Research and develop individual knowledge on existing web based PMS, Paper

And develop individual knowledge on existing web based PMS, CRS, CRM, ERP or DMS systems of our choice and apply it to - Research Paper Example One of the information systems which has been. This paper will look at the aspect of property there are many parameters that should be considered before one engages in online advertising. The Internet is complex and also dynamic market platform that requires regular and daily training. Online marketing is far much different from the world of print, broadcast, and out-of-home advertising markets. The Internet is so vast and is evolving at very high-rates such that it is becoming hard to properly target the audiences which are intended. The online marketers are looking for efficient way of reaching their online audience while at the same time they are supposed to minimize expenditures. Websites are the primary tools that are used by companies to market their products and services online. There is therefore a dire need to make sure that the website that is being marketed meets the aim they were meant to achieve. Most e-commerce sites that have been developed lack strategy to appeal to t he audience. They lack in proper segmentation to address the issues and the needs of the various visitors that come to their sites for some information. They therefore fail to win these visitors and more still, fail to convert them to properties. Companies who are keen to turn more visitors to client swill have to learn about their intended audience and the needs and tastes they have. Every visit they make on the website should be an opportunity to entice them to buy or better still to come for services in the site. INTRODUCTION Property management systems are computerized systems that are used in the manufacturing, logistic, government and hospitality industry for managing properties. PMS is single software capable of performing numerous services including, management of personal property, equipment, and the associated legalities. In this digital age where web based applications such as PMS provide a competitive edge over old-fashioned, paper-based management mechanisms, these appl ications should entirely be incorporated into the business environment of any organization. This paper attempts to explore the advantages the PMS software such as Delphi would have on the hospitality environment such as chains of hotels. The hotel industry is made up of ventures interlinked together to provide wholesome services to consumers. Starting from reservations all the way to check out, all this activities need to be documented in a harmonious way. The adoption of technology is therefore necessary to promote interoperability as well as efficiency. The many hotel systems such as point-of-sale, telephone, security and room control, entertainment and ordering, telephone services, accounts, HR and payroll among others are comprehensively packaged together in single PMS software. By automating these services, better customer service is achieved, which encourages spending, and consequently better returns. The automation can be achieved at a single entity or/and integrated througho ut a worldwide chains. Our focus for this assignment is New Market Internationals Delphi sales and suite. The software is termed as the industries standard tool for empowering sales, marketing for hotel, restaurants, and stadiums and gaming venues. The Kessler Hotels for instance utilize the Delphi PMS software. Its vast networks distributed across the globe are centrally managed. Comprising of 50 hotels and resorts distributed across Asia Pacific, North America Middle East and Europe, and boosting of

Power and control comparrison Essay Example for Free

Power and control comparrison Essay Examine the way Shakespeare presents power in the character and actions of Lady Macbeth. In this Controlled assessment I will be trying my hardest to examine the power, actions and emotions of Lady Macbeth throughout the entire play. ‘Macbeth’ by William Shakespeare is a very unusual play, the characters aren’t part of your expectations especially Lady Macbeth. Shakespeare made a clear opposite feature between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, which is a very challenging yet effective technique. Shakespeare’s character Lady Macbeth is a very different character, her personality shines throughout the play, Lady Macbeth wasn’t your usual woman in that time period, most of the women then were very obedient, shy and quiet. Most of the women of that time were very obedient towards their fathers and husbands†¦ Well, Lady Macbeth was the complete opposite; she was the dominant person in hers and Mac Beth’s relationship. Lady Macbeth was very controlling of Macbeth, we know this because- â€Å"Infirm of purpose. † This quote suggests that Lady Mac Beth was trying to control Macbeth and show that she has power over him. Lady Macbeth was aiming to be the most encouraging, yet powerful partner, although she ended up acting malicious and self-centred. There is a clear transition between the characters Lady Macbeth and Macbeth; it makes you think about why she was so powerful and why Macbeth was allowing her to overrule his life. Macbeth seems to be very conscious of Lady Macbeth, and her behaviour towards him and others. Macbeth comes across to the audience as quite weak and unstable, we don’t know if it’s because of the way he is treated by Lady Macbeth, or if that’s just his nature. Although, Shakespeare may have written the play to insinuate that Lady Macbeth treats Macbeth the way she does, because he allows it, and he is generally just an easy going character. On the other hand Lady Macbeth gets tired of Macbeth being too easy going towards her and their surroundings; we know this because â€Å"Screw your courage to the sticking place† basically Lady Macbeth said man up, start acting braver courageous like a ‘real’ man. The audience in the gallery must have all had a different experience watching Shakespeare’s plays, as there were different sections of the Gallery. Although, the audience were probably quite shocked because of how different the story line was. Also because back then all of the characters would have been played by