties caused the company to drop its customer loyalty scores. Â  Learning lessons from WestJet’s experience, the JetBlue approached the upgrade process in a more proactive way. In order to ensure the smooth flow of the transition, the company limited its schedule and sold only the very low number of seats on the remaining flights. In addition, the company had taken a number of measures to deal with software upgrade problems effectively. Although WestJet faced some issues such as an increase in call times and network errors in kiosks and ticket printers, the comprehensive transition approach assisted the company to execute the upgrade process better than WestJet. Â  While analyzing the case of WestJet, it seems that the organization did not take any precaution to prevent software upgrade problems. Actually, WestJet was not aware of the complex troubles associated with switching to a new reservation system, and this is the reason why the organization approached the software upgrade process so frivolously. In contrast, JetBlue had WestJet’s crashing website in mind when the company planned to upgrade its reservation system, and hence it took several precautions to complete the upgrade process successfully. First, the JetBlue developed a backup website to deal with upgrade issues if any.

Re-assesment work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Re-assesment work - Essay Example Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 1. Reflection on the feedback 4 2. Identification of service package of The Edge 4 3. Service Blueprint for The Edge 4 3.1 Actions of the customer 4 3.2 Onstage employee actions 5 3.3 Backstage employee actions 5 3.4 Supporting processes 6 3.5 Physical evidences 6 4. Walk Through Audit (WTA) of The Edge 7 5. Discussion of GAP analysis and its application to The Edge 10 6. Five dimensions of quality 12 7. Use of technology at The Edge to improve customer service 13 8. Creation of new service blue print for The Edge 14 Conclusion 15 Reference list 16 1. Reflection on the feedback The feedback delivered clearly mentioned that the Harvard referencing needs to be followed exactly as required. Other than that the skills audit module is also reassessed to incorporate the changes and the points that was not there in the 1st submission. On an overall basis the whole assignment is reassessed entirely in order to cover all the points that were not mentioned in the first submission of the assignment. 2. Identification of service package of The Edge The Edge caters to a wide range of customers. The service package of The Edge is as varied as its customer base. It offers three specific types of services. One is the normal food service, the second one is catering or serving in special events and apart from that it also holds private bookings (Benner and Sandstrom, 2012). The service packages are food and drinks, and holding special events. 3. Service Blueprint for The Edge The failure of The Edge is described across 5 important areas of service blue print 3.1 Actions of the customer The customer actions can be described in two different ways. One is active and the other one is passive. In active action, the customer and the canteen staff work together for creation of the service. In this case the canteen staff did not provide customers with suggestion of what they would like to have as improvements over the current food and meal menu (Chi efele, 2012). Since the canteen did not use the customer feedbacks as potential source of improvements so this led to further deterioration of services. The second type of action is passive action. Here the customer and the canteen staff do not have significant chances of interection (Garrick, 2011). The Edge actually gave more importance to this type of action from the customers. The customers were not provided with any kind of complaint form or customer feedback form. Thus the customers were offered services that lacked variety and innovation. Canteen customers usually look out for two different things when they visit canteens, one is affordability and other one is variety. The prices charged are affordable but lack of variety became one of the prime reasons for dissatisfaction. 3.2 Onstage employee actions The onstage employee actions denote the actions that are performed in the view of the customer. The canteen staff lacked simple courtesy of greeting the customers and seeing to it that the customers are attended as quickly as possible. Thus after entering the canteen the customers had to in fact find themselves a table on their own (Gulbrandsen and Smeby, 2008). This does not go well with all types of customers. Since The Edge is a well-known canteens in University of East London, this kind of service created dissatisfaction among the loyal

1994 Rwandan Genocide Essay Example for Free

1994 Rwandan Genocide Essay The 1994 Rwandan Genocide impacted on a lot of people in a lot of different ways. In this essay the causes I will be covering are ethnic tension as a result of Belgium Colonisation, Propaganda and hate rhetoric, the role of the international community, and political problems. The consequences I will be covering are causalities, the economic effects, remembrance and education, and population displacement. In this small country in Africa called Rwanda this terrible killing took place. The Rwandan Genocide began on April 6th 1994 when the president was assassinated, followed by the prime minster the next day. It lasted 100 days, â€Å"100 days of slaughter† ending on the 18th of July 1994. The genocide included many groups. The perpetrators were – Hutu civilians, Hutu army, Interhamwe-the youth of Hutu organised into an extremist militia, and radio RTLM-a radio station announcing to kill all Tutsis. Victims included – Tutsi, Hutu political moderates for example prime minster AgatheUwilingiyimana. Other groups include – RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front). President Juvenal Habyarimana who was in charge if the Hutu government, and the international community for example the UN (United Nations) Peacekeepers. During these 100 days of slaughter hundreds of thousands of Tutsi we killed. Women and girls we raped, and many tortured by having their breast chopped off and sharp objects inserted into their vaginas. Many people tried to hind in schools and churches but were found and executed. I have just written about the context and the course of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. I am now going to write the causes of this horrific event starting with ethnic tension as a result of Belgium Colonisation. Ethnic tension as a result of Belgium Colonisation is arguably the biggest cause in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. It is a political and social cause that happened over a long period of time. Starting in 1860 and coming right down to 1926. In 1860 the first Tutsi king was appointed. In 1884 German explorer Carl Peters enters the Rwandan kingdom and obtains treaty rights. In 1885 Germany declares a protectorate over present-day Rwanda. In 1890 Rwanda accepts German colonial rule with resistance. A German territorial administrator is not appointed until 1907. In 1916 WW1 Belgium Allied Forces capture German East Africa. In 1924 Great Britten assumes control over Tanzania, while Belgium is granted trusteeship over Rwanda and Burundi. Belgium Colonisation begins. In 1926 Rwandans were given an identity card showing if a person was Hutu, Tutsi or Twa. Prior to colonisation people could ‘jump’ races e. g. Hutu’s could become Tutsi’s. Callipers were the tools of colonisation. The size of the cranium and nose and the colour of the eyes were the factors that determined whether a person was a Hutu, Tutsi or Twa. The result of the unfair system was – Tutsi could have government positions, be landlords, be supervisors of Hutu, collect taxes, get an education (only Tutsi could go to school after the colonisation), be an administrator for the justice system. Hutu were denied higher education, land ownership and positions in government. The identity cards that everyone was given were very clear they had what ethnic group they were from, their place of birth, their date of birth, their profession, their place of residence, the name of their spouse, their C. I number, and their signature. A quote form chief prosecutor of the international Rwandan court sums up this cause well â€Å"European colonial history was a major contributor to what eventually became the genocide in Rwanda†. The second cause I am going to discuss is Propaganda and hate rhetoric. This is a social Cause; it is short term because it happened quite fast after the death of the president and prime minster. Kangura Newspaper was a newspaper about how discussing the Tutsis were, this was launched by first lady AgatheHabyarimana in 1990. Kangura means wake them up in English. In the newspaper they had racist comments such as â€Å"They look like animals, actually they are animals†, â€Å"If you allow snakes to live amongst you, you will be exterminated†, â€Å"They look hideous with their bushy hair and beards that are full of fleas†. RTLM (Radio Television des Milles Collines) or commonly known as â€Å"Hate Radio†, used good rock music to get people to listen to it then they used in to convey hateful messages such as â€Å"cut down the tall trees† this meant for all Hutu extremists to wipe out the Tutsis. RTLM often referred to Tutsi as cockroaches. In 1990 Kangura newspaper published the 10 commandments for the Hutus they were an extended version of 1, Every Hutu must know that the Tutsi woman is working for the Tutsi ethnic cause Hutu is a traitor who a) Acquires a Tutsi wife, b)Acquires a Tutsi concubine, c) Acquires a Tutsi sectary or protegee. 