Stefan’s Diaries: Origins Chapter 25

Excitement coursed through my veins as I stole out of the house, across the dew-dropped lawn, and toward the carriage house. I slid past Emily, who held the door open for me, and bounded up the stairs. I no longer needed the candle to find my way to Katherine. There, in the bedroom, she was wearing her simple cotton nightdress and absentmindedly swinging a crystal necklace that sparkled in the moonlight. â€Å"I think Father may be persuaded to call off the siege. At least he's willing to talk. I know I'll be able to change his mind,† I exclaimed, twirling her around the room. I expected her to clap with glee, for her smile to mirror my own. But instead Katherine disengaged herself from my grip and placed the crystal on her nightstand. â€Å"I knew you were the man for the job,† she said, not looking at me. â€Å"Better than Damon?† I asked, unable to resist. Finally Katherine smiled. â€Å"Y need to stop ou comparing yourself to Damon.† She stepped closer to me and grazed my cheek with her lips. I shivered with pleasure as Katherine pulled my body toward hers. I held her tightly, feeling her back through the thin cotton of her nightdress. She kissed my lips, then my jaw, running her lips, feather light, down the curve of my neck. I moaned and pulled her even closer, needing to feel all of her against all of me. Then she plunged her teeth into my neck. I let out a strangled gasp of pain and ecstasy as I felt her teeth inside my skin, felt her draw blood from me. It felt as though a thousand knives were piercing my neck. Still I held her more tightly, wanting to feel her mouth on my skin, wanting to fully submit myself to the pain that fed her. Just as suddenly as she bit me, Katherine broke away, her dark eyes on fire, agony etched on her face. A small stream of blood trickled from the corner of her lip, and her mouth twisted in excruciating pain. â€Å"Vervain,† she gasped, stepping backward until she collapsed on the bed in pain. â€Å"What have you done?† â€Å"Katherine!† I put my hands to her chest, my lips to her mouth, trying desperately to heal her the way she had healed me back in the forest. But she pushed me away, writhing on the bed, clutching her hands to her mouth. It was as if she were being tortured by an unseen hand. Tears of agony spilled from her eyes. â€Å"Why did you do this?† Katherine clutched her throat and closed her eyes, her breath slowing into guttural gasps. Every anguished cry from Katherine felt like a small stake in my own heart. â€Å"I didn't! Father!† I shouted as the dizzying events of that evening occurred to me. My brandy. Father. He knew . There was a clatter from downstairs, and then Father burst in. â€Å"Vampire!† he roared, holding up a crudely made stake. Katherine writhed on the floor in pain, shrieking in a high-pitched tone I'd never heard before. â€Å"Father!† I shouted, holding my hands up as he used his boot to prod Katherine. She moaned, her arms and legs kicking in opposite directions. â€Å"Katherine!† I fell to my knees and held Katherine's body close in my arms. She shrieked, her eyes rolling back so all I could see was white. Foam appeared at the corner of her blood-caked lips, as though she were a rabid animal. I gaped in horror and let go, her body falling to the floor with a sickening thud. I inched back, sitting on my heels and gazing at the ceiling as if in prayer. I couldn't face Katherine, and I couldn't face Father. Katherine let out another high-pitched wail as Father prodded her with his stake. She reared up –foaming at the mouth, her fangs bared, her eyes wild and unseeing–before falling back in a writhing pile. Bile rose in my throat. Who was this monster? â€Å"Get up.† Father dragged me to my feet. â€Å"Don't you see, Stefan? Don't you see her true nature?† I gazed down at Katherine. Her dark curls were matted to her forehead by sweat, her dark eyes were wide and bloodshot, her teeth were covered with foam, and her entire body was shaking. I didn't recognize any part of her. â€Å"Go get Sheriff Forbes. Tell him we have a vampire.† I stood transfixed in horror, unable to take a step in any direction. My head pounded, my thoughts whirled in a confused tangle. I loved Katherine. Loved her. Right? So why now did this †¦ creature disgust me? â€Å"I did not raise my sons to be weak,† Father roared, shoving a bundle of vervain in my shirt pocket. â€Å"Now go!† My breath came in deep rasps. The heat was suddenly stifling, unbearable. I couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't do anything. All I knew was that I couldn't stand being in that room for one second longer. Without a backward glance at my father or at the vampire writhing on the floor, I rushed out of the house, taking the steps three at a time, and raced for the road.

Jonathan Swift Contrast

Thesis statement: In the satire â€Å"A Modest Proposal,† Jonathan Swift addresses a problem that is extremely serious on a grand scale and uses a somber tone to present his solution; however, in the parody â€Å"An Innocent Proposal,† Benjamen Pewitt refers to a less significant concern and his plan to fix it is meant to be hilarious. I. Problem A. Swift B. Pewitt II. Solution A. Swift B. Pewitt Most people have watched and probably laughed at the television series South Park or the movie Spaceballs. These are two great examples of satire and a parody.Satires and parodies are created in all kinds of formats from movies and television shows to music, books, and plays. One of their main purposes is to entertain the audience, and most of the time they are extremely humorous. But they are also created for very specific reasons. For example, the Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines satire as â€Å"a literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn . † An example is in an episode of South Park when Stan’s girlfriend breaks up with him because his Facebook status is single. This makes fun of America’s obsession with Facebook.As further noted by Merriam-Webster a parody is â€Å"A literary or musical work in which the style of the author or work is closely imitated for comic effect or in ridicule. † Spaceballs is a great representation of this definition because it mocks Star Wars, and the entire plot for the movie is based on Star Wars. In the satire â€Å"A Modest Proposal† Jonathan Swift addresses a problem that is extremely serious on a grand scale and uses a somber tone to present his solution; however, in the parody â€Å"An Innocent Proposal† Benjamen Pewitt refers to a less significant concern, and his plan to fix it is meant to be hilarious.Swift’s home country, Ireland, is in a dire state of need, and they are becoming desperate. People’s lives are at stake if sign ificant obstacles are not soon overcome. Jane E. Aaron, the author of the textbook 40 Model Essays, best summarizes the situation by writing, â€Å"Several years of crop failures had resulted in widespread starvation among the Irish poor, yet the government of England†¦and the well-to-do Irish had done nothing to help† (356). This reveals the causes of this disaster. Swift illustrates the severity of the problem when he states, â€Å"It is a melancholy object to . . see the streets, roads, and cabin doors, crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags and importuning every passenger for an alms† (357). This really paints a picture of how disgusting the streets of Ireland are becoming. Swift talks about how this is ruining the future of Ireland when he says these poor children of Ireland grow up, and they â€Å"either turn thieves for want of work, or leave their dear native country to fight for the Pretender in Spai n, or sell themselves to the Barbados† (357).Therefore, if this tragedy in Ireland is not soon fixed, then the Irish society may collapse. In contrast, Pewitt writes about a minor problem occurring in high schools everywhere, which is the public display of affection. In a truly accurate assessment, Pewitt points out, â€Å"It is definitely a disgusting sight to see a person pinned to the wall and has become a distraction to both the participant and the innocent passerby† (45). It is indeed highly painful to watch this happen, but nowhere near as hurtful to see women and children stealing and â€Å"begging† for food in the â€Å"streets of Ireland. Public display of affection is just one of many small disciplinary hurdles for high schools to overcome, on the other hand the obstacle in Ireland is the main concern for the future of the entire country. Another statement that demonstrates the level of difference between the two problems is when Pewitt opens his essay by insisting â€Å"High school administrators, react now and save many minutes of valuable time and reduce your stress level tremendously† (45). Pewitt is concerned with teacher’s free time and â€Å"stress level,† however Swift is trying to save the entire country of Ireland from â€Å"widespread starvation.Although public display of affection is not a very pleasant sight to see and is a growing concern in High Schools, it is not nearly a disaster to the same magnitude as a collapsing society. The solution given by Swift in his essay is intended to be taken very seriously. Even though it is not realistic, he uses a very somber tone as he reveals it. His proposal is for his country to actually use the babies in â€Å"rags† that are burdens on their mothers to â€Å"contribute to the feeding, and partly to the clothing, of many thousands. This way the mothers will have fewer expenses to worry about, and they can actually make extra money by selling thei r babies for lots of value if they are properly fed for nutritional purposes. Also the whole country would benefit because these babies would help feed many more people since crops are not producing enough. He presents this outrageous claim in such a serious manner in order to get people’s attention, and to show them how desperately they need an answer. He implies they might as well start killing babies if any type of effort is not put forth to help, otherwise people are going to keep dying anyway if nothing else is done.His somber tone is crucial in his attempt to make the audience aware of the intensity of this tragedy and convince them that action needs to take place soon. On the contrary, the plan asserted by Pewitt seems meaningless therefore is intended more for entertainment. There is no real threat the public display of affection really poses, and it is something that will continue to happen in future no matter what is done. In other words, Pewitt is mocking the work of Swift, and is simply trying to get a good laugh from his audience.His solution to the public display of affection is an â€Å"easily accessible fornication grotto. † He explains the â€Å"grotto† will include â€Å"soft beds and couches, and some very low Barry White music to set the mood†(45) and even a â€Å"professional advisor† to help coach. This shows how sarcastic Pewitt really gets in the humorous tone he uses. In summary, Swift is genuinely trying to fix a problem which may produce severe consequences by suggesting a ridiculous solution to get people’s attention, and Pewitt parodies his work by sarcastically suggesting the most hilarious plan imaginable.Swift and Pewitt use two totally different approaches to answering two totally different problems, and they do this for two completely different reasons. Swift attempts to save the country of Ireland with the use of satire. He writes in a somber tone and offers his unrealistic plan of ea ting babies to get people’s attention and open their eyes to how dire the situation is becoming. This outrageous idea Swift has came up with serves as â€Å"ridicule† toward the Irish people for not taking any action.He is telling them if they are not going to think of something they might as well resort to his plan, because people are dying anyway. Pewitt, on the other hand, presents his â€Å"fornication grotto† as a sarcastically ridiculous answer for public display of affection as a parody to the work of Swift. Although, his concern is meaningless in contrast to Swift’s, and this is why his tone is not to be taken seriously. Swift’s satire was written for an extremely important cause, and all Pewitt wants in his parody is a good laugh.

