Economics for Business Demand Determinants of Takaful

Question: Scarce resources- which resource and in which country/industry are seen as scarce and what is being done in the industry or country. What substitutes have been used to overcome this problem! Micro economics Choose any industry and discuss the reforms done or needed in that industry. Demand and supply of a product of your choice and factors that affect the demand and supply sides of the market. Market structures like Monopoly, Oligopoly and Monopolistic competition in Australia. Answer: Introduction: In Economics, demand and supply are the key words. Demand may be defined as the consumers willingness for a particular product backed by the purchasing power. The demand of a good changes as a result of changes its own price, while the other factors are kept same which is known as ceteris paribus. The inverse relationship between price and quantity demanded can be shown with the help of the demand curve. On the other hand, supply is defined as the total amount of a particular product or service that is provided to buyers at each own prices. Supply is considered as the mirror representation of demand. The positive relationship of price and quantity supplied can be described by using a supply curve. This means that when price of a good rises, producers also increase the production of that product (Kariuki, 2014). The price of coffee is determined from the intersection point of the demand and supply curve. The figure 1 represents the equilibrium price and quantity of coffee. Figure 1: Demand-supply of coffee (Source: created by author) Over the years, coffee is considered as the second highest traded good next to oil globally. Growth rate in coffee industry is expected to continue at a high pace in near future. Coffee is grown in almost 50 countries around the equator and generates income to almost 20 million cultivators. About 100 million farmers are engaged in cultivating, developing and dealing of the product globally. Body: Demand and supply side aspects of coffee in Australian market: In this assignment, the article Mainstreaming Sustainable Coffee has been chosen for further analysis. In this article, the various dimensions of coffee and also the roles of different economic agents such as policy-makers, directors and managers are discussed. The article also focuses on various types of coffee available in the market and their different aspects regarding the production and supply side (Kolk, 2013). According to the article, the main standard for sustainable coffee production depends on the basic four parameters: fair-trade, organic, Rainforest Alliances (RA) and Utz Certified (Utz). The other market determined standards do not pay a guaranteed premium while the price of coffee is determined by the bargaining between the consumers and producers. This is related to the price factor effect which is discussed below. According to Lanfranchi, Giannetto, Zirilli, (2014), there are some factors which influence the price of coffee either to rise or to fall. Let us consider an example. People prefer to have more coffee during the winter season than the summer due to some reasons like low temperature, smaller days. Therefore, the demand for coffee is higher in winter than summer and price should rise in winter. This fact is explained with figure 2. Due to higher demand, the demand curve shifts rightward. As a result, price goes up from P1 to P2 level. Figure 2: Shift in demand (Source: created by author) The factors affecting demand and supply of coffee are described below: Price factor: Price is the major factor that determines the demand and supply of coffee. If the price of coffee rises, then people would switch over to tea which is a substitute of coffee. Then the demand for coffee will fall and that of tea will rise. Political factor: According to Ansari, Farooq, (2012), the demand and supply of coffee may be influenced due to some political factors. There was a potential drop in the supply of coffee in Brazil and Vietnam in 2001 as a result of some political instability. That had a massive impact on coffee price in world market since they comprise jointly almost 50% of the worlds production. Climatic factor: Coffee is very much sensitive to weather conditions. It does not grow in certain weather conditions. For the proper growth of the coffee plants, it requires rain and sun at correct time. If it does not happen properly then the quality of the product becomes lower and hence it affects price. Speculator effect: The trading activities of entrepreneurs show significant impact on coffee prices since coffee is a highly traded commodity. Market activities for other associated commodities like oil may have severe impact on green coffee prices. Tax effect: Another important factor that affects the coffee price is the taxes and tariffs Increase in taxes may have significant effect on the price of coffee. Enterprise trading: According to International Coffee Organization, big four coffee producing companies are Kraft, Nestle, P G and Sara Lee; they buy 50% of the coffee produced worldwide. Arabica coffee is cheaper than Robusta coffee since these companies purchase more of Robusta coffee. If they make a decision to purchase more of Arabica coffee, then one can expect higher price for Arabica coffee (Bolaos et. al.,2013).. Global demand outlook: Now-a-days the demand for coffee is on rise as more countries are moving into the developing world. For example, though Brazil is the worlds largest producer of coffee, it does not even belong to the list of top ten consumers of coffee. Also, none of the top twenty coffee producing countries belong to the list of the top ten consumers that is a surprising issue (Boadi, 2016). According to Garrett, Lambin, Naylor, (2013), these are the factors that determine the demand and supply of coffee. Apart from these factors, there are some general factors which also affect the demand and supply of coffee. The factors affecting demand are tastes, preferences and income of a consumer, price of other goods (substitute and complementary goods), future expectation etc. and the factors affecting supply are price of the given