Environment Stewards

‘As Stewards unite to heal, care and preserve God’s creation’ Today there is an urgent need for ‘ecological conversion’ to protect not only the natural environment but also the human quality of life. Pope John-Paul II, â€Å"Life and nature are similar concepts because nature is the study of how life acts and interacts within the circle of existence†. When we take the time to examine the beauty of the world around us, we are able to see parallels within our own lives. One who is attuned with nature is attuned with the practice of living.However our beautiful and natural environment has come under threat, there is undeniable evidence of global warming. Hundreds of species become extinct every day because we are cutting down the rain forests. All around the earth, environmentalists are pointing out devastation. There is hardly a day that passes by without alarming news reports about climate change. Hurricanes, typhoons, floods, tsunamis and droug hts have become more frequent, more ferocious. It is mankind’s responsibility to monitor their behaviour and attitudes towards the environment and to strive towards a greater solidarity with people and the planet.However this is not being practiced mainly because most people are not aware of how far the environment has been affected by our continuous exploitation of it. One way we can exhibit respect for creation and reverence for the Creator is by adopting various ways which will help in preserving natural environments, protecting endangered species, labouring to make human environments compatible with local ecology, employing appropriate technology, and carefully evaluating technological innovations, Reverence for the Creator should serve as ground for environmental responsibility.For the very plants and animals, mountains and oceans, which in their loveliness remind us of our creator because of their fragility and uniqueness, are slowly but surely getting extinct. God who brings everything into being and sustains all existence is who we are accountable to, for what we do or fail to do to preserve and care for the earth and all its creatures. Dwelling in the presence of the creator, we begin to experience ourselves as part of creation, as stewards within it, not separate from it.As faithful stewards, fullness of life comes from living responsibly within God's creation. Stewardship implies that we must both care for creation according to standards that are not of our own making and at the same time be resourceful in finding ways to make the earth flourish. It is quite a difficult balance, requiring both a sense of limits and a definite spirit of experimentation. Even as we enjoy nature’s beauty, stewardship places the responsibility for the well-being of all God's creatures. Respect for nature and respect for human life are inextricably related. Respect for life, and above all for the dignity of the human person,†  ¬Pope John Paul II has written, extends also to us stewards, we must not be engaged in cutting down trees for quick or immediate gains and therefore cause environmental degradation. We should rather see the value of tree planting for various reasons. There is the stewardship of the way trees help to support the earth and maintain the environment. We should be responsive to anti-desertification measures such as over-grazing, tree planting and soil conservation. We must also have concern for the use of chemicals.Most agricultural and household chemicals are harmful to the environment. God has given us to protect and care for the earth, and this can only be done through sustainability, Sustainability of the environment which is a key aspect of Stewardship. God has endowed us with reason and ingenuity that distinguish humans from other creatures. Ingenuity and creativity have enabled us to make remarkable advances and can help us address the problems of environmental degradation; however, we have not always used these endowments wisely. Past actions have produced good works and harmful ones, as well as unforeseen or unintended consequences.As we use the land, we need to heed God’s call to exercise stewardship in a way that respects and protects the integrity of creation and to provide for the common good as well as for economic and social justice. Much of current agricultural development and teaching has been based on selfish motivation that of maximising gain for minimum effort, without consideration for the long term cost to our environment and the world at large. God made the earth in a balanced and integrated way, and yet our actions portray us fighting against the earth rather than protecting it. That incentive grows even stronger when we appreciate that God has placed these gifts at our disposal because of his Love for us and so that we can better serve and please him. Taking action, to join together on the theme of climate change, to tackle this monumental challenge for t he sake of the common good of our common home, now and in the future. As Christians, we are grateful for the gift of creation and we must therefore work towards ensuring that we raise the moral issue of the urgency of the environmental crisis.As individuals, as institutions, as nations we need a change of heart to preserve and protect the planet for our fellow creatures and generations to come. As Stewards, we should see the earth in a different light from others involved in human development. Our perspective shares the concern of many environmentalists but in a different way. Because we now know that most of the climate change problems result from human activity it is the responsibility of each one of us to monitor our behaviour and attitudes towards the environment and to strive towards a greater solidarity with people and the planet.The pursuit of Peace – lasting peace based on justice – should to be an environmental priority because the earth itself bears the wound s and scars of war. Likewise, our efforts to defend the dignity and rights of the poor and of workers, to use the strength of our market economy to meet basic human needs, and to press for greater national and global economic justice are dearly linked to efforts to preserve and sustain the earth. These are not distinct and separate issues but complimentary challenges. We need to help build bridges among the peace, justice, and environmental agendas and constituencies. – Prepared by Maria Fernandez