males, which must have made it harder for the audience to feel the emotions of Lady Macbeth and understand how Macbeth really felt when his own wife treated him like her slave. We don’t know if ‘Macbeth’ was influenced on a true story, but Shakespeare wrote it very well, as if sounded and was based out very real, we could easily tell what type of person Lady Macbeth was and how she was treating Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is a very stubborn character, she likes to have everything her way, with no one telling her different. Lady Macbeth was a very foolish selfish woman, she wanted everything for her own wealth and fortune, but she would never do it with her own hands, so she wanted Macbeth to kill the king (King Duncan) so that she could be queen and Macbeth would be king; Lady Macbeth didn’t care that she was killing someone, she just wanted to kill the king, and thought no one would notice or find out it was Macbeth. Macbeth was very hesitant to kill Duncan, as much as he would love to be king, and he was next in throne, he just wasn’t sure if he was the right person for the job. Lady Macbeth wasn’t pleased with Macbeth trying to back out of the situation, we know this because- â€Å"when you durst do it, then you were a man† Lady Macbeth is basically saying to Macbeth, stop worrying and waiting around. just hurry up, just kill the king!! Lady Macbeth was very blunt and truthful to Macbeth, which was sometimes deceived as being nasty and hurtful. How does the poem present power and control. In this essay I will be examining how Sassoon presents power and control in comparison to ‘My last duchess’ and ‘Base details’. Robert browning shows power and control in his poem, ‘my last duchess’. We know this because of this quote in the poem, ‘That’s my last duchess painted on the wall’. This quotation represents power and control, by the way it has been written, ‘that’s my’ implying that he owned the duchess, and that she was his property, but more of an object to show off his power towards women. ‘My last duchess’ seems as if there has been more than one duchess. He seems to have a lot of pride to be more of less a lady’s man. As he is a duke, and a very wealthy man, he’s wary of others and wants people to know his authority. Being a duke he feels as though he can control others, mainly his wife/duchess. Browning shows another side of the duke, which was quite unexpected, especially to the readers; as the duke seems very strong and powerful, although a strike of jealousy shines though, in this quotation, ‘she thanks men’ this to me implies jealousy, as the duke is pointing out that she is talking to other men, which clearly he isn’t impressed with. This shows mainly control, the duke treats his wife like an object, she can’t talk to other men, other than her husband she father. Because of the duke’s controlling outlook on life, he can’t see his wife talking to other men, because I think he fears he could lose her his pride. In this quotation, browning portrayed the Duke living up to his high authority, ‘I gave commands’ this quotation sums up the dukes attitude towards others, and is probably the best example of power and control in this poem. Back In the 16th century, men had most of the control, so it wasn’t as shocking then as it is now. The duke looks down at others and expects people to bow down to him. Browning has portrayed power in the duke well, as we can clearly see that the duke doesn’t agree with others getting attention or ignoring his authority, so he makes his importance head and clear. Browning makes the readers feel sympathetic towards the duchess in this quotation, ‘She had a heart-how shall I say- too soon made glad, too easily impressed’. In this quotation is tells us more about the duchess, that she is a woman with a heart of gold and wouldn’t want to hurt anyone or get on the wrong side of anyone. By us knowing this about the duchess, it makes us think more about the way she is being treated by the duke, as she doesn’t un-impress anyone, so the duke must get away with murder. The duchess obviously loves the duke, and gets impressed with the smallest of compliments. In this case their relationship clearly shows that Love is blind. ‘My last duchess’ and ‘Macbeth’ are very similar, in that they both examine the different structures of power and control. Browning shows power between a couple, and that the duke has all of the power and control in the relationship, we know this because of the past quotation ‘I gave commands’; which is a very powerful quotation, it makes the readers feel sympathetic towards the duchess and others surrounding the Duke. This quotation also shows that the relationship is built on power and control, the duchess won’t do anything to aggravate the duke, as she is probably scared of the outcome. Shakespeare’s Sassoon examines the theme of power and control in his poem ‘Base Details’. This quotation, ‘And speed glum heroes up the line to death’ represents power and control in that the majors couldn’t care less about the difficult conditions the soldiers have to face up to. It’s clear to me, that although the soldiers should earn full authority, the majors think they are one better than the soldiers to take full authority of them and treat them like dirt. By Sassoon using the specific word ‘death’ it makes us worry that the soldiers, too young or old will eventually be left behind to die. This is the harsh reality of WW1, as there would have been too many weak soldiers who would have been left in harsh conditions to die painfully; as there weren’t as many doctors and nurses on the scene as there are today. Sassoon compares the similar themes between ‘base details’ and ‘Macbeth’. From the quote ‘poor young chap-I’d say I used to know his father well. This shows that the majors don’t care about the man, as they can easily say poor young chap but didn’t seem to help him in any way shape or form, also by saying ‘I used to know his father well’, this shows that the majors are so inconsiderate of others. It’s very selfish that the youngest men are put on the front line, by the majors, it seems as though the majors think that the young men aren’t as experienced to do anything else, so they are put on the most life threatening position.