2, Every Hutu must know that our Hutu daughters are more worthy and more conscientious as a woman, as wives and as mothers. 3, Hutu women, be vigilant and make sure that your husbands, brothers and sons see reason. , All Hutus must know that all Tutsis are dishonest in business. We have learned this from experience from experience. Hutu is a traitor who a) forms a business alliance with a Tutsi, b) invests in own funds/public funds in a Tutsi enterprise, c) Borrows money from/loans money to a Tutsi, d) Grants favours to Tutsis. 5, Strategic positions such as politics, administration, economics the military and security must be restricted to Hutu. 6, A Hutu majority must prevail throughout the education system. 7. The Rwandan Army must be exclusively Hutu. No Solider may marry Tutsi women. 8, Hutu must stop taking pity on the Tutsi. 9, Hutu wherever they are must stand united, in solidarity, and concerned with the fate of their Hutu brothers. Hutu must constantly counter Tutsi propaganda. Hutu must stand firm and vigilant against their common enemy. The Tutsi. 10, The social Revolution of 1959, the Referendum of 1961 and the Hutu Ideology must be taught to Hutu of every age. Hutu must spread the word. Any Hutu who persecutes his brother Hutu for spreading the word and teaching this ideology is a traitor. A quote from Leon Mugesera sums up this cause â€Å"The fatal mistake we made in 1959 was to let them escape †¦ they are foreigners from Ethiopia so we will send them by the shortest route throwing them into the Nagbarongo river. We must act. Wipe them all out†. The third cause I am going to discuss is the role of the international community; it is a political cause that is a short term because it became an issue soon after the colonisation. During this cause the world just stood by and watched. Following WW11 and the Holocaust, The United Nations adopted a resolution on December 9, 1948, which stated â€Å"genocide, whether committed in time of peace or time of war, is a crime under international law which they undertake to prevent and to punish†. There were two opportunities to intervene that were missed. In October 1993 The United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda began with the deployment of 21 troops under the command of Brigadier – General Romeo Allaire of Canada. Additional troops continued o arrive until February 1994, when the mission was fully staffed with 25,000 personnel. Many soldiers arrived without weapons, food or water; vehicles and radios were sent out second hand from other missions and rarely in working condition. On 11th January 1994 Officers were stockpiling weapons and training civilian militias; the level of preparedness would enable the murder of 1000 Tutsis every 20 minutes. This saying will finish off this cause nicely, â€Å"clearly, the massacres in Rwanda constituted genocide, so why didn’t the world steep into stop it? In my fourth and final cause I’m going to discuss political problems (the role of the Hutu extremists in the Habyarimana government and the catalyst). This is a political cause which was short term. President Juvenal Habyarimana came to power through a military coup in 1973. He promised national unity. By 1994 many Rwandans were calling for democratic government. In January 1994 in spite of increased state oppression and the French-supported up-build of armed forces, 50,000 Rwandans marched in a pro-democracy demonstration in Kigali. The build-up to the Hutu’s wanting power is over quite a short period of time†¦ only 3 years! In October 1990 civil war started when the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a militia of Rwandan Tutsi excels and Hutu dissidents based in Uganda, invaded Rwanda. Thousands of Tutsis were arrested. In 1991 RPF military victories pressured President Habyarimana into drafting a new multi-party constitution. In 1992 UN led peace talks led between the RPF, The Rwanda government and 12 opposition parties to try and achieve a power-sharing agreement. In August 1993 Arusha Peace Accords were signed to neutral Tanzania. Hutu Power’ started broadcasting Tutsi hate messages in the media. In 1993 A Hutu Power Party no participating in the government established Radio/TV Libre de Millie Collines (RTLM) to get round the Arusha agreements explicit prohibition on government sponsored hate speech. I has been believed that the ‘final nail in coffin’ was the assignation of P resi dent Habyarimana. At 8. 30p. m on April 6, 1994, President Juvenal Habyarimana of Rwanda was returning from a summit in Tanzania where, under international pressure, he was negotiating with the opposition to reach a settlement. A surface-to-air missile shot the plane out of the sky. All on board were killed. I have just written about the causes of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, I am now going to write about the consequences of the ‘100 days of slaughter’. Starting with causalities. The 1994 Rwandan Genocide left behind some major consequences but beyond all others the biggest is the casualties. This is a political, social and ideological cause and is most defiantly immediate timing because it happened during genocide obviously; so many people were left both physically and mentally scared. Over the course of 100 days from April 6 – July 16 1994 it is estimated 800,000 – 1 million Tutsi and some moderate Hutu were slaughtered. The UN estimated 800,000 but the Rwandan government has estimated 1,071,000. It’s very difficult to get exact numbers because these numbers do not include people who were thrown into river/lakes and those who were burnt. Mass graves held up to 50,000 making it even harder to count exact numbers. If the numbers of Tutsis living in Rwanda before and after the genocide are correct then 77% of the Tutsi population was wiped out. 8,640 per day; 360 per hour, 6 per minute. If this is correct this is the equation 6 people x 60 minutes x 24 hours x 100 days = 864,000 people! There is between 300,000 to 400,000 survivors. Almost 50,000 women were left without husbands. Almost 100,000 of the survivors were aged between 14 and 21. 75,000 of the survivors were orphaned. A 1999 study showed 80% of women surveyed showed signs of trauma. Many face health problems such as HIV/AIDS as a direct act of violence during the genocide. Some of the survivors are still threatened with violence, attacked or killed by former perpetrators. Almost all women and girls that survived were raped, many also tortured and mutilated by having their breasts cut off and sharp objects being inserted into their vaginas. Numbers of women and girls raped are somewhere between 250,000 and 500,000 exact numbers are not known. Children of rape during the genocide numbers are 2,000 to 5,000 children. Most children show trauma and signs of neglect. More than 67% of women raped were infected with HIV/AIDS. Men with HIV/AIDS used it as a weapon to leave their mark on Tutsi women and their families. To sum up the consequence what the presiding judge said after the verdict â€Å"From time immemorial, rape has been regarded as spoils of war. Now it will be considered a war crime. We want to send out a strong message that rape is no longer a trophy of war†. In the second consequence, I am going to discuss the economic effects. This is an economic consequence and it is immediate because the things that happened during left people with big struggles. The Rwandan government has struggled to rebuild the economy. In the year of the genocide, growth slumped by 50% and inflation reached 64%. Almost two thirds of the 8. million population live below the poverty line. Coffee is Rwandans major export. Rwanda exported 14,000 tonnes in 1986. The positives of the economic problems were the exiled business leaders returning home, since the genocide in 1994 business leaders have been returning home from Burundi, Congo, Uganda and Tanzania. Desire Kamanzi’s father sold his three houses in Burundi to return to Rwanda. This was no unusual. To sum up this consequence a quote from Leon Haguma, acting director of coffee marketing â€Å"All was abandoned, they were dead or had fled the country, there was nobody to work the plantations†. In the third consequence, I am going to discuss remembrance and education. This is a social consequence because most of Rwanda have contributed in some way. It is a long term consequence because it still goes on today and the world can’t see it stopping anytime soon. The focus of remembrance is to teach the history of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide and emphasise moral values. There are many memorial sites in Rwanda, which pays tribute to the hundreds of thousands killed. Marimba Technical School, where many