Back to school icebreakers Essay

1. OPENING-DAY LETTER. WRITE A LETTER TO YOUR STUDENTS. IN THAT LETTER, INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO STUDENTS. TELL THEM ABOUT YOUR HOPES FOR THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR AND SOME OF THE FUN THINGS YOU’LL BE DOING IN CLASS. IN ADDITION, TELL STUDENTS A FEW PERSONAL THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF; FOR EXAMPLE, YOUR LIKES AND DISLIKES, WHAT YOU DID OVER THE SUMMER, AND YOUR HOBBIES. ASK QUESTIONS THROUGHOUT THE LETTER. YOU MIGHT ASK WHAT THEY LIKE MOST ABOUT SCHOOL, WHAT THEY DID DURING THE SUMMER, WHAT THEIR GOALS FOR THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR ARE, OR WHAT THEY ARE REALLY GOOD AT. (IN YOUR LETTER, BE SURE TO MODEL THE CORRECT PARTS OF A FRIENDLY LETTER! ) ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, DISPLAY YOUR LETTER ON AN OVERHEAD PROJECTOR. THEN PASS EACH STUDENT A SHEET OF NICE STATIONERY. HAVE THE STUDENTS WRITE A RETURN LETTER TO YOU. IN THIS LETTER, THEY WILL NEED TO ANSWER SOME OF YOUR QUESTIONS AND TELL YOU ABOUT THEMSELVES. THIS IS A GREAT WAY TO GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER IN A PERSONAL WAY! VARIATION: MAIL THE LETTER TO STUDENTS BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS, AND ENCLOSE A SHEET OF STATIONERY FOR KIDS TO WRITE YOU BACK. 2. STRINGING TOGETHER CONVERSATION. CUT STRING OR YARN INTO PIECES OF DIFFERENT LENGTHS. (EACH PIECE SHOULD HAVE A MATCHING PIECE OF THE SAME LENGTH. THERE SHOULD BE ENOUGH PIECES SO THAT EACH STUDENT WILL HAVE ONE. ) THEN GIVE EACH STUDENT ONE PIECE OF STRING, AND CHALLENGE EACH STUDENT TO FIND THE OTHER STUDENT WHO HAS A STRING OF THE EXACT SAME LENGTH. AFTER STUDENTS HAVE FOUND THEIR MATCHES, THEY CAN TAKE TURNS INTRODUCING THEMSELVES TO EACH OTHER. YOU CAN PROVIDE A LIST OF QUESTIONS TO HELP STUDENTS â€Å"BREAK THE ICE,† OR STUDENTS CAN COME UP WITH THEIR OWN. YOU MIGHT EXTEND THE ACTIVITY BY HAVING EACH STUDENT INTRODUCE HIS OR HER PARTNER TO THE CLASS. 3. ANIMAL GROUPS. ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, GATHER ALL THE STUDENTS FROM A GRADE LEVEL IN A LARGE COMMON AREA. GIVE EACH STUDENT A  SLIP OF PAPER WITH THE NAME OF AN ANIMAL ON IT. THEN GIVE STUDENTS INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE ACTIVITY: THEY MUST LOCATE THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THEIR ANIMAL GROUP BY IMITATING THAT ANIMAL’S SOUND ONLY. NO TALKING IS ALLOWED. THE STUDENTS MIGHT HESITATE INITIALLY, BUT THAT HESITATION SOON GIVES WAY TO A CACOPHONY OF SOUND AS THE KIDS MOO, SNORT, AND GIGGLE THEIR WAY INTO GROUPS. THE END RESULT IS THAT STUDENTS HAVE FOUND THEIR WAY INTO THEIR HOMEROOMS OR ADVISORY GROUPS FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR, AND THE INITIAL BARRIERS TO GOOD TEAMWORK HAVE ALREADY BEEN BROKEN. 4. A TANGLED WEB. GATHER STUDENTS IN A CIRCLE SITTING AROUND YOU ON THE FLOOR. HOLD A LARGE BALL OF YARN. START BY TELLING THE STUDENTS SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF. THEN ROLL THE BALL OF YARN TO A STUDENT WITHOUT LETTING GO OF THE END OF THE YARN. THE STUDENT WHO GETS THE BALL OF YARN TELLS HIS OR HER NAME AND SOMETHING GOOD ABOUT HIMSELF OR HERSELF. THEN THE STUDENT ROLLS THE YARN TO SOMEBODY ELSE, HOLDING ON TO THE STRAND OF YARN. SOON STUDENTS HAVE CREATED A GIANT WEB. AFTER EVERYONE HAS SPOKEN, YOU AND ALL THE STUDENTS STAND UP, CONTINUING TO HOLD THE YARN. START A DISCUSSION OF HOW THIS ACTIVITY RELATES TO THE IDEA OF TEAMWORK (FOR EXAMPLE, THE STUDENTS NEED TO  WORK TOGETHER AND NOT LET OTHERS DOWN). TO DRIVE HOME YOUR POINT ABOUT TEAMWORK, HAVE ONE STUDENT DROP HIS OR HER STRAND OF YARN; THAT WILL DEMONSTRATE TO STUDENTS HOW THE WEB WEAKENS IF THE CLASS ISN’T WORKING TOGETHER. 5. STUDENT DICTIONARY. WRITE FIVE QUESTIONS ON THE BOARD. QUESTIONS MIGHT INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING: WHAT IS YOUR NAME? WHERE WERE YOU BORN? HOW MANY BROTHERS OR SISTERS DO YOU HAVE? WHAT ARE THEIR NAMES? DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS? TELL STUDENTS TO WRITE THOSE QUESTIONS ON A PIECE OF PAPER AND TO ADD TO THAT PAPER FIVE MORE QUESTIONS THEY COULD ASK SOMEONE THEY DON’T KNOW. PAIR STUDENTS, AND  HAVE EACH STUDENT INTERVIEW HIS OR HER PARTNER AND RECORD THE RESPONSES. THEN HAVE EACH STUDENT USE THE INTERVIEW RESPONSES TO WRITE A â€Å"DICTIONARY DEFINITION† OF HIS OR HER PARTNER TO INCLUDE IN A STUDENT DICTIONARY. YOU MIGHT MODEL THIS ACTIVITY BY CREATING A SAMPLE DICTIONARY DEFINITION ABOUT YOURSELF. FOR EXAMPLE: REYNOLDS, KIM. PROPER NOUN. 1. BORN IN RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA. 2. NO BROTHERS OR SISTERS. †¦ HAVE STUDENTS BRING IN SMALL PICTURES OF THEMSELVES TO PASTE NEXT TO THEIR ENTRIES IN THE STUDENT DICTIONARY. BIND THE DEFINITIONS INTO A BOOK, AND DISPLAY IT AT BACK-TO-SCHOOL NIGHT. 6. CLASSMATE SCAVENGER HUNT. PROVIDE EACH STUDENT WITH TWO INDEX CARDS. ASK EACH STUDENT TO WRITE A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF HIS OR HER PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS ON ONE INDEX CARD AND HIS OR HER NAME ON THE OTHER. (PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS USUALLY DO NOT INCLUDE CLOTHING, BUT IF YOU TEACH THE PRIMARY GRADES, YOU MIGHT ALLOW STUDENTS TO INCLUDE CLOTHING IN THEIR DESCRIPTIONS. ) PUT ALL THE PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTIC INDEX CARDS IN A SHOE BOX, MIX THEM UP, AND DISTRIBUTE ONE CARD TO EACH STUDENT (MAKING SURE THAT NO STUDENT GETS HIS OR HER OWN CARD). GIVE STUDENTS TEN MINUTES TO SEARCH FOR THE PERSON WHO FITS THE DESCRIPTION ON THE CARD THEY HOLD. (THERE IS NO TALKING DURING THIS ACTIVITY, BUT STUDENTS CAN WALK AROUND THE ROOM. ) AT THE END OF THE ACTIVITY, TELL STUDENTS TO WRITE ON THE CARD THE NAME OF THE STUDENT WHO BEST MATCHES THE DESCRIPTION. THEN HAVE STUDENTS SHARE THEIR RESULTS. HOW MANY STUDENTS GUESSED CORRECTLY? http://www. ToLearnEnglish. com – http://www. ToLearnFrench. com – Spanish : http://www. espagnolfacile. com/english – German: http://www. allemandfacile. com/english 7. COOPERATIVE MUSICAL CHAIRS. THIS ACTIVITY IS A TAKEOFF ON THE FAMILIAR MUSICAL CHAIRS GAME. SET A CIRCLE OF CHAIRS WITH ONE LESS CHAIR THAN THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS IN THE CLASS. PLAY MUSIC AS THE STUDENTS CIRCLE AROUND THE CHAIRS. WHEN THE MUSIC STOPS, THE STUDENTS MUST SIT IN A SEAT. UNLIKE THE TRADITIONAL GAME, THE PERSON WITHOUT A SEAT IS NOT OUT. INSTEAD, SOMEONE MUST MAKE ROOM FOR THAT PERSON. THEN REMOVE ANOTHER SEAT AND START THE MUSIC AGAIN. THE KIDS END UP ON ONE ANOTHER’S LAPS AND SHARING CHAIRS! YOU CAN PLAY THIS GAME OUTSIDE, AND YOU CAN END IT WHENEVER YOU WISH. AFTERWARD, STRESS THE TEAMWORK AND COOPERATION THE GAME TOOK, AND HOW STUDENTS NEEDED TO ACCEPT ONE ANOTHER TO BE SUCCESSFUL. REINFORCE THAT IDEA BY REPEATING THIS GAME THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. 8. HANDS-ON ACTIVITY. HAVE STUDENTS BEGIN THIS ACTIVITY BY LISTING AT LEAST 25 WORDS THAT DESCRIBE THEM AND THE THINGS THEY LIKE. (NO SENTENCES ALLOWED, JUST WORDS! ) THEN ASK EACH STUDENT TO USE A DARK PEN TO TRACE THE PATTERN OF HIS OR HER HAND WITH THE FINGERS SPREAD APART. PROVIDE ANOTHER SHEET OF PAPER THAT THE STUDENT CAN PLACE ON TOP OF THE TRACING. (SINCE THE TRACING WAS DONE WITH A DARK PEN, THE OUTLINE SHOULD BE VISIBLE ON THE SHEET BELOW. ) DIRECT STUDENTS TO USE THE OUTLINES AS GUIDES AND TO WRITE THEIR WORDS AROUND IT. PROVIDE STUDENTS A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT COLORED PENCILS OR MARKERS TO USE AS THEY WRITE. THEN INVITE STUDENTS TO SHARE THEIR WORK WITH THE CLASS. THEY MIGHT CUT OUT THE HAND OUTLINES AND MOUNT THEM ON CONSTRUCTION PAPER SO YOU CAN DISPLAY THE HANDS FOR OPEN HOUSE. CHALLENGE EACH PARENT TO IDENTIFY HIS OR HER CHILD’S HAND. 9. CHAIN GANG. BEGIN BY ASKING STUDENTS, â€Å"WHO CAN DO SOMETHING REALLY WELL? † AFTER A BRIEF DISCUSSION ABOUT SOME OF THE STUDENTS’ TALENTS, PASS OUT PAPER AND ASK STUDENTS TO WRITE DOWN FIVE THINGS THEY DO WELL. THEN PROVIDE EACH STUDENT WITH FIVE DIFFERENT COLORED PAPER STRIPS. HAVE EACH STUDENT WRITE A DIFFERENT TALENT ON SEPARATE PAPER STRIPS, THEN CREATE A MINI PAPER CHAIN WITH THE STRIPS BY  LINKING THE FIVE TALENTS TOGETHER. AS STUDENTS COMPLETE THEIR MINI CHAINS, USE EXTRA STRIPS OF PAPER TO LINK THE MINI CHAINS TOGETHER TO CREATE ONE LONG CLASS CHAIN. HAVE STUDENTS STAND AND HOLD THE GROWING CHAIN AS YOU LINK THE PIECES TOGETHER. ONCE THE ENTIRE CHAIN IS CONSTRUCTED AND LINKED, LEAD A DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT THE CHAIN DEMONSTRATES (FOR EXAMPLE, ALL THE STUDENTS HAVE TALENTS; ALL THE STUDENTS HAVE THINGS THEY DO WELL; TOGETHER, THE STUDENTS HAVE MANY TALENTS; IF THEY WORK TOGETHER, CLASSMATES CAN ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING; AND THE  CLASS IS STRONGER WHEN STUDENTS WORK TOGETHER THAN WHEN INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS WORK ON THEIR OWN). HANG THE CHAIN IN THE ROOM AS A CONSTANT REMINDER TO STUDENTS OF THE TALENTS THEY POSSESS AND THE BENEFITS OF TEAMWORK. 10. SILHOUETTE COLLAGE. STOCK UP ON OLD MAGAZINES. (YOUR SCHOOL LIBRARIAN MIGHT HAVE A DISCARD PILE YOU CAN DRAW FROM. ) INVITE STUDENTS TO SEARCH THROUGH THE MAGAZINES FOR PICTURES, WORDS, OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT MIGHT BE USED TO DESCRIBE THEM. THEN USE AN OVERHEAD PROJECTOR OR ANOTHER SOURCE OF BRIGHT LIGHT TO CREATE A SILHOUETTE OF EACH STUDENT’S PROFILE; HAVE EACH STUDENT SIT IN FRONT OF THE  LIGHT SOURCE AS YOU OR ANOTHER STUDENT TRACES THE OUTLINE OF THE SILHOUETTE ON A SHEET OF 11- BY 17-INCH PAPER TAPED TO THE WALL. HAVE STUDENTS CUT OUT THEIR SILHOUETTES, THEN FILL THEM WITH A COLLAGE OF PICTURES AND WORDS THAT EXPRESS THEIR IDENTITY. THEN GIVE EACH STUDENT AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE HIS OR HER SILHOUETTE WITH THE GROUP AND TALK ABOUT WHY HE OR SHE CHOSE SOME OF THE ELEMENTS IN THE COLLAGE. POST THE SILHOUETTES TO CREATE A SENSE OF â€Å"OUR HOMEROOM. † 11. HEADLINES. AS PART OF THE NORMAL FIRST-DAY ROUTINE, MANY TEACHERS HAVE EACH STUDENT FILL OUT A CARD WITH SUCH INFORMATION AS NAME,  ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER, PARENTS’ NAMES AND WORK NUMBERS, AND SO ON. YOU CAN USE SUCH CARDS TO GATHER OTHER INFORMATION TOO, SUCH AS SCHOOL SCHEDULE, WHY THE STUDENT SIGNED UP FOR THE CLASS, WHETHER THE STUDENT HAS A PART-TIME JOB, AND WHETHER HE OR SHE HAS ACCESS TO THE INTERNET AT HOME. AS A FINAL BIT OF INFORMATION, ASK THE STUDENT TO WRITE A HEADLINE THAT BEST DESCRIBES HIM OR HER! THIS HEADLINE MIGHT BE A QUOTE, A FAMILIAR EXPRESSION, OR ANYTHING ELSE. WHEN STUDENTS HAVE COMPLETED FILLING OUT THE CARDS, GIVE A LITTLE QUIZ. ASK STUDENTS TO NUMBER A SHEET OF PAPER FROM 1 TO __, DEPENDING ON HOW MANY STUDENTS ARE IN THE CLASS. THEN READ ALOUD THE HEADLINES ONE AT A TIME. ASK STUDENTS TO WRITE THE NAME OF THE PERSON THEY THINK EACH HEADLINE BEST DESCRIBES. WHO GOT THE HIGHEST SCORE? (BONUS! IT SEEMS AS IF PARENTS ARE CONTACTED ONLY IF THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH STUDENTS. AT THE END OF EACH GRADING PERIOD, USE THE HOME ADDRESS INFORMATION TO SEND A POSTCARD TO A HANDFUL OF PARENTS TO INFORM THEM ABOUT HOW WELL THEIR CHILD IS DOING. THIS MIGHT TAKE A LITTLE TIME, BUT IT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED! ) 12. POP QUIZ. AHEAD OF TIME, WRITE A SERIES OF GETTING-TO-KNOW-YOU QUESTIONS ON SLIPS OF PAPER — ONE QUESTION TO A SLIP. (YOU CAN REPEAT SOME OF THE QUESTIONS. ) THEN FOLD UP THE SLIPS, AND TUCK EACH SLIP INSIDE A DIFFERENT BALLOON. BLOW UP THE BALLOONS. GIVE EACH STUDENT A BALLOON, AND LET STUDENTS TAKE TURNS POPPING THEIR BALLOONS AND ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS INSIDE. 