History of education Essay Example for Free

History of education Essay â€Å"Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed for a lifetime. † This adage is completely true in its meaning and substance. It means that if you educate a person, you are showing him the way to the future. You are giving the necessary training that helps him earn his bread and lead a better life for himself and his children in future. Education is the only way which distinguish human from the animal. According to Aristotle, the distinguishing feature of man is his moral sense. Man can learn from his experiences and from his experiences of others; he knows what is good and what is bad. He is capable of revising his judgements whenever he doesn’t agree with the circumstances of life. It is because of this reason that education became a part of the training of man. We are the superior because we contain the knowledge and the education which has only bought us in this condition. Education is described as the training and instructions given to the human. It also gives a person ability to develop character and mental power. It is compared to light that light up the darkness. In other words, it means that people become more aware of things in life and they see things from different perspectives. It also leads a person from mental bankruptcy to enlightenment. Education can be obtained formally and informally. The education we get at schools and colleges is termed formal education and the education ewe get at homes regarding family values and social relationships is called informal education. A Chinese proverb says, â€Å"If you are planning for a year, sow rice, if you are planning of ten years plant trees nut if you are planning of hundred years, educate people. † Education is the backbone of a society. It holds the foundations of civilizations and development. If the system of educating people is good in a country, the country makes rapid progress. This is the reason why millions of dollars are earmarked for education in the developed countries. The real purpose of education lies in disciplining our reasoning and emotion. If our emotions are not properly channelised, we are reduced to the status of animals. If our reasoning is not properly controlled, it my go wrong. Similarly, emotion and reason should have their due share in determining the personality of a person; otherwise man becomes a lopsided creature. At last, education is the important thing which we should not discourage. The real purpose of education can be achieved if it is not tagged with any other motion expect education. We all have the right to study and gave as much information as we can so let gather the knowledge and be educated.

Analysis of E-grocery Systems

Analysis of E-grocery Systems Introduction:- The literature reviews the operational and strategic analysis of E-grocery systems. There are many business models in E-grocery business. To make E-business model a sustainable one they are using different strategies in different targeted markets. Each individual model varies from one other in various dimensions such as placing of order, assembling and delivering the goods. The first part of the literature provides statistical description of online grocery industry in various geographical and measures. The second part provides review of the E-grocery industrys market and its customer base. The final part offers previous studies opinions and factors about various outcomes of e-grocery business. Industry Over View:- Over last five decades grocery business has transformed into new sector of supermarkets in UK. Many of the supermarkets changed the grocery field dramatically. These champions of consumers brought vast choices in product and price to improve their business sector. Online grocery shopping and Home delivery system has became one of major aspects in grocery industries. The revolution of technology advancement in internet promoted grocery industries to embark on new methods in retailing industry. However, many grocers have been unsuccessful to consider the advantages of how it can support grocery business. These developments lead to dismissal of complete-online supermarkets such as webvan, homegrocer, shoplink and homeruns (Ramus and Nielsen, 2005). These results demonstrate the necessity of careful crafting of e-grocery strategies which exploits internet technologys potential of increasing company profit and also customer service (porter, 2001). On one hand, strategy conceptualisation is difficult for pure-play grocery stores since companies have not tried business models before. On the other hand, formulation of strategies for clicks and bricks grocery shops requires strategies which will combine both existing retail practice and internet based shopping processes ( Teo, 2002). Online shopping or e-grocery retailing service involves customers online buying behaviour and practices, order fulfilment and delivery of order, development and maintenance of online websites to facilitate customers to enter their orders (Hong and Kim, 2004). This literature provides insight of e-groceries and the strategic methods. Development Of Home Deliveries In The UK:- In United Kingdom, from centuries home delivery of goods has been taking place. During 20th century some local door to door field sales and home deliveries were go down due to rise large number of retail centres and also availability of cheap cars, however, some other home delivery business still in existence such as milk and catalogue distribution. The innovation of large consumer products such as washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerators, televisions etc results in certain type of delivery methods after mid-twentieth century. (Spufford, 1994) The recent development of information technology has contributed many new methods to retailing sector over the internet which drastically increases the demand of home deliveries. Online shopping and home delivery became an ideal path or approach in a society where people themselves believe they are cash-rich and time-poor for grocery or household goods. E-commerce along with some other forms offers the opportunity for consumers to buy household goods from their homes and also to receive deliveries at their flexible timings rather than travelling to stores. (ibid) Grocery And Grocery Industry:- Groceries and other food retailers function each and every day, yet it is fundamental and permanent industry sectors in the business world. Everybody require food, thus everyone must and should purchase food from one or another retail outlet. Therefore, the grocery industry is a vast, fragmented and tremendously competitive environment ( Kelly Delaney et al, 2003 pp 187). â€Å"In Great Britain, food retailing industry constitutes 36 percent of overall retail turnover annually (Central Statistical Office, 1990). In United Kingdom the largest individual category of family expenditure and along with some other groups, which are partially sold in supermarkets, like household goods, tobacco and alcohols, clothing and leisure goods for a considerably large share of customer shopping (Central Statistical Office, 1991).