Cognitive Theory Essay -- Essays Papers

Cognitive Theory There is no one way to learn! Throughout life is faced with many different learning experiences. Some of these experiences have made a better impact than others on different people. At one time in everyone’s life one has seen or have been the child who will attempt to read a single page from a book and become so frustrated and disorientated because she or he does not comprehended nor can one retell what one has just read. This was me, the child who struggled and just did not understand what I was reading. My teachers would present reading material and I would have to read it countless times and sometimes still I did not understand what the reading passage was about. However, with time I started to develop step by step process to help me better understand what I was reading, and finally it all came together. One way to help things to come together for a person is through the Cognitive Theory. The Cognitive Theory presents different theories for the way that one can be taught in different subjects, the different types of learners, and advantages of understanding the process in which one can go through to learn better. There are several different ways in which one learns. One way to learn is by adapting the cognitive style which sets a structure that one should go through a process of perceiving, thinking, problem solving and remembering. James Poon identifies two different types of learning approaches associated with the cognitive theory, reflective and impulsive. â€Å"Reflective individuals tend to be analytical, cautious, accurate, and slow in their approach to problem solving† (66). Poon also says that â€Å"reflective individuals are found to be an effective predictor of an academic achievement in first grade... ...s full potential. In addition one can waste his or her whole life trying to learn and never realize there is a process that one must adapt to before everything will make sense and one will completely understand what one is learning. In addition one must remember that everyone is different, therefore this particular style is not for everyone. When follows The Cognitive Theory one can define a different way to learn in particular core subjects, the different types of learners, and some advantages that come available when one changes. In today’s society Americans have create a place where everything revolves around money, with the smartest people obtaining the most amount of money. The lawyers, chemical engineers and doctors are the role models of today’s society but within each of these fields each individual has establish a learning style, to help one to succeed.

Lewis Carrolls Alices Adventures in Wonderland Essay -- Lewis Carrol

Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Introduction There are several reasons why I have chosen the book â€Å"Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland† as the topic for my term paper. The main reason is that I have been fascinated by Alice’s adventures as a series on TV since I was about six years old. I was curious about the overworked rabbit, racked by brain about how Alice would only be able to reach the golden key on the table and I got even more nervous when I saw the Queen than the Knaves of Hearts did. What I did not understand then was that Alice has fallen asleep in the beginning and all she is experiencing is â€Å"only† a dream. However, my illusion has been destroyed when I first read the book at the age of about 12 and I must admit it was then when I lost some of my fascination for Alice. As I read the book again as a preparation for the Proseminar a few months ago I soon started to focus on a certain aspect which I could not let go of and which brought back my fascination for Alice’s Adventures. It is also the reason I have chosen this topic for my term paper: I am very much interested in the circumstances of the time, in this case the Victorian Age, and the various influences on a person like Lewis Carroll in connection with his ability to create such a powerful, imaginative and attractive idea of a wonderland. I would like to know what kind of person can make up such a story? I have chosen the title â€Å"Inventing Wonderland†, which is the name of a book by Jackie Wullschlà ¤ger, because it precisely expresses the focus of my term paper. I think the reason why I am interested in this aspect is the following: About three years ago I stayed one year as an Au Pair for a family in Rhode Island. It took me a while to discover how to attract the attention of a 4-year-old, his name was Carter, when the situation required it to be calm. But: I placed young Carter as an additional friend of his favourite character Winnie the Pooh in the centre of a new Pooh-plot and tried to invent an exciting story with dangerous adventures as he sat on my lap listening more carefully than he had ever done before. I was successful, but of course and without understatement my stories were not in the least as fanciful and imaginative as Carroll’s, not to mention were they worth publishing. And it was exactly this situation, Carter sitting on my lap, that I ... ... As I have already claimed above, I think it is important get at least some idea of the â€Å"Zeitgeist†, in which a book was written, in order to understand its significance. From my point of view, being interested in the background factors of an author’s life and era not only helps to get a better understanding of the meaning of a book, but it also makes me appreciate it more. I think everyone acts and speaks according to what he or she is influenced by. If this is determining for the value a book is another question, but I think it is important that it is up to everyone if he or she would like to know more about the author. 7. Bibliography Blake, Kathleen. Play, Games, and Sport. The Literary works of Lewis Carroll. London: Cornell University Press. 1974. Carroll, Lewis. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Stuttgart: Reclam, 1984. http://www.alice-in-wonderland.net . 25/01/05 Schwab, Gabriele. The Mirror and the Killer-Queen. Otherness in Literary Language. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1996. Wullschlà ¤ger, Jackie. Inventing Wonderland. The Lives of Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear, J.M. Barrie, Kenneth Grahame and A.A. Milne. Rev.ed. London: Methuen, 2001. Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Essay -- Lewis Carrol Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Introduction There are several reasons why I have chosen the book â€Å"Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland† as the topic for my term paper. The main reason is that I have been fascinated by Alice’s adventures as a series on TV since I was about six years old. I was curious about the overworked rabbit, racked by brain about how Alice would only be able to reach the golden key on the table and I got even more nervous when I saw the Queen than the Knaves of Hearts did. What I did not understand then was that Alice has fallen asleep in the beginning and all she is experiencing is â€Å"only† a dream. However, my illusion has been destroyed when I first read the book at the age of about 12 and I must admit it was then when I lost some of my fascination for Alice. As I read the book again as a preparation for the Proseminar a few months ago I soon started to focus on a certain aspect which I could not let go of and which brought back my fascination for Alice’s Adventures. It is also the reason I have chosen this topic for my term paper: I am very much interested in the circumstances of the time, in this case the Victorian Age, and the various influences on a person like Lewis Carroll in connection with his ability to create such a powerful, imaginative and attractive idea of a wonderland. I would like to know what kind of person can make up such a story? I have chosen the title â€Å"Inventing Wonderland†, which is the name of a book by Jackie Wullschlà ¤ger, because it precisely expresses the focus of my term paper. I think the reason why I am interested in this aspect is the following: About three years ago I stayed one year as an Au Pair for a family in Rhode Island. It took me a while to discover how to attract the attention of a 4-year-old, his name was Carter, when the situation required it to be calm. But: I placed young Carter as an additional friend of his favourite character Winnie the Pooh in the centre of a new Pooh-plot and tried to invent an exciting story with dangerous adventures as he sat on my lap listening more carefully than he had ever done before. I was successful, but of course and without understatement my stories were not in the least as fanciful and imaginative as Carroll’s, not to mention were they worth publishing. And it was exactly this situation, Carter sitting on my lap, that I ... ... As I have already claimed above, I think it is important get at least some idea of the â€Å"Zeitgeist†, in which a book was written, in order to understand its significance. From my point of view, being interested in the background factors of an author’s life and era not only helps to get a better understanding of the meaning of a book, but it also makes me appreciate it more. I think everyone acts and speaks according to what he or she is influenced by. If this is determining for the value a book is another question, but I think it is important that it is up to everyone if he or she would like to know more about the author. 7. Bibliography Blake, Kathleen. Play, Games, and Sport. The Literary works of Lewis Carroll. London: Cornell University Press. 1974. Carroll, Lewis. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Stuttgart: Reclam, 1984. http://www.alice-in-wonderland.net . 25/01/05 Schwab, Gabriele. The Mirror and the Killer-Queen. Otherness in Literary Language. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1996. Wullschlà ¤ger, Jackie. Inventing Wonderland. The Lives of Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear, J.M. Barrie, Kenneth Grahame and A.A. Milne. Rev.ed. London: Methuen, 2001.

Geography Coursework

Pickering is a historic market town located in North Yorkshire, between York and the North Yorkshire coast. Pickering has many tourist attractions like, the steam railway, Pickering castle, the market and the countryside. It is the gateway to the North York Moors National Park, with its appealing scenery. We are interested to find out what it is that specifically attracts tourists to that area. This is a map of Pickering along with the attractions of Pickering Two groups took a geography trip to Pickering on two separate days and. Both groups created their own questionnaires and we asked random members of the public these questions. These are some of the questions we asked people while we were in Pickering. Once we had received our results from our questionnaires we compared them with the other group's results 1.Do you live in: A. Pickering B. the area around Pickering C. or are you a tourist 2.What would you say is the main tourist attraction A. The castle B. The steam railway C. The countryside 3. What method of transport did you use to get here today A. Walk B. Car C. Bus D. Other 4. How long did it take you to travel here today A. Less than 15 minutes B. 15 minutes – 1 hour C. 1 hour + 5. If you are local: Do you do most of your shopping in Pickering I Yes ii No 6. If you are a tourist: A Is this your first visit to Pickering I Yes ii No B. Would you visit Pickering again Table A Where people live Wednesday Thursday Pickering 58% 52% Around Pickering 26% 18% Tourists 16% 30% With these results you can clearly see that a majority of the interviewees were mainly from Pickering. This is somewhat unexpected as Pickering relies on tourists to visit the area. I think the groups went at the wrong time of year because if we went during the school holidays then you should see that there would be an increase in the number of tourists because they would have the time off school and work. : Diagram A My first hypothesis is that on the day that I went on the trip to Pickering I thought there were more local people than tourists. I can prove this with my results from Diagram A and Table A from our questionnaires we asked. However if we had visited Pickering on the market day then we would have seen an increase in the number of local people as the market would attract more local people rather than tourists. Table B The main tourist attraction Wednesday Thursday Castle 12% 15% Steam railway 64% 55% Countryside 17% 15% Other 7% 15% Diagram B The results above show that the on both days the steam railway is the favoured tourist attraction with the majority of the percentage. These results are not exactly unexpected for the reason that the steam railway travels through the countryside so people would still catch a glimpse of the countryside, but because they are on the steam railway they would maybe think that the attraction they are seeing is the steam railway when actually they are viewing the countryside as well. This is a picture of the favourite tourist attraction the steam railway. With my second hypothesis I can say that people preferred the steam railway to the other attractions. I can show this with Diagram B and Table B for the reason that my results show that on Wednesday 64% of people preferred the railway and on Thursday 55% of people favoured the steam railway to the other attractions. Table C Transport Wednesday Thursday Walk 20% 30% Car 56.5% 36% Bus 14.5% 18% Steam train 6.5% 10% Other 3% 6% With these figure we have collated you can clearly see that the main method of transport was the car. This isn't surprising seen as people rely too much on cars at present, with the majority of people owning one. This is surprising seen as the main tourist attraction is the steam railway so they must have left their cars in the car park while they travelled on the steam railway. After the car, walking was next on both days. With the groups both going during school time and not in a holiday, there would have been more interviewees that are local to the area