Market entry strategy for advancis medical

Market entry strategy for advancis medical In this report, I will be discussing about a pharmaceutical manufacturer called Advancis Medical, its products, marketing strategy and market planning needed for the company to enter a new market abroad. Organization Founded in 1979 and based in Nottingham UK, Advancis Medical is a pharmaceutical manufacturer which offers a wide range of wound care products that have good clinical efficacy and are easy to use and have superior performance. Holding around 125 employees, the values and mission of Advancis Medical is to design and manufacture dressings in order to manage the wound environment and achieve optimum wound healing by: Minimizing bacterial burden Creating a moist wound environment Leaving the wound as undisturbed as possible Achieving and acceptable cosmetic result for the healed wound (advancis.co.uk, online resource) Product and market character Advancis Medical offers a wide range of dressing products which can be categorized as follows: Activon medical Manuka honey dressings Activon Tube, Activon Tulle, Algivon, Actilite, Actibalm. Silfix soft silicone dressings Episil, Episil Absorbent, Silflex, Advazorb Border, Siltape, Advasil conform, Eclypse Adherent, Eclypse Adherent Sacral. Advanced wound care dressing Eclypse, Eclypse Boot, Advadraw, Advadraw Spiral, Advazorb Plus, Adva-co, Advasoft, Kikuhime. Advancis Medical has been able to make its product famous in the market. Recently this year, the company has walked away with the innovation award in Medlink East Midlands Innovation Competition. According to the sales and marketing director of Advancis Medical, the new products have had a fantastic reception in the market. Performance Advancis Medical distributes its product in various countries. They are Greece, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Republic of Ireland, Slovakia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and 22 other countries as well. Advancis Medical strives for continuous improvement in the performance. The firm is committed to do something best, most complete, and most efficient and most timely way possible. Then it will try to think of ways to do it better the next time. The company measures its performance carefully, ensuring that integrity and respect for people are never compromised. It wishes to attract the highest-calibre employees, providing them with opportunities to develop to their full potential and to share in the success that comes from winning in the marketplace (advancis.co.uk). 2. International marketing planning International marketing is set of activity where the marketing of goods and services are carried out across national border. Having look from the UKs point of view, export activity seems to be the significant factor in international marketing activity. An international marketing planning comes from the firms corporate strategy and includes matters like product positioning, branding strategies, choice of target countries and methods needed to enter the new target market and so on (Lancaster G., et al., 2002). 2.1 Internal and External Analysis It is necessary to analyze the environment around the company to expand internationally. Here, I will be discussing about BCG analysis as an internal analysis. BCG (Boston Consulting Group) analysis is used to analyze their products and business line. The BCG analysis helps the company in allocating resources and acts as an analytical tool in brand marketing, product and strategic management. Source: (Bensoussan B.E., Fleisher C.S., 2008) Having look at the above chart, Stars are high growth businesses or products in markets where they are strong compared with the competition. In Advancis Medical, Activon Honey product acts like a star. They have high market share as well as high growth rate. Cash cows are low-growth businesses or products which has a relatively high market share. These units are mature and successful businesses with relatively little need for investment. Products like Eclypse, Eclypse Boot of Advancis Medical are cash cows. They need to monitored and need little investment. Question marks are units or products with low market share but which operate in higher growth markets. This means that they have potential, but may require substantial investment in order to grow market share among the competing and powerful competitors. As far as I am concerned, Advancis Medical has no specific products to match this unit. Dogs refer to products or business that have low relative share in low growth markets. Silf ix soft silicone dressings of Advancis Medical are the products that act as dogs. Performing an external analysis, PEST (Political, Economic, Social and Technological) factors will be taken into account for Advancis Medical. Political: The industry has witnessed increased political attention due to the increased recognition of the economic importance of healthcare as a component of social welfare over the years. Political interest has also been generated because of the increasing social and financial burden of healthcare. UKs National Health Service debate is an example. Economic: In the decade to 2003, the pharmaceutical industry witnessed high value mergers and acquisitions. With a projected stock value growth rate of 10.5% (2003-2010) and Health Care growth rate of 12.5% (2003-2010), the audited value of the global pharmaceutical market is estimated to reach a huge 500 billion dollars by 2004. Majority of pharmaceutical sales originate in the US, EU and Japanese markets. Social: Good health is an important personal and social requirement and the unique role pharmaceutical firms like Advancis Medical play in meeting societys need. In recent times, the impact of various global epidemics e.g. SARS, AIDS etc has also attracted popular and media attention to the industry. The effect of the intense media and political attention has resulted in increasing industry efforts to create and maintain proper government-industry-society communications. Technological: Latest scientific and technological advances in science are forcing industry players to adapt ever faster to the evolving environments in which they participate. Scientific advancements have also increased the need for increased spending on research and development in order to encourage innovation (Johnson G, Scholes K, 2002) 2.2 SWOT Analysis of Advancis Medical Strength Advancis Medical listens to the issues and problems raised by clinicians and its customers and response accordingly by developing the correct and suitable products. Good marketing strength in major geographical areas. Recently, the company won an innovation award which reflects its strength in sales and