† (Russell Aylott et al, 1998,. Pp.363) Customer Base And Market Trends:- According to Verdict (2006a), 80% of the online shoppers were of 29 to50 age group in 2002. Majority of responded shoppers were female. There are three groups of online shoppers: firstly rich and busy people who are pressed for time, secondly families with one or more young children and thirdly people who find difficulty to get into stores. The first group of people are those who have higher incomes and less time to shop. These people are normally high internet users, technology comprehend or family with dual income. These rich and busy people prefer someone to shop behalf of them. The second group are those who have got young children in their families. They constitute higher number of e-grocery shoppers. The age group of e-grocery shoppers is 29 to 50 years old with at least one young child under five years old. This group usually spend their time in cooking dinners for their family therefore they prefer shop online for regular household groceries. This category of people wants to avoid hassle situation at stores by dragging kids along with them for shopping. The final group is comparably small to other two categories. This group of people are those who find difficulty to access the store environment due to several reasons like age or physical disability. People average life span increased in recent decades comparing to 1950s and 1960s. People average life span increased from 67.8 to 77.2 in 2007 and they estimated life span is 82.4 for 2015.Aged people and physically challenged people may need little more extra help while doing shopping. They may found it as difficult to drive to supermarkets and to carry heavy household goods back to home. Online shopping will be the good alternative source for grocery shopping. Estimation Of Home Delivery Shopping Market And Market Share:- In the year 1999 the total home shopping market worth was figured  £12.36bn in UK market. The projected view for 2004 was  £24.12bn. All sectors have been experienced by considerable growth and constant increase has been expected for following 5 years as customers accept different new channels for purchasing of goods. Traditional grocery shopping is matured market. However, recent development and growth predicts that, it has been generated by potential e-commerce and majority of grocers converted a part of their business into e-grocers. UK e-shopping was  £581m worth in the year 1999 and estimated growth to  £1.53bn in 2000. Verdict research predicted there will be huge growth of 3.36% of total sales in online market and it was estimated as  £8.84bn by 2004(Nielsen, 2000). Market Trends In Home Shopping:- E-commerce growth in recent decades (excluding some declined cases) transformed old traditional companies into technology implemented new companies. Moreover, now companies are in better position to exploit and implement new technologies to business models to grow their sales and profit. In the starting days of internet technology there were comments from academic commentators that most of incumbent businesses were unwilling to try internet for sales channel. There was lack of internet knowledge and also uneven distribution of amount for physical distribution. These companies distribution infrastructure have their brand names and customer base which will help to command and access the funding, and provide stronger position to embrace e-commerce (Anderson consulting, 2000). If we consider present situation, majority of internet user are males compare to females. This socio-economic difference in internet profile user also affects online shopping. Along with these higher proportion of society contains children and youth who currently own their own computer systems and access internet more than older generation. However, research depicts that some of these variations may diminish over the growth of technology. For an example, the prediction of women internet user by the 2005 will increase by sixty percent of total UK online users. (Tesco, 2000). Many more established retailers are likely to adopt a new approach, Multichannel retail sector implementation and development, in future. Already there are alternative channel development methods by many large retailers. It will also permit retailers to create alternative channels to draw supply chains and resources from their existence channels. For manufacturing companies it will provide good opportunity to access customers directly and to formulate new methods of delivering service or product. There is an expectation of launching of new niche catalogues from major drivers in UK as growth rate penetrates. (Webb, 2000). Geographical Characteristics:- Sandoval( 2002) mentioned analyst Robert Rubin said that average population density in UK is high compared to ones US. The US( 31 per sq.km) population density is one-eighth of the UK ( 248 per sq.km) in 2004 ( world population prospectus). Tesco and Sainsbury have become successful e-grocers in the UK. These grocers target highly populated urban areas for more potential consumers. Urban areas are densely populated, people reside very close. In large cities there are less people who own cars. There are other factors which influence online grocery shopping in urban areas such as busy lifestyle, highly crowded shopping malls, public transport dependence for transportation and higher income. According to Mclaughlin(2005) cities are highly populated with internet users and considerable residents with disposable income. It is difficult expand online shopping to system to all geographic areas instead it could be done from one urban area to another, expanding business like this will make company delivery truck to achieve high number of deliveries at every trip. Psychographic Characteristics:- Fox and kempiak (2006) mentioned five major decision elements for online grocery shopping( price, convenience, product variety, ambiance and service). He also stated several reasons to increase online shopping chances such as changing family structure, busy work schedule with increased working hours, less free time and time consuming traditional shopping methods. This social system transformation result in search of alternative independent grocery shopping methods. Customer with different disability made their interest towards e-shopping rather than traditional one. Woodside, Arch G. and Randolph J. Trappey (1992) mentioned that time and conveniences are the two major factors for people to switch from traditional shopping methods to electronic shopping methods. Technology should provide complete product description to satisfy different types of customer base it may be depends on several criteria such as different food preferences such as organic, religious , ethnic origin etc Technological Characteristics:- Fox and Kempiak(2006)states that, the food marketing institute indicates US consumers are highest internet users with eighty-six percent in that seventy percent will shop online daily. Whereas in the UK, broadband user are in fifth position in world and second position in Europe. E-commerce research 2007 shows 15.9 percent respondents brought groceries once in a week, 2.7 percent shops twice or thrice a month, largest group shops once or twice in a year. Increased internet users likely contribute the growth of online shopping. Online shoppers will make more shopping than in-store shoppers. â€Å"As the economy and society have changed, so retailers have responded and shopping as an activity has altered enormously.† (Dawson and Broadbridge,1988). Online shopping is comparatively recent phenomenon, which provides an opportunity to consumers to carry out at least one part of buying process online. â€Å"Electronic grocery shopping has been defined as shopping when at least part of transaction is started electronically via third party services or the Internet, but paying and logistics are not necessarily performed digitally†. ( Carl Lewis, 2003-pp.207) E-shop business model represents one class of e-commerce where buyers and sellers interact electronically with each other, except for deliveries. Burke suggests many reasons web marketing of food. As an example, everybody has to eat, and in store shopping consumes considerable time to purchase and majority people do not like grocery shopping. Daily household goods are difficult to move physically from one place to another. Continuous growth of e-commerce enlightens many traditional grocery retailers to use internet channel to sell their goods. The development leads to many more conventional retails to enter into e-grocery field (Boedeker.M, 1997 ). E-Crm:- Smith believed that, customers thinking about the shopping are predetermined whether in means of preference to products, price and accessibility. Satisfying such conditions and preferences thorough online process is carried out through designing e-commerce website and online shopping store should focus on creating e-loyalty. Customer relationship management (CRM) programmes are the most effective way to incorporate loyalty. Customer service is one of the major aspects of business which includes customer assistant in sales, maintenance customer policies, providing customised services, after-sales maintenance etc. Due to the different type and nature of products which are purchased at e-grocery shops there should be complete product description. Some websites provide procedures for return of product or reporting problems as a part of after-sales service. Some stores allow unsatisfied customer to return their product, some websites provide vast description about their products such as r ipeness of their tomatoes (smith, 