13. FACT OR FIB? THIS IS A GOOD ACTIVITY FOR DETERMINING YOUR STUDENTS’ NOTE-TAKING ABILITIES. TELL STUDENTS THAT YOU ARE GOING TO SHARE SOME INFORMATION ABOUT YOURSELF. THEY’LL LEARN ABOUT SOME OF YOUR BACKGROUND, HOBBIES, AND INTERESTS FROM THE 60-SECOND ORAL â€Å"BIOGRAPHY† THAT YOU WILL PRESENT. SUGGEST THAT STUDENTS TAKE NOTES; AS YOU SPEAK, THEY SHOULD RECORD WHAT THEY THINK ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTS YOU SHARE. WHEN YOU HAVE COMPLETED YOUR PRESENTATION, TELL STUDENTS THAT YOU ARE GOING TO TELL FIVE THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF. FOUR OF YOUR STATEMENTS SHOULD TELL THINGS THAT ARE TRUE AND THAT WERE PART OF YOUR PRESENTATION; ONE OF THE FIVE STATEMENTS IS A TOTAL FIB. (THIS ACTIVITY IS MOST FUN IF SOME OF THE TRUE FACTS ARE SOME OF THE MOST SURPRISING THINGS ABOUT YOU AND IF THE â€Å"FIB† SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING THAT COULD VERY WELL BE TRUE. ) TELL STUDENTS THEY MAY REFER TO THEIR NOTES TO TELL WHICH STATEMENT IS THE FIB. NEXT, INVITE EACH STUDENT TO CREATE A BIOGRAPHY AND A LIST OF FIVE STATEMENTS — FOUR FACTS AND ONE FIB — ABOUT HIMSELF OR HERSELF. THEN PROVIDE EACH STUDENT A CHANCE TO PRESENT THE 60-SECOND ORAL BIOGRAPHY AND TO TEST THE OTHERS’ NOTE-TAKING ABILITIES BY PRESENTING HIS OR HER OWN â€Å"FACT OR FIB QUIZ. â€Å" YOU CAN HAVE STUDENTS DO THIS PART OF THE ACTIVITY IN SMALL GROUPS. 14. CIRCULAR FACT OR FIB? HERE’S A VARIATION ON THE PREVIOUS ACTIVITY: DIVIDE THE CLASS INTO TWO GROUPS OF EQUAL SIZE. ONE GROUP FORMS A http://www. ToLearnEnglish. com – http://www. ToLearnFrench. com – Spanish : http://www. espagnolfacile. com/english – German: http://www. allemandfacile. com/english CIRCLE EQUALLY SPACED AROUND THE PERIMETER OF THE CLASSROOM. (THERE WILL BE QUITE A BIT OF SPACE BETWEEN STUDENTS. ) THE OTHER GROUP OF STUDENTS FORMS A CIRCLE INSIDE THE FIRST CIRCLE; EACH STUDENT FACES ONE OF THE STUDENTS IN THE FIRST GROUP. GIVE THE FACING PAIRS OF STUDENTS TWO MINUTES TO SHARE THEIR 60-SECOND ORAL â€Å"BIOGRAPHIES. â€Å" WHILE EACH STUDENT IS TALKING, THE PARTNER TAKES NOTES. AFTER EACH PAIR COMPLETES THE ACTIVITY, THE STUDENTS ON THE INSIDE CIRCLE MOVE CLOCKWISE TO FACE THE NEXT STUDENT IN THE OUTER CIRCLE. (STUDENTS IN THE  OUTER CIRCLE REMAIN STATIONARY THROUGHOUT THE ACTIVITY. ) WHEN ALL STUDENTS HAVE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THEIR BIOGRAPHIES WITH ONE ANOTHER, ASK STUDENTS TO TAKE TURNS EACH SHARING HIS OR HER FACTS AND FIB WITH THE CLASS. THE OTHER STUDENTS REFER TO THEIR NOTES OR TRY TO RECALL WHICH FACT IS REALLY A FIB. 15. PEOPLE POEMS. HAVE EACH CHILD USE THE LETTERS IN HIS OR HER NAME TO CREATE AN ACROSTIC POEM. FOR EXAMPLE, BILL COULD TAKE HIS NAME AND WRITE BIG INTELLIGENT LAUGHING LOVING. TELL STUDENTS THEY MUST INCLUDE WORDS THAT TELL SOMETHING ABOUT THEMSELVES — FOR EXAMPLE, SOMETHING THEY LIKE TO DO OR A PERSONALITY  OR PHYSICAL TRAIT. INVITE STUDENTS TO SHARE THEIR POEMS WITH THE CLASS. THIS ACTIVITY IS A FUN ONE THAT ENABLES YOU TO LEARN HOW YOUR STUDENTS VIEW THEMSELVES. ALLOW OLDER STUDENTS TO USE A DICTIONARY OR THESAURUS. YOU MIGHT ALSO VARY THE NUMBER OF WORDS FOR EACH LETTER, ACCORDING TO THE STUDENTS’ GRADE LEVELS. 16. ANOTHER POETIC INTRODUCTION. ASK STUDENTS TO USE THE FORM BELOW TO CREATE POEMS THAT DESCRIBE THEM. NAME ______________________ TITLE (OF POEM)_______________ I WILL NEVER _______________; I WILL NEVER ________________; AND I WILL NEVER ______________. BUT I WILL ALWAYS ______________. THIS ACTIVITY IS ANOTHER THAT LENDS ITSELF TO BEING DONE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR AND AGAIN AT THE END OF THE YEAR. YOU AND YOUR STUDENTS WILL HAVE FUN COMPARING THEIR RESPONSES AND SEEING HOW THE STUDENTS AND THE RESPONSES HAVE CHANGED. 17. FOOD FOR THOUGHT. TO GET TO KNOW STUDENTS AND TO HELP THEM GET TO KNOW ONE ANOTHER, HAVE EACH STUDENT STATE HIS OR HER NAME AND A FAVORITE FOOD THAT BEGINS WITH THE SAME FIRST LETTER AS THE NAME. FOR EXAMPLE: â€Å"HI, MY NAME IS LATRECE, AND I LIKE LIVER. † AS EACH STUDENT INTRODUCES HIMSELF OR HERSELF, HE OR SHE MUST REPEAT THE NAMES AND FAVORITE FOODS OF THE STUDENTS WHO CAME BEFORE. WATCH OUT; IT GETS TRICKY FOR THE LAST PERSON WHO HAS TO RECITE ALL THE NAMES AND FOODS! 18. I AM NOT! HERE’S A CHALLENGING ACTIVITY THAT MIGHT HELP HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS LEARN ABOUT STUDENTS’ ABILITIES TO THINK CRITICALLY. SEND STUDENTS INTO THE SCHOOL HALLWAYS OR SCHOOLYARD, AND ASK EACH TO FIND SOMETHING THAT â€Å"IS COMPLETELY THE OPPOSITE OF YOURSELF. â€Å" (OPTION: TO WIDEN THE AREA TO BE EXPLORED, PROVIDE THIS ACTIVITY AS HOMEWORK ON THE FIRST NIGHT OF SCHOOL. ) WHEN STUDENTS BRING THEIR ITEMS BACK TO CLASS, ASK EACH TO DESCRIBE WHY THE ITEM IS NOT LIKE HE OR SHE. YOU’LL GET A LOT OF FLOWERS, OF COURSE, AND STUDENTS WILL  DESCRIBE HOW THOSE FLOWERS ARE FRAGRANT OR SOFT (OR OTHERWISE UNLIKE THEMSELVES). BUT YOU MIGHT ALSO GET SOME CLEVER RESPONSES SUCH AS THE ONE FROM A YOUNG MAN WHO BROUGHT IN THE FLIP-TOP FROM A DISCARDED CAN; HE TALKED ABOUT ITS DECAYING OUTWARD APPEARANCE AND ITS INABILITY TO SERVE A PURPOSE WITHOUT BEING MANIPULATED BY SOME OTHER FORCE (AND HOW HE WAS ABLE TO SERVE A PURPOSE ON HIS OWN). 19. PERSONAL BOXES. IN THIS ACTIVITY, EACH STUDENT SELECTS A CONTAINER OF A REASONABLE SIZE THAT REPRESENTS SOME ASPECT OF HIS OR HER PERSONALITY OR PERSONAL INTERESTS (SUCH AS A FOOTBALL HELMET OR A SAUCEPAN). ASK STUDENTS TO FILL THAT OBJECT WITH OTHER ITEMS THAT REPRESENT THEMSELVES — FOR EXAMPLE, FAMILY PHOTOS, CDS, DIRTY SOCKS (BECAUSE THEIR ROOM AT HOME IS ALWAYS A MESS), OR A BALLET SHOE — AND BRING THEIR CONTAINERS BACK TO SCHOOL. STUDENTS CAN USE THE OBJECTS IN THE CONTAINERS AS PROPS AS THEY GIVE A THREE-MINUTE PRESENTATION ABOUT THEMSELVES. (THE TEACHER WHO PROVIDED THIS IDEA SUGGESTS THAT YOU MODEL THE ACTIVITY AND ENCOURAGE CREATIVITY BY GOING FIRST — IT’S IMPORTANT FOR THEM TO SEE YOU AS HUMAN TOO! SHE INCLUDED IN HER CONTAINER A WOODEN SPOON BECAUSE SHE LOVES TO  COOK, A JAR OF DIRT BECAUSE SHE LOVES TO GARDEN, HER SON’S FIRST COWBOY BOOT, A POEM SHE WROTE, A ROCK FROM ITALY BECAUSE SHE LOVES TO TRAVEL, AND SO ON. ) YOU’LL LEARN MUCH ABOUT EACH STUDENT WITH THIS ACTIVITY, AND IT WILL CREATE A BOND AMONG STUDENTS. AS EACH STUDENT GIVES THE PRESENTATION, YOU MIGHT WRITE A BRIEF THANK-YOU NOTE THAT MENTIONS SOMETHING SPECIFIC ABOUT THE PRESENTATION SO THAT EACH http://www. ToLearnEnglish. com – http://www. ToLearnFrench. com – Spanish : http://www. espagnolfacile. com/english – German: http://www. allemandfacile. com/english STUDENT CAN TAKE HOME A SPECIAL NOTE TO SHARE WITH PARENTS. IT MIGHT TAKE A FEW DAYS TO GIVE EVERY STUDENT THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE. 20. FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS. HOW WELL DO YOUR STUDENTS FOLLOW DIRECTIONS? PROVIDE INSTRUCTIONS FOR FOLDING A DRINKING CUP FROM A PIECE OF PAPER, AND SEE HOW MANY STUDENTS CAN MAKE A CUP. YOU CAN USE THE PRINTABLE TEMPLATE AND INSTRUCTIONS AT THE ORIGAMI JAPANESE PAPER FOLDING WEB PAGE. FILL EACH COMPLETE CUP WITH APPLE JUICE TO SEE HOW MANY STUDENTS CORRECTLY FOLLOWED THE DIRECTIONS! (YOU MIGHT WANT TO CONDUCT THIS PARTICULAR ASSESSMENT ON THE PLAYGROUND, HOWEVER! ) 21. LEARNING STYLES SURVEY. HOW DO THE STUDENTS IN YOUR CLASS LEARN BEST? DO THEY LEARN BY SEEING, HEARING, OR DOING? INVITE STUDENTS TO DISCOVER THEIR MOST SUCCESSFUL LEARNING STRATEGIES BY TAKING THE MODALITY QUESTIONNAIRE PROVIDED BY THE CENTER FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING AT OHIO’S MUSKINGUM COLLEGE. 22. A WORLD OF CHANGE. ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH AN 11-INCH BY 17-INCH PIECE OF DRAWING PAPER. CHALLENGE STUDENTS TO DRAW A MAP OF THE WORLD AND LABEL AS MANY COUNTRIES AND BODIES OF WATER AS THEY CAN. COLLECT THE MAPS AND PUT THEM AWAY. AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, REPEAT THE ACTIVITY. HAS A YEAR OF LESSONS FOCUSED ON WORLD GEOGRAPHY AND CURRENT EVENTS INCREASED YOUR  STUDENTS’ KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD? (IF THIS ACTIVITY ISN’T APPROPRIATE FOR YOU, WHY NOT SHARE IT WITH A SOCIAL STUDIES OR HISTORY TEACHER IN YOUR SCHOOL? ) 23. TIME CAPSULE. TURN EMPTY PRINGLES CANS OR PAPER TOWEL TUBES INTO MINIATURE TIME CAPSULES. ASK EACH CHILD TO CREATE A TIME CAPSULE THAT INCLUDES SUCH ITEMS AS A HANDWRITING SAMPLE, A HAND TRACING, A SELF PORTRAIT, AND SO ON. AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, COMPARE SAMPLES FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR WITH NEW SAMPLES. 24. A VIDEO KEEPSAKE. AT THE START OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, OR BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS, IF POSSIBLE, PROVIDE PARENTS WITH A LIST OF SUPPLIES TO SEND TO SCHOOL WITH THEIR CHILDREN. INCLUDE ON THE LIST A BLANK VIDEOTAPE FOR EACH STUDENT. AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH, INVITE A PARENT VOLUNTEER TO COME IN AND VIDEOTAPE EACH STUDENT READING ALOUD FROM A FAVORITE BOOK. SEND THE VIDEOTAPES HOME AT THE END OF THE YEAR AS A MEMENTO AND AS A REMINDER OF THE READING GROWTH THAT HAPPENED DURING THE COURSE OF THE YEAR. 25. STICKS AND STONES†¦ THIS SIMPLE ACTIVITY HAS BEEN MAKING THE ROUNDS OF MAILING LISTS RECENTLY: PROVIDE EACH STUDENT WITH A SMALL PAPER CUTOUT IN THE SHAPE OF A HUMAN, OR HAVE STUDENTS CUT OUT THEIR OWN PAPER FIGURES. ASK EACH STUDENT TO WRITE HIS OR HER NAME ON THE CUTOUT. HAVE STUDENTS FORM A CIRCLE. THEN TELL STUDENTS TO PASS THE CUTOUTS TO THE PERSON ON THEIR RIGHT. AS THE CUTOUTS ARE PASSED AROUND THE CIRCLE, HAVE EACH PERSON MAKE A SMALL CRUMPLE OR TEAR IN THE CUTOUT OR ADD A PENCIL MARK. WHEN THE CUTOUTS HAVE MADE THEIR WAY AROUND THE ENTIRE CIRCLE, HAVE STUDENTS TRY TO REPAIR THEIR OWN CUTOUTS BY FLATTENING, ERASING, OR TAPING. AFTER THE CUTOUTS ARE REPAIRED, DISCUSS THE ACTIVITY. TALK ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF UNKIND WORDS AND HURT FEELINGS. YOU MIGHT DISPLAY THE CUTOUTS ON A CLASSROOM BULLETIN BOARD AS A CONSTANT REMINDER OF THE EFFECTS OF HURTFUL ACTIONS. 26. ILLUSTRATED STUDENT REFLECTIONS. STUDENTS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL AND ABOVE CAN REFLECT ON THEIR DREAMS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS WITH THIS FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL ACTIVITY PROVIDED BY AN INDIANA TEACHER. A SIMPLE ILLUSTRATION PROVIDES A BACKDROP STUDENTS CAN USE TO SHARE THEIR DREAMS, THEIR INTERESTS, AND THE HIGH AND LOW POINTS IN THEIR LIVES. THE ACTIVITY CAN PROVIDE TEACHERS WITH IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT STUDENTS’ INTERESTS, CONCERNS, AND GOALS; TEACHERS CAN USE THE INFORMATION TO DETERMINE HOW BEST TO DIRECT STUDENTS AND PROVIDE FOR THEIR INDIVIDUAL NEEDS. I Wish I Were a Butterfly. Students across the grades will enjoy this book, written by James Howe and illustrated by Ed Young. A CRICKET LONGS TO BE A PRETTY BUTTERFLY UNTIL A SPIDER TEACHES HER THAT ALL FRIENDS ARE BEAUTIFUL. READ THE BOOK ALOUD, AND THEN DISCUSS THE STORY’S MESSAGE. 