victims were killed and still remain as a museum. Other ways of remembrance is art and photos taken in tribute such as people standing in a line with other people laying in front making human words saying END GENOCIDE NOW! There is also a national day of reflection in Rwanda on April 7th. To sum up this consequence a quote from Kofi Annan general of the UN in 1994, â€Å"If the pictures of tens of thousands of human bodies being gnawed on by dogs do not wake us out of our apathy, I do not know what will†. The fourth and final consequence I am going to write about population displacement. This is a political and social consequence because the government feel through and society took over. This is a short term consequence because lots of people started to come back into Rwanda once the genocide was over. The 1994 Rwandan Genocide resulted in massive exodus of refugees to bordering countries. Another one million people remained internally displaced in Rwanda itself. Millions of Hutu and displaced Tutsi had crowded refugee camps beyond the Rwandan boarders. International relief efforts were mobilised to care for refugees, but available supplies were inadequate and outbreaks of disease were widespread. More than 20,000 refugees died in cholera epidemic. During the genocide Tutsi and Hutu moderates fled. From April 1994 Tutsi and Hutu moderate refugees poured out of Rwanda and into neighbouring countries. After the genocide Tutsi refugees returned. In July 1994 when the seize fire was called Tutsis began to return to Rwanda, including refugees who had fled in the 1960’s. Hutu perpetrators fled the country. Genocide only ended when the RPF eventually defeated the Rwandan government’s armies and took control of the country. Retaliatory violence by Tutsis caused thousands of lives. By mid July, and estimated 2 million Hutu perpetrators and bystanders had fled. 850,000 refugees entered the area in just 4 days. During the influx, 15,000 refugees an hour crossed the Rwanda-Zaire boarder. The camps became like countries in exile for the Hutu extremists who used members of the Hutu army to maintain control of the refugee camps. Between July and November 1996 the refugee camps were shut down. One million exiles returned to Rwanda including tens of thousands of perpetrators who had been living side by side with Tutsi in the refugee camps. In November 1996 more than 600,000 Hutu refugees returned to Rwanda from Zaire. In December 500,000 returned from Tanzania. In summery†¦ Ironically, both Hutu perpetrators and Tutsi and Hutu moderate victims ended up in the same camps. In conclusion the causes I have just written about were the ethnic tension as a result of Belgium Colonisation, Propaganda and hate rhetoric, the role of the international community, political problems. The consequences I have just written about were the casualties, the economic effects, remembrance and education, and population displacement. All of these were major events that happened before, during and after the 1994 Rwanda Genocide there were also a number of other causes and consequences, causes are economic problems, and independence problems. The consequences were political effects, apologies from the international community, and justice, responsibility reconciliation. A quote to sum up the 1994 Rwandan Genocide is, â€Å"The Rwandan Genocide is perhaps the most horrible and systematic human massacre we have had to witness since the extermination of the Jews by the Nazis†.

The crying game Essay -- essays research papers fc

 ¡Ã‚ §Texts both inform us of the social identities available to us, and problematize them; both police our social selves and subvert them. ¡Ã‚ ¨ Both texts, The Crying Game by Neil Jordan and Loaded by Christos Tsiolkas, use characters within the discourse to project social identities that have been problematized due to social constraints. Throughout this essay, I will focus on sexuality, as this type of social identity has been depicted as a central theme in both texts. The characters from the texts work to, police and subvert their own sexual identities within their social milieu.  ¡Ã‚ §To claim an identity as a homosexual is to claim a place in a system of social regulation ¡Ã‚ ¨ (Connell & Dowsett, 1992). I would firstly like to establish the fact that homosexuality, in its most general sense, has been argued to have been socially constructed, therefore sexuality, in this case homosexuality, has to be considered a form of social identity. I support this with Freud ¡Ã‚ ¦s theory that sexuality is a result of social processes whether it be within the family, cultural, class etc., all such processes assist in forming a particular sexual identity,  ¡Ã‚ § sexualities are not received as a package ¡K.is arrived at by a highly variable and observable process of construction, not by an  ¡Ã‚ ¥unfolding ¡Ã‚ ¦ of the natural; and that social process is deeply implicated into this construction. ¡Ã‚ ¨ (Connell & Dowsett, 1992). The Crying Game and Loaded, exhibit sexual identities yet in different ways.  ¡Ã‚ §Liberal Humanism ¡Ã‚ ¨ was concerned with universal humanism which tended to homogenise various types of gays and lesbians. It was  ¡Ã‚ §Identity Politics ¡Ã‚ ¨, which was bench- marked in western countries throughout the 1960 ¡Ã‚ ¦s, that appealed to Liberal Humanism and saw that everybody had a right to express themselves and their identities. It was this recognition that distinguished identities within the  ¡Ã‚ §homosexual identity ¡Ã‚ ¨. The increase of sexual personae, diversified drag queens, dykes, macho gays, and from The Crying Game, transvestites. Throughout the novel Loaded, These diversities of homosexual identities were captured. The central character, Ari, repeatedly makes the distinction between these identities and refuses to be homogenised into such a broad identity,  ¡Ã‚ §I hate the word gay. I hate the word homosexual. ¡Ã‚ ¨ Ari would be defined as... ...eks. ¡Ã‚ ¨ Ari admits that this is because the Greek culture is renowned for their gossip and the fact that he is gay would somehow get back to his family,  ¡Ã‚ §Someone may know a friend of my parents, or know an uncle. Greeks have big mouths and word can get around. ¡Ã‚ ¨ It is this example that shows that relation between a person ¡Ã‚ ¦s sexual identity and cultural identity cannot be separated and thus form a trap. Through examples of identity, ethnicity, sexuality, gender and the body from both the film The Crying Game and the book Loaded, I have endeavoured to reveal how social conventions problematize certain identities. Focusing on sexual identities from both texts, it is seen that characters police their social selves and subvert them using their  ¡Ã‚ §homosexual identity ¡Ã‚ ¨. Bibliography „h Loaded, Christos Tsiolkas, 1998 „h The Crying Game, Neil Jordan, 1992 „h Cultural Studies and the New Humanities, Fuery & Mansfield, 1997 „h Rethinking Sex, Connell & Dowsett, 1992 „h Gender As Seriality: Thinking About Women as a Social Collective, Iris Marion Young, 1997 „h The Internationalization of Gay and Lesbian Identities, Dennis Altman, 1998

Childhood vs Adult Learning

————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- Childhood Versus Adulthood Learning ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- Tricia Barnes ————————————————- COM/156 ———â€⠀Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- January 19, 2012 ————————————————- John Likides ———————————————— There is no question about it, children and adults learn in different ways. The argument can be made about which one is better, and they are numerous schools of thought on the theories for each, but the bottom line is that there is a clear variation between how a child learns and how an adult learns. There is a vast importance for learning at both the childhood and adulthood levels. As a child, one must learn on more of a basic, survival mindset in order to overcome the challenges that are present in the first few years. Although, as an adult, the skills and cognitive abilities that were discovered as a child must be expanded and improved in order to meet the tasks appropriate for each growing age level. As a child, becoming familiar with different facts and ideas sets the groundwork for the knowledge that we hope to achieve as an adult. By establishing a good foundation, the process for learning as an adult can be adapted and improved upon to meet the progressing needs. The four main childhood learning heories are Maturationism, Environmentalism, Constructivist, and Stage-based Teaching. The four main adulthood learning theories are Life Experiences, Speck’s theory, Andragogy theory, and Jarvis’s learning process. Each one of these theories attempts to exemplify the processes and skill sets that each deems important to the learning process. One of the pertinent childhood learning theories, Maturationism, deals with the idea that the process by which we learn for the first couple of yea rs is based on markers in our DNA (Hunt, 1969). Most people in this school of thought believe that education and environmental factors merely plays a supportive role to child development, while certain instincts imbedded in our genes actually govern around what age we learn thing like how to