Explanatory Synthesis Hydrogen Fuel May Be The Future Essay

Explanatory Synthesis Hydrogen Fuel May Be The Future - Essay Example Hydrogen power is also very friendly to the environment. Air pollution has been reduced tremendously with the use of the hydrogen energy. Vehicles are not machines that can be carried around like iPods. They use fuel that cost the owners so much to buy fuel. For this reason, the automakers worldwide not just in the USA but also in Germany and Russia have been rethinking the way in which they can do away with the internal combustion in the cars due to the threat to the environment. Replacing the internal combustion engines that are usually fueled by the petroleum products can be very expensive. Due to this reason, the car makers have come up with various ways of replacing the internal combustion with: hydrogen power, ethanol power and mostly the electric power. The advantages of the internal combustion engine are that it is cheap. It also has a high level of durability as compared to the other forms of energy. The disadvantage of the internal combustion engine is that the high oil pri ces in the world today make vehicle users shy away from using their cars on a daily basis. The major advantage of gasoline and diesel over hydrogen power is that they are usually very cheap to transport and can be stored with much ease. Another dominant factor is that the two give more power per gallon compared to the other kinds of fuels. To use the other forms of the fuel to drive the auto world, the cost might majorly be a problem. Advanced batteries are needed to power the vehicles that are needed for today’s use. The cars also have to be redesigned to be lighter and also be aerodynamic. It is very bad to think that the gasoline stations will be a rare thing. This is because the gasoline energy is what the people world over use. Hydrogen energy and power can be used, but it will need a lot of time for adjustment. The other thing is that the companies that make vehicles in the world today will need to be scrapped due to the need to produce the cars that use hydrogen power. This

A review of academic research undertaken in relation to Small and Assignment

A review of academic research undertaken in relation to Small and Medium Sized Enterprises - Assignment Example 5. The act focused on increasing the enterprises’ production outputs, increasing revenues and profits. 6. Small and medium enterprises reduce London’s Unemployment rate. 7. Small and medium enterprises are either sole proprietorships or partnerships. 8. Small and medium enterprises have less than 250 employees. 9. Small and medium enterprises are profitable business ventures. 10. U.K.’s laissez Faire (free) economy encourages entry into the lucrative small and medium enterprise market. 11. With lower capital investments than corporations, small and medium enterprises are preferred choices. 12. The United Kingdom government must implement the provisions of the 2008 Small Business Act for Europe. 13. The United Kingdom government must help lessen small and medium enterprises loan requirements. 14. The United Kingdom government must ensure small and medium enterprises comply with tax, labour, and environmental protection statutes. 15. Small and medium enterprises si gnificantly contribute to the improvement of the United Kingdom economy. Introduction Many individuals boldly join the risky small and medium enterprise market segment. The market segment is grounded on low capital investments. The market segment reduces the United Kingdom unemployment rate. ... Pederzini insists that the European Union exerted extra efforts to help the small and medium European Union member nations’ business money. With the small capital investments, the small and medium size business entities need additional borrowed funds (Warren, 2008). The borrowed funds will help increase the company’s revenues. With more revenues, the small and medium size companies will generate higher net profits. In addition, the additional loan amounts will help the companies pay for the salaries of additional employees. With more employees hired, the service and product quality and speed will consequently increase. After the successful launch of the 2000 European Charter for Small Enterprises, the European Union leaders launched the equally successful Lisbon Growth and Jobs Strategy in 2005. Next, the European Union leadership focused their attention to helping the small and medium enterprises improve their European Union business prospects (Dallago, 2012). In 2008, the European Union launched the timely Small Business Act for Europe. The act contains three favorable aims. First, the government leaders set the guidelines for the improvement economic environment of the small and medium enterprise players. The improvements will trigger higher revenues. With higher revenues, the enterprises can hire more workers. With more workers, the European Union’s unfavorably high unemployment rate will significantly drop to permissible levels (Dallago, 2012). Second, the act focused on increasing competitiveness among the European Union’s small and medium enterprise players. Increasing competitiveness significantly persuades the competitors to improve the quality of their products and services (Cant, 2009). Improvement of their products and

Do Americans Prefer a Divided Government Thesis - 1

Do Americans Prefer a Divided Government - Thesis Example The matter significantly reverberates as a political theme especially when national election comes. A substantial number of electorates perceived that the present government will not reflect a divided government because President Barrack Obama inspires a one-party rule. For them, this is harmful to democratic system. Everyone was in a political hodge-podge whether or not divided government creates a necessary condition for check and balance in governance? Under one dominant party, can President and his bureaucrats sustain transparent and accountable government effectively to sustain stability? Will the Supreme Court, filled with legal luminaries, be able to check a ruling party well? Or is it necessary to maintain divided government to encourage people to be able to objectively look at issues, governance and political decision-making? The question can go on endlessly as substantial number of Americans perceived that this present administration is enjoying a free rein with his busines s in foreign policy and relations at his volition although some Republican claimed that they maintain significant influence to prevent some of the president’s foreign policy initiatives. This is a qualitative study that aims to explore how many would prefer divided government from 50 select respondents that are randomly chosen by this researcher and to know reasons or causes about their preferred/inclination with divided government. Respondents’ opinion will be gathered through an online survey questionnaire which will be consolidated using monkeysurvey, an online method of generating responses which will be saved in a data base and will be used as bases for analysis in this study. Modern sociologists have varying perceptions about Americans inclination to favor or to disagree on divided government. Republicans for instance use a divided government as a mechanism and as a power to wield opposition against the

Childhood Vaccinations Are they really needed Essay

Childhood Vaccinations Are they really needed - Essay Example Flanders (2000), states the two examples of child's deaths which are connected with vaccination and non-vaccination. According to her article, one of the girls died of Hepatitis B, which kills about 5,000 thousand people in the US each year and the other died after being vaccinated against polio. The main question, asked by Flanders (2000), is whether it should be obligatory to go through childhood vaccination, or should parents be able to refuse from immunization 'to avoid rare, but sometimes, serious, reactions' 'All sides of this debate have the same concerns at heart. They all want children to be healthy and protected. It's just the ways to achieve this goal that are contentious. The fact that vaccines prevent a huge number of illnesses, but have some side effects, makes for a difficult policy question, but not one that hasn't been solved in other areas.' (Allen 2002) At the same time, according to the Allen's article, 'the compensation program provides financial assistance to families to care for children injured by vaccines and helps those families who have lost a child to a severe side effect'. But it should be remembered, that the mentioned system is designed as 'non-fault', which means that it is no need in defining whether vaccine has been defective or the doctor didn't have enough medical skills to prevent side effects. In case no other specific medical reasons for child's death are found, it is supposed that the vaccine has caused it. But it should also be remembered, that ' if the injury or cause of death is not one of a list of known vaccine side effects, the families must provide proof that the ailment was caused by the vaccine'. (O'Meara, 2003) Using the MEDLINE database, it was possible to find the following data: 'There's been a huge decline, and disease rates in adults are now higher than in children," said Dr. Beth P. Bell, chief of epidemiology in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s Division of Viral Hepatitis and senior author of a report that appears in today's Journal of the American Medical Association. There were 25,000 to 35,000 cases of hepatitis A per year in this country before the era of vaccination. But in 2003, about 7,600 cases were reported, and the total for 2004 will probably be around 6,000.' (http:/nurseworldmag.com/articles-on-nursing/healthcare.htm) Research methodology The present research is based on comparing the existing literary sources and data in terms of positive and negative effects of childhood vaccination, for finding out the objective and profound conclusion. Theoretical framework The theoretical framework of the present research should be based on the analysis of the available data in relation to positive and negative effects of the vaccinations. At the same time, the main hypothesis of the work is that health care for both groups of children (those who have received their vaccinations according to the schedule and those who didn't) will not be different. The independent variable here is presented by the presence or absence of vaccination among children, while any differences in health medical care for them

Contemporary Irish Films Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Contemporary Irish Films - Essay Example This drama implementation on TV has contributed to the widespread and popularity of such true-to-life documentaries appearance in cinema tends to prioritise the creative influence of the film's directors. [Pettitt, 2000] Thus, making their films the tend to deal with the topics of abuse from the past; based on true stories they have their great emotional effect on the viewers, and uncover the real sense of the traditional social political and religious establishments which rules the life of people for a long time. That's why the real historical or fictional characters, or the images of the USA President appear to perceive the reality depicted in the film in a more deeper sense. Drama has also challenged viewers' minds by imagining events that could not be countenanced by factual television. Fictional representations, therefore, have played a major role in the maintenance and reshaping of perceptions about the Troubles and to this extent they have performed a political function. [Pettitt, 2000] The reports stay that the number of screens in Ireland has increased by 68% from 192 screens to 322 screens (during the period of 1991-2001), but the number of cinemas in Ireland has reduced by 15% from 81 cinemas to 69 in the same period. As for the contemporary Irish films, Pettitt who deals with the films after the 1970s, speaks about both the great thread posed by the influence of Hollywood - dubbed 'Californication' by Oliver St. John Gogarty three-quarters of the century ago - and the need for the resources that the American films companies can supply. [Pettitt, 2000] He also points out the fact that Irish cinema, for all its independence, hews fairly closely to the Hollywood formula followed everywhere from West Los Angeles to Bombay. According to Pettitt (2000), drama since the late 1960s has explored some of the deepest fears of those embroiled in conflict, but has not only reflected the political shifts in Northern Ireland. The political, security and legal apparatus of the British establishment has been most effectively critiqued at different junctures in the drama-documentary format. There has been a line of drama that has interrogated the problematic relationship of unionism within Anglo-Irish politics and the increasingly attenuated sense of Ulster loyalism. Fictional representations, therefore, have played a major role in the maintenance and reshaping of perceptions about the Troubles and to this extent they have performed a political function. [Pettitt, 2000] According to Crosson (2003), contemporary Irish film itself reflects the failure of Irish history to excite the imagination of Ireland's youth as effectively as the seductive depictions of America's past as medicated through the Western and gangster films. So that, films made in Ireland today reflect both these genres. The Irish cinema-going experience has come from Hollywood since in independence in 1922. [Rockett, 1991; p.19] The Irish Film Board has attempted to counterpart Ireland's huge dependence on imported film by supporting films made in the country and by Irish people. However, Ireland remains a substantial net importer of images, many of them