of Pickering and would have been able to walk there. My group's results were: Diagram C. For the third hypothesis I can say that the favoured method of transport would be the car. I can back this up with Diagram C and Table C because 56.5% used a car on Wednesday and 36% on Thursday. However on Thursday only 36% travelled by car which maybe suggest that on Thursday there were more local people in Pickering but if you look at my results they show that on Wednesday there were more local people in Pickering. Diagram D Table D Travelling time Wednesday Thursday Less than 15 minutes 48% 42% 15 minutes- 1 hour 31% 36% More than 1 hour 21% 22% On both days it took more people less than 15 minutes to travel into Pickering. The majority of people took less than 15 minutes to travel to Pickering. This is mainly because most of the interviewees were from Pickering and the area around Pickering. This is surprising as Pickering is a tourist town and most of the people we asked were either from Pickering or the area around Pickering and were not actually tourists. My fifth hypothesis is that with the travelling time I can say that a majority of people questioned on both days were from Pickering as it took them less time to travel into Pickering. I can back this up with the results from Table D and Diagram D which both say that the people questioned took 15 minutes or less to travel into Pickering. We also asked people whether they did most o their shopping in Pickering. Our results were; Diagram E These results show that most of the interviewees didn't do most of their shopping in Pickering. This isn't surprising as Pickering doesn't have a major shopping store or any big name stores. So the local people will have to travel out of Pickering to buy all of the luxury items. But the shops that Pickering has are selling the basic goods. With these results they show that a majority of people on both days do their shopping outside of Pickering. Table E Do you do most of your shopping in Pickering? Wednesday Thursday Yes 33% 44% No 67% 56% These results show that most of the interviewees didn't do most of their shopping in Pickering. This isn't surprising as Pickering doesn't have a major shopping store or any big name stores. So the local people will have to travel out of Pickering to buy all of the luxury items. But the shops that Pickering has are selling the basic goods. With these results they show that a majority of people on both days do their shopping outside of Pickering. My sixth hypothesis is that I can say that the people questioned would rather do their shopping outside of Pickering and I can establish this with Table E and Diagram E with both of these showing that people prefer shopping outside of Pickering. Along with only 33% on Wednesday and 44% on Thursday saying they do most of their shopping in Pickering. Table F Is this your first visit to Pickering? Wednesday Thursday Yes 12% 33% No 88% 67% Diagram F Most of the interviewees said that this wasn't their first visit to Pickering. I think with this question we should have asked if they were a tourist or not. That way we would have had a better idea of who were tourists and who were local to the area this way we would have had different results from the people we interviewed. With a lot of people saying that it wasn't their first visit to Pickering shows that if they were tourists then they enjoyed visiting Pickering and they decided to travel there again. For my seventh hypothesis I can say that people the people questioned had visited Pickering before and as a consequence of this they visited Pickering again. I can prove this with my Table F and Diagram F. Table F shows that on both days a majority of people had visited Pickering before. However there were a small number of people who hadn't visited Pickering before. I think that if people said that it was their first visit to Pickering then we should have asked them if they enjoyed their time in Pickering and if they would visit the area again. Diagram G Table G Would you visit Pickering again? Wednesday Thursday Yes 96.5% 82% No 3.5% 18% With these sets of results they show that a lot of the people questioned said that they would visit Pickering again. That shows that Pickering is a pleasant place and is a delightful experience. It seems that on Thursday there were more people that wouldn't visit Pickering so maybe the people on Thursday thought that Pickering wasn't an enjoyable place to visit. Whereas Wednesday's results prove that people visiting Pickering was satisfied with the area. My eighth hypothesis is that I'm able to say that given the chance people would visit Pickering again. I can provide evidence to this with Table G and Diagram G which both say that the majority of people enjoyed their visit to Pickering and would take another trip to the town of Pickering A semi-conclusion would be that a majority of people on both days was fond of Pickering and many of the interviewees had visited Pickering before our visit there and would gladly visit again. Although, there isn't a large shopping centre nearby to attract the tourists or for the locals to do their shopping, people still flock to Pickering for the market on Wednesdays and the steam railway. A lot of people who had travelled to Pickering didn't travel for a lengthy amount of time which suggests that a lot of people who were visiting Pickering were from nearby and didn't have to travel very far. Recently I took a trip with a few of my class-mates to Beverley and asked people there the same questionnaire with a few alterations. We did that so that we could compare the results from Pickering to those of Beverley. We found that a majority of people asked were from the area around Beverley unlike that of people asked in Pickering as most of them were from Pickering itself. Unlike the Pickering survey, were over half the people asked didn't do their shopping in Pickering. The Beverley survey recorded that half of the people in question did their shopping in Beverley. We asked if people would visit the designated town again given the choice and in Pickering there was a few people who said no but in Beverley everybody in question would visit Beverley again. To conclude my study I can say that the reason people are specifically attracted to Pickering is that most people are interested in the steam railway or the market which are both located in Pickering. Where as, in Beverley people were attracted to visiting Beverley because they were visiting or have visited Beverley Minster. A few ways in which I could have improved my study is that I could have included a plan of the shops and businesses of Pickering. Also, I could have written about the shops and businesses and say if they were high, medium or low order businesses. I could have also asked more people the questionnaire which would have made a difference to my results. Also I could have visited Pickering or Beverley on multiple days and then compared the results to see what differences there would be and I could compare each day with one another.