commodity and price of factor of production (input). RA and Utz coffee created a 3%-5% premium over the market price for encouraging farmers. This is also associated with the reduction in costs and higher efficiencies. Sometimes 20% premium above the market price is received by the organic coffee farmers in order to compensate them for high cost of production (Raj et. al., 2014). Conclusion: This section of the assignment sums up the entire thing. The first part of the essay introduces the basic microeconomic concepts, demand and supply. Then the main determinants of demand and supply of coffee are explained. Also the major factors such as the price factor, political factor, climatic factor, speculator effect, tax effect, enterprise trading and lastly the global demand outlook are mentioned and how they determines the demand and supply of coffee are discussed here. Then the basic parameters of the sustainable coffee production are illustrated. In the last few years, there were many changes occurred in the International coffee market. These changes may be associated with the demand and supply side aspects of coffee. Reference list: Ansari, S., Farooq, M. (2012, March). The Demand Determinants of Takaful (Islamic Insurance) By Conventional and Islamic Banks in Pakistan. Inrd International Conference on Business and Economic Research (3 rd ICBER 2012), Golden Flower Hotel, Bandung, Indonesia(pp. 12-13). Boadi, I. (2016). Determinants of Ghanaian banks credit to the" missing middle. A supply side approach.International Journal of Bank Marketing,34(6). Bolaos, R. L., Partanen, T., Berrocal, M., Alvrez, B., Crdoba, L. (2013). Determinants of health in seasonal migrants: Coffee harvesters in Los Santos, Costa Rica.International journal of occupational and environmental health. Garrett, R. D., Lambin, E. F., Naylor, R. L. (2013). Land institutions and supply chain configurations as determinants of soybean planted area and yields in Brazil.Land Use Policy,31, 385-396. Kariuki, G. J. (2014).The Determinants of Coffee Supply in Gichugu Division in Kirinyaga District: Kenya(Doctoral dissertation). Kolk, A. (2013). Mainstreaming sustainable coffee.Sustainable Development,21(5), 324-337. Lanfranchi, M., Giannetto, C., Zirilli, A. (2014). Analysis of demand determinants of high quality food products through the application of the cumulative proportional odds model.Applied mathematical sciences,8(65-68), 3297-3305. Raj, S. V., Narmadha, N., Alagumani, T., Chinnaduri, M., Ashok, K. R. (2014). ESTIMATION OF DEMAND AND SUPPLY OF PULPWOOD BY ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK: A CASE STUDY IN TAMIL NADU.SLJER,2(1), 81.

The Sioux Indian Tribe Essay Research Paper free essay sample

The Sioux Indian Tribe Essay, Research Paper The Sioux Indian Tribe Food The Sioux would run most of their nutrient. Chiefly they ate cervid because the lived in the Dakota countries and Minnesota, they besides hunted American bisons when they were pushed more into the West by their rival folks. But normally lived on little game, cervid, and wild rice. They like to eat berries such as black berry and veggies such as Spinacia oleracea leaves, and peas. They ate nuts that grew on pine trees called pinion nuts. But like most Indians they used every thing from the nutrient. The Sioux were great framers and scavenger. They framed maize and scavenger wild rice, and roots. Language The linguistic communication of the Sioux was one of the biggest thing in there folk, because when the would utilize idiom, to pass on they changed the manner the normally would talk in the Sisseton, a Wahpeton, were the original seven council words, and these are the seven all right words, to cognize the Sioux Chiefs. We will write a custom essay sample on The Sioux Indian Tribe Essay Research Paper or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page When some of the folks moved south and west, there were alterations in idiom and traditional imposts. Three divisions are now recognized by most governments as the Santee ( Isanyati, inhabitant at the Knife Lake ) , the Middle Dakota, and the Teton. The three idioms are Dakota, Nakota and Lakota. Dakota and Lakota are still widely used, but the Nakota idiom is about out of usage. Beginning of the Name The word # 8220 ; Sioux # 8221 ; was given to all of them by the Gallic who had corrupted the name # 8220 ; Nataweiwak # 8221 ; from the Chippewa. The Chippewa word referred to the Sioux as enemies and meant # 8220 ; enemy # 8221 ; or # 8220 ; snake # 8221 ; . This name was given to them when they resided in the western Great Lakes part. The name they called themselves was # 8220 ; Dakota # 8221 ; which means # 8220 ; friend # 8221 ; or # 8220 ; ally # 8221 ; . The Great Sioux State # 8220 ; Our state is runing off like the snow on the sides of the hills where the Sun is warm, he one time told the white, while your people are like blades of grass in the spring when summer is coming. # 8221 ; Red Cloud Other Information You Care To Share + In 1750 the Sioux comprised of some 30000 people steadfastly established in the heartland of the northern Great Plains, they dominated that part for the following century. + Harmonizing to old Sioux traditions, a immature adult male must gain his grownup name before courtship. + To pull a adult female, he might do a musical instrument from a birds wing or a piece of wood. He played the instrument to affect the miss he loved. + During the Battle of Wounded Knee in 1890, over 300 Sioux Indians were killed. + The set council was the chief governmental organic structure in the Sioux cantonments. Each cantonment had a courier to denote the determinations that the council voted on. + In 1870 Red Cloud journeyed to Washington D.C. eight times to negociate Sioux involvements. + The bird of Jove plumes on a war bonnet signified Acts of the Apostless of make bolding and bravery in a conflict. + One Lodge like theirs could last for 7-8 old ages. + To go a akicita ( lodge soldiers ) you had to be a warrior and killed, scalped an enemy or deliver a friend. It was all so impressive if he refrained from talking to adult females. ( except his sister ) Until he had completed all these