marketing sector. Weakness Discontinuation of products in the latter stages of development leading to customer dissatisfaction. Pricing strategy which turns out to be comparatively expensive. Opportunities Emergence of integrated global markets and globalization for new products Increasing demand of anti-bacterial honey products like Activon medical manuka honey. Individual brand positioning that makes their product different in the market. Threats Increased competition in markets and cheaper alternative methods found in the markets can be a possible threat to Advancis Medical. Rising raw material and transportation costs which might increase the production cost of the company. (Petryna A., et.al., 2006) 2.3 Marketing goals and objectives Besides increasing sales and profit as a marketing goal, Advancis Medical has other marketing objectives. The company highly focuses on these following marketing objectives: Gaining preference on brands and services Patient Education Customer retention by giving quick response to their queries and requests. Complying with the rules and regulations set by government. Some major reasons for Advancis Medical to look up for the market internationally are listed as follows: The company needs a larger customer base to gain economies of scale. Advancis Medical wants to reduce its dependence on any single market. Due to the high competition in the home market, its profitable for the company to go global and sell their products. Because of the economic recession, some other foreign markets have higher profit opportunities than the domestic market. 2.4 Marketing Strategy Here, Ansoff Matrix will be focused as a marketing strategy for Advancis Medical. Ansoff matrix is a tool which helps the business to decide their product and market growth strategies. Market Penetration is a growth strategy where the business focuses on selling existing product in existing markets. IT helps in maintain or increasing the market share of current product. Product development is the strategy where a business aims to introduce new products into existing markets. Market development is growth strategy for a business where a company looks for a new market to sell its existing products. Here, Advancis Medical will be choosing this strategy, as the company is seeking to sell its product at an international market. Under this strategy, Advancis Medical can perform various activities to support the strategy by: Increasing the global market share by distributing its product to more geographical areas and centralized logistics. Expanding and or distributing products to china and other emerging markets. Improving international brand status and positioning through effective international marketing campaigns (Bennett R., Blythe J., 2002). Diversification is a growth strategy where a business launches and markets new product in new market. This is comparatively risky because the business is moving into markets in which it has little or no experience (tutor2u.net, online resource) 2.5 Market analysis and Market choice Advancis Medical as a pharmaceutical company can segment the market and plan its market analysis by categorizing its customer into walk in customer (who physically visit the distribution centre) and mail order customer (who order the product). Now once the market has been segmented, it is necessary to analyze which market to go. Basically market analysis involves matters like: Demographics such as age structure, religious groupings, average household size of that target market. Macroeconomic influences like fluctuation in GDP, unemployment rate, etc. Consumer behaviour on cultural attitudes, educational levels, average income and living standards. Market choice is a main strategic decision. This report is based on selling the product abroad and not in European countries, thus I will be focusing on Asian countries/market. China, India, Pakistan and Philippines are the four countries that will be taken into account. Out of four countries, one will be chosen for Advancis Medical to sell and distribute their products. Factors Country Political and Economic Trade Regulation Investment Climate Technological Social China 7 8 8 7.5 6 India 8 8 8.5 9 7.5 Pakistan 6 6 5.5 5.5 6 Philippines 5.5 6 6 5.5 6 The above values are considered out of 10 points. And having looked at the table, India is the target country for Advancis Medical to sell and distribute its product because it has the best factors out of these four countries. Source: (china-window.com; online resource accessed at 9th November 2010), (buyusa.gov; online resource accessed at 9th November 2010) (Ernst Young Private Limited, 2008) (Hahn N., 2008) (Gorrill J.R., 2007) 3. Market Entry Strategy Basically, market entry strategy is a planned method to deliver and or distribute the products in the target market. Introduction As it has been discussed earlier about market entry strategy, there are various methods to penetrate and enter a new market. The market entry strategy methods available to Advancis Medical are as follows: Exporting Indirect Exporting Direct Exporting Licensing Joint Ventures Direct Investment The traditional, normal and easy way to enter a foreign market is exporting which includes indirect and direct exporting. In indirect exporting, the company works through independent intermediaries. Indirect exporting has two advantages. It involves less investment and less risk because the company doesnt have to develop department for exporting, overseas sales force or any international contacts. Direct exporting includes exporting of products and its distribution through the channel of export agent. It is done in different ways: Domestic-based export division, overseas sales branch, travelling export sales division and foreign-based agents. Licensing is another simple way to do international marketing and penetrate the market. It is the method of foreign operation where a firm in one country gives permission to company of another country to use the manufacturing, processing, trademark and other skills provided by the licensor. Joint ventures can be defined as an enterprise where foreign investors may join with local investors and share ownership and control over the rights, operation and property. The ultimate way of getting involved in foreign market is direct investment which involves direct ownership of foreign-based manufacturing facilities (Kotler P., Keller K.L., 2006) Country Profile As it has been discussed earlier on heading 2.5 of this report, India has been chosen as the target country. India is a natural subcontinent covered by the Himalayas in the north, the Arabian Sea in the west, the Bay of Bengal in the east and the Indian Ocean in the south. It has a land frontier of 