WEAK ANTHROPOCENTRIC INTRINSIC VALUE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

WEAK ANTHROPOCENTRIC INTRINSIC VALUE - Essay Example vation made by Hargrove, the subject of discussion that he appears to have failed in, is disputing the concept of subjectivist nonanthropocentric intrinsic value. The theory of subjective nonathropocentric value theory, as presented by J. Baird Callicott observes that nature has no value of its own, unless it is given to it by human beings, since values depend entirely on human judgment (Hargrove, 194). While Hargrove tends to dispute this argument by arguing that nature has its intrinsic value, there is a reason to disagree with his argument, since without the judgment conferred upon nature by human beings to determine its value, there is no way that nature on its own can possess value. In disputing Hargrove’s argument against subjective nonathropocentric value theory, I contend with J. Baird Callicott, that something becomes valuable only because somebody values it (Hargrove, 195). It is apparent that all value depends on the subjective feelings of human observers, and that value will hardly exist in nature, unless it is given to it by human value judgment (Hargrove,

Reaction of keynes and friesman Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reaction of keynes and friesman - Assignment Example I think this solution is only short term as Keynes seldom considers the measures and approaches other developed countries would take to curb the effect of inflation in the United States on their markets and economies (Conerly 2012). Keynes’ position relies on jobs, interest rates, and liquidity. When an economic turmoil exacerbates, creating jobs and lowering interest rates cannot prevent a full-blown depression. Lowering interest rates to attract foreign investment can only go as low as 0%, which was the case in the United States in mid-2009 (Conerly 2012). From there, the Keynesian approach proves ineffective. On the other hand, Friedman’s position entails stabilizing the purchasing power of the private sector and collective households across the country. I agree with Friedman that the private sector plays a bigger role in stabilizing an economy than government policy during an economic crisis. In addition, the government is often unreliable when the interests of businesses are not in line with those of the government (Conerly

Analysing Result Graphs Essay Example for Free

Analysing Result Graphs Essay This graph shows the range of ages of the people that I surveyed. The majority was split evenly between the 30 40 age group and the 40 50 age group. I asked for this information so I could find out what age group I should target my business at in terms of style atmosphere and advertising to attract the most possible customers. Now I know who my target audience is I can advertise well to attract customers of that age and set an atmosphere and style to suit that age group. This pie chart shows the average amount of times that the person surveyed goes on every year. This information is vital as it is an indicator as to whether the business will have many customers throughout the year. If the chart were to show that people didnt go on many holidays then there would be no point in the business but as the chart shows the majority of people go on at least 2 holidays on average every year indicating the business will be successful. This doughnut chart shows where the ideal location for Cherry Kennels would be for the majority of the people surveyed. This is crucial to get right because it needs to be located where the public find it most convenient and also were business will be more successful from being close to a lot of potential customers. As clearly shown in the chart, the preferred location for Cherry Kennels would be somewhere situated in Brentwood. Therefore this is where I shall set up Cherry Kennels once I have found a suitable place in Brentwood. This bar chart represents how much the people surveyed are willing to pay per night of their cat/dog staying at Cherry Kennels. It is important to get the pricing correct because it needs to be cheap enough to keep the customers happy and attract more customers, but it needs to be expensive enough to make a decent profit. Thats why I asked this question, to see what the majority of people thought was a fair price. The majority of people believe that à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½30 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½35 is a fair price per night and I see this to be reasonable and enough to make a profit so therefore this is how it shall be priced. This final graph shows how much the people surveyed are willing to pay to have their dog/cat professionally groomed. I asked this question to find out whether there is any point in having the additional grooming parlours if no-one would use it but not only did the majority of people say they would use it but they also chose a reasonable price again to suit them as customers and me looking to make a profit. As the graph shows the majority of people chose à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½20 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½25 so therefore this is how it shall be priced. Competitors My main local competitor is Ladybird Kennels located in Ingatestone. This is because they to provide boarding kennels for both cats and dogs. Ladybird Kennels aim to provide their guests with an excellent standard of service and care based on over 10 years of experience. As quoted in their Ladybird brochure.  Ladybird kennels is not in a very busy area but is opposite an entrance to a very busy motorway so a lot of people are constantly driving past, this isnt too much of a problem because the front building/reception area is not that appealing from the outside. By locating Cherry Kennels in a busy place such as Brentwood I hope to gain more customers as it is more conveniently placed than having to go out of your way to get to Ladybird Kennels. Cherry Kennels will provide very similar services as Ladybird Kennels apart from the fact that Cherry Kennels will provide the additional professional grooming parlors. Another difference is that Cherry Kennels will be able to hold and take care of a considerable amount of more cats and dogs. Finally Ladybird Kennels has a Discount food shop which is not planned for Cherry Kennels but could be considered.  Ladybird Kennels is very old fashioned and has been around for ten years so the target audience for its services will probably be the same as Cherry Kennels between 30 50 years of age. This is not a problem however as Cherry Kennels will be more modern to suit this age group and up and coming generations so business will continue well.