Acts of the Apostless of bravery. + If you were able to travel in and out of an enemy s cantonment circle, he was awarded a warbonnet. If you frightened the game on a war Hunt you were whipped and your tepee and belongs were cut to pieces Male/Female Roles In the Sioux Tribe male and females had every bit of import functions. Each individual had set responsibilities and accomplished them daily, this is what kept the household unit together and made things run swimmingly. The male function consistent of chiefly supplying and protecting the household. The male childs were trained to run, be fuss-budgets or in some instances medicine work forces. The work forces made all of the arms for runing or war and the adult females did non touch these points. Equally far as supplying for the household he was besides expected to get married his brother # 8217 ; s married woman and take attention of her household if his brother died. The adult female function in the folk was really of import. Girls were trained to fix the shelter and gather nutrient. Besides she was responsible for doing and caring for the shelter. Pulled hastes, cut wood, gathered wild rice, cut grass, cookery, tanned teguments, made and repaired mocassins and vesture, made mats, dug roots, and dressed meats were besides the adult females s occupation. The married woman was the owne R of the Lodge and if the juncture arose, she could throw her hubby out. The adult females of the folk were good treated and extremely honored because she did all the work except runing, fishing, and combat. Together work forces and adult females shared jobs, such as doing cradles, paddles, canoes, bowls and spoons. There was really small quarreling in the households. Celebrated Persons One of the most celebrated individual in the Sioux Nation is Red Cloud. He was a great leader and a interesting individual. Harmonizing to one narrative a meteorite roared over Sioux district the dark he was born, go forthing a test of ruddy clouds behind it. Many Sioux babes born that winter were named Red Cloud. Another narrative claims that Red Cloud as a male child had his grampss name, Two Arrows. When he was about 19 old ages old, he led a Sioux war party in a conflict against an enemy folk. The Sioux warriors were have oning vermilion covers over their shoulders that twenty-four hours. As they swept down a hill side on their rushing ponies, they looked like an progressing ruddy cloud, and the scared enemy turned and fled. Red Cloud was the first Indian to contend and win the white people. But after the civil war, the white adult male came back and defended him and his military personnels. Myths Narrative OF THE PEACE PIPE Two immature work forces were out sauntering one dark speaking of love personal businesss. They passed around a hill and came to a small ravine or coulee. Suddenly they saw coming up from the ravine a beautiful adult female. She was painted and her frock was of the really finest stuff. # 8220 ; What a beautiful miss! # 8221 ; said one of the immature work forces. # 8220 ; Already I love her. I will steal her and do her my wife. # 8221 ; # 8220 ; No, # 8221 ; said the other. # 8220 ; Don # 8217 ; t harm her. She may be holy. # 8221 ; The immature adult female approached and held out a pipe which she foremost offered to the sky, so to the Earth and so advanced, keeping it out in her drawn-out custodies. # 8220 ; I know what you immature work forces have been stating ; one of you is good ; the other is wicked, # 8221 ; she said. She laid down the pipe on the land and at one time became a American bison cow. The cow pawed the land, stuck her tail straight out behind her and so lifted the pipe from the land once more in her hoofs ; instantly she became a immature adult female once more. # 8220 ; I am come to give you this gift, # 8221 ; she said. # 8220 ; It is the peace pipe. Hereafter all pacts and ceremonials shall be performed after smoking it. It shall convey peaceable ideas into your heads. You shall offer it to the Great Mystery and to fuss earth. # 8221 ; The two immature work forces ran to the small town and told. LEGEND OF STANDING ROCK A Dakota had married an Arikara adult female, and by her had one kid. By and by he took another married woman. The first married woman was covetous and pouted. When clip came for the small town to interrupt camp she refused to travel from her topographic point on the tent floor. The collapsible shelter was taken down but she sat on the land with her baby on her back The remainder of the cantonment with her hubby went on. At noon her hubby halted the line. # 8220 ; Go back to your sister-in-law, # 8221 ; he said to his two brothers. # 8220 ; Tell her to come on and we will expect you here. But hasten, for I fear she may turn desperate and kill herself. # 8221 ; The two rode off and arrived at their former bivouacing topographic point in the eventide. The adult female still sat on the land. The older radius: # 8220 ; Sister-in-law, acquire up. We have come for you. The cantonment awaits you. # 8221 ; She did non reply, and he put out his manus and touched her caput. She had turned to lapidate! The two brothers lashed their ponies and came back to cantonment. They told their narrative, but were non believed. # 8220 ; The adult female has killed herself and my brothers will non state me, # 8221 ; said the hubby. However, the whole small town broke cantonments and came back to the topographic point where they had left the adult female. Certain plenty, she sat there still, a block of rock. The Indians were greatly excited. They chose out a fine-looking pony, made a new travois and placed the rock in the carrying cyberspace. Pony and travois were both attractively painted and decorated with streamers and colourss. The rock was thought # 8220 ; wakan # 8221 ; ( sanctum ) , and was given a topographic point of award in the centre of the cantonment. Whenever the cantonment moved the rock and travois were taken along. Thus the rock adult female was carried for old ages, and eventually brought to Standing Rock Agency, and now rests upon a brick base in forepart of the Agency office. From this rock Standing Rock Agency derives its name.