Race and Identity in Richard Wright’s Black Boy

Stephen Donato Professor Schmitz HSF 20 September 2012 Race and Identity in Richard Wright’s Black Boy Each and every person on this Earth today has an identity. Over the years, each individual creates their identity through past experiences, family, race, and many other factors. Race, which continues to cause problems in today’s world, places individuals into certain categories. Based on their race, people are designated to be part of a larger, or group identity instead of being viewed as a person with a unique identity. Throughout Richard Wright’s Black Boy, Richard is on a search for his true identity.Throughout Black Boy, one can see that Richard’s racial background assigns him with a certain identity or a certain way in which some people believe he should live his life. Growing up in the Jim Crow South, many young blacks, have their identities essentially already created for them based solely on the backgrounds and race. During this time period, white s expect blacks to behave a certain way, have certain traits, and treat them with absolute respect. Whites during Richard’s time still feel they are much superior to the blacks they interact with, and have many expectations that would be considered racist today.However, in his work, Richard Wright shows how one can break from this predetermined mold. In many instances during the work, Richard breaks from this identity to which he is assigned in order to create his unique identity and grow into the person he wants to become. Richard refuses to sit back and to be absorbed into the Jim Crow lifestyle of southern blacks. In Richard Wright’s Black Boy, Richard’s past experiences with both white and black individuals, family, and race issues shape his true identity and develop him into the man of his dreams living the life which he chooses instead of the one assigned to him.Richard Wright, a young black boy growing up in his family home in Mississippi, searches for hi s identity through many different experiences. A constant in his life which continues to shape his identity time and time again is his family. Throughout the work, Richard searches for a loving and caring family. Although his family may not fit the description at all times, they help him to form his independence, a big part of his true identity. As a young black male growing up in a house with his extended family, Richard did not have many freedoms. Throughout Black Boy, Richard’s family constantly shelters him from the outside world.The story begins in his grandmother’s home in Mississippi where his family constantly reprimands him. For example, in the beginning of this work, Richard Wright’s grandmother has fallen sick in the house. Therefore, Richard is expected to be quiet and not play with his brother. Richard, a young boy, just wants to have some fun, and proceeds to play with matches. He becomes more and more curious, and sets the curtains on fire, almost burning down the house. Because he was so sheltered, he became this curious little boy, causing trouble in his family home.Consequently, Richard is beaten for his actions, which becomes a common theme through the work. Richard explains: I was lashed so hard and long that I lost consciousness. I was beaten out of my senses and later I found myself in bed, screaming, determined to run away, tussling with my mother and father who were trying to keep me still (Wright 7) Time and time again, family members or outsiders attempt to beat Richard. He learns his first real lesson shaping his identity while trying to buy groceries for the house. After his father leaves, Richard’s mother tells Richard he is now in charge of buying groceries.Richard feels like the man of the house, and acts very confidently, until he needs to go buy the food. The first two times he attempts to buy food, a crowd of boys beats him and steals his money. However, his mother sends him out a third time equippe d with a stick. Richard easily defeats the boys and claims that night he â€Å"won the right to the streets of Memphis† (Wright 21). In this situation, it seems that Richard’s mom is not being fair by sending him out to get beat up time and time again. However, she is only doing this in order to help Richard survive in the future.By winning the right to the streets of Memphis, Richard is growing more independent. He no longer relies on his father to bring home food because he is not coming back, and he is able to stand up for himself when the time comes. Richard becomes more independent throughout different experiences in Black Boy. Richard’s grandmother, a devoutly religious person, has an underlying grievance with Richard because he is not religious. Richard’s grandmother begins to shelter him by not buying him books which he needs for school. Richard explains, â€Å"I needed textbooks and had to wait for months to obtain them.Granny said that she woul d not buy worldly books for me† (Wright 143). In addition, Richard claims that his Granny always burned the books he had brought into the house, â€Å"branding them as worldly† (Wright 151). Richard needed money to buy his books, some new clothes, and lunch during the week at school. However, his grandmother continues to shelter him by not allowing him to work. When Richard asked to work on the weekends, Richard explains that â€Å"she laid down the injunction that I could not work on Saturdays while I slept under her roof† (Wright 147).These two instances with his grandmother show Richard’s ambition. Richard wants to make something of himself, and does not want to sit back and live the usual life of a black individual. He wants to begin working in order to make money to buy his books so that he can study and live out his dream of becoming a writer. He begins to read articles in magazines from newspapers he sells, and learns of the vast world. He loves it, and he â€Å"hungered for a different life, for something new† (Wright 151). Richard wants to get out and experience the world, and break the mold of the assumed black identity.To begin this task, Richard begins writing his own stories. After Richard completes his first story, he brings it to his neighbor to read. Her reaction to his story was the common reaction: â€Å"What’s that for? † (Wright 141). Later, Richard shows his grandmother his second piece, The Voodoo of Hell’s Half-Acre. She has the same reaction as the neighbor, and begins to question him on what the story is about and why he is writing a story for the newspaper. According to her, he will not be able to get a job because people are going to think that he is weak minded (Wright 198).Richard exceeds expectations and completes tasks that black people aren’t supposed to do. Richard changes his identity from a subservient black boy into a sort of rebellious young man by beginning his writing career. Throughout the work, Richard introduces a countless number of jobs from working in homes of whites, to attempting to learn the trade of optometry. For one of his many jobs, Richard is working for a white family. While interviewing for this job, the mother of the family asks if he will steal from them, a common trait associated with black people.While working for this family, Richard is having a conversation with the mother. She asks him, â€Å"What grade are you in school? † (Wright 173). Richard responds, â€Å"Seventh, ma’am† (Wright 173). She then asks him, â€Å"Then why are you going to school? † (Wright 173). This conversation shows that whites think it is unnecessary for blacks to go to school past the sixth grade because they should be working. Whites think that they will never amount to anything, and therefore should not be wasting their time in school. However, Richard wants to break this predetermined mold of who he is supposed to be.He replies to his employer, â€Å"Well, I want to be a writer† (Wright 173). While working for this white family, Richard’s