Consumer Packaged Goods In The Following Six Segments Marketing Essay

Consumer Packaged Goods In The Following Six Segments Marketing Essay Procter and Gamble is a global multinational company, headquartered in Cincinnati Ohio Proctor and Gamble Wikipedia 2012. It manufactures through internal and third party manufacturers (3PM) consumer packaged goods in the following six segments (Beauty, Grooming, Healthcare, Pet Care, Fabric and home care, Baby family care) as per its 2011 Annual report. Closely linked to its current product portfolio of products, PGs vision is: Be, and be recognized as, the best consumer products and services company in the world whereas its mission statement is: We will provide branded products and services of superior quality and value that improve the lives of the worlds consumers. As a result, consumers will reward us with leadership sales, profit and value creation, allowing our people, our shareholders, and the communities in which we live and work to prosper. (PG Annual Report) It was not only until 2011 that the Pringles brand was under the PG umbrella. PG sells a myriad of products with multiple segments, target consumers and specific positioning. It is so mind boggling that it could range from a Duracell battery to SKII a premium skin care product manufactured in Japan. In Australia, a bottle of 75ml facial treatment essence- one of its more popular SKUs sells for AUD100. The beauty segment offers cosmetics, female antiperspirant and deodorant, female personal cleansing, female shave care, hair care, hair color, hair styling, pharmacy channel, prestige products, salon professional, and skin care products. The Grooming segment provides electronic hair removal devices, home small appliances, male blades and razors, and male personal care. The Health Care segment comprises feminine care, gastrointestinal, incontinence, rapid diagnostics, respiratory, toothbrush, toothpaste, water filtration, and other oral care. The Pet Care segment offers pet care products. The Fabric Care and Home Care segment includes laundry additives, air care, batteries, dish care, fabric enhancers, laundry detergents, and surface care products. The Baby Care and Family Care segment consists of baby wipes, diapers, paper towels, tissues, and toilet papers products. (PG Profile, Yahoo! Finance) PGs vision of the best consumer products and services company in the world seems realistic and attainable as its consistently ranked as one of the as one of the Most Admired Companies in the Fortune ranking (CNN Money, World most admired companies); earning top spot in the consumer products industry and No 9 overall on the 2012 list. Over the recent years, PG has consistently earned the top spot within the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry while ranking in the top 10 of the overall list. Whereas PGs mission statement is in tandem with its actions as its currently the CPG in the world based on sales revenues; and continues to strive for sustainability in its business actions. It is currently the worlds largest producer of household and personal products by revenue standing at USD82billion for 2011. PGs products reach 4 billion people worldwide and have 22 brands with over USD1billion in annual sales with another 19 brands generating over USD500 million in sales. The USD1billion brands include Tide, Pampers, Gillette, Pantene, Bounty, Oral B etc. With marketing spend of nearly $10 billion a year on TV, print and online advertising, PG is the worlds largest marketer. (PG ad spending hits $9.3 billion, Marketwatch 2012) However, the company has recently discovered the benefits of cost effective social and digital media and is gradually gaining traction in that arena which is mostly they believe was more cost effective and equally efficient as compared to traditional media. In the competitive Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry, PGs brands are important to the company. It has spent a great deal of time and money to establish its brand image by developing superior products through extensive Research Development (RD), innovative packaging, ensuring its on shelf availability and backing it with engaging integrated marketing communications and reliable service. However, the company seems to suffer from the fame of its company rather than its brands as compared to say its close competitor Unilever. Many people do not know of the company Unilever but have heard of its brands like Lipton, Magnum, Dove, Knorr etc. Whereas for PG, many people have strong associations and recognition of the company but when you ask people to mention its billion dollar brands, people normal stumble over that. Because of the competitive landscape, PG is takes the initiative to reach out to the voice of the consumer through multiple consumer insight activities. They have realized that at the heart of their success will be a successful marketing strategy. PGs products are based on a sound understanding of who their customers are. This of course doesnt imply that the company manufactures products to meet the whims and fancies of every consumer. However, PG aggressively exploits opportunities in the market to their advantage and are continuously vigilant in the monitoring of those opportunities. Customer knowledge is thus important to PG which studies both end consumers and trade partners through continuous market research and intelligence gathering. As proof of their commitment, PG currently spends more than $100 million no small change on over 10,000 formal consumer research projects annually and generates more than 3 million consumer contacts via its email and phone center. It also emphas izes getting its marketers and researchers out into the field, where they can interact with consumers and retailers face to face in their natural environment. (PG kisses up to the boss, Advertising Age) PGs market oriented strategy continues to play a vital role in the company with the economic downturn and the onslaught of private label brands and consumers increasing demanding low price and good quality products. At this moment, PG brands still dominate the premium end of most of the categories in which they compete in and while their aspirational qualities resonate with consumers, PG will have to stay at the top of the game in the fickle consumer goods market. Issue 2: PGs leading market position (Top 3) in almost all its categories provides it with significant competitive advantage. However, with the economic slowdown and consumers starting to penny pinch, it is increasing difficult for branded product manufacturers like PG to maintain their sales volume and revenue growth while preventing discounting which dilutes brand image. Looking at the SWOT Analysis (Datamonitor), we can identify the current PG position: Strengths Strong RD and innovation culture. Spends more than twice on RD compared to its nearest rival Unilever. Leading market position in most categories Diversified Product Portfolio Strong brand portfolio- 24 USD1 billion brands. Weaknesses Increasing instance of product recall thus implication of poorer manufacturing quality Dependant on Walmart and few other major retailers for majority of its revenues Too many products, easily to get overextended, fight for capital amongst brands Opportunities Expansion in developing and emerging markets in Brazil, Russia, India China(BRIC) Mexico, Indonesia, South Africa, Turkey(MIST) Future growth plans and new segments Threats Regulatory environment Slowing global economic conditions Raw material cyclical prices Counterfeit goods or rip offs of innovation by Chinese manufacturers Other competitors like Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser (RB) Essentially PG is its own competitor. Its strength of having such a diversified product portfolio is also its weakness because with so many products, its easy for PG management to get distracted, what more so its consumers who might be confused with too many choices. One of its main weaknesses is over-reliance on Walmart for majority of revenues. To increase distribution choices, PG could consider selling via its own website considering the popularity of ecommerce. Although, since this is not its core competency, it might not be a feasible strategy with some market research and feasibility studies. Its main external threats are controlling its cost base and also stiff competition between other FMCG giants. To control cyclical raw material prices, PG could work out long term deals with raw material prices and it needs to focus on improving its value proposition to its customers to prevent price wars. Customers: PGs customer base is unique. Because not only would PGs customers include those in the modern and traditional trade. They also encompass the end consumers both you and me. Modern trade refers to retailing at large format stores whereas general trade refers to retailing at the thousands of independent retail, wholesale and mom and pop stores. Some examples of its customer would include Walmart, Carrefour and Tesco who are more prevalent and dominant in the developed world. Whereas, the smaller mom and pop stores are the distribution channels of choice in developing economies like India or Mexico where consumers buy sachets worth a few cents with higher frequency than a large retail store. PGs biggest customer is Walmart, contributing more than 16% or revenue in 2011 down from 20% in the early 2000s.(Wikinvest) In this case, customer power with Walmart is very strong and PG normally has to concede to Walmarts request for certain promotions or price discounts. At this moment, PG has not yet discovered any alternative to Walmart and might have to yield to their demands. On the other hand, PG could use this to their advantage, using the judo move and utilizing the clout of Walmart and sell more products with sustainable profits. In terms of end consumers, end consumers are fickle and are subjected to Moments of Truth. The best known is the First moment of Truth (FMOT), coined by PG where in just 3-7 seconds, a shopper encounters a product on the store shelf and decides in those short moments whether to buy it. If the consumer does not find the product, she moves on to a competitors product. There is basically little consumer loyalty when it comes to soap and shampoo. The Second Moment of Truth (SMOT), is the moment when a consumer uses the product and is another powerful marketing opportunity but it is harder for the manufacturer to control because this is when the consumer uses the Pantene shampoo and decides whether she likes the texture, smell or after results of the shampoo. Then it progresses to the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) where consumers are going online using blogs, facebook or twitter to find inspiration for their own looks and get tips and tricks from experts or take cues from a favorite celebrity. Because of this progression and the influence of the internet of consumer behaviors, PG has started to re-evaluate the brands true FMOT and is looking to shift to focus on the notion of store back which means that ad agencies need to start formulating ideas at the retail store, working backwards to outside the store. This also means that marketers need work on their pull marketing strategies which gets demand forecast from consumers, not only the traditional push strategies and find ways to match the two. PG puts on its priority list the importance that the end consumer always has a consistent and positive experience from ZMOT to point of purchase and beyond, and has strived to get in front of the consumer with the right brand message upstream in the process of discovery and to continue staying there. Collaborators: PG has many collaborators. They would include direct and indirect material vendors like: raw material suppliers, advertising agencies, marketing research firms, independent product testing laboratories, logistics partners, communication companies, banks and financial institutions, travel agencies and hotels etc. Of special mention would be its supply chain partners which would include warehousing, transportation, software providers and carriers as PG has one of the worlds best supply chain. In the 2012 survey, it placed in the Top 5 just behind Apple, Amazon, McDonalds and Dell. PG has showcased its ability to make efficient decisions across the supply network. It is a consistent challenge to ensure the right forecast demand and that shelves are filled, but PG has managed to find the right balance. With its best in class, open innovation platform, combined with an impressive new product operational capability that synchronized with its clockwork run supply chain, it taps a deep well of understanding its consumers, aligning to their ZMOT and FMOT, to continue to deliver new products on time and on demand. (The Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 2012) In order for all cogs to move in sync, PG has to maintain a win-win partnership with its collaborators to create sustainable competitive advantages. Competitors: Due to PGs diverse product range, there is no one for one direct competitor with this behemoth. Some of PGs competitors include other FMCG multinationals like Unilever, Clorox, Kimberly Clark, Johnson Johnson (consumer division) and also Japanese FMCG companies like Kao, Lion etc. It faces strong competition from its competitors and has to constantly innovate, cut cost to maintain its position as the market leader. Its closest competitor would be the Anglo Dutch company Unilever but even then, Unilevers sales revenue is only half of PGs. PG also possess a higher operating margin than its competitors at 20.3% versus Unilever at 14.8% in the year 2010. Although PG has many competitors, it has established itself as a market leader and is thus well positioned to ward off competition or make necessary acquisitions of smaller companies. Its last notable acquisition was in 2005 of Gillette, forming the largest consumer goods company in the world and placing Unilever in second place. This added brands such as Gillette, Duracell, Braun and Oral B to their stable. Therefore, for new start ups to the consumer goods industry, they would find the barriers to entry pretty high. Whereas for the existing competitors like Unilever, Colgate Palmolive, they have to continue to play the catch up game, in terms of market share. Context: A PESTLE analysis will be conducted to examine the current situation for PG in the global market. Political: With local operations in more than a hundred countries, based in different time zones and continents, PG has to manage the complexity of different political regimes, rules and regulations and political trends influencing its business operations. On one hand, PG has to adapt and thrive to the changing political pressures in different nations, yet on the other hand, due to its scale and size, it plays integral roles to cooperate and affect local government policy with its clout and manufacturing size. Therefore, It has considerable clout due to its ability to move and shift hundreds of jobs out of a country. Economic: The world economy is having shorter cyclical patterns and PG is seeing market share stagnant or decline in the developed areas like US and Europe. However, world demand is forecasted to grow in the next few years due to growing populations and development of economies in the developing continents like Latin America and Asia. Due to the different nuances and different cultural and consumer habits, PG has to be attuned to the changes in order to continue to grow and thrive and it must take note that developments in the different markets and nations will cause an uneven growth situation in different regions. It might thus have to focus its marketing firepower on previously neglected upon nations. Social: PG has to place great attention and importance to the different social norms when