2000). All online shopping websites provide some customer rules and policies. According to Australian legislation, all online websites should maintain privacy policy (Australian Federal Government, 2000). Success And Failure Factors From Previous Studies:- Friends of Earth(2005) believed that e-grocery method is the best way to promote industrys brand image. However , Fox and Kempiak(2006) and Kotler (1996) stated conversely; brand image of company will help to promote online grocery business. They also believed that industrys business experience and its infrastructure will be added advantage for promotion. One more factor is people ability to spend money for long duration household goods. Pachauri, Moneesha 2002 stated that competition in e-grocery retail sector remains the same until company stay in game. If any child companys online business started down falling then parental company may not let it to happen for longer duration because they are inter-related in means of profit sharing. Without the demand, services of online business company will lead to business failure. Retention of existing customer is one of the main aspects of business. To gain customer loyalty, companies should provide reward to regular shopper. Customers can also gain loyalty points for their spending and it will convert into reward coupons or vouchers. Brick and mortar stores utilises their existing business infrastructure to click and mortar stores to save on costs. Delaney-Klinger, Boyer, and Frohlich (2003) mentioned Tescos success and Webvan failure because of its marketing strategy for online business. Webvan marketed its online sales with value-added service and extra delivery charges to cope up with online ordering cost. Tescos pricing strategy is little higher than the Webvan and its most suitable one for lower volume sales. Smith, Howard (2004) stated that online-only business spent heavy money for their highly automated warehouses. The operating costs for these warehouses are high and order volumes for those companies are not more than half of their capacity. High initial start up cost for online division, although pricing strategy can able to reduce cost for internal order picking and delivery methods. However, Delaney-Klinger et al (2003) believed that the expenditure for short run will increase business cost for warehouse methods and decrease for existing store picking methods comparably. High initial start-up cost will results at higher risk for any organisation. Another aspect for failure will be lack of online business management knowledge and experience. Blythman, Joanna (2005) stated that, companies are not concentrating much on customer relation management for stabilising business consistently. Traditional grocers have more advantage over online grocers in this area. Conclusion:- Online shopping and home delivery service is one of the critical aspects of e-grocery business. E-grocery business should have to understand the variable cost affecting structures and service concepts in order to turn online grocery business into profitable one. The different strategies were discussed. Analysing and adopting best strategy for e-grocery business is mast important. This literature provided insight of e-groceries. In a service context, as with product marketing, getting and keeping customers is of utmost importance. With service, in particular, someone within the organization will interact with customers; hence they should be viewed as customer relationships not just customers. Customer relationships have to be built and a useful way of viewing these developments as a life cycle. The marketing objective will change as the customer proceeds through the cycle. Understanding service marketing is becoming increasingly important for all organizations as more firms seek to di fferentiate their product or services through their service offering. Interaction and customer relationship concepts, two key areas of service marketing are set to be of even greater importance to all firms in the future. Research Methodology Research topic: Strategic and Economic analysis of E-grocery system in Tesco and Sainsbury (Online shopping and home delivery methods). Background Of Home Delivery System And Its Characteristics- Home delivery is generally defined as delivering of all types of goods to customers homes (or any different location opted by customer – example workplace) regardless online or any other order forms such as traditional mailing, telephone-based ordering (phone order), internet, fax or order made in person by consumer in store premises. The study is carried out in business to customer order delivery system rather than business to business. Home delivery system refers to all household goods delivered to consumers house (the destination may change such as work place on customers selection). Hence in online shopping and home delivery method the purchased physical household goods is carried out to customers destination by specialised home delivery unit or companies instead of customers themselves. There are some reasons for home deliveries like (i) may be the retail outlet itself provide an additional service to their customers or ( ii) may be customer do not like to carry the shopped goods at that instance or the required product may be out-of-stock at that moment or (iii) due to goods weight or size ( if it became difficulty to customer to transport by themselves) or (iv) because the seller itself does not have any physical store and may be its complete operation depends on the virtual online store. Thus customer may face impossible situation to collect the goods in store by themselves. (Farahmand and Young, 1998; Nielse n, 2000) Problem Statement:- On one hand, many customers are interested to do online shopping for their household goods, but yet they are not interest to abandon shopping in-store in traditional way. Most of the people still believed that, online shopping is too expensive. On the other hand, many more industries also made their effort to build online stores by providing this extra service to the customers. Organisations are continuously striving hard to build different strategic approaches for fulfilment of orders in profitable way. However, online unit business will add extra expenditure to grocers with or without some nominal charges. The profit margin is comparably very low in e-grocery to traditional one. Many grocers have undertaken to provide online shopping experience for their customers with different strategies. Profit margin is very low and sustainability in this industry is difficult. In the history of grocery sector many more companies introduced online shopping and home delivery units and failed. Purpose Of The Study:- The online shopping and home delivery is still in emergent phase. E-grocery business is very challenging field and it provides an extraordinary opportunities for business. E-groceries made many more efforts to implement various strategies and service concepts, there is no much research carried out in this area. This research study is provides insight of e-grocery methods in retail sector, identifies operating strategies and strategic and economic analysis of home delivery methods in Sainsbury and Tesco. Main Research Questions:- This research study is carried out to understand the factors of e-grocery success by trying to find answer to following research questions. How Tescos and Sainsburys online units are functioning strategies to its success? What are the business models they are following? How are they processing their order? Should they use warehouse system or in-store picking system? Whether home delivery system is profitable or not? How should online unit function to achieve operational efficiency and how they are managing customer relationship? Hypothesis: Home delivery is neither a profitable nor a strategic contributor to Tesco and Sainsbury. Research Objectives:- The objective of this study is to find out the above was mentioned research explained empirically by using various research methods. Our approach is comparative in nature. The steps adopted in our study are as follows: (1) Identification of the industries under study; (2) Study of background of the industries; (3) Interpretation of appropriateness of strategies and methods of individual firm; (4) Analysis of home delivery methods impact on organisational performance from individual firm. Research Approach