More Than Just One Weird Trick Alex Mayor, Publicist

More Than Just One Weird Trick Alex Mayor, Publicist More Than Just 'One Weird Trick' - Alex Mayor, Publicist â€Å"When I raise the issue of marketing a book with a lot of authors, you sort of see the three lemons come up for them - â€Å"Why aren’t I doing that? Why didn’t I think of doing this?† - and for others they look moderately terrified!†Traditional publishers have tried to embrace the new media tech menagerie plenty of times over the last decade, at least. And yet every effort has faded away with time, lost like tears in the rain. Whether it’s book trailers or staid, conservatively hashtagged tweets from a corporate account, it feels a little like watching a toddler trying to walk: graceless, but at least sort of fascinating to watch them fall down as they learn from their mistakes.Or, if we can reach for another simile, traditional publishers trying to innovate are like 20th century passenger liners trying to slalom around icebergs - innovation requires a manoeuvrability that, in 99% of cases, is at odds with the size of the company trying to inn ovate.This is, however, another coup for indie authors. As Ben Galley explained in his interview with us, indies aren’t shackled the way traditionally published authors are. The room for experimentation is there.This is where people like Alex Mayor come in. Alex is the founder / inventor of Papercasting, a Hackney-based agency helping authors find interesting and unheard of ways to bring their books to an audience, whether that’s through audio, video, or even real-world theatrical productions. The best way to explain it is to let Alex himself talk you through it in our interview below, but you can listen to a Papercast for ‘London Bridge in America’ right here!REEDSYHow long have you guys existed for?   How did you get started? How many of you are there?ALEX MAYORAt the moment it’s me and two part-time creative guys that I work with. Because of the friends I have, I’ve ended up knowing quite a few authors. They would come to me saying †Å"The book’s finally done, it’s coming out, but I’m not sure how it’s going to do. I know what the publisher is going to do: they’re going to spring for drinks for a launch party; they might put some promotional postcards together but they probably won’t; and then, after they’ve sent out the review copies, if nothing happens in that first month that’s kind of it.†So what I’ve been doing so far is basically helping out friends. Now I’m trying to move beyond the friendship circles. The idea has been to find authors who are prepared to do something a bit more interesting in terms of how they promote themselves.I’ve also had some support from the Arts Council, who were very interested in the idea. They see that creatives within what we might call ‘the literary world’ writ large suffer to a large degree from being not necessarily the most internet-savvy, the most marketing-savvy - writing by i ts nature is a solipsistic undertaking. Also, traditional publishing, assailed as it is by modernity, is spending less on promo simply because of the sheer number of places they’re trying to reach.Last year we did a few examples of work. Now we’re trying to ramp it up, to find authors with some sort of social footprint, and create pieces of digital work that will help promote them. An author phoned me up last week: â€Å"I’ve suddenly thought this is perfect radio material. This story is quite Carver-esque, it would work really well. Can we make a ten-minute version of this as a radio play?† And I said â€Å"Of course we can, I can find the actors, we can do it all fairly cheaply,† and the author can then use that as a calling card to media organisations, put it online for streaming, and use it to build interest in the books.I’m getting a lot of interest from a certain kind of author - authors who think â€Å"I’ve made something, and I want people to pay interest in it and engage with what I’m doing,† rather than just seeing it as â€Å"A book has been printed with my words in it, my work here is done.† When I raise the issue with a lot of authors, you sort of see the three lemons come up for them - â€Å"Why aren’t I doing that? Why didn’t I think of doing this?† - and for others they look moderately terrified!My background is in media, in publishing; I’ve written music for television, I’ve produced records†¦ I view everything as just ‘stuff.’ It’s stuff that has an audience, somehow, and I’m fairly open-minded about how you reach the audience. In book-publishing, traditionally you have the agent, the publisher who’s kept at one remove†¦ everyone is in their own box. There isn’t a lot of moving around, and publishers don’t tend to want to upset that situation too much. But authors may well know thei r audience *better* than a big corporate publisher. It’s just a fact that if an author is good at writing books about Norwegian circus acts of the 18th century, it may be that they know the most important people who will help sell that book.REEDSYSo what is paper casting? Is it a verb, a noun†¦?ALEX MAYORIt’s both! I wanted a word that would help authors understand the idea that they could be broadcasting. What is being on Twitter but a form of broadcasting? Making a radio play, putting a video together, they’re all kinds of broadcasting. I believe when you’ve got a book you’ve created something that can be expressed in a multitude of ways. You’ve already done the hard bit in finding a way to bring that idea off the page in a way that gets people excited. But because authors are traditionally left out of the equation by publishers, they haven’t been too entrepreneurial in that regard.It’s a business and an experiment. Iâ⠂¬â„¢m trying to find out if there are enough authors who want to do this. I think it’s going to be younger authors probably, or authors who are very good on social media, but within five to ten years there will be an entire generation of writers who have always had a Facebook account, who have always shared their top-of-the-mind thoughts on some network tool or another. This model is waiting to happen, even if it hasn’t yet happened.REEDSYI remember a few years ago this craze for book trailers†¦ALEX MAYORYes! And they were all awful! They were all mind-bogglingly bad. I’ve trawled through loads of these. I noticed that, once YouTube was a fairly embedded prospect in people’s minds, you’d hear people asking â€Å"Do we do video?