15,200km and a coastline of 7,517km. India is the second most populous country in the world with 1,130 million people in July 2008 (estimated).The literacy rate is 65% with a great degree of regional variation. Hindi is the official language of the country and English is used almost everywhere in India acting as an associate official language in business sector. India has a parliamentary system of government with two legislative bodies; the central government and the state government. The countrys currency is Indian rupee (INR). The countrys banking system is controlled and monitored by the Reserve Bank of India. Indias economy is rapidly rising in the global economy. So, it is very fruitf ul for organizations to export, invest or do joint venture in India (Ernst Young Private Limited, 2008). Analysis of market entry strategy and making choice Market entry methods Advantages Disadvantages Exporting Manufacturing is home based, so its less risky. Provides an opportunity to learn foreign market before investing. Less or lose control over the foreign sales Less possibility of knowing who the customers are and hence failure to offer what they really want. Licensing It is a good way to start in foreign business and a door to comparatively low risk relationship -Any of the both companies get most out of the effort they do. Capital wont be tied up in foreign operation The participation remains limited to specific product, process or length of agreement. The Licensor has less control over the licensee than it does over its own production and sales facilities. Potential returns from manufacturing and marketing might be lost. -This strategy requires considerable planning, findings of fact, investigation and translation. Joint Ventures Sharing of risk as it is partner with foreign company Joint financial strength Good strategy for firms that lack physical, financial or managerial resources to undertake the venture alone. The partners might not agree over policies, marketing and investments. It may be impossible to recover capital if needed. This kind of strategy might prevent MNCs from carrying out manufacturing and marketing policies globally. Direct Investment The firm can minimize its cost economies by cheap labour or raw materials, freight savings and incentives by foreign government. The company will have good image because it creates job opportunity in the host country. The firm can have full control over its investment and hence can develop marketing and manufacturing polices. The primary disadvantage of this strategy is the firm exposes itself to the risk like worsening markets and devalued currencies. Secondly, the firm might find it really expensive to reduce or close down its operations, because the host country needs substantial severance pay to the staffs. (Kotler P., Keller K.L., 2006) Every market entry strategy has certain pros and cons, and looking at the above table I personally would suggest Exporting strategy as a market entry method for Advancis Medical. Having considered exporting as a better strategy for the company, Advancis Medical can avoid much risk and maximize the profit. With this strategy, the company could get a better chance to know and analyze the market and if it looks favourable the firm can switch to other strategy accordingly. 4.1 Implementation It has been considered that Advancis Medical is going for exporting strategy, now it needs to look for a reliable distributor in India to sell and distribute its product. Advancis Medical needs to point out which product to distribute in India. The product named Activon Tube from Activon Medical Manuka Honey Dressing category is the best product that matches the needs of market. According to (Kotler P., Keller K.L., 2006), it has been argued that many manufacturing companies think that their job is done once the product leaves the factory. But they need to pay attention to how the product moves within the foreign market. They should be focused on the potential problem that might arise during the distribution of products to final users. The theory can be illustrated by the following diagram: Source: (Kotler P., Keller K.L., 2006) There is a potential distributor in India named AK Pharma Pharmaceutical Distributor. It is situated in a town called Karnataka and is a leading pharmaceutical distributor all over India. The company does more than 13000 products from 250 of Indian and Multinational companies and have a client base of over 1500 customers including hospitals, medical dental colleges, chemist druggist and doctors (akp.in; online resource). The strategy adopted by the company will follow the 4Ps of marketing in following way: Product: Medical product/medicine is a pharmaceutical product offered by all the pharmaceutical oil companies. It is difficult to offer customers a point of difference with medicine. However, Advancis medical does so by selling medicine as well as the bandages that is better and faster for wound healing. Price: With common products in pharmaceutical industry, prices between competitors are easily matched, which means its difficult to differentiate the product based on price. Advancis medical is constantly monitoring the price and if possible cut costs and make the price reasonable to compete in the market. Place: Advancis medical distributes its product in more than 30 countries. And is expanding globally which is a vital strength in the firms marketing strategy. Talking about Advancis medical in India, I believe its a perfect location for the company due to the countrys demographic factors which ensures the right number and qualities of products are supplied to various places. Promotion: This might include the company to do advertising, marketing through radios or carrying out loyalty programmes to drive sales volume and retain the customers (Bennett R., Blythe J., 2002). Hence, having an overall analysis in the report, it can be seen that Advancis Medical needs to follow an exporting strategy to India and sell and distribute the product to that targeted market.

Improving the Educational System Essays -- Education Teaching Learning

