Contemporary Debates in Food and Farming Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Contemporary Debates in Food and Farming - Essay Example gases and climate change: whereas growing population and globalization stimulate industrial and economic growth, the side effects of it are disturbing in terms of greenhouse gases emission and hence climate change. According to Rust & Rust (2013, p. 255), â€Å"climate change and its effects on existence on earth are becoming more and more relevant as physical evidence of change in our climate is beginning to mount†. Among numerous economic areas affecting condition of the atmosphere, agricultural sector is one of rather influential factors. Agriculture is the sector aimed at production of food products and raw materials for other industry branches and employing about 1 billion people all over the world. As far as this sector is crucial for economic well-being, it is present almost in all countries of the world. Thus, due to economic reasons, environmental effect of agriculture is literally unavoidable for each of the countries with agricultural sector. The map presented in the Figure 1 illustrates that almost all the countries are engaged in agricultural activity to certain extent. With the population growing rapidly, scientists of agricultural sector, demand for products of agricultural sector and particularly of animal origin is increasing worldwide (Webb & Erasmus, 2013, p. 413). Considering growing demand, specialists do their best deploying their scientific knowledge and developed technological means in order to intensify production of food. However, economic growth is connected to volumes of CO2 emissions produced by different industrial and agricultural enterprises. In the recent fifty years, amounts of greenhouse gas emissions in the sectors of forestry, fishery, crops cultivation and other agricultural segments have increased twice and are likely to keep increasing at a fast pace in future. As it is shown in the Figure 2, agricultural sector in the United States accounts for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions (EPA, 2014). On the global scale, agricultural

The video Game Console Wars Essay Example for Free

The video Game Console Wars Essay Compare and contrast Nintendo’s marketing strategy for the Wii with Sony’s strategy for PS3. By the end of 2006, two game console industry giants, Nintendo and Sony had launched their respective new products; the Wii and PS3. Various marketing strategies were implemented by both rivals and this writing attempt to analyse common and differing elements. Similarly, both companies had a product differentiation strategy, with the aim of being distinctly set apart from their competitors by the viewing market.  However, different elements of this strategy were focused on by the firms. For instance, Nintendo differentiated via product form and design. Instead of the traditional controller where buttons are pressed, the Wii had a wireless motion-sensitive controller, which recognises the player’s arm movements. Thus, actions such as golfing, tennis and even dancing can be detected by the game. It is assumed that the rationale behind this is the fact that â€Å"new things and ways of doing things† always grab attention, whether good or bad. Thus, Nintendo’s aim would have been to gain the market’s attention and then convince them positively about the Wii. Conversely, Sony attempted to differentiate through performance quality. Heavy investment was made on a new processing chip and a laser diode, which would rev up the speed drastically and offer superior graphics quality. The video gaming industry prides itself on graphics; hence differentiating in this area may significantly increase demand. One believes however, that Nintendo’s product differentiation strategy had a stronger impact than Sony’s. This is because Sony followed the industry norm, of each new generation of machines being faster and more powerful than the preceding generation, as the case states. Thus, the market was already expecting the enhanced features, compared to the curiosity of a completely new game design by the Wii. With reference to the Ansoff Matrix framework, Nintendo implemented a marketing diversification strategy, whereby they offered a new product to new markets (in terms of untouched customer segments). Nintendo’s designers, according to the case, deliberately developed a machine that is simpler to use, since the complexity of current games appeal only to advance gamers.  This thus,  would allow market reach to a broader demographic of new segments, thereby beginning to challenge Sony’s market share dominance. For instance, males and female above and below the common age bracket of video game players may now demand the Wii. On the other hand, Sony implemented a product development strategy, by launching a new product in their existing market segment of customers, as the Ansoff theory advocates. Hence, Sony’s PS3 targeted their current customer segment for the PS2. A marketing strategy of Sony may have been to have first mover advantage, by launching in November 2006 in the United States before the Wii. Most studies indicate that the market pioneer gains the greatest advantage, however sometimes it can be risky and expensive. In Sony’s case, they would have easily been able to capitalise on the fans of the playstation and PS2 and new customers entering that market. Their downfall however was inadequate launch preparation and planning with regards to their diode technology, as mass production issues caused shortages. Thus, achieving the Christmas season’s full revenue potential was lost. Even though Nintendo was the second mover launching a month after in December, they had an international marketing launch strategy being executed. They made the Wii available in the United States, the Eurozone and United Kingdom. As a result, the benefits of being the first mover would have been gained in the Eurozone and United Kingdom. It is note d that Sony launched the PS3 four months after in Europe. Being the second to enter that market, Sony may have researched any problems Nintendo may have encountered and adjusted accordingly, for a smoother launch. Nintendo appears to have implemented a market-penetration pricing strategy. The Wii at a cost of $250 is 50% less than the 20-gigabyte PS3 (smaller hard drive machine). At this lower price, it is easier for the product to penetrate the market due to affordability in most segments. This aligns with the assumed company’s aim of maximising market share in the current and new segments. To achieve this, Nintendo ensured that the Wii was less costly to manufacture. Moreover, a higher sales volume may lead to lower unit costs and higher long run profits. Conversely, Sony is believed to have a market-skimming pricing strategy. The company invested $2 billion in technology, so this strategy aims at recovering the maximum amount of revenue to cover the high costs incurred in the early stages of the product life cycle. Additionally, S ony has a strong brand due to the success of their previous machines (PS2 and  playstation) and the high price assists in communicating the image of a superior product with quality.What is the key to the Wii’s popularity? The key facet responsible for the Wii’s popularity lies in the innovative design, which â€Å"calls to action† the player with physical movement. The writer views the wireless motion sensitive game console as a new, simple and fun method of gaming for all age groups. As a result, it may appeal not only to the traditional expert video game player like the PS3, but other individuals outside that segment. It thus makes marketing sense, if Nintendo promoted the game as a family requirement for cultivating an enjoyable, quality family time with members. It seems also a great game for various informal social events. Furthermore, since different types of games can be played, the Wii has the potential to appeal to a vast number of different market segments. For instance, The Wii Fit is an exercising game, where aerobics, yoga and other body strengthening activities can be done. Thus, the Wii Fit may have been positioned as a convenient way of losing or maintaining your weight, as it can be done in the comfort of one’s home and a more enjoyable method compared to simply following an instructor on a DVD. Likewise, sports fanatics may gravitate towards the Wii sports for the games of their interest. There also is the possibility of the Wii being used for rehabilitation after a stroke or injury, due to it body strengthen capabilities. It must be noted, that Nintendo’s international marketing strategy of launching in three distinct major areas, was a contributing factor towards the quick popularity gained. The areas were the United States, the Eurozone and the United Kingdom. This means that great strategic marketing focus had to be made on the different areas, to accommodate international cultural differences and legalities. As a result, Nintendo may have had to implement global product strategies for market adaptation in areas such as price, sales promotion, colours, labelling and advertising execution, to name a few. 3. Do you agree with Sony’s decision to incorporate a Blu-ray DVD player in the PS3. The writer agrees with the decision to incorporate a Blu-ray DVD player in the PS3.  Firstly, Sony is considered one of the market leaders in the consumer electric industry; where the brand is known for high quality and advance technology. Since the  consumer market started demanding more high definition TVs and viewing of DVD’s in high definition, it made good marketing sense to satisfy that need for high definition imagery in the video games, which ultimately reinforced the company’s brand. A â€Å"spin off† from this implementation of Blu-ray, is that the PS3 can actually be used by consumers to watch Blu-ray DVD movies, for those who may not own a Blu-ray DVD player. Thus, the value of the PS3 may increase, due to more product uses than the main function. Secondly, it was wise for Sony to include the Blu-ray DVD player in the PS3, due to their current product range developments. Sony had already launched the Blu-ray video format in their DVD players, thus the inclusion in the PS3 was a commendable and necessary marketing move, in order to keep as many products in the range up to date with the latest technological advancements. More importantly, this was a medium to push and promote the adoption of the Blu-ray in the market, reflecting strong strategic planning for profit maximisation. The draw back to the implementation however, was the issue of mass-production difficulties of the diode for the Blu-ray, resulting in shortages for the U.S holiday launch, as the case explains. Thus, it is assumed that there was a deficiency in proper operational planning and execution. This can be a critical concern with new product planning, since shortages can greatly impact forecasted revenue streams and significant opportunities may be lost. In Sony ’s situation, the launch was around the Christmas season, where many PS3s may have been gift considerations and individuals generally spend more on commodities at this time, due to Christmas bonuses and advances. Thus, Sony would not have been able to capitalise on this, due to low supply of machines. In the final analysis however, if Sony had anticipated any production issues to cause marginal temporary shortages at the launch, one is of the opinion that this is not drastic a problem enough, to decide forgoing the implementation of the Blu-ray. This is because consideration is given to the return on investment with the Blu-ray inclusion and the technological drive in the industry at large. The Blu-ray would have generated greater demand than the HD-DVD and take longer to become obsolete, thus having an extended life-span. Some industry observers have noted that the battle between HD-DVD and Blu-ray is reminiscent of the showdown between Beta and VHS videocassette  formats in the 1970s. What was the outcome? The videocassette showdown between Beta and VHS in the 1970’s mainly was a clear example of â€Å"listening and responding† to what the market wants. It began when Sony produced Bata, a video standard which had a recording time of 60 minutes. Almost one year later, JVC launched the VHS, which is another video standard that had a recording time of 120 minutes. The two videocassettes were different in size and completely incompatible. The VHS was cheaper than Beta; however the longer the recording time resulted in a degraded quality of image. The market nevertheless, wanted a longer recording time, which allowed for longer movies and football matched to be recorded. Sony held their end for more years supplying the more upscale market with the 60 minute high quality videocassettes, but eventually in the mid 80’s they had to offer videocassettes with a longer recording time to remain competitive. By then however it was too late and VHS already held dominance in the market. VHS won the battle and in 2002 the last Beta machine was produced. Sony’s mistake was not listening to what the market wants and not willing to compromise the quality to satisfy the market. The battle between HD-DVD and Blu-ray is quite similar, however this time Sony is not the defender, but the challenger. To forecast who the winner may be, the same underlying factor exists, regarding listening to the market and responding. The case explains of the continuous electronic industry’s upgrade towards high definition TVs and DVD movies. Thus, one can assume that consumers want a player which provides the greatest quality of high definition. A common element between HD-DVD and Blu-ray is that they have 1080 lines of resolution (the highest quality video playback possible) on their widescreen HDTV set, as the case shows. Thus, consumers are going to look for other factors which can determine which player provides better quality. Firstly, the fact that Sony’s Blu-ray technology is incompatible with Toshiba (assuming other rival products as well) and can only be used on Sony products, signals that Sony is trying to maintain a type of niche market, which in essence aims at guaranteeing that using Blu-ray technology on Sony products will produce the best quality. This is similar to what Apple does with their range of products. Secondly, over the years Sony has positioned and built their brand to represent â€Å"high quality† and thus brand loyalty is strong among customers in the electronic industry. Lastly, price sends  market signals and the common understanding is that high price tends to reflect high quality. The case states that Sony BDP-S1 and S300 cost $999.99 and $600 respectively, compared to Toshiba’s models ranging from $399.99 to $799.99. Thus the higher price of Sony can be assumed to have better quality. Conclusively, HD-DVD and Blu-ray battle is almost mirrored in Beta and VHS rivalry. VHS won the battle since they satisfied the market’s demand for longer recording time with the videocassette. With HD-DVD and Blu-ray, the market is assumed to want high quality on their high definition widescreen HDTVs. The writer believes that Sony with their Blu-ray technology would win the battle, given that they can reflect a better level of quality over Toshiba, through â€Å"non-1080 lines of resolution† factors.