† This idea that ‘doing some video’ would add value to something, that if you didn’t have an active YouTube account you weren’t really a player.That thinking was evident in pretty much every book trailer I’ve ever seen, particularly ones paid for by publishing companies - where they’ve done a Ken Burns slow-pan over the front cover, they’ve brought a rent-a-quote up, there’s a piece of out-of-copyright classical music playing in the background, it’s two minutes long, and nobody will ever look at it. They’ve not been terribly interesting by and large. That, or - fair enough - a film of the author reading a bit of it, which is at least a step in the right direction.I think it’s been something publishers did badly, and to some degree consider an experiment they don’t really want to repeat. The question is still outstanding because the way we consume literature is changing under our feet all the time. It’s not changing totally, and there’ll be an element of the market, like vinyl, that will always buy the physical book. But how we consume what we call books is changing all the time. Technology compa nies are the ones charging forward and providing those experiences, not publishers.REEDSYIt feels like that even amongst the best of those efforts, there’s rarely much of a tie to the book being promoted. Even my favourite example of a book trailer, while a great little clip, doesn’t connect directly to the book in question.ALEX MAYORI think when you mentioned that 2011/2012 moment, the concomitant line of thinking in marketing departments across the land was â€Å"Can we do something viral?† as if they’d discovered the idea of disease for the first time and were embracing it wholeheartedly. I think the danger of some of those things is that they can be cool, but you see so much cool stuff every day I think there’s a burnout you get to.My feeling is there is, particularly in non-fiction publishing, an enormous number of perfectly good books where it will always be a tricky prospect for a publishing house to find a lot of marketing muscle and budget to push it. Unless your name is Malcolm Gladwell, how many of these are you going to shift? There are all these books that are perfectly interesting, but they’re not as immediate. They’re not things that it would be so easy to make a viral or funny trailer for, but they’ve got something in them that will make you stop in your tracks. And I think the process is find the core of the book - the elevator pitch, the one surprising thing that you’d hear from the author at a cocktail party and repeat to your friends.Say you had an Oliver Sacks neuro-psychological ramble with interesting case-studies. OK, so you get two actors in, find some dialogue that’s interesting, maybe make a two minute radio play out of it, and at the end you’ve got your buy-link - you’ve tee’d up the experience of the book. Where those trailers went wrong is that there were a) uninteresting, and b) they weren’t thinking about the content of the book. Th ey were thinking about the object: â€Å"Here is a book.† Well, yeah, we get it, here’s a book. There are lots of books. Why do we want to read it?I’m still trying to find more authors who have a little bit more of a social footprint who are prepared to be more Gonzo with me. As a premise, I think it’s not expensive to make this kind of media - it’s just about having the willpower to do it.REEDSYIt seems like what you’re doing requires more than just money thrown at it - it also needs creativity, an idea.ALEX MAYORMy ambition for 2015 is to find more of these authors and ramp it up to the point where what we have is a form of entertainment in its own right. If you could image a channel of this stuff, and you were flipping through it, these would be interesting ways of hearing about interesting new books. Maybe some people would listen to them and get whatever they get out of it, but there would be people who click through and buy the book. I t’s a case of taking what’s already a very well considered piece of media, a book manuscript, and creating something slightly smaller in a different format out of the book for not a lot of money. It’s not difficult stuff to do. For me it’s about editorial and production, and finding that killer idea that’s at the heart of the thing. There will be something - you can’t write a book and have no point.REEDSYHow do you produce one of these things? How does your agency work?ALEX MAYORWe have a little studio in Hackney - BBC quality microphones and all of that jazz. Mostly what will happen is I’ll sit down with the author and get them to pitch the book back to me. I’ll obviously go read the manuscript. I’ll come back with suggestions of ways we could bring it off the page. The author has to feel comfortable with what we’re envisioning. It may be that they’re going to be reading, or that they’re not going t o be reading and someone else will be found†¦ It’s very tailored to the person. At its core it’s about understanding the central strengths of the book.People have been asking â€Å"Oh, so we’d be making a video?† I always say â€Å"We might be, but we might not be.† Video is hard to do without a degree of cost because to do justice to the written word in film is notoriously hard. It’s very hard to do without immediately becoming boring, in my opinion. I think audio is a better choice, by and large, because you can maintain the reader’s own interactivity - that way they’re assembling the words in their head and seeing whatever world you’re bringing them into.In terms of capturing what it is that’s interesting you have to be media-neutral at the outset, and also be somewhat sensitive to the person’s own personality and what they’ll feel comfortable with, and also budget - radio’s the cheape st, video is hard to make†¦REEDSYHow do you get the material in front of people?ALEX MAYORAt the moment I’m just using Soundcloud. It’s more about the social footprint of the author, their agent, and any publicity people they have on side. This is simultaneously the massive potential upside and the massive potential downside. Good use of social media is thin on the ground - most people struggle with it. Authors are either total oversharers, or haven’t done much of it before. The model definitely requires that you have a fairly active social media following. It all lives and dies at that point.One author has just engaged me to do this for him. Initially I said â€Å"It will only work if you’re calm about it.† So I’ve been trying to build a voice for him on Twitter. I’ve set writing challenges like â€Å"How about sharing all the titles of things you’ve never written?† Trying to get the author to think of it as a writ ing challenge, not a self-promotion challenge.There was a famous observation by Momus the electronic singer - â€Å"In the internet age everyone is famous for fifteen people.† I’ve always thought that hangs over lots of technology. You could potentially do billions of things and reach zillions of people, but the core of it is still the slogging, and it kind of always was. You’ve just got to keep beavering away at getting a footprint with people and building a personality with people.REEDSYThanks for your time Alex.