And Methodology:- Research data collection is carried out both quantitatively and qualitatively. It will become difficult to distinguish between these two methods. Generally quantitative research method means collecting numerical data or coded information for objective analysis, data will be later interpreted. Qualitative research method is data collection by observations by peoples activity generally and they are noted in coded description. However, this codified information can be used for later analysis. The important form of this method is often reporting and interpretations by researcher by timely observation. A semi structured interview will be carried out during research which consists of analysis of six Sainsbury and six Tesco stores for data collection about home delivery. Interviews will be carried out with key persons like grocery manager, online delivery driver, and duty manager etc in each store to collect the quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data will be calculated and qualitative data will be gathered for analysis. And results will be drawn from the following methods. This study uses semi-structured quantitative primary analysis (interview for data collection) and majorly uses qualitative method (secondary source) to identify UK grocery sector and to focus to answer research questions stated. Interviews will provide large amount of information which is main source of information and key pathway for time-constrained studies such as this (Esterberg, 2002). Case Study And Historical Analysis Method:- According to Yin (1989), there are mainly five major investigating methods in social science research namely surveys, archival analysis, case studies, experiments and historical analysis. He also distinguish them on the basis of three criteria; those are i) what kind of research question will be asked, ii) what will the degree of control over present behavioural consequences and iii) present emphasis compared to past events. Case studies and historical analysis are desirable approaches to evaluate strategies of organisations. These methods are useful to describe and answer the â€Å"how† and/or â€Å"why† scenario when events happen beyond researcher control and also while researching present phenomenon in real-life time. Inductive and deductive approaches will be used for analysis of research data. Inductive way means drawing the general conclusions from researcher based on empirical grounds. Deductive approach means drawing the conclusions from researchers logical reasoning (Ghauri,et.Al,. 1995). This study focus on collecting information regarding operational strategies of Tesco and Sainsbury and to understand, why they are providing online shopping facility to customers while many of the supermarket failed to stay in game. During the process of study, the companies actions or strategic implementations from them are beyond the control of researcher, case study and historical analysis methods will be best, for a part of research. Meta-Analysis:- On this part, research study is carried out through qualitative meta-analysis for selected e-grocery organisations. Answers to main research questions will be collected qualitatively for each individual case (Lyons, 2003). The collected data will be analysed and possible relationships between business models and various out comes will be fetched out. This method is used to compare operations characteristics and strategies of Tesco and Sainsbury from the gathered data. This is the systematic approach for cross comparison of business models. There are few draw backs in meta-analysis such as, since data collected from various sources hence results quality is directly depends on the quality of source. Another, may companies may use similar strategic approach to achieve their goals which may be rarely identical. There is no unique approach to analyse data for meta-analysis. This effort is made to reveal answers from confirmed information from various sources (Graney and Engle, 1990). Significance And Limitations:- The study is carried out on case studies and available literature for the analysis of success in online grocery business, hope this study helps to find the major research questions. Study carried out to compare business models of only two named companies. This study is limited to only e-grocery business of Tesco and Sainsburys home delivery methods. Dissertation will be carried out only in the grocery section and applicability of results to other departments is not recommended. Dissertation will be carried out for sample quantity which will restrict the chances of generalisation. References:- AC Nielsen (2000) the Retail Pocket Book, 2000. Burke, R. R. 1997. Real Shopping in a Virtual Store. Peterson R. A. (editor). Electronic Marketing and the Consumer. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 81-88. Boedeker, M. 1997. Recreational Shopping, The role of the basic emotional dimensions of personality. Turku: Publications of the Turk u School of Economics and Business Administration. Series A-9:1997 Blythman, Joanna (2005) Shopped: The Shocking Power of British Supermarkets, Second Edition, 2005, Harper Perennial, Hammersmith. Ramus, K. and Nielsen, N.A. (2005). Online Grocery Retailing: What Do Consumers Think? Internet Research, 15 (3), 335-352. Porter, M.E. (2001). Strategy and the Internet. Harvard Business Review, 79 (3), 62-78. Hong, S. and Kim J. (2004). Architectural Criteria for Website Evaluation Conceptual Framework And Empirical Validation. Behaviour and Information Technology, 23 (5), 337-357. Teo, T.S.H., (2002). Attitudes toward Online Shopping and the Internet. Behaviour and Information Technology, 21 (4), 259-271. Hong, S. and Kim J. (2004). Architectural Criteria for Website Evaluation Conceptual Framework And Empirical Validation. Behaviour and Information Technology, 23 (5), 337-357. Anderson Consulting (2000), E-Europe: connecting the dots, Anderson consulting. Australian Federal Government 2000, Privacy Act, Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act 2000( Cth), Canberra, Australia. Smith, E. 2000, E-Loyalty: How to Keep Customers Coming Back To Your Website, Harper Business, New York. Ghauri, P.N., Gronhaug, K., Kristianslund, I. (1995), †Research Methods in Business Studies – A Practical Guide†, Prentice Hall 1995 Esterberg, K G (2002) Qualitative Methods in Social Research, 2002, McGraw-Hill, Boston. Delaney-Klinger, K., Boyer, K. K., Frohlich, M. (2003). The return of online grocery shopping: a comparative analysis of Webvan and Tescos operational methods. The TQM Magazine, 15(3), 187-196. Graney, M. J. Engle, V. F. (1990, September). Meta-analysis techniques. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, Fox, M. A., Kempiak, M. (2006). Online grocery shopping: Consumer motives, concerns, and business models. Friends of the Earth (2005), Briefing: The Tesco Takeover, June 2005, Friends of the Earth, London. Kotler, Philip (1996) Marketing Management – Analysis, Planning, Implementation and Control, Eighth Edition, 1996, Prentice Hall. Europe. Pachauri, Moneesha (2002) Consumer Behaviour; a Literature Review, The Marketing Review, 2002, 2, pp. 319–355. Smith, Howard (2004) Supermarket Choice and Supermarket Competition in Market Equilibrium, The Review of Economic Studies, Volume 71, 2004, pp235-263. McLaughlin, K. (2005). Pricelines ex-CEO puts eggs in basket of an online grocer. Wall Street Journal, p. B7 Russell Aylott and Vincent- Wayne Mitchell, 1998- â€Å"An exploratory study of grocery shopping stressors†- International Journal of retailing and distribution management, volume 26, number 9, 1998, Pp.363 Spufford, M (1994) the pedlar, The Historian and the Folklorist: Seventeenth Century Communications, Folklore, Vol. 105, pp. 13-24. Farahmand, R and Young, M. (1998) Home shopping and its future. Paper presented at the 10th annual TRICS conference, 22-23rd September. Webb, G. (2000) â€Å"The multi-channel route – and need to keep a cool head†, in E-logistics Magazine, September. Tesco (2000), Tesco press release –i-village and Tesco.com, 19th July. Verdict (2006a), How Britain Shops 2006: Food and Grocery, Verdict Research Limited, May 2006, London. Woodside, Arch G. and Randolph J. Trappey (1992) Finding out why customers shop your store and buy your brand: Automatic cognitive processing models of primary choice, Journal of Advertising Research, November/December 1992, pp.52-78. Yin, R.K. (1989), â€Å"Case Study Research: Design and Methods†, Sage Publications 1989 http://www.statistics.gov.uk/hub/ ,accessed on 22/09/09