The Struggle in George Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) :: Nineteen Eighty-Four 1984 Essays

The Struggle in Nineteen Eighty-four (1984) In a world controlled by a higher power, constantly living in fear of doing or saying something wrong, thoughts can be incriminating. Even worse, any unpure thoughts may make you disappear. Constantly being watched, and observed without knowing. A telescreen watching every facial expression and recording any abnormal body language and movement everywhere you go. Even in your home there is no escape. You are unable to get away or turn off the power of the Telescreen and "Big Brother". This novel is of a man's struggle against a totalitarian government that controls the ideas and thoughts of its citizens. In the novel 1984 by George Orwell the government used advanced mind reading techniques to discover the thoughts of the people and punish those who show signs of rebellion against the government. The novel is supposed to be a prophetic story, however, it was somewhat wrong in predicting the date when this government would rein. Although some themes described in the book are now realities, some are not going to happen for some time to come and this is why this novel continues to be overwhelming to us today. Perhaps Orwell's purpose for writing 1984 was to express his feelings of how the governments would come to control everything and anything they wished to do. It is also possible that he wanted to tell of how mind control and torture techniques could be used to make an individual or an entire nation do what the government wanted. This story shows the danger of a world in which the government has too much control. The novel shows how the government controls its people, eliminating their individuality and the essence of everything that makes a human a human. "And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed-if all records told the same tale-then the lie passed into history and became truth. 'Who controls the past' ran the Party slogan, 'controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.'" (Page 37) Though this society is efficient, it means little since the people cannot enjoy freedom and therefore have no rights. This quote emphasizes how if you don't recall anything about the past you will be easily controlled by the government and you will no longer have any concrete evidence. In this novel, Orwell used the image of a man who stood in a shadow that covered his face.

The Idea Of Universal Design Architecture Essay

There are many misconceptions environing the thought of cosmopolitan design. Peoples frequently believe that supplying the handicapped with signage or a incline is sufficient and patterns the ideals of cosmopolitan design. What people must understand is that cosmopolitan design is about supplying these necessary comfortss to the disabled without segregating them from the norm of society. It is besides approximately making a infinite that can defy multiple environments and the crazes of clip as a dateless creative activity. In a universally designed universe peoples differences are non highlighted by constructing use but are designed for and make seamlessness between users. The bottom up theory is looked to by many interior decorators when set uping cosmopolitan infinite ; â€Å" it works on the premiss that the edifice users, the designer is functioning include those with disablements are all people who can be treated as normal people [ 2 ] † and with this you must get down at the underside of the pyramid and purpose to make the top and achieve universal design. Questions to see when planing a universally designed infinite may be how this infinite will react to different environments or epochs and as the user or users change what will be the response to how it is used. Universal designed has been outlined and defined into seven rules that can be applied to a broad scope of countries including architectural infinites to merchandise design.Equitable usageFlexibility in usageSimple and intuitivePerceptible informationTolerance for mistakeLow physical attemptSize and infinite for attack and usageAccess Living HeadquartersAccess Living is an organisation that started in the early 1970 ‘s and has been committed to rehabilitation and growing of handicapped peoples by the support of handicapped peoples. This company has personal with a battalion of disablements and alone challenges that they encounter. In March 5, 2007 LCM Architects lead by spouse John H. Catlin, FAIA designed entree life ‘s chief central office in Chicago with non merely a cosmopolitan focal point by as a sustainable design way. This 50,000 115 West Chicago Avenue. concern footmark for Access populating genuinely reflects the mission of the company and reinforces their ideals to authorise the options available to differences of others. It has been awarded â€Å" the Barrier Free America Award from Paralyzed Veterans of America ; A sustainable design award from AIA ; the Trend Setter Award from Friends of Downtown ; LEED Gold Certification ; and a Silver Award from the Association of Accredited Architects † .Design Solutionsâ€Å" LCM designers started the vision of cosmopolitan design, by taking an accessible location † and sing edifice attack. The edifice is no more than two blocks from the local train ‘s belowground station and from the metropolis coach. This close relationship non merely encourages green transit but it provided for utilizations that may non hold other manners of transit and its premier location allows for people from multiple locations to be able to utile this characteristic with easiness. In add-on to the consideration of close propinquity, the garage of the edifice has designated infinites that allow for electri c vehicles to be recharged for usage. As users approach, the edifice integrates two kerb bead offs seamlessly added to let for users coming from street degree and for wheelchair lifts to hold a â€Å" direct path to the chief edifice entryway † [ 4 ] . Being in a colder clime of the United States, architect Catlin devised a solution to cover with iced pavements in the winter months by planing a het concrete pavements and good illuminated attacks. All of these characteristics lead straight into the entryway of the edifice that is separated by two sets of skiding doors that open straight off the pavement. These doors have a broad gap of 60 inches to let for easy mobility or two wheelchairs in passing. Once you enter in to edifice for entree life, its good designed interior anteroom infinite and furniture choice leaves you no hint that this infinite is universally designed. LCM designers and there squad of interior decorators took close consideration into their interior picks being scruples of spacing, stuffs, colourss and constellations so this truly was a universally accepting infinite. â€Å" Universal design has a close relationship to human factor and biotechnologies. As a procedure they both attempt to see the abilities and restrictions of users when developing a merchandise or edifice an environment. [ 5 ] † All of the furniture came from the Steelcase, so a choice piece could be duplicated in several signifiers to include with arms/without, adjustable or basic systems that encouraged alteration as necessary. Using a individual maker line allowed for a broad scope of siting picks to read and flux seamlessly. Within this constellation ample infinite is giving for wheel chair move ability and integrating within a personal or big group interaction. Multiple chair highs are included for users of all statures and â€Å" clearance below some of the seating is unfastened to let the user to force up to the standing place with their leg musculuss [ 6 ] † . A usage characteristic within the anteroom is the response desk ; â€Å" Lehner points out that the response country underscores the cosmopolitan design. â€Å" â€Å" A individual nearing the response desk in a wheelchair should hold the same ability to utilize it as a individual who does n't hold a disablement. That ‘s the premiss behind the full design-no 1 uses a back door or side door, and no 1 uses a incline. Everybody comes in the same door and uses the same lifts † † [ 8 ] . Unique to most response desk, the primary dimension is at a wheel chaired accessible â€Å" antagonistic tallness of ( 29-30 † AFF ) † [ 9 ] . Based on the guided attack to the desk articulatio genus and toe infinite is carefully designed and supply for. The response desk does besides include a little part at the standard tallness of 42. Much consideration was giving to the response side of the desk because this would be the primary and full clip user of the millwork. The desk maintains the counter tallness and electrical mercantile establishments are placed at the terminals of the counter opposed to across to minimise the demand for users to strive to make across counter span. The employee besides is provided with a really accessible attack to their work station and a turning radius within, leting for a 360 grade wheelchair turning radius. Beyond the response desk, cagey inclusions of cosmopolitan rules are utilised to help with user move ability throughout. Two lifts with dual entry points allow users to travel rapidly in and out without the demand of turning within a little confined infinite. The lifts are besides big plenty to back up four wheelchairs within. Along with the maximization of mobility within the lift Architect Catilin incorporated province of the art exigency usage engineering for the deaf and caput of hearing and enlarge lift buttons placed at a cosmopolitan accessible tallness. Each of the floors of the Access Living Company, are colour coded so users can easy place vicinity and way. This colour coding procedure is a fantastic tool to help the immature kid to aged and people with all timers. This would besides extinguish the defeats of acquiring off the lift on the incorrect floor, like so many of us have done. Once on a floor users, will detect ample floor infinite as to non to experience constraine d by close furniture constellations and for wheelchair passing. The high traffic and countries of emersion are ingeniously deigned with a floor boundary line that lines the walls so the visually impaired can easy use this tool to steer through the floors. To a user with no sight impairments this merely appears as an aesthetical characteristic because of how good it integrated throughout. This characteristic is a premier illustration of how cosmopolitan design rules do non foregrounding the differences of users.ObstaclesIn planing the Access Living headquarter LCM Architects, incurred many obstructions in making a infinite that was non merely cosmopolitan, sustainable but besides aesthetically and functionally functional. With their primary focal point on making a cosmopolitan infinite they rapidly learned that â€Å" what works for one disablement does n't ever work for another, [ 10 ] † Lehner says. As a cosmopolitan interior decorator you must larn to equilibrate the integrating of adjustments so they are non swayed by a peculiar user. à ¢â‚¬Å" That ‘s nowhere more evident than in the flooring. Lowest common multiple discovered through research that rug, contrary to popular belief, serves people with MCS by pin downing contaminations that would otherwise remain airborne. It besides offers grip for people utilizing canes. â€Å" But rug can be hard to negociate with a wheelchair, † says Catlin [ 11 ] † This is a great lesson to be learned because when people think a disablement they excessively frequently merely think of wheelchair users. After choosing a cloth that architect Catlin thought would be perfect for all of the users in the infinite he rapidly had to return to the pulling board after one employee had an epileptic ictus from the intense patterning of the flooring. This is one illustration of the many troubles faced in this undertaking in planing for the multitudes, but Catlin remedies this job by put ining a more hushed form through the edifice while still â€Å" guaranting at that place was still adequate contrast on hallway boundary lines to assist steer people with ocular damages [ 12 ] † .DecisionAlthough they are a part of users there are wheel chair bound we must see and be cognizant that there are infinite damages that cause all users to hold different demands and ways in which they utilize a infinite. Planing a cosmopolitan infinite you must hold an apprehension of that and retrieve that you are non planing for outlined user but in bend everyone becomes your user. It is frequently really hard to make and plan a feasible solution that all people will hold user friendly, which is why designers and interior decorators seem to steam off from this rule. Catlin illustrates that non merely can plan be an aesthetically delighting cosmopolitan infinite but green rule can besides be an applied in a superb manner.Plants CitedAccess Living. Ed. Geekpak. Acess Living, 2008. Web. 14 Oct. 2009.Boniface, Russell. â€Å" Paralytic Veterans of America Honors Chicago-b ased Access Living for Accessible Design. † The News of American ‘s Community of Architects. AIArchitect, 17 Aug. 2007. Web. 20 Oct. 2009..Dong, Hua. Switching Paradigms in Universal Design. Vol. 4554/2007. Heidelberg: Springer, 2007. Print.Goldsmith, Selwyn. Universal Design. Pine tree state: Architectural, 2001. Print.Meyers, Tiffany. â€Å" UNIVERSAL DESIGN IN ACCESS LIVING HQ. † Metropolis Magazine Oct. 2007. Metropolis Magazine, Sept. 09. Web. 23 Oct. 2009..Tandem, Byan, erectile dysfunction. â€Å" Home Design: Understanding Universal Design. † AARP ( 2008 ) . AARP. Web. 22 Oct. 2009..Goldsmith, Selwyn. Universal Design. Pine tree state: Architectural, 2001. Print.GoldsmithAccess Living. Ed. Geekpak. Access Living, 2008. Web. 14 Oct. 2009.Access LivingDong, Hua. Switching Paradigms in Universal Design. Vol. 4554/2007. Heidelberg: Springer, 2007. Print.Access LivingAccess LivingBoniface, Russell. â€Å" Paralytic Veterans of America Honors Chicago-bas ed Access Living for Accessible Design. † The News of American ‘s Community of Architects. AIArchitect, 17 Aug. 2007. Web. 20 Oct. 2009..Access LivingMeyers, Tiffany. â€Å" UNIVERSAL DESIGN IN ACCESS LIVING HQ. † Metropolis Magazine Oct. 2007. Metropolis Magazine, Sept. 09. Web. 23 Oct. 2009..MeyersMeyers