expanding overseas due to various cultural backgrounds in different market in order not to step on any taboo landmines. For instance, due to the changing masculinity trends, we have the advent of the metrosexual and the demand for men grooming is seen as a growth area for the FMCG market. Or for example, due to the increasing drive towards being socially responsible, PG needs to source its raw materials like tomatoes or palm oil from sustainable sources or face wrath from watchdogs like Greenpeace of other tree huggers. Because of this sustainability trend, PG has committed to developing USD50billion worth of products that have a sustainable impact. Technological: As the overall market of fast moving consumer products is very large and diversified, PG has invested significantly to gain technological advantage in order to maintain and expand its market position. As a result, technology investment in product formulation, packaging, product design is heavy and development is fast. PG has its own RD function reporting directly to the CEO and based on 2010 numbers; PG invested nearly USD2billion in RD up from USD1.95 billion in 2008. Legal: PG has to obey and comply with different legal and tax requirements on its products, manufacturing process and business operations. With the rising prices in commodities, FMCG companies would like to raise prices but are contained by certain price ceilings by governments and thus PG has to battle with price ceilings yet remain profitable. For example, it tried to raise prices but suffered mandated price cuts in Venezuela and import curbs in Argentina. Ethical: Because personal products are daily essentials, the quality and safety of the products are extremely important for the brands. Any scandals or rumors about the product can lead to significant and unconceivable damage on the image. For eg the recall in 2011 for their Oral B products due to Microbial contamination in Canada, China, Chile, Columbia and Mexico caused dissatisfaction amongst consumers in the way that it was handled where in China consumers who wanted a refund had to send the empty product bottles, receipt and a copy of their bank account passbooks to the companys Guangzhou office which caused ire amongst the consumers as it was unreasonable for consumers to keep the bottle after they consumed the mouth wash. Issue 3: PGs former CEO A.G Lafley who retired in 2010 coined a strong and simple message that the Consumer is Boss and PG followed his mantra and tried to get the true opinion of its consumers with the belief that the closer they get to the customers, the better it was for them. (Innovation Machine PG: 1 Billion $ for Consumer Insights. 2012.) PG spends more than USD400 million annual in external consumer insight activities. In those activities, they touch base with more than 5 million consumers spanning 100 countries. They also conduct over 20,000 individual research studies every year, all this time and money spent is to understand the consumer a little bit more better to better identify opportunities for segmentation, product innovation and how to create a better overall service delivery to the consumers. (PG.com Core strengths) Apart from external sources, one famous platform that is created in-house by PG is TREMORà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ in 2001 under which it created the website www.vocalpoint.com which is a website for a community of mums to share knowledge and exchange opinions. Tremor is the word of mouth marketing organization developed by Procter Gamble that combines PGs wide-ranging marketing expertise with key learnings from cognitive science. (Tremor) It was founded for a dual purpose: market research tool and Word of mouth (WOM) advertisement. On vocalpoint, it connects about 600,000 mothers and these mothers have an average of 25-30 touchpoints with other women as compared to 5 for a usual mom. They share product information with other mums and this is key for PG as most household products are purchased by mothers or women in the household. They get samples and coupons to create a network effect. However, social media has changed the way in which companies gather information through traditional streams as consumers move to a digital age. It now gathers information about consumers through digital means like Facebook, twitter, launching apps that can be used on Smartphones etc and requires on website traffic and analytics to spot the next trend. In terms of competitor intelligence, PG definitely closely monitors its competitors through various online sources and probably outsources this research to external companies. In turn, this information is shared through the intranet about competitor intelligence and updates employees on what their competitors are up to. As there is no public information on this, I am assuming PG does the same if not more based on my work experience in Unilever. Competitors that currently represent a threat to PG would be Unilever, Colgate Palmolive, Clorox etc. The strategic group that PG is in would be the branded consumer goods section. However, PG isnt a direct competitor across all segments some of its competitors like Unilever still has a large portion of its revenue from its Food, tea and beverage business. Whereas Johnson Johnson not only consumer goods, but is also strong in medical and pharmaceutical industries. Its closest competitor in terms of direct product to product lineup in the household products market might be Colgate Palmolive. At this moment, PG is probably its own worst enemy. But in terms of its closest competitors that represent a treat, I would think that Unilever, Colgate Palmolive are two or its nearest competitors. One point to raise is the threat of private labels brands from supermarkets themselves. This is starting to be a threat especially during the economic recession when consumers dont differentiate between Shampoo Brand X and Shampoo Brand Y in terms of its value (reduces hair frizz) but on price alone. The in store brands by supermarkets like Coles or Woolworths compete in the same product category but obviously can afford to sell them at a lower entry price but higher profit margin. In order to mitigate this threat, PG has to spend more on branding and innovation to hopefully induce the willingness to pay for its products. The context of the FMCG industry is always dynamic. However, even though PG can probably use market research to stay abreast of latest developments, due to its size, it might not have the flexibility to react quickly to changes. It is clear in terms of the shift in power of the world economy; USA is the superpower of the past whereas Asia is the new superpower. With its headquarters still in Cincinnati Ohio, that in a sense is a constraint for PG as it is away from the business centers, away from the growth in the developing countries. PG needs the help of its collaborators to move to the next level as they are all part of the value chain activities. For example, it would needs its global logistics providers to ensure on time shelf delivery at competitive cost, it would need the 3PM to produce quality and competitively priced products, ad agencies to produce quality and engaging ads etc. In order to select the best collaborators, PG has balanced scorecards in terms of environmental sustainability to maintain its commitment to reduce its carbon footprint Issue 4: As one of the leaders in marketing, PG has spared no efforts in its marketing segmentation. For its paper products like tissues and toilet paper, it has household brands like Charmin, Puffs, Royale and Bounty. For its shampoo segment, it has famous brands like Head Shoulders, Vidal Sasson, Pert Plus, Ivory and Pantene, supposedly sufficient to cater to a wide range of hair: oily, dry, dandruff, coloured, split ends etc. For the laundry segment, one of its cash cows has in itself 8 brands for sale in the United States. This would include Ivory Snow, Dreft, Oxydol, era, Gain, Bold, Cheer and its crown Jewel Tide. Because PG also is based worldwide, it has many different specially created brands in each category to cater to different international markets. In Latin America, it sells 16 laundry product brands whereas in its EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) geographic segment, it has a whopping 19 different brands for choice. PGs marketing strategy has clearly shifted from mass market to target marketing. It is aware that consumers have different needs through its elaborate consumer research, it has been trying to develop a product for every type of need a consumer has, it seems that PG is trying to have a race with itself to develop new products for any kind of customer. We can understand the motivation as PG wants to use its economies of scale and brand name to push out its products and expand market share to new and existing loyal customers. With the enormous number of brands in PG, we would imagine that each brand manager is trying to fight for publicity and capital for its brand. It is merely a hypothetical question, but could the multitude of brands be more of an internal fight for importance rather than actually meeting consumer needs? However, clearly PG positions itself in the premium section of the FMCG market. Its products like Pantene, Vidal Sasson can command higher prices than a lower end shampoo brand like Sunsilk from Unilever. As mentioned, the multitude of brands is both the strength and weakness for PG. For one, the same laundry products for example will be competing with each other for limited and precious supermarket shelf positioning and space. The fact that PG introduces several brands in one category might be economies of scale but could also crowd out the market. It could perhaps concentrate its resources on a handful of main brands and focus their targeting on specific customer segments instead of spreading itself too thinly. Because of the multitude of PGs categories, we will just examine in detail its laundry brands in US. In order to breakdown laundry segments, PG first has to look at the job to be done segmentation. It did research and probably thought that apart from using detergents to get clean clothes, people also want other things from detergent. For example, mothers might want cheap detergent because with a family of three kids, there would be many dirty clothes and washing cycles to do in a week. Thus, they would want detergent that is economical and powerful to get rid of dirt stains. On the same demographics of mothers, you get mothers with babies, and they would want detergents with less (zero) chemicals catered to the sensitive skin of babies. On the other spectrum, you might have some working professionals or yuppies who have a higher willingness to pay and value detergents that had a nice fresh smell and are sustainable for the environment. Thus, it is no surprise that PG has launched 8 b rands in the US to cater to all the individual niches of customers. A quick check on www.walmart.com (Appedix A) and entering in the word Tide prompts 65 hits on the detergent in the household essentials segment. The fact is that Tide comes in three forms: liquid, powder, pod forms. It also comes in many shapes, scents and sizes. This results in a minimum of 65 SKUS for just one laundry brand. By segmenting the market for laundry across multiple detergent brands, PG seems to have covered all bases for consumer laundry needs and wants. As a result, PG is the unrivalled leader in the USD7billion US laundry detergent market. Tide alone is the market leader with a respectable 38% market share. When we combine all eight of PG laundry brands, it comes up to a 60% share of the market-2.5 times that of nearest rival Unilever and much more than any single brand could obtain by itself. However, does this mean that market share is due to the fact that PG has that many brands and is successful in its segmentation activities or is it because of the overall value proposition PGs detergents provide to its consumers. Could PG attain its market share of 60% by optimizing the number of SKUs by half? PG recognizes that they cannot appeal to all buyers in the marketplace or at least not to all buyers in the same way. Buyers are too numerous, too widely scattered, and too varied in their needs and buying practices. Moreover, PG itself varies widely in its abilities to serve different segments of the market. Rather than trying to compete in an entire market, sometimes against superior competitors, PG has identified the parts of the market that it can serve best and most profitably. Thus, PG is being more selective about the consumers that they wish to capture and retain. It has been a clear leader in moving from mass marketing, toward market segmentation and targeting-successfully identifying market segments after stringent market research and studies, selecting one or more of them, and developing products and marketing programs individually tailored to the specific niche. PG clearly believes the rifle approach is more effective rather than the shotgun approach. It has achieved previous success based on this approach, but would this strategy continue to work for the fickle and fussy FMCG market? It should however be noted that Apple -one of the best marketers of technology thinks differently, with the iphone is still managed as a mass marketing concept. Issue 5: PGs reputation as being the best in marketing is indisputable. They are known to be at least 5 years ahead of competitors in terms of how they go to market. They continuously train and invest in their employees at the beginning of their careers and like to promote from within. They spend enormous amounts of money training their people to become world class marketers and many of their people leave PG to lead other companies as their Chief Marketing Officer. PG clearly puts the consumer first. As such, their marketing strategy is based on deep consumer insights. This might mean their advertising probably wont be the most creative, but they will capture revenue and market share. This however, might prove to be a stumbling block with the changing demographics in the developing world. PGs marketing orientation makes business sense strategically. With a market orientation and micro marketing approach, PG can adapt to the 4Ps. In terms of Price, PGs premium pricing has shown that it can be moved with lower prices for the more cost sensitive developing countries. In terms of product categories, it competes in 35 product categories in US but only present in an average of 19 product categories globally. Therefore, PG is focusing on the launching more product categories in more countries, targeting expansion of the global average to presence in 24 product categories by 2014-15. With regards to place, PG currently distributes broadly through four channels: 1) supermarkets mass volume retail, 2) mom pop stores which are still prevalent in the third world countries especially when shops are inaccessible, 3) wholesale and 4) modern retail stores. As part of new channel strategy, PG also is focusing on expansion in the international pharmacy and e-commerce channels. This s hall contribute to PG products being available at more outlets. (PGs market share strategy set to pay off- Seeking Alpha) The PG brand plays a huge role in its marketing strategy as its one of the most recognized brands in the world. The PG brand is synonymous with premium pricing and quality. With the shift in the demographics, PG would need to shift to developing countries and the younger age segmentation. In terms of developing countries, it would be right on the ball to focus on India and China. At this moment, PG is definitely behind the curve for India as Hindustan Unilever is the clear leader in the CPG industry, however, PG does better in terms of brand penetration in China. The positioning in China is also very different as compared to India