How Television Viewing Affects Children Education Essay

How Television Viewing Affects Children Education Essay Television is one of the greatest inventions of all time. Through television we have witnessed history in real time. The technology of television has broadened our horizons by bringing faraway places into our homes, revealing the diversity of science and nature, and exposing us to sights and sounds that we can only dream about. Television has the power to inform, inspire, and unite. As adults, we are aware of the mesmerizing effects of television. Television has become a staple in our lives. In fact, most of us have televisions in every room of our house. The average family has the television on for 6.2 hour s each day. As adults, television can influence what we buy, where we go, and what we eat. With the television having such an impact on our lives, it is bound to have an effect on our childrens lives. Todays children are exposed to violence, sex, and drugs through television. How much does television influence children? We are able to make informed decisions and understand the r amifications of our actions, but children are not. So, is television viewing harmful for children? This has been the question and debate for parents since the television was first introduced in the 1940s. To make an informed decision, it is important for us to understand the positive and negative effects of television viewing for children. With the recent explosion in satellite and digital TV, we now have access to a plethora of both good and bad quality content. Parents should seek out good quality TV and whenever possible, enjoy them together as a family. Some studies indicate that television viewing properly used in moderation can stimulate a childs education and creativity. Television today offers children a wide variety of wonder, amusement, and education. The mysteries of the deep sea, the wonders of outer space and the animal varieties in the natural world can delight children and stimulate their imagination without exposing them to any danger. Kids may be entertained for hours with programs that engage their sense of seeing and hearing. Parents are able to go about their daily routines at home, knowing that their children are safe and occupied in one location. Programs designed to teach children such as Sesame Street and Dora the Explorer Expose Children to vocabulary, math, science, history, art and diversity before they go to school. Because of its ability to create powerful touchstones, TV enables young people to share cultural experiences with others. T.V. can teach children important values and life lessons. News, events, and historical programming can help make young people more aware of other cultures and people. Television viewing is also beneficial for the family. Shared viewing gives family members of all ages an opportunity to spend time together. Despite its advantages, too much television can be detrimental. Children under 6, including two-thirds of infants and toddlers, watch an average of 2 hours a day. Kids and teens 8 to 18 years spend nearly 4 hours a day in front of a TV screen, and almost 2 additional hours on the computer and playing video games. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that kids under 2 years old not watch any television and that those older than 2 watch no more than 1 to 2 hours per day. The first 2 years of life are considered a critical time for brain development. TV and other electronic media can get in the way of exploring, playing, and interacting with parents and others, which encourages learning and healthy physical and social development. As kids get older, too much screen time can interfere with activities such as being physically active, reading, doing homework, playing with friends, and spending time with family. Children who consistently spend more than 4 hours per day watching te levision are more likely to be overweight. Health experts have long linked excessive TV watching to obesity. While watching TV, kids are inactive and tend to snack. Theyre also bombarded with ads that encourage them to eat unhealthy foods. The problem isnt just how long children are watching TV but, what they are watching. The average American child will witness 200,000 violent acts on television by age 18. Kids may become desensitized to violence and more aggressive. TV violence is often perpetuated by the good guys as fun and an effective way to get what they want. Young kids are particularly frightened by scary and violent images. Behavior problems, nightmares, and difficulty sleeping may be a consequence of exposure to media violence. TV is full of programs and commercials that depict risky behaviors ,such as sex and substance abuse,risky and fun. For example, studies have shown that teens who watch lots of sexual content on TV are more likely to initiate intercourse or particip ate in other sexual activities earlier than peers who dont watch sexually explicit shows. A recent study by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth found that youth exposure to alcohol ads on TV increased by 30% from 2001-2006. As mentioned earlier, parents should search for high quality TV programs for their kids. How do you choose good TV? David Kleeman, Director of the American Center for Children and media, says ask yourself the following questions: Does this program actively engage my child, physically or intellectually? Television viewing doesnt have to be passive. It can prompt questions, kindle curiosity, or teach activities to pursue when the set if off. Do I respect this program? Parents dont have to like every show their children like. But parents should trust that a programs creator understand and respect how children grow and learn. Does my child see others like himself or herself on television? Young children believe that television reflects the real world. To not see people like themselves may diminish their self-worth. How do the makers of this program regard my child? Some program creators see young people as consumers to be sold to. Others see them as students to be educated, as future citizens to be engaged in the community, or simply as children. whose work is play. Parents should monitor the childs television viewing. They should limit the amount of time that the child watches TV. To avoid the negative aspects of television and commercials, parents can record shows without the commericals or buy childrens videos or DVDS. Is Television Viewing Harmful for Children? In my opinion, no. What could be harmful for children is what they watch and for how long. Childrens advocates are divided when it comes to solutions. Although many urge for more hours per week of educational programming, others assert that no TV is the best solution. Some say its better for parents to control the use of TV and to teach kids that its for occasional entertainment, not for constant escapism. Many parents and teachers have different views and this debate will carry on for centuries to come. There is powerful research and opinions on both sides of the debate. Ultimately the decision is up to the parent. Armed with information and knowledge the parent can make the correct decision for them, their children and their family. As a teacher, I can share with the parents my knowledge of TV viewing and its effects, both positive and negative. In the classroom, I can encourage play, reading, and social interaction. I can introduce chil dren to our world through play, field trips, and books. I can provide the children with healthy snacks and encourage them to make healthy decisions regarding food, exercise, and television viewing. I can provide parents with information and resources that is offered by the school and the community. Children are influenced by those around them. They emulate what they see. As teachers and parents, we should be good role-models. How can we expect children to not smoke, drink, act violent ,eat poorly, or watch too much television if we are doing those things? Television cannot be blamed for problems with children. It is ultimately up to the parents to monitor their child, communicate with their child and instill in their child values and beliefs that help them make good decisions in their life.