Interaction Between Peer Communication Education Essay

IntroductionCritical thought is the attitude of being willing to see in a thoughtful manner the jobs that come within the scope of one ‘s experiences ; cognition of the methods of logical probe and logical thinking ; and some accomplishment in utilizing those methods ( Glaser, 1941 ) . Another definition of critical thought is a alone and calculated thought in which the mind consistently and normally inflicts standards and rational criterions upon the thought, taking charge of the construction of thought, steering the construction of the believing harmonizing to criterions, and mensurating the effectivity of the believing harmonizing to the intent, standards, and the criterions of thought ( Richard Paul, 1995 ) . Peter Facione ( 1990 ) stated: † We appreciate critical thought to be calculated, self-regulatory determination, which consequences in reading, analysis, rating, and illation, every bit good as justification of the evidentiary, theoretical, methodological, criteriological, or background considerations upon which that determination is based † . Facione went on to depict good critical minds as â€Å" habitually speculative, intelligent, trusting of ground, open-minded, flexible, fair-minded in rating, honest in forepart of personal prejudices, careful in doing judgements, willing to reconsider, clear about jobs, orderly in complex affairs, hard-working is seeking relevant information, sensible in the choice of standards, focused in probe, and changeless in seeking consequences which are every bit precise as the topic and fortunes will let. † The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education in the UK provinces that a pupil should be able to do critical opinions and ratings as portion of their generic accomplishments ( The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, 2002 ) . Thinking is the most cardinal of adult male ‘s abilities. We are able to sort, analyze, generalize, deduce, induce, make determinations and work out jobs without holding been taught to believe officially. It might non needfully be true that being able to believe spontaneously would take to the ability to believe efficaciously and good. The basic issue that justifies the call for learning thought in schools is the grounds that after 11 old ages of schooling, many pupils are unable to use the content cognition acquired in school to real-world jobs. The concern sector is kicking about the quality of the alumnuss they received from the universities who sometimes could non even grok direction manuals, what more the manner a piece of equipment plants. In the instance of the United States, the diminution in the pupils ‘ thought competency was farther highlighted by the consequences of the National Assessments of Educational Progress. Teaching pupils to believe would intend to be tter the quality of their thought so that it would be consistent, productive, meaningful and effectual. The ability to believe critically and creatively becomes more important in the age of information and globalisation whereby persons have to screen through dozenss of information which is non needfully relevant. One of the challenges confronting Malaysia amidst its economic development is the accomplishment of a critical thought society. This would heighten and vouch the success of research and development plans in add-on to holding other socioeconomic effects. The Malayan Ministry of Education realized the above-named demands and had begun to slowly shoot the thoughts of critical and originative thought in the school system every bit early as in the late 1980s concurrent with the debut of the Integrated Curriculum for Secondary Schools ( KBSM ) as a mechanism to recognize the National Education Philosophy. The Ministry realized that the old course of study was non balanced and over-emphasized the rational facet more than the religious, emotional and physical facets. Although cognitive accomplishments were highlighted, they were merely those on the lower measure of Bloom ‘s categorization, which consist of the ‘lower order accomplishments ‘ . The KBSM was an betterment as it encourages treatment and enquiry. Some of the instruction schemes that it proposed were methods of find and enquiry, treatment, the Socratic method of oppugning and job work outing through the scientific method. The KBSM was to develop and heighten pup ils ‘ rational capacity with regard to rational, critical and originative thought. However, the greatest drift to stress the instruction of thought in the instruction system came after the Prime Minister unveiled his Vision2020 for the state in 1991. Malaysia ‘s Vision 2020 describes nine challenges confronting the state that aspires to develop holistically which includes development of the assorted dimensions such as economic sciences, societal, political relations, psychological science, religious, and cultural. Interestingly, one of the major challenges lies in furthering and developing a mature democratic society, practising a signifier of mature consensual, community-oriented Malayan democracy. To run into this challenge would necessitate Malaysians to believe positively, critically and creatively. The most important move made by the Ministry after the KBSM was the debut of the construct of the ‘smart school ‘ in 1997, whereby originative and critical thought would go one of its landmarks, the other being the focal point on the petition of informations and communicating engineerings in instruction and acquisition. The Ministry of Education and the Faculty of Education of public universities throughout the state mounted more research on the educating of critical and originative thought accomplishments, particularly in the 1990s. Unfortunately, this punctilious research were largely kept on the library shelves garnering more dust and was ne'er able to inform the practicians in the Ministry and schools. Therefore, practicians were unable to utilize research as a model for doing practical determinations. In the context of Malaysia, most of them either could non acquire entree to the relevant literature, do non possess the learning civilization for self-reformation, are excessively busy learning and fixing pupils for scrutiny or are self-satisfied with their patterns despite the worsening educational criterions. Eisner wrote on this phenomenon of educational research seldom informing educational pattern and suggested some alterations in attack that research workers need to set about if educational research desires to inform educational pattern. The Ministry of Education has conducted several undertakings and plans of believing accomplishments in schools through the Curriculum Development Centre ( CDC ) , and Teachers ‘ Education Division ( TED ) . They have besides conducted workshops and provided preparation to instructors. For case, the CDC conducted a pilot undertaking on believing accomplishments across the course of study in 1992/1993 in the territory of Gombak, Selangor. This undertaking involved 10 secondary schools and Form One teachers. The intent of this undertaking was to expose instructors to believing accomplishments, how to be after and fix instruction and acquisition stuffs, and formulate schemes for learning thought. At the terminal of this undertaking, instructors were found to hold that believing accomplishments were utile and should be taught in schools. They felt that due to the restraint of clip, the extract attack is most suited for learning thought. The Ministry introduced the Program for Instruction in Learning and Thinking Skills ( â€Å" PeningkatandanAsuhanDayaIntelek † ; PADI or PILTS ) in 1992. The chief focal point of the PILTS Program is the designation of a nucleus of relevant thought and larning accomplishments to be taught, integrating of these accomplishments in the content being learned, supplying appropriate instructions and rating of the accomplishments taught. The consciousness of a demand to learn believing earnestly in schools gained impulse when in 1993, Tan Sri Dr Wan ZahidMohamadNoordin the so Director-General of Education made it the duty of the learning profession to develop believing accomplishments in society through brooding enquiry. He asserts that â€Å" instructors must prosecute in brooding enquiry, transmit cognition, attitude, and accomplishments. They should develop believing accomplishments. The pupil should non merely be taught to reply inquiries, but besides to inquiry replies and to o ppugn inquiries † . † The Curriculum Development Centre even published a manual to explicate the construct, theoretical account and instruction schemes for learning critical thought accomplishments to instructors. ‘ A twelvemonth subsequently he announced that the chief mark of the Ministry of Education by the twelvemonth 2000 is to hold sixty per cent of the scrutiny inquiries to be of the â€Å" critical thought † nature. In fact the SijilPelajaran Malaysia ‘s History paper in 1994 had already used inquiries which require critical thought. Subsequently, in 1996 the Teacher Education Division ( TED ) of the Ministry of Education, introduced a class entitled â€Å" Critical and Creative Thinking Skills † in its Post-Degree Teaching Program ( KPLI ) . This class was an attempt to educate future instructors on how to learn believing accomplishments across the course of study. The TED besides introduced this topic for its in-service classs. The societal component in Kuhn ‘s ( 1991 ) definition refers to the treatment of thoughts with equals who are engaged in a collaborative procedure of cognition edifice. Research workers have argued that equal relationships are alone in their ability to supply the types of interactions that lead to the development of empathy, knowledge, and societal behavior ( Youniss, 1980 ) . Johnson and Johnson ( 1999 ) maintain that collaborative equal larning promotes greater conceptual development and consequences in greater enjoyment of the acquisition undertaking. Collaboration is thought to lend to higher order larning through cognitive restructuring or struggle declaration. Anderson, Howe, Soden, Halliday, and Low ( 2001 ) stated thatpeer communicating can hold a positive consequence on conceptual development as a map of conceptual struggle. However, in add-on they note that grounds besides exists ( Roazzi & A ; Bryant, 1998 ) for the positive effects of understanding. Many surveies have examined the effectivity of intercessions aimed