Improving the Educational System ï » ¿Teachers are committed to challenging all students to succeed, whatever their abilities, interests, social and cultural background, gender, prior attainment or aspirations. As future teachers, we need to know the aspects of society, so that we can ensure that each one of our students is successful and achieves his or her potential through the education provided. In this paper, I will be using the articles from the Social Class/Race and School Finance section of the class to evaluate the effects of social stratification, cultural capital, and social reproduction, school financing, and school environment. Social stratification lies at the core of society and of the discipline of sociology. Social inequality is a fundamental aspect of virtually all social processes, and a person's position in the stratification system is the most consistent predictor of his or her behavior, attitudes, and life chances. Social stratification links almost all aspects of society together, and therefore understanding what is happening to social stratification helps us understand a wide range of other changes in society. In the article â€Å"Social Class Differences In Family-School Relationships: The Importance of Cultural Capital† by Annette Laureau, summarizes a study of family-school relations and cultural capital. The results(of the study) suggest that social class position and class culture becomes a form of cultural capital in the school setting(Laureau, 1987). The families of working class lacked money, time, individual educational attainment, value of education, and high expectation on their children where as the middle-class families had all the advantages to support their children’s achievement at school. Lareau shows the effortful evidence that parents with resources will be able help their children attain much higher aspiration. This research uses the concepts of social and cultural capital to student behavior. Social capital may take the form of information-sharing channels and networks, as well as social norms, values, and expected behaviors. High status cultural signals include the attitudes, preferences, knowledge, behaviors, possessions, and credentials that function as informal academic standards, and that are generally defined by the dominant class. Individuals who lack the required cultura... ...help to improve the education these students receive. Improving the learning environment is the first step to rebuilding our inner city schools. More importantly, programs for the students and families will improve their future. The educational systems in America have many faults, but if more people become aware, things can only improve. It is hard to make any pinpoint decisions to improve the educational system because it is such a epic problem. I believe as a future teacher, I may be able change things, and with time maybe equal education for everyone won’t be just a far away dream. Bibliography: References Kozol, J.(1991). Life on the Mississippi. In Save inequalities: Children in American’s schools. New York, NY: Harper Perennial Kozol, J.(1991) Other people’s children. In Save inequalities: Children in American’s schools. New York, NY: Harper Perennial Laureau, A(1987) Social class differences in family-school relationships: The importance of cutural capital. Sociology of education, 60, 73-85 MacLeod, J. (1995). Ain’t No Makin’ It: Aspirations and attainment in a low-income neighborhood. Boulder, CO: Westview Press Revised Edition

Effects of video games on children Essay

Although video games can increase aggressive behavior, they can improve memory and logistical thinking, as well as teach perseverance. Over the course of the last few decades video games have been integrated into the lives of our children. Video games are very appealing to children of all ages, and even to some adults. There is a variety of video games out there, and they range from educational to very violent. Because of this diverse selection of video games, there is a wide range of positive and negative side effects that these games can have on children. Because a large percentage of our children’s time is spent playing video games, there has been a lot of research in recent years on the positive and negative effects these games have on them. â€Å"Among elementary and middle-school populations, girls play for an average of about 5. 5 hours/week and boys average 13 hours/week,† (Gentile, D. A. 2004). Teenagers also spend a time playing video games. According to Media Analysis Laboratory (1998),†Eighty percent of teens said they played at least occasionally and the average amount of time spent gaming for the sample was 5 hours per week† (para. 19). Video game play has become not only a leisurely pastime for children, but for families also. When parents are not involved in some of their game play the outcome can become a little scary. Children who play video games with their families have a more pro-social attitude compared to their counterparts who play alone. Children who are less social or somewhat anti-social tend to develop aggressive tendancies when spending long hours gaming alone especially when violent video games are involved. Video games have been shown to increase aggressive behavior in some children. Neubert, S. P. (2004) said, â€Å"Individuals high in hostility are more likely to become aggressive when exposed to violent video games. † â€Å"Games in which the only positive outcome is the violent demise of enemies reinforces anti-social behavior. Violent video games desensitize people to aggression,† (Neubert, S. P. , 2004). According to a study done by Douglas A. Gentile. References Media Analysis Laboratory (1998). Video game culture: Leisure and play preferences of B. C. teens. Retrieved from http://www. media-awareness. ca In-Text Citation 1. [Insert the paraphrased material] (Simon Fraser University, Burnaby B. C. , 1998). 2. The Media Analysis Laboratory (1998) website [Insert the paraphrased material]. 3. , â€Å"[Insert the quotation]† (para. 19).

Succubus Heat CHAPTER 2

I don't really have anything against Canadians. They're nice. Really nice. But that didn't mean I wanted to go curling with them, and there was always a danger that if Jerome was in the right mood, he might decide to make this temporary assignment a permanent one. I didn't think he would, though. Underneath all the gruffness, Jerome liked me-inasmuch as a demon could truly like anyone. Admittedly, he'd liked me a little less since Seth had turned my life upside down last fall, but when I wasn't sporting massive attitude, I think I amused Jerome. Amusing things are few in the face of eternity, so hopefully that would be enough to ensure my job security. I left Belltown and headed over to Queen Anne, another Seattle neighborhood. I both lived and worked in Queen Anne, and if I was about to disappear for a while, my mortal employer should probably know. Unfortunately, going into work meant facing some unpleasant things that I wasn't really in the mood for tonight. â€Å"Georgina! What are you doing here?† Maddie Sato, the Brutus to my Caesar, came scurrying up to me as I entered Emerald City Books and Caf? ¦. In Maddie's defense, she hadn't known Seth and I were dating when they'd slept together. So, it wasn't like she'd knowingly stolen him from me. That didn't really change my feelings toward either of them, though. â€Å"I need to see Warren,† I said, suspecting I probably reeked of vodka and smoke. â€Å"Is he here?