27. SURVEYS AND GRAPHS. START THE YEAR WITH A SURVEY ACTIVITY IN WHICH STUDENTS GET TO KNOW ONE ANOTHER AS THEY CREATE SIMPLE BAR OR PICTURE GRAPHS. STUDENTS WORK IN PAIRS OR SMALL GROUPS TO COLLECT RESPONSES TO A CLASS SURVEY, AND THEN THEY GRAPH THE RESULTS. OLDER STUDENTS CAN DEVELOP THEIR OWN SURVEY QUESTIONS; YOUNGER STUDENTS MIGHT COLLECT DATA IN RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS PROVIDED BY THE TEACHER. QUESTIONS MIGHT INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING: †¢ WHEN YOU BRING LUNCH TO SCHOOL, HOW DO YOU CARRY IT? †¢ IF YOU WERE TO CARRY A THERMOS BOTTLE TO SCHOOL, WHAT WOULD BE IN IT? †¢ WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SANDWICH? †¢ HOW DO YOU GET TO SCHOOL MOST DAYS? †¢ WHAT IS YOUR BEST SUBJECT IN SCHOOL? †¢ HOW MANY MILES DO YOU LIVE FROM SCHOOL? †¢ WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SNACK? http://www. ToLearnEnglish. com – http://www. ToLearnFrench. com – Spanish : http://www. espagnolfacile. com/english – German: http://www. allemandfacile. com/english †¢ WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE SUMMER MOVIE? AFTER STUDENTS COLLECT THE DATA, THEY CREATE A SIMPLE GRAPH TO DISPLAY THE RESULTS OF THEIR SURVEY. ONE STUDENT IN EACH PAIR OR GROUP CAN THEN REPORT THE FINDINGS WHILE ANOTHER EXPLAINS THE GRAPH. DISPLAY THE GRAPHS ON A BULLETIN BOARD FOR ALL TO SEE! 28. AN AVERAGE DAY. CHALLENGE STUDENTS TO COMPUTE CLASS â€Å"AVERAGES. † HAVE STUDENTS WORK IN PAIRS OR SMALL GROUPS TO COLLECT, CALCULATE, AND REPORT ON THE AVERAGE AGE, SHOE SIZE, HEIGHT, FAMILY SIZE (AND SO ON! ) OF THE STUDENTS IN YOUR CLASS. 29. PERSONALIZED CLASSROOM CALENDAR. EVERY CLASSROOM HAS A CALENDAR. WHY NOT PERSONALIZE YOUR CLASSROOM CALENDAR WITH PHOTOGRAPHS OF YOUR STUDENTS? FIRST, MAKE A CALENDAR POCKET CHART WITH SEVEN COLUMNS (ONE FOR EACH DAY OF THE WEEK) AND FIVE ROWS  (SO THE CHART CAN HANDLE MONTHS WITH FIVE WEEKS). THEN HAVE STUDENTS MAKE SIGNS WITH THE NUMBERS 1 TO 31 ON THEM. THE NUMBERS SHOULD BE LARGE ENOUGH TO BE CLEARLY SEEN FROM A DISTANCE. USE A DISPOSABLE CAMERA TO TAKE A PICTURE OF EACH STUDENT HOLDING ONE OF THE NUMBERED SIGNS. SLIP THE PHOTOGRAPHS INTO THE POCKETS ON THE CALENDAR. CHANGE THE CALENDAR EACH MONTH! BACK-TO-SCHOOL ABC BOOK. THIS IS AN ACTIVITY THAT CAN BE DONE ACROSS THE GRADES! SHARE WITH STUDENTS SOME ABC BOOKS FROM THE SCHOOL OR TOWN LIBRARY AND TELL THEM THAT THEY WILL BE WORKING TOGETHER TO CREATE A BACK-TO-SCHOOL ABC BOOK. ASSIGN A LETTER OF THE ALPHABET TO EACH STUDENT. BRAINSTORM WITH STUDENTS POSSIBLE WORDS FOR EACH LETTER OR ALLOW EACH STUDENT TO CHOOSE HIS OR HER OWN WORD. EXPLAIN THAT THE WORDS MUST BE RELATED TO ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATED WITH SCHOOL. OF COURSE, THE DIFFICULTY OF THE WORDS WILL VARY, DEPENDING ON THE GRADE LEVEL OF THE STUDENTS. FOR EXAMPLE, A MIGHT BE REPRESENTED BY THE WORDS ART, ABACUS, ATTENDANCE, ALGEBRA, ADDITION, ADVISOR, ATHLETICS, AUDITORIUM, ALPHABET, ANSWER KEY, APPLE, ARITHMETIC, ANNOUNCEMENT, AWARD, A-V, AIDE, OR ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL. FINALLY, HAVE EACH STUDENT ILLUSTRATE HIS OR HER WORD. COMBINE THE PICTURES TO CREATE A BOOK. DISPLAY THE BOOK IN THE CLASSROOM OR SCHOOL LIBRARY. AS AN EXTRA CHALLENGE, YOU MIGHT LIMIT OLDER STUDENTS TO CHOOSING ADJECTIVES; NO NOUNS ALLOWED! BACK-TO-SCHOOL WORD SEARCH. PRINT A BACK-TO-SCHOOL WORD SEARCH AND CHALLENGE STUDENTS TO FIND THE SCHOOL-RELATED WORDS HIDDEN IN THE PUZZLE. OR CREATE YOUR OWN WORD SEARCH PUZZLE CONTAINING THE FIRST NAMES OF ALL THE STUDENTS IN YOUR CLASS. GO TO PUZZLEMAKER. COM’S WORD SEARCH PUZZLEMAKER TO CREATE YOUR PUZZLE. 30. Making An Important Book †¦ ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL I READ THE IMPORTANT BOOK BY MARGARET WISE BROWN. I REVIEW PARAGRAPH WRITING AND INSTRUCT THEM TO WRITE A PARAGRAPH FOLLOWING THE SAME FORMAT AS THE BOOK ABOUT THEMSELVES. I ALSO DO THE SAME. AFTER THE ROUGH DRAFTS ARE WRITTEN THEY ARE TO DO A FINAL DRAFT AND ATTACH IT TO A WHITE PIECE OF PAPER, WHERE THEY ADD AN ILLUSTRATION. ALL THE PAGES ARE LAMINATED AND BOUND INTO A BOOK. STUDENTS REREAD THIS BOOK THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. IT EASILY BECOMES A FAVORITE. STUDENTS ALSO ENJOY READING THE BOOK FROM THE PREVIOUS YEARS CLASSES. 31. Names Word Search †¦ IN ORDER FOR MY STUDENTS TO GET TO KNOW THEIR CLASSMATES, I CREATE A WORD SEARCH WITH THE NAMES OF MY STUDENTS. AFTER ALL THE NAMES ARE FOUND THE REMAINING LETTERS REVEAL THE HIDDEN MESSAGE â€Å"WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL. † THIS WEBSITE IS GREAT FOR CREATING VARIOUS TYPES OF PUZZLES HTTP://WWW. PUZZLEMAKER. COM 32. â€Å"Me† Puppets†¦ ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL (UNLIKE THE REMAINING DAYS OF THE SCHOOL YEAR), THE CHILDREN ARE USUALLY RELUCTANT TO TALK ABOUT THEMSELVES. WE MAKE â€Å"ME† PUPPETS USING PAPER PLATES FOR THE HEAD, YARN FOR THE HAIR, AND CONSTRUCTION PAPER FACIAL FEATURES, WITH A POPSCICLE STICK FOR A HANDLE. UPON COMPLETION, WE STAGE A PUPPET SHOW. THE CHILDREN HIDE THEIR FACES WITH THE PUPPETS AND TELL THEIR CLASSMATES ALL  ABOUT THEIR FAMILIES, HOBBIES, PETS, ETC. 33. First Day Name Puzzle†¦ ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, I LIKE TO MAKE A NAME PUZZLE WITH MY STUDENTS. I TAKE A LARGE PIECE OF POSTER BOARD, AND MARK OUT LINES THAT CAN BE CUT INTO PIECES. MAKE SURE THAT THE PUZZLE WILL HAVE ENOUGH PIECES FOR EACH STUDENT TO HAVE ONE. WE ALL GATHER ON THE FLOOR TO WRITE OUR NAME ON THE BLANK SIDE OF THE POSTER BOARD. I WRITE MY NAME IN THE MIDDLE, AND THE STUDENTS WRITE THEIR NAME IN ALL DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS. WHEN I HAVE FREE TIME, I CUT THE BOARD INTO PUZZLE PIECES. AS A CLASS WE EACH FIND THE SPOT WHERE OUR PUZZLE PIECE BELONGS. TAPE THE PUZZLE TOGETHER AFTER SCHOOL, AND POST IT ON THE WALL IN THE CLASSROOM. WHEN THE STUDENTS RETURN THE NEXT DAY, THE WILL BE EXCITED TO SEE THE PUZZLE, AND TO SHOW OFF THEIR NAME. MY KIDS HAVE FUN TALKING AND, WORKING TO PUT THE PUZZLE TOGETHER. 34. First day (or week) of school–Family Wreath†¦ I COLLECTED FAMILY PICTURES OF EACH OF MY STUDENTS DURING OUR INTRODUCTION DAY. I TOLD THE FAMILY I WOULD PROBABLY NOT RETURN THESE PICTURES. I THEN TOOK THE PICTURES AND MADE A â€Å"FAMILY WREATH†, FOR THE LONELY DAYS OR WHEN THE STUDENTS JUST MISSED HOME. THIS WAS A  HUGE HIT WITH ALL THE FAMILIES AND THE CHILDREN. I PLACED THE WREATH IN THE HOME LIVING AREA, AND WAS AMAZED TO SEE THE STUDENTS, ALL YEAR http://www. ToLearnEnglish. com – http://www. ToLearnFrench. com – Spanish : http://www. espagnolfacile. com/english – German: http://www. allemandfacile. com/english LONG, GO OVER TO THE WREATH AND TAKE TIME TO ADMIRE IT AND THEIR FAMILY. (SOME FAMILIES INCLUDED PET PICTURES TO PUT ON THE WREATH). ON THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL I AUCTIONED IT OFF TO A FAMILY AND BOUGHT SUPPLIES FOR THE CLASS ROOM. ALL MY PARENTS WANTED THIS â€Å"KEEPSAKE†. 35. Getting Acquainted.. I LIKE TO HAVE SOME GET ACQUAINTED PROJECTS FOR THE FIRST FEW DAYS. ONE THING I DO IS WHEN I SEND MY PARENTS A WELCOMING LETTER, I ASK THAT THE CHILDREN BRING IN A SMALL BAG OF PICTURES AND OTHER SMALL OBJECTS THAT COULD BE PART OF A â€Å"ME† COLLAGE. THESE COLLAGES ARE A GOOD SPRINGBOARD FOR THE CHILDREN TO DISCUSS THEIR UNIQUE QUALITIES, AND AT THE END OF THE YEAR, THEY ENJOY SEEING HOW THEY HAVE CHANGED. WE ALSO MAKE SCHOOLHOUSE PICTURE FRAMES FOR THEIR FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL PHOTOS. I CUT SCHOOLHOUSES OUT OF OAKTAG, AND THE CHILDREN GLUE PASTA ON THE FRAMES. I SPRAY PAINT THE PASTA FRAMES GOLD. THE PARENTS LOVE HAVING THIS MEMENTO OF THEIR CHILD’S FIRST DAY WHEN I GIVE IT TO THEM ON BACK-TO-SCHOOL NIGHT. 36. Getting to Know Each Other .. ON THE FIRAT DAY OF SCHOOL DO AN ACTIVITY TO BRING THE CLASS TOGETHER SUCH AS A CLASSROOM SURVEY. THE STUDENTS WALK AROUND AND TALK TO THE OTHER STUDENTS AND FILL OUT A QUESTIONAIRRE. AT THE SAME TIME THEY ARE GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER. 37. Fun First Day Activity .. ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL I HAVE PLENTY OF PRE-CUT LETTERS IN LOTS OF DIFFERENT COLORS ON A TABLE. AS THE CHILDREN COME IN THEY FIND THE LETTERS TO SPELL THEIR NAMES AND GLUE THEM TOGETHER. I HANG THESE FROM THE CEILING! THEY REALLY BRIGHTEN UP THE ROOM AND LOOK GREAT FOR OPEN HOUSE! USUALLY THIS IS THE FIRST THING THEY POINT OUT TO THEIR PARENTS. 38. What are your expectations? ASK FOR THEIR EXPECTATIONS. TELL THEM YOU’RE INTERESTED IN THEIR OPINIONS AND YOU’RE ASKING THEM THESE QUESTIONS AS A WAY OF FINDING OUT ABOUT THEIR LEARNING STYLES AND PREFERENCES. ASK THEM TO WRITE, USING AS MUCH DETAIL AS POSSIBLE, THEIR RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS, SUCH AS †¢ NOW THAT I’VE TOLD YOU MY EXPECTATIONS OF A GOOD STUDENT, WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS OF A GOOD TEACHER? †¢ TELL ME ABOUT THE BEST TEACHER YOU’VE EVER HAD. WHAT MADE THAT PERSON SUCH A GOOD TEACHER? †¢ NOW THAT I’VE TOLD YOU SOME OF MY IDEAS ABOUT HOW WE WILL GO ABOUT LEARNING THIS YEAR’S MATERIAL, TELL ME ABOUT HOW YOU LEARN BEST. GIVE ME AN EXAMPLE OF A PROJECT OR UNIT WHERE YOU LEARNED A LOT. DESCRIBE THE PROJECT IN DETAIL. 39. TIME CAPSULES: A TIME-PROVEN YEAR OPENER I GIVE EACH STUDENT A SHEET WITH QUESTIONS SUCH AS WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW? WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SONG? AND WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE BOOK? ON IT. THERE’S A SPACE FOR STUDENTS TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR AND ANOTHER SPACE FOR THEM TO ANSWER THE SAME QUESTIONS AT THE END OF THE YEAR. â€Å"AFTER STUDENTS PUT THEIR ANSWERS IN THE FIRST BLANK, I TIE ALL THE SHEETS TOGETHER AND PUT THEM IN MY FILE CABINET,† BRIGHT TOLD EDUCATION WORLD. â€Å"IT’S ALWAYS FUNNY AT THE END OF THE YEAR TO HEAR THEM LAUGHING AND SCREECHING OVER THEIR ANSWERS FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR. THEY ALWAYS CHANGE THEIR MINDS BY THE END OF THE YEAR! † BEGINNING-OF-THE-YEAR TIME CAPSULES CAN INCLUDE MANY OTHER ITEMS TOO. IN ADDITION TO STUDENTS’ QUESTION SHEETS, THEIR INDIVIDUAL TIME CAPSULES MIGHT ALSO INCLUDE A. TRACING OF THEIR HAND, A PIECE OF YARN CUT TO MEASURE THEIR HEIGHT, AND A WRITING SAMPLE. SEALED THE ITEMS IN ENVELOPES, AND OPEN THEM AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR. STUDENTS WILL SURELY BE AMAZED AT THEIR GROWTH — PHYSICALLY AND ACADEMICALLY! FOR THAT TIME CAPSULE WRITING SAMPLE, YOU MIGHT USE ANOTHER OF BRIGHT’S FAVORITE BEGINNING-OF-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES. â€Å"I HAVE STUDENTS INTERVIEW EACH OTHER LIKE NEWSPAPER REPORTERS SOMETIME DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL,† BRIGHT EXPLAINED. â€Å"THEY HAVE TO ASK A PARTNER FIVE QUESTIONS AND USE THOSE ANSWERS TO WRITE A PARAGRAPH ABOUT THEIR PARTNER. THEN THEY INTRODUCE THEIR PARTNER TO THE CLASS BY READING THE INTERVIEWS. † 40. THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS INVITING STUDENTS TO SHARE A FEW OF THEIR FAVORITE THINGS IS A GREAT WAY TO BREAK THE ICE! INTRODUCE AN OVERHEAD TRANSPARENCY ON WHICH YOU HAVE ALL KINDS OF PICTURES THAT â€Å"DESCRIBE† YOURSELF. THERE’S A PLANE, LOTS OF BOOKS, A HILL, AND MORE. INVITE YOUR STUDENTS TO GUESS FROM THE DRAWINGS WHAT YOUR FAVORITE OUTSIDE INTERESTS MIGHT BE. (DID YOU GUESS TRAVELING, READING, AND HIKING? ). GIVE EACH STUDENT A SHEET OF DRAWING PAPER AND ASK THEM TO TELL ME ABOUT THEMSELVES — USING ONLY  PICTURES. BREAK INTO SMALL COOPERATIVE GROUPS, AND EACH GROUP TRIES TO TELL ABOUT THE PEOPLE IN THEIR GROUP. OF COURSE, WALK AROUND AND INTERACT WITH EACH GROUP TO KNOW THEM TOO. † 41. MAKE A LARGE CHART TITLED GETTING TO KNOW YOU. LAMINATE THE CHART AND HANG IT ON A WALL IN YOUR CLASSROOM. THE CHART HAS SECTIONS FOR EACH STUDENT’S NAME AND INTERESTING FACTS, SUCH AS HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE IN THEIR FAMILY, HOW MANY PETS THEY HAVE, THEIR FAVORITE http://www. ToLearnEnglish. com – http://www. ToLearnFrench. com – Spanish : http://www. espagnolfacile. com/english – German:

Drafting and Use of Questionnaire as a Research Tool in Legal Research Essay

Introduction The word research is derived from the Middle French â€Å"recherche†, which means â€Å"to go about seeking†, the term itself being derived from the Old French term â€Å"recerchier† a compound word from â€Å"re-† + â€Å"cerchier†, or â€Å"sercher†, meaning ‘search’. The earliest recorded use of the term was in 1577 Research and experimental development is formal work undertaken systematically to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humanity, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications (OECD (2002) Frascati Manual: proposed standard practice for surveys on research and experimental development, 6th edition. It is used to establish or confirm facts, reaffirm the results of previous work, solve new or existing problems, support theorems, or develop new theories. A research project may also be an expansion on past work in the field. To test the validity of instruments, procedures, or experiments, research may replicate elements of prior projects, or the project as a whole. The primary purposes of basic research (as opposed to applied research) are documentation, discovery, interpretation, or the research and development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge. Approaches to research depend on epistemologies, which vary considerably both within and between humanities and sciences. In lay man language research means search or find those things which are already in existence. Research work is not something which can be completed in one stroke or in one step. It consists of a number of closely related activities which very often overlap, and therefore, it becomes difficult to ascertain where one step ended and the other began. However, it is important to keep in mind that various steps are not mutually exclusive, nor they are totally separate and distinct. What step should be followed at what time depends on the research . However, the following guide-lines in this regard are significant: 1. Formulation of researcher problem- At the very outset the researcher must choose the area in which he wants to carry on research. In the field of law the researcher has a very wide scope. After selecting the area we are required to select specific topic or subject for the study. Thus formulation of a general topic into a specific researcher problem constitutes the first step in this regard. It can be said that formulation the researcher problem involves two steps: a) Understanding the problem thoroughly: and b) Re-shaping that understanding into meaningful terms to arrive at a concrete result. Thus formulation of research problem is very significant for a researcher and if it is done successfully, a good deal of battle is won. 2. Extensive literature survey- Once a problem is formulated a brief summary of it should be prepared. For this the researcher must undertake an extensive survey of the available literature on the subject: preferably connected with the problem. For this purpose the abstracting and indexing journals, published and unpublished bibliographies should first of all be examined. Academic journals, conference proceedings government reports, reference books and text books, depending on the nature of the problem must be seen. 3. Formulation of hypothesis- When the literature relating to the problem is extensively surveyed researcher should state in clear terms the hypothesis. A hypothesis is the tentative assumption made in order to draw out and test its logical consequences. In its most elementary stage the hypothesis may be any guess, imagination ideas which becomes the basis for action or investigation. It helps in the analysis of the material pertaining to the subject. It helps in delimiting the area of research and keeps the researcher on the right track. 4. Collection of material- A research cannot be said to be duly carried out unless the relevant materials have been examined. But the relevant cannot be examined unless and until they have been collected and compiled. The collection of the relevant materials is most difficult and comprehensive work and requires lot of energy and attention as well as patience. 5. Analysis of material- Once the requisite materials are collected, the researcher undertakes to analyse them. This is also a very important step in the direction of fulfilment of research work. In case of doctrinal research the researcher can proceed smoothly if he is well aware about the principles of interpretation and construction. He is required to examine the fact of each case, the principle applied to that fact, the line of argument taken, relief sought and provided and if necessary the history or legislation, etc. There may be situations in relation to which no statutory provision existed it was decided on the basis of the principle of justice, equity and good conscience. If the bulk of the examined material indicates to a particular direction, the principle so applied should be accepted as general principles and principles not applied should be deemed to have been overlooked. 6. Testing of hypothesis- After analysis of materials or data as the case may be the researcher becomes confident enough to test his hypothesis which he had already formulated. He can examine if the material or data after analysis support his hypothesis or they are contrary to it. The hypothesis testing ultimately results in either accepting the hypothesis or in rejecting it or in making amendment in it. 7. Generalisation and interpretation- The research work whether doctrinal or non-doctrinal will proceed towards generalisation and interpretation if the hypothesis has been tested positive. If it results in negative the question of generalisation and interpretation does not arise. The purpose of generalisation and interpretation is to built up a theory to be applicable in future to adjudicate upon similar and identical problems. This process of generalisation and interpretation, while helping in formulation of a general theory, also raises many important question which may lead to further research and till those question are answered they may be regarded as exceptions to the general theory or principle thus build up. 8. Preparation of report- The penultimate task in a researcher work is to write the report of the exercise done so far. It should be prepared with great care and caution because it is this report that gives credit to the researcher. Objective of research are following: i. To familiarize with a phenomenon or to acquire new insights into an existing fact, that is, Exploratory Research. ii. To determine the frequency with which something occurs or with which it is associated with something else, that is, Diagnostic Research. iii. To portray accurately the characteristics of a particular object, situation or group, that is, Descriptive Research. iv. To test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between two objects, that is, Hypothesis Testing Research. v. To separate fact from speculation and wish, that is, Distinguishing Research. Definition- Research has been defined in a number of different ways. A broad definition of research is given by Martyn Shuttleworth – â€Å"In the broadest sense of the word, the definition of research includes any gathering of data, information and facts for the advancement of knowledge.† Another definition of research is given by Creswell who states – â€Å"Research is a process of steps used to collect and analyse information to increase our understanding of a topic or issue†. It consists of three steps: Pose a question, collect data to answer the question, and present an answer to the question. The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines research in more detail as â€Å"a studious inquiry or examination; especially : investigation or experimentation aimed at the discovery and interpretation of facts, revision of accepted theories or laws in the light of new facts, or practical application of such new or revised theories or laws†. The Encyclopaedia Britannica (1911 edition) defines research to mean- â€Å"the act of searching into a matter closely and carefully, inquiry directed to the discovery of truth and in particular the trained scientific investigation of the principles and facts of any subject, based on original and first hand study of authorities or experiment. Investigation of every kind which has been based on original sources of knowledge may be styled research and it may be said that without ‘research’ no authoritative work have been written, no scientific inventions or discoveries made, no theories of any value propounded†. This definition is probably most exhaustive and meaningful. Meaning and Objective of Legal Research- ‘Legal research’ means research in that branch of knowledge which deals with the principles of law and legal institution. There are three main sources of law, that is, legislation, precedent, and custom. Juristic writings are another important though secondary source of law and their important is dependent on the fact whether it is given due recognition by the courts or the legislature or jurists in solving problems or not. The contents of these sources of law change with the changing requirement of the society and if these changes are not taken into account in interpreting the law, the existing law is bound to be doomed. The aim of law is, therefore, to regulate the human behaviour in the present day society and hence, legal research must be directed to the study of the relationship between the world of the law and the world that the law purports to govern. Generally, law is enacted to regulate the human conduct for the welfare of humankind. It is considered that law should be enacted to protect the interest of a person, society, and the county as a whole. The goal of legal research cannot be distinguished from the goal of law. As law is directly related with the social science, its research is also automatically related with the research of social science. This is the age of democracy and good governance. Democracy and good governance depend upon the rule of law. In democratic society, law is changed for welfare of the people and society along with the pace of time. Alternatively, law shall not be constraint for the development rather it be facilitator. That is why law needs charges. Similarly, legal research is essential to have changes in law for socialization and betterment of the people and society. Now-a-days, legal research is not limited only on the analysing of criminal behaviour, activities of public, court, public prosecutors, legal practitioners etc. but it also includes the protection of environment of all creatures in the world and the development as well. As a result, legal research plays crucial role for the welfare of the humankind and is more important than others to bring positive changes in our society and at the end in the whole humankind. The following are the objectives of legal research- i. To discover new facts; i. To test and verify old facts; ii. To analysis the facts in new theoretical framework; iii. To examine the consequences of new facts or new principles of law; or judicial decisions; iv. To develop new legal researcher tools or apply tools of other disciplines in the area of law; v. To propound a new legal concept; vi. To analyse law and legal institutions from point of view of history; vii. To examine the nature and scope of new law or legal institutions; viii. To ascertain the merits and demerits of old law or institution and to give suggestion for a new or institution in place of old one; ix. To ascertain the relationship between legislature and judiciary and to give suggestion as to haw one can assist the discharge of one’s duties and responsibilities; and x. To develop the principles of interpretation for critical examination of statutes. These objectives of legal research as of any other research may be obtained by any of the following processes: i. Evolutive; or ii. Explicative; or iii. Identificatory; or iv. Projective; or v. Collative; or vi. Impact analysis; or vii. Interactive; or viii. Interpretative. Evolutive process : Evolutive research is one which seeks to identify the roots of a social evil and tries to prohibit it by law, eg. Eradication of dowry , prohibition of Sati, prohibition of child marriage, legalising widow marriage, etc. historical facts play most important role in this kind of research. Explicative process- Explicative process is one which tries to ascertain the nature, scope of law in order to fxplain the nature, scope of law in order to explain what law is, e.g. law relating to industrial pollution and legal relating to administrative action and its legal control, matrimonial relief etc. Identificatory process- An identificatory process is one whose objective is to ascertain the people for whose benefit a legal is enacted e.g. research carried on to find out the beneficiaries of land reform, beneficiaries of reservation among Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and Backwards, the group of industrial establishments kept out of the area of operation of a piece of legislation, e.g. activities outside the area of the Factories Act, 1948, industrial establishments not covered by the Provident Fund Act, etc. employees entitled to the benefit of provident fund and insurance fund, etc. Projective Process- A projective process is one which aims at examining the degree of social acceptance to a policy the State is planning to implement. This kind of research attempts to find out at the very beginning, the mood of the people or masses, or electorate or industrial workers, whether they will accept the proposed scheme or not, or they will accept it with certain modification. Truly speaking, it is a survey beforehand rather than a research work to find out the feasibility of the proposed scheme. Collative process- A collative process is one which tries to find out the effect of existing law, in relation to other existing law, i.e. its objective is to compare the two set of rules to find out which one is more workable and by which the desired effect may be achieved. Impact analysis process- This kind of research is carried on to find out the impact of an established or newly formed legal principle, rule or institution. In the area of planning this kind of study assumes much significance. On the basis of the outcome of the research necessary changes may be made wherever necessary it helps us to change our outlook towards the objective sought to be achieved, thus it is a preliminary steps to law reform. Interactive process- Law does not operate in vacuum. It operates in society. There are a number of other factors, which interact with it. These factors are of various types such as formal or non-formal, permanent or transitory. A legal researcher cannot be insensitive to such factors of society which annihilate the entire fabric of law. Since law is a part of the society, therefore, the law should be such as that it can work in the society. A researcher must take care of- a) The relative autonomy of law in relation to other component of society; b) The relationship between various component within the legal system; and c) The inter-dependence of one or more components of law within the legal system. Interpretative Research process- This kind of research aims at interpreting the various words and phrases used in defining the law. The researcher makes effort to give a particular word, a specific meaning by using his own logic and authoritative opinion of other people. This kind of researcher is confined mostly to the study of statutes, text and judicial pronouncement and is done by analysing the words. It helps acquire clarity, consistency, uniformity in the meaning of legal writing. These objectives of researcher, thus, help us in determining for what purpose the research is directed, and how, the research may be carried on. In the process, the researcher explains the relevant juridical concept, analysis statutory provisions, picks out significant juridical date, formulated principles deducible from judicial decisions and arranges the whole material in some logical order.If the researcher has sufficient aptitude for research, he may identify the problems likely to arise and deduct principles with sufficient prec ision to provide solution to those problems. Tools of Legal Research- In pursuing research for disclosing facts or proving a hypothesis true or false, various kinds of methods can be applied for the successful research. The following research methods collectively or individually can be applied for the successful research as the main methods. A. Observation: Information can be received by observing, visiting and viewing the place, society, events or the things pertinent to the study or research. Observation can be taken as primary and reliable source of information. If a researcher is careful, he/she can get the points that may play the significant role in his research or study. Observation is a method that is common in the research of legal and social science. Observation should be guided by a specific research purpose, the information receive from the observation should be recorded and subjected to checks on the trail of reliability. B. Questionnaire: In questionnaire method, a researcher develops a form containing such questions pertinent to his study. Generally, the researcher prepares yes/ No questions or short answer questions. In questionnaire method, researcher distributes such forms to the people to whom he/she deems appropriate. The people, to whom the questionnaires have been distributed, should answer that what they have known by filling out the form and return it to researcher. C. Sampling: When the subject of research is vague, comprehensive and when each indicator cannot be taken by virtue of financial constraint, time and complexity, etc. then the researcher can randomly collect data/sample depending on the reason. This is called as sampling method. For instance, in a demographic research, part of population represent various groups can be taken into consideration That is why, it is said that sample is a method that saves time and money. D. Interviews: A researcher can receive information sought by him/her asking people concerned through interview. It is a direct method of receiving information. Interview can be generally held asking questions in face-to-face contact to the person or persons and sometimes through telephone conversation. This method is common in the research of legal and social science. In this method, the researcher has to use less skill and knowledge to receive information he/she had sought. Interview is known as an art of receiving pertinent information. In the opinion of P.V. Young, interview can be taken as a systematic method by which a person enters more or less imaginatively into the life of a stranger. E. Case study: Case study is taken as one of the important and reliable methods for legal research. Case study can be defined as a method of research where facts and grounds of each legal issue are dealt with by taking individual case. Case study is a method of exploring and analysing of life of a social unit such as a person, a family, an institution, a cultural group or even entire community. It is a way of organizing social data so as to preserve the utility character of the social object being studied.11 Keeping in view to the matters above, we can state here that the case study is a method of legal research to explore and analyse the fact and data of a social unit and to organize social data for prescription of useful character and society.