at bettering critical thought accomplishments ( see Pithers and Soden, 2000 ) . These intercessions have included the construct of guided pattern ( Anderson et al. , 2001 ) and scaffolding ( Wood & A ; Wood, 1996 ) to guide pupils through the thought procedure by measuring their current degree of believing through duologue and so inquiring inquiries to travel them into the following degree. Other intercessions have involved the debut of equal interaction into critical thought undertakings in an effort to better pupils ‘ cognitive accomplishments in this country ( Anderson et al. , 2001 ; Schwartz, Neuman, Gil, & A ; Ilya, 2003 ) . Research by Anderson et Al. ( 2001 ) supported Kuhn ‘s ( 1991 ) suggestion that critical thought accomplishments, in peculiar evidence-based justification, can be improved with guided pattern. Their research involved vocational instruction pupils from Further Education colleges who were engaged in peer-based critiquing of each others ‘ undertaking proposals. It was found that face-to-face equal interaction was good in bettering critical thought accomplishments ; nevertheless, justification tended to be anecdotal in nature or based on personal experience, as opposed to justification utilizing research-based grounds. Ocker and Yaverbaum ( 1999 ) used a repeated-measures experimental design to compare pupil groups each of which teamed up on two instance surveies, one utilizing face-to-face association and the other utilizing asynchronous computing machine discoursing. Their findings indicated that tie ining in the on-line status was merely every bit successful as in the face-to-face status, in footings of acquisition, high quality of solution, solution content and pleasance with the solution. Newman, Webb, and Cochrane ( 1995 ) besides compared face-to-face groups with on-line groups, concentrating on the deepness of critical thought. They found grounds for critical thought in discourse from both face-to-face and computing machine conference seminars and their analysis showed similar deepnesss of critical thought in on-line treatment and face-to-face one. However, a greater proportion of new thoughts emerged in the face-to-face seminars, whereas more thoughts in the computing machine conferences were coded as of import, justified or linked together. Newman et Al. ( 1995 ) argued that the asynchronous environment discouraged pupils from brainstorming and lending new thoughts, but instead encouraged considered, good thought-out parts. Newman et Al. ( 1995 ) developed an extended content analysis technique, based on Garrison ‘s ( 1991 ) theoretical account of critical thought, to code the online and face-to-face parts of pupils on an Information Society faculty. However, they did non code every statement in the transcripts, pretermiting to number or code content that was deemed excessively subjective or interpretative for intending to be faithfully inferred. Therefore, their method of analysis involved sorting merely the obvious illustrations and disregarding content that could non be identified easy as belonging to a peculiar crit ical thought class. Statements were described as frequently demoing more than one index and there was no step of translator dependability as it was hard to clearly specify a unit of analysis. Therefore, the dependability of this method is questionable when trying to objectively measure the nature of educational discourse and the degree of critical thought in face-to-face treatment and online transcripts utilizing a quantitative content analysis technique. The critical thought accomplishments known by the board of experts were reading, analysis, appraisal, tax write-off, description, and self-regulation. If the degree of critical thought in adolescence pupils is measured, it is truly helpful to curriculum developer or who are in charge to educational policy to do the best determination for learning believing accomplishments. In the universe beyond the schoolroom, high school pupils are au naturel to powerful messages that confuse attempts to believe critically. The cardinal demand for critical thought in and beyond formal acquisition in mundane life, relationships, ethical picks, and in the saving and development of participatory democracies grows more and more evident ( Edwards, 2001 ; Halpern, 2003 ; Pithers, 2000 ) . The proliferation of information via the Internet will merely be managed efficaciously by persons with well-developed thought accomplishments. Critical thought used to be thought of as an rational exercising expected merely of an educated influential. This pattern of trusting on a little subdivision of the population to be the minds for society is superseded ( Hay, 2001 ) . Marshak ( 2003 ) writes: The public school system that we have today was constructed during the first two decennaries of the twentieth century. . .public schools were shaped to suit industrial theoretical accounts of efficient industry. One cardinal function for schools was screening kids harmonizing to their evident abilities and promoting many to fall out and travel to work every bit unskilled laborers. In add-on to the academic lower status of the schools that normally serve big alternate populations, economically hard-pressed and alternate households frequently lack the cognition or connexions with establishments that can ease entry into college or a occupational preparation plan, every bit good as possible support beginnings and career options ( Neill, 2003 ; Stanton-Salazar, 1997 ) . This deficiency of societal capital or entree to societal constructions in order to achieve a certain terminal well affects their future chances. It is truly pointed out how these pupils are farther disadvantaged when thei r school experience does non include the development of critical thought accomplishments like job resolution, determination devising, concluding through statement, and acknowledging ways in which they may avoid delicate irresistible impulse into a life style that is counterproductive to puting long-run purposes. High school pupils who do non divert a hereafter that includes station secondary instruction manner out the K-12 grapevine prior to graduation at a much higher rate than their privileged fellow pupils. A recent survey by the Urban Institute ( Orfield, Losen, Wald, & A ; Swanson, 2004 ) exposed that the national high school drop-out rate is far greater than the provinces ‘ self-reported rates. In California, the Numberss are peculiarly high, particularly among Afro-american and Hispanic pupils ; merely 57 % of African-Americans and merely 60 % of Latinos graduated in 2002, compared with 78 % of White pupils and 84 % of Asians. The branchings of such big Numberss of drop-outs for the person, their households, and society are profoundly dismaying as are the suggestions that pupils are being forced out by schools seeking higher duty trial tonss ( Harvard University, 2005 ) .Statement of ProblemIt is clear that adolescence is one of the most critical phases in homo ‘s life spa n. In this phase, they typically increase the sum of clip spent with their equals. Besides communicating with equals helps them to socialise in society, there are many knowledge accomplishments that may larn by equal interactions. Harmonizing to the cognitive theory striplings start to believe logically. They use theories and programs to work out their jobs, so it could be conveyed critical thought procedure Begin in adolescence. Although it is equivocal in which degree critical thought appear in this phase and does it be affected by societal elements. Furthermore limited research related to critical thought in adolescence was identified. since critical thought in adolescence is subject-specific ( Ennis, 1989 ; Facione, 1990 ; Tindal & A ; Nolet, 1995 ; Angeli, 1999 ; Halliday, 2000 ) , and they learn many accomplishments through communicating with equals and society so at that place seems to be a demand for a survey that would explicate the critical thought ability of stripling and its interaction with peer communicating and societal behavior.Theoretical ModelThis survey based on combination of both cognitive and societal cultural theory: Piaget ( 1958 ) stated striplings begin to believe logically, inventing programs to work out jobs and consistently testing solutions. So harmonizing Piaget theory critical thought should accrue in adolescence. Vygotesky ( 1978 ) accent on the societal component in kids ‘s construction of cognition has led to the coaction with equals helps scholars reach new cognition.Conceptual ModelThree chief variables will be utilized in this survey. However, there are any possibilities about the manner of relationship or interaction between them. It is obvious human ecology of participants will be influenced in societal elements ( societal credence and peer communicating ) straight, although it is equivocal which societal variables, societal credence or equal communicating, intercede other variable to critical thought. It is a more possible theoretical account of relationship between variables. Degree centigrades: UsersHomeDesktopUntitled.jpgJustification of StudyAs a portion of formal operational phase in Piaget theory, procedure of visual aspect of critical believing start in adolescence. Adolescents should get down to take some chief personal and societal determinations in their life. It are seen that 90 % of striplings associate themselves with a equal group. The nature of an stripling ‘s behavior is greatly influenced by his friends and comrades.Research QuestionsThis survey includes three research inquiries that investigate possible interactions between critical thought, societal credence and equal communicating. A Is there significance grounds of critical thought in striplings with high degree in equal communicating? Is there significance grounds of critical thought in striplings with high degree in societal credence? Make critical thought and societal credence and peer communicating interact with each other?Significance of StudyThis survey has the possible to impact the research participants themselves, and besides the population of adolescence pupils they represent. Bing able to explicate critical thought accomplishment in footings of the independent variables used in the survey could assist course of study developers, pedagogues, and decision makers to develop the critical thought rating and public presentation processs necessary to raise the overall critical thought accomplishments and