Greek Gods Essay -- essays research papers

Greek Gods   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Welcome to my report on Greek gods and myths. You will learn about the gods and what they did. It is also about the myths and legends of Greece. greek gods   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The gods of Greece are alike many other types of gods. They were pictured a lot like human men and women. The Greeks didn't worship any animals. The gods, like people were endowed with many weaknesses. The gods could be jealous, envious, spiteful, and petty. The gods were held to be immortal, but they had a beginning. The rites of many gods came from Egypt. Most of the gods lived on Mt. Olympus. the first gods   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first gods were the Titans. They were before all the other gods. The Titans were the brothers Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus, and Cronus. Also the sisters Thea, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosye, Phobe, and Tethys. the gods   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Zeus was the strongest of all the gods. He ruled the weather by himself, and the universe with 11 other gods. Zeus was the spiritual father of the gods. He was usually armed with a thunderbolt He was also called Thunder. Hera was the wife of Zeus. She was the goddess of marriage and childbirth. She was also the queen of heaven . Poseidon was Zeus' somewhat unruly brother. He was god of the sea, of earthquakes, streams, and horses. Hesta was the sister of Zeus. She was the goddess of the household. Ares was one of Zeus' sons. He was the god of war. He loved ...

My Philosophy on Life Essay -- Philosophical Life Essays

My Philosophy on Life Do you ever wonder why you are put into situations that you don’t know how to deal with? Would it disappear if you just closed your eyes to the many lights that life produces? Well most cases it doesn’t, the light is shining in your eyes like the sun and you have to deal with it. Sometimes I wonder why I act the way I do, and why I have to deal with situations that aren’t always the most comforting. You think you have something, but you realize that you have nothing on that one piece of life’s puzzle. When you sit down to think in silence about the world revolving around you, you realize that piece is near you. However, it is not close enough to grab with your hand or heart. You want to react with your mind, but your heart seers you in other directions that you weren’t ready for. When you think that you have found that perfect piece to complete the puzzle, you second-guess yourself about it. Is it really the prefect piece that will make the puzzle stronger, or are there other pieces that are better? Your mind runs faster than you can handle and it makes you think about the other pieces in the puzzle. Are the other pieces going to slowly come apart too or are they glued together and stable? You wonder that maybe-other pieces the perfect ones either, which gives you even more questions. Then you look at every piece individually and see how those pieces make you happy or sad. That one piece that brings you joy everyday knowing that it will be with you indefinitely. You dream at night about that one piece because you know it is the perfect piece to the puzzle that you can rely on. There are many pieces that allow ones mind to question, but you seem to glue that one piece into the puzzle. Some days the pieces all fit together, but other days, most pieces are scattered among others. One day brings hope, joy, confidence and happiness, but the next moment, it brings sadness, hopelessness, and loneliness. It takes time to find these p ieces to build the puzzle back to stability, but you find it easier to just forget about those negative pieces, You look back on those pieces, the good and the bad and sometimes wonder if you could have them back for just one day. You miss what those pieces brought to your life when they were positive, and tend to forget why they wondered away. Once you remember, you question your judgement. Life is full of many... ... change it. The problem is, you can’t change it no matter how tight you close your eyes and hope. Face problems as they occur, you cannot run from any problem, no matter how major or minor it may be. Where ever you run, the problem is following you, and can’t disappear until you deal with it. Open your eyes to what is going on now, and make the best of every situation. Your conscious follows you in your dreams and will never let you forget what has happened, it is always in the back of your mind. Never go to bed angry because the problem will be there when you wake up. You may lose sleep over the problem, because you constantly think about how you could have changed things or what you could have done different. Do you ever realize that you think of something better to say or better to do after you do it? This is because sometimes you react without fully thinking about the situation. You use your mind instead of your heart sometimes. Your mind gives you a quick react ion on what to do, which may not always be the best. The heart tells you the true thing to do, and lets you know when you were wrong. It examines the situation to the fullest and decides what is the right thing to do.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner Chapters 10

Before I could process this, Riley roared out an animalistic shriek of rage. He was staring down at the ashy remains on the floor, his eyes bulging in fury. Everyone stood silent, immobile. We'd al seen Riley lose his temper, but this was something different. Riley spun and raked his fingers through a blaring speaker, then ripped it from the wal and hurled it across the room. Jen and Kristie dodged out of the way as it exploded into the far wal, sending up a cloud of pulverized drywal dust. Riley smashed the sound system with his foot, and the thudding bass went silent. Then he leaped to where Raoul stood, and grabbed him by the throat. â€Å"I wasn't even here!† Raoul yel ed, looking afraid – I'd never seen that before. Riley growled hideously and threw Raoul as he'd thrown the speaker. Jen and Kristie jumped out of the way again. Raoul's body crashed right through the wal, leaving an enormous hole. Riley caught Kevin by the shoulder and – with a familiar screech – ripped off his right hand. Kevin cried out in pain and tried to twist out of Riley's grip. Riley kicked him in the side. Another harsh shriek and Riley had the rest of Kevin's arm. He tore the arm in half at the elbow and threw the pieces hard into Kevin's anguished face – smack, smack, smack, like a hammer striking stone. â€Å"What is wrong with you?† Riley screamed at us. â€Å"Why are you al so stupid?† He made a grab for the blond Spider-Man kid, but that kid leaped out of his way. His jump left him too close to Fred, and he stumbled back toward Riley again, gagging. â€Å"Do any of you have a brain?