The Ed Sullivan Show Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Ed Sullivan Show - Assignment Example Section 2: Bob Dylan’s refusal to perform a different song depicts that he was a man of originality and a fighter for his rights who can stand against the culture. His motivation for music was not to only show his appearance on some stage but to portray his work, talent and what he is passionate about rather than performing with a modified version of his work. Section 3: Mick Jaggar’s insistence that he said â€Å"mmmmm† instead of â€Å"time† suggests that many musicians consider censorship as modifying their work for a certain occasion or a situation so that their work can be represented in its original form at other place in order to ensure its acceptability and fame in its original form. Section 4: The Doors’ response to the act of attempted censorship on The Ed Sullivan Show turned into their own favor because they proved themselves as a group who do not give up so easily and they are someone who represents themselves and their work the way it is rather than modifying it on external demands. Section 5: According to Inglis, it is imperative to analyze the whole situation and its pros and cons before imposing any censorship. The reason being, certain situations themselves allow taking a step of commanding censorship however in certain conditions things like audiences’ entertainment, acceptability and profitability it is bringing to the industry also needs to be focused on. Moreover, the negative reactions by the musicians on the imposition of censorship might also disturb the economy and audience so everything needs to be considered. The Ed Sullivan Show’s motivation for allowing groups they found too controversial was to gain commercial profits and attraction of youth towards because such groups attract the young generation that ultimately increases the number of audiences in the show. Section 6: Based on the conclusions, it is evident that Inglis is taking the side of the musicians as according to him even if the musicians of

A contextualised analysis of MORRISON (WM) SUPERMARKETS PLC Coursework

A contextualised analysis of MORRISON (WM) SUPERMARKETS PLC - Coursework Example In the United Kingdom there are a total of 92,796 grocery stores which are broadly classified into the following four categories namely Convenience stores, Traditional retail, Hypermarkets, Supermarkets and Superstore and Online Channel. Among these, hypermarkets, supermarkets and superstores are the largest in the UK (Li, 2008). Morrison WM Supermarkets PLC, a publicly traded company, is a supermarket chain which offers a wide range of goods including branded ones and its own labelled products. They are the fourth largest food retailer in the United Kingdom by sales with 439 stores across Britain and an annual turnover of  £16 billion. The main speciality of this chain of supermarkets is its high quality fresh food at great prices. Morrison WM Supermarkets PLC was founded in 1899 by William Morrison. The company has developed from a single egg and butter stall in Bradford and has turned into one of the best food retailers in the United Kingdom. Starting from a small stall in Bradf ord in 1899, a new produce depot was opened in 1976. The company took over Whelan Discount Stores and started operating in Lancashire for the first time in 1978. The first Morrisons distribution centre was opened in 1988 followed by the opening of second distribution centre in 1997. ... They are the fourth largest food retailer in the United Kingdom by sales with 439 stores across Britain and an annual turnover of ?16 billion. The main speciality of this chain of supermarkets is its high quality fresh food at great prices. Morrison WM Supermarkets PLC was founded in 1899 by William Morrison. The company has developed from a single egg and butter stall in Bradford and has turned into one of the best food retailers in the United Kingdom. Starting from a small stall in Bradford in 1899, a new produce depot was opened in 1976. The company took over Whelan Discount Stores and started operating in Lancashire for the first time in 1978. The first Morrisons distribution centre was opened in 1988 followed by the opening of second distribution centre in 1997. It was in February 2004 the company went national by opening a store in Scotland. Morrisons became the fourth largest retailer in the UK in March 2006 by opening UK’s first BioEthanol E85 filling pumps. The compan y has 700 tractors and 1700 trailers distributing to the stores across the country and it is now the largest supplier of apprenticeships in the United Kingdom. The following are deemed to be the four important reasons why they occupy a unique position in the grocery market: 1. Quality: They ensure control quality by owning their own production facilities. 2. Insight: They know what they are buying and where it comes from. 3. Value: They buy direct and pass savings on to the customer. 4. Flexibility: They get their food in store faster and react to the market more quickly. (Morrisons, 2011a) The company’s overall turnover is 17,663, 000 GBP, net income is 690,000 GBP, total assets is worth 9,859,000 GBP and the number of employees is 131,207, number of recorded shareholders is 86

Country Differences in Accounting Standards Essay

Country Differences in Accounting Standards - Essay Example The United States of America perform its accounting and the respective financial statements utilizing the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). In the United Kingdom a different set of financial standards is being utilized called the financial reporting international standards. The platform utilized in Europe is an international project to standardize the financial reporting standards of corporation across the world. In Europe any company selling its stocks in any registered stock exchange such as the London Stock Exchange (LSE) must release financial standards prepared following the international reporting financial standards. Canada is a nation that is evaluating a transition from Canadian GAAP to IFRS. The new international financial reporting standards are geared towards providing a simple system with flexibility to personalize the system since it is not a rigorous as GAAP. Simplicity allows corporations to achieve savings in their administrative function. There are differences and similarities in the way a company using generally accepted accounting principles or international financial reporting standards are prepared. The GAAP required the financial statements to follow an exact format which the company can not deviate from, while the IFRS has multiple formats. The valuation of investments is performed in GAAP at the cost of the investment and earnings or losses are registered once the investment is sold. In the IFRS the value of the investment goes at fair market value. The investment segment of a GAAP prepared statement is very detailed and illustrates the value of each individual investment. In the international financial reporting standards investment are included at the discretion of the accountants responsible for preparing the financial statements. The consolidated financial statements of GAAP financial statements include subsidiary information only

Exampaper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Exampaper - Essay Example Irigaray, Nozick and Delaney have attempted to articulate this idea in more modern terms. However, William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 presents this concept quite eloquently. The idea that love can have a somewhat illusory nature was put forward by Rorty when she used Spinoza’s to help illustrate her concept. She argued that indulging in fantasy and unrealistic expectations of love are potentially dangerous because they distort our perception of love. Instead of an authentic experience, idolatrous love offers an illusion. Over the centuries humanity has developed certain romanticized ideas of idealized male and female roles in relation to romantic love. Simone de Beauvoir and Marilyn Friedman, in particular, discuss the dangers of such romantic ideology and their relation to male chauvinism. We live in an increasingly â€Å"cyberized† world. The Internet and social media have allowed â€Å"cyber-relationships† to become increasingly more frequent. However, Zygmunt Bauman and Hubert Dreyfus underscore the need for traditional, face-to-face interactions in building more lasting and exclusive relationships. They warn that online relationships run a very high risk of more ephemeral and promiscuous interactions, precluding lasting and substantial relationships from developing. Montaigne presents the idea that a perfect friendship emphasizes as an essential aspect of the friendship. He goes further to describe such a friendship as one characterized by such unconditional openness and trust that each individual’s need is met by the other. However, Montaigne is careful to distinguish such an ideal from homosexual love. Possible modern interpretations of this â€Å"perfect friendship† could be the ideas of â€Å"bromance† and â€Å"womance† that have become more prevalent nowadays. Touch is one of the most concrete ways in which we express love and affection for one another. Although sexual intimacy is

Visitor Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Visitor Management - Assignment Example But if he happens to be inside a casino, he'd like to enjoy the latest hip music to be played along. Service quality plays a crucial role in popularizing the tourist spot and generating revenues. Some of the most important aspects of the overall service quality in visitor management are; Policies of the government: Tourist inflows to any tourist site depend on the policies and role of the federal government. For example the ancient monuments of Lord Buddha in Bamiyan (Afghanistan) bore a testimony of inept attitude of the local administration. These towering statues used to be a major tourist attraction and a revenue earner playing a crucial role in the economy of Afghanistan. Coordination with tour operators: Tour operators happen to be a smarter race in understanding the needs of the visitors and they appear to be more accessible. Tour operators can regularly include a tourist spot in the itinerary of the visitors depending upon the kind of facilities he is getting from the management of the tourist spot. To this end, the management may consider offering some discounts in the entrance fees etc. to the tour operator in lieu of consistency in visitor numbers. Operating proper guided tours: The first thing a visitor expects from the management... arly include a tourist spot in the itinerary of the visitors depending upon the kind of facilities he is getting from the management of the tourist spot. To this end, the management may consider offering some discounts in the entrance fees etc. to the tour operator in lieu of consistency in visitor numbers. Operating proper guided tours: The first thing a visitor expects from the management of a tourist spot is understandable signboards and guided tours. The visitors also require refreshments, snacks in the middle of the visit. Therefore restaurants, bars etc. should also be there. But these facilities must be developed as a support to the visits and must not in any way denigrate the ambiance of the site. For example the restaurant and bar must not become a place for partying of the hoodlums. Instead it should cater to the visitor as a place to take some rest and recoup his energy, who feels tired after visiting the site for long hours. Segmenting the visitors and identifying their needs and requirements: The visitor community could be students, archeologists, historians, nature lovers, researchers, Art lovers, young couples, party troupe etc. These different groups need some different types of marketing. Marketing strategy requires that customer's needs and interests be identified and then the visitors be divided into segments depending upon their interests and needs. For example the purpose of researchers in visiting a historical site is to historical facts, archeological features etc. while young students may take the visit as a day out and prefer to enjoy the picnic in their own way. Informative and educative sections for different segments: After having segmented the visitors, the management of site is supposed to devise marketing plan for different groups as per

International and Comparative Employment Relations Assignment

International and Comparative Employment Relations - Assignment Example The major purpose of the discussion is to compare different employment relation systems in different countries taking into the account similarities and differences along with implication for the management of employees within organisations. There is no doubt that different countries have different set of policies, rules, and protocols while managing varied kind of relationships. In the global business environment, American Model pertaining to the industrial relations is majorly followed However, this discussion will develop a European Model for industrial relations. The discussion will majorly focus on employment relation as function and system and applying it in the context of Foxconn with particular reference to the labour standards. The discussion will focus on the importance of maintaining labour standards along with analysing the benefits and challenges in a critical manner. Additionally, the discussion also revolves around examining the extent to which national patterns of employment relations exist and whether there is a shift towards a European Model of managing employee relations (Katz and Kochan, 2002). For this purpose, a critical analysis will be conducted on analysing employment relations systems in different countries along with discussing labour standards in general and in the context of Foxconn. The reason for conducting comparative analysis and discussing labour standards is based on deriving key conclusion by comparing and contrasting the existing results. In the preamble of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, it is clearly mentioned that, relations among countries in the context of trade and commerce should be conducted with a view of raising living standards along with ensuring full term employment (Harvey, et al, 2000). In the context of business organisation operating in developed and developing countries, it was found that liberalisation offered both challenges and opportunities to MNCs

Dell's Product Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dell's Product Policy - Essay Example This translates to their system having low cash conversion cycle hence cash is generated steadily. However, the system has its limitations. The low inventory held means shortage is a possibility in cases where manufacturers delay in supplying the PC chips, like in 1996. The very high dependence on on-time component supply by manufacturers poses a major threat to steady supply. In addition, changes in product means an overhaul in processes which is an expensive venture. This means that working capital can be funded through the management of inventory and cash flow cuts (Ruback & Sesia 2003). Working capital is the measure of efficiency and liquidity in a company. To obtain the computation, one needs to subtract current liabilities from the firm’s current assets. Inventory process For comparison, we assume that the cost of goods sold by the competitors remains constant. We observe that the carrying costs only depend on the DSI (Ruback & Sesia 2003). For 1995, the cost of sales = $2737, equivalent to a daily COS of 2737/365= $7.5% We make a comparison with the highest observed DSI of the competitor, Compaq, 73. Hence the inventory Compaq holds over dell is (73-32)*75=$307.5 m This means that for Compaq to acquire new goods, it has to sell its old inventory. Since new technology is 30% cheaper, Compaq incurs and an opportunity loss, given by 0.3*307.5=$92.25m Cash funding This provides a simple way for the company to grow its assets in the short term without borrowing long term. Assume we want to grow the cash by 52% for 1996 internally. The total assets denoted TA for 1995 is computed as follows: TA (1995) =1594-484=1110. As a fraction of sales, 1110/3475=0.3194 or 31.94%. Assuming that they want to hold this for 1996, the required increase in the total assets without long term investment is given by 0.3194*0.52*3475=579.37m. This should be done without the increasing account payables (as this is an external means). This means that the cumulative liabilities should be computed excluding these payables, i.e. for CL (cumulative liabilities) for 1995=1594-403 and for 1996=2184-466. The change in current assets not factoring in accounts payable is the difference in the two values, yielding a value $491m. Assuming the company adopts the same strategy of maintaining the profit generated, the net profit to sales ratio should remain constant. This value computed as 149/3475=0.0429 or 4.29%. We can determine the cash flow from net profit for 1996 by holding the sales value constant, computed as shown, .0429*1.52*3475=$226.89m, surpassing the debt level as the total cash inflow which is the sum of the net profit and the increase in liabilities against the cash outflow required for 1996 Fund growth for 1997 The increase in total assets, TA for 1996, 2148-591=1557 as ratio of sales, 1557/5296=0.294 or 29.4 %.Assuming a growth of 50% is desired, the increase in 1997 is given by 0.294*0.5*5296=778.51m. For cumulative liabilities, CA as a ratio of th e sales value is given as (2148-466)/5296=0.316 or 31.6%. Hence the cash flow from the change in the current assets in 1997 is given by 2523-(2148-466) =841m. The net profit as a ratio of sales in1996 =272/5296 = 0.0514 or 5.14%. Hence the cash flow from operating profit for 1997 is given as 0.0514*1.5*5296=408.32m.This means that Dell Corporation has the ability to fund itself in 1997 internally without external injection of capital. (Ruback & Sesia 2003) Aventis