temperaments of pupils. This survey is of import because many people and organisation could utilize of its determination. This determination will be utile for all educational centres, schools and particularly for The Malaysian Ministry of Education. There is plentiful grounds that a big proportion of high schools inadequately arrange immature people for the real-world demands of work, higher instruction, and mundane life. Primary among the shortages recognized are competences associated with specific higher degree cognitive procedures, or merely set, critical thought. High school alumnuss must be able to judge the credibleness of beginnings, evaluate statements, and separate among facts and sentiment.to evaluate [ the media ] to assist them place possible prejudice†¦ assist them go assurance media consumers. . . to construe, make informations to inform determinations or draw decisions. Students themselves recognize the importance of higher order believing accomplishments in footings of their ability to win as immature grownups. In an online study of over 10,000 high school pupils across the state, over 40 % responded that they did non experience their school experience provided practical and necessary life accomplishments, and over one-third rated their critical thought preparation as fair-to-poor ( National Governor ‘s Association, 2005 ) .General ObjectiveDescribe part of critical believing degree in high school pupils. Identify relationship or impact of societal factor on visual aspect of critical thought process.Find an appropriate theoretical account to depict and foretell the relationship between variablesDefinition of TerminologyConceptual:Adolescent: Adolescent is a transitional phase of physical and mentalA human developmentA by and large happening betweenA pubertyA and legalA maturity ( Viner R 2005 ) .A A Critical thought: critical thought is calculated, self-regulatory determination which consequences in reading, analysis, rating, and tax write-off account of the determination ( Facione, 1990 ) . Peer communicating: equal communicating is the association of equals into little groups that have changing abilities in which all pupils can take part to acquire a common purpose. Social credence: societal credence is the grade to which an stripling is socially accepted by equals. It includes the degree of equal attraction and the easiness with which an stripling can get down and continue acceptable equal relationships.Operational:Adolescent: Harmonizing toA Erikson phase ‘s of human development an stripling is a individual between the ages of 13 and 19 Critical thought: The pre-disposed attitude one of course possesses sing critical thought. The degree of critical thought in participants will be measured through the researcher-developed Engagement, Maturity, and Innovativeness ( EMI ) . Peer communicating: The degree of equal communicating will be measured by The kids ‘s outlooks of societal behavior questionnaire ( Rudolph, Hammen, & A ; Burge, 1995 ) and stock list of equal fond regard ( Armsden & A ; Greenberg, 1987 ) Social credence: This survey will happen the degree of societal credence through societal credence Asher and Dodge ‘s ( 1986 ) step.Specific ObjectiveIdentify the nexus between equal communicating and critical thought Identify the nexus between societal credence and critical thought Did peer communicating intercede the nexus between societal credence and critical thought?Research HypothesisThis survey hunt for placing interacts and impacts of societal elements on critical thought, so there are three hypotheses to expect relationship between variables. There is significance grounds of critical thought in striplings with high degree in equal communicating There is significance grounds of critical thought in striplings with high degree in societal credence Critical thought and societal credence and peer communicating interact with each other.MethodologyResearch Design:In this quantitative research will be used correlativity design to find the relationship between variables. Besides, descriptive method will be used to depict the distribution of variablesInclusion StandardsAges: all participants will be in adolescence age ( 13-19 ) Gender: They will be approximately every bit split by gender Race and Language: they will be selected approximately every bit among three races ( Malay, Indian, and Chinese )Sampling and participantsParticipants will be selected through bunch trying method. Population will be all striplings in KL high schools. Participants will be 300 striplings in KL high schoolsData CollectionAll informations will be collected through questionnaires with good dependability and cogency. Therefore, it could be conveyed self-report questionnaires will be used as a information aggregation technique in this survey.InstrumentFour questionnaires will be used in this survey: The researcher-developed Engagement, Maturity, and Innovativeness ( EMI ) critical thought temperament appraisal will be used to mensurate the critical thought temperament of striplings. Adolescents ‘ representations of equals. The Children ‘s Expectations of Social Behaviour Questionnaire ( Rudolph, Hammen, & A ; Burge, 1995 ) will be used to tap kids ‘s representations of urine R. Inventory of Peer Attachment ( Armsden & A ; Greenberg, 1987 ) to mensurate peer fond regard in striplings. Social credence Asher and Dodge ‘s ( 1986 ) societal credence step will be used in this surveyDependabilityAdolescents ‘ representations of equals. The Children ‘s Expectations of Social Behavior Questionnaire ( Rudolph, Hammen, & A ; Burge, 1995 ) will used to tap striplings ‘ representations of equals. intentionally, this 15-item questionnaire taps striplings ‘ outlooks of their equals ‘ responses to conjectural aversive state of affairss in which a stripling needs aid, keep up, and sensitiveness from his or her equals. This step was made to order to do it allow for state of affairss that involved striplings, and to include a 4-point response format ( instead than a 3-point response format ) runing from ( 1 ) most positive outlook to ( 4 ) most negative outlook ( Cassidy & A ; Woodhouse, 1997 ; Appendix B ) . All points will b eupturned scored. For each point, striplings read a sketch picturing a conjectural state of affairs and were so instructe d to acknowledge how the equals would reply to the state of affairs. Rudolph et Al. ( 1995 ) accounted good psychometric belongingss for theprimary step ( e.g. , good internal consistence, test-retest dependabilities and significant concept cogency in a sample of 7-to 12-year-old kids ) . They besides reported good convergent cogency for this step. For illustration, they found that kids who had more negative representations of equals were significantly more likely to exhibit maladaptive societal behaviour and lower societal competency. In that survey, the Cronbach ‘s alpha was 0.76. This step contained a set of written instructions inquiring striplings to â€Å" rate the extent to which you like to be in activities with the undermentioned pupils. † Below this set of instructions, was the same roll of 75 schoolmates that the stripling used in the societal behaviour instrument. Adolescents used a 5-point Liker-type graduated table runing from non at all ( 1 ) to a batch ( 5 ) to do their evaluations. A societal credence mark for each participant was computed based upon evaluations that the participant received from his or her schoolmates. This mark was calculated foremost by taking the mean of all the evaluations for that participant and so standardising this mean within the participant ‘s school. Furthermore, in a longitudinal survey of early striplings, Wentzel and Caldwell ( 1997 ) reported significant test-retest dependability and prognostic cogency, bespeaking that societal credence mediated by prosocial behaviour was related to striplings Ã¢â‚¬Ë œ GPA during 6th and 8th class. From the original 60 point critical thought pilot temperament trial, point and scale dependability analysis left a graduated table with 30 points and an overall Cronbach ‘s alpha of 0.86. The Innovativeness concept was represented by seven points and a standardised Cronbach ‘s alpha of 0.79, the Maturity concept was represented by six points and a standardised Cronbach ‘s alpha of 0.75, and the Engagement concept was represented by 13 points and a standardised Cronbach ‘s alpha of 0.89. These dependability estimations were deemed really high utilizing the standard standards ( R = 0.65 to 0.75 ) of Norris and Ennis ( 1989 ) . Extra statistics, such as each point ‘s mean, standard divergence, corrected item-total correlativity, and alpha if the point were deleted are reported in Table 3-3. Items were retained if they did non hold utmost agencies ; had what was considered to be adequate variableness in responses ; had corrected item-total correlativities ov er 0.2 ; and would do the dependability of the graduated table stronger. After the pilot trial tonss were analyzed and the strongest graduated table was identified, the research worker added points to the Maturity concept to include a broader representation of facets of the Maturity temperament. This left the new EMI instrument with 33 points. Peer fond regard graduated tables ( a = .90 ) consisted of 25 points and were rated on a five-point graduated table ( sample points: †my parents/friends understand me † ) . Each of the subscales ( trust, disaffection, and communicating ) was submitted to a Personal computer factor analysis and a parallel factor emerged for both parent and peer fond regard. The factor from the parent graduated tables was labelled †parental secure fond regard † ( k = 2.41 % ; 80.4 % of the discrepancy ) and consisted of trust ( .91 ) and communicating ( .88 ) , which loaded positively and disaffection, which loaded negatively ( _0.90 ) . The factor from the equal graduated tables was labelled †peer secure fond regard † ( k = 2.31 % ; 77.1 % of the discrepancy ) and consisted of trust ( .92 ) and communicating ( .91 ) , which loaded positively and disaffection, which loaded negatively ( _.80 ) .Data Analysis MethodMean, manner and discrepancy will be used to depict part of informations T-test will be used to place the nexus between variablesMultiple arrested development analyses will be used to place direct and indirect nexus between variables that mediated by other variables. Statistical Package for Social Science ( SPSS ) will be used to analysis all informations.