talk or walk. These factors can be manipulated and intensified by outside factors, but the main governing fact behind early childhood development is based around a Darwin like evolutionary instinct. Many advocates of Maturationism believe that holding a child back or starting a child a year late for school may be more beneficial in the long run, because they child is not at the proper developmental maturity to be able to handle that level of information, exemplifying the idea that a mind can only handle the information that it is developed to receive (DeCos, 1997). Environmentalism is another theory at the forefront of child development. Environmentalism is in fact the contrast to Maturationism theory in that it supports the idea that a child’s development and learning is shaped by their environment and outside factors. The environmentalist theory enforces the idea of recitation and repeating, according to this theory, this is how children learn. By incorporating the outside experiences and storing them, they are able to build upon those ideas and improve upon them to learn (Skinner, 1938). It is deemed essential, and if a child is deprived of these factors, will not be as well educated or able to cope with higher learning as well as a child that was introduced to this Some argue that this is why children who come from enriched lifestyles are less likely to succeed in school as those who prepare better in infancy and young ages. Another key theory is that of Constructivistism. This theory provides that children are active learners in their education, and a child’s development is based on their motivation and abilities to seek out information (Atherton, 2010). In practice, this theory implements an active learning setting, allowing students to become involved in the learning, introducing toys such as puzzles or blocks that stimulate active interactions, thereby allowing the child to take a more participant attitude in their learning. Should a child encounter problems in their learning, this theory supports the idea of channeling the process into a one on one, and more individual learning secession in order to improve on those weaknesses. One big supporter of this theory is Jean Paiget, a very well noted child psychologist Paiget has provided countless studies and supports the fact that most of what a child learns at young ages is what they deem pertinent and important to them. In contrast to learning theories established for children, there are equally as many important to that of studying the learning process of adults. A major theory that is easily identifiable is that of the Life Experiences. Children display this theory to a degree, however, the lasting effects ten to be greater in adults. On an evolutionary basis, children use life experiences to know that falling down hurts, or to stay away from a dish once they realize it’s hot. These process are more involved on a cognitive level, and don’t play particular attention to an overall learning process. When you are a child and someone takes your toy or pushes you down, you don’t tend to be as upset or concerned, and it’s usually something that can be easily forgotten. As adults, the value of the lessons learned from life experiences tend to be much more significant, and therefore there is more emphasis on the learning applications of said methods (Lieb, 1991). For example, for most people it takes only getting robbed once to start locking up their belongings. In that sense, adults are not only able to draw from their own life experiences, but also of that as a society. For instance, there are many people who have never had a car accident, but barring laws, many would still choose to wear a seat belt, just due to the fact that is has been proven by other life experiences to be useful for saving lives and preventing injury In 1996, educational specialist Marsha Speck designed what is known as Speck’s Theory of adult education. This theory is a minor variation of the Constructivism learning theory more or less with the addition of ego in adult learners. The theory offers that an adult will only pursue learning that is significant to them in one way or another, but they should rely on peer support and not be fearful of judgment (Speck, 1996). As adult learners, they must also be shown the effect of their knowledge in an applicable setting, in most cases. Most children follow after ideas and concepts that make them happy, however adults often times cannot maintain that luxury. Therefore, to gain the knowledge necessary, an adult learner must be shown the impact. In the military, for example, often times there are many by gone traditions and customs that many are unable to identify with until they learn the importance and usefulness of the given information. The Andragogy theory is another theory that is relevant and in practice with the study of adult learning and professional development. In this theory, the main concern is process not product. It is stated that adults tend to value the experience and methodology over the actual content that they are left with at the end. By this process, emphasis is put on real world learning and role playing situation (Knowles, 1984). The idea of getting a student out of a classroom and into a situation where they can actually learn as they go along is said to have a better and more powerful impact then taking notes or reading the process from a book. For instance, most students in trade career fields in particular tend to exemplify this philosophy in the method of applying more hands on and internship training into their curriculum. Vocational-Technical schools demonstrate how, even at a learning level, students are able to grasp enough of a trade to be able to iron out their abilities through hands on applications. Another good illustration of this theory is in the military, whereby the majority of the training a given individual achieves comes not from their book based learning, but from real world on the job training. In this sense, the student is able to get immediate gratification and can see the importance of the concepts learned immediately. Both childhood learning theories and adulthood learning theories are important to every aspect. Depending on the subject being taught should govern the method behind which theory should be applied. To learn second languages, many adults approach this with a mindset very difficult to breakdown, and therefore many find it very difficult. Children, on the other hand, are able to grasp a second language far easier. The argument purposed by Maturationists would be that children have a predetermined timeline for how learning occurs, and therefore children searching for a way to communicate their thoughts are able to pick up on more than one language at time, as their minds are ripe for that form of knowledge (Hunt, 1969). The largest problem for adult learning is ego and close-mindedness. Most adults are just unable to get out of their own way in order to understand new topics. There are also differences in certain areas where adults are able to learn certain things at a much faster rate than children, and the most representation of this is in the life experiences theory. Children are able to learn simple concepts, but things like guilt, jealousy, and love are not things that children are able to grasp. These abstract emotions can’t be taught, even at a childhood level; instead they must be learned on an individual level, as the knowledge is not necessarily universal, but more individual. Overall, there are a number of different theories and concepts behind each level of development in an individual. By classifying them, it can be noted what works best and what can be altered. In this way, the living organism that is the education system is dynamically and constantly changing. By dissecting how children learn, it is possible to improve on how adults can pick up on aspects like learning a foreign language, and children are able to learn thing like team dynamics. The open-mindedness and new age looks at education have shown how many different ways there are to teach, no matter what your age or learning style. References DeCos, P. L. (1997, December). Readiness for kindergarten: What does it mean? Sacramento, CA: California Research Bureau, California State Library Atherton, J. S (2010) Piaget. Learning and Teaching; Piaget’s developmental theory. Retrieved July 29, 2010, from http://www. learningandteaching. info/learning/piaget. htm Hunt, J. M. (1969). The impact and limitations of the giant of developmental psychology. In D. Elkind & J. Flavell (Eds. ), Studies in cognitive development: Essays in honor of Jean Piaget. New York: Oxford University Press. Knowles, M. (1984). The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species (3rd Ed. ). Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing. Lieb, Stephen. (1991, Fall). Principles of adult learning. Vision. Retrieved July 28, 2010, from http://www. economist. com/china Skinner B F. (1938) The behavior of organisms: an experimental analysis. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. Speck, M. (1996, Spring). Best practice in professional development for sustained educational change. ERS Spectrum, 33-41.