Domino’s Sizzle with Pizza Tracker Essay Example for Free

Domino’s Sizzle with Pizza Tracker Essay Abstract The purpose of this case study is to exam how Domino’s pizza uses Information Systems to regain their share of the Home Delivery pizza market. I’ll discuss how Domino’s overcome a bad reputation and improved their product and services. I will also discuss the changes and process systems implemented along with where they currently stand in the market and with their customers. I will finish with the technology Domino’s plans to use in the future. Domino’s Pizza Sizzles with Pizza Tracker This case study discusses the impact that information systems and global e-business has had on Domino’s Pizzas’ reemergence as an industry leader in the home-delivery pizza market. It looks into what kind of systems are used, how the systems improve business performance, how their online pizza ordering system has improved the ordering process and how the systems are giving Domino’s a competitive edge. Domino’s opened in 1960 and grew to 200 stores in 1978 and currently operates almost 9000 stores worldwide and has the largest share of the approximate $15 Billion/year pizza market. They compete with Pizza Hut, Papa John’s and Little Caesar’s along with local pizza shops. Despite being one of the most well-known brands in the United States, between 2006 and 2008 Domino’s Pizza was in crisis. After leaving Pepsi, Chief Marketing Office Russell Weiner joined Domino’s and inherited a brand with plummeting sales and a bad image due to their lackluster product. A month after he joined the company, sales hit a record low of $2.83 a share in November 2008 and today, it’s up around $72 a share. (Jeff Beer, 2014). Trying to overcome the reputation of having the worst pizza, in 2009, Domino’s CEO  acknowledged in a commercial that Domino’s pizza doesn’t taste good. He apologized for its poor ingredients and promised to improve t he recipe. After that statement was made, store sales grew 14.3% the following quarter. (Forbes Magazine, 2013). Domino’s had $1.5 Billion in sales and earned $80 million in profit that year. Domino’s made their customers a promise to provide better ingredients which they did, but the most important ingredient has been the technology and investment in digital and mobile where they’ve made it faster and easier for customers to place and track orders. In 2003, Domino’s implemented a Transaction Processing System (TPS) called â€Å"Pulse† as a point-of-sale system. Pulse helps Domino’s maintain consistent and efficient management functions in each of their stores. The Data from purchases and payments from orders are captured by this computerized system and recorded. Pulse captures the information from the customer’s order such as type of crust, toppings, side dishes and delivery locations. Once the data is collected, pulse will calculate the number of pizzas and side orders sold, cost of ingredients along with delivery and customer information. The stores in which Pulse was installed reported improved customer services, reduced mistakes and shorter training times. Domino’s most recently updated to â€Å"Pulse Evolution† which is faster, less expensive and easier to maintain. From an operational standpoint, you can use Information Systems to gain a cost advantage over competitors or to differentiate yourself by offering better customer service. (Bert Markgraf, 2015). Since January 2010, shares of Domino’s have significantly surpassed the competition rising 750% while Papa John’s grew 193% and Pizza Hut grew 93%. The Story was the same in 2013 with Domino’s shares increasing 51% while Papa John’s shares increased 30% and Pizza Hut shares were flat for the year. (Forbes, 2013). The latest innovation from  Domino’s (Pizza Tracker) allows a customer to watch a simulated version of their pizza being made all the way through to the finished product. This is another way that Domino’s has used Information Systems and E-Business to reach their customers. The Journal of General Management several success factors for e-commerce. Support self-service in which a web user should be enabled to complete transactions with ease. Nurture customer relationships where up front efforts should focus on increasing customer loyalty, not necessarily maximizing sales. Target a market of one where each customer should be treated as an individual market. Build communities of interest. A company should make its web site a destination that customers look forward to visiting, not simply a resource people use because they have to conduct a transaction. Online ordering has become the cornerstone of Domino’s business with IPad apps such as pizza tracker, pizza hero, customer pizza profiles and the newest featuring a 3-D pizza builder. Domino’s research shows customers by pizza 21 times each year; it gets six or seven of those orders and a similar amount might go to Pizza Hut which showed them that loyalty was not strong. (Forbes, 2013). Along with Pizza Tracker, Domino’s Pizza Profiles have helped retain customers and generate more loyalty from customers. Pizza Profiles allow customers who order online to save their information and reorder their favorite order in as little as five clicks, or about 30 seconds. The company now has mobile apps to cover about 95% of smartphones  and says it generates $2 billion in global digital sales per year of which 35% is driven by mobile. (Forbes, 2013). Domino’s locations are opening faster than Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Pizza Hut and McDonalds since 2008 and have used Business Systems to its fullest to rise to the top. The biggest single department at Domino’s headquarters is now IT and they’re starting to also be known as a Tech company. (Jeff Beer, 2014) Coming soon is the â€Å"DomiCopter† which is a remote controlled  drone that delivers their product. Domino’s has run several tests and may soon introduce the delivery service to the market. REFERENCES 1. Touryalai, H. â€Å"Technology, not pizza, helps Domino’s crush competitors and grow faster than McDonald’s overseas.† Forbes 15 Oct 2013; web 2. Beer, J (2014, May 22). â€Å"How Domino’s became a tech company.† Retrieved from http://www.fastcocreate.com/3030869/behind-the-brand/how-dominos-became-a-tech-company. 3. Markgraf, B (2015, January 14). â€Å"Importance of information systems in an organization.† Retrieved from http://www.smallbusiness.chron.com 4. Barnatt, C. â€Å"Embracing E-Business.† Journal of General Management, 2004; 89 – 97.

Childhood Obesity Essay Example for Free

Childhood Obesity Essay Childhood obesity is a growing health concern nationwide. Obesity is a disorder in which the body fat content has become so high that it creates health problems and increased risk of health problems (Childhood Obesity: An Overview. Children Society, 21(5), 390-396). Doctors agree that there are two primary factors in creating obese children. First, the children and teenagers are not eating the right kinds of foods. Second, Americas children are getting less and less exercise on a daily basis. The effects of childhood obesity can be very serious and often include both physical and psychological effects on the lives of the children who are affected. Children that are obese go through a lot of different situations that allow them to become more prone to a mental illness. There are several causes for childhood obesity. Technology plays a big role in childhood obesity in today’s society. The biggest cause of childhood obesity is the lack of parenting. Childhood obesity can be prevented. It is best to prevent it from happening than to have to obtain a treatment for it. Childhood obesity plays a major impact on children up into adulthood and even has a role in the decisions an individual makes. Children that are obese have physical limitations. Most children usually take a liking into some type of physical activity whether it is playing a sport or just running around the yard for fun. Those actions are the normal expected actions of any child by both society and most of all parents. It is very difficult for a child when he or she is excluded from or limited to a certain amount of a physical activity due to weight related issues. Some children do not take rejection very well in any way, shape, or form. Obese children fall subject to a variety of physical and perceived physical barriers. Living an active lifestyle is difficult for an obese child. Obese children often go through a cycle of inactivity and poor health which creates more and more of a problem. Some of these problems that inactivity and poor health cause include asthma, joint pain and increased musculoskeletal stress, orthopedic problems, and psychosocial morbidity. When it comes to physical activity it is common in obese people to have the feeling of being too heavy in order to perform any physical activities. It is almost impossible for an obese child to just jump into heavy doses of high intensity physical activity. It is preferred that an obese child take a slow approach with light low-intensity physical activities in order to reach a better health. Obesity is associated with early mortality and has overtaken smoking as the health problem with the greatest impact on quality of life, mortality, and morbidity (Canadian Journal Of Psychiatry, 57(1), 13-20). The physical effects are often similar to the effects that are faced by adults who are obese, the psychological effects can sometimes be much, much worse because of the negative impact these issues can place on a still developing child. Mental illness is a significant factor that associates with obesity. Most people hear the term obese and mainly think of it as a physical condition. Obesity can be both physical and mental. From a behavioral perspective, mental illness is often characterized by a symptom profile that impacts energy, appetite, and motivation, and is more likely to be associated with unhealthy lifestyle factors, such as smoking, alcohol, and drug use. This makes exercise and healthy nutritional choices more difficult to implement (Canadian Journal Of Psychiatry, 57(1), 13-20). There is on individual on the face of this earth that smokes, drinks, or uses any recreational drugs that can still perform heavy doses of high intensity activities on a regular basis. The most common mental condition that is found it obese children is low self-esteem. Most people do not realize how much detrimental comments affect these children. The majority of children who are obese are faced with constant and persistent ridicule. The sad part about this situation is that the ridicule does not come from just other children but adults as well. The results of constant ridicule may lead a child to believe that they are worth anything which makes them feel as if there is no reason for them to even try to amount to anything. When anyone has that belief in their head it blocks that person from not caring about their life as a whole. This leads to a variety of problems all on its own. Success is something that may never be strived for by a child or adult that loses the mental battle that comes along with obesity. Studies show that children that are obese are at a higher risk of emotional problems that often carry over into adulthood. The study also reported that obese boys and girls with low self-esteem had higher rates of loneliness, sadness and nervousness. These children were more likely to smoke and drink alcohol compared with obese children with normal self-esteem. Depression, often an outcome of low self-esteem, affects as many as 750,000 teens in the U. S. (Source: Pediatrics, Childhood Obesity and Self-Esteem, January 2000. ) Untreated depression is recently passed upon but is a cause and effect of childhood obesity. Technology is at an all-time high. The technological age has resulted in children spending prolonged hours in front of television (TV) and computer screens. Lots of children are more interested in the technology than the usual interest of physical activity. Television shows, the internet, mobile phones, and video games occupy most children’s attention for great amounts of time every day. The rapid growth of technology is grasping the attention of the youth. The new lifestyle that has taken over the lives’ of the youth leaves little time for them to exercise. This lifestyle reduces the amount of physical activity and it is far from the lifestyle that their parents may have enjoyed many years ago. Parks are not as used as they often were and playgrounds are not as busy as they used to be. All of that is replaced with computers, laptops, handheld games, and anything that involves little or no physical movement. Health researchers suggest no television at all for children aged less than two years and not more than two hours of viewing for children aged more than two years. Most importantly it’s unhealthy to provide your child a separate television or computer in his room. More time spent on television and computer playing video games or computer games means less time spent on healthy physical activities. Nintendo did have one breakthrough when they the WII system to the world. This games forces children to get up out of their seats and move in order to play the game. Children are limited to the use of certain technology while at school, but at home the use of technology is at the discretion of the parent. Most children would rather sit inside all day with technology and constantly intake major calories without burning any. On a daily basis this can add some major pounds and create bad habits. Technology is great to have but it must not be abused by any individual. More than 25 million students use the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) daily, while approximately 7 million utilize the National School Breakfast Program (NSBP) daily. The public school systems have started programs that assure that each child is being fed healthy foods and that each child has the required physical activity to go along with an education. School programs that encourage physical activity are important for increasing childrens energy expenditure; because children are less likely to participate in physical activity in the absence of adult supervision (Am J Public Health. 001;91:618-620). The education and health of children are prominent considerations in the 21st century. Schools have always had a traditional focus on increasing literacy and numeracy proficiency in children, but now they are increasingly being tasked with preventing obesity as well. Regular physical activity is directly implicated in the prevention of childhood obesity; there is evidence, however, that it may also benefit cognitive development(American Journal Of Public Health, 102). Physical education (PE) in schools is an ideal vehicle by which to promote physical activity in children because it is available to all children, and teachers have the opportunity to integrate it into the overall education process (American Journal Of Public Health, 102). The public school system has a major impact on the determination of what children are exposed to. Starting the concern for kid’s health at an early age is a head start for the future. The impact on the lives of kids early may be the influence each child needs in order to make healthy decisions in the run of life. Parenting is the best prevention method that exists today for childhood obesity. Parents may miss or just don’t ever think about the actions that they perform around their kids. Children are followers, so most kids are reflections of their parents. Parents can help prevent obesity by having the knowledge of nutritional facts, by the food available in the household, by the parents’ eating habits, encouragement of activity, parents’ activity pattern, the current weight of the parent and by monitoring the time spent with the new age technology that requires little or no physical movement. Old sayings often make people believe that obesity is genetic. This is not a true statement. Every adult has control over what their physical appearance would be. Children need a good role model physically. Parents are the perfect role models for this job. Parents have the biggest and most effect on the lives of their children. Parents should be very concerned with the health of their children at a very early age. Some of the schools are now offering to the parents a few courses that are very direct about proper nutrition and exercise. Also the lunch menu for the week is sent home in advance to inform the parents of what type of foods and snacks that their children are consuming on a daily basis. People are still in belief when it comes to kids that it is ok for them to eat anything. Proper nutrition plays a very big role in the development of a child , both physical and mental. Keeping the kids in the habit of eating healthy has very great benefits in the long run. The mixture of fast food diets along with sedentary lifestyles is creating a generation of children who are facing very adult health issues like high cholesterol, diabetes and heart disease. Preventing obesity, or even slowing the dramatic rate of increase in obesity prevalence, will probably require societal changes which facilitate the modification of diet and physical activity by children and their families (Childhood Obesity: An Overview. Children Society, 21(5), 390-396). Technology will continue to rise rapidly. Most children are more attracted to prolonged hours of sitting with some type of technology rather than to get up and be active. The society revolves around the use of technology, both mobile and stationary. Public schools are implementing new programs that will reflect the proper nutrition and exercise required for each child. Schools also have the potential to influence students beliefs and attitudes regarding nutrition and weight control. Parents are the best prevention method against obesity. Parents have the control over each and every cause of childhood obesity. Every child looks up to their parent and someday may want to follow in their footsteps. The result of the footsteps each child takes is heavily depended upon the parent.