† She shook her head, making her glossy black hair sway. It was worn in a long, sleek style I'd taught her how to do. â€Å"He left about an hour ago. Didn't want to stick around for closing.† I glanced at a clock. I'd barely made it in before they locked the doors. I tapped my foot impatiently, wondering if I should call Warren at home. Finally, I asked, â€Å"You got a sec to go over some schedule stuff? I'm going to be out for a few days†¦or maybe more.† â€Å"Sure,† she said, smiling and showing dimples. â€Å"You want me to grab Doug too?† â€Å"He's here?† Both assistant managers closing in one night. It was a stroke of luck. I headed off to my office while she went to fetch her brother Doug. My desk was organized for a change, and I found the clipboard bearing the schedule for the next couple of weeks. I skimmed it, relieved to see we had a full complement of staff for a change. My immortal friends didn't understand why I cared so much about this job. There had been days recently-days when I didn't want to get out of bed because I was so depressed-that I'd wondered the same thing. But the truth was, eternity was an extremely long time, and I'd spent most of my time always occupied with some activity. It was part of my nature; I couldn't be idle. And sometimes- sometimes -I could get so caught up in the day-to-day affairs of the human world that I could almost pretend for a heartbeat that I was one of them again. â€Å"I don't think we'll need anyone to cover me,† I said when I heard the office door open a few minutes later. â€Å"Someone'll just need to take over my-† I looked up. Maddie had returned, along with Doug, but they weren't alone. Seth was with them. All the easy confidence I'd shown in the store, all the brashness and bravado I'd shown at the club†¦it all shriveled up into a cold, hard knot as I looked at him. Walls slammed down around me. How could he affect me like this, particularly while wearing a Buck Rogers T-shirt? It had been three months. Why wasn't I over him? Why did I still want to cry or break something whenever I saw him? â€Å"Whoa, Kincaid,† said Doug, partially distracting me from my angst. He glanced at my outfit and raised an eyebrow. â€Å"We interrupting your social life?† I wore a knee-length black trench coat over a short red dress. My makeup was done to seductive perfection, whorish dark eyeliner and lipstick to match the dress. Shape-shifting in the car would have been a snap, but I didn't feel like I needed to prove anything here. In fact, I kind of reveled in my tramp look tonight. â€Å"Apparently this is my social life, if I'm pathetic enough to come in on a Saturday night.† I forced myself to focus on Doug and Maddie only, trying hard not to look at Seth's soft, coppery brown hair or gentle eyes. Why did he have to be here of all nights? The answer: he was here every night. He was an author and did his best work in coffee shops. When we'd broken up, he'd tried to tactfully find another and stay away from me, but Maddie-oblivious to his reasons-had begged him to stay at the bookstore's. â€Å"Where are you going?† asked Maddie. â€Å"Is everything okay?† â€Å"Yeah, yeah,† I said brusquely. â€Å"Long story.† I beckoned Maddie and Doug to the clipboard, explaining again how I was pretty sure the store would be fine without my labor, so long as they could cover the tasks I did as manager. We sketched out a brief list of my responsibilities, like payroll and inventory, and began divvying them up. Doug tapped the list. â€Å"I've done all these before, at one time or another. They're no problem. I'll take the first half.† He elbowed his sister. â€Å"What about you? You gonna take the rest and pull your share here?† Maddie pursed her lips. She was immensely talented but suffered from bouts of insecurity, which I'd repeatedly told her was ridiculous. She'd improved a lot over the months-again, thanks to me-but still faltered. â€Å"I didn't realize you did so much. I hope I can learn it all.† â€Å"Stop playing coy. I'll teach you,† said Doug. â€Å"You'll be as good as Kincaid in no time.† â€Å"Yeah,† I said dryly. â€Å"We're practically interchangeable anyway.† Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Seth shift uncomfortably. â€Å"The whole thing seems kind of sketchy, though,† remarked Doug, tilting his head so that his black hair fell away from his face. â€Å"You're going to be gone, but you're not sure when or how long? I thought you were the reliable one around here.† â€Å"It's†¦family stuff,† I told them. â€Å"Just gotta be dealt with. Besides, now you can have a chance to be responsible. You should be thanking me, Doug.† He stuck his tongue out at me. â€Å"Is Warren going to be okay with it?† asked Maddie, still fretting on my behalf. â€Å"Let me deal with Warren,† I assured her. Doug scoffed at that, but Maddie didn't catch on. Warren, the store's marginally moral owner, had been a longtime sex buddy of mine. He gave me about as much energy as Dante, but he was convenient and suited my mood lately. I'd stopped our tryst while dating Seth but had since returned to old habits. Doug had known about my affair with Warren then and now but was tactful enough to leave me to my own choices, aside from the occasional bit of eye rolling. I suspected Seth knew what was going on too, but I didn't care. Warren wasn't going to give me any grief about taking time off. I was too good at what I did, both at work and in the bedroom. We shuffled one shift where I was supposed to have closed, and then I tossed the clipboard back on its pile, suddenly needing to get out of there as soon as possible. â€Å"Alright. Thanks, team. I'll leave you to your work.† â€Å"Off to hit the town?† asked Doug, still amused. â€Å"I can join you in about a half-hour. I know a killer party.† I shook my head. â€Å"Already hit the town. I'm heading home.† â€Å"Loser,† he called after me. Maddie wished me well with my mysterious time off, and then I left them, walking through the store and exchanging greetings with my other co-workers as they scurried around with their closing tasks. I'd nearly made it to the door when I heard someone call my name. I turned and saw Casey hurrying toward me. She was twenty or so and went to the University of Washington. She'd worked here almost the entire time she'd been in college and was one of our best employees. So, I stopped and forced a smile, my eyes straying longingly toward the door. â€Å"Hey, what's up?† She grinned, dark eyes sparkling. â€Å"I wanted to know if you were going to go to my party next weekend,† she said. â€Å"You never answered the e-mail.