† Riley smacked a kid named Dean into the entertainment center, shattering it, then caught another girl – Sara – and tore her left ear and a handful of hair from her head. She snarled in anguish. It became suddenly obvious that Riley was doing a very dangerous thing. There were a lot of us in here. Already Raoul was back, with Kristie and Jen – usual y his enemies – flanking him defensively. A few others banded together in clusters around the room. I wasn't sure if Riley was aware of the threat or if his rant came to an end natural y. He took a deep breath. He tossed Sara her ear and the hair. She recoiled away from him, licking the torn edge of her ear, coating it with venom so that it would reattach. There was no remedy for the hair, though; Sara was going to have a bald spot. â€Å"Listen to me!† Riley said, quiet but fierce. â€Å"Al our lives depend on you listening to what I'm saying now and thinking! We are al going to die. Every one of us, you and me, too, if you can't act like you have brains for just a few short days!† This was nothing like his usual lectures and pleadings for control. He definitely had everyone's attention. â€Å"It's time for you to grow up and take responsibility for yourselves. Do you think you get to live like this for free? That al the blood in Seattle doesn't have a price?† The little clusters of vampires no longer seemed threatening. Everyone was wide-eyed, some exchanging mystified glances. I saw Fred's head turn toward me in my peripheral vision, but I didn't meet his gaze. My attention was focused on two things: Riley, just in case he started to attack again, and the door. The door that was stil closed. â€Å"Are you listening now? Real y listening?† Riley paused, but no one nodded. The room was very stil . â€Å"Let me explain to you the precarious situation we are al in. I'l try to keep it simple for the slowest ones. Raoul, Kristie, come here.† He motioned to the leaders of the two largest gangs, al ied for this brief moment against him. Neither of them moved toward him. They braced themselves, Kristie baring her teeth. I expected Riley to soften, to apologize. To placate them and then persuade them to do what he wanted. But this was a different Riley. â€Å"Fine,† he snapped. â€Å"We're going to need leaders if we're going to survive, but apparently neither of you is up to the task. I thought you had aptitude. I was wrong. Kevin, Jen, please join me as the heads of this team.† Kevin looked up in surprise. He had just finished putting his arm back together. Though his expression was wary, it was also unmistakably flattered. He slowly got to his feet. Jen looked at Kristie as if waiting for permission. Raoul ground his teeth together. The door at the top of the stairs did not open. â€Å"Are you not able, either?† Riley asked, irritated. Kevin took a step toward Riley, but then Raoul rushed him, leaping across the long room in two low bounds. He shoved Kevin against the wal without a word and then stood by Riley's right shoulder. Riley permitted himself a tiny smile. The manipulation wasn't subtle, but it was effective. â€Å"Kristie or Jen, who wil lead us?† Riley asked with a hint of amusement in his voice. Jen was stil waiting for a sign from Kristie as to what she should do. Kristie glowered at Jen for an instant, then flipped her sandy hair out of her face and darted to stand on Riley's other side. â€Å"That took too long to decide,† Riley said seriously. â€Å"We don't have the luxury of time. We don't get to fool around anymore. I've let you al do pretty much whatever you feel like, but that ends tonight.† He looked around the room, meeting everyone's eyes, making sure we were listening. I held his gaze for only a second when it was my turn, and then my eyes flipped back to the door. I corrected instantly, but his glare had moved on. I wondered if he'd noticed my slip. Or had he seen me at al, here beside Fred? â€Å"We have an enemy,† Riley announced. He let that sink in for a moment. I could tel the idea was shocking to several of the vampires in the basement. The enemy was Raoul – or if you were with Raoul, the enemy was Kristie. The enemy was here, because the whole world was here. The thought that there were other forces out there strong enough to affect us was new for most. Would have been new to me, too, yesterday. â€Å"A few of you might be smart enough to have realized that if we exist, so do other vampires. Other vampires who are older, smarter†¦ more talented. Other vampires who want our blood!† Raoul hissed, and then several of his fol owers echoed him in support. â€Å"That's right,† Riley said, seeming intent on egging them on. â€Å"Seattle was once theirs, but they moved on a long time ago. Now they know about us, and they are jealous of the easy blood they used to have here. They know it belongs to us now, but they want to take it back. They are coming after what they want. One by one, they'l hunt us down! We'l burn while they feast!† â€Å"Never,† Kristie growled. Some of hers and some of Raoul's growled, too. â€Å"We don't have a lot of choices,† Riley told us. â€Å"If we wait for them to show up here, they wil have the advantage. This is their turf, after al . And they don't want to face us head-on, because we outnumber them and we are stronger than they are. They want to catch us separated; they want to take advantage of our biggest weakness. Are any of you smart enough to know what that is?† He pointed at the ashes at his feet – now smeared into the carpet and unrecognizable as a former vampire – and waited. No one moved. Riley made a disgusted sound. â€Å"Unity!† he shouted. â€Å"We don't have it! What kind of a threat can we pose when we won't stop kil ing each other?† He kicked the dust, sending up a smal black cloud. â€Å"Can you imagine them laughing at us? They think taking the city from us wil be easy. That we're weak with stupidity! That we'l just hand them our blood.† Half the vampires in the room snarled in protest now. â€Å"Can you work together, or do we al die?† â€Å"We can take them, boss,† Raoul growled. Riley scowled at him. â€Å"Not if you can't control yourself! Not if you can't cooperate with every single person in this room. Anyone you take out† – his toe nudged the ashes again – â€Å"might be the one who could have kept you alive. Every one of your coven that you kil is like handing our enemies a gift. Here, you're saying, take me down! â€Å" Kristie and Raoul exchanged a glance as if they were seeing each other for the first time. Others did the same. The word coven was not unfamiliar, but none of us had applied it to our group before. We were a coven. â€Å"Let me tel you about our enemies,† Riley said, and al eyes locked on his face. â€Å"They are a much older coven than we are. They've been around for hundreds of years, and they've survived that long for a reason. They are crafty and they are skil ed and they are coming to retake Seattle with confidence – because they've heard the only ones they'l have to fight for it are a bunch of disorganized children who wil do half their work for them!