Character Analysis of Hedda from Henrik Ibesens Hedda Gabler Essay

Character Analysis of Hedda from Henrik Ibesen's Hedda Gabler Henrik Ibsen's play Hedda Gabler portrays the life of a young newlywed woman named Hedda and her attemps to overpower the people around her. Ibsen succsessfully depicts the very masculine traits that Hedda displays throughout the play with not wanting to conform to the feminine ways or the accepted stereotypes of her gender in her society. Hedda's marriage to her husband, Mr. Tesman, only increases her desire for power because it is a constant re- minder that she now "belongs" to Mr. Tesman which Hedda resents. Hedda considers her life to be boring and finds solace in playing with her father's pistols, which is considered not a thing for a young lady to do and a very inappropriate form of entertainment for a woman. Hedda is a person that displays characteristics of masculinity and jealousy, and is shown to be very unconcerned about the fellings of others she may incounter. The play begins with Miss. Tesman, Mr. Tesman's Aunt, greeting her nephew after his six month wedding-tour. They speak briefly about his journey, and Miss. Tesman comments several times about his new beautiful wife and how lucky he is to have been the one that was choosen out of all her other suitors to carry off the lovely Hedda Gabler. Soon after Hedda enters the room, she has already insulted Tesman's Aunt by implying that her bonnet is the servants: Hedda-"Look there! She has left her old bonnet lying on the chair" Tesman-"But Hedda, thats aunt Julia's bonnet" Miss Tesman-"Yes, indeed it's mine. And, what's more it's not old, Madam Hedda" (Act I). Hedda again shows her disconcern when her husband tries to show her the slippers that his aunt has made for him as a gift: Hedda- "Thanks, I really don't care about it" Tesman- "Only think-as ill as she was, Aunt Rina embroidered these for me. Oh you can't think of how many associations cling to them" Hedda - "Scarcely for me"(Act I). Hedda pretends to befriend Mrs. Thea Elvsted ( a schoolmate from her youth) in order to solicit her confidence about her situation with an old friend of Mr.Tesman and an old flame of hers, Eilert Lovborg, who was a drunk back in the day, but has cleaned up his act and has recent... ... manuscript and burns it, thus destroying Lovborg and Thea's work and altamitly their relationship. Lovborg arrives at the Tesman house where Thea has stayed the night. He lies and tells her that he has torn the manuscript into pieces because he has torn his own life into pieces, after hearing this Thea, in a state of dispare, leaves the house. Once alone with Hedda, Lovborg confesses that he has lost the Manuscript, but could not bring himself to tell Thea because her pure soul was in that book. As he begins to leave, Hedda gives him one of her pistols as a "momento" and tells him to do it beautifully, as though she knew he felt he had nothing to live for. Brack arrived later that day with the news that Lovborg was dead, and that he still had the pistol on him when he was found, and that he knew it was one of Hedda's pistols. He tells her that she would be able to avoid scandal only if he did not tell the police he knew who the gun belonged to, but that meant being in his power, at his beck and call, his slave, and that is something Hedda just could not live with, so she excuses herself, goes in the next room and shoots herself dead. Character Analysis of Hedda from Henrik Ibesen's Hedda Gabler Essay Character Analysis of Hedda from Henrik Ibesen's Hedda Gabler Henrik Ibsen's play Hedda Gabler portrays the life of a young newlywed woman named Hedda and her attemps to overpower the people around her. Ibsen succsessfully depicts the very masculine traits that Hedda displays throughout the play with not wanting to conform to the feminine ways or the accepted stereotypes of her gender in her society. Hedda's marriage to her husband, Mr. Tesman, only increases her desire for power because it is a constant re- minder that she now "belongs" to Mr. Tesman which Hedda resents. Hedda considers her life to be boring and finds solace in playing with her father's pistols, which is considered not a thing for a young lady to do and a very inappropriate form of entertainment for a woman. Hedda is a person that displays characteristics of masculinity and jealousy, and is shown to be very unconcerned about the fellings of others she may incounter. The play begins with Miss. Tesman, Mr. Tesman's Aunt, greeting her nephew after his six month wedding-tour. They speak briefly about his journey, and Miss. Tesman comments several times about his new beautiful wife and how lucky he is to have been the one that was choosen out of all her other suitors to carry off the lovely Hedda Gabler. Soon after Hedda enters the room, she has already insulted Tesman's Aunt by implying that her bonnet is the servants: Hedda-"Look there! She has left her old bonnet lying on the chair" Tesman-"But Hedda, thats aunt Julia's bonnet" Miss Tesman-"Yes, indeed it's mine. And, what's more it's not old, Madam Hedda" (Act I). Hedda again shows her disconcern when her husband tries to show her the slippers that his aunt has made for him as a gift: Hedda- "Thanks, I really don't care about it" Tesman- "Only think-as ill as she was, Aunt Rina embroidered these for me. Oh you can't think of how many associations cling to them" Hedda - "Scarcely for me"(Act I). Hedda pretends to befriend Mrs. Thea Elvsted ( a schoolmate from her youth) in order to solicit her confidence about her situation with an old friend of Mr.Tesman and an old flame of hers, Eilert Lovborg, who was a drunk back in the day, but has cleaned up his act and has recent... ... manuscript and burns it, thus destroying Lovborg and Thea's work and altamitly their relationship. Lovborg arrives at the Tesman house where Thea has stayed the night. He lies and tells her that he has torn the manuscript into pieces because he has torn his own life into pieces, after hearing this Thea, in a state of dispare, leaves the house. Once alone with Hedda, Lovborg confesses that he has lost the Manuscript, but could not bring himself to tell Thea because her pure soul was in that book. As he begins to leave, Hedda gives him one of her pistols as a "momento" and tells him to do it beautifully, as though she knew he felt he had nothing to live for. Brack arrived later that day with the news that Lovborg was dead, and that he still had the pistol on him when he was found, and that he knew it was one of Hedda's pistols. He tells her that she would be able to avoid scandal only if he did not tell the police he knew who the gun belonged to, but that meant being in his power, at his beck and call, his slave, and that is something Hedda just could not live with, so she excuses herself, goes in the next room and shoots herself dead.

Bilingual Education in Public Schools Essay -- Bilingual Language Educ

Bilingual Education in Public Schools For the past thirty years in the State of California, bilingual education has been undertaken by all the public schools of the state. Under such system, children of non-American ethnic have had a special treatment in their early academic career. Children of minority groups have been thought various subjects in their native tongues. Such subjects are Math, History and some Science classes. The bilingual program presented the student a scholastic curriculum that simultaneously instructed students all the required classes while teaching them the English language. For such method, bilingual teachers were the focal point for the success of individual students of any class level. Prior to Proposition 227, California’s programs for immigrant students included English as a Second Language, in which students were taught the English language for part of the day, and bilingual education, in which students took classes taught in their native tongues until their English improved. The bilingual educational system was legally first introduced by Governor R. Reagan in 1967. Reagan as Governor of California signed a bill eliminating the state’s English-only instructional mandate and allowing bilingual education. Proposition 227, that has reformed the thirty year old bill, has taken affect on June 2, 1998. The proposition introduces a new way of teaching the English language to immigrant children. Such proposition is also called â€Å"English for the Children† or simply the Unz initiative after its author and chief financial backer, Ron K. Unz, a Silicon Valley millionaire and conservative Republican who has no children or background in education and has never set foot in a bilingual education class. â€Å"The Unz initiative calls for one year of courses taught in English, with an emphasis on learning the language; a system that many fear is a return to a past when children were sometimes punished for speaking Spanish, but that others say is a return to sanity† stated Don Terry in his article Bilingual Education Facing Toughest Test. In addition, one of the more controversial points of he plan involves a waiver system whereby parents who prefer â€Å"native-language† inst ruction for their children can request that the children be removed from the English-immersion classes. The request will be granted if they can find parents of twenty of more chil... ...achers thought I spoke Spanish. I found the English language somewhat easy to learn, moreover, I have to thank many of the English-speaking friends that I made back then to teach me the slang and spent time with me outside school. Mathematics and Economics were easy for me, I can say with confidence that I had one of the highest grades in comparison to my English-speaking classmates. The main problems that I had were the communication skills, both writing and speaking English proved to be the greatest challenge for me during that year. My need to communicate with others drove my incentive to master the language, within the first two years; many of my friends were surprised how well my English was. Despite the foreign accent, they had all agreed that my English was very efficient. As an overall, I appreciate the year spent in High School learning the language, I believe that all new immigrant student should attend such classes. They have made a very positive impact in my life. In conclusion, I believe that all races should master the English language as quick as possible, for it is the essence of social integration that can lead to one success or failure of the â€Å"American Dream†.