High school Essay

* â€Å"Literacy is a human right, a tool of personal empowerment and a means for social and human development. Educational opportunities depend on literacy. â€Å"Literacy is at the heart of basic education for all, and essential for eradicating poverty, reducing child mortality, curbing population growth, achieving gender equality and ensuring sustainable development, peace and democracy. † (â€Å"Why Is Literacy Important? † UNESCO, 2010) * â€Å"The notion of basic literacy is used for the initial learning of reading and writing which adults who have never been to school need to go through. The term functional literacy is kept for the level of reading and writing which adults are thought to need in modern complex society. Use of the term underlines the idea that although people may have basic levels of literacy, they need a different level to operate in their day-to-day lives. † (David Barton, Literacy: An Introduction to the Ecology of Written Language, 2nd ed. WileyBlackwell, 2006) * â€Å"To acquire literacy is more than to psychologically and mechanically dominate reading and writing techniques. It is to dominate those techniques in terms of consciousness; to understand what one reads and to write what one understands: it is to communicate graphically. Acquiring literacy does not involve memorizing sentences, words or syllables–lifeless objects unconnected to an existential universe–but rather an attitude of creation and re-creation, a self-transformation producing a stance of intervention in one’s context. † (Paulo Freire, Education for Critical Consciousness. Sheed & Ward, 1974) * â€Å"There is hardly an oral culture or a predominantly oral culture left in  the world today that is not somehow aware of the vast complex of powers forever inaccessible without literacy. † (Walter J. Ong, Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word. Methuen, 1982) * â€Å"We expect the contradictory and the impossible. . . . We expect to be inspired by mediocre appeals for ‘excellence,’ to be made literate by illiterate appeals for literacy. † (Daniel J. Boorstin, The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America, 1961) * Women and Literacy â€Å"In the history of women, there is probably no matter, apart from contraception, more important than literacy. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, access to power required knowledge of the world. This could not be gained without reading and writing, skills that were granted to men long before they were to women. Deprived of them, women were condemned to stay home with the livestock, or, if they were lucky, with the servants. (Alternatively, they may have been the servants. ) Compared with men, they led mediocre lives. In thinking about wisdom, it helps to read about wisdom–about Solomon or Socrates or whomever. Likewise, goodness and happiness and love. To decide whether you have them, or want to make the sacrifices necessary to get them, it is useful to read about them. Without such introspection, women seemed stupid; therefore, they were considered unfit for education; therefore, they weren’t given an education; therefore they seemed stupid. † (Joan Acocella, â€Å"Turning the Page. † Review of The Woman Reader by Belinda Jack [Yale University Press, 2012]. The New Yorker, October 15, 2012) * From the website of California Literacy, Inc. â€Å"The literacy rate in the US has many educators in search of answers about this problem that has plagued our country for decades. Instead of decreasing, the numbers of literacy has steadily increased over the years. This raises a lot of questions about our education system, how it is ran, and why there is such a problem with illiterate people in our country. † (quoted by The New Yorker, Nov. 22, 2010) Pronunciation: LIT-er-eh-see Language * Six Common Myths About Language * Key Dates in the History of the English Language * Introduction to Etymology: Word Histories Elsewhere on the Web * The National Institute for Literacy (US) * The Literacy Project * National Literacy Trust (UK) Resources for Writers * Reference Works for Writers and Editors * Grammar and Usage Advice Sites * Sites for Correcting Common Sentence Errors Related Articles * orality – definition and examples of orality * illiteracy – definition and examples of illiteracy * aliteracy – definition and examples of aliteracy * Adult Education – What Is Adult Education * Writing Degree – Do I Need a Writing Degree Richard Nordquist Grammar & Composition Guide * Sign up for My Newsletter * Headlines * Forum Advertisement. Related Searches achieving gender equality paulo freire education curbing population growth critical consciousness paulo freire personal empowerment Explore Grammar & Composition Must Reads * What Is Grammar? * Euphemisms for Death * Commonly Confused Words * 400 Essay Topics * Introductions to 30 Figures of Speech Most Popular * What Is a Metaphor? * Writing Topics: Argument * Top 20 Figures of Speech * 400 Writing Topics * metaphor See More About: * english language By Category * Writing Tips * Business Writing * Correcting Errors * English Grammar * Punctuation & Mechanics. * Composing Sentences * Words * Composing Paragraphs * Composing Essays * Rhetoric and Style * Exercises and Quizzes * Readings and Resources * Grammar & Rhetoric Glossary Grammar & Composition 1. About. com 2. Education 3. Grammar & Composition 4. Grammar & Rhetoric Glossary 5. Icon – Lower Case 6. literacy – definition and examples of literacy * Advertise on About. com * Our Story * News & Events * SiteMap * All Topics * Reprints * Help * Write for About * Careers at About * User Agreement * Ethics Policy * Patent Info. * Privacy Policy * Your Ad Choices  ©2013 About. com. All rights reserved. The Greatest Literacy Challenges Facing Contemporary High School Teachers: Implications for Secondary Teacher Preparation Mary B. Campbell Saint Xavier University Margaret M. Kmiecik Saint Xavier University Secondary teachers face significant challenges in their efforts to increase the literacy levels of adolescents. Encouraging teachers to speak out about these challenges and to recommend initiatives that may improve literacy practices for adolescents is vital for future reform efforts. This study examines the questions: â€Å"What are the greatest literacy challenges facing high school content area teachers? † and â€Å"What will help to diminish these challenges? † The data collection questionnaire was distributed to teachers in eight high schools throughout the greater Chicago area. A discussion of the findings suggests compelling directions for secondary teachers and teacher educators. 2 Reading Horizons, 2004, 4, (1) WHILE SEVERAL REFORMS in higher education teacher preparation have made a difference in more teachers being highly prepared and qualified (Smylie, Bay, & Tozer, 1999), preparing teachers to meet the literacy demands of secondary students still remains inadequate. Improving literacy learning in our nation’s high schools needs serious elevation as an educational priority at all levels. The 2002 NAEP (National Association for Educational Progress) Report indicates that 36 percent of students in grade 12 performed at a proficient level, indicating that only a little over one-third of our nation’s high school seniors can understand challenging material (Feller, 2003). This was a decline in performance from 1998 when the NAEP reported the percentage of seniors who performed at the proficient level as 40 percent (U. S. Department of Education, 1999). Additionally the 1998 report states that no more than 6 percent of the adolescents performed at the advanced level which demonstrates students’ ability to analyze and extend the meaning of the materials they read. The NAEP data further show more than one-third of the students did not demonstrate competence at a basic level of literacy. The International Reading Association has taken a substantial leadership role in elevating attention to middle school and secondary literacy issues by establishing the Commission on Adolescent Literacy in 1997 (Rycik & Irvin, 2001). The work of this Commission resulted in the published document, Adolescent