† More growls, but some were less angry than they were wary. A few of the quieter vampires, the ones Riley would have cal ed tamer, looked skittish. Riley noticed that, too. â€Å"This is how they see us, but that's because they can't see us together. Together, we can crush them. If they could see al of us, side by side, fighting together, they would be terrified. And that's how they're going to see us. Because we're not going to wait for them to show up here and start picking us off. We're going to ambush them. In four days.† Four days? I guessed our creator didn't want to cut it too close to the deadline. I looked at the closed door again. Where was Diego? Others reacted to the deadline with surprise, some with fear. â€Å"It's the last thing they'l expect,† Riley assured us. â€Å"Al of us – together – waiting for them. And I've saved the best part for last. There are only seven of them.† There was an instant of incredulous silence. Then Raoul said, â€Å"What?† Kristie stared at Riley with the same disbelieving expression, and I heard muttered whispers around the room. â€Å"Seven?† â€Å"Are you kidding me?† â€Å"Hey,† Riley snapped. â€Å"I wasn't joking when I said this coven is dangerous. They are wise and†¦ devious. Underhanded. We wil have power on our side; they wil have deception. If we play it their way, they will win. But if we take it to them on our terms†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Riley didn't finish, he just smiled. â€Å"Let's go now,† Raoul urged. â€Å"Let's get 'em out of the picture fast.† Kevin growled enthusiastical y. â€Å"Slow down, moron. Rushing into things blind isn't going to help us win,† Riley chided him. â€Å"Tel us everything we need to know about them,† Kristie encouraged, shooting Raoul a superior look. Riley hesitated, as if deciding how to word something. â€Å"Al right, where to begin? I guess the first thing you need to know is†¦ that you don't know everything there is to know about vampires yet. I didn't want to overwhelm you in the beginning.† Another pause while everyone looked confused. â€Å"You have a little bit of experience with what we cal talents.' We have Fred.† Everyone looked at Fred – or rather they tried to. I could tel from Riley's expression that Fred did not like being singled out. It looked like Fred had real y turned up the volume on his â€Å"talent,† as Riley cal ed it. Riley cringed and looked away quickly. I stil didn't feel anything. â€Å"Yes, wel, there are some vampires who have gifts beyond the usual super strength and super senses. You've seen one aspect in†¦ our coven.† He was careful not to say Fred's name again. â€Å"Gifts are rare – one in fifty, maybe – but every one is different. There's a huge range of gifts out there, and some of them are more powerful than others.† I could hear a lot of murmurs now as people wondered if they might be talented. Raoul was preening like he'd already decided he was gifted. As far as I could tel, the only one around here that was in any way special was standing next to me. â€Å"Pay attention!† Riley commanded. â€Å"I'm not tel ing you this for entertainment.† â€Å"This enemy coven,† Kristie interjected. â€Å"They're talented. Right?† Riley gave her an approving nod. â€Å"Exactly. I'm glad someone here can connect the dots.† Raoul's upper lip twitched back over his teeth. â€Å"This coven is dangerously talented,† Riley went on, his voice dropping to a hushed whisper. â€Å"They have a mind reader.† He examined our faces, looking to see if we got the importance of this revelation. He didn't seem satisfied with his assessment. â€Å"Think, guys! He'l know everything in your head. If you attack, he'l know what move you're going to make before you know it. You go left, he'l be waiting.† There was a nervous stil ness as everyone imagined this. â€Å"This is why we've been so careful – me, and the one who created you.† Kristie flinched away from Riley when he mentioned her. Raoul looked angrier. Nerves strained universal y. â€Å"You don't know her name, and you don't know what she looks like. This protects us al . If they'd stumbled across one of you alone, they wouldn't realize that you were connected to her, and they might have let you be. If they knew you were part of her coven, there would be no delay in your execution.†

Case Study for White Box Testing

White Box Case Study 1. Introduction In white-box testing, the purpose is to ensure that the all the code has been tested and covered. There are different coverage measures depending on the level of detail of the white-box test. The coverage measures may also be applied to integration testing and system testing. 2. Learning Objectives The exercise aims at giving an understanding of white-box. The specific learning goal is to gain a detailed insight into the concept of white-box testing using coverage measures. Assignment 1: Look at the program below. How many feasible paths are there for this program? Define a set of test cases that gives you 100% coverage of all the feasible paths. Input (score); If score < 45 then print (‘fail’); else print (‘pass’); If score > 80 then print (‘ with distinction’); End Assignment 2: In this week’s lab session you will test the NextDate program with white-box techniques. Get an understanding of how the program works, the code is available here Assignment 4: Make flowgraphs of the methods in the NextDate class. Assignment 5: Prepare test cases based on the flowgraph. Calculate the minimum number of test cases if the goal is: †¢ 100% Statement coverage †¢ 100% Decision/branch covergae †¢ 100% Condition coverage 4. Exercise (on computer) Assignment 6: Now we would like you to thoroughly test the NextDate program using white-box testing. You should implement the testcases you have prepared on paper using statement, decision,and condition coverage. Preferably implement them using JUnit. Implement more test cases if you realize that you missed any during the preparation. Remember to specify test case ID, what is tested, description, input, expected output and other useful information while executing your test cases. You may also want to make room for pass and fail notes and perhaps for comments. Record your test results carefully for your test report. Report The purpose of the report is to discuss the result of the exercise and related topics. Following parts should be included, 1) conclusions from the lab session, 2. Describe the outcome of your tests. Discuss the assignments and include the following: †¢ The flowgraphs from the preparation assignment. †¢ The test cases. Remember to specify the associated test technique to each test case. Also, specify the coverage measure of each method used. †¢ Defects detected. †¢ Which coverage criteria works best and why? †¢ When is each coverage criteria most applicable? †¢ Compare black-box test techniques (used in lab session 1) and white-box test techniques. Discuss advantages and disadvantages with each and when they are appropriate to use.