How Discrete Trial Teaching Works in ABA

How Discrete Trial Teaching Works in ABA Discrete trial training, also known as massed trials, is the basic instructional technique of ABA or Applied Behavior Analysis. It is done one to one with individual students and sessions can last from a few minutes to a couple of hours a day. ABA is based on the pioneering work of B. F. Skinner and developed as an educational technique by O. Ivar Loovas. It has proven to be the most effective and only method of instructing children with autism recommended by the Surgeon General. Discrete trial training involves presenting a stimulus, asking for a response, and rewarding (reinforcing) a response, starting with an approximation of a correct response, and withdrawing prompts or support until the child can give the response correctly. Example Joseph is learning to recognize colors. The teacher/therapist puts three teddy bear counters on the table. The teacher says, Joey, touch the red bear. Joey touches the red bear. The teacher says, Good job, Joey! and tickles him (a reinforcer for Joey). This is a very simplified version of the process. Success requires several different components. Setting Discrete trial training is done one to one. In some ABA clinical settings, therapists sit in small therapy rooms or in carrels. In classrooms, it is often enough for the teacher to place the student across a table with his or her back to the classroom. This, of course, will depend on the student. Young children will need to be reinforced for merely sitting at the table learning to learn skills and the first academic task will be the behaviors that keep them at the table and help them focus, not only sitting but also imitating. (Do this. Now do this! Good job!) Reinforcement Reinforcement is anything that increases the likelihood a behavior will appear again. Reinforcement occurs across a continuum, from very basic, like preferred food to secondary reinforcement, reinforcement that is learned over time. Secondary reinforcement results as a child learns to associate positive outcomes with the teacher, with praise, or with tokens that will be rewarded after accumulating the target number. This should be the goal of any reinforcement plan, since typically developing children and adults often work hard and long for secondary reinforcement, like parental praise, a paycheck at the end of the month, the regard and esteem of peers or their community. A teacher needs to have a full quiver of edible, physical, sensory, and social reinforcers. The best and most powerful reinforcer is the teacher her or himself. When you dish out lots of reinforcement, lots of praise and perhaps a good measure of fun you will find you dont need a lot of rewards and prizes. Reinforcement also needs to be delivered randomly, widening the gap between each reinforcer in what is referred to as a variable schedule. Reinforcement delivered on a regular (say every third probe) is less likely to make the learned behavior permanent. Educational Tasks Successful discrete trial training is based on well designed, measurable IEP goals. Those goals will designate the number of successive successful trials, the correct response (name, indicate, point, etc.) and may, in the case of many children on the spectrum, have progressive benchmarks that go from simple to more complex responses. Example: When presented with pictures of farm animals in a field of four, Rodney will point to the correct animal requested by the teacher 18 out of 20 trials, for 3 consecutive probes. In discrete trial training, the teacher will present four pictures of farm animals and have Rodney point to one of the animals: Rodney, point to the pig. Good Job! Rodney, point to the cow. Good job! Massed or Interspersed Tasks Discrete trials training is also called massed trials, though this is actually a misnomer. Massed trials is when a large number of a single task are repeated in quick succession. In the example above, Rodney would just see pictures of farm animals. The teacher will do massed trials of a single task, and then start massed trials of a second set of tasks. The alternate form of discrete trial training is interspersal of tasks. The teacher or therapist brings several tasks to the table and asks the child to do them alternately. You might ask a child to point to the pig, and then ask the child to touch his nose. Tasks continue to be delivered quickly.

5 Things to Say to Your Boss if You Want to be Successful

5 Things to Say to Your Boss if You Want to be Successful Are you super professional and a little bit frightened of screwing up in front of your boss? That’s totally natural. But being meek and respectful and never challenging your employer can sometimes  backfire. Some bosses prefer input and feedback from their employees. Make sure you’re giving it! Here are 5 things you should start incorporating into your interactions with your boss to form a more constructive relationship for the two of you.1. â€Å"You’re wrong†While you would never say this in a snide way, it is always important to be honest. If you can practice saying this with enough respect, you might just be able to prove your smarts and talents to your boss when she misses something and you see how you might save the day. If you just let her make an error, that’s on you. Be confident enough to point out what you see. That’s why you were hired! (Not to be a robot.)2. â€Å"No†Nobody wants a doormat. If something is a bad idea or you know you can’t deliver a project under the parameters set, then it is preferable to say â€Å"no† early rather than fail needlessly. Some bosses really like this, provided it clearly comes from a place of respect. Similarly, if you’re asked to do lots of things outside of office hours and you can’t keep it up, stand up for your work-life balance!As long as you’re doing your job and doing it well, setting boundaries for yourself is always a good idea. You’ll gain more respect that way than not.3. â€Å"I’m fixing it†So you screwed up. Nobody likes to greet their boss with that bad news. But a good boss would rather be alerted to problem early on- particularly if you can say, in that same breath, that you’re already on top of it and there should be very little fallout. It shows you’re trustworthy and good at coming up with solutions, even under fire: all great boss-impressing traits!4. â€Å"My mistake†On e of the hardest things to do is admit you’ve made an error- and not to make a million excuses immediately to let yourself off the hook. But if you can go to your boss, explain what you’ve done, and cop to it’s being a mistake? This shows your character and can actually lead you to a valuable learning experience. You may even expose a gap in the training for your position. Plus, you’re likely to not make the same mistake again.5. â€Å"I have an idea†In some ways, this is a magic phrase. Most CEOs are starving for good ideas. If you have one, speak up! Don’t be shy. Especially if your idea would save the company money, time, or other resources and streamline things. Be part of the progress!It might be scary to approach your boss and go off the script you learned at your first internship, but showing up this way as a grown-up and self-possessed employee can have major gains over the course of your big-kid career.