Short Story and True Selves Essay Example

Short Story and True Selves Essay Example Short Story and True Selves Essay Short Story and True Selves Essay Authors use certain characters to attract and persuade certain audiences. The two short stories, The Prospector’s Trail by Cathy Jewison and Bluffing by Gail Helgason are easily comparable by the use of characterization. Both stories consist of two main characters, as couples, as it is affected by another individual. Also, throughout the stories, both couples face challenges in which reveal their true selves. Lastly, the author used one dynamic character while the other remained a static character. The Prospector’s Trail and Bluffing consisted of two main characters as it was affected by another individual. Norman and Jennifer from, The Prospector’s Trail, were happily married, until both their relationship and their financial funds started going downhill. Norman came to Yellowknife with his ambitious wife to make something of himself and Roy helped him do so. Jennifer doesn’t think much of Ray, and wasn’t fond of him or the way he dressed. â€Å"Unless I catch you wearing a red plaid flannel shirt, in which case I’ll leave you on the spot. † From this passage, it is clear that Jennifer was stereotyping Roy from not wanting Norman to become like him for the reason that he was wearing a red plaid flannel shirt during that time. That being said, while prospecting with Roy, Norman found a barely ripped red plaid shirt and  he instantly wore it, knowing that it would tick Jennifer off. As a result, Jennifer left Norman without even saying a word. In Bluffing, Gabriella and Liam went on a hike as they came across a bear in which showed how much they truly were uncommitted to one another. Liam ran off when he should’ve done something on the spot to keep Gabriella same from getting hurt from the bear. This occurrence completely changed the way Gabriella felt about Liam. Thus, these were how the two main characters were affected by another individual. Throughout the stories, both couples faced challenges in which revealed their true selves. In Prospector’s Trail, before going into Yellowknife, Norman lost his job and confidence from the formality and high expectations of his boss. He became clumsy where his reputation spread and could no longer work. In the following passage: Jennifer halfheartedly agreed to let Norman pursue his dream of opening and interpretive centre, on the condition that he did t far away from anyone they knew. We realize that Jennifer was ashamed and blinded by her pride, which ended up with her treating Norman wrongly. In Bluffing, when Liam ran away from both Gabriella and the bear, it shows that Liam was a coward and he didnt necessarily care about her. Furthermore, by the end of the story, Gabriella seems to also not care so much anymore. This is proven by the following passage: When the last bandage is removed, she pulls her chair closer to the bed and stretches her lips into a smile. She knows in her bones that she can manage this way, for the rest of the afternoon, at least. She still has that much bluffing in her. From this, it was clear that she was lying when she held his hand as the bandage was being taken off. It was obvious that she’d plan on leaving him due to the fact of him leaving her with the bear. Hence, these were how both couples faced challenges in which reveal their true selves. Lastly, the authors in both, The Prospector’s Trail and Bluffing used a dynamic character while the other remained a static character. Jennifer was portrayed as a selfish, inconsiderate, nagging wife who simply nagged about making Norman the best he could possibly be while Liam was portrayed as an unpredictable and a difficult person to understand. From beginning to end, Jennifer and Liam remained the same making them static characters. While on the other hand, Norman from the Prospectors Trail was portrayed as a young, confused, clumsy nerd but as time passed, he changed into a more open-minded, free man who  just wanted to start a new life in Yellowknife. This is proven by the following passage: You’re little lady’s not going to like it. She’s more upscale than my Elsie. â€Å"You’re right. She won’t see the potential. But like I said – this is the end of the road for me. † This shows that Norman wanted to be free from the stress Jennifer caused him, even if he were to be left behind. It was just Jennifer’s presence that was dragging him down to get to where he really wanted to be. In Bluffing, Gabriella changed from being committed and wanting to continue living with Liam to just simply leaving him and lying about how she felt about what had happened. Both Norman and Gabriella changed throughout the story, which made them dynamic characters while Jennifer and Liam remained the same, as a result of being static characters. By the use of characterization, the two stories are easily comparable. Both stories consisted of two main characters, as it was affected by another individual Also, throughout the stories, both couples faced challenges in which reveal their true selves. Lastly, the author used one dynamic character while the other remained a static character. Thus, these are the reasons why the characters from The Prospector’s Trail and Bluffing are very much similar.