Internal Marketing in Banks

Internal Marketing in Banks Management Information System The worlds local bank About HSBC BANK Headquartered in London, HSBC is one of the largest banking and financial services organizations in the world. HSBCs international network comprises around 9,500 offices in 85 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa. With listings on the London, Hong Kong, New York, Paris and Bermuda stock exchanges, shares in HSBC Holdings plc are held by around 200,000 shareholders in some 100 countries and territories. The shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange in the form of American Depositary Receipts. Through an international network linked by advanced technology, including a rapidly growing e-commerce capability, HSBC provides a comprehensive range of financial services: personal financial services; commercial banking; corporate, investment banking and markets; private banking; and other activities. History The HSBC Group has an international pedigree which is unique. Many of its principal companies opened for business over a century ago and they have a history which is rich in variety and achievement. The HSBC Group is named after its founding member, The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, which was established in 1865 to finance the growing trade between China and Europe. Internal Marketing in HSBC BANK 1. Target Base Promotion Offers Under one of the Policies of the Bank, it provides the promotion depending upon the target which is met by the employees on the quarterly basis. The employees who will achieve the target get the Incentive and the next month foreign tours. For example on the target of the 8account opening, if any employee opens 10 accounts then he is given next month foreign trip. Thus the prompt target based promotion builds up employee’s motivation to give better services to the customer 2. Hierarchal form of Management HSBC BANK have a hierarchal form whereby each employee is answerable to one of the senior and this makes the obligation on the employees to motivate one to the other . The burden of business is transferred from one employee to the other in such a way that each one is responsible for the other performance. This way each internal customer is able be keep under the eye of its superior. Moreover the communication link which is important for a service industry is possible with the help of the this management system. 3. Event Management Under this head various events are organized from time to time in the banks to lure the high professionals for example Sales Tax Advocates, Income Tax Advocates and the Chartered Accountants etc so that external marketing could be more effective. Now the responsibilities of these events are on the internal customers and if they organize these events successfully it add on the credibility and the profitability of the internal customers and they are awarded with the various recognition prizes and awards for there effective leadership skills. This also helps to build up a relationship between the internal and external employees. 4. On The Roll Training High focus is always there on the training aspect of the internal customers. Training of the employees are given due importance from time to time and with the touch points of Human Resources for example whenever Bank want to design training schedule for its internal customers, it design it in the Five –star hotels with all the luxuries there out with all the facilities away from there routine work so this enables the internal employees to be stress-free and grasp the training modules practically. As an HR policy this enables the employees to increase in there efficiency and feel free from the routine work. As a result the employees will be able to add on more practical knowledge to it , when they return to there work. This is one of the prominent factor of the foreign Banks that they stress on the training module of the internal employees , which give them a chance to be more interactive with the other professionals of other branches and if they facing any problem they can sor t out with the help of the various training modules 5. Strong Management Information System Strong MIS base is one of the basic strength of any Foreign Bank, So in HSBC Bank also holds a good MIS system for example here the reporting system is so designed so as to provide no chaos among the internal employees and they can easily report to there seniors online only. 6. Online Tests/Quizzes/Learning Modules These tests are specially designed for every class of the employees in the HSBC so as to increase the handling efficiency of the internal customers with the help if of the case studies and the real life examples. Some of them are basic modules and they have to be cleared by the internal customers and some are there just to give them ranking by the HR professional which add-on to the character sketch of the employees and help them to be rated accordingly. 7. Systematic Employees coding Under this head the internal customers (employees) are given the Employee Code and the People Shop Code. Employee code is given to the employees so as to assess their performance, rating grading whereas the PS is given to the facility of the HR department so that the various online tests, HR activities n be handled conveniently. Thus we can see that how effectively the separate identification no for the Human resource convenience is given which benefit each and every internal customer separately. 8. Excellent Information Technology HSBC Bank has tied up with SAP in Asia to enhance the financial institutions bank corporate client integration system targeted for use globally. The improved system also has the potential to enable the exchange of richer information between HSBC and its business customers, according to the bank. HSBC currently offers a service that provides corporate clients access to an automated host-to-host system to facilitate secure transactions. Called HSBC Connect, the service enables the back-end systems of the bank and its enterprise customers to communicate seamlessly and securely. 9. Recreational Activities Time to time recreational activities are designed for the internal customer so as to decrease the stress of the employees. For example visit to Jim Corbett Park with full fledged facilities are provided to the employees. Thus as a foreign Bank internal marketing strategy they always focus on the Human resource aspect of the internal employees by provided the employee friendly environment with the help of the various recreational activities. 10. Employees Rating HSBC BANK has full-proof rating system whereby the employees are divided into the four categories as 1st 2nd 3rd and 4th .The level of the employees are rated according to this rating. Currently 1st batch rating is not given in HSBC India but it have been achieved by the international HSBC superiors. 11. Customer Friendly Environment As a internal customer friendly environment the internal customers are given flexible time allotment which makes the environment of the Bank more friendly. Basic amenities being a service sector is well considered in the foreign banks which actually amounts to the total increased efficiency American Express Service India Ltd Certain facts: A survey wad conducted by India Today in which 20 most reputed foreign banks were surveyed on certain parameters and American Express ranked 6th in Employee Satisfaction. (Source: India Today , June 2008 issue) American Express ranks 9th in the list of Fortune 500 companies.It comes under the A++ Category. Service Blueprint of American Express. Following are the steps involved in making their credit cards available to their customers:-1) Call to customer 2) Appointment 3) Meet customer 4) Documentation 5) Employee back to office 6) Prepare Dispatch 7) Send an E-mail to the processing department 8) Verification 9) Dump (rejection) 10) Card Approval 11) Card Issue 12) Payment 1) Call to customer :-A prior database is prepared of the prospective customers and they are called randomly by the tele callers of American Express. The details are narrated to them over the phone and those interested are promptly followed up. 2) Appointments :-The tele callers fix an appointment of the Relationship Officers with the interested customers. 3) Meet Customer :-A venue and time is decided according to the convenience of the customers and the Relationship Officer meets the customer as per the appointment fixed. 4) Documentation:- The Relationship officer asks the pre-requisites like personal details, type of credit card desired , what all are previously held by the prospect, etc. and the Relationship officer is required to verify all the details. 5) Employee back to office:-The relationship officer comes back to the office after collecting all the relevant details and prepares a summary of the case. 6) Prepare Dispatch :-The Relationship officer prepares a soft copy as well as a hard copy to be sent to the processing department. 7) Send an E-mail to the processing department :- The soft copy is mailed by the Relationship Officer to the processing department. 8) Verification:- The processing Department checks for the authenticity of the prospective client. They search their past records as to whether or not they have had any prior contact with the prospect. If in case it is revealed that their has been a prior association and the prospect was a defaulter in that case then they come in the category of â€Å"Cibil† clients. 9) Dump (rejection) :- The Cibil clients are simply rejected. 10) Card Approval:-A list of those customers is prepared who can be granted the credit cards. 11) Card Issue:- Thereafter, the card is issued to the customers. 12) Payment :-The bank sends the statement to the customers after one month and the customers are supposed to make their payment within a span of 45 days. Hierarchy of American Express Internal Marketing In American Express Bank The responsibility of dealing with the customers at American Express is on two people Recruitment: Both the telecallers and Relationship Officers are hired through consultants. However, holding an M.B.A. degree is a must for the Relationship Officer. In case the person does not hold an M.B.A Degree then he is expected to have served in the same industry for a period of not less than 3 years. The Relationship Officer is expected to have a dynamic personality, excellent Communication skills, good motivator, should have good convincing powers, etc. All these attributes are necessary because the Relationship Officer is the person who makes the direct contact with the prospective customers. He has the maximum â€Å"Encounters† with the customers. Training: The American Express bank has hired an International body, which provides training in Bangalore and Delhi in the five star hotels. The duration of training is 10-15 days. Training is provided at all the levels. The new employees are told about the history of the company, the company profile, their services, customer profile, area/location, market share, competitors and industry associates. It is basically a knowledge enhancing session. The trainer asks the new employee to deal with him as a customer. These will provide relevant insight as to how he reacts to customer queries and such training prepares him for crucial service encounters. Appraisal: The Appraisal System at American Express is Target Achievement oriented. The KPAs and KRA’s are predefined. A target of 21 points is given to them in a month on the basis of their dealing with the Externals and Internals. Externals are first time users and Internals are those that had a previous association. If a deal is done with Externals they get 3 -1/2 points and if with Internals they get 1 point. In the end their appraiser combines all the points and on the basis of that they are given rewards, promotions, demotions, counseling, training, etc, as the case may be. Employees are also appraised on the basis of the category they belong to: G TargetsM – Interpersonal Skills G1 M1 – Targets over achieved and excellent interpersonal skills.G2 M2 – 100% achievement of targets and good interpersonal skills.G3 M3 – 50%– 60% achievement of targets and average interpersonal skills.G4 M4 – Targets not achieved and poor interpersonal skills. Culture :-Core Culture :- Quality, cleanliness, service and price.â€Å" The paramount idiom in American Express is total customer satisfaction†.There is no job pressure and since the employees are highly satisfied and motivated sothey service they provide to the customer is also very satisfactory. Strategies for Internal Marketing Adopted By American Express Bank Ltd. FAIR PRACTICES CODE FOR CREDIT CARD OPERATIONS American Express Bank Ltd. (hereinafter referred to ‘the Bank’) has a reputation for customer service and sound compliance. The Bank has various policies and procedures that govern its business activities and operations. Further, the Bank has compliance and other internal programs designed to ensure compliance with laws and regulations of countries where it does business. This Fair Practice Code (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Code’) for credit card operations is designed to guide and demonstrate the Bank’s commitment to fair and ethical management of its business activities operations related to issuance of cards, customer service and other related activities. BANK’S VISION AND OPERATING PRINCIPLES Vision: To become the worlds most respected service brand. Operating Principles: We must provide a superior value proposition to Everything we do shouldØWe must achieve Best-in-Class EconomicsØcustomersØour BrandØsupport the American Express BUSINESS ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE WITH THE LAW The Bank and its employees shall ensure that ethical conduct shall permeate all our business dealings and relationships. In a rapidly evolving credit card business, the Bank and its employees shall ensure ethical conduct in offering products and services, business activities, operations and customer services. The Bank shall conduct its business in accordance with applicable laws and regulations The Bank has competent individuals managing regulatory affairs and advising business leaders about compliance requirements. The Bank has a sound compliance program to ensure high level of compliance to applicable laws and regulations. CARDS – SALES AND MARKETING The Bank shall provide full and complete disclosure of products and services, their features and costs to enable a prospective customer to make an informed decision / choice The Bank shall provide information on: Applicable fees Key features of our products and services particulars, Documents required with regard to identity, contact and other charges How a customer’s personal information §employment, financial standing, etc. Terms Details of Bank contact for seeking additional information shall be used billing and payment, and conditions related to fees and interest charges, other aspects related to maintenance and §renewal, termination procedures and card accounts. management of The Bank’s advertising and marketing campaigns shall use truthful and whole statements about Bank’s products and services The Bank shall ensure that the whole of an advertisement is truthful, shall inform customers of costs and obligations as well as benefits and features. The advertisements may not mislead by using tricky or clever wording. The Bank shall have a Code of Conduct for its agents and others who sell, distribute or otherwise market Bank’s card products. The Bank shall ensure that all agents who sell, distribute or otherwise market Bank’s card products have a Code of Conduct for their dealings with prospective customers and Cardmembers. The Bank shall have monitoring process in place to review the agent’s compliance to this code, at regular intervals. CARD OPERATIONS AND CUSTOMER SERVICE The Bank shall have effective processes and systems to ensure quality in operations and customer service The Bank shall maintain effective processes and systems to maintain quality in following card operations activities: Timely § Dispatch §decision to customers §processing for applications and communication of communication to inform about §of credit card in a secured mode and follow-up Availability of contact centers such as telephone service §issuance of card centers for customers to contact for information or queries on products, services and related subjects Timely dispatch of credit card statements Timely processing of payments received from credit card customers Receipt and satisfactory disposition of customer correspondences and complaints The Bank may have processes to honor customers’ choices and preferences during the period of customer relationship The Bank may have processes to honor customers’ choices with regard to the following, subject to certain terms and conditions: Change of payment modes within types offered by the Bank Opting out from receipt of Bank’s marketing and promotional materials Voluntary termination of credit card facility The Bank shall treat customers with respect and dignity during collection efforts The Bank has policies and employee training programs to guide employees to exhibit courteous and fair behavior during collection efforts. The Bank shall ensure that all collection and recovery agents have a Fair Practice Code for their dealings with the customers.The Bank shall have monitoring process in place to review the agent’s compliance to this code, at regular intervals. CUSTOMER PRIVACY The Bank shall safeguard the privacy, confidentiality and security of customer data entrusted with it. The Bank has privacy principles to ensure that the customer information collected is relevant, accurate and confidential. The Bank has adequate standards to protect customer accounts and information. These standards allow customers to remove their names from lists used for mail, telephone and online marketing. All employees shall be trained in customer privacy principles as appropriate to their work. FAIR COMPETITION The Bank shall comply fully with the letter and spirit of laws designed to preserve free and open competition The Bank strongly supports vigorous but fair competition. The Bank shall make completely factual and truthful statements about our own products or those of our competitions, whether in advertising or in speaking to customers or others The making of false or misleading statements about our competitors is inconsistent with our reputation for integrity. The Bank and its employees shall deal fairly and honestly with all customers and suppliers. COMPLIANCE WITH THE CODE This is a non-statutory code and the Bank shall take efforts to adhere to it during normal operating environment. The Bank shall not be held responsible for non-compliance due to force major conditions and other reasons for which the Bank enjoys privilege and right over the code. This code does not in anyway prevent the Bank from exercising its rights and discharging its duties and obligations under law, regulations, agreement, terms and conditions, etc. in force and varied from time to time. Process Of On-Line Marketing through excellent Internal Marketing Practices At American Express Bank Information Collection If the customer is not registered for any online service from American Express, he can browse the Site anonymously. They do not collect personal information such as the customer’s name, address, phone number or e-mail address if you are only browsing this site. American Express does, however, use cookies to collect information about how our site is used. Information, such as the server your computer is logged onto, the customer’s browser type (for example, Netscape or Internet Explorer), and whether the customer responded to an American Express banner ad or e-mail is collected and tracked in aggregate and not linked to you personally. They use this information to measure response rates to banner ads and e-mail offers. Registration for Online Products and Services If the customers want to apply for or take advantage of our online products or services, the Bank will need them to give us some personal information, including their e-mail address and account number. The bank only collect information about the customer, which they need to process application, to service accounts and other needs, to offer new products and services, and to satisfy legal requirements. The Bank will also use this information for purposes such as correspondence, site registration, allowing customers to check your statement or other account details online, to make a purchase, or to participate in online surveys etc. The Bank will also share such information with our affiliates and other for the purposes described elsewhere in this Statement. Quality of Information The Bank uses advanced technology, documented employee procedures and internal monitoring to help ensure that the personal information is accurate and up-to-date. In addition, they require high standards of quality from credit reporting agencies and others who provide us with information about prospective customers or other services. Security Before you can send confidential personal information or account information to us on an American Express Web site, we require that a secure session is set up using Secure Socket Layer (SSL). About SSL and the safety and confidentiality of personal information transmissions over the Internet. They use a range of security processes to protect the confidentiality and security of your personal information CONCLUSION In this section, we attempt to review the important and role of internal marketing in foreign banks of India. Service sector contributes major part of gdp of India. And is one of the most sectors which have too much potential in the sector. There is approx 10% growth in financial sector every year. And hence it’s very important to have continues reforms in that area. India’s leading bank is SBI, there are number of public and private banks too having good market. Still a number of people didn’t want to go on for banks because of fear of all the different technicalities and other factors. It’s in mind of customers that they have to run from 1 place to other without any result and there money in not secure. So now banks are paying more stress in internal marketing. With the liberalization of economy few foreign banks have entered in India and with that new techniques of marketing are growing. This study is to know the internal marketing of foreign banks especially American bank and HSBC. Foreign banks pays quite stress on the internal marketing because in services customer have to deal with employees directly and its quite important to have a proper selection process too. In service sector more than marketing word of mouth plays important role, a satisfied customer will lead to many more customers. And foreign players are quite good in implementing this concept in there work process. Now Indian banks are laso using the concept of internal marketing effectively. Bibliography WEBSITES www.online.citibank.co.in www.hsbc.co.in https://home.americanexpress.com/corp www.db.com www.deutschebank.co.in www.teachermarketing.com www.poolonline.com/archives/iss5fea2.html