Literacy: A Position Statement (Moore, Bean, Birdyshaw, & Rycik, 1999), which recommends principles for teachers to consider when supporting the literacy growth of secondary students. Still much more comprehensive work needs to be done as challenges still persist and â€Å"teachers, administrators, and staff developers have asked for more examples of practices that might renew and revitalize their efforts for middle and high school students† (Rycik & Irvin, 2001, p.4). Teaching has greatly increased in range and complexity over the last decade. Teachers now find themselves in highly pressured environments (Pincas, 2002). Faced with the reality of overcrowded classrooms, high stakes testing, and standards-based environments, using instructional practices that move students to higher levels of thinking through more â€Å"authentic† forms of learning are lost. Additional factors Secondary Teaclher Literacy Clhallenges 3  that compound the situation are high student mobility, absenteeism, minimal student engagement, misbehavior, missing homework, cultural and linguistic diversity, special needs, and increasing numbers of students from poverty and single parent households (Alvermann, Hinchman, Moore, Phelps, & Waff, 1998). Regardless of the number or degree of challenges, teachers still remain accountable for fostering literacy growth among all students. Efforts to improve literacy learning for secondary students must take seriously the realities and challenges persistent in today’s high schools. Reform theorists who suggest â€Å"improvement can be made through a series of workshops, enhanced technology, sanctions and the like,† (Smylie, Bay, & Tozer, 1999, p. 59) are naive at best. A new paradigm requires comprehensive and systemic change. It also requires a serious re-orientation towards broad organizational, political, and economic presuppositions on which definition and acquisition of change must be based. Moreover, it involves a commitment to putting teachers at the forefront of the reform process. Valencia and Wixson (2000) argue that it is time for the voices of teachers to be heard. Without empowered professional voices, we lose the potential for constructing serious reform. Emerging Directions If students are to achieve high literacy standards, evidence strongly suggests that what teachers know and can do is one of the more important factors influencing student achievement. (Darling-Hammond, 1999, p. 228). Research also makes it clear that â€Å"if teachers are to negotiate the demands of new standards and new students, they must have access to a deeper base of knowledge and expertise than most teacher preparation programs now provide† (Darling-Hammond, 1999, p.229). While several studies have looked at reform in teacher preparation programs, Schwartz (1996) concluded that reform changes in teacher preparation have resulted in â€Å"little more than adjusting on the margins† (p. 3). Particularly troubling, in secondary teacher preparation, is the limited attention given to the challenges existing in schools in which future teachers must help students to achieve literacy, and the problems 4 Reading Horizons, 2004, 4, (1) of schooling in a broader social context. Moreover, in many states, secondary teacher preparation programs include a requirement of a content area reading course, whereas in other states there is no equivalent requirement. This has remained literally unchanged for years, even as secondary students continue to struggle with reading and writing throughout the high school curriculum. The wide-spread standards movement has made some impact in requiring newly certified teachers to demonstrate competency on specific literacy knowledge and performance indicators. However, the depth of what is needed to teach content area literacy in secondary schools requires more than one course, and/or a few standards. Connecting Two Distinct Communities Education can no longer be seen as an exclusive function, and the traditional structures cannot remain isolated from social change. Faculties in colleges and universities and the practicing teachers in secondary schools have no choice but to adjust to new paradigms. While it is now more common to find partnerships and institutional collaborations between university faculty and secondary teachers, many of these need redefinition. In many partnerships, â€Å"practicing teachers have related there has not been a high level of reciprocity, as the universities are too dominant† (Campbell, 2002, p. 22). Each entity must put into the equation improvement strategies that are meaningful to their respective organizations; that is, they need to identify areas where they truly need help from one another. Then institutionally and programmatically, they need to find ways to work together to make those intended improvements a reality (Howey & Zimpher, 1999, p. 299). High school teachers and teacher educators alike are looking to move beyond  yet another â€Å"good idea† to realize reconceptualization and transformation for secondary literacy education. This means engaging high school teachers in the process of secondary teacher preparation, determining what factors pose the greatest challenges to literacy development and using this knowledge as a cornerstone for improving Secondary Teaclher Literacy Clhallenges literacy practices in schools. Failure to confront these challenges effectively will undoubtedly compromise the ability of teachers to serve as effective agents of change. Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify the problems secondary teachers face that impede literacy learning in the classrooms and to yield information that may inform the preparation of future secondary teachers. Two broad questions emerged to guide this study: o What are the greatest literacy challenges facing high school content area teachers? e What will help to diminish these challenges for current and/or future high school teachers? The Study ParticipatingS chools and Teachers The schools that participated in this study included eight high schools, seven public and one private. The researchers purposely selected the schools to ensure ethnic diversity as well as urban and suburban representation. Six of the high schools represented grades 10-12 and two included grades 9-12. The school principals granted permission to graduate students enrolled in a Masters Degree Program in Reading to place the High School Literacy Survey in the school mailboxes of the teachers. A total of 450 questionnaires, including a cover letter and a stamped return envelope, were distributed to 9-12 teachers. Two hunared and two questionnaires were returned, realizing a return rate of 45 percent. There were no follow-up attempts to obtain a higher return rate. Most respondents (71 percent) had advanced degrees beyond the B. A. or B. S. : among these were 68 percent with a M. A. and 3 percent with a Ph. D. Teachers from 18 different subject area fields responded to the survey. English (18 percent), mathematics (16 percent), and science (15 percent) teachers comprised the majority of participants. The remaining teachers represented the following subjects; art (3 percent), 5. 