† I didn't remember any e-mail, but then, I'd been pretty trigger-happy with the delete key lately. â€Å"I didn't get it,† I lied. â€Å"What's going on?† â€Å"It's my graduation party. This Sunday.† I frowned. â€Å"It's April.† â€Å"I'm graduating early. I got all my credits finished up, so I don't have to do spring quarter. Pretty cool, huh?† â€Å"Whoa,† I said, actually impressed. â€Å"That is cool. Math, right?† â€Å"Math and Latvian.† â€Å"Why on earth-never mind.† Now was not the time to pursue why someone of Filipino heritage was studying Baltic languages. â€Å"I wish I could go, but I'm leaving town tomorrow for some family stuff and don't know when I'll be back. I'm really sorry.† Casey's face fell a little, but she told me she understood. And like Maddie, she wished me well and hoped my â€Å"family† business would be taken care of easily. That made two of us. She left me and went to finish her closing tasks. As soon as I cleared the store's door and was outdoors, I stopped and exhaled. Breezy night air washed over me. Being in Seth's presence was smothering. It stirred up too much in me. Even while talking business and numbers with Doug and Maddie, most of my attention had been on Seth-exactly how far away he stood from me, the way he smelled, the way his messy hair stuck up today. Everything else had been background noise compared to him. Reaching into my purse with shaking hands, I pulled out my cigarettes, desperately needing one for the walk home. I'd smoked for a century or so and stopped ten years ago, something I'd been very proud of, even though I was immune to the effects. Stress had driven me to pick up the habit again. I felt a little bad about subjecting others to secondhand smoke, but honestly, smoking was the least of my problems right now. â€Å"Fuck.† I flicked the switch on my lighter and got nothing. Three more flicks produced similar results. Holding the lighter up to my ear, I shook it. Nothing. It was out of fluid. â€Å"Fuck,† I repeated. I only lived a few blocks away, but somehow, that walk was now going to be agony. Suddenly, I heard what sounded like a boot scuff around the corner of the building. Frowning, I took a few steps forward, wondering if anyone was there. This area was pretty safe, but Lower Queen Anne still had its share of vagrants. Yet, when I glanced around the corner, there was no one there. There was, however, a pack of matches lying on the ground. Kneeling down, I picked the book up and examined them. Mark's Mad Martini Bar. I'd been there a long time ago. It was in Upper Queen Anne, not too far away if you didn't mind trekking up the hill. It wasn't unreasonable that a pack of their matches would find their way here. What was weird was that the matches showed up right when I needed them. Behind me, I heard the store's door open. â€Å"Georgina?† I rose and turned sharply around. Seth. â€Å"Hey,† I said, hoping for blandness. The smothering feeling returned. Light from inside the store lit up his features in the twilight, and I ate up every line and angle of his face. His eyes looked dark in the dimness, but in full light, they were brown infused with amber. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, and his gaze wouldn't meet mine. It was painfully reminiscent of how he'd been when we first met, too shy to look directly at me. â€Å"I wanted to see if you were okay,† he said after several awkward moments. I turned the matches over in my hand a couple of times and then placed them in my purse's outer pocket. â€Å"I'm fine,† I said, keeping my voice cool and distant. â€Å"It's just†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He relaxed slightly and gave a small, rueful laugh. â€Å"When you're vague about your activities and mention ‘family,' it usually means immortal business. And immortal business always means trouble.† I started to smile, then immediately squelched it. â€Å"Yeah, it does, and believe me, it's a great one this time.† Even after everything that had gone down between us, there was such a comfort and familiarity with him that I immediately wanted to launch in and recap the story for him. I could already see us both laughing at the idea of Canadian Satanists. I could perfectly picture the way Seth would shake his head in exasperation. But it wasn't to be. I was too hurt and too proud to even allow him friendship, so I just shrugged and said, â€Å"But it'll work out. It always does.† â€Å"Yeah†¦but usually not without a lot of hassle. I'm just worried about you, that's all.† â€Å"You don't have to be.† Not anymore . â€Å"I'm not in any danger. Mostly just annoyed.† He opened his mouth to speak, and I knew the gesture. He wanted to argue that there was still cause for concern-but times had changed. He swallowed and let the comment go. More silence fell. I knew I should leave, but somehow, I couldn't make myself do it. He apparently couldn't either. â€Å"You†¦you look really great tonight,† he said at last, still fumbling for conversation. There was a catch in his voice. He knew my looks tonight had to do with more than just my body and outfit. The energy I'd stolen from sleeping with the therapist wreathed me. Life and its power were irresistible to all creatures, mortal and immortal alike. Immortals could literally see that life glowing around me. To mortals, I simply looked beautiful. Unearthly. Perfect. For the sake of politeness, I pretended he was complimenting me for normal things. â€Å"Thanks. I was out with the others when all this†¦stuff†¦went down. It's kind of put a damper on my partying, though.† He nodded by way of answer and shifted so that he actually made eye contact. I wished he hadn't. My heart melted inside me, and I felt a sob building in my chest. Desperate for something to do, I took out the serendipitous matches and lit the cigarette I'd been holding the whole time. I took a long drag and exhaled. Seth stepped back. He wasn't a fan of smoking. It was like I suddenly had armor. â€Å"Well,† I said, feeling bolder, â€Å"I should go home and pack. See you around.† I turned and had only taken a step when he called out to me. â€Å"Georgina?† I glanced back. â€Å"Yeah?† â€Å"Do you†¦um†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He faltered, and again, I was reminded of that long-ago Seth. Bittersweet feelings burned within me. â€Å"Do you need someone to feed your cat?† I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. â€Å"No, but thanks. Cody'll do it.† I spoke the next words, fully knowing they'd inflict damage. â€Å"Or Dante will.† Seth flinched, and somehow, I felt both triumphant and sad at the same time. â€Å"No problem,† he said haltingly. â€Å"Just thought I'd, you know, check.† â€Å"Thanks,† I said again. We held each other's gazes a few more moments, and then I turned away and walked off into the night.