predetermined identity and his plans to break from this mold are both shown. Eventually, Richard hopes to be able to write for a living, and continues to attend school to study to become the best he can be. Both his employer and his family tell him that he has no chance of becoming a writer, but he continues to prove everyone wrong by not worrying about his race. He dismisses the fact that there are no famous black writers, and continues to achieve his goals and continues to form his true identity.Richard continues to press on and works hard each and every day in order to break the mold of his assigned identity due to his race. Richard eventually becomes the valedictorian of his ninth grade class, and has a huge disagreement with his principal. The principal summons Richard to his office and says to him, â€Å"Well, Richard Wright, here is your speech† (Wright 206). After Richard claims that he has already written his own speech, the principal tells him â€Å"Listen, boy, you’re going to speak to both white and colored people that night. What can you alone think of saying to them?You have no experience. . . † (Wright 206). Richard continues to fight this assumption made by his principal that he cannot deliver a speech which will be acceptable for white people to listen to. Even when his Uncle Tom claims, â€Å"the principal's speech is the better speech† (Wright 209) Richard agrees. However, Richard wants to give the speech he wrote because it says what he wants to say (Wright 209-10). Richard did not care if the principal’s speech was better than his; he wanted to deliver his speech the way he wanted to deliver it. Here, Richard continues to develop his true dentity as a fighter who will not stand for this assigned identity. He wants to make a difference in the world, and he is fed u p with everyone just taking the abuse they receive. He begins to build up a dream in himself which the educational system in the Jim Crow South had been rigged and designed to stifle (Wright 199). He was only fifteen years old, and already began realizing how the Jim Crow South worked. However, he did not like the system, and constantly fought against it. Growing up in Marlboro, New Jersey, race was not much of an issue for me.Throughout my K-8 public education, over ninety-five percent of the students in my school were white, just like me. I had no problem fitting in, and was able to have many of the privileges spoken about in Peggy McIntosh's â€Å"White Privilege. † I got along with almost all of my classmates growing up, and was even friends with the few black kids in my school. Ben, a black classmate of mine became a close friend when we played on the basketball team together. As I moved on from Middle School to a private, catholic high school, there were even less minor ities. In my senior graduating class I had three black classmates.These few individuals were sometimes segregated from the group, and might have felt uncomfortable during some circumstances. However, I did not realize at the time how sheltered I was from the world. I did not have many friends of different cultures and was not truly aware of the world outside of my high school and my hometown. I never truly viewed the other perspective; I took for granted my opportunity to go to school and get a good, public school education through middle school. I then again took for granted my ability to go to private high school to receive an even more personalized education in a smaller school.I did not think about the poor ethnic groups living in the slums of places such as Haiti, or even in places such as Newark, NJ. I had this sort of mindset going through school that if it didn’t involve me, it wasn’t my problem to fix. Students in these poor, urban areas such as Newark and Cam den in NJ tend to have a different lifestyle than students from Marlboro. In these poor communities, school is almost looked at as it is in black boy. Most kids from these areas will begin working when they graduate high school, and do not go onto college. Again, I took for granted my opportunity to go to a small, unique, private college.Most kids in these areas I described don’t even dream of going college because they believe it is just not a possibility for them. In my short time at Babson, I have met people from countries that I have never heard of before. I have acquainted myself with many different people of many different races, and I am beginning to learn a few facts about many different cultures. In this short period of time, my cultural horizon has broadened greatly. I cannot wait to see how much I will learn about so many different cultures and ethnic groups in my four years at Babson.In conclusion, Richard Wright searches for his identity throughout his life in th e Jim Crow South. Richard does not want to just be another drop in the bucket in this Jim Crow lifestyle, and does not want to fit the mold of a typical black male. He has dreams, aspirations, and goals which no other black youth has been able to accomplish. He continues to fight against the assumed black identity until he forms his own self-identity. Richard’s race definitely lead to assumptions being made by different individuals, but he was able to break free of these assumptions and create a life in which he was in control.Richard Wright broke free of the Jim Crow South and lived the life which he wanted to live while developing his own identity. Just as Wright did, every one of us struggles to define who we are, when in reality we are only who we are supposed to be. I pledge my honor that I have neither received nor provided unauthorized assistance during the completion of this work. Works Cited Wright, Richard. Black Boy (american Hunger): A Record of Childhood and Yout h. New York, NY: HarperPerennial, 1993. Print.

Baskin Robbins Executive Summary

BR is a global chain of ice cream parlors founded in Glendale, California by Burton Baskin and Irvine Robbins, ice cream enthusiast brothers-in-law, whose passion inspired what is now the world's largest chain of ice cream specialty shops. What was once a selection of 31 flavors—Baskin-Robbins â€Å"31 ®Ã¢â‚¬  stands for a different ice cream flavor for each day of the month—has grown to more than 1,000 in its flavor library. â€Å"We sell fun, not ice cream. Today, Baskin-Robbins is the world’s largest chain of ice cream specialty stores, serving over 150 million customers worldwide, but the brand is still guided by the same credos and innovative thinking as its founders. Baskin-Robbins has historically led the industry with innovations such as hand-packed quarts of ice cream, a unique flavor ribbon technique and the use of traditional ingredients such as apple pie and cheesecake. And, Baskin-Robbins continues to introduce new creations that surprise and delight customers – in 2008 the brand launched Soft Serve, making it the largest national chain to offer both Soft Serve and hand scooped ice cream. Additional products include layered sundaes, signature ice cream cakes and a growing line of beverages, including Fruit Blasts, Fruit Blast Smoothies, Cappuccino Blast ® and shakes. Dunkin' Donuts, BR and Togo's, formerly branded together as Allied Domecq Quick Service Restaurants (ADQSR), now are known as Dunkin' Brands, Inc. The new name comes with a tagline: â€Å"eat. drink. hink. † that headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts. In December, Dunkin' Brands was acquired by a U. S. investment group of Bain Capital, Thomas Lee Partners and the Carlyle Group. They have leveraged the brand equity and success of Dunkin' Donuts to create a name that clearly identifies their business and provides immediate recognition in the global marketplace. The re-branding has created renewed motivation from the teams of talented people involved with each brand and the organization, providing the resources to drive strategic market expansion both nationally and internationally.