Child Observation

Child Observation Background The child that I chose to observe was a nine year old boy that I will refer to as Dan. Dan is a highly gifted child who, unfortunately, suffers from cerebral palsy, as well as panic attacks. His parents are divorced and he lives with his mother, who has remarried. His father who also has remarried, does have contact with him, though the relationship is somewhat strained. He comes from an upper middle class background, and has no brothers or sisters. I observed Dan in the waiting room for about an hour (his mother was good enough to bring him in for his appointment a little early so that I could observe him).The room contained many toys and books for varying ages, as well as a number of magazines for both kids and adults. The walls were covered with different pictures and posters, and there were a number of chairs. Observation Dan’s mother, Molly, helped him into the office by supporting him under his arms. His upper body works normally but he has t rouble with his legs, particularly his lower legs, and is unable to walk on his own. His mother took him immediately to the corner of the room containing the toys and books, then lowered him to the floor.Dan picked out a science book that appeared to be geared towards children a few years older than he. Lying on the floor, he began to read aloud and frequently questioned his mother, who sat in a nearby chair, about pronunciation of words, as well as dates and background information on famous scientists mentioned in the text. His mother answered all of his questions, and when she did, he engaged her in further conversation about the subject until he was sure that he understood. His mother was then called into the office to speak with the doctor alone.Before leaving, she asked Dan if he needed to use the restroom (he needs her help to do so). He told her he was fine, and she went into the office. At this point, Dan and I were the only two people in the room. He continued to read aloud after his mother had left. With her gone, he engaged in private speech when he came to a word he did not know, or a subject he was unfamiliar with. His conversations with himself were very similar to those he had with his mother. About ten minutes after his mother had left, Dan began looking over at me occasionally, but only for a second before going back to his reading.When he was unsure of a word, he repeated it several times before moving on. His reading grew gradually quieter until I could not always make out the words. At one point, he came across a word that he did not know and began reasoning to himself as follows: â€Å"This must be an English word†¦although I speak English, so maybe it’s from a different country†¦ or maybe they only use it in England. † Dan looked at me several times as he attempted to reason through this, but did not ask me for help. After that, he closed the book and looked around the room.He pulled a rock the size of a large marb le from his pocket, and began brushing it lightly against first a nearby chair leg, then his own sneaker. He sat up, experimented with throwing the rock at his left hand, which he held open, palm facing his right hand. I should note that he did not appear to be trying to catch it, but I could not be sure. At any rate, he never did catch it in the several times that he threw it. He then rolled it down his arm a couple of times, before throwing it straight up in the air, leaving his hand out, but not moving it at all as the rock fell past it.At this point Dan looked at me for about five or ten seconds straight, the first time he had done more than glance at me. He then pushed the book away and crawled over to a large aluminum can with a lid on it that was filled with toys. He brushed the rock lightly against it, but did not open it. Next, he looked at me and smiled. He asked me if he was bothering me and I told him he was not. He told me he did not want to distract me if I was studyin g. I answered that I was just writing something for school and that he was not distracting me at all.He said that he did not want to be bothersome and that he had been trying to be as non-distracting as possible. I told him not to worry about it and to just do whatever he wanted. After that, he began to talk to me a great deal. He told me about a book that he had read in the waiting room before and asked if I had ever read it. I answered that I had not and he told me all about it. He said it allowed you to put different wigs and clothes on different people and that he really liked it a lot. He went on to say that it was â€Å"a lot of fun, but it’s not here anymore so someone must have took it.I don’t know who took it though. † He then pulled down another book with big wobbly eyes that were placed to be on a different picture every time you turned the page. He asked me if I ever saw this book and I told him that I had. He said that it was â€Å"a really cool bo ok. † He then started reading it aloud, looking over at me occasionally as he did so. A little later, as he continued to read, his mother came back in and asked again if he needed to use the restroom. He told her he did not, and she lifted him up and helped him into the office for his appointment.Interpreting the Observation The first thing that struck me about Dan’s behavior was that he ignored the toys and magazines, and went straight for the books. Not only that, the first book that he picked out was obviously geared towards kids several years older than he. I knew going into the observation that Dan was highly gifted, and combining that with his physical disability, it made sense that he would be an avid reader and , relative to the other kids his age, a very advanced one. This proved to be true.Gambrell (1994) says that a child who is motivated to learn will read for a number of reasons, including to gain knowledge. This certainly seemed to be the case with Dan as he was very intent on being sure that he understood exactly what he was reading. Many kids read because they have to, and they learn so that they will get an â€Å"A† in school; Dan was reading and learning for the sole purpose of gaining knowledge. This is not surprising given the fact that gifted children have been found to have significantly higher intrinsic motivation to learn all subject areas than do their peers (Gottfried & Gottfried 1996).This study went on to say that â€Å"From the early years through adolescence, children who are identified as gifted evidence superior persistence, attention, curiosity, enjoyment of learning and orientation toward mastery and challenge. This was mirrored in the enthusiasm with which Dan went about the task of reading and being sure that he understood what he had read. The fact that his mother allowed him to pick out a book himself could be relevant to Dan’s apparent motivation to read.Gambrell (1994) reports that over 80% of children name books that they picked out themselves when asked about those they most enjoyed. In contrast, only 10% talked about books that were chosen for them. A strong correlation was shown to exist between a child’s being allowed to choose his own book and his intrinsic motivation to read. Gambrell further reports that learning through books is enhanced by social interactions, which further increase his desire to read. Dan obviously demonstrated this through the conversation he had with his mother while reading.After his mother left, Dan made frequent use of Vygotsky’s private speech (overt verbalizations not intended for a listener), particularly in the form of questions to himself. I saw this as both modeling his earlier conversations with his mother, and actively trying to learn new words and information. Goodman (1981) found that, in problem solving tasks, questions to self occurred more frequently following failures. This too, was the case with Dan who would often ask himself questions after being unable to pronounce a word or figuer out its meaning.Goodman also found that a hight rate of verbaliztions during problem solving tast was associated with increased efficiency. This is consistent with the fact that Dan, who made frequent use of such verbalizations, was a very advanced reader for his age. His frequent glances at me during particularly troublesome spots could have been related to social referencing. He appeared to want to ask me for help, but never did. Instead he simply looked at me as he tried to pronounce the word, as if trying to guage my facial reaction to see if he was right.Conclusion Dan appeared to be, aside from his diagnosed problems of cerebral palsy and panic attacks, a fairly normal, though cognitively advanced, nine year old boy. His reading every thing aloud struck me as somewhat unusual, and I have no sure explanantion as to why; perhaps he feels that he learns better through auditory stimulation. He also seemed to use private speech more than the average nine year old would, but as I discussed earlier, some studies have linked this to better problem solving abilities and high cognitive performance.References Gambrell, L. B. , (1994). What motivates children to read? Scholastic Literacy Research Paper, 2 Gottfried, A. E. & Gottfried, A. W. , (1996). A longitudinal study of academic intrinsic motivation in intellectually gifted children; Childhood through early adolescence. Gifted Child Quarterly, 40 (4), 179-183 Goodman, S. H. , (1981). The intergration of verbal and motor behavior in preschool children. Child Development. 52 (1), 280-289 Child Observation PSY 122 Child Growth and Development *Key Assessment: OBSERVATION *OF A CHILD and GROUP OF CHILDREN (This key assessment will be in 2 parts; *a total of 4 separate observation papers*) NAEYC Standards and Supportive skills: Standard 1 Promoting Child Development and Learning a Knowing and understanding young children’s characteristics and needs 1b Knowing and understanding the multiple influences on development and learning Standard 3 Observing, Documenting, and Assessing to Support Young Children and Families 3b Knowing about and using observation, documentation, and other appropriate assessment tools and techniques 3c Understanding and practicing responsible assessment Supportive Skill 2 Mastering and Applying Foundational Concepts from General Education Supportive Skill 3 Written and Verbal communication Skills Supportive Skill 4 Skills in Making Connections between Prior Knowledge/Experience and New Learning Observation 2: Observe a different child in 2 new area/activities* Part 2: *Observation 3: Observe a group of children inte*racting in one of the following *area/*activities* Observation 4: Observe another group of children interacting in a different area/activities* *Areas/Activities include: PSY 122 Child Growth and Development Key Assessment: OBSERVATION *OF A CHILD and GROUP OF CHILDREN (This key assessment will be in 2 parts) Observation Paper Format Observation Paper # 4 REMEMBER: To use pseudonym (not real name) Describe what the child (ren) are doing and saying (use quotation marks) during the length of your observation. Be specific, objective, and descriptive. Avoid judgmental statements (i. e. â€Å"That little boy was bad. † ). Kids Towne day care is located in an industrial park in Branford, CT. It currently has 75 children enrolled. Inside, the daycare is broken up into class rooms by age. On this day, I chose to observe the preschool room. The classroom currently has 20 children enrolled but not all the children attend daily. On this day there were 14 children in the classroom. The ages range from 3 years old to 4. 5 years old. The ratio of boys to girls is 2:1. Around 8:00am, I began watching the entire group of children. The structure of their day begins at 8:00am with â€Å"circle time. † Miss Sam, the teacher of the preschool room, announces to the children â€Å"Circle time! † I watched as they all came running. â€Å"Sit on a letter. † Miss Sam instructs the children. In the middle of the room there is a huge carpet with all the letters of the alphabet on it. Each child sits on a letter of their choice. â€Å"I want J† says a little boy named Jonah. Once all the children are seated Miss Sam begins with the date and the weather. â€Å"Its chilly outside today† she tells the students. â€Å"Mommy made me wear my jacket but I didn’t want to. † Says a boy named Alex. Shortly after the date and weather, the room breaks out in song. â€Å"The wheels on the bus go round and round†¦Ã¢â‚¬  sing the children. I notice that one girl is not singing. She is sitting with her legs crossed with her elbows on her knees and her head down. When the song finishes, Miss Sam asks Meghan, â€Å"What’s wrong? † â€Å"I have a headache Miss Sam. † â€Å"Well, maybe you’ll feel better after we make our monster puppets? † Meghan didn’t answer. â€Å"Who wants to make monster puppets? † asks Miss Sam. â€Å"Meeeeeeee! † several children proclaimed. I watched as the kids ran to the art center where two long rectangular tableswere side by side. All the boys sat at one table, and all the girls sat at the other. Miss Sam gave each child a brown lunch bag and spread crayons, markers, feathers, pom poms and glue on the table. Miss Sam showed the children a monster puppet that she had made. Mine is going to be pink† said one of the little girls. â€Å"Mine too† said another. I watched as the children worked on their puppets. â€Å"Roarrrrrrrr† said one boy who was coloring his bag green. When the children finished their puppets they all held them up and shared them with pride. Section II. Inferences/Interpretations: Section III: Theorist: Choose a theory/theorist (i. e. Piaget, Vygotsky, Erikson, Skinner, Bronfenbrenner, etc. ) and include a discussion on how this theory would explain what you have observed about the child (ren)’s behavior and development. Child