6 ReadingHorizons, 2004, 45, (1) business (4 percent), technology (4 percent), driver’s education (1 percent), foreign language (6 percent), history (7 percent), library (1 percent), music (1 percent), physical education (3 percent), reading (1 percent), radio/television (1 percent), social studies (8 percent), special education (3 percent), theology (3 percent), and vocational education (4 percent). Teachers with more than 10 years of experience accounted for 63 percent of the sample, while 37 percent had 10 years or less. Teachers working in suburban areas surrounding the greater Chicago area comprised the majority (67 percent) of the sample population, with the remaining 33 percent coming from urban schools. Forty-four percent described their schools as predominately diverse (> 50 percent), 32 percent considerably diverse (30-50 percent minority), 17 percent somewhat diverse (10-30 percent minority) and 7 percent primarily white (less than 10 percent minority). The Questionnaire We collected the data from a survey instrument, High School. Literacy Survey, designed and constructed by us. The questionnaire requested two types of information: * objective, relating to educational degrees, content field of study, years of teaching experience, diversity of school population * subjective, relating to opinions and values in teaching and learning The subjective portion of the survey was comprised of two broad questions. The first question asked teachers to identify 5 of the 20 factors that posed the greatest challenges in helping their students to attain literacy in their subject field. Respondents wrote the numeral 1 next to the statement representing their greatest challenge, the numeral 2 next to the statement representing their next greatest challenge, and so forth through the numeral 5. (See Appendix) The twenty statements, defined as challenges, were derived from the literature on content area reading. An extensive review of the literature Secondary Teaclher Literacy Clhallenges 7 resulted in identifying twenty challenges, however, these may not represent all possible factors and they may not represent factors that teachers would have included if they were to construct the questionnaire. A space was provided for teachers entitled â€Å"other† for their convenience in identifying additional factors that pose as challenges. Since no specific theory was identified to serve as a foundation for the selection of factors, they represent an eclectic representation. Additionally, the factors were not defined on the questionnaire, indicating that a singular definition cannot be assumed and that the factors may represent multiple meanings in the field. The second question invited the teachers to respond openly to the question, â€Å"What do you believe will help to diminish these challenges for current and/or future high school teachers? † Findings Percentages were used to report the data on the high school teachers’ perceptions about the factors that challenge them most in helping their students to achieve literacy in their subject area. Table 1. Percentage Responses of Factors that Represent the Greatest Literacy Challenges Factors Percent 1 2 3 4 5 Total Assessment of student learning 2 1 1 2 2 8 Classroom environment 1 2 – 1 2 6 Classsize 4 4 6 8 5 27 Cultural and language diversity – 1 – 1 – 2 among students Curriculum – 1 2_ 1A _3 7. 8 Reading Horizons, 2004, 45, (1) Factors Percent 1 2 3 4 5 Total Helping students to construct. meaning from text Helping students interpret graphics in text Helping students to learn and use critical thinking skills Helping students to locate and organize information Helping students to understand concepts and vocabulary Homework issues Integrating technology for teaching and learning Selecting materials for teaching and learning Organizing and managing the classroom for learning State/district/school standards for students Struggling readers Student motivation/interest/attitudes 3 6 6 7 7 1 1 – 3 2 16 8 12 11 12 1 5 5 4 3 8 3 6 11 12 5 8 10 6 7 1 5 2 1 3 – – 1 – 4 1 2 – 2 3 1 1 1 1 2 9 9 8 8 8. 33 17 17 8 7 1 5 5 5 3 19 29 7 59 18 40 36 12 5 8 6 42 82 Students with special needs Secondary Teacher Literacy Chiallenges Factors Percent 1 2 3 4 5 Total Students who lack study skills 11 13 13 13 7 57 Writing skills of students 2 8 5 7 8 30 (A ranking scale, with 1 meaning â€Å"greatest challenge,† 2 â€Å"next greatest challenge,† and so forth) The top five challenges as reported in Table 1 were: * student motivation, interests, and attitudes (33 percent) o helping students to learn and use critical thinking skills (16 percent) o students who lack study skills (11 percent) o struggling readers (9 percent). o helping students to understand concepts and vocabulary (8 percent). The least perceived challenges were cultural and language diversity among students (2 percent) and selecting materials for teaching and learning (5 percent). Examining the data of the largest responding groups of content area teachers, English, mathematics, and science, yielded similar findings. All three of these groups identified the same top two challenges as did the total group. The English, mathematics, and science teachers’ third, fourth and fifth rankings were: * English > (3) homework issues > (4) students who lack study skills. > (5) writing skills of students o Mathematics > (3) students who lack study skills 9 iO Reading Horizons, 2004, 45, (1) > (4) homework issues > (5) helping students to locate and organize information e Science: > (3) students who lack study skills > (4) helping students to understand concepts and vocabulary > (5) helping students to construct meaning from text The teachers were also asked to respond to the following openended question, â€Å"What do you believe will help to diminish these challenges for current and/or future high school teachers? † Seventyseven percent of the teachers wrote responses to this question. The resppnses were grouped by similar topics from which themes emerged. Table 2 reports the percentages of the most frequently occurring responses to the open-ended question. Table 2. Themes and Percentages of Responses for Confronting the Greatest Challenges Most Frequent Responses by Theme Percent Better basic skills instruction in elementary schools 64 More parent responsibility and support 58 Mandatory inclusion of critical 39 thinking questions on all assessments Study skills classes for incoming students 33 I Iimprove teacher preparation/more methods for 28 secondary teachers. Greater respect and support from society 20 Practical/useful staff development 11 Secondary TeachterLiteracy Challenges ‘ 11 Most Frequent Responses by Theme Percent Teacher task forces making policy decisions 9 instead of politicians and administrators Complete restructuring of the current traditional 7 education model A center at each high school for struggling readers The most common responses cited by the majority of teachers to confront the greatest challenges (Table 2) were better basic skills instruction in elementary schools (64 percent) and more parent responsibility and support (58 percent). Sample responses given by less than 50 percent of the teachers were mandatory inclusion of critical thinking questions on all assessments (39 percent), study skills classes for incoming students (33 percent), and improvement of teacher preparation with more methods for secondary teachers (28 percent). Discussion The results of this study provide insight for the continuing efforts to improve the literacy levels of secondary students. They are, however, neither exclusive nor exhaustive. They are offered with no claim for the universality or total generalizability, but they are offered as a common ground for thinking. Student Motivation andA ttitudes High school teachers identified student motivation to read, write, and do other literacy-related activities as their greatest challenge. The teachers’ written comments on questionnaires indicated that much of the class-assigned reading is often boring and not relevant to the student’s own interests and experiences. They also stated that the students who will not read are as much at a disadvantage as those who cannot. Student 12 Reading Horizons, 2004, 45, (1) motivation was ranked the greatest challenge of all for the participating teachers. The dilemma of identifying and implementing strategies to motivate adolescents is not new to literacy practice. The data from this study confirm what the research (Alexander & Filler, 1976; Au & Asam, 1996; Benware & Deci, 1984; Collins-Block, 1992; Guthrie & Alao, 1997; Schraw, Brunning, & Svoboda, 1995) has documented over time: that student motivation, interests, and attitudes are indeed authentic challenges. Teaching adolescents to become active, motivated, and selfregulated learners is a continuing issue in secondary schools. It is during the adolescent years when reading motivation and attitudes appear to worsen, especially for poor readers (McKenna, Kear, & Ellsworth, 1995). Serious attempts to advance literacy skills require interventions that address motivation and attitudes as much as interventions that assure cognitive changes