What Should High School Students Do Over the Summer

What Should High School Students Do Over the Summer SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Are you a high school student or the parent of one and are wondering how high school students should spend their summers?Summer is a great time to relax and recharge, but it’s also an excellent chance for students to get work experience, do an activity they enjoy, and boost their chances of getting into a top college. Read on for everything you need to know about summeractivities for high school students and how to choose the best option. Why Is It Important for High School Students to Keep Busy Over the Summer? While you may want to spend your entire summer sleeping in and hanging out with friends, it’s important also to spend part of the time being productive and preparing for your future. Participating in an activity over the summer can help you get a great job or get accepted to a top college in the future, and being productive over the summer doesn’t have to take up all your time or be boring! Colleges and employers love seeing applicants who are motivated and interested in learning more. By keeping busy over the summer, you'll show them that you have what it takes to be a great addition to their school or workplace. There are a lot of ways high school students can spend their summer; read on to learn what your options are and how you can choose an activity that you will find useful as well as enjoyable. How Can You Decide What to Do Over the Summer? You probably have a lot of options for how you can spend your summer: you could lifeguard at your local pool, take some summer classes, attend a summer camp near you or in a foreign country, and more. How can you decide whatyou should do? Read through the list below and ask yourself these three questions: #1: What Are Your Goals for the Future? Do you want to get a good job? Get into a dream college? Think about ways you can spend your time over the summer to make yourself a strong candidate. Will getting work experience help? You may want to consider a job or internship. Are there classes you can take to strengthen your transcript? Summer schoolmay be a good idea. #2: What Do You Enjoy Doing? You shouldn’t spend your summer doing something that makes you miserable. Are there certain extracurriculars, such as a club or sport, that you enjoy and want to continue over the summer? Is there a summer job that sounds interesting or fun? Try to find activities that will be both useful and enjoyable for you. #3: How Busy Do You Want to Be? It’s absolutely possible to do more than one of these activities during the summer. If there are multiple activities you’d like to do, feel free to do them. However, make sure you don’t become too busy or overwhelm yourself. Remember, summer is still about taking a break from school, and you don’t want to return to classes in the fall feeling burnt out and exhausted. Whileit may be great for your tan, youdon't want to spend allsummer lounging at the pool. 6 Great Summer Activities for High School Students Below are six of the best activities high school students can participate in over the summer. For each one, potential benefits and drawbacks are given, as well as examples and ways to get more information. Under the â€Å"How to Stand Out† heading, I’ve also included ways to make this activity particularly impressive to colleges and employers. Job Description: It’s common for high school students to work over the summer. Having a job is a great way to get work experience that you can include on your resume and college applications, and it will earn you money that you can use to help pay for college or just for fun. Many summer jobs for high school students are part-time, but full-time jobs are also available, especially if you’ve already worked at that place before. Common summer jobs that high school students have include being a lifeguard, cashier, or camp counselor. Pros:Make money, gain work experience for your resume and college applications. Cons: Some high school jobs can be tedious and not very interesting, your job may not relate to the career you want. Learn More: To learn more about jobs high school studentscan get, read our guide on the eight best jobs for teenagers,as well as this guide that will help you decide if getting a job is a good decision for you. How to Stand Out: Like any other activity, your job will impress colleges more if you stick with it and increase your responsibilities. If you can work at the same job over multiple summers and get promoted or have your responsibilities increased, that will make the job look stronger on your college applications. If you are able to find a summer job that relates to a subjectyou want to study in college or get a future job in, that will also help show colleges what your interests are and that you can commit to them. Want to build the best possible college application? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. Internship Description: Like a job, an internship involves working for a company or organization. However, internships are often more closely related to your career interests, and you may not always get paid to be an intern, especially as a high school student. If there’s a place you’d be interested in working at or learning more about, you can contact them directly and ask if they hire interns. Your high school’s career center will also likely have more information about internships you can apply for. Pros:Gain work experience,learn more about careers you may be interested in. Cons:You may not make money,some internships involve mostly grunt work that doesn’t teach you a lot about the specific career field. Learn More: For everything you need to know about getting and doing well at an internship, check out our guide. How to Stand Out: If you can get an internship that relates to a future career you’d like to have or subject you’d like to study, that will show colleges that you have a realinterest in that field. Schools like students who are passionate about something, and showing your passion in your internship will help boost your application. For example, if you are planning on majoring in English, getting an internship at a publishing company or newspaper, along with strong English classes and related extracurriculars, can show schools that you’re serious aboutthat fieldand motivated to learnmore about it. Schools will see that as an indicator that you’ll be similarly dedicated to your college classes and activities. Classes Description: Taking classes may not be the most fun way to spend your summer, but they can help you stay on track in high school and prepare you for college. Some students take summer classes to improve their grades in a class they didn’t do well in the first time, some do it to take a class they wouldn’t have time for during the school year, and some use summer classes as a way to take college courses or advanced high school classes. Summer classes can be taken in a variety of ways, either through your high school, at a community college, through an academic program at universities, or even online. Pros: Strengthen your transcript, take classes you’re interested in, can help prepare you for college. Cons: Might be harder to motivate yourself to study during the summer, not the most enjoyable way to spend the summer. Learn More:For more information, check out our guide to summer classes for high school students.We also have guides for severaluniversityacademic programs, including Stanford EPGY, the Boston University Summer Challenge, and the National Youth Leadership Forum. How to Stand Out: If you’re able to, taking college classes over the summer can be a great way to become a stronger applicant. Having college classes on your transcript, even if they are only introductory classes at a community college, can boost your application by showing schools that you’re able to handle the rigor and workload of college. This is an especially good option if your high school doesn’t offer a lot of advanced classes and you want to strengthen your transcript. Hobbies or Talents Description: This is a broad category that can includesports, clubs, or other activities that you do either through school, with a local group, or on your own. Some examples include sports teams, clubs, or a hobby you do in your free time, such as painting, working on computers, or creating a small business. Colleges and employers like to see applicants who have outside interests and can commit themselves to a particular activity. Continuing your hobbyduring the summer is a great way to show that. Because you don’t have classes to attend, summer is an excellenttime to spend more time participating in an activityyou enjoy.Use this time to think about how you can become better at the activity or increaseits impact. For example, if you love baking, is there a way you can expand that hobby? Perhaps you could take a pastry course, have community bake sales, see if local bakeries are interested in working with you, or something similar.If you do your hobby with a group, such as a school club or sports team, and they don't meet over the summer, you can still become better at it by practicing on your own or joining a community group, if one exists. Pros:Can do an activity you enjoy, possibly move into a leadership position, show colleges that you can commit to an activity and have interests outside the classroom. Cons:This may not be the best way to strengthen your resume or college application if you don’t plan on continuing the activity throughout high school or aren’t spending a lot of time on it. Learn More: If you need help deciding which activityto pursue, check out this guide tohundreds of extracurricular examples.We also have a guide to starting a new club if your school doesn't offer an activity that you're interested in. How to Stand Out: Your hobby or talentwill be most impressive to colleges if you have participated in it for an extended time period, have achieved a leadership position or more responsibility, and arepassionate about it. For more information on how to do this, check out this guide with four examples of amazing extracurriculars. Summer can be a great time to get better at a sport or other activity you enjoy doing. Summer Camp Description: Summer camps aren’t just for making s'mores and going on nature hikes anymore. More and more summer camps for high school students are being created that have unique focuses such as cultural immersion, performing arts, wilderness skills, and more. For this article, summer camps differ from regular extracurriculars because, even if they focus on the same area such as a sport, camps offer a more intensive, structured experience over a set period of time. Many students attend these programs to learn new skills or improve skills they already have. For example, if you want to get better at a certain sport or start to learn a new language, a summer camp can help you immerse yourself in that subject and really focus on learning it since there are fewer distractions, and you’ll be surrounded by people with similar goals. Participants may receive academic credit if they attend a program that includes coursework. Most of these programs are in the US, but there is a growing number of international summer camps for high school students. Pros: Can give you a unique experience, you may get the chance to travel, can focus on a skill or topic that’s important to you, chance of getting college credit. Cons: Can be expensive, the number of academic credits you receive is usually not very much, you may get homesick if it’s a sleep-awaycamp, some programs are poorly put together and may not be very beneficial or enjoyable. Learn More: Check out our guides for sports camps, medical programs, and study abroad programs to learn more about someof these opportunities. How to Stand Out: Summer camps can vary widely in terms of quality and the activities that participants do, so it’s important to research a program before you enroll in it. Look for programs that reflect your interests, whether academic or otherwise. For example, if you want to be a doctor,try to find a science-based summer camp or a program that lets you learn more about what it’s like to study and practice medicine. This will help show colleges that you take your career path seriously and are genuinely interested in learning more about it. Volunteering Description: Volunteering is when you do work that benefits others without receiving payment. There are many places where you can volunteer including schools, animal shelters, retirement homes, museums, and more. Most volunteer work is done near where you live, but there are also opportunities to do volunteer work abroad during the summer. This can be donethrough your school, place of worship, or an organization that offers these programs. In addition to the benefit of helping others, it’s often possible to choose volunteer work that relates to your interests. If you enjoy working with children, love spending time with animals, or want to work outside, you can often find a volunteer opportunity that allows you to do just that. Pros:Knowledge that you’re helping others,can include it on resumes and college applications,may be able to volunteer at a place where you’d like to work in the future,can fulfill a volunteer requirement if your high school has one. Cons:You won’t get paid,some volunteer work can be repetitive and tedious. Learn More: Learn about the nine best places to do community service as well as the best volunteer abroad programs. We also have a guide specifically for students trying to decide if they should attend a volunteer abroad program. How to Stand Out: Just completing a few hours of volunteer work won’t impress colleges very much. In order to make your volunteer work stand out, you’ll have to work at the same place over a long period of time, obtain a leadership position, and make your passion and interests clear. Check out this guide for a more in-depth look at how to make your volunteer work impressive. Summary It’s important that high school students spend part of their summer actively working or learning in order to bewell prepared for the future. Fortunately, there are many activities to participate in over the summer that will fit your interests and circumstances. Think about what you enjoy, what you could improve in, and what your goals for the future are in order to decide what to do over the summer. Regardless of the activity you choose to participate in, you can make it more impressive to colleges by connecting it to your interests, gaining new responsibilities, and sticking with it for the long term. What's Next? Want to know how to make your extracurricular stand out even more? Check out this guide to four amazing extracurricular activities and learn why they're so impressive to colleges. Wondering when to start applying to colleges? We have a guide that will give you a complete college application timeline to follow to make sure you're on track! Thinking about summer school?Our guide explains what summer school is, what you'll be doing, and who should be enrolling in it. Summer school has more uses than you may think! Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Germany Energy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Germany Energy - Essay Example Therefore, as countries strive to meet the growing energy demands, they have to put measures of reducing carbon emissions as well. This paper discusses the major issues associated with electricity supplies to meet the demand and low carbon emissions in Germany. Generation and consumption of electricity in Germany has been increasing in the past decade and the trend is expected to continue in future. Electricity in the country is mainly generated from coal and nuclear energy (Keller & Gert). However, utilization of renewable energy and natural gas has been increasing significantly in the last two decades. Brunekreeft (2002) noted that electricity generated from renewable sources has increased by approximately three times in the last twenty years. Thermal power plants account the largest source of electricity in the country. These plants make extensive use of coal, which contributes significantly to environmental degradation by emitting greenhouse gases and other air pollutants. From the table (2) above, it is apparent that heavy reliance on coal and methane in production of electricity contributes to the high levels of carbon emissions in Germany. According to Low Carbon Societies Network (2004), the per capital emission in (t CO2) in Germany was 9.7 in 2007 compared with France which had 5.8 during the same period. Nuclear is the second most important source of electricity in the country and its contribution has been declining gradually since 1998, when the German government introduced the nuclear phase out policy. However, unlike coal, nuclear does not contribute significant amounts of carbon emissions. Electrical consumption in Germany varies across the different sectors, with the industrial sector consuming the largest proportion of the energy. Industries consume the largest proportion of electricity, due to presence