Composition 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Composition 2 - Essay Example Rather, they are only examples which can be used to see how different authors approach their writing. The Joy of Reading shares about the reasons why the author loves to read. There are a number of benefits of reading that is enumerated which make up the bulk of the article. The International Bridge on the other hand speaks about what the internet provides for the user. It presents a personal inventory of the advantages of the internet. Preventing a Worldwide Disaster is about air pollution. It is a persuasive essay that aims to encourage readers to do something about a worldwide problem which is caused by numerous human activities. Some examples of such actions or operations are enumerated in order to clarify the points the author is trying to make. Lastly, Napoleon’s Fall from Power talks about the reasons why Napoleon Bonaparte failed in his latter conquests and in his ultimate goal of reigning as king over France and her colonies. Although the four aforementioned articles have different subject matters, they have a number of similarities. One very evident semblance is the length of the writings. They are all short, composed of only a few paragraphs. As a result, they were all written as concise as they can be. They are direct to the point and make good use of every word and sentence to express the thoughts as clearly as possible. In order to expound on the ideas presented by the four articles, they all used enumeration. For instance, the first story used words such as â€Å"one reason†, â€Å"another reason† and â€Å"the main reason† while the other three used chronological ordering by using the terms â€Å"first†, â€Å"second† or â€Å"next† and â€Å"the most important†, â€Å"another† or â€Å"finally†. In addition, they also used examples to further explain their topics. All of the four articles also used the pyramid style of writing, discus sing first

Reflective writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Reflective writing - Essay Example In this paper, I have reflected upon my experience of participating in two group exercises with given situations and time frames; the cave rescue activity, and the recruitment exercise activity. I have also discussed how the activities helped me develop as a group member. Background of the report I was involved in two group exercises; in the first exercise that was a cave rescue exercise, there were six group members in total whereas in the second exercise, which was a recruitment exercise activity, there were seven group members. For both exercises, we were given certain characters and certain situations and the exercises were supposed to be executed in a limited time frame. The group members were given a chance to take notes after the completion of each exercise, using which, they would write the reflective accounts later. Theories John Burton’s Human Needs Model John Burton argues that denial of the fundamental needs of security, equal participation, identity, and recogniti on of an individual in a group makes the protracted conflict inevitable. Resolution of such conflicts necessitates the identification of the needs that are not being addressed and restructuring of the roles of the group members in such a way that needs of all are met (Dixit, 2004). Tuckman’s Teamwork Theory Tuckman proposed a model that recognizes the fact that groups are not functional or fully-formed when they form. The groups propagate through a set of defined stages namely forming, storming, norming, and performing, and gradually become task-focused. The following graph illustrates Tuckman’s teamwork theory by showing the link between task focus and group relationships. In any group activity, the optimal productivity is reached after development of the relationships among the group members. â€Å"The 4 Phases of Tuckman’s Teamwork Theory† (The Happy Manager, 2012a). STAR Team Model The STAR team model suggests that in order to optimize the groupâ€⠄¢s productivity, the group leader should place equal emphasis on the development of the group members’ strengths and the development of good relationships among them. The STAR team model provides content and substance to the situation, conditions, and stages of teamwork as shown in the figure below: STAR Team Model (The Happy Manager, 2012b). Analysis One thing that I learnt from the exercises was that there were more conflicts happening in the start than near the end of the exercises. The fundamental reason behind this was that the group members had started to understand one another’s personalities and behaviors and their adaptability had increased. â€Å"Research in human team performance suggests that experienced teams develop a shared understanding or shared mental model utilized to coordinate behaviors by anticipating and predicting each others needs and adapting to task demands† (Sycara and Sukthankar, 2006, p. 2). All models discussed in this paper inclu ding John Burton’s Human Needs Model, Tuckman’s Teamwork Theory, and the STAR Team Model commonly emphasize on the development of relationships among the group members as a pre-requisite of achieving optimal productivity in the group exercises, though the development of group members’ skills as well as their relationships requires time. â€Å"Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success† (Henry Ford cited in Zuck, 1997, p. 375). Teamwork helps people understand one another in the best way. By the team we were done with both the exercises, we had not only finished our tasks but had also known one another much better than we did before. A very useful learning that I gained in this exercise was how to resolve conflicts. I have learnt that it is primarily one’s preferences that determine the extent to which one would be able to execute

Assessment and Learners Essay Example for Free

Assessment and Learners Essay Introduction The aim of this report is to identify my roles and responsibilities as a teacher delivering the Level 2 Certificate in Youth Work Practice (City and Guilds). The course is attended by trainee youth workers aged 18 and over and consists of 20 taught sessions and a work-based placement. The qualification is assessment based, with all Learners producing a portfolio of evidence to support their learning. The portfolios are assessed, checked by an Internal Verifier and samples of the portfolios are checked by an External Verifier to agree the standards of assessment. Responsibilities The role of teacher holds many responsibilities. Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK) defines two teaching roles: 1. Associate Teacher, Learning and Skills (ATLS) which is a supportive role 2. Qualified Teacher, Learning and Skills (QTLS) which is a full teaching role To become a QTLS the Institute for Learning (IfL) states: â€Å"As a new entrant to teaching in the Learning and Skills Sector, you will have to complete the PTLLS award. It must be completed within one year of initial employment. † (March, S, 2010: 4) It is my responsibility as a teacher to complete this qualification and continuously develop my skills as a professional. As a teacher some of my responsibilities include having knowledge and understanding of the subject, curriculum development and delivery and appropriate initial, formative an summative assessment methods. As a teacher within the Level 2 Certificate in Youth Work Practice I am responsible for the development and delivery of a suitable curriculum to enable Learners to complete the qualification by demonstrating and evidencing their learning. This also includes carrying out initial assessments for all Learners and identifying any needs of the individual or the group. During the development of the curriculum I plan and prepare sessions to meet the learning outcomes of the course, sourcing and developing appropriate resources then delivering sessions and supporting Learners where necessary. Suitable assessment methods and evaluation processes will also be structured into the curriculum to ensure continuous development of the course, the Learners and the teachers. Other responsibilities within my role include: * Appropriate record keeping. This may include Learners details, registration forms, Initial Assessments, registers, portfolio files, results and assessment records, placement details and session plans alongside schemes of work. These records are kept to ensure all Learners’ needs are met and progress is appropriately recorded on Individual Learning Plans which are necessary for certification. Work placement details and Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) checks also need to be kept to ensure safeguarding and health and safety policies and procedures are followed correctly. Records must be kept in accordance to legislation and also as a matter of best practice and for auditing purposes. * Suitable evaluation. Evaluation of the Learners’ progress is essential to their learning to identify areas for improvement. It is important to evaluate the curriculum, sessions and my own development to ensure my practice is reflective, professional and continuously developing. * Respect. Paramount to my role as a teacher is respect for the Learners and my colleagues, including professional boundaries. This includes maintaining a degree of formality and understanding of the limits of my relationship with the Learners, ensuring these are made clear, preventing the crossing of boundaries. This also includes an awareness of my own limitations within my role and knowing how and where to signpost Learners for further support. Legislation There are many policies and procedures to follow within my own organisation and the qualification awarding body, governing many aspects of my role as teacher. Some of these relate to legislation such as: * The Equality Act (2010) This act promotes equality of opportunity. My practice must be inclusive and take into consideration this legislation to prevent discrimination as guided by mu organisations Equal Opportunities Policy. * The Data Protection Act (1998) This act regulates the processing and storing of information about individuals. My organisation follows appropriate policies and procedures in accordance with this act including storing all Learners’ files in a lockable file in a suitable environment only accessed by authorised staff. * The Copyright Licensing Act (CLA) (1988) Organisations must have a license to copy parts of books and documents. It is vital to ensure this is followed when copying any material to ensure it is done within the limits of the organisation’s licence. * Health and Safety at Work etc Act (1974) This is the main piece of legislation covering health and safety in the work place including anyone entering and using the premises. * Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (1999) This Legislation requires all  employers carry out appropriate risk assessments, implement necessary measures, appoint competent staff and arrange suitable information and training around health and safety. My organisation also follows appropriate policies and procedures to ensure both this and the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) are complied with. This includes risk assessments, record keeping, first aid training, incident reporting and safeguarding policies and procedures. As well as legislation and organisation policies and procedures there is a code of practice to be followed by teachers, produced by The Institute for Learning (IfL). This outlines the standards of professional behaviour expected of members working in further education and includes: * Professional integrity regarding all interactions with Learners, colleagues and other professionals. * Show respect to all Learners and colleagues and recognise and value diversity and engage in anti-oppressive practices. * Ensure reasonable care regarding the safety and wellbeing of others where possible and within legislation. * Provide evidence of your own professional development. * Notify the IfL as soon as possible after cautioning or conviction for a criminal offence. * Provide appropriate support during any investigation by the IfL. My own practice also requires me to work within the National Youth Agency code of practice too. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion As a teacher it is essential that my practice ensures the fair treatment of all Learners and that they are allowed equal opportunities to participate and gain the qualification. This may involve adapting sessions including timings, resources, assessment methods and providing additional support where necessary. The Equality Act (2010) bans unfair treatment and aims to achieve equal opportunities within the work place and wider society. The act replaces previous anti-discrimination laws to make legislation simpler and remove inconsistencies and covers nine protected characteristics which cannot be used as a reason to treat people unfairly. The protected characteristics are: 1. Age 2. Disability 3. Gender reassignment (choosing to live as a gender other than that assigned to you at birth, with or without surgery. ) 4. Marriage and civil partnership 5. Pregnancy and maternity 6. Race 7. Religion or belief 8. Gender 9. Sexual orientation The Equality Act identifies ways in which it is unlawful to treat people including: * Direct and indirect discrimination * Harassment * Victimisation * Failing to make reasonable adjustments for people with disabilities My organisation operates within an equal opportunities policy influenced by this Act which must be followed by all staff and Learners. As well as a commitment to equality within my practise it is important to recognise and value individual differences and the different cultural backgrounds of Learners, colleagues and the wider community. My practice must promote diversity through my behaviour, use of language and appropriate challenging of others to reflect this. Inclusion within teaching ensures that all Learners are able to participate and feel included, removing any barriers to their learning experience. This should include all teaching and learning processes from the planning and delivery stages to evaluation and further planning. Appropriate information should be collected at the Initial Assessment stage to allow necessary adaptations to the teaching programme. This may include providing additional support for Functional Skills or allowing time and space for prayers. Recommendations for professional practice Throughout my teaching practice I will continuously update my skills through training, supervision and self-evaluation to ensure a high standard of professional practice. I will also review all necessary policies and practices to work within legislation and promote best practice. It is also important to maintain suitable contact with governing bodies to stay updates with codes of conduct and changes to legislation. Bibliography Cohen, L, Manion, L and Morrison, K. (2004) A Guide to Teaching Practice, 5th Edition, Suffolk: Routledge Great Britain. Equality Act 2010, London: HMSO March, S. (2010) Preparing to Teach – the first steps: Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.