in the learners (Verhoevan & Snow, 2001). This generally does not happen. Motivational constructs are usually not given significant vigilance in relation to student cognition and thinking, and at best, are given only passing and superficial attention. A further problem is that standard reading texts and uniform curricula make life somewhat easier for teachers and administrators, but they make it very difficult for students to get involved with the material at the level that is right for them, and therefore to find intrinsic rewards in learning. In the classroom, the teacher is the key element in motivating students to learn. The responsibility is great and the ramifications even greater, yet many responding high school teachers stated they were not adequately prepared in their teacher preparation programs with the knowledge, skills, and instructional strategies to ignite the spirit of their students. These teachers indicated they want more ideas, support, and freedom within the school curriculum to take the lead, and more ways to experience first-hand, in-field, motivational issues in their teacher preparation programs. Critical Thinking Skills. Teaching critical thinking skills was the second greatest challenge for teachers. Large numbers of teachers indicated they feel underSecondary Teachter Literacy Clhallenges 13 prepared in pedagogical methods to help studenis conceptualize problems and solutions. Assisting adolescents to become proficient with these skills is a prodigious challenge for secondary teachers. The capacity for abstraction, for discovering patterns and meanings, generalizing, evaluating, and theorizing is the very essence of critical thinking and exploration. For most students in the United States and throughout the world, formal education entails just the opposite kind of learning. Rather than construct meaning for themselves, meanings are imposed upon them. Frequently, students often accumulate a large number of facts along the way, yet these facts are not central to their education; they will live their adult lives in a world in which most facts learned years before (even including some historical ones) will have changed or have been reinterpreted. Whatever data they need will be available to them at the touch of a computer key. If students are to learn critical thinking skills, teachers must teach them and engage their students in genuine problem solving discussion. Generally these skills are best, and likely only taught and assessed, through extended discourse. This is difficult to do in crowded classes where it is near to impossible to carry out extended discussions. The commitment to teaching these skills in all content areas means gaining support from the public. It also means that teachers must gain the knowledge and skills to do so through teacher preparation programs and inservice education, taking into account the real-life situations and parameters in today’s classrooms. Study Skills Students who lack study skills ranked as the third greatest challenge to teachers. The importance of study skills has been documented over time in the professional literature (Flood & Lapp, 1995). What is known is that many people of all ages have difficulty reading and learning, largely because they are not using appropriate techniques or good learning habits. Often, the adolescents who are dropping out of schools are doing so because they believe they carnot learn. For the majority of these students, they lack suitable reading and study techniques, which 14 Reading Horizons, 2004, 45(1) impede their growth in learning and contribute to their negative beliefs about themselves and school. Although most secondary teachers have a thorough understanding qf their subject, many responding teachers in this study indicated they lack the knowledge of instructional/study strategies by which to help students internalize the concepts. Research shows that with an organized system of study, students can increase their comprehension of subject matter up to 50 percent (Annis, 1983). As nations seek to assist adolescents in gaining higher levels of literacy, the knowledge and skills that teachers need to teach their students effective study habits and strategies may likely become central to the curriculum in secondary teacher preparation programs and in the curriculum of secondary schools. Struggling Readers Struggling readers ranked as the fourth greatest challenge to the high school teachers. Teachers responded that these students can be found â€Å"hiding out† in content classrooms. They frequently are passive and disengaged. , Many have found coping strategies to help (them get by, but they do not significantly improve their literacy skills or their knowledge in the content areas. I Although comprehension of text material is difficult and sometimes impossible for struggling readers, there are research-based strategies that have proven to be successful when used with struggling readers. One such strategy is instructional scaffolding, an effective strategy that gives students a better chance to be successful than if left on their own (Vacca, 2002). Pedagogy, which includes instructional techniques for diverse learners, is glossed over in many teacher preparation programs for secondary teachers. However, it is as important in the preparation of high school teachers as is cognitive knowledge (Darling-Hammond, 2000). If high school teachers are to make substantial contributions to all adolescents, it will require more knowledge of relevant instructional methodologies. Darling-Hammond (2000) found that teacher subject-matter knowledge was related to student achievement only up to a certain point. Secondary Teacher Literacy Challenges 15 Marzano (2003) asserts that the importance of the relationship between pedagogical knowledge and student achievement has been consistently reported in the research literature. Furthermore, in a study conducted by Ferguson and Womack (1993), they found that the number of courses teachers took in instructional techniques accounted for four times the variance in teacher performance and student achievement than did subject-matter knowledge. Teachers stated that more information about how to assist the struggling readers in their classrooms is sorely needed in preservice teacher education programs. Additionally they need to know that the strategies and support to assist these learners are realistic for today’s classrooms. Key Concepts and Vocabulary Helping students to understand concepts and vocabulary ranked as the fifth greatest challenge. Every subject area has its own vocabulary and modes of argument, and its language is the common denominator for learning subject matter knowledge. Vacca and Vacca (2002) agree: they state, â€Å"Vocabulary must be taught well enough to remove potential barriers to students’ understanding of texts as well as to promote a longterm acquisition of the language of a content area† (p. 160-161). Teachers want more knowledge about ways to teach vocabulary and concepts to adolescents, strategies that will provide adolescents with a deeper and richer entry into the content area of study, and strategies that will work in the classrooms of today. Intriguing Findings It is a noteworthy finding that the cultural and language diversity among students in the classrooms was not identified among the greatest challenges. The majority of teachers in this study were from diverse schools, and yet only two percent ranked this to be a challenge. Equally notable was the fact that state, district, and school standards, writing skills, and integrating technology were not identified among the greatest challenges. 16 Reading Horizons, 2004, 45, (1). Of all the findings, the most revealing was that provided by the driver’s education teachers: whereas every other content-area group of teachers, albeit art, music, business, foreign language, etc. , ranked student motivation as the greatest challenge, they did not. This is not surprising as it supports the findings of this study as well as long standing research in the field, as cited in Marzano, 2003. The hypothesis being that when motivated, students strive to learn.