Observation Child Observation Background The child that I chose to observe was a nine year old boy that I will refer to as Dan. Dan is a highly gifted child who, unfortunately, suffers from cerebral palsy, as well as panic attacks. His parents are divorced and he lives with his mother, who has remarried. His father who also has remarried, does have contact with him, though the relationship is somewhat strained. He comes from an upper middle class background, and has no brothers or sisters. I observed Dan in the waiting room for about an hour (his mother was good enough to bring him in for his appointment a little early so that I could observe him).The room contained many toys and books for varying ages, as well as a number of magazines for both kids and adults. The walls were covered with different pictures and posters, and there were a number of chairs. Observation Dan’s mother, Molly, helped him into the office by supporting him under his arms. His upper body works normally but he has t rouble with his legs, particularly his lower legs, and is unable to walk on his own. His mother took him immediately to the corner of the room containing the toys and books, then lowered him to the floor.Dan picked out a science book that appeared to be geared towards children a few years older than he. Lying on the floor, he began to read aloud and frequently questioned his mother, who sat in a nearby chair, about pronunciation of words, as well as dates and background information on famous scientists mentioned in the text. His mother answered all of his questions, and when she did, he engaged her in further conversation about the subject until he was sure that he understood. His mother was then called into the office to speak with the doctor alone.Before leaving, she asked Dan if he needed to use the restroom (he needs her help to do so). He told her he was fine, and she went into the office. At this point, Dan and I were the only two people in the room. He continued to read aloud after his mother had left. With her gone, he engaged in private speech when he came to a word he did not know, or a subject he was unfamiliar with. His conversations with himself were very similar to those he had with his mother. About ten minutes after his mother had left, Dan began looking over at me occasionally, but only for a second before going back to his reading.When he was unsure of a word, he repeated it several times before moving on. His reading grew gradually quieter until I could not always make out the words. At one point, he came across a word that he did not know and began reasoning to himself as follows: â€Å"This must be an English word†¦although I speak English, so maybe it’s from a different country†¦ or maybe they only use it in England. † Dan looked at me several times as he attempted to reason through this, but did not ask me for help. After that, he closed the book and looked around the room.He pulled a rock the size of a large marb le from his pocket, and began brushing it lightly against first a nearby chair leg, then his own sneaker. He sat up, experimented with throwing the rock at his left hand, which he held open, palm facing his right hand. I should note that he did not appear to be trying to catch it, but I could not be sure. At any rate, he never did catch it in the several times that he threw it. He then rolled it down his arm a couple of times, before throwing it straight up in the air, leaving his hand out, but not moving it at all as the rock fell past it.At this point Dan looked at me for about five or ten seconds straight, the first time he had done more than glance at me. He then pushed the book away and crawled over to a large aluminum can with a lid on it that was filled with toys. He brushed the rock lightly against it, but did not open it. Next, he looked at me and smiled. He asked me if he was bothering me and I told him he was not. He told me he did not want to distract me if I was studyin g. I answered that I was just writing something for school and that he was not distracting me at all.He said that he did not want to be bothersome and that he had been trying to be as non-distracting as possible. I told him not to worry about it and to just do whatever he wanted. After that, he began to talk to me a great deal. He told me about a book that he had read in the waiting room before and asked if I had ever read it. I answered that I had not and he told me all about it. He said it allowed you to put different wigs and clothes on different people and that he really liked it a lot. He went on to say that it was â€Å"a lot of fun, but it’s not here anymore so someone must have took it.I don’t know who took it though. † He then pulled down another book with big wobbly eyes that were placed to be on a different picture every time you turned the page. He asked me if I ever saw this book and I told him that I had. He said that it was â€Å"a really cool bo ok. † He then started reading it aloud, looking over at me occasionally as he did so. A little later, as he continued to read, his mother came back in and asked again if he needed to use the restroom. He told her he did not, and she lifted him up and helped him into the office for his appointment.Interpreting the Observation The first thing that struck me about Dan’s behavior was that he ignored the toys and magazines, and went straight for the books. Not only that, the first book that he picked out was obviously geared towards kids several years older than he. I knew going into the observation that Dan was highly gifted, and combining that with his physical disability, it made sense that he would be an avid reader and , relative to the other kids his age, a very advanced one. This proved to be true.Gambrell (1994) says that a child who is motivated to learn will read for a number of reasons, including to gain knowledge. This certainly seemed to be the case with Dan as he was very intent on being sure that he understood exactly what he was reading. Many kids read because they have to, and they learn so that they will get an â€Å"A† in school; Dan was reading and learning for the sole purpose of gaining knowledge. This is not surprising given the fact that gifted children have been found to have significantly higher intrinsic motivation to learn all subject areas than do their peers (Gottfried & Gottfried 1996).This study went on to say that â€Å"From the early years through adolescence, children who are identified as gifted evidence superior persistence, attention, curiosity, enjoyment of learning and orientation toward mastery and challenge. This was mirrored in the enthusiasm with which Dan went about the task of reading and being sure that he understood what he had read. The fact that his mother allowed him to pick out a book himself could be relevant to Dan’s apparent motivation to read.Gambrell (1994) reports that over 80% of children name books that they picked out themselves when asked about those they most enjoyed. In contrast, only 10% talked about books that were chosen for them. A strong correlation was shown to exist between a child’s being allowed to choose his own book and his intrinsic motivation to read. Gambrell further reports that learning through books is enhanced by social interactions, which further increase his desire to read. Dan obviously demonstrated this through the conversation he had with his mother while reading.After his mother left, Dan made frequent use of Vygotsky’s private speech (overt verbalizations not intended for a listener), particularly in the form of questions to himself. I saw this as both modeling his earlier conversations with his mother, and actively trying to learn new words and information. Goodman (1981) found that, in problem solving tasks, questions to self occurred more frequently following failures. This too, was the case with Dan who would often ask himself questions after being unable to pronounce a word or figuer out its meaning.Goodman also found that a hight rate of verbaliztions during problem solving tast was associated with increased efficiency. This is consistent with the fact that Dan, who made frequent use of such verbalizations, was a very advanced reader for his age. His frequent glances at me during particularly troublesome spots could have been related to social referencing. He appeared to want to ask me for help, but never did. Instead he simply looked at me as he tried to pronounce the word, as if trying to guage my facial reaction to see if he was right.Conclusion Dan appeared to be, aside from his diagnosed problems of cerebral palsy and panic attacks, a fairly normal, though cognitively advanced, nine year old boy. His reading every thing aloud struck me as somewhat unusual, and I have no sure explanantion as to why; perhaps he feels that he learns better through auditory stimulation. He also seemed to use private speech more than the average nine year old would, but as I discussed earlier, some studies have linked this to better problem solving abilities and high cognitive performance.References Gambrell, L. B. , (1994). What motivates children to read? Scholastic Literacy Research Paper, 2 Gottfried, A. E. & Gottfried, A. W. , (1996). A longitudinal study of academic intrinsic motivation in intellectually gifted children; Childhood through early adolescence. Gifted Child Quarterly, 40 (4), 179-183 Goodman, S. H. , (1981). The intergration of verbal and motor behavior in preschool children. Child Development. 52 (1), 280-289 Child Observation PSY 122 Child Growth and Development *Key Assessment: OBSERVATION *OF A CHILD and GROUP OF CHILDREN (This key assessment will be in 2 parts; *a total of 4 separate observation papers*) NAEYC Standards and Supportive skills: Standard 1 Promoting Child Development and Learning a Knowing and understanding young children’s characteristics and needs 1b Knowing and understanding the multiple influences on development and learning Standard 3 Observing, Documenting, and Assessing to Support Young Children and Families 3b Knowing about and using observation, documentation, and other appropriate assessment tools and techniques 3c Understanding and practicing responsible assessment Supportive Skill 2 Mastering and Applying Foundational Concepts from General Education Supportive Skill 3 Written and Verbal communication Skills Supportive Skill 4 Skills in Making Connections between Prior Knowledge/Experience and New Learning Observation 2: Observe a different child in 2 new area/activities* Part 2: *Observation 3: Observe a group of children inte*racting in one of the following *area/*activities* Observation 4: Observe another group of children interacting in a different area/activities* *Areas/Activities include: PSY 122 Child Growth and Development Key Assessment: OBSERVATION *OF A CHILD and GROUP OF CHILDREN (This key assessment will be in 2 parts) Observation Paper Format Observation Paper # 4 REMEMBER: To use pseudonym (not real name) Describe what the child (ren) are doing and saying (use quotation marks) during the length of your observation. Be specific, objective, and descriptive. Avoid judgmental statements (i. e. â€Å"That little boy was bad. † ). Kids Towne day care is located in an industrial park in Branford, CT. It currently has 75 children enrolled. Inside, the daycare is broken up into class rooms by age. On this day, I chose to observe the preschool room. The classroom currently has 20 children enrolled but not all the children attend daily. On this day there were 14 children in the classroom. The ages range from 3 years old to 4. 5 years old. The ratio of boys to girls is 2:1. Around 8:00am, I began watching the entire group of children. The structure of their day begins at 8:00am with â€Å"circle time. † Miss Sam, the teacher of the preschool room, announces to the children â€Å"Circle time! † I watched as they all came running. â€Å"Sit on a letter. † Miss Sam instructs the children. In the middle of the room there is a huge carpet with all the letters of the alphabet on it. Each child sits on a letter of their choice. â€Å"I want J† says a little boy named Jonah. Once all the children are seated Miss Sam begins with the date and the weather. â€Å"Its chilly outside today† she tells the students. â€Å"Mommy made me wear my jacket but I didn’t want to. † Says a boy named Alex. Shortly after the date and weather, the room breaks out in song. â€Å"The wheels on the bus go round and round†¦Ã¢â‚¬  sing the children. I notice that one girl is not singing. She is sitting with her legs crossed with her elbows on her knees and her head down. When the song finishes, Miss Sam asks Meghan, â€Å"What’s wrong? † â€Å"I have a headache Miss Sam. † â€Å"Well, maybe you’ll feel better after we make our monster puppets? † Meghan didn’t answer. â€Å"Who wants to make monster puppets? † asks Miss Sam. â€Å"Meeeeeeee! † several children proclaimed. I watched as the kids ran to the art center where two long rectangular tableswere side by side. All the boys sat at one table, and all the girls sat at the other. Miss Sam gave each child a brown lunch bag and spread crayons, markers, feathers, pom poms and glue on the table. Miss Sam showed the children a monster puppet that she had made. Mine is going to be pink† said one of the little girls. â€Å"Mine too† said another. I watched as the children worked on their puppets. â€Å"Roarrrrrrrr† said one boy who was coloring his bag green. When the children finished their puppets they all held them up and shared them with pride. Section II. Inferences/Interpretations: Section III: Theorist: Choose a theory/theorist (i. e. Piaget, Vygotsky, Erikson, Skinner, Bronfenbrenner, etc. ) and include a discussion on how this theory would explain what you have observed about the child (ren)’s behavior and development.