Pestle, Porter and SWOT analysis of Lukoil Essay

LUKOIL, a vertically integrated oil company, and carries out exploration, acquisition, integration and subsequent efficient development of oil and gas fields outside the Russian Federation to facilitate the transformation of LUKOIL into a transnational energy corporation. LUKOIL operates in 25 countries (the most major of them are Russia, Azerbaijan, USA, Georgia, Turkey and Czech Republic). Net income in 2013 is $3.105 billion. Basic earnings per share – $4.11. The Company’s 2012 net income rose by 6.2% and reached record $11,004 billion. EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization) rose by 1.7% and reached $18,915 billion. Sales revenues were $139,171 billion (+4.1% y-o-y). In 2013 Forbes estimated LUKOIL as #43 in Sales, #34 in Profit, #254 in Assets, #139 in Market value. According to these data we can assume, that LUKOIL is successful Russian company with a lot of strengths, like good prospects regarding financial indicators. And fortu nately, it doesn ´t need any financing. Usually, the company invests in different projects regarding environmental protection and  employee ´s support. 2. Mission and Vision Mission: â€Å"The Company’s mission consists in increasing shareholder value through the exploration and production of hydrocarbons outside Russia.† My vision of the situation is that company wants to be a reliable supplier of hydrocarbons on the international market. Moreover, Lukoil has a purpose to support economic growth and social stability in long-term prospects. Thus, it has some main aims such as to achieve reputation of a reliable and dependable hydrocarbon supplier in the world; to deliver high-quality petroleum products to end-users; to ensure long-term sustainable growth; to reach leading position on the market; My formulation of the mission: Lukoil as a company in the oil and gas industry using natural energy recourses is trying to be a leader in the international market by reducing costs, increasing operations and stabling social aspects. Vision: â€Å"The company wants to be world’s leader in oil and gas sector by first-class services to our customers, effective HR policy, reliable and positive image of the company, effective environmental policy, optimization of the operational efficiency, decrease of the operational costs, sustain high-profit level.† In conclusion, company’s mission determines a purpose within the organization; provides standards for allocating organizational resources; establishes a general organizational climate; shows purpose and direction. Consequently, mission and vision are clear and give a lot of advantage. 3. Macro-environment (PESTLE) At the beginning of this part, it is necessary to mention some relevant facts: Population in Russia: 139mln Area: 17mln sq. km Time zones: GMT +2 to +11 9th largest economy in the world in terms of GDP, reaching USD 2014,8 bn 2013 Exports and Imports exceed 50% GDP Highest GDP per capita among BRICS countries Winter Olympic Games 2014 in Sochi 2012 and FIFA World Cup 2018 are coming 1. GDP Figure 2.1 Real GDP As we can see on the Figure 2.1 Real GDP has a tendency to grow up. Moreover, the present value of Real GDP is about 2014.8 USD billion which is the highest point during the history. Real GDP had been increased up to more than 6% in comparison with the previous period Contemporary situation in economy, especially in Real GDP, shows the opportunity for a company to increase production, because higher GDP means higher consumer expenditures; in turn, it is an alleviating competitive pressure within industry, then it’s the potential for expansion. As we can see GDP is constantly growing that means an opportunity to have higher revenues for LUKOIL Company because people have a higher profits and respectively higher consumer expenditures. 2. Interest rate The interest rate in Russia was last recorded at 5.50 percent. Interest Rate in Russia is reported by the Central Bank of Russia. It is quite high interest rate in comparison with for instance European countries. The average interest rate in Europe is 0.25%. For LUKOIL it is a threat of decreasing the company’s sales, because during high interest rate potential consumers tend to spend less (borrowings become more expensive). Therefore the consumer purchasing power is quite low and company’s sales will be decreased. Figure 2.2 Russia interest rate 3. Inflation rate Figure 2.4 Russia inflation rate Figure 2.5 Petroleum price RUB per liter As we can see Figure 2.4 and Figure 2.5, the oil price and rate of inflation  are connected directly: when oil price goes up, the inflation follows in the same direction. We can explain it by that the oil is the major input in economy (oil is used for manufacturing and transportation). The inflation rate in Russia was recorded at 6.30 percent in October of 2013. It has a positive impact on Oil and Gas industry. LUKOIL can estimate future profit more accurate and eliminate several risks which effected by the oil price and inflation rate. 4. Unemployment rate Figure 2.5 Russia unemployment rate At the moment the rate is 5,5%. And the tendency has a declining character. Thus it could be opportunity to find high-qualified employees. There is a competition on a labor market. 5. Reservoirs of oil Russia is the first country in the world in crude oil production. Its share is 12%. This indicator makes the country attractive for the investors. Consequently, LUKOIL could use positive investment climate of Russia as the company’s benefit. 6. Taxes Nowadays there are three main taxes which have influence on economic in Russia: a) Corporate tax rate – 20% b) Personal income tax rate – 13% c) Sales tax rate – 18% Accordingly to these indicators the corporate tax rate is quite low in comparison with Japan – 38,01%, United Arab Emirates – 55%, US – 35%. Therefore, it is opportunity to increase a profit (low taxes increase net profit). We are analyzing oil and gas industry in Russia. Fortunately most of deposits are situated in cold geographical areas like Tyumen Region, called Extreme North or Far North. Government gives a lot of benefits like people who work there are used to receive an extra grade of payment, referred to as the â€Å"Northern Bonus†, as well as other benefits, including extra vacation, extra disability benefits, extra retirement benefits, and housing benefits. LUKOIL won’t increase outflow of money into pension funds  etc. 4. Technological factors (PESTLE) New technologies are an important competitive advantage of LUKOIL Group. Key technological aspects: 1. The company conducts R&D to develop new technologies and upgrade the existing ones. 2. Cooperation with national projects is actively developing, including the Skolkovo innovation project and the RUSNANO Corporation. 