Recycling in the US Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Recycling in the US - Essay Example It should however be noted that all this developments in waste management took place against the backdrop of lack of mandatory legislations on recycling. Consequently, states like New York, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Hawaii among others introduced measures to popularize and enforce recycling as a waste management strategy. Through legislations, disposal of recyclable wastes was penalized and the offenders had to part with heavy fines. Keywords: recycling, waste materials, legislations Recycling in the United States of America Recycling entails collecting and processing materials that would otherwise end up in trash. The recycling process converts such material into new products. As such, recycling is very beneficial to both the community and the environment. Many countries across the globe have embraced the concept of recycling. For instance, the United States has been in the frontline in ensuring that recycling is done in an effective way. As much as there lack any federal law that mandates recycling in the United States, various states and local government have taken it upon themselves to institute a wide range of recycling requirements and procedures. Various states have established law oversee the recycling of various products. In a nutshell, mandatory and voluntary methods were employed in implementing the introduction and adoption of recycling. While the mandatory strategy drew its backing from compulsory laws and regulations, voluntary techniques were enforced without coercion and were built around winning the goodwill of concerned parties and letting them participate at will. Many states employ the two strategies combined in order to increase the avenue for effective waste management and so far the results are tremendous. The country has lived to see trucks which collect garbage being combined with waste processing trucks to speed up the recycling of unwanted materials Waste management is currently a burning issue as the world dawns to the harsh realities of global warming together with the ever changing climatic patterns. Many conventions and declarations have been made to try reversing the trend but still there remains a substantive work to be done (Pellow, 2007).Garbage has been identified as a contributor to this threat to sustainable human, animal and plant life on the planet earth. The question then comes to how best can these wastes disastrous as they are be managed with the least of resources to attain an efficient pollution free environment? It is upon this basis that recycling as a waste management technique comes in. This presentation critically looks at the advantages and disadvantages of employing it as a waste management strategy in the United States of America (Pellow, 2007). Advantages of Recycling It promotes the conservation of scarce natural resources. Due to their limited availability, resources like timber, minerals and water need to be protected from depletion as they play a crucial role in ensuring the sustainability of life and minimizing conflicts that may result from the scramble for the little available resources. Trees play a crucial role in the gaseous exchange of the ecosystem besides providing ground cover and protecting water catchments. Water is a necessity of life for both the flora and fauna. Its absence or limited presence thus poses a great risk to the environment. Minerals are limited in supply meaning their continued extraction leaves nothing. It is thus

Information Handling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Information Handling - Essay Example The source where accuracy posed the greatest problem was the marketing database.So I think usefulness informations need have accuracy and reliability, accuracy and reliability determine the quality of information."Information that is timely is available when it is needed for managerial action, not after the decision has been made" (Gareth, 2000,P614) In today's speedily changing world and technology 's developing, lead to information changing frequently. Real-time Information is reflecting current conditions. (Gareth, 2000,P614) For example, productions' price changing frequently in marketing because manager wants to make profit in competition's marketing. So manager should be pay attention to information's changing. Catch Real-time information is very importance. Look at timeliness in accounting"Timeliness: accounting information should be made available to external decision-makers before it loses its capacity to influence decisions." (Dyckman, 1992, P44) Like the news of the world, old financial information never carries the same impact fresh information carries. Otherwise lack of timeliness reduces relevance."Information that is complete gives managers all the information they need to exercise control, achieve coordination, or make an effective decision." (Gareth, 2000,P615) information's completive will provided good help to manager to decision. When you set up a new business, look at complete information is importance. Such as, how is this productions sold, how long can make profit.

Essay on social work's theory Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

On social work's theory - Essay Example roviding services (e) with most of these services located within the context of the welfare state and (f) social work is a composite of knowledge, skill and values (Ife, 1997). This has been the traditional framework within which social work has been existing, but this is becoming â€Å"increasingly out of step with the reality of the contemporary practice context†.(Ike, 1997: 12). The hitherto existing system has produced an increase in individual worker case loads, with less levels of control over one’s work while also faced with ethical dilemmas. The disparity between the traditional role that has been ascribed to social work and the reality of actual practice has resulted in critical reviews being instituted of the existing theories that drive social work and how they can be improved. This essay will examine and critique two specific social work theories (a) crisis intervention theory and (b) feminism. A crisis occurs when there is a source of stress that arises in the environment. There are three interrelated factors that are responsible for the generation of a crisis (a) a hazardous event which poses a threat (b) the threat is posed to the person’s instinctual needs, which may also be linked to earlier threats that may have occurred, thus making a person vulnerable to the threat and (c) the inability to respond appropriately to the crisis with an adequate level of coping mechanisms.(Rapoport, 1965:25-26). Dealing with crises is an integral part of social work, because it is a time when people need help. Situations presenting danger or opportunity call for effective decision making by social workers. The crisis theory states that in a developmental or situational crisis, the habitual ways of coping do not work, either because the situation is too new and has not been anticipated or because the events in question are too overwhelming for individuals to deal with. The underlying assumption of the crisis theory is that there are a number of needs, such as

Artificial Intelligent Neural Networks Assignment

Artificial Intelligent Neural Networks - Assignment Example Computer technology has graced the world for over half a century now. In its infancy, the concept of artificial intelligence was conceived in Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Jackson, 2014). As Chakrabarti (2008) says, ever since, much has been achieved but the development of a computer that can fully mimic the intelligence of a human is still not in sight. Although many scientists believe that this may be achieved by the year 2030, this is still a hard thing to achieve. However, the advances so far have been commendable (Committee on Autonomous Vehicles in Support of Naval Operations, 2005). Artificial intelligence comes in all types of manner, including the so called minimal artificial intelligence which is intelligence that is geared towards one task, as opposed to an all-round intelligence. In the recent past, technology firms such as Google have been trying to develop artificial intelligence that can be used to drive unmanned cars. Secondary data will be used to analyze the growth of artificial intelligence especially in the use of this technology in robotics. The use of artificial neural networks will also be considered. To get a better understanding of the subject, a literature review of past studies will be done in order to establish how this technology has grown in the past. Recent studies will be reviewed in order to determine the state of the art for this technology. This will be feasible because there are massive studies and literature from these studies available with regard to artificial intelligence. Once the estate of the art of artificial intelligence has been determined, this will then be critically analyzed to determine how it can be used in developing unmanned cars. According to Neapolitan and Jiang (2012), unmanned Aerial Vehicle Global Hawk in 2001 was one the first unmanned vehicles to be able to make a long journey nonstop. In 2004, Spirit and Opportunity were two robots that

Applied buyer behaviour in global context Essay

Applied buyer behaviour in global context - Essay Example Currently there are six main releases of iOS. These include; iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4G, iPhone 4GS and the latest iPhone 5 (Beavis 2012). The Apple Company launched four TV advertisements. One advertisement focused on the new ear pods while the three showing off the device’s new features. ‘Thumb’ is one of the four ads that explain why despite the phone’s taller display users will still be able to reach the whole touch screen with their thumb. The ‘Cheese’ advertisement shows the iPhone’s camera application capturing a panoramic photo of a group of children in fancy dress. The adverts were narrated by Jeff Daniels the star of â€Å"Dumb and dumber and Newsroom†. ‘Physics’ shows off the design, size and weight of the iPhone 5. The advert shows the larger 4 inch display and the thinner profile of the device. The ‘Ear’ explains why apple chose the new design of the headphones. IPhone 5 TV adve rtisements Cheese Thumb Ear Turkey According to the Apple website (Beavis, 2012; pg. 01), the new iPhone 5 is eighteen percent thinner than iPhone 4S (7.6mm), it is lighter by 20% at 112grams. The bigger screen is 4-inch screen with 16:9 aspect ratios and an 1136 x 640 resolution and a retina display of 336ppi. The new iPhone is sold in two colors, black and white with different storage capacities. In comparison to the previous advert, the iPhone 5 advertisement concentrated on the awesome features of the iPhone. Labeled the ‘Genius ads’ the previous advertisement campaign consisted of three Television advertisements that were broadcasted during the Olympics Opening Ceremony and depicted an Apple worker (Genius) assisting several Mac owners in unlikely situations. The first Advert showed the Apple Genius on a plane helping a Mac owner make an anniversary film for his wife after forgetting the occasion. In second advert, the Apple Genius answers the door in his uniform a t four in the morning to an expectant father who wants to make cards to send the family to announce the birth of the baby, during this time the wife is in labor. The last one depicts the Apple Genius that bought a PC that is a Mac (Trenholm, 2012). The main focus of the Genius advertisement was to show potential customers that Apple has a team of experts available to attend to them should they encounter problems while using the unfamiliar operating system. It ended up offending the public who thought that it lacked creativity. IPhone 5 target market Demographically, iPhone targets consumers aged between 18 and 35. These are mainly the youth population composed of students and young professionals. They must be from a working class and mainly urban dwellers. Features of iPhone that are psychologically appealing to the consumers include stylish appearance, countless applications, multimedia, sensitive touch and user friendly technology. However, the main driving force towards the purch ase of an iPhone is the brand name. Image conscious individuals attach feelings of privilege when using iPhone. Such people are also fashionable, and in order to stay abreast with the current technological trends, they are likely to purchase every new release of iPhone. IPhone also appeals to tech-savvy individuals, attention seekers and extroverts (Piercy & Nicouloud, 2012). Furthermore, study shows that the majority of iPhone users posses similar character traits. For instance, they are lavish spenders who mainly buy branded products and are socially