3. Great attention is paid to developing information technologies and improving business processes. 4. The total financing of scientific and technical works in 2012 amounted to US$ 150 million. It is opportunity to use own technology and ability to exclude costs for using technologies from elsewhere. 5. Environmental factors (PESTLE) Waste disposal Russia drowns in 60 million tons of garbage a year. It is serious problem in waste disposal issue. Today, only 11% of the whole volume is recycled. Unfortunately, it is substantial evidence of contemporary problem and the threat for environment. LUKOIL uses chemicals for production, which could be statutory restrictions by the government for environmental protection. It is the threat for company of activities’ restriction. Pollution Oil and Gas industry damages nature by pollution. Many risks occur like spilling of oil into the sea or into the ocean. In this case LUKOIL will pay damage to nature and spoil its reputation. Consequently, LUKOIL should take into account all risks and try to avoid them. Climate There is the dominance of the continental climate on the territory of the country. Russia faced to one serious problem during springs. It is flood. For oil industry it could be a relevant threat because it directly depends on transportation, for instance if roads are damaged it is becoming complicated to transport oil to different regions. 6. Political factors (PESTLE) Strictly speaking, two of the most dangerous threats are the high level of corruption and terrorism. High level of corruption Russia is ranked 127th out of 175 countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index in 2013. This score indicates the perceived level of public sector corruption in a country or territory. Terrorism There is a terrorist war aimed at destabilizing Russia politically and economically. Few weeks ago there was the 3rd terrorist attack in Volgograd during last 2 months. Membership in World Trade Organization In August 2012, Russia officially became a World Trade Organization member. Moreover, European Union contributes half of Russia trade flows. It is opportunity of simplified international market access with the purpose of trade and it is opportunity of hiring professional and administrative staff on fixed term contracts. Index of Economic Freedom Index of Economic Freedom in Russia is 51.3 out of 100 and it ranked as mostly unfree. These ranking means that the country is not attractive to do business and indicates a low possibility of obtaining investment. Thus, it is a threat for LUKOIL, it will be difficult to attract foreign investors. Protection of property rights It is an opportunity to protect LUKOIL’s innovations and to get patent. 7. Legal factors (PESTLE) The following laws of the Russian Federation form the main legal framework of the oil and gas industry: Constitution of the Russian Federation. Federal Law On Subsoil (Subsoil Law). Federal Law On Gas Supply in the Russian Federation (Gas Supply Law). Federal Law On Natural Monopolies. Federal Law On the Continental Shelf of the Russian Federation. Federal Law On Energy Saving and Energy Efficiency. Federal Law On Production Sharing Agreements. The following federal laws are also relevant to the legal framework of the natural resources industry of the Russian Federation: The Codes of the Russian Federation, including the Civil Code, Land Code, Water Code, Forest Code, Tax Code, Code on Administrative Violations and Criminal Code. Federal Law on Environmental Protection. Federal Law on Ecological Expertise. Supreme Council Regulations on the Procedure of Enactment of the Provisions on the Procedure of Licensing of the Subsoil Use of 1992 (Subsoil Use Licensing Regulations). The fundamental rights that are guaranteed to each Russian citizen are: All people shall be equal before the law and court. The State shall guarantee the equality of rights and freedoms of man and citizen, regardless of sex, race, nationality, language, origin, property and official status, place of residence, religion, convictions, membership of public associations, and also of other circumstances. All forms of limitations of human rights on social, racial, national, linguistic or religious grounds shall be banned. Man and woman shall enjoy equal rights and freedoms and have equal possibilities to exercise them. That means that Lukoil should take into account all this rights and keep it in mind when hiring the employees. 8. Socio-cultural factors (PESTLE) Age structure: 0-14 years: 15.7% (male 11,498,268/female 10,890,853) 15-24 years: 12.4% (male 9,031,057/female 8,662,557) 25-54 years: 45.8% (male 31,894,116/female 33,432,996) 55-64 years: 13.1% (male 7,926,184/female 10,711,347) 65 years and over: 13% (male 5,622,464/female 12,847,828) Most of population is in â€Å"capable of working† age. There is a competition on labor market. It is an opportunity to find employees corresponded to the standards of the company. Main religion: Christianity No requirement in the organization of labor. Thus, it is opportunity for LUKOIL to organize manufacture easily. High level of education Opportunity to attract well-qualified personnel. 9. Porter’s 5 Forces 1. Threat of New Entrants (Low) The LUKOIL is protected by high barriers to entry. Therefore the threat of new entrants is very low Huge amounts of capital expenditure are needed to perform the activities, for example the cost of refinery is almost $7 billion, the price of petrol station is $600 000. Large amounts of fixed are require for the development of oil fields and the installation of production facilities Costs for entering the industry: drilling costs, oilfield services, skilled labor, scientific research, materials and energy Only companies that operate economies of scale can survive, for example LUKOIL has been searching for oil since 1991. They invest a huge amount in up-to-date technologies making it difficult for new entrants to compete. Russia allows only national companies (or foreign companies in partnership with the national company) to exploit oil reservoirs, because it is owned by the state. It is barrier to entry. 2. Power of Suppliers (High) There are more then 100 suppliers in Russia; OAO â€Å"Gaztrubinvest†, TOO â€Å"KST Steel†, OAO â€Å"Severstal† are some of them. But their products are unique: tubular products, electric centrifugal pumps, oil cable, spurt steel framework. What gives them high bargaining power to dictate conditions. Moreover there are no substitutes, because the equipment needed for oil industry is special and impossible to replace. 3. Power of Buyers (Low) The main buyers are government and car owners. Product differentiation is low and customers don’t have opportunity to choose, only to buy. The market share of LUKOIL is almost 17% and it has contracts with government, because  they have a big chain of petrol stations. Consumers’ willingness to pay is the only power buyers have. Only very large buyers of oil such as big countries like US may influence oil price. Overall the buyer power is low 4. Threat of Substitutes (Low) At the moment customers can not switch from using oil and gas for other sources of energy. Only some European countries introduced renewable sources of energy instead of gas and oil. But there are many alternatives of energy: coal, solar, and wind power. Instead of this fact, we notice the demand for oil increases every year and there is no chance of decreasing in consumption. 5. Industry Rivalry (High) LUKOIL has 4 serious competitors: Rosneft (22% share of market), TNK-BP (14%), Surgutneftegaz (12%), Gazprom neft (6%). Even though there is a very strong rate of growth in oil and gas sector the rivalry remain small due to large switching costs, required investments for a new entrance, size of competitors, and political barriers. There is no place for small companies because of few market leaders. Also there is no possibility that competitors will offer a lower price. LUKOIL is second company that operates in Russia. The leader is Rosneft and its main competitor‎. LUKOIL has 17% share of Russian market, Rosneft 22% respectively. 10. SWOT analysis Strengths Weaknesses – 1st among the largest private oil and gas companies in the world. – 1.3% oil reserves of total reserves of oil worldwide – and second in terms of volume proven hydrocarbons reserves – about 2% of total global reserves; – Increase in oil index price in the world. – High entry barriers in the market, which eliminates small competitors. – Very sufficient technology of research and exploration. – Geographical business diversification (30 countries). – Large amount of oil reserves(17%) – Superior oil related technology. – Fully vertical and horizontal integrated. – Well supported by Russian government. – Constant increase in demand for gas and oil in Russia. – Constant research and innovation. – Production costs are relatively high compared with levels achieved by its main competitors. – The company’s communication both inside and outside is slow and bureaucratic. – Cost of environmental hazards. Opportunities Threats – Increase in oil and gas demand in Russia. – New exploration projects. – Investment into new businesses. – Iraq oil project. – Corruption. – Terrorism. – Floods. – Decrease sales (high interest rate). – Competition on the market Internal analysis Revenue $139.2 billion Employees 150.000 Recommendations Despite having a relatively good position in the regional market of Central and Eastern Europe, LUKOIL faces strong competition. In this context, LUKOIL should increase its market share through an offensive strategy of territorial expansion and to attract new customer segments. In addition, LUKOIL should ensure implementation of new technologies for modern and efficient production in terms of cost and continues its efforts to improve product quality and competitiveness, in order to meet international standards, including API and ACEA. Another important trend is the application of marketing strategies on the downstream, taking into account  the factors influencing consumer choice of stations: location, value for money, image, service, the existence of ancillary services. These strategies are reflected in the mix of marketing, in which both product and promotion play a central role.

Growing Up Essay

This short story looks at children and two of Carys ovels were directly concerned with childhood. Themes Children and growing up is the central theme of this story, as it is with several of the other stories in the Anthology. However, the central character is an adult and so it links well with ‘Flight’, where the story follows the emotions of a grandfather trying to accept his granddaughter’s forthcoming marriage. Your Shoes’ also has a central narrator, although that story is written in the first person. This short story is certainly concerned with relationships between the generations. Children as a destructive orce appear in ‘Growing Up’, in the came way that the boy in ‘Chemistry has an urge to damage his mother’s boyfriend. ‘Superman and Paula Brown’s new Snowsuit’ also examines the theme of the destructive power of children. Adults struggling to understand the behaviour of children are a central issue in ‘Growing Up’, as they also are in ‘Superman and Paula Brown’s New Snowsuit’. Notes The first paragraph establishes the central character, a businessman Robert Quick. He is named, unlike the anonymous central characters of several of these stories. He is described as a conventional businessman, in a dark suit and hat. Significantly, he sheds some of his formal clothes as he goes into the garden, perhaps representing that the rules and values he will encounter there are far from civilised. Ls. 7 – 19 The garden is described as a Wilderness’. It has been neglected because Mr and Mrs. Quick are too busy to tend it. It has suggestions of other gardens, perhaps the Garden of Eden, or Paradise. Perhaps also there is a suggestion that Mr and Mrs. Quick are too busy to other civilising their daughters, Just as they have ignored their garden? Could the story symbolise the wild, untamed nature of the children who run wild in it? l. 23 ‘a suggestion of the frontier, primeval forests.. ‘ Cary hints that there may be the possibility of fear and menace in the garden. It is not a place of easy comfort, as Mr. Quick thinks. L 27 the children have previously enjoyed a close relationship with their father and have made a fuss of him when he returns home. However, this contrasts with the way they ignore him this time. Is the reason they snub him because he is a man? Quick recognises that they will be women soon in lines 42 to 49; later on in the story they are wellbehaved for their mother and he feels rejected. Cary is specific about their names and ages; Jenny is twelve and Kate thirteen. They are both deep in their own worlds and Quick doesn’t mind that they pay hardly any attention to his arrival. He thinks it represents their honest attitude to him. Perhaps he is too easy going with